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diff --git a/39227.txt b/39227.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eda89b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/39227.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23188 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Source Book of Mediæval History, Edited by +Frederic Austin Ogg + + +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: A Source Book of Mediæval History + Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance + + +Editor: Frederic Austin Ogg + +Release Date: March 21, 2012 [eBook #39227] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SOURCE BOOK OF MEDIæVAL +HISTORY*** + + +E-text prepared by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made +available by Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) + + + +Note: Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + http://www.archive.org/details/sourcebookofmedi00oggfuoft + + +Transcriber's note: + + Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original + document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors + have been corrected. + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + + + + + +A SOURCE BOOK OF MEDIAEVAL HISTORY + +Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions +from the German Invasions to the Renaissance + +Edited by + +FREDERIC AUSTIN OGG, A.M. + +Assistant in History in Harvard University +and Instructor in Simmons College + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + +New York .:. Cincinnati .:. Chicago +American Book Company + +Copyright, 1907, by +Frederic Austin Ogg + +Entered at Stationers' Hall, London +W. P. 4 + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book has been prepared in consequence of a conviction, derived +from some years of teaching experience, (1) that sources, of proper +kind and in carefully regulated amount, can profitably be made use of +by teachers and students of history in elementary college classes, in +academies and preparatory schools, and in the more advanced years of +the average high school, and (2) that for mediaeval history there +exists no published collection which is clearly adapted to practical +conditions of work in such classes and schools. + +It has seemed to me that a source book designed to meet the +requirements of teachers and classes in the better grade of secondary +schools, and perhaps in the freshman year of college work, ought to +comprise certain distinctive features, first, with respect to the +character of the selections presented, and, secondly, in regard to +general arrangement and accompanying explanatory matter. In the +choice of extracts I have sought to be guided by the following +considerations: (1) that in all cases the materials presented should +be of real value, either for the historical information contained in +them or for the more or less indirect light they throw upon mediaeval +life or conditions; (2) that, for the sake of younger students, a +relatively large proportion of narrative (annals, chronicles, and +biography) be introduced and the purely documentary material be +slightly subordinated; (3) that, despite this principle, documents of +vital importance, such as _Magna Charta_ and _Unam Sanctam_, which +cannot be ignored in even the most hasty or elementary study, be +presented with some fulness; and (4) that, in general, the rule should +be to give longer passages from fewer sources, rather than more +fragmentary ones from a wider range. + +With respect to the manner of presenting the selections, I have +sought: (1) to offer careful translations--some made afresh from the +printed originals, others adapted from good translations already +available--but with as much simplification and modernization of +language as close adherence to the sense will permit. Literal, or +nearly literal, translations are obviously desirable for maturer +students, but, because of the involved character of mediaeval writings, +are rarely readable, and are as a rule positively repellent to the +young mind; (2) to provide each selection, or group of selections, +with an introductory explanation, containing the historical setting of +the extract, with perhaps some comment on its general significance, +and also a brief sketch of the writer, particularly when he is an +authority of exceptional importance, as Einhard, Joinville, or +Froissart; and (3) to supply, in foot-notes, somewhat detailed aid to +the understanding of obscure allusions, omitted passages, and +especially place names and technical terms. + +For permission to reprint various translations, occasionally verbatim +but usually in adapted form, I am under obligation to the following: +Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and Co., publishers of Miss Henry's +translation of Dante's _De Monarchia_; Messrs. Henry Holt and Co., +publishers of Lee's _Source Book of English History_; Messrs. Ginn and +Co., publishers of Robinson's _Readings in European History_; Messrs. +Charles Scribner's Sons, publishers of Thatcher and McNeal's _Source +Book for Mediaeval History_; Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons, publishers of +Robinson and Rolfe's _Petrarch_; and Professor W. E. Lingelbach, of +the University of Pennsylvania, representing the University of +Pennsylvania _Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of +European History_. + +In the preparation of the book I have received invaluable assistance +from numerous persons, among whom the following, at least, should be +named: Professor Samuel B. Harding, of the University of Indiana, who +read the entire work in manuscript and has followed its progress from +the first with discerning criticism; Professor Charles H. Haskins, of +Harvard University, who has read most of the proof-sheets, and whose +scholarship and intimate acquaintance with the problems of history +teaching have contributed a larger proportion of whatever merits the +book possesses than I dare attempt to reckon up; and Professors +Charles Gross and Ephraim Emerton, likewise of Harvard, whose +instruction and counsel have helped me over many hard places. + +The final word must be reserved for my wife, who, as careful +amanuensis, has shared the burden of a not altogether easy task. + + FREDERIC AUSTIN OGG. + CAMBRIDGE, MASS. + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +THE NATURE AND USE OF HISTORICAL SOURCES + + + [Sidenote: The question of authority in a book of history] + +If one proposes to write a history of the times of Abraham Lincoln, +how shall one begin, and how proceed? Obviously, the first thing +needed is information, and as much of it as can be had. But how shall +information, accurate and trustworthy, be obtained? Of course there +are plenty of books on Lincoln, and histories enough covering the +period of his career to fill shelf upon shelf. It would be quite +possible to spread some dozens of these before one's self and, drawing +simply from them, work out a history that would read well and perhaps +have a wide sale. And such a book might conceivably be worth while. +But if you were reading it, and were a bit disposed to query into the +accuracy of the statements made, you would probably find yourself +wondering before long just where the writer got his authority for this +or that assertion; and if, in foot-note or appendix, he should seem to +satisfy your curiosity by citing some other biography or history, you +would be quite justified in feeling that, after all, your inquiry +remained unanswered,--for whence did this second writer get _his_ +authority? If you were thus persistent you would probably get hold of +the volume referred to and verify, as we say, the statements of fact +or opinion attributed to it. When you came upon them you might find it +there stated that the point in question is clearly established from +certain of Lincoln's own letters or speeches, which are thereupon +cited, and perhaps quoted in part. At last you would be satisfied that +the thing must very probably be true, for there you would have the +words of Lincoln himself upon it; or, on the other hand, you might +discover that your first writer had merely adopted an opinion of +somebody else which did not have behind it the warrant of any +first-hand authority. In either case you might well wonder why, +instead of using and referring only to books of other later authors +like himself, he did not go directly to Lincoln's own works, get his +facts from them, and give authority for his statements at first hand. +And if you pushed the matter farther it would very soon occur to you +that there are some books on Lincoln and his period which are not +carefully written, and therefore not trustworthy, and that your author +may very well have used some of these, falling blindly into their +errors and at times wholly escaping the correct interpretation of +things which could be had, in incontrovertible form, from Lincoln's +own pen, or from the testimony of his contemporaries. In other words, +you would begin to distrust him because he had failed to go to the +"sources" for his materials, or at least for a verification of them. + + [Sidenote: The superiority of direct sources of knowledge] + +How, then, shall one proceed in the writing of history in order to +make sure of the indispensable quality of accuracy? Clearly, the first +thing to be borne in mind is the necessity of getting information +through channels which are as direct and immediate as possible. Just +as in ascertaining the facts regarding an event of to-day it would be +desirable to get the testimony of an eye-witness rather than an +account after it had passed from one person to another, suffering more +or less distortion at every step, so, in seeking a trustworthy +description of the battle of Salamis or of the personal habits of +Charlemagne, the proper course would be to lay hold first of all of +whatever evidence concerning these things has come down from Xerxes's +or Charlemagne's day to our own, and to put larger trust in this than +in more recent accounts which have been played upon by the imagination +of their authors and perhaps rendered wholly misleading by errors +consciously or unconsciously injected into them. The writer of history +must completely divest himself of the notion that a thing is true +simply because he finds it in print. He may, and should, read and +consider well what others like himself have written upon his subject, +but he should be wary of accepting what he finds in such books without +himself going to the materials to which these writers have resorted +and ascertaining whether they have been used with patience and +discrimination. If his subject is Lincoln, he should, for example, +make sure above everything else, of reading exhaustively the letters, +speeches, and state papers which have been preserved, in print or in +manuscript, from Lincoln's pen. Similarly, he should examine with care +all letters and communications of every kind transmitted to Lincoln. +Then he should familiarize himself with the writings of the leading +men of Lincoln's day, whether in the form of letters, diaries, +newspaper and magazine articles, or books. The files, indeed, of all +the principal periodicals of the time should be gone through in quest +of information or suggestions not to be found in other places. And, of +course, the vast mass of public and official records would be +invaluable--the journals of the two houses of Congress, the +dispatches, orders, and accounts of the great executive departments, +the arguments before the courts, with the resulting decisions, and the +all but numberless other papers which throw light upon the practical +conditions and achievements of the governing powers, national, state, +and local. However much one may be able to acquire from the reading of +later biographies and histories, he ought not to set about the writing +of a new book of the sort unless he is willing to toil patiently +through all these first-hand, contemporary materials and get some +warrant from them, as being nearest the events themselves, for +everything of importance that he proposes to say. This rule is equally +applicable and urgent whatever the subject in hand--whether the age of +Pericles, the Roman Empire, the Norman conquest of England, the French +Revolution, or the administrations of George Washington--though, +obviously, the character and amount of the contemporary materials of +which one can avail himself varies enormously from people to people +and from period to period. + + [Sidenote: Indirect character of all historical knowledge] + +History is unlike many other subjects of study in that our knowledge +of it, at best, must come to us almost wholly through indirect means. +That is to say, all our information regarding the past, and most of it +regarding our own day, has to be obtained, in one form or another, +through other people, or the remains that they have left behind them. +No one of us can know much about even so recent an event as the +Spanish-American War, except by reading newspapers, magazines and +books, talking with men who had part in it, or listening to public +addresses concerning it--all indirect means. And, of course, when we +go back of the memory of men now living, say to the American +Revolution, nobody can lay claim to an iota of knowledge which he has +not acquired through indirect channels. In physics or chemistry, if a +student desires, he can reproduce in the laboratory practically any +phenomenon which he finds described in his books; he need not accept +the mere word of his text or of his teacher, but can actually behold +the thing with his own eyes. Such experimentation, however, has no +place in the study of history, for by no sort of art can a Roman +legion or a German comitatus or the battle of Hastings be reproduced +before mortal eye. + + [Sidenote: An "historical source" defined] + + [Sidenote: Written sources] + +For our knowledge of history we are therefore obliged to rely +absolutely upon human testimony, in one form or another, the value of +such testimony depending principally upon the directness with which it +comes to us from the men and the times under consideration. If it +reaches us with reasonable directness, and represents a well +authenticated means of studying the period in question from the +writings or other traces left by that period, it is properly to be +included in the great body of materials which we have come to call +historical sources. An historical source may be defined as any product +of human activity or existence that can be used as direct evidence in +the study of man's past life and institutions. A moment's thought will +suggest that there are "sources" of numerous and widely differing +kinds. Roughly speaking, at least, they fall into two great groups: +(1) those in writing and (2) those in some form other than writing. +The first group is by far the larger and more important. Foremost in +it stand annals, chronicles, and histories, written from time to time +all along the line of human history, on the cuneiform tablets of the +Assyrians or the parchment rolls of the mediaeval monks, in the +polished Latin of a Livy or the sprightly French of a Froissart. Works +of pure literature also--epics, lyrics, dramas, essays--because of the +light that they often throw upon the times in which they were written, +possess a large value of the same general character. Of nearly equal +importance is the great class of materials which may be called +documentary--laws, charters, formulae, accounts, treaties, and official +orders or instructions. These last are obviously of largest value in +the study of social customs, land tenures, systems of government, the +workings of courts, ecclesiastical organizations, and political +agencies--in other words, of _institutions_--just as chronicles and +histories are of greatest service in unraveling the _narrative_ side +of human affairs. + + [Sidenote: Sources other than in writing] + +Of sources which are not in the form of writing, the most important +are: (1) implements of warfare, agriculture, household economy, and +the chase, large quantities of which have been brought to light in +various parts of the world, and which bear witness to the manner of +life prevailing among the peoples who produced and used them; (2) +coins, hoarded up in treasuries or buried in tombs or ruins of one +sort or another, frequently preserving likenesses of important +sovereigns, with dates and other materials of use especially in fixing +chronology; (3) works of art, surviving intact or with losses or +changes inflicted by the ravages of weather and human abuse--the tombs +of the Egyptians, the sculpture of the Greeks, the architecture of the +Middle Ages, or the paintings of the Renaissance; (4) other +constructions of a more practical character, particularly +dwelling-houses, roads, bridges, aqueducts, walls, gates, fortresses, +and ships,--some well preserved and surviving as they were first +fashioned, others in ruins, and still others built over and more or +less obscured by modern improvement or adaptation. + + [Sidenote: Various ways of using sources] + +These are some of the things to which the writer of history must go +for his facts and for his inspiration, and it is to these that the +student, whose business is to learn and not to write, ought +occasionally to resort to enliven and supplement what he finds in the +books. As there are many kinds of sources, so there are many ways in +which such materials may be utilized. If, for example, you are +studying the life of the Greeks and in that connection pay a visit to +a museum of fine arts and scrutinize Greek statuary, Greek vases, and +Greek coins, you are very clearly using sources. If your subject is +the church life of the later Middle Ages and you journey to Rheims or +Amiens or Paris to contemplate the splendid cathedrals in these +cities, with their spires and arches and ornamentation, you are, in +every proper sense, using sources. You are doing the same thing if you +make an observation trip to the Egyptian pyramids, or to the excavated +Roman forum, or if you traverse the line of old Watling Street--nay, +if you but visit Faneuil Hall, or tramp over the battlefield of +Gettysburg. Many of these more purely "material" sources can be made +use of only after long and sometimes arduous journeys, or through the +valuable, but somewhat less satisfactory, medium of pictures and +descriptions. Happily, however, the art of printing and the practice +of accumulating enormous libraries have made possible the indefinite +duplication of _written_ sources, and consequently the use of them at +almost any time and in almost any place. There is but one Sphinx, one +Parthenon, one Sistine Chapel; there are not many Roman roads, feudal +castles, or Gothic cathedrals; but scarcely a library in any civilized +country is without a considerable number of the monumental _documents_ +of human history--the funeral oration of Pericles, the laws of +Tiberius Gracchus, Magna Charta, the theses of Luther, the Bill of +Rights, the Constitution of the United States--not to mention the all +but limitless masses of histories, biographies, poems, letters, +essays, memoirs, legal codes, and official records of every variety +which are available for any one who seriously desires to make use of +them. + + [Sidenote: The value of sources to the student] + +But why should the younger student trouble himself, or be troubled, +with any of these things? Might he not get all the history he can be +expected to know from books written by scholars who have given their +lives to exploring, organizing, and sifting just such sources? There +can be no question that schools and colleges to-day have the use of +better text-books in history than have ever before been available, and +that truer notions of the subject in its various relations can be had +from even the most narrow devotion to these texts than could be had +from the study of their predecessors a generation ago. If the object +of studying history were solely to acquire facts, it would, generally +speaking, be a waste of time for high school or younger college +students to wander far from text-books. But, assuming that history is +studied not alone for the mastery of facts but also for the broadening +of culture, and for certain kinds of mental training, the properly +regulated use of sources by the student himself is to be justified on +at least three grounds: (1) Sources help to an understanding of the +point of view of the men, and the spirit of the age under +consideration. The ability to dissociate one's self from his own +surroundings and habits of thinking and to put himself in the company +of Caesar, of Frederick Barbarossa, or of Innocent III., as the +occasion may require, is the hardest, but perhaps the most valuable, +thing that the student of history can hope to get. (2) Sources add +appreciably to the vividness and reality of history. However +well-written the modern description of Charlemagne, for example, the +student ought to find a somewhat different flavor in the account by +the great Emperor's own friend and secretary, Einhard; and, similarly, +Matthew Paris's picture of the raving and fuming of Frederick II. at +his excommunication by Pope Gregory ought to bring the reader into a +somewhat more intimate appreciation of the character of the proud +German-Sicilian emperor. (3) The use of sources, in connection with +the reading of secondary works, may be expected to train the student, +to some extent at least, in methods of testing the accuracy of modern +writers, especially when the subject in hand is one that lends itself +to a variety of interpretations. In the sources the makers of history, +or those who stood close to them, are allowed to speak for themselves, +or for their times, and the study of such materials not only helps +plant in the student's mind the conception of fairness and +impartiality in judging historical characters, but also cultivates the +habit of tracing things back to their origins and verifying what +others have asserted about them. So far as practicable the student of +history, from the age of fourteen and onwards, should be encouraged to +develop the critical or judicial temperament along with the purely +acquisitive. + + [Sidenote: Simplicity of many mediaeval sources] + +In preparing a source book, such as the present one, the purpose is to +further the study of the most profitable sources by removing some of +the greater difficulties, particularly those of accessibility and +language. Clearly impracticable as anything like historical "research" +undoubtedly is for younger students, it is none the less believed that +there are abundant first-hand materials in the range of history which +such students will not only find profitable but actually enjoy, and +that any acquaintance with these things that may be acquired in +earlier studies will be of inestimable advantage subsequently. It is +furthermore believed, contrary to the assertions that one sometimes +hears, that the history of the Middle Ages lends itself to this sort +of treatment with scarcely, if any, less facility than that of other +periods. Certainly Gregory's Clovis, Asser's Alfred, Einhard's +Charlemagne, and Joinville's St. Louis are living personalities, no +less vividly portrayed than the heroes of a boy's storybook. Tacitus's +description of the early Germans, Ammianus's account of the crossing +of the Danube by the Visigoths and his pictures of the Huns, Bede's +narrative of the Saxon invasion of Britain, the affectionate letter +Stephen of Blois to his wife and children, the portrayal of the +sweet-spirited St. Francis by the Three Companions, and Froissart's +free and easy sketch of the battle of Crecy are all interesting, +easily comprehended, and even adapted to whet the appetite for a +larger acquaintance with these various people and events. Even solid +documents, like the Salic law, the Benedictine Rule, the Peace of +Constance, and the Golden Bull, if not in themselves exactly +attractive, may be made to have a certain interest for the younger +student when he realizes that to know mediaeval history at all he is +under the imperative necessity of getting much of the framework of +things either from such materials or from text-books which essentially +reproduce them. It is hoped that at least a reasonable proportion of +the selections herewith presented may serve in some measure to +overcome for the student the remote and intangible character which the +Middle Ages have much too commonly, though perhaps not unnaturally, +been felt to possess. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + SECTION PAGE + + CHAPTER I.--THE EARLY GERMANS + + 1. A Sketch by Caesar 19 + + 2. A Description by Tacitus 23 + + + CHAPTER II.--THE VISIGOTHIC INVASION + + 3. The Visigoths Cross the Danube (376) 32 + + 4. The Battle of Adrianople (378) 37 + + + CHAPTER III.--THE HUNS + + 5. Description by a Graeco-Roman Poet and a Roman Historian 42 + + + CHAPTER IV.--THE EARLY FRANKS + + 6. The Deeds of Clovis as Related by Gregory of Tours 47 + + 7. The Law of the Salian Franks 59 + + + CHAPTER V.--THE ANGLES AND SAXONS IN BRITAIN + + 8. The Saxon Invasion (cir. 449) 68 + + 9. The Mission of Augustine (597) 72 + + + CHAPTER VI.--THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH + + 10. Pope Leo's Sermon on the Petrine Supremacy 78 + + 11. The Rule of St. Benedict 83 + + 12. Gregory the Great on the Life of the Pastor 90 + + + CHAPTER VII.--THE RISE OF MOHAMMEDANISM + + 13. Selections from the Koran 97 + + + CHAPTER VIII.--THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CAROLINGIAN DYNASTY OF + FRANKISH KINGS + + 14. Pepin the Short Takes the Title of King (751) 105 + + + CHAPTER IX.--THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE + + 15. Charlemagne the Man 108 + + 16. The War with the Saxons (772-803) 114 + + 17. The Capitulary Concerning the Saxon Territory (cir. 780) 118 + + 18. The Capitulary Concerning the Royal Domains (cir. 800) 124 + + 19. An Inventory of one of Charlemagne's Estates 127 + + 20. Charlemagne Crowned Emperor (800) 130 + + 21. The General Capitulary for the _Missi_ (802) 134 + + 22. A Letter of Charlemagne to Abbot Fulrad 141 + + 23. The Carolingian Revival of Learning 144 + + + CHAPTER X.--THE ERA OF THE LATER CAROLINGIANS + + 24. The Oaths of Strassburg (842) 149 + + 25. The Treaty of Verdun (843) 154 + + 26. A Chronicle of the Frankish Kingdom in the Ninth Century 157 + + 27. The Northmen in the Country of the Franks 163 + + 28. Later Carolingian Efforts to Preserve Order 173 + + 29. The Election of Hugh Capet (987) 177 + + + CHAPTER XI.--ALFRED THE GREAT IN WAR AND IN PEACE + + 30. The Danes in England 181 + + 31. Alfred's Interest in Education 185 + + 32. Alfred's Laws 194 + + + CHAPTER XII.--THE ORDEAL + + 33. Tests by Hot Water, Cold Water, and Fire 196 + + + CHAPTER XIII.--THE FEUDAL SYSTEM + + 34. Older Institutions Involving Elements of Feudalism 203 + + 35. The Granting of Fiefs 214 + + 36. The Ceremonies of Homage and Fealty 216 + + 37. The Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals 220 + + 38. Some of the More Important Rights of the Lord 221 + + 39. The Peace and the Truce of God 228 + + + CHAPTER XIV.--THE NORMAN CONQUEST + + 40. The Battle of Hastings: the English and the Normans 233 + + 41. William the Conqueror as Man and as King 241 + + + CHAPTER XV.--THE MONASTIC REFORMATION OF THE TENTH, ELEVENTH, + AND TWELFTH CENTURIES + + 42. The Foundation Charter of the Monastery of Cluny (910) 245 + + 43. The Early Career of St. Bernard and the Founding of + Clairvaux 250 + + 44. A Description of Clairvaux 258 + + + CHAPTER XVI.--THE CONFLICT OVER INVESTITURE + + 45. Gregory VII.'s Conception of the Papal Authority 261 + + 46. Letter of Gregory VII. to Henry IV. (1075) 264 + + 47. Henry IV.'s Reply to Gregory's Letter (1076) 269 + + 48. Henry IV. Deposed by Gregory (1076) 272 + + 49. The Penance of Henry IV. at Canossa (1077) 273 + + 50. The Concordat of Worms (1122) 278 + + + CHAPTER XVII.--THE CRUSADES + + 51. Speech of Pope Urban II. at the Council of Clermont + (1095) 282 + + 52. The Starting of the Crusaders (1096) 288 + + 53. A Letter from a Crusader to his Wife 291 + + + CHAPTER XVIII.--THE GREAT CHARTER + + 54. The Winning of the Great Charter 297 + + 55. Extracts from the Charter 303 + + + CHAPTER XIX.--THE REIGN OF SAINT LOUIS + + 56. The Character and Deeds of the King as Described by + Joinville 311 + + + CHAPTER XX.--MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITY + + 57. Some Twelfth Century Town Charters 325 + + 58. The Colonization of Eastern Germany 330 + + 59. The League of Rhenish Cities (1254) 334 + + + CHAPTER XXI.--UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENT LIFE + + 60. Privileges Granted to Students and Masters 340 + + 61. The Foundation of the University of Heidelberg (1386) 345 + + 62. Mediaeval Students' Songs 351 + + + CHAPTER XXII.--THE FRIARS + + 63. The Life of St. Francis 362 + + 64. The Rule of St. Francis 373 + + 65. The Will of St. Francis 376 + + + CHAPTER XXIII.--THE PAPACY AND THE TEMPORAL POWERS IN THE + LATER MIDDLE AGES + + 66. The Interdict Laid on France by Innocent III. (1200) 380 + + 67. The Bull "Unam Sanctam" of Boniface VIII. (1302) 383 + + 68. The Great Schism and the Councils of Pisa and Constance 389 + + 69. The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438) 393 + + + CHAPTER XXIV.--THE EMPIRE IN THE TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH, AND + FOURTEENTH CENTURIES + + 70. The Peace of Constance (1183) 398 + + 71. Current Rumors Concerning the Life and Character of + Frederick II. 402 + + 72. The Golden Bull of Charles IV. (1356) 409 + + + CHAPTER XXV.--THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR + + 73. An Occasion of War between the Kings of England and France 418 + + 74. Edward III. Assumes the Arms and Title of the King of + France 421 + + 75. The Naval Battle of Sluys (1340) 424 + + 76. The Battle of Crecy (1346) 427 + + 77. The Sack of Limoges (1370) 436 + + 78. The Treaties of Bretigny (1360) and Troyes (1420) 439 + + + CHAPTER XXVI.--THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE + + 79. Dante's Defense of Italian as a Literary Language 445 + + 80. Dante's Conception of the Imperial Power 452 + + 81. Petrarch's Love of the Classics 462 + + 82. Petrarch's Letter to Posterity 469 + + + CHAPTER XXVII.--FORESHADOWINGS OF THE REFORMATION + + 83. The Reply of Wyclif to the Summons of Pope Urban VI. + (1384) 474 + + + + +A SOURCE BOOK OF MEDIAEVAL HISTORY + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE EARLY GERMANS + + +1. A Sketch by Caesar + +One of the most important steps in the expansion of the Roman Republic +was the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar just before the middle of the +first century B.C. Through this conquest Rome entered deliberately +upon the policy of extending her dominion northward from the +Mediterranean and the Alps into the regions of western and central +Europe known to us to-day as France and Germany. By their wars in this +direction the Romans were brought into contact with peoples concerning +whose manner of life they had hitherto known very little. There were +two great groups of these peoples--the Gauls and the Germans--each +divided and subdivided into numerous tribes and clans. In general it +may be said that the Gauls occupied what we now call France and the +Germans what we know as Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany, and +Austria. The Rhine marked a pretty clear boundary between them. + +During the years 58-50 B.C., Julius Caesar, who had risen to the +proconsulship through a long series of offices and honors at Rome, +served the state as leader of five distinct military expeditions in +this country of the northern barbarians. The primary object of these +campaigns was to establish order among the turbulent tribes of Gauls +and to prepare the way for the extension of Roman rule over them. This +great task was performed very successfully, but in accomplishing it +Caesar found it necessary to go somewhat farther than had at first been +intended. In the years 55 and 54 B.C., he made two expeditions to +Britain to punish the natives for giving aid to their Celtic kinsfolk +in Gaul, and in 55 and 53 he crossed the Rhine to compel the Germans +to remain on their own side of the river and to cease troubling the +Gauls by raids and invasions, as they had recently been doing. When +(about 51 B.C.) he came to write his _Commentaries on the Gallic War_, +it is very natural that he should have taken care to give a brief +sketch of the leading peoples whom he had been fighting, that is, the +Gauls, the Britons, and the Germans. There are two places in the +_Commentaries_ where the Germans are described at some length. At the +beginning of Book IV. there is an account of the particular tribe +known as the Suevi, and in the middle of Book VI. there is a longer +sketch of the Germans in general. This latter is the passage +translated below. Of course we are not to suppose that Caesar's +knowledge of the Germans was in any sense thorough. At no time did he +get far into their country, and the people whose manners and customs +he had an opportunity to observe were only those who were pressing +down upon, and occasionally across, the Rhine boundary--a mere fringe +of the great race stretching back to the Baltic and, at that time, far +eastward into modern Russia. We may be sure that many of the more +remote German tribes lived after a fashion quite different from that +which Caesar and his legions had an opportunity to observe on the +Rhine-Danube frontier. Still, Caesar's account, vague and brief as it +is, has an importance that can hardly be exaggerated. These early +Germans had no written literature and but for the descriptions of them +left by a few Roman writers, such as Caesar, we should know almost +nothing about them. If we bear in mind that the account in the +_Commentaries_ was based upon very keen, though limited, observation, +we can get out of it a good deal of interesting information concerning +the early ancestors of the great Teutonic peoples of the world to-day. + + Source--Julius Caesar, _De Bello Gallico_ ["The Gallic War"], + Bk. VI., Chaps. 21-23. + + [Sidenote: Their religion] + + =21.= The customs of the Germans differ widely from those of the + Gauls;[1] for neither have they Druids to preside over religious + services,[2] nor do they give much attention to sacrifices. They + count in the number of their gods those only whom they can see, and + by whose favors they are clearly aided; that is to say, the Sun, + Vulcan,[3] and the Moon. Of other deities they have never even + heard. Their whole life is spent in hunting and in war. From + childhood they are trained in labor and hardship.... + + [Sidenote: Their system of land tenure] + + =22.= They are not devoted to agriculture, and the greater portion + of their food consists of milk, cheese, and flesh. No one owns a + particular piece of land, with fixed limits, but each year the + magistrates and the chiefs assign to the clans and the bands of + kinsmen who have assembled together as much land as they think + proper, and in whatever place they desire, and the next year compel + them to move to some other place. They give many reasons for this + custom--that the people may not lose their zeal for war through + habits established by prolonged attention to the cultivation of the + soil; that they may not be eager to acquire large possessions, and + that the stronger may not drive the weaker from their property; + that they may not build too carefully, in order to avoid cold and + heat; that the love of money may not spring up, from which arise + quarrels and dissensions; and, finally, that the common people may + live in contentment, since each person sees that his wealth is kept + equal to that of the most powerful. + + [Sidenote: Leaders and officers in war and peace] + + =23.= It is a matter of the greatest glory to the tribes to lay + waste, as widely as possible, the lands bordering their territory, + thus making them uninhabitable.[4] They regard it as the best + proof of their valor that their neighbors are forced to withdraw + from those lands and hardly any one dares set foot there; at the + same time they think that they will thus be more secure, since the + fear of a sudden invasion is removed. When a tribe is either + repelling an invasion or attacking an outside people, magistrates + are chosen to lead in the war, and these are given the power of + life and death. In times of peace there is no general magistrate, + but the chiefs of the districts and cantons render justice among + their own people and settle disputes.[5] Robbery, if committed + beyond the borders of the tribe, is not regarded as disgraceful, + and they say that it is practised for the sake of training the + youth and preventing idleness. When any one of the chiefs has + declared in an assembly that he is going to be the leader of an + expedition, and that those who wish to follow him should give in + their names, they who approve of the undertaking, and of the man, + stand up and promise their assistance, and are applauded by the + people. Such of these as do not then follow him are looked upon as + deserters and traitors, and from that day no one has any faith in + them. + + [Sidenote: German hospitality] + + To mistreat a guest they consider to be a crime. They protect from + injury those who have come among them for any purpose whatever, and + regard them as sacred. To them the houses of all are open and food + is freely supplied. + + +2. A Description by Tacitus + +Tacitus (54-119),[6] who is sometimes credited with being the greatest +of Roman historians, published his treatise on the _Origin, Location, +Manners, and Inhabitants of Germany_ in the year 98. This was about a +century and a half after Caesar wrote his _Commentaries_. During this +long interval we have almost no information as to how the Germans were +living or what they were doing. There is much uncertainty as to the +means by which Tacitus got his knowledge of them. We may be reasonably +sure that he did not travel extensively through the country north of +the Rhine; there is, in fact, not a shred of evidence that he ever +visited it at all. He tells us that he made use of Caesar's account, +but this was very meager and could not have been of much service. We +are left to surmise that he drew most of his information from books +then existing but since lost, such as the writings of Posidonius of +Rhodes (136-51 B.C.) and Pliny the Elder (23-79). These sources were +doubtless supplemented by the stories of officials and traders who had +been among the Germans and were afterwards interviewed by the +historian. Tacitus's essay, therefore, while written with a desire to +tell the truth, was apparently not based on first-hand information. +The author nowhere says that he had _seen_ this or that feature of +German life. We may suppose that what he really did was to gather up +all the stories and reports regarding the German barbarians which were +already known to Roman traders, travelers, and soldiers, sift the true +from the false as well as he could, and write out in first class Latin +the little book which we know as the _Germania_. The theory that the +work was intended as a satire, or sermon in morals, for the benefit of +a corrupt Roman people has been quite generally abandoned, and this +for the very good reason that there is nothing in either the +treatise's contents or style to warrant such a belief. Tacitus wrote +the book because of his general interest in historical and +geographical subjects, and also, perhaps, because it afforded him an +excellent opportunity to display a literary skill in which he took no +small degree of pride. That it was published separately instead of in +one of his larger histories may have been due to public interest in +the subject during Trajan's wars in the Rhine country in the years 98 +and 99. The first twenty-seven chapters, from which the selections +below are taken, treat of the Germans in general--their origin, +religion, family life, occupations, military tactics, amusements, land +system, government, and social classes; the last nineteen deal with +individual tribes and are not so accurate or so valuable. It will be +found interesting to compare what Tacitus says with what Caesar says +when both touch upon the same topic. In doing so it should be borne in +mind that there was a difference in time of a century and a half +between the two writers, and also that while Tacitus probably did not +write from experience among the Germans, as Caesar did, he nevertheless +had given the subject a larger amount of deliberate study. + + Source--C. Cornelius Tacitus, _De Origine, Situ, Moribus, ac + Populis Germanorum_ [known commonly as the "Germania"], Chaps. + 4-24, _passim_. Adapted from translation by Alfred J. Church + and William J. Brodribb (London, 1868), pp. 1-16. Text in + numerous editions, as that of William F. Allen (Boston, 1882) + and that of Henry Furneau (Oxford, 1894). + + [Sidenote: Physical characteristics] + + =4.= For my own part, I agree with those who think that the tribes + of Germany are free from all trace of intermarriage with foreign + nations, and that they appear as a distinct, unmixed race, like + none but themselves. Hence it is that the same physical features + are to be observed throughout so vast a population. All have fierce + blue eyes, reddish hair, and huge bodies fit only for sudden + exertion. They are not very able to endure labor that is + exhausting. Heat and thirst they cannot withstand at all, though to + cold and hunger their climate and soil have hardened them. + + [Sidenote: Their weapons and mode of fighting] + + =6.= Iron is not plentiful among them, as may be inferred from the + nature of their weapons.[7] Only a few make use of swords or long + lances. Ordinarily they carry a spear (which they call a _framea_), + with a short and narrow head, but so sharp and easy to handle that + the same weapon serves, according to circumstances, for close or + distant conflict. As for the horse-soldier, he is satisfied with a + shield and a spear. The foot-soldiers also scatter showers of + missiles, each man having several and hurling them to an immense + distance, and being naked or lightly clad with a little cloak. They + make no display in their equipment. Their shields alone are marked + with fancy colors. Only a few have corselets,[8] and just one or + two here and there a metal or leather helmet.[9] Their horses are + neither beautiful nor swift; nor are they taught various wheeling + movements after the Roman fashion, but are driven straight forward + so as to make one turn to the right in such a compact body that + none may be left behind another. On the whole, one would say that + the Germans' chief strength is in their infantry. It fights along + with the cavalry, and admirably adapted to the movements of the + latter is the swiftness of certain foot-soldiers, who are picked + from the entire youth of their country and placed in front of the + battle line.[10] The number of these is fixed, being a hundred from + each _pagus_,[11] and from this they take their name among their + countrymen, so that what was at the outset a mere number has now + become a title of honor. Their line of battle is drawn up in the + shape of a wedge. To yield ground, provided they return to the + attack, is regarded as prudence rather than cowardice. The bodies + of their slain they carry off, even when the battle has been + indecisive. To abandon one's shield is the basest of crimes. A man + thus disgraced is not allowed to be present at the religious + ceremonies, or to enter the council. Many, indeed, after making a + cowardly escape from battle put an end to their infamy by hanging + themselves.[12] + + [Sidenote: The Germans in battle] + + =7.= They choose their kings[13] by reason of their birth, but + their generals on the ground of merit. The kings do not enjoy + unlimited or despotic power, and even the generals command more by + example than by authority. If they are energetic, if they take a + prominent part, if they fight in the front, they lead because they + are admired. But to rebuke, to imprison, even to flog, is allowed + to the priests alone, and this not as a punishment, or at the + general's bidding, but by the command of the god whom they believe + to inspire the warrior. They also carry with them into battle + certain figures and images taken from their sacred groves.[14] The + thing that most strengthens their courage is the fact that their + troops are not made up of bodies of men chosen by mere chance, but + are arranged by families and kindreds. Close by them, too, are + those dearest to them, so that in the midst of the fight they can + hear the shrieks of women and the cries of children. These loved + ones are to every man the most valued witnesses of his valor, and + at the same time his most generous applauders. The soldier brings + his wounds to mother or wife, who shrinks not from counting them, + or even demanding to see them, and who provides food for the + warriors and gives them encouragement. + + [Sidenote: Their popular assemblies] + + =11.= About matters of small importance the chiefs alone take + counsel, but the larger questions are considered by the entire + tribe. Yet even when the final decision rests with the people the + affair is always thoroughly discussed by the chiefs. Except in the + case of a sudden emergency, the people hold their assemblies on + certain fixed days, either at the new or the full moon; for these + they consider the most suitable times for the transaction of + business. Instead of counting by days, as we do, they count by + nights, and in this way designate both their ordinary and their + legal engagements. They regard the night as bringing on the day. + Their freedom has one disadvantage, in that they do not all come + together at the same time, or as they are commanded, but two or + three days are wasted in the delay of assembling. When the people + present think proper, they sit down armed. Silence is proclaimed by + the priests who, on these occasions, are charged with the duty of + keeping order. The king or the leader speaks first, and then others + in order, as age, or rank, or reputation in war, or eloquence, give + them right. The speakers are heard more because of their ability to + persuade than because of their power to command. If the speeches + are displeasing to the people, they reject them with murmurs; if + they are pleasing, they applaud by clashing their weapons together, + which is the kind of applause most highly esteemed.[15] + + [Sidenote: The chiefs and their companions] + + =13.= They transact no public or private business without being + armed, but it is not allowable for any one to bear arms until he + has satisfied the tribe that he is fit to do so. Then, in the + presence of the assembly, one of the chiefs, or the young man's + father, or some kinsman, equips him with a shield and a spear. + These arms are what the toga is with the Romans, the first honor + with which a youth is invested. Up to this time he is regarded as + merely a member of a household, but afterwards as a member of the + state. Very noble birth, or important service rendered by the + father, secures for a youth the rank of chief, and such lads attach + themselves to men of mature strength and of fully tested valor. It + is no shame to be numbered among a chief's companions.[16] The + companions have different ranks in the band, according to the will + of the chief; and there is great rivalry among the companions for + first place in the chief's favor, as there is among the chiefs for + the possession of the largest and bravest throng of followers. It + is an honor, as well as a source of strength, to be thus always + surrounded by a large body of picked youths, who uphold the rank of + the chief in peace and defend him in war. The fame of such a chief + and his band is not confined to their own tribe, but is spread + among foreign peoples; they are sought out and honored with gifts + in order to secure their alliance, for the reputation of such a + band may decide a whole war. + + [Sidenote: The German love of war] + + =14.= In battle it is considered shameful for the chief to allow + any of his followers to excel him in valor, and for the followers + not to equal their chief in deeds of bravery. To survive the chief + and return from the field is a disgrace and a reproach for life. To + defend and protect him, and to add to his renown by courageous + fighting is the height of loyalty. The chief fights for victory; + the companions must fight for the chief. If their native state + sinks into the sloth of peace and quiet, many noble youths + voluntarily seek those tribes which are waging some war, both + because inaction is disliked by their race and because it is in war + that they win renown most readily; besides, a chief can maintain a + band only by war, for the men expect to receive their war-horse and + their arms from their leader. Feasts and entertainments, though not + elegant, are plentifully provided and constitute their only pay. + The means of such liberality are best obtained from the booty of + war. Nor are they as easily persuaded to plow the earth and to wait + for the year's produce as to challenge an enemy and earn the glory + of wounds. Indeed, they actually think it tame and stupid to + acquire by the sweat of toil what they may win by their blood.[17] + + [Sidenote: Life in times of peace] + + =15.= When not engaged in war they pass much of their time in the + chase, and still more in idleness, giving themselves up to sleep + and feasting. The bravest and most warlike do no work; they give + over the management of the household, of the home, and of the land + to the women, the old men, and the weaker members of the family, + while they themselves remain in the most sluggish inactivity. It is + strange that the same men should be so fond of idleness and yet so + averse to peace.[18] It is the custom of the tribes to make their + chiefs presents of cattle and grain, and thus to give them the + means of support.[19] The chiefs are especially pleased with gifts + from neighboring tribes, which are sent not only by individuals, + but also by the state, such as choice steeds, heavy armor, + trappings, and neck-chains. The Romans have now taught them to + accept money also. + + [Sidenote: Lack of cities and towns] + + =16.= It is a well-known fact that the peoples of Germany have no + cities, and that they do not even allow buildings to be erected + close together.[20] They live scattered about, wherever a spring, + or a meadow, or a wood has attracted them. Their villages are not + arranged in the Roman fashion, with the buildings connected and + joined together, but every person surrounds his dwelling with an + open space, either as a precaution against the disasters of fire, + or because they do not know how to build. They make no use of stone + or brick, but employ wood for all purposes. Their buildings are + mere rude masses, without ornament or attractiveness, although + occasionally they are stained in part with a kind of clay which is + so clear and bright that it resembles painting, or a colored + design.... + + [Sidenote: Their food and drink] + + =23.= A liquor for drinking is made out of barley, or other grain, + and fermented so as to be somewhat like wine. The dwellers along + the river-bank[21] also buy wine from traders. Their food is of a + simple variety, consisting of wild fruit, fresh game, and curdled + milk. They satisfy their hunger without making much preparation of + cooked dishes, and without the use of any delicacies at all. In + quenching their thirst they are not so moderate. If they are + supplied with as much as they desire to drink, they will be + overcome by their own vices as easily as by the arms of an enemy. + + [Sidenote: German amusements] + + =24.= At all their gatherings there is one and the same kind of + amusement. This is the dancing of naked youths amid swords and + lances that all the time endanger their lives. Experience gives + them skill, and skill in turn gives grace. They scorn to receive + profit or pay, for, however reckless their pastime, its reward is + only the pleasure of the spectators. Strangely enough, they make + games of chance a serious employment, even when sober, and so + venturesome are they about winning or losing that, when every other + resource has failed, on the final throw of the dice they will stake + even their own freedom. He who loses goes into voluntary slavery + and, though the younger and stronger of the players, allows himself + to be bound and sold. Such is their stubborn persistency in a bad + practice, though they themselves call it honor. Slaves thus + acquired the owners trade off as speedily as possible to rid + themselves of the scandal of such a victory. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] In chapters 11-20, immediately preceding the present passage, +Caesar gives a comparatively full and minute description of Gallic life +and institutions. He knew more about the Gauls than about the Germans, +and, besides, it was his experiences among them that he was writing +about primarily. + +[2] The Druids were priests who formed a distinct and very influential +class among the Gauls. They ascertained and revealed the will of the +gods and were supreme in the government of the tribes. Druids existed +also among the Britons. + +[3] By Vulcan Caesar means the German god of fire. + +[4] Of the Suevi, a German tribe living along the upper course of the +Danube, Caesar says: "They consider it their greatest glory as a nation +that the lands about their territories lie unoccupied to a very great +extent, for they think that by this it is shown that a great number of +nations cannot withstand their power; and thus on one side of the +Suevi the lands are said to lie desolate for about six hundred +miles."--_Gallic War_, Bk. IV., Chap. 3. + +[5] This statement is an instance of Caesar's vagueness, due possibly +to haste in writing, but more likely to lack of definite information. +How large these districts and cantons were, whether they had fixed +boundaries, and how the chiefs rendered justice in them are things we +should like to know but are not told. + +[6] All dates from this point, unless otherwise indicated, are A.D. + +[7] In reality iron ore was abundant in the Germans' territory, but it +was not until long after the time of Tacitus that much use began to be +made of it. By the fifth century iron swords were common. + +[8] Coats of mail. + +[9] Defensive armor for the head and neck. + +[10] See Caesar's description of this mode of fighting.--_Gallic War_, +Bk. I., Chap. 48. + +[11] The canton was known to the Romans as a _pagus_ and to the +Germans themselves as a _gau_. It was made up of a number of +districts, or townships (Latin _vicus_, German _dorf_), and was itself +a division of a tribe or nation. + +[12] A later law of the Salian Franks imposed a fine of 120 _denarii_ +upon any man who should accuse another of throwing down his shield and +running away, without being able to prove it [see p. 64]. + +[13] Many of the western tribes at the time Tacitus wrote did not have +kings, though in eastern Germany the institution of kingship seems to +have been quite general. The office, where it existed, was elective, +but the people rarely chose a king outside of a privileged family, +assumed to be of divine origin. + +[14] Evidently these were not images of their gods, for in another +place (Chap. 9) Tacitus tells us that the Germans deemed it a dishonor +to their deities to represent them in human form. The images were +probably those of wild beasts, as the wolf of Woden (or Odin), or the +ram of Tyr, and were national standards preserved with religious care +in the sacred groves, whence they were brought forth when the tribe +was on the point of going to war. + +[15] The German popular assembly was simply the periodical gathering +of free men in arms for the discussion and decision of important +points of tribal policy. It was not a legislative body in the modern +sense. Law among the Germans was immemorial custom, which, like +religion, could be changed only by a gradual shifting of popular +belief and practice. It was not "made" by any process of deliberate +and immediate choice. Nevertheless, the assembly constituted an +important democratic element in the government, which operated in a +measure to offset the aristocratic element represented by the +_principes_ and _comitatus_ [see p. 28]. Its principal functions were +the declaring of war and peace, the election of the kings, and, +apparently, the hearing and deciding of graver cases at law. + +[16] This relation of _principes_ (chiefs) and _comites_ (companions) +is mentioned by Caesar [see p. 22]. The name by which the Romans +designated the band of companions, or followers, of a German chieftain +was _comitatus_. + +[17] Apparently the Germans did not now care much more for agriculture +than in the time of Caesar. The women, slaves, and old men sowed some +seeds and gathered small harvests, but the warrior class held itself +above such humble and unexciting employment. The raising of cattle +afforded a principal means of subsistence, though hunting and fishing +contributed considerably. + +[18] Compare the Germans and the North American Indians in this +respect. The great contrast between these two peoples lay in the +capacity of the one and the comparative incapacity of the other for +development. + +[19] The Germans had no system of taxation on land or other property, +such as the Romans had and such as we have to-day. It was not until +well toward the close of the Middle Ages that the governments of +kingdoms built up by Germanic peoples in western Europe came to be +maintained by anything like what we would call taxes in the modern +sense. + +[20] The lack of cities and city life among the Germans struck Tacitus +with the greater force because of the complete dominance of city +organization to which he, as a Roman, was accustomed. The Greek and +Roman world was made up, in the last analysis, of an aggregation of +_civitates_, or city states. Among the ancient Greeks these had +usually been independent; among the Romans they were correlated under +the greater or lesser control of a centralized government; but among +the Germans of Tacitus's time, and long after, the mixed agricultural +and nomadic character of the people effectually prevented the +development of anything even approaching urban organization. Their +life was that of the forest and the pasture, not that of forum, +theatre, and circus. + +[21] That is, on the Rhine, where traders from the south brought in +wines and other Roman products. The drink which the Germans themselves +manufactured was, of course, a kind of beer. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE VISIGOTHIC INVASION + + +3. The Visigoths Cross the Danube (376) + +The earliest invasion of the Roman Empire which resulted in the +permanent settlement of a large and united body of Germans on Roman +soil was that of the Visigoths in the year 376. This invasion was very +far, however, from marking the first important contact of the German +and Roman peoples. As early as the end of the second century B.C. the +incursions of the Cimbri and Teutones (113-101) into southern Gaul and +northern Italy had given Rome a suggestion of the danger which +threatened from the northern barbarians. Half a century later, the +Gallic campaigns of Caesar brought the two peoples into conflict for +the first time in the region of the later Rhine boundary, and had the +very important effect of preventing the impending Germanization of +Gaul and substituting the extension of Roman power and civilization in +that quarter. Roman imperial plans on the north then developed along +ambitious lines until the year 9 A.D., when the legions of the Emperor +Augustus, led by Varus, were defeated, and in large part annihilated, +in the great battle of the Teutoberg Forest and the balance was turned +forever against the Romanization of the Germanic countries. Thereafter +for a long time a state of equilibrium was preserved along the +Rhine-Danube frontier, though after the Marcomannic wars in the latter +half of the second century the scale began to incline more and more +against the Romans, who were gradually forced into the attitude of +defense against a growing disposition of the restless Germans to push +the boundary farther south. + +During the more than three and a half centuries intervening between +the battle of the Teutoberg and the crossing of the Danube by the +Visigoths, the intermingling of the two peoples steadily increased. On +the one hand were numerous Roman travelers and traders who visited +the Germans living along the frontier and learned what sort of people +they were. The soldiers of the legions stationed on the Rhine and +Danube also added materially to Roman knowledge in this direction. But +much more important was the influx of Germans into the Empire to serve +as soldiers or to settle on lands allotted to them by the government. +Owing to a general decline of population, and especially to the lack +of a sturdy middle class, Rome found it necessary to fill up her army +with foreigners and to reward them with lands lying mainly near the +frontiers, but often in the very heart of the Empire. The +over-population of Germany furnished a large class of excellent +soldiers who were ready enough to accept the pay of the Roman emperor +for service in the legions, even if rendered, as it often was, against +their kinsmen who were menacing the weakened frontier. From this +source the Empire had long been receiving a large infusion of German +blood before any considerable tribe came within its bounds to settle +in a body. Indeed, if there had occurred no sudden and startling +overflows of population from the Germanic countries, such as the +Visigothic invasion, it is quite possible that the Roman Empire might +yet have fallen completely into the hands of the Germans by the quiet +and gradual processes just indicated. As it was, the pressure from +advancing Asiatic peoples on the east was too great to be withstood, +and there resulted, between the fourth and sixth centuries, a series +of notable invasions which left almost the entire Western Empire +parceled out among new Germanic kingdoms established by force on the +ruins of the once invincible Roman power. The breaking of the frontier +by the West Goths (to whom the Emperor Aurelian, in 270, had abandoned +the rich province of Dacia), during the reign of Gratian in the West +and of Valens in the East, was the first conspicuous step in this +great transforming movement. + +The ferocious people to whose incursions Ammianus refers as the cause +of the Visigothic invasion were the Huns [see p. 42], who had but +lately made their first appearance in Europe. Already by 376 the +Ostrogothic kingdom of Hermaneric, to the north of the Black Sea, had +fallen before their onslaught, and the wave of conquest was spreading +rapidly westward toward Dacia and the neighboring lands inhabited by +the Visigoths. The latter people were even less able to make effectual +resistance than their eastern brethren had been. Part of them had +become Christians and were recognizing Fridigern as their leader, +while the remaining pagan element acknowledged the sway of Athanaric. +On the arrival of the Huns, Athanaric led his portion of the people +into the Carpathian Mountains and began to prepare for resistance, +while the Christians, led by Fridigern and Alaf (or Alavivus), +gathered on the Danube and begged permission to take refuge across the +river in Roman territory. Athanaric and his division of the Visigoths, +having become Christians, entered the Empire a few years later and +settled in Moesia. + +Ammianus Marcellinus, author of the account of the Visigothic invasion +given below, was a native of Antioch, a soldier of Greek ancestry and +apparently of noble birth, and a member of the Eastern emperor's +bodyguard. Beyond these facts, gleaned from his _Roman History_, we +have almost no knowledge of the man. The date of his birth is unknown, +likewise that of his death, though from his writings it appears that +he lived well toward the close of the fourth century. His _History_ +began with the accession of Nerva, 96 A.D., approximately where the +accounts by Tacitus and Suetonius end, and continued to the death of +his master Valens in the battle of Adrianople in 378. It was divided +into thirty-one books; but of these thirteen have been lost, and some +of those which survive are imperfect. Although the narrative is broken +into rather provokingly here and there by digressions on earthquakes +and eclipses and speculations on such utterly foreign topics as the +theory of the destruction of lions by mosquitoes, it nevertheless +constitutes an invaluable source of information on the men and events +of the era which it covers. Its value is greatest, naturally, on the +period of the Visigothic invasion, for in dealing with these years the +author could describe events about which he had direct and personal +knowledge. Ammianus is to be thought of as the last of the old Roman +school of historians. + + Source--Ammianus Marcellinus, _Rerum Gestarum Libri qui + Supersunt_, Bk. XXXI., Chaps. 3-4. Translated by Charles D. + Yonge under the title of _Roman History during the Reigns of + the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and + Valens_ (London, 1862), pp. 584-586. Text in edition of Victor + Gardthausen (Leipzig, 1875), Vol. II., pp. 239-240. + + [Sidenote: Visigoths ask permission to settle within the Empire] + + In the meantime a report spread extensively through the other + nations of the Goths [i.e., the Visigoths], that a race of men, + hitherto unknown, had suddenly descended like a whirlwind from the + lofty mountains, as if they had risen from some secret recess of + the earth, and were ravaging and destroying everything that came in + their way. Then the greater part of the population (which, because + of their lack of necessities, had deserted Athanaric), resolved to + flee and to seek a home remote from all knowledge of the + barbarians; and after a long deliberation as to where to fix their + abode, they resolved that a retreat into Thrace was the most + suitable, for these two reasons: first of all, because it is a + district most abundant in grass; and in the second place, because, + by the great breadth of the Danube, it is wholly separated from the + barbarians [i.e., the Goths], who were already exposed to the + thunderbolts of foreign warfare. And the whole population of the + tribe adopted this resolution unanimously. Accordingly, under the + command of their leader Alavivus, they occupied the banks of the + Danube; and having sent ambassadors to Valens,[22] they humbly + entreated that they might be received by him as his subjects, + promising to live peaceably and to furnish a body of auxiliary + troops, if any necessity for such a force should arise. + + [Sidenote: Rumors of Gothic movements reach Rome] + + While these events were passing in foreign countries, a terrible + rumor arose that the tribes of the north were planning new and + unprecedented attacks upon us,[23] and that over the whole region + which extends from the country of the Marcomanni and Quadi to + Pontus,[24] a barbarian host composed of various distant nations + which had suddenly been driven by force from their own country, was + now, with all their families, wandering about in different + directions on the banks of the river Danube. + + [Sidenote: Their coming represented as a blessing to the Empire] + + At first this intelligence was treated lightly by our people, + because they were not in the habit of hearing of any wars in those + remote regions until after they had been terminated either by + victory or by treaty. But presently the belief in these occurrences + grew stronger, being confirmed, moreover, by the arrival of the + foreign ambassadors who, with prayers and earnest entreaties, + begged that the people thus driven from their homes and now + encamped on the other side of the river might be kindly received by + us. The affair seemed a cause of joy rather than of fear, according + to the skilful flatterers who were always extolling and + exaggerating the good fortune of the Emperor; congratulating him + that an embassy had come from the farthest corners of the earth + unexpectedly, offering him a large body of recruits, and that, by + combining the strength of his own nation with these foreign forces, + he would have an army absolutely invincible; observing farther + that, by the payment for military reinforcements which came in + every year from the provinces, a vast treasure of gold might be + accumulated in his coffers. + + [Sidenote: The crossing of the Danube] + + Full of this hope, he sent several officers to bring this ferocious + people and their wagons into our territory. And such great pains + were taken to gratify this nation, which was destined to overthrow + the empire of Rome, that not one was left behind, not even of those + who were stricken with mortal disease. Moreover, having obtained + permission of the Emperor to cross the Danube and to cultivate some + districts in Thrace, they crossed the stream day and night, without + ceasing, embarking in troops on board ships and rafts, and canoes + made of the hollow trunks of trees. In this enterprise, since the + Danube is the most difficult of all rivers to navigate, and was at + that time swollen with continual rains, a great many were drowned, + who, because they were too numerous for the vessels, tried to swim + across, and in spite of all their exertions were swept away by the + stream. + + [Sidenote: Number of the invaders] + + In this way, through the turbulent zeal of violent people, the + ruin of the Roman Empire was brought on. This, at all events, is + neither obscure nor uncertain, that the unhappy officers who were + intrusted with the charge of conducting the multitude of the + barbarians across the river, though they repeatedly endeavored to + calculate their numbers, at last abandoned the attempt as useless; + and the man who would wish to ascertain the number might as well + attempt to count the waves in the African sea, or the grains of + sand tossed about by the zephyr.[25] + + +4. The Battle of Adrianople (378) + +Before crossing the Danube the Visigoths had been required by the +Romans to give up their arms, and also a number of their children to +be held as hostages. In return it was understood that the Romans would +equip them afresh with arms sufficient for their defense and with food +supplies to maintain them until they should become settled in their +new homes. So far as our information goes, it appears that the Goths +fulfilled their part of the contract, or at least were willing to do +so. But the Roman officers in Thrace saw an opportunity to enrich +themselves by selling food to the famished barbarians at extortionate +prices, and a few months of such practices sufficed to arouse all the +rage and resentment of which the untamed Teuton was capable. In the +summer of 378 the Goths broke out in open revolt and began to avenge +themselves by laying waste the Roman lands along the lower Danube +frontier. The Eastern emperor, Valens, hastened to the scene of +insurrection, but only to lose the great battle of Adrianople, August +9, 378, and to meet his own death. "The battle of Adrianople," says +Professor Emerton, "was one of the decisive battles of the world. It +taught the Germans that they could beat the legions in open fight and +that henceforth it was for them to name the price of peace. It broke +once for all the Rhine-Danube frontier." Many times thereafter German +armies, and whole tribes, were to play the role of allies of Rome; but +neither German nor Roman could be blinded to the fact that the +decadent empire of the south lay at the mercy of the stalwart sons of +the northern wilderness. + + Source--Ammianus Marcellinus, _Rerum Gestarum Libri qui + Supersunt_, Bk. XXXI., Chaps. 12-14. Translated by Charles D. + Yonge [see p. 34], pp. 608-615 _passim_. Text in edition of + Victor Gardthausen (Leipzig, 1875), Vol. II., pp. 261-269. + + [Sidenote: The Goths approach the Roman army] + + He [Valens] was at the head of a numerous force, neither unwarlike + nor contemptible, and had united with them many veteran bands, + among whom were several officers of high rank--especially Trajan, + who a little while before had been commander of the forces. And as, + by means of spies and observation, it was ascertained that the + enemy was intending to blockade with strong divisions the different + roads by which the necessary supplies must come, he sent a + sufficient force to prevent this, dispatching a body of the archers + of the infantry and a squadron of cavalry with all speed to occupy + the narrow passes in the neighborhood. Three days afterwards, when + the barbarians, who were advancing slowly because they feared an + attack in the unfavorable ground which they were traversing, + arrived within fifteen miles from the station of Nice[26] (which + was the aim of their march), the Emperor, with wanton impetuosity, + resolved on attacking them instantly, because those who had been + sent forward to reconnoitre (what led to such a mistake is unknown) + affirmed that the entire body of the Goths did not exceed ten + thousand men....[27] + + [Sidenote: The battle begins] + + When the day broke which the annals mark as the fifth of the Ides + of August [Aug. 9] the Roman standards were advanced with haste. + The baggage had been placed close to the walls of Adrianople, under + a sufficient guard of soldiers of the legions. The treasures and + the chief insignia of the Emperor's rank were within the walls, + with the prefect and the principal members of the council.[28] + Then, having traversed the broken ground which divided the two + armies, as the burning day was progressing towards noon, at last, + after marching eight miles, our men came in sight of the wagons of + the enemy, which had been reported by the scouts to be all arranged + in a circle. According to their custom, the barbarian host raised a + fierce and hideous yell, while the Roman generals marshalled their + line of battle. The right wing of the cavalry was placed in front; + the chief portion of the infantry was kept in reserve....[29] + + And while arms and missiles of all kinds were meeting in fierce + conflict, and Bellona,[30] blowing her mournful trumpet, was raging + more fiercely than usual, to inflict disaster on the Romans, our + men began to retreat; but presently, aroused by the reproaches of + their officers, they made a fresh stand, and the battle increased + like a conflagration, terrifying our soldiers, numbers of whom were + pierced by strokes of the javelins hurled at them, and by arrows. + + [Sidenote: The fury of the conflict] + + Then the two lines of battle dashed against each other, like the + beaks of ships and, thrusting with all their might, were tossed to + and fro like the waves of the sea. Our left wing had advanced + actually up to the wagons, with the intent to push on still farther + if properly supported; but they were deserted by the rest of the + cavalry, and so pressed upon by the superior numbers of the enemy + that they were overwhelmed and beaten down like the ruin of a vast + rampart. Presently our infantry also was left unsupported, while + the various companies became so huddled together that a soldier + could hardly draw his sword, or withdraw his hand after he had once + stretched it out. And by this time such clouds of dust arose that + it was scarcely possible to see the sky, which resounded with + horrible cries; and in consequence the darts, which were bearing + death on every side, reached their mark and fell with deadly + effect, because no one could see them beforehand so as to guard + against them. The barbarians, rushing on with their enormous host, + beat down our horses and men and left no spot to which our ranks + could fall back to operate. They were so closely packed that it was + impossible to escape by forcing a way through them, and our men at + last began to despise death and again taking to their swords, slew + all they encountered, while with mutual blows of battle-axes, + helmets and breastplates were dashed in pieces. + + [Sidenote: The Romans put to flight] + + Then you might see the barbarian, towering in his fierceness, + hissing or shouting, fall with his legs pierced through, or his + right hand cut off, sword and all, or his side transfixed, and + still, in the last gasp of life, casting around him defiant + glances. The plain was covered with corpses, showing the mutual + ruin of the combatants; while the groans of the dying, or of men + fearfully wounded, were intense and caused much dismay on all + sides. Amid all this great tumult and confusion our infantry were + exhausted by toil and danger, until at last they had neither + strength left to fight nor spirits to plan anything. Their spears + were broken by the frequent collisions, so that they were forced + to content themselves with their drawn swords, which they thrust + into the dense battalions of the enemy, disregarding their own + safety, and seeing that every possibility of escape was cut off + from them.... The sun, now high in the heavens (having traversed + the sign of Leo and reached the abode of the heavenly Virgo[31]) + scorched the Romans, who were emaciated by hunger, worn out with + toil, and scarcely able to support even the weight of their armor. + At last our columns were entirely beaten back by the overpowering + weight of the barbarians, and so they took to disorderly flight, + which is the only resource in extremity, each man trying to save + himself as best he could.... + + Scarcely one third of the whole army escaped. Nor, except the + battle of Cannae, is so destructive a slaughter recorded in our + annals;[32] though, even in the times of their prosperity, the + Romans have more than once been called upon to deplore the + uncertainty of war, and have for a time succumbed to evil Fortune. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[22] Valens was the Eastern emperor from 364 until his death in the +battle of Adrianople in 378. His brother Valentinian was emperor in +the West from 364 to 375. Gratian, son of Valentinian, was the real +sovereign in the West when the Visigoths crossed the Danube. + +[23] That is, upon the writer's people, the Romans. + +[24] The Marcomanni and Quadi occupied a broad stretch of territory +along the upper Danube in what is now the northernmost part of +Austria-Hungary. Pontus was a province in northern Asia Minor. + +[25] Moeller (_Histoire du Moyen Age_, p. 58), estimates that the +Goths who now entered Thrace numbered not fewer than 200,000 grown +men, accompanied by their wives and children. The Italian Villari, in +his _Barbarian Invasions of Italy_, Vol. I., p. 49, gives the same +estimate. The tendency of contemporary chroniclers to exaggerate +numbers has misled many older writers. Even Moeller's and Villari's +estimate would mean a total of upwards of a million people. That there +were so many may well be doubted. The Vandals played practically as +important a part in the history of their times as did the Visigoths; +yet it is known that when the Vandals passed through Spain, in the +first half of the fifth century, they numbered not more than 20,000 +fighting men, with their wives and children. + +[26] Nice was about thirty miles east of Adrianople. + +[27] The Visigoths under Fridigern finally took their position near +Adrianople and Valens led his army into that vicinity and pitched his +camp, fortifying it with a rampart of palisades. From the Western +emperor, Gratian, a messenger came asking that open conflict be +postponed until the army from Rome could join that from +Constantinople. But Valens, easily flattered by some of his +over-confident generals, foolishly decided to bring on a battle at +once. Apparently he did not dream that defeat was possible. + +[28] After the battle here described, which occurred in the open +plain, the victorious Goths proceeded to the siege of the city itself, +in which, however, they were unsuccessful. The taking of fortified +towns was an art in which the Germans were not skilled. + +[29] When both armies were in position Fridigern, "being skilful in +divining the future," says Ammianus, "and fearing a doubtful +struggle," sent a herald to Valens with the promise that if the Romans +would give hostages to the Goths the latter would cease their +depredations and even aid the Romans in their wars. Richomeres, the +Roman cavalry leader, was chosen by Valens to serve as a hostage; but +as he was proceeding to the Gothic camp the soldiers who accompanied +him made a rash attack upon a division of the enemy and precipitated a +battle which soon spread to the whole army. + +[30] The goddess of war, regarded in Roman mythology as the sister of +Mars. + +[31] Signs of the zodiac, sometimes employed by the Romans to give +figurative expression to the time of day. + +[32] The number of Romans killed at Cannae (216 B.C.) is variously +estimated, but it can hardly have been under 50,000. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE HUNS + + +5. Descriptions by a Graeco-Roman Poet and a Roman Historian + +The Huns, a people of Turanian stock, were closely related to the +ancestors of the Magyars, or the modern Hungarians. Their original +home was in central Asia, beyond the great wall of China, and they +were in every sense a people of the plains rather than of the forest +or of the sea. From the region of modern Siberia they swept westward +in successive waves, beginning about the middle of the fourth century, +traversed the "gateway of the nations" between the Caspian Sea and the +Ural Mountains, and fell with fury upon the German tribes (mainly the +Goths) settled in eastern and southern Europe. The descriptions of +them given by Claudius Claudianus and Ammianus Marcellinus set forth +their characteristics as understood by the Romans a half-century or +more before the invasion of the Empire by Attila. There is no reason +to suppose that either of these authors had ever seen a Hun, or had +his information at first hand. When both wrote the Huns were yet far +outside the Empire's bounds. Tales of soldiers and travelers, which +doubtless grew as they were told, must have supplied both the poet and +the historian with all that they knew regarding the strange Turanian +invaders. This being the case, we are not to accept all that they say +as the literal truth. Nevertheless the general impressions which one +gets from their pictures cannot be far wrong. + +Claudius Claudianus, commonly regarded as the last of the Latin +classic poets, was a native of Alexandria who settled at Rome about +395. For ten years after that date he occupied a position at the court +of the Emperor Honorius somewhat akin to that of poet-laureate. Much +of his writing was of a very poor quality, but his descriptions were +sometimes striking, as in the stanza given below. On Ammianus +Marcellinus see p. 34. + + Sources--(a) Claudius Claudianus, _In Rufinum_ ["Against + Rufinus"], Bk. I., 323-331. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae + Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi_, Vol. X., pp. 30-31. + Translated in Thomas Hodgkin, _Italy and Her Invaders_ + (Oxford, 1880), Vol. II., p. 2. + + (b) Ammianus Marcellinus, _Rerum Gestarum Libri qui + Supersunt_, Bk. XXXI., Chaps. 2-4 [see p. 34]. Translated in + Hodgkin, _ibid._, pp. 34-38. + + (a) + + There is a race on Scythia's[33] verge extreme + Eastward, beyond the Tanais'[34] chilly stream. + The Northern Bear[35] looks on no uglier crew: + Base is their garb, their bodies foul to view; + Their souls are ne'er subdued to sturdy toil + Or Ceres' arts:[36] their sustenance is spoil. + With horrid wounds they gash their brutal brows, + And o'er their murdered parents bind their vows. + Not e'en the Centaur-offspring of the Cloud[37] + Were horsed more firmly than this savage crowd. + Brisk, lithe, in loose array they first come on, + Fly, turn, attack the foe who deems them gone. + + [Sidenote: Physical appearance of the Huns] + + (b) + + The nation of the Huns, little known to ancient records, but + spreading from the marshes of Azof to the Icy Sea,[38] surpasses + all other barbarians in wildness of life. In the first days of + infancy, deep incisions are made in the cheeks of their boys, in + order that when the time comes for whiskers to grow there, the + sprouting hairs may be kept back by the furrowed scars; and hence + they grow to maturity and to old age beardless. They all, however, + have strong, well-knit limbs and fine necks. Yet they are of + portentous ugliness and so crook-backed that you would take them + for some sort of two-footed beasts, or for the roughly-chipped + stakes which are used for the railings of a bridge. And though they + do just bear the likeness of men (of a very ugly type), they are so + little advanced in civilization that they make no use of fire, nor + of any kind of relish, in the preparation of their food, but feed + upon the roots which they find in the fields, and the half-raw + flesh of any sort of animal. I say half-raw, because they give it a + kind of cooking by placing it between their own thighs and the + backs of their horses. They never seek the shelter of houses, which + they look upon as little better than tombs, and will enter only + upon the direst necessity; nor would one be able to find among them + even a cottage of wattled rushes; but, wandering at large over + mountain and through forest, they are trained to endure from + infancy all the extremes of cold, of hunger, and of thirst. + + [Sidenote: Their dress] + + They are clad in linen raiment, or in the skins of field-mice sewed + together, and the same suit serves them for use in-doors and out. + However dingy the color of it may become, the tunic which has once + been hung around their necks is never laid aside nor changed until + through long decay the rags of it will no longer hold together. + Their heads are covered with bent caps, their hairy legs with the + skins of goats; their shoes, never having been fashioned on a last, + are so clumsy that they cannot walk comfortably. On this account + they are not well adapted to encounters on foot; but on the other + hand they are almost welded to their horses, which are hardy, + though of ugly shape, and on which they sometimes ride woman's + fashion. On horseback every man of that nation lives night and day; + on horseback he buys and sells; on horseback he takes his meat and + drink, and when night comes on he leans forward upon the narrow + neck of his horse and there falls into a deep sleep, or wanders + into the varied fantasies of dreams. + + [Sidenote: Their mode of fighting] + + When a discussion arises upon any matter of importance they come on + horseback to the place of meeting. No kingly sternness overawes + their deliberations, but being, on the whole, well-contented with + the disorderly guidance of their chiefs, they do not scruple to + interrupt the debates with anything that comes into their heads. + When attacked, they will sometimes engage in regular battle. Then, + going into the fight in order of columns, they fill the air with + varied and discordant cries. More often, however, they fight in no + regular order of battle, but being extremely swift and sudden in + their movements, they disperse, and then rapidly come together + again in loose array, spread havoc over vast plains and, flying + over the rampart, pillage the camp of their enemy almost before he + has become aware of their approach. It must be granted that they + are the nimblest of warriors. The missile weapons which they use at + a distance are pointed with sharpened bones admirably fastened to + the shaft. When in close combat they fight without regard to their + own safety, and while the enemy is intent upon parrying the thrusts + of their swords they throw a net over him and so entangle his limbs + that he loses all power of walking or riding. + + [Sidenote: Their nomadic character] + + Not one among them cultivates the ground, or ever touches a + plow-handle. All wander abroad without fixed abodes, without home, + or law, or settled customs, like perpetual fugitives, with their + wagons for their only habitations. If you ask them, not one can + tell you what is his place of origin. They are ruthless + truce-breakers, fickle, always ready to be swayed by the first + breath of a new desire, abandoning themselves without restraint to + the most ungovernable rage. + + Finally, like animals devoid of reason, they are utterly ignorant + of what is proper and what is not. They are tricksters with words + and full of dark sayings. They are never moved by either religious + or superstitious awe. They burn with unquenchable thirst for gold, + and they are so changeable and so easily moved to wrath that many + times in the day they will quarrel with their comrades on no + provocation, and be reconciled, having received no satisfaction. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[33] A somewhat indefinite region north and east of the Caspian Sea. + +[34] The modern Don, flowing into the Sea of Azof. + +[35] One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called +respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or _Ursa Major_ and +_Ursa Minor_. The Great Bear is commonly known as the Dipper. + +[36] That is, agriculture. The Huns were even less settled in their +mode of life than were the early Germans described by Tacitus. + +[37] A strange creature of classical mythology, represented as half +man and half horse. + +[38] The White Sea. It is hardly to be believed that the Huns dwelt so +far north. This was, of course, a matter of sheer speculation with the +Romans. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE EARLY FRANKS + + +6. The Deeds of Clovis as Related by Gregory of Tours + +The most important historical writer among the early Franks was a +bishop whose full name was Georgius Florentius Gregorius, but who has +commonly been known ever since his day as Gregory of Tours. The date +of his birth is uncertain, but it was probably either 539 or 540. He +was not a Frank, but a man of mixed Roman and Gallic descent, his +parentage being such as to rank him among the nobility of his native +district, Auvergne. At the age of thirty-four he was elected bishop of +Tours, and this important office he held until his death in 594. +During this long period of service he won distinction as an able +church official, as an alert man of affairs, and as a prolific writer +on ecclesiastical subjects. Among his writings, some of which have +been lost, were a book on the Christian martyrs, biographies of +several holy men of the Church, a commentary on the Psalms, and a +treatise on the officers of the Church and their duties. + +But by far his largest and most important work was his _Ecclesiastical +History of the Franks_, in ten books, written well toward the end of +his life. It is indeed to be regarded as one of the most interesting +pieces of literature produced in any country during the Middle Ages. +For his starting point Gregory went back to the Garden of Eden, and +what he gives us in his first book is only an amusing but practically +worthless account of the history of the world from Adam to St. Martin +of Tours, who died probably in 397. In the second book, however, he +comes more within the range of reasonable tradition, if not of actual +information, and brings the story down to the death of Clovis in 511. +In the succeeding eight books he reaches the year 591, though it is +thought by some that the last four were put together after the +author's death by some of his associates. However that may be, we may +rest assured that the history grows in accuracy as it approaches the +period in which it was written. Naturally it is at its best in the +later books, where events are described that happened within the +writer's lifetime, and with many of which he had a close connection. +Gregory was a man of unusual activity and of wide acquaintance among +the influential people of his day. He served as a counselor of several +Frankish kings and was a prominent figure at their courts. The shrine +of St. Martin of Tours[39] was visited by pilgrims from all parts of +the Christian world and by conversation with them Gregory had an +excellent opportunity to keep informed as to what was going on among +the Franks, and among more distant peoples as well. He was thus +fortunately situated for one who proposed to write the history of his +times. As a bishop of the orthodox Church he had small regard for +Arians and other heretics, and so was in some ways less broad-minded +than we could wish; and of course he shared the superstition and +ignorance of his age, as will appear in some of the selections below. +Still, without his extensive history we should know far less than we +now do concerning the Frankish people before the seventh century. He +mixes legend with fact in a most confusing manner, but with no +intention whatever to deceive. The men of the earlier Middle Ages knew +no other way of writing history and their readers were not critical as +we are to-day. The passages quoted below from Gregory's history give +some interesting information concerning the Frankish conquerors of +Gaul, and at the same time show something of the spirit of Gregory +himself and of the people of his times. + +Particularly interesting is the account of the conversion of Clovis +and of the Franks to Christianity. When the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, +Vandals, Lombards, and Burgundians crossed the Roman frontiers and +settled within the bounds of the old Empire they were all Christians +in name, however much their conduct might be at variance with their +profession. The Franks, on the other hand, established themselves in +northern Gaul, as did the Saxons in Britain, while they were yet +pagans, worshipping Woden and Thor and the other strange deities of +the Germans. It was about the middle of the reign of King Clovis, or, +more definitely, in the year 496, that the change came. In his +_Ecclesiastical History_ Gregory tells us how up to this time all the +influence of the Christian queen, Clotilde, had been exerted in vain +to bring her husband to the point of renouncing his old gods. In his +wars and conquests the king had been very successful and apparently he +was pretty well satisfied with the favors these old gods had showered +upon him and was unwilling to turn his back upon such generous +patrons. But there came a time, in 496, in the course of the war with +the Alemanni, when the tide of fortune seemed to be turning against +the Frankish king. In the great battle of Strassburg the Franks were +on the point of being beaten by their foe, and Clovis in desperation +made a vow, as the story goes, that if Clotilde's God would grant him +a victory he would immediately become a Christian. Whatever may have +been the reason, the victory was won and the king, with characteristic +German fidelity to his word, proceeded to fulfill his pledge. Amid +great ceremony he was baptized, and with him three thousand of his +soldiers the same day. The great majority of Franks lost little time +in following the royal example. + +Two important facts should be emphasized in connection with this +famous incident. The first is the peculiar character of the so-called +"conversion" of Clovis and his Franks. We to-day look upon religious +conversion as an inner experience of the individual, apt to be brought +about by personal contact between a Christian and the person who is +converted. It was in no such sense as this, however, that the +Franks--or any of the early Germans, for that matter--were made +Christian. They looked upon Christianity as a mere portion of Roman +civilization to be adopted or let alone as seemed best; but if it were +adopted, it must be by the whole tribe or nation, not by individuals +here and there. In general, the German peoples took up Christianity, +not because they became convinced that their old religions were false, +but simply because they were led to believe that the Christian faith +was in some ways better than their own and so might profitably be +taken advantage of by them. Clovis believed he had won the battle of +Strassburg with the aid of the Christian God when Woden and Thor were +about to fail him; therefore he reasoned that it would be a good thing +in the future to make sure that the God of Clotilde should always be +on his side, and obviously the way to do this was to become himself a +Christian. He did not wholly abandon the old gods, but merely +considered that he had found a new one of superior power. Hence he +enjoined on all his people that they become Christians; and for the +most part they did so, though of course we are not to suppose that +there was any very noticeable change in their actual conduct and mode +of life, at least for several generations. + +The second important point to observe is that, whereas all of the +other Germanic peoples on the continent had become Christians of the +Arian type, the Franks accepted Christianity in its orthodox form such +as was adhered to by the papacy. This was sheer accident. The Franks +took the orthodox rather than the heretical religion simply because it +was the kind that was carried to them by the missionaries, not at all +because they were able, or had the desire, to weigh the two creeds and +choose the one they liked the better. But though they became orthodox +Christians by accident, the fact that they became such is of the +utmost importance in mediaeval history, for by being what the papacy +regarded as true Christians rather than heretics they began from the +start to be looked to by the popes for support. Their kings in time +became the greatest secular champions of papal interests, though +relations were sometimes far from harmonious. This virtual alliance of +the popes and the Frankish kings is a subject which will repay careful +study. + + Source--Gregorius Episcopus Turonensis, _Historia + Ecclesiastica Francorum_ [Gregory of Tours, "Ecclesiastical + History of the Franks"], Bk. II., Chaps. 27-43 _passim_. Text + in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores Rerum + Merovingicarum_, Vol. I., Part 1, pp. 88-89, 90-95, 98-100, + 158-159. + + [Sidenote: The battle of Soissons (486)] + + =27.= After all these things Childeric[40] died and his son Clovis + ruled in his stead. In the fifth year of the new reign Syagrius, + son of Aegidius, was governing as king of the Romans in the town of + Soissons, where his father had held sway before him.[41] Clovis now + advanced against him with his kinsman Ragnachar, who also held a + kingdom, and gave him an opportunity to select a field of battle. + Syagrius did not hesitate, for he was not at all afraid to risk an + encounter. In the conflict which followed, however, the Roman soon + saw that his army was doomed to destruction; so, turning and + fleeing from the field, he made all haste to take refuge with King + Alaric at Toulouse.[42] Clovis then sent word to Alaric that he + must hand over the defeated king at once if he did not wish to + bring on war against himself. Fearing the anger of the Franks, + therefore, as the Goths continually do, Alaric bound Syagrius with + chains and delivered him to the messengers of King Clovis. As soon + as the latter had the prisoner in his possession he put him under + safe guard and, after seizing his kingdom, had him secretly + slain.[43] + + [Sidenote: The story of the broken vase] + + At this time the army of Clovis plundered many churches, for the + king was still sunk in the errors of idolatry. Upon one occasion + the soldiers carried away from a church, along with other ornaments + of the sacred place, a remarkably large and beautiful vase. The + bishop of that church sent messengers to the king to ask that, even + if none of the other holy vessels might be restored, this precious + vase at least might be sent back. To the messengers Clovis could + only reply: "Come with us to Soissons, for there all the booty is + to be divided. If when we cast lots the vase shall fall to me, I + will return it as the bishop desires." + + When they had reached Soissons and all the booty had been brought + together in the midst of the army the king called attention to the + vase and said, "I ask you, most valiant warriors, to allow me to + have the vase in addition to my rightful share." Then even those of + his men who were most self-willed answered: "O glorious king, all + things before us are thine, and we ourselves are subject to thy + control. Do, therefore, what pleases thee best, for no one is able + to resist thee." But when they had thus spoken, one of the + warriors, an impetuous, jealous, and vain man, raised his battle-ax + aloft and broke the vase in pieces, crying as he did so, "Thou + shalt receive no part of this booty unless it fall to you by a fair + lot." And at such a rash act they were all astounded. + + [Sidenote: Clovis's revenge] + + The king pretended not to be angry and seemed to take no notice of + the incident, and when it happened that the broken vase fell to him + by lot he gave the fragments to the bishop's messengers; + nevertheless he cherished a secret indignation in his heart. A year + later he summoned all his soldiers to come fully armed to the + Campus Martius, so that he might make an inspection of his + troops.[44] After he had reviewed the whole army he finally came + across the very man who had broken the vase at Soissons. "No one," + cried out the king to him, "carries his arms so awkwardly as thou; + for neither thy spear nor thy sword nor thy ax is ready for use," + and he struck the ax out of the soldier's hands so that it fell to + the ground. Then when the man bent forward to pick it up the king + raised his own ax and struck him on the head, saying, "Thus thou + didst to the vase at Soissons." Having slain him, he dismissed the + others, filled with great fear....[45] + + [Sidenote: Clovis decides to become a Christian (496)] + + =30.= The queen did not cease urging the king to acknowledge the + true God and forsake idols, but all her efforts failed until at + length a war broke out with the Alemanni.[46] Then of necessity he + was compelled to confess what hitherto he had wilfully denied. It + happened that the two armies were in battle and there was great + slaughter.[47] The army of Clovis seemed about to be cut in pieces. + Then the king raised his hands fervently toward the heavens and, + breaking into tears, cried: "Jesus Christ, who Clotilde declares to + be the son of the living God, who it is said givest help to the + oppressed and victory to those who put their trust in thee, I + invoke thy marvellous help. If thou wilt give me victory over my + enemies and I prove that power which thy followers say they have + proved concerning thee, I will believe in thee and will be baptized + in thy name; for I have called upon my own gods and it is clear + that they have neglected to give me aid. Therefore I am convinced + that they have no power, for they do not help those who serve them. + I now call upon thee, and I wish to believe in thee, especially + that I may escape from my enemies." When he had offered this prayer + the Alemanni turned their backs and began to flee. And when they + learned that their king had been slain, they submitted at once to + Clovis, saying, "Let no more of our people perish, for we now + belong to you." When he had stopped the battle and praised his + soldiers for their good work, Clovis returned in peace to his + kingdom and told the queen how he had won the victory by calling on + the name of Christ. These events took place in the fifteenth year + of his reign.[48] + + =31.= Then the queen sent secretly to the blessed Remigius, bishop + of Rheims, and asked him to bring to the king the gospel of + salvation. The bishop came to the court where, little by little, he + led Clovis to believe in the true God, maker of heaven and earth, + and to forsake the idols which could help neither him nor any one + else. "Willingly will I hear thee, O holy father," declared the + king at last, "but the people who are under my authority are not + ready to give up their gods. I will go and consult them about the + religion concerning which you speak." When he had come among them, + and before he had spoken a word, all the people, through the + influence of the divine power, cried out with one voice: "O + righteous king, we cast off our mortal gods and we are ready to + serve the God who Remigius tells us is immortal." + + [Sidenote: The baptism of Clovis and his warriors] + + When this was reported to the bishop he was beside himself with + joy, and he at once ordered the baptismal font to be prepared. The + streets were shaded with embroidered hangings; the churches were + adorned with white tapestries, exhaling sweet odors; perfumed + tapers gleamed; and all the temple of the baptistry was filled with + a heavenly odor, so that the people might well have believed that + God in His graciousness showered upon them the perfumes of + Paradise. Then Clovis, having confessed that the God of the Trinity + was all-powerful, was baptized in the name of the Father, and of + the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and was anointed with the holy oil + with the sign of the cross. More than three thousand of his + soldiers were baptized with him.... + + =35.= Now when Alaric, king of the Goths, saw that Clovis was + conquering many nations, he sent messengers to him, saying, "If it + please my brother, let us, with the favor of God, enter into an + alliance." Clovis at once declared his willingness to do as Alaric + suggested and the two kings met on an island in the Loire, near the + town of Amboise in the vicinity of Tours.[49] There they talked, + ate, and drank together, and after making mutual promises of + friendship they departed in peace. + + [Sidenote: Clovis resolves to take the Visigoths' lands in Gaul] + + =37.= But Clovis said to his soldiers: "It is with regret that I + see the Arian heretics in possession of any part of Gaul. Let us, + with the help of God, march against them and, after having + conquered them, bring their country under our own control." This + proposal was received with favor by all the warriors and the army + started on the campaign, going towards Poitiers, where Alaric was + then staying. As a portion of the troops passed through the + territory about Tours, Clovis, out of respect for the holy St. + Martin, forbade his soldiers to take anything from the country + except grass for the horses. One soldier, having come across some + hay which belonged to a poor man said, "Has, then, the king given + us permission to take only grass? O well! hay is grass. To take it + would not be to violate the command." And by force he took the hay + away from the poor man. When, however, the matter was brought to + the king's attention he struck the offender with his sword and + killed him, saying, "How, indeed, may we hope for victory if we + give offense to St. Martin?" This was enough thereafter to prevent + the army from plundering in that country. + + [Sidenote: Miraculous incidents of the campaign] + + When Clovis arrived with his forces at the banks of the Vienne he + was at a loss to know where to cross, because the heavy rains had + swollen the stream. During the night he prayed that the Lord would + reveal to him a passage. The following morning, under the guidance + of God, a doe of wondrous size entered the river in plain sight of + the army and crossed by a ford, thus pointing out the way for the + soldiers to get over. When they were in the neighborhood of + Poitiers the king saw at some distance from his tent a ball of + fire, which proceeded from the steeple of the church of St. + Hilary[50] and seemed to him to advance in his direction, as if to + show that by the aid of the light of the holy St. Hilary he would + triumph the more easily over the heretics against whom the pious + priest had himself often fought for the faith. Clovis then forbade + his army to molest any one or to pillage any property in that part + of the country. + + [Sidenote: The Visigoths defeated by Clovis (507)] + + Clovis at length engaged in battle with Alaric, king of the Goths, + in the plain of Vouille at the tenth mile-stone from Poitiers.[51] + The Goths fought with javelins, but the Franks charged upon them + with lances. Then the Goths took to flight, as is their custom,[52] + and the victory, with the aid of God, fell to Clovis. He had put + the Goths to flight and killed their king, Alaric, when all at once + two soldiers bore down upon him and struck him with lances on both + sides at once; but, owing to the strength of his armor and the + swiftness of his horse, he escaped death. After the battle + Amalaric, son of Alaric, took refuge in Spain and ruled wisely over + the kingdom of his father.[53] Alaric had reigned twenty-two years. + Clovis, after spending the winter at Bordeaux and carrying from + Toulouse all the treasure of the king, advanced on Angouleme. There + the Lord showed him such favor that at his very approach the walls + of the city fell down of their own accord.[54] After driving out + the Goths he brought the place under his own authority. Thus, + crowned with victory, he returned to Tours and bestowed a great + number of presents upon the holy church of the blessed Martin.[55] + + [Sidenote: Other means by which Clovis extended his power] + + =40.= Now while Clovis was living at Paris he sent secretly to the + son of Sigibert,[56] saying: "Behold now your father is old and + lame. If he should die his kingdom would come to you and my + friendship with it." So the son of Sigibert, impelled by his + ambition, planned to slay his father. And when Sigibert set out + from Cologne and crossed the Rhine to go through the Buchonian + forest,[57] his son had him slain by assassins while he was + sleeping in his tent, in order that he might gain the kingdom for + himself. But by the judgment of God he fell into the pit which he + had digged for his father. He sent messengers to Clovis to announce + the death of his father and to say: "My father is dead and I have + his treasures, and likewise the kingdom. Now send trusted men to + me, that I may give them for you whatever you would like out of his + treasury." Clovis replied: "I thank you for your kindness and will + ask you merely to show my messengers all your treasures, after + which you may keep them yourself." And when the messengers of + Clovis came, the son of Sigibert showed them the treasures which + his father had collected. And while they were looking at various + things, he said: "My father used to keep his gold coins in this + little chest." And they said, "Put your hand down to the bottom, + that you may show us everything." But when he stooped to do this, + one of the messengers struck him on the head with his battle-ax, + and thus he met the fate which he had visited upon his father. + + Now when Clovis heard that both Sigibert and his son were dead, he + came to that place and called the people together and said to them: + "Hear what has happened. While I was sailing on the Scheldt River, + Cloderic, son of Sigibert, my relative, attacked his father, + pretending that I had wished him to slay him. And so when his + father fled through the Buchonian forest, the assassins of Cloderic + set upon him and slew him. But while Cloderic was opening his + father's treasure chest, some man unknown to me struck him down. I + am in no way guilty of these things, for I could not shed the blood + of my relatives, which is very wicked. But since these things have + happened, if it seems best to you, I advise you to unite with me + and come under my protection." And those who heard him applauded + his speech, and, raising him on a shield, acknowledged him as their + king. Thus Clovis gained the kingdom of Sigibert and his treasures, + and won over his subjects to his own rule. For God daily confounded + his enemies and increased his kingdom, because he walked uprightly + before Him and did that which was pleasing in His sight. + + [Sidenote: The removal of remaining rivals] + + =42.= Then Clovis made war on his relative Ragnachar.[58] And when + the latter saw that his army was defeated, he attempted to flee; + but his own men seized him and his brother Richar and brought them + bound before Clovis. Then Clovis said: "Why have you disgraced our + family by allowing yourself to be taken prisoner? It would have + been better for you had you been slain." And, raising his + battle-ax, he slew him. Then, turning to Richar, he said, "If you + had aided your brother he would not have been taken;" and he slew + him with the ax also. Thus by their death Clovis took their kingdom + and treasures. And many other kings and relatives of his, who he + feared might take his kingdom from him, were slain, and his + dominion was extended over all Gaul. + + [Sidenote: The death of Clovis (511)] + + =43.= And after these things he died at Paris and was buried in the + basilica of the holy saints which he and his queen, Clotilde, had + built. He passed away in the fifth year after the battle of + Vouille, and all the days of his reign were thirty years. + + +7. The Law of the Salian Franks + +When the Visigoths, Lombards, and other Germanic peoples settled +within the bounds of the Roman Empire they had no such thing as +written law. They had laws, and a goodly number of them, but these +laws were handed down from generation to generation orally, having +never been enacted by a legislative body or decreed by a monarch in +the way that laws are generally made among the civilized peoples of +to-day. In other words, early Germanic law consisted simply of an +accumulation of the immemorial custom of the tribe. When, for example, +a certain penalty had been paid on several occasions by persons who +had committed a particular crime, men came naturally to regard that +penalty as the one regularly to be paid by _any one_ proved guilty of +the same offense; so that what was at first only habit gradually +became hardened into law--unwritten indeed, but none the less binding. +The law thus made up, moreover, was personal rather than territorial +like that of the Romans and like ours to-day. That is, the same laws +did not apply to all the people throughout any particular country or +region. If a man were born a Visigoth he would be subject to +Visigothic law throughout life, no matter where he might go to live. +So the Burgundian would always have the right to be judged by +Burgundian law, and the Lombard by the Lombard law. Obviously, in +regions where several peoples dwelt side by side, as in large portions +of Gaul, Spain, and northern Italy, there was no small amount of +confusion and the courts had to be conducted in a good many different +ways. + +After the Germans had been for some time in contact with the Romans +they began to be considerably influenced by the customs and ways of +doing things which they found among the more civilized people. They +tried to master the Latin language, though, on the whole, they +succeeded only so well as to create the new "Romance" tongues which we +know as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. They adopted the +Roman religion, i.e., Christianity. And, among the most important +things of all, they took up the Roman idea of having their law written +out rather than in the uncertain shape of mere tradition. In this work +of putting the old customary law in written form the way was led by +the Salian branch of the Franks. Just when the Salic code was drawn up +is not known, but the work was certainly done at some time during the +reign of Clovis, probably about the year 496. The portions of this +code which are given below will serve to show the general character of +all the early Germanic systems of law--Visigothic, Lombard, +Burgundian, and Frisian, as well as Frankish; for among them all there +was much uniformity in principles, though considerable variation in +matters of detail. Like the rest, the Salic law was fragmentary. The +codes were not intended to embrace the entire law of the tribe, but +simply to bring together in convenient form those portions which were +most difficult to remember and which were most useful for ready +reference. In the Salic code, for instance, we find a large amount of +criminal law and of the law of procedure, but only a few touches of +the law of property, or indeed of civil law of any sort. There is +practically nothing in the way of public or administrative law. Many +things are not mentioned which we should expect to find treated and, +on the other hand, some things are there which we should not look for +ordinarily in a code of law. The greater portion is taken up with an +enumeration of penalties for various crimes and wrongful acts. These +are often detailed so minutely as to be rather amusing from our modern +point of view. Yet every one of the sixty-five chapters of the code +has its significance and from the whole law can be gleaned an immense +amount of information concerning the manner of life which prevailed in +early Frankish Gaul. For the Merovingian period in general the Salic +law is our most valuable documentary source of knowledge, just as for +the same epoch the _Ecclesiastical History_ of Gregory of Tours is our +most important narrative source. + + Source--Text in Heinrich Geffcken, _Lex Salica_ ["The Salic + Law"], Leipzig, 1898; also Heinrich Gottfried Gengler, + _Germanische Rechtsdenkmaeler_ ["Monuments of German Law"], + Erlangen, 1875, pp. 267-303. Adapted from translation in + Ernest F. Henderson, _Select Historical Documents of the + Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp. 176-189. + + I. + + =1.= If any one be summoned before the _mallus_[59] by the king's + law, and do not come, he shall be sentenced to 600 _denarii_, which + make 15 _solidi_.[60] + + [Sidenote: Summonses to the meetings of the local courts] + + =2.= But he who summons another, and does not come himself, if a + lawful impediment have not delayed him, shall be sentenced to 15 + _solidi_, to be paid to him whom he summoned. + + =3.= And he who summons another shall go with witnesses to the home + of that man, and, if he be not at home, shall enjoin the wife, or + any one of the family, to make known to him that he has been + summoned to court. + + =4.= But if he be occupied in the king's service he cannot summon + him. + + =5.= And if he shall be inside the hundred attending to his own + affairs, he can summon him in the manner just explained. + + XI. + + =1.= If any freeman steal, outside of a house, something worth 2 + _denarii_, he shall be sentenced to 600 _denarii_, which make 15 + _solidi_. + + [Sidenote: Theft by a slave] + + =2.= But if he steal, outside of a house, something worth 40 + _denarii_, and it be proved on him, he shall be sentenced, besides + the amount and the fines for delay, to 1,400 _denarii_, which make + 35 _solidi_. + + =3.= If a freeman break into a house and steal something worth 2 + _denarii_, and it be proved on him, he shall be sentenced to 15 + _solidi_. + + =4.= But if he shall have stolen something worth more than 5 + _denarii_, and it be proved on him, he shall be sentenced, besides + the value of the object and the fines for delay, to 1,400 + _denarii_, which make 35 _solidi_. + + =5.= But if he shall have broken, or tampered with, the lock, and + thus have entered the house and stolen anything from it, he shall + be sentenced, besides the value of the object and the fines for + delay, to 1,800 _denarii_, which make 45 _solidi_. + + =6.= And if he shall have taken nothing, or have escaped by flight, + he shall, for the housebreaking alone, be sentenced to 1,200 + _denarii_, which make 30 _solidi_. + + XII. + + [Sidenote: Theft by a freeman] + + =1.= If a slave steal, outside of a house, something worth 2 + _denarii_, besides paying the value of the object and the fines for + delay, he shall be stretched out and receive 120 blows. + + =2.= But if he steal something worth 40 _denarii_, he shall pay 6 + _solidi_. The lord of the slave who committed the theft shall + restore to the plaintiff the value of the object and the fines for + delay. + + XIV. + + [Sidenote: Robbery with assault] + + =1.= If any one shall have assaulted and robbed a freeman, and it + be proved on him, he shall be sentenced to 2,500 _denarii_, which + make 63 _solidi_. + + =2.= If a Roman shall have robbed a Salian Frank, the above law + shall be observed. + + =3.= But if a Frank shall have robbed a Roman, he shall be + sentenced to 35 _solidi_. + + XV. + + [Sidenote: The crime of incendiarism] + + =1.= If any one shall set fire to a house in which people were + sleeping, as many freemen as were in it can make complaint before + the _mallus_; and if any one shall have been burned in it, the + incendiary shall be sentenced to 2,500 _denarii_, which make 63 + _solidi_.[61] + + XVII. + + =1.= If any one shall have sought to kill another person, and the + blow shall have missed, he on whom it was proved shall be sentenced + to 2,500 _denarii_, which make 63 _solidi_. + + [Sidenote: Various deeds of violence] + + =2.= If any person shall have sought to shoot another with a + poisoned arrow, and the arrow has glanced aside, and it shall be + proved on him, he shall be sentenced to 2,500 _denarii_, which make + 63 _solidi_. + + 5. If any one shall have struck a man so that blood falls to the + floor, and it be proved on him, he shall be sentenced to 600 + _denarii_, which make 15 _solidi_. + + =6.= But if a freeman strike a freeman with his fist so that blood + does not flow, he shall be sentenced for each blow--up to 3 + blows--to 120 _denarii_, which make 3 _solidi_.[62] + + XIX. + + [Sidenote: Use of poison or witchcraft] + + =1.= If any one shall have given herbs to another, so that he die, + he shall be sentenced to 200 _solidi_, or shall surely be given + over to fire. + + =2.= If any person shall have bewitched another, and he who was + thus treated shall escape, the author of the crime, having been + proved guilty of it, shall be sentenced to 2,500 _denarii_, which + make 63 _solidi_. + + XXX. + + [Sidenote: Punishment for slander] + + =6.= If any man shall have brought it up against another that he + has thrown away his shield, and shall not have been able to prove + it, he shall be sentenced to 120 _denarii_, which make 3 + _solidi_.[63] + + =7.= If any man shall have called another "gossip" or "perjurer," + and shall not have been able to prove it, he shall be sentenced to + 600 _denarii_, which make 15 _solidi_. + + XXXIV. + + =1.= If any man shall have cut 3 staves by which a fence is bound + or held together, or shall have stolen or cut the heads of 3 + stakes, he shall be sentenced to 600 _denarii_, which make 15 + _solidi_. + + [Sidenote: The offense of trespass] + + =2.= If any one shall have drawn a harrow through another's field + of grain after the seed has sprouted, or shall have gone through it + with a wagon where there was no road, he shall be sentenced to 120 + _denarii_, which make 3 _solidi_. + + =3.= If any one shall have gone, where there is no road or path, + through another's field after the grain has grown tall, he shall be + sentenced to 600 _denarii_, which make 15 _solidi_. + + XLI. + + =1.= If any one shall have killed a free Frank, or a barbarian + living under the Salic law, and it shall have been proved on him, + he shall be sentenced to 8,000 _denarii_. + + [Sidenote: Punishments for homicide] + + =2.= But if he shall have thrown him into a well or into the water, + or shall have covered him with branches or anything else, to + conceal him, he shall be sentenced to 24,000 _denarii_, which make + 600 _solidi_. + + =3.= If any one shall have slain a man who is in the service of the + king, he shall be sentenced to 24,000 _denarii_, which make 600 + _solidi_.[64] + + =4.= But if he shall have put him in the water, or in a well, and + covered him with anything to conceal him, he shall be sentenced to + 72,000 _denarii_, which make 1,000 _solidi_. + + =5.= If any one shall have slain a Roman who eats in the king's + palace, and it shall have been proved on him, he shall be sentenced + to 12,000 _denarii_, which make 300 _solidi_.[65] + + =6.= But if the Roman shall not have been a landed proprietor and + table companion of the king, he who killed him shall be sentenced + to 4,000 _denarii_, which make 100 _solidi_. + + =7.= If he shall have killed a Roman who was obliged to pay + tribute, he shall be sentenced to 63 _solidi_. + + =9.= If any one shall have thrown a freeman into a well, and he has + escaped alive, he [the criminal] shall be sentenced to 4,000 + _denarii_, which make 100 _solidi_. + + XLV. + + [Sidenote: Right of migration] + + =1.= If any one desires to migrate to another village, and if one + or more who live in that village do not wish to receive him--even + if there be only one who objects--he shall not have the right to + move there. + + =3.= But if any one shall have moved there, and within 12 months no + one has given him warning, he shall remain as secure as the other + neighbors. + + L. + + [Sidenote: Enforcement of debt] + + 1. If any freeman or leet[66] shall have made to another a promise + to pay, then he to whom the promise was made shall, within 40 days, + or within such time as was agreed upon when he made the promise, go + to the house of that man with witnesses, or with appraisers. And if + he [the debtor] be unwilling to make the promised payment, he shall + be sentenced to 15 _solidi_ above the debt which he had promised. + + LIX. + + =1.= If any man die and leave no sons, the father and mother shall + inherit, if they survive. + + [Sidenote: Rights of inheritance] + + =2.= If the father and mother do not survive, and he leave brothers + or sisters, they shall inherit. + + =3.= But if there are none, the sisters of the father shall + inherit. + + =4.= But if there are no sisters of the father, the sisters of the + mother shall claim the inheritance. + + =5.= If there are none of these, the nearest relatives on the + father's side shall succeed to the inheritance. + + =6.= Of Salic land no portion of the inheritance shall go to a + woman; but the whole inheritance of the land shall belong to the + male sex.[67] + + LXII. + + [Sidenote: Payment of wergeld] + + =1.= If any one's father shall have been slain, the sons shall have + half the compounding money [wergeld]; and the other half, the + nearest relatives, as well on the mother's as on the father's side, + shall divide among themselves.[68] + + =2.= But if there are no relatives, paternal or maternal, that + portion shall go to the fisc.[69] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[39] St. Martin was born in Pannonia somewhat before the middle of the +fourth century. For a time he followed his father's profession as a +soldier in the service of the Roman emperor, but later he went to Gaul +with the purpose of aiding in the establishment of the Christian +Church in that quarter. In 372 he was elected bishop of Tours and +shortly afterwards he founded the monastery with which his name was +destined to be associated throughout the Middle Ages. This monastery, +which was one of the earliest in western Europe, became a very +important factor in the prolonged combat with Gallic paganism, and +subsequently a leading center of ecclesiastical learning. + +[40] Childeric I., son of the more or less mythical Merovius, was king +from 457 to 481. Clovis became ruler of the Salian branch of the +Franks in this latter year. The tomb of Childeric was discovered at +Tournai in 1653. + +[41] Aegidius and his son Syagrius were the last official +representatives of the Roman imperial power in Gaul; and since the +fall of the Empire in the West even they had taken the title of "king +of the Romans" and had been practically independent sovereigns in the +territory between the Somme and the Loire, with their capital at +Soissons, northeast of Paris. + +[42] Alaric II., king of the Visigoths, 485-507. + +[43] The battle of Soissons in 486, with the defeat and death of +Syagrius, insured for the Franks undisputed possession southward to +the Loire, which was the northern frontier of the Visigothic kingdom. + +[44] The Campus Martius was the "March-field," i.e., the assembling +place of the Frankish army. It was not regularly in any one locality +but wherever the king might call the soldiers together, as he did +every spring for purposes of review. In the eighth century the month +of May was substituted for March as the time for the meeting. + +[45] In the words of Hodgkin (_Charles the Great_, p. 12), "the +well-known story of the vase of Soissons illustrates at once the +German memories of freedom and the Merovingian mode of establishing a +despotism. As a battle comrade the Frankish warrior protests against +Clovis receiving an ounce beyond his due share of the spoils. As a +battle leader Clovis rebukes his henchman for the dirtiness of his +accoutrements, and cleaves his skull to punish him for his +independence." + +[46] The Alemanni were a German people occupying a vast region about +the upper waters of the Rhine and Danube. They had been making +repeated efforts to acquire territory west of the Rhine--an +encroachment which Clovis resolved not to tolerate. + +[47] The battle was fought near Strassburg, in the upper Rhine valley. + +[48] The ultimate result of the defeat of the Alemanni was that the +Frankish kingdom was enlarged by the annexation of the great region +known in the later Middle Ages as Suabia, comprising modern Alsace, +Baden, Wuertemberg, the western part of Bavaria, and the northern part +of Switzerland. The Alemanni as a people disappeared speedily from +history, being absorbed by their more powerful neighbors. Their only +monument to-day is the name by which the French have always known the +people of Germany--_Allemands_. + +[49] The Loire was the boundary between the dominions of the two +kings. There have been many famous instances in history of two +sovereigns coming together to confer at some point on the common +border of the territories controlled by them, notably the interview of +Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I. on the Niemen River in 1807. The Franks +and the Visigoths had been enemies ever since by Clovis's defeat of +Syagrius their dominions had been brought into contact (486), and the +present jovial interview of the two kings did not long keep them at +peace with each other. + +[50] St. Hilary was bishop of Poitiers in the later fourth century. He +was a contemporary of St. Martin of Tours and a co-worker with him in +the organization of Gallic Christianity. + +[51] The plain of Vouille was ten miles west of Poitiers. + +[52] This amusing comment of Gregory was due largely to his prejudice +in favor of the Franks and against the heretical Visigoths. + +[53] The Visigothic kingdom in Spain, with its capital at Toledo, +endured until the Saracen conquest of that country in 711 and the +years immediately following, but it did not give evidence of much +strength. It stood so long only because the Pyrenees made a natural +boundary against the Franks and because, after Clovis, for two hundred +years the Franks produced no great conqueror who cared to crowd the +Visigoths into still closer quarters. + +[54] Clovis, particularly after his conversion to Christianity in 496, +was the hero of Gregory's history and apparently the enthusiastic old +bishop did not lose an opportunity to glorify his career. At any rate +it would certainly be difficult to relate anything more remarkable +about him than this legend of the walls of Angouleme falling down +before him at his mere approach. + +[55] This notable campaign had advanced Frankish territory to the +Pyrenees, except for the strip between these mountains and the Rhone, +known as Septimania, which the Visigoths were able to retain by the +aid of the Ostrogoths from Italy. No great number of Franks settled in +this broad territory south of the Loire, and to this day the +inhabitants of south France show a much larger measure of Roman +descent than do those of the north. It may be added that Septimania +was conquered by Clovis's son Childebert in 531, and thus the last bit +of old Gaul--practically modern France--was brought under Frankish +control. + +[56] This was Cloderic, son of Sigibert the Lame, king of a tribe of +Franks living along the middle Rhine. Sigibert was one of the numerous +independent and rival princes whom Clovis used every expedient to put +out of the way. + +[57] Along the Upper Weser, near the monastery of Fulda. + +[58] Ragnachar's kingdom was in the region about Cambrai. + +[59] The _mallus_ was the local court held about every six weeks in +each community or hundred. In early German law the state has small +place and the principle of self-help by the individual is very +prominent. To bring a suit one summons his opponent himself and gets +him to appear at court if he can. Ordinarily the court merely +determines the method by which the guilt or innocence of the accused +may be tested. Execution of the sentence rests again with the +plaintiff, or with his family or clan group. + +[60] "The monetary system of the Salic law was taken from the Romans. +The basis was the gold _solidus_ of Constantine, 1/72 of a pound of +gold. The small coin was the silver _denarius_, forty of which made a +_solidus_. This system was adopted as a monetary reform by Clovis, and +the statement of the sum in terms of both coins is probably due to the +newness of the system at the time of the appearance of the +law."--Thatcher and McNeal, _Source Book for Mediaeval History_, p. 17. +The gold _solidus_ was worth somewhere from two and a half to three +dollars, but its purchasing power was perhaps equal to that of twenty +dollars to-day, because gold and silver were then so much scarcer and +more valuable. Such estimates of purchasing power, however, involve so +great uncertainty as to be practically worthless. + +[61] The Burgundian law (Chap. 41) contained a provision that if a man +made a fire on his own premises and it spread to fences or crops +belonging to another person, and did damage, the man who made the fire +should recompense his neighbor for his loss, provided it could be +shown that there was no wind to drive the fire beyond control. If +there was such a wind, no penalty was to be exacted. + +[62] The law of the Lombards had a more elaborate system of fines for +wounds than did the Salic code. For example, knocking out a man's +front teeth was to be paid for at the rate of sixteen _solidi_ per +tooth; knocking out back teeth at the rate of eight _solidi_ per +tooth; fracturing an arm, sixteen _solidi_; cutting off a second +finger, seventeen _solidi_; cutting off a great toe, six _solidi_; +cutting off a little toe, two _solidi_; giving a blow with the fist, +three _solidi_; with the palm of the hand, six _solidi_; and striking +a person on the head so as to break bones, twelve _solidi_ per bone. +In the latter case the broken bones were to be counted "on this +principle, that one bone shall be found large enough to make an +audible sound when thrown against a shield at twelve feet distance on +the road; the said feet to be measured from the foot of a man of +moderate stature." + +[63] The man who had "thrown away his shield" was the coward who had +fled from the field of battle. How the Germans universally regarded +such a person appears in the _Germania_ of Tacitus, Chap. 6 (see p. +25). To impute this ignominy to a man was a serious matter. + +[64] This was the so-called "triple wergeld." That is, the lives of +men in the service of the king were rated three times as high as those +of ordinary free persons. + +[65] Here is an illustration of the personal character of Germanic +law. There is one law for the Frank and another for the Roman, though +both peoples were now living side by side in Gaul. The price put upon +the life of the Frankish noble who was in the king's service was 600 +_solidi_ (Sec. 3), but that on the life of the Roman noble in the same +service was but half that amount. The same proportion held for the +ordinary freemen, as will be seen by comparing Secs. 1 and 6. + +[66] A leet was such a person as we in modern times commonly designate +as a serf--a man only partially free. + +[67] This has been alleged to be the basis of the misnamed "Salic Law" +by virtue of which no woman, in the days of the French monarchy, was +permitted to inherit the throne. As a matter of fact, however, the +exclusion of women from the French throne was due, not to this or to +any other early Frankish principle, but to later circumstances which +called for stronger monarchs in France than women have ordinarily been +expected to be. The history of the modern "Salic Law" does not go back +of the resolution of the French nobles in 1317 against the general +political expediency of female sovereigns [see p. 420]. + +[68] The wergeld was the value put by the law upon every man's life. +Its amount varied according to the rank of the person in question. The +present section specifies how the wergeld paid by a murderer should be +divided among the relatives of the slain man. + +[69] That is, to the king's treasury. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE ANGLES AND SAXONS IN BRITAIN + + +8. The Saxon Invasion (cir. 449) + +The Venerable Bede, the author of the passage given below, was born +about 673 in Northumberland and spent most of his life in the +Benedictine abbey of Jarrow on the Tyne, where he died in 735. He was +a man of broad learning and untiring industry, famous in all parts of +Christendom by reason of the numerous scholarly books that he wrote. +The chief of these was his _Ecclesiastical History of the English +People_, covering the period from the first invasion of Britain by +Caesar (B.C. 55) to the year 731. In this work Bede dealt with many +matters lying properly outside the sphere of church history, so that +it is exceedingly valuable for the light which it throws on both the +military and political affairs of the early Anglo-Saxons in Britain. +As an historian Bede was fair-minded and as accurate as his means of +information permitted. + +The Angle and Saxon seafarers from the region we now know as Denmark +and Hanover had infested the shores of Britain for two centuries or +more before the coming of Hengist and Horsa which Bede here describes. +The withdrawal of the Roman garrisons about the year 410 left the +Britons at the mercy of the wilder Picts and Scots of the north and +west, and as a last resort King Vortigern decided to call in the +Saxons to aid in his campaign of defense. Such, at least, is the story +related by Gildas, a Romanized British chronicler who wrote about the +year 560, and this was the view adopted by Bede. Recent writers, as +Mr. James H. Ramsay in his _Foundations of England_, are inclined to +cast serious doubts upon the story because it seems hardly probable +that any king would have taken so foolish a step as that attributed to +Vortigern.[70] At any rate, whether by invitation or for pure love of +seafaring adventure, certain it is that the Saxons and Angles made +their appearance at the little island of Thanet, on the coast of Kent, +and found the country so much to their liking that they chose to +remain rather than return to the over-populated shores of the Baltic. +There are many reasons for believing that people of Germanic stock had +been settled more or less permanently in Britain long before the +traditional invasion of Hengist and Horsa. Yet we are justified in +thinking of this interesting expedition as, for all practical +purposes, the beginning of the long and stubborn struggle of Germans +to possess the fruitful British isle. While Visigoths and Ostrogoths, +Vandals and Lombards were breaking across the Rhine-Danube frontier +and finding new homes in the territories of the Roman Empire, the +Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from the farther north were led by their +seafaring instincts to make their great movement, not by land, but by +water, and into a country which the Romans had a good while before +been obliged to abandon. There they were free to develop their own +peculiar Germanic life and institutions, for the most part without +undergoing the changes which settlement among the Romans produced in +the case of the tribes whose migrations were towards the +Mediterranean. + + Source--Baeda, _Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_ [Bede, + "Ecclesiastical History of the English People"], Bk. I., + Chaps. 14-15. Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1847), pp. + 23-25. + + [Sidenote: The Britons decide to call in the Saxons] + + They consulted what was to be done,[71] and where they should seek + assistance to prevent or repel the cruel and frequent incursions of + the northern nations. And they all agreed with their king, + Vortigern, to call over to their aid, from the parts beyond the + sea, the Saxon nation; which, as the outcome still more plainly + showed, appears to have been done by the inspiration of our Lord + Himself, that evil might fall upon them for their wicked deeds. + + [Sidenote: The Saxons settle in the island] + + In the year of our Lord 449,[72] Martian, being made emperor with + Valentinian, the forty-sixth from Augustus, ruled the Empire seven + years. Then the nation of the Angles, or Saxons, being invited by + the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain with three long ships, and + had a place assigned them to reside in by the same king, in the + eastern part of the island,[73] that they might thus appear to be + fighting for their country, while their real intentions were to + enslave it. Accordingly they engaged with the enemy, who were come + from the north to give battle, and obtained the victory; which, + being known at home in their own country, as also the fertility of + the islands and the cowardice of the Britons, a larger fleet was + quickly sent over, bringing a still greater number of men, who, + being added to the former, made up an invincible army. The + newcomers received from the Britons a place to dwell, upon + condition that they should wage war against their enemies for the + peace and security of the country, while the Britons agreed to + furnish them with pay. + + Those who came over were of the three most powerful nations of + Germany--Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended + the people of Kent and of the Isle of Wight, and those also in the + province of the West Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, + seated opposite to the Isle of Wight. From the Saxons, that is, the + country which is now called Old Saxony, came the East Saxons, the + South Saxons, and the West Saxons. From the Angles, that is, the + country which is called Anglia, and which is said, from that time, + to remain desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes + and the Saxons, are descended the East Angles, the Midland Angles, + Mercians, all the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those + nations that dwell on the north side of the River Humber, and the + other nations of the English. + + [Sidenote: Hengist and Horsa] + + [Sidenote: The Saxons turn against the Britons] + + The first two commanders are said to have been Hengist and Horsa. + Horsa, being afterwards slain in battle by the Britons,[74] was + buried in the eastern part of Kent, where a monument bearing his + name is still in existence. They were the sons of Victgilsus, whose + father was Vecta, son of Woden; from whose stock the royal races of + many provinces trace their descent. In a short time swarms of the + aforesaid nations came over into the island, and they began to + increase so much that they became a terror to the natives + themselves who had invited them. Then, having on a sudden entered + into a league with the Picts, whom they had by this time repelled + by the force of their arms, they began to turn their weapons + against their confederates. At first they obliged them to furnish a + greater quantity of provisions; and, seeking an occasion to + quarrel, protested that unless more plentiful supplies were brought + them they would break the confederacy and ravage all the island; + nor were they backward in putting their threats in execution. + + [Sidenote: Their devastation of the country] + + They plundered all the neighboring cities and country, spread the + conflagration from the eastern to the western sea without any + opposition, and covered almost every part of the 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; + nor were there any to bury those who had been thus cruelly + slaughtered. Some of the miserable remainder, being taken in the + mountains, were butchered in heaps. Others, driven by hunger, came + forth and submitted themselves to the enemy for food, being + destined to undergo perpetual servitude, if they were not killed + upon the spot. Some, with sorrowful hearts, fled beyond the seas. + Others, continuing in their own country, led a miserable life among + the woods, rocks, and mountains, with scarcely enough food to + support life, and expecting every moment to be their last.[75] + + +9. The Mission of Augustine (597) + +How or when the Christian religion was first introduced into Britain +cannot now be ascertained. As early as the beginning of the third +century the African church father Tertullian referred to the Britons +as a Christian people, and in 314 the British church was recognized by +the Council of Arles as an integral part of the church universal. +Throughout the period of Roman control in the island Christianity +continued to be the dominant religion. When, however, in the fifth +century and after, the Saxons and Angles invaded the country and the +native population was largely killed off or driven westward (though +not so completely as some books tell us), Christianity came to be +pretty much confined to the Celtic peoples of Ireland and Wales. The +invaders were still pagans worshiping the old Teutonic deities Woden, +Thor, Freya, and the rest, and though an attempt at their conversion +was made by a succession of Irish monks, their pride as conquerors +seems to have kept them from being greatly influenced. At any rate, +the conversion of the Angles and Saxons was a task which called for a +special evangelistic movement from no less a source than the head of +the Church. This movement was set in operation by Pope Gregory I. +(Gregory the Great) near the close of the sixth century. It is +reasonable to suppose that the impulse came originally from Bertha, +the Frankish queen of King Ethelbert of Kent, who was an ardent +Christian and very desirous of bringing about the conversion of her +adopted people. In 596 Augustine (not to be confused with the +celebrated bishop of Hippo in the fifth century) was sent by Pope +Gregory at the head of a band of monks to proclaim the religion of the +cross to King Ethelbert, and afterwards to all the Angles and Saxons +and Jutes in the island. On Whitsunday, June 2, 597, Ethelbert +renounced his old gods and was baptized into the Christian communion. +The majority of his people soon followed his example and four years +later Augustine was appointed "Bishop of the English." After this +encouraging beginning the Christianizing of the East, West, and South +Saxons went steadily forward. + + Source--Baeda, _Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_, Bk. + I., Chaps. 23, 25-26. Adapted from translation by J. A. Giles + (London, 1847), pp. 34-40 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: Pope Gregory I. sends missionaries to Britain] + + [Sidenote: They become frightened at the outlook] + + In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth from + Augustus, ascended the throne,[76] and reigned twenty-one years. In + the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a man renowned for learning + and piety, was elected to the apostolical see of Rome, and presided + over it thirteen years, six months and ten days.[77] He, being + moved by divine inspiration, in the fourteenth year of the same + emperor, and about the one hundred and fiftieth after the coming of + the English into Britain, sent the servant of God, Augustine,[78] + and with him several other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the + word of God to the English nation. They, in obedience to the Pope's + commands, having undertaken that work, were on their journey seized + with a sudden fear and began to think of returning home, rather + than of proceeding to a barbarous, fierce, and unbelieving nation, + to whose very language they were strangers; and this they + unanimously agreed was the safest course.[79] In short, they sent + back Augustine, who had been appointed to be consecrated bishop in + case they were received by the English, that he might, by humble + entreaty, obtain consent of the holy Gregory, that they should not + be compelled to undertake so dangerous, toilsome, and uncertain a + journey. The Pope, in reply, sent them an encouraging letter, + persuading them to proceed in the work of the divine word, and rely + on the assistance of the Almighty. The substance of this letter was + as follows: + + [Sidenote: Gregory's letter of encouragement] + + "Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of + our Lord. Forasmuch as it had been better not to begin a good work + than to think of abandoning that which has been begun, it behooves + you, my beloved sons, to fulfill the good work which, by the help + of our Lord, you have undertaken. Let not, therefore, the toil of + the journey nor the tongues of evil-speaking men deter you. With + all possible earnestness and zeal perform that which, by God's + direction, you have undertaken; being assured that much labor is + followed by an eternal reward. When Augustine, your chief, returns, + whom we also constitute your abbot,[80] humbly obey him in all + things; knowing that whatsoever you shall do by his direction will, + in all respects, be helpful to your souls. Almighty God protect you + with his grace, and grant that I, in the heavenly country, may see + the fruits of your labor; inasmuch as, though I cannot labor with + you, I shall partake in the joy of the reward, because I am willing + to labor. God keep you in safety, my most beloved sons. Dated the + 23rd of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our pious and + most august lord, Mauritius Tiberius, the thirteenth year after the + consulship of our said lord." + + [Sidenote: Augustine and his companions arrive in Kent] + + Augustine, thus strengthened by the confirmation of the blessed + Father Gregory, returned to the work of the word of God, with the + servants of Christ, and arrived in Britain. The powerful Ethelbert + was at that time king of Kent. He had extended his dominions as far + as the great River Humber, by which the Southern Saxons are + divided from the Northern.[81] On the east of Kent is the large + isle of Thanet containing according to the English reckoning 600 + families, divided from the other land by the River Wantsum, which + is about three furlongs over and fordable only in two places, for + both ends of it run into the sea.[82] In this island landed the + servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is + reported, nearly forty men. By order of the blessed Pope Gregory, + they had taken interpreters of the nation of the Franks,[83] and + sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome and + brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all + that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven and a kingdom + that would never end, with the living and true God. The king, + having heard this, ordered that they stay in that island where they + had landed, and that they be furnished with all necessaries, until + he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard of + the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family + of the Franks, called Bertha;[84] whom he had received from her + parents upon condition that she should be permitted to practice her + religion with the Bishop Luidhard, who was sent with her to + preserve her faith.[85] + + [Sidenote: Augustine preaches to King Ethelbert] + + Some days after, the king came to the island, and sitting in the + open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into + his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come + to him in any house, lest, according to an ancient superstition, if + they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon him, and so + get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not + with magic virtue, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the + image of our Lord and Savior painted on a board; and singing the + litany, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal + salvation both of themselves and of those to whom they were come. + When Augustine had sat down, according to the king's commands, and + preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, + the king answered thus: "Your words and promises are very fair, but + as they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot approve of + them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with + the whole English nation. But because you are come from afar into + my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those + things which you believe to be true and most beneficial, we will + not molest you, but give you favorable entertainment and take care + to supply you with necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to + preach and win as many as you can to your religion." Accordingly he + permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the + metropolis of all his dominions, and, according to his promise, + besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to + preach. It is reported that, as they drew near to the city, after + their manner, with the holy cross and the image of our sovereign + Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang this litany together: "We + beseech thee, O Lord, in all Thy mercy, that Thy anger and wrath be + turned away from this city, and from Thy holy house, because we + have sinned. Hallelujah." + + [Sidenote: The life of the missionaries at Canterbury] + + As soon as they entered the dwelling-place assigned them, they + began to imitate the course of life practised in the primitive + Church; applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and + fasting; preaching the word of life to as many as they could; + despising all worldly things as not belonging to them; receiving + only their necessary food from those they taught; living themselves + in all respects in conformity with what they prescribed for others, + and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die + for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and + were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life, and + the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was, on the east + side of the city, a church dedicated to the honor of St. Martin, + built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the + queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to + pray.[86] In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to + say mass, to preach, and to baptize, until the king, being + converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly, and build or + repair churches in all places. + + [Sidenote: Ethelbert converted] + + When he, among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these + holy men, and their pleasing promises, which by many miracles they + proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater + numbers began daily to flock together to hear the word, and + forsaking their heathen rites, to associate themselves, by + believing, to the unity of the church of Christ. Their conversion + the king encouraged in so far that he compelled none to embrace + Christianity, but only showed more affection to the believers, as + to his fellow-citizens in the heavenly kingdom. For he had learned + from his instructors and guides to salvation that the service of + Christ ought to be voluntary, not by compulsion. Nor was it long + before he gave his teachers a settled residence in his metropolis + of Canterbury, with such possessions of different kinds as were + necessary for their subsistence.[87] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[70] James H. Ramsay, _The Foundations of England_ (London, 1898), I., +p. 121. + +[71] Bede has just been describing a plague which rendered the Britons +at this time even more unable than usual to withstand the fierce +invaders from the north; also lamenting the luxury and crime which a +few years of relief from war had produced among his people. + +[72] This date is evidently incorrect. Martian and Valentinian III. +became joint rulers of the Empire in 450; hence this is the year that +Bede probably meant. + +[73] That is, Thanet, which practically no longer exists as an island. +In Bede's day it was separated from the rest of Kent by nearly half a +mile of water, but since then the coast line has changed so that the +land is cut through by only a tiny rill. The intervening ground, +however, is marshy and only partially reclaimed. + +[74] This battle was fought between Hengist and Vortimer, the eldest +son of Vortigern, at Aylesford, in Kent. + +[75] It is by no means probable that the invasion of Britain by the +Saxons was followed by such wholesale extermination of the natives as +is here represented, though it is certain that everywhere, except in +the far west (Wales) and north (Scotland), the native population was +reduced to complete subjection. + +[76] That is, the throne of the Eastern Empire at Constantinople. + +[77] Gregory was a monk before he was elected pope. He held the papal +office from 590 to 604 [see p. 90]. + +[78] Augustine at the time (596) was prior of a monastery dedicated to +St. Andrew in Rome. + +[79] The missionaries had apparently gone as far as Arles in southern +Provence when they reached this decision. + +[80] An abbot was the head of a monastery. Should such an +establishment be set up in Britain, Augustine was to be its presiding +officer. + +[81] The Germanic peoples north of the Humber were more properly +Angles, but of course they were in all essential respects like the +Saxons. Ethelbert was not actually king in that region, but was +recognized as "bretwalda," or over-lord, by the other rulers. + +[82] For later changes in this part of the coast line, see p. 70, +note 1. + +[83] This was possible because the Franks and Saxons, being both +German, as yet spoke languages so much alike that either people could +understand the other without much difficulty. + +[84] Bertha was a daughter of the Frankish king Charibert. The Franks +had been nominally a Christian people since the conversion of Clovis +in 496 [see p. 53]--just a hundred years before Augustine started on +his mission to the Angles and Saxons. + +[85] Luidhard had been bishop of Senlis; a town not many miles +northeast of Paris. Probably Augustine and his companions profited not +a little by the influence which Luidhard had already exerted at the +Kentish court. + +[86] "The present church of St. Martin near Canterbury is not the old +one spoken of by Bede, as it is generally thought to be, but is a +structure of the thirteenth century, though it is probable that the +materials of the original church were worked up in the masonry in its +reconstruction, the walls being still composed in part of Roman +bricks."--J. A. Giles, _Bede's Ecclesiastical History_, p. 39. + +[87] Thus was established the "primacy," or ecclesiastical leadership, +of Canterbury, which has continued to this day. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH + + +10. Pope Leo's Sermon on the Petrine Supremacy + +In tracing the history of the great ecclesiastical institution known +as the papacy, the first figure that stands out with considerable +clearness is that of Leo I., or Leo the Great, who was elected bishop +of Rome in the year 440. Leo is perhaps the first man who, all things +considered, can be called "pope" in the modern sense of the term, +although certain of his predecessors in the bishop's seat at the +imperial capital had long claimed and exercised a peculiar measure of +authority over their fellow bishops throughout the Empire. Almost from +the earliest days of Christianity the word _papa_ (pope) seems to have +been in common use as an affectionate mode of addressing any bishop, +but after the fourth century it came to be applied in a peculiar +manner to the bishop of Rome, and in time this was the only usage, so +far as western Europe was concerned, which survived. The causes of the +special development of the Roman bishopric into the powerful papal +office were numerous. Rome's importance as a city, and particularly as +the political head of the Mediterranean world, made it natural that +her bishop should have something of a special dignity and influence. +Throughout western Europe the Roman church was regarded as a model and +its bishop was frequently called upon for counsel and advice. Then, +when the seat of the imperial government was removed to the East by +Constantine, the Roman bishop naturally took up much of the leadership +in the West which had been exercised by the emperor, and this added +not a little in the way of prestige. On the whole the Roman bishops +were moderate, liberal, and sensible in their attitude toward church +questions, thereby commending themselves to the practical peoples of +the West in a way that other bishops did not always do. The growth of +temporal possessions, especially in the way of land, also made the +Roman bishops more independent and able to hold their own. And the +activity of such men as Leo the Great in warding off the attacks of +the German barbarians, and in providing popular leadership in the +absence of such leadership on the part of the imperial authorities, +was a not unimportant item. + +After all, however, these are matters which have always been regarded +by the popes themselves as circumstances of a more or less transitory +and accidental character. It is not upon any or all of them that the +papacy from first to last has sought to base its high claims to +authority. The fundamental explanation, from the papal standpoint, for +the peculiar development of the papal power in the person of the +bishops of Rome is contained in the so-called theory of the "Petrine +Supremacy," which will be found set forth in Pope Leo's sermon +reproduced in part below. The essential points in this theory are: (1) +that to the apostle Peter, Christ committed the keys of the kingdom of +heaven and the supremacy over all other apostles on earth; (2) that +Peter, in the course of time, became the first bishop of Rome; and (3) +that the superior authority given to Peter was transmitted to all his +successors in the Roman bishopric. It was fundamentally on _these_ +grounds that the pope, to quote an able Catholic historian, was +believed to be "the visible representative of ecclesiastical unity, +the supreme teacher and custodian of the faith, the supreme +legislator, the guardian and interpreter of the canons, the legitimate +superior of all bishops, the final judge of councils--an office which +he possessed in his own right, and which he actually exercised by +presiding over all ecumenical synods, through his legates, and by +confirming the acts of the councils as the Supreme Head of the +Universal Catholic Church."[88] Modern Protestants discard certain of +the tenets which go to make up the Petrine theory, but it is essential +that the student of history bear in mind that the people of the Middle +Ages never doubted its complete and literal authenticity, nor +questioned that the authority of the papal office rested at bottom +upon something far more fundamental than a mere fortunate combination +of historical circumstances. Whatever one's personal opinions on the +issues involved, the point to be insisted upon is that in studying +mediaeval church life and organization the universal acceptance of +these beliefs and conclusions be never lost to view. + +Leo was pope from 440 to 461 and it has been well maintained that he +was the first occupant of the office to comprehend the wide +possibilities of the papal dignity in the future. In his sermons and +letters he vigorously asserted the sovereign authority of his +position, and in his influence on the events of his time, as for +example the Council of Chalcedon in 451, he sought with no little +success to bring men to a general acknowledgment of this authority. + + Source--Text in Jacques Paul Migne, _Patroligiae Cursus + Completus_ ["Complete Collection of Patristic Literature"], + First Series, Vol. LIV., cols. 144-148. Translated in Philip + Schaff and Henry Wace, _Select Library of Nicene and + Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church_ (New York, 1895), + Second Series, Vol. XII., pp. 117-118. + + [Sidenote: The apostle Peter still with his Church] + + Although, therefore, dearly beloved, we be found both weak and + slothful in fulfilling the duties of our office, because, whatever + devoted and vigorous action we desire to undertake, we are hindered + in by the frailty of our nature, yet having the unceasing + propitiation of the Almighty and perpetual Priest [Christ], who + being like us and yet equal with the Father, brought down His + Godhead even to things human, and raised His Manhood even to things + Divine, we worthily and piously rejoice over His dispensation, + whereby, though He has delegated the care of His sheep to many + shepherds, yet He has not Himself abandoned the guardianship of His + beloved flock. And from His overruling and eternal protection we + have received the support of the Apostle's aid also, which + assuredly does not cease from its operation; and the strength of + the foundation, on which the whole superstructure of the Church is + reared, is not weakened by the weight of the temple that rests upon + it. For the solidity of that faith which was praised in the chief + of the Apostles is perpetual; and as that remains which Peter + believed in Christ, so that remains which Christ instituted in + Peter. + + [Sidenote: Christ's commission to Peter] + + For when, as has been read in the Gospel lesson,[89] the Lord had + asked the disciples whom they believed Him to be amid the various + opinions that were held, and the blessed Peter had replied, saying, + "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," the Lord said, + "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not + revealed it to thee, but My Father, which is in heaven. And I say + to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build My + church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I + will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And + whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and + whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed also in + heaven." [Matt. xvi. 16-19.] + + [Sidenote: Peter properly rules the Church through his successors + at Rome] + + The dispensation of Truth therefore abides, and the blessed Peter + persevering in the strength of the Rock, which he has received, has + not abandoned the helm of the Church, which he undertook. For he + was ordained before the rest in such a way that from his being + called the Rock, from his being pronounced the Foundation, from his + being constituted the Doorkeeper of the kingdom of heaven, from his + being set as the Umpire to bind and to loose, whose judgments shall + retain their validity in heaven--from all these mystical titles we + might know the nature of his association with Christ. And still + to-day he more fully and effectually performs what is intrusted to + him, and carries out every part of his duty and charge in Him and + with Him, through whom he has been glorified. And so if anything is + rightly done and rightly decreed by us, if anything is won from the + mercy of God by our daily supplications, it is of his work and + merits whose power lives and whose authority prevails in his + see....[90] + + [Sidenote: Leo claims to be only Peter's representative] + + And so, dearly beloved, with becoming obedience we celebrate + to-day's festival[91] by such methods, that in my humble person he + may be recognized and honored, in whom abides the care of all the + shepherds, together with the charge of the sheep commended to him, + and whose dignity is not belittled even in so unworthy an heir. And + hence the presence of my venerable brothers and fellow-priests, so + much desired and valued by me, will be the more sacred and + precious, if they will transfer the chief honor of this service in + which they have deigned to take part to him whom they know to be + not only the patron of this see, but also the primate of all + bishops. When therefore we utter our exhortations in your ears, + holy brethren, believe that he is speaking whose representative we + are. Because it is his warning that we give, and nothing else but + his teaching that we preach, beseeching you to "gird up the loins + of your mind," and lead a chaste and sober life in the fear of God, + and not to let your mind forget his supremacy and consent to the + lusts of the flesh. + + [Sidenote: An exhortation to Christian constancy] + + [Sidenote: The peculiar privilege of the church at Rome] + + Short and fleeting are the joys of this world's pleasures which + endeavor to turn aside from the path of life those who are called + to eternity. The faithful and religious spirit, therefore, must + desire the things which are heavenly and, being eager for the + divine promises, lift itself to the love of the incorruptible Good + and the hope of the true Light. But be assured, dearly-beloved, + that your labor, whereby you resist vices and fight against carnal + desires, is pleasing and precious in God's sight, and in God's + mercy will profit not only yourselves but me also, because the + zealous pastor makes his boast of the progress of the Lord's flock. + "For ye are my crown and joy," as the Apostle says, if your faith, + which from the beginning of the Gospel has been preached in all the + world, has continued in love and holiness. For though the whole + Church, which is in all the world, ought to abound in all virtues, + yet you especially, above all people, it becomes to excel in deeds + of piety, because, founded as you are on the very citadel of the + Apostolic Rock, not only has our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed you in + common with all men, but the blessed Apostle Peter has instructed + you far beyond all men. + + +11. The Rule of St. Benedict + +A very important feature of the church life of the early Middle Ages +was the tendency of devout men to withdraw from the active affairs of +the world and give themselves up to careers of self-sacrificing piety. +Sometimes such men went out to live alone in forests or other obscure +places and for this reason were called anchorites or hermits; but more +often they settled in groups and formed what came to be known as +monasteries. The idea that seclusion is helpful to the religious life +was not peculiar to Christianity, for from very early times Brahmins +and Buddhists and other peoples of the Orient had cherished the same +view; and in many cases they do so still. Monasticism among Christians +began naturally in the East and at first took the form almost wholly +of hermitage, just as it had done among the adherents of other +Oriental religions, though by the fourth century the Christian monks +of Syria and Egypt and Asia Minor had come in many cases to dwell in +established communities. In general the Eastern monks were prone to +extremes in the way of penance and self-torture which the more +practical peoples of the West were not greatly disposed to imitate. +Monasticism spread into the West, but not until comparatively +late--beginning in the second half of the fourth century--and the +character which it there assumed was quite unlike that prevailing in +the East. The Eastern ideal was the life of meditation with as little +activity as possible, except perhaps such as was necessary in order to +impose hardships upon one's self. The Western ideal, on the other +hand, while involving a good deal of meditation and prayer, put much +emphasis on labor and did not call for so complete an abstention of +the monk from the pursuits and pleasures of other men. + +In the later fifth century, and earlier sixth, several monasteries of +whose history we know little were established in southern Gaul, +especially in the pleasant valley of the Rhone. Earliest of all, +apparently, and destined to become the most influential was the abbey +of St. Martin at Tours, founded soon after St. Martin was made bishop +of Tours in 372. But the development of Western monasticism is +associated most of all with the work of St. Benedict of Nursia, who +died in 543. Benedict was the founder of several monasteries in the +vicinity of Rome, the most important being that of Monte Cassino, on +the road from Rome to Naples, which exists to this day. One should +guard, however, against the mistake of looking upon St. Benedict as +the introducer of monasticism in the West, of even as the founder of a +new monastic _order_ in the strict sense of the word. The great +service which he rendered to European monasticism consisted in his +working out for his monasteries in Italy an elaborate system of +government which was found so successful in practice that, in the form +of the Benedictine Rule (_regula_), it came to be the constitution +under which for many centuries practically all the monks of Western +countries lived. That it was so widely adopted was due mainly to its +definite, practical, common-sense character. Its chief injunctions +upon the monks were poverty, chastity, obedience, piety, and labor. +All these were to be attained by methods which, although they may seem +strange to us to-day, were at least natural and wholesome when judged +by the ideas and standards prevailing in early mediaeval times. Granted +the ascetic principle upon which the monastic system rested, the Rule +of St. Benedict must be regarded as eminently moderate and sensible. +It sprang from an acute perception of human nature and human needs no +less than from a lofty ideal of religious perfection. The following +extracts will serve to show its character. + + Source--Text in Jacques Paul Migne, _Patrologiae Cursus + Completus_, First Series, Vol. LXVI., cols. 245-932 _passim_. + Adapted from translation in Ernest F. Henderson, _Select + Historical Documents of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp. + 274-314. + + _Prologue...._ We are about to found, therefore, a school for the + Lord's service, in the organization of which we trust that we shall + ordain nothing severe and nothing burdensome. But even if, the + demands of justice dictating it, something a trifle irksome shall + be the result, for the purpose of amending vices or preserving + charity, thou shalt not therefore, struck by fear, flee the way of + salvation, which cannot be entered upon except through a narrow + entrance. + + [Sidenote: Responsibility of the abbot for the character and deeds + of the monks] + + [Sidenote: He must teach by example as well as by precept] + + =2.= _What the abbot should be like._ An abbot who is worthy to + preside over a monastery ought always to remember what he is + called, and carry out with his deeds the name of a Superior. For he + is believed to be Christ's representative, since he is called by + His name, the apostle saying: "Ye have received the spirit of + adoption of sons, whereby we call Abba, Father" [Romans viii. 15]. + And so the abbot should not (grant that he may not) teach, or + decree, or order, anything apart from the precept of the Lord; but + his order or teaching should be characterized by the marks of + divine justice in the minds of his disciples. Let the abbot always + be mindful that, at the terrible judgment of God, both things will + be weighed in the balance, his teaching and the obedience of his + disciples. And let the abbot know that whatever of uselessness the + father of the family finds among the sheep is laid to the fault of + the shepherd. Only in a case where the whole diligence of their + pastor shall have been bestowed on an unruly and disobedient flock, + and his whole care given to their wrongful actions, shall that + pastor, absolved in the judgment of the Lord, be free to say to the + Lord with the prophet: "I have not hid Thy righteousness within my + heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation, but + they, despising, have scorned me" [Psalms xl. 10]. And then let the + punishment for the disobedient sheep under his care be that death + itself shall prevail against them. Therefore, when any one receives + the name of abbot, he ought to rule over his disciples with a + double teaching; that is, let him show forth all good and holy + things by deeds more than by words. So that to ready disciples he + may set forth the commands of God in words; but to the hard-hearted + and the more simple-minded, he may show forth the divine precepts + by his deeds. + + [Sidenote: His duty to encourage, to admonish, and to punish] + + He shall make no distinction of persons in the monastery. One shall + not be more cherished than another, unless it be the one whom he + finds excelling in good works or in obedience. A free-born man + shall not be preferred to one coming from servitude, unless there + be some other reasonable cause. But if, by the demand of justice, + it seems good to the abbot, he shall do this, no matter what the + rank shall be. But otherwise they shall keep their own places. For + whether we be bond or free, we are all one in Christ; and, under + one God, we perform an equal service of subjection. For God is no + respecter of persons. Only in this way is a distinction made by Him + concerning us, if we are found humble and surpassing others in good + works. Therefore let him [the abbot] have equal charity for all. + Let the same discipline be administered in all cases according to + merit.... He should, that is, rebuke more severely the unruly and + the turbulent. The obedient, moreover, and the gentle and the + patient, he should exhort, that they may progress to higher things. + But the negligent and scorners, we warn him to admonish and + reprove. Nor let him conceal the sins of the erring; but, in order + that he may prevail, let him pluck them out by the roots as soon as + they begin to spring up. + + And let him know what a difficult and arduous thing he has + undertaken--to rule the souls and uplift the morals of many. And in + one case indeed with blandishments, in another with rebukes, in + another with persuasion--according to the quality or intelligence + of each one--he shall so conform and adapt himself to all that not + only shall he not allow injury to come to the flock committed to + him, but he shall rejoice in the increase of a good flock. Above + all things, let him not, deceiving himself or undervaluing the + safety of the souls committed to him, give more heed to temporary + and earthly and passing things; but let him always reflect that he + has undertaken to rule souls for which he is to render account. + + [Sidenote: The monks to be consulted by the abbot] + + [Sidenote: The Rule to be followed by every one as a guide] + + =3.= _About calling in the brethren to take counsel._ Whenever + anything of importance is to be done in the monastery, the abbot + shall call together the whole congregation,[92] and shall himself + explain the matter in question. And, having heard the advice of the + brethren, he shall think it over by himself, and shall do what he + considers most advantageous. And for this reason, moreover, we have + said that all ought to be called to take counsel, because often it + is to a younger person that God reveals what is best. The brethren, + moreover, with all subjection of humility, ought so to give their + advice that they do not presume boldly to defend what seems good to + them; but it should rather depend on the judgment of the abbot, so + that, whatever he decides to be best, they should all agree to it. + But even as it behooves the disciples to obey the master, so it is + fitting that he should arrange all matters with care and justice. + In all things, indeed, let every one follow the Rule as his guide; + and let no one rashly deviate from it. Let no one in the monastery + follow the inclination of his own heart. And let no one boldly + presume to dispute with his abbot, within or without the monastery. + But, if he should so presume, let him be subject to the discipline + of the Rule. + + [Sidenote: No property to be owned by the monks individually] + + =33.= _Whether the monks should have anything of their own._ More + than anything else is this special vice to be cut off root and + branch from the monastery, that one should presume to give or + receive anything without the order of the abbot, or should have + anything of his own. He should have absolutely not anything, + neither a book, nor tablets, nor a pen--nothing at all. For indeed + it is not allowed to the monks to have their own bodies or wills in + their own power. But all things necessary they must expect from the + Father of the monastery; nor is it allowable to have anything which + the abbot has not given or permitted. All things shall be held in + common; as it is written, "Let not any man presume to call anything + his own." But if any one shall have been discovered delighting in + this most evil vice, being warned once and again, if he do not + amend, let him be subjected to punishment.[93] + + [Sidenote: Daily schedule for the summer season] + + =48.= _Concerning the daily manual labor._ Idleness is the enemy of + the soul.[94] And therefore, at fixed times, the brothers ought to + be occupied in manual labor; and again, at fixed times, in sacred + reading.[95] Therefore we believe that both seasons ought to be + arranged after this manner,--so that, from Easter until the Calends + of October,[96] going out early, from the first until the fourth + hour they shall do what labor may be necessary. From the fourth + hour until about the sixth, they shall be free for reading. After + the meal of the sixth hour, rising from the table, they shall rest + in their beds with all silence; or, perchance, he that wishes to + read may read to himself in such a way as not to disturb another. + And the _nona_ [the second meal] shall be gone through with more + moderately about the middle of the eighth hour; and again they + shall work at what is to be done until Vespers.[97] But, if the + emergency or poverty of the place demands that they be occupied in + picking fruits, they shall not be grieved; for they are truly monks + if they live by the labors of their hands, as did also our fathers + and the apostles. Let all things be done with moderation, however, + on account of the faint-hearted. + + [Sidenote: Reading during Lent] + + In days of Lent they shall all receive separate books from the + library, which they shall read entirely through in order. These + books are to be given out on the first day of Lent. Above all there + shall be appointed without fail one or two elders, who shall go + round the monastery at the hours in which the brothers are engaged + in reading, and see to it that no troublesome brother be found who + is given to idleness and trifling, and is not intent on his + reading, being not only of no use to himself, but also stirring up + others. If such a one (may it not happen) be found, he shall be + reproved once and a second time. If he do not amend, he shall be + subject under the Rule to such punishment that the others may have + fear. Nor shall brother join brother at unsuitable hours. Moreover, + on Sunday all shall engage in reading, excepting those who are + assigned to various duties. But if any one be so negligent and lazy + that he will not or can not read, some task shall be imposed upon + him which he can do, so that he be not idle. On feeble or delicate + brothers such a task or art is to be imposed, that they shall + neither be idle nor so oppressed by the violence of labor as to be + driven to take flight. Their weakness is to be taken into + consideration by the abbot. + + [Sidenote: Hospitality enjoined] + + =53.= _Concerning the reception of guests._ All guests who come + shall be received as though they were Christ. For He Himself said, + "I was a stranger and ye took me in" [Matt. xxv. 35]. And to all + fitting honor shall be shown; but, most of all, to servants of the + faith and to pilgrims. When, therefore, a guest is announced, the + prior or the brothers shall run to meet him, with every token of + love. And first they shall pray together, and thus they shall be + joined together in peace. + + [Sidenote: Power of abbot to dispose of articles sent to the monks] + + =54.= _Whether a monk should be allowed to receive letters or + anything._ By no means shall it be allowed to a monk--either from + his relatives, or from any man, or from one of his fellows--to + receive or to give, without order of the abbot, letters, presents, + or any gift, however small. But even if, by his relatives, anything + has been sent to him, he shall not presume to receive it, unless + it has first been shown to the abbot. But if the latter order it to + be received, it shall be in the power of the abbot to give it to + whomsoever he wishes. And the brother to whom it happened to have + been sent shall not be displeased; that an opportunity be not given + to the devil. Whoever, moreover, presumes to do otherwise shall be + subject to the discipline of the Rule. + + +12. Gregory the Great on the Life of the Pastor + +Gregory the Great, whose papacy extended from 590 to 604, was a Roman +of noble and wealthy family, and in many ways the ablest man who had +yet risen to the papal office. The date of his birth is not recorded, +but it was probably about 540, some ten years after St. Benedict of +Nursia had established his monastery at Monte Cassino. He was +therefore a contemporary of the historian Gregory of Tours [see p. +47]. The education which he received was that which was usual with +young Romans of his rank in life, and it is said that in grammar, +rhetoric, logic, and law he became well versed, though without any +claim to unusual scholarship. He entered public life and in 570 was +made praetor of the city of Rome. All the time, however, he was +struggling with the strange attractiveness which the life of the monk +had for him, and in the end, upon the death of his father, he decided +to forego the career to which his wealth and rank entitled him and to +seek the development of his higher nature in seclusion. With the money +obtained from the sale of his great estates he established six +monasteries in Sicily and that of St. Andrew at Rome. In Gregory's +case, however, retirement to monastic life did not mean oblivion, for +soon he was selected by Pope Pelagius II., as resident minister +(_apocrisiarius_) at Constantinople and in this important position he +was maintained for five or six years. After returning to Rome he +became abbot of St. Andrews, and in 590, as the records say, he was +"demanded" as pope. + +Gregory was a man of very unusual ability and the force of his strong +personality made his reign one of the great formative epochs in papal +history. Besides his activity in relation to the affairs of the world +in general, he has the distinction of being a literary pope. His +letters and treatises were numerous and possessed a quality of thought +and style which was exceedingly rare in his day. The most famous of +his writings, and justly so, is the _Liber Regulae Pastoralis_, known +commonly to English readers as the "Pastoral Care," or the "Pastoral +Rule." This book was written soon after its author became pope (590) +and was addressed to John, bishop of Ravenna, in reply to inquiries +received from him respecting the duties and obligations of the clergy. +Though thus put into form for a special purpose, there can be no doubt +that it was the product of long thought, and in fact in his _Magna +Moralia_, or "Commentary on the Book of Job," written during his +residence at Constantinople, Gregory declared his purpose some day to +write just such a book. Everywhere throughout Europe the work was +received with the favor it deserved, and in Spain, Gaul, and Italy its +influence upon the life and manners of the clergy was beyond estimate. +Even in Britain, after King Alfred's paraphrase of it in the Saxon +tongue had been made, three hundred years later [see p. 193], it was a +real power for good. The permanent value of Gregory's instructions +regarding the life of the clergy arose not only from the lofty spirit +in which they were conceived and the clear-cut manner in which they +were expressed, but from their breadth and adaptation to all times and +places. There are few books which the modern pastor can read with +greater profit. The work is in four parts: (1) on the selection of men +for the work of the Church; (2) on the sort of life the pastor ought +to live; (3) on the best methods of dealing with the various types of +people which every pastor will be likely to encounter; and (4) on the +necessity that the pastor guard himself against egotism and personal +ambition. The passages below are taken from the second and third +parts. + + Source--Gregorius Magnus, _Liber Regulae Pastoralis_ [Gregory + the Great, "The Book of the Pastoral Rule"]. Text in Jacques + Paul Migne, _Patroligiae Cursus Completus_, First Series, Vol. + LXXVII., cols. 12-127 _passim_. Adapted from translation in + Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, _Select Library of Nicene and + Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church_ (New York, 1895), + Second Series, Vol. XII., pp. 9-71 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: The qualities which ought to be united in the + pastor] + + The conduct of a prelate[98] ought so far to be superior to the + conduct of the people as the life of a shepherd is accustomed to + exalt him above the flock. For one whose position is such that the + people are called his flock ought anxiously to consider how great a + necessity is laid upon him to maintain uprightness. It is + necessary, then, that in thought he should be pure, in action firm; + discreet in keeping silence, profitable in speech; a near neighbor + to every one in sympathy, exalted above all in contemplation; a + familiar friend of good livers through humility, unbending against + the vices of evil-doers through zeal for righteousness; not + relaxing in his care for what is inward by reason of being occupied + in outward things, nor neglecting to provide for outward things in + his anxiety for what is inward. + + [Sidenote: Purity of heart essential] + + The ruler should always be pure in thought, inasmuch as no impurity + ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away + the stains of pollution in the hearts of others also; for the hand + that would cleanse from dirt must needs be clean, lest, being + itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil all the more whatever it + touches. + + [Sidenote: He must teach by example] + + The ruler should always be a leader in action, that by his living + he may point out the way of life to those who are put under him, + and that the flock, which follows the voice and manners of the + shepherd, may learn how to walk rather through example than through + words. For he who is required by the necessity of his position to + _speak_ the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to + _do_ the highest things. For that voice more readily penetrates the + hearer's heart, which the speaker's life commends, since what he + commands by speaking he helps the doing by showing. + + The ruler should be discreet in keeping silence, profitable in + speech; lest he either utter what ought to be suppressed or + suppress what he ought to utter. For, as incautious speaking leads + into error, so indiscreet silence leaves in error those who might + have been instructed. + + [Sidenote: He must be able to distinguish virtues and vices] + + The ruler ought also to understand how commonly vices pass + themselves off as virtues. For often niggardliness excuses itself + under the name of frugality, and on the other hand extravagance + conceals itself under the name of liberality. Often inordinate + carelessness is believed to be loving-kindness, and unbridled wrath + is accounted the virtue of spiritual zeal. Often hasty action is + taken for promptness, and tardiness for the deliberation of + seriousness. Whence it is necessary for the ruler of souls to + distinguish with vigilant care between virtues and vices, lest + stinginess get possession of his heart while he exults in seeming + frugality in expenditure; or, while anything is recklessly wasted, + he glory in being, as it were, compassionately liberal; or, in + overlooking what he ought to have smitten, he draw on those that + are under him to eternal punishment; or, in mercilessly smiting an + offense, he himself offend more grievously; or, by rashly + anticipating, mar what might have been done properly and gravely; + or, by putting off the merit of a good action, change it to + something worse. + + [Sidenote: No one kind of teaching adapted to all men] + + Since, then, we have shown what manner of man the pastor ought to + be, let us now set forth after what manner he should teach. For, as + long before us Gregory Nazianzen,[99] of reverend memory, has + taught, one and the same exhortation does not suit all, inasmuch as + all are not bound together by similarity of character. For the + things that profit some often hurt others; seeing that also, for + the most part, herbs which nourish some animals are fatal to + others; and the gentle hissing that quiets horses incites whelps; + and the medicine which abates one disease aggravates another; and + the food which invigorates the life of the strong kills little + children. Therefore, according to the quality of the hearers ought + the discourse of teachers to be fashioned, so as to suit all and + each for their several needs, and yet never deviate from the art + of common edification. For what are the intent minds of hearers + but, so to speak, a kind of harp, which the skilful player, in + order to produce a tune possessing harmony, strikes in various + ways? And for this reason the strings render back a melodious + sound, because they are struck indeed with one quill, but not with + one kind of stroke. Whence every teacher also, that he may edify + all in the one virtue of charity, ought to touch the hearts of his + hearers out of one doctrine, but not with one and the same + exhortation. + + [Sidenote: Various classes of hearers to be distinguished] + + Differently to be admonished are these that follow: + + Men and women. + + The poor and the rich. + + The joyful and the sad. + + Prelates and subordinates. + + Servants and masters. + + The wise of this world and the dull. + + The impudent and the bashful. + + The forward and the faint-hearted. + + The impatient and the patient. + + The kindly disposed and the envious. + + The simple and the insincere. + + The whole and the sick. + + Those who fear scourges, and therefore live innocently; and those + who have grown so hard in iniquity as not to be corrected even by + scourges. + + The too silent, and those who spend time in much speaking. + + The slothful and the hasty. + + The meek and the passionate. + + The humble and the haughty. + + The obstinate and the fickle. + + The gluttonous and the abstinent. + + Those who mercifully give of their own, and those who would fain + seize what belongs to others. + + Those who neither seize the things of others nor are bountiful + with their own; and those who both give away the things they have, + and yet cease not to seize the things of others. + + Those who are at variance, and those who are at peace. + + Lovers of strife and peacemakers. + + Those who understand not aright the words of sacred law; and those + who understand them indeed aright, but speak them without humility. + + Those who, though able to preach worthily, are afraid through + excessive humility; and those whom imperfection or age debars from + preaching, and yet rashness impels to it. + + [Sidenote: How the wise and the dull are to be admonished] + + (Admonition 7)[100]. Differently to be admonished are the wise of + this world and the dull. For the wise are to be admonished that + they leave off knowing what they know[101]; the dull also are to be + admonished that they seek to know what they know not. In the former + this thing first, that they think themselves wise, is to be + overcome; in the latter, whatsoever is already known of heavenly + wisdom is to be built up; since, being in no wise proud, they have, + as it were, prepared their hearts for supporting a building. With + those we should labor that they become more wisely foolish[102], + leave foolish wisdom, and learn the wise foolishness of God: to + these we should preach that from what is accounted foolishness + they should pass, as from a nearer neighborhood, to true wisdom. + + [Sidenote: Emphasis on the importance of setting a right example] + + But in the midst of these things we are brought back by the earnest + desire of charity to what we have already said above; that every + preacher should give forth a sound more by his deeds than by his + words, and rather by good living imprint footsteps for men to + follow than by speaking show them the way to walk in. For that + cock, too, whom the Lord in his manner of speech takes to represent + a good preacher, when he is now preparing to crow, first shakes his + wings, and by smiting himself makes himself more awake; since it is + surely necessary that those who give utterance to words of holy + preaching should first be well awake in earnestness of good living, + lest they arouse others with their voice while themselves torpid in + performance; that they should first shake themselves up by lofty + deeds, and then make others solicitous for good living; that they + should first smite themselves with the wings of their thoughts; + that whatsoever in themselves is unprofitably torpid they should + discover by anxious investigation, and correct by strict + self-discipline, and then at length set in order the life of others + by speaking; that they should take heed to punish their own faults + by bewailings, and then denounce what calls for punishment in + others; and that, before they give voice to words of exhortation, + they should proclaim in their deeds all that they are about to + speak. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[88] John Alzog. _Manual of Universal Church History_ (trans, by F. J. +Pabisch and T. S. Byrne), Cincinnati, 1899, Vol. I., p. 668. + +[89] That is, the passage of Scripture read just before the sermon. + +[90] "See" is a term employed to designate a bishop's jurisdiction. +According to common belief Peter had been bishop of Rome; his see was +therefore that which Leo now held. + +[91] The anniversary of Leo's elevation to the papal office. + +[92] That is, the body of monks residing in the monastery. + +[93] The vow of poverty which must be taken by every Benedictine monk +meant only that he must not acquire property individually. By gifts of +land and by their own labor the monks became in many cases immensely +rich, but their wealth was required to be held in common. No one man +could rightfully call any part of it his own. + +[94] The converse of this principle was often affirmed by Benedictines +in the saying, "To work is to pray." + +[95] The Bible and the writings of such Church fathers as Lactantius, +Tertullian, Origen, St. Augustine, St. Chrysostom, Eusebius, and St. +Jerome. + +[96] The first day of the month. + +[97] Thus the ordinary daily programme during the spring and summer +months would be: from six o'clock until ten, manual labor; from ten +until twelve, reading; at twelve, the midday meal; after this meal +until the second one about half past two, rest and reading; and from +the second meal until evening, labor. Manual labor was principally +agricultural. + +[98] Gregory's remarks and instructions in the _Pastoral Rule_ were +intended to apply primarily to the local priests--the humble pastors +of whom we hear little, but upon whose piety and diligence ultimately +depended the whole influence of the Church upon the masses of the +people. The general principles laid down, however, were applicable to +all the clergy, of whatever rank. + +[99] Gregory, bishop of Nazianzus (in Cappadocia), was a noted +churchman of the fourth century. + +[100] After enumerating quite a number of other contrasted groups in +the foregoing fashion Gregory proceeds in a series of "admonitions" to +take up each pair and tell how persons belonging to it should be dealt +with by the pastor. One of these admonitions is here given as a +specimen. + +[101] Gregory's attitude toward the "learning of the world," +especially the classical languages and literatures, was that of the +typical Christian ascetic. He had no use for it personally and +regarded its influence as positively harmful. It must be said that +there was little such learning in his day, for the old Latin and Greek +culture had now reached a very low stage. Gregory took the ground that +the churches should have learned bishops, but their learning was to +consist exclusively in a knowledge of the Scriptures, the writings of +the Church fathers, and the stories of the martyrs. As a matter of +fact not only were the people generally quite unable to understand the +Latin services of the Church, but great numbers of the clergy +themselves stumbled blindly through the ritual without knowing what +they were saying; and this condition of things prevailed for centuries +after Gregory's day. [See Charlemagne's letter _De Litteris Colendis_, +p. 146.] + +[102] That is, more simple and less self-satisfied in their own +knowledge. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE RISE OF MOHAMMEDANISM + + +13. Selections from the Koran + +The Koran comprises all of the recorded speeches and sayings of the +prophet Mohammed and it has for nearly fifteen centuries been the +absolute law and gospel of the Mohammedan religion. The teachings and +revelations which are contained in it are believed by Mohammedans to +have proceeded directly from God. They were delivered orally by +Mohammed from time to time in the presence of his followers and until +after the prophet's death in 632 no attempt was made to put them in +organized written form. Many of the disciples, however, remembered the +words their master had uttered, at least until they could inscribe +them on palm leaves, bits of wood, bleached bones, or other such +articles as happened to be at hand. In the reign of Abu-Bekr +(632-634), Mohammed's successor, it became apparent that unless some +measure was adopted to bring these scattered sayings together they +were in a fair way to be lost for all time to come. Hence the caliph +intrusted to a certain young man by the name of Zaid the task of +collecting and putting in some sort of system all the teachings that +had survived, whether in written form or merely in the minds of men. +Zaid had served Mohammed in a capacity which we should designate +perhaps as that of secretary, and so should have been well qualified +for the work. In later years (about 660) the Koran, or "the reading," +as the collection began to be called, was again thoroughly revised. +Thereafter all older copies were destroyed and no farther changes in +any respect were ever made. + +The Koran is made up of one hundred and fourteen chapters, called +_surahs_, arranged loosely in the order of their length, beginning +with the longest. This arrangement does not correspond either to the +dates at which the various passages were uttered by the prophet or to +any sequence of thought and meaning, so that when one takes up the +book to read it as it is ordinarily printed it seems about as confused +as anything can well be. Scholars, however, have recently discovered +the chronological order of the various parts and this knowledge has +already come to be of no little assistance in the work of +interpretation. Like all sacred books, the Koran abounds in +repetitions; yet, taken all in all, it contains not more than +two-thirds as many verses as the New Testament, and, as one writer has +rather curiously observed, it is not more than one-third as lengthy as +the ordinary Sunday edition of the New York _Herald_. The teachings +which are most emphasized are (1) the unity and greatness of God, (2) +the sin of worshipping idols, (3) the certainty of the resurrection of +the body and the last judgment, (4) the necessity of a belief in the +Scriptures as revelations from God communicated through angels to the +line of prophets, (5) the luxuries of heaven and the torments of hell, +(6) the doctrine of predestination, (7) the authoritativeness of +Mohammed's teachings, and (8) the four cardinal obligations of worship +(including purification and prayer), fasting, pilgrimages, and +alms-giving. Intermingled with these are numerous popular legends and +sayings of the Arabs before Mohammed's day, stories from the Old and +New Testaments derived from Jewish and Christian settlers in Arabia, +and certain definite and practical rules of everyday conduct. The book +is not only thus haphazard in subject-matter but it is also very +irregular in interest and elegance. Portions of it abound in splendid +imagery and lofty conceptions, and represent the literary quality of +the Arabian language at its best, though of course this quality is +very largely lost in translation. The later surahs--those which appear +first in the printed copy--are largely argumentative and legislative +in character and naturally fall into a more prosaic and monotonous +strain. From an almost inexhaustible maze of precepts, exhortations, +and revelations, the following widely separated passages have been +selected in the hope that they will serve to show something of the +character of the Koran itself, as well as the nature of some of the +more important Mohammedan beliefs and ideals. It will be found +profitable to make a comparison of Christian beliefs on the same +points as drawn from the New Testament. + + Source--Text in Edward William Lane, _Selections from the + Kur-an_, edited by Stanley Lane-Poole (London, 1879), + _passim_. + + In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. + + [Sidenote: The opening prayer[103]] + + Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds, + The Compassionate, the Merciful, + The King of the day of judgment. + Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help. + Guide us in the right way, + The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, + Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.[104] + + Say, He is God, One [God]; + God, the Eternal. + He begetteth not nor is begotten, + And there is none equal unto Him.[105] + + [Sidenote: The "throne verse"] + + God! There is no God but He, the _Ever_-living, the + Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To Him + belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in the + Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with Him, unless by His + permission? He knoweth what [hath been] before them and what [shall + be] after them, and they shall not compass aught of His knowledge + save what He willeth. His Throne comprehendeth the Heavens and the + Earth, and the care of them burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, + The Great.[106] + + [Sidenote: The day of resurrection] + + When the earth is shaken with her shaking, + And the earth hath cast forth her dead, + And man shall say, 'What aileth her?' + On that day shall she tell out her tidings, + Because thy Lord hath inspired her, + On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works, + And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of good shall + behold it, + And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of ill shall + behold it. + + [Sidenote: The coming judgment] + + When the heaven shall be cloven asunder, + And when the stars shall be scattered, + And when the seas shall be let loose, + And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,[107] + _Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone. + O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord, + Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright? + In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee. + Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie. + Verily there are watchers over you, + Worthy recorders, + Knowing what ye do. + Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell; + And verily the wicked in Hell [-Fire]; + They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom, + And they shall not be hidden from it. + And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is? + Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment? + _It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul; + and all on that day shall be in the hands of God. + + [Sidenote: The reward of the righteous] + + When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet, + And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to + dust with one breaking, + On that day the Calamity shall come to pass: + And the heavens shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day, + And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day + eight _of the angels_ shall bear the throne of thy Lord. + On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of + your secrets shall be hidden. + And as to him who shall have his book[108] given to him in his + right hand, he shall say, 'Take ye, read my book;' + Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning. + And his [shall be] a pleasant life + In a lofty garden, + Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand. + 'Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid + beforehand in the past days.' + + [Sidenote: The fate of the wicked] + + But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left + hand, he shall say, 'O would that I had not had my book given + to me, + Nor known what [was] my reckoning! + O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_! + My wealth hath not profited me! + My power is passed from me!' + 'Take him and chain him, + Then cast him into hell to be burnt, + Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him: + For he believed not in God, the Great, + Nor urged to feed the poor; + Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend, + Nor any food save filth + Which none but the sinners shall eat.' + + [Sidenote: "The preceders"] + + When the Calamity shall come to pass + There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening, + [It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_; + When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking, + And the mountains shall be crumbled with a violent crumbling, + And shall become fine dust scattered abroad; + And ye shall be three classes.[109] + And the people of the right hand, what shall be the people of the + right hand! + And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left hand! + And the Preceders, the Preceders![110] + These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God] + In the gardens of delight,-- + A crowd of the former generations, + And a few of the latter generations, + Upon inwrought couches, + Reclining thereon, face to face. + Youths ever-young shall go unto them round about + With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine, + Their [heads] shall ache not with it, neither shall they be + drunken; + And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose, + And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire. + And damsels with eyes like pearls laid up + _We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done. + Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin, + But [only] the saying, 'Peace! Peace!' + + [Sidenote: The pleasures of paradise] + + And the people of the right hand--what [shall be] the people of + the right hand! + [They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns + And bananas loaded with fruit, + And a shade _ever-spread_, + And water _ever_-flowing, + And fruits abundant + Unstayed and unforbidden,[111] + And couches raised.[112] + Verily we have created them[113] by a [peculiar] creation, + And have made them virgins, + Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them], + For the people of the right hand, + A crowd of the former generations + And a crowd of the latter generations. + + [Sidenote: The torments of hell] + + And the people of the left hand--what [shall be] the people of + the left hand! + [They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water, + And a shade of blackest smoke, + Not cool and not grateful. + For before this they were blest with worldly goods, + And they persisted in heinous sin, + And said, 'When we shall have died and become dust and bones, + shall we indeed be raised to life, + And our fathers the former generations?' + Say, verily the former and the latter generations + Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day. + Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people], + Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Zakkoom,[114] + And fill therewith [your] stomachs, + And drink thereon boiling water, + And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.-- + This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[103] This prayer of the Mohammedans corresponds in a way to the +Lord's Prayer of Christian peoples. It is recited several times in +each of the five daily prayers, and on numerous other occasions. + +[104] The petition is for guidance in the "right way" of the +Mohammedan, marked out in the Koran. By those with whom God is +"wroth," and by the "erring," is meant primarily the Jews. Mohammed +regarded the Jews and Christians as having corrupted the true +religion. + +[105] "This chapter is held in particular veneration by the +Mohammedans and is declared, by a tradition of their prophet, to be +equal in value to a third part of the whole Koran."--Sale, quoted in +Lane, _Selections from the Kur-an_, p. 5. + +[106] This passage, known as the "throne verse," is regarded by +Mohammedans as one of the most precious in the Koran and is often +recited at the end of the five daily prayers. It is sometimes engraved +on a precious stone or an ornament of gold and worn as an amulet. + +[107] These are all to be signs of the day of judgment. + +[108] The record of his deeds during life on earth. + +[109] The three classes are: (1) the "preceeders," (2) the people of +the right hand, i.e., the good, and (3) the people of the left hand, +i.e., the evil. The future state of each of the three is described in +the lines that follow. + +[110] "Either the first converts to Mohammedanism, or the prophets, +who were the respective leaders of their people, or any persons who +have been eminent examples of piety and virtue, may be here intended. +The original words literally rendered are, _The Leaders, The Leaders_: +which repetition, as some suppose, was designed to express the dignity +of these persons and the certainty of their future glory and +happiness."--Sale, quoted in Wherry, _Comprehensive Commentary on the +Qur-an_, Vol. IV., pp. 109-110. + +[111] The luxuries of paradise--the flowing rivers, the fragrant +flowers, the delicious fruits--are sharply contrasted with the +conditions of desert life most familiar to Mohammed's early converts. +Such a description of the land of the blessed must have appealed +strongly to the imaginative Arabs. It should be said that in the +modern Mohammedan idea of heaven the spiritual element has a rather +more prominent place. + +[112] Lofty beds. + +[113] The "damsels of paradise." + +[114] A scrubby bush bearing fruit like almonds, and extremely bitter. +It was familiar to Arabs and hence was made to stand as a type of the +tree whose fruit the wicked must eat in the lower world. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CAROLINGIAN DYNASTY OF FRANKISH KINGS + + +14. Pepin the Short Takes the Title of King (751) + +During the seventh and eighth centuries the Merovingian line of +Frankish kings degenerated to a condition of weakness both pitiable +and ridiculous. As the royal family became less worthy, the powers of +government gradually slipped from its hands into those of a series of +ministers commonly known by the title of Mayor of the Palace (_Maior +Domus_). The most illustrious of these uncrowned sovereigns was +Charles Martel, the victor over the Saracens near Poitiers, in whose +time the Frankish throne for four years had no occupant at all. Martel +contrived to make his peculiar office hereditary, and at his death in +741 left it to be filled jointly by his two elder sons, Karlmann and +Pepin the Short. They decided that it would be to their interest to +keep up the show of Merovingian royalty a little longer and in 743 +allowed Childeric III. to mount the throne--a weakling destined to be +the last of his family to wear the Frankish crown. Four years later +Karlmann renounced his office and withdrew to the monastery of Monte +Cassino, southeast of Rome, leaving Pepin sole "mayor" and the only +real ruler of the Franks. Before many more years had passed, the utter +uselessness of keeping up a royal line whose members were notoriously +unfit to govern had impressed itself upon the nation to such an extent +that when Pepin proceeded to put young Childeric in a monastery and +take the title of king for himself, nobody offered the slightest +objection. The sanction of the Pope was obtained for the act because +Pepin thought that his course would thus be made to appear less like +an outright usurpation. The Pope's reward came four years later when +Pepin bestowed upon him the lands in northern and central Italy which +eventually constituted, in the main, the so-called States of the +Church. In later times, after the reign of Pepin's famous son +Charlemagne, the new dynasty established by Pepin's elevation to the +throne came to be known as the Carolingian (from _Karolus_, or +Charles). + +The following account of the change from the Merovingian to the +Carolingian line is taken from the so-called _Lesser Annals of +Lorsch_. At the monastery of Lorsch, as at nearly every other such +place in the Middle Ages, records or "annals" of one sort or another +were pretty regularly kept. They were often very inaccurate and their +writers had a curious way of filling up space with matters of little +importance, but sometimes, as in the present instance, we can get from +them some very interesting information. The monastery of Lorsch was +about twelve miles distant from Heidelberg, in southern Germany. + + Source--_Annales Laurissenses Minores_ ["Lesser Annals of + Lorsch"]. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores_ + (Pertz ed.), Vol. I., p. 116. + + In the year 750[115] of the Lord's incarnation Pepin sent + ambassadors to Rome to Pope Zacharias,[116] to inquire concerning + the kings of the Franks who, though they were of the royal line and + were called kings, had no power in the kingdom, except that + charters and privileges were drawn up in their names. They had + absolutely no kingly authority, but did whatever the Major Domus of + the Franks desired.[117] But on the first day of March in the + Campus Martius,[118] according to ancient custom, gifts were + offered to these kings by the people, and the king himself sat in + the royal seat with the army standing round him and the Major Domus + in his presence, and he commanded on that day whatever was decreed + by the Franks; but on all other days thenceforward he remained + quietly at home. Pope Zacharias, therefore, in the exercise of his + apostolic authority, replied to their inquiry that it seemed to him + better and more expedient that the man who held power in the + kingdom should be called king and be king, rather than he who + falsely bore that name. Therefore the aforesaid pope commanded the + king and people of the Franks that Pepin, who was exercising royal + power, should be called king, and should be established on the + throne. This was therefore done by the anointing of the holy + archbishop Boniface in the city of Soissons. Pepin was proclaimed + king, and Childeric, who was falsely called king, was shaved and + sent into a monastery. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[115] The date is almost certainly wrong. Pepin was first acknowledged +king by the Frankish nobles assembled at Soissons in November, 751. It +was probably in 751 (possibly 752) that Pope Zacharias was consulted. +In 754 Pepin was crowned king by Pope Stephen III., successor of +Zacharias, who journeyed to France especially for the purpose. + +[116] Zacharias was pope from 741 to 752. + +[117] Einhard, the secretary of Charlemagne [see p. 108], in writing a +biography of his master, described the condition of Merovingian +kingship as follows: "All the resources and power of the kingdom had +passed into the control of the prefects of the palace, who were called +the 'mayors of the palace,' and who exercised the supreme authority. +Nothing was left to the king. He had to content himself with his royal +title, his flowing locks, and long beard. Seated in a chair of state, +he was wont to display an appearance of power by receiving foreign +ambassadors on their arrival, and, on their departure, giving them, as +if on his own authority, those answers which he had been taught or +commanded to give. Thus, except for his empty title, and an uncertain +allowance for his sustenance, which the prefect of the palace used to +furnish at his pleasure, there was nothing that the king could call +his own, unless it were the income from a single farm, and that a very +small one, where he made his home, and where such servants as were +needful to wait on him constituted his scanty household. When he went +anywhere he traveled in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, with a rustic +oxherd for charioteer. In this manner he proceeded to the palace, and +to the public assemblies of the people held every year for the +dispatch of the business of the kingdom, and he returned home again in +the same sort of state. The administration of the kingdom, and every +matter which had to be undertaken and carried through, both at home +and abroad, was managed by the mayor of the palace."--Einhard, _Vita +Caroli Magni_, Chap. 1. + +[118] See p. 52, note 1. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE + + +15. Charlemagne the Man + +Biographical writings make up a not inconsiderable part of mediaeval +literature, but unfortunately the greater portion of them are to be +trusted in only a limited degree by the student of history. Many +biographies, especially the lives of the saints and other noted +Christian leaders, were prepared expressly for the purpose of giving +the world concrete examples of how men ought to live. Their authors, +therefore, were apt to relate only the good deeds of the persons about +whom they wrote, and these were often much exaggerated for the sake of +effect. The people of the time generally were superstitious and easily +appealed to by strange stories and the recital of marvelous events. +They were not critical, and even such of them as were able to read at +all could be made to believe almost anything that the writers of books +cared to say. And since these writers themselves shared in the +superstition and credulousness of the age, naturally such biographies +as were written abounded in tales which anybody to-day would know at a +glance could not be true. To all this Einhard's _Life of Charles the +Great_ stands as a notable exception. It has its inaccuracies, but it +still deserves to be ranked almost in a class of its own as a +trustworthy biographical contribution to our knowledge of the earlier +Middle Ages. + +Einhard (or Eginhard) was a Frank, born about 770 near the Odenwald in +Franconia. After being educated at the monastery of Fulda he was +presented at the Frankish court, some time between 791 and 796, where +he remained twenty years as secretary and companion of the king, and +later emperor, Charlemagne. He was made what practically corresponds +to a modern minister of public works and in that capacity is thought +to have supervised the building of the palace and basilica of the +temple at Aachen, the palace of Ingelheim, the bridge over the Rhine +at Mainz, and many other notable constructions of the king, though +regarding the precise work of this sort which he did there is a +general lack of definite proof. Despite the fact that he was a layman, +he was given charge of a number of abbeys. His last years were spent +at the Benedictine monastery of Seligenstadt, where he died about 840. +There is a legend that Einhard's wife, Emma, was a daughter of +Charlemagne, but this is to be regarded as merely a twelfth-century +invention. + +The _Vita Caroli Magni_ was written as an expression of the author's +gratitude to his royal friend and patron, though it did not appear +until shortly after the latter's death in 814. "It contains the +history of a very great and distinguished man," says Einhard in his +preface, "but there is nothing in it to wonder at, besides his deeds, +except the fact that I, who am a barbarian, and very little versed in +the Roman language, seem to suppose myself capable of writing +gracefully and respectably in Latin." It is considered ordinarily that +Einhard endeavored to imitate the style of the Roman Suetonius, the +biographer of the first twelve Caesars, though in reality his writing +is perhaps superior to that of Suetonius and there are scholars who +hold that if he really followed a classical model at all that model +was Julius Caesar. Aside from the matter of literary style, there can +be no reasonable doubt that the idea of writing a biography of his +master was suggested to Einhard by the biographies of Suetonius, +particularly that of the Emperor Augustus. Despite his limitations, +says Mr. Hodgkin, the fact remains that "almost all our real, +vivifying knowledge of Charles the Great is derived from Einhard, and +that the _Vita Caroli_ is one of the most precious literary bequests +of the early Middle Ages."[119] Certainly few mediaeval writers had so +good an opportunity as did Einhard to know the truth about the persons +and events they undertook to describe. + + Source--Einhard, _Vita Caroli Magni_ ["Life of Charles the + Great"], Chaps. 22-27. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, + Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. II., pp. 455-457. Adapted from + translation by Samuel Epes Turner in "Harper's School + Classics" (New York, 1880), pp. 56-65. + + [Sidenote: Personal appearance] + + =22.= Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though + not excessively tall. The upper part of his head was round, his + eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair auburn, and + face laughing and merry. His appearance was always stately and + dignified, whether he was standing or sitting, although his neck + was thick and somewhat short and his abdomen rather prominent. The + symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait + was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so + strong as his size led one to expect. His health was excellent, + except during the four years preceding his death, when he was + subject to frequent fevers; toward the end of his life he limped a + little with one foot. Even in his later years he lived rather + according to his own inclinations than the advice of physicians; + the latter indeed he very much disliked, because they wanted him to + give up roasts, to which he was accustomed, and to eat boiled meat + instead. In accordance with the national custom, he took frequent + exercise on horseback and in the chase, in which sports scarcely + any people in the world can equal the Franks. He enjoyed the vapors + from natural warm springs, and often indulged in swimming, in which + he was so skilful that none could surpass him; and hence it was + that he built his palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, and lived there + constantly during his later years....[120] + + [Sidenote: Manner of dress] + + =23.= His custom was to wear the national, that is to say, the + Frankish, dress--next his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, + and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by + bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet. In winter he + protected his shoulders and chest by a close-fitting coat of otter + or marten skins. Over all he flung a blue cloak, and he always had + a sword girt about him, usually one with a gold or silver hilt and + belt. He sometimes carried a jeweled sword, but only on great + feast-days or at the reception of ambassadors from foreign nations. + He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed + himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned + the Roman tunic, chlamys,[121] and shoes; the first time at the + request of Pope Hadrian,[122] the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's + successor.[123] On great feast-days he made use of embroidered + clothes, and shoes adorned with precious stones; his cloak was + fastened with a golden buckle, and he appeared crowned with a + diadem of gold and gems; but on other days his dress differed + little from that of ordinary people. + + [Sidenote: Every-day life] + + =24.= Charles was temperate in eating, and especially so in + drinking, for he abhorred drunkenness in anybody, much more in + himself and those of his household; but he could not easily abstain + from food, and often complained that fasts injured his health. He + gave entertainments but rarely, only on great feast-days, and then + to large numbers of people. His meals consisted ordinarily of four + courses, not counting the roast, which his huntsmen were accustomed + to bring in on the spit; he was more fond of this than of any other + dish. While at table, he listened to reading or music. The subjects + of the readings were the stories and deeds of olden time. He was + fond, too, of St. Augustine's books, and especially of the one + entitled _The City of God_.[124] He was so moderate in the use of + wine and all sorts of drink that he rarely allowed himself more + than three cups in the course of a meal. In summer, after the + midday meal, he would eat some fruit, drain a single cup, put off + his clothes and shoes, just as he did for the night, and rest for + two or three hours. While he was dressing and putting on his shoes, + he not only gave audience to his friends, but if the Count of the + Palace[125] told him of any suit in which his judgment was + necessary, he had the parties brought before him forthwith, heard + the case, and gave his decision, just as if he were sitting in the + judgment-seat. This was not the only business that he transacted at + this time, but he performed any duty of the day whatever, whether + he had to attend to the matter himself, or to give commands + concerning it to his officers. + + [Sidenote: Education and accomplishments] + + =25.= Charles had the gift of ready and fluent speech, and could + express whatever he had to say with the utmost clearness. He was + not satisfied with ability to use his native language merely, but + gave attention to the study of foreign ones, and in particular was + such a master of Latin that he could speak it as well as his native + tongue; but he could understand Greek better than he could speak + it. He was so eloquent, indeed, that he might have been taken for a + teacher of oratory. He most zealously cherished the liberal arts, + held those who taught them in great esteem, and conferred great + honors upon them. He took lessons in grammar of the deacon Peter of + Pisa, at that time an aged man.[126] Another deacon, Albin of + Britain, surnamed Alcuin, a man of Saxon birth, who was the + greatest scholar of the day, was his teacher in other branches of + learning.[127] The king spent much time and labor with him studying + rhetoric, dialectic, and especially astronomy. He learned to make + calculations, and used to investigate with much curiosity and + intelligence the motions of the heavenly bodies. He also tried to + write, and used to keep tablets and blanks in bed under his pillow, + that at leisure hours he might accustom his hand to form the + letters; however, as he began his efforts late in life, and not at + the proper time, they met with little success. + + [Sidenote: Interest in religion and the Church] + + =26.= He cherished with the greatest fervor and devotion the + principles of the Christian religion, which had been instilled into + him from infancy. Hence it was that he built the beautiful basilica + at Aix-la-Chapelle, which he adorned with gold and silver and + lamps, and with rails and doors of solid brass. He had the columns + and marbles for this structure brought from Rome and Ravenna, for + he could not find such as were suitable elsewhere.[128] He was a + constant worshipper at this church as long as his health permitted, + going morning and evening, even after nightfall, besides attending + mass. He took care that all the services there conducted should be + held in the best possible manner, very often warning the sextons + not to let any improper or unclean thing be brought into the + building, or remain in it. He provided it with a number of sacred + vessels of gold and silver, and with such a quantity of clerical + robes that not even the door-keepers, who filled the humblest + office in the church, were obliged to wear their everyday clothes + when in the performance of their duties. He took great pains to + improve the church reading and singing, for he was well skilled in + both, although he neither read in public nor sang, except in a low + tone and with others. + + [Sidenote: Generosity and charities] + + =27.= He was very active in aiding the poor, and in that open + generosity which the Greeks call alms; so much so, indeed, that he + not only made a point of giving in his own country and his own + kingdom, but when he discovered that there were Christians living + in poverty in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, at Jerusalem, Alexandria, + and Carthage, he had compassion on their wants, and used to send + money over the seas to them. The reason that he earnestly strove to + make friends with the kings beyond seas was that he might get help + and relief to the Christians living under their rule. He cared for + the Church Of St. Peter the Apostle at Rome above all other holy + and sacred places, and heaped high its treasury with a vast wealth + of gold, silver, and precious stones. He sent great and countless + gifts to the popes;[129] and throughout his whole reign the wish + that he had nearest his heart was to re-establish the ancient + authority of the city of Rome under his care and by his influence, + and to defend and protect the Church of St. Peter, and to beautify + and enrich it out of his own store above all other churches. + Nevertheless, although he held it in such veneration, only four + times[130] did he repair to Rome to pay his vows and make his + supplications during the whole forty-seven years that he + reigned.[131] + + +16. The War with the Saxons (772-803) + +When Charlemagne became sole ruler of the Franks, in 771, he found his +kingdom pretty well hemmed in by a belt of kindred, though more or +less hostile, Germanic peoples. The most important of these were the +Visigoths in northern Spain, the Lombards in the Po Valley, the +Bavarians in the region of the upper Danube, and the Saxons between +the Rhine and the Elbe. The policy of the new king, perhaps only dimly +outlined at the beginning of the reign but growing ever more definite +as time went on, was to bring all of these neighboring peoples under +the Frankish dominion, and so to build up a great state which should +include the whole Germanic race of western and northern continental +Europe. Most of the king's time during the first thirty years, or +two-thirds, of the reign was devoted to this stupendous task. The +first great step was taken in the conquest of the Lombards in 774, +after which Charlemagne assumed the title of King of the Lombards. In +787 Bavaria was annexed to the Frankish kingdom, the settlement in +this case being in the nature of a complete absorption rather than a +mere personal union such as followed the Lombard conquest. The next +year an expedition across the Pyrenees resulted in the annexation of +the Spanish March--a region in which the Visigoths had managed to +maintain some degree of independence against the Saracens. In all +these directions little fighting was necessary and for one reason or +another the sovereignty of the Frankish king was recognized without +much delay or resistance. + +The problem of reducing the Saxons was, however, a very different one. +The Saxons of Charlemagne's day were a people of purest Germanic stock +dwelling in the land along the Rhine, Ems, Weser, and Elbe, and inland +as far as the low mountains of Hesse and Thuringia--the regions which +now bear the names of Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Westphalia. +The Saxons, influenced as yet scarcely at all by contact with the +Romans, retained substantially the manner of life described seven +centuries earlier by Tacitus in the _Germania_. They lived in small +villages, had only the loosest sort of government, and clung +tenaciously to the warlike mythology of their ancestors. Before +Charlemagne's time they had engaged in frequent border wars with the +Franks and had shown capacity for making very obstinate resistance. +And when Charlemagne himself undertook to subdue them he entered upon +a task which kept him busy much of the time for over thirty years, +that is, from 772 to 803. In all not fewer than eighteen distinct +campaigns were made into the enemy's territory. The ordinary course +of events was that Charlemagne would lead his army across the Rhine in +the spring, the Saxons would make some little resistance and then +disperse or withdraw toward the Baltic, and the Franks would leave a +garrison and return home for the winter. As soon as the enemy's back +was turned the Saxons would rally, expel or massacre the garrison, and +assert their complete independence of Frankish authority. The next +year the whole thing would have to be done over again. There were not +more than two great battles in the entire contest; the war consisted +rather of a monotonous series of "military parades," apparent +submissions, revolts, and re-submissions. As Professor Emerton puts +it, "From the year 772 to 803, a period of over thirty years, this war +was always on the programme of the Frankish policy, now resting for a +few years, and now breaking out with increased fury, until finally the +Saxon people, worn out with the long struggle against a superior foe, +gave it up and became a part of the Frankish Empire."[132] + +It is to be regretted that we have no Saxon account of the great +contest except the well-meant, but very inadequate, history by +Widukind, a monk of Corbie, written about the middle of the tenth +century. However, the following passage from Einhard, the secretary +and biographer of Charlemagne, doubtless describes with fair accuracy +the conditions and character of the struggle. A few of the writer's +strongest statements regarding Saxon perfidy should be accepted only +with some allowance for Frankish prejudice. + + Source--Einhard, _Vita Caroli Magni_, Chap. 7. Text in + _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. + II., pp. 446-447. Adapted from translation by Samuel Epes + Turner in "Harper's School Classics" (New York, 1880), pp. + 26-28. + + [Sidenote: Lack of a natural frontier] + + No war ever undertaken by the Frankish nation was carried on with + such persistence and bitterness, or cost so much labor, because the + Saxons, like almost all the tribes of Germany, were a fierce + people, given to the worship of devils and hostile to our religion, + and did not consider it dishonorable to transgress and violate all + law, human and divine. Then there were peculiar circumstances that + tended to cause a breach of peace every day. Except in a few + places, where large forests or mountain-ridges intervened and made + the boundaries certain, the line between ourselves and the Saxons + passed almost in its whole extent through an open country, so that + there was no end to the murders, thefts, and arsons on both sides. + In this way the Franks became so embittered that they at last + resolved to make reprisals no longer, but to come to open war with + the Saxons. + + [Sidenote: Faithlessness of the Saxons] + + [Sidenote: Charlemagne's settlement of Saxons in Gaul and Germany] + + [Sidenote: The terms of peace] + + Accordingly, war was begun against them, and was waged for + thirty-three successive years[133] with great fury; more, however, + to the disadvantage of the Saxons than of the Franks. It could + doubtless have been brought to an end sooner, had it not been for + the faithlessness of the Saxons. It is hard to say how often they + were conquered, and, humbly submitting to the king, promised to do + what was enjoined upon them, gave without hesitation the required + hostages, and received the officers sent them from the king. They + were sometimes so much weakened and reduced that they promised to + renounce the worship of devils and to adopt Christianity; but they + were no less ready to violate these terms than prompt to accept + them, so that it is impossible to tell which came easier to them to + do; scarcely a year passed from the beginning of the war without + such changes on their part. But the king did not suffer his high + purpose and steadfastness--firm alike in good and evil fortune--to + be wearied by any fickleness on their part, or to be turned from + the task that he had undertaken; on the contrary, he never allowed + their faithless behavior to go unpunished, but either took the + field against them in person, or sent his counts with an army to + wreak vengeance and exact righteous satisfaction.[134] At last, + after conquering and subduing all who had offered resistance, he + took ten thousand of those who lived on the banks of the Elbe, and + settled them, with their wives and children, in many different + bodies here and there in Gaul and Germany. The war that had lasted + so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms + offered by the king; which were renunciation of their national + religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the + sacraments of the Christian religion,[135] and union with the + Franks to form one people. + + +17. The Capitulary Concerning the Saxon Territory (cir. 780) + +Just as the Saxons were the most formidable of Charlemagne's foes to +meet and defeat in open battle, so were they the most difficult to +maintain in anything like orderly allegiance after they had been +tentatively conquered. This was true in part because of their untamed, +freedom-loving character, but also in no small measure because of the +thoroughgoing revolution which the Frankish king sought to work in +their conditions of life, and especially in their religion. Before the +Saxon war was far advanced it had very clearly assumed the character +of a crusade of the Christian Franks against the "pagans of the +north." And when the Saxon had been brought to give sullen promise of +submission, it was his dearest possession--his fierce, heroic +mythology--that was first to be swept away. By the stern decree of the +conqueror Woden and Thor and Freya must go. In their stead was to be +set up the Christian religion with its churches, its priests, its +fastings, its ceremonial observances. Death was to be the penalty for +eating meat during Lent, if done "out of contempt for Christianity," +and death also for "causing the body of a dead man to be burned in +accordance with pagan rites." Even for merely scorning "to come to +baptism," or "wishing to remain a pagan," a man was to forfeit his +life. The selections which follow are taken from the capitulary _De +Partibus Saxoniae_, which was issued by Charlemagne probably at the +Frankish assembly held at Paderborn in 780. If this date is correct +(and it cannot be far wrong) the regulations embodied in the +capitulary were established for the Saxon territories when there +perhaps seemed to be a good prospect of peace but when, as later +events showed, there yet remained twenty-three years of war before the +final subjugation. From the beginning of the struggle the Church had +been busy setting up new centers of influence--some abbeys and +especially the great bishoprics of Bremen, Minden, Paderborn, Verden, +Osnabrueck, and Halberstadt--among the Saxon pagans, and the primary +object of Charlemagne in this capitulary was to give to these +ecclesiastical foundations the task of civilizing the country and to +protect them, together with his counts or governing agents, while they +should be engaged in this work. The severity of the Saxon war was +responsible for the unusually stringent character of this body of +regulations. In 797, at a great assembly at Aix-la-Chapelle, another +capitulary for the Saxons was issued, known as the _Capitulum +Saxonicum_, and in this the harsh features of the earlier capitulary +were considerably relaxed. By 797 the resistance of the Saxons was +pretty well broken, and it had become Charlemagne's policy to give his +conquered subjects a government as nearly as possible like that the +Franks themselves enjoyed. The chief importance of Charlemagne's +conquests toward the east lies in the fact that by them broad +stretches of German territory were brought for the first time within +the pale of civilization. + +These capitularies, like the hundreds of others that were issued by +the various kings of the Franks, were edicts or decrees drawn up under +the king's direction, discussed and adopted in the assembly of the +people, and published in the local districts of the kingdom by the +counts and bishops. They were of a less permanent and fixed character +than the so-called "leges," or laws established by long usage and +custom. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 26, pp. 68-70. Translated by Dana + C. Munro in _University of Pennsylvania Translations and + Reprints_, Vol. VI., No. 5, pp. 2-5. + + First, concerning the greater chapters it has been enacted:[136] + + It is pleasing to all that the churches of Christ, which are now + being built in Saxony and consecrated to God, should not have less, + but greater and more illustrious honor than the shrines of the + idols have had. + + [Sidenote: The churches as a place of refuge] + + =2.= If any one shall have fled to a church for refuge, let no one + presume to expel him from the church by violence, but he shall be + left in peace until he shall be brought to the judicial assemblage; + and on account of the honor due to God and the saints, and the + reverence due to the church itself, let his life and all his + members be granted to him. Moreover, let him plead his cause as + best he can and he shall be judged; and so let him be led to the + presence of the lord king, and the latter shall send him where it + shall seem fitting to his clemency. + + =3.= If any one shall have entered a church by violence and shall + have carried off anything in it by force or theft, or shall have + burned the church itself, let him be punished by death.[137] + + [Sidenote: Offenses against the Church] + + =4.= If any one, out of contempt for Christianity, shall have + despised the holy Lenten feast and shall have eaten flesh, let him + be punished by death. But, nevertheless, let it be taken into + consideration by a priest, lest perchance any one from necessity + has been led to eat flesh.[138] + + =5.= If any one shall have killed a bishop or priest or deacon let + him likewise be punished capitally. + + =6.= If any one, deceived by the devil, shall have believed, after + the manner of the pagans, that any man or woman is a witch and eats + men, and on this account shall have burned the person, or shall + have given the person's flesh to others to eat, or shall have eaten + it himself, let him be punished by a capital sentence. + + =7.= If any one, in accordance with pagan rites, shall have caused + the body of a dead man to be burned, and shall have reduced his + bones to ashes, let him be punished capitally. + + [Sidenote: Refusal to be baptized] + + =8.= If any one of the race of the Saxons hereafter, concealed + among them, shall have wished to hide himself unbaptized, and shall + have scorned to come to baptism, and shall have wished to remain a + pagan, let him be punished by death. + + =9.= If any one shall have sacrificed a man to the devil, and, + after the manner of the pagans, shall have presented him as a + victim to the demons, let him be punished by death. + + [Sidenote: Conspiracy against Christians] + + =10.= If any one shall have formed a conspiracy with the pagans + against the Christians, or shall have wished to join with them in + opposition to the Christians, let him be punished by death; and + whosoever shall have consented fraudulently to this same against + the king and the Christian people, let him be punished by death. + + =11.= If any one shall have shown himself unfaithful to the lord + king, let him be punished with a capital sentence. + + =13.= If any one shall have killed his lord or lady, let him be + punished in a like manner. + + =14.= If, indeed, for these mortal crimes secretly committed any + one shall have fled of his own accord to a priest, and after + confession shall have wished to do penance, let him be freed by the + testimony of the priest from death....[139] + + [Sidenote: Observance of the Sabbath and of festival days] + + =18.= On the Lord's day no meetings or public judicial assemblages + shall be held, unless perchance in a case of great necessity, or + when war compels it, but all shall go to church to hear the word of + God, and shall be free for prayers or good works. Likewise, also, + on the special festivals they shall devote themselves to God and to + the services of the Church, and shall refrain from secular + assemblies. + + [Sidenote: Baptism of infants] + + =19.= Likewise, it has been pleasing to insert in these decrees + that all infants shall be baptized within a year; and we have + decreed this, that if any one shall have refused to bring his + infant to baptism within the course of a year, without the advice + or permission of the priest, if he is a noble he shall pay 120 + _solidi_[140] to the treasury; if a freeman, 60; if a _litus_, + 30.[141] + + =20.= If any one shall have contracted a prohibited or illegal + marriage, if a noble, 60 _solidi_; if a freeman, 30; if a _litus_, + 15. + + [Sidenote: Keeping up heathen rites] + + =21.= If any one shall have made a vow at springs or trees or + groves,[142] or shall have made an offering after the manner of the + heathen and shall have partaken of a repast in honor of the demons, + if he shall be a noble, 60 _solidi_; if a freeman, 30; if a + _litus_, 15. If, indeed, they have not the means of paying at once, + they shall be given into the service of the Church until the + _solidi_ are paid. + + =22.= We command that the bodies of Saxon Christians shall be + carried to the church cemeteries, and not to the mounds of the + pagans. + + =23.= We have ordered that diviners and soothsayers shall be handed + over to the churches and priests. + + [Sidenote: Fugitive criminals] + + =24.= Concerning robbers and malefactors who shall have fled from + one county to another, if any one shall receive them into his + protection and shall keep them with him for seven nights,[143] + except for the purpose of bringing them to justice, let him pay our + ban.[144] Likewise, if a count[145] shall have concealed them, and + shall be unwilling to bring them forward so that justice may be + done, and is not able to excuse himself for this, let him lose his + office. + + =26.= No one shall presume to impede any man coming to us to seek + justice; and if anyone shall have attempted to do this, he shall + pay our ban. + + [Sidenote: Public assemblies] + + =34.= We have forbidden that Saxons shall hold public assemblies in + general, unless perchance our _missus_[146] shall have caused them + to come together in accordance with our command; but each count + shall hold judicial assemblies and administer justice in his + jurisdiction. And this shall be cared for by the priests, lest it + be done otherwise.[147] + + +18. The Capitulary Concerning the Royal Domains (cir. 800) + +The revenues which came into Charlemagne's treasury were derived +chiefly from his royal domains. There was no system of general +taxation, such as modern nations maintain, and the funds realized from +gifts, fines, rents, booty, and tribute money, were quite insufficient +to meet the needs of the court, modest though they were. Charlemagne's +interest in his villas, or private farms, was due therefore not less +to his financial dependence upon them than to his personal liking for +thrifty agriculture and thoroughgoing administration. The royal +domains of the Frankish kingdom, already extensive at Charlemagne's +accession, were considerably increased during his reign. It has been +well said that Charlemagne was doubtless the greatest landed +proprietor of the realm and that he "supervised the administration of +these lands as a sovereign who knows that his power rests partly on +his riches."[148] He gave the closest personal attention to his +estates and was always watchful lest he be defrauded out of even the +smallest portion of their products which was due him. The capitulary +_De Villis_, from which the following passages have been selected, is +a lengthy document in which Charlemagne sought to prescribe clearly +and minutely the manifold duties of the stewards in charge of these +estates. We may regard it, however, as in the nature of an ideal +catalogue of what the king would like to have on his domains rather +than as a definite statement of what was always actually to be found +there. From it may be gleaned many interesting facts regarding rural +life in western Europe during the eighth and ninth centuries. Its date +is uncertain, but it was about 800--possibly somewhat earlier. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 32, pp. 82-91. Translated by + Roland P. Falkner in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, + Vol. III., No. 2, pp. 2-4. + + [Sidenote: Report to be made to the king by his stewards each + Christmas-tide] + + =62.=[149] We desire that each steward shall make an annual + statement of all our income, with an account of our lands + cultivated by the oxen which our plowmen drive, and of our lands + which the tenants of farms ought to plow;[150] an account of the + pigs, of the rents,[151] of the obligations and fines; of the game + taken in our forests without our permission; of the various + compositions;[152] of the mills, of the forest, of the fields, and + of the bridges and ships; of the freemen and the districts under + obligations to our treasury; of markets, vineyards, and those who + owe wine to us; of the hay, fire-wood, torches, planks, and other + kinds of lumber; of the waste-lands; of the vegetables, millet, and + panic;[153] and of the wool, flax, and hemp; of the fruits of the + trees; of the nut trees, larger and smaller; of the grafted trees + of all kinds; of the gardens; of the turnips; of the fish-ponds; of + the hides, skins, and horns; of the honey and wax; of the fat, + tallow and soap; of the mulberry wine, cooked wine, mead, vinegar, + beer, wine new and old; of the new grain and the old; of the hens + and eggs; of the geese; of the number of fishermen, smiths, + sword-makers, and shoe-makers; of the bins and boxes; of the + turners and saddlers; of the forges and mines, that is iron and + other mines; of the lead mines; of the colts and fillies. They + shall make all these known to us, set forth separately and in + order, at Christmas, in order that we may know what and how much of + each thing we have. + + [Sidenote: Domestic animals] + + =23.= On each of our estates our stewards are to have as many + cow-houses, pig-sties, sheep-folds, stables for goats, as possible, + and they ought never to be without these. And let them have in + addition cows furnished by our serfs[154] for performing their + service, so that the cow-houses and plows shall be in no way + diminished by the service on our demesne. And when they have to + provide meat, let them have steers lame, but healthy, and cows and + horses which are not mangy, or other beasts which are not diseased + and, as we have said, our cow-houses and plows are not to be + diminished for this. + + [Sidenote: Cleanliness enjoined] + + =34.= They must provide with the greatest care that whatever is + prepared or made with the hands, that is, lard, smoked meat, salt + meat, partially salted meat, wine, vinegar, mulberry wine, cooked + wine, _garns_,[155] mustard, cheese, butter, malt, beer, mead, + honey, wax, flour, all should be prepared and made with the + greatest cleanliness. + + =40.= That each steward on each of our domains shall always have, + for the sake of ornament, swans, peacocks, pheasants, ducks, + pigeons, partridges, turtle-doves. + + [Sidenote: Household furniture] + + =42.= That in each of our estates, the chambers shall be provided + with counterpanes, cushions, pillows, bed-clothes, coverings for + the tables and benches; vessels of brass, lead, iron and wood; + andirons, chains, pot-hooks, adzes, axes, augers, cutlasses, and + all other kinds of tools, so that it shall never be necessary to go + elsewhere for them, or to borrow them. And the weapons, which are + carried against the enemy, shall be well-cared for, so as to keep + them in good condition; and when they are brought back they shall + be placed in the chamber. + + =43.= For our women's work they are to give at the proper time, as + has been ordered, the materials, that is the linen, wool, + woad,[156] vermilion, madder,[157] wool-combs, teasels,[158] soap, + grease, vessels, and the other objects which are necessary. + + [Sidenote: Supplies to be furnished the king] + + =44.= Of the food products other than meat, two-thirds shall be + sent each year for our own use, that is of the vegetables, fish, + cheese, butter, honey, mustard, vinegar, millet, panic, dried and + green herbs, radishes, and in addition of the wax, soap and other + small products; and they shall tell us how much is left by a + statement, as we have said above; and they shall not neglect this + as in the past; because from those two-thirds, we wish to know how + much remains. + + [Sidenote: Workmen on the estates] + + =45.= That each steward shall have in his district good workmen, + namely, blacksmiths, gold-smith, silver-smith, shoe-makers, + turners, carpenters, sword-makers, fishermen, foilers, soap-makers, + men who know how to make beer, cider, berry, and all the other + kinds of beverages, bakers to make pastry for our table, net-makers + who know how to make nets for hunting, fishing and fowling, and the + others who are too numerous to be designated. + + +19. An Inventory of One of Charlemagne's Estates + +In the following inventory we have a specimen of the annual statements +required by Charlemagne from the stewards on his royal domains. The +location of Asnapium is unknown, but it is evident that this estate +was one of the smaller sort. Like all the rest, it was liable +occasionally to become the temporary abiding place of the king. The +detailed character of the inventory is worthy of note, as is also the +number of industries which must have been engaged in by the +inhabitants of the estate and its dependent villas. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ (Pertz + ed.), Vol. I., pp. 178-179. + + [Sidenote: Buildings on the estate of Asnapium] + + We found in the imperial estate of Asnapium a royal house built of + stone in the very best manner, having 3 rooms. The entire house was + surrounded with balconies and it had 11 apartments for women. + Underneath was 1 cellar. There were 2 porticoes. There were 17 + other houses built of wood within the court-yard, with a similar + number of rooms and other fixtures, all well constructed. There was + 1 stable, 1 kitchen, 1 mill, 1 granary, and 3 barns. + + The yard was enclosed with a hedge and a stone gateway, and above + was a balcony from which distributions can be made. There was also + an inner yard, surrounded by a hedge, well arranged, and planted + with various kinds of trees. + + Of vestments: coverings for 1 bed, 1 table-cloth, and 1 towel. + + Of utensils: 2 brass kettles; 2 drinking cups; 2 brass cauldrons; 1 + iron cauldron; 1 frying-pan; 1 gramalmin; 1 pair of andirons; 1 + lamp; 2 hatchets; 1 chisel; 2 augers; 1 axe; 1 knife; 1 large + plane; 1 small plane; 2 scythes; 2 sickles; 2 spades edged with + iron; and a sufficient supply of utensils of wood. + + [Sidenote: Supplies of various sorts] + + Of farm produce: old spelt[159] from last year, 90 baskets which + can be made into 450 weight[160] of flour; and 100 measures[161] of + barley. From the present year, 110 baskets of spelt, of which 60 + baskets had been planted, but the rest we found; 100 measures of + wheat, 60 sown, the rest we found; 98 measures of rye all sown; + 1,800 measures of barley, 1,100 sown, the rest we found; 430 + measures of oats; 1 measure of beans; 12 measures of peas. At 5 + mills were found 800 measures of small size. At 4 breweries, 650 + measures of small size, 240 given to the prebendaries,[162] the + rest we found. At 2 bridges, 60 measures of salt and 2 shillings. + At 4 gardens, 11 shillings. Also honey, 3 measures; about 1 measure + of butter; lard, from last year 10 sides; new sides, 200, with + fragments and fats; cheese from the present year, 43 weights. + + [Sidenote: Kinds and number of animals] + + Of cattle: 51 head of larger cattle; 5 three-year olds; 7 two-year + olds; 7 yearlings; 10 two-year old colts; 8 yearlings; 3 + stallions; 16 cows; 2 asses; 50 cows with calves; 20 young bulls; + 38 yearling calves; 3 bulls; 260 hogs; 100 pigs; 5 boars; 150 sheep + with lambs; 200 yearling lambs; 120 rams; 30 goats with kids; 30 + yearling kids; 3 male goats; 30 geese; 80 chickens; 22 peacocks. + + Also concerning the manors[163] which belong to the above mansion. + In the villa of Grisio we found domain buildings, where there are 3 + barns and a yard enclosed by a hedge. There were, besides, 1 garden + with trees, 10 geese, 8 ducks, 30 chickens. + + In another villa we found domain buildings and a yard surrounded by + a hedge, and within 3 barns; 1 arpent[164] of vines; 1 garden with + trees; 15 geese; 20 chickens. + + In a third villa, domain buildings, with 2 barns; 1 granary; 1 + garden and 1 yard well enclosed by a hedge. + + We found all the dry and liquid measures just as in the palace. We + did not find any goldsmiths, silversmiths, blacksmiths, huntsmen, + or persons engaged in other services. + + [Sidenote: Vegetables and trees] + + The garden herbs which we found were lily, putchuck,[165] mint, + parsley, rue, celery, libesticum, sage, savory, juniper, leeks, + garlic, tansy, wild mint, coriander, scullions, onions, cabbage, + kohlrabi,[166] betony.[167] Trees: pears, apples, medlars, peaches, + filberts, walnuts, mulberries, quinces.[168] + + +20. Charlemagne Crowned Emperor (800) + +The occasion of Charlemagne's presence in Rome in 800 was a conflict +between Pope Leo III. and a faction of the populace led by two nephews +of the preceding pope, Hadrian I. It seems that in 799 Leo had been +practically driven out of the papal capital and imprisoned in a +neighboring monastery, but that through the planning of a subordinate +official he had soon contrived to escape. At any rate he got out of +Italy as speedily as he could and made his way across the Alps to seek +aid at the court of Charlemagne. The Frankish king was still busy with +the Saxon war and did not allow the prospect of a papal visit to +interfere with his intended campaign; but at Paderborn, in the very +heart of the Saxon country, where he could personally direct the +operations of his troops, he established his headquarters and awaited +the coming of the refugee pope. The meeting of the two dignitaries +resulted in a pledge of the king once more to take up the burden of +defending the Roman Church and the Vicar of Christ, this time not +against outside foes but against internal disturbers. After about a +year Charlemagne repaired to Rome and called upon the Pope and his +adversaries to appear before him for judgment. When the leaders of the +hostile faction refused to comply, they were summarily condemned to +death, though it is said that through the generous advice of Leo they +were afterwards released on a sentence of exile. During the ceremonies +which followed in celebration of Christmas occurred the famous +coronation which is described in the two passages given below. + +Although the coronation has been regarded as so important as to have +been called "the central event of the Middle Ages,"[169] it is by no +means an easy task to determine precisely what significance it was +thought to have at the time. We can look back upon it now and see +that it marked the beginning of the so-called "Holy Roman Empire"--a +creation that endured in _fact_ only a very short time but whose name +and theory survived all the way down to Napoleon's reorganization of +the German states in 1806. One view of the matter is that +Charlemagne's coronation meant that a Frankish king had become the +successor of Emperor Constantine VI., just deposed at Constantinople, +and that therefore the universal Roman Empire was again to be ruled +from a western capital as it had been before the time of the first +Constantine. It will be observed that extract (a), taken from the +Annals of Lauresheim, and therefore of German origin, at least +suggests this explanation. But, whether or not precisely this idea was +in the mind of those who took part in the ceremony, in actual fact no +such transfer of universal sovereignty from Constantinople to the +Frankish capital ever took place. The Eastern Empire lived right on +under its own line of rulers and, so far as we know, aside from some +rather vague negotiations for a marriage of Charlemagne and the +Empress Irene, the new western Emperor seems never to have +contemplated the extension of his authority over the East. His great +aspiration had been to consolidate all the Germanic peoples of western +continental Europe under the leadership of the Franks; that, by 800, +he had practically done; he had no desire to go farther. His dominion +was always limited strictly to the West, and at the most he can be +regarded after 800 as not more than the reviver of the old western +half of the Empire, and hence as the successor of Romulus Augustulus. +But even this view is perhaps somewhat strained. The chroniclers of +the time liked to set up fine theories of the sort, and later it came +to be to the interest of papal and imperial rivals to make large use, +in one way or another, of such theories. But we to-day may look upon +the coronation as nothing more than a formal recognition of a +condition of things already existing. By his numerous conquests +Charlemagne had drawn under his control such a number of peoples and +countries that his position had come to be that which we think of as +an emperor's rather than that of simple king of the Franks. The Pope +did not give Charlemagne his empire; the energetic king had built it +for himself. At the most, what Leo did was simply to bestow a title +already earned and to give with it presumably the blessing and favor +of the Church, whose devoted servant Charlemagne repeatedly professed +to be. That the idea of imperial unity still survived in the West is +certain, and without doubt many men looked upon the ceremony of 800 as +re-establishing such unity; but as events worked out it was not so +much Charlemagne's empire as the papacy itself that was the real +continuation of the power of the Caesars. Conditions had so changed +that it was impossible in the nature of things for Charlemagne to be a +Roman emperor in the old sense. The coronation gave him a new title +and new prestige, but no new subjects, no larger army, no more +princely income. The basis of his power continued to be, in every +sense, his Frankish kingdom. The structural element in the revived +empire was Frankish; the Roman was merely ornamental. + + Sources--(a) _Annales Laureshamensis_ ["Annals of + Lauresheim"], Chap. 34. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, + Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. I., p. 38. + + (b) _Vitae Pontificorum Romanorum_ ["Lives of the Roman + Pontiffs"]. Text in Muratori, _Rerum Italicarum Scriptores_, + Vol. III., pp. 284-285. + + (a) + + And because the name of emperor had now ceased among the Greeks, + and their empire was possessed by a woman,[170] it seemed both to + Leo the pope himself, and to all the holy fathers who were present + in the self-same council,[171] as well as to the rest of the + Christian people, that they ought to take to be emperor Charles, + king of the Franks, who held Rome herself, where the Caesars had + always been wont to sit, and all the other regions which he ruled + through Italy and Gaul and Germany; and inasmuch as God had given + all these lands into his hand, it seemed right that with the help + of God, and at the prayer of the whole Christian people, he should + have the name of emperor also. [The Pope's] petition King Charles + willed not to refuse,[172] but submitting himself with all humility + to God, and at the prayer of the priests, and of the whole + Christian people, on the day of the nativity of our Lord Jesus + Christ, he took on himself the name of emperor, being consecrated + by the Pope Leo.... For this also was done by the will of God ... + that the heathen might not mock the Christians if the name of + emperor should have ceased among them. + + (b) + + After these things, on the day of the birth of our Lord Jesus + Christ, when all the people were assembled in the Church of the + blessed St. Peter,[173] the venerable and gracious Pope with his + own hands crowned him [Charlemagne] with an exceedingly precious + crown. Then all the faithful Romans, beholding the choice of such a + friend and defender of the holy Roman Church, and of the pontiff, + did by the will of God and of the blessed Peter, the key-bearer of + the heavenly kingdom, cry with a loud voice, "To Charles, the most + pious Augustus, crowned of God, the great and peace-giving Emperor, + be life and victory." While he, before the altar of the church, was + calling upon many of the saints, it was proclaimed three times, and + by the common voice of all he was chosen to be emperor of the + Romans. Then the most holy high priest and pontiff anointed Charles + with holy oil, and also his most excellent son to be king,[174] + upon the very day of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. + + +21. The General Capitulary for the Missi (802) + +Throughout the larger part of Charlemagne's dominion the chief local +unit of administration was the county, presided over by the count. The +count was appointed by the Emperor, generally from among the most +important landed proprietors of the district. His duties included the +levy of troops, the publication of the royal decrees or capitularies, +the administration of justice, and the collection of revenues. On the +frontiers, where the need of defense was greatest, these local +officers exercised military functions of a special character and were +commonly known as "counts of the march," or dukes, or sometimes as +margraves. In order that these royal officials, in whatever part of +the country, might not abuse their authority as against their +fellow-subjects, or engage in plots against the unity of the empire, +Charlemagne devised a plan of sending out at stated intervals men who +were known as _missi dominici_ ("the lord's messengers") to visit the +various counties, hear complaints of the people, inquire into the +administration of the counts, and report conditions to the Emperor. +They were to serve as connecting links between the central and local +governments and as safeguards against the ever powerful forces of +disintegration. Such itinerant royal agents had not been unknown in +Merovingian times, and they had probably been made use of pretty +frequently by Charles Martel and Pepin the Short. But it was +Charlemagne who reduced the employment of _missi_ to a system and made +it a fixed part of the governmental machinery of the Frankish kingdom. +This he did mainly by the _Capitulare Missorum Generale_, promulgated +early in 802 at an assembly at the favorite capital Aix-la-Chapelle. +The whole empire was divided into districts, or _missaticae_, and each +of these was to be visited annually by two of the _missi_. A churchman +and a layman were usually sent out together, probably because they +were to have jurisdiction over both the clergy and the laity, and also +that they might restrain each other from injustice or other +misconduct. They were appointed by the Emperor, at first from his +lower order of vassals, but after a time from the leading bishops, +abbots, and nobles of the empire. They were given power to depose +minor officials for misdemeanors, and to summon higher ones before the +Emperor. By 812, at least, they were required to make four rounds of +inspection each year. + +In the capitulary for the _missi_ Charlemagne took occasion to include +a considerable number of regulations and instructions regarding the +general character of the local governments, the conduct of local +officers, the manner of life of the clergy, the management of the +monasteries, and other things of vital importance to the strength of +the empire and the well-being of the people. The capitulary may be +regarded as a broad outline of policy and conduct which its author, +lately become emperor, wished to see realized throughout his vast +dominion. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 33, pp. 91-99. Translated by Dana + C. Munro in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. + VI., No. 5, pp. 16-27. + + [Sidenote: The missi sent out] + + =1.= Concerning the embassy sent out by the lord emperor. + + Therefore, the most serene and most Christian lord emperor Charles + has chosen from his nobles the wisest and most prudent men, both + archbishops and some of the other bishops also, and venerable + abbots and pious laymen, and has sent them throughout his whole + kingdom, and through them he would have all the various classes of + persons mentioned in the following chapters live in accordance + with the correct law. Moreover, where anything which is not right + and just has been enacted in the law, he has ordered them to + inquire into this most diligently and to inform him of it. He + desires, God granting, to reform it. And let no one, through his + cleverness or craft, dare to oppose or thwart the written law, as + many are wont to do, or the judicial sentence passed upon him, or + to do injury to the churches of God, or the poor, or the widows, or + the wards, or any Christian. But all shall live entirely in + accordance with God's precept, honestly and under a just rule, and + each one shall be admonished to live in harmony with his fellows in + his business or profession; the canonical clergy[175] ought to + observe in every respect a canonical life without heeding base + gain; nuns ought to keep diligent watch over their lives; laymen + and the secular clergy[176] ought rightly to observe their laws + without malicious fraud; and all ought to live in mutual charity + and perfect peace. + + [Sidenote: The duties of the missi] + + And let the _missi_ themselves make a diligent investigation + whenever any man claims that an injustice has been done him by any + one, just as they desire to deserve the grace of omnipotent God and + to keep their fidelity promised to Him, so that in all cases, in + accordance with the will and fear of God, they shall administer the + law fully and justly in the case of the holy churches of God and of + the poor, of wards and widows, and of the whole people. And if + there be anything of such a nature that they, together with the + provincial counts, are not able of themselves to correct it and to + do justice concerning it, they shall, without any reservation, + refer it, together with their reports, to the judgment of the + emperor; and the straight path of justice shall not be impeded by + any one on account of flattery or gifts, or on account of any + relationship, or from fear of the powerful.[177] + + [Sidenote: Oath to be taken to Charlemagne as emperor] + + =2.= Concerning the fidelity to be promised to the lord emperor. + + He has commanded that every man in his whole kingdom, whether + ecclesiastic or layman, and each one according to his vow and + occupation, should now promise to him as emperor the fidelity which + he had previously promised to him as king; and all of those who had + not yet made that promise should do likewise, down to those who + were twelve years old. And that it shall be announced to all in + public, so that each one might know, how great and how many things + are comprehended in that oath; not merely, as many have thought + hitherto, fidelity to the lord emperor as regards his life, and not + introducing any enemy into his kingdom out of enmity, and not + consenting to or concealing another's faithlessness to him; but + that all may know that this oath contains in itself the following + meaning: + + [Sidenote: What the new oath was to mean] + + =3.= First, that each one voluntarily shall strive, in accordance + with his knowledge and ability, to live completely in the holy + service of God, in accordance with the precept of God and in + accordance with his own promise, because the lord emperor is unable + to give to all individually the necessary care and discipline. + + =4.= Secondly, that no man, either through perjury or any other + wile or fraud, or on account of the flattery or gift of any one, + shall refuse to give back or dare to take possession of or conceal + a serf of the lord emperor, or a district, or land, or anything + that belongs to him; and that no one shall presume, through perjury + or other wile, to conceal or entice away his fugitive fiscaline + serfs[178] who unjustly and fraudulently say that they are free. + + =5.= That no one shall presume to rob or do any injury fraudulently + to the churches of God, or widows, or orphans, or pilgrims;[179] + for the lord emperor himself, under God and His saints, has + constituted himself their protector and defender. + + =6.= That no one shall dare to lay waste a benefice[180] of the + lord emperor, or to make it his own property. + + =7.= That no one shall presume to neglect a summons to war from the + lord emperor; and that no one of the counts shall be so + presumptuous as to dare to excuse any one of those who owe military + service, either on account of relationship, or flattery, or gifts + from any one. + + =8.= That no one shall presume to impede at all in any way a + ban[181] or command of the lord emperor, or to tamper with his + work, or to impede, or to lessen, or in any way to act contrary to + his will or commands. And that no one shall dare to neglect to pay + his dues or tax. + + [Sidenote: Justice to be rendered in the courts] + + =9.= That no one, for any reason, shall make a practice in court of + defending another unjustly, either from any desire of gain when the + cause is weak, or by impeding a just judgment by his skill in + reasoning, or by a desire of oppressing when the cause is weak. But + each one shall answer for his own cause or tax or debt, unless any + one is infirm or ignorant of pleading;[182] for these the _missi_, + or the chiefs who are in the court, or the judge who knows the case + in question, shall plead before the court; or, if it is necessary, + such a person may be allowed as is acceptable to all and knows the + case well; but this shall be done wholly according to the + convenience of the chiefs or _missi_ who are present. But in every + case it shall be done in accordance with justice and the law; and + no one shall have the power to impede justice by a gift, reward, or + any kind of evil flattery, or from any hindrance of relationship. + And no one shall unjustly consent to another in anything, but with + all zeal and good-will all shall be prepared to carry out justice. + + For all the above mentioned ought to be observed by the imperial + oath.[183] + + =10.= [We ordain] that bishops and priests shall live according to + the canons[184] and shall teach others to do the same. + + [Sidenote: Obligations of the clergy] + + =11.= That bishops, abbots, and abbesses who are in charge of + others, with the greatest veneration shall strive to surpass their + subjects in this diligence and shall not oppress their subjects + with a harsh rule or tyranny, but with a sincere love shall + carefully guard the flock committed to them with mercy and charity, + or by the examples of good works. + + =14.= That bishops, abbots and abbesses, and counts shall be + mutually in accord, following the law in order to render a just + judgment with all charity and unity of peace, and that they shall + live faithfully in accordance with the will of God, so that always + everywhere through them and among them a just judgment shall be + rendered. The poor, widows, orphans, and pilgrims shall have + consolation and defense from them; so that we, through the + good-will of these, may deserve the reward of eternal life rather + than punishment. + + =19.= That no bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, or other members + of the clergy shall presume to have dogs for hunting, or hawks, + falcons, and sparrow-hawks, but each shall observe fully the + canons or rule of his order.[185] If any one shall presume to do + so, let him know that he shall lose his office. And in addition he + shall suffer such punishment for his misconduct that the others + will be afraid to possess such things for themselves. + + =27.= And we command that no one in our whole kingdom shall dare to + deny hospitality to rich, or poor, or pilgrims; that is, let no one + deny shelter and fire and water to pilgrims traversing our country + in God's name, or to any one traveling for the love of God, or for + the safety of his own soul. + + [Sidenote: The missi to be helped on their way] + + =28.= Concerning embassies coming from the lord emperor. That the + counts and _centenarii_[186] shall provide most carefully, as they + desire the good-will of the lord emperor, for the _missi_ who are + sent out, so that they may go through their territories without any + delay; and the emperor commands all everywhere that they see to it + that no delay is encountered anywhere, but they shall cause the + _missi_ to go on their way in all haste and shall provide for them + in such a manner as they may direct. + + [Sidenote: The crime of murder] + + =32.= Murders, by which a multitude of the Christian people perish, + we command in every way to be shunned and to be forbidden.... + Nevertheless, lest sin should also increase, in order that the + greatest enmities may not arise among Christians, when by the + persuasions of the devil murders happen, the criminal shall + immediately hasten to make amends and with all speed shall pay to + the relatives of the murdered man the fitting composition for the + evil done. And we forbid firmly that the relatives of the murdered + man shall dare in any way to continue their enmities on account of + the evil done, or shall refuse to grant peace to him who asks it, + but, having given their pledges, they shall receive the fitting + composition and shall make a perpetual peace; moreover, the guilty + one shall not delay to pay the composition....[187] But if any one + shall have scorned to make the fitting composition, he shall be + deprived of his property until we shall render our decision.[188] + + [Sidenote: Theft of game from the royal forests] + + =39.= That in our forests no one shall dare to steal our game, + which we have already many times forbidden to be done; and now we + again strictly forbid that any one shall do so in the future; just + as each one desires to preserve the fidelity promised to us, so let + him take heed to himself.... + + =40.= Lastly, therefore, we desire all our decrees to be known in + the whole kingdom through our _missi_ now sent out, either among + the men of the Church, bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, canons, + all monks or nuns, so that each one in his ministry or profession + may keep our ban or decree, or where it may be fitting to thank the + citizens for their good-will, or to furnish aid, or where there may + be need still of correcting anything.... Where we believe there is + anything unpunished, we shall so strive to correct it with all our + zeal and will that with God's aid we may bring it to correction, + both for our own eternal glory and that of all our faithful. + + +22. A Letter of Charlemagne to Abbot Fulrad + +In Charlemagne's governmental and military system the clergy, both +regular and secular, had a place of large importance. From early +Frankish times the bishoprics and monasteries had been acquiring +large landed estates on which they enjoyed peculiar political and +judicial privileges. These lands came to the church authorities partly +by purchase, largely by gift, and not infrequently through concessions +by small land-holders who wished to get the Church's favor and +protection without actually moving off the little farms they had been +accustomed to cultivate. However acquired, the lands were administered +by the clergy with larger independence than was apt to be allowed the +average lay owner. Still, they were as much a part of the empire as +before and the powerful bishops and abbots were expected to see that +certain services were forthcoming when the Emperor found himself in +need of them. Among these was the duty of leading, or sending, a quota +of troops under arms to the yearly assembly. In the selection below we +have a letter written by Charlemagne some time between 804 and 811 to +Fulrad, abbot of St. Quentin (about sixty miles northeast of Paris), +respecting the fulfilment of this important obligation. The closing +sentence indicates very clearly the price exacted by the Emperor in +return for concessions of temporal authority to ecclesiastical +magnates. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 75, p. 168. + + [Sidenote: The troops to be brought: their equipment] + + In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Charles, most + serene, august, crowned of God, great pacific Emperor, who, by + God's mercy, is King of the Franks and Lombards, to Abbot Fulrad. + + Let it be known to you that we have determined to hold our general + assembly[189] this year in the eastern part of Saxony, on the River + Bode, at the place which is known as Strassfurt.[190] Therefore, + we enjoin that you come to this meeting-place, with all your men + well armed and equipped, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of + July, that is, seven days before the festival of St. John the + Baptist.[191] Come, therefore, so prepared with your men to the + aforesaid place that you may be able to go thence well equipped in + any direction in which our command shall direct; that is, with arms + and accoutrements also, and other provisions for war in the way of + food and clothing. Each horseman will be expected to have a shield, + a lance, a sword, a dagger, a bow, and quivers with arrows; and in + your carts shall be implements of various kinds, that is, axes, + planes, augers, boards, spades, iron shovels, and other utensils + which are necessary in an army. In the wagons also should be + supplies of food for three months, dating from the time of the + assembly, together with arms and clothing for six months. And + furthermore we command that you see to it that you proceed + peacefully to the aforesaid place, through whatever part of our + realm your journey shall be made; that is, that you presume to take + nothing except fodder, wood, and water. And let the followers of + each one of your vassals march along with the carts and horsemen, + and let the leader always be with them until they reach the + aforesaid place, so that the absence of a lord may not give to his + men an opportunity to do evil. + + [Sidenote: Gifts for the Emperor] + + Send your gifts,[192] which you ought to present to us at our + assembly in the middle of the month of May, to the place where we + then shall be. If it happens that your journey shall be such that + on your march you are able in person to present these gifts of + yours to us, we shall be greatly pleased. Be careful to show no + negligence in the future if you care to have our favor. + + +23. The Carolingian Revival of Learning + +One of Charlemagne's chief claims to distinction is that his reign, +largely through his own influence, comprised the most important period +of the so-called Carolingian renaissance, or revival of learning. From +the times of the Frankish conquest of Gaul until about the middle of +the eighth century, education in western Europe, except in Ireland and +Britain, was at a very low ebb and literary production quite +insignificant. The old Roman intellectual activity had nearly ceased, +and two or three centuries of settled life had been required to bring +the Franks to the point of appreciating and encouraging art and +letters. Even by Charlemagne's time people generally were far from +being awake to the importance of education, though a few of the more +far-sighted leaders, and especially Charlemagne himself, had come to +lament the gross ignorance which everywhere prevailed and were ready +to adopt strong measures to overcome it. Charlemagne was certainly no +scholar, judged even by the standards of his own time; but had he been +the most learned man in the world his interest in education could not +have been greater. Before studying the selection given below, it would +be well to read what Einhard said about his master's zeal for learning +and the amount of progress he made personally in getting an education +[see pp. 112--113]. + +The most conspicuous of Charlemagne's educational measures was his +enlarging and strengthening of the Scola Palatina, or Palace School. +This was an institution which had existed in the reign of his father +Pepin, and probably even earlier. It consisted of a group of scholars +gathered at the Frankish court for the purpose of studying and writing +literature, educating the royal household, and stimulating learning +throughout the country. It formed what we to-day might call an academy +of sciences. Under Charlemagne's care it came to include such men of +distinction as Paul the Deacon, historian of the Lombards, Paulinus of +Aquileia, a theologian, Peter of Pisa, a grammarian, and above all +Alcuin, a skilled teacher and writer from the school of York in +England. Its history falls into three main periods: (1) from the +middle of the eighth century to the year 782--the period during which +it was dominated by Paul the Deacon and his Italian colleagues; (2) +from 782 to about 800, when its leading spirit was Alcuin; and (3) +from 800 to the years of its decadence in the later ninth century, +when Frankish rather than foreign names appear most prominently in its +annals. + +It was Charlemagne's ideal that throughout his entire dominion +opportunity should be open to all to obtain at least an elementary +education and to carry their studies as much farther as they liked. To +this end a regular system of schools was planned, beginning with the +village school, in charge of the parish priest for the most elementary +studies, and leading up through monastic and cathedral schools to the +School of the Palace. In the intermediate stages, corresponding to our +high schools and academies to-day, the subjects studied were +essentially the same as those which received attention in the Scola +Palatina. They were divided into two groups: (1) the _trivium_, +including grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic (or philosophy), and (2) +the _quadrivium_, including geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and +music. The system thus planned was never fully put in operation +throughout Frankland, for after Charlemagne's death the work which he +had so well begun was seriously interfered with by the falling off in +intellectual aggressiveness of the sovereigns, by civil war, and by +the ravages of the Hungarian and Norse invaders [see p. 163]. A +capitulary of Louis the Pious in 817, for example, forbade the +continuance of secular education in monastic schools. Still, much of +what had been done remained, and never thereafter did learning among +the Frankish people fall to quite so low a stage as it had passed +through in the sixth and seventh centuries. + +Charlemagne's interest in education may be studied best of all in his +capitularies. In the extract below we have the so-called letter _De +Litteris Colendis_, written some time between 780 and 800, which, +though addressed personally to Abbot Baugulf, of the monastery of +Fulda, was in reality a capitulary establishing certain regulations +regarding education in connection with the work of the monks. To the +Church was intrusted the task of raising the level of intelligence +among the masses, and the clergy were admonished to bring together the +children of both freemen and serfs in schools in which they might be +trained, even as the sons of the nobles were trained at the royal +court. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 29, pp. 78-79. Adapted from + translation by Dana C. Munro in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and + Reprints_, Vol. VI., No. 5, pp. 12-14. + + Charles, by the grace of God, king of the Franks and Lombards and + Patrician of the Romans.[193] To Abbot Baugulf, and to all the + congregation--also to the faithful placed under your care--we have + sent loving greetings by our ambassadors in the name of + all-powerful God. + + [Sidenote: Men of the Church charged with the work of education] + + [Sidenote: Even the clergy often unable to speak and write + correctly] + + Be it known, therefore, to you, devoted and acceptable to God, that + we, together with our faithful, have deemed it expedient that the + bishoprics and monasteries intrusted by the favor of Christ to our + control, in addition to the order of monastic life and the + relationships of holy religion, should be zealous also in the + cherishing of letters, and in teaching those who by the gift of God + are able to learn, according as each has capacity. So that, just as + the observance of the rule[194] adds order and grace to the + integrity of morals, so also zeal in teaching and learning may do + the same for sentences, to the end that those who wish to please + God by living rightly should not fail to please Him also by + speaking correctly. For it is written, "Either from thy words thou + shall be justified or from thy words thou shalt be condemned" + [Matt., xii. 37]. Although right conduct may be better than + knowledge, nevertheless knowledge goes before conduct. Therefore + each one ought to study what he desires to accomplish, in order + that so much the more fully the mind may know what ought to be + done. as the tongue speeds in the praises of all-powerful God + without the hindrances of mistakes. For while errors should be + shunned by all men, so much the more ought they to be avoided, as + far as possible, by those who are chosen for this very purpose + alone.[195] They ought to be the specially devoted servants of + truth. For often in recent years when letters have been written to + us from monasteries, in which it was stated that the brethren who + dwelt there offered up in our behalf sacred and pious prayers, we + have recognized, in most cases, both correct thoughts and uncouth + expressions; because what pious devotion dictated faithfully to the + mind, the tongue, uneducated on account of the neglect of study, + was not able to express in the letter without error. Whence it + happened that we began to fear lest perchance, as the skill in + writing was less, so also the wisdom for understanding the Holy + Scriptures might be much less than it rightly ought to be. And we + all know well that, although errors of speech are dangerous, far + more dangerous are errors of the understanding. + + [Sidenote: Education essential to an understanding of the + Scriptures] + + Therefore, we exhort you not only not to neglect the study of + letters, but also with most humble mind, pleasing to God, to study + earnestly in order that you may be able more easily and more + correctly to penetrate the mysteries of the divine Scriptures. + Since, moreover, images [similes], tropes[196] and like figures are + found in the sacred pages, nobody doubts that each one in reading + these will understand the spiritual sense more quickly if + previously he shall have been fully instructed in the mastery of + letters. Such men truly are to be chosen for this work as have both + the will and the ability to learn and a desire to instruct others. + And may this be done with a zeal as great as the earnestness with + which we command it. For we desire you to be, as the soldiers of + the Church ought to be, devout in mind, learned in discourse, + chaste in conduct, and eloquent in speech, so that when any one + shall seek to see you, whether out of reverence for God or on + account of your reputation for holy conduct, just as he is edified + by your appearance, he may also be instructed by the wisdom which + he has learned from your reading or singing, and may go away + gladly, giving thanks to Almighty God. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[119] Thomas Hodgkin, _Charles the Great_ (London, 1903), p. 222. + +[120] The German name for Aix-la-Chapelle was Aachen. From Roman times +the place was noted throughout Europe for its warm sulphur springs and +for centuries before Charlemagne's day it had been a favorite resort +for health-seekers. It was about the middle of his reign that +Charlemagne determined to have the small palace already existing +rebuilt, together with its accompanying chapel. Marbles and mosaics +were obtained at Rome and Ravenna, and architects and artisans were +brought together for the work from all Christendom. The chapel was +completed in 805 and was dedicated by Pope Leo III. Both palace and +chapel were destroyed a short time before the Emperor's death, +probably as the result of an earthquake. The present town-house of +Aix-la-Chapelle has been constructed on the ruins of this palace. The +chapel, rebuilt on the ancient octagonal plan in 983, contains the +tomb of Charlemagne, marked by a stone bearing the inscription "Carolo +Magno." Besides Aachen, Charlemagne had many other residences, as +Compiegne, Worms, Attigny, Mainz, Paderborn, Ratisbon, Heristal, and +Thionville. + +[121] A loose, flowing outer garment, or cloak. It was a feature of +ancient Greek dress. + +[122] Hadrian I., 772-775. Charlemagne's first visit to Rome was in +774. + +[123] Leo III., 795-816. The Roman dress was donned by Charlemagne +during his visit in 800 [see p. 130]. + +[124] St. Augustine, the greatest of the Church fathers, was born in +Numidia in 354. He spent a considerable part of his early life +studying in Rome and other Italian cities. The _De Civitate Dei_ +("City of God"), generally regarded as his most important work, was +completed in 426, its purpose being to convince the Romans that even +though the supposedly eternal city of Rome had recently been sacked by +the barbarian Visigoths, the true "city of God" was in the hearts of +men beyond the reach of desecrating invaders. When he wrote the book +Augustine was bishop of Hippo, an important city of northern Africa. +His death occurred in 430, during the siege of Hippo by Gaiseric and +his horde of Vandals. + +[125] The Count of the Palace was one of the coterie of officials by +whose aid Charlemagne managed the affairs of the state. He was +primarily an officer of justice, corresponding in a way to the old +Mayor of the Palace, but with very much less power. + +[126] When Charlemagne captured Pavia, the Lombard capital, in 774, he +found Peter the Pisan teaching in that city. With characteristic zeal +for the advancement of education among his own people he proceeded to +transfer the learned deacon to the Frankish Palace School [see p. +144]. + +[127] Alcuin was born at York in 735. He took up his residence at +Charlemagne's court about 782, and died in the office of abbot of St. +Martin of Tours in 804. + +[128] During the Napoleonic period many of these columns were taken +possession of by the French and transported to Paris. Only recently +have they been replaced in the Aix-la-Chapelle cathedral. Most of them +came originally from the palace of the Exarch of Ravenna. + +[129] These statements of Einhard respecting the lavishness of +Charlemagne's gifts must be taken with some allowance. They were +doubtless considerable for the day, but Charlemagne's revenues were +not such as to enable him to display wealth which in modern times +would be regarded as befitting a monarch of so exalted rank. + +[130] In 774, 781, 787, and 800. + +[131] Charlemagne became joint ruler of the Franks with his brother +Karlmann in 768; hence when he died, in 814, he had reigned only +forty-six years instead of forty-seven. + +[132] Ephraim Emerton, _Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages_ +(Boston, 1903), p. 189. + +[133] The war really lasted only thirty, or at the most thirty-one, +years. + +[134] The only notable act of vengeance during the war was the +beheading of 4,500 Saxons in a single day at Verden, on the Weser. It +was occasioned by a great Saxon revolt in 782, led by the chieftain +Widukind. + +[135] The formula of renunciation and confession generally employed in +the Christianizing of the Germans, and therefore in all probability in +the conversion of the Saxons, was as follows: + + Question. Forsakest thou the devil? + + Answer. I forsake the devil. + + Ques. And all the devil's service? + + Ans. And I forsake all the devil's service. + + Ques. And all the devil's works? + + Ans. And I forsake all the devil's works and words. Thor and Woden and + Saxnot and all the evil spirits that are their companions. + + Ques. Believest thou in God the Almighty Father? + + Ans. I believe in God the Almighty Father. + + Ques. Believest thou in Christ the Son of God? + + Ans. I believe in Christ the Son of God. + + Ques. Believest thou in the Holy Ghost? + + Ans. I believe in the Holy Ghost. + +"Accepting Christianity was to the German very much like changing of +allegiance from one political sovereign to another. He gave up Thor +and Woden (Odin) and Saxnot, and in their place took the Father, the +Son, and the Holy Ghost."--Emerton, _Introduction to the Study of the +Middle Ages_, pp. 155-156. Text of these "Interrogationes et +Responsiones Baptismales" is in the _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, +Leges_ (Boretius ed.), Vol. II., No. 107. + +[136] That is, the more important offenses, involving capital +punishment, as contrasted with the later "lesser chapters" dealing +with minor misdemeanors. + +[137] The Saxons were to be won to the Church through the protection +it afforded, but they were likewise to be made to stand in awe of the +sanctity of its property. + +[138] The apparent harshness of this whole body of regulations was +considerably diminished in practice by the large discretion left to +the priests, as in this case. They were exhorted to exercise care and +to take circumstances into account in judging a man's guilt or +innocence. + +[139] From this point the capitulary deals with the "lesser chapters," +i.e., non-capital offenses. + +[140] For the value of the _solidus_, see p. 61. + +[141] Three classes of society are distinguished--nobles, freemen, and +serfs. The ordinary freeman pays half as much as the noble, and the +serf half as much as the freeman. + +[142] A prominent characteristic of the early Teutonic religion was +that its ceremonies were invariably conducted out of doors. Tacitus, +in the _Germania_ (Chap. 9), tells us that the Germans had no temples +or other buildings for religious purposes, but worshipped in sacred +groves. The "Irmensaule," probably a giant tree-trunk, was the central +shrine of the Saxon people, and Charlemagne's destruction of it in 772 +was the most serious offense that could have been committed against +them. + +[143] The Germans reckoned by nights rather than by days, as explained +by Tacitus, _Germania_, Chap. 11 [see p. 27]. + +[144] A sum assessed by the king, in this case against the illegal +harboring of criminals. + +[145] The counts, together with the bishops, were the local +representatives or agents of the king. They presided over judicial +assemblies, collected revenues, and preserved order. There were about +three hundred of them in Charlemagne's empire when at its greatest +extent. + +[146] An officer sent out by the king to investigate the +administration of the counts and render judgment in certain cases. As +a rule two were sent together, a layman and an ecclesiastic [see p. +134]. + +[147] Under ordinary circumstances the priests were thus charged with +the responsibility of seeing that local government in their various +communities was just and legal. + +[148] Bemont and Monod, _Mediaeval Europe_ (New York, 1902), p. 202. + +[149] Chapter 62 is here given out of order because it contains a +comprehensive survey of the products and activities upon which the +royal stewards were expected to report. The other chapters are more +specific. It is likely that they have not come down to us in their +original order. + +[150] The ordinary estate in this period, whether royal or not, +consisted of two parts. One was the demesne, which the owner kept +under his immediate control; the other was the remaining lands, which +were divided among tenants who paid certain rentals for their use and +also performed stated services on the lord's demesne. Charlemagne +instructs his stewards to report upon both sorts of land. + +[151] Probably payments for the right to keep pigs in the woods. The +most common meat in the Middle Ages was pork and the use of the oak +forests as hog pasture was a privilege of considerable value. + +[152] Fines imposed upon offenders to free them from crime or to +repair damages done. + +[153] Panic was a kind of grass, the seeds of which were not +infrequently used for food. + +[154] The serfs were a semi-free class of country people. They did not +own the land on which they lived and were not allowed to move off it +without the owner's consent. They cultivated the soil and paid rents +of one kind or another to their masters--in the present case, to the +agents of the king. + +[155] A variety of fermented liquor made of salt fish. + +[156] A blue coloring matter derived from the leaves of a plant of the +same name. + +[157] A red coloring matter derived from a plant of the same name. + +[158] Burrs of the teasel plant, stiff and prickly, with hooked +bracts; used in primitive manufacturing for raising a nap on woolen +cloth. + +[159] A kind of grain still widely cultivated for food in Germany and +Switzerland; sometimes known as German wheat. + +[160] The unit of weight was the pound. Charlemagne replaced the old +Gallic pound by the Roman, which was a tenth less. + +[161] The unit of measure was the _muid_. Charlemagne had a standard +measure (_modius publicus_) constructed and in a number of his +capitularies enjoined that it be taken as a model by all his subjects. +It contained probably a little less than six pecks. A smaller measure +was the _setier_, containing about five and two-thirds pints. + +[162] Clergymen attached to the church on or near the estate. + +[163] "Attached to the royal villa, in the center of which stood the +palace or manse, were numerous dependent and humbler dwellings, +occupied by mechanics, artisans, and tradesmen, or rather +manufacturers and craftsmen, in great numbers. The dairy, the bakery, +the butchery, the brewery, the flour-mill were there.... The villa was +a city in embryo, and in due course it grew into one, for as it +supplied in many respects the wants of the surrounding country, so it +attracted population and became a center of commerce."--Jacob I. +Mombert, _Charles the Great_ (New York, 1888), pp. 401-402. + +[164] An ancient Gallic land measure, equivalent to about half a Roman +_jugerum_ (the _jugerum_ was about two-thirds of an acre). The arpent +in modern France has varied greatly in different localities. In Paris +it is 4,088 square yards. + +[165] The same as "pachak." The fragrant roots of this plant are still +exported from India to be used for burning as incense. + +[166] A kind of cabbage. The edible part is a large turnip-like +swelling of the stem above the surface of the ground. + +[167] A plant used both as a medicine and as a dye. + +[168] "All the cereals grown in the country were cultivated. The +flower gardens were furnished with the choicest specimens for beauty +and fragrance, the orchards and kitchen gardens produced the richest +and best varieties of fruit and vegetables. Charles specified by name +not less than seventy-four varieties of herbs which he commanded to be +cultivated; all the vegetables still raised in Central Europe, +together with many herbs now found in botanical gardens only, bloomed +on his villas; his orchards yielded a rich harvest in cherries, +apples, pears, prunes, peaches, figs, chestnuts, and mulberries. The +hill-sides were vineyards laden with the finest varieties of +grapes."--Mombert, _Charles the Great_, p. 400. + +[169] James Bryce, _The Holy Roman Empire_ (new ed., New York, 1904), +p. 50. + +[170] Irene, the wife of Emperor Leo IV. After the death of her +husband in 780 she became regent during the minority of her son, +Constantine VI., then only nine years of age. In 790 Constantine +succeeded in taking the government out of her hands; but seven years +afterwards she caused him to be blinded and shut up in a dungeon, +where he soon died. The revolting crimes by which Irene established +her supremacy at Constantinople were considered, even in her day, a +disgrace to Christendom. + +[171] This expression has given rise to a view which will be found in +some books that Pope Leo convened a general council of Frankish and +Italian clergy to consider the advisability of giving the imperial +title to Charlemagne. The whole matter is in doubt, but it does not +seem likely that there was any such formal deliberation. Leo certainly +ascertained that the leading lay and ecclesiastical magnates would +approve the contemplated step, but that a definite election in council +took place may be pretty confidently denied. The writer of the Annals +of Lauresheim was interested in making the case of Charlemagne, and +therefore of the later emperors, as strong as possible. + +[172] Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, says that the king at first +had such aversion to the titles of Emperor and Augustus "that he +declared he would not have set foot in the church the day that they +were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have +foreseen the design of the Pope" (_Vita Caroli Magni_, Chap. 28). +Despite this statement, however, we are not to regard the coronation +as a genuine surprise to anybody concerned. In all probability there +had previously been a more or less definite understanding between the +king and the Pope that in due time the imperial title should be +conferred. It is easy to believe, though, that Charlemagne had had no +idea that the ceremony was to be performed on this particular occasion +and it is likely enough that he had plans of his own as to the proper +time and place for it, plans which Leo rather rudely interfered with, +but which the manifest good-will of everybody constrained the king to +allow to be sacrificed. It may well be that Charlemagne had decided +simply to assume the imperial crown without a papal coronation at all, +in order that the whole question of papal supremacy, which threatened +to be a troublesome one, might be kept in the background. + +[173] The celebration of the Nativity was by far the greatest festival +of the Church. At this season the basilica of St. Peter at Rome was +the scene of gorgeous ceremonials, and to its sumptuous shrine +thronged the devout of all Christendom. Its magnificence on the famous +Christmas of 800 was greater than ever, for only recently Charlemagne +had bestowed the most costly of all his gifts upon it--the spoils of +the Avar wars. + +[174] Charles, the eldest son, since 789 king of Maine. In reality, of +course, he was but an under-king, since Maine was an integral part of +Charlemagne's dominion. He was anointed by Pope Leo in 800 as +heir-apparent to the new imperial dignity of his father. + +[175] The term "canonical" was applied more particularly to the clergy +attached to a cathedral church, the clergy being known individually as +"canons," collectively as a "chapter." In the present connection, +however, it probably refers to the monks, who, living as they did by +"canons" or rules, were in that sense "canonical clergy." + +[176] The secular clergy were the bishops, priests, deacons, and other +church officers, who lived with the people in the _saeculum_, or world, +as distinguished from the monks, ascetics, cenobites, anchorites, and +others, who dwelt in monasteries or other places of seclusion. + +[177] This is really as splendid a guarantee of equality before the +law as is to be found in Magna Charta or the Constitution of the +United States. Unfortunately there was not adequate machinery in the +Frankish government to enforce it, though we may suppose that while +the _missi_ continued efficient (which was not more than a hundred +years) considerable progress was made in this direction. + +[178] Serfs who worked on the fiscal lands, or, in other words, on the +royal estates. + +[179] Compare chapters 14 and 27. + +[180] A benefice, as the term is here used, was land granted by the +Emperor to a friend or dependent. The holder was to use such land on +stated terms for his own and the Emperor's gain, but was in no case to +claim ownership of it. + +[181] The word has at least three distinct meanings--a royal edict, a +judicial fine, and a territorial jurisdiction. It is here used in the +first of these senses. + +[182] There was little room under Charlemagne's system for +professional lawyers or advocates. + +[183] In other words, when the oath of allegiance is taken, as it must +be by every man and boy above the age of twelve, all the obligations +mentioned from Chap. 3 to Chap. 9 are to be considered as assumed +along with that of fidelity to the person and government of the +Emperor. + +[184] That is, the laws of the Church. + +[185] One of the greatest temptations of the mediaeval clergy was to +spend time in hunting, to the neglect of religious duties. Apparently +this evil was pretty common in Charlemagne's day. + +[186] The _centenarii_ were minor local officials, subordinate to the +counts, and confined in authority to their particular district or +"hundred." + +[187] In the Frankish kingdom, as commonly among Germanic peoples of +the period, murder not only might be, but was expected to be, atoned +for by a money payment to the slain man's relatives. The payment, +known as the _wergeld_, would vary according to the rank of the man +killed. If it were properly made, such "composition" was bound to be +accepted as complete reparation for the injury. In this regulation we +can discern a distinct advance over the old system of blood-feud under +which a murder almost invariably led to family and clan wars. Plainly +the Franks were becoming more civilized. + +[188] If a murderer refused to pay the required composition his +property was to be taken possession of by the Emperor's officers and +the case must be laid before the Emperor himself. If the latter chose, +he might order the restoration of the property, but this he was not +likely to do. + +[189] Beginning with the reign of Charlemagne there were really two +assemblies each year--one in the spring, the other in the autumn; but +the one in the spring, the so-called "May-field," was much the more +important. All the nobles and higher clergy attended, and if a +campaign was in prospect all who owed military service would be called +upon to bring with them their portion of the war-host, with specified +supplies. Charlemagne proposed all measures, the higher magnates +discussed them with him, and the lower ones gave a perfunctory +sanction to acts already determined upon. The meeting place was +changed from year to year, being rotated irregularly among the royal +residences, as Aix-la-Chapelle, Paderborn, Ingelheim, and Thionville; +occasionally they were held, as in this instance, in places otherwise +almost unknown. + +[190] Strassfurt was some distance south of Magdeburg. + +[191] The date of the festival of St. John the Baptist was June 22. + +[192] From earliest Germanic times we catch glimpses of this practice +of requiring gifts from a king's subjects. By Charlemagne's day it had +crystallized into an established custom and was a very important +source of revenue, though other sources had been opened up which were +quite unknown to the German sovereigns of three or four hundred years +before. Ordinarily these gifts, in money, jewels, or provisions, were +presented to the sovereign each year at the May assembly. + +[193] The title "Patricius of Rome" was conferred on Charlemagne by +Pope Hadrian I., in 774. Its bestowal was a token of papal +appreciation of the king's renewal of Pepin's grant of lands to the +papacy. In practice the title had little or no meaning. It was dropped +in 800 when Charlemagne was crowned emperor [see p. 130]. + +[194] That is, the law of the Church; in case of the monasteries, more +especially the regulations laid down for their order, e.g., the +Benedictine Rule. + +[195] In the Middle Ages it was assumed that churchmen were educated; +few other men had any claim to learning. Charlemagne here says that it +is bad indeed when men who have been put in ecclesiastical positions +because of their supposed education fall into errors which ought to be +expected only from ordinary people. + +[196] In rhetoric a trope is ordinarily defined as the use of a word +or expression in a different sense from that which properly belongs to +it. The most common varieties are metaphor, metonomy, synechdoche, and +irony. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE ERA OF THE LATER CAROLINGIANS + + +24. The Oaths of Strassburg (842) + +The broad empire of Germanic peoples built up by Charlemagne was +extremely difficult to hold together. Even before the death of its +masterful creator, in 814, it was already showing signs of breaking +up, and after that event the process of dissolution set in rapidly. It +will not do to look upon this falling to pieces as caused entirely by +the weakness of Charlemagne's successors. The trouble lay deeper, in +the natural love of independence common to all the Germans, in the +wide differences that had come to exist among Saxons, Lombards, +Bavarians, Franks, and other peoples in the empire, and finally in the +prevailing ill-advised principle of royal succession by which the +territories making up the empire, like those composing the old +Frankish kingdom, were regarded as personal property to be divided +among the sovereign's sons, just as was the practice respecting +private possessions. As a consequence of these things the generation +following the death of Charlemagne was a period of much confusion in +western Europe. The trouble first reached an acute stage in 817 when +Emperor Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son and successor, was +constrained to make a division of the empire among his three sons, +Lothair, Pepin, and Louis. The Emperor expressly stipulated that +despite this arrangement there was to be still "one sole empire, and +not three"; but it is obvious that the imperial unity was at least +pretty seriously threatened, and when, in 823, Louis's second wife, +Judith of Bavaria, gave birth to a son and immediately set up in his +behalf an urgent demand for a share of the empire, civil war among the +rival claimants could not be averted. In the struggle that followed +the distracted Emperor completely lost his throne for a time (833). +Thereafter he was ready to accept almost any arrangement that would +enable him to live out his remaining days in peace. When he died, in +840, two of the sons, Louis the German and Judith's child, who came to +be known as Charles the Bald, combined against their brother Lothair +(Pepin had died in 838) with the purpose of wresting from him the +imperial crown, which the father, shortly before his death, had +bestowed upon him. At least they were determined that this mark of +favor from the father should not give the older brother any +superiority over them. In the summer of 841 the issue was put to the +test in a great battle at Fontenay, a little distance east of Orleans, +with the result that Lothair was badly defeated. In February of the +following year Louis and Charles, knowing that Lothair was still far +from regarding himself as conquered, bound themselves by oath at +Strassburg, in the valley of the Rhine, to keep up their joint +opposition until they should be entirely successful. + +The pledges exchanged on this occasion are as interesting to the +student of language as to the historian. The army which accompanied +Louis was composed of men of almost pure Germanic blood and speech, +while that with Charles was made up of men from what is now southern +and western France, where the people represented a mixture of Frankish +and old Roman and Gallic stocks. As a consequence Louis took the oath +in the _lingua romana_ for the benefit of Charles's soldiers, and +Charles reciprocated by taking it in the _lingua teudisca_, in order +that the Germans might understand it. Then the followers of the two +kings took oath, each in his own language, that if their own king +should violate his agreement they would not support him in acts of +hostility against the other brother, provided the latter had been true +to his word. The _lingua romana_ employed marks a stage in the +development of the so-called Romance languages of to-day--French, +Spanish, and Italian--just as the _lingua teudisca_ approaches the +character of modern Teutonic languages--German, Dutch, and English. +The oaths and the accompanying address of the kings are the earliest +examples we have of the languages used by the common people of the +early Middle Ages. Latin was of course the language of literature, +records, and correspondence, matters with which ordinary people had +little or nothing to do. The necessity under which the two kings found +themselves of using two quite different modes of speech in order to be +understood by all the soldiers is evidence that already by the middle +of the ninth century the Romance and Germanic languages were becoming +essentially distinct. It was prophetic, too, of the fast approaching +cleavage of the northern and southern peoples politically. + +Nithardus, whose account of the exchange of oaths at Strassburg is +translated below, was an active participant in the events of the first +half of the ninth century. He was born about 790, his mother being +Charlemagne's daughter Bertha and his father the noted courtier and +poet Angilbert. In the later years of Charlemagne's reign, and +probably under Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald, he was in charge +of the defense of the northwest coasts against the Northmen. He fought +for Charles the Bald at Fontenay and was frequently employed in those +troublous years between 840 and 843 in the fruitless negotiations +among the rival sons of Louis. Neither the date nor the manner of his +death is known. There are traditions that he was killed in 858 or 859 +while fighting the Northmen; but other stories just as well founded +tell us that he became disgusted with the turmoil of the world, +retired to a monastery, and there died about 853. His history of the +wars of the sons of Louis the Pious (covering the period 840-843) was +undertaken at the request of Charles the Bald. The first three books +were written in 842, the fourth in 843. Aside from a rather too +favorable attitude toward Charles, the work is very trustworthy, and +the claim is even made by some that among all of the historians of the +Carolingian period, not even Einhard excepted, no one surpassed +Nithardus in spirit, method, and insight. It may further be noted that +Nithardus was the first historical writer of any importance in the +Middle Ages who was not some sort of official in the Church. + + Source--Nithardus, _Historiarum Libri IV._ ["Four Books of + Histories"], Bk. III., Chaps. 4-5. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae + Historica, Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. II., pp. 665-666. + + [Sidenote: Movements of the hostile parties in 841-842] + + Lothair was given to understand that Louis and Charles were + supporting each other with considerable armies.[197] Seeing that + his plans were crushed in every direction, he made a long but + profitless expedition and abandoned the country about Tours. At + length he returned into France,[198] worn out with fatigue, as was + also his army. Pepin,[199] bitterly repenting that he had been on + Lothair's side, withdrew into Aquitaine. Charles, learning that + Otger, bishop of Mainz, objected to the proposed passage of Louis + by way of Mainz to join his brother, set out by way of the city of + Toul[200] and entered Alsace at Saverne. When Otger heard of this, + he and his supporters abandoned the river and sought places where + they might hide themselves as speedily as possible. On the + fifteenth of February Louis and Charles came together in the city + formerly called Argentoratum, now known as Strassburg, and there + they took the mutual oaths which are given herewith, Louis in the + _lingua romana_ and Charles in the _lingua teudisca_. Before the + exchange of oaths they addressed the assembled people, each in his + own language, and Louis, being the elder, thus began: + + [Sidenote: The speech of Louis the German] + + "How often, since the death of our father, Lothair has pursued my + brother and myself and tried to destroy us, is known to you all. + So, then, when neither brotherly love, nor Christian feeling, nor + any reason whatever could bring about a peace between us upon fair + conditions, we were at last compelled to bring the matter before + God, determined to abide by whatever issue He might decree. And we, + as you know, came off victorious;[201] our brother was beaten, and + with his followers got away, each as best he could. Then we, moved + by brotherly love and having compassion on our Christian people, + were not willing to pursue and destroy them; but, still, as before, + we begged that justice might be done to each. He, however, after + all this, not content with the judgment of God, has not ceased to + pursue me and my brother with hostile purpose, and to harass our + peoples with fire, plunder, and murder. Wherefore we have been + compelled to hold this meeting, and, since we feared that you might + doubt whether our faith was fixed and our alliance secure, we have + determined to make our oaths thereto in your presence. And we do + this, not from any unfair greed, but in order that, if God, with + your help, shall grant us peace, we may the better provide for the + common welfare. But if, which God forbid, I shall dare to violate + the oath which I shall swear to my brother, then I absolve each one + of you from your allegiance and from the oath which you have sworn + to me." + + After Charles had made the same speech in the _lingua romana_, + Louis, as the elder of the two, swore first to be faithful to his + alliance: + + [Sidenote: The oath of Louis] + + _Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, + dist di in avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si + salvaraeio cist meon fradre Karlo et in adiudha et in cadhuna cosa, + si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dist, in o quid il mi altresi + fazet; et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai, qui meon vol cist + meon fradre Karle in damno sit._[202] + + When Louis had taken this oath, Charles swore the same thing in the + _lingua teudisca_: + + [Sidenote: The oath of Charles] + + _In Godes minna ind in thes christianes folches ind unser bedhero + gealtnissi, fon thesemo dage frammordes, so fram so mir Got gewizci + indi madh furgibit, so haldih tesan minan bruodher, soso man mit + rehtu sinan bruodher scal, in thiu, thaz er mig sosoma duo; indi + mit Ludheren in nohheiniu thing ne gegango, the minan willon imo + ce scadhen werhen._ + + The oath which the subjects of the two kings then took, each + [people] in its own language, reads thus in the _lingua romana_: + + [Sidenote: The oath taken by the subjects of the two kings] + + _Si Lodhwigs sagrament qua son fradre Karlo jurat, conservat, et + Karlus meos sendra, de suo part, non lo stanit, si io returnar non + lint pois, ne io ne neuls cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla aiudha + contra Lodhuwig nun li iver._[203] + + And in the _lingua teudisca_: + + _Oba Karl then eid then, er sineno bruodher Ludhuwige gesuor, + geleistit, indi Ludhuwig min herro then er imo gesuor, forbrihchit, + obih ina es irwenden ne mag, noh ih no thero nohhein then ih es + irwended mag, widhar Karle imo ce follusti ne wirdhic._ + + +25. The Treaty of Verdun (843) + +After the meeting at Strassburg, Charles and Louis advanced against +Lothair, who now abandoned Aachen and retreated southward past +Chalons-sur-Marne toward Lyons. When the brothers had come into the +vicinity of Chalons-sur-Saone, they were met by ambassadors from +Lothair who declared that he was weary of the struggle and was ready +to make peace if only his imperial dignity should be properly +recognized and the share of the kingdom awarded to him should be +somewhat the largest of the three. Charles and Louis accepted their +brother's overtures and June 15, 842, the three met on an island in +the Saone and signed preliminary articles of peace. It was agreed that +a board of a hundred and twenty prominent men should assemble October +1 at Metz, on the Moselle, and make a definite division of the +kingdom. This body, with the three royal brothers, met at the +appointed time, but adjourned to Worms, and subsequently to Verdun, on +the upper Meuse, in order to have the use of maps at the latter +place. The treaty which resulted during the following year was one of +the most important in all mediaeval times. Unfortunately the text of it +has not survived, but all its more important provisions are well known +from the writings of the chroniclers of the period. Two such accounts +of the treaty, brief but valuable, are given below. + +Louis had been the real sovereign of Bavaria for sixteen years and to +his kingdom were now added all the German districts on the right bank +of the Rhine (except Friesland), together with Mainz, Worms, and +Speyer on the left bank, under the general name of _Francia +Orientalis_. Charles retained the western countries--Aquitaine, +Gascony, Septimania, the Spanish March, Burgundy west of the Saone, +Neustria, Brittany, and Flanders--designated collectively as _Francia +Occidentalis_.[204] The intervening belt of lands, including the two +capitals Rome and Aachen, and extending from Terracina in Italy to the +North Sea, went to Lothair.[205] With it went the more or less nominal +imperial dignity. In general, Louis's portion represented the coming +Germany and Charles's the future France. But that of Lothair was +utterly lacking in either geographical or racial unity and was +destined not long to be held together. Parts of it, particularly +modern Alsace and Lorraine, have remained to this day a bone of +contention between the states on the east and west. "The partition of +843," says Professor Emerton, "involved, so far as we know, nothing +new in the relations of the three brothers to each other. The theory +of the empire was preserved, but the meaning of it disappeared. There +is no mention of any actual superiority of the Emperor (Lothair) over +his brothers, and there is nothing to show that the imperial name was +anything but an empty title, a memory of something great which men +could not quite let die, but which for a hundred years to come was to +be powerless for good or evil."[206] The empire itself was never +afterwards united under the rule of one man, except for two years +(885-887) in the time of Charles the Fat. + + Sources--(a) _Annales Bertiniani_ ["Annals of Saint Bertin"]. + Translated from text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, + Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. I., p. 440. + + (b) _Rudolfi Fuldensis Annales_ ["Annals of Rudolph of + Fulda"]. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores_ + (Pertz ed.), Vol. I., p. 362. + + [Sidenote: A statement from the annals of Saint Bertin] + + (a) + + Charles set out to find his brothers, and they met at Verdun. By + the division there made Louis received for his share all the + country beyond the Rhine,[207] and on this side Speyer, Worms, + Mainz, and the territories belonging to these cities. Lothair + received that which is between the Scheldt and the Rhine toward the + sea, and that lying beyond Cambresis, Hainault, and the counties + adjoining on this side of the Meuse, down to the confluence of the + Saone and Rhone, and thence along the Rhone to the sea, together + with the adjacent counties. Charles received all the remainder, + extending to Spain. And when the oath was exchanged they went their + several ways. + + [Sidenote: Another from those of Rudolph of Fulda] + + (b) + + The realm had from early times been divided in three portions, and + in the month of August the three kings, coming together at Verdun + in Gaul, redivided it among themselves. Louis received the eastern + part, Charles the western. Lothair, who was older than his + brothers, received the middle portion. After peace was firmly + established and oaths exchanged, each brother returned to his + dominion to control and protect it. Charles, presuming to regard + Aquitaine as belonging properly to his share, was given much + trouble by his nephew Pepin,[208] who annoyed him by frequent + incursions and caused great loss. + + +26. A Chronicle of the Frankish Kingdom in the Ninth Century + +The following passages from the Annals of Xanten are here given for +two purposes--to show something of the character of the period of the +Carolingian decline, and to illustrate the peculiar features of the +mediaeval chronicle. Numerous names, places, and events neither very +clearly understood now, nor important if they were understood, occur +in the text, and some of these it is not deemed worth while to attempt +to explain in the foot-notes. The selection is valuable for the +general impressions it gives rather than for the detailed facts which +it contains, though some of the latter are interesting enough. + +Annals as a type of historical writing first assumed considerable +importance in western Europe in the time of Charles Martel and +Charlemagne. Their origin, like that of most forms of mediaeval +literary production, can be traced directly to the influence of the +Church. The annals began as mere occasional notes jotted down by the +monks upon the "Easter tables," which were circulated among the +monasteries so that the sacred festival might not fail to be observed +at the proper date. The Easter tables were really a sort of calendar, +and as they were placed on parchment having a broad margin it was very +natural that the monks should begin to write in the margin opposite +the various years some of the things that had happened in those years. +An Easter table might pass through a considerable number of hands and +so have events recorded upon it by a good many different men. All +sorts of things were thus made note of--some important, some +unimportant--and of course it is not necessary to suppose that +everything written down was actually true. Many mistakes were +possible, especially as the writer often had only his memory, or +perhaps mere hearsay, to rely upon. And when, as frequently happened, +these scattered Easter tables were brought together in some monastery +and there revised, fitted together, and written out in one continuous +chronicle, there were chances at every turn for serious errors to +creep in. The compilers were sometimes guilty of wilful +misrepresentation, but more often their fault was only their +ignorance, credulity, and lack of critical discernment. In these +annals there was no attempt to write history as we now understand it; +that is, the chroniclers did not undertake to work out the causes and +results and relations of things. They merely recorded year by year +such happenings as caught their attention--the succession of a new +pope, the death of a bishop, the coronation of a king, a battle, a +hail-storm, an eclipse, the birth of a two-headed calf--all sorts of +unimportant, and from our standpoint ridiculous, items being thrown in +along with matters of world-wide moment. Heterogeneous as they are, +however, the large collections of annals that have come down to us +have been used by modern historians with the greatest profit, and but +for them we should know far less than we do about the Middle Ages, and +especially about the people and events of the ninth, tenth, and +eleventh centuries. + +The Annals of Xanten here quoted are the work originally of a number +of ninth century monks. The fragments from which they were ultimately +compiled are thought to have been brought together at Cologne, or at +least in that vicinity. They cover especially the years 831-873. + + Source--_Annales Xantenses_ ["Annals of Xanten"]. Text in + _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. + II., p. 227. Adapted from translation in James H. Robinson, + _Readings in European History_ (New York, 1904), Vol. I., pp. + 158-162. + + =844.= Pope Gregory departed this world and Pope Sergius followed + in his place.[209] Count Bernhard was killed by Charles. Pepin, + king of Aquitaine, together with his son and the son of Bernhard, + routed the army of Charles,[210] and there fell the abbot Hugo. At + the same time King Louis advanced with his army against the + Wends,[211] one of whose kings, Gestimus by name, was killed; the + rest came to Louis and pledged him their fidelity, which, however, + they broke as soon as he was gone. Thereafter Lothair, Louis, and + Charles came together for council in Diedenhofen, and after a + conference they went their several ways in peace. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen in Frisia and Gaul] + + =845.= Twice in the canton of Worms there was an earthquake; the + first in the night following Palm Sunday, the second in the holy + night of Christ's Resurrection. In the same year the heathen[212] + broke in upon the Christians at many points, but more than twelve + thousand of them were killed by the Frisians. Another party of + invaders devastated Gaul; of these more than six hundred men + perished. Yet, owing to his indolence, Charles agreed to give them + many thousand pounds of gold and silver if they would leave Gaul, + and this they did. Nevertheless the cloisters of most of the saints + were destroyed and many of the Christians were led away captive. + + After this had taken place King Louis once more led a force against + the Wends. When the heathen had learned this they sent ambassadors, + as well as gifts and hostages, to Saxony, and asked for peace. + Louis then granted peace and returned home from Saxony. Thereafter + the robbers were afflicted by a terrible pestilence, during which + the chief sinner among them, by the name of Reginheri, who had + plundered the Christians and the holy places, was struck down by + the hand of God. They then took counsel and threw lots to determine + from which of their gods they should seek safety; but the lots did + not fall out happily, and on the advice of one of their Christian + prisoners that they should cast their lot before the God of the + Christians, they did so, and the lot fell happily. Then their king, + by the name of Rorik, together with all the heathen people, + refrained from meat and drink for fourteen days, when the plague + ceased, and they sent back all their Christian prisoners to their + country. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen again in Frisia] + + =846.= According to their custom, the Northmen plundered eastern + and western Frisia and burned the town of Dordrecht, with two other + villages, before the eyes of Lothair, who was then in the castle of + Nimwegen, but could not punish the crime. The Northmen, with their + boats filled with immense booty, including both men and goods, + returned to their own country. + + In the same year Louis sent an expedition from Saxony against the + Wends across the Elbe. He personally, however, went with his army + against the Bohemians, whom we call Beuwinitha, but with great + risk.... Charles advanced against the Britons, but accomplished + nothing. + + [Sidenote: Rome attacked by the Saracens] + + At this same time, as no one can mention or hear without great + sadness, the mother of all churches, the basilica of the apostle + Peter, was taken and plundered by the Moors, or Saracens, who had + already occupied the region of Beneventum.[213] The Saracens, + moreover, slaughtered all the Christians whom they found outside + the walls of Rome, either within or without this church. They also + carried men and women away prisoners. They tore down, among many + others, the altar of the blessed Peter, and their crimes from day + to day bring sorrow to Christians. Pope Sergius departed life this + year. + + =847.= After the death of Sergius no mention of the apostolic see + has come in any way to our ears. Rabanus [Maurus], master and abbot + of Fulda,[214] was solemnly chosen archbishop as the successor of + Bishop Otger, who had died. Moreover, the Northmen here and there + plundered the Christians and engaged in a battle with the counts + Sigir and Liuthar. They continued up the Rhine as far as Dordrecht, + and nine miles farther to Meginhard, when they turned back, having + taken their booty. + + [Sidenote: An outbreak of heresy repressed] + + =848.= On the fourth of February, towards evening, it lightened and + there was thunder heard. The heathen, as was their custom, + inflicted injury on the Christians. In the same year King Louis + held an assembly of the people near Mainz. At this synod a heresy + was brought forward by a few monks in regard to predestination. + These were convicted and beaten, to their shame, before all the + people. They were sent back to Gaul whence they had come, and, + thanks be to God, the condition of the Church remained uninjured. + + =849.= While King Louis was ill, his army of Bavaria took its way + against the Bohemians. Many of these were killed and the remainder + withdrew, much humiliated, into their own country. The heathen from + the North wrought havoc in Christendom as usual and grew greater in + strength; but it is painful to say more of this matter. + + [Sidenote: Further ravages by the Northmen and the Saracens] + + =850.= On January 1st of that season, in the octave of the + Lord,[215] towards evening, a great deal of thunder was heard and a + mighty flash of lightning seen; and an overflow of water afflicted + the human race during this winter. In the following summer an all + too great heat of the sun burned the earth. Leo, pope of the + apostolic see, an extraordinary man, built a fortification around + the church of St. Peter the apostle. The Moors, however, devastated + here and there the coast towns in Italy. The Norman Rorik, brother + of the above-mentioned younger Heriold, who earlier had fled + dishonored from Lothair, again took Dordrecht and did much evil + treacherously to the Christians. In the same year so great a peace + existed between the two brothers--Emperor Lothair and King + Louis--that they spent many days together in Osning [Westphalia] + and there hunted, so that many were astonished thereat; and they + went each his way in peace. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen again in Frisia and Saxony] + + =851.= The bodies of certain saints were sent from Rome to + Saxony--that of Alexander, one of seven brethren, and those of + Romanus and Emerentiana. In the same year the very noble Empress, + Irmingard by name, wife of the Emperor Lothair, departed this + world. The Normans inflicted much harm in Frisia and about the + Rhine. A mighty army of them collected by the River Elbe against + the Saxons, and some of the Saxon towns were besieged, others + burned, and most terribly did they oppress the Christians. A + meeting of our kings took place on the Maas [Meuse]. + + =852.= The steel of the heathen glistened; excessive heat; a famine + followed. There was not fodder enough for the animals. The + pasturage for the swine was more than sufficient. + + =853.= A great famine in Saxony, so that many were forced to live + on horse meat. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen burn the church of St. Martin at Tours] + + =854.= The Normans, in addition to the very many evils which they + were everywhere inflicting upon the Christians, burned the church + of St. Martin, bishop of Tours, where his body rests. + + =855.= In the spring Louis, the eastern king, sent his son of the + same name to Aquitaine to obtain possession of the heritage of his + uncle Pepin. + + =856.= The Normans again chose a king of the same name as the + preceding one, and related to him, and the Danes made a fresh + incursion by sea, with renewed forces, against the Christians. + + =857.= A great sickness prevailed among the people. This produced a + terrible foulness, so that the limbs were separated from the body + even before death came. + + =858.= Louis, the eastern king, held an assembly of the people of + his territory in Worms. + + =859.= On the first of January, as the early Mass was being said, a + single earthquake occurred in Worms and a triple one in Mainz + before daybreak. + + =860.= On the fifth of February thunder was heard. The king + returned from Gaul after the whole empire had gone to destruction, + and was in no way bettered. + + [Sidenote: Sacred relics brought together at the Freckenhorst] + + =861.= The holy bishop Luitbert piously furnished the cloister + which is called the Freckenhorst with many relics of the saints, + namely, of the martyrs Boniface and Maximus, and of the confessors + Eonius and Antonius, and added a portion of the manger of the Lord + and of His grave, and likewise of the dust of the Lord's feet as He + ascended to heaven. In this year the winter was long and the + above-mentioned kings again had a secret consultation on the island + near Coblenz, and they laid waste everything round about. + + +27. The Northmen in the Country of the Franks. + +Under the general name of Northmen in the ninth and tenth centuries +were included all those peoples of pure Teutonic stock who inhabited +the two neighboring peninsulas of Denmark and Scandinavia. In this +period, and after, they played a very conspicuous part in the history +of western Europe--at first as piratical invaders along the Atlantic +coast, and subsequently as settlers in new lands and as conquerors and +state-builders. _Northmen_ was the name by which the people of the +continent generally knew them, but to the Irish they were known as +_Ostmen_ or _Eastmen_, and to the English as _Danes_, while the name +which they applied to themselves was _Vikings_ ["Creekmen"]. Their +prolonged invasions and plunderings, which fill so large a place in +the ninth and tenth century chronicles of England and France, were the +result of several causes and conditions: (1) their natural love of +adventure, common to all early Germanic peoples; (2) the fact that the +population of their home countries had become larger than the limited +resources of these northern regions would support; (3) the proximity +of the sea on every side, with its fiords and inlets inviting the +adventurer to embark for new shores; and (4) the discontent of the +nobles, or jarls, with the growing rigor of kingly government. In +consequence of these and other influences large numbers of the people +became pirates, with no other occupation than the plundering of the +more civilized and wealthier countries to the east, west, and south. +Those from Sweden visited most commonly the coasts of Russia, those +from Norway went generally to Scotland and Ireland, and those from +Denmark to England and France. In fast-sailing vessels carrying sixty +or seventy men, and under the leadership of "kings of the sea" who +never "sought refuge under a roof, nor emptied their drinking-horns at +a fireside," they darted along the shores, ascended rivers, converted +islands into temporary fortresses, and from thence sallied forth in +every direction to burn and pillage and carry off all the booty upon +which they could lay hands. So swift and irresistible were their +operations that they frequently met with not the slightest show of +opposition from the terrified inhabitants. + +It was natural that Frankland, with its numerous large rivers flowing +into the ocean and leading through fertile valleys dotted with towns +and rich abbeys, should early have attracted the marauders; and in +fact they made their appearance there as early as the year 800. Before +the end of Charlemagne's reign they had pillaged Frisia, and a monkish +writer of the time tells us that upon one occasion the great Emperor +burst into tears and declared that he was overwhelmed with sorrow as +he looked forward and saw what evils they would bring upon his +offspring and people. Whether or not this story is true, certain it is +that before the ninth century was far advanced incursions of the +barbarians--"the heathen," as the chroniclers generally call them--had +come to be almost annual events. In 841 Rouen was plundered and +burned; in 843 Nantes was besieged, the bishop killed, and many +captives carried off; in 845 the invaders appeared at Paris and were +prevented from attacking the place only by being bribed; and so the +story goes, until by 846 we find the annalists beginning their +melancholy record of the year's events with the matter-of-course +statement that, "according to their custom," the Northmen plundered +such and such a region [see p. 159]. Below are a few passages taken +from the Annals of Saint-Bertin, the poem of Abbo on the siege of +Paris, and the Chronicle of Saint-Denys, which show something of the +character of the Northmen's part in early French history, first as +mere invaders and afterwards as permanent settlers. + +The Annals of Saint-Bertin are so called because they have been copied +from an old manuscript found in the monastery of that name. The period +which they cover is 741-882. Several writers evidently had a hand in +their compilation. The portion between the dates 836 and 861 is +attributed to Prudence, bishop of Troyes, and that between 861 and 882 +to Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims. + +Abbo, the author of the second selection given below, was a monk of +St. Germain des Pres, at Paris. He wrote a poem in which he undertook +to give an account of the siege of Paris by the Northmen in 885 and +886, and of the struggles of the Frankish people with the invaders to +the year 896. As literature the poem has small value, but for the +historian it possesses some importance. + +The account of Rollo's conversion comes from a history of the Normans +written in the twelfth century by William of Jumieges. The work covers +the period 851-1137, its earlier portions (to 996) being based on an +older history written by Dudo, dean of St. Quentin, in the eleventh +century. The Chronicle of St.-Denys was composed at a later time and +served to preserve most of the history recorded by Dudo and William of +Jumieges. + + Sources--(a) _Annales Bertiniani_ ["Annals of St. Bertin"]. + Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), + Vol. I., pp. 439-454. + + (b) Abbonis Monachi S. Germani Parisiensis, _De Bellis + Parisiacae Urbis, et Odonis Comitis, post Regis, adversus + Northmannos urbem ipsam obsidentes, sub Carolo Crasso Imp. ac + Rege Francorum_ [Abbo's "Wars of Count Odo with the Northmen + in the Reign of Charles the Fat"]. Text in Bouquet, _Recueil + des Historiens des Gaules et de la France_, Vol. VIII., pp. + 4-26. + + (c) _Chronique de Saint-Denys d'apres Dudo et Guillaume de + Jumieges_ ["Chronicle of St. Denys based on Dudo and William + of Jumieges"], Vol. III., p. 105. + + (a) THE EARLIER RAVAGES OF THE NORTHMEN + + =843=. Pirates of the Northmen's race came to Nantes, killed the + bishop and many of the clergy and laymen, both men and women, and + pillaged the city. Thence they set out to plunder the lands of + lower Aquitaine. At length they arrived at a certain island[216] + and carried materials thither from the mainland to build themselves + houses; and they settled there for the winter, as if that were to + be their permanent dwelling-place. + + =844.= The Northmen ascended the Garonne as far as Toulouse and + pillaged the lands along both banks with impunity. Some, after + leaving this region went into Galicia[217] and perished, part of + them by the attacks of the cross-bowmen who had come to resist + them, part by being overwhelmed by a storm at sea. But others of + them went farther into Spain and engaged in long and desperate + combats with the Saracens; defeated in the end, they withdrew. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen bought off at Paris] + + =845.= The Northmen with a hundred ships entered the Seine on the + twentieth of March and, after ravaging first one bank and then the + other, came without meeting any resistance to Paris. Charles[218] + resolved to hold out against them; but seeing the impossibility of + gaining a victory, he made with them a certain agreement and by a + gift of 7,000 livres he bought them off from advancing farther and + persuaded them to return. + + Euric, king of the Northmen, advanced, with six hundred vessels, + along the course of the River Elbe to attack Louis of Germany.[219] + The Saxons prepared to meet him, gave battle, and with the aid of + our Lord Jesus Christ won the victory. + + The Northmen returned [from Paris] down the Seine and coming to the + ocean pillaged, destroyed, and burned all the regions along the + coast. + + =846.= The Danish pirates landed in Frisia.[220] They were able to + force from the people whatever contributions they wished and, being + victors in battle, they remained masters of almost the entire + province. + + =847.= The Northmen made their appearance in the part of Gaul + inhabited by the Britons[221] and won three victories. + Nomenoe,[222] although defeated, at length succeeded in buying + them off with presents and getting them out of his country. + + [Sidenote: The burning of Tours] + + =853-854.= The Danish pirates, making their way into the country + eastward from the city of Nantes, arrived without opposition, + November eighth, before Tours. This they burned, together with the + church of St. Martin and the neighboring places. But that incursion + had been foreseen with certainty and the body of St. Martin had + been removed to Cormery, a monastery of that church, and from there + to the city of Orleans. The pirates went on to the chateau of + Blois[223] and burned it, proposing then to proceed to Orleans and + destroy that city in the same fashion. But Agius, bishop of + Orleans, and Burchard, bishop of Chartres,[224] had gathered + soldiers and ships to meet them; so they abandoned their design and + returned to the lower Loire, though the following year [855] they + ascended it anew to the city of Angers.[225] + + =855.= They left their ships behind and undertook to go overland to + the city of Poitiers;[226] but the Aquitanians came to meet them + and defeated them, so that not more than 300 escaped. + + [Sidenote: Orleans pillaged] + + =856.= On the eighteenth of April, the Danish pirates came to the + city of Orleans, pillaged it, and went away without meeting + opposition. Other Danish pirates came into the Seine about the + middle of August and, after plundering and ruining the towns on the + two banks of the river, and even the monasteries and villages + farther back, came to a well located place near the Seine called + Jeufosse, and, there quietly passed the winter. + + =859.= The Danish pirates having made a long sea-voyage (for they + had sailed between Spain and Africa) entered the Rhone, where they + pillaged many cities and monasteries and established themselves on + the island called Camargue.... They devastated everything before + them as far as the city of Valence.[227] Then after ravaging all + these regions they returned to the island where they had fixed + their habitation. Thence they went on toward Italy, capturing and + plundering Pisa and other cities. + + [Sidenote: The Northmen arrive at the city] + + (b) THE SIEGE OF PARIS + + =885.= The Northmen came to Paris with 700 sailing ships, not + counting those of smaller size which are commonly called barques. + At one stretch the Seine was lined with the vessels for more than + two leagues, so that one might ask in astonishment in what cavern + the river had been swallowed up, since it was not to be seen. The + second day after the fleet of the Northmen arrived under the walls + of the city, Siegfred, who was then king only in name[228] but who + was in command of the expedition, came to the dwelling of the + illustrious bishop. He bowed his head and said: "Gauzelin, have + compassion on yourself and on your flock. We beseech you to listen + to us, in order that you may escape death. Allow us only the + freedom of the city. We will do no harm and we will see to it that + whatever belongs either to you or to Odo shall be strictly + respected." Count Odo, who later became king, was then the defender + of the city.[229] The bishop replied to Siegfred, "Paris has been + entrusted to us by the Emperor Charles, who, after God, king and + lord of the powerful, rules over almost all the world. He has put + it in our care, not at all that the kingdom may be ruined by our + misconduct, but that he may keep it and be assured of its peace. + If, like us, you had been given the duty of defending these walls, + and if you should have done that which you ask us to do, what + treatment do you think you would deserve?" Siegfred replied, "I + should deserve that my head be cut off and thrown to the dogs. + Nevertheless, if you do not listen to my demand, on the morrow our + war machines will destroy you with poisoned arrows. You will be the + prey of famine and of pestilence and these evils will renew + themselves perpetually every year." So saying, he departed and + gathered together his comrades. + + [Sidenote: The attack upon the tower] + + [Sidenote: Fierce fighting] + + [Sidenote: The bravery of Count Odo] + + In the morning the Northmen, boarding their ships, approached the + tower and attacked it.[230] They shook it with their engines and + stormed it with arrows. The city resounded with clamor, the people + were aroused, the bridges trembled. All came together to defend the + tower. There Odo, his brother Robert,[231] and the Count Ragenar + distinguished themselves for bravery; likewise the courageous Abbot + Ebolus,[232] the nephew of the bishop. A keen arrow wounded the + prelate, while at his side the young warrior Frederick was struck + by a sword. Frederick died, but the old man, thanks to God, + survived. There perished many Franks; after receiving wounds they + were lavish of life. At last the enemy withdrew, carrying off their + dead. The evening came. The tower had been sorely tried, but its + foundations were still solid, as were also the narrow _baies_ which + surmounted them. The people spent the night repairing it with + boards. By the next day, on the old citadel had been erected a new + tower of wood, a half higher than the former one. At sunrise the + Danes caught their first glimpse of it. Once more the latter + engaged with the Christians in violent combat. On every side arrows + sped and blood flowed. With the arrows mingled the stones hurled + by slings and war-machines; the air was filled with them. The tower + which had been built during the night groaned under the strokes of + the darts, the city shook with the struggle, the people ran hither + and thither, the bells jangled. The warriors rushed together to + defend the tottering tower and to repel the fierce assault. Among + these warriors two, a count and an abbot [Ebolus], surpassed all + the rest in courage. The former was the redoubtable Odo who never + experienced defeat and who continually revived the spirits of the + worn-out defenders. He ran along the ramparts and hurled back the + enemy. On those who were secreting themselves so as to undermine + the tower he poured oil, wax, and pitch, which, being mixed and + heated, burned the Danes and tore off their scalps. Some of them + died; others threw themselves into the river to escape the awful + substance....[233] + + Meanwhile Paris was suffering not only from the sword outside but + also from a pestilence within which brought death to many noble + men. Within the walls there was not ground in which to bury the + dead.... Odo, the future king, was sent to Charles, emperor of the + Franks,[234] to implore help for the stricken city. + + [Sidenote: Odo's mission to Emperor Charles the Fat] + + One day Odo suddenly appeared in splendor in the midst of three + bands of warriors. The sun made his armor glisten and greeted him + before it illuminated the country around. The Parisians saw their + beloved chief at a distance, but the enemy, hoping to prevent his + gaining entrance to the tower, crossed the Seine and took up their + position on the bank. Nevertheless Odo, his horse at a gallop, got + past the Northmen and reached the tower, whose gates Ebolus opened + to him. The enemy pursued fiercely the comrades of the count who + were trying to keep up with him and get refuge in the tower. [The + Danes were defeated in the attack.] + + [Sidenote: Terms of peace arranged by Charles] + + Now came the Emperor Charles, surrounded by soldiers of all + nations, even as the sky is adorned with resplendent stars. A great + throng, speaking many languages, accompanied him. He established + his camp at the foot of the heights of Montmartre, near the tower. + He allowed the Northmen to have the country of Sens to + plunder;[235] and in the spring he gave them 700 pounds of silver + on condition that by the month of March they leave France for their + own kingdom.[236] Then Charles returned, destined to an early + death.[237] + + [Sidenote: Rollo receives Normandy from Charles the Simple] + + (c) THE BAPTISM OF ROLLO AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NORMANS IN + FRANCE[238] + + The king had at first wished to give to Rollo the province of + Flanders, but the Norman rejected it as being too marshy. Rollo + refused to kiss the foot of Charles when he received from him the + duchy of Normandy. "He who receives such a gift," said the bishops + to him, "ought to kiss the foot of the king." "Never," replied he, + "will I bend the knee to any one, or kiss anybody's foot." + Nevertheless, impelled by the entreaties of the Franks, he ordered + one of his warriors to perform the act in his stead. This man + seized the foot of the king and lifted it to his lips, kissing it + without bending and so causing the king to tumble over backwards. + At that there was a loud burst of laughter and a great commotion in + the crowd of onlookers. King Charles, Robert, Duke of the + Franks,[239] the counts and magnates, and the bishops and abbots, + bound themselves by the oath of the Catholic faith to Rollo, + swearing by their lives and their bodies and by the honor of all + the kingdom, that he might hold the land and transmit it to his + heirs from generation to generation throughout all time to come. + When these things had been satisfactorily performed, the king + returned in good spirits into his dominion, and Rollo with Duke + Robert set out for Rouen. + + [Sidenote: Rollo becomes a Christian] + + In the year of our Lord 912 Rollo was baptized in holy water in the + name of the sacred Trinity by Franco, archbishop of Rouen. Duke + Robert, who was his godfather, gave to him his name. Rollo + devotedly honored God and the Holy Church with his gifts.... The + pagans, seeing that their chieftain had become a Christian, + abandoned their idols, received the name of Christ, and with one + accord desired to be baptized. Meanwhile the Norman duke made ready + for a splendid wedding and married the daughter of the king + [Gisela] according to Christian rites. + + [Sidenote: His work in Normandy] + + Rollo gave assurance of security to all those who wished to dwell + in his country. The land he divided among his followers, and, as it + had been a long time unused, he improved it by the construction of + new buildings. It was peopled by the Norman warriors and by + immigrants from outside regions. The duke established for his + subjects certain inviolable rights and laws, confirmed and + published by the will of the leading men, and he compelled all his + people to live peaceably together. He rebuilt the churches, which + had been entirely ruined; he restored the temples, which had been + destroyed by the ravages of the pagans; he repaired and added to + the walls and fortifications of the cities; he subdued the Britons + who rebelled against him; and with the provisions obtained from + them he supplied all the country that had been granted to him. + + +28. Later Carolingian Efforts to Preserve Order + +The ninth century is chiefly significant in Frankish history as an era +of decline of monarchy and increase of the powers and independence of +local officials and magnates. Already by Charlemagne's death, in 814, +the disruptive forces were at work, and under the relatively weak +successors of the great Emperor the course of decentralization went on +until by the death of Charles the Bald, in 877, the royal authority +had been reduced to a condition of insignificance. This century was +the formative period _par excellence_ of the feudal system--a type of +social and economic organization which the conditions of the time +rendered inevitable and under which great monarchies tended to be +dissolved into a multitude of petty local states. Large landholders +began to regard themselves as practically independent; royal +officials, particularly the counts, refused to be parted from their +positions and used them primarily to enhance their own personal +authority; the churches and monasteries stretched their royal grants +of immunity so far as almost to refuse to acknowledge any obligations +to the central government. In these and other ways the Carolingian +monarchy was shorn of its powers, and as it was quite lacking in +money, lands, and soldiers who could be depended on, there was little +left for it to do but to legislate and ordain without much prospect of +being able to enforce its laws and ordinances. The rapidity with which +the kings of the period were losing their grip on the situation comes +out very clearly from a study of the capitularies which they issued +from time to time. In general these capitularies, especially after +about 840, testify to the disorder everywhere prevailing, the +usurpations of the royal officials, and the popular contempt of the +royal authority, and reiterate commands for the preservation of order +until they become fairly wearisome to the reader. Royalty was at a bad +pass and its weakness is reflected unmistakably in its attempts to +govern by mere edict without any backing of enforcing power. In 843, +853, 856, 857, and many other years of Charles the Bald's reign, +elaborate decrees were issued prohibiting brigandage and lawlessness, +but with the tell-tale provision that violators were to be "admonished +with Christian love to repent," or that they were to be punished "as +far as the local officials could remember them," or that the royal +agents were themselves to take oath not to become highway robbers! +Sometimes the king openly confessed his weakness and proceeded to +implore, rather than to command, his subjects to obey him. + +The capitulary quoted below belongs to the last year of the short +reign of Carloman (882-884), son of Louis the Stammerer and grandson +of Charles the Bald. It makes a considerable show of power, ordaining +the punishment of criminals as confidently as if there had really been +means to assure its enforcement. But in truth all the provisions in it +had been embodied in capitularies of Carloman's predecessors with +scarcely perceptible effect, and there was certainly no reason to +expect better results now. With the nobles practicing, if not +asserting, independence, the churches and monasteries heeding the +royal authority hardly at all, the country being ravaged by Northmen +and the people turning to the great magnates for the protection they +could no longer get from the king, and the counts and _missi dominici_ +making their lands and offices the basis for hereditary local +authority, the king had come to be almost powerless in the great realm +where less than a hundred years before Charlemagne's word, for all +practical purposes, was law. Even Charlemagne himself, however, could +have done little to avert the state of anarchy which conditions too +strong for any sovereign to cope with had brought about. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Boretius ed.), Vol. II., pp. 371-375. + + [Sidenote: The keeping of the peace enjoined] + + =1.= According to the custom of our predecessors, we desire that in + our palace shall prevail the worship of God, the honor of the king, + piety, concord, and a condition of peace; and that that peace + established in our palace by the sanction of our predecessors shall + extend to, and be observed throughout, our entire kingdom. + + =2.= We desire that all those who live at our court, and all who + come there, shall live peaceably. If any one, in breach of the + peace, is guilty of violence, let him be brought to a hearing at + our palace, by the authority of the king and by the order of our + _missus_, as it was ordained by the capitularies of our + predecessors, that he may be punished according to a legal judgment + and may pay a triple composition with the royal ban.[240] + + =3.= If the offender has no lord, or if he flees from our court, + our _missus_ shall go to find him and shall order him, in our name, + to appear at the palace.[241] If he should be so rash as to disdain + to come, let him be brought by force. If he spurns both us and our + _missus_, and while refusing to obey summons is killed in + resisting, and any of his relatives or friends undertake to + exercise against our agents who have killed him the right of + vengeance,[242] we will oppose them there and will give our agents + all the aid of our royal authority. + + [Sidenote: The bishop's part in repressing crime] + + =5.= The bishop of the diocese in which the crime shall have been + committed ought, through the priest of the place, to give three + successive invitations to the offender to repent and to make + reparation for his fault in order to set himself right with God and + the church that he has injured. If he scorns and rejects this + summons and invitation, let the bishop wield upon him the pastoral + rod, that is to say, the sentence of excommunication; and let him + separate him from the communion of the Holy Church until he shall + have given the satisfaction that is required. + + [Sidenote: Obligations of lay officials to restrain violence] + + =9.= In order that violence be entirely brought to an end and order + restored, it is necessary that the bishop's authority should be + supplemented by that of the public officials. Therefore we and our + faithful have judged it expedient that the _missi dominici_ should + discharge faithfully the duties of their office.[243] The count + shall enjoin to the viscount,[244] to his _vicarii_ and + _centenarii_,[245] and to all the public officials, as well as to + all Franks who have a knowledge of the law, that all should give as + much aid as they can to the Church, both on their own account and + in accord with the requests of the clergy, every time they shall be + called upon by the bishop, the officers of the bishop, or even by + the needy. They should do this for the love of God, the peace of + the Holy Church, and the fidelity that they owe to us. + + +29. The Election of Hugh Capet (987). + +The election of Hugh Capet as king of France in 987 marked the +establishment of the so-called Capetian line of monarchs, which +occupied the French throne in all not far from eight centuries--a +record not equaled by any other royal house in European history. The +circumstances of the election were interesting and significant. For +more than a hundred years there had been keen rivalry between the +Carolingian kings and one of the great ducal houses of the Franks, +known as the Robertians. In the disorder which so generally prevailed +in France in the ninth and tenth centuries, powerful families +possessing extensive lands and having large numbers of vassals and +serfs were able to make themselves practically independent of the +royal power. The greatest of these families was the Robertians, the +descendants of Robert the Strong, father of the Odo who distinguished +himself at the siege of Paris in 885-886 [see p. 170]. Between 888 and +987 circumstances brought it about three different times that members +of the Robertian house were elevated to the Frankish throne (Odo, +888-898; Robert I., 922-923; and Rudolph--related to the Robertians by +marriage only,--923-936). The rest of the time the throne was occupied +by Carolingians (Charles the Simple, 898-922; Louis IV., 936-954; +Lothair, 954-986; and Louis V., 986-987). With the death of the young +king Louis V., in 987, the last direct descendant of Charlemagne +passed away and the question of the succession was left for solution +by the nobles and higher clergy of the realm. As soon as the king was +dead, such of these magnates as were assembled at the court to attend +the funeral bound themselves by oath to take no action until a general +meeting could be held at Senlis (a few miles north of Paris) late in +May, 987. The proceedings of this general meeting are related in the +passage below. Apparently it had already been pretty generally agreed +that the man to be elected was Hugh Capet, great-grandson of Robert +the Strong and the present head of the famous Robertian house, and the +speech of Adalbero, archbishop of Rheims, of which Richer gives a +resume, was enough to ensure this result. There was but one other +claimant of importance. That was the late king's uncle, Charles of +Lower Lorraine. He was not a man of force and Adalbero easily disposed +of his candidacy, though the rejected prince was subsequently able to +make his successful rival a good deal of trouble. Hugh owed his +election to his large material resources, the military prestige of +his ancestors, the active support of the Church, and the lack of +direct heirs of the Carolingian dynasty. + +Richer, the chronicler whose account of the election is given below, +was a monk living at Rheims at the time when the events occurred which +he describes. His "Four Books of Histories," discovered only in 1833, +is almost our only considerable source of information on Frankish +affairs in the later tenth century. In his writing he endeavored to +round out his work into a real history and to give more than the bare +outline of events characteristic of the mediaeval annalists. In this he +was only partially successful, being at fault mainly in indulging in +too much rhetoric and in allowing partisan motives sometimes to guide +him in what he said. His partisanship was on the side of the fallen +Carolingians. The period covered by the "Histories" is 888-995; they +are therefore roughly continuous chronologically with the Annals of +Saint Bertin [see p. 164]. + + Source--Richer, _Historiarum Libri IV._ ["Four Books of + Histories"], Bk. IV., Chaps. 11-12. Text in _Monumenta + Germaniae Historica, Scriptores_ (Pertz ed.), Vol. III., pp. + 633-634. + + Meanwhile, at the appointed time the magnates of Gaul who had taken + the oath came together at Senlis. When they had all taken their + places in the assembly and the duke[246] had given the sign, the + archbishop[247] spoke to them as follows:[248] + + [Sidenote: Adalbero's speech at Senlis] + + "King Louis, of divine memory, having been removed from the world, + and having left no heirs, it devolves upon us to take serious + counsel as to the choice of a successor, so that the state may not + suffer any injury through neglect and the lack of a leader. On a + former occasion[249] we thought it advisable to postpone that + deliberation in order that each of you might be able to come here + and, in the presence of the assembly, voice the sentiment which God + should have inspired in you, and that from all these different + expressions of opinion we might be able to find out what is the + general will. + + [Sidenote: Election, not heredity, the true basis of Frankish + kingship] + + "Here we are assembled. Let us see to it, by our prudence and + honor, that hatred shall not destroy reason, that love shall not + interfere with truth. We are aware that Charles[250] has his + partisans, who claim that the throne belongs to him by right of + birth. But if we look into the matter, the throne is not acquired + by hereditary right, and no one ought to be placed at the head of + the kingdom unless he is distinguished, not only by nobility of + body, but also by strength of mind--only such a one as honor and + generosity recommend.[251] We read in the annals of rulers of + illustrious descent who were deposed on account of their + unworthiness and replaced by others of the same, or even lesser, + rank.[252] + + [Sidenote: Objections to Charles of Lorraine] + + [Sidenote: Election of Hugh Capet urged] + + "What dignity shall we gain by making Charles king? He is not + guided by honor, nor is he possessed of strength. Then, too, he has + compromised himself so far as to have become the dependent of a + foreign king[253] and to have married a girl taken from among his + own vassals. How could the great duke endure that a woman of the + low rank of vassal should become queen and rule over him? How could + he tender services to this woman, when his equals, and even his + superiors, in birth bend the knee before him and place their hands + under his feet? Think of this seriously and you will see that + Charles must be rejected for his own faults rather than on account + of any wrong done by others. Make a decision, therefore, for the + welfare rather than for the injury of the state. If you wish ill to + your country, choose Charles to be king; if you have regard for its + prosperity, choose Hugh, the illustrious duke.... Elect, then, the + duke, a man who is recommended by his conduct, by his nobility, and + by his military following. In him you will find a defender, not + only of the state, but also of your private interests. His + large-heartedness will make him a father to you all. Who has ever + fled to him for protection without receiving it? Who that has been + deserted by his friends has he ever failed to restore to his + rights?" + + [Sidenote: The beginning of his reign] + + This speech was applauded and concurred in by all, and by unanimous + consent the duke was raised to the throne. He was crowned at + Noyon[254] on the first of June[255] by the archbishop and the + other bishops as king of the Gauls, the Bretons, the Normans, the + Aquitanians, the Goths, the Spaniards and the Gascons.[256] + Surrounded by the nobles of the king, he issued decrees and made + laws according to royal custom, judging and disposing of all + matters with success. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[197] After the battle of Fontenay, June 25, 841, Charles and Louis +had separated and Lothair had formed the design of attacking and +conquering first one and then the other. He made an expedition against +Charles, but was unable to accomplish anything before his two enemies +again drew together at Strassburg. + +[198] The name "Francia" was as yet confined to the country lying +between the Loire and the Scheldt. + +[199] This Pepin was a son of Pepin, the brother of Charles, Louis, +and Lothair. Upon the death of the elder Pepin in 838 his part of the +empire--the great region between the Loire and the Pyrenees, known as +Aquitaine--had been taken possession of by Charles, without regard for +the two surviving sons. It was natural, therefore, that in the +struggle which ensued between Charles and Louis on the one side and +Lothair on the other, young Pepin should have given such aid as he +could to the latter. + +[200] On the upper Moselle. + +[201] This refers to the battle of Fontenay. + +[202] The translation of this oath is as follows: "For the love of +God, and for the sake as well of our peoples as of ourselves, I +promise that from this day forth, as God shall grant me wisdom and +strength, I will treat this my brother as one's brother ought to be +treated, provided that he shall do the same by me. And with Lothair I +will not willingly enter into any dealings which may injure this my +brother." + +[203] This oath, taken by the followers of the two kings, may be thus +translated: "If Louis [or Charles] shall observe the oath which he has +sworn to his brother Charles [or Louis], and Charles [or Louis], our +lord, on his side, should be untrue to his oath, and we should be +unable to hold him to it, neither we nor any whom we can deter, shall +give him any support." The oath taken by the two armies was the same, +with only the names of the kings interchanged. + +[204] This name in the course of time became simply "Francia," then +"France." In the eastern kingdom, "Francia" gradually became +restricted to the region about the Main, or "Franconia." + +[205] It was commonly known as "Lotharii regnum," later as +"Lotharingia," and eventually (a fragment of the kingdom only) as +"Lorraine." + +[206] Emerton, _Mediaeval Europe_ (Boston, 1903), p. 30. + +[207] This statement is only approximately true. In reality Friesland +(Frisia) and a strip up the east bank of the Rhine almost to the mouth +of the Moselle went to Lothair. + +[208] See p. 152, note 2. + +[209] Gregory IV. (827-844) was succeeded in the papal office by +Sergius II. (844-847). + +[210] By the treaty of Verdun in 843 Charles the Bald had been given +Aquitaine, along with the other distinctively Frankish regions of +western Europe. His nephew Pepin, however, who had never been +reconciled to Charles's taking possession of Aquitaine in 838, called +himself king of that country and made stubborn resistance to his +uncle's claims of sovereignty [see p. 156]. + +[211] The Wends were a Slavonic people living in the lower valley of +the Oder. + +[212] By "the heathen" are meant the Norse pirates from Denmark and +the Scandinavian peninsula. On their invasions see p. 163. + +[213] This Saracen attack upon Rome was made by some Arab pirates who +in the Mediterranean were playing much the same role of destruction as +were the Northmen on the Atlantic coasts. A league of Naples, Gaeta, +and Amalfi defeated the pirates in 849, and delivered Rome from her +oppressors long enough for new fortifications to be constructed. Walls +were built at this time to include the quarter of St. Peter's--a +district known to this day as the "Leonine City" in memory of Leo IV., +who in 847 succeeded Sergius as pope [see above text under date 850]. + +[214] Fulda was an important monastery on one of the upper branches of +the Weser, northeast of Mainz. + +[215] An octave, in the sense here meant, is the week (strictly eight +days) following a church festival; in this case, the eight days +following the anniversary of Christ's birth, or Christmas. + +[216] The isle of Rhe, near Rochelle, north of the mouth of the +Garonne. + +[217] Galicia was a province in the extreme northwest of the Spanish +peninsula. + +[218] Charles the Bald, who by the treaty of Verdun in 843, had +obtained the western part of the empire built up by Charlemagne [see +p. 154]. + +[219] Louis, a half-brother of Charles the Bald, who had received the +eastern portion of Charlemagne's empire by the settlement of 843. + +[220] Frisia, or Friesland, was the northernmost part of the kingdom +of Lothair. + +[221] That is, in Brittany. + +[222] Nomenoe was a native chief of the Britons. Charles the Bald made +many efforts to reduce him to obedience, but with little success. In +848 or 849 he took the title of king. During his brief reign (which +ended in 851) he invaded Charles's dominions and wrought almost as +much destruction as did the Northmen themselves. + +[223] Tours, Blois, and Orleans were all situated within a range of a +hundred miles along the lower Loire. + +[224] Chartres was some eighty miles northwest of Orleans. + +[225] About midway between Nantes and Tours. + +[226] Poitiers was about seventy miles southwest of Tours. + +[227] Valence was on the Rhone, nearly a hundred and fifty miles back +from the Mediterranean coast. + +[228] The Northmen who ravaged France really had no kings, but only +military chieftains. + +[229] Odo, or Eudes, was chosen king by the Frankish nobles and clergy +in 888, to succeed the deposed Charles the Fat. He was not of the +Carolingian family but a Robertian (son of Robert the Strong), and +hence a forerunner of the Capetian line of kings regularly established +on the French throne in 987 [see p. 177]. His election to the kingship +was due in a large measure to his heroic conduct during the siege of +Paris by the Northmen. + +[230] The tower blocked access to the city by the so-called "Great +Bridge," which connected the right bank of the Seine with the island +on which the city was built. The tower stood on the present site of +the Chatelet. + +[231] In time Robert also became king. He reigned only from 922 to +923. + +[232] Abbot Ebolus was head of the monastery of St. Germain des Pres. + +[233] The Northmen were finally compelled to abandon their efforts +against the tower. They then retired to the bank of the Seine near the +abbey of Saint-Denys and from that place as a center ravaged all the +country lying about Paris. In a short time they renewed the attack +upon the city itself. + +[234] Charles the Fat, under whom during the years 885-887 the old +empire of Charlemagne was for the last time united under a single +sovereign. When Odo went to find him in 886 he was at Metz in Germany. +German and Italian affairs interested him more than did those of the +Franks. + +[235] Sens was about a hundred miles southeast of Paris. Charles +abandoned the region about Sens to the Northmen to plunder during the +winter of 886-887. His very lame excuse for doing this was that the +people of the district did not properly recognize his authority and +were deserving of such punishment. + +[236] The twelve month siege of Paris thus brought to an end had many +noteworthy results. Chief among these was the increased prestige of +Odo as a national leader and of Paris as a national stronghold. Prior +to this time Paris had not been a place of importance, even though +Clovis had made it his capital. In the period of Charlemagne it was +distinctly a minor city and it gained little in prominence under Louis +the Pious and Charles the Bald. The great Carolingian capitals were +Laon and Compiegne. The siege of 885-886, however, made it apparent +that Paris occupied a strategic position, commanding the valley of the +Seine, and that the inland city was one of the true bulwarks of the +kingdom. Thereafter the place grew rapidly in population and prestige, +and when Odo became king (in 888) it was made his capital. As time +went on it grew to be the heart of the French kingdom and came to +guide the destinies of France as no other city of modern times has +guided a nation. + +[237] He was deposed in 887, largely because of his utter failure to +take any active measures to defend the Franks against their Danish +enemies. From Paris he went to Germany where he died, January 13, 888, +at a small town on the Danube. + +[238] After the famous siege of Paris in 885-886 the Northmen, or +Normans as they may now be called, continued to ravage France just as +they had done before that event. In 910 one of their greatest +chieftains, Rollo, appeared before Paris and prepared to take the +city. In this project he was unsuccessful, but his warriors caused so +much devastation in the surrounding country that Charles the Simple, +who was now king, decided to try negotiations. A meeting was held at +Saint-Clair-sur-Epte where, in the presence of the Norman warriors and +the Frankish magnates, Charles and Rollo entered into the first treaty +looking toward a permanent settlement of Northmen on Frankish +territory. Rollo promised to desist from his attacks upon Frankland +and to become a Christian. Charles agreed to give over to the Normans +a region which they in fact already held, with Rouen as its center, +and extending from the Epte River on the east to the sea on the west. +The arrangement was dictated by good sense and proved a fortunate one +for all parties concerned. + +[239] Robert was Odo's brother. "Duke of the Franks" was a title, at +first purely military, but fast developing to the point where it was +to culminate in its bearer becoming the first Capetian king [see p. +177]. + +[240] See p. 138, note 4. + +[241] If the offender had a lord, this lord would be expected to +produce his accused vassal at court. + +[242] That is, the old blood-feud of the Germans. + +[243] The office of _missus_ had by this time fallen pretty much into +decay. Many of the _missi_ were at the same time counts--a combination +of authority directly opposed to the earlier theory of the +administrative system. The _missus_ had been supposed to supervise the +counts and restrain them from disloyalty to the king and from +indulgence in arbitrary or oppressive measures of local government. + +[244] The viscount (_vicecomes_) was the count's deputy. By Carloman's +time there were sometimes several of these in a county. They were at +first appointed by the count, but toward the end of the ninth century +they became hereditary. + +[245] The _vicarii_ and _centenarii_ were local assistants of the +count in administrative and judicial affairs. In Merovingian times +their precise duties are not clear, but under the Carolingians the two +terms tended to become synonyms. The _centenarius_, or hundredman, was +charged mainly with the administration of justice in the smallest +local division, i.e., the hundred. In theory he was elected by the +people of the hundred, but in practice he was usually appointed by the +count. + +[246] Hugh Capet, whose title prior to 987 was "Duke of the Franks." + +[247] Adalbero, archbishop of Rheims. + +[248] We are not to suppose that Richer here gives a literal +reproduction of Adalbero's speech, but so far as we can tell the main +points are carefully stated. + +[249] At the funeral of Louis. + +[250] Charles of Lower Lorraine, uncle of Louis V. + +[251] The elective principle here asserted had prevailed in the choice +of French and German kings for nearly a century. The kings chosen, +however, usually came from one family, as the Carolingians in France. + +[252] Almost exactly a century earlier there had been such a case +among the Franks, when Charles the Fat was deposed and Odo, the +defender of Paris, elevated to the throne (888). + +[253] Charles had been made duke of Lower Lorraine by the German +emperor. This passage in Adalbero's speech looks like something of an +appeal to Frankish pride, or as we would say in these days, to +national sentiment. Still it must be remembered that while a sense of +common interest was undoubtedly beginning to develop among the peoples +represented in the assembly at Senlis, these peoples were still far +too diverse to be spoken of accurately as making up a unified +nationality. Adalbero was indulging in a political harangue and piling +up arguments for effect, without much regard for their real weight. + +[254] Noyon was a church center about fifty miles north of Paris. That +the coronation really occurred at this place has been questioned by +some, but there seems to be small reason for doubting Richer's +statement in the matter. + +[255] M. Pfister in Lavisse, _Histoire de France_, Vol. II., p. 412, +asserts that the coronation occurred July 3, 987. + +[256] This method of describing the extent of the new king's dominion +shows how far from consolidated the so-called Frankish kingdom really +was. The royal domain proper, that is, the land over which the king +had immediate control, was limited to a long fertile strip extending +from the Somme to a point south of Orleans, including the important +towns of Paris, Orleans, Etampes, Senlis, and Compiegne. Even this was +not continuous, but was cut into here and there by the estates of +practically independent feudal lords. By far the greater portion of +modern France (the name in 987 was only beginning to be applied to the +whole country) consisted of great counties and duchies, owing +comparatively little allegiance to the king and usually rendering even +less than they owed. Of these the most important was the county (later +duchy) of Normandy, the county of Bretagne (Brittany), the county of +Flanders, the county of Anjou, the county of Blois, the duchy of +Burgundy, the duchy of Aquitaine, the county of Toulouse, the county +of Gascony, and the county of Barcelona (south of the Pyrenees). The +"Goths" referred to by Richer were the inhabitants of the "march," or +border county, of Gothia along the Mediterranean coast between the +lower Rhone and the Pyrenees (old Septimania). + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +ALFRED THE GREAT IN WAR AND IN PEACE + + +30. The Danes in England + +The earliest recorded visit of the Danes, or Northmen, to England +somewhat antedates the appearance of these peoples on the Frankish +coast in the year 800. In 787 three Danish vessels came to shore at +Warham in Dorset and their sailors slew the unfortunate reeve who +mistook them for ordinary foreign merchants and tried to collect port +dues from them. Thereafter the British coasts were never free for many +years at a time from the depredations of the marauders. In 793 the +famous church at Lindisfarne, in Northumberland, was plundered; in 795 +the Irish coasts began to suffer; in 833 a fleet of twenty-five +vessels appeared at the mouth of the Thames; in 834 twelve hundred +pillagers landed in Dorset; in 842 London and Rochester were sacked +and their population scattered; in 850 a fleet of 350 ships carrying +perhaps ten or twelve thousand men, wintered at the mouth of the +Thames and in the spring caused London again to suffer; and from then +on until the accession of King Alfred, in 871, destructive raids +followed one another with distressing frequency. + +The account of the Danish invasions given below is taken from a +biography of King Alfred commonly attributed to Asser, a monk of Welsh +origin connected with the monastery of St. David (later bishop of +Sherborne) and a close friend and adviser of the great king. It gives +us some idea of the way in which Alfred led his people through the +darkest days in their history, and of the settlement known as the +"Peace of Alfred and Guthrum" by which the Danish leader became a +Christian and the way was prepared for the later division of the +English country between the two contending peoples. + + Source--Johannes Menevensis Asserius, _De rebus gestis Aelfredi + Magni_ [Asser, "The Deeds of Alfred the Great"], Chaps. 42-55 + _passim_. Adapted from translation by J. A. Giles in _Six Old + English Chronicles_ (London, 1866), pp. 56-63. + + [Sidenote: Alfred becomes king (871)] + + [Sidenote: The struggle with the Danes] + + In the year 871 Alfred, who up to that time had been of only + secondary rank, while his brothers were alive, by God's permission, + undertook the government of the whole kingdom, welcomed by all the + people. Indeed, if he had cared to, he might have done so earlier, + even while his brother was still alive;[257] for in wisdom and + other qualities he excelled all of his brothers, and, moreover, he + was courageous and victorious in all his wars. He became king + almost against his will, for he did not think that he could alone + withstand the numbers and the fierceness of the pagans, though even + during the lifetime of his brothers he had carried burdens enough + for many men. And when he had ruled one month, with a small band of + followers and on very unequal terms, he fought a battle with the + entire army of the pagans. This was at a hill called Wilton, on the + south bank of the River Wily, from which river the whole of that + district is named.[258] And after a long and fierce engagement the + pagans, seeing the danger they were in, and no longer able to meet + the attacks of their enemies, turned their backs and fled. But, oh, + shame to say, they deceived the English, who pursued them too + boldly, and, turning swiftly about, gained the victory. Let no one + be surprised to learn that the Christians had only a small number + of men, for the Saxons had been worn out by eight battles with the + pagans in one year. In these they had slain one king, nine dukes, + and innumerable troops of soldiers. There had also been numberless + skirmishes, both by day and by night, in which Alfred, with his + ministers and chieftains and their men, were engaged without rest + or relief against the pagans. How many thousands of pagans fell in + these skirmishes God only knows, over and above the numbers slain + in the eight battles before mentioned. In the same year the Saxons + made peace with the invaders, on condition that they should take + their departure, and they did so. + + [Sidenote: Alfred's plan to meet the pagans on the sea] + + In the year 877 the pagans, on the approach of autumn, partly + settled in Exeter[259] and partly marched for plunder into + Mercia.[260] The number of that disorderly horde increased every + day, so that, if thirty thousand of them were slain in one battle, + others took their places to double the number. Then King Alfred + commanded boats and galleys, i.e., long ships, to be built + throughout the kingdom, in order to offer battle by sea to the + enemy as they were coming.[261] On board these he placed sailors, + whom he commanded to keep watch on the seas. Meanwhile he went + himself to Exeter, where the pagans were wintering and, having shut + them up within the walls, laid siege to the town. He also gave + orders to his sailors to prevent the enemy from obtaining any + supplies by sea. In a short time the sailors were encountered by a + fleet of a hundred and twenty ships full of armed soldiers, who + were on their way to the relief of their countrymen. As soon as the + king's men knew that the ships were manned by pagan soldiers they + leaped to their arms and bravely attacked those barbaric tribes. + The pagans, who had now for almost a month been tossed and almost + wrecked among the waves of the sea, fought vainly against them. + Their bands were thrown into confusion in a very short time, and + all were sunk and drowned in the sea, at a place called + Swanwich.[262] + + In 878, which was the thirtieth year of King Alfred's life, the + pagan army left Exeter and went to Chippenham. This latter place + was a royal residence situated in the west of Wiltshire, on the + eastern bank of the river which the Britons called the Avon. They + spent the winter there and drove many of the inhabitants of the + surrounding country beyond the sea by the force of their arms, and + by the want of the necessities of life. They reduced almost + entirely to subjection all the people of that country. + + [Sidenote: Alfred in refuge at Athelney] + + [Sidenote: The battle of Ethandune and the establishment of peace + (878)] + + The same year, after Easter, King Alfred, with a few followers, + made for himself a stronghold in a place called Athelney,[263] and + from thence sallied, with his companions and the nobles of + Somersetshire, to make frequent assaults upon the pagans. Also, in + the seventh week after Easter, he rode to Egbert's stone, which is + in the eastern part of the wood that is called Selwood.[264] Here + he was met by all the folk of Somersetshire and Wiltshire and + Hampshire, who had not fled beyond the sea for fear of the pagans; + and when they saw the king alive after such great tribulation they + received him, as he deserved, with shouts of joy, and encamped + there for one night. At dawn on the following day the king broke + camp and went to Okely, where he encamped for one night. The next + morning he moved to Ethandune[265] and there fought bravely and + persistently against the whole army of the pagans. By the help of + God he defeated them with great slaughter and pursued them flying + to their fortification. He at once slew all the men and carried off + all the booty that he could find outside the fortress, which he + immediately laid siege to with his entire army. And when he had + been there fourteen days the pagans, driven by famine, cold, fear, + and finally by despair, asked for peace on the condition that they + should give the king as many hostages as he should ask, but should + receive none from him in return. Never before had they made a + treaty with any one on such terms. The king, hearing this, took + pity upon them and received such hostages as he chose. Then the + pagans swore that they would immediately leave the kingdom, and + their king, Guthrum, promised to embrace Christianity and receive + baptism at Alfred's hands. All of these pledges he and his men + fulfilled as they had promised.[266] + + +31. Alfred's Interest in Education + +As an epoch of literary and educational advancement the reign of +Alfred in England (871-901) was in many respects like that of +Charlemagne among the Franks (768-814). Like Charlemagne, Alfred grew +up with very slight education, at least of a literary sort; but both +sovereigns were strongly dissatisfied with their ignorance, and both +made earnest efforts to overcome their own defects and at the same +time to raise the standard of intelligence among their people at +large. When one considers how crowded were the reigns of both with +wars and the pressing business of administration, such devotion to the +interests of learning appears the more deserving of praise. + +In the first passage below, taken from Asser's life of Alfred, the +anxiety of the king for the promotion of his own education and that of +his children is clearly and strongly stated. We find him following +Charlemagne's plan of bringing scholars from foreign countries. He +brought them, too, from parts of Britain not under his direct control, +and used them at the court, or in bishoprics, to perform the work of +instruction. Curiously enough, whereas Charlemagne had found the chief +of his Palace School, Alcuin, in England, Alfred was glad to secure +the services of two men (Grimbald and John) who had made their +reputations in monasteries situated within the bounds of the old +Frankish empire. + +Aside from some native songs and epic poems, all the literature known +to the Saxon people was in Latin, and but few persons in the kingdom +knew Latin well enough to read it. The king himself did not, until +about 887. It was supposed, of course, that the clergy were able to +use the Latin Bible and the Latin ritual of the Church, but when +Alfred came to investigate he found that even these men were often +pretty nearly as ignorant as the people they were charged to instruct. +What the king did, then, was to urge more study on the part of the +clergy, under the direction of such men as Plegmund, Asser, Grimbald, +John, and Werfrith. The people in general could not be expected to +master a foreign language; hence, in order that they might not be shut +off entirely from the first-hand use of books, Alfred undertook the +translation of certain standard works from the Latin into the Saxon. +Those thus translated were Boethius's _Consolations of Philosophy_, +Orosius's _Universal History of the World_, Bede's _Ecclesiastical +History of England_, and Pope Gregory the Great's _Pastoral Rule_. The +second passage given below is Alfred's preface to his Saxon edition of +the last-named book, taking the form of a letter to the scholarly +Bishop Werfrith of Worcester. The _Pastoral Rule_ [see p. 90] was +written by Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) as a body of instructions +in doctrine and conduct for the clergy. Alfred's preface, as a picture +of the ruin wrought by the long series of Danish wars, is of the +utmost importance in the study of ninth and tenth century England, as +well as a most interesting revelation of the character of the great +king. + + Sources--(a) Asser, _De rebus gestis Aelfredi Magni_, Chaps. + 75-78. Adapted from translation by J. A. Giles in _Six Old + English Chronicles_ (London, 1866), pp. 68-70. + + (b) King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Pope Gregory's + _Pastoral Rule_. Edited by Henry Sweet in the Publications of + the Early English Text Society (London, 1871), p. 2. + + [Sidenote: The education of Alfred's children] + + (a) + + Ethelwerd, the youngest [of Alfred's children],[267] by the divine + counsels and the admirable prudence of the king, was consigned to + the schools of learning, where, with the children of almost all the + nobility of the country, and many also who were not noble, he + prospered under the diligent care of his teachers. Books in both + languages, namely, Latin and Saxon, were read in the school.[268] + They also learned to write, so that before they were of an age to + practice manly arts, namely, hunting and such pursuits as befit + noblemen, they became studious and clever in the liberal arts. + Edward[269] and Aelfthryth[270] were reared in the king's court and + received great attention from their attendants and nurses; nay, + they continue to this day with the love of all about them, and + showing friendliness, and even gentleness, towards all, both + natives and foreigners, and in complete subjection to their father. + Nor, among their other studies which pertain to this life and are + fit for noble youths, are they suffered to pass their time idly and + unprofitably without learning the liberal arts; for they have + carefully learned the Psalms and Saxon books, especially the Saxon + poems, and are continually in the habit of making use of books. + + [Sidenote: The varied activities of the king] + + [Sidenote: His devout character] + + In the meantime the king, during the frequent wars and other + hindrances of this present life, the invasions of the pagans, and + his own infirmities of body, continued to carry on the government, + and to practice hunting in all its branches; to teach his workers + in gold and artificers of all kinds, his falconers, hawkers and + dog-keepers; to build houses, majestic and splendid, beyond all the + precedents of his ancestors, by his new mechanical inventions; to + recite the Saxon books, and especially to learn by heart the Saxon + poems, and to make others learn them.[271] And he alone never + desisted from studying most diligently to the best of his ability. + He attended the Mass and other daily services of religion. He was + diligent in psalm-singing and prayer, at the hours both of the day + and of the night. He also went to the churches, as we have already + said, in the night-time to pray, secretly and unknown to his + courtiers. He bestowed alms and gifts on both natives and + foreigners of all countries. He was affable and pleasant to all, + and curiously eager to investigate things unknown. Many Franks, + Frisians, Gauls, pagans, Britons, Scots, and Armoricans,[272] noble + and low-born, came voluntarily to his domain; and all of them, + according to their nation and deserving, were ruled, loved, honored + and enriched with money and power.[273] Moreover, the king was in + the habit of hearing the divine Scriptures read by his own + countrymen, or, if by any chance it so happened, in company with + foreigners, and he attended to it with care and solicitude. His + bishops, too, and all ecclesiastics, his earls and nobles, + ministers[274] and friends, were loved by him with wonderful + affection, and their sons, who were reared in the royal household, + were no less dear to him than his own. He had them instructed in + all kinds of good morals, and, among other things, never ceased to + teach them letters night and day. + + [Sidenote: Regret at his lack of education] + + But, as if he had no consolation in all these things, and though + he suffered no other annoyance, either from within or without, he + was harassed by daily and nightly affliction, so that he complained + to God and to all who were admitted to his intimate fondness, that + Almighty God had made him ignorant of divine wisdom, and of the + liberal arts--in this emulating the pious, the wise, and wealthy + Solomon, king of the Hebrews, who at first, despising all present + glory and riches, asked wisdom of God and found both, namely, + wisdom and worldly glory; as it is written: "Seek first the kingdom + of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added + unto you." But God, who is always the observer of the thoughts of + the mind within and the author of all good intentions, and a most + plentiful helper that good desires may be formed (for He would not + prompt a man to good intentions, unless He also amply supplied that + which the man justly and properly wishes to have) stimulated the + king's mind within: as it is written, "I will hearken what the Lord + God will say concerning me." He would avail himself of every + opportunity to procure co-workers in his good designs, to aid him + in his strivings after wisdom that he might attain to what he aimed + at. And, like a prudent bee, which, going forth in summer with the + early morning from its cell, steers its rapid flight through the + uncertain tracks of ether and descends on the manifold and varied + flowers of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, discovering that which + pleases most, that it may bear it home, so did he direct his eyes + afar and seek without that which he had not within, that is, in his + own kingdom.[275] + + [Sidenote: Learned men from Mercia brought to the English court] + + But God at that time, as some relief to the king's anxiety, + yielding to his complaint, sent certain lights to illuminate him, + namely, Werfrith, bishop of the church of Worcester, a man well + versed in divine Scripture, who, by the king's command, first + turned the books of the Dialogues of Pope Gregory and Peter, his + disciple, from Latin into Saxon, and sometimes putting sense for + sense, interpreted them with clearness and elegance. After him was + Plegmund,[276] a Mercian by birth, archbishop of the church of + Canterbury, a venerable man, and endowed with wisdom; Ethelstan + also,[277] and Werwulf,[278] his priests and chaplains,[279] + Mercians by birth and learned. These four had been invited from + Mercia by King Alfred, who exalted them with many honors and powers + in the kingdom of the West Saxons, besides the privileges which + Archbishop Plegmund and Bishop Werfrith enjoyed in Mercia. By their + teaching and wisdom the king's desires increased unceasingly, and + were gratified. Night and day, whenever he had leisure, he + commanded such men as these to read books to him, for he never + suffered himself to be without one of them; wherefore he possessed + a knowledge of every book, though of himself he could not yet + understand anything of books, for he had not yet learned to read + anything.[280] + + [Sidenote: Grimbald and John brought from the continent] + + But the king's commendable desire could not be gratified even in + this; wherefore he sent messengers beyond the sea to Gaul, to + procure teachers, and he invited from thence Grimbald,[281] priest + and monk, a venerable man and good singer, adorned with every kind + of ecclesiastical training and good morals, and most learned in + holy Scripture. He also obtained from thence John,[282] also priest + and monk, a man of most energetic talents, and learned in all kinds + of literary science, and skilled in many other arts. By the + teaching of these men the king's mind was much enlarged, and he + enriched and honored them with much influence. + + [Sidenote: Alfred writes to Bishop Werfrith on the state of + learning in England] + + (b) + + King Alfred greets Bishop Werfrith with loving words and with + friendship. + + I let it be known to thee that it has very often come into my mind + what wise men there formerly were throughout England, both within + the Church and without it; also what happy times there were then + and how the kings who had power over the nation in those days + obeyed God and His ministers; how they cherished peace, morality, + and order at home, and at the same time enlarged their territory + abroad; and how they prospered both in war and in wisdom. Often + have I thought, also, of the sacred orders, how zealous they were + both in teaching and learning, and in all the services they owed to + God; and how foreigners came to this land in search of wisdom and + instruction, which things we should now have to get from abroad if + we were to have them at all. + + So general became the decay of learning in England that there were + very few on this side of the Humber[283] who could understand the + rituals[284] in English, or translate a letter from Latin into + English; and I believe that there were not many beyond the Humber + who could do these things. There were so few, in fact, that I + cannot remember a single person south of the Thames when I came to + the throne. Thanks be to Almighty God that we now have some + teachers among us. And therefore I enjoin thee to free thyself, as + I believe thou art ready to do, from worldly matters, that thou + mayst apply the wisdom which God has given thee wherever thou + canst. Consider what punishments would come upon us if we neither + loved wisdom ourselves nor allowed other men to obtain it. We + should then care for the name only of Christian, and have regard + for very few of the Christian virtues. + + [Sidenote: Learning in the days before the Danish invasions] + + When I thought of all this I remembered also how I saw the country + before it had been all ravaged and burned; how the churches + throughout the whole of England stood filled with treasures and + books. There was also a great multitude of God's servants, but they + had very little knowledge of books, for they could not understand + anything in them because they were not written in their own + language.[285] When I remembered all this I wondered extremely that + the good and wise men who were formerly all over England and had + learned perfectly all the books, did not wish to translate them + into their own language. But again I soon answered myself and said: + "Their own desire for learning was so great that they did not + suppose that men would ever become so indifferent and that learning + would ever so decay; and they wished, moreover, that wisdom in this + land might increase with our knowledge of languages." Then I + remembered how the law was first known in Hebrew and when the + Greeks had learned it how they translated the whole of it into + their own tongue,[286] and all other books besides. And again the + Romans, when they had learned it, translated the whole of it into + their own language.[287] And also all other Christian nations + translated a part of it into their languages. + + [Sidenote: Plan to translate Latin books into English] + + Therefore it seems better to me, if you agree, for us also to + translate some of the books which are most needful for all men to + know into the language which we can all understand. It shall be + your duty to see to it, as can easily be done if we have + tranquility enough,[288] that all the free-born youth now in + England, who are rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, + be set to learn as long as they are not fit for any other + occupation, until they are well able to read English writing. And + let those afterwards be taught more in the Latin language who are + to continue learning and be promoted to a higher rank. + + [Sidenote: The translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care] + + When I remembered how the knowledge of Latin had decayed through + England, and yet that many could read English writing, I began, + among other various and manifold troubles of this kingdom, to + translate into English the book which is called in Latin + _Pastoralis_, and in English _The Shepherd's Book_, sometimes word + for word, and sometimes according to the sense, as I had learned it + from Plegmund, my archbishop, and Asser, my bishop, and Grimbald, + my mass-priest, and John, my mass-priest. And when I had learned + it, as I could best understand it and most clearly interpret it, I + translated it into English. + + I will send a copy of this book to every bishopric in my kingdom, + and on each copy there shall be a clasp worth fifty mancuses.[289] + And I command in God's name that no man take the clasp from the + book, or the book from the minster.[290] It is uncertain how long + there may be such learned bishops as, thanks be to God, there now + are almost everywhere; therefore, I wish these copies always to + remain in their places, unless the bishop desires to take them with + him, or they be loaned out anywhere, or any one wishes to make a + copy of them. + + +32. Alfred's Laws + +Here are a few characteristic laws included by Alfred in the code +which he drew up on the basis of old customs and the laws of some of +the earlier Saxon kings. On the nature of the law of the early +Germanic peoples, see p. 59. + + Source--Text in Benjamin Thorpe, _The Ancient Laws and + Institutes of England_ (London, 1840), pp. 20-44 _passim_. + + If any one smite his neighbor with a stone, or with his fist, and + he nevertheless can go out with a staff, let him get him a + physician and do his work as long as he himself cannot. + + If an ox gore a man or a woman, so that they die, let it be stoned, + and let not its flesh be eaten. The owner shall not be liable if + the ox were wont to push with its horns for two or three days + before, and he knew it not; but if he knew it, and would not shut + it in, and it then shall have slain a man or a woman, let it be + stoned; and let the master be slain, or the person killed be paid + for, as the "witan"[291] shall decree to be right. + + Injure ye not the widows and the stepchildren, nor hurt them + anywhere; for if ye do otherwise they will cry unto me and I will + hear them, and I will slay you with my sword; and I will cause that + your own wives shall be widows, and your children shall be + stepchildren. + + If a man strike out another's eye, let him pay sixty shillings, + and six shillings, and six pennies, and a third part of a penny, as + 'bot.'[292] If it remain in the head, and he cannot see anything + with it, let one-third of the 'bot' be remitted. + + [Sidenote: Penalties for various crimes of violence] + + If a man strike out another's tooth in the front of his head, let + him make 'bot' for it with eight shillings; if it be the canine + tooth, let four shillings be paid as 'bot.' A man's grinder is + worth fifteen shillings. + + If the shooting finger be struck off, the 'bot' is fifteen + shillings; for its nail it is four shillings. + + If a man maim another's hand outwardly, let twenty shillings be + paid him as 'bot,' if he can be healed; if it half fly off, then + shall forty shillings be paid as 'bot.' + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[257] That is, Ethelred I., whom Alfred succeeded. + +[258] Wiltshire, on the southern coast, west of the Isle of Wight. + +[259] The same as the modern city of the name. + +[260] Mercia was one of the seven old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It lay +east of Wales. + +[261] This marked a radical departure in methods of fighting the +invaders. On the continent, and hitherto in England, there had been no +effort to prevent the enemy from getting into the country they +proposed to plunder. Alfred's creation of a navy was one of his wisest +acts. Although the English had by this time grown comparatively +unaccustomed to seafaring life they contrived to win their first naval +encounter with the enemy. + +[262] In Dorsetshire. + +[263] Athelney was in Somersetshire, northeast of Exeter, in the +marshes at the junction of the Tone and the Parret. + +[264] The modern Brixton Deverill, in Wiltshire, near Warminster. + +[265] In Wiltshire, a little east of Westbury. In January the Danes +had removed from Exeter to Chippenham. Edington (or Ethandune) was +eight miles from the camp at the latter place. The Danes were first +defeated in an open battle at Edington, and then forced to surrender +after a fourteen days' siege at Chippenham. + +[266] This so-called "Peace of Alfred and Guthrum" in 878 provided +only for the acceptance of Christianity by the Danish leader. It is +sometimes known as the treaty of Chippenham and is not to be confused +with the treaty of Wedmore, of a few weeks later, by which Alfred and +Guthrum divided the English country between them. The text of this +second treaty will be found in Lee's _Source-Book of English History_ +(pp. 98-99), though the introductory statement there given is somewhat +misleading. This assignment of the Danelaw to Guthrum's people may +well be compared with the yielding of Normandy to Rollo by Charles the +Simple in 911 [see p. 172]. + +[267] Ethelwerd was Alfred's fifth living child. + +[268] This was, of course, not a school in the modern sense of the +word. All that is meant is simply that young Ethelwerd, along with +sons of nobles and non-nobles, received instruction from the learned +men at the court. It had been customary before Alfred's day for the +young princes and sons of nobles to receive training at the court, but +not in letters. + +[269] This was Edward the Elder who succeeded Alfred as king and +reigned from 901 to 925. He was Alfred's eldest son. + +[270] Aelfthryth was Alfred's fourth child. She became the wife of +Baldwin II. of Flanders. + +[271] Among other labors in behalf of learning, Alfred made a +collection of the ancient epics and lyrics of the Saxon people. +Unfortunately, except in the case of the epic Beowulf, only fragments +of these have survived. Beowulf was, so far as we know, the earliest +of the Saxon poems, having originated before the migration to Britain, +though it was probably put in its present form by a Christian monk of +the eighth century. + +[272] Armorica was the name applied in Alfred's time to the region +southward from the mouth of the Seine to Brittany. + +[273] There is a good deal of independent evidence that Alfred was +peculiarly hospitable to foreigners. He delighted in learning from +them about their peoples and experiences. + +[274] The word in the original is _ministeriales_. It is not Saxon but +Franco-Latin and is an instance of the Frankish element in Asser's +vocabulary. Here, as among the Franks, the _ministeriales_ were the +officials of second-rate importance surrounding the king, the highest +being known as the _ministri_. + +[275] This comparison of the gathering of learning to the operations +of a bee in collecting honey is very common among classical writers +and also among those of the Carolingian renaissance. It occurs in +Lucretius, Seneca, Macrobius, Alcuin, and the poet Candidus. + +[276] Plegmund became archbishop of Canterbury in 890, but it is +probable that he was with Alfred some time before his election to the +primacy. + +[277] This Ethelstan was probably the person of that name who was +consecrated bishop of Ramsbury in 909. + +[278] From another document it appears that Werwulf was a friend of +Bishop Werfrith in Mercia before either took up residence at Alfred's +court. + +[279] In Chap. 104 of Asser's biography the _capellani_ are described +as supplying the king with candles, by whose burning he measured time. +The word _capellanus_ is of pure Frankish origin and was originally +applied to the clerks (_clerici capellani_) who were charged with the +custody of the cope (_cappa_) of St. Martin, which was kept in the +_capella_. From this the term _capella_ came to mean a room especially +devoted to religious uses, that is, a chapel. It was used in this +sense as early as 829 in Frankland. Whether by _capellanus_ Asser +meant mere clerks, or veritable "chaplains" in the later sense, cannot +be known, though his usage was probably the latter. + +[280] Chapter 87 of Asser informs us that Alfred mastered the art of +reading in the year 887. + +[281] Grimbald came from the Flemish monastery of St. Bertin at St. +Omer. He was recommended to Alfred by Fulco, archbishop of Rheims, who +had once been abbot of St. Bertin. We do not know in what year +Grimbald went to England, though there is some evidence that it was +not far from 887. + +[282] John the Old Saxon is mentioned by Alfred as his mass-priest. It +is probable that he came from the abbey of Corbei on the upper Weser. +Not much is known about the man, but if he was as learned as Asser +says he was, he must have been a welcome addition to Alfred's group of +scholars particularly as the language which he used was very similar +to that of the West Saxons in England. + +[283] That is, south of the Humber. + +[284] The service of the Church. + +[285] They were written, of course, in Latin. + +[286] By the middle of the third century A.D. as many as three +different translations of the Old Testament into Greek had been +made--those of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmochus. These eventually +took fixed shape in the so-called Septuagint version of the Old +Testament. + +[287] About the year 385 St. Jerome revised the older Latin +translation of the New Testament and translated the Old Testament +directly from the Hebrew. This complete version gradually superseded +all others for the whole Latin-reading Church, being known as the +"Vulgate," that is, the version commonly accepted. It was in the form +of the Vulgate that the Scriptures were known to the Saxons and all +other peoples of western Europe. + +[288] In other words, sufficient relief from the Danish incursions. + +[289] The _mancus_ was a Saxon money value equivalent to a mark. + +[290] A minster was a church attached to a monastery. + +[291] The witan was the gathering of "wisemen"--members of the royal +family, high officials in the Church, and leading nobles--about the +Anglo-Saxon king to assist in making ordinances and supervising the +affairs of state. + +[292] Compensation rendered to an injured person. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE ORDEAL + + +33. Tests by Hot Water, Cold Water, and Fire + +Among the early Germans the settling of disputes and the testing of +the guilt or innocence of an accused person were generally +accomplished through the employment of one or both of two very +interesting judicial practices--compurgation and the ordeal. According +to the German conception of justice, when one person was accused of +wrongdoing by another and chose to defend himself, he was not under +obligation to prove directly that he did not commit the alleged +misdeed; rather it was his business to produce, if he could, a +sufficient number of persons who would take oath that they believed +the accused to be a trustworthy man and that he was telling the truth +when he denied that he was guilty. The persons brought forward to take +this oath were known as compurgators, or "co-swearers," and the legal +act thus performed was called compurgation. The number of compurgators +required to free a man was usually from seven to twelve, though it +varied greatly among different tribes and according to the rank of the +parties involved. Naturally they were likely to be relatives or +friends of the accused man, though it was not essential that they be +such. It was in no wise expected that they be able to give facts or +evidence regarding the case; in other words, they were not to serve at +all as witnesses, such as are called in our courts to-day. + +If the accused succeeded in producing the required number of +compurgators, and they took the oath in a satisfactory manner, the +defendant was usually declared to be innocent and the case was +dropped. If, however, the compurgators were not forthcoming, or there +appeared some irregularity in their part of the procedure, resort +would ordinarily be had to the ordeal. The ordeal was essentially an +appeal to the gods for decision between two contending parties. It +was based on the belief that the gods would not permit an innocent +person to suffer by reason of an unjust accusation and that when the +opportunity was offered under certain prescribed conditions the divine +power would indicate who was in the right and who in the wrong. The +ordeal, having its origin far back in the times when the Germans were +pagans and before their settlements in the Roman Empire, was retained +in common usage after the Christianizing and civilizing of the +barbarian tribes. The administering of it simply passed from the old +pagan priests to the Christian clergy, and the appeals were directed +to the Christian's God instead of to Woden and Thor. Under Christian +influence, the wager of battle (or personal combat to settle judicial +questions), which had been exceedingly common, was discouraged as much +as possible, and certain new modes of appeal to divine authority were +introduced. Throughout the earlier Middle Ages the chief forms of the +ordeal were: (1) the ordeal by walking through fire; (2) the ordeal by +hot iron, in which the accused either carried a piece of hot iron a +certain distance in his hands or walked barefoot over pieces of the +same material; (3) the ordeal by hot water, in which the accused was +required to plunge his bared arm into boiling water and bring forth a +stone or other object from the bottom; (4) the ordeal by cold water, +in which the accused was thrown, bound hand and foot, into a pond or +stream, to sink if he were innocent, to float if he were guilty; (5) +the ordeal of the cross, in which the accuser and accused stood with +arms outstretched in the form of a cross until one of them could +endure the strain of the unnatural attitude no longer; (6) the ordeal +of the sacrament, in which the accused partook of the sacrament, the +idea being that divine vengeance would certainly fall upon him in so +doing if he were guilty; (7) the ordeal of the bread and cheese, in +which the accused, made to swallow morsels of bread and cheese, was +expected to choke if he were guilty; and (8) the judicial combat, +which was generally reserved for freemen, and which, despite the +opposition of the Church, did not die out until the end of the +mediaeval period. + +The three passages quoted below illustrate, respectively, the ordeal +by hot water, by cold water, and by fire. The first (a) is a story +told by the Frankish historian Gregory of Tours [see p. 46]. The +second (b) is an explanation of the cold water ordeal written by +Hincmar, an archbishop of Rheims in the ninth century. The third (c) +is an account, by Raymond of Agiles, of how Peter Bartholomew was put +to the test by the ordeal of fire. This incident occurred at Antioch +during the first crusade. Peter Bartholomew had just discovered a +lance which he claimed was the one thrust into the side of Christ at +the crucifixion and, some of the crusaders being skeptical as to the +genuineness of the relic, the discoverer was submitted to the ordeal +by fire to test the matter. + + Sources--(a) Gregorius Episcopus Turonensis, _Libri + Miraculorum_ [Gregory of Tours, "Books of Miracles"], Chap. + 80. Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores + Merovingicarum_, Vol. I., p. 542. Translated by Arthur C. + Howland in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., + No. 4, pp. 10-11. + + (b) Hincmari Archiepiscopi Rhemensis, _De divortio Lotharii + regis et Tetbergae reginae_ [Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, "The + Divorce of King Lothair and Queen Teutberga"], Chap. 6. Text + in Migne, _Patroligiae Cursus Completus_, Second Series, Vol. + CXXV., cols. 668-669. Translated by Arthur C. Howland, _ibid_. + + (c) Raimundus de Agiles, _Historia Francorum qui ceperunt + Jerusalem_ [Raimond of Agiles, "History of the Franks who + captured Jerusalem"], Chap. 18. Text in Migne, _Patrologiae + Cursus Completus_, Second Series, Vol. CLV., cols. 619-621. + + [Sidenote: A challenge to the ordeal by hot water] + + [Sidenote: Preparations for the ordeal] + + [Sidenote: Result of the ordeal] + + An Arian presbyter, disputing with a deacon of our religion, made + venomous assertions against the Son of God and the Holy Ghost, as + is the habit of that sect.[293] But when the deacon had discoursed + a long time concerning the reasonableness of our faith, and the + heretic, blinded by the fog of unbelief, continued to reject the + truth (according as it is written, "Wisdom shall not enter the + mind of the wicked") the former said: "Why weary ourselves with + long discussions? Let acts demonstrate the truth. Let a kettle be + heated over the fire and some one's ring be thrown into the boiling + water. Let him who shall take it from the heated liquid be approved + as a follower of the truth, and afterwards let the other party be + converted to the knowledge of this truth. And do thou understand, O + heretic, that this our party will fulfill the conditions with the + aid of the Holy Ghost; thou shalt confess that there is no + inequality, no dissimilarity, in the Holy Trinity." The heretic + consented to the proposition and they separated, after appointing + the next morning for the trial. But the fervor of faith in which + the deacon had first made this suggestion began to cool through the + instigation of the enemy [i.e., Satan]. Rising with the dawn, he + bathed his arm in oil and smeared it with ointment. But + nevertheless he made the round of the sacred places and called in + prayer on the Lord. What more shall I say? About the third hour + they met in the market place. The people came together to see the + show. A fire was lighted, the kettle was placed upon it, and when + it grew very hot the ring was thrown into the boiling water. The + deacon invited the heretic to take it out of the water first. But + he promptly refused, saying, "Thou who didst propose this trial art + the one to take it out." The deacon, all of a tremble, bared his + arm. And when the heretic presbyter saw it besmeared with ointment + he cried out: "With magic arts thou hast thought to protect + thyself, that thou hast made use of these salves, but what thou + hast done will not avail." While they were thus quarreling, there + came up a deacon from Ravenna named Iacinthus, who inquired what + the trouble was about. When he learned the truth, he drew his arm + out from under his robe at once and plunged his right hand into the + kettle. Now the ring that had been thrown in was a little thing and + very light, so that it was tossed about by the water as chaff would + be blown about by the wind; and, searching for it a long time, he + found it after about an hour. Meanwhile the flame beneath the + kettle blazed up mightily, so that the greater heat might make it + difficult for the ring to be followed by the hand; but the deacon + extracted it at length and suffered no harm, protesting rather that + at the bottom the kettle was cold while at the top it was just + pleasantly warm. When the heretic beheld this, he was greatly + confused and audaciously thrust his hand into the kettle saying, + "My faith will aid me." As soon as his hand had been thrust in, all + the flesh was boiled off the bones clear up to the elbow. And so + the dispute ended. + + [Sidenote: How the ordeal of cold water is to be conducted] + + (b) + + Now the one about to be examined is bound by a rope and cast into + the water because, as it is written, "each one shall be holden with + the cords of his iniquity." And it is manifest that he is bound for + two reasons, namely, that he may not be able to practice any fraud + in connection with the judgment, and that he may be drawn out at + the right time if the water should receive him as innocent, so that + he perish not. For as we read that Lazarus, who had been dead four + days (by whom is signified each one buried under a load of crimes), + was buried wrapped in bandages and, bound by the same bands, came + forth from the sepulchre at the word of the Lord and was loosed by + the disciples at His command; so he who is to be examined by this + judgment is cast into the water bound, and is drawn forth again + bound, and is either immediately set free by the decree of the + judges, being purged, or remains bound until the time of his + purgation and is then examined by the court.... And in this ordeal + of cold water whoever, after the invocation of God, who is the + Truth, seeks to hide the truth by a lie, cannot be submerged in the + waters above which the voice of the Lord God has thundered; for the + pure nature of the water recognizes as impure, and therefore + rejects as inconsistent with itself, such human nature as has once + been regenerated by the waters of baptism and is again infected by + falsehood. + + [Sidenote: Preparations for the ordeal by fire] + + (c) + + All these things were pleasing to us and, having enjoined on him a + fast, we declared that a fire should be prepared upon the day on + which the Lord was beaten with stripes and put upon the cross for + our salvation. And the fourth day thereafter was the day before the + Sabbath. So when the appointed day came round, a fire was prepared + after the noon hour. The leaders and the people to the number of + 60,000 came together. The priests were there also with bare feet, + clothed in ecclesiastical garments. The fire was made of dry olive + branches, covering a space thirteen feet long; and there were two + piles, with a space about a foot wide between them. The height of + these piles was four feet. Now when the fire had been kindled so + that it burned fiercely, I, Raimond, in the presence of the whole + multitude, said: "If Omnipotent God has spoken to this man face to + face, and the blessed Andrew has shown him our Lord's lance while + he was keeping his vigil,[294] let him go through the fire + unharmed. But if it is false, let him be burned, together with the + lance, which he is to carry in his hand." And all responded on + bended knees, "Amen." + + [Sidenote: Peter Bartholomew passes through the flames] + + The fire was growing so hot that the flames shot up thirty cubits + high into the air and scarcely any one dared approach it. Then + Peter Bartholomew, clothed only in his tunic and kneeling before + the bishop of Albar,[295] called God to witness that "he had seen + Him face to face on the cross, and that he had heard from Him those + things above written."... Then, when the bishop had placed the + lance in his hand, he knelt and made the sign of the cross and + entered the fire with the lance, firm and unterrified. For an + instant's time he paused in the midst of the flames, and then by + the grace of God passed through.... But when Peter emerged from the + fire so that neither his tunic was burned nor even the thin cloth + with which the lance was wrapped up had shown any sign of damage, + the whole people received him, after he had made over them the sign + of the cross with the lance in his hand and had cried, "God help + us!" All the people, I say, threw themselves upon him and dragged + him to the ground and trampled on him, each one wishing to touch + him, or to get a piece of his garment, and each thinking him near + some one else. And so he received three or four wounds in the legs + where the flesh was torn away, his back was injured, and his sides + bruised. Peter had died on the spot, as we believe, had not Raimond + Pelet, a brave and noble soldier, broken through the wild crowd + with a band of friends and rescued him at the peril of their + lives.... After this, Peter died in peace at the hour appointed to + him by God, and journeyed to the Lord; and he was buried in the + place where he had carried the lance of the Lord through the + fire.[296] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[293] The principal difference between Arian and orthodox Christians +arose out of the much discussed problem as to whether Jesus was of the +same substance as God and co-eternal with Him. The Arians maintained +that while Jesus was truly the Son of God, He must necessarily have +been inferior to the Father, else there would be two gods. Arianism +was formally condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325, but it +continued to be the prevalent belief in many parts of the Roman +Empire; and when the Germans became Christians, it was Christianity of +the Arian type (except in the case of the Franks) that they +adopted--because it happened to be this creed that the missionaries +carried to them. The Franks became orthodox Christians, which in part +explains their close relations with the papacy in the earlier Middle +Ages [see p. 50]. Of course Gregory of Tours, who relates the story of +the Arian presbyter, as a Frank, was a hater of Arianism, and +therefore we need not be surprised at the expressions of contempt +which he employs in referring to "the heretic." + +[294] The story as told by Raimond of Agiles was that Peter +Bartholomew had been visited by Andrew the Apostle, who had revealed +to him the spot where the lance lay buried beneath the Church of St. +Peter in Antioch. + +[295] Albar, or Albara, was a town southeast of Antioch, beyond the +Orontes. + +[296] Owing to Peter's early death after undergoing the ordeal, a +serious controversy arose as to whether he had really passed through +it without injury from the fire. His friends ascribed his death to the +wounds he had received from the enthusiastic crowd, but his enemies +declared that he died from burns. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE FEUDAL SYSTEM + + +34. Older Institutions Involving Elements of Feudalism + +The history of the feudal system in Europe makes up a very large part +of the history of the Middle Ages, particularly of the period between +the ninth and the fourteenth centuries. This is true because +feudalism, in one way or another, touched almost every phase of the +life of western Europe during this long era. More than anything else, +it molded the conditions of government, the character and course of +war, the administration of justice, the tenure of land, the manner of +everyday life, and even the relations of the Church with sovereigns +and people. "Coming into existence," says a French historian, "in the +obscure period that followed the dissolution of the Carolingian +empire, the feudal regime developed slowly, without the intervention +of a government, without the aid of a written law, without any general +understanding among individuals; rather only by a gradual +transformation of customs, which took place sooner or later, but in +about the same way, in France, Italy, Christian Spain, and Germany. +Then, toward the end of the eleventh century, it was transplanted into +England and into southern Italy, in the twelfth and thirteenth into +the Latin states of the East, and beginning with the fourteenth into +the Scandinavian countries. This regime, established thus not +according to a general plan but by a sort of natural growth, never had +forms and usages that were everywhere the same. It is impossible to +gather it up into a perfectly exact picture, which would not be in +contradiction to several cases."[297] + +The country in which feudalism reached its fullest perfection was +France and most of the passages here given to illustrate the subject +have to do with French life and institutions. In France, speaking +generally, feudalism took shape during the ninth and tenth centuries, +developed steadily until the thirteenth, and then slowly declined, +leaving influences on society which have not yet all disappeared. When +the system was complete--say by the tenth century--we can see in it +three essential elements which may be described as the personal, the +territorial, and the governmental. The personal element, in brief, was +the relation between lord and vassal under which the former gave +protection in return for the latter's fidelity. The territorial +element was the benefice, or fief, granted to the vassal by the lord +to be used on certain conditions by the former while the title to it +remained with the latter. The governmental element was the rights of +jurisdiction over his fief usually given by a lord to his vassal, +especially if the fief were an important one. At one time it was +customary to trace back all these features of the feudal system to the +institutions of Rome. Later it became almost as customary to trace +them to the institutions of the early Germans. But recent scholarship +shows that it is quite unnecessary, in fact very misleading, to +attempt to ascribe them wholly to either Roman or German sources, or +even to both together. All that we can say is that in the centuries +preceding the ninth these elements all existed in the society of +western Europe and that, while something very like them ran far back +into old Roman and German times, they existed in sixth and seventh +century Europe primarily because conditions were then such as to +_demand_ their existence. Short extracts to illustrate the most +important of these old feudal elements are given below. It should +constantly be borne in mind that no one of these things--whether +vassalage, the benefice, or the immunity--was in itself feudalism. +Most of them could, and did, exist separately, and it was only when +they were united, as commonly became the case in the ninth and tenth +centuries, that the word feudalism can properly be brought into use, +and then only as applied to the complete product. + +(1) VASSALAGE + +For the personal element in feudalism it is possible to find two +prototypes, one Roman and the other German. The first was the +institution of the later Empire known as the _patrocinium_--the +relation established between a powerful man (patron) and a weak one +(client) when the latter pledged himself to perform certain services +for the former in return for protection. The second was the German +_comitatus_--a band of young warriors who lived with a prince or noble +and went on campaigns under his leadership. The _patrocinium_ +doubtless survived in Roman Gaul long after the time of the Frankish +invasion, but it is not likely that the _comitatus_ ever played much +part in that country. It seems that, with the exception of the king, +the Frankish men of influence did not have bands of personal followers +after the settlement on Roman soil. But, wholly aside from earlier +practices, the conditions which the conquest, and the later struggles +of the rival kings, brought about made it still necessary for many men +who could not protect themselves or their property to seek the favor +of some one who was strong enough to give them aid. The name which +came to be applied to the act of establishing this personal relation +was _commendation_. The man who promised the protection was the lord, +and the man who pledged himself to serve the lord and be faithful to +him was the _homo_, after the eighth century known as the vassal +(_vassus_). In the eighth century, when the power of the Merovingian +kings was ebbing away and the people were left to look out for +themselves, large numbers entered into the vassal relation; and in the +ninth century, when Carolingian power was likewise running low and the +Northmen, Hungarians, and Saracens were ravaging the country, scarcely +a free man was left who did not secure for himself the protection of a +lord. The relation of vassalage was first recognized as legal in the +capitularies of Charlemagne. Here is a Frankish formula of +commendation dating from the seventh century--practically a blank +application in which the names of the prospective lord and vassal +could be inserted as required. + + Source--Eugene de Roziere, _Recueil General des Formules + usitees dans l'Empire des Francs du Ve au Xe siecle_ + ["General Collection of Formulae employed in the Frankish + Empire from the Fifth to the Tenth Century"], Vol. I., p. 69. + Translated by Edward P. Cheyney in _Univ. of Pa. Translations + and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, pp. 3-4. + + To that magnificent lord ----, I, ----. Since it is well known to + all how little I have wherewith to feed and clothe myself, I have + therefore petitioned your piety, and your good-will has decreed to + me, that I should hand myself over, or commend myself, to your + guardianship, which I have thereupon done; that is to say, in this + way, that you should aid and succor me, as well with food as with + clothing, according as I shall be able to serve you and deserve it. + + And so long as I shall live I ought to provide service and honor to + you, compatible with my free condition;[298] and I shall not, + during the time of my life, have the right to withdraw from your + control or guardianship; but must remain during the days of my life + under your power or defense. Wherefore it is proper that if either + of us shall wish to withdraw himself from these agreements, he + shall pay ---- shillings to the other party, and this agreement + shall remain unbroken.[299] + + (Wherefore it is fitting that they should make or confirm between + themselves two letters drawn up in the same form on this matter; + which they have thus done.) + +(2) THE BENEFICE + +The benefice, or grant of land to a vassal by a lord, by the Church, +or by the king, had its origin among the Franks in what were known as +the _precaria_ of the Church. At the time of the Frankish settlement +in Gaul, it was quite customary for the Church to grant land to men in +answer to _preces_ ("prayers," or requests), on condition that it +might be recalled at any time and that the temporary holder should be +unable to enforce any claims as against the owner. For the use of such +land a small rent in money, in produce, or in service was usually +paid. This form of tenure among the Franks was at first restricted to +church lands, but by the eighth century lay owners, even the king +himself, had come to employ it. The term _precarium_ dropped out of +use and all such grants, by whomsoever made, came to be known as +benefices ("benefits," or "favors"). The ordinary vassal might or +might not once have had land in his own name, but if he had such he +was expected to give over the ownership of it to his lord and receive +it back as a benefice to be used on certain prescribed conditions. In +time it became common, too, for lords to grant benefices out of their +own lands to landless vassals. A man could be a vassal without having +a benefice, but rarely, at least after the eighth century, could he +have a benefice without entering into the obligations of vassalage. +Benefices were at first granted by the Church with the understanding +that they might be recalled at any time; later they were granted by +Church, kings, and seigniors for life, or for a certain term of years; +and finally, in the ninth and tenth centuries, they came generally to +be regarded as hereditary. By the time the hereditary principle had +been established, the name "fief" (_feodum_, _feudum_--whence our word +feudal) had supplanted the older term "benefice." The tendency of the +personal element of vassalage and the territorial element of the +benefice, or fief, to merge was very strong, and by the tenth century +nearly every vassal was also a fief-holder. The following formulae +belong to the seventh century. The first (a) is for the grant of lands +to a church or monastery; the second (b) for their return to the +grantor as a _precarium_--or what was known a century later as a +benefice. + + Source--Eugene de Roziere, _Recueil General des Formules_, + Vol. I., p. 473. Translated by E. P. Cheyney in _Univ. of Pa. + Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, pp. 6-8. + + [Sidenote: Description of property yielded to a church or + monastery] + + [Sidenote: Terms of the contract] + + [Sidenote: Penalty for faithlessness] + + (a) + + I, ----, in the name of God. I have settled in my mind that I + ought, for the good of my soul, to make a gift of something from my + possessions, which I have therefore done. And this is what I hand + over, in the district named ----, in the place of which the name is + ----, all those possessions of mine which there my father left me + at his death, and which, as against my brothers, or as against my + co-heirs, the lot legitimately brought me in the division,[300] or + those which I was able afterward to add to them in any way, in + their whole completeness, that is to say, the courtyard with its + buildings, with slaves, houses, lands (cultivated and + uncultivated), meadows, woods, waters, mills, etc. These, as I have + said before, with all the things adjacent or belonging to them, I + hand over to the church, which was built in honor of Saint ----, to + the monastery which is called ----, where the Abbot ---- is + acknowledged to rule regularly over God's flock. On these + conditions: that so long as life remains in my body, I shall + receive from you as a benefice for usufruct the possessions above + described, and the due payment I will make to you and your + successors each year, that is ---- [amount named]. And my son shall + have the same possessions for the days of his life, and shall make + the above-named payment; and if my children should survive me, they + shall have the same possessions during the days of their lives and + shall make the same payment; and if God shall give me a son from a + legitimate wife, he shall have the same possessions for the days of + his life only, after the death of whom the same possessions, with + all their improvements, shall return to your hands to be held + forever; and if it should be my chance to beget sons from a + legitimate marriage, these shall hold the same possessions after my + death, making the above-named payment, during the time of their + lives. If not, however, after my death, without subterfuge of any + kind, by right of your authority, the same possessions shall revert + to you, to be retained forever. If any one, however (which I do not + believe will ever occur)--if I myself, or any other person--shall + wish to violate the firmness and validity of this grant, the order + of truth opposing him, may his falsity in no degree succeed; and + for his bold attempt may he pay to the aforesaid monastery double + the amount which his ill-ordered cupidity has been prevented from + abstracting; and moreover let him be indebted to the royal + authority for ---- solidi of gold; and, nevertheless, let the + present charter remain inviolate with all that it contains, with + the witnesses placed below. + + Done in ----, publicly, those who are noted below being present, or + the remaining innumerable multitude of people. + + [Sidenote: The property again described] + + [Sidenote: Returned to the original owner to be used by him] + + (b) + + In the name of God, I, Abbot ----, with our commissioned brethren. + Since it is not unknown how you, ----, by the suggestion of divine + exhortation, did grant to ---- [monastery named], to the church + which is known to be constructed in honor of Saint ----, where we + by God's authority exercise our pastoral care, all your possessions + which you seemed to have in the district named, in the vill + [village] named, which your father on his death bequeathed to you + there, or which by your own labor you were able to gain there, or + which, as against your brother or against ----, a co-heir, a just + division gave you, with courtyard and buildings, gardens and + orchards, with various slaves, ---- by name, houses, lands, + meadows, woods (cultivated and uncultivated), or with all the + dependencies and appurtenances belonging to it, which it would be + extremely long to enumerate, in all their completeness; but + afterwards, at your request, it has seemed proper to us to cede to + you the same possessions to be held for usufruct; and you will not + neglect to pay at annual periods the due _census_ [i.e., the + rental] hence, that is ---- [amount named]. And if God should give + you a son by your legal wife, he shall have the same possessions + for the days of his life only, and shall not presume to neglect the + above payment, and similarly your sons which you are seen to have + at present, shall do for the days of their lives; after the death + of whom, all the possessions above-named shall revert to us and + our successors perpetually. Moreover, if no sons shall have been + begotten by you, immediately after your death, without any harmful + contention, the possessions shall revert to the rulers or guardians + of the above-named church, forever. Nor may any one, either + ourselves or our successors, be successful in a rash attempt + inordinately to destroy these agreements, but just as the time has + demanded in the present _precaria_, may that be sure to endure + unchanged which we, with the consent of our brothers, have decided + to confirm. + + Done in ----, in the presence of ---- and of others whom it is not + worth while to enumerate. [Seal of the same abbot who has ordered + this _precaria_ to be made.] + +(3) THE IMMUNITY + +The most important element in the governmental phase of feudalism was +what was known as the immunity. In Roman law immunity meant exemption +from taxes and public services and belonged especially to the lands +owned personally by the emperors. Such exemptions were, however, +sometimes allowed to the lands of imperial officers and of men in +certain professions, and in later times to the lands held by the +Church. How closely this Roman immunity was connected with the feudal +immunity of the Middle Ages is not clear. Doubtless the institution +survived in Gaul, especially on church lands, long after the Frankish +conquest. It is best, however, to look upon the typical Frankish +immunity as of essentially independent origin. From the time of +Clovis, the kings were accustomed to make grants of the sort to +land-holding abbots and bishops, and by the time of Charlemagne nearly +all such prelates had been thus favored. But such grants were not +confined to ecclesiastics. Even in the seventh and eighth centuries +lay holders of royal benefices often received the privileges of the +immunity also. Speaking generally, the immunity exempted the lands to +which it applied from the jurisdiction of the local royal officials, +especially of the counts. The lands were supposed to be none the less +ultimately subject to the royal authority, but by the grant of +immunity the sovereign took their financial and judicial +administration from the counts, who would ordinarily have charge, and +gave it to the holders of the lands. The counts were forbidden to +enter the specified territories to collect taxes or fines, hold +courts, and sometimes even to arrange for military service. The +layman, or the bishop, or the abbot, who held the lands performed +these services and was responsible only to the crown for them. The +king's chief object in granting the immunity was to reward or win the +support of the grantees and to curtail the authority of his local +representatives, who in many cases threatened to become too powerful +for the good of the state; but by every such grant the sovereign +really lost some of his own power, and this practice came to be in no +small measure responsible for the weakness of monarchy in feudal +times. + +The first of the extracts below (a) is a seventh-century formula for +the grant of an immunity by the king to a bishop. The second (b) is a +grant made by Charlemagne, in 779, confirming an old immunity enjoyed +by the monastery at Chalons-sur-Saone. + + Sources--(a) Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Legum + Sectio V., Formulae_, Part I., pp. 43-44. + + (b) Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ (Pertz ed.), + Vol. II., p. 287. Adapted from translation in Ephraim Emerton, + _Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages_ (new ed., + Boston, 1903), p. 246. + + [Sidenote: A formula for a grant of immunity] + + (a) + + We believe that we give our royal authority its full splendor if, + with benevolent intentions, we bestow upon churches--or upon any + persons--the favors which they merit, and if, with the aid of God, + we give a written assurance of the continuance of these favors. We + wish, then, to make known that at the request of a prelate, lord of + ---- [the estate named] and bishop of ---- [the church named], we + have accorded to him, for the sake of our eternal salvation, the + following benefits: that in the domains of the bishop's church, + both those which it possesses to-day and those which by God's grace + it may later acquire, no public official shall be permitted to + enter, either to hold courts or to exact fines, on any account; but + let these prerogatives be vested in full in the bishop and his + successors. We ordain therefore that neither you nor your + subordinates,[301] nor those who come after you, nor any person + endowed with a public office, shall ever enter the domains of that + church, in whatever part of our kingdom they may be situated, + either to hold trials or to collect fines. All the taxes and other + revenues which the royal treasury has a right to demand from the + people on the lands of the said church, whether they be freemen or + slaves, Romans or barbarians, we now bestow on the said church for + our future salvation, to be used by the officials of the church + forever for the best interests of the church. + + (b) + + Charles, by the grace of God King of the Franks and Lombards and + Patrician of the Romans, to all having charge of our affairs, both + present and to come: + + By the help of the Lord, who has raised us to the throne of this + kingdom, it is the chief duty of our clemency to lend a gracious + ear to the need of all, and especially ought we devoutly to regard + that which we are persuaded has been granted by preceding kings to + church foundations for the saving of souls, and not to deny fitting + benefits, in order that we may deserve to be partakers of the + reward, but to confirm them in still greater security. + + [Sidenote: The old immunity enjoyed by the monastery at Chalons] + + Now the illustrious Hubert, bishop and ruler of the church of St. + Marcellus, which lies below the citadel of Chalons,[302] where the + precious martyr of the Lord himself rests in the body, has brought + it to the attention of our Highness that the kings who preceded us, + or our lord and father of blessed memory, Pepin, the preceding + king, had by their charters granted complete immunities to that + monastery, so that in the towns or on the lands belonging to it no + public judge, nor any one with power of hearing cases or exacting + fines, or raising sureties, or obtaining lodging or entertainment, + or making requisitions of any kind, should enter. + + Moreover, the aforesaid bishop, Hubert, has presented the original + charters of former kings, together with the confirmations of them, + to be read by us, and declares the same favors to be preserved to + the present day; but desiring the confirmation of our clemency, he + prays that our authority may confirm this grant anew to the + monastery. + + [Sidenote: =The immunity confirmed=] + + Wherefore, having inspected the said charters of former kings, we + command that neither you, nor your subordinates, nor your + successors, nor any person having judicial powers, shall presume to + enter into the villages which may at the present time be in + possession of that monastery, or which hereafter may have been + bestowed by God-fearing men [or may be about to be so + bestowed].[303] Let no public officer enter for the hearing of + cases, or for exacting fines, or procuring sureties, or obtaining + lodging or entertainment, or making any requisitions; but in full + immunity, even as the favor of former kings has been continued down + to the present day, so in the future also shall it, through our + authority, remain undiminished. And if in times past, through any + negligence of abbots, or luke-warmness of rulers, or the + presumption of public officers, anything has been changed or taken + away, removed or withdrawn, from these immunities, let it, by our + authority and favor, be restored. And, further, let neither you nor + your subordinates presume to infringe upon or violate what we have + granted. + + [Sidenote: Penalties for its violation] + + But if there be any one, _dominus_,[304] _comes_ [count], + _domesticus_,[305] _vicarius_,[306] or one vested with any judicial + power whatsoever, by the indulgence of the good or by the favor of + pious Christians or kings, who shall have presumed to infringe upon + or violate these immunities, let him be punished with a fine of six + hundred _solidi_,[307] two parts to go to the library of this + monastery, and the third part to be paid into our treasury, so that + impious men may not rejoice in violating that which our ancestors, + or good Christians, may have conceded or granted. And whatever our + treasury may have had a right to expect from this source shall go + to the profit of the men of this church of St. Marcellus the + martyr, to the better establishment of our kingdom and the good of + those who shall succeed us. + + And that this decree may firmly endure we have ordered it to be + confirmed with our own hand under our seal. + + +35. The Granting of Fiefs + +The most obvious feature of feudalism was a peculiar divided tenure of +land under which the title was vested in one person and the use in +another. The territorial unit was the fief, which in extent might be +but a few acres, a whole county, or even a vast region like Normandy +or Burgundy. Fiefs were granted to vassals by contracts which bound +both grantor and grantee to certain specific obligations. The two +extracts below are examples of the records of such feudal grants, +bearing the dates 1167 and 1200 respectively. It should be remembered, +however, that fiefs need not necessarily be land. Offices, payments of +money, rights to collect tolls, and many other valuable things might +be given by one man to another as fiefs in just the same way that land +was given. Du Cange, in his _Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis_, +mentions eighty-eight different kinds of fiefs, and it has been said +that this does not represent more than one-fourth of the total number. +Nevertheless, the typical fief consisted of land. The term might +therefore be defined in general as the land for which the vassal, or +hereditary possessor, rendered to the lord, or hereditary proprietor, +services of a special character which were considered honorable, such +as military aid and attendance at courts. + + Sources--(a) Nicolas Brussel, _Nouvel Examen de l'Usage + general des Fiefs en France pendant le XI, le XII, le XIII, et + le XIVe Siecle_ ["New Examination of the Customs of Fiefs in + the 11th, the 12th, the 13th, and the 14th Century"], Paris, + 1727, Vol. I., p. 3, note. Translated by Edward P. Cheyney in + _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, pp. + 15-16. + + (b) Maximilien Quantin, _Recueil de Pieces du XIIIe Siecle_ + ["Collection of Documents of the Thirteenth Century"], + Auxerre, 1873, No. 2, pp. 1-2. Translated by Cheyney, _ibid._ + + [Sidenote: The count of Champagne grants a fief to the bishop of + Beauvais] + + (a) + + In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen. I, Louis,[308] + by the grace of God king of the French, make known to all present + as well as to come, that at Mante in our presence, Count Henry of + Champagne[309] conceded the fief of Savigny to Bartholomew, bishop + of Beauvais,[310] and his successors. And for that fief the said + bishop has made promise and engagement for one knight and justice + and service to Count Henry;[311] and he also agreed that the + bishops who shall come after him will do likewise. In order that + this may be understood and known to posterity we have caused the + present charter to be attested by our seal. Done at Mante, in the + year of the Incarnate Word, 1167; present in our palace those whose + names and seals are appended: seal of Thiebault, our steward; seal + of Guy, the butler; seal of Matthew, the chamberlain; seal of + Ralph, the constable. Given by the hand of Hugh, the chancellor. + + [Sidenote: A grant by Count Thiebault] + + (b) + + I, Thiebault, count palatine of Troyes,[312] make known to those + present and to come that I have given in fee[313] to Jocelyn + d'Avalon and his heirs the manor which is called Gillencourt,[314] + which is of the castellanerie[315] of La Ferte-sur-Aube; and + whatever the same Jocelyn shall be able to acquire in the same + manor I have granted to him and his heirs in enlargement of that + fief. I have granted, moreover, to him that in no free manor of + mine will I retain men who are of this gift.[316] The same Jocelyn, + moreover, on account of this has become my liege man, saving, + however, his allegiance to Gerad d'Arcy, and to the lord duke of + Burgundy, and to Peter, count of Auxerre.[317] Done at Chouaude, by + my own witness, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 1200, in + the month of January. Given by the hand of Walter, my chancellor. + + +36. The Ceremonies of Homage and Fealty + +The personal relation between lord and vassal was established by the +double ceremony of homage and fealty. Homage was the act by which the +vassal made himself the man (_homo_) of the lord, while fealty was the +oath of fidelity to the obligations which must ordinarily be assumed +by such a man. The two were really distinct, though because they +almost invariably went together they finally became confounded in the +popular mind. The details of the ceremonies varied much in different +times and places, but, in general, when homage was to be performed, +the prospective vassal presented himself before his future seigneur +bareheaded and without arms; knelt, placed his hands in those of the +seigneur, and declared himself his man; then he was kissed by the +seigneur and lifted to his feet. In the act of fealty, the vassal +placed his hand upon sacred relics, or upon the Bible, and swore +eternal faithfulness to his seigneur. The so-called "act of +investiture" generally followed, the seigneur handing over to the +vassal a bit of turf, a stick, or some other object symbolizing the +transfer of the usufruct of the property in question. The whole +process was merely a mode of establishing a binding contract between +the two parties. Below we have: (_a_) a mediaeval definition of homage, +taken from the customary law of Normandy; (_b_) an explanation of +fealty, given in an old English law-book; (_c_) a French chronicler's +account of the rendering of homage and fealty to the count of Flanders +in the year 1127; and (_d_) a set of laws governing homage and fealty, +written down in a compilation of the ordinances of Saint Louis (king +of France, 1226-1270), but doubtless showing substantially the +practice in France for a long time before King Louis's day. + + Sources--(a) _L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_ ["The Old + Custom of Normandy"], Chap. 29. + + (b) Sir Thomas Lyttleton, _Treatise of Tenures in French and + English_ (London, 1841), Bk. II., Chap. 2, p. 123. + + (c) Galbert de Bruges, _De Multro, Traditione, et Occisione + gloriosi Karoli comitis Flandriarum_ ["Concerning the Murder, + Betrayal, and Death of the glorious Charles, Count of + Flanders"]. Text in Henri Pirenne, _Histoire du Meurtre de + Charles le Bon, comte de Flandre, par Galbert de Bruges_ + (Paris, 1891). Translated by Edward P. Cheyney in _Univ. of + Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, p. 18. + + (d) _Les Etablissements de Saint Louis_ ["The Ordinances of + St. Louis"], Bk. II., Chap. 19. Text in Paul Viollet's edition + (Paris, 1881), Vol. II., pp. 395-398. + + [Sidenote: A Norman definition of homage] + + (a) + + Homage is a pledge to keep faith in respect to matters that are + right and necessary, and to give counsel and aid. He who would do + homage ought to place his hands between those of the man who is to + be his lord, and speak these words: "I become your man, to keep + faith with you against all others, saving my allegiance to the duke + of Normandy." + + [Sidenote: The oath of fealty] + + (b) + + And when a free tenant shall swear fealty to his lord, let him + place his right hand on the book[318] and speak thus: "Hear thou + this, my lord, that I will be faithful and loyal to you and will + keep my pledges to you for the lands which I claim to hold of you, + and that I will loyally perform for you the services specified, so + help me God and the saints." Then he shall kiss the book; but he + shall not kneel when he swears fealty, nor take so humble a posture + as is required in homage. + + (c) + + Through the whole remaining part of the day those who had been + previously enfeoffed by the most pious count Charles, did homage to + the count,[319] taking up now again their fiefs and offices and + whatever they had before rightfully and legitimately obtained. On + Thursday, the seventh of April, homages were again made to the + count, being completed in the following order of faith and + security: + + [Sidenote: The rendering of homage and fealty to the count of + Flanders] + + First they did their homage thus. The count asked if he was willing + to become completely his man, and the other replied, "I am + willing"; and with clasped hands, surrounded by the hands of the + count, they were bound together by a kiss. Secondly, he who had + done homage gave his fealty to the representative of the count in + these words, "I promise on my faith that I will in future be + faithful to Count William, and will observe my homage to him + completely, against all persons, in good faith and without deceit." + Thirdly, he took his oath to this upon the relics of the saints. + Afterwards, with a little rod which the count held in his hand, he + gave investitures to all who by this agreement had given their + security and homage and accompanying oath. + + [Sidenote: An ordinance of St. Louis on homage and fealty] + + (d) + + If any one would hold from a lord in fee, he ought to seek his lord + within forty days. And if he does not do it within forty days, the + lord may and ought to seize his fief for default of homage, and the + things which are found there he should seize without compensation; + and yet the vassal should be obliged to pay to his lord the + redemption.[320] When any one wishes to enter into the fealty of a + lord, he ought to seek him, as we have said above, and should speak + as follows: "Sir, I request you, as my lord, to put me in your + fealty and in your homage for such and such a thing situated in + your fief, which I have bought." And he ought to say from what man, + and this one ought to be present and in the fealty of the + lord;[321] and whether it is by purchase or by escheat[322] or by + inheritance he ought to explain; and with his hands joined, to + speak as follows: "Sir, I become your man and promise to you fealty + for the future as my lord, towards all men who may live or die, + rendering to you such service as the fief requires, making to you + your relief as you are the lord." And he ought to say whether for + guardianship,[323] or as an escheat, or as an inheritance, or as a + purchase. + + The lord should immediately reply to him: "And I receive you and + take you as my man, and give you this kiss as a sign of faith, + saving my right and that of others," according to the usage of the + various districts. + + +37. The Mutual Obligations of Lords and Vassals + +The feudal relation was essentially one of contract involving +reciprocal relations between lord and vassal. In the following letter, +written in the year 1020 by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres[324] to the +duke of Aquitaine, we find laid down the general principles which +ought to govern the discharge of these mutual obligations. It is +affirmed that there were six things that no loyal vassal could do, and +these are enumerated and explained. Then comes the significant +statement that these negative duties must be supplemented with +positive acts for the service and support of the lord. What some of +these acts were will appear in the extracts in Sec.38. Bishop Fulbert +points out also that the lord is himself bound by feudal law not to do +things detrimental to the safety, honor, or prosperity of his vassal. +The letter is an admirable statement of the spirit of the feudal +system at its best. Already by 1020 a considerable body of feudal +customs having the force of law had come into existence and it appears +that Fulbert had made these customs the subject of some special study +before answering the questions addressed to him by Duke William. + + Source--Text in Martin Bouquet, _Recueil des Historiens des + Gaules et de la France_ ["Collection of the Historians of Gaul + and of France"], Vol. X., p. 463. + + To William, most illustrious duke of the Aquitanians, Bishop + Fulbert, the favor of his prayers: + + [Sidenote: What the vassal owes the lord] + + Requested to write something regarding the character of fealty, I + have set down briefly for you, on the authority of the books, the + following things. He who takes the oath of fealty to his lord ought + always to keep in mind these six things: what is harmless, safe, + honorable, useful, easy, and practicable.[325] _Harmless_, which + means that he ought not to injure his lord in his body; _safe_, + that he should not injure him by betraying his confidence or the + defenses upon which he depends for security; _honorable_, that he + should not injure him in his justice, or in other matters that + relate to his honor; _useful_, that he should not injure him in his + property; _easy_, that he should not make difficult that which his + lord can do easily; and _practicable_, that he should not make + impossible for the lord that which is possible. + + However, while it is proper that the faithful vassal avoid these + injuries, it is not for doing this alone that he deserves his + holding: for it is not enough to refrain from wrongdoing, unless + that which is good is done also. It remains, therefore, that in the + same six things referred to above he should faithfully advise and + aid his lord, if he wishes to be regarded as worthy of his benefice + and to be safe concerning the fealty which he has sworn. + + [Sidenote: The obligations of the lord] + + The lord also ought to act toward his faithful vassal in the same + manner in all these things. And if he fails to do this, he will be + rightfully regarded as guilty of bad faith, just as the former, if + he should be found shirking, or willing to shirk, his obligations + would be perfidious and perjured.[326] + + I should have written to you at greater length had I not been busy + with many other matters, including the rebuilding of our city and + church, which were recently completely destroyed by a terrible + fire. Though for a time we could not think of anything but this + disaster, yet now, by the hope of God's comfort, and of yours also, + we breathe more freely again. + + +38. Some of the More Important Rights of the Lord + +The obligations of vassals to lords outlined in the preceding +selection were mainly of a moral character--such as naturally grew out +of the general idea of loyalty and fidelity to a benefactor. They were +largely negative and were rather vague and indefinite. So far as they +went, they were binding upon lords and vassals alike. There were, +however, several very definite and practical rights which the lords +possessed with respect to the property and persons of their +dependents. Some of these were of a financial character, some were +judicial, and others were military. Five of the most important are +illustrated by the passages given below. + +(_a_) AIDS + +Under the feudal system the idea prevailed that the vassal's purse as +well as his body was to be at the lord's service. Originally the right +to draw upon his vassals for money was exercised by the lord whenever +he desired, but by custom this ill-defined power gradually became +limited to three sorts of occasions when the need of money was likely +to be especially urgent, i.e., when the eldest son was knighted, when +the eldest daughter was married, and when the lord was to be ransomed +from captivity. In the era of the crusades, the starting of the lord +on an expedition to the Holy Land was generally regarded as another +emergency in which an aid might rightfully be demanded. The following +extract from the old customary law of Normandy represents the practice +in nearly all feudal Europe. + + Source--_L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_, Chap. 35. + + [Sidenote: The three aids] + + In Normandy there are three chief aids. The first is to help make + the lord's eldest son a knight; the second is to marry his eldest + daughter; the third is to ransom the body of the lord from prison + when he shall be taken captive during a war for the duke.[327] By + this it appears that the _aide de chevalerie_ [knighthood-aid] is + due when the eldest son of the lord is made a knight. The eldest + son is he who has the dignity of primogeniture.[328] The _aide de + mariage_ [marriage-aid] is due when the eldest daughter is + married. The _aide de rancon_ [ransom-aid] is due when it is + necessary to deliver the lord from the prisons of the enemies of + the duke. These aids are paid in some fiefs at the rate of half a + relief, and in some at the rate of a third.[329] + +(_b_) MILITARY SERVICE + +From whatever point of view feudalism is regarded--whether as a system +of land tenure, as a form of social organization, or as a type of +government--the military element in it appears everywhere important. +The feudal period was the greatest era of war the civilized world has +ever known. Few people between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, +except in the peasant classes, were able to live out their lives +entirely in peace. Of greatest value to kings and feudal magnates, +greater even than money itself, was a goodly following of soldiers; +hence the almost universal requirement of military service by lords +from their vassals. Fiefs were not infrequently granted out for no +other purpose than to get the military service which their holders +would owe. The amount of such service varied greatly in different +times and places, but the following arrangement represents the most +common practice. + + Source--_Les Etablissements de Saint Louis_, Bk. I., Chap. 65. + Text in Paul Viollet's edition (Paris, 1881), Vol. II., pp. + 95-96. + + [Sidenote: The conditions of military service] + + The baron and the vassals of the king ought to appear in his army + when they shall be summoned, and ought to serve at their own + expense for forty days and forty nights, with whatever number of + knights they owe.[330] And he possesses the right to exact from + them these services when he wishes and when he has need of them. + If, however, the king shall wish to keep them more than forty days + and forty nights at their own expense, they need not remain unless + they desire.[331] But if he shall wish to retain them at his cost + for the defense of the kingdom, they ought lawfully to remain. But + if he shall propose to lead them outside of the kingdom, they need + not go unless they are willing, for they have already served their + forty days and forty nights. + +(_c_) WARDSHIP AND MARRIAGE + +Very important among the special prerogatives of the feudal lord was +his right to manage, and enjoy the profits of, fiefs inherited by +minors. When a vassal died, leaving an heir who was under age, the +lord was charged with the care of the fief until the heir reached his +or her majority. On becoming of age, a young man was expected to take +control of his fief at once. But a young woman remained under wardship +until her marriage, though if she married under age she could get +possession of her fief immediately, just as she would had she waited +until older. The control of the marriage of heiresses was largely in +the hands of their lords, for obviously it was to the lord's interest +that no enemy of his, nor any shiftless person, should become the +husband of his ward. The lord could compel a female ward to marry and +could oblige her to accept as a husband one of the candidates whom he +offered her; but it was usually possible for the woman to purchase +exemption from this phase of his jurisdiction. After the thirteenth +century the right of wardship gradually declined in France, though it +long continued in England. The following extract from the customs of +Normandy sets forth the typical feudal law on the subject. + + Source--_L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_, Chap. 33. + + Heirs should be placed in guardianship until they reach the age of + twenty years; and those who hold them as wards should give over to + them all the fiefs which came under their control by reason of + wardship, provided they have not lost anything by judicial + process.... When the heirs pass out of the condition of wardship, + their lords shall not impose upon them any reliefs for their fiefs, + for the profits of wardship shall be reckoned in place of the + relief. + + [Sidenote: The marriage of a female ward] + + When a female ward reaches the proper age to marry, she should be + married by the advice and consent of her lord, and by the advice + and consent of her relatives and friends, according as the nobility + of her ancestry and the value of her fief may require; and upon her + marriage the fief which has been held in guardianship should be + given over to her. A woman cannot be freed from wardship except by + marriage; and let it not be said that she is of age until she is + twenty years old. But if she be married at the age at which it is + allowable for a woman to marry, the fact of her marriage makes her + of age and delivers her fief from wardship. + + [Sidenote: The lord's obligation to care for the fief of his ward] + + The fiefs of those who are under wardship should be cared for + attentively by their lords, who are entitled to receive the produce + and profits.[332] And in this connection let it be known that the + lord ought to preserve in their former condition the buildings, the + manor-houses, the forests and meadows, the gardens, the ponds, the + mills, the fisheries, and the other things of which he has the + profits. And he should not sell, destroy, or remove the woods, the + houses, or the trees. + +(_d_) RELIEFS + +A relief was a payment made to the lord by an heir before entering +upon possession of his fief. The history of reliefs goes back to the +time when benefices were not hereditary and when, if a son succeeded +his father in the usufruct of a piece of property, it was regarded as +an unusual thing--a special favor on the part of the owner to be paid +for by the new tenant. Later, when fiefs had become almost everywhere +hereditary, the custom of requiring reliefs still survived. The amount +was at first arbitrary, being arranged by individual bargains; but in +every community, especially in France, the tendency was toward a fixed +custom regarding it. Below are given some brief extracts from English +Treasury records which show how men in England between the years 1140 +and 1230 paid the king for the privilege of retaining the fiefs held +by their fathers. + + Source--Thomas Madox, _History and Antiquities of the + Exchequer of the Kings of England_ (London, 1769), Vol. I., + pp. 312-322 _passim_. + + Walter Hait renders an account of 5 marks of silver for the relief + of the land of his father. + + Walter Brito renders an account of L66, 13s. and 4d. for the relief + of his land. + + Richard of Estre renders an account of L15 for the relief for 3 + knights' fees which he holds from the honor of Mortain. + + Walter Fitz Thomas, of Newington, owes 28s. 4d. for having a fourth + part of one knight's fee which had been seized into the hand of the + king for default of relief. + + John of Venetia renders an account of 300 marks for the fine of his + land and for the relief of the land which was his father's which he + held from the king _in capite_.[333] + + John de Balliol owes L150 for the relief of 30 knights' fees which + Hugh de Balliol, his father, held from the king _in capite_, that + is 100s. for each fee. + + Peter de Bruce renders an account of L100 for his relief for the + barony which was of Peter his father. + +(_e_) FORFEITURE + +The lord's most effective means of compelling his vassals to discharge +their obligations was his right to take back their fiefs for breach of +feudal contract. Such a breach, or felony, as it was technically +called, might consist in refusal to render military service or the +required aids, ignoring the sovereign authority of the lord, levying +war against the lord, dishonoring members of the lord's family, or, as +in the case below, refusing to obey the lord's summons to appear in +court. In practice the lords generally found it difficult to enforce +the penalty of forfeiture and after the thirteenth century the +tendency was to substitute money fines for dispossession, except in +the most aggravated cases. The following is an account of the +condemnation of Arnold Atton, a nobleman of south France, by the +feudal court of Raymond, count of Toulouse, in the year 1249. The +penalty imposed was the loss of the valuable chateau of Auvillars. + + Source--Teulet, _Layettes du Tresor des Cartes_ ["Bureau of + Treasury Accounts "], No. 3778, Vol. III., p. 70. Translated + by Edward P. Cheyney in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and + Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3. pp. 33-34. + + Raymond, by the grace of God count of Toulouse, marquis of + Provence, to the nobleman Arnold Atton, viscount of Lomagne, + greeting: + + [Sidenote: The court's sentence upon Arnold Atton] + + Let it be known to your nobility by the tenor of these presents + what has been done in the matter of the complaints which we have + made about you before the court of Agen; that you have not taken + the trouble to keep or fulfill the agreements sworn by you to us, + as is more fully contained in the instrument drawn up there, sealed + with our seal by the public notary; and that you have refused + contemptuously to appear before the said court for the purpose of + doing justice, and have otherwise committed multiplied and great + delinquencies against us. As your faults have required, the + aforesaid court of Agen has unanimously and concordantly pronounced + sentence against you, and for these matters have condemned you to + hand over and restore to us the chateau of Auvillars and all that + land which you hold from us in fee, to be had and held by us by + right of the obligation by which you have bound it to us for + fulfilling and keeping the said agreements. + + Likewise it has declared that we are to be put into possession of + the said land and that it is to be handed over to us, on account of + your contumacy, because you have not been willing to appear before + the same court on the days which were assigned to you. Moreover, it + has declared that you shall be held and required to restore the + said land in whatsoever way we wish to receive it, with few or + many, in peace or in anger, in our own person, by right of + lordship. Likewise it has declared that you shall restore to us all + the expenses which we have incurred, or the court itself has + incurred, on those days which were assigned to you, or because of + those days, and has condemned you to repay these to us.[334] + + Moreover, it has declared that the nobleman Gerald d'Armagnac, whom + you hold captive, you shall liberate, and deliver him free to us. + We demand, moreover, by right of our lordship that you liberate + him. + + We call, therefore, upon your discretion in this matter, strictly + enjoining you and commanding that you obey the aforesaid sentences + in all things and fulfill them in all respects and in no way delay + the execution of them. + + +39. The Peace and the Truce of God + +War rather than peace was the normal condition of feudal society. +Peasants were expected to settle their disputes in the courts of law, +but lords and seigneurs possessed a legal right to make war upon their +enemies and were usually not loath to exercise it. Private warfare was +indeed so common that it all the time threatened seriously the lives +and property of the masses of the people and added heavily to the +afflictions which flood, drought, famine, and pestilence brought +repeatedly upon them. The first determined efforts to limit, if not to +abolish, the ravages of private war were made by the Church, partly +because the Church itself often suffered by reason of them, partly +because its ideal was that of peace and security, and partly because +it recognized its duty as the protector of the poor and oppressed. +Late in the tenth century, under the influence of the Cluniacs [see p. +245], the clergy of France, both secular and regular, began in their +councils to promulgate decrees which were intended to establish what +was known as the Peace of God. These decrees, which were enacted by so +many councils between 989 and 1050 that they came to cover pretty +nearly all France, proclaimed generally that any one who should use +violence toward women, peasants, merchants, or members of the clergy +should be excommunicated. The principle was to exempt certain classes +of people from the operations of war and violence, even though the +rest of the population should continue to fight among themselves. It +must be said that these decrees, though enacted again and again, had +often little apparent effect. + +Effort was then made in another direction. From about 1027 the +councils began to proclaim what was known as the Truce of God, +sometimes alone and sometimes in connection with the Peace. The +purport of the Truce of God was that all men should abstain from +warfare and violence during a certain portion of each week, and during +specified church festivals and holy seasons. At first only Sunday was +thus designated; then other days, until the time from Wednesday night +to Monday morning was all included; then extended periods, as Lent, +were added, until finally not more than eighty days remained of the +entire year on which private warfare was allowable. As one writer has +stated it, "the Peace of God was intended to protect certain classes +at all times and the Truce to protect all classes at certain times." +It was equally difficult to secure the acquiescence of the lawless +nobles in both, and though the efforts of the Church were by no means +without result, we are to think of private warfare as continuing quite +common until brought gradually to an end by the rise of strong +monarchies, by the turning of men to commerce and trade, and by the +drawing off of military energies into foreign and international wars. + +The decree given below, which combines features of both the Peace and +the Truce, was issued by the Council of Toulouges (near Perpignan) in +1041, or, as some scholars think, in 1065. Its substance was many +times reenacted, notably by the Council of Clermont, in 1095, upon the +occasion of the proclamation of the first Crusade. It should have +procured about 240 days of peace in every year and reduced war to +about 120 days, but, like the others, it was only indifferently +observed. + + Source--Text in Martin Bouquet, _Recueil des Historiens des + Gaules et de la France_ ["Collection of the Historians of Gaul + and of France"], Paris, 1876, Vol. XI., pp. 510-511. + + [Sidenote: Acts of violence forbidden in or near churches] + + =1.= This Peace has been confirmed by the bishops, by the abbots, + by the counts and viscounts and the other God-fearing nobles in + this bishopric, to the effect that in the future, beginning with + this day, no man may commit an act of violence in a church, or in + the space which surrounds it and which is covered by its + privileges, or in the burying-ground, or in the dwelling-houses + which are, or may be, within thirty paces of it. + + =2.= We do not include in this measure the churches which have + been, or which shall be, fortified as chateaux, or those in which + plunderers and thieves are accustomed to store their ill-gotten + booty, or which give them a place of refuge. Nevertheless we desire + that such churches be under this protection until complaint of them + shall be made to the bishop, or to the chapter. If the bishop or + chapter[335] act upon such information and lay hold of the + malefactors, and if the latter refuse to give themselves up to the + justice of the bishop or chapter, the malefactors and all their + possessions shall not be immune, even within the church. A man who + breaks into a church, or into the space within thirty paces around + it, must pay a fine for sacrilege, and double this amount to the + person wronged. + + [Sidenote: Attacks upon the clergy prohibited] + + =3.= Furthermore, it is forbidden that any one attack the clergy, + who do not bear arms, or the monks and religious persons, or do + them any wrong; likewise it is forbidden to despoil or pillage the + communities of canons, monks, and religious persons, the + ecclesiastical lands which are under the protection of the Church, + or the clergy, who do not bear arms; and if any one shall do such + a thing, let him pay a double composition.[336] + + [Sidenote: Protection extended to the peasantry] + + =5.= Let no one burn or destroy the dwellings of the peasants and + the clergy, the dove-cotes and the granaries. Let no man dare to + kill, to beat, or to wound a peasant or serf, or the wife of + either, or to seize them and carry them off, except for + misdemeanors which they may have committed; but it is not forbidden + to lay hold of them in order to bring them to justice, and it is + allowable to do this even before they shall have been summoned to + appear. Let not the raiment of the peasants be stolen; let not + their ploughs, or their hoes, or their olive-fields be burned. + + =6.= ... Let any one who has broken the peace, and has not paid his + fines within a fortnight, make amends to him whom he has injured by + paying a double amount, which shall go to the bishop and to the + count who shall have had charge of the case. + + [Sidenote: The Truce of God confirmed] + + [Sidenote: Penalties for violations of the Truce] + + =7.= The bishops of whom we have spoken have solemnly confirmed the + Truce of God, which has been enjoined upon all Christians, from the + setting of the sun of the fourth day of the week, that is to say, + Wednesday, until the rising of the sun on Monday, the second + day.... If any one during the Truce shall violate it, let him pay a + double composition and subsequently undergo the ordeal of cold + water.[337] When any one during the Truce shall kill a man, it has + been ordained, with the approval of all Christians, that if the + crime was committed intentionally the murderer shall be condemned + to perpetual exile, but if it occurred by accident the slayer shall + be banished for a period of time to be fixed by the bishops and + the canons. If any one during the Truce shall attempt to seize a + man or to carry him off from his chateau, and does not succeed in + his purpose, let him pay a fine to the bishop and to the chapter, + just as if he had succeeded. It is likewise forbidden during the + Truce, in Advent and Lent, to build any chateau or fortification, + unless it was begun a fortnight before the time of the Truce. It + has been ordained also that at all times disputes and suits on the + subject of the Peace and Truce of God shall be settled before the + bishop and his chapter, and likewise for the peace of the churches + which have before been enumerated. When the bishop and the chapter + shall have pronounced sentences to recall men to the observance of + the Peace and the Truce of God, the sureties and hostages who show + themselves hostile to the bishop and the chapter shall be + excommunicated by the chapter and the bishop, with their protectors + and partisans, as guilty of violating the Peace and the Truce of + the Lord; they and their possessions shall be excluded from the + Peace and the Truce of the Lord. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[297] Charles Seignobos, _The Feudal Regime_ (translated in +"Historical Miscellany" series), New York, 1904, p. 1. + +[298] A man was not supposed in any way to sacrifice his freedom by +becoming a vassal and the lord's right to his service would be +forfeited if this principle were violated. + +[299] The relation of lord and vassal was, at this early time, limited +to the lifetime of the two parties. When one died, the other was +liberated from his contract. But in the ninth and tenth centuries +vassalage became generally hereditary. + +[300] Casting lots for the property of a deceased father was not +uncommon among the Franks. All sons shared in the inheritance, but +particular parts of the property were often assigned by lot. + +[301] The grant of immunity was thus brought to the attention of the +count in whose jurisdiction the exempted lands lay. + +[302] Chalons-sur-Saone was about eighty miles north of the junction +of the Saone with the Rhone. It should not be confused with +Chalons-sur-Marne where the battle was fought with Attila's Huns in +451. + +[303] There is some doubt at this point as to the correct translation. +That given seems best warranted. + +[304] _Dominus_ was a common name for a lord. + +[305] A member of the king's official household. + +[306] A subordinate officer under the count [see p. 176, note 3]. + +[307] See p. 61. note 2. + +[308] Louis VII., king of France, 1137-1180. + +[309] The county of Champagne lay to the east of Paris. It was +established by Charlemagne and, while at first insignificant, grew +until by the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it was one of the most +important in France. + +[310] Beauvais was about sixty miles northwest of Paris. + +[311] That is, the bishop of Beauvais was bound to furnish his lord, +the count of Champagne, the service of one knight for his army, +besides ordinary feudal obligations. + +[312] The county of Troyes centered about the city of that name on the +upper Seine. It was eventually absorbed by Champagne. + +[313] As a fief. + +[314] A manor, in the general sense, was a feudal estate. + +[315] A castellanerie was a feudal holding centering about a castle. + +[316] That is, Count Thiebault promises Jocelyn not to deprive him of +the services of men who rightfully belong on the manor which is being +granted. + +[317] Here is an illustration of the complexity of the feudal system. +Count Thiebault is Jocelyn's _fourth_ lord, and loyalty and service +are owed to all of the four at the same time. Accordingly, Thiebault +must be content with only such allegiance of his new vassal as will +not involve a breach of the contracts which Jocelyn has already +entered into with his other lords. For example, Thiebault could not +expect Jocelyn to aid him in war against the duke of Burgundy, for +Jocelyn is pledged to fidelity to that duke. In general, when a man +had only one lord he owed him full and unconditional allegiance +(_liege homage_), but when he became vassal to other lords he could +promise them allegiance only so far as would not conflict with +contracts already entered into. It was by no means unusual for a man +to have several lords, and it often happened that A was B's vassal for +a certain piece of land while at the same time B was A's vassal for +another piece. Not infrequently the king himself was thus a vassal of +one or more of his own vassals. + +[318] The Bible. Sometimes only the Gospels were used. + +[319] Charles, count of Flanders, had just died and had been succeeded +by his son William. All persons who had received fiefs from the +deceased count were now brought together to renew their homage and +fealty to the new count. + +[320] Such a case as this would be most apt to arise when a lord died +and a vassal failed to renew his homage to the successor; or when a +vassal died and his heir failed to do homage as was required. + +[321] This law would apply also to a case where a man who is already a +vassal of a lord should acquire from another vassal of the same lord +some additional land and so become indebted to the lord for a new +measure of fealty. + +[322] Reversion to the original proprietor because of failure of +heirs. + +[323] Such land might be acquired for temporary use only i.e., for +guardianship, during the absence or disability of its proprietor. + +[324] Chartres was somewhat less than twenty miles southwest of Paris. + +[325] The terms used in the original are _incolume_, _tutum_, +_honestum_, _utile_, _facile_, _et possibile_. + +[326] In the English customary law of the twelfth century we read +that, "it is allowable to any one, without punishment, to support his +lord if any one assails him, and to obey him in all legitimate ways, +except in theft, murder, and in all such things as are not conceded to +any one to do and are reckoned infamous by the laws;" also that, "the +lord ought to do likewise equally with counsel and aid, and he may +come to his man's assistance in his vicissitudes in all +ways."--Thorpe, _Ancient Laws and Institutes_, Vol. I., p. 590. + +[327] The duke of Normandy. Outside of Normandy, of course, other +feudal princes would be substituted. + +[328] It was the feudal system that first gave the eldest son in +France a real superiority over his brothers. This may be seen most +clearly in the change wrought by feudalism whereby the old Frankish +custom of allowing all the sons to inherit their father's property +equally was replaced by the mediaeval rule of primogeniture +(established by the eleventh century) under which the younger sons +were entirely, or almost entirely, excluded from the inheritance. + +[329] Relief is the term used to designate the payment made to the +lord by the son of the deceased vassal before taking up the +inheritance [see p. 225]. The "custom" says that sometimes the amount +paid as an aid to the lord was equal to half that paid as relief and +sometimes it was only a third. + +[330] The number of men brought by a vassal to the royal army depended +on the value of his fief and the character of his feudal contract. +Greater vassals often appeared with hundreds of followers. + +[331] This provision rendered the ordinary feudal army much more +inefficient than an army made up of paid soldiers. Under ordinary +circumstances, when their forty days of service had expired, the +feudal troops were free to go home, even though their doing so might +force the king to abandon a siege or give up a costly campaign only +partially completed. By the thirteenth century it had become customary +for the king to accept extra money payments instead of military +service from his vassals. With the revenues thus obtained, soldiers +could be hired who made war their profession and who were willing to +serve indefinitely. + +[332] Every fief-holder was supposed to render some measure of +military service. As neither a minor nor a woman could do this +personally, it was natural that the lord should make up for the +deficiency by appropriating the produce of the estate during the +period of wardship. + +[333] Tenants _in capite_ in England were those who held their land by +direct royal grant. + +[334] Apparently the king's court had been assembled several times to +consider the charges against Viscount Atton, but had been prevented +from taking action because of the latter's failure to appear. At last +the court decided that it was useless to delay longer and proceeded to +condemn the guilty noble and send him a statement of what had been +done. He was not only to lose his chateau of Auvillars but also to +reimburse the king for the expenses which the court had incurred on +his account. + +[335] The chapter was the body of clergy attached to a cathedral +church. Its members were known as canons. + +[336] That is, the penalty for using violence against peaceful +churchmen, or despoiling their property was to be twice that demanded +by the law in case of similar offenses committed against laymen. + +[337] The ordeal of cold water was designed to test a man's guilt or +innocence. The accused person was thrown into a pond and if he sank he +was considered innocent; if he floated, guilty, on the supposition +that the pure water would refuse to receive a person tainted with +crime [see p. 200]. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE NORMAN CONQUEST + + +40. The Battle of Hastings: the English and the Normans + +The Northmen, under the leadership of the renowned Rollo, got their +first permanent foothold in that important part of France since known +as Normandy in the year 911 [see p. 171]. Almost from the beginning +the new county (later duchy) increased rapidly both in territorial +extent and in political influence. The Northmen, or Normans, were a +vigorous, ambitious, and on the whole very capable people, and they +needed only the polishing which peaceful contact with the French could +give to make them one of the most virile elements in the population of +western Europe. They gave up their old gods and accepted Christianity, +ceased to speak their own language and began the use of French, and to +a considerable extent became ordinary soldiers and traders instead of +the wild pirates their forefathers had been. The spirit of unrest, +however, and the love of adventure so deeply ingrained in their +natures did not die out, and we need not be surprised to learn that +they continued still to enjoy nothing quite so much as war, especially +if it involved hazardous expeditions across seas. Some went to help +the Christians of Spain against the Saracens; some went to aid the +Eastern emperors against the Turks; others went to Sicily and southern +Italy, where they conquered weak rulers and set up principalities of +their own; and finally, under the leadership of Duke William the +Bastard, in 1066, they entered upon the greatest undertaking of all, +i.e., the conquest of England and the establishment of a Norman +chieftain upon the throne of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. + +Duke William was one of the greatest and most ambitious feudal lords +of France--more powerful really than the French king himself. He had +overcome practically all opposition among his unruly vassals in +Normandy, and by 1066, when the death of King Edward the Confessor +occurred in England, he was ready to engage in great enterprises +which gave promise of enhanced power and renown. He had long cherished +a claim to the English throne, and when he learned that in utter +disregard of this claim the English witan had chosen Harold, son of +the West Saxon Earl Godwin, to be Edward's successor, he prepared to +invade the island kingdom and force an acknowledgment of what he +pretended at least to believe were his rights. Briefly stated, William +claimed the English throne on the ground (1) that through his wife +Matilda, a descendant of Emma, Edward the Confessor's mother, he was a +nearer heir than was Harold, who was only the late king's +brother-in-law; (2) that on the occasion of a visit to England in 1051 +Edward had promised him the inheritance; and (3) that Harold himself, +when some years before he had been shipwrecked on the coast of +Normandy, had sworn on sacred relics to help him gain the crown. There +is some doubt as to the actual facts in connection with both of these +last two points, but the truth is that all of William's claims taken +together were not worth much, since the recognized principle of the +English government was that the king should be chosen by the wisemen, +or witan. Harold had been so chosen and hence was in every way the +legitimate sovereign. + +William, however, was determined to press his claims and, after +obtaining the blessing of the Pope (Alexander II.), he gathered an +army of perhaps 65,000 Normans and adventurers from all parts of +France and prepared a fleet of some 1,500 transports at the mouth of +the Dive to carry his troops across the Channel. September 28, 1066, +the start was made and the following day the host landed at Pevensey +in Sussex. Friday, the 29th, Hastings was selected and fortified to +serve as headquarters. The English were taken at great disadvantage. +Only two days before the Normans crossed the Channel Harold with all +the troops he could muster had been engaged in a great battle at +Stamford Bridge, in Northumberland, with Harold Hardrada, king of +Norway, who was making an independent invasion. The English had won +the fight, but they were not in a position to meet the Normans as they +might otherwise have been. With admirable energy, however, Harold +marched his weary army southward to Senlac, a hill near the town of +Hastings, and there took up his position to await an attack by the +duke's army. The battle came on Saturday, October 14, and after a very +stubborn contest, in which Harold was slain, it resulted in a +decisive victory for the Normans. Thereafter the conquest of the +entire kingdom, while by no means easy, was inevitable. + +William of Malmesbury, from whose _Chronicle of the Kings of England_ +our account of the battle and of the two contending peoples is taken, +was a Benedictine monk, born of a Norman father and an English mother. +He lived about 1095-1150 and hence wrote somewhat over half a century +after the Conquest. While thus not strictly a contemporary, he was a +man of learning and discretion and there is every reason to believe +that he made his history as accurate as he was able, with the +materials at his command. His parentage must have enabled him to +understand both combatants in an unusual degree and, though his +sympathies were with the conquerors, we may take his characterizations +of Saxon and Norman alike to be at least fairly reliable. His +_Chronicle_ covers the period 449-1135, and for the years after 1066 +it is the fullest, most carefully written, and most readable account +of English affairs that we have. + + Source--Guilielmus Monachi Malmesburiensis, _De gestis regum + Anglorum_ [William of Malmesbury, "Chronicle of the Kings of + England"], Bk. III. Adapted from translation by John Sharpe + (London, 1815), pp. 317-323. + + [Sidenote: How the English prepared for battle] + + The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each according + to his national custom. The English passed the night[338] without + sleep, in drinking and singing, and in the morning proceeded + without delay against the enemy. All on foot, armed with + battle-axes, and covering themselves in front by joining their + shields, they formed an impenetrable body which would assuredly + have secured their safety that day had not the Normans, by a + pretended flight, induced them to open their ranks, which until + that time, according to their custom, had been closely knit + together. King Harold himself, on foot, stood with his brothers + near the standard in order that, so long as all shared equal + danger, none could think of retreating. This same standard William + sent, after his victory, to the Pope. It was richly embroidered + with gold and precious stones, and represented the figure of a man + fighting. + + [Sidenote: How the Normans prepared] + + On the other hand, the Normans passed the whole night in confessing + their sins, and received the communion of the Lord's body in the + morning. Their infantry, with bows and arrows, formed the vanguard, + while their cavalry, divided into wings, was placed in the rear. + The duke, with serene countenance, declaring aloud that God would + favor his as being the righteous side, called for his arms; and + when, through the haste of his attendants, he had put on his + hauberk[339] the rear part before, he corrected the mistake with a + laugh, saying, "The power of my dukedom shall be turned into a + kingdom." Then starting the song of Roland,[340] in order that the + warlike example of that hero might stimulate the soldiers, and + calling on God for assistance, the battle commenced on both sides, + and was fought with great ardor, neither side yielding ground + during the greater part of the day. + + [Sidenote: William's strategem] + + Observing this, William gave a signal to his troops, that, + pretending flight, they should withdraw from the field.[341] By + means of this device the solid phalanx of the English opened for + the purpose of cutting down the fleeing enemy and thus brought upon + itself swift destruction; for the Normans, facing about, attacked + them, thus disordered, and compelled them to fly. In this manner, + deceived by stratagem, they met an honorable death in avenging + their country; nor indeed were they at all without their own + revenge, for, by frequently making a stand, they slaughtered their + pursuers in heaps. Getting possession of a higher bit of ground, + they drove back the Normans, who in the heat of pursuit were + struggling up the slope, into the valley beneath, where, by hurling + their javelins and rolling down stones on them as they stood below, + the English easily destroyed them to a man. Besides, by a short + passage with which they were acquainted, they avoided a deep ditch + and trod underfoot such a multitude of their enemies in that place + that the heaps of bodies made the hollow level with the plain. This + alternating victory, first of one side and then of the other, + continued as long as Harold lived to check the retreat; but when he + fell, his brain pierced by an arrow, the flight of the English + ceased not until night.[342] + + [Sidenote: The valor of Harold] + + In the battle both leaders distinguished themselves by their + bravery. Harold, not content with the duties of a general and with + exhorting others, eagerly assumed himself the work of a common + soldier. He was constantly striking down the enemy at close + quarters, so that no one could approach him with impunity, for + straightway both horse and rider would be felled by a single blow. + So it was at long range, as I have said, that the enemy's deadly + arrow brought him to his death. One of the Norman soldiers gashed + his thigh with a sword, as he lay prostrate; for which shameful and + cowardly action he was branded with ignominy by William and + expelled from the army. + + [Sidenote: William's bravery and ardor] + + William, too, was equally ready to encourage his soldiers by his + voice and by his presence, and to be the first to rush forward to + attack the thickest of the foe. He was everywhere fierce and + furious. He lost three choice horses, which were that day killed + under him. The dauntless spirit and vigor of the intrepid general, + however, still held out. Though often called back by the thoughtful + remonstrance of his bodyguard, he still persisted until approaching + night crowned him with complete victory. And no doubt the hand of + God so protected him that the enemy could draw no blood from his + person, though they aimed so many javelins at him. + + This was a fatal day to England, and melancholy havoc was wrought + in our dear country during the change of its lords.[343] For it had + long before adopted the manners of the Angles, which had indeed + altered with the times; for in the first years of their arrival + they were barbarians in their look and manner, warlike in their + usages, heathen in their rites. + + [Sidenote: Religious zeal of the Saxons before the Conquest] + + After embracing the faith of Christ, by degrees and, in process of + time, in consequence of the peace which they enjoyed, they + consigned warfare to a secondary place and gave their whole + attention to religion. I am not speaking of the poor, the meanness + of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping the bounds + of justice; I omit, too, men of ecclesiastical rank, whom sometimes + respect for their profession and sometimes the fear of shame + suffers not to deviate from the true path; I speak of princes, who + from the greatness of their power might have full liberty to + indulge in pleasure. Some of these in their own country, and others + at Rome, changing their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom and a + saintly fellowship. Many others during their whole lives devoted + themselves in outward appearance to worldly affairs, but in order + that they might expend their treasures on the poor or divide them + amongst monasteries. + + What shall I say of the multitudes of bishops, hermits, and abbots? + Does not the whole island blaze with such numerous relics of its + own people that you can scarcely pass a village of any consequence + without hearing the name of some new saint? And of how many more + has all remembrance perished through the want of records? + + [Sidenote: Recent decline of learning and religion] + + Nevertheless, the attention to literature and religion had + gradually decreased for several years before the arrival of the + Normans. The clergy, contented with a little confused learning, + could scarcely stammer out the words of the sacraments; and a + person who understood grammar was an object of wonder and + astonishment.[344] The monks mocked the rule of their order by fine + vestments and the use of every kind of food. The nobility, given up + to luxury and wantonness, went not to church in the morning after + the manner of Christians, but merely, in a careless manner, heard + matins and masses from a hurrying priest in their chambers, amid + the blandishments of their wives. The community, left unprotected, + became a prey to the most powerful, who amassed fortunes, either by + seizing on their property or by selling their persons into foreign + countries; although it is characteristic of this people to be more + inclined to reveling than to the accumulation of wealth. + + [Sidenote: The English people described] + + Drinking in parties was an universal practice, in which occupation + they passed entire nights as well as days. They consumed their + whole substance in mean and despicable houses, unlike the Normans + and French, who live frugally in noble and splendid mansions. The + vices attendant on drunkenness, which enervate the human mind, + followed; hence it came about that when they resisted William, with + more rashness and precipitate fury than military skill, they doomed + themselves and their country to slavery by a single, and that an + easy, victory.[345] For nothing is less effective than rashness; + and what begins with violence quickly ceases or is repelled. The + English at that time wore short garments, reaching to the mid-knee; + they had their hair cropped, their beards shaven, their arms laden + with golden bracelets, their skin adorned with tattooed designs. + They were accustomed to eat until they became surfeited, and to + drink until they were sick. These latter qualities they imparted to + their conquerors; as for the rest, they adopted their manners. I + would not, however, have these bad characteristics ascribed to the + English universally; I know that many of the clergy at that day + trod the path of sanctity by a blameless life. I know that many of + the laity, of all ranks and conditions, in this nation were + well-pleasing to God. Be injustice far from this account; the + accusation does not involve the whole, indiscriminately. But as in + peace the mercy of God often cherishes the bad and the good + together, so, equally, does His severity sometimes include them + both in captivity. + + [Sidenote: A description of the Normans] + + The Normans--that I may speak of them also--were at that time, and + are even now, exceedingly particular in their dress and delicate in + their food, but not so to excess. They are a race accustomed to + war, and can hardly live without it; fierce in rushing against the + enemy, and, where force fails to succeed, ready to use stratagem or + to corrupt by bribery. As I have said, they live in spacious houses + with economy, envy their superiors, wish to excel their equals, and + plunder their subjects, though they defend them from others; they + are faithful to their lords, though a slight offense alienates + them. They weigh treachery by its chance of success, and change + their sentiments for money. The most hospitable, however, of all + nations, they esteem strangers worthy of equal honor with + themselves; they also intermarry with their vassals. They revived, + by their arrival, the rule of religion which had everywhere grown + lifeless in England.[346] You might see churches rise in every + village, and monasteries in the towns and cities, built after a + style unknown before; you might behold the country flourishing with + renewed rites; so that each wealthy man accounted that day lost to + him which he had neglected to signalize by some beneficent act. + + +41. William the Conqueror as Man and as King + +In the following passage, taken from the Saxon Chronicle, we have an +interesting summary of the character of the Conqueror and of his +conduct as king of England. Both the good and bad sides of the picture +are clearly brought out and perhaps it is not quite easy to say which +is given the greater prominence. On the one hand there is William's +devotion to the Church, his establishment of peace and order, his +mildness in dealing with all but those who had antagonized him, and +the virtue of his personal life; on the other is his severity, +rapacity, and pride, his heavy taxes and his harsh forest laws. As one +writer says, "the Conquest was bad as well as good for England; but +the harm was only temporary, the good permanent." It is greatly to the +credit of the English chronicler that he was able to deal so fairly +with the character of one whom he had not a few patriotic reasons for +maligning. + + Source--_The Saxon Chronicle._ Translated by J. A. Giles + (London, 1847), pp. 461-462. + + [Sidenote: William's religious zeal] + + If any one would know what manner of man King William was, the + glory that he obtained, and of how many lands he was lord, then + will we describe him as we have known him, we who have looked upon + him and who once lived at his court. This King William, of whom we + are speaking, was a very wise and a great man, and more honored and + more powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those + good men who loved God, but severe beyond measure towards those who + withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery on the spot where + God permitted him to conquer England, and he established monks in + it, and he made it very rich.[347] In his days the great monastery + at Canterbury was built,[348] and many others also throughout + England; moreover, this land was filled with monks who lived after + the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his + days that all who would might observe that which was prescribed by + their respective orders. + + [Sidenote: His strong government] + + King William was also held in much reverence. He wore his crown + three times every year when he was in England: at Easter he wore it + at Winchester,[349] at Pentecost at Westminster,[350] and at + Christmas at Gloucester.[351] And at these times all the men of + England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbots and earls, + thanes[352] and knights.[353] So also was he a very stern and a + wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his will, and + he kept in prison those earls who acted against his pleasure. He + removed bishops from their sees[354] and abbots from their offices, + and he imprisoned thanes, and at length he spared not his own + brother Odo. This Odo was a very powerful bishop in Normandy. His + see was that of Bayeux,[355] and he was foremost to serve the king. + He had an earldom in England, and when William was in Normandy he + [Odo] was the first man in this country [England], and him did + William cast into prison.[356] + + [Sidenote: The extent of his power] + + Amongst other things, the good order that William established is + not to be forgotten. It was such that any man, who was himself + aught, might travel over the kingdom with a bosom full of gold + unmolested; and no man durst kill another, however great the injury + he might have received from him. He reigned over England, and being + sharp-sighted to his own interest, he surveyed the kingdom so + thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land throughout the + whole of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was + worth, and this he afterwards entered in his register.[357] The + land of the Britons [Wales] was under his sway, and he built + castles therein; moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of + Man;[358] Scotland also was subject to him, from his great + strength; the land of Normandy was his by inheritance, and he + possessed the earldom of Maine;[359] and had he lived two years + longer, he would have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that + without a battle.[360] + + [Sidenote: His faults as a ruler] + + Truly there was much trouble in these times, and very great + distress. He caused castles to be built and oppressed the poor. The + king was also of great sternness, and he took from his subjects + many marks of gold, and many hundred pounds of silver, and this, + either with or without right, and with little need. He was given to + avarice, and greedily loved gain.[361] He made large forests for + the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever killed a hart + or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing the deer, so + also the boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their + father. He also commanded concerning the hares, that they should go + free.[362] The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so + sturdy that he recked nought of them; they must will all that the + king willed, if they would live, or would keep their lands, or + would hold their possessions, or would be maintained in their + rights. Alas that any man should so exalt himself, and carry + himself in his pride over all! May Almighty God show mercy to his + soul, and grant him the forgiveness of his sins! We have written + concerning him these things, both good and bad, that virtuous men + may follow after the good, and wholly avoid the evil, and may go in + the way that leadeth to the kingdom of heaven. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[338] Friday night, October 13. + +[339] A long coat of mail made of interwoven metal rings. + +[340] Roland, count of Brittany, was slain at the pass of Roncesvalles +in the famous attack of the Gascons upon Charlemagne's retreating army +in 778. One of the chronicles says simply, "In this battle Roland, +count of Brittany, was slain," and we have absolutely no other +historical knowledge of the man. His career was taken up by the +singers of the Middle Ages, however, and employed to typify all that +was brave and daring and romantic. It was some one of the many "songs +of Roland" that William used at Hastings to stimulate his men. + +[341] In a battle so closely contested this was a dangerous stratagem +and its employment seems to indicate that William despaired of +defeating the English by direct attack. His main object, in which he +was altogether successful, was to entice the English into abandoning +their advantageous position on the hilltop. + +[342] After the Norman victory was practically assured, William sought +to bring the battle to an end by having his archers shoot into the +air, that their arrows might fall upon the group of soldiers, +including the king, who were holding out in defense of the English +standard. It was in this way that Harold was mortally wounded; he died +immediately from the blows inflicted by Norman knights at close hand. + +[343] The victory at Hastings did not at once make William king, but +it revealed to both himself and the English people that the crown was +easily within his grasp. After the battle he advanced past London into +the interior of the country. Opposition melted before him and on +Christmas day, 1066, the Norman duke, having already been regularly +elected by the witan, was crowned at London by the archbishop of York. +In the early years of his reign he succeeded in making his power +recognized in the more turbulent north. + +[344] The work of Alfred had not been consistently followed up during +the century and a half since his death [see p. 185]. + +[345] The conquest of England by the Normans was really far from an +enslavement. Norman rule was strict, but hardly more so than +conditions warranted. + +[346] It seems to be true, as William of Malmesbury says, that the +century preceding the Norman Conquest had been an era of religious as +well as literary decline among the English. After 1066 the native +clergy, ignorant and often grossly immoral, were gradually replaced by +Normans, who on the whole were better men. By 1088 there remained only +one bishop of English birth in the entire kingdom. One should be +careful, however, not to exaggerate the moral differences between the +two peoples. + +[347] The story goes that just before entering the battle of Hastings +in 1066 William made a vow that if successful he would establish a +monastery on the site where Harold's standard stood. The vow was +fulfilled by the founding of the Abbey of St. Martin, or Battle Abbey, +in the years 1070-1076. The monastery was not ready for consecration +until 1094. + +[348] Christchurch. This cathedral monastery had been organized before +the Conqueror's day, but it was much increased in size and in +importance by Lanfranc, William's archbishop of Canterbury; and the +great building which it occupied in the later Middle Ages was +constructed at this time. + +[349] In Hampshire, in the southern part of the kingdom. + +[350] In Middlesex, near London. + +[351] On the Severn, in the modern county of Gloucester. + +[352] A thane (or thegn) was originally a young warrior; then one who +became a noble by serving the king in arms; then the possessor of five +hides of land. A hide was a measure of arable ground varying in extent +at the time of William the Conqueror, but by Henry II.'s reign +(1154-1189) fixed at about 100 acres. The thane before the Conquest +occupied nearly the same position socially as the knight after it. + +[353] This assembly of dignitaries, summoned by the king three times a +year, was the so-called Great Council, which in Norman times +superseded the old Saxon witan. Its duties were mainly judicial. It +acted also as an advisory body, but the king was not obliged to +consult it or to carry out its recommendations [see p. 307, note 2]. + +[354] The _see_ of a bishop is his ecclesiastical office; the area +over which his authority extends is more properly known as his +diocese. + +[355] On the Orne River, near the English Channel. + +[356] Odo, though a churchman, was a man of brutal instincts and evil +character. Through his high-handed course, both as a leading +ecclesiastical dignitary in Normandy and as earl of Kent and +vicegerent in England, he gave William no small amount of trouble. The +king finally grew tired of his brother's conduct and had him +imprisoned in the town of Rouen where he was left for four years, or +until the end of the reign (1087). + +[357] This was the famous Domesday Survey, begun in 1085. + +[358] In the Irish Sea. + +[359] Maine lay directly to the south of Normandy. + +[360] This statement is doubtful, though it is true that Lanfranc made +a beginning by consecrating a number of bishops in Ireland. + +[361] All of the early Norman kings were greedy for money and apt to +bear heavily upon the people in their efforts to get it. Englishmen +were not accustomed to general taxation and felt the new regime to be +a serious burden. There was consequently much complaint, but, as our +historian says, William was strong enough to be able to ignore it. + +[362] Most of William's harsh measures can be justified on the ground +that they were designed to promote the ultimate welfare of his people. +This is not true, however, of his elaborate forest laws, which +undertook to deprive Englishmen of their accustomed freedom of hunting +when and where they pleased. William's love of the chase amounted to a +passion and he was not satisfied with merely enacting such stringent +measures as that the slayer of a hart or a hind in his forests should +be blinded, but also set apart a great stretch of additional country, +the so-called New Forest, as his own exclusive hunting grounds. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE MONASTIC REFORMATION OF THE TENTH, ELEVENTH, AND TWELFTH CENTURIES + + +42. The Foundation Charter of the Monastery of Cluny (910) + +Throughout the earlier Middle Ages the Benedictine Rule [see p. 83] +was the code under which were governed practically all the monastic +establishments of western Europe. There was a natural tendency, +however, for the severe and exacting features of the Rule to be +softened considerably in actual practice. As one writer puts it, "the +excessive abstinence and many other of the mechanical observances of +the rule were soon found to have little real utility when simply +enforced by a rule, and not practiced willingly for the sake of +self-discipline." The obligation of manual labor, for example, was +frequently dispensed with in order that the monks might occupy +themselves with the studies for which the Benedictines have always +been famous. Too often such relaxation was but a pretext for the +indulgence of idleness or vice. The disrepute into which such +tendencies brought the monastics in the tenth and eleventh centuries +gave rise to numerous attempts to revive the primitive discipline, the +most notable of which was the so-called "Cluniac movement." + +The monastery of Cluny, on the borders of Aquitaine and Burgundy, was +established under the terms of a charter issued by William the Pious, +duke of Aquitaine and count of Auvergne, September 11, 910. The +conditions of its foundation, set forth in the text of the charter +given below, were in many ways typical. The history of the monastery +was, however, quite exceptional. During the invasions and civil wars +of the latter half of the ninth century, many of the monasteries of +western Europe had fallen under the control of unscrupulous laymen who +used them mainly to satisfy their greed or ambition, and in +consequence by the time that Cluny was founded the standard of +monastic life and service had been seriously impaired. The monks had +grown worldly, education was neglected, and religious services had +become empty formalities. Powerful nobles used their positions of +advantage to influence, and often to dictate, the election of bishops +and abbots, and the men thus elected were likely enough to be unworthy +of their offices in both character and ability. The charter of the +Cluny monastery, however, expressly provided that the abbot should be +chosen by canonical election, i.e., by the monks, and without any sort +of outside interference. The life of the monastery was to be regulated +by the Benedictine Rule, though with rather less stress on manual +labor and rather more on religious services and literary employment. +Cluny, indeed, soon came to be one of the principal centers of +learning in western Europe, as well as perhaps the greatest +administrator of charity. + +Another notable achievement of Cluny was the building up of the +so-called "Cluny Congregation." Hitherto it had been customary for +monasteries to be entirely independent of one another, even when +founded by monks sent out from a parent establishment. Cluny, however, +kept under the control of her own abbot all monasteries founded by her +agents and made the priors of these monasteries directly responsible +to him. Many outside abbeys were drawn into the new system, so that by +the middle of the twelfth century the Cluny congregation was comprised +of more than two thousand monasteries, all working harmoniously under +a single abbot-general. The majority of these were in France, but +there were many also in Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, and England. It +was the Cluny monks who gave the Pope his chief support in the +struggle to free the Church from lay investiture and simony and to +enforce the ideal of a celibate clergy. This movement for reform may +properly be said, indeed, to have originated with the Cluniacs and to +have been taken up only later by the popes, chiefly by Gregory VII. By +the end of the eleventh century Cluniac discipline had begun to grow +lax and conditions were gradually shaped for another wave of monastic +reform, which came with the establishment of the Carthusians (in 1084) +and of the Cistercians (in 1098). + + Source--Text in Martin Bouquet, _Recueil des Historiens des + Gaules et de la France_ ["Collection of the Historians of Gaul + and of France"] (Paris, 1874), Vol. IX., pp. 709-711. + + [Sidenote: Motives for Duke William's benefaction] + + To all who think wisely it is evident that the providence of God + has made it possible for rich men, by using well their temporal + possessions, to be able to merit eternal rewards.... I, William, + count and duke, after diligent reflection, and desiring to provide + for my own safety while there is still time, have decided that it + is advisable, indeed absolutely necessary, that from the + possessions which God has given me I should give some portion for + the good of my soul. I do this, indeed, in order that I who have + thus increased in wealth may not at the last be accused of having + spent all in caring for my body, but rather may rejoice, when fate + at length shall snatch all things away, in having preserved + something for myself. I cannot do better than follow the precepts + of Christ and make His poor my friends. That my gift may be durable + and not transitory I will support at my own expense a congregation + of monks. And I hope that I shall receive the reward of the + righteous because I have received those whom I believe to be + righteous and who despise the world, although I myself am not able + to despise all things.[363] + + [Sidenote: The land and other property ceded] + + Therefore be it known to all who live in the unity of the faith and + who await the mercy of Christ, and to those who shall succeed them + and who shall continue to exist until the end of the world, that, + for the love of God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, I hand over + from my own rule to the holy apostles, namely, Peter and Paul, the + possessions over which I hold sway--the town of Cluny, with the + court and demesne manor, and the church in honor of St. Mary, the + mother of God, and of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, + together with all the things pertaining to it, the villas, the + chapels, the serfs of both sexes, the vines, the fields, the + meadows, the woods, the waters and their outlets, the mills, the + incomes and revenues, what is cultivated and what is not, all + without reserve. These things are situated in or about the county + of Macon[364], each one marked off by definite bounds. I give, + moreover, all these things to the aforesaid apostles--I, William, + and my wife Ingelberga--first for the love of God; then for the + soul of my lord King Odo, of my father and my mother; for myself + and my wife,--for the salvation, namely, of our souls and bodies; + and not least, for that of Ava, who left me these things in her + will; for the souls also of our brothers and sisters and nephews, + and of all our relatives of both sexes; for our faithful ones who + adhere to our service; for the advancement, also, and integrity of + the Catholic religion. Finally, since all of us Christians are held + together by one bond of love and faith, let this donation be for + all--for the orthodox, namely, of past, present, or future times. + + [Sidenote: A monastery to be established.] + + [Sidenote: Election of abbots to be "canonical"] + + I give these things, moreover, with this understanding, that in + Cluny a monastery shall be constructed in honor of the holy + apostles Peter and Paul, and that there the monks shall congregate + and live according to the rule of St. Benedict, and that they shall + possess and make use of these same things for all time. In such + wise, however, that the venerable house of prayer which is there + shall be faithfully frequented with vows and supplications, and + that heavenly conversations shall be sought after with all desire + and with the deepest ardor; and also that there shall be diligently + directed to God prayers and exhortations, as well for me as for + all, according to the order in which mention has been made of them + above. And let the monks themselves, together with all aforesaid + possessions, be under the power and dominion of the abbot Berno, + who, as long as he shall live, shall preside over them regularly + according to his knowledge and ability.[365] But after his death, + those same monks shall have power and permission to elect any one + of their order whom they please as abbot and rector, following the + will of God and the rule promulgated by St. Benedict--in such wise + that neither by the intervention of our own or of any other power + may they be impeded from making a purely canonical election. Every + five years, moreover, the aforesaid monks shall pay to the church + of the apostles at Rome ten shillings to supply them with lights; + and they shall have the protection of those same apostles and the + defense of the Roman pontiff; and those monks may, with their whole + heart and soul, according to their ability and knowledge, build up + the aforesaid place. + + [Sidenote: Works of charity enjoined] + + We will, further, that in our times and in those of our successors, + according as the opportunities and possibilities of that place + shall allow, there shall daily, with the greatest zeal, be + performed works of mercy towards the poor, the needy, strangers, + and pilgrims.[366] It has pleased us also to insert in this + document that, from this day, those same monks there congregated + shall be subject neither to our yoke, nor to that of our relatives, + nor to the sway of the royal might, nor to that of any earthly + power. And, through God and all His saints, and by the awful day of + judgment, I warn and admonish that no one of the secular princes, + no count, no bishop, not even the pontiff of the aforesaid Roman + see, shall invade the property of these servants of God, or + alienate it, or diminish it, or exchange it, or give it as a + benefice to any one, or set up any prelate over them against their + will.[367] + + +43. The Early Career of St. Bernard and the Founding of Clairvaux + +The most important individual who had part in the twelfth century +movement for monastic reform was unquestionably St. Bernard, of whom +indeed it has been said with reason that for a quarter of a century +there was no more influential man in Europe. Born in 1091, he came +upon the scene when times were ripe for great deeds and great careers, +whether with the crusading hosts in the East or in the vexed swirl of +secular and ecclesiastical affairs in the West. Particularly were the +times ripe for a great preacher and reformer--one who could avail +himself of the fresh zeal of the crusading period and turn a portion +of it to the regeneration of the corrupt and sluggish spiritual life +which in far too great a measure had crept in to replace the earlier +purity and devotion of the clergy. The need of reform was perhaps most +conspicuous in the monasteries, for many monastic establishments had +not been greatly affected by the Cluniac movement of the previous +century, and in many of those which had been touched temporarily the +purifying influences had about ceased to produce results. It was as a +monastic reformer that St. Bernard rendered greatest service to the +Church of his day, though he was far more than a mere zealot. He was, +says Professor Emerton, more than any other man, representative of the +spirit of the Middle Ages. "The monastery meant to him, not a place of +easy and luxurious retirement, where a man might keep himself pure +from earthly contact, nor even a home of learning, from which a man +might influence his world. It meant rather a place of pitiless +discipline, whereby the natural man should be reduced to the lowest +terms and thus the spiritual life be given its largest liberty. The +aim of Bernard was nothing less than the regeneration of society +through the presence in it of devoted men, bound together by a compact +organization, and holding up to the world the highest types of an +ideal which had already fixed itself in the imagination of the +age."[368] + +The founding of Clairvaux by St. Bernard, in 1115, was not the +beginning of a new monastic order; the Cistercians, to whom the +establishment properly belonged, had originated at Citeaux seventeen +years before. But in later times St. Bernard was very properly +regarded as a second founder of the Cistercians, and the story of his +going forth from the parent house to establish the new one affords an +excellent illustration of the spirit which dominated the leaders in +monastic reform in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and of the +methods they employed to keep alive the lofty ideals of the old +Benedictine system; and, although individual monasteries were founded +under the most diverse circumstances, the story is of interest as +showing us the precise way in which one monastic house took its +origin. By the time of St. Bernard's death (1153) not fewer than a +hundred and fifty religious houses had been regenerated under his +inspiration. + +We are fortunate in possessing a composite biography of the great +reformer which is practically contemporary. It is in five books, the +first of which was written by William, abbot of St. Thierry of Rheims; +the second by Arnold, abbot of Bonneval, near Chartres; and the third, +fourth, and fifth by Geoffrey, a monk of Clairvaux and a former +secretary of St. Bernard. William of St. Thierry (from whose portion +of the biography selection "a" below is taken) wrote about 1140, +Arnold and Geoffrey soon after Bernard's death in 1153. + + Sources--(a) Guillaume de Saint-Thierry, _Bernardus + Claraevallensis_ [William of Saint Thierry, "Life of St. + Bernard"], Bk. I., Chaps. 1-4. + + (b) The _Acta Sanctorum_. Translated in Edward L. Cutts, + _Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1872), pp. + 11-12. + + [Sidenote: Bernard's parents] + + (a) + + Saint Bernard was born at Fontaines in Burgundy [near Dijon], at + the castle of his father. His parents were famed among the famous + of that age, most of all because of their piety. His father, + Tescelin, was a member of an ancient and knightly family, fearing + God and scrupulously just. Even when engaged in holy war he + plundered and destroyed no one; he contented himself with his + worldly possessions, of which he had an abundance, and used them in + all manner of good works. With both his counsel and his arms he + served temporal lords, but so as never to neglect to render to the + sovereign Lord that which was due Him. Bernard's mother, Alith, of + the castle Montbar, mindful of holy law, was submissive to her + husband and, with him, governed the household in the fear of God, + devoting herself to deeds of mercy and rearing her children in + strict discipline. She bore seven children, six boys and one girl, + not so much for the glory of her husband as for that of God; for + all the sons became monks and the daughter a nun....[369] + + [Sidenote: His early characteristics] + + As soon as Bernard was of sufficient age his mother intrusted his + education to the teachers in the church at Chatillon[370] and did + everything in her power to enable him to make rapid progress. The + young boy, abounding in pleasing qualities and endowed with natural + genius, fulfilled his mother's every expectation; for he advanced + in his study of letters at a speed beyond his age and that of other + children of the same age. But in secular matters he began already, + and very naturally, to humble himself in the interest of his future + perfection, for he exhibited the greatest simplicity, loved to be + in solitude, fled from people, was extraordinarily thoughtful, + submitted himself implicitly to his parents, had little desire to + converse, was devoted to God, and applied himself to his studies as + the means by which he should be able to learn of God through the + Scriptures.... + + [Sidenote: He decides to become a monk at Citeaux] + + Determined that it would be best for him to abandon the world, he + began to inquire where his soul, under the yoke of Christ, would be + able to find the most complete and sure repose. The recent + establishment of the order of Citeaux[371] suggested itself to his + thought. The harvest was abundant, but the laborers were few, for + hardly any one had sought happiness by taking up residence there, + because of the excessive austerity of life and the poverty which + there prevailed, but which had no terrors for the soul truly + seeking God. Without hesitation or misgivings, he turned his steps + to that place, thinking that there he would be able to find + seclusion and, in the secret of the presence of God, escape the + importunities of men; wishing particularly there to gain a refuge + from the vain glory of the noble's life, and to win purity of soul, + and perhaps the name of saint. + + [Sidenote: His struggle and his victory] + + When his brothers, who loved him according to the flesh, discovered + that he intended to become a monk, they employed every means to + turn him to the pursuit of letters and to attach him to the secular + life by the love of worldly knowledge. Without doubt, as he has + himself declared, he was not a little moved by their arguments. But + the memory of his devout mother urged him importunately to take the + step. It often seemed to him that she appeared before him, + reproaching him and reminding him that she had not reared him for + frivolous things of that sort, and that she had brought him up in + quite another hope. Finally, one day when he was returning from the + siege of a chateau called Grancey, and was coming to his brothers, + who were with the duke of Burgundy, he began to be violently + tormented by these thoughts. Finding by the roadside a church, he + went in and there prayed, with flooded eyes, lifting his hands + toward Heaven and pouring out his heart like water before the Lord. + That day fixed his resolution irrevocably. From that hour, even as + the fire consumes the forests and the flame ravages the mountains, + seizing everything, devouring first that which is nearest but + advancing to objects farther removed, so did the fire which God had + kindled in the heart of his servant, desiring that it should + consume it, lay hold first of his brothers (of whom only the + youngest, incapable yet of becoming a monk, was left to console his + old father), then his parents, his companions, and his friends, + from whom no one had ever expected such a step.... + + [Sidenote: Bernard and his companions at Chatillon] + + The number of those who decided to take upon themselves monastic + vows increased and, as one reads of the earliest sons of the + Church, "all the multitude of those who believed were of one mind + and one heart" [Acts v. 32]. They lived together and no one else + dared mingle with them. They had at Chatillon a house which they + possessed in common and in which they held meetings, dwelt + together, and held converse with one another. No one was so bold as + to enter it, unless he were a member of the congregation. If any + one entered there, seeing and hearing what was done and said (as + the Apostle declared of the Christians of Corinth), he was + convinced by their prophecies and, adoring the Lord and perceiving + that God was truly among them, he either joined himself to the + brotherhood or, going away, wept at his own plight and their happy + state.... + + [Sidenote: They enter Citeaux] + + At that time, the young and feeble establishment at Citeaux, under + the venerable abbot Stephen,[372] began to be seriously weakened by + its paucity of numbers and to lose all hope of having successors to + perpetuate the heritage of holy poverty, for everybody revered the + life of these monks for its sanctity but held aloof from it because + of its austerity. But the monastery was suddenly visited and made + glad by the Lord in a happy and unhoped-for manner. In 1113, + fifteen years after the foundation of the monastery, the servant of + God, Bernard, then about twenty-three years of age, entered the + establishment under the abbot Stephen, with his companions to the + number of more than thirty, and submitted himself to the blessed + yoke of Christ. From that day God prospered the house, and that + vine of the Lord bore fruit, putting forth its branches from sea to + sea. + + Such were the holy beginnings of the monastic life of that man of + God. It is impossible to any one who has not been imbued as he with + the spirit of God to recount the illustrious deeds of his career, + and his angelic conduct, during his life on earth. He entered the + monastery poor in spirit, still obscure and of no fame, with the + intention of there perishing in the heart and memory of men, and + hoping to be forgotten and ignored like a lost vessel. But God + ordered it otherwise, and prepared him as a chosen vessel, not only + to strengthen and extend the monastic order, but also to bear His + name before kings and peoples to the ends of the earth.... + + [Sidenote: Bernard prays for and obtains the ability to reap] + + [Sidenote: His devotion and knowledge of the Scriptures] + + At the time of harvest the brothers were occupied, with the fervor + and joy of the Holy Spirit, in reaping the grain. Since he + [Bernard] was not able to have part in the labor, they bade him sit + by them and take his ease. Greatly troubled, he had recourse to + prayer and, with much weeping, implored the Lord to grant him the + strength to become a reaper. The simplicity of his faith did not + deceive him, for that which he asked he obtained. Indeed from that + day he prided himself in being more skilful than the others at that + task; and he was the more given over to devotion during that labor + because he realized that the ability to perform it was a direct + gift from God. Refreshed by his employments of this kind, he + prayed, read, or meditated continuously. If an opportunity for + prayer in solitude offered itself, he seized it; but in any case, + whether by himself or with companions, he preserved a solitude in + his heart, and thus was everywhere alone. He read gladly, and + always with faith and thoughtfulness, the Holy Scriptures, saying + that they never seemed to him so clear as when read in the text + alone, and he declared his ability to discern their truth and + divine virtue much more readily in the source itself than in the + commentaries which were derived from it. Nevertheless, he read + humbly the saints and orthodox commentators and made no pretense of + rivaling their knowledge; but, submitting his to theirs, and + tracing it faithfully to its sources, he drank often at the + fountain whence they had drawn. It is thus that, full of the spirit + which has divinely inspired all Holy Scripture, he has served God + to this day, as the Apostle says, with so great confidence, and + such ability to instruct, convert, and sway. And when he preaches + the word of God, he renders so clear and agreeable that which he + takes from Scripture to insert in his discourse, and he has such + power to move men, that everybody, both those clever in worldly + matters and those who possess spiritual knowledge, marvel at the + eloquent words which fall from his lips. + + [Sidenote: Site selected for the new monastery] + + (b) + + Twelve monks and their abbot, representing our Lord and His + apostles, were assembled in the church. Stephen placed a cross in + Bernard's hands, who solemnly, at the head of his small band, + walked forth from Citeaux.... Bernard struck away to the northward. + For a distance of nearly ninety miles he kept this course, passing + up by the source of the Seine, by Chatillon, of school-day + memories, until he arrived at La Ferte, about equally distant + between Troyes and Chaumont, in the diocese of Langres, and + situated on the river Aube.[373] About four miles beyond La Ferte + was a deep valley opening to the east. Thick umbrageous forests + gave it a character of gloom and wildness; but a gushing stream of + limpid water which ran through it was sufficient to redeem every + disadvantage. + + [Sidenote: The first building constructed] + + In June, 1115, Bernard took up his abode in the "Valley of + Wormwood," as it was called, and began to look for means of shelter + and sustenance against the approaching winter. The rude fabric + which he and his monks raised with their own hands was long + preserved by the pious veneration of the Cistercians. It consisted + of a building covered by a single roof, under which chapel, + dormitory, and refectory were all included. Neither stone nor wood + hid the bare earth, which served for a floor. Windows scarcely + wider than a man's head admitted a feeble light. In this room the + monks took their frugal meals of herbs and water. Immediately above + the refectory was the sleeping apartment. It was reached by a + ladder, and was, in truth, a sort of loft. Here were the monks' + beds, which were peculiar. They were made in the form of boxes, or + bins, of wooden planks, long and wide enough for a man to lie down + in. A small space, hewn out with an axe, allowed room for the + sleeper to get in or out. The inside was strewn with chaff, or + dried leaves, which, with the woodwork, seem to have been the only + covering permitted.... + + [Sidenote: Hardships encountered] + + The monks had thus got a house over their heads; but they had very + little else. They had left Citeaux in June. Their journey had + probably occupied them a fortnight; their clearing, preparations, + and building, perhaps two months; and thus they were near September + when this portion of their labor was accomplished. Autumn and + winter were approaching, and they had no store laid by. Their food + during the summer had been a compound of leaves intermixed with + coarse grain. Beech-nuts and roots were to be their main support + during the winter. And now to the privations of insufficient food + was added the wearing out of their shoes and clothes. Their + necessities grew with the severity of the season, until at last + even salt failed them; and presently Bernard heard murmurs. He + argued and exhorted; he spoke to them of the fear and love of God, + and strove to rouse their drooping spirits by dwelling on the hopes + of eternal life and Divine recompense. Their sufferings made them + deaf and indifferent to their abbot's words. They would not remain + in this valley of bitterness; they would return to Citeaux. + Bernard, seeing they had lost their trust in God, reproved them no + more; but himself sought in earnest prayer for release from their + difficulties. Presently a voice from heaven said, "Arise, Bernard, + thy prayer is granted thee." Upon which the monks said, "What didst + thou ask of the Lord?" "Wait, and ye shall see, ye of little + faith," was the reply; and presently came a stranger who gave the + abbot ten livres. + + +44. A Description of Clairvaux + +The following is an interesting description of the abbey of Clairvaux, +written by William of St. Thierry, the friend and biographer of +Bernard. After giving an account of the external appearance and +surroundings of the monastery, the writer goes on to portray the daily +life and devotion of the monks who resided in it. In reading the +description it should be borne in mind that Clairvaux was a new +establishment, founded expressly to further the work of monastic +reform, and that therefore at the time when William of St. Thierry +knew it, it exhibited a state of piety and industry considerably above +that to be found in the average abbey of the day. + + Source--Guillaume de Saint-Thierry, _Bernardus Claraevallensis_ + [William of Saint Thierry, "Life of St. Bernard"], Bk. I., + Chap. 7. Translated in Edward L. Cutts, _Scenes and Characters + of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1872), pp. 12-14. + + [Sidenote: The solitude of Clairvaux] + + At the first glance as you entered Clairvaux by descending the hill + you could see that it was a temple of God; and the still, silent + valley bespoke, in the modest simplicity of its buildings, the + unfeigned humility of Christ's poor. Moreover, in this valley full + of men, where no one was permitted to be idle, where one and all + were occupied with their allotted tasks, a silence deep as that of + night prevailed. The sounds of labor, or the chants of the brethren + in the choral service, were the only exceptions. The orderliness of + this silence, and the report that went forth concerning it, struck + such a reverence even into secular persons that they dreaded + breaking it,--I will not say by idle or wicked conversation, but + even by proper remarks. The solitude, also, of the place--between + dense forests in a narrow gorge of neighboring hills--in a certain + sense recalled the cave of our father St. Benedict,[374] so that + while they strove to imitate his life, they also had some + similarity to him in their habitation and loneliness.... + + [Sidenote: Marvelous works accomplished there] + + Although the monastery is situated in a valley, it has its + foundations on the holy hills, whose gates the Lord loveth more + than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of it, + because the glorious and wonderful God therein worketh great + marvels. There the insane recover their reason, and although their + outward man is worn away, inwardly they are born again. There the + proud are humbled, the rich are made poor, and the poor have the + Gospel preached to them, and the darkness of sinners is changed + into light. A large multitude of blessed poor from the ends of the + earth have there assembled, yet have they one heart and one mind; + justly, therefore, do all who dwell there rejoice with no empty + joy. They have the certain hope of perennial joy, of their + ascension heavenward already commenced. In Clairvaux, they have + found Jacob's ladder, with angels upon it; some descending, who so + provide for their bodies that they faint not on the way; others + ascending, who so rule their souls that their bodies hereafter may + be glorified with them. + + [Sidenote: The piety of the monks] + + For my part, the more attentively I watch them day by day, the more + do I believe that they are perfect followers of Christ in all + things. When they pray and speak to God in spirit and in truth, by + their friendly and quiet speech to Him, as well as by their + humbleness of demeanor, they are plainly seen to be God's + companions and friends. When, on the other hand, they openly praise + God with psalms, how pure and fervent are their minds, is shown by + their posture of body in holy fear and reverence, while by their + careful pronunciation and modulation of the psalms, is shown how + sweet to their lips are the words of God--sweeter than honey to + their mouths. As I watch them, therefore, singing without fatigue + from before midnight to the dawn of day, with only a brief + interval, they appear a little less than the angels, but much more + than men.... + + [Sidenote: Their manual labor] + + As regards their manual labor, so patiently and placidly, with such + quiet countenances, in such sweet and holy order, do they perform + all things, that although they exercise themselves at many works, + they never seem moved or burdened in anything, whatever the labor + may be. Whence it is manifest that that Holy Spirit worketh in them + who disposeth of all things with sweetness, in whom they are + refreshed, so that they rest even in their toil. Many of them, I + hear, are bishops and earls, and many illustrious through their + birth or knowledge; but now, by God's grace, all distinction of + persons being dead among them, the greater any one thought himself + in the world, the more in this flock does he regard himself as less + than the least. I see them in the garden with hoes, in the meadows + with forks or rakes, in the fields with scythes, in the forest with + axes. To judge from their outward appearance, their tools, their + bad and disordered clothes, they appear a race of fools, without + speech or sense. But a true thought in my mind tells me that their + life in Christ is hidden in the heavens. Among them I see Godfrey + of Peronne, Raynald of Picardy, William of St. Omer, Walter of + Lisle, all of whom I knew formerly in the old man, whereof I now + see no trace, by God's favor. I knew them proud and puffed up; I + see them walking humbly under the merciful hand of God. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[363] In other words, it is Duke William's hope that, though not +himself willing to be restricted to the life of a monk, he may secure +substantially an equivalent reward by patronizing men who _are_ thus +willing. + +[364] Macon, the seat of the diocese in which Cluny was situated, was +on the Saone, a short distance to the southeast. + +[365] Berno served as abbot of Cluny from 910 until 927. + +[366] That the charitable side of the monastery's work was well +attended to is indicated by the fact that in a single year, late in +the eleventh century, seventeen thousand poor were given assistance by +the monks. + +[367] The remainder of the charter consists of a series of +imprecations of disaster and punishment upon all who at any time and +in any way should undertake to interfere with the vested rights just +granted. These imprecations were strictly typical of the mediaeval +spirit-so much so that many of them came to be mere formulae, employed +to give documents due solemnity, but without any especially direful +designs on the part of the writer who used them. + +[368] Emerton, _Mediaeval Europe_, p. 458. + +[369] Bernard was the third son. + +[370] About sixty miles southeast of Troyes. + +[371] Citeaux (established by Odo, duke of Burgundy, in 1098) was near +Dijon in Burgundy. + +[372] Stephen Harding, an Englishman, succeeded Alberic as abbot of +Citeaux in 1113. + +[373] Chatillon was about twelve miles south of La Ferte. The latter +was fifty miles southeast of Troyes and only half as far from +Chaumont, despite the author's statement that, it lay midway between +the two places. The Aube is an important tributary of the upper Seine. + +[374] The famous founder of the monastery of Monte Cassino and the +compiler of the Benedictine Rule [see p. 83]. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CONFLICT OVER INVESTITURE + + +45. Gregory VII.'s Conception of the Papal Authority + +Hildebrand, who as pope was known as Gregory VII., was born about the +year 1025 in the vicinity of the little Tuscan town of Soana. His +education was received in the rich monastery of Saint Mary on the +Aventine, of which one of his uncles was abbot. At the age of +twenty-five he became chaplain to Pope Gregory VI., after whose fall +from power he sought seclusion in the monastery at Cluny. In 1049, +however, he again appeared in Italy, this time in the role of +companion to the new pontiff, Leo IX. In a few years he became +sub-deacon and cardinal and was intrusted with the municipal affairs +and financial interests of the Holy See. He served as papal legate in +France and in 1057 was sent to Germany to obtain the consent of +Empress Agnes to the hurried election of Stephen IX. While in these +countries he became convinced that the evil conditions--simony, lay +investiture, and non-celibacy of the clergy--which the Cluniacs were +seeking to reform would never be materially improved by the temporal +powers, and consequently that the only hope of betterment lay in the +establishing of an absolute papal supremacy before which kings, and +even emperors, should be compelled to bow in submission. In April, +1073, Hildebrand himself was made pope, nominally by the vote of the +College of Cardinals, but really by the enthusiastic choice of the +Roman populace. His whole training and experience had fitted him +admirably for the place and had equipped him with the capacity to make +of his office something more than had any of his predecessors. When he +became pope it was with a very lofty ideal of what the papacy should +be, and the surprising measure in which he was able to realize this +ideal entitles him without question to be regarded as the greatest of +all mediaeval popes. + +In the document given below, the so-called _Dictatus Papae_, Pope +Gregory's conception of the nature of the papal power and its proper +place in the world is stated in the form of a clear and forcible +summary. Until recently the _Dictatus_ was supposed to have been +written by Gregory himself, but it has been fairly well demonstrated +that it was composed not earlier than 1087 and was therefore the work +of some one else (Gregory died in 1085). It conforms very closely to a +collection of the laws of the Church published in 1087 by a certain +cardinal by the name of Deusdedit. The document loses little or none +of its value by reason of this uncertainty as to its authorship, for +it represents Pope Gregory's views as accurately as if he were known +to have written it. In judging Gregory's theories it should be borne +in mind (1) that it was not personal ambition, but sincere conviction, +that lay beneath them; (2) that the temporal states which existed in +western Europe in Gregory's day were rife with feudal anarchy and +oppression and often too weak to be capable of rendering justice; and +(3) that Gregory claimed, not that the Church should actually assume +the management of the civil government throughout Europe, but only +that in cases of notorious failure of temporal sovereigns to live +right and govern well, the supreme authority of the papacy should be +brought to bear upon them, either to depose them or to compel them to +mend their ways. It is worthy of note, however, that Gregory was +careful to lay the foundations of a formidable political power in +Italy, chiefly by availing himself of the practices of feudalism, as +seen, for example, in the grant of southern Italy to the Norman Robert +Guiscard to be held as a fief of the Roman see. + + Source--Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_ (Muenchen, 1889), Vol. III., p. 17. + + =1.= That the Roman Church was founded by God alone. + + =2.= That the Roman bishop alone is properly called + universal.[375] + + =3.= That he alone has the power to depose bishops and reinstate + them. + + =4.= That his legate, though of inferior rank, takes precedence of + all bishops in council, and may give sentence of deposition against + them. + + =5.= That the Pope has the power to depose [bishops] in their + absence.[376] + + =6.= That we should not even stay in the same house with those who + are excommunicated by him. + + =8.= That he alone may use the imperial insignia.[377] + + =9.= That the Pope is the only person whose feet are kissed by all + princes. + + =11.= That the name which he bears belongs to him alone.[378] + + =12.= That he has the power to depose emperors.[379] + + =13.= That he may, if necessity require, transfer bishops from one + see to another. + + =16.= That no general synod may be called without his consent. + + =17.= That no action of a synod, and no book, may be considered + canonical without his authority.[380] + + =18.= That his decree can be annulled by no one, and that he alone + may annul the decrees of any one. + + =19.= That he can be judged by no man. + + =20.= That no one shall dare to condemn a person who appeals to the + apostolic see. + + =22.= That the Roman Church has never erred, nor ever, by the + testimony of Scripture, shall err, to all eternity.[381] + + =26.= That no one can be considered Catholic who does not agree + with the Roman Church. + + =27.= That he [the Pope] has the power to absolve the subjects of + unjust rulers from their oath of fidelity. + + +46. Letter of Gregory VII. to Henry IV. (December, 1075) + +The high ideal of papal supremacy over temporal sovereigns which +Gregory cherished when he became pope in 1073, and which is set forth +so forcibly in the _Dictatus_, was one whose validity no king or +emperor could be brought to recognize. It involved an attitude of +inferiority and submissiveness which monarchs felt to be quite +inconsistent with the complete independence which they claimed in the +management of the affairs of their respective states. Perhaps one may +say that the theory in itself, as a mere expression of religious +sentiment, was not especially obnoxious; many an earlier pope had +proclaimed it in substance without doing the kings and emperors of +Europe material injury. It was the firm determination and the +aggressive effort of Gregory to reduce the theory to an actual working +system that precipitated a conflict. + +The supreme test of Gregory's ability to make the papal power felt in +the measure that he thought it should be came early in the pontificate +in the famous breach with Henry IV. of Germany. Henry at the time was +not emperor in name, but only "king of the Romans," the imperial +coronation not yet having taken place.[382] For all practical +purposes, however, he may be regarded as occupying the emperor's +position, since all that was lacking was the performance of a more or +less perfunctory ceremony. Henry's specific grievances against the +Pope were that the latter had declared it a sin for an ecclesiastic to +be invested with his office by a layman, though this was almost the +universal practice in Germany, and that he had condemned five of the +king's councilors for simony,[383] suspended the archbishop of Bremen, +the bishops of Speyer and Strassburg, and two Lombard bishops, and +deposed the bishop of Florence. Half of the land and wealth of Germany +was in the hands of bishops and abbots who, if the Pope were to have +his way, would be released from all practical dependence upon the king +and so would be free to encourage and take part in the feudal revolts +which Henry was exerting himself so vigorously to crush. June 8, 1075, +on the banks of the Unstrutt, the king won a signal victory over the +rebellious feudal lords, after which he felt strong enough to defy the +authority of Gregory with impunity. He therefore continued to +associate with the five condemned councilors and, in contempt of +recent papal declarations against lay investiture, took it upon +himself to appoint and invest a number of bishops and abbots, though +always with extreme care that the right kind of men be selected. Pope +Gregory was, of course, not the man to overlook such conduct and at +once made vigorous protest. The letter given below was written in +December, 1075, and is one of a considerable series which passed back +and forth across the Alps prior to the breaking of the storm in +1076-1077. At this stage matters had not yet got beyond the +possibility of compromise and reconciliation; in fact Gregory writes +as much as anything else to get the king's own statement regarding the +reports of his conduct which had come to Rome. The tone of the letter +is firm, it is true, but conciliatory. The thunder of subsequent +epistles to the recreant Henry had not yet been brought into play. + + Source--Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_ (Muenchen, 1889), Vol. III., pp. 18-22. Adapted from + translation in Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source + Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 147-150. + + Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Henry, the + king, greeting and apostolic benediction,--that is, if he be + obedient to the apostolic see as is becoming in a Christian king: + + [Sidenote: Henry exhorted to confess his sins] + + It is with some hesitation that we have sent you our apostolic + benediction, knowing that for all our acts as pope we must render + an account to God, the severe judge. It is reported that you have + willingly associated with men who have been excommunicated by + decree of the Pope and sentence of a synod.[384] If this be true, + you are very well aware that you can receive the blessing neither + of God nor of the Pope until you have driven them from you and have + compelled them to do penance, and have also yourself sought + absolution and forgiveness for your transgressions with due + repentance and good works. Therefore we advise you that, if you + realize your guilt in this matter, you immediately confess to some + pious bishop, who shall absolve you with our permission, + prescribing for you penance in proportion to the fault, and who + shall faithfully report to us by letter, with your permission, the + nature of the penance required. + + [Sidenote: The Pope's claim to authority over temporal princes] + + We wonder, moreover, that you should continue to assure us by + letter and messengers of your devotion and humility; that you + should call yourself our son and the son of the holy mother Church, + obedient in the faith, sincere in love, diligent in devotion; and + that you should commend yourself to us with all zeal of love and + reverence--whereas in fact you are constantly disobeying the + canonical and apostolic decrees in important matters of the + faith.... Since you confess yourself a son of the Church, you + should treat with more honor the head of the Church, that is, St. + Peter, the prince of the apostles. If you are one of the sheep of + the Lord, you have been entrusted to him by divine authority, for + Christ said to him: "Peter, feed my sheep" [John, xxi. 16]; and + again: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of + Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in + heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in + heaven" [Matt., xvi. 19]. And since we, although an unworthy + sinner, exercise his authority by divine will, the words which you + address to us are in reality addressed directly to him. And + although we read or hear only the words, he sees the heart from + which the words proceed. Therefore your highness should be very + careful that no insincerity be found in your words and messages to + us; and that you show due reverence, not to us, indeed, but to + omnipotent God, in those things which especially make for the + advance of the Christian faith and the well-being of the Church. + For our Lord said to the apostles and to their successors: "He that + heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me" + [Luke, x. 16]. For no one will disregard our admonitions if he + believes that the decrees of the Pope have the same authority as + the words of the apostle himself....[385] + + [Sidenote: Abuses in the Church to be corrected] + + Now in the synod held at the apostolic seat to which the divine + will has called us (at which some of your subjects also were + present) we, seeing that the Christian religion had been weakened + by many attacks and that the chief and proper motive, that of + saving souls, had for a long time been neglected and slighted, were + alarmed at the evident danger of the destruction of the flock of + the Lord, and had recourse to the decrees and the doctrine of the + holy fathers. We decreed nothing new, nothing of our invention; but + we decided that the error should be abandoned and the single + primitive rule of ecclesiastical discipline and the familiar way of + the saints should be again sought out and followed.[386] For we + know that no other door to salvation and eternal life lies open to + the sheep of Christ than that which was pointed out by Him who + said: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, + and find pasture" [John, x. 9]; and this, we learn from the gospels + and from the sacred writings, was preached by the apostles and + observed by the holy fathers. And we have decided that this + decree--which some, placing human above divine honor, have called + an unendurable weight and an immense burden, but which we call by + its proper name, that is, the truth and light necessary to + salvation--is to be received and observed not only by you and your + subjects, but also by all princes and peoples of the earth who + confess and worship Christ; for it is greatly desired by us, and + would be most fitting to you, that as you are greater than others + in glory, in honor, and in virtue, so you should be more + distinguished in devotion to Christ. + + [Sidenote: Gregory disposed to treat Henry fairly] + + Nevertheless, that this decree may not seem to you beyond measure + grievous and unjust, we have commanded you by your faithful + ambassadors to send to us the wisest and most pious men whom you + can find in your kingdom, so that if they can show or instruct us + in any way how we can temper the sentence promulgated by the holy + fathers without offense to the eternal King or danger to our souls, + we may consider their advice. But, even if we had not warned you in + so friendly a manner, it would have been only right on your part, + before you violated the apostolic decrees, to ask justice of us in + a reasonable manner in any matter in which we had injured or + affected your honor. But from what you have since done and decreed + it is evident how little you care for our warnings, or for the + observance of justice. + + [Sidenote: Henry's obligation to serve and obey the papacy] + + But since we hope that, while the long-suffering patience of God + still invites you to repent, you may become wiser and your heart + may be turned to obey the commands of God, we warn you with + fatherly love that, knowing the rule of Christ to be over you, you + should consider how dangerous it is to place your honor above His, + and that you should not interfere with the liberty of the Church + which He has deigned to join to Himself by heavenly union, but + rather with faithful devotion you should offer your assistance to + the increasing of this liberty to omnipotent God and St. Peter, + through whom also your glory may be enhanced. You ought to + recognize what you undoubtedly owe to them for giving you victory + over your enemies,[387] that as they have gladdened you with great + prosperity, so they should see that you are thereby rendered more + devout. And in order that the fear of God, in whose hands is all + power and all rule, may affect your heart more than these our + warnings, you should recall what happened to Saul, when, after + winning the victory which he gained by the will of the prophet, he + glorified himself in his triumph and did not obey the warnings of + the prophet, and how God reproved him; and, on the other hand, what + grace King David acquired by reason of his humility, as well as his + other virtues. + + +47. Henry IV.'s Reply to Gregory's Letter (January, 1076) + +In 1059, when Nicholas II. was pope and Hildebrand was yet only a +cardinal, a council assembled at the Lateran decreed that henceforth +the right of electing the sovereign pontiff should be vested +exclusively in the college of cardinals, or in other words, in seven +cardinal bishops in the vicinity of Rome and a certain number of +cardinal priests and deacons attached to the parishes of the city. The +people and clergy generally were deprived of participation in the +election, except so far as merely to give their consent. Hildebrand +seems to have been the real author of the decree. Nevertheless, in +1073, when he was elevated to the papal chair, the decree of 1059 was +in a measure ignored, for he was elected by popular vote and his +choice was only passively sanctioned by the cardinals. When, +therefore, the quarrel between him and Henry IV. came on, the latter +was not slow to make use of the weapon which Hildebrand's (or +Gregory's) uncanonical election placed in his hands. In replying, +January 24, 1076, to the papal letter of December, 1075, he bluntly +addresses himself to "Hildebrand, not pope, but false monk," and +writes a stinging epistle in the tone thus assumed in his salutation. +In his arraignment of Gregory the king doubtless went far beyond the +truth; but the fact remains that Gregory's dominating purposes in the +interest of the papal authority threatened to cut deeply into the +independence of all temporal sovereigns, and therefore rendered such +resistance as Henry offered quite inevitable. In the interim between +receiving the Pope's letter and dispatching his reply Henry had +convened at Worms a council of the German clergy, and this body had +decreed that Gregory, having wrongfully ascended the papal throne, +should be compelled forthwith to abdicate it. + + Source--Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_ (Muenchen, 1889), Vol. III., pp. 24-25. Translated in + Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source Book for + Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 151-152. + + Henry, king not by usurpation, but by the holy ordination of God, + to Hildebrand, not pope, but false monk. + + [Sidenote: Gregory declared to be only a demagogue] + + [Sidenote: The papal claim to temporal supremacy rejected] + + [Sidenote: Henry also cites Scripture] + + This is the salutation which you deserve, for you have never held + any office in the Church without making it a source of confusion + and a curse to Christian men, instead of an honor and a blessing. + To mention only the most obvious cases out of many, you have not + only dared to lay hands on the Lord's anointed, the archbishops, + bishops, and priests, but you have scorned them and abused them, as + if they were ignorant servants not fit to know what their master + was doing. This you have done to gain favor with the vulgar crowd. + You have declared that the bishops know nothing and that you know + everything; but if you have such great wisdom you have used it not + to build but to destroy. Therefore we believe that St. Gregory, + whose name you have presumed to take, had you in mind when he said: + "The heart of the prelate is puffed up by the abundance of + subjects, and he thinks himself more powerful than all others." All + this we have endured because of our respect for the papal office, + but you have mistaken our humility for fear, and have dared to make + an attack upon the royal and imperial authority which we received + from God. You have even threatened to take it away, as if we had + received it from you, and as if the Empire and kingdom were in your + disposal and not in the disposal of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has + called us to the government of the Empire, but He never called you + to the rule of the Church. This is the way you have gained + advancement in the Church: through craft you have obtained wealth; + through wealth you have obtained favor; through favor, the power of + the sword; and through the power of the sword, the papal seat, + which is the seat of peace; and then from the seat of peace you + have expelled peace. For you have incited subjects to rebel against + their prelates by teaching them to despise the bishops, their + rightful rulers. You have given to laymen the authority over + priests, whereby they condemn and depose those whom the bishops + have put over them to teach them. You have attacked me, who, + unworthy as I am, have yet been anointed to rule among the anointed + of God, and who, according to the teaching of the fathers, can be + judged by no one save God alone, and can be deposed for no crime + except infidelity. For the holy fathers in the time of the apostate + Julian[388] did not presume to pronounce sentence of deposition + against him, but left him to be judged and condemned by God. St. + Peter himself said, "Fear God, honor the king" [1 Pet., ii. 17]. + But you, who fear not God, have dishonored me, whom He hath + established. St. Paul, who said that even an angel from heaven + should be accursed who taught any other than the true doctrine, did + not make an exception in your favor, to permit you to teach false + doctrines. For he says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, + preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached + unto you, let him be accursed" [Gal., i. 8]. Come down, then, from + that apostolic seat which you have obtained by violence; for you + have been declared accursed by St. Paul for your false doctrines, + and have been condemned by us and our bishops for your evil rule. + Let another ascend the throne of St. Peter, one who will not use + religion as a cloak of violence, but will teach the life-giving + doctrine of that prince of the apostles. I, Henry, king by the + grace of God, with all my bishops, say unto you: "Come down, come + down, and be accursed through all the ages." + + +48. Henry IV. Deposed by Pope Gregory (1076) + +The foregoing letter of Henry IV. was received at Rome with a storm of +disapproval and the envoys who bore it barely escaped with their +lives. A council of French and Italian bishops was convened in the +Lateran (Feb. 24, 1076), and the king's haughty epistle, together with +the decree of the council at Worms deposing Gregory, were read and +allowed to have their effect. With the assent of the bishops, the Pope +pronounced the sentence of excommunication against Henry and formally +released all the latter's Christian subjects from their oath of +allegiance. Naturally the action of Gregory aroused intense interest +throughout Europe. In Germany it had the intended effect of detaching +many influential bishops and abbots from the imperial cause and +stirring the political enemies of the king to renewed activity. The +papal ban became a pretext for the renewal of the hostility on part of +his dissatisfied subjects which Henry had but just succeeded in +suppressing. + +In the first part of the papal decree Gregory seeks to defend himself +against the charges brought by Henry and the German clergy to the +effect that he had mounted the papal throne through personal ambition +and the employment of unbecoming means. It was indisputable that his +election had not been strictly in accord with the decree of 1059, but +it seems equally true that, as Gregory declares, he was placed at the +helm of the Church contrary to his personal desires. + + Source--Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_ (Muenchen, 1889), Vol. III., p. 26. Translated in + Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source Book for + Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 155-156. + + [Sidenote: Gregory denies that he ever sought the papal + office] + + [Sidenote: Henry deposed by papal decree] + + St. Peter, prince of the apostles, incline thine ear unto me, I + beseech thee, and hear me, thy servant, whom thou hast nourished + from mine infancy and hast delivered from mine enemies that hate me + for my fidelity to thee. Thou art my witness, as are also my + mistress, the mother of God, and St. Paul thy brother, and all the + other saints, that the Holy Roman Church called me to its + government against my own will, and that I did not gain thy throne + by violence; that I would rather have ended my days in exile than + have obtained thy place by fraud or for worldly ambition. It is not + by my efforts, but by thy grace, that I am set to rule over the + Christian world which was especially intrusted to thee by Christ. + It is by thy grace, and as thy representative that God has given to + me the power to bind and to loose in heaven and in earth. Confident + of my integrity and authority, I now declare in the name of the + omnipotent God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Henry, son + of the Emperor Henry,[389] is deprived of his kingdom of Germany + and Italy. I do this by thy authority and in defense of the honor + of thy Church, because he has rebelled against it. He who attempts + to destroy the honor of the Church should be deprived of such honor + as he may have held. He has refused to obey as a Christian should; + he has not returned to God from whom he had wandered; he has had + dealings with excommunicated persons; he has done many iniquities; + he has despised the warnings which, as thou art witness, I sent to + him for his salvation; he has cut himself off from thy Church, and + has attempted to rend it asunder; therefore, by thy authority, I + place him under the curse. It is in thy name that I curse him, that + all people may know that thou art Peter, and upon thy rock the Son + of the living God has built his Church, and the gates of Hell shall + not prevail against it. + + +49. The Penance of Henry IV. at Canossa (1077) + +In his contest with the Pope, Henry's chances of winning were from the +outset diminished by the readiness of his subjects to take advantage +of his misfortunes to recover political privileges they had lost under +his vigorous rule. In October, 1076, the leading German nobles, lay +and clerical, encouraged by the papal decree of the preceding +February, assembled at Tribur, near Mainz, and proceeded to formulate +a plan of action. Henry, with the few followers who remained faithful, +awaited the result at Oppenheim, just across the Rhine. The magnates +at last agreed that unless Henry could secure the removal of the papal +ban within a year he should be deposed from the throne. By the +Oppenheim Convention he was forced to promise to revoke his sentence +of deposition against Gregory and to offer him his allegiance. The +promise was executed in a royal edict of the same month. Seeing that +there remained no hope in further resistance, and hearing that Gregory +was about to present himself in Germany to compel a final adjustment +of the affair, Henry fled from Speyer, where he had been instructed by +the nobles to remain, and by a most arduous winter journey over the +Alps arrived at last at the castle of Canossa, in Tuscany,[390] where +the Pope, on his way to Germany, was being entertained by one of his +allies, the Countess Matilda. Gregory might indeed already have been +on the Rhine but that he had heard of the move Henry was making and +feared that he was proposing to stir up revolt in the papal dominions. +The king was submissive, apparently conquered; yet Gregory was loath +to end the conflict at this point. He had hoped to establish a +precedent by entering German territory and there disposing of the +crown according to his own will. But it was a cardinal rule of the +Church that a penitent sincerely seeking absolution could not be +denied, and in his request Henry was certainly importunate enough to +give every appearance of sincerity. Accordingly, the result of the +meeting of king [Emperor] and Pope at Canossa was that the ban of +excommunication was revoked by the latter, while the former took an +oath fully acknowledging the papal claims. + +Inasmuch as he had saved his crown and frustrated the design of +Gregory to cross the mountains into Germany, Henry may be said to have +won a temporary advantage; and this was followed within a few years, +when the struggle broke out again, by the practical expulsion of +Gregory from Rome and his death in broken-hearted exile (1085). +Nevertheless the moral effect of the Canossa episode, and of the +events which followed, in the long run operated decidedly against the +king's position and the whole imperial theory. The document below is a +letter of Gregory to the German magnates giving an account of the +submission of the king at Canossa, and including the text of the oath +which he there took. + + Source--Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_ (Muenchen, 1889), Vol. III., pp. 33-34. Adapted from + translation in Ernest F. Henderson, _Select Historical + Documents of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp. 385-388. + +Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the +archbishops, bishops, dukes, counts, and other princes of the realm of +the Germans who defend the Christian faith, greeting and apostolic +benediction. + +Inasmuch as for love of justice you assumed common cause and danger +with us in the struggle of Christian warfare, we have taken care to +inform you, beloved, with sincere affection, how the king, humbled to +penance, obtained the pardon of absolution and how the whole affair +has progressed from his entrance into Italy to the present time. + +[Sidenote: Gregory's advance into Tuscany] + +As had been agreed with the legates who had been sent to us on your +part,[391] we came into Lombardy about twenty days before the date on +which one of the commanders was to come over the pass to meet us, +awaiting his advent that we might cross over to the other side. But +when the period fixed upon had already passed, and we were told that +at this time on account of many difficulties--as we can readily +believe--an escort could not be sent to meet us, we were involved in +no little perplexity as to what would be best for us to do, having no +other means of coming to you. + +[Sidenote: Henry at Canossa] + +Meanwhile, however, we learned that the king was approaching. He also, +before entering Italy, sent to us suppliant legates, offering in all +things to render satisfaction to God, to St. Peter, and to us. And he +renewed his promise that, besides amending his way of living, he would +observe all obedience if only he might deserve to obtain from us the +favor of absolution and the apostolic benediction. When, after long +postponing a decision and holding frequent consultations, we, through +all the envoys who passed, had severely taken him to task for his +excesses, he came at length of his own accord, with a few followers, +showing nothing of hostility or boldness, to the town of Canossa where +we were tarrying. And there, having laid aside all the belongings of +royalty, wretchedly, with bare feet and clad in wool, he continued for +three days to stand before the gate of the castle. Nor did he desist +from imploring with many tears, the aid and consolation of the +apostolic mercy until he had moved all of those who were present +there, and whom the report of it reached, to such pity and depth of +compassion that, interceding for him with many prayers and tears, all +wondered indeed at the unaccustomed hardness of our heart, while some +actually cried out that we were exercising, not the dignity of +apostolic severity, but the cruelty, as it were, of a tyrannical +madness. + +Finally, won by the persistency of his suit and by the constant +supplications of all who were present, we loosed the chain of the +anathema[392] and at length received him into the favor of communion +and into the lap of the holy mother Church, those being accepted as +sponsors for him whose names are written below. + +[Sidenote: Gregory's purpose to visit Germany] + +Having thus accomplished these matters, we desire at the first +opportunity to cross over to your country in order that, by God's aid, +we may more fully arrange all things for the peace of the Church and +the concord of the kingdom, as has long been our wish. For we desire, +beloved, that you should know beyond a doubt that the whole question +at issue is as yet so little cleared up--as you can learn from the +sponsors mentioned--that both our coming and the concurrence of your +counsels are extremely necessary. Wherefore strive ye all to continue +in the faith in which you have begun and in the love of justice; and +know that we are not otherwise committed to the king save that, by +word alone, as is our custom, we have said that he might have hopes +from us in those matters in which, without danger to his soul or to +our own, we might be able to help him to his salvation and honor, +either through justice or through mercy. + +OATH OF KING HENRY + +I, King Henry, on account of the murmuring and enmity which the +archbishops and bishops, dukes, counts and other princes of the realm +of the Germans, and others who follow them in the same matter of +dissension, bring to bear against me, will, within the term which our +master Pope Gregory has constituted, either do justice according to +his judgment or conclude peace according to his counsels--unless an +absolute impediment should stand in his way or in mine. And on the +removal of this impediment I shall be ready to continue in the same +course. Likewise, if that same lord Pope Gregory shall wish to go +beyond the mountains [i.e., into Germany], or to any other part of the +world, he himself, as well as those who shall be in his escort or +following, or who are sent by him, or come to him from any parts of +the world whatever, shall be secure while going, remaining, or +returning, on my part, and on the part of those whom I can constrain, +from every injury to life or limb, or from capture. Nor shall he, by +my consent, meet any other hindrance that is contrary to his dignity; +and if any such be placed in his way I will aid him according to my +ability. So help me God and this holy gospel. + + +50. The Concordat of Worms (1122) + +The veteran Emperor Henry IV. died at Liege in 1106 and was succeeded +by his son, Henry V. The younger Henry had some months before been +prompted by Pope Paschal II. to rebel against his father and, +succeeding in this, had practically established himself on the throne +before his legitimate time. Pope Paschal expected the son to be more +submissive than the father had been and in 1106 issued a decree +renewing the prohibition of lay investiture. Outside of Germany this +evil had been brought almost to an end and, now that the vigorous +Henry IV. was out of the way, the Pope felt that the time had come to +make the reform complete throughout Christendom. But in this he was +mistaken, for Henry V. proved almost as able and fully as determined a +power to contend with as had been his father. In fact, the new monarch +could command a much stronger army, and he was in no wise loath to use +it. In 1110 he led a host of thirty thousand men across the Alps, +compelled the submission of the north Italian towns, and marched on +Rome. The outcome was a secret compact (February 4, 1111) by which the +king, on the one hand, was to abandon all claim to the right of +investiture and the Pope, on the other, was to see that the +ecclesiastical princes of the Empire (bishops and abbots holding large +tracts of land) should give up all the lands which they had received +by royal grant since the days of Charlemagne. The abandonment of +investiture looked like a surrender on the part of Henry, but in +reality all that he wanted was direct control over all the lands of +the Empire, and if the ecclesiastical princes were to be dispossessed +of these he cared little or nothing about having a part in the mere +religious ceremony. This settlement was rendered impossible, however, +by the attitude of the princes themselves, who naturally refused to be +thus deprived of their landed property and chief source of income. The +Pope was then forced to make a second compact surrendering the full +right of investiture to the imperial authority, and Henry also got the +coveted imperial coronation. But his triumph was short-lived. +Rebellions among the German nobles robbed him of his strength and +after years of wearisome bickerings and petty conflicts he again came +to the point where he was willing to compromise. Calixtus II., who +became pope in 1119, was similarly inclined. + +Accordingly, in a diet at Worms, in 1122, the whole problem was taken +up for settlement, and happily this time with success. The documents +translated below contain the concessions made mutually by the two +parties. Calixtus, in brief, grants that the elections of bishops and +abbots may take place in the presence of the Emperor, or of his +agents, and that the Emperor should have the right to invest them with +the scepter, i.e., with their dignity as princes of the Empire. Henry, +on his side, agrees to give up investiture with the ring and staff, +i.e., with spiritual functions, to allow free elections, and to aid in +the restoration of church property which had been confiscated during +the long struggle now drawing to a close. The settlement was in the +nature of a compromise; but on the whole the papacy came off the +better. In its largest aspects the great fifty-year struggle over the +question of investiture was ended, though minor features of it +remained to trouble all parties concerned for a long time to come. + + Sources--(a) Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Pertz ed.), Vol. II., pp. 75-76. + + (b) Text in Michael Doeberl, _Monumenta Germaniae Historica + Selecta_, Vol. III., p. 60. + + [Sidenote: The provision for elections] + + (a) + + I, Bishop Calixtus, servant of the servants of God, do grant to + thee, by the grace of God august Emperor of the Romans, the right + to hold the elections of the bishops and abbots of the German realm + who belong to the kingdom, in thy presence, without simony, and + without any resort to violence; it being agreed that, if any + dispute arise among those concerned, thou, by the counsel and + judgment of the metropolitan [i.e., the archbishop] and the + suffragan bishops, shalt extend favor and support to the party + which shall seem to you to have the better case. Moreover, the + person elected may receive from thee the _regalia_ through the + scepter, without any exaction being levied;[393] and he shall + discharge his rightful obligations to thee for them.[394] + + [Sidenote: Investiture with the scepter] + + He who is consecrated in other parts of the Empire[395] shall + receive the _regalia_ from thee through the scepter, within six + months, and without any exaction, and shall discharge his rightful + obligations to thee for them; those rights being excepted, however, + which are known to belong to the Roman Church. In whatever cases + thou shalt make complaint to me and ask my aid I will support thee + according as my office requires. To thee, and to all those who are + on thy side, or have been, in this period of strife, I grant a true + peace. + + [Sidenote: Investiture with ring and staff] + + (b) + + In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity, I, Henry, by the + grace of God august Emperor of the Romans, for the love of God and + of the holy Roman Church and of our lord Pope Calixtus, and for the + saving of my soul, do give over to God, and to the holy apostles of + God, Peter and Paul, and the holy Catholic Church, all investiture + through ring and staff; and do concede that in all the churches + that are in my kingdom or empire there shall be canonical election + and free consecration. + + [Sidenote: Restoration of confiscated property] + + All the property and _regalia_ of St. Peter which, from the + beginning of this conflict until the present time, whether in the + days of my father or in my own, have been confiscated, and which I + now hold, I restore to the holy Roman Church. And as for those + things which I do not now hold, I will faithfully aid in their + restoration. The property also of all other churches and princes + and of every one, whether lay or ecclesiastical, which has been + lost in the struggle, I will restore as far as I hold it, according + to the counsel of the princes, or according to considerations of + justice. I will also faithfully aid in the restoration of those + things which I do not hold. + + And I grant a true peace to our lord Pope Calixtus, and to the holy + Roman Church, and to all those who are, or have been, on its side. + In matters where the holy Roman Church shall seek assistance, I + will faithfully render it, and when it shall make complaint to me I + will see that justice is done. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[375] The incumbent of the papal office was at the same time bishop of +Rome, temporal sovereign of the papal lands, and head of the church +universal. In earlier times there was always danger that the third of +these functions be lost and that the papacy revert to a purely local +institution, but by Gregory VII.'s day the universal headship was +clearly recognized throughout the West as inherent in the office. It +was only when there arose the question as to how far this headship +justified the Pope in attempting to control the affairs of the world +that serious disagreement manifested itself. + +[376] That is, without giving them a hearing at a later date. + +[377] On the basis of the forged Donation of Constantine the Pope +claimed the right here mentioned. There was no proper warrant for it. + +[378] "This is the first distinct assertion of the exclusive right of +the bishop of Rome to the title of pope, once applied to all bishops." +Robinson, _Readings in European History_, Vol. I., p. 274. The word +pope is derived from _papa_ (father). It is still used as the common +title of all priests in the Greek Church. + +[379] This, with the letter given on page 265, sets forth succinctly +the papacy's absolute claim of authority as against the highest +temporal power in Europe. + +[380] That is, pronounced by the canons of the Church to be divinely +inspired. + +[381] This is, of course, not a claim of _papal_ infallibility. The +assertion is merely that in the domain of faith and morals the Roman +church, judged by Scriptural principles, has never pursued a course +either improper or unwarranted. + +[382] It did not occur until 1084. Henry had inherited the office at +the death of his father, Henry III., in 1056. + +[383] The sin of simony comprised the employment of any corrupt means +to obtain appointment or election to an ecclesiastical office. For the +origin of the term see the incident recorded in Acts, viii. 18-24. The +five councilors had been condemned by a synod at Rome in February, +1075. + +[384] The five condemned councillors. + +[385] This portion of the letter comprises a clear assertion of the +"Petrine Supremacy," i.e., the theory that Peter, as the first bishop +of Rome, transmitted his superiority over all other bishops to his +successors in the Roman see, who in due time came to constitute the +line of popes [see p. 78]. + +[386] This refers to a decree of a Roman synod in 1074 against simony +and the marriage of the clergy. + +[387] In the battle on the Unstrutt, June 8, 1075. + +[388] Julian succeeded Constantine's son Constantius as head of the +Roman Empire in 361. He was known as "the Apostate" because of his +efforts to displace the Christian religion and to restore the old +pagan worship. He died in battle with the Persians in 363. + +[389] Henry III., emperor from 1039 to 1056. + +[390] The castle of Canossa stood on one of the northern spurs of the +Apennines, about ten miles southwest of Reggio. Some remains of it may +yet be seen. + +[391] The German princes who were hostile to Henry had kept in close +touch with the Pope. In the Council of Tribur a legate of Gregory took +the most prominent part, and the members of that body had invited the +Pope to come to Augsburg and aid in the settling of Henry's crown upon +a successor. + +[392] Revoked the ban of excommunication. The anathema was a solemn +curse by an ecclesiastical authority. + +[393] That is, the Emperor was to be allowed to invest the new bishop +or abbot with the fiefs and secular powers by a touch of the scepter, +but his old claim to the right of investment with the spiritual +emblems of ring and crozier was denied. + +[394] This means that the ecclesiastical prince--the bishop or +abbot--in the capacity of a landholder was to render the ordinary +feudal obligations to the Emperor. + +[395] Burgundy and Italy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE CRUSADES + + +51. Speech of Pope Urban II. at the Council of Clermont (1095) + +Within a short time after the death of Mohammed (632) the whole +country of Syria, including Palestine, was overrun by the Arabs, and +the Holy City of Jerusalem passed out of Christian hands into the +control of the infidels. The Arabs, however, shared the veneration of +the Christians for the places associated with the life of Christ and +did not greatly interfere with the pilgrims who flocked thither from +all parts of the Christian world. In the tenth century the strong +emperors of the Macedonian dynasty at Constantinople succeeded in +winning back all of Syria except the extreme south, and the prospect +seemed fair for the permanent possession by a Christian power of all +those portions of the Holy Land which were regarded as having +associations peculiarly sacred. This prospect might have been realized +but for the invasions and conquests of the Seljuk Turks in the latter +part of the eleventh century. These Turks came from central Asia and +are to be carefully distinguished from the Ottoman Turks of more +modern times. They had recently been converted to Mohammedanism and +were now the fiercest and most formidable champions of that faith in +its conflict with the Christian East. In 1071 Emperor Romanus Diogenes +was defeated at Manzikert, in Armenia, and taken prisoner by the +sultan Alp Arslan, and as a result not only Asia Minor, but also +Syria, was forever lost to the Empire. The Holy City of Jerusalem was +definitely occupied in 1076. The invaders established a stronghold at +Nicaea, less than a hundred miles across the Sea of Marmora from +Constantinople, and even threatened the capital itself, although they +did not finally succeed in taking it until 1453. + +No sooner were the Turks in possession of Jerusalem and the approaches +thither, than pilgrims returning to western Europe began to tell +tales, not infrequently as true as they were terrifying, regarding +insults and tortures suffered at the hand of the pitiless conquerors. +The Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118) put forth every effort to +expel the intruders from Asia Minor, hoping to be able to regain the +territories, including Syria, which they had stripped from the Empire; +but his strength proved unequal to the task. Accordingly, in 1095, he +sent an appeal to Pope Urban II. to enlist the Christian world in a +united effort to save both the Empire and the Eastern Church. It used +to be thought that Pope Sylvester II., about the year 1000, had +suggested a crusade against the Mohammedans of the East, but it now +appears that the first pope to advance such an idea was Gregory VII. +(1073-1085), who in response to an appeal of Alexius's predecessor in +1074, had actually assembled an army of 50,000 men for the aid of the +Emperor and had been prevented from carrying out the project only by +the severity of the investiture controversy with Henry IV. of Germany. +At any rate, it was not a difficult task for the ambassadors of +Alexius to convince Pope Urban that he ought to execute the plan of +Gregory. The plea for aid was made at the Council of Piacenza in +March, 1095, and during the next few months Urban thought out the best +method of procedure. + +At the Council of Clermont, held in November, 1095, the crusade was +formally proclaimed through the famous speech which the Pope himself +delivered after the regular business of the assembly had been +transacted. Urban was a Frenchman and he knew how to appeal to the +emotions and sympathies of his hearers. For the purpose of stirring up +interest in the enterprise he dropped the Latin in which the work of +the Council had been transacted and broke forth in his native tongue, +much to the delight of his countrymen. There are four early versions +of the speech, differing widely in contents, and none, of course, +reproducing the exact words used by the speaker. The version given by +Robert the Monk, a resident of Rheims, in the opening chapter of his +history of the first crusade seems in most respects superior to the +others. It was written nearly a quarter of a century after the Council +of Clermont, but the writer in all probability had at least heard the +speech which he was trying to reproduce; in any event we may take his +version of it as a very satisfactory representation of the aspirations +and spirit which impelled the first crusaders to their great +enterprise. It has been well said that "many orations have been +delivered with as much eloquence, and in as fiery words as the Pope +used, but no other oration has ever been able to boast of as wonderful +results." + + Source--Robertus Monachus, _Historia Iherosolimitana_ [Robert + the Monk, "History of the Crusade to Jerusalem"], Bk. I., + Chap. 1. Reprinted in _Recueildes Historiens des Croisades: + Historiens Occidentaux_ (Paris, 1866), Vol. III., pp. 727-728. + Adapted from translation by Dana C. Munro in _Univ. of Pa. + Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I., No. 2, pp. 5-8. + + [Sidenote: The Council of Clermont] + + In the year of our Lord's Incarnation one thousand and ninety-five, + a great council was convened within the bounds of Gaul, in + Auvergne, in the city which is called Clermont. Over this Pope + Urban II. presided, with the Roman bishops and cardinals. This + council was a famous one on account of the concourse of both French + and German bishops, and of princes as well. Having arranged the + matters relating to the Church, the lord Pope went forth into a + certain spacious plain, for no building was large enough to hold + all the people. The Pope then, with sweet and persuasive eloquence, + addressed those present in words something like the following, + saying: + + [Sidenote: Pope Urban appeals to the French] + + "Oh, race of Franks, race beyond the mountains [the Alps], race + beloved and chosen by God (as is clear from many of your works), + set apart from all other nations by the situation of your country, + as well as by your Catholic faith and the honor you render to the + holy Church: to you our discourse is addressed, and for you our + exhortations are intended. We wish you to know what a serious + matter has led us to your country, for it is the imminent peril + threatening you and all the faithful that has brought us hither. + + [Sidenote: The ravages of the Turks] + + "From the confines of Jerusalem and from the city of Constantinople + a grievous report has gone forth and has been brought repeatedly to + our ears; namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an + accursed race, a race wholly alienated from God, 'a generation that + set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with + God' [Ps., lxxviii. 8], has violently invaded the lands of those + Christians and has depopulated them by pillage and fire. They have + led away a part of the captives into their own country, and a part + they have killed by cruel tortures. They have either destroyed the + churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of their own + religion. They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with + their uncleanness.... The kingdom of the Greeks [the Eastern + Empire] is now dismembered by them and has been deprived of + territory so vast in extent that it could not be traversed in two + months' time. + + [Sidenote: Urban recalls the zeal and valor of the earlier Franks] + + "On whom, therefore, rests the labor of avenging these wrongs and + of recovering this territory, if not upon you--you, upon whom, + above all other nations, God has conferred remarkable glory in + arms, great courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the + heads of those who resist you? Let the deeds of your ancestors + encourage you and incite your minds to manly achievements--the + glory and greatness of King Charlemagne, and of his son Louis [the + Pious], and of your other monarchs, who have destroyed the kingdoms + of the Turks[396] and have extended the sway of the holy Church + over lands previously pagan. Let the holy sepulcher of our Lord and + Saviour, which is possessed by the unclean nations, especially + arouse you, and the holy places which are now treated with ignominy + and irreverently polluted with the filth of the unclean. Oh most + valiant soldiers and descendants of invincible ancestors, do not + degenerate, but recall the valor of your ancestors. + + [Sidenote: The crusade as a desirable remedy for over population] + + "But if you are hindered by love of children, parents, or wife, + remember what the Lord says in the Gospel, 'He that loveth father + or mother more than me is not worthy of me' [Matt., x. 37]. 'Every + one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, + or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, + shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life' + [Matt., xix. 29]. Let none of your possessions restrain you, nor + anxiety for your family affairs. For this land which you inhabit, + shut in on all sides by the seas and surrounded by the mountain + peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound + in wealth; and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its + cultivators. Hence it is that you murder and devour one another, + that you wage war, and that very many among you perish in civil + strife.[397] + + [Sidenote: Syria, a rich country] + + "Let hatred, therefore, depart from among you; let your quarrels + end; let wars cease; and let all dissensions and controversies + slumber. Enter upon the road of the Holy Sepulcher; wrest that land + from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. That land + which, as the Scripture says, 'floweth with milk and honey' [Num., + xiii. 27] was given by God into the power of the children of + Israel. Jerusalem is the center of the earth; the land is fruitful + above all others, like another paradise of delights. This spot the + Redeemer of mankind has made illustrious by His advent, has + beautified by His sojourn, has consecrated by His passion, has + redeemed by His death, has glorified by His burial. + + "This royal city, however, situated at the center of the earth, is + now held captive by the enemies of Christ and is subjected, by + those who do not know God, to the worship of the heathen. She + seeks, therefore, and desires to be liberated, and ceases not to + implore you to come to her aid. From you especially she asks + succor, because, as we have already said, God has conferred upon + you, above all other nations, great glory in arms. Accordingly, + undertake this journey eagerly for the remission of your sins, with + the assurance of the reward of imperishable glory in the kingdom of + heaven." + + [Sidenote: Response to the appeal] + + When Pope Urban had skilfully said these and very many similar + things, he so centered in one purpose the desires of all who were + present that all cried out, "It is the will of God! It is the will + of God!" When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, with eyes + uplifted to heaven, he gave thanks to God and, commanding silence + with his hand, said: + + [Sidenote: "Deus vult," the war cry] + + "Most beloved brethren, to-day is manifest in you what the Lord + says in the Gospel, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my + name, there am I in the midst of them' [Matt., xviii. 20]. For + unless God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not + have uttered the same cry; since, although the cry issued from + numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say + to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it + forth from you. Let that, then, be your war cry in battle, because + it is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the + enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: 'It + is the will of God! It is the will of God!' + + [Sidenote: Who should go and who should remain] + + "And we neither command nor advise that the old or feeble, or those + incapable of bearing arms, undertake this journey. Nor ought women + to set out at all without their husbands, or brothers, or legal + guardians. For such are more of a hindrance than aid, more of a + burden than an advantage. Let the rich aid the needy; and according + to their wealth let them take with them experienced soldiers. The + priests and other clerks [clergy], whether secular or regular, are + not to go without the consent of their bishop; for this journey + would profit them nothing if they went without permission. Also, it + is not fitting that laymen should enter upon the pilgrimage without + the blessing of their priests. + + "Whoever, therefore, shall decide upon this holy pilgrimage, and + shall make his vow to God to that effect, and shall offer himself + to Him for sacrifice, as a living victim, holy and acceptable to + God, shall wear the sign of the cross of the Lord on his forehead + or on his breast. When he shall return from his journey, having + fulfilled his vow, let him place the cross on his back between his + shoulders. Thus shall ye, indeed, by this twofold action, fulfill + the precept of the Lord, as He commands in the Gospel, 'He that + taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me'" + [Luke, xiv. 27]. + + +52. The Starting of the Crusaders (1096) + +The appeals of Pope Urban at Clermont and elsewhere met with ready +response, especially among the French, but also to a considerable +extent among Italians, Germans, and even English. A great variety of +people were attracted by the enterprise, and from an equal variety of +motives. Men whose lives had been evil saw in the crusade an +opportunity of doing penance; criminals who perhaps cared little for +penance but much for their own personal safety saw in it an avenue of +escape from justice; merchants discovered in it a chance to open up +new and valuable trade; knights hailed it as an invitation to deeds of +valor and glory surpassing any Europe had yet known; ordinary +malcontents regarded it as a chance to mend their fortunes; and a very +large number of people looked upon it as a great spiritual obligation +laid upon them and necessary to be performed in order to insure +salvation in the world to come. By reason of all these incentives, +some of them weighing much more in the mediaeval mind than we can +understand to-day, the crusade brought together men, women, and +children from every part of Christendom. Both of the accounts given +below of the assembling and starting of the crusaders are doubtless +more or less exaggerated at certain points, yet in substance they +represent what must have been pretty nearly the actual facts. + +William of Malmesbury was an English monk who lived in the first half +of the twelfth century and wrote a very valuable _Chronicle of the +Kings of England_, which reached the opening of the reign of Stephen +(1135). He thus had abundant opportunity to learn of the first +crusade from people who had actually participated in it. His rather +humorous picture of the effects of Pope Urban's call is thus well +worth reading. Better than it, however, is the account by the priest +Fulcher of Chartres (1058-1124)--better because the writer himself +took part in the crusade and so was a personal observer of most of the +things he undertook to describe. Fulcher, in 1096, set out upon the +crusade in the company of his lord, Etienne, count of Blois and +Chartres, who was a man of importance in the army of Robert of +Normandy. With the rest of Robert's crusaders he spent the winter in +Italy and arrived at Durazzo in the spring of 1097. He had a part in +the siege of Nicaea and in the battle of Dorylaeum, but not in the siege +of Antioch. Before reaching Jerusalem, in 1099, he became chaplain to +a brother of Godfrey of Bouillon and was already making progress on +his "history of the army of God." + + Sources--(a) Guilielmus Monachi Malmesburiensis, _De gestis + regum Anglorum_ [William of Malmesbury, "Chronicle of the + Kings of England"], Bk. IV., Chap. 2. Adapted from translation + by John Sharpe (London, 1815), p. 416. + + (b) Fulcherius Carnotensis, _Historia Iherosolimitana: gesta + Francorum Iherusalem peregrinantium_ [Fulcher of Chartres, + "History of the Crusade to Jerusalem: the Deeds of the French + Journeying Thither"], Chap. 6. Text in _Recueil des Historiens + des Croisades: Historiens Occidentaux_ (Paris, 1866), Vol. + III., p. 328. + + [Sidenote: Universal interest in the crusade] + + (a) + + Immediately the fame of this great event,[398] being spread through + the universe, penetrated the minds of Christians with its mild + breath, and wherever it blew there was no nation, however distant + and obscure, that did not send some of its people. This zeal + animated not only the provinces bordering on the Mediterranean, but + all who had ever even heard of the name Christian in the most + remote isles, and among barbarous nations. Then the Welshman + abandoned his forests and neglected his hunting; the Scotchman + deserted the fleas with which he is so familiar; the Dane ceased to + swallow his intoxicating draughts; and the Norwegian turned his + back upon his raw fish. The fields were left by the cultivators, + and the houses by their inhabitants; all the cities were deserted. + People were restrained neither by the ties of blood nor the love of + country; they saw nothing but God. All that was in the granaries, + or was destined for food, was left under the guardianship of the + greedy agriculturist. The journey to Jerusalem was the only thing + hoped for or thought of. Joy animated the hearts of all who set + out; grief dwelt in the hearts of all who remained. Why do I say + "of those who remained"? You might have seen the husband setting + forth with his wife, with all his family; you would have laughed to + see all the _penates_[399] put in motion and loaded upon wagons. + The road was too narrow for the passengers, and more room was + wanted for the travelers, so great and numerous was the crowd.[400] + + [Sidenote: The multitude of crusaders] + + (b) + + Such, then, was the immense assemblage which set out from the West. + Gradually along the march, and from day to day, the army grew by + the addition of other armies, coming from every direction and + composed of innumerable people. Thus one saw an infinite multitude, + speaking different languages and coming from divers countries. All + did not, however, come together into a single army until we had + reached the city of Nicaea.[401] What shall I add? The isles of the + sea and the kingdoms of the whole earth were moved by God, so that + one might believe fulfilled the prophecy of David, who said in his + Psalm: "All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship + before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy name;" and so that those + who reached the holy places afterwards said justly: "We will + worship where His feet have stood." Concerning this journey we + read very many other predictions in the prophets, which it would be + tedious to recall. + + [Sidenote: Mingled sorrow and joy of the crusaders] + + Oh, how great was the grief, how deep the sighs, what weeping, what + lamentations among the friends, when the husband left the wife so + dear to him, his children also, and all his possessions of any + kind, father, mother, brethren, or kindred! And yet in spite of the + floods of tears which those who remained shed for their friends + about to depart, and in their very presence, the latter did not + suffer their courage to fail, and, out of love for the Lord, in no + way hesitated to leave all that they held most precious, believing + without doubt that they would gain an hundred-fold in receiving the + recompense which God has promised to those who love Him. + + Then the husband confided to his wife the time of his return and + assured her that, if he lived, by God's grace he would return to + her. He commended her to the Lord, gave her a kiss, and, weeping, + promised to return. But the latter, who feared that she would never + see him again, overcome with grief, was unable to stand, fell as if + lifeless to the ground, and wept over her dear one whom she was + losing in life, as if he were already dead. He, then, as if he had + no pity (nevertheless he was filled with pity) and was not moved by + the grief of his friends (and yet he was secretly moved), departed + with a firm purpose. The sadness was for those who remained, and + the joy for those who departed. What more can we say? "This is the + Lord's doings, and it is marvelous in our eyes." + + +53. A Letter from a Crusader to his Wife + +One of the most important groups of sources on the crusades is the +large body of letters which has come down to us, written by men who +had an actual part in the various expeditions. These letters, +addressed to parents, wives, children, vassals, or friends, are +valuable alike for the facts which they contain and for the revelation +they give of the spirit and motives of the crusaders. A considerable +collection of the letters, in English translation, may be found in +Roger de Hoveden's _Annals of English History_, Roger of Wendover's +_Flowers of History_, and Matthew Paris's _English History_ (all in +the Bohn Library); also in Michaud's _History of the Crusades_, Vol. +III., Appendix. In many respects the letter given below, written at +Antioch by Count Stephen of Blois to his wife Adele, under date of +March 29, 1098, is unexcelled in all the records of mediaeval +letter-writing. Count Stephen (a brother-in-law of Robert of Normandy, +who was a son of William the Conqueror) was one of the wealthiest and +most popular French noblemen who responded to Pope Urban's summons at +Clermont. At least three of his letters to his wife survive, of which +the one here given is the third in order of time. It discloses the +ordinary human sentiments of the crusader and makes us feel that, +unlike the modern man as he was, he yet had very much in common with +the people of to-day and of all ages. He was at the same time a bold +fighter and a tender husband, a religious enthusiast and a practical +man of affairs. When the letter was written, the siege of Antioch had +been in progress somewhat more than five months; it continued until +the following June, when it ended in the capture of the city by the +crusaders. Count Stephen was slain in the battle of Ramleh in 1102. + + Source--D'Achery, _Spicilegium_ ["Gleanings"], 2d edition, + Vol. III., pp. 430-433. Adapted from translation by Dana C. + Munro in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I., + No. 4, pp. 5-8. + + Count Stephen to Adele, his sweetest and most amiable wife, to his + dear children, and to all his vassals of all ranks,--his greeting + and blessing. + + [Sidenote: Count Stephen reports prosperity] + + You may be very sure, dearest, that the messenger whom I sent to + give you pleasure left me before Antioch safe and unharmed and, + through God's grace, in the greatest prosperity. And already at + that time, together with all the chosen army of Christ, endowed + with great valor by Him, we have been continually advancing for + twenty-three weeks toward the home of our Lord Jesus. You may know + for certain, my beloved, that of gold, silver, and many other kind + of riches I now have twice as much as your love had assigned to me + when I left you. For all our princes, with the common consent of + the whole army, though against my own wishes, have made me up to + the present time the leader, chief, and director of their whole + expedition. + + [Sidenote: Early achievements of the crusaders] + + Doubtless you have heard that after the capture of the city of + Nicaea we fought a great battle with the treacherous Turks and, by + God's aid, conquered them.[402] Next we conquered for the Lord all + Romania, and afterwards Cappadocia.[403] We had learned that there + was a certain Turkish prince, Assam, dwelling in Cappadocia; so we + directed our course thither. We conquered all his castles by force + and compelled him to flee to a certain very strong castle situated + on a high rock. We also gave the land of that Assam to one of our + chiefs, and in order that he might conquer the prince we left there + with him many soldiers of Christ. Thence, continually following the + wicked Turks, we drove them through the midst of Armenia,[404] as + far as the great river Euphrates. Having left all their baggage and + beasts of burden on the bank, they fled across the river into + Arabia. + + [Sidenote: The arrival at Antioch (1097)] + + The bolder of the Turkish soldiers, indeed, entering Syria, + hastened by forced marches night and day, in order to be able to + enter the royal city of Antioch before our approach.[405] Hearing + of this, the whole army of God gave due praise and thanks to the + all-powerful Lord. Hastening with great joy to this chief city of + Antioch, we besieged it and there had a great number of conflicts + with the Turks; and seven times we fought with the citizens of the + city and with the innumerable troops all the time coming to their + aid. The latter we rushed out to meet and fought with the fiercest + courage under the leadership of Christ. And in all these seven + battles, by the aid of the Lord God, we conquered and most + assuredly killed an innumerable host of them. In those battles, + indeed, and in very many attacks made upon the city, many of our + brethren and followers were killed and their souls were borne to + the joys of paradise. + + [Sidenote: The beginning of the siege] + + We found the city of Antioch very extensive, fortified with the + greatest strength and almost impossible to be taken. In addition, + more than 5,000 bold Turkish soldiers had entered the city, not + counting the Saracens, Publicans, Arabs, Turcopolitans, Syrians, + Armenians, and other different races of whom an infinite multitude + had gathered together there. In fighting against these enemies of + God and of us we have, by God's grace, endured many sufferings and + innumerable hardships up to the present time. Many also have + already exhausted all their means in this most holy enterprise. + Very many of our Franks, indeed, would have met a bodily death from + starvation, if the mercy of God and our money had not come to their + rescue. Lying before the city of Antioch, indeed, throughout the + whole winter we suffered for our Lord Christ from excessive cold + and enormous torrents of rain. What some say about the + impossibility of bearing the heat of the sun in Syria is untrue, + for the winter there is very similar to our winter in the West. + + [Sidenote: The Christians defeated near the seashore] + + I delight to tell you, dearest, what happened to us during Lent. + Our princes had caused a fortress to be built before a certain gate + which was between our camp and the sea. For the Turks, coming out + of this gate daily, killed some of our men on their way to the sea. + The city of Antioch is about five leagues distant from the sea. For + this purpose they sent the excellent Bohemond and Raymond, count of + St. Gilles,[406] to the sea with only sixty horsemen, in order + that they might bring mariners to aid in this work. When, however, + they were returning to us with these mariners, the Turks collected + an army, fell suddenly upon our two leaders, and forced them to a + perilous flight. In that unexpected fight we lost more than 500 of + our foot-soldiers--to the glory of God. Of our horsemen, however, + we lost only two, for certain. + + On that same day, in order to receive our brethren with joy, and + entirely ignorant of their misfortunes, we went out to meet them. + When, however, we approached the above-mentioned gate of the city, + a mob of foot-soldiers and horsemen from Antioch, elated by the + victory which they had won, rushed upon us in the same manner. + Seeing these, our leaders went to the camp of the Christians to + order all to be ready to follow us into battle. In the meantime our + men gathered together and the scattered leaders, namely, Bohemond + and Raymond, with the remainder of their army came up and told of + the great misfortune which they had suffered. + + [Sidenote: A notable victory over the Turks] + + Our men, full of fury at these most evil tidings, prepared to die + for Christ and, deeply grieved for their brethren, rushed upon the + wicked Turks. They, enemies of God and of us, hastily fled before + us and attempted to enter the city. But by God's grace the affair + turned out very differently; for, when they tried to cross a bridge + built over the great river Moscholum,[407] we followed them as + closely as possible, killed many before they reached the bridge, + forced many into the river, all of whom were killed, and we also + slew many upon the bridge and very many at the narrow entrance to + the gate. I am telling you the truth, my beloved, and you may be + assured that in this battle we killed thirty emirs, that is, + princes, and three hundred other Turkish nobles, not counting the + remaining Turks and pagans. Indeed the number of Turks and + Saracens killed is reckoned at 1230, but of ours we did not lose a + single man. + + On the following day (Easter), while my chaplain Alexander was + writing this letter in great haste, a party of our men lying in + wait for the Turks fought a successful battle with them and killed + sixty horsemen, whose heads they brought to the army. + + These which I write to you are only a few things, dearest, of the + many which we have done; and because I am not able to tell you, + dearest, what is in my mind, I charge you to do right, to watch + carefully over your land, and to do your duty as you ought to your + children and your vassals. You will certainly see me just as soon + as I can possibly return to you. Farewell. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[396] The term Turks is here used loosely and inaccurately for Asiatic +pagan invaders in general. The French had never destroyed any +"kingdoms of the Turks" in the proper sense of the word, though from +time to time they had made successful resistance to Saracens, Avars +and Hungarians. + +[397] Among the acts of the Council of Clermont had been a solemn +confirmation of the Truce of God, with the purpose of restraining +feudal warfare [see p. 228]. In the version of Urban's speech given by +Fulcher of Chartres, the Pope is reported as saying that in some parts +of France "hardly any one can venture to travel upon the highways, by +night or day, without danger of attack by thieves or robbers; and no +one is sure that his property at home or abroad will not be taken from +him by the violence or craft of the wicked." + +[398] Pope Urban's appeal at the Council of Clermont. + +[399] The _penates_ of the Romans were household gods. William of +Malmesbury here uses the term half-humorously to designate the various +sorts of household articles which the crusaders thought they could not +do without on the expedition, and hence undertook to carry with them. + +[400] This was in the summer of 1097. The whole body of crusaders, +including monks, women, children, and hangers-on, may then have +numbered three or four hundred thousand, but the effective fighting +force was not likely over one hundred thousand men. + +[401] The crusaders reached Nicaea May 6, 1097. After a long siege the +city surrendered, although to the Emperor Alexius rather than to the +French. + +[402] This battle--the first pitched contest between the crusader and +the Turk--was fought at Dorylaeum, southeast of Nicaea. + +[403] Romania (or the sultanate of Roum) and Cappadocia were regions +in northern Asia Minor. + +[404] The country immediately southeast of the Black Sea. + +[405] Antioch was one of the largest and most important cities of the +East. It had been girdled with enormous walls by Justinian and was a +strategic position of the greatest value to any power which would +possess Syria and Palestine. The siege of the city by the crusaders +began October 21, 1097. + +[406] Bohemond of Tarentum was the son of Robert Guiscard and the +leader of the Norman contingent from Italy. Raymond of St. Gilles, +count of Toulouse, was leader of the men from Languedoc in south +France. + +[407] The modern Orontes. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE GREAT CHARTER + + +54. The Winning of the Charter + +The reign of King John (1199-1216) was an era of humiliation, though +in the end one of triumph, for all classes of the English people. The +king himself was perhaps the most unworthy sovereign who has ever +occupied the English throne and one after another of his deeds and +policies brought deep shame to every patriotic Englishman. His +surrender to the papacy (1213) and his loss of the English possessions +on the continent (1214) were only two of the most conspicuous results +of his weakness and mismanagement. Indeed it was not these that +touched the English people most closely, for after all it was rather +their pride than their real interests that suffered by the king's +homage to Innocent III. and his bitter defeat at Bouvines. Worse than +these things were the heavy taxes and the illegal extortions of money, +in which John went far beyond even his unscrupulous brother and +predecessor, Richard. The king's expenses were very heavy, the more so +by reason of his French wars, and to meet them he devised all manner +of schemes for wringing money from his unwilling subjects. Land taxes +were increased, scutage (payments in lieu of military service) was +nearly doubled, levies of a thirteenth, a seventh, and other large +fractions of the movable property of the realm were made, excessive +fines were imposed, old feudal rights were revived and exercised in an +arbitrary fashion, and property was confiscated on the shallowest of +pretenses. Even the Church was by no means immune from the king's +rapacity. The result of these high-handed measures was that all +classes of the people--barons, clergy, and commons--were driven into +an attitude of open protest. The leadership against the king fell +naturally to the barons and it was directly in consequence of their +action that John was brought, in 1215, to grant the Great Charter and +to pledge himself to govern thereafter according to the ancient and +just laws of the kingdom. + +The account of the winning of the Charter given below comes from the +hand of Roger of Wendover, a monk of St. Albans, a monastery in +Hertfordshire which was famous in the thirteenth century for its group +of historians and annalists. It begins with the meeting of the barons +at St. Edmunds in Suffolk late in November, 1214, and tells the story +to the granting of the Charter at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. On this +subject, as well as on the entire period of English history from 1189 +to 1235, Roger of Wendover is our principal contemporary authority. + + Source--Rogerus de Wendover, _Chronica Majora, sive Liber qui + dicitur Flores Historiarum_ [Roger of Wendover, "Greater + Chronicle, or the Book which is called the Flowers of + History"]. Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1849), Vol. II., + pp. 303-324 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: A conference held by the barons against King John] + + About this time the earls and barons of England assembled at St. + Edmunds, as if for religious duties, although it was for another + reason;[408] for after they had discoursed together secretly for a + time, there was placed before them the charter of King Henry the + First, which they had received, as mentioned before, in the city of + London from Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury.[409] This charter + contained certain liberties and laws granted to the holy Church as + well as to the nobles of the kingdom, besides some liberties which + the king added of his own accord. All therefore assembled in the + church of St. Edmund, the king and martyr, and, commencing with + those of the highest rank, they all swore on the great altar that, + if the king refused to grant these liberties and laws, they + themselves would withdraw from their allegiance to him, and make + war on him until he should, by a charter under his own seal, + confirm to them everything that they required; and finally it was + unanimously agreed that, after Christmas, they should all go + together to the king and demand the confirmation of the aforesaid + liberties to them, and that they should in the meantime provide + themselves with horses and arms, so that if the king should + endeavor to depart from his oath they might, by taking his castles, + compel him to satisfy their demands; and having arranged this, each + man returned home.... + + [Sidenote: They demand a confirmation of the old liberties] + + [Sidenote: A truce arranged] + + In the year of our Lord 1215, which was the seventeenth year of the + reign of King John, he held his court at Winchester at Christmas + for one day, after which he hurried to London, and took up his + abode at the New Temple;[410] and at that place the above-mentioned + nobles came to him in gay military array, and demanded the + confirmation of the liberties and laws of King Edward, with other + liberties granted to them and to the kingdom and church of England, + as were contained in the charter, and above-mentioned laws of Henry + the First. They also asserted that, at the time of his absolution + at Winchester,[411] he had promised to restore those laws and + ancient liberties, and was bound by his own oath to observe them. + The king, hearing the bold tone of the barons in making this + demand, much feared an attack from them, as he saw that they were + prepared for battle. He, however, made answer that their demands + were a matter of importance and difficulty, and he therefore asked + a truce until the end of Easter, that, after due deliberation, he + might be able to satisfy them as well as the dignity of his crown. + After much discussion on both sides, the king at length, although + unwillingly, procured the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of + Ely, and William Marshal, as his sureties that on the day agreed + upon he would, in all reason, satisfy them all; on which the nobles + returned to their homes. The king, however, wishing to take + precautions against the future, caused all the nobles throughout + England to swear fealty to him alone against all men, and to renew + their homage to him; and, the better to take care of himself, on + the day of St. Mary's purification, he assumed the cross of our + Lord, being induced to this more by fear than devotion....[412] + + [Sidenote: The truce at an end] + + [Sidenote: The preliminary demands of the barons] + + In Easter week of this same year, the above-mentioned nobles + assembled at Stamford,[413] with horses and arms. They had now + induced almost all the nobility of the whole kingdom to join them, + and constituted a very large army; for in their army there were + computed to be two thousand knights, besides horse-soldiers, + attendants, and foot-soldiers, who were variously equipped.... The + king at this time was awaiting the arrival of his nobles at + Oxford.[414] On the Monday next after the octave of Easter,[415] + the said barons assembled in the town of Brackley.[416] And when + the king learned this, he sent the archbishop of Canterbury and + William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, with some other prudent men, to + them to inquire what the laws and liberties were which they + demanded. The barons then delivered to the messengers a paper, + containing in great measure the laws and ancient customs of the + kingdom, and declared that, unless the king immediately granted + them and confirmed them under his own seal, they, by taking + possession of his fortresses, would force him to give them + sufficient satisfaction as to their before-named demands. The + archbishop, with his fellow messengers, then carried the paper to + the king, and read to him the heads of the paper one by one + throughout. The king, when he heard the purport of these heads, + said derisively, with the greatest indignation, "Why, amongst these + unjust demands, did not the barons ask for my kingdom also? Their + demands are vain and visionary, and are unsupported by any plea of + reason whatever." And at length he angrily declared with an oath + that he would never grant them such liberties as would render him + their slave. The principal of these laws and liberties which the + nobles required to be confirmed to them are partly described above + in the charter of King Henry,[417] and partly are extracted from + the old laws of King Edward,[418] as the following history will + show in due time. + + [Sidenote: The castle of Northampton besieged by the barons] + + As the archbishop and William Marshal could not by any persuasion + induce the king to agree to their demands, they returned by the + king's order to the barons, and duly reported to them all that they + had heard from the king. And when the nobles heard what John said, + they appointed Robert Fitz-Walter commander of their soldiers, + giving him the title of "Marshal of the Army of God and the Holy + Church," and then, one and all flying to arms, they directed their + forces toward Northampton.[419] On their arrival there they at once + laid siege to the castle, but after having stayed there for fifteen + days, and having gained little or no advantage, they determined to + move their camp. Having come without _petrariae_[420] and other + engines of war, they, without accomplishing their purpose, + proceeded in confusion to the castle of Bedford....[421] + + [Sidenote: The city of London given over to the barons] + + When the army of the barons arrived at Bedford, they were received + with all respect by William de Beauchamp.[422] Messengers from the + city of London also came to them there, secretly telling them, if + they wished to get into that city, to come there immediately. The + barons, encouraged by the arrival of this agreeable message, + immediately moved their camp and arrived at Ware. After this they + marched the whole night and arrived early in the morning at the + city of London, and, finding the gates open, on the 24th of May + (which was the Sunday next before our Lord's ascension) they + entered the city without any tumult while the inhabitants were + performing divine service; for the rich citizens were favorable to + the barons, and the poor ones were afraid to murmur against them. + The barons, having thus got into the city, placed their own guards + in charge of each of the gates, and then arranged all matters in + the city at will.[423] They then took security from the citizens, + and sent letters through England to those earls, barons, and + knights who appeared to be still faithful to the king (though they + only pretended to be so) and advised them with threats, as they had + regard for the safety of all their property and possessions, to + abandon a king who was perjured and who made war against his + barons, and together with them to stand firm and fight against the + king for their rights and for peace; and that, if they refused to + do this, they, the barons, would make war against them all, as + against open enemies, and would destroy their castles, burn their + houses and other buildings, and pillage their warrens, parks, and + orchards.... The greatest part of these, on receiving the message + of the barons, set out to London and joined them, abandoning the + king entirely.... + + [Sidenote: The conference between the king and the barons] + + [Sidenote: The charter granted at Runnymede] + + King John, when he saw that he was deserted by almost all, so that + out of his regal superabundance of followers he retained scarcely + seven knights, was much alarmed lest the barons should attack his + castles and reduce them without difficulty, as they would find no + obstacle to their so doing. He deceitfully pretended to make peace + for a time with the aforesaid barons, and sent William Marshal, + earl of Pembroke, with other trustworthy messengers, to them, and + told them that, for the sake of peace and for the exaltation and + honor of the kingdom, he would willingly grant them the laws and + liberties they demanded. He sent also a request to the barons by + these same messengers that they appoint a suitable day and place to + meet and carry all these matters into effect. The king's messengers + then came in all haste to London, and without deceit, reported to + the barons all that had been deceitfully imposed on them. They in + their great joy appointed the fifteenth of June for the king to + meet them, at a field lying between Staines and Windsor.[424] + Accordingly, at the time and place agreed upon the king and nobles + came to the appointed conference, and when each party had stationed + itself some distance from the other, they began a long discussion + about terms of peace and the aforesaid liberties.... At length, + after various points on both sides had been discussed, King John, + seeing that he was inferior in strength to the barons, without + raising any difficulty, granted the underwritten laws and + liberties, and confirmed them by his charter as follows:-- + + [Here ensues the Charter.] + + +55. Extracts from the Charter + +No document in the history of any nation is more important than the +Great Charter; in the words of Bishop Stubbs, the whole of the +constitutional history of England is only one long commentary upon it. +Its importance lay not merely in the fact that it was won from an +unwilling sovereign by the united action of nobles, clergy, and +people, but also in the admirable summary which it embodies of the +fundamental principles of English government, so far as they had +ripened by the early years of the thirteenth century. The charter +contained almost nothing that was not old. It was not even an +instrument, like the Constitution of the United States, providing for +the creation of a new government. It merely sought to gather up within +a single reasonably brief document all the important principles which +the best of the English sovereigns had recognized, but which such +rulers as Richard and John had lately been improving every opportunity +to evade. The primary purpose of the barons in forcing the king to +grant the charter was not to get a new form of government or code of +laws, but simply to obtain a remedy for certain concrete abuses, to +resist the encroachments of the crown upon the traditional liberties +of Englishmen, and to get a full and definite confirmation of these +liberties in black and white. Not a new constitution was wanted, but +good government in conformity with the old one. Naturally enough, +therefore, the charter of 1215 was based in most of its important +provisions upon that granted by Henry I. in 1100, even as this one was +based on the righteous laws of the good Edward the Confessor. And +after the same manner the charter of King John, in its turn, became +the foundation for all future resistance of Englishmen to the evils of +misgovernment, so that very soon it came naturally to be called _Magna +Charta_--the Great Charter--by which designation it is known to this +day. + +King John was in no true sense the author of the charter. Many weeks +before the meeting at Runnymede the barons had drawn up their demands +in written form, and when that meeting occurred they were ready to lay +before the sovereign a formal document, in forty-nine chapters, to +which they simply requested his assent. This preliminary document was +discussed and worked over, the number of chapters being increased to +sixty-two, but the charter as finally agreed upon differed from it +only in minor details. It is a mistake to think of John as "signing" +the charter after the fashion of modern sovereigns. There is no +evidence that he could write, and at any rate he acquiesced in the +terms of the charter only by having his seal affixed to the paper. The +original "Articles of the Barons" is still preserved in the British +Museum, but there is no _one_ original Magna Charta in existence. +Duplicate copies of the document were made for distribution among the +barons, and papers which are generally supposed to represent four of +these still exist, two being in the British Museum. + +The charter makes a lengthy document and many parts of it are too +technical to be of service in this book; hence only a few of the most +important chapters are here given. Translations of the entire document +from the original Latin may be found in many places, among them the +University of Pennsylvania _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I., No. +6; Lee, _Source Book of English History_, 169-180; Adams and Stephens, +_Select Documents Illustrative of English Constitutional History_, pp. +42-52; and the _Old South Leaflets_, No. 5. + + Source--Text in William Stubbs, _Select Charters Illustrative + of English Constitutional History_ (8th ed., Oxford, 1895), + pp. 296-306. Adapted from translation in Sheldon Amos, _Primer + of the English Constitution and Government_ (London, 1895), + pp. 189-201 _passim_. + + John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke + of Normandy, Aquitane, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, + bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, + governors, officers, and to all bailiffs, and his faithful + subjects, greeting. Know ye, that we, in the presence of God, and + for the salvation of our soul, and the souls of all our ancestors + and heirs, and unto the honor of God and the advancement of Holy + Church, and amendment of our Realm, ... have, in the first place, + granted to God, and by this our present Charter confirmed, for us + and our heirs forever: + + [Sidenote: Liberties of the English Church guaranteed] + + =1.= That the Church of England shall be free, and have her whole + rights, and her liberties inviolable; and we will have them so + observed that it may appear thence that the freedom of elections, + which is reckoned chief and indispensable to the English Church, + and which we granted and confirmed by our Charter, and obtained the + confirmation of the same from our Lord Pope Innocent III., before + the discord between us and our barons, was granted of mere free + will; which Charter we shall observe, and we do desire it to be + faithfully observed by our heirs forever.[425] + + [Sidenote: The rate of reliefs] + + =2.= We also have granted to all the freemen of our kingdom, for us + and for our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be + had and holden by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs + forever. If any of our earls, or barons, or others who hold of us + in chief by military service,[426] shall die, and at the time of + his death his heir shall be of full age, and owe a relief, he shall + have his inheritance by the ancient relief--that is to say, the + heir or heirs of an earl, for a whole earldom, by a hundred pounds; + the heir or heirs of a knight, for a whole knight's fee, by a + hundred shillings at most; and whoever oweth less shall give less, + according to the ancient custom of fees.[427] + + =3.= But if the heir of any such shall be under age, and shall be + in ward, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without + relief and without fine.[428] + + [Sidenote: The three aids] + + =12.= No scutage[429] or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, + unless by the general council of our kingdom;[430] except for + ransoming our person, making our eldest son a knight, and once for + marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there shall be paid no + more than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be concerning + the aids of the City of London.[431] + + [Sidenote: The Great Council] + + =14.= And for holding the general council of the kingdom concerning + the assessment of aids, except in the three cases aforesaid, and + for the assessing of scutage, we shall cause to be summoned the + archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons of the + realm, singly by our letters. And furthermore, we shall cause to be + summoned generally, by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others who + hold of us in chief, for a certain day, that is to say, forty days + before their meeting at least, and to a certain place. And in all + letters of such summons we will declare the cause of such summons. + And summons being thus made, the business shall proceed on the day + appointed, according to the advice of such as shall be present, + although all that were summoned come not.[432] + + =15.= We will not in the future grant to any one that he may take + aid of his own free tenants, except to ransom his body, and to make + his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and + for this there shall be paid only a reasonable aid.[433] + + =36.= Nothing from henceforth shall be given or taken for a writ of + inquisition of life or limb, but it shall be granted freely, and + not denied.[434] + + =39.= No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised,[435] + or outlawed,[436] or banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will we + pass upon him, nor will we send upon him,[437] unless by the lawful + judgment of his peers,[438] or by the law of the land.[439] + + =40.= We will sell to no man, we will not deny to any man, either + justice or right.[440] + + [Sidenote: Freedom of commercial intercourse] + + =41.= All merchants shall have safe and secure conduct to go out + of, and to come into, England, and to stay there and to pass as + well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and + allowed customs, without any unjust tolls, except in time of war, + or when they are of any nation at war with us. And if there be + found any such in our land, in the beginning of the war, they shall + be detained, without damage to their bodies or goods, until it be + known to us, or to our chief justiciary, how our merchants be + treated in the nation at war with us; and if ours be safe there, + the others shall be safe in our dominions.[441] + + =42.= It shall be lawful, for the time to come, for any one to go + out of our kingdom and return safely and securely by land or by + water, saving his allegiance to us (unless in time of war, by some + short space, for the common benefit of the realm), except prisoners + and outlaws, according to the law of the land, and people in war + with us, and merchants who shall be treated as is above + mentioned.[442] + + =51.= As soon as peace is restored, we will send out of the kingdom + all foreign knights, cross-bowmen, and stipendiaries, who are come + with horses and arms to the molestation of our people.[443] + + =60.= All the aforesaid customs and liberties, which we have + granted to be holden in our kingdom, as much as it belongs to us, + all people of our kingdom, as well clergy as laity, shall observe, + as far as they are concerned, towards their dependents.[444] + + [Sidenote: How the charter was to be enforced] + + =61.= And whereas, for the honor of God and the amendment of our + kingdom, and for the better quieting the discord that has arisen + between us and our barons, we have granted all these things + aforesaid. Willing to render them firm and lasting, we do give and + grant our subjects the underwritten security, namely, that the + barons may choose five and twenty barons of the kingdom, whom they + think convenient, who shall take care, with all their might, to + hold and observe, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties + we have granted them, and by this our present Charter + confirmed....[445] + + =63.= ... It is also sworn, as well on our part as on the part of + the barons, that all the things aforesaid shall be observed in good + faith, and without evil duplicity. Given under our hand, in the + presence of the witnesses above named, and many others, in the + meadow called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, the 15th day + of June, in the 17th year of our reign. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[408] The barons attended the meeting under the pretense of making a +religious pilgrimage. + +[409] This charter, granted at the coronation of Henry I. in 1100, +contained a renunciation of the evil practices which had marked the +government of William the Conqueror and William Rufus. It was from +this document mainly that the barons in 1215 drew their constitutional +programme. + +[410] The Knights Templars, having purchased all that part of the +banks of the Thames lying between Whitefriars and Essex Street, +erected on it a magnificent structure which was known as the New +Temple, in distinction from the Old Temple on the south side of +Holborn. Meetings of Parliament and of the king's council were +frequently held in the New Temple; here also were kept the crown +jewels. Ultimately, after the suppression of the Templars by Edward +II., the Temple became one of England's most celebrated schools of +law. + +[411] This refers to the king's absolution at the hands of Stephen +Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, July 20, 1213, after his submission +to the papacy. At that time John took an oath on the Bible to the +effect that he would restore the good laws of his forefathers and +render to all men their rights. + +[412] The exact day upon which John took the crusader's vow is +uncertain. It was probably Ash Wednesday (March 4), 1215. The king's +object was in part to get the personal protection which the sanctity +of the vow carried with it and in part to enlist the sympathies of the +Pope and make it appear that the barons were guilty of interfering +with a crusade. + +[413] On the southern border of Lincolnshire. + +[414] On the Thames in Oxfordshire. This statement of the chronicler +is incorrect. John was yet in London. + +[415] Octave means the period of eight days following a religious +festival. This Monday was April 27. + +[416] Brackley is about twenty-two miles north of Oxford. + +[417] Henry I.'s charter, 1100. + +[418] Edward the Confessor, king from 1042 to 1066. + +[419] In the county of Northampton, in central England. + +[420] Engines for hurling stones. + +[421] About twenty miles southeast of Northampton. + +[422] The commander of Bedford Castle. + +[423] The loss of London by the king was a turning point in the +contest. Thereafter the barons' party gained rapidly and its complete +success was only a question of time. + +[424] Runnymede, on the Thames. + +[425] The charter referred to, in which the liberties of the Church +were confirmed, was granted in November, 1214, and renewed in +January, 1215. It was in the nature of a bribe offered the clergy by +the king in the hope of winning their support in his struggle with the +barons. The liberty granted was particularly that of "canonical +election," i.e., the privilege of the cathedral chapters to elect +bishops without being dominated in their choice by the king. Henry +I.'s charter (1100) contained a similar provision, but it had not been +observed in practice. + +[426] Tenants _in capite_, i.e., men holding land directly from the +king on condition of military service. + +[427] The object of this chapter is, in general, to prevent the +exaction of excessive reliefs. The provision of Henry I.'s charter +that reliefs should be just and reasonable had become a dead letter. + +[428] During the heir's minority the king received the profits of the +estate; in consequence of this the payment of relief by such an heir +was to be remitted. + +[429] Scutage (from _scutum_, shield) was payment made to the king by +persons who owed military service but preferred to give money instead. +Scutage levied by John had been excessively heavy. + +[430] The General, or Great, Council was a feudal body made up of the +king's tenants-in-chief, both greater and lesser lords. This chapter +puts a definite, even though not very far-reaching, limitation upon +the royal power of taxation, and so looks forward in a way to the +later regime of taxation by Parliament. + +[431] London had helped the barons secure the charter and was rewarded +by being specifically included in its provisions. + +[432] Here we have a definite statement as to the composition of the +Great Council. The distinction between greater and lesser barons is +mentioned as early as the times of Henry I. (1100-1135). In a general +way it may be said that the greater barons (together with the greater +clergy) developed into the House of Lords and the lesser ones, along +with the ordinary free-holders, became the "knights of the shire," who +so long made up the backbone of the Commons. In the thirteenth century +comparatively few of the lesser barons attended the meetings of the +Council. Attendance was expensive and they were not greatly interested +in the body's proceedings. It should be noted that the Great Council +was in no sense a legislative assembly. + +[433] It is significant that the provisions of the charter which +prohibit feudal exactions were made by the barons to apply to +themselves as well as to the king. + +[434] This is an important legal enactment whose purpose is to prevent +prolonged imprisonment, without trial, of persons accused of serious +crime. A person accused of murder, for example, could not be set at +liberty under bail, but he could apply for a writ _de odio et atia_ +("concerning hatred and malice") which directed the sheriff to make +inquest by jury as to whether the accusation had been brought by +reason of hatred and malice. If the jury decided that the accusation +had been so brought, the accused person could be admitted to bail +until the time for his regular trial. This will occur to one as being +very similar to the principle of _habeas corpus_. John had been +charging heavy fees for these writs _de odio et atia_, or "writs of +inquisition of life and limb," as they are called in the charter; +henceforth they were to be issued freely. + +[435] To disseise a person is to dispossess him of his freehold +rights. + +[436] Henceforth a person could be outlawed, i.e., declared out of the +protection of the law, only by the regular courts. + +[437] That is, use force upon him, as John had frequently done. + +[438] The term "peers," as here used, means simply equals in rank. The +present clause does not yet imply trial by jury in the modern sense. +It comprises simply a narrow, feudal demand of the nobles to be judged +by other nobles, rather than by lawyers or clerks. Jury trial was +increasingly common in the thirteenth century, but it was not +guaranteed in the Great Charter. + +[439] This chapter is commonly regarded as the most important in the +charter. It undertakes to prevent arbitrary imprisonment and to +protect private property by laying down a fundamental principle of +government which John had been constantly violating and which very +clearly marked the line of distinction between a limited and an +absolute monarchy. + +[440] The principle is here asserted that justice in the courts should +be open to all, and without the payment of money to get judgment +hastened or delayed. Extortions of this character did not cease in +1215, but they became less exorbitant and arbitrary. + +[441] The object of this chapter is to encourage commerce by +guaranteeing foreign merchants the same treatment that English +merchants received in foreign countries. The tolls imposed on traders +by the cities, however, were not affected and they continued a serious +obstacle for some centuries. + +[442] This chapter provides that, except under the special +circumstances of war, any law-abiding Englishman might go abroad +freely, provided only he should remain loyal to the English crown. The +rule thus established continued in effect until 1382, when it was +enacted that such privileges should belong only to lords, merchants, +and soldiers. + +[443] During the struggle with the barons, John had brought in a +number of foreign mercenary soldiers or "stipendiaries." All classes +of Englishmen resented this policy and the barons improved the +opportunity offered by the charter to get a promise from the king to +dispense with his continental mercenaries as quickly as possible. + +[444] This chapter provides that the charter's regulation of feudal +customs should apply to the barons just as to the king. The barons' +tenants were to be protected from oppression precisely as were the +barons themselves. These tenants had helped in the winning of the +charter and were thus rewarded for their services. + +[445] The chapter goes on at considerable length to specify the manner +in which, if the king should violate the terms of the charter, the +commission of twenty-five barons should proceed to bring him to +account. Even the right of making war was given them, in case it +should become necessary to resort to such an extreme measure. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE REIGN OF SAINT LOUIS + + +56. The Character and Deeds of the King as Described by Joinville + +Louis IX., or St. Louis, as he is commonly called, was the eldest son +of Louis VIII. and a grandson of Philip Augustus. He was born in 1214 +and upon the death of his father in 1226 he succeeded to the throne of +France while yet but a boy of twelve. The recent reign of Philip +Augustus (1180-1223) had been a period marked by a great increase in +the royal power and by a corresponding lessening of the independent +authority of the feudal magnates. The accession of a boy-king was +therefore hailed by the discontented nobles as an opportunity to +recover something at least of their lost privileges. It would +doubtless have been such but for the vigilance, ability, and masculine +aggressiveness of the young king's mother, Blanche of Castile. Aided +by the clergy and the loyal party among the nobles, she, in the +capacity of regent, successfully defended her son's interests against +a succession of plots and uprisings, with the result that when Louis +gradually assumed control of affairs in his own name, about 1236, the +realm was in good order and the dangers which once had been so +threatening had all but disappeared. The king's education and moral +training had been well attended to, and he arrived at manhood with +an equipment quite unusual among princes of his day. His reign +extended to 1270 and became in some respects the most notable in all +French history. In fact, whether viewed from the standpoint of his +personal character or his practical achievements, St. Louis is +generally admitted to have been one of the most remarkable sovereigns +of mediaeval Europe. He was famous throughout Christendom for his +piety, justice, wisdom, and ability, being recognized as at once a +devoted monk, a brave knight, and a capable king. In him were blended +two qualities--vigorous activity and proneness to austere +meditation--rarely combined in such measure in one person. His +character may be summed up by saying that he had all the virtues of +his age and few of its vices. No less cynical a critic than Voltaire +has declared that he went as far in goodness as it is possible for a +man to go. + +Saint Louis being thus so interesting a character in himself, it is +very fortunate that we have an excellent contemporary biography of +him, from the hand of a friend and companion who knew him well. Sire +de Joinville's _Histoire de Saint Louis_ is a classic of French +literature and in most respects the best piece of biographical writing +that has come down to us from the Middle Ages. Joinville, or more +properly John, lord of Joinville, was born in Champagne, in northern +France, probably in 1225. His family was one of the most distinguished +in Champagne and he himself had all the advantages that could come +from being brought up at the refined court of the count of this +favored district. In 1248, when St. Louis set out on his first +crusading expedition, Joinville, only recently become of age, took the +cross and became a follower of the king, joining him in Cyprus and +there first definitely entering his service. During the next six years +the two were inseparable companions, and even after Joinville, in +1254, retired from the king's service in order to manage his estates +in Champagne he long continued to make frequent visits of a social +character to the court. + +Joinville's memoirs of St. Louis were completed about 1309--probably +nine years before the death of the author--and they were first +published soon after the death of Philip the Fair in 1314. They +constitute by far the most important source of information on the +history of France in the middle portion of the thirteenth century. +Joinville had the great advantage of intimate acquaintance and long +association with King Louis and, what is equally important, he seems +to have tried to write in a spirit of perfect fairness and justice. He +was an ardent admirer of Louis, but his biography did not fall into +the tempting channel of mere fulsome and indiscriminate praise. +Moreover, the work is a biography of the only really satisfactory +type; it is not taken up with a bare recital of events in the life of +the individual under consideration, but it has a broad background +drawn from the general historical movements and conditions of the +time. Its most obvious defects arise from the fact that it comprises +largely the reminiscences of an old man, which are never likely to be +entirely accurate or well-balanced. In his dedication of the treatise +to Louis, eldest son of Philip IV., the author relates that it had +been written at the urgent solicitation of the deceased king's widow. + +The biography in print makes a good-sized volume and it is possible, +of course, to reproduce here but a few significant passages from it. +But these are perhaps sufficient to show what sort of man the +saint-king really was, and it is just this insight into the character +of the men of the Middle Ages that is most worth getting--and the +hardest thing, as a rule, to get. Incidentally, the extract throws +some light on the methods of warfare employed by the crusaders and the +Turks. + + Source--Jean, Sire de Joinville, _Histoire de Saint Louis_. + Text edited by M. Joseph Noel (Natalis de Wailly) and + published by the Societe de l'Histoire de France (Paris, + 1868). Translated by James Hutton under title of _Saint Louis, + King of France_ (London, 1868), _passim_. + + [Sidenote: The king's birth] + + As I have heard him say, he [Saint Louis] was born on the day of + St. Mark the Evangelist,[446] shortly after Easter. On that day the + cross is carried in procession in many places, and in France they + are called black crosses. It was therefore a sort of prophecy of + the great numbers of people who perished in those two crusades, + i.e., in that to Egypt, and in that other, in the course of which + he died at Carthage;[447] for many great sorrows were there on that + account in this world, and many great joys are there now in + Paradise on the part of those who in those two pilgrimages died + true crusaders. + + [Sidenote: His early training] + + God, in whom he put his trust, preserved him ever from his infancy + to the very last; and especially in his infancy did He preserve him + when he stood in need of help, as you will presently hear. As for + his soul, God preserved it through the pious instructions of his + mother, who taught him to believe in God and to love Him, and + placed about him none but ministers of religion. And she made him, + while he was yet a child, attend to all his prayers and listen to + the sermons on saints' days. He remembered that his mother used + sometimes to tell him that she would rather he were dead than that + he should commit a deadly sin. + + [Sidenote: Difficulties at the beginning of his reign] + + Sore need of God's help had he in his youth, for his mother, who + came out of Spain, had neither relatives nor friends in all the + realm of France. And because the barons of France saw that the king + was an infant, and the queen, his mother, a foreigner, they made + the count of Boulogne, the king's uncle, their chief, and looked up + to him as their lord.[448] After the king was crowned, some of the + barons asked of the queen to bestow upon them large domains; and + because she would do nothing of the kind all the barons assembled + at Corbei.[449] And the sainted king related to me how neither he + nor his mother, who were at Montlheri,[450] dared to return to + Paris, until the citizens of Paris came, with arms in their hands, + to escort them. He told me, too, that from Montlheri to Paris the + road was filled with people, some with and some without weapons, + and that all cried unto our Lord to give him a long and happy life, + and to defend and preserve him from his enemies.... + + [Sidenote: Louis takes the cross] + + After these things it chanced, as it pleased God, that great + illness fell upon the king at Paris, by which he was brought to + such extremity that one of the women who watched by his side wanted + to draw the sheet over his face, saying that he was dead; but + another woman, who was on the other side of the bed, would not + suffer it, for the soul, she said, had not yet left the body. While + he was listening to the dispute between these two, our Lord wrought + upon him and quickly sent him health; for before that he was dumb, + and could not speak. He demanded that the cross should be given to + him, and it was done. When the queen, his mother, heard that he had + recovered his speech, she exhibited as much joy as could be; but + when she was told by himself that he had taken the cross, she + displayed as much grief as if she had seen him dead. + + [Sidenote: Prominent Frenchmen who followed his example] + + After the king put on the cross, Robert, count of Artois, Alphonse, + count of Poitiers, Charles, count of Anjou, who was afterwards king + of Sicily--all three brothers of the king--also took the cross; as + likewise did Hugh, duke of Burgundy, William, count of Flanders + (brother to Count Guy of Flanders, the last who died), the good + Hugh, count of Saint Pol, and Monseigneur Walter, his nephew, who + bore himself right manfully beyond seas, and would have been of + great worth had he lived. There was also the count of La Marche, + and Monseigneur Hugh le Brun, his son; the count of Sarrebourg, and + Monseigneur d'Apremont, his brother, in whose company I myself, + John, Seigneur de Joinville, crossed the sea in a ship we + chartered, because we were cousins; and we crossed over in all + twenty knights, nine of whom followed the count of Sarrebourg, and + nine were with me.... + + The king summoned his barons to Paris, and made them swear to keep + faith and loyalty towards his children if anything happened to + himself on the voyage. He asked the same of me, but I refused to + take any oath, because I was not his vassal.... + + [Sidenote: Embarking on the Mediterranean] + + In the month of August we went on board our ships at the Rock of + Marseilles. The day we embarked the door of the vessel was opened, + and the horses that we were to take with us were led inside. Then + they fastened the door and closed it up tightly, as when one sinks + a cask, because when the ship is at sea the whole of the door is + under water. When the horses were in, our sailing-master called out + to his mariners who were at the prow: "Are you all ready?" And they + replied: "Sir, let the clerks and priests come forward." As soon + as they had come nigh, he shouted to them; "Chant, in God's name!" + And they with one voice chanted, "_Veni, Creator Spiritus._" Then + the master called out to his men: "Set sail, in God's name!" And + they did so. And in a little time the wind struck the sails and + carried us out of sight of land, so that we saw nothing but sea and + sky; and every day the wind bore us farther away from the land + where we were born. And thereby I show you how foolhardy he must be + who would venture to put himself in such peril with other people's + property in his possession, or while in deadly sin; for when you + fall asleep at night you know not but that ere the morning you may + be at the bottom of the sea. + + [Sidenote: Preparations made in Cyprus] + + When we reached Cyprus, the king was already there, and we found an + immense supply of stores for him, i.e., wine-stores and granaries. + The king's wine-stores consisted of great piles of casks of wine, + which his people had purchased two years before the king's arrival + and placed in an open field near the seashore. They had piled them + one upon the other, so that when seen from the front they looked + like a farmhouse. The wheat and barley had been heaped up in the + middle of the field, and at first sight looked like hills; for the + rain, which had long beaten upon the corn, had caused it to sprout, + so that nothing was seen but green herbage. But when it was desired + to transport it to Egypt, they broke off the outer coating with the + green herbage, and the wheat and barley within were found as fresh + as if they had only just been threshed out. + + [Sidenote: An embassy from the Khan] + + The king, as I have heard him say, would gladly have pushed on to + Egypt without stopping, had not his barons advised him to wait for + his army, which had not all arrived. While the king was sojourning + in Cyprus, the great Khan of Tartary[451] sent envoys to him, the + bearers of very courteous messages. Among other things, he told him + that he was ready to aid him in conquering the Holy Land and in + delivering Jerusalem out of the hands of the Saracens. The king + received the messengers very graciously, and sent some to the Khan, + who were two years absent before they could return. And with his + messengers the king sent to the Khan a tent fashioned like a + chapel, which cost a large sum of money, for it was made of fine + rich scarlet cloth. And the king, in the hope of drawing the Khan's + people to our faith, caused to be embroidered inside the chapel, + pictures representing the Annunciation of Our Lady, and other + articles of faith. And he sent these things to them by the hands of + two friars, who spoke the Saracen language, to teach and point out + to them what they ought to believe.... + + [Sidenote: The departure from Cyprus] + + As soon as March came round, the king, and, by his command, the + barons and other pilgrims, gave orders that the ships should be + laden with wine and provisions, to be ready to sail when the king + should give the signal. It happened that when everything was ready, + the king and queen withdrew on board their ship on the Friday + before Whitsunday, and the king desired his barons to follow in his + wake straight towards Egypt. On Saturday[452] the king set sail, + and all the other vessels at the same time, which was a fine sight + to behold, for it seemed as if the whole sea, as far as the eye + could reach, was covered with sails, and the number of ships, + great and small, was reckoned at 1,800....[453] + + [Sidenote: Decision to proceed against Cairo] + + Upon the arrival of the count of Poitiers, the king summoned all + the barons of the army to decide in what direction he should march, + whether towards Alexandria, or towards Babylon.[454] It resulted + that the good Count Peter of Brittany, and most of the barons of + the army, were of the opinion that the king should lay siege to + Alexandria, because that city is possessed of a good port where the + vessels could lie that should bring provisions for the army. To + this the count of Artois was opposed. He said that he could not + advise going anywhere except to Babylon, because that was the chief + town in all the realm of Egypt; he added, that whosoever wished to + kill a serpent outright should crush its head. The king set aside + the advice of his barons, and held to that of his brother. + + At the beginning of Advent, the king set out with his army to march + against Babylon, as the count of Artois had counseled him. Not far + from Damietta we came upon a stream of water which issued from the + great river [Nile], and it was resolved that the army should halt + for a day to dam up this branch, so that it might be crossed. The + thing was done easily enough, for the arm was dammed up close to + the great river. At the passage of this stream the sultan sent 500 + of his knights, the best mounted in his whole army, to harass the + king's troops, and retard our march. + + [Sidenote: A skirmish between the Saracens and the Templars] + + On St. Nicholas's day[455] the king gave the order to march and + forbade that any one should be so bold as to sally out upon the + Saracens who were before us. So it chanced that when the army was + in motion to resume the march and the Turks saw that no one would + sally out against them, and learned from their spies that the king + had forbidden it, they became emboldened and attacked the + Templars,[456] who formed the advance-guard. And one of the Turks + hurled to the ground one of the knights of the Temple, right before + the feet of the horse of Reginald de Bichiers, who was at that time + Marshal of the Temple. When the latter saw this, he shouted to the + other brethren: "Have at them, in God's name! I cannot suffer any + more of this." He dashed in his spurs, and all the army did + likewise. Our people's horses were fresh, while those of the Turks + were already worn out. Whence it happened, as I have heard, that + not a Turk escaped, but all perished, several of them having + plunged into the river, where they were drowned....[457] + + One evening when we were on duty near the cat castles, they brought + against us an engine called _pierriere_,[458] which they had never + done before, and they placed Greek fire[459] in the sling of the + engine. When Monseigneur Walter de Cureil, the good knight, who + was with me, saw that, he said to us: "Sirs, we are in the greatest + peril we have yet been in; for if they set fire to our towers, and + we remain here, we are dead men, and if we leave our posts which + have been intrusted to us, we are put to shame; and no one can + rescue us from this peril save God. It is therefore my opinion and + my advice to you that each time they discharge the fire at us we + should throw ourselves upon our elbows and knees, and pray our Lord + to bring us out of this danger." + + [Sidenote: The Saracens make use of Greek fire] + + As soon as they fired we threw ourselves upon our elbows and knees, + as he had counseled us. The first shot they fired came between our + two cat castles, and fell in front of us on the open place which + the army had made for the purpose of damming the river. Our men + whose duty it was to extinguish fires were all ready for it; and + because the Saracens could not aim at them on account of the two + wings of the sheds which the king had erected there, they fired + straight up towards the clouds, so that their darts came down from + above upon the men. The nature of the Greek fire was in this wise, + that it rushed forward as large around as a cask of verjuice,[460] + and the tail of the fire which issued from it was as big as a + large-sized spear. It made such a noise in coming that it seemed as + if it were a thunderbolt from heaven and looked like a dragon + flying through the air. It cast such a brilliant light that in the + camp they could see as clearly as if it were daytime, because of + the light diffused by such a bulk of fire. Three times that night + they discharged the Greek fire at us, and four times they sent it + from the fixed cross-bows. Each time that Our sainted king heard + that they had discharged the Greek fire at us, he dressed himself + on his bed and stretched out his hands towards our Lord, and prayed + with tears: "Fair Sire God, preserve me my people!" And I verily + believe that his prayers stood us in good stead in our hour of + need. That evening, every time the fire fell, he sent one of his + chamberlains to inquire in what state we were and if the fire had + done us any damage. One time when they threw it, it fell close to + the cat castle which Monseigneur de Courtenay's people were + guarding, and struck on the river-bank. Then a knight named + Aubigoiz called to me and said: "Sir, if you do not help us we are + all burnt, for the Saracens have discharged so many of their darts + dipped in Greek fire that there is of them, as it were, a great + blazing hedge coming towards our tower." + + We ran forward and hastened thither and found that he spoke the + truth. We extinguished the fire, but before we had done so the + Saracens covered us with the darts they discharged from the other + side of the river. + + [Sidenote: Progress of the conflict] + + The king's brothers mounted guard on the roof of the cat castles to + fire bolts from cross-bows against the Saracens, and which fell + into their camp. The king had commanded that when the king of + Sicily[461] mounted guard in the daytime at the cat castles, we + were to do so at night. One day when the king of Sicily was keeping + watch, which we should have to do at night, we were in much trouble + of mind because the Saracens had shattered our cat castles. The + Saracens brought out the _pierriere_ in the daytime, which they had + hitherto done only at night, and discharged the Greek fire at our + towers. They had advanced their engines so near to the causeway + which the army had constructed to dam the river that no one dared + to go to the towers, because of the huge stones which the engines + flung upon the road. The consequence was that our two towers were + burned, and the king of Sicily was so enraged about it that he came + near flinging himself into the fire to extinguish it. But if he + were wrathful, I and my knights, for our part, gave thanks to God; + for if we had mounted guard at night, we should all have been + burned....[462] + + It came to pass that the sainted king labored so much that the + king of England, his wife, and children, came to France to treat + with him about peace between him and them. The members of his + council were strongly opposed to this peace, and said to him: + + [Sidenote: The treaty of Paris, 1259] + + "Sire, we greatly marvel that it should be your pleasure to yield + to the king of England such a large portion of your land, which you + and your predecessors have won from him, and obtained through + forfeiture. It seems to us that if you believe you have no right to + it, you do not make fitting restitution to the king of England + unless you restore to him all the conquests which you and your + predecessors have made; but if you believe that you have a right to + it, it seems to us that you are throwing away all that you yield to + him." + + To this the sainted king replied after this fashion: "Sirs, I am + certain that the king of England's predecessors lost most justly + the conquests I hold; and the land which I give up to him I do not + give because I am bound either towards himself or his heirs, but to + create love between his children and mine, who are first cousins. + And it seems to me that I am making a good use of what I give to + him, because before he was not my vassal, but now he has to render + homage to me."...[463] + + After the king's return from beyond sea, he lived so devoutly that + he never afterwards wore furs of different colors, nor + minnever,[464] nor scarlet cloth, nor gilt stirrups or spurs. His + dress was of camlet[465] and of a dark blue cloth; the linings of + his coverlets and garments were of doeskin or hare-legs. + + [Sidenote: The king's personal traits] + + When rich men's minstrels entered the hall after the repast, + bringing with them their viols, he waited to hear grace until the + minstrel had finished his chant; then he rose and the priests who + said grace stood before him. When we were at his court in a private + way,[466] he used to sit at the foot of his bed, and when the + Franciscans and Dominicans[467] who were there spoke of a book that + would give him pleasure, he would say to them: "You shall not read + to me, for, after eating, there is no book so pleasant as + _quolibets_,"--that is, that every one should say what he likes. + When men of quality dined with him, he made himself agreeable to + them.... + + [Sidenote: His primitive method of dispensing justice] + + Many a time it happened that in the summer he would go and sit down + in the wood at Vincennes,[468] with his back to an oak, and make us + take our seats around him. And all those who had complaints to make + came to him, without hindrance from ushers or other folk. Then he + asked them with his own lips: "Is there any one here who has a + cause?"[469] Those who had a cause stood up, when he would say to + them: "Silence all, and you shall be dispatched one after the + other." Then he would call Monseigneur de Fontaines, or Monseigneur + Geoffrey de Villette, and would say to one of them: "Dispose of + this case for me." When he saw anything to amend in the words of + those who spoke for others, he would correct it with his own lips. + Sometimes in summer I have seen him, in order to administer justice + to the people, come into the garden of Paris dressed in a camlet + coat, a surcoat of woollen stuff, without sleeves, a mantle of + black taffety around his neck, his hair well combed and without + coif, a hat with white peacock's feathers on his head. Carpets were + spread for us to sit down upon around him, and all the people who + had business to dispatch stood about in front of him. Then he would + have it dispatched in the same manner as I have already described + in the wood of Vincennes. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[446] April 25, 1215. + +[447] Louis started on his first crusade in August, 1248. After a +series of disasters in Egypt he managed to reach the Holy Land, where +he spent nearly four years fortifying the great seaports. He returned +to France in July, 1254. Sixteen years later, in July, 1270, he +started on his second crusade. He had but reached Carthage when he was +suddenly taken ill and compelled to halt the expedition. He died there +August 25, 1270. Louis was as typical a crusader as ever lived, but in +his day men of his kind were few; the great era of crusading +enterprise was past. + +[448] This was Philip, son of Philip Augustus. The lands of the count +of Boulogne lay on the coast of the English Channel north of the +Somme. + +[449] An important church center about seventy miles north of Paris. + +[450] A town a few miles south of Paris. + +[451] In the early years of the thirteenth century, an Asiatic +chieftain by the name of Genghis Khan built up a vast empire of Mongol +or Tartar peoples, which for a time stretched all the way from China +to eastern Germany. The rise and westward expansion of this barbarian +power spread alarm throughout Christendom, and with good reason, for +it was with great difficulty that the Tartar sovereigns were prevented +from extending their dominion over Germany and perhaps over all +western Europe. After the first feeling of terror had passed, however, +it began to be considered that possibly the Asiatic conquerors might +yet be made to serve the interests of Christendom. They were not +Mohammedans, and Christian leaders saw an opportunity to turn them +against the Saracen master of the coveted Holy Land. Louis IX.'s +reception of an embassy from Ilchikadai, one of the Tartar khans, or +sovereigns, was only one of several incidents which illustrate the +efforts made in this direction. After this episode the Tartars +advanced rapidly into Syria, taking the important cities of Damascus +and Aleppo; but a great defeat, September 3, 1260, by the sultan Kutuz +at Ain Talut stemmed the tide of invasion and compelled the Tartars to +retire to their northern dominions. + +[452] May 21, 1249. + +[453] Joinville here gives an account of the first important +undertaking of the crusaders--the capture of Damietta. After this +achievement the king resolved to await the arrival of his brother, the +count of Poitiers, with additional troops. The delay thus occasioned +was nearly half a year in length, i.e., until October. + +[454] This was a common designation of Cairo, the Saracen capital of +Egypt. + +[455] December 6. + +[456] The order of the Templars was founded in 1119 to afford +protection to pilgrims in Palestine. The name was taken from the +temple of Solomon, in Jerusalem, near which the organization's +headquarters were at first established. The Templars, in their early +history, were a military order and they had a prominent part in most +of the crusading movements after their foundation. + +[457] At this point Joinville gives an extended description of the +Nile and its numerous mouths. King Louis found himself on the bank of +one of the streams composing the delta, with the sultan's army drawn +up on the other side to prevent the Christians from crossing. Louis +determined to construct an embankment across the stream, so that his +troops might cross and engage in battle with the enemy. To protect the +men engaged in building the embankment, two towers, called cat castles +(because they were in front of two cats, or covered galleries) were +erected. Under cover of these, the work of constructing a passageway +went on, though the Saracens did not cease to shower missiles upon the +laborers. + +[458] An instrument intended primarily for the hurling of stones. + +[459] Greek fire was made in various ways, but its main ingredients +were sulphur, Persian gum, pitch, petroleum, and oil. It was a highly +inflammable substance and when once ignited could be extinguished only +by the use of vinegar or sand. It was used quite extensively by the +Saracens in their battles with the crusaders, being usually projected +in the form of fire-balls from hollow tubes. + +[460] An acid liquor made from sour apples or grapes. + +[461] Charles, count of Anjou--a brother of Saint Louis. + +[462] Joinville's story of the remainder of the campaign in Egypt is a +long one. Enough has been given to show something of the character of +the conflicts between Saracen and crusader. In the end Louis was +compelled to withdraw his shattered army. He then made his way to the +Holy Land in the hope of better success, but the four years he spent +there were likewise a period of disappointment. + +[463] The treaty here referred to is that of Paris, negotiated by +Louis IX. and Henry III. in 1259. By it the English king renounced his +claim to Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Poitou, while Louis IX. +ceded to Henry the Limousin, Perigord, and part of Saintonge, besides +the reversion of Agenais and Quercy. The territories thus abandoned by +the French were to be annexed to the duchy of Guienne, for which Henry +III. was to render homage to the French king, just as had been +rendered by the English sovereigns before the conquests of Philip +Augustus. Manifestly Louis IX.'s chief motive in yielding possession +of lands he regarded as properly his was to secure peace with England +and to get the homage of the English king for Guienne. For upwards of +half a century the relations of England and France had been strained +by reason of the refusal of Henry III. to recognize the conquests of +Philip Augustus and to render the accustomed homage. The treaty of +Paris was important because it regulated the relations of France and +England to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War. It undertook to +perpetuate the old division of French soil between the English and +French monarchs--an arrangement always fruitful of discord and +destined, more than anything else, to bring on the great struggle of +the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries between the two nations [see p. +417 ff.]. + +[464] A fur much esteemed in the Middle Ages. It is not known whether +it was the fur of a single animal or of several kinds combined. + +[465] A woven fabric made of camel's hair. + +[466] After his retirement from the royal service in 1254 Joinville +frequently made social visits at Louis's court. + +[467] On the Franciscans and Dominicans [see p. 360]. + +[468] To the east from Paris--now a suburb of that city. The chateau +of Vincennes was one of the favorite royal residences. + +[469] That is, a case in law. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITY + + +57. Some Twelfth Century Town Charters + +In the times of the Carolingians the small and scattered towns and +villages of western Europe, particularly of France, were inhabited +mainly by serfs and villeins, i.e., by a dependent rather than an +independent population. With scarcely an exception, these urban +centers belonged to the lords of the neighboring lands, who +administered their affairs through mayors, provosts, bailiffs, or +other agents, collected from them seigniorial dues as from the rural +peasantry, and, in short, took entire charge of matters of justice, +finance, military obligations, and industrial arrangements. There was +no local self-government, nothing in the way of municipal organization +separate from the feudal regime, and no important burgher class as +distinguished from the agricultural laborers. By the twelfth century a +great transformation is apparent. France has come to be dotted with +strong and often largely independent municipalities, and a powerful +class of bourgeoisie, essentially anti-feudal in character, has risen +to play an increasing part in the nation's political and economic +life. In these new municipalities there is a larger measure of freedom +of person, security of property, and rights of self-government than +Europe had known since the days of Charlemagne, perhaps even since the +best period of the Roman Empire. + +The reason for this transformation--in other words, the origin of +these new municipal centers--has been variously explained. One theory +is that the municipal system of the Middle Ages was essentially a +survival of that which prevailed in western Europe under the fostering +influence of Rome. The best authorities now reject this view, for +there is every reason to believe that, speaking generally, the +barbarian invasions and feudalism practically crushed out the +municipal institutions of the Empire. Another theory ascribes the +origin of mediaeval municipal government to the merchant and craft +guilds, particularly the former; but there is little evidence to +support the view. Undeniably the guild was an important factor in +drawing groups of burghers together and forming centers of combination +against local lords, but it was at best only one of several forces +tending to the growth of municipal life. Other factors of larger +importance were the military and the commercial. On the one hand, the +need of protection led people to flock to fortified places--castles or +monasteries--and settle in the neighborhood; on the other, the growth +of commerce and industry, especially after the eleventh century, +caused strategic places like the intersection of great highways and +rivers to become seats of permanent and growing population. The towns +which thus sprang up in response to new conditions and necessities in +time took on a political as well as a commercial and industrial +character, principally through the obtaining of charters from the +neighboring lords, defining the measure of independence to be enjoyed +and the respective rights of lord and town. Charters of the sort were +usually granted by the lord, not merely because requested by the +burghers, but because they were paid for and constituted a valuable +source of revenue. Not infrequently, however, a charter was wrested +from an unwilling lord through open warfare. It was in the first half +of the twelfth century that town charters became common. As a rule +they were obtained by the larger towns (it should be borne in mind +that a population of 10,000 was large in the twelfth century), but not +necessarily so, for many villages of two or three hundred people +secured them also. + +The two great classes of towns were the _villes libres_ (free towns) +and the _villes franches_, or _villes de bourgeoisie_ (franchise, or +chartered, towns). The free towns enjoyed a large measure of +independence. In relation to their lords they occupied essentially the +position of vassals, with the legislative, financial, and judicial +privileges which by the twelfth century all great vassals had come to +have. The burghers elected their own officers, constituted their own +courts, made their own laws, levied taxes, and even waged war. The +leading types of free cities were the communes of northern France +(governed by a provost and one or more councils, often essentially +oligarchical) and the consulates of southern France and northern Italy +(distinguished from the communes by the fact that the executive was +made up of "consuls," and by the greater participation of the local +nobility in town affairs). A typical free town of the commune type, +was Laon, in the region of northern Champagne. In 1109 the bishop of +Laon, who was lord of the city, consented to the establishment of a +communal government. Three years later he sought to abolish it, with +the result that an insurrection was stirred up in which he lost his +life. King Louis VI. intervened and the citizens were obliged to +submit to the authority of the new bishop, though in 1328 fear of +another uprising led this official to renew the old grant. The act was +ratified by Louis VI. in the text (a) given below. + +The other great class of towns--the franchise towns--differed from the +free towns in having a much more limited measure of political and +economic independence. They received grants of privileges, or +"franchises," from their lord, especially in the way of restrictions +of rights of the latter over the persons and property of the +inhabitants, but they remained politically subject to the lord and +their government was partly or wholly under his control. Their +charters set a limit to the lord's arbitrary authority, emancipated +such inhabitants as were not already free, gave the citizens the right +to move about and to alienate property, substituted money payments for +the corvee, and in general made old regulations less burdensome; but +as a rule no political rights were conferred. Paris, Tours, Orleans, +and other more important cities on the royal domain belonged to this +class. The town of Lorris, on the royal domain a short distance east +of Orleans, became the common model for the type. Its charter, +received from Louis VII. in 1155, is given in the second selection (b) +below. + + Sources--(a) Text in Vilevault and Brequigny, _Ordonnances des + Rois de France de la Troisieme Race_ ["Ordinances of the Kings + of France of the Third Dynasty"], Paris, 1769, Vol. XI., pp. + 185-187. + + (b) Text in Maurice Prou, _Les Coutumes de Lorris et leur + Propagation aux XIIe et XIIIe Siecles_ ["The Customs of + Lorris and their Spread in the Twelfth and Thirteenth + Centuries"], Paris, 1884, pp. 129-141. + + (a) + + =1.= Let no one arrest any freeman or serf for any offense without + due process of law.[470] + + [Sidenote: Provisions of the charter of Laon] + + =2.= But if any one do injury to a clerk, soldier, or merchant, + native or foreign, provided he who does the injury belongs to the + same city as the injured person, let him, summoned after the fourth + day, come for justice before the mayor and jurats.[471] + + =7.= If a thief is arrested, let him be brought to him on whose + land he has been arrested; but if justice is not done by the lord, + let it be done by the jurats.[472] + + =12.= We entirely abolish mortmain.[473] + + =18.= The customary tallages we have so reformed that every man + owing such tallages, at the time when they are due, must pay four + pence, and beyond that no more.[474] + + =19.= Let men of the peace not be compelled to resort to courts + outside the city.[475] + + (b) + + =1.= Every one who has a house in the parish of Lorris shall pay as + _cens_ sixpence only for his house, and for each acre of land that + he possesses in the parish.[476] + + =2.= No inhabitant of the parish of Lorris shall be required to pay + a toll or any other tax on his provisions; and let him not be made + to pay any measurage fee on the grain which he has raised by his + own labor.[477] + + =3.= No burgher shall go on an expedition, on foot or on horseback, + from which he cannot return the same day to his home if he + desires.[478] + + =4.= No burgher shall pay toll on the road to Etampes, to Orleans, + to Milly (which is in the Gatinais), or to Melun.[479] + + [Sidenote: The charter of Lorris] + + =5.= No one who has property in the parish of Lorris shall forfeit + it for any offense whatsoever, unless the offense shall have been + committed against us or any of our _hotes_.[480] + + =6.= No person while on his way to the fairs and markets of Lorris, + or returning, shall be arrested or disturbed, unless he shall have + committed an offense on the same day.[481] + + =9.= No one, neither we nor any other, shall exact from the + burghers of Lorris any tallage, tax, or subsidy.[482] + + =12.= If a man shall have had a quarrel with another, but without + breaking into a fortified house, and if the parties shall have + reached an agreement without bringing a suit before the provost, no + fine shall be due to us or our provost on account of the + affair.[483] + + =15.= No inhabitant of Lorris is to render us the obligation of + _corvee_, except twice a year, when our wine is to be carried to + Orleans, and not elsewhere.[484] + + =16.= No one shall be detained in prison if he can furnish surety + that he will present himself for judgment. + + =17.= Any burgher who wishes to sell his property shall have the + privilege of doing so; and, having received the price of the sale, + he shall have the right to go from the town freely and without + molestation, if he so desires, unless he has committed some offense + in it. + + =18.= Any one who shall dwell a year and a day in the parish of + Lorris, without any claim having pursued him there, and without + having refused to lay his case before us or our provost, shall + abide there freely and without molestation.[485] + + =35.= We ordain that every time there shall be a change of provosts + in the town the new provost shall take an oath faithfully to + observe these regulations; and the same thing shall be done by new + sergeants[486] every time that they are installed. + + +58. The Colonization of Eastern Germany + +In the time of Charlemagne the Elbe River marked a pretty clear +boundary between the Slavic population to the east and the Germanic to +the west. There were many Slavs west of the Elbe, but no Germans east +of it. There had been a time when Germans occupied large portions of +eastern Europe, but for one reason or another they gradually became +concentrated toward the west, while Slavic peoples pushed in to fill +the vacated territory. Under Charlemagne and his successors we can +discern the earlier stages of a movement of reaction which has gone on +in later times until the political map of all north central Europe has +been remodeled. During the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries large +portions of the "sphere of influence" (to use a modern phrase) which +Charlemagne had created eastward from the Elbe were converted into +German principalities and dependencies. German colonists pushed down +the Danube, well toward the Black Sea, along the Baltic, past the Oder +and toward the Vistula, and up the Oder into the heart of modern +Poland. The Slavic population was slowly brought under subjection, +Christianized, and to a certain extent Germanized. In the tenth +century Henry I. (919-936) began a fresh forward movement against the +Slavs, or Wends, as the Germans called them. Magdeburg, on the Elbe, +was established as the chief base of operations. The work was kept up +by Henry's son, Otto I. (936-973), but under his grandson, Otto II. +(973-983), a large part of what had been gained was lost for a time +through a Slavic revolt called out by the Emperor's preoccupation with +affairs in Italy. Thereafter for a century the Slavs were allowed +perforce to enjoy their earlier independence, and upon more than one +occasion they were able to assume the aggressive against their +would-be conquerors. In 1066 the city of Hamburg, on the lower Elbe, +was attacked and almost totally destroyed. The imperial power was fast +declining and the Franconian sovereigns had little time left from +their domestic conflicts and quarrels with the papacy to carry on a +contest on the east. + +The renewed advance which the Germans made against the Slavs in the +later eleventh and earlier twelfth centuries was due primarily to the +energy of the able princes of Saxony and to the pressure for +colonization, which increased in spite of small encouragement from any +except the local authorities. The document given below is a typical +charter of the period, authorizing the establishment of a colony of +Germans eastward from Hamburg, on the border of Brandenburg. It was +granted in 1106 by the bishop of Hamburg, who as lord of the region in +which the proposed settlement was to be made exercised the right not +merely of giving consent to the undertaking, but also of prescribing +the terms and conditions by which the colonists were to be bound. As +appears from the charter, the colony was expected to be a source of +profit to the bishop; and indeed it was financial considerations on +the part of lords, lay and spiritual, who had stretches of unoccupied +land at their disposal, almost as much as regard for safety in numbers +and the absolute dominance of Germanic peoples, that prompted these +local magnates of eastern Germany so ardently to promote the work of +colonization. + + Source--Text in Wilhelm Altmann and Ernst Bernheim, + _Ausgewaehlte Urkunden zur Erlauterung der + Verfassungsgeschichte Deutschlands im Mittelalter_ ["Select + Documents Illustrative of the Constitutional History of + Germany in the Middle Ages"], 3rd ed., Berlin, 1904, pp. + 159-160. Translated in Thatcher and McNeal, _A Source Book for + Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 572-573. + + =1.= In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. Frederick, by + the grace of God bishop of Hamburg, to all the faithful in Christ, + gives a perpetual benediction. We wish to make known to all the + agreement which certain people living this side of the Rhine, who + are called Hollanders,[487] have made with us. + + [Sidenote: The Hollanders ask land for a colony] + + =2.= These men came to us and earnestly begged us to grant them + certain lands in our bishopric, which are uncultivated, swampy, and + useless to our people. We have consulted our subjects about this + and, feeling that this would be profitable to us and to our + successors, have granted their request. + + =3.= The agreement was made that they should pay us every year one + _denarius_ for every hide of land. We have thought it necessary to + determine the dimensions of the hide, in order that no quarrel may + thereafter arise about it. The hide shall be 720 royal rods long + and thirty royal rods wide. We also grant them the streams which + flow through this land. + + =4.= They agreed to give the tithe according to our decree, that + is, every eleventh sheaf of grain, every tenth lamb, every tenth + pig, every tenth goat, every tenth goose, and a tenth of the honey + and of the flax. For every colt they shall pay a _denarius_ on St. + Martin's day [Nov. 11], and for every calf an obol [penny]. + + [Sidenote: Obedience promised to the bishop of Hamburg] + + =5.= They promised to obey me in all ecclesiastical matters, + according to the decrees of the holy fathers, the canonical law, + and the practice in the diocese of Utrecht.[488] + + [Sidenote: Judicial immunity] + + =6.= They agreed to pay every year two marks for every 100 hides + for the privilege of holding their own courts for the settlement of + all their differences about secular matters. They did this because + they feared they would suffer from the injustice of foreign + judges.[489] If they cannot settle the more important cases, they + shall refer them to the bishop. And if they take the bishop with + them for the purpose of deciding one of their trials,[490] they + shall provide for his support as long as he remains there by + granting him one third of all the fees arising from the trial; and + they shall keep the other two thirds. + + =7.= We have given them permission to found churches wherever they + may wish on these lands. For the support of the priests who shall + serve God in these churches we grant a tithe of our tithes from + these parish churches. They promised that the congregation of each + of these churches should endow their church with a hide for the + support of their priest.[491] The names of the men who made this + agreement with us are: Henry, the priest, to whom we have granted + the aforesaid churches for life; and the others are laymen, + Helikin, Arnold, Hiko, Fordalt, and Referic. To them and to their + heirs after them we have granted the aforesaid land according to + the secular laws and to the terms of this agreement. + + +59. The League of Rhenish Cities (1254) + +About the middle of the thirteenth century the central authority of +the Holy Roman Empire was for a time practically dissolved. Frederick +II., the last strong ruler of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, died in 1250, +and even he was so largely Italian in character and interests that he +could bring himself to give little attention to German affairs. During +the stormy period of the Interregnum (1254-1273) there was no +universally recognized emperor at all. Germany had reached an advanced +stage of political disintegration and it is scarcely conceivable that +even a Henry IV. or a Frederick Barbarossa could have made the +imperial power much more than a shadow and a name. But while the +Empire was broken up into scores of principalities, independent +cities, and other political fragments, its people were enjoying a +vigorous and progressive life. The period was one of great growth of +industry in the towns, and especially of commerce. The one serious +disadvantage was the lack of a central police authority to preserve +order and insure the safety of person and property. Warfare was all +but ceaseless, robber-bands infested the rivers and highways, and all +manner of vexatious conditions were imposed upon trade by the various +local authorities. The natural result was the formation of numerous +leagues and confederacies for the suppression of anarchy and the +protection of trade and industry. The greatest of these was the +Hanseatic League, which came to comprise one hundred and seventy-two +cities, and the history of whose operations runs through more than +three centuries. An earlier organization, which may be considered in a +way a forerunner of the Hansa, was the Rhine League, established in +1254. At this earlier date Conrad IV., son of Frederick II., was +fighting his half-brother Manfred for their common Sicilian heritage; +William of Holland, who claimed the imperial title, was recognized in +only a small territory and was quite powerless to affect conditions of +disorder outside; the other princes, great and small, were generally +engaged in private warfare; and the difficulties and dangers of trade +and industry were at their maximum. To establish a power strong +enough, and with the requisite disposition, to suppress the robbers +and pirates who were ruining commerce, the leading cities of the Rhine +valley--Mainz, Cologne, Worms, Speyer, Strassburg, Basel, Trier, Metz, +and others--entered into a "league of holy peace," to endure for a +period of ten years, dating from July 13, 1254. The more significant +terms of the compact are set forth in the selection below. + + Source--Text in Wilhelm Altmann and Ernst Bernheim, + _Ausgewaehlte Urkunden zur Erlauterung der + Verfassungsgeschichte Deutschlands im Mittelalter_ ["Select + Documents Illustrative of the Constitutional History of + Germany in the Middle Ages"], 3rd ed., Berlin, 1904, pp. + 251-254. Translated in Thatcher and McNeal, _A Source Book for + Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 606-609. + + [Sidenote: The league formed at Worms] + + In the name of the Lord, amen. In the year of our Lord 1254, on the + octave of St. Michael's day [a week after Sept. 29] we, the cities + of the upper and lower Rhine, leagued together for the preservation + of peace, met in the city of Worms. We held a conference there and + carefully discussed everything pertaining to a general peace. To + the honor of God, and of the holy mother Church, and of the holy + Empire, which is now governed by our lord, William, king of the + Romans,[492] and to the common advantage of all, both rich and poor + alike, we made the following laws. They are for the benefit of all, + both poor and great, the secular clergy, monks, laymen, and Jews. + To secure these things, which are for the public good, we will + spare neither ourselves nor our possessions. The princes and lords + who take the oath are joined with us. + + =1.= We decree that we will make no warlike expeditions, except + those that are absolutely necessary and determined on by the wise + counsel of the cities and communes. We will mutually aid each other + with all our strength in securing redress for our grievances. + + [Sidenote: No dealings to be had with enemies of the league] + + =2.= We decree that no member of the league, whether city or lord, + Christian or Jew, shall furnish food, arms, or aid of any kind, to + any one who opposes us or the peace. + + =3.= And no one in our cities shall give credit, or make a loan, to + them. + + =4.= No citizen of any of the cities in the league shall associate + with such, or give them counsel, aid, or support. If any one is + convicted of doing so, he shall be expelled from the city and + punished so severely in his property that he will be a warning to + others not to do such things. + + [Sidenote: A warning to enemies] + + =5.= If any knight, in trying to aid his lord who is at war with + us, attacks or molests us anywhere outside of the walled towns of + his lord, he is breaking the peace, and we will in some way inflict + due punishment on him and his possessions, no matter who he is. If + he is caught in any of the cities, he shall be held as a prisoner + until he makes proper satisfaction. We wish to be protectors of the + peasants, and we will protect them against all violence if they + will observe the peace with us. But if they make war on us, we will + punish them, and if we catch them in any of the cities, we will + punish them as malefactors. + + =6.= We wish the cities to destroy all the ferries except those in + their immediate neighborhood, so that there shall be no ferries + except those near the cities which are in the league. This is to be + done in order that the enemies of the peace may be deprived of all + means of crossing the Rhine. + + =7.= We decree that if any lord or knight aids us in promoting the + peace, we will do all we can to protect him. Whoever does not swear + to keep the peace with us, shall be excluded from the general + peace. + + =10.= Above all, we wish to affirm that we desire to live in mutual + peace with the lords and all the people of the province, and we + desire that each should preserve all his rights. + + =11.= Under threat of punishment we forbid any citizen to revile + the lords, although they may be our enemies. For although we wish + to punish them for the violence they have done us, yet before + making war on them we will first warn them to cease from injuring + us. + + [Sidenote: Mainz and Worms to be the capitals of the league] + + =12.= We decree that all correspondence about this matter with the + cities of the lower Rhine shall be conducted from Mainz, and from + Worms with the cities of the upper Rhine. From these two cities all + our correspondence shall be carried on and all who have done us + injury shall be warned. Those who have suffered injury shall send + their messengers at their own expense. + + [Sidenote: The governing body of the league] + + =13.= We also promise, both lords and cities, to send four official + representatives to whatever place a conference is to be held, and + they shall have full authority from their cities to decide on all + matters. They shall report to their cities all the decisions of the + meeting. All who come with the representatives of the cities, or + who come to them while in session, shall have peace, and no + judgment shall be enforced against them. + + =14.= No city shall receive non-residents, who are commonly called + "pfahlburgers," as citizens.[493] + + =15.= We firmly declare that if any member of the league breaks the + peace, we will proceed against him at once as if he were not a + member, and compel him to make proper satisfaction. + + =16.= We promise that we will faithfully keep each other informed + by letter about our enemies and all others who may be able to do us + damage, in order that we may take timely counsel to protect + ourselves against them. + + =17.= We decree that no one shall violently enter the house of + monks or nuns, of whatever order they may be, or quarter themselves + upon them, or demand or extort food or any kind of service from + them, contrary to their will. If any one does this, he shall be + held as a violator of the peace. + + [Sidenote: The league to be enlarged] + + =18.= We decree that each city shall try to persuade each of its + neighboring cities to swear to keep the peace. If they do not do + so, they shall be entirely cut off from the peace, so that if any + one does them an injury, either in their persons or their property, + he shall not thereby break the peace. + + =19.= We wish all members of the league, cities, lords, and all + others, to arm themselves properly and prepare for war, so that + whenever we call upon them we shall find them ready. + + [Sidenote: Military preparations of the league] + + =20.= We decree that the cities between the Moselle and Basel shall + prepare 100 war boats, and the cities below the Moselle shall + prepare 500, well equipped with bowmen, and each city shall prepare + herself as well as she can and supply herself with arms for knights + and foot-soldiers. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[470] Such guarantees of personal liberty were not peculiar to the +charters of communes; they are often found in those of franchise +towns. + +[471] The chief magistrate of Laon was a mayor, elected by the +citizens. In judicial matters he was assisted by twelve "jurats." + +[472] This is intended to preserve the judicial privileges of lords of +manors. + +[473] The citizens of the town were to have freedom to dispose of +their property as they chose. + +[474] This provision was intended to put an end to arbitrary taxation +by the bishop. In the earlier twelfth century serfs were subject to +the arbitrary levy of the taille (tallage) and this indeed constituted +one of their most grievous burdens. Arbitrary tallage was almost +invariably abolished by the town charters. + +[475] By "men of the peace" is meant the citizens of the commune. The +term "commune" is scrupulously avoided in the charter because of its +odious character in the eyes of the bishop. Suits were to be tried at +home in the burgesses' own courts, to save time and expense and insure +better justice. + +[476] This trifling payment of sixpence a year was made in recognition +of the lordship of the king, the grantor of the charter. Aside from +it, the burgher had full rights over his land. + +[477] The burghers, who were often engaged in agriculture as well as +commerce, are to be exempt from tolls on commodities bought for their +own sustenance and from the ordinary fees due the lord for each +measure of grain harvested. + +[478] The object of this provision is to restrict the amount of +military service due the king. The burghers of small places like +Lorris were farmers and traders who made poor soldiers and who were +ordinarily exempted from service by their lords. The provision for +Lorris practically amounted to an exemption, for such service as was +permissible under chapter 3 of the charter was not worth much. + +[479] The Gatinais was the region in which Lorris was situated. +Etampes, Milly, and Melun all lay to the north of Lorris, in the +direction of Paris. Orleans lay to the west. The king's object in +granting the burghers the right to carry goods to the towns specified +without payment of tolls was to encourage commercial intercourse. + +[480] This protects the landed property of the burghers against the +crown and crown officials. With two exceptions, fine or imprisonment, +not confiscation of land, is to be the penalty for crime. _Hotes_ +denotes persons receiving land from the king and under his direct +protection. + +[481] This provision is intended to attract merchants to Lorris by +placing them under the king's protection and assuring them that they +would not be molested on account of old offenses. + +[482] This chapter safeguards the personal property of the burghers, +as chapter 5 safeguards their land. Arbitrary imposts are forbidden +and any of the inhabitants who as serfs had been paying arbitrary +tallage are relieved of the burden. The nominal _cens_ (Chap. 1) was +to be the only regular payment due the king. + +[483] An agreement outside of court was allowable in all cases except +when there was a serious breach of the public peace. The provost was +the chief officer of the town. He was appointed the crown and was +charged chiefly with the administration of justice and the collection +of revenues. All suits of the burghers were tried in his court. They +had no active part in their own government, as was generally true of +the franchise towns. + +[484] Another part of the charter specifies that only those burghers +who owned horses and carts were expected to render the king even this +service. + +[485] This clause, which is very common in the town charters of the +twelfth century (especially in the case of towns on the royal domain) +is intended to attract serfs from other regions and so to build up +population. As a rule the towns were places of refuge from seigniorial +oppression and the present charter undertakes to limit the time within +which the lord might recover his serf who had fled to Lorris to a year +and a day--except in cases where the serf should refuse to recognize +the jurisdiction of the provost's court in the matter of the lord's +claim. + +[486] The sergeants were deputies of the provost, somewhat on the +order of town constables. + +[487] These "Hollanders" inhabited substantially the portion of Europe +now designated by their name. + +[488] This was the diocese from which the colonists proposed to +remove. + +[489] That is, judges representing any outside authority. + +[490] In other words, if the bishop should go from his seat at Hamburg +to the colony. + +[491] In each parish of the colony, therefore, the priest would be +supported by the income of the hide of land set apart for his use and +by the tenth of the regular church tithes which the bishop conceded +for the purpose. + +[492] All that this means is that the members of the Rhine League +recognized William of Holland as emperor. Most of the Empire did not +so recognize him. He died in 1256, two years after the league was +formed. + +[493] These "pfahlburgers" were subjects of ecclesiastical or secular +princes who, in order to escape the burdens of this relation, +contrived to get themselves enrolled as citizens of neighboring +cities. While continuing to dwell in regions subject to the +jurisdiction of their lords, they claimed to enjoy immunity from that +jurisdiction, because of their citizenship in those outside cities. +The pfahlburgers were a constant source of friction between the towns +and the territorial princes. The Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV. +(1356) decreed that pfahlburgers should not enjoy the rights and +privileges of the cities unless they became actual residents of them +and discharged their full obligations as citizens. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENT LIFE + + +The modern university is essentially a product of the Middle Ages. The +Greeks and Romans had provisions for higher education, but nothing +that can properly be termed universities, with faculties, courses of +study, examinations, and degrees. The word "universitas" in the +earlier mediaeval period was applied indiscriminately to any group or +body of people, as a guild of artisans or an organization of the +clergy, and only very gradually did it come to be restricted to an +association of teachers and students--the so-called _universitas +societas magistrorum discipulorumque_. The origins of mediaeval +universities are, in most cases, rather obscure. In the earlier Middle +Ages the interests of learning were generally in the keeping of the +monks and the work of education was carried on chiefly in monastic +schools, where the subjects of study were commonly the seven liberal +arts inherited from Roman days.[494] By the twelfth century there was +a relative decline of these monastic schools, accompanied by a marked +development of cathedral schools in which not only the seven liberal +arts but also new subjects like law and theology were taught. The +twelfth century renaissance brought a notable revival of Roman law, +medicine, astronomy, and philosophy; by 1200 the whole of Aristotle's +writings had become known; and the general awakening produced +immediate results in the larger numbers of students who flocked to +places like Paris and Bologna where exceptional teachers were to be +found. + +Out of these conditions grew the earliest of the universities. No +definite dates for the beginnings of Paris, Bologna, Oxford, etc., can +be assigned, but the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are to be +considered their great formative period. Bologna was specifically the +creation of the revived study of the Roman law and of the fame of the +great law teacher Irnerius. The university sprang from a series of +organizations effected first by the students and later by the +masters, or teachers, and modeled after the guilds of workmen. It +became the pattern for most of the later Italian and Spanish +universities. Paris arose in a different way. It grew directly out of +the great cathedral school of Notre Dame and, unlike Bologna, was an +organization at the outset of masters rather than of students. It was +presided over by the chancellor, who had had charge of education in +the cathedral and who retained the exclusive privilege of granting +licenses to teach (the _licentia docendi_), or, in other words, +degrees.[495] Rising to prominence in the twelfth century, especially +by virtue of the teaching of Abelard (1079-1142), Paris became in time +the greatest university of the Middle Ages, exerting profound +influence not only on learning, but also on the Church and even at +times on political affairs. The universities of the rest of France, as +well as the German universities and Oxford and Cambridge in England, +were copied pretty closely after Paris. + + +60. Privileges Granted to Students and Masters + +Throughout the Middle Ages numerous special favors were showered upon +the universities and their students by the Church. Patronage and +protection from the secular authorities were less to be depended on, +though the courts of kings were not infrequently the rendezvous of +scholars, and the greater seats of learning after the eleventh century +generally owed their prosperity, if not their origin, to the +liberality of monarchs such as Frederick Barbarossa or Philip +Augustus. The recognition of the universities by the temporal powers +came as a rule earlier than that by the Church. The edict of the +Emperor Frederick I., which comprises selection (a) below, was issued +in 1158 and is not to be considered as limited in its application to +the students of any particular university, though many writers have +associated it solely with the University of Bologna. That the statute +was decreed at the solicitation of the Bologna doctors of law admits +of little doubt, but, as Rashdall observes, it was "a general +privilege conferred on the student class throughout the Lombard +kingdom."[496] By some writers it is said to have been the earliest +formal grant of privileges for university students, but this cannot be +true as Salerno (notable chiefly for medical studies) received such +grants from Robert Guiscard and his son Roger before the close of the +eleventh century. + +Until the year 1200 the students of Paris enjoyed no privileges such +as those conferred upon the Italian institutions by Frederick. In that +year a tavern brawl occurred between some German students and Parisian +townspeople, in which five of the students lost their lives. The +provost of the city, instead of attempting to repress the disorder, +took sides against the students and encouraged the populace. Such +laxity stirred the king, Philip Augustus, to action. Fearing that the +students would decamp _en masse_, he hastened to comply with their +appeal for redress. The provost and his lieutenants were arrested and +a decree was issued [given, in part, in selection (b)] exempting the +scholars from the operation of the municipal law in criminal cases. +Pope Innocent III. at once confirmed the privileges and on his part +relaxed somewhat the vigilance of the Church. Such liberal measures, +however, did not insure permanent peace. In less than three decades +another conflict with the provost occurred which was so serious as to +result in a total suspension of the university's activities for more +than two years. + + Sources--(a) Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ + (Pertz ed.), Vol. II., p. 114. Adapted from translation by + Dana C. Munro in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, + Vol. II., No. 3, pp. 2-4. + + (b) Text in _Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis_ + ["Cartulary of the University of Paris"], No. 1., p. 59. + Adapted from translation in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and + Reprints_, _ibid._, pp. 4-7. + + [Sidenote: Security of travel and residence for scholars] + + (a) + + After a careful consideration of this subject by the bishops, + abbots, dukes, counts, judges, and other nobles of our sacred + palace, we, from our piety, have granted this privilege to all + scholars who travel for the sake of study, and especially to the + professors of divine and sacred laws,[497] namely, that they may go + in safety to the places in which the studies are carried on, both + they themselves and their messengers, and may dwell there in + security. For we think it fitting that, during good behavior, those + should enjoy our praise and protection, by whose learning the world + is enlightened to the obedience of God and of us, his ministers, + and the life of the subject is molded; and by a special + consideration we defend them from all injuries. + + [Sidenote: Regulation concerning the collection of debts] + + For who does not pity those who exile themselves through love for + learning, who wear themselves out in poverty in place of riches, + who expose their lives to all perils and often suffer bodily injury + from the vilest men? This must be endured with vexation. Therefore, + we declare by this general and perpetual law, that in the future no + one shall be so rash as to venture to inflict any injury on + scholars, or to occasion any loss to them on account of a debt owed + by an inhabitant of their province--a thing which we have learned + is sometimes done by an evil custom.[498] And let it be known to + the violators of this constitution, and also to those who shall at + the time be the rulers of the places, that a fourfold restitution + of property shall be exacted from all and that, the mark of infamy + being affixed to them by the law itself, they shall lose their + office forever. + + [Sidenote: Judicial privileges of scholars] + + Moreover, if any one shall presume to bring a suit against them on + account of any business, the choice in this matter shall be given + to the scholars, who may summon the accusers to appear before their + professors or the bishop of the city, to whom we have given + jurisdiction in this matter.[499] But if, indeed, the accuser shall + attempt to drag the scholar before another judge, even if his + cause is a very just one, he shall lose his suit for such an + attempt. + + (b) + + Concerning the safety of the students at Paris in the future, by + the advice of our subjects we have ordained as follows: + + [Sidenote: Protection for scholars against crimes of violence] + + We will cause all the citizens of Paris to swear that if any one + sees an injury done to any student by any layman,[500] he will + testify truthfully to this, nor will any one withdraw in order not + to see [the act]. And if it shall happen that any one strikes a + student, except in self-defense, especially if he strikes the + student with a weapon, a club, or a stone, all laymen who see [the + act] shall in good faith seize the malefactor, or malefactors, and + deliver them to our judge; nor shall they run away in order not to + see the act, or seize the malefactor, or testify to the truth. + Also, whether the malefactor is seized in open crime or not, we + will make a legal and full examination through clerks, or laymen, + or certain lawful persons; and our count and our judges shall do + the same. And if by a full examination we, or our judges, are able + to learn that he who is accused, is guilty of the crime, then we, + or our judges, shall immediately inflict a penalty, according to + the quality and nature of the crime; notwithstanding the fact that + the criminal may deny the deed and say that he is ready to defend + himself in single combat, or to purge himself by the ordeal by + water.[501] + + [Sidenote: Scholars to be tried and punished under ecclesiastical + authority] + + Also, neither our provost nor our judges shall lay hands on a + student for any offense whatever; nor shall they place him in our + prison, unless such a crime has been committed by the student, that + he ought to be arrested. And in that case, our judge shall arrest + him on the spot, without striking him at all, unless he resists, + and shall hand him over to the ecclesiastical judge,[502] who ought + to guard him in order to satisfy us and the one suffering the + injury. And if a serious crime has been committed, our judge shall + go or shall send to see what is done with the student. If, indeed, + the student does not resist arrest and yet suffers any injury, we + will exact satisfaction for it, according to the aforesaid + examination and the aforesaid oath. Also our judges shall not lay + hands on the chattels of the students of Paris for any crime + whatever. But if it shall seem that these ought to be sequestrated, + they shall be sequestrated and guarded after sequestration by the + ecclesiastical judge, in order that whatever is judged legal by the + Church may be done with the chattels.[503] But if students are + arrested by our count at such an hour that the ecclesiastical judge + cannot be found and be present at once, our provost shall cause the + culprits to be guarded in some student's house without any + ill-treatment, as is said above, until they are delivered to the + ecclesiastical judge. + + [Sidenote: The oath required of the provost and people of Paris] + + In order, moreover, that these [decrees] may be kept more carefully + and may be established forever by a fixed law, we have decided that + our present provost and the people of Paris shall affirm by an + oath, in the presence of the scholars, that they will carry out in + good faith all the above-mentioned [regulations]. And always in the + future, whosoever receives from us the office of provost in Paris, + among the inaugural acts of his office, namely, on the first or + second Sunday, in one of the churches of Paris--after he has been + summoned for the purpose--shall affirm by an oath, publicly in the + presence of the scholars, that he will keep in good faith all the + above-mentioned [regulations].[504] And that these decrees may be + valid forever, we have ordered this document to be confirmed by the + authority of our seal and by the characters of the royal name + signed below. + + +61. The Foundation of the University of Heidelberg (1386) + +Until the middle of the fourteenth century Germany possessed no +university. In the earlier mediaeval period, when palace and monastic +schools were multiplying in France, Italy, and England, German culture +was too backward to permit of a similar movement beyond the Rhine; and +later, when in other countries universities were springing into +prosperity, political dissensions long continued to thwart such +enterprises among the Germans. Germany was not untouched by the +intellectual movements of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but +her young men were obliged to seek their learning at Oxford or Paris +or Bologna. The first German university was that of Prague, in +Bohemia, founded by Emperor Charles IV., a contemporary of Petrarch, +and chartered in 1348. Once begun, the work of establishing such +institutions went on rapidly, until ere long every principality of +note had its own university. Vienna was founded in 1365, Erfurt was +given papal sanction in 1379, Heidelberg was established in 1386, and +Cologne followed in 1388. The document given below is the charter of +privileges issued for Heidelberg in October, 1386, by the founder, +Rupert I., Count Palatine of the Rhine. Marsilius Inghen became the +first rector of the university. He and two other masters began +lecturing October 19, 1386--one on logic, another on the epistle to +Titus, the third on the philosophy of Aristotle. Within four years +over a thousand students had been in attendance at the university. + + Source--Text in Edward Winkelmann, _Urkundenbuch der + Universitaet Heidelberg_ ["Cartulary of the University of + Heidelberg"], Heidelberg, 1886, Vol. I., pp. 5-6. Translated + in Ernest F. Henderson, _Select Historical Documents of the + Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp. 262-266. + + [Sidenote: The university to be organized on the model of + Paris] + + =1.= We, Rupert the elder, by the grace of God count palatine of + the Rhine, elector of the Holy Empire,[505] and duke of + Bavaria,--lest we seem to abuse the privilege conceded to us by + the apostolic see of founding a place of study at Heidelberg + similar to that at Paris, and lest, for this reason, being + subjected to the divine judgment, we should deserve to be deprived + of the privilege granted--do decree, with provident counsel (which + decree is to be observed unto all time), that the University of + Heidelberg shall be ruled, disposed, and regulated according to the + modes and manners accustomed to be observed in the University of + Paris.[506] Also that, as a handmaid of Paris--a worthy one let us + hope--the latter's steps shall be imitated in every way possible; + so that, namely, there shall be four faculties in it: the first, of + sacred theology and divinity; the second, of canon and civil law, + which, by reason of their similarity, we think best to comprise + under one faculty; the third, of medicine; the fourth, of liberal + arts--of the three-fold philosophy, namely, primal, natural, and + moral, three mutually subservient daughters.[507] We wish this + institution to be divided and marked out into four nations, as it + is at Paris;[508] and that all these faculties shall make one + university, and that to it the individual students, in whatever of + the said faculties they are, shall unitedly belong like lawful sons + to one mother. + + [Sidenote: The obligations of the masters] + + Likewise [we desire] that this university shall be governed by one + rector,[509] and that the various masters and teachers, before they + are admitted to the common pursuits of our institution, shall + swear to observe the statutes, laws, privileges, liberties, and + franchises of the same, and not reveal its secrets, to whatever + grade they may rise. Also that they will uphold the honor of the + rector and the rectorship of our university, and will obey the + rector in all things lawful and honest, whatever be the grade to + which they may afterwards happen to be promoted. Moreover, that the + various masters and bachelors shall read their lectures and + exercise their scholastic functions and go about in caps and gowns + of a uniform and similar nature, according as has been observed at + Paris up to this time in the different faculties. + + [Sidenote: Internal government of the university further provided + for] + + And we will that if any faculty, nation, or person shall oppose the + aforesaid regulations, or stubbornly refuse to obey them, or any + one of them--which God forbid--from that time forward that same + faculty, nation, or person, if it do not desist upon being warned, + shall be deprived of all connection with our aforesaid institution, + and shall not have the benefit of our defense or protection. + Moreover, we will and ordain that as the university as a whole may + do for those assembled here and subject to it, so each faculty, + nation, or province of it may enact lawful statutes, such as are + suitable to its needs, provided that through them, or any one of + them, no prejudice is done to the above regulations and to our + institution, and that no kind of impediment arise from them. And we + will that when the separate bodies shall have passed the statutes + for their own observance, they may make them perpetually binding on + those subject to them and on their successors. And as in the + University of Paris the various servants of the institution have + the benefit of the various privileges which its masters and + scholars enjoy, so in starting our institution in Heidelberg, we + grant, with even greater liberality, through these presents, that + all the servants, i.e., its pedells,[510] librarians, lower + officials, preparers of parchment, scribes, illuminators and + others who serve it, may each and all, without fraud, enjoy in it + the same privileges, franchises, immunities and liberties with + which its masters or scholars are now or shall hereafter be + endowed. + + [Sidenote: The jurisdiction of the bishop of Worms] + + [Sidenote: Conditions of imprisonment] + + =2.= Lest in the new community of the city of Heidelberg, their + misdeeds being unpunished, there be an incentive to the scholars of + doing wrong, we ordain, with provident counsel, by these presents, + that the bishop of Worms, as judge ordinary of the clerks of our + institution, shall have and possess, now and hereafter while our + institution shall last, prisons, and an office in our town of + Heidelberg for the detention of criminal clerks. These things we + have seen fit to grant to him and his successors, adding these + conditions: that he shall permit no clerk to be arrested unless for + a misdemeanor; that he shall restore any one detained for such + fault, or for any light offense, to his master, or to the rector if + the latter asks for him, a promise having been given that the + culprit will appear in court and that the rector or master will + answer for him if the injured parties should go to law about the + matter. Furthermore, that, on being requested, he will restore a + clerk arrested for a crime on slight evidence, upon receiving a + sufficient pledge--sponsors if the prisoner can obtain them, + otherwise an oath if he cannot obtain sponsors--to the effect that + he will answer in court the charges against him; and in all these + things there shall be no pecuniary exactions, except that the clerk + shall give satisfaction, reasonably and according to the rule of + the aforementioned town, for the expenses which he incurred while + in prison. And we desire that he will detain honestly and without + serious injury a criminal clerk thus arrested for a crime where the + suspicion is grave and strong, until the truth can be found out + concerning the deed of which he is suspected. And he shall not for + any cause, moreover, take away any clerk from our aforesaid town, + or permit him to be taken away, unless the proper observances have + been followed, and he has been condemned by judicial sentence to + perpetual imprisonment for a crime. + + [Sidenote: Limitations upon power to arrest students] + + We command our advocate and bailiff and their servants in our + aforesaid town, under pain of losing their offices and our favor, + not to lay a detaining hand on any master or scholar of our said + institution, nor to arrest him or allow him to be arrested, unless + the deed be such that that master or scholar ought rightly to be + detained. He shall be restored to his rector or master, if he is + held for a slight cause, provided he will swear and promise to + appear in court concerning the matter; and we decree that a slight + fault is one for which a layman, if he had committed it, ought to + have been condemned to a light pecuniary fine. Likewise, if the + master or scholar detained be found gravely or strongly suspected + of the crime, we command that he be handed over by our officials to + the bishop or to his representative in our said town, to be kept in + custody. + + [Sidenote: Students exempted from various imposts] + + =3.= By the tenor of these presents we grant to each and all the + masters and scholars that, when they come to the said institution, + while they remain there, and also when they return from it to their + homes, they may freely carry with them, both coming and going, + throughout all the lands subject to us, all things which they need + while pursuing their studies, and all the goods necessary for their + support, without any duty, levy, imposts, tolls, excises, or other + exactions whatever. And we wish them and each one of them, to be + free from the aforesaid imposts when purchasing corn, wines, meat, + fish, clothes and all things necessary for their living and for + their rank. And we decree that the scholars from their stock in + hand of provisions, if there remain over one or two wagonloads of + wine without their having practised deception, may, after the + feast of Easter of that year, sell it at wholesale without paying + impost. We grant to them, moreover, that each day the scholars, of + themselves or through their servants, may be allowed to buy in the + town of Heidelberg, at the accustomed hour, freely and without + impediment or hurtful delay, any eatables or other necessaries of + life. + + [Sidenote: How rates for lodging should be fixed] + + 4. Lest the masters and scholars of our institution of Heidelberg + may be oppressed by the citizens, moved by avarice, through + extortionate prices of lodgings, we have seen fit to decree that + henceforth each year, after Christmas, one expert from the + university on the part of the scholars, and one prudent, pious, and + circumspect citizen on the part of the citizens, shall be + authorized to determine the price of the students' lodgings. + Moreover, we will and decree that the various masters and scholars + shall, through our bailiff, our judge and the officials subject to + us, be defended and maintained in the quiet possession of the + lodgings given to them free or of those for which they pay rent. + Moreover, by the tenor of these presents, we grant to the rector + and the university, or to those designated by them, entire + jurisdiction concerning the payment of rents for the lodgings + occupied by the students, concerning the making and buying of + books, and the borrowing of money for other purposes by the + scholars of our institution; also concerning the payment of + assessments, together with everything that arises from, depends + upon, and is connected with these. + + In addition, we command our officials that, when the rector + requires our and their aid and assistance for carrying out his + sentences against scholars who try to rebel, they shall assist our + clients and servants in this matter; first, however, obtaining + lawful permission to proceed against clerks from the lord bishop of + Worms, or from one deputed by him for this purpose. + + +62. Mediaeval Students' Songs + +"When we try to picture to ourselves," says Mr. Symonds in one of his +felicitous passages, "the intellectual and moral state of Europe in +the Middle Ages, some fixed and almost stereotyped ideas immediately +suggest themselves. We think of the nations immersed in a gross mental +lethargy; passively witnessing the gradual extinction of arts and +sciences which Greece and Rome had splendidly inaugurated; allowing +libraries and monuments of antique civilization to crumble into dust; +while they trembled under a dull and brooding terror of coming +judgment, shrank from natural enjoyment as from deadly sin, or yielded +themselves with brutal eagerness to the satisfaction of vulgar +appetites. Preoccupation with the other world in this long period +weakens man's hold upon the things that make his life desirable.... +Prolonged habits of extra-mundane contemplation, combined with the +decay of real knowledge, volatilize the thoughts and aspirations of +the best and wisest into dreamy unrealities, giving a false air of +mysticism to love, shrouding art in allegory, reducing the +interpretation of texts to an exercise of idle ingenuity, and the +study of nature to an insane system of grotesque and pious quibbling. +The conception of man's fall and of the incurable badness of this +world bears poisonous fruit of cynicism and asceticism, that two-fold +bitter almond hidden in the harsh monastic shell. Nature is regarded +with suspicion and aversion; the flesh, with shame and loathing, +broken by spasmodic outbursts of lawless self-indulgence."[511] + +All of these ideas are properly to be associated with the Middle Ages, +but it must be borne in mind that they represent only one side of the +picture. They are drawn very largely from the study of monastic +literature and produce a somewhat distorted impression. Though many +conditions prevailing in mediaeval times operated strongly to paralyze +the intellects and consciences of men, the fundamental manifestations +and expressions of human instinct and vitality were far from crushed +out. The life of many people was full and varied and positive--not so +different, after all, from that of men and women to-day. That this was +true is demonstrated by a wealth of literature reflecting the jovial +and exuberant aspects of mediaeval life, which has come down to us +chiefly in two great groups--the poetry of the troubadours and the +songs of the wandering students. "That so bold, so fresh, so natural, +so pagan a view of life," continues Mr. Symonds in the passage quoted, +"as the Latin songs of the Wandering Students exhibit, should have +found clear and artistic utterance in the epoch of the Crusades, is +indeed enough to bid us pause and reconsider the justice of our +stereotyped ideas about that period. This literature makes it manifest +that the ineradicable appetites and natural instincts of men and women +were no less vigorous in fact, though less articulate and +self-assertive, than they had been in the age of Greece and Rome, and +than they afterwards displayed themselves in what is known as the +Renaissance. The songs of the Wandering Students were composed for the +most part in the twelfth century. Uttering the unrestrained emotions +of men attached by a slender tie to the dominant clerical class and +diffused over all countries, they bring us face to face with a body of +opinion which finds in studied chronicle or labored dissertation of +the period no echo. On the one side, they express that delight in life +and physical enjoyment which was a main characteristic of the +Renaissance; on the other, they proclaim that revolt against the +corruption of Papal Rome which was the motive force of the +Reformation. Who were these Wandering Students? As their name implies, +they were men, and for the most part young men, traveling from +university to university in search of knowledge. Far from their homes, +without responsibilities, light of purse and light of heart, careless +and pleasure-seeking, they ran a free, disreputable course, +frequenting taverns at least as much as lecture-rooms, more capable of +pronouncing judgment upon wine or woman than upon a problem of +divinity or logic. These pilgrims to the shrines of knowledge formed a +class apart. According to tendencies prevalent in the Middle Ages, +they became a sort of guild, and with pride proclaimed themselves an +Order."[512] + +Our knowledge of the mediaeval students' songs is derived from two +principal sources: (1) a richly illuminated thirteenth-century +manuscript now preserved at Munich and edited in 1847 under the title +_Carmina Burana_; and (2) another thirteenth-century manuscript +published (with other materials) in 1841 under the title _Latin Poems +commonly attributed to Walter Mapes_. Many songs occur in both +collections. The half-dozen given in translation below very well +illustrate the subjects, tone, and style of these interesting bits of +literature. + + Source--Texts in Edelestand du Meril, _Poesies Populaires + Latines du Moyen Age_ ["Popular Latin Poetry of the Middle + Ages"], Paris, 1847, _passim_. Translated in John Addington + Symonds, _Wine, Women, and Song: Mediaeval Latin Students' + Songs_ (London, 1884), pp. 12-136, _passim_. + +The first is a tenth century piece, marked by an element of tenderness +in sentiment which is essentially modern. It is the invitation of a +young man to his mistress, bidding her to a little supper at his home. + + "Come therefore now, my gentle fere, + Whom as my heart I hold full dear; + Enter my little room, which is + Adorned with quaintest rarities: + There are the seats with cushions spread, + The roof with curtains overhead: + The house with flowers of sweetest scent + And scattered herbs is redolent: + A table there is deftly dight + With meats and drinks of rare delight; + There too the wine flows, sparkling, free; + And all, my love, to pleasure thee. + There sound enchanting symphonies; + The clear high notes of flutes arise; + A singing girl and artful boy + Are chanting for thee strains of joy; + He touches with his quill the wire, + She tunes her note unto the lyre: + The servants carry to and fro + Dishes and cups of ruddy glow; + But these delights, I will confess, + Than pleasant converse charm me less; + Nor is the feast so sweet to me + As dear familiarity. + Then come now, sister of my heart, + That dearer than all others art, + Unto mine eyes thou shining sun, + Soul of my soul, thou only one! + I dwelt alone in the wild woods, + And loved all secret solitudes; + Oft would I fly from tumults far, + And shunned where crowds of people are. + O dearest, do not longer stay! + Seek we to live and love to-day! + I cannot live without thee, sweet! + Time bids us now our love complete." + +The next is a begging petition, addressed by a student on the road to +some resident of the place where he was temporarily staying. The +supplication for alms, in the name of learning, is cast in the form of +a sing-song doggerel. + + I, a wandering scholar lad, + Born for toil and sadness, + Oftentimes am driven by + Poverty to madness. + + Literature and knowledge I + Fain would still be earning, + Were it not that want of pelf + Makes me cease from learning. + + These torn clothes that cover me + Are too thin and rotten; + Oft I have to suffer cold, + By the warmth forgotten. + + Scarce I can attend at church, + Sing God's praises duly; + Mass and vespers both I miss, + Though I love them truly. + + Oh, thou pride of N----,[513] + By thy worth I pray thee + Give the suppliant help in need, + Heaven will sure repay thee. + + Take a mind unto thee now + Like unto St. Martin;[514] + Clothe the pilgrim's nakedness + Wish him well at parting. + + So may God translate your soul + Into peace eternal, + And the bliss of saints be yours + In His realm supernal. + +The following jovial _Song of the Open Road_ throbs with exhilaration +and even impudence. Two vagabond students are drinking together before +they part. One of them undertakes to expound the laws of the +brotherhood which bind them together. The refrain is intended +apparently to imitate a bugle call. + + We in our wandering, + Blithesome and squandering, + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Eat to satiety, + Drink to propriety; + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Laugh till our sides we split, + Rags on our hides we fit; + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Jesting eternally, + Quaffing infernally. + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Craft's in the bone of us, + Fear 'tis unknown of us; + Tara, tantara, teino! + + When we're in neediness, + Thieve we with greediness: + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Brother catholical, + Man apostolical, + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Say what you will have done, + What you ask 'twill be done! + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Folk, fear the toss of the + Horns of philosophy! + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Here comes a quadruple + Spoiler and prodigal![515] + Tara, tantara, teino! + + License and vanity + Pamper insanity: + Tara, tantara, teino! + + As the Pope bade us do, + Brother to brother's true: + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Brother, best friend, adieu! + Now, I must part from you! + Tara, tantara, teino! + + When will our meeting be? + Glad shall our greeting be! + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Vows valedictory + Now have the victory: + Tara, tantara, teino! + + Clasped on each other's breast, + Brother to brother pressed, + Tara, tantara, teino! + +Here is a song entitled _The Vow to Cupid_. + + Winter, now thy spite is spent, + Frost and ice and branches bent! + Fogs and furious storms are o'er, + Sloth and torpor, sorrow frore, + Pallid wrath, lean discontent. + + Comes the graceful band of May! + Cloudless shines the limpid day, + Shine by night the Pleiades; + While a grateful summer breeze + Makes the season soft and gay. + + Golden Love! shine forth to view! + Souls of stubborn men subdue! + See me bend! what is thy mind? + Make the girl thou givest kind, + And a leaping ram's thy due![516] + + O the jocund face of earth, + Breathing with young grassy birth! + Every tree with foliage clad, + Singing birds in greenwood glad, + Flowering fields for lovers' mirth! + +Here is another song of exceedingly delicate sentiment. It is entitled +_The Love-Letter in Spring_. + + Now the sun is streaming, + Clear and pure his ray; + April's glad face beaming + On our earth to-day. + Unto love returneth + Every gentle mind; + And the boy-god burneth + Jocund hearts to bind. + + All this budding beauty, + Festival array, + Lays on us the duty + To be blithe and gay. + Trodden ways are known, love! + And in this thy youth, + To retain thy own love + Were but faith and truth. + + In faith love me solely, + Mark the faith of me, + From thy whole heart wholly, + From the soul of thee. + At this time of bliss, dear, + I am far away; + Those who love like this, dear, + Suffer every day! + +Next to love and the springtime, the average student set his +affections principally on the tavern and the wine-bowl. From his +proneness to frequent the tavern's jovial company of topers and +gamesters naturally sprang a liberal supply of drinking songs. Here is +a fragment from one of them. + + Some are gaming, some are drinking, + Some are living without thinking; + And of those who make the racket, + Some are stripped of coat and jacket; + Some get clothes of finer feather, + Some are cleaned out altogether; + No one there dreads death's invasion, + But all drink in emulation. + +Finally may be given, in the original Latin, a stanza of a drinking +song which fell to such depths of irreverence as to comprise a parody +of Thomas Aquinas's hymn on the Lord's Supper. + + _Bibit hera, bibit herus, + Bibit miles, bibit clerus, + Bibit ille, bibit illa, + Bibit servus cum ancilla, + Bibit velox, bibit piger, + Bibit albus, bibit niger, + Bibit constans, bibit vagus, + Bibit rudis, bibit magus._ + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[494] That is, the _trivium_ (Latin grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and +the _quadrivium_ (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music). + +[495] The earliest degrees granted at Bologna, Paris, etc., were those +of master of arts and doctor of philosophy. "Master" and "Doctor" were +practically equivalent terms and both signified simply that the +bearer, after suitable examinations, had been recognized as +sufficiently proficient to be admitted to the guild of teachers. The +bachelor's degree grew up more obscurely. It might be taken somewhere +on the road to the master's degree, but was merely an incidental stamp +of proficiency up to a certain stage of advancement. Throughout +mediaeval times the master's, or doctor's, degree, which carried the +right to become a teacher, was the normal goal and few stopped short +of its attainment. + +[496] Hastings Rashdall, _The Universities of Europe in the Middle +Ages_ (Oxford, 1895), Vol. I., p. 146. + +[497] Evidently, from other passages, including students of law as +well as teachers. + +[498] Greedy creditors sometimes compelled students to pay debts owed +by the fellow-countrymen of the latter--a very thinly disguised form +of robbery. This abuse was now to be abolished. + +[499] That is, in any legal proceedings against a scholar the +defendant was to choose whether he would be tried before his own +master or before the bishop. In later times this right of choice +passed generally to the plaintiff. + +[500] The students of the French universities were regarded as, for +all practical purposes, members of the clergy (_clerici_) and thus to +be distinguished from laymen. They were not clergy in the full sense, +but were subject to a special sort of jurisdiction closely akin to +that applying to the clergy. + +[501] The law on this point was exceptionally severe. The privilege of +establishing innocence by combat or the ordeal by water was denied, +though even the provost and his subordinates who had played false in +the riot of 1200 had been given the opportunity of clearing themselves +by such means if they chose and could do so. + +[502] A further recognition of the clerical character of the students. + +[503] The property, as the persons, of the scholars was protected from +seizure except by the church authorities. + +[504] In this capacity the provost of Paris came to be known as the +"Conservator of the Royal Privileges of the University." + +[505] For an explanation of the phrase "elector of the Holy Empire" +see p. 409. + +[506] Rupert had sent sums of money to Rome to induce Pope Urban VI. +to approve the foundation of the university. The papal bull of 1385, +which was the reward of his effort, specifically enjoined that the +university be modeled closely after that of Paris. + +[507] The mediaeval "three philosophies" were introduced by the +rediscovery of some of Aristotle's writings in the twelfth century. +Primal philosophy was what we now know as metaphysics; natural +philosophy meant the sciences of physics, botany, etc.; and moral +philosophy denoted ethics and politics. + +[508] At Paris the students were divided into four groups, named from +the nationality which predominated in each of them at the time of its +formation--the French, the Normans, the Picards, and the English. + +[509] The rector at Paris was head of the faculty of arts. + +[510] Equivalent to bedel. All mediaeval universities had their bedels, +who bore the mace of authority before the rectors on public occasions, +made announcements of lectures, book sales, etc., and exercised many +of the functions of the modern bedel of European universities. + +[511] John Addington Symonds, _Wine, Women and Song: Mediaeval Latin +Students' Songs_ (London, 1884), pp. 1-3. + +[512] Symonds, _Wine, Women, and Song_, pp. 5-20 _passim_. + +[513] This is the only indication of the name of the place where the +suppliant student was supposed to be making his petition. + +[514] St. Martin was the founder of the monastery at Tours [see p. +48]. + +[515] "Honest folk are jeeringly bidden to beware of the _quadrivium_ +[see p. 339], which is apt to form a fourfold rogue instead of a +scholar in four branches of knowledge."--Symonds, _Wine, Women, and +Song_, p. 57. + +[516] That is, as a sacrifice. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE FRIARS + + +From the twelfth century onwards one of the most conspicuous features +of the internal development of the mediaeval Church was the struggle +to combat worldliness among ecclesiastics and to preserve the purity +of doctrine and uprightness of living which had characterized the +primitive Christian clergy. As the Middle Ages advanced to their close, +unimpeachable evidence accumulates that the Church was increasingly +menaced by grave abuses. This evidence appears not only in contemporary +records and chronicles but even more strikingly in the great +protesting movements which spring up in rapid succession--particularly +the rise of heretical sects, such as the Waldenses and the Albigenses, +and the inauguration of systematic efforts to regenerate the church +body without disrupting its unity. These latter efforts at first took +the form of repeated revivals of monastic enthusiasm and self-denial, +marked by the founding of a series of new orders on the basis of the +Benedictine Rule--the Cluniacs, the Carthusians, the Cistercians, and +others of their kind [see p. 245]. This resource proving ineffective, +the movement eventually came to comprise the establishment of wholly +new and independent organizations--the mendicant orders--on principles +better adapted than were those of monasticism to the successful +propagation of simplicity and purity of Christian living. The chief of +these new orders were the Franciscans, known also as Gray Friars and +as Minorites, and the Dominicans, sometimes called Black Friars or +Preaching Friars. Both were founded in the first quarter of the +thirteenth century, the one by St. Francis of Assisi; the other by the +Spanish nobleman, St. Dominic. + +The friars, of whatsoever type, are clearly to be distinguished from +the monks. In the first place, their aims were different. The monks, +in so far as they were true to their principles, lived in more or less +seclusion from the rest of the world and gave themselves up largely +to prayer and meditation; the fundamental purpose of the friars, on +the other hand, was to mingle with their fellow-men and to spend their +lives in active religious work among them. Whereas the old monasticism +had been essentially selfish, the new movement was above all of a +missionary and philanthropic character. In the second place, the +friars were even more strongly committed to a life of poverty than +were the monks, for they renounced not only individual property, as +did the monks, but also collective property, as the monks did not. +They were expected to get their living either by their own labor or by +begging. They did not dwell in fixed abodes, but wandered hither and +thither as inclination and duty led. Their particular sphere of +activity was the populous towns; unlike the monks, they had no liking +for rural solitudes. As one writer has put it, "their houses were +built in or near the great towns; and to the majority of the brethren +the houses of the orders were mere temporary resting-places from which +they issued to make their journeys through town and country, preaching +in the parish churches, or from the steps of the market-crosses, and +carrying their ministrations to every castle and every cottage." + +Both the Franciscans and the Dominicans were exempt from control by +the bishops in the various dioceses and were ardent supporters of the +papacy, which showered privileges upon them and secured in them two of +its strongest allies. The organization of each order was elaborate and +centralized. At the head was a master, or general, who resided at Rome +and was assisted by a "chapter." All Christendom was divided into +provinces, each of which was directed by a prior and provincial +chapter. And over each individual "house" was placed a prior, or +warden, appointed by the provincial chapter. In their earlier history +the zeal and achievements of the friars were remarkable. Nearly all of +the greatest men of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries--as +Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Dun Scotus, and Albertus Magnus--were +members of one of the mendicant orders. Unfortunately, with the friars +as with the monks, prosperity brought decadence; and by the middle of +the fourteenth century their ardor had cooled and their boasted +self-denial had pretty largely given place to self-indulgence. + + +63. The Life of St. Francis + +Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order, was born, probably +in 1182, at Assisi, a small town in central Italy. His boyhood was +unpromising, but when he was about twenty years of age a great change +came over him, the final result of which was the making of one of the +most splendid and altogether lovable characters of the entire Middle +Ages. From a wild, reckless, although cultured, youth he developed +into a sympathetic, self-denying, sweet-spirited saint. Finding +himself, after his conversion, possessed of a natural loathing for the +destitute and diseased, especially lepers, he disciplined himself +until he could actually take a certain sort of pleasure in associating +with these outcasts of society. When his father, a wealthy and +aristocratic cloth-merchant, protested against this sort of conduct, +the young man promptly cast aside his gentlemanly raiment, clad +himself in the worn-out garments of a gardener, and adopted the life +of the wandering hermit. In 1209, in obedience to what he conceived to +be a direct commission from heaven, he began definitely to imitate the +early apostles in his manner of living and to preach the gospel of the +older and purer Christianity. By 1210 he had a small body of +followers, and in that year he sought and obtained Pope Innocent +III.'s sanction of his work, though the papal approval was expressed +only orally and more than a decade was to elapse before the movement +received formal recognition. About 1217 Francis and his companions +took up missionary work on a large scale. Members of the brotherhood +were dispatched to England, Germany, France, Spain, Hungary, and +several other countries, with instructions to spread the principles +which by this time were coming to be recognized as peculiarly +Franciscan. The success of these efforts was considerable, though in +some places the brethren were ill treated and an appeal had to be made +to the Pope for protection. + +The several selections given below have been chosen to illustrate the +principal features of the life and character of St. Francis. We are +fortunate in possessing a considerable amount of literature, +contemporary or nearly so, relating to the personal career of this +noteworthy man. In the first place, we have some writings of St. +Francis himself--the Rule (p. 373), the Will (p. 376), some poems, +some reported sermons, and fragments of a few letters. Then we have +several biographies, of which the most valuable, because not only the +earliest but also the least conventional, are the _Mirror of +Perfection_ and the _Legend of the Three Companions_. These were +written by men who knew St. Francis intimately and who could avow "we +who were with him have heard him say" or "we who were with him have +seen," such and such things. The "three companions" were Brothers Leo, +Rufinus, and Angelo--all men of noble birth, the last-named being the +first soldier to be identified with the order. The _Mirror of +Perfection_ was written in 1227 by Brother Leo, who of all men +probably knew St. Francis best. It is a vivid and fascinating portrait +drawn from life. The _Legend of the Three Companions_ was written in +1246. The later biographies, such as the official _Life_ by St. +Bonaventura (1261) and the _Little Flowers of St. Francis_ (written +probably in the fourteenth century), though until recently the best +known of the group, are relatively inferior in value. In them the real +St. Francis is conventionalized and much obscured. + +The first passage here reproduced (a) comes from the _Legend of the +Three Companions_; the others (b) are taken from the _Mirror of +Perfection_. + + Sources--(a) _Legenda S. Francisci Assisiensis quae dicitur + Legenda trium sociorum._ Adapted from translation by E. G. + Salter, under title of "The Legend of the Three Companions," + in the Temple Classics (London, 1902), pp. 8-24, _passim_. + + (b) _Speculum Perfectionis._ Translated by Constance, Countess + de la Warr, under title of "The Mirror of Perfection," + (London, 1902), _passim_. + + [Sidenote: His youthful vanities and waywardness] + + (a) + + Francis, born in the city of Assisi, which lies in the confines of + the Vale of Spoleto, was at first named John by his mother. Then, + when his father, in whose absence he had been born, returned from + France, he was afterward named Francis[517]. After he was grown up, + and had become of a subtle wit, he practiced the art of his father, + that is, trade. But [he did so] in a very different manner, for he + was a merrier man than was his father, and more generous, given to + jests and songs, going about the city of Assisi day and night in + company with his kind, most free-handed in spending; insomuch that + he consumed all his income and his profits in banquets and other + matters. On this account he was often rebuked by his parents, who + told him he ran into so great expense on himself and on others that + he seemed to be no son of theirs, but rather of some mighty prince. + Nevertheless, because his parents were rich and loved him most + tenderly, they bore with him in such matters, not being disposed to + chastise him. Indeed, his mother, when gossip arose among the + neighbors concerning his prodigal ways, made answer: "What think ye + of my son? He shall yet be the son of God by grace." But he himself + was free-handed, or rather prodigal, not only in these things, but + even in his clothes he was beyond measure sumptuous, using stuffs + more costly than it befitted him to wear. So wayward was his fancy + that at times on the same coat he would cause a costly cloth to be + matched with one of the meanest sort. + + [Sidenote: His redeeming qualities] + + [Sidenote: A lesson in charity] + + Yet he was naturally courteous, in manner and word, after the + purpose of his heart, never speaking a harmful or shameful word to + any one. Nay, indeed, although he was so gay and wanton a youth, + yet of set purpose would he make no reply to those who said + shameful things to him. And hence was his fame so spread abroad + throughout the whole neighborhood that it was said by many who knew + him that he would do something great. By these steps of godliness + he progressed to such grace that he would say in communing with + himself: "Seeing that thou art bountiful and courteous toward men, + from whom thou receivest naught save a passing and empty favor, it + is just that thou shouldst be courteous and bountiful toward God, + who is Himself most bountiful in rewarding His poor." Wherefore + thenceforward did he look with goodwill upon the poor, bestowing + alms upon them abundantly. And although he was a merchant, yet was + he a most lavish dispenser of this world's riches. One day, when he + was standing in the warehouse in which he sold goods, and was + intent on business, a certain poor man came to him asking alms for + the love of God. Nevertheless, he was held back by the covetousness + of wealth and the cares of merchandise, and denied him the alms. + But forthwith, being looked upon by the divine grace, he rebuked + himself of great churlishness, saying, "Had this poor man asked + thee aught in the name of a great count or baron, assuredly thou + wouldst have given him what he had asked. How much more then + oughtest thou to have done it for the King of Kings and Lord of + all?" By reason whereof he thenceforth determined in his heart + never again to deny anything asked in the name of so great a + Lord.... + + [Sidenote: A vision in the midst of revelry] + + Now, not many days after he returned to Assisi,[518] he was chosen + one evening by his comrades as their master of the revels, to spend + the money collected from the company after his own fancy. So he + caused a sumptuous banquet to be made ready, as he had often done + before. And when they came forth from the house, and his comrades + together went before him, going through the city singing while he + carried a wand in his hand as their master, he was walking behind + them, not singing, but meditating very earnestly. And lo! suddenly + he was visited by the Lord, and his heart was filled with such + sweetness that he could neither speak nor move; nor was he able to + feel and hear anything except that sweetness only, which so + separated him from his physical senses that--as he himself + afterward said--had he then been pricked with knives all over at + once, he could not have moved from the spot. But when his comrades + looked back and saw him thus far off from them, they returned to + him in fear, staring at him as one changed into another man. And + they asked him, "What were you thinking about, that you did not + come along with us? Perchance you were thinking of taking a wife." + To them he replied with a loud voice: "Truly have you spoken, for I + thought of taking to myself a bride nobler and richer and fairer + than ever you have seen." And they mocked at him. But this he said + not of his own accord, but inspired of God; for the bride herself + was true Religion, whom he took unto him, nobler, richer, and + fairer than others in her poverty. + + [Sidenote: His increasing zeal in charity] + + And so from that hour he began to grow worthless in his own eyes, + and to despise those things he had formerly loved, although not + wholly so at once, for he was not yet entirely freed from the + vanity of the world. Nevertheless, withdrawing himself little by + little from the tumult of the world, he made it his study to + treasure up Jesus Christ in his inner man, and, hiding from the + eyes of mockers the pearl that he would fain buy at the price of + selling his all, he went oftentimes, and as it were in secret, + daily to prayer, being urged thereto by the foretaste of that + sweetness that had visited him more and more often, and compelled + him to come from the streets and other public places to prayer. + Although he had long done good unto the poor, yet from this time + forth he determined still more firmly in his heart never again to + deny alms to any poor man who should ask it for the love of God, + but to give alms more willingly and bountifully than had been his + practice. Whenever, therefore, any poor man asked of him an alms + out of doors, he would supply him with money if he could; if he had + no ready money, he would give him his cap or girdle rather than + send the poor man away empty. And if it happened that he had + nothing of this kind, he would go to some hidden place, and strip + off his shirt, and send the poor man thither that he might take it, + for the sake of God. He also would buy vessels for the adornment + of churches, and would send them in all secrecy to poor priests.... + + [Sidenote: He begs alms at Rome] + + So changed, then, was he by divine grace (although still in the + secular garb) that he desired to be in some city where he might, as + one unknown, strip off his own clothes and exchange them for those + of some beggar, so that he might wear his instead and make trial of + himself by asking alms for the love of God. Now it happened that at + that time he had gone to Rome on a pilgrimage. And entering the + church of St. Peter, he reflected on the offerings of certain + people, seeing that they were small, and spoke within himself: + "Since the Prince of the Apostles should of right be magnificently + honored, why do these folk make such sorry offerings in the church + wherein his body rests?" And so in great fervency he put his hand + into his purse and drew it forth full of money, and flung it + through the grating of the altar with such a crash that all who + were standing by marveled greatly at so splendid an offering. Then, + going forth in front of the doors of the church, where many beggars + were gathered to ask alms, he secretly borrowed the rags of one + among the neediest and donned them, laying aside his own clothing. + Then, standing on the church steps with the other beggars, he asked + an alms in French, for he loved to speak the French tongue, + although he did not speak it correctly. Thereafter, putting off the + rags, and taking again his own clothes, he returned to Assisi, and + began to pray the Lord to direct his way. For he revealed unto none + his secret, nor took counsel of any in this matter, save only of + God (who had begun to direct his way) and at times of the bishop of + Assisi. For at that time no true Poverty was to be found anywhere, + and she it was that he desired above all things of this world, + being minded in her to live--yea, and to die.... + + [Sidenote: Francis and the leper] + + Now when on a certain day he was praying fervently unto the Lord, + answer was made unto him: "Francis, all those things that thou hast + loved after the flesh, and hast desired to have, thou must needs + despise and hate, if thou wouldst do My will, and after thou shalt + have begun to do this the things that aforetime seemed sweet unto + thee and delightful shall be unbearable unto thee and bitter, and + from those that aforetime thou didst loathe thou shalt drink great + sweetness and delight unmeasured." Rejoicing at these words, and + consoled in the Lord, when he had ridden nigh unto Assisi, he met + one that was a leper. And because he had been accustomed greatly to + loathe lepers, he did violence to himself, and dismounted from his + horse, gave him money, and kissed his hand. And receiving from him + the kiss of peace, he remounted his horse and continued his + journey. Thenceforth he began more and more to despise himself, + until by the grace of God he had attained perfect mastery over + himself. + + A few days later, he took much money and went to the quarter of the + lepers, and, gathering all together, gave to each an alms, kissing + his hand. As he departed, in very truth that which had aforetime + been bitter to him, that is, the sight and touch of lepers, was + changed into sweetness. For, as he confessed, the sight of lepers + had been so grievous to him that he had been accustomed to avoid + not only seeing them, but even going near their dwellings. And if + at any time he happened to pass their abodes, or to see them, + although he was moved by compassion to give them an alms through + another person, yet always would he turn aside his face, stopping + his nostrils with his hand. But, through the grace of God, he + became so intimate a friend of the lepers that, even as he recorded + in his Will,[519] he lived with them and did humbly serve them. + + [Sidenote: How St. Francis would not dwell in an adorned cell] + + [Sidenote: Or in a cell called his own] + + (b) + + A very spiritual friar, who was familiar with Blessed Francis, + erected at the hermitage where he lived a little cell in a solitary + spot, where Blessed Francis could retire and pray when he came + thither. When he arrived at this place the friar took him to the + cell, and Blessed Francis said, "This cell is too splendid"--it + was, indeed, built only of wood, and smoothed with a hatchet--"if + you wish me to remain here, make it within and without of branches + of trees and clay." For the poorer the house or cell, the more was + he pleased to live therein. When the friar had done this, Blessed + Francis remained there several days. One day he was out of the cell + when a friar came to see him, who, coming thereafter to the place + where Blessed Francis was, was asked, "Whence came you, Brother?" + He answered, "I come from your cell." Then said Blessed Francis: + "Since you have called it mine, let another dwell there and not I." + And, in truth, we who were with him often heard him say: "The foxes + have holes, and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son + of Man hath not where to lay His head." And again he would say: + "When the Lord remained in the desert, and fasted forty days and + forty nights, He did not make for Himself a cell or a house, but + found shelter amongst the rocks of the mountain." For this reason, + and to follow His example, he would not have it said that a cell or + house was his, nor would he allow such to be constructed.... When + he was nigh unto death he caused it to be written in his + Testament[520] that all the cells and houses of the friars should + be of wood and clay, the better to safeguard poverty and humility. + + * * * * * + + [Sidenote: A lazy friar] + + At the beginning of the Order, when the friars were at + Rivo-Torto,[521] near Assisi, there was among them one friar who + would not pray, work, nor ask for alms, but only eat. Considering + this, Blessed Francis knew by the Holy Spirit that he was a carnal + man, and said to him, "Brother Fly, go your way, since you consume + the labor of the brethren, and are slothful in the work of the + Lord, like the idle and barren drone who earns nothing and does not + work, but consumes the labor and earnings of the working bee." He, + therefore, went his way, and as he was a carnally-minded man he + neither sought for mercy nor obtained it. + + * * * * * + + [Sidenote: Public humiliation inflicted upon himself] + + Having at a time suffered greatly from one of his serious attacks + of illness, when he felt a little better he began to think that + during his sickness he had exceeded his usual allowance of food, + whereas he had really eaten very little. Though not quite recovered + from the ague, he caused the people of Assisi to be called together + in the public square to listen to a sermon. When he had finished + preaching, he told the people to remain where they were until he + came back to them, and entered the cathedral of St. Rufinus with + many friars and Brother Peter of Catana, who had been a canon of + that church, and was now the first Minister-General[522] appointed + by Blessed Francis. To Brother Peter Francis spoke, enjoining him + under obedience not to contradict what he was about to say. Brother + Peter replied: "Brother, neither is it possible, as between you and + me, nor do I wish to do anything save what is pleasing to you." + Then, taking off his tunic, Blessed Francis bade him place a rope + around his neck and drag him thus before the people to the place + where he had preached. At the same time he ordered another friar to + carry a bowlful of ashes to the place, and when he got there to + throw the ashes into his face. But this order was not obeyed by + the friar out of the pity and compassion he felt for him. + + Brother Peter, taking the rope, did as he had been told; but he and + all the other friars shed tears of compassion and bitterness. When + he [Francis] stood thus bared before the people in the place where + he had preached, he cried: "You, and all those who by my example + have been induced to abandon the world and enter Religion to lead + the lives of friars, I confess before God and you that in my + illness I have eaten meat and broths made of meat." And all the + people could not refrain from weeping, especially as at that time + it was very cold and he had scarcely recovered from the fever. + Beating their breasts where they stood, they exclaimed, "If this + saint, for just and manifest necessity, with shame of body thus + accuses himself, whose life we know to be holy, and who has imposed + on himself such great abstinence and austerity since his first + conversion to Christ (whom we here, as it were, see in the flesh), + what will become of us sinners who all our lifetime seek to follow + our carnal appetites?" + + * * * * * + + [Sidenote: St. Francis and the larks] + + Blessed Francis, wholly wrapped up in the love of God, discerned + perfectly the goodness of God not only in his own soul, now adorned + with the perfection of virtue, but in every creature. On account of + which he had a singular and intimate love of creatures, especially + of those in which was figured anything pertaining to God or the + Order. Wherefore above all other birds he loved a certain little + bird which is called the lark, or by the people, the cowled lark. + And he used to say of it: "Sister Lark hath a cowl like a + Religious; and she is a humble bird, because she goes willingly by + the road to find there any food. And if she comes upon it in + foulness, she draws it out and eats it. But, flying, she praises + God very sweetly, like a good Religious, despising earthly things, + whose conversation is always in the heavens, and whose intent is + always to the praise of God. Her clothes (that is, her feathers), + are like to the earth and she gives an example to Religious that + they should not have delicate and colored garments, but common in + price and color, as earth is commoner than the other elements." And + because he perceived this in them, he looked on them most + willingly. Therefore it pleased the Lord, that these most holy + little birds should show some sign of affection towards him in the + hour of his death. For late in the Sabbath day after vespers, + before the night in which he passed away to the Lord, a great + multitude of that kind of birds called larks came on the roof of + the house where he was lying, and, flying about, made a wheel like + a circle around the roof, and, sweetly singing, seemed likewise to + praise the Lord. + + * * * * * + + [Sidenote: His desire that birds and animals be fed on Christmas + day] + + We who were with Blessed Francis and write these things, testify + that many times we heard him say: "If I could speak with the + Emperor,[523] I would supplicate and persuade him that, for the + love of God and me, he would make a special law that no man should + snare or kill our sisters, the larks, nor do them any harm. Also, + that all chief magistrates of cities and lords of castles and + villages should, every year, on the day of the Lord's Nativity, + compel men to scatter wheat and other grain on the roads outside + cities and castles, that our Sister Larks and all other birds might + have to eat on that most solemn day; and that, out of reverence for + the Son of God, who on that night was laid by the most Blessed + Virgin Mary in a manger between an ox and an ass, all who have oxen + and asses should be obliged on that night to provide them with + abundant and good fodder; and also that on that day the poor should + be most bountifully fed by the rich." + + For Blessed Francis held in higher reverence than any other the + Feast of the Lord's Nativity, saying, "After the Lord was born, our + salvation became a necessity." Therefore he desired that on this + day all Christians should rejoice in the Lord, and, for the love + of Him who gave Himself for us, should generously provide not only + for the poor, but also for the beasts and birds. + + * * * * * + + [Sidenote: His regard for trees, stones, and all created things] + + Next to fire he most loved water, which is the symbol of holy + penance and tribulation, whereby the stains are washed from the + soul, and by which the first cleansing of the soul takes place in + holy baptism. Hence, when he washed his hands, he would select a + place where he would not tread the water underfoot. When he walked + over stones he would tread on them with fear and reverence, for the + love of Him who is called the Rock, and when reciting the words of + the Psalm, _Thou hast exalted me on a rock_, would add with great + reverence and devotion, "beneath the foot of the rock hast thou + exalted me." + + In the same way he would tell the friars who cut and prepared the + wood not to cut down the whole tree, but only such branches as + would leave the tree standing, for love of Him who died for us on + the wood of the Cross. So, also, he would tell the friar who was + the gardener not to cultivate all the ground for vegetables and + herbs for food, but to set aside some part to produce green plants + which should in their time bear flowers for the friars, for love of + Him who was called "The Flower of the Field," and "The Lily of the + Valley." Indeed he would say the Brother Gardener should always + make a beautiful little garden in some part of the land, and plant + it with sweet-scented herbs bearing lovely flowers, which in the + time of their blossoming invited men to praise Him who made all + herbs and flowers. For every creature cries aloud: "God has made me + for thee, O man!" + + +64. The Rule of St. Francis + +There is every reason for believing that St. Francis set out upon his +mission with no idea whatever of founding a new religious order. His +fundamental purpose was to revive what he conceived to be the purer +Christianity of the apostolic age, and so far as this involved the +announcement of any definite principles or rules he was quite content +to draw them solely from the Scriptures. We have record, for example, +of how when (in 1209) St. Francis had yet but two followers, he led +them to the steps of the church of St. Nicholas at Assisi and there +read to them three times the words of Jesus sending forth his +disciples,[524] adding, "This, brethren, is our life and our rule, and +that of all who may join us. Go, then, and do as you have heard." As +his field of labor expanded, however, and the number of the friars +increased, St. Francis decided to write out a definite Rule for the +brotherhood and go to Rome to procure its approval by the Pope. The +Rule as thus formulated, in 1210, has not come down to us. We know +only that it was extremely simple and that it was composed almost +wholly of passages from the Bible (doubtless those read to the +companions at Assisi), with a few precepts about the occupations and +manner of living of the brethren. This first Rule indeed proved too +simple and brief to satisfy the demands of the growing order. A +general injunction, such as "be poor," was harder to apply and to live +up to than a more specific set of instructions explaining just what +was to be considered poverty and what was not. The brethren, moreover, +were soon preaching and laboring in all the countries of western +Europe and questions were continually coming up regarding their +relations with the temporal powers in those countries, with the local +clergy, with the papal government, and also among themselves. + +Reluctantly, and with a heart-felt warning against the insidious +influences of ambition and organization, the founder finally brought +himself to the task of drawing up a constitution for the order which +had surprised him, and in a certain sense grieved him, by the very +elaborateness of its development. During the winter of 1220-21, when +physical infirmities were foreshadowing the end, Francis worked out +the document generally known as the Rule of 1221, which became the +basis for the Rule of 1223, quoted in part below. Before the Rule took +its final form, the influence of the Church was brought to bear +through the papacy, with the result that most of the freshness and +vigor that St. Francis put into the earlier effort was crushed out in +the interest of ecclesiastical regularity. Only a small portion of the +document can be reproduced here, but enough, perhaps, to show +something as to what the manner of life of the Franciscan friar was +expected to be. The extract may profitably be compared with the +Benedictine Rule governing the monks [see p. 83]. + + Source--_Bullarium Romanum_ ["Collection of Papal Bulls"], + editio Taurinensis, Vol. III., p. 394. Adapted from + translation in Ernest F. Henderson, _Select Historical + Documents of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp. 344-349 + _passim_. + + =1.= This is the rule and way of living of the Minorite brothers, + namely, to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living + in obedience, without personal possessions, and in chastity. + Brother Francis promises obedience and reverence to our lord Pope + Honorius,[525] and to his successors who canonically enter upon + their office, and to the Roman Church. And the other brothers shall + be bound to obey Brother Francis and his successors. + + [Sidenote: Money in no case to be received by the brothers] + + =4.= I firmly command all the brothers by no means to receive coin + or money, of themselves or through an intervening person. But for + the needs of the sick and for clothing the other brothers, the + ministers alone and the guardians shall provide through spiritual + friends, as it may seem to them that necessity demands, according + to time, place and the coldness of the temperature. This one thing + being always borne in mind, that, as has been said, they receive + neither coin nor money. + + [Sidenote: The obligation to labor] + + =5.= Those brothers to whom God has given the ability to labor + shall labor faithfully and devoutly, in such manner that idleness, + the enemy of the soul, being averted, they may not extinguish the + spirit of holy prayer and devotion, to which other temporal things + should be subservient. As a reward, moreover, for their labor, they + may receive for themselves and their brothers the necessities of + life, but not coin or money; and this humbly, as becomes the + servants of God and the followers of most holy poverty. + + =6.= The brothers shall appropriate nothing to themselves, neither + a house, nor a place, nor anything; but as pilgrims and strangers + in this world, in poverty and humility serving God, they shall + confidently go seeking for alms. Nor need they be ashamed, for the + Lord made Himself poor for us in this world. + + +65. The Will of St. Francis + +The will which St. Francis prepared just before his death (1226) +contains an admirable statement of the principles for which he +labored, as well as a notable warning to his successors not to allow +the order to fall away from its original high ideals. Among the later +Franciscans the Will acquired a moral authority superior even to that +of the Rule. + + Source--Text in Amoni, _Legenda Trium Sociorum_ ["Legend of + the Three Companions"], Appendix, p. 110. Translation adapted + from Paul Sabatier, _Life of St. Francis of Assisi_ (New York, + 1894), pp. 337-339. + + God gave it to me, Brother Francis, to begin to do penance in the + following manner: when I was yet in my sins it seemed to me too + painful to look upon the lepers, but the Lord Himself led me among + them, and I had compassion upon them. When I left them, that which + had seemed to me bitter had become sweet and easy. A little while + after, I left the world,[526] and God gave me such faith that I + would kneel down with simplicity in any of his churches, and I + would say, "We adore thee, Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all thy + churches which are in the world, and we bless thee that by Thy holy + cross Thou hast ransomed the world." + + [Sidenote: St. Francis not hostile to the existing Church] + + Afterward the Lord gave me, and still gives me, so great a faith in + priests who live according to the form of the holy Roman Church, + because of their sacerdotal character, that even if they + persecuted me I would have recourse to them, and even though I had + all the wisdom of Solomon, if I should find poor secular priests, I + would not preach in their parishes against their will.[527] I + desire to respect them like all the others, to love them and honor + them as my lords. I will not consider their sins, for in them I see + the Son of God, and they are my lords. I do this because here below + I see nothing, I perceive nothing physically of the most high Son + of God, except His most holy body and blood, which the priests + receive and alone distribute to others.[528] + + I desire above all things to honor and venerate all these most holy + mysteries and to keep them precious. Wherever I find the sacred + name of Jesus, or his words, in unsuitable places, I desire to take + them away and put them in some decent place; and I pray that others + may do the same. We ought to honor and revere all the theologians + and those who preach the most holy word of God, as dispensing to us + spirit and life. + + When the Lord gave me the care of some brothers, no one showed me + what I ought to do, but the Most High himself revealed to me that I + ought to live according to the model of the holy gospel. I caused a + short and simple formula to be written and the lord Pope confirmed + it for me.[529] + + [Sidenote: Poverty and labor enjoined] + + Those who volunteered to follow this kind of life distributed all + they had to the poor. They contented themselves with one tunic, + patched within and without, with the cord and breeches, and we + desired to have nothing more.... We loved to live in poor and + abandoned churches, and we were ignorant and were submissive to + all. I worked with my hands and would still do so, and I firmly + desire also that all the other brothers work, for this makes for + goodness. Let those who know no trade learn one, not for the + purpose of receiving wages for their toil, but for their good + example and to escape idleness. And when we are not given the price + of our work, let us resort to the table of the Lord, begging our + bread from door to door. The Lord revealed to me the salutation + which we ought to give: "God give you peace!" + + [Sidenote: No further privileges to be sought from the Pope] + + Let the brothers take great care not to accept churches, dwellings, + or any buildings erected for them, except as all is in accordance + with the holy poverty which we have vowed in the Rule; and let them + not live in them except as strangers and pilgrims. I absolutely + forbid all the brothers, in whatsoever place they may be found, to + ask any bull from the court of Rome, whether directly or + indirectly, in the interest of church or convent, or under pretext + of preaching, or even for the protection of their bodies. If they + are not received anywhere, let them go of themselves elsewhere, + thus doing penance with the benediction of God.... + + And let the brothers not say, "This is a new Rule"; for this is + only a reminder, a warning, an exhortation. It is my last will and + testament, that I, little Brother Francis, make for you, my blessed + brothers, in order that we may observe in a more Catholic way the + Rule which we promised the Lord to keep. + + [Sidenote: No additions to be made to the Rule or the Will] + + Let the ministers-general, all the other ministers, and the + custodians be held by obedience to add nothing to and take nothing + away from these words. Let them always keep this writing near them + beside the Rule; and in all the assemblies which shall be held, + when the Rule is read, let these words be read also. + + I absolutely forbid all the brothers, clerics and laymen, to + introduce comments in the Rule, or in this Will, under pretext of + explaining it. But since the Lord has given me to speak and to + write the Rule and these words in a clear and simple manner, so do + you understand them in the same way without commentary, and put + them in practice until the end. + + And whoever shall have observed these things, may he be crowned in + heaven with the blessings of the heavenly Father, and on earth with + those of his well-beloved Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, + with the assistance of all the heavenly virtues and all the saints. + + And I, little Brother Francis, your servant, confirm to you, so far + as I am able, this most holy benediction. Amen. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[517] The father's name was Pietro Bernardone. As a cloth-merchant he +was probably accustomed to make frequent journeys to northern France, +particularly Champagne, which was the principal seat of commercial +exchange between northern and southern Europe. + +[518] Aspiring to become a knight and to win distinction on the field +of battle, Francis had gone to Spoleto with the intention of joining +an expedition about to set out for Apulia. While there he was stricken +with fever and compelled to abandon his purpose. Returning to Assisi, +he redoubled his works of charity and sought to keep aloof from the +people of the town. His old companions, however, flocked around him, +expecting still to profit by his prodigality, and for a time, being +himself uncertain as to the course he would take, he acceded to their +desires. + +[519] See p. 376. + +[520] Brief portions of this testament, or will, are given on p. 376. + +[521] This was in the latter part of 1210 and the early part of 1211. +Rivo-Torto was an abandoned cottage in the plain of Assisi, an hour's +walk from the town and near the highway between Perugia and Rome. The +building had once served as a leper hospital. Francis and his +companions selected it as a temporary place of abode, probably because +of its proximity to the _carceri_, or natural grottoes, of Mount +Subasio to which the friars resorted for solitude, and because it was +at the same time sufficiently near the Umbrian towns to permit of +frequent trips thither for preaching and charity. + +[522] Practically, St. Francis's successor in the headship of the +order. With the idea of realizing entire humility in his own life, St. +Francis had resigned his position of authority into the hands of +Brother Peter and had pledged the implicit obedience of himself and +the others to the new prelate. + +[523] That is, the sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire. + +[524] The passage (Luke ix. 1-6) is as follows: "Jesus, having called +to Him the Twelve, gave them power and authority over all devils and +to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to +heal the sick. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, +neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have +two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and +thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of +that city shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony +against them. And they departed and went through the towns, preaching +the gospel and healing everywhere." + +[525] Honorius III., 1216-1227. + +[526] That is, abandoned the worldly manner of living. + +[527] Despite the willingness of St. Francis here expressed to get on +peaceably with the secular clergy, i.e., the bishops and priests, the +history of the mendicant orders is filled with the records of strife +between the seculars and friars. This was inevitable, since such +friars as had taken priestly orders were accustomed to hear +confessions, preside at masses, preach in parish churchyards, bury the +dead, and collect alms--all the proper functions of the parish priests +but permitted to the friars by special papal dispensations. The +priests very naturally regarded the friars as usurpers. + +[528] That is, in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. + +[529] The Rule of 1210, approved by Innocent III., is here meant [see +p. 374]. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE PAPACY AND THE TEMPORAL POWERS IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES + + +66. The Interdict Laid on France by Innocent III. (1200) + +Two of the most effective weapons at the service of the mediaeval +Church were excommunication and the interdict. By the ban of +excommunication the proper ecclesiastical authorities could exclude a +heretic or otherwise objectionable person from all religious +privileges, thereby cutting him off from association with the faithful +and consigning him irrevocably (unless he repented) to Satan. The +interdict differed from excommunication in being less sweeping in its +condemnatory character, and also in being applied to towns, provinces, +or countries rather than to individuals. As a rule the interdict +undertook to deprive the inhabitants of a specified region of the use +of certain of the sacraments, of participation in the usual religious +services, and of the right of Christian burial. It did not expel men +from church membership, as did excommunication, but it suspended most +of the privileges and rights flowing from such membership. The +interdict was first employed by the clergy of north France in the +tenth and eleventh centuries. In the twelfth it was adopted by the +papacy on account of its obvious value as a means of disciplining the +monarchs of western Europe. Because of its effectiveness in stirring +up popular indignation against sovereigns who incurred the papal +displeasure, by the time of Innocent III. (1198-1216) it had come to +be employed for political as well as for purely religious purposes, +though generally the two considerations were closely intertwined. A +famous and typical instance of its use was that of the year 1200, +described below. + +In August, 1193, Philip Augustus, king of France, married Ingeborg, +second sister of King Knut VI. of Denmark. At the time Philip was +contemplating an invasion of England and hoped through the marriage to +assure himself of Danish aid. Circumstances soon changed his plans, +however, and almost immediately he began to treat his new wife coldly, +with the obvious purpose of forcing her to return to her brother's +court. Failing in this, he convened his nobles and bishops at +Compiegne and got from them a decree of divorce, on the flimsy pretext +that the marriage with Ingeborg had been illegal on account of the +latter's distant relationship to Elizabeth of Hainault, Philip's first +wife. Ingeborg and her brother appealed to Rome, and Pope Celestine +III. dispatched letter after letter and legate after legate to the +French court, but without result. Indeed, after three years, Philip, +to clinch the matter, as he thought, married Agnes of Meran, daughter +of a Bavarian nobleman, and shut up Ingeborg in a convent at Soissons. +In 1198, while the affair stood thus, Celestine died and was succeeded +by Innocent III., under whom the papal power was destined to attain a +height hitherto unknown. Innocent flatly refused to sanction the +divorce or to recognize the second marriage, although he was not pope, +of course, until some years after both had occurred. On the ground +that the whole subject of marriage lay properly within the +jurisdiction of the Church, Innocent demanded that Philip cast off the +beautiful Agnes and restore Ingeborg to her rightful place. This +Philip promptly refused to do. + +The threat of an interdict failing to move him, the Pope proceeded to +put his threat into execution. In January, 1200, the interdict was +pronounced and, though the king's power over the French clergy was so +strong that many refused to heed the voice from Rome, gradually the +discontent and indignation of the people grew until after nine months +it became apparent that the king must yield. He did so as gracefully +as he could, promising to take back Ingeborg and submit the question +of a divorce to a council presided over by the papal legate. This +council, convened in 1201 at Soissons, decided against the king and in +favor of Ingeborg; but Philip had no intention to submit in good faith +and, until the death of Agnes in 1204, he maintained his policy of +procrastination and double-dealing. Even in the later years of the +reign the unfortunate Ingeborg had frequent cause to complain of +harshness and neglect at the hand of her royal husband. + +The following are the principal portions of Innocent's interdict. + + Source--Martene, Edmond, and Durand, Ursin, _Thesaurus novus + Anecdotorum_ ["New Collection of Unpublished Documents"], + Paris, 1717, Vol. IV., p. 147. Adapted from translation by + Arthur C. Howland in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, + Vol. IV., No. 4, pp. 29-30. + + [Sidenote: Partial suspension of the services and offices of + the Church] + + Let all the churches be closed; let no one be admitted to them, + except to baptize infants; let them not be otherwise opened, except + for the purpose of lighting the lamps, or when the priest shall + come for the Eucharist and holy water for the use of the sick. We + permit Mass to be celebrated once a week, on Friday, early in the + morning, to consecrate the Host[530] for the use of the sick, but + only one clerk is to be admitted to assist the priest. Let the + clergy preach on Sunday in the vestibules of the churches, and in + place of the Mass let them deliver the word of God. Let them recite + the canonical hours[531] outside the churches, where the people do + not hear them; if they recite an epistle or a gospel, let them + beware lest the laity hear them; and let them not permit the dead + to be interred, nor their bodies to be placed unburied in the + cemeteries. Let them, moreover, say to the laity that they sin and + transgress grievously by burying bodies in the earth, even in + unconsecrated ground, for in so doing they assume to themselves an + office pertaining to others. + + [Sidenote: How Easter should be observed] + + [Sidenote: Arrangements for confession] + + Let them forbid their parishioners to enter churches that may be + open in the king's territory, and let them not bless the wallets of + pilgrims, except outside the churches. Let them not celebrate the + offices in Passion week, but refrain even until Easter day, and + then let them celebrate in private, no one being admitted except + the assisting priest, as above directed; let no one communicate, + even at Easter, unless he be sick and in danger of death. During + the same week, or on Palm Sunday, let them announce to their + parishioners that they may assemble on Easter morning before the + church and there have permission to eat flesh and consecrated + bread.... Let the priest confess all who desire it in the portico + of the church; if the church have no portico, we direct that in bad + or rainy weather, and not otherwise, the nearest door of the church + may be opened and confessions heard on its threshold (all being + excluded except the one who is to confess), so that the priest and + the penitent can be heard by those who are outside the church. If, + however, the weather be fair, let the confession be heard in front + of the closed doors. Let no vessels of holy water be placed outside + the church, nor shall the priests carry them anywhere; for all the + sacraments of the Church beyond these two which are reserved[532] + are absolutely prohibited. Extreme unction, which is a holy + sacrament, may not be given.[533] + + +67. The Bull "Unam Sanctam" of Boniface VIII. (1302) + +In the history of the mediaeval Church at least three great periods of +conflict between the papacy and the temporal powers can be +distinguished. The first was the era of Gregory VII. and Henry IV. of +Germany [see p. 261]; the second was that of Innocent III. and John of +England and Philip Augustus of France [see p. 380]; the third was that +of Boniface VIII. and Philip the Fair of France. In many respects the +most significant document pertaining to the last of these struggles is +the papal bull, given below, commonly designated by its opening words, +_Unam Sanctam_. + +The question at issue in the conflict of Boniface VIII. and Philip the +Fair was the old one as to whether the papacy should be allowed to +dominate European states in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. +The Franconian emperors, in the eleventh century, made stubborn +resistance to such domination, but the immediate result was only +partial success, while later efforts to keep up the contest +practically ruined the power of the house of Hohenstaufen. Even Philip +Augustus, at the opening of the thirteenth century, had been compelled +to yield, at least outwardly, to the demands of the papacy respecting +his marriages and his national policies. With the revival of the issue +under Boniface and Philip, however, the tide turned, for at last there +had arisen a nation whose sovereign had so firm a grip upon the +loyalty of his subjects that he could defy even the power of Rome with +impunity. + +The quarrel between Boniface and Philip first assumed importance in +1296--two years after the accession of the former and eleven after +that of the latter. The immediate subject of dispute was the heavy +taxes which Philip was levying upon the clergy of France and the +revenues from which he was using in the prosecution of his wars with +Edward I. of England; but royal and papal interests were fundamentally +at variance and as both king and pope were of a combative temper, a +conflict was inevitable, irrespective of taxes or any other particular +cause of controversy. In 1096 Boniface issued the famous bull +_Clericis Laicos_, forbidding laymen (including monarchs) to levy +subsidies on the clergy without papal consent and prohibiting the +clergy to pay subsidies so levied. Philip the Fair was not mentioned +in the bull, but the measure was clearly directed primarily at him. He +retaliated by prohibiting the export of money, plate, etc., from the +realm, thereby cutting off the accustomed papal revenues from France. +In 1297 an apparent reconciliation was effected, the Pope practically +suspending the bull so far as France was concerned, though only to +secure relief from the conflict with Philip while engaged in a +struggle with the rival Colonna family at Rome. + +In 1301 the contest was renewed, mainly because of the indiscretion of +a papal legate, Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, who vilified the +king and was promptly imprisoned for his violent language. Boniface +took up the cause of Saisset and called an ecclesiastical council to +regulate the affairs of church and state in France and to rectify the +injuries wrought by King Philip. The claim to papal supremacy in +temporal as well as spiritual affairs, which Boniface proposed thus to +make good, was boldly stated in a new bull--that of _Ausculta +Fili_--in 1301. At the same time the bull _Clericis Laicos_ was +renewed for France. Philip knew that the Franconians and his own +Capetian predecessors had failed in their struggles with Rome chiefly +for the reason that they had been lacking in consistent popular +support. National feeling was unquestionably stronger in the France of +1301 than in the Germany of 1077, or even in the France of 1200; but +to make doubly sure, Philip, in 1302, caused the first meeting of a +complete States General to be held, and from this body, representing +the various elements of the French people, he got reliable pledges of +support in his efforts to resist the temporal aggressions of the +papacy. It was at this juncture that Boniface issued the bull _Unam +Sanctam_, which has well been termed the classic mediaeval expression +of the papal claims to universal temporal sovereignty. + +In 1303 an assembly of French prelates and magnates, under the +inspiration of Philip, brought charges of heresy and misconduct +against Boniface and called for a meeting of a general ecclesiastical +council to depose him. Boniface decided to issue a bull +excommunicating and deposing Philip. But before the date set for this +step (September, 1303) a catastrophe befell the papacy which resulted +in an unexpected termination of the episode. On the day before the +bull of deposition was to be issued William of Nogaret, whom Philip +had sent to Rome to force Boniface to call a general council to try +the charges against himself, led a band of troops to Anagni and took +the Pope prisoner with the intention of carrying him to France for +trial. After three days the inhabitants of Anagni attacked the +Frenchmen and drove them out and Boniface, who had barely escaped +death, returned to Rome. The unfortunate Pope never recovered, +however, from the effects of the outrage and his death in October +(1303) left Philip, by however unworthy means, a victor. From this +point the papacy passes under the domination of the French court and +in 1309 began the dark period of the so-called Babylonian Captivity, +during most of which the popes dwelt at Avignon under conditions +precisely the reverse of the ideal which Boniface so clearly asserted +in _Unam Sanctam_. + + Source--Text based upon the papal register published by P. + Mury in _Revue des Questions Historiques_, Vol. XLVI. (July, + 1889), pp. 255-256. Translated in Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar + H. McNeal, _Source Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York), + 1905, pp. 314-317. + + [Sidenote: An assertion of the unity of the Church] + + The true faith compels us to believe that there is one holy + Catholic Apostolic Church, and this we firmly believe and plainly + confess. And outside of her there is no salvation or remission of + sins, as the Bridegroom says in the Song of Solomon: "My dove, my + undefiled, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is + the choice one of her that bare her" [Song of Sol., vi. 9]; which + represents the one mystical body, whose head is Christ, but the + head of Christ is God [1 Cor., xi. 3]. In this Church there is "one + Lord, one faith, one baptism" [Eph., iv. 5]. For in the time of the + flood there was only one ark, that of Noah, prefiguring the one + Church, and it was "finished above in one cubit" [Gen., vi. 16], + and had but one helmsman and master, namely, Noah. And we read that + all things on the earth outside of this ark were destroyed. This + Church we venerate as the only one, since the Lord said by the + prophet: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power + of the dog" [Ps., xxii. 20]. He prayed for his soul, that is, for + himself, the head; and at the same time for the body, and he named + his body, that is, the one Church, because there is but one + Bridegroom [John, iii. 29], and because of the unity of the faith, + of the sacraments, and of his love for the Church. This is the + seamless robe of the Lord which was not rent but parted by lot + [John, xix. 23]. + + [Sidenote: An allusion to the Petrine Supremacy] + + [Sidenote: The proper relation of spiritual and temporal powers] + + Therefore there is one body of the one and only Church, and one + head, not two heads, as if the Church were a monster. And this head + is Christ, and his vicar, Peter and his successor; for the Lord + himself said to Peter: "Feed my sheep" [John, xxi. 16]. And he said + "my sheep," in general, not these or those sheep in particular; + from which it is clear that all were committed to him. If, + therefore, Greeks [i.e., the Greek Church] or any one else say that + they are not subject to Peter and his successors, they thereby + necessarily confess that they are not of the sheep of Christ. For + the Lord says, in the Gospel of John, that there is one fold and + only one shepherd [John, x. 16]. By the words of the gospel we are + taught that the two swords, namely, the spiritual authority and the + temporal, are in the power of the Church. For when the apostles + said "Here are two swords" [Luke, xxii. 38]--that is, in the + Church, since it was the apostles who were speaking--the Lord did + not answer, "It is too much," but "It is enough." Whoever denies + that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter does not properly + understand the word of the Lord when He said: "Put up thy sword + into the sheath" [John, xviii. 11]. Both swords, therefore, the + spiritual and the temporal, are in the power of the Church. The + former is to be used by the Church, the latter for the Church; the + one by the hand of the priest, the other by the hand of kings and + knights, but at the command and permission of the priest. Moreover, + it is necessary for one sword to be under the other, and the + temporal authority to be subjected to the spiritual; for the + apostle says, "For there is no power but of God: and the powers + that be are ordained of God" [Rom., xiii. 1]; but they would not be + ordained unless one were subjected to the other, and, as it were, + the lower made the higher by the other. + + [Sidenote: The superiority of the spiritual] + + For, according to St. Dionysius,[534] it is a law of divinity that + the lowest is made the highest through the intermediate. According + to the law of the universe all things are not equally and directly + reduced to order, but the lowest are fitted into their order + through the intermediate, and the lower through the higher. And we + must necessarily admit that the spiritual power surpasses any + earthly power in dignity and honor, because spiritual things + surpass temporal things. We clearly see that this is true from the + paying of tithes, from the benediction, from the sanctification, + from the receiving of the power, and from the governing of these + things. For the truth itself declares that the spiritual power must + establish the temporal power and pass judgment on it if it is not + good. Thus the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the Church and the + ecclesiastical power is fulfilled: "See, I have this day set thee + over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull + down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant" + [Jer., i. 10]. + + [Sidenote: The highest spiritual power (the papacy) responsible to + God alone] + + Therefore if the temporal power errs, it will be judged by the + spiritual power, and if the lower spiritual power errs, it will be + judged by its superior. But if the highest spiritual power errs, it + cannot be judged by men, but by God alone. For the apostle says: + "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is + judged of no man" [1 Cor., ii. 15]. Now this authority, although it + is given to man and exercised through man, is not human, but + divine. For it was given by the word of the Lord to Peter, and the + rock was made firm to him and his successors, in Christ himself, + whom he had confessed. For the Lord said to Peter: "Whatsoever thou + shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou + shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" [Matt., xvi. 19]. + + [Sidenote: Submission to the papacy essential to salvation] + + Therefore, whosoever resisteth this power thus ordained of God + resisteth the ordinance of God [Rom., xiii. 2], unless there are + two principles [beginnings], as Manichaeus[535] pretends there are. + But this we judge to be false and heretical. For Moses says that, + not in the beginnings, but in the beginning, God created the heaven + and the earth [Gen., i. 1]. We therefore declare, say, and affirm + that submission on the part of every man to the bishop of Rome is + altogether necessary for his salvation. + + +68. The Great Schism and the Councils of Pisa and Constance + +The "Babylonian Captivity"--begun in 1305, or perhaps more properly in +1309, when the French Pope, Clement V., took up his residence +regularly at Avignon--lasted until 1377. During these sixty or seventy +years the College of Cardinals consisted chiefly of Frenchmen, all of +the seven popes were of French nationality, and for the most part the +papal authority was little more than a tool in the hands of the +aggressive French sovereigns. In 1377, at the solicitation of the +Italian clergy and people, Pope Gregory XI. removed to Rome, where he +died in 1378. In the election that followed the Roman populace, +determined to bring the residence of the popes at Avignon to an end +once for all, demanded a Roman, or at least an Italian, pope. The +majority of the cardinals were French, but they could not agree upon a +French candidate and, intimidated by the threats of the mob, they at +last chose a Neapolitan who took the name Urban VI. A few months of +Urban's obstinate administration convinced the cardinals that they had +made a serious mistake, and, on the ground that their choice had been +unduly influenced by popular clamor, they sought to nullify the +election and to replace Urban by a Genevan who took the title Clement +VII. Urban utterly refused thus to be put aside, so that there were +now two popes, each duly elected by the College of Cardinals and each +claiming the undivided allegiance of Christendom. This was the +beginning of the Great Schism, destined to work havoc in the Church +for a full generation, or until finally ended in 1417. Clement VII. +fixed his abode at Avignon and French influence secured for him the +support of Spain, Scotland, and Sicily. The rest of Europe, displeased +with the subordination of the papacy to France and French interests, +declared for Urban, who was pledged to maintain the papal capital at +Rome. + +France must be held responsible in the main for the evils of the Great +Schism--a breach in the Church which she deliberately created and for +many years maintained; but she herself suffered by it more than any +other nation of Europe because of the annates,[536] the _decime_,[537] +and other taxes which were imposed upon the French clergy and people +to support the luxurious and at times extravagant papal court at +Avignon, or which were exacted by ambitious monarchs under the cover +of papal license. In the course of time the impossible situation +created by the Schism demanded a remedy and in fairness it should be +observed that in the work of adjustment the leading part was taken by +the French. After the death of Clement VII., in 1394, the French court +sincerely desired to bring the Schism to an end on terms that would be +fair to all. Already in 1393 King Charles VI. had laid the case before +the University of Paris and asked for an opinion as to the best course +to be pursued. The authorities of the university requested each member +of the various faculties to submit his idea of a solution of the +problem and from the mass of suggestions thus brought together a +committee of fifty-four professors, masters, and doctors worked out +the three lines of action set forth in selection (a) below. The first +plan, i.e., that both popes should resign as a means of restoring +harmony, was accepted as the proper one by an assembly of the French +clergy convened in 1395. It was doomed to defeat, however, by the +vacillation of both Benedict XIII. at Avignon and Boniface IX. at +Rome, and in the end it was agreed to fall back upon the third plan +which the University of Paris had proposed, i.e., the convening of a +general council. There was no doubt that such a council could legally +be summoned only by the pope, but finally the cardinals attached to +both popes deserted them and united in issuing the call in their own +name. + +The council met at Pisa in 1409 and proceeded to clear up the question +of its own legality and authority by issuing the unequivocal +declaration comprised in (b) below. It furthermore declared both popes +deposed and elected a new one, who took the name Alexander V. Neither +of the previous popes, however, recognized the council's action, so +now there were three rivals instead of two and the situation was only +so much worse than before. In 1410 Alexander V. died and the cardinals +chose as his successor John XXIII., a man whose life was notoriously +wicked, but who was far from lacking in political sagacity. Three +years later the capture of Rome by the king of Naples forced John to +appeal for assistance to the Emperor Sigismund; and Sigismund +demanded, before extending the desired aid, that a general church +council be summoned to meet on German soil for the adjustment of the +tangled papal situation. The result was the Council of Constance, +whose sessions extended from November, 1414, to April, 1418, and +which, because of its general European character, was able to succeed +where the Council of Pisa had failed. In the decree _Sacrosancta_ +given below (c), issued in April, 1415, we have the council's notable +assertion of its supreme authority in ecclesiastical matters, even as +against the pope himself. The Schism was healed with comparative +facility. Gregory XII., who had been the pope at Rome, but who was now +in exile, sent envoys to offer his abdication. Benedict XIII., +likewise a fugitive, was deposed and found himself without supporters. +John XXIII. was deposed for his unworthy character and had no means of +offering resistance. The cardinals, together with representatives of +the five "nations" into which the council was divided, harmoniously +selected for pope a Roman cardinal, who assumed the name of Martin V. +This was in 1417. The Schism was at an end, though the work of +combating heresy and of propagating reform within the Church went on +in successive councils, notably that of Basel (1431-1449). + + Sources--(a) Lucae d'Achery, _Spicilegium, sive Collectio + veterum aliquot Scriptorum qui in Galliae Bibliothecis + Delituerant_ ["Gleanings, or a Collection of some Early + Writings, which survive in Gallic Libraries"], Paris, 1723, + Vol. I., p. 777. Translated in Thatcher and McNeal, _Source + Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905), pp. 326-327. + + (b) Raynaldus, _Annales, anno 1409_ ["Annals, year 1409"], + Sec. 71. + + (c) Von der Hardt, _Magnum Constantiense Concilium_ ["Great + Council of Constance"], Vol. II., p. 98. + + (a) + + _The first way._ Now the first way to end the Schism is that both + parties should entirely renounce and resign all rights which they + may have, or claim to have, to the papal office. + + [Sidenote: Three possible solutions of the Schism offered by the + University of Paris] + + _The second way._ But if both cling tenaciously to their rights and + refuse to resign, as they have thus far done, we would propose a + resort to arbitration. That is, that they should together choose + worthy and suitable men, or permit such to be chosen in a regular + and canonical way, and these should have full power and authority + to discuss the case and decide it, and if necessary and expedient + and approved by those who, according to the canon law, have the + authority [i.e., the cardinals], they might also have the right to + proceed to the election of a pope. + + _The third way._ If the rival popes, after being urged in a + brotherly and friendly manner, will not accept either of the above + ways, there is a third way which we propose as an excellent remedy + for this sacrilegious schism. We mean that the matter should be + left to a general council. This general council might be composed, + according to canon law, only of prelates; or, since many of them + are very illiterate, and many of them are bitter partisans of one + or the other pope, there might be joined with the prelates an equal + number of masters and doctors of theology and law from the + faculties of approved universities. Or, if this does not seem + sufficient to any one, there might be added, besides, one or more + representatives from cathedral chapters and the chief monastic + orders, to the end that all decisions might be rendered only after + most careful examination and mature deliberation. + + [Sidenote: Declarations of the Council of Pisa (1409)] + + (b) + + This holy and general council, representing the universal Church, + decrees and declares that the united college of cardinals was + empowered to call the council, and that the power to call such a + council belongs of right to the aforesaid holy college of + cardinals, especially now when there is a detestable schism. The + council further declares that this holy council, representing the + universal Church, caused both claimants of the papal throne to be + cited in the gates and doors of the churches of Pisa to come and + hear the final decision [in the matter of the Schism] pronounced, + or to give a good and sufficient reason why such sentence should + not be rendered. + + [Sidenote: The Council of Constance asserts its superiority to even + the papacy] + + (c) + + This holy synod of Constance, being a general council, and legally + assembled in the Holy Spirit for the praise of God and for ending + the present schism, and for the union and reformation of the Church + of God in its head and in its members, in order more easily, more + securely, more completely, and more fully to bring about the union + and reformation of the Church of God, ordains, declares, and + decrees as follows: First it declares that this synod, legally + assembled, is a general council, and represents the Catholic church + militant and has its authority directly from Christ; and everybody, + of whatever rank or dignity, including also the pope, is bound to + obey this council in those things which pertain to the faith, to + the ending of this schism, and to a general reformation of the + Church in its head and members. Likewise it declares that if any + one, of whatever rank, condition, or dignity, including also the + pope, shall refuse to obey the commands, statutes, ordinances, or + orders of this holy council, or of any other holy council properly + assembled, in regard to the ending of the Schism and to the + reformation of the Church, he shall be subject to the proper + punishment, and, unless he repents, he shall be duly punished, and, + if necessary, recourse shall be had to other aids of justice. + + +69. The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438) + +The Council of Basel, convened in 1431, had for its object a +thoroughgoing reformation of the Church, "in its head and its +members," from papacy to parish priest. Like all of the councils of +the period, its spirit was distinctly anti-papal and for this reason +Pope Eugene IV. sought to bring it under his control by transferring +it to Bologna and, failing in this, to turn its deliberations into +channels other than criticism of the papacy. While the negotiations of +Eugene and the council were in progress a step fraught with great +significance was taken in France in the promulgation of the Pragmatic +Sanction of Bourges.[538] France was the only country in which the +principles laid down by the councils--Pisa, Constance, Basel, and the +rest--had taken firm hold. In 1438 Charles VII. convened at Bourges an +assembly composed of leading prelates, councillors, and princes of the +royal blood, to which the Pope and the Council of Basel both sent +delegates. This assembly proceeded to adapt the decrees of the council +to the conditions and needs of France, on the evident assumption that +the will of the French magnates in such matters was superior to that +of both pope and council, so far as France was concerned. The action +at Bourges well illustrates the growing spirit of French nationality +which had sprung up since the recent achievements of Joan of Arc. + +The Pragmatic Sanction dealt in the main with four subjects--the +authority of church councils, the diminishing of papal patronage, the +restriction of papal taxation, and the limitation of appeals to Rome. +Together these matters are commonly spoken of as the "Gallican +liberties," i.e., the liberties of the Gallic or French church, and +they implied the right of the national church to administer its own +affairs with only the slightest interference from the pope or other +outside powers; in other words, they were essentially anti-papal. +Louis XI., the successor of Charles VII., for diplomatic reasons, +sought to revoke the Pragmatic Sanction, but the Parlement of Paris +refused to register the ordinance and for all practical purposes the +Pragmatic was maintained until 1516. In that year Francis I. +established the relations of the papacy and the French clergy on the +basis of a new "concordat," which, however, was not very unlike the +Pragmatic. The Pragmatic is of interest to the student of French +history mainly because of the degree in which it enhanced the power of +the crown, particularly in respect to the ecclesiastical affairs of +the realm, and because of the testimony it bears to the declining +influence of the papacy in the stronger nations like France and +England. The text printed below represents only an abstract of the +document, which in all included thirty-three chapters. + + Source.--Text in Vilevault et Brequigny, _Ordonnances des Rois + de France de la Troisieme Race_ (Paris, 1772), Vol. XIII., pp. + 267-291. + + [Sidenote: Charles VII. recognizes the obligations of the king + to the Church] + + [Sidenote: Abuses prevalent in the French church] + + The king declares that, according to the oath taken at their + coronation, kings are bound to defend and protect the holy Church, + its ministers and its sacred offices, and zealously to guard in + their kingdoms the decrees of the holy fathers. The general council + assembled at Basel to continue the work begun by the councils of + Constance and Siena,[539] and to labor for the reform of the + Church, in both its head and members, having had presented to it + numerous decrees and regulations, with the request that it accept + them and cause them to be observed in the kingdom, the king has + convened an assembly composed of prelates and other ecclesiastics + representing the clergy of France and of the Dauphine.[540] He has + presided in person over its deliberations, surrounded by his son, + the princes of the blood, and the principal lords of the realm. He + has listened to the ambassadors of the Pope and the council. From + the examination of prelates and the most renowned doctors, and from + the thoroughgoing discussions of the assembly, it appears that, + from the falling into decay of the early discipline, the churches + of the kingdom have been made to suffer from all sorts of + insatiable greed; that the _reserve_ and the _grace_ + _expectative_[541] have given rise to grievous abuses and + unbearable burdens; that the most notable and best endowed + benefices have fallen into the hands of unknown men, who do not + conform at all to the requirement of residence and who do not + understand the speech of the people committed to their care, and + consequently are neglectful of the needs of their souls, like + mercenaries who dream of nothing whatever but temporal gain; that + thus the worship of Christ is declining, piety is enfeebled, the + laws of the Church are violated, and buildings for religious uses + are falling in ruin. The clergy abandon their theological studies, + because there is no hope of advancement. Conflicts without number + rage over the possession of benefices, plurality of which is + coveted by an execrable ambition. Simony is everywhere glaring; the + prelates and other collators[542] are pillaged of their rights and + their ministry; the rights of patrons are impaired; and the wealth + of the kingdom goes into the hands of foreigners, to the detriment + of the clergy. + + [Sidenote: The decrees of Basel accepted with some modifications] + + Since, in the judgment of the prelates and other ecclesiastics, the + decrees of the holy council of Basel seemed to afford a suitable + remedy for all these evils, after mature deliberation, we have + decided to accept them--some without change, others with certain + modifications--without wishing to cast doubt upon the power and + authority of the council, but at the same time taking account of + the necessities of the occasion and of the customs of the nation. + + =1.= General councils shall be held every ten years, in places to + be designated by the pope. + + =2.= The authority of the general council is superior to that of + the pope in all that pertains to the faith, the extirpation of + schism, and the reform of the Church in both head and members.[543] + + =3.= Election is reestablished for ecclesiastical offices; but the + king, or the princes of his kingdom, without violating the + canonical rules, may make recommendations when elections are to + occur in the chapters or the monasteries.[544] + + =4.= The popes shall not have the right to reserve the collation of + benefices, or to bestow any benefice before it becomes vacant. + + =5.= All grants of benefices made by the pope in virtue of the + _droit d'expectative_ are hereby declared null. Those who shall + have received such benefices shall be punished by the secular + power. The popes shall not have the right to interfere by the + creation of canonships.[545] + + =6.= Appeals to Rome are prohibited until every other grade of + jurisdiction shall have been exhausted. + + =7.= Annates are prohibited.[546] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[530] The consecrated wafer, believed to be the body of Christ, which +in the Mass is offered as a sacrifice; also the bread before +consecration. + +[531] Certain periods of the day, set apart by the laws of the Church, +for the duties of prayer and devotion; also certain portions of the +Breviary to be used at stated hours. The seven canonical hours are +matins and lauds, the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, +and compline. + +[532] That is, infant baptism and the _viaticum_ (the Lord's Supper +when administered to persons in immediate danger of death). + +[533] Extreme unction is the sacrament of anointing in the last +hours,--the application of consecrated oil by a priest to all the +senses, i.e., to eyes, ears, nostrils, etc., of a person when in +immediate danger of death. The sacrament is performed for the +remission of sins. + +[534] St. Dionysius was bishop of Alexandria about the middle of the +third century. He was a pupil of the great theologian Origen and +himself a writer of no small ability on the doctrinal questions which +vexed the early Church. + +[535] Manichaeus was a learned Persian who, in the third century, +worked out a system of doctrine which sought to combine the principles +of Christianity with others taken over from the Persian and kindred +Oriental religions. The most prominent feature of the resulting creed +was the conception of an absolute dualism running throughout the +universe--light and darkness, good and evil, soul and body--which +existed from the beginning and should exist forever. The Manichaean +sect spread from Persia into Asia Minor North Africa, Sicily, and +Italy. Though persecuted by Diocletian, and afterwards by some of the +Christian emperors, it had many adherents as late as the sixth +century, and certain of its ideas appeared under new names at still +later times, notably among the Albigenses in southern France in the +twelfth century. + +[536] Annates were payments made to the pope by newly elected or +appointed ecclesiastical officials of the higher sort. They were +supposed to comprise the first year's income from the bishop's or +abbot's benefice. + +[537] The _decime_ was an extraordinary royal revenue derived from the +payment by the clergy of a tenth of the annual income from their +benefices. Its prototype was the Saladin tithe, imposed by Philip +Augustus (1180-1223) for the financing of his crusade. In the latter +half of the thirteenth century, and throughout the fourteenth, the +_decime_ was called for by the kings with considerable frequency, +often ostensibly for crusading purposes, and it was generally obtained +by a more or less compulsory vote of the clergy, or without their +consent at all. + +[538] Pragmatic, in the general sense, means any sort of decree of +public importance; in its more special usage it denotes an ordinance +of the crown regulating the relations of the national clergy with the +papacy. The modern equivalent is "concordat." + +[539] When the Council of Constance came to an end, in April, 1418, it +was agreed between this body and Pope Martin V. that a similar council +should be convened at Pavia in 1423. When the time arrived, conditions +were far from favorable, but the University of Paris pressed the Pope +to observe his pledge in the matter and the council was duly convened. +Very few members appeared at Pavia, and, the plague soon breaking out +there, the meeting was transferred to Siena. Even there only five +German prelates were present, six French, and not one Spanish. Small +though it was, the council entered upon a course so independent and +self-assertive that in the following year the Pope was glad to take +advantage of its paucity of numbers to declare it dissolved. + +[540] The Dauphine was a region on the east side of the Rhone which, +in 1349, was purchased of Humbert, Dauphin of Vienne, by Philip VI., +and ceded by the latter to his grandson Charles, the later Charles V. +(1364-1380). Charles assumed the title of "the Dauphin," which became +the established designation of the heir-apparent to the French throne. + +[541] Under the _grace expectative_ the pope conferred upon a prelate +a benefice which at the time was filled, to be assumed as soon as it +should fall vacant. Benefices of larger importance, such as the +offices of bishop and abbot, were often subject to the _reserve_; that +is, the pope regularly reserved to himself the right of filling them, +sometimes before, sometimes after, the vacancy occurred. These acts +constituted clear assumptions by the popes of power which under the +law of the Church was not theirs, and, though the framers of the +Pragmatic Sanction had motives which were more or less selfish for +combatting the _reserve_ and the _grace expectative_, there can be no +question that the abuses aimed at were as real as they were +represented to be. + +[542] Those who presented and installed men in benefices. + +[543] These first two chapters reproduce without change the decrees of +the Council of Basel. The second reiterates, in substance, the +declaration of the Council of Constance [see p. 393]. + +[544] That is, the "canonical" system of election of bishops by the +chapters and of abbots by the monks. The Pragmatic differs in this +clause from the decree of the Council of Basel in allowing temporal +princes to recommend persons for election. + +[545] This means that the pope is not to add to the number of canons +in any cathedral chapter as a means of influencing the composition and +deliberations of that body. + +[546] Annates were ordinarily the first year's revenues of a benefice +which, under the prevailing system, were supposed to be paid by the +incumbent to the pope. The Pragmatic goes on to provide that during +the lifetime of Pope Eugene one-fifth of the accustomed annates should +continue to be paid. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE EMPIRE IN THE TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH, AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES + + +70. The Peace of Constance (1183) + +With the election of Frederick Barbarossa as emperor, in 1152, a new +stage of the great papal-imperial combat was entered upon, though +under conditions quite different from those surrounding the contest in +the preceding century [see Chap. XVI]. The Empire was destined to +succumb in the end to the papacy, but with a sovereign of Frederick's +energy and ability at its head it was able at least to make a stubborn +fight and to meet defeat with honor. The new reign was inaugurated by +a definite announcement of the Emperor's intention to consolidate and +strengthen the imperial government throughout all Germany and Italy. +The task in Germany was far from simple; in Italy it was the most +formidable that could have been conceived, and this for the reason +that the Italian population was largely gathered in cities with strong +political and military organization, with all the traditions of +practical independence, and with no thought of submitting to the +government of an emperor or any other claimant to more than merely +nominal sovereignty. + +Trouble began almost at once between Frederick and the free commune of +Milan, though war was averted for a time by the oaths taken to the +Emperor on the occasion of his first expedition across the Alps in +1154. Between that date and 1158 the consuls of the city were detected +in treacherous conduct and, the people refusing to disavow them, in +the latter year the Emperor again crossed the Alps, bent on nothing +less than the annihilation of the commune and the dispersion of its +inhabitants. He carried with him a larger army than a head of the Holy +Roman Empire had ever led into Italy. The Milanese submitted, under +conditions extremely humiliating, and Frederick, after being assured +by the doctors of law at the new university of Bologna that he was +acting quite within the letter of the Roman law, proceeded to lay +claim to the _regalia_ (royal rights, such as tolls from roads and +rivers, products of mines, and the estates of criminals), to the right +to levy an extraordinary war tax, and to that of appointing the chief +civic magistrates. Disaffection broke out at once in many of the +communes, but chiefly at Milan; whereupon Frederick came promptly to +the conclusion that the time had arrived to rid himself of this +irreconcilable opponent of his measures. The city was besieged and, +after its inhabitants had been starved into surrender, almost +completely destroyed (1162). + +Only temporarily did the barbarous act have its intended effect; the +net result was a widespread revival of the communal spirit, which +expressed itself in the formation of a sturdy confederacy known as the +Lombard League. One of the League's first acts was to rebuild Milan, +under whose leadership the struggle with the Emperor was actively +renewed. In 1168 a new city was founded at the foot of the Alps near +Pavia to serve as a base of operations in the campaign which the +League proposed to wage against the common enemy. It was given the +name Alessandria (or Alexandria) in honor of Pope Alexander III., who +was friendly to the cause of the cities. In 1174 Frederick began an +open attack on the League, but in 1176, at Legnano, he suffered an +overwhelming defeat, due largely to his failure to receive +reinforcements from Germany. The adjustment of peace was intrusted to +an assembly at Venice in which all parties were represented. The +result was the treaty of Venice (1177), the advantages of which were +wholly against the Empire. A truce of six years was granted the +cities, with the understanding that all details were to be arranged +within, or at the expiration of, that time. + +When the close of the period arrived, in 1183, Frederick no longer +dreamed of subduing and punishing the rebellious Italians, but instead +was quite ready to agree to a permanent peace. The result was the +Peace of Constance, which has been described as the earliest +international agreement of the kind in modern history. By this +instrument the theoretical overlordship of the Emperor in Italy was +reasserted, though in fact it had never been denied. Beyond this, +however, the communes were recognized as essentially independent. +Those who had enjoyed the right to choose their own magistrates +retained it; their financial obligations to the Emperor were clearly +defined; and the League was conceded to be a legitimate and permanent +organization. By yielding on numerous vital points the Empire had +vindicated its right to exist, but its administrative machinery, so +far as Italy was concerned, was still further impaired. This +machinery, it must be said, had never been conspicuously effective +south of the Alps. As for Frederick, he set out in 1189 upon the Third +Crusade, during the course of which he met his death in Asia Minor +without being permitted to see the Holy Land. + + Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica_, Legum Sectio + IV. (Weiland ed.), Vol. I., pp. 411-418. Adapted from + translation in Oliver J. Thatcher and Edgar H. McNeal, _Source + Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, 1905,) pp. 199-202. + + [Sidenote: Concessions to the cities of the League] + + =1.= We, Frederick, emperor of the Romans, and our son Henry, king + of the Romans,[547] hereby grant to you, the cities, territories, + and persons of the League, the _regalia_ and other rights within + and without the cities, as you have been accustomed to hold them; + that is, each member of the League shall have the same rights as + the city of Verona has had in the past, or has now. + + =2.= The members of the League shall exercise freely and without + interference from us all the rights which they have exercised of + old. + + =3.= These are the rights which are guaranteed to you: the + _fodrum_,[548] forests, pastures, bridges, streams, mills, + fortifications of the cities, criminal and civil jurisdiction, and + all other rights which concern the welfare of the city. + + [Sidenote: How the regalia remaining to the Emperor were to be + determined] + + =4.= The _regalia_ which are not to be granted to the members of + the League shall be determined in the following manner: in the case + of each city, certain men shall be chosen for this purpose from + both the bishopric and the city; these men shall be of good repute, + capable of deciding these questions, and such as are not prejudiced + against either party. Acting with the bishop of the diocese, they + shall swear to inquire into the questions of the _regalia_ and to + set aside those that by right belong to us. If, however, the cities + do not wish to submit to this inquisition, they shall pay to us an + annual tribute of 2,000 marks in silver as compensation for our + _regalia_. If this sum seems excessive, it may be reduced. + + =5.= If anyone appeals to us in regard to matters which are by this + treaty admitted to be under your jurisdiction, we agree not to hear + such an appeal. + + =8.= All privileges, gifts, and concessions made in the time of the + war by us or our representatives to the prejudice or injury of the + cities, territories, or members of the League are to be null and + void. + + [Sidenote: The consuls] + + =9.= Consuls[549] of cities where the bishop holds the position of + count from the king or emperor shall receive their office from the + bishop, if this has been the custom before. In all other cities the + consuls shall receive their office from us, in the following + manner: after they have been elected by the city they shall be + invested with office by our representative in the city or + bishopric, unless we are ourselves in Lombardy, in which case they + shall be invested by us. At the end of every five years each city + shall send its representative to us to receive the investiture. + + =10.= This arrangement shall be observed by our successor, and all + such investitures shall be free. + + =11.= After our death, the cities shall receive investiture in the + same way from our son and from his successors. + + [Sidenote: Appeals to the Emperor] + + =12.= The Emperor shall have the right of hearing appeals in cases + involving more than 25 pounds, saving the right of the church of + Brescia to hear appeals. The appellant shall not, however, be + compelled to come to Germany, but he shall appeal to the + representative of the Emperor in the city or bishopric. This + representative shall examine the case fairly and shall give + judgment according to the laws and customs of that city. The + decision shall be given within two months from the time of appeal, + unless the case shall have been deferred by reason of some legal + hindrance or by the consent of both parties. + + =13.= The consuls of cities shall take the oath of allegiance to + the Emperor before they are invested with office. + + [Sidenote: The oath of fidelity] + + =14.= Our vassals shall receive investiture from us and shall take + the vassal's oath of fidelity. All other persons between the ages + of 15 and 70 shall take the ordinary oath of fidelity to the + Emperor unless there be some good reason why this oath should be + omitted. + + =17.= All injuries, losses, and damages which we or our followers + have sustained from the League, or any of its members or allies, + are hereby pardoned, and all such transgressors are hereby received + back into our favor. + + =18.= We will not remain longer than is necessary in any city or + bishopric. + + =19.= It shall be permitted to the cities to erect fortifications + within or without their boundaries. + + [Sidenote: Recognition of the League's right to exist] + + =20.= It shall be permitted to the League to maintain its + organization as it now is, or to renew it as often as it desires. + + +71. Current Rumors Concerning the Life and Character of Frederick II. + +Frederick II. (1194-1250), king of Naples and Sicily and emperor of +the Holy Roman Empire, was a son of Emperor Henry VI. and a grandson +of Frederick Barbarossa. When his father died (1197) it was intended +that the young child's uncle, Philip of Hohenstaufen, should occupy +the imperial throne temporarily as regent. Philip, however, proceeded +to assume the position as if in his own right and became engaged in a +deadly conflict with a rival claimant, Otto IV., during which the +Pope, Innocent III., fanned the flames of civil war and made the +situation contribute chiefly to the aggrandizement of papal authority +in temporal affairs. In 1208 Philip was assassinated and in the +following year Otto received the imperial crown at Rome. Almost +immediately, however, disagreement broke out between the Pope and the +new Emperor, chiefly because of the latter's ambition to become king +of Sicily. Repenting that he had befriended Otto, Innocent promptly +excommunicated him and set on foot a movement--in which he enlisted +the services of Philip Augustus of France--to supplant the obnoxious +Emperor by Frederick of Sicily (the later Frederick II.). Otto was a +nephew of Richard I. and John of England and the latter was easily +persuaded to enter into an alliance with him against the +papal-French-Sicilian combination. The result was the battle of +Bouvines [see p. 297], in 1214, in which John and Otto were hopelessly +defeated. Meanwhile, in 1212, Frederick had received a secret embassy +from Otto's discontented subjects in Germany, offering him the +imperial crown if he would come and claim it. In response he had +gathered an army and, with the approval of Innocent and of Philip +Augustus, had crossed the Alps for the purpose of winning over the +German people from Otto to himself. The battle of Bouvines (in which +Frederick was not engaged, but from which he profited immensely) was +the death-blow to Otto's cause and Frederick was soon recognized +universally as head of the Empire. + +The reign of Frederick II. (1212-1250) was a period of large +importance in European history. The Emperor's efforts and +achievements--his crusade, his great quarrel with Gregory IX. and +Innocent IV., his legislation, his struggles with the Lombard +League--were full of interest and significance, but, after all, not +more so than the purely personal aspects of his career. Mr. Bryce has +a passage which states admirably the position of Frederick with +reference to his age and its problems. A portion of it is as follows: +"Out of the long array of the Germanic successors of Charles +[Charlemagne], he is, with Otto III.,[550] the only one who comes +before us with a genius and a frame of character that are not those of +a Northern or a Teuton. There dwelt in him, it is true, all the energy +and knightly valor of his father Henry and his grandfather Frederick +I. But along with these, and changing their direction, were other +gifts, inherited perhaps from his half Norman, half Italian mother and +fostered by his education in Sicily, where Mussulman and Byzantine +influences were still potent, a love of luxury and beauty, an +intellect refined, subtle, philosophical. Through the mist of calumny +and legend it is but dimly that the truth of the man can be discerned, +and the outlines that appear serve to quicken rather than appease the +curiosity with which we regard one of the most extraordinary +personages in history. A sensualist, yet also a warrior and a +politician; a profound law-giver and an impassioned poet; in his youth +fired by crusading fervor, in later life persecuting heretics while +himself accused of blasphemy and unbelief; of winning manners and +ardently beloved by his followers, but with the stain of more than one +cruel deed upon his name, he was the marvel of his own generation, and +succeeding ages looked back with awe, not unmingled with pity, upon +the inscrutable figure of the last emperor who had braved all the +terrors of the Church and died beneath her ban, the last who had ruled +from the sands of the ocean to the shores of the Ionian Sea. But while +they pitied they condemned. The undying hatred of the papacy threw +round his memory a lurid light; him and him alone of all the imperial +line, Dante, the worshipper of the empire, must perforce deliver to +the flames of hell."[551] + +The following selections from the _Greater Chronicle_ of Matthew Paris +comprise some of the stories which were current in Frederick's day +regarding his manners, ideas, and deeds. Frederick was far ahead of +his age and it was inevitable that the qualities in him which men +could not understand or appreciate should become the grounds for dark +rumors and unsavory suspicions. Matthew Paris was an English monk of +St. Albans. It is thought that he was called _Parisiensis_, "the +Parisian," because of having been born or educated in the capital of +France. He seems to have confined his attention wholly to the study of +history, and mainly to the history of his own country. His _Chronicle_ +takes up the story of English and continental affairs in detail with +the year 1235 (where Roger of Wendover had stopped in his _Flowers of +History_) and continues to the year 1259. His book has been described +as "probably the most generally useful historical production of the +thirteenth century."[552] + + Source--Matthaeus Parisiensis, _Chronica Majora_ [Matthew + Paris, "Greater Chronicle"]. Adapted from translation by J. A. + Giles (London, 1852), Vol. I., pp. 157-158, 166-167, 169-170; + Vol. II., pp. 84-85, 103. + + [Sidenote: Frederick suspected of heresy] + + [Sidenote: Accusation of friendly relations with the Saracens] + + In the course of the same year [1238] the fame of the Emperor + Frederick was clouded and marred by his jealous enemies and rivals; + for it was imputed to him that he was wavering in the Catholic + faith, or wandering from the right way, and had given utterance to + some speeches, from which it could be inferred and suspected that + he was not only weak in the Catholic faith, but--what was a much + greater and more serious crime--that there was in him an enormity + of heresy, and the most dreadful blasphemy, to be detested and + execrated by all Christians. For it was reported that the Emperor + Frederick had said (although it may not be proper to mention it) + that three imposters had so craftily deceived their contemporaries + as to gain for themselves the mastery of the world: these were + Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet [Mohammed]; and that he had impiously + given expression to some wicked and incredible ravings and + blasphemies respecting the most holy Eucharist. Far be it from any + discreet man, much less a Christian, to employ his tongue in such + raving blasphemy. It was also said by his rivals that the Emperor + agreed with and believed in the law of Mahomet more than that of + Jesus Christ. A rumor also crept amongst the people (which God + forbid to be true of such a great prince) that he had been for a + long time past in alliance with the Saracens, and was more friendly + to them than to the Christians; and his rivals, who were + endeavoring to blacken his fame, attempted to establish this by + many proofs. Whether they sinned or not, He alone knows who is + ignorant of nothing.... + + [Sidenote: Frederick's seizure of the lands belonging to a bishop] + + [Sidenote: Refusing to restore them, he is excommunicated] + + In Lent, of the same year [1239], seeing the rash proceedings of + the Emperor, and that his words pleaded excuse for his + sins,--namely, that by the assistance of some of the nobles and + judges of Sardinia he had taken into his own possession, and still + held, the land and castles of the bishop of Sardinia, and + constantly declared that they were a portion of the Empire, and + that he by his first and chief oath would preserve the rights of + the Empire to the utmost of his power, and would also collect the + scattered portions of it,--the Pope[553] was excited to the most + violent anger against him. He set forth some very serious + complaints and claims against the Emperor and wrote often boldly + and carefully to him, advising him repeatedly by many special + messengers, whose authority ought to have obtained from him the + greatest attention, to restore the possessions he had seized, and + to desist from depriving the Church of her possessions, of which + she was endowed by long prescription. And, like a skilful + physician, who at one time makes use of medicines, at another of + the knife, and at another of the cauterizing instrument, he mixed + threats with entreaties, friendly messages with fearful + denunciations. As the Emperor, however, scornfully rejected his + requests, and excused his actions by arguments founded on reason, + his holiness the Pope, on Palm Sunday, in the presence of a great + many of the cardinals, in the spirit of glowing anger, solemnly + excommunicated the said Emperor Frederick, as though he would at + once have hurled him from his imperial dignity, consigning him with + terrible denunciations to the possession of Satan at his death; + and, as it were, thundering forth the fury of his anger, he excited + terror in all his hearers....[554] + + [Sidenote: Frederick accuses the Pope of ingratitude and jealousy] + + The Emperor, on hearing of this, was inflamed with violent anger, + and with oft-repeated reproaches accused the Church and its rulers + of ingratitude to him, and of returning evil for good. He recalled + to their recollection how he had exposed himself and his property + to the billows and to a thousand kinds of danger for the + advancement of the Church's welfare and the increase of the + Catholic faith, and affirmed that whatever honors the Church + possessed in the Holy Land had been acquired by his toil and + industry. "But," said he, "the Pope, jealous at such a happy + increase being acquired for the Church by a layman, and who desires + gold and silver rather than an increase of the faith (as witness + his proceedings), and who extorts money from all Christendom in the + name of tithes, has, by all the means in his power, done his best + to supplant me, and has endeavored to disinherit me while fighting + for God, exposing my body to the weapons of war, to sickness, and + to the snares of his enemies, after encountering the dangers of the + unsparing billows. See what sort of protection is this of our + father's! What kind of assistance in difficulties is this afforded + by the vicar of Jesus Christ"!...[555] + + [Sidenote: Further accusation of an alliance with the Saracens] + + [Sidenote: His neglect of pious and charitable works] + + "Besides, he is united by a detestable alliance with the + Saracens,--has ofttimes sent messages and presents to them, and in + turn received the same from them with respect and alacrity...; and + what is a more execrable offense, he, when formerly in the country + beyond sea, made a kind of arrangement, or rather collusion, with + the sultan, and allowed the name of Mahomet to be publicly + proclaimed in the temple of the Lord day and night; and lately, in + the case of the sultan of Babylon [Cairo], who, by his own hands, + and through his agents, had done irreparable mischief and injury to + the Holy Land and its Christian inhabitants, he caused that + sultan's ambassadors, in compliment to their master, as is + reported, to be honorably received and nobly entertained in his + kingdom of Sicily. He also, in opposition to the Christians, abuses + the pernicious and horrid rites of other infidels, and, entering + into an alliance of friendship with those who wickedly pay little + respect to and despise the Apostolic See, and have seceded from + the unity of the Church, he, laying aside all respect for the + Christian religion, caused, as is positively asserted, the duke of + Bavaria, of illustrious memory, a special and devoted ally of the + Roman Church, to be murdered by the assassins. He has also given + his daughter in marriage to Battacius, an enemy of God and the + Church, who, together with his aiders, counsellors, and abettors, + was solemnly expelled from the communion of the Christians by + sentence of excommunication. Rejecting the proceedings and customs + of Catholic princes, neglecting his own salvation and the purity of + his fame, he does not employ himself in works of piety; and what is + more (to be silent on his wicked and dissolute practices), although + he has learned to practice oppression to such a degree, he does not + trouble himself to relieve those oppressed by injuries, by + extending his hand, as a Christian prince ought, to bestow alms, + although he has been eagerly aiming at the destruction of the + churches, and has crushed religious men and other ecclesiastical + persons with the burden and persecution of his yoke. And it is not + known that he ever built or founded either churches, monasteries, + hospitals, or other pious places. Now these are not light, but + convincing, grounds for suspicions of heresy being entertained + against him."... + + [Sidenote: Frederick's wrath at his excommunication] + + When the Emperor Frederick was made fully aware of all these + proceedings [i.e., his excommunication at Lyons] he could not + contain himself, but burst into a violent rage and, darting a + scowling look on those who sat around him, he thundered forth: "The + Pope in his synod has disgraced me by depriving me of my crown. + Whence arises such great audacity? Whence proceeds such rash + presumption? Where are my chests which contain my treasures?" And + on their being brought and unlocked before him, by his order, he + said, "See if my crowns are lost now;" then finding one, he placed + it on his head and, being thus crowned, he stood up, and, with + threatening eyes and a dreadful voice, unrestrainable from + passion, he said aloud, "I have not yet lost my crown, nor will I + be deprived of it by any attacks of the Pope or the council, + without a bloody struggle. Does his vulgar pride raise him to such + heights as to enable him to hurl from the imperial dignity me, the + chief prince of the world, than whom none is greater--yea, who am + without an equal? In this matter my condition is made better: in + some things I _was_ bound to obey, at least to respect, him; but + now I am released from all ties of affection and veneration, and + also from the obligation of any kind of peace with him." From that + time forth, therefore, he, in order to injure the Pope more + effectually and perseveringly, did all kinds of harm to his + Holiness, in his money, as well as in his friends and relatives. + + +72. The Golden Bull of Charles IV. (1356) + +The century following the death of Frederick II. (1250) was a period +of unrest and turbulence in German history, the net result of which +politically was the almost complete triumph of the princes, lay and +clerical, over the imperial power. By 1350 the local magnates had come +to be virtually sovereign throughout their own territories. They +enjoyed the right of legislation and the privileges of coining money +and levying taxes, and in many cases they had scarcely so much as a +feudal bond to remind them of their theoretical allegiance to the +Empire. The one principle of action upon which they could agree was +that the central monarchy should be kept permanently in the state of +helplessness to which it had been reduced. The power of choosing a +successor when a vacancy arose in the imperial office had fallen +gradually into the hands of seven men, who were known as the +"electors" and who were recognized in the fourteenth century as +possessing collective importance far greater than that of the emperor. +Three of these seven--the archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and +Cologne--were great ecclesiastics; the other four--the king of +Bohemia, the margrave of Brandenburg, the duke of Saxony, and the +count palatine of the Rhine--were equally influential laymen. This +electoral college first came into prominence at the election of +Rudolph I. (of the House of Hapsburg) at the end of the Interregnum in +1273. From that time until the termination of the Holy Roman Empire +in 1806 these seven men (eight after 1648 and nine after 1692) played +a part in German history not inferior to that of the emperors. They +imposed upon their candidates such conditions as they chose, and when +the bearer of the imperial title grew restive and difficult to control +they did not hesitate to make war upon him, or even in extreme cases +to depose him. It has been well said that never in all history have +worse scandals been connected with any sort of elections than were +associated repeatedly with the actions of these German electors. + +The central document in German constitutional history in the Middle +Ages is the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV. (1347-1378), +promulgated in 1356. For a century prior to the reign of Charles the +question of the imperial succession had been one of extreme +perplexity. The electoral college had grown up to assume the +responsibility, but this body rested on no solid legal basis and its +acts were usually regarded as null by all whom they displeased, with +the result that a civil war succeeded pretty nearly every election. +Charles was shrewd enough to see that the existing system could not be +set aside; the electors were entirely too powerful to permit of that. +But he also saw that it might at least be improved by giving it the +quality of legality which it had hitherto lacked. The result of his +efforts in this direction was the Golden Bull, issued and confirmed at +the diets of Nuernberg (Nuremberg) and Metz in 1356. The document, +thenceforth regarded as the fundamental law of the Empire, dealt with +a wide variety of subjects. It confirmed the electorship in the person +of the king of Bohemia which had long been disputed by a rival branch +of the family;[556] it made elaborate provision for the election of +the emperor by the seven magnates; it defined the social and political +prerogatives of these men and prescribed the relations which they +should bear to their subjects, to other princes, and to the emperor; +and it made numerous regulations regarding conspiracies, coinage, +immunities, the forfeiture of fiefs, the succession of electoral +princes, etc. In a word, as Mr. Bryce has put it, the document +"confessed and legalized the independence of the Electors and the +powerlessness of the crown."[557] Only a few selections from it can be +given here, particularly those bearing on the methods of electing the +emperor. + + Source--Text in Wilhelm Altmann und Ernst Bernheim, + _Ausgewaehlte Urkunden zur Erlaeuterung der + Verfassungsgeschichte Deutschlands im Mittelalter_ ["Select + Documents Illustrative of the Constitutional History of + Germany in the Middle Ages"], 3rd ed., Berlin, 1904, pp. + 54-83. Adapted from translation in Oliver J. Thatcher and + Edgar H. McNeal, _Source Book for Mediaeval History_ (New York, + 1905), pp. 284-295 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: Guarantee of safety of travel for the electors] + + I. =1.= We decree and determine by this imperial edict that, + whenever the electoral princes are summoned according to the + ancient and praiseworthy custom to meet and elect a king of the + Romans and future emperor, each one of them shall be bound to + furnish on demand an escort and safe-conduct to his fellow electors + or their representatives, within his own lands and as much farther + as he can, for the journey to and from the city where the election + is to be held. Any electoral prince who refuses to furnish escort + and safe-conduct shall be liable to the penalties for perjury and + to the loss of his electoral vote for that occasion. + + [Sidenote: Penalties for violation of the safe-conduct of the + electors] + + =2.= We decree and command also that all other princes who hold + fiefs from the Empire, by whatever title, and all counts, barons, + knights, clients, nobles, commoners, citizens, and all corporations + of towns, cities, and territories of the Empire, shall furnish + escort and safe-conduct for this occasion to every electoral prince + or his representatives, on demand, within their own lands and as + much farther as they can. Violators of this decree shall be + punished as follows: princes, counts, barons, knights, clients, and + all others of noble rank, shall suffer the penalties of perjury, + and shall lose the fiefs which they hold of the emperor or any + other lord, and all their possessions; citizens and corporations + shall also suffer the penalty for perjury, shall be deprived of all + the rights, liberties, privileges, and graces which they have + received from the Empire, and shall incur the ban of the Empire + against their persons and property. Those whom we deprive of their + rights for this offense may be attacked by any man without + appealing to a magistrate, and without danger of reprisal; for they + are rebels against the state and the Empire, and have attacked the + honor and security of the prince, and are convicted of + faithlessness and perfidy. + + [Sidenote: Supplies for the use of the electors] + + =3.= We also command that the citizens and corporations of cities + shall furnish supplies to the electoral princes and their + representatives on demand at the regular price and without fraud, + whenever they arrive at, or depart from, the city on their way to + or from the election. Those who violate this decree shall suffer + the penalties described in the preceding paragraph for citizens and + corporations. If any prince, count, baron, knight, client, noble, + commoner, citizen, or city shall attack or molest in person or + goods any of the electoral princes or their representatives, on + their way to or from an election, whether they have safe-conduct or + not, he and his accomplices shall incur the penalties above + described, according to his position and rank. + + [Sidenote: The electors to be summoned by the archbishop of Mainz] + + =16.= When the news of the death of the king of the Romans has been + received at Mainz, within one month from the date of receiving it + the archbishop of Mainz shall send notices of the death and the + approaching election to all the electoral princes. But if the + archbishop neglects or refuses to send such notices, the electoral + princes are commanded on their fidelity to assemble on their own + motion and without summons at the city of Frankfort,[558] within + three months from the death of the emperor, for the purpose of + electing a king of the Romans and future emperor. + + =17.= Each electoral prince or his representatives may bring with + him to Frankfort at the time of the election a retinue of 200 + horsemen, of whom not more than 50 shall be armed. + + [Sidenote: How a vote might be forfeited] + + =18.= If any electoral prince, duly summoned to the election, fails + to come, or to send representatives with credentials containing + full authority, or if he (or his representatives) withdraws from + the place of the election before the election has been completed, + without leaving behind substitutes fully accredited and empowered, + he shall lose his vote in that election. + + [Sidenote: The oath taken by the electors] + + II. =2.=[559] "I, archbishop of Mainz, archchancellor of the Empire + for Germany,[560] electoral prince, swear on the holy gospels here + before me, and by the faith which I owe to God and to the Holy + Roman Empire, that with the aid of God, and according to my best + judgment and knowledge, I will cast my vote, in this election of + the king of the Romans and future emperor, for a person fitted to + rule the Christian people. I will give my voice and vote freely, + uninfluenced by any agreement, price, bribe, promise, or anything + of the sort, by whatever name it may be called. So help me God and + all the saints." + + [Sidenote: Provision to ensure an election] + + =3.= After the electors have taken this oath, they shall proceed to + the election, and shall not depart from Frankfort until the + majority have elected a king of the Romans and future emperor, to + be ruler of the world and of the Christian people. If they have not + come to a decision within thirty days from the day on which they + took the above oath, after that they shall live upon bread and + water and shall not leave the city until the election has been + decided. + + [Sidenote: Order of precedence of the three archbishops] + + III. =1.= To prevent any dispute arising between the archbishops of + Trier, Mainz, and Cologne, electoral princes of the Empire, as to + their priority and rank in the diet,[561] it has been decided and + is hereby decreed, with the advice and consent of all the electoral + princes, ecclesiastical and secular, that the archbishop of Trier + shall have the seat directly opposite and facing the emperor; that + the archbishop of Mainz shall have the seat at the right of the + emperor when the diet is held in the diocese or province of Mainz, + or anywhere in Germany except in the diocese of Cologne; that the + archbishop of Cologne shall have the seat at the right of the + emperor when the diet is held in the diocese or province of + Cologne, or anywhere in Gaul or Italy. This applies to all public + ceremonies--court sessions, conferring of fiefs, banquets, + councils, and all occasions on which the princes meet with the + emperor for the transaction of imperial business. This order of + seating shall be observed by the successors of the present + archbishops of Cologne, Trier, and Mainz, and shall never be + questioned. + + [Sidenote: Seating arrangement at table] + + IV. =1.= In the imperial diet, at the council-board, table, and all + other places where the emperor or king of the Romans meets with the + electoral princes, the seats shall be arranged as follows: On the + right of the emperor, first, the archbishop of Mainz, or of + Cologne, according to the province in which the meeting is held, as + arranged above; second, the king of Bohemia, because he is a + crowned and anointed prince; third, the count palatine of the + Rhine; on the left of the emperor, first, the archbishop of + Cologne, or of Mainz; second, the duke of Saxony; third, the + margrave of Brandenburg. + + [Sidenote: The order of voting] + + =2.= When the imperial throne becomes vacant, the archbishop of + Mainz shall have the authority, which he has had from of old, to + call the other electors together for the election. It shall be his + peculiar right also, when the electors have convened for the + election, to collect the votes, asking each of the electors + separately in the following order: first, the archbishop of Trier, + who shall have the right to the first vote, as he has had from of + old; then the archbishop of Cologne, who has the office of first + placing the crown upon the head of the king of the Romans; then the + king of Bohemia, who has the priority among the secular princes + because of his royal title; fourth, the count palatine of the + Rhine; fifth, the duke of Saxony; sixth, the margrave of + Brandenburg. Then the princes shall ask the archbishop of Mainz in + turn to declare his choice and vote. At the diet, the margrave of + Brandenburg shall offer water to the emperor or king, to wash his + hands; the king of Bohemia shall have the right to offer him the + cup first, although, by reason of his royal dignity, he shall not + be bound to do this unless he desires; the count palatine of the + Rhine shall offer him food; and the duke of Saxony shall act as his + marshal in the accustomed manner. + + [Sidenote: Judicial privileges of the electors confirmed and + enlarged] + + XI. =1.= We decree also that no count, baron, noble, vassal, + burggrave,[562] knight, client, citizen, burgher, or other subject + of the churches of Cologne, Mainz, or Trier, of whatever status, + condition, or rank, shall be cited, haled, or summoned to any + authority before any tribunal outside of the territories, + boundaries, and limits of these churches and their dependencies, or + before any judge, except the archbishop and their judges.... We + refuse to hear appeals based upon the authority of others over the + subjects of these princes; if these princes are accused by their + subjects of injustice, appeal shall lie to the imperial diet, and + shall be heard there and nowhere else. + + =2.= We extend this right by the present law to the secular + electoral princes, the count palatine of the Rhine; the duke of + Saxony, and the margrave of Brandenburg, and to their heirs, + successors, and subjects forever. + + [Sidenote: The electors to meet annually] + + XII. =1.= It has been decided in the general diet held at + Nuernberg[563] with the electoral princes, ecclesiastical and + secular, and other princes and magnates, by their advice and with + their consent, that in the future, the electoral princes shall meet + every year in some city of the Empire four weeks after Easter. This + year they are to meet at that date in the imperial city of + Metz.[564] On that occasion, and on every meeting thereafter, the + place of assembling for the following year shall be fixed by us, + with the advice and consent of the princes. This ordinance shall + remain in force as long as it shall be pleasing to us and to the + princes; and as long as it is in effect, we shall furnish the + princes with safe-conduct for that assembly, going, staying, and + returning. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[547] Henry VI. succeeded his father as emperor, reigning from 1190 to +1197. + +[548] The term (meaning literally "fodder") designates the obligation +to furnish provisions for the royal army. The right of demanding such +provisions was now given up by the Emperor. + +[549] The consuls--often twelve in number--were the chief magistrates +of the typical Italian commune. + +[550] Otto III., emperor 983-1002. Otto is noted chiefly for his +visionary project of renewing the imperial splendor of Rome and making +her again the capital of a world-wide empire. + +[551] James Bryce, _The Holy Roman Empire_ (new ed., New York, 1904), +pp. 207-208. For the reference to Dante see the _Inferno_, Canto X. + +[552] James H. Robinson, _Readings in European History_ (Boston, +1904), Vol. I., p. 244. + +[553] Gregory IX., (1227-1241). + +[554] Frederick was excommunicated and anathematized on sixteen +different charges, which the Pope carefully enumerated. All who were +bound to him by oath of fealty were declared to be absolved from their +allegiance. + +[555] At the Council of Lyons, in 1245, the Emperor was again +excommunicated. The ensuing paragraph comprises a portion of Pope +Innocent IV.'s denunciation of him upon that occasion. + +[556] Charles IV. was himself king of Bohemia, so that for the present +the Emperor was also one of the seven imperial electors. + +[557] James Bryce, _The Holy Roman Empire_ (new ed., New York, 1904), +p. 234. + +[558] Frankfort lay on the river Main, a short distance east of Mainz. +"It was fixed as the place of election, as a tradition dating from +East Frankish days preserved the feeling that both election and +coronation ought to take place on Frankish soil."--James Bryce, _The +Holy Roman Empire_ (new ed., New York, 1904), p. 243. + +[559] The preceding section specifies that Mass should be celebrated +the day following the arrival of the electors at Frankfort, and that +the archbishop of Mainz should administer to his six colleagues the +oath which he himself has taken, as specified in section 2. + +[560] The three archbishops were "archchancellors" of the Empire for +Germany, Gaul and Burgundy, and Italy respectively. The king of +Bohemia was designated as cupbearer, the margrave of Brandenburg as +chamberlain, the count palatine as seneschal, and the duke of Saxony +as marshal. + +[561] The diet was the Empire's nearest approach to a national +assembly. It was made up of three orders--the electors, the princes, +and the representatives of the cities. + +[562] An official representative of a king or overlord in a city. + +[563] Nuernberg (or Nuremberg) is situated in Bavaria, in south central +Germany. + +[564] Metz lay on the Moselle, above Trier. Apparently this clause +providing for a regular annual meeting of the electors was inserted by +Charles in the hope that he might be able to make use of the body as +an advisory council in the affairs of the Empire. The provision +remained a dead letter, for the reason that the electors were +indifferent to the Emperor's purposes in the matter. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR + + +Our chief contemporary source of information on the history of the +Hundred Years' War is Jean Froissart's _Chronicles of England, France, +and the Adjoining Countries, from the Latter Part of the Reign of +Edward II. to the Coronation of Henry IV._,[565] and it is from this +important work that all of the extracts (except texts of treaties) +which are included in this chapter have been selected. Froissart was a +French poet and historian, born at Beaumont, near Valenciennes in +Hainault, in 1337, when the Hundred Years' War was just beginning. He +lived until the early part of the fifteenth century, 1410 being one of +the conjectural dates of his death. He was a man of keen mental +faculties and had enjoyed the advantages of an unusually thorough +education during boyhood. This native ability and training, together +with his active public life and admirable opportunities for +observation, constituted his special qualification for the writing of +a history of his times. Froissart represents a type of mediaeval +chronicler which was quite rare, in that he was not a monk living in +seclusion but a practical man of affairs, accustomed to travel and +intercourse with leading men in all the important countries of western +Europe. He lived for five years at the English court as clerk of the +Queen's Chamber; many times he was sent by the French king on +diplomatic missions to Scotland, Italy, and other countries; and he +made several private trips to various parts of Europe for the sole +purpose of acquiring information. Always and everywhere he was +observant and quick to take advantage of opportunities to ascertain +facts which he could use, and we are told that after it came to be +generally known that he was preparing to write an extended history of +his times not a few kings and princes took pains to send him details +regarding events which they desired to have recorded. The writing of +the _Chronicles_ was a life work. When only twenty years of age +Froissart submitted to Isabella, wife of King Edward III. of England, +an account of the battle of Poitiers, in which the queen's son, the +famous Black Prince, had won distinction in the previous year. +Thereafter the larger history was published book by book, until by +1373 it was complete to date. Subsequently it was extended to the year +1400 (it had begun with the events of 1326), while the earlier +portions were rewritten and considerably revised. And, in deed, when +death came to the author he was still working at his arduous but +congenial task. "As long as I live," he wrote upon one occasion, "by +the grace of God I shall continue it; for the more I follow it and +labor thereon, the more it pleases me. Even as a gentle knight or +esquire who loves arms, while persevering and continuing develops +himself therein, thus do I, laboring and striving with this matter, +improve and delight myself." + +The _Chronicles_ as they have come down to us are written in a lively +and pleasing style. It need hardly be said that they are not wholly +accurate; indeed, on the whole, they are quite inaccurate, measured +even by mediaeval standards. Froissart was obliged to rely for a large +portion of his information upon older chronicles and especially upon +conversations and interviews with people in various parts of Europe. +Such sources are never wholly trustworthy and it must be admitted that +our author was not as careful to sift error from truth as he should +have been. His credulity betrayed him often into accepting what a +little investigation would have shown to be false, and only very +rarely did he make any attempt, as a modern historian would do, to +increase and verify his knowledge by a study of documents. Still, the +_Chronicles_ constitute an invaluable history of the period they +cover. The facts they record, the events they explain, the vivid +descriptions they contain, and the side-lights they throw upon the +life and manners of an interesting age unite to give them a place of +peculiar importance among works of their kind. And, wholly aside from +their historical value, they constitute one of the monuments of +mediaeval French literature. + + +73. An Occasion of War between the Kings of England and France + +The causes, general and specific, of the Hundred Years' War were +numerous. The most important were: (1) The long-standing bad feeling +between the French and English regarding the possession of Normandy +and Guienne. England had lost the former to France and she had never +ceased to hope for its recovery; on the other hand, the French were +resolved upon the eventual conquest of the remaining English +continental possession of Guienne and were constantly asserting +themselves there in a fashion highly irritating to the English; (2) +the assistance and general encouragement given the rebellious Scots by +the French; (3) the pressure brought to bear upon the English crown by +the popular party in Flanders to claim the French throne and to resort +to war to obtain it. The Flemish wool trade was a very important item +in England's economic prosperity and it was felt to be essential at +all hazards to prevent the extension of French influence in Flanders, +which would inevitably mean the checking, if not the ruin, of the +commercial relations of the Flemish and the English; and (4) the claim +to the throne of France which Edward III., king of England, set up and +prepared to defend. It is this last occasion of war that Froissart +describes in the passage below. + + Source--Text in Simeon Luce (ed.), _Chroniques de Jean + Froissart_ [published for the Societe de l'Histoire de + France], Paris, 1869, Chap. I. Translated in Thomas Johnes, + _Froissart's Chronicles_ (London, 1803), Vol. I., pp. 6-7. + + [Sidenote: The succession to the French throne in 1328] + + History tells us that Philip, king of France, surnamed the + Fair,[566] had three sons, besides his beautiful daughter + Isabella, married to the king of England.[567] These three sons + were very handsome. The eldest, Louis, king of Navarre, during + the lifetime of his father, was called Louis Hutin; the second + was named Philip the Great, or the Long; and the third, Charles. + All these were kings of France, after their father Philip, by + legitimate succession, one after the other, without having by + marriage any male heirs.[568] Yet on the death of the last king, + Charles, the twelve peers and barons of France[569] did not give + the kingdom to Isabella, the sister, who was queen of England, + because they said and maintained, and still insist, that the + kingdom of France is so noble that it ought not to go to a + woman; consequently neither to Isabella nor to her son, the king + of England; for they held that the son of a woman cannot claim + any right of succession where that woman has none herself.[570] + For these reasons the twelve peers and barons of France + unanimously gave the kingdom of France to the lord Philip of + Valois, nephew of King Philip,[571] and thus put aside the queen + of England (who was sister to Charles, the late king of France) + and her son. Thus, as it seemed to many people, the succession + went out of the right line, which has been the occasion of the + most destructive wars and devastations of countries, as well in + France as elsewhere, as you will learn hereafter; the real + object of this history being to relate the great enterprises and + deeds of arms achieved in these wars, for from the time of good + Charlemagne, king of France, never were such feats performed. + + +74. Edward III. Assumes the Arms and Title of the King of France + +Due to causes which have been mentioned, the relations of England and +France at the accession of Philip VI. in 1328 were so strained that +only a slight fanning of the flames was necessary to bring on an open +conflict. Edward III.'s persistent demand to be recognized as king of +France sufficed to accomplish this result. The war did not come at +once, for neither king felt himself ready for it; but it was +inevitable and preparations for it were steadily pushed on both sides +from 1328 until its formal declaration by Edward nine years later. +These preparations were not merely military and naval but also +diplomatic. The primary object of both sovereigns was to secure as +many and as strong foreign alliances as possible. In pursuit of this +policy Philip soon assured himself of the support of Louis de Nevers, +count of Flanders, King John of Bohemia, Alphonso XI. of Castile, and +a number of lesser princes of the north. Edward was even more +successful. In Spain and the Scandinavian countries many local powers +allied themselves with him; in the Low Countries, especially Flanders +and Brabant, the people and the princes chose generally to identify +themselves with his cause; and the climax came in July, 1337, when a +treaty of alliance was concluded with the Emperor, Louis of Bavaria. +War was begun in this same year, and in 1338 Edward went himself to +the continent to undertake a direct attack on France from Flanders as +a base. The years 1338 and 1339 were consumed with ineffective +operations against the walled cities of the French frontier, Philip +steadily refusing to be drawn into an open battle such as Edward +desired. The following year the English king resolved to declare +himself sovereign of France. The circumstances attending this +important step are detailed in the passage from Froissart given below. + +Heretofore Edward had merely protested that by reason of his being a +grandson of Philip the Fair he should have been awarded the throne by +the French barons in 1328; now, at the instigation of his German and +Flemish allies, he flatly announces that he _is_ of right the king +and that Philip VI. is to be deposed as an usurper. Of course this +was a declaration which Edward could make good only by victory in the +war upon which he had entered. But the claim thus set up rendered it +inevitable that the war should be waged to the bitter end on both +sides. + + Source--_Chroniques de Jean Froissart_ (Societe de l'Histoire + de France edition), Chap. XXXI. Translated in Thomas Johnes, + _Froissart's Chronicles_, Vol. I., pp. 110-112. + + [Sidenote: The conference at Brussels] + + When King Edward had departed from Flanders and arrived at Brabant + he set out straight for Brussels, whither he was attended by the + duke of Gueldres, the duke of Juliers, the marquis of Blanckenburg, + the earl of Mons, the lord John of Hainault, the lord of + Fauquemont, and all the barons of the Empire who were allied to + him, as they wished to consider what was next to be done in this + war which they had begun. For greater expedition, they ordered a + conference to be held in the city of Brussels, and invited James + van Arteveld[572] to attend it, who came thither in great array, + and brought with him all the councils from the principal towns of + Flanders. + + At this parliament the king of England was advised by his allies of + the Empire to solicit the Flemings to give him their aid and + assistance in this war, to challenge the king of France, and to + follow King Edward wherever he should lead them, and in return he + would assist them in the recovery of Lisle, Douay, and + Bethune.[573] The Flemings heard this proposal with pleasure; but + they requested of the king that they might consider it among + themselves and in a short time they would give their answer. + + [Sidenote: Proposition made by the Flemings to King Edward] + + The king consented and soon after they made this reply: "Beloved + sire, you formerly made us a similar request; and we are willing to + do everything in reason for you without prejudice to our honor and + faith. But we are pledged by promise on oath, under a penalty of + two millions of florins, to the apostolical chamber,[574] not to + act offensively against the king of France in any way, whoever he + may be, without forfeiting this sum, and incurring the sentence of + excommunication. But if you will do what we will tell you, you will + find a remedy, which is, that you take the arms of France, quarter + them with those of England, and call yourself king of France. We + will acknowledge your title as good, and we will demand of you + quittance for the above sum, which you will grant us as king of + France. Thus we shall be absolved and at liberty to go with you + wherever it pleases you." + + [Sidenote: The agreement concluded] + + The king summoned his council, for he was loath to take the title + and arms of France, seeing that at present he had not conquered any + part of that kingdom and that it was uncertain whether he ever + should. On the other hand, he was unwilling to lose the aid and + assistance of the Flemings, who could be of greater service to him + than any others at that period. He consulted, therefore, with the + lords of the Empire, the lord Robert d'Artois,[575] and his most + privy councilors, who, after having duly weighed the good and bad, + advised him to make for answer to the Flemings, that if they would + bind themselves under their seals, to an agreement to aid him in + carrying on the war, he would willingly comply with their + conditions, and would swear to assist them in the recovery of + Lisle, Douay, and Bethune. To this they willingly consented. A day + was fixed for them to meet at Ghent,[576] where the king and the + greater part of the lords of the Empire, and in general the + councils from the different towns in Flanders, assembled. The + above-mentioned proposals and answers were then repeated, sworn to, + and sealed; and the king of England bore the arms of France, + quartering them with those of England. He also took the title of + king of France from that day forward. + + +75. The Naval Battle of Sluys (1340) + +In the spring of 1340 Edward returned to England to secure money and +supplies with which to prosecute the war. The French king thought he +saw in this temporary withdrawal of his enemy an opportunity to strike +him a deadly blow. A fleet of nearly two hundred vessels was gathered +in the harbor of Sluys, on the Flemish coast, with a view to attacking +the English king on his return to the continent and preventing him +from again securing a foothold in Flanders. Edward, however, accepted +the situation and made ready to fight his way back to the country of +his allies. June 24, 1340, he boldly attacked the French at Sluys. The +sharp conflict which ensued resulted in a brilliant victory for the +English. Philip's fleet found itself shut up in the harbor and utterly +unable to withstand the showers of arrows shot by the thousands of +archers who crowded the English ships. The French navy was +annihilated, England was relieved from the fear of invasion, and the +whole French coast was laid open to attack. + + Source--_Chroniques de Jean Froissart_ (Societe de l'Histoire + de France edition), Chap. XXXVII. Translated in Thomas Johnes, + _Froissart's Chronicles_, Vol. I., pp. 141-143. + + He [King Edward] and his whole navy sailed from the Thames the day + before the eve of St. John the Baptist, 1340,[577] and made + straight for Sluys. + + Sir Hugh Quiriel, Sir Peter Bahucet, and Barbenoir, were at that + time lying between Blankenburg and Sluys with upwards of one + hundred and twenty large vessels, without counting others. These + were manned with about forty thousand men, Genoese and Picards, + including mariners. By the orders of the king of France, they were + there at anchor, awaiting the return of the king of England, to + dispute his passage. + + [Sidenote: Edward determines to fight at Sluys] + + When the king's fleet had almost reached Sluys, they saw so many + masts standing before it that they looked like a wood. The king + asked the commander of his ship what they could be. The latter + replied that he imagined they must be that armament of Normans + which the king of France kept at sea, and which had so frequently + done him much damage, had burned his good town of Southampton and + taken his large ship the _Christopher_. The king replied, "I have + for a long time desired to meet them, and now, please God and St. + George, we will fight with them; for, in truth, they have done me + so much mischief that I will be revenged on them if it be + possible." + + The king then drew up all his vessels, placing the strongest in + front, and his archers on the wings. Between every two vessels with + archers there was one of men-at-arms. He stationed some detached + vessels as a reserve, full of archers, to assist and help such as + might be damaged. There were in this fleet a great many ladies from + England, countesses, baronesses, and knights' and gentlemen's + wives, who were going to attend on the queen at Ghent.[578] These + the king had guarded most carefully by three hundred men-at-arms + and five hundred archers. + + [Sidenote: The French make ready] + + When the king of England and his marshals had properly divided the + fleet, they hoisted their sails to have the wind on their quarter, + as the sun shone full in their faces (which they considered might + be of disadvantage to them) and stretched out a little, so that at + last they got the wind as they wished. The Normans, who saw them + tack, could not help wondering why they did so, and remarked that + they took good care to turn about because they were afraid of + meddling with them. They perceived, however, by his banner, that + the king was on board, which gave them great joy, as they were + eager to fight with him. So they put their vessels in proper order, + for they were expert and gallant men on the seas. They filled the + _Christopher_, the large ship which they had taken the year before + from the English, with trumpets and other warlike instruments, and + ordered her to fall upon the English. + + [Sidenote: The battle rages] + + The battle then began very fiercely. Archers and cross-bowmen shot + with all their might at each other, and the men-at-arms engaged + hand to hand. In order to be more successful, they had large + grapnels and iron hooks with chains, which they flung from ship to + ship to moor them to each other. There were many valiant deeds + performed, many prisoners made, and many rescues. The + _Christopher_, which led the van, was recaptured by the English, + and all in her taken or killed. There were then great shouts and + cries, and the English manned her again with archers, and sent her + to fight against the Genoese. + + This battle was very murderous and horrible. Combats at sea are + more destructive and obstinate than upon land, for it is not + possible to retreat or flee--every one must abide his fortune, and + exert his prowess and valor. Sir Hugh Quiriel and his companions + were bold and determined men; they had done much mischief to the + English at sea and destroyed many of their ships. The combat, + therefore, lasted from early in the morning until noon,[579] and + the English were hard pressed, for their enemies were four to one, + and the greater part men who had been used to the sea. + + [Sidenote: The English triumph] + + The king, who was in the flower of his youth, showed himself on + that day a gallant knight, as did the earls of Derby, Pembroke, + Hereford, Huntingdon, Northampton, and Gloucester; the lord + Reginald Cobham, lord Felton, lord Bradestan, sir Richard Stafford, + the lord Percy, sir Walter Manny, sir Henry de Flanders, sir John + Beauchamp, sir John Chandos, the lord Delaware, Lucie lord Malton, + and the lord Robert d'Artois, now called earl of Richmond. I cannot + remember the names of all those who behaved so valiantly in the + combat. But they did so well that, with some assistance from Bruges + and those parts of the country, the French were completely + defeated, and all the Normans and the others were killed or + drowned, so that not one of them escaped.[580] + + After the king had gained this victory, which was on the eve of St. + John's day,[581] he remained all that night on board his ship + before Sluys, and there were great noises with trumpets and all + kinds of other instruments. + + +76. The Battle of Crecy (1346) + +In July, 1346, Edward III. landed on the northwest coast of Normandy +with a splendid army of English, Irish, and Welsh, including ten +thousand men skilled in the use of the long bow. He advanced eastward, +plundering and devastating as he went, probably with the ultimate +intention of besieging Calais. Finding the passage of the Seine +impossible at Rouen, he ascended the river until he came into the +vicinity of Paris, only to learn that Philip with an army twice the +size of that of the English had taken up a position on the Seine to +turn back the invasion. The French king allowed himself to be +outwitted, however, and Edward got out of the trap into which he had +fallen by marching northward to the village of Crecy in Ponthieu. With +an army that had grown to outnumber the English three to one Philip +advanced in the path of the enemy, first to Abbeville on the Somme, +and later to Crecy, slightly to the east of which Edward had taken his +stand for battle. The English arrived at Crecy about noon on Friday, +August 25. The French were nearly a day behind, having spent the night +at Abbeville and set out thence over the roads to Crecy before sunrise +Saturday morning. The army of the English numbered probably about +14,000, besides an uncertain reserve of Welsh and Irish troops; that +of the French numbered about 70,000, including 15,000 Genoese +cross-bowmen. The course of the battle is well described by Froissart +in the passage below. Doubtless the account is not accurate in every +particular, yet it must be correct in the main and it shows very +vividly the character of French and English warfare in this period. +Despite the superior numbers of the French, the English had small +difficulty in winning a decisive victory. This was due to several +things. In the first place, the French army was a typical feudal levy +and as such was sadly lacking in discipline and order, while the +English troops were under perfect control. In the next place, the use +of the long-bow gave the English infantry a great advantage over the +French knights, and even over the Genoese mercenaries, who could shoot +just once while an English long-bowman was shooting twelve times. In +the third place, Philip's troops were exhausted before entering the +battle and it was a grievous error on the part of the king to allow +the conflict to begin before his men had an opportunity for rest.[582] +The greatest significance of the English victory lay in the blow it +struck at feudalism, and especially the feudal type of warfare. It +showed very clearly that the armored knight was no match for the +common foot-soldier, armed simply with his long-bow, and that feudal +methods and ideals had come to be inconsistent with success in war. + + Source--_Chroniques de Jean Froissart_ (Societe de l'Histoire + de France edition), Chap. LX. Translated in Thomas Johnes, + _Froissart's Chronicles_, Vol. I., pp. 320-329 _passim_. + + The king of England, as I have mentioned before, encamped this + Friday in the plain,[583] for he found the country abounding in + provisions; but if they should have failed, he had an abundance in + the carriages which attended him. The army set about furbishing and + repairing their armor; and the king gave a supper that evening to + the earls and barons of his army, where they made good cheer. On + their taking leave, the king remained alone with the lord of his + bed-chamber. He retired into his oratory and, falling on his knees + before the altar, prayed to God, that if he should fight his + enemies on the morrow he might come off with honor. About midnight + he went to his bed and, rising early the next day, he and the + Prince of Wales[584] heard Mass and communicated. The greater part + of his army did the same, confessed, and made proper preparations. + + [Sidenote: The English prepare for battle] + + After Mass the king ordered his men to arm themselves and assemble + on the ground he had before fixed on. He had enclosed a large park + near a wood, on the rear of his army, in which he placed all his + baggage-wagons and horses; and this park had but one entrance. His + men-at-arms and archers remained on foot. The king afterwards + ordered, through his constable and his two marshals, that the army + should be divided into three battalions.... + + The king then mounted a small palfrey, having a white wand in his + hand and, attended by his two marshals on each side of him, he rode + through all the ranks, encouraging and entreating the army, that + they should guard his honor. He spoke this so gently, and with such + a cheerful countenance, that all who had been dejected were + immediately comforted by seeing and hearing him. + + When he had thus visited all the battalions, it was near ten + o'clock. He retired to his own division and ordered them all to eat + heartily afterwards and drink a glass. They ate and drank at their + ease; and, having packed up pots, barrels, etc., in the carts, they + returned to their battalions, according to the marshals' orders, + and seated themselves on the ground, placing their helmets and bows + before them, that they might be the fresher when their enemies + should arrive. + + [Sidenote: The French advance from Abbeville to Crecy] + + [Sidenote: Philip's knights advise delay] + + That same Saturday, the king of France arose betimes and heard Mass + in the monastery of St. Peter's in Abbeville,[585] where he was + lodged. Having ordered his army to do the same, he left that town + after sunrise. When he had marched about two leagues from Abbeville + and was approaching the enemy, he was advised to form his army in + order of battle, and to let those on foot march forward, that they + might not be trampled on by the horses. The king, upon this, sent + off four knights--the lord Moyne of Bastleberg, the lord of Noyers, + the lord of Beaujeu, and the lord of Aubigny--who rode so near to + the English that they could clearly distinguish their position. The + English plainly perceived that they were come to reconnoitre. + However, they took no notice of it, but suffered them to return + unmolested. When the king of France saw them coming back, he halted + his army, and the knights, pushing through the crowds, came near + the king, who said to them, "My lords, what news?" They looked at + each other, without opening their mouths; for no one chose to speak + first. At last the king addressed himself to the lord Moyne, who + was attached to the king of Bohemia, and had performed very many + gallant deeds, so that he was esteemed one of the most valiant + knights in Christendom. The lord Moyne said, "Sir, I will speak, + since it pleases you to order me, but with the assistance of my + companions. We have advanced far enough to reconnoitre your + enemies. Know, then, that they are drawn up in three battalions and + are awaiting you. I would advise, for my part (submitting, however, + to better counsel), that you halt your army here and quarter them + for the night; for before the rear shall come up and the army be + properly drawn out, it will be very late. Your men will be tired + and in disorder, while they will find your enemies fresh and + properly arrayed. On the morrow, you may draw up your army more at + your ease and may reconnoitre at leisure on what part it will be + most advantageous to begin the attack; for, be assured, they will + wait for you." + + [Sidenote: Confusion in the French ranks] + + The king commanded that it should be so done; and the two marshals + rode, one towards the front, and the other to the rear, crying out, + "Halt banners, in the name of God and St. Denis." Those that were + in the front halted; but those behind said they would not halt + until they were as far forward as the front. When the front + perceived the rear pushing on, they pushed forward; and neither the + king nor the marshals could stop them, but they marched on without + any order until they came in sight of their enemies.[586] As soon + as the foremost rank saw them, they fell back at once in great + disorder, which alarmed those in the rear, who thought they had + been fighting. There was then space and room enough for them to + have passed forward, had they been willing to do so. Some did so, + but others remained behind. + + All the roads between Abbeville and Crecy were covered with common + people, who, when they had come within three leagues of their + enemies, drew their swords, crying out, "Kill, kill;" and with them + were many great lords who were eager to make show of their courage. + There is no man, unless he had been present, who can imagine, or + describe truly, the confusion of that day; especially the bad + management and disorder of the French, whose troops were beyond + number. + + [Sidenote: The English prepare for battle] + + The English, who were drawn up in three divisions and seated on the + ground, on seeing their enemies advance, arose boldly and fell into + their ranks. That of the prince[587] was the first to do so, whose + archers were formed in the manner of a portcullis, or harrow, and + the men-at-arms in the rear. The earls of Northampton and Arundel, + who commanded the second division, had posted themselves in good + order on his wing to assist and succor the prince, if necessary. + + You must know that these kings, dukes, earls, barons, and lords of + France did not advance in any regular order, but one after the + other, or in any way most pleasing to themselves. As soon as the + king of France came in sight of the English his blood began to + boil, and he cried out to his marshals, "Order the Genoese forward, + and begin the battle, in the name of God and St. Denis." + + There were about fifteen thousand Genoese cross-bowmen; but they + were quite fatigued, having marched on foot that day six leagues, + completely armed, and with their cross-bows. They told the + constable that they were not in a fit condition to do any great + things that day in battle. The earl of Alencon, hearing this, said, + "This is what one gets by employing such scoundrels, who fail when + there is any need for them." + + During this time a heavy rain fell, accompanied by thunder and a + very terrible eclipse of the sun; and before this rain a great + flight of crows hovered in the air over all those battalions, + making a loud noise. Shortly afterwards it cleared up and the sun + shone very brightly; but the Frenchmen had it in their faces, and + the English at their backs. + + When the Genoese were somewhat in order they approached the English + and set up a loud shout in order to frighten them; but the latter + remained quite still and did not seem to hear it. They then set up + a second shout and advanced a little forward; but the English did + not move. They hooted a third time, advancing with their cross-bows + presented, and began to shoot. The English archers then advanced + one step forward and shot their arrows with such force and + quickness that it seemed as if it snowed. + + [Sidenote: The Genoese mercenaries repulsed] + + When the Genoese felt these arrows, which pierced their arms, + heads, and through their armor, some of them cut the strings of + their cross-bows, others flung them on the ground, and all turned + about and retreated, quite discomfited. The French had a large body + of men-at-arms on horseback, richly dressed, to support the + Genoese. The king of France, seeing them thus fall back, cried out, + "Kill me those scoundrels; for they stop up our road, without any + reason." You would then have seen the above-mentioned men-at-arms + lay about them, killing all that they could of these runaways. + + [Sidenote: Slaughter by the Cornish and Welsh] + + The English continued shooting as vigorously and quickly as before. + Some of their arrows fell among the horsemen, who were sumptuously + equipped and, killing and wounding many, made them caper and fall + among the Genoese, so that they were in such confusion they could + never rally again. In the English army there were some Cornish and + Welshmen on foot who had armed themselves with large knives. These, + advancing through the ranks of the men-at-arms and archers, who + made way for them, came upon the French when they were in this + danger and, falling upon earls, barons, knights and squires, slew + many, at which the king of England was afterwards much exasperated. + + [Sidenote: Death of the king of Bohemia] + + The valiant king of Bohemia was slain there. He was called Charles + of Luxemburg, for he was the son of the gallant king and emperor, + Henry of Luxemburg.[588] Having heard the order of the battle, he + inquired where his son, the lord Charles, was. His attendants + answered that they did not know, but believed that he was fighting. + The king said to them: "Sirs, you are all my people, my friends and + brethren at arms this day; therefore, as I am blind, I request of + you to lead me so far into the engagement that I may strike one + stroke with my sword." The knights replied that they would lead him + forward immediately; and, in order that they might not lose him in + the crowd, they fastened the reins of all their horses together, + and put the king at their head, that he might gratify his wish, + and advanced towards the enemy. The king rode in among the enemy, + and made good use of his sword; for he and his companions fought + most gallantly. They advanced so far that they were all slain; and + on the morrow they were found on the ground, with their horses all + tied together. + + Early in the day, some French, Germans, and Savoyards had broken + through the archers of the prince's battalion, and had engaged with + the men-at-arms, upon which the second battalion came to his aid; + and it was time, for otherwise he would have been hard pressed. The + first division, seeing the danger they were in, sent a knight[589] + in great haste to the king of England, who was posted upon an + eminence, near a windmill. On the knight's arrival, he said, "Sir, + the earl of Warwick, the lord Stafford, the lord Reginald Cobham, + and the others who are about your son are vigorously attacked by + the French; and they entreat that you come to their assistance with + your battalion for, if the number of the French should increase, + they fear he will have too much to do." + + [Sidenote: Edward gives the Black Prince a chance to win his spurs] + + The king replied: "Is my son dead, unhorsed, or so badly wounded + that he cannot support himself?" "Nothing of the sort, thank God," + rejoined the knight; "but he is in so hot an engagement that he has + great need of your help." The king answered, "Now, Sir Thomas, + return to those who sent you and tell them from me not to send + again for me this day, or expect that I shall come, let what will + happen, as long as my son has life; and say that I command them to + let the boy win his spurs; for I am determined, if it please God, + that all the glory and honor of this day shall be given to him, and + to those into whose care I have entrusted him." The knight returned + to his lords and related the king's answer, which greatly + encouraged them and made them regret that they had ever sent such a + message. + + [Sidenote: King Philip abandons the field of battle] + + Late after vespers, the king of France had not more about him than + sixty men, every one included. Sir John of Hainault, who was of the + number, had once remounted the king; for the latter's horse had + been killed under him by an arrow. He said to the king, "Sir, + retreat while you have an opportunity, and do not expose yourself + so needlessly. If you have lost this battle, another time you will + be the conqueror." After he had said this, he took the bridle of + the king's horse and led him off by force; for he had before + entreated him to retire. + + The king rode on until he came to the castle of La Broyes, where he + found the gates shut, for it was very dark. The king ordered the + governor of it to be summoned. He came upon the battlements and + asked who it was that called at such an hour. The king answered, + "Open, open, governor; it is the fortune of France." The governor, + hearing the king's voice, immediately descended, opened the gate, + and let down the bridge. The king and his company entered the + castle; but he had with him only five barons--Sir John of Hainault, + the lord Charles of Montmorency, the lord of Beaujeu, the lord of + Aubigny, and the lord of Montfort. The king would not bury himself + in such a place as that, but, having taken some refreshments, set + out again with his attendants about midnight, and rode on, under + the direction of guides who were well acquainted with the country, + until, about daybreak, he came to Amiens, where he halted. + + [Sidenote: The English after the battle] + + This Saturday the English never quitted their ranks in pursuit of + any one, but remained on the field, guarding their position and + defending themselves against all who attacked them. The battle was + ended at the hour of vespers. When, on this Saturday night, the + English heard no more hooting or shouting, nor any more crying out + to particular lords, or their banners, they looked upon the field + as their own and their enemies as beaten. + + They made great fires and lighted torches because of the darkness + of the night. King Edward then came down from his post, who all + that day had not put on his helmet, and, with his whole battalion, + advanced to the Prince of Wales, whom he embraced in his arms and + kissed, and said, "Sweet son, God give you good preference. You are + my son, for most loyally have you acquitted yourself this day. You + are worthy to be a sovereign." The prince bowed down very low and + humbled himself, giving all honor to the king his father. + + The English, during the night, made frequent thanksgivings to the + Lord for the happy outcome of the day, and without rioting; for the + king had forbidden all riot or noise. + + +77. The Sack of Limoges (1370) + +As a single illustration of the devastation wrought by the Hundred +Years' War, and of the barbarity of the commanders and troops engaged +in it, Froissart's well-known description of the sack of Limoges in +1370 by the army of the Black Prince is of no small interest. In some +respects, of course, circumstances in connection with this episode +were exceptional, and we are not to imagine that such heartless and +indiscriminate massacres were common. Yet the evidence which has +survived all goes to show that the long course of the war was filled +with cruelty and destruction in a measure almost inconceivable among +civilized peoples in more modern times. + + Source--_Chroniques de Jean Froissart_ (Societe de l'Histoire + de France edition), Chap. XCVII. Translated in Thomas Johnes, + _Froissart's Chronicles_, Vol. II., pp. 61-68 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: The Black Prince resolves to retake Limoges] + + When word was brought to the prince that the city of Limoges[590] + had become French, that the bishop, who had been his companion and + one in whom he had formerly placed great confidence, was a party + to all the treaties and had greatly aided and assisted in the + surrender, he was in a violent passion and held the bishop and all + other churchmen in very low estimation, in whom formerly he had put + great trust. He swore by the soul of his father, which he had never + perjured, that he would have it back again, that he would not + attend to anything before he had done this, and that he would make + the inhabitants pay dearly for their treachery....[591] + + All these men-at-arms were drawn out in battle-array and took the + field, when the whole country began to tremble for the + consequences. At that time the Prince of Wales was not able to + mount his horse, but was, for his greater ease, carried in a + litter. They followed the road to the Limousin,[592] in order to + get to Limoges, where in due time they arrived and encamped all + around it. The prince swore he would never leave the place until he + had regained it. + + [Sidenote: The town to be undermined] + + The bishop of the place and the inhabitants found that they had + acted wickedly and had greatly incensed the prince, for which they + were very repentant, but that was now of no avail, as they were not + the masters of the town.[593] When the prince and his marshals had + well considered the strength and force of Limoges, and knew the + number of people that were in it, they agreed that they could never + take it by assault, but said they would attempt it by another + manner. The prince was always accustomed to carry with him on his + expeditions a large body of miners. These were immediately set to + work and made great progress. The knights who were in the town + soon perceived that they were undermining them, and on that + account began to countermine to prevent the effect.... + + The Prince of Wales remained about a month, and not more, before + the city of Limoges. He would not allow any assaults or + skirmishing, but kept his miners steadily at work. The knights in + the town perceived what they were about and made countermines to + destroy them, but they failed in their attempt. When the miners of + the prince (who, as they found themselves countermined, kept + changing the line of direction of their own mine) had finished + their business, they came to the prince and said, "My lord, we are + ready, and will throw down, whenever it pleases you, a very large + part of the wall into the ditch, through the breach of which you + may enter the town at your ease and without danger." + + [Sidenote: The English assault] + + This news was very agreeable to the prince, who replied: "I desire, + then, that you prove your words to-morrow morning at six o'clock." + The miners set fire to the combustibles in the mine, and on the + morrow morning, as they had foretold the prince, they flung down a + great piece of wall which filled the ditches. The English saw this + with pleasure, for they were armed and prepared to enter the town. + Those on foot did so and ran to the gate, which they destroyed, as + well as the barriers, for there were no other defenses; and all + this was done so suddenly that the inhabitants had not time to + prevent it. + + [Sidenote: Barbarity of the sack] + + The prince, the duke of Lancaster, the earls of Cambridge and of + Pembroke, sir Guiscard d'Angle and the others, with their men, + rushed into the town. You would then have seen pillagers, active to + do mischief, running through the town, slaying men, women, and + children, according to their orders. It was a most melancholy + business; for all ranks, ages, and sexes cast themselves on their + knees before the prince, begging for mercy; but he was so inflamed + with passion and revenge that he listened to none. But all were put + to the sword, wherever they could be found, even those who were + not guilty. For I know not why the poor were not spared, who could + not have had any part in the treason; but they suffered for it, and + indeed more than those who had been the leaders of the treachery. + + There was not that day in the city of Limoges any heart so + hardened, or that had any sense of religion, that did not deeply + bewail the unfortunate events passing before men's eyes; for + upwards of three thousand men, women, and children were put to + death that day. God have mercy on their souls, for they were truly + martyrs.... The entire town was pillaged, burned, and totally + destroyed. The English then departed, carrying with them their + booty and prisoners. + + +78. The Treaties of Bretigny (1360) and Troyes (1420) + +The most important documents in the diplomatic history of the Hundred +Years' War are the texts of the treaty of London (1359), the treaty of +Bretigny (1360), the truce of Paris (1396), the treaty of Troyes +(1420), the treaty of Arras (1435), and the truce of Tours (1444). +Brief extracts from two of these are given below. The treaty of +Bretigny was negotiated soon after the refusal of the French to ratify +the treaty of London. In November, 1359, King Edward III., with his +son, Edward, the Black Prince, and the duke of Lancaster, crossed the +Channel, marched on Rheims, and threatened Paris. Negotiations for a +new peace were actively opened in April, 1360, after the English had +established themselves at Montlheri, south from Paris. The French +king, John II., who had been taken prisoner at Poitiers (1356), gave +full powers of negotiation to his son Charles, duke of Normandy and +regent of the kingdom. For some time no definite conclusions were +reached, owing chiefly to Edward's unwillingness to renounce his claim +to the French throne. Late in April the negotiations were transferred +to Chartres, subsequently to Bretigny. Finally, on the eighth of May, +representatives of the two parties signed the so-called treaty of +Bretigny. Although the instrument was promptly ratified by the French +regent and by the Black Prince (and, if we may believe Froissart, by +the two kings themselves), it was afterwards revised and accepted in +a somewhat different form by the monarchs and their following +assembled at Calais (October 24, 1360). The most important respect in +which the second document differed from the first was the omission of +Article 12 of the first treaty, in which Edward renounced his claim to +the throne of France and the sovereignty of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, +Touraine, Brittany, and Flanders; nevertheless Edward, at Calais, made +this renunciation in a separate convention, which for all practical +purposes was regarded as a part of the treaty. The passages printed +below are taken from the Calais text. Most of the thirty-nine articles +composing the document are devoted to mere details. The war was +renewed after a few years, and within two decades the English had lost +all the territory guaranteed to them in 1360, except a few coast +towns. + +The treaty of Troyes (1420) belongs to one of the most stormy periods +in all French history. The first two decades of the fifteenth century +were marked by a cessation of the war with England (until its renewal +in 1415), but also unfortunately by the outbreak of a desperate civil +struggle between two great factions of the French people, the +Burgundians and the Armagnacs. The Burgundians, led by Philip the Bold +and John the Fearless (successive dukes of Burgundy), stood for a +policy of friendship with England, while the Armagnacs, comprising the +adherents of Charles, duke of Orleans, whose wife was a daughter of +the count of Armagnac, advocated the continuation of the war with the +English; though, in reality, the forces which kept the two factions +apart were jealousy and ambition rather than any mere question of +foreign relations. The way was prepared for a temporary Burgundian +triumph by the notable victory of the English at Agincourt in 1415 and +by the assassination of John the Fearless at Paris in 1419, which made +peace impossible and drove the Burgundians openly into the arms of the +English. Philip the Good, the new duke of Burgundy, became the avowed +ally of the English king Henry V., who since 1417 had been slowly but +surely conquering Normandy and now had the larger portion of it in his +possession. Philip recognized Henry as the true heir to the French +throne and in 1419 concluded with him two distinct treaties on that +basis. Charles VI., the reigning king of France, was mentally +unbalanced and the queen, who bitterly hated the Armagnacs (with whom +her son, the Dauphin Charles, was actively identified), was easily +persuaded by Duke Philip to acquiesce in a treaty by which the +succession should be vested in the English king upon the death of +Charles VI. The result was the treaty of Troyes, signed May 21, 1420. +According to agreements already entered into by Philip and Henry, the +latter was to marry Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. (the marriage +was not mentioned in the treaty of Troyes, but it was clearly +assumed), and he was to act as regent of France until Charles VI.'s +death and then become king in his own name. Most of the thirty-one +articles of the treaty were taken up with a definition of Henry's +position and obligations as regent and prospective sovereign of +France. + +In due time the marriage of Henry and Catherine took place and Henry +assumed the regency, though the Armagnacs, led by the Dauphin, refused +absolutely to accept the settlement. War broke out, in the course of +which (in 1422) Henry V. died and was succeeded by his infant son, +Henry VI. In the same year Charles VI. also died, which meant that the +young Henry would become king of France. With such a prospect the +future of the country looked dark. Nevertheless, the death of Charles +VI. and of Henry V. came in reality as a double blessing. Henry V. +might long have kept the French in subjection and his position as +Charles VI.'s son-in-law gave him some real claim to rule in France. +But with the field cleared, as it was in 1422, opportunity was given +for the Dauphin Charles (Charles VII.) to retrieve the fallen fortunes +of his country--a task which, with more or less energy and skill, he +managed in the long run to accomplish. + + Sources--(a) Text in Eugene Cosneau, _Les Grands Traites de la + Guerre de Cent Ans_ ["The Great Treaties of the Hundred Years' + War"], Paris, 1889, pp. 39-68 _passim_. + + (b) Text in Cosneau, _ibid._ pp. 102-115 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: Territories conceded to the English by the treaty + of Bretigny] + + (a) + + =1.= The king of England shall hold for himself and his heirs, for + all time to come, in addition to that which he holds in Guienne and + Gascony, all the possessions which are enumerated below, to be held + in the same manner that the king of France and his sons, or any of + their ancestors, have held them....[594] + + =7.= And likewise the said king and his eldest son[595] shall give + order, by their letters patent to all archbishops and other + prelates of the holy Church, and also to counts, viscounts, barons, + nobles, citizens, and others of the cities, lands, countries, + islands, and places before mentioned, that they shall be obedient + to the king of England and to his heirs and at their ready command, + in the same manner in which they have been obedient to the kings + and to the crown of France. And by the same letters they shall + liberate and absolve them from all homage, pledges, oaths, + obligations, subjections, and promises made by any of them to the + kings and to the crown of France in any manner. + + =13.= It is agreed that the king of France shall pay to the king of + England three million gold crowns, of which two are worth an obol + of English money.[596] + + [Sidenote: Provision regarding alliances] + + =30.= It is agreed that honest alliances, friendships, and + confederations shall be formed by the two kings of France and + England and their kingdoms, not repugnant to the honor or the + conscience of one king or the other. No alliances which they have, + on this side or that, with any person of Scotland or Flanders, or + any other country, shall be allowed to stand in the way.[597] + + [Sidenote: The Treaty of Troyes fixes the succession upon Henry V] + + (b) + + =6.= After our death,[598] and from that time forward, the crown + and kingdom of France, with all their rights and appurtenances, + shall be vested permanently in our son [son-in-law], King Henry, + and his heirs. + + =7.= ... The power and authority to govern and to control the + public affairs of the said kingdom shall, during our life-time, be + vested in our son, King Henry, with the advice of the nobles and + the wise men who are obedient to us, and who have consideration for + the advancement and honor of the said kingdom.... + + [Sidenote: Henry's title] + + =22.= It is agreed that during our life-time we shall designate our + son, King Henry, in the French language in this fashion, _Notre + tres cher fils Henri, roi d'Angleterre, heritier de France_; and in + the Latin language in this manner, _Noster praecarissimus filius + Henricus, rex Angliae, heres Franciae_. + + [Sidenote: Union of France and England to be through the crown + only] + + =24.= ... [It is agreed] that the two kingdoms shall be governed + from the time that our said son, or any of his heirs, shall assume + the crown, not divided between different kings at the same time, + but under one person, who shall be king and sovereign lord of both + kingdoms, observing all pledges and all other things, to each + kingdom its rights, liberties or customs, usages and laws, not + submitting in any manner one kingdom to the other.[599] + + =29.= In consideration of the frightful and astounding crimes and + misdeeds committed against the kingdom of France by Charles, the + said Dauphin, it is agreed that we, our son Henry, and also our + very dear son Philip, duke of Burgundy, will never treat for peace + or amity with the said Charles.[600] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[565] This is the title employed by Thomas Johnes in his translation +of the work a hundred years ago. Froissart himself called his book, in +the French of his day, _Chroniques de France, d'Engleterre, d'Escoce, +de Bretaigne, d'Espaigne, d'Italie, de Flandres et d'Alemaigne_. + +[566] Philip IV., king of France, 1285-1314. + +[567] Isabella was the wife of Edward II., who reigned in England from +1307 until his deposition in 1327. + +[568] Louis X. (the Quarrelsome) reigned 1314-1316; Philip V. (the +Long), 1316-1322; and Charles IV. (the Fair), 1322-1328. Louis and +Charles were very weak kings, though Philip was vigorous and able. + +[569] The French Court of Twelve Peers did not constitute a distinct +organization, but was merely a high rank of baronage. In the earlier +Middle Ages, the number of peers was generally twelve, including the +most powerful lay vassals of the king and certain influential +prelates. In later times the number was frequently increased by the +creation of peers by the crown. + +[570] In 1317, after the accession of Philip IV., an assembly of +French magnates (such as that which disposed of the crown in 1328) +laid down the general rule that no woman should succeed to the throne +of France. This rule has come to be known as the Salic Law of France, +though it has no historical connection with the law of the Salian +Franks against female inheritance of property, with which older +writers have generally confused it [see p. 67, note 1]. The rule of +1317 was based purely on grounds of political expediency. It was +announced at this particular time because the death of Louis X. had +left France without a male heir to the throne for the first time since +Hugh Capet's day and the barons thought it not best for the realm that +a woman reign over it. Between 1316 and 1328 daughters of kings were +excluded from the succession three times, and though in 1328, when +Charles IV. died, there had been no farther legislation on the +subject, the principle of the misnamed Salic Law had become firmly +established in practice. In 1328, however, when the barons selected +Philip of Valois to be regent first and then king, they went a step +farther and declared not only that no woman should be allowed to +inherit the throne of France but that the inheritance could not pass +through a woman to her son; in other words, she could not transmit to +her descendants a right which she did not herself possess. This was +intended to cover any future case such as that of Edward III.'s claim +to inherit through his mother Isabella, daughter of Philip IV. The +action of the barons was supported by public opinion in practically +all France--especially since it appeared that only through this +expedient could the realm be saved from the domination of an alien +sovereign. + +[571] Philip of Valois was a son of Charles of Valois, who was a +brother of Philip IV. The line of direct Capetian descent was now +replaced by the branch line of the Valois. The latter occupied the +French throne until the death of Henry III. in 1589. + +[572] James van Arteveld, a brewer of Ghent, was the leader of the +popular party in Flanders--the party which hated French influence, +which had expelled the count of Flanders on account of his services to +Philip VI., and which was the most valuable English ally on the +continent. Arteveld was murdered in 1345 during the civil discord +which prevailed in Flanders throughout the earlier part of the Hundred +Years' War. + +[573] These were towns situated near the Franco-Flemish frontier. They +had been lost by Flanders to France and assistance in their recovery +was rightly considered by the German advisers of Edward as likely to +be more tempting to the Flemish than any other offer he could make +them. + +[574] That is, the papal court. + +[575] Robert of Artois was a prince who had not a little to do with +the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War. After having lost a suit for +the inheritance of the county of Artois (the region about the Somme +River) and having been proved guilty of fabricating documents to +support his claims, he had fled to England and there as an exile had +employed every resource to influence Edward to claim the French throne +and to go to war to secure it. + +[576] In northeastern Flanders. + +[577] That is, June 23. The English fleet was composed of two hundred +and fifty vessels, carrying 11,000 archers and 4,000 men-at-arms. + +[578] Edward III.'s queen was Philippa, daughter of the count of +Hainault. + +[579] In reality, until five o'clock in the evening, or about nine +hours in all. + +[580] The tide of battle was finally turned in favor of the English by +the arrival of reinforcements in the shape of a squadron of Flemish +vessels. The contest was not so one-sided or the French defeat so +complete as Froissart represents, yet it was decisive enough, as is +indicated by the fact that only thirty of the French ships survived +and 20,000 French and Genoese were slain or taken prisoners, as +against an English loss of about 10,000. + +[581] June 24, 1340. + +[582] As appears from Froissart's account (see p. 431), the king, on +the advice of some of his knights, decided at one time to postpone the +attack until the following day; but, the army falling into hopeless +confusion and coming up unintentionally within sight of the English, +he recklessly gave the order to advance to immediate combat. Perhaps, +however, it is only fair to place the blame upon the system which made +the army so unmanageable, rather than upon the king personally. + +[583] That is, the plain east of the village of Crecy. + +[584] The king's eldest son, Edward, generally known as the Black +Prince. + +[585] Abbeville was on the Somme about fifteen miles south of Crecy. + +[586] This incident very well illustrates the confusion and lack of +discipline prevailing in a typical feudal army. + +[587] Edward, the Black Prince, eldest son of the English king. + +[588] The Emperor Henry VII., 1308-1314. + +[589] Sir Thomas Norwich. + +[590] Limoges, besieged by the duke of Berry and the great French +general, Bertrand du Guesclin, had just been forced to surrender. It +was a very important town and its capture was the occasion of much +elation among the French. Treaties were entered into between the duke +of Berry on the one hand and the bishop and citizens of Limoges on the +other, whereby the inhabitants recognized the sovereignty of the +French king. It was the news of this surrender that so angered the +Black Prince. + +[591] A force of 3,200 men was led by the Black Prince from the town +of Cognac to undertake the siege of Limoges. Froissart here enumerates +a large number of notable knights who went with the expedition. + +[592] The Limousin was a district in south central France, southeast +of Poitou. + +[593] Limoges was now in the hands of three commanders representing +the French king. Their names were John de Villemur, Hugh de la Roche, +and Roger de Beaufort. + +[594] Here follows a minute enumeration of the districts, towns, and +castles conceded to the English. The most important were Poitou, +Limousin, Rouergne, and Saintonge in the south, and Calais, Guines, +and Ponthieu in the north. + +[595] That is, King John II. and the regent Charles. + +[596] The enormous ransom thus specified for King John was never paid. +The three million gold crowns would have a purchasing power of perhaps +forty or forty-five million dollars to-day. On the strength of the +treaty provision John was immediately released from captivity. With +curious disregard of the bad conditions prevailing in France as the +result of foreign and civil war he began preparations for a crusade, +which, however, he was soon forced to abandon. In 1364, attracted by +the gayety of English life as contrasted with the wretchedness and +gloom of his impoverished subjects, he went voluntarily to England, +where he died before the festivities in honor of his coming were +completed. + +[597] Throughout the Hundred Years' War the English had maintained +close relations with the Flemish enemies of France, just as France, in +defiance of English opposition, had kept up her traditional friendship +with Scotland. The treaty of Bretigny provided for a mutual reshaping +of foreign policy, to the end that these obstacles to peace might be +removed. + +[598] That is, the death of King Charles VI. + +[599] France was not to be dealt with as conquered territory. This +article comprises the only important provision in the treaty for +safeguarding the interests of the French people. + +[600] Charles VI., Henry V., and Philip the Good bind themselves not +to come to any sort of terms with the Dauphin, which compact reveals +the irreconcilable attitude characteristic of the factional and +dynastic struggles of the period. Chapter 6 of the treaty disinherits +the Dauphin; chapter 29 proclaims him an enemy of France. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE + + +The question as to when the Middle Ages came to an end cannot be +answered with a specific date, or even with a particular century. The +transition from the mediaeval world to the modern was gradual and was +accomplished at a much earlier period in some lines than in others. +Roughly speaking, the change fell within the two centuries and a half +from 1300 to 1550. This transitional epoch is commonly designated the +Age of the Renaissance, though if the term is taken in its most proper +sense as denoting the flowering of an old into a new culture it +scarcely does justice to the period, for political and religious +developments in these centuries were not less fundamental than the +revival and fresh stimulus of culture. But in the earlier portion of +the period, particularly the fourteenth century, the intellectual +awakening was the most obvious feature of the movement and, for the +time being, the most important. + +The renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was not the +first that Europe had known. There had been a notable revival of +learning in the time of Charlemagne--the so-called Carolingian +renaissance; another at the end of the tenth century, in the time of +the Emperor Otto III. and Pope Sylvester II.; and a third in the +twelfth century, with its center in northern France. The first two, +however, had proved quite transitory, and even the third and most +promising had dried up in the fruitless philosophy of the scholastics. + +Before there could be a vital and permanent intellectual revival it +was indispensable that the mediaeval attitude of mind undergo a +fundamental change. This attitude may be summed up in the one phrase, +the absolute dominance of "authority"--the authority, primarily, of +the Church, supplemented by the writings of a few ancients like +Aristotle. The scholars of the earlier Middle Ages busied themselves, +not with research and investigation whereby to increase knowledge, but +rather with commenting on the Scriptures, the writings of the Church +fathers, and Aristotle, and drawing conclusions and inferences by +reasoning from these accepted authorities. There was no disposition to +question what was found in the books, or to supplement it with fresh +information. Only after about 1300 did human interests become +sufficiently broadened to make men no longer altogether content with +the mere process of threshing over the old straw. Gradually there +began to appear scholars who suggested the idea, novel for the day, +that the books did not contain all that was worth knowing, and also +that perchance some things that had long gone unquestioned just +because they were in the books were not true after all. In other +words, they proposed to investigate things for themselves and to apply +the tests of observation and impartial reason. + +The most influential factor in producing this change of attitude was +the revival of classical literature and learning. The Latin classics, +and even some of the Greek, had not been unknown in the earlier Middle +Ages, but they had not been read widely, and when read at all they had +been valued principally as models of rhetoric rather than as a living +literature to be enjoyed for the ideas that were contained in it and +the forms in which they were expressed. These ideas were, of course, +generally pagan, and that in itself was enough to cause the Church to +look askance at the use of classical writings, except for grammatical +or antiquarian purposes. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, +however, due to a variety of causes, the reading of the classics +became commoner than since Roman days, and men, bringing to them more +open minds, were profoundly attracted by the fresh, original, human +ideas of life and the world with which Vergil and Horace and Cicero, +for example, overflowed. It was all a new discovery of the world and +of man, and from the _humanitas_ which the scholars found set forth as +the classical conception of culture they themselves took the name of +"humanists," while the subjects of their studies came to be known as +the _litterae humaniores_. This first great phase of the +Renaissance--the birth of humanism--found its finest expression in +Dante and Petrarch, and it cannot be studied with better effect than +in certain of the writings of these two men. + + +79. Dante's Defense of Italian as a Literary Language + +Dante Alighieri was born at Florence in 1265. Of his early life little +is known. His family seems to have been too obscure to have much part +in the civil struggles with which Florence, and all Italy, in that day +were vexed. The love affair with Beatrice, whose story Boccaccio +relates with so much zest, is the one sharply-defined feature of +Dante's youth and early manhood. It is known that at the age of +eighteen the young Florentine was a poet and was winning wide +recognition for his sonnets. Much time was devoted by him to study of +literature and the arts, but the details of his employments, +intellectual and otherwise, are impossible to make out. In 1290 +occurred the death of Beatrice, which event marked an epoch in the +poetical lover's life. In his sorrow he took refuge in the study of +such books as Boethius's _Consolations of Philosophy_ and Cicero's +_Friendship_, and became deeply interested in literary, and especially +philosophical, problems. In 1295 he entered political life, taking +from the outset a prominent part in the deliberations of the +Florentine General Council and the Council of Consuls of the Arts. He +assumed a firm attitude against all forms of lawlessness and in +resistance to any external interference in Florentine affairs. Owing +to conditions which he could not influence, however, his career in +this direction was soon cut short and most of the remainder of his +life was spent as a political exile, at Lucca, Verona, Ravenna, and +other Italian cities, with a possible visit to Paris. He died at +Ravenna, September 14, 1321, in his fifty-seventh year. + +Dante has well been called "the Janus-faced," because he stood at the +threshold of the new era and looked both forward and backward. His +_Divine Comedy_ admirably sums up the mediaeval spirit, and yet it +contains many suggestions of the coming age. His method was +essentially that of the scholastics, but he knew many of the classics +and had a genuine respect for them as literature. He was a mediaevalist +in his attachment to the Holy Roman Empire, yet he cherished the +purely modern ambition of a united Italy. It is deeply significant +that he chose to write his great poem--one of the most splendid in the +world's literature--in the Italian tongue rather than the Latin. Aside +from the fact that this, more than anything else, caused the Tuscan +dialect, rather than the rival Venetian and Neapolitan dialects, to +become the modern Italian, it evidenced the new desire for the +popularization of literature which was a marked characteristic of the +dawning era. Not content with putting his greatest effort in the +vernacular, Dante undertook formally to defend the use of the popular +tongue for literary purposes. This he did in _Il Convito_ ("The +Banquet"), a work whose date is quite uncertain, but which was +undoubtedly produced at some time while its author was in exile. It is +essentially a prose commentary upon three _canzoni_ written for the +honor and glory of the "noble, beautiful, and most compassionate lady, +Philosophy." In it Dante sought to set philosophy free from the +schools and from the heavy disputations of the scholars and to render +her beauty visible even to the unlearned. It was the first important +work on philosophy written in the Italian tongue, an innovation which +the author rightly regarded as calling for some explanation and +defense. The passage quoted from it below comprises this defense. +Similar views on the nobility of the vulgar language, as compared with +the Latin, were later set forth in fuller form in the treatise _De +Vulgari Eloquentia_. + + Source--Dante Alighieri, _Il Convito_ ["The Banquet"], Bk. I., + Chaps. 5-13 _passim_. Translated by Katharine Hillard (London, + 1889), pp. 17-47 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: Reasons for using the Italian] + + V. =1.= This bread being cleansed of its accidental + impurities,[601] we have now but to free it from one [inherent] in + its substance, that is, its being in the vulgar tongue, and not in + Latin; so that we might metaphorically call it made of oats instead + of wheat. And this [fault] may be briefly excused by three reasons, + which moved me to prefer the former rather than the latter + [language]. The first arises from care to avoid an unfit order of + things; the second, from a consummate liberality; the third, from a + natural love of one's own tongue. And I intend here in this manner + to discuss, in due order, these things and their causes, that I + may free myself from the reproach above named. + + [Sidenote: The Latin fixed, the Italian changeable] + + =3.= For, in the first place, had it [the commentary] been in + Latin, it would have been sovereign rather than subject, by its + nobility, its virtue, and its beauty. By its nobility, because + Latin is enduring and incorruptible, and the vulgar tongue is + unstable and corruptible. For we see that the ancient books of + Latin tragedy and comedy cannot be changed from the form we have + to-day, which is not the case with the vulgar tongue, as that can + be changed at will. For we see in the cities of Italy, if we take + notice of the past fifty years, how many words have been lost, or + invented, or altered; therefore, if a short time can work such + changes, how much more can a longer period effect! So that I think, + should they who departed this life a thousand years ago return to + their cities, they would believe them to be occupied by a foreign + people, so different would the language be from theirs. Of this I + shall speak elsewhere more fully, in a book which I intend to + write, God willing, on _Vulgar Eloquence_.[602] + + [Sidenote: Translations cannot preserve the literary splendor of + the originals] + + VII. =4.= ... The Latin could only have explained them [the + _canzoni_] to scholars; for the rest would not have understood it. + Therefore, as among those who desire to understand them there are + many more illiterate than learned, it follows that the Latin would + not have fulfilled this behest as well as the vulgar tongue, which + is understood both by the learned and the unlearned. Also the Latin + would have explained them to people of other nations, such as + Germans, English, and others; in doing which it would have exceeded + their order.[603] For it would have been against their will I say, + speaking generally, to have explained their meaning where their + beauty could not go with it. And, moreover, let all observe that + nothing harmonized by the laws of the Muses[604] can be changed + from its own tongue to another one without destroying all its + sweetness and harmony. And this is the reason why Homer is not + turned from Greek into Latin like the other writings we have of + theirs [the Greeks];[605] and this is why the verses of the + Psalter[606] lack musical sweetness and harmony; for they have been + translated from Hebrew to Greek, and from Greek to Latin, and in + the first translation all this sweetness perished. + + IX. =1.= ... The Latin would not have served many; because, if we + recall to mind what has already been said, scholars in other + languages than the Italian could not have availed themselves of its + service.[607] And of those of this speech (if we should care to + observe who they are) we shall find that only to one in a thousand + could it really have been of use; because they would not have + received it, so prone are they to base desires, and thus deprived + of that nobility of soul which above all desires this food. And to + their shame I say that they are not worthy to be called scholars, + because they do not pursue learning for its own sake, but for the + money or the honors that they gain thereby; just as we should not + call him a lute-player who kept a lute in the house to hire out, + and not to play upon. + + [Sidenote: The Italian of more solid excellence than other tongues] + + X. =5.= Again, I am impelled to defend it [the vulgar tongue] from + many of its accusers, who disparage it and commend others, above + all the language of _Oco_,[608] saying that the latter is better + and more beautiful than the former, wherein they depart from the + truth. Wherefore by this commentary shall be seen the great + excellence of the vulgar tongue of _Si_,[609] because (although the + highest and most novel conceptions can be almost as fittingly, + adequately, and beautifully expressed in it as in the Latin) its + excellence in rhymed pieces, on account of the accidental + adornments connected with them, such as rhyme and rhythm, or + ordered numbers, cannot be perfectly shown; as it is with the + beauty of a woman, when the splendor of her jewels and her garments + draw more admiration than her person.[610] Wherefore he who would + judge a woman truly looks at her when, unaccompanied by any + accidental adornment, her natural beauty alone remains to her; so + shall it be with this commentary, wherein shall be seen the + facility of its language, the propriety of its diction, and the + sweet discourse it shall hold; which he who considers well shall + see to be full of the sweetest and most exquisite beauty. But + because it is most virtuous in its design to show the futility and + malice of its accuser, I shall tell, for the confounding of those + who attack the Italian language, the purpose which moves them to do + this; and upon this I shall now write a special chapter, that their + infamy may be the more notorious. + + [Sidenote: Why people of Italy affect to despise their native + tongue] + + XI. =1.= To the perpetual shame and abasement of those wicked men + of Italy who praise the language of others and disparage their own, + I would say that their motive springs from five abominable causes. + The first is intellectual blindness; the second, vicious excuses; + the third, greed of vain-glory; the fourth, an argument based on + envy; the fifth and last, littleness of soul, that is, + pusillanimity. And each of these vices has so large a following, + that few are they who are free from them.... + + [Sidenote: The unskilful attribute their faults to the language] + + =3.= The second kind work against our language by vicious excuses. + These are they who would rather be considered masters than be such; + and, to avoid the reverse (that is, not to be considered masters), + they always lay the blame upon the materials prepared for their + art, or upon their tools; as the bad smith blames the iron given + him, and the bad lute-player blames the lute, thinking thus to lay + the fault of the bad knife or the bad playing upon the iron or the + lute, and to excuse themselves. Such are they (and they are not + few) who wish to be considered orators; and in order to excuse + themselves for not speaking, or for speaking badly, blame and + accuse their material, that is, their own language, and praise that + of others in which they are not required to work. And whoever + wishes to see wherein this tool [the vulgar tongue] deserves blame, + let him look at the work that good workmen have done with it, and + he will recognize the viciousness of those who, laying the blame + upon it, think they excuse themselves. Against such does Tullius + exclaim, in the beginning of one of his books called _De + Finibus_,[611] because in his time they blamed the Latin language + and commended the Greek, for the same reasons that these people + consider the Italian vile and the Provencal precious. + + [Sidenote: People should use their own language, as being most + natural to them] + + XII. =3.= That thing is nearest to a person which is, of all things + of its kind, the most closely related to himself; thus of all men + the son is nearest to the father, and of all arts medicine is + nearest to the doctor, and music to the musician, because these are + more closely related to them than any others; of all countries, the + one a man lives in is nearest to him, because it is most closely + related to him. And thus a man's own language is nearest to him, + because most closely related, being that one which comes alone and + before all others in his mind, and not only of itself is it thus + related, but by accident, inasmuch as it is connected with those + nearest to him, such as his kinsmen, and his fellow-citizens, and + his own people. And this is his own language, which is not only + near, but the very nearest, to every one. Because if proximity be + the seed of friendship, as has been stated above, it is plain that + it has been one of the causes of the love I bear my own language, + which is nearer to me than the others. The above-named reason (that + is, that we are most nearly related to that which is first in our + mind) gave rise to that custom of the people which makes the + firstborn inherit everything, as the nearest of kin; and, because + the nearest, therefore the most beloved. + + [Sidenote: The Italian fulfils the highest requirement of a + language] + + =4.= And again, its goodness makes me its friend. And here we must + know that every good quality properly belonging to a thing is + lovable in that thing; as men should have a fine beard, and women + should have the whole face quite free from hair; as the foxhound + should have a keen scent, and the greyhound great speed. And the + more peculiar this good quality, the more lovable it is, whence, + although all virtue is lovable in man, that is most so which is + most peculiarly human.... And we see that, of all things pertaining + to language, the power of adequately expressing thought is the most + loved and commended; therefore this is its peculiar virtue. And as + this belongs to our own language, as has been proved above in + another chapter, it is plain that this was one of the causes of my + love for it; since, as we have said, goodness is one of the causes + that engender love. + + +80. Dante's Conception of the Imperial Power + +The best known prose work of Dante, the _De Monarchia_, is perhaps the +most purely idealistic political treatise ever written. Its quality of +idealism is so pronounced, in fact, that there is not even sufficient +mention of contemporary men or events to assist in solving the wholly +unsettled problem of the date of its composition. The _De Monarchia_ +is composed of three books, each of which is devoted to a fundamental +question in relation to the balance of temporal and spiritual +authority. The first question is whether the temporal monarchy is +necessary for the well-being of the world. The answer is, that it is +necessary for the preservation of justice, freedom, and unity and +effectiveness of human effort. The second question is whether the +Roman people took to itself this dignity of monarchy, or empire, by +right. By a survey of Roman history from the days of Aeneas to those of +Caesar it is made to appear that it was God's will that the Romans +should rule the world. The third question is the most vital of all and +its answer constitutes the pith of the treatise. In brief it is, does +the authority of the Roman monarch, or emperor, who is thus by right +the monarch of the world, depend immediately upon God, or upon some +vicar of God, the successor of Peter? This question Dante answers +first negatively by clearing away the familiar defenses of spiritual +supremacy, and afterwards positively, by bringing forward specific +arguments for the temporal superiority. The selection given below +comprises the most suggestive portions of Dante's treatment of this +aspect of his subject. The method, it will be observed, is quite +thoroughly scholastic. Whenever the _De Monarchia_ was composed, it +remained all but unknown until after the author's death (1321); but +with the renewal of conflict between papacy and imperial power the +imperialists were not slow to make use of the treatise, and by the +middle of the fourteenth century it had become known throughout +Europe, being admired by one party as much as it was abhorred by the +other. At various times copies of it were burned as heretical and in +the sixteenth century it was placed by the Roman authorities upon the +Index of Prohibited Books. Few literary productions of the later +Middle Ages exercised greater influence upon contemporary thought and +politics. + + Source--Dante Alighieri, _De Monarchia_ ["Concerning + Monarchy"], Bk. III., Chaps. 1-16 _passim_. Translated by + Aurelia Henry (Boston, 1904), pp. 137-206 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: The problem to be considered] + + I. =2.= The question pending investigation, then, concerns two + great luminaries, the Roman Pontiff [Pope] and the Roman Prince + [Emperor]; and the point at issue is whether the authority of the + Roman monarch, who, as proved in the second book, is rightful + monarch of the world, is derived from God directly, or from some + vicar or minister of God, by whom I mean the successor of Peter, + indisputable keeper of the keys of the kingdom of heaven. + + IV. =1.= Those men to whom the entire subsequent discussion is + directed assert that the authority of the Empire depends on the + authority of the Church, just as the inferior artisan depends on + the architect. They are drawn to this by divers opposing arguments, + some of which they take from Holy Scripture, and some from certain + acts performed by the chief pontiff, and by the Emperor himself; + and they endeavor to make their conviction reasonable. + + [Sidenote: The analogy of the sun and moon] + + =2.= For, first, they maintain that, according to Genesis, God made + two mighty luminaries, a greater and a lesser, the former to hold + supremacy by day and the latter by night [Gen., i. 15, 16]. These + they interpret allegorically to be the two rulers--spiritual and + temporal.[612] Whence they argue that as the lesser luminary, the + moon, has no light but that gained from the sun, so the temporal + ruler has no authority but that gained from the spiritual ruler. + + =8.= I proceed to refute the above assumption that the two + luminaries of the world typify its two ruling powers. The whole + force of their argument lies in the interpretation; but this we can + prove indefensible in two ways. First, since these ruling powers + are, as it were, accidents necessitated by man himself, God would + seem to have used a distorted order in creating first accidents, + and then the subject necessitating them. It is absurd to speak thus + of God, but it is evident from the Word that the two lights were + created on the fourth day, and man on the sixth. + + [Sidenote: An abstruse bit of mediaeval reasoning] + + =9.= Secondly, the two ruling powers exist as the directors of men + toward certain ends, as will be shown further on. But had man + remained in the state of innocence in which God made him, he would + have required no such direction. These ruling powers are therefore + remedies against the infirmity of sin. Since on the fourth day man + was not only not a sinner, but was not even existent, the creation + of a remedy would have been purposeless, which is contrary to + divine goodness. Foolish indeed would be the physician who should + make ready a plaster for the abscess of a man not yet born. + Therefore it cannot be asserted that God made the two ruling powers + on the fourth day; and consequently the meaning of Moses cannot + have been what it is supposed to be. + + =10.= Also, in order to be tolerant, we may refute this fallacy by + distinction. Refutation by distinction deals more gently with an + adversary, for it shows him to be not absolutely wrong, as does + refutation by destruction. I say, then, that although the moon may + have abundant light only as she receives it from the sun, it does + not follow on that account that the moon herself owes her existence + to the sun. It must be recognized that the essence of the moon, her + strength, and her function, are not one and the same thing. Neither + in her essence, her strength, nor her function taken absolutely, + does the moon owe her existence to the sun, for her movement is + impelled by her own force and her influence by her own rays. + Besides, she has a certain light of her own, as is shown in + eclipse. It is in order to fulfill her function better and more + potently that she borrows from the sun abundance of light, and + works thereby more effectively. + + [Sidenote: Why the argument from the sun and moon fails] + + =11.= In like manner, I say, the temporal power receives from the + spiritual neither its existence, nor its strength, which is its + authority, nor even its function, taken absolutely. But well for + her does she receive therefrom, through the light of grace which + the benediction of the chief pontiff sheds upon it in heaven and on + earth, strength to fulfill her function more perfectly. So the + argument was at fault in form, because the predicate of the + conclusion is not a term of the major premise, as is evident. The + syllogism runs thus: The moon receives light from the sun, which + is the spiritual power; the temporal ruling power is the moon; + therefore the temporal receives authority from the spiritual. They + introduce "light" as the term of the major, but "authority" as + predicate of the conclusion, which two things we have seen to be + diverse in subject and significance. + + [Sidenote: Argument from the prerogative of the keys committed to + Peter] + + VIII. =1.= From the same gospel they quote the saying of Christ to + Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in + heaven" [Matt., xvi. 19], and understand this saying to refer alike + to all the Apostles, according to the text of Matthew and John + [Matt., xviii. 18 and John, xx. 23]. They reason from this that the + successor of Peter has been granted of God power to bind and loose + all things, and then infer that he has power to loose the laws and + decrees of the Empire, and to bind the laws and decrees of the + temporal kingdom. Were this true, their inference would be correct. + + =2.= But we must reply to it by making a distinction against the + major premise of the syllogism which they employ. Their syllogism + is this: Peter had power to bind and loose all things; the + successor of Peter has like power with him; therefore the successor + of Peter has power to loose and bind all things. From this they + infer that he has power to loose and bind the laws and decrees of + the Empire. + + =3.= I concede the minor premise, but the major only with + distinction. Wherefore I say that "all," the symbol of the + universal which is implied in "whatsoever," is never distributed + beyond the scope of the distributed term. When I say, "All animals + run," the distribution of "all" comprehends whatever comes under + the genus "animal." But when I say, "All men run," the symbol of + the universal refers only to whatever comes under the term "man." + And when I say, "All grammarians run," the distribution is narrowed + still further. + + =4.= Therefore we must always determine what it is over which the + symbol of the universal is distributed; then, from the recognized + nature and scope of the distributed term, will be easily apparent + the extent of the distribution. Now, were "whatsoever" to be + understood absolutely when it is said, "Whatsoever thou shalt + bind," he would certainly have the power they claim; nay, he would + have even greater power--he would be able to loose a wife from her + husband, and, while the man still lived, bind her to another--a + thing he can in nowise do. He would be able to absolve me, while + impenitent--a thing which God Himself cannot do. + + [Sidenote: Dante's interpretation of the Scripture in question] + + =5.= So it is evident that the distribution of the term under + discussion is to be taken, not absolutely, but relatively to + something else. A consideration of the concession to which the + distribution is subjoined will make manifest this related + something. Christ said to Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of + the kingdom of heaven;" that is, I will make thee doorkeeper of the + kingdom of heaven. Then He adds, "and whatsoever," that is, + "everything which," and He means thereby, "Everything which + pertains to that office thou shalt have power to bind and loose." + And thus the symbol of the universal which is implied in + "whatsoever" is limited in its distribution to the prerogative of + the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Understood thus, the proposition + is true, but understood absolutely, it is obviously not. Therefore + I conclude that, although the successor of Peter has authority to + bind and loose in accordance with the requirements of the + prerogative granted to Peter, it does not follow, as they claim, + that he has authority to bind and loose the decrees or statutes of + empire, unless they prove that this also belongs to the office of + the keys. But further on we shall demonstrate that the contrary is + true. + + XIII. =1.= Now that we have stated and rejected the errors on which + those chiefly rely who declare that the authority of the Roman + Prince is dependent on the Roman Pontiff,[613] we must return and + demonstrate the truth of that question which we propounded for + discussion at the beginning. The truth will be evident enough if it + can be shown, under the principle of inquiry agreed upon, that + imperial authority derives immediately from the summit of all + being, which is God. And this will be shown, whether we prove that + imperial authority does not derive from that of the Church (for the + dispute concerns no other authority), or whether we prove simply + that it derives immediately from God. + + [Sidenote: The Church (or papacy) is not the source of imperial + authority] + + =2.= That ecclesiastical authority is not the source of imperial + authority is thus verified. A thing non-existent, or devoid of + active force, cannot be the cause of active force in a thing + possessing that quality in full measure. But before the Church + existed, or while it lacked power to act, the Empire had active + force in full measure. Hence the Church is the source, neither of + acting power nor of authority in the Empire, where power to act and + authority are identical. Let A be the Church, B the Empire, and C + the power or authority of the Empire. If, A being non-existent, C + is in B, the cause of C's relation to B cannot be A, since it is + impossible that an effect should exist prior to its cause. + Moreover, if, A being inoperative, C is in B, the cause of C's + relation to B cannot be A, since it is indispensable for the + production of effect that the cause should be in operation + previously, especially the efficient cause which we are considering + here. + + [Sidenote: Early Christian recognition of the authority of the + Emperor] + + =3.= The major premise of this demonstration is intelligible from + its terms; the minor is confirmed by Christ and the Church. Christ + attests it, as we said before, in His birth and death. The Church + attests it in Paul's declaration to Festus in the Acts of the + Apostles: "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be + judged" [Acts, xxv. 10]; and in the admonition of God's angel to + Paul a little later: "Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before + Caesar" [Acts, xxvii. 24]; and again, still later, in Paul's words + to the Jews dwelling in Italy: "And when the Jews spake against it, + I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had aught to + accuse my nation of," but "that I might deliver my soul from death" + [Acts, xxviii. 19]. If Caesar had not already possessed the right to + judge temporal matters, Christ would not have implied that he did, + the angel would not have uttered such words, nor would he who said, + "I desire to depart and be with Christ" [Phil., i. 23], have + appealed to an unqualified judge. + + XIV. =1.= Besides, if the Church has power to confer authority on + the Roman Prince, she would have it either from God, or from + herself, or from some Emperor, or from the unanimous consent of + mankind, or, at least, from the consent of the most influential. + There is no other least crevice through which the power could have + diffused itself into the Church. But from none of these has it come + to her, and therefore the aforesaid power is not hers at all. + + XVI. =1.= Although by the method of reduction to absurdity it has + been shown in the foregoing chapter that the authority of empire + has not its source in the Chief Pontiff, yet it has not been fully + proved, save by an inference, that its immediate source is God, + seeing that if the authority does not depend on the vicar of God, + we conclude that it depends on God Himself. For a perfect + demonstration of the proposition we must prove directly that the + Emperor, or Monarch, of the world has immediate relationship to the + Prince of the universe, who is God. + + [Sidenote: Positive argument that the authority of the emperor is + derived directly from God] + + =2.= In order to realize this, it must be understood that man alone + of all beings holds the middle place between corruptibility and + incorruptibility, and is therefore rightly compared by + philosophers to the horizon which lies between the two + hemispheres. Man may be considered with regard to either of his + essential parts, body or soul. If considered in regard to the body + alone, he is perishable; if in regard to the soul alone, he is + imperishable. So the Philosopher[614] spoke well of its + incorruptibility when he said in the second book, _On the Soul_, + "And this only can be separated as a thing eternal from that which + perishes." + + =3.= If man holds a middle place between the perishable and the + imperishable, then, inasmuch as every man shares the nature of the + extremes, man must share both natures. And inasmuch as every nature + is ordained for a certain ultimate end, it follows that there + exists for man a two-fold end, in order that as he alone of all + beings partakes of the perishable and the imperishable, so he alone + of all beings should be ordained for two ultimate ends. One end is + for that in him which is perishable, the other for that which is + imperishable. + + [Sidenote: Double aspect of human life] + + =4.= Omniscient Providence has thus designed two ends to be + contemplated by man: first, the happiness of this life, which + consists in the activity of his natural powers, and is prefigured + by the terrestrial Paradise; and then the blessedness of life + everlasting, which consists in the enjoyment of the countenance of + God, to which man's natural powers may not obtain unless aided by + divine light, and which may be symbolized by the celestial + Paradise.[615] + + =5.= To these states of blessedness, just as to diverse + conclusions, man must come by diverse means. To the former we come + by the teachings of philosophy, obeying them by acting in + conformity with the moral and intellectual virtues; to the latter, + through spiritual teachings which transcend human reason, and which + we obey by acting in conformity with the theological virtues, + faith, hope, and charity. Now the former end and means are made + known to us by human reason, which the philosophers have wholly + explained to us; and the latter by the Holy Spirit, which has + revealed to us supernatural but essential truth through the + prophets and sacred writers, through Jesus Christ, the coeternal + Son of God, and through His disciples. Nevertheless, human passion + would cast these behind, were not man, like horses astray in their + brutishness, held to the road by bit and rein. + + =6.= Wherefore a twofold directive agent was necessary to man, in + accordance with the twofold end; the Supreme Pontiff to lead the + human race to life eternal by means of revelation, and the Emperor + to guide it to temporal well-being by means of philosophic + instruction. And since none or few--and these with exceeding + difficulty--could attain this port, were not the waves of seductive + desire calmed, and mankind made free to rest in the tranquillity of + peace, therefore this is the goal which he whom we call the + guardian of the earth and Roman Prince should most urgently seek; + then would it be possible for life on this mortal threshing-floor + to pass in freedom and peace. The order of the world follows the + order inherent in the revolution of the heavens. To attain this + order it is necessary that instruction productive of liberality and + peace should be applied by the guardian of the realm, in due place + and time, as dispensed by Him who is the ever-present Watcher of + the whole order of the heavens. And He alone foreordained this + order, that by it, in His providence, He might link together all + things, each in its own place. + + [Sidenote: The proper functions of Pope and Emperor] + + =7.= If this is so, and there is none higher than He, only God + elects and only God confirms. Whence we may further conclude that + neither those who are now, nor those who in any way whatsoever have + been, called electors[616] have the right to be so called; rather + should they be entitled heralds of Divine Providence. Whence it is + that those in whom is vested the dignity of proclamation suffer + dissension among themselves at times, when, all or part of them + being shadowed by the clouds of passion, they discern not the face + of God's dispensation. + + =8.= It is established, then, that the authority of temporal + monarchy descends without mediation from the fountain of universal + authority. And this fountain, one in its purity of source, flows + into multifarious channels out of the abundance of its excellence. + + [Sidenote: The ideal relation of the two powers] + + =9.= I believe I have now approached sufficiently close to the goal + I had set myself, for I have taken the kernels of truth from the + husks of falsehood, in that question which asked whether the office + of monarchy was essential to the welfare of the world, and in the + next which made inquiry whether the Roman people rightfully + appropriated the empire, and in the last which sought whether the + authority of the monarch derived from God directly, or from some + other. But the truth of this final question must not be restricted + to mean that the Roman Prince shall not be subject in some degree + to the Roman Pontiff, for well-being that is mortal is ordered in a + measure after well-being that is immortal. Wherefore let Caesar + honor Peter as a first-born son should honor his father, so that, + brilliant with the light of paternal grace, he may illumine with + greater radiance the earthly sphere over which he has been set by + Him who alone is Ruler of all things spiritual and temporal.[617] + + +81. Petrarch's Love of the Classics + +Francesco Petrarca was born at Arezzo in northern Italy in July, 1304. +His father was a Florentine notary who had been banished by the same +decree with Dante in 1302, and who finally settled at Avignon in 1313 +to practice his profession in the neighborhood of the papal court. +Petrarch was destined by his father for the law and was sent to study +that subject at Montpellier and subsequently at Bologna. But from the +moment when he first got hold of the Latin classics, notably Cicero +and Vergil, he found his interest in legal subjects absolutely at an +end. He was charmed by the literary power of the ancients, as he +certainly was not by the logic and learning of the jurists, and though +his father endeavored to discourage what he regarded as a sheer waste +of time by burning the young enthusiast's precious Latin books, the +love of the classics, once aroused, was never crushed out and the +literary instinct remained dominant. The beginnings of the Renaissance +spirit, which are so discernible in Dante, become in Petrarch the full +expression of the new age. In the words of Professor Adams, "In him we +clearly find, as controlling personal traits, all those specific +features of the Renaissance which give it its distinguishing character +as an intellectual revolution, and from their strong beginning in him +they have never ceased among men. In the first place, he felt as no +other man had done since the ancient days the beauty of nature and the +pleasure of mere life, its sufficiency for itself; and he had also a +sense of ability and power, and a self-confidence which led him to +plan great things, and to hope for an immortality of fame in this +world. In the second place, he had a most keen sense of the unity of +past history, of the living bond of connection between himself and men +of like sort in the ancient world. That world was for him no dead +antiquity, but he lived and felt in it and with its poets and +thinkers, as if they were his neighbors. His love for it amounted +almost, if we may call it so, to an ecstatic enthusiasm, hardly +understood by his own time, but it kindled in many others a similar +feeling which has come down to us. The result is easily recognized in +him as a genuine culture, the first of modern men in whom this can be +found.... Finally, Petrarch first put the modern spirit into conscious +opposition to the mediaeval. The Renaissance meant rebellion and +revolution. It meant a long and bitter struggle against the whole +scholastic system, and all the follies and superstitions which +flourished under its protection. Petrarch opened the attack along the +whole line. Physicians, lawyers, astrologers, scholastic philosophers, +the universities--all were enemies of the new learning, and so his +enemies. And these attacks were not in set and formal polemics alone, +his letters and almost all his writings were filled with them. It was +the business of his life."[618] + +In the latter part of his life Petrarch enjoyed the highest renown +throughout Europe. The cities of Italy, especially, vied with one +another in showering honors upon him. A decree of the Venetian senate +affirmed that no Christian poet or philosopher could be compared with +him. Arezzo, the town of his birth, awarded him a triumphal +procession. Florence bought the estates once confiscated from his +father and begged him to accept them as a meager gift to one "who for +centuries had no equal and could scarcely find one in the ages to +come." The climax came in 1341 when both the University of Paris and +the Roman Senate invited him to present himself and receive the poet's +crown, in revival of an old and all but forgotten ceremony of special +honor. The invitation from Rome was accepted and the celebration +attending the coronation was one of the most splendid of the age. In +1350 Petrarch became acquainted with Boccaccio and thenceforth there +existed the warmest friendship between these two great exponents of +Renaissance ideals and achievement. In 1369 he retired to Arqua, near +Padua, where he died in 1374. + +Besides his poems Petrarch wrote a great number of letters, some in +Latin and some in Italian. Letter-writing was indeed a veritable +passion with him; and he not only wrote freely but was careful to +preserve copies of what he wrote. His prose correspondence has been +classified in four divisions. The largest one comprises three hundred +forty-seven letters, written between the years 1332 and 1362, and +given the general title of _De Rebus Familiaribus_, because in them +only topics presumably of everyday interest were discussed and without +particular attention to style. The second group, the so-called +_Epistolae Variae_, numbers about seventy. The third, the _Epistolae de +Rebus Senilibus_ ("Letters of Old Age"), includes one hundred +twenty-four letters written during the last twelve years of the poet's +life. The fourth, comprising about twenty letters, was made up of +epistles containing such sharp criticism of the papal regime at +Avignon that the author thought it best to suppress the names of those +to whom they were addressed. Their general designation, therefore, is +_Epistolae sine Titulo_. The following passages are taken from a letter +found in the _Epistolae Variae_. It was written to a literary friend, +August 18, 1360, while Petrarch was at Milan, uncertain whither the +political storms of the period would finally drive him. In the portion +which precedes that given below the writer has been commenting on +various invitations which had reached him from friends in Padua, +Florence, and even beyond the Alps. This gives him occasion to lament +the unsettled conditions of his times and to voice the longing of the +scholar for peace and quiet. Thence he proceeds to speak of matters +which reveal in an interesting way his passionate love for the +beauties of classical literature and his sympathy with its dominant +ideas. Cicero was his favorite Latin author; after him, Vergil and +Ovid. Greek literature, unfortunately, it was impossible for him to +know at first hand. In spite of a lifelong desire, and at least one +determined effort (which is referred to in the letter below), he never +acquired even a rudimentary reading knowledge of the Greek language. +At best he could only read fragments of Homer, Plato, and Aristotle in +extremely faulty Latin translations.[619] + + Source--Franciscus Petrarca, _Epistolae de Rebus Familiaribus + et Variae_ ["Letters of Friendly Intercourse, and Miscellaneous + Letters"], edited by J. Fracassetti (Florence, 1869), Vol. + III., pp. 364-371. Adapted from translation in Merrick + Whitcomb, _Source Book of the Italian Renaissance_ + (Philadelphia, 1903), pp. 14-21 _passim_. + + [Sidenote: Petrarch's longing for peace and seclusion] + + If you should ask me, in the midst of these opinions of my friends, + what I myself think of the matter, I can only reply that I long for + a place where solitude, leisure, repose, and silence reign, however + far from wealth and honors, power and favors. But I confess I know + not where to find it. My own secluded nook, where I have hoped not + only to live, but even to die, has lost all the advantages it once + possessed, even that of safety. I call to witness thirty or more + volumes, which I left there recently, thinking that no place could + be more secure, and which, a little later, having escaped from the + hands of robbers and returned, against all hope, to their master, + seem yet to blanch and tremble and show upon their foreheads the + troubled condition of the place whence they have escaped. Therefore + I have lost all hope of revisiting this charming retreat, this + longed-for country spot. Still, if the opportunity were offered me, + I should seize it with both hands and hold it fast. I do not know + whether I still possess a glimmer of hope, or am feigning it for + self-deception, and to feed my soul's desire with empty + expectation. + + [Sidenote: Drawbacks of even Milan and Padua] + + But I proceed, remembering that we had much conversation on this + point last year, when we lived together in the same house, in this + very city [Milan]; and that after having examined the matter most + carefully, in so far as our light permitted, we came to the + conclusion that while the affairs of Italy, and of Europe, remain + in this condition, there is no place safer and better for my needs + than Milan, nor any place that suits me so well. We made exception + only of the city of Padua, whither I went shortly after and whither + I shall soon return; not that I may obliterate or diminish--that I + should not wish--but that I may soften the regret which my absence + causes the citizens of both places. I know not whether you have + changed your opinion since that time; but for me I am convinced + that to exchange the tumult of this great city and its annoyances + for the annoyances of another city would bring me no advantage, + perhaps some inconvenience, and beyond a doubt, much fatigue. Ah, + if this tranquil solitude, which, in spite of all my seeking, I + never find, as I have told you, should ever show itself on any + side, you will hear, not that I have gone, but that I have flown, + to it.... + + In the succeeding paragraph of your letter you jest with much + elegance, saying that I have been wounded by Cicero without having + deserved it, on account of our too great intimacy.[620] "Because," + you say, "those who are nearest to us most often injure us, and it + is extremely rare that an Indian does an injury to a Spaniard." + True it is. It is on this account that in reading of the wars of + the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, and in contemplating the troubles + of our own people with our neighbors, we are never struck with + astonishment; still less so at the sight of the civil wars and + domestic troubles which habit has made of so little account that + concord itself would more easily cause surprise. But when we read + that the king of Scythia has come to blows with the king of Egypt, + and that Alexander of Macedonia has penetrated to the ends of + India, we experience a sensation of astonishment which the reading + of our histories, filled as they are with the deeds of Roman + bravery in their distant expeditions, does not afford. You bring me + consolation, in representing me as having been wounded by Cicero, + to whom I am fondly attached, a thing that would probably never + happen to me, at the hands of either Hippocrates[621] or + Albumazar....[622] + + [Sidenote: Common indifference to people and events near at hand] + + You ask me to lend you the copy of Homer that was on sale at Padua, + if, as you suppose, I have purchased it (since, you say, I have for + a long time possessed another copy) so that our friend Leo[623] may + translate it from Greek into Latin for your benefit and for the + benefit of our other studious compatriots. I saw this book, but + neglected the opportunity of acquiring it, because it seemed + inferior to my own. It can easily be had with the aid of the person + to whom I owe my friendship with Leo; a letter from that source + would be all-powerful in the matter, and I will myself write him. + + [Sidenote: A request for a copy of Homer] + + [Sidenote: Fondness for Greek literature] + + If by chance the book escape us, which seems to be very unlikely, I + will let you have mine. I have been always fond of this particular + translation and of Greek literature in general, and if fortune had + not frowned upon my beginnings, in the sad death of my excellent + master, I should be perhaps to-day something more than a Greek + still at his alphabet. I approve with all my heart and strength + your enterprise, for I regret and am indignant that an ancient + translation, presumably the work of Cicero, the commencement of + which Horace inserted in his _Ars Poetica_,[624] should have been + lost to the Latin world, together with many other works. It angers + me to see so much solicitude for the bad and so much neglect of the + good. But what is to be done? We must be resigned.... + + [Sidenote: Difficulty of translating works of literature] + + [Sidenote: Longing for the translation of Homer] + + I wish to take this opportunity of warning you of one thing, lest + later on I should regret having passed it over in silence. If, as + you say, the translation is to be made literally in prose, listen + for a moment to the opinion of St. Jerome as expressed in his + preface to the book, _De Temporibus_, by Eusebius of Caesarea, which + he translated into Latin.[625] Here are the very words of this + great man, well acquainted with these two languages, and indeed + with many others, and of special fame for his art of translating: + _If any one_, he says, _refuses to believe that translation lessens + the peculiar charm of the original, let him render Homer into + Latin, word for word; I will say further, let him translate it into + prose in his own tongue, and he will see a ridiculous array and the + most eloquent of poets transformed into a stammerer._ I tell you + this for your own good, while it is yet time, in order that so + important a work may not prove useless. As for me, I wish the work + to be done, whether well or ill. I am so famished for literature + that just as he who is ravenously hungry is not inclined to quarrel + with the cook's art, so I await with a lively impatience whatever + dishes are to be set before my soul. And in truth, the morsel in + which the same Leo, translating into Latin prose the beginning of + Homer, has given me a foretaste of the whole work, although it + confirms the sentiment of St. Jerome, does not displease me. It + possesses, in fact, a secret charm, as certain viands, which have + failed to take a moulded shape, although they are lacking in form, + preserve nevertheless their taste and odor. May he continue with + the aid of Heaven, and may he give us Homer, who has been lost to + us! + + [Sidenote: A loan of a volume of Plato] + + In asking of me the volume of Plato which I have with me, and which + escaped the fire at my transalpine country house, you give me proof + of your ardor, and I shall hold this book at your disposal, + whenever the time shall come. I wish to aid with all my power such + noble enterprises. But beware lest it should be unbecoming to unite + in one bundle these two great princes of Greece, lest the weight of + these two spirits should overwhelm mortal shoulders. Let your + messenger undertake, with God's aid, one of the two, and first him + who has written many centuries before the other. Farewell. + + +82. Petrarch's Letter to Posterity + +The following is a letter of Petrarch addressed, by a curious whim, to +Posterity. It gives an excellent idea of the poet's opinion of himself +and reveals the sort of things that interested the typical man of +culture in the early Renaissance period. It is supposed to have been +written in the year 1370, when Petrarch had completed the sixty-sixth +year of his life. The letter betrays a longing for individual fame +which was common in classical times and during the Renaissance, but +not in the Middle Ages. + + Source--Franciscus Petrarca, _Epistolae de Rebus Familiaribus + et Variae_ ["Letters of Friendly Intercourse, and Miscellaneous + Letters"], edited by J. Fracassetti (Florence, 1869), Vol. I., + pp. 1-11. Translated in James H. Robinson and Henry W. Rolfe, + _Petrarch, the First Modern Scholar and Man of Letters_ (New + York, 1898), pp. 59-76 _passim_. + + _Francis Petrarch, to Posterity, greeting_: + + It is possible that some word of me may have come to you, though + even this is doubtful, since an insignificant and obscure name will + scarcely penetrate far in either time or space. If, however, you + should have heard of me, you may desire to know what manner of man + I was, or what was the outcome of my labors, especially those of + which some description or, at any rate, the bare titles may have + reached you. + + [Sidenote: Petrarch's early life] + + To begin, then, with myself. The utterances of men concerning me + will differ widely, since in passing judgment almost every one is + influenced not so much by truth as by preference, and good and evil + report alike know no bounds. I was, in truth, a poor mortal like + yourself, neither very exalted in my origin, nor, on the other + hand, of the most humble birth, but belonging, as Augustus Caesar + says of himself, to an ancient family. As to my disposition, I was + not naturally perverse or wanting in modesty, however the contagion + of evil associations may have corrupted me. + + My youth was gone before I realized it; I was carried away by the + strength of manhood. But a riper age brought me to my senses and + taught me by experience the truth I had long before read in books, + that youth and pleasure are vanity--nay, that the Author of all + ages and times permits us miserable mortals, puffed up with + emptiness, thus to wander about, until finally, coming to a tardy + consciousness of our sins, we shall learn to know ourselves. + + [Sidenote: Physical appearance] + + In my prime I was blessed with a quick and active body, although + not exceptionally strong; and while I do not lay claim to + remarkable personal beauty, I was comely enough in my best days. I + was possessed of a clear complexion, between light and dark, + lively eyes, and for long years a keen vision, which, however, + deserted me, contrary to my hopes, after I reached my sixtieth + birthday, and forced me, to my great annoyance, to resort to + glasses.[626] Although I had previously enjoyed perfect health, old + age brought with it the usual array of discomforts. + + [Sidenote: Preference for plain and sensible living] + + My parents were honorable folk, Florentine in their origin, of + medium fortune, or, I may as well admit it, in a condition verging + upon poverty. They had been expelled from their native city,[627] + and consequently I was born in exile, at Arezzo, in the year 1304 + of this latter age, which begins with Christ's birth, July the + 20th, on a Monday, at dawn. I have always possessed an extreme + contempt for wealth; not that riches are not desirable in + themselves, but because I hate the anxiety and care which are + invariably associated with them. I certainly do not long to be able + to give gorgeous banquets. I have, on the contrary, led a happier + existence with plain living and ordinary fare than all the + followers of Apicius,[628] with their elaborate dainties. So-called + convivia, which are but vulgar bouts, sinning against sobriety and + good manners, have always been repugnant to me. I have ever felt + that it was irksome and profitless to invite others to such + affairs, and not less so to be bidden to them myself. On the other + hand, the pleasure of dining with one's friends is so great that + nothing has ever given me more delight than their unexpected + arrival, nor have I ever willingly sat down to table without a + companion. Nothing displeases me more than display, for not only is + it bad in itself and opposed to humility, but it is troublesome + and distracting. + + [Sidenote: Intimacy with renowned men] + + In my familiar associations with kings and princes, and in my + friendship with noble personages, my good fortune has been such as + to excite envy. But it is the cruel fate of those who are growing + old that they can commonly only weep for friends who have passed + away. The greatest kings of this age have loved and courted me. + They may know why; I certainly do not. With some of them I was on + such terms that they seemed in a certain sense my guests rather + than I theirs; their lofty position in no way embarrassing me, but, + on the contrary, bringing with it many advantages. I fled, however, + from many of those to whom I was greatly attached; and such was my + innate longing for liberty that I studiously avoided those whose + very name seemed incompatible with the freedom that I loved. + + I possessed a well-balanced rather than a keen intellect--one prone + to all kinds of good and wholesome study, but especially inclined + to moral philosophy and the art of poetry. The latter, indeed, I + neglected as time went on, and took delight in sacred literature. + Finding in that a hidden sweetness which I had once esteemed but + lightly, I came to regard the works of the poets as only amenities. + + [Sidenote: Admiration for antiquity] + + Among the many subjects that interested me, I dwelt especially upon + antiquity, for our own age has always repelled me, so that, had it + not been for the love of those dear to me, I should have preferred + to have been born in any other period than our own. In order to + forget my own time, I have constantly striven to place myself in + spirit in other ages, and consequently I delighted in history. The + conflicting statements troubled me, but when in doubt I accepted + what appeared most probable, or yielded to the authority of the + writer. + + [Sidenote: Attitude toward literary style] + + My style, as many claimed, was clear and forcible; but to me it + seemed weak and obscure. In ordinary conversation with friends, or + with those about me, I never gave thought to my language, and I + have always wondered that Augustus Caesar should have taken such + pains in this respect. When, however, the subject itself, or the + place or the listener, seemed to demand it, I gave some attention + to style, with what success I cannot pretend to say; let them judge + in whose presence I spoke. If only I have lived well, it matters + little to me how I talked. Mere elegance of language can produce at + best but an empty renown.... + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[601] Dante represents the commentaries composing the _Convito_ as in +the nature of a banquet, the "meats" of which were to be set forth in +fourteen courses, corresponding to the fourteen _canzoni_, or lyric +poems, which were to be commented upon. As a matter of fact, for some +unknown reason, the "banquet" was broken off at the end of the third +course. "At the beginning of every well-ordered banquet" observes the +author in an earlier passage (Bk. II., Chap. 1) "the servants are wont +to take the bread given out for it, and cleanse it from every speck." +Dante has just cleansed his viands from the faults of egotism and +obscurity,--the "accidental impurities"; he now proceeds to clear them +of a less superficial difficulty, i.e., the fact that in serving them +use is made of the Italian rather than the Latin language. + +[602] The date of the composition of the _De Vulgari Eloquentia_ is +unknown, but there are reasons for assigning the work to the same +period in the author's life as the _Convito_. Like the _Convito_, it +was left incomplete; four books were planned, but only the first and a +portion of the second were written. In it an effort was made to +establish the dominance of a perfect and imperial Italian language +over all the dialects. The work itself was written in Latin, probably +to command the attention of scholars whom Dante hoped to convert to +the use of the vernacular. + +[603] The author conceives of the _canzoni_ as masters and the +commentaries as servants. + +[604] That is, any poetical composition. + +[605] Some students of Dante hold that this phrase about Homer should +be rendered "does not admit of being turned"; but others take it in +the absolute sense and base on it an argument against Dante's +knowledge of Greek literature. + +[606] The Book of Psalms. + +[607] The _canzoni_ were in Italian and a Latin commentary would have +been useless to scholars of other nations, because they could not have +understood the _canzoni_ to which it referred. + +[608] The Provencal language--the peculiar speech of southeastern +France, whence comes the name Languedoc. _Oc_ is the affirmative +particle "yes." + +[609] _Si_ is the Italian affirmative particle. In the _Inferno_ Dante +refers to Italy as "that lovely country where the _si_ is sounded" +(XXX., 80). + +[610] That is, prose shows the true beauty of a language more +effectively than poetry, in which the attention is distracted by the +ornaments of verse. + +[611] The author refers to Cicero's philosophical treatise _De Finibus +Bonorum et Malorum_. + +[612] For example, Pope Innocent IV. (1243-1254) declared: "Two +lights, the sun and the moon, illumine the globe; two powers, the +papal and the royal, govern it; but as the moon receives her light +from the more brilliant star, so kings reign by the chief of the +Church, who comes from God." + +[613] The arguments disposed of by the author, in addition to those +treated in the passages here presented, are: the precedence of Levi +over Judah (Gen., xxix. 34, 35), the election and deposition of Saul +by Samuel (1 Sam., x. 1; xv. 23; xv. 28), the oblation of the Magi +(Matt., ii. 11), the two swords referred to by Peter (Luke, xxii. 38), +the donation of Constantine, the summoning of Charlemagne by Pope +Hadrian, and finally the argument from pure reason. + +[614] This was the common mediaeval designation of Aristotle. + +[615] For Dante's conception of the terrestrial and the celestial +paradise see the _Paradiso_ in the _Divina Commedia_. + +[616] These were the lay and ecclesiastical princes in whom was vested +the right of choosing the Emperor. The electoral college was first +clearly defined in the Golden Bull issued by Charles IV. in 1356 [see +p. 409]. Its composition in Dante's time is uncertain. + +[617] Dante's ideal solution was the harmonious rule of the two powers +by the acknowledgment of filial relationship between pope and emperor, +on the basis of a recognition of the different and essentially +irreconcilable character of their functions. + +[618] George B. Adams, _Mediaeval Civilization_ (New York, 1904), pp. +375-377. + +[619] "There was no apparatus for the study of Greek at that time. +Oral instruction from Greek or Byzantine scholars was the only +possible means of access to the great writers of the past. Such +instruction was difficult to secure, as Petrarch's efforts and failure +prove."--Robinson and Rolfe, _Petrarch_, p. 237. + +[620] This is a humorous allusion to the fact that Petrarch had +recently received an injury from the fall of a heavy volume of +Cicero's _Letters_. + +[621] A renowned Greek physician of the fifth century B.C. + +[622] A famous Arabian astronomer of the ninth century A.D. + +[623] Leo Pilatus, a translator. + +[624] Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-8 B.C.), one of the literary lights +of the Augustan Age, was a younger contemporary of Cicero. His _Ars +Poetica_ was a didactic poem setting forth the correct principles of +poetry as an art. + +[625] Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, is noted chiefly as +the author of an Ecclesiastical History which is in many ways our most +important source of information on the early Christian Church. He +lived about 250-339. St. Jerome was a great Church father of the later +fourth century. His name is most commonly associated with the +translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek into the +Latin language. The resulting form of the Scriptures was the _Editio +Vulgata_ (the Edition Commonly Received), whence our English term +"Vulgate." + +[626] Eyeglasses were but beginning to come into use in Petrarch's +day. + +[627] Petrarch's father and Dante were banished from Florence upon the +same day, January 27, 1302 [see p. 446]. + +[628] Marcus Gavius Apicius was a celebrated epicure of the time of +Augustus and Tiberius. He was the author of a famous cook-book +intended for the gratification of high-livers. Though worth a fortune, +he was haunted by a fear of starving to death and eventually poisoned +himself to escape such a fate. There was another Apicius in the third +century who compiled a well-known collection of recipes for cooking, +in ten books, entitled _De Re Coquinaria_. It is not quite clear which +Apicius Petrarch had in mind. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +FORESHADOWINGS OF THE REFORMATION + + +83. The Reply of Wyclif to the Summons of Pope Urban VI. (1384) + +The fourteenth century was an era of religious decline in England, as +indeed more or less generally throughout western Europe. The papacy +was at its lowest ebb, unable to command either respect or obedience, +except among the clergy and certain of the common people; bishops and +abbots had grown wealthy and worldly and were often utterly neglectful +of their religious obligations; and among the masses the services of +worship had frequently become mere hollow formalities. There were +still many good men in the Church, men who in an unpretentious way +sought to do their duty faithfully; but of large numbers--possibly the +majority--of both the higher and lower clergy this could not be said. +The dissatisfaction of the people with industrial conditions which +prompted the uprising of 1381 was accompanied by an almost equal +discontent with the shortcomings of the selfish and avaricious clergy. +It was harder, of course, to arouse men to an active hostility to the +existing ecclesiastical system than to the industrial regime, because +the Church still maintained a very close hold upon the sentiments and +attachments of the average individual. Still, there were people here +and there who were outspoken for reform, and chief among these was +John Wyclif. + +Wyclif was born in Yorkshire about 1320 and was educated at Oxford, +where in time he became a leading teacher. He was one of those who saw +clearly the evils of the times and did not lack the courage to speak +out plainly against them. As early as 1366 he had denounced the claims +of the papacy, in a pamphlet, _De Dominio Divino_, declaring that the +pope ought to have no authority whatsoever over states and +governments. This position he never yielded and it became one of the +cardinal features of his teaching. He attacked the clergy for their +wealth, their self-seeking, and their subservience to the pope, and +hurled denunciation at the whole body of friars and vendors of +indulgences with whom England was thronged. He even assailed the +doctrines of the Church, particularly as to transubstantiation, the +efficacy of confession to priests, and the nature of the sacraments. +His teachings were very acceptable to large numbers of people who were +disgusted with existing conditions, and hence he soon came to have a +considerable body of followers, known as the Lollards, who, though not +regularly organized into a sect, carried on in later times the work +which Wyclif and his "poor priests" had begun. + +In 1377 Pope Gregory XI. issued a bull in which he roundly condemned +Wyclif and reproved the University of Oxford for not taking active +steps to suppress the growing heresy; but it had little or no effect. +In 1378 Gregory died and two popes were elected to succeed +him--Clement VII. at Avignon and Urban VI. at Rome [see p. 389]. The +Schism that resulted prevented further action for a time against +Wyclif. In England, however, the uprising of 1381 aroused the +government to the expediency of suppressing popular agitators, and in +a church council at London, May 19, 1382, Wyclif's doctrines were +formally condemned. In 1383 Oxford was compelled to banish all the +Lollards from her walls and by the time of Wyclif's death in 1384 the +new belief seemed to be pretty thoroughly suppressed. In reality it +lived on by the more or less secret attachment of thousands of people +to it, and became one of the great preparatory forces for the English +Reformation a century and a half later. The document given below is a +modernized version of a letter written by Wyclif to Pope Urban VI. in +1384 in response to a summons to appear at Rome to be tried for +heresy. The letter was written in Latin and the English translation +(given below) prepared by the writer's followers for distribution +among Englishmen represents somewhat of an enlargement of the original +document. When Wyclif wrote the letter he was in the last year of his +life and was so disabled by paralysis that a journey to Rome was quite +impossible. + + Source--Text in Thomas Arnold, _Select English Works of John + Wyclif_ (Oxford, 1869), Vol. III., pp. 504-506. Adapted, with + modernized spelling, in Guy Carleton Lee, _Source Book of + English History_ (New York, 1900), pp. 212-214. + + I have joyfully to tell what I hold, to all true men that believe, + and especially to the pope; for I suppose that if my faith be + rightful and given of God, the pope will gladly confirm it; and if + my faith be error, the pope will wisely amend it. + + I suppose over this that the gospel of Christ be heart of the corps + [body] of God's law; for I believe that Jesus Christ, that gave in + His own person this gospel, is very God and very man, and by this + heart passes all other laws. + + [Sidenote: The pope's high obligation] + + I suppose over this that the pope be most obliged to the keeping of + the gospel among all men that live here; for the pope is highest + vicar that Christ has here in earth. For moreness of Christ's vicar + is not measured by worldly moreness, but by this, that this vicar + follows more Christ by virtuous living; for thus teacheth the + gospel, that this is the sentence of Christ. + + [Sidenote: Christ's earthly poverty] + + And of this gospel I take as believe, that Christ for time that He + walked here, was most poor man of all, both in spirit and in having + [possessions]; for Christ says that He had nought for to rest His + head on. And Paul says that He was made needy for our love. And + more poor might no man be, neither bodily nor in spirit. And thus + Christ put from Him all manner of worldly lordship. For the gospel + of John telleth that when they would have made Christ king, He fled + and hid Him from them, for He would none such worldly highness. + + [Sidenote: How far men ought to follow the pope] + + [Sidenote: The pope exhorted to give up temporal authority] + + And over this I take it as believe, that no man should follow the + pope, nor no saint that now is in heaven, but in as much as he [the + pope] follows Christ. For John and James erred when they coveted + worldly highness; and Peter and Paul sinned also when they denied + and blasphemed in Christ; but men should not follow them in this, + for then they went from Jesus Christ. And this I take as wholesome + counsel, that the pope leave his worldly lordship to worldly lords, + as Christ gave them,--and more speedily all his clerks [clergy] to + do so. For thus did Christ, and taught thus His disciples, till the + fiend [Satan] had blinded this world. And it seems to some men + that clerks that dwell lastingly in this error against God's law, + and flee to follow Christ in this, been open heretics, and their + fautors [supporters] been partners. + + [Sidenote: The pope should not demand what is contrary to the + divine will] + + And if I err in this sentence, I will meekly be amended + [corrected], yea, by the death, if it be skilful [necessary], for + that I hope were good to me. And if I might travel in mine own + person, I would with good will go to the pope. But God has needed + me to the contrary, and taught me more obedience to God than to + men. And I suppose of our pope that he will not be Antichrist, and + reverse Christ in this working, to the contrary of Christ's will; + for if he summon against reason, by him or by any of his, and + pursue this unskilful summoning, he is an open Antichrist. And + merciful intent excused not Peter, that Christ should not clepe + [call] him Satan; so blind intent and wicked counsel excuses not + the pope here; but if he ask of true priests that they travel more + than they may, he is not excused by reason of God, that he should + not be Antichrist. For our belief teaches us that our blessed God + suffers us not to be tempted more than we may; how should a man ask + such service? And therefore pray we to God for our Pope Urban the + Sixth, that his old [early] holy intent be not quenched by his + enemies. And Christ, that may not lie, says that the enemies of a + man been especially his home family; and this is sooth of men and + fiends. + + + + +INDEX + +[Note--The numbers refer to pages.] + + + Aachen, Charlemagne's capital, 108, 110; + basilica at, 113; + assembly at, 119; + capitulary for the _missi_ promulgated from, 135; + in territory assigned to Lothair, 155. + + Abbeville, English and French armies at, 427. + + Abbo, account of siege of Paris, 165, 168-171. + + Abbot, character and duties of, defined in Benedictine Rule, + 84-86. + + Abelard, at Paris, 340. + + Abu-Bekr, Mohammed's successor, 97. + + _Acta Sanctorum_, quoted, 256-258. + + Adalbero, archbishop of Rheims, 177; + speech at Senlis, 178-179; + urges election as true basis of Frankish kingship, 179; + opposes candidacy of Charles of Lower Lorraine, 179-180; + speaks in behalf of Hugh Capet, 180. + + Adrianople, battle of, importance, 37-38; + described by Ammianus Marcellinus, 38-41. + + Aegidius, "king of the Romans," 50-51. + + Aelfthryth, daughter of Alfred the Great, 187. + + Agincourt, English victory at, 440. + + Agius, bishop of Orleans, 167. + + Agriculture, among the early Germans, 21, 29. + + Aids, nature of, 222; + defined by Norman custom, 222-223; + specified in Great Charter, 306-307. + + Ain Tulut, battle of, 317. + + Aix-la-Chapelle (see Aachen). + + Alaf [Alavivus], a Visigothic chieftain, 34. + + Alaric, king of the Visigoths, 51; + Syagrius takes refuge with, 51; + delivers Syagrius to Clovis, 51; + interview with Clovis, 54-55; + defeated and slain by Clovis near Poitiers, 56. + + Albar, 201. + + Alcuin, brought to Charlemagne's court, 113; + in the Palace School, 144. + + Alemanni, defeated by Clovis at Strassburg, 53. + + Alessandria, founded, 399. + + Alexander II., approves William the Conqueror's project to invade + England, 234. + + Alexander III., 399. + + Alexander V., elected pope, 390. + + Alexius Comnenus, appeals to Urban II., 283. + + Alfonso XI., of Castile, 421. + + Alfred the Great, biography by Asser, 181; + becomes king of the English, 182; + fights the Danes at Wilton, 182; + constructs a navy, 183; + defeats Danes at Swanwich, 183; + in refuge at Athelney, 184; + meets English people at Egbert's stone, 184; + defeats Danes at Ethandune, 184; + peace of Guthrum and, 185; + negotiates treaty of Wedmore, 185; + interest in education, 185; + literary activity, 186, 193; + care for his children, 187; + varied pursuits, 187; + piety, 188; + regret at lack of education, 189; + search for learned men, 190-191; + letter to Bishop Werfrith, 191-194; + laws, 194-195. + + Alith, mother of St. Bernard, 251-252. + + Alp Arslan, defeats Eastern emperor at Manzikert, 282. + + Amalric, king of the Visigoths, 56. + + Amboise, 55. + + Ammianus Marcellinus, author of a Roman History, 34; + facts concerning life, 34; + quoted, 34-37, 38-41, 43-46. + + Amusements, of the early Germans, 30-31. + + Anagni, Boniface VIII. taken captive at, 385. + + Angelo, companion of St. Francis, 363. + + Angers, Northmen at, 167. + + Angilbert, a Carolingian poet, 151. + + Angouleme, captured by Clovis, 56-57. + + _Annales Bertiniani_, scope, 165; + quoted, 156, 165-168. + + _Annales Laureshamensis_, quoted, 132-133. + + _Annales Laurissenses Minores_, quoted, 106-107. + + _Annales Xantenses_, quoted, 158-163. + + Annals, origin and character of, 157-158. + + Annates, defined, 389. + + Antioch, crusaders arrive at, 293; + siege and capture of, 293-296. + + Apicius, Marcus Gavius, 471. + + Arabs, overrun Syria, 282. + + Arezzo, Petrarch born at, 461, 464, 471. + + Arianism, adopted by Germans, 50; + refuted by ordeal of hot water, 198-200. + + Aristotle, Dante cites, 460. + + Arles, Council of, 72. + + Armagnacs, in later Hundred Years' War, 440. + + Armenia, crusaders in, 293. + + Arnold Atton, forfeiture of fief, 227-228. + + Arnold of Bonneval, 251. + + Arpent, a land measure, 129. + + Arras, treaty of, 439. + + Arteveld, James van, connection with Hundred Years' War, 422. + + Articles of the Barons, relation to the Great Charter, 304. + + Asnapium, inventory of, 127-129. + + Assam, conquered by the crusaders, 293. + + Assembly, the German, 26-27; + the Saxon, 123. + + Asser, biography of Alfred the Great, 181, 186. + + Assisi, birth-place of St. Francis, 362-363. + + Athanaric, a Visigothic chieftain, 33-34. + + Athelney, Alfred in refuge at, 184. + + Augustine, sent to Britain by Pope Gregory, 72-73; + constituted abbot, 74; + lands at Thanet, 75; + preaches to King Ethelbert, 76; + life at Canterbury, 77. + + Augustus, 32. + + Aurelian, cedes Dacia to the Visigoths, 33. + + _Ausculta Fili_, issued by Boniface VIII., 384. + + Auvillars, forfeited by Arnold Atton, 227. + + Avignon, popes resident at, 389. + + Aylesford, Horsa slain in battle at, 71. + + + Babylon (Cairo), St. Louis advances on, 318. + + Babylonian Captivity, begins, 385, 389. + + Ban, of the emperor, 138. + + Basel, Council of, 391, 393. + + Battle Abbey, founded by William the Conqueror, 242. + + Baugulf, Charlemagne's letter to, 145-148. + + Bavaria, annexed to Charlemagne's kingdom, 115. + + Bayeux, Odo, bishop of, imprisoned, 243. + + Beatrice, Dante's love affair with, 446. + + Beauchamp, William de, 302. + + Beaumont, birth of Froissart at, 418. + + Bede, facts regarding life of, 68; + "Ecclesiastical History of the English People," 68; + account of the Saxon invasion, 69-72; + account of Augustine's mission to Britain, 73-77. + + Bedford, castle of, English barons at, 301-302. + + Bellona, Roman goddess of war, 39. + + Benedict XIII., deposed from papacy, 391. + + Benedictine Rule, nature and purpose, 84; + translation of, 84; + quoted, 84-90; + character and duties of the abbot, 84-86, 89; + the monks to be called in council, 87; + the Rule always to be obeyed, 87; + monks to own no property individually, 87-88; + daily manual labor, 88; + reading during Lent, 89; + hospitality, 89. + + Benefice, origin and development, 206; + relation to vassalage, 207; + example of grant, 207-210. + + Beowulf, 188. + + Bernardone, Pietro, father of St. Francis, 363. + + _Bernardus Claraevallensis_ (by William of St. Thierry), quoted, + 251-256, 258-260. + + Berno, abbot of Cluny, 248. + + Bertha, queen of Kent, 72, 75. + + Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne, 151. + + Biography, character of, in Middle Ages, 108. + + Blanche of Castile, mother of St. Louis, 311, 313-314. + + Boccaccio, Petrarch's acquaintance with, 464. + + Boethius, 186. + + Bohemia, king of, an elector of the Empire, 410. + + Bohemians, Louis the German makes expedition against, 160-161. + + Bohemond of Tarentum, 294-295. + + Bologna, University of, 340. + + Boniface, anoints Pepin the Short, 107. + + Boniface VIII., conflict with Philip the Fair, 383-384; + issues bull _Clericis Laicos_, 384; + issues bull _Unam Sanctam_, 385; + death, 385. + + Boulogne, count of, uncle of St. Louis, 314. + + Bourges, Pragmatic Sanction of, promulgated, 394; + quoted, 395-397. + + Bouvines, King John's defeat at, 297, 403. + + Brackley, English barons meet at, 300. + + Bretigny, treaty of, negotiated, 439; + provisions of, 441-442. + + Britain, Saxon invasion of, 68-72; + shores infested by Angle and Saxon seafarers, 68; + Roman garrisons withdrawn from, 68; + Saxons invited into, 69; + Saxon settlement in, 70; + Saxons conquer, 71-72; + Christianity in, 72; + Augustine sent to, 73-74; + conversion of Saxon population begins, 75-77. + + Britons, menaced by Picts and Scots, 68; + decide to call in the Saxons, 68-69; + conquered by the Saxons, 71-72; + early Christianization of, 72. + + Brittany, Northmen in, 166. + + Brussels, conference at, 422-423. + + Buchonian Forest, 57, 58. + + Burchard, bishop of Chartres, 167. + + Burgundians, faction in Hundred Years' War, 440. + + + Caesar, Julius, describes the Germans in his "Commentaries," + 19-22; + conquest of Gaul, 19, 32. + + Calais, treaty of Bretigny revised at, 439-440. + + Calixtus II., concessions made by, in Concordat of Worms, + 279-280. + + Camargue, Northmen establish themselves at, 168. + + Campus Martius, 52; + Merovingian kings at, 106-107. + + Cannae, battle of, 41. + + Canossa, Henry IV. arrives at, 274; + Henry IV.'s penance at, 276; + oath taken by Henry IV. at, 277-278. + + Canterbury, capital of Kent, 76; + life of Augustine's band at, 77; + Plegmund archbishop of, 190; + Christchurch monastery built at, 242. + + _Capellani_, functions of, 190. + + _Capitulare Missorum Generale_, promulgated by Charlemagne, 135; + scope, 135; + translation of, 135; + quoted, 135-141; + character and functions of the _missi_, 135-137; + new oath to Charlemagne as emperor, 137; + administration of justice, 138-139; + obligations of the clergy, 139; + murder, 140. + + Capitulary, Charlemagne's concerning the Saxon territory, + 118-123; + nature of, 119-120; + Charlemagne's concerning the royal domains, 124-127; + Charlemagne's for the _missi_, 134-141; + nature of, in ninth century, 174; + Carloman's concerning the preservation of order, 174-176. + + _Capitulum Saxonicum_, issued by Charlemagne, 119. + + Cappadocia, crusaders in, 293. + + Cardinals, college of, instituted, 269; + and Great Schism, 389-391. + + Carloman, capitulary concerning the preservation of order, + 174-176; + functions of the _missi_, 175; + obligations of officials, 176. + + _Carmina Burana_, source for mediaeval students' songs, 352. + + Carolingians, origin of, 105-106; + age of Charlemagne, 108-148; + disorders in reigns of, 149-163; + menaced by Norse invasions, 163-173; + efforts to preserve order, 173-176; + growing inability to cope with conditions, 174; + replaced by Capetian dynasty, 177-180. + + Carthusians, 246. + + _Castellanerie_, defined, 216. + + Celestine III., 381. + + _Cens_, payment of, in Lorris, 328. + + _Census_, 209. + + _Centenarius_, functions of, 176. + + Chalcedon, Council of, 80. + + Chalons-sur-Saone, immunity of monastery at, confirmed by + Charlemagne, 212-214. + + Champagne, county of, 215; + Joinville's residence in, 312. + + Charibert, 75. + + Charlemagne, employs Einhard at court, 108; + biography of, 109; + personal appearance, 109-110; + manner of dress, 111; + fondness for St. Augustine's _De Civitate Dei_, 111; + everyday life, 112; + education, 112-113; + interest in religion, 113; + charities, 114; + policy of Germanic consolidation, 115; + conquers Lombardy, Bavaria, and the Spanish March, 115; + war with the Saxons, 115-118; + transplants Saxons into Gaul, 117-118; + peace with Saxons, 118; + issues capitularies concerning the Saxon territory, 119; + capitulary concerning the royal domains, 124-127; + revenues, 124; + interest in agriculture, 124; + inventory of a royal estate, 127-129; + appealed to by Pope Leo III., 130; + goes to Rome, 130; + crowned emperor by Leo, 130, 132-134; + significance of the coronation, 131-133; + issues capitulary for the _missi_, 134; + new oath to, as emperor, 137; + provisions for administration of justice, 138-139; + legislation for clergy, 139-140; + letter to Abbot Fulrad, 142-144; + builds up Palace School, 144-145; + provides for elementary and intermediate education, 145; + confirms immunity of monastery of Chalons-sur-Saone, 212-214. + + Charles Martel, victor at Tours, 105; + Frankish mayor of the palace, 105; + makes office hereditary, 105. + + Charles the Fat, Emperor, 168; + Odo's mission to, 170-171; + buys off the Northmen, 171; + deposition and death, 171. + + Charles, son of Charlemagne, anointed by Leo, 134. + + Charles the Bald, of France, birth, 149; + combines with Louis against Lothair, 150-151; + takes oath of Strassburg, 152-154; + lands received by treaty of Verdun, 155-156; + buys off the Northmen, 159; + capitularies, 174. + + Charles the Simple, of France, yields Normandy to Rollo, 172. + + Charles of Lower Lorraine, claimant to French throne, 177; + candidacy opposed by Adalbero, 179-180. + + Charles IV., Emperor, founds University of Prague, 345; + promulgates Golden Bull, 410. + + Charles IV. (the Fair), of France, 419. + + Charles VI. of France, 440; + and the Great Schism, 390. + + Charles VII. of France, convenes council at Bourges, 394; + dauphin of France, 440-441. + + Charles, count of Anjou, 321. + + Charles, of Luxemburg, slain at Crecy, 433. + + Charter, conditions of grant to towns, 326; + of Laon, 327-328; + of Lorris, 328-330. + (See _Magna Charta_.) + + Chatillon, St. Bernard educated at, 252; + begins monastic career at, 254. + + Childebert, conquers Septimania, 57 + + Childeric I., father of Clovis, 50. + + Childeric III., last Merovingian king, 105; + deposed, 107. + + Chippenham, Danes winter at, 184; + siege of, 184; + treaty of, 185. + + _Chronica Majora_ (by Roger of Wendover), scope of, 298; + quoted, 298-303. + + _Chronica Majora_ (by Matthew Paris), value of, 404; + quoted, 405-409. + + _Chroniques_ (by Froissart), character of, 418; + quoted, 418-439. + + Church, development of, 78-96; + origin of papacy, 78-79; + Pope Leo's sermon on the Petrine supremacy, 80-83; + rise of monasticism, 83-84; + the Benedictine Rule, 84-90; + papacy of Gregory the Great, 90-91; + Gregory's description of the functions of the secular clergy, + 91-96; + Charlemagne's zeal for promotion of, 113; + Charlemagne's extension into Saxony, 118-123; + influence on development of annalistic writings, 157; + education intrusted to, by Charlemagne, 146; + to aid in suppressing disorder, 175-176; + illiteracy of English clergy in Alfred's day, 190-192; + influence on use of ordeals, 197; + use of _precarium_, 206-207; + favored by grants of immunity, 210; + efforts to discourage private warfare, 228-229; + decrees the Peace of God, 229; + decrees the Truce of God, 229; + reform through Cluniac movement, 246; + conditions in St. Bernard's day, 250; + Gregory VII.'s conception of the papal authority, 262-264; + Gregory VII. avows purpose to correct abuses in, 267; + college of cardinals instituted, 269; + issue of lay investiture, 265-278; + Concordat of Worms, 278-281; + liberties in England granted in Great Charter, 305; + patronage of universities, 340; + menaced by abuses, 360; + rise of the mendicant orders, 360; + St. Francis's attitude toward, 375, 377-378; + use of excommunication and interdict, 380; + _Unam Sanctam_, 383-388; + Great Schism, 389-390; + Council of Pisa, 390-391; + Council of Constance, 391, 393; + Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, 393-397; + decline in England in fourteenth century, 474; + Wyclif's efforts to regenerate, 475-477. + + Cicero, Dante cites, 451; + Petrarch's reading of, 466. + + _Cimbri_, 32. + + Cistercians, 246, 250. + + Citeaux, 246; + St. Bernard decides to join, 252, 254; + St. Bernard goes forth from, 256. + + Cities (see Towns), Frederick Barbarossa and Lombard, 398-399; + rights of guaranteed by Peace of Constance, 400-402. + + Clairvaux, St. Bernard founds monastery at, 256-257; + description of by William of St. Thierry, 258-260; + marvelous works accomplished at, 259; + piety of monks at, 259. + + Claudius Claudianus, at the court of Honorius, 42; + description of the Huns, 43. + + Clement VII., elected pope, 389; + dies, 390. + + Clergy (see Church), Charlemagne's general legislation for, + 139-140; + Pope Gregory I.'s exhortation to, 91-96; + Charlemagne's provisions for, in Saxony, 120-123; + temporal importance in Charlemagne's empire, 141-142; + work of education committed to by Charlemagne, 146; + illiteracy in Alfred's day, 186, 191-192; + grants of immunity to, 210-214; + protected by Peace of God, 230-231; + worldliness of, in England before the Conquest, 239. + + _Clericis Laicos_, issued by Boniface VIII., 384. + + Clermont, Council of, confirms Peace and Truce of God, 229; + Pope Urban's speech at, 283-288; + first crusade proclaimed at, 287-288. + + Cloderic, receives deputation from Clovis, 57; + has his father slain, 57; + himself slain, 58. + + Clotilde, wife of Clovis, 49; + labors for his conversion, 53; + calls Remigius to the court, 54. + + Clovis, conversion of, 49; + becomes king of the Salian Franks, 50; + advances against Syagrius, 51; + defeats him at Soissons, 51; + requests King Alaric to surrender the refugee, 51; + has Syagrius put to death, 51; + episode of the broken vase, 51-52; + decides to become a Christian, 53; + wins battle of Strassburg, 53; + baptized with his warriors, 54; + interview with Alaric, 54-55; + resolves to conquer southern Gaul, 55; + campaign against Alaric, 55-57; + victory at Vouille, 56; + takes possession of southern Gaul, 56; + captures Angouleme, 57; + sends deputation to Cloderic, 57; + takes Cloderic's kingdom, 58; + slays Ragnachar and Richar, 58-59; + death at Paris, 59. + + Cluny, establishment of monastery at, 245; + growth and influence, 246; + charter issued for, 247-249; + land and other property yielded to, 247-248; + Berno to be abbot, 248; + relations with the papacy, 249; + charitable activity, 249. + + Cologne, 57; + university founded at, 345. + + _Comitatus_, among the early Germans, 27-28; + a prototype of vassalage, 205. + + Commendation, defined, 205; + Frankish formula for, 205-206. + + Commerce, freedom guaranteed by + Great Charter, 308-309; + encouraged in charter of Lorris, 329. + + Commune (see Towns), 326. + + Compiegne, 171. + + Compurgation, defined, 196. + + Conrad IV., 334. + + Constance, Council of, assembles, 391; + declarations of, 393. + + Constance, Peace of, 398-402. + + Constantine, 78. + + Constantine VI., deposed at Constantinople, 131-132. + + Constantinople, threatened by Seljuk Turks, 282. + + Corbei, 191; + French barons assemble at, 314. + + _Corvee_, provision for in charter of Lorris, 330. + + Councils, Church, powers of declared at Pisa and Constance, + 392-393; + provisions for in Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, 396-397. + + Count, duties, 123, 134; + restrictions on by grants of immunity, 211. + + Count of the Palace, 112. + + Crecy, English take position at, 427-428; + French advance to, 427, 430-431; + English prepare for battle, 431-432; + the French defeated at, 433-436. + + Crime, in the Salic law, 62-65; + in Charlemagne's _De Partibus Saxoniae_, 123; + in Charlemagne's _Capitulare Missorum Generale_, 140-141; + Carloman's regulations for suppression of, 175-176; + in Alfred's legislation, 194-195; + penalties for in Peace and Truce of God, 230-232; + protection of scholars against, 343. + + Crusade, Gregory VII.'s plan for, 283; + Urban II.'s speech in behalf of, 284-288; + first crusade proclaimed, 287-288; + motives for, 288; + starting of the crusaders, 289-291; + letters of crusaders, 291-292; + Stephen of Blois to his wife, 292-296; + early achievements of, 293; + of St. Louis to Egypt, 313, 318-322. + + Cyprus, St. Louis in, 316; + departs from, 317. + + + Dacia, ceded to the Visigoths, 33. + + Danelaw, 185. + + Danes (see Northmen), earliest visits to England, 181; + defeat Alfred the Great at Wilton, 182; + winter at Exeter, 183; + defeated by Alfred at Swanwich, 183; + winter at Chippenham, 184; + defeated by Alfred at Ethandune, 184; + treaties of peace with Alfred, 185. + + Dante, career of, 446; + attachment to Holy Roman Empire, 446; + relation to Renaissance, 446-447; + defends Italian as a literary language, 447-452; + conception of imperial power, 452-453; + _De Monarchia_ quoted, 453-462. + + Danube, Visigoths cross, 34-37. + + Dauphine, origin of, 395. + + _De Bello Gallico_ (by Julius Caesar), character of, 20; + quoted, 20-22; + used by Tacitus, 23. + + Debt, in the Salic law, 66; + collection of among students, 342. + + _Decime_, defined, 389. + + _De Civitate Dei_ (by St. Augustine), Charlemagne's regard for, + 111. + + _De Divortio Lotharii regis et Tetbergae reginae_ (by Hincmar), + quoted, 200-201. + + _De Domino Divino_ (by Wyclif), nature of, 474. + + _De Gestis Regum Anglorum_ (by William of Malmesbury), scope, + 235; + quoted, 235-241, 289-290. + + Degrees, university, 340. + + _De Litteris Colendis_, addressed by Charlemagne to Abbot + Baugulf, 145; + quoted, 146-148; + work of education committed to the clergy, 146-147; + education essential to interpretation of Scriptures, 147. + + Demesne, 125. + + _De Monarchia_ (by Dante), nature of, 452-453; + quoted, 453-462. + + _De odio et atia_, writ of, 307-308. + + _De Partibus Saxoniae_, capitulary issued by Charlemagne, 119; + quoted, 120-123; + churches as places of refuge, 120; + offenses against the Church, 121; + penalties for persistence in paganism, 122; + fugitive criminals, 123; + public assemblies, 123. + + _De Rebus Familiaribus_ (by Petrarch), quoted, 465-473. + + _De Rebus Gestis Aelfredi Magni_ (by Asser), quoted, 182-185, + 186-191. + + _De Temporibus_ (by Eusebius), preface to, cited by Petrarch, + 468. + + _De Villis_, capitulary issued by Charlemagne, 124; + translation of, 124; + quoted, 124-127; + reports to be made by the stewards, 125; + equipment, 125-127; + produce due the king, 127. + + _De Vulgari Eloquentia_ (by Dante), 447-448. + + Deusdedit, 262. + + _Dictatus Papae_, authorship of, 262; + quoted, 262-264. + + Diedenhofen, Louis, Lothair, and Charles meet at, 158. + + _Divina Commedia_ (by Dante), 446. + + Domains, Charlemagne's capitulary concerning, 124-127; + specimen inventory of property, 127-129. + + Domesday Survey, 243. + + Dominicans, founded, 360. + + Dordrecht, burned by the Northmen, 159; + again taken, 161. + + Dorset, Danes land in, 181. + + Dorylaeum, Turks defeated at, 293. + + Druids, among the Gauls, 20-21. + + Dudo, dean of St. Quentin, 165. + + + Easter tables, origin of mediaeval annals, 157. + + Eastern Empire, menaced by Seljuk Turks, 282-283, 285. + + Ebolus, abbot of St. Germain des Pres, 169-170. + + Edington (see Ethandune). + + Education, decline among the Franks, 144-147; + Charlemagne's provisions for, 145-148; + the Palace School, 144; + decline after Charlemagne, 145; + entrusted by Charlemagne to the clergy, 146; + Alfred's interest in, 185; + of Alfred's children, 187; + Alfred's labors in behalf of, 189-191; + Alfred laments decline of, 192; + universities in the Middle Ages, 339-359. + + Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, 187. + + Edward the Confessor, death of, 233. + + Edward III., claim to French throne, 421; + takes title of king of France, 421-424; + wins battle of Sluys, 424-427; + takes position at Crecy, 427; + prepares for battle, 429; + defeats French army, 433-436; + new invasion of France, 439; + concludes treaty of Bretigny, 439-442. + + Edward, the Black Prince, wins his spurs at Crecy, 434-435; + besieges and sacks Limoges, 436-439. + + Egbert's stone, Alfred meets English people at, 184. + + Einhard, describes weakness of later Merovingians, 106-107; + career of, 108; + author of _Vita Caroli Magni_, 109; + sketch of Charlemagne, 109-114; + account of the Saxon war, 116-118; + statement regarding Charlemagne's coronation, 133. + + Elbe, German boundary in Charlemagne's day, 330. + + Electors, of Holy Roman Empire, provisions of Golden Bull + regarding, 409-416. + + Ely, bishop of, 300. + + Empire (see Eastern Empire; Holy Roman Empire, and the names of + emperors). + + England, ravaged by the Danes, 181; + Alfred the Great becomes king, 182; + Alfred's wars with the Danes, 182-185; + navy founded by Alfred, 183; + treaty of Wedmore, 185; + decadence of learning, 186; + Alfred brings learned men to, 190-191; + Alfred writes to Bishop Werfrith on state of learning in, + 191-194; + William the Conqueror's claim to throne of, 234; + Harold becomes king of, 234; + William the Conqueror prepares to invade, 234; + battle of Hastings, 235-238; + Saxons and Normans, 238-241; + William the Conqueror's government of, 241-244; + reign of King John, 297-298; + the winning of the Great Charter, 298-303; + provisions of the Charter, 305-310; + Edward III. claims French throne, 421-423; + naval battle of Sluys, 424-427; + battle of Crecy, 427-436; + the Black Prince sacks Limoges, 436-439; + treaty of Bretigny, 439, 441-442; + treaty of Troyes, 440, 443; + religious decline in fourteenth century, 474; + Wyclif's career, 474-475. + + _Epistolae de Rebus Senilibus_ (by Petrarch), 464. + + _Epistolae sine Titulo_ (by Petrarch), 464. + + _Epistolae Variae_ (by Petrarch), 464. + + Erfurt, University of, founded, 345. + + _Etablissements de St. Louis_, quoted, 217, 223-224. + + Ethandune, Alfred defeats Danes at, 184. + + Ethelbert, king of Kent, 72; + accepts Christianity, 73, 77; + power of, 74; + receives Augustine, 76; + encourages missionary effort, 77. + + Ethelred I., king of the English, 182. + + Ethelstan, of Mercia, 190. + + Ethelwerd, son of Alfred the Great, 186. + + Eugene IV., and Council of Basel, 393. + + Eurie, king of the Northmen, 166; + defeated by Louis the German, 166. + + Eusebius, author of _De Temporibus_, 468. + + Excommunication, nature of, 380; + of Henry IV. by Gregory VII., 272; + of Frederick II. by Gregory IX., 406. + + Exeter, Danes winter at, 183. + + + Fealty, ceremony of, 216-217; + described in an English law book, 218; + rendered to count of Flanders, 218-219; + ordinance of St. Louis on, 219. + + Feudalism, importance of, in mediaeval history, 203; + most perfectly developed in France, 203-204; + essential elements, 204; + origins of vassalage, 204-205; + formula for commendation, 205-206; + development of the benefice, 206-207; + example of grant of a benefice, 207-210; + origins and nature of the immunity, 210-211; + formula for grant of immunity, 211-212; + an immunity confirmed by Charlemagne, 212-214; + nature of the fief, 214; + specimen grants of fiefs, 215-216; + complexity of the system, 216; + ceremonies of homage and fealty, 216-217; + homage defined, 217; + fealty described, 218; + homage and fealty illustrated, 218-219; + ordinance of St. Louis on homage and fealty, 219; + obligations of lords and vassals, 220-221; + rights of the lord, 221-228; + aids, 222-223; + military service involved, 223-224; + wardship and marriage, 224-225; + reliefs, 225-226; + forfeiture, 226-228; + militant character of feudal period, 228-229; + efforts to reduce private war, 229; + the Peace and Truce of God, 229-232; + provisions of Great Charter concerning, 306-307. + + Fief, relation to benefice, 207; + nature, 214; + specimen grants, 215-216. + + Fitz-Walter, Robert, besieges castle of Northampton, 301. + + Flanders, influence on Hundred Years' War, 419; + allied with Edward III., 421-423. + + Flanders, William, count of, homage and fealty to, 218-219. + + Florence, Dante born at, 445. + + Fontaines, St. Bernard born at, 251. + + Fontenay, Charles and Louis defeat Lothair at, 150. + + Forfeiture, nature, 226-227; + case of Arnold Atton, 227-228. + + Formula, for commendation, 205-206; + for grant of a benefice, 207-210; + for grant of immunity to a bishop, 211-212. + + France, Hugh Capet becomes king, 177-180; + geographical extent in 987, 180; + feudalism most perfectly developed in, 203-204; + over-population of described by Pope Urban, 286; + in times of Louis IX., 311-324; + treaty of Paris (1229), 322; + rise of municipalities in, 325-326; + interdict laid on by Innocent III., 380-383; + Philip the Fair's contest with Boniface VIII., 383-388; + States General meets, 385; + responsibility for Great Schism, 389-390; + Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, 393-397; + disputed succession in 1328, 419-420; + Edward III. takes title of king, 421-423; + naval battle of Sluys, 424-427; + battle of Crecy, 427-436; + siege and sack of Limoges, 436-439; + treaty of Bretigny, 439, 441-442; + treaty of Troyes, 440, 443. + + _Francia Occidentalis_, 155. + + _Francia Orientalis_, 155. + + _Francia_, territorial extent, 152, 155. + + Francis I., Concordat of, 394. + + Franciscans, founded, 360, 361; + life of St. Francis, 363-373; + Rule of St. Francis, 373-376; + Will of St. Francis, 376-378. + + Frankfort, electors of Empire to assemble at, 412. + + Franks, conquer northern Gaul, 49; + become Christians, 49, 54; + character of conversion, 50; + close relations with papacy, 50; + Clovis becomes king of the Salians, 50; + defeat Syagrius at Soissons, 51; + defeat Alaric near Poitiers, 56; + Salic law, 59-67; + decadence of Merovingians, 105; + rise of Mayor of the Palace, 105; + early mayors, 105; + Pepin the Short becomes king, 105-107; + the age of Charlemagne, 108-148; + the war with the Saxons, 114-118; + Charlemagne's capitularies, 118-127, 134-141; + Charlemagne crowned emperor, 130-134; + decay of learning among, 144; + Carolingian Renaissance, 144-148; + disorder among in ninth century, 157-163; + menaced by invasions of Northmen, 160-163; + decline of monarchy in ninth century, 173; + rise of feudalism among, 173-174. + + Freckenhorst, sacred relics brought to, 163. + + Frederick, bishop of Hamburg, issues charter for a colony, + 332-333. + + Frederick Barbarossa, grants privileges to students and masters, + 341-343; + and the Italian communes, 398-399; + destroys Milan, 399; + defeated at Legnano, 399; + agrees to Peace of Constance, 399-400. + + Frederick II., accession of, 402-403; + character, 403-404; + suspected of heresy, 405; + excommunicated, 406, 408-409. + + Friars, conditions determining rise of, 360; + unlike monks, 360-361; + relations with papacy and local clergy, 361; + system of organization, 361; + career of St. Francis, 362-378; + Rule of St. Francis, 373-376; + Will of St. Francis, 376-378. + + Fridigern, leader of branch of Visigoths, 33-34, 38, 39. + + Friesland (see Frisia). + + Frisia, Northmen in, 159, 162, 166. + + Froissart, Sire de, "Chronicles" of, 417-418. + + Fulbert of Chartres, letter to William of Aquitaine, 220-221. + + Fulcher of Chartres, version of Pope Urban's speech, 286; + account of starting of crusaders, 290-291. + + Fulda, Einhard educated at, 108, 145. + + Fulrad, Charlemagne's letter to, 142-144; + summoned to assembly at Strassfurt, 143; + troops and equipment to be brought, 143; + gifts for the Emperor, 143-144. + + + Gaiseric, 112. + + Galicia, Northmen visit, 166. + + Gatinais, 329. + + _Gau_, 25. + + Gaul, conquered by Julius Caesar, 19, 32; + invaded by Cimbri and Teutons, 32; + Syagrius's kingdom in, 51; + the Franks take possession in the north, 51; + Clovis overthrows Visigothic power in south, 55-57; + monasteries established in, 83; + Charlemagne transplants Saxons into, 117-118; + Northmen devastate, 159; + survival of Roman immunity in, 210. + + Geoffrey of Clairvaux, 251. + + _Germania_ (by Tacitus), nature and purpose, 23; + contents, 24; + translation and editions, 24; + quoted, 24-31. + + Germans, described by Caesar, 19-22; + religion, 21; + system of land tenure, 21; + magistrates and war leaders, 22; + hospitality, 22; + described by Tacitus, 23-31; + location in Caesar's day, 20; + physical characteristics, 24; + use of iron, 24; + weapons, 24-25; + mode of fighting, 25-26, 40; + ideas of military honor, 25, 64; + kingship, 26; + tribal assemblies, 26-27; + investment with arms, 27; + the _princeps_ and _comitatus_, 27, 28; + love of war, 28-29; + agriculture, 21, 29; + life in times of peace, 29; + absence of tax systems, 29; + lack of cities and city life, 29; + villages, 30; + food and drink, 30; + amusements, 30; + slavery, 31; + early contact with the Romans, 32-33; + defeat Varus, 32; + put Romans on the defensive, 32; + filter into the Empire, 33; + invasions begin, 33; + generally Christianized before invasion of Empire, 48; + character of their conversion, 49-50; + ideas of law, 59-60; + influenced by contact with Romans, 60; + codification of law, 60; + legal ideas and methods, 196; + compurgation,196; + use of the ordeal, 196-197. + + Germany, Henry IV.'s position in, 264-265; + Henry V.'s government of, 278; + question of lay investiture in, 265-281; + colonization toward the east, 331-332; + colony chartered by bishop of Hamburg, 331-333; + decline of imperial power, 334; + chaotic conditions, 334; + rise of municipal leagues, 334; + the Rhine League, 335-338; + rise of universities in, 345; + in Frederick Barbarossa's period, 398-399; + under Frederick II., 402-409; + conditions after Frederick II., 409-410; + Golden Bull of Charles IV., 410-416. + + Genghis Khan, empire of, 316. + + Ghent, Council at, 423-424. + + Gildas, story of Saxon invasion of Britain, 68. + + Gillencourt, granted to Jocelyn d'Avalon, 216. + + Gisela, 173. + + Gloucester, William the Conqueror wears crown at, 242. + + Godfrey of Bouillon, 289. + + Golden Bull, promulgated by Charles IV., + 409; + character of, 409. + + Gozlin, bishop of Paris, 168. + + _Grace expectative_, nature of, 396. + + Gratian, 35, 38. + + Great Council, in William the Conqueror's time, 242; + provisions of Great Charter concerning, 306; + composition, 307. + + Greek fire, nature of, 319; + used by the Saracens, 319-321. + + Gregory of Nazianzus, cited by Pope Gregory, 93. + + Gregory of Tours, facts regarding career, 47; + author of _Ecclesiastical History of the Franks_, 47-48; + opportunities for knowledge, 48; + account of Frankish affairs quoted, 50-59; + account of ordeal by hot water quoted, 198-200. + + Gregory I. (the Great), plans conversion of Saxons, 72; + sends Augustine to Britain, 72-73; + becomes pope, 73, 90; + letter of encouragement to Augustine's band, 74; + early career, 90; + qualifications, 90-91; + author of the _Pastoral Rule_, 91; + describes the functions of the secular clergy, 91-96; + attitude toward worldly learning, 95; + _Pastoral Rule_ translated by Alfred, 186, 193. + + Gregory IV., 158. + + Gregory VI., 261. + + Gregory VII., early career, 261; + becomes pope, 261, 269; + conceptions of papal authority, 262-264; + breach with Henry IV., 264; + letter to Henry IV., 265-269; + claim to authority over temporal princes, 266; + avows purpose to correct abuses in the Church, 267; + disposed to treat Henry IV. fairly, 268; + letter to, from Henry IV., 269-272; + charges against, by Henry IV., 272; + deposes him, 272-273; + meets Henry IV. at Canossa, 274, 275; + absolves him, 276; + project for a crusade, 283. + + Gregory IX., 403, 406. + + Gregory XI., removes to Rome, 389; + bull concerning Lollards, 475. + + Gregory XII., abdicates papacy, 391. + + Grimbald, brought from Gaul by Alfred, 190. + + Guienne, English and French dispute possession of, 419. + + Guiscard, Roger, 341. + + Guthrum, peace of Alfred and, 185; + becomes a Christian, 185. + + + Hadrian, I., 111, 130. + + Hamburg, pillaged by the Slavs, 331; + bishop of, grants charter for a colony, 331-333. + + Hanseatic League, 334. + + Harold Hardrada, defeated at Stamford Bridge, 234. + + Harold, son of Godwin, chosen king of England, 234; + position disputed by William the Conqueror, 234; + defeats Harold Hardrada, 234; + takes station at Hastings, 234; + valor and death, 237. + + Hastings, English take position at, 234; + they prepare for battle, 235; + the Normans prepare, 236; + William's strategem, 236-237. + + Heidelberg, University of, founded, 345; + charter of, 345-350; + modelled on University of Paris, 346; + internal government, 347-348; + jurisdiction of bishop of Worms, 348; + exemptions enjoyed by students, 349; + rates for lodgings, 350. + + Hell, portrayed in the Koran, 103-104. + + Hengist, legendary leader of Saxons, 71; + ancestry, 71. + + Henry of Champagne, grants fief to bishop of Beauvais, 215. + + Henry I. of England, charter of, 298, 304, 306. + + Henry III. of England, concludes treaty of Paris with St. Louis, + 322. + + Henry V. of England, in Hundred Years' War, 440; + marries daughter of Charles VI., 441; + awarded French crown by treaty of Troyes, 443. + + Henry I. of Germany, movement against the Slavs, 331. + + Henry III. of Germany, 273. + + Henry IV. of Germany, controversy opens with Gregory VII., 264; + wins battle on the Unstrutt, 265; + letter of Gregory VII. to, 265-269; + exhorted to confess and repent sins, 266, 268; + reply to letter of Gregory VII., 269-272; + rejects papal claim to temporal supremacy, 270; + excommunicated by Gregory VII., 272; + deposed by him, 272-273; + penance at Canossa, 273-277; + oath of, 277-278. + + Henry V. of Germany, succeeds Henry IV., 278; + his spirit of independence, 278; + invasion of Italy, 278; + compact with Paschal II., 278; + party to Concordat of Worms, 279-281. + + Henry VI. of Germany, 400, 402. + + Henry VII. of Germany, 433. + + Hermaneric, king of the Ostrogoths, 33. + + Hide, a land measure, 242. + + Hildebrand (see Gregory VII.). + + Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, 165; + description of ordeal by cold water, 200-201. + + Hippo, St. Augustine bishop of, 112. + + _Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_ (by the Venerable Bede), + scope and character, 68; + quoted, 69-72, 73-77; + translation of, 69. + + _Historia Ecclesiastica Francorum_ (by Gregory of Tours), scope + and character, 48-49; + quoted, 50-59. + + _Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Jerusalem_ (by Raimond of + Agiles), quoted, 201-202. + + _Historia Iherosolimitana_ (by Robert the Monk), quoted, 284-288. + + _Historia Iherosolimitana_ (by Fulcher of Chartres), quoted, + 290-291. + + _Historiarum Libri IV._ (by Nithardus), scope, 151; + quoted, 151-154. + + _Historiarum Libri IV._ (by Richer), scope, 178; + quoted, 178-180. + + _Histoire de Saint Louis_ (by Joinville), character, 312; + quoted, 313-324. + + Hollanders, receive charter from bishop of Hamburg, 332-333; + fiscal obligations, 332; + judicial immunity, 333. + + Holy Roman Empire, coronation of Charlemagne, 130-134; + character and significance, 131-132; + difficulty of holding together, 149; + disordered condition in ninth century, 157-163; + Henry IV.'s position in, 264-265; + question of lay investiture in, 265-281; + Henry V., emperor, 278; + Concordat of Worms, 278-281; + weakening of central authority, 334; + chaotic condition, 334; + rise of municipal leagues, 334; + the Rhine League, 335-338; + in 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, 398-416; + Frederick Barbarossa at head of, 398; + Peace of Constance, 399-402; + accession of Frederick II., 403; + II., 403; + Dante's attachment to, 446; + Dante's defense of in _De Monarchia_, 452-462. + + Homage, ceremony of, 216-217; + a Norman definition of, 217; + rendered to count of Flanders, 218-219; + ordinance of St. Louis on, 219. + + Homer, Dante's knowledge of, 449; + Petrarch interested in, 467. + + Homicide, in the Salic law, 65. + + Honorius III., St. Francis promises allegiance to, 375. + + Horace, alluded to by Petrarch, 468. + + Horsa, legendary leader of Saxons, 71; + death, 71; + ancestry, 71. + + _Hote_, defined, 329. + + House of Commons, origin of, 307. + + House of Lords, origin of, 307. + + Hugh Capet, establishes Capetian dynasty, 177; + Adalbero urges election as king, 178-180; + crowned at Noyon, 180; + extent of dominions, 180. + + Humanism, rise of, 445; + Petrarch's love of the classics, 465-469. + + Humber River, 71, 74, 191. + + Hundred Years' War, causes, 418-419; + Edward III. and the Flemings, 421-424; + naval battle of Sluys, 424-427; + battle of Crecy, 427-436; + siege and sack of Limoges, 436-439; + treaty of Bretigny, 439, 441-442; + treaty of Troyes, 440, 443. + + Huns, threaten the Goths, 33-34, 42; + characterized by Claudius Claudianus, 43; + described by Ammianus Marcellinus, 43-46; + physical appearance, 44; + dress, 44; + mode of fighting, 45; + nomadic character, 45; + greed and quarrelsomeness, 46. + + + Iacinthus, 199. + + _Il Convito_ (by Dante), character of, 447; + quoted, 447-452. + + Immunity, in Roman law, 210; + feudal, 210-211; + formula for grant to bishop, 211-212; + grant to a monastery confirmed by Charlemagne, 212-214; + in an East German colony, 333. + + Incendiarism, in the Salic law, 63; + in the Burgundian law, 63. + + Ingeborg, wife of Philip Augustus, 380-381. + + Ingelheim, 108. + + Inghen, Marsilius, rector of University of Heidelberg, 345. + + Inheritance, in the Salic law, 66. + + Innocent III., King John's surrender to, 297; + confirms privileges of University of Paris, 341; + approves work of St. Francis, 362; + lays interdict on France, 380-383. + + Innocent IV., 403, 454. + + _In Rufinum_ (by Claudius Claudianus), quoted, 43. + + Interdict, nature of, 380; + laid on France, 380-383. + + Interregnum, 334; + end of, 409-410. + + Investiture, lay, 261; + Henry IV.'s disregard of Gregory VII.'s decrees concerning, + 265; + Paschal II.'s decree prohibiting, 278; + agreement of 1111 concerning, 278; + settlement of by Concordat of Worms, 279-281. + + Ireland, Christianity in, 72. + + Irene, deposes Constantine VI., 132. + + Irmensaule, destroyed by Charlemagne, 122. + + Irnerius, teacher of law at Bologna, 340. + + Isabella, mother of Edward III., 418-419; + excluded from French throne, 420. + + Islam (see Koran, Mohammed). + + Italian (language), Dante's defense of, 446-452. + + Italy, Frederick Barbarossa and communes of, 398-399. + + + Jerusalem, captured by Arabs, 282; + by the Seljuk Turks, 282. + + Jeufosse, Northmen winter at, 167. + + Jocelyn d'Avalon, receives fief from Thiebault of Troyes, 216. + + John, bishop of Ravenna, 91. + + John the Old Saxon, brought from Gaul by Alfred, 191. + + John, of England, character of reign, 297; + conference of magnates in opposition to, 298; + arranges truce with them, 299; + takes the cross, 300; + scorns the demands of the barons, 301; + loses London, 302; + consents to terms of Great Charter, 303. + + John XXIII., elected pope, 390; + deposed, 391. + + John, king of Bohemia, 421. + + John II. of France, taken captive at Poitiers, 439; + later career, 442. + + John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, 440. + + Joinville, Sire de, sketch of, 312; + biographer of St. Louis, 312. + + Judith of Bavaria, 149. + + Julian the Apostate, 271. + + Jurats, in Laon, 328. + + Jury, not provided for in Great Charter, 308. + + Justice, among the early Germans, 22; + among the Franks, 61-67; + among the Saxons, 121-123; + Charlemagne's provision for in capitulary for the _missi_, + 138-139; + compurgation, 196; + ordeal, 196-197; + administration of in the universities, 342, 344, 349. + + Jutes, settle in Kent, 70. + + + Karlmann, son of Charles Martel, 105. + + Kent, Saxons and Jutes settle in, 70; + Ethelbert, king of, 72, 74. + + Kingship, among the early Germans, 26. + + Knut VI., king of Denmark, 380. + + Koran, origin of, 97; + scope and character, 98; + essential teachings, 98; + translation, 99; + quoted, 99-104; + opening prayer, 99; + unity of God, 99; + the resurrection, 100; + the coming judgment, 100; + reward of the righteous, 101; + fate of the wicked, 101; + pleasures of paradise, 102-103; + torments of hell, 103-104. + + Kutuz, defeats Tartars, 317. + + + La Broyes, Philip VI. at castle of, 435. + + La Ferte-sur-Aube, 216; + St. Bernard at, 256. + + _L'Ancienne Coutume de Normandie_, quoted, 217, 222-223, 224-225. + + Laon, 171; + charter of, 327-328. + + Law, character of among the early Germans, 27, 59-60; + codification under Roman influence, 60; + the Salic code, 60-67; + of Alfred the Great, 194-195; + revival of Roman, 339-340; + study of at University of Bologna, 340. + + Learning, revival under Charlemagne, 144-148; + decline after Charlemagne, 145; + Alfred on state of in England, 191-194; + decadence in England before the Conquest, 239; + revival in thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 445; + Petrarch's love of the classics, 465-469. + + _Legend of the Three Companions_, quoted, 363-368, 376-378. + + Legnano, Frederick Barbarossa defeated at, 399. + + Leo I. (the Great), elected pope, 78; + sermon on the Petrine supremacy, 80-83. + + Leo III., 111; + driven from Rome, 130; + appeals to Charlemagne, 130; + crowns Charlemagne emperor, 130, 132-134. + + Leo IV., 160. + + Leo IX., 261. + + Leo, author of the _Mirror of Perfection_, 363. + + Liberal Arts, place in Charlemagne's system of education, 145; + Alfred laments his ignorance of, 189, 339. + + _Liber Regulae Pastoralis_ (by Pope Gregory I.), nature and value, + 91; + translation of, 91; + quoted, 91-96; + qualities of the ideal pastor, 91-93, 96; + admonitions for various sorts of people, 94-95; + translated by Alfred, 186, 193. + + _Libri Miraculorum_ (by Gregory of Tours), quoted, 198-200. + + Liege, Henry IV. dies at, 278. + + Limoges, siege of by the Black Prince, 436-439. + + Limousin, 437. + + Lindisfarne, plundered by Danes, 181. + + _Little Flowers of St. Francis_, 363. + + Loire, Clovis and Alaric meet on, 55; + Clovis's campaign beyond, 55-56; + Northmen on, 167. + + Lollards, tenets of, 475. + + Lombard League, formation of, 399; + Frederick Barbarossa's war upon, 399; + provisions of Peace of Constance regarding, 400-402. + + Lombards, conquered by Charlemagne, 112, 115. + + London, sacked by Danes, 181; + King John at, 299; + army of the barons arrives at, 302; + surrendered to the barons, 302; + treaty of, 439; + Wyclif's doctrines condemned in council at, 475. + + Lorris, model of franchise towns, 327; + charter of, 328-330. + + Lorsch, monastery at, 106; + _Lesser Annals_ of, 106. + + Lothair, Charles and Louis combine against, 150; + defeated at Fontenay, 150; + oaths of Strassburg directed against, 151-154; + makes overtures for peace, 154; + lands received by treaty of Verdun, 155-156. + + Lotharingia, 155. + + Louis the Pious, capitulary on education, 145; + divides the Empire, 149. + + Louis the German, combines with Charles the Bald against Lothair, + 150-151; + takes oath at Strassburg, 152-153; + lands received by treaty of Verdun, 155-156; + advances against the Wends, 158, 159, 160; + expeditions against the Bohemians, 160-161; + defeats the Northmen, 166. + + Louis the Stammerer, 174. + + Louis V., last direct Carolingian, 177. + + Louis VI. of France, ratifies charter of Laon, 327. + + Louis VII. of France, 215; + grants charter to Lorris, 327. + + Louis IX. of France, early career, 311, 313-314; + character, 311-312; + difficulties at beginning of reign, 314; + takes the cross, 314-315; + emulated by prominent nobles, 315; + in Cyprus, 316; + receives deputation from Khan of Tartary, 316-317; + arrival in Egypt, 318; + advances on Babylon (Cairo), 318; + operations on the lower Nile, 318-322; + negotiates treaty of Paris, 322; + personal traits, 323; + methods of dispensing justice, 323-324. + + Louis X. of France, 419. + + Louis XI. of France, seeks to revoke Pragmatic Sanction of + Bourges, 394. + + Louis IV., Emperor, allied with Edward III., 421. + + Luidhard, 75. + + Luitbert, brings sacred relics to the Freckenhorst, 163. + + Lyons, Council of, Frederick II. excommunicated at, 407. + + + Macon, 248. + + Magdeburg, established, 331. + + _Magna Charta_, the winning of, 298-303; + agreed to at Runnymede, 303; + importance and character, 303-304; + translations, 305; + quoted, 305-310; + liberties of the English church, 305; + rate of reliefs, 306; + aids, 306; + the Great Council, 307; + writ _de odio et atia_, 307-308; + personal liberties and prerogatives, 308; + freedom of commercial intercourse, 308-309; + means of enforcement, 309. + + _Magna Moralia_, written by Pope Gregory, 91. + + Mainz, a capital of Rhine League, 337; + archbishop of, to summon electors of the Empire, 412. + + _Mallus_, character, 61; + summonses to, 61; + complaint to be made before, 63. + + Manichaeus, 388. + + Manzikert, Eastern emperor defeated at, 282. + + Mapes, Walter, _Latin Poems_ attributed to, a source for mediaeval + students' songs, 352. + + Marcomanni, 32, 35. + + Marriage, of heiresses, right of lord to control, 224-225. + + Marseilles, St. Louis's companions embark at, 315. + + Marshall, William, surety for King John, 300-301. + + Martian, 69. + + Martin V., elected pope, 391; + and Council of Siena, 395. + + Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, 234. + + Matilda, Countess, ally of Gregory VII., 274. + + Matthew Paris, 292; + _Greater Chronicle_ of, quoted, 405-409. + + Maurice, 73. + + May-field, character of in Charlemagne's time, 142. + + Mayor of the Palace, rise of, 105; + office made hereditary, 105; + accession of Pepin the Short, 105; + latter becomes king, 107. + + Merovingians, decadence of, 105-106; + end with Childeric III., 105. + + Merovius, ancestor of Clovis, 50. + + Metz, 154; + diet of, 410; + electors of Empire to meet at, 416. + + Milan, Frederick Barbarossa destroys, 398-399. + + _Ministeriales_, functions of, 188. + + _Missaticae_, 135. + + _Missi dominici_, 123; + Charlemagne's capitulary for, 134; + character and functions, 134-137; + employed by Charles Martel and Pepin the Short, 135; + to promulgate royal decrees, 141; + abuses of, 175-176; + in ninth century, 175-176. + + Moesia, Visigoths settle in, 34. + + Mohammed, sayings comprised in Koran, 97; + principal teachings, 98. + + Monastery, formula for grant of _precarium_ by, 209-210; + grant of immunity confirmed to, 212-214. + + Monasticism, rise of, 83-84; + character of in the East and West, 83; + abbey of St. Martin established, 83; + Monte Cassino established by St. Benedict, 84; + the Benedictine rule, 84-90; + character and functions of the abbot, 84-86; + prohibition of individual property-holding, 87; + manual labor, 88; + reading and study, 89; + hospitality, 89; + decadence in eighth and ninth centuries, 245; + the Cluniac reform, 245-246; + St. Bernard's reformation of, 250; + founding of Clairvaux, 256-258. + + Monotheism, set forth in the Koran, 99. + + Monte Cassino, monastery founded at, 84; + Karlmann withdraws to, 105. + + Montlheri, St. Louis at, 314; + English army at, 439. + + Mortmain, prohibited by charter of Laon, 328. + + Murder, Charlemagne's legislation on, 141. + + + Nantes, pillaged by Northmen, 165. + + Nazianzus, Gregory, bishop of, 93. + + Nerva, 34. + + New Forest, of William the Conqueror, 244. + + Nicaea, Council of, 198; + Seljuk Turks established at, 282; + crusaders converge at, 290. + + Nice, Visigoths advance toward, 38. + + Nicholas II., 269. + + Nile, St. Louis's operations on, 318. + + Nithardus, author of _Historiarum Libri IV._, 151; + career, 151. + + Nogaret, William of, captures Boniface VIII., 385. + + Nomenoe, conflicts with Charles the Bald, 167. + + Normans, rapid civilization of, 233; + retain adventuresome disposition, 233; + in battle of Hastings, 236-238; + described by William of Malmesbury, 238-241. + + Normandy, ceded by Charles the Simple to Rollo, 172; + improvement under Norman regime, 173; + William the Bastard becomes duke of, 233-234; + English and French dispute possession of, 419. + + Northampton, castle of, besieged by the English barons, 301. + + Northmen, in Frisia and Gaul, 159-160; + in Frisia and Saxony, 162; + burn church of St. Martin at Tours, 162, 167; + motives of the Norse invasions, 163; + pillage, Nantes, 165; + winter at Rhe, 165; + ascend Garonne, 166; + in Spain, 166; + at Paris, 166; + in Frisia and Brittany, 166; + threaten Orleans, 167; + at Angers, 167; + pillage Orleans, 167; + plunder Pisa, 168; + besiege Paris, 168-171; + bought off by Charles the Fat, 171; + receive Normandy from Charles the Simple, 172; + become Christians, 173. (See Danes.) + + Notre Dame, cathedral school of, 340. + + Noyon, Hugh Capet crowned at, 180. + + Nuremberg, diet of, 410. + + + Odo, becomes king of France, 168, 177; + defense of Paris, 169-170; + mission to Charles the Fat, 170-171. + + Odo, bishop of Bayeux, imprisoned by William the Conqueror, 243. + + Oppenheim, convention of, 274. + + Ordeal, nature of, 197; + use among Germanic peoples, 197; + various forms, 197; + an Arian presbyter tested by, 198-200; + by cold water described, 200-201; + Peter Bartholomew subjected to by fire, 201-202. + + Origen, 387. + + Orleans, threatened by the Northmen, 167; + pillaged by them, 167. + + Orosius, 186. + + Ostrogoths, fall before the Huns, 33. + + Otger, archbishop of Mainz, 152, 160. + + Otto I. of Germany, 331. + + Otto II. of Germany, loses ground to the Slavs, 331. + + Otto III. of Germany, 403. + + Otto IV. of Germany, 401; + crowned at Rome, 403; + defeated at Bouvines, 403. + + Oxford, Wyclif educated at, 474; + banishes Lollards, 475. + + + Paderborn, Frankish assembly at, 119; + Pope Leo III. meets Charlemagne at, 130. + + _Pagus_, 25. + + Paradise, portrayed in the Koran, 102-103. + + Palace School, origin of, 144; + enlargement by Charlemagne, 112-113, 144-145. + + Papacy, views on origin of, 78-79; + reasons for growth, 78-79; + theory of Petrine supremacy, 79; + Pope Leo's sermon, 80-83; + Gregory becomes pope, 73, 90; + his literary efforts, 91; + describes functions of secular clergy, 91-96; + Pope Zacharias sanctions deposition of Merovingian line, 107; + Pope Leo III. crowns Charlemagne emperor, 130-134; + Cluny's relations with, 249; + Gregory VII.'s conception of, 262-264; + Gregory VII.'s claim to authority over temporal princes, 266; + Henry IV.'s rejection of claim of, 270; + Calixtus II. agrees to Concordat of Worms, 278-281; + relations of friars with, 361; + St. Francis's attitude towards, 375, 377-378; + and temporal powers in later Middle Ages, 380-397; + contest of Innocent III. and Philip Augustus, 380-383; + Boniface VIII.'s bull _Unam Sanctam_, 383-388; + Babylonian Captivity, 383, 389; + Great Schism, 389-390; + declarations of Councils of Pisa and Constance, 390-393; + provisions of Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges regarding powers + of, 395-397; + conflicts with Frederick II., 405-409; + Dante enumerates theories in defense of, 453-455; + defines true position of, 456-462; + Wyclif's ideas concerning, 475-477. + + Paris, Clovis's capital, 57; + his death at, 59; + Northmen at, 166; + Northmen prepare to besiege, 168; + attack upon, 169-171; + importance of siege, 171; + treaty of (1259), 322; + treaty of (1396), 439. + + Paris, University of, origin, 340; + privileges granted to students by Philip Augustus, 341, + 343-345; + Heidelberg modelled on, 346; + case of Great Schism laid before, 390; + proposals regarding Schism, 371-392. + + Paschal II., accession to papacy, 278; + decree prohibiting lay investiture, 278; + relations with Henry V., 278. + + _Patrocinium_, a prototype of vassalage, 204. + + Paul the Deacon, in Charlemagne's Palace School, 144. + + Paulinus of Aquileia, in Charlemagne's Palace School, 144. + + Pavia, taken by Charlemagne, 112. + + Peace of God, decreed by Church councils, 229; + decree of Council of Toulouges, 229-232. + + Pelagius II., sends Gregory to Constantinople, 90. + + Penalties, in the Salic law, 62-65; + in Charlemagne's _De Partibus Saxoniae_, 121-123; + in Alfred's legislation, 194-195; + for violation of an immunity, 214; + for violation of Peace and Truce of God, 230-232. + + Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martel, 105; + mayor of the palace, 105; + sends deputation to Pope Zacharias, 106; + crowned by Pope Stephen III., 106; + advised to take title of king, 107; + anointed by Boniface at Soissons, 107. + + Pepin, grandson of Louis the Pious, 152, 158. + + Peter Bartholomew, subjected to ordeal by fire, 198, 201-202. + + Peter of Catana, minister-general of Franciscans, 370. + + Peter of Pisa, brought to Charlemagne's court, 112; + in the Palace School, 144. + + Petrarch, career of, 462-463; + part in the Renaissance, 463; + writings, 464-465; + love of the classics, 465-469; + letter to Posterity, 469-473. + + Petrine Supremacy, theory of, 79; + Pope Leo's sermon on, 80-83; + mediaeval acceptance of, 79; + theory of stated by Gregory VII., 267; + allusion to in _Unam Sanctam_, 386; + Dante's conception of, 456-457. + + Pfahlburgers, provision of Rhine League concerning, 337. + + Philip II. (Augustus) of France, privileges granted to students + by, 343-345; + contest with Innocent III., 380-383; + imposes Saladin tithe, 390. + + Philip IV. (the Fair) of France, contest with Boniface VIII., + 383-385; + convenes States General, 385; + sons of, 419. + + Philip V. of France, 419. + + Philip VI. of France, acquires the Dauphine, 395; + accession of, 420; + advances with army to Crecy, 430-431; + defeated at Crecy, 433-436. + + Philip of Hohenstaufen, 402-403. + + Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, 440. + + Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, 440. + + Philippa, wife of Edward III., 425. + + Piacenza, Council of, 283. + + Picts, menace the Britons, 68; + Saxons called in against, 69; + Saxons ally with, 71. + + Pilgrimages, to Jerusalem, 282-283. + + Pisa, Council of, convened, 390; + declarations of, 392-393. + + Plato, Petrarch loans a volume of, 469. + + Plegmund, archbishop of Canterbury, 190. + + Pliny the Elder, probably used by Tacitus, 23. + + Poitiers, 55, 56; + battle of, 418. + + Pontus, 35. + + Posidonius of Rhodes, probably used by Tacitus, 23. + + Prague, University of founded, 345. + + _Precarium_, nature of, 206; + prototype of the benefice, 206-207; + example of grant, 207-210. + + _Principes_, among the early Germans, 27-28; + conduct in battle, 28. + + Prudence, bishop of Troyes, 165. + + + Quadi, 35. + + _Quadrivium_, 145, 339. + + + Ragnachar, kinsman of Clovis, 51; + slain, 58-59. + + Raymond of Agiles, account of ordeal by fire, 201-202. + + Raymond, count of Toulouse, letter to Arnold Atton, 227-228. + + Raymond of St. Gilles, 294-295. + + Ravenna, Dante's death at, 446. + + Reformation, foreshadowings of, 474-477. + + _Regalia_, in Concordat of Worms, 279-280; + claimed by Frederick Barbarossa, 398; + grant of to Lombard cities, 400-401. + + Relief, defined, 223, 225; + origin, 225-226; + examples, 226; + rate fixed by Great Charter, 306. + + Religion, of the early Germans, 21; + rise of Mohammedanism, 97-104; + the Koran quoted, 99-104; + Charlemagne's zeal for, 113. + + Remigius, bishop of Rheims, 54. + + Renaissance (Carolingian), conditions preceding, 144; + Charlemagne's part in, 145-146. + + Renaissance (Italian), nature of, 444-445; + career of Dante, 446-447; + Dante's defense of Italian as literary language, 446-452; + Dante's conception of the imperial power, 452-462; + career and writings of Petrarch, 462-465; + Petrarch's love of the classics, 465-469; + his letter to Posterity, 469-473. + + _Rerum Gestarum Libri qui Supersunt_ (by Ammianus Marcellinus), + quoted, 34-37, 38-41, 43-46. + + _Reserve_, nature of, 396. + + Resurrection, portrayed in the Koran, 100. + + Rhe, Northmen winter at, 165. + + Rhine, the Roman frontier, 19-20; + trade in vicinity of, 30, 32. + + Rhine League, conditions influencing formation, 334; + instituted at Worms, 335; + restrictions imposed on members, 335; + treatment of enemies of, 335-336; + capitals, 337; + governing body, 337; + military preparations, 338. + + Richar, slain by Clovis, 59. + + Richer, author of _Four Books of Histories_, 178. + + Rivo Torto, St. Francis at, 369. + + Robert I., 169, 177. + + Robert the Strong, 168, 177. + + Robert the Monk, version of Pope Urban's speech, 283-288. + + Robert of Artois, connection with Hundred Years' War, 423. + + Robertians, 168; + rivalry with Carolingians, 177. + + Roger de Hoveden, 292. + + Roger of Wendover, account of the winning of the Great Charter, + 298-303, 404. + + Roland, Song of, 236. + + Rollo, receives Normandy from Charles the Simple, 172; + baptized, 172; + improvement of Normandy, 173. + + Romans, conquest of Gaul by, 19; + travelers and traders in Germany, 23, 32; + defeat of Varus, 32; + put on the defensive, 32; + early contact with the Germans, 32-33; + alarmed by reports of Gothic restlessness, 35; + mistreat the Visigoths, 37; + defeated at Adrianople, 39-41; + withdraw garrisons from Britain, 68. + + Roman Empire, filtration of Germans into, 33; + efforts to enlarge to the northward, 19, 32; + Visigoths desire to enter, 34; + Visigoths settle in, 36-37; + relation of Charlemagne's empire to, 131-132. + + Romanus Diogenes, defeated at Manzikert, 282. + + Rome, development of papacy at, 78-79; + Pepin the Short sends deputation to, 106; + Charlemagne's visits to, 111, 114; + Charlemagne crowned at, 130, 132-134; + plundered by the Saracens, 160. + + Romulus Augustulus, 131. + + Roncesvalles, Count Roland slain at, 236. + + Rorik, leader of Northmen, 161. + + Rouen, Odo, bishop of Bayeux, imprisoned at, 243. + + Rudolph I., of Hapsburg, elected emperor, 409. + + _Rudolfi Fuldensis Annales_, quoted, 156. + + Rufinus, companion of St. Francis, 363. + + Rule, of St. Francis, drawn up, 373-374; + quoted, 375-376. + + Runnymede, Great Charter promulgated at, 303. + + Rupert I., founds University of Heidelberg, 345. + + + _Sacrosancta_, decree of, 391. + + St. Albans, 298. + + St. Andrew, monastery of, established, 90. + + St. Augustine, author of _De Civitate Dei_, 111. + + St. Benedict, career of, 84; + service to European monasticism, 84; + Rule of, 84-90. + + St. Bernard, times of, 250; + founds Clairvaux, 250; + biography of, 251; + birth and parentage, 251; + early traits, 252; + decides to become a monk, 252-253; + at Chatillon, 254; + enters Citeaux,254; + obtains ability to reap, 255; + piety and knowledge of Scriptures, 255-256; + goes forth from Citeaux, 256; + founds monastery at Clairvaux, 256-257. + + St. Bonaventura, author of official life of St. Francis, 363. + + Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, treaty of, 172. + + St. David, 181. + + St. Dionysius, 387. + + St. Dominic, founder of Dominican order, 360. + + St. Edmund's, magnates of England assemble at, 298. + + St. Francis, early career, 362; + sources of information on, 362; + youthful follies, 364; + redeeming qualities, 364; + change in manner of life, 365-366; + zeal in charity, 366-367; + begs alms at Rome, 367; + overcomes aversion to lepers, 368; + refuses to dwell in an adorned cell, 369; + humiliates himself publicly, 370-371; + love for the larks, 371-372; + regard for all created things, 372-373; + draws up his Rule, 373-374; + the Rule quoted, 375; + the will of, 376-378; + attitude toward the existing Church, 375, 377-378; + enjoins poverty and labor, 377-379. + + St. Germain des Pres, 165, 169. + + St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, 56. + + St. Jerome, translation of Scriptures, 193; + cited by Petrarch, 468. + + St. Louis (see Louis IX.). + + St. Marcellus, Church of, 212. + + St. Martin (of Tours), career of, 48; + shrine of visited by pilgrims, 48; + Clovis's respect for, 55, 57; + church at Canterbury dedicated to, 77; + monastery at Tours dedicated to, 83; + church of burned by Northmen, 162, 167. + + St. Peter, Christ's commission to, 79, 81. + + St. Peter, Church of, Charlemagne's gifts to, 114; + Charlemagne crowned in, 133; + fortified, 161. + + St. Quentin, Fulrad abbot of, 142; + Dudo, dean of, 165. + + Savigny, granted as fief to bishop of Beauvais, 215. + + Saisset, Bernard, offends Philip the Fair, 384. + + Salerno, University of, 341. + + Salic law, cited, 25; + date, 60; + character, 60; + editions and translation, 61; + monetary system in, 61; + summonses to meetings of the local courts, 61; + theft, 62; + robbery with assault, 63; + incendiarism, 63; + deeds of violence, 63; + use of poison or witchcraft, 64; + slander, 64; + trespass, 65; + homicide, 65; + right of migration, 66; + debt, 66; + inheritance, 66-67; + wergeld, 67. + + Saracens, plunder Rome, 160; + Italian league against, 160; + renew devastation, 161; + in possession of the Holy Land, 282; + combats with crusaders, 292-296; + project to turn the Tartars against, 317; + operations against St. Louis, 318-322; + Frederick II. accused of friendly relations with, 405-407. + + Saxon Chronicle, quoted, 241-244. + + Saxons, conquer Britain while yet pagans, 49; + infest British coasts, 68; + appear at Thanet, 69; + called in by Britons, 69; + settlement in Britain, 70; + ally with Picts, 71; + conquest of Britain, 71-72; + pagan character, 72; + Christianization begun, 73-77; + in Charlemagne's day, 115-117; + problem of conquest, 115-116; + lack of natural frontier, 117; + faithlessness, 117; + transplanted in part to Gaul, 117; + Charlemagne's peace with, 118; + massacre at Verden, 117; + formula for acceptance of Christianity, 118; + Charlemagne's capitularies concerning, 118-123; + provisions for establishment of Christianity among, 120-122; + penalties for persistence in paganism, 122; + fugitive criminals, 123; + public assemblies, 123. + + Scheldt River, 58. + + Schism, Great, origin, 389-390; + plans of University of Paris to end, 391-392; + Councils of Pisa and Constance, 390-393; + stops proceedings against Wyclif, 475. + + Schools (see Education). + + Scots, menace the Britons, 68; + Saxons called in against, 69. + + Scutage, increased by King John, 297; + method of raising specified in Great Charter, 306. + + Scythia, 43. + + Seine, Northmen on, 166, 168. + + Seligenstadt, Einhard at, 109. + + Selwood, Alfred at, 184. + + Senlis, meeting of Frankish magnates at, 178. + + Sens, given over to Northmen to plunder, 171. + + Septimania, conquered by Childebert, 57. + + Septuagint, 192. + + Serfs, fugitive, 138. + + Sergius II., 158. + + Senlac (see Hastings). + + Siegfred, leads siege of Paris, 168. + + Siena, Council of, 395. + + Sigibert the Lame, slain by son's agents, 57. + + Sigismund, appealed to by John XXIII., 391. + + Simony, 261; + Henry IV.'s councilors condemned for, 264. + + Slander, in the Salic law, 64. + + Slavery, among the early Germans, 31. + + Slavs, location in Charlemagne's day, 330; + German encroachment upon, 331. + + Sluys, naval battle of, 424-427. + + Soana, Hildebrand born at, 261. + + Soissons, capital of Syagrius's kingdom, 51; + Clovis defeats Syagrius at, 51; + episode of the broken vase, 51-52; + Pepin the Short anointed at, 107; + council at, 381. + + _Solidus_, value, 61. + + Spain, invaded by Northmen, 166. + + Spanish March, annexed to Charlemagne's kingdom, 115. + + _Speculum Perfectionis_ (by Brother Leo), quoted, 368-373. + + Speyer, Henry IV. flees from, 274. + + Stamford, English barons meet at, 300. + + Stamford Bridge, Harold Hardrada defeated at, 234. + + Stephen, abbot of Citeaux, 254. + + Stephen III., crowns Pepin the Short, 106. + + Stephen IX., 261. + + Stephen of Blois, sketch of, 292; + letter to his wife, 292-296; + recounts experiences of crusaders, 293; + describes siege of Antioch, 293-296. + + Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, 298, 299. + + Strassburg, battle of won by Clovis, 49, 50, 53; + results, 53-54; + oaths of Charles and Louis at, 150, 152-154; + linguistic and historical significance, 150-151. + + Strassfurt, Frankish assembly at, 142. + + Students, privileges granted to by Frederick I., 341-343; + by Philip Augustus, 343-345; + itinerant character of, 351-352; + songs of, 353-359. + + Subasio, Mount, St. Francis seeks seclusion at, 370. + + Suetonius, 34; + as model for Einhard, 109. + + Suevi, described by Caesar, 21. + + Swanwich, Danes defeated at, 183. + + Syagrius, "king of the Romans," 50-51; + defeated by Clovis at Soissons, 51; + takes refuge with Alaric, 51; + surrendered and put to death, 51. + + Sylvester II. (Gerbert), 283. + + Syria, overrun by Arabs, 282; + partially recovered, 282; + conquered by Seljuk Turks, 282; + described by Pope Urban, 286; + crusaders in, 293-296. + + + Tacitus, describes the Germans in his _Germania_, 23-31; + sources of information, 23; + object in writing, 23-24. + + Tartary, Khan of, sends deputation to St. Louis, 316-317. + + Taxation, not developed among the early Germans, 29. + + Templars, in England, 299; + Turks attack, 319. + + Tertullian, 72. + + Tescelin, father of St. Bernard, 251. + + Teutoberg Forest, Varus defeated at, 32. + + _Teutones_, 32. + + Thames, Danes appear on, 181. + + Thanet, Saxons appear at, 69; + conceded to them by Vortigern, 70; + population, 75; + Augustine lands at, 75. + + Theft, in the Salic law, 62; + Charlemagne's legislation on, 141. + + Thiebault, count palatine of Troyes, grants fief to Jocelyn + d'Avalon, 216. + + Thrace, selected as a haven by the Visigoths, 35; + conceded to them by Valens, 36. + + Toulouges, Council of, decrees Peace and Truce of God, 229-232. + + Toulouse, Visigothic capital, 51; + Syagrius takes refuge at, 51. + + Tours, Gregory, bishop of, 47-48; + monastery and shrine of St. Martin at, 48; + Alaric and Clovis meet near, 55; + monastery at dedicated to St. Martin, 83; + truce of, 439. + + Towns, lack of among the early Germans, 29; + prevalence in Graeco-Roman world, 29; + use of in France, 325; + origins of, 325-326; + classes of, 326-327; + charter of Laon, 327-328; + charter of Lorris, 328-330. + + Trajan, wars in the Rhine country, 23. + + Trespass, in the Salic law, 65. + + Tribur, conference of German nobles at, 274-275. + + _Trivium_, 145, 339. + + Troyes, county of, 215. + + Troyes, treaty of, negotiated, 440-441; + provisions of, 443. + + Truce of God, decreed by church councils, 229; + decree of Council of Toulouges, 229-232; + reissued by Council of Clermont, 286. + + Turks, Seljuk, invasions of, 282; + ravages depicted by Pope Urban, 285; + defeated by crusaders, 293; + attack the Templars, 318; + operations against St. Louis, 318-322. + + + _Unam Sanctam_, issued by Boniface VIII., 383-385; + quoted, 385-388. + + Universities, origins of in Middle Ages, 339; + patronage of by Church and temporal powers, 340; + privileges granted to students by Frederick I., 341-343; + by Philip Augustus, 343-345; + rise in Germany, 345; + charter of Heidelberg, 345-350; + student songs, 351-359. + + Unstrutt, Henry IV.'s victory at, 265. + + Urban II., appealed to by Alexius Comnenus, 283; + speech at Clermont, 283-288; + appeal to the French, 284-285; + enumerates reasons for a crusade, 285-287; + results of speech, 287-288. + + Urban VI., approves foundation of University of Heidelberg, 346; + elected pope, 389; + Wyclif's letter to, 475-477. + + + Valens, Visigoths send embassy to, 35; + flattered into acceding to their request, 36; + seeks to quell Visigothic uprising, 37-38; + rash resolve to attack, 38; + defeat, 41. + + Valentinian I., 35. + + Valentinian III., 69. + + Varus, defeated at the Teutoberg Forest, 32. + + Vassalage, origins, 204-205; + relations with _patrocinium_ and _comitatus_, 205; + commendation defined, 205; + formula for commendation, 205-206; + relation to benefice, 207; + obligations of, 220-221. + + Vecta, 71. + + Venice, treaty of, 399. + + Verden, massacre of Saxons at, 117. + + Verdun, treaty of, 154-156; + territorial division by, 155. + + _Vicarius_, functions, 176. + + Victgilsus, 71. + + Vienna, University of, founded, 345. + + Villages, among the early Germans, 30. + + _Villes franches_, nature of, 326-327. + + _Villes libres_, nature of, 326; + Laon as an example, 327-328. + + Vincennes, 323. + + Viscount, functions, 176. + + Visigoths, invasion of the Roman Empire described by Ammianus + Marcellinus, 32-41; + receive Dacia from Aurelian, 33; + threatened by the Huns, 33; + select Thrace as a haven, 35; + send embassy to Valens, 35; + receive the desired permission, 36; + cross the Danube, 36-37; + terms of the settlement, 37; + mistreated by the Romans, 37; + rise in revolt, 37; + Valens resolves to attack, 38; + advance toward Nice, 38; + defeat the Romans at Adrianople, 39-41; + Alaric, king of, 51, 54-55; + defeated by Clovis, 56; + Amalaric, king of, retreats to Spain, 56; + new capital at Toledo, 56. + + _Vita Caroli Magni_ (by Einhard), purpose, 109; + value, 109; + translation of, 109, 116; + quoted, 109-114, 116-118. + + _Vitae Pontificorum Romanorum_, quoted, 133-134. + + Vortigern, king of the Britons, 68; + invites Saxons into Britain, 69. + + Vortimer, 71. + + Vulcan, worshipped by the Germans, 21, 26. + + Vouille, Clovis defeats Alaric at, 56. + + Vulgate, 193; + origin of, 468. + + + Wager of battle, discouraged by the Church, 197. + + Wales, Christianity in, 72. + + Wardship, nature of, 224; + conditions of prescribed by Norman custom, 224-225; + conditions of defined in Great Charter, 306. + + Warfare, of the early Germans, 22, 25-26, 28-29; + of the Huns, 45; + prevalence in feudal times, 228-229; + efforts to restrict, 229; + decline of feudal, 428. + + Weapons, of the early Germans, 24; + of the Huns, 45. + + Wedmore, treaty of, 185. + + Wends, 158, 159, 160. + + Werfrith, bishop of Worcester, 189; + Alfred's letter to, 191-194. + + Wergeld, 65; + in the Salic law, 67, 141. + + Werwulf, of Mercia, 190. + + Westminster, William the Conqueror wears crown at, 242. + + Widukind, account of Saxon conquest, 116. + + William of Aquitaine, letter of Fulbert of Chartres to, 220-221. + + William the Conqueror, power as duke of Normandy, 233; + claims to throne of England, 234; + prepares to invade England, 234; + makes ready for battle, 236; + his strategem at Hastings, 236-237; + his valor in battle, 237; + his government described in the Saxon Chronicle, 241-244; + religious zeal, 242; + extent of his authority, 243; + forest laws, 244. + + William, count of Flanders, homage and fealty to, 218-219. + + William of Holland, claimant to imperial title, 334. + + William of Jumieges, 165. + + William of Malmesbury, sketch of, 235; + author of _Chronicle of the Kings of England_, 235, 288. + + William the Pious, issues charter for monastery at Cluny, 245; + motives for benefaction, 247; + land and other property ceded, 247-248. + + William of St. Thierry, biographer of St. Bernard, 251, 258. + + Wilton, Alfred fights the Danes at, 182. + + Winchester, William the Conqueror wears crown at, 242; + King John holds court at, 299. + + Witan, 194. + + Witchcraft, in the Salic law, 64. + + Woden, 26, 49, 50, 71, 72, 119, 197. + + Worcester, Werfrith, bishop of, 189. + + Worms, 154; + council at decrees that Gregory VII. should abdicate, 270; + diet at, 279; + Concordat of, 279-281; + Rhine League formed at, 335; + with Mainz, to be League's capital, 337; + jurisdiction of bishop of over University of Heidelberg, 348, + 350. + + Wyclif, career of, 474-475. + + + Zacharias, consulted by Pepin the Short, 106; + advises him to take title of king, 107. + + Zaid, collects sayings of Mohammed, 97. + + + + +ESSENTIALS IN MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN HISTORY + +From Charlemagne to the Present Day + +By SAMUEL BANNISTER HARDING, Ph.D., Professor of European History, +Indiana University, in consultation with ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D., +Professor of History, Harvard University. + +$1.50 + +Essentials in Mediaeval History $1.00 + +The difficulties usually encountered in treating mediaeval and modern +history are here overcome by an easy and satisfactory method. By this +plan Italy, France, Germany, and England are taken up in turn as each +becomes the central figure on the world's stage. The first part of the +book is devoted to the period previous to the Reformation; the second +to modern history from the Reformation to the French Revolution; and +the remainder to the century and a quarter since the occurrence of +that great event. This arrangement gives an opportunity to discuss the +greatness of England, the unification of Italy and of Germany, and the +present organization of Europe under control of the concert of powers, +on the same plane as the Crusades, or the Thirty Years' War, or the +age of Louis XIV. + +The three most difficult problems in mediaeval history--the feudal +state, the church, and the rivalry between the empire and the +church--are here discussed with great clearness and brevity. The +central idea of the book is the development of the principle of +national independence in both politics and religion from the earlier +condition of a world empire. + +For the convenience of those wishing a text-book on Mediaeval +History alone, the period from Charlemagne to the close of the +fifteenth century is issued in separate form. + + + + +FISHER'S BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NATIONS + +By GEORGE PARK FISHER, LL.D., Emeritus Professor in Yale University + +$1.50 + +This is an entirely independent work, written, expressly to meet the +demand for a compact and acceptable text-book on General History for +secondary schools and lower classes in colleges. Some of the +distinctive qualities which will commend this book to teachers and +students are as follows: + +It narrates in fresh, vigorous, and attractive style the most +important facts of history in their due order and connection. It +explains the nature of historical evidence, and records only well +established judgments respecting persons and events. It delineates the +progress of peoples and nations in civilization as well as the rise +and succession of dynasties. + +It connects, in a single chain of narration, events related to each +other in the contemporary history of different nations and countries. +It is written from the standpoint of the present, and incorporates the +latest discoveries of historical explorers and writers. + +It is illustrated by numerous colored maps, genealogical tables, and +artistic reproductions of architecture, sculpture, painting, and +portraits of celebrated men, representing every period of the world's +history. + + +FISHER'S OUTLINES OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY + +Revised, $2.40 + +Also published in three parts, price, each, $1.00. Part I, Ancient +History. Part II, Mediaeval History. Part III, Modern History. + +A new and revised edition of this standard work. Soon after the +publication of the first edition of this history the author was +honored by the University of Edinburgh with the degree of Doctor of +Laws, in recognition of his services in the cause of historical +research. In this edition the book is brought fully up to date in all +particulars. + + + + +ESSENTIALS IN ANCIENT HISTORY + +From the Earliest Records to Charlemagne. By ARTHUR MAYER WOLFSON, +Ph.D., First Assistant in History, DeWitt Clinton High School, New +York. In consultation with ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D., Professor of +History, Harvard University + +$1.50 + +This volume belongs to the Essentials in History Series, which follows +the plan recommended by the Committee of Seven, and adopted by the +College Entrance Examination Board, and by the New York State +Education Department. The pedagogic apparatus is amply sufficient for +any secondary school. + +The essentials in ancient history are presented as a unit, beginning +with the earliest civilization in the East, and ending with the +establishment of the Western Empire by Charlemagne. More attention is +paid to civilization than to mere constitutional development, the +latter being brought out in the narrative, rather than as a series of +separate episodes. + +A departure has been made from the time-honored method of carrying +the subject down to the end of Greek political life before beginning +the story of Rome. The history of the two civilizations is not +entirely distinct; hence, it has seemed wise, after completing the +account of the life and work of Alexander, to tell the story of the +beginnings of Rome. Afterwards the history of the East is resumed, and +carried on to the point where it merges into that of Rome. Should any +teacher, however, prefer the old method of treating the two nations, +he has only to take up Chapters XXIV and XXV before Chapters XVIII to +XXIII. The Roman Empire, a very important but much neglected period of +history, is brought out in its just proportions, and with reference to +the events which had the greatest influence. + + + + +ESSENTIALS IN AMERICAN HISTORY + +From the Discovery to the Present Day. By ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D., +Professor of History, Harvard University + +$1.50 + +Professor Hart was a member of the Committee of Seven, and +consequently is exceptionally qualified to supervise the preparation +of a series of text-books which carry out the ideas of that Committee. +The needs of secondary schools, and the entrance requirements to all +colleges, are fully met by the Essentials in History Series. + +This volume reflects in an impressive manner the writer's broad +grasp of the subject, his intimate knowledge of the relative +importance of events, his keen insight into the cause and effect of +each noteworthy occurrence, and his thorough familiarity with the most +helpful pedagogical features--all of which make the work unusually +well suited to students. + +The purpose of the book is to present an adequate description of all +essential things in the upbuilding of the country, and to supplement +this by good illustrations and maps. Political geography, being the +background of all historical knowledge, is made a special topic, while +the development of government, foreign relations, the diplomatic +adjustment of controversies, and social and economic conditions have +been duly emphasized. + +All sections of the Union, North, East, South, West, and Far West, +have received fair treatment. Much attention is paid to the causes and +results of our various wars, but only the most significant battles and +campaigns have been described. The book aims to make distinct the +character and public services of some great Americans, brief accounts +of whose lives are given in special sections of the text. Towards the +end a chapter sums up the services of America to mankind. + + + + +ESSENTIALS IN ENGLISH HISTORY + +From the Earliest Records to the Present Day. By ALBERT PERRY WALKER, +A.M., Master in History, English High School, Boston. In consultation +with ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D., Professor of History, Harvard +University + +$1.50 + +Like the other volumes of the Essentials in History Series, this +text-book is intended to form a year's work in secondary schools, +following out the recommendation of the Committee of Seven, and +meeting the requirements of the College Entrance Examination Board, +and of the New York State Education Department. It contains the same +general features, the same pedagogic apparatus, and the same topical +method of treatment. The text is continuous, the sectional headings +being placed in the margin. The maps and illustrations are worthy of +special mention. + +The book is a model of good historical exposition, unusually clear +in expression, logical and coherent in arrangement, and accurate in +statement. The essential facts in the development of the British +Empire are vividly described, and the relation of cause and effect is +clearly brought out. + +The treatment begins with a brief survey of the whole course of +English history, deducing therefrom three general movements: (1) the +fusing of several races into the English people; (2) the solution by +that people of two great problems: free and democratic home +government, and practical, enlightened government of foreign +dependencies; and (3) the extreme development of two great fields of +industry, commerce and manufacture. The narrative follows the +chronological order, and is full of matter which is as interesting as +it is significant, ending with a masterly summary of England's +contribution to civilization. + + + + +NINETEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH PROSE + +Critical Essays + +Edited with Introductions and Notes by THOMAS H. DICKINSON, Ph.D., and +FREDERICK W. ROE, A.M., Assistant Professors of English, University of +Wisconsin. + +$1.00 + +This book for college classes presents a series of ten selected +essays, which are intended to trace the development of English +criticism in the nineteenth century. The choice of material has been +influenced by something more than mere style. An underlying coherence +in content, typical of the thought of the era in question, may be +traced throughout. With but few exceptions the selections are given in +their entirety. + +The essays cover a definite period, and exhibit the individuality of +each author's method of criticism. In each case they are those most +typical of the author's critical principles, and at the same time +representative of the critical tendencies of his age. 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Though the essays are in chronological order, they may be +treated at random according to the purposes of the teacher. + + + + +INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE + +By JAMES WILFORD GARNER, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, +University of Illinois + +$2.50 + +This systematic treatise on the science of government covers a wider +range of topics on the nature, origin, organization, and functions of +the state than is found in any other college textbook published in the +English language. 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