Chapter V: Part 5

But in this Magistracy, the same Thing hapned, which _Plutarch_ tells us (in his Life of _Lysander_) came to pass when _Agesilaus_ was appointed by the _Lacedemonians_ to be _General_ of their Army, and _Lysander_ to be Legate or Lieutenant-General: "Even as in Stage-Plays, (says he) the Actors who represent a Servant or Messenger, have better Parts, and are more regarded than him that wears the Crown and Scepter, who scarce speaks a Word in the whole Play: So the chief Authority and Command was lodg'd in _Lysander_, whilst with the _King_ remained only a naked and empty Title."--Just so it fell out in our _Francogallia_; Fair Opportunities of increasing the Power of these _Mayors_ of the Palace, being offer'd by the Sloth and Negligence of our _Kings_; among whom we may reckon _Dagobert, Clodoveus, Clotharius, Childericus, Theodoricus_, &c. For the Author of the History of the _Franks_, often cited by _Venericus Vercellensis_, tho' without naming him, writes, That during the Reign of _Clotharius_, Father of _Dagobert_, the Kingdom of the _Franks_ began to be administred and govern'd by some which were called _Provisores Regiæ_, or _Majores Domus_. The same says _Godf. Viterb. parte Chron._ 16. Whereupon, whilst those _Mayors_ of the _Palace_ executed all the important Affairs of the Commonwealth, and commanded all the Armies in Time of War; and the Kings (spending their Days in Sloth and Idleness) tarried at Home, content with the bare Title of a King; Matters at last were brought to such a Pass, that during the Reign of _Childerick_ the 18th _King_, Pipin, _Mayor of the Palace_, (who in the King's Name had waged great and long Wars, and had overcome and reduced the _Saxons_ to Terms of Submission) finding a fit Occasion to assume the Regal Title which was offer'd him, did not let it slip: Especially seeing himself at the Head of a great and victorious Army, that espoused his Interests. Of which we have the Testimony of many Authors. First, _Otto Frisingius_, Chron. 5. cap. 12. and his Transcriber _Godf. Viterb._ Part. 16. who write thus.--"The Kings of _France_, before the Time of _Pipin the Great_, (formerly _Mayor of the Palace_) were in a Manner but titular Princes, having very little to do with the Government of the Realm." _Sigebertus_ says almost the same Thing _sub Anno_ 662.--"From this Time, (says he) the Kings of the _Franks_ degenerating from their ancient Wisdom and Fortitude, enjoy'd little more than the bare Name of King. They did indeed bear the Title according to Custom, _as being of the ancient Regal Race_; but neither acted nor disposed of any Thing: The whole Administration and Power of the Kingdom, was lodg'd in the Hands of the _Mayor of the Palace_."

Yet in Reading such-like Authorities, we ought to take this Observation along with us. That since _Pipin_ and his Sons laboured (as 'tis probable they did) under a great Load of Envy, for having violently wrested the Royal Dignity from King _Childerick_, they made it their Business to find out and employ _plausible ingenious Historians_, who magnified the Cowardliness of _Childerick_ and his Predecessors, upbraiding them with Sloth and Idleness, beyond what they deserv'd. And among such as these, we may reckon _Eguinarthus_, Chancellor to _Charles_ the _Great_, and one that did him special Service of this Nature; who in the Beginning of his Book writes thus.--"The Family of the _Merovingians_, out of which the _Franks_ used to _Elect_ their Kings, is supposed to have lasted as long as to _Hilderic_; who by the Appointment of Pope _Stephen_, was deposed, shaven, and thrust into a Monastery. Now tho' it may be said to have ended in him, yet in Truth, for a long Time before, it ceased to have any Value or Excellency, bearing the bare empty Title of King. For both the Riches and Power of the Kingdom, were at the Disposition of the _Prefects of the Palace_, commonly called _Majores Domus_; with whom was also lodg'd the Authority of the Empire: Neither was there any Thing left remaining to the King, but only that contenting himself with the Title, he should sit on a Throne, wearing his Hair and Beard very long, and representing the Person of a Ruler; sometimes giving the first and last Audience to Ambassadors from Foreign Parts, and returning such Answers as were made for him, as if they proceeded immediately from himself. But besides the unprofitable Name of a King, and a precarious Allowance for his private Expences, (which the Mayor of the Palace was pleased out of Bounty to give him) he had nothing that he could call his own, except one Village of very small Revenue, where he had a little House, and a few Servants, barely sufficient for his necessary Occasions, &c."

_Sigebertus, sub Anno 662._ taking _Eguinarthus_ for his Pattern, inveighs against the former Kings in almost the same contumelious Terms. "Whose Custom (says he) it was, indeed, to make an Appearance like a Prince, according to what had been usual to their Family; but neither to act, nor dispose of any thing, only to tarry at Home, and to Eat and Drink like Irrational Creatures."--As if the like Sloth and Cowardise ought to be imputed to all the former Kings, among whom we nevertheless find many brave Men, such as _Clodoveus_, who not only defeated a great Army of _Germans_, which had made an Irruption into _France_, in a great Battel near _Tolbiacum_; but also drove the Remainder of the _Romans_ out of the Confines of _Gallia_. What shall we say of _Childebert_ and _Clotharius_, who rooted the _Visigoths_ and _Ostrogoths_ out of _Provence_ and _Aquitain_, where they had seated themselves? In the Histories of all which Princes, there is no Mention made of any _Mayor of the Palace_, but cursorily, and by the By, as one of the _King's Servants_. This we may see in _Gregorius_, lib 5. cap. 18, where he speaks of _Gucilius_, _Lib. 6. cap. 9._ and _cap. 45. Lib. 7. cap. 49._ And we find this Employment to have been not only in the _King's_ Palace, but also in the _Queen's_: For the same _Gregorius_, lib. 7. cap. 27. mentions one _Waddo_ as _Mayor_ of the _Palace_, in the Court of _Queen Riguntha_: And in very many other Places of their Histories, we find both _Gregorius_ and _Aimoinus_ making Mention of these _Masters of the Court_ and _the King's House_.

Now the first Beginning of the great Authority of these _Præfecti Regii_, was (as we told you before) during the Reign of King _Clotharius_ the Second, about the Year of our Lord 588. that is, about 130 Years after the constituting the _Francogallican Kingdom_; which we may also learn from the before-mention'd Historian, so often quoted by _Venericus_.

Yet there are two other Historians, (tho' not of equal Credit) _Sigibertus_ and _Trithemius_, who refer the Beginning of so great a Power in the _Mayor of the Palace_, to the Reign of _Clotair_ the Third; whose _Magister Palatii_ was one _Ebroinus_, a Man of extraordinary Wickedness and Cruelty: But however this may be, we find Historians calling them by several other Appellations; such as _Comites Domus Regie, Præfecti Aulæ, Comites Palatii, &c._

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CHAP. XIII.

_Whether_ Pipin _was created King by the_ Pope, _or by the
Authority of the_ Francogallican Council.

Having in the former Chapter given an Account, that after the Expulsion of _Childerick_, (a stupid Prince, in whom the Line of the Merovingians ended) _Pipin_, from being _Mayor of the Palace_, was created _King_; It will be worth our Enquiry, to know by whose Authority the Kingdom was conferr'd upon him. For _Pope Gelasius_ says thus, _Cap. 75. Quest. 6._ --"_A Roman Pope_, viz. _Zacharias_, deposed the King of the _Franks_, not so much because of his evil Actions, as because he was stupid, and unfit for the Exercise of so great a Trust; and in his Stead, substituted _Pipin_, Father of _Charles_ the Emperor: Absolving all the _Franks_ from the Oath of Allegiance to _Childeric_."

And there is scarce an Author who does not acquiesce in this Testimony of one _Pope_, concerning the Power of another: Thus _Ado, Lambertus, Rhegino, Sigibertus, Aimoinus, Landulphus_, nay, even _Venericus Vercellensis_, (in the Book which we formerly quoted) cites these Words out of the Epistle of _Pope Gregory_ the VIIth. to _Herman_ Bishop or _Metz_; viz. "A certain _Pope of Rome deposed_ the _King_ of the _Franks_ from his Kingdom, nor so much for his Wickedness, as his being unfit for so great a Power; and after having absolved all the _Franks_ from the Oath of Fidelity they had sworn to him, placed _Pipin_ in his Room.--Which _Otto Frisingius_, lib. Chron. 5. cap. 23. and _Godfrey_, Chron. Part. 17. laying presently hold of, break out into this Exclamation--From this Action, the Popes of _Rome_ derive an Authority of changing and deposing Princes, &c."

But pray let us enquire whether the Truth of this Story, as to the Matter of Fact, be sufficiently proved and attested. For in the first Place, 'tis manifest, That _not one_ of all that _great Number of Kings_ of the _Franks_, which we have instanced to have been Elected or Abdicated, was either created or abdicated by the Pope's Authority. On the contrary we have irrefragably prov'd, that the whole Right, both of _making_ and _deposing_ their Kings, was lodg'd in the yearly _great Council_ of the Nation; so that it seems incredible the _Franks_ shou'd neglect or forgo their Right, in this single Instance of _Pipin_. But to make few Words of this Matter, _Venericus Vercellensis_ gives us the Testimony of an ancient Historian, who has written of all the _Francogallican_ Affairs; whereby that whole Story of the _Pope_, is prov'd to be a Lye: And 'tis clearly demonstrated, that both _Childerick_ was deposed, and _Pipin_ chosen in his room, according to the _usual_ Custom of the _Franks_, and the _Institutions_ of our Ancestors: That is to say, by a _solemn General Council of the Nation_; in whose Power _only_ it was, to transact a Matter of so great Weight and Moment; as we have before made it appear. The Words of that Historian are these:--"That by the _Counsel_, and with the _Consent_ of all the _Franks_, (a Relation of this Affair being sent to the Apostolick See, and its Advice had) the most noble _Pipin_ was advanced to the Throne of the Kingdom, _By the Election of the whole Nation_, the Homage of the Nobility, with the Consecration of the Bishops, &c." From which Words, 'tis most apparent that _Pipin_ was not appointed King by the _Pope_, but by the _People themselves_, and the _States of the Realm_. And _Venericus_ explains this Matter out of the same Historian. "_Pipin, Mayor_ of the Palace (says he) having all along had the Administration of the Regal Power in his Hands, was the first that was appointed and elected to be King, from being _Mayor of the Palace_; the _Opinion_ of _Pope Zachary_ being first known, because the Consent and _Countenance_ of a Pope of _Rome_, was thought necessary in an Affair of this Nature."--And presently after he tells us; "The Pope finding that what the Ambassadors had deposed was just and profitable, agreed to it; and _Pipin_ was made King by the unanimous Suffrages and Votes of the Nobility, &c."--To the very same Purpose writes _Ado of Vienna_, Ætat. 6. _sub Anno 727._--"Ambassadors (says he) were sent to Pope _Zacharias_, to propose this Question to him; Whether or no the Kings of the _Franks_, who had scarce any _Power_ in their Hands, but contented themselves with the bare _Title_, were fit to continue to be _Kings_?" To which _Zacharias_ return'd this Answer,--"That he thought the _Person who governed_ the Commonwealth, ought rather to have also the _Title_ of King: Whereupon the _Franks_, after the Return of the Ambassadors, cast out _Childeric_, who then had the Title of King; and by the _Advice_ of the _Ambassadors_, and of Pope _Zacharias, Elected Pipin_, and made him King."

Besides the above Proofs, we have _Aimoinus's_ Testimony to the same Purpose, _lib. 4. cap. 61._ where he concludes thus.--"This Year _Pipin_ got the Appellation of King of the _Franks_, and according to their ancient Customs was elevated to the Royal Throne in the City of _Soissons_, &c." Nay, even _Godfrey of Viterbo_ himself; _Chron. part. 17. cap. 4._ "_Pipin_ (says he) was made King by Pope _Zacharias_, (_ex electione Francorum_) through the _Election_ of the _Franks_, _Hilderic_ their slothful King being, by the _Franks_, thrust into a Monastery."

In like Manner _Sigebertus_, sub Anno 752.--The Authors of the _Miscellany History_, lib. 22.--_Otto Frising._ lib. 5. Cap. 21, 22, 23. And the Author of the Book intituled _Fasciculus temporum_, do all clearly agree in the Account given of this Transaction. From which we may easily gather, that altho' the _Franks_ did _consult_ the _Pope_ before they created _Pipin_ King, yet it cannot therefore be any Ways inferr'd from thence, that he was made King by the _Pope's Authority_; for 'tis one Thing to make a King, and another to give Advice touching the making him: 'Tis one Thing to have a Right of Creation, and another that of only giving Advice; nay; no Man has a Right of so much as giving Advice in Matters of this Nature, but he whose Advice is first ask'd.

Lastly, no Man has more clearly explain'd this whole Matter than _Marsilius Patavinus_; who during the Reign of _Lewis_ of _Bavaria_, writ a Book--_de translatione imperii_, in which, _Cap. 6._ he has these Words.--"_Pipin_, a very valiant Man, and Son of _Charles Martel_, was (as we read) raised to the Dignity of being King of the _Franks_, by _pope Zacharias_. But _Aimoinus_ more truly informs us, in his History of the _franks_, that _Pipin_ was _legally elected_ King by the _Franks_ themselves, and by the Nobility of the Kingdom was placed in the Throne. At the same Time _Childeric_, a dissolute Prince, who contenting himself with the bare Title of a King, wasted both his Time and Body in Wantonness, was by them shaven for a Monk: So that _Zacharias_ had no Hand in the deposing him, but consented (as some say) to those that did. For such deposing of a King for just Causes, and electing of another, does not belong to any Bishop or Ecclesiastick, nor to any College of Clergymen; but to the _whole Body of citizens_ [ad universitatem civium] inhabiting that Region, and to the Nobles of it, or to the Majority of them both." Therefore those Pretences of the _Popes_, to a Power of _creating_ or _abdicating_ Kings, are apparently false to every Body. But besides this fabulous Device, which is a sufficient Instance of their Wickedness and Malice, I think it worth my while to add a remarkable Letter of Pope _Stephen_, adapted to the foregoing Fable; by which we may make a judgment of the Madness and folly of that old crafty Knave. This Letter is extant in _Rhegino_, a Benedictine Monk, and Abbot of _Prunay_, [Footnote: _Abbot Pruniacensis_] an irrefragable Testimony in an Affair of this Nature; 'tis in _Chron. anni_ 753.--"_Stephen_ the Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, &c. As no Man ought to boast of his Merits, so neither ought the wonderful Works of God which are wrought upon his Saints without their Desert, to be buried in Silence, but published abroad as the Angel admonished _Tobias_. I being constrained thro' the Oppression of the holy Church, by that most wicked, blasphemous, and not worthy to be named Wretch, _Aistolphus_, to fly for Refuge to that _excellent and faithful Votary of St._ Peter, _Lord_ Pipin, the most _Christian_ King, took my Journey into _France_; where I fell into a mortal Distemper and remained some Time in the District of _Paris_, in the venerable Monastery of St. _Denis_ the Martyr. And being now past Hopes of Recovery, methought I was one Day at Prayers in the Church of the same blessed Martyr, in a Place under the Bells: And that I saw standing before the great Altar our Master _Peter_; and that great Master of the _Gentiles_, our Master _Paul_; whom I knew very well by their Vestments. And a little after, I saw the blessed _Lord Denis_, a tall and slender Man, standing at the Right Hand of our Lord _Peter_. And then that good Pastor the Lord _Peter_ said--This good Brother of ours asks for Health. Then reply'd the blessed _Paul_--He shall be healed presently. And thereupon approaching to our Lord _Denis_, he amicably put his Hand upon his Breast, and look'd back upon our Lord _Peter_, and Lord _Peter_ with a chearful Countenance said to our Lord _Denis_, His Health shall be your particular Act of Favour. Then presently Lord _Denis_ taking a Censer full of Incense, and holding a Branch of Palm-tree in his Hand, accompanied with a Presbyter and Deacon, who assisted him, came near to me, and said, Peace be with thee, Brother, be not afraid, thou shalt not die until thou return in Prosperity to thy own See. Rise and be healed, and dedicate this Altar to the Honour of God, and the Apostles St. _Peter_ and St. _Paul_, whom thou seest standing before thee, with Masses of Thanksgiving. Whereupon I was presently made whole. And being about to accomplish that which I was commanded to do, they that were present said I was mad. So I related all that I had seen, to them, to the King, and all his People, and how I had been cured; and I fulfilled all that I was bid to do. These Things happen'd in the 753d Year, from the Incarnation of our Lord on the Ides of _August_; at which Time being strengthned by the Power of _Christ_, between the Celebration of the Consecration of the above-mention'd Altar, and the Oblation of the Sacrifice, I anointed King _Pipin_ and his two Sons, _Charles_ and _Carloman_, Kings of the _Franks_. Moreover, I laid Hands upon, and blessed _Bertranda_ the King's Wife, cloathed with her Royal Mantle, and the Grace of the Sevenfold Holy Spirit: And the Nobles of the _Franks_ being sanctified by the Apostolical Benediction, and the Authority delivered by _Christ_ to St. _Peter_, obliged themselves solemnly, and protested, That neither they, nor any of their Posterity, wou'd at any Time hereafter, presume to constitute any Person, as King over them, but only such as were of the Race of King _Pipin_."

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CHAP. XIV.

_Of the_ Constable, _and_ Peers _of_ France.

Besides the great Office of _Mayor_ of the _Palace_ before spoken of, there was another which we must take Notice of; because it seems, in the Memory of our Forefathers, to have succeeded in Place of the former: And that was the Office of _Count_ of the _King's Stable_; called at first, _Comes stabuli_; and by Corruption at last, _Connestabuli_. Now all those who enjoy'd any extraordinary Honours or Employments in the King's Court, and assisted in the Administration of the Commonwealth, were commonly called _Comites, Counts_; which was likewise the Custom of the Ancients, as I have in some other of my Works demonstrated. So _Cicero_, in many Places, calls _Callisthenes, Comitem Alexandri magni_. This _Comes stabuli_ was in a Manner the same with the _Magister Equitum_ among the _Romans_, that is, _General_ of the _Horse_; to whom were subject those Keepers of the Horses commonly called _Querries_. _Greg. Turen_ lib. 5. cap. 39. says,--"The Treasurer of _Clodoveus_ being taken out of the City of _Bourges_, by _Cuppan_, _Count_ of the _Stable_, was sent in Bonds to the Queen, &c." And again, _cap._ 48. where he speaks of _Leudastes_,--"She took him (says he) into Favour, rais'd him, and made him Keeper of the best Horses; which so filled him with Pride and Vanity, that he put in for the _Constableship_; [_Comitatum Stabuloram_] and having got it, began to despise and undervalue every Body." From these Quotations it appears, that tho' the Custody of the Horses was a very honourable Employment, yet 'twas much inferior to that of _Constable_. _Aimoinus_, lib. 3. cap. 43. gives the same Account of this _Leudastes_.--"Being grown very intimate with the Queen, he was first made Keeper of the Horse; and afterwards obtaining the Constableship above the rest of the Keepers, he was (after the Queen's Death) made by King _Charibert_, _Count_ of _Tours_." And _cap._ 70. "_Leudegesilus_, Præfect of the King's Horses, whom they commonly call _Constable_, being made General of that Expedition by the King, order'd the Engines to be drawn down &c." Also _lib._ 4. _cap_, 95. where he speaks of _Charles_ the Great,--"The same Year (says he) he sent _Burchard, Comitem Stabuli sui_, which we corruptly call _Constabulum_, with a Fleet against _Corsica_"--. The Appendix to _Gregory_ calls him, _Comestabulum, lib._ II. _Brunechildis_ (says he) was brought out of the Village, _ab exporre Comestabulo_.

This being so, _Albertus Krantzius_, lib. Suet. 5. cap. 41. ventures to affirm, that this _Constable_ was the same with what the _Germans_ call _Mareschal_. "They named (says he) a _Governor_, one of the best Soldiers, who might have the Power of Convocating the _Assembly_ of the Kingdom, and of acting in all Matters like the _Prince_. Our _Countrymen_ call him a _Mareschal_, the French call him _Constable_, &c." This seems the more probable, because I do not remember any Mention to have been made in ancient Times, of a _Mareschal_ in our _Francogallia_; so that 'tis very likely to have been an Institution of our latter Kings, accommodated to the Custom of the _Germans_.

That this _Comitatus Stabulorum_, a _Constableship_, had its Rise from the Institution of the _Roman Emperors_, I do not at all question; altho' it grew by Degrees among us from slender Beginnings, to the Heighth of chief _Governor_ of the _Palace_. In former Times that Dignity was a Sort of _Tribunatus Militaris. Ammianus_, lib. 26. has this Expression where he speaks of _Valentinian_ the Emperor,--"Having fixed his Stages, or Days Journeys, he at last entred into _Nicomedia_; and about the Kalends of _March_, appointed his Brother _Valens_ to be Governor of his Stables, _cum tribunatus dignitate_, with _tribunitial Dignity_." What Kind of Dignity that was, we may find in the Code of _Justinian_, lib. 1. Cod. _de comitibus & tribunis Schol._ Where 'tis reckoned as a great Honour for them to preside over the Emperor's Banquets, when they might adore his Purple. Also in _lib. 3. Cod. Theodos. de annon. & tribut, perpensa, 29. Cod. Theod. de equorum Collatione & lib. 1. Cod. Theod._ wherein we may find a Power allowed them, of exacting Contribution to a certain Value from the Provincials who were to furnish War-Horses for the Emperor's Service.

It now remains that we discourse a little of those Magistrates, which were commonly called _Peers_ of _France_; whereof we can find no Records or Monuments, tho' our Endeavours have not been wanting. For among so great a Number of Books, as are called Chronicles and Annals of _Francogallia_, not one affords us any probable Account of this Institution. For what _Gaguinus_, and _Paulus Æmilius_ (who was not so much an Historian of _French_ Affairs, as of the _Pope's_) and other common Writers do affirm, to wit, That those Magistrates were instituted by _Pipin_ or _Charlemagn_, appears plainly to be absurd; because not one of all the _German_ Historians, who wrote during the Reigns of those Kings, or for some Time after, makes the least Mention of those Magistrates. _Aimoinus_ himself who wrote a History of the Military Atchievements and Institutions of the _Franks_, down to the Reign of _Lewis the Pious_, and the _Appendix_, which reaches as far as the Time of _Lewis the Younger_, being the 37th King, speak not one Word of these _Peers_ in any Place of their Histories; so that till I am better inform'd, I must concur in Opinion with _Gervase_ of _Tilbury_, who (as _Gaguinus_ says in the Book which he wrote to the Emperor _Otho_ the IVth, _de otiis imperialibus_) affirms. That this Institution is first owing to King _Arthur_ of _Britain_, who ruled some time in Part of _France_.

For I suppose the Original of that Institution to be this; that as in the _Feudal_ Law such are called, _Pares curie beneficiari_, i. e. _equal Tenants by Homage of the Court_, or _Clientes [Greek: omotimoi], Clients of like holding_, or _Convassilli, Fellow Vassals_, who hold their _Fiefs_ and _Benefices_ from one and the same _Lord_ and _Patron_; and upon that Account are bound to him in _Fealty_ and Obedience: just so King _Arthur_ having acquired a new Principality, selected _twelve great Men_, to whom he distributed the several Parts and _Satrapies_ of his Kingdom, whole Assistance and Advice he made use of in the Administration of the Government. For I cannot approve of their Judgment, who write, that they were called _Peers_, because they were _Pares Regi_, the _King's Equals_; since their Parity his no Relation to the _Regal Dignity_, but only to that Authority and Dignity they had agreed should be common among them. Their Names were these, the _Dukes of Burgundy, Normandy_, and _Aquitain_; the _Counts_ of _Flanders, Tholouse_, and _Champagne_; the _Archbishops_ of _Rheims, Laon_, and _Langres_; the _Bishops_ of _Beauvais, Noyon_, and _Chalons_. And as the _Pares Curtis_, or _Curie_, in the _Feudal_ Law, can neither be created, but by the Consent of the Fraternity; nor _abdicated_, but by Tryal before their Colleagues; nor _impeach'd_ before any other Court of Judicature; so these _Peers_ were not bound by any judgment or Sentence, but that of the _Parliament_, that is, of this imaginary Council; nor could be _elected_ into the _Society_, or _ejected_ out of it, but by their _Fellows in Collegio_.

Now altho' this Magistracy might owe its Original to a foreign Prince; yet when he was driven out, the succeeding Kings finding it accommodated to their own Ends and Conveniences, ('tis most probable) continued and made use of it. The first mention I find made of these _Peers_, was at the Inauguration of _Philip the Fair_, by whom also (as many affirm) the Six _Ecclestastical Peers_ were first created.

But _Budæus_, an extraordinary Learned Man, calls these _Peers_ by the Name of _Patritians_; and is of Opinion that they were instituted by one of our Kings, who was at the same Time _Emperor_ of _Germany_; because, _Justinian_ says, those _Patres_ were chosen by the _Emperor_, _quasi Reipub. patronos tutoresque_, as it were _Patrons_ and _Tutors_ of the Commonwealth. I do not reject this Opinion of that Learned Person; such a Thing being very agreeable to the Dignity of these _Peers_. For in the Times of the later _Roman Emperors_, we find the _Patritian_ Dignity not to have been very unlike that of the _Peers_; because (as _Suidas_ assures us,) they were (partly) the _Fathers of the_ Republick, and were of _Council_ with the Emperor in all weighty Concerns, and made use of the same Ensigns of Authority with the _Consuls_; and had greater Honour and Power than the _Præfectus Prætorio_, tho' less than the _Consul_; as we may learn _ex Justiniani Novellis_; from _Sidon. Apollin. Claudian_; and _Cassiadorus_ especially.

But when the _Empire_ was transferr'd to the _Germans_, we do not believe this Honour was in use among them. Neither is it likely, that none of the _German_ Historians should have made the least Mention of it, if any _Patritians_ of that Kind had been instituted by a _German_ Emperor, who at the same Time was King of _Francogallia_.

Lastly, The same _Budæus_ tells us in that Place, tho' a little doubtingly, that the like Dignity of _Peers_ had been made use of in other neighbouring Nations; and that in the _Royal Commentaries, Anno_ 1224, 'tis found written, that a certain Gentleman of _Flanders_, called _Joannes Nigellanus_, having, a Controversy there, appeal'd from the _Countess_ of _Flanders_ to the _Peers_ of _France_; having first taken his Oath that he could not expect a fair and equal Tryal before the _Peers_ of _Flanders_. And when afterwards the Cause was by the _Countess_ revok'd to the judgment of the _Peers_ of _Flanders_, it was at Length for certain Reasons decreed, that the _Peers_ of _France_ should take Cognisance of it. What the Reasons were of transferring, that Tryal, _Budæus_ does not tell us; which one versed in the _Feudal_ Laws should never have omitted. But 'tis Time to return to our principal Business.

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CHAP. XV.

_Of the_ continued _Authority and Power of the_ Sacred
Council, _during the Reign of the_ Carlovingian _Family_.

We have, as we suppose, sufficiently explain'd what was the Form and Constitution of our Commonwealth, and how great the Authority of the _Publick Council_ was during the Reigns of the Kings of the _Merovingian_ Family. We must now proceed to give an Account of it under the _Carlovingian_ Race. And as well all our _own_ as the _German_ Historians, give us Reason to believe that the very same _Power_ and _Authority_ of the _Orders_ or _States_ of the Kingdom, was kept entire. So that the last Resort and Disposal of all Things, was not lodged in _Pipin_, _Charles_, or _Lewis_, but in the _Regal Majesty_. The true and proper Seat of which was (as is above demonstrated) in the _Annual General Council_. Of this _Eguinarthus_ gives us an Account, in that little Book we have already so much commended. Where, speaking of what happen'd after the Death of _Pipin_, he tells us, "that the _Franks_ having solemnly assembled their general Convention, did therein constitute both _Pipin_'s Sons their Kings, upon this Condition, That they should equally divide the whole Body of the Kingdom between them; and that _Charles_ should govern that Part of it which their Father _Pipin_ had possess'd, and _Carlomannus_ the other Part which their Uncle _Carlomannus_ had enjoy'd, &c." From whence 'tis easily inferr'd, that the _States_ of the Kingdom still retain'd in themselves the same Power, which they had always hitherto been in Possession of (during near 300 Years) in the Reigns of the _Merovingian_ Kings. So that altho' the deceased King left Sons behind him, yet there _came not_ to the Crown so much thro' any _Right of Succession_, as thro' the _Appointment_ and _Election_ of the _States_ of the _Realm_. Now that all the other weighty Affairs of the Nation used to be determined by the same _General Council_, _Aimoinus_ is our Witness, _lib._ 4. _cap._ 71. where he speaks of the War with the _Saxons_. "The King (says he) in the Beginning of the Spring went to _Nimeguen_; and because he was to hold a General Convention of his People at a Place called _Paderburn_, he marched from thence with a great Army into _Saxony_." And again, _cap._ 77.--"Winter being over, he held a Publick Convention of his People in a Town called _Paderburn_, according to the _yearly Custom_." Also _cap._ 79.--"And meeting with his Wife in the City of _Wormes_, he resolved to hold there the _General Council_ of his People." In all which Places he speaks of that _Charles_, who thro' his warlike Atchievements had acquired the Dominion of almost all _Europe_, and by the universal Consent of Nations had obtained the Sirname of the _Great_: Yet for all that it was not in his Power to deprive the _Franks_ of their _ancient Right and Liberty_. Nay, he never so much as endeavour'd to undertake the least Matter of Moment without the _Advice_ and _Authority_ of his _People_ and _Nobles_. And there is no doubt of it, after _Charles_'s Death, _Lewis_ his Son administred the Kingdom upon the same Terms and Conditions. For the _Appendix_ to _Aimoinus_, lib. 5. cap. 10. tells us, that when _Charles_ was dead, _Lewis_ the Emperor, thro' a certain Kind of Foreknowledge, summon'd the general Council of his People to meet at _Doue_, near the _Loire_. And again, _cap._ 38. where he makes Mention of the Articles of Peace, concluded between King _Lewis_ and his Cousin _Lewis_, "--They summoned, says he, a PLACITUM, and in that PLACITUM, by the Advice and Consent of their faithful Subjects, they agreed to observe and keep the Articles which follow. In which _Placitum_ it was also by common Consent found convenient, that both Kings should return with a Guard [_redirent cum scarâ_] _&c._" Also _cap._ 41. where he speaks of _Carloman_ the Son of _Lewis the Stammerer_,--"And so (says he) he departed from the _Normans_, and returned to _Wormes_, where he was on the Kalends of _November_ to _hold his Placitum_." Also in the following Chapter, where he speaks of _Charles_ the Simple,--"Whose Youth (says he) the great Men of _France_ thinking unfit for the Administration of the Government, they held a _Council_ concerning the State of the Nation."

But it would be an infinite Labour, and indeed a superfluous one, to quote all the Instances which might be given of this Matter: From what we have already produced, I think 'tis apparent to every man, that till _Charles_ the _Simple_'s Reign, that is, for more than 550 Years, the Judgment and Determination of all the weighty Affairs of the Commonwealth, belonged to the _great Assembly_ of the _People_, or (as we now call it) to the _Convention of the Estates_: And that this Institution of our Ancestors was esteemed _sacred_ and _inviolable_ during so many Ages. So that I cannot forbear admiring the Confidence of some Modern Authors, who have had the Face to publish in their Writings, That King _Pipin_ was the first to whom the Institution of the _Publick Council_ is owing. Since _Eguinarthus_, _Charles_ the _Great_'s own _Chancellor_, has most clearly proved, that it was the constant Practice of the whole _Merovingian Line_, to hold every Year the _Publick Convention_ of the People on the _Kalends_ of _May_; and that the _Kings_ were carried to that Assembly in a Chariot or Waggon drawn by Oxen.

But to come to a Matter of greater Consequence, wherein the Prudence and Wisdom of our Ancestors does most clearly shew it self. Is it not apparent how great and manifest a Distinction they made between the King and the Kingdom? For thus the Case stands. The _King_ is one principal Single _Person_; but the _Kingdom_ is the whole Body of the _Citizens_ and _Subjects_. "And _Ulpian_ defines him to be a Traytor, who is stirred up with a Hostile Mind against the Commonwealth, or against the Prince." And in the _Saxon_ Laws, _Tit._ 3. 'tis Written, "Whosoever shall contrive any Thing against the Kingdom, or the King of the _Franks_, shall lose his Head."--And again, "The King has the same Relation to the Kingdom that a Father has to his Family; a Tutor to his Pupil; a Guardian to his Ward; a Pilot to his Ship, or a General to his Army."--As therefore a Pupil is not appointed for the Sake of his Tutor, nor a Ship for the Sake of the Pilot, nor an Army for the Sake of a General, but on the contrary, all these are made such for the Sake of those they have in Charge: Even so the _People_ is not designed for the Sake of the _King_; but the King is sought out and instituted for the Peoples Sake. For a _People_ can subsist without a King, and be governed by its Nobility, or by it Self: But 'tis even impossible to conceive a Thought of a _King_ without a _People_. Let us consider more Differences between them. A _King_ as well as any private Person is a Mortal Man. A _Kingdom_ is perpetual, and consider'd as immortal; as Civilians use to say, when they speak of Corporations, and aggregate Bodies. A _King_ may be a Fool or Madman, like our _Charles_ VI who gave away his Kingdom to the _English_: Neither is there any Sort of Men more easily cast down from a Sound State of Mind, through the Blandishments of unlawful Pleasures and Luxury. But a _Kingdom_ has within it self a perpetual and sure Principle of Safety in the Wisdom of its Senators, and of Persons well skill'd in Affairs. A _King_ in one Battel, in one Day may be overcome, or taken Prisoner and carried away Captive by the Enemy; as it happen'd to St. _Lewis_, to King _John_, and to _Francis_ the First. But a _Kingdom_ though it has lost its _King_, remains entire; and immediately upon such a Misfortune a Convention is call'd, and proper Remedies are sought by the chief Men of the Nation against the present Mischiefs; Which we know has been done upon like Accidents. A _King_, either through Infirmities of Age, of Levity of Mind, may not only be missed by some covetous, rapacious or lustful Counsellor; may not only be seduced and depraved by debauch'd Youths of Quality, or of equal Age with himself; may be infatuated by a silly Wench, so far as to deliver and fling up the Reins of Government wholly into her Power. Few Persons, I suppose, are ignorant how many sad Examples we have of these Mischiefs: But a _Kingdom_ is continually supplied with the Wisdom and Advice of the grave Persons that are in it. _Solomon_, the wisest of Mankind, was in his old Age seduced by Harlots; _Rehoboam_, by young Men; _Ninus_, by his own Mother _Semiramis_; _Ptolomæus_ sirnamed _Auletes_, by _Harpers_ and _Pipers_. Our Ancestors left to their Kings the Choice of their own Privy-Counsellors, who might advice them in the Management of their private Affairs; but such Senators as were to consult in common, and take care of the publick Administration, and instruct the King in the Government of his Kingdom, they reserved to the Designation of the _Publick Convention_.

In the Year 1356: after King _John_ had been taken Prisoner by the _English_, and carried into _England_, a Publick Council of the Kingdom was held at _Paris_. And when some of the King's Privy-Counsellors appeared at that Convention, they were commanded to leave the Assembly; and it was openly declared, that the Deputies of the Publick Council wou'd meet no more, if those Privy-Counsellors shou'd hereafter presume to approach that Sanctuary of the Kingdom. Which Instance is recorded in the Great Chronicle writ in _French_, Vol. 2. _sub Rege Johanne_, fol. 169. Neither has there ever yet been any Age wherein this plain Distinction between a _King_ and a _Kingdom_, has not been observed. The _King_ of the _Lacedemonians_ (as _Xenophon_ assures us) and the _Ephori_, renewed _every Month_ a mutual _Oath_ between each other; the _King_ swore that he wou'd govern according to the written Laws; and the _Ephori_ swore that they wou'd preserve the Royal Dignity, provided he kept his Oath. _Cicero_, in one of his Epistles to _Brutus_, writes: "Thou knowest that I was always of Opinion, that our Commonwealth ought not only to be deliver'd from a _King_, but even from _Kingship_, Scis mihi semper placuisse non _Rege_ folum, sed _Regno_ liberari rempublicam."--Also in his Third Book _de Legibus_--"But because a Regal State in our Commonwealth, once indeed approved of, was abolish'd, not so much upon the Account of the Faults of a _Kingly_ Government, as of the _Kings_ who governed; it may seem that only the Name of a _King_ was then abolish'd, &c."

* * * * *

CHAP. XVI.

_Of the_ Capevingian _Race, and the Manner of its
obtaining the Kingdom of_ Francogallia.

It has been already shewn, that the Kingdom of _Francogallia_ continued in Three Families only, during One Thousand Two Hundred Years. Whereof the first was called the _Merovingian_ Family. The second, the _Carlovingian_, from the Names of their Founders or Beginners. For altho' (as we have often told you) the Succession to the Kingdom was not conferred as _Hereditary_ Right, but according to the Appointment of the _General Council_; yet the _Franks_ were so far willing to retain the Custom of their Progenitors the _Germans_, (who as _Tacitus_ tells us, chuse their _Kings_ for their _Nobility_, and their _Generals_ for their _Valour_) that for the most Part they elected such Kings as were of the Blood _Royal_, and had been educated in a Regal Manner, whether they were the Children, or some other Degree of Kindred to the Royal Family.

But in the Year 987, after the Death of _Lewis_ the Fifth, who was the 31st King of _Francogallia_, and the 12th of the _Carlovingian_ Line, there hapned a Migration or Translation of the Royal Scepter, and a Change of the Kingdom. For when there remained no Person alive of the former Family but _Charles Duke of Lorrain_, Uncle to the deceased King, to whom the Succession to the Kingdom, by ancient Custom seemed to be due; there arose up one _Hugh Capet_, Nephew to _Hauvida_, Sister to the Emperor _Otho_ the First, and Son to _Hugh_ Earl of _Paris_; a Man of great Reputation for Valour, who alledged, that he being present upon the Place, and having deserved extraordinary well of his Country, ought to be preferred to a Stranger, who was absent. For there having hapned some Controversies between the _Empire of Germany_, and the Kingdom of _France_; _Charles_ upon Occasion had shewn himself partial for the _Empire_ against _France_, and upon that Score had lost the Affections of most of the _French_. Whereupon _Charles_ having raised an Army, made an Irruption into _France_, and took several Cities by Composition. _Capet_ relying on the Friendship and Favour of the _Francogallican_ Nobles, got together what Forces he cou'd, and went to meet him at _Laon_, a Town in the Borders of _Champagne_; and not long after a bloody Battel was fought between them, wherein _Capet_ was routed, and forced to fly into the innermost Parts of _France_; where he began again to raise Men in Order to renew the War. In the mean Time _Charles_ having dismiss'd his Army, kept himself quiet in the Town of _Laon_ with his Wife; but in the Year following he was on a sudden surrounded by _Capet_, who besieged the Town with a great Army.

There was in the Place one _Anselmus_, Bishop of the City. _Capet_ found Means to corrupt this Man by great Gifts and Promises, and to induce him to betray both the Town and the King into his Hands; which was accordingly done. And thus having obtained both the City and the Victory, he sent _Charles_ and his Wife Prisoners to _Orleans_, where he set strict Guards over them. The King having been two Years in Prison, had two Sons born to him there, _Lewis_ and _Charles_; but not long after they all died. So that _Capet_ being now Master of the whole Kingdom of _France_ without Dispute or Trouble, associated his Son _Robert_ with him in the Throne, and took care to get him declared his Successor. Thus the Dignity and Memory of the _Carlovingian_ Family came to an End, the 237th Year after the first Beginning of their Reign. And this History is recorded by _Sigebert_ in _Chron._ Ann. 987. as well as the _Appendix_, lib. 5. cap. 45.

We must not omit making Mention of the _cunning Device_ made use of by _Hugh Capet_, for establishing himself in his new Dominion: For whereas all the Magistracies and Honours of the Kingdom, such as _Dukedoms, Earldoms_, &c. had been hitherto from ancient Times conferr'd upon select and deserving Persons in the General _Conventions_ of the _People_, and were held only during good _behaviour_; whereof (as the Lawyers express it) they were but _Beneficiaries_; _Hugh Capet_, in order to secure to himself the Affections of the Great Men, was the first that made those _Honours perpetual_, which formerly were but _temporary_; and ordained, that such as obtained them shou'd have a hereditary Right in them, and might leave them to their Children and Posterity in like Manner as their other Estates. Of this, see _Franciscus Conanus_ the Civilian, _Comment. 2. Cap. 9._ By which notorious fact, 'tis plain, that a great Branch of the _Publick Council's_ Authority was torn away; which however (to any Man who seriously considers the Circumstances of those Times) seems impossible to have been affected by him alone, without the Consent of that _Great Council_ it self.

* * * * *

CHAP. XVII.

_Of the uninterrupted Authority of the_ Publick Council
_during the_ Capevingian _Race_.

We may learn, out of _Froissard, Monstrellet, Gaguinus, Commines, Gillius_, and all the other Historians who have written concerning these Times, that the Authority of the Publick Council was little or nothing less in the Time of the _Capevingian_ Family than it had been during the two former Races. But because it would be too troublesome, and almost an infinite Labour to quote every Instance of this Nature, we shall only chose some few of the most remarkable Examples out of a vast Number which we might produce.

And the first shall be, what hapned in the Year 1328. When _Charles_ the _Fair_ dying without Issue Male, and leaving a Posthumous Daughter behind him; _Edward_ King of _England_, and Son to _Isabella_, Sister of _Charles_, claimed the Kingdom of _France_ as belonging to him of Right. Now there could be no Trial of greater Importance, nor more illustrious, brought before the _Publick Council_, than a Controversy of this Kind. And because it was decided there, and both Kings did submit themselves to the Judgment and Determination of the Council, 'tis an irrefragable Argument, that the _Authority_ of the _Council_ was greater than that of both Kings. This Fact is recorded not only by all our own Historians, but by _Polydore Virgil_ an _English_ Writer, _Histor. lib_ 19. Moreover, that great Lawyer _Paponius_, _Arrestorum_, lib. 4. cap. I. has left it on Record, (grounded, no doubt, upon sufficient Authorities,) "That both Kings were present at that _Council_, when the Matter was almost brought to an open Rupture; by the Advice of the _Nobles_, a _General Convention_ of the _People_ and _States_ was summon'd: and the _Vote of the Majority_ was, that the Kinsman, by the Father's Side, ought to have the Preference; and that the Custody of the Queen, then great with Child, shou'd be given to _Valois_; to whom also the Kingdom was _adjudged_ and _decreed_ in Case she brought forth a Daughter."--Which History _Froissard_, Vol. I. Cap. 22. _Paponius_ Arrest. lib. 4. cap. I. Art. 2. and _Gaguinus_ in _Philippo Valesio_, have published.

The Year 1356, furnishes us with another Example; at which Time King _John_ was defeated by the _English_ at _Poictiers_; taken Prisoner, and carried into _England_.--"After so great a Calamity, the only Hopes left were in the Authority of the _Great Council_; therefore immediately a Parliament was summon'd to meet at _Paris_. And altho' King _John_'s Three Sons, _Charles_, _Lewis_ and _John_, were at Hand, the eldest of which was of competent Age to govern; yet other Men were chosen, to wit, _twelve approved Persons_ out of each _Order_ of the _States_, to whom the Management of the Kingdom's Affairs was intrusted; and there it was decreed, that an Embassy shou'd be sent into _England_ to treat of Peace with the _English_." _Froissard_, Vol. I. cap. 170. _Joannes Buchettus_, lib. 4. fol. 118. _Nich. Gillius_ in Chron. _Regis Joannis_, are our Authors.

A third Instance we have _Anno_ 1375, when the last Will and Testament of _Charles_ the Fifth, Surnamed the _Wise_, was produced: By which Will he had appointed his Wife's Brother, _Philip_ Duke of _Bourbon_, to be Guardian to his Sons, and _Lewis_ Duke of _Anjou_ his own Brother, to be Administrator of the Kingdom till such Time as his Son _Charles_ shou'd come of Age. But notwithstanding this, a _Great Council_ was held at _Paris_, wherein (after declaring the Testament to be void and null) it was decreed, that the _Administration_ of the Kingdom shou'd be committed to _Lewis_, the Boy's Uncle: "_But upon this Condition, that he_ should be _ruled and governed_ in that _Administration, by the Advice of certain Persons named and approv'd by the_ Council." The Education and Tutelage of the Child was left to _Bourbon_; and at the same Time a Law was made, that the Heir of the Kingdom shou'd be crown'd as soon as he shou'd be full 14 Years old, and receive the Homage and Oath of Fidelity from his Subjects.--_Froissard_, Vol. 2. cap. 60. _Buchett_, lib. 4. fol. 124. Chro. Brit. Cap.

A 4th Example we have in the Year 1392; at which Time the same _Charles_ the Sixth was taken with a sudden Distraction or Madness, and was convey'd first to _Mans_, and afterwards to _Paris_; and there a _General Council_ was held, wherein it was decreed by the _Authority of the States_, that the _Administration_ of the _Kingdom_ shou'd be committed to the Dukes of _Aquitain_ and _Burgundy_.--_Froissard_, Vol. 4. cap. 44. is our Author.

5. Neither must we omit what _Paponius_ (Arrest. lib. 5. tit. 10. Art. 4.) testifies to have been declared by the _Parliament_ at _Paris_, within the Compass of almost our own Memories, when _Francis_ the First had a Mind to alienate Part of his Dominions; _viz._ "That all Alienations of that Kind made by any of his Predecessors, were void and null in themselves; upon this very Account, that they were done _without the Authority of the Great Council_, and of _the Three Estates_," as he calls them.

A 6th Example we have in the Year 1426, when _Philip_ Duke of _Burgundy_, and _Hanfred_ [Dux _Glocestriæ_] were at mortal Enmity with each other, to the great Detriment of the Commonwealth and it was at last agreed between them to determine their Quarrel by single Combat: For in that Contention the _Great Council_ interposed its Authority, and decreed that both shou'd lay down their Arms, and submit to have their Controversies _judicially tryed_ before the _Council_, rather than _disputed_ with the _Sword_. Which History is related at large by _Paradinus_, in _Chron. Burgund. lib._ 3. _Anno_ 1426.

A 7th Example happned in the Year 1484, when _Lewis the Eleventh_ dying, and leaving his Son _Charles_, a Boy of 13 Years old; a _Council_ was held at _Tours_, wherein it was decreed, "The Education of the Boy shou'd be committed to _Anne_ the King's Sister;" but the Administration of the Kingdom shou'd be intrusted to certain Persons _Elected and approved by that Council_; notwithstanding _Lewis_, Duke of _Orleans_, the next Kinsman by the Father's Side, demanded it as his Right. A Testimony of which Transaction is extant in the Acts of that _Council_, printed at _Paris_; and in _Joannes Buchettus_ 4th Book, folio 167.

* * * * *

CHAP. XVIII.

_Of the Remarkable Authority of the_ Council _against_
Lewis _the_ Eleventh.

The _Power_ and _Authority_ of the _Council_ and the _Estates_ assembled, appears by the foregoing Testimonies to have been very great, and indeed (as it were) _Sacred_. But because we are now giving Examples of this Power, we will not omit a signal Instance of the _Authority_ of this _Council_, which interposed it self in the Memory of our Fathers against _Lewis the Eleventh_, who was reputed more crafty and cunning than any of the Kings that had ever been before him.

In the Year 1460, when this _Lewis_ governed the Kingdom in such a Manner, that in many Cases the Duty of a good Prince, and a Lover of his Country, was wanting; the People began to desire the Assistance and _Authority_ of the Great _Council_, that some Care might therein be taken of the Publick Welfare; and because it was suspected the King wou'd not submit himself to it, the _Great Men_ of the Kingdom (stirred up by the daily Complaints and Solicitations of the _Commons_,) "resolv'd to gather Forces, and raise an _Army_; that (as _Philip de Comines_ expresses it) they might provide for the _Publick Good_, and expose the King's wicked Administration of the Commonwealth." They therefore agreed to be ready prepared with a good Army, that in Case the King should prove refractory, and refuse to follow good Advice, they might _compel him by Force_: For which Reason that War was said to have been undertaken for the Publick Good, and was commonly called the War _du bien public_. "_Comines_, _Gillius_, and _Lamarc_, have recorded the Names of those Great Men who were the principal Leaders, the _Duke of Bourbon_, the _Duke of Berry_, the King's Brother; the _Counts of Dunois_, _Nevers_, _Armagnac_, and _Albret_, and the _Duke_ of _Charalois_, who was the Person most concern'd in what related to the Government. Whereever they marched, they caused it to be proclaimed, that their Undertakings were only design'd for the _Publick_ Good; they published Freedom from Taxes and Tributes, and sent Ambassadors with Letters to the _Parliament_ at _Paris_, to the Ecclesiasticks, and to the Rector of the University, desiring them not to suspect or imagine these Forces were rais'd for the King's Destruction, but only to reclaim him, and make him perform the _Office_ of a _Good King_, as the present Necessities of the _Publick_ required."--These are _Gillius_'s Words, lib. 4. fol. 152.