Chapter XVIII: Section XIII: The Rise of Modern Nations

476—After a succession of puppet emperors in Rome, Odoacer
abolished the name and took the title of king of Italy.
He was a German in command of the auxiliaries in Roman
pay. Thus ended, in disaster and disgrace, the once mighty
Roman Empire. Its ruin was gradual and the barbarians who
overthrew it had already embraced Christianity, so that the
institutions of the church did not share its fall.

486—Clovis, king of the Franks, defeated the Romans and
Gauls at the battle of Soissons. The Ostrogoths invaded
492—Italy under Theodoric the Great, deposed Odoacer, and
founded a new kingdom.

496—Clovis defeated the invading Germans and embraced
500—Christianity. Clovis next defeated the Burgundians.
507—He subdued the Visigoths and all France was united under
one rule. He was of the Merovingian line, or dynasty, of
kings, which lasted over two hundred years, during which the
remains of Roman civilization and the influence of the church
were gradually modifying and penetrating the character of a
new and energetic race.

527—Justinian became the ruler of the Eastern or Grecian
Empire.

534—His generals waged war with the Vandals in Africa and the
Ostrogoths in Italy, and after eighteen years of conflict,
succeeded in reconquering part of Italy, which the Greek
emperors continued to hold nominally for about three hundred
years; the seat of their representative being at Ravenna. He
was called an Exarch. Rome itself was left, substantially,
to the control of the Christian bishop. When the Lombards
founded a kingdom
568—in the north of Italy they were prevented, by the exarch
and bishop, from spreading over the southern part; and when
the exarch threatened to become too powerful to suit the
views of the bishop, he supported the Lombards. Thus the
temporal or political power of the popes arose, and they were
the politic authors of the “Balance of Power” theory, or
system, that has played so large a part in European history.
The result has been exceedingly favorable to progress in
all directions, since it has secured the independence of
states, and a more various and perfect civilization by the
development of the special genius of each people. Many
circumstances conspired to support this idea, in later times,
and render it very prominent and influential.

This gradual advance of the bishop of Rome in political
influence associated him with the mighty memories of the
“Eternal City,” and suggested the idea of a spiritual empire
over all Christendom, which gradually became realized and
quite changed the character of Christianity for near 800
years. Hurtful as it ultimately became, by reviving a
universal despotism over conscience and freedom of thought,
it was long powerful for good by giving a common centre
to Europe, broken into fragments as it was by the rise of
feudalism. That was disorganizing; this was centralizing,
and kept the channels of communication open and the
missionary spirit and the elements of a restored learning in
activity. Its influence in commencing and carrying forward
the crusades, which substantially broke the strength of
feudalism, was of immense importance.

622—Mahomet arose in the Arabian peninsula, and his new
religion spread with astonishing rapidity. In one hundred
732—years from the death of Mahomet the Saracens had
established a vast empire, covering two thirds of the Roman
empire, viz.: all of the old Persian empire, Egypt, and all
of northern Africa and Spain, and threatened to inundate
Europe. They poured a vast army over the Pyrenees into
France. This was defeated in a great battle at Tours, by
Charles Martel, who founded a new dynasty, replacing the
Merovingian, called the Carlovingian, and made France the
most powerful, as it became the leading, nation in Europe,
for promoting civilization during many centuries.

By this means the center of political influence, “The Star
of Empire,” took another step westward. His son, Pepin le
Bref, or the Short, caused himself to be
752—crowned king of France by the Roman Pontiff, Stephen
II., which added to his own prestige, as it also did to that
of the pope. It was a sort of league between the rising
temporal and spiritual powers in Europe, and set an example
long followed. Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, the son of
Pepin, ascended the throne in 771,
771—and by his intelligence, energy, and wise statesmanship,
by his encouragement of learning, his organizing talents
and his success in conquering and civilizing the seething
mass of nationalities in Germany, he may be said to have
really founded modern civilization during his long reign
of forty-three years. He conquered the Lombard kingdom in
Italy, and was crowned by the pope, Adrian I, “Emperor of
the Romans,” kneeling at the altar in Rome; but he virtually
confirmed the temporal authority of the popes, and associated
their influence in all his conquests. He thoroughly broke
the spirit of the pagan Saxons, in northwestern Germany, by
a war of thirty-three years, carried his conquests east over
most of the present Austrian empire, civilizing and bringing
the barbarians into the pale of Christendom by the aid of
Christian missionaries, and conquered some portions of Spain
from the Saracens.

It seemed as if the history of the western Roman Empire,
which had fallen three hundred years before, was to be
repeated. That was the hope and dream of both Charlemagne
and the Roman Pontiff, who joined hands to realize it. This
new western emperor had great abilities and the church was
very strong. The centre of Europe had so long been within
the reach of civilizing influences, and had attained such a
point of development in its various nationalities, that they
readily accepted permanent institutions, when presented by a
power so strong as that of the mighty Frank ruler.

814—But when he died, it was found that there was no other
hand strong enough to wield his sceptre. All the memories of
the old empire, all the influence of the Christian church,
the remains of the Roman organization, and the ripening vigor
of new races, which had begun to lay aside their barbarous
impulses, were united to aid the vast designs of this great
statesman. But the tendencies of the new society, in general,
were in a different direction. The Germanic civilization
was totally different from the Roman, and had there been a
succession of rulers as large minded and strong willed as
Charlemagne, they could not have repeated the history of the
ancient world. The tendency of the races that overthrew the
empire was invincibly against centralization, and instead of
a new Roman Empire in western Europe, appeared the Feudal
System.