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diff --git a/48870-8.txt b/48870-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 405047c..0000000 --- a/48870-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4790 +0,0 @@ - Early Lives of Charlemagne - - - - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 -http://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you are not located in the United -States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are -located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Early Lives of Charlemagne by Eginhard and the Monk of St Gall - edited by Prof. A. J. Grant -Author: Einhard and Notker Balbulus -Release Date: May 03, 2015 [EBook #48870] -Language: English -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY LIVES OF CHARLEMAGNE *** - - - - -Produced by Andrew Dunning. - -Created from scans by Robarts Library, University of Toronto, available -through the Internet Archive. - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - -The notes, keyed to line numbers in the source edition, have been -converted to footnotes. Their position has been corrected as necessary. -Minor emendations have been made to punctuation and spelling. Running -heads and the publisher's catalogue have been omitted. - - - - -THE KING'S CLASSICS - - - - - -EARLY LIVES OF -CHARLEMAGNE - - - - - [Illustration: Charlemagne] - - From a bronze statuette in the Musée Carnavalet. Paris - - - - -EARLY LIVES OF -CHARLEMAGNE BY -EGINHARD AND THE -MONK OF ST GALL -EDITED BY PROF. -A. J. GRANT - - - - -ALEXANDER MORING LIMITED THE -DE LA MORE PRESS 32 GEORGE -STREET HANOVER SQUARE -LONDON W 1905 - - - - - _A lui finit la dissolution de l'ancien - monde, à lui commence l'édification - du monde moderne._ - - _Lavallée_ - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -*The two "Lives" contrasted.*--This volume contains two lives of Charles -the Great, or Charlemagne (for both forms of the name will be used -indifferently in this introduction); both written within a century after -his death; both full of admiration for the hero of whom they treat; both -written by ecclesiastics; but resembling one another in hardly any other -particular. It is not merely the value which each in its different way -possesses, but also the great contrast between them, that makes it seem -useful to present them together in a single volume. Professor Bury -remarked in his inaugural lecture at Cambridge: "It would be a most -fruitful investigation to trace from the earliest ages the history of -public opinion in regard to the meaning of falsehood and the obligation -of veracity"; and these two lives would form an interesting text for the -illustration of such a treatise. The restrained, positive, well-arranged -narrative of Eginhard seems to belong to a different age from the -garrulous, credulous, and hopelessly jumbled story of the Monk of Saint -Gall. And yet the two narratives were divided from one another by no -long interval of time. It is impossible to fix with any certainty the -date of the composition of Eginhard's life, but there are various -indications which make 820 a not impossible date. An incident mentioned -by the Monk of Saint Gall makes the task of dating his work within -limits an easier one. The work was suggested to him, he tells us, by -Charles III. when he stayed for three days at the Monastery of Saint -Gall, and it is possible to fix this event, with precision, to the year -883. We may think, therefore, of the Monk's narrative as being separated -from that of Eginhard by more than sixty years, and by about seventy -from the death of its hero. But in the ninth century the mist of legend -and myth steamed up rapidly from the grave of a well-known figure; there -were few documents ready to the hand of a monk writing in the cloister -of Saint Gall to assist him in writing an accurate narrative; there was -no publicity of publication and no critical public to detect the errors -of his work; above all, there was not in his own conscience the -slightest possibility of reproach even if, with full consciousness of -what he was doing, he changed the facts of history or interpolated the -dreams of fancy, provided it were done in such a manner as "to point a -moral or adorn a tale." - -And so it is that, whereas through Eginhard's narrative we look at the -life of the great Charles in a clear white light, through a medium -which, despite a few inaccuracies, distorts the facts of history -wonderfully little, when we take up the narrative of the Monk, on the -other hand, we are at once among the clouds of dreamland; and only -occasionally does the unsubstantial fabric fade, and allow us to get a -glimpse of reality and actual occurrence. But now each of these -narratives demands a somewhat more careful scrutiny. - -*Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne* is a document of the first importance -for the study of the epoch-making reign of his hero. Short as it is, we -have often to confess that in the chronicles of the same period by other -hands we can feel confidence only in such parts as are corroborated or -supported by Eginhard. Its chief fault is that it is all too short--a -fault which biographers rarely allow their readers to complain of. But -when we consider how admirably fitted Eginhard was for the task which he -undertook--by his close proximity to Charlemagne, by his intimate -acquaintance with him, by his literary studies and sober and -well-balanced mind; when we remember that he lived in a brief period of -literary activity between two long stretches of darkness--it is -tantalising to find him complaining of the multiplicity of books and -restraining himself with a quotation from Cicero from writing at greater -length. - -*The Career of Eginhard.*--A sketch of Eginhard's career will show how -well qualified he was to deal with his subject. He was born about 770, -in the eastern half of the territories belonging to the great Charles, -in a village situate on the lower course of the river Main. His father -Eginhard and his mother Engilfrita were landowners of some importance, -and endowed by will the monastery of Fulda with lands and gold. It was -to this monastery that the young Eginhard was sent for education. The -monastery of Fulda was founded under the influence of Boniface, the -great Englishman, whose zeal had driven him from Crediton, in -Devonshire, to co-operate with the early Frankish kings in the -conversion and conquest of Germany. The monastic movement was strong and -vigorous in the eighth century, and nowhere more so than in the eastern -half of the Frankish dominions. Eginhard was trained under the Abbot -Baugulfus, and showed himself so apt and promising a pupil that the -Abbot recommended him for a post at the Court of Charles (? 791). - -The imperial crown was still nearly ten years distant, but Charles was -already the most glorious and powerful of European rulers. In spite of -all his constant fighting and travelling his extraordinary energy found -place for interest in calmer subjects, and he gathered round him in his -Court at Aix the best of what the age had to show in culture, knowledge, -and eloquence. In this circle the most striking figure was Alcuin of -York; but Eginhard soon made for himself a position of importance. -Charles lived familiarly and genially with the scholars and writers of -his palace, calling them by pet names and nicknames, and receiving the -like in return. The King himself was David; Alcuin, Flaccus; Eginhard is -called Bezaleel, after the man of whom we are told in Exodus, chapter -xxxi., that he was "filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in -understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to -devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and -in cutting of stones, and in carving of timber." As the allusion -implies, Eginhard was no mere book-learned scholar, but had brought from -his monastery school much technical and artistic knowledge. He has been -called an architect, and many great buildings have been ascribed to him, -but with more than doubtful probability. The minor arts were rather -Eginhard's forte, though it seems impossible to define them. -Contemporaries speak of his carefully-wrought works, of the many tasks -in which he was useful to Charles, but without exact specification. A -contemporary document speaks of him as supervising the palace works at -Aix; or rather, one Ansegisus is described as "the executant of the -royal works in the royal palace at Aix, under the direction of the Abbot -Eginhard, a man possessed of every kind of learning." - -He was of small stature, and this is often made good-humoured fun of by -his fellow-scholars. He is called the dwarf, the midget, the mannikin. -Theodulf describes him as running about with the activity of an ant, and -his body is spoken of as a small house with a great tenant. He married -Imma, a Frankish lady of good family. (It is merely a stupid legend that -makes of her a daughter of Charlemagne.) He lived with her happily, and -was inconsolable after her death. Before his wife's death and without -putting her away from him, he had embraced the monastic life--a -proceeding which in no way scandalised the ideas of that century. He was -the abbot of many monasteries, which he held, in spite of the canonical -prohibition, at the same time. Saint Peter of Ghent and Saint Wandrille, -near Rouen, are those with which he is specially associated. He was on -several occasions employed by Charles on important embassies, but was -for the most part rather his secretary and confidant than his minister. - -His great master died in 814, and Eginhard survived him for twenty-nine -years, having lived long enough to see the mighty fabric of Charles's -empire show signs of the rapid ruin that was soon to overtake it. He -received from Lewis the Pious further ecclesiastical promotion, but -still lived at the Court until 830. After that year his devotion to the -Church mastered all other interests. He built a church at Mulinheim, and -procured for it with great pains the relics of Saint Peter and Saint -Marcellinus from Rome; and it was at Mulinheim, renamed Seligenstadt -(the city of the saints), far from the intrigues of courts, that he -passed most of the rest of his life. His wife Imma ("once my faithful -wife, and later my dear sister and companion") died in 836, and -Eginhard's deep sorrow at her loss finds pathetic expression in letters -still extant. The political confusion and the utter failure of -Charlemagne's plans must have increased Eginhard's distaste for public -affairs. He died at Seligenstadt (probably in 844). His epitaph gave as -his two titles to fame his services to Charlemagne and his acquisition -of the precious relics. - -*The Writings of Eginhard* that have come down to us are--(1) the Life -of Charlemagne; (2) the Annals; (3) Letters; (4) the History of the -Translation of the Relics of Saint Peter and Saint Marcellinus; (5) a -short poem on the martyrdom of these two saints. These writings are all, -with the possible exception of the last mentioned, of high value and -interest, but the Life of Charlemagne is by far the most celebrated and -important. - -*The Life of Charlemagne* is the most striking result of the Classical -Renaissance so diligently fostered at the Court of Charlemagne by the -Emperor himself. Its form is directly copied from the Lives of the -Cæsars by Suetonius, and especially from the Life of Augustus in that -series. Phrases are constantly borrowed, and in some cases whole -sentences. This imitation of Suetonius has its good and its bad results. -It necessarily removed Eginhard's work from the category of mediæval -chronicles, with their garrulity, their reckless inventions, their -humour, their desire to please, to amuse, and to glorify their hero, -their order, or their monastery. Eginhard's Life is not without -mistakes, some of which are pointed out in the notes; but it is an -honest, direct record of facts, and for these characteristics we are, -doubtless, largely indebted to Suetonius' influence. On the other hand, -it was the example of his classical model that induced him to keep his -work within such narrow limits. Compression was forced upon the Roman -historian by the scope of his work, which embraced the lives of twelve -emperors; and the life and reign of Augustus had already been fully -handled by other historians. But Eginhard knew so much, and so little of -equal value is written about his hero elsewhere, that his brevity is, -for once, a quality hardly pardonable. Along with Asser's Alfred and -Boccaccio's Dante it gives us an instance of a biographer who did not -sufficiently magnify his office and his subject. - -No other account of the Life and Reign of Charlemagne can find a place -here. For some time English readers had reason to complain that there -was no good and popular book dealing with the great Charles, for -Gibbon's chapter is admittedly not among the best parts of his history. -But of late this reproach has been taken away. The two concluding -volumes of Dr Hodgkin's great work, entitled "Italy and her Invaders," -deal with Charles and his relations with Italy (vols. vii. and viii. -"The Frankish Invasions" and "The Frankish Empire"). Dr Hodgkin has also -written a general sketch of the whole of Charles's career ("Charles the -Great." Foreign Statesmen Series. Macmillan). More recently, Mr Carless -Davis has written a "Life of Charlemagne" for the Heroes of the Nations -Series. - -It is in works such as these (to mention no others) and not in Eginhard -that the real historical significance of Charlemagne's life-work -appears. Eginhard stood too near to his hero, and had too little sense -of historical perspective to realise the abiding greatness of what -Charles accomplished. It is the lapse of 1100 years that has brought -into increasing clearness the importance of those years which lie like a -great watershed between the ancient and the mediæval world. Of him, as -of most great rulers, it is true that he "builded better than he knew." -His empire soon became a tradition, his intellectual revival was -eclipsed by a further plunge into the "Dark Ages," but all that he did -was not swept away. With him ends the ruin of the ancient world, and -with him begins the building up of the mediæval and modern world. - -He did not find in Eginhard an entirely worthy biographer; but the -"mannikin's" work has received unstinted praise since the time when it -was written. It was praised by a contemporary as recalling the elegance -of the classical authors; its popularity during the Middle Ages is -attested to by the existence of sixty manuscript copies; and a French -editor has declared that we have to go on to the thirteenth century, and -to Joinville's Life of St Louis, before we find a rival in importance to -Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne. - -*The Monk of Saint Gall*, it seems, must remain anonymous, for the -attempt to identify him with Notker rests on no better foundation than -the fact, or supposition, that both stammered. And this seems to be -supposition rather than fact. We are, indeed, told on good authority -that Notker stammered; but the view that the Monk of Saint Gall suffered -from the same defect rests only on a sentence in Chapter XVII., where he -contrasts the swift, direct glance of others with his own slow and -rambling narrative--"Which I have been trying to unfold, though a -stammerer, and toothless" ("quæ ego _balbus et edentalus_ explicare -tentavi"). It seems impossible to think that the words here must be -taken in their literal sense. As the author is writing, not speaking, -any defect of voice or teeth would in no way hinder his narrative: it is -clear that the words are a piece of conventional and metaphorical -depreciation. - -We know, then, nothing of the author beyond what he tells us in his -narrative; and he tells us little, except that he was a German, and a -monk in the Monastery of Saint Gall when Grimald and Hartmuth were -abbots; that he had never himself been in Western Frankland, but had -seen the Emperor Charles III. during his three days' stay in the -monastery, and at his bidding had written an account of Charles the -Great, and his deeds and ways. - -The monastery in which he wrote has a special interest for our islands; -for Saint Gall was an Irishman of noble family, and an inmate of a -monastery in County Down, which was at that time governed by Saint -Comgel. He was one of the twelve monks who in 585 followed Saint -Columban into Frankland. Switzerland was the great scene of his -evangelical labours. The Catholic Church celebrates his death on the -16th October; and tells in the _Lectiones_ of that day how he destroyed -the idols of the heathen; how he turned many to Christianity, and, even -to the monastic life; how he founded the Monastery of Saint Gall in his -eighty-fifth year, and died at the age of ninety-five, having previously -been warned in a dream of the death of his master, Saint Columban; and -how at once miracles declared that a saint had passed away. His -monastery for a century followed the rule of Saint Columban, and then, -in common with most monastic institutions of Western Europe, adopted the -rule of Saint Benedict. - -It was in the famous abbey, that owed its foundation to this Irish -missionary, that this account of the deeds of Charlemagne--the Gesta -Karoli--was written. The author is at more pains than we should expect -to tell us from what sources he derived his information. The preface to -the work is lost; but at the end of the first book he repeats some of -the information that he had inserted in it. It was his intention, he -informs us, to follow three authorities, and three authorities only; but -of these three he seems to mention two only--Werinbert, a monk of Saint -Gall, who died just as he was completing the first part; and Adalbert, -the father of Werinbert, who followed Kerold, the brother of Queen -Hildigard, in the wars that were fought, under Charlemagne's banner, -against the Huns and the Saxons and Slavs. It is an amusing picture that -he gives us, at the end of the first book, of Adalbert's anxiety to tell -him of Charles's exploits and his own unwillingness to hear. It is to be -presumed that the stories were often repeated, for not only facts but -words seem to have remained in the mind of the unwilling listener. The -third authority does not seem to be mentioned, unless he means to imply -that Kerold himself (who was killed in an expedition against the Avars -in 799) is one of his sources of information. - -The whole of what the Monk of Saint Gall wrote is not left to us. The -preface, as we have seen, is missing, and also, perhaps, a third book; -for in the sixteenth chapter of the second book it seems that our author -promises us an account of the habits of Charles, his _cotidiana -conversatio,_ when the story of his military exploits has been finished. -But this may easily be a misunderstanding of his meaning; or, rather, it -may be giving too great a precision to it. The good Monk is so little -able to follow out any line of thought, or to maintain any arrangement, -that it may well be that the "daily conversation" of Charles never -received any separate treatment. - -No attempt will be made here to estimate the historical value of the -narrative, though it would be a matter of curious speculation to -consider whether the critical historian can employ any method whereby a -residuum of objective fact can be separated from the mass of legend, -saga, invention, and reckless blundering of which the greater part of -the book is made up. But, apart from any value which it may possess as a -historical document, the Monk's story is of great interest for the light -which it throws on the methods and outlook of a monk of the early Middle -Ages. Charles has been dead not much more than half-a-century; the -author has talked familiarly with those who knew him and fought under -him; and yet the Charlemagne legend has already begun. Charles is -already, if not inspired, at least supernaturally wise; if he does not -work miracles, miracles are wrought in his presence, and on his behalf; -if he does not yet lead the armies of Christendom to Jerusalem, he is -already the specially recognised protector of the Holy City. There are -passages too, as, for instance, the account of the visit of the envoys -of the Greek Emperor, and Charles's "iron-march to Pavia," where we seem -to detect the existence of a popular saga--a poem--underlying the prose -narrative. With the help of M. Gaston Paris's "_Histoire Poétique de -Charlemagne,_" we can trace the further development of the legend. By -the eleventh century Charles was already a martyr for the faith, and the -Crusaders believed themselves to be passing along his route to -Jerusalem. "Turpin's" chronicle, in the eleventh century, shows the vast -extension of the legend, which now loses all but the vaguest relation to -the actual events of history and the real characteristics of Charles. In -the twelfth century (1165) Charles was solemnly canonised; and -thenceforward the story spread into all lands, and received its last -stroke in the time of the Renaissance, at the hands of Pulci, Boiardo, -and Ariosto. These poets chiefly concern themselves, however, with the -paladins of Charles; and the King himself forms the dimly-conceived -centre, round whom the whole story revolves, deciding disputes, -besieging the Turks in Paris, priest-like rather than royal in his main -features, and by Ariosto treated with some irony and banter. These -mediæval legends of Charlemagne may well be compared to those which deal -with Virgil, whose transformation into a magician is not less remarkable -than Charles's development into a saint. If the Charlemagne legend ends -with Ariosto, Dante may be said to have given the last shape to the many -transformations of Virgil, when, more than two centuries before -Ariosto's "Orlando," Virgil acted as guide to Dante through the "lost -folk" of the Inferno, and the toilsome ascent of Purgatory, until he -handed him over at last into the keeping of Beatrice at the gate of the -earthly Paradise. - -Story and myth naturally attach themselves only to the greatest figures; -and the Monk of Saint Gall's narrative becomes then, even by virtue of -its inventions and unrealities, a testimony to the effect produced on -the mind of his century by the career of Charles. - -Both the life of Eginhard and the Monk's narrative have been translated -from Jaffe's "Bibliotheca Rerum Germanicarum"; which, both in its -reading and arrangement, differs at times considerably from the text -given in Pertz's "Monumenta Germaniæ Historica." - - - - -CONTENTS - - - - -_INTRODUCTION_ . . . . . ix - -_EGINHARD'S LIFE OF CHARLEMAGNE_ . . . . . xxxi - - _The Prologue of Walafrid_ . . . . . 1 - - _The Preface of Eginhard_ . . . . . 4 - -_EGINHARD'S BOOK BEGINS_ (Sec. 1-4) . . . . . 8 - - _Part I._ (Sec. 5-17). His Exploits at Home and Abroad . . . . . - 13 - - _Part II._ (Sec. 18-33). Private Life and Character . . . . . 32 - -_MONK OF ST GALL'S LIFE OF CHARLEMAGNE_ . . . . . 57 - - _Book I._ (Sec. 1-34). His Piety and Care of the Church . . . . - . 59 - - _Book II._ (Sec. 1-20). Wars and Exploits . . . . . 105 - -_NOTES_ . . . . . 161 - -_INDEX_ . . . . . 177 - - - - -THE LIFE OF CHARLEMAGNE BY EGINHARD - - - - -THE PROLOGUE OF WALAFRID[1] - - -The following account of that most glorious Emperor Charles was written, -as is well known, by Eginhard, who amongst all the palace officials of -that time had the highest praise not only for learning but also for his -generally high character; and, as he was himself present at nearly all -the events that he describes, his account has the further advantage of -the strictest accuracy. - -He was born in eastern Frankland, in the district that is called -Moingewi, and it was in the monastery of Fulda, in the school of Saint -Boniface the Martyr, that his boyhood received its first training. -Thence he was sent by Baugolf, the abbot of the monastery, to the palace -of Charles, rather on account of his remarkable talents and -intelligence, which even then gave bright promise of his wisdom that was -to be so famous in later days, than because of any advantage of birth. -Now, Charles was beyond all kings most eager in making search for wise -men and in giving them such entertainment that they might pursue -philosophy in all comfort. Whereby, with the help of God, he rendered -his kingdom, which, when God committed it to him, was dark and almost -wholly blind (if I may use such an expression), radiant with the blaze -of fresh learning, hitherto unknown to our barbarism. But now once more -men's interests are turning in an opposite direction, and the light of -wisdom is less loved, and in most men is dying out. - -And so this little man--for he was mean of stature--gained so much glory -at the Court of the wisdom-loving Charles by reason of his knowledge and -high character that among all the ministers of his royal Majesty there -was scarce anyone at that time with whom that most powerful and wise -King discussed his private affairs more willingly. And, indeed, he -deserved such favour, for not only in the time of Charles, but even more -remarkably in the reign of the Emperor Lewis,[2] when the commonwealth -of the Franks was shaken with many and various troubles, and in some -parts was falling into ruin, he so wonderfully and providentially -balanced his conduct, and, with the protection of God, kept such a watch -over himself, that his reputation for cleverness, which many had envied -and many had mocked at, did not untimely desert him nor plunge him into -irremediable dangers. - -This I have said that all men may read his words without doubting, and -may know that, while he has given great glory to his great leader, he -has also provided the curious reader with the most unsullied truth. - -I, Strabo, have inserted the headings and the decorations[3] as seemed -well to my own judgement that he who seeks for any point may the more -easily find what he desires. - - _Here ends the Prologue_ - - - - -THE LIFE OF THE EMPEROR CHARLES -WRITTEN BY EGINHARD - - -Having made up my mind to write an account of the life and conversation, -and to a large extent of the actions of my lord and patron King Charles, -of great and deservedly glorious memory, I have compressed my task -within the narrowest possible limits. My aim has been on the one hand to -insert everything of which I have been able to find an account; and on -the other to avoid offending the fastidious by telling each new incident -at wearisome length. Above all, I have tried to avoid offending in this -new book those who look down upon even the monuments of antiquity -written by learned and eloquent men. - -There are, I do not doubt, many men of learning and leisure who feel -that the life of the present day must not be utterly neglected, and that -the doings of our own time should not be devoted to silence and -forgetfulness as wholly unworthy of record; who, therefore, have such -love of fame that they would rather chronicle the great deeds of others -in writings, however poor, than, by abstaining from writing, allow their -name and reputation to perish from the memory of mankind.[4] But, even -so, I have felt that I ought not to hold my hand from the composition of -this book, for I knew that no one could write of these events more -truthfully than I could, since I was myself an actor in them, and, being -present, knew them from the testimony of my own eyes; while I could not -certainly know whether anyone else would write them or no. I thought it -better, therefore, to join with others in committing this story to -writing for the benefit of posterity rather than to allow the shades of -oblivion to blot out the life of this King, the noblest and greatest of -his age, and his famous deeds, which the men of later times will -scarcely be able to imitate. - -Another reason, and not, I think, a foolish one, occurred to me, which -even by itself would have been strong enough to persuade me to -write--the care, I mean, that was taken with my upbringing, and the -unbroken friendship which I enjoyed with the King himself and his -children from the time when first I began to live at his Court. For in -this way he has so bound me to himself, and has made me his debtor both -in life and death, that I should most justly be considered and condemned -as ungrateful if I were to forget all the benefits that he conferred -upon me and were to pass over in silence the great and glorious deeds of -a man who was so kind to me; if I were to allow his life to remain as -unchronicled and unpraised, as if he had never lived, when that life -deserves not merely the efforts of my poor talents, which are -insignificant, small and almost non-existent, but all the eloquence of a -Cicero. - -So here you have a book containing the life of that great and glorious -man. There is nothing for you to wonder at or admire except his deeds; -unless, indeed, it be that I, a barbarian, and little versed in the -Roman tongue,[5] have imagined that I could write Latin inoffensively -and usefully, and have become so swollen with impudence as to despise -Cicero's words when, speaking about Latin writers in the first book of -the Tusculans, he says: "If a man commits his thoughts to paper when he -can neither arrange them well nor write them agreeably, nor furnish -pleasure of any kind to the reader, he is recklessly misusing both his -leisure and his paper." The great orator's opinion would, perhaps, have -deterred me from writing if I had not fortified myself with the -reflection that I ought to risk the condemnation of men, and bring my -poor talents into peril by writing, rather than spare my reputation and -neglect this great man's memory. - - _The Preface ends: the Book begins_ - - - - -The race of the Merovings from which the Franks were accustomed to -choose their kings is reckoned as lasting to King Hilderich,[6] who, by -the order of Stephen, the Roman Pontiff,[7] was deposed, tonsured, and -sent into a monastery. But this race, though it may be regarded as -finishing with him, had long since lost all power, and no longer -possessed anything of importance except the empty royal title. For the -wealth and power of the kingdom was in the hands of the Præfects of the -Court, who were called Mayors of the Palace, and exercised entire -sovereignty. The King, contented with the mere royal title, with long -hair and flowing beard, used to sit upon the throne and act the part of -a ruler, listening to ambassadors, whencesoever they came, and giving -them at their departure, as though of his own power, answers which he -had been instructed or commanded to give. But this was the only function -that he performed, for besides the empty royal title and the precarious -life income which the Præfect of the Court allowed him at his pleasure -he had nothing of his own except one estate with a very small revenue, -on which he had his house, and from which he drew the few servants who -performed such services as were necessary and made him a show of -deference. Wherever he had to go he travelled in a waggon, drawn in -rustic style by a pair of oxen, and driven by a cowherd.[8] In this -fashion he used to go to the palace and to the general meetings of the -people, which were held yearly for the affairs of the kingdom; in this -fashion he returned home. But the Præfect of the Court looked after the -administration of the kingdom and all that had to be done or arranged at -home or abroad. - -2. When Hilderich was deposed Pippin, the father of King Charles, was -performing the duties of Mayor of the Palace as if by hereditary right. -For his father Charles,[9] who put down the tyrants who were claiming -dominion for themselves through all Frankland, and so crushed the -Saracens, when they were attempting to conquer Gaul, in two great -battles (the one in Aquitania, near the city of Poitiers, the other near -Narbonne, on the river Birra), that he forced them to return into -Spain--his father Charles had nobly administered the same office, and -had inherited it from his father Pippin.[10] For the people did not -usually give this honour except to such as were distinguished for the -renown of their family and the extent of their wealth. - -This office, then, was handed down from his father and his grandfather -to Pippin, the father of King Charles, and to his brother Carloman. He -exercised it for some years conjointly with his brother Carloman on -terms of the greatest harmony, still in nominal subordination to the -above-mentioned King Hilderich. But then his brother Carloman, for some -unknown cause, but probably fired with love of the contemplative life, -abandoned the toilsome administration of a temporal kingdom and retired -to Rome in search of peace. There he changed his dress, and, becoming a -monk in the monastery upon Mount Soracte, built near the church of the -blessed Silvester, enjoyed for some years the quiet that he desired, -with many brethren, who joined themselves to him for the same purpose. -But as many of the nobles of Frankland came on pilgrimage to Rome to -perform their vows, and, unwilling to pass by one who had once been -their lord, interrupted the peace that he most desired by frequent -visits, he was compelled to change his abode. For, seeing that the -number of his visitors interfered with his purpose, he left Mount -Soracte and retired to the monastery of Saint Benedict, situated in the -camp of Mount Cassino, in the province of Samnium. There he occupied -what remained to him of this temporal life in religious exercises. - -3. But Pippin, after he was made King instead of Mayor of the Palace by -the authority of the Roman Pontiff, exercised sole rule over the Franks -for fifteen years, or rather more.[11] Then, after finishing the -Aquitanian war, which he had undertaken against Waifar, Duke of -Aquitania, and had carried on for nine consecutive years, he died at -Paris of the dropsy, and left behind him two sons, Charles and Carloman, -to whom by divine will the succession of the kingdom came. For the -Franks called a solemn public assembly, and elected both of them to be -kings, on the understanding that they should equally divide the whole -kingdom, but that Charles should receive for his special administration -that part which his father Pippin had held, while Carloman received the -territories ruled by their uncle Carloman.[12] The conditions were -accepted, and each received the share of the kingdom that was allotted -to him. Harmony was maintained between the two brothers, though not -without difficulty; for many partisans of Carloman tried to break their -alliance, and some even hoped to engage them in war. But the course of -events proved that the danger to Charles was imaginary rather than real. -For, upon the death of Carloman, his wife with her sons and some of the -leading nobles fled to Italy, and, for no obvious reason, passed over -her husband's brother, and placed herself and her children under the -protection of Desiderius, King of the Lombards. Carloman, after ruling -the kingdom for two years conjointly with Charles, died of disease, and -Charles, upon the death of Carloman,[13] was made sole king with the -consent of all the Franks. - -4. It would be foolish of me to say anything about his birth and -infancy,[14] or even about his boyhood, for I can find nothing about -these matters in writing, nor does anyone survive who claims to have -personal knowledge of them. I have decided, therefore, to pass on to -describe and illustrate his acts and his habits and the other divisions -of his life without lingering over the unknown. I shall describe first -his exploits both at home and abroad, then his habits and interests, and -lastly the administration of the kingdom and the end of his reign, -omitting nothing that demands or deserves to be recorded. - - - - -PART I -HIS EXPLOITS AT HOME AND ABROAD - - -5. Of all the wars that he waged that in Aquitania, begun, but not -finished, by his father, was the first that he undertook, because it -seemed easy of accomplishment. His brother was still alive, and was -called upon for assistance, and, though he failed to provide the help -that he promised, Charles prosecuted the enterprise that he had -undertaken with the utmost energy, and would not desist or slacken in -his task before, by perseverance and continuous effort, he had -completely reached the end after which he strove. For he forced -Hunold,[15] who after the death of Waifar had attempted to occupy -Aquitania and renew the almost finished war, to abandon Aquitania and -retire into Gascony. Even there he did not allow him to remain, but -crossed the Garonne, and sent ambassadors to Lupus, Duke of the Gascons, -ordering him to surrender the fugitive, and threatening him with war -unless he did so at once. Lupus, more wisely, not only surrendered -Hunold but also submitted himself and the province over which he -presided to the power of Charles. - -6. When the Aquitanian trouble was settled and the war finished, when, -too, his partner in the kingdom had withdrawn from the world's affairs, -he undertook a war against the Lombards, being moved thereto by the -entreaties and the prayers of Hadrian, Bishop of the City of Rome. Now, -this war, too, had been undertaken by his father at the supplication of -Pope Stephen, under circumstances of great difficulty, inasmuch as -certain of the chiefs of the Franks, whose advice he was accustomed to -ask, so strongly resisted his wishes that they openly declared that they -would leave their King to return home. But now Charles undertook the war -against King Haistulf, and most swiftly brought it to an end. For, -though his reasons for undertaking the war were similar to, and, indeed, -the same as those of his father, he plainly fought it out with a very -different energy, and brought it to a different end. For Pippin, after a -siege of a few days at Pavia, forced King Haistulf to give hostages, and -restore to the Romans the towns and fortresses that he had taken from -them, and to give a solemn promise that he would not attempt to regain -what he had surrendered. But King Charles, when once he had begun the -war, did not stop until he had received the surrender of King -Desiderius, whom he had worn down after a long siege; until he had -forced his son Adalgis, in whom the hopes of his people seemed to be -centred, to fly not only from his kingdom but from Italy; until he had -restored to the Romans all that had been taken from them; until he had -crushed Hruodgausus, Præfect of the Duchy of Friuli, who was attempting -a revolution; until, in fine, he had brought all Italy under his rule, -and placed his son Pippin as king over the conquered country. I should -describe here the difficulties of the passage of the Alps and the vast -toil with which the Franks found their way through the pathless mountain -ridges, the rocks that soared to heaven, and the sharply-pointed cliffs, -if it were not that my purpose in the present work is rather to describe -Charles's manner of life than to chronicle the events of the wars that -he waged. The sum of this war was the conquest of Italy, the -transportation and perpetual exile of King Desiderius, the expulsion of -his son Adalgis from Italy, power taken from the kings of the Lombards -and restored to Hadrian, the Ruler of the Roman Church. - -7. When this war was ended the Saxon war,[16] which seemed dropped for a -time, was taken up again. Never was there a war more prolonged nor more -cruel than this, nor one that required greater efforts on the part of -the Frankish peoples. For the Saxons, like most of the races that -inhabit Germany, are by nature fierce, devoted to the worship of demons -and hostile to our religion, and they think it no dishonour to confound -and transgress the laws of God and man.[17] There were reasons, too, -which might at any time cause a disturbance of the peace. For our -boundaries and theirs touch almost everywhere on the open plain, except -where in a few places large forests or ranges of mountains are -interposed to separate the territories of the two nations by a definite -frontier; so that on both sides murder, robbery, and arson were of -constant occurrence. The Franks were so irritated by these things that -they thought it was time no longer to be satisfied with retaliation but -to declare open war against them. - -So war was declared, and was fought for thirty years continuously with -the greatest fierceness on both sides, but with heavier loss to the -Saxons than the Franks. The end might have been reached sooner had it -not been for the perfidy of the Saxons. It is hard to say how often they -admitted themselves beaten and surrendered as suppliants to King -Charles; how often they promised to obey his orders, gave without delay -the required hostages, and received the ambassadors that were sent to -them. Sometimes they were so cowed and broken that they promised to -abandon the worship of devils and willingly to submit themselves to the -Christian religion.[18] But though sometimes ready to bow to his -commands they were always eager to break their promise, so that it is -impossible to say which course seemed to come more natural to them, for -from the beginning of the war there was scarcely a year in which they -did not both promise and fail to perform. - -But the high courage of the King and the constancy of his mind, which -remained unshaken by prosperity and adversity, could not be conquered by -their changes nor forced by weariness to desist from his undertakings. -He never allowed those who offended in this way to go unpunished, but -either led an army himself, or sent one under the command of his counts, -to chastise their perfidy and inflict a suitable penalty. So that at -last, when all who had resisted had been defeated and brought under his -power, he took ten thousand of the inhabitants of both banks of the -Elbe, with their wives and children, and planted them in many groups in -various parts of Germany and Gaul. And at last the war, protracted -through so many years, was finished on conditions proposed by the King -and accepted by them; they were to abandon the worship of devils, to -turn from their national ceremonies, to receive the sacraments of the -Christian faith and religion, and then, joined to the Franks, to make -one people with them. - -8. In this war, despite its prolongation through so many years, he did -not himself meet the enemy in battle more than twice--once near the -mountain called Osning, in the district of Detmold, and again at the -river Hasa[19]--and both these battles were fought in one month, with an -interval of only a few days. In these two battles the enemy were so -beaten and cowed that they never again ventured to challenge the King -nor to resist his attack unless they were protected by some advantage of -ground. - -In this war many men of noble birth and high office fell on the side -both of the Franks and Saxons. But at last it came to an end in the -thirty-third year, though in the meanwhile so many and such serious wars -broke out against the Franks in all parts of the world, and were carried -on with such skill by the King, that an observer may reasonably doubt -whether his endurance of toil or his good fortune deserves the greater -admiration. For the war in Italy began two years before the Saxon war, -and though it was prosecuted without intermission no enterprise in any -part of the world was dropped, nor was there anywhere a truce in any -struggle, however difficult. For this King, the wisest and most -high-minded of all who in that age ruled over the nations of the world, -never refused to undertake or prosecute any enterprise because of the -labour involved, nor withdrew from it through fear of its danger. He -understood the true character of each task that he undertook or carried -through, and thus was neither broken by adversity nor misled by the -false flatteries of good fortune. - -9. Whilst the war with the Saxons was being prosecuted constantly and -almost continuously he placed garrisons at suitable places on the -frontier, and attacked Spain with the largest military expedition that -he could collect. He crossed the Pyrenees, received the surrender of all -the towns and fortresses that he attacked, and returned with his army -safe and sound, except for a reverse which he experienced through the -treason of the Gascons on his return through the passes of the Pyrenees. -For while his army was marching in a long line, suiting their formation -to the character of the ground and the defiles, the Gascons placed an -ambuscade on the top of the mountain--where the density and extent of -the woods in the neighbourhood rendered it highly suitable for such a -purpose--and then rushing down into the valley beneath threw into -disorder the last part of the baggage train and also the rearguard which -acted as a protection to those in advance. In the battle which followed -the Gascons slew their opponents to the last man. Then they seized upon -the baggage, and under cover of the night, which was already falling, -they scattered with the utmost rapidity in different directions. The -Gascons were assisted in this feat by the lightness of their armour and -the character of the ground where the affair took place. In this battle -Eggihard, the surveyor of the royal table; Anselm, the Count of the -Palace; and Roland, Præfect of the Breton frontier, were killed along -with very many others.[20] Nor could this assault be punished at once, -for when the deed had been done the enemy so completely disappeared that -they left behind them not so much as a rumour of their whereabouts. - -10. He conquered the Bretons, too, who dwelt in the extreme west of -France by the shores of the ocean. They had been disobedient, and he, -therefore, sent against them an expedition, by which they were compelled -to give hostages and promise that they would henceforth obey his orders. - -Then later he himself entered Italy with an army, and, passing through -Rome, came to Capua, a city of Campania. There he pitched his camp, and -threatened the men of Beneventum[21] with war unless they surrendered. -But Aragis, Duke of that people, prevented this war by sending his sons -Rumold and Grimold to meet the King with a large sum of money. He asked -the King to receive his children as hostages, and promised that he and -his people would obey all the commands of the King, except only that he -would not come himself into the King's presence. Charles, considering -rather the advantage of the people than their Duke's obstinacy, received -the hostages who were offered him, and as a great favour consented to -forego a personal interview. He kept the younger of the two children as -a hostage and sent back the elder one to his father. Then he sent -ambassadors to require and receive oaths of fidelity from the -Beneventans and from Aragis, and so came back to Rome. There he spent -some days in the veneration of the holy places, and then returned to -Gaul. - -11. Then the Bavarian war broke out suddenly, and was swiftly ended. It -was caused by the pride and folly of Tassilo,[22] Duke of Bavaria; for -upon the instigation of his wife, who thought that she might revenge -through her husband the banishment of her father Desiderius, King of the -Lombards, he made an alliance with the Huns, the eastern neighbours of -the Bavarians, and not only refused obedience to King Charles but even -dared to challenge him in war. The high courage of the King could not -bear his overweening insolence, and he forthwith called a general levy -for an attack on Bavaria, and came in person with a great army to the -river Lech, which separates Bavaria from Germany. He pitched his camp -upon the banks of the river, and determined to make trial of the mind of -the Duke before he entered the province. But Duke Tassilo saw no profit -either for himself or his people in stubbornness, and threw himself upon -the King's mercy. He gave the hostages who were demanded, his own son -Theodo among the number, and further promised upon oath that no one -should ever persuade him again to fall away from his allegiance to the -King. And thus a war which seemed likely to grow into a very great one -came to a most swift ending. But Tassilo was subsequently summoned into -the King's presence, and was not allowed to return, and the province -that he ruled was for the future committed to the administration not of -dukes but of counts.[23] - -12. When these troubles had been settled he waged war against the Slavs, -whom we are accustomed to call Wilzi, but who properly--that is, in -their own tongue--are called Welatabi. Here the Saxons fought along with -the other allied nations who followed the King's standards, though their -loyalty was feigned and far from sincere. The cause of the war was that -the Wilzi[24] were constantly invading and attacking the Abodriti, the -former allies of the Franks, and refused to obey the King's commands to -desist from their attacks. There is a gulf[25] stretching from the -western sea towards the East, of undiscovered length, but nowhere more -than a hundred miles in breadth, and often much narrower. Many nations -occupy the shores of this sea. The Danes and the Swedes, whom we call -the Northmen, hold its northern shore and all the islands in it. The -Slavs and the Aisti and various other nations inhabit the eastern shore, -amongst whom the chief are these Welatabi against whom then the King -waged war. He so broke and subdued them in a single campaign, conducted -by himself, that they thought it no longer wise to refuse to obey his -commands. - -13. The greatest of all his wars, next to the Saxon war, followed this -one--that, namely, which he undertook against the Huns and the -Avars.[26] He prosecuted this with more vigour than the rest and with a -far greater military preparation. However, he conducted in person only -one expedition into Pannonia, the province then occupied by the Avars; -the management of the rest he left to his son Pippin, and the governors -of the provinces, and in some cases to his counts and lieutenants. These -carried on the war with the greatest energy, and finished it after eight -years of fighting. How many battles were fought there and how much blood -was shed is still shown by the deserted and uninhabited condition of -Pannonia, and the district in which stood the palace of the Kagan[27] is -so desolate that there is not so much as a trace of human habitation. -All the nobles of the Huns were killed in this war, all their glory -passed away; their money and all the treasures that they had collected -for so long were carried away. Nor can the memory of man recall any war -waged against the Franks by which they were so much enriched and their -wealth so increased.[28] Up to this time they were regarded almost as a -poor people, but now so much gold and silver were found in the palace, -such precious spoils were seized by them in their battles, that it might -fairly be held that the Franks had righteously taken from the Huns what -they unrighteously had taken from other nations. Only two of the nobles -of the Franks were killed in this war. Eric, the Duke of Friuli, was -caught in an ambuscade laid by the townsmen of Tharsatica,[29] a -maritime town of Liburnia. And Gerold, the Governor of Bavaria, when he -was marshalling his army to fight with the Huns in Pannonia, was killed -by an unknown hand, along with two others, who accompanied him as he -rode along the line encouraging the soldiers by name. For the rest, the -war was almost bloodless so far as the Franks were concerned, and most -fortunate in its result although so difficult and protracted. - -14. After this the Saxon war ended in a settlement as lasting as the -struggle had been protracted. The wars with Bohemia and Luneburg which -followed were soon over; both of them were swiftly settled under the -command of the younger Charles. - -The last war of all that Charles undertook was against those -Northmen,[30] who are called Danes, who first came as pirates, and then -ravaged the coasts of Gaul and Germany with a greater naval force. Their -King, Godofrid, was puffed up with the vain confidence that he would -make himself master of all Germany. He looked upon Frisia and Saxony as -his own provinces. He had already reduced his neighbours the Abodriti to -obedience, and had forced them to pay him tribute. Now he boasted that -he would soon come to Aix, the seat of the King's Court, with a mighty -force. His boast, however idle, found some to believe it; it was thought -that he would certainly have made some such attempt if he had not been -prevented by a sudden death. For he was killed by one of his own -followers, and so ended both his life and the war that he had begun. - -15. These, then, are the wars which this mighty King waged during the -course of forty-seven years--for his reign extended over that period--in -different parts of the world with the utmost skill and success. By these -wars he so nobly increased the kingdom of the Franks, which was great -and strong when he inherited it from his father Pippin, that the -additions he made almost doubled it.[31] For before his time the power -of the Frankish kingdom extended only over that part of Gaul which is -bounded by the Rhine, the Loire, and the Balearic Sea;[32] and that part -of Germany which is inhabited by the so-called eastern Franks, and which -is bounded by Saxony, the Danube, the Rhine, and the river Saal, which -stream separates the Thuringians and the Sorabs; and, further, over the -Alamanni and the Bavarians. But Charles, by the wars that have been -mentioned, conquered and made tributary the following countries:--First, -Aquitania and Gascony, and the whole Pyrenean range, and the country of -Spain as far as the Ebro, which, rising in Navarre and passing through -the most fertile territory of Spain, falls into the Balearic Sea, -beneath the walls of the city of Tortosa; next, all Italy from Augusta -Prætoria as far as lower Calabria, where are the frontiers of the Greeks -and Beneventans, a thousand miles and more in length; next, Saxony, -which is a considerable portion of Germany, and is reckoned to be twice -as broad and about as long as that part of Germany which is inhabited by -the Franks; then both provinces of Pannonia and Dacia, on one side of -the river Danube, and Histria and Liburnia and Dalmatia, with the -exception of the maritime cities which he left to the Emperor of -Constantinople on account of their friendship and the treaty made -between them; lastly, all the barbarous and fierce nations lying between -the Rhine, the Vistula, the Ocean, and the Danube, who speak much the -same language, but in character and dress are very unlike. The chief of -these last are the Welatabi, the Sorabi, the Abodriti, and the -Bohemians; against these he waged war, but the others, and by far the -larger number, surrendered without a struggle. - -16. The friendship, too, which he established with certain kings and -peoples increased the glory of his reign. - -Aldefonsus, King of Gallæcia and Asturica, was joined in so close an -alliance with him that whenever he sent letters or ambassadors to -Charles he gave instructions that he should be called "the man" of the -Frankish King.[33] - -Further, his rich gifts had so attached the kings of the Scots to his -favour that they always called him their lord and themselves his -submissive servants. Letters are still in existence sent by them to -Charles in which those feelings towards him are clearly shown. - -With Aaron,[34] the King of the Persians, who ruled over all the East, -with the exception of India, he entertained so harmonious a friendship -that the Persian King valued his favour before the friendship of all the -kings and princes in the world, and held that it alone deserved to be -cultivated with presents and titles. When, therefore, the ambassadors of -Charles, whom he had sent with offerings to the most holy sepulchre of -our Lord and Saviour and to the place of His resurrection, came to the -Persian King and proclaimed the kindly feelings of their master, he not -only granted them all they asked but also allowed that sacred place of -our salvation to be reckoned as part of the possessions of the Frankish -King.[35] He further sent ambassadors of his own along with those of -Charles upon the return journey, and forwarded immense presents to -Charles--robes and spices, and the other rich products of the East--and -a few years earlier he had sent him at his request an elephant,[36] -which was then the only one he had. - -The Emperors of Constantinople, Nicephorus, Michael, and Leo, too, made -overtures of friendship and alliance with him, and sent many -ambassadors. At first Charles was regarded with much suspicion by them, -because he had taken the imperial title, and thus seemed to aim at -taking from them their empire; but in the end a very definite treaty was -made between them, and every occasion of quarrel on either side thereby -avoided. For the Romans and the Greeks always suspected the Frankish -power; hence there is a well-known Greek proverb: "the Frank is a good -friend but a bad neighbour." - -17. Though he was so successful in widening the boundaries of his -kingdom and subduing the foreign nations he, nevertheless, put on foot -many works for the decoration and convenience of his kingdom, and -carried some to completion. The great church dedicated to Mary, the holy -Mother of God, at Aix, and the bridge, five hundred feet in length, over -the great river Rhine near Mainz, may fairly be regarded as the chief of -his works. But the bridge was burnt down a year before his death, and -though he had determined to rebuild it of stone instead of wood it was -not restored, because his death so speedily followed. He began also to -build palaces of splendid workmanship--one not far from the city of -Mainz, near a town called Ingelheim; another at Nimeguen, on the river -Waal, which flows along the south of the Batavian island. And he gave -special orders to the bishops and priests who had charge of sacred -buildings that any throughout his realm which had fallen into ruin -through age should be restored, and he instructed his agents to see that -his orders were carried out. - -He built a fleet, too, for the war against the Northmen, constructing -ships for this purpose near those rivers which flow out of Gaul and -Germany into the northern ocean. And because the Northmen laid waste the -coasts of Gaul and Germany by their constant attacks he planted forts -and garrisons in all harbours and at the mouths of all navigable rivers, -and prevented in this way the passage of the enemy.[37] He took the same -measures in the South, on the shore of Narbonne and Septimania, and also -along all the coasts of Italy as far as Rome, to hold in check the -Moors, who had lately begun to make piratical excursions. And by reason -of these precautions Italy suffered no serious harm from the Moors, nor -Gaul and Germany from the Northmen, in the days of Charles; except that -Centumcellæ, a city of Etruria, was betrayed into the hands of the Moors -and plundered, and in Frisia certain islands lying close to Germany were -ravaged by the Northmen. - - - - -PART II -PRIVATE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF CHARLEMAGNE - - -18. I have shown, then, how Charles protected and expanded his kingdom -and also what splendour he gave to it. I shall now go on to speak of his -mental endowments, of his steadiness of purpose under whatever -circumstances of prosperity or adversity, and of all that concerns his -private and domestic life. - -As long as, after the death of his father, he shared the kingdom with -his brother he bore so patiently the quarrelling and restlessness of the -latter as never even to be provoked to wrath by him. Then, having -married at his mother's bidding the daughter of Desiderius, King of the -Lombards, he divorced her, for some unknown reason,[38] a year later. He -took in marriage Hildigard,[39] of the Suabian race, a woman of the -highest nobility, and by her he had three sons--viz. Charles and Pippin -and Ludovicus, and three daughters--Hrotrud and Bertha and Gisla. He had -also three other daughters--Theoderada and Hiltrud and Hruodhaid. Two of -these were the children of his wife Fastrada,[40] a woman of the eastern -Franks or Germans; the third was the daughter of a concubine, whose name -has escaped my memory. On the death of Fastrada he married Liutgard, of -the Alemannic race, by whom he had no children. After her death he had -four concubines--namely, Madelgarda, who bore him a daughter of the name -of Ruothild; Gersuinda, of Saxon origin, by whom he had a daughter of -the name of Adolthrud; Regina, who bore him Drogot and Hugo; and -Adallinda, who was the mother of Theoderic. - -His mother Bertrada lived with him to old age in great honour. He -treated her with the utmost reverence, so that no quarrel of any kind -ever arose between them--except in the matter of the divorce of the -daughter of King Desiderius, whom he had married at her bidding. -Bertrada died after the death of Hildigard, having lived to see three -grandsons and as many granddaughters in her son's house. Charles had his -mother buried with great honour in the same great church of St Denys in -which his father lay. - -He had only one sister, Gisla, who from childhood was dedicated to the -religious life. He treated her with the same affectionate respect as his -mother. She died a few years before Charles's own death in the monastery -in which she had passed her life. - -19. In educating his children he determined to train them, both sons and -daughters, in those liberal studies to which he himself paid great -attention. Further, he made his sons, as soon as their age permitted it, -learn to ride like true Franks, and practise the use of arms and -hunting. He ordered his daughters to learn wool work and devote -attention to the spindle and distaff, for the avoidance of idleness and -lethargy, and to be trained to the adoption of high principles. - -He lost two sons and one daughter before his death--namely, Charles, his -eldest; Pippin, whom he made King of Italy; and Hruotrud, his eldest -daughter, who had been betrothed to Constantine, the Emperor of the -Greeks.[41] Pippin left one son, Bernard, and five daughters--Adalheid, -Atula, Gundrada, Berthaid, and Theoderada. In his treatment of them -Charles gave the strongest proof of his family affection, for upon the -death of his son he appointed his grandson Bernard to succeed him, and -had his granddaughters brought up with his own daughters. - -He bore the deaths of his two sons and of his daughters with less -patience than might have been expected from his usual stoutness of -heart, for his domestic affection, a quality for which he was as -remarkable as for courage, forced him to shed tears. Moreover, when the -death of Hadrian, the Roman Pontiff, whom he reckoned as the chief of -his friends, was announced to him, he wept for him as though he had lost -a brother or a very dear son. For he showed a very fine disposition in -his friendships: he embraced them readily and maintained them -faithfully, and he treated with the utmost respect all whom he had -admitted into the circle of his friends. - -He had such care of the upbringing of his sons and daughters that he -never dined without them when he was at home, and never travelled -without them. His sons rode along with him, and his daughters followed -in the rear. Some of his guards, chosen for this very purpose, watched -the end of the line of march where his daughters travelled. They were -very beautiful, and much beloved by their father, and, therefore, it is -strange that he would give them in marriage to no one, either among his -own people or of a foreign state. But up to his death he kept them all -at home, saying that he could not forego their society. And hence the -good fortune that followed him in all other respects was here broken by -the touch of scandal and failure.[42] He shut his eyes, however, to -everything, and acted as though no suspicion of anything amiss had -reached him, or as if the rumour of it had been discredited. - -20. He had by a concubine a son called Pippin--whom I purposely did not -mention along with the others--handsome, indeed, but deformed. When -Charles, after the beginning of the war against the Huns, was wintering -in Bavaria, this Pippin pretended illness, and formed a conspiracy -against his father with some of the leaders of the Franks, who had -seduced him by a vain promise of the kingdom.[43] When the design had -been detected and the conspirators punished Pippin was tonsured and sent -to the monastery of Prumia, there to practise the religious life, to -which in the end he was of his own will inclined. - -Another dangerous conspiracy had been formed against him in Germany at -an earlier date. The plotters were some of them blinded and some of them -maimed, and all subsequently transported into exile. Not more than three -lost their lives, and these resisted capture with drawn swords, and in -defending themselves killed some of their opponents. Hence, as they -could not be restrained in any other way, they were cut down. - -The cruelty of Queen Fastrada is believed to be the cause and origin of -these conspiracies. Both were caused by the belief that, upon the -persuasion of his cruel wife, he had swerved widely from his natural -kindness and customary leniency. Otherwise his whole life long he so won -the love and favour of all men both at home and abroad that never was -the slightest charge of unjust severity brought against him by anyone. - -21. He had a great love for foreigners, and took such pains to entertain -them that their numbers were justly reckoned to be a burden not only to -the palace but to the kingdom at large. But, with his usual loftiness of -spirit, he took little note of such charges, for he found in the -reputation of generosity and in the good fame that followed such actions -a compensation even for grave inconveniences. - -22. His body was large and strong; his stature tall but not ungainly, -for the measure of his height was seven times the length of his own -feet. The top of his head was round; his eyes were very large and -piercing. His nose was rather larger than is usual; he had beautiful -white hair; and his expression was brisk and cheerful; so that, whether -sitting or standing, his appearance was dignified and impressive. -Although his neck was rather thick and short and he was somewhat -corpulent this was not noticed owing to the good proportions of the rest -of his body. His step was firm and the whole carriage of his body manly; -his voice was clear, but hardly so strong as you would have expected. He -had good health, but for four years before his death was frequently -attacked by fevers, and at last was lame of one foot. Even then he -followed his own opinion rather than the advice of his doctors, whom he -almost hated, because they advised him to give up the roast meat to -which he was accustomed, and eat boiled instead. He constantly took -exercise both by riding and hunting. This was a national habit; for -there is hardly any race on the earth that can be placed on equality -with the Franks in this respect. He took delight in the vapour of -naturally hot waters, and constantly practised swimming, in which he was -so proficient that no one could be fairly regarded as his superior. -Partly for this reason he built his palace at Aix, and lived there -continuously during the last years of his life up to the time of his -death. He used to invite not only his sons to the bath but also his -nobles and friends, and at times even a great number of his followers -and bodyguards. - -23. He wore the national--that is to say, the Frankish dress. His shirts -and drawers were of linen, then came a tunic with a silken fringe, and -hose. His legs were cross-gartered and his feet enclosed in shoes. In -winter-time he defended his shoulders and chest with a jerkin made of -the skins of otters and ermine. He was clad in a blue cloak, and always -wore a sword, with the hilt and belt of either gold or silver. -Occasionally, too, he used a jewelled sword, but this was only on the -great festivals or when he received ambassadors from foreign nations. He -disliked foreign garments, however beautiful, and would never consent to -wear them, except once at Rome on the request of Pope Hadrian, and once -again upon the entreaty of his successor, Pope Leo, when he wore a long -tunic and cloak, and put on shoes made after the Roman fashion. On -festal days he walked in procession in a garment of gold cloth, with -jewelled boots and a golden girdle to his cloak, and distinguished -further by a diadem of gold and precious stones. But on other days his -dress differed little from that of the common people. - -24. He was temperate in eating and drinking, but especially so in -drinking; for he had a fierce hatred of drunkenness in any man, and -especially in himself or in his friends. He could not abstain so easily -from food, and used often to complain that fasting was injurious to his -health. He rarely gave large banquets, and only on the high festivals, -but then he invited a large number of guests. His daily meal was served -in four courses only, exclusive of the roast, which the hunters used to -bring in on spits, and which he ate with more pleasure than any other -food. During the meal there was either singing or a reader for him to -listen to. Histories and the great deeds of men of old were read to him. -He took delight also in the books of Saint Augustine, and especially in -those which are entitled the City of God. He was so temperate in the use -of wine and drink of any kind that he rarely drank oftener than thrice -during dinner. - -In summer, after his midday meal, he took some fruit and a single -draught, and then, taking off his clothes and boots, just as he was -accustomed to do at night, he would rest for two or three hours. At -night he slept so lightly that he would wake, and even rise, four or -five times during the night. - -When he was putting on his boots and clothes he not only admitted his -friends, but if the Count of the Palace told him there was any dispute -which could not be settled without his decision he would have the -litigants at once brought in, and hear the case, and pronounce on it -just as if he were sitting on the tribunal. He would, moreover, at the -same time transact any business that had to be done that day or give any -orders to his servants.[44] - -25. In speech he was fluent and ready, and could express with the -greatest clearness whatever he wished. He was not merely content with -his native tongue but took the trouble to learn foreign languages. He -learnt Latin so well that he could speak it as well as his native -tongue; but he could understand Greek better than he could speak it.[45] -His fluency of speech was so great that he even seemed sometimes a -little garrulous. - -He paid the greatest attention to the liberal arts, and showed the -greatest respect and bestowed high honours upon those who taught them. -For his lessons in grammar he listened to the instruction of Deacon -Peter of Pisa, an old man; but for all other subjects Albinus, called -Alcuin,[46] also a deacon, was his teacher--a man from Britain, of the -Saxon race, and the most learned man of his time. Charles spent much -time and labour in learning rhetoric and dialectic, and especially -astronomy, from Alcuin. He learnt, too, the art of reckoning, and with -close application scrutinised most carefully the course of the stars. He -tried also to learn to write, and for this purpose used to carry with -him and keep under the pillow of his couch tablets and writing-sheets -that he might in his spare moments accustom himself to the formation of -letters. But he made little advance in this strange task, which was -begun too late in life.[47] - -26. He paid the most devout and pious regard to the Christian religion, -in which he had been brought up from infancy. And, therefore, he built -the great and most beautiful church at Aix, and decorated it with gold -and silver and candelabras and with wicket-gates and doors of solid -brass. And, since he could not procure marble columns elsewhere for the -building of it, he had them brought from Rome and Ravenna. As long as -his health permitted it he used diligently to attend the church both in -the morning and evening, and during the night, and at the time of the -Sacrifice. He took the greatest care to have all the services of the -church performed with the utmost dignity, and constantly warned the -keepers of the building not to allow anything improper or dirty either -to be brought into or to remain in the building. He provided so great a -quantity of gold and silver vessels, and so large a supply of priestly -vestments, that at the religious services not even the doorkeepers, who -form the lowest ecclesiastical order, had to officiate in their ordinary -dress. He carefully reformed the manner of reading and singing; for he -was thoroughly instructed in both, though he never read publicly -himself, nor sang except in a low voice, and with the rest of the -congregation. - -27. He was most devout in relieving the poor and in those free gifts -which the Greeks call alms. For he gave it his attention not only in his -own country and in his own kingdom, but he also used to send money -across the sea to Syria, to Egypt, to Africa--to Jerusalem, Alexandria, -and Carthage--in compassion for the poverty of any Christians whose -miserable condition in those countries came to his ears. It was for this -reason chiefly that he cultivated the friendship of kings beyond the -sea, hoping thereby to win for the Christians living beneath their sway -some succour and relief. - -Beyond all other sacred and venerable places he loved the church of the -holy Apostle Peter at Rome, and he poured into its treasury great wealth -in silver and gold and precious stones. He sent innumerable gifts to the -Pope; and during the whole course of his reign he strove with all his -might (and, indeed, no object was nearer to his heart than this) to -restore to the city of Rome her ancient authority, and not merely to -defend the church of Saint Peter but to decorate and enrich it out of -his resources above all other churches. But although he valued Rome so -much, still, during all the forty-seven years that he reigned, he only -went there four times to pay his vows and offer up his prayers. - -28. But such were not the only objects of his last visit; for the Romans -had grievously outraged Pope Leo, had torn out his eyes and cut off his -tongue, and thus forced him to throw himself upon the protection of the -King. He therefore came to Rome to restore the condition of the church, -which was terribly disturbed, and spent the whole of the winter there. -It was then that he received the title of Emperor and Augustus,[48] -which he so disliked at first that he affirmed that he would not have -entered the church on that day--though it was the chief festival of the -church--if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope. But when he -had taken the title he bore very quietly the hostility that it caused -and the indignation of the Roman emperors.[49] He conquered their -ill-feeling by his magnanimity, in which, doubtless, he far excelled -them, and sent frequent embassies to them, and called them his brothers. - -29. When he had taken the imperial title he noticed many defects in the -legal systems of his people; for the Franks have two legal systems,[50] -differing in many points very widely from one another, and he, -therefore, determined to add what was lacking, to reconcile the -differences, and to amend anything that was wrong or wrongly expressed. -He completed nothing of all his designs beyond adding a few -capitularies, and those unfinished. But he gave orders that the laws and -rules of all nations comprised within his dominions which were not -already written out should be collected and committed to writing. - -He also wrote out the barbarous and ancient songs, in which the acts of -the kings and their wars were sung, and committed them to memory. He -also began a grammar of his native language.[51] - -He gave the months names in his own tongue, for before his time they -were called by the Franks partly by Latin and partly by barbarous names. -He also gave names to the twelve winds, whereas before not more than -four, and perhaps not so many, had names of their own. Of the months, he -called January Winter-month, February Mud-month, March Spring-month, -April Easter-month, May Joy-month, June Plough-month, July Hay-month, -August Harvest-month, September Wind-month, October Vintage-month, -November Autumn-month, December Holy-month.[52] The following are the -names which he gave to the winds:--The Subsolanus (east) he called East -Wind; the Eurus (east by south) East-South Wind; the Euroauster (south -by east) South-East Wind; the Auster (south) South Wind; the -Austro-Afric (south by west) South-West Wind; the Afric (west by south) -West-South Wind; the Zephyr (west) West Wind; the Corus (west by north) -West-North Wind; the Circius (north by west) North-West Wind; the -Septentrion (north) North Wind; the Aquilon (north by east) North-East -Wind; the Vulturnus (east by north) East-North Wind. - -30. At the very end of his life, when already he was feeling the -pressure of old age and sickness, he summoned his own son Lewis, King of -Aquitania, the only surviving son of Hildigard, and then solemnly called -together the Frankish nobles of his whole kingdom; and then, with the -consent of all, made Lewis partner in the whole kingdom and heir to the -imperial title. After that, putting the diadem on his head, he ordered -them to salute him "Imperator" and Augustus. This decision of his was -received by all present with the greatest favour, for it seemed to them -a divine inspiration for the welfare of the realm. It added to his -dignity at home and increased the terror of his name abroad. - -He then sent his son back to Aquitania, and himself, though broken with -old age, proceeded to hunt, as his custom was, not far from the palace -of Aix, and after spending the rest of the autumn in this pursuit he -came back to Aix about the beginning of November. Whilst he was spending -the winter there he was attacked by a sharp fever, and took to his bed. -Then, following his usual habit, he determined to abstain from food, -thinking that by such self-discipline he would be able either to cure or -alleviate the disease. But the fever was complicated by a pain in the -side which the Greeks call pleurisy; and, as Charles still persisted in -fasting, and only very rarely drank something to sustain his strength, -seven days after he had taken to his bed he received holy communion, and -died, in the seventy-second year of his life and in the forty-seventh -year of his reign, on the fifth day before the Kalends of February, at -the third hour of the day. - -31. His body was washed and treated with the usual ceremonies, and then, -amidst the greatest grief of the whole people, taken to the church and -buried. At first there was some doubt as to where he should rest, since -he had given no instructions during his lifetime. But at length all were -agreed that he could be buried nowhere more honourably than in the great -church which he had built at his own expense in the same town, for the -love of our Lord God Jesus Christ and the honour of His holy and -ever-virgin Mother. There he was buried on the same day on which he -died.[53] A gilded arch was raised above the tomb, with his statue, and -an inscription. The inscription ran as follows:-- - - "Beneath this tomb lies the body of Charles, the great and - orthodox Emperor, who nobly expanded the kingdom of the Franks - and reigned prosperously for forty-seven years. He departed this - life, more than seventy years of age, in the eight hundred and - fourteenth year of our Lord, in the seventh indiction, on the - fifth day before the Kalends of February." - -32. There were many prodigies to show that his end drew near, and he as -well as others understood the meaning of their warnings. During all the -three last years of his life there were constant eclipses of sun and -moon, and a black-coloured spot appeared in the sun for the space of -seven days. The gallery which he had built, of great size and strength, -between the palace and the church, suddenly, on Ascension Day, fell in -ruins down even to the foundations. Also, the wooden bridge over the -Rhine near Mainz, which he had built with wonderful skill, and the -labour of ten years, so that it seemed as though it would last for ever, -was accidentally set on fire, and in three hours burnt so far that not a -plank remained except those that were covered by the water. Further, -when he was making his last expedition in Saxony against Godofrid, King -of the Danes, as he was moving out of camp and beginning his march -before sunrise, he suddenly saw a meteor rush across the heavens with a -great blaze and pass from right to left through the clear sky. Whilst -all were wondering what this sign meant, suddenly the horse that he was -riding fell head foremost, and threw him so violently to the ground that -the girdle of his cloak was broken, and his sword belt slipped from it. -When his attendants ran up to help him they found him disarmed and -disrobed. His javelin, too, which he was holding in his hand at the time -of his fall, fell twenty paces and more away from him. Moreover, the -palace at Aix was frequently shaken, and in houses where he lived there -was a constant creaking in the fretted ceilings. The church in which he -was afterwards buried was struck by lightning, and the golden apple that -adorned the summit of the roof was thrown down by a thunder-stroke, and -fell upon the Bishop's house, which adjoined the church. In the same -church an inscription was written on the edge of the circular space -which ran round the inside of the church between the upper and lower -arches, saying by whom the sacred edifice had been built. And in the -last line occurred the words: "Carolus Princeps." Some noticed that in -the very year in which Charles died, and a few months before his death, -the letters of the word "princeps" were so destroyed as to be quite -invisible. But he either refused to notice or despised all these omens -as though they had no connection at all with anything that concerned -him. - -33. He had determined to draw out wills in order to make his daughters -and the sons whom his concubines had borne to him heirs to some part of -his property; but he took up this design too late, and could not carry -it out. But some three years before he died he divided his treasures, -his money and his robes, and all his other moveable property, in -presence of his friends and ministers, and appealed to them to ratify -and maintain by their support this division after his death. He also -stated in a document how he wished to have the property which he had -divided disposed of. The text and purport of the document ran as -follows:-- - - In the name of the Lord God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy - Ghost. This is the description and division which was made by - the most glorious and pious lord Charles, the august Emperor, in - the eight hundred and eleventh year from the incarnation of our - Lord Jesus Christ; in the forty-third year of his reign in - Frankland; in the thirty-sixth year of his reign in Italy; in - the eleventh year of his Empire and in the fourth indiction: - which division he made for wise and religious reasons of his - treasures and of the money which on that day was found in the - treasury. Wherein his great aim was: in the first place to - ensure that the distribution of alms, which Christians - religiously make from their possessions, should be duly and - properly made on his account from his wealth; and also that his - heirs may clearly know without any possibility of doubt what - ought to belong to them, and may therefore (without contest or - dissension) divide his goods among themselves in their proper - proportion. Therefore with this intention and object he first - divided into three parts all his property and moveable goods; - which, whether consisting of gold, silver, jewels, or royal - apparel, could be found on the afore-mentioned day in his - treasury. Then, by a further distribution, he divided two of - those three parts into twenty-one parts, and kept the third part - undivided. - - The distribution of the two parts into twenty-one is to be - carried out in the following way. As there are known to be - twenty-one metropolitan cities in his realm, one of those - twenty-one parts is to be handed over to each metropolitan city - by his heirs and friends for the purpose of almsgiving. The - Archbishop who at the time of his death is ruling the - metropolitan sees shall receive that part for his church and - divide it among his suffragans; one-third going to his own - church and two-thirds being divided among his suffragans. - - Each of these divisions--which, as already mentioned, are made - out of the first two-thirds, and are twenty-one in number, - according to the number of the metropolitan sees--is separated - from the rest and put away by itself in a repository of its own - with the title of the city attached to which it is to be given. - The names of the metropolitan sees, to which this alms or - largess is to be given, are Rome, Ravenna, Milan, Fréjus, Grado, - Cologne, Mainz, Juvavum which is also called Salsburg, Trèves, - Sens, Besançon, Lyons, Rouen, Rheims, Arles, Vienne, Darantasia, - Embrun, Bordeaux, Tours, Bourges. - - The following disposition shall be made of the one part hitherto - left undivided. When the first two parts have been distributed - into the before-mentioned divisions, and have been put away - under seal, this third part shall be employed for daily uses, as - not being alienated by any bond or promise of the owner; and it - shall be so used as long as he himself remains in the flesh or - judges its employment to be necessary to him. But after his - death or his voluntary retirement from the affairs of the world - that part shall be divided into four subdivisions. Of these - subdivisions one shall be added to the before-mentioned - twenty-one parts; the second shall be taken by his sons and - daughters, and by the sons and daughters of his sons, and shall - be divided among them in just and reasonable proportion; the - third shall be devoted to the use of the poor in the manner - usual among Christians; the fourth part shall similarly be - divided for alms and go to the support of the servants, both men - and women, who attend to the needs of the palaces. - - He desired further that there should be added to this third part - of the total sum, which like the other parts consists of gold - and silver, all vessels and utensils of brass, iron or other - metals, with arms, clothes and all other moveable articles, - whether of value or not, which are employed for various - purposes; as for instance curtains, coverlets, tapestries, - woollen-cloths, dressed-skins, harnesses, and whatever else is - found at that date in his store chamber or wardrobe: so that in - this way the subdivisions of that part may be larger, and the - distribution of alms find its way to a larger number. - - He desired that the chapel--that is, the materials for the - service of the church, both those which he himself gave and - collected and those which came to him by inheritance from his - father--should remain entire and suffer no division of any kind. - But if any vessel or books or other ornaments are found, which - have certainly not been given by him to the aforementioned - chapel, these may be bought and possessed by anyone who wants - them, at a price fixed by a reasonable valuation. He similarly - determined that the books, of which he had collected a great - quantity in his library, should be sold at a reasonable price to - anyone who wanted them and the money handed over to the poor. - Amongst his treasures there are three tables of silver and one - of gold of remarkable size and weight. Concerning these he - determined and decided as follows. One of them, square in shape, - containing a map of the city of Constantinople, shall be sent to - Rome for the cathedral of the holy Apostle Peter, along with the - other gifts which are set aside for that purpose. The second, - round in shape, inscribed with a picture of the city of Rome, - shall be given to the Bishopric of the Church of Ravenna. The - third, which is far superior to the others both in beauty of - workmanship and in weight, which is made of three circles, and - contains a map of the whole world, skilfully and minutely drawn, - shall go to increase that third part which is to be divided - among his heirs and given in alms. - - This disposition and arrangement he made and drew up in presence - of the bishops, abbots and counts, who could then be present and - whose names are here written out. - - - Bishops - - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Hildibald John - Richolf Theodolf - Arno Jesse - Wolphar Heito - Bernoin Waltgaud - Laidrad - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Abbots - - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Fridugisius Engilbert - Adalung Irmin - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - - - Counts - - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - Walatho Rihwin - Meginher Edo - Otolf Ercangar - Stephen Gerold - Unruoc Bero - Barchard Hildigern - Meginhard Roccolf - Hatto - ----------------------------------------------------------------- -His son Lewis, who by the designs of Providence succeeded him, inspected -the aforesaid document, and carried out these arrangements with the -greatest devotion immediately after his death. - - - - -THE LIFE OF CHARLEMAGNE BY THE MONK OF ST GALL - - - - -BOOK I -CONCERNING THE PIETY OF CHARLES AND HIS CARE OF THE CHURCH - - -After the omnipotent ruler of the world, who orders alike the fate of -kingdoms and the course of time, had broken the feet of iron and clay in -one noble statue,[54] to wit the Romans, he raised by the hands of the -illustrious Charles the golden head of another, not less admirable, -among the Franks. Now it happened, when he had begun to reign alone in -the western parts of the world, and the pursuit of learning had been -almost forgotten throughout all his realm, and the worship of the true -Godhead was faint and weak, that two Scots came from Ireland to the -coast of Gaul along with certain traders of Britain. These Scotchmen -were unrivalled for their skill in sacred and secular learning: and day -by day, when the crowd gathered round them for traffic, they exhibited -no wares for sale, but cried out and said, "Ho, everyone that desires -wisdom, let him draw near and take it at our hands; for it is wisdom -that we have for sale." - -Now they declared that they had wisdom for sale because they said that -the people cared not for what was given freely but only for what was -sold, hoping that thus they might be incited to purchase wisdom along -with other wares; and also perhaps hoping that by this announcement they -themselves might become a wonder and a marvel to men: which indeed -turned out to be the case. For so long did they make their proclamation -that in the end those who wondered at these men, or perhaps thought them -insane, brought the matter to the ears of King Charles, who always loved -and sought after wisdom. Wherefore he ordered them to come with all -speed into his presence and asked them whether it were true, as fame -reported of them, that they had brought wisdom with them. They answered, -"We both possess it and are ready to give it, in the name of God, to -those who seek it worthily." Again he asked them what price they asked -for it; and they answered, "We ask no price, O king; but we ask only for -a fit place for teaching and quick minds to teach; and besides food to -eat and raiment to put on, for without these we cannot accomplish our -pilgrimage."[55] - -This answer filled the king with a great joy, and first he kept both of -them with him for a short time. But soon, when he must needs go to war, -he made one of them named Clement reside in Gaul, and to him he sent -many boys both of noble, middle and humble birth, and he ordered as much -food to be given them as they required, and he set aside for them -buildings suitable for study. But he sent the second scholar into Italy -and gave him the monastery of Saint Augustine near Pavia, that all who -wished might gather there to learn from him. - -2. But when Albinus (Alcuin), an Englishman, heard that that most -religious Emperor Charles gladly entertained wise men, he entered into a -ship and came to him.[56] Now Albinus was skilled in all learning beyond -all others of our times, for he was the disciple of that most learned -priest Bede, who next to Saint Gregory was the most skilful interpreter -of the scriptures. And Charles received Albinus kindly and kept him at -his side to the end of his life, except when he marched with his armies -to his vast wars: nay, Charles would even call himself Albinus's -disciple; and Albinus he would call his master. He appointed him to rule -over the abbey of Saint Martin, near to the city of Tours: so that, when -he himself was absent, Albinus might rest there and teach those who had -recourse to him. And his teaching bore such fruit among his pupils that -the modern Gauls or Franks came to equal the ancient Romans or -Athenians. - -3. Then when Charles came back, after a long absence, crowned with -victory, into Gaul, he ordered the boys whom he had entrusted to Clement -to come before him and present to him letters and verses of their own -composition. Now the boys of middle or low birth presented him with -writings garnished with the sweet savours of wisdom beyond all that he -could have hoped, while those of the children of noble parents were -silly and tasteless. Then the most wise Charles, imitating the judgment -of the eternal Judge, gathered together those who had done well upon his -right hand and addressed them in these words: "My children, you have -found much favour with me because you have tried with all your strength -to carry out my orders and win advantage for yourselves. Wherefore now -study to attain to perfection; and I will give you bishoprics and -splendid monasteries, and you shall be always honourable in my eyes." -Then he turned severely to those who were gathered on his left, and, -smiting their consciences with the fire of his eyes, he flung at them in -scorn these terrible words, which seemed thunder rather than human -speech: "You nobles, you sons of my chiefs, you superfine dandies, you -have trusted to your birth and your possessions and have set at naught -my orders to your own advancement: you have neglected the pursuit of -learning and you have given yourselves over to luxury and sport, to -idleness and profitless pastimes." Then solemnly he raised his august -head and his unconquered right hand to the heavens and thus thundered -against them, "By the King of Heaven, I take no account of your noble -birth and your fine looks, though others may admire you for them. Know -this for certain, that unless you make up for your former sloth by -vigorous study, you will never get any favour from Charles." - -4. Charles used to pick out all the best writers and readers from among -the poor boys that I have spoken of and transferred them to his chapel; -for that was the name that the kings of the Franks gave to their private -oratory, taking the word from the _cope_ of St Martin, which they always -took with them in war for a defence against their enemies. Now one day -it was announced to this most wary King Charles that a certain bishop -was dead; and, when the king asked whether the dead bishop had made any -bequests for the good of his soul, the messenger replied, "Sire, he has -bequeathed no more than two pounds of silver." Thereupon one of his -chaplains, sighing, and no longer able to keep the thoughts of his mind -within his breast, spake in the hearing of the king these words: "That -is a small provision for a long, a never-ending journey." - -Then Charles, the mildest of men, deliberated a space, and said to the -young man, "Do you think then, if you were to get the bishopric, you -would care to make more provision for that same long journey?" These -cautious words fell upon the chaplain as ripe grapes into the mouth of -one who stands agape for them, and he threw himself at the feet of -Charles and said, "Sire, the matter rests upon the will of God and your -own power." Said the king, "Stand behind the curtain, that hangs behind -me, and mark what kind of help you would receive if you were raised to -that honour." - -Now, when the officers of the palace, who were always on the watch for -deaths or accidents, heard that the bishop was dead, one and all of -them, impatient of delay and jealous of each other, began to make suit -for the bishopric through the friends of the emperor. But Charles still -persisted unmoved in his design; he refused everyone, and said that he -would not disappoint his young friend. At last Queen Hildigard sent some -of the nobles of the realm, and at last came in person, to beg the -bishopric for a certain clerk of her own. The emperor received her -petition very graciously and said that he would not and could not deny -her anything; but that he thought it shame to deceive his little -chaplain. But still the queen, woman-like, thought that a woman's -opinion and wish ought to outweigh the decrees of men; and so she -concealed the passion that was rising in her heart; she sank her strong -voice almost to a whisper; and with caressing gestures tried to soften -the emperor's unspoken mind. "My sire and king," she said, "what does it -matter if that boy does lose the bishopric? Nay, I beseech you, sweet -sire, my glory and my refuge, give it to your faithful servant, my -clerk." Then that young man, who had heard the petitions from behind the -curtain close to the king's chair where he had been placed, embraced the -king through the curtain and cried, "Sir king, stand fast and do not let -anyone take from you the power that has been given you by God." - -Then that strict lover of truth bade him come out, and said, "I intend -you to have the bishopric; but you must be very careful to spend more -and make fuller provision for that same long and unreturning journey -both for yourself and for me." - -5. Now there was at the king's court a certain mean and humble clerk, -very deficient also in a knowledge of letters. The most pious Charles -pitied his poverty, and, though everyone hated him and tried to drive -him from the court, he could never be persuaded to turn him away or -dismiss him therefrom. Now it happened that, on the eve of Saint Martin, -the death of a certain bishop was announced to the emperor. He summoned -one of his clerks, a man of high birth and great learning, and gave him -the bishopric. The new bishop, thereupon, bursting with joy, invited to -his house many of the palace attendants, and also received with great -pomp many who came from the diocese to greet him: and to all he gave a -superb banquet. - -It happened then that, loaded with food, drenched with liquor and buried -in wine, he failed to go to the evening service on that most solemn eve. -Now it was the custom for the chief of the choir to assign the day -before to everyone the responsory or responsories which they were to -chant at night. The response: _Lord, if still I am useful to Thy -people,_[57] had fallen to the lot of this man, who had the bishopric, -as it were, in his grasp. Well, he was absent; and after the lesson a -long pause followed, and each man urged his neighbour to take up the -responsory, and each man answered that he was bound to chant only what -had been assigned to him. At last the emperor said: "Come, one of you -must chant it." Then this mean clerk, strengthened by some divine -inspiration, and encouraged by the command, took upon himself the -responsory. The kindly king thinking that he would not be able to chant -the whole of it ordered the others to help him and all began at once to -chant. But from none of them could the poor creature learn the words, -and, when the response was finished, he began to chant the Lord's Prayer -with the proper intonation. Then everyone wished to stop him; but the -most wise Charles wanted to see where he would get to, and forbade -anyone to interfere with him. He finished with _Thy Kingdom come_ and -the rest, willy-nilly, had to take it up and say _Thy will be done._ - -When the early lauds were finished, the king went back to his palace, or -rather to his bedroom, to warm himself and dress for the coming festal -ceremony. He ordered that miserable servant and unpractised chanter to -come into his presence. "Who told you to chant that responsory?" he -asked. "Sire, you ordered someone to sing," said the other. "Well," said -the king (the emperor was called king at first), "who told you to begin -in that particular responsory?" Then the poor creature, inspired as it -is thought by God, spoke as follows, in the fashion which inferiors then -used to superiors, whether for honour, appeal, or flattery:--"Blessed -lord, and blessing-bestowing king, as I could not find out the right -verse from anyone, I said to myself that I should incur the anger of -your majesty if I introduced anything strange. So I determined to intone -something the latter part of which usually came at the end of the -responsories." - -The kindly emperor smiled gently upon him and thus spoke before all his -nobles. "That proud man, who neither feared nor honoured God or his king -who had befriended him, enough to refrain one night from dissipation and -be in his place to chant the response which I am told fell to his share, -is by God's decree and mine deprived of his bishopric. You shall take -it, for God gives it you, and I allow it; and be sure to administer it -according to canonical and apostolic rules." - -6. When another prince of the Church died, the emperor appointed a young -man in his place. When the bishop designate came out of the palace to -take his departure, his servants, with all the decorum that was due to a -bishop, brought forward a horse and steps to mount it: but he took it -amiss that they should treat him as though he were decrepit; and leaped -from the ground on to the horse's back with such violence that he nearly -fell off on the other side. The king looked on from the steps of the -palace and had him summoned and thus addressed him: "My good sir, you -are nimble and quick, agile and headstrong. You know yourself that the -calm of our empire is disturbed on all sides by the tempests of many -wars. Wherefore I want a priest like you at my court. Remain therefore -as an associate in my labours as long as you can mount your horse with -such agility." - -7. While I was speaking about the arrangement of the responses I forgot -to speak about the rules for reading and I must devote a few words to -that subject here. In the palace of the most learned Charles there was -no one to apportion to each reader the passages that were to be read; no -one put a seal at the end of the passage or made ever such a little mark -with his finger-nail. But all had to make themselves so well acquainted -with the passage, which was set down for reading, that if they were -suddenly called on to read they could perform their duty without -incurring his censure. He indicated whom he wished to read by pointing -his finger or his staff, or by sending some one of those who were -sitting close by him to those at a distance. He marked the end of the -reading by a guttural sound. And all watched so intently for this mark -that whether it came at the end of a sentence or in the middle of a -clause or a sub-clause, none dared go on for an instant, however strange -the beginning or the end might seem. And thus it came to pass that all -in the palace were excellent readers, even if they did not understand -what they read. No foreigner and no celebrity dared enter his choir -unless he could read and chant. - -8. When Charles one day came in his journeyings to a certain palace, a -certain clerk from among the wandering monks entered the choir and being -completely ignorant of these rules was soon forced to remain stupid and -silent among the singers. Thereupon the choirmaster raised his wand and -threatened to strike him unless he went on singing. Then the poor clerk, -not knowing what to do or where to turn, and not daring to go out, -twisted his neck into the shape of a bow and with open mouth and -distended cheeks did his utmost to imitate the appearance of a singer. -All the rest could not restrain their laughter, but the most valiant -emperor, whose mind was never shaken from its firm base even by great -events, seemed not to notice his mockery of singing and waited in due -order until the end of the mass. But then he called the poor wretch -before him and pitying his struggles and his anxiety soothed his fears -with these words:--"Many thanks, good clerk, for your singing and your -efforts." Then he ordered a pound of silver to be given him to relieve -his poverty. - -9. But I must not seem to forget or to neglect Alcuin; and will -therefore make this true statement about his energy and his deserts: all -his pupils without exception distinguished themselves by becoming either -holy abbots or bishops. My master Grimald[58] studied the literal arts -under him, first in Gaul and then in Italy. But those who are learned in -these matters may charge me with falsehood for saying "all his pupils -without exception"; when the fact is that there were in his schools two -young men, sons of a miller in the service of the monastery of Saint -Columban, who did not seem fit and proper persons for promotion to the -command of bishoprics or monasteries; but even these men were, by the -influence probably of their teacher, advanced one after the other to the -office of minister in the monastery of Bobbio, in which they displayed -the greatest energy. - -So the most glorious Charles saw the study of letters flourishing -throughout his whole realm, but still he was grieved to find that it did -not reach the ripeness of the earlier fathers; and so, after superhuman -labours, he broke out one day with this expression of his sorrow: "Would -that I had twelve clerks so learned in all wisdom and so perfectly -trained as were Jerome and Augustine." Then the learned Alcuin, feeling -himself ignorant indeed in comparison with these great names, rose to a -height of daring, that no man else attained to in the presence of the -terrible Charles, and said, with deep indignation in his mind but none -in his countenance, "The Maker of heaven and earth has not many like to -those men and do you expect to have twelve?" - -10. Here I must report something which the men of our time will find it -difficult to believe; for I myself who write it could hardly believe it, -so great is the difference between our method of chanting and the Roman, -were it not that we must trust rather the accuracy of our fathers than -the false suggestions of modern sloth. Well then, Charles, that -never-wearied lover of the service of God, when he could congratulate -himself that all possible progress had been made in the knowledge of -letters, was grieved to observe how widely the different provinces--nay, -not the provinces only but districts and cities--differed in the praise -of God, that is to say in their method of chanting. He therefore asked -of Pope Stephen[59] of blessed memory--the same who, after Hilderich -King of the Franks had been deposed and tonsured, had anointed Charles -to be ruler of the kingdom after the ancestral custom of the people--he -asked of Pope Stephen, I say, that he should provide him with twelve -clerks deeply learned in divine song. The Pope yielded assent to his -virtuous wish and his divinely inspired design and sent to him in -Frankland from the apostolic see clerks skilled in divine song, and -twelve in number, according to the number of the twelve apostles. - -Now, when I said Frankland just above, I meant all the provinces north -of the Alps; for as it is written: "In those days ten men shall take -hold out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of -the skirt of him that is a Jew," so at that time, by reason of the glory -of Charles, Gauls, Aquitanians, Æduans, Spaniards, Germans, and -Bavarians thought that no small honour was paid to them, if they were -thought worthy to be called the servants of the Franks. - -Now when the aforementioned clerks were departing from Rome, being, like -all Greeks and Romans, torn with envy of the glory of the Franks, they -took counsel among themselves, and determined so to vary their method of -singing that his kingdom and dominion should never have cause to rejoice -in unity and agreement. So when they came to Charles they were received -most honourably and despatched to the chief places. And thereupon each -in his allotted place began to chant as differently as possible, and to -teach others to sing in like fashion, and in as false a manner as they -could invent. But as the most cunning Charles celebrated one year the -feast of the Birth and Coming of Christ at Trèves or Metz, and most -carefully and cleverly grasped and understood the style of the singing; -and then the next year passed the same solemn season at Paris or Tours, -but found that the singing was wholly different from what he had heard -in the preceding year; as moreover he found that those whom he had sent -into different places were also at variance with one another; he -reported the whole matter to Pope Leo, of holy memory, who had succeeded -Stephen.[60] The Pope summoned the clerks back to Rome and condemned -them to exile or perpetual imprisonment, and then said to Charles: "If I -send you others they will be blinded with the same malice as their -predecessors and will not fail to cheat you. But I think I can satisfy -your wishes in this way. Send me two of the cleverest clerks that you -have by you, in such a way that those who are with me may not know that -they belong to you, and, with God's help, they shall attain to as -perfect a knowledge of those things as you desire." So said, so done. -Soon the Pope sent them back excellently trained to Charles. One of them -he kept at his own court: the other upon the petition of his son Drogo, -Bishop of Metz,[61] he sent to that cathedral. And not only did his -energy show itself powerful in that city, but it soon spread so widely -throughout all Frankland, that now all in these regions who use the -Latin tongue call the ecclesiastical chant Metensian; or, if they use -the Teutonic or Teuthiscan tongue, they call it Mette; or if the Greek -form is used it is called Mettisc.[62] The most pious emperor also -ordered Peter, the singer who had come to reside with him, to reside for -a while in the monastery of St Gall. There too Charles established the -chanting as it is to-day, with an authentic song-book, and gave most -careful instructions, being always a warm champion of Saint Gall, that -the Roman method of singing should be both taught and learnt. He gave to -the monastery also much money and many lands: he gave too relics, -contained in a reliquary made of solid gold and gems, which is called -the Shrine of Charles. - -11. It was the habit of the most religious and temperate Charles to take -food during Lent[63] at the seventh hour of the day after having been -present at the celebration of mass and evening lauds: and in so doing he -was not violating the fast for he was following the Lord's command in -taking food at an earlier hour than usual. Now a certain bishop, who -offended against the precept of Solomon in being just but foolish, took -him unwisely to task for this. Whereupon the most wise Charles concealed -his wrath, and received the bishop's admonition in all humility, saying, -"Good sir bishop, your admonition is good; and now my advice to you is -that you should take no food until the very humblest of my servants, who -stand in my court, have been fed." Now while Charles was eating he was -waited upon by dukes and rulers and kings of various peoples; and when -his banquet was ended then those who served him fed and they were served -by counts and præfects and nobles of different ranks. And when these -last had made an end of eating then came the military officers and the -scholars of the palace: then the chiefs of the various departments of -the palace; then their subordinates, then the servants of those -servants. So that the last comers did not get a mouthful of food before -the middle of the night. When therefore Lent was nearly ended, and the -bishop in question had endured this punishment all the time, the most -merciful Charles said to him: "Now, sir bishop, I think you have found -out that it is not lack of self-restraint but care for others which -makes me dine in Lent before the hour of evening." - -12. Once he asked a bishop for his blessing and he thereupon, after -blessing the bread, partook of it first himself and then wanted to give -it to the most honourable Charles: who, however, said to him: "You may -keep all the bread for yourself"; and much to the bishop's confusion he -refused to receive his blessing. - -13. The most careful Charles would never give more than one county to -any of his counts unless they happened to live on the borders or marches -of the barbarians; nor would he ever give a bishop any abbacy or church -that was in the royal gift unless there were very special reasons for -doing it. When his councillors or friends asked him the reason for this -he would answer: "With that revenue or that estate, with that little -abbey or that church I can secure the fidelity of some vassal, as good a -man as any bishop or count, and perhaps better." But when there were -special reasons he would give several benefices to one man; as he did -for instance to Udalric, brother of the great Hildigard, the mother of -kings and emperors. Now Udalric, after Hildigard's death, was deprived -of his honours for a certain offence; and a buffoon thereupon said in -the hearing of the most merciful Charles: "Now has Udalric, by the death -of his sister, lost all his honours both in east and west." Charles was -touched by these words and restored to him at once all his former -honours. He opened his hands, most widely and liberally, when justice -bade him, to certain holy places, as will appear in the sequel. - -14. There was a certain bishopric which lay full in Charles's path when -he journeyed, and which indeed he could hardly avoid: and the bishop of -this place, always anxious to give satisfaction, put everything that he -had at Charles's disposal. But once the emperor came quite unexpectedly -and the bishop in great anxiety had to fly hither and thither like a -swallow, and had not only the palaces and houses but also the courts and -squares swept and cleaned: and then, tired and irritated, came to meet -him. The most pious Charles noticed this, and after examining all the -various details, he said to the bishop: "My kind host, you always have -everything splendidly cleaned for my arrival." Then the Bishop, as if -divinely inspired, bowed his head and grasped the king's never-conquered -right hand, and hiding his irritation, kissed it and said: "It is but -right, my lord, that, wherever you come, all things should be thoroughly -cleansed." Then Charles, of all kings the wisest, understanding the -state of affairs said to him: "If I empty I can also fill." And he -added: "You may have that estate which lies close to your bishopric, and -all your successors may have it until the end of time." - -15. In the same journey too he came to a bishop who lived in a place -through which he must needs pass. Now on that day, being the sixth day -of the week, he was not willing to eat the flesh of beast or bird; and -the bishop, being by reason of the nature of the place unable to procure -fish upon the sudden, ordered some excellent cheese, rich and creamy, to -be placed before him. And the most self-restrained Charles, with the -readiness which he showed everywhere and on all occasions, spared the -blushes of the bishop and required no better fare: but taking up his -knife cut off the skin, which he thought unsavoury, and fell to on the -white of the cheese. Thereupon the bishop, who was standing near like a -servant, drew closer and said, "Why do you do that, lord emperor? You -are throwing away the very best part." Then Charles, who deceived no -one, and did not believe that anyone would deceive him, on the -persuasion of the bishop put a piece of the skin in his mouth, and -slowly ate it and swallowed it like butter. Then approving of the advice -of the bishop, he said: "Very true, my good host," and he added: "Be -sure to send me every year to Aix two cart-loads of just such cheeses." -The bishop was alarmed at the impossibility of the task and, fearful of -losing both his rank and his office, he rejoined:--"My lord, I can -procure the cheeses, but I cannot tell which are of this quality and -which of another. Much I fear lest I fall under your censure." Then -Charles from whose penetration and skill nothing could escape, however -new or strange it might be, spoke thus to the bishop, who from childhood -had known such cheeses and yet could not test them. "Cut them in two," -he said, "then fasten together with a skewer those that you find to be -of the right quality and keep them in your cellar for a time and then -send them to me. The rest you may keep for yourself and your clergy and -your family." This was done for two years and the king ordered the -present of cheeses to be taken in without remark: then in the third year -the bishop brought in person his laboriously collected cheeses. But the -most just Charles pitied his labour and anxiety and added to the -bishopric an excellent estate whence he and his successors might provide -themselves with corn and wine. - -16. As we have shown how the most wise Charles exalted the humble, let -us now show how he brought low the proud. There was a bishop who sought -above measure vanities and the fame of men. The most cunning Charles -heard of this and told a certain Jewish merchant, whose custom it was to -go to the land of promise and bring from thence rare and wonderful -things to the countries beyond the sea, to deceive or cheat this bishop -in whatever way he could. So the Jew caught an ordinary household mouse -and stuffed it with various spices, and then offered it for sale to the -bishop, saying that he had brought this most precious never-before-seen -animal from Judea. The bishop was delighted with what he thought a -stroke of luck, and offered the Jew three pounds of silver for the -precious ware. Then said the Jew, "A fine price indeed for so precious -an article! I had rather throw it into the sea than let any man have it -at so cheap and shameful a price." So the bishop, who had much wealth -and never gave anything to the poor, offered him ten pounds of silver -for the incomparable treasure. But the cunning rascal, with pretended -indignation, replied: "The God of Abraham forbid that I should thus lose -the fruit of my labour and journeyings." Then our avaricious bishop, all -eager for the prize, offered twenty pounds. But the Jew in high dudgeon -wrapped up the mouse in the most costly silk and made as if he would -depart. Then the bishop, as thoroughly taken in as he deserved to be, -offered a full measure of silver for the priceless object. And so at -last our trader yielded to his entreaties with much show of reluctance: -and, taking the money, went to the emperor and told him everything. A -few days later the king called together all the bishops and chief men of -the province to hold discourse with him; and, after many other matters -had been considered, he ordered all that measure of silver to be brought -and placed in the middle of the palace. Then thus he spoke and -said:--"Fathers and guardians, bishops of our Church, you ought to -minister to the poor, or rather to Christ in them, and not to seek after -vanities. But now you act quite contrary to this; and are vainglorious -and avaricious beyond all other men." Then he added: "One of you has -given a Jew all this silver for a painted mouse." Then the bishop, who -had been so wickedly deceived, threw himself at Charles's feet and -begged pardon for his sin. Charles upbraided him in suitable words and -then allowed him to depart in confusion. - -17. This same bishop was left to take care of Hildigard,[64] when the -most warlike Charles was engaged in campaigns against the Huns. He was -so puffed up by his intimacy with her that he had the audacity to ask -her to allow him to use the golden sceptre of the incomparable Charles -on festal days instead of his episcopal staff. She deceived him -cleverly, and said that she dare not give it to anyone, but that she -would carry his request faithfully to the king. So, when Charles came -back, she jestingly told him of the mad request of the bishop. He kindly -promised to do what she wished and even more. So, when all Europe, so to -speak, had come together to greet Charles after his victory over so -mighty a people, he pronounced these words in the hearing of small and -great: "Bishops should despise this world and inspire others by their -example to seek after heavenly things. But now they are misled by -ambition beyond all the rest of mankind; and one of them not content -with holding the first episcopal see in Germany has dared without my -approval to claim my golden sceptre, which I carry to signify my royal -will, in order that he might use it as his pastoral staff." The guilty -man acknowledged his sin, received pardon and retired. - -18. Now, my Lord Emperor Charles, I much fear that through my desire to -obey your orders I may incur the enmity of all who have taken vows and -especially of the highest clergy of all. But for all this I do not -greatly care, if only I be not deprived of your protection. - -Once that most religious Emperor Charles gave orders that all bishops -throughout his wide domains should preach in the nave of their cathedral -before a certain day, which he appointed, under penalty of being -deprived of the episcopal dignity, if they failed to comply with the -order.--But why do I say "dignity" when the apostle protests: "He that -desires a bishopric desires a good work"? But in truth, most serene of -kings, I must confess to you that there is great "dignity" in the -office, but not the slightest "good work" is required. Well, the -aforementioned bishop was at first alarmed at this command, because -gluttony and pride were all his learning, and he feared that if he lost -his bishopric he would lose at the same time his soft living. So he -invited two of the chiefs of the palace on the festal day, and after the -reading of the lesson mounted the pulpit as though he were going to -address the people. All the people ran together in wonder at so -unexpected an occurrence, except one poor red-headed fellow, who had his -head covered with clouts, because he had no hat, and was foolishly -ashamed of his red hair. Then the bishop--bishop in name but not in -deed--called to his doorkeeper or rather his _scario_ (whose dignity and -duties went by the name of the ædileship among the ancient Romans) and -said: "Bring me that man in the hat who is standing there near the door -of the church." The doorkeeper made haste to obey, seized the poor man -and began to drag him towards the bishop. But he feared some heavy -penalty for daring to stand in the house of God with covered head, and -struggled with all his might to avoid being brought before the tribunal -of the terrible judge. But the bishop, looking from his perch, now -addressing his vassals and now chiding the poor knave, bawled out and -preached as follows:--"Here with him! don't let him slip! Willy-nilly -you've got to come." When at last force or fear brought him near, the -bishop cried: "Come forward; nay, you must come quite close." Then he -snatched the head-covering from his captive and cried to the -people:--"Lo and behold all ye people; the boor is red-headed." Then he -returned to the altar and performed the ceremony, or pretended to -perform it. - -When the mass was thus scrambled through his guests passed into his -hall, which was decorated with many-coloured carpets, and cloths of all -kinds; and there a magnificent banquet, served in gold and silver and -jewelled cups, was provided, calculated to tickle the appetite of the -fastidious or the well-fed. The bishop himself sat on the softest of -cushions, clad in precious silks and wearing the imperial purple, so -that he seemed a king except for the sceptre and the title. He was -surrounded by troops of rich knights, in comparison with whom the -officers of the palace (nobles though they were) of the unconquered -Charles seemed to themselves most mean. When they asked leave to depart -after this wonderful and more than royal banquet he, desiring to show -still more plainly his magnificence and his glory, ordered skilled -musicians to come forward, the sound of whose voices could soften the -hardest hearts or turn to ice the swiftly flowing waters of the Rhine. -And at the same time every kind of choice drink, subtly and variously -compounded, was offered them in bowls of gold and gems, whose sheen was -mixed with that of the flowers and leaves with which they were crowned: -but their stomachs could contain no more so that the glasses lay idle in -their hands. Meanwhile pastry cooks and sausage makers, servers and -dressers offered preparations of exquisite art to stimulate their -appetite, though their stomachs could contain no more: it was a banquet -such as was never offered even to the great Charles himself. - -When morning came and the bishop returned some way towards soberness, he -thought with fear of the luxury that he had paraded before the servants -of the emperor. So he called them into his presence, loaded them with -presents worthy of a king, and implored them to speak to the terrible -Charles of the goodness and simplicity of his life; and above all to -tell him how he had preached publicly before them in his cathedral. - -Upon their return Charles asked them why the bishop had invited them. -Thereupon they fell at his feet and said: "Master, it was that he might -honour us as your representatives, far beyond our humble deserts." "He -is," they went on, "in every way the best and the most faithful of -bishops and most worthy of the highest rank in the Church. For, if you -will trust our poor judgment, we profess to your sublime majesty that we -heard him preach in his church in the most stirring fashion." Then the -emperor who knew the bishop's lack of skill pressed them further as to -the manner of his preaching; and they, perforce, revealed all. Then the -emperor saw that he had made an effort to say something rather than -disobey the imperial order; and he allowed him, in spite of his -unworthiness, to retain the bishopric. - -19. Shortly after a young man, a relation of the emperor's, sang, on the -occasion of some festival, the Alleluia admirably: and the Emperor -turned to this same bishop and said: "My clerk is singing very well." -But the stupid man, thought that he was jesting and did not know that -the clerk was the emperor's relation; and so he answered: "Any clown in -our countryside drones as well as that to his oxen at their ploughing." -At this vulgar answer the emperor turned on him the lightning of his -flashing eyes and dashed him terror-stricken to the very ground.[65] - - ---- - -26. But though the rest of mankind may be deceived by the wiles of the -devil and his angels, it is pleasant to consider the word of our Lord, -who in recognition of the bold confession of Saint Peter said:--"Thou -art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of -hell shall not prevail against it." Wherefore even in these times of -great peril and wickedness he has allowed the Church to remain unshaken -and unmoved. - -Now since envy always rages among the envious so it is customary and -regular with the Romans to oppose or rather to fight against all strong -Popes, who are from time to time raised to the apostolic see. Whence it -came to pass that certain of the Romans, themselves blinded with envy, -charged the above-mentioned Pope Leo[66] of holy memory with a deadly -crime and tried to blind him. But they were frightened and held back by -some divine impulse, and after trying in vain to gouge out his eyes, -they slashed them across the middle with knives. The Pope had news of -this carried secretly by his servants to Michael, Emperor of -Constantinople; but he refused all assistance saying: "The Pope has an -independent kingdom and one higher than mine; so he must act his own -revenge upon his enemies." Thereupon the holy Leo invited the -unconquered Charles to come to Rome; following in this the ordinance of -God, that, as Charles was already in very deed ruler and emperor over -many nations, so also by the authority of the apostolic see he might -have now the name of Emperor, Cæsar and Augustus. Now Charles, being -always ready to march and in warlike array, though he knew nothing at -all of the cause of the summons, came at once with his attendants and -his vassals; himself the head of the world he came to the city that had -once been the head of the world. And when the abandoned people heard of -his sudden coming, at once, as sparrows hide themselves when they hear -the voice of their master, so they fled and hid in various -hiding-places, cellars, and dens. Nowhere however under heaven could -they escape from his energy and penetration; and soon they were captured -and brought in chains to the Cathedral of St Peter. Then the undaunted -Father Leo took the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and held it over his -head, and then in the presence of Charles and his knights, in presence -also of his persecutors, he swore in the following words:--"So on the -day of the great judgment may I partake in the promises, as I am -innocent of the charge that is falsely laid against me." Then many of -the prisoners asked to be allowed to swear upon the tomb of St Peter -that they also were innocent of the charge laid against them. But the -Pope knew their falseness and said to Charles: "Do not, I pray you, -unconquered servant of God, give assent to their cunning; for well they -know that Saint Peter is always ready to forgive. But seek among the -tombs of the martyrs the stone upon which is written the name of St -Pancras,[67] that boy of thirteen years; and if they will swear to you -in his name you may know that you have them fast." It was done as the -Pope ordered. And when many people drew near to take the oath upon this -tomb, straightway some fell back dead and some were seized by the devil -and went mad. Then the terrible Charles said to his servants: "Take care -that none of them escapes." Then he condemned all who had been taken -prisoner either to some kind of death or to perpetual imprisonment. - -As Charles stayed in Rome for a few days, the bishop of the apostolic -see called together all who would come from the neighbouring districts -and then, in their presence and in the presence of all the knights of -the unconquered Charles, he declared him to be Emperor and Defender of -the Roman Church.[68] Now Charles had no guess of what was coming; and, -though he could not refuse what seemed to have been divinely preordained -for him, nevertheless he received his new title with no show of -thankfulness. For first he thought that the Greeks would be fired by -greater envy than ever and would plan some harm against the kingdom of -the Franks; or at least would take greater precautions against a -possible sudden attack of Charles to subdue their kingdom, and add it to -his own empire. And further the magnanimous Charles recalled how -ambassadors from the King of Constantinople had come to him and had told -him that their master wished to be his loyal friend; and that, if they -became nearer neighbours, he had determined to treat him as his son and -relieve the poverty of Charles from his resources: and how, upon hearing -this, Charles was unable to contain any longer the fiery ardour of his -heart and had exclaimed: "Oh, would that pool were not between us; for -then we would either divide between us the wealth of the east, or we -would hold it in common." - -But the Lord, who is both the giver and the restorer of health, so -showed his favour to the innocency of the blessed Leo that he restored -his eyes to be brighter than they were before that wicked and cruel -cutting; except only that, in token of his virtue, a bright scar (like a -very fine thread) marked his eyelids. - -27. The foolish may accuse me of folly because just now I made Charles -say that the sea, which that mighty emperor called playfully a little -pool, lay between us and the Greeks; but I must tell my critics that at -that date the Bulgarians and the Huns and many other powerful races -barred the way to Greece with forces yet unattacked and unbroken. Soon -afterwards, it is true, the most warlike Charles either hurled them to -the ground, as he did the Slavs and the Bulgars; or else utterly -destroyed them, as was the case with the Huns, that race of iron and -adamant. And I will go on to speak of these exploits as soon as I have -given a very slight account of the wonderful buildings which Charles -(Emperor, Augustus and Cæsar), following the example of the all-wise -Solomon, built at Aix, either for God, or for himself, or for the -bishops, abbots, counts and all guests that came to him from all -quarters of the world. - -28. When the most energetic Emperor Charles could rest awhile he sought -not sluggish ease, but laboured in the service of God. He desired -therefore to build upon his native soil a cathedral finer even than the -works of the Romans, and soon his purpose was realised. For the building -thereof he summoned architects and skilled workmen from all lands beyond -the seas; and above all he placed a certain knavish abbot whose -competence for the execution of such tasks he knew, though he knew not -his character. When the august emperor had gone on a certain journey, -this abbot allowed anyone to depart home who would pay sufficient money: -and those who could not purchase their discharge, or were not allowed to -return by their masters, he burdened with unending labours, as the -Egyptians once afflicted the people of God. By such knavish tricks he -gathered together a great mass of gold and silver and silken robes; and, -exhibiting in his chamber only the least precious articles, he concealed -in boxes and chests all the richest treasures. Well, one day there was -brought to him on a sudden the news that his house was on fire. He ran, -in great excitement, and pushed his way through the bursting flames into -the strong room where his boxes, stuffed with gold, were kept: he was -not satisfied to take one away, but would only leave after he had loaded -his servants with a box apiece. And as he was going out a huge beam, -dislodged by the fire, fell on the top of him; and then his body was -burnt by temporal and his soul by eternal flames. Thus did the judgment -of God keep watch for the most religious Emperor Charles, when his -attention was withdrawn by the business of his kingdom. - -29. There was another workman, the most skilled of all in the working of -brass and glass. Now this man (his name was Tancho and he was at one -time a monk of St Gall) made a fine bell and the emperor was delighted -with its tone. Then said that most distinguished, but most unfortunate -worker in brass: "Lord emperor, give orders that a great weight of -copper be brought to me that I may refine it; and instead of tin give me -as much silver as I shall need--a hundred pounds at least; and I will -cast such a bell for you that this will seem dumb in comparison to it." -Then Charles, the most liberal of monarchs, who "if riches abounded set -not his heart upon them" readily gave the necessary orders, to the great -delight of the knavish monk. He smelted and refined the brass; but he -used, not silver, but the purest sort of tin, and soon he made a bell, -much better than the one that the emperor had formerly admired, and, -when he had tested it, he took it to the emperor, who admired its -exquisite shape and ordered the clapper to be inserted and the bell to -be hung in the bell-tower. That was soon done; and then the warden of -the church, the attendants and even the boys of the place tried, one -after the other, to make the bell sound. But all was in vain; and so at -last the knavish maker of the bell came up, seized the rope, and pulled -at the bell. When, lo and behold! down from on high came the brazen -mass; fell on the very head of the cheating brass-founder; killed him on -the spot; and passed straight through his carcass and crashed to the -ground carrying his bowels with it. When the aforementioned weight of -silver was found, the most righteous Charles ordered it to be -distributed among the poorest servants of the palace. - -30. Now it was a rule at that time that if the imperial mandate had gone -out that any task was to be accomplished, whether it was the making of -bridges, or ships or causeways, or the cleansing or paving or filling up -of muddy roads, the counts might execute the less important work by the -agency of their deputies or servants; but for the greater enterprises, -and especially such as were of an original kind, no duke or count, no -bishop or abbot could possibly get himself excused. The arches of the -great bridge at Mainz bear witness to this; for all Europe, so to speak, -laboured at this work in orderly co-operation, and then the knavery of a -few rascals, who wanted to steal merchandise from the ships that passed -underneath, destroyed it. - -If any churches, within the royal domain, wanted decorating with carved -ceilings or wall paintings, the neighbouring bishops and abbots had to -take charge of the task; but if new churches had to be built then all -bishops, dukes and counts, all abbots and heads of royal churches and -all who were in occupation of any public office had to work at it with -never-ceasing labour from its foundations to its roof. You may see the -proof of the emperor's skill in the cathedral at Aix, which seems a work -half human and half divine; you may see it in the mansions of the -various dignitaries which, by Charles's device, were built round his own -palace in such a way that from the windows of his chamber he could see -all who went out or came in, and what they were doing, while they -believed themselves free from observation; you may see it in all the -houses of his nobles, which were lifted on high from the ground in such -a fashion that beneath them the retainers of his nobles and the servants -of those retainers and every class of man could be protected from rain -or snow, from cold or heat, while at the same time they were not -concealed from the eyes of the most vigilant Charles. But I am a -prisoner within my monastery walls and your ministers are free; and I -will therefore leave to them the task of describing the cathedral, while -I return to speak of how the judgment of God was made manifest in the -building of it. - -31. The most careful Charles ordered certain nobles of the neighbourhood -to support with all their power the workmen whom he had set to their -task, and to supply everything that they required for it. Those workmen -who came from a distance he gave in charge to a certain Liutfrid, the -steward of his palace, telling him to feed and clothe them and also most -carefully to provide anything that was wanting for the building. The -steward obeyed these commands for the short time that Charles remained -in that place; but after his departure neglected them altogether, and by -cruel tortures collected such a mass of money from the poor workmen that -Dis and Pluto would require a camel to carry his ill-gotten gains to -hell. Now this was found out in the following way. - -The most glorious Charles used to go to lauds at night in a long and -flowing cloak, which is now neither used nor known: then when the -morning chant was over he would go back to his chamber and dress himself -in his imperial robes. All the clerks used to come ready dressed to the -nightly office, and then they would wait for the emperor's arrival, and -for the celebration of mass either in the church or in the porch which -then was called the outer court. Sometimes they would remain awake, or -if anyone had need of sleep he would lean his head on his companion's -breast. Now one poor clerk, who used often to go to Liutfrid's house to -get his clothes (rags I ought to call them) washed and mended, was -sleeping with his head on a friend's knees, when he saw in a vision a -giant, taller than the adversary of Saint Anthony,[69] come from the -king's court and hurry over the bridge, that spanned a little stream, to -the house of the steward; and he led with him an enormous camel, -burdened with baggage of inestimable value. He was, in his dream, struck -with amazement and he asked the giant who he was and whither he wished -to go. And the giant made answer: "I come from the house of the king and -I go to the house of Liutfrid; and I shall place Liutfrid on these -packages and I shall take him and them down with me to hell." - -Thereupon the clerk woke up, in a fright lest Charles should find him -sleeping. He lifted up his head and urged the others to wakefulness and -cried: "Hear, I pray you, my dream. I seemed to see another Polyphemus, -who walked on the earth and yet touched the stars, and passed through -the Ionian Sea without wetting his sides. I saw him hasten from the -royal court to the house of Liutfrid with a laden camel. And when I -asked the cause of his journey, he said: 'I am going to put Liutfrid on -the top of the load, and then take him to hell.'" - -The story was hardly finished when there came from that house, which -they all knew so well, a girl who fell at their feet and asked them to -remember her friend Liutfrid in their prayers. And, when they asked the -reason for her words, she said: "My lord, he went out but now in good -health, and, as he stayed a long time, we went in search of him, and -found him dead." - -When the emperor heard of his sudden death, and was informed by the -workmen and his servants of his grasping avarice, he ordered his -treasures to be examined. They were found to be of priceless worth, and -when the emperor, after God the greatest of judges, found by what -wickedness they had been collected he gave this public judgment: -"Nothing of that which was gained by fraud must go to the liberation of -his soul from purgatory. Let his wealth be divided among the workmen of -this our building, and the poorer servants of our palace. - -32. Now I must speak of two things which happened in that same -place.[70] There was a deacon who followed the Italian custom and -resisted the course of nature. For he went to the baths and had himself -closely shaved, polished his skin, cleaned his nails, and had his hair -cut as short as if it had been done by a lathe. Then he put on linen and -a white robe, and then, because he must not miss his turn, or rather -desiring to make a fine show, he proceeded to read the gospel before God -and His holy angels, and in the presence of the most watchful king; his -heart in the meantime being unclean, as events were to show. For while -he was reading, a spider came down from the ceiling by a thread, hooked -itself on to the deacon's head, and then ran up again. The most -observant Charles saw this happen a second and a third time, but -pretended not to notice it, and the clerk, because of the emperor's -presence, dare not keep off the spider with his hand, and moreover did -not know that it was a spider attacking him, but thought that it was -merely the tickling of a fly. So he finished the reading of the gospel, -and also went through the rest of the office. But when he left the -cathedral he soon began to swell up, and died within an hour. But the -most scrupulous Charles, inasmuch as he had seen his danger and had not -prevented it, thought himself guilty of manslaughter and did public -penance. - -33. Now the most glorious Charles had in his suite a certain clerk who -was unsurpassed in every respect. And of him that was said which was -never said of any other mortal man: for it was said that he excelled all -mankind in knowledge of both sacred and profane literature; in song -whether ecclesiastical or festive; in the composition and rendering of -poems and in the sweet fulness of his voice and in the incredible -pleasure which he gave. [Other men have had drawbacks to compensate for -their excellences]:[71] for Moses, the lawgiver filled with wisdom by -the teaching of God, complains nevertheless that "he is not eloquent" -but slow of speech, and "of a slow tongue," and sent therefore Joshua to -take counsel with Eleasar, the high priest, who by the authority of the -God, who dwelt within him, commanded even the heavenly bodies: and our -Master Christ did not allow John the Baptist to work any miracle while -in the body, though he bare witness that "among them that are born of -women there hath not arisen a greater" than he: and He bade Peter revere -the wisdom of Paul, though Peter by the revelation of the Father -recognised Him and received from Him the keys of the kingdom of heaven: -and He allowed John His best-loved disciple to fall into so great a -terror that he did not dare to come to the place of His sepulchre, -though weak women paid many visits to it. - -But as the scriptures say: "To him that hath shall be given"; and those, -who know from whom they have the little which they possess, succeed; -while he who knows not the giver of his possessions, or, if he knows it, -gives not due thanks to the Giver, loses all. For, while this wonderful -clerk was standing in friendly fashion near the most glorious emperor, -suddenly he disappeared. The unconquered Emperor Charles was -dumfoundered at so unheard of and incredible an occurrence: but, after -he had made the sign of the cross, he found in the place where the clerk -had stood something that seemed to be a foul-smelling coal, which had -just ceased to burn. - -34. The mention of the trailing garment that the emperor wore at night -has diverted us from his military array. Now the dress and equipment of -the old Franks was as follows:--Their boots were gilt on the outside and -decorated with laces three cubits long. The thongs round the legs were -red, and under them they wore upon their legs and thighs linen of the -same colour, artistically embroidered. The laces stretched above these -linen garments and above the crossed thongs, sometimes under them and -sometimes over them, now in front of the leg and now behind. Then came a -rich linen shirt and then a buckled sword-belt. The great sword was -surrounded first with a sheath, then with a covering of leather, and -lastly with a linen wrap hardened with shining wax. - -The last part of their dress was a white or blue cloak in the shape of a -double square; so that when it was placed upon the shoulders it touched -the feet in front and behind, but at the side hardly came down to the -knees. In the right hand was carried a stick of apple-wood, with regular -knots, strong and terrible; a handle of gold or silver decorated with -figures was fastened to it. I myself am lazy and slower than a tortoise, -and so never got into Frankland; but I saw the King of the Franks[72] in -the monastery of Saint Gall, glittering in the dress that I have -described. - -But the habits of man change; and when the Franks, in their wars with -the Gauls, saw the latter proudly wearing little striped cloaks, they -dropped their national customs and began to imitate the Gauls. At first -the strictest of emperors did not forbid the new habit, because it -seemed more suitable for war: but, when he found that the Frisians were -abusing his permission, and were selling these little cloaks at the same -price as the old large ones, he gave orders that no one should buy from -them, at the usual price, anything but the old cloaks, broad, wide and -long: and he added: "What is the good of those little napkins? I cannot -cover myself with them in bed and when I am on horseback I cannot shield -myself with them against wind and rain." - -In the preface to this little work I said I would follow three -authorities only. But as the chief of these, Werinbert, died seven days -ago and to-day (the thirteenth of May) we, his bereaved sons and -disciples, are going to pay solemn honour to his memory, here I will -bring this book to an end, concerning the piety of Lord Charles and his -care of the Church, which has been taken from the lips of this same -clerk, Werinbert. - -The next book which deals with the wars of the most fierce Charles is -founded on the narrative of Werinbert's father, Adalbert. He followed -his master Kerold in the Hunnish, Saxon and Slavic wars, and when I was -quite a child, and he a very old man, I lived in his house and he used -often to tell me the story of these events. I was most unwilling to -listen and would often run away; but in the end by sheer force he made -me hear. - - - - -BOOK II -CONCERNING THE WARS AND MILITARY EXPLOITS OF CHARLES - - -As I am going to found this narrative on the story told by a man of the -world, who had little skill in letters, I think it will be well that I -should first recount something of earlier history on the credit of -written books. When Julian,[73] whom God hated, was slain in the Persian -war by a blow from heaven, not only did the transmarine provinces fall -away from the Roman Empire, but also the neighbouring provinces of -Pannonia, Noricum, Rhætia, or in other words the Germans and the Franks -or Gauls. Then too the kings of the Franks (or Gauls) began to decay in -power because they had slain Saint Didier, Bishop of Vienna, and had -expelled those most holy visitors, Columban and Gall. Whereupon the race -of the Huns,[74] who had already often ravaged Francia and Aquitania -(that is to say the Gauls and the Spains), now poured out with all their -forces, devastated the whole land like a wide-sweeping conflagration, -and then carried off all their spoils to a very safe hiding-place. Now -Adalbert, whom I have already mentioned, used to explain the nature of -this hiding-place as follows:--"The land of the Huns," he would say, -"was surrounded by nine rings."[75] I could not think of any rings -except our ordinary wicker rings for sheepfolds; and so I asked: "What, -in the name of wonder, do you mean, sire?" "Well," he said, "it was -fortified by nine hedges." I could not think of any hedges except those -that protect our cornfields, so again I asked and he answered: "One ring -was as wide, that is, it contained as much within it, as all the country -between Tours and Constance. It was fashioned with logs of oak and ash -and yew and was twenty feet wide and the same in height. All the space -within was filled with hard stones and binding clay; and the surface of -these great ramparts was covered with sods and grass. Within the limits -of the ring shrubs were planted of such a kind that, when lopped and -bent down, they still threw out twigs and leaves. Then between these -ramparts hamlets and houses were so arranged that a man's voice could be -made to reach from one to the other. And opposite to the houses, at -intervals in those unconquerable walls, were constructed doors of no -great size; and through these doors the inhabitants from far and near -would pour out on marauding expeditions. The second ring was like the -first and was distant twenty Teutonic miles (or forty Italian) from the -third ring: and so on to the ninth: though of course the successive -rings were each much narrower than the preceding one. But in all the -circles the estates and houses were everywhere so arranged that the peal -of the trumpet would carry the news of any event from one to the other." - -For two hundred years and more the Huns had swept the wealth of the -western states within these fortifications, and as the Goths and Vandals -were disturbing the repose of the world at the same time the western -world was almost turned into a desert. But the most unconquerable -Charles so subdued them in eight years that he allowed scarcely any -traces of them to remain. He withdrew his hand from the Bulgarians, -because after the destruction of the Huns they did not seem likely to do -any harm to the kingdom of the Franks. All the booty of the Huns, which -he found in Pannonia, he divided most liberally among the bishoprics and -the monasteries. - -2. In the Saxon war in which he was engaged in person for some -considerable time, two private men (whose names I know, but modesty -forbids me to give them) organised a storming party, and destroyed with -great courage the walls of a very strong city and fortification. When -the most just Charles saw this he made one of them, with the consent of -his master Kerold, commander of the country between the Rhine and the -Italian Alps and the other he enriched with gifts of land. - -3. At the same time there were the sons of two nobles whose duty it was -to watch at the door of the king's tent. But one night they lay as dead, -soaked in liquor; while Charles, wakeful as usual, went the round of the -camp, and came back to his tent without anyone having noticed him. When -morning came he called to him the chiefs of his kingdom, and asked them -what punishment seemed due to those who betrayed the King of the Franks -into the hands of the enemy. Then these nobles, quite ignorant of what -had occurred, declared that such a man was worthy of death. But Charles -merely upbraided them bitterly and let them go unharmed. - -4. There were also with him two bastards, the children of a concubine. -As they had fought in battle most bravely, the emperor asked them whose -children they were, and where they were born. When he was informed of -the facts, he called them to his tent at midday and said: "My good -fellows, I want you to serve me, and me only." They exclaimed that they -were there for no other purpose than to take even the lowest place in -his service. "Well then," said Charles, "you must serve in my chamber." -They concealed their indignation and said they would be glad to do so; -but soon they seized the moment when the emperor had begun to sleep -soundly, and then rushed out to the camp of the enemy and, in the fray -that followed, wiped out the taint of servitude in their own blood and -that of the enemy. - -5. But occupations such as these did not prevent the high-souled emperor -from sending frequent messengers, carrying letters and presents, to the -kings of the most distant regions; and they sent him in turn whatever -honours their lands could bestow. From the theatre of the Saxon war he -sent messengers to the King of Constantinople; who asked them whether -the kingdom of "his son Charles" was at peace or was being invaded by -the neighbouring peoples. Then the leader of the embassy made answer -that peace reigned everywhere, except only that a certain race called -the Saxons were disturbing the territories of the Franks by frequent -raids. Whereupon the sluggish and unwarlike Greek king answered: "Pooh! -why should my son take so much trouble about a petty enemy that -possesses neither fame nor valour? I will give you the Saxon race and -all that belong to it." When the envoy on his return gave this message -to the most warlike Charles, he smiled and said: "The king would have -shown greater kindness to you if he had given you a leg-wrap for your -long journey." - -6. I must not conceal the wise answer which the same envoy gave during -his embassy to Greece. He came with his companions to one of the royal -towns in the autumn; the party was divided for entertainment, and the -envoy of whom I speak was quartered on a certain bishop. This bishop was -given up to fasting and prayer, and left the envoy to perish of almost -continuous hunger: but, with the first smile of spring, he presented the -envoy to the king. The king asked him his opinion of the bishop. Then -the envoy sighed from the very bottom of his heart and said: "That -bishop of yours reaches the highest point of holiness that can be -attained to without God." The king was amazed, and said: "What! can a -man be holy without God?" Then said the envoy: "It is written, 'God is -love,' and in that grace he is entirely lacking." - -Thereupon the King of Constantinople invited him to his banquet and -placed him among his nobles. Now these had a law that no guest at the -king's table, whether a native or a foreigner, should turn over any -animal or part of an animal: he must eat only the upper part of whatever -was placed before him. Now, a river fish, covered with spice, was -brought and placed on the dish before him. He knew nothing of the custom -and turned the fish over whereupon all the nobles rose up and cried: -"Master, you are dishonoured, as no king ever was before you." Then the -king groaned and said to our envoy: "I cannot resist them: you must be -put to death at once: but ask me any other favour you like and I will -grant it." He thought awhile and then in the hearing of all pronounced -these words: "I pray you, lord emperor, that in accordance with your -promise you will grant me one small petition." And the king said: "Ask -what you will, and you shall have it: except only that I may not give -you your life, for that is against the law of the Greeks." Then said the -envoy: "With my dying breath I ask one favour; let everyone who saw me -turn that fish over be deprived of his eyes." The king was amazed at the -stipulation, and swore, by Christ, that he had seen nothing, but had -only trusted the word of others. Then the queen began to excuse herself: -"By the beneficent Mother of God, the Holy Mary, I noticed nothing." -Then the other nobles, in their desire to escape from the danger, swore, -one by the keeper of the keys of heaven, and another by the apostle of -the Gentiles, and all the rest by the virtue of the angels and the -companies of the saints, that they were beyond the reach of the -stipulation. And so the clever Frank beat the empty-headed Greeks in -their own land and came home safe and sound. - -A few years later the unwearied Charles sent to Greece a certain bishop -remarkable both for his physical and mental gifts, and with him the most -noble Duke Hugo. After a long delay they were at last brought into the -presence of the king and then sent about to all manner of places. But at -last they got their dismissal and returned, after paying heavily for -their journey by sea and land. - -Soon afterwards the Greek king sent his envoy to the most glorious -Charles. It so happened that the bishop and the duke whom I have -mentioned were just then with the emperor. When it was announced that -the envoys were coming they advised the most wise Charles to have them -led round through mountains and deserts, so that they should only come -into the emperor's presence when their clothes had been worn and wasted, -and their money was entirely spent. - -This was done; and, when at last they arrived, the bishop and his -comrade bade the count of the stables take his seat on a high throne in -the midst of his underlings, so that it was impossible to believe him -anyone lower than the emperor. When the envoys saw him they fell upon -the ground and wanted to worship him. But they were prevented by the -ministers and forced to go farther. Then they saw the count of the -palace presiding over a gathering of the nobles and again they thought -it was the emperor and flung themselves to earth. But those who were -present drove them forward with blows and said: "That is not the -emperor." Next they saw the master of the royal table surrounded by his -noble band of servants; and again they fell to the ground thinking that -it was the emperor. Driven thence they found the chamberlains of the -emperor and their chief in council together; and then they did not doubt -but that they were in the presence of the first of living men. But this -man too denied that he was what they took him for; and yet he promised -that he would use his influence with the nobles of the palace, so that -if possible the envoys might come into the presence of the most august -emperor. Then there came servants from the imperial presence to -introduce them with full honours. Now Charles, the most gracious of -kings, was standing by an open window leaning upon Bishop Heitto, for -that was the name of the bishop who had been sent to Constantinople. The -emperor was clad in gems and gold and glittered like the sun at its -rising: and round about him stood, as it were the chivalry of heaven, -three young men, his sons,[76] who have since been made partners in the -kingdom; his daughters and their mother decorated with wisdom and beauty -as well as with pearls; leaders of the Church, unsurpassed in dignity -and virtue; abbots distinguished for their high birth and their -sanctity; nobles, like Joshua when he appeared in the camp of Gilgal; -and an army like that which drove back the Syrians and Assyrians out of -Samaria. So that if David had been there he might well have sung: "Kings -of the earth and all people; princes and all judges of the earth; both -young men and maidens; old men and children let them praise the name of -the Lord." Then the envoys of the Greeks were astonished; their spirit -left them and their courage failed; speechless and lifeless they fell -upon the ground. But the most kindly emperor raised them, and tried to -cheer them with encouraging words. At last life returned to them; but -when they saw Heitto, whom they had once despised and rejected, now in -so great honour, again they grovelled on the ground in terror; until the -king swore to them by the King of Heaven that he would do them no harm. -They took heart at this promise and began to act with a little more -confidence; and so home they went and never came back again. - -7. And here I must repeat that the most illustrious Charles had men of -the greatest cleverness in all offices. When the morning lauds had been -celebrated before the emperor on the octave of the Epiphany, the Greeks -proceeded privately to sing to God in their own language psalms with the -same melody and the same subject matter as "_Veterem hominem_" and the -following words in our missal. Thereupon the emperor ordered one of his -chaplains, who understood the Greek tongue, to adopt that psalm in Latin -to the same melody, and to take special care that a separate syllable -corresponded to every separate note, so that the Latin and Greek should -resemble one another as far as the nature of the two languages allowed. -So it came to pass that all of them have been written in the same -rhythm, and in one of them _conteruit_ has been substituted for -"_contrivit._" - -These same Greek envoys brought with them every kind of organ, as well -as other instruments of various kinds. All of these were covertly -inspected by the workmen of the most wise Charles, and then exactly -reproduced. The chief of these was that musicians' organ, wherein the -great chests were made of brass: and bellows of ox-hide blew through -pipes of brass, and the bass was like the roaring of the thunder, and in -sweetness it equalled the tinkling of lyre or cymbal. But I must not, -here and now, speak of where it was set up, and how long it lasted, and -how it perished at the same time as other losses fell upon the state. - -8. About the same time also envoys of the Persians were sent to him. -They knew not where Frankland lay; but because of the fame of Rome, over -which they knew that Charles had rule, they thought it a great thing -when they were able to reach the coast of Italy. They explained the -reason of their journey to the Bishops of Campania and Tuscany, of -Emilia and Liguria, of Burgundy and Gaul and to the abbots and counts of -those regions; but by all they were either deceitfully handled or else -actually driven off; so that a whole year had gone round before, weary -and footsore with their long journey, they reached Aix at last and saw -Charles, the most renowned of kings by reason of his virtues. They -arrived in the last week of Lent, and, on their arrival being made known -to the emperor, he postponed their presentation until Easter Eve. Then -when that incomparable monarch was dressed with incomparable -magnificence for the chief of festivals, he ordered the introduction of -the envoys of that race that had once held the whole world in awe.[77] -But they were so terrified at the sight of the most magnificent Charles -that one might think they had never seen king or emperor before. He -received them however most kindly, and granted them this privilege--that -they might go wherever they had a mind to, even as one of his own -children, and examine everything and ask what questions and make what -inquiries they chose. They jumped with joy at this favour, and valued -the privilege of clinging close to Charles, of gazing upon him, of -admiring him, more than all the wealth of the east. - -They went up into the ambulatory that runs round the nave of the -cathedral and looked down upon the clergy and the nobles; then they -returned to the emperor, and, by reason of the greatness of their joy, -they could not refrain from laughing aloud; and they clapped their hands -and said:--"We have seen only men of clay before: here are men of gold." -Then they went to the nobles, one by one, and gazed with wonder upon -arms and clothes that were strange to them; and then came back to the -emperor, whom they regarded with wonder still greater. They passed that -night and the next Sunday continuously in church; and, upon the most -holy day itself, they were invited by the most munificent Charles to a -splendid banquet, along with the nobles of Frankland and Europe. There -they were so struck with amazement at the strangeness of everything that -they had hardly eaten anything at the end of the banquet. - - "But when the Morn, leaving Tithonus' bed, - Illumined all the land with Phoebus' torch" - -then Charles, who would never endure idleness and sloth, went out to the -woods to hunt the bison and the urochs; and made preparations to take -the Persian envoys with him. But when they saw the immense animals they -were stricken with a mighty fear and turned and fled. But the undaunted -hero Charles, riding on a high-mettled charger, drew near to one of -these animals and drawing his sword tried to cut through its neck. But -he missed his aim, and the monstrous beast ripped the boot and -leg-thongs of the emperor; and, slightly wounding his calf with the tip -of its horn, made him limp slightly: after that, furious at the failure -of its stroke, it fled to the shelter of a valley, which was thickly -covered with stones and trees. Nearly all his servants wanted to take -off their own hose to give to Charles, but he forbade it saying: "I mean -to go in this fashion to Hildigard." Then Isambard, the son of Warin -(the same Warin that persecuted your patron Saint Othmar),[78] ran after -the beast and not daring to approach him more closely, threw his lance -and pierced him to the heart between the shoulder and the wind-pipe, and -brought the beast yet warm to the emperor. He seemed to pay no attention -to the incident; but gave the carcass to his companions and went home. -But then he called the queen and showed her how his leg-coverings were -torn, and said: "What does the man deserve who freed me from the enemy -that did this to me?" She made answer: "He deserves the highest boon." -Then the emperor told the whole story and produced the enormous horns of -the beast in witness of his truth: so that the empress sighed and wept -and beat her breast. But when she heard that it was Isambard, who had -saved him from this terrible enemy, Isambard, who was in ill favour with -the emperor and who had been deprived of all his offices--she threw -herself at his feet and induced him to restore all that had been taken -from him; and a largess was given to him besides. - -These same Persian envoys brought the emperor an elephant, monkeys, -balsam, nard, unguents of various kinds, spices, scents and many kinds -of drugs: in such profusion that it seemed as if the east had been left -bare that the west might be filled. They came by-and-by to stand on very -familiar terms with the emperor; and one day, when they were in a -specially merry mood and a little heated with strong beer, they spoke in -jest as follows:--"Sir emperor, your power is indeed great; but much -less than the report of it which is spread through all the kingdoms of -the east." When he heard this he concealed his deep displeasure and -asked jestingly of them: "Why do you say that, my children? How did that -idea get into your heads?" Then they went back to the beginning and told -him everything that had happened to them in the lands beyond the sea; -and they said:--"We Persians and the Medes, Armenians, Indians, -Parthians, Elamites, and all the inhabitants of the east fear you much -more than our own ruler Haroun.[79] And the Macedonians and all the -Greeks (how shall we express it?) they are beginning to fear your -overwhelming greatness more than the waves of the Ionian Sea. And the -inhabitants of all the islands through which we passed were as ready to -obey you, and as much devoted to your service, as if they had been -reared in your palace and loaded with your favours. But the nobles of -your own kingdom, it seems to us, care very little about you except in -your presence: for when we came as strangers to them, and begged them to -show us some kindness for the love of you, to whom we desired to make -our way, they gave no heed to us and sent us away empty-handed." Then -the emperor deposed all counts and abbots, through whose territories -those envoys had come, from all the offices that they held; and fined -the bishops in a huge sum of money. Then he ordered the envoys to be -taken back to their own country with all care and honour. - -9. There came to him also envoys from the King of the Africans, bringing -a Marmorian lion and a Numidian bear, with Spanish iron and Tyrian -purple, and other noteworthy products of those regions. The most -munificent Charles knew that the king and all the inhabitants of Africa -were oppressed by constant poverty; and so, not only on this occasion -but all through his life, he made them presents of the wealth of Europe, -corn and wine and oil, and gave them liberal support; and thus he kept -them constantly loyal and obedient to himself, and received from them a -considerable tribute. - -Soon after the unwearied emperor sent to the emperor of the Persians -horses and mules from Spain; Frisian robes, white, grey, red and blue; -which in Persia, he was told, were rarely seen and highly prized. Dogs -too he sent him of remarkable swiftness and fierceness, such as the King -of Persia had desired, for the hunting and catching of lions and tigers. -The King of Persia cast a careless eye over the other presents, but -asked the envoys what wild beasts or animals these dogs were accustomed -to fight with. He was told that they would pull down quickly anything -they were set on to. "Well," he said, "experience will test that." Next -day the shepherds were heard crying loudly as they fled from a lion. -When the noise came to the palace of the king, he said to the envoys: -"Now, my friends of Frankland, mount your horses and follow me." Then -they eagerly followed after the king as though they had never known toil -or weariness. When they came in sight of the lion, though he was yet at -a distance, the satrap of the satraps said to them: "Now set your dogs -on to the lion." They obeyed and eagerly galloped forward; the German -dogs caught the Persian lion, and the envoys slew him with swords of -northern metal, which had already been tempered in the blood of the -Saxons. - -At this sight Haroun, the bravest inheritor of that name, understood the -superior might of Charles from very small indications, and thus broke -out in his praise:--"Now I know that what I heard of my brother Charles -is true: how that by the frequent practice of hunting, and by the -unwearied training of his body and mind, he has acquired the habit of -subduing all that is beneath the heavens. How can I make worthy -recompense for the honours which he has bestowed upon me? If I give him -the land which was promised to Abraham and shown to Joshua, it is so far -away that he could not defend it from the barbarians: or if, like the -high-souled king that he is, he tried to defend it I fear that the -provinces which lie upon the frontiers of the Frankish kingdom would -revolt from his empire. But in this way I will try to show my gratitude -for his generosity. I will give that land into his power; and I will -rule over it as his representative. Whenever he likes or whenever there -is a good opportunity he shall send me envoys; and he will find me a -faithful manager of the revenue of that province." - -Thus was brought to pass what the poet spoke of as an impossibility:-- - - "The Parthian's eyes the Arar's stream shall greet - And Tigris' waves shall lave the German's feet": - -for through the energy of the most vigorous Charles it was found not -merely possible but quite easy for his envoys to go and return; and the -messengers of Haroun, whether young or old, passed easily from Parthia -into Germany and returned from Germany to Parthia. (And the poet's words -are true, whatever interpretation the grammarians put on "the river -Arar,"[80] whether they think it an affluent of the Rhone or the Rhine; -for they have fallen into confusion on this point through their -ignorance of the locality). I could call on Germany to bear witness to -my words; for in the time of your glorious father Lewis the land was -compelled to pay a penny for every acre of land held under the law -towards the redemption of Christian captives in the Holy Land; and they -made their wretched appeal in the name of the dominion anciently held -over that land by your great-grandfather Charles and your grandfather -Lewis. - -10. Now as the occasion has arisen to make honourable mention of your -never-sufficiently-praised father,[81] I should like to recall some -prophetic words which the most wise Charles is known to have uttered -about him. When he was six years old and had been most carefully reared -in the house of his father, he was thought (and justly) to be wiser than -men sixty years of age. His father then, hardly thinking it possible -that he could bring him to see his grandfather, nevertheless took him -from his mother, who had reared him with the most tender care, and began -to instruct him how to conduct himself with propriety and modesty in the -presence of the emperor; and how if he were asked a question he was to -make answer and show in all things deference to his father. Thereafter -he took him to the palace; and, on the first or second day, the emperor -noted him with interest standing among the rest of the courtiers. "Who -is that little fellow?" he said to his son; and he had for answer: "He -is mine, sire; and yours if you deign to have him." So he said: "Give -him to me"; and, when that was done, he took the little fellow and -kissed him and sent him back to the place where he had formerly stood. -But now he knew his own rank; and thought it shame to stand lower than -any one who was lower in rank than the emperor; so with perfect -composure of mind and body he took his place on terms of equality with -his father. The most prophetic Charles noticed this; and, calling his -son Lewis, told him to find out the name of the boy; and why he acted in -this way; and what it was that made him bold enough to claim equality -with his father. The answer that Lewis got was founded on good reason: -"When I was your vassal," he said, "I stood behind you and among -soldiers of my own rank, as I was bound to do: but now I am your ally -and comrade in arms, and so I rightly claim equality with you." When -Lewis reported this to the emperor, the latter gave utterance to words -something like these:--"If that little fellow lives he will be something -great." (I have borrowed these words from the Life of Saint Ambrose,[82] -because the actual words that Charles used cannot be translated directly -into Latin. And it seems fair to apply the prophecy which was made of -Saint Ambrose to Lewis; for Lewis closely resembled the saint, except in -such points as are necessary to an earthly commonwealth, as for instance -marriage and the use of arms; and in the power of his kingdom and his -zeal for religion, Lewis was, if I may say so, superior to Saint -Ambrose. He was a Catholic in faith, devoted to the worship of God, and -the unwearied ally, protector, and defender of the servants of Christ. - -Here is an instance of this. When our faithful Abbot Hartmuth--who is -now your hermit--reported to him that the little endowment of Saint -Gall, which was due not to royal munificence but to the petty offerings -of private people, was not defended by any special charter such as other -monasteries have, nor even by the laws that are common to all people, -and so was unable to procure any defender or advocate, King Lewis -himself resisted all our opponents, and was not ashamed to proclaim -himself the champion of our weakness in the presence of all his nobles. -At the same time too he wrote a letter to your genius directing that we -should have licence to make petition, after taking a special vote, for -whatever we would through your authority. But alas, what a stupid -creature I am! I have been probably drawn aside by my personal gratitude -for the special kindness he showed us, away from his general and -indescribable goodness and greatness and nobleness.) - -11. Now Lewis, King and Emperor of all Germany, of the provinces of -Rhætia and of ancient Francia, of Saxony too and of Thuringia, of the -provinces of Pannonia and of all northern nations, was of large build -and handsome; his eyes sparkled like the stars, his voice was clear and -manly. His wisdom was quite out of the common, and he added to it by -constantly applying his singularly acute intellect to the study of the -scriptures. He showed wonderful quickness too in anticipating or -overcoming the plots of his enemies, in bringing to an end the quarrels -of his subjects, and in procuring every kind of advantage for those who -were loyal to him. More even than his ancestors he came to be a terror -to all the heathen that stood round about his kingdom. And he deserved -his good fortune; for he never defiled his tongue by condemning, nor his -hands by shedding Christian blood: except once only, and then upon the -most absolute necessity. But I dare not tell that story until I see a -little Lewis or a Charles standing by your side.[83] After that one -slaughter, nothing could induce him to condemn anyone to death. But the -measure of compulsion which he used against those who were accused of -disloyalty or plots was merely this: he deprived them of office, and no -new circumstance and no length of time could then soften his heart so as -to restore them to the former rank. He surpassed all men in his zealous -devotion to prayer, religious fasting and the care of the service of -God; and like Saint Martin, whatever he was doing, he prayed to God as -though he were face to face with Him. On certain days he abstained from -flesh and all pleasant food. At the time of litanies he used to follow -the cross with unshod feet from his palace as far as the cathedral; or -if he were at Regensburg as far as the church of Saint Hemmeramm.[84] In -other places he followed the customs of those whom he was with. He built -new oratories of wonderful workmanship at Frankfurt and Regensburg. In -the latter place, as stones were wanting to complete the immense fabric, -he ordered the walls of the city to be pulled down; and in certain holes -in the wall they found bones of men long dead, wrapped in so much gold, -that not only did it serve to decorate the cathedral, but also he was -able to furnish certain books that were written on the subject with -cases of the same material nearly a finger thick. No clerk could stay -with him, or even come into his presence, unless he were able to read -and chant. He despised monks who broke their vows, and loved those who -kept them. He was so full of sweet-tempered mirth, that, if anyone came -to him in a morose mood, merely to see him and exchange a few words with -him sent the visitor away with raised spirits. If anything evil or -foolish was done in his presence, or if it happened that he were told of -it, then a single glance of his eyes was enough to check everything, so -that what is written of the eternal Judge who sees the hearts of men -(viz. "A King that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth away -all evil with His eyes") might be fairly said to have begun in him, -beyond what is usually granted to mortals. - -All this I have written by way of digression, hoping that, if life lasts -and Heaven is propitious, I may in time to come write much more -concerning him. - -12. But I must return to my subject. While Charles was detained for a -little at Aix by the arrival of many visitors and the hostility of the -unconquered Saxons and the robbery and piracy of the Northmen and Moors, -and while the war against the Huns was being conducted by his son -Pippin, the barbarous nations of the north attacked Noricum and eastern -Frankland and ravaged a great part of it. When he heard of this he -humiliated them in his own person; and he gave orders that all the boys -and children of the invaders should be "measured with the sword"; and if -anyone exceeded that measurement he should be shortened by a head. - -This incident led to another much greater and more important. For, when -your imperial majesty's most holy grandfather departed from life, -certain giants (like to those who, Scripture tells us, were begotten by -the sons of Seth from the daughters of Cain), blown up with the spirit -of pride and doubtless like to those who said, "What part have we in -David and what inheritance in the son of Esau?"--these mighty men, I -say, despised the most worthy children of Charles, and each tried to -seize for himself the command in the kingdom and themselves to wear the -crown. Then some of the middle class were moved by the inspiration of -God to declare that, as the renowned Emperor Charles had once measured -the enemies of Christianity with the sword, so, as long as any of his -progeny could be found of the length of a sword, he must rule over the -Franks and over all Germany too: thereupon that devilish group of -conspirators was as it were struck with a thunderbolt, and scattered in -all directions. - -But, after conquering the external foe, Charles was attacked at the -hands of his own people in a remarkable but unavailing plot.[85] For on -his return from the Slavs into his own kingdom he was nearly captured -and put to death by his son, whom a concubine had borne to him and who -had been called by his mother by the ill-omened name of the most -glorious Pippin. The plot was found out in the following manner. This -son of Charles had been plotting the death of the emperor with a -gathering of nobles, in the church of Saint Peter; and when their debate -was over, fearful of every shadow, he ordered search to be made, to see -whether anyone was hidden in the corners or under the altar. And behold -they found, as they feared, a clerk hidden under the altar. They seized -him and made him swear that he would not reveal their conspiracy. To -save his life, he dared not refuse to take the oath which they dictated: -but, when they were gone, he held his wicked oath of small account and -at once hurried to the palace. With the greatest difficulty he passed -through the seven bolted gates, and coming at length to the emperor's -chamber knocked upon the door. The most vigilant Charles fell into a -great astonishment, as to who it was that dared to disturb him at that -time of night. He however ordered the women (who followed in his train -to wait upon the queen and the princesses) to go out and see who was at -the door and what he wanted. When they went out and found the wretched -creature, they bolted the door in his face and then, bursting with -laughter and stuffing their dresses into their mouths, they tried to -hide themselves in the corners of the apartments. But that most wise -emperor, whose notice nothing under heaven could escape, asked straitly -of the women who it was and what he wanted. When he was told that it was -a smooth-faced, silly, half-mad knave, dressed only in shirt and -drawers, who demanded an audience without delay, Charles ordered him to -be admitted. Then he fell at the emperor's feet and showed all that had -happened. So all the conspirators, entirely unsuspicious of danger, were -seized before the third hour of the day and most deservedly condemned to -exile or some other form of punishment. Pippin himself, a dwarf and a -hunchback, was cruelly scourged, tonsured, and sent for some time as a -punishment to the monastery of Saint Gall; the poorest, it was judged, -and the straitest in all the emperor's broad dominions. - -A short time afterwards some of the Frankish nobles sought to do -violence to their king. Charles was well aware of their intentions, and -yet did not wish to destroy them; because, if only they were loyal, they -might be a great protection to all Christian men. So he sent messengers -to this Pippin and asked him his advice in the matter. - -They found him in the monastery garden, in the company of the elder -brothers, for the younger ones were detained by their work.[86] He was -digging up nettles and other weeds with a hoe, that the useful herbs -might grow more vigorously. When they had explained to him the reason of -their coming he sighed deeply, from the very bottom of his heart, and -said in reply:--"If Charles thought my advice worth having he would not -have treated me so harshly. I give him no advice. Go, tell him what you -found me doing." They were afraid to go back to the dreaded emperor -without a definite answer, and again and again asked him what message -they should convey to their lord. Then at last he said in anger:--"I -will send him no message except--what I am doing! I am digging up the -useless growths in order that the valuable herbs may be able to develop -more freely." - -So they went away sorrowfully thinking that they were bringing back a -foolish answer. When the emperor asked them upon their arrival what -answer they were bringing, they answered sorrowfully that after all -their labour and long journeying they could get no definite information -at all. Then that most wise king asked them carefully where they had -found Pippin, what he was doing, and what answer he had given them; and -they said: "We found him sitting on a rustic seat turning over the -vegetable garden with a hoe. When we told him the cause of our journey -we could extract no other reply than this, even by the greatest -entreaties: 'I give no message, except--what I am doing! I am digging up -the useless growths in order that the valuable herbs may be able to -develop more freely.'" When he heard this the emperor, not lacking in -cunning and mighty in wisdom, rubbed his ears and blew out his nostrils -and said: "My good vassals, you have brought back a very reasonable -answer." So while the messengers were fearing that they might be in -peril of their lives, Charles was able to divine the real meaning of the -words. He took all those plotters away from the land of the living; and -so gave to his loyal subjects room to grow and spread, which had -previously been occupied by those unprofitable servants. One of his -enemies, who had chosen as his part of the spoil of the empire the -highest hill in France and all that could be seen from it, was, by -Charles's orders, hanged upon a high gallows on that very hill. But he -bade his bastard son Pippin choose the manner of life that most pleased -him. Upon this permission being given him, he chose a post in a -monastery then most noble but now destroyed.[87] (Who is there that does -not know the manner of its destruction! But I will not tell the story of -its fall until I see your little Bernard with a sword girt upon his -thigh.) - -The magnanimous Charles was often angry because he was urged to go out -and fight against foreign nations, when one of his nobles might have -accomplished the task. I can prove this from the action of one of my own -neighbours. There was a man of Thurgau,[88] of the name of Eishere, who -as his name implies was "a great part of a terrible army"[89] and so -tall that you might have thought him sprung from the race of Anak, if -they had not lived so long ago and so far away. Whenever he came to the -river Dura and found it swollen and foaming with the torrents from the -mountains, and could not force his huge charger to enter the stream -(though stream I must not call it, but hardly melted ice), then he would -seize the reins and force his horse to swim through behind him, saying: -"Nay, by Saint Gall, you must come, whether you like it or not!" - -Well, this man followed the emperor and mowed down the Bohemians and -Wiltzes and Avars as a man might mow down hay; and spitted them on his -spear like birds. When he came home the sluggards asked him how he had -got on in the country of the Winides; and he, contemptuous of some and -angry with others, replied: "Why should I have been bothered with those -tadpoles? I used sometimes to spit seven or eight or nine of them on my -spear and carry them about with me squealing in their gibberish. My lord -king and I ought never to have been asked to weary ourselves in fighting -against worms like those." - -13. Now about the same time that the emperor was putting the finishing -touch to the war with the Huns, and had received the surrender of the -races that I have just mentioned, the Northmen left their homes and -disquieted greatly the Gauls and the Franks. Then the unconquered -Charles returned and tried to attack them by land in their own homes, by -a march through difficult and unknown country. But, whether it was that -the providence of God prevented it in order that, as the Scripture says, -He might make trial of Israel, or whether it was that our sins stood in -the way, all his efforts came to nothing. One night, to the serious -discomfort of the whole army, it was calculated that fifty yoke of oxen -belonging to one abbey had died of a sudden disease. Afterwards when -Charles was making a prolonged journey through his vast empire, -Gotefrid, king of the Northmen, encouraged by his absence, invaded the -territory of the Frankish kingdom and chose the district of the Moselle -for his home.[90] But Gotefrid's own son (whose mother he had just put -away and taken to himself a new wife) caught him, while he was pulling -off his hawk from a heron, and cut him through the middle with his -sword. Then, as happened of old when Holofernes was slain, none of the -Northmen dare trust any longer in his courage or his arms; but all -sought safety in flight. And thus the Franks were freed without their -own effort, that they might not after the fashion of Israel boast -themselves against God. Then Charles, the unconquered and the -invincible, glorified God for His judgment; but complained bitterly that -any of the Northmen had escaped because of his absence. "Ah, woe is me!" -he said, "that I was not thought worthy to see my Christian hands -dabbling in the blood of those dog-headed fiends." - -14. It happened too that on his wanderings Charles once came -unexpectedly to a certain maritime city of Narbonensian Gaul. When he -was dining quietly in the harbour of this town, it happened that some -Norman scouts made a piratical raid. When the ships came in sight some -thought them Jews, some African or British merchants, but the most wise -Charles, by the build of the ships and their speed, knew them to be not -merchants but enemies, and said to his companions: "These ships are not -filled with merchandise, but crowded with our fiercest enemies." When -they heard this, in eager rivalry, they hurried in haste to the ships. -But all was in vain, for when the Northmen heard that Charles, the -Hammer, as they used to call him, was there, fearing lest their fleet -should be beaten back or even smashed in pieces, they withdrew -themselves, by a marvellously rapid flight, not only from the swords but -even from the eyes of those who followed them. The most religious, just -and devout Charles had risen from the table and was standing at an -eastern window. For a long time he poured down tears beyond price, and -none dared speak a word to him; but at last he explained his actions and -his tears to his nobles in these words:--"Do you know why I weep so -bitterly, my true servants? I have no fear of those worthless rascals -doing any harm to me; but I am sad at heart to think that even during my -lifetime they have dared to touch this shore; and I am torn by a great -sorrow because I foresee what evil things they will do to my descendants -and their subjects." - -May the protection of our Master Christ prevent the accomplishment of -this prophecy; may your sword, tempered already in the blood of the -Nordostrani, resist it! The sword of your brother Carloman will help, -which now lies idle and rusted, not for want of spirit, but for want of -funds, and because of the narrowness of the lands of your most faithful -servant Arnulf.[91] If your might wills it, if your might orders it, it -will easily be made bright and sharp again. These and the little shoot -of Bernard form the only branch that is left of the once prolific root -of Lewis, to flourish under the wonderful growth of your protection. Let -me insert here therefore in the history of your namesake Charles an -incident in the life of your great-great-grandfather Pippin: which -perhaps some future little Charles or Lewis may read and imitate. - -15. When the Lombards and other enemies of the Romans were attacking -them, they sent ambassadors to this same Pippin, and asked him for the -love of Saint Peter to condescend to come with all speed to their help. -As soon as he had conquered his enemies he came victoriously to -Rome,[92] and this was the song of praise with which the citizens -received him. "The fellow-citizens of the apostles and the servants of -God have come to-day bringing peace, and making their native land -glorious, to give peace to the heathen and to set free the people of the -Lord." (Many people, ignorant of the meaning and origin of this song, -have been accustomed to sing it on the birthdays of the apostles.) -Pippin feared the envy of the people of Rome (or, more truly, of -Constantinople) and soon returned to Frankland. - -When he found that the nobles of his army were accustomed in secret to -speak contemptuously of him, he ordered one day a huge and ferocious -bull to be brought out; and then a savage lion to be let loose upon him. -The lion rushed with tremendous fury on the bull, seized him by the neck -and cast him on the ground. Then the king said to those who stood round -him: "Now, drag off the lion from the bull, or kill the one on the top -of the other." They looked on one another, with a chill at their hearts, -and could hardly utter these words amidst their sobs:--"Lord, what man -is there under heaven, who dare attempt it?" Then Pippin rose -confidently from his throne, drew his sword, and at one blow cut through -the neck of the lion and severed the head of the bull from his -shoulders. Then he put back his sword into its sheath and sat again upon -his throne and said: "Well, do you think I am fit to be your lord? Have -you not heard what the little David did to the giant Goliath, or what -the child Alexander did to his nobles?" They fell to the ground, as -though a thunderbolt had struck them, and cried: "Who but a madman would -deny your right to rule over all mankind?" - -Not only was his courage shown against beasts and men; but he also -fought an incredible contest against evil spirits. The hot baths at Aix -had not yet been built; but hot and healing waters bubbled from the -ground. He ordered his chamberlain to see that the water was clean and -that no unknown person was allowed to enter into them. This was done; -and the king took his sword and, dressed only in linen gown and -slippers, hurried off to the bath; when lo! the Old Enemy met him, and -attacked him as though he would slay him. But the king, strengthened -with the sign of the cross, made bare his sword; and, noticing a shape -in human form, struck his unconquerable sword through it into the ground -so far, that he could only drag it out again after a long struggle. But -the shape was so far material that it defiled all those waters with -blood and gore and horrid slime. But even this did not upset the -unconquerable Pippin. He said to his chamberlain: "Do not mind this -little affair. Let the defiled water run for a while; and then, when it -flows clear again, I will take my bath without delay." - -16. I had intended, most noble emperor, to weave my little narrative -only round your great-grandfather Charles, all of whose deeds you know -well. But since the occasion arose which made it necessary to mention -your most glorious father Lewis, called the illustrious, and your most -religious grandfather Lewis, called the pious, and your most warlike -great-great-grandfather Pippin the younger, I thought it would be wrong -to pass over their deeds in silence, for the sloth of modern writers has -left them almost untold. There is no need to speak of the elder Pippin, -for the most learned Bede in his ecclesiastical history has devoted -nearly a whole volume to him. But now that I have recounted all these -things by way of digression I must swim swan-like back to your -illustrious namesake Charles. But, if I do not curtail somewhat his -feats in war, I shall never come to consider his daily habits of life. -Now I will give with all possible brevity the incidents that occur to -me. - -17. When after the death of the ever-victorious Pippin the Lombards were -again attacking Rome, the unconquered Charles, though he was fully -occupied with business to the north of the Alps, marched swiftly into -Italy. He received the Lombards into his service after they had been -humbled in a war that was almost bloodless, or (one might say), after -they had surrendered of their own free will; and to prevent them from -ever again revolting from the Frankish kingdom or doing any injury to -the territories of Saint Peter, he married the daughter of Desiderius, -chief of the Lombards. But no long time afterwards, because she was an -invalid and little likely to give issue to Charles, she was, by the -counsel of the holiest of the clergy, put aside, even as though she were -dead: whereupon her father in wrath bound his subjects to him by oath, -and shutting himself up within the walls of Pavia, he prepared to give -battle to the invincible Charles, who, when he had received certain news -of the revolt, hurried to Italy with all speed. - -Now it happened that some years before one of the first nobles, called -Otker, had incurred the wrath of the most terrible emperor, and had fled -for refuge to Desiderius. When the near approach of the dreaded Charles -was known, these two went up into a very high tower, from which they -could see anyone approaching at a very great distance. When therefore -the baggage-waggons appeared, which moved more swiftly than those used -by Darius or Julius, Desiderius said to Otker: "Is Charles in that vast -army?" And Otker answered: "Not yet." Then when he saw the vast force of -the nations gathered together from all parts of his empire, he said with -confidence to Otker: "Surely Charles moves in pride among those forces." -But Otker answered: "Not yet, not yet." Then Desiderius fell into great -alarm and said, "What shall we do if a yet greater force comes with -him?" And Otker said, "You will see what he is like when he comes. What -will happen to us I cannot say." And, behold, while they were thus -talking, there came in sight Charles's personal attendants, who never -rested from their labours; and Desiderius saw them and cried in -amazement, "There is Charles." And Otker answered: "Not yet, not yet." -Then they saw the bishops and the abbots and the clerks of his chapel -with their attendants. When he saw them he hated the light and longed -for death, and sobbed and stammered, "Let us go down to hide ourselves -in the earth from the face of an enemy so terrible." And Otker answered -trembling, for once, in happier days, he had had thorough and constant -knowledge of the policy and preparations of the unconquerable Charles: -"When you see an iron harvest bristling in the fields; and the Po and -the Ticino pouring against the walls of the city like the waves of the -sea, gleaming black with glint of iron, then know that Charles is at -hand." Hardly were these words finished when there came from the west a -black cloud, which turned the bright day to horrid gloom. But as the -emperor drew nearer the gleam of the arms turned the darkness into day, -a day darker than any night to that beleaguered garrison. Then could be -seen the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet, his hands clad in -iron gauntlets, his iron breast and broad shoulders protected with an -iron breastplate: an iron spear was raised on high in his left hand; his -right always rested on his unconquered iron falchion. The thighs, which -with most men are uncovered that they may the more easily ride on -horseback, were in his case clad with plates of iron: I need make no -special mention of his greaves, for the greaves of all the army were of -iron. His shield was all of iron: his charger was iron-coloured and -iron-hearted. All who went before him, all who marched by his side, all -who followed after him and the whole equipment of the army imitated him -as closely as possible. The fields and open places were filled with -iron; the rays of the sun were thrown back by the gleam of iron; a -people harder than iron paid universal honour to the hardness of iron. -The horror of the dungeon seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. "Oh -the iron! Woe for the iron!" was the confused cry that rose from the -citizens. The strong walls shook at the sight of the iron; the -resolution of young and old fell before the iron. Now when the truthful -Otker saw in one swift glance all this which I, with stammering tongue -and the voice of a child, have been clumsily explaining with rambling -words, he said to Desiderius: "There is the Charles that you so much -desired to see": and when he had said this he fell to the ground half -dead. - -But as the inhabitants of the city, either through madness or because -they entertained some hope of resistance, refused to let Charles enter -on that day, the most inventive emperor said to his men: "Let us build -to-day some memorial, so that we may not be charged with passing the day -in idleness. Let us make haste to build for ourselves a little house of -prayer, where we may give due attention to the service of God, if they -do not soon throw open the city to us." No sooner had he said it than -his men flew off in every direction, collected lime and stones, wood and -paint, and brought them to the skilled workmen who always accompanied -him. And between the fourth hour of the day and the twelfth they built, -with the help of the young nobles and the soldiers, such a cathedral, so -provided with walls and roofs, with fretted ceilings and frescoes, that -none who saw it could believe that it had taken less than a year to -build. But, how on the next day some of the citizens wanted to throw -open the gate; and some wanted to fight against him, even without hope -of victory, or rather to fortify themselves against him; and how easily -he conquered, took and occupied the city, without the shedding of blood, -and merely by the exercise of skill;--all this I must leave others to -tell, who follow your highness not for love, but in the hope of gain. - -Then the most religious Charles marched on and came to the city of -Friuli, which the pedants call Forum Julii. Now it happened just at this -time that the bishop of that city (or, to use a modern word, the -patriarch) was drawing near to the end of his life. Charles made haste -to visit him, in order that he might designate his successor by name. -But the bishop, with remarkable piety, sighed from the bottom of his -heart and said: "Sire, I have held this bishopric for a long time -without any use or profit; and now I leave it to the judgment of God and -your disposal. For I do not wish, at the point of death, to add anything -to the mountain of sin that I have heaped together during my life, for -which I shall have to make answer to the inevitable and incorruptible -Judge." The most wise Charles was so pleased with these words, that he -rightly thought him the equal in virtue of the ancient fathers. - -After Charles, of all the energetic Franks the most energetic, had -stayed in that country for a short time, while he was appointing a -worthy successor to the deceased bishop, one festal day after the -celebration of mass he said to his retinue: "We must not let leisure -lead us into slothful habits: let us go hunting and kill something; and -let us all go in the very clothes that we are wearing at this moment." -Now the day was cold and rainy and Charles was wearing a sheepskin, not -much more costly than the cloak which Saint Martin wore when with bare -arms he offered to God a sacrifice that received divine approval. But -the others--for it was a holiday and they had just come from Pavia, -whither the Venetians had carried all the wealth of the east from their -territories beyond the sea--the others, I say, strutted in robes made of -pheasant-skins and silk; or of the necks, backs and tails of peacocks in -their first plumage. Some were decorated with purple and lemon-coloured -ribbons; some were wrapped round with blankets and some in ermine robes. -They scoured the thickets; they were torn by branches of trees, thorns, -and briars; they were drenched with rain; they were defiled with the -blood of wild beasts and the filth of the skins; and in this plight they -returned home. Then the most crafty Charles said: "No one of us must -take off his dress of skins before he goes to bed; they will dry better -upon our bodies." Then everyone, more anxious about his body than his -dress, made search for fire and tried to warm himself. Then they -returned and remained in attendance upon Charles far into the night -before they were dismissed to their apartments. Then when they began to -draw off their dresses of skins and their slender belts, the creased and -shrunken garments could be heard even from a distance cracking like -sticks broken when they are dry: and the courtiers sighed and groaned -and lamented that they had lost so much money on a single day. They had -received however a command from the emperor to appear before him next -day in the same skin-garments. When they came it was no longer the -splendid show of yesterday; for they looked dirty and squalid in their -discoloured and rent clothes. Then Charles, full of guile, said to his -chamberlain: "Give my sheepskin a rub and bring it to me." It came quite -white and perfectly sound and Charles took it and showed it to all those -who were there and spoke as follows:--"Most foolish of mortal men! which -of these dresses is the most valuable and the most useful, this one of -mine which was bought for a piece of silver, or those of yours which you -bought for pounds, nay for many talents?" Their eyes sank to the ground -for they could not bear his most terrible censure. - -Your most religious father imitated this example of the Great Charles -all through his life, for he never allowed anyone, who seemed to him -worthy of his notice or his teaching, to wear anything when on campaign -against the enemy except the military accoutrements, and garments of -wool and linen. If any of his servants, ignorant of this rule, happened -to meet him with silk or silver or gold upon his person, he would -receive a reprimand of the following kind and would depart a better and -a wiser man. "Here's a blaze of gold and silver and scarlet! Why, you -wretched fellow, can't you be satisfied with perishing yourself in -battle if Fate so decides? Must you also give your wealth into the hands -of the enemy; which might have gone to ransom your soul, but now will -decorate the temples of the heathen?" - -But now, though you know it better than I do, I will tell again how, -from early youth up to his seventieth year, the unconquered Lewis -delighted in iron; and what an exhibition of his fondness for iron he -made in the presence of the legates of the Northmen! - -18. When the kings of the Northmen sent gold and silver as witness of -their loyalty and their swords as a mark of their perpetual subjection -and surrender, the king gave orders that the precious metals should be -thrown upon the floor, and should be looked upon by all with contempt, -and be trampled upon by all as though they were dirt. But, as he sat -upon his lofty throne, he ordered the swords to be brought to him that -he might make trial of them. Then the ambassadors, anxious to avoid the -possibility of any suspicion of an evil design, took the swords by the -very point (as servants hand knives to their masters) and thus gave them -to the emperor at their own risk. He took one by the hilt and tried to -bend the tip of the blade right back to the base; but the blade snapped -between his hands which were stronger than the iron itself. Then one of -the envoys drew his own sword from its sheath and offered it, like a -servant, to the emperor's service, saying: "I think you will find this -sword as flexible and as strong as your all-conquering right hand could -desire." Then the emperor (a true emperor he! As the Prophet Isaiah says -in his prophecy, "Consider the rock whence ye were hewn": for he out of -all the vast population of Germany, by the singular favour of God, rose -to the level of the strength and courage of an earlier generation)--the -emperor, I say, bent it like a vine-twig from the extreme point back to -the hilt, and then let it gradually straighten itself again. Then the -envoys gazed upon one another and said in amazement: "Would that our -kings held gold and silver so cheap and iron so precious." - -19. As I have mentioned the Northmen I will show by an incident drawn -from the reign of your grandfather in what slight estimation they hold -faith and baptism. Just as after the death of the warrior King David, -the neighbouring peoples, whom his strong hand had subdued, for a long -time paid their tribute to his peaceful son Solomon: even so the -terrible race of the Northmen still loyally paid to Lewis the tribute -which through terror they had paid to his father, the most august -Emperor Charles. Once the most religious Emperor Lewis took pity on -their envoys, and asked them if they would be willing to receive the -Christian religion; and, when they answered that always and everywhere -and in everything they were ready to obey him, he ordered them to be -baptised in the name of Him, of whom the most learned Augustine says: -"If there were no Trinity, the Truth would never have said: 'Go and -teach all peoples, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and -Holy Ghost.'" The nobles of the palace adopted them almost as children, -and each received from the emperor's chamber a white robe and from their -sponsors a full Frankish attire, of costly robes and arms and other -decorations. - -This was often done and from year to year they came in increasing -numbers, not for the sake of Christ but for earthly advantage. They made -haste to come, not as envoys any longer but as loyal vassals, on Easter -Eve to put themselves at the disposal of the emperor; and it happened -that on a certain occasion they came to the number of fifty. The emperor -asked them whether they wished to be baptised, and when they had -confessed he bade them forthwith be sprinkled with holy water. As linen -garments were not ready in sufficient numbers he ordered shirts to be -cut up and sewn together into the fashion of wraps. One of these was -forthwith clapped upon the shoulders of one of the elder men; and when -he had looked all over it for a minute, he conceived fierce anger in his -mind, and said to the emperor: "I have gone through this washing -business here twenty times already, and I have been dressed in excellent -clothes of perfect whiteness; but a sack like this is more fit for -clodhoppers than for soldiers. If I were not afraid of my nakedness, for -you have taken away my own clothes and have given me no new ones, I -would soon leave your wrap and your Christ as well." - -Ah! how little do the enemies of Christ value the words of the Apostle -of Christ where he says:--"All ye that are baptised in Christ, put on -Christ"; and again: "Ye that are baptised in Christ are baptised in His -death"; or that passage which is aimed especially at those who despise -the faith and violate the sacraments: "Crucifying the Son of God afresh -and putting Him to an open shame!" Oh! would that this were the case -only with the heathen; and not also among those who are called by the -name of Christ! - -20. Now I must tell a story about the goodness of the first Lewis, and -then I shall come back to Charles. That most peaceable emperor Lewis, -being free from the incursions of the enemy, gave all his care to works -of religion, as, for instance, to prayer, to works of charity, to the -hearing and just determinations of trials at law. His talents and his -experience had made him very skilful in this latter business; and when -one day there came to him one, who was considered a very Achitophel by -all, and tried to deceive him he gave him this answer following, with -courteous mien and kindly voice, though with some little agitation of -mind. "Most wise Anselm," he said, "if I may be allowed to say so, I -would venture to observe that you are deviating from the path of -rectitude." From that day the reputation of that legal luminary sank to -nothing in the eyes of all the world. - -21. Moreover the most merciful Lewis was so intent on works of charity -that he liked not merely to have them done in his sight, but even to do -them with his own hand. Even when he was away he made special -arrangements for the trial of cases in which the poor were concerned. He -chose one of their own number, a man of small bodily strength, but -apparently more courageous than the rest, and gave orders that he should -decide offences committed by them; and should see to the restoration of -stolen property, the requital of injuries and wounds, and in cases of -greater crimes to the infliction of mutilation, decapitation, and the -exposure of the bodies on the gallows. This man established dukes, -tribunes, centurions and their representatives, and performed his task -with energy. - -Moreover the most merciful emperor, worshipping Christ in the persons of -all the poor, was never weary of giving them food and clothing: and he -did so especially on the day when Christ, having put off His mortal -body, was preparing to take to Himself an incorruptible one. On that day -it was his practice to make presents to each and every one of those who -served in the palace or did duty in the royal court. He would order -belts, leg coverings and precious garments brought from all parts of his -vast empire to be given to some of his nobles; the lower orders would -get Frisian cloaks of various colours; his grooms, cooks and -kitchen-attendants got clothes of linen and wool and knives according to -their needs. Then, when according to the Acts of the Apostles there was -no one that was in need of anything, there was a universal feeling of -gratitude. The ragged poor, now decently clad, raised their voices to -heaven with the cry of "'Kyrie Eleison' to the blessed Lewis" through -all the wide courts and the smaller openings of Aix (which the Latins -usually call porches); and all the knights who could embraced the feet -of the emperor; and those who could not get to him worshipped him afar -off as he made his way to church. On one of these occasions one of the -fools said in jest: "O happy Lewis, who on one day hast been able to -clothe so many people. By Christ, I think that no one in Europe has -clothed more than you this day except Atto."[93] When the emperor asked -him how it was possible that Atto should have clothed more, the jester, -pleased to have secured the attention of the emperor, said with a grin: -"He has distributed to-day a vast number of new clothes." The emperor, -with the sweetest possible expression on his face, took this for the -silly joke it was, and entered the church in humble devotion, and there -behaved himself so reverently that he seemed to have our Lord Jesus -Christ Himself before his bodily eyes. - -It was his habit to go to the baths every Saturday, not for any need -there was of it, but because it gave him an opportunity of making -presents; for he used to give everything that he took off, except his -sword and belt, to his attendants. His liberality reached even to the -lowest grades: insomuch that he once ordered all his attire to be given -to one Stracholf, a glazier, and a servant of Saint Gall. When the -servants of the barons heard of this, they laid an ambuscade for him on -the road and tried to rob him. Then he cried out: "What are you doing? -You are using violence to the glazier of the emperor!" They answered: -"You can keep your office but ..." - -[_Here the MS. ends, and the further adventures of Stracholf are left to -conjecture._] - - - - -NOTES - - - - - [1] Walafridus Strabo was abbot of a Frankish monastery from 842 to - 849. - - [2] The Emperor Lewis I. (Lewis the Pious, 814-840) was the son and - successor of Charles the Great. His weakness and pietism did much - to wreck the imperial structure of Charles. - - [3] Neither the headings nor the decorations (incisiones) are given in - the present translation. The decorations necessarily disappear, - and the various headings to the paragraphs, not being the work of - Eginhard, are not usually printed with the text. But Walafridus - Strabo was personally known to Eginhard, and his Preface seems, - therefore, to deserve reproduction. - - [4] That is, though there are many who would be ready to write - Charles's life, Eginhard thinks that he has peculiar - qualifications for the task which make it obligatory on him to do - so. - - [5] The Latin of Eginhard's Life is much superior to the general - monkish Latin of his period. _See_ Introduction. - - [6] This is King Childeric III., who was deposed in 751 by a National - Council, with the approval of the Pope. Pippin the Short was then - elected king, and crowned by Boniface. With Childeric the - Merovingian dynasty ends, and gives place to the curiously-named - Carolingian, of which Charlemagne was the greatest representative. - - [7] Eginhard here makes a mistake. The Pope was not Stephen, who held - the Papal See from 752 to 757, but Zacharias, who was Pope from - 741 to 752. Eginhard's mistake is, perhaps, due to the fact that - the decision of Zacharias was confirmed by his successor. - - [8] Mr Carless Davis remarks on this passage: "Eginhard errs in - representing this as an indignity. Religious usage demanded that - the king of the race should make his progresses in this primitive - vehicle. The Merovingians were a national priesthood. Here also we - have the explanation of their flowing locks and beard. The touch - of steel--a metal unknown to the Frankish nation in its - infancy--would have profaned their persons. Similarly the - priesthood of ancient Rome were forbidden to remove the hair from - their faces except with bronze tweezers." ("Life of Charlemagne," - p. 28.) - - [9] This is Charles Martel--Charles the Hammer--who "reigned" as Mayor - of the Palace from 715 to 741. His great victory (variously known - as the Battle of Poitiers, or the Battle of Tours, though the - former is the more accurate title) was fought in 732, and is - regarded as the "Salamis of Western Europe." It was the first - serious blow that the Mohammedan advance had received, and its - effects were decisive. The second battle, fought near Narbonne, - completed the work of the first. - - [10] Pippin, father of Charles Martel, and grandfather of Pippin the - Short, was Mayor of the Palace from 687 to 714. - - [11] Pippin's reign really lasted for rather more than sixteen - years--from 751 to 768. - - [12] This statement, as is clear from other sources, does not - correspond with the facts. Charles took Austrasia, and the greater - part of Neustria, with the lands lying between the Loire and the - Garonne. Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Alemannia, and the - south-eastern part of Aquitaine fell to Carloman. - - [13] Carloman died in December 771. His death removed from the path of - Charles one of the most serious obstacles. The custom of the - Frankish monarchy was equal inheritance of all the sons. It was - this which contributed so much to the disruption of the Frankish - power on the death of Charles; but for the death of Carloman the - "Empire" would never have been founded, or founded only after - bitter civil war. Eginhard again makes a mistake in dates. The two - brothers had administered the realm in common for more than three - years. - - [14] This reticence of Eginhard's about his hero's early life, about - which it would have been quite easy to procure information, has - seemed to many to lend colour to a report that Charles was born - before the Church had sanctioned the marriage of his parents. - - [15] Hunold was the father of Waifar, and had for twenty years lived as - a monk in the Island of Rhé, but upon the death of his son he left - his monastic retreat in the hope of re-establishing the fortunes - of his family in Aquitaine. - - [16] The Saxon war--the greatest task of Charles's whole reign--lasted - with some intermissions for more than thirty years (from 772 to - 804). By his conquest and conversion of the fierce and heathen - Saxons--who occupied the lands in the valleys of the Ems and the - Weser and reached as far as the Elbe--he laid the foundations of - mediæval and modern Germany. - - [17] For an account of the religious beliefs and practices of the - Saxons, _see_ Davis's "Charlemagne," p. 95. - - [18] The "conversion" of Saxony by Charles was of the most forcible - kind. No Mohammedan ever offered the choice between the Koran and - the edge of the sword more clearly than Charles put death or - baptism before the Saxons. The "Saxon Poet," who in the next - century wrote in honour of the King who had destroyed the - independence of his land, tells how Charles used the whole force - of his army to drag the Saxons from the devil's power; and - remarks, as a matter of course, that persuasion and argument are - not sufficient to turn the heathen from their faith. - - [19] The river Hasa is near Osnabrück. - - [20] This is the famous defeat of Roncesvalles, where later legends - affirmed that "Charlemagne with all his peerage fell at - Fontarabia," and where Roland wound his horn, whose sound is still - heard in the verse of Milton. By a strange chance this incident - becomes one of the most famous in the cycle of mediæval - Charlemagne legends; and Roland, evermore transfigured from the - historical warden of the Breton march, becomes, after long - wanderings, the Orlando of the "Orlando Furioso" of Ariosto. But - the historical Roland seems mentioned here, and here only. - - [21] The Duchy of Beneventum embraced a large part of the Italian - peninsula south of Rome. It had been for a long time connected, in - loose feudal dependence, with the Lombard monarchy of North Italy, - and, since that had been overwhelmed and annexed by Charles, was - now regarded as a dependency of the Carolingian monarchy. - - [22] Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria, had offended Charles by claiming - independent sovereignty and refusing to recognise Charles in any - way as his overlord. From the beginning of Charles's reign there - had been friction between them, but for some time a hollow truce - had existed. War came in 787, in spite of the efforts of the - Papacy at mediation, and ended swiftly, as described in the text, - owing to the overwhelming strength of the armies brought against - Tassilo by Charles. But the past of Bavaria was too great to allow - its Duke to accept the position of inferiority, and in the next - year Tassilo was deposed, tonsured, and imprisoned in a monastery. - - [23] It was part of Charles's general policy to displace the dukes of - his realm, with their undefined and dangerous powers, and to - administer his dominions by a large number of counts, who were to - begin with quite dependent officials executing the orders of the - King over a limited area. "Count" was not yet the great title of - nobility which it became later. - - [24] The Wiltzes lived on the shores of the Baltic between the Elbe and - the Oder. - - [25] This "gulf" of Eginhard's presents geographical difficulties. The - direction indicated and the approximate measurements suggested - make it impossible to apply his words to the whole of the Baltic - Gulf. The south-eastern part of the Baltic will correspond fairly - well to the description. - - [26] The war against the Avars was due to the alliance which had - existed between them and Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria. The Avars, - though allied in race to the ancient Huns and the modern Magyars, - were, nevertheless, a distinct people. Charles's war entirely - broke their power, and removed a great danger from western Europe. - - [27] "The Monk of St Gall" (II. i.) gives an interesting description of - the vast concentric earthworks by which the power of the Kagan was - defended, and his account rests on better authority than much of - his strange chronicle. _See_ also Dr Hodgkin's "Life of Charles - the Great," p. 155. - - [28] The vast treasure of the Avars had an important influence on the - course of Charles's career. This great influx of the precious - metals into Germany depreciated the value of the coinage and - raised the price of commodities. - - [29] This is Tersatz, a town of Istria. - - [30] These Northmen (or Danes, as they are usually called when they - appear in English history) proved themselves the most terrible - enemies of civilisation during the next century. "The Monk of St - Gall" makes Charles prophesy the ruin that would come eventually - on his Empire from these northern sea-rovers. The attacks of the - Northmen were among the most direct causes of the subsequent - disruption of the Empire of Charles. - - [31] This is an exaggeration of Eginhard's. Charles did, indeed, - greatly extend the Frankish dominions; but he strengthened them - still more decisively by the improvements which he introduced into - the internal order and administration. - - [32] The Balearic Sea is the western Mediterranean. - - [33] "Non aliter quam proprium suum." Feudalism in any strict sense of - the word was not yet established; but Alfonso was, in effect, - "commending" himself to a feudal superior. - - [34] The spelling of the original is retained; but the "Aaron" of - Eginhard is the great Caliph Harun-al-Raschid, the Abassid Caliph - of Bagdad, whose actions play so large a part in fiction as well - as in history. - - [35] It is strange, in view of the friendly relations of Charles with - the Mohammedan ruler of the East, that later legend so - persistently represented Charles as a Crusader, driving the Paynim - from the Holy City. The height of unreality is reached when, as in - Ariosto, we find Charlemagne relieving the city of Paris, which is - being besieged by the Mohammedans. - - [36] This elephant caused a great sensation in Europe. His arrival, - life, and death are carefully noted by the chroniclers. - - [37] The exact meaning of the original is far from clear (ne qua hostis - exire potuisset). The ingress rather than the egress is what - Charles must have wished to prevent, but there seems no doubt - about the reading. - - [38] "The Monk of St Gall" says that the cause of this repudiation was - the constant illness of his wife, and her incapacity to bear him - children. - - [39] This Hildigard was only thirteen years of age at the time of her - marriage with Charles. Besides the children mentioned by Eginhard - she bore to Charles three others--Lothaire, Adelais, and - Hildigard. - - [40] Fastrada is regarded by Eginhard elsewhere as the evil influence - on Charles's life, urging him against the natural bent of his - character to acts of cruelty and violence. Dr Hodgkin, however, - points out that the most cruel act of his reign--the massacre of - 4500 Saxons--took place before his marriage with Fastrada. - - [41] The betrothal of Hruotrud to the Eastern Emperor, and the rupture - of the marriage contract, is a somewhat obscure thread in the - diplomacy of the reign of Charles. Note that the betrothal took - place in 781, during the residence of Charles at Rome, but - nineteen years before he had assumed the imperial title. Religious - difference and political jealousies probably both played their - part in the rupture. Both Frankish and Greek chroniclers are - anxious to maintain that the repudiation came from their side. - - [42] If scandal is to be believed, the Court of Charles, in spite of - his devotion to the Church and his anxiety to maintain a high - standard of morals, was the scene of much licence and disorder. - - [43] This conspiracy of Pippin took place in the years 785 and 786. - - [44] We have here the natural and simple beginnings of the ceremony - that afterwards reached such great proportions in the _lever_ and - _coucher_ of the French kings. - - [45] This reference to Greek at the Court of Charlemagne is interesting - in view of the exaggerated views sometimes held on the - disappearance of Greek in the Middle Ages. - - [46] This is Alcuin of York, one of the greatest of Englishmen; - undoubtedly, as Eginhard says, the most learned man of his time. - His letters form a valuable source of information for the inner - life of Charlemagne and his Court. - - [47] This passage has been closely scrutinised and commented on. Do - Eginhard's words imply that Charlemagne could not write at all? - This seems a very improbable interpretation of them. _Parum - successit_ would rather mean that "he made but little headway." It - may well be that the King was able to write roughly and in an - ordinary way but failed to acquire the elegant and delicate - calligraphy that was aimed at by the scribes of the time. - - [48] Eginhard passes very lightly over these epoch-making events of - Christmas Day in the year 800, when the imperial title was again - assumed by a ruler of the West, and the Mediæval Empire was - launched with all its vast consequences, both for the theory and - practice of the Middle Ages. - - Charlemagne's expressed regret for what occurred (of which we hear - from other sources) has been variously interpreted. It can hardly - refer to the imperial title altogether; for this certainly was not - unexpected, nor was it due merely to the decision of the Pope. - Charles had himself decided to adopt it: it was the coping-stone - to all his policy and his whole career, for in power Charles was - Emperor before the consecration of that famous Christmas Day. The - regret expressed by Charles more probably refers to the method in - which the title was bestowed: it came to him too much as a grant - from the Papacy, too little as the result of his own power and - will. His heart may well have foreboded something of the long - struggle between Empire and Papacy, which agitated the eleventh, - twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, which caused so much bloodshed - on both sides of the Alps, and which in the end ruined the power - of both Emperor and Pope: for this struggle had its roots in the - indefinite basis of the imperial title. The regrets of Charlemagne - are probably in close relation to the wars of Henry IV., of - Frederick Barbarossa, and of Frederick II. Had the Papacy the - right to give or to withhold the imperial title? That was the - great underlying problem of the imperial position. - - [49] The Roman Emperors are the Emperors at Constantinople. - - [50] That is to say, the legal systems of the Salian and Ripuarian - Franks. - - [51] Nothing in all the policy of Charles gives such an impression of - enlightenment as the actions alluded to here. A collection of - German sagas, and a grammar of the German language as it was in - the year 800--what would not posterity give for these? The - disappearance of the former is due to the policy of his son and - successor Lewis the Pious, whose piety had little in common with - the robust and broad views of his father. The biographer of Lewis - tells us that Lewis "rejected the national poems, which he had - learnt in his youth, and would not have them read or recited or - taught." - - [52] Their names (in the original) are as follows:--Wintarmanoth, - Hornung, Lentzinmanoth, Ostarmanoth, Winnemanoth, Brachmanoth, - Hewimanoth, Aranmanoth, Witumanoth, Windumemanoth, Herbistmanoth, - Heiligmanoth. - - [53] This curt and definite statement of Eginhard disposes at once of - the well-known story of Otto III.'s visit to Charlemagne's grave - in the year 1000, and his remarkable discovery there. But the - story is so famous that it may be given in the words of the - chronicler of Novalese, who is our chief authority for it. - - "After the passage of many years the Emperor Otto III. came into - the district where the body of Charles was lying duly buried. He - descended into the place of burial with two bishops and Otto, - Count of Lomello; the Emperor himself completed the party of four. - Now, the Count gave his version of what happened much as - follows:--'We came then to Charles. He was not lying down, as is - usual with the bodies of the dead, but sat on a sort of seat, as - though he were alive. He was crowned with a golden crown; he held - his sceptre in his hands, and his hands were covered with gloves, - through which his nails had forced a passage. Round him there was - a sort of vault built, strongly made of mortar and marble. When we - came to the grave we broke a hole into it and entered, and - entering, were aware of a very strong odour. At once we fell upon - our knees and worshipped him, and the Emperor Otto clothed him - with white garments, cut his nails, and restored whatever was - lacking in him. But corruption had not yet taken anything away - from his limbs; only a little was lacking to the very tip of his - nose. Otto had this restored in gold; he then took a single tooth - from his mouth, and so built up the vault, and departed.'" - - ---- - - [54] The reference is to the Book of Daniel ii. 33. - - [55] The pilgrimage is, of course, life. - - [56] The visit of Albinus (or Alcuin) of York to the court of King - Charles is alluded to in Eginhard's Life of Charles, Ch. xxv. His - arrival in Frankland occurred in 781, and was of the utmost - importance in stimulating and guiding the intellectual renascence - of Charles's reign. - - [57] "Lord, if I am still useful to thy people I will willingly take on - myself this labour on their behalf. Thy will be done" is the full - versicle, which comes on the 11th November (St Martin's Day). The - story in the text is made intelligible when we find that more than - one of the responses that follow end with the words "Thy will be - done." The poor clerk knew that, and started off, therefore, on - the Lord's Prayer, which he knew would bring him to the right - ending. - - [58] Grimald was Abbot of St Gall from 841 to 872. It will be noticed - all through the piece that the narrative becomes more full and - definite, though not necessarily more truthful, when it touches on - the writer's own monastery. - - [59] The whole of this statement is a tissue of absurdities, which are, - however, worth a moment's attention, as giving some indication of - the value that is to be attached to the Monk of St Gall's - testimony. The Pope Stephen here alluded to must be Stephen II., - who occupied the Papal throne from 752 to 757. He it was who - crowned Pippin King of the Franks in 754. He can have had nothing - to do with Charlemagne, who did not reign until 768; but the words - of the text (_se ad gubernacula regni perunxit_) can only refer to - Charles. It must have been Pope Stephen III. (768-772) to whom - Charlemagne appealed if there is any truth in the story at all; - and Pope Stephen III. can, of course, have had nothing to do with - Hilderich. - - [60] Pope Leo III. did not succeed Pope Stephen until after an interval - of twenty-three years. Pope Leo III.'s date is 795-816. - - [61] For Drogo _see_ Eginhard's Life, Ch. xv. But again the - unhistorical character of the narrative is shown by the fact that - Drogo was made Bishop of Metz, _after the death of Charles,_ and - against his own will. - - [62] A curious display of trivial learning! But it is interesting to - note the mention of Greek as of a language not wholly unknown to a - monk of the ninth century. - - [63] _See_ Eginhard's Life, Ch. xxiv., for the difficulties found by - Charles in observing the fasts of Lent. - - [64] Here is another notorious error. Hildigard died in 783. Fastrada - was queen when, in 791, Charles advanced to the war against the - Avars. - - [65] The next six chapters are omitted, because in them the Monk of St - Gall is led away, by his desire to tell a good and edifying story, - into matter that has no connection of any kind with Charlemagne, - and is sometimes offensive to modern taste. The stories are for - the most part to the discredit of the Episcopal order. A single - phrase in Chapter xxv. may be noted, as indicating the theocratic - view of Charles which the writer takes throughout: "the most - religious Charles" is called _episcopus episcoporum,_ "the bishop - of bishops." - - [66] Our author here again handles events of the most general notoriety - in a spirit completely independent of historical accuracy. Leo - III. was, it is true, the Pope to whose assistance Charlemagne - came; but no Michael was ruling at that time in Constantinople. - Michael II. reigned from 820-829, and Michael III. from 842-867. - Thus the name was associated, in the mind of the Monk of St Gall, - with the imperial throne of the east--and that was more than - enough. The sentiment attributed to the Emperor is as impossible - as his name is inaccurate. - - [67] St Pancras is one of the saints given by the persecution of the - Emperor Diocletian to the calendar of the Church. He is said to - have been executed in his fourteenth year in the year 295. The - following extract from the Golden Legend will explain the - reference in the text:--"Of him said Gregory of Tours, Doctor: - That if there be a man that will make a false oath in the place of - his sepulchre, tofore or he came to the chancel of the quire he - shall be travailed with an evil spirit and out of mind, or he - shall fall on the pavement all dead. It happed on a time that - there was a great altercation between two men, and the judge wist - not who had wrong. And, for the jealousy of justice that he had, - he brought them both unto the altar of Saint Peter for to swear, - praying the apostle that he would declare who had right. And when - he that had wrong had sworn and had none harm the judge who knew - the malice of him said all on high: This old Peter here is either - over-merciful, or he is propitious to this young man, but let us - go to Pancrace and demand we of him the truth; and when they came - to the sepulchre, he that was culpable swore and stretched forth - his hand, but he might not withdraw his hand again to him, and - anon after he died there, and therefore unto this day, of much - people it is used that for great and notable causes men make their - oaths upon the relics of S. Pancrace." - - [68] This celebrated coronation took place on Christmas Day of the year - 800, and marks the foundation of the Mediæval Empire. Charles is - known to have expressed regret either at the fact or the manner of - the presentation of the imperial crown; and the Monk of St Gall is - not so wide of the point as usual in the account he gives of the - causes of his hesitation. - - [69] Giants figure largely in the stories which are told of St Antony's - temptation. The Golden Legend says: "S. Anthony recordeth of - himself that he had seen a man so great and so high that he - vaunted himself to be the virtue and the providence of God and - said to me: 'Demand of me what thou wilt, and I shall give it to - thee.' And I spit in the midst of his visage, and anon I armed me - with the sign of the cross, and ran upon him, and anon he vanished - away. And after this the devil appeared to him in so great stature - that he touched the heaven, etc." Gigantic appearances figure, - too, elsewhere in the story of St Antony's trials. - - [70] Two motives are to be detected in most of these stories beyond the - general purpose of moral and religious edification. There is the - jealousy of the bishops, so usually felt by the monks, and there - is the scorn felt by the northern peoples for the refinements of - the Italian population. - - [71] I have inserted the passage in brackets, which seems necessary to - give meaning to the following instances. - - [72] This King of the Franks is, of course, not Charlemagne, but - Charles the Third, called the Fat, who in 883 spent three days in - the Monastery of St Gall. - - [73] Julian's death took place in 367. It need scarcely be pointed out - that the Monk's historical narrative is here of the very wildest - description. - - [74] It is unnecessary to disentangle the Monk's strange perversion of - history; but it may be noted that he identifies the Avars, whom - Charlemagne subdued, with the Huns who followed Attila. But the - Huns and the Avars, though allied in race, were two quite distinct - nationalities. - - [75] It would be an interesting inquiry whether archæological or - historical research corroborates in any way this interesting - account which Adalbert gives of the Hunnish fortifications. - - [76] These three sons are--Charles, who died in 811; Pippin, who died - in 810; and Lewis, who succeeded to the undivided dominions of - Charlemagne, and is usually known as Lewis the Pious. - - [77] The Persians of the ninth century are by the Monk identified with - the Persians of the period of Marathon and Salamis. - - [78] It must be remembered that the whole of the Monk's narrative is - nominally addressed to Charles the Fat, great-grandson of - Charlemagne. - - [79] This is the famous Haroun al Raschid already mentioned in - Eginhard's Life of Charlemagne. - - [80] There is really no doubt about the identification of the Arar. It - is the Saône, the most important of the tributaries of the Rhone. - - [81] This is Lewis of Bavaria, who was King of Germany from 843-876, - the son of Lewis the Pious, and the father of Charles the Fat. - - [82] The Monk's method here is not difficult to understand. The words - of St Ambrose and the parallel between the Saint and Charles are - clearly introduced to give evidence of the writer's wide learning. - - [83] Charles the Fat had no children; but he had a brother, Carloman, - King of Bavaria, and another, Lewis, King of Saxony. - - [84] St Hemmeramm (or Emmeran, as the name is now usually written) was - first a bishop in some Frankish see (possibly Poitiers) who about - 649 went as a missionary to the idolaters of Bavaria. He was - assassinated in 652 near Munich, on his road to Rome. A church in - Regensburg is still called by his name. - - [85] This conspiracy is given in Eginhard's Life, Chap, xx., but - without the Monk's picturesque details, and with the substitution - of Prumia (in the Moselle country) for the Monastery of St Gall. - Eginhard's authority must, of course, be preferred, and we have, - therefore, a striking instance of the monkish chronicler's desire - to turn everything to the honour of his own cloister. - - [86] This story has a long history. It is first told of Thrasybulus, - tyrant of Miletus; it was then adapted by Livy (1-54) to Tarquin, - King of Rome, with slight alterations. The same story, which is - here told somewhat clumsily, and applied to Charlemagne, is given - by Ekkehard as belonging to the reign of Charles III. - - [87] The reference is to the Monastery of Prumia, which was destroyed - by the Northmen in 882. - - [88] Thurgau is in Switzerland. - - [89] "Eis," meaning terrible; and "here" an army. - - [90] No Northman made any permanent settlement on the Moselle either in - the reign of Charles or at any other time. At most this can refer - only to the boast, or design, of some such chief as Gotefrid. - - [91] The allusion to the Nordostrani fixes this reference to the year - 882, when the Northmen were a terrible and increasing danger to - all Frankland. The Arnulf here mentioned was the son of Charles - the Fat, and, later, Emperor. - - [92] This story of King Pippin's visit to Rome is entirely legendary. - It is repeated by later chroniclers, but is certainly without - basis of any kind. - - [93] I confess myself unable to make anything out of the jester's - references to Atto. - - - - -INDEX - - - - -Aaron, King of Persia, 28. _See_ also Haroun. - -Abodriti, 23; reduced by Northmen, 26. - -Adalbert, xxi.; 104, 106. - -Adalgis, 15. - -Africans, envoys to Charles, 121. - -Aix, Charles's palace at, 38; cathedral at, 42; buildings of, 92. - -Albinus. _See_ Alcuin. - -Alcuin of York, xiii.; 41, 61; success of his pupils, 71, 72. - -Aldefonsus of Gallæcia, 28. - -Aquitania, war in, 13. - -Aragis, Duke of Beneventum, 21. - -Ariosto, xxiv. - -Atto, 157. - -Avars, war against, 24; seizure of their store, 25, 107; their rings, -106. - -Baugulfus, Abbot, xii. - -Bavarian war, 22. - -Beneventum, 21. - -Bertrada, mother of Charles, 33. - -Bishops, how appointed by Charles, 64, 66; luxury of, 66; folly of, 76; -arrogance of, 77; cleanliness rewarded, 78; the bishop's cheeses, 79; -pride rebuked, 80; the adventure of the painted mouse, 82; vanity -reprimanded, 83; preaching enjoined on, 84; luxury of, 86; churlishness -in Greece, 110. - -Bobbio, monastery of, 71. - -Boniface, xii. - -Bretons, conquest of, 20. - -Carloman, brother of Pippin, 10; retires to Monte Cassino, 11. - -Carloman, brother of Charles, 11; dies, 12. - -Centumcellæ, 31. - -Chanting, Charles's care for, 72. - -Charlemagne. _See_ Charles the Great; the legend of his life, xxiii. - -Charles the Great, xvii.; sole king, 12; extent of his conquests, 26; -buildings, 30; fleet, 30; private life of, 32, etc.; family of, 33; -treatment of his daughters, 35; love of foreigners, 37; personal -appearance, 37; dress, 38; knowledge of Latin and Greek, 41; fails to -learn to write, 41; reforms reading and singing, 42; fondness for Rome, -43; becomes Emperor, 44, 91; reforms the legal system of the Franks, 44; -changes the names of winds and months, 45; death, 47; burial, 47 (_see_ -also 169); will, 50. - -Charles, Martel, 9. - -Cicero, 6. - -Clement the Scot, 61, 62. - -Constantinople, Emperors of, 29; embassy to, 109; strange banqueting -laws, 111. - -Dante, xxiv. - -Deacon "who followed the Italian custom," strange death of, 100. - -Desiderius, King of the Lombards, 12, 15, 22, 144; alarm at the iron -host of Charles, 145. - -Drogo, Bishop of Metz, 75. - -Eginhard, xii.; career, xiii.; writings, xvi.; his life of Charlemagne, -xvi.; birth and education, 1; motives for writing, 4. - -Eishere of Thurgau, 136. - -Eric, Duke of Friuli, 25. - -Fasting, Charles's difficulty with, 39, 76. - -Fastrada, wife of Charles, 33; cruelty of, 36. - -Franks, national dress of, 38, 102. - -Frisian garments, 103. - -Friuli, the Bishop of, 148; hunting party at, 149. - -Gascons defeat Charles, 19. - -Gerold, Governor of Bavaria, 25. - -Godofrid the Dane, 25; killed, 26, 48, 137. - -Gotefrid. _See_ Godofrid. - -Greek, knowledge of, 41, 75. - -Greeks jealous of Charles, 91; outwitted by Franks, 111; envoys at -Charles's court, 113; terror of, 115; music of, 115; envy of, 141. - -Grimald, Abbot of St Gall, 71. - -Hadrian, Pope, 14, 16; Charles's sorrow at death of, 35, 39. - -Haistulf, King of Lombards, 14. - -Haroun al Raschid, 28; cedes the holy places to Charles, 29, 121; -Charles's presents to, 122; praises Charles, 123; gives the Holy Land to -Charles, 124. - -Hartmuth, Abbot of St Gall, 127. - -Hasa, battle of, 18. - -Heitto, Bishop, 114. - -Hilderich the Merovingian, 8, 72. - -Hildigard, 32, 64, 77, 82, 119. - -Holy places, the, given to Charles, 29, 124. - -Hugo, Duke, 112. - -Hunold, 13. - -Huns, war against, 24. _See_ Avars. - -Imperial title assumed by Charles, 29, 44, 91. - -Isambard, 119, 120. - -Julian, 105. - -Kerold, xxi.; 108. - -Leo, Pope, 39; outrage upon, 44, 88, 74. - -Lewis of Bavaria, 125, 126; reprimands luxury, 151. - -Lewis the Pious, 2; declared Emperor by Charles, 46, 56, 126, 128; his -conversion of the Northmen, 153, 155; his care for the poor, 156; his -universal charity, 156. - -Liutfrid, the knavish steward, 97. Liutgard, wife of Charles, 33. -Lombards, war with, 14. - -Lupus, Duke of the Gascons, 13. - -Mainz, the great bridge of, 48, 96. - -Mayors of the Palace, 8. - -Merovingian kings, 8. - -Michael, Emperor of Constantinople, 89. - -Miracles, 98, 100, 102, 142. - -Monks, ignorance of, 70. - -Moors, precautions against, 31. - -Mulinheim, xv. - -Northmen, 23, 25; Charles's measures against, 30; rigorous punishment -of, 131; Charles's prophesies concerning them, 139; they send envoys to -Lewis of Bavaria, 152; accept conversion from Lewis the Pious, 153; -their deceit, 154. - -Organ, the Greek, 116. - -Osning, battle of, 18. - -Otker at Pavia, 144, 146. - -Paris, Gaston, xxiii. - -Pavia, siege of, 144, 147, 148. - -Persians, envoys of, 116; hunting party provided for them, 118. - -Peter of Pisa, 41. - -Pippin the younger, 9; death, 11; war against Lombards, 14; legend of -his march on Rome, 140; slays a bull and a lion, 141; his encounter with -the devil, 142. - -Pippin, son of Charles, 15; fights against Avars, 24, 32. - -Pippin, Charles's illegitimate son, conspires against him, 36, 132; sent -to the monastery of St Gall, 133; gives advice to Charles, 134; moves to -another monastery, 135. - -Pluralists, Charles's dislike of, 77. - -Portents foretelling Charles's death, 48. - -Prumia, monastery of, 36. - -Reading, how practised at Charles's court, 69. - -Regensburg, Lewis's buildings at, 129. - -Roland, Præfect of the Breton frontier, 20. - -Rome, Charles's fondness for, 43; Roman jealousy of the Franks, 73. - -St Augustine, 40. - -St Columban, xx. - -St Gall, xx. - -St Gall, Monk of, xix.; character of his narrative, xxii. - -St Gall, monastery of, 75, 127. - -St Pancras, 90 (and note). - -St Peter of Ghent, xv. - -St Wandrille, xv. - -Saxons, war with, 16, 108; perfidy of, 17; transplantation of, 18; end -of war, 18; opinion of the Emperor of Constantinople, 110. - -Scotch and Charles, 28; visit Frankland, 59. - -Slavs, war with, 23. - -Spain, expedition to, 19. - -Stephen, Pope, 8, 72. - -Stracholf of St Gall, 158. - -Tancho, the bell-founder, 94. - -Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria, 22. - -Tours, 61. - -Waifar, Duke of Aquitania, 11. - -Walafrid, 1. - -Welatabi, 23. - -Werinbert, xxi.; 104. - -Wilzi, 23. - - - - - _The Riverside Press Limited, Edinburgh._ - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY LIVES OF CHARLEMAGNE *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48870 - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so -the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and -trademark. 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