Chapter IX: The Age of Charlemagne (2)

And let the _missi_ themselves make a diligent investigation
whenever any man claims that an injustice has been done him by any
one, just as they desire to deserve the grace of omnipotent God and
to keep their fidelity promised to Him, so that in all cases, in
accordance with the will and fear of God, they shall administer the
law fully and justly in the case of the holy churches of God and of
the poor, of wards and widows, and of the whole people. And if
there be anything of such a nature that they, together with the
provincial counts, are not able of themselves to correct it and to
do justice concerning it, they shall, without any reservation,
refer it, together with their reports, to the judgment of the
emperor; and the straight path of justice shall not be impeded by
any one on account of flattery or gifts, or on account of any
relationship, or from fear of the powerful.[177]

[Sidenote: Oath to be taken to Charlemagne as emperor]

=2.= Concerning the fidelity to be promised to the lord emperor.

He has commanded that every man in his whole kingdom, whether
ecclesiastic or layman, and each one according to his vow and
occupation, should now promise to him as emperor the fidelity which
he had previously promised to him as king; and all of those who had
not yet made that promise should do likewise, down to those who
were twelve years old. And that it shall be announced to all in
public, so that each one might know, how great and how many things
are comprehended in that oath; not merely, as many have thought
hitherto, fidelity to the lord emperor as regards his life, and not
introducing any enemy into his kingdom out of enmity, and not
consenting to or concealing another's faithlessness to him; but
that all may know that this oath contains in itself the following
meaning:

[Sidenote: What the new oath was to mean]

=3.= First, that each one voluntarily shall strive, in accordance
with his knowledge and ability, to live completely in the holy
service of God, in accordance with the precept of God and in
accordance with his own promise, because the lord emperor is unable
to give to all individually the necessary care and discipline.

=4.= Secondly, that no man, either through perjury or any other
wile or fraud, or on account of the flattery or gift of any one,
shall refuse to give back or dare to take possession of or conceal
a serf of the lord emperor, or a district, or land, or anything
that belongs to him; and that no one shall presume, through perjury
or other wile, to conceal or entice away his fugitive fiscaline
serfs[178] who unjustly and fraudulently say that they are free.

=5.= That no one shall presume to rob or do any injury fraudulently
to the churches of God, or widows, or orphans, or pilgrims;[179]
for the lord emperor himself, under God and His saints, has
constituted himself their protector and defender.

=6.= That no one shall dare to lay waste a benefice[180] of the
lord emperor, or to make it his own property.

=7.= That no one shall presume to neglect a summons to war from the
lord emperor; and that no one of the counts shall be so
presumptuous as to dare to excuse any one of those who owe military
service, either on account of relationship, or flattery, or gifts
from any one.

=8.= That no one shall presume to impede at all in any way a
ban[181] or command of the lord emperor, or to tamper with his
work, or to impede, or to lessen, or in any way to act contrary to
his will or commands. And that no one shall dare to neglect to pay
his dues or tax.

[Sidenote: Justice to be rendered in the courts]

=9.= That no one, for any reason, shall make a practice in court of
defending another unjustly, either from any desire of gain when the
cause is weak, or by impeding a just judgment by his skill in
reasoning, or by a desire of oppressing when the cause is weak. But
each one shall answer for his own cause or tax or debt, unless any
one is infirm or ignorant of pleading;[182] for these the _missi_,
or the chiefs who are in the court, or the judge who knows the case
in question, shall plead before the court; or, if it is necessary,
such a person may be allowed as is acceptable to all and knows the
case well; but this shall be done wholly according to the
convenience of the chiefs or _missi_ who are present. But in every
case it shall be done in accordance with justice and the law; and
no one shall have the power to impede justice by a gift, reward, or
any kind of evil flattery, or from any hindrance of relationship.
And no one shall unjustly consent to another in anything, but with
all zeal and good-will all shall be prepared to carry out justice.

For all the above mentioned ought to be observed by the imperial
oath.[183]

=10.= [We ordain] that bishops and priests shall live according to
the canons[184] and shall teach others to do the same.

[Sidenote: Obligations of the clergy]

=11.= That bishops, abbots, and abbesses who are in charge of
others, with the greatest veneration shall strive to surpass their
subjects in this diligence and shall not oppress their subjects
with a harsh rule or tyranny, but with a sincere love shall
carefully guard the flock committed to them with mercy and charity,
or by the examples of good works.

=14.= That bishops, abbots and abbesses, and counts shall be
mutually in accord, following the law in order to render a just
judgment with all charity and unity of peace, and that they shall
live faithfully in accordance with the will of God, so that always
everywhere through them and among them a just judgment shall be
rendered. The poor, widows, orphans, and pilgrims shall have
consolation and defense from them; so that we, through the
good-will of these, may deserve the reward of eternal life rather
than punishment.

=19.= That no bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, or other members
of the clergy shall presume to have dogs for hunting, or hawks,
falcons, and sparrow-hawks, but each shall observe fully the
canons or rule of his order.[185] If any one shall presume to do
so, let him know that he shall lose his office. And in addition he
shall suffer such punishment for his misconduct that the others
will be afraid to possess such things for themselves.

=27.= And we command that no one in our whole kingdom shall dare to
deny hospitality to rich, or poor, or pilgrims; that is, let no one
deny shelter and fire and water to pilgrims traversing our country
in God's name, or to any one traveling for the love of God, or for
the safety of his own soul.

[Sidenote: The missi to be helped on their way]

=28.= Concerning embassies coming from the lord emperor. That the
counts and _centenarii_[186] shall provide most carefully, as they
desire the good-will of the lord emperor, for the _missi_ who are
sent out, so that they may go through their territories without any
delay; and the emperor commands all everywhere that they see to it
that no delay is encountered anywhere, but they shall cause the
_missi_ to go on their way in all haste and shall provide for them
in such a manner as they may direct.

[Sidenote: The crime of murder]

=32.= Murders, by which a multitude of the Christian people perish,
we command in every way to be shunned and to be forbidden....
Nevertheless, lest sin should also increase, in order that the
greatest enmities may not arise among Christians, when by the
persuasions of the devil murders happen, the criminal shall
immediately hasten to make amends and with all speed shall pay to
the relatives of the murdered man the fitting composition for the
evil done. And we forbid firmly that the relatives of the murdered
man shall dare in any way to continue their enmities on account of
the evil done, or shall refuse to grant peace to him who asks it,
but, having given their pledges, they shall receive the fitting
composition and shall make a perpetual peace; moreover, the guilty
one shall not delay to pay the composition....[187] But if any one
shall have scorned to make the fitting composition, he shall be
deprived of his property until we shall render our decision.[188]

[Sidenote: Theft of game from the royal forests]

=39.= That in our forests no one shall dare to steal our game,
which we have already many times forbidden to be done; and now we
again strictly forbid that any one shall do so in the future; just
as each one desires to preserve the fidelity promised to us, so let
him take heed to himself....

=40.= Lastly, therefore, we desire all our decrees to be known in
the whole kingdom through our _missi_ now sent out, either among
the men of the Church, bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, canons,
all monks or nuns, so that each one in his ministry or profession
may keep our ban or decree, or where it may be fitting to thank the
citizens for their good-will, or to furnish aid, or where there may
be need still of correcting anything.... Where we believe there is
anything unpunished, we shall so strive to correct it with all our
zeal and will that with God's aid we may bring it to correction,
both for our own eternal glory and that of all our faithful.

22. A Letter of Charlemagne to Abbot Fulrad

In Charlemagne's governmental and military system the clergy, both regular and secular, had a place of large importance. From early Frankish times the bishoprics and monasteries had been acquiring large landed estates on which they enjoyed peculiar political and judicial privileges. These lands came to the church authorities partly by purchase, largely by gift, and not infrequently through concessions by small land-holders who wished to get the Church's favor and protection without actually moving off the little farms they had been accustomed to cultivate. However acquired, the lands were administered by the clergy with larger independence than was apt to be allowed the average lay owner. Still, they were as much a part of the empire as before and the powerful bishops and abbots were expected to see that certain services were forthcoming when the Emperor found himself in need of them. Among these was the duty of leading, or sending, a quota of troops under arms to the yearly assembly. In the selection below we have a letter written by Charlemagne some time between 804 and 811 to Fulrad, abbot of St. Quentin (about sixty miles northeast of Paris), respecting the fulfilment of this important obligation. The closing sentence indicates very clearly the price exacted by the Emperor in return for concessions of temporal authority to ecclesiastical magnates.

Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_
(Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 75, p. 168.

[Sidenote: The troops to be brought: their equipment]

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Charles, most
serene, august, crowned of God, great pacific Emperor, who, by
God's mercy, is King of the Franks and Lombards, to Abbot Fulrad.

Let it be known to you that we have determined to hold our general
assembly[189] this year in the eastern part of Saxony, on the River
Bode, at the place which is known as Strassfurt.[190] Therefore,
we enjoin that you come to this meeting-place, with all your men
well armed and equipped, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of
July, that is, seven days before the festival of St. John the
Baptist.[191] Come, therefore, so prepared with your men to the
aforesaid place that you may be able to go thence well equipped in
any direction in which our command shall direct; that is, with arms
and accoutrements also, and other provisions for war in the way of
food and clothing. Each horseman will be expected to have a shield,
a lance, a sword, a dagger, a bow, and quivers with arrows; and in
your carts shall be implements of various kinds, that is, axes,
planes, augers, boards, spades, iron shovels, and other utensils
which are necessary in an army. In the wagons also should be
supplies of food for three months, dating from the time of the
assembly, together with arms and clothing for six months. And
furthermore we command that you see to it that you proceed
peacefully to the aforesaid place, through whatever part of our
realm your journey shall be made; that is, that you presume to take
nothing except fodder, wood, and water. And let the followers of
each one of your vassals march along with the carts and horsemen,
and let the leader always be with them until they reach the
aforesaid place, so that the absence of a lord may not give to his
men an opportunity to do evil.

[Sidenote: Gifts for the Emperor]

Send your gifts,[192] which you ought to present to us at our
assembly in the middle of the month of May, to the place where we
then shall be. If it happens that your journey shall be such that
on your march you are able in person to present these gifts of
yours to us, we shall be greatly pleased. Be careful to show no
negligence in the future if you care to have our favor.

23. The Carolingian Revival of Learning

One of Charlemagne's chief claims to distinction is that his reign, largely through his own influence, comprised the most important period of the so-called Carolingian renaissance, or revival of learning. From the times of the Frankish conquest of Gaul until about the middle of the eighth century, education in western Europe, except in Ireland and Britain, was at a very low ebb and literary production quite insignificant. The old Roman intellectual activity had nearly ceased, and two or three centuries of settled life had been required to bring the Franks to the point of appreciating and encouraging art and letters. Even by Charlemagne's time people generally were far from being awake to the importance of education, though a few of the more far-sighted leaders, and especially Charlemagne himself, had come to lament the gross ignorance which everywhere prevailed and were ready to adopt strong measures to overcome it. Charlemagne was certainly no scholar, judged even by the standards of his own time; but had he been the most learned man in the world his interest in education could not have been greater. Before studying the selection given below, it would be well to read what Einhard said about his master's zeal for learning and the amount of progress he made personally in getting an education [see pp. 112--113].

The most conspicuous of Charlemagne's educational measures was his enlarging and strengthening of the Scola Palatina, or Palace School. This was an institution which had existed in the reign of his father Pepin, and probably even earlier. It consisted of a group of scholars gathered at the Frankish court for the purpose of studying and writing literature, educating the royal household, and stimulating learning throughout the country. It formed what we to-day might call an academy of sciences. Under Charlemagne's care it came to include such men of distinction as Paul the Deacon, historian of the Lombards, Paulinus of Aquileia, a theologian, Peter of Pisa, a grammarian, and above all Alcuin, a skilled teacher and writer from the school of York in England. Its history falls into three main periods: (1) from the middle of the eighth century to the year 782--the period during which it was dominated by Paul the Deacon and his Italian colleagues; (2) from 782 to about 800, when its leading spirit was Alcuin; and (3) from 800 to the years of its decadence in the later ninth century, when Frankish rather than foreign names appear most prominently in its annals.

It was Charlemagne's ideal that throughout his entire dominion opportunity should be open to all to obtain at least an elementary education and to carry their studies as much farther as they liked. To this end a regular system of schools was planned, beginning with the village school, in charge of the parish priest for the most elementary studies, and leading up through monastic and cathedral schools to the School of the Palace. In the intermediate stages, corresponding to our high schools and academies to-day, the subjects studied were essentially the same as those which received attention in the Scola Palatina. They were divided into two groups: (1) the _trivium_, including grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic (or philosophy), and (2) the _quadrivium_, including geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. The system thus planned was never fully put in operation throughout Frankland, for after Charlemagne's death the work which he had so well begun was seriously interfered with by the falling off in intellectual aggressiveness of the sovereigns, by civil war, and by the ravages of the Hungarian and Norse invaders [see p. 163]. A capitulary of Louis the Pious in 817, for example, forbade the continuance of secular education in monastic schools. Still, much of what had been done remained, and never thereafter did learning among the Frankish people fall to quite so low a stage as it had passed through in the sixth and seventh centuries.

Charlemagne's interest in education may be studied best of all in his capitularies. In the extract below we have the so-called letter _De Litteris Colendis_, written some time between 780 and 800, which, though addressed personally to Abbot Baugulf, of the monastery of Fulda, was in reality a capitulary establishing certain regulations regarding education in connection with the work of the monks. To the Church was intrusted the task of raising the level of intelligence among the masses, and the clergy were admonished to bring together the children of both freemen and serfs in schools in which they might be trained, even as the sons of the nobles were trained at the royal court.

Source--Text in _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_
(Boretius ed.), Vol. I., No. 29, pp. 78-79. Adapted from
translation by Dana C. Munro in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and
Reprints_, Vol. VI., No. 5, pp. 12-14.

Charles, by the grace of God, king of the Franks and Lombards and
Patrician of the Romans.[193] To Abbot Baugulf, and to all the
congregation--also to the faithful placed under your care--we have
sent loving greetings by our ambassadors in the name of
all-powerful God.

[Sidenote: Men of the Church charged with the work of education]

[Sidenote: Even the clergy often unable to speak and write
correctly]

Be it known, therefore, to you, devoted and acceptable to God, that
we, together with our faithful, have deemed it expedient that the
bishoprics and monasteries intrusted by the favor of Christ to our
control, in addition to the order of monastic life and the
relationships of holy religion, should be zealous also in the
cherishing of letters, and in teaching those who by the gift of God
are able to learn, according as each has capacity. So that, just as
the observance of the rule[194] adds order and grace to the
integrity of morals, so also zeal in teaching and learning may do
the same for sentences, to the end that those who wish to please
God by living rightly should not fail to please Him also by
speaking correctly. For it is written, "Either from thy words thou
shall be justified or from thy words thou shalt be condemned"
[Matt., xii. 37]. Although right conduct may be better than
knowledge, nevertheless knowledge goes before conduct. Therefore
each one ought to study what he desires to accomplish, in order
that so much the more fully the mind may know what ought to be
done. as the tongue speeds in the praises of all-powerful God
without the hindrances of mistakes. For while errors should be
shunned by all men, so much the more ought they to be avoided, as
far as possible, by those who are chosen for this very purpose
alone.[195] They ought to be the specially devoted servants of
truth. For often in recent years when letters have been written to
us from monasteries, in which it was stated that the brethren who
dwelt there offered up in our behalf sacred and pious prayers, we
have recognized, in most cases, both correct thoughts and uncouth
expressions; because what pious devotion dictated faithfully to the
mind, the tongue, uneducated on account of the neglect of study,
was not able to express in the letter without error. Whence it
happened that we began to fear lest perchance, as the skill in
writing was less, so also the wisdom for understanding the Holy
Scriptures might be much less than it rightly ought to be. And we
all know well that, although errors of speech are dangerous, far
more dangerous are errors of the understanding.

[Sidenote: Education essential to an understanding of the
Scriptures]

Therefore, we exhort you not only not to neglect the study of
letters, but also with most humble mind, pleasing to God, to study
earnestly in order that you may be able more easily and more
correctly to penetrate the mysteries of the divine Scriptures.
Since, moreover, images [similes], tropes[196] and like figures are
found in the sacred pages, nobody doubts that each one in reading
these will understand the spiritual sense more quickly if
previously he shall have been fully instructed in the mastery of
letters. Such men truly are to be chosen for this work as have both
the will and the ability to learn and a desire to instruct others.
And may this be done with a zeal as great as the earnestness with
which we command it. For we desire you to be, as the soldiers of
the Church ought to be, devout in mind, learned in discourse,
chaste in conduct, and eloquent in speech, so that when any one
shall seek to see you, whether out of reverence for God or on
account of your reputation for holy conduct, just as he is edified
by your appearance, he may also be instructed by the wisdom which
he has learned from your reading or singing, and may go away
gladly, giving thanks to Almighty God.

FOOTNOTES:

[119] Thomas Hodgkin, _Charles the Great_ (London, 1903), p. 222.

[120] The German name for Aix-la-Chapelle was Aachen. From Roman times the place was noted throughout Europe for its warm sulphur springs and for centuries before Charlemagne's day it had been a favorite resort for health-seekers. It was about the middle of his reign that Charlemagne determined to have the small palace already existing rebuilt, together with its accompanying chapel. Marbles and mosaics were obtained at Rome and Ravenna, and architects and artisans were brought together for the work from all Christendom. The chapel was completed in 805 and was dedicated by Pope Leo III. Both palace and chapel were destroyed a short time before the Emperor's death, probably as the result of an earthquake. The present town-house of Aix-la-Chapelle has been constructed on the ruins of this palace. The chapel, rebuilt on the ancient octagonal plan in 983, contains the tomb of Charlemagne, marked by a stone bearing the inscription "Carolo Magno." Besides Aachen, Charlemagne had many other residences, as Compiegne, Worms, Attigny, Mainz, Paderborn, Ratisbon, Heristal, and Thionville.

[121] A loose, flowing outer garment, or cloak. It was a feature of ancient Greek dress.

[122] Hadrian I., 772-775. Charlemagne's first visit to Rome was in 774.

[123] Leo III., 795-816. The Roman dress was donned by Charlemagne during his visit in 800 [see p. 130].

[124] St. Augustine, the greatest of the Church fathers, was born in Numidia in 354. He spent a considerable part of his early life studying in Rome and other Italian cities. The _De Civitate Dei_ ("City of God"), generally regarded as his most important work, was completed in 426, its purpose being to convince the Romans that even though the supposedly eternal city of Rome had recently been sacked by the barbarian Visigoths, the true "city of God" was in the hearts of men beyond the reach of desecrating invaders. When he wrote the book Augustine was bishop of Hippo, an important city of northern Africa. His death occurred in 430, during the siege of Hippo by Gaiseric and his horde of Vandals.

[125] The Count of the Palace was one of the coterie of officials by whose aid Charlemagne managed the affairs of the state. He was primarily an officer of justice, corresponding in a way to the old Mayor of the Palace, but with very much less power.

[126] When Charlemagne captured Pavia, the Lombard capital, in 774, he found Peter the Pisan teaching in that city. With characteristic zeal for the advancement of education among his own people he proceeded to transfer the learned deacon to the Frankish Palace School [see p. 144].

[127] Alcuin was born at York in 735. He took up his residence at Charlemagne's court about 782, and died in the office of abbot of St. Martin of Tours in 804.

[128] During the Napoleonic period many of these columns were taken possession of by the French and transported to Paris. Only recently have they been replaced in the Aix-la-Chapelle cathedral. Most of them came originally from the palace of the Exarch of Ravenna.

[129] These statements of Einhard respecting the lavishness of Charlemagne's gifts must be taken with some allowance. They were doubtless considerable for the day, but Charlemagne's revenues were not such as to enable him to display wealth which in modern times would be regarded as befitting a monarch of so exalted rank.

[130] In 774, 781, 787, and 800.

[131] Charlemagne became joint ruler of the Franks with his brother Karlmann in 768; hence when he died, in 814, he had reigned only forty-six years instead of forty-seven.

[132] Ephraim Emerton, _Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages_ (Boston, 1903), p. 189.

[133] The war really lasted only thirty, or at the most thirty-one, years.

[134] The only notable act of vengeance during the war was the beheading of 4,500 Saxons in a single day at Verden, on the Weser. It was occasioned by a great Saxon revolt in 782, led by the chieftain Widukind.

[135] The formula of renunciation and confession generally employed in the Christianizing of the Germans, and therefore in all probability in the conversion of the Saxons, was as follows:

Question. Forsakest thou the devil?

Answer. I forsake the devil.

Ques. And all the devil's service?

Ans. And I forsake all the devil's service.

Ques. And all the devil's works?

Ans. And I forsake all the devil's works and words. Thor and Woden and
Saxnot and all the evil spirits that are their companions.

Ques. Believest thou in God the Almighty Father?

Ans. I believe in God the Almighty Father.

Ques. Believest thou in Christ the Son of God?

Ans. I believe in Christ the Son of God.

Ques. Believest thou in the Holy Ghost?

Ans. I believe in the Holy Ghost.

"Accepting Christianity was to the German very much like changing of allegiance from one political sovereign to another. He gave up Thor and Woden (Odin) and Saxnot, and in their place took the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."--Emerton, _Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages_, pp. 155-156. Text of these "Interrogationes et Responsiones Baptismales" is in the _Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges_ (Boretius ed.), Vol. II., No. 107.

[136] That is, the more important offenses, involving capital punishment, as contrasted with the later "lesser chapters" dealing with minor misdemeanors.

[137] The Saxons were to be won to the Church through the protection it afforded, but they were likewise to be made to stand in awe of the sanctity of its property.

[138] The apparent harshness of this whole body of regulations was considerably diminished in practice by the large discretion left to the priests, as in this case. They were exhorted to exercise care and to take circumstances into account in judging a man's guilt or innocence.

[139] From this point the capitulary deals with the "lesser chapters," i.e., non-capital offenses.

[140] For the value of the _solidus_, see p. 61.

[141] Three classes of society are distinguished--nobles, freemen, and serfs. The ordinary freeman pays half as much as the noble, and the serf half as much as the freeman.

[142] A prominent characteristic of the early Teutonic religion was that its ceremonies were invariably conducted out of doors. Tacitus, in the _Germania_ (Chap. 9), tells us that the Germans had no temples or other buildings for religious purposes, but worshipped in sacred groves. The "Irmensaule," probably a giant tree-trunk, was the central shrine of the Saxon people, and Charlemagne's destruction of it in 772 was the most serious offense that could have been committed against them.

[143] The Germans reckoned by nights rather than by days, as explained by Tacitus, _Germania_, Chap. 11 [see p. 27].

[144] A sum assessed by the king, in this case against the illegal harboring of criminals.

[145] The counts, together with the bishops, were the local representatives or agents of the king. They presided over judicial assemblies, collected revenues, and preserved order. There were about three hundred of them in Charlemagne's empire when at its greatest extent.

[146] An officer sent out by the king to investigate the administration of the counts and render judgment in certain cases. As a rule two were sent together, a layman and an ecclesiastic [see p. 134].

[147] Under ordinary circumstances the priests were thus charged with the responsibility of seeing that local government in their various communities was just and legal.

[148] Bemont and Monod, _Mediaeval Europe_ (New York, 1902), p. 202.

[149] Chapter 62 is here given out of order because it contains a comprehensive survey of the products and activities upon which the royal stewards were expected to report. The other chapters are more specific. It is likely that they have not come down to us in their original order.

[150] The ordinary estate in this period, whether royal or not, consisted of two parts. One was the demesne, which the owner kept under his immediate control; the other was the remaining lands, which were divided among tenants who paid certain rentals for their use and also performed stated services on the lord's demesne. Charlemagne instructs his stewards to report upon both sorts of land.

[151] Probably payments for the right to keep pigs in the woods. The most common meat in the Middle Ages was pork and the use of the oak forests as hog pasture was a privilege of considerable value.

[152] Fines imposed upon offenders to free them from crime or to repair damages done.

[153] Panic was a kind of grass, the seeds of which were not infrequently used for food.

[154] The serfs were a semi-free class of country people. They did not own the land on which they lived and were not allowed to move off it without the owner's consent. They cultivated the soil and paid rents of one kind or another to their masters--in the present case, to the agents of the king.

[155] A variety of fermented liquor made of salt fish.

[156] A blue coloring matter derived from the leaves of a plant of the same name.

[157] A red coloring matter derived from a plant of the same name.

[158] Burrs of the teasel plant, stiff and prickly, with hooked bracts; used in primitive manufacturing for raising a nap on woolen cloth.

[159] A kind of grain still widely cultivated for food in Germany and Switzerland; sometimes known as German wheat.

[160] The unit of weight was the pound. Charlemagne replaced the old Gallic pound by the Roman, which was a tenth less.

[161] The unit of measure was the _muid_. Charlemagne had a standard measure (_modius publicus_) constructed and in a number of his capitularies enjoined that it be taken as a model by all his subjects. It contained probably a little less than six pecks. A smaller measure was the _setier_, containing about five and two-thirds pints.

[162] Clergymen attached to the church on or near the estate.

[163] "Attached to the royal villa, in the center of which stood the palace or manse, were numerous dependent and humbler dwellings, occupied by mechanics, artisans, and tradesmen, or rather manufacturers and craftsmen, in great numbers. The dairy, the bakery, the butchery, the brewery, the flour-mill were there.... The villa was a city in embryo, and in due course it grew into one, for as it supplied in many respects the wants of the surrounding country, so it attracted population and became a center of commerce."--Jacob I. Mombert, _Charles the Great_ (New York, 1888), pp. 401-402.

[164] An ancient Gallic land measure, equivalent to about half a Roman _jugerum_ (the _jugerum_ was about two-thirds of an acre). The arpent in modern France has varied greatly in different localities. In Paris it is 4,088 square yards.

[165] The same as "pachak." The fragrant roots of this plant are still exported from India to be used for burning as incense.

[166] A kind of cabbage. The edible part is a large turnip-like swelling of the stem above the surface of the ground.

[167] A plant used both as a medicine and as a dye.

[168] "All the cereals grown in the country were cultivated. The flower gardens were furnished with the choicest specimens for beauty and fragrance, the orchards and kitchen gardens produced the richest and best varieties of fruit and vegetables. Charles specified by name not less than seventy-four varieties of herbs which he commanded to be cultivated; all the vegetables still raised in Central Europe, together with many herbs now found in botanical gardens only, bloomed on his villas; his orchards yielded a rich harvest in cherries, apples, pears, prunes, peaches, figs, chestnuts, and mulberries. The hill-sides were vineyards laden with the finest varieties of grapes."--Mombert, _Charles the Great_, p. 400.

[169] James Bryce, _The Holy Roman Empire_ (new ed., New York, 1904), p. 50.

[170] Irene, the wife of Emperor Leo IV. After the death of her husband in 780 she became regent during the minority of her son, Constantine VI., then only nine years of age. In 790 Constantine succeeded in taking the government out of her hands; but seven years afterwards she caused him to be blinded and shut up in a dungeon, where he soon died. The revolting crimes by which Irene established her supremacy at Constantinople were considered, even in her day, a disgrace to Christendom.

[171] This expression has given rise to a view which will be found in some books that Pope Leo convened a general council of Frankish and Italian clergy to consider the advisability of giving the imperial title to Charlemagne. The whole matter is in doubt, but it does not seem likely that there was any such formal deliberation. Leo certainly ascertained that the leading lay and ecclesiastical magnates would approve the contemplated step, but that a definite election in council took place may be pretty confidently denied. The writer of the Annals of Lauresheim was interested in making the case of Charlemagne, and therefore of the later emperors, as strong as possible.

[172] Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, says that the king at first had such aversion to the titles of Emperor and Augustus "that he declared he would not have set foot in the church the day that they were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope" (_Vita Caroli Magni_, Chap. 28). Despite this statement, however, we are not to regard the coronation as a genuine surprise to anybody concerned. In all probability there had previously been a more or less definite understanding between the king and the Pope that in due time the imperial title should be conferred. It is easy to believe, though, that Charlemagne had had no idea that the ceremony was to be performed on this particular occasion and it is likely enough that he had plans of his own as to the proper time and place for it, plans which Leo rather rudely interfered with, but which the manifest good-will of everybody constrained the king to allow to be sacrificed. It may well be that Charlemagne had decided simply to assume the imperial crown without a papal coronation at all, in order that the whole question of papal supremacy, which threatened to be a troublesome one, might be kept in the background.

[173] The celebration of the Nativity was by far the greatest festival of the Church. At this season the basilica of St. Peter at Rome was the scene of gorgeous ceremonials, and to its sumptuous shrine thronged the devout of all Christendom. Its magnificence on the famous Christmas of 800 was greater than ever, for only recently Charlemagne had bestowed the most costly of all his gifts upon it--the spoils of the Avar wars.

[174] Charles, the eldest son, since 789 king of Maine. In reality, of course, he was but an under-king, since Maine was an integral part of Charlemagne's dominion. He was anointed by Pope Leo in 800 as heir-apparent to the new imperial dignity of his father.

[175] The term "canonical" was applied more particularly to the clergy attached to a cathedral church, the clergy being known individually as "canons," collectively as a "chapter." In the present connection, however, it probably refers to the monks, who, living as they did by "canons" or rules, were in that sense "canonical clergy."

[176] The secular clergy were the bishops, priests, deacons, and other church officers, who lived with the people in the _saeculum_, or world, as distinguished from the monks, ascetics, cenobites, anchorites, and others, who dwelt in monasteries or other places of seclusion.

[177] This is really as splendid a guarantee of equality before the law as is to be found in Magna Charta or the Constitution of the United States. Unfortunately there was not adequate machinery in the Frankish government to enforce it, though we may suppose that while the _missi_ continued efficient (which was not more than a hundred years) considerable progress was made in this direction.

[178] Serfs who worked on the fiscal lands, or, in other words, on the royal estates.

[179] Compare chapters 14 and 27.

[180] A benefice, as the term is here used, was land granted by the Emperor to a friend or dependent. The holder was to use such land on stated terms for his own and the Emperor's gain, but was in no case to claim ownership of it.

[181] The word has at least three distinct meanings--a royal edict, a judicial fine, and a territorial jurisdiction. It is here used in the first of these senses.

[182] There was little room under Charlemagne's system for professional lawyers or advocates.

[183] In other words, when the oath of allegiance is taken, as it must be by every man and boy above the age of twelve, all the obligations mentioned from Chap. 3 to Chap. 9 are to be considered as assumed along with that of fidelity to the person and government of the Emperor.

[184] That is, the laws of the Church.

[185] One of the greatest temptations of the mediaeval clergy was to spend time in hunting, to the neglect of religious duties. Apparently this evil was pretty common in Charlemagne's day.

[186] The _centenarii_ were minor local officials, subordinate to the counts, and confined in authority to their particular district or "hundred."

[187] In the Frankish kingdom, as commonly among Germanic peoples of the period, murder not only might be, but was expected to be, atoned for by a money payment to the slain man's relatives. The payment, known as the _wergeld_, would vary according to the rank of the man killed. If it were properly made, such "composition" was bound to be accepted as complete reparation for the injury. In this regulation we can discern a distinct advance over the old system of blood-feud under which a murder almost invariably led to family and clan wars. Plainly the Franks were becoming more civilized.

[188] If a murderer refused to pay the required composition his property was to be taken possession of by the Emperor's officers and the case must be laid before the Emperor himself. If the latter chose, he might order the restoration of the property, but this he was not likely to do.

[189] Beginning with the reign of Charlemagne there were really two assemblies each year--one in the spring, the other in the autumn; but the one in the spring, the so-called "May-field," was much the more important. All the nobles and higher clergy attended, and if a campaign was in prospect all who owed military service would be called upon to bring with them their portion of the war-host, with specified supplies. Charlemagne proposed all measures, the higher magnates discussed them with him, and the lower ones gave a perfunctory sanction to acts already determined upon. The meeting place was changed from year to year, being rotated irregularly among the royal residences, as Aix-la-Chapelle, Paderborn, Ingelheim, and Thionville; occasionally they were held, as in this instance, in places otherwise almost unknown.

[190] Strassfurt was some distance south of Magdeburg.

[191] The date of the festival of St. John the Baptist was June 22.

[192] From earliest Germanic times we catch glimpses of this practice of requiring gifts from a king's subjects. By Charlemagne's day it had crystallized into an established custom and was a very important source of revenue, though other sources had been opened up which were quite unknown to the German sovereigns of three or four hundred years before. Ordinarily these gifts, in money, jewels, or provisions, were presented to the sovereign each year at the May assembly.

[193] The title "Patricius of Rome" was conferred on Charlemagne by Pope Hadrian I., in 774. Its bestowal was a token of papal appreciation of the king's renewal of Pepin's grant of lands to the papacy. In practice the title had little or no meaning. It was dropped in 800 when Charlemagne was crowned emperor [see p. 130].

[194] That is, the law of the Church; in case of the monasteries, more especially the regulations laid down for their order, e.g., the Benedictine Rule.

[195] In the Middle Ages it was assumed that churchmen were educated; few other men had any claim to learning. Charlemagne here says that it is bad indeed when men who have been put in ecclesiastical positions because of their supposed education fall into errors which ought to be expected only from ordinary people.

[196] In rhetoric a trope is ordinarily defined as the use of a word or expression in a different sense from that which properly belongs to it. The most common varieties are metaphor, metonomy, synechdoche, and irony.