Chapter VI: Part 6

When Clovis died, he left four sons, among whom he divided his kingdom. One was the king of Paris; another, king of Orleans; a third, king of Soissons; and the fourth, who reigned over that part of Gaul nearest Germany and the Rhine, was called king of Metz. In a battle with the Burgundians, the king of Orleans, Clodomir, was killed, leaving three young sons who were placed in the care of their grandmother Clothilda. At length the kings of Paris and Soissons became jealous of these children of their elder brother Clodomir, and sent for the children, under pretence of placing them upon the throne of their father. But as soon as they had them in their cruel power, they sent a pair of scissors and a sword to Clothilda, with a message, saying: “We wait thy wishes as to the three children; shall they be slain or shorn?” meaning, shall they be killed or shut up in monasteries? Clothilda, in despair, cried out: “Slain, rather than shorn!” and the messengers, not waiting to hear her further words, returned to the cruel kings, and announced that they had secured the consent of Clothilda for the shocking deed. The wicked kings then hastily entered the room where the three helpless boys were imprisoned, and having slain the eldest, the second one clung to the knees of his uncle Childebert, king of Paris, who was for a moment moved with pity, and asked his brother Clotaire to spare the boy. But the wicked Clotaire, king of Soissons, exclaimed in wrath, “Thrust him away or thou diest in his stead!” Whereupon, Childebert tried no more to save him, and Clotaire seized the poor boy, who was now shrieking with terror, and plunged a hunting-knife into his side, as he had his brother’s, and slew him. These murdered children were only ten and seven years old. The third brother was snatched up by some brave friends, and hidden away where the cruel uncles could not find him. He was afterwards placed in a monastery, and became a monk, and founded a monastery near Paris, called after him, St. Cloud. After the sons of Clovis there followed a line of kings in France called the Meerwings, or long-haired kings, known in history as the Merovingians; and only two of them are important enough to be mentioned, and those only on account of their crimes. One of the sons of Clovis left four sons; and two of these, named Hilperik and Siegbert, married the two daughters of the king of the Goths, in Spain. These sisters were called Galswinth and Brunehild. Hilperik loved a slave girl he owned, named Fredegond, and either with or without his consent, his wife Galswinth was found strangled in her bed, and he afterwards married the murderess, Fredegond, who, though most atrociously wicked, became a powerful queen. Brunehild persuaded her husband Siegbert to make war upon Hilperik, to avenge the death of her sister. Hilperik was defeated, but the Queen Fredegond contrived to have Siegbert murdered, and afterwards killed her husband’s other children, thus leaving her own son heir to the throne. She then ordered her husband also to be put to death, so that she could reign alone in the name of her infant son. The four kingdoms left by Clovis had been now merged into three,—Neustria, which is now the north of France; Austrasia, which is now the north-east corner of France, and part of Belgium, and part of the western side of Germany; and the third kingdom was called Burgundy. The Neustrians and the Austrasians were usually at war with each other, the Burgundians taking now one side of the quarrel and now the other. Queen Fredegond’s part of Gaul was Neustria, while Queen Brunehild governed Austrasia. But Brunehild quarrelled with the chiefs of the country; and after many years of wars, plots, and murders, she was at last brutally killed by the son of Fredegond, who became king of all the Franks; and in Neustria every one obeyed him; but in Austrasia the great chiefs and bishops were opposed to him. The bishops had by this time become rich and powerful, for a great amount of land had been left to the church by the wills of dying Christians, or as gifts from kings and chiefs. When Clotaire, son of Fredegond, died, he left two sons; one of them named Dagobert made himself master of Neustria and Austrasia, and gave his brother land in the south part of the country, which had not been visited before by a Frankish king. Dagobert took Paris for his chief town; he made himself a splendid court, took journeys through his kingdom, doing justice to his subjects, and encouraged the building of churches, and had copies of the old Frankish laws written out and sent throughout his kingdom. The people liked him; but the powerful chiefs and the bishops, who had become so worldly that they thought a great deal more about piling up riches than in turning the people to Christianity, were filled with dismay to have so wise and just a king, who was fast gaining a great power over the people. After ten years Dagobert died and left two sons; one was king of Austrasia; and the younger king of Neustria. After these, there followed three more kings in Neustria, and four in Austrasia, but they had no power, and were only called kings, while the government was really in the hands of a new set of men, from which line the illustrious Charlemagne sprang. The chief man next the king in these countries was called the Mayor of the Palace. He had the chief command in times of war, and at last became in truth the sovereign ruler; and they only put up one of their do-nothing kings as a figure-head. After the death of Dagobert, there was no other Frankish king of any importance in the line of the Merovingians. The Fainéants, or do-nothing kings, as they were called, sat on the throne and pretended to rule, but the mayor of the palace told them what they must say to the people and what they must do. This went on for nearly a hundred years. When Dagobert died, the mayor of the palace was named Pepin, and through several reigns he really governed both Austrasia and Neustria. He made war against the Germans, and sometimes when they were very troublesome he went with an army and subdued them; and at other times he sent monks to try and convert them to Christianity. When Pepin died, his son Karl became the mayor of the palace. Now Karl wished to secure money to give to his chiefs, so that they would fight for him, and so he took away from the bishops the rich lands which belonged to the church, and gave them to his warriors. Karl had first to fight the Saxons, whom he defeated, and then there appeared a new foe. The Arabs lived in Arabia, on the east side of the Red Sea, in Asia.

They had always been a poor, wandering people. But about one hundred and fifty years before this time, an Arab had appeared among his countrymen, claiming to be a mighty prophet, and teaching them a new religion. It was not the Christian religion; but this man, who was named Mohammed, claimed that he had been sent by God to teach the people; and so the religion he proclaimed was called Mohammedanism. Now the Arabs had never left their own country before, but they determined to go forth and conquer the world, and make all the nations Mohammedans. They conquered Persia, Egypt, Spain, and a part of Africa. When they overcame any nation, if the people would consent to become Mohammedans, the Arabs treated them with kindness; but if they refused, they made slaves of them, and sometimes put them to death. Having conquered Spain, the Arabs wished to become masters of France.

When they had passed the Pyrenees, Karl went forth to meet them. There was a great battle, known in history as the Battle of Tours, and at length Karl conquered the Mohammedans, and drove them out of France. Some accounts state that three hundred thousand Arabs were killed.

This mayor of the palace has been called Karl the Hammer, or in French, Charles Martel, in memory of the blows he inflicted upon these Mohammedan enemies. He was afterwards called the Duke of the Franks.

In the time of Charles Martel, several kings became monks. An English monk named Winfrid had been sent by the Pope and Charles Martel to preach to the Saxons. After persuading thousands of the people to be baptized, this monk was made bishop and then archbishop. But he thought more of converting the heathen than of wearing honors, and leaving his bishopric to another, he went forth into a wild part of the country to preach Christianity. When a large number of people had assembled to be baptized, an armed force of the heathen attacked them, killing Winfrid and all the Christian people. This good monk is called also St. Boniface.

After the death of Charles Martel his two sons ruled for six years together, and then one of them went into a monastery, leaving the younger, Pepin, who now became the only duke of the Franks.

The people began to think it absurd to have a useless set of lazy, do-nothing, Merovingian, or long-haired kings, who were only puppets in the hands of the reigning duke. So Pepin, also called Le Bref, or the Short, asked the Pope to make him king, instead of the figure-head who sat upon the throne, who at that time bore the name of Hilperik. The answer of the Pope was, “He who has the power ought also to have the name of king.”

As the Pope had thus consented to the change, all the Franks were delighted, and they took the useless king from his throne, cut off his long yellow hair, which was his sign of royalty, and shut him up in a monastery. He died two years afterwards, and was the last of the Merovingian kings.

Pepin was now crowned by St. Boniface, as this event preceded the death of that king, and thus he became the first of the Carlovingian kings, so called from Carolus, the Latin for Charles, which was the name of Pepin’s father, and his still greater son.

Pepin now aided the Pope by marching into Italy and fighting the Lombards; and having conquered them, he took their lands and gave them to the Pope, which property afterwards descended from one pope to another, so that the popes at last became masters of quite a kingdom in Italy. Pepin also besieged a town in Southern Gaul, belonging to the Arabs, and after seven years captured it, and drove the Arabs over the Pyrenees, into Spain. He reigned for sixteen years, and dying left his kingdom to his two sons Karl and Karloman, who divided it between them; but Karloman lived but three years, when Karl became the king of France.

While his Austrasian subjects, who spoke German, called him Karl, the Neustrians, whose language was a mingling of the Latin and the German, which has since become the French language, called him Charles; and after he became so famous, the Latin word _magnus_, meaning great, was added, and Charles-Magnus thus became the Charlemagne of history.

Very little can be learned regarding the early life of Charlemagne. One of the old writers, named Eginhard, who afterwards became the secretary of Charlemagne, records that neither he himself, nor any one then living, knew anything about the birth of this prince, nor about his infancy, nor even youth. His father, King Pepin, had his two sons associated with himself, when he received the title of king from the Bishop of Rome; but neither of them received any separate government during their father’s life. They were taught, with the other young nobles, by Peter of Pisa, whom Pepin retained at his court for this purpose. It is supposed that King Pepin took the young princes with him in his Italian expeditions, and that Charlemagne accompanied his father in the Aquitanian war. When King Pepin died, his eldest son was twenty-six years and a half old, while the younger was barely nineteen. Both were already married to wives of the Frank race. Charles, or Charlemagne, to Himiltrude, and Carloman to Gerberge.

The first battle in which Charlemagne engaged was soon after his father’s death, with the Aquitanians, who were the people living in the south-west part of France. The brother-kings raised troops to meet them, but Carloman through jealousy withdrew his forces, leaving Charlemagne to carry on the war alone. He was victorious, and the Aquitanians submitted. The queen-mother Bertrada now used her influence to secure a permanent alliance between the Lombards and the Franks, and persuaded Charlemagne to divorce his wife and marry Desiderata, the daughter of Didier the Lombard king. This Charlemagne consented to do, even against the advice of the Pope, and he suffered for his folly, or wickedness; for so it was, even though his mother did sanction it, for he was so unhappy with Desiderata, that in about a year he put her away and married Hildegarde. In those days kings married and divorced their wives as often as they pleased, and Charlemagne, with all his greatness and his aid to Christianity, was in this particular very culpable, and his domestic life was not at all in keeping with the majesty, and goodness, and uprightness of his public life. After the death of Hildegarde, he married two other wives. One Fastrada, an Austrasian, was a very wicked woman, and caused him much trouble. The last one, whom he loved the most, was named Luitgarda. She was kind and gentle, and her influence over Charlemagne was very beneficial after the wicked Fastrada had led him into so much trouble. The French have an old legend, which relates that the evil influence which Fastrada exercised over the strong mind of the great king, leading him to acts of injustice and tyranny, which alienated the affections of his nobles, was due to the magic spell of a ring which she wore. On her death, the ring came into possession of a bishop, for whom Charlemagne immediately showed such admiration, that the bishop found it unpleasant, and cast the ring into a neighboring lake. Here it also exercised its magic charm, and the king would sit for hours gazing into the waters of the lake, as though spell-bound. But this legend cannot disguise the weak side of Charlemagne’s character, and we can only turn from it and fix our attention upon his great career.

He was one of the wisest and most powerful of kings. His life was one of constant war. He fought the Saxons for thirty-three years, but at last he conquered Witikind, the great Saxon leader, in 785, and persuaded him to be baptized. Charlemagne made him Duke of Saxony, and he lived in good faith to the new vows he had taken. Notwithstanding this victory over the Saxons, Charlemagne foresaw the evils which should come upon Europe through the formidable Northmen. The monk of St. Gall relates this incident: “Charlemagne arrived unexpectedly in a certain town of Narbonnese Gaul. Whilst he was at dinner, and was as yet unrecognized of any, some corsairs of the Northmen came to ply their piracies in the very port. When their vessels were descried, they were supposed to be Jewish traders according to some, African according to others, and British in the opinion of others; but the gifted monarch perceiving by the build and lightness of the craft that they bare not merchandise, but foes, said to his own folk, ‘These vessels be not laden with merchandise, but manned with cruel foes.’ At these words, all the Franks, in rivalry one with another, ran to their ships, but uselessly, for the Northmen, indeed, hearing that yonder was he whom it was still their wont to call Charles the Hammer, feared lest all their fleet should be taken or destroyed in the port, and they avoided by a flight of inconceivable rapidity not only the blows, but even the eyes of those who were pursuing them.

“Pious Charles, however, a prey to well-grounded fear, rose up from table, stationed himself at a window looking eastward, and there remained a long while, and his eyes were filled with tears. As none durst question him, this warlike prince explained to the grandees who were about his person the cause of his movement and of his tears. ‘Know ye, my lieges, wherefore I weep so bitterly? Of a surety I fear not lest these fellows should succeed in injuring me by their miserable piracies; but it grieveth me deeply that whilst I live, they should have been nigh to touching at this shore, and I am a prey to violent sorrow when I foresee what evils they will heap upon my descendants and their people.’”

But during all the years of the Saxon wars, Charlemagne had been carrying on various campaigns elsewhere. The Lombards were again at war with the Popes, and the king of Lombards, Didier, whose daughter Charlemagne had married and so soon divorced, had now become his bitter foe. The new Pope, Adrian I., sought the aid of Charlemagne in this war with the Lombards, and he prepared for this Italian expedition. He raised two armies,—one to cross the Valais and descend upon Lombardy by Mount St. Bernard, and the other, to be led by Charlemagne, was to go by the way of Mount Cenis. Didier had with him a famous Dane, named Ogier, who had quarrelled with Charlemagne and taken refuge in Lombardy. One of the monks of that time thus describes Charlemagne’s arrival before Pavia, where Didier and the Dane Ogier had shut themselves up, as it was the strongest place in Lombardy.

“When Didier and Ogger (for so the monk calls him) heard that the dread monarch was coming, they ascended a tower of vast height, whence they could watch his arrival from afar off and from every quarter. They saw, first of all, engines of wars, such as must have been necessary for the armies of Darius or Julius Cæsar. ‘Is not Charles,’ asked Didier of Ogger, ‘with this great army?’ But the other answered, ‘No.’ The Lombard, seeing afterwards an immense body of soldiery gathered from all quarters of the vast empire, said to Ogger, ‘Certes, Charles advanceth in triumph in the midst of this throng.’ ‘No, not yet; he will not appear so soon,’ was the answer. ‘What should we do, then,’ rejoined Didier, who began to be perturbed, ‘should he come accompanied by a larger band of warriors?’ ‘You will see what he is when he comes,’ replied Ogger; ‘but as to what will become of us I know nothing.’ As they were thus parleying appeared the body of guards that knew no repose, and at this sight the Lombard, overcome with dread, cried, ‘This time ’tis surely Charles.’ ‘No,’ answered Ogger, ‘not yet.’ In their wake came the bishops, the abbots, the ordinaries of the chapels royal, and the counts; and then Didier, no longer able to bear the light of day or to face death, cried out with groans, ‘Let us descend and hide ourselves in the bowels of the earth, far from the face and the fury of so terrible a foe.’ Trembling the while, Ogger, who knew by experience what were the power and might of Charles, and who had learned the lesson by long usage in better days, then said, ‘When ye shall behold the crops shaking for fear in the fields, and the gloomy Po and the Ticino overflowing the walls of the city with their waves blackened with steel (iron), then may ye think that Charles is coming.’ He had not ended these words when there began to be seen in the west, as it were, a black cloud, raised by the north-west wind or by Boreas, which turned the brightest day into awful shadows. But as the emperor drew nearer and nearer, the gleam of arms caused to shine on the people shut up within the city a day more gloomy than any kind of night. And then appeared Charles himself, that man of steel, with his head encased in a helmet of steel, his hands garnished with gauntlets of steel, his heart of steel and his shoulders of marble protected by a cuirass of steel, and his left hand armed with a lance of steel which he held aloft in the air, for as to his right hand, he kept that continually on the hilt of his invincible sword. The outside of his thighs, which the rest for their greater ease in mounting a horseback were wont to leave unshackled even by straps, he wore encircled by plates of steel. What shall I say concerning his boots? All the army were wont to have them invariably of steel; on his buckler there was nought to be seen but steel; his horse was of the color and the strength of steel. All those who went before the monarch, all those who marched at his side, all those who followed after, even the whole mass of the army, had armor of the like sort, so far as the means of each permitted. The fields and the highways were covered with steel; the points of steel reflected the rays of the sun; and this steel, so hard, was borne by a people with hearts still harder. The flash of steel spread terror throughout the streets of the city. ‘What steel! alack, what steel!’ Such were the bewildered cries the citizens raised. The firmness of manhood and of youth gave way at sight of the steel, and the steel paralyzed the wisdom of the gray beards. That which I, poor tale-teller, mumbling and toothless, have attempted to depict in a long description, Ogger perceived at one rapid glance, and said to Didier, ‘Here is what ye have so anxiously sought’; and whilst uttering these words he fell down almost lifeless.”

But notwithstanding all King Didier’s fear, he and the Lombards evinced such resistance, that Charlemagne was obliged to settle down before Pavia in a long siege. His camp without the city became a town, so that he sent for his wife, Queen Hildegarde, and her court, also his children and their attendants, and said to the chiefs of his army, “Let us begin by doing something memorable.” So men were at once set to work to build a basilica, and within a week it was completed, with its walls, roofs, and painted ceilings, which would seemingly have required a year to erect.

In this chapel, Charlemagne, and his family, court, and warriors, celebrated the festival of Christmas, 773. But just before Easter, 774, Charlemagne determined to leave his lieutenants to continue the siege, and attended by a numerous and brilliant retinue, he set off for Rome. On Holy Saturday, when Charlemagne was about three miles from Rome, the magistrates and citizens and pupils of the schools came forth to meet him, bearing palm-branches and singing hymns. At the gate of the city, Charlemagne dismounted before the cross, and entered Rome on foot, and having ascended the steps of the ancient basilica of St. Peter, he was received at the top by the Pope himself. Then a chant was sung by the people all around him: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

According to the custom of pilgrims, Charlemagne visited all the basilicas in Rome. He confirmed his father’s gift to the former Pope, and added new gifts of his own. The Pope gave to Charlemagne a book containing a collection of the canons written by the pontiffs from the origin of the church. This he dedicated to Charlemagne, and wrote in it, “Pope Adrian, to his most excellent son Charlemagne, king.”

Charlemagne then returned to his camp before Pavia, and having captured the city, received the submission of all the Lombards. In 778 Charlemagne had a war with the Arabs in Spain. He crossed the Pyrenees and went as far as the Ebro, but the Arabs gave him large gifts of gold and jewels, and persuaded him to spare their fine cities. As he was returning over the mountains, his army was attacked by a wild people called the Basques; and several of his bravest leaders were killed, among them the famous Roland, concerning whom various stories are told, one being that he blew a blast on his bugle with his last breath, to warn Charlemagne, who was far in the front, of this unexpected danger. Another legend makes him to have possessed herculean strength, in token of which a great cleft is shown in the Pyrenean Hills, said to have been made by one stroke of his sword, and it bears the name of the “La Brèche de Roland.” Pfalgraf, or Count of the Palace, was the name given to some of the bravest Frank lords, and in old romances Roland and others are called the Paladins.

Charlemagne had three sons, Carl, Pepin, and Lodwig, afterwards called Louis le Débonnaire. In 781 Charlemagne took his two younger sons, Pepin, aged four, and Louis, only three years of age, to Rome, where they were anointed by Pope Adrian I.,—Pepin as king of Italy, and Louis as king of Aquitaine. On returning from Rome, Charlemagne sent the baby Louis at once to take formal possession of his kingdom. He was carried to Orleans in a cradle, and then the little prince was clad in a tiny suit of armor, and attendants held him up on horseback as he entered his kingdom of Aquitaine. He was accompanied by many officers and men of state who were to form his council of guardians. Afterwards the poor baby king was taken back to his father’s palace to be educated.

Charlemagne founded Aix-la-Chapelle and made it his favorite winter residence. He went out to fight each summer, and came back to his kingdom in the winter. He was very seldom defeated in war, for he was wise and energetic, and moved his army about so quickly that he was a match for much larger forces than his own. He held a council of war every Easter when all his chiefs assembled, and Charlemagne made known to them his plans for his coming campaign. He made improvements in the armor and weapons of his soldiers. Their helmets were provided with visors which could be brought down to protect their faces in battle, and their shields were long and large, instead of the small round skin-covered bucklers of the early Gauls. His soldiers fought with sharp-pointed, two-handed swords, and they employed also heavy clubs covered with iron knobs, which were most formidable weapons. Charlemagne’s forces were mounted on strong fleet horses from the Rhine, and so great was his knowledge of all the surrounding countries, that he could despatch an army to any part of his kingdom at short notice, and with perfect accuracy as to route.

On the 23d of November, 800, Charlemagne arrived at Rome, where he was met by Pope Leo III., whom he had several times aided in conflicts with his enemies, at one time receiving Leo into his own palace for a year, when conspirators at Rome were seeking the Pope’s life. In return for these favors, and to secure the help of so mighty a warrior, Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne Emperor of Rome. The ceremony was performed on Christmas day, 800. Eginhard thus described the scene: “The king came into the basilica of the blessed St. Peter, apostle, to attend the celebration of mass. At the moment when in his place before the altar he was bowing down to pray, Pope Leo placed upon his head a crown, and all the Roman people shouted, ‘Long life and victory to Charles Augustus, crowned by God, the great and pacific emperor of the Romans!’ After this proclamation the pontiff prostrated himself before him, and paid him adoration according to the custom established in the days of the old emperors; and thenceforward Charles, giving up the title of patrician, bore that of emperor and Augustus.” Charlemagne had now become emperor of France, of Germany, and of Italy.

But it is not only as a great warrior that Charlemagne is famous. His government was a model for those times, and he held his subjects, so diverse as to nationality and education, under a most wise and powerful authority; and out of a chaos of different nations—the wild anarchy of ruined Rome, and the ill-regulated force of barbaric hordes—he founded a monarchy strong in him alone, and though it fell at his death, each piece of his great empire possessed enough of the vitalizing force, which his mind and wisdom had given to it, to enable it to rise an empire by itself. So, though Charlemagne’s kingdom could not be preserved by his successors, from that great power rose the separate empires of France, Germany, and Italy. One of Charlemagne’s humane acts was his care for the slaves in Gaul. At that time all the chiefs were warriors, while their lands were tilled by serfs, or slaves, who went with the land as part of the property, whether bought or captured. He made laws to protect the slaves as far as possible against unjust and cruel masters.

Charlemagne was also fond of study. He learned Latin and Greek, and improved his native German language by inventing German words for the months and the winds. He paid great attention to astronomy and music, and in theological studies evinced a strong interest. He caused to be commenced the first Germanic grammar. But with all his learning there was one thing he could not accomplish, which was to write a good hand, though he zealously practiced the art, even putting his little tablets under his pillow that he might catch at any odd moments day or night to perfect his imperfect writing. At whatever palace Charlemagne was residing, he always formed there a school called the School of the Palace, where many learned men were gathered together, and where members of the royal family, including Charlemagne himself, and his children, took lessons in the different sciences, grammar, rhetoric, and theology. Two names are famous among these wise men, who became the particular advisers and confidants of Charlemagne, Alcuin and Eginhard, who afterwards became the biographer of Charlemagne, and the adviser of his son Louis le Débonnaire. It was the custom for members of this school to assume other names than their own: thus Charlemagne was called David; Alcuin, Flaccus; Angilbert, Homer; and Eginhard, Bezaleel,—that nephew of Moses to whom God had granted the gift of knowing how to work skilfully in wood and all materials needed for the ark and tabernacle. All of these scholars afterwards became great dignitaries in the church. Charlemagne was of a cheerful disposition, and fond of hunting and other sports. He was especially expert in swimming. He sometimes played jokes upon his chiefs and nobles, and the old monks of his time tell several stories regarding his sly humor. At one time when he thought his courtiers were too much given to fine clothes, he commanded a party of them when decked out in their finest trappings, to follow him in the chase through the rain, mud, and brambles. He was of a tall figure, and though his dress was rich and gorgeous when the occasion demanded it, he was not fond of finery. His appearance is thus described by Eginhard:—

“Charlemagne was large and robust in person, his stature was lofty, though it did not exceed just proportion, for his height was not more than seven times the length of his foot. The summit of his head was round, his eyes large and bright, his nose a little long, beautiful white hair, and a smiling and pleasant expression. There reigned in his whole person, whether standing or seated, an air of grandeur and dignity; and though his neck was thick and short, and his body corpulent, yet he was in other respects so well proportioned that these defects were not noticed. His walk was firm, and his whole appearance manly, but his clear voice did not quite harmonize with his appearance. His health was always good, except during the four years which preceded his death. He then had frequent attacks of fever, and was lame of one foot. In this time of suffering he treated himself more accordingly to his own fancies than by the advice of the physicians, whom he had come to dislike because they would have had him abstain from the roast meats he was accustomed to, and would have restricted him to boiled meats. His dress was that of his nation; that is to say, of the Franks. He wore a shirt and drawers of linen, over them a tunic bordered with silken fringe, stockings fastened with narrow bands, and shoes. In winter, a coat of otter or martin fur covered his shoulders and breast. Over all he wore a long blue mantle.”

He would not adopt the short mantle worn by the later Franks, but preferred the long cloak of the ancient Franks, which made him a distinguished and royal-looking person amidst his short-cloaked courtiers. He was always girded with his sword, which became so famous that it received the name of Joyeuse, whose hilt was of gold and silver, his girdle being also of gold. Upon solemn festive occasions this sword was replaced by one enriched with precious stones. After he became Emperor he sometimes wore the long tunic, the chlamys, and the sandals of the Romans. At great feasts or festivals his dress was embroidered with gold, and his shoes adorned with precious stones. His mantle was fastened with a brooch of gold, and he wore upon his head a glistening diadem of gold and gems; but his usual dress was simple. He avoided all excesses at the table, particularly that of drinking, for he abhorred drunkenness. While he was dining he liked to have histories or poems read to him. He took great pleasure in the works of St. Augustine. He was endowed with a natural eloquence which rendered his speech delightful. His chosen name of David was not inappropriate, for he was a founder and benefactor of the church, and was very devout in the outward observances of the Christian religion; but his domestic life was an irretrievable blot upon his character, which no plea of the laxity of those times can remove. It is true that the same fault mars the greatness of Alexander, Julius Cæsar, and other famous rulers; but Alexander and Cæsar were not Christians, while Charlemagne stands forth as the great champion and upholder of the religion of the spotless Christ. Charlemagne caused to be erected at Aix-la-Chapelle a magnificent basilica, or chapel, which he adorned with gold and silver, and with screens and gates of brass from Rome, and marbles and columns from Ravenna. He always attended service here night and morning, and often arose to assist at some especial worship in the night. He introduced great improvements in the lessons and the psalmody, and is said to have composed several hymns, among them the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” that invocation of the Holy Spirit which is sung at ordinations. Charlemagne was always ready to help poor Christians, not only in his own kingdom, but in Syria, Egypt, in Africa, at Jerusalem, Alexandria, Carthage, and elsewhere. Of all the holy places he had most veneration for the Church of St. Peter at Rome. He sent rich gifts of gold and silver and precious stones to that cathedral, for he desired to make it surpass all other churches in its decorations and riches. But he was only able to go four times during his reign of forty-seven years, to visit that cherished place. Toward the end of his vigorous life and magnificent career, the Emperor Charlemagne met with severe family losses. In less than two years his sister, daughter, and his sons, the two Pepins, one of whom was a hunchback, died; and lastly his son Charles, whom he intended should be crowned emperor, also died, leaving only Louis and several daughters. But Louis was the worthiest of all the sons of Charlemagne to succeed his illustrious father. In the year 813 Charlemagne, fearing that his end was drawing near, assembled all his chief men at Aix-la-Chapelle, and in a grand ceremonial in the chapel he caused his son to be declared emperor, bidding him take the diadem himself from the altar, and place it on his own head, whereupon Charlemagne exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord, who hath granted me to see my son sitting on my throne!” But he did not at that time resign the crown. Louis went back to his kingdom in Aquitaine; and Charlemagne, in spite of his growing infirmities, continued through the autumn his usual hunting excursions, returning to Aix in November. In January Charlemagne was seized with a fever, but he determined to doctor himself, as was his usual method, which was to “starve” the fever. But pleurisy set in, and still refusing to be ministered to by physicians, on the seventh day after he had taken to his bed, having received communion, he expired about nine o’clock in the morning on the 28th of January, 814, in the seventy-first year of his age, and the forty-seventh year of his reign. He was buried with unusual grandeur. A large and beautifully carved sarcophagus of classical workmanship, was lying empty in the basilica of Aix. But they placed Charlemagne in a large marble chair in the crypt beneath the dome of his great basilica. The chair was ornamented with gold, and Charlemagne was clad in his royal robes with his sparkling crown upon his head, and his royal sceptre in his hand, and the good sword Joyeuse, which had served him in so many famous battles, was girded to his side, while his pilgrim’s pouch was suspended from his girdle, and a copy of the Gospels was laid upon his knees. Thus was he seated on the throne chair, with his feet resting in the carved sarcophagus, as though the great emperor was not to be shut up in a coffin like common mortals, but even in death still sat upon his throne in royal state. Beneath the dome, on the stone which closed the entrance to the tomb, was carved the following epitaph in Latin:—

“In this tomb reposeth the body of Charles, great and orthodox emperor, who did gloriously extend the kingdom of the Franks, and did govern it happily for forty-seven years. He died at the age of seventy years, in the year of the Lord, 814, in the seventh year of the Indication, on the fifth of the Kalends of February.”

This crypt was opened two hundred years afterwards by the Emperor Otho III., when he found the remains of Charlemagne, as described above. A huge black flagstone now lies under the dome, bearing the inscription, “Carolo Magno,” and it is supposed to cover the entrance to the tomb of Charlemagne. Over it hangs a large golden candelabrum which the Emperor Barbarossa gave to burn above the grave. In the time of Barbarossa, the church enrolled the name of the great emperor in its Calendar as St. Charlemagne.

No sovereign ever rendered greater service to the civilized world than Charlemagne, by stopping in the north and south the flood of barbarians and Arabs, Paganism and Islamism. This was his great success, and although he ultimately failed in founding a permanent empire which should exist in unity and absolute power after his death, though at one time he seemed to be Cæsar, Augustus, and Constantine combined, his death ended his empire; but he had opened the way for the Christian religion and human liberty to establish other and more lasting governments. The illustrious French writer, Guizot, thus sums up the life and achievements of Charlemagne. “Great men are at one and the same time instruments and free agents in a general design which is infinitely above their ken, and which, even if a glimpse of it be caught, remains inscrutable to them,—the design of God towards mankind. Charlemagne had this singular good fortune, that his misguided attempt at imperialism perished with him, whilst his salutary achievement, the territorial security of Christian Europe, has been durable to the great honor, as well as great profit, of European civilization.”

ALFRED THE GREAT.

849-901 A.D.

“An honest man’s the noblest work of God.”
POPE.

STORY and song have immortalized the romantic traditions regarding the early inhabitants of the British realm, and although many of them are no doubt fabulous tales, the romantic history of Alfred the Great would be robbed of much of its weird fascination if no mention were made of these fantastic but charming traditions. King Alfred’s reign was eight hundred years after the Christian Era. Authentic history takes us back through those eight hundred years to the time of Julius Cæsar and his invasion of Great Britain, and traditions carry us still farther back, for eight hundred years more, to the days of Solomon.

There is a story that at the close of the Trojan war, which we have described in the life of Agamemnon, Æneas landed in Italy with a company of Trojans. They settled near the spot upon which Rome was afterwards built. One day, while Brutus, the great-grandson of Æneas, was hunting in the forests, he accidentally killed his father with an arrow. Brutus, fearing evil consequences from this terrible accident, fled from Italy. Going to Greece, he collected a band of Trojans, and they made war upon a king named Pandrasus. Brutus conquered this king but promised to make peace with him if he would agree to provide a fleet of ships for Brutus, and give him his daughter in marriage. This Pandrasus did, and Brutus sailed with his bride and fleet, until they arrived at a deserted island, upon which they found the ruins of a city and an ancient temple of Diana, where there still remained an image of the goddess.

The story goes that Brutus consulted this oracle of Diana, and received the following answer:—

“Far to the West, in the ocean wide,
Beyond the realm of Gaul, a land there lies;
Sea-girt it lies, where giants dwelt of old.
Now void, it fits thy people; thither bend
Thy course; there shalt thou find a lasting home.”

Brutus followed this direction, and proceeded westward through the Mediterranean Sea. He arrived at the Pillars of Hercules, which was the name given in those days to the Rock of Gibraltar, and then he turned northward and coasted along Spain. At length they arrived on the shores of Britain. They found the island covered with rich verdure, and in the forests were many wild beasts and the remnants of a race of giants.

Brutus and his forces drove the wild beasts into the mountains of Wales and Scotland, and killed the giants, and seized upon the island as their own. Many wild adventures are told of his successors, down to the time of the invasion of Julius Cæsar. Such is the story in brief of the early Britons.

After the conquest by Cæsar, the Romans retained possession of the island for four hundred years. During this time there were many rebellions in the various provinces, until at last the Britons submitted to their sway. Now another enemy advanced against this picturesque island. The Picts and Scots, hordes of lawless barbarians, who inhabited the mountains of Ireland and Scotland, made continual expeditions for plunder into the fair land of the Britons. At length one of the Roman emperors named Severus, visited the island of Britain, and endeavored to conquer the Picts and Scots. It was at this time that the famous Wall of Severus was built. The wall extended across the island, from the mouth of the Tyne on the German Ocean, to the Solway Frith, nearly seventy miles. This wall was a good defence against the barbarians, as long as Roman soldiers remained to guard it. But about two centuries after the time of Severus, the Roman soldiers were required by their own government at home, and the Britons were left to fight with the Picts and Scots alone. During this time another brave and warlike race had arisen. The Anglo-Saxons had now become powerful sea-rulers on the German Ocean and Baltic Sea. They delighted in storms and tempests, and cared not whether it was summer or winter when they sailed the seas, so brave and fearless were they. They would build small vessels of osiers, covering them with skins, and in these frail boats they courageously sailed amidst the rough winds and foaming surges of the German Ocean, in search of conquest and wild adventure. If they fought they conquered, and if they pursued their enemies they were sure to overtake them, and if they retreated they successfully made their escape. Neither winds, waves, nor enemies could quell this adventurous and brave race, which was fast rising into power and renown. They were clothed in loose and flowing garments, and wore their hair long, floating about their shoulders. They had much skill in fabricating arms of superior workmanship, which gave them a great advantage over their enemies. The landing of a few boat-loads of these determined and fearless Anglo-Saxons, on a small island near the mouth of the Thames, was an event which marks an important epoch in English history, as it was the real beginning of British greatness and power. The names of the commanders who headed the expedition of the Anglo-Saxons which first landed in Britain, were Hengist and Horsa. They were brothers. The island where they landed was called Thanet. The name of the king of Britain at this time was Vortigern. When the Anglo-Saxons arrived, his kingdom was distracted by the constant incursions of the Picts and Scots. In this danger, Vortigern appealed to the Anglo-Saxons for help. He offered to give them a large tract of territory in the part of the island where they had landed, if they would aid him in his contest with his enemies. Hengist and Horsa agreed to this proposal, and they thereupon engaged in battle with the Picts and Scots, and defeated them, and they were driven back to their mountains in the north. The Anglo-Saxons now established themselves in the part of the island assigned to them, and it is related that Hengist gave his daughter Rowena in marriage to King Vortigern, to strengthen the alliance more closely. At last the Britons became alarmed at the increasing power of the Anglo-Saxons, and the result was a fierce contest. It is related that King Vortigern, with three hundred of his officers, were invited by Hengist to a feast, and a quarrel having arisen, an affray occurred in which the Britons were all killed, except Vortigern who was taken prisoner, and was only ransomed by ceding three whole provinces to his captors.

The famous King Arthur, whose Knights of the Round Table have been so celebrated in fable and song, was a king of the Britons during these wars between his people and the Saxons. He is said to have performed marvellous exploits of strength and valor. He was of prodigious size, and undaunted courage. He slew giants, killed the most ferocious wild beasts, gained many splendid victories, and is said to have made long expeditions into foreign countries, once even going to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to obtain the Holy Cross. He was afterwards killed in a combat with his nephew, who had gained the affections of Arthur’s wife during his absence. Arthur had been a deadly enemy of the Saxons. He fought twelve great pitched battles with them, in every one of which he gained the victory. It is related that he killed with his own hand, four hundred and seventy men in one of these contests. The landing of the Saxons, under Hengist and Horsa, is supposed to have been in the year 449. It was more than two hundred years after this before the Britons were entirely subdued, and the Saxon power became supreme. In one or two centuries more the Saxons had, in their turn, to meet an implacable and powerful enemy. These new invaders were the Danes.

The territory of Britain was divided into seven or eight Saxon kingdoms, each under a separate king. This power is known in history as the Saxon Heptarchy. The Danes were not exclusively the natives of Denmark. They came from all the shores of the Northern and Baltic Seas. They were a race of bold naval adventurers, as the Saxons themselves had been two or three centuries before. They were banded together in large hordes, each ruled by a chieftain, called a sea-king. One of the most famous of these sea-kings was named Ragnar Lodbrog. His father was a prince of Norway, and Ragnar had married a Danish princess, and had acquired a sort of right to a Danish kingdom, which right was disputed by one Harald. The Franks aided Harald in this contest, and Ragnar was defeated. But he now brought the other sea-kings under his control, and raising a large force, he invaded France, and landing at Rouen he marched to Paris. The king of the Franks finding himself completely in his power, bought off the sea-kings by paying a large sum of money, and Ragnar and his hordes returned to the Baltic Sea with riches and wide renown for their daring adventures. Ragnar afterwards invaded Spain, and finally grew bold enough to attack the Anglo-Saxons on the island of Britain. For this contest, Ragnar had prepared two enormous ships, and, filling them with picked men, he sailed down the coast of Scotland until he reached Northumbria. Here he encountered a large force of Saxons under their king Ella. A terrible struggle ensued. Ragnar was defeated and taken prisoner, and was afterwards put to death in a barbarous manner by the Saxons. They filled a den with poisonous snakes, and drove the captive Ragnar amongst these horrid reptiles, by whose venomous fangs he was killed. In 851 a large horde of Danes landed on the island of Thanet, and afterwards advanced boldly up the Thames. They plundered London and Canterbury, and marched thence into one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, called Mercia. Although the Danes were there defeated by a large force of Saxons, new hordes were continually arriving, and becoming more formidable. At length an immence force of Danes landed, under the command of Guthrum and Hubba. This horde was led by eight kings and twenty earls. Hubba was one of Ragnar’s sons, and many of the horde were his relatives and friends, who swore vengeance for his cruel death. It was at this time that young Alfred appears prominently upon the scene of English history.

Alfred was the youngest child of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons. Under Egbert, the father of Ethelwolf, the kingdoms of the West Saxons had been united; and Egbert is called king of the English, he having given the name of Anglia to the whole kingdom.