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THE  LIBRARIES 


PURCHASED  FROM 
THE 

WILLIAM  C.  SCHERMERHORN 
MEMORIAL  FUND 


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THE 
AGE  OF  CHARLEMAGNE 

(CHARLES  THF.  GKEAT) 


BY 

CHARLES  L.  WELLS,  PH.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   HISTORY,   UNIVERSITY   OF   MINNESOTA 


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Printed  by 

THE  BURR   PRINTING   HOUSE, 

New  York,  U.  S.  A, 


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TO    MY    FATHER   AND    MOTHER 

AND   TO    MY  TEACHER    IN    CHURCH    HISTORY 

A.   V.   G.   ALLEN 

AS  A  TRIBUTE  OF  GRATITUDE 

I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface xi 

Bibliography, xv 

CHAP.  I.— The  Age  of  Charles  the  Great— The  Church— The 

State— Christianity  and  Learning i 

CHAP.  II.  — Rome  and  her  Legacy  to  the  New  Peoples  of  the 

West 8 

CHAP.  III.— The  Organization  of  Christianity  and  the  Origin 

of  the  Papacy— The  Inheritance  of  the  Church 14 

CHAP.  IV.— The  Conquest  of  the  Empire  by  the  German 
Tribes — The  Foundation  of  the  Frankish  Monarchy — The 
Inheritance  of  the  German  People 25 

CHAP,  v.— The  Merovingian  Monarchy— Elements  of  P^eudal- 

ism — Mayors  of  the  Palace 34 

CHAP.  VI. — Christianity    and   the   Church    among    the    Early 

Franks  — Conversion  of  Clovis- The  Bishops 43 

CHAP.  VII.— The  Spread  of  Christianity— Monasticism— Mis- 
sionaries, Irish,  Scotch,  and  English 51 

CHAP.  VIII. — The  New  Powers  and  Great  Purposes  of  the 
Mayors  of  the  Palace — Charles  Martel  and  the  Church  — 
Foundation  of  Feudalism 58 

CHAP.  IX.— Boniface,  the  "  Apostle  of  Germany  "—The  Con- 
version of  the  Eastern  Germans— Organization  of  the 
Frankish  Church— Union  with  Rome 68 

CHAP.  X. — Iconoclasm  and  the  Papacy — The  Development  of 
the  Veneration  of  Saints,  Relics,  and  Images — The  Emperor 
Leo  III.  and  the  Iconoclastic  Edicts  —  Pope  Gregory  II. 
and  the  Situation  in  Italy— The  Eve  of  Revolt 80 

CHAP.  XI. — Italy  and  the  Papacy— The  Ostrogothic  Kingdom 

— The  Lombards  — Liutprand  and  Gregory  II 91 

vii 


viii  Contents. 

PAGE 

CHAP.  XII.— Gregory  III.— The  Lombards  and  the  Franks- 
Boniface  and  the  Organization  of  the  Frankish  Church — 
Early  Synods  — Relations  with  Rome loi 

CHAP.  XIII.— Karlmann  and  Pippin,  the  Sons  of  Charles 
Martel— King  Childeric  III. — Retirement  to  a  Monastery  of 
Karlmann,  Childeric,  and  Rachis,  King  of  the  Lombards  — 
Coronation  of  Pippin  as  King  of  the  Franks iio 

CHAP.  XIV. — Relations  of  the  Papacy  with  the  Lombards  and 
with  the  Emperor,  from  the  Time  of  Gregory  II.  to  the 
Death  of  Zacharias 123 

CHAP.  XV. — Relations  of  the  Papacy  with  the  Lombards  and 
with  the  Franks — Overthrow  of  the  Exarchate  by  the  Lom- 
bards— The  Pope  Crosses  the  Alps — The  Donation  of 
Pippin — The  Papal  Consecration  of  Pippin  and  his  Sons  as 
Kings  of  the  Franks  and  Patricians  of  the  Romans 131 

CHAP.  XVI.— The  Victory  of  Pippin  over  Aistulf— Lombard 
Treachery — The  Sack  of  Rome — The  Papal  Appeal — St. 
Peter's  Letter — Second  Victory  of  the  Franks  —  Pippin's 
Donation — The  Republic  of  Rome — The  Temporal  Power 
of  the  Pope— Death  of  Aistulf — Accession  of  Desiderius — 
Renewed  Difficulties 140 

CHAP.  XVIL— The  Final  Struggle  of  the  Lombards— The 
Forged  Donation  of  Constantine — The  Frankish  Conquest 
of  Aquitania — The  Aquitanian  Capitulary — Establishment  of 
the  Frankish  Church  and  the  Diocesan  and  Metropolitan 
System — Pippin's  Relations  with  Constantinople  and  with 
Bagdad 155 

CHAP.  XVIIL— TheWorkof  Pippin— His  Death— Division  of 
the  Kingdom  between  Charles  and  Karlmann — Revolt  of  the 
Aquitanians — Frankish  Alliance  with  the  Lombards — Death 
of  Karlmann — Charles  Sole  King — The  Subjugation  and 
Conversion  of  Saxony — Early  Saxon  Missionaries 166 

CHAP.  XIX. — The  Lombard  Marriages  —  Repudiation  of  his 
Lombard  Wife  by  Charles  —  Pope  Hadrian  and  the  Lom- 
bard War — Conquest  of  the  Lombards  — Charles  Enters 
Rome — King  of  the  Lombards — The  Second  Donation  to 
the  Pope— Additional  Powers  as  Patrician— Pope  Leo  and 
his  Accusers — The  Oath  before  Charles— Coronation  of 
Charles 190 

CHAP.  XX.  — Frankish  Accounts  of  the  Coronation— The  Act 


Contents.  ix 


PAGE 

of  the  Pope— Three  Theories— The  Attitude  of  Charles- 
Relations  with  Constantinople — Renewal  and  Transfer — 
Two  Emperors  and  Two  Empires  —  Idea  of  a  World  Empire 
in  Union  with  the  Church 208 

CHAP.  XXI. — Theories  Underlying  the  Coronation— Closer 
Relations  with  the  Papacy — The  Old  Testament  Ideal — 
Augustine's  City  of  God— The  General  Admonition— Secular 
and  Ecclesiastical  Administration — The  Spanish  Campaign- 
Downfall  of  the  Duke  of  the  Bavarians  — Submission  of  the 
Duke  of  Benevento— The  Conquest  of  the  Avars 221 

CHAP.  XXII.  — Imperial  Administration  — Central  and  Local 
Government— The  Missi— The  Assemblies— The  Capitu- 
laries     240 

CHAP.  XXIII. — Theological  Controversies — Image  Worship — 
Adoptianism — Tlie  Filioque  Clause — "  Veni  Creator 
Spiritus  " 259 

CHAP.  XXIV.  —  Political  Importance  of  Ecclesiastical  Officers 
— The  Metropolitanate — Ecclesiastical  Regulations  and  Re- 
form— Chrodegang  and  the  Canonical  Life — Benedict  of 
Aniane  and  Monasticism— The  Supremacy  of  the  Roman 
Church— The  Model 273 

CHAP,  XXV. —Closing  Years — Attempt  at  Consolidation- 
Foreign  Relations  —  Later  Wars  —  Distribution  of  Kingdoms 
—Death  of  the  Older  Sons,  Pippin  and  Charles— Last  Will 
— Election  and  Coronation  of  Louis  as  Co-emperor — Death 
of  Charles  the  Great — Canonization — Special  Collect  for 
his  Day,  January  28 — The  Great  Work  which  He  Accom- 
plished       288 

CHAP.  XXVI. -Intellectual  Life  and  Development— The  Dark 
Ages  —  Influence  of  Monasticism  — Learning  in  England — 
Benedict  Biscop — Archbishop  Theodore— Hadrian — Bede — 
Alcuin— The  Library  at  York 303 

CHAP.  XXVIL— Meeting  of  Charles  and  Alcuin— The  Palace 
School — Alcuin's  Methods  of  Instruction — Cathedral  Schools 
—Alcuin  Abbot  of  Tours 322 

CHAP.  XXVIIL— Irish  Learning— St.  Patrick— Columbanus 
—  Irish  Missions  and  Monasteries  on  the  Continent— Irish 
Scholars  at  the  Court  of  Charles  —  Opposition  of  Alcuin — 
Death  of  Alcuin 343 

CHAP.  XXIX.— Larger  Development  under  Louis  the  Pious— 


Contents. 


PAGE 

The  Scholars  of  Fulda— Rabanus  Maurus  and  Servatus 
Lupus — The  Great  Reformers — Agobard  of  Lyons  and 
Claudius  of  Turin  —  Paschasius  Radbertus  and  the  Doctrine 
of  Transubstantiation— John  Scotus  Erigena — Gottschalk 
and  the  Predestination  Controversy 352 

CHAP.  XXX. — Accession  of  Louis  the  Pious— Weakness  of  the 
Imperial  Unity — Relations  with  the  Papacy— Regulation  of 
the  Empire — Introduction  of  Primogeniture — Humiliation 
of  Louis  374 

CHAP.  XXXI.— Birth  of  Charles  the  Bald— Disorder  in  Italy— 
The  Roman  Constitution — The  Two  Parties  — Rebellion  of 
Lothair — The  Field  of  Lies  — Deposition  of  Louis  — Restora- 
tion—  Reconciliation  of  Lothair — Death  of  Louis — Battle  of 
Fontenay— The  Strassburg  Oaths — Treaty  of  Verdun — 
Fall  of  the  Empire 391 

CHAP.  XXXIL— Christian  Missions  and  Missionaries  — Ebbo 
and  the  Danes  — Ansgar  and  the  Swedes  — Olaf  and  the 
Norwegians — Methodius  and  the  Moravians  — Secularization 
of  the  Bishops  — Political  Influence  and  Dependence — 
Feudal  Relations  —  Reform  Movements 415 

CHAP.  XXXIII.— Ecclesiastical  Legislation  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Church  in  the  Ninth  Century— The  Forged 
Decretals  —Origin—  Date— Place— Object— Contents—  Use 
— Later  History 423 

CHAP.  XXXIV.— The  Height  of  the  Papacy- Nicholas  I.— 
Hadrian  II.— John  VIIL  — End  of  the  Carolingian  Line  in 
Italy— In  Germany— In  France— Degradation  of  the  Papacy  452 


^j 

^1 

PREFACE. 

HE  previous  volumes  in  this  series  have 
found  their  scene  of  action  in  the  East. 
It  is  never  to  be  forgotten  that  Christian- 
ity had  its  origin  in  the  East,  among  an 
Eastern  and  Semitic  people,  and  that  the 
language  of  its  early  teachers  and  documents,  and, 
with  two  or  three  exceptions,  of  its  literature,  for 
three  or  four  centuries,  the  formulas  of  its  faith,  its 
theological  discussions  and  the  decisions  of  its  coun- 
cils, were  all  in  Greek.  Even  the  Church  of  Rome 
and  most  of  the  churches  of  the  West  were,  at  the 
first,  as  Milman  strikingly  says,  "  Greek  religious 
colonies."  With  a  consideration  of  the  age  of  Charles 
the  Great  the  scene  changes  to  the  West,  and  we  are 
called  upon  to  witness  the  handing  over  of  the  trea- 
sured possessions  of  the  Roman  empire,  law,  language, 
civilization,  and  ideals,  to  new  peoples,  the  German 
tribes  under  the  leadership  of  the  Franks ;  the  devel- 
opment of  a  Latin  Christianity ;  the  building  up  of 
the  great  Latin  Church  ;  and  the  laying  of  the  foun- 
dations of  the  middle  ages  and  of  modern  times. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  treat  adequately  of  these 
extensive  subjects  in  so  brief  a  compass  as  that 
afforded  by  the  pages  of  this  volume.     Many  of  the 


xii  Preface. 

topics  I  have  not  attempted  to  touch.  I  have  tried 
to  bring  into  clearer  hght  some  of  the  more  obscure 
though  most  important  features  of  the  period,  and  to 
show  the  deeper  relations  which  underlie  the  chief 
events  of  the  history  of  the  church  and  of  its  connec- 
tions with  the  political  history. 

In  the  introduction  to  his  "  Life  of  Alcuin  "  Lor- 
enz  has  said  very  justly :  "The  age  of  Charles  the 
Great  is  more  celebrated  than  known,  and  the  founder 
of  the  new  Romano- Germanic  Empire  has  found  more 
panegyrists  than  historians."  In  the  following  pages 
I  have  tried  to  be  the  historian  rather  than  the  pane- 
gyrist, and  to  present  facts  rather  than  to  indulge  in 
rhetoric. 

While  conscious,  all  the  time,  of  writing  for  many 
who  will  have  no  time  to  pursue  the  history  further, 
I  have  endeavored,  by  going  deeply  enough  into  the 
subjects  I  have  considered,  to  make  the  book  of  value 
to  those  who  desire  already,  or  to  those  in  whom,  I 
hope,  it  may  inspire  a  desire,  to  continue  the  study 
and  to  make  investigations  for  themselves. 

I  have  let  the  sources  speak  for  themselves  as  far 
as  possible,  not  only  in  order  to  be  more  accurate, 
but  also  because  thereby  a  greater  vividness  and 
reality  could  be  assured. 

I  have  dealt  largely  with  the  political  side  of  the 
subject,  as  the  title  requires  and  as  the  nature  of  the 
history  demands. 

The  growth  of  the  Papacy,  especially  of  its  tem- 
poral power  and  possessions,  forms  one  of  the  most 
important  topics  of  the  period.  In  this  connection 
the  Pseudo-Isidorian  Decretals  have  been  treated  at 


Preface.  xiii 

great  length,  on  account  of  the  interest  and  impor- 
tance attaching  to  the  subject,  and  because  a  good 
deal  of  confusion  still  exists  as  to  their  history  and 
contents.  They  form  an  admirable  commentary  on 
the  church  history  of  the  ninth  century. 

I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  special  indebtedness 
to  the  work  of  Waitz  on  the  whole  subject ;  to  that 
of  Hinschius  on  the  Forged  Decretals ;  and  particu- 
larly to  that  of  MulUnger  on  the  intellectual  life  of 
the  period.  As  the  latter  book  is  out  of  print  and 
the  others  are  in  foreign  languages,  the  large  use 
made  of  them  is  perhaps  more  excusable.  Dr.  Mom- 
bert,  by  a  personal  letter  and  by  his  most  compre- 
hensive work  on  Charles  the  Great,  has  rendered 
much  assistance. 

I  am  allowed  to  quote,  in  closing,  the  words  of 
Dr.  Noah  K.  Davis  of  the  University  of  Virginia  in 
the  preface  to  his  book,  "  The  Theory  of  Thought  "  : 
"  If  on  the  whole  it  is  a  good  book,  it  will  live  and  be 
useful;  if  not  it  will  die,  the  sooner  the  better." 

Charles  L.  Wells. 

Minneapolis,  December  4,  1897. 


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Lor,  Ferdinand:  Les  derniers  Carolingiens;  Paris,  1891. 
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Clermont-Ferrand;  1861. 
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Mathews,  Shailer  :  Select  Mediaeval  Documents ;  Boston,  1892. 
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CHAPTER  1. 

THE  AGE  OF  CHARLES  THE   GREAT — THE  CHURCH 
— THE  STATE — CHRISTIANITY  AND   LEARNING. 

HE  division  of  history  into  epochs  and 
periods,  while  presenting  many  advan- 
tages for  the  purpose  of  detailed  study 
and  of  careful  comparison,  is,  at  the  same 
time,  attended  with  disadvantages  and 
dangers,  so  that  it  needs  some  explanation,  if  not 
defence,  at  the  outset.  The  stream  of  time,  whose 
events,  together  with  their  record,  constitute  what 
we  call  history,  is  one  and  continuous.  Yet  divi- 
sions may  be  made  and  differences  noted,  if  they 
are  not  made  too  hard  and  fast,  too  definite  and  me- 
chanical. 

Two  cautions  must  be  borne  in  mind.  First,  that 
not  all  the  movements  of  a  period  end  in  that  period  ; 
some  must  have  begun,  and  all  must  have  their 
ground  or  motive,  in  a  preceding  one,  and  some  will 
reach  the  crisis  of  their  development  only  in  a  later 
period.  Secondly,  a  period  is  not  of  the  same  con- 
tinuous character  throughout ;  it  is  full  of  movement, 
an  ebb  and  flow  like  the  tide,  a  rise  and  fall  like  the 
barometer,  a  waxing  and  waning  like  the  moon. 

A  I 


The  Age  of  Charlemagtie. 


Yet  without  doubt  each  period  has  its  one  great 
movement,  with  a  beginning,  a  progress,  a  crisis,  and 
a  fall  or  change  into  some  other;  and,  taking  up  a 
single  movement,  one  may  mark,  more  or  less  defi- 
nitely, its  limits  in  time. 

In  the  same  way  some  one  great  personality  dom- 
inates or  at  least  guides  and  moulds  the  develop- 
ment of  a  long  period  in  history ;  preceding  years  or 
centuries  seem  to  have  prepared  for  his  coming,  and 
succeeding  ones  are  filled  with  his  spirit  and  with  the 
influence  of  the  forces  which  he  has  set  in  motion. 
In  a  supreme  degree  this  is  true  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  modern  world  has  recognized  it  by  dividing  his- 
tory into  two  great  periods,  one  before,  one  after,  his 
birth,  and  still  proclaims  that  we  live  awio  Domini. 
In  a  less  degree  we  may  speak  of  the  age  of  some 
great  man,  meaning  the  period  of  his  influence,  or  of 
the  movements  of  events  with  which  his  name  is 
identified,  though  it  begins  before  his  birth  and  does 
not  end  until  after  his  death. 

All  this  is  particularly  true  of  Charles,  King  of  the 
Franks,  and  later  Emperor  of  the  West,  of  whom 
Joseph  de  Maistre  has  so  well  said,  "  This  man  is  so 
truly  great  that  greatness  has  been  incorporated  in 
his  very  name  " — Charles  the  Great,  or,  as  the  French 
like  to  call  him,  Charlemagne.^  It  may  be  under- 
stood, therefore,  in  what  sense  we  speak  of  the  age 
of  Charles  the  Great,  though  the  empire  in  which 


1  The  surname  "  Great "  was  his  from  the  middle  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury. The  name  "  Charlemagne  "  is  a  later  and  misleading  French  cor- 
ruption of  "  Carolus  Magnus."  See  Mombert,  pp.  iii.,  502;  Waitz, 
vol.  iii.,  p.  loi,  note  i,  p.  648. 


The  Carolingian  Line.  3 

that  greatness  centred  broke  up  soon  after  his  hold 
upon  it  was  relaxed.  This  is  recognized  also  in  what 
is  a  most  unusual  procedure,  the  calling  his  line  of 
ancestors  after  his  own  name,  as  though  they  were 
his  children  instead  of  his  fathers.  The  line  is  known 
to  all  history  as  the  Carolingian,^  though  it  came 
into  prominence  in  the  seventh  century  in  the  per- 
son of  Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Metz,  whose  son  married 
the  daughter  of  Pippin  of  Landen,  a  mayor  of  the 
palace,  by  whom  he  became  the  father  of  Pippin  of 
Heristal,  the  conqueror  of  Testry  in  687  and  father 
of  Charles  Martel,  who  was  born  a  year  or  two 
afterwards  and  was  the  grandfather  of  Charles  the 
Great. 

The  age  of  Charles  the  Great  lies  between  the  two 
dark  centuries,  the  seventh  and  the  tenth,  the  results 
of  the  earlier  and  of  the  later  barbarian  invasions. 
With  the  eleventh  century  a  new  life  begins,  and  the 
period  ecclesiastically  is  rightly  named  the  Hilde- 
brandine  era. 

These  dates  mark  not  only  ecclesiastical,  but  po- 
litical and  intellectual  divisions.  The  period  began 
with  the  first  appearance  in  action  of  those  ideas  and 
principles  which  reached  a  crisis  in  the  life  and  work 
of  Charles  himself,  and  ended  when  that  movement 
waned  and  ceased,  or  passed  into  other  hands  and 
under  other  forms  and  influences.  It  is  because  these 
ideas  and  principles  are  so  varied  and  so  fundamental, 
and  their  influences  so  far-reaching,  that  the  age  of 

1  "  Carlovingian  "  is  a  corrupt  form  devised  in  the  middle  ages  as 
analogous  to  "  Merovingian,"  from  Merovius,  the  reputed  founder  of 
the  preceding  dynasty.     See  Martin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  230,  note  I. 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


Charles  the  Great  is  so  long  and  so  important,  so  in- 
teresting and  so  instructive. 

The  church,  already  having  put  on  monarchical 
forms,  moulded  and  influenced  by  the  close  connec- 
tion with  the  civil  power  brought  about  when  Con- 
stantine  declared  Christianity  the  established  religion 
of  the  empire,  had  rapidly  increased  in  power  and 
extent.  This  power  in  growing  had  become  central- 
ized, first  in  four  or  five  patriarchates,  then  in  two, 
Rome  and  Constantinople.  The  struggle  between 
these  two  was  already  on  when  Mahometanism  arose 
and  appeared  to  suspend  it,  but  it  was  Mahometanism 
that  decided  it.^ 

One  by  one  the  churches  of  the  East  were  lost,  and 
in  no  new  direction  could  the  Patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople reach  out  after  more.  The  growth  and  vic- 
tories of  the  future  were  with  the  Pope  of  Rome. 
New  peoples  were  converted  and  owned  his  sway,  his 
spiritual  influence  reached  wherever  Christianity  was 
known,  and  a  temporal  sovereignty  began  in  and 
about  the  city  which  he  had  many  times  defended 
by  the  inspiration  of  religious  awe  and  by  shrewd 
diplomacy,  and  had  so  stamped  with  his  spirit  as  to 
make  it  his  own.  He  took  the  foremost  of  these  new 
peoples,  converted  them  to  Christianity,  changed  the 
line  of  their  kings,  and  made  them  the  instruments  of 
the  spirit  of  a  new  hierarchical  organization  far  beyond 
the  fondest  fancy  of  the  East,  the  very  home  of  ab- 
solutism and  of  priestcraft. 

Slowly  he  gained  his  independence  of  the  Roman 
emperor,  brought  about  the  separation  of  nearly  all 

1  Matter,  vol,  ii.,  p.  69. 


The  Frankish  Empire.  5 

of  what  remained  of  the  imperial  possessions  in  the 
West,  created  a  new  empire,  and  crowned  its  em- 
perors. On  the  basis  of  his  own  enlarged  possessions 
he  established  the  States  of  the  Church  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Papacy,  at  once 
the  fulcrum  of  its  mighty  influence  and  the  stum- 
bling-block of  its  spiritual  greatness,  the  last  of  its 
powers  to  be  fully  attained  and  the  first  to  be  com- 
pletely lost. 

The  various  tribes  and  kingdoms  were  brought 
under  the  rule  of  one  controlling  people,  the  Franks ; 
a  new  and  stronger  race  of  kings  arose  from  ancestors 
who  had  fought  for  unity  and  won  it,  who  had  driven 
back  the  threatening  wave  of  Mahometan  invasion 
from  the  South  and  thus  saved  Europe  to  Christianity 
and  to  Aryan  civilization,  who  had  subdued  the  savage 
barbarism  of  the  North  and  thus  made  possible  the 
spread  of  Christianity  to  the  boundaries  of  the  north- 
ern sea.  As  trustees  for  the  modern  world,  they  had 
received  the  treasures  of  Roman  civilization  from  the 
trembling  hands  of  the  aged  and  decrepit  empire, 
worn  out  by  its  labors  and  excesses,  and  now  too 
impotent  to  use  or  even  to  hold  them  any  longer.  A 
new  empire  was  founded,  in  which  the  peoples  of  the 
West  might  realize  their  common  origin  and  relation- 
ship and  the  great  responsibilities  and  hopes  awaiting 
them  in  the  future. 

The  vision  was  realized  for  less  than  half  a  century ; 
the  central  power  was  one  in  name  rather  than  in 
fact ;  and  it  was  left  for  feudalism  to  preserve  all  that 
was  strong  and  lasting  and  true,  to  protect  it  from  the 
disintegrating  forces  of  barbarian  invasion  and  the 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


consequent  weakness  and  confusion,  and  finally  to 
hand  it  over  to  the  monarchies  of  the  later  middle 
ages  and  the  newly  forming  nationalities  of  the  mod- 
ern world. 

The  great  missionary  enterprises  were  begun,  al- 
though their  greatest  and  most  lasting  victories  were 
not  won  until  a  later  period.  Monasteries  were 
founded,  not  as  places  of  refuge  for  idle  contempla- 
tion and  selfish  asceticism,  but  as  centres  of  living, 
active  force,  true  oases  in  the  deserts  of  the  barbarism 
of  western  and  of  northern  Europe,  lights  shining  in 
a  dark  place,  leaven  hid  in  the  meal,  spreading  their 
influences  far  and  wide,  teaching,  by  practical  ex- 
ample, a  higher  life,  nobler  purposes,  and  loftier 
ideals,  and  directly  helping  others  to  their  attain- 
ment. 

Seeds  of  learning,  saved  from  the  schools  of  Greece 
and  Rome  by  Irish  and  English  scholars,  were  sown 
in  the  newly  founded  royal  and  ecclesiastical  schools ; 
intellectual  life  and  learning  were  fostered  and  en- 
couraged. 

Through  and  above  it  all,  a  great,  far-seeing  mind, 
a  brave  and  wise  spirit,  a  noble  and  illustrious  con- 
queror, the  mighty  emperor  Charles  the  Great,  who 
knew  and  builded  much,  and  yet  builded  wiser  than 
he  knew ;  whose  work  seemed  to  be  lost  in  the  di- 
vision of  the  inheritance  and  the  weakness  of  the 
inheritors,  but,  though  his  empire  was  divided,  his 
schools  closed,  his  monasteries  devastated,  and  the 
Papacy,  which  he  did  so  much  to  strengthen  and  to 
build  up,  plunged  into  the  lowest  depths  of  corrup- 
tion, yet  the  treasure  was  not  diminished,  though  di- 


Permanent  Influence. 


vided  and  given  into  other  hands ;  was  not  ruined, 
though  marred  and  mutilated ;  was  not  lost,  though 
for  a  time  covered  and  concealed.  The  work  which 
he  did,  and  which  his  principles  wrought  out  in  his 
age,  made  possible  the  Renaissance,  the  Reformation, 
and  the  nations  of  modern  Europe. 


CHAPTER  11. 

ROME  AND  HER  LEGACY  TO  THE  NEW  PEOPLES 
OF  THE  WEST. 

]HEN  Charles,  afterwards  called  the  Great, 
succeeded  his  father  Pippin  in  the  leader- 
ship of  the  German  peoples  with  the  title 
of  King  of  the  Franks,  nearly  three  cen- 
turies had  elapsed  since  the  last  Roman 
emperor  had  ruled  in  Italy,  and  about  the  same  time 
since  the  Franks  had  come  into  prominence  and  no- 
tice under  their  leader  Clovis.  During  these  three 
centuries  events  of  momentous  significance  had  oc- 
curred. 

Rome  had  been  doing  for  the  West,  in  her  own 
way  and  to  the  best  of  her  ability,  that  which  Greece 
had  originated  and  carried  on  with  such  genius  and 
glory.  The  elements  of  learning  and  of  civilization, 
already  existing  in  the  East,  Greece  had  taken  up, 
stamped  with  her  own  genius  and  grace,  developed 
to  high  conditions  of  beauty  and  excellence,  and 
moulded  into  forms  of  surpassing  purity  and  power. 
Rome  had  received  this  art  and  learning,  this  won- 
derful civilization,  and  although  in  her  hands  it  lost 
some  of  its  grace  and  beauty,  she  gave  it  greater 

8 


The  Provincial  Government  of  Rome.      9 

strength  and  force  by  her  order,  disciphne,  organiza- 
tion, government,  and  laws. 

Greece  colonized,  but  Rome  conquered  and  gov- 
erned; Greece  civilized,  but  Rome  organized  and 
incorporated.  The  influence  of  Greece  was  mediate, 
individual,  unseen ;  that  of  Rome,  direct,  general, 
evident,  and  effective. 

It  was  through  and  by  means  of  Rome's  great 
practical  genius  for  law  and  government  that  her  in- 
fluence worked,  and  it  showed  itself  particularly  in 
her  provincial  government.  By  the  incorporation  of 
conquered  peoples  into  her  own  national  life  she  made 
them  partakers  by  necessity  of  her  language  and  her 
laws,  and  by  imitation  of  her  customs  and  her  civili- 
zation. Although  her  administration  became  corrupt 
and  oppressive  during  the  later  years  of  the  republic, 
it  was  very  efficient  under  the  empire,  when  many 
of  the  provinces  came  under  the  direct  supervision  of 
the  emperor,  and  municipal  institutions  with  a  system 
of  representation  connected  with  the  festivals  of  em- 
peror-worship were  developed  and  extended. 1  If 
Rome  was  despotic,  she  was  protective ;  if  the  prov- 
inces paid  high  tribute  in  taxes  and  men,  they  gained 
peace  and  security,  better  government  and  laws,  and 
a  higher  civilization. ^ 

But  Rome's  power  was  failing.  Her  conquests 
had  extended  until  she  ruled  the  world,  and  the  world 
was  growing  too  large  for  one  city  to  rule.  Gradually, 
in  the  earlier  times,  she  had  received  into  her  citizen- 

1  Fustel  de  Coulanges,  vol.  i.,  pp.  210-224. 

2  W.  T.  Arnold,  "The  Roman  System  of  Provincial  Administra- 
tion" (London,  1879), 


lo  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

ship  those  whom  she  had  first  conquered,  then  civi- 
lized, then  Romanized.  Later,  however,  distant  prov- 
inces were  annexed  and  large  numbers  admitted  to 
citizenship  without  going  through  this  gradual  initia- 
tion. The  inhabitants  of  these  distant  provinces  in  the 
North  and  West,  the  barbarians,  as  they  were  called, 
were  fast  becoming  a  part  of  the  organism  itself — 
introduced  first  as  slaves  and  captives  of  war,  then 
in  bands  of  large  numbers  as  coloni  on  the  estates  of 
wealthy  and  influential  Romans.  Whole  tribes  had 
been  received  as  subjects,  and  from  the  time  of  Caesar 
and  the  first  emperors,  bands  and  troops  had  been 
used  in  the  armies  along  with  the  legions.i 

Unfortunately,  however,  as  this  material  for,  and 
consequently  the  need  of,  assimilation  increased, 
Rome's  power  to  perform  such  functions  diminished 
with  startling  rapidity. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  moral 
corruption  of  later  Roman  life,  and  it  might  seem 
difficult  to  exaggerate  the  evil ;  but  its  importance  as 
the  cause  of  the  fall  of  Rome  undoubtedly  has  been 
overestimated,  as  Dr.  Adams  has  so  clearly  pointed 
out,^  by  turning  the  attention  away  from  other  more 
direct  and  more  immediately  effective  causes,  and  by 
concealing  the  real  issue.  The  secret  of  Rome's  fall  was 
in  her  failure  to  assimilate  her  continued  conquests, 
due  to  one  thing — exhaustion.  This  exhaustion  was 
moral,  but  that  was  not  all;  it  was  social,  political, 
and  economical.     The  social  and  economic  effects  of 

1  Fustel  de  Coulanges,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  365-401. 

2  Adams,  pp.  76-88.  One  of  the  briefest  yet  most  suggestive  treat- 
ments of  this  interesting  subject. 


Imp07'tance  of  Social  Differences.         1 1 

slavery  were  as  disastrous  as  its  moral  effects.  The 
same  is  true  also  of  the  breaking  up  of  family  life,  the 
free  games  and  free  food,  the  luxury  and  artificial  life 
of  the  rich.  Most  serious  of  all,  the  result  of  all  these 
various  causes,  as  well  as  of  many  others,  was  the 
disappearance  of  the  middle  class.  The  union  of  the 
patricians  with  the  plebeians  had  led  to  the  strength- 
ening of  the  unity  and  power  of  Rome,  immediately 
followed  by  the  spread  of  her  conquests  and  influence. 
It  was  the  rapidly  growing  gulf  between  the  wealthy 
aristocracy  and  the  dependent  proletariat  that  weak- 
ened her  and  prepared  for  her  downfall. 

If  the  dream  of  the  communist  were  realized,  and 
the  so-called  middle  class  constituted  the  entire  com- 
munity, without  the  variation  of  richer  and  poorer, 
educated  and  uneducated,  employer  and  employed, 
life  would  be  a  dead,  monotonous  level,  humanity 
would  stagnate,  arts  and  inventions  would  cease,  and 
very  soon  a  retrogression  would  begin,  which,  slowly 
at  first,  but  surely  and  finally,  would  carry  man  back 
to  the  earlier  conditions  of  barbarism  from  which 
civilization  started,  and  out  of  which,  by  slow  and 
painful  steps  and  by  great  sacrifices  of  individuals  and 
of  communities,  it  has  attained  its  present  height. 
Unless  the  few  who  can  are  allowed  to  go  ahead  and 
lift  themselves  above  the  surrounding  level,  even  if 
necessary  on  the  backs  and  shoulders  of  their  fellow- 
men,  there  can  be  no  hope  of  progress,  no  possibility 
of  advance  for  the  mass  of  mankind ;  and  unless  rich 
rewards  and  great  incentives  are  held  out  for  success, 
few,  too  few,  will  attempt  the  difficult  and  oftentimes 
dangerous  enterprise. 


1 2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  bond  of  connection,  some 
intimate  union  of  sympathy  and  of  mutual  helpfulness, 
must  be  kept  up  between  the  highest  and  the  lowest, 
the  most  and  the  least  advantaged  in  societ}^,  or  the 
vital  connection  will  be  lost,  the  organism  mutilated, 
humanity  will  suffer,  the  social  fabric,  and,  together 
with  it,  the  political  constitution,  will  totter  to  the 
fall.  There  will  be,  there  must  be,  gradations,  social, 
economical,  intellectual,  and  political,  but  they  must 
be  so  closely  connected  and  interwoven  that  there 
shall  be  no  break  between  the  lower  and  the  next 
higher.  If,  by  any  means,  any  considerable  section 
of  these  gradations  is  removed,  ruin  is  inevitable. 

This  was  just  the  evil  in  Rome's  case,  caused  by 
the  disappearance  of  the  middle  class,  eaten  out  by 
slavery,  luxury,  pauperization,  loss  of  independence, 
and  by  the  absorption  of  small  proprietorships  into 
the  vast  estates  of  wealthy  and  powerful  landowners. 
Many  of  these  evils  had  been  felt  already  in  the  clos- 
ing years  of  the  republic,  and  had  made  not  only 
possible,  but  necessary,  the  revolution  wrought  by 
Caesar  and  realized  by  Augustus  in  the  establishment 
of  the  empire.  This  movement,  by  concentrating  the 
power  and  energy  still  remaining  in  the  state,  and  by 
restoring,  in  a  great  measure,  the  direct  responsibility 
of  the  minor  officers,  postponed  the  evil  day,  though 
it  did  not  provide  any  radical  remedy.  Such  evils 
are  more  noticeable  and  more  dangerous  in  a  republic 
than  in  a  monarchy,  but  they  are  bound  to  be  effec- 
tive as  long  as  they  continue. 

Another  and  still  greater  revolution,  implying  a 
still  deeper  recognition  of  these  evils  and  dangers, 


The  Revolution  under  Constantine.      13 


took  place  under  Diocletian  and  Constantine.  This 
was  the  division  of  the  empire  into  East  and  West, 
its  reorganization  into  four  prefectures,  sixteen  dio- 
ceses, and  one  hundred  and  eighteen  provinces,  the 
introduction  of  Oriental  forms  and  customs,  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  complete  system  of  bureaucracy,  the 
removal  of  the  capital  to  Constantinople,  and  the 
adoption  of  Christianity  as  the  established  religion  of 
the  empire. 

All  this,  however,  while  recognizing  the  dangers, 
failed  to  avert  them ;  and  before  the  end  of  the  fifth 
century  the  Roman  emperor  no  longer  had  any  in- 
dependent rule  in  the  West.  Rome  had  ceased  long 
before  to  be  the  seat  of  imperial  power,  for  Diocle- 
tian, in  284,  had  removed  thence  to  Milan,  and  before 
the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the  barbarians  held 
the  larger  part  of  the  imperial  territory  in  the  West. 

This  has  been  called  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire, 
but  the  term  is  not  a  very  appropriate  one.  In  reality 
it  was  the  handing  over  to  others  the  power  her  hands 
were  too  weak  to  hold  any  longer,  the  seizure  by 
others  of  the  treasures  she  could  no  longer  defend 
or  use.  These  others  were  the  Christian  church  and 
the  German  people. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE 
ORIGIN  OF  THE  PAPACY — THE  INHERITANCE 
OF  THE  CHURCH. 


HE  Christian  church  inherited  the  organi- 
zation and  the  centralization  of  the  im- 
perial power  of  Rome.  Centuries  elapsed, 
however,  before  it  found  its  head  and 
centre  in  the  imperial  city  and  came  into 
full  possession  of  the  unity  of  organization  and  the 
discipline  of  law  which  it  received  with  the  imperial 
idea  as  its  legacy. 

The  spiritual  head  and  centre  of  the  Christians  was 
Christ.  He  was  at  once  the  norm  and  revelation  of 
their  faith,  the  source  and  standard  of  their  life,  the 
object  and  inspiration  of  their  worship. 

The  first  three  centuries  of  their  existence  were 
passed  largely  in  retirement,  obscurity,  and  isolation. 
Political  life  was  absolutely  denied  them,  as  also  was 
social  life  outside  of  their  own  communities.  They 
were  the  object  of  suspicion,  ridicule,  slander,  and 
abuse,  as  well  as  of  slights,  annoyances,  persecutions, 
and  punishments,  by  their  Jewish  and  pagan  neigh- 
bors and  by  the  local  civil  officials,  from  which  the 

H 


Tendencies  towards  Centralization,       15 

imperial  law  afforded  them  no  protection  or  redress. 
Their  close  organization  was  therefore  natural  as  the 
outgrowth  of  a  common  political  instinct,  especially- 
connected  with  their  marvellous  increase  in  numbers, 
and  as  the  formal  realization  of  their  ideal  unity  in 
the  one  Lord,  the  one  faith,  and  the  one  baptism.  It 
was  also  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  this  growth 
and  inward  unity,  as  well  as  for  outward  defence 
and  regulation. 

Their  first  and  most  natural  local  centre  was  Jeru- 
salem; but  the  intolerance  and  bitter  attacks  of  the 
Jews,  and  the  early  destruction  of  the  city  by  the 
Romans,  put  an  end  to  its  effectiveness  as  a  means 
of  centralization.  Their  earliest  formal  organization 
consisted  of  single  scattered  communities,  each  gov- 
erned by  a  gradation  of  officers  at  whose  head  was 
the  bishop,  who  represented  the  community  and  acted 
in  its  name.  Interchange  of  thought,  of  sympathy, 
and  of  aid  was  maintained  by  letters,  travellers,  and 
more  formally  appointed  messengers.  Owing  to  the 
rise  of  novelties  and  variations  of  faith  and  of  practice, 
synods  including  several  neighboring  communities 
began  to  be  held,  all  tending  to  an  increase  of  cen- 
tralization. The  bishops  of  the  churches  in  the  chief 
cities  of  the  empire  soon  came  to  hold  important  and 
influential  positions,  especially  when  they  were  men 
of  great  personal  energy  and  ability,  or  occupied 
positions  in  churches  of  apostolic  or  of  quite  early 
foundation.  The  decisions  of  synods  and  the  declara- 
tions of  individual  bishops  and  teachers  had  only  a 
moral  sanction  and  authority,  but  even  then  showed 
such  growing  effectiveness  as  to  bring  upon  them  the 


1 6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

suspicion  and  finally  the  active  persecution  of  the 
empire. 

It  was  not  on  account  of  religious  differences,  for 
Rome  tolerated  all  religions ;  it  was  not  on  account 
of  their  exclusiveness  or  proselytism,  for  the  Jews 
were  exclusive  and  proselyting ;  it  was  not  on  account 
of  disobedience  to  the  laws  nor  on  account  of  the 
slanders  concerning  them  that  the  empire  in  the  third 
century  entered  upon  a  determined  course  of  anni- 
hilation against  them.  Rather  was  it  because  of  the 
increased  efficiency  and  unmistakable  reality  of  their 
organization,  which  threatened  to  form  an  impermvi 
in  imperio,  not  only  rivalling  the  empire  and  dividing 
allegiance  to  the  emperor,  but  tending  to  undermine 
the  state  and  to  overthrow  its  ruler.  But  if  Rome 
was  too  exhausted  to  conquer  her  own  corruption 
and  to  assimilate  her  later  conquests,  she  was  far  too 
weak  to  cope  successfully  with  the  Christian  church 
in  the  freshness  of  its  purity  and  vigor.  Her  attacks 
aimed  at  its  highest  officials  in  the  middle  of  the  third 
century,  and  her  efforts  to  destroy  not  only  its  mem- 
bers but  its  holy  writings,  the  source  of  its  life  and 
inspiration,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century, 
were  powerless  and  ineffectual  for  harm.  They  came 
too  late.  They  might  prune  away  some  branches; 
they  could  not  injure  the  trunk,  and  only  strength- 
ened the  roots  of  the  mighty  tree. 

Just  at  this  time  the  greatest  change  of  all  came 
to  the  empire  and  to  the  church — the  conversion  of 
the  emperor  and  the  proclamation  of  Christianity  as 
the  established  religion  of  the  empire,  and  the  church 
as  its  official  form  and  representative.     It  is  very 


Christianity  as  the  Aitthorized  Religion,  1 7 

difficult  to  realize,  much  harder  to  describe,  and  im- 
possible to  overestimate  all  that  this  meant  to  the 
church  as  well  as  to  the  empire.  The  organization 
was  drawn  into  a  still  closer  resemblance  to  the  im- 
perial constitution,  crystallized  in  that  form,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  law  and  authority  of  the  imperial  power. 
Instead  of  being  persecuted  it  was  legalized ;  instead 
of  being  forced  into  obscurity  it  was  made  an  arm  of 
the  state ;  instead  of  its  officers  being  most  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  a  hostile  power  they  became  the 
most  exalted  representatives  of  that  power.  Chris- 
tianity was  not  only  licensed,  it  became  the  sole 
authorized  religion.  Its  rules  and  regulations,  its  rites 
and  ceremonies,  its  creed  and  organization,  became 
matters  of  imperial  significance. 

Startling  as  this  change  was  in  itself,  it  was  nothing 
short  of  revolutionary  in  its  effects.  New  standards 
and  ideas,  new  aims  and  objects,  new  purposes  and 
methods,  new  views  and  considerations,  at  once  en- 
tered into  the  mind  and  will  of  the  church.  Emphasis 
was  laid  upon  the  exigencies  of  the  economy  of  a 
visible  church  which  became  the  substitute  for  the 
kingdom  of  God.  There  arose  the  necessity  of  an 
external  system  capable  of  being  externally  admin- 
istered. There  followed  from  this  standpoint  the 
localization  of  God  and  the  necessity  of  substitutes 
instead  of  witnesses  for  his  presence.  The  church 
itself  came  to  be  identified  with  the  clergy,  who  ap- 
peared as  its  officers  rather  than  as  its  ministers.  The 
religious  life  was  the  ecclesiastical,  later  the  monastic, 
life.  Salvation  was  something  external  instead  of 
internal,  and  an  intrinsic  value  was  accorded  to  works 

B 


1 8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

which  might  be  noted,  estimated,  and  measured.  It 
would  lead  too  far  from  the  present  purpose  to  carry 
these  considerations  further,  or  to  cite  any  of  the 
numerous  illustrations  in  the  theology,  morals,  life, 
discipline,  and  worship  forming  from  this  period.  The 
whole  process  extends  through  the  later  history  and 
may  be  summed  up  as  the  substitution  of  the  exter- 
nal sign  for  the  thing  signified.^ 

This  shows  why  the  church  in  the  middle  ages 
must  be  considered  as  an  ecclesiastical  institution 
rather  than  as  a  religious  organization.  Its  moral 
influence  gradually  became  subordinate  to  its  ec- 
clesiastical government.  It  was  political  rather  than 
religious ;  it  sought  to  save  the  world  by  ruling  it,  to 
serve  men  by  subduing  them  to  itself,  and  to  teach 
them  by  exercising  authority  over  them. 

Centralization  became  more  important  than  ever. 
The  great  patriarchates  were  established  as  centres 
of  influence  and  control.  They  were  Antioch,  Alex- 
andria, Rome,  and,  later,  Constantinople  and  Jerusa- 
lem. The  importance  of  Rome  was  early  recognized. 
Even  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century  Cyprian  had 
shown  the  expediency  of  an  appeal  to  Rome  in  mat- 
ters of  faith,  though  evidently  without  intending 
thereby  to  ascribe  to  her  any  authority  not  possessed 
by  other  churches  equally  ancient  and  apostolic. 
There  were  many  other  circumstances  which  favored 
the  speedy  rise  of  the  Roman  Church  out  of  the 
obscurity  in  which  she  remained  during  the  first  three 

1  The  further  application  of  this  principle  may  be  read  in  "  The  Con- 
tinuity of  Christian  Thought,"  by  A.  V.  G.  Allen,  D.D.  See  espe- 
cially the  second  and  fourth  chapters. 


The  Advantages  of  Rome.  19 

centuries,  when  the  city,  as  the  capital  of  the  empire, 
was  the  centre  of  pagan  life  and  worship.  The  Latin 
theology  and  the  ecclesiastical  life  of  the  West  had 
their  rise  and  reached  their  height  during  the  first 
four  centuries,  not  in  Rome,  but  in  North  Africa,  in 
Tertullian,  Cyprian,  and  St.  Augustine.  When  the  im- 
perial capital  was  removed  to  the  East  and  the  pagan 
religion  was  proscribed,  the  great  advantages  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  began  to  appear.  Even  her  early 
obscurity,  joined  with  her  distance  from  the  disputes 
of  the  East,  had  worked  to  her  advantage  and  made 
possible  that  silent,  steady  growth  which  enabled  her, 
a  little  later,  to  take  a  high  position  in  the  Christian 
world. 

The  importance  and  dignity  of  the  city,  with  all  the 
prestige  that  came  to  her  as  the  centre  and  seat  of  the 
empire  and  mistress  of  the  world,  were  felt  also  by  the 
church  which  had  been  founded  there  in  the  earliest 
apostolic  times,  and  which  claimed  two  of  the  chief- 
est  of  the  apostles  as  her  founders  and  upbuilders. 
Indeed,  she  was  the  only  apostolic  see  in  the  West, 
and  when  so  much  depended  upon  an  apostolic  foun- 
dation and  authority  for  proving  genuineness  of  tra- 
dition and  integrity  of  faith,  this  was  of  the  greatest 
worth  and  importance.  Rome  kept  the  advantages 
thus  gained.  The  regular  succession  and  the  personal 
prestige  of  her  bishops,  their  general  and,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions,  undisputed  orthodoxy,  especially 
during  the  long  struggle  of  the  fourth  century,  when 
for  a  time  the  empire  and  the  church  at  large  were 
avowedly  Arian,  proved  her  ability  to  sustain  her 
responsible  position.     The  Roman  Church  was  also 


20  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

wealthy  and  at  the  same  time  generous.  Her  mis- 
sionary zeal  carried  her  emissaries  into  various  parts 
of  the  West,  and  many  churches  were  founded,  sup- 
ported, and  protected  by  her,  and  they  acknowledged 
and  repaid  their  obligation  by  service  and  devotion. 
The  conversion  of  the  English,  the  attitude  of  Bede 
towards  Rome,  and  the  later  labors  of  Boniface  and 
other  English  missionaries  in  complete  devotion  to 
the  Roman  see  serve  admirably  as  illustrations  of  the 
feeling  Rome  evoked  and  the  position  of  moral  su- 
premacy she  came  to  hold  among  the  churches  of  the 
West. 

Other  influences  also  were  at  work.  The  need  of 
a  centre  of  unity  and  defence  made  itself  increasingly 
felt  as  the  church  organization  grew  more  definite 
and  Christianity  spread  into  new  and  hitherto  inac- 
cessible regions,  gaining  a  foothold  among  half-savage 
princes  and  semibarbarous  peoples,  while  anarchy  and 
confusion  incident  to  the  fall  of  Rome's  political  power 
took  possession  of  the  Western  world.  In  many 
ways  the  Church  of  Rome  met  these  needs  and  sat- 
isfied them. 

The  position  of  the  priesthood  generally  became 
more  and  more  subordinate  to  the  higher  ranks  of 
the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  Chosen  more  frequently 
from  the  serfs  of  the  church,  who  alone  had  the 
educational  training  fitting  them  for  the  position,  or 
from  the  freemen  among  the  still  uneducated  peoples 
where  the  church  was  spreading  most  rapidly,  their 
inferiority  could  not  fail  to  be  apparent.  The  time 
of  the  great  presbyters  had  passed  away  ;  the  bishops 
alone   were  important.     But   the  bishops,  as  such, 


The  Power  of  Rome.  2 1 

found  their  power  diminishing.  The  monasteries, 
one  after  another,  in  various  ways  gained  exemp- 
tions and  became  independent  of  episcopal  control. 
The  right  of  lay  patronage  and  the  system  of  pri- 
vate chaplains  took  away  from  the  bishops  another 
source  of  their  power.  The  rural  deaneries  and 
cathedral  chapters  still  further  weakened  and  divided 
it.  Even  the  metropolitanate,  essentially  a  Roman 
institution  based  upon  the  political  importance  of 
certain  chief  cities  in  the  empire,  was  gradually  dying 
out.  Redivisions,  consequent  upon  the  settlements 
of  new  peoples,  the  disappearance  of  old  centres,  and 
the  rising  into  importance  of  new  ones,  led  to  a  com- 
plete readjustment  of  old  relations.  New  sees,  by 
reason  of  the  greater  wealth,  renown,  or  sanctity 
which  they  acquired  and  the  larger  powers  which 
they  could  exercise  through  the  rapidly  developing 
feudal  system,  which  comprehended  the  church  as 
well  as  the  state,  soon  gained  a  credit  and  an  influence 
far  greater  than  the  old  metropolitanate,  which  in 
most  cases  was  attached  to  some  old,  decaying,  and 
insignificant  Roman  town. 

In  all  this  change  Rome  steadily  gained  in  power 
and  prestige.  The  springing  up  of  new  church  cen- 
tres taking  the  place  of  the  old  ones  had  the  additional 
eff"ect  of  breaking  up  the  old  traditions  of  indepen- 
dence and  obhterated  the  recollections  of  ancient 
equality.  The  days  of  the  opposition  of  Irenaeus  and 
the  bishops  of  southern  Gaul,  of  Tertullian,  Cyprian, 
and  the  church  of  North  Africa,  of  Ravenna,  Aquileia, 
and  Milan,  were  passing  away.  The  new  churches 
offered   no   resistance,    indeed   were   eager   in  their 


2  2  The  Age  of  Charle7nagne. 

maintenance  and  defence  of  the  increasing  power  and 
influence  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.^ 

The  bishops  of  Rome  began,  about  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century,  to  exercise  the  right  of  conferring  the 
palhum,  a  linen  robe  embroidered  with  purple,  which 
all  bishops  in  the  East  received  at  their  consecration. 
By  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  however,  it  was  sent  as  a 
special  mark  of  honor  and  privilege  only  to  the  most 
distinguished  bishops  of  the  West,  symboHzing  and 
strengthening  their  connection  with  the  Church  of 
Rome.  The  many  appeals  to  Rome  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  faith,  for  aid  and  counsel,  for  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes,  for  the  exercise  of  new  powers,  for 
gaining  rights,  privileges,  and  exemptions,  not  only 
recognized  her  authority,  but  increased  it,  and  some- 
times even  created  it. 

Finally  there  was  a  whole  series  of  imperial  edicts 
and  acts  of  councils  which  were  used,  rightly  or 
1  wrongly,  to  give  a  legal  foundation  to  Rome's  grow- 
ing claim  to  supremacy.  Foremost  of  all,  however, 
was  the  declaration  of  Christ  to  St.  Peter  as  recorded 
in  St.  Matthew  xvi.  i8,  first  applied  to  the  person  of 
St.  Peter  and  then  to  his  successors  in  Rome  in  the 
fifth  century.^ 

A  canon  of  Sardica  in  343  gave  to  Julius,  Bishop 
of  Rome  at  that  time,  the  right  of  receiving  appeals 
from  bishops  condemned  for  Arianism.     Attempts 

1  Chastel,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  163-178. 

2  "  First  in  the  time  of  Coelestine  an  attempt  was  made  to  refer  it  to 
the  person  of  Peter.  The  legates  of  Coelestine  at  the  Council  of 
Ephesus  in  431  had  said:  '  Who,  until  now  and  ever,  both  lives  and 
teaches  in  his  successors.'  Thus  they  claimed  universal  primacy  as  of 
immediate  divine  authority.  Leo  I.  adopted  this  view  with  all  his 
soul."     (Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  p.  269.) 


The  Papacy.  23 

were  made  to  give  to  this  canon  a  general  instead  of 
a  specific  application,  and  to  use  it  as  a  Nicene  canon. 
An  edict  of  the  Emperor  Gratian  in  378  conferred 
upon  Damasus  the  right  of  giving  a  final  decision 
against  some  schismatic  clergy.  An  edict  of  Valen- 
tinian  in  445  declared  the  universal  primacy  of  the 
Roman  see.  The  later  forgeries,  culminating  in  the 
False  Decretals  of  the  ninth  century,  supplied  all  that 
was  lacking  in  the  way  of  precedent  and  documentary 
evidence. 

But  all  these  advantages,  opportunities,  precedents, 
declarations,  canons,  and  edicts  would  have  accom- 
plished little  of  enduring  worth  had  it  not  been  for 
the  line  of  good  and  great  men — great  in  intellect,  in 
ability,  in  tact,  and  in  influence — who  filled  the  chair 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  Indeed,  we  may  fairly  say 
that  the  Papacy,^  as  the  special  position  and  influence 

1  The  Roman  bishops  were  not  distinguished  at  first  by  any  exclu- 
sive titles.  The  term  "  patriarch,"  while  technically  belonging  to  them 
alone  in  the  West,  was  quite  commonly  applied  to  all  the  Western  bish- 
ops. Even  the  names  "  apostolic  Pope,"  "  Vicar  of  Christ, "_  "  chief 
pontiff,"  and  "  apostolic  see  "  were  not  confined  to  Rome  and' its  bish- 
ops, inasmuch  as,  originally,  all  bishops  were  regarded  as  vicars  of 
Christ  and  successors  of  the  apostles,  while  no  distinction  had  been 
made  as  yet  between  St.  Peter  and  the  other  apostles.  The  term 
"  Pope,"  from  the  Latin  papa  and  Greek  TrdTTTraf  ("  a  father"),  was 
applied  at  first  to  the  higher  clergy  generally.  Ennodius,  Bishop  of 
Pavia,  used  it  with  special  emphasis  for  the  Bishop  of  Rome  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixth  century,  and  from  the  next  century  it  became  a 
fixed  title.  Gregory  VII.  in  1075  enforced  it  by  law,  and  forbade  its 
application  to  any  other  bishop.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  later  titles 
of  the  bishops  of  Rome  were  those  in  general  use  at  first,  but  gradually 
monopolized  by  them. 

The  phrase  "  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,"  adopted  by  Gregory 
the  Great  in  his  well-known  opposition  to  the  claim  of  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople  to  the  title  "  universal  patriarch,"  remained  almost 
exclusively  the  prerogative  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 

After  their  triumph  at  the  Sixth  General  Council  the  Roman  bish- 


24  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  called,  owes  its  real  origin 
to  the  three  great  popes  of  the  fourth  century — In- 
nocent, Coelestine,  and  Leo — and  to  the  greater  one  at 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century — Gregory  the  Great. 

The  life  of  Gregory  i  shows  how  far  the  Church  of 
Rome  had  inherited  the  power  and  influence  and  real 
position  of  the  old  Roman  empire.  The  Latin  lan- 
guage had  become  the  language  of  its  Scriptures,  its 
liturgy,  its  theology,  and  its  laws,  while  with  the  lan- 
guage it  had  received  much  of  the  spirit  and  ideals 
of  Rome.  Thus  the  empire  of  Rome  had  passed  on 
a  part  of  its  great  heritage  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  thus  the  Church  of  Rome  had  become  able  to  re- 
ceive and  to  administer  the  inheritance. 

ops  began  to  take  the  title  "  universal  bishop,"  which  Gregory  had 
repudiated. 

"  Vicar  of  Peter  "  was  frequently  used,  gradually  growing  in  signifi- 
cance with  the  exaltation  of  Peter  to  the  position  of  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  upon  whom  the  church  was  founded  and  to  whom  had  been 
given  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

1  The  account  given  by  Milman  in  his  "  Latin  Christianity,"  bk. 
iii.,  chap,  viii.,  is  one  of  the  best  brief  biographies. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  THE  EMPIRE  BY  THE  GERMAN 
TRIBES — THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  FRANKISH 
MONARCHY — THE  INHERITANCE  OF  THE  GER- 
MAN   PEOPLE. 

HE  Other  inheritor  of  Rome's  power  and 
civiHzation  was  the  German  people.  Con- 
stantinople in  the  East  retained  the  im- 
perial name  as  New  Rome,  but  the  Ger- 
man tribes  inherited  the  possessions  in  the 
West,  divided  at  first,  then  gradually  united,  until  the 
Lombards  held  the  territory  of  the  empire  in  Italy, 
and  the  Franks  the  lands  beyond  the  Alps.  At  last 
Charles  the  Great,  uniting  both  with  new  conquests 
in  the  North  and  East,  created  the  Carolingian  em- 
pire. 

Of  the  various  kingdoms,  or,  rather,  tribal  settle- 
ments we  might  better  call  them,  which  were  made 
within  the  limits  of  the  empire  after  the  Volkerwan- 
derung,  few  were  lasting.  The  movement  itself  was 
a  slow  one  and  had  been  going  on  since  the  first  cen- 
tury, when  the  tribes  along  the  Baltic  Sea  and  east  of 
the  Rhine  and  Danube  rivers,  urged  on  by  increasing 
population  and  by  the  desire  of  the  richer  lands  in  the 

25 


26  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

South,  and  driven  by  other  tribes  still  farther  east, 
began  to  approach  the  boundaries  of  the  empire. 
Many  of  them  in  small  bands  had  been  admitted  to 
the  empire  as  servants  and  laborers  and  as  soldiers 
in  the  imperial  armies,  so  that  Rome  began  to  conquer 
them  by  her  civilization  before  they  conquered  her 
by  force  of  arms. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  battle  of  Adrianople, 
in  378,  when  the  Visigoths,  driven  on  by  the  Huns, 
crossed  the  Danube  and  defeated  the  Emperor  Valens 
in  one  of  the  great  decisive  battles  of  the  world,  that 
the  entrance  into  the  empire  by  force  and  in  any  large 
numbers  really  began.  Not  long  after  the  Vandals 
crossed  the  Rhine,  and  the  other  tribes  speedily  fol- 
lowed. They  were  forced  to  go  on.  One  tribe  was 
driven  by  another.  Back  of  them  were  the  Huns,  a 
fierce  Turanian  horde  from  central  Asia.  The  Goths 
invaded  Italy  and  ravaged  Gaul.  Rome  recalled  her 
legions  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  and  left 
the  frontier  undefended,  and  the  first  decade  of  that 
century  saw  the  real  occupation  of  the  empire  by  the 
barbarian  tribes. 

The  Vandals,  passing  through  Gaul,  founded  a 
kingdom  in  North  Africa  in  429,  from  which  they 
attacked  and  despoiled  Rome  in  455,  one  of  four  at- 
tacks since  the  beginning  of  the  century ;  but  they 
were  overthrown  by  Belisarius,  Justinian's  famous 
general,  in  534.  Before  the  end  of  the  seventh  cen- 
tury the  whole  country  was  overrun  by  the  Saracens, 
who  in  711  entered  Spain  and  subdued  the  kingdom 
which  had  been  established  there  by  the  Visigoths  just 
after  their  famous  sack  of  Rome  in  410  under  Alaric. 


Origin  of  the  Franks.  27 


The  kingdom  of  Odoacer  the  HeruHan,  who  in  476 
brought  an  end  to  the  separate  line  of  Roman  em- 
perors in  Italy,  was  succeeded  in  493  by  the  Ostro- 
gothic  kingdom  of  Theodoric,  which  was  overthrown 
in  553  by  Narses,  another  famous  general  of  Justin- 
ian. The  Lombards  gained  a  foothold  in  Italy  in  568, 
after  the  death  of  Justinian  and  the  recall  of  Narses, 
and  their  kingdom  lasted  until  overthrown  by  Charles 
the  Great  in  774,  and  forms  an  important  chapter  in 
this  history. 

The  other  kingdoms  were  conquered  by  the  Franks, 
and  annexed  to  or  absorbed  into  the  Frankish  king- 
dom during  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries. 

The  Franks  first  appear  in  history  as  a  powerful 
confederation  of  several  German  tribes,  who  in  the 
time  of  Tacitus  inhabited  the  Rhine  districts.  Unlike 
the  other  great  confederations  of  German  tribes,  they 
did  not  leave  their  old  lands  while  conquering  new 
ones.  They  formed,  however,  two  distinct  groups : 
the  Salians,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine,  extending 
west  and  south  to  and  perhaps  beyond  the  river  Maas, 
thus  nearer  and  more  exposed  to  the  influences  of 
Roman  civilization ;  and  the  Ripuarians,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Rhine. 

During  the  middle  and  last  half  of  the  third  cen- 
tury the  Salian  Franks  had  frequent  struggles  with 
the  Romans,  but,  though  often  defeated,  they  were 
able  speedily  to  recover.  In  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century  they  extended  into  Toxandria,  between  the 
Maas  and  the  Scheldt,  and  were  acknowledged  by 
Julian  as  subjects  of  the  empire.  From  time  to  time 
they  were  granted  lands  by  candidates  for  the  im- 


28  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

perial  purple  anxious  to  secure  their  aid.  Thus  they 
gradually  increased  in  power  and  in  extent  of  ter- 
ritory. 

In  the  course  of  the  wanderings  of  these  German 
tribes,  leaving  their  old  homes  and  coming  into  new 
lands,  the  old  heathen  customs  and  religion  lost  their 
hold.  As  they  established  themselves  in  the  richer 
and  more  fertile  lands  of  the  South,  hunting  and  semi- 
pastoral  pursuits  gave  place  to  the  agricultural,  a 
more  settled  form  of  life,  so  that  landownership  and 
a  more  advanced  political  life  and  organization  de- 
veloped. Wars  being  more  regular  and  prolonged, 
the  temporary  war  chieftainship  became  a  permanent 
kingship.  The  king,  who  was  chosen  by  acclamation 
of  the  warriors  from  the  chief  or  royal  family,  main- 
tained order  in  time  of  peace  and  commanded  the 
army  in  time  of  war,  being  supported  by  the  volun- 
tary gifts  of  the  tribesmen,  who  in  peace  formed  the 
great  council  or  assembly,  and  in  war  the  army.  As 
the  king's  authority  and  importance  grew  he  came  to 
be  the  only  one  to  have  a  comitatiis,  or  personal  fol- 
lowing of  warriors,  a  privilege,  in  the  time  of  Tacitus, 
belonging  to  every  chief  of  ability. 

In  all  this  development  the  Salians  speedily  took 
the  lead  among  the  Franks.  When,  in  the  first  dec- 
ade of  the  fifth  century,  Stilicho  called  the  legions 
back  from  Gaul  and  the  frontier  stations  for  the  de- 
fence of  Rome,  nothing  stood  in  the  way  of  their 
advancement,  and  they  extended  their  settlement  to 
both  sides  of  the  Scheldt.  They  appear  also  at  this 
time  to  have  had  a  king  with  his  residence  at  Tour- 
nay,  while  the  Ripuarians  continued  longer  in  their 


Clovis.  29 

old  organization,  being  settled  in  and  about  Cologne 
as  their  chief  city.  They  still  fought  in  union  with 
the  Romans  against  the  Visigoths,  thus  extending 
their  influence  towards  the  south.  In  the  great  battle 
of  Chalons  against  the  Huns  in  451,  they  served  with 
other  tribes  under  the  Roman  leader  ^Etius. 

Their  first  king  was  named  Clogio  or  Clodio.  A 
generation  later  came  Childerich,  who  belonged  to 
the  family  called  Merovingian,  though  the  origin  of 
this  name  is  not  known.  With  his  son  Clovis,  who 
succeeded  to  the  rule  in  481,  the  real  historical  im- 
portance of  the  people  begins. 

Already  the  last  Emperor  of  the  West  had  given 
place  to  the  German  king  Odoacer,  and  in  all  the 
provinces  German  kingdoms  had  been  founded. 

Whatever  the  deeper  insight  of  Clovis  may  have 
taught  him,  whether  he  beheld,  as  in  a  vision,  the 
future  glory  of  the  Prankish  kingdom  uniting  all  the 
German  tribes  in  one  wide  rule,  and  extending  its 
sway  over  the  whole  of  western  Europe,  it  is  certain 
that  he  did  undertake  and  successfully  carry  out  a 
policy  which  not  only  gave  to  his  rule  a  wide  exten- 
sion, but  also  paved  the  way  for  the  union  of  all  the 
German  peoples  under  the  Prankish  sway.  The 
foundation  of  the  new  kingdom  was  laid  when,  in 
486,  Clovis  gained  the  rest  of  the  Roman  territory 
from  the  Somme  and  the  Maas  to  the  Seine  and  the 
Loire  by  his  victory  over  Syagrius,  whom  Gregory 
of  Tours  calls  King  of  the  Romans.  In  this  conquest 
he  was  able  to  unite  the  scattered  bands  of  eastern 
Pranks  in  a  union  now  for  the  first  time  eff"ected. 
Thus  the  kingdom  of  Clovis  extended  southward,  new 


30  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

territory  was  annexed,  and  the  people  were  taken 
under  his  rule.  The  old  northern  lands  were  not 
given  up ;  the  conquest  did  not  result  in  a  migration 
and  the  division  of  the  new  lands.  The  Romans 
kept  their  freedom  and  their  personal  rights.  Unlike 
Theodoric,  Clovis  did  not  try  to  fuse  the  Romans  and 
the  Germans  into  one  people.  This  shows  the  great 
significance  of  his  conversion  to  Christianity.  With  a 
Christian  wife,  a  Burgundian  princess,  ruHng  a  Chris- 
tian people,  in  the  midst  of  a  Christian  land,  and 
having  already  maintained  friendly  relations  with  the 
Catholic  clergy,^  he  was  not  likely  to  remain  long  a 
heathen.  Whether  or  not  we  accept  the  story  of  his 
conversion  on  the  field  of  battle  with  the  Alemanni 
in  496,  when,  his  old  gods  having  apparently  forsaken 
him,  he  agreed  in  case  of  victory  to  accept  the  Chris- 
tians' Christ,  the  important  fact  is  that  he  became 
a  Roman  Christian,  while  the  other  German  tribes, 
converted  through  the  work  of  Ulfilas  and  the  Goths, 
were  Arians.  This  fact  gave  to  the  Roman  element 
great  significance.  It  is  said  that  three  thousand  of 
his  followers  were  baptized  at  the  same  time,  thus 
showing  the  weakening  of  their  old  heathenism. 
Clovis  made  his  residence  on  Roman  territory  near 
Paris.  Thus  from  being  the  king  of  a  small  German 
tribe  he  became  the  lord  of  an  extended,  largely 
Roman  kingdom,  and  by  his  Christianity  entered 
into  relations  with  all  the  great  powers  of  Europe, 
the  emperor  at  Constantinople  and  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  and  began  that  remarkable  career  from  whose 

1  Gregory  of  Tours,  vol.  ii.,  p.  27;  Frodoard,  vol.  i.,  p.   13;   cf. 
Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  p.  42,  note  3. 


The  Victories  of  Clovis.  31 

results  arose  the  great  modern  states  of  western 
Europe.  "  Connection  with  the  old  world  was  en- 
tered into  at  the  very  moment  that  a  new  world  began 
to  be  formed — almost  was  formed — by  Clovis  him- 
self." 1 

The  church  by  her  indorsement  made  his  position 
more  secure  among  the  old  semi-Roman  population, 
while  he  became  the  sole  military  support  of  the 
church  in  the  West  against  both  Arians  and  heathen. 
His  victories  followed  one  another  in  quick  succession. 
The  Alemanni  were  conquered  in  496 ;  the  Amoricans, 
on  the  sea-coast  between  the  Seine  and  the  Loire, 
submitted  in  497.  In  500,  near  Dijon,  he  conquered 
the  Burgundians  and  made  them  tributary ;  and 
again,  as  champion  of  the  orthodox  faith  against  the 
Arians,  he  overcame  the  powerful  Visigoths  at 
Poitiers  in  507.  In  the  following  year  he  was  made 
Consul  and  Patrician  of  the  Romans  by  the  Emperor 
Anastasius.  Though  these  were  empty  titles,  as  far 
as  defined  powers  and  position  in  the  empire  were 
concerned,  they  undoubtedly  increased  his  influence 
among  the  Roman  population  in  his  kingdom,  and 
emphasized  his  relations  with  Rome  and  with  the 
church. 

In  extending  his  possessions  to  the  south  and  east 
he  came  in  contact  with  Theodoric,  who  was  at  the 
height  of  his  power  as  ruler  of  the  great  Ostrogothic 
kingdom  in  northern  Italy,  and  here  his  progress  was 
checked. 

The  remaining  years  before  his  death,  in  511,  were 
spent  in  conspiracies  and  murders,  by  which  he  got 

1  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  p.  48. 


32  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

rid  of  the  other  Prankish  kings  who  had  not  yet  sub- 
mitted. In  this  way  a  vacancy  was  made  on  the 
throne  of  tlie  Ripuarians,  and  he  was  proclaimed 
their  king.  "And  thus,"  says  Gregory  of  Tours, 
"  God  daily  subdued  his  enemies  beneath  his  hand, 
and  increased  his  kingdom,  for  that  he  walked  before 
him  with  a  true  heart  and  did  that  which  was  pleas- 
ing in  his  eyes."  ^  By  his  victories  and  murders  he 
had  extended  his  rule  until  it  comprised  practically 
the  whole  territory  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Rhone 
on  the  east  and  the  ocean  on  the  west  and  the  Pyre- 
nees on  the  south. 

At  his  death,  in  accordance  with  German  law  and 
custom,  whose  breach  would  have  caused  much 
greater  evils  than  its  observance,  the  kingdom  was 
divided  among  his  four  sons,  who  began  their  reign 
as  four  separate  and  independent,  though  related, 
kings.  Out  of  this  partition  came  the  two  main  di- 
visions of  Neustria,  the  western  kingdom,  and  Aus- 
trasia,  the  eastern,  corresponding  roughly  to  the  older 
Salian  and  Ripuarian  settlements.  It  is  to  be  noted, 
however,  that  the  old  German  principle  of  division, 
which  threatened  to  destroy  a  unity  built  up  with 
such  effort,  and  apparently  so  necessary  to  the  in- 
tegrity and  continuity  of  the  royal  power,  did  not 
have  the  effect  of  permanent  disintegration ;  for,  on 
the  death  of  one  of  the  brothers,  his  kingdom  very 
rarely  went  to  his  sons,  but  was  shared  by  the  re- 
maining brothers,  so  that  in  this  way  unity  would  be 
restored  and  thus  would  tend  to  reappear  from  time 
to  time.  Besides,  this  principle  was  supposed  to 
1  Gregory  of  Tours,  vol.  ii.,  p.  40. 


Increase  of  Territory,  33 

check  civil  strife  and  to  emphasize  an  underlying 
family  unity. 

Under  the  sons  of  Clovis  and  their  successors, 
however,  bloodshed,  treachery,  and  strife  present  a 
dismal  picture.  Yet  the  power  of  the  Prankish  kings 
increased  and  their  territory  was  extended.  Thurin- 
gia,  northeast  of  the  country  of  the  Alemanni,  was 
conquered  in  530.  The  complete  conquest  of  Bur- 
gundy, prevented  by  Theodoric  in  the  lifetime  of 
Clovis,  was  effected  in  534,  and  Provincia,  south  of 
it  along  the  Mediterranean,  was  annexed  in  536. 
Bavaria,  east  of  Alemannia,  was  made  tributary  in 
555,  though  it  did  not  lose  completely  its  indepen- 
dence until  787.  Vasconia  was  conquered  in  567,  and 
the  Vascones,  farther  south,  were  brought  into  sub- 
jection in  601. 

In  the  reigns  of  Clotaire  II.  and  of  his  son  Dago- 
bert  the  Merovingian  power  seemed  to  be  at  its 
height. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    MEROVINGIAN    MONARCHY — ELEMENTS    OF 
FEUDALISM — MAYORS    OF   THE    PALACE. 


HE   kingdom   thus   formed   and   consoli- 
dated  comprised    three    principal    parts, 
Austrasia,  Burgundy,  and  Neustria;  but, 
though  rarely  united  under  a  single  king, 
ii  there   was  a  practical   underlying   unity 
which  manifested  itself  in  various  ways. 

For  a  time  the  nominal  power  of  the  kings  in- 
creased with  the  extension  of  territory,  the  increase 
of  wealth,  and  the  growing  influence  of  Roman  ideas 
of  government.  At  the  same  time  the  royal  power 
had  gradually  changed  from  a  simple  military  chief- 
tainship to  an  absolute  dominion — a  change  due  very 
largely  to  the  influence  of  Roman  and  ecclesiastical 
ideas.  But  other  powers  were  growing  at  a  greater 
rate.  The  race  of  the  Merovingians  was  fast  losing 
its  moral  and  physical  strength  and  courage.  Treach- 
ery and  fraud,  murders  and  cruelties,  not  less  than 
debauchery  and  licentiousness,  aggravated  by  the 
removal  to  a  more  enervating  climate  and  surround- 
ings, had  gradually  sapped  the  strength  and  un- 
dermined the  valor  of  the  kings.     While  the  royal 

34- 


The  People — The  Chiefs — The  King.    35 

power  was  growing  by  great  accessions  of  wealth  and 
territory,  that  of  the  chiefs  and  leaders  grew  too, 
until,  from  being  great  by  reason  of  their  individual 
characteristics  of  superior  force  and  courage,  they 
became  a  territorial  and  hereditary  aristocracy,  and 
secured  the  possession  of  special  jurisdiction  and  the 
exercise  of  powerful  privileges,  which  tended  to  in- 
crease still  further  their  power,  and  to  make  them 
less  and  less  dependent  upon  the  kings. 

Thus  in  the  evolution  of  the  government  of  the 
middle  ages,  in  the  development  out  of  the  old  tribal 
relations,  and  in  the  change  of  conditions  from  the 
earlier,  simple  wandering  life  to  the  later  more  settled 
and  complex  forms,  there  were  three  elements  or  tend- 
encies, the  popular,  the  aristocratic,  and  the  royal. 

First,  as  to  the  people  in  general.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  enter  into  the  vexed  question  as  to  the  ori- 
ginal existence  of  the  mark,  or  free  village  community, 
among  the  early  Germans,  though  Tacitus  affords 
little  if  any  support  for  such  a  theory,  while  the 
numbers  and  importance  of  a  really  free  population 
in  early  times  have  been  very  much  overestimated. 
Whatever  the  numbers  may  have  been,  the  strifes 
and  struggles,  the  confusion  and  chaos,  of  the  sixth 
and  the  seventh  centuries  materially  reduced  and 
weakened  them.  Even  though  they  might  have  had 
a  fair  share  in  the  division  of  lands  consequent  upon 
the  conquest  of  new  territory,  it  would  be  most  dif- 
ficult and  dangerous  for  the  smaller  proprietors  to 
attempt  to  hold  them  alone.  Hence  arose  the  custom 
of  holding  the  lands  as  a  benefice,  or  in  beneficio, 
from  the  king  or  from  some  other  great  and  power- 


o 


6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


ful  lord,  whose  protection  would  secure  the  use  of 
the  land,  even  if  the  title  had  to  be  renounced.  This 
condition  of  landholding  was  brought  about  in  two 
ways:  One  who  had  no  land,  or  had  lost  it,  might 
receive  from  some  large  landholder,  at  first,  usually, 
in  such  a  case,  from  the  church,  land  which  he  might 
use  and  cultivate,  though  without  holding  the  title 
to  it,  but  guaranteed  and  protected  in  his  use  of  it 
by  the  real  owner.  On  the  other  hand,  one  who 
had  land  which  he  did  not  feel  himself  able  to  hold 
any  longer  might  give  up  the  title  to  some  powerful 
lord,  under  whose  protection  he  might  retain  the  use. 
This  is  the  way  in  which  the  feudal  holding  of  land 
grew  up.  In  one  other  way  the  position  of  the  free- 
man was  weakened  and  made  dependent,  thereby 
increasing  the  power  of  the  king  and  great  chiefs. 
Personal  security  was  uncertain,  and  a  man  unable 
to  defend  himself  commended  himself  to  some  power- 
ful chief,  and  became  his  man  or  vassal,  receiving 
protection  and  rendering  faithful  service.  This  is  the 
way  in  which  the  feudal  personal  relation  grew  up. 
There  was  much  in  the  earlier  history  of  the  Roman, 
Gaul,  and  German  to  suggest  and  prepare  for  these 
relations  of  lands  and  persons;  but  the  actual  reali- 
zation of  these  conditions  was  due  to  the  lack  of 
security,  both  of  land  and  of  persons,  and  to  the 
weakness  and  unsettled  state  of  a  central  power, 
consequent  upon  the  strife  and  confusion  which  have 
been  described.  It  was  some  time  before  these  two 
elements,  the  landholding  and  the  personal  relation, 
were  united,  resulting  in  the  system  by  which  land 
was  held  on  condition  of  personal  service,  the  essential 


The  King  and  the  Aristocracy.         ^'j 

characteristic  of  feudalism.  At  this  time,  however, 
land  was  held  in  benefice  without  any  thought  of 
personal  relations,  and  commendation  or  vassalage 
existed  between  a  man  and  his  lord  without  any 
connection  with  land. 

These  movements  were  going  on  spontaneously 
and  independently  all  through  the  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries,  increasing  all  the  time  in  extent  and  fre- 
quency, at  first  more  particularly  in  connection  with 
the  church  and  church  lands,  that  the  church's  estates 
might  be  cultivated  and  the  protection  and  immu- 
nities afforded  by  her  secured. 

All  this  tended  to  increase  the  power  of  the  king 
and  that  of  the  great  lords ;  and  the  struggle  which 
ensued  had  this  importance — to  show  whether  a 
strong  central  power  could  be  established  at  once  in 
the  newly  forming  Prankish  kingdom,  and  a  mon- 
archy develop  directly  out  of  the  earlier  tribal  con- 
ditions;  or  whether  some  other  constitutional  form 
would  furnish  a  stage  of  transition  to  the  later  mon- 
archy. As  an  actual  fact  the  latter  condition  was  1 
realized,  and  feudalism  formed  the  transitional  phase. 
The  contest  between  the  king  and  the  aristocracy 
was  already  evident  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  century, 
and  although  the  rise  of  the  mayors  of  the  palace,  to 
which  we  must  now  very  briefly  refer,  changed  the 
form  of  that  struggle  and  postponed  the  result,  it  did 
not  make  it  less  certain. 

With  the  increasing  importance  of  the  kings,  all 
who  were  in  any  way  connected  with  them  also  in- 
creased in  influence.  Their  court  took  on  more  and 
more  the  character  of  the  royal  courts  of  older  mon- 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


archies,  and  personal  service  became  of  high  honor, 
and  those  who  rendered  it  were  correspondingly  ex- 
alted. Foremost  of  these  was  the  chief  officer  of  the 
palace,  major  dovuis,  as  he  was  called.  This  was  at 
first  only  another  name  for  seneschal,  that  is,  the 
oldest  or  first  of  the  servants.^  The  position  was  a 
purely  personal  one,  carrying  with  it  merely  a  gen- 
eral oversight  of  household  affairs,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  name  appears  originally  in  any  court 
among  the  officers  of  the  queen's  household  or  of  that 
of  a  prince  or  princess.  Furthermore,  there  were 
several,  at  first,  serving  the  king,  and  therefore  prob- 
ably one  in  each  palace  or  royal  residence.  As  the 
importance  and  dignity  of  the  office  rose  with  that  of 
the  king,  its  duties  came  to  be  held  by  a  single  officer 
in  the  kingdom.  A  great  deal  of  confusion  has  arisen 
from  a  failure  to  observe  the  gradual  change  which 
took  place  in  this  office,  unlike  that  of  the  other  royal 
offices,  and  its  humble  beginning,  which  will  account 
also  for  the  many  and  contradictory  descriptions 
given  of  it. 

With  the  development  of  the  royal  court,  the 
mayor  of  the  palace  became  the  chief  court  officer, 
directing  all  affairs  of  court,  training  the  youths  sent 
up  for  the  king's  service,  maintaining  law  and  disci- 
pline among  the  chiefs,  and  holding  the  chief  place 
among  the  secular  members  of  the  assemblies  held 
by  the  king  for  counsel  or  judicial  business.  Later 
he  appeared  as  the  administrator  of  justice.  During 
the  minority  or  incapacity  of  the  king  the  conduct  of 
the  realm  was  in  his  hands.  Necessarily  also  certain 
1  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.,  pp.  71,  86. 


The  Mayor  of  the  Palace.  39 

financial  duties  would  begin  to  devolve  upon  him : 
the  care  of  the  royal  property,  raising  and  disbursing 
the  royal  revenue,  at  first  merely  in  household  affairs 
directly  connected  with  the  palace  and  the  court,  but 
finally  all  revenue,  since  there  was  no  real  distinction.^ 
This  control  of  the  royal  finances,  grants  of  land,  and 
general  administration  of  the  palace  and  court  in- 
creased his  power  greatly  and  gave  him  a  strong 
influence  over  the  chiefs,  whom  he  could  reward  or 
neglect  at  will.  His  influence  soon  came  to  be  felt 
throughout  the  kingdom,  at  first  in  close  dependence 
upon  the  king,  but  soon  without,  and  even  almost  in 
spite  of,  him,  in  consequence  of  the  growing  degen- 
eracy and  many  minorities  of  the  later  Merovingian 
dynasty.  It  was  here  perhaps  that  the  power  and 
final  victory  of  the  aristocracy  were  most  plainly 
shown.  Originally,  like  all  the  other  officers  appointed 
by  the  king,  the  chiefs  had  brought  it  about  that  not 
only  was  he  chosen  from  them,  but  they  were  able 
to  exercise  a  potent  influence  in  his  election,  thus 
making  him  in  some  sort  their  representative  and 
leader.  His  position  came  to  be  assured  for  life,  and 
in  this  way  more  and  more  independent  of  the  king. 
The  issue  was  decided  in  the  reigns  of  Clotaire  H. 
and  his  son  Dagobert.  Clotaire  had  been  called  by 
the  chiefs  of  Austrasia  and  Burgundy  to  the  rule  of 
their  kingdom  after  the  fall  of  the  preceding  admin- 
istration, which  they  themselves  had  accomplished  by 

1  Gregory  of  Tours  (bk.  ix.,  p.  43)  mentions  that  Childebert  sent 
the  mayor  of  the  palace  and  the  count  of  the  palace  to  Poitiers  to  take 
a  census  of  the  people,  rectifying  the  list  according  to  recent  changes, 
in  order  to  assess  the  tax  which  had  been  paid  from  the  time  of  his 
father. 


40  l^he  Age  of  Charle^nagne. 


the  overthrow  of  Brunhilda  in  613.  As  Perry  very 
forcibly  says  :  "  Thus,  after  a  long  series  of  rebellions, 
the  rising  aristocracy  gained  their  first  great  victory 
over  the  monarchy ;  we  say  the  monarchy,  for  in  the 
battle  which  made  him  king  of  the  whole  Prankish 
empire  no  one  was  more  truly  defeated  than  the 
nominal  victor,  Clotaire  II.,  himself.  He  was,  in  fact, 
an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  seigniors  for  the 
humiliation  of  the  royal  power.  It  was  not  because 
Neustria  was  stronger  than  Austrasia  and  Burgundy 
that  the  Neustrian  king  obtained  a  triple  crown,  but 
because  the  power  of  the  seigniors  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  infant  kings  and  their  female  guardian."  1 

The  edict  of  615,^  which  issued  in  a  somewhat 
modified  form  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Paris 
in  614,  sealed  the  doom  of  the  Merovingian  kings  3 
by  dividing  and  weakening  their  power.  Further 
concessions  were  made ;  the  immunities  and  privi- 
leges of  the  seigniors  were  confirmed.  By  means  of 
these  immunities — that  is,  rights  of  special  jurisdic- 
tion and  the  exercise  of  privileged  powers,  which 
were  given  to  both  ecclesiastical  and  lay  lords — a 
real  grant  of  public  authority  was  made.  This  was 
another  element  which  entered  into  and  built  up  the 
feudal  system. 

The  leaders  of  the  victorious  party,  the  mayors  of 
the  palace,  were  the  chief  gainers.  From  this  time 
on  the  power  of  the  mayor  of  the  palace  grew  until 
it  completely  overshadowed  that  of  the  king.  All 
important  business  passed  through  his  hands ;  all  of- 

1  Perry,  p.  196.  2  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  20-23. 

3  Lehuerou,  p.  257. 


Rois  Faineants.  41 

ficials  were  responsible  to  him ;  he  distributed  all 
honors  and  favors,  took  the  king's  place  with  the 
subjects,  received  letters  addressed  to  the  king,  issued 
royal  documents  and  decrees,  and  stamped  his  name 
on  the  coin  of  the  realm,  really  occupying  the  posi- 
tion of  regent  or  under-king.i 

Thus,  while  the  once  strong  Merovingian  kingdom 
was  robbed  of  its  power,  and  in  place  of  faithful  sub- 
jects with  definite  duties  and  obligations  to  their  king 
a  strong  aristocracy  had  arisen,  exercising  royal  pre- 
rogatives and  aiming  at  feudal  independence,  a  check 
at  once  appeared  in  the  power  and  position  of  the 
mayor  of  the  palace. 

The  aristocracy  found  that  in  freeing  themselves 
from  the  enfeebled  power  of  their  kings  they  had 
come  into  conflict  with  a  new  power  increasing  in 
strength  and  importance,  and  though  at  first  the 
representative,  threatening  to  become  the  master  of 
their  own.  Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Metz,  the  residence  of 
the  Austrasian  king,  and  Pippin  of  Landen  were  most 
prominent  as  mayors  of  the  palace  during  the  early 
part  of  the  seventh  century,  and  really  saved  the 
kingdom  from  the  anarchy  into  which  it  seemed 
about  to  fall.  Though  nominally  united  under  Dago- 
bert,  the  son  of  Clotaire  II.,  each  division  was  prac- 
tically ruled  by  a  mayor  of  the  palace. 

The  Merovingian  kings  who  ruled  from  this  time 
have  borne  in  history  the  name  of  rois  faineants,  the 
do-nothing  kings,  a  succession  of  children  or  of  adults 
corrupted  and  weakened  in  childhood,  thus  rendered 
incapable  and  incompetent.     In  Austrasia  the  power 

1  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.,  pp.  71,  83-100,  397-400, 


42  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  the  mayors  of  the  palace  continued  in  the  line  of 
Pippin,  though  an  attempt  to  seize  the  crown  by 
Pippin's  son  Grimoald  resulted  in  his  death.  But 
another  Pippin  arose.  This  was  Pippin  of  Heristal, 
the  son  of  Begga,  daughter  of  Pippin  of  Landen  and 
of  Ansegis,  the  son  of  Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Metz.  The 
separation  had  been  growing  wider  and  the  strife 
more  bitter  between  the  Neustrian  and  Austrasian 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  at  last  there  had  come  open 
war.  At  the  battle  of  Testry,  in  687,  one  of  the  great 
decisive  battles  of  the  world's  history,  Pippin  had  led 
the  Austrasian  hosts  to  victory.  This  victory  not 
only  signalized  the  triumph  of  the  Austrasian,  the 
eastern  or  German  elements,  over  the  more  Roman- 
ized, uniting  all  under  the  German  sway,  but  it  ended 
the  power,  though  not  the  royal  name,  of  the  Mero- 
vingian kings,  and  established  Pippin  and  his  house 
in  supreme  control.  From  his  time  the  title  of  the 
mayors  of  the  palace  was  Dux  et  Princcps  Fraiicornvi, 
and  the  years  of  his  office  were  reckoned  on  all  public 
documents,  and  his  son  Charles  Martel  was  also  called 
subregulus. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE  CHURCH  AMONG  THE 
EARLY  FRANKS — CONVERSION  OF  CLOVIS — 
THE    BISHOPS. 

E  must  now  consider  the  influence  of  this 
important  history  upon  the  extension  and 
development  of  the  Prankish  church. 
.  The  migrations  and  conquests  by  the 
German  tribes  of  the  North  and  their  set- 
tlements in  the  territory  of  the  Roman  empire  had  two 
results.  In  many  cases  they  had  partly,  in  some  cases 
wholly,  destroyed  the  missionary  work  and  ecclesias- 
tical establishments  of  the  earlier  period,  especially 
along  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  or  corrupted  them 
by  admixtures  of  heathenism.  But  in  the  case  of  the 
Germans  themselves  the  result  had  been  quite  gener- 
ally the  uprooting  and  unsettling  of  their  old  heathen- 
ism, weakening  its  hold  upon  them.  As  they  came 
in  contact  with  the  newly  Christianized  empire,  many 
conversions  were  made  by  soldiers,  captives,  and 
slaves. 

The  great  work  of  Ulfilas  among  the  Goths  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  fourth  century  was  the  first  organ- 
ized effort  among  them,  however,  and  his  labors,  ex- 
tending to  his  death  in  381,  resulted  in  their  general 

43 


44  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

conversion.  The  form  of  Christianity  was  the  Arian- 
ism  prevailing  in  the  empire  at  that  time,  and  still 
further  spread  by  the  influence  of  the  Emperor  Valens. 
From  this  beginning  Arian  Christianity  spread  among 
the  other  related  tribes,  extending  with  the  Visigoths 
through  Gaul  and  Spain  and  with  the  Ostrogoths  in 
northern  Italy.  The  Vandals  in  Africa  and  the  Bur- 
gundians  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhone  and  Saone  were 
won  over  to  the  same  faith,  as  were  also  the  Suevi  in 
Spain,  the  Rugians  and  others  along  the  Danube,  and 
the  still  larger  tribe  of  the  Langobards,  about  to  form 
the  great  Lombard  kingdom  in  Italy.  "  Down  to  the 
end  of  the  fifth  century  Arianism  was  professed  by 
the  larger  portion  of  the  German  world  ;  it  had  more 
and  more  assumed  the  character  of  a  national  German 
Christianity,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
German  world,  and  with  it  the  universal  history  of  the 
future,  were  its  secure  prey."  ^ 

This  explains  the  immense  significance  and  far- 
reaching  importance  of  the  conversion  of  Clovis  and 
the  growing  power  of  the  Franks  to  Catholic  Chris- 
tianity at  the  close  of  the  fifth  century.  That  conver- 
sion was  the  turning-point  for  the  downfall  of  Arian- 
ism and  the  establishment  of  the  Nicene  faith. 

To  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  Catholics  Clovis 
appeared  as  a  savior  and  avenger,  while  the  hope  of 
the  future  spread  and  ultimate  triumph  of  orthodoxy 
centred  in  him.  The  long  succession  of  cruel,  treach- 
erous, and  aggressive  warfare,  waged  avowedly  for 
the  church  as  well  as  for  the  kingdom,  was  hailed  as 
the  work  of  a  modern  David,  a  second  Constantine, 

1  Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  pp.  443,  444. 


Kings  Aided  by  the  Bishops.  45 

a  true  champion  of  Christianity  against  heretics  and 
heathens.  The  alliance  was  natural,  and  both  sides 
fully  realized  the  advantages.  Avitus,  Bishop  of 
Vienne,  wrote  to  Clovis :  "  As  often  as  you  fight,  we 
conquer."  1  And  Clovis  expressed  himself  in  a  simi- 
lar manner:  "  If  we  acquire  the  friendship  of  the  ser- 
vants of  God  and  exalt  them  with  honors  and  show 
our  veneration  for  them  by  obedience,  we  trust  that 
we  shall  continually  improve  the  condition  of  our 
kingdom,  and  obtain  both  temporal  glory  and  a  coun- 
try in  the  kingdom  of  heaven."- 

The  church  did  not  stop  with  mere  words  of  bless- 
ing and  encouragement.  As  the  Frankish  kings 
carried  their  victorious  arms  south  into  the  Gallic 
provinces  and  east  to  the  Moselle  and  Rhine  districts, 
they  found  there  the  old  episcopal  sees,  many  still  im- 
portant, some  rich  and  influential,  whose  bishops  had 
been  able  to  attain  great  power  in  their  cities  as  the 
Roman  empire  lost  its  hold.  These  readily  joined 
with  the  Frankish  kings  and  aided  them  in  establish- 
ing their  conquest  of  the  country.  They  were  there- 
fore not  merely  acknowledged  in  their  positions,  but 
were  also  endowed  with  new  honors  and  dignities. 
Many  of  them,  like  Gregory  of  Tours,  were  from  old 
senatorial  families,  and  retained  the  culture  and  ideals 
of  the  old  empire,  often  taking  the  part  of  intercessors 
and  protectors  for  the  Roman  inhabitants  of  the  cities 
with  their  new  German  rulers.  Frequently  they  pro- 
vided for  the  defence  of  their  cities  during  the  contests 

1  "  Epistola  Aviti,  Ep.  Vienn.,  ad  Chlodov.,"  Bouquet,  vol.  iv., 
p.  49. 

2  "  Preceptio  Chlodov.,"  Bouquet,  vol.  iv.,  p.  615;  Perry,  p.  449. 


46  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

between  the  Prankish  kings.  The  kings  also  made 
use  of  them  in  securing  a  firmer  recognition  of  the 
royal  power,  and  this  conferred  upon  them  a  certain 
poHtical  influence.!  Thus  their  power  grew  in  conse- 
quence of  their  close  connection  with  the  state.  Their 
spiritual  power,  enforced  by  the  right  of  excommu- 
nication and  other  ecclesiastical  penalties,  was  now 
supported  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  growing  secular 
power.  Large  sums  of  money  were  bestowed  upon 
the  church,  the  administration  of  which  came  into 
their  hands.  Landed  estates  were  made  over  to  them, 
and,  as  special  immunities  and  privileges  were  granted 
on  all  church  lands,  they  assumed  a  greater  indepen- 
dence. Superstition  came  to  the  aid  of  the  natural 
feelings  of  gratitude  and  devotion,  till  it  became  a 
common  saying  that  as  water  quenched  fire  so  a  gift 
to  a  church  put  away  sin. 2 

There  may  be  noted,  therefore,  a  great  increase  in 
the  power  of  the  bishops  over  that  of  the  earlier 
period.  No  longer  do  we  hear  of  great  presbyters, 
but  with  the  growing  institutionalism  of  the  church 
its  higher  officers  came  into  great  prominence  and 
exercised  a  social  and  political,  as  well  as  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  spiritual,  power.  Bishops  took  their  place  in 
the  national  assemblies  and  councils  of  the  kings,  and 
were  able  to  exercise  an  influence  in  the  appointment 
and  installation  of  the  counts.^  In  this  way  they  en- 
tered into  and  became  a  part  of  the  growing  feudal 


1  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.,  pp.  57-59- 

2  "  Sicut  aqua  extinguit  ignem,  ita  eleemosyna  extinguit  peccatum." 
(Muratori,  vol.  v.,  p.  628;  Perry,  p.  467,  note  I.) 

3  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.,  pp.  39,  60. 


Power  of  the  Bishops.  47 

regime,  wielding  a  greater  power  than  the  lay  lords, 
by  reason  of  their  additional  ecclesiastical  and  spirit- 
ual position.  Chilperic,  the  Neustrian  king  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  sixth  century,  whom  Gregory  of  Tours 
calls  a  modern  Nero,  is  reported  to  have  said  :  "  None 
truly  reign  but  the  bishops ;  our  dignity  has  departed 
and  is  transferred  to  them."  ^ 

These  great  spiritual  lords,  strong  in  popular  sup- 
port, rich  in  gold  and  lands,  possessed  of  what  intel- 
lectual power  there  was,  surrounded  by  vassals,  ruling 
their  clergy,  rivalling,  often  successfully,  the  counts 
and  great  lay  lords,  the  censors  of  kings,  freed  by  im- 
munities from  many  burdens  and  obligations,  attained 
a  height  of  power  seemingly  almost  unassailable.  Yet 
in  their  very  greatness  lay  the  source  of  danger  and 
weakness. 

The  church  had  transferred  to  the  Prankish  mon- 
archy the  old  scriptural  idea  of  royal  authority  and 
power,  and  even  acknowledged  the  king  as  its  lord 
and  master.  This  power  he  was  not  slow  to  accept 
and  exercise.  The  same  despotism  which  he  acquired 
towards  his  subjects  he  showed  towards  the  church. 
If  he  fought  for  the  church  like  a  Constantine,  he 
ruled  it  in  the  same  despotic  way.  He  might  order 
churches  to  be  restored,  Jews  to  be  baptized,  and 
heathen  customs  to  be  abolished ;  he  could  also,  as 
did  Chilperic,  command  that  the  distinction  of  persons 
in  the  Trinity  should  be  no  longer  recognized,  but  the 
name  "  God  "  only  be  used,  and  force  this  order  on  all 
the  doctors  of  the  church ; 2  add,  by  his  own  authority, 

1  Perry,  p,  472. 

?  Gregory  of  Tours,  bk,  v.,  pp.  288,  289. 


48  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

four  letters  to  the  alphabet  and  introduce  them  into 
books  and  instruction. ^ 

Especially  did  the  authority  of  the  king  show  itself 
in  the  matter  of  appointment  to  the  chief  ecclesiastical 
offices,  particularly  to  the  important  bishoprics.  The 
canonical  law,  as  it  had  been  established  before  the 
Frankish  conquest,  gave  to  the  clergy  and  people  of 
the  city  the  right  to  elect  their  bishop,  requiring  at 
the  same  time  the  assent  of  the  metropoHtan  and  of 
the  other  bishops  of  the  province.  Later  synods  had 
endeavored  repeatedly  to  enforce  this  rule.  But  the 
kings,  perhaps  as  early  as  Clovis,  claimed  the  right  of 
appointment,  and  the  church  was  forced  to  acknow- 
ledge it,  resisting  only  a  most  unreasonable  choice,  as 
of  a  notorious  evil  liver  or  of  a  mere  layman.^ 

Ecclesiastical  positions  came  more  and  more  under 
the  direct  patronage  of  the  king,  and  those  who  lived 
about  the  'palace,  high  in  the  king's  confidence  and 
favor,  received  appointments  to  such  as  their  reward. 
In  this  way  Germans  were  substituted  for  Romans  in 
the  episcopate,  and  the  church  was  bound  still  closer 
to  the  ruling  power.  Promises  of  aid,  actual  services, 
and  even  money  payments  took  the  place  of  spiritual 
character  as  the  requirements  for  a  successful  candi- 
date, till  one  saw  in  many  of  the  bishops  little  else  but 
mighty  lords,  holders  of  vast  estates ;  and  even  counts 


1  Gregory  of  Tours,  bk.  v.,  p.  290.  These  four  letters  seem  to  have 
been  derived  from  the  Greek  w,  ^  {p^^^  &  (^^)>  ^"d  x  (c/i). 

2  Gregory  of  Tours,  bk.  viii.,  p.  451 :  "  Laban,  Bishop  of  Eauze, 
died  this  year,  and  had  as  his  successor  Didier,  a  layman.  The  king 
had  promised  with  an  oath  that  he  would  never  choose  a  bishop  from 
the  laity.  But  what  can  avail  against  that  detestable  thirst  for  gold 
which  rages  in  the  heart  of  mortals ! " 


The   Temporal  Power,  49 

and  other  chief  men  forcibly  seized  the  bishoprics 
without  consent  of  people  or  of  king  and  held  their 
estates  and  revenues.^  The  king  used  the  bishops  as 
counsellors  and  ambassadors,  and  Arnulf  was  at  once 
Bishop  of  Metz  and  mayor  of  the  palace.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  at  the  close  of  the  seventh  century  the 
church  owned  one  third  of  the  land  of  Gaul,^  and 
most  of  this  was  in  the  hands  of  the  bishops  and 
abbots. 

It  has  been  said  that  much  of  this  wealth  and  power 
was  necessary  if  the  church  wished  to  maintain  her 
position  and  to  exercise  any  influence  upon  the  people 
and  princes,  who  were  accessible  only  by  material  in- 
fluences, while,  without  such  means  of  protection,  she 
would  have  been  exposed  to  contempt  and  defeat. 
Yet  it  was  her  temporal  power  and  worldly  posses- 
sions that  made  her  the  object  of  envy  and  attack, 
and  the  social  and  political  positions  occupied  by  her 
chief  officers  that  made  them  desirable  in  the  eyes 
of  worldly,  unscrupulous,  and  depraved  men.  It  was 
the  bishop  at  the  court  and  not  in  his  church,  at  the 
table  of  the  rich  and  not  in  the  home  of  the  poor, 
surrounded  by  his  vassals  in  the  pomp  of  his  pride, 
not  in  his  fasts  and  vigils,  whom  men  saw  and  did 
not  reverence,  whom  they  attacked  and  whose  posi- 
tion they  coveted. 

We  are  reminded,  however,  that  this  is  only  one 
side  of  the  picture,  yet  historically  the  most  prom- 
inent. "  Qui  bene  latuit  bene  vixit ;  and  of  those  who 
in  a  humbler  sphere  endeavored  simply  to  do  their 

^  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  ii.,  p.  64. 
2  Perry,  p.  469. 


50  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

duty  in  that  spiritual  office  to  which  it  had  pleased 
God  to  call  them,  little  or  nothing  found  its  way  into 
the  annals  of  their  country  ;  and  we  have  good  reason 
to  believe  that,  amid  the  too  general  corruption  of 
these  times,  there  were  always  some  in  whose  hearts 
the  life-blood  of  the  church  was  treasured  and  pre- 
served." 1 

1  Perry,  p.  463. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    SPREAD    OF    CHRISTIANITY — MONASTICISM 

MISSIONARIES,  IRISH,  SCOTCH,  AND  ENGLISH. 

HIS  condition  of  the  church  and  these  ten- 
dencies on  the  part  of  its  chief  officials 
had  their  effect  on  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity. True,  the  arms  of  Clovis  and  of  his 
sons  had  carried  orthodoxy  wherever  they 
had  gone,  until  at  last  only  two  tribes  remained  out- 
side of  the  Prankish  kingdom  and  unconverted  to  the 
Catholic  faith.  The  Visigoths  in  Spain,  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Prankish  arms,  remained  fierce  Arians 
until  the  conversion  of  their  king,  Reccared,  in  587, 
on  which  occasion,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  doctrine 
of  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Son  as 
well  as  from  the  Pather  was  added  to  the  Nicene 
Creed,  probably  in  order  to  assert  most  emphatically 
and  even  on  this  point  the  absolute  coequality  of  the 
Son  with  the  Pather.  The  importance  of  this  con- 
version was  slight,  however,  as  they  were  completely 
overthrown  by  the  Saracens  in  711.  The  Ostrogoths 
in  northern  Italy  under  Theodoric  were  Arian,  under 
the  Byzantine  rule  they  were  nominally  orthodox,  but 
the  conquest  and  settlement  by  the  Lombards  in  568 

51 


52  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

reestablished  Arianism.  The  Cathohc  influence  began 
to  be  felt,  however,  in  the  time  of  Gregory  the  Great, 
and  after  663  the  Lombard  kings  were  orthodox. 

The  conversions  from  heathenism  by  the  Prankish 
power  were  at  first  nominal,  though  even  this  afforded 
a  foothold  for  the  missionaries  and  an  opportunity  for 
further  training.  Fear  and  bribery  were  important 
agents ;  persecution  and  punishment  of  heathenism 
served  to  make  it  unpopular.  Baptism  was  regarded 
as  in  itself  accomplishing  conversion,  and  the  obser- 
vance of  Lent  and  paying  tithes  as  the  characteristic 
marks  of  Christianity.^  Furthermore,  the  church  had 
taken  up  a  policy  of  adaptation,  which  made  the  first 
steps  easy,  but  threatened  serious  dangers  in  its  after 
effects.  It  is  one  thing  to  emphasize  points  of  agree- 
ment held  in  common ;  it  is  quite  another  to  obliterate 
real  distinctions  and  to  adopt  deliberately  that  which 
has  always  been  associated,  with  directly  opposing 
views.  The  latter  was  the  dangerous  course  upon 
which  the  church  entered.  Heathen  customs  were 
adopted,  feasts  and  festivals  introduced,  though  with 
Christian  names.  Even  the  existence  of  the  old 
divinities  was  in  many  cases  acknowledged,  though 
their  names  were  changed  to  devils  and  evil  spirits. 
Heathen  temples  were  reconsecrated  as  Christian 
churches.  The  whole  idea  of  God  was  perverted  and 
a  pantheon  of  saints  erected.  The  ordeal,  a  purely 
heathen  institution,  received  a  Christian  form,  verses 
of  the  Bible  were  used  in  the  church  to  tell  fortunes 
and  decide  lots,  the  relics  and  images  of  saints  were 
endowed  with  supernatural  power  and  used  as  charms, 

1  Boretius,  pp.  68,  6y;  "  Karoli  Magiii  Capitularia,"  xxvi:,  4« 
16,    17. 


Demoralizatio7i. 


and  reverenced,  if  not  worshipped,  as  such.  Thus  a 
heathenish  materiahstic  spirit  was  allowed  to  enter 
into  and  take  possession  of  Christianity  merely  in 
order  that  its  outward  form  might  be  more  readily 
accepted  and  more  quickly  adopted. 

Christianity  made  little  progress  among  the  hea- 
then at  first,  however.  In  the  Moselle  and  Rhine 
districts  there  were  the  bishoprics  of  Cologne,  Treves, 
Metz,  Toul,  and  Liege,  also  churches  in  Mayence, 
Worms,  Spires,  and  Strasburg,  and  on  the  Lower 
Danube.^  Some  of  these  were  destroyed  in  the  first 
shock  of  conquest,  but  many  kept  their  continuity 
unbroken  and  made  converts  among  the  German 
tribes.  There  was  no  special  missionary  work  by 
the  Franks  among  the  Germans  beyond  the  Rhine. 
The  Prankish  clergy  were  too  much  occupied  with 
other  interests  nearer  home,  and  when,  in  the  sixth 
and  seventh  centuries,  they  did  show  any  activity  it 
was  almost  wholly  confined  to  the  old  Salian  and 
Belgian  districts.  During  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries 
the  gloom  of  chaos  and  of  barbarism  fell  upon  every- 
thing. In  the  contact  with  civilization,  barbarism  at 
first  exercised  the  strongest  influence.  The  disor- 
dered and  turbulent  life,  brutal  passions,  materialized 
conceptions,  could  not  fail  to  have  a  demoralizing 
effect  upon  the  clergy.  The  results  upon  the  bishops 
we  have  already  considered,  and,  as  Chaucer  wrote, 
under  similar  conditions  in  England  : 

"  If  gold  rust,  what  shall  iron  do?  " 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  evil  and  confusion,  dark- 
ness and  demoralization,  the  Benedictine  order  was 

1  Waitz,  vol.  ii.,  part  i.,  p.  76, 


54  The  Age  of  Charlemag^ie. 

introduced  into  Europe  from  the  foundation  made 
by  Benedict  of  Nursia  at  Monte  Cassino  in  528.  To 
the  scattered  monasteries  estabHshed  already  he  gave 
a  unity  and  general  rule,  and  increased  their  number 
and  efficiency.  The  rule  was  practical  as  well  as 
religious,  demanded  physical  as  well  as  intellectual 
labor,  study  as  well  as  prayer,  and  more  of  these  than 
of  fasts  and  vigils  and  fleshly  asceticism.^ 

Multitudes  flocked  to  them  from  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety. Kings  laid  down  their  crowns  and  soldiers 
their  arms;  some  entered  through  cowardice  and  su- 
perstition ;  some  through  devotion  to  high  hopes  and 
noble  purposes  ;  some  through  despair  and  wretched- 
ness. But  a  great  work  lay  before  them  all,  and 
manfully  they  set  out  to  perform  it.  They  became 
the  pioneers  of  Europe,  cultivating  both  mind  and 
soil.  Centres  of  deep  religious  life,  they  were  at  the 
same  time  the  sources  of  a  great  and  beneficent  activ- 
ity. As  far  as  they  could  they  fostered  learning, 
preserved  books,  and  kept  alive  a  sense  of  the  reality 
of  that  higher  life  which  is  not  discerned  by  the 
senses,  but  is  real  and  is  eternal. 

The  real  incentive  to  this,  and  to  the  rest  of  the 
missionary  activity,  came,  however,  from  across  the 
seas.  Ireland  had  lighted  on  her  shores  a  lamp  of 
learning  and  of  religious  life,  destined  not  to  go  out 
until  the  whole  Western  world  had  been  illumined 
by  its  brightness  and  had  caught  the  fire  from  its 
flame.  Ireland  had  been  converted  by  the  labors, 
the  holy  life,  and  the  beautiful  character  of  St.  Patrick 
in  the  fifth  century,  and  Scotland  in  the  sixth  cen- 

1  The  rule  in  full  is  translated  in  Henderson,  pp.  274-314. 


Irish  Missionaries.  55 

tury  by  St.  Columba,  who  had  gone  over  from  Ire- 
land. The  fruits  of  their  labors  showed  themselves 
in  zeal  for  learning  and  a  fervent  devotion,  which 
gave  to  Ireland  the  name  of  Isle  of  the  Saints ;  they 
also  aroused  an  intense  missionary  activity,  which, 
not  content  with  the  conversion  of  a  large  part  of 
England,  extended  to  the  Continent,  where  Irish  mis- 
sionaries entered  the  wilds  and  forests,  and  in  the 
sixth  and  seventh  centuries  carried  on  their  work 
among  the  Visigoths,  Alemanni,  Burgundians,  and 
Lombards.  Fridolin  seems  to  have  been  the  first, 
and  began  his  work  among  the  Visigoths  near  Poi- 
tiers about  the  j^ear  500,  and  later,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Clovis,  after  the  conquest  in  507,  he  founded 
several  churches  and  monasteries,  afterwards  going 
among  the  Alemanni  farther  east.  Columbanus  suc- 
ceeded him  and  laid  the  real  foundations  of  the  later 
Christian  life  and  learning.  He  left  Ireland  in  590 
and  crossed  the  Prankish  kingdom  until  he  came  to 
a  wild  and  savage  district  among  the  Vosges  Moun- 
tains, in  northeastern  Burgundy,  where  he  established 
his  monasteries,  Anegrey  (Anagrates),  Luxeuil  (Lux- 
ovium),  and  Fontenay  (Fontanae).  Of  these  Luxr 
euil  was  the  chief,  and  became  one  of  the  greatest 
centres  of  learning  and  religious  life.  "  In  the  first 
half  of  the  seventh  century  German  names  became 
more  frequent  among  the  reforming  bishops  and 
founders  of  religious  communities,  but  all  received 
their  inspiration  directly  or  indirectly  from  Luxeuil."  1 
Driven  from  Burgundy  by  the  evil  Brunhilda,  he 
withdrew  to  the  Neustrian  kingdom,  where  he  was 

1  Martin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  128. 


56  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

welcomed  by  Clotaire,  whose  supremacy  over  the 
whole  Prankish  kingdom  he  predicted  would  be  es- 
tablished before  three  years.  Refusing  to  remain  in 
order  to  receive  the  rewards  of  his  pleasing  prophecy, 
he  went  to  Alemannia,  where  his  disciple  Gallus 
founded  the  famous  monastery  of  St.  Gall.  He 
went  on  across  the  Alps  into  the  Lombard  kingdom, 
where  he  founded  still  another  monastery,  Bobbio. 
From  time  to  time  he  engaged  in  correspondence 
with  the  bishops  of  Rome,  and  though  free  from  the 
servile  spirit  of  a  later  age,  it  breathes  throughout 
the  deepest  respect  and  reverence  for  the  "  chair  of 
St.  Peter"  and  the  "  successors  of  Peter  and  Paul," 
whom  he  greets  as  the  head  of  the  churches  of  the 
West,  occupying  the  chief  seat  of  the  orthodox  faith.^ 
To  the  example  and  influence  of  these  Scotch- Irish 
missionaries  and  their  disciples  was  due,  very  largely, 
the  work  of  the  Prankish  missionaries.  Purthermore, 
after  the  Council  of  Whitby,  in  664,  when  their  work 
in  England  came  to  an  end,  large  numbers  of  them 
crossed  over  to  the  Continent  and  carried  on  a  vast 
missionary  work  along  the  Rhine  and  among  the 
Hessians,  Thuringians,  Bavarians,  and  Alemanni. 
Their  work,  however,  while  sincere,  earnest,  and 
true,  lacked  unity  and  effective  organization,  and 
seemed  unable  to  resist  the  encroachment  of  heathen 
reaction  and  the  corrupting  influences  of  worldly- 
minded  and  immoral  kings  and  princes.  The  same 
defeat  that  they  sustained  in  England  they  were 
forced  to  undergo  on  the  Continent  at  the  hands  of 

1  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  29-35  5  Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  p.  457;  Martin,  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  114-117,  127-131,  especially  p.  127,  note  2. 


English  Missionaries.  57 

English  missionaries.  The  latter,  with  their  practical 
talent  for  organization  and  their  devoted  attachment 
to  the  imposing  spiritual  power  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  completed  the  foundations  of  the  Prankish 
church  and  brought  about  her  complete  incorpora- 
tion into  the  great  ecclesiastical  system  of  the  West, 
which  was  rapidly  forming  under  the  prestige  and 
authority  of  Rome.  The  chief  agent  in  this  great 
work  was  the  English  Boniface,  the  apostle  of  Ger- 
many, aided  by  the  mayors  of  the  palace,  particularly 
by  Pippin,  afterwards  King  of  the  Franks,  the  father 
of  Charles  the  Great. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  NEW  POWERS  AND  GREAT  PURPOSES  OF  THE 
MAYORS  OF  THE  PALACE — CHARLES  MARTEL 
AND  THE  CHURCH — FOUNDATION  OF  FEU- 
DALISM. 

HE  Prankish  kingdom,  which  had  been 
established  by  the  great  conquests  of  the 
early  Merovingian  kings,  Clovis  and  his 
successors,  formed  a  wide-embracing 
union  of  Romans  and  of  Germans  of 
many  different  tribes.  It  was  in  this  respect  far 
more  complex  and  varied  than  any  of  the  other  Ger- 
man kingdoms  w^hich  arose  out  of  the  settlements 
after  the  Volkerwanderung.  But  the  task  of  holding 
all  together  and  solidifying  the  union  already  begun 
was  too  great  for  the  kings  of  the  seventh  century. 
Their  own  weakness  and  inability  to  continue  to  hold 
the  position  they  had  gained,  together  with  the  rising 
power  of  the  great  chiefs,  whose  influence  appeared 
not  only  in  the  palace,  but  especially  in  the  outlying 
provinces,  threatened  a  complete  overthrow  and  dis- 
solution of  the  kingdom. 

New  powers  were  needed  to  realize  the  great  possi- 
bilities of  a  new  and  strong  development,  which  were 

58 


Predo7ninance  of  the  Ger^nan  Eienieiit.     59 

promised  by  this  close  contact  of  so  many  different 
German  tribes  with  Roman  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianity in  one  united  kingdom.  These  new  powers 
were  found  in  the  mayors  of  the  palace,  or  rather  in 
that  one  great  family  which  had  the  origin  of  its 
greatness  in  that  position,  but  which  finally  realized 
all  these  possibilities  by  the  creation  of  an  empire. 
It  was  of  the  greatest  significance  that  the  power 
passing  from  the  enfeebled  Merovingians,  who  re- 
tained only  the  royal  title,  should  go  to  the  Austra- 
sians,  that  part  of  the  Prankish  race  which  remained 
most  thoroughly  German,  so  that  the  German  ele- 
ment gained  a  new  influence;  and  that  at  the  same 
time  the  union  with  the  Roman  civilization  and  with 
the  church  was  not  broken,  but  received  new  life  and 
was  still  further  developed. 

The  foundation  of  this  larger  work  was  laid,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  Pippin  of  Heristal,  the  grandson  of 
Arnulf  of  Metz  and  of  Pippin  of  Landen.  After 
uniting  Austrasia  and  the  West,  he  proceeded  to 
unite  the  other  German  tribes.  Among  these  were 
the  Friesians,  whose  king,  Rathbod,  seemed  to  be 
threatening  the  northern  borders  of  the  Prankish 
territory.  Pippin  conquered  him  and  gave  support 
to  the  English  mis.sionary  Willibrod,  who  was  trying 
to  introduce  Christianity  there.  The  account  of  this 
mission,  as  Bede  gives  it,  is  very  interesting.  "  And 
when  they  had  come  thither,  being,  moreover,  twelve 
in  number,  they  turned  aside  to  Pippin,  leader  of  the 
Pranks,^  and  were  graciously  received  by  him ;  and 

1  In  the  last  part  of  the  same  chapter  he  is  called  "  the  most  glorious 
ruler  of  the  Franks." 


6o  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

because  he  had  lately  conquered  Hither  Friesland, 
having  driven  thence  King  Rathbod,  he  sent  them 
thither  to  preach ;  also  assisting  them  with  his  imperial 
authority,  lest  any  one  should  offer  any  hindrance 
to  their  preaching,  and  exalting  with  many  benefits 
those  who  were  willing  to  receive  the  faith.  .  .  .  But 
after  they  who  had  gone  thither  had  taught  in  Fries- 
land  for  some  years.  Pippin  sent  Willibrod  to  Rome, 
where  Sergius  still  held  the  pontificate,  with  the 
demand  that  he  might  be  consecrated  archbishop  for 
the  Friesians.  This  was  done  in  the  year  696.  .  .  . 
Moreover,  Pippin  gave  him  a  place  for  his  episcopal 
see  in  his  famous  fortified  town  which  is  called  Vilta- 
burg,  that  is,  the  town  of  the  Vilti."  ^ 

Pippin  died  in  the  year  714,  and  desired  to  leave 
his  power  to  his  infant  grandson,  both  his  sons  hav- 
ing died ;  but  an  illegitimate  son,  Charles,  afterwards 
called  Martel,  the  Hammer,  received  the  support  of 
the  Austrasians  and  took  up  the  work  of  his  father. 
By  a  great  victory  in  717  he  gained  Neustria  and 
was  soon  acknowledged  by  the  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  thus  securing  to  himself  the  results  gained 
by  his  father  at  the  victory  of  Testry.  By  concen- 
trating all  the  power  in  his  own  hands,  and  not  con- 
fining himself  to  any  single  part  of  the  realm,  he  was 
able  to  bring  about  a  more  complete  unity,  which 
was  still  further  strengthened  by  the  great  warfare 
in  which  he  united  all  the  German  peoples  against 
the  Mahometans. 

His  relations  with  the  church  are  of  the  utmost 

1  Bede,  bk.  v.,  chaps,  x.,  xi. 


Rebellious  Bishops  under  Charles  M artel.  6i 

importance  and  interest.  The  bishops,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  come  to  hold  positions  of  great  influence, 
especially  in  the  cities  of  their  residence,  not  only 
over  the  Roman  population,  but  over  others,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  new  powers  as  lords  of  great  es- 
tates, with  dependent  tenants,  and  possessing  almost 
sovereign  rights  through  the  immunities  granted 
to  them.  These  bishoprics  were  coming  into  the 
possession  of  powerful  families,  and  thus  became 
a  great  menace  to  the  civil  power.  Some  of  the 
bishops  openly  resisted  the  authority  of  Charles  and 
even  denied  him  entrance  to  their  cities.  Charles 
proceeded  quite  summarily  against  them.  He  re- 
moved the  refractory  bishops  from  their  sees  and 
gave  their  places,  as  well  as  some  of  the  rich  abbeys, 
to  his  followers  and  kinsmen.  These  neglected  the 
spiritual  interests  and  made  no  pretence  to  an  eccle- 
siastical order,  giving  themselves  wholly  up  to  the 
secular  rights  and  possessions  belonging  to  their 
offices.  As  Boniface  said  in  a  letter  to  the  Pope, 
"  For  the  most  part,  in  the  cities,  the  episcopal  sees 
are  given  over  to  the  possession  of  avaricious  laymen 
or  to  wicked  and  worldly  clergy  to  enjoy  in  a  merely 
secular  way." 

It  was  not  merely  to  punish  rebellious  bishops,  how- 
ever, that  Charles  bestowed  rich  church  estates  upon  his 
followers.  It  had  been  the  practice  in  earlier  times  for 
the  kings  and  great  chiefs  to  bestow  lands  as  rewards 
upon  their  followers,  and  this  practice  had  grown  in 
frequency  and  extent.  The  great  ecclesiastics  had 
been  induced  to  follow  the  same  method,  except  that 


62  The  Age  of  CJiarlemagne. 

they  had  not  bestowed  their  lands  outright,  but  as 
precaria  or  per  bciieficiiim^  for  a  definite  or  indefi- 
nite period,  usually  for  life.  Thus,  while  the  church 
lands  were  inalienable,  the  crown  lands  had  been 
largely  disposed  of  before  the  Austrasian  princes 
came  into  power,  and  they  had  little  with  which  to 
reward  their  followers,  their  own  possessions  being 
quite  inadequate.  Charles  therefore  found  himself 
turning  to  the  immense  property  of  the  church,  with 
its  large  tracts  of  inalienable  land.  These  he  pro- 
ceeded to  bestow  /;/  hencjicio  upon  his  followers,  not 
therefore  making  a  complete  confiscation  for  state 
purposes  as  a  formal  secularization,  but  by  irregular 
and  forcible  means  bestowing  the  property  for  occu- 
pation or  for  usufruct.  Hence  from  this  time  the 
form  of  grant  in  heneficio,  already  in  use  by  the 
church,  was  used  also  by  the  prince,  thus  showing  a 
similar  character  in  the  grants.- 

The  reign  of  Charles  Martel  has  been  called  a  rude 
epoch  for  the  clergy  and  churches  of  the  Prankish 
kingdom,  but  by  him  and  by  his  successors,  Pippin 
and  Charles  the  Great,  the  West  was  saved  to  civili- 

1  Precaritiin,  a  grant  of  land  in  ans\ver  to  a  request,  hence  revocable 
at  the  will  of  the  grantor;  cf.  our  word  "  precarious."  Beneficiiim,  a 
grant  of  anything,  as  a  benefit  or  favor ;  technically,  /;/  bencficio  or 
per  beneficinni;  also,  originally,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  grantor,  but 
usually  for  life.  These  two  terms  are  practically  synonymous,  and 
when  used  of  lands  were  applied  at  first  almost  exclusively  to  church 
lands.  "  Beneficinm,  if  used  at  all  by  the  kings,  was  used  to  remu- 
nerate their  functionaries,  taking  the  place  of  a  money  payment,  thus 
attached  to  the  office  rather  than  the  man.  ...  It  was  not  always 
given  by  the  rich  to  the  poor.  The  beneficinm  has  been  the  round- 
about way  by  which  the  smaller  proprietorship  has  been  lost  in  the 
larger."     (Fustel  de  Coulanges,  vol.  v.,  pp.  185,  189.) 

2  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  3-21 ;  Fustel  de  Coulanges,  vol.  v.,  especially 
pp.  128-192;  Adams,  pp.  194-226;  Emerton,  vol,  i.,  pp.  236-255. 


Mahometanism.  63 

zation  and  to  Christianity.  The  church's  two  great 
victories  of  faith  and  of  organization  were  won 
through  the  victories  of  the  sword  of  the  Franks  and 
of  the  political  order  established  by  the  three  great 
Carolingians. 

Just  on  the  eve  of  apparent  triumph  Arianism  had 
been  conquered  by  the  conversion  of  the  Franks,  but 
it  had  again  threatened  Europe  in  the  more  terrible 
form  of  Mahometanism.  The  devil,  cast  out,  had 
returned  with  seven  other  spirits  worse  than  himself 
to  take  possession  of  the  swept  and  garnished  house. 

The  almost  endless  theological  disputes  of  the 
great  councils  had  left  a  dry  theological  dogma  in 
place  of  the  living  God,  and  Christian  asceticism  had 
taken  the  place  of  a  living  humanity.  Mahomet 
arose  with  all  the  zeal  of  a  religious  reformer  and 
gained  a  host  of  followers  inspired  with  the  enthu- 
siasm of  fanatical  converts.  Their  watchword  was 
not  a  theological  formula,  but  the  living  God  ;  not  an 
abstract  theory,  but  a  personal  Being,  who  ruled  and 
governed  all  things  and  all  men  with  an  absolute 
sway,  and  guided  all  affairs  and  every  event  in 
accordance  with  a  fixed,  unalterable  purpose.  Sub- 
mission to  that  will  inspired,  strengthened,  and  en- 
nobled these  fiery  sons  of  the  desert.  Man,  they 
knew,  was  both  body  and  soul,  and  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  all  his  powers  and  faculties,  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  spiritual,  in  this  world  and  in  the  next, 
was  the  final  goal,  the  eternal  reward  of  all  his  efforts. 
All  natural  pleasures  were  allowed  if  nothing  was 
done  to  the  injury  of  another,  but  no  false  stimula- 
tion was  permitted.     "  Mahomet,"  it  has  been  said, 


64  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

"  is  a  prophet  of  glory  and  power;  his  kingdom  is  of 
this  world ;  the  earth  and  all  its  good  things  belong 
to  the  true  believer."  With  this  prophecy  his  fol- 
lowers went  forth,  the  sword  their  missionary,  and 
death  on  the  battle-field  the  surest  way  to  paradise. 
Swiftly  they  spread  their  faith  over  land  and  sea. 
Arabia  was  won  from  her  old  idolatries  even  before 
the  death  of  Mahomet  in  632  ;  by  the  middle  of 
the  century  Syria,  Palestine,  Egypt,  and  Persia  had 
yielded  to  their  resistless  onset.  The  banks  of  the 
Indus,  the  limits  of  the  empire  of  Alexander,  were 
reached  in  707,  while  in  the  West  they  swept  across 
North  Africa,  and  in  711  their  leader,  Tarikj  passed 
the  pillars  of  Hercules,  henceforth  named  after  him 
Djebel-Tarik,  Gibraltar,  "  mountain  of  Tarik."  Twice 
they  attacked  Constantinople,  but  the  new  invention 
of  the  Greek  fire  kept  them  at  bay,  until  a  decisive 
victory  by  the  Emperor  Leo  III.  in  717  forced  them 
to  halt  at  the  foot  of  the  Taurus  Mountains.  Thus 
all  the  old  seats  of  Christianity  in  the  East  and  South 
had  been  swept  away, — Carthage,  Alexandria,  Jeru- 
salem, and  Antioch, — and  this  disappearance  of  her 
rivals  left  Rome  supreme. 

In  the  West  the  already  weakened  Visigoths  of 
Spain  fell  an  easy  prey  before  their  onward  march. 
In  720  they  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  and  Europe  lay  at 
their  feet.  But  a  voice  had  cried,  "  Hitherto  shalt 
thou  come,  but  no  further;  and  here  shall  thy  proud 
waves  be  stayed."  In  732  came  that  great  battle 
when  the  forces  of  the  East  and  of  the  West  met  for 
the  final  issue  on  the  very  spot  where,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  before,  had  been  fought  the 


Contests  with  the  Arabs.  65 

decisive  battle  between  the  Franks  and  the  Visigoths, 
the  Cathohcs  and  the  Arians,  for  the  possession  of 
Gaul.  The  battle  was  terrific,  but  at  last  the  com- 
bined forces  under  Charles  won  the  victory,  though 
with  not  enough  strength,  or  with  too  much  greed 
for  the  booty,  to  pursue  the  retreating  enemy  and 
end  the  struggle.  This  invasion  marked  the  submis- 
sion of  the  Aquitanians,  and  the  title  of  "  king  "  was 
changed  by  Eudes  for  that  of  "duke."  ^  In  733  Charles 
reconquered  Burgundy,  and  in  the  following  year, 
with  the  spoil  taken  from  the  Arabs,  he  built  a  navy 
and  attacked  the  Friesians  by  sea.  The  Saxons  also 
began  a  series  of  attacks,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
Arabs  had  only  retreated,  not  submitted,  so  that 
Charles  was  forced  in  the  following  years  to  continue 
the  struggle  against  them  in  Provincia. 

This  necessity  had  a  most  important  bearing  on 
the  slowly  forming  feudal  system,  whose  elements 
already  have  been  brought  to  our  notice.  Up  to 
this  time,  holding  land  under  some  one  else,  and 
owing  service  as  a  vassal  or  dependent  of  another, 
had  existed  separately,  nor  had  there  been  any  neces- 
sary connection  of  military  service  with  either  of 
them.  The  contests  which  Charles  had  to  carry  on 
against  the  Arabs  in  the  South  seem  to  have  been 
the  occasion  when  these  were  first  formally  united, 
and  land  was  granted  and  held  on  the  condition  of 
performing  military  service,  which  is  one  of  the  es- 
sential features  of  the  feudal  system. 

1  Martin,  vol.  ii.,  p.  206.    It  has  been  maintained  that  these  Aquita- 
nian  dukes  were  related  to  the  Merovingian  kings,  but  Waitz  (vol.  iii., 
p.  9,  note  l)  points  out  that  this  has  been  disproved  beyond  a  doubt. 
E 


66  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

For  the  Arabs  relied  largely  on  their  fleet  horses 
and  strong  cavalry  force ;  hence  it  was  necessary  to 
introduce  a  similar  equipment  into  the  Prankish  army. 
In  the  dense  forests  and  wild  morasses  of  the  North, 
foot-soldiers  had  been  used  almost  exclusively,  and 
mounted  warriors  had  been  of  little  advantage  ex- 
cept for  predatory  raids.  The  change,  therefore,  en- 
tailed great  expense,  and  Charles  was  obliged  to  aid 
his  followers  by  granting  to  them  lands  which  they 
could  hold  on  condition  of  rendering  military  service. 
This  also  explains  his  seizure  of  church  lands,  as  he 
could  not  get  enough  for  the  purpose  elsewhere.^ 

Indeed,  he  was  in  great  need.  Placed  between 
two  hydra-headed  monsters,  the  paganism  of  the  still 
unconverted  tribes  in  the  North  and  the  Mahome- 
tanism  of  the  fierce  Arabs  in  the  South,  he  was 
obliged  to  maintain  the  greatest  energy  and  ceaseless 
w^arfare.  The  Saxons  in  the  North  still  held  out. 
Christianity  made  no  headway  there,  and  their  con- 
tinual uprisings  harassed  the  Pranks.  The  Mero- 
vingian king  died  in  737,  but  no  chronicler  recorded 
his  death,  and  Charles  took  no  pains  to  provide  a 
successor. 

Meantime  the  Arabs  had  fortified  themselves  in 
Avignon  and  were  spreading  eastward.  Charles 
again  turned  his  arms  against  them,  and,  aided  by 
Liutprand  and  the  Lombards,  finally  drove  them  to 
the  far  South.  At  last,  in  740,  all  the  enemies  of 
the  Pranks  were  subdued,  and  peace  reigned  supreme. 

But  it  was  a  peace  which  had  cost  much  and  was 
maintained  by  oppression.      It  rested  with  especial 

1  Adams,  pp.  206-208. 


Charles  Martel  and  the  Church.         67 

heaviness  upon  the  Prankish  church.  She  was  forced 
to  sit  by  and  see  her  wealth  confiscated  and  distributed 
among  the  Prankish  leaders  and  their  warlike  fol- 
lowers, and  her  lands  assigned  to  them  as  feudal 
holdings  to  be  used  for  the  support  of  warriors  and 
the  furnishing  of  horses  and  of  arms. 

Although  Charles  thus  made  himself  a  terror  and 
a  tyrant  to  the  bishops  and  abbots  of  the  Prankish 
church,  he  was  recognized  as  the  only  hope  of  the 
Christianity  of  the  West,  and  his  name  was  held  in 
the  highest  honor  at  Rome.  One  of  the  Prankish 
bishops  saw,  in  a  vision,  Charles  Martel  delivered 
over  to  the  torments  of  the  damned  in  the  nether- 
most hell  for  having  robbed  the  churches  of  God  of 
their  possessions  ;^  while  Boniface  writes  that  without 
his  aid  the  church  could  not  have  been  preserved  and 
defended,  nor  paganism  and  idolatry  destroyed. 

1  Mombert,  pp,  28,  29, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BONIFACE,  THE  "APOSTLE  OF  GERMANY" — THE 
CONVERSION  OF  THE  EASTERN  GERMANS — 
ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  FRANKISH  CHURCH — 
UNION  WITH  ROME. 

OT  only  is  the  conversion  of  the  people 
living  along  the  borders  of  the  Frankish 
kingdom  closely  connected  with  the 
name  and  work  of  Boniface,  but  also 
the  establishment  and  unification  of  the 
whole  ecclesiastical  organization  of  the  Franks.  So 
important  and  extensive  were  the  results  which  he 
accomplished  in  this  great  work  that  he  has  been  called 
the  "  Apostle  of  Germany."  His  baptismal  name 
was  Winfrid,  of  which  Boniface  is  the  Latin  form, 
taken  when  he  entered  the  monastery,  or  perhaps 
given  him  by  the  Pope  to  signify  his  connection  with 
and  commission  by  the  Roman  Church. 

He  was  born  about  680,  at  Crediton,  near  Exeter, 
in  that  part  of  Wessex  now  known  as  Devonshire. 
His  father  intended  him  to  follow  secular  pursuits  and 
to  be  the  heir  and  administrator  of  his  large  property. 
But  the  boy  very  early  showed  signs  of  a  studious 
and  religious  disposition,  and  was  accordingly  placed 

68 


Work  among  the  Friesians.  69 

in  a  monastery  at  Exeter,  whence  he  removed  to 
Nutsall  (Netley?),  near  Winchester.  Here  he  soon 
gained  a  reputation  for  scholarship  and  teaching  abil- 
ity, and  gained  the  friendship  of  Daniel,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  to  whom  many  of  his  most  valuable 
letters  were  written. 

Like  so  many  other  English  youths,  he  was  fond 
of  travel,  and  was  attracted  by  great  opportunities  for 
missionary  work  on  the  Continent.  Soon  after  his 
ordination  to  the  priesthood,  therefore,  he  left  Eng- 
land with  a  few  companions,  and  directed  his  way  to 
the  Friesians,  intending  to  work  among  them.  Here 
he  found  Willibrod,  an  EngHsh  missionary  from  York, 
who  had  arrived  in  Friesia  soon  after  the  battle  of 
Testry,  when  the  power  of  the  Franks  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Pippin's  career  was  very  great.  Willibrod's 
name  also  had  been  changed,  and  he  had  received  the 
name  of  Clement  when,  in  the  year  696,  Pope  Ser- 
gius  I.  had  consecrated  him  Bishop  of  Utrecht.  But 
Rathbod,  the  King  of  the  Friesians,  having  taken 
advantage  of  the  death  of  Pippin  and  the  consequent 
disorder  before  the  power  was  settled  in  the  hands  of 
Charles  Martel,  had  begun  to  devastate  the  churches 
and  to  stop  the  work  of  the  Christian  missionaries. 

Boniface  accordingly  returned  to  England,  and  in 
718  made  a  fresh  start.  This  time  he  went  directly 
to  Rome,  where  he  received  the  aid  and  advice  of  the 
Pope,  Gregory  H.,  and  a  general  commission  for  mis- 
sionary work  in  central  Europe.  There  is  a  great 
significance  in  this  early  period  of  preparation  for  his 
great  life-work.  He  was  born  in  the  time  of  Theo- 
dore, who  had  been  consecrated  and  sent  to  England 


70  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

as  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  by  Pope  Vitalian,  in 
668,  four  years  after  the  English,  at  the  Council  of 
Whitby,  had  proclaimed  their  adherence  to  the 
ecclesiastical  rites  and  customs  held  by  the  church 
at  Rome.  By  the  work  of  Theodore  this  action  had 
been  confirmed  and  its  results  crystallized ;  schools 
were  established,  which  did  away  with  the  need  of 
dependence  upon  Ireland  for  intellectual  light ;  the 
English  church  was  brought  into  final  unity  with 
itself  and  with  Rome ;  and  the  elements  of  the  East- 
ern system  of  diocesan  organization,  developed  under 
imperial  influence  and  laid  down  in  the  canons  of 
Chalcedon,  were  introduced  into  England.  The 
Council  of  Hertford,  where  this  great  work  of  dio- 
cesan systematization  was  formally  adopted  and 
established,  had  been  held  in  673,1  only  a  few  years 
before  the  birth  of  Boniface ;  consequently  his  early 
life  and  education  coincided  with  the  first  freshness 
of  the  new  system.  It  was  therefore  with  the  out- 
lines and  early  practical  working  of  this  plan  strongly 
fixed  in  his  mind,  and  with  that  great  respect  and 
deep  gratitude  and  devotion  to  the  Roman  see  which 
was  so  sincerely  felt  at  that  time  in  the  English 
church,  expressed  in  the  pages  of  Bede's  history  and 
in  the  works  of  English  missionaries,  that  Boniface 
presented  himself  before  the  Bishop  of  Rome  in  718, 
and  received  his  commission  from  Gregory  II. 

His  first  endeavors,  after  leaving  Rome,  were 
among  the  Bavarians  and  Thuringians,  restoring  dis- 
cipHne  and  introducing  order  in  the  field  of  the  un- 

1  Hatch,  p.  30.     The  author  confuses  the  Council  of  Hertford  with 
that  held  at  Hatfield  in  680. 


The  Oath  to  St.  Peter.  71 


organized  labors  of  the  Irish  and  early  Prankish 
missionaries.  But  his  work  here  did  not  meet  with 
very  much  success,  and  Rathbod  of  Friesia  being 
dead,  he  made  his  way  to  Utrecht,  the  scene  of  his 
first  attempts.  He  remained  here  for  three  years, 
assisting  Willibrod  and  learning  much  in  the  way  of 
methods  and  practical  experience.  In  722  Wihibrod 
ofifered  him  a  bishopric,  but  his  restless  zeal  would 
not  permit  him  to  settle  permanently  anywhere. 

He  accordingly  left  the  Friesians,  and  took  up 
work  among  the  Hessians  and  Saxons,  with  such  suc- 
cess that  in  the  following  year  he  was  summoned  to 
Rome  by  the  Pope.  Here  he  was  examined  in  his 
faith,  was  ordained  bishop  without  any  special  see,^ 
and  took  the  famous  oath  which  bound  him  and  his 
work  to  permanent  unity  with  Rome,  producing 
results  fraught  with  such  vital  and  far-reaching  im- 
port to  the  Christianity  of  the  West.  The  essential 
part  of  this  oath  reads  as  follows :  -  "  In  the  name 
of  God  the  Lord  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  ...  I, 
Boniface,  by  the  grace  of  God,  bishop,  do  promise 
to  thee,  O  blessed  Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and 
to  thy  vicar,  the  blessed  Gregory,  Pope,  and  to  his  suc- 
cessors, .  .  .  that  I  will  maintain  the  whole  faith  and 
purity  of  the  holy  Catholic  faith,  and  by  the  help  of 
God  will  continue  in  the  unity  of  that  faith,  .  .  .  and 
that  in  no  way  will  I  agree  with  anything  contrary 
to  the  unity  of  the  general  and  universal  church 
under  any  persuasion  whatever ;  but,  as  I  have  said, 
I  will  in  every  way  maintain  my  faith  pure,  and  my 
cooperation  constantly  for  thee,  and  for  the  benefit 

1  Episcopiis  regionarius.  2  Gieseler,  vol.  ii.,  p.  26.  note  3. 


72  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  thy  church,  upon  which  was  bestowed  by  God  the 
power  to  bind  and  to  loose,  and  for  thy  vicar  afore- 
said, and  for  his  successors.  And  whenever  I  find 
that  the  conduct  of  the  presiding  officers  of  the 
churches  contradicts  the  ancient  decrees  of  the  holy 
fathers,  I  will  have  no  fellowship  or  connection  with 
them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  will  prevent  them  if  I 
can,  and  if  not  I  will  report  faithfully  at  once  to  my 
apostolic  lord.  .  .  .  Moreover,  this  declaration  of  my 
oath,  I,  Boniface,  a  humble  bishop,  have  written  with 
my  own  hand,  and  upon  the  most  holy  body  of  the 
blessed  Peter  I  have  taken  the  oath  as  above  written, 
which  also  I  promise  to  keep,  God  being  my  witness 
and  judge." 

The  significance  of  this  oath  is  not  merely  that  it 
bound  Boniface  and  his  work  to  the  Roman  see,  but 
that  it  was  the  oath  taken  by  the  bishops  of  the 
suburban  and  dependent  churches  of  Rome,  with  such 
changes  as  the  different  conditions  required,  and  with 
the  substitution  of  the  clause  promising  to  oppose 
anything  against  the  Pope  for  the  similar  clause  re- 
garding the  emperor  and  the  state. i 

That  the  work  of  Boniface  was  not  only  to  Chris- 
tianize, but  to  establish  and  to  extend  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal system  which  Theodore  had  brought  to  England 
from  Rome  and  the  East,  and  to  unite  this  whole 
system  under  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  is  shown  in  an  old 
report  of  the  object  of  his  mission  :  "That  he  should  go 
beyond  the  Alps,  and  in  those  parts  where  heresy  was 
rife  should  substitute  therefor  his  saving  teaching."  ^ 

1  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  48,  49. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  49,  note  i. 


Union  of  Germany  with  Rome.  "^^ 

The  lack  of  discipline  and  of  effective  organization 
in  the  work  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  missionaries,  how- 
ever sincere  and  earnest  that  work  might  be,  had 
allowed  the  springing  up  of  corrupt  and  heretical  no- 
tions and  practices,  and  had  afforded  no  permanent 
means  of  defence  against  barbarous  and  pagan  tribes 
without,  and  lawless,  half-converted  men  within  the 
Christian  communities. 

The  increasing  and  ever-widening  power  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  instructing,  directing,  restraining,  and 
consolidating,  a  power  enforced  by  the  aid  and  sup- 
port of  the  Frankish  rulers,  which  was  made  effectual 
by  the  alliance  of  the  Frankish  kingdom  with  the  Ro- 
man Church,  met  a  real  necessity,  and  gave  at  once 
the  protection  and  discipline  needed  tobring  these  wild 
hordes  under  the  influence  and  training  of  Christianity. 

The  most  effective  agent  in  this  great  work  was  the 
English  missionary  Boniface.  For  accompHshing  it 
he  was  well  fitted,  being  endowed  with  great  prudence 
and  foresight,  a  scholar  and  a  teacher  with  "  a  rare 
genius  for  organization  and  administration."  By 
nature  as  well  as  by  his  oath  he  was  the  foe  to  all  in- 
dividualistic and  unorganized  effort,  and  saw  at  once 
its  weakness  and  its  error.  To  him  true  Christianity 
was  impossible  except  in  union  with  Rome,  and  his 
one  great  aim  was  to  make  Germany  as  loyal  and  de- 
voted to  the  Pope  as  was  his  native  England. 

From  Rome  he  proceeded  immediately  to  the  court 
of  Charles  Martel  with  letters  of  commendation. 
Under  the  protection  of  this  powerful  prince  he 
followed  the  victorious  armies  of  the  Franks  among 
the  Hessians,  though  he  was  not  very  well  pleased 


74  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

with  the  enforced  relations  with  the  Prankish  and 
Celtic  missionaries,  who  differed  widely  from  him  on 
important  subjects.  His  severe  denunciation  of  them 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  to  him  their  mar- 
riages were  nothing  but  fornication  and  adultery,  their 
social  life  and  lack  of  asceticism  merely  debauchery 
and  drunkenness.  Without  question  some  of  them 
served  in  war,  and  their  lack  of  discipline  and  obedi- 
ence to  some  strong  central  power  called  forth  his 
bitterest  opposition.  His  final  and  permanent  success 
must  be  his  justification.  "  It  is  doubtful  whether,  in 
the  barbarous  condition  of  those  times,  and  amid  the 
commotion  of  almost  constant  civil  wars,  the  indepen- 
dent and  scattered  labors  of  the  anti-Roman  mission- 
aries could  have  survived  as  well  and  made  as  strong 
an  impression  upon  the  German  nation  as  a  consoli- 
dated Christianity  with  a  common  centre  of  unity  and 
authority."  ^  The  opinion  of  Ranke  in  this  connec- 
tion is  also  suggestive :  "  We  ought  not  to  consider 
the  Christianization  of  Germany  only  from  the  point 
of  view  of  religious  belief  and  teaching.  However 
important  these  may  be,  it  was  of  world-historical 
importance  that  some  counteracting  influence  should 
be  prepared  against  Islamism,  which  was  pressing 
ever  deeper  into  the  continent  of  Europe.  Boniface 
knew  right  well  what  had  happened  in  Spain ;  the 
work  of  conversion  which  he  was  carrying  on  was  the 
chief  cause  why  the  same  events  did  not  repeat  them- 
selves in  Gaul  and  Germany."  - 

1  Schaff,  vol.  iv.,  p.  99. 

■''  Ranke,  "  Weltgeschichte,"  vol.   i.,   pp.    286,   287.     Quoted   by 
Hodgkin,  vol.  vi.,  p.  423,  note  i. 


Archbishop  Boiiiface.  75 

It  was  the  work  of  consolidation,  however,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  diocesan  system  on  tHe  Continent 
which  Boniface  accomplished  in  his  union  with  the 
state  on  one  side  and  with  the  Church  of  Rome  on 
the  other,  which  would  have  been  impossible  other- 
wise, and  which  laid  the  necessary  foundations  for  the 
preservation  and  future  spread  of  Christianity  among 
the  Franks  and  their  dependents.  Monasteries  and 
bishoprics,  as  centres  of  learning  and  of  authority, 
were  estabhshed  in  suitable  places,  testifying  to  his 
practical  wisdom  and  foresight.  Monks  and  nuns 
came  over  from  England  as  teachers  and  exemplars 
of  right  living  among  the  people  whom  they  wished 
to  elevate. 

The  accession  of  Gregory  III.  in  731  made  no 
break  in  the  friendly  relations  with  the  Papacy,  and 
in  732  the  Pope  sent  the  pallium  to  Boniface  and 
made  him  an  archbishop,  though  he  was  not  by  this 
act  made  Primate  of  all  Germany,  as  some  have  sup- 
posed. His  position  was  rather  that  of  a  metropolitan, 
in  whose  charge  were  placed  the  more  northern  dis- 
tricts where  he  had  specially  labored,  particularly  the 
bishoprics  of  Tongres,  Cologne,  Utrecht,  Worms,  and 
Spires.^ 

In  the  year  738  he  made  his  third  and  last  visit  to 
Rome,  when  he  was  invested  with  the  powers  and 
authority  of  a  papal  legate,  with  a  special  commission 
to  visit  the  Bavarian  church.  Here  he  effected  a 
complete  organization,  and  established  the  four 
bishoprics  of  Salzburg,  Freising,  Passau,  and  Regens- 
burg  or  Ratisbon.     He  held  a  synod  of  the  Bavarian 

1  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  41,  42. 


"J 6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

church  in  740,  and  soon  after  established  several 
other  bishoprics  farther  north  :  Eichstadt,  Wiirzburg, 
Buraburg,  and  Erfurt. 

The  death  of  Charles  Martel  in  741  opened  a  new 
field  of  opportunity,  made  possible  still  closer  rela- 
tions with  the  state,  and  led  the  way  to  a  more 
timate  union  with  Rome.  Karlmann  and  Pippin,  who 
succeeded  their  father  as  mayors  of  the  palace,  were 
more  favorably  disposed  to  the  church  and  more 
inclined  to  enter  into  closer  relations  with  Rome. 
Charles  Martel  had  not  been  very  discriminating  be- 
tween the  Roman  and  the  independent  clergy,  he 
had  been  quite  willing  to  allow  the  clergy  to  take 
part  in  his  battles,  and  he  had  not  shown  much  respect 
for  church  property  when  it  was  needed  to  support 
the  army  in  the  wars  against  the  Saracens. 

The  work  of  organization  which  Boniface  had  so 
well  carried  on  among  the  Friesians,  Hessians,  Thu- 
ringians,  and  Bavarians  of  the  North  and  East  he  was 
now  enabled  to  complete  by  the  establishment  of  the 
diocesan  and  synodal  system  in  the  great  centres  of 
the  Prankish  kingdom. 

The  first  so-called  German  synod  was  held  in  742, 
at  the  request  of  Karlmann,  to  establish  order  in  the 
church  in  his  dominion,  where  ecclesiastical  affairs 
had  been  in  great  confusion  for  the  past  sixty  or 
seventy  years.^  Boniface,  next  to  Karlmann,  in  whose 
name  the  acts  of  the  synod  were  published,  held  the 
chief  place  as  archbishop  and  papal  legate.-  From 
this  time  the  movement  went  on:    new  bishoprics 

1  Jaffe,    ol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  42. 

2  "  Missus  Sancti  Petri,"  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  25,  art.  I. 


Archbishop  of  MaiiiE.  jy 

were  created  in  the  chief  cities,  and  the  clergy  of  the 
district  made  subordinate  to  their  bishop,  while  the 
bishops  of  the  province  were  united  under  the  bishop 
of  the  chief  city  or  metropolis  as  their  head  under  the 
Pope,  and  so-called  metropolitan  or  archbishop.  Synods 
were  to  be  held  each  year,  by  which  a  general  over- 
sight and  systematic  discipline  could  be  maintained. 
Thus  Boniface  succeeded  in  introducing  and  estab- 
lishing throughout  the  Prankish  kingdom,  by  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century,  the  systematic  organ- 
ization that  Theodore  had  established  among  the 
English  in  the  last  part  of  the  seventh. 

As  yet  Boniface  had  had  no  fixed  residence,  and 
was  liable  to  the  same  charge  he  had  brought  against 
the  Celtic  clergy,  that  of  ordination  without  a  fixed 
diocese — absolute  ordination,  as  it  was  called ;  but  in 
745  he  settled  in  Mainz,  and  that  became  the  seat 
of  his  archbishopric,  the  former  bishop  of  the  see  hav- 
ing been  deposed  by  Boniface  himself,  for  hunting 
and  for  having  avenged  the  death  of  his  father  by 
killing  the  murderer. 

In  744  Boniface  laid  the  foundations  of  the  monas- 
tery of  Fulda,  destined  to  become  one  of  the  three 
great  centres  of  learning  in  Europe.  The  other  two 
were  St.  Gall,  founded  by  Gallus,  the  disciple  of 
Columbanus,  in  646,  and  Reichenau,  founded  in  724 
by  Pirminius,  a  Prankish  missionary.  In  744,  also, 
Boniface  secured  the  condemnation  of  Adelbert, 
Clement,  and  Virgil,  Bishop  of  Salzburg,  whom  he 
regarded  as  wicked  and  false  clergy  because  not  pro- 
fessing allegiance  to  his  system,  nor  working  in  har- 
mony with  his  views.     Some  of  the  charges  of  peculiar 


78  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  dangerous  teachings  may  have  been  well  founded, 
but  most  of  them  seem  to  have  been  due  to  prejudice, 
ignorance,  and  misunderstanding.^ 

Boniface  endeavored  to  develop  the  metropolitan 
system  also,  whereby,  as  he  says  in  a  letter  to  Cuth- 
bert.  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  bishops  should 
hold  the  same  relation  to  the  metropolitans  as  the 
metropolitans,  in  their  turn,  should  hold  to  the  Pope.'-^ 
This  scheme  was  not  fully  carried  out,  however,  as 
but  one,  or  perhaps  three,  metropolitans  were  ap- 
pointed for  only  a  part  of  the  Prankish  kingdom.^ 

With  the  next  Pope,  Zacharias,  Boniface  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  such  intimate  and  friendly  relations ; 
one  or  two  of  his  letters  give  evidence  of  a  firm  op- 
position to  much  that  he  understood  was  permitted 
at  Rome.^ 

It  is  now  pretty  clearly  established,  and  quite  gen- 
erally accepted,  that  Boniface  had  little  or  nothing  to 
do  with  the  political  intrigues  of  the  Pope  and  the 
attempts  of  Pippin  to  gain  the  Prankish  throne.  He 
might  have  known  of  Pippin's  coronation  at  Soissons 
in  751,  but  it  is  quite  improbable  that  he  had  any 
part  in  it,  as  his  name  is  not  mentioned  in  the  ac- 
counts by  the  early  chroniclers,  and  his  own  letters 
show  that  the  disfavor  in  which  he  stood  at  that  time 
at  the  court  of  Pippin  would  preclude  his  participation.^ 

1  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  56-63;  Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  pp.  470-472. 

2  Jaff^,  vol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  73. 

3  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  29,  art.  3;  Jaff^,  vol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  48,  49; 
cf.  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  64,  65. 

4  Jaff^,  vol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  51,  "Ad  Zach," 

5  Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  pp.  470,  474;  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  63-67;  Alzog, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  119,  note  i. 


Martyrdom.  79 

In  753  Boniface  resigned  his  archbishopric,  and 
secured  the  appointment  of  Lull,  one  of  his  most  dis- 
tinguished disciples,  as  his  successor,  while  he  him- 
self, with  about  fifty  companions,  again  started  on  a 
missionary  expedition  among  the  Friesians.  Here, 
on  the  5th  of  June,  754  or  755,  he  was  murdered  by 
a  band  of  heathens,  and  thus  secured  a  martyr's 
crown.  "  His  bones  were  deposited  first  at  Utrecht, 
then  at  Mainz,  and  at  last  in  Fulda.  Soon  after  his 
death  an  English  synod  chose  him,  together  with 
Pope  Gregory  and  Augustine,  patron  of  the  English 
church.  In  1875  Pope  Pius  IX.  directed  the  Catho- 
lics of  Germany  and  England  to  invoke  especially  the 
aid  of  St.  Boniface  in  the  distress  of  modern  times."  ^ 

1  Schaff,  vol.  iv.,  p.  96. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ICONOCLASM  AND  THE  PAPACY — THE  DEVELOP- 
MENT OF  THE  VENERATION  OF  SAINTS,  RELICS, 
AND  IMAGES — THE  EMPEROR  LEO  III.  AND 
THE  ICONOCLASTIC  EDICTS — POPE  GREGORY  II. 
AND  THE  SITUATION  IN  ITALY — THE  EVE  OF 
REVOLT. 


SLAM,  the  religion  of  Mahomet,  had 
spread  with  rapid  strides  through  coun- 
tries which  had  been  indeed  the  very 
cradle  of  Christianity  or  among  the  first 
to  welcome  and  receive  it,  but  in  which, 
alas!  that  Christianity  had  become  weakened  and 
corrupted  by  endless  theological  disputes,  and  by  a 
false  asceticism  which  had  dried  up  the  sources  of  its 
vigor,  had  left  its  faith  petrified  in  the  mechanical 
technicalities  of  a  lifeless  metaphysic,  and  had  ren- 
dered its  worship  an  elaborate  but  barren  ceremonial, 
characterized  more  by  superstition  and  idolatry  than 
by  spirit  and  truth. 

Not  only  were  new  objects  of  worship  brought  in 
as  intermediaries  between  the  soul  of  the  worshipper 
and  God,  thus  tending  to  fix  the  mind  on  lower  forms 
of  the  divine  manifestation  rather  than  on  the  divine 

80 


Veneration  of  Saints.  8i 

Being  himself,  but  material  representations  of  those 
intermediaries  began  to  be  employed,  in  order,  it  was 
said,  to  concentrate  and  hold  the  attention.  Thus  the 
veneration  of  saints  and  their  relics  and  images  was 
taking  the  place  of  the  spiritual  worship  of  God. 

The  exaggerated  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  con- 
firmed by  the  title  "  Mother  of  God,"  given  to  her 
by  the  Fourth  General  Council,  only  led  the  way  in 
this  movement.  To  the  cultus  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
was  added  that  of  saints  and  martyrs,  to  whose  names 
were  attached  long  biographies  filled  with  legendary 
accounts  of  miraculous  deeds.  In  order  to  make  a 
deeper  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  es- 
pecially of  those  who  were  unable  to  read,  images  of 
these  saints,  pictures  and  statues,  were  produced,  and 
relics,  either  their  bones,  or  clothing  or  other  articles 
associated  or  believed  to  have  been  associated  with 
them  in  life,  were  exhibited  with  great  care  and 
reverence. 

Soon  it  was  discovered  that  the  miraculous  deeds 
which  the  saint  was  said  to  have  performed  in  life, 
such  as  marvellous  cures,  rescues,  and  preservation 
from  danger,  were  accomplished  also  by  these  relics, 
and  thus  they  became  the  objects  of  acts  of  rever- 
ence, prostrations,  prayers,  and  rich  offerings  at  the 
shrines  built  in  their  honor,  and  a  cult  grew  up 
around  them,  differing  practically  in  no  way  from 
the  acts  of  divine  worship,  though  receiving  a 
different  name.^ 

As  early  as  the  sixth  century  churches  had  been 
adorned  with  pictures  and  statues  of  the  saints,  be- 

1  KpooKvv^ffig^  and  not  larpeia. 


8  2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

fore  which  special  acts  of  reverence,  such  as  prostra- 
tions, were  performed,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  century  the  use  of  images  as  helps  to  and 
objects  of  devotion  had  become  universal. 

But  their  use,  at  first  at  any  rate,  seems  to  have 
been  far  more  general  in  the  East  than  in  the  West. 
Serenus,  Bishop  of  Massilia  (Marseilles),  had  thrown 
out  and  destroyed  images  in  his  churches ;  and  al- 
though Gregory  the  Great,  on  a  previous  occasion, 
sending  a  picture  of  Christ  and  other  pictures  to  a 
hermit  who  had  asked  for  them,  said  that  they  were 
not  intended  to  serve  as  objects  of  adoration,  but 
merely  as  memorials,  he  wrote  to  Serenus  as  follows : 
"  We  have  praised  the  zeal  which  you  have  shown 
lest  anything  made  by  hands  should  be  adored,  but 
we  deem  it  wrong  that  you  should  destroy  those  pic- 
tures, for  painting  is  made  use  of  in  the  churches  in 
order  that  those  who  are  unable  to  read  may  at  least 
understand,  in  looking  on  the  walls,  what  they  cannot 
read  in  the  manuscripts."  ^ 

Reference  has  been  made  very  often  to  this  decla- 
ration made  by  Gregory  I.,  and  it  was  quoted  fre- 
quently in  defence  of  the  use  of  images;  but  so  much 
superstition  and  practical  idolatry  had  come  to  be 
associated  with  them  that  the  Emperor  Leo  III. 
declared  himself  resolutely  opposed  to  their  very 
existence.  In  taking  this  position  it  is  very  proba- 
ble that  he  had  been  influenced  by  the  sect  of  the 
Paulicians,  which  rose  during  the  seventh  century  in 
the  northern  part  of  Syria,  near  the  birthplace  of  Leo 
himself. 

1  "  Epistles  of  St.  Gregory,"  bk.  ix.,  Ep.  g. 


The  Paulicians.  83 


The  Paulicians  were  a  Christian  sect  professing  a 
form  of  dualism,  and  having  perhaps  some  early  re- 
lation with  Manichean  doctrines.  They  looked  upon 
creation  as  the  work  of  the  evil  principle,  and  re- 
garded as  evil  all  material  forms,  including  the  human 
body.  Their  opposition  to  the  prevalent  Christianity 
was  directed  most  strongly  against  the  cult  which  was 
.  growing  up  around  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  cross. 
It  is  well  known  that  Leo's  opposition  to  Mariolatry 
was  a  prominent  feature  in  his  attempt  at  reform,  and 
that  he  gave  to  the  Paulicians  letters  of  protection. 

It  is  still  more  probable,  however,  that  he  was 
more  strongly  influenced  by  the  taunts  of  Jews  and 
Mahometans,  who  declared  openly  that  the  Christians 
were  no  better  than  pagans  and  idolaters  in  their  mul- 
tiplication of  the  objects  of  worship,  and  in  their  rep- 
resentation of  those  objects  in  material  forms  and 
images.  It  might  seem,  also,  that  image-worship  was 
one  great  hindrance  to  their  conversion,  which,  at 
least  in  the  case  of  the  Jews,  Leo  tried  so  hard  to 
accomplish. 

The  position  of  the  Christian  church  was,  indeed, 
in  marked  contrast  with  those  sublime  words  in  the 
"  Octavius  "  of  Minucius  Felix,  so  that  the  conditions 
of  the  third  century  and  those  of  the  eighth  seem  to 
be  exactly  reversed. 

Caecilius,  the  opponent  of  Christianity  in  the  third 
century,  thus  taunts  the  Christians :  "  For  why  do 
they  endeavor,  with  such  pains,  to  conceal  and  to 
cloak  what  they  worship,  since  honorable  things  al- 
ways rejoice  in  publicity,  while  crimes  are  kept  secret  ? 
Why  have  they  no  altars,  no  temples,  no  consecrated 


84  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


images?"  Octavius,  the  apologist  of  Christianity, 
gives  a  most  eloquent  paraphrase  of  the  forty-fourth 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  thus  answers  the  slurs  of 
Csecilius :  "  But  do  you  think  we  conceal  what  we 
worship,  if  we  have  not  temples  and  altars  ?  And  yet 
what  image  of  God  shall  I  make,  since,  if  you  think 
rightly,  man  himself  is  the  image  of  God  ?  .  .  .  Were 
it  not  better  that  he  should  be  dedicated  in  our  mind, 
consecrated  in  our  heart?  .  .  .  Therefore,  he  who 
cultivates  innocence  supplicates  God ;  he  who  culti- 
vates justice  makes  offerings  to  God  ;  he  who  abstains 
from  fraudulent  practices  propitiates  God;  he  who 
snatches  man  from  danger  slaughters  the  most  ac- 
ceptable victim.  These  are  our  sacrifices,  these  are 
our  rites  of  God's  worship;  thus,  among  us,  he  who 
is  most  just  is  he  who  is  most  religious.  But  certainly 
the  God  whom  we  worship  we  neither  show  nor  see. 
Verily  for  this  reason  we  believe  him  to  be  God  :  that 
we  can  be  conscious  of  him,  but  cannot  see  him  ;  .  .  • 
for  from  where  is  God  afar  off,  when  all  things  hea- 
venly and  earthly,  and  which  are  beyond  the  province 
of  the  universe,  are  known  to  God,  are  full  of  God  ? 
Everywhere  he  is  not  only  very  near  us,  but  he  is 
infused  into  us.  .  .  .  Not  only  do  we  act  in  him,  but 
also,  I  had  almost  said,  we  live  in  him."  ^ 

Leo  seems  to  have  been  influenced  especially  by  a 
Phrygian  bishop  named  Constantine,  and  by  a  certain 
Beser,  a  renegade  and  convert  from  Mahometanism, 
who  stood  high  in  the  imperial  favor.  His  position 
had  a  theological  side  as  well,  and  thus  connected 
itself   with   the   disputes    regarding   Monophysitism 

1  "  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,"  Amer.  ed.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  178,  187,  193. 


Emperor  Leds  Rationalism.  85 

and  Monothelitism,  which  had  rent  the  church  and 
distracted  the  empire  during  the  preceding  two 
or  three  centuries.  "  The  MonotheHtism  of  the 
seventh  century  was  a  connecting-Hnk  between 
Monophysitism  and  Iconoclasm,  but  there  were  two 
new  influences  which  affected  the  eighth-century 
movement  and  gave  it  a  pecuHar  character,  namely, 
the  Pauhcian  doctrines  and  the  Mahometan  re- 
Hgion."  ^ 

Alzog,  or  his  translators,  while  admitting  the  abuse 
of  images,  may  tell  us  that  "  the  true  solution  of  the 
whole  difficulty,  and  the  motives  which  prompted  im- 
perial action,  are  to  be  sought  in  the  meddlesomeness 
of  those  emperors  who,  like  their  predecessors  in  re- 
gard to  the  earlier  dogmatic  controversies,  were  always 
interfering  in  ecclesiastical  legislation."  ''  The  justi- 
fication of  their  action,  however,  appears  when  we 
consider  how  closely  united  were  the  two  institutions 
of  church  and  state,  and  how  seriously  the  integrity 
of  the  empire  was  threatened  by  any  schism  or  strife 
or  weakness  in  the  church.  Furthermore,  Leo  was 
actuated  undoubtedly  by  a  spirit  of  general  opposi- 
tion and  reaction  against  the  gross  materialism  and 
grovelling  superstition  which  he  saw  all  about  him, 
and  which  was  brought  out  in  bold  relief  by  the  strik- 
ing contrast  to  Christianity  afforded  by  both  Judaism 
and  Mahometanism  in  these  respects.  The  use  of 
pictures  and  statues  in  the  churches  was  only  one  form 
against  which  this  rationalistic  spirit  showed  itself. 
The  opposition  was  connected  with  the  question  of  art 

1  Bury,  vol.  ii. ,  p.  429. 

2  Alzog,  vol.  ii.,  p.  208,  note  I. 


86  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


only  remotely,  if  at  all.  The  earlier  representations 
were  crude  and  ugly — indeed,  the  ugliest  having 
proved  in  all  religions  the  object  of  the  greatest  de- 
votion, as  is  shown  by  the  image  of  Diana  in  the 
temple  of  Ephesus.  The  early  pictures  of  the  Virgin 
and  the  Christ  represented  neither  the  gracious  mo- 
therhood of  the  one  nor  the  tender  humility  of  the 
other.  It  was  only  by  the  outward  symbols  of  dress, 
conventional  forms  and  signs,  the  aureola,  the  halo, 
and  the  nimbus,  that  the  different  personages  of 
Christian  veneration  and  worship  could  be  recognized. 
In  the  early  pictures  of  the  holy  family  any  female 
figure  would  do  for  the  Virgin  and  any  child  for  the 
Christ,  if  the  conventional  symbols  of  divinity  were 
present.  It  was  only  when  higher  conceptions  arose 
and  real  art  began  that  religious  painting  became 
truly  inspiring,  and  painters  like  Raphael  and  Michael 
Angelo  sought  to  depict  the  divine  by  the  noblest  and 
highest  human  beauty.  In  the  earlier  times,  how- 
ever, it  was  in  the  East,  where  the  old  art  instinct  had 
not  completely  died  out,  that  pictures  and  statues 
were  most  numerous,  while  the  West,  where  the 
artistic  sense  remained  yet  undeveloped,  was  devoted 
to  relics.^ 

The  famous  edict  of  Leo  III.,  issued  in  726,  began 
the  controversy  which  shook  the  very  foundations  of 
the  church  and  of  the  empire,  and  lasted  for  over  a 
century  and  a  quarter.  That  edict,  sometimes  mis- 
takenly supposed  to  have  been  merely  an  order  to 

1  To-day  the  Eastern  Church  allows  only  paintings  and  mosaics, 
excluding  statues  and  sculptures,  which  are  more  in  use  in  the  Roman 
Church,  though  she  allows  both. 


The  Edict  0/^26.  87 

raise  the  pictures  out  of  the  reach  of  the  kisses  and 
other  acts  of  worship  of  the  people,  decreed  the  com- 
plete removal  of  all  pictures  from  the  churches 
throughout  the  empire.^ 

Yet  this  was  the  same  Leo  whose  glorious  victory 
over  the  Mahometans  in  718  had  saved  eastern  Eu- 
rope from  the  Saracen  yoke,  rescued  Christianity  from 
the  danger  of  complete  annihilation,  and,  by  stopping 
the  waves  of  Mahometan  invasion  at  the  foot  of  the 
Taurus,  had  accomplished  for  the  East  what  Charles 
Martel  did  for  the  West  a  few  years  afterwards  on  the 
field  of  Poitiers,  when  he  stopped  the  Mahometans 
from  advance  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  The  first  act 
under  the  edict  of  the  emperor  was  the  destruction 
of  a  most  popular  and  deeply  revered  image  of  Christ 
over  the  gate  of  the  imperial  palace.  This  aroused  a 
storm  of  opposition,  and  called  forth  the  angry  pro- 
tests of  the  Pope.  In  730  Leo  deposed  Germanus, 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  put  in  his  place 
the  patriarch's  secretary,  Anastasius,  who  favored  the 
imperial  policy,  and  soon  after  issued  a  manifesto 
against  images,  thus  giving  ecclesiastical  authority  to 
the  edict  of  the  emperor. 

This  attack  on  the  venerated  symbols  and  objects 
of  adoration  roused  Pope  Gregory  to  action,  and  al- 
though the  two  letters  which  have  come  down  to  us 

1  "Lib.  Pont.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  404,  c.  17;  Paulus  Diaconus,  bk.  vi., 
c.  49;  Theophanes,  "  Chronographia,"  p.  338.  Mentioned  by  Grego- 
rovius,  vol.  ii.,  p.  225.  See  also  Bury,  vol.  ii.,  p.  432  and  note  4; 
p.  436,  note  I. 

Hefele,  vol.  v.,  pp.  260-400. 

"  The  edicts  on  image-worship  are  collected  in  Goldastus,  '  Impe- 
rialia  Decreta  de  Cultu  Imaginum,'  ed.  Francof.,  1608."  (Hardwick, 
"  Middle  Age,"  p.  73,  note  i.) 


88  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

as  written  by  the  Pope  to  Leo  must  be  regarded  as 
the  fabrication  of  a  later  age,  he  stoutly  opposed  the 
enforcement  of  the  decrees  in  Italy.^ 

Already,  however,  the  relations  on  all  sides  had  be- 
come severely  strained.  The  weakness  of  the  exarchs, 
the  imperial  officers  at  Ravenna,  their  greed  and 
tyranny,  had  tended  more  and  more  surely  to  drive 
the  Italian  people  to  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
Pope,  leading  them  to  see  in  him  not  only  a  bulwark 
against  heresy  and  schism  in  the  church,  but  also  a 
defender  of  their  civil  liberties  and  the  true  preserver 
of  their  political  unity. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  their  revolt  seems  to 
have  been  an  imperial  order  to  the  exarch,  who  pro- 
ceeded to  levy  a  new  tax  on  the  provinces  of  Italy 
and  to  confiscate  some  church  property.  This  was 
opposed  by  the  Pope,  and  his  opposition  was  sup- 
ported quite  generally  throughout  Italy.  Plots  were 
set  on  foot  against  the  life  of  the  Pope,  and  bitter 
strife  ensued. 

The  Lombards,  thinking  doubtless  to  foment  dis- 
cord and  increase  the  weakness  of  resistance,  took 
advantage  of  the  occasion  to  invade  the  Pentapolis. 
Just  at  this  juncture,  727,  the  iconoclastic  edicts  of 
the  emperor  appeared  in  Italy.  Gregory  at  once  de- 
nounced the  imperial  heresy,  and  urged  all  to  be  on 
their  guard  and  not  to  destroy  the  images.  This  in- 
creased the  popular  resistance  to  the  imperial  power 


1  The  genuineness  of  these  letters  is  doubted  by  Hodgkin,  vol.  vi., 
pp.  501-505  ;  Dollinger,  "  Fables,"  etc.,  pp.  253-261 ;  and  Duchesne, 
"  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  418,  note  43.  Hefele  still  holds  to  their 
genuineness  ("  History  of  Councils,"  vol.  v.,  pp.  289-298). 


Threatened  Revolt.  89 


and  the  opposition  to  the  exarch.  "  Scorning  to  yield 
obedience  to  his  orders,  they  elected  dukes  for 
themselves  in  every  part  of  Italy,  and  thus  they 
all  provided  for  their  own  safety  and  that  of  the 
pontiff."  1 

The  revolt,  we  are  told,  went  so  far  that  the  design 
was  formed  of  electing  a  new  emperor  in  Italy ;  but 
Gregory  made  every  effort  to  prevent  this,  and  ex- 
horted them  to  maintain  their  allegiance  to  the  Roman 
empire  of  the  East.^ 

Dollinger  asserts,  however,  that  "  after  the  year 
728  the  Pope  did  make  an  attempt  to  form  a  confed- 
eration of  states,  which  was  to  maintain  itself  inde- 
pendently alike  of  the  Greeks  and  of  the  Lombards ; 
the  head  and  central  point  of  it  was  to  be  the  papal 
chair."  ^  But  the  plan  came  to  nothing,  though  the 
idea  remained  to  bear  fruit  in  the  "  Donation  of  Con- 
stantine."  The  Papacy  soon  realized  that  the  time 
had  not  come  to  throw  off  the  power  of  the  emperor 
or  to  attempt  any  new  scheme  of  political  autonomy. 
The  threatening  attitude  of  the  Lombards  clearly 
showed  that  the  breakdown  of  the  imperial  power  in 
Italy,  weak  as  it  was,  would  bring  about  a  universal 
Lombard  dominion,  in  which  the  Papacy  would  be 
completely  swallowed  up.  True,  the  Pope  might 
look  to  the  Franks ;  but  Charles  Martel  was  overbur- 
dened with  wars  in  his  own  dominions,  and  the  Lom- 
bard king  was  his  strong  and  faithful  ally.     Nothing 

1  "  Liber  Pontificalis,"  vol.  i.,  p.  404,  c.  17.    Quoted  by  Hodgkin, 
vol.  vi.,  pp.  449,  450. 

2  Paulus  Diaconus,  "  De  Gestis  Langob.,"  bk.  vi.,  c.  49;  "  Liber 
Pontificalis,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  404,  405,  c.  18. 

3  Dollinger,  "  Fables,"  p.  121. 


90  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

remained,  therefore,  at  present  for  the  Pope  but  to 
use  all  his  influence  on  the  side  of  the  emperor  against 
the  Lombard,  for  submission  to  a  distant  emperor  was 
far  better  than  subjection  to  a  strong  and  ever-pres- 
ent Lombard  king. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ITALY  AND  THE  PAPACY — THE  OSTROGOTHIC 
KINGDOM — THE  LOMBARDS — LIUTPRAND  AND 
GREGORY  II. 

HE  division  of  the  empire  into  east  and 
west  after  the  death  of  Theodosius,  in 
395,  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  any 
real  imperial  power  in  the  West.  Prov- 
ince after  province  fell  a  prey  to  the  in- 
cursions of  the  northern  tribes,  and  Italy  itself, 
devastated  and  depopulated  by  war  and  famine,  was 
overrun  by  foreign  invaders. 

In  476  the  farce  of  a  separate  emperor,  who  had 
become  a  mere  figurehead,  the  creature  of  some  suc- 
cessful barbarian  commander,  was  discontinued,  and 
the  name  of  emperor  ceased  among  the  people  of  the 
West,  while  the  Rugian  Odoacer  ruled  at  Ravenna 
as  patrician,  and  received,  in  submission  to  the  one 
emperor  at  Constantinople,  the  government  of  the 
Italians. 

Misunderstandings  soon  sprang  up,  however,  and, 
either  at  his  own  request  or  by  imperial  command, 
Theodoric,  the  leader  of  the  Ostrogoths,  who  still 
lingered  near  the  Eastern  capital,  marched  with  his 

91 


92  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Goths  against  Italy  and  overthrew  Odoacer.  In  493 
the  struggle  ended,  and  Theodoric  proclaimed  him- 
self King  of  the  Romans  and  Goths,  although  he  still 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  emperor.  As  the 
ruler  of  Italy,  in  spite  of  the  violence  and  treachery 
which  stained  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his  reign, 
"he  restored,"  says  Gibbon,  "an  age  of  peace  and 
prosperity,"  ^  and,  says  Machiavelli,  "  brought  the 
country  to  such  a  state  of  greatness  that  her  sufferings 
were  no  longer  recognizable."'-^ 

Whether  this  be  an  overestimate  or  not  of  the 
great  work  of  Theodoric,  the  Ostrogothic  kingdom 
was  not  destined  to  last  long  beyond  the  lifetime  of 
its  founder. 

Theodoric  was  an  alien,  unable  to  win  the  sympathy 
and  support  of  the  people ;  an  Arian,  exposed  to  the 
bitter  opposition  of  the  church,  and  without  any  re- 
ligious organization  or  centralized  system  to  uphold 
him  ;  the  object,  before  long,  of  the  fear  and  jealousy 
of  the  emperor — three  insurmountable' obstacles  to 
a  permanent  success,  and  presenting  a  most  instruc- 
tive contrast  with  his  contemporary,  Clovis,  King  of 
the  Fraaks. 

Theodoric  died  in  526,  and  his  kingdom  was 
drowned  in  the  seas  of  its  own  blood.  Under  the 
great  Justinian,  the  famous  generals  Belisarius  and 
Narses  endeavored  to  win  back  the  territory  which 
was  slipping  from  the  imperial  grasp,  and  by  a  series 
of  struggles,  lasting  from  536  until  552,  restored  Italy 
to  the  empire.    The  imperial  rule  was  now  established 

1  Gibbon,  chap.  xxxv. 

8  Machiavelli,  "  History  of  Florence,"  bk.  i.,  chap.  ii. 


Growth  of  the  Papal  Power.  93 

as  an  exarchate,  with  the  seat  of  power  at  Ravenna. 
But  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Ostrogothic  kingdom 
came  the  ruin  and  decay  of  the  Rome  and  Italy  of 
antiquity,  and  to  the  glories  of  Theodoric's  short 
reign  succeeded  the  devastation  and  confusion  of  the 
two  centuries  of  Lombard  anarchy. 

In  Rome,  however,  a  new  power  had  been  grow- 
ing up,  which  was  to  impart  a  greater  glory  than  her 
ancient  lustre  to  the  city  of  the  ages,  and  make  her 
once  more  the  mistress  of  the  world,  with  a  wider  and 
more  absolute  sway  than  she  had  ever  known  before. 

The  gradual  rise  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  the  chief 
position  among  the  churches  of  the  Christian  world, 
and  the  consequently  greatly  increased  importance 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  has  been  traced  already,  and 
attention  has  been  called  to  the  process  by  which  that 
supremacy  was  gradually  removed  from  the  founda- 
tions of  historic  development,  ecclesiastical  expedi- 
ency, and  actual  service  to  what  seemed  the  surer 
foundation  of  divine  order  and  command.  Though 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  might  owe  his  power,  as  has 
been  shown,  to  the  movements  and  developments  of 
history,  he  claimed  henceforth  to  deduce  his  title  to 
supremacy  from  St.  Peter  as  "  Prince  of  the  Apostles," 
and  as  "  first  Bishop  of  Rome,"  from  whom,  in  a  di- 
rect and  unbroken  line  of  succession,  he  traced  at  once 
his  position  and  authority. 

While  this  ecclesiastical  power  continued  to  grow 
and  to  spread,  the  Papacy  began  also  to  take  on  a 
new  form  and  significance,  owing  partly  to  its  close 
connections  with  the  civil  power  and  to  what  it  had 
learned  therefrom,  and  partly,  and  perhaps  chiefly, 


94  The  Age  of  Charleniag7ie. 

to  the  exigencies  of  events.  In  other  words,  we  have 
to  note  the  beginnings  of  its  temporal  power  and 
possessions,  which  brought  it  into  new  relations  and 
held  out  before  it  new  possibilities  and  ambitions. 

The  political  life  of  Rome  closed  with  the  overthrow 
of  the  Goths,  who  for  a  while  upheld  the  institutions 
and  seemed  about  to  restore  the  ancient  glories  of  the 
state.  With  the  fall  of  Theodoric  and  the  reconquest 
of  Italy  by  the  emperor,  the  last  shadow  of  indepen- 
dent pohtical  life  passed  away,  and  the  national  spirit 
and  consciousness  seemed  to  have  lost  its  centre  and 
rallying-point.  But  as  the  civil  and  poUtical  glory  of 
Rome  grew  dim  and  faded  away,  the  ecclesiastical 
preeminence  of  the  Papacy  emerged  strong  and  vig- 
orous, prepared  to  hold  together  the  remnant  of  the 
Western  Empire  in  a  moral  union  capable  of  surviving 
the  shock  of  political  dissolution,  and  to  preserve  the 
treasure  of  the  traditions,  law,  order,  language,  and 
culture,  and,  indeed,  the  very  spirit,  of  ancient  Rome. 
The  empire  was  torn  to  pieces,  and  Rome  herself  had 
fallen  before  the  hordes  of  barbarians  which  poured 
like  tempestuous  floods  over  her  tottering  walls ;  but 
the  Church  of  Rome  overawed  and  conquered  the 
conquerors  of  Rome,  Christianized,  civiHzed,  and  dis- 
armed them,  transforming  them  from  destroying  foes 
into  submissive  children.  More  than  all  this,  the 
church,  the  Papacy,  took  the  place  of  the  ancient 
state  and  senate  of  Rome,  and  became  the  centre  of 
the  energy  and  national  spirit  of  the  people.  Further 
attacks  and  threatening  dangers  only  intensified  this 
feeling  and  increased  the  vigor  of  the  papal  activity. 
Amid  the  incessant  change  and  confusion,  the  Papacy 


The  Lombard  Invasion.  95 

alone  was  permanent  and  enduring,  at  once  a  centre 
of  unity  and  a  refuge  from  anarchy,  to  the  evident 
advantage  of  its  temporal  as  well  as  its  ecclesiastical 
authority.  The  manner  and  method  of  the  election 
of  the  Pope  tended  to  secure  popular  support  and  to 
preserve  confidence.  The  clergy,  the  army,  and  the 
people,  the  three  orders  in  Rome,  took  part  in  the 
papal  election  as  three  distinct  bodies,  although  the 
necessity  of  confirmation  by  the  emperor,  or  by  his 
representative,  the  exarch  at  Ravenna,  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exercise  of  a  strong  imperial  influence. 
This  influence  made  itself  felt  also  in  the  fact,  first 
appearing  in  the  year  535,  that  the  Pope  was  required 
to  be  represented  by  an  apocrisiariiis,  or  permanent 
ambassador,  not  only  at  Ravenna  with  the  exarch, 
but  also  at  Constantinople  with  the  emperor,  the  sig- 
nificance of  which  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  position 
at  Constantinople  was  usually  a  stepping-stone  to  the 
Papacy  itself. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  the  preservation  of  Rome 
seems  a  law  of  history ;  and  the  last  great  danger  of 
all,  which  we  are  now  to  consider,  the  Lombard  in- 
vasion, furnishes  only  another  confirmation  of  its 
truth.  As  some  great  storm  descending  from  the 
north,  wrapping  all  in  mist  and  darkness,  out  of  which 
the  crashing  of  thunder  and  the  fall  of  rain  are  heard, 
and  the  flashing  of  lightning  and  the  rush  of  storm- 
clouds  are  seen,  till  finally,  clearing  away,  the  strong 
and  deeply  founded  houses  appear  still  standing,  while 
barns  and  sheds  are  overthrown  and  swept  away,  so 
did  the  Lombard  hosts  reveal  the  strong  and  sweep 
away  the  weak,  and  when  their  power  passed  away 


g6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

it  left  the  Papacy  strong,  independent,  and  free  from 
the  East  forever. 

The  Langobards,  as  they  were  called,  had  their 
original  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  and  were  a 
strong  and  cruel  people.  Moving  southward,  they 
established  their  first  kingdom,  during  the  early  part 
of  the  sixth  century,  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper 
Danube.  So  far  as  they  were  Christians,  they,  like 
the  other  converted  German  tribes,  held  the  Arian 
faith,  which  had  been  spread  among  them  by  Ulfilas 
and  the  other  Gothic  missionaries.  As  they  drew 
toward  the  south  their  name  was  softened  into  "  Lom- 
bards," but  this  was  not  attended  with  any  correspond- 
ing softening  of  character  and  disposition.  They  had 
been  kept  back  from  Italy  by  the  strength  of  the  Os- 
trogothic  kingdom,  but  after  its  overthrow  and  the 
death  of  Justinian  there  was  no  further  check  to 
their  advance.  Invited,  it  is  said,  to  the  invasion 
of  Italy  by  the  general  Narses,  in  revenge  for  what 
seemed  to  him  his  disgraceful  recall  to  Constanti- 
nople, they  made  themselves  masters  of  Italy  under 
their  leader  Alboin.  One  after  another  the  cities 
fell  under  the  sword  of  the  barbarian,  and  the  old 
civilization  was  speedily  displaced.  While  the  Goths 
had  protected  Latin  civilization,  the  Lombards  de- 
stroyed it.  In  572  they  fixed  the  seat  of  their 
power  in  Theodoric's  old  capital  of  Pavia,  and  soon 
their  dominion  spread  over  all  Italy,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  exarchate  of  Ravenna,  the  district  of 
the  Pentapolis,  and  the  duchies  of  Rome  and  Naples. 
The  valley  of  the  Po,  since  called  Lombardy,  formed 
the  centre  of  their  power,  the  whole  territory  being 


Gregory  the  Great.  97 

divided  into  thirty-six  duchies,  the  chief  of  which 
were  FriuH,  Beneventum,  and  Spoleto,  Rome,  in 
dire  dismay,  sent  a  solemn  deputation  of  senators  and 
priests,  with  rich  gifts  of  money,  to  supphcate  the 
emperor  for  aid.  But  the  Persian  attacks  on  the  east, 
the  Slavs  on  the  Danube,  as  well  as  civil  dissensions, 
required  all  his  attention  and  military  force,  though 
he  did  send  a  small  body  of  troops  to  Ravenna  and 
advised  the  Romans  to  use  the  gold  they  had  brought 
to  him  to  buy  off  the  Lombards. 

The  civil  rulers  at  Rome  were  a  duke  and  a  master 
of  the  knights,  but  often  they  were  absent  or  the 
offices  vacant.  The  exarch  at  Ravenna,  far  from 
being  able  to  render  any  aid,  was  greatly  in  need  of 
help  for  himself.  In  this  moment  of  supreme  neces- 
sity the  kingdom  of  the  Franks,  rising,  under  Clovis, 
on  the  ruins  of  the  empire  in  Gaul,  shone  like  a  light 
in  a  dark  place,  and  seemed  to  show  the  way  to  pro- 
tection and  safety.  Their  conversion  to  the  Catho- 
lic instead  of  the  Arian  form  of  Christianity  seemed 
a  mark  of  the  direct  interposition  of  Providence,  and 
led  Pelagius  II.  to  declare  that  he  "  believed  that 
they  had  been  divinely  raised  up  to  save  Rome." 
But  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for  their  active  inter- 
position. Not  by  arms,  but  by  the  majesty  of  the 
Roman  name  and  the  awe  inspired  by  Gregory  the 
Great,  v/ho  became  Bishop  of  Rome  in  590,  was  the 
city  to  be  saved  from  the  Lombards.  Once  more 
Rome  owed  her  preservation  to  the  courage  and 
moral  influence  of  the  bishop  of  her  church.  Even 
more  than  this  she  owed  to  Gregory,  rightly  called 
the  Great,  for  great  he  was  alike  in  Christian  virtues 

G 


98  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


and  in  far-seeing  statesmanship.  To  his  preeminent 
power  and  skill  were  due  undoubtedly  the  freeing 
of  Rome  from  the  Lombards  and  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  Roman  see  to  the  supremacy  of  the  West. 
His  first  sermon  at  Rome  reads  almost  like  her  fu- 
neral oration,  so  weighed  down  were  men's  minds  with 
the  ruin  of  the  empire.  In  him,  however,  she  was 
destined  to  behold  in  a  great  degree  her  restorer. 

Milman  has  ably  presented  him  to  us,  first,  as  a 
Christian  bishop,  organizing  and  completing  the  rit- 
ual and  offices  of  the  church,  and  as  administrator  of 
the  patrimony  of  the  Roman  see  and  its  distributor 
to  its  various  pious  uses ;  secondly,  as  the  Patriarch 
of  the  West,  exercising  authority  over  the  clergy  and 
churches  in  Italy,  in  Gaul,  and  in  other  parts  of 
Europe,  as  the  converter  of  the  Lombards  from 
Arianism  and  of  the  Saxons  of  Britain  from  heathen- 
ism, and  in  his  conduct  to  pagans,  Jews,  and  heretics, 
as  maintaining  the  independence  of  the  Western 
ecclesiastical  power  against  the  East ;  thirdly,  as  the 
virtual  sovereign  of  Rome,  a  position  which  he  was 
almost  compelled  to  assume  as  guardian  of  the  city 
and  protector  of  the  Roman  people  against  the  Lom- 
bards, owing  to  the  neglect  or  powerlessness  of  their 
natural  defenders.^  As  such  there  is  little  to  be 
added  to  the  presentation  there  given. 

Such  popes  as  Innocent  I.,  Leo  I.,  and  Gregory  \. 
show  the  true  foundation  of  the  Papacy,  and  when 
and  how  the  Church  of  Rome  gained  her  ecclesias- 
tical supremacy.  Indeed,  Gregory's  influence  far 
outweighed  the  power  of  the  imperial  officers,  for 
1  Milman,  bk.  iii.,  chap.  vii. 


Extension  of  the  Papal  Power.  99 

the  Romans  reverenced  as  their  master  and  preserver 
a  bishop  who  united  in  his  person  the  episcopal  dig- 
nity and  the  renown  of  illustrious  descent. 

Already  the  property  of  the  Church  of  Rome  had 
reached  a  wide  extent,  both  within  the  city  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber  in  each  direction.  The  church 
had  become  the  possessor  also  of  the  Roman  Cam- 
pagna,  thus  ruling  over  wide-spread  districts  in  Lati- 
um,  Sabinum,  and  Tuscany,  as  also  in  the  most  distant 
provinces  of  Italy.^ 

Slowly  but  surely  the  development  proceeded. 
Pope  after  pope  enriched  the  city  with  the  choicest 
products  of  architecture,  painting,  and  sculpture,  and 
strengthened  the  papal  influence  within  and  beyond 
the  city.  The  strife  between  the  Lombard  king  and 
the  imperial  exarch  still  continued,  but  the  emperors, 
more  and  more  occupied  with  the  defence  of  the 
empire  in  the  East,  were  forced  to  leave  to  the  popes 
the  defence  of  the  Roman  possessions. 

Steadily  the  papal  power  grew,  until  it  extended 
far  down  into  southern  Italy  and  embraced  several 
dukedoms  of  the  peninsula.  In  the  eighth  century 
the  missionary  labors  of  Boniface  carried  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Pope  into  the  wilds  of  Germany  and  es- 
tablished the  papal  system  and  control  over  the  new 
churches  of  the  North,  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
that  great  international  federation  of  the  West  which 
was  destined  to  take  the  place  and  continue  the  work 
of  the  old  Roman  empire. 

The  attacks  of  the  Mahometans,  and  the  protests 
of  the  emperors  against  the  use  of  images,  while 
1  Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  59-61. 


lOO  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

threatening  complete  disruption,  resulted  only  in  es- 
tablishing the  military  prestige  and  greater  unity  of 
the  Franks,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other, 
showed  that  the  Roman  Church  had  already  devel- 
oped as  an  independent  power,  in  which  was  concen- 
trated the  spirit  of  the  West. 

Just  at  this  time,  as  we  have  already  seen,  Liut- 
prand,  the  greatest  of  the  Lombard  kings,  attempted 
to  take  advantage  of  the  confused  state  of  afTairs  in 
order  to  forward  the  scheme  of  Lombard  aggrandize- 
ment and  to  realize  his  dream  of  a  united  Italy  under 
Lombard  domination.  Once  more  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  prevented  such  a  result.  In  the  midst  of  his 
victories  the  king  was  induced  to  retreat  and  to  give 
up  Sutri  to  the  Pope,  the  first  instance  of  the  be- 
stowal of  a  city  upon  the  church.^  This  was  in  728. 
The  struggle  was  now  approaching  its  last  stage,  and 
one  almost  breathes  a  sigh  at  the  voluntarily  relin- 
quished hopes  and  plans  of  the  mighty  Liutprand. 

Renewed  attacks  upon  Rome  itself  were  averted 
once  again  by  the  reenactment  of  the  religious  drama 
of  which  the  popes  were  so  fond,  and  in  which  frequent 
rehearsals  had  given  them  such  great  proficiency. 
"  The  priestly  magician,"  says  Gregorovius,  "  led  the 
disarmed  enemy  to  the  apostles'  grave,  and  the  pious 
monarch  laid  aside  his  regal  mantle,  his  sword,  his 
very  crown,  together  with  his  ambitious  hopes,  at 
the  grave  of  the  dead." 

1  Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  236,  237  and  note. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

GREGORY  III. — THE  LOMBARDS  AND  THE  FRANKS — 
BONIFACE  AND  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 
FRANKISH  CHURCH — EARLY  SYNODS — RELA- 
TIONS WITH  ROME. 

REGORY  II.  died  in  731,  and  the  real 
danger  from  the  Lombards  became  in- 
creasingly apparent  under  his  successor, 
Gregory  III.  Already,  as  we  have  seen, 
Charles  Martel,  through  his  connection 
with  Boniface,  had  come  into  relations  with  the 
Roman  see,  and  these  relations  the  Pope  carefully 
fostered  and  encouraged,  so  that  now,  in  his  ex- 
tremity, it  was  natural  that  he  should  turn  his  atten- 
tion to  the  rising  power  of  the  Franks,  who  had 
always  been  the  defenders  of  orthodoxy,  the  propa- 
gators of  Christianity,  and  the  allies  of  the  church. 
Furthermore,  the  great  victory  on  the  plains  of  Poi- 
tiers had  spread  the  glory  of  the  might  of  Charles 
Martel,  and  had  shown  the  Pope  what  a  mighty 
weapon  of  defence  lay  just  within  his  reach.  Charles, 
however,  was  still  busy  with  the  Arabs  and  with 
putting  down  the  revolts  which  their  invasions  had 
excited ;  nor  did  he  wish,  even  if  it  were  possible,  to 

lOI 


I02  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

break  with  Liutprand,  who  had  aided  him  against 
the  Mahometans,  had  declared  himself  the  adopted 
father  of  the  young  Frankish  prince,  and  had  re- 
ceived into  his  court  Charles's  second  son.  Pippin,  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  alliance.  Three  times  in 
739  and  740  Gregory  made  the  most  frantic  appeals 
for  help:  "  Do  not  despise  vay  prayer,  nor  shut  your 
ears  to  my  pleading,  and  then  the  chief  of  the  apos- 
tles will  not  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  you. 
I  adjure  you  by  the  living  and  true  God,  and  the 
most  holy  keys  of  the  sepulchre  of  the  blessed  Peter, 
which  we  have  sent  to  you,  that  you  do  not  prefer 
the  friendship  of  the  kings  of  the  Lombards  to  the 
love  of  the  chief  of  the  apostles,  but  that  quickly  and 
without  delay  we  may  receive  your  aid,  after  God, 
for  our  defence ;  that  among  all  nations  your  faith 
and  good  name  may  be  declared,  that  we  also 
may  say  with  the  prophet,  '  The  Lord  hear  thee  in 
the  day  of  trouble;  and  the  name  of  the  God  of 
Jacob  defend  thee'"  (Ps.  xx.  \)}  The  letter,  so 
the  chronicler  records,  was  "  sent  by  the  decree  of  the 
Roman  princes,  for  that  the  Roman  people  wished 
to  leave  the  rule  of  the  emperor  and  to  commend 
themselves  to  his  aid  and  unexcelled  clemency."  ^ 
But  there  is  no  trace  of  this  last  idea  in  any  of  the 
extant  letters. 

What  the  result  might  have  been  cannot  now  be 
known,  for  that  same  year  (741)  died  Charles  Mar- 
tel.  Pope  Gregory  III.,  and  the  Emperor  Leo  III., 
while  Liutprand  died  in  744. 

1  JafT^,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  17,  18,    Ep.  2. 

2  "  Ann.  Met.,"  an.  741 ;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  326. 


Karlmann  and  Pippin.  103 

The  imperial  policy  was  continued  by  Leo's  son, 
Constantine  V.,  who  summoned,  in  754,  what  he 
called  the  Seventh  General  Council  at  Constantino- 
ple, at  which  severe  decrees  were  passed  against 
images  and  image-worship. 

The  Merovingian  king,  Theodoric  IV.,  died  in  737, 
and  no  successor  had  been  appointed,  so  that  for  the 
last  four  years  of  his  life  Charles  had  governed  in  his 
own  name.  By  the  consent  of  his  chief  men,  just 
before  his  death,  he  divided  his  dominion  between 
his  two  sons.  To  Karlmann,  his  eldest  son,  he  gave 
Austrasia,Thuringia,  and  Swabia  (or  Alemannia),  and 
to  his  younger  son.  Pippin,  he  gave  Neustria,  Bur- 
gundy, and  Provence.  He  is  said  to  have  given 
parts  out  of  both  these  divisions  to  a  third  son, 
Grifo,  a  half-brother  to  Karlmann  and  Pippin,  but 
the  two  older  brothers  refused  to  acknowledge  his 
claims  and  united  their  forces  against  any  and  all 
attacks.  This  union  enabled  them  to  avoid  the  dan- 
gers which  the  division  of  the  kingdom  by  Charles 
Martel  had  threatened.  They  were,  however,  forced 
to  revive  the  fiction  of  a  king,  and  to  place  a  Mero- 
vingian on  the  throne,  who  played  the  part  of  a  mere 
figurehead,  under  the  name  of  Childeric  III.,  while 
they  kept  all  the  real  power  in  their  own  hands. 

Boniface  and  the  church  exercised  a  stronger  in- 
fluence over  the  two  brothers  than  had  been  possible 
in  the  case  of  their  resolute  and  warlike  father.  At 
the  very  beginning  of  his  accession  to  power,  Karl- 
mann summoned  Boniface  and  requested  him  to  as- 
semble a  synod  for  the  reform  of  the  condition  of 
the  Christian  religion  and  the  regulation  of  ecclesias- 


I04  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

tical  affairs.  The  synod  met  in  April,  742,  and  was 
the  first,  Boniface  wrote  to  Pope  Zacharias,  that  had 
been  held  in  that  part  of  the  Prankish  kingdom  for 
sixty  or  seventy  years.  ^  Indeed,  they  had  been 
growing  less  frequent  in  the  rest  of  the  Frankish 
church.  Fifty-four  had  been  held  in  Gaul  in  the 
sixth  century,  twenty  in  the  seventh,  and  only  seven 
in  the  first  part  of  the  eighth.  The  place  of  meeting 
of  this  synod  is  unknown,  but  Waitz  speaks  of  it  as 
the  first  to  be  held  on  German  soil,  and  it  is  de- 
scribed in  the  collections  as  the  first  German  synod. 
Karlmann  himself  summoned  it,  and  apparently  di- 
rected its  actions.^  Boniface  and  six  other  bishops, 
— of  WiJrzburg  in  Franconia,  of  Buraburg  in  Hesse, 
of  Utrecht  in  Friesia,  of  Eichstadt  in  Bavaria,  and  of 
Cologne  and  Strasburg  in  Austrasia, — with  their 
presbyters,  were  present,  together  with  the  secular 
nobles.  The  acts  of  the  synod  are  of  great  interest 
and  importance.  Bishops  were  established  in  the 
cities,  under  Boniface  as  archbishop  and  legate 
{missjis)  of  St.  Peter.  Annual  synods  were  ordered 
to  be  held.  Church  property  was  to  be  restored,  and 
discipline  administered  to  presbyters,  deacons,  and 
all  clerics.  The  clergy  were  forbidden  to  fight,  to 
bear  arms,  or  to  be  present  in  the  army  except  for 
divine  service.     Each  presbyter  was  to  be  subject  to 

1  JafT^,  vol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  42; 

2  "  I,  Karlmann,  leader  and  chief  [^diix  et princcps'\  of  the  Franks, 
.  .  .  with  the  counsel  of  the  servants  of  God  and  of  my  nobles,  have 
summoned  the  bishops  who  are  in  my  kingdom,  with  the  presbyters, 
to  a  council  and  a  synod,  in  the  fear  of  Christ,  that  they  might  give 
me  counsel  in  what  way  the  law  of  God  and  the  ecclesiastical  religion 
may  be  revived."  (Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  24;  "  Karlmanni  Principis 
Capitulare.") 


The  Second  German  Synod.  105 

the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  in  Lent  of  each  year 
was  to  furnish  and  show  to  the  bishop  the  proof  and 
order  (i-ationcm  et  ordincui)  of  his  ministry.  The 
bishop  was  to  take  care  to  banish  all  pagan  practices 
from  his  diocese.  The  rule  of  St.  Benedict  was  to 
be  observed  in  all  monasteries  and  convents.  False 
presbyters  and  clergy  of  evil  life  were  to  be  deposed, 
and  all  church  property  taken  by  fraud  was  to  be 
restored.  A  second  council  was  held  the  next  year, 
in  March,  at  Liptinae,  or  Lestinnes,  now  Estinnes,  in 
Belgium,  at  which  the  decrees  of  the  first  synod  were 
confirmed  and  their  observance  promised  by  clergy 
and  laity  of  every  rank.  Evil  living  among  the 
clergy,  monks,  and  nuns  was  condemned  again  with 
great  severity,  and  incestuous  marriages  forbidden 
in  accordance  with  the  canons.  A  fine  of  fifteen 
shillings  was  to  be  levied  for  any  revival  of  pagan 
customs.  But  by  far  the  most  important  action  at 
this  synod  was  that  taken  regarding  church  property. 
It  had  been  found  impossible  to  enforce  the  edict  of 
the  first  council  calling  for  the  absolute  surrender  of 
confiscated  church  property.  Karlmann,  therefore, 
on  account  of  the  continued  warfare  and  the  neces- 
sary support  of  a  large  army,  proposed  to  retain  for 
a  while  longer  the  church  lands  which  had  been 
granted  out  in  benefice.  It  was  agreed,  however, 
that  each  estate  should  pay  to  the  church  or  monas- 
tery thus  deprived  of  its  lands,  and  that  when  the 
holder  of  the  property  died  it  should  revert  to  the 
church  unless  it  became  necessary  to  make  a  new 
grant.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  church  should  be 
rendered  thereby  poor  and  in  absolute  vv^ant,  the 


io6  The  Age  of  Cha7'lemagne. 

entire  possession  should  be  restored  to  it.  Pope 
Zacharias,  writing  to  Boniface,  thanks  God  that  he 
was  able  to  get  as  much  as  this.  The  church's 
ownership  was  acknowledged,  and  a  yearly  remit- 
tance from  each  individual  holding  would  be  a  source 
of  income  and  a  continual  acknowledgment  of  eccle- 
siastical right  and  title.  Following  this  council, 
Boniface,  as  archbishop  and  legate  of  the  Pope,  con- 
secrated three  new  bishops,  in  Rouen,  Rheims,  and 
Sens.  The  latter  was  vacant,  but  the  other  two 
were  held  nominally  by  men  of  the  very  class  the 
recent  councils  and  the  reform  movement  of  Boniface 
had  tried  to  eradicate ;  for  the  Bishop  of  Rouen  was 
a  soldier,  and  the  Bishop  of  Rheims  a  usurper,  at- 
tempting to  hold  Rheims  together  with  the  bish- 
opric of  Treves.  The  latter  made  a  stubborn 
resistance  which  lasted  for  ten  years,  and  was 
brought  to  a  conclusion  only  in  consequence  of  the 
death  of  the  bishop,  who  was  killed  by  a  wild  boar 
while  hunting.  Ecclesiastical  reform  found  much 
opposition  in  both  state  and  church. 

Pippin  held  his  council  in  his  own  territory  at 
Soissons,  in  March,  744,  the  year  following  the  synods 
held  by  his  brother.  Twenty-three  bishops  were 
present.  The  decrees  were  drawn  up  as  capitularies 
of  Prince  Pippin  "  with  the  consent  of  the  bishops, 
priests,  and  servants  of  God,  and  with  counsel  of  the 
counts  and  chiefs  of  the  Franks."  The  creed  of  the 
Council  of  Nicasa  was  afifirmed.  Synods  were  ordered 
to  be  held  each  year.  Condemnation  was  pro- 
nounced upon  a  heretic,  Adelbert  by  name,  who  had 
been  drawing  the  people  away  from  the  established 


Two  Archbishoprics.  107 

worship,  forbidding  pilgrimages  to  Rome,  and  receiv- 
ing for  himself  the  honor  and  veneration  due  to  St. 
Peter  and  his  successors.  Boniface  regarded  him  as 
the  dangerous  founder  of  a  new  sect,  but  Neander 
sees  in  him  an  early  Protestant.^ 

Having  thus  established  its  orthodoxy,  affirmatively 
and  negatively,  the  synod  proceeded  to  decree  the 
establishment  of  "  legitimate  "  bishops  in  the  chief 
cities,  under  two  archbishops,  one  at  Sens  and  the 
other  at  Rheims.  Presbyters  were  to  obey  and  sup- 
port their  bishops,  who  were  to  see  that  the  people 
did  not  lapse  into  paganism  nor  indulge  in  heathen 
practices.  Even  the  morals  of  the  laity  were  made 
the  subject  of  legislation,  evil  living  and  perjury  were 
expressly  prohibited,  and  the  support  of  the  church 
was  commanded.  Finally  it  was  ordered  that  any 
one  transgressing  the  decrees  of  the  synod  should  be 
tried  by  the  prince,  the  bishops,  and  the  counts,  and 
fined  according  to  his  rank. 

These  synods  were  held  from  time  to  time,  with 
the  active  cooperation  of  Boniface,  for  the  whole 
Prankish  kingdom,  and  had  a  very  marked  influence 
on  the  organization  of  the  church  and  its  relations  to 
the  state.  They  dealt  far  more  largely  with  the 
practical  matters  of  order  and  discipline  than  with 
theological  questions  and  controversies,  were  attended 
by  both  lay  and  clerical  nobles,  were  summoned  and 
presided  over  by  the  king  or  ruler,  and  legislated  on 
matters  of  general  morals  as  well  as  on  secular  affairs. 
Thus  they  served  to  maintain  a  close  and  real  inti- 
macy between  church  and  state,  and  to  make  more 

1  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  56-60. 


io8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

effective  the  influence  of  religious  ideals  upon  the 
ruler  and  his  court  and  nobles. 

Soon  after  the  holding  of  these  early  synods  reviv- 
ing and  establishing  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
church,  Boniface  established  himself  at  Mainz  as 
archbishop,  with  general  supervision  over  the  whole 
of  Germany  east  of  the  Rhine.  Thus  gradually  was 
built  up  and  established  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy 
of  priests,  bishops,  archbishops,  and  metropolitans, 
which,  by  the  labors  of  Boniface,  was  brought  into 
closer  relations  of  dependence  upon  Rome.  In  a 
famous  letter  to  Cuthbert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
from  741  to  759,  urging  upon  him  the  holding  of  a 
synod  in  England  as  they  had  just  done  in  Germany, 
Boniface  wrote :  "  Moreover,  we  have  decreed  in  our 
synod,  and  have  professed  our  desire,  to  preserve  the 
Catholic  faith  and  unity  with  and  obedience  to  the 
Roman  Church,  to  be  subject  to  St.  Peter  and  his 
vicar,  to  assemble  a  synod  every  year,  to  seek  the 
pall  for  our  metropolitans  from  that  see,  and  to  fol- 
low strictly  all  the  requirements  of  St.  Peter."  ^ 

Naturally  the  authority  which  Boniface  wielded 
and  the  influence  he  exerted  as  archbishop  and 
metropolitan  differed  somewhat  from  the  ordinary 
archiepiscopal  powers,  but  it  is  misleading  to  give 
him  the  title  of  Primate  of  all  Germany,  or  to  con- 
clude that  he  exercised  archiepiscopal  functions  in 
all  parts  of  Germany.  Indeed,  he  had  desired,  on 
the  death  of  the  Bishop  of  Cologne  in  744,  that  the 
bishopric  should  be  raised  to  an  archbishopric  and 
conferred  upon  himself,  in  order  that  he  might  have 

1  Jaff^,  vol.  iii.,  Bonif.  Ep.  63. 


Boniface  the  Papal  Legate.  109 

the  personal  superintendence  of  his  old  mission  among 
the  people  of  Friesland.  Objection  was  made,  how- 
ever, by  some  of  his  opponents,  and  Gewillieb, 
Bishop  of  Mainz,  having  been  deposed  at  a  synod  in 
745  for  fighting  and  killing  his  father's  slayer  in  bat- 
tle, Mainz,  as  we  have  seen,  was  made  an  archbish- 
opric and  conferred  upon  Boniface.  It  was,  therefore, 
rather  his  special  commission  as  legate  or  vicar  of  the 
Pope  that  extended  his  powers  into  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  enabled  him  to  do  his  great  work  of 
spreading  Christianity,  and  of  unifying,  organizing, 
and  establishing  the  Frankish  church,  and  of  laying 
the  foundations  and  starting  the  building  of  that 
great  superstructure,  the  church  of  Germany, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

KARLMANN  AND  PIPPIN,  THE  SONS  OF  CHARLES 
MARTEL — KING  CHILDERIC  III. — RETIREMENT 
TO  A  MONASTERY  OF  KARLMANN,  CHILDERIC, 
AND  RACHIS,  KING  OF  THE  LOMBARDS — COR- 
ONATION OF  PIPPIN  AS  KING  OF  THE  FRANKS. 


HE  natural  tendency  of  this  spreading  of 
Christianity  and  of  this  development  and 
unifying  of  organization  would  be  the 
unification  of  the  state ;  but  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  end  a  stronger 
power  than  that  of  Boniface  and  a  longer  period  than 
that  covered  by  his  life  would  be  required. 

The  work  of  Boniface  undoubtedly  assisted  greatly, 
but  it  followed  rather  than  preceded  the  Prankish  arms. 
Indeed,  events  at  this  very  time  were  showing  how 
weak  and  easily  thrown  off  were  the  ties  which  bound 
together  the  various  parts  of  the  Prankish  kingdom. 
All  had  been  at- peace  in  740;  but  on  the  death  of 
Charles  Martel,  in  741,  rebellions  sprang  up  among 
the  Saxons  and  the  Alemannians,  while  Hunold,  duke 
of  the  Aquitanians,  and  Ottilo,  duke  of  the  Bavarians, 
declared  their  independence.     It  was  no  longer  a  war 


Rebellion  after  the  Death  of  Charles.    1 1 1 

of  Christians  against  pagans,  but  an  attempt  to  break 
up  the  unity  of  the  Prankish  kingdom  and  to  limit 
the  conquests  of  the  Prankish  leaders.  Christians 
were  on  one  side  as  well  as  on  the  other.  Indeed, 
on  one  occasion  a  certain  priest  named  Sergius,  the 
papal  legate  in  Bavaria,  met  the  Prankish  army,  and 
in  the  name  of  St.  Peter  and  the  apostolic  lord  for- 
bade the  war,  and  called  upon  the  Franks  to  with- 
draw from  Bavaria.  Pippin,  however,  declared  that 
neither  St.  Peter  nor  the  apostolic  lord  had  sent  Ser- 
gius on  that  mission.  On  the  following  day,  after  a 
great  victory,  the  priest,  together  with  one  of  the 
bishops,  was  captured  and  brought  to  Pippin,  who 
reminded  him  of  his  false  commission  from  the  Pope, 
and  declared  that  now  he  had  proved  that  it  was  false, 
because  if  St.  Peter  had  felt  that  the  cause  of  the 
Franks  was  not  just,  he  would  not  have  aided  them 
in  gaining  the  victory.  "  Be  assured  now,  however," 
he  concluded,  "  that  by  the  intercession  of  the  blessed 
Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  by  the  judgment  of 
God,  to  which  we  do  not  hesitate  to  submit,  Bavaria 
and  the  Bavarians  belong  to  the  empire  of  the 
Franks."! 

In  the  midst  of  the  success  in  Bavaria  came  the 
news  that  Hunold  had  crossed  the  Loire,  taken 
Chartres,  and  burned  it  together  with  its  cathedral 
church.  Pippin  immediately  hastened  to  the  defence 
of  Neustria,  and  Karlmann  proceeded  against  the 
Saxons,  who  had  been  foremost  in  aid  to  the  Bava- 
rians. War  raged  in  all  directions  during  the  succeed- 
ing years,  marked  by  treachery  and  deceit  on  all 
1  "Ann,  Met./'  an.  743;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  yol.  i.,  p.  328. 


1 1 2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


sides.  In  744  Hunold,  having  deceived  his  brother 
by  false  oaths,  tore  out  his  eyes  and  threw  him  into 
prison.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  laid  aside  his 
ducal  crown,  took  the  vows  of  a  monk,  and  entered  a 
monastery,  but  whether  from  remorse  or  because  in 
the  same  year  he  had  been  forced  to  yield  to  the 
Franks  and  take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  Pippin  and 
Karlmann,  the  chroniclers  do  not  tell  us.  He  left 
the  rule  to  his  son  Waifar.  Karlmann,  tired  of  the 
treachery  and  continual  uprisings  of  the  Alemannians, 
entered  their  territory  and  summoned  their  chiefs  to 
a  conference  at  Cannstatt,  where  they  were  all  seized 
and  put  to  death.  This  was  in  746 ;  in  the  following 
year  he  also  resigned  his  power  into  the  hands  of  his 
brother  Pippin,  and  went  to  Rome.  He  built  a  mon- 
astery on  Mount  Soracte,  but  afterwards  retired  to 
Monte  Cassino,  where  he  died  in  754.  There  has 
always  been  a  mystery  surrounding  his  retirement, 
and  the  chroniclers  do  little  to  explain  it.  One  says 
that  he  gave  up  the  temporal  kingdom  for  the  sake 
of  the  heavenly.-^  Einhart  says  that  he  had  been 
meditating  the  act  for  a  long  time  \^  while  we  are  told 
rather  suspiciously,  in  another  place,  that,  urged  by 
divine  love  and  desire  for  the  heavenly  country,  he, 
of  his  own  free  will  {sponte),  resigned  his  power  and 
commended  his  sons  to  his  brother  Pippin.^  "  The 
spontaneous  character  of  his  abdication  may  be  true 
in  his  own  case,  but  few  thinking  people  will  believe 


1  "  Ann.  Laur.  Min.,"  an.  747;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  115. 

2  "  Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  745  (error  for  746) ;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i., 
p.  135. 

3  "  Chron.  Moiss.,"  an.  741-752 ;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i.,  p. 292. 


Grifds  Rebellion.  1 1 3 

that  it  was  unaccompanied  by  pressure  in  the  case 
of  his  sons,  who,  though  he  commended  them  to 
Pippin,  lost  their  inheritance  and  practically  vanished 
out  of  existence."  ^ 

There  was  no  more  fighting  that  year.  Pippin 
occupied  himself  in  establishing  his  power  over  the 
whole  realm,  sending  his  nephews  to  a  monastery  to 
follow  their  father's  example.  He  treated  his  younger 
brother  Grifo  with  more  consideration,  released  him 
from  the  prison  where  he  had  been  confined  since  the 
death  of  his  father,  and  gave  into  his  charge  several 
counties  and  a  large  part  of  the  royal  domain.  But 
Grifo  refused  to  be  reconciled,  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  party  of  rebellious  chiefs,  and  raised  a  re- 
volt among  the  Saxons.  Pippin  pursued  him,  and 
by  the  aid  of  the  Friesians  and  the  Slavs,  enemies  of 
the  Saxons,  put  down  the  revolt,  exacted  a  tribute, 
and  forced  many  of  them  to  be  baptized.  This  was 
a  frequent  method  of  spreading  Christianity,  and, 
unfortunately,  in  the  minds  of  these  northern  and 
still  pagan  peoples  the  sacrament  of  baptism  seemed 
to  them  the  symbol  of  their  entrance  into  the  king- 
dom of  the  Franks  rather  than  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  the  sign  of  their  subjection  to  the  Carolin- 
gian  rather  than  to  Christ,  so  that  when  renouncing 
their  subjection  to  the  Franks  in  their  frequent  re- 
volts they  too  often  threw  off  at  the  same  time  their 
Christian  obligations,  burned  their  churches,  killed  or 
put  to  flight  their  clergy,  and  relapsed  into  paganism. 

Driven  from  the  Saxons,  Grifo  fled  to  Bavaria, 
where,  aided  by  Landfrid,  duke  of  the  Alemannians, 

1  Mombert,  "  Charles  the  Great,"  p.  32. 
H 


1 14  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


he  dispossessed  his  nephew  Tassilo,  the  son  and  heir 
of  the  former  duke,  Ottilo,  and  got  himself  pro- 
claimed duke  of  the  Bavarians.  Again  the  army  of 
Pippin  entered  Bavaria  and  forced  submission.  Tas- 
silo was  reinstated,  and  Grifo,  again  restored  to 
favor,  was  given  the  duchy  of  Maine,  with  twelve 
counties  in  Neustria.  He  soon  left  his  duchy,  how- 
ever, and  joined  Waifar,  the  duke  of  the  Aquitanians 
and  the  avowed  enemy  of  the  Franks.  There  Pippin 
was  content  to  leave  him  for  a  time.^ 

More  important  affairs  were  to  be  settled.  Hav- 
ing put  down  all  open  rebellion,  united  the  kingdom 
under  a  single  rule,  and,  by  the  aid  of  Boniface,  es- 
tablished order  in  the  church,  settled  its  relations 
with  the  secular  power,  put  its  property  and  posses- 
sions on  a  satisfactory  basis,  reorganized  its  govern- 
ment on  a  system  of  bishops  and  metropolitans,  and 
confirmed  its  union  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  he 
sought  to  reap  the  reward  and  to  enjoy  the  honor  of 
his  labors,  and  to  secure  their  benefits  to  his  descen- 
dants. For  over  a  century  the  position  of  the  Mero- 
vingian kings  had  been  that  of  a  merely  nominal 
headship.  While  their  power  had  been  growing  less 
and  less,  that  of  the  mayors  of  the  palace  had  been 
as  steadily  increasing.  Charles  Martel,  by  his  vigor- 
ous administration  and  brilliant  victories,  had  brought 
it  to  such  a  height  that  when,  in  737,  the  king, 
Theodoric  IV.,  died,  no  attempt  was  made  to  place 
another  on  the  throne.     Although  the  sons  of  Charles 

1  Two  years  afterwards,  trying  to  make  his  way  to  the  Lombard 
king,  he  was  attacked  by  Theodwin,  a  Prankish  count,  who  had  been 
stationed  to  guard  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  and  both  were  slain.  ("  Ann. 
Met.,"  an.  751.) 


The  Puppet  Khig.  115 

had  been  forced  by  the  jealousy  of  some  of  the 
leading  nobles  to  set  up  Childeric  III.,  Pippin  had 
now  raised  the  power  of  the  mayors  of  the  palace  to 
a  supreme  height,  and  the  position  of  the  king  was 
pitiable.  "  Nothing  was  left  for  the  king,"  says 
Einhard  in  his  life  of  Charles  the  Great,  "  except  to 
sit  on  his  throne,  content  with  the  mere  name  of 
king,  his  flowing  hair,  long,  waving  beard ;  and  to 
present  the  merest  show  of  power,  to  listen  to  the 
ambassadors  from  different  countries,  and  to  give 
them  at  their  departure  the  replies  which  he  had  been 
taught  or  even  ordered  to  say,  as  if  they  were  the 
expression  of  his  own  will ;  while,  in  reality,  besides 
the  useless  name  of  king,  and  the  precarious  support 
which  the  mayor  of  the  palace  furnished  as  he  thought 
fit,  he  possessed  nothing  else  of  his  own,  except  a 
single  estate,  and  that  yielding  a  very  small  revenue, 
having  a  house  and  a  small  number  of  servants,  who 
obeyed  his  orders  and  ministered  to  his  necessities. 
Wherever  he  went  he  was  carried  in  a  cart  drawn 
by  a  yoke  of  oxen,  driven  by  a  ploughman  in  country 
fashion ;  thus  he  used  to  go  to  the  palace,  and  thus 
to  the  assembly  of  his  people  at  its  annual  meeting 
for  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  kingdom,  and  thus 
he  went  home  again.  The  administration  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  transaction  and  disposition  of  all 
business  connected  with  foreign  or  domestic  affairs 
devolved  upon  the  mayor  of  the  palace."^  This 
was  no  new  arrangement.  One  of  the  chroniclers, 
in  the  year  692,  describes  a  similar  scene  under 
Pippin  of  Heristal,  the  father  of  Charles  Martel ; 
1  Einhard,  "  Vita  Karoli,"  c.  i. 


1 1 6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne, 


"Each  year,  on  the  calends  of  March,  a  general 
council  of  all  the  Franks  was  held  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  ancients.  At  this  council,  out  of  rev- 
erence for  the  name  of  King,  and  on  account  of  his 
own  humility  and  clemency.  Pippin  ordered  the 
king  whom  he  had  set  up  to  preside  until  the  offer- 
ings were  received  from  all  the  nobles  of  the  Franks, 
the  speeches  made  in  behalf  of  the  peace  and  de- 
fence of  the  churches  of  God  and  of  the  orphans  and 
widows,  a  firm  decree  made  against  rape  and  arson, 
the  command  given  to  the  army  that  on  whatever  day 
they  received  notice  to  march  they  should  be  ready  to 
go  wherever  he  appointed,  after  which  he  sent  the  king 
to  a  public  estate,  to  be  kept  with  honor  and  respect."  ^ 
At  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  however,  even  this 
had  passed  away,  and  the  name  as  well  as  the  person 
of  the  king  seemed  well-nigh  forgotten.  Only  oc- 
casionally does  the  year  of  his  reign  serve  to  fix  a 
date  ;  his  presence  in  the  assemblies  is  not  noted,  nor 
does  his  authority  appear  in  the  capitularies.  In  all  the 
communications  between  the  popes  and  the  Franks, 
not  a 'single  letter  is  addressed  to  the  king,  but  to 
the  viceroy,  or  siibirgiilus,  as  the  mayor  of  the  pal- 
ace was  called.  Charles  Martel  and  his  sons  had 
already  spoken  of  the  kingdom  as  theirs  [vicuin  reg- 
num,  nostnun  rcgnuni)  in  their  laws  and  official 
documents. 

Such  a  condition  of  affairs  could  not  long  endure. 
The  one  who  had  the  power  should  have  the  name 
of  king.  But  how  could  the  change  be  effected? 
The  force  of  custom  and  a  long  line  of  succession  in 

1  "Ann.  Met.,"  an.  692;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  320. 


Pippins  Question :  the  Popes  Reply.    1 1  7 

the  same  family  since  the  times  of  Clovis,  a  period 
of  nearly  three  hundred  years,  exercised  an  influence 
not  easily  dispelled.  But  a  power  had  arisen,  and 
was  already  making  itself  felt  in  the  Prankish  king- 
dom, which  could  counteract  that  influence,  and  by 
its  authority  sanction  that  which  ancient  custom  and 
inheritance  seemed  to  forbid.  That  was  the  Chris- 
tian church,  the  authority  of  whose  religious  sanc- 
tion might  furnish  just  what  was  needed. 

The  act  of  Pippin  in  procuring  his  coronation  was 
not  a  usurpation  nor  a  revolution ;  these  had  already 
taken  place.  Pippin's  act  was  one  of  political  neces- 
sity, which  had  been  so  well  and  so  long  prepared 
that  it  took  place  almost  without  being  perceived. 
Nor  were  the  proper  ceremonies  and  legal  details 
wanting.  With  the  advice  and  consent  of  all  the 
Franks,  Burchard,  Bishop  of  Wiirzburg,  a  friend  and 
pupil  of  Boniface,  and  Fulrad,  Abbot  of  St.  Denis, 
one  of  the  principal  ecclesiastics  of  Gaul,  were  sent 
to  the  Pope,  Zacharias.  At  Rome  they  met  another 
pupil  and  friend  of  Boniface,  who  had  been  despatched 
with  secret  and  confidential  messages  for  the  Pope. 
These  explained  to  him  the  insignificant  position  of 
the  Merovingian  king,  who,  though  of  royal  lineage, 
had  only  the  name  of  king,  without  any  of  the  royal 
powers  and  prerogatives,  except  the  signing  of  grants 
and  charters.  They  asked  if  this  were  well  or  not. 
The  Pope  replied,  in  virtue  of  his  apostolic  authority, 
that  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  better  and  more  fitting 
that  he  should  be  king  and  receive  the  royal  title  who 
had  the  power  in  the  kingdom  rather  than  he  who 
falsely  was  called  king.     Therefore  he  sent  back  word 


1 1 8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

to  the  king  and  people  of  the  Franks  that  Pippin, 
who  was  exercising  the  royal  power,  should  be  called 
king  and  placed  upon  the  throne.  This  was  the 
authorization  which  had  been  desired.  Accordingly, 
in  the  next  year,  751,  by  the  election  of  the  people, 
having  received  the  submission  of  the  chiefs  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  ancient  custom  of  the  Franks,  Pip- 
pin was  raised  to  the  throne  in  the  city  of  Soissons, 
and  that  he  might  be  rendered  more  worthy  of  this 
honor,  he,  with  his  queen,  Bertrada,  received  the  holy 
anointing ;  but  Childeric,  who  was  falsely  called  king, 
had  his  head  shaven  and  was  sent  to  a  monastery. 
The  long,  flowing  locks,  symbol  of  royal  dignity, 
were  cut  away,  and  the  tonsure,  sign  of  the  renuncia- 
tion of  worldly  ambitions,  took  their  place.^ 

Thus  took  place  that  act  of  most  solemn  and  mo- 
mentous significance  to  western  Europe  and  to  the 
Christian  church,  as  well  as  to  the  Frankish  kingdom 
and  to  the  Roman  Papacy.  There  is  no  need  of  trying 
to  justify  the  act ;  its  historical  explanation  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  took  place  orderly  and  peaceably,  as  an 
evident  political  necessity.  Its  manifest  advantage 
to  all  persons  concerned  except  the  poor  last  rem- 
nant of  the  royal  line,  and,  above  all,  the  absolute 
necessity,  which  the  Pope  had  already  felt  and  recog- 
nized, of  having  some  strong  arm  near  at  hand  if 
Rome  was  to  be  saved  to  the  Papacy  and  the  Papacy 
to  the  Western  Church,  are  plainly  seen. 

It  was  something  more  than  a  change  of  dynasty 

1  "Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  749,  750;  "Ann.  Laur.,"  an.  749,  750; 
"Ann.  Lauriss.  Min.,"  an.  750;  "  Fredegar.  Cont.,"  c.  117;  "  Ann. 
Fuld.,"  an.  751,  752. 


Pippin  King  by  the  Grace  of  God.      1 1 9 


or  a  political  revolution,  or  even  usurpation.  It 
effected  a  complete  change  in  the  very  conception  of 
the  kingship,  opened  a  new  epoch  in  the  relations 
between  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  secular  power,  and 
began  a  marked  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  church 
itself. 

The  Pope  had  waited  for  the  imperial  confirma- 
tion of  the  ruler  of  the  East  before  entering  upon 
his  duties;  he  now  found  himself  consecrating  the 
new  ruler  of  the  West,  that  he  might  authoritatively 
perform  his  duties.  The  Pope  had  been  seeking  the 
assistance  of  this  new  power  which  had  ari.sen  in  the 
West;  he  now  found  it  seeking  him.  The  kings  of 
the  Franks  had  ruled  before  by  right  of  royal  birth 
and  national  custom  and  support ;  they  were  now 
kings  by  the  grace  of  God,  expressed  by  the  part 
which  the  bishops  of  the  church  took  in  the  election, 
by  the  anointing  in  the  name  of  the  head  of  the 
church  at  Rome.  By  this  act  the  king  was  invested 
with  a  divine  significance,  he  was  made  a  part  of  the 
ecclesiastical  order,  and  the  union  of  the  Prankish 
monarch  with  the  ecclesiastical  head  of  the  Western 
Church  was  complete. 

The  Pope  had  now  received  the  submission  and 
resignation  of  two  kings;  for  Rachis,  Liutprand's 
successor  as  king  of  the  Lombards,  having  once  more 
renewed  the  contest  and  besieged  Perugia,  had  met 
the  Pope,  and  had  come  within  the  magic  circle  of 
that  influence  so  majestic  and  awe-filling  that  it 
seemed  almost  divine,  and  he  had  not  only  given  up 
the  contest  and  restored  the  places  already  taken,  but 
had  laid  his  crown  at  the  feet  of  the  successor  of  the 


1 20  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  had  retired  humbly  and 
devoutly  to  the  monastery  of  Monte  Cassino. 

And  now  the  Pope  had  been  asked  to  exercise 
again  that  mighty  spiritual  authority  which  he  held 
as  head  of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  as  the  chief  re- 
ligious authority  of  his  time,  whose  source  no  man 
questioned  and  whose  limit  no  man  knew,  to  sanc- 
tion the  overthrow  of  a  royal  house  which  had  held 
its  sway  for  nearly  three  centuries,  and  to  establish 
another  line  by  a  new  ceremony  and  with  a  new 
meaning.  "  Already  here  in  the  eighth  century  is 
the  whole  future  of  the  middle  ages  pictured  forth  in 
miniature."  ^  It  is  to  be  noted  that  it  was  not  by  his 
own  seeking  that  there  came  to  the  Pope  that  mighty 
power  of  deposing  and  setting  up  kings.  It  was 
given,  yes,  almost  forced  upon  him,  and  the  founda- 
tions laid  for  that  lofty  height  on  which  Innocent 
III.  stood,  v/ith  kings  and  kingdoms  and  the  empire 
at  his  feet,  when  it  was  said  to  him : 

"  Not  God  thou  art,  nor  man,  neither  and  yet  between, 
Whom  God  himself  has  made  his  partner  and  ally. 
Sharing  with  thee  the  universal  sway. 
Desiring  not  alone  to  govern  all, 
But  giving  earth  to  thee,  reserving  heaven  to  himself.  "2 

The  anointing  was  not  an  absolutely  new  ceremony 
in  the  West.  It  had  been  used  for  the  first  time  in 
the  later  monarchy  of  the  Visigoths,  after  the  con- 
version of  Recarred,  when  the  church  became  quite 

1  Hegel,  vol.  i.,  p.  208. 

2  Translated  from  a  poem  of  the  thirteenth  century,  written  by 
Geofifrey  Vinsauf.  Quoted  by  Lea,  "  Studies  in  Church  History," 
p.  387- 


Had  Clovis  been  Anointed?  121 

powerful  in  Spain. ^  It  had  been  introduced  into 
England  also,  though  the  exact  date  is  uncertain. 
This  was  its  first  appearance,  however,  among  the 
Franks.  Clovis  had  been  baptized,  it  is  true,  by 
Remigius,  Bishop  of  Rheims,  and  his  people  had  fol- 
lowed his  example ;  but  there  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  any  thought  of  an  ecclesiastical  anointing 
of  Clovis  as  king ;  that  is  the  addition  of  later  legends. 
Indeed,  Clovis,  who  with  difficulty,  and  only  after 
having  been  a  king  for  over  ten  years,  was  brought 
to  baptism  and  the  acceptance  of  the  Christian  faith, 
and  who  was  already  possessed  of  royal  power,  trac- 
ing his  right  to  his  birth  in  a  royal  family  descending 
from  the  gods,  would  have  been  the  last  to  assent  to 
it ;  nor  is  there  any  evidence  that  his  Merovingian 
successors  were  made  kings  in  any  other  way  than 
by  the  good  old  German  custom  of  the  shouts  of  the 
people,  the  clash  of  arms,  and  the  elevation  on  the 
shield.  As  has  been  pointed  out,^  the  words  on 
which  Lehuerou  relied  to  prove  a  consecration  of 
Clovis  are  unquestionably  the  forgery  of  a  later  time. 3 
Furthermore,  Lehuerou  himself  admits,  on  the  very 
next  page,  that  it  is  in  the  official  documents  of  the 
early  Carolingians  that  one  meets  for  the  first  time 
the  grand  formula,  "king  by  the  grace  of  God."  In 
truth,  this  act  of  raising  Pippin  to  the  Franklsh  throne 
set  aside  the  claims  of  a  pagan  right  divine,  based  on 
a  lineage  derived  from  the  gods,  and  substituted  for 
it  a  Christian  right  divine,  based  on  the  authority  of 

1  Probably  also  in  tlae  case  of  Wamba,  the  Visigothic  king,  in  672. 
(Alzog,  vol.  ii.,  p.  127,  note  3.) 

2  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  64,  note  2.  3  Lehuerou,  pp.  328,  329. 


1 2  2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

the  church  and  on  the  consecration  at  her  hands. 
Thus  the  church  by  her  authority  released  the  Franks 
from  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  royal  family  of 
their  ancient  kings,  and  conferred  upon  Pippin  that 
which  was  lacking  in  the  hereditary  right  of  birth  in 
the  royal  family.  This  consideration  ought  to  go  far 
towards  settling  that  vexed  question  on  which  so 
many  volumes  have  been  written, — whether  the  Pope 
made  Pippin  king, — and  it  shows  just  what  was 
effected  by  papal  authority. 

Thus  Pippin  was  crowned  king,  and  the  allegiance 
of  the  Franks,  by  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  was 
transferred  to  him.  Their  chief  was  well  chosen. 
Pippin  was  brave,  resolute,  and  almost  always  victo- 
rious. This  is  well  illustrated  by  a  story  that  on  one 
occasion  a  furious  encounter  was  taking  place  between 
a  bull  and  a  lion.  Pippin  sprang  into  the  arena,  cut 
off  the  heads  of  both  with  his  massive  sword,  and, 
turning  to  his  courtiers,  said,  "  Am  I  not  worthy  of 
being  your  king?  "  And  yet,  as  has  been  truly  said, 
between  the  towering  proportions  of  his  father  and 
of  his  son,  the  one  the  victor  of  Tours,  and  the  other 
the  first  Emperor  of  the  West,  the  historic  stature  of 
Pippin  himself  is  dwarfed  beneath  its  due  proportions. 
To  his  power  as  chief  was  added  the  authority  of 
king.  The  time  was  well  chosen.  The  kingdom,  as 
it  were,  had  been  founded  anew.  All  opposition  of 
the  princes  had  been  put  down.  Neustria  and 
Austrasia  were  firmly  united,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  same  ecclesiastical  synods  were  held  for  both 
districts  in  common.  The  weapons  of  war  were  at 
rest.     Peace  ruled  at  home  and  abroad. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

RELATIONS  OF  THE  PAPACY  WITH  THE  LOMBARDS 
AND  WITH  THE  EMPEROR,  FROM  THE  TIME  OF 
GREGORY    II.   TO   THE    DEATH   OF    ZACHARIAS. 

T  has  been  shown  already  that  Gregory 
II.  had  opposed  any  break  with  the  em- 
peror, knowing  full  well  that  such  a  step 
would  leave  the  Papacy  helpless  before 
the  power  and  ambitions  of  the  Lombard 
king.i  Under  Gregory  III.,  however,  the  opposition 
engendered  by  the  iconoclastic  zeal  of  the  emperor 
became  more  apparent.  Soon  after  his  consecration 
in  731,  he  held  a  synod  of  the  clergy,  nobles,  and 
people  of  Rome,  at  which  a  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation was  decreed  against  the  iconoclasts,  thus  re- 
newing the  controversy  "  which,"  as  Gregorovius 
says,  "  had  now  become  little  else  than  the  symbol 
of  division  between  the  church  and  the  absolutism  of 
the  state."  ^  The  presence  of  the  lay  element  at  this 
synod  is  significant,  and  it  is  also  to  be  noted  that 
the  enumeration  of  the  attendants  includes  the  three 
classes  which  made  up  Rome.^ 

1  See  above,  p.  89.  2  Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  p.  242. 

3  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  416,  c.  3. 
123 


1 24  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

It  was  recognized  beyond  a  doubt  that  if  the  im- 
perial power  was  too  weak  to  protect  the  Pope 
against  the  Lombards,  it  was  too  weak  to  keep  him 
in  a  strict  dependence,  and  he  became  more  and  more 
independent  and  better  able  to  take  advantage  of 
the  position  which,  as  head  of  the  Roman  Church, 
he  had  come  to  hold  in  all  Italy.  This  power,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  greatly  advanced  by  Gregory  I.,  and 
was  established  on  the  deep  and  firm  foundation  of 
the  actual  position  of  the  Pope  as  defender  of  the 
people  against  temporal  injustice  and  wrong,  as  well 
as  acknowledged  head  of  the  Western  Church.i  But 
it  was  the  invasion  of  the  Lombards  and  the  struggles 
against  them,  in  which  the  popes  were  the  most  effec- 
tive leaders,  as  well  as  the  weakness  of  the  emperor, 
becoming  ever  more  and  more  apparent,  that,  hu- 
manly speaking,  established  the  papal  power  in  the 
eighth  century.  So  that  it  has  been  well  said  :  "The 
independence  of  the  popes  was  struck  like  a  spark 
between  the  rival  temporal  powers  that  divided 
Italy." 2 

The  iconoclastic  controversy  helped  on  the  move- 
ment of  separation.  In  733  the  emperor  despatched 
a  fleet  to  punish  the  Pope  for  the  threatening  acts  of 
his  council ;  but  the  fleet  having  been  shipwrecked  in 
the  Adriatic,  the  emperor  took  his  revenge  by  trans- 
ferring the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  Sicily,  of 
Calabria,  and  of  Illyricum  from  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
to  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  This  act  had  a 
decisive  influence  on  the  history  of  southern  Italy 
throughout  the  middle  ages,  and  made  the  ecclesias- 
1  See  above,  pp.  97-99.  ^  Bury,  vol.  ii.,  p.  156. 


Political  Interests  of  the  Popes.         125 

tical  division  between  old  Rome  and  New  Rome 
conform  to  the  boundary  between  the  Latin  and 
Greek  nationalities,  thus  tending  to  make  more  pro- 
nounced the  real  difference  between  the  Latin  and 
Greek  churches.  Papal  authority  in  the  imperial 
possessions  was  limited  to  Rome,  Ravenna,  and 
Venice.  This  separation  of  southern  Italy  was  ren- 
dered easier  by  the  fact  that  Greek  colonization  had 
already  made  that  part  of  Italy  a  Greek  land. 

At  about  this  same  time,  however,  Gregory  came 
into  the  possession  of  Gallese,  a  fortified  place  in  Ro- 
man Tuscany,  the  acquisition  being  the  result,  it  is  said, 
of  a  secret  treaty  with  the  Duke  of  Spoleto.  A  little 
later,  in  739,  the  dukes  of  Spoleto  and  of  Benevento 
obtained  the  support  of  Gregory  in  their  opposition  to 
Liutprand  by  promising  to  aid  the  papal  cause.  Thus 
the  Pope  was  drawn  into  entangling  alliances  with 
these  Lombard  dukes,  and  interfered  with  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  Lombard  kingdom,  though  in  so  doing 
he  showed  himself  the  protector  and  defender  of  an 
independent  Roman  state.  Furthermore,  although 
the  forms  of  the  imperial  control  were  allowed  to  re- 
main, the  popes  were  gradually,  but  surely,  freeing 
Italy  from  dependence  upon  Constantinople,  at  the 
same  time  resisting  the  encroachments  of  the  Lom- 
bards, and  giving  to  the  Italian  spirit  of  nationality 
a  centre  of  support  and  a  source  of  enthusiasm.  The 
temporal  power  of  the  Papacy  made  it  possible  for  it 
to  use  its  two  greatest  powers,  its  great  wealth  and 
the  religious  awe  which  it  inspired,  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  national  movement  in  Italy,  although  this  was 
hardly  the  purpose  for  which  the  Papacy  had  been 


126  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

established,  and  to  which,  at  first,  it  had  been  de- 
voted. More  and  more,  as  it  took  a  political  position, 
it  became  subject  to  political  considerations  and  in- 
fluences, and  its  higher  mission  was  lost  or  subordi- 
nated to  its  new  obligations  and  ambitions. 

The  alliance  of  the  Pope  with  the  Southern  dukes 
was  renewed.  Liutprand  attacked  Spoleto,  but  its 
duke  fled  to  Rome,  and  the  Lombard  king  found 
himself  face  to  face  with  the  Roman  army  under  the 
Duke  of  Rome,  the  imperial  officer  of  the  Roman 
duchy.  The  Duke  of  Spoleto  was  enabled  to  return 
to  his  dominions,  but  Liutprand  seized  and  occupied 
the  four  cities  of  Amelia,  Orte,  Bomarzo,  and  Blera. 
The  Duke  of  Spoleto,  having  obtained  his  object, 
suff"ered  his  zeal  in  support  of  the  Papacy  to  flag,  and 
Gregory,  recognizing  the  inadequacy  of  either  Italian 
or  imperial  alliances  in  his  struggle  with  the  Lom- 
bards, appealed  to  Charles  Martel.^  In  a  second  let- 
ter the  Pope  sought  to  justify  the  aid  given  to  the 
dukes  of  Spoleto  and  of  Benevento  in  their  revolt 
against  Liutprand,  but  he  said  nothing  about  the  tak- 
ing of  the  four  cities  in  739.  Charles  made  no  defi- 
nite answer,  as  we  have  seen,^  but  confined  himself 
to  general  expressions  of  respect  and  interest ;  the 
persons  he  sent  into  Italy  probably  told  him  that  the 
Pope  had  brought  upon  himself  the  difficulties  of 
which  he  complained,  by  interfering  unnecessarily  in 
the  aff'airs  of  the  Lombard  king.^ 

Gregory  III.  died  soon  after,  and  within  four  days 

1  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  14-18,  Ep.  I,  2,  A.D.  739,  740. 

2  See  above,  p.  102. 

3  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  425,  note  34. 


Pope  Zacharias.  127 

of  his  death  Zacharias  succeeded  to  the  Papacy, 
fully  prepared  and  well  able  to  carry  on  the  policy 
of  resistance  to  the  Lombards.  The  right  of  imperial 
confirmation  of  the  Pope  had  been  transferred  to  the 
exarch  in  685,  or  perhaps  as  early  as  642/  thus 
avoiding  long  delays,  though  greatly  increasing  the 
influence  of  the  exarch.  There  is  no  record,  however, 
that  Zacharias  did  more  than  announce  his  election 
and  consecration  to  the  emperor. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  he  was  the  last  of  an 
almost  unbroken  series  of  Greeks  and  Syrians  in  the 
papal  line  for  nearly  a  century.  During  his  pontifi- 
cate he  gave  evidence  of  great  courage  and  self-reli- 
ance, as  well  as  of  marked  diplomacy  and  skill.  The 
papal  biographer  describes  him  as  a  very  mild  and 
genial  man,  slow  to  anger  and  quick  to  pity,  never 
rendering  evil  for  evil,  nor  taking  even  deserved 
revenge,  but  pious  and  merciful,  doing  good  to 
his  evil  persecutors,  and  promoting  them  to  honor.2 
Liutprand  and  his  nobles  being  present  on  one  oc- 
casion when  the  Pope  was  consecrating  a  bishop,  it 
is  reported  that  "many  of  the  Lombards  were 
moved  to  tears  by  the  very  manner  of  his  saying 
prayers."  ^ 

At  the  time  of  his  accession  the  death  of  Charles 
Martel  had  left  the  Prankish  government  in  a  con- 
fused condition,  without  a  king,*  and  with  three 
brothers,  Karlmann,  Pippin,  and   Grifo,  at  variance 

1  Hodgkin,  vol.  vi.,  p.  530,  note  3. 

2  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  426,  c.  I. 

3  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  428,  c.  lo. 

*  The  king  had  died  four  years  before,  and  Charles  had  not  thought 
it  worth  while  to  set  up  another.     See  above,  p.  103. 


128  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

with  one  another.  Consequently,  until  affairs  were 
settled  there,  no  alliance  could  be  formed. 

The  Pope  therefore  made  a  treaty  with  Liutprand, 
in  which  the  Duke  of  Spoleto  was  left  to  his  fate,  the 
king  promising  to  restore  to  the  Pope  the  four  cities, 
Amelia,  Orte,  Bomarzo,  and  Biera,  which  he  had 
seized  two  years  before  from  the  emperor.  This  was 
the  third  donation  to  the  Pope  from  the  Lombard 
conquests.  He  also  bestowed  upon  the  Pope  the 
Sabine  district,  and  restored  several  ecclesiastical 
estates.  In  conclusion  he  made  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  duchy  of  Rome  to  last  for  twenty  years. 
Being  now  at  the  height  of  his  power,  he  proceeded 
to  attack  Ravenna,  which  he  had  captured  once  be- 
fore, but  which  the  Venetians  had  recovered.  The 
exarch  now  appealed  to  the  Pope,  who  hastened  to 
the  court  of  Liutprand,  after  all  messages  and  em- 
bassies had  proved  fruitless.  Here,  for  the  third  time, 
the  eloquence  of  a  pope,  and  the  awe  which  he  was 
able  to  inspire,  accomplished  what  arms  had  failed  to 
do,  and  Liutprand  withdrew  his  forces  and  resigned 
his  conquests.  Even  the  third  part,  which  he  had 
retained  as  a  pledge,  he  afterwards  handed  over  to 
the  "  repubHc"! 

The  death  of  Liutprand,  who  had  shown  himself  a 
noble,  strong,  and  brave  king,  except  in  the  presence 
of  the  Pope,  removed  an  ever-threatening  danger,  and 
left  Zacharias  master  of  the  situation.  Friendly  re- 
lations with  the  empire  were  restored,  and  the  im- 
perial power  in  Italy  was  acknowledged  in  the  persons 
of  the  exarch  in  Ravenna  and  of  the  duke  in  Rome. 
1  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  431,  c.  15. 


Rulers  become  Monks.  129 

At  the  request  of  the  Pope,  the  emperor  bestowed 
upon  the  church  the  cities  Mirfa  and  Norma  in  La- 
tium,  as  a  sort  of  compensation  for  the  loss  incurred 
in  Sicily  and  Calabria.^  This  he  might  well  do,  as  he 
owed  to  the  Pope  the  preservation  from  the  Lom- 
bards of  all  that  the  empire  held  in  Italy. 

It  was  before  this  same  pope  that  two  great  rulers 
— Karlmann  of  the  Franks  in  747,  and  Rachis,  for- 
merly Duke  of  Friuli,  and  successor  to  Liutprand 
as  King  of  the  Lombards,  in  749 — renounced  their 
high  positions  and  embraced  the  monastic  life.  The 
resignation  of  Rachis,  though  doubtless  flattering  to 
the  church  and  to  papal  diplomacy,  was  not  advan- 
tageous to  the  papal  interests,  for  his  brother  Aistulf, 
who  succeeded  him  as  King  of  the  Lombards,  was  a 
much  fiercer  and  more  valiant  warrior,  and,  despite 
his  many  promises,  was  firmly  determined  to  carry 
out  the  policy  of  opposing  Rome  and  of  establishing 
the  Lombard  rule  over  all  Italy.  Indeed,  it  has  been 
suggested  that  it  was  probably  the  dissatisfaction 
with  the  weak  and  yielding  policy  which  Rachis  had 
begun  to  exhibit  that  influenced,  if  it  did  not  bring 
about,  his  decision  to  retire  to  a  monastery.  The 
aggressive  policy  of  Aistulf,  however,  drove  the 
Pope  to  look  with  favor  upon  a  renewal  of  the  rela- 
tions with  the  Franks,  which  had  ceased  since  the 
death  of  Charles  Martel ;  and  the  embassy  which 
Pippin  sent  on  the  subject  of  the  Frankish  kingship 
returned  with  a  favorable  response,  and  the  conse- 
cration of  Pippin  as  king  by  the  bishops  of  the  Frank- 
ish church,  with  the  approbation  and  authorization 

1  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  {.."p.  433,  c.  20. 
I 


130  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


of  the  Pope,  was  the  result.  Although  some  shreds 
of  the  formalities  connecting  Rome  with  the  empire 
still  remained,  and  the  papal  documents  until  772 
continued  to  bear  the  name  and  date  of  the  emperor,^ 
this  act  of  consecration,  and  its  consequences,  to- 
gether with  the  conquest  of  Ravenna  by  the  Lom- 
bards and  the  downfall  of  the  exarchate,  presently 
to  be  noticed,  practically  ended  all  real  connection 
between  Italy  and  Constantinople. 

Note.— In  an  old  manuscript  of  Gregory  of  Tours  has  been  found 
a  note  written  on  one  of  the  pages  by  a  monk  of  St.  Denis,  in  the  year 
767.  He  records  that  Pippin  and  his  sons,  "  by  the  providence  of 
God,  were  consecrated  with  the  sacred  chrism  as  kings  thirteen  years 
before  (754).  For  the  said  most  flourishing,  pious  lord,  King  Pippin, 
by  the  authority  and  command  {imperhtm)  of  the  lord  Pope  Zacharias 
of  sacred  memory,  and  by  the  anointing  of  the  holy  chrism  by  the  hands 
of  the  blessed  priests  of  the  Gauls,  and  by  the  election  of  all  the  Franks 
three  years  before  (751),  had  been  exalted  to  the  throne  of  the  kingdom. 
Afterwards  by  the  hands  of  the  Pontiff  Stephen,  in  the  Church  of 
the  Blessed  Martyrs  (St.  Denis,  Rusticus,  and  Eleutherius),  he  was 
anointed  and  blessed  as  King  and  Patrician,  together  with  his  sons 
Charles  and  Karlmann.  Blessing  was  also  pronounced  upon  his  wife, 
Bertrada,  and  the  Frankish  princes,  and  all  were  constrained  by  threats 
of  interdict  and  excommunication  never  to  presume  to  elect  a  king 
from  another  race."     ("  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  458,  note  31.) 

1  Jaff^,  "  Regesta  Pontif.  Rom.,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  289,  290,  No.  2395. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RELATIONS  OF  THE  PAPACY  WITH  THE  LOMBARDS 
AND  WITH  THE  FRANKS — OVERTHROW  OF 
THE  EXARCHATE  BY  THE  LOMBARDS — THE 
POPE  CROSSES  THE  ALPS — THE  DONATION 
OF  PIPPIN — THE  PAPAL  CONSECRATION  OF 
PIPPIN  AND  HIS  SONS  AS  KINGS  OF  THE 
FRANKS    AND    PATRICIANS    OF    THE    ROMANS. 

ACHARIAS  died  before  he  could  claim 
his  reward  for  the  consecration  of  Pippin, 
perhaps  even  before  the  consecration.^ 
Stephen  II.  having  died  immediately- 
after  his  election,  the  next  pope,  Stephen 
III.,  sometimes  called  Stephen  II,,  soon  found  him- 
self in  the  greatest  need.  Already,  in  751,  Aistulf 
had  conquered  Ravenna  and  brought  the  rule  of  the 
exarchs  to  an  end.-  For  a  moment,  however,  even  he 
yielded  to  the  persuasions  of  Stephen,  and  renewed  the 
treaty  of  peace  made  by  Liutprand ;  but,  repenting  of 

1  According  to  Sickel,  Miihlbacher,  and  others,  Pippin  was  raised 
to  the  throne  in  November,'75i  (Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  30).  Some  put 
it  as  late  as  752  (Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  p.  267,  note  2).  Zacharias 
died  March  14,  752  ("  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  435,  c.  29). 

2  "  Eutychius  (727-752)  is  the  last  exarch  of  whom  we  have  any 
mention."     (Hodgkin,  vol.  vi.,  p.  537.) 

131 


1 3  2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

his  weakness,  he  demanded  a  heavy  tribute,  and  pre- 
pared to  put  into  effective  operation  his  designs  upon 
Rome.  The  papal  ambassadors  were  not  even  re- 
ceived, and  were  sent  back  to  their  monasteries  with 
orders  not  to  see  the  Pope.  The  Pope  heard  with 
dismay  of  the  advance  of  Aistulf  and  his  breach  of 
the  treaty.  He  headed  a  solemn  procession  of  clergy 
and  people,  barefooted,  and  with  ashes  sprinkled  on 
their  heads,  and  visited  the  shrines  and  holy  places 
in  the  city,  bearing  the  sacred  image  of  Christ  called 
the  Acheropsita.^  Attached  to  the  cross  carried  in 
the  procession  was  the  treaty  of  peace  which  Aistulf 
so  perfidiously  had  broken.  But  religious  processions 
were  of  no  avail,  and  even  the  emperor  could  protect 
Rome  no  longer,  for  he  had  not  been  able  to  retain 
Ravenna.  It  was  then  that  the  step  was  taken  for 
which  the  whole  previous  history  had  been  preparing, 
and  which  was  fraught  with  such  far-reaching  conse- 
quences. The  exarchate  had  fallen,  the  emperor  was 
powerless,  and  the  Pope  turned  his  back  upon  both, 
and  placed  himself  and  the  church  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Franks.  The  new  king  was  reminded  of 
the  obligations  he  had  incurred  so  recently,  and  was 
called  upon  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  his  posi- 
tion. The  first  letters,  unfortunately,  are  lost,  but 
from  a  later  one  we  learn  that  Pippin  sent  to  Rome 

1  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  443,  c.  11. 

"  This  is  the  first  mention  of  this  sacred  picture.  It  is  painted  on 
wood,  is  dark,  and  is  entirely  Byzantine,  representing  the  Saviour  with 
a  beard.  It  was  used  in  processions  in  the  middle  ages,  and  on  the 
vigil  of  the  Assumption  was  washed  in  the  Forum,  as  in  former  days 
the  statue  of  Cybele  in  the  Almo.  The  nocturnal  procession,  having 
degenerated  into  a  bacchanal  rout,  was  abolished  by  Pius  V."  (Grego- 
rovius,  vol.  ii.,  p.  274,  note  2.) 


The  Pope  Crosses  the  Alps.  133 

Drochtegang,  Abbot  of  Jumieges,  and  another  mes- 
senger, who  assured  the  Pope  of  the  king's  good 
will.^  Shortly  afterwards,  having  learned  that  the 
Pope  desired  to  enter  the  Prankish  kingdom,  Pippin 
and  the  whole  assembly  of  the  Franks  despatched 
Chrodegang,  Bishop  of  Metz,  and  Duke  Autchar  to 
escort  him.  In  the  meanwhile  an  imperial  order  had 
been  received  in  Rome  commanding  the  Pope  to 
demand  in  person  from  Aistulf  the  restoration  of  the 
exarchate.  He  accordingly  began  his  journey  in  the 
middle  of  October,  leaving  the  Lord's  people  {do- 
minica  plebs)  to  the  care  of  the  Lord  and  of  St.  Peter. 
Before  this,  on  similar  occasions,  they  had  been  left 
to  the  imperial  officer,  the  Duke  of  Rome.  Proceed- 
ing directly  to  Pavia,  he  remained  there  a  month,  but 
his  attempts  at  negotiation  with  Aistulf  proved  fruit- 
less. Owing  to  the  mediation  of  his  Prankish  escorts, 
he  was  allowed  to  depart  unmolested.  Proceeding 
on  his  way,  he  was  met  by  two  more  messengers  of 
the  king, — Pulrad,  Abbot  of  St.  Denis,"  and  Duke 
Rothard, — sent  to  conduct  him  to  the  presence  of 
the  king. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Stephen  was  the  first 
Roman  bishop  to  cross  the  Alps.  Tradition,  indeed, 
tells  of  an  earlier  visit  by  Gregory  III.  to  Charles 
Martel  in  741,  but  it  seems  extremely  improbable.^ 

During  the  summer  the  king  had  been  engaged  in 
a  campaign  against  the  Saxons,  who,  "  according  to 

1  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  p.  32,  Ep.  4,  A.D.  753. 

2  He  had  been  one  of  the  messengers  sent  to  gain  the  papal  consent 
to  Pippin's  coronation. 

3  Alzog  accepts  it  on  the  authority  of  Johann  von  Miiller  (Alzog,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  143,  note  i). 


134  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

their  custom,"  as  the  chronicler  says,  had  broken 
out  again  in  rebelHon,  and  had  put  to  death  Hildigar, 
Bishop  of  Cologne.^  In  this  campaign  he  had  been 
successful,  having  forced  them  to  the  tribute  of  three 
hundred  horses  annually,  and  to  receive  again  the 
Christian  missionaries.  On  his  return  he  received 
the  report  of  the  death  of  Grifo,  his  half-brother. 
A  little  later  came  the  news  that  Pope  Stephen  had 
crossed  the  Alps  and  was  already  in  the  kingdom. 
At  this  Pippin  was  greatly  pleased,  and  sent  his  eldest 
son,  then  twelve  years  of  age,  to  meet  him  and  con- 
duct him  to  the  court.  Thus  the  young  Charles,  later 
to  be  known  as  Charles  the  Great,  met  the  Bishop  of 
Rome.  With  great  honor  the  Pope  was  escorted  to 
Ponthion,  where  the  king  was  spending  the  winter. 
The  meeting  took  place  on  the  6th  of  January,  the 
feast  of  the  Epiphany.  It  was  indeed  a  most  mo- 
mentous occasion,  signifying  as  it  did  the  alliance  of 
the  church  of  the  old  empire  with  the  new  kingdom 
of  the  West. 

Elaborate  details  of  the  meeting  are  given  by 
the  papal  biographer.  Pippin  rode  out  a  distance 
of  three  miles,  where  he  dismounted,  and,  with  great 
humility,  prostrate  on  the  ground,  with  his  wife 
and  sons  and  nobles,  received  the  Pope,  and  in 
the  office  of  a  groom  walked  beside  him  for  some 
distance.  Then  with  chants  and  hymns  the  whole 
procession  made  its  way  to  the  palace.  There,  seated 
in  the  chapel,  the  Pope,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  be- 

1  Hildigar  was  the  bishop  who  in  controversy  with  Boniface  had 
claimed  the  church  of  Utrecht,  in  Friesland,  as  dependent  upon  him- 
self.    See  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  71. 


Meeting  of  Pippin  and  the  Pope.       1 3  5 


sought  the  king  that  by  a  treaty  of  peace  he  would 
settle  the  cause  of  the  blessed  Peter  and  of  the  re- 
public of  the  Romans.i  xhe  Prankish  chroniclers 
add  that,  "  on  the  following  day,  the  Pope,  with  his 
clergy,  clad  in  haircloth  and  sprinkled  with  ashes, 
prostrate  on  the  ground,  besought  the  king,  by  the 
mercy  of  Almighty  God,  and  by  the  merits  of  the 
blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  to  free  him  and  the 
Roman  people  from  the  hand  of  the  Lombards  and 
from  the  service  of  the  haughty  King  Aistulf.  Nor 
would  he  rise  from  the  ground  until  the  king,  with 
his  sons  and  the  nobles,  stretched  forth  the  hand 
and  raised  him  from  the  ground  in  token  of  their 
future  aid  and  dehverance."  ^ 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Pippin  promised  to  restore 
that  which  the  Lombards  had  seized,  and  to  free  the 
church  from  their  power,  a  promise  which  was  ratified 
and  confirmed  by  the  national  assembly  or  diet  at 
which  all  the  Franks  were  assembled  according  to 
regular  custom. 

The  regular  national  assembly  at  which  affairs  of 
state  were  settled  seems  to  have  been  held  in  March 
at  Braisne,  as  appears  from  the  Continuator  of 
Fredigarius  and  the  "  Annals  of  Metz."  The  life  of 
Stephen  and  that  of  Hadrian,  given  in  the  Pontifical 
Book,  assign  these  acts  to  an  assembly  at  Kiersey ; 
but  it  appears  from  Labbe's  "  Councils "  (lib.  iv., 
p.  1650)  that  ecclesiastical  matters  regarding  baptism 
and  marriage  were  settled  here. 

At  one  or  the  other,  however,  the  nobles  gave 

1  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  447,  448,  c.  25,  26. 

2  "  Chron.  Moiss.,"  an.  741-754;  "  M.  G.  SS.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  293. 


136  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


their  assent  to  the  war  with  the  Lombards,  not  with- 
out a  good  deal  of  persuasion,  for  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  strong  Lombard  party  among  them. 
Already  in  753  Stephen  had  addressed  a  special 
letter  to  them  adjuring  them  to  support  Pippin  in 
all  that  he  might  do  for  the  welfare  of  the  blessed 
Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles.^  It  is  to  this  state  of 
affairs  Einhard  refers  when  he  speaks  of  the  expedi- 
tion undertaken  by  Pippin  at  the  supplication  of 
Pope  Stephen,  "  after  great  difficulties,  for  some  of  the 
chief  men  of  the  Franks  with  whom  he  was  wont  to 
consult  were  so  opposed  to  his  will  that  they  openly 
declared  they  would  leave  the  king  and  return  home. "2 

At  this  assembly,  probably,  was  drawn  up  the 
famous  donation  of  Pippin,  the  acknowledged  basis 
of  the  later  grant  by  Charles  the  Great,  and  the  main 
foundation  of  the  temporal  possessions  of  the  Pope.^ 

The  transactions  are  thus  alluded  to  in  the  papal 
letters :  "  You  [Pippin  and  his  sons]  have  earnestly 
endeavored  to  establish  the  rights  of  the  blessed 
Peter  as  far  as  you  could,  and  by  a  deed  of  donation* 
your  goodness  has  confirmed  the  restitution.  .  .  .  By 
your  own  will,  by  a  deed  of  donation,  you  confirmed 
the  restitution  of  the  cities  and  places  belonging  to 
the  blessed  Peter  and  to  the  holy  church  of  God  and 
to  the  republic.  .  .  .  And  what  you  have  once 
promised  to  the  blessed  Peter,  and  by  your  donation 
confirmed  by  your  own  hand,  hasten  to  render  and 

1  Jafif^,  vol.  iv.,  p.  T,T„  Ep.  5,  A.D.  753. 

2  Einhard,  "Vita,"  c.  6. 

3  Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  33;  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  87-90;  Gregorovius, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  278-287. 

*  Per  donationis  paginam. 


Pippins  Do7tatioii.  137 

to  give  up;  for  it  is  better  not  to  promise  than  to 
promise  and  not  to  perform."  ^  "  Quickly  and  with- 
out delay  render  to  the  blessed  Peter  the  cities  and 
places  and  all  the  hostages  and  captives  and  all  things 
contained  in  the  donation  which  you  have  promised 
to  the  blessed  Peter  by  your  donation."  ^  "  For  knov/ 
that  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  holds  firmly  that 
donation  of  yours  in  your  own  handwriting.^  And 
it  is  necessary  that  you  carry  out  that  which  you 
yourself  have  written,^  lest  when  the  just  Judge  shall 
come  in  fire  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead  and  the 
world,  that  Prince  of  the  Apostles  showing  that  very 
autograph  as  having  no  validity,  you  are  forced  to 
employ  very  vacillating  excuses  with  him."^ 

However  this  might  be,  the  deed,  which,  we  can 
hardly  doubt,  really  existed,  is  lost,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  carry  out  this  threat,  even  if  there  were 
no  other  obstacles  in  the  way.  Nor  have  we  any 
definite  idea  as  to  its  contents ;  indeed,  it  was  prob- 
ably as  indefinite  and  general  in  its  terms  as  the 
foregoing  quotations  would  imply.  But  already,  as 
the  Pope  afterwards  reminds  the  two  sons  of  Pippin, 
the  promise  had  been  made  to  the  blessed  Peter,  his 
vicar,  and  his  successors,  "  that  you  would  be  friends 
to  our  friends  and  enemies  to  our  enemies,  as  also 
we  have  determined  to  remain  firm  in  the  same  prom- 
ise;  .  .  .  for  it  is  written,  '  he  that  receiveth  you  re- 
ceiveth  me,'^and  he  that  despisethyou  despiseth  me.' "  ^ 

1  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  35,  36,  Ep.  6,  a.d.  755. 

2  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  p.  41,  Ep.  7,  A.D.  755. 

3  Cyrographiim  vestram  donationem.  *  Ipsnm  cyrographum. 
5  Jaff4,  vol.  iv.,  p.  41,  Ep.  7,  A.D.  755.  6  St.  MaU.  x.  40. 
■?  St.  Luke  X.  16;  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  160,  161,  Ep.  47,  a.d.  769. 


138  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

It  was  in  consideration  of  such  promises  given  and 
received  that  the  union  was  established  between  the 
Frankish  kingdom  and  the  Roman  Church,  On  July 
28,  754,  in  Paris,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Denis,  the  Pope, 
as  vicar  on  earth  of  St.  Peter  and  of  Christ,^  conse- 
crated Pippin  and  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Karl- 
mann,  as  kings  of  the  Franks,  joining  in  his  blessing 
Pippin's  wife  also,  the  Queen  Bertrada,  as  well  as  the 
nobles  and  chiefs  of  the  Franks,  binding  all,  by  threats 
of  interdict  and  excommunication,  never  to  presume 
to  choose  one  of  another  race  as  king.^  Upon  Pippin 
and  his  sons  he  conferred  the  additional  title  of  Pa- 
trician of  the  Romans.  This  title  was  one  which  the 
earlier  emperors  had  been  wont  to  bestow  upon  bar- 
barian kings,  and  had  been  borne  in  this  way  by 
Odoacer,  Theodoric,  and  Clovis.  As  such  it  appears 
to  have  been  a  merely  honorary  title,  but  it  is  signifi- 
cant that  at  this  time  it  had  been  borne  by  the  exarch 
whom  Aistulf  had  just  overthrown. 

Though  legally  it  could  be  conferred  only  by  the 
emperor,  yet  as  conferred  by  the  Pope  it  might  serve 
to  identify  permanently  the  King  of  the  Franks  with 
the  interests  of  the  city  and  its  lord,  the  Pope,  as 
patron  or  protector.  It  may  be  noted  that  the  Pope 
does  not  connect  together  patrician  and  protector, 
but  rather  connects  the  defence  of  Rome  with  the 
anointing  as  king.-^ 

It  may  be  maintained,  however,  that  by  this  title 
of  Patrician  Stephen  sought  to  express,  by  a  formal 

1  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  34,  37. 

2  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  448,  c.  27;  Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  34. 

3  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  36,  Ep.  6,  p.  38,  Ep.  7,  a.d.  755. 


Patrician  of  the  Romans.  139 

term,  the  legal  obligation  to  support  and  to  defend 
the  Roman  Church  and  possessions  in  Italy.  To  this 
obligation  he  regarded  Pippin  as  morally  bound  in 
consideration  of  his  consecration  of  Pippin  as  king.^ 

The  title  of  Patrician  had  been  held  by  a  long  Hne 
of  exarchs  at  Ravenna,^  and  now  that  the  exarchate 
had  been  destroyed  it  might  be  deemed  wise  by  the 
Pope  to  transfer  its  title  and  relation  to  the  church 
to  some  more  able  upholder.  Whether  the  Pope, 
by  conferring  this  title,  intended  to  confer  or  did 
confer  any  power  of  government  or  control,  as  Hegel 
affirms,^^  may  be  doubted.  At  any  rate,  hardly  will 
it  be  claimed  that  Pippin  exercised  any  such  power 
in  Rome,  though  the  next  Pope,  Paul  I.,  before  his 
consecration,  announced  his  elevation  to  Pippin  in 
the  same  terms  in  which  his  predecessors  had  an- 
nounced their  elections  to  the  exarchs.^ 

1  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  85,  86;  Bollinger,  "Charles  the  Great," 
pp.  92-98;  Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  281-284;  Ducange,  "  Glossa- 
rium,"  s.  v.  "  Patricius." 

2  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  403,  c.  15,  p.  404,  c.  16  (Paulus), 
p.  405,  c.  19  (Eutychius).  On  p.  416,  c.  4,  Sergius  is  mentioned  as 
Patrician  of  Sicily.  Also  in  the  letters  of  Gregory  I.  the  governors 
of  provinces  are  addressed  as  Patrician.  See  "  The  Epistles  of 
St.  Gregory  the  Great,"  bk.  vi.,  Ep.  57;  "  Nicene  Fathers,"  second 
series,  vol.  xii.,  p.  205. 

3  Hegel,  vol.  i.,  pp.  209,  210. 

*  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  466,  note  i ;  Jaff^,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  67,  68, 
Ep.  12,  A.D.  757,  April  or  May.  His  consecration  took  place  May 
29,  757,  thirty-five  days  after  Stephen's  death. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  VICTORY  OF  PIPPIN  OVER  AISTULF — LOMBARD 
TREACHERY — THE  SACK  OF  ROME — THE  PAPAL 
APPEAL — ST.  PETER'S  LETTER — SECOND  VIC- 
TORY OF  THE  FRANKS — PIPPIN'S  DONATION — 
THE  REPUBLIC  OF  ROME  —  THE  TEMPORAL 
POWER  OF  THE  POPE — DEATH  OF  AISTULF — 
ACCESSION  OF  DESIDERIUS — RENEWED  DIFFI- 
CULTIES. 

ISTULF  now  recognized  the  fact  that 
the  struggle  for  Italy  must  be  fought  out 
with  the  Franks  unless  he  could  nullify 
the  papal  influence.  In  the  midst  of  the 
events  of  the  famous  year  754,  and  prob- 
ably just  before  the  consecration  in  July,  Karlmann, 
the  king's  brother,  came  from  his  monastery  of 
Monte  Cassino  to  urge  Pippin  not  to  yield  to  the 
pope's  persuasions.  It  was  said  that  he  came,  and 
that  his  abbot  ordered  his  coming  unwillingly,  but 
that  being  in  the  Duchy  of  Benevento — that  is,  on 
Lombard  territory,  they  were  forced  to  yield  to 
Aistulf's  wishes.'  Pippin,  however,  told  his  brother 
that  he  could  not  do  other  than  what  he  had  prom- 

•  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  753  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i,,  p.  139. 
140 


Pippins  Offer  Refused.  141 

ised  to  the  Roman  chief.  He  then  ordered  Karl- 
mann  to  be  seized  and  taken  to  the  monastery  of 
Vienne,  where  he  died  that  same  year.' 

Pippin  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  Lombards. 
Crossing  the  Alps,  he  sent  forward  his  messengers 
to  Aistulf,  demanding  the  immediate  cessation  of 
hostihties  against  the  holy  church,  whose  defender 
he  declared  himself  to  be  by  divine  ordination,  re- 
quiring also  the  restoration  of  the  territory  already 
seized.  Aistulf  insolently  refused  to  do  anything 
except  to  show  Pippin  the  way  home.  The  mes- 
sengers replied  :  "  Pippin  will  not  depart  until  you 
return  to  St.  Peter  the  Pentapolis  and  all  the  other 
cities  and  territory  unjustly  taken  from  the  Roman 
people  ;  but  he  offers  to  pay  in  consideration  twelve 
thousand  solidi."  Fortunately  for  the  future  firm 
establishment  of  the  papal  power,  Aistulf  refused 
this  offer  and  dismissed  the  messengers  with  angry 
threats.  Pope  Stephen  by  his  letters  endeavored 
to  bring  about  a  peaceable  settlement  in  order  to 
avoid  bloodshed,  but  without  avail.'  The  arms  of 
Pippin,  however,  soon  accomplished  what  gentler 
measures  had  failed  to  effect,  and  Aistulf,  besieged 
in  Pavia,  promised  all  that  was  demanded,  and  be- 
sides yielding  up  the  captured  territory,  promised 
to  pay  thirty  thousand  solidi  and  a  yearly  tribute 
of  five  thousand  to  Pippin.  In  pledge  of  this  he 
gave  as  hostages  forty  of  his  nobles.'     Aistulf,  how- 

'  "  Ann.  Mett.,"an.  754;  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  753  ;  M.  G.  SS., 
vol.  i.,  pp.  332  and  139  ;  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  448,  449,  c.  30  ; 
Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  25. 

'  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  449,  c.  33. 

2  "Ann.  Mett.,"  an.  754  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  332. 


142  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

ever,  all  danger  from  the  Franks  being  removed, 
broke  the  agreement  which  Pippin  had  extorted 
from  him,  and  refused  to  restore  the  cities  which 
he  had  seized.  Stephen  had  evidently  foreseen  that 
something  of  this  sort  would  happen,  for  he  had 
strenuously  urged  Pippin  to  remain  in  Italy  until 
the  Lombards  had  evacuated  Ravenna  and  the  rest 
of  the  captured  territory.  It  was  probably  in  conse- 
quence of  Pippin's  refusal  or  inability  to  comply 
with  this  request  that  the  pope  secured  from  him  at 
this  time  a  written  guarantee  that  the  restitution 
should  be  made,  even  if  the  Prankish  army  had  to 
cross  the  Alps  again  to  force  the  perfidious  Lom- 
bard to  fulfil  his  promise.  That  which  the  pope 
had  feared  had  come  to  pass. 

In  the  very  next  year  Aistulf's  army  thundered 
at  the  gates  of  Rome.  The  pope  therefore  wrote 
as  follows  :  "  Pope  Stephen  to  his  sons  and  most 
excellent  lords,  Pippin,  Charles,  and  Karlmann, 
kings  and  patricians  of  the  Romans."  He  reminded 
them  of  their  earnest  desire  to  secure  St.  Peter's 
rights,  and  that  they  had  confirmed  the  promised 
restitution  by  a  deed  of  donation.  "  However,  not 
one  inch  of  land,"  he  says,  "  was  allowed  to  go  back 
to  the  blessed  Peter  and  the  holy  church  of  God,  the 
Republic  of  the  Romans.  Besides,  from  the  very 
day  on  which  we  parted  from  each  other  he  (Aistulf) 
has  tried  to  harass  us,  and  to  bring  the  holy  church 
of  God  into  disgrace."  He  asks  them  to  trust  him 
rather  than  the  lying  Lombards,  and  promises  them 
victory,  and  urges  them  to  restore  and  hand  over  to 
the  church  all  that  by  the  "  donation"  they  had 


Papal  Appeals,  143 

authorized  him  to  present  to  St.  Peter.  "  Hasten, 
therefore,  to  perform  what  you  have  promised  by 
your  donation,  confirmed  by  your  own  hand.  '  For 
the  blessed  Apostle  Paul  said,  Better  is  it  not  to  vow, 
than  after  having  vowed  not  to  pay.'  "  *  "  And 
you  will  render  an  account  to  God  and  the  blessed 
Peter  in  the  dreadful  day  of  judgment,  how  you 
have  labored  for  the  cause  of  that  prince  of  the  apos- 
tles and  for  restoring  his  cities  and  places."  "  This 
good  work  has  been  reserved  for  you.  No  one  of 
your  ancestors  deserved  such  an  effulgent  reward, 
but  God  pre-elected  and  foreknew  you  before  in- 
finite time,  as  it  is  written,  '  whom  he  foreknew  and 
predestinated  them  he  also  called,  and  whom  he 
called  them  he  also  justified.'^  You  have  been 
called,  strive  to  do  justice  to  the  prince  of  the  apos- 
tles without  delay,  because  it  has  been  written. 
Faith  is  justified  by  works.'  '  Farewell,  most  ex- 
cellent sons."  * 

In  spite  of  this  appeal  Pippin  made  no  expedition 
against  the  Lombards  at  this  time,  and  before  the 
year  was  over  he  received  a  second  letter  from  the 
pope,  similar  in  style  and  contents,  only  more  urgent 
and  pressing.'  Pippin,  however,  refused.  Affairs 
at  home  were  pressing.  The  usual  spring  assembly 
was  held  in  March,  though  it  was  decided  to  hold 
the  meeting  after  this  year  in  May  instead  of  in 

'  Unfortunately  for  Stephen's  knowledge  of  Scripture,  this 
verse  is  Ecclesiastes  v.  5,  the  nearest  approach  to  it  in  the  New 
Testament  being  Acts  v.  4. 

'  An  attempt  to  quote  Romans  viii.  29,  30. 

^  Cf.  St.  James  ii.  22,  24. 

*  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  34-37  ;  Ep.  6,  A.D.  755. 

'  See  quotations  on  p.  137, 


144  'r^^^  -^S^  of  Charlemagne. 

March,'  and  the  name  was  changed  from  Marfield 
to  Maifield.  This  change,  by  which  the  time  of  the 
assembly  was  made  two  months  later,  is  significant, 
as  the  result  of  the  change  in  the  army  introduced 
by  Charles  Martel.  The  war  with  the  Saracens  re- 
quired a  more  extended  use  of  cavalry  than  that  to 
which  the  early  Germans  had  been  accustomed  in 
the  forests  and  morasses  of  their  northern  homes, 
and  the  southern  plains,  where  their  contests  now 
for  the  most  part  took  place,  allowed  the  freer  use 
of  horses.  The  need  of  forage,  therefore,  in  the 
expeditions,  which  followed  upon  the  holding  of  the 
assembly  at  which  it  was  decided,  required  the  hold- 
ing of  that  assembly  later,  when  the  feeding  would 
be  in  better  condition. 

Meanwhile  the  pope's  distress  increased,  and  three 
letters  followed  each  other  in  quick  succession  in 
the  early  part  of  756.  The  first  was  sent  not  only 
to  the  three  kings  and  patricians,  but  also  "  to  all 
bishops,  abbots,  presbyters,  and  monks,  as  well  as 
to  the  dukes,  counts,  and  the  whole  army  in  the 
name  of  the  pope  and  all  the  bishops,  presbyters, 
deacons,  dukes,  the  keepers  of  the  records,  counts, 
tribunes,  and  the  whole  people  and  army  of  the 
Romans."  " 

The  worst  had  happened.  Evils  had  come  thick 
and  fast.  The  city  itself  was  attacked.  On  every 
side  it  was  surrounded  by  the  Lombards,  devastat- 
ing with  fire  and  sword.  Churches  were  pillaged 
and  burned,  images  of  the  saints  and  ornaments  of 

'   "Ann.  Petav.  Contin.,"  an.  755  ;  Pertz.  M.  G.  SS.,  i.,  p.  11. 
"  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  34-4S  ;  Ep.  8,  A.D.  756. 


A  Letter  from  St.  Peter.  145 

the  altars  were  destroyed.  With  a  superstition  com- 
mon even  to  robbers  and  murderers  the  Catacombs 
were  entered,  and  reHcs  of  the  saints  carried  away 
as  objects  of  reverence  and  worship. 

Fifty-five  days  did  Rome  endure  the  siege,  and 
the  Lombard  king  had  called  aloud  in  his  fury  : 
"  Behold  you  are  surrounded  by  us,  let  the  Franks 
come  now  and  snatch  you  out  of  our  hands."  "  In- 
deed," wrote  the  pope,  "  after  God  the  lives  of  the 
Romans  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Franks.  If  they 
perish  the  nations  will  say  :  '  Where  is  the  trust  of 
the  Romans  which  they  had,  after  God,  in  the  kings 
and  people  of  the  Franks?'  "  He  then  proceeds 
with  alternating  prayers  and  threats  and  promises 
of  reward,  appealing  to  every  instinct  and  passion 
which  might  be  present  in  the  Frankish  breast. 
This  letter  he  accompanied  with  one  in  a  similar 
strain  to  Pippin  personally.  Finally,  a  letter  was 
sent  purporting  to  be  written  by  St.  Peter  himself. 
Most  of  it  has  been  translated  by  Dr.  Mombert  with 
appropriate  comments.*  It  is  filled  with  the  most 
solemn  adjurations  and  frightful  threats.  "  I,  Peter, 
the  apostle  of  God  .  .  .  adjure  you  even  as  if  I  were 
bodily  in  the  flesh,  alive,  and  present  before  you, 
firmly  to  believe  that  the  words  of  this  exhortation 
are  addressed  to  you,  and  that  though  I  be  bodily 
absent,  I  am  spiritually  present. """  "  This  letter," 
says  Fleury,'  "  like  those  preceding  it,  is  full  of  quib- 
bles.    The  church  signifies  not  the  company  of  be- 

'  Mombert,  "Charles  the  Great,"  pp.  44-48. 
'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  55-60;  Ep.  10,  a.d.  756. 
'  Fleury,  "  Eccl.  Hist.,"  1.,  xlvii.,   c.   17.     Quoted  by  Mombert, 
1.  c,  p.  44,  note  I. 

J 


146  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

lievers,  but  temporal  possessions  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  God  ;  the  flock  of  Christ  is  represented 
by  the  bodies,  not  by  the  souls  of  men  ;  the  tem- 
poral promises  of  the  ancient  law  are  mixed  up  with 
the  spiritual  promises  of  the  gospel,  and  the  most 
sacred  motives  of  religion  are  pressed  into  the  ser- 
vice of  a  simple  affair  of  state." 

These  letters,  however,  met  with  an  immediate 
response,  and  Pippin  proceeded  to  cross  the  Alps 
again  as  Patrician  of  the  Romans  and  Defender  of 
the  Church.  Passing  through  Burgundy,  he  besieged 
and  took  Classe,  a  city  taken  by  the  Lombards  at 
the  beginning  of  the  iconoclastic  outbreak.  On  the 
march  to  Pavia  he  was  met  by  messengers  of  the 
emperor,  who  urged  him  to  restore  the  exarchate 
and  the  other  cities  to  their  lawful  owner  as  soon  as 
he  regained  them  from  the  Lombards.  Pippin  re- 
fused point  blank,  asserting  that  by  no  consideration 
whatever  could  he  be  induced  to  allow  those  cities 
to  be  alienated  from  the  power  of  the  blessed  Peter, 
and  from  the  right  of  the  Roman  Church  or  the 
pontiffs  of  the  Apostolic  See,  affirming  also  under 
oath  that  not  for  the  favor  of  man  had  he  devoted 
himself  so  often  to  the  contest,  but  only  for  love  of 
the  blessed  Peter  and  for  the  pardon  of  his  sins, 
asserting  this  also  that  no  abundance  of  treasure 
could  induce  him  to  take  back  that  which  he  had 
once  bestowed  upon  the  blessed  Peter.' 

The  siege  of  Pavia  forced  Aistulf  to  surrender 
with  a  promise  to  fulfil  his  former  oath  of  restitu- 
tion, and  in  addition  to  deliver  to  Pippin  one  third 
■  "  Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  452,  c.  43-45  ;  Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  37. 


The  Foundation  of  the  Temporal  Power.  147 

of  the  treasure  stored  in  Pavia,  together  with  an  an- 
nual tribute,  and  never  more  to  rebel  against  him.' 

Roughly  speaking,  this  restitution  included,  ac- 
cording to  the  early  chronicles,  Ravenna  with  the 
Pentapolis,  and  the  whole  of  the  exarchate. 

Foldrad,  abbot  of  St.  Denis,  was  commissioned 
to  execute  a  treaty  as  far  as  it  applied  to  the  resti- 
tution of  the  cities.  He  accordingly  went  to  each 
of  them  and  received  their  hostages  and  signs  of 
submission.  He  also  took  their  keys,  which  to- 
gether with  the  donation  he  placed  on  the  tomb  of 
St.  Peter,  thus  giving  them  "  to  that  apostle  of  God 
and  to  his  vicar,  the  most  holy  pope,  and  to  all  his 
successors  forever  to  have  in  their  possession  and  at 
their  disposal."  ^ 

This  was  the  formal  act  on  which  was  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  papacy. 
It  will  be  well  to  stop  for  a  moment  to  analyze  it 
and  to  consider  its  justice  and  significance. 

We  have  noted  the  steps  by  which  the  popes 
came  to  exercise  a  certain  temporal  power  in  Italy, 

'  In  the  life  of  Stephen  it  is  declared  that  this  restitution  in- 
cludes Ravenna,  Rimini,  Pesaro,  Fano,  Cesena,  Sinigagiia,  Jesi, 
Forlimpopoli,  Forli,  Urbino,  Cagli,  Gubbio,  Marni,  Commachio, 
but  the  exact  territory  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute.  Duchesne 
says,  note  51,  on  p.  460  of  "  Lib.  Pontif.":  "  The  cities  are  probably 
those  of  the  treaty  and  donation  of  754,  and  represent  probably  all 
the  conquests  of  Aistulf  on  imperial  territory.  At  the  death  of 
Liutprand,  the  Lombard  frontier  extended  between  Imola  and 
Ravenna,  and  all  these  places  are  situated  east  of  a  line  between 
the  Apennines  and  the  Po,  perpendicular  to  the  route  between 
Imola  and  Ravenna.  As  far  as  identified  they  are  given  above, 
to  which  may  be  added  San  Leo,  Vobio  or  Bobio  (Sarsina),  Conca, 
Acerreagium  and  Serra.  See  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  87-91  ;  218-220  ; 
Gregorovius,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  295-301  ;  Bury,  vol.  ii.,  p.  500  ;  Alzog., 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  144-147. 

*  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  i.,  p.  454,  c.  xlvii. 


148  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

especially  in  the  central  and  northern  parts.  At 
first  only  over  the  landed  possessions  or  scattered 
estates  of  the  church,  but  soon  increasing  and  ex- 
tending to  other  parts  of  Italy,  first,  by  reason  of 
the  strong  personality,  marked  ability,  and  cour- 
ageous foresight  of  popes  like  Gregory  I.,  II.,  and 
III.;  secondly,  on  account  of  the  demand  for  some 
strong  central  power  to  defend  Rome  against  the 
attacks  of  the  Lombards,  to  protect  the  Italians 
from  the  exorbitant  taxation  and  irreverent  zeal  of 
the  emperors,  and  from  disunion  and  disintegration  ; 
and,  thirdly,  because  of  the  inability  and  weakness 
of  the  exarchate  to  fulfil  this  function,  and  the  im- 
possibility of  the  emperor's  doing  it  owing  to  his 
distance  from  the  scene,  and  the  battles  in  defence 
of  Europe  against  the  Avars,  the  Persians,  and  the 
Mahometans,  which  engaged  all  his  attention  and 
resources  in  the  East. 

Thus  gradually,  almost  unconsciously,  without 
charters,  decrees,  or  treaties,  the  bishop  of  Rome 
had  come  to  be  the  recognized  leader  and  director 
of  the  civilized  forces  of  the  West,  and  almost  in- 
sensibly had  come  to  be  the  self-appointed  delegate 
or  representative  of  the  imperial  power.  In  this 
last  attack  of  the  Lombards  the  imperial  forces  had 
utterly  failed,  the  emperor  could  give  no  aid,  the 
exarchate  had  been  overthrown,  and  even  the  pope, 
as  the  only  other  representative  of  the  imperial 
power,  had  been  unable  to  accomplish  anything 
directly  against  the  greedy  and  victorious  Aistulf. 
Surely  the  empire  had  forfeited  all  claims  to  its 
former  possessions  in  the  West.     But  the  bishop  of 


Pippins  Gift  of  Temporal  Power,     i^g 


Rome,  by  the  spiritual  position  and  prestige  which 
he  had  already  gained,  had  sanctioned  the  transfer- 
ence of  the  kingly  name  and  power  from  one  family 
to  another  in  a  far  Western  kingdom,  which  had 
won  its  independence  of  the  Roman   Empire  cen- 
turies   before,    and   h^   had    thereby    established    a 
strong  power  and  gained  an  able  and  effective  ally. 
Upon   the   representative  of  this  new  kingship  he 
had  bestowed  the  spiritual  benediction  and  anoint- 
ing of  the  church,  giving  him  as  a  seal  of  his  mis- 
sion the  title  of  patrician,  not  of  the  empire,  but  of 
the  Romans,  the  people  of  the  Apostolic  Church  of 
Peter,  the  chief  of  the  apostles.     The   first  repre- 
sentative of  the  new  line  of   kings  in  the  West  cre- 
ated or  estabhshed,  not  by  the  empire,  but  by  the 
church,  had  won  by  force  of  arms  from  the  enemies 
of  the  empire  that  which  the   empire  had  been  un- 
able to  keep.     In  fulfilment  of  his  promise,  he  now 
restored  to  the  church  and  Roman  Republic,  whose 
nominal  head  was  the  emperor,  but  whose  real  head 
was  the  pope,  that  temporal  sovereignty  which  she 
had  been  gathering  up  as  the  empire  had  been  let- 
ting it  fall,  which  had  actually  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  Lombards,  and  now,  by  actual  conquest  by 
Pippin  and  by  gift  from  him,  she  had  received.     The 
emperor  had  lost  his  power  by  inability  to  defend 
it.      Pippin   had   gained   it    by    conquest    from    the 
Lombards,  the  pope  received  it  because  he  had  ex- 
ercised it  practically  before  the  Lombard  seized  it, 
and  because  Pippin  had  been  willing  to  bestow  it 
upon  him. 

What,  then,  was  this  power,  and  what  was  its  sig- 


150  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

nificance  ?  Pope  Stephen  III.  speaks  of  it  as  the 
Republic  of  Rome,  by  which  he  apparently  intended 
to  signify  the  Roman  State  in  general,  the  leader- 
ship and  authority  of  Rome,  which  for  so  long  a 
time  had  been  personified  in  him,  and  so  had  come 
to  be  inseparably  united  with  the  power  he  exer- 
cised as  bishop  of  Rome  and  successor  of  St.  Peter. 

Rome  had  increased  in  political  importance  till 
with  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  consisting  of  cities 
and  towns  scattered  over  Italy  and  the  island  of 
Sicily,  it  became  a  sort  of  principality  under  the 
suzerainty  of  the  Roman  emperor.  Thus  the  old 
idea  of  the  Roman  State  was  revived,  and  came  to 
be  considered  a  real  republic  with  its  own  army  {ex- 
ercitus  romanus)  and  its  own  constitution  and  inter- 
ests, the  papal. 

It  was  mainly  by  wealth  and  religious  considera- 
tion that  the  popes  had  been  brought  into  such  a 
prominent  political  position,  so  that  at  the  failure 
of  the  imperial  rule  the  secular  powers  are  found 
occupying  a  subordinate  place.  This  is  seen  also  in 
the  way  in  which  even  the  emperors  recognized  the 
influence  which  the  popes  were  able  to  exercise  over 
the  Lombards. 

The  republic,  however,  seems  to  denote  no  actual 
constitution,  but  is  a  phrase  revived  and  used  by 
Stephen  and  his  successors  to  indicate  a  government 
independent  of  and  apart  from  the  empire.  Just 
what  was  the  form  or  extent  of  this  power  is  not 
definitely  stated. 

Pippin  had  driven  off  the  Lombards  who  had  har- 
assed and  threatened  the  pope,  and  had  interfered 


The  Donation  and  the  Temporal  Power.  151 

with  the  power  he  was  already  exercishig  in  nom- 
inal dependence  upon  the  emperor.  By  the  dona- 
tion of  this  territory  Pippin  did  undoubtedly  cede 
to  the  church  the  cities  of  the  exarchate  and  Pentap- 
olis  free  from  imperial  oversight  and  from  Lom- 
bard encroachment.  "  As  the  Eastern  emperor  is 
no  longer  recognized  as  having  any  rights,  no  more 
does  Pippin  claim  any  such  for  himself  ;  nor  was 
there  in  Rome  any  mention  of  an  overlordship  of 
Pippin.  On  the  other  hand,  all  connection  with  the 
emperor  of  the  East  was  not  given  up  in  Rome, 
and  the  regnal  years  of  the  emperor  continued  to 
be  used  in  assigning  dates."  ' 

But  the  great  temporal  power  of  the  Roman  See 
was  not  gained  by  any  single  act  or  stroke  of  policy, 
nor  did  it  come  all  at  once,  nor  was  it  definitely  out- 
lined at  each  step  of  its  progress.  All  has  been  told 
that  can  be  known  at  the  present.  A  further  de- 
velopment and  a  greater  definiteness  will  be  noted 
under  Charles  the  Great. 

Pippin  returned  home  after  his  victories,  but  the 
new  relations  of  the  king  and  his  people  to  the 
Lombards  and  to  Rome  had  brought  about  great 
changes,  and  gave  promise  of  still  greater  ones. 
For  weal  or  fof  woe,  the  new  kingship  was  irrevoca- 
bly bound  up  with  the  papacy. 

On  a  hunting  expedition  at  the  close  of  the  year 
Aistulf  was  killed  by  a  fall,  and  the  pope  informs 
Pippin  of  the  fact  in  a  letter  written  in  the  spring 

'  Waitz,  iii.,  p.  89.  This  author,  referring  to  Papencordt, 
p.  134,  note,  says  that  this  was  used  for  the  last  time  in  772,  but 
Bury,  p.  503,  gives  781  as  the  last  year. 


152  The  Age  of  Charle^nagne. 

of  757.  "  Aistulf,  that  tyrant  and  devil-follower, 
devourer  of  the  blood  of  Christians,  destroyer  of 
the  churches  of  God,  has  been  struck  by  a  divine 
blow  and  hurled  into  the  abyss  of  hell."  '  Having 
left  no  heir,  the  choice  of  the  Lombards,  "  with 
the  consent,"  we  read,  "  of  King  Pippin  and  his 
nobles, " '^  turned  to  Desiderius,  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
and  he  became  their  king.  He  immediately  gained 
the  pope's  good  will  by  restoring  to  him  the  cities 
which  Aistulf  had  failed  to  surrender,  although 
stipulated  in  the  treaty.  In  April,  757,  Stephen 
himself  died,  and  his  successor,  Paul  I.,  brother  of 
Stephen,  hastened  to  announce  his  election  to  "  the 
new  Moses  and  David."  A  letter  also  followed  in 
the  name  of  all  the  Senate  and  the  whole  body  of 
the  Roman  people,'  assuring  him  of  their  gratitude, 
and  declaring  that  they  will  remain  firm  and  faith- 
ful to  the  holy  church  and  to  Paul,  by  God's  de- 
cree their  lord,  supreme  pontiff,  and  universal  pope." 
Desiderius,  however,  failed  to  fulfil  all  his  promises, 
and,  the  pope  having  incited  the  Dukes  of  Bene- 
vento  and  Spoleto  to  revolt  and  to  seek  the  pro- 
tection of  the  king  of  the  Franks,"  he  advanced 
against  them,  marching  through  Pentapolis,  pillag- 
ing and  devastating  on  every  side.  He  even  went 
so  far  as  to  propose  an  alliance  with  the  emperor 
for  the  reconquest  of  Ravenna.  At  the  same  time 
he  met  the  pope  in  Rome,  and  after  some  negotia- 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  64  ;  Ep.  11,  a.d.  757. 

"^  "Ann.  Met.,"  an.  756  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  333. 

^  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  67,  68  ;  Ep.  12,  a.d.  757. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  69-72  ;  Ep.  13,  A.D.  757. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  74,  75  ;  Ep.  15,  A.D.  758. 


Papal  Diplomacy.  153 

tions  for  the  delivery  of  the  cities  still  held  back, 
Paul  apparently  consented  to  order  a  return  of  the 
hostages  whom  Aistulf  had  given  to  Pippin.  The 
pope  even  sent  a  letter  to  Pippin,  informing  him 
that  his  most  excellent  son,  King  Desiderius,  had 
come  peaceably  and  with  great  humility  to  the 
threshold  of  the  apostles,  promising  to  restore 
Imola,  one  of  the  cities  ;  he  therefore  adjured  Pip- 
pin to  confirm  the  peace  with  him  and  to  send  back 
the  hostages.'  He  sent  a  letter  secretly  at  the  same 
time,  in  which  he  told  Pippin  of  the  proposed 
league  with  the  emperor,  the  devastation  of  the 
Pentapolis,  and  the  evil  inflicted  upon  the  Dukes 
of  Benevento  and  Spoleto,  who  had  declared  them- 
selves his  allies  and  had  put  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  the  Franks.  He  affirms  his  demand 
for  all  the  cities,  and  begs  Pippin  to  stand  firm  and 
not  to  yield  to  the  perfidious  trickster,  and  unblush- 
ingly  declares  that  the  other  letter  was  written  to 
deceive  Desiderius,  so  that  by  seeming  to  comply  he 
might  be  able  to  send  messengers  declaring  the  true 
state  of  affairs."  Already  the  pope,  by  his  attempt 
to  gain  and  hold  his  temporal  sovereignty,  was 
plunged  into  the  wiles  and  tricks  of  worldly  diplo- 
macy. A  treaty  was  finally  effected  in  760,  whereby 
all  the  towns  but  one,  Imola,  were  given  up,  and 
the  pope  and  Lombard  king  enabled  to  live  in 
friendly  relations. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  pope  continued  nominally 
at  least   to  acknowledge  the    emperor,   though  he 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  75,  77;  Ep.  16,  A.D.  758. 
'  Ibid.,  pp.  77-83  ;  Ep.  17,  A.D.  758. 


154  'I^^'^^  -^S^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

ceased  to  await  imperial  confirmation  for  his  elec- 
tion, while  the  emperor  no  longer  received  tribute 
from  the  Roman  province,  nor  did  any  Byzantine 
exercise  official  authority  in  the  city.  From  this 
time  on,  however,  the  temporal  rule  of  the  popes, 
now  for  the  first  time  formally  and  authoritatively 
held,  brings  about  local  disputes  and  strifes.  Mu- 
nicipal rights  and  popular  privileges  demanded  re- 
cognition, while  the  office  and  position  of  the  papacy 
itself  became  an  object  of  ambition  and  desire  to 
those  seeking  merely  earthly  power,  position,  and 
wealth. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  FINAL  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  LOMBARDS — THE 
FORGED  DONATION  OF  CONSTANTINE  —  THE 
PRANKISH  CONQUEST  OF  AQUITANIA  —  THE 
AQUITANIAN  CAPITULARY — ESTABLISHMENT  OF 
THE  PRANKISH  CHURCH  AND  THE  DIOCESAN 
AND  METROPOLITAN  SYSTEM — PIPPIN'S  RE- 
LATIONS WITH  CONSTANTINOPLE  AND  WITH 
BAGDAD. 

HE  year  756  was  an  epochal  year  in  the 
history  of  the  papacy,  for  from  it  dates 
the  formal  establishment  of  the  temporal 
power  of  the  popes.  The  famous  "  Do- 
nation of  Constantine"  was  devised  also 
at  about  this  same  time,  for  it  is  closely  connected 
with  the  events  then  happening.  The  Lombards 
were  making  their  last  strenuous  endeavor  to  con- 
quer and  to  unite  all  Italy  in  one  great  kingdom 
under  their  own  sway.  Their  aim,  which,  carried 
out,  would  make  them  masters  of  Rome,  and  their 
nearness  to  the  city,  made  them  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  the  distant  Greeks,  however  oppressive  at 
times.  Yet  the  emperor  already  was  losing  his  hold 
on  Italy,  and  could  no  longer  defend  it,  and  to  the 

155 


156  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Franks  the  pope  had  turned  with  a  new  hope, 
though  not  yet  seeing  his  way  clear  to  dispense  alto- 
gether with  the  Byzantine  suzerainty.  It  even  ap- 
pears probable  that  Gregory  II.  had  made  an  at- 
tempt to  form  a  confederation  of  States  in  Italy 
with  the  pope  at  the  head,  but  it  had  come  to  noth- 
ing.' The  idea  remained,  and  the  donation  was  put 
forward  to  give  it  an  historic  basis,  and  to  meet 
what  seemed  to  be  the  needs  of  the  period. 

The  form  of  donation  occurs  at  the  end  of  a  long 
document  purporting  to  be  an  edict  of  Constantine, 
included  by  Pseudo-Isidore  in  his  collection  of 
Decretals  and  printed  in  full  by  Hinschius  in  his 
edition.'  The  author  relates  that  Constantine  more 
than  twenty  years  before  his  death  was  baptized  at 
Rome  by  Pope  Sylvester,  and  at  the  same  time 
cured  of  leprosy.'  Constantine  declares  his  accept- 
ance of  the  faith,  which  the  pope  had  taught  him, 
including  a  full  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  exhorts  all  people  and  nations  to  hold 
the  same.  He  then  proceeds,  out  of  gratitude  and 
reverence,  to  bestow  upon  the  papal  see  imperial 
power  and  honor,  he  gives  to  it  the  highest  author- 
ity over  the  other  patriarchates,  and  all  the  other 
churches  in  the  world,  as  the  supreme  judge  in  all 
matters  of  worship  and  of  faith.  To  the  pope,  re- 
fusing to  wear  the  imperial  diadem  offered  by  Con- 
stantine, he  grants  the  tiara,  specially  designed  for 
him,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  imperial  ornaments  and 

'  Dollinger,  pp.  121,  122. 

^  Hinschius,    pp.   249-254,  cf.  Preface,  p.  Ixxxiii.;  Gieseler,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  118,  note  21.     Translated  in  Henderson,  pp.  319-329. 
*  Dollinger,  pp.  89-103. 


A  Roman  Forgery.  157 

insignia.  Upon  the  Roman  clergy  are  conferred 
the  honors  and  dignities  of  the  highest  ofBcers, 
patricians  and  consuls,  with  all  the  privileges  of 
senators  and  their  insignia.  Constantine  also  gives 
up  the  Lateran  Palace,  the  remaining  sovereignty 
over  Rome,  all  the  provinces,  cities,  and  places  of 
Italy,  as  well  as  of  the  western  regions,  transferring 
the  seat  of  his  own  imperial  power  to  Byzantium, 
affirming  that  it  was  not  right  that  the  earthly  em- 
peror should  have  his  seat  where  the  heavenly  em- 
peror had  established  the  principality  of  the  priest- 
hood and  the  head  of  the  Christian  relieion. 

The  whole  stupendous  forgery,  of  which  one  does 
not  know  what  to  marvel  at  most,  the  audacity  of  con- 
ception or  the  credulity  of  reception,  was  undoubt- 
edly the  work  of  a  Roman  ecclesiastic  at  Rome. 
It  is  most  important  as  showing  that  the  prevailing 
idea  in  the  mind  of  a  Roman  Churchman  in  the 
eighth  century  was  the  desire  to  make  the  pope  and 
his  clergy  equal  in  magnificence  and  ceremonial  to 
the  emperor.' 

The  first  apparent  reference  to  this  donation  oc- 
curs in  a  letter  written  by  Hadrian  I.  to  Charles  the 
Great  in  778,"  bringing  it  forward  as  a  basis  of  ap- 
peal to  the  king  to  emulate  the  deeds  of  the  mighty 
emperor. 

Its  application  to  islands  as  being  public  domain 
was  first  made  by  Urban  II.  in  his  claim  to  Corsica. 
By  it  Hadrian  IV.  made  claim  to  Ireland,  and  there- 
upon proceeded  to  make  a  grant  of  the  island  to 

•     '   Bryce,  pp.  100-102  ;  Gregorovius,  ii.,  pp.  361,  362. 
'  Jaff6,  iv.,  pp.  197-201,   Ep.  61. 


158  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Henry  II.'  It  continued  to  be  used  in  these  ways, 
though  with  occasional  opposition  and  some  limita- 
tion, but  with  increasing  emphasis  from  the  twelfth 
to  the  fourteenth  century. 

Marsilius  of  Padua,  in  his  Defensor  Pads,  turned 
it  against  the  popes  by  drawing  from  it  the  conclu- 
sion that  even  the  ecclesiastical  supremacy  of  the 
papacy  rested  on  an  imperial  grant,  and  so  was 
merely  human  and  invalid.  Its  spurious  character 
was  proved  most  effectively  by  Reginald  Pecock, 
Bishop  of  Chichester,  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  also,  though  less  ably,  by  Cardinal 
Nicholas  of  Cusa  and  by  Laurentius  Valla.  Since 
then  it  has  been  universally  given  up.  Dante,  trac- 
ing to  it  the  origin  of  the  temporal  power,  says  of 
its  supposed  author  : 

"  Ah,  Constantine  !  of  how  much  ill  was  mother, 
Not  thy  conversion,  but  that  marriage  dower. 
Which  the  first  wealthy  Father  took  from  thee."* 

Though  there  has  been  much  speculation  as  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  this  power,  and  though 
much  was  left  indefinite  owing  to  its  unprecedented 
character,  some  certain  conclusions  may  be  fairly 
drawn  from  the  facts. 

First,  Pippin  did  hand  over  to  the  pope  the  tem- 
poral possession  and  sovereignty  over  the  cities  and 
lands  in  question  which  had  formerly  been  vested 
in   the  emperor.     This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 

'  Hadrian's  Bull  is  given  in  Lyttleton's  "Henry  H.,"  vol.  iii., 
pp.  323,  324,  translated  in  Henderson,  pp.  10,  11.  Also  given  in 
Rymer's  "  Foedera,"  vol.  i.,  p.  15. 

*  Dante,  "  Inferno,"  xlx.,  115-118.     Longfellow's  translation. 


Facts  Regarding  the  Temporal  Power.   159 

Pippin  refused  at  the  request  of  the  emperor's  en- 
voys to  give  them  over  to  the  emperor,  but  said 
that  he  should  give  them  to  the  pope. 

Secondly,  the  pope  held  and  exercised  this  tem- 
poral sovereignty.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
in  a  letter  from  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome, 
written  to  Pippin,  they  acknowledged  themselves 
to  be  the  faithful  subjects  of  the  pope,  and  no 
other  authority  than  his  and  the  officers  of  his  ap- 
pointment was  recognized  in  these  cities,  the  keys 
of  which  had  been  given  up  to  the  Abbot  Fulrad 
and  deposited  in  the  shrine  of*  St.  Peter. 

Thirdly,  the  emperor  recognized  that  he  had  lost 
the  power  over  this  territory.  This  is  proved  by  the 
fact  of  the  proposed  alliance  between  the  emperor 
and  Desiderius  in  order  to  win  back  the  exarchate. 

As  to  the  right  of  the  pope  to  receive  this  power, 
it  has  been  well  expressed  by  Gibbon  : 

"  In  the  rigid  interpretation  of  the  laws  every 
one  may  accept  without  injury  whatever  his  bene- 
factor may  bestow  without  injustice.  The  Greek 
emperor  had  abdicated  or  forfeited  his  right  to  the 
exarchate  ;  and  the  sword  of  Aistolphus  was  broken 
by  the  stronger  sword  of  the  Carolingian."  * 

As  to  the  expediency  of  holding  this  power  and 
the  changes  which  it  wrought  in  the  future  character 
and  activity  of  the  papacy,  history  itself  gives  the 
best  answer,  and  the  complete  consideration  of  it 
would  require  a  separate  treatise.  It  has  been  de- 
fended by  some  and  deprecated  by  others.  It  was 
the  first  step  and  the  chief  instrument  in  freeing  the 
'  Gibbon,  "  Roman  Empire,"  ch.  xlix. 


i6o  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

church  from  subservience  to  any  earthly  sovereign, 
and  gave  it  a  position  of  power  and  influence  which 
enabled  it  to  protect  and  extend  the  work  of  the 
church  throughout  Europe.  On  the  other  hand,  its 
dangers  were  great,  and  its  results  in  many  cases 
were  evil. 

It  brought  about  a  secularization  of  the  life  and 
aims  of  the  popes  and  chief  officers  which  extended 
throughout  the  church,  whereby  it  was  involved  in 
the  conflicts  and  the  strifes  of  the  other  temporal 
kingdoms.  It  made  the  papacy  itself  the  coveted 
object  of  strife  and  ambition,  the  centre  of  feuds 
and  jealousies,  and  the  sport  and  prey  of  unworthy 
men  and  parties.  This  wealth  and  power  led  to 
an  increase  of  pride,  luxury,  and  ambition  which 
fostered  evil  and  corruption  in  the  papacy  and  set 
an  evil  example  to  others.  It  was  the  fruitful 
source  of  weakness  and  the  real  cause  of  downfall 
and  decay.  There  is  a  legend  that  on  the  occasion 
of  Constantine's  donation  an  angel  was  said  to  have 
cried  from  heaven  :  "  Woe  !  woe  !  this  day  poison 
hath  been  infused  into  the  church."  A  contempo- 
rary of  Dante  said  that  Constantinc  added  to  the 
stole  of  the  priests  a  sword  which  they  did  not  know 
how  to  wield,  and  thus  broke  the  strength  of  the 
empire.' 

In  768  an  antipope  was  seated  on  the  papal  throne 
by  his  brother  Toto,  duke  in  Nepi.  Two  of  the 
chief  officers  at  Rome  feigned  a  desire  for  the  mo- 
nastic life,  and  fled  to  Desiderius,  bringing  back  a 
Lombard  army  to   put   down   the   usurper.     After 

*  DoUinger,  pp.  167,  168. 


Conquest  of  Aquitafiia.  i6i 

severe  fighting,  followed  by  an  attempt  to  conse- 
crate a  Lombard,  another  Stephen  was  elected,  and 
the  usurper  and  his  followers  severely  punished. 
Stephen  IV.  turned  to  Pippin  for  support  and  aid, 
but  Pippin  had  died  on  September  24th,  768.  Dur- 
ing the  last  years  of  his  life  he  had  been  constantly 
at  war  with  the  Duke  of  Aquitania.  The  Saxons 
at  first  had  taken  his  attention,  but  he  had  finally 
subdued  them,  thrown  down  their  strongholds, 
forced  them  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  three  hun- 
dred horses  and  receive  the  Christian  missionaries. 

In  760  he  attacked  Waifar,  Duke  of  Aquitania, 
on  the  ground  of  his  infringement  of  the  rights  and 
property  of  the  Prankish  churches  which  were  situ- 
ated in  Aquitania,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons. 
Few  battles  were  fought  ;  as  soon  as  Pippin  ap- 
peared with  his  army,  Waifar  surrendered,  only  to 
assert  his  independence  as  soon  as  Pippin  withdrew 
his  forces.  In  768,  however,  he  had  taken  the 
mother,  sisters,  and  nieces  of  Waifar,  and  in  June 
the  duke  himself  was  killed — murdered,  it  was  said, 
by  some  at  the  instigation  of  Pippin.  All  Aquitania 
submitted  to  him,  and  measures  were  at  once  taken 
to  solidify  and  unite  the  newly  acquired  territory. 
Counts  and  judges  were  established,  and  the  so-called 
Aquitanian  capitulary  proclaimed  that  deserted 
churches  should  be  restored  and  their  services  con- 
tinued by  those  who  held  the  income  of  their  prop- 
erty, all  needed  for  religious  purposes  not  to  be 
alienated,  and  any  taken  to  be  restored.  Bishops, 
abbots,  and  abbesses  to  live  in  accordance  with  their 
holy  order.     Provision  was  also  made  for  the  hold- 

K 


1 62  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


ing  and  proper  care  of  benefices  and  regulations 
for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  those  attending 
the  army  or  the  Maifield.  Right  of  appeal  to  the 
king  was  secured,  and  the  privilege  of  every  man, 
wherever  he  might  be,  to  be  tried  by  the  law  of  his 
own  country.  Lastly,  none  should  presume  to  resist 
whatever  was  decreed  by  the  king's  commissioners 
and  the  elders  of  the  land  for  the  king's  profit  or  the 
welfare  of  the  church.' 

The  internal  regulation  of  ecclesiastical  affairs 
had  gone  on  after  the  death  of  Boniface  on  the 
lines  laid  down  by  him.  In  July,  755,  a  very  im- 
portant council  was  held  at  Verneuil,  at  which  not 
only  nearly  all  the  bishops  of  Gaul  were  present, 
but  Pippin  himself  was  there,  and  took  an  interested 
part  in  its  discussions  and  decisions.  By  the  pro- 
visions of  this  council  bishops  were  to  be  appointed 
in  each  city  who  should  be  under  the  metropolitans, 
each  bishop  to  have  rule  over  the  clergy,  both  regu- 
lar and  secular,  in  his  own  diocese.  Synods  were 
to  be  held  twice  a  year  :  the  first  in  March  wher- 
ever  the  king  should  appoint,  and  in  his  presence  ; 
the  other  in  October,  either  at  Soissons  or  wherever 
the  bishops  agreed  upon  at  the  March  synod.  At 
this  synod  all  bishops  under  the  metropolitans 
should  be  present,  and  all  others,  whether  bishops, 
abbots,  or  presbyters,  whom  the  metropoHtans 
summoned.  The  monastic  rule  should  be  observed 
by  monks  and  nuns  under  the  orders  of  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese.  If  opposition  arises  the  metropoli- 
tan is  to  be  notified,  and  if  that  fails,  recourse  may 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  42,  43. 


The  Frankish   Chitrch   Organized.     163 

be  had  to  the  pubHc  synod  held  in  March.     In  the 
event   of  further  refusal,   the  offender  may  be   de- 
posed  or  excommunicated   by  all  the   bishops  and 
another  put   in   his  place  at  the  synod   by  the  word 
and  will  of  the  king  or  by  the  consent  of  the  bish_ 
ops.     There  is  to   be  no  public  baptistry  in  a  dio- 
cese save  where  the  bishop  appoints,  but  in  case  of 
necessity  or  illness  presbyters  whom  the  bishop  has 
appointed  may  baptize  wherever  convenient.     Pres- 
byters are  to  be  under  the  rule  of  the  bishops,  and 
none  is  to  baptize  or  to  celebrate  Mass  without  the 
order  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.     All  presbyters 
were  to  assemble  at  the  council  of  the  bishops.     A 
bishop  may  depose  or  excommunicate  his  presbyters 
for  cause.     Being  excommunicated,  he  cannot  enter 
a  church  nor  eat  nor  drink  with  any  Christian,  nor 
accept  his  gifts,  nor  give  the  kiss,  nor  unite  in  pray- 
er, nor  exchange  greetings  until  reconciled  with  his 
bishop.     If  any  claims  to  be  unjustly  excommuni- 
cated, he  may  go  to  the  metropolitan   and  have  a 
new  trial.      If  still   unwiUing  to  submit,  he  will  be 
forced  into  exile  by  the  king.      Canon  XX.  of  Chal- 
cedon  is  repeated  forbidding  to  remove  to  another 
city  or  to  serve   under  a  layman  except  in  case  of 
necessity.      Wandering  bishops,  without  a  fixed  dio- 
cese, shall  not  serve  in  any  diocese  nor  ordain  ex- 
cept  by  the   order   of   the   bishop   of   the    diocese. 
Any  offence  against  this  rule  is  to  be  punished  by 
the  synod.      Sunday  is  to   be   kept,    not   after  the 
Jewish  fashion  of  absolute  idleness,  but  so  as  not  to 
interfere  with  going    to    church.      But   of   this   the 
clergy  and  not  the  laity  shall  judge.      All  marriages, 


164  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

both  of  nobles  and  low  born,  shall  be  performed 
publicly.  Clergy  shall  not  administer  estates  nor 
ensraee  in  secular  affairs  except  for  churches, 
widows,  and  orphans,  by  the  order  of  the' bishop. 
In  case  of  the  death  of  a  bishop,  his  bishopric  shall 
not  be  left  vacant  more  than  three  months  except 
by  great  and  urgent  necessity.  Surely  at  the  next 
synod  a  bishop  shall  be  ordained.  No  cleric  shall 
be  tried  by  the  laity  except  by  the  express  order  of 
his  bishop  or  abbot.  All  immunities  are  assured  to 
all  the  churches.  Counts  and  judges  at  their  courts 
shall  try  first  the  cases  of  orphans,  widows,  and 
churches,  and  others  afterwards.  No  one  shall  at- 
tain any  office  or  rank  in  the  church  for' money  ; 
nor  shall  any  bishop,  abbot,  or  layman  take  any  fee 
for  administering  justice. 

This  important  document  completed  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  diocesan  system  throughout  the 
Prankish  kingdom  on  the  lines  laid  down  by  Boni- 
face in  the  early  synods  held  under  Pippin  and 
Karlmann.  It  also  established  the  system  of  met- 
ropolitans. It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  that 
the  higher  authority  in  appeals  and  other  matters 
above  the  metropolitans  rests  with  the  synod  and 
in  the  last  extreme  with  the  king.' 

Pippin's  interests  and  relations,  however,  were 
not  confined  to  his  own  kingdom  and  the  neighbor- 
ing Lombards.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had  re- 
fused to  hand  over  to  the  emperor  the  territory  con- 
quered for  and  given  to  the  pope,  his  relations  with 
the  emperor  continued  to  be  friendly,  and  in  the 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  32-37. 


The  Nezu  Mahomctaji  Caliphate.      165 

very  next  year  (757)  he  received  an  embassy  from 
Constantinople  bringing  rich  gifts,  and  among  them 
an  organ,  an  instrument  as  yet  unknown  in  Gaul  and 
the  object  of  great  admiration.  In  765  he  had  sent 
an  embassy  to  Bagdad,  and  in  the  April  before  he 
died  his  messengers  had  returned  with  envoys  from 
the  court  of  Almansor,  father  of  the  famous  Haroun 
al  Raschid.  For,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  just  at  this 
very  time,  when  the  final  separation  was  beginning 
to  take  place  betv/een  the  eastern  and  western  parts 
of  the  great  Roman  empire,  and  of  the  Christian 
Church,  when  a  new  kingdom  was  rising  in  the 
West  about  to  have  a  line  of  emperors  of  its  own, 
and  a  separate  ecclesiastical  organization  was  grow- 
ing up  under  the  Pope  of  Rome  as  in  the  East  under 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  so  in  the  great  Ma- 
hometan empire  south  of  the  Mediterranean  a 
mighty  revolution  had  taken  place.  In  750  the 
Ommiads,  who  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  had  held 
the  caliphate,  ruling  at  Damascus,  were  overthrown 
by  the  Abassides,  who  seized  the  caliphate,  and  soon 
after,  under  Almansor,  founded  Bagdad  and  made 
that  the  seat  of  power.  One  of  the  Ommiads,  how- 
ever, had  escaped,  and  crossing  through  Africa  and 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  had  founded  in  755  an  inde- 
pendent caliphate  at  Cordova.  It  was  against  the 
adherents  of  this  caliph  and  his  successors  that  the 
Franks  were  fighting,  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  king  of  the  Franks  found  that  he  had  a  natural 
ally  in  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad,  while  the  emperor  at 
Constantinople,  at  war  with  the  Saracens  at  his  own 
doors,  would  be  inclined  to  look  with  favor  on  their 
rivals  in  the  western  caliphate. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  WORK  OF  PIPPIN  —  HIS  DEATH  —  DIVISION 
OF  THE  KINGDOM  BETWEEN  CHARLES  AND 
KARLMANN — REVOLT  OF  THE  AQUITANIANS — 
PRANKISH  ALLIANCE  WITH  THE  LOMBARDS — 
DEATH  OF  KARLMANN — CHARLES  SOLE  KING 
— THE  SUBJUGATION  AND  CONVERSION  OF 
SAXONY — EARLY   SAXON   MISSIONARIES. 

HE  work  of  Pippin  was  finished.  The 
church  was  estabHshed  in  an  organized 
and  systematic  form  under  abbots,  bish- 
ops, and  metropoHtans  throughout  the 
Prankish  kingdom  ;  heathenism  was 
being  gradually  but  surely  eliminated  within  its 
borders,  while  missions  were  extended  and  mis- 
sionaries placed  under  royal  protection  among  peo- 
ples not  yet  converted  to  Christianity  ;  the  papacy 
was  established  at  Rome  over  a  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral sovereignty  under  the  protectorate  of  a  new 
line  of  Prankish  kings  ;  the  kingdom  itself  was  uni- 
fied and  consolidated,  and  its  principal  parts,  Aus- 
trasia,  Neustria,  and  last  of  all  Aquitania,  united 
under  one  head  ;  and  the  people  on  its  borders,  the 
Saxons,  Bavarians,  Lombards,  and  Saracens,  reduced 

i66 


Death  of  Pippin.  167 

to  submission  or  confined  within  fixed  bounds, 
which,  on  the  south,  were  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
and  the  Pyrenees  Mountains.  But  the  great  king- 
did  not  live  to  enjoy  this  triumph.  On  his  return 
to  Saintes,  at  the  close  of  his  successful  campaign 
against  the  Aquitanians,  he  was  taken  ill  with  fever. 
At  Tours  he  stopped  to  visit  the  shrine  of  St.  Mar- 
tin and  to  implore  aid.  His  prayers  were  of  no 
avail,  though  accompanied  with  rich  gifts  to  the 
church  and  the  poor.  With  his  wife  and  sons, 
Charles  and  Karlmann,  he  proceeded  to  Paris  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  Denis.  Here,  about  the  middle  of 
September,  feeling  that  his  end  was  near,  he  assem- 
bled for  the  last  time  the  nobles  of  his  realm,  dukes 
and  counts,  bishops  and  clergy,  and  with  their  con- 
sent divided  his  kingdom  equally  between  his  two 
sons,  who  had  been  anointed  with  him,  fourteen 
years  before,  by  the  pope  and  had  received  the  title 
of  Patricians  of  the  Romans.  On  September  24th, 
768,  Pippin  died,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  and  was 
buried  at  St.  Denis.  Much  confusion  exists  as  to 
the  division  of  his  kingdom,  and  though  little  is 
known  much  has  been  written.'  It  seems  probable, 
however,  that  the  three  parts  of  the  kingdom,  Neus- 
tria,  Aquitania,  and  Austrasia,  with  all  the  eastern 
parts,  were  divided  in  such  a  way  that  each  king 
should  have  a  part  of  each,  that  the  unity  of  the 
whole  kingdom  might  be  preserved  and  the  separa- 
tion of  nationalities  avoided.  Thus  each  had  both 
Germans  and  Romans,  though  the  former  predomi- 

•  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  95-98  ;    Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  pp.  23-30  ; 
Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  p.  49. 


1 68  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

nated  in  the  kingdom  of  Charles,  and  the  latter  in 
the  kingdom  of  Karlmann.  It  is  possible  that 
Neustria  was  to  be  held  by  them  both  in  common, 
as  it  is  not  expressly  named  in  the  accounts  of  the 
divisions,  and  at  the  formal  coronation  of  the  two 
kings,  which  took  place  on  the  same  day  (October 
9th),  Charles  was  crowned  at  Noyon,  and  Karlmann 
at  Soissons,  both  cities  in  Neustria,  not  far  apart. 
The  principle  of  division,  which  seems  to  us  a  very 
unfortunate  weakening  of  a  unity  established  at 
great  cost  and  labor,  was  firmly  established  among 
all  the  German  peoples,  had  been  invariably  fol- 
lowed by  the  Merovingians  and  continued  by  the 
mayors  of  the  palace.  It  did  serve  undoubtedly  to 
check  civil  war  and  dangerous  conspiracies.  So  Avell 
recognized  was  it  that  Stephen,  in  crowning  Pip- 
pin, had  anointed  both  his  sons  at  the  same  time. 

Division  here,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  Pippin 
before,  was  of  short  duration,  for  Karlmann  did  not 
long  survive  his  father,  and  in  771  Charles  ruled 
alone. 

Hardly  had  the  two  kings  begun  to  reign  when 
news  came  of  the  revolt  of  the  Aquitanians.  The 
death  of  their  duke,  Waifer,  seemed  to  have  insured 
their  submission  ;  but  the  death  of  Pippin  and  the 
division  of  the  kingdom  held  out  to  them  the  hope 
of  independence.  The  old  duke,  Hunold,  Waifer's 
father,  left  the  monastery  in  which  he  had  taken 
refuge  after  his  defeat  by  Pippin  and  the  murder  of 
his  brother  in  744,  and  headed  the  revolt  which  ex- 
tended from  Poitou  to  the  Pyrenees.  The  wisdom 
of  Pippin's  method  of  division  was  now  apparent. 


Reconciliation  of  Charles  and  Karlmann.  169 


for  both  brothers  hastened  with  their  armies  to  put 
down  the  revolt.  Karlmann,  however,  soon  re- 
turned and  left  his  brother  to  carry  on  the  campaign 
alone,  Hunold  was  driven  to  seek  refuge  in  Was- 
conia,  far  in  the  south,  but  at  the  command  of 
Charles  both  he  and  his  wife  were  delivered  up  to 
the  conqueror  by  Lupus,  the  duke  of  the  Was- 
conians.  The  revolt  was  at  an  end,  and  Charles 
returned  with  his  captives,  who  appear  no  more  in 
history.  The  relations  between  the  brothers  were 
still  more  strained  by  Karlmann 's  desertion.  The 
latter  had  not  been  kindly  disposed  towards  his 
brother,  whom  he  regarded  as  having  no  rights  in 
the  kingdom,  having  been  born  before  his  father 
became  king,  or  perhaps  before  his  father's  mar- 
riage, Charles  felt  his  power  and  position  threat- 
ened, and  at  once  made  overtures  to  Tassilo,  duke 
of  the  Bavarians,  and  to  Desiderius,  king  of  the 
Lombards.  A  reconciliation  between  the  brothers 
was  effected  by  the  queen-mother,  Bertrada,  and 
the  result  was  announced  to  the  pope,  who  sent  his 
congratulations,  glad  to  be  relieved  of  the  prospect 
of  an  alliance  between  the  Lombards  and  one  of 
the  Prankish  kings.' 

But  the  danger  was  not  wholly  averted.  Tassilo 
was  the  son  of  the  sister  of  Pippin,  and  consequent- 
ly the  cousin  of  Charles  and  of  Karlmann.  He  had 
been  for  some  time  practically  independent  of  the 
Prankish  kingdom,  and  though  he  had  taken  the 
oath  of  vassalage  in  757,  he  had  afterwards  refused 
his  aid  in  the  Aquitanian  campaign,  and  Pippin  had 
'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  155-158  ;  Ep.  46,  769  a.d. 


170  The  Age  of  Charlemagjic. 

been  too  much  engaged  to  force  him  to  repent  and 
renew  his  oath.  In  the  meantime  he  had  married  a 
daughter  of  Desiderius,  and  formed  a  close  poHtical 
alHance  with  the  Lombards.  It  was  Bertrada's 
plan  to  unite  them  all,  and  with  this  end  in  view 
she  restored  friendly  relations  between  the  cousins 
and  proposed  marriages  between  her  sons  and  two 
of  the  daughters  of  Desiderius,  and  between  her 
daughter  Gisla  and  the  son  of  Desiderius.  When 
the  pope  heard  of  this  his  rage  knew  no  bounds, 
and  he  gave  a  most  emphatic  expression  to  it  in  a 
long  letter  which  he  wrote  to  the  two  brothers.' 
The  marriages  of  the  two  brothers  to  the  Lombard 
princesses  seem  to  have  taken  place,  but  not  of  their 
sister,  and  she  was  induced  to  give  it  up  and  enter 
a  convent. 

Karlmann  having  died  December  4th,  771,  and 
leaving  only  minor  children  without  right  to  the 
succession,  Charles  took  possession  of  the  rest  of  the 
kingdom.  Karlmann's  widow  and  her  children  re- 
tired to  the  court  of  her  father,  the  Lombard  king ; 
and  Charles,  having  decided  to  renounce  alliance  with 
Desiderius,  disowned  his  Lombard  wife  and  sent 
her  back  to  her  father. 

Charles  now  began  to  give  evidence  of  the  policy 
he  intended  to  follow,  and  the  greatness  of  his  pur- 
poses began  to  appear.  The  work  of  his  ancestors 
he  took  up  and  completed,  and  for  a  short  time 
united  all  of  Western  Europe  in  one  great  empire. 
His  reign  lasted  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  dur- 
ing that  time  the  world  was  filled  with  the  renown 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  158-164;   Ep.  47,  769  a.d. 


Charles  the  Great.  i  71 

of  his  deeds.  He  increased  on  all  sides  the  extent  of 
the  Prankish  kingdom,  completed  the  union  of  the 
German  people,  attacked  and  overthrew  the  enemies 
of  Western  Christendom,  cemented  the  relations 
with  the  church,  and  more  completely  brought  about 
the  union  of  the  German  elements  with  Christianity, 
thereby  giving  to  the  Western  world  a  new  form  and 
preparing  for  the  German  people  a  great  future. 

His  deeds  are  alike  significant,  whether  regarded 
from  the  standpoint  of  general  European  history  or 
of  German  history  alone.  Even  the  earliest  chroni- 
clers give  him  the  title  of  "  Great,"  though  it  was 
not  at  first  a  formal  surname.  By  the  French  it  has 
been  incorporated  into  his  own  name,  and  he  is  gen- 
erally known  as  Charlemagne. 

Of  his  early  life  we  catch  only  the  slightest 
glimpses  in  a  fev/  stray  notices  in  connection  with 
his  father.  He  was  born  April  2d,  742,  and  re- 
ceived the  anointing  by  the  pope  in  754,  was 
crowned  in  768,  became  sole  king  in  771,  and 
reigned  until  his  death  in  814.  During  this  long 
reign  he  was  engaged  in  fifty-five  campaigns,  eigh- 
teen of  them  agaiiist  the  Saxons.  In  all  he  showed 
great  powers  of  command,  quickness  of  foresight 
and  of  judgment,  rapidity  and  force  in  execution, 
prudence  and  tact  in  management.  In  order  to  ac- 
complish this  result  he  reorganized  the  army,  unit- 
ing the  military  service  due  from  vassals  with  the 
liability  of  each  freeman. 

His  relations  with  the  church  are  of  the  greatest 
importance  and  interest  ;  he  had  been  the  one  to 
meet  the  pope  and   escort  him  to  his  father  when 


I  72  The  Age  of  CJiarlemagne. 

Stephen  had  crossed  the  Alps,  and,  with  his  broth- 
er, he  had  been  anointed  with  the  holy  oil,  and  re- 
ceived the  title  of  Patrician  of  the  Romans.  From 
that  time  on  everything  which  he  undertook  and 
accomplished  stood  in  the  closest  connection  with 
the  authority  and  influence  of  the  church  which  had 
its  centre  in  Rome.  By  his  efforts  Christianity  was 
extended  and  the  church  protected  ;  he  also  received 
its  support  in  his  undertakings,  and  it  acknowledged 
him  as  its  lord  protector  and  intercessor.  All  eccle- 
siastical affairs,  questions  of  constitution  and  of 
discipline,  as  v/ell  as  of  doctrine,  he  took  into  con- 
sideration, and  through  him  they  found  settle- 
ment and  decision,  sometimes  without,  or  even  in 
opposition  to,  the  Roman  bishop.  He  stood  as 
head  of  the  church  in  his  own  kingdom.  Alcuin 
calls  him  "  Pontifex, "  the  monk  of  St.  Gall, 
"  Bishop  of  the  Bishops."  The  bishops  of  that 
time  saw  in  him  not  only  the  mighty  protector  of 
the  church,  but  also  their  reformer  and  supreme 
governor.  Contemporaries  regarded  him  as  the 
preserver  and  father  of  Christianity.  He  calls  him- 
self the  defender  of  the  holy  church,  and  in  all 
things  the  aid  of  the  apostolic  see.  He  still  further 
developed  and  strengthened  the  union  with  the 
papacy  established  by  his  predecessors.  In  this 
connection  his  contests  with  the  Saxons  and  with 
the  Lombards  deserve  careful  consideration. 

His  wars  with  the  Saxons  were  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  Christianity  and  to  the  church.  Liv- 
ing far  in  the  North,  as  yet  uninfluenced  by  Roman 
armies,  art,  or  religion,   the  Saxons  still  dwelt  on 


The  Saxoits.  i  "jt, 


the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  by  the  shores  of  the  North- 
ern Sea,  wild,  barbarous,  careless  of  danger,  and 
enemies  alike  to  civilization,  to  Christianity,  and  to 
the  Franks. '  While  the  other  German  peoples,  the 
Lombards,  Goths,  and  Vandals,  left  their  original 
homes  to  wander  south  and  east  and  west  in  the 
great  Volkerwanderung  of  the  fourth  century,  the 
Saxons  had  only  enlarged  their  borders  and  taken 
up  the  lands  thus  left.  Some  of  their  tribes,  invit- 
ed by  greed  of  gain  and  impelled  by  increasing 
numbers,  had  crossed  to  Britain  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries  and  founded  England  ;  but  the  rest, 
Westphalians,  Angarians,  and  Eastphalians,  abode 
still  in  the  North  until  they  extended  from  the 
Eider  to  the  union  of  the  Fulda  and  the  Werra,  and 
from  the  Elbe  and  Saale  to  the  Rhine.  There  they 
remained  like  a  mighty  reservoir  of  water  threaten- 
ing to  overflow  its  bounds  and  with  a  sweeping 
flood  to  engulf  the  country. 

Little  had  they  changed  since  Tacitus  wrote  of 
them  from  what  he  learned  of  their  nearer  tribes. 
They  were  not  a  nation  or  a  people,  but  merely 
great  federations  of  tribes,  each  tribe  or  gau_^  ac- 
knowledging a  head  or  leader  of  the  host,  who  exer- 
cised religious,  military,  and  judicial  authority,  sev- 
eral uniting  under  a  chosen  leader  in  time  of  great 
need,  for  defence  or  for  attack. 

A  general  description  of  the  long  and  cruel  war 
which  Charles  waged  cannot  be  given  in  any  clearer 
way  than  in  the  words  of  Einhard  in  his  "  Life  of 
Charles  the  Great." 

"  No  war  ever  undertaken  by  the  Franks  was  car-, 


1 74  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

ried  on  with  longer  persistence,  more  bitterness,  or 
greater  labor,  because  the  Saxons,  like  most  of  the 
other  tribes  of  Germany,  were  fierce  by  nature, 
given  up  to  the  worship  of  evil  spirits,  and  opposed 
to  our  religion,  not  deeming  it  dishonorable  to 
transgress  and  violate  all  law,  human  and  divine. 
There  were  other  circumstances,  also,  Avhich  led  to  a 
breach  of  the  peace  every  day,  for  our  frontiers  and 
theirs  were  almost  everywhere  contiguous  in  an  open 
country,  and  it  was  only  at  rare  intervals  that  dense 
forests  or  mountain  ridges  defined  clearly  the 
boundary  limits  and  kept  the  two  peoples  apart. 
Consequently  along  the  whole  frontier  murders, 
thefts,  and  arsons  were  being  perpetrated  constantly 
on  both  sides.  These  outrages  so  irritated  the 
Franks  that  they  resolved  to  be  content  no  longer 
with  mere  retaliation,  but  to  declare  open  war 
against  them. 

"  Once  begun,  the  war  went  on  for  thirty-three 
years,  although  it  might  have  been  ended  sooner 
had  it  not  been  for  the  faithlessness  of  the  Saxons. 
It  would  be  dif^cult  to  tell  how  many  times,  con- 
quered and  submissive,  they  put  themselves  at  the 
king's  mercy  and  swore  obedience  to  his  commands, 
giving  without  delay  the  hostages'  required,  and 
received  the  officers  sent  them  by  the  king.  Some- 
times they  were  so  weakened  and  subdued  that  they 

'  Among  these  were  youths  whom  Charles  entrusted  to  various 
monasteries  to  be  brought  up  and  educated  in  the  Christian 
religion,  and  whom  afterwards  he  sent  back  to  preach  the  gospel 
in  their  own  land.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  such  was 
Ebbo,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  the  "  Apostle  of  Denmark"  and 
the  reputed  author  of  the  forged  Decretals.  See  translatio  S.  Viti. 
M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  ii. 


The  Saxon   War.  i  75 

promised  to  renounce  the  worship  of  evil  spirits  and 
to  accept  Christianity,  but  they  were  just  as  ready 
to  break  these  agreements  as  they  were  to  make 
them.  Indeed,  after  the  war  began,  hardly  a  year 
passed  without  such  evidence  of  fickleness  on  their 
part.  But  the  great  courage  and  determined  reso- 
lution of  the  king,  unflinching  alike  in  success  and 
in  defeat,  kept  him  unmoved  by  their  inconstancy, 
and  steadfast  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes. 
He  never  allowed  their  perfidy  to  go  unpunished, 
but  after  such  breach  of  faith  he  himself  or  one  of  his 
counts  led  an  army  against  them  to  wreak  vengeance 
and  to  inflict  upon  them  a  just  punishment.  At 
last,  after  a  final  victory,  he  took  ten  thousand  with 
their  wives  and  children  and  scattered  them  in  a 
thousand  different  places  in  Gaul  and  in  Germany. 

"  Thus  they  were  brought  to  accept  the  terms  of 
the  king,  in  accordance  with  which  they  abandoned 
their  demon  worship,  renounced  their  national  relig- 
ious customs,  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  received 
the  divine  sacraments,  and  were  united  with  the 
Franks,  forming  one  people."  ' 

Treachery  and  revolt,  the  destruction  of  churches, 
and  killing  of  priests  and  of  missionaries  may  be  at- 
tributed to  the  Saxons,  but  they  were  fighting  for 
home  and  liberty  against  a  foreign  invader  ;  cruelty 
and  savage  butchery  characterized  the  warfare  of 
the  Franks  ;  but  they  were  fighting  for  the  spread 
of  civilization  and  of  Christianity,  and  though  the 
greatness  of  Charles  appears  here  also,  yet  from  the 
midst  of  the  Saxon  warriors  looms  up  the  magnifi- 

'  Einhard,  "Vita  Karoli,"  c.  7  ;  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp,  515,  516. 


1 76  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


cent  form  of  their  great  leader,  Wittekind,  one  of 
the  noblest  of  the  heathen  heroes,  while  the  Saxons 
have  left  us  no  chronicles  setting  forth  the  glory 
and  the  justice  of  their  cause. 

A  few  details  are  worth  our  notice.  At  the  very 
beginning  of  the  struggle  the  destruction  by  Charles 
of  the  Irmensaul — a  sacred  object  connected  with 
their  worship — the  burning  of  a  Christian  church, 
and  the  driving  away  of  the  missionaries  by  the  Sax- 
ons showed  the  bitterness  underlying  the  struggle. 
It  was  darkness  resisting  the  oncoming  light  ;  bar- 
barism attempting  to  stay  the  progress  of  order 
and  civilization  ;  the  old  heathenism  opposing  the 
spreading  Christianity.  Gradually  the  strongholds 
of  the  Saxons  were  vv^renched  away,  new  ones  built, 
and  Prankish  garrisons  placed  in  them.  In  ^^6,  the 
chronicler  relates  : 

The  Saxons,  all  greatly  terrified,  coming  from 
every  side,  surrendered  and  promised  to  be  Chris- 
tians, submitting  to  the  rule  of  King  Charles  and  of 
the  Franks.  In  the  next  year,"  he  continues,  "  a 
multitude  of  the  Saxons  were  baptized,  and,  accord- 
ing to  their  custom,  gave  up  all  their  free  and  allo- 
dial lands  as  a  pledge  that  they  would  not  revolt 
again,  according  to  their  evil  custom,  but  would 
ever  keep  their  Christianity  and  their  fidelity  to 
the  lord  King  Charles,  his  sons,  and  the  Prankish 
people."  ' 

The  Mayfield  of  this  year  {777)  was  held  at  Padef- 
born,    in    the   heart    of    the    Saxon    country.     The 
whole  military  host  with  both  the  Prankish  and  the 
'  "Ann.  Lauriss,"  an.  776,  777  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  156-158. 


Saxons  Conquered  ajid  Baptized.       177 

Saxon  leaders  was  gathered  there.  The  conditions 
laid  down  for  peace  and  the  reception  to  equal  rights 
with  the  Franks  were  the  accepting  of  Christianity 
and  the  obligation  of  military  service  by  the  Saxons. 
Partly  by  force,  partly  by  persuasion,  and  partly 
by  offers  of  gifts  and  rewards,  they  were  induced  to 
accept  Christianity  and  to  be  baptized.  On  the 
banks  of  the  Lippe,  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  the 
Prankish  clergy  and  all  the  Prankish  army,  the 
whole  Saxon  nation  was  baptized.  It  was  an  im- 
pressive and  significant  sight,  but  it  was  of  pro- 
phetic rather  than  of  actual  significance.  The  host- 
ages were  put  in  charge  of  the  bishops  and  counts 
of  the  realm,  and  Saxon  noblemen  were  won  over 
to  the  Prankish  service.  The  conquered  district 
was  divided  and  assigned  to  bishops,  priests,  and 
abbots,  who  established  monasteries,  preached  and 
baptized.  An  army  was  assembled  and  Saxon 
nobles  put  in  command,  and  counties  were  estab- 
lished with  Saxon  counts. 

At  an  assembly  held  in  782  a  special  set  of  capitu- 
laries was  enacted  for  the  newly  added  Saxon  sub- 
jects, by  which  Christianity  and  the  Prankish  rule 
were  together  established  and  confirmed.  These 
capitularies  are  interesting  and  valuable  for  the  light 
they  throw  upon  the  methods  of  establishing  Chris- 
tianity in  a  new  country  and  among  a  heathen  peo- 
ple. They  declare  that  Christian  churches  are  to 
have  as  much  honor  as  the  old  heathen  temples  ; 
are  to  be  places  of  refuge  and  protected  from  vio- 
lence and  robbery  ;  the  Lenten  fast  to  be  observed, 
and  death   to   be   the   punishment   for  eating  meat 

L 


178  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

except  in  case  of  necessity.  The  murder  of  a 
bishop,  priest,  or  deacon  is  also  punishable  by  death 
without  allowing  the  payment  of  the  wergeld.  The 
old  heathen  practices  connected  with  cremation,  the 
burning  of  men  possessed  by  devils,  and  also  the 
human  sacrifices  of  heathenism  are  forbidden.  Re- 
fusal to  be  baptizxd  is  also  punishable  by  death. 
Participation  in  pagan  plots  against  Christians,  un- 
faithfulness to  the  king,  violence  done  to  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  lord,  the  killing  of  a  lord  or  lady  are  pun- 
ishable in  the  same  manner.  "  But  if  for  these 
mortal  crimes,  secretly  committed,  any  one  shall  go 
of  his  own  will  to  the  priest  and  make  a  confession 
and  do  penance,  he  shall  be  released  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  priest."  Provision  is  made  for  a  house 
and  land  connected  with  each  church  and  for  the 
number  of  servants  furnished  to  the  priest  in  pro- 
portion to  the  population.  Church  tithes  are  also 
required,  including  property  and  labor,  binding  on 
noble  and  on  peasant  alike.  No  assembly  or  public 
courts  to  be  held  on  Sunday  except  under  great 
necessity  or  in  time  of  war,  "  but  all  shall  go  to 
church  and  hear  the  Word  of  God  and  take  part  in 
prayer  and  religious  deeds."  The  same  law  shall 
be  observed  on  the  great  festival  days.  Children 
must  be  baptized  within  their  first  year,  and  for 
neglect  nobles  shall  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  solidi  ;  freemen,  sixty  ;  and  serfs,  thirty. 
Marriages  taking  place  within  prohibited  degrees 
are  punishable  by  fine.  Worship  at  fountains  or 
trees,  or  in  groves  connected  with  the  old  heathen 
worship,  was  to  be  punished  with  a  heavy  fine,  and 


Saxon  CapihUaries.  1 79 

service  is  to  be  rendered  to  the  church  until  the  fine 
is  paid.  The  bodies  of  Christian  Saxons  are  to  be 
placed  in  church  cemeteries  and  not  in  pagan  tombs. 
Robbers  and  malefactors  fleeing  from  one  county 
to  another  shall  be  given  up,  and  any  one  receiving 
them  for  more  than  seven  days  falls  under  the  royal 
ban.  No  one  is  to  be  prevented  from  going  to  the 
king  for  justice.  Gifts  and  rewards  shall  not  be 
taken  against  the  innocent,  and  any  one  giving  a 
pledge  or  security  shall  be  allowed  to  redeem  it. 
Peace  must  be  maintained  between  the  counts,  and 
all  oaths  must  be  kept.  Perjury  is  to  be  punished 
according  to  the  law  of  the  Saxons.  Public  games 
and  assemblies  of  the  Saxons  arc  forbidden  unless 
allowed  by  the  royal  commissioner  under  royal  com- 
mand. But  each  count  may  hold  pleas  and  admin- 
ister justice  in  his  own  district  and  "  let  the  priest 
see  that  justice  is  done."  ' 

Additional  capitularies  were  set  forth  in  797  at  a 
council  at  which  were  assembled  bishops,  abbots, 
counts,  and  Saxons  from  the  Westphalians,  Anga- 
rians,  and  Eastphalians,  meeting  at  Aix-la-Chapelle 
in  October.  Peace  was  declared  for  churches, 
widows,  orphans,  and  weak  persons.  No  one  was  to 
remain  away  from  the  army.  The  former  laws 
against  offences  were  repeated  save  that  the  penalty 
was  changed  from  death  to  heavy  fines.  Refusal  to 
go  to  the  assembly  was  also  punishable  by  fine,  and 
injuries  done  to  priests  or  their  dependents  were 
to  be  atoned  for  by  double  restitution.  A  threefold 
payment  was  to  be  made  for  killing  a  royal  commis- 
*  Boretius,  vol,  i.,  pp.  68-70,  No.  26. 


i8o  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

sioner.  Punishments  were  also  decreed  against 
various  offences,  and  in  conclusion  the  value  of  the 
solidus  was  laid  down  in  cattle  and  honey.'  Thus 
these  capitularies  mark  the  establishment  of  the 
Prankish  power  and  of  the  Christian  church  among 
the  Saxons. 

The  earlier  measures  which  Charles  had  used  to 
subdue  the  Saxons  had  been  neither  harsh  nor  cruel. 
He  wished  to  effect  a  recognition  of  his  rule  and 
the  reception  of  Christianity,  not  the  complete  sub- 
jugation of  the  people  nor  the  destruction  of  its  in- 
dividuality ;  but  he  had  no  time  to  waste  in  waiting 
for  the  slow  maturing  of  his  plans,  and  he  allowed 
no  scruples  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  immediate 
fulfilment  of  his  purposes. 

Finding  the  Saxons  still  resisting,  still  treacher- 
ous, in  consequence  of  a  new  and  sudden  outbreak 
under  their  leader,  Wittekind,  he  caused  forty-five 
hundred  of  them  to  be  put  to  the  sword  in  one  day. 
This  was  the  massacre  of  Verden,  in  the  year  782, 
and  it  has  been  called  the  one  great  blot  on  the 
memory  of  the  great  king.  But  even  this  was  not 
enough  ;  and  if  his  conquest  of  the  Saxons  was 
justifiable  at  all  he  knew  better  than  any  one  else 
the  means  necessary  to  accomplish  the  result  ;  only 
it  seems  as  if  it  would  have  been  more  in  accordance 
with  his  Christian  faith  and  the  powers  of  the  gos- 
pel, which  he  had  at  his  disposal,  had  he  employed 
the  soldiers  of  the  cross  rather  than  the  spears  of  his 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  71,  72,  No.  27.  The  solidus  was  de- 
clared equal  to  a  )'ear-old  calf  of  either  sex.  In  silver,  twelve 
pennies  made  a  solidus,  or  shilling.  It  is  estimated  as  worth 
about  eighteen  dollars  in  our  money.     Vetault,  p.  214. 


Revolt  Under  Wittekmd.  i8i 


army  to  bring  the  Saxons  to  submission  to  Christ 
and  to  a  union  with  the  Prankish  kingdom. 

Under  Wittekind,  the  Saxon  leader,  who  had 
never  submitted  to  Charles,  and  who  led  the  attack 
in  782  which  was  avenged  by  the  massacre  of  Ver- 
den,  the  Saxons  rose  in  revolt,  renounced  their 
Christianity  and  their  oaths  of  allegiance,  but  in  two 
great  battles  which  followed  speedily — the  only  two 
pitched  battles  of  the  war — they  were  thoroughly 
defeated  ;  although  twenty  long  years  of  brutal  vio- 
lence and  oppression  passed  before  the  end  could 
come.  The  strife  which  here  was  waged  has  a  most 
tragic  interest.  One  cannot  deny  sympathy  to  this 
people  who,  with  such  devotion  to  their  inherited 
order  and  independence,  fought  for  the  gods  of 
their  hearths  and  homes,  while  the  Prankish  king  by 
his  bloody  deed  chills  the  ardor  which  up  to  this 
point  has  attended  him.  But  the  higher  justifica- 
tion of  history  is,  after  all,  on  his  side.  One  must 
deplore  the  fact  that  here,  as  so  often  in  the  prog- 
ress of  earthly  affairs,  results  can  be  obtained  only 
by  means  of  force.  Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  opposition  of  the  Saxons  had  to  be  overcome  ; 
their  isolated  independence  must  be  broken  if  the 
German  people  were  to  experience  a  higher  unified 
development.  The  chronicler  concludes  his  account 
of  the  year  785  thus  : 

"  The  Saxons  then  surrendered,  again  received 
Christianity,  vv^hich  they  had  renounced  just  be- 
fore ;  peace  was  declared  ;  rebellion  ceased  ;  and 
Charles  returned  to  his  home.  It  is  said  that  Witte- 
kind, the  author  of  so  much  violence  and  the  insti- 


1 82  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

gator  of  the  perfidy,  came  with  his  followers  to  the 
palace  at  Attigny  and  was  there  baptized,  the  king 
receiving  him  from  the  font  and  presenting  him 
with  magnificent  gifts.  From  the  death  of  Pope 
Gregory,  who  had  begun  the  work  of  converting 
the  Saxons  by  his  mission  to  Britain,  it  had  been  one 
hundred  and  eighty  years."  ' 

The  rest  of  the  history  of  Wittekind  is  lost  in  leg- 
end and  obscurity  Vvath  the  names  of  Roland  and  of 
Arthur. 

Though  conquered,  the  Saxons  were  not  subdued  ; 
and  baptisms,  payment  of  tithes,  and  services  in 
the  royal  army  were  enforced  only  with  difficulty, 
the  penalty  of  death  being  declared  against  all  Avho 
refused  to  be  baptized,  did  violence  to  the  clergy, 
ate  meat  in  Lent,  relapsed  into  heathen  customs, 
or  robbed  or  burned  a  church. 

Far  in  the  North  rebellion  broke  out  anew  in  792. 
Once  more  they  renounced  the  Christianity  which 
was  still  to  them  the  badge  of  their  hated  subjec- 
tion to  the  Franks.  They  burned  their  churches 
and  drove  off  or  put  to  death  their  priests.  The 
revolt  spread,  and  in  794  Charles  prepared  to  meet 
it.  With  his  son.  Prince  Charles,  he  led  his  whole 
army  to  the  Saxon  frontier,  received  again  the  sub- 
mission, the  hostages,  and  the  oaths  of  the  terrified 
Saxons.  But  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe  the  king's 
authority  was  still  resisted.  Here  he  commanded  a 
complete  devastation,  and  after  putting  thousands 
of  warriors  to  the  sword,  he  ordered  the  removal  of 

'  "Ann.  Lauriss,"  an.  785  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  l.,.p.  32. 


Dep07'tation  of  Saxoiis. 


one  third  of  the  remahiing  male  population — over 
seven  thousand  it  is  said.' 

The  next  year  saw  the  devastation  carried  still 
further,  and  yet  the  resistance  was  continued  in  the 
almost  inaccessible  region  between  the  Weser  and 
the  Elbe  ;  but  Charles  was  not  to  be  foiled  in  his 
purpose.  Vessels  were  sent  around  by  sea  and 
others  in  sections  transported  over  the  land.  Fire 
and  the  destruction  of  everything  destructible  fol- 
lowed. Now  every  third  man,  with  his  wife  and 
children,  here  and  in  Friesland,  was  ordered  into 
exile,  and  loyal  Franks  were  put  in  their  places. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  capitulary  of  797  was 
put  forth  in  which  a  much  milder  policy  was  ob- 
served, and  the  voice  and  influence  of  Alcuin 
seemed  to  avail.  In  a  letter  to  the  royal  chamber- 
lain, after  instancing  the  manner  and  methods  of 
St.  Paul,  he  had  written  :  "  Let  but  the  same  pains 
be  taken  to  preach  the  easy  yoke  and  the  light  bur- 
den of  Christ  to  the  obstinate  people  of  the  Saxons 
as  are  taken  to  collect  the  tithes  from  them  or  to 
punish  the  least  transgression  of  the  laws  imposed 
on  them,  and  perhaps  they  would  be  found  no 
longer  to  repel  baptism  with  abhorrence."  ^ 

Winter  was  spent  in  the  North,  and  the  influence 
of  example  and  Christian  ways  was  added  to  the 
laws  and  precepts.  But  another  revolt  by  the 
Northalbingians — the  Saxons  on  the  banks  of  the 
Weser — threatened  to  undo  all  that  had  been 
achieved.     Again    submission    was    forced    at    the 

'   "Ann.  Alam.,"an.  795  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  47. 
'  Ep.  37.     Quoted  by  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  77. 


184  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

point  of  the  sword  and  a  new  and  larger  deportation 
followed.  In  804  the  last  blow  was  given  to  the 
dying  cause  of  Saxon  heathenism  and  indepen- 
dence. Charles  went  North  with  his  family  and  a 
large  army.  The  army,  with  the  allies  who  joined 
him  there,  was  divided  into  sections  and  sent  into 
various  districts  of  the  enemy's  territory.  When 
they  returned  they  left  nothing  behind  them. 
Baptism  by  the  priests  or  death  by  the  soldiers  was 
the  only  alternative,  and  the  baptism  of  a  few  was 
purchased  by  the  death  of  many.  It  has  rightly 
been  called  the  conversion  of  Saxony  rather  than  of 
the  Saxons.  The  men,  women,  and  children  who 
esaped  the  sword  were  driven  out  and  scattered 
over  the  Prankish  dominions.  It  is  said  that  the 
blood  of  over  two  hundred  thousand  Saxons 
changed  the  very  color  of  the  soil,  and  the  brown 
clay  of  earlier  times  gave  way  to  the  red  earth  of 
Westphalia.  This  ended  the  conquest  and  conver- 
sion of  Saxony.  What  that  conversion  meant  and 
what  it  Avas  worth  seems  hardly  an  appreciable 
quantity,  and  perhaps  amounted  to  nearly  nothing 
after  it  was  all  over  ;  but  succeeding  generations 
were  to  profit  by  that  mighty  struggle,  for  the  Sax- 
ony which  had  come  to  Charles  the  Great  only  after 
such  bloodshed  and  bitter  agony,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  ninth  century,  sent  forth  a  Luther  to  defy  a 
Charles  the  Fifth  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  missionary  work  closely  connected  with  and 
depending  upon  the  labors  of  the  army  deserves 
more   careful  attention.     It  is  for  this  that  Charles 


The  Enlightener  of  the  Saxons.         185 


has  been  called  by  one  of  the  early  writers  "  The 
Enlightener  of  the  Saxons."  Little  could  be  done 
in  the  time  of  actual  warfare  except  in  a  merely 
formal  and  mechanical  way  ;  but  as  fast  as  a  district 
was  conquered  it  was  assigned  for  Christian  over- 
sight and  culture  to  individual  clergy,  to  an  abbot, 
or  bishop,  or  priest  to  carry  on  the  preliminary 
work  of  preaching  and  baptizing.  As  soon  as 
churches  were  organized  they  were  brought  into 
union  with  Prankish  monasteries  and  bishoprics  in 
order  to  insure  their  proper  care,  or  else  an  abbey 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  missionary,  that  it  might 
serve  as  a  point  of  support  or  means  of  sustenance. 
With  the  progress  of  the  conversion,  however,  na- 
tive Saxons  were  consecrated  bishops  and  special 
places  selected  for  their  sees.  In  this  way  Charles 
laid  the  foundations  for  Bremen,  Werden,  Munster, 
Paderborn,  Osnabriick,  and  Minden,  some  of  them 
being  put  under  the  Archbishop  of  Mainz  and  some 
under  Cologne.  A  monastery  was  planned  for 
Hamburg  ;  and  under  Charles's  successors  the  bishop- 
rics of  Hildesheim  and  Halberstadt  were  established. 
In  the  last  years  of  Charles's  reign  preaching  and 
baptism  were  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  Saxon  land, 
and  under  his  successors  they  obtained  complete 
control.  With  Christianity  went  a  new  and  higher 
civilization,  for  men  were  attracted  in  large  numbers 
and  came  to  settle  near  these  bishoprics  and  monas- 
teries for  safety  and  protection.  Markets  were  es- 
tablished, roads  built  from  one  to  another,  and 
they  soon  became  important  centres  of  industry, 
trade,  and  civilization. 


1 86  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Foremost  among  the  missionaries  were  Gregory 
of  Utrecht,  the  abbot  Sturm,  both  disciples  and  fol- 
lowers of  Boniface  ;  Luidger,  who  succeeded  Labu- 
inus,  and  Willehad. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  important  missiona- 
ries among  the  people  of  the  North  was  Gregory, 
known  as  the  Abbot  of  Utrecht.  The  way  in  which 
he  came  under  the  influence  of  Boniface  and  en- 
tered upon  the  work  of  his  life  is  exceedingly  inter- 
esting and  instructive.  Boniface,  on  a  journey  from 
Friesland  to  Thuringia,  stopped  at  the  monastery 
of  the  abbess  Addula,  who  was  of  a  noble  family. 
During  the  meal-time  her  grandson,  Gregory,  a  boy 
of  fourteen  years,  just  out  of  school,  acted  as  reader 
and  read  some  passages  from  the  Bible.  Boniface 
praised  him  for  reading  so  well,  and  asked  him  to 
translate  it  into  his  own  language.  This  he  was 
unable  to  do,  and  Boniface  accordingly  translated 
and  explained  the  passages  in  a  way  that  made  a 
great  impression  upon  the  young  boy.  His  desire 
to  know  Boniface  better  and  to  learn  more  from  the 
great  man  led  him  to  devote  himself  to  the  great 
work  in  u^iich  Boniface  was  engaged.  The  abbess, 
to  whom  Boniface  was  unknown  at  that  time,  tried 
to  dissuade  the  boy,  but  Vv-ithout  avail.  He  even 
declared  that  he  would  follow  Boniface  on  foot  if  she 
would  not  give  him  a  horse.  She  was  forced  to 
yield  to  his  urgent  entreaties  ;  and  from  that  time 
on  he  was  a  devoted  and  constant  companion  to 
Boniface,  in  whose  service  and  under  whose  inspira- 
tion he  labored  in  Friesland  until  the  death  of  his 
master. 


Frankish  Missionaries.  187 

The  Bishop  of  Utrecht  having  been  martyred  with 
Boniface,  Gregory  took  upon  himself  the  whole  care 
of  the  Friesland  mission,  under  the  direction  of  Pope 
Stephen  and  King  Pippin.  He  refused  the  bish- 
opric, however,  and  shortly  afterwards  became  abbot 
of  the  monastery  in  Utrecht,  to  w4iich  were  sent 
boys  of  English,  Frankish,  Bavarian,  and  Saxon 
birth,  whose  education  Gregory  supervised.  He 
also  founded  a  missionary  school,  from  which  mis- 
sionaries went  forth  into  different  parts.  To  sup- 
ply the  want  of  a  bishop,  he  was  joined  by  Alubert, 
an  Englishman,  who  had  been  consecrated  bishop 
at  home.  Gregory  lived  to  the  age  of  over  seventy, 
and  died  in  781  in  the  midst  of  his  teachings  and 
missionary  labors. 

The  abbot  Sturm  was  early  consecrated  to  Chris- 
tian service  under  the  training  of  Boniface  while 
the  latter  was  organizing  the  church  in  Bavaria. 
After  his  ordination  as  priest  he  labored  three  years 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  Boniface,  and  then 
went  north  with  two  companions  to  find  a  new  cen- 
tre of  missionary  labor  in  the  wilderness.  The 
foundations  of  the  monastery  of  Hersfeld  were  laid, 
but  Boniface  regarded  it  as  too  exposed  to  the  rav- 
ages of  the  Saxons.  He  accordingly  started  forth 
again,  and  this  time  founded  Fulda,  in  which  Boni- 
face evinced  a  special  interest  and  for  which  he  pro- 
cured special  privileges  from  the  pope,  it  being  de- 
clared independent  of  episcopal  jurisdiction  and 
subject  directly  to  the  pope.  Sturm  then  went  to 
Italy  to  learn  further  details  of  his  duty  from  the 
monasteries    there,   particularly    from    the    original 


1 88  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Benedictine  establishment  at  Monte  Cassino.  On 
his  return  he  increased  the  number  of  monks  to 
four  thousand,  and  labored  to  reclaim  both  forests 
and  heathens.  Though  driven  away  from  time  to 
time  by  the  Saxons,  he  never  despaired,  and  labored 
earnestly  and  successfully  until  his  death  at  the 
close  of  the  year  779. 

Luidger,  born  of  Christian  parents,  came  under 
the  influence  and  training-  of  Gregory,  Abbot  of 
Utrecht,  one  of  the  early  laborers  in  Friesland. 
From  there  he  went  to  the  school  of  Alcuin,  al- 
ready famous  at  York,  Returning,  he  still  con- 
tinued to  labor  among  the  Friesians  until,  by  the 
revolt  of  the  Saxons  under  Wittekind,  he  and  his 
clergy  were  driven  away,  their  churches  burned,  and 
the  idol  temples  restored.  He  then  took  advantage 
of  the  opportunity  to  go  to  Rome  and  to  Monte 
Cassino  to  observe  the  methods  there,  and  to  gain 
further  training  and  instruction. 

Returning  after  three  years,  he  found  Wittekind 
converted  and  the  country  at  peace,  Charles  as- 
signed him  to  a  special  district  among  the  Friesland- 
ers,  where  he  founded  the  monastery  of  Werden. 
After  the  conclusion  of  the  Saxon  war  he  was  sent 
by  Charles  to  the  district  of  Miinster,  where  he 
founded  another  monastery,  later  the  bishopric  of 
Miinster.  He  journeyed  constantly  among  the 
Saxons,  preaching,  baptizing,  founding  churches, 
and  settling  over  them  priests  whom  he  himself  had 
trained.  His  zeal  would  have  carried  him  to  the  still 
wild  and  barbarous  Normans,  but  Charles  forbade  it. 
In  the  midst  of  his  labors,  in  the  year  809,  he  died. 


Charles  and  the  Missionaries.  189 


Willchad  was  a  missionary  who  came  from  North- 
umberland. He  also  labored  among  the  people  of 
Friesland,  near  where  Boniface  had  been  martyred. 
His  followers  having  attempted  with  inconsiderate 
zeal  the  immediate  destruction  of  the  heathen  tem- 
ples, he,  with  them,  was  seized  and  beaten  and  al- 
most put  to  death  by  the  sword.  Hearing  of  his 
courage,  zeal,  and  wonderful  escapes,  Charles  as- 
signed him  the  district  of  Bremen,  which  later  be- 
came a  bishopric  among  the  Frieslanders  and  newly 
conquered  Saxons.  But  the  revolt  of  Wittekind  in 
782  drove  him  away,  and  he  also  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  visit  Rome.  After  his  return  and  the  con- 
version of  Wittekind,  the  great  Saxon  leader,  in  785, 
he  carried  his  labors  to  success,  and  the  diocese  of 
Bremen  was  established  in  787  with  Willehad  as  its 
priest  and  bishop,  but  two  years  afterwards  he  died. 

Thus  these  noble  Christian  missionaries  labored, 
thus  Christian  teaching  followed  the  progress  of  the 
sword  of  the  Franks,  and  thus  Charles  the  Great 
directed  not  only  the  victories  of  war,  but  the  exten- 
sion of  Christianity  and  the  establishment  of  the 
church. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  LOMBARD  MARRIAGES— REPUDIATION  OF  HIS 
LOMBARD  WIFE  BY  CHARLES — POPE  HADRIAN 
AND  THE  LOMBARD  WAR — CONQUEST  OF  THE 
LOMBARDS  —  CHARLES  ENTERS  ROME  —  KING 
OF  THE  LOMBARDS — THE  SECOND  DONATION 
TO  THE  POPE — ADDITIONAL  POWERS  AS  PA- 
TRICIAN— POPE  LEO  AND  HIS  ACCUSERS — 
THE  OATH  BEFORE  CHARLES — CORONATION 
OF   CHARLES. 


T  is  necessary  to  know  the  main  outlines 
of  the  conquest  of  the  Saxons  and  the 
extension  of  the  Prankish  power  over 
them  in  order  to  understand  the  spread 
of  Christianity  and  the  establishment  of 
ihe  Christian  Church  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
kingdom.  It  is  also  necessary  to  know  the  outlines 
of  the  conquest  of  the  Lombards  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  relations  of  Charles  with  the  papacy. 

Desiderius,  the  Lombard  king,  by  the  marriages 
of  his  daughters,  had  allied  himself  to  all  the  leading 
princes  of  his  time.  Tassllo,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Odilo,  duke  of  the  Bavarians,  had  married  one 
named  Liutperga,  Arichis,  the  Duke  of  Benevento, 

igo 


Papal  Description  of  the  Lombard  A  lliarice.  1 9 1 

another,  Adelperga,  and  Charles  and  his  brother 
Karlmann  had  married  the  other  two,  Desiderata 
and  Gerberga.'  Athalgis,  the  son  of  Desiderius, 
had  married  Gisla,  the  sister  of  the  Prankish  kings. 
On  hearing  the  news  of  this  alliance  of  the  Franks 
and  Lombards  the  pope  was  filled  with  indignation 
and  alarm.  In  view  of  such  an  alliance  what  would 
become  of  the  newly  established  power  of  the 
papacy,  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter  ?  The  already 
threatened  subjection  of  the  pope  to  the  Lombard 
king  seemed  inevitable.  Stephen  accordingly  wrote 
at  once  to  those  whom  he  addresses  as  his  "  most 
excellent  sons,  Charles  and  Karlmann,  kings  of  the 
Pranks  and  patricians  of  the  Romans."  Their  in- 
tention to  marry  the  daughters  of  Desiderius  he 
regards  as  a  suggestion  of  the  devil,  and  inciden- 
tally alludes  to  the  garden  of  Eden.  "  It  would  be 
a  most  shameful  connection  and  downright  madness 
for  the  illustrious  race  of  the  Pranks,  which  shines 
forth  superior  to  all  people,  so  splendid,  so  noble, 
and  of  regal  power,  to  pollute  itself  with  the  perfid- 
ious race  of  the  Lombards,  leprous,  vile,  and  not 
recognized  among  the  races  of  men.  No  one  with 
a  sane  mind  would  suspect  for  a  moment  that  such 
renowned  kings  would  defile  themselves  with  such 
a  despicable  and  abominable  contagion."  He  re- 
minds them  of  the  beautiful  wives  they  already  had, 
most  noble  maidens  of  the  Prankish  race.*  "  Re- 
member this,  most   excellent  sons,"  he   continues, 


'   "  Chronic.  Cassineus,"  bk.  i.,  c.  17.   See  Mombert,  p.  77,  note  2. 
'  It  is  probable  that  these  Frankish  marriages  had  not  taken 
place  or  that  the  wives  had  died. 


192  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

that  our  predecessor  of  sacred  memory,  Stephen 
the  lord  pope,  implored  your  father  of  most  excel- 
lent memory  never  to  presume  to  put  away  his  wife, 
your  mother  ;  and  he,  as  in  truth  a  most  Christian 
king,  yielded  obedience  to  these  most  salutary  ad- 
monitions. Your  excellency  should  remember  that 
you  have  promised  to  the  blessed  Peter  and  to  his 
aforesaid  vicar  and  successors  to  be  friends  to  our 
friends  and  enemies  to  our  enemies.  Why  do  you 
strive  to  act  against  your  own  souls  in  wishing  to 
form  a  union  with  our  enemies,  even  with  that  per- 
jured race  of  the  Lombards,  ever  fighting  against 
the  church  of  God  and  invading  this,  our  province  of 
the  Romans,  and  thus  proved  to  be  our  enemies  ? 
Know  you  not  that  it  is  not  our  unhappiness  you 
despise,  but  the  blessed  Peter,  whose  unworthy  vicars 
we  are  permitted  to  be  ?  Forit  is  written,  '  He  who 
receiveth  you  receiveth  Me,  and  he  who  despiseth 
you  despiseth  Me,'  wherefor  also  the  blessed  Peter, 
prince  of  the  apostles,  to  whom  the  Lord  God  has 
given  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  to 
whom  has  been  granted  the  power  of  binding  and 
loosing  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  earnestly  implores 
your  excellency  through  our  unhappiness,  and  at 
the  same  time  also  we,  together  with  all  the  bishops, 
presbyters,  and  other  priests,  and  all  the  ofifiicials 
and  clergy  of  our  holy  church,  and  also  the  abbots 
and  all  those  consecrated  to  the  divine  service  in 
the  religious  life,  as  well  as  the  nobles  and  judges, 
and  all  our  people  of  the  Romans  of  this  province, 
beseech  you  with  an  appeal  to  the  divine  justice,  by 
the  living  and  true  God,  who  is  the  judge  of  living 


Queen  Hildegard.  193 

and  of  dead,  by  the  ineffable  power  of  His  divine 
majesty,  by  the  awful  day  of  future  judgment  when 
we  shall  behold  all  the  pnnces  and  powers  of  the 
whole  human  race  standing  with  fear,  as  well  as  by 
the  divine  mysteries  and  by  the  most  holy  body  of 
the  blessed  Peter,  adjure  you  that  in  no  way  either 
of  you  presume  to  receive  in  marriage  the  daughter 
of  the  already  mentioned  Desiderius,  king  of  the 
Lombards."  ' 

Whether  these  words  of  the  pope  influenced  him 
or  not,  within  a  year  Charles  divorced  the  daughter 
of  Desiderius,  sent  her  back  to  her  father,  and  im- 
mediately after  married  a  Suabian  princess  by  the 
name  of  Hildegard,  a  woman  of  rare  beauty,  bright 
intellect  and  attractive  grace,  benevolent,  devout, 
and  beloved  by  all,  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of  Charles 
and  the  mother  of  his  children. 

Mombert  relates  the  following  story,  told  by  the 
monk  of  St.  Gall.  A  certain  young  man,  in  whom 
the  king  took  an  interest,  and  whose  hopes  he  had 
raised  as  to  securing  a  vacant  bishopric,  happened  to 
be  with  him  at  the  hour  set  for  the  reception  of  cour- 
tiers. The  king  told  him  that  he  had  many  com- 
petitors for  the  vacancy,  and  bade  him  retire  behind 
a  curtain  and  learn  their  number.  One  by  one  the 
nobles  came  to  secure  the  position,  either  for  them- 
selves or  for  some  special  favorite.  At  last  Queen 
Hildegard  appeared  and  asked  it  for  her  own  chap- 
lain. The  king  objected,  protesting  that  although 
he  would  not  and  could  not  say  nay  to  her  in  al- 
most anything  she  might  ask,  yet  in  this  case  he 
'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  158-164  ;  Ep.  47,  769  A.D. 


194  T"^^^  ^S^  of  Charlevmgne. 

must  refuse,  for  he  had  promised  the  place  to  the 
young  man.  The  queen,  who  was  not  free  from  the 
weakness  of  women  of  setting  their  influence  against 
the  judgment  of  men,  suppressed  her  anger,  but 
forthwith  opened  upon  her  susceptible  spouse  a  bat- 
tery of  gentle  speeches  and  languid  looks,  saying  : 
"  Oh,  my  lord  king,  Avhy  waste  that  bishopric  upon 
such  a  boy  ?  Let  me  entreat  my  sweet  king,  my 
glory,  my  tower  of  strength,  to  confer  it  upon  your 
faithful  servant,  my  own  chaplain."  The  young 
man,  from  behind  the  curtain,  saw  and  heard  what 
was  going  on,  dreaded  the  worst,  and  unable  to 
contain  himself,  exclaimed  :  "  Keep  firm,  O  king, 
and  let  no  one  deprive  you  of  the  power  which  God 
has  given  you."  The  speech  pleased  Charles  so 
much  that  for  the  time  he  disobliged  the  charmer 
and  made  the  young  man  bishop.' 

The  repudiatioii  of  Desiderata  roused  the  anger 
and  resentment  of  her  father,  in  which  Tassilo,  duke 
of  the  Bavarians,  and  also  Karlmann  joined.  The 
hostility  between  the  two  brothers  revived,  but  in 
that  same  year  (//i)  Karlmann  died.  His  wife  and 
her  children  went  back  to  the  Lombard  court,  and 
Charles  reigned  alone.  \\\  a  letter  from  Cuthwulf, 
written  to  Charles  about  the  year  775,  it  is  declared 
that  he  is  to  be  congratulated  for  eight  things  : 
First,  that  he  is  born  of  royal  lineage  ;  secondly, 
that  he  is  the  first  born  ;  thirdly,  that  he  is  deliv- 
ered from  the  plots  of  his  brother  ;  fourthly,  that 
he  obtained  the  kingdom  with  his  brother  ;   fifthly, 

'  "Monach.  Sangall.,"  bk.  i.,  c.  iv.;  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  633-635  ; 
Mombert,  pp.  81,  82. 


The  Lombard  War.  195 

and  not  least,  that  God  removed  his  brother  from 
the  throne  and  exalted  him  over  the  whole  kingdom 
without  bloodshed  ;  sixthly,  the  flight  of  the  Lom- 
bard army  before  his  face  ;  seventhly,  the  crossing  of 
the  Alps,  the  flight  of  his  enemies,  and  the  taking 
of  the  rich  city  of  Pavia  with  all  its  treasures  ;  and 
eighthly,  the  entrance  into  golden  and  imperial 
Rome.' 

In  772  a  new  pope,  Hadrian  I.,  succeeded  to  the 
pontificate.  The  way  was  now  prepared  for  the 
development  of  more  cordial  relations  and  for  a 
closer  alliance  between  the  king  of  all  the  Franks 
and  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  Desiderius,  however, 
tried  to  win  the  pope  to  his  own  side  in  an  alliance 
against  Charles,  but  did  not  succeed,  though  he 
made  a  strong  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  widow  of 
Karlmann,  who  had  fled  to  him  with  her  children, 
and  he  even  marched  to  Rome.  Hadrian  at  once 
called  for  the  removal  of  the  leader  of  the  Lombard 
party  in  Rome  and  appealed  to  Charles,  informing 
him  that  the  king  of  the  Lombards  had  asked  him 
to  anoint  the  son  of  Karlmann  as  king  to  succeed 
his  father,  and,  upon  his  refusal,  had  seized  the 
cities  of  Taenza,  Ferrara,  and  Comacchio.  Charles 
responded  by  sending  ambassadors  to  Desiderius 
demanding  the  return  of  these  cities  to  the  pope, 
and  offering  an  indemnity  for  their  restoration. 
Upon  his  refusal  Charles  declared  war  as  the  pro- 
tector of  the  church,  and  started  for  Italy  with  a 
large  army," 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  336-338. 

'  "Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  773  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol,  i.,  p.  151. 


196  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


Desiderius  shut  himself  up  in  Pavia,  but  his  vas- 
sals and  followers  were  sadly  demoralized  before  the 
array  of  the  Prankish  army.  The  siege  of  Pavia 
lasted  all  winter,  during  which  time  town  after  town 
and  lord  after  lord  yielded  to  Charles.  In  the 
spring  of  the  next  year,  774,  leaving  the  continu- 
ance of  the  siege  to  his  followers,  Charles  accepted 
the  invitation  of  the  pope  and  entered  Rome,  the 
first  of  the  Prankish  kings  to  enter  the  imperial 
city,  which,  however,  he  visited  four  times.' 

His  reception  was  magnificent.  The  Senate  and 
nobles  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  at  the  request  of 
Hadrian  he  appeared  in  the  Roman  costume,  which 
he  wore  but  twice  in  his  life,  the  second  time  being 
in  the  memorable  year  of  800.  His  approach  was  a 
triumphal  march.  As  he  neared  the  gates  he  dis- 
mounted, and,  followed  by  his  officers,  entered  the 
city  on  foot,  and  ascended  the  steps  of  St.  Peter's, 
kissing  each  step.  At  the  top  Hadrian,  with  his 
clergy,  met  him.  They  kissed  each  other,  and, 
walking  together,  the  king  on  the  right  of  the  pope, 
proceeded  to  the  altar. 

On  the  next  day,  Easter,  April  3d,  he  received 
communion  from  the  pope,  and  on  Wednesday  in 
Easter  week  he  is  reported  to  have  confirmed  the 
grant  of  territory  made  by  his  father  to  Pope  Ste- 
phen, "  increasing  it  by  further  donations  in  antici- 
pation of  the  fruits  of  his  victory,"  wrote  the  papal 
biographer,  Anastasius. 

Pavia  surrendered  June,  774,  and   Desiderius  re- 

'   774,    781,    787,  and  800  A. D.;    Einhard,  "  Vita  Karoli,"  c.  27; 
Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  533. 


King  of  the  Lombards.  197 

tired  to  the  monastery  of  Corbie.  Athalgis  fled  to 
Constantinople,  showing  the  alliance  and  common 
cause  between  the  Lombard  king  and  the  emperor 
of  the  East,  both  of  whom  had  been  spoiled  of  their 
possessions  and  hopes  of  power  by  the  pope. 
Charles  enlarged  his  title  to  "  King  of  the  Franks 
and  of  the  Lombards,  and  Patrician  of  the  Ro- 
mans." 

For  the  first  time  the  conquest  of  the  Franks  was 
not  merged  into  the  Frankish  kingdom.  Charles, 
yielding,  it  is  said,  to  the  suggestion  of  the  pope, 
merely  added  the  title  of  "  Lombard  King"  to  his 
own,  and  respected  the  integrity  of  the  Lombard 
organization  appearing  as  successor  to  Desiderius. 
The  Duke  of  Spoleto  had  already,  in  773,  thrown 
himself  into  the  arms  of  the  pope,  and  only  one 
duke,  Arichis  of  Benevento,  the  son-in-law  of  Desid- 
erius, refused  to  acknowledge  the  new  king  of  the 
Lombards.  The  more  complete  and  firmly  estab- 
lished organization  of  the  Lombard  kingdom  made 
it  seem  undesirable  and  inexpedient  for  him  to  at- 
tempt its  absolute  incorporation  into  the  Frankish 
kingdom  even  if  that  were  possible.  Furthermore, 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  his  own  kingdom  prevent- 
ed his  staying  longer  in  Italy  ;  and  summoned 
North  by  a  fresh  outbreak  of  the  Saxons,  he  was 
unable  to  press  his  claims  or  to  push  his  conquest 
further  South. 

The  old  Lombard  constitution  remained  in  force, 
Charles  adding  laws  of  his  own  as  seemed  neces- 
sary. The  dukes  were  left,  partly  at  any  rate,  with 
the  powers  they  already  had.      Charles  was  satisfied 


198  The  Age  of  Charle^nagne. 

to  be  acknowledged  by  them  as  their  king,  and 
dukes  and  nobles  did  homage  to  him.  To  guard 
his  rule  he  put  a  Prankish  garrison  in  Pavia  with 
Prankish  officers,  and  appointed  counts  in  single 
provinces,  who  there  took  the  place  of  the  early 
dukes  ;  hostages  were  received  also  to  guarantee 
the  fidelity  of  the  Lombards.  After  making  gener- 
ous gifts  to  various  monasteries  and  to  a  hospital  in 
Pavia,  he  left  Italy  in  the  last  of  July,  and  returned 
to  continue  the  war  against  the  Saxons.  He  made 
a  special  reckoning  of  the  years  of  his  reign  in  Italy, 
and  in  one  of  his  capitularies  speaks  of  the  Lombard 
kings  as  "  our  predecessors,  the  kings  of  Italy."  ' 

It  is  a  mistake  to  affirm  that  Charles  was 
crowned  with  the  famous  "  iron  crown  of  Lom- 
bardy, "  supposed  to  contain  the  true  nails  of  the 
cross,  for  that  crown  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
worn  until  the  fourteenth  century.' 

Charles  was  in  no  haste  to  surrender  the  territory 
claimed  by  the  papacy  which  he  had  just  taken 
from  the  Lombards,  and  thus,  as  the  pope  declared, 
to  fulfil  the  promise  of  his  father.  Pippin.  The  let- 
ter which  Hadrian  wrote  to  Charles  in  778  is  signifi- 
cant. He  first  expresses  his  regret  that  Charles 
and  his  queen  had  not  presented  themselves  in 
Rome  at  Easter  for  the  baptism  of  their  newborn 
son.'' 

We  also,"  he  continues,  "  implore  your  excel- 
lency, best-beloved  son  and  illustrious  king,  for  the 

'   Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  204,  No.  98. 

'  Mombert,  pp.  99,  100. 

*  Pippin,  the  second  son,  born  in  the  previous  year,  777. 


The  Modern  Constantine.  199 

love  of  God  and  of  the  key-bearer  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  who  has  deigned  to  bestow  upon  you  the 
kingdom  of  your  father,  that  you  order  all  things  to 
be  fulfilled  in  our  time  according  to  the  promise 
which  you  made  to  God's  apostle  for  the  salvation 
of  your  soul  and  the  stability  of  your  realm  ;  that 
the  church  of  Almighty  God  and  of  the  blessed 
apostle  Peter,  to  whom  were  given  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  the  power  of  binding  and 
loosing,  may  continue  to  be  exalted  more  and  more, 
and  that  all  things  may  be  fulfilled  according  to 
your  promise,  and  then  to  you  will  be  ascribed  re- 
ward in  heavenly  places  and  an  excellent  reputation 
in  the  whole  world,  and  as  in  the  time  of  the  blessed 
Sylvester,  pontiff  of  Rome,  by  the  most  pious  em- 
peror Constantine  the  Great,  of  sacred  memory, 
through  his  generosity  the  holy  Catholic  and  apos- 
tolic Roman  Church  was  restored  and  exalted  and 
endowed  with  power  in  these  parts  of  the  West,  so 
also  in  these  most  fortunate  times  of  yours  and 
ours  may  the  holy  church  of  God — that  is,  of  the 
blessed  apostle  Peter — grow  and  enlarge  and  be  ex- 
alted more  and  more,  so  that  all  people  who  hear  of 
this  may  say,  '  O  Lord,  save  the  king  and  hear  us 
when  we  call  upon  Thee  !  '  '  for  lo  !  our  modern 
Constantine,  most  Christian  emperor  of  God's  ap- 
pointment, in  these  times  has  risen  up,  by  whom 
God  has  deigned  to  increase  the  possessions  of  his 
holy  church,  the  church  of  the  blessed  Peter,  prince 
of  the  apostles.  Besides,  let  all  other  lands  which, 
by  various  emperors,  patricians,  and  others  fearing 

'   Ps.  xviii.  10. 


200  The  Age  of  Charlemagne, 

God  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls  and  for  the  par- 
don of  their  sins,  in  parts  of  Tuscany,  Spoleto,  Bene- 
vento,  Corsica,  and  in  the  Sabine  patrimony,  have 
been  granted  to  the  blessed  apostle  Peter  and  to 
the  holy  and  apostolic  Roman  Church  and  by  the 
execrable  race  of  the  Lombards  in  the  course  of 
years  have  been  seized  and  carried  off,  now  in  your 
time  be  restored.  Of  which  also  we  have  many 
deeds  of  donation  laid  up  in  our  sacred  archives  of 
the  Lateran,  which  we  have  directed  to  be  shown  to 
you."  ' 

This  is  especially  noteworthy  as  being  the  first 
reference  to  the  Forged  Donation,  but  beyond  the 
fact  that  the  church  owned  large  estates  in  Spoleto, 
Tuscany,  Sabina,  and  Ravenna,  to  which  undoubt- 
edly Charles  made  important  additions,  nothing  can 
be  maintained  with  any  certainty.  It  is  to  be  no- 
ticed also  that  the  greater  number  of  the  papal  let- 
ters have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  the  spiritual 
and  moral  advancement  of  the  church  and  the 
spread  of  Christianity,  for  which  Charles  and  his 
bishops  and  other  clergy  were  doing  so  much,  but 
are  filled  with  expressions  of  the  papal  longing  for 
temporal  possessions  and  the  dread  or  complaint  of 
their  loss.  The  advancement  of  the  church  is 
synonymous  with  the  increase  of  its  temporal  power 
and  territorial  aggrandizement,  while  spiritual  wel- 
fare and  salvation  are  made  the  reward  for  gifts  of 
territory  and  of  dominion.  The  relations  of  Charles 
with  the  pope  were  purely  political,  and  the  place 
w^hich  the  Bishop  of  Rome  occupied  seemed  to  be 
'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  199,  200  ;  Ep.  61,  778  a.d. 


The  Donation  by  diaries.  201 

that  of  a  temporal  prince  with  supernatural  powers. 
It  is  not  to  Rome,  but  to  the  Prankish  bishops  and 
clergy  that  we  look  for  the  ecclesiastical  and  spir- 
itual interests  of  Charles  and  of  his  realm.  The 
times  of  Gregory  and  Augustine,  and  even  the 
times  of  Zacharias  and  Boniface,  have  passed,  and  it 
will  be  long  before  they  come  again.  The  biog- 
rapher of  Hadrian  describes  most  minutely  and  at 
great  length  the  visit  of  Charles  to  Rome,  which 
he  says  was  at  first  a  great  surprise  to  the  pope. 
The  care,  however,  with  which  he  enters  into  every 
detail,  and  the  elaborate  ceremonies  carried  on  on 
that  occasion,  show  with  what  importance  it  was 
regarded  at  Rome.  The  solemn  oath  on  each  side, 
to  which  afterwards  reference  was  frequently  made, 
was  of  the  utmost  significance,  and  from  this  time 
the  claims  of  the  pope  for  the  delivery  and  surer  pos- 
session of  the  territories  already  granted  by  Pippin, 
and  now  confirmed  by  Charles  to  the  blessed  Peter, 
are  the  principal  object  of  the  correspondence  be- 
tween the  pope  and  the  king. 

In  view  of  the  evidence  adduced  it  can  hardly  be 
denied  that  Charles  gave  the  promise  of  a  gift  which 
was  essentially  a  repetition  of  his  father's,  and  that 
he  made  an  offering  of  this  kind  at  the  tomb  of  St. 
Peter.  Of  this  the  pope  most  diligently  reminded 
him  in  every  letter  of  their  correspondence.  It  is 
also  quite  certain  that  Charles  about  this  time  re- 
stored to  the  Roman  see  a  number  of  cities,  lands, 
and  castles  which  the  Lombards  had  seized,  but  the 
exact  details  cannot  be  known  ;  even  the  papal 
biographer  does  not  give  the  exact  words,  and  it  is 


202  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

probable  that  the  boundary  definitions  are  the  in- 
terpolation of  later  times.'  The  gain  for  the  papal 
see  under  these  conditions  was  not  very  great. 
Charles  probably  would  not  have  made  his  promise 
of  donation  if  the  pope  had  not  been  able  to  appeal 
to  the  precedent  established  by  his  father.  He 
himself  showed  through  his  whole  later  action  that 
the  restoration  of  the  territory  to  the  Roman  see, 
which  the  pope  demanded,  did  not  lie  very  close  to 
his  heart,  and  the  fulfilment  of  such  a  promise  de- 
pended upon  conditions  which  made  it  easy  to  defer 
if  not  to  evade  it.  Had  he  earnestly  determined  to 
restore  to  the  pope  possession  of  all  those  lands, 
undoubtedly  he  could  have  accomplished  it  ;  and 
that  this  did  not  happen,  while  not  proving  that  he 
would  break  his  promise,  shows  that  he  had  little 
interest  in  it. 

The  position  of  Charles  as  patrician  of  Rome 
throws  much  light  on  his  relations  with  the  papal 
see.  Stephen  HI.  had  called  Pippin  and  his  son  to 
the  patriciate  of  Rome  as  a  sort  of  military  pro- 
tectorship and  honorary  chieftainship  over  the 
church  and  her  interests,  but  naturally  without  de- 
pendence on  the  emperor,  since  the  pope  and  not 
the  emperor  had  named  them  patricians. 

It  was  not  for  the  interest  of  the  pope,  however, 
to  use  this  title  very  generally,  since  it  carried  with 
it  an  idea  of  rule  and  of  governorship.  It  w^as  to 
lay  upon  the  Carolingians  obligations  rather  than 
to  confer  upon  them  rights  and  privileges.      Ever 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,   pp.   180-1S2  ;  21S-220  ;  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.. 
pp.  156-170. 


King  and  Patrician.  203 

since  the  journey  of  Charles  to  Italy  a  change  had 
come,  not  so  much  on  account  of  his  Easter  visit  to 
Rome,  but  in  consequence  of  the  complete  ruin  of 
the  Lombard  kingdom.  He  had  now  added  to  the 
honorary  dignity  of  the  patriciate  the  actual  power 
of  the  Lombard  king.  He  would  realize  the  duties 
and  rights  of  his  patriciate  ;  but  now,  not  in  the 
name  of  the  emperor,  or  even  in  that  of  the  pope, 
but  in  his  own,  and  he  succeeded  practically  to  the 
place  of  the  emperor  both  in  Roman  and  in  Grecian 
Italy.  On  these  relations  depended  the  greater 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying  out  the  donations. 
Even  in  the  territories  whose  possession  the  pope 
really  gained  the  rights  of  his  sway  were  not  uncon- 
tested. In  no  part  of  the  possessions  of  the  church 
was  he  wholly  independent  ;  everywhere  the  Prank- 
ish king  had  certain  rights,  though  nothing  definite 
had  been  determined  as  to  the  limits  of  those  rights 
on  either  side.  It  happened,  in  consequence  of  this 
lack  of  definiteness,  that  the  relations  of  the  pope 
with  the  royal  officers,  and  often  with  the  king  him- 
self, led  frequently  to  sharp  discussions,  from  which 
it  sometimes  resulted  that  in  all  the  lands  of  the 
church  the  supremacy  belonged  not  to  the  pope, 
but  to  the  Frankish  king.'  In  this  respect  there  was 
no  difference  between  the  exarchate  and  the  other 
possessions  of  the  pope  where  Charles  exercised  the 
right   of   supremacy."     Here   too   he    showed   quite 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  i8i,  note  2  ;  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  p.  174 
and  note  i  ;  Dollinger,  "  Charles  the  Great,"  pp.  103-108. 

'^  Dollinger,  "  Charles  the  Great,"  p.  104,  note  2.  Citing  the 
affair  of  Archbishop  Martin  as  a  case  in  point ;  Abel-Simson, 
vol.  i.,  pp.  212-214. 


204  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

distinctly  how  slight  was  his  zeal  for  the  spread  of 
church  territory,  for  he  allowed  the  exarchate  to 
fall  quite  completely  into  the  possession  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Ravenna,  and  for  several  years  it  was 
withheld  by  him  from  the  pope.  Charles  was  now 
recognized  as  the  supreme  ruler  in  all  the  territories 
of  the  church.  For  him  prayer  was  offered  in 
Hadrian's  ritual  in  the  Roman  Church,  as  through- 
out the  whole  Frankish  kingdom.'  The  people  in 
papal  territory  must  swear  fidelity  to  him  as  well  as 
to  the  pope,°  and  long  before  his  coronation  as  em- 
peror the  Romans  in  Italy  were  regarded  as  his  vas- 
sals and  Rome  itself  as  a  city  of  his  kingdom.^ 
When  Hadrian  died  in  795  and  Leo  was  elected  in 
his  place,  he  transmitted,  as  once  already  had  his 
predecessor,  Stephen,  to  Charles  Martel,  the  keys 
of  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter  and  the  banner  of  the  city, 
joining  with  it  the  request  that  the  king  would  send 
one  of  his  nobles  to  bind  by  oath  the  Roman  peo- 
ple in  fidelity  and  submission  to  him.^ 

Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  Charles  claimed 
true  royal  rights  in  Rome,  and  that  Leo  completely 
recognized  them.^  He  was  the  first  of  the  popes 
who  dated  his  public  acts  with  the  years  of  Charles's 
reign. 

Oppressed  by  an  opposing  party  in  the  city,  who 
charged  him  with  heinous  crimes,  seized,  maltreat- 


'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  p.  205  ;  Ep.  64,  774-780  A.D, 

*  Ibid  ,  p.  187. 

'  DoUinger,  "  Charles  the  Great,"  p.  105,  referring  to  Paulus. 

*  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.  p.  187  ;  Ep.   56,  775  a.d.  ;  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i., 

P-  175- 

*  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  p.  354;  Ep.  Car.,  10,  796  a.d. 


The  Papal  Oath  of  Purgation,        205 

ed,  and  wounded,  Leo,  in  799,  fled  to  Charles, 
whom  he  found  in  far-off  Saxony.  Ofificers  of  the 
king  escorted  him  back  to  Rome,  held  a  trial  of  his 
oppressors,  and  sent  them  into  exile  beyond  the 
Alps.'  And  when,  a  year  later,  Charles  himself 
came  to  Rome,  the  pope  cleared  himself  from  the 
charge  with  an  oath  in  his  presence.  The  following 
account  is  given  by  the  papal  biographer  : 

"  After  a  little  while  the  great  king  himself  came 
to  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  and  was  received  with 
great  honor.  He  then  called  together  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  abbots,  and  all  the  nobility  of  the 
Franks  and  the  equally  illustrious  men  of  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  great  king  and  the  most  blessed  pon- 
tiff sitting  together,  made  the  archbishops,  bishops, 
and  abbots  sit  near  them,  while  the  others,  the 
priests  and  nobles,  stood,  that  they  might  render  a 
decision  regarding  the  crimes  charged  against  the 
pope.  All  declared  :  '  We  do  not  dare  to  judge 
the  apostolic  see,  which  is  the  head  of  all  the 
churches  of  God,  for  we  all  are  judged  by  it  and  by 
its  vicar  ;  but  it  is  judged  by  no  one  according  to 
the  ancient  custom.  As  the  chief  pontiffs  so  have 
decreed,  we  canonically  obey. '  But  the  venerable 
head  of  the  church  said,  '  I  follow  the  precedents 
of  my  predecessors,  and  from  such  false  incrimina- 
tion as  they  have  wickedly  charged  upon  me  I  am 
ready  to  purge  myself.'  "  '■' 

The   oath    is   as    follows  :    "  Wherefore    I,    Leo, 

'   "Ann.  Lauresh.,"  an.  ygg  ;  M.  G.   SS.,   vol.  i.,  p.  37  ;  "Ann. 
Laur.  Maj.  and  Einhardi,"  an.  799;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  184-187. 
■^  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  7,  c.  21. 


2o6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

pontiff  of  the  whole  Roman  Church,  judged  by  no 
one,  neither  forced  by  any,  but  of  my  own  free  will, 
do  purify  and  purge  myself  in  your  sight,  and  be- 
fore God  and  his  angels,  who  know  my  conscience, 
and  the  blessed  Peter,  prince  of  the  apostles,  in 
whose  church  we  are,  that  I  have  neither  perpe- 
trated nor  ordered  to  be  done  those  criminal  and 
wicked  acts  which  they  charge  against  me.  God  is 
my  witness,  to  whose  judgment-seat  we  all  must 
come,  and  in  whose  sight  we  all  just  stand.  And 
this  I  do  of  my  own  free  will,  on  account  of  the 
suspicions  raised  against  me  ;  not  as  though  it  were 
laid  down  in  the  canons,  nor  so  as  to  bind  this  cus- 
tom or  decree  upon  my  successors  in  the  holy 
church,  or  upon  my  brethren  and  fellow-bishops."  ' 
The  papal  biographer  continues  :  "  But  on  the 
next  day,  in  the  same  church  of  St.  Peter,  all  the 
archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  and  all  the  Franks 
who  were  in  the  service  of  the  great  king,  and  all 
the  Roman  people  being  assembled,  in  their  pres- 
ence the  venerable  pontiff  embraced  the  four  holy 
gospels  of  Christ,  and  before  them  all  ascended  to 
the  pulpit  and,  under  oath,  said,  with  a  clear  voice  : 
'  Indeed,  of  those  false  crimes  with  which  the  Ro- 
mans have  accused  me,  who  have  unjustly  persecut- 
ed me,  I  have  no  knowledge,  and  I  deny  that  I 
have  done  such  things.'  All  then  joined  in  a  litany 
of  praise  to  God,  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  St.  Peter, 
and  to  all  the  saints.  After  these  things,  the  day 
of  the  birth  of  Christ  arriving,  they  were  all  in  the 
same  church  again,  and  then  the  venerable  and 
'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  378  ;  Ep.  Car.,  20,  a.d.  800. 


The  Coronation.  207 

beneficent  pontiff  with  his  own  hand  crowned  him 
with  the  most  precious  crown.  Then  all  the  faithful 
Romans,  seeing  what  great  care  and  love  he  had  for 
the  holy  Roman  Church  and  its  vicar,  unanimously, 
with  a  loud  voice,  by  the  will  of  God  and  of  the 
blessed  Peter,  key-bearer  of  heaven,  exclaimed  : 
To  Charles,  the  most  pious  Augustus,  crowned  by 
God,  great  and  pacific  emperor,  life  and  victory  !  ' 
Before  the  sacred  tomb  of  the  blessed  apostle  Peter, 
invoking  many  saints,  it  was  thrice  said,  and  he  was 
constituted  by  all  emperor  of  the  Romans.  There 
also  the  most  holy  chief  and  pontiff  anointed  with 
holy  oil  Charles,  his  most  excellent  son,  as  king  on 
the  same  day/  and  Mass  being  ended,  the  most 
serene  lord  emperor  offered  a  silver  table,  and  at 
the  tomb  of  St.  Peter,  with  his  sons  and  daughters, 
vases  of  pure  gold  and  other  gifts."  ^ 


'  Charles  had  been  raised  to  the  kingship  in  788,  and  had  re- 
ceived from  his  father  a  Inngdom  in  Neustria  in  789.  Abel-Simson, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  6,  7. 

^  "Lib.  Pontif.,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  7  ff.,  c.  22-25. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PRANKISH  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  CORONATION — THE 
ACT  OF  THE  POPE — THREE  THEORIES — THE 
ATTITUDE  OF  CHARLES  —  RELATIONS  WITH 
CONSTANTINOPLE — RENEWAL  AND  TRANSFER 
— TWO  EMPERORS  AND  TWO  EMPIRES — IDEA 
OF  A  WORLD  EMPIRE  IN  UNION  WITH  THE 
CHURCH. 

F  the  personal  action  of  the  pope  in  the 
coronation  of  Charles  the  Great,  two  dif- 
ferent accounts  are  given,  the  Prankish 
and  the  papal,  but  these  two  accounts 
vary  in  so  many  important  particulars 
that  they  cannot  be  combined.  One  must  be  right 
and  the  other  wrong,  and  from  internal  evidence  the 
Prankish  seems  more  entitled  to  credence.  The 
papal  account  was  given  at  the  close  of  the  preced- 
ing chapter. 

The  fullest  account  from  Prankish  sources  is 
given  in  the  Chronicle  of  Moissac,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Now  on  the  most  holy  day  of  the  Lord's 
birth,*  while  the  king  was  at  mass,  upon  rising  after 
prayer  before  the  tomb  of  the  blessed  Apostle  Peter, 

'   Friday,  Dec.  25,  800  A. D. 
208 


'■^Adoration'  by  the  Pope.  209 

Pope  Leo,  with  the  consent  of  all  the  bishops  and 
priests  and  of  the  chief  men  of  the  Franks  and  like- 
wise of  the  Romans,  set  a  golden  crown  upon  his 
head,  while  the  Roman  people  shouted  aloud  : 
*  To  Charles  Augustus,  crowned  by  God  the  great 
and  peace-giving  emperor  of  the  Romans,  Life  and 
Victory  !  '  After  hymns  of  praise  had  been  sung 
by  the  people,  he  received  the  adoration  of  the 
pope,'  after  the  apostolic  manner  of  the  ancient  em- 
perors, since  this  also  was  done  by  the  will  of  God. 
For  while  the  emperor  was  at  Rome,  certain  men 
were  brought  to  him  saying  that  the  name  of  the 
emperor  had  ceased  among  the  Greeks,  and  a  woman 
held  imperial  rule  among  them,  Irene  by  name,  who 
had  caused  her  son,  the  emperor,  to  be  seized  by 
treachery,  and  had  put  out  his  eyes  and  usurped  for 
herself  the  imperial  rule,  as  it  is  written  of  Athaliah 
in  the  Book  of  Kings.  When  they  heard  of  this, 
Leo  the  pope,  with  all  the  assembly  of  the  bishops, 
priests,  and  abbots,  the  senate  of  the  Franks,  and 
all  the  elders  of  the  Romans,  with  the  rest  of  the 
Christian  people,  held  a  council,  and  decided  that 
they  ought  to  give  to  Charles,  the  king  of  the 
Franks,  the  name  of  emperor,  inasmuch  as  he  held 
Rome,  the  mother  of  the  empire,  where  the  Caesars 
and  the  emperors  always  used  to  sit,  and  lest  the 
heathens  should  mock  the  Christians  if  the  name  of 
emperor  had  ceased  among  them."''  The  other 
account  declares  that  Charles  held  Rome  itself  and 


'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  8oi  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  189. 
2  "Chronic.  Moiss.,"  an.  801  (for  800)  ;   M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  pp. 
505,  506. 

N 


2IO  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

all  the  other  regions  which  he  ruled  throughout 
Italy,  Gaul,  and  Germany,  and  because  the  Al- 
mighty God  had  given  all  these  lands  into  his  power, 
so  it  seemed  best  to  the  council  that,  with  the  help 
of  God  and  at  the  prayer  of  the  whole  Christian  peo- 
ple, he  should  take  the  name  of  emperor.  Whose 
petition  King  Charles  was  himself  unwilling  to  re- 
fuse, but  with  all  humility  submitted  himself  to 
God,  and  at  the  petition  of  the  priests  and  all  the 
Christian  people,  on  the  day  of  the  nativity  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  took  upon  himself  the  name  of 
emperor,  being  consecrated   by  the  lord  Pope  Leo.' 

The  noteworthy  differences  between  these  various 
accounts  relate  to  the  charges  against  the  pope  and 
his  justification  of  himself  before  Charles,  to  the 
assemblies,  consultations,  formal  petitions,  and  final 
decisions  preceding  the  coronation  itself,  and  to  the 
fact  that  the  papal  account  makes  no  mention  of 
the  adoration  of  the  emperor  by  the  pope  according 
to  the  ancient  custom,  an  important  and  undoubt- 
edly a  real  feature  of  the  coronation  and  one  not 
unsuited  to  the  occasion.''  A  pope  had  already 
prostrated  himself  before  Pippin,  and  the  interven- 
tion of  Charles  was  greatly  needed  by  Pope  Leo  at 
this  time.  Bryce  is  right,  however,  in  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  absence  of  anything  showing  a  strictly 
legal  character. 

"  The  Prankish  king  does  not  of  his  own  might 
seize  the  crown,  but  rather  receives  it  as  coming 
naturally  to  him,  as  the  legitimate  consequence  of 

'  "Ann.  Lauresh.,"  an.  8oi  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  38. 
«  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  801  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  189. 


Theories  of  the   Corojiatioii.  2 1 1 

the  authority  he  already  enjoyed.  The  pope  be- 
stows the  crown,  not  in  virtue  of  any  right  of  his 
own  as  head  of  the  church  ;  he  is  merely  the  instru- 
ment of  God's  providence,  which  has  unmistakably 
pointed  out  Charles  as  the  proper  person  to  defend 
and  lead  the  Christian  commonwealth.  The  Roman 
people  do  not  formally  elect  and  appoint,  but  by 
their  applause  accept  the  chief  who  is  presented  to 
them.  He  came  as  conceived  of,  as  directly  ordered 
by  the  Divine  Providence  which  has  brought  about 
a  state  of  things  that  admits  of  but  one  issue — an 
issue  which  king,  priest,  and  people  have  only  to 
recognize  and  obey — their  personal  ambitions,  pas- 
sions, intrigues,  sinking  and  vanishing  in  reverential 
awe  at  what  seems  the  immediate  interposition  of 
Heaven.  And  as  the  result  is  desired  by  all  parties 
alike,  they  do  not  think  of  inquiring  into  one  an- 
other's rights,  but  take  their  momentary  harmony 
to  be  natural  and  necessary,  never  dreaming  of  the 
difficulties  and  conflicts  which  were  to  arise  out  of 
what  seemed  then  so  simple.  And  it  was  just  be- 
cause everything  was  thus  left  undetermined,  not 
resting  on  express  stipulations,  but  rather  on  a  sort 
of  mutual  understanding  and  sympathy  of  beliefs 
and  wishes  which  augured  no  evil,  that  the  event 
admitted  of  being  afterwards  represented  in  so  many 
different  lights."  ' 

It  was  only  later  in  the  bitter  struggle  between 
the  Hohenstaufen  emperors  and  the  papacy  that 
each  party  sought  to  find  in  the  coronation  of 
Charles  a  precedent  for  the  rights  which  he  claimed. 

■  Bryce,  pp.  56,  57. 


212  The  Age  of  Chai^lemagne. 

/  The  circumstances  thus  show  that  there  must  have 
been  some  preparation  for  the  event.  Negotiations 
for  the  union  between  the  powers  of  East  and  West 
had  already  taken  place,  and  at  one  time  Rothrud, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Charles,  had  been  betrothed 
at  the  age  of  eight  to  Constantine,  the  youthful  em- 
peror ten  years  of  age,  but  this  betrothal  came  to 
nothing,  though  there  was  a  rumor  that  Charles 
himself  was  to  marry  the  mother  of  the  emperor. 
Irene  then  determined  to  seize  the  imperial  power, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  blinded  her  son  and  usurped 
his  throne.  Prankish  nobles  or  Romans  and  the 
pope  became  impatient,  desiring  to  establish  their 
independence  of  the  empire  of  Constantinople  which 
all  of  them  had  practically  realized.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  coronation  was  discussed  by 
Charles  and  the  pope  at  the  latter's  visit  to  Pader- 
born  in  799,  and  also  probably  with  Hadrian,  Pope 
Leo's  predecessor,  yet  Einhard  positively  declares 
that  the  coronation  came  as  a  great  surprise  to 
Charles,  and  he  asserts  that  at  the  first  Charles  had 
such  an  aversion  to  the  titles  of  Emperor  and 
Augustus,  "  that  he  declared  that  he  would  not  have 
set  foot  in  the  church  the  day  they  were  conferred, 
although  it  was  a  great  feast-day,  could  he  have 
foreseen  the  design  of  the  pope."  '  This  statement 
cannot  be  explained  away  as  an  affectation  or  a  fic- 
tion. The  apparent  contradiction  can  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  surprise  and   objection  felt  by 

'  Einhard,  "  Vita  Karoli,"  c.  28  ;  "  Poeta  Saxo,"  bk.  v.,  verses 
527-534;  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  533,  662.  Confirmed  by  "Ann. 
Max,"  an.  Soi  ;  Abel-Simson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  239. 


opposition  of  Charles  to  the  Coronatio7i.   213 

Charles  were  due  to  the  time  and  manner  of  the  act 
rather  than  to  the  act  itself.  The  action  of  the 
pope  was  too  precipitate.  Charles,  not  wishing  to 
antagonize  the  Greeks,  probably  had  not  given  full 
consent  to  the  plan,  although  he  may  have  discussed 
it,  nor  had  he  made  the  final  preparations  for  it. 
Yet  ten  of  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the  realm,  two 
archbishops,  five  bishops,  and  three  counts,  whom 
he  had  sent  as  royal  envoys  to  escort  the  pope  back 
to  Rome,  had  been  in  Rome  for  over  a  year,  and 
must  have  been  present  at  the  deliberations  and  the 
council  where  it  was  planned.  Also  it  is  probable 
that  Charles  did  not  altogether  like  the  self-ap- 
pointed position  assumed  by  the  pope  in  adding  to 
the  religious  ceremony  of  anointing  with  the  holy 
oil,  the  actual  placing  of  the  golden  crown  upon  his 
head,  implying,  as  it  did,  political  rights  and  supe- 
riority. At  any  rate,  it  is  significant  that  when  the 
crown  was  bestowed  upon  Louis  the  Pious,  in  whose 
reign  Einhard  wrote,  Charles  directed  his  son  to 
take  it  from  the  altar  and  place  it  on  his  own  head.' 
It  was  on  this  account  that  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
crowned  by  the  pope  in  816,  when,  after  the  death 
of  Charles,  he  reigned  alone."  The  truth  was,  the 
pope  needed  Charles  as  an  emperor  even  more  than 
Charles  needed  the  imperial  title.  Leo  had  already 
recognized  him  as  overlord  four  years  before,  and 
realized  that  the  coronation  would  make  him  even 
more  the  protector  of  the  church,  and  would  iden- 
tify him  more  closely  with  her  interests. 

'  Thegan,  "  De  Gestis  Ludpw.  Pii,"  c.  6. 
^   Cf.  Mombert,  p.  365. 


2  14  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

There  is  little  or  no  evidence  of  any  serious 
thoughts  in  regard  to  the  attitude  and  position 
which  the  East  might  take.  Its  real  power  ir  Italy- 
had  long  since  passed  away,  and  beyond  a  few  pos- 
sessions in  the  south  it  had  no  place.  The  contests 
and  confusions  in  Italy  had  made  the  imperial 
crown  of  special  value  and  significance  to  Charles  in 
his  endeavors  to  restore  order  and  to  establish  a 
strong  central  authority.  Furthermore,  the  weak- 
ness of  the  East  was  a  disgrace  to  the  church,  and 
thus  the  pope  had  already  ceased  to  mention  the 
regnal  years  of  the  emperor  in  dating  his  edicts  and 
decrees.  The  Council  of  Nice,  which  met  in  787, 
and  declared  against  the  iconoclasts  and  in  favor  of 
image  worship,  had  aroused  the  objection  of  Charles, 
and  the  Caroline  books,  issued  just  after  the  council 
which  Charles  held  at  Frankfort  in  794,  had  been 
his  reply,  and  he  had  even  called  upon  Hadrian  to 
denounce  the  emperor  as  a  heretic.  Hadrian  had 
answered  that  he  would  summon  the  imperial  court 
at  Constantinople  to  surrender  to  the  Roman  See 
the  patrimony  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Illyrian  dio- 
cese, and  that  if  this  was  refused,  he  would  then  con- 
demn the  emperor  as  a  heretic'  This  is  why  in  the 
coronation  of  Charles  little  consideration  was  paid  to 
the  Roman  emperor  in  the  East,  though  probably 
the  hesitation  of  Charles  was  due  to  his  desire  to 
make  an  amicable  arrangement  with  the  court  of 
Constantinople  before  taking  the  final  step. 

Charles  was  recognized  already  as  lord  of  Rome, 
and  Alcuin  said,  in  799,  "  Rome  belongs  by  right 

'  Mansi,  vol   xiii.,  p.  759  ;  Jaffe,  vol.  vi.,  p.  24S  ;  Ale.  Ep.  33. 


Relation  of  the  New  Empire  to  the  East.    2 1 5 


of  possession  to  the  king  ;  she  is  the  true  head  of 
the  body  of  his  reahn  ;"  and  in  a  tribute  to  the  good 
fortune  and  brilHant  personal  quahties  of  Charles 
himself,  Alcuin  declared  that  Charles  excelled  both 
pope  and  emperor  in  might,  in  wisdom,  and  in  royal 
dignity.' 

Charles  had  outgrown  his  position  as  king  of  the 
Franks,  and  was  already  in  reality  the  emperor, 
though  without  the  title,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
Britain,  Spain,  and  Northern  Africa,  all  of  the  im- 
perial possessions  of  old  Rome  owned  his  sway, 
while  he  had  extended  the  ancient  boundaries  far  to 
the  north  beyond  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine,  nor 
had  he  merely  enlarged  his  territory.  Rome  hu- 
miliated, ill-used,  and  degraded  to  the  ignoble  role 
of  a  distant  provincial  town,  was  quite  ready  to  wel- 
come an  emperor  of  her  own,  and  thus  to  hold  again 
her  old  position  of  mistress  of  the  nations  and  ruler 
of  the  world. 

The  relation  of  the  newly  created  empire  to  the 
East  was  more  difficult  to  determine,  and  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  one  or  two  empires  resulted  still 
vexes  historians.  The  coronation  of  Charles  carried 
with  it  a  revival  and  renewal  of  the  imperial  power 
of  Rome,  and  the  restoration  of  the  empire  was 
represented  on  a  leaden  seal,  the  reverse  bearing 
Charles's  portrait  and  the  words,  "  Our  lord  Charles 
the  pious,  happy  and  ever  Augustus,"  the  obverse 
the  gate  of  a  city  between  two  towers  surmounted 
by  a  cross,  below  which  was  the  word  "  Rome," 
and  around  it  the  inscription,  "  The  Revival  [Rcno- 
'  Jaffe,  vol.  vi.,  Alcuini  Epist.,  No.  114. 


2i6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

vatio)  of  the  Roman  Empire."  It  has  been  said 
that  this  was  effected  without  creating  two  Roman 
empires,  and  in  a  sense  this  is  true.  The  imperial 
throne  at  Constantinople  was  vacant,  only  a  woman 
occupied  the  place,  and  this  was  presented  as  one 
of  the  reasons  for  Charles's  coronation,  as  stated  by 
the  chronicles.  Undoubtedly  Charles  would  have 
wished  to  have  made  some  arrangements  with  the 
imperial  power  at  Constantinople  before  taking  the 
imperial  crown,  but  that  had  been  impossible.  On 
the  authority  of  an  Eastern  chronicler,  Theophanes, 
we  learn  that  he  did  propose  marriage  to  Irene, 
but  the  plan  was  opposed  by  her  chief  minister, 
yEtius,  and  a  short  time  afterwards  a  conspiracy 
placed  the  imperial  treasurer,  Nicephorus,  on  the 
throne,' 

In  a  sense  also  there  was  unquestionably  a  trans- 
fer of  the  imperial  power  from  Constantinople  to 
Rome,  and  this  transfer  did  result  ultimately  in  the 
existence  of  two  empires,  for  beyond  this  plan  of 
Charles,  in  regard  to  the  marriage  to  Irene,  there 
was  no  attempt  or  thought  to  conquer  or  absorb  the 
East  ;  and  when  the  new  emperor  was  crowned  at 
Constantinople,  Charles  tried  to  gain  his  acknowledg- 
ment.'' It  must  have  been  felt  that  the  imperial 
power  over  Rome,  which  had  been  held  by  the 
Roman  emperor  at  Constantinople  ever  since  the 

'   Dollinger,  "Charles  the  Great,"  p.  133. 

'^  In  the  annals  of  the  time  Charles  is  called  the  sixty-eighth 
emperor,  Constantine  VI.  the  sixty  seventh.  Brice,  p.  63.  When 
Rudolph  of  Hapsburg  confirmed  the  papal  possessions  in  Italy  to 
the  pope,  one  of  the  reasons  given  was  that  the  Holy  See  had 
transferred  the  empire  to  the  Germans  from  the  Greeks.  "Cod, 
Epist.  Rudulphi,"  vol.  i.,  p.  80  ;  quoted  by  Lea,  p.  38,  note  3. 


Two  Emperors  and  Tzvo  Empires.      2 1 7 

sixth  century,  was  restored  now  to  the  West,  and 
that  henceforth  in  the  strictest  Western  sense  the 
rulers  at  Constantinople  were  no  longer  Roman  em- 
perors. There  was  unquestionably  also  a  recog- 
nition on  both  sides,  not  only  of  two  emperors,  but 
of  two  empires,  Einhard  in  his  annals  tells  us  that, 
in  the  year  812,  the  Emperor  Nicephorus  died  in 
battle,  and  his  son-in-law  Michael,  having  succeeded 
him  upon  the  imperial  throne,  received  at  Constan- 
tinople deputies  sent  to  Michael  by  the  Emperor 
Charles,  and  sent  them  away  with  an  embassy  of  his 
own  to  confirm  the  treaty  of  peace,  for  which  nego- 
tiations had  been  begun  with  Nicephorus.  In  a 
letter  written  in  811  by  "  Charles  I.,  Emperor  to 
Nicephorus,  Emperor  of  the  Greeks,"  as  the  title 
reads,  he  addresses  him  as  his  brother,  and  seeks  to 
gain  his  recognition.' 

In  a  letter,  in  813,  written  to  Michael,  he  ad- 
dresses him  as  follows  :  "In  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Charles  by  divine  grace,  emperor  and  Augustus,  and 
likewise  king  of  the  Franks  and  Lombards,  to  his 
beloved  and  honorable  brother  Michael,  glorious 
emperor  and  Augustus,  eternal  salvation  in  Our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  while  in  the  very  beginning  of 
this  letter  he  expresses  his  gratitude  that  by  divine 
favor,  "  in  our  own  days  the  thing  sought  and  for- 
ever desired,  peace  between  the  Eastern  and  West- 
ern Empire,  has  been  established."  '•*  This  shows 
very  clearly  the  view  which  was  held  by  Charles  in 

*  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  393-396  ;  Ep.  Carol.  29. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  415,  416;  Ep.  Carol.  40. 


2i8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

regard  to  the  condition  of  affairs  and  the  relation 
between  Rome  and  Constantinople.  In  812  the 
ambassadors  of  the  Eastern  Empire  addressed 
Charles  as  "  emperor"  in  the  church  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  and  years  afterwards  when,  in  the  twelfth 
century,  the  rivalry  between  the  two  once  more 
broke  out,  Isaac  of  Constantinople  addressed  Fred- 
erick as  "  most  generous  emperor  of  Germany,"  and 
in  another  letter  uses  this  form,  "  Isaac,  faithful  in 
Christ,  divinely  crowned,  sublime,  potent,  highly 
exalted,  heir  to  the  crown  of  Constantine  the  Great, 
Romaic  {Ronicori)  moderator  and  angel,  to  the  most 
noble  emperor  of  ancient  Rome,  king  of  Germany, 
and  beloved  brother  in  his  imperial  rule,  greeting."  ' 

Charles  intended  immediately  after  his  coronation 
to  make  a  conquest  of  Sicily  in  order  to  save  it  from 
the  Saracens,  but  he  gave  up  this  plan  in  order  to 
purchase  peace  with  Constantinople,  and  in  837  Sicily 
passed  under  the  Moslem  control.  After  years  of 
opposing  differences  and  long  discussions  an  agree- 
ment came  about,  which  left  to  the  Greeks  Venetia 
and  Dalmatia  and  the  possessions  belonging  to  them 
in  southern  Italy,  while  Charles  gained  recognition 
as  emperor.  Thus  the  Roman  Empire  dissolved 
partnership  with  the  East,  and  restricted  its  rights 
to  the  West,  where  it  revived  its  ancient  rule.^ 

The  pope,  regarded  as  the  representative  of  the 
empire  and  of  Romanism,  and  surely  as  the  head  of 
Latin  nationality,  and  still  more  as  the  recognized 
spiritual  overseer  of  the  Christian  republic,  possessed 

'  Bryce,  p.  192,  note  i. 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  200,  201. 


The  Empire  and  the  ChiLi^ch.         219 

the  power  of  accomplishing  that  revolution,  which 
without  the  aid  of  the  church  would  have  been  im- 
possible, and  gave  a  visible  guarantee  of  that  divine 
sanction  which  was  needed  to  justify  the  event. 
Perhaps  Charles,  as  well  as  Leo,  did  believe  in  the 
possibility  of  preserving  the  indivisibility  of  the  em- 
pire like  that  of  the  church,  but  the  continuance  of 
the  imperial  line  at  Constantinople,  after  the  brief 
vacancy  foUov/ing  the  death  of  Constantine  VI., 
rendered  futile  any  such  hopes.  With  the  history, 
the  traditions,  and  the  name  of  Rome  there  was 
unquestionably  revived  the  idea  of  a  \vorld  empire, 
such  as  had  ever  been  bound  up  with  the  Roman 
name,  and  its  realization  was  sought,  at  least  as  far 
as  it  might  be  realized,  among  all  the  people  and  in 
all  the  states  in  the  West — that  is,  in  Europe. 

Thus  the  union  with  the  church  made  its  influence 
felt,  and  thus  the  church  imparted  to  the  empire 
something  of  its  character  and  aims  and  purposes, 
that  just  as  the  church  had  the  task,  and  must 
ever  strive  to  extend  its  sphere  by  the  spread  of 
Christianity  among  people  as  yet  unconverted,  so 
the  rule  of  the  emperor  received  therefrom  the 
prospect  of  a  wider  expansion,  without  regard 
to  the  earlier  limits  of  the  ancient  empire,  but  co- 
extensive with  the  church.  This  gave  it  new  rela- 
tions and  new  tasks,  though  with  distinctly  German 
characteristics.  The  empire  was  called  Roman, 
but  it  was  really  a  Christian  Germanic  power.  It 
was  the  final  result  of  that  development  which  began 
with  the  wandering  of  the  German  tribes  and  their 
extension  over  the  Roman  provinces,  and  which  had 


2  20  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

carried  with  it  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  their 
reception  into  the  Christian  church,  and  had  now 
placed  their  foremost  leader  on  the  imperial  throne 
of  Christian  Rome.  All  the  power  and  dominions 
hitherto  obtained  by  the  Prankish  kings  were  now 
added  to  the  empire. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THEORIES  UNDERLYING  THE  CORONATION— CLOSER 
RELATIONS  WITH  THE  PAPACY— THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT  IDEAL— AUGUSTINE'S  CITY  OF  GOD 
— THE  GENERAL  ADMONITION — SECULAR  AND 
ECCLESIASTICAL  ADMINISTRATION — THE  SPAN- 
ISH CAMPAIGN — DOWNFALL  OF  THE  DUKE  OF 
THE  BAVARIANS — SUBMISSION  OF  THE  DUKE  OF 
BENEVENTO — THE   CONQUEST   OF   THE   AVARS. 


HE  coronation  of  Charles  by  the  pope 
brought  the  new  emperor  into  closer  and 
more  intimate  relations  with  the  papacy, 
though  conferring  upon  him  no  additional 
rights,  but  now  once  for  all  the  relation- 
ship with  the  East  was  finally  broken,  and  all  the 
connections  which  had  existed  between  the  church 
and  the  emperor  from  the  time  of  Constantine  the 
Great  to  Constantine  VI.  were  transferred  to  Charles 
the  Great.  As  to  the  source  from  which  he  derived 
his  imperial  authority  it  is  not  easy  to  say,  though  it 
is  impossible  to  go  as  far  as  Waitz  goes  in  affirming 
that  "  neither  the  coronation  by  the  pope  nor  the 
salutation  by  the  people  could  have  conferred  any 
formal  right  on  the  new  emperor,  and  that  the  right 

221 


22  2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  Charles  lay  in  the  might  of  the  deeds  which  had 
brought  about  this  elevation  to  which  the  voice  of 
the  people  had  given  only  a  recognition  and  some 
definite  expression.'  Unquestionably  the  imperial 
dignity  would  never  have  been  conferred  upon 
Charles  had  it  not  been  for  his  wonderful  successes 
within  the  kingdom,  and  in  his  conquests  beyond 
its  boundaries,  especially  over  the  Lombards,  and 
the  consequent  need  of  some  strong  established  civil 
power  in  Italy  for  the  protection  of  the  papacy  and 
its  rights,  as  well  as  for  the  maintenance  of  peace 
and  order. 

As  for  the  justification  of  the  act,  it  is  not  far 
to  seek.  The  Greeks  had  degraded  the  imperial 
dignity  and  allowed  it  to  fall  into  the  blood- 
stained hands  of  a  woman,  and  the  Romans,  failing 
to  receive  any  protection  from  the  East,  had  re- 
sumed their  ancient  right  of  election.  Thus  the 
imperial  authority  in  the  West  had  been  transferred 
to  the  leader  of  the  Franks,  because  he  was  the 
master  of  the  city  which  was  the  capital  of  the 
empire,  and  exercised  a  truly  imperial  rule.  It  is 
significant  that  Theophanes,  the  only  Byzantine 
contemporary  who  mentions  the  occurrence,  has 
omitted  any  reference  to  the  election  and  consent 
of  the  people.  "  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe," 
says  Bury  in  a  very  important  passage,  "  that  the 
election  of  the  new  Roman  emperor,  if  it  was  not 
legally  defensible,  was  yet  as  thoroughly  justifiable 
by  the  actual  history  of  the  two  preceding  centuries, 
as  it  has  been  justified  by  the  history  of  the  ten  suc- 
'  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  195,  ig6. 


Justification  of  the  Papal  Action.      223 

ceeding  centuries.  For  the  popes  had  practically 
assumed  in  the  West  the  functions  and  the  position 
of  the  emperor.  It  was  around  them  and  their 
bishops  that  the  municipalities  rallied  in  a  series  of 
continual  struggles  with  the  Lombards.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  emperor's  delegates  in  Italy  was  becom- 
ing every  year  less  effectual.  It  was  the  pope  who 
organized  missionary  enterprises  to  convert  the 
heathen  in  the  West,  just  as  it  was  the  emperor 
who  furthered  similar  enterprises  in  the  East.  Greg- 
ory I.,  in  spite  of  the  respectful  tone  of  his  letters  to 
Maurice  and  Phocas,  was  the  civil  potentate  in  Italy. 
The  mere  fact  that  the  pope  was  the  largest  landed 
proprietor  in  Roman  Italy  concurred  to  give  him 
an  almost  monarchical  position.  As  the  virtual  sov- 
ereign then  of  Italy  as  far  as  it  was  Roman — for 
even  in  the  day  of  the  exarchs  he  had  often  been  its 
sovereign  more  truly  than  the  exarch  or  the  emperor 
— and  as  the  bearer  of  the  idea  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire with  all  its  traditions  of  civilization,  the  pope 
had  a  right,  by  the  standard  of  justice,  to  transfer 
the  representation  of  the  ideas  whereof  he  was  the 
keeper  to  one  who  was  able  to  realize  them."  '  He 
had  accomplished  by  peaceful  measures  that  which 
nations  are  able  to  effect  sometimes  only  by  bloody 
revolutions. 

Yet  Charles  relied  upon  neither  the  corona- 
tion by  the  pope  nor  the  election  by  the  people, 
nor  did  he  make  Rome  the  capital  of  his  em- 
pire nor  recognize  in  the  Roman  people  in  the 
future  any  right  to  dispose  of  the  imperial  dignity, 
'  Bury,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  508,  509. 


2  24  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

nor  did  he  conceive  of  the  imperial  authority  as  if 
in  the  future  it  depended  on  the  consecration  of  the 
pope.  He  visited  Rome  only  four  times  during  his 
reign,  and  his  stay  was  always  short,  for  he  had  no 
residence  there,  and  was  only  the  guest  of  the  pope 
in  the  Lateran.  Louis,  his  son  and  successor,  never 
went  there,  and  Lothair  v/as  the  next  to  receive  the 
imperial  crown  in  Rome.  On  the  death  of  Louis  H. 
without  issue  a  contest  for  the  imperial  dignity 
arose,  and  was  settled  only  by  an  appeal  to  the 
pope.  Pope  John  VI IL,  taking  advantage  of  the 
circumstances,  offered  the  crown  to  Charles  the 
Bold,  and,  his  invitation  being  accepted,  the  pope 
appeared  once  more  as  the  supreme  authority  in 
naming  and  crowning  the  emperor.  Thus  the  sec- 
ond Charles  was  crowned  by  the  pope  in  Rome  on 
Christmas  Day,  875.  He  was  obliged,  however,  to 
renounce  formally  all  claims  over  the  States  of  the 
Church,  as  the  papal  possessions  in  Italy  were  called. 
After  this  the  pontifical  coronation  was  considered 
necessary  and  decisive  in  case  of  contesting  claims, 
and  after  the  creation  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 
by  Otto  I.,  in  962,  it  was  inseparably  connected 
with  the  title  of  emperor. 

At  this  first  coronation  of  Charles  the  Great,  how- 
ever, the  pope  had  merely  to  confirm  and  to  give  relig- 
ious recognition  to  that  power  which,  so  far  as  it  was 
exercised,  existed  independently  of  him — indeed  to 
which  he  himself,  together  with  Rome  and  all  his  pos- 
sessions, was  subject.  Charles  had  been  the  first  to 
make  use  of  the  title  of  "patrician,"  although  it  had 
been  bestowed  in  the  first  place  upon  his  father,  but 


Imperial  Supremacy.  225 

the  name  of  "  patrician"  now  disappeared  or  was 
swallowed  up  in  the  larger  and  more  comprehensive 
title  of  "  emperor,"  giving  a  more  settled  character 
and  a  firmer  basis  to  the  rights  which  he  had  already- 
exercised  not  only  as  patrician,  but  as  conqueror  of 
Italy  and  king  of  the  Lombards.  Rome  belonged  to 
the  empire.  The  pope  was  a  bishop  belonging  to  it 
as  others  did,  though  of  higher  rank  and  authority, 
and  in  many  respects  in  a  peculiar  position,  but  still 
bound  to  the  emperor,  to  whom  Leo  speaks  of  his 
service  due,  which  he  and  the  people  of  the  city 
recognized  by  the  usual  oath  of  fidelity.  This  is 
shown  by  the  very  necessity  which  seems  to  have 
been  the  immediate  cause  of  the  coronation  of  itself, 
the  persecution  inflicted  upon  Leo  by  his  enemies, 
which  drove  him  from  Rome  and  led  him  to  seek 
for  protection  and  support  at  the  feet  of  Charles,  to 
whom  both  he  and  the  nobles  of  the  city  referred 
the  case  for  judgment,  constituted  Charles  as  a 
tribunal  to  try  the  case,  and  formed  a  basis  for  that 
recognition  of  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  power 
which  seemed  so  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
papacy.'  Now  more  than  ever  Charles  stood  forth 
as  the  protector  and  supporter  of  the  church,  the 
secular  head,  just  as  the  pope  was  the  spiritual  head, 
and  the  acts  of  Charles  were  an  increasing  realiza- 
tion of  this  great  fact,  although  they  had  been  mani- 
fested in  the  preceding  years  of  his  reign,  particu- 
larly after  the  conquest  of  the  Lombards  and  the 
peculiarly  intimate  relations  with  the  pope  which 
that  event  brought  about. 

'  "Ann.  Lauresh.,"  an.  800  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  38, 
O 


226  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

On  many  occasions,  not  only  in  his  capitularies 
and  in  the  great  missionary  work  which  he  encour- 
aged and  sustained,  in  his  recognition  of  the  church 
in  political  as  well  as  in  religious  life,  but  also  in  his 
conversation,  he  showed  a  deep  and  reverent  appre- 
ciation of  the  high  religious  position  to  which  he 
was  called  as  head  of  the  united  kingdoms  of  the 
West  and  the  patron  and  protector  of  the  church 
and  of  Christianity.  He  might  well  be  called  by 
the  pope  a  second  Constantine  the  Great,  not  on 
account  of  his  donations  of  land  and  of  temporal 
wealth,  but  rather  on  account  of  the  devotion  of  his 
heart  and  the  consecration  of  all  the  forces  of  his 
being  to  that  great  work  which  he  accomplished  for 
the  church  in  the  West  at  a  most  critical  period  of 
its  existence.  Nor  was  this  attitude  of  mind  and 
soul  without  its  cause. 

Among  the  Christian  Fathers  known  and  studied 
at  his  time,  especially  by  Alcuin  and  in  the  palace 
school,  were  the  writings  of  St.  Augustine,  of  which 
Charles  was  especially  fond,  never  tiring  of  hearing 
them  read.  "  While  at  table,"  Einhard  tells  us,  "  he 
listened  to  reading  or  music.  The  subjects  of  the 
readings  were  the  stories  and  deeds  of  olden  time  ;  he 
was  fond,  too,  of  St.  Augustine's  books,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  one  entitled  the  '  City  of  God.'  "  " 

The  magnificent  ideal  presented  in  this,  one  of 
the  grandest  and  noblest  treatises  in  all  theology 
and  politics,  seems  to  have  had  the  strongest  influ- 
ence upon  his  own  ideas,  and  held  before  that  new, 
fresh  genius  of  the  West,  just  rising  out  of  barbar- 

'  Einhard,  "  Vita,"  c.  24. 


Charles  and  St.  Augustine.  227 

ism,  the  highest  standard  which  the  ancient  world 
of  Rome  and  the  noblest  truths  of  Christianity  could 
create.  "  Would  to  God,"  he  is  reported  to  have 
said,  "  I  had  twelve  such  men  as  St.  Augustine  !" 
to  which  Alcuin  significantly  replied,  "  The  Creator 
of  heaven  and  earth  was  content  with  one."  *  Per- 
haps one  of  the  finest  evidences  of  this  spirit  and 
ideal  are  presented  in  the  General  Admonition,  as  it 
is  called,  set  forth  in  the  form  of  a  capitulary  in  the 
assembly  of  798,  many  of  the  passages  of  which  will 
well  repay  quotation. 

"  In  the  reign  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
ruleth  forever,  I,  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God  and 
by  the  favor  of  his  mercy,  king  and  ruler  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Franks,  and  the  devoted  defender 
and  humble  helper  of  the  holy  church,  to  all  ranks 
of  ecclesiastical  piety  and  dignities  of  secular  power 
the  salutation  of  perpetual  peace  and  blessedness  in 
Christ  our  Lord,  the  God  eternal.  Regarding  with 
the  peaceful  consideration  of  a  pious  mind,  together 
with  our  priests  and  counsellors,  the  abundant  clem- 
ency of  Christ  our  King  towards  us  and  towards  our 
people,  and  how  needful  it  is  not  only  with  the 
whole  heart  and  mouth  to  return  thanks  continually 
for  his  compassion,  but  also  by  a  constant  exercise 
of  good  works  to  show  forth  his  praise,  so  that  he 
who  has  conferred  such  great  honor  upon  our  realm 
may  deign  by  his  protection  to  preserve  us  and  our 
kingdom  forever.  Wherefore  it  has  pleased  us  to 
ask  your  ability,  O  pastors  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
and  leaders  of  his  flock,  most  shining  lights  of  the 
^  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  639  ;   "  Mon.  Sangall.,"  bk.  i  ,  c.  x. 


2  28  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

world,  that  by  your  watchful  care  and  zealous  ad- 
monition you  strive  earnestly  to  lead  God's  people 
to  the  pastures  of  eternal  life,  and  to  bring  back  the 
erring  sheep  to  safety  within  the  strong  walls  of  the 
church,  in  the  arms  of  your  good  examples  and  ex- 
hortations, lest  the  treacherous  wolf  finding  any 
outside  devour  one  who  transgresses  the  canonical 
sanctions  or  goes  beyond  the  paternal  traditions  of 
the  universal  councils.  So  by  the  great  zeal  of  your 
devotion  admonishing  and  exhorting  them,  they 
must  be  compelled  at  once  to  remain  within  the 
paternal  sanctions  with  a  firm  faith  and  steadfast 
perseverance  ;  in  which  labor  and  zeal  let  your 
holiness  most  surely  know  that  our  diligence  will 
co-operate  with  yours.  Wherefore  we  have  sent  to 
you  our  commissioners  {missi),  who  by  the  authority 
of  our  name  will  with  you  correct  all  that  needs  cor- 
rection. Moreover,  we  subjoin  also  some  capitu- 
laries from  the  canonical  institutions'  which  seem  to 
us  to  be  most  necessary.  Let  no  one,  I  ask,  judge 
this  pious  admonition  to  be  presumptuous  whereby 
we  desire  to  correct  what  is  in  error,  to  do  away 
with  what  is  superfluous  and  to  strengthen  that 
which  is  right,  but  let  him  receive  it  with  a  favor- 
able and  charitable  disposition  ;  for  we  read  in  the 
Books  of  the  Kings  how  the  holy  Josiah,  going 
about  the  kingdom  given  to  him  by  God,  correct- 
ing and  admonishing,  strove  to  recall  the  people  to 
the  v/orship  of  the  true  God  ;  not  that  I  can  make 
myself  his  equal  in  holiness,  but  that  we  must  ever 

'  The  Dionysian   Collection   sent  to  Charles   by  Pope   Hadrian 
in  774. 


T/ic  General  Admonitio7i.  229 

follow  the  example  of  the  holy  men  everywhere, 
and,  as  far  as  we  can,  join  in  the  endeavor  after  a 
good  life  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ," 

After  this  noble  introduction,  unquestionably 
written  by  Charles  himself,  the  capitularies  proceed 
to  enforce  certain  of  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of 
Nice  and  of  Chalcedon  as  well  as  of  Antioch,  Sar- 
dica,  and  other  minor  councils.  Appeal  is  made 
also  to  the  decrees  of  Popes  Leo,  Innocent,  and 
Siricius. 

Further  capitularies  of  a  general  significance  are 
then  added,  and  are  here  numbered  as  in  the  orig- 
inal : 

"61.  First  of  all,  that  the  Catholic  faith  may  be 
diligently  taught  and  preached  to  all  the  people  by 
the  bishops  and  presbyters,  because  this  is  the  first 
commandment  of  the  Lord  God  Almighty  in  the 
law,  '  Hear,  O  Israel  :  The  Lord  our  God  is  one 
Lord  :  and  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength.'  ' 

62.  That  there  may  be  peace  and  harmony  and 
concord  with  all  Christian  people  among  bishops, 
abbots,  counts,  judges,  and  all  people  everywhere, 
the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest,  because  nothing  is 
pleasing  to  God  without  peace,  not  even  the  gift  of 
the  holy  oblation  at  the  altar." 

Then  follow  many  appropriate  quotations  from 
the  gospels  and  epistles  relating  to  love  and  justice 
and  the  other"  precepts  of  the  gospel." 

'  Deut.  vi.4,  5  ;  as  quoted  in  St.  Mark  xii.  2g,  30. 


230  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

"  70.  That  the  bishops  should  diligently  examine 
the  presbyters  in  their  diocese  as  to  their  faith  and 
celebrations  of  baptisms  and  masses,  that  they  hold 
the  right  faith  and  administer  baptisms  according  to 
the  Catholic  usage,  and  well  understand  the  prayers 
of  the  mass,  and  that  the  Psalms  be  properly  sung 
according  to  the  divisions  of  the  verses,  that  they 
understand  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  preach  so  as  to 
be  understood  by  all,  that  each  may  know  what  he 
asks  of  God  ;  and  that  the  Gloria  Patri  be  sung  by 
all  Vv^ith  due  honor,  and  the  priest  himself  with  the 
holy  angels  and  the  people  of  God  together  sing  the 
Saiictiis,  Sanctits,  Sanctits.  And  by  all  means  the 
presbyters  and  deacons  must  be  told  that  they  may 
not  bear  arms,  but  trust  in  the  protection  of  God 
rather  than  in  arms. 

"71.  Likewise  it  has  pleased  us  to  admonish  your 
reverence  that  each  one  of  you  should  see  that 
throughout  his  diocese  the  Church  of  God  has  its 
due  honor,  and  that  the  altars  are  venerated  accord- 
ing to  their  dignity,  that  the  house  of  God  and  the 
sacred  altars  may  not  be  accessible  to  dogs,  and 
that  the  vessels  consecrated  to  God  may  be  gathered 
up  with  great  care  and  treated  with  respect  by  those 
who  are  worthy.  Also  that  secular  business  and 
vain  conversation  be  not  carried  on  in  the  churches, 
because  the  house  of  God  should  be  a  house  of 
prayer  and  not  a  den  of  thieves  ;  and  that  the  peo- 
ple have  minds  intent  upon  God  when  they  come  to 
the  solemn  service  of  the  mass,  and  let  them  not 
depart  before  the  ending  of  the  priestly  benedic- 
tion." 


Ecclesiastical  and  Secular  Affairs.     231 

Just  as  plain  and  explicit  directions  are  given  re- 
garding scriptural  preaching  according  to  the  Nicene 
Creed,  denouncing  crimes,  admonishing  to  virtues. 
This  document,  worthy  of  a  modern  bishop's  pas- 
toral, concludes  with  these  words  : 

"  So,  most  beloved,  let  us  with  all  our  heart  pre- 
pare ourselves  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  resist  those  who  deny  the  truth, 
and  that  the  Word  of  God,  by  the  favor  of  divine 
grace,  may  increase  and  extend  and  be  multiplied 
to  the  benefit  of  God's  Holy  Church,  and  to  the  sal- 
vation of  our  souls  and  to  the  praise  and  glory  of 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Peace  to  the 
preachers,  grace  to  the  obedient,  and  glory  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen."  ' 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  capitulary  not  only 
sets  forth  precepts  of  a  very  high  order  belonging 
to  a  truly  spiritual  Christianity,  but  also  gives  evi- 
dence of  high  attainments  in  the  Prankish  Church, 
which  alone  could  justify  or  offer  a  sufficient  basis 
for  such  a  general  admonition  with  any  prospect  of 
its  being  received  and  obeyed. 

Thus  the  rule  of  Charles  included  ecclesiastical 
and  secular  affairs,  and  to  the  details  of  each  he 
gave  his  most  careful  attention.  The  canons  of  the 
church  had  the  same  weight  as  the  laws  of  the  state, 
and  the  assemblies  of  the  state  were  also  synods  of 
the  church.  The  heresies  of  Bishop  Felix  and  the 
decisions  of  the  Council  of  Constantinople  in  regard 
to  image  worship  were  condemned  in  the  same  as- 
semblies that  issued  laws  against  political  offences 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  52-62  ;  "  Admonitio  Generalis, "  789  a.d. 


232  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  regulations  for  the  order  and  administration  of 
the  state.  Indeed,  the  capitularies  largely  included 
regulations  for  the  clergy,  the  churches,  and  the 
cloisters,  while  the  decretals  of  Rome,  the  canons 
of  the  councils,  and  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  church  were  made  valid  in  the  Prankish  king- 
dom through  these  assemblies.  Charles  was  occu- 
pied especially  with  the  life  and  conduct,  the  educa- 
tion and  the  learning  of  the  clergy,  for  he  realized 
the  great  importance  of  their  position  and  functions 
not  only  to  the  church,  but  to  the  state  as  well.' 
Reappointed  bishops' just  as  he  did  secular  officials, 
and  employed  them  as  commissioners  and  ministers 
of  his  will,  holding  them  responsible  in  the  same 
way  and  to  the  same  extent  that  he  did  the  dukes 
and  counts  and  other  lay  officials.'  He  adminis- 
tered ecclesiastical  property  as  he  did  state  property, 
and  was  the  supreme  lord  of  the  church  in  his  do- 
main.^ In  the  writings  of  the  scholars  whom  Charles 
had  gathered  around  him  the  idea  was  developed 
and  established  of  one  large  comprehensive  Chris- 
tian kingdom,  in  which  ecclesiastical  and  political 
interests  are  bound  up  together  under  the  care  and 
guidance  of  one  and  the  same  ruler,  inspired  by  the 
teachings  of  Christianity  and  acting  for  the  spiritual, 
moral,  and  temporal  welfare  of  his  people.  We 
have  seen  the  growth  of  this  theocratic  idea,  bor- 
rowed from  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  em- 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  79,  80,  241. 
^  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  424,  note  2. 

^  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  634,  635  ;   "  Mon.  Sangall.,"  bk.  i.,  c.  iv.,  v. 
^  "  Bishop  of  the  Bishops,"  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  655  ;   "  Mon.  San- 
gall.," bk.  i.,  c.  XXV. 


The  Spanish   Caiupaign.  233 

phasized  by  the  early  Christian  writers,  and  applied 
with  increasing  significance  to  the  Frankish  kings, 
who  from  the  time  of  Clovis  appeared  as  the  pro- 
moters of  Christianity,  and  claimed  to  fight  their 
battles  for  the  cause  of  God,  until  with  the  corona- 
tion of  Pippin,  first  by  the  Frankish  bishops  and 
three  years  later  by  the  pope,  the  idea  receives  a 
firm  and  substantial  basis.  The  words  of  Pippin 
expressing  this  view  are  not  uncommon.  "  Because 
it  is  certain  that  the  divine  providence  has  raised  us 
to  the  throne,"  or  "  Because  we  through  divine 
compassion    rule    the   kingdoms   of  the   earth,"   or 

By  the  aid  of  God  who  has  established  us  on  the 
throne  of  our  power."  '  While  these  expressions 
become  quite  usual  in  the  mouth  of  Charles,  who 
speaks  not  only  of  the  people  and  the  kingdom 
granted  by  God,  but  also  of  the  bishoprics  and 
monasteries  committed  or  entrusted  to  his  govern- 
ance," the  ecclesiastical  chroniclers,  however,  more 
often  speak  of  the  kingdom  or  the  empire  as  an 
office,  although  an  office  conferred  by  God,  and 
they  do  not  cease  to  emphasize  duties  and  obliga- 
tions therewith  conferred. 

In  concluding  this  chapter  we  must  refer  to  two 
campaigns  by  Charles  which  deserve  our  notice  on 
account  of  the  special  interest  attaching  to  each  of 
them.  The  first  was  the  romantic  but  fruitless 
campaign  connected  with  his  expedition  into  Spain. 
At  the  Diet  of  Paderborn,  in  jj'j,  a  number  of 
Mahometan  ambassadors  appeared   before  Charles 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  231,  note  3. 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  79,  "  De  lltteris  colendis." 


234  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

on  behalf,  they  said,  of  the  large  number  of  Arabs 
in  Spain  already  dissatisfied  with  the  rule  of  their 
Emir  at  Cordova. 

They  had  heard  of  Charles.  The  glory  of  his 
martial  deeds  had  reached  them  in  their  home  be- 
yond the  Pyrenees.  They  accordingly  sent  Ibn-al- 
Arabi,  governor  of  Saragossa,  with  others,  who  put 
themselves  under  the  king's  protection,  and  to  gain 
his  aid  in  throwing  off  the  rule  of  the  Emir.  Charles 
accepted  their  offer,  and  preparations  were  made 
during  the  winter  for  the  great  exploit  from  which 
so  much  was  expected — even  no  less  than  the  win- 
ning back  of  Spain  to  Europe  and  to  Christianity. 
In  the  spring  two  armies,  made  up  from  all  the  peo- 
ple in  alliance  with  the  Franks,  started  for  the  south, 
one  army  headed  by  Duke  Bernard,  the  uncle  of 
Charles  and  his  foremost  general,  to  go  by  way  of 
the  Mediterranean,  the  other,  commanded  by  Charles 
himself,  over  the  Pyrenees  and  through  the  valley 
of  Roncesvalles.*  Both  armies  were  to  meet  at 
Saragossa,  which  Ibn-al-Arabi  was  to  surrender  at 
their  call.  All  went  well  until  their  meeting  before 
the  walls  of  the  city,  which  they  found  closed  against 
them.  The  inhabitants  and  defenders  of  the  city 
failed  to  concur  with  the  plans  of  their  governor,  or, 
more  probably,  the  fulfilment  of  his  threats  by  the 
presence  of  Charles  with  his  army  had  enabled  him 
to  secure  the  concessions  he  had  demanded.  What 
took  place  at  Saragossa  we  do  not  know,  for  the 
chroniclers  on  each  side  exaggerate  their  own  ex- 
ploits and  contradict  those  of  the  other  side.  Cer- 
'   "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  778  ;  "Vita,"  c.  9. 


The  ^^  Song  of  Roland.'''  235 

tain  it  is  that  the  Spanish  expedition  of  Charles  was 
a  failure,  and  his  army  was  snatched  from  defeat 
and  destruction  only  by  his  shrewd  and  cautious 
generalship  in  leading  his  armies  in  their  retreat 
through  the  dangerous  and  hostile  country.  One 
disaster  occurred.  In  an  attack  made  on  the  rear- 
guard, while  passing  through  the  valley  of  Ronces- 
valles,  the  Franks  in  that  division  were  killed  to  a 
man.  It  was  this  disaster  which  has  been  made  the 
subject  of  legend  and  of  song,  for  here  fell  Roland, 
the  prefect  of  the  marches  of  Brittany,  whose  last 
bugle  call  Charles  is  said  to  have  heard  faintly,  far 
off  in  the  distance,  without  realizing  the  danger  of 
his  friend  and  hero. 

The  famous  "  Song  of  Roland"  of  the  romance 
writers  is  founded  upon  this  incident,  which  has 
been  set  forth  in  the  well-known  lines  of  Scott  : 

"  O  for  the  voice  of  that  wild  horn 
On  Fontarabian  echoes  borne, 
The  dying  hero's  call, 
That  told  imperial  Charlemagne 
How  Paynim  sons  of  swarthy  Spain 
Had  wrought  his  champion's  fall."  ' 

Soon  after  this,  in  779,  Charles  prepared  for  a  sec- 
ond" journey  to  Italy,  and  in  the  winter  of  780  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  palace  of  Pavia.  From  here 
he  put  forth  two  capitularies, °  that  he  might  estab- 
lish order  and  discipline  and  much-needed  reform  in 
the  country.  Among  other  evils.  Christian  and 
pagan  serfs  were  sold  into   slavery.      On  his  way  to 

*  "  Rob  Roy,"  chap.  ii. 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  206,  207,  No.  99  ;  pp.  190,  191,  No.  90. 


236  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Rome  Charles  stopped  at  Parma,  and  there  for  the 
first  time  met  Alcuin  on  his  way  to  England  carry- 
ing the  pall  granted  by  the  pope  to  the  archbishop 
of  York.  Easter  was  spent  at  Rome,  and  Karl- 
mann,  the  second  son  of  Charles,  was  baptized  with 
the  name  of  Pippin,  the  pope  himself  standing  as 
his  godfather  ;  he  was  then  crowned  king  of  Italy, 
though  only  four  years  of  age,  and  his  younger 
brother,  Louis,  was  crowned  king  of  Aquitaine  at  the 
age  of  three.  The  entrance  of  Louis  into  his  king- 
dom of  Aquitaine  deserves  description.  A  company 
of  good  nurses  under  strong  military  escort  took 
charge  of  his  youthful  majesty  of  Aquitaine,  and 
conducted  him  in  a  cradle  from  the  banks  of  the 
Meuse  to  the  banks  of  the  Loire  at  Orleans,  where 
they  took  him  out  of  the  cradle  and  prepared  him 
for  a  more  dignified  and  martial  presentation  to  the 
people.  They  encased  him  in  a  coat  of  mail  ex- 
pressly constructed  for  his  tender  frame,  gave  him 
suitable  weapons,  and  set  him  on  a  charger,  and  as 
he  was  too  small  to  guide  it  or  to  sit  alone  they 
held  him  in  place,  and  thus  introduced  him  into  his 
dominions.' 

It  was  about  ten  years  after  the  fruitless  campaign 
into  Spain  that  Charles  determined  upon  the  con- 
quest of  the  Avars,  M'hich  resulted  finally  in  another 
conversion  of  the  remnant  of  a  great  people  to 
Christianity.  Only  just  before  he  had  succeeded  in 
bringing  to  submission  two  refractory  dukes.  Urged 
by  Pope  Hadrian,  in  787,  he  had  forced  the  duke  of 
Benevento   to  acknowledge  his  supremacy  and   to 

'   "  Vita  Hludovvici  ;"  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  ii. 


Benevento  and  Bavaria.  237 

take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him,'  a  peace  which 
enabled  Charles  to  add  much  to  the  papal  posses- 
sions— Capua,  Populonia,  Rosellje,  and  possibly 
Sovona,  Toscanella,  Viterbo,  Bagnaria,  and  some 
other  cities  of  Benevento."  Charles  immediately 
afterwards  proceeded  against  Tassilo,  the  duke  of  the 
Bavarians.  In  788,  at  the  Diet  of  Ingelheim,  both 
the  duke  and  his  wife  were  seized  and  their  children 
arrested.  Tassilo  was  doomed  to  death,  but  Charles 
commuted  the  sentence  to  the  monastic  life,  a  favor- 
ite mode  of  punishing  kings  and  great  lords,  by  get- 
ting rid  of  them  quite  effectually  without  putting 
them  to  death.  The  other  members  of  the  ducal 
family  were  scattered  in  the  monasteries  and  nun- 
neries of  the  realm.  After  the  overthrow  of  the 
duke  Charles  proceeded  to  subdue  the  duchy.  He 
established  a  military  occupation  of  its  boundaries, 
annexed  the  whole  territory  to  his  kingdom,  and 
turned  it  into  a  Prankish  province  governed  by  the 
counts  of  his  appointment  in  the  various  districts, 
with  Duke  Gerold,  his  brother-in-law,  as  legal  gov- 
ernor, and  required  the  Bavarian  nobles  to  swear 
fealty  to  him,  and  to  guarantee  their  allegiance  by 
giving  hostages. 

He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  i\vars.  They 
were  a  savage  and  barbarous  people  living  on  the 
Bavarian  frontiers.  Lawless  and  fierce,  they  pil- 
laged and  devastated  the  country,  burning  and  de- 
stroying the  churches.     They  were,  as  their  prede- 


'   "  Ann.  Lauriss.,"  an.  787  ;  M.  G.  SS  ,  vol.  i. ,  p.  i68  ;  Einhard, 
"  Vita,"  c.  10. 
'  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  pp.  571,  572. 


238  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

cessors  under  Attila  in  the  fifth  century  had  been, 
the  Scourge  of  God.  They  were  the  terror  of  all 
Europe.  War  against  them  would  be  exceedingly 
popular,  and  Charles  undertook  it,  the  chronicler 
says,  with  more  spirit  than  any  of  his  other  wars, 
and  made  far  greater  preparations  for  it.'  Three 
army  corps  were  formed — the  Italians  under  the 
dukes  of  Friuli  and  Istria,  with  King  Pippin  as  nom- 
inal head,  the  forces  of  Gaul  and  Germany  under 
Charles  himself,  while  the  Bavarian  forces  brought 
a  fleet  and  sailed  down  the  Danube.  At  the  bor- 
ders of  the  realm  a  fast  and  service  of  litanies  last- 
ing for  three  days  formed  the  religious  inauguration 
of  the  war.*  A  sudden  and  brilliant  victory  by  the 
army  of  Pippin,  and  the  consequent  demoralization 
and  flight  of  a  host  of  Avars,  marked  an  auspicious 
opening  to  the  campaign.'  A  wholesale  baptism  of 
the  conquered  people  followed,  but  the  same  faith- 
lessness and  spirit  of  revolt  were  seen  in  them  as 
characterized  the  Saxons.  The  first  campaign  closed 
in  791,  but  it  was  not  until  803  that  the  final  regula- 
tion of  the  Avar  affairs  was  made.  In  many  of  the 
expeditions  great  booty  was  secured,  the  Avars  hav- 
ing large  stores  of  gold  and  silver.  The  last  appear- 
ance of  the  Avars  was  in  805,  when  the  weakened 
and  diminished  people,  exposed  to  the  incessant 
depredations  of  the  Slavonians,  from  which  they 
were  no  longer  able  to  defend  themselves,  went 
humbly  into  the  presence  of  their  chief  to  beg  the 

'  Einhard,  "Vita,"  c.  13. 

'  Jaffe,  vol.    iv.,   pp.    349,   350;  Ep.    Carol.    6;    a    letter   from 
Charles  to  his  Queen   Fastrada. 

'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  791  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  177. 


The   Conquest  of  the  Avails.  239 


aid  of  the  Emperor  Charles,  and  to  ask  his  permis- 
sion to  settle  on  the  little  tract  of  land  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  Danube  within  the  Prankish  dominions.' 
The  piteous  appeal  of  their  heart-broken  Christian 
Avar  chieftain,  standing  on  the  verge  of  the  grave, 
told  most  eloquently  and  most  pathetically  what 
the  Franks  had  done. 

'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  805  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  192. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

IMPERIAL  ADMINISTRATION — CENTRAL  AND  LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT — THE  MISSI — THE  ASSEMBLIES 
— THE  CAPITULARIES. 

jT  is  an  oft-debated  question  whether 
Charles  was  greater  as  a  general  in  war 
or  as  a  ruler  in  administration.  A  mod- 
ern historian'  says  that  he  was  greater  as 
a  conqueror  than  as  a  law-giver,  while 
Gibbon  estimates  his  military  powers  lightly,  and 
says,  "  Charles  might  behold  with  envy  the  Saracen 
trophies  of  his  grandfather."  "  But,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  I  touch  with  reverence  the  laws  of  Charle- 
magne." ^ 

We  have  noticed  already  some  of  the  examples  of 
his  early  legislation.  As  emperor  he  carried  out 
more  fully  and  organized  more  systematically  the 
administration  already  established.  The  greatness 
of  Charles  is  not  in  question,  the  object  is  to  decide 
in  what  that  greatness  consisted.  Paulus  Diaconus 
says  of  him  :  "  One  knows  not  which  to  admire 
most  in  this  great  man,  his  bravery  in  war  or  his 
wisdom  in  peace,  the  glory  of  his  military  achieve- 

'  Andrews,  pp.  138,  139  and  note  i.  '^  Gibbon,  c.  49. 

240 


The   Greatness  of  Charles.  241 

ments  or  the  splendor  of  his  triumphs  in  the  Hberal 
arts.'".  Although  the  second  king  of  his  house, 
he  gave  his  name  to  the  whole  dynasty,  and  the 
entire  period  before  and  after  him  is  known  as  the 
"  Age  of  Charles  the  Great."  The  preceding  events 
prepared  and  led  up  to  his  crowning  work,  while 
the  events  of  the  century  succeeding  were  permeated 
by  his  influence  and  felt  the  inspiration  of  what  he 
had  accomplished.  The  revolution  which  placed 
his  family  upon  the  throne  had  been  effected  by  his 
father,  and  the  kingly  rule  already  established  was 
handed  on  to  him,  but  the  glory  of  his  defence 
and  administration  of  the  kingdom  thus  received 
eclipsed  that  of  his  predecessors,  although  without 
them  his  work  would  not  have  been  possible.  Yet 
all  that  he  accomplished  seemed  destined  to  be 
overthrown  and  to  leave  no  permanent  results,  and 
this,  which  is  merely  a  superficial  view,  though  held 
by  many  historians,  Guizot  tells  us,  would  compare 
him  to  a  meteor  dashing  out  from  the  shades  of  bar- 
barism, only  to  disappear  and  be  lost  in  the  dark- 
ness of  feudalism.^ 

The  work  of  Charles  was  of  a  threefold  nature  :  to 
guard  what  had  already  been  established,  to  strength- 
en by  extension  where  necessary,  and  to  consolidate 
and  centralize  the  power  necessary  for  accomplish- 
ing this  work.  After  the  death  of  Charles  con- 
quests ceased,  unity  disappeared,  and  the  empire  fell 
apart,  but  the  different  parts  were  not  as  they  had 
been  before  their  union.  Great  and  glorious  as  it  was, 
the  empire  formed  under  Charles  the  Great  was  not, 

'  Quoted  by  Alzog,  vol.  ii.,  p.  i88.  '  Guizot,  Lecture  xx. 

P 


242  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and,  in  the  nature  of  things,  could  not  be  permanent, 
but  the  work  of  Charles,  even  though  it  did  not  remain 
in  the  form  in  which  he  left  it,  was  nevertheless  the 
necessary  preparation  for  the  founding  of  great  na- 
tions with  definite  boundaries,  fixed  centres,  and 
established  aims  and  purposes,  capable  of  self-de- 
fence and  of  self-development.  The  imperial  organ- 
ization itself,  which  Charles  realized  for  a  moment, 
was  a  dream  and  not  a  reality,  the  form  of  which 
disappeared  when  the  spirit  had  fled  and  the  source 
of  its  power  and  unity  was  withdrawn.  It  was  in 
that  which  he  was  able  to  accomplish  for  the  differ- 
ent elements  of  his  great  empire  that  the  true  suc- 
cess of  his  endeavor  lies. 

His  administration  divided  itself  naturally  into 
the  local  and  the  central  government.  The  oldest 
parts  of  his  kingdom  and  those  nearer  the  centre 
were  divided  into  districts  of  varying  size,  over 
which  he  appointed  counts,  usually  from  noble  fam- 
ilies residing  in  the  district.  The  larger  and  more 
distant  and  later  added  territories  were  ruled  by 
dukes,  in  most  cases  the  descendants  or  successors 
of  the  early  kings  of  the  country  before  it  was 
merged  into  the  Frankish  Empire.  On  the  borders 
of  the  realm  still  larger  single  districts  were  formed, 
not  so  directly  under  the  rule  of  Charles,  and  each 
was  placed  under  a  mark-count  or  margrave,  later 
marquis,  from  the  German  mark-graf.  These  border 
provinces  served  as  a  protection  to  the  kingdom 
within  and  as  a  defence  and  guard  against  barbarian 
tribes  without. 

Associated    with    these    dukes   and    counts   were 


'■'■Missi  Doiuinici.''  243 

archbishops,  bishops,  and  abbots,  who  had  ecclesi- 
astical supervision  in  connection  with  their  office, 
and  exercised  a  certain  jurisdiction  on  account  of 
their  position,  while  under  these  higher  officers 
were  lower  ranks  of  resident  officials— judges,  cen- 
turions, and  others.  These  all  held  lands  from  the 
king,  and  exercised  their  powers  partly  in  his  name 
and  partly  in  their  own. 

In  addition  to  these  resident  officials  were  the 
royal  commissioners,  itiissi  doniinici,  authorized 
agents  of  his  power,  to  oversee,  to  perform,  to  ad- 
minister, and  to  report  to  him  the  complaints  which 
they  received  and  the  duties  which  they  performed. 
By  their  aid  Charles  endeavored  to  enforce  his  own 
authority,  to  make  his  influence  felt  in  the  remotest 
borders  of  his  kingdom,  and  to  correct  abuses  aris- 
ing from  the  greed  and  incompetence  or  indifference 
of  his  counts  and  their  subordinates.  The  report 
which  they  brought  back  often  led  to  new  acts  of 
legislation  set  forth  in  the  capitularies.  The  organ- 
ization and  establishment  of  these  commissioners 
formed  a  characteristic  feature  of  Charles's  admin- 
istration, though  they  were  not  originated  by  him. 
However,  they  were  not  employed  probably  by  any 
of  his  kings  or  mayors  of  the  palace  previous  to 
Charles  Martel.  After  the  conquest  of  Aquitaine 
we  find  them  mentioned  in  the  Aquitanian  capitu- 
laries put  forth  by  Pippin  in  the  following  law  : 
"  Whatever  our  commissioners  and  elders  of  the 
king  have  determined  for  our  own  benefit  and  that 
of  the  whole  church  let  us  not  presume  to  oppose."  * 
'  Boretjus,  vol.  i.,  p.  43  ;  Cap.  Aq.,  c.  12,  768  a.d, 


244  ^'^^  ^£'^'  of  Charlemagne. 

In  782  they  appear  in  a  military  capacity,  Charles 
having  sent  three  to  conduct  the  army  against  a  few 
Slavs  who  had  risen  in  revolt,'  while  there  are  many 
instances  in  which  they  take  command  of  the  troops 
in  the  field. 

Pippin  in  administering  the  kingdom  of  Italy  sub- 
ject to  his  father  sent  two  ecclesiastical  commission- 
ers to  inspect  the  monasteries  and  to  report  their 
condition  both  moral  and  material.'  They  held  also 
a  most  important  place  and  exercised  a  very  great 
influence  among  the  Saxons.  As  wc  have  seen 
already,  no  general  assemblies  were  to  be  held 
among  the  Saxons  unless  the  order  was  sent  through 
the  commissioners,  and  the  importance  of  these 
officers  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  they  are  granted 
the  triple  wergeld  of  the  highest  dignitaries. 
Among  the  first  acts  of  the  newly  crowned  emperor 
on  returning  to  his  own  country,  in  802,  was  the 
complete  organization  of  his  vast  dominions,  and  in 
this  work  appears  the  tremendous  energy  and  won- 
derful ability  which  he  possessed,  and  which  were 
so  necessary  to  hold  together  realms  so  diverse  in 
language,  in  customs,  and  in  race.  For  the  per- 
formance of  this  great  task  he  developed  and  put 
into  general  operation  this  system  of  commissioners. 

The  best  and  earliest  evidence  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  government  of  Charles  as  emperor  may  be  found 
in  the  great  capitulary  of  802  regarding  these  com- 
missioners, from  which  a  few  quotations  should  be 
made. 

'  "Ann.  Lauriss.,"  an.  782  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  162. 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  199;  Cap.  Pap.,  c.  11,  787  a.d. 


The  Imperial  Government.  245 

"  The  most  serene  and  Christian  lord  emperor, 
Charles,  has  chosen  from  his  nobles  and  sent  into 
all  parts  of  his  kingdom  the  wisest  and  most  pru- 
dent men,  both  archbishops,  bishops,  venerable 
abbots,  and  pious  laymen,  and  through  them  has 
granted  to  all  persons  to  live  according  to  just  law. 
Moreover,  wherever  otherwise  than  justly  and 
rightly  anything  has  been  established  by  law,  this 
he  has  commanded  them  with  most  diligent  zeal  to 
seek  out  and  to  lay  before  him,  and  this  he  himself 
by  divine  favor  desires  to  improve.  And  let  no  one 
by  his  own  cleverness  and  astuteness,  according  to 
the  custom  of  many,  dare  to  interfere  with  the  writ- 
ten law,  or  to  disturb  the  course  of  justice,  or  to  set 
himself  up  against  the  churches  of  God,  or  poor 
persons,  or  widows,  or  children,  or  any  Christian 
man,  but  let  all  men  live  according  to  the  command 
of  God,  justly  and  in  accordance  with  the  righteous 
judgment,  and  let  every  one  in  his  own  place  and 
profession  continue  to  live  in  unity  with  others. 
Let  the  canons  in  canonical  life  scrupulously  abstain 
from  business  and  base  gain.  Let  nuns  with  dili- 
gent care  guard  their  life.  Let  the  laity  and  those 
living  in  the  world  obey  every  law  without  fraud  or 
deceit,  and  in  every  particular  live  in  perfect  charity 
and  peace.  Let  the  commissioners  themselves  dili- 
gently make  inquiry  whenever  any  one  complains 
that  wrong  has  been  done  him  by  another,  as  they 
desire  to  keep  the  favor  of  God  for  themselves  and 
to  preserve  with  fidelity  what  has  been  entrusted  to 
them,  so  that  in  all  places  everywhere  in  regard  to 
the  holy  churches  of  God,  and  in  the  case  of  poor 


246  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

people,  children,  and  widows,  they  may  administer 
the  law  fully  and  with  justice  for  all  people  accord- 
ing to  the  will  and  in  the  fear  of  God.  And  if  there 
is  anything  which  by  themselves,  with  the  aid  of 
the  provincial  counts,  they  are  unable  to  improve 
and  to  bring  to  justice,  let  them  refer  this  with  their 
report  without  ambiguity  to  the  emperor's  decision. 
Nor  for  the  flattery  of  any  man,  nor  for  the  reward 
of  any,  nor  by  reason  of  any  kinship,  nor  by  the 
fear  of  those  who  are  in  power,  let  any  man  impede 
the  course  of  justice." 

They  are  further  instructed  to  receive  from  every 
man,  lay  or  ecclesiastic,  upward  of  twelve  years  of 
age,  throughout  the  whole  realm,  an  oath  of  fidelity 
to  Charles  as  emperor,  and  also  from  those  who  as 
yet  had  taken  no  oath.  Furthermore,  they  are  to 
explain  the  oath  in  public,  so  that  each  one  may 
understand  how  great  is  the  oath,  and  how  many 
things  are  comprehended  in  it.  We  learn  from 
other  capitularies  that  the  commissioners  were  sent 
in  pairs,  one  ecclesiastic  of  high  rank,  usually  a 
bishop  or  archbishop,  and  the  other  a  noble,  usually 
a  count.' 

Thus  the  intimate  union  and  interdependence  of 
church  and  state  were  shown  still  further  in  the  in- 
stitution of  the  inissi.  Though  usually,  yet  not 
always,  were  they  sent  in  pairs  ;  rarely  one  was  sent 
alone  or  to  act  with  the  bishop,  but  sometimes 
three  or  four  were  sent.  They  acted  also  as  special 
ambassadors  or  legates.  They  were  chosen  not 
exclusively,  although  generally,  from  the  dukes  or 
*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  100;  Capit.  Spec,  802  a.d. 


Dttties  of  the  Missi.  247 


counts,  and  archbishops,  bishops,  or  abbots,  but 
they  were  taken  also  from  all  ranks,  from  the  palace 
ofificers  down  to  ordinary  vassals  and  monks  or 
chaplains. 

Their  judicial  duties  were  assigned  as  follows  : 
"  We  wish  that  for  the  purpose  of  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,  which  has  hitherto  remained  the 
duty  of  the  counts,  that  our  missi  should  make  a 
circuit  at  least  four  times  in  every  year — for  the 
winter,  in  January  ;  for  the  spring,  in  April  ;  for 
the  summer,  in  July  ;  and  for  the  autumn,  in  Octo- 
ber. In  the  other  months,  however,  each  of  the 
counts  may  hold  his  court  and  administer  justice  ; 
but  our  missi  should  four  times  in  the  month,  in 
four  different  places,  hold  these  courts  with  the 
counts  themselves  who  may  be  able  to  assemble  at 
that  place."'  The  courts  held  by  these  commis- 
sioners used  the  simple  and  direct  methods  of  ad- 
ministering justice  prevalent  in  the  emperor's  court, 
of  which,  in  fact,  they  were  an  extension.  Local 
justices  (scabini)  were  appointed  by  the  commis- 
sioners or  by  the  counts. 

In  the  reform  of  the  administration  the  commis- 
sioners had  power  to  remove  incompetent  or  un- 
worthy officials  beneath  the  rank  of  count.  They 
might  report  charges  against  a  count  at  their  dis- 
cretion, or  might  settle  themselves  upon  him  and 
live  in  his  house,  keeping  him  under  their  continual 
supervision,  until  he  reformed  in  order  to  get  rid  of 
them,  and  by  the  capitularies  of  802,  already  m.en- 
tioned,  the  counts  were  especially  required  to  make 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  177  ;  Cap.  de  Just.,  c.  8,  811-813  A.d. 


248  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

due  provision  for  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  the 
commissioners. 

Definite  districts  were  established  first  in  802, 
though  it  is  not  known  into  how  many  districts  the 
empire  was  divided,  and  the  extent  of  only  three 
provinces  is  known  to  us.'  It  is  probable  that  the 
districts  were  more  or  less  permanent,  but  the 
officers  served  at  the  pleasure  of  Charles,  and  they 
were  sometimes  sent  to  districts  in  which  they  did 
not  reside.  In  the  three  provinces  already  men- 
tioned, however,  the  commissioners  were  residents 
of  their  jurisdictions.  Under  Louis  the  Pious,  when 
the  strong  hand  of  Charles  was  withdrawn,  the  dis- 
tricts tended  to  become  identical  with  the  archbish- 
oprics, and  the  decentralizing  tendency  of  the  age 
operated  to  make  the  commissioners  local  lords,  in- 
dependent of  the  emperor,  as  the  counts  had  become 
before  them. 

Their  reports  were  made  at  irregular  intervals  to 
the  emperor,  but  also  annually  at  the  general  as- 
sembly held  in  May,  by  which  the  local  government 
was  brought  into  touch  with  the  central.  Thus 
they  were  the  immediate  personal  representatives  of 
the  emperor.  An  armed  opposition  to  them  was 
punishable  with  death  as  treason.  The  oversight 
of  the  administration  of  justice,  the  holding  of 
courts,  the  administration  of  military  affairs,  the 
defence  of  the  frontier,  the  oversight  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs,  the  enforcement  of  the  laws,  and  zeal  for 
the  interests  of  the  emperor  were  all  duties  entrusted 
to  the  commissioners,  not  as  before  on  particular 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  100  ;  Cap.  Spec.  802  A.D. 


The  Genei^al  Assemblies  and  Synods.    249 

occasions  for  special  purposes,  but  as  regular  dele- 
gates and  representatives  of  the  imperial  power  for 
all  purposes  residing  and  having  auth'ority  in  well- 
defined  districts. 

The  central  government  of  Charles  the  Great  was 
carried  on  largely  through  the  national  assemblies, 
and  although  for  some  time  the  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cils had  also  served  to  carry  on  state  affairs,  yet  later 
they  joined  their  deliberations  with  those  of  the 
spring  assembly,  an  institution  which  had  come 
down  from  early  German  times.  As  we  have  already 
seen,  under  Karlmann  and  Pippin  yearly  synods 
were  ordered  to  be  held,'  and  later  they  were  to  be 
summoned  twice  a  year,  March  1st  and  October 
ist.'^  Thus  as  one  synod  coincided  with  the  March- 
field,  so  the  other  appears  to  have  been  the  occasion 
given  for  holding  a  political  assembly  in  the  autumn. 

In  755,  for  the  first  time,  the  assembly,  which  had 
previously  been  held  in  March,  was  changed  to  May 
for  military  reasons,  and  hence  was  called  the  May- 
field.  Charles  kept  the  name,  though  frequently 
the  assembly  was  held  later  in  the  year,  in  June,  or 
in  July,  or  even  in  August,  the  time  as  well  as  place 
being  determined  by  military  considerations,  al- 
though it  was  held  even  when  no  campaigns  oc- 
curred that  year.'  Later  military  affairs  were  put 
in  the  background,  civil  and  ecclesiastical  concerns 
being  foremost.  Sometimes  both  the  ecclesiastical 
and  the  state  assembly  were  separated,  but  held  at 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  25,  29,  742,  744  A.n. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  34,  755  A.D. 

2  "  Ann.  Petav.,"  an.  781  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  16. 


250  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

the  same  time  and  place  ; '  sometimes  they  were 
divided  into  three  groups  or  houses,  the  archbishops 
and  bishops  in  one,  the  abbots  and  monks  in  another, 
and  the  nobles  and  military  officers  in  the  third  ;  * 
sometimes  five  different  places  are  named  for  differ- 
ent assemblies  at  the  same  time.'  The  fullest  de- 
scription of  these  assemblies  has  come  down  to  us 
from  Hincmar,  archbishop  of  Rheims.  He  tells  us 
that  Adalhard,  an  old  and  wise  man,  who  was  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  Emperor  Charles  the 
Great,  being  one  of  his  chief  counsellors  and  abbot 
of  the  monastery  of  Corbie,  had  written  a  little 
book,  De  Ordinc  Palatii,  now  lost.  This  book  he 
had  seen  in  his  youth,  had  read  and  copied,  and  in 
this  copy  he  presents  to  us  a  good  description  of 
the  constitutional  arrangements  of  the  central  gov- 
ernment of  Charles.  "  The  whole  administration 
of  the  realm,"  he  says,  "  was  carried  on  in  two  dif- 
ferent divisions.  The  first,  the  careful  ruling  and 
ordering  of  the  palace,  and  the  second,  the  care  for 
the  whole  kingdom  as  it  was  provided  for  in  the 
general  assemblies."  These  general  assemblies  it 
was  customary  to  hold  not  oftener  than  twice  a  year  ; 
the  first,  at  which  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  were 
arranged  for  the  next  year,  not  to  be  changed  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  dire  necessity.  At  this  assembly 
appeared  the  whole  body  of  the  chiefs  and  nobles, 
both  ecclesiastic  and  lay.  The  more  distinguished 
in  order  to  give  weight  and  authority  to  their  con- 

'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  794  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  181. 
"^   "  Ann.  Lauresh.,"  an.  802  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 
^  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  813  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  200. 


The  Spring  Assembly  or  May  field.      251 

elusions,  the  lesser  in  order  to  carry  them  out.  Yet 
all  labored  together  and  arrived  at  their  conclusions 
according  to  their  own  opinions  and  judgment. 
Here,  too,  they  were  engaged  in  arranging  for  the 
yearly  gifts.  The  second  assembly,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  held  only  with  the  counsellors  of  higher 
rank  and  authority,  and  matters  relating  to  affairs 
of  the  realm  for  the  following  year  were  considered. 
In  case  something  came  up  for  which  it  appeared 
necessary  to  lay  down  rules  or  to  make  decisions 
beforehand,  or  if  anything  enacted  the  preceding 
year  failed  of  its  purpose,  or  for  which  the  necessity 
arose  for  immediate  action  ;  for  example,  in  case  of 
rights  conferred  on  the  margraves  in  any  part  of  the 
realm,  whether  these  rights,  having  lapsed,  should  be 
renewed  or  terminated  ;  also  other  matters  relating 
to  war  or  peace  imminent  in  different  quarters,  so 
that  the  seniors  might  consider  long  enough  before- 
hand, by  their  counsel,  what  action  ought  to  be 
taken. 

These  plans  and  deliberations  were  kept  secret 
until  the  next  general  assembly,  that  they  might 
not  be  frustrated,  but  that  they  might  be  put  in 
such  a  way  as  to  commend  themselves  to  the  other 
seniors  and  to  satisfy  the  popular  will.  As  far  as 
possible  men  were  chosen  as  counsellors,  both  cleri- 
cal and  lay,  who  feared  God  and  were  so  faithful  that, 
eternal  life  excepted,  they  would  put  nothing  before 
the  emperor  and  the  empire. 

Furthermore,  in  order  that  the  business  of  these 
nobles  and  chief  senators  of  the  realm  might  begin 
at  once,  lest  they  should   seem  to  have  been  con- 


252  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

yoked  without  good  reason,  the  matters  which  had 
come  into  his  own  mind  by  the  inspiration  of  God, 
or  had  been  brought  to  his  attention  since  the  pre- 
vious assembly,  were  immediately  laid  before  them 
in  capitularies  already  drawn  up  and  arranged. 
These  were  then  taken  up  for  consideration,  the 
space  of  one,  two,  or  three  days  or  more,  as  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  demanded,  being  granted 
them.  Palace  messengers  passed  back  and  forth, 
asking  the  emperor's  opinions  and  receiving  his  re- 
plies. No  one  from  outside  was  allowed  to  come  in 
until  each  matter  was  settled  to  the  advantage  of 
the  most  glorious  prince,  then  everything  was  set 
forth  in  "  his  venerable  sight  and  hearing,  and  all  are 
guided  by  whatever  his  God-given  wisdom  chooses." 
In  the  meanwhile  the  emperor  elsewhere  was  busy, 
receiving  gifts,  giving  audiences,  and  attending  to 
other  like  affairs  of  state,  yet  as  often  as  they  de- 
sired he  went  to  them  and  remained  with  them  as 
long  as  they  wished,  and  in  the  most  familiar  way 
they  reported  to  him  how  each  matter  stood,  and 
freely  set  forth  what  changes  or  modifications  they 
had  discussed. 

If  the  weather  was  favorable  these  meetings  were 
held  out  of  doors,  but  if  not,  inside,  in  different 
places,  where  they  gathered  in  large  numbers  in 
separate  groups,  so  arranged  that  in  one  all  the 
bishops,  abbots,  and  other  most  honorable  clergy 
were  assembled,  without  any  laymen  being  present  ; 
likewise  all  the  counts  and  chief  men  and  others  of 
like  honor,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  multitude 
early   in    the    morning,    until    all   were    assembled, 


The  Fall  Assembly.  253 

whether  the  emperor  was  present  or  absent,  and 
then  the  aforesaid  seniors  in  their  accustomed  man- 
ner withdrew,  the  clergy  to  their  appointed  assem- 
bly, and  the  laity  to  theirs,  seats  being  prepared  for 
them  with  due  honor. 

A  second  method  of  the  emperor  was  to  inquire 
what  each  had  brought  with  him  from  his  own  part 
of  the  realm  worth  relating  or  considering,  for  they 
were  not  only  permitted,  but  positively  commanded 
to  inquire  most  diligently  into  matters  within  and 
outside  the  empire,  not  only  from  natives  or  from 
foreigners,  but  even  from  friends  or  from  foes — if 
any  people  in  any  part  Avere  in  revolt,  and  the  cause 
of  the  revolt  ;  if  there  was  any  murmuring  or  any 
complaint  of  injustice,  or  anything  else  which  the 
general  council  ought  to  consider  ;  and  if  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  the  empire  any  people  who  had 
been  subdued  were  rebelling,  or  any  who  had  re- 
belled were  being  subdued,  or  if  any  secret  plots 
were  being  formed  against  the  empire.  In  all  these 
things  he  carefully  asked  what  dangers  threatened 
and  what  was  the  cause  of  them.' 

The  second  assembly,  held  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
was  rarely,  but  still  sometimes  of  direct  importance,' 
and  became  more  important  under  Louis  the  Pious, 
These  fall  assemblies,  like  those  of  the  spring,  were 
not  held  at  any  regular  time — some  in  August,  some 


'  Migne,  Series  Secunda,  vol.  cxxv.,  pp.  998  ff. ;  Hincmar,  "  De 
Ordine  Palatii,"  c.  12,  29,  34,  35  and  36. 

"  it.  ^.,  October,  797,  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  71,  Second  Saxon 
Capitulary  ;  October,  802,  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  105-111,  impor- 
tant ecclesiastical  rules  ;  December,  805,  Boretius,  vol.  !.,  pp, 
120-126,  a  double  capitulary. 


2  54  ^'^^^'  ^£'^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

in  October  or  November.  In  the  winter  of  818-819 
one  was  held  after  Christmas,  the  next  assembly- 
being  held  in  July,  819,  while  another  in  January, 
820,  and  the  next  in  February,  May,  and  October 
of  821  ;  that  held  in  October  being  the  greatest  and 
general  assembly  for  that  year.  Nor  was  there  any- 
thing definite  regarding  the  place  of  these  assem- 
blies. As  long  as  military  considerations  governed, 
the  place  as  well  as  the  time  was  determined  accord- 
ing to  the  object  of  the  campaign  ;  also  the  character 
of  the  business  or  the  special  interests  involved 
often  determined  the  place  at  which  it  should  be 
held  ;  otherwise  Charles  seemed  to  prefer  the  cities 
on  the  Rhine,  especially  Worms  and  Aachen.  Un- 
der Louis  the  Pious  they  were  held  frequently  at 
Aachen.  They  were  usually  held  at  one  of  the  im- 
perial palaces  or  in  large  cities,  rarely  at  a  monas- 
tery, and  then  it  is  expressly  stated  as  being  con- 
trary to  the  custom.'  Attendance  at  these  assem- 
blies was  a  duty  and  an  obligation  rather  than  a 
right  or  privilege.  Although  the  spring  assembly, 
the  Mayfield,  was  regarded  as  a  popular  assembly, 
and  had  come  down  from  the  earlier  times,  when  the 
whole  nation  assembled  all  together,  it  is  probable 
that  the  people  came  to  have  a  less  and  less  impor- 
tant part,  and  were  satisfied  by  the  announcement 
of  what  was  there  concluded.  Guizot,  perhaps,  is 
too  one-sided  in  saying  that  "  it  was  not  the  Prank- 
ish nation  that  came  to  these  assemblies  to  watch 
over  and  to  direct  the  administration,  but  it  was 
Charles  the  Great  who  gathered  around  him  certain 
>  "  Ann.  Bert.,"  an.  846  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol,  i.,  p.  33. 


The  Capitularies.  255 

individuals  to  watch  over  and  to  direct  the  nation."  ' 
Lehuerou  also  goes  too  far  when  he  says  that  "  the 
Carolingian  royalty,  even  under  Charles  the  Great, 
is  less  a  monarchy  than  an  aristocratic  government, 
though  as  long  as  Charles  lived  he  took  the  initia- 
tive, proposing  subjects  and  matter  for  deliberation 
and  action.  Louis,  however,  said  that  he  would  do 
nothing  without  the  agreement  of  the  nobles. 

In  good  weather  these  meetings  were  held  in  the 
open  air,  and  when  the  weather  would  not  permit 
of  this  some  large  public  building  was  used.  Mat- 
ters coming  up  for  consideration  at  these  meetings 
covered  every  variety  of  subjects,  as  is  shown  in 
the  capitularies  which  they  issued.  One  of  the 
most  varied,  perhaps,  being  that  of  the  year  794, 
the  famous  assembly  of  Frankfort,  which  began 
with  the  condemnation  of  the  Adoptionists  and  of 
the  Constantinopolitan  decrees  on  image  worship, 
went  on  to  consider  the  jurisdiction  of  bishops  over 
their  clergy,  the  election  of  abbots,  the  tariff  on 
grains  and  bread,  the  care  of  orphans,  the  adoration 
of  saints,  the  giving  of  alms  to  the  poor,  and  the 
qualifications  of  cellarists  in  monasteries. 

The  capitularies  are  of  great  interest  and  impor- 
tance, not  only  in  giving  an  idea  of  the  method  of 
administration,  but  also  in  showing  the  condition  of 
the  empire,  ecclesiastically  and  morally  as  well  as 
socially  and  politically.  Guizot  has  given  us  the 
most  interesting  and  fullest  description  of  their  con- 
tents,  and  although  it  is  impossible  to  make  the 

'  Guizot,  "  Essais,"  p.  336. 
*  Lehuerou,  p.  294. 


256  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

sharp  distinctions  which  he  makes  between  the  vari- 
ous articles,  yet  the  general  conclusions  which  he 
presents  are  instructive.  After  numbering  those 
issued  by  Charles  the  Great,  of  which  he  has  col- 
lected and  analyzed  about  sixty-five,'  he  finds  that 
about  three  fifths  of  the  articles  are  occupied  with 
civil  affairs,  and  about  two  fifths  with  religious  or 
ecclesiastical  concerns.  These  capitularies  are  not 
merely  collections  of  laws,  although  they  do  empha- 
size and  restate  the  traditional  customs  of  the  older 
time,  adding  such  new  regulations  as  may  meet  the 
later  conditions,  but  in  addition  to  this  they  include 
moral  precepts  and  police  regulations,  sometimes  in 
the  minutest  details,  relating  to  the  church,  army, 
the  poor,  and  the  palace,  penal  regulations  relating 
to  punishment  and  crime,  the  regulation  of  the  re- 
ligious and  ecclesiastical  life  of  the  clergy,  entering 
sometimes  into  the  minutest  details  in  regard  to  the 
veneration  of  martyrs  and  of  saints,  and  concerning 
public  preaching.  They  also  contained  instructions 
to  the  commissioners,  extracts  from  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal councils,  replies  given  by  Charles  to  the  ques- 
tions addressed  by  counts,  bishops,  and  others  in 
relation  to  difficulties  in  administration,  also  some 
questions  which  Charles  proposes  to  ask  in  the  gen- 
eral assembly.  These  questions  are  curious  in  the 
extreme,  and  give  striking  evidence  of  the  keenness 
of  his  observation  and  of  his  skill  in  administration 
and  in  dealing  with  men. 

"  Why  is  it  that  either  on  the  march  or  in  the 

'  Boretius  has  published  one  hundred  and  thirteen  ;  M.  G.  LL., 
section  ii.,  vol.  i. 


Questions  Charles  Proposed  to  Ask.    257 

camp,  when  anything  is  necessary  to  be  done  for 
the  defence  of  the  country,  one  does  not  wish  to 
lend  aid  to  another  ?  Whence  comes  this  continual 
struggle  by  which  each  one  wishes  to  have  that 
which  he  sees  possessed  by  another  ?  To  ask  in 
what  matters  and  in  what  places  ecclesiastics  put 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  laymen,  and  laymen  in  the 
way  of  ecclesiastics,  in  the  exercise  of  their  func- 
tions. To  seek  out  and  to  discuss  how  far  a  bishop 
or  an  abbot  should  interfere  in  secular  affairs,  and  a 
count  or  other  layman  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  To 
ask  them  in  an  emphatic  manner  regarding  the 
meaning  of  the  words  of  the  apostle,  '  No  man  that 
warreth  in  the  service  of  God  entangleth  himself 
with  the  affairs  of  this  life.'  To  whom  were  these 
words  addressed  ?  To  ask  the  bishops  and  abbots 
to  declare  to  us  truly  what  these  words  mean  which 
they  use  so  often,  '  to  renounce  the  world,'  and 
by  what  sign  one  can  distinguish  those  who  re- 
nounce the  world  from  those  who  are  still  occupied 
with  it. 

"  Whether  it  is  only  by  the  fact  that  they  do  not 
bear  arms  and  are  not  publicly  married  ?  Also  to 
ask  if  he  is  renouncing  the  world  who  labors  each 
day,  no  matter  how,  to  increase  his  wealth,  some- 
times promising  the  happiness  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  sometimes  threatening  with  the  eternal 
punishments  of  hell  ;  or  even  in  the  name  of  God, 
or  of  some  saint,  despoiling  of  his  goods  some  man, 
rich  or  poor,  guileless  and  ill-advised,  so  that  his 
rightful  heirs  are  left  in  want,  and  most  of  them,  on 
account  of  the  misery  in  which  they  fall,  driven  to 
0 


258  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

all  sorts  of  evil  and  crime  and  committing  almost 
necessarily  misdemeanors  and  offences,"  ' 

Other  articles  of  these  capitularies  are  merely 
notes  or  memoranda  which  Charles  wrote  for  his 
own  convenience.  Others  contain  judicial  decisions 
to  be  taken  as  examples  or  standards  of  punishment. 
Affairs  of  financial  or  domestic  legislation  are  also 
considered  as  well  as  purely  political  acts,  nomina- 
tions, recommendations,  and  matters  relating  to  in- 
dividual cases.  Thus  is  shown  not  only  the  wide 
range  of  the  administration  of  Charles,  but  the  ac- 
tive personal  interest  which  he  took  in  every  single 
detail.  No  wonder  that  with  his  fall  fell  also  the 
central  administration,  the  general  assemblies,  and 
the  royal  commissioners. 

Nothing  resembled  feudalism  less  than  the  sover- 
eign unity  to  which  Charles  aspired,  and  which  in  a 
great  degree  he  was  able  to  attain,  yet  in  his  reign 
were  laid  the  strongest  foundations  of  feudalism. 
By  checking  invasions  and  repressing  internal  dis- 
orders he  gave  to  the  local  positions,  tendencies, 
and  influences  time  to  take  real  possession  of  the 
land,  and  its  inhabitants  and  the  individual  ofificers, 
the  dukes,  the  counts  and  margraves,  whom  he  so 
firmly  established,  and  who  were  the  chief  ministers 
of  his  authority,  and  performed  their  functions  in 
dependence  upon  him  and  under  his  control,  be- 
came the  well-nigh  independent  feudal  lords  in  suc- 
ceeding centuries. 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  161-165,  811  A.D. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THEOLOGICAL  CONTROVERSIES — IMAGE  WORSHIP 
—  ADOPTIANISM  —  THE  FILIOQUE  CLAUSE  — 
"  VENI    CREATOR   SPIRITUS." 

|T  was  not  only  in  the  ecclesiastical  organi- 
zation, nor  in  his  relations  with  the  pope, 
however,  that  the  religious  activity  and 
the  control  over  the  church  by  Charles 
was  shown.  In  three  important  contro- 
versies which  rose  during  his  reign  he  exercised  a 
powerful  and  manifest  influence. 

The  Iconoclastic  controversy  had  continued  in  the 
East  until  the  death  of  the  last  Leo,  in  780,  placed 
Irene  in  power  as  regent  in  behalf  of  her  son.  She 
had  already  shown  evidences  of  a  zeal  for  image 
worship,  and  had  made  attempts  to  bring  about  its 
restoration,  and  now,  anxiously  and  carefully,  she 
began  preparations  for  a  determined  action.  In  786 
a  new  council  was  held  at  Constantinople,  in  which, 
it  is  true,  a  majority  of  the  bishops  still  maintained 
their  hostility  to  images,  and  the  council  was  dis- 
solved, but  in  the  next  year  a  general  council  was 
summoned  at  Nicaea.  At  this  council,  under  the 
influence  of  the  empress,  those  who  had  been  won 

259 


26o  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

over  to  her  cause,  with  the  rest  of  the  number  of 
upholders  of  image  worship,  were  enabled  to  bring 
about  a  final  decision  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of 
images.  Those  bishops  who  signed  a  formal  recan- 
tation of  their  former  opposition  were  allowed  to 
retain  their  episcopal  positions,  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  render  easy  the  desertion  from  the  still 
powerful  number  of  the  iconoclasts.  At  this  coun- 
cil it  was  decided  that  not  only  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
but  also  images  drawn  with  colors,  composed  with 
mosaic  work,  or  formed  with  other  suitable  mate- 
rial, might  be  placed  in  the  churches,  in  houses,  and 
in  the  streets,  including  images  of  Christ,  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  of  angels,  and  of  all  holy  and  devout 
men.  It  was  also  declared  that  bowing  to  an  image, 
which  is  simply  the  token  of  love  and  of  reverence 
{7cpo6Kvvr]6ii),  ought  not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  adoration  (Xarpeia)  which  is  due  to  God  alone. 
The  decrees  of  this  council  were  confirmed  at  an 
adjourned  assembly  in  Constantinople  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  empress  and  her  son,  and  the  worship 
of  images  was  once  more  established. 

The  relation  of  the  pope  to  this  controversy  we 
have  already  noticed  at  its  very  beginning  in  the 
early  part  of  the  eighth  century.  What  had  been 
the  prevailing  sentiment  in  the  Prankish  Church  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  there  could  be  no 
doubt  regarding  the  position  taken  by  Charles  on 
this  question.  He  at  once  announced  himself  as 
zealously  opposed  to  the  decree  of  this  second 
Nicene  Council  regarding  image  worship,  an  oppo- 
sition which  was  increased  and  expressed  itself  more 


The   Caroline  Books.  261 

bitterly  in  consequence  of  the  breaking  off,  in  that 
same  year,  all  negotiations  regarding  the  betrothal 
of  Constantine  to  the  Prankish  princess,  Rothrud. 
Soon  after  the  famous  work  entitled  "  The  Four 
Caroline  Books"  appeared  in  790,  under  the  em- 
peror's name,  refuting  the  position  laid  down  at  the 
second  Nicene  Council,  and  declaring  the  position 
to  be  taken  by  the  Prankish  Church  on  this  ques- 
tion. The  authorship  of  this  work  is  still  in  dis- 
pute, although  Charles  unquestionably  was  responsi- 
ble for  the  opinions  therein  set  forth,  and  gave  to 
them  all  the  weight  of  his  authority,  and  perhaps 
had  much  to  do  with  the  very  form  of  expression 
which  these  ideas  assume.  Alcuin  and  the  other 
theologians  of  the  court  must,  however,  have  held 
a  very  important  place  in  the  actual  composition. 
The  work  is  moderate  in  tone,  sensible  in  expres- 
sion, and  at  the  same  time  shows  the  coloring  of  the 
peculiar  views  and  superstitions  of  the  age.  The 
use  is  distinguished  from  the  abuse  of  images  in  the 
church,  at  the  same  time  that  the  fanaticism  of  the 
iconoclasts  is  condemned.  Images  might  be  used 
for  the  decoration  of  the  churches  and  for  the  memo- 
rials of  past  events.  They  should  not  be  regarded 
as  idols,  as  their  opponents  affirmed,  though  their 
use  was  not  necessary,  nor  ought  it  to  be  made  of 
such  great  importance  as  their  supporters  main- 
tained. The  harsh  expressions  against  the  icono- 
clasts were  condemned,  as  well  as  the  principles  and 
arguments  by  which  they  were  defended.  This 
enthusiasm  for  art  and  for  images  he  regards  as  ab- 
surd and  foolish,  and  even  underestimates  the  value 


262  TJic  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  pictures  in  depicting  and  representing  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  mind  and  soul.  The  chief  objec- 
tion, however,  is  that  they  are  in  contradiction  to 
the  spiritual  nature  of  Christianity,  and  those  who 
rely  upon  them  show  a  weakness  and  inability  to 
rise  above  the  things  of  sense  to  the  realm  of  spirit 
without  the  help  of  material  things.  "  God  who 
fills  all  things  is  not  to  be  adored  or  sought  for  in 
material  images,  but  should  be  ever  present  to  the 
pure  heart."  '  To  the  sign  of  the  cross,  however, 
is  given  an  exceptional  and  much  higher  impor- 
tance, and  here  it  must  be  said  the  outward  symbol 
and  the  idea  represented  by  it  are  not  kept  distinctly 
separate.  The  relics  also  of  the  saints  are  to  be 
preferred  to  images  as  having  been  in  special  con- 
tact with  these  holy  persons,  thus  acquiring  asacred- 
ness  which  should  receive  a  higher  reverence  than 
that  paid  to  pictured  forms,  the  work  of  an  artist 
more  or  less  skilled.  To  show  reverence  for  the 
bodies  of  saints  was  a  great  means  of  promoting 
piety,  for  they  reign  with  Christ  in  heaven,  and 
their  bodies  should  rise  again,  but  even  the  act  of 
prostration  {npo6Kvviiaii)  before  images  was  con- 
demned as  the  transfer  to  a  created  object  of  the 
adoration  belonging  to  God  alone  and  as  a  species 
of  idolatry,  and  any  reverence  for  lifeless  images 
was  irrational.  "  You  may  keep  lights  burning  be- 
fore your  pictures,"  the  king  declares  ;  "we  will 
be  diligent  in  studying  the  holy  Scriptures."  ^ 

In  accordance  with   the   close  relations  existing 

'  "  Lib.  Carol.,"  bk.  iii.,  c.  29. 
*  Ibid.,  bk.  ii.,  c.  30. 


Adoptianism.  263 


between  Charles  and  the  pope,  and  his  frequently- 
expressed  regard  and  reverence  for  the  ecclesiastical 
authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  he  presented,  by 
the  hands  of  Abbot  Angilbert,  his  refutation  of  the 
second  Nicene  Council  to  Pope  Hadrian,  from  whom 
a  formal  reply  was  received  opposing  the  position 
taken  in  the  royal  treatise,  but  apparently  without 
inducing  Charles  to  yield  anything.  Finally,  at  the 
assembly  held  at  Frankfort,  in  794,  these  contested 
points  were  discussed  in  the  presence  of  papal 
legates,  and  the  adoration  of  images  {adoratio  et  scr- 
vitus  imaginum)  was  condemned. 

The  second  controversy  in  which  Charles  showed 
his  influence  was  that  in  regard  to  Adoptianism. 
This  theory,  by  which  Christ  was  declared  to  be,  as 
far  as  his  human  nature  was  concerned,  the  adopted 
Son  of  God,  was  not  a  mere  revival  of  Nestorian 
views,  but  a  distinct  development  from  the  position 
laid  down  by  the  church  in  the  sixth  general  coun- 
cil. It  was  presented  most  strongly  and  convinc- 
ingly by  Bishop  Felix  of  Urgel,  a  diocese  in  the 
Spanish  mark,  and  less  ably  by  Elipantus,  the  arch- 
bishop of  Toledo,  who  was  supported  by  a  large 
number  of  the  Spanish  bishops.  The  Spanish 
Church  was  of  great  strength  and  of  no  mean  im- 
portance. It  had  presented  a  remarkable  theologi- 
cal life  in  the  long  list  of  the  councils  of  Toledo,  and 
though  it  maintained  not  a  close,  but  a  continuous 
connection  with  Rome,  it  had  presented,  neverthe- 
less, a  kind  of  established  national  spirit  under  the 
archbishop  of  Toledo.  It  had  passed  through  a 
long  and  momentous  history  of  struggle,  of  suffer- 


264  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

ing,  and  of  triumph.  The  Visigoths,  originally 
Arian,  after  the  conversion  of  their  king,  Reccared, 
became  thoroughly  orthodox,  and  gave  evidence  of 
their  faith  in  the  famous  filioque  clause  inserted  in 
the  Nicene  Creed  by  the  third  Council  of  Toledo  in 
589.  At  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  the 
whole  country  had  been  overrun  and  finally  con- 
quered by  the  Mahometans,  and  in  the  middle  of 
the  century  a  Western  Saracenic  empire  had  been 
established  under  the  Emir  of  Cordova,  and  although 
the  Christian  worship  was  allowed  by  payment  of  a 
tribute,  yet  the  strong,  overshadowing  influence  of 
Mahometanism  was  keenly  felt.  A  strong  opposi- 
tion to  the  very  assertion  of  the  divine  nature  in 
Christ,  as  well  as  to  the  exclusion  or  undervaluing 
of  the  human  expressed  in  the  condemned  doctrines 
of  monophysitism  and  monothelitism  made  itself 
manifest,  and  Elipantus  himself  was  prominent  in 
the  refutation  of  Sabellianism  in  780.  "  When, 
therefore,"  says  Dorner,  "  the  problem,  in  the  form 
in  which  it  presented  itself  to  the  mind  of  the  church 
after  the  Dyotheletic  Synod  of  the  year  680,  was 
brought  into  contact  with  the  factors  embraced  by 
the  Spanish  Church,  the  result  was  Adoptianism."  ' 
Adoptianism,  however,  was  no  mere  revival  of  Nes- 
torianism.  It  had  passed  beyond  that  stage  of  the 
controversy.  Nestorius  and  his  followers  had 
directed  their  analysis  to  the  distinction  between 
the  two  natures  in  Christ,  while  Adoptianism  con- 
cerned itself  with  the  relations  of  personality  and 
gave  evidence  of  a  distinct  advance  in  this  concep- 

'  Dorner,  division  ii.,  vol.  i.,  p.  251. 


Tendency  Towm^ds  Transubstantiation.  265 

tion.  Personality  now  denoted  the  Ego,  the  self, 
and  not  a"  constitutional  principle  of  existence." 
In  other  words,  they  really  continued  the  position 
maintained  by  the  church  in  the  Council  of  Chalce- 
don,  in  451,  and  in  that  of  Constantinople,  in  680, 
and  asserted  the  existence  of  two  natures  and  two 
wills  in  the  sphere  of  personality.  From  this  con- 
troversy Dorner  dates  a  retrogressive  movement  in 
Christology,  and  a  distinct  weakening  of  the  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  the  doctrine  of  the  double  nature  and  the 
double  will.  There  was  a  tendency  backward  tov/ards 
the  reassertion  of  the  impersonality  of  the  human 
nature,  and  a  revival  of  the  view  of  Cyril  and  the 
Eutychians  regarding  the  incarnation  as  a  miracle 
by  which  the  divine  was  substituted  for  the  human 
substance,  leaving  to  the  latter  only  its  accidents. 
This  theory  did  not  appear  permanently,  however, 
in  connection  with  any  direct  change  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  nature  and  person  of  the  historical  Christ  ; 
but  it  did  exercise  an  influence  and  find  a  place  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  and  helped  to  develop 
that  tendency,  already  apparent,  by  which,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  principle  of  the  substitution  of 
the  symbol  for  the  thing  symbolized,  the  elements 
of  bread  and  wine  in  the  holy  communion  were  com- 
ing to  take  the  place  of  the  spiritual  presence  of 
Christ.  Thus  was  being  laid  the  foundation  for 
that  later  doctrine,  that  in  the  miracle  of  the  altar 
the  divine  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were  substituted 
for  or  took  the  place  of  the  substance  of  bread  and 
wine  whose  accidents  alone  remain.  Indeed,  the 
doctrine  was  set  forth  distinctly  by  Paschasius  Rad- 


266  The  Age  of  CJuirlemagne. 

bertus,  a  monk  of  Corbie,  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century,  and  was  at  the  same  time  just  as  distinctly 
refuted  by  Rabanus  Maurus  and  by  Ratramnus,  the 
latter  in  a  treatise  which  has  become  a  classic  on  the 
subject. 

The  Adoptianists  taught  that  Christ  is  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God,  solely  according  to  his  divine 
nature  ;  according  to  his  human  nature,  he  is  only, 
by  the  decision  of  the  divine  will,  adopted  as  the 
Son  of  God,  and  therefore  the  first-begotten  Son  of 
God.  The  Adoptianists  agreed  that  the  Son  of 
God,  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  was  born  and 
assumed  humanity  in  Christ.  Nor  did  Felix  object 
to  giving  the  man,  Jesus,  the  name  "  Son  of  God," 
on  account  of  his  union  with  the  Son  of  God  in  the 
person  of  Christ  ;  but  he  held  that  the  Son  of  Man 
was  of  a  different  nature  from  the  Son  of  God — that 
is,  a  created  being  of  another  substance  than  the 
Deity  ;  hence,  as  the  son  of  David,  he  cannot  be 
styled  the  Son  of  God  by  nature.  This  seemed  to 
be  another  attempt  to  assert  the  reality  of  the  human 
nature  in  Christ,  and  to  maintain  at  the  same  time 
the  supreme  and  absolute  unity  of  the  Deity,  on 
both  of  which  points  the  Mahometans  severely  criti- 
cised the  doctrine  of  the  church.  Their  opponents 
said  this  view  would  end  logically  in  the  duality  of 
persons.  They  insisted  on  the  reality  of  the  incar- 
nation, and  though  they  were  strong  in  pointing  out 
errors  and  dangers  in  the  doctrine  of  Felix,  they 
were  not  able  to  state  their  doctrine  in  a  strong, 
positive  manner. 

At  the  request  of  Charles  the  Great,  Alcuin  issued 


Felix ^  Bishop  of  Urgel.  267 


a  treatise  on  the  subject,  which  Charles  himself  is 
said  to  have  revised  and  modified.  He  insisted  that 
something,  which  is  of  a  different  substance  from 
another  thing,  may  undeniably  possess  as  its  prop- 
erty this  other  thing  in  such  a  manner  that,  for  the 
sake  of  this  real  and  substantial  relationship  between 
the  two,  the  latter  may  become  a  predicate  or  mark 
of  the  former.  This  principle  he  applied  to  the  re- 
lation of  the  divine  and  human  in  Christ,  maintain- 
ing that  the  human  nature  was  made  a  predicate  of 
the  Son  of  God.  The  great  importance  of  the  posi- 
tion and  influence  of  Adoptianism  is  not  attributable 
to  any  positive  results  it  worked  out  and  set  forth, 
but  to  the  circumstance  that  the  opposition  raised 
against  it  constituted  a  great  crisis  in  the  history  of 
dogma.' 

From  Spain  these  discussions  spread  naturally  in 
the  adjacent  Prankish  provinces,  for  Felix,  a  man 
of  distinguished  piety  and  Christian  zeal,  as  well  as 
of  superior  acuteness  and  intellect,  was  bishop  of 
Urgel,  situated  in  the  Spanish  mark.  It  was  this 
spread  of  the  controversy  into  the  Frankish  territory 
that  led  Charles  to  bring  the  matter  before  the 
assembly  in  Regensberg  in  792, ''  at  w^iich  Felix  was 
summoned  to  appear.  His  doctrines  were  con- 
demned, and  he  consented  to  recant.  Charles  sent 
him  to  Rome,  where  he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned 
and  wrote  a  new  recantation,  but  returning  to  Spain 
he  repented  of  his  misrepresentations  of  his  doc- 

'  Dorner,  division  ii.,  vol.  i.,  p.  268. 

'  "  Ann.  Lauriss."  and  "  Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  792  ;     M.  G.  SS., 

vol.  i.,  pp,  178,  179. 


268  The  Age  of  Charlemag7ie. 

trines,  and  took  up  his  residence  under  the  rule  and 
protection  of  the  Saracens.  The  Spanish  bishops 
wrote  to  Charles  demanding  a  new  examination  and 
a  reinstatement  of  Felix  in  his  see.  These  letters 
were  forwarded  to  Hadrian,  and  the  matter  brought 
before  the  Frankfort  Council  of  794/  when  Felix 
was  again  condemned  and  all  records  sent  to  Ellpan- 
tus.  At  this  time  Alcuin  had  returned  to  the  court 
of  Charles,  and  he  used  every  kindly  means  to  in- 
duce Felix  to  give  up  his  new  and  erroneous  doc- 
trine, supplementing  his  letters  Avith  the  formal 
treatise  on  the  subject,  as  already  mentioned. 

To  this  Felix,  still  unconvinced,  replied  in  a  calm, 
impassioned  and  exceedingly  able  manner,  but  Eli- 
pantus  answered  it  with  bitterness  and  passion. 
Alcuin  held  up  to  them  the  teaching  of  the  univer- 
sal church,  and  based  his  strongest  argument  on  the 
authority  of  tradition,  but  Felix  and  Elipantus  said 
that  Christ  and  not  Peter  was  the  rock  on  which  the 
church  was  founded,  and  that  the  church  and  the 
true  faith  might  consist  of  only  a  few.  Alcuin  now 
referred  the  discussion  to  Paulinus,  the  patriarch  of 
Aquileia,  Theodolf  of  Orleans,  and  Richbon,  bishop 
of  Treves,  as  well  as  to  the  pope,  thus  not  giving  to 
the  pope  the  absolute  power  of  decision.  Charles 
agreed  to  this,  and  sent  a  clerical  commission  con- 
sisting of  Benedict  of  Aniane,  Leidrad,  archbishop 
of  Lyons,  and  Nefrid,  bishop  of  Narbonne,  to  inves- 
tigate and  refute  the  doctrine  in  the  southern  prov- 
inces bordering  on  Spain.  They  conferred  with 
Felix,  and  promised  him  a  fair  and  free  discussion 
'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,pp.  73-78. 


The  FilioqiLe   Clause.  269 

if  he  would  attend  the  council  at  Aix-la-Chapelle 
in  799.  Here  he  met  Alcuin  in  debate  before  the 
king,  and  declared  himself  convinced,  but  it  was 
probably  rather  more  by  the  gentle  and  devout 
character  of  Alcuin  than  by  his  argument.  Felix, 
however,  was  not  allowed  to  return  to  his  bishopric, 
but  placed  under  the  oversight  of  the  archbishop  of 
Lyons,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  in  818. 
But  although  he  gave  up  the  use  of  his  peculiar 
phraseology,  Agobard,  Leidrad's  successor,  found 
among  his  papers  undoubted  evidence  that  he  still 
retained  the  principles  for  which  he  had  so  earnestly 
contended.  For  a  time,  however,  the  controversy 
was  stilled. 

A  third  controversy,  of  a  much  more  extended 
significance,  was  that  relating  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  has  been  noticed  already  that  a 
Spanish  council,  held  at  Toledo  in  589,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  conversion  from  Arianism  of  the  Visi- 
gothic  king,  Reccared,  inserted  in  the  Nicene  Creed 
the  words  "  And  from  the  Son"  {Jilioqiic),  after  the 
words  expressing  belief  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  who 
proceedeth  from  the  Father."  This  addition,  to- 
gether with  the  question  of  image  worship,  was  dis- 
cussed in  a  synod,  at  which  both  Greek  and  Roman 
delegates  were  present,  held  at  Gentilly  in  jGy,  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Pippin,  probably  in  order  to  effect 
a  closer  union  between  the  Eastern  and  Western 
churches,  but  apparently  without  arriving  at  any 
decision  on  the  points  at  issue.' 

1  "Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  767  ;    M.  G.  SS.,vol.  i.,  p.  145  ;   Jaffe, 
vol.  iv.,  pp.  124-134  ;  Ep.  36,  37. 


270  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Charles  accordingly  took  up  the  matter,  and  at 
his  direction  Alcuin  wrote  a  treatise  in  which  he 
favored  the  addition.  On  this  account  a  monk  of 
Jerusalem  made  a  vehement  attack  at  the  Prankish 
congregation  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  declared 
that  all  the  Franks  were  heretics.  They  immedi- 
ately reported  the  whole  affair  to  Pope  Leo  in  a 
very  striking  and  interesting  letter,'  and  he  for- 
warded the  letter  with  one  of  his  own  to  Charles, 
significantly  remarking  that  he  replied  to  the  monks 
by  sending  them  an  authentic  copy  of  the  true 
creed,  which  of  course  did  not  contain  the  addi- 
tion.' 

Charles  then  issued  another  treatise  written  by 
Theodulf  of  Orleans,  and  introduced  the  question 
for  discussion  at  the  Synod  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
809.  The  question  not  being  settled  at  this  time, 
Bernharius,  bishop  of  Worms,  and  Adalhard,  abbot 
of  Corbie,  were  sent  to  Rome  to  lay  the  matter  be- 
fore the  pope.'  Leo  admitted  the  truth  of  the  doc- 
trine, but  did  not  wish  to  change  the  form  in  which 
the  creed  was  chanted  in  the  services  of  the  church, 
and  recommended  that  the  word  be  dropped  as  not 
necessary  for  them  and  very  obnoxious  to  the 
Greeks.  In  order  to  give  additional  force  to  his 
suggestions,  he  caused  the  Nicene  Creed  in  both 
Greek  and  Latin  to  be  engraved  on  two  silver  tab- 
lets, and  set  up  in  the  churches  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.   Paul  in  Rome,  with  the  words,  "  I,  Leo,  have 

'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  382-385  ;  Ep.  Carol.,  22. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  386  ;  Ep.  Carol.,  23. 

^  "  Ann.  Einhardi,"  ann.  809  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  196. 


Veni  Creator  Spirittts.  271 

set  this  up  in  token  of  my  love  and  protection  of 
the  orthodox  faith,"  Yet  the  addition  favored  by 
Charles  was  used  throughout  the  western  part  of  the 
empire,  and  at  last  was  adopted  throughout  the 
Latin  Church  as  it  is  to-day. 

It  is  in  recognition  of  this  great  truth  that  the 
hymn  Vcni  Creator  Spiritns,  one  of  the  grandest  of 
the  old  Latin  hymns  of  the  Middle  Ages,  was  com- 
posed, and  holds  such  an  honored  place  in  the  ser- 
vices of  the  church.  The  Church  of  England  and 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  this  country  have  retained 
it  in  the  service  for  the  ordination  of  priests  and  in 
that  for  the  consecration  of  bishops.  The  last 
stanza  is  most  significant  : 

"  Teach  us  to  know  the  Father,  Son, 
And  Thee  of  both  to  be  but  One." 

or  more  literally  translated  : 

"  By  Thee,  may  we  the  Father  know. 
By  Thee,  confess  the  Son, 
In  Thee,  the  Holy  Ghost  from  both 
Believe,  all  time  to  come." 

A  popular  tradition,  founded,  however,  on  critical 
investigation,  for  a  long  time  ascribed  the  compo- 
sition of  this  beautiful  hymn  to  Charles  himself, 
and  this  view  is  still  defended  by  many,  but  later 
discoveries  have  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
really  composed  by  Rabanus  Maurus,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  commissioned  by  Charles  to  write  a 
treatise  on  the  subject.  This  hymn  is  found  in  a 
very  old  and  authoritative  manuscript  of  his  works, 


272  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  is  a  complete  poetic  outline  of  his  treatise, 
while  a  peculiar  expression  alluding  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  "  the  finger  of  God's  right  hand"  is  found 
in  both.' 

'  Duffield,  pp.  116-122. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

POLITICAL  IMPORTANCE  OF  ECCLESIASTICAL  OFFI- 
CERS— THE  METROPOLITANATE — ECCLESIASTI- 
CAL REGULATIONS  AND  REFORM — CHRODE- 
GANG  AND  THE  CANONICAL  LIFE — BENEDICT 
OF  ANIANE'  AND  MONASTICISM — THE  SUPREM- 
ACY  OF   THE   ROMAN   CHURCH — THE   MODEL. 

HIS  close  relationship  of  church  and  state 
made  the  ecclesiastical  officers  of  great 
political  importance,  as  we  have  already 
seen  in  connection  with  the  conquest  of 
Saxony,  as  well  as  in  the  institution  of 
the  royal  commissioners.  When  Charles  succeeded 
his  father  a  beginning  had  been  made  of  the  regular 
system.  The  work  of  Boniface  had  already  laid  a 
strong  foundation,'  but  the  newly  created  bishoprics 
and  ecclesiastical  centres  necessitated  a  still  further 
arrangement  and  order.  This  was  effected  largely 
through  the  metropolitan  system.  In  one  of  the 
first  laws  it  was  laid  down  that  suffragan  bishops 
should  be  subject  to  the  metropolitan  according  to 
the  canons,  and  that  they  should  change  and  im- 
prove what  might  need  improving.      It  was  further 

'   Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  25  ;  "  Karlmanni  Capit.,"  c.  4,   742  a.u. 

273 
R 


2  74  ^-^^  ^£^^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

decreed  that  where  a  vacancy  occurred,  or  where  no 
bishop  had  been  consecrated,  a  bishop  should  be 
estabHshed  without  delay,  and  while  true  monks, 
called  regulars,  should  live  according  to  their  rule, 
the  bishop  must  live  according  to  the  canons,  hav- 
ing power  over  the  priests,  deacons,  and  others  of 
the  clerical  order  belonging  to  his  diocese.'  Thus 
the  characteristic  features  of  the  ecclesiastical  hier- 
archy were  laid  down,  not  that  anything  new  was 
introduced,  but  only  what  the  church  for  a  long  time 
needed,  and  what  had  already  been  carried  into  exe- 
cution in  the  South  and  East,  although  in  the  Prank- 
ish Kingdom  this  organization  received  additional 
strength  through  the  power  and  authority  of  the 
king.  The  detailed  order,  as  presented  in  the  gen- 
eral admonition  of  the  year  789,  on  the  basis  of  the 
Dionysian  collection  of  canons,  covered  all  the  vari- 
ous relations  of  the  church  and  completed  this  new 
arrangement  for  the  Franks." 

In  the  German  part  of  the  kingdom  Mainz  became 
the  chief  centre,  and  Lull,  the  successor  of  Boniface, 
received  the  pall  in  780,  while  his  successor  exer- 
cised a  general  supervision  over  the  greater  number 
of  the  German  bishops.  Indeed,  in  the  middle  of 
the  ninth  century  Mainz  is  called  the  metropolitan- 
ate  of  Germany.'  In  Cologne,  Hildibald,  the  chap- 
lain of  Charles,  held  archiepiscopal  dignity,  Utrecht 
and  Liittich  being  under  him,  and  later  a  large  part 
of  the  Saxon  Church,  while  Paderborn,  Verden,  and 

'  Boretius,  vol.  1.,  p.  47  ;   "  Capit.  Harist.,"  c.  r-4,  779  a.d. 

■  See  above,  pp.  227-231. 

^  "Ann.  Fuld,"  an.  852;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  367. 


Metropolitans.  275 


the  Eastphalian  churches  were  under  Mainz.  Ham- 
burg was  not  established  until  later,  and  then  exer- 
cised supervison  over  the  Scandinavian  churches. 
In  Bavaria,  Salzburg  exercised  metropolitan  powers. 
The  re-establishment  of  ecclesiastical  councils,  sup- 
ported by  the  authority  of  the  king,  tended  to 
greater  unity  and  to  a  stronger  organization.  The 
leading  enactment  on  this  subject  is  found  in  the 
capitulary  of  Frankfort,  of  794  :  "  It  is  enacted  by 
our  lord  the  king  and  the  holy  synod  that  bishops 
shall  exercise  jurisdiction  in  their  dioceses.  If  any 
abbot,  presbyter,  deacon,  archdeacon,  monk,  or 
other  cleric,  or  indeed  any  one  else  in  the  diocese 
does  not  obey  his  bishop,  let  them  come  to  their 
metropolitan,  and  he  shall  judge  the  case  together 
with  his  suffragans.  Our  counts  shall  also  come  to 
the  court  of  the  bishops,  and  if  there  be  anything 
which  the  metropolitan  cannot  set  right,  then  let 
the  accusers  and  the  accused  both  come  to  us  with 
letters  from  the  metropolitan,  that  we  may  know 
the  truth  of  the  matter."  '  It  was  also  ordered  that 
the  parish  clergy  should  report  once  or  twice  a  year 
to  the  bishops,  and  the  bishops  to  the  metropolitan, 
and  among  the  duties  of  the  royal  commissioners 
was  the  investigation  of  the  administration  of  the 
bishops,  their  aids  and  assistants  in  the  several 
parishes,  and  their  ability  in  zeal  and  in  learning.'' 

Thus  the  metropolitans  represented  the  unity  of 
the  national  church  and  formed  a  strong  support  for 
political  unity,  while  the  coalition  of  the  two,  the 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  74,  75  ;   "Synod.  Franc,"  §  6. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  45  ;  "  Capit.  Prim.,"  §  8,  p.  53. 


2/6  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

temporal  prince  and  the  ecclesiastical  metropolitan, 
enabled  each  to  support  the  other.  Among  the 
Western  Franks,  Rheims  attained  the  greatest  power 
and  the  widest  influence,  especially  under  Hincmar, 
who  stood  forth  as  the  defender  of  the  church 
against  the  insubordination  of  bishops  and  the  en- 
croachments of  the  pope.  In  Germany,  though 
there  were  several  positions  of  archiepiscopal  im- 
portance, Mainz  represented  the  unity  of  the  Ger- 
man Church  and  claimed  the  primacy,  holding  a 
most  important  position  in  strengthening  the  civil 
power  and  keeping  up  the  unity  and  independence 
through  the  great  influence  of  the  archbishop  on 
the  administration  of  the  empire. 

In  the  old  Austrasia,  the  lands  of  the  Moselle,  it 
was  only  gradually  that  a  formal  and  definite  system 
was  introduced.  For  a  long  time  the  bishop  of 
Metz  held  the  title  of  archbishop,  although  Treves 
early  appeared  as  the  chief  city  of  the  territory,  and 
took  a  prominent  place  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Its 
position  was  finally  recognized,  and  the  bishop  of 
Treves  became  the  metropolitan  for  Metz,  Toul, 
and  Verdun. 

The  reception  of  the  pallium  or  pall  from  the 
pope  as  the  special  mark  of  the  archiepiscopal  dig- 
nity early  appears,  but  with  the  consent,  indeed  by 
the  will,  of  the  Frankish  king,  and  there  are  in- 
stances in  which  it  was  awarded  to  others  than  the 
metropolitan.* 

The  original  metropolitan  system  was  an  institu- 
tion especially  connected  with  the  Roman  imperial 

'  Hinschius,  K.  R.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  7.     See  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  420. 


Bishops.  277 

organization  where  the  civil  metropoHs  was  also  the 
ecclesiastical  centre,  but  the  barbarian  invasions  de- 
stroyed all  these  relations,  and  many  of  the  ancient 
cities  of  great  importance  were  either  ruined  or  lost 
their  old  pre-eminence.  Attempts  were  made  by 
Karlmann  and  Pippin  in  742'  and  in  755,'  and  by 
Charles  in  789'  and  794*  to  re-establish  metropolitan 
centres,  and  to  restore  to  metropolitans  their  ancient 
privileges,  but,  as  we  have  seen  before,  these  at- 
tempts based  the  supremacy  of  certain  sees  on  more 
or  less  artificial  grounds  and  were  not  destined  to 
be  permanently  successful — in  fact,  the  disorganiza- 
tion of  the  metropolitan  system  dates  from  the  close 
of  the  ninth  century. 

The  nomination  of  a  bishop  was  practically  in  the 
hands  of  Charles  and  his  successors.  In  some  few 
instances  the  right  of  free  election  v/as  recognized, 
but  even  here  the  king  still  retained  much  of  his  in- 
fluence, and  in  important  cases,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  election  of  the  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  he  sent 
a  deputy  to  take  care  of  his  interests.'  Louis  the 
Pious  promised  free  elections,*  but  continued  to  ex- 
ercise a  very  strong  influence,  and  the  right  of  con- 
firmation was  more  strongly  maintained  than  ever. 
Furthermore,  a  bishop  could  be  deposed  by  the  co- 
operation at  least  of  the  civil  power,'  although  a 
church  council  was  legally  required  to  pass  judg- 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  25  ;  "  Cap.  Karlm.,"  c.  i. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  33  ;   "  Con.  Vern.,"  c.  2. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  54  ;  "  Admon.  Gen.,"  c.  8. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  74,  75  ;   "Syn.  Franc,"  c.  6. 

^  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  266  ;  Ep.  88,  A.D.  788. 

'  Borelius,  vol.  i.,  p.  276  ;   "  Cap.  Eccles.,"  c.  2,  A.D,  818. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  95  ;  "  Cap.  Miss.,"  c.  19,  a.d.  802. 


278  The  Age  of  Charlemagjie. 

ment.  One  was  removed  by  Charles  without  assign- 
ing any  definite  cause/  and  one  who  was  formally 
condemned  by  a  synod  to  lose  his  office  Charles 
restored." 

The  general  influence  of  bishops  in  cities  and  dis- 
tricts was  not  as  significant  as  in  early  times,  though 
their  power  continually  grew  by  increase  of  prop- 
erty and  by  the  acquisition  of  important  rights. 
Nor  was  it  diminished  by  their  participation  in  state 
affairs,  or  by  the  way  in  which  secular  concerns 
came  to  be  considered  in  reference  to  their  appoint- 
ments. In  other  respects,  however,  their  power 
was  diminishing.  A  large  number  of  religious  com- 
munities, especially  the  most  important  ones,  ob- 
tained special  privileges  from  the  pope,  and  even 
from  the  bishops  themselves,  by  which  they  were 
gradually  withdrawn  from  episcopal  supervision. 
Different  classes  of  secular  priests  also  were  released 
for  one  reason  or  another  from  the  control  of  the 
bishops,  some  by  right  of  patronage,  others  as  royal 
or  domestic  chaplains,  others  as  rural  deans  or  arch- 
presbyters,  and  others  as  canons  of  a  cathedral 
chapter.  A  large  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  property, 
however,  still  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
nobles,  who  in  the  earlier  periods  of  strife  and  con- 
fusion had  been  able  to  seize  it,  or  had  received  it 
by  way  of  a  loan  which  was  more  in  the  interest  of 
the  king  than  of  the  church.  In  some  cases  also 
they  almost  acquired  a  right  of  disposal  over  the 
bishopric  itself.      Charles  laid   special  weight  on  the 

'   "  Mon.  Sangall.,"  bk.  i.,  c.  6  ;  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  637. 
*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  75  ;  "  Syn.  Franc,"  c.  9,  A.D.  794. 


CJwrcpiscopi.  2  79 

political  activity  of  the  bishops  in  the  administration 
of  the  kingdom,  and  in  some  cases  they  held  almost 
an  oversight  over  the  carrying  out  of  important 
political  regulations  ; '  but  the  increase  of  their  po- 
litical and  civil  power  led  to  the  necessity  of  making 
a  sharper  distinction  in  position  and  functions  be- 
tween them  and  the  counts  with  whom  strifes  arose 
through  envy/  Louis  went  so  far  as  to  order  the 
bishop  to  make  a  report  regarding  the  count,  and 
the  count  regarding  the  bishop,  in  order  that  he 
might  find  out  how  each  fulfilled  his  office,'  The 
church,  however,  opposed  this  too  intimate  union 
of  spiritual  and  secular  business.  The  clergy,  there- 
fore, had  to  guard  as  much  as  possible  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  secular  power  and  secure  its 
aid  as  much  as  possible,  but  the  secular  nobles  used 
their  power  more  for  the  injury  than  for  the  support 
and  furtherance  of  monasteries  and  churches. 

From  very  early  times  subordinate  bishops  had 
been  appointed  in  the  East,  and  the  custom  had 
been  introduced  into  the  Prankish  kingdom.  These 
bishops  were  partly  those  going  about  without  any 
fixed  diocese,  partly  such  as  were  assistants  to  indi- 
vidual bishops  and  took  the  name  of  the  earlier 
bishops  appointed  for  remote  country  districts  with 
whom  they  seemed  to  have  had  nothing  in  common 
except  the  name.  These  were  called  chorepiscopi 
(country  bishops).  But  the  church  had  already 
made  earnest  efforts  to  do  away  with  the  institution, 

■  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  70  ;  "  Cap.  de  part.  Sax.,"  c.  34,  a.d.  782. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  161  ;    '•  Cap.  tract.,"  c.  I,  2,  5  and  6,  A.D.  811. 
'  Ibid.,  p.   305  ;  "Admon.  ad  omncs,"  c.  14,   AD.  823. 


28o  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  with  the  attempt  to  estabHsh  better  order  in 
the  Frankish  church  under  the  influence  of  Boni- 
face, orders  were  given  to  Hrnit  them  in  their  activ- 
ity.' Under  Charles  the  old  church  laws  against 
them  were  repeated,"  and  although  some  were  kept 
as  substitutes  for  the  bishops,'  they  engaged  in 
political  much  more  than  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  but 
they  continued  to  exercise  their  influence  down  to 
the  middle  of  the  century,  although  strong  objec- 
tions were  raised  against  them,  first  in  the  West 
Frankish  kingdom,  and  they  finally  disappeared." 

Ecclesiastical  reform  not  only  appears  as  one  of 
the  most  important  subjects  of  legislation  in  the 
capitularies  of  Charles,  but  was  sought  also  through 
two  direct  agencies.  The  first  was  the  "  canonical 
life,"  introduced  by  Chrodegang,  bishop  of  Metz, 
742-766,  among  his  cathedral  clergy,  which  was  con- 
firmed, taken  up  and  extended  by  Charles."  This 
rule  or  canon  was  the  application  of  the  monastic 
rule  of  St.  Benedict  to  the  clergy  associated  with 
the  bishop  in  his  cathedral,  with  the  omission  of  the 
vow  of  poverty,^  Chrodegang  built  a  large  and 
commodious  dwelling,  in  which  all  the  clergy  of  his 
cathedral  church  were  obliged  to  live,  pray,  work, 
eat,  and  sleep  under  his  constant  supervision.  A 
fixed  rule  assigned  to  each  his  portion  of  food  and 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  25,  29,  35  and  41  ;  "Cap.  Karlm.,"  c.  4, 
A.D.  742;  "Cap.  Suess.,"  c.  5,  a.d.  744;  "Con.  Vern.,"  c,  13, 
A.D.  755  ;   "  Decret,  Verm.,"  c.  14,  A.D.  758. 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  45  ;  "Cap.  Karoli.  M.,"  c.  4,  a.d.  769. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  54,  55  ;   "  Admon.  Gen.,"  c.  9,  19,  a.d.  789. 

*  Waitz,    vol.  iii.,   p.  431. 

*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  60  ;  "  Admon,  Gen.,"  c.  73,  a.d.  789. 

*  Hatch,  pp.  157-172. 


The  Canonical  Life.  281 

drink,  and  at  appointed  hours  (the  canonical  hours) 
they  came  together  for  prayer  and  singing,  and  at 
regular  times  they  gathered  in  the  hall  where  the 
bishop,  or  some  one  appointed  by  him,  read  a  chap- 
ter from  the  Bible,  with  explanations,  exhortations, 
and  reproofs.  The  hall  was  therefore  called  the 
chapter  house,  and  the  name  "  chapter"  was  given 
to  the  whole  body  together  there.  The  colleges 
were  a  subsequent  development  of  a  chapter  in  non- 
episcopal  city  churches.  Under  Louis  the  Pious 
this  rule  was  formally  adopted  and  enforced  for  the 
whole  kingdom,'  but  soon  after  the  canons,  as  the 
members  of  a  cathedral  chapter  were  called,  endeav- 
ored to  emancipate  themselves  from  the  control  of 
the  bishops,  and  were  able  in  many  cases  to  main- 
tain a  more  or  less  independent  position.'' 

The  other  reform  v/as  the  revival  of  the  monastic 
rule  of  Benedict,  brought  about  through  the  efforts 
of  Benedict  of  Aniane,  the  son  of  a  Visigothic 
count,  and  who  had  served  as  a  soldier  under  Charles 
the  Great.  In  779  he  founded  in  Languedoc  the 
monastery  of  Aniane,  and  became  a  very  powerful 
and  intimate  counsellor  of  Louis  the  Pious.  The 
main  principles  of  his  rule  were  set  forth  under  his 
direction  in  a  capitulary  issued  by  Louis  in  816.' 

Charles  showed  a  deep  and  strong  interest,  often 
expressing  itself  in  definite  and  determined  action, 
not  only  in  the  larger  and  external  interests  of  the 
church,  but  in  the  minutest  details  of  its  internal 

'  Boretius,  vol.   i.,   p.  276;  "Cap.   Eccles.,"  c.  3;  "Ann.   Lau- 
riss.  Min.,"  an.  816  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  122. 
'  Chastel,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  172,  173. 
8  "Ann.  Lauriss.  Min.,"  an.  816  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  122. 


282  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

life  and  discipline.  He  regarded  the  Church  of 
Rome  with  the  highest  veneration,  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  his  personal  relations  with  the  pope,  and 
the  fact  that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  the  only  apos- 
tolic see  in  the  West,  but  also  on  account  of  the 
strength  and  completeness  of  its  order  and  tradition. 
The  supremacy  of  the  Roman  See  was  formally 
asserted,  and  apparently  accepted  in  a  letter  written 
by  Hadrian  to  Charles  in  the  latter  part  of  the  cen- 
tury. The  following  striking  passages  appear  :  "  Be 
it  far  from  us  to  doubt  your  royal  power  which  has 
striven  not  for  the  diminishing,  but  for  the  exalta- 
tion of  your  spiritual  mother,  the  holy  Roman 
Church,  and  which  extended  among  all  nations  will 
remain  consecrated  and  exalted  until  the  end." 
"  For  we  do  not  raise  the  question  as  to  any  one 
being  ignorant  of  how  great  authority  has  been 
granted  to  the  blessed  Peter,  prince  of  the  apostles 
and  to  his  most  holy  see,  inasmuch  as  this  church 
has  the  divine  right  of  judging  in  all  things,  nor  is 
it  permitted  to  any  to  pass  judgment  on  its  judg- 
ment, for  the  right  of  absolving  those  bound  by  the 
decisions  of  any  belongs  to  the  pontiffs  of  the  see 
of  the  blessed  Apostle  Peter,  through  whom  the 
care  of  the  whole  church  devolves  upon  the  one  see 
of  Peter,  and  nothing  ever  can  be  separated  from 
its  head.  For  as  your  divinely  preordained  and 
supreme  excellency  has  shown  such  love  for  the 
head  of  the  whole  world,  the  holy  Roman  Church 
and  its  ruler  and  chief,  so  the  blessed  Peter,  prince 
of  the  apostles,  has  granted  you,  together  with  your 
most  excellent  queen,  our  daughter,  and  your  most 


Rome  the  Model.  283 

noble  children,  to  enjoy  the  rule  of  a  long  reign  and 
in  the  future  the  unbroken  serenity  of  victory."  ' 
Already  in  764  Paul  I.  had  declared  the  Roman 
Church  to  be  "  the  holy  spiritual  mother,  the  head 
of  all  the  churches  of  God."  '  Charles  accordingly 
recognized  the  Church  of  Rome  as  his  model  for 
the  internal  arrangements  connected  with  the  rules 
of  discipline  and  of  worship.  He  received  from 
Hadrian  in  774  a  copy  of  the  Dionysian  canons  in 
force  at  Rome/  also  a  copy  of  the  Sacramentary  of 
Gregory,"  and  two  singers  to  introduce  the  Roman 
method  of  chanting  into  the  Prankish  Church."  The 
laws  of  marriage  throughout  the  realm  were  also 
made  to  conform  with  those  in  force  at  Rome,  and 
the  benediction  of  a  priest  was  made  necessary  to 
its  legality. 

The  position  of  the  church  and  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  clergy  were  maintained,  and  later 
steadily  increased  by  royal  authority.  Payment  of 
tithes  to  the  church  was  enforced  even  in  newly 
acquired  territory,"  a  parish  received  an  endowment 
of  house  and  land  free  of  rent  and  taxes,  and  pro- 
vided with  servants  in  proportion  to  the  population.' 
The  church  continued  to  increase  its  landed  pos- 
sessions, and  large  estates  passed  under  the  control 
of  bishops  and  abbots,  who  now  became  an  integral 

*  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  285-292  ;  Ep.  98,  784-791  A.D. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  132  ;  Ep.  37,  764  A. D. 

*  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  pp.  179,  180. 

*  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  p.  273  ;  Ep.  92,  784-791  a.d. 

8  "Ann.  Lauriss.,"an.  787  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.i.,  p.  170  ;  Boretius, 
vol.  i.,  p.  61  ;  "  Admon.  Gen.,"  c.  80,  a.d.  789. 

*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  69  ;   "  Capit.  de  part.  Sax.,"  c.  17, 
'  Ibid.,  p.  69,  "  Capit.  de  part.  Sax.,"  c.  15. 


284  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

part  of  the  feudal  system,  and  to  whom  many  im- 
munities and  even  regaHa  were  granted.' 

To  such  an  extent  had  these  temporal  possessions 
and  feudal  holdings  increased  that  all  prelates  were 
obliged  to  keep  advocates  to  transact  the  secular 
affairs  incompatible  with  their  spiritual  calling.* 
They  often  served  in  the  wars  in  spite  of  the  general 
laws  against  bearing  arms,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
issue  very  severe  laws  expressly  prohibiting  the 
clergy  from  serving  in  war  or  being  present  on  the 
field  of  battle,  except  in  the  numbers  required  for 
religious  services.^  Though  the  clergy  were  ex- 
empted more  and  more  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
secular  courts,  Charles  continued  to  be  the  supreme 
judge  of  all  clergymen,  even  bishops." 

All  the  kings  after  Pippin  more  than  once  at- 
tempted in  their  laws  to  preserve  to  the  church  its 
immunities,  and  if  later  the  church  had  to  complain 
of  any  violation,  it  was  due  not  so  much  to  the 
kings  as  to  the  ofificers  and  secular  princes  who  paid 
little  regard  to  the  liberties  and  privileges  granted 
to  the  church,  and  often  claimed,  if  not  the  church 
property  itself,  at  least  the  use  of  it.  Sometimes, 
however,  these  immunities  were  granted  by  princes 
and  dukes  themselves  and  defended  by  them.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  determine  the  historical  origin 
of  many  of  the  immunities  granted  to  monasteries 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  165  ;  "Cap.  de  rebus  exerc.,''  c.  3. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  172  ;  "  Cap.  Aquisgr.,"  c.  14. 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  103,  107,  243;  "Cap.  Miss.  Sp.,"  c.  37;  "Cap.  a 
Sac,"  c.  18  ;   "  Ghaerb.  Cap.,"  c.  3. 

■*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  56  ;  "  Admon.  Gen.,"  c.  38,  p.  77  ;  "  Synod 
Francon,"c.  30,  59,  p.  103  ;  "  Cap.  Miss.,"  c.  17,  p.  176  ;  "  Cap. 
de  just.,"  c.  2,  p.  196  ;  "  Cap,  Mant.,"  c.  i,  p.  190. 


Ecclesiastical  Immunities.  285 

and  bishoprics  on  account  of  the  number  of  forged 
or  falsified  documents.  Under  Pippin  and  Charles 
and  their  immediate  successors  the  usual  provisions 
of  the  grant  were  about  the  same  as  in  the  later 
Merovingian  times — viz.,  that  no  public  ofificer 
should  enter  upon  the  estate  or  property  of  an  eccle- 
siastical foundation  either  to  make  a  judicial  inquiry, 
or  to  levy  any  tax,  or  to  quarter  or  provide  for 
soldiers,  or  to  take  bail,  or  to  hold  the  people  re- 
sponsible to  justice  in  any  way. 

Sometimes,  however,  the  privileges  are  declared 
with  reference  only  to  unjust  exactions,  as  if  all 
levies  were  not  excluded,  and  some  instances  occur 
in  which  the  king's  officers  were  obliged  to  act.  In 
single  instances  exception  is  made  where  the  king's 
officers  have  the  right  to  levy  a  tax  in  case  of  special 
need  ;  usually,  however,  in  such  cases  the  church  is 
allowed  to  collect  the  tax  by  its  own  officers.'  The 
bishops  also  investigated  crimes  and  administered 
justice  in  their  own  dioceses  assisted  by  the  counts,' 
but  here  also,  as  in  political  affairs,  a  gradual  separa- 
tion began  to  take  place  between  the  clergy  and 
laity  in  the  courts  and  in  the  general  administration 
of  justice.  The  ecclesiastical  courts  as  they  existed 
earlier  stood  for  purely  ecclesiastical  cases,  but  had 
gradually  extended  their  activity,  thus  limiting  the 
secular  courts.  Even  the  clergy  themselves  became 
more  and  more  subject  to  these  courts,  and  the  de- 
crees which   earlier  church    councils   had    made   in 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  297-302. 

"^  Eoretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  170;  "  Capit.  Aquis.,"  c.  i,  a.d.  813; 
p.  190,  "  Cap.  Mant.,"  c.  6,  a.d.  781  ;  cf.  p.  25,  "  Cap.  Karlm.," 
c.  5,  A.D,  742. 


286  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

their  favor  now  received  civil  recognition  and  en- 
forcement. Monks  especially  were  forbidden  to  go 
to  secular  courts  or  to  hold  trials  outside  of  their 
monastery'  or  to  engage  in  secular  affairs.'  Even 
civil  actions  between  the  clergy  must  be  settled  be- 
fore the  bishop,"  and  cases  between  a  cleric  and  a 
layman  before  a  bishop  and  a  count." 

This  extension  of  episcopal  jurisdiction  over  eccle- 
siastics deprived  the  secular  officers  of  much  of  their 
power  over  the  church  and  all  that  belonged  to  it, 
and  transferred  the  judicial  authority  to  the  heads 
of  the  ecclesiastical  establishments,  and  consequently 
in  this  important  sphere  of  the  administration  of 
justice  the  power  of  the  church  was  greatly  increased 
and  the  way  prepared  for  still  further  extensions  of 
its  power. 

Under  Louis  the  continuance  of  civil  disturbances 
and  the  higher  authority,  often  oppressive  and  over- 
bearing, exercised  by  the  metropolitans,  led  the 
bishops  to  make  a  stronger  assertion  of  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  church  in  order  to  free  it  from  the  tem- 
poral control,  which  had  ministered  to  their  support 
under  Charles,  but  now  left  them  weakened  and 
defenceless.  Already  there  was  evident  a  strong 
determination  to  acknowledge  the  Roman  See  as 
the  centre  and  head  of  the  church,  and  its  natural 
support  and  defence  against  the  encroachments  and 
aggravating  interference  of  the  civil  power,  which 

*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  60  ;  "  Admon.  Gen.,"  c.  73,  a.d.  789 ;  p. 
75,  "Syn.  Franc,"  c.  il,  a.d.  797. 

*"  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  64  ;  "  Dupl.  leg.,"  c.  30,  A.D.  789. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  56  ;   "  Adm.  Gen.,"  c.  28,  a.d.  789. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  77  ;  "  Syn.  Franc,"  c.  30,  A.D.  794. 


Increase  of  Papal  Power.  287 

seemed  no  longer  able  to  accomplish  the  much- 
needed  reforms.  The  Sardican  canons*  were  recalled, 
and  the  bishop  was  allowed  the  right  of  appeal  in 
any  and  all  cases,  directly  over  the  metropolitan  and 
the  provincial  synods,  to  the  bishop  of  Rome. 
Benedict  of  Levite,  in  his  enlarged  edition  of  the 
capitularies,  inserted  the  Sardican  decrees,  and  made 
the  still  wider  application,  which  reached  its  fullest 
expression  in  the  Forged  Decretals  of  Pseudo-Isidore. 
This  tendency  was  still  further  strengthened  by  the 
action  of  the  civil  government  in  calling  the  papal 
authority  to  its  aid,  even  ascribing  to  it  additional 
powers  for  the  settlement  of  ecclesiastical  disputes 
and  even  of  political  difficulties. 

Thus  the  papal  power  was  greatly  increased  on 
every  side,  and  these  advantages  the  pope  was  in 
the  most  favorable  position  to  grasp.  We  may 
therefore  see  in  the  early  part  of  the  ninth  century 
the  gradual  establishment  of  that  new  ecclesiastical 
polity  to  which  the  Forged  Decretals  succeeded  in 
imparting  the  one  thing  needful — an  historical  basis 
manufactured  for  the  purpose. 

'  Hefele,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  Ii2-I2g,  canons  3-6,  allowing  a  bishop  to 
appeal  to  Pope  Julius  in  case  of  condemnation  by  the  other  bish- 
ops in  his  province  who  might  be  suspected  of  Arian  or  Eusebian 
leanings. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CLOSING  YEARS — ATTEMPTS  AT  CONSOLIDATION — 
FOREIGN  RELATIONS — LATER  WARS — DISTRI- 
BUTION OF  KINGDOMS — DEATH  OF  THE  OLDER 
SONS,  PIPPIN  AND  CHARLES — LAST  WILL — 
ELECTION  AND  CORONATION  OF  LOUIS  AS 
CO-EMPEROR  —  DEATH  OF  CHARLES  THE 
GREAT  —  CANONIZATION  —  SPECIAL  COLLECT 
FOR  HIS  DAY,  JANUARY  28 — THE  GREAT  WORK 
WHICH    HE   ACCOMPLISHED. 

jURING  the  closing  years  of  his  life 
Charles  was  largely  occupied  in  the  con- 
solidation of  the  empire  and  the  admin- 
istration of  its  affairs.  After  his  corona- 
tion he  made  a  general  revision  of  the 
different  customs  and  codes  of  law  of  the  several 
people  united  under  his  rule."  The  personality  of 
law  still  prevailed  according  to  which  each  person, 
wherever  he  might  be,  must  be  judged  and  dealt 
with  according  to  the  law  of  his  own  people.  The 
Franks,  Salian  and  Ripuarian,  each  had  their  own 
law,  also  the  Saxons,  Frisians,  Goths,  Burgundians, 
Alemannians,    Bavarians,    Lombards,    and   the   Ro- 

'  "Ann.  Lauresh,"  an.  802  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 

288 


Obstacles  to  Unity.  289 

mans.  The  confusion  and  difficulties  engendered 
when  all  these  were  joined  together  in  one  great 
empire  can  be  imagined  better  than  described. 
"  So  great  a  diversity  of  laws  prevailed  that  it  was 
in  not  only  single  districts  and  cities,  but  even  in 
many  houses,  for  it  sometimes  happened  that  five 
men  might  be  walking  or  sitting  together,  and  not 
one  of  them  have  a  law  common  to  one  of  the 
others."  '  The  difficulties  confronting  a  ruler  under 
such  conditions  were  enormous.  Under  Louis  the 
Pious  there  was  a  thought  of  uniting  all  under  one 
law.  Of  course  not  as  easy  politically  as  ecclesiasti- 
cally, but  since  all  were  united  in  one  faith  under 
the  one  law  of  Christ,  members  of  one  church,  they 
might  also  be  included  under  one  and  the  same  secu- 
lar law,  but  the  thought  found  no  further  realization. 
Charles,  indeed,  tried  to  establish  order  and  to  unify 
the  principles  of  his  administration,  and  the  im- 
mense number  of  his  capitularies  attest  his  zeal  and 
earnestness,  but  his  attempt  could  not  succeed. 
"  In  spite  of  the  unity  and  activity  of  his  thought 
and  power,  disorder  was  all  about  him,  immense, 
invincible.  He  repressed  it  a  moment  at  one  point, 
but  the  evil  ruled  wherever  his  terrible  will  did  not 
reach,  and  then  in  the  very  place  through  which  he 
had  passed  it  began  again  as  soon  as  he  had  de- 
parted." ^ 

His  foreign  relations  have  a  more  romantic  inter- 
est. Since  he  considered  himself  the  champion  of 
the  Christians  who  were  under  foreign  rule,  he  v/as 

'  Agobard,  "  Adv.  leg.  Gund.,"  c.  4. 
'  Guizot,  lecture  xx. 


290  The  Age  of  Charleuiagne. 

brought  into  closest  relations  with  the  great  Ma- 
hometan power,  and  without  coming  into  hostile 
relations  with  the  rulers,  especially  the  caliphs  of 
the  East,  or  even  without  showing  any  difference  in 
diplomatic  intercourse  between  them  and  other  for- 
eign princes.  He  established,  however,  his  place  as 
head  and  representative  of  Christianity,  and  knew 
how  to  make  it  recognized  in  peaceable  ways.  It 
was  probably  on  this  account  that  in  his  foreign  rela- 
tions the  bishop  of  Rome,  the  spiritual  head  of  the 
West,  came  into  intimate  relations  with  him.  The 
pope  lent  his  aid  in  the  overthrow  of  Tassilo,  and 
also  in  the  contest  with  the  duke  of  Benevento.  He 
also  aided  Charles  in  restoring  Eardulf,  the  North- 
umbrian king.'  He  confirmed  the  treaty  made  with 
the  Greek  emperor  in  812,^  and  even  in  domestic 
affairs  he  subscribed  the  important  document  con- 
cerning the  division  of  the  kingdom  among  the  sons 
of  Charles  in  806,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
this  should  take  place,'  and  when  later  under  Louis 
the  Pious  it  came  to  an  open  breach  and  contest 
between  the  emperor  and  his  sons  regarding  the 
regulation  of  the  succession  and  other  questions 
therewith  connected,  the  pope  was  brought  over  the 
Alps  in  order  to  give  preponderance  and  victory  to 
the  party  of  the  sons.  In  all  that  belonged  to  the 
kingdom  he  took  a  high  place,  and  much  depended 
upon  his  co-operation  in  other  than  purely  ecclesi- 
astical concerns.      However,  he  never  attained  any 

•   "  Ann.  Einbardi,"  an.  808  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  195. 
^  Ibid.,  an.  8i2  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  igg. 
»  Ibid.,  an.  806  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  193. 


Harouji  A I  Raschid.  291 

definite  right  in  giving  regular  counsel  or  even  in 
the  final  determination  in  religious  affairs."  Among 
the  most  interesting  of  the  foreign  relations  were 
those  with  Haroun  Al  Raschid,  the  caliph  of  Bag- 
dad, better  known  to  us  as  the  hero  of  the  "  Ara- 
bian Nights."  These  two  great  monarchs,  the 
caliph  of  the  great  Mahometan  power  of  the  East 
and  the  emperor  of  the  great  Christian  nations  of 
the  West,  were  on  the  most  intimate  terms  of  friend- 
ship, and  frequent  messengers  and  ambassadors 
passed  between  them,  Einhard  tells  us  "  that  this 
prince  preferred  the  favor  of  Charles  to  that  of  all 
the  kings  and  potentates  of  the  earth,  and  consid- 
ered that  to  him  alone  marks  of  honor  and  munifi- 
cence were  due.  Accordingly  when  the  ambassa- 
dors sent  by  Charles  to  visit  the  most  holy  sepulchre 
and  place  of  resurrection  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
presented  themselves  before  him  with  gifts,  and 
made  known  their  master's  wishes,  he  not  only 
granted  what  was  asked,  but  gave  possession  of  that 
holy  and  blessed  spot.  When  they  returned  he  dis- 
patched his  ambassadors  with  them  and  sent  mag- 
nificent gifts,  besides  stuffs,  perfumes,  and  other  rich 
products  of  the  Eastern  land.  A  few  years  before 
this  Charles  had  asked  for  an  elephant,  and  the 
caliph  sent  the  only  one  that  he  had."  ""  The  chroni- 
clers make  a  special  record  of  the  coming  of  this 
elephant,    and  even    gave    his   name,  Abul-Abbas, 


'  As,  for  example,  in  connection  with  the  Image  controversy, 
the  Frankfort  Synod,  the  Caroline  Books,  and  the  Filioque 
clause. 

'  Einhard,  "Vita,"c.  l6. 


292  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

meaning  "  Father  of  Destruction."  '  He  died  in 
.810.' 

Charles  liked  foreigners,  and  was  at  great  pains  to 
take  them  under  his  protection,  and  there  were  at 
all  times  large  numbers  of  them  in  his  kingdom  and 
about  his  court.  His  relations  with  the  English 
Bretwalda  Offa  of  Mercia  were  very  friendly,  and  he 
guaranteed  protection  to  the  English  pilgrims  and 
merchants  passing  through  the  realm.'  At  one  time 
negotiations  were  carried  on  by  his  son  Charles  for 
the  hand  of  Offa's  daughter,  but  these  were  finally 
broken  off." 

About  a  year  before  his  coronation  he  had  sent 
one  of  the  court  clergy  as  bearer  of  his  bounty  to 
the  holy  places  of  the  East.  His  messenger  re- 
turned to  Rome  at  about  the  time  of  the  coronation 
accompanied  by  two  Eastern  monks,  sent  by  the 
patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  As  evidence  of  his  high 
regard  for  the  king  he  sent  by  them  his  benediction 
and  the  keys  of  the  holy  sepulchre  of  Mount  Cal- 
vary, of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Mount  Zion, 
together  with  a  standard'  conferring  upon  him  an 
honorary  supremacy  over  the  holy  city  and  placing 
it  under  his  protection. ° 

Most  of  the  wars  of  this  later  period  were  carried 

'  "Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  802;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  190; 
"Ann.  Lauresh.,"  an.  802;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  39;  "  Chron. 
Moiss,"  an.  802,  M.  G.  SS  ,  vol.  i.,  p.  307. 

^  Ihid.,  an.  810,  p.  197. 

^  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  357,  358  ;  Ep.  Carol.  11,  a.d.  796  ;  "  Letter 
to  Offa,  King   of  the    Mercians."     Translated    by  Mombert,    pp. 

335.  336. 

*  Abel-Simson,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  7,  8,  475. 

^  "  Ann.  Lauriss.,"  an.  Hoo,  M.  G.  SS.,  p.  188. 

*  Waitz,  vol.  iii.,  p.  186. 


Later  Wars.  293 

on  under  or  in  the  name  of  the  emperor's  sons. 
Pippin  at  the  age  of  four  had  been  crowned  king  of 
Italy,  and  at  the  same  time  his  brother  Louis,  one 
year  younger,  was  crowned  king  of  Aquitania, 
though  both  reigned  under  a  guardian,  baiulus,  but 
Charles  continued  to  be  the  real  ruler,  receiving  re- 
ports and  giving  instructions  even  in  regard  to  the 
minutest  details,  and  sending  his  commissioners 
from  time  to  time,  just  as  in  the  rest  of  the  empire. 
At  the  age  of  nine  Pippin  accompanied  his  father  in 
the  campaign  against  Benevento,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  787,  is  said  to  have  led  one  of  the  armies 
against  Tassilo,  the  refractory  duke  of  the  Bavarians, 
In  791  he  headed  the  Italian  forces  in  the  campaign 
against  the  Avars,  on  which  occasion  Louis,  vv'ho 
had  reached  his  thirteenth  year,  was  publicly  ac- 
knowledged as  a  warrior  and  formally  invested  with 
a  sword.  Soon  after  Pippin  sent  back  word  of  a 
great  victory  over  the  Avars,  and  continued  the 
Vv^arfare  against  them,  while  Louis  was  with  his 
father  in  the  North  subduing  the  Saxons,  though 
both  joined  Pippin  in  the  latter  part  of  the  war. 
After  the  conquest  of  the  Avars,  Charles,  the  oldest 
son,  whose  mother  was  Himiltrud,  entered  upon  a 
campaign  against  the  Bohemians,  who  threatened 
the  frontier  along  the  boundary  of  the  newly  con- 
quered Avars.  He  then,  in  806,  proceeded  against 
the  Sarabians  far  in  the  North,  between  the  Saale 
and  Elbe,  and  by  the  death  of  their  leader  forced 
them  to  submit.'  In  the  meanwhile  the  Arabs  took 
advantage  of  these  exploits  in  the  North  and  East 
'  "  Ann.  Einhardi,"  an.  806  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  193. 


294  ^/^^  ^^^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

and  invaded  Septimania.  Several  contests  with 
them  followed,  and  Louis  was  engaged  from  time 
to  time  in  warding  off  their  piratical  attacks,  though 
they  killed  many  Christians  and  secured  much 
booty.' 

There  is  a  tradition,  we  are  told,  that  the  Emir 
determined  to  devote  the  spoils  taken  in  war  against 
the  Christians  to  the  erection  of  a  splendid  mosque 
at  Cordova.  Not  content  with  the  glory  of  building 
it  with  Christian  money,  he  determined  that  it 
should  stand  on  Christian  soil,  and  for  that  purpose 
caused  sacks  filled  with  earth  from  the  battlefield 
of  Villedaigne  to  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  his 
Christian  prisoners  of  war  to  Cordova,  and  the 
foundations  of  the  Mahometan  temple  were  laid  in 
that  earth.  "  If  the  statement  is  true,"  says  Mom- 
bert,  "  the  fate  of  that  mosque  points  the  lesson  of 
the  instability  of  the  things  below,  for  the  mosque 
is  now  the  Cathedral  of  Cordova."  " 

The  domestic  affairs  of  the  kingdoms  of  these 
young  kings  were  not  always  administered  with 
ability  and  integrity,  and  Charles  found  himself 
obliged  to  interfere  on  account  of  the  corrupt  ad- 
ministration of  the  kingdom  of  Louis,  whose  ofificers 
had  diverted  the  crown  property  and  land  to  their 
own  uses,  and  had  reduced  the  young  and  inexperi- 
enced king  to  a  state  of  poverty.  Charles  immedi- 
ately appointed  special  commissioners  to  recover 
the  royal  domains  and  apply  the  revenue  to  the  use 
of  the  crown,  introducing  also  certain  reforms  which 

'   "Ann.  Moiss.,"  an.  793  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  p.  300. 
'  Mombert,  pp.  291,  292. 


Distribution  of  806.  295 

might  strengthen  the  position  of  Louis,  but  great 
caution  was  followed  in  order  not  to  alienate  the 
nobles  from  their  king.  Louis  usually  spent  the 
summer  months  with  his  father,  but  the  city  of 
Toulouse,  where  his  general  assemblies  were  held, 
Avas  nominally  his  permanent  residence. 

In  806  Charles  made  a  formal  distribution  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  empire,  the  object  being  to 
strengthen  the  power  by  distributing  the  control, 
allowing  a  harmonious  and  uniform  development  of 
the  several  parts,  and  avoiding  the  distractions  which 
might  follow  civil  strife  if  either  of  the  sons  were 
left  without  territory.  The  brothers  were  to  unite 
in  the  maintenance  of  each  other's  police  regula- 
tions, in  the  common  defence  against  enemies  at 
home  or  abroad,  and  in  the  care  and  protection  of 
the  Roman  Church.  Without  going  into  details,  we 
may  note  that  to  Louis  was  assigned  Aquitania, 
Vasconia,  the  southern  part  of  Burgundy,  Provence, 
Septimania,  and  Gothia  ;  to  Pippin,  Lombardy, 
Bavaria,  and  the  territory  on  the  southern  bank  of 
the  Danube  from  its  source  to  the  Rhine.  To 
Charles  was  given  all  the  rest — Austrasia,  Neustria, 
Thuringia,  Saxony,  Frisia,  part  of  Burgundy,  part 
of  Alemannia,  and  part  of  Bavaria.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  only  three  sons  are  mentioned  whose 
right  of  inheritance  is  acknowledged,  and  most  sur- 
prising of  all,  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  City 
of  Rome  or  of  the  imperial  title  and  authority.  In 
other  respects,  however,  the  document  is  not  of 
much  importance,  for  its  provisions  were  never  car- 
ried out.     After  the  division  Pippin  and  Louis  re- 


296  TJlc  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

turned  to  their  dominions  ;  Louis  to  continue  the 
struggle  against  the  Saracens  in  the  South,  and  Pip- 
pin the  defence  of  his  possessions  against  the  Moors, 
who  were  attacking  Corsica  and  Sardinia.  The  rela- 
tions of  Pippin  and  Leo  were  not  very  friendly,' 
perhaps  on  account  of  their  too  great  nearness,  but 
the  danger  to  the  papacy,  whatever  it  might  have 
been,  was  averted  by  the  death  of  Pippin  in  810. 
Pippin  left  one  son,  Bernhard,  who  was  sent  by 
Charles  to  be  educated  by  Rabanus  Maurus,  in  the 
monastery  of  Fulda,  and  in  812  he  was  sent  into 
Italy  as  king  in  his  father's  place/  In  the  year  of 
Pippin's  death  occurred  a  great  invasion  by  the 
Northmen,  the  Danes,  but  they  were  driven  back, 
Charles  himself  taking  the  field  against  them  with  a 
large  army,  and  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the 
century,  after  the  death  of  Charles  and  of  his  son 
Louis,  that  they  finally  entered  within  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  empire,  and  not  until  the  beginning  of 
the  next  century  did  they  effect  a  settlement  and 
found  the  Duchy  of  Normandy,  although  Eng- 
land during  all  this  time  suffered  from  their  inva- 
sions. 

Charles,  the  oldest  son  mentioned  in  the  division 
of  806,  died  in  811.  He  had  been  most  intimately 
associated  with  his  father  in  all  his  affairs,  and  to 
him  had  been  given  the  Duchy  of  Maine  in  789, 
probably  with  the  title  of  king/  It  was  the  same 
territory  which  once  King  Pippin  had  given  to  his 

'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  p.  310  ;  Leonis,  iii.,  Ep.   i,  A.D.  808. 
'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  812,  813,    814;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.    i.,   pp. 
199,  200,  201. 
2  "Ann.  Mett.,"  an.  789  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i  ,  p.  176. 


Old  Age.  297 


brother  Grifo,'  and  which  later,  838,  Louis  the  Pious 
gave  to  his  son  Charles  the  Bald/  Charles  was  also 
the  son  who  was  crowned  and  anointed  with  his 
father  by  Pope  Leo  IIL  at  the  imperial  coronation 
in  800.  It  is  probable  that  this  signified  his  father's 
intention  to  bestow  upon  him  the  imperial  crown, 
but  there  seems  to  be  no  further  evidence  of  this, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  proposed  division  of  the 
kingdom,  Italy  was  given  to  Pippin  without  any 
mention  of  the  imperial  dignity. 

Meanwhile  the  emperor  had  grown  old,  though 
still  vigorous  and  active  intellectually  and  physi- 
cally. The  capitularies  of  his  later  days,  both  in 
number  and  in  character,  show  no  decline  in  admin- 
istrative ability,  and  his  campaigns  against  the 
Danes,  although  not  requiring  any  fighting,  gave 
evidence  of  his  martial  spirit,  while  hunting  in  the 
forest  of  Ardennes  was  still  his  favorite  occupation. 
At  last  he  felt  the  end  was  near.  He  had  divided 
his  kingdom  in  806,  and  in  811  he  had  made  his 
will  ;'  but  now  only  one  son,  Louis,  the  king  of 
Aquitania,  was  left,  and  him  he  summoned  to  his 
imperial  palace  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Here  Louis 
spent  the  summer  of  813,  receiving  instructions  and 
advice  regarding  the  empire  and  its  administration.* 

In  September  the  general  assembly  was  held,  and 
an  important  capitulary  was  issued.  Charles  com- 
mended Louis  to  the  nobles  and  ecclesiastics  and  all 

'  "  Ann.  Mett.,"  an.  749  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  331. 

*  "  Prud.  Tree.  Ann.,"  an.  838  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  432. 

'  Einhard,   "Vita  Karoli.,"    c.   33.     Translated    by    Mombert. 
pp.  453-457. 

*  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  873  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  200. 


298  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

the  people  present,  and  charged  them  to  be  faithful 
to  him  as  emperor  if  they  would  bestow  the  title 
upon  him.  They  answered  his  appeal  with  a  unani- 
mous shout,  and  pronounced  him  worthy  to  be  their 
emperor.  On  Sunday,  September  nth,  in  the 
church  of  St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  clad  in  his  imperial 
robes  and  wearing  his  magnificent  crown,  Charles 
advanced  to  the  altar  and  placed  thereon  the  new 
crown  for  his  son  ;  both  knelt  in  prayer  ;  after  which 
Charles  delivered  a  solemn  charge  to  the  young  em- 
peror. He  bade  him,  above  all  things,  fear  and 
love  God  and  keep  his  commandments,  and  govern 
well  the  church  and  protect  her  from  her  enemies. 
He  exhorted  him  to  show  a  tender  regard  for  his 
kinsmen,  for  the  priests  and  for  the  people,  and  to 
watch  over  the  poor.  He  advised  him  to  receive 
into  his  confidence  only  faithful  ministers.  God-fear- 
ing and  opposed  to  corruption.  He  bade  him  to  do 
justice  and  love  mercy,  and  in  all  things  to  be  an 
example  to  his  people.  Louis  replied  that  he  would 
obey  these  precepts  of  his  father  with  the  help  of 
God.  Then  Charles  bade  him  take  with  his  own 
hands  the  crown  from  the  altar  and  place  it  upon 
his  head,  and  he  handed  to  him  the  imperial 
sceptre.' 

Charles  then  commanded  him  to  be  proclaimed 
emperor  and  Augustus,  and  the  multitude  exclaimed. 

Long  life  to  Emperor  Louis  !"  Charles  then  de- 
clared Louis  joint  emperor  with  himself,  and  con- 
cluded with  the  ascription  of  praise  :  "  Blessed  art 
thou,  O  Lord,  for  that  thou  hast  granted  me  grace 
^  Thegan,  "  De  Gestis  Ludow.  Pii,"  c.  6. 


Death  of  Charles  the  Great.  299 

this  day  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  my  son  seated  on 
my  throne."  '  Shortly  after  this  Louis  returned  to 
Aquitania,  and  his  father  passed  the  autumn  in 
hunting,  returning  about  November  1st.  The  winter 
was  very  severe,  and  in  the  month  of  January 
Charles  had  a  violent  attack  of  fever,  which  increased 
in  violence,  and  was  accompanied  by  pleurisy,  warn- 
ing him  of  his  speedy  end.  He  immediately  sent 
for  his  archchaplain  and  intimate  friend,  Hildibald, 
archbishop  of  Cologne,  who  administered  to  him 
the  sacrament  and  prepared  him  for  death.  On  the 
following  morning,  Saturday,  summoning  all  his 
strength,  he  stretched  out  his  right  hand,  signed 
himself  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  first  on  his  fore- 
head and  then  over  his  whole  body,  and  at  last, 
joining  his  hands  across  his  breast,  he  closed  his 
eyes,  and  with  the  words,  "  Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord, 
I  commend  my  spirit,"  he  breathed  his  last  at  nine 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  January  28th,  814.  He 
was  buried  with  all  magnificence  in  the  church  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  Through  the  earnest  endeavors  of 
the  Emperor  Frederick  L  and  King  Henry  H.  of 
England,  Charles  was  canonized  by  the  consent  and 
authority  of  the  anti-pope.  Paschal,  an  act  which 
was  sanctioned,  however,  by  the  rightful  pope,  Alex- 
ander HL  "The  Roman  Church  observes  his  day 
on  January  28th,  and  the  special  collect  used  at 
Minden  and  elsewhere  reads  as  follows  :  '  O  God, 
who  in  the  superabounding  plenitude  of  thy  good- 
ness hast   exalted   the  blessed   Charles   the    Great, 

'  Einhard,  "Vita,"c.  30;  "  Chron.  Moiss,,"  an.  813  ;  M.G.  SS., 
vol.  i.,  pp.  310,  311. 


joo  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


Emperor  and  thy  Confessor,  after  having  laid  aside 
the  veil  of  the  flesh,  to  the  glory  of  a  blissful  immor- 
tality, mercifully  grant  that  as  thou  didst  raise  him 
for  the  praise  and  glory  of  thy  Name  to  imperial 
honor  upon  earth,  so  of  thy  grace  we  may  be  found 
worthy  ever  to  enjoy  his  pious  and  propitious  inter- 
cession in  heaven,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  "  ' 
The  great  work  of  Charles  was  ended.  Not  to 
make  great  conquests,  whose  possession  should  re- 
main in  the  care  and  keeping  of  his  descendants  for 
long  generations  ;  not  to  found  an  enduring  empire 
over  which  his  successors  might  rule  in  unbroken 
peace  and  serenity  ;  not  even  to  establish  a  system 
of  laws  which  should  remain  the  possession  of 
Europe,  nor  to  found  institutions  which  should  en- 
dure long  after  he  had  passed  away  ;  but  to  bring  the 
entire  German  people  into  one  great  whole  for  a 
period  long  enough  for  their  development  in  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity — to  form,  as  it  were,  a  great 
imperial  university  for  such  a  training  of  the  German 
nation  in  learning,  in  civilization,  in  the  principles 
of  the  Christian  faith,  and  in  the  morals  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  More  than  this,  for  weal  or  for  woe 
he  had  made  possible  the  establishment  of  feudal- 
ism, out  of  which  were  to  grow  the  free  cities  and 
the  great  monarchies  of  Europe  ;  and,  above  all 
else,  he  had  placed  the  Roman  Church  in  a  position 
of  independence,  of  strength,  of  security,  and  of  in- 
fluence in  which  she  might  become  the  guide,  the 
teacher,  and  the  example  of  the  West.     Thus,  after 

'  Mombert,   pp.  4S7,  488;    Boland,  "Acta  Sanct.  ad  Jan.   28," 
p.  S74. 


True  Greatness  of  Charles.  301 

all,  the  greatness  of  Charles  consists  not  in  his 
famous  exploits,  neither  in  his  wars  nor  in  his  laws, 
neither  in  his  imperial  organization  and  title,  nor  in 
his  military  generalship  and  victories,  but  in  the 
results  for  civilization,  for  morality,  and  for  religion 
which  he  made  possible  for  Europe.  The  mighty 
agent  through  which  he  worked,  the  organization 
which  he  placed  in  control  of  these  great  forces,  and 
upon  which  he  conferred  the  possibility  of_  using 
them,  was  the  Christian  Church,  which  had  its  head, 
its  centre,  and  its  chief  bishop  at  Rome.  In  more 
than  one  sense  his  work  was  not  complete.  "  An 
inclusion  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Irish  territories  in 
the  union  with  the  empire,  an  extension  of  the  king- 
dom and  of  the  Christian  faith  over  the  Northern 
Germans,  an  expulsion  of  the  Mahometans  from 
Spain  and  the  restoration  of  the  Christian  rule  in 
the  whole  extent  of  the  peninsula — these,  leaving 
out  the  problems  which  Africa  and  the  East  might 
present,  were  objects  which  a  successor  of  Charles 
who  wished  to  carry  on  his  work  could  have  placed 
before  him."  ' 

The  constitution  which  he  had  established  rested 
essentially  upon  the  kingdom  as  it  had  formed  itself 
among  the  German  people  in  the  time  of  the  wan- 
derings and  conquests.  The  development  of  the 
feudal  relations  had  a  very  great  power  and  signifi- 
cance, but  instead  of  giving  a  new  support  or  a  firmer 
coherence  to  the  great  kingdom,  as  Charles  had 
hoped,  it  proved  the  greatest  source  of  its  weakness 
and  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  its  overthrow.     It 

'  Waitz,  vol.  iv.,  p.  635. 


302  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

endangered  the  unity  instead  of  strengthening  it, 
and  all  that  Charles  could  do,  with  the  summoning 
of  all  his  power,  was  to  unite  it  and  bring  it  into 
some  sort  of  connection  with  existing  arrangements. 
Nothing  resembles  feudalism  less  than  the  sovereign 
unity  to  which  Charles  aspired,  yet  he  was  the  real 
founder  of  feudalism,  for  by  checking  invasions  and 
by  repressing  internal  disorder,  he  gave  to  the  local 
positions,  interests,  and  influences  time  to  take  real 
possession  of  the  land  and  of  its  inhabitants. 

It  was  in  union  with  the  church,  and  in  the  soli- 
darity of  its  members,  that  Charles  found  a  principle 
and  model  for  the  unity  of  his  realm.  The  unity  of 
faith  and  of  divine  worship  in  which  the  people 
united  outweighed  the  difference  of  nationality,  of 
laws  and  of  interests.  The  state  took  up  the  ten- 
dencies which  the  church  had  perfected  in  itself,  and 
lent  to  its  development  the  power  which  it  possessed, 
and  its  comprehension  served  as  a  basis  for  some- 
thing great. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

INTELLECTUAL  LIFE  AND  DEVELOPMENT — THE 
DARK  AGES — INFLUENCE  OF  MONASTICISM — 
LEARNING  IN  ENGLAND — BENEDICT  BISCOP — 
ARCHBISHOP  THEODORE — HADRIAN — BEDE — 
ALCUIN — THE   LIBRARY   AT   YORK. 

E  come  now  to  one  of  the  most  important 
subjects,  perhaps  the  most  important  of 
the  whole  period.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  permanent  contributions  made  by 
Charles  to  the  history  of  the  world  were 
the  conquest  of  the  Saxons  and  the  establishment 
of  schools  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the 
importance  of  either.  His  activity,  however,  in 
both  of  these  directions  left  much  to  be  worked  out 
and  carried  to  completion  by  those  who  came  after 
him,  but  the  common  opinion  in  regard  to  his  intel- 
lectual work  needs  further  explanation. 

In  a  recent  most  valuable  work  on  the  Universi- 
ties of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  we  are  told  most 
emphatically  that  the  schools  of  Charles  the  Great 
were  not  the  origin  of  the  University  of  Paris. 
These  schools  were  probably  migratory,  and  fol- 
lowed the  person  of  the  sovereign,  like  the  ancient 

303 


304  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

courts  of  law,  in  his  progresses  through  his  domin- 
ions." *  It  is  only  by  an  assumption,  therefore, 
that  one  can  speak  of  the  identity  of  the  schools  of 
the  palace  with  the  later  church  schools  of  Paris. 
We  may  believe,  however,  that  some  of  the  features 
which  characterized  the  Parisian  university  system 
may  be  traced  very  rightly  to  the  work  of  Charles, 
especially  the  intensely  ecclesiastical  character,  the 
system  of  supervision  by  church  authorities,  and  the 
complete  identification  of  the  scholastic  with  the 
clerical  order.  Undoubtedly,  also,  the  general  edu- 
cational traditions,  as  well  as  intellectual  inspiration, 
inherited  by  the  schools  of  Paris,  were  derived  ulti- 
mately from  the  schools  of  Alcuin  and  of  Charles, 
but  the  connection  cannot  be  traced  through  any 
single  school. 

The  later  intellectual  life  seems  due  to  the  gen- 
eral "  revival  of  episcopal  and  monastic  schools 
throughout  the  Frankish  Empire."  ^ 

Through  the  dark  ages  which  intervened  betvv^een 
the  age  of  Charles  the  Great  and  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury there  were  at  least  a  few  monasteries,  and  per- 
haps one  or  two  cathedrals,  where  the  fame  of  some 
great  teacher  drew  students  from  distant  lands,  and 
where  some  ray  of  enthusiasm  for  the  intellectual 
life  still  survived.  The  torch  of  learning,  which 
Charles  and  Alcuin  lighted  from  the  fires  of  the 
Irish  and  English  schools,  never  went  completely 
out,  but  served  in  its  turn  to  kindle  the  flames  of 
knowledge  after  the  storms  and  tempests  of  the 
barbarian  invasions  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries 

'  Rashdall,  vo).  i.,  p.  273,  '  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  274. 


Decline  of  Classical  Learning.        305 

had  been  stilled.  But  it  is  not  easy  to  make  right 
inferences  and  to  form  a  just  estimate  regarding  the 
intellectual  position  of  these  far-distant  centuries. 
Gibbon/  Hallam/  and  Robertson'  give  us  indeed  a 
gloomy  picture  of  their  intellectual  life  and  require- 
ments which  Maitland^  has  done  much  to  correct, 
while  Lorenz,  in  his  biography  of  Alcuin,  affirms 
that  there  was  "  a  more  universal  education  secured 
to  the  lower  classes  at  the  conclusion  of  the  eighth 
century  than  France  can  boast  of  in  the  nineteenth." 
The  ancient  and  classical  learning  of  Greece  and 
Rome  had  been  suffering  for  centuries  a  steady  de- 
cline, due,  in  the  first  instance,  not  to  the  church, 
for  it  was  not  yet  strong  enough  to  accomplish  so 
much,  but  to  the  same  causes  that  had  brought 
about  the  decline  of  the  empire.*  A  similar  de- 
terioration may  be  noticed  in  the  Christian  writings, 
comparing  those  of  the  three  centuries  before 
Augustine''  with  those  of  the  three  centuries  suc- 
ceeding him,  when  the  flood  of  barbarism  poured 
down  upon  the  empire,  spreading  confusion,  igno- 
rance, and  general  demoralization  everywhere.  Nor 
was  this  all,  for  the  church  had  been  obliged  from 
the  first  to  condemn  the  social  and  political  life  all 
about  her,  and  to  isolate  herself  completely  from  it 

'  Gibbon,  ch.  Ixvi.,  ad  fin. 
'  Hallam,  ch.  ix.,  part  i. 

^  Robertson,    introduction    to   the   "  History    of    the  Emperor, 
Charles  V." 
■*  Maitland,  "The  Dark  Ages." 

*  Lorenz,  p.  59.     This  statement  may  be  due  in  some  measure 
to  German  prejudice  against  the  French. 

*  Hallam,  ch.  ix.,  part  i  ;  Adams,  pp.  76-S8. 

'  The  fourth  century  has  been  called  "  the  golden  age  of  Chris- 
tian literature."     Chastel,  vol.  ii.,  p.  315. 
T 


3o6  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

on  account  of  its  being  inseparably  bound  up  with 
and  interpenetrated  by  the  heathen  and  immoral 
acts,  sentiments,  and  principles  which  Christianity 
necessarily  opposed  with  relentless  zeal  and  uncom- 
promising vigor.  It  had  seemed  equally  necessary 
to  ignore  if  not  to  condemn'  that  whole  literature, 
however  great  and  beautiful,  which  was  so  per- 
meated with  heathenism  as  to  form,  at  any  rate  at 
first,  an  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christianity — an 
obstacle  which  could  not  be  subdued,  but  could 
only  be  thrust  aside.  Indeed,  out  of  this  learning 
had  arisen,  at  first  direct  attacks,  and  later,  rival 
schemes  and  systems  of  belief  and  conduct,  and 
though  St.  Paul,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Origen, 
and  St.  Augustine  showed  the  possibility  and  even 
the  advantage  of  the  knowledge  of  the  literary 
treasure  of  Greece  and  Rome,  it  was  felt  that  only 
giants  could  resist  such  mighty  power,  and  the  days 
of  giants  were  passing  away.  We  need  only  refer 
to  the  later  testimony  of  Jerome  as  to  the  general 
neglect  of  pagan  learning,  and  the  vision  which  he 
had  in  his  early  years,  accompanied  by  the  warning 
words,  "  You  are  a  Ciceronian,  not  a  Christian, 
'  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be 
also.'  "  Furthermore,  as  has  been  said,  a  general 
decline  was  taking  place  even  in  the  classical  litera- 
ture and  learning,  that  went  far  to  justify  the  church's 
condemnation. 

At  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  when  pagan- 
ism might  seem  to  be  finally  suppressed,  the  last 

'  "Apostolic  Constitutions,"  bk.  i.,  ch.  vi.;  "  Anti-Nicene  Fa- 
thers," vol.  vii.,  p.  393. 


Mo7iasticism,  307 


advocates  and  great  centres  of  the  ancient  learning 
already  had  disappeared,  and  the  capability  of  its 
appreciation  already  had  well-nigh  vanished.  With 
the  barbarian  invasions  and  settlements  of  the  fifth 
century  came,  at  the  same  time,  the  establishment 
of  monasticism,  which  had,  perhaps,  an  even  greater 
influence  upon  education  and  civilization  than  it 
had,  at  any  rate  in  the  earlier  centuries,  upon  the 
church  and  religion. 

Monasticism  was  of  Eastern  origin,  and  its  orig- 
inal form  partook  very  largely  of  the  nature  of  East- 
ern life,  to  which  it  was  closely  adapted.  More- 
over, in  the  East  it  had  its  origin  in  connection 
with  religions  and  philosophies  more  or  less  aliea  to 
the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  was  based  largely 
on  the  doctrines  of  the  duahty  and  irreconcilable 
antagonism  of  mind  and  body,  of  the  essential  evil 
of  matter  as  it  existed  in  the  world  and  in  the  body, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  subduing  the  physical  and 
of  elevating  the  spiritual  by  absolute  isolation  from 
the  world  in  a  life  of  bodily  mortification  and  spir- 
itual contemplation  in  a  more  or  less  mechanical 
fashion.  In  other  words,  the  spiritual  element  was 
to  be  developed  and  maintained  by  the  annihilation 
of  the  physical.  In  the  West,  however,  monasti- 
cism was  hardly  known,  especially  among  the  new 
peoples,  except  as  the  ally  and  agent  of  Christianity 
and  as  permeated  with  its  spirit,  and  this,  together 
with  the  natural  difference  of  climate  and  of  people, 
gave  to  it  essentially  different  characteristics  and 
tendencies.  The  redemption  of  the  world,  not  the 
destruction  of  matter,  but  its  service,  subordination. 


3oS  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

if  you  will,  to  the  higher  development  of  man,  is 
the  fundamental  principle  of  Western  monasticism. 
Not  always  consciously  present,  we  must  admit, 
but  generally  moulding  and  influencing  Western 
monastic  life  in  its  higher  moments. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  practical  element  of 
the  West,  as  distinct  from  the  contemplative  spirit 
of  the  East,  plays  such  a  large  part  in  its  history, 
and  while  the  monks  of  the  East,  to  whom  their 
own  spiritual  welfare  was  proposed  as  the  sole  aim 
of  existence  tended  to  the  unsocial,  unproductive, 
unbeneficent  life,  the  monks  of  the  West  became 
the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  the  teachers  of  agricul- 
ture, the  preservers  of  letters,  and  the  teachers  and 
examples  of  the  people.  For  just  this  reason,  there- 
fore, we  find  another  theory  in  regard  to  the  use 
and  advantages  of  the  old  pagan  learning,  a  truer 
reflection  of  the  earlier  spirit  of  St.  Paul,  Clement, 
and  Origen,  which  the  monks  of  the  West  were  able 
to  take  up  and  to  develop  in  the  practical  carrying 
out  of  that  famous  motto,  "  Prove  all  things  ;  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good."  So  they  would  not  con- 
demn the  old  learning,  but  just  as  it  seemed  about 
to  fall  into  decay  and  to  perish,  they  rose  to  gather 
up  and  to  protect  all  that  remained,  that  nothing 
might  be  lost.  The  school  as  a  place  of  learning, 
for  intellectual  and  higher  spiritual  influence,  was, 
therefore,  an  institution  connected  with  monastic 
foundations  from  the  very  earliest  times,  and  though 
at  first  its  range  of  subjects  was  limited  and  its 
methods  narrow  and  inadequate,  it  soon  began  to 
take  the  place  of  the  old  imperial  municipal  schools 


Decline  of  Theological  Learning.      309 

which  had  disappeared  rapidly  under  the  attacks  of 
the  church  and  of  the  Germans. 

In  the  more  important  bishoprics  in  connection 
with  the  preparation  of  candidates  for  the  clerical 
order,  the  episcopal  or  cathedral  schools  began  to 
attain  great  prominence.  Learning,  however,  was 
promoted  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  so  that  read- 
ing and  the  transcription  of  manuscripts  were  largely- 
confined  to  the  Scriptures  and  to  church  services, 
music  to  chanting,  arithmetic  and  astronomy  to  the 
calculation  of  Easter.  Worse  than  all,  there  rose 
the  so-called  fourfold  system  of  interpreting  the 
Scriptures,  encouraging  the'  student  to  depart  from 
the  plain,  literal,  or  historical  meaning  of  the  text, 
and  to  wander  amid  the  vagaries  and  caprices  of 
the  allegorical  or  typical  and  figurative,  the  tropo- 
logical  or  moral  and  ethical,  the  anagogical  or  mys- 
tical and  purely  speculative  meaning  and  interpre- 
tation, which  a  highly  developed  imagination  might 
be  able  to  supply. 

Under  such  influences,  theological,  as  well  as 
other  learning,  sensibly  declined,  and  the  state  to 
which  it  came  in  the  sixth  century  can  be  readily 
learned  from  the  words  and  writings  of  Gregory  of 
Tours.  Under  the  Merovingians,  learning  almost 
ceased  to  exist.  It  had  found  refuge  in  the  church 
and  in  the  monasteries,  but  the  condition  of  these 
at  the  accession  of  Charles  Martel  was  one  of  great 
demoralization,  although  at  the  time  the  material 
prosperity  was  very  great,  for  it  is  estimated  that  at 
the  close  of  the  seventh  century  the  church  owned 
or  controlled   about   one   third   of   the   territory   of 


3IO  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Gaul.  But  the  demoralization  of  bishops,  who  en- 
gaged in  war,  in  hunting  and  in  pleasures,  and  of 
the  monks,  whose  discipline  had  become  very  lax, 
on  account  of  their  increase  in  wealth  and  of  im- 
munity from  episcopal  oversight  and  control,  as  well 
as  on  account  of  their  large  accessions  from  the 
lower  classes,  had  become  an  open  scandal. 

The  accession  of  Charles  Martel  had  brought  the 
bishops  under  secular  control,  but  his  so-called  work 
of  reformation  consisted  principally  of  wholesale 
seizure  of  church  property.  He  regarded  the  re- 
sources of  the  church  chiefly  as  sinews  of  war,  or  as 
means  of  enabling  hini  to  reward  his  ofificers  and 
soldiers  for  military  achievements. 

The  inroads  of  the  Saracens  completed  the  work 
of  devastation  in  the  South,  although  by  the  mis- 
sionary labors  of  Boniface  and  his  followers  a  great 
Christian  work  was  done  under  the  protection  of 
Charles  Martel,  but  more  particularly  under  his  sons 
and  successors. 

The  revival  of  learning  traces  its  origin  to  another 
source.  The  revival  of  learning,  as  well  as  the  re- 
organization of  the  church  and  the  further  spread 
of  Christianity  among  the  rising  kingdoms  of  the 
West,  were  due  to  men  of  Ireland  and  of  England, 
acting,  for  the  most  part,  under  the  influence  and 
with  the  aid  and  inspiration  of  Rome.  It  was  in 
the  monasteries  and  schools  of  Ireland  that  learn- 
ing was  maintained  and 'developed  unharmed  by  the 
shock  and  confusion  on  the  continent,  attendant 
upon  the  fall  of  Rome  and  the  invasions  and  settle- 
ments of  the  barbarians  during  the  fifth  and  sixth 


Irish  and  English   Christianity.       3 1 1 


centuries.     In  the  islands  of  the  West,  secluded  and 
far  from  strife,  Christianity  and  learning  developed 
together.     Special  attention  was  given  to  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures  in  the  monasteries  of  Ireland,  and 
ancient  books  of  all  kinds  were  diligently  collected 
and  copied.      From   here  Christianity  and  learning 
spread  to  the  Scots  and  Picts,   and   so  down  into 
Northern   England.      The  conversion  of  Southern 
England  by  Augustine,  and  of  the  northern  parts 
by  Aidan  soon  brought  the  two  forces  together,  and 
the  English  Church  was  united  under  the  two  great 
centres  of  York  and  Canterbury  ;  but  the  great  in- 
spiration and  a  larger   life   came  to  the  church  in 
England   from  Rome.     The  English  Church,  from 
the  very  form    and  manner  of  its  foundation,  was 
brought  into  a  peculiar  relation  of  dependence  upon 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  this  was  only  increased 
and  confirmed  by  the   decision  at  Whitby  in  664. 
This  relation  was  regarded  with  the  greatest  pride 
and  satisfaction  by  the  early  kings  and  chief  eccle- 
siastics, especially  by  Bede  and  his  school,  so  that 
it  continued  to  exist  and  to  be  still  further  devel- 
oped.    Pilgrimages  by  monks,  nuns,  bishops,  nobles 
and  princes,   and    even    kings,'   were   made  to  the 
tomb    of   St.    Peter   at    Rome,     Thus  the   English 
were  brought  into  closer  relations  with  Rome,  and 
this  led,  among  other  results,  to  the  acquiring  of  rich 
additions  of  literature  and  art.     When,  in  668,  the 
kings  of  Northumberland  and  of  Kent  had  asked 

'  Ina,  of  Wessex,  Gibbon,  chap,  xlix.,  note  36;  Coenred  of 
Mercia,  Bede,  bk.  v.,  ch.  xxiv.;  Ceadwalla,  of  Wessex,  A.  S. 
Chronicle,  an.  688,  709.  726,  728  ;  Ethehvulf.  of  Wessex,  A.  S. 
Chronicle,  855.     Alfred  was  crowned  in  Rome  by  the  pope. 


3  T  2  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

the  pope  to  select  and  send  some  one  fitted  for  the 
vacant  See  of  Canterbury,  Hadrian  was  first  named. 
He  was  an  African  by  birth,  of  noted  scholarship, 
and  at  that  time  a  monk  or  abbot  of  the  Niridian 
monastery  in  Naples,  near  Monte  Cassino.  He  had 
been  in  Gaul,  but  never  in  Britain,  and  the  thought 
of  the  great  Avork  and  responsibility  appalled  him. 
He  secured,  therefore,  a  learned  Greek  of  St.  Paul's 
city  of  Tarsus,  who  was  known  as  Theodore  the 
Philosopher.  Theodore  was  induced  to  accept  the 
position,  and  was  consecrated  by  the  pope  for  the 
vacant  archbishopric,  having  received  Hadrian's 
promise  to  accompany  him  and  aid  him  in  his  work. 
In  May,  669,  Theodore  arrived  in  Canterbury 
accompanied  by  a  young  English  monk,  Benedict 
Biscop,  to  be  followed  later  by  Hadrian,  who  had 
been  detained  in  Gaul.  During  the  two  years  that 
elapsed  before  Hadrian's  arrival  Biscop  presided 
over  the  new  school  which  Theodore  established  at 
Canterbury.  We  are  quite  right  in  tracing  to  Bene- 
dict Biscop  the  foundation  of  those  schools  and  the 
instigation  of  that  learning  which  made  England 
famous  throughout  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries. 
Born  in  628  of  a  noble  Northumbrian  family,  he  de- 
voted himself  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  to  the  mo- 
nastic life,  but  it  was  to  no  dreary,  selfish,  and  sense- 
less asceticism.  Monasticism  was  in  his  mind  but 
an  agent  of  the  church,  a  means  to  an  end,  and  that 
end  not  the  salvation  of  a  man's  own  soul,  but  the 
redemption  of  the  world  and  the  building  up  of  the 
kingdom  of  God — a  work  which  in  his  view  de- 
manded every  advantage,  the  use  of  every  oppor- 


Benedict  Bis  cop.  313 

tunity,  and  the  development  of  all  the  faculties  of 
mind,  soul,  and  body  which  a  man  possessed.  Art, 
literature,  experience  gained  by  travel,  and  wide 
acquaintance  with  men  and  affairs,  as  well  as  strict 
adherence  to  the  Benedictine  rules  of  discipline,  were 
all  made  use  of  in  achieving  this  great  end.  It  is 
this  earnest  zeal  and  wide  comprehensiveness  that 
makes  the  name  of  Benedict  Biscop  the  first  bright 
ray  in  the  intellectual  life  of  England.  There  had 
been  learning  in  the  island  before,  and  there  could 
still  be  traced  the  influence  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish 
schools,  with  learning  introduced  from  Gaul,  but  the 
first  original  impulse  in  England  is  undoubtedly 
due  to  Biscop.  In  653  he  made  his  first  journey  to 
Rome,  a  second  follov/ed  in  665,  and  a  third  in  671. 
From  each  of  these  he  returned  laden  with  stores 
of  learning,  of  experience,  and  of  literature,  from 
Rome  and  from  Gaul,  and  especially  from  Vienne. 
On  his  return  from  the  third  journey  he  received 
from  the  Northumbrian  king  a  large  grant  of  land 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Wear,  and  founded  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  Peter's  at  Wearmouth  in  674,  Here  he 
deposited  his  library,  to  v\^hich  large  additions  were 
made  as  the  result  of  a  fourth  journey  to  Rome  in 
678.  Workmen  from  Gaul,  furniture,  pictures, 
glass,  and  lattice-work  provided  an  artistic  and  suit- 
able home  for  this  great  treasure,  while  an  archchan- 
tor  from  Rome  instructed  the  monks  in  music  and 
in  ritual.  In  681  a  sister  institution  was  founded 
near  by,  at  Jarrow,  on  land  given  by  the  pleased 
and  grateful  king.  An  additional  wealth  of  pic- 
tures and  of  books  was  secured  by  the  indefatigable 


314  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Biscop  in  his  fifth  journey  to  Rome,  in  687,  from 
which  he  returned  worn,  shattered,  and  partially 
paralyzed,  in  which  condition  he  lingered  until  his 
death  in  690.  As  he  left  the  world  he  urged  upon 
his  disciples  and  pupils  the  importance  of  maintain- 
ing the  monastic  rule  and  discipline  which  he  had 
established  after  visiting  seventeen  different  monas- 
teries on  the  continent.  He  implored  them  to  take 
special  care  in  the  preservation  of  his  precious 
library,  and  particularly  emphasized  the  duty  of  dis- 
regarding the  claims  of  nobility  and  of  family  in  the 
choice  of  spiritual  rulers. 

Bede  has  given  us  the  fullest  and  most  sympa- 
thetic account  of  his  life." 

The  debt  that  England  and,  through  England,  the 
Western  Church  owes  to  Benedict  Biscop  is  a  very 
great  one,  and  has  scarcely  ever  been  fairly  recog- 
nized, for  it  may  be  said  that  the  civilization  and 
learning  of  the  eighth  century  rested  on  the  monas- 
teries which  he  founded,  which  produced  Bede,  and, 
through  him,  the  school  of  York,  Alcuin,  and  the 
Carolingian  schools,  on  which  the  culture  of  the 
Middle  Ages  was  based."  The  work  of  Bede,  from 
the  age  of  seven,  when  he  first  came  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Biscop,  who  was  his  teacher,  patron,  and 
friend,  until  his  death  at  Jarrow,  in  735,  is  too  well 
known  to  require  our  present  consideration. 

His  writings  were  numerous,  and  covered  a  vast 
range  of  subjects,  including  commentaries  and  trans- 

'  Bede,  "  Historia  Abbatum."  Ed.  Plummer,  vol.  i.,  pp.  364-370. 
*  Smith  and  Wace,  "Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography,"  art. 
Benedict  Biscop,  by  Bishop  Stubbs. 


Archbishop   Theodore  of  Canterbujy.  315 

lations  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  grammar, 
rhetoric,  poetry,  arithmetic,  chronology,  epigrams, 
hymns,  sermons,  pastoral  addresses  and  penitentials, 
and  even  some  writings  on  natural  science,  besides 
his  great  works  of  history  and  biography.  His 
learning  included  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin 
languages,  and  quotations  from  Plato,  Aristotle  and 
Homer,  Seneca,  Cicero,  Lucretius,  Ovid  and  Virgil 
are  found  in  his  works.  "  I  am  my  own  librarian, 
my  own  secretary,  and  make  my  own  notes,"  he 
writes. 

In  the  mean  time  the  work  of  Theodore  at  Can- 
terbury had  been  going  on.  Hadrian,  on  his  arrival, 
proved  a  most  useful  assistant  to  the  archbishop. 
Both  were  able  teachers,  appreciated  learning,  and 
soon  attracted  large  numbers  of  eager  disciples 
through  their  influence.  All  the  larger  monasteries 
were  converted  into  schools  of  learning,  in  which 
the  laity,  as  well  as  the  clergy,  imbibed  a  respect 
for  knowledge,  and  in  some  cases  a  real  love  for  it. 

Even  the  monasteries  belonging  to  the  fair 
sex,"  said  Hook,  "  were  converted  into  seminaries 
of  learning,  and  the  abbess,  Hildelidis,  with  her 
nuns,  were,  in  the  next  generation,  able  to  under- 
stand the  Grecisms  of  Aldhelm,  in  his  Latin  trea- 
tise, '  De  Laudibus  Virginitatis,'  written  for  their 
special  edification."  '  In  the  time  of  Bede,  as  he 
himself  tells  us,  there  were  scholars  of  Theodore 
and  Hadrian  who  knew  the  Latin  and  Greek  lan- 
guages as  well  as  their  own."     In  another  place  Bede 

'  Hook,  vol.  i.,  pp.  163,  164,  ch.  iv.,  §  2. 
"  Bede,  bk.  iv.,  ch.  ii. 


3 


1 6  T/ie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


X 


says  that  Albinus,  Hadrian's  disciple  and  successor 
in  the  government  of  the  monastery  at  Canterbury, 
was  so  proficient  in  the  study  of  the  classics,  that 
he  knew  Greek  indeed  in  no  small  measure,  and  the 
Latin  as  thoroughly  as  that  of  the  Angles,  which 
was  his  native  tongue.' 

The  Saxon  Chronicle  notices  the  death  of  Theo- 
dore in  the  year  690  with  this  brief  remark  :  "  Be- 
fore this  the  bishops  had  been  Romans,  from  this 
time  they  were  English,"  ^  In  other  words,  this 
great  man  had  converted  what  had  been  a  mission- 
ary station  into  an  established  church,  and  had  set 
on  foot  an  intellectual  movement  by  which  native 
Englishmen  were  trained  and  fitted  for  the  highest 
positions  in  the  English  Church. 

On  the  model  of  these  schools,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Bede  and  of  the  monasteries  of  Wearmouth 
and  Jarrow,  the  most  noted  of  all,  the  school  of 
York,  was  founded.  From  the  time  of  PauHnus, 
625,  York  had  been  the  great  ecclesiastical  centre 
of  the  North,  and  though,  after  his  flight  and  the 
introduction  of  the  missionaries  from  the  Ionian 
monastery,  who  had  made  Landisfarne  their  seat, 
its  importance  had  waned,  it  was  restored  again  by 
the  splendor  and  magnificence  which  the  presence 
of  Wilfrid  gave  to  it  as  his  see  city.  Wilfrid,  like 
Biscop,  had  spent  more  time  amid  the  greater  cul- 
ture of  Gaul  and  Rome.  He  had  seen  the  churches 
of  Rome  and  other  Italian  cities,  and  could  not 
endure   the   rough  timber  buildings  thatched   with 

'   Bede,  bk.  v.,  ch.  xx. 

^  A.  S.  Chronicle,  an.  6go.     The  Parker  MS. 


Archbishop  Egbert  of  York.  317 

weeds  which  the  Saxons  had  built,  and  with  which 
the  Ionian  missionaries  had  been  content.  True, 
the  church  of  PauHnus  at  York  had  been  built  of 
stone,  but  it  was  in  ruins.  Wilfrid  repaired  it, 
roofed  it  with  lead,  and  filled  the  windows  with 
glass.  At  Ripon  he  built  a  new  church  of  cut 
stones.  It  was  of  great  height  and  supported  by 
columns,  but  the  architectural  wonder  of  the  age 
was  the  church  at  Hexham,  surpassing  in  splendor 
every  church  on  that  side  of  the  Alps. 

Through  the  influence  of  Bede,  York  was  raised 
to  an  archbishopric  in  735,  and  from  this  time  its 
future  greatness  and  importance  were  assured. 
Egbert,  the  first  archbishop,  a  friend  and  corre- 
spondent of  Bede,  was  a  learned  as  well  as  wise  and 
successful  ruler.  His  literary  works  are  of  great  re- 
pute, and  to  him  is  due  the  honor  of  establishing 
the  school  of  York,  and  the  foundation  of  the  library 
in  connection  with  it.  Its  relation  with  Wearmouth 
and  Jarrow  must  have  been  intimate  and  helpful. 
From  the  start  scholars  flocked  hither  from  all 
parts  of  Europe,  adding  new  honor  to  its  fame  and 
influence  and  to  the  increase  of  its  library,  thus  fur- 
nishing a  larger  acquaintance  with  the  wider  field  of 
literature. 

Alcuin  has  left  us  an  interesting  glimpse  of 
Egbert's  scholastic  life.  In  the  morning,  as  soon 
as  he  was  at  liberty,  he  used  to  send  for  some  of  the 
young  clerks,  whom  he  instructed  in  succession. 
At  noon  he  celebrated  mass  in  his  private  chapel. 
Dinner  was  followed  by  a  general  discussion  of  lit- 
erary subjects.     In  the  evening  Compline  was  said. 


3i8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Stubbs  says  :  "  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
gentle  influences  of  the  school  of  York  and  of  its 
teachers  kept  Northumbria  together  until  the  close 
of  the  century  in  which  Egbert  lived.  At  the  last, 
when  Northumbria  became  hopelessly  disorganized, 
the  disciples  of  Egbert  were  enlightening  other 
countries  than  those  they  were  intended  to  human- 
ize. The  pupils  of  the  school  of  York  taught  the 
schools  and  universities  of  Italy,  of  Germany,  and 
of  France."  ' 

The  most  famous  scholar  of  all  was  Alcuin.  He 
was  a  Northumbrian  of  noble  family,  born  about 
735,  at  or  near  York.  He  was  quite  young  when 
he  entered  Egbert's  cathedral  school,  with  which 
he  remained  connected,  first  as  a  scholar,  then  as 
master,  until  he  went  to  take  up  his  residence  at  the 
Prankish  Court.  He  followed  the  usual  lines  of 
instruction,  being  taught  first  to  read,  write,  and 
memorize  the  Latin  psalms,  then  taking  up  the 
rudiments  of  grammar  and  the  other  liberal  arts, 
and  afterwards  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
He  soon  became  the  most  eminent  pupil  of  the 
school,  then  assistant  master  to  Aelbert,  and  on 
the  death  of  Egbert,  in  'jdG,  when  Aelbert  suc- 
ceeded to  the  archbishopric  of  York,  Alcuin  became 
head-master  of  the  school,  and  held  the  position  of 
Scholasticus.  In  780,  on  Aelbert's  death,  he  took 
charge  of  the  cathedral  library,  then  the  most 
famous  in  England,  and  one  of  the  most  famous  in 
the  Western  world.      It  far  surpassed  any  possessed 

'  Smith  and  Wace,  "Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography,"  vol, 
ii.,  p.  51,  art.  Egbert. 


The  Library  at   York.  319 

by  either  England  or  France  in  the  twelfth  century, 
whether  at  Canterbury,  at  Paris,  or  at  Bee.  The 
full  list  of  the  volumes  it  contained  is  given  in  a 
poem  written  by  Alcuin  when  it  was  under  his 
charge.     The  following  is  a  translation  : 

"  There  shalt  thou  find  the  volumes  that  contain 
All  of  the  ancient  fathers  who  remain  ; 
There  all  the  Latin  writers  make  their  home 
With  those  that  glorious  Greece  transferred  to  Rome — 
The  Hebrews  draw  from  their  celestial  stream, 
And  Africa  is  bright  with  learning's  beam. 

"  Here  shines  what  Jerome,  Ambrose,  Hilary  thought, 
Or  Athanasius  and  Augustine  wrought, 
Orosius,  Leo,  Gregory  the  Great, 
Near  Basil  and  Fulgentius  coruscate. 
Grave  Cassiodorus  and  John  Chrysostom 
Next  Master  Bede  and  learned  Anhelm  come, 
While  Victorinus  and  Boethius  stand 
With  Pliny  and  Pompeius  close  at  hand. 

"  Wise  Aristotle  looks  on  Tully  near. 
Sedulius  and  Juvencus  next  appear. 
Then  come  Albinus,  Clement,  Prosper  too, 
Paulinus  and  Arator.     Next  we  view 
Lactantius,  Fortunatus.     Ranged  in  line 
Virgilius  Maro,  Statius,  Lucan,  shine. 
Donatus,  Priscian,  Probus,  Phocas,  start 
The  roll  of  Masters  in  grammatic  art. 
Eutychius,  Servius,  Pompey,  each  extend 
The  list.     Comminian  brings  it  to  an  end. 

"  There  shalt  thou  find,  O  reader,  many  more, 
Famed  for  their  style,  the  masters  of  old  yore, 
Whose  heavy  volumes  singly  to  rehearse 
Were  far  too  tedious  for  our  present  verse."  ' 

'  West,  pp.  34,  35. 


320  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Two  authors  probably  are  omitted,  Martianus 
Capella  and  Isidore  of  Seville,  on  account  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  verse.  Of  Aristotle  little  was 
known  except  some  quotations  in  Augustine,  an 
abridgment  of  the  Categories  falsely  attributed  to 
Augustine,  the  "  De  Interpretatione,"  with  the 
translation  of  Porphyry's  "  Isagoge,"  or  Introduc- 
tion, by  Boethius,  and  logical  treatises  by  the  latter, 
and  this  furnished  all  their  material  for  the  study 
of  logic.  Nothing  was  known  of  the  great  ethical, 
metaphysical,  and  scientific  works  of  Aristotle.  Of 
Plato,  the  Pheedo  and  Timseus  were  known,  though 
not  mentioned  by  Alcuin.  Boethius  and  Cassiodo- 
rius  formed  the  great  mediaeval  text-books  in  phi- 
losophy. The  work  of  Isidore  was  a  great  encyclo- 
paedia, the  most  popular  of  all  school  collections. 
Alcuin  calls  him  "  Lumen  Hispanice,"  but  "  it  must 
have  been  very  dark  in  Spain."  In  astronomy  he 
tells  us  that  the  sun  is  larger  than  the  moon  or  the 
earth.  There  is  little  knowledge,  and  that  of  a 
very  vague  sort. 

Capella  disputes  with  Augustine  the  honor  of  the 
division  of  knowledge  into  the  Trivhnn,  consisting 
of  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  logic,  and  the  Quadrivhun, 
embracing  arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy,  and 
music.  His  work  is  an  allegorical  presentation,  in 
the  first  two  books,  of  the  marriage  of  science 
and  eloquence,  the  attendant  virgins  being  the 
seven  liberal  arts,  which  he  then  proceeds  to  de- 
scribe. 

Gregory  of  Tours  frankly  admits  that  whatever 
of  the  arts  or  sciences  was  to  be  known  in  his  day 


Martiamis  Capella.  321 

could  be  found  in  Martianus  Capella.'  His  mythol- 
ogy and  cosmogony  were  hardly  orthodox  enough 
for  general  use,  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  sug- 
gested the  great  discovery  of  Copernicus,  pointing 
out  in  his  eighth  chapter  that  Mercury  and  Venus 
revolve  not  around  the  earth,  but  around  the  sun. 

*  Gregory,  bk.  x.,  ch.  xxxi. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MEETING  OF  CHARLES  AND  ALCUIN — THE  PALACE 
SCHOOL  —  ALCUIN'S  METHODS  OF  INSTRUC- 
TION— CATHEDRAL  SCHOOLS — ALCUIN  ABBOT 
OF   TOURS. 

5N  the  spring  of  781  Charles  and  Alcuin 
met  at  Parma,  the  greatest  conqueror  of 
the  age  met  the  greatest  scholar  at  the 
most  critical  time,  when  the  need  was 
greatest  for  the  union  of  physical  might 
and  of  intellectual  ability,  in  order  to  lay  strong  and 
deep  the  great  foundations,  and  to  erect  light  and 
firm  the  mighty  walls  of  the  Western  Empire.  The 
men  were  well  matched,  and  the  most  important 
results  were  sure  to  follow  their  union,  not  only  in 
the  cause  of  learning  and  of  education,  but  also  of 
ecclesiastical  and  political  affairs.  They  had  met 
once  before,  for  Alcuin  had  been  sent  to  Charles  by 
his  master,  Aelbert,  archbishop  of  York,  in  768.' 
Charles  was  well  prepared  for  the  work  which  Alcuin 
was  destined  to  accomplish  under  his  direction,  for 
from  his  earliest  years  he  had  been  brought  up  in 
the  Christian  faith  and  trained  by  special  teachers." 

'  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  p.  391  and  note  6. 

"  Alcuin,  "  Adversus  Elipantum."  bk.  i.,  ch.   xvi.;  Abel-Simson, 
vol.  i.,  p.  21. 

322 


Alcuiu  and  the  Palace  School.        323 

It  was  Aelbert's  successor,  Eanbald,  who  sent  Al- 
cuin  to  Rome  to  get  from  Pope  Hadrian  the  pall 
as  the  seal  and  recognition  of  his  authority.  On 
his  return  he  met  Charles  at  Parma,  as  we  have 
seen,  and  in  response  to  the  royal  request  promised 
to  go  to  the  Prankish  Court,  if  he  could  gain  per- 
mission from  his  king  and  from  Archbishop  Ean- 
bald. Permission  being  granted  conditionally  on 
his  promise  to  return  later  to  England,  the  end  of 
781  or  beginning  of  782  found  Alcuin  at  the  court 
of  Charles.  Here  he  became  at  once  the  head  and 
centre  of  the  literary  circle,  which  had  been  joined 
already  by  Peter  of  Pisa,  the  Lombard  Paul  the 
Deacon,  and  Paulinus  the  Grammarian.  The  lat- 
ter, while  in  Italy,  had  been  presented  by  Charles 
with  a  landed  estate,  and  was  made  patriarch  of 
Aquileia,  probably  in  787.'  It  was  undoubtedly 
the  stay  which  Charles  made  in  Italy  which  gave 
the  occasion  for  the  meeting  and  the  union  of 
these  scholars.  During  his  residence  there  his  at- 
tention had  been  drawn  frequently  to  the  intel- 
lectual superiority  of  the  Italians,  and  the  deter- 
mination was  strong  within  him  to  free  his  own 
people  from  the  yoke  of  ignorance.  From  this 
time  on  his  efforts  were  unfailing,  and  he  took  ad- 
vantage of  every  means  to  gain  this  end.  A  palace 
school  had  from  time  immemorial  existed  at  the 
Prankish  Court  long  before  the  time  of  Charles,' 
although,  as  Charles  himself  says,  "  the  study  of 
letters   had    been    well-nigh    extinguished    by   the 

'  Abel-Simson,  vol.  i.,  pp.  411,  412. 
'  Mombert,  p.  243. 


324  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

neglect  of  his  ancestors."  '  This  school  Charles  de- 
termined to  restore. 

Walafrid,  in  his  preface  to  Einhard's  Life  of 
Charles,  thus  speaks  of  him  :  "  Indeed,  of  all  kings 
he  was  the  most  eager  to  seek  out  wise  men  and  to 
bring  them  to  great  honor,  that  they  might  apply 
themselves  to  the  pursuit  of  wisdom  with  real  pleas- 
ure. So  the  cloudy  and,  I  might  almost  say,  the 
black  extent  of  the  kingdom  committed  to  him  by 
God,  he  gave  back  luminous  with  a  new  and  before 
partly  unknown  ray  of  learning,  God  illuminating 
him."  ^  All  the  scholars  just  mentioned  formed  the 
nucleus  of  this  great  intellectual  work.  Peter  had 
taught  grammar  with  great  distinction  in  the  school 
at  Pavia,  and,  on  the  capture  of  that  city  by  Charles, 
he  had  followed  the  conqueror  to  the  Prankish 
Court,  and  he  remained  with  Charles  until  his  death, 
at  an  advanced  age,  near  the  close  of  the  century.' 

Paul  the  Deacon  was  also  an  eminent  Lombard 
scholar  educated  at  the  court  of  Rachis  in  Pavia. 
He  was  born  about  725,  and  entered  the  Prankish 
Court  in  782.  His  relations  with  Charles  were  very 
cordial,  though  he  retired  to  a  monastery  in  787, 
where  he  wrote  his  famous  history  of  the  Lom- 
bards, tracing  their  history  down  to  744,  where  he 
ought  to  have  begun  it.  But  all  these  scholars 
were  far  surpassed  by  Alcuin  in  vigor  of  mind  and 
in  range  of  learning.  Real  originality  was  not  to 
be  found  anywhere,  but  Alcuin's  powers  were  of  the 

'   Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  80. 

'^  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  p.  507. 

^  AbeUSimson,  vol.  i.,  pp.  391,  411  ;  Mombert,  p.  260. 


Alcuin  and  Charles.  325 


most  effective  kind,  and  admirably  suited  to  his  time 
and  place.  He  was  a  great  critic,  an  able  compiler, 
and  an  intelligent,  active  student,  an  earnest  and 
sympathetic  teacher,  who  knew  how  to  make  the 
most  of  his  resources,  and  in  his  teaching  to  bring 
all  his  material  into  play.  Alcuin,  like  Charles,  was 
earnestly  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Catho- 
lic faith,  and  he  had  undoubtedly  brought  from 
England  that  strong  feeling  of  devotion  and  grati- 
tude to  Rome,  which  Bede  felt  and  had  done  so 
much  to  foster  and  to  encourage,  and  which  showed 
itself  so  plainly  in  the  labors  and  methods  of  the 
great  English  missionary,  Boniface.  Neither  he 
nor  Charles  showed  any  cringing  or  timid  subservi- 
ency to  the  Roman  bishop,  and  each  supported  the 
other  in  maintaining  the  absolute  freedom  of  the 
Prankish  Kingdom  from  anything  like  papal  domi- 
nation or  absolutism,  yet  both  maintained  and 
sought  to  uphold  the  dignity,  lofty  position,  and 
wide  usefulness  of  the  Roman  Church. 

It  was  not  an  opportune  time  when  Alcuin  arrived 
at  the  court  of  Charles,  for  the  king  was  in  the  bit- 
terest and  closing  part  of  the  first  series  of  Saxon 
wars.  It  is,  therefore,  only  one  more  evidence  of 
the  wide  range  of  his  interests,  and  the  vigor  and 
determination  of  his  spirit,  that  in  the  midst  of  such 
affairs  he  could  find  time  and  energy  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  palace  school,  and  it  shows  that  he 
regarded  the  maintenance  of  learning  in  his  king- 
dom as  only  second  in  importance  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  empire  itself.  It  is  also  to  be  noted 
that  in  the  school  founded  by  Charles  in  his  palace, 


:> 


26  T/ie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


attended  as  it  was  by  the  members  of  the  royal 
family,  and  by  the  distinguished  nobles  of  the  court, 
learning  was  to  be  followed  for  larger  interests  and 
with  wider  purposes  than  could  be  realized  in  the 
training  of  the  monks  and  of  the  clergy.  Not  only 
did  Charles  revere  learning  for  its  own  sake,  but  he 
saw  the  value  it  would  have  in  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual improvement  of  the  whole  kingdom. 

Here,  then,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  beyond 
the  ordinary  chanting  and  reading  of  select  passages 
in  the  Latin  Bible,  and  calculating  the  return  of 
Easter,  and  the  learning  of  the  times  would  have  to 
be  adapted  to  a  school  made  up  of  adult  students. 
Of    the    king's    own    attainments    Einhard    says  : 

Gifted  with  a  ready  and  easy  flowing  power  of 
speech,  he  expressed  clearly  whatever  he  wished  to 
say.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  his  native  tongue 
alone,  but  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  other 
languages,  particularly  to  Latin,  which  he  could 
speak  as  well  as  he  could  his  own,  but  Greek  he 
understood  better  than  he  spoke.  He  was  so  ready 
and  fluent  a  speaker,  that  he  might  have  passed  for 
a  teacher  of  rhetoric.  He  most  zealously  fostered 
the  liberal  arts,  and  held  in  the  greatest  veneration 
and  loaded  with  honors  those  who  taught  them. 

He  spent  much  time  and  labor  in  studying 
rhetoric,  dialectic,  and  especially  astronomy,  in 
which  he  seemed  to  take  a  peculiar  interest.  He 
learned  the  art  of  reckoning,  and  gave  much  atten- 
tion to  investigating  the  courses  of  the  stars.  He 
tried  also  to  write,  and  used  to  keep  tablets  and 
blanks  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  that  at  leisure  hours  he 


Reading  and   WiHting.  327 

might  accustom  his  hand  to  form  the  letters,  but  he 
did  not  succeed  very  well  in  this  work  on  account  of 
his  age  and  because  he  began  too  late  in  life."  '  On 
this  subject  of  his  writing  there  has  been  a  great 
deal  of  childish  discussion  which  is  much  beside  the 
mark.      Gibbon    says,   with  a   contemptuous    fling, 

In  his  mature  age  the  emperor  strove  to  acquire 
the  practice  of  writing,  which  every  peasant  now 
learns  in  his  infancy."  ^ 

The  truth  is,  reading  and  writing  were  not  then, 
as  now,  the  simple  tests  of  elementary  learning. 
On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  books  and  the  ex- 
pense and  difficulty  of  procuring  materials  for  writ- 
ing, almost  all  instruction  was  given  orally,  even  in 
the  palace  school  itself,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  ex- 
amples to  be  given.  The  study  of  reading  and 
writing  formed  a  special  branch  of  the  technical 
training,  reserved  exclusively  for  monks  and  other 
clergy,  as  having  special  need  for  these  acquire- 
ments. Consequently  the  knowledge  of  how  to 
read  and  write  is  no  more  to  be  taken  as  the  test  of 
general  education  in  the  early  Middle  Ages,  than  a 
knowledge  of  Hebrew  or  of  Dogmatic  Theology 
would  be  to-day. 

If  further  confirmation  of  this  fact  were  sought, 
it  could  be  found  in  the  well-known  immunity  from 
the  secular  courts,  granted  to  all  clergymen,  and 
called  "  Benefit  of  Clergy,"  it  being  only  necessary 
to  show  one's  ability   to  read   and  write  to  prove 

Clergy,"  and  to  receive  the  immunity. 

The  clearest  idea  of  the  method  and  amount  of 

'  Einhard,  "Vita,"  ch.  xxv.  ^  Gibbon,  ch.  xlix. 


;28 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


instruction  given  under  Alcuin  at  this  palace 
school  may  be  gained  from  some  of  the  conversa- 
tions and  lessons  actually  in  use,  and  which  have 
come  down  to  us. 

Dr.  Mombert  has  given  us  most  interesting  ones 
in  his  very  valuable  work  on  Charles  the  Great, 
from  which  some  quotations  may  be  made.  "  An 
entertaining  specimen  of  catechetical  instruction, 
drawn  up  by  Alcuin  for  Pippin,  and,  presumably, 
others  of  his  more  youthful  hearers,  is  here  pre- 
sented. It  is  taken  from  '  The  Disputation  of  Pip- 
pin, the  most  noble  and  royal  youth,  with  Albinus 
[another  nickname  for  Alcuin],  the  pedagogue,'  and 
we  add,  that  Pippin  was  then  about  sixteen  years 
old. 


P.  What  is  writing  ? 

P.  What  is  speech  ? 

P.  What  produces  speech  ? 

P.  What  is  the  tongue  ? 

P.  What  is  air  ? 

P.  What  is  life  ? 


P.  What  is  death  ? 


P    What  is  man  ? 


P.  What  is  man  like  ? 
P.   How  is  man  placed? 

P.  Where  is  he  placed  ? 


A.  The  custodian  of  history. 

A.  The  interpreter  of  the  soul. 

A.  The  tongue. 

A.  The  whip  of  the  air. 

A.  The  guardian  of  life. 

A.  The  joy  of  the  good,  the  sor- 
row of  the  evil,  the  expec- 
tation of  death. 

A.  An  inevitable  event,  an  un- 
certain journey,  a  subject  of 
weeping  to  the  living,  the 
fulfilment  of  wills,  the  thief 
of  men. 

A.  The  slave  of  death,  a  tran- 
sient traveller,  a  host  in  his 
dwelling. 

A.  Like  a  fruit  tree. 

A.  Like  a  lantern  exposed  to  the 
wind. 

A.   Between  six  walls. 


Method  of  Instruction. 


329 


p.  Which  are  they  ?  A.  Above,    below,    before,     be- 

hind, right,  left. 

P.  To   how  many  changes  is  he 

liable?  A.  To  six. 

P.  Which  are  they  ?  A.  Hunger  and  satiety;  rest  and 

work  ;  walking  and  sleep- 
ing. 

P.  What  is  sleep  ?  A.  The  image  of  death. 

P.  What  is  the  liberty  of  man?    A.   Innocence. 

P.  What  is  the  head?  A.  The  top  of  the  body. 

P.  What  is  the  body  ?  A.   The  domicile  of  the  soul. 

"  Then  follow  twenty-six  questions  on  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  body,  of  which  a  few  may  suffice  : 
P.  What  is  the  beard  ? 

P.  What  is  the  mouth  ? 
P.  What  is  the  stomach  ? 
P.  What  are  the  feet  ? 


A.  The   distinction   of    sex,   the 

honor  of  age. 
A.  The  nourisher  of  the  body. 
A.  The  cook  of  food. 
A.  A  movable  foundation. 


"  From  a  number  of  questions  on  natural  science, 
we  select  these  : 


P.  What  is  light  ? 
P.  What  is  day  ? 
P.  What  is  the  sun  ? 


P.  What  is  the  moon  ? 

P.  What  are  the  stars  ? 

P.  What  is  rain  ? 

P.  What  is  fog  ? 


A.  The  torch  of  all  things. 

A.  An  incitement  to  work. 

A.  The  splendor  of  the  universe, 
the  beauty  of  the  sky,  the 
glory  of  day,  the  distribu- 
tor of  the  hours. 

A.  The  eye  of  night,  the  dis- 
penser of  dew,  the  prophet 
of  storms. 

A.  The  pictures  of  the  roofs 
of  the  heavens,  the  guides 
of  sailors,  the  ornament  of 
night. 

A.  The  reservoir  of  the  earth, 
the  mother  of  the  fruits. 

A.  Night  in  day  ;  a  labor  of  the 
eyes. 


330 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


p.  What  is  wind  ? 


P.  What  is  the  earth  ? 


P.  What  is  the  sea  ? 


P.  What  is  frost  ? 


P.  What  is  snow  ? 

P.  What  is  winter? 

P.  What  is  spring? 

P.  What  is  summer  ? 

P.  What  is  autumn  ? 


A.  The  disturbance  of  the  air, 
commotion  of  the  waters, 
the  dryness  of  the  earth. 

A.  The  mother  of  all  that  grows, 
the  nourisher  of  all  that 
lives,  the  barn  of  life,  an 
omnivorous  gulf. 

A.  The  path  of  the  daring,  the 
frontier  of  land,  the  divid- 
er of  continents,  the  hos- 
telry of  rivers,  the  founda- 
tion of  rain,  a  refuge  in 
peril,  a  treat  in  pleasure. 

A.  A  persecutor  of  plants,  a  de- 
stroyer of  leaves,  a  fetter 
of  earth,  a  fountain  of 
water. 

A.  Dry  water. 

A.  The  exile  of  summer. 

A.  The  painter  of  the  earth. 

A.  The  reclothing  of  the  earth, 
the  maturer  of  the  fruits. 

A.  The  barn  of  the  year. 


"  It  is  probable  that  dialogue  was  the  distinctive 
feature  of  Alcuin's  oral  teaching.  At  any  rate,  it 
characterized  his  instruction  of  the  king,  as  appears 
from  the  subjoined  example,  in  which  Charles  is 
introduced  as  pupil  and  Alcuin  as  his  teacher. 


Charles.  Proceed  now  with 
your  philosophic  definitions  of 
the  virtues,  and  first  of  all  de- 
fine virtue. 

Charles.  How  many  parts 
does  it  contain  ? 

Charles.  What  is  prudence? 


Alcuin.  Virtue  is  a  habit  of 
the  mind,  an  ornament  of  na- 
ture, a  rule  of  life,  and  an  en- 
nobler  of  manners. 

Alcuin.  Four  :  Prudence 
(wisdom),  justice,  fortitude, 
temperance. 

Alciiin.  The  knowledge  of 
things  and  nature. 


Charles  as  a  Picpil. 


331 


Charles.   How     many    parts 
does  it  contain  ? 

Charles.  Tell  me  their  defini- 
tions also. 


Charles.   Explain  the  nature 
of  justice. 


Charles.   Unfold     also      the 
parts  of  justice. 

Charles.   How  from    the  law 
of  nature  ? 


Charles.   Explain    this    more 
clearly,  and  one  by  one. 


Alcuin.  Three :  memory, 
intelligence,  and  foresight 
{providential). 

Alcuin.  Memory  is  the  pow- 
er of  the  mind  which  recalls 
the  past  ;  intelligence  is  the 
power  by  which  it  perceives 
the  present ;  foresight  is  the 
power  by  which  it  foresees 
something  future  before  it 
comes  to  pass. 

Alcuin.  Justice  is  the  habit  of 
the  mind  which  gives  to  every- 
thing the  merit  it  deserves  ;  it 
preserves  the  worship  of  God, 
the  laws  of  man,  and  the  equi- 
ties of  life. 

Alcuin.  They  spring  from 
the  law  of  nature,  and  the  uses 
of  custom. 

Alcuin.  Because  it  comprises 
certain  powers  of  nature,  such 
as  religion,  piety,  gratitude 
{gratia),  vindication,  observ- 
ance, and  truth. 

Alcuin.  Religion  is  the  care- 
ful pondering  of  things  per- 
taining to  God,  together  with 
the  ceremonial  due  to  him. 
Piety  is  the  loving  discharge 
of  what  is  due  to  kin  and  to 
one's  native  land  (/.  e.,  in  mod- 
ern phrase,  patriotism).  Grati- 
tude is  the  recollection  of  an- 
other's acts  of  friendship  and 
kindness,  and  the  disposition 
to  reward  them.  Vindication 
is  the  effectual  defence  of  what 
is  right,  and  the  effectual  pun- 
ishment or  avengement  of  in- 


332 


The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


Charles.   How  19  justice  sub- 
served by  the  use  of  custom  ? 

Charles.  I  ask  also  for  more 
information  on  these  points. 


jury  and  wrong.  Observance 
is  the  respectful  and  honorable 
recognition  of  the  dignity  of 
superiors.  Truth  is  the  power 
Avhereby  things  present,  past, 
and  future  are  declared. 

Alctiiu,  By  pact  or  agree- 
ment ;  by  parity,  i.e.,  equity, 
by  judgment  ;  and  by  law. 

Alciiin.  A  pact  is  an  agree- 
ment reached  by  mutual  con- 
sent. Parity  is  observing  equi- 
ty or  impartiality  to  all  men. 
Judgment  is  a  decision  ren- 
dered by  some  great  man,  or 
established  by  the  sentence  of 
a  plurality.  Law  is  right  set 
forth  for  the  whole  people, 
which  all  are  bound  to  guard 
and  observe. 


"  Thus  Charles  spoke  and  thought  ;  and  this  brief 
dialogue  both  marks  the  man  in  at  least  one  grand 
and  unusual  element  of  his  greatness,  and  to  some 
extent  sheds  light  on  at  least  one  prolific  source  of 
his  power. 

He  was  ever  learning,  and  fond  of  learning  ;  no 
subject  came  amiss  to  him  ;  everything,  from  the 
most  commonplace,  every-day  occurrence  to  the 
profoundest  philosophical  and  theological  inquiries, 
interested  him — the  price  of  commodities  ;  the  stock- 
ing and  planting  of  farms  ;  the  building  of  houses, 
churches,  palaces,  bridges,  fortresses,  ships,  and 
canals  ;  the  course  of  the  stars  ;  the  text  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  the  appointment  of  schools  ;  the  sallies 
of  wit  ;  the  hair-splitting  subtleties  of  metaphysics  ; 


Alcuins  Grammar.  333 


the  unknown  depths  of  theology  ;  the  origins  of  law  ; 
the  reason  of  usage  in  the  manner  and  life  of  the  na- 
tions ;  their  traditions  in  poetry,  legend,  and  song  ; 
the  mysterious  framework  of  liturgical  forms  ;  musi- 
cal notation  ;  the  Gregorian  chant  ;  the  etymology 
of  words  ;  the  study  of  languages  ;  the  flexion  of 
verbs,  and  many  more  topics."  ' 

In  the  life  of  Alcuin,  by  Lorenz,  is  to  be  found 
an  interesting  example  in  his  work  on  grammar. 
"  In  grammar  the  beginning  of  the  section  on  prepo- 
sitions may  serve  as  an  example.  To  the  question, 
*  What  is  a  preposition  ?  '  the  answer  is,  '  An  in- 
declinable part  of  speech.'  Here  an  accidental, 
outward  form  is  made  the  principal  characteristic, 
and  is  so  much  the  less  accurate  as  there  are  many 
other  words  besides  prepositions  which  are  inde- 
clinable. Equally  defective  is  the  reply  to  the  sec- 
ond question  on  the  use  of  prepositions.  '  They 
must  be  placed  before  other  parts  of  speech,  either 
by  being  compounded  with  or  united  to  them.'  A 
peculiarity  like  this  can  only  be  a  sign,  not  a  defini- 
tion, and  besides  this  explanation  excludes  all  the 
prepositions  that  are  placed  after  their  cases.  Al- 
cuin's  grammar  was  evidently  written  more  for  the 
memory  than  for  the  understanding."  ' 

The  study  of  Greek  at  that  time  seems  to  have 
held  about  the  same  relation  to  a  higher  education 
that  the  study  of  German  held  with  us  a  quarter  or 
a  half  a  century  ago.  There  was  a  great  deal  said 
about  Greek.     Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

'  Mombert,  pp.  244-251.     See  also  Guizot,  lecture  22. 
'  Lorenz,  pp.  25,  26. 


334  ^^^^  -^S^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

had  introduced  it  into  England,  and  it  was  taught  in 
the  schools  of  York,  so  that  Bede  is  led  to  say  that 
there  were  in  his  day  scholars  still  living  as  well 
versed  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongue  as  in  their 
own  ;  but  this  seems  to  have  been  a  very  notable 
feature  which,  by  the  words  "  still  living,"  could 
not  be  expected  to  be  true  very  long.  The  knowl- 
edge of  the  Greek  New  Testament  and  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint  was  kept  alive  for  a  while,  but  other  Greek 
books,  even  of  the  early  Christian  Fathers,  were 
very  scarce.  Nearly,  if  not  all  the  Greek  quota- 
tions in  Alcuin's  writings  are  taken  not,  as  might 
appear,  from  the  original,  but  from  the  works  of 
St.  Jerome.  When  Alcuin  stepped  beyond  this 
limit  he  showed  how  little  he  really  knew  about 
Greek.'  As  to  his  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
Haureau  says  :  "  There  is  no  evidence  that  he 
studied  Hebrew,  since  the  Hebrew  to  be  found  in 
his  commentaries  on  Genesis  and  on  Ecclesiastes 
is  taken  directly  from  Jerome.  He  knew  some 
Greek,  as  one  of  his  letters  to  Angilbert  testifies, 
but  if  he  had  understood  this  language  perfectly, 
would  he  not  have  reproduced  with  more  exactness 
the  Greek  names  of  the  Ten  Categories  ?  But  why 
should  we  stop  to  conjecture,  and  thus  make  obscure 
what  is  very  plain  ?  Alcuin  had  some  glosses  of 
Boethius,  the  abridgments  of  Cassiodorius,  and  of 
Isidore  of  Seville,  and  a  poetic  manual  of  Martianus 
Capella.  There  is  nothing  in  his  treatise  on  Dialec- 
tic which  is  not  found  in  these  writings,  and  in  the 

'  Mullinger,  on  page  80,  has   pointed   out   some  very  amusing 
but  egregious  blunders. 


Alcuins  Greek.  335 

treatise  on  the  Ten  Categories.  He  has  made  only 
an  abridgment  of  other  abridgments."*  His  re- 
marks on  the  nature  of  the  soul  in  different  places 
of  his  works  are  always  in  the  same  terms,  and  are 
taken  from  Augustine's  sixty-third  sermon  on  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  Again,  from  his  treatise,  "  De 
Ratione  Animae,"  his  remarks  on  the  origin  of  ideas, 
on  memory,  and  on  imagination  are  taken  directly 
from  the  eleventh  book  of  Augustine  on  the  Trin- 
ity, and  from  his  letter  to  Consentius."  On  a  closer 
examination  Mullinger  has  shown  very  plainly  that 
the  boasted  letter  to  Angilbert  contained  no  more 
Greek  than  is  furnished  by  Jerome.  Mullinger's 
remark  that  "  the  younger  members  of  the  palace 
school  seem  to  have  required  to  be  at  once  in- 
structed and  amused,  much  after  the  way  that  would 
now  seem  well  adapted  to  a  night  school  of  Somer- 
setshire rustics,  while  Alcuin's  knowledge  of  Greek 
can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  exceeded  that  of 
an  intelligent  schoolboy  well  on  in  his  First  Delec- 
tus," '  seems  rather  severe,  but  cannot  be  far  from 
the  truth.  We  must  remember,  however,  that 
Alcuin  not  only  was  laboring  under  the  disadvan- 
tage of  scarcity  of  material  and  of  immaturity  in  his 
pupils,  but  was  further  hampered  and  confined  by 
the  traditions  of  the  church.  The  art  of  grammar 
had  been  regarded  as  not  only  teaching  to  read  and 
to  write  correctly,  but  also  to  understand  and  to 
prove  clearly,  and  in  carrying  out  this  conception 
the  classical  authors  were  of  great  importance  ;   but 

'  Haureau,  vol.  i.,  p.  105.  '■'  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  103,  104. 

'  Mullinger,  p.  83. 


2,2,^  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

from  the  time  of  Gregory  the  Great  the  study  had 
dwindled  to  the  most  technical  knowledge  of  the 
Latin  language.  This  led  to  Gregory's  own  words 
expressing  concern  that  the  archbishop  of  Vienne, 
who  was  giving  instruction  in  conformity  with  the 
larger  conception,  could  give  instruction  in  gram- 
mar, inasmuch  as  the  praises  of  Christ  cannot  be 
uttered  by  the  same  tongue  as  those  of  Jove.  In 
regard  to  dialectic,  still  greater  aversion  was  felt 
and  manifested,  largely  on  account  of  the  use  made 
of  it  in  arguments  against  Christianity.  True,  as 
we  have  seen,  it  began  to  creep  into  the  church 
from  Porphyry  and  Boethius,  and  so  on  through 
Cassiodorius  and  Isidore,  but  the  form  was  so  shriv- 
elled and  distorted  as  to  be  almost  unrecognizable. 
Both  dialectic  and  rhetoric  were  comprised  under 
the  head  of  logic,  and  Alcuin  reproduced  the  same 
arbitrary  classification.  When  we  come  to  external 
nature  or  the  study  of  anything  like  science,  as  pre- 
sented in  the  Quadrivium,  the  weakness  and  lack 
are  almost  pitiable.  In  arithmetic  the  treatment  is 
largely  mystical,  fancies  and  whims  of  the  imagina- 
tion being  identified  with  the  various  numbers.* 
In  astronomy,  fancy  or  arbitrary  hypothesis  sup- 
plied the  place  of  observation."  °  As  a  theologian, 
however,  Alcuin  ranked  very  high,  and  his  attain- 
ments seemed  to  be  more  truly  deserved.  The 
famous  Caroline  books  against  image  worship  have 
been   connected  with  his  name,   and  in   the  main 

'  Lorenz,  pp.  32-37,  "  Even  arithmetic  first  derived   its  title  to 
be  considered  a  science  from  its  adaptation  to  theology." 
'  MuUinger,  p.  88. 


Lack  of  Originality.  337 

were  probably  his  work.  The  declaration  at  the 
Synod  of  Frankfort,  in  794,  closed  with  the  state- 
ment :  "  The  holy  synod  itself  was  reminded  that 
it  should  deem  it  meet  to  receive  Alcuin  to  partici- 
pation in  its  discussions  and  decisions,  because  he 
was  a  man  learned  in  ecclesiastical  doctrine,  and 
the  whole  synod  consented  to  the  admonition  of  the 
lord  king,  and  received  him  into  full  association  with 
them.'" 

But  originality  was  noticed  only  to  be  condemned 
in  the  theology  of  that  age,  and  Alcuin  was  the 
most  perfect  representative  of  the  theology  of  his 
time — orthodox  but  timid,  repeating  what  he  found 
in  accredited  books  rather  than  trying  to  present 
ideas.  His  statements  and  positions  are  admirable 
as  a  summary,  but  he  is  a  pedagogue  rather  than  a 
scholar.  There  is  no  evidence  of  advance  or  devel- 
opment in  his  conception.  His  influence  in  the 
Carolingian  schools  is  especially  discernible  in  the 
manner  in  which  he  perpetuated  and  enhanced  the 
authority  of  the  fathers.  His  commentaries  are 
little  more  than  reproductions  of  Ambrose,  Augus- 
tine, Jerome,  Chrysostom,  Gregory  and  Bede. 

The  larger  influence  of  Alcuin  is  seen  when,  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  Saxon  v/ar  by  the  submission 
of  Wittikind,  in  785,  a  seven  years'  peace  ensued, 
broken  only  by  a  few  minor  campaigns— Brittany 
in  786  ;  Benevento  in  787  ;  Bavaria  in  788,  and 
against  the  Welatabrians  in  789.  In  787  Charles 
issued  his  famous  letter,  "  De  Litteris  Colendis. " 
Ampere  calls  this  the  "  charter  of  modern  thought, 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  78. 


338  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

from  which  dates  the  birth  of  an  intellectual  move- 
ment which  still  survives,"  *  and  it  surely  may  be 
considered  as  perhaps  the  most  important  docu- 
ment of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Among  the  most  glaring  deficiencies  resulting 
from  the  state  of  things  which  the  king  sought  to 
remedy  was  the  number  of  incorrectly  transcribed 
copies  of  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  breviaries  and 
homilies  scattered  throughout  the  realm.  Along 
with  the  decline  of  learning,  the  monastic  libraries 
had  suffered  greatly  from  neglect,  while  the  loss  of 
papyrus,  owing  to  the  occupation  of  Egypt  by  the 
Saracens,  had  largely  increased  the  costliness  of  the 
material.  The  letter  is  addressed  to  Baugulf,  who 
was  abbot  of  Fulda  from  780  to  782.  Charles  de- 
clared that  he,  together  with  his  counsellors,  re- 
garded it  as  advantageous  that  the  cathedrals  and 
monasteries  should  be  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
letters  and  apt  to  teach,  to  accomplish  which  he 
orders  that  men  be  chosen  for  this  work  who  have 
the  will,  the  capacity,  and  the  desire  of  teaching 
others.^  Similar  orders  were  given  in  the  "  General 
Admonition"  of  789.^ 

The  next  royal  instructions  on  the  subject  were 
contained  in  a  circular  letter  on  the  occasion  of  send- 
ing around  to  the  churches  a  homalary,  or  collection 
of  sermons,  made  by  Paulus  Diaconus.  He  de- 
clares :  "  We  have  endeavored  to  make  up  for  the 
inactivity  of  our  fathers  by  the  earnest  study  of 

'  Ampere,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  25,  27. 
"  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  78,  79. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  60,  Admon.  Gen.,  c.  72,  "  Schools  in  each  cathedral 
and  monastery." 


Alcuins  Difficulties.  339 

letters,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  by  our  example,  to 
encourage  the  study  of  the  liberal  arts.  Already 
the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  cor- 
rupted through  the  negligence  of  copyists,  we,  too, 
have  carefully  corrected.  We  have  made  the  same 
efforts  and  endeavors  to  correct  the  errors  in  the 
lessons  for  the  various  services,  and  we  have  en- 
joined that  the  work  of  Paulus  Diaconus  should  be 
distributed  and  read,  so  that  the  sayings  of  the 
Catholic  fathers  may  be  carefully  studied  and  well 
known."' 

Although  the  position  of  Alcuin  was  a  most  hon- 
orable one,  and  he  received  from  the  king  every 
favor  and  support,  it  was  no  easy  task  to  be  the  uni- 
versal instructor  of  the  whole  kingdom.  It  was  no 
wonder  that  he  sometimes  found  it  hard  to  satisfy 
the  insatiable  curiosity  of  the  king,  or  that,  pressed 
beyond  his  powers,  he  was  driven  sometimes  into 
confused  or  self-contradictory  statements.  "  A 
horse,"  he  says,  "  which  has  four  legs  often  stum- 
bles ;  how  much  more  must  man,  who  has  but  one 
tongue,  often  trip  in  speech  !"  '  Furthermore,  the 
school  was  frequently  on  the  move  to  one  or  an- 
other of  the  royal  residences,  while  other  more  seri- 
ous interruptions  came  in  the  shape  of  wars,  politi- 
cal affairs,  and  the  excitements  of  court  life. 

Alcuin  revisited  England  in  790,  and  attended  the 
council  at  Frankfort  in  794  as  "  a  delegate  from 
Britain."'  The  relations  between  England  and 
the  Frankish  Kingdom  were  growing  more  strained, 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  80,  81.  *  Migne,  vol.  c;  Ep.  84. 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  78,  note  59. 


340  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  the  court  of  Charles  too  often  served  as  a  ref- 
uge for  English  outlaws.  War  seemed  on  the  point 
of  breaking  out  between  Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  and 
Charles,  when  the  return  of  Alcuin  restored  har- 
mony, or  at  any  rate  averted  war.  In  796,  a  short 
time  after  Alcuin's  return,  he  was  presented  to  the 
abbacy  of  Tours,  and  a  new  career  opened  before 
him,  Theodulf  succeeding  him  in  the  more  general 
oversight  of  education.  The  Abbey  of  Tours 
offered  one  of  the  highest  positions  in  the  church. 
It  was  the  wealthiest  in  the  kingdom,  and,  by  the 
possession  of  relics  of  St.  Martin,  second  only  to 
Rome  as  a  centre  of  devoted  pilgrimage  and  of  re- 
ligious enthusiasm.  Here  he  established  a  school 
for  the  training  of  young  monks.  His  first  aim 
being  to  provide  them  with  a  good  library,  he 
begged  Charles  to  allow  him  to  send  to  England 
some  of  his  young  scholars,  "  that  they  might  bring 
back  to  Frankland  the  flowers  of  Britain,  so  that 
these  might  diffuse  their  fragrance  and  display  their 
colors  at  Tours  as  well  as  at  York. "  "  In  the  morn- 
ing of  my  life,"  he  said,  "  I  sowed  in  Britain,  but 
now  in  the  evening  of  that  life,  when  my  blood  be- 
gins to  chill,  I  cease  not  to  sow  in  Frankland,  earn- 
estly praying  that  by  God's  grace  the  seeds  may 
spring  up  in  both  countries."  ' 

It  is  well  that  he  did.  Civil  strife  and  discord 
were  devastating  the  North,  and  the  Danes  were 
already  appearing  on  the  shores  of  that  fair  land 
where  Biscop,  Theodore,  Bede,  and  Alcuin  had 
labored  so  hard  to  establish  learning  and  education. 
*  Migne,  vol.  c. ,  p.  20S  ;  Ep.  43. 


Alciiin  as  Abbot  of  Tours.  341 

Soon  those  centres  of  v/isdom  would  be  pillaged  and 
destroyed  by  the  blasphemous  hands  of  ignorant 
barbarians.  Had  not  the  Northumbrian  learning 
been  brought  in  the  person  of  Alcuin  to  the  court 
of  Charles,  it  must  have  perished  utterly  in  the 
Danish  invasions  of  the  ninth  century. 

Alcuin 's  greatest  work  was  done  as  abbot  of 
Tours.  Freed  from  the  conventionalities  and  dis- 
tractions of  the  court,  he  could  carry  out  in  his 
monastery  his  ideas  and  principles  of  education,  and 
devote  himself  without  opposition  to  his  work. 
The  narrowness  which  had  already  shown  itself  in 
his  close  following  of  Gregory  the  Great  and  Bede, 
became  now  still  more  apparent.  St.  Martin's 
school  had  long  been  famous  as  the  chief  centre  for 
the  education  of  the  clergy,  and  Alcuin  took  up  the 
work  with  zeal  and  ability.  Science  and  the  classics 
found  little  place  here,  and  severer  rules  than  could 
have  been  enforced  in  the  palace  schools  restricted 
the  monks,  especially  the  younger  ones,  to  more 
technically  sacred  studies.  An  incident  from  the 
biography  of  Alcuin  at  this  period  will  illustrate 
this  fact.  Sigulf,  with  two  younger  monks,  Aldricus 
and  Adalbert,  afterward  abbot  of  Ferrieres,  began 
the  study  of  Virgil,  although  it  had  been  forbidden. 

The  sacred  poets,"  said  the  abbot,  "  are  enough 
for  you.  You  do  not  need  to  sully  your  minds  in 
the  rank  luxuriance  of  Virgil's  verse."  For  some 
time  Alcuin  remained  in  ignorance  of  v/hat  was 
going  on,  but  at  last  he  discovered  it  and  sent  for 
Sigulf.  "  How  is  this,  Virgilian,  that  without  my 
knowledge,  contrary  to  my  direct  command,   thou 


342  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

hast  begun  to  study  Virgil  ?"  He  then  and  there 
secured  a  promise  that  the  objectionable  poet 
should  be  studied  no  more,  and  dismissed  the  monk 
with  a  severe  reprimand. 

However,  from  all  sides  students  flocked  to  the 
school  at  Tours,  many  from  England  being  espe- 
cially welcomed,  and  attaining  positions  of  great 
honor.  Thus  Alcuin's  greatest  work  was  done,  not 
in  the  teaching  of  princes,  but  in  the  training  of 
teachers.  Many  of  the  great  names  mentioned  in 
the  cause  of  learning  in  the  ninth  century  were  of 
those  who  studied  under  Alcuin  at  Tours. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

IRISH  LEARNING  — ST.  PATRICK  —  COLUMBANUS — 
IRISH  MISSIONS  AND  MONASTERIES  ON  THE 
CONTINENT— IRISH  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  COURT 
OF  CHARLES— OPPOSITION  OF  ALCUIN— DEATH 
OF   ALCUIN. 

UT  new  influences  were  at  work  in  the 
kingdom  of  Charles,  and  new  methods 
and  principles  of  learning  and  of  educa- 
tion were  being  introduced.  The  great 
missionary  work  of  the  English  Boniface, 
which  had  been  carried  on  with  such  success  under 
Charles  Martel  and  Pippin,  had  served  to  spread  not 
only  Christianity,  but  the  influence  of  the  Roman 
spirit  and  the  rule  of  Benedict,  and  thus  in  a  great 
measure  had  prepared  the  way  for  Alcuin.  His 
great  success  threatened  to  hide  from  view  the 
labors  of  another  line  of  workers  gifted  with  another 
kind  of  spirit. 

By  the  efforts  of  one  of  the  most  noted  saints  and 
missionaries  of  the  Christian  Church,  St.  Patrick, 
monasteries  and  schools  had  been  spread  over  Ire- 
land, until  it  gained  the  name  it  has  since  borne  in 
history,  "  The  Island  of  the  Saints."     Persecuted 

343 


344  ^^^^  ^'^£'^  ^/  Charlemagne. 

by  one  of  the  petty  kings,  whose  morals  he  had  en- 
deavored to  correct,  Columba,  St.  Patrick's  suc- 
cessor, had,  in  565,  taken  refuge  in  the  island  of 
lona,  where  he  built  a  monastery,  which  soon  be- 
came celebrated,  both  as  a  centre  of  great  and  suc- 
cessful missionary  efforts  among  the  Picts,  the  in- 
habitants of  what  is  now  known  as  Scotland,  and  as 
a  source  of  Christian  light  and  learning.  Columba 
died  in  lona  in  the  very  year  in  which  Augustine, 
missionary  from  the  pope  of  P.ome,  set  foot  on  the 
island  of  Thanet,  on  the  southern  shores  of  Britain. 
In  these  monasteries  and  schools,  far  in  the  North 
and  West,  there  was  kindled  and  burned  brightly  a 
light  of  Christian  zeal  and  learning,  which  had  been 
lighted  from  other  flames  than  those  of  Rome,  and 
which  reflected  more  of  the  glory  of  the  Greek  spirit 
of  the  East. 

Far  removed  from  the  turmoil  of  the  great  inva- 
sions on  the  Continent  the  light  burned  steadily  on, 
cut  off  by  the  conquest  of  the  Saxons  in  the  fifth 
century  from  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  great 
church  of  the  West.  Not  content,  however,  to  re- 
main thus  isolated  and  inactive,  though  powerless 
to  reach  the  fierce  Saxon  hordes,  by  whom  their 
Christian  brethren  had  been  ruthlessly  put  to  death 
or  driven  westward  to  the  mountains,  they  looked 
beyond,  across  the  sea,  for  the  fields  white  for  the 
harvest.  Fridolin  was  the  first  Celtic  missionary  to 
cross  the  Channel,  about  the  year  500,  laboring  in 
Aquitania  among  the  Arian  Visigoths,  continuing 
under  the  protection  of  Clovis  after  the  conquest  by 
the   Franks   in    507.     He  labored  also  among  the 


Celtic  Missionaries.  345 

Alemanni,  but  little  definite  information  regarding 
his  work  has  come  down  to  us. 

Another  Irish  monk,  Columbanus,  born  in  543, 
trained  in  the  monastery  of  Bangor,  in  the  Province 
of  Ulster,  educated  in  the  highest  studies  in  classi- 
cal as  well  as  in  sacred  learning,  crossed  over  to 
Gaul  in  the  year  590,  and,  where  Christianity  had 
suffered  most,  began  to  plant  monasteries,  the  seeds 
of  Christian  life,  learning  and  civilization.  As  the 
result  of  his  life  of  labor  and  of  sacrifice  he  left  as 
monuments  of  his  devotion  three  great  monasteries 
— the  first,  at  Anegrey,  built  in  the  forest  of  the 
Vosges  on  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle  ;  the  sec- 
ond, Luxeuil,  on  the  southeastern  frontier  of  Aus- 
trasia,  already  famous  for  its  learning  in  the  seventh 
century,  when  learning  among  the  Franks  was  well- 
nigh  dead  ;  and  the  third  at  Bobbio,  near  Parma, 
in  Italy,  by  permission  of  the  Lombard  king, 
Agilulf.  Here  he  died  in  615.  His  ablest  follower 
founded  in  Alemannia  the  justly  famous  monastery 
named  for  him,  St.  Gall.  These  labors  not  only 
sprang  from  different  sources,  but  were  of  a  very 
different  character  from  those  we  have  just  been 
considering,  and  these  differences  are  of  great  im- 
portance in  history,  and  at  one  time  gave  promise 
of  still  greater  importance.  They  require  brief  con- 
sideration. 

In  the  early  centuries  the  union  between  the  Brit- 
ish and  Irish  churches  and  the  Church  of  Gaul  had 
been  quite  close,  and,  as  is  well  known,  Christianity 
had  been  brought  to  Gaul  from  the  East,  especially 
from    Asia    Minor.      But    all   intercourse   with    the 


346  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Continent  had  been  broken  off  by  the  Saxon  con- 
quest of  Britain,  and  when  once  more  the  Celtic 
Church  came  face  to  face  with  Continental  Chris- 
tianity, either  in  the  courts  of  English  kings,  con- 
verted by  missionaries  from  Rome,  or  in  the  course 
of  their  own  missionary  exploits  among  the  German 
tribes,  important  differences  appeared.  These  clearly 
showed  themselves  in  the  reckoning  of  Easter,  the 
form  of  the  tonsure,  the  consecration  of  a  bishop, 
the  baptism  of  children,  the  absence  of  required 
celibacy,  and  in  a  peculiar  liturgy  and  a  different 
system  of  monastic  rules.*  Of  still  more  signifi- 
cance, however,  was  the  fact  that  since  the  con- 
demnation of  the  "  Three  Chapters"  there  had  arisen 
a  great  mistrust  of  Roman  orthodoxy.  Pelagius  I. 
had  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  Fifth  Coun- 
cil, but  this  led  to  a  tedious  schism  between  several 
Western  churches  and  Rome,"  inasmuch  as  for  a 
long  time  in  the  Western  Church  the  rejection  of 
the  "  Three  Chapters"  was  considered  a  violation  of 
orthodoxy,  and  on  this  account  the  bishops  of  Italy 
broke  off  their  communion  with  Rome.  The 
bishops  of  Milan  and  Ravenna  were  reconciled,  in- 
deed, when,  oppressed  by  the  Arian  Lombards, 
they  were  compelled  to  set  a  greater  value  on  com- 
munion with  the  Catholic  Church,  but  the  arch- 
bishop of  Aquileia,  who  since  the  conquest  of  Italy 
by  the  Lombards  had  resided  on  the  island  of  Grado, 
and  the  Istrian  bishops  were  more  obstinate,  and 
did  not  renew  their  fellowship  with  Rome  until  the 
year  698.  These  "  Three  Chapters,"  as  they  were 
*  Gieseler,  vol.  1.,  p.  530.  "  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  481. 


Columbanus.  347 


called,  were  the  writings  of  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia, 
Theodoret's  writings  against  Cyril,  and  the  letter 
of  Ibas  to  Maris,  the  two  latter  having  been  ex- 
pressly pronounced  orthodox  by  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon."  Indeed,  the  decisions  of  the  Council 
of  Chalcedon  were  regarded  by  the  Egyptian  party 
as  completely  Nestorian/  All  these  differences 
had  been  settled  as  far  as  England  was  concerned 
at  the  Council  of  Whitby,  in  664,  in  favor  of  the 
customs  and  beliefs  upheld  by  Rome,  but  the 
work  of  Columbanus  and  his  companions  on  the 
Continent  revived  the  question.  Columbanus  had 
already  come  into  conflict  with  the  Prankish  bish- 
ops regarding  the  time  of  the  celebration  at  Easter 
while  at  Luxeuil.  "  True,"  he  said,  "  the  diver- 
sity of  customs  and  traditions  has  greatly  disturbed 
the  peace  of  the  church,  but  if  we  only  strive  in 
humility  to  follow  the  example  of  our  Lord,  we 
shall  next  acquire  the  power  of  mutually  loving  each 
other  as  true  disciples  of  Christ,  with  all  the  heart 
and  without  taking  offence  at  each  other's  failings, 
and  soon  men  would  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  way  if  they  sought  the  truth  with  equal  zeal, 
and  none  were  inclined  to  borrow  too  much  from 
self,  and  each  sought  his  glory  only  in  the  Lord. 
One  thing  I  beg  of  you,  that  since  I  am  the  cause 
of  this  difference,  and  I  came  for  the  sake  of  our 
common  Lord  and  Saviour  as  a  stranger  into  this 
land,  I  may  be  allowed  to  live  silently  in  these  for- 
ests near  the  bones  of  our  seventeen  brethren,  as  I 
have  been  permitted  to  live  twelve  years  among 
'  Gieseler,  vol.  i.,  p.  479.  "^  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  359,  note  66. 


348  The  Age  of  CJiarleinagnc. 

you  already,  that  so  as  in  duty  bound  we  may  pray 
for  you  as  hitherto  we  have  done.  May  Gaul  em- 
brace us  all  at  once  as  the  kingdom  of  heaven  will 
embrace  us  if  we  shall  be  found  worthy  of  it."  ' 
From  Bobbio  he  wrote  to  the  pope  himself,  show- 
ing how  he  had  been  impressed  by  the  power  and 
majesty  of  Rome.  He  pronounced  her  the  mis- 
tress, and  speaks  in  the  higliest  terms  of  her  author- 
ity, especially  on  the  ground  that  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul  had  taught  there  and  honored  it  by  their  mar- 
tyrdom. But  he  places  the  Church  of  Jerusalem 
for  similar  reasons  in  a  still  higher  rank,''  and  he  ad- 
monished the  Roman  Church,  and  declared  that  her 
power  would  remain  with  her  only  so  long  as  she 
guarded  the  truth,  and  that  only  he  was  the  true 
key-bearer  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  who  by  true 
knowledge  opened  the  door  for  the  worthy  and  shut 
it  upon  the  unworthy.  He  warned  the  Roman 
Church  against  setting  up  any  arrogant  claims,  on 
the  ground  that  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
were  given  to  St.  Peter,  since  they  could  have  no 
force  in  opposition  to  the  faith  of  the  universal 
church.^  This  was  plain  speaking  on  the  part  of  an 
Irish  monk,  and  showed  a  deeper  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Greek  theology  than  with  the  Roman 
external  economy  of  a  visible  organization;  while 
in  the  three  great  monasteries  that  marked  the 
route  of  St.  Columban's  apostolate — Luxeuil,  St. 
Gall,  and  Bobbio — numerous  manuscripts  of  Origen 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  32,  33. 

'  Roma  orbis  terrarum  caput  est  ecclesiarutn  salva  loci  doiriini- 
cus  resurrectonis  singular!  piferogativa. 
^  Neander,  vol,  iii.,  p.  35. 


Irish   Theology  and  Learning.         349 

and  other  Greek  fathers,  written  in  the  elegant  Irish 
character,  long  remained  to  attest  the  more  inquir- 
ing spirit  in  which  the  studies  of  their  communities 
were  pursued.  Other  differences  of  a  more  specific 
character  excited  the  jealousy  and  distrust  of  the 
Latin  clergy.  The  Irish  theologian  did  not  concur 
in  their  condemnation  and  neglect  of  classical  litera- 
ture. He  was  not  infrequently  acquainted  to  some 
extent  with  Greek.  He  used  the  Latin  version  of 
the  New  Testament  that  was  not  the  Vulgate,  and 
claimed  to  be  anterior  to  Jerome.  His  text-book  of 
elementary  instruction  was  more  often  than  not  the 
dangerously  speculative  treatise  Martianus  Capella." 

The  scholars  of  Ireland  were  probably  not  un- 
known to  Charles.  Einhard  speaks  of  the  rich  gifts 
to  Irish  kings,  which  bound  them  to  the  king  of  the 
Franks,  so  that  they  called  him  their  lord  and  them- 
selves his  slaves.*  When,  therefore,  some  of  them, 
Clement  of  Ireland  and  his  companions,  presented 
themselves  at  the  court,  they  were  cordially  wel- 
comed and  received,  and  Clement  afterwards  was 
made  head  of  the  palace  school.  Their  presence 
soon  made  itself  felt  in  the  questioning  by  the  king 
of  some  of  the  teachings  of  Alcuin.  Letters  were 
sent  to  the  former  teacher  at  Tours,  to  which  Alcuin 
replied,  bewaihng  the  fact  that  the  school  of  the 
Egyptians  had  gained  an  entrance  into  David's 
glorious  palace.     "  When  I  went  away,"  he  wrote, 

I  left  the  Latins  there,  and  I  know  not  who  intro- 
duced the  Egyptians."     Theodulf,  v/ho   had  been 

'  MuUinger,  pp.  ii3,  119. 

'  Einhard,  "Vita  Karoli,"  ch.  xvi. 


350  The  Age  of  CJiarlemagne. 

made  bishop  of  Orleans,  also  inveighed  against  the 
Irish  school  of  theology.     The  Irish  theologian  he 
calls  a  lawless  thing,   a  deadly  foe,   a  dull  horror, 
a  malignant  pest,  one  who,  though  versed  in  many 
subjects,    knows   nothing  as   certain  and  true,   and 
even   any  subject  of  which  he  is   ignorant   fancies 
himself  omniscient.'     Charles  was  not  looking  for 
authority,    however,    but   for  truth,    and   the    Irish 
school  gained  and  held  a  place  in  the  palace  school 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  ninth  century.     But  the 
work  of  Alcuin  was  not  all  done  nor  all  forgotten. 
Once  more  he  was  summoned  to  a  doctrinal  contest, 
and  by  his  theological  learning  and  undoubted  skill 
he  refuted  Felix,  bishop  of  Urgel,  and  won  a  brill- 
iant triumph  over  the  Adoptianists.      He  lived  to 
congratulate    Charles   on    his  accession    to  the  im- 
perial dignity,  and  becoming  ill  in  the  spring  of  804, 
in  accordance  with  his  strong  desire  to  live  until 
Pentecost,   he  died   on  the  morning  of  that  great 
festival.   May   19th,  804.     MuUinger  thus  sums  up 
his  services  :  "  A  sense  of  the  signal  service  rendered 
by  Alcuin  to  his  age,  in  days  when  learning  strove 
but  feebly  and  ineffectually  amid  the  clang  of  arms 
and   the   rude   instincts  of  a   semi-barbarous   race, 
must  not  lead  us  to  exaggerate  his  merits  or  his 
powers.     On  a  dispassionate  and   candid  scrutiny, 
his  views  and  aims  will  scarcely  appear  loftier  than 
his  time.     By  the  side  of  the  imperial  conceptions 
of  Charles,  so  bold,  so  original,  so  comprehensive, 
his  tame  adherence  to  traditions,  his  timid  mistrust 
of  pagan  learning,  dwarf  him  almost  to  littleness. 
'  Migne,  vol.  cv.,  p.  322. 


Final  Estimate  of  Alcuin.  351 

No  noble  superiority  to  the  superstitions  of  his  age 
stamps  him  Hke  Agobard  a  master  spirit.  No  hero- 
ism of  self-devotion  like  that  of  a  Columbanus  or  of 
a  Boniface  bears  aloft  his  memory  to  a  region  which 
detraction  cannot  reach.  He  reared  no  classic 
monument  of  historic  genius  like  that  of  Einhard, 
he  penned  no  stanzas  like  those  of  Theodulf, 
'  Gloria  Laus  et  Honor  Tibi,'  to  waft  from  century 
to  century  the  burden  of  the  Christian  hope  until 
lost  in  the  clamor  of  the  Marseillaise.' 

"  Yet  let  us  not  withhold  the  tribute  that  is  his 
due.  He  loved  the  temple  of  the  muses,  and  was 
at  once  their  high  priest  and  their  apostle  in  the 
days  when  the  worshippers  at  their  shrines  were 
few.  He  upheld  the  faith  with  vigor  and  ability 
against  its  foes,  and  amid  the  temptations  of  a  licen- 
tious court  bore  witness  to  its  elevating  power  with 
the  eloquent,  though  unuttered  testimony  of  an  up- 
right and  blameless  life.  He  mediated  between  the 
two  greatest  princes  of  the  West,  and  the  blessing 
promised  the  peacemakers  was  his.  He  watched 
with  a  father's  care  over  a  band  of  illustrious  dis- 
ciples, who  repaid  him  by  a  loving  obedience  while 
he  lived,  and  by  a  faithful  adherence  to  his  teach- 
ings when  he  was  gone.  And  when,  on  the  morning 
of  Pentecost,  his  spirit  passed  away,  it  was  felt  that 
a  light  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  church,  and 
that  a  wise  teacher  of  Israel  was  dead."  ' 

'  This  hymn,  "  Gloria,"  was  sung  in  France  on   Palm  Sunday 
each  year  until  the  Revolution. 
*  Mullinger,  pp.  126,  127. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LARGER  DEVELOPMENT  UNDER  LOUIS  THE  PIOUS — 
THE  SCHOLARS  OF  FULDA — RABANUS  MAURUS 
AND  SERVATUS  LUPUS — THE  GREAT  REFORM- 
ERS—AGOBARD  OF  LYONS  AND  CLAUDIUS  OF 
TURIN  —  PASCHASIUS  RADBERTUS  AND  THE 
DOCTRINE  OF  TRANSUBSTANTIATION  —  JOHN 
SCOTUS  ERIGENA  —  GOTTSCHALK  AND  THE 
PREDESTINATION   CONTROVERSY. 

HE  schools  which  Charles  had  founded 
multiplied  and  attained  a  greater  glory 
in  the  reign  of  his  sons  and  successors. 
Milman  speaks  of  the  acts  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  817  as  among  the  boldest  and  most 
comprehensive  ever  submitted  to  a  great  national 
assembly.  The  rule  of  Chrodegang  was  made  to 
apply  to  the  entire  church,  and  the  whole  discipline 
of  monastic  life  was  defined  with  increasing  strict- 
ness. Louis  the  Pious  had  ordered  the  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Lingua  Teudisca,  and  the 
national  dialects  of  Neustria  and  Austrasia  were 
already  developing  into  distinct  languages. 

Accordingly  the  episcopal  schools  became  more 
prominent  and  distinct  from  those  of  the  monas- 

352 


12§ 


A   Cathedral  School.  353 

teries,  which  began  to  be  attended  exclusively  by 
the  monks.  These  schools  were  attached  to  the 
cathedrals  for  boys  destined  to  become  priests,  and 
were  confided  to  the  care  of  one  of  the  canons  called 
Scholasticus.  MuUinger  thus  describes  one  ;  "  We 
may  picture  to  ourselves  a  group  of  lads  seated  on 
the  floor,  which  was  strewn  with  clean  straw,  their 
waxen  tablets  in  their  hands,  and  busily  engaged  in 
writing  down  the  words  read  by  the  '  scholasticus  ' 
from  his  manuscript  volume.  So  rarely  did  the 
pupil  in  those  days  gain  access  to  a  book  that  '  to 
read  '  ilegcre)  became  synonymous  with  '  to  teach.' 
The  scholars  traced  the  words  upon  their  tablets, 
and  afterwards,  when  their  notes  had  been  corrected 
by  the  master,  transferred  them  to  a  little  parch- 
ment volume,  the  treasured  depository  with  many 
of  nearly  all  the  learning  they  managed  to  acquire 
in  life,  '  because,'  says  Rabanus  Maurus,  *  whatever 
the  master  taught  me  orally  I  committed  it  all  to 
written  pages,  lest  an  uncertain  mind  should  lose 
it.'  '" 

In  the  ninth  century,  however,  only  two  centres 
of  church  education  in  the  Frankish  territory  stood 
forth  as  examples  of  the  higher  culture^one  at 
Orleans,  under  Theodulf,  and  the  other  at  Rheims. 
The  latter,  under  Hincmar  and  his  successors,  claims 
the  proud  distinction  of  having  preserved  in  this 
century  that  tradition  of  learning  which  linked  the 
episcopal  schools  with  the  University  of  Paris,  but 

'  Me  quia  qusecumque  docuerunt  ore  magistri,  ne  vaga  mens 
perdat  cuncta  dedi  foliis,  Migne,  vol.  cxii.,  p.  1600  ;  Mullinger, 
p.  130. 

Vv' 


354  ^'^^  ^^^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

throughout  the  ninth  century,  and,  indeed,  for  the 
four  centuries  preceding  the  reign  of  Phihp  Augus- 
tus, the  work  of  the  episcopal  schools  was  naturally 
quite  eclipsed  by  that  of  the  monasteries — Corbie, 
St.  Riquies,  St.  Martin  of  Metz,  St.  Bertin,  Fer- 
rieres  and  others,  but  Tours  already  had  begun  to 
decline  on  account  of  its  wealth. 

A  capitulary  of  Louis  in  822  shows  the  same  in- 
terest in  learning  that  his  father  had,  though  sug- 
gesting some  neglect  in  the  past.  It  is  decreed 
that  every  one  in  course  of  training  for  any  position 
in  the  church  shall  have  a  fixed  place  of  resort  and 
a  suitable  master.  Later  each  bishop  was  to  exer- 
cise great  diligence  in  instituting  schools,  and  in 
training  and  educating  soldiers  for  the  service  of 
Christ's  church.  Louis,  it  appears,  was  on  the  eve 
of  an  undertaking  proposed  by  the  bishops,  to  open 
three  large  public  schools  in  the  three  most  suitable 
locations  in  the  empire,  when  the  rebellion  of  his 
sons  broke  out  and  civil  war  ensued. 

In  the  mean  time  the  monastery  of  Fulda  was 
rising  to  importance  through  one  of  the  greatest 
scholars  of  the  century,  Rabanus  Maurus.  He 
had  been  sent  as  a  young  man  to  receive  in- 
struction from  Alcuin  at  Tours,  and  speedily  be- 
came a  great  favorite.  On  his  return,  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  learning  and  character  of  his 
teacher,  he  was  appointed  head  of  the  monastery 
school,  though  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age. 
In  819  he  wrote  the  celebrated  "  De  Institu- 
tione  Clericorum,"  justly  cited  as  evidence  against 
exaggerated   representations    with    respect   to   the 


Rabanus  Manrus.  355 

ignorance  of  the  clergy  of  those  times.  He  showed 
a  greater  liberahty  of  sentiment  than  Alcuin  and 
Gregory  on  the  subject  of  pagan  literature  and 
secular  learning,  especially  in  regard  to  Dialectic, 
of  which  he  says:  "  This  is  the  study  of  studies. 
It  teaches  how  to  teach.  It  alone  knows  how  to 
know,  and  not  only  will,  but  can  make  men  wise. 
Wherefore  it  behooves  the  clergy  to  be  acquainted 
with  this  noble  art."  "  Indeed,  it  would  seem," 
says  Mullinger,  "  that  the  decline  of  the  orthodox 
mistrust  of  Dialectics  may  be  held  to  date  from  his 
teachings."  '  His  words  in  regard  to  philosophy 
are  of  remarkable  breadth,  and  show  how  he  had 
already  departed  from  his  teacher's  precepts.  He 
held  that  if  any  of  the  schools,  and  especially  the 
Platonists,  were  to  be  found  maintaining  doctrines 
that  harmonized  with  the  Christian  faith,  instead  of 
regarding  their  teaching  with  mistrust,  we  should 
do  well  to  convert  it  to  our  own  use.  In  his  com- 
mentary on  St.  Matthew,  completed  the  year  he 
was  elected  abbot,  he  seems  to  have  used  only  the 
Latin  fathers  and  Chrysostom,  though  he  mentions 
Origen  and  the  other  Greeks.  In  his  explanation 
of  natural  phenomena  he  was  not  so  inclined  to 
occult  and  supernatural  origins  as  was  Alcuin.  Even 
ghosts,  spirits,  and  similar  phenomena  are  referred 
to  the  deception  of  the  senses  under  the  influence 
of  overwrought  mental  faculties.  In  this  way  he 
explains  the  appearance  of  Samuel  to  Saul,  as  true 
not  in  fact,  but  with  respect  to  the  perception  and 
the  mind  of  Saul.  Though  rebuking  pagan  super- 
'  Mullinger,  p,  144. 


356  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

stitions,  many  of  which  still  lingered  among  the 
people,  he  fully  shared  the  superstition  of  the  age 
in  the  veneration  of  the  relics.  For  his  ability  as  a 
teacher  he  gained  a  high  reputation.  Einhard  sent 
his  own  son  to  be  educated  at  Fulda,  telling  him  to 
take  Rabanus  as  a  model  in  all  things,  because  thus 
instructed  he  will  be  wanting  in  nothing  that  relates 
to  the  knowledge  of  life.  "  I  fear,  my  son,"  he 
wrote,  "  and  I  very  much  suspect  that,  leaving 
home,  you  may  come  to  forget  yourself  and  to  for- 
get me  also,  for  inexperienced  youth,  unless  con- 
trolled by  the  check  of  discipline,  proceeds  with 
difificulty  in  the  ways  of  righteousness.  Endeavor 
then,  my  dear  boy,  to  imitate  the  best  examples. 
On  no  account  incur  the  displeasure  of  him  whom 
I  have  set  before  you  as  your  model,  but,  mindful 
of  your  vow,  seek  to  profit  by  his  teaching  with  the 
most  diligent  application  that  he  whom  you  have 
chosen  as  your  master  may  approve.  Instructed  by 
his  precepts,  and  accustoming  yourself  to  put  them 
into  practice,  you  will  be  wanting  in  nothing  that 
pertains  to  the  knowledge  of  life.  As  I  exhorted 
you  by  word  of  mouth,  be  diligent  in  study,  and 
fail  not  to  attain  whatever  of  noble  learning  you 
may  be  able  to  gain  from  the  most  brilliant  and 
fertile  genius  of  this  great  orator,  but,  above  all, 
remember  to  imitate  the  virtues  which  are  his  great- 
est glory,  for  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  the  other  lib- 
eral arts  are  but  vain  things,  and  most  injurious  to 
the  servants  of  God,  if  divine  grace  does  not  teach 
us  that  we  must  ever  hold  good  morals  above  them 
all.     Indeed,   learning  may  inspire  the  heart,   but 


Distinguished  Pupils.  357 

charity  edifies  it.  I  should  rather  know  that  you 
were  dead  than  soiled  by  pride  and  vice,  for  the 
Saviour  has  not  asked  us  to  imitate  his  miracles, 
but  his  gentleness  and  his  humility.  What  more 
shall  I  say  ?  These  counsels  and  others  like  them 
you  have  often  heard  from  my  mouth.  May  you 
then  be  so  happy  as  to  love  that  which  procures  by 
divine  grace,  purity  of  soul  and  of  body.  Fare- 
well."' 

Soon  Rabanus  himself  became  the  centre  of  in- 
struction for  other  teachers,  adding  six  monasteries 
more  to  the  sixteen  already  af^Hated  under  his  rule 
as  abbot.  Among  these  six  were  Corbie,  Hersfeld, 
Petersburg,  and  Hirschau.  Among  his  pupils  were 
Servatus  Lupus,  Walafrid  Strabo,  Otfried  of  Weis- 
senberg,  and  Rudolph,  perhaps  the  most  famous  of 
them  all,  who  later  succeeded  Rabanus  himself  as 
teacher  of  the  monastery  school,  and  continued  the 
annals  of  Fulda  from  the  point  where  Einhard  left 
off,  a  preacher  whose  oratory  was  the  special  de- 
light of  Louis  the  Pious,  a  scholar  notable  for  his 
knowledge  of  Tacitus — probably  from  some  manu- 
scripts that  subsequently  disappeared — in  an  age 
when  that  writer  was  otherwise  unknown.  There 
were  also  many  others.  Indeed,  one  of  the  biog- 
raphers of  Rabanus  asserts  that  wherever,  whether 
in  peace  or  in  war,  in  church  or  in  state,  a  promi- 
nent actor  appears  at  this  period,  we  may  predict 
almost  certainly  that  he  will  prove  to  have  been  a 
scholar  of  this  great  teacher." 

'  Jaff6,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  477,  478  ;    Einhardi,  Ep.  56. 
'  Spengler  ;  quoted  by  Mullinger,  p.  153. 


358  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Another  scholar  of  Fulda,  associated  with  Ser- 
vatus  Lupus,  was  Probus,  whom  the  annals  of  Fulda 
describe  as  "  the  religious  presbyter  whose  saintly- 
learning  and  pure  conversation  made  Fulda  yet 
more  illustrious."  '  Servatus  Lupus  says  of  him 
that  "  he  would  admit  Cicero,  Virgil,  and  other 
noble  men  among  the  ancients,  to  the  number  of 
the  elect,  that  the  blood  of  Christ  might  not  be 
shed  in  vain,  and  that  the  prophecy  might  be  ful- 
filled. '  I  will  be  thy  death,  O  Death  !  and  I  will 
be  thy  sting,  O  Grave!'""  Indeed,  they  must 
have  appreciated  the  beautiful  language,  the  elo- 
quent style,  and  the  noble  thought  of  these  classical 
masters  after  what  they  had  been  through.  No 
wonder  they  welcomed  them  back  with  sincere  de- 
light and  crowned  them  once  more  kings  of  learn- 
ing and  saints  of  literature. 

In  the  civil  strifes  and  domestic  feuds  in  which 
son  rose  against  father  and  brother  against  brother, 
Rabanus  still  remained  loyal  to  Louis,  and  after  his 
death  to  Lothair,  who  received  the  imperial  title. 
After  the  battle  of  Fontenay,  in  841,  he  resigned 
his  abbacy  and  retired  to  Petersburg.  He  had 
great  respect  and  regard  for  Lewis  the  German, 
however,  "  and  his  testimony  to  the  high  character 
of  the  king  is,  perhaps,  the  least  open  to  suspicion 
of  all  the  tributes  to  the  moral  virtues  of  the  best 
of  the  sons  of  Louis  the  Pious,  his  reputation  being 
such   as   to   render  him   superior  to   mere   political 

'  "Ann.  Fuld.,"an.  859;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  373. 
*  Serv.   Lup.,    Ep.    20;    quoted  by  Neander,   vol.    iii.,   p.   602. 
note  2. 


Influence  of  Bishops  and  Abbots.      359 

considerations.'  In  847,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one, 
he  was  elected  to  the  bishopric  of  Mainz,  an  ofifice 
which  involved  the  spiritual  supervision  of  all  Ger- 
many, except  the  diocese  of  Cologne.  This  office 
he  held  until  his  death,  in  856. 

The  position  of  the  episcopate  at  this  time  was  one 
of  great  importance.  The  civil  power  was  weakened 
and  divided,  and  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  de- 
pended almost  entirely  upon  the  officers  of  the  church. 
The  influence  and  the  authority  of  the  bishops  in  sec- 
ular, as  well  as  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  was  well-nigh 
supreme.  In  the  decay  of  the  royal  power,  the  rise  of 
feudalism  and  the  encroachment  of  the  papacy,  the 
power  of  the  bishops  looms  up  in  a  significant  and  de- 
cisive manner,  and  the  number  of  great  names  shows 
the  intellectual  and  administrative  ability  with 
which  the  leading  positions  were  filled.  Such  men 
as  Theodulf,  Agobard,  Rabanus  Maurus,  and  Hinc- 
mar  exercised  an  influence  in  guiding  opinions  and 
controlling  events  far  beyond  that  exercised  by  any 
layman  of  the  time.  An  extract  from  one  of  the 
chief  ministers  of  Charles  the  Bald  illustrates  the 
influence  of  prominent  ecclesiastics  in  affairs  of 
state.  "  But  yet,"  he  says,  "  they  refer  the  mat- 
ter, as  is  customary,  to  the  bishops  and  priests,  so 
that  in  whatever  way  the  divine  authority  may 
please  to  settle  it  according  to  his  will,  they  may 
assent  with  a  free  and  ready  mind."  '  Thus,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  influence  at  Fulda  was  broader  and 
more  inspiring  than  that  at  Tours.  Servatus  Lupus 
had  been  sent  to  Ferrieres,  but  in  830  went  to  Fulda, 
'  Mullinger,  p.  156.        ^  Nithardus,  iv.,  3  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  669. 


360  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

where  he  remained  for  a  short  time,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Ferrieres  as  instructor  in  grammar  and 
rhetoric. 

Many  changes  were  brought  about  by  the  treaty 
of  Verdun,  in  the  intellectual  as  well  as  in  the  politi- 
cal world,  and  further  changes  were  made  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pronounced  sympathies  of  these  great 
teachers.  However,  the  bond  uniting  them  to- 
gether remained  unbroken,  for  their  interests  were 
unaffected  by  the  political  machinations  and  diffi- 
culties of  the  time.  Like  the  bonds  of  scholarship 
and  of  commerce  to-day,  they  were  above  mere 
party  lines  and  sectional  interests.  Under  Charles 
the  Bald,  the  ruler  of  the  Western  Kingdom,  the 
intellectual  life  received  great  encouragement  and 
support.  In  his  tastes  and  methods  he  was  more 
like  his  grandfather.  He  was  a  keen  theologian, 
fond  of  argument  and  debate,  but  the  times  were 
very  evil.  It  is  true,  the  shock  of  civil  discord  had 
largely  passed  away,  but  the  invasions  of  the  North- 
men brought  woe  and  destruction  to  many  of  the 
fairest  seats  of  learning.  "  All  the  monasteries  and 
places  along  the  Seine  were  either  depopulated  or 
left  terrified  after  having  given  up  much  of  their 
wealth."  '  Indeed,  unlike  the  previous  invasions, 
churches  and  monasteries  seem  to  have  been  the 
chief  objects  of  attack.  Their  defenceless  condi- 
tion and  the  large  amount  of  wealth  which  they 
had  acquired  served  to  invite  the  greed  of  the  bar- 
barous and  savage  Northmen.  Their  ravages  began 
about  840,  and  for  more  than  half  a  century  they 

1  "  Prud.  Tree.  Ann.,"  an.  841  ;  M.  G.  SS,,  vol.  i.,  p.  437. 


Servatus  Lupus.  361 


were  the  terror  of  Southern  Europe.  Coasting 
along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  they  made  frequent 
expeditions  up  each  river  as  far  as  navigable,  and 
thus  were  enabled  to  penetrate  with  their  destroy- 
ing zeal  far  into  the  interior.  Gaul,  Spain,  and  the 
district  lying  along  the  Mediterranean  between 
Spain  and  Italy  suffered  in  this  way.  At  last,  how- 
ever, the  monasteries  themselves  became  centres  of 
organized  resistance  ;  abbots  and  monks  alike  were 
forced  to  bear  arms,  and  monasteries  were  bound  to 
furnish  men  and  money  to  the  State.  In  the  midst 
of  these  invasions  the  nobles  revived  the  confiscating 
policy  of  Charles  Martel,  and  although  Charles  the 
Bald  was  a  great  friend  to  the  church,  he  was  power- 
less to  resist  the  growing  power  of  the  nobles. 

In  all  these  dangers  and  dif^culties  Servatus 
Lupus  was  one  of  the  foremost  advisers  of  the  king, 
not  only  in  regard  to  ecclesiastical  affairs,  but  in 
questions  of  State  policy  as  well.  In  847  he  went 
with  Charles  to  Marsua,  to  settle  terms  with  Lothair 
and  Lewis.  In  849  he  represented  Charles  at  Rome 
and  at  Bourges  in  the  matter  of  the  heresy  of  Gott- 
schalk.  In  858  he  was  again  prominent  in  the  nego- 
tiations with  Lewis.  But  although  so  high  in  influ- 
ence and  position,  he  was  unable  to  obtain  simple 
justice  for  his  own  monastery,  showing  the  strength 
of  the  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  feudal  nobles. 
His  literary  correspondence  gives  a  clear  picture  of 
the  scholar's  life.'  Nearly  every  classical  writer 
known  or  studied  in  his  time  was  quoted  or  referred 
to  in  his  letters- — Livy,  Sallust,  Caesar,  Suetonius, 
'  Nicholas,  "  Etude  sur  les  lettres  de  Servat-Loup." 


362  The  Age  of  Cha^'lemagne. 

Cicero,  Quintilian,  Virgil,  Horace,  Terence,  Mar- 
tial, Macrobius,  and  Priscian,  and  the  usual  text- 
books of  his  time.  His  letters  also  reveal  much  re- 
garding the  methods  and  difficulties  of  literary 
work.  Books  and  manuscripts  were  borrowed  and 
loaned,  sent  from  one  monastery  to  another  for 
copying  ;  but  often  where  the  willingness  existed 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  were  great. 

We  are  informed  that  a  volume  of  Bede  would 
not  be  loaned  to  Hincmar,  because  it  was  too  large 
to  hide  in  the  coat  or  wallet,  and  the  bearer  might 
fall  in  with  a  band  of  robbers,  who,  tempted  by  the 
beauty  of  the  manuscript,  would  seize  and  carry  it 
off.  Even  within  the  monastery  books  were  not 
always  safe.  "  If  you  knew  the  situation  of  our 
monastery,"  Servatus  writes  to  the  abbot  of  Tours, 
"  you  would  not  have  thought  of  entrusting  your 
treasure  to  our  keeping,  I  will  not  say  for  long,  but 
even  for  three  days,  for  though  access  hither  may 
not  appear  easy  for  these  pirates,  yet  the  monastery 
is  so  little  protected  by  its  situation,  and  we  have 
so  few  men  capable  of  opposing  them,  that  it  is 
itself  a  temptation  to  their  greed."  '  His  higher 
intellectual  activity,  and  his  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  wider  views  of  the  classical  writers,  gave  him  a 
strong  distaste  for  unprofitable  theological  specula- 
tion. Altogether  he  appears  as  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  men  of  the  ninth  century,  and  is  a  good 
example  of  the  highest  and  best  influences  of  classi- 
cal learning  upon  the  intellectual  life  of  the  time. 
He  was  held  in  great  esteem,  and  died  in  862. 
*  Serv.  Lup.,  Ep.  no  ;    quoted  by  Mullinger,  p.  169. 


Agobard  and  Claudius.  363 


Two  noted  Spaniards  also  showed  great  intellec- 
tual ability  and  freedom  of  thought  in  this  century. 
Agobard,  archbishop  of  Lyons  from  816  until  his 
death,  in  840,  revised  the  liturgy  in  the  interest  of 
pure  doctrine  and  of  scriptural  expression.  He 
wrote  against  image  worship  and  superstition,  and 
even  proposed  to  substitute  rational  investigation 
for  the  heathen  methods  of  trial  by  combat  and  by 
ordeals,  which  were  still  retained  under  a  Christian 
form.  Claudius,  bishop  of  Turin  from  814  until  his 
death,  in  839,  was  an  even  bolder  reformer,  and  op- 
posed most  vigorously  the  growing  materialism 
showing  itself  in  the  doctrines  of  images  and  of  the 
Eucharist.  He  opposed  pilgrimages  to  Rome  and 
the  growing  power  of  the  papacy.  He  laid  the 
foundations  of  modern  Protestantism  in  his  doctrine 
of  grace  and  of  justification.  "It  is  certain  that 
from  this  moment  there  would  be  always  some- 
where in  the  church  a  protest  against  the  tendency 
to  materialize  Christianity."  ' 

One  of  the  most  significant  controversies  of  this 
century  was  brought  out  by  a  treatise  by  Paschasius 
Radbertus,  a  monk,  and  from  844  to  851  the  abbot 
of  Corbie.  It  was  entitled  "  On  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,"  was  written  in  831, 
and  soon  after  844  sent  to  Charles  the  Bald  in  a 
popular  form  that  he  might  favor  its  spread.  It  is 
important  as  being  the  first  formal  statement  of 
Transubstantiation,  declaring  "  that  by  virtue  of  the 
consecration,  by  a  miracle  of  almighty  power,  the 
substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  became  converted 
'  Ampere,  vol.  iii.,  p.  88. 


364  The  Age  of  CJuirlemagne. 

into  the  substance  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
so  that  beneath  the  sensible,  outward  emblems  of  the 
bread  and  wine  another  substance  was  still  present. 

Highly  figurative  language  in  reference  to  the 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  had  been  employed  from  very  early  times, 
and  there  was  a  strong  tendency  in  a  literal  age  to 
convert  the  symbolical  and  metaphorical  language 
into  a  mechanical  theory.  But  the  church  had  been 
kept  from  a  definite  formulation  of  such  a  miscon- 
ception by  the  spiritual  ideas,  clear  thought,  and 
decisive  language  of  Augustine.^ 

The  treatise  of  Paschasius,  therefore,  created  at 
once  a  profound  sensation.  Charles  the  Bald  re- 
ferred it  to  Ratramnus  (Bertram),  another  monk  of 
Corbie,  for  his  consideration  and  reply.  The  answer 
was  a  clear,  firm,  and  at  the  same  time  devout  and 
scriptural  denial  of  the  doctrine.  He  af^rmed 
Christ's  presence  in  the  sacrament,  not  in  substance, 
but  in  spirit  and  influence,  "  spiritnalitcr  ct  sccuiidaui 
potcntiavi,'"  in  a  work  still  read  in  English.'' 

The  view  of  Paschasius  was  also  condemned  by 
Rabanus  Maurus,  John  Scotus,  and  Florus  of 
Lyons.  "  Still  the  mystical  and  apparently  pious 
doctrine,  which  was  easier  of  apprehension  and 
seemed  to  correspond  better  to  the  sacred  words, 
obtained  its  advocates,  too,  and  it  was  easy  to  see 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  495. 

*  Epistle  to  Boniface,  No.  9S,  ch.  ix. ;  "  Nicene  Fathers,"  first 
series,  vol.  i.,  pp.  409,  410.  See  also  Gieseler,  vol.  i.,  p.  435, 
note  15. 

*  Bertram,  "On  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ."  See  Neander, 
vol.  iii.,  pp.  494-50X. 


Transubstantiatioft.  365 

that  it  only  needed  times  of  darkness,  such  as  soon 
followed,  to  become  general.  In  the  same  spirit 
Radbert  also  taught  a  miraculous  delivery  of 
Mary,  but  here,  again,  he  was  opposed  by  Ratram- 
nus."  ' 

But  the  tendency  of  the  age  was  too  strong  to  be 
resisted.  "  The  dogma  was  not  forced  upon  the 
understanding  from  without,  but  was  demanded  by 
it,"  and  was  due  rather  to  "  the  restless  eagerness 
of  a  logical  age. ' '  ° 

The  great  evil  was  not  in  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation  ;  that  did  represent,  however  imper- 
fectly, a  reality,  the  presence  of  Christ  in  his  church 
and  in  the  faithful  Christian  ;  but  the  evil  lay  in  the 
doctrine  which  a  later  and  more  corrupt  age  deduced 
from  it — namely,  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  on  which 
the  tremendous  power  of  the  priesthood  of  the 
Middle  Ages  rested — that  a  man  could  create  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  by  his  own  act  offer 
to  God  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  which  Christ  in  his 
own  body  on  the  cross  had  offered  once  for  all  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

In  the  midst  of  the  intellectual  life  and  learning 
of  the  ninth  century  a  new  light  appears — startling, 
brilliant,  keen,  and  irresistible,  like  a  comet  amid 
the  stars,  or  lightning  in  a  clear  sky.  We  lose  all 
sight  of  Clement  of  Ireland,  and  know  little  of  the 
Irish  school  after  the  time  of  Charles  the  Great. 
It  had  received  little  encouragement  from  Louis  the 
Pious,  but  a  new  impulse  came  under  Charles  the 
Bald,  at  whose  court  appeared  the  intellectual  won- 

'  Gieseler,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  83,  84.  '  Maurice,  vol.  i.,  p.  464. 


o 


66  T/ie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


der  of  his  age,  John  Scotus  Erigena.  He  forms  the 
connecting  link  between  the  traditions  of  the  past 
and  the  later  scholastic  philosophy,  of  which  he  has 
been  regarded  as  the  real  inaugurator.  With  far 
greater  boldness  than  Rabanus  he  employed  the  art 
of  dialectic  and  carried  speculation  to  its  utmost 
limit.  He  was  born  in  the  first  or  second  decade 
of  the  ninth  century,  educated  probably  in  Irish 
monasteries,  as  is  shown  by  his  Greek  learning  and 
his  Celtic  sympathies,  but  the  only  trustworthy  in- 
formation regarding  him  concerns  his  life  at  the 
court  of  Charles  the  Bald,  where  he  appeared  about 
845.  His  favorite  manual  was  the  much  mistrusted 
treatise  of  Martianus  Capella,  and  he  was  well  versed 
in  the  Greek  fathers,  especially  in  Origen,  who  was 
no  less  an  object  of  suspicion  by  the  church.  In- 
deed, the  Greek  fathers  were  his  constant  study, 
and  the  Greek  methods  of  thought  and  points  of 
view  were  his  own.  He  at  once  established  a  close 
and  sympathetic  intimacy  with  Charles  the  Bald, 
whose  mind  naturally  tended  towards  philosophical 
subtleties.  Charles  the  Bald  did  for  philosophy 
what  his  grandfather,  Charles  the  Great,  did  for 
theology.  His  father,  Louis  the  Pious,  had  been 
fond  of  the  mysteries  of  scriptural  interpretation, 
and  mistrusted  all  that  savored  of  speculation  or 
showed  a  new  and  untraditional  line  of  thought,  but 
Charles  was  the  patron  of  all  schools  and  of  all  par- 
ties, and  the  most  liberal  benefactor  of  learning  in 
his  age.  The  very  name  of  his  palace  was  "  The 
School."  In  his  reign  Irish  scholars  flooded  the 
Western  Kingdom.     Fond  of  travel,  of  adventure, 


John  Scot  lis  Erigeua.  367 

and  of  change,  they  appreciated  the  welcome  which 
they  received  at  his  court. 

The  learning  of  Erigena  was  fully  appreciated  by 
the  king.  He  was  selected  to  translate  the  Pseudo- 
Dionysius,  a  work  on  the  Celestial  Hierarchies,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  written  by  Dionysius  the  Areop- 
agite,  who  was  confused  with  Dionysius,  the  bishop 
of  Paris,  or  St.  Denis,  the  patron  saint  of  France. 
A  copy  of  this  work  in  Greek  had  been  sent  by  the 
Emperor  Michael  to  Louis  the  Pious  in  827.'  The 
translation  was  well  done,  and  Erigena  showed  a 
fairly  correct  and  at  times  elegant  Latin  style.  He 
also  compiled  a  commentary  on  Martianus  Capella, 

from  whom,"  says  Prudentius  of  Troyes,  "  he 
had  imbibed  a  deadly  poison,"  which  seems  to  have 
been  shown  in  his  putting  of  reason  above  author- 
ity, and  using  dialectic  rather  than  tradition  in  the 
investigation  of  truth.  Perhaps  the  most  marked 
influences  upon  him  were  exerted  by  the  Timseus 
of  Plato  and  the  Celestial  and  Ecclesiastical  Hier- 
archies attributed  to  Dionysius.  His  great  work 
was  the  "  De  Divisione  Naturae,"  in  five  books. 
He  posited  as  a  fundamental  principle  that  true 
theology  and  true  philosophy  are  only  formally 
different,  but  essentially  identical.  The  truth  is 
expressed  in  Scripture  and  in  ecclesiastical  dogma, 
as  in  a  shell,  accommodated  to  man's  understanding 
by  figurative  and  metaphorical  phrases.  Reason 
strips  off  this  shell  and  outer  covering,  and  by 
means  of  dialectic  or  speculation  raises  faith  to 
knowledge.  His  system  took  on  a  pantheistic  col-. 
'  Gieseler,  vol.  ii.,  p.  103,  notes  14  and  15. 


368  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

oring,  but  he  maintained  that  he  was  endeavoring 
to  affirm  Christian  theism.  God  himself,  the  Ab-- 
solute,  is  supersubstantial  above  all  the  categories 
of  existence.  The  reason  of  man  can  see,  therefore, 
only  the  manifestations  of  God,  not  God  himself. 
God  is  created  in  things  ;  he  realizes  himself  in  what 
he  produces,  as  our  intelligence  in  our  thoughts. 
All  things  return  to  him,  and  find  in  him  their  final 
end.  Evil  is  not  positive  nor  eternal,  it  exists,  but 
as  a  lack,  a  negation  which  must  pass  away  v/hen 
all  is  realized  and  attains  perfection.  In  him  are 
the  germs  of  the  whole  later  contradictions  of  scho- 
lastic and  mystic* 

He  was  hardly  noticed  in  his  own  age,  although 
Maurice  calls  him  "  the  metaphysician  of  the  ninth 
century  ;  one  of  the  acutest  metaphysicians  of  any 
century."  As  Allen  says  :  "  John  Scotus  only  con- 
fused and  puzzled  his  age  ;  he  seemed  to  be  ortho- 
dox, but  in  a  fashion  hardly  available  for  practical 
purposes.  What  could  such  an  age  as  his  do  with 
a  man  who  talked  about  evil  as  a  negation,  as  hav- 
ing no  real  existence,  or  who  defined  predestination 
as  the  consciousness  of  achieving  one's  destiny? 
At  a  later  time,  the  justice  which  he  failed  to  re- 
ceive in  his  lifetime  was  meted  out  to  him,  and  he 
was  condemned  as  a  heretic."  '^ 

He  was  selected,  however,  by  Hincmar  to  under- 
take the  refutation  of  Gottschalk  in  the  famous  con- 
troversy about  predestination.  Gottschalk  had 
shown  a  restlessness  and  uneasiness  in  the  monas- 

'  Maurice,  vol.  i.,  pp.  467-501  ;  Ampere,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  .123-146. 
'  Allen,  pp.  190,  191. 


Gottschalk.  369 


tcry  of  Fulda,  in  which  he  had  been  placed  by  his 
Saxon  parents  while  he  was  yet  a  child.  At  last  a 
dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Synod  of  Mainz, 
Gottschalk  having  pleaded  compulsion,  and  the 
plea  being  held  valid  on  the  ground  that  a  Saxon 
could  thus  forfeit  his  freedom  only  when  the  cere- 
mony had  been  attested  by  a  witness  of  the  same 
nationality.  Rabanus  Maurus,  the  abbot  of  Fulda, 
appealed  from  this  decision,  and  it  was  reversed  by 
the  Emperor  Louis,  and  Gottschalk  was  allowed 
only  a  transfer  to  another  monastery.  Accordingly 
he  left  Fulda  and  entered  the  monastery  of  Orbais 
in  the  diocese  of  Soissons.  Here  he  began  the  study 
of  Augustine  and  Fulgentius  and  the  other  fathers 
of  his  school.  He  became  an  ardent  advocate  of 
the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and  began  writing 
letters  on  the  subject  to  his  friends  and  former  com- 
panions. The  doctrine  of  unconditional  predestina- 
tion was  asserted  in  the  strongest  terms,  based  on 
the  immutability  of  God  and  his  absolute  wisdom 
and  power.  Consequently  the  destiny  of  man  could 
not  depend  on  his  own  conduct,  nor  be  in  suspense 
until  death.  Men  were  not  only  chosen  or  predes- 
tined to  salvation,  but  also  to  everlasting  punish- 
ment, for  the  unchangeableness  of  the  divine  decree 
required  this  double  predestination,  and  with  God 
foreknowledge  and  foreordination  must  be  identi- 
cal. This  not  only  denied  the  freedom  of  the  will 
from  the  first  act  of  man  to  the  last,  but  also  gave 
no  scope  for  the  agency  or  ministration  of  the 
church,  whose  rights  and  services  could  have  no 
avail  in  the  salvation  of  the  soul  ordained  to  perdi- 
X 


370  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

tion.  In  reality  the  church  system  was  semi-Pelagian, 
and  must  have  been  in  order  to  give  scope  for  its 
operations.  It  is  a  fact  familiar  to  the  students  of 
church  history  that  fatalism  in  theology  has  gener- 
ally been  the  creed  of  those  who  have  rebelled  most 
stubbornly  against  ecclesiastic  tyranny.  But  God's 
service  is  freedom  ;  fatalism  in  this  regard  takes  one 
out  of  man's  hands  into  God's  hands,  and  such  a 
theory  has  always  been  the  inspiration  of  indepen- 
dent and  daring  conduct.  It  is  the  very  foundation- 
stone  of  Mahometanism,  and  was  the  inspiring  prin- 
ciple of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

Rabanus  Maurus  was  not  friendly  to  Gottschalk  ; 
opposed  him  in  a  treatise  published  in  840,  and  pur- 
sued him  relentlessly.  Gottschalk  appealed  in  per- 
son to  Mainz,  but  was  condemned,  scourged,  and 
handed  over  to  Hincmar.  Few  will  be  disposed  to 
call  in  question  the  comment  of  Diimmler,  that  it 
was  a  harsh  and  unrighteous  sentence,  and  leaves 
a  stain  on  the  reputation  of  Rabanus.  Treated  as 
badly  by  Hincmar  in  the  West— condemned,  de- 
graded from  his  order,  and  scourged — Gottschalk 
was  consigned  to  perpetual  imprisonment  in  the 
monastery  of  Hautvilliers,  Persecutions  began  to 
take  the  place  of  argument  in  theological  discus- 
sions. At  this  time,  however,  the  sympathy  of 
many  was  aroused,  and  a  movement  in  his  favor  set 
in.  Ratramnus  took  his  side,  Prudentius  of  Troyes, 
Amola  and  Remigius  of  Lyons,  with  Florus,  a 
presbyter  of  Lyons,  and  Servatus  Lupus.  Hinc- 
mar was  now  at  a  disadvantage,  not  having  much 
ability  in  theological  speculation. 


opposed  by  John  Scotus.  371 

It  was  at  this  point  that  John  Scotus  Erigena 
was  called  in.  In  this  discussion  he  shows  the 
strong"  influence  of  the  Timaeus  and  the  Pseudo-Dio- 
nysian  writings.  No  irresistible  omnipresent  pur- 
pose working  from  all  eternity  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Timaeus,  and  the  purely  negative  character  of  evil 
is  set  forth  in  the  Pseudo-Dionysius.  These  ideas 
John  Scotus  also  took  up,  making  an  extended  use 
of  dialectic.  He  first  laid  down  the  principle  that 
philosophy  and  religion  can  never  be  at  variance  ; 
secondly,  he  reproduces,  as  Mullinger  has  so  inter- 
estingly pointed  out,  the  passage  from  Rabanus,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  the  value  of  dialectic  to  the  de- 
fender of  the  faith,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  left 
to  the  opponent.'  This  prominent  use  of  dialectic 
roused  opposition,  and  the  unpopularity  of  Hinc- 
mar,  together  with  the  sympathy  expressed  for 
Gottschalk,  but  especially  the  peculiar  ideas  ad- 
vanced by  John  Scotus,  drew  much  attention  to 
the  case.  John  appealed  to  the  Greek  fathers  and 
philosophers,  and  referred  particularly  to  Martianus 
Capella.  The  hostility  to  Hincmar  from  Lyons  was 
partly  due  to  the  rivalry  of  the  two  great  ecclesias- 
tical centres,  Rheims  and  Lyons.  The  position  is 
illustrated  most  clearly  in  Prudentius.  Rarely  are 
the  dogmatist,  as  seen  in  Prudentius,  and  the  ration- 
alist, as  seen  in  John  Scotus,  to  be  found  in  stronger 
contrast.  Prudentius  said  he  detected  in  John  the 
Pelagian  treachery,  the  folly  of  Origen  and  the  mad- 
ness of  the  Collyrian''  heresy.      He  says  that  John 

'  Mullinger,  p.  185,  note  i. 

*  Probably  the  Collyridians.     A  sect  in  the  fourth  century  who 


372  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Scotus  reminds  him  very  forcibly  of  Pelagius,  and 
he  speaks  of  "  that  Capella  of  yours"  as  the  source 
of  many  of  his  errors.  In  spite  of  the  great  names 
and  strong  feeHng  connected  with  this  controversy, 
one  cannot  estimate  the  literature  very  highly. 
The  main  points  at  issue,  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples, were  grasped  by  none  of  the  disputants  except, 
perhaps,  by  John  Scotus  Erigena,  and  by  him  in 
such  a  way  that  they  would  be  still  more  thoroughly 
concealed  from  every  one  else.  The  dispute  was 
one  of  words,  or  rather  one  of  personal  feeling  and 
rivalry.  The  decisions  were  indefinite,  and,  as 
Mozley  says  :  "  There  is  nothing  in  the  language 
of  Kiersy  to  which  the  most  rigid  predestinarian 
would  not  subscribe."  As  it  was,  the  chief  decision 
was  reversed  at  Valence  in  855,  and  the  views  ad- 
vanced by  John  Scotus  were  condemned.  Ampere 
says  of  John  Scotus  in  relation  to  Hincmar  :  "  A 
very  convenient  ally,  but  quite  a  dangerous  one, 
whose  assistance  had  only  served  to  compromise." 
"  Mere  learning  and  skill,"  says  Mullinger,  "  could 
not  atone  for  the  evident  laxity  of  doctrine  of  the 
brilliant  Irishman."  *  Of  the  last  of  his  life  little  or 
nothing  is  known.  It  is  conjectured,  however,  that 
he  remained  at  the  Frankish  Court,  and  continued 
to  be  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  the  palace 
school,  though  William  of  Malmesbury  says  that  he 
went   to    England,   taught   at  Oxford,   and  died  as 

seem  to  have  transferred  the  ceremonial  of  the  worship  of  Ceres 
to  that  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
'  Mullinger,  p.  189. 


Continuation  to  the  Eleventh  Century.    -XilZ 

abbot  of  Malmesbury,  being  put  to  death  by  his 
own  pupils  in  891. 

The  invasions  of  the  Northmen  were  less  fatal 
on  the  Continent  than  in  England.  The  tradi- 
tions which  after  the  time  of  Alfred  the  Great 
are  no  longer  to  be  discerned  in  England  may 
plainly  be  traced  in  France.  Indeed,  the  influence 
of  John  Scotus  is  of  that  vaguer  and  more  general 
kind  which  is  felt  rather  than  seen,  but  from  Raba- 
nus  we  may  perceive  the  handing  down  of  the  un- 
mistakable and  unbroken  tradition. 

Eric  of  Auxerre,  the  pupil  of  both  Rabanus  and 
Servatus  Lupus,  continued  the  intellectual  line,  and 
Auxerre  became  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  learn- 
ing. Among  Eric's  pupils  was  Remi  of  Auxerre, 
who  taught  at  Rheims  and  Paris.  At  Rheims  were 
also  to  be  found  Reminghad,  Hildebald,  and  Blidul- 
fus,  the  founders  of  the  school  in  Lotharingia,  and 
Sigulfus  and  Frodoard,  who  carried  on  the  school 
at  Rheims  and  prepared  the  way  for  Gerbert.  At 
Paris  Eric  had  for  his  pupil  Odo  of  Cluny,  a  monk 
from  St.  Martin  of  Tours.  In  the  foundation  of 
Cluny,  in  910,  Odo  became  a  famous  teacher,  and 
revived  the  Benedictine  rule  and  cultivation  of  let- 
ters. He  raised  Cluny  to  the  very  highest  position 
in  learning  and  ecclesiastical  order,  famous  for  its 
scholars  in  the  tenth  century,  among  whom  were 
Aymer,  Baldwin,  Gottfried,  and  others,  and  in  the 
eleventh  century  Gregory  VI.,  Hildebrand,  and  the 
popes  of  the  restoration. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ACCESSION  OF  LOUIS  THE  PIOUS — WEAKNESS  OF 
THE  IMPERIAL  UNITY — RELATIONS  WITH  THE 
PAPACY — REGULATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE — IN- 
TRODUCTION OF  PRIMOGENITURE — HUMILIA- 
TION  OF  LOUIS. 

HE  unity  which  Charles  had  built  up  and 
left  to  his  only  son  Louis  lasted  through 
the  period  of  the  latter's  reign,  but  the 
forces  of  disunion  \vere  present  and 
growing  all  the  time.  We  have  noted 
many  of  them  already,  and  have  seen  how  strong 
they  were,  for  in  spite  of  the  underlying  race  unity 
of  the  German  people,  there  were  between  the  ■s'ari- 
ous  tribes  which  had  come  to  make  up  the  empire 
vast  differences  which  seemed  to  offer  well-nigh 
irresistible  obstacles  to  any  real  union.  There  were 
differences  in  training  and  in  civilization,  some 
tribes  being  almost  completely  Romanized,  others 
which  first  learned  of  Roman  institutions  through 
their  submission  to  Charles,  and  many  with  memories 
of  an  earlier  independence  of  a  tribal,  if  not  national 
political  unity.  There  were  differences  in  laws  and 
customs,  few,  if  any,  having  a  written  code  of  for- 
mal laws,  but  each  having  a  mass  of  traditions,  cus- 

374 


Obstacles  to    Unity.  375 

toms  and  usages,  more  or  less  peculiar  to  itself. 
There  were  differences  in  climatic  and  geographical 
conditions  with  all  that  these  implied.  There  were 
also  the  outlying  foes  threatening  the  empire  at 
every  point  ;  the  unconquered,  unconverted  Danes 
and  other  Northmen,  ready  with  their  wandering 
bands  and  pirate  ships  to  attack  and  devastate  the 
northern  boundaries  and  the  western  coasts,  the 
barbarian  savage  Slavs  and  other  Turanian  hordes 
threatening  continually  the  whole  eastern  frontier, 
and  there  were  the  fierce  and  fanatical  Saracens  in 
Spain  and  along  the  African  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean as  a  constant  menace  on  the  South.  Nor 
were  these  imaginary  dangers,  for  as  an  actual  fact 
the  invasions  and  ravages  from  all  these  directions 
began  before  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  ;  nay, 
some  even  in  the  reign  of  Louis  himself,  and  con- 
tinued with  increasing  vigor  and  destructiveness 
until  after  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,'  thus 
making  the  tenth  century  the  dark  2i^& par  excellence, 
the  sceculiim  obsciiriun  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Further- 
more, the  elements  of  feudalism  forming,  as  we  have 
seen,  during  the  period  of  the  weak  or  almost  non- 
existing  central  system  preceding  the  Carolingian 
monarchy,  although  having  for  an  object  the  afford- 
ing of  that  protection  to  property,  to  rights,  and  to 
life,  which  the  central  authority  was  not  strong 
enough  to  give,  became  more  and  more  strength- 

'  The  first  definite  attack  of  the  Northmen  took  place  in  the 
sack  and  burning  of  Rouen  in  840,  their  final  settlement  taking 
place  in  Normandy  in  911  ;  the  final  victory  over  the  Huns  was 
gained  by  Otto  I.  in  955  ;  while  the  Saracens  began  by  making 
themselves  masters  of  Sicily  in  837. 


376  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

ened,  established,  and  organized,  exercised  an  un- 
dermining influence,  and  were  a  constant  menace 
and  obstacle  to  any  central  authority.  Charles,  it 
has  been  seen,  recognized  these  elements,  and  not 
being  able  to  banish  them,  used  them  for  his  pur- 
poses, but  he  had  neither  conquered  nor  thoroughly 
subordinated  them.  The  institution,  if  such  it  may 
be  called,  grew  stronger  and  more  completely  organ- 
ized, until  it  became  the  rival,  and  for  a  time  the  suc- 
cessful rival  of  the  empire  and  the  monarchy,  which 
really  had  to  pass  through  and  develop  out  of  it. 

As  if  all  this  were  not  enough,  there  was  in  the 
very  imperial  power  itself,  as  it  existed  in  its  Ger- 
manic form,  the  root  principle  of  its  own  weakness. 
This  was  the  Teutonic  theory  of  the  inheritance  of 
kingly  power.  Again  and  again  the  unity  of  the 
Merovingian  monarchy  had  been  broken  up  by  this 
principle  of  equal  division  among  the  sons  of  the 
king.  The  Carolingian  mayors  of  the  palace  had 
been  able  to  re-establish  a  unity  which  the  Carolin- 
gian kings.  Pippin  and  Charles  the  Great,  had  been 
able  to  maintain  by  fortunate  conditions  which  they 
did  not  make.  Pippin's  oldest  brother,  Karlmann, 
had  retired  to  a  monastery,  voluntarily  we  are  led 
to  believe,  but  very  fortunately  for  Pippin,  within 
six  years  after  the  two  brothers  had  received  from 
their  father,  Charles  Martel,  the  power  which  he 
divided  between  them.  Three  years  after  a  divided 
monarchy  had  been  inherited  by  Pippin's  sons, 
Charles  and  Karlmann,  Karlmann  had  died  most 
opportunely,  and  Charles,  receiving  the  allegiance 
of  his  brother's  subjects,    found  himself   reigning 


Signs  of  Disintegration.  377 

alone.  On  that  foundation  he  had  built  up  a  united 
empire,  but  its  strength  and  unity  existed  in  his 
own  person  ;  his  force,  his  ability,  his  character, 
and  the  fear  and  reverence  for  his  name  energized 
the  form  which  he  had  constructed. 

The  only  outside  influence  for  the  establishment 
and  continuance  of  unity,  and  it  was  a  very  strong 
one,  rested  in  the  organization  of  the  church.  Karl- 
mann  and  Pippin,  under  the  guidance  of  Boniface, 
and  Charles  himself,  under  the  inspiration  of  the 
pope  and  of  his  own  theories  and  conceptions,  had 
done  their  best  to  make  this  influence  effective  by 
the  strong  ecclesiastical  organization,  with  its  hier- 
archy of  presbyters,  bishops,  metropolitans,  and 
provincial  and  general  assemblies,  which  they  had 
established  in  the  kingdom,  and  which  had  been  still 
further  emphasized  and  unified  by  the  pre-eminence 
and  superiority  accorded  to  the  papacy  as  the  great 
head  and  central  power  of  the  church.  Political  in- 
stitutions sometimes  gain  a  strength  which  they  still 
retain  even  after  they  have  passed  into  weaker  hands, 
but  such  could  not  be  the  case  with  the  empire  of 
Charles  :  the  foundation  was  neither  deep  enough, 
nor  strong  enough,  nor  complete  enough  ;  it  had 
been  in  existence  for  too  short  a  time,  and  the 
materials  out  of  which  it  was  created  were  too  hetero- 
geneous. It  is  a  question  whether  Charles  himself 
really  hoped  or  expected  his  empire  to  remain. 
Like  his  predecessors,  he  thought  only  of  the  equal 
division  among  his  sons,  and,  as  we  have  noted  in 
the  division  he  proposed  in  806,  no  reference  was 
made  to  the  imperial  power  which  he  regarded  as 


2,']^  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

not  to  be  considered  in  such  a  division  or  as  some- 
thing personal  to  himself.  Once,  again,  circum- 
stances over  which  he  had  no  control  conspired  to 
make  possible  the  longer  continuance  of  imperial 
unity.  Two  of  his  three  legitimate  sons  having 
died,  Louis  alone  was  left  to  receive  the  undivided 
inheritance  from  his  father.  Bernhard,  however, 
the  son  of  Pippin  of  Italy,  who  died  in  8io,  had 
received  his  father's  share  in  Italy  in  812  from  the 
hands  of  Charles  himself.' 

Louis,  on  the  other  hand,  started  out  with  a  new 
policy,  undoubtedly  suggested  by  the  pope,  and 
one  with  which  we  ourselves  cannot  fail  to  sympa- 
thize. The  chief  difficulty  was  that  he  began  too 
soon.  He  determined  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the 
imperial  power,  and  to  hand  it  on  unbroken  and 
undivided  to  one  of  his  sons,  and  to  give  to  the 
other  two — for  he  had  three  sons,  Lothair,  Pippin, 
and  Louis'' — kingdoms  which  they  might  hold  in 
mutual  dependence  on  their  older  brother.  He 
thus  departed  from  the  old  German  custom  of  co- 
equal division,  and  introduced  the  rule  of  primo- 
geniture, the  exclusive  right  of  the  firstborn.  This, 
a  peculiar  and  essential  characteristic  of  feudalism, 
shows  the  influence  that  feudal  principles  already 
had  gained.  The  results  of  this  attempt  will  appear 
as  the  history  proceeds. 

Louis  was  in  Aquitania,  and  did  not  reach  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  until  a  month  after  his  father's  death. 
With  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  the   Franks  he 

'  Einhard,  "  Vita  Karoli,"  ch.  xix. 

"  Louis,  the  German,  sometimes  called  Ludwig. 


Zeal  of  Louis.  '        ^il^ 

ascended  the  throne,  and  at  once  took  up  the  affairs 
of  State.  An  important  assembly  was  held  in 
August  of  this  same  year.  With  commendable  zeal 
he  at  once  dispatched  viissi  to  all  parts  of  the  em- 
pire to  establish  his  authority,  to  administer  justice 
and  to  remedy  abuses.  He  summoned  to  him  his 
nephew  Bernhard,  king  of  Italy,  to  receive  his  fealty, 
and  sent  him  back  laden  with  gifts,  and  assured  of 
imperial  favor  and  support.  To  his  sons,  Lothair 
and  Pippin,  he  gave  kingdoms  as  his  father  had 
given  to  him  and  his  brothers.  Lothair  he  estab- 
lished in  Bavaria  and  Pippin  in  Aquitania.  His 
third  son,  Louis,  was  too  young  to  receive  any  ap- 
pointment.' Ambassadors  and  deputations,  sent 
from  many  different  peoples,  were  received  and  dis- 
missed. A  new  emperor,  Leo  V.,  having  succeeded 
to  the  throne  of  Constantinople  in  813,  and  having 
despatched  ambassadors  to  the  court  of  the  Franks, 
an  alliance  was  made  with  him.  In  the  North,  Louis 
took  up  the  defence  of  Harold,  the  exiled  king  of 
the  Danes,  and  the  Saxons  and  other  Northern 
tribes  were  ordered  to  make  a  campaign  against  the 
Danes  in  his  support.  Louis  had  gone  further,  and 
had  undertaken  to  reform  the  morals  of  the  court," 
which  had  been  far  from  pure  during  the  reign  of 
Charles,"  but  in  so  doing  he  had  removed  the  chief 
friends  and  advisers  of  his  father,  thus  permitting 
the  beginning  of  an  opposition  party.  At  the  head 
of  this  party  were  Adalhard,  abbot  of  Corbie,  and 

•  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  814;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol    i.,  p.  201. 

"  Borctius,    vol.     i.,    pp.    297,    298;     "Cap.    de  Discip.    Palat. 
Aquis," 

*  Einhard,  "Vita,"  c.  xviii. 


380  TJic  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

his  brother,  Count  Wala,  cousins  of  Charles  and 
grandsons  of  Charles  Martel,  their  father  being  Bern- 
hard,  Charles'  uncle.  Three  of  the  illegitimate 
sons  of  Charles — Drogo,  Hugo,  and  Theoderic — and 
the  five  sisters  of  Louis  were  induced  to  take  up 
the  monastic  life,  the  favorite  resort  for  dethroned 
sovereigns,  royal  rivals  still  dangerous,  or  persons 
whose  presence  might  be  disagreeable. 

The  relations  of  Louis  with  the  pope  did  not  be- 
gin auspiciously.  The  Romans,  followers,  proba- 
bly, of  the  leaders  in  the  revolt  of  799,  had  taken 
advantage  of  the  death  of  Charles  and  the  removal 
of  imperial  protection  to  rise  against  Leo,  and  their 
conspiracy  having  been  discovered,  the  pope  him- 
self seized  and  publicly  put  to  death  all  of  the  prin- 
cipal offenders.  When  this  was  reported  to  Louis 
he  was  highly  indignant.'  The  pope  had  acted 
with  a  passion  and  severity  unworthy  of  him  and  of 
his  high  office,  and  had  also  infringed  upon  the  im- 
perial rights.  Louis  at  once  settled  the  affairs  of 
Harold  and  of  the  Slavs,  returned  to  his  palace  at 
Frankfort,  and  sent  his  nephew,  Bernhard  of  Italy, 
who  had  been  aiding  him  in  his  Northern  campaign, 
to  Rome  to  make  an  investigation.  Bernhard  was 
taken  ill  soon  after  his  arrival,  but  sent  back  word 
to  the  emperor  by  Count  Ceroid,  informing  him  of 
all  he  had  learned  of  the  affair.  Ceroid  was  followed 
by  three  papal  legates  sent  to  explain  and  to  justify 
the  pope's  position  and  acts.  In  consequence  of 
the  shock  and  anxiety,  the  pope,  who  was  now  an 
old  man,  fell  seriously  ill.     His  enemies,  now  thor- 

1   "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  815  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  202. 


The  Papal  Visit  and  Coronation.      381 

OLighly  enraged,  taking  advantage  of  his  illness,  rose 
against  him,  pillaged  and  burned  the  farms  he  had 
established  in  the  papal  territories,  and  resolved  to 
march  to  Rome  to  compel  him  to  restore  their  con- 
fiscated property.  Bernhard  immediately  de- 
spatched a  force  under  Winnigis,  duke  of  Spoleto, 
against  them,  and  put  down  the  uprising,  reporting 
the  affair  to  the  emperor.  On  June  12th  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  816,  Pope  Leo  died,  and  on  the  22d 
Stephen  V.  was  consecrated  as  his  successor.  The 
tumults  and  factions  in  Rome  probably  furnished 
the  reason  for  such  haste,  and  for  not  waiting  for 
the  imperial  confirmation,  a  right  which  seems  to 
have  been  unquestioned  at  this  time.  However, 
Stephen  exacted  from  the  Romans  the  oath  of 
fealty  to  the  emperor,  and  two  months  later  he  set 
out  to  visit  Louis,  having  sent  two  legates  to  an- 
nounce his  consecration,  and  to  inform  the  emperor 
of  his  intended  visit. 

The  attitude  of  Louis  to  the  bishop  was  as  yet 
unknown.  He  was  in  a  different  position  from  that 
which  Charles  had  occupied,  having  received  his 
title  and  authority  by  inheritance,  and  having  been 
crowned  without  the  intervention  of  the  pope  or 
the  presence  of  any  papal  legate.  Louis  at  once 
set  out  to  receive  the  pope  at  Rheims,  and  sent 
forward  to  meet  him  Theodulf,  bishop  of  Orleans, 
John,  the  archbishop  of  Aries,  and  the  archchaplain, 
Hildebald,  archbishop  of  Cologne.  The  pope,  ac- 
companied by  King  Bernhard,  arrived  al  Rheims 
in  October.  Louis  met  him  a  mile  from  the  cathe- 
dral, and  threw  himself  at  his  feet.     The  pope  an-. 


382  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

nounced  the  reasons  for  his  journey,  the  explanation 
of  his  position  at  Rome,  the  needs  of  the  church, 
and  his  desire  for  the  renewal  of  the  compact  of 
friendship  and  of  support  between  emperor  and  pope. 

Gifts  and  courtesies  were  exchanged  for  three 
days,  with  frequent  conferences  regarding  the  re- 
lations of  state  and  church,  and  proposed  legisla- 
tion on  the  subject.  The  fourth  day  being  Sunday, 
after  celebrating  mass  the  pope  crowned  Louis  and 
the  empress,  Irmingard,  having  brought  an  imperial 
crown  for  the  purpose  from  Rome.  Louis,  how- 
ever, already  had  spoken  of  himself  as  the  "  Em- 
peror Augustus  by  the  ordinance  of  divine  provi- 
dence," '  and  it  is  doubtful  if  this  coronation  was 
regarded  by  him  as  anything  more  than  his  recog- 
nition by  the  church,  and  the  sign  and  seal  of  the 
bond  of  union  between  the  two.  Yet  in  a  capitulary 
of  November,  816,  issued  just  after  the  papal  corona- 
tion, he  says  :  "  Crowned  by  divine  will,  ruling  the 
Rome  Empire,"  '"  after  which,  however,  he  reverts 
to  the  earlier  form. 

Stephen  returned  to  Rome,  where,  possibly  in 
fulfilment  of  the  requirement  made  of  him  at  this 
time,  he  assembled  a  synod  and  issued  a  decretal  or- 
daining that  in  future  the  popes  should  be  elected 
by  the  cardinal  bishops  and  the  Roman  clergy,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Roman  Senate  and  people,  but 
that  their  consecration  should  take  place  in  the 
presence    of    the    imperial    ambassadors.'      At    the 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  261,  "  Constitutio  prima,"  A.D.  815. 
'■'  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  267,  "Cap.  legi  add." 

^  Lea,  p.  42,  referring  to  Gratian  Decret.,  Dist.  63,  Can.  28  ;  AI' 
zog,  vol.  ij.,  p.  255, 


The  Donation  of  Louis.  38 


Ci'^O 


same  time  the  emperor  held  a  council  at  his  palace 
in  Compiegne  with  his  bishops,  abbots,  and  counts, 
in  which  were  drawn  up  capitularies  setting  forth 
the  duel  for  the  laity  and  the  judgment  of  the  cross 
for  ecclesiastics,  in  order  to  settle  cases  when  wit- 
nesses were  hopelessly  contradictory/ 

Stephen  having  died  January  24th,  817,  shortly 
after  his  return  from  the  coronation  of  Louis, 
Paschal  I.  was  unanimously  elected  and  consecrated 
on  the  very  next  day.  He  at  once  sent  presents  to 
the  emperor  with  a  letter  of  excuse,  in  which  he 
represented  that  the  honor  of  the  pontificate  had 
been  thrust  upon  him,  not  only  in  the  face  of  his 
refusal,  but  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts  to  resist  it. 
He  also  sent  an  embassy  to  beg  the  emperor  to 
ratify  and  confirm  the  alliance  made  with  his  pred- 
ecessors, a  request  which  the  emperor  granted.'' 
At  this  time  also  Louis  is  said  to  have  confirmed  to 
the  pope  and  to  his  successors  the  city  of  Rome 
with  its  duchy,  the  cities  of  Tuscany  and  Campagna, 
the  exarchate  of  Ravenna,  and  the  Pentapolis, 
which  had  been  originally  restored  by  his  grand- 
father. Pippin,  and  his  father,  Charles  ;  the  district 
of  Sabina,  as  originally  presented  by  his  father, 
Charles  ;  places  in  Lombard  Tuscany,  the  islands 
of  Corsica,  Sardinia,  and  Sicily,  the  patrimony  in 
Benevento,  Salerno,  Calabria,  and  Naples,  grant- 
ing also  the  free  canonical  election  of  the  pope. 
Regarding  this  donation  Lea  very  justly  remarks  : 

He  took  care  to  reserve  to  himself  the  sovereignty 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  268,  "  Cap.  legi  add.,"  ch.  i. 

"  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  817  ;  M.G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  203,  204. 


384  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

of  the  territories  whose  usufruct  he  bestowed  on 
St.  Peter,  by  the  clause,  '  Saving  in  all  things  our 
dominion  over  the  said  duchies  and  their  subjection 
to  us.'  This  clause  and  a  succeeding  one,  by  which 
the  emperor  reserves  the  right  of  interference  in 
case  of  tyranny  and  oppression,  dispose  me  strongly 
to  regard  the  document  as  genuine.  The  abnega- 
tion of  the  right  to  control  the  papal  elections  is 
probably  an  interpolation  of  a  later  period,  as  also 
the  extensive  donations  of  territory  in  Central  and 
Southern  Italy,  which  either  was  retained  by  the 
Carolingian  emperors  or  else  never  belonged  to 
them."  ' 

The  general  assembly  for  the  year  817  was  held 
in  July  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  here  Louis  carried 
out  what  had  probably  been  his  part  of  the  arrange- 
ments arrived  at  in  the  conference  with  Stephen  V. 
in  the  previous  year.  The  entire  German  principle 
of  inheritance  was  radically  changed,  that  of  primo- 
geniture being  adopted  in  its  place,  and  from  this 
may  be  traced  the  beginning  of  the  civil  strife  and 
discord  which  filled  the  rest  of  the  period,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  final  division  of  the  empire  in  the 
treaty  of  Verdun,  in  843,  leaving  the  title  of  em- 
peror a  merely  nominal  one.  For  at  this  assembly 
Lothair,  the  oldest  son,  was  crowned  by  Louis,  and 
associated  with  him  in  the  title  and  dignity  of  em- 
peror,^ each  of  the  two  other  sons  receiving  only  the 
title  of  "  king"  and  a  limited  territory.  The  ar- 
rangement established  for  this  inheritance    of   the 

'  Lea,  pp.  165,  166  and  note  i  ;  Boehmer,  vol.  i.,  pp.  241,  242. 
'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  p.  445  ;  Einhardi,  Ep.-y. 


''The  Regulation  of  the  Empire^     385 

power  and  possessions  of  Louis  is  set  forth  in  the 
document"  The  Regulation  of  the  Empire,"  though 
sometimes  erroneously  called  the  "  Division  of  the 
Empire."  '"  It  has  not  seemed  wise,"  the  emperor 
declared,  "  either  to  us  or  to  those  who  know,  that 
the  unity  of  the  empire,  preserved  to  us  by  God, 
should  be  broken  through  love  of  our  sons  or 
through  favor  to  any  man,  lest  perchance  in  this 
way  a  cause  of  offence  to  holy  church  might  arise, 
and  we  might  incur  the  disapproval  of  him  in  whose 
power  the  laws  of  all  kingdoms  stand  ;  therefore, 
after  three  days  of  fasting,  of  alm.sgiving,  and  of 
prayer,  in  accordance  with  the  divine  will,  it  has 
pleased  both  us  and  all  our  people  that  our  oldest 
son,  Lothair,  crowned  by  us  with  the  imperial  dia- 
dem, in  the  appointed  manner,  be  constituted  by 
the  general  vote  our  colleague  and  successor  in  the 
empire,  if  God  so  will  ;  but  upon  the  others,  his 
brothers.  Pippin  and  Louis,  it  has  pleased  the  gen- 
eral council  to  confer  the  royal  dignity  and  to  ap- 
point them  over  the  places  to  be  mentioned."  Pip- 
pin accordingly  was  established  as  king  over  Aqui- 
tania  and  Gascony,  with  the  Mark  of  Toulouse  and  a 
few  estates  in  Burgundy,  while  Louis  received 
Bavaria  with  some  neighboring  territory,  the  district 
which  had  been  bestowed  formerly  upon  Lothair. 

More  or  less  independent  rights  were  to  be  held 
by  these  two  kings,  but  once  a  year  they  were, 
together  or  singly,  to  visit  their  older  brother  with 
gifts,  which  he  was  to  return  in  larger  measure,  bear- 
ing them  all  possible  aid  whenever  necessary  They 
were  not  to  undertake  any  wars  against  foreign  ene- 


386  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

mies  without  his  permission,  nor  could  either  marry 
without  his  approval.  If  either  of  the  brothers  died 
leaving  heirs,  his  kingdom  was  not  to  be  divided 
among  them,  but  was  to  go  to  the  one  whom  the 
people  might  choose  ;  and  if  either  of  the  brothers 
died  without  heirs,  his  kingdom  was  to  revert  to  the 
older  surviving  brother.' 

Several  capitularies  also  were  put  forth,  probably 
at  this  same  assembly,  regarding  the  constitution 
and  condition  of  the  church.  The  Benedictine  rule, 
as  revived  by  Benedict  of  Aniane,  was  imposed 
anew  upon  all  monasteries,  and  the  canonical  life, 
according  to  the  rules  of  Chrodegang  of  Metz,  was 
authoritatively  established  for  all  cathedral  clergy. 
It  was  also  declared  that  church  property  under 
Louis  and  his  successors  should  suffer  neither  divi- 
sion nor  diminution.  Free  episcopal  elections  were 
guaranteed,  the  ordination  of  serfs  was  regulated, 
episcopal  authority  sustained,  and  the  safety  and 
honor  of  churches  upheld,  together  with  minor  regu- 
lations regarding  the  conduct  of  the  clergy."  Thus 
a  strong  political  and  ecclesiastical  order  seemed  to 
have  t)een  secured. 

Hardly  had  the  assembly  been  dissolved,  how- 
ever, when  word  came  to  the  emperor  that  his 
nephew,  Bernhard,  yielding  to  evil  counsels,  was 
about  to  declare  himself  independent,  to  overthrow 
Louis,  and  to  usurp  the  imperial  power.  The 
causes  of  this  conspiracy  were  said  to  have  been  the 
making  of  Lothair  co-emperor,  and  the  fact  that  in 

'  Boretius,  vol.    i.,  pp.  270-273  ;  "  Ordinatio  Imperii,"  A.D.  817. 
'  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  273-278. 


Bernhard's  Rebellion.  387 

the  provisions  of  817  Bernhard  was  not  considered.* 
But  the  rebellion  really  had  a  deeper  significance 
than  this.  Italy,  it  is  said,  was  ready  to  cast  off 
the  imperial  yoke.  Two  great  bishops,  Anselm  of 
Milan  and  Wulfhold  of  Cremona,  besides  many 
nobles,  had  given  him  their  allegiance  as  an  inde- 
pendent sovereign,  and  Pope  Paschal  himself  was 
believed  to  be  favorably  disposed."  Louis  imme- 
diately raised  a  large  army  and  marched  towards 
Italy.  The  premature  exposure  of  the  plot  and 
the  determination  and  resolution  on  the  part  of  the 
emperor  filled  Bernhard  with  dismay,  and,  his  sup- 
porters beginning  to  fall  away  from  him,  he  himself 
threw  down  his  arms  and  surrendered  with  his  fol- 
lowers. Even  Theodulf  of  Orleans  was  implicated. 
By  the  general  assembly  the  nobles  involved  in  this 
conspiracy  were  condemned  to  death,  but  by  the 
clemency  of  the  emperor  the  sentence  was  com- 
muted to  blinding,  from  the  effects  of  which  Bern- 
hard  died  in  three  days,  being  then  only  nineteen 
years  of  age.  The  bishops  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  plan  were  degraded,  and  together  with  the  em- 
peror's natural  brothers,  Drogo,  Hugo,  and  The- 
odoric,  sent  into  monasteries. 

In  October,  818,  the  Empress  Irmingard,  whom 
Louis  had  married  in  798,  died,  and,  urged,  it  was 
said,  by  his  nobles,  who  feared  that  he  might  give 
up  the  reigns  of  government  and  retire  to  a  monas- 
tery, he  was  induced  to  marry  again.  The  daugh- 
ters of  the  nobles  were  presented  to  him,  and  from 

•  ''  Chron.  Moiss.,"  an.  817  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  312. 
^  Milman,  bk.  v.,  ch.  ii. 


388  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

them  he  selected  as  his  wife  Judith,  the  beautiful 
daughter  of  Count  Welf,  of  noble  lineage.  In  821, 
at  the  assembly  held  in  May  of  that  year  at  Nime- 
guen,  he  republished  the  "  Regulation  of  the  Em- 
pire" made  in  817,  and  had  it  confirmed  by  the 
oaths  of  the  nobles.  At  the  assembly  held  in  Thion- 
ville  in  October,  large  numbers  of  the  Franks  were 
present,  and  the  oath  was  taken  by  those  \vho  had 
not  taken  it  in  Nimeguen.  Here  the  marriage  of 
Lothair  with  Irmingard,  the  daughter  of  Count 
Hugo  of  Tours,  was  celebrated.  An  amnesty  was 
declared  for  all  who  had  taken  part  in  the  uprising 
under  Bernhard,  among  whom  was  Theodulf  of 
Orleans,  and  their  possessions  were  restored  to 
them.  Adalhard  was  also  recalled  and  again  estab- 
lished as  abbot  of  Corbie.  Important  capitularies 
were  also  put  forth  regarding  the  Diissi  and  their 
duties,' 

In  822,  at  a  council  held  in  Attigny,  Louis  effected 
a  reconciliation  with  his  natural  brothers,  Drogo, 
Hugo,  and  Theodoric,  whom  he  had  forced  to  take 
the  tonsure.  "  In  the  presence  of  all  the  people," 
says  the  chronicler,  "  he  made  a  full  confession  and 
submitted  to  penance  for  this  act,  as  well  as  for  his 
severities  against  Bernhard,  and  against  the  brothers 
Adalhard  and  Count  Wala.  He  also,  with  scrupu- 
lous zeal,  made  every  effort  to  seek  out  and  to  rem- 
edy all  the  unjust  acts  of  the  same  sort  committed 
either  by  his  father  or  by  himself."  '  Whatever 
may  be  said  of  the  religious  nature  of  such  an  act, 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  2S8-291. 

"^   "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  822  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  209. 


Papal  Coronation  of  Lothair.  389 

it  was  not  an  edifying  spectacle,  and  from  a  politi- 
cal point  of  view  weakened  instead  of  strengthened 
the  emperor's  position. 

After  his  self-humiliation,  the  Government  of 
Italy,  having  become  vacant  by  the  death  of  Bern- 
hard,  and  severe  disorders  having  arisen,  he  sent 
Lothair  not  as  king,  as  some  writers  assert,  but 
merely  for  the  temporary  purpose  of  restoring  order, 
as  the  representative  of  the  imperial  power.  Lo- 
thair took  as  his  counsellors,  Count,  then  Monk 
Wala,  and  Gerung,  chief  usher,  to  aid  him  in  restor- 
ing peace  and  order.'  Lothair  had  restored  order 
to  the  Italian  affairs,  and  was  preparing  to  return 
when  Paschalis  sent  for  him  to  turn  back  and  to  visit 
Rome.  With  his  father's  knowledge  and  consent 
Lothair  accepted  the  invitation.  He  was  welcomed 
with  great  honor  and  rejoicing  at  Rome,  and  on 
Easter  Day,  823,  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  received 
the  crown  of  the  realm  and  the  title  of  "  Emperor 
and  Augustus."  The  pope  also  granted  to  him  the 
power  over  the  Roman  people  which  the  previous 
emperors  had  held.  He  at  once  informed  Louis  in 
these  words  :  ''  By  the  chief  pontiff  and  with  your 
consent  and  will,  I  have  received  the  benediction, 
the  honor,  the  title  of  the  imperial  office,  the  crown, 
and  the  sword  for  the  defence  of  the  church  and  the 
empire."  '' 

Here,  again,  Lothair  received  nothing  that  he 
did  not  have  before,  both  in  title  and  in  power,  and 

'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"an.  822  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  209  ;  Boehmer, 
p.  273- 

"^  "Vita  Walse,"  ii.,  17  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  564  ;  Boehmer, 
p.  275- 


390  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

therefore,  as  in  the  case  of  Louis,  his  father,  this, 
too,  could  signify  only  a  ceremony  of  ecclesiastical 
recognition  and  sanction.  However,  once  more  an 
emperor  was  crowned  in  Rome,  and  a  strong  and 
important  precedent  was  being  established.  The 
motives  of  the  popes  are  not  far  to  seek,  and  their 
purpose  begins  already  to  appear.  Two  things 
were  necessary  to  support  them  in  the  new  and  ex- 
alted position  which  the  Carolingian  Empire  had 
made  possible  for  them.  First,  to  maintain  by 
every  means  their  alliance  with  the  new  empire 
which  had  been  raised  up,  it  might  appear  for  the 
very  purpose  of  their  protection  and  defence  ;  and, 
secondly,  to  preserve  the  unity  of  that  empire  as 
far  as  possible  in  dependence,  or  at  least  in  reliance 
upon  them. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

BIRTH  OF  CHARLES  THE  BALD  —  DISORDER  IN 
ITALY — THE  ROMAN  CONSTITUTION — THE  TWO 
PARTIES — REBELLION  OF  LOTHAIR — THE  FIELD 
OF  LIES — DEPOSITION  OF  LOUIS — RESTORA- 
TION— RECONCILIATION  OF  LOTHAIR — DEATH 
OF  LOUIS  —  BATTLE  OF  FONTENAY  —  THE 
STRASSBURG  OATHS — TREATY  OF  VERDUN — 
FALL   OF   THE    EMPIRE. 


1  K  N 

I 

OW,  however,  were  about  to  appear  the 
real  difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying 
out  the  plans  of  Louis,  and  the  fatal 
mistake  which  he  had  made  in  be""inninp; 
too  soon  his  regulation  of  imperial  affairs. 
On  June  13th,  823,  a  son,  the  famous  Charles  the 
Bald,  was  born  to  Louis  and  his  second  wife,  the 
young,  beautiful,  accomplished,  and  ambitious 
Judith,  and  the  political  aspirations  of  the  mother, 
the  aims  and  interests  of  the  church,  and  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  other  sons  of  Louis  began  to  clash  and 
to  come  into  open  conflict.  Lothair,  who  had  just 
returned  with  the  report  of  what  he  had  attempted 
and  partially  accomplished  in  Italy,  stood  as  god- 
father at  the  baptism  of  the  infant  prince.      The 

391 


392  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


next  step  was  to  provide  a  kingdom  for  him,  as 
Louis  had  already  done  in  the  case  of  the  other 
sons,  Pippin  and  Louis  the  German.  Lothair  finally- 
agreed  to  his  father's  earnest  request,  and  took  an 
oath  that  whatever  portion  of  the  realm  Louis 
might  give  Charles,  he  himself  would  be  his  guard- 
ian and  protector  against  all  his  enemies. 

News  now  came  to  the  emperor  of  still  further 
disorders  in  Italy.  The  presence  of  Lothair  in 
Italy,  his  energetic  conduct,  and  his  decision  not  to 
support  the  claims  of  the  papacy  over  the  privileges 
and  immunities  of  the  monastery  of  Farfa'  had 
aroused  the  hostility  of  the  Roman  clergy,  and  at 
the  same  time  drawn  to  his  side  the  enemies  of  the 
temporal  power,  more  frequently  and  firmly  exer- 
cised by  the  pope.  Thus  two  parties,  an  imperial 
and  a  papal,  were  forming  in  Rome,  and  new  occa- 
sions of  strife  presented  themselves.  Two  of  the 
princes  of  the  papal  palace,  Theodore  and  his  son- 
in-law,  Leo,  had  been  blinded  and  then  beheaded  at 
the  Lateran  by  order  or  counsel  of  the  pope,  it 
was  said,  and  apparently  without  any  trial,  on  ac- 
count of  their  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  young  em- 
peror, Lothair.' 

Louis  prepared  to  send  his  niissi,  Adalung,  abbot 
of  Saint  Vedast,  and  Humfrid,  count  of  Coire,  to 
make  a  thorough  investigation,  but  before  their  de- 
parture the  papal  legates — John,  bishop  of  Blanche- 
Selve,  and  Benedict,  archdeacon  of  Rome — arrived, 
requesting  the  emperor  to  banish  the  suspicion  that 

'   Gregorovius,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  44-46. 

■  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  823  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  210,  211. 


Disorder  in  Italy.  393 

the  pope  had  decreed  the  death  of  the  two  men, 
and  proposing  an  investigation.' 

The  emperor  agreed  to  this,  dismissed  them,  and 
despatched  his  commissioners  to  estabhsh  the  truth 
of  the  facts.  But  having  arrived  at  Rome,  they 
could  not  ascertain  anything  with  certainty  in  the 
matter,  because  the  pope,  unwilhng  to  submit  to 
the  investigation,  cleared  himself  by  an  oath,  in 
which  a  large  number  of  the  bishops  united.  Fur- 
thermore, those  who  had  committed  the  crime  being 
serfs  of  the  Roman  Church,  the  pope  took  up  their 
cause  with  great  vigor,  and  maintained  that  the  vic- 
tims had  been  guilty  of  high  treason  and  had  been 
justly  put  to  death.  Bishop  John,  the  Librarian 
Sergius,  and  Leo,  Master  of  the  Knights,  were  then 
sent  by  him  with  the  imperial  commissioner  to  re- 
port this  to  the  emperor.  Of  course  Louis  could 
do  nothing,  but  the  event  illustrates  the  increased 
arrogance  and  independence  of  the  pope,  and  the 
beginning  of  strained  relations  and  conflict  of 
authority  with  the  emperor.  Soon  afterwards.  May 
nth,  824,  Paschalis  died,  and  was  buried  in  his  own 
chapel,  the  Romans  having  refused  him  burial  in 
St.  Peter's  Church.''  The  parties  in  Rome  at  once 
divided  in  the  new  election,  but  the  imperial  party 
triumphed,  through  the  influence  of  Wala,  the  im- 
perial counsellor,  who  was  in  Rome  at  the  time,  and 
Eugene  IL  was  consecrated  June  nth  ;  not,  how- 
ever, it  is  said,  before  he  had  taken  an  oath  in  rec- 

\  Astronomus,  "Vita  Hlud.,"  ch.  xxxvii.  ;    Boehmer,  p.  280; 
"  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  823  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  210. 
'  Thegan,  ch.  xxx. 


394  ^/^^  ^<^^'  '^f  CJiai'lcnmgne. 

ognition  of  the  imperial  rights.'  Having  announced 
his  election  to  Louis,  the  emperor  sent  Lothair  as 
his  associate  in  the  empire  to  adjust  the  relations 
with  the  new  pope  and  the  Roman  people  by  an 
imperial  statute.* 

Honorably  received  by  the  people,  Lothair  ex- 
plained his  commission.  \\\  the  events  which  fol- 
lowed there  could  be  no  question  of  the  emperor's 
supremacy  in  Rome.  He  expressed  his  regret  at 
the  attitude  asserted  by  the  papacy  towards  the  em- 
peror and  towards  Rome,  and  remonstrated  against 
the  violence  and  insults  suffered  by  those  who  were 
friendly  to  the  emperor  and  to  the  Franks.  He 
censured  the  avarice  and  incapacity  of  the  papal 
government,  and  the  ignorance  or  indolence  of  the 
popes.  He  expressed  his  determination  to  reform 
such  abuses.  It  was  evident  that  "  the  already  cor- 
rupt ecclesiastical  state,  which  was  nothing  more 
than  a  great  ecclesiastical  immunity  under  imperial 
protection,  demanded  a  firmer  settlement."  ' 

In  fulfilment  of  this  purpose  Lothair  issued  as  a 
capitulary  in  November,  825,  the  famous  Roman 
Constitution,  "  Constitutio  Romana. "  "  We  have 
decreed,"  it  declared,  "  that  all  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  pope  or  emperor  shall  keep  their  rights 
inviolate,  any  infringement  of  them  to  be  punished 
by  death.  No  further  depredations,  called  confisca- 
tions, shall  be  allowed,  whether  the  pope  be  living 
or  dead,  and  proper  amendment  must  be  made  for 

'  Pauli  cont.  Rom.;  M.  G.  SS.     Lang,  p.  203  ;   Boehmer,  p.  281. 
'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  824  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  212. 
^  Gregorovius,  vol.  iii.,  p.  57. 


The  Roman   ConstittLtion.  395 

past  misdeeds.  §  3.  It  is  our  will  that  to  the  elec- 
tion of  the  pontiff  no  one  may  presume  to  go, 
neither  freeman  nor  slave,  who  puts  any  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  the  Romans,  to  whom  alone  the  custom 
of  electing  the  pontiff  has  been  granted  in  accord- 
ance with  the  regulations  of  the  holy  fathers.  If 
any  one  shall  presume  to  do  this  against  our  orders, 
let  him  be  sent  into  exile. 

"  §  4.  It  is  our  will  that  two  commissioners  be 
appointed,  one  on  our  part  and  one  on  the  part  of 
the  apostolic  lord,  who  shall  annually  announce  to  us 
how  each  duke  or  judge  administers  justice  to  the 
people,  and  how  they  observe  our  established  law. 
These  commissioners  we  decree  shall  bring,  first,  to 
the  notice  of  the  apostolic  lord  all  complaints  which 
shall  arise  by  reason  of  the  negligence  of  the  dukes 
or  of  the  judges.  Then  either  directly  by  these 
commissioners  the  necessary  corrections  shall  be 
made,  or  if  not,  we  must  be  notified  by  our  com- 
missioners that  by  our  commissioners,  under  our 
direction,  the  remedies  may  be  applied. 

"  All  the  Roman  people  are  to  be  asked  under 
what  law  (Frank,  Lombard,  Roman,  or  other)  each 
will  live,  and  each  shall  be  judged  according  to  that 
law.  In  regard  to  ecclesiastical  properties  unjustly 
invaded  under  any  pretext,  as  if  by  license  of  the 
pontiff,  and  in  regard  to  those  which  have  not  yet 
been  restored,  and  yet  have  been  unjustly  invaded 
by  the  power  of  the  pontiffs,  it  is  our  will  that  cor- 
rection be  made  by  our  commissioners.  We  forbid 
further  depredations  and  other  injustice  within  our 
territories,  and  those  which  have  been  committed 


396  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

must  be  made  good.  We  order  also  that  all  judges 
or  others  by  whom  judicial  power  is  exercised,  in 
this  city  of  Rome,  must  come  before  us,  that  we 
may  know  their  number  and  names  and  give  a 
personal  admonition  to  each.  Lastly,  every  man 
who  desires  God's  favor  and  ours  must  manifest 
all  obedience  and  respect  to  the  present  pon- 
tiff/" 

The  oath  to  be  taken  by  the  Romans,  binding 
them  to  the  support  of  this  constitution,  was  as  fol- 
lows :  "  I  promise  by  Almighty  God,  and  by  these 
four  holy  Gospels,  and  by  this  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  body  of  the  blessed  Peter, 
prince  of  the  apostles,  that  from  this  day  I  will  be 
faithful  to  our  lords,  the  emperors  Louis  and  Lo- 
thair,  all  the  days  of  my  life,  according  to  my 
strength  and  understanding,  without  fraud  or  evil 
intent,  saving  the  fidelity  I  have  promised  to  the 
apostolic  lord  ;  and  that  I  will  not  consent  to  the 
election  of  a  pontiff  in  this  Roman  See  otherwise 
than  canonically  and  justly,  according  to  my  strength 
and  understanding,  and  he  who  shall  be  elected  by 
my  consent  shall  not  be  consecrated  pontiff  until  he 
has  taken  by  oath,  in  the  presence  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  lord  emperor  and  of  the  people,  a 
pledge  such  as  the  Lord  Pope  Eugene  has  taken  in 
writing  of  his  own  accord  for  the  preservation  of 
all."^ 

It    is    probable    that   by   Lothair's   regulation    of 

'  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  pp.  322-324;  "  Constitutio  Romana,"  A.D. 
824. 

*  Boretius,  vol.  i.,  p.  324. 


Gregory  IV.  397 

affairs  greater  rights  were  given  to  the  Roman  peo- 
ple, and  perhaps  a  larger  share  in  the  choice  of  their 
magistrates.  At  any  rate,  peace  reigned  during 
the  six  years'  pontificate  of  Eugene  II.,  and  it  is  a 
significant  fact  that  in  the  "  Pontifical  Book"  of 
the  lives  of  the  popes  the  life  of  Eugene  occupies 
only  one  or  two  lines.  His  successor,  Valentine  I., 
had  occupied  the  papacy  for  only  a  few  days  when 
he  died,  and  Gregory  IV.  succeeded  him.  Einhard 
significantly  remarks  that  he  was  not  consecrated 
until  the  imperial  legate  came  to  Rome  and  exam- 
ined the  election  of  the  people  to  find  out  how  it 
had  been  conducted.'  During  his  long  pontificate, 
827-844,  took  place  the  great  events  connected  with 
the  breaking  up  of  the  unity  of  the  Carolingian  Em- 
pire. In  829  Charles,  the  young  son  of  the  beauti- 
ful Judith,  being  six  years  of  age,  the  emperor  de- 
termined to  provide  for  him  a  kingdom,  as  he  had 
done  already  for  his  brothers,  and  according  to  the 
agreement  made  with  Lothair  at  the  young  child's 
baptism.  At  an  assembly  held  in  Worms  in  August, 
in  the  presence  of  Lothair  and  Louis  of  Bavaria,  he 
assigned  to  Charles  Alemannia,  Rhaetia,  and  part  of 
Burgundy,  over  which  Charles  was  appointed  duke. 
This  arrangement  was  the  first  step  for  Charles  tow- 
ards carrying  out  the  ambitious  plans  of  his  mother 
to  create  for  him  a  kingdom,  and  from  this  time 
until  the  emperor's  death,  in  840,  no  less  than  five 
divisions  of  the  empire  were  made  to  satisfy  the 
growing  demands  of  the  empress  and  her  son. 
This  first  division  affected  only  Lothair,  who  had 
"  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  827  ;  M.  G.  SS. ,  vol,  i.,  p.  216. 


398  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 


already  promised,  as  we  have  seen,  to  give  to 
Charles  whatever  district  of  the  empire  his  father 
might  desire.  But  now,  when  the  young  favorite's 
portion  threatened  to  diminish  so  greatly  the  part 
assigned  to  him  in  817,  goaded  on  by  his  father-in- 
law  and  by  other  of  his  intimate  followers,  he  began 
to  consider  how  he  could  annul  what  he  had  done. 
Even  although  the  division  and  formal  settlement 
of  817  were  not  yet  abolished,  it  seemed  in  the  view 
of  the  other  brothers  only  a  question  of  time  when 
this  would  occur,  and  that,  sooner  or  later,  if  Louis 
remained  under  the  influence  which  at  present  ruled 
him,  Charles  was  destined  to  be  his  successor  in  the 
government  of  the  empire.' 

Already  two  parties  were  forming  in  the  empire — 
the  party  of  the  young  emperor,  Lothair,  and  the 
party  of  the  empress  and  her  son.  To  the  former 
belonged  by  natural  af^filiation  Lothair' s  two  broth- 
ers, with  their  immediate  relations  and  followers, 
and  the  counsellors  and  advisers  whom  Lothair  had 
gathered  around  him  in  anticipation  of  the  time 
when,  according  to  the  expressed  will  of  his  father, 
he  should  be  sole  emperor.  To  the  other  belonged 
the  empress  and  those  upon  whom  her  fascinations 
had  been  exerted,  notably  a  certain  Bernhard,  count 
of  Barcelona,  son  of  Duke  William  of  Toulouse, 
who  up  to  this  time  had  held  the  command  of  the 
Spanish  Mark.  The  emperor  himself  was  under  the 
control  of  this  party.  The  older  sons,  who  for  so 
long  had  regarded  the  empire  as  settled  on  them- 
selves, were  naturally  indignant,  and  opposition  was 

1   "Ann.  Mett.,"  an.  830  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  330. 


Tzvo   Counter  ATeasicres.  399 

raised  against  the  emperor,  in  which  opposition 
Hugo,  Lothair's  father-in-law,  was  quite  prominent. 
Discovering  the  plots  against  him,  the  emperor,  or 
rather  the  party  under  whose  influence  he  acted, 
conceived  two  counter  measures.  By  the  first, 
Lothair,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  assembly,  was 
dismissed  into  Italy,  and  we  note  that  the  years  of 
his  reign  are  counted  from  this  time.  By  this  act 
Lothair  was  confined  to  Italy  and  excluded  from 
a  share  in  the  imperial  functions.'  With  this  ex- 
clusion vanishes  for  the  time  the  essential  element 
of  the  "  Regulation"  of  817,  the  supremacy  of  one 
brother  over  the  others.  By  the  second,  Duke 
Bernhard  was  called  to  be  chamberlain  of  the  palace, 
the  young  Charles  was  placed  under  his  protection, 
and  he  himself  was  raised  to  be  the  second  man  in 
the  kingdom,  next  to  the  emperor  ;  *  this  latter 
being  a  measure  which  did  not  tend  to  eradicate  the 
seeds  of  discord,  but  rather  increased  them.  Yet 
Christmas,  we  are  told  by  the  chronicler,  was  cele- 
brated with  great  joy  and  exultation.'  In  the  spring 
of  the  next  year  Bernhard,  by  his  own  advice,  being 
sent  with  the  whole  Prankish  army  against  Brittany,* 
it  was  urged  as  a  serious  charge  against  the  emperor, 
that  against  the  Christian  religion,  and  in  spite  of 
his  vow,  without  any  public  utility  or  real  neces- 
sity, but  deluded  by  the  counsels  of  depraved  ad- 
visors, he  had  ordered  a  general  expedition  to  be 
made  in  Lent,  and  had  held  an  assembly  on  Maundy 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  445,  446  ;   "  Einhardi,"  Ep.  7. 

'  "  Einhardi  Ann.,"  an.  829  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  218. 

3  Ibid. 

*  "  Ann.  Bert.,"  an.  830  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  i.,  p.  423. 


400  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Thursday.'  In  April  rebellion  broke  out,  the  im- 
mediate cause  being  the  dominant  political  influence 
of  the  empress.  Her  stepsons  and  some  of  the 
nobles  with  them,  being  influenced  by  hate  and 
jealousy  against  her  and  her  own  son,  as  they  saw 
the  control  which  she  exercised  over  their  father, 
felt  that  they  had  strong  ground  for  fear  that  Charles 
might  at  last  succeed  as  heir  to  his  father's  rule. 

Louis  was  popular  with  his  subjects,  gentle- 
minded,  and  for  the  most  part  a  lover  of  mercy  and 
justice,  as  well  as  active  and  brave.  He  had  been 
bold,  resolute,  firm,  and  wise.  He  had  issued  laws 
for  the  regulation  of  the  state  and  for  the  reform  of 
the  church  ;  he  had  sent  his  royal  commissioners  to 
administer  justice  and  to  do  away  with  usurped 
rights  ;  by  royal  authority  he  had  imposed  upon 
all  monks  the  Benedictine  rule  revived  by  Benedic- 
tus  of  Ainane  ;  upon  all  cathedral  clergy  the  rules 
of  the  canonical  life  instituted  by  Chrodegang  ;  he 
had  crowned  his  oldest  son  as  co-emperor,  and  had 
assigned  their  rights  and  titles  to  the  other  two  ; 
he  had  suppressed  rebellion  and  overthrown  those 
opponents  who  resisted  him. 

Thus  with  a  milder  and  purer  character,  Louis 
seemed  to  keep  up  the  vigor  of  his  father's  rule, 
and  to  have  inherited  his  father's  power  and  for- 
tune. Never  had  the  boundaries  of  the  empire 
been  so  extended  or  its  authority  appeared  so  com- 
manding. Without  his  father's  faults  he  had 
reached  to   more  than   even  his  father's  greatness. 

'  "  Ann.  Bert.  Mett.  Exanctoratio,"  ch.  iii.  ;  M.  G.  SS.,  vol.  iii., 
p.  368.     See  Boehmer,  p.  310. 


Emhard's  Farewell  Letter  to  Lot  hair.  401 

But  it  was  the  illusion  of  only  sixteen  years.  It 
was  true  that  he  had  not  his  father's  faults,  but  it 
was  proved  at  last  that  he  had  not  his  father's 
strength.  The  show  of  prosperity  and  success  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  his  reign  was  in  the  latter  half 
to  end  in  gloomy  and  hopeless  confusion. 

The  influence  of  unworthy  advisers  became  more 
and  more  predominant,  and  Louis  proves  his  right 
to  the  surname  of  "  Pious,"  with  its  weaker  mean- 
ing of  superstitious,  credulous,  and  pliant. 

At  about  this  time  Einhard,  whose  annals  we 
have  been  following,  seeing  the  approaching  storm, 
unwilling  probably  to  desert  the  emperor,  and  yet 
feeling  that  the  future  lay  with  Lothair,  took  part 
for  the  last  time,  in  829,  in  the  celebration  of  Christ- 
mas at  the  court,  and  having  obtained  the  imperial 
permission  retired  to  Seligenstadt,  and  his  annals 
cease  with  the  ending  of  his  political  career.  He 
died  the  same  year  as  his  emperor,  840.  As  he  left 
the  court  he  addressed  an  earnest  letter  to  Lothair, 
which  is  worthy  of  record.  In  it  he  declares  how 
difficult  it  is  to  express  his  zeal  and  earnestness  for 
the  young  emperor's  career,  since  both  he  and  his 
father  have  been  the  object  of  his  love  and  prayers, 
and  he  has  ever  tried  to  give  him  careful  and  earnest 
advice  for  correction  of  morals,  and  for  the  attain- 
ment of  that  which  was  useful  and  honorable,  and 
that  now,  though  his  labor  might  seem  less  useful 
than  it  ought,  his  own  faithfulness  will  not  allow 
him  to  be  silent.  He  must  still  give  advice  for  his 
young  emperor's  safety  and  warn  him  of  his  danger. 
"  It  has  come  to  my  notice,"  he  says,  "  that  certain 
z 


402  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

men  seeking  their  own  advantage  rather  than  yours, 
appealing  to  your  good  nature,  are  trying  to  pur- 
suade  you  that,  putting  away  the  paternal  counsel 
and  your  obedience  and  due  allegiance,  you  should 
leave  the  country  committed  to  your  rule  and  pro- 
tection by  your  most  pious  father,  and  strive  for 
that  which  is  against  his  consent  and  expressed 
order,  and  remain  near  him,  although  it  does  not 
please  him.  What  more  perverse  or  dishonorable 
thinpf  than  this  could  be  conceived  !  See  what  sort 
of  persuasion  that  is,  and  how  evil  !  It  exhorts 
you  to  despise  that  divine  precept  which  bids  us 
honor  our  parents,  and  promises  long  life  as  the  re- 
ward of  keeping  the  commandment.  They  bid  you 
lay  aside  your  obedience  and  substitute  rebellion  for 
it,  and  call  upon  you  to  array  yourself  with  boastful 
pride  against  him  in  submission  to  whom  you  ought 
humbly  to  act.  They  would  force  you  to  stifle  your 
filial  tenderness  with  contempt  and  disobedience. 
Thus  charity  despised,  discord,  which  never  ought 
to  be  named  between  you,  increases  more  and  more, 
until,  between  those  with  whom  love  ought  to  be, 
hatred  springs  forth.  May  this  never  come  to  pass, 
for  I  know  how  great  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
God  is  a  stubborn  and  disobedient  son,  since  God, 
by  the  mouth  of  Moses,  as  we  may  read  in  the  Book 
of  Deuteronomy,  commands  that  such  a  son  should 
be  stoned  by  all  the  people.  Wherefore,  I  deem  it 
right  to  admonish  you  that,  by  the  prudence  given 
you  by  Almighty  God,  you  may  avoid  your  danger, 
for  this  divine  sentence  cannot  be  despised  by  any 
one,  since  it  is  one  out  of  many  which  our  elders 


The  Feudal  Clergy.  403 

and  doctors  have  handed  down,  as  well  for  present 
as  for  ancient  times,  to  be  observed  by  Christians 
as  well  as  by  Jews.  God  knows  I  love  you,  and 
therefore  I  so  faithfully  admonish  you.  Do  not 
regard  the  insignificance  of  my  person,  but  rather 
consider  the  wholesomeness  of  my  counsel."  ' 

But  as  Einhard  said  in  his  letter,  Lothair  was  ob- 
stinate and  headstrong,  and  the  rebellion  went  on. 
Already  the  emperor  began  to  appear  as  but  one  of 
many  sovereigns,  with  an  imperial  title,  indeed,  but 
with  less  and  less  of  the  supreme  authority.  Now 
also  the  central  power  began  to  be  still  further 
weakened  by  the  rise  of  the  great  feudal  aristocracy. 
The  archbishops,  bishops,  and  abbots,  growing  in 
wealth  and  in  influence,  formed  a  great  feudal  clergy, 
and  appear  as  the  great  arbiters  and  awarders  of  em- 
pire and  the  deposers  of  kings. '^  In  this  we  note 
one  of  the  most  important  as  well  as  characteristic 
features  of  the  time,  the  increasing  prominence  of 
the  clergy  in  secular  affairs,  a  prominence  which 
becomes  especially  notable  during  the  closing  years 
of  the  reign  of  Louis.  This  was  due  not  only  to  the 
increased  wealth  and  importance  arising  from  their 
feudal  position  and  power,  but  also  to  the  increased 
prominence  of  the  church  and  its  ability  to  use  its 
powerful  and  complete  organization  for  the  further- 
ance of  its  own  ends  and  purposes. 

The  great  lay  counsellors  of  Charles  the  Great 
were  succeeded  by  the  clerical  counsellors  and  poli- 
ticians of  the  later  empire. 

'  Jaffe,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  445,  446  ;  Einhardi,  Ep.  7,  A.D.  830. 
'  Milman,  bk.  v.,  ch.  ii. 


404  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

The  first  open  act  of  rebellion  was  the  refusal  of 
the  feudal  army  to  engage  in  the  war  in  Brittany,  to 
which,  in  April,  830,  it  was  summoned,  it  is  said, 
by  the  advice  of  Bernhard.'  Instead  of  proceeding 
to  Brittany,  Lothair,  of  Italy,  and  Pippin,  of  Aqui- 
tania,  with  their  followers,  assembled  at  Paris,  and 
advanced  against  their  father  with  the  purpose  of 
overthrowing  him,  destroying  their  stepmother,  and 
putting  Bernhard  to  death.  Bernhard  sought  safety 
in  flight,  but  the  emperor  advanced  to  meet  them 
in  Compiegne,  where  Pippin,  with  the  approval  of 
Lothair,  seized  his  father,  deprived  him  of  his  royal 
power,  and  forced  the  empress  to  take  the  veil,  send- 
ing her  to  the  monastery  of  Saint  Radegund,  in 
Poitou.  Her  brothers,  Conrad  and  Rudulf,  they 
compelled  to  take  the  tonsure  and  enter  a  monastery. 
After  the  octave  of  Easter,  Lothair  arrived  from 
Italy  and  held  an  assembly  at  Compiegne,  in  which 
further  vengeance  was  visited  upon  the  members  of 
the  imperial  party,  Heribert,  the  brother  of  Bern- 
hard,  being  blinded.  Lothair  was  joined  by  Pippin, 
with  whom  were  the  chief  men  of  the  empire  whom 
Louis  had  discarded  for  his  new  friends.  At  this 
assembly  the  emperor  was  declared  to  have  forfeited 
the  royal  power,  and  was  retired  to  private  life.*  In 
the  next  year  peace  seems  to  have  been  restored. 
The  brothers  recognized,  in  the  face  of  the  storm 
of  general  disapprobation  with  which  their  treat- 
ment of  their  father  was  received,  that  they  had 
gone  too  far  and  too  fast,  and  accordingly,  at  the 
assembly  held  in  February,   831,  the  emperor  was 

*  See  above,  p.  399.  '  Boehmer,  pp.  31 1-3 14. 


Demands  of  Charles  the  Bald.        405 

restored,  the  empress  allowed  to  clear  herself  by  an 
oath,  and  no  one  accusing  her  of  any  crime,  she 
was  released  and  given  back  to  Louis.  A  general 
amnesty  was  declared,  and  the  sons  departed  to 
their  separate  kingdoms— Lothair  to  Italy,  Pippin  to 
Aquitania,  and  Louis  to  Bavaria.  It  is  said  that  on 
this  occasion  a  new  document  of  division  was  put 
forth,  by  which  Lothair  was  to  be  left  in  Italy, 
while  the  rest  of  the  empire  was  to  be  divided  so 
that  Pippin  should  have  almost  all  Gaul,  Louis 
almost  all  Germany,  and  Charles  a  piece  between, 
including  most  of  Burgundy  and  a  large  wedge  of 
territory  cutting  in  between  the  lands  of  his  broth- 
ers along  the  middle  Rhine  and  the  Moselle.  This 
scheme  seems  to  have  been  nearly  a  copy  of  that 
planned  by  Charles  the  Great  in  806,  but  was  never 
carried  out.  It  shows,  however,  the  increasing  de- 
mands of  the  party  of  Charles  the  Bald,  and  is  a 
step  in  the  progress  by  which  he  attained  his  king- 
dom. Soon  after,  the  sons  were  once  more  sum- 
moned to  their  father's  court,  and  Lothair  received 
an  honorable  reception.  Pippin,  however,  delayed 
his  coming,  and  was,  in  consequence,  coldly  received. 
This  made  him  angry,  and  he  hastened  back  to 
Aquitania. 

News  came  now  that  Louis  with  his  Bavarian 
army  was  about  to  attack  the  territory  of  the  young 
Charles,  and  was  on  his  way  to  invade  the  domains 
of  his  father.  The  emperor  at  once  ordered  all  the 
people  of  Eastern  and  Western  Francia  to  assemble 
at  Mainz,  v/here  he  formed  his  army  and  crossed 
the   Rhine   to   Tribur.      Louis  with   his    Bavarians, 


4o6  TJie  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

receiving  reports  of  the  vigorous  resolution  and 
large  forces  of  his  father,  lost  courage  and  returned 
to  Bavaria,  while  many  of  his  followers  deserted  to 
the  emperor.  The  latter  continued  his  march,  be- 
holding the  devastation  which  the  Bavarian  soldiers 
had  wrought  in  Alemannia,  proceeded  to  August- 
burg,  and  there,  in  832,  met  Louis,  and  forgave  him. 
Louis  promised  with  an  oath  not  to  offend  in  such  a 
way  again.  The  emperor  then  returned  to  Mainz. 
Calling  Pippin  to  him  later,  he  reprimanded  him  for 
his  conduct,  and  ordered  him  to  proceed  to  Francia, 
there  to  await  his  coming,  but  Pippin  disregarded 
his  father's  commands,  and  returned  to  his  kingdom 
of  Aquitania.  In  the  following  year,  833,  the 
brothers  again  broke  out  in  rebellion,  and  the  em- 
peror was  obliged  to  summon  his  army,  which  he 
did  in  June,  and  advanced  against  them,  desiring,  if 
possible,  to  win  them  over  by  peaceable  means,  but 
determined,  if  these  failed,  to  resort  to  arms.  The 
rebellious  army  was  drawn  up  at  Redfield,  and  with 
it  were  Lothair,  of  Italy,  who  brought  with  him 
Pope  Gregory  IV.,  Pippin  of  Aquitania,  and  Louis 
of  Bavaria.  Then  occurred  that  sad  event  which 
changed  the  name  of  the  place  from  Redfield  to 
"  Liigenfeld,"  the  Field  of  Lies,  for  by  treachery 
and  deceit  the  soldiers  of  Louis  were  won  over  to 
the  side  of  his  rebellious  sons,  and  the  emperor  was 
left  alone.  Once  again  he  was  sent  into  exile,  and 
Lothair,  seizing  the  royal  power,  allowed  the  pope 
to  return  to  Rome,  and  his  brothers,  Pippin  and 
Louis,  to  their  kingdoms.  But  Lothair,  taking  his 
father  with  him,  went  to  Soissons,  and  there  placed 


Deposition  of  the  E]}ipe7'or.  407 

him  under  guard  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Medard, 
and  then  took  the  young  Charles  and  sent  him  to 
the  monastery  of  Prum,  much  to  the  grief  of  his 
father.  In  October  Lothair  held  the  assembly  at 
Compiegne,  and  there  the  bishops,  abbots,  counts, 
and  all  the  people  presented  to  him  the  annual  gifts, 
according  to  the  imperial  custom,  and  swore  fealty 
to  him.  He  also  received  the  ambassadors  who  had 
been  sent  to  his  father  with  their  gifts  from  Con- 
stantinople. At  this  assembly  many  crimes  were 
charged  against  the  emperor,  and  foremost  among 
his  accusers  was  Ebbo,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  said 
to  have  been  a  foster-brother  and  fellow-disciple  of 
the  emperor  ; '  Louis  was  forced  to  lay  aside  his  arms 
and  kingly  garb,  and  was  cut  off  from  all  intercourse 
with  any  except  the  deputies  of  Lothair  ;  but  even 
then  Lothair,  fearful  that  he  might  escape,  kept 
him  with  him,  and  finally  brought  him  to  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  where  he  spent  the  winter.  His  brother 
Louis,  at  a  conference  with  him,  urged  a  milder 
treatment,  but  Lothair  paid  no  heed,  and  Louis 
began  to  plan  for  his  father's  rescue.  The  emperor 
being  treated  more  and  more  cruelly,  the  two  broth- 
ers. Pippin  and  Louis,  in  834,  summoned  their  fol- 
lowers to  arms  against  Lothair,  who  was  forced  to 
leave  his  father  in  Paris  and  to  save  himself  by 
flight.  The  bishops  who  were  present  there  brought 
about  a  reconciliation  with  the  emperor  in  the  church 
of  St.  Denis,  and  once  more  clothed  him  in  his 
royal  robes  and  restored  to  him  his  arms.  With 
much  rejoicing  Louis  restored  his  two  sons  to  his 

'  Fiodoard,  p.  193. 


4o8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

favor,  and  having  expressed  his  gratitude  to  them 
and  to  all  the  people,  he  dismissed  Pippin  to  his  king- 
dom, and  took  Louis  with  him  to  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Here  with  his  counsellors  and  chief  men  he  discussed 
the  position  of  Lothair.  Messengers  were  sent  to 
all  parts  of  the  empire  announcing  his  restoration 
and  claiming  the  allegiance  of  all.  Meanwhile 
Lothair  had  fled  to  Vienne,  and  there  Louis  sent 
promises  of  forgiveness,  calling  upon  Lothair  to  re- 
turn. Lothair,  however,  refused,  and  it  having 
been  learned  that  a  plot  was  on  foot  to  murder  the 
empress,  she  was  taken  from  the  monastery  and 
brought  unharmed  to  the  emperor.  Together  with 
Louis,  joined  also  by  his  other  son.  Pippin,  he  ad- 
vanced against  Lothair,  and  finally  induced  hirh  to 
submit,  offering  to  him  the  kingdom  of  Italy  and 
agreeing  to  preserve  the  life  and  property  of  his 
followers. 

Thus  the  first  stage  of  the  rebellion  was  ended, 
but  Ebbo,  the  archbishop  of  Rheims,  who  had  been 
the  prime  mover  in  the  revolt,  made  a  public  con- 
fession in  the  church,  declaring  that  the  emperor 
had  been  unjustly  deposed,  and  that  the  charges 
made  against  him  were  false  and  unfounded.  All 
repaired  to  the  palace,  where  Ebbo  in  full  synod 
confessed  himself  guilty  of  a  capital  crime,  pro- 
claimed himself  unworthy  of  his  episcopal  office,  and 
confirmed  this  in  writing.  By  a  unanimous  decision 
he  was  then  deposed.  Further  attempts  were  made 
to  reconcile  Lothair  in  836,  and  he  was  induced  to 
send  as  ambassadors  the  abbot  Wala  and  Eberhard, 
the  son  of  Count  Berengar,  to  treat  for  a  settlement 


Reviewed  Opposition.  409 


of  their  mutual  relations,  Lothair  promising  to 
attend  the  assembly  at  Worms  in  September,  from 
which,  however,  he  was  kept  by  sickness. 

In  October  of  the  following  year  the  emperor 
made  another  attempt  to  enlarge  and  extend  the 
territory  of  Charles.  A  new  district  was  assigned 
to  him,  consisting  of  the  greater  part  of  the  old  Bel- 
gium territory,  including  Friesland,  the  land  between 
the  Maas  and  the  Seine,  and  back  as  far  as  Bur- 
gundy, including  in  the  eastern  part  some  of  the 
territory  between  the  Seine  and  Loire.  Accordingly 
in  his  presence  the  bishops,  abbots,  counts,  and 
royal  vassals  who  held  fiefs  within  this  territory 
commended  themselves  to  Charles,  and  took  the 
oath  of  fealty  to  him. 

In  the  spring  of  838  news  came  to  the  emperor 
that  his  sons  Louis  and  Lothair  were  in  conference 
together.  Messengers  were  immediately  despatched 
declaring  the  displeasure  of  the  emperor  and  threat- 
ening them  with  force.  Louis  immediately  returned 
and  shrewdly  made  peace  with  his  too  credulous 
father.  An  attack  by  the  Saracens  in  the  South 
forced  the  emperor  to  summon  a  general  assembly 
in  the  middle  of  August  at  Kiersy.  Here,  with 
the  aid  and  support  of  Pippin,  Charles  received  the 
knightly  belt,  and  a  part  of  Neustria,  consisting  of 
the  duchy  of  Maine  and  all  of  Western  Gaul,  be- 
tween the  Loire  and  Seine,  was  conferred  upon  him. 
At  the  close  of  the  year  Pippin,  the  king  of  Aqui- 
tania,  died,  leaving  two  sons,  Pippin  and  Charles. 
In  839  a  further  arrangement  of  the  territory  of  the 
empire  was  made  at  an   assembly  at  Worms.     In 


4IO  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

May  Lothair  was  received  by  his  father,  and  fear 
being  expressed  on  account  of  the  approaching  old 
age  and  weakness  of  the  emperor,  he  was  urged  to 
make  a  final  provision  for  the  future.  The  em- 
press, remembering  the  promise  made  by  Lothair 
at  the  baptism  of  her  son,  proposed  to  Lothair  the 
division  of  the  whole  kingdom,  with  the  exception 
of  Bavaria,  between  himself  and  Charles.  Lothair 
agreed  to  this,  and  it  was  confirmed  by  an  oath. 

A  reconciliation  was  effected  with  the  emperor, 
and  Lothair  fell  at  his  feet  and  asked  to  be  restored 
to  his  earlier  place.  The  emperor  was  induced  to 
agree  to  this  arrangement  made  between  Charles 
and  Lothair,  and  the  empire  was  divided  into  two 
parts,  and  Lothair  given  the  choice.  One  half  in- 
cluded Italy,  part  of  Burgundy,  and  the  country 
east  and  north  of  the  Rhone,  and  from  there  along 
the  Maas  to  the  sea,  including  Ripuaria,  Worms, 
Speier,  Alsatia,  Alemannia,  Thuringia,  Saxony,  and 
Friesland  ;  the  other  half  included  Burgundy,  the 
country  west  of  the  Rhone,  along  the  Maas  to  the 
sea,  land  between  the  Maas  and  the  Seine  and  be- 
tween the  Seine  and  the  Loire,  with  the  Mark  of 
Brittany,  Aquitania,  Wasconia,  Septemania,  and 
Provence.  Lothair  chose  the  former,  east  of  the 
Maas,  and  promised  to  hand  over  the  other  half  to 
Charles.  The  brothers  were  to  come  into  complete 
possession,  however,  only  after  their  father's  death. 
In  July  Lothair  returned  to  Italy  with  rich  gifts,  his 
father  binding  him  with  the  strongest  oaths.  To 
Louis  the  emperor  sent  messengers  confirming  his 
possession  of  the  territory  of  Bavaria,  and  command- 


Death  of  Louts  the  Pious.  411 

I'ng  him  not  to  pass  beyond  its  boundaries  witliout 
his  consent,  and  requiring  from  him  an  oath  to  that 
effect.  The  refusal  of  Louis  to  comply  with  these 
conditions  forced  the  emperor  to  take  arms  against 
his  son,  and  in  840,  after  having  celebrated  Easter 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  he  crossed  the  Rhine  and  forced 
Louis  into  flight.  Returning  from  this  campaign, 
he  was  taken  ill  at  Mainz,  and  died  on  June  20th. 

The  death  of  the  emperor  was  the  signal  for  a 
great  struggle  between  the  brothers.  Lothair,  hav- 
ing learned  of  the  death  of  his  father,  hastened  from 
Italy  into  Gaul,  and  boasting  of  the  name  of  "  em- 
peror," armed  himself  against  both  of  his  brothers, 
Louis  and  Charles,  and  sought  battle  with  both,  but 
not  successfully.  Louis  and  Charles,  one  on  one 
side,  and  one  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine,  partly 
by  force,  partly  by  threats,  partly  by  promises  of 
honor  and  by  other  conditions,  reconciled  and  united 
their  followers,  and  Lothair,"  having  attacked  Louis 
at  Mainz,  crossed  the  Rhine,  and  forced  him  to  re- 
tire to  Bavaria.  He  then  turned  his  arms  against 
Charles,  but  without  success,  Louis  rendering  aid  to 
his  brother. 

The  young  nephew.  Pippin,  claiming  the  inher- 
itance of  his  father  in  Aquitania,  found  his  claims 
slighted  and  his  possessions  seized  by  his  uncle 
Charles.  He  accordingly  joined  his  forces  with 
those  of  Lothair,  who  was  preparing  to  meet  the 
allied  brothers  in  a  final  struggle.  It  was  said  that 
Charles  and  Louis  were  anxious  to  avoid  a  battle, 
but  Lothair  insisted,  claiming  the  empire.  The 
battle  was   fought   at   Fontenay,    near  Auxerre,   in 


412  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Lower  Burgundy,  on  June  25th,  843,  and  ended  in 
a  complete  victory  for  the  German  forces,  under 
Charles  and  Louis,  against  the  Romanic  army  of 
Lothair.  In  view  of  their  success  the  two  brothers 
met  at  Strassburg,  and  entered  into  a  mutual  agree- 
ment, binding  themselves,  each  to  the  other,  to  resist 
the  demands  of  Lothair.  "  Here,  for  the  first 
time,"  says  Emerton,  "  we  have  a  distinct  recog- 
nition of  difference  of  race  and  language  as  a  basis 
of  political  action  among  the  Franks.  The  kings 
first  addressed  the  *  people' —  that  is,  the  army, 
each  in  his  own  language. 

Then  Louis,  being  the  elder,  took  oath  in  the 
lingua  romana,  as  follows  : 

Pro  Deo  amur  et  pro  christian  poblo  et  nostro 
commun  salvament,  dist  di  in  avant,  in  quant  Deus 
savir  et  podir  me  dunat,  si  salvaraeio  cist  meon 
fradre  Karlo  et  in  adiudha  et  in  cadhuna  cosa,  si 
cum  om  per  dreit  son  fradra  salvar  dist,  in  o  quid  il 
mi  altresi  fazet  ;  et  ab  Ludher  nul  plaid  numquam 
prindrai,  qui  meon  vol  cist  meon  fradre  Karle  in 
damno  sit.' 

"  After  this  Charles  repeated  the  same  oath  in  the 
lingua  teudisca  : 

"  '  In  Godes  minna  ind  in  thes  christianes  folches 
ind  unser  bedhero  gealtnissi,  fon  thesemo  dage 
frammordes,  so  fram  so  mir  Got  gewizci  indi  madh 
furgibit,  so  haldih  tesan  minan  bruodher,  soso,  man 
mit  rehtu  sinan  bruodher  seal,  in  thiu,  thaz  er  mig 
sosoma  duo  ;  indi  mit  Ludherem  in  nohheiniu  thing 
ne  gegango,  the  minan  Avillon  imo  ce  scadhen 
werhen.' 


The  Strassbu7'-g  Oaths.  413 

The  translation  of  the  oath  is  as  follows  : 
For  the  love  of  God,  and  for  the  sake  as  well  of 
our  peoples  as  of  ourselves,  I  promise  that  from  this 
day  forth,  as  God  shall  grant  me  wisdom  and 
strength,  I  will  treat  this,  my  brother,  as  one's 
brother  ought  to  be  treated,  provided  that  he  shall 
do  the  same  by  me.  And  with  Lothair  I  will  not 
willingly  enter  into  any  dealings  which  may  injure 
this,  my  brother.' 

Then  the  followers  of  the  kings  took  oath,  each 
in  his  own  language,  that  if  their  own  king  should 
violate  his  agreement,  they  would  refuse  to  aid  him 
against  the  brother  who  should  have  kept  his  word. 

These  oaths,  valuable  to  us  as  a  proof  of  j  ust  how 
things  stood  between  the  rival  kings  in  the  year  842, 
have  an  especial  value  as  the  earliest  specimens  of 
the  old-romance  and  the  old-germanic  languages. 
We  see  here  the  former  just  emerging  from  the  an- 
cient Latin,  and  reminding  us  already  of  the  later 
French,  Spanish,  and  Italian.  We  see  the  latter, 
without  any  admixture  of  the  Latin,  already  so  like 
the  modern  German,  English,  and  Dutch  that  one 
can  read  it  without  much  difficulty."  ' 

In  the  next  year,  843,  Lothair,  convinced  of  the 
futility  of  any  further  attempts,  met  with  his  broth- 
ers at  Verdun,  and  negotiations  were  begun,  result- 
ing in  the  treaty  of  Verdun,  which  is  rightly  re- 
garded as  marking  the  end  of  the  Carolingian  Em- 
pire, and  the  beginning  of  the  nations  of  modern 
Europe.  Although  in  885  the  Carolingian  ruler  of 
the  East,  Charles  the  Fat,  who  had  been  crowned 
'  Emerton,  pp.  26-28. 


414  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

emperor  by  the  pope  in  881,  was  acknowledged  by 
the  nobles  of  the  West  to  be  their  king  as  well,  and 
so  once  more  the  empire  was  united  under  one  rule. 
The  unity  could  not  last  long.  A  treaty  made  with 
the  Northmen  in  886,  which  opened  to  the  invading 
barbarians  a  way  to  the  rich  lands  of  Upper  Bur- 
gundy, alienated  and  offended  the  subjects.  In  887 
the  empire  once  more  broke  up,  and  six  different 
kingdoms  appeared — Germany,  Italy,  Burgundy, 
Prov^ence,  and,  in  the  West,  Neustria  and  Aquitania. 
The  latter  united  into  one  under  Hugh  Capet  in  987. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS  AND  MISSIONARIES  —  EBBO 
AND  THE  DANES — ANSGAR  AND  THE  SWEDES 
— OLAF  AND  THE  NORWEGIANS — METHODIUS 
AND  THE  MORAVIANS — SECULARIZATION  OF 
THE  BISHOPS  —  POLITICAL  INFLUENCE  AND 
DEPENDENCE  —  FEUDAL  RELATIONS — REFORM 
MOVEMENTS. 

|N  spite  of  all  this  confusion  and  disturb- 
ance, Christianity  was  reaching  out  for 
new  victories.  When  the  embassy  came 
to  Louis,  asking  him  to  help  the  royal 
party  of  the  Danes  in  their  endeavor  to 
maintain  their  king,  Harold,  on  his  throne,  Louis 
took  occasion  to  send  back  with  them  a  missionary 
to  introduce  Christianity,  Ebbo,  archbishop  of 
Rheims,  undertook  this  work  at  the  emperor's  re- 
quest in  822.  With  him  was  associated  Halitgar, 
the  bishop  of  Combray.  So  successful  were  they, 
that,  in  826,  when  Harold  appeared  again  at  the 
court  of  Louis,  he  and  his  wife  were  both  baptized, 
Louis  standing  as  godfather  to  Harold  and  Judith 
as  godmother  to  the  queen.  The  presents  and  en- 
tertainment which  the  new  converts  received  went 

415 


41 6  The  Age  of  Chai'lemagnc. 

far  towards  making  the  example  of  the  king  a  popu- 
lar one  to  follow.  When  he  returned  Ansgar,  a 
young  monk  of  Corbie,  brought  up  under  Paschasius 
Radbertus,  and  under  Wala,  the  abbot  of  New 
Corbie,  accompanied  him  and  continued  the  work 
of  converting  the  Danes.  But  the  people,  sus- 
picious of  the  Franks  and  of  their  religion,  again 
drove  out  Harold,  and  Ansgar  was  obliged  to  retire. 
A  way  was  opened  to  him  for  a  larger  work.  Chris- 
tian captives  had  brought  their  religion  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  in  Sweden,  and  when  Swedish 
envoys  appeared  at  the  court  of  the  emperor  they 
asked  for  teachers  of  Christianity.  The  Danish  mis- 
sion being  put  in  charge  of  the  monk  Gieslemar, 
Ansgar  was  selected  by  Louis  for  this  new  v/ork. 
Accompanied  by  Witmar,  a  monk  of  Corbie,  he  em- 
barked for  Sweden  in  829 ;  returning  two  years 
afterwards,  Louis  decided  that  the  time  had  come 
for  carrying  out  the  plans  of  Charles  ;  accordingly 
he  established  a  metropolitanate  at  Hamburg  as  a 
centre  for  the  Northern  missions,  and  Ansgar  was 
sent  to  Rome  to  receive  the  papal  confirmation  and 
the  pall.  Gregory  IV.  confirmed  his  work,  raised 
him  to  the  archiepiscopal  dignity,  and  conferred 
upon  him,  together  with  Archbishop  Ebbo,  charge 
of  the  missions  in  the  North. 

In  attempting  to  renew  his  work  among  the  Danes, 
he  purchased  captives,  that  he  might  train  a  native 
clergy  for  a  people  too  proud  to  receive  their  relig- 
ion from  foreigners.  The  death  of  Louis  and  the 
division  of  the  empire  deprived  him  of  a  friendly 
protector,  and  the  conquest  and  pillage  of  Hamburg 


A  lis  gar,  the  Apostle  of  the  North.    417 

by  the  Normans,  in  845,  seemed  almost  like  utter 
ruin.  At  the  same  time  his  mission  in  Sweden  was 
destroyed,  and  Gauzbert,  whom  he  had  consecrated 
as  its  bishop,  was  driven  out. 

His  faith  and  perseverance  would  not  allow  him 
to  despair  ;  indeed,  at  this  very  time  his  affairs 
changed  for  the  better.  The  bishopric  of  Bremen 
becoming  vacant,  King  Louis  of  Germany  offered  it 
to  him.  At  first  he  refused  it,  as,  being  under  the 
archbishopric  of  Cologne,  confusion  and  trouble 
might  arise  if  he  tried  to  associate  it  with  Hamburg. 
After  long  negotiations,  however,  it  was  finally 
arranged  in  849,  when  Ansgar  received  it  and  united 
it  with  the  See  of  Hamburg,  the  change  being  ap- 
proved by  the  pope.  From  this  time,  as  safer  and 
less  exposed  to  attack  and  invasion,  it  became  the 
seat  of  the  archbishop.  Success  now  was  assured. 
He  was  able  to  win  over  Horik,  or  Eric,  the  savage 
king  of  Jutland,  and  not  only  in  ecclesiastical,  but 
in  political  affairs,  became  his  chief  confidant  and 
adviser  in  his  relations  with  the  empire.  Horik  per- 
mitted Ansgar  to  introduce  Christianity  among  his 
people,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  church  in  Schles- 
wig,  and  to  establish  Christianity  there.  In  851 
Ansgar  revived  his  mission  among  the  Swedes,  send- 
ing to  them  the  hermit  Ardgar,  who  remained  there 
but  a  short  time,  however,  and  in  853  Ansgar,  ac- 
companied by  a  priest  named  Erimbert,  went  back 
to  them. 

Olaf,  the  king,  supported  by  the  nobles  and  peo- 
ple, after  appealing  to  the  heathen  lots,  received  him 
favorably,  and  having  settled  Erimbert  there  he  re- 

AA 


41 8  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

turned  to  his  own  diocese  in  854.  Ansgar  was  able 
to  accomplish  more,  because  he  and  his  missionaries 
asked  nothing  from  the  people,  supporting  them- 
selves by  their  own  labor  or  by  voluntary  gifts  ;  in- 
deed, they  made  presents  to  the  kings  and  nobles, 
thus  gaining  protection  and  support.  Not  the  least 
of  Ansgar' s  powers  lay  in  his  own  earnest  and  reso- 
lute, but  humble  and  Christlike  setting  forth  of  the 
Gospel  in  his  own  life.  Rightly  has  he  been  called 
the  "  Apostle  of  the  North."  When  it  was  said  of 
him,  as  of  others  at  that  time,  that  his  prayers 
wrought  miracles  in  healing  the  sick,  he  replied  : 
"  Could  I  deem  myself  worthy  of  such  a  favor  from 
the  Lord,  I  would  pray  him  to  vouchsafe  me  but 
one  miracle,  that  out  of  me,  by  his  grace,  he  would 
make  a  good  man."  ' 

Having  labored  for  nearly  thirty-five  years  among 
these  people  of  the  North,  he  was  seized  by  a  severe 
illness,  from  which  he  suffered  for  four  months,  until 
at  last  he  entered  into  rest,  February  3d,  865,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-four  years.  Erimbert  was  his  faithful 
disciple  and  successor  in  the  See  of  Hamburg- 
Bremen,  but  the  continued  invasions  of  the  ninth 
and  tenth  centuries  delayed  for  long  the  progress  of 
the  work.  It  was  not  until  the  eleventh  century, 
under  Cnut,  in  Denmark,  under  Olaf  Skotkonung, 
in  Sweden,  and  under  Olaf,  the  Holy,  in  Norway, 
that  Christianity  was  finally  established  in  these 
countries  of  the  far  North. 

Eastward  Christianity  spread  by  the  efforts  of 
Arno,   archbishop  of  Salzburg,   under  Charles  the 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  287. 


Ecclesiastical  Politicians.  419 

Great,  and  of  Urolf,  archbishop  of  Lorch,  under 
Louis  the  Pious.  Their  work  was  taken  up  and 
extended  among  the  Moravians  by  two  Greek 
monks,  Cyril  and  Methodius,  and  in  867  the  latter 
was  consecrated  by  Pope  Hadrian  II.  as  metropoli- 
tan of  Pannonia  and  Moravia,  promising  obedience 
to  Rome.' 

But  not  all  the  bishops  were  thus  engaged  or  even 
interested.  The  discipline  of  Charles  the  Great, 
though  reinforced  by  Louis  in  the  Benedictine  re- 
forms and  by  the  establishment  of  the  canonical 
life,  was  relaxed.  Secular  affairs  engrossed  the 
higher  ecclesiastics,  and  ignorance  began  to  charac- 
terize the  lower  clergy.  The  election  of  bishops, 
in  spite  of  laws  and  attempted  reforms,  came  more 
and  more  under  the  control  of  the  emperor  and 
kings.  Men  like  Hincmar,  archbishop  of  Rheims, 
might  stand  firm  and  resist, but  he  was  an  exception  in 
many  ways.  Indeed,  Ampere  speaks  of  him  as  "  the 
greatest  political  personage  of  the  ninth  century."  ' 
It  soon  became  a  common  thing  for  the  kings  to 
appoint  men  from  among  the  clergy  of  their  own 
court  to  the  more  important  bishoprics.  The 
bishops  themselves  recognized  that  it  was  to  their 
interest  to  bring  their  churches  into  dependence 
upon  their  rulers.  This  tendency  was  carried  even 
further,  and  firmly  crystallized  in  feudalism,  where 
the  large  ecclesiastical  estates  and  properties,  to- 
gether with  the  powers  political  as  well  as  ecclesias- 
tical  exercised   by   the   bishops   and   abbots,  forced 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  317,  note  i, 
'  Ampdre,  vol.  iii.,  p.  92. 


420  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

them  to  become  an  integral  part  of  the  feudal  order. 
In  connection  with  the  ceremonial  attending  the  act 
of  homage  to  the  lord,  and  the  conferring  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  upon  the  vassal,  various  sym- 
bols were  used  to  indicate  the  different  official  rela- 
tions of  the  vassals.  A  similar  custom  came  into 
use  in  connection  with  the  consecration  of  bishops 
and  abbots.  Already  in  the  fifth  century  the  pope 
had  introduced  the  custom  of  conferring  the  pall 
upon  distinguished  prelates  as  a  mark  of  the  favor 
and  authorization  of  the  Roman  See  and  of  their 
allegiance  to  it.  With  the  development  and  exten- 
sion of  the  feudal  relation,  bishops  and  abbots,  at 
their  consecration,  were  invested  with  the  sceptre, 
the  crozier,  and  the  ring  as  symbols  of  their  official 
authority  and  position.  The  objectionable  feature 
lay  in  the  fact  that  these  symbols,  representing 
spiritual  no  less  than  temporal  authority,  were  con- 
ferred by  the  secular  power,  not  only  seeming  to 
imply  that  the  civil  ruler  was  the  source  of  their 
authority,  but  also  emphasizing  and  even  increasing 
their  dependence  upon  him.  Thus  a  strong  secu- 
larizing tendency  began  to  exert  an  almost  irresisti- 
ble influence.  Few  prelates  distinguished  between 
their  spiritual  and  their  temporal  interests  and  func- 
tions, and  with  very  many  of  them  political  and 
secular  affairs  were  the  most  absorbing.  In  the 
struggles  of  the  ninth  century  the  great  church 
prelates  take  the  place  of  the  secular  nobles  in  politi- 
cal influence  and  counsel.  Ebbo,  and  later  Hinc- 
mar,  of  Rheims,  Agobard,  of  Lyons,  Theodulf,  of 
Orleans,    are    only  a  few  of   the    more    prominent 


Efforts  for  Peace.  421 

among  the  influential  ecclesiastical  politicians  of  the 
century.  The  influence  of  these  powerful  ecclesias- 
tics, so  often  on  different  sides  of  the  strife,  served 
also  to  increase  the  power  of  the  pope,  whom  each 
party  was  eager  to  secure  at  any  time  as  an  ally. 
The  feudal  relations  and  political  dependence  of  the 
bishops  and  abbots,  as  shown  in  the  right  of  investi- 
ture, led  to  still  greater  evils  by  allowing  the  capri- 
cious bestowal  of  these  positions  as  benefices  on 
court  favorites,  or  by  making  them  objects  of  trafific 
and  sale.  Under  such  circumstances  the  spiritually 
minded  prelates  were  not  very  numerous,  nor  were 
the  conditions  such  as  to  develop  them. 

Among  the  burdens  from  which  the  churches  were 
not  exempt  was  the  obligation  of  the  bishops  and 
abbots  for  military  service  or  its  equivalent.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  clergy  not  only  were  exempt  from 
personal  military  service,  but  were  forbidden  to  en- 
gage in  war  or  to  carry  arms.  However,  the  secular 
position  and  duties  of  the  bishops  and  abbots,  the 
civil  wars,  and  especially  the  barbarian  invasions, 
made  the  keeping  of  such  laws  increasingly  dififlcult, 
and  even  the  holiest  men  were  forced  to  engage  in 
preparations  for  the  armed  defence  of  their  churches 
and  monasteries,  and  sometimes  even  to  lead  their 
soldiers.  Yet  it  was  only  in  case  of  severe  and  sud- 
den attack  that  such  extreme  activity  was  required, 
though  the  warlike  spirit  and  deeds  of  many  drew 
forth  severe  condemnation  from  reformers  like  Peter 
Damiani.  Strong  efforts  were  made  by  the  church 
to  establish  order  and  quiet,  and  the  peace  institu- 
tions— the  "  VcdiCe,"  pactum  pads y  in  the  tenth  cen- 


42  2  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

tury,  and  the  "  Truce  of  God,"  triiga  Dei,  in  the 
eleventh,  were  due  to  the  influence  and  active  co- 
operation of  the  clergy. 

Secular  obligations  and  interests  brought  with 
them  also  internal  evils  and  corruptions.  Simony 
and  lay  control,  ambition  after  power,  greed  of  rich 
revenue,  and  pride  of  birth,  all  tended  to  lower  the 
standard  and  to  weaken  the  power  of  the  bishops 
and  higher  clergy.  Morality  declined,  and  manners 
suffered  in  consequence.  Marriage  was  common 
among  the  clergy,  and  ecclesiastical  property  was 
divided  among  their  families.  There  was  danger  of 
building  up  a  regular  clerical  caste.  Vice  of  every 
kind  increased.  The  archbishop  of  Cambray,  in 
order  to  draw  his  clergy  from  their  infatuation  for 
dice,  or  to  turn  it  in  a  better  direction,  invented  for 
his  diocese  an  ingenious  game  of  dice  with  stones 
named  after  the  Christian  virtues.' 

As  with  the  bearing  of  arms  and  the  marriage  of 
priests,  so  in  other  respects  the  church  laws  of  the 
earlier  times  were  disregarded  and  violated.  Men 
were  ordained  absolutely — that  is,  without  any  fixed 
parish,  and  so  without  any  responsibility  or  control, 
and  private  chapels  and  the  right  of  patronage  still 
further  weakened  authority  and  discipline. 

There  were  movements  for  reform,  like  those  of 
Dunstan,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Atto,  bishop 
of  Vercelli,  and  Peter  Damiani,  bishop  of  Ostia,  but 
the  age  succeeding  Charles  the  Great  waited  for  a 
Henry  III.  and  a  Hildebrand. 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  410,  note  3. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  LEGISLATION  AND  THE  CONSTI- 
TUTION OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  NINTH 
CENTURY— THE  FORGED  DECRETALS — ORIGIN 
— DATE — PLACE — OBJECT  —  CONTENTS — USE — 
LATER  HISTORY. 

[HE  constitution  of  the  church  had  been 
slowly  forming  itself  in  harmony  with 
the  events  which  we  have  thus  far  been 
describing.  Most  of  the  legislation  had 
been  the  work  of  the  local  synods,  under 
the  leadership  and  guidance  of  the  archbishops  and 
metropolitans,  but  as  the  nev»^  powers  of  the  West 
arose  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  Roman  Empire, 
and  especially,  as  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  these  new 
peoples  gave  their  assent  to  Christianity,  and  were 
most  active  in  its  spread,  securing  its  acceptance 
among  their  people,  and  supporting  its  claims  by 
their  authority,  the  connection  between  church  and 
state  became  ever  closer  and  more  intimate,  and 
their  interests  approached  a  greater  harmony  and 
unity  of  purpose. 

The  filling  of  bishoprics  and  the  higher  offices 
with  native  ecclesiastics,  the  increase  of  church  lands 

423 


424  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

and  property,  and  the  formation  of  great  eccle- 
siastical estates,  whereby  these  officers  were  brought 
into  and  made  a  part  of  the  rapidly  forming  feudal 
system,  still  further  tended  to  this  same  end.  The 
organization  itself  was  changing.  The  personal 
authority  of  the  bishop  of  the  chief  city  over  the 
presbyters  of  the  district  was  taking  the  place  of  the 
local  council,  while  the  bishops  were  brought  under 
the  control  of  provincial  synods,  and  of  the  metro- 
politan or  archbishop,  the  bishop  of  the  metropolis 
or  chief  city  of  the  province.  These  metropolitans 
received  also  a  civil  authority,  which  strengthened, 
although  it  tended  to  secularize  their  position." 

Moreover,  the  synods  ceased  to  be  held,  or  began 
to  lose  their  separate  and  independent  power,  while 
the  political  assemblies,  in  which  the  chief  bishops 
and  abbots  sat  as  a  part  of  the  territorial  nobility, 
regulated  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  secular  affairs. 
The  history  of  the  church  in  England  previous  to 
the  Norman  Conquest  furnishes  a  clear  and  forcible 
illustration  of  this  development.  It  is  seen  also  in 
the  history  of  the  Prankish  Kingdom,  The  conver- 
sion of  Clovis,  who  thereafter  waged  his  wars  of 
conquest  and  extension,  having  among  his  avowed 
objects  the  suppression  of  Arianism  and  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  to  Christianity,  the  authoriza- 
tion by  the  church  of  the  change  from  the  Merovin- 
gian to  the  Carolingian  line,  and  the  coronation  of 
Pippin  by  the  pope,  were  only  moie  marked  events 
along  this  same  line.  Boniface  himself  had  said, 
"  Without  the  patronage  of  the  Prankish  ruler,  I 
'  Hatch,  pp.  32-39,  126-129. 


Subjection  of  the   CJnirch.  425 

can  neither  govern  the  people  nor  defend  the  pres- 
byters, monks,  or  handmaidens  of  God  ;  nor  even 
could  I  forbid  the  pagan  rites  and  sacrilegious  idola- 
tries without  his  mandate  and  the  fear  of  his  name." 

This  union  gave  to  the  church  a  discipline  which, 
at  times,  was  sadly  needed,  while  it  gave  to  the 
kingdom  a  divine  sanction  and  authority,  as  well  as 
an  instrument  of  power  v>'ith  Vv'ell-organized  means 
for  its  exercise.  Consequently,  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  Great,  both  powers  grew  and  flourished, 
and  he  appeared  like  a  second  Constantine,  the 
ruler,  because  the  strong  and  efficient  protector  of 
the  church. 

With  the  accession  of  his  son  and  sole  successor, 
Louis  the  Pious,  a  change  began  to  take  place. 
The  weakness  of  the  central  power,  even  in  secular 
affairs,  brought  about  division  and  strife,  in  which 
the  church  became  involved.  The  great  power  which 
Charles  the  Great  had  used  for  her  support  and  de- 
fence was  now  divided,  and  often  used  against  her, 
till  she  became  the  object  of  oppression,  and  her 
subjection  to  an  alien  power  was  only  too  apparent. 

To  free  the  church  from  this  subjection,  to  make 
her  independent  of  the  temporal  power,  to  strength- 
en, unify,  and  solidify  her  own  organization,  and  to 
give  it  a  strong  foundation  in  law  and  precedent, 
was  the  great  problem  which,  in  the  ninth  century, 
pressed  with  ever-increasing  urgency  upon  those 
who  had  the  interests  of  the  church  at  heart.  It 
was  to  solve  this  problem  and  to  meet  this  need 
that  the  Forged  Decretals,  as  they  are  now  gener- 
ally called,  were  put  forth. 


426  The  Age  of  Charlemagtie. 

Laws  already  existed,  and  collections  of  them 
were  well  known  and  widely  circulated.  These  col- 
lections included  the  canons  of  CEcumenical  Coun- 
cils, and  of  some  of  the  most  important  and  well- 
known  local  synods,  also  the  more  formal  and 
authoritative  letters  of  distinguished  bishops,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  apostolic,  or  more  important  and 
well-known  sees,  and  the  canonical  laws  of  the  em- 
perors, particularly  Theodosius  and  Justinian. 

By  far  the  most  important  collection  was  that 
made  about  500  A.D.  by  Dionysius  Exiguus,  a 
Roman  abbot,  who  thus  became  the  founder  of  the 
Western  system  of  canon  law,  and  is  also  known  as 
the  originator  of  our  practice  of  numbering  years 
from  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  Christian  or  Dionysian 
era. 

In  the  seventh  century  another  collection  appeared 
in  Spain,  afterwards  called  the  collection  of  Isidore, 
being  ascribed  generally,  but  probably  erroneously, 
to  Isidore,  archbishop  of  Seville,  who  died  636  A.D. 

Since  then  two  centuries  had  passed,  centuries  of 
great  and  momentous  history,  in  which  many 
changes  had  been  wrought,  new  influences  set  at 
work,  new  conditions  realized,  and  new  needs  cre- 
ated, which  the  laws  enacted  under  secular  control 
either  were  powerless  to  meet  or  only  aggravated. 

Attempts  at  reform  were  made  by  the  synods  held 
under  Louis  the  Pious  and  his  sons,  and  also  by  new 
collections  of  laws.  These  laws  or  capitularies,  as 
those  put  forth  by  the  Prankish  kings  were  called, 
were  placed  in  a  genuine  collection,  in  827,  by 
Ansegis,  abbot  of  Fontenelles,  which  was  included 


Pseudo-Isidore.  427 

in  a  collection  made  about  twenty  years  later  by 
the  so-called  Benedict  Levite,  of  Mainz,  who  added 
some  and  composed  many  more  from  both  genuine 
and  spurious  ecclesiastical  legislation,  the  whole 
bearing  the  title  of  the  Capitularies  of  Benedict 
Levite.  A  further  attempt  was  made  in  the  capit- 
ularies, ascribed  to  Angilram,  bishop  of  Metz,  in 
the  last  part  of  the  eighth  century,  but  really  be- 
longing to  a  later  date. 

It  remained  for  him  who  took  the  name  of  the 
renowned  bishop  of  Seville,  already  identified  with 
the  famous  collection  of  the  seventh  century,  to 
put  forth  the  most  complete,  most  effective,  and 
most  fraudulent  collection  of  all,  and  therefore  called 
the  Pseudo-Isidore.  The  full  name  which  the 
author  assumed  was  Isidore  Mercator  (changed  in  a 
few  manuscripts  to  Peccator,  which  is  therefore 
probably  an  erroneous  form),  but  the  latter  name 
seems  to  be  of  unknown  origin  and  meaning,  though 
possibly  derived  from  a  well-known  writer  of  the 
fifth  century.' 

The  collection  appears  in  three  parts.  The  first 
contains  the  preface,  two  letters,  one  pretending  to 
be  from  Aurelius  of  Carthage  to  Pope  Damasus, 
asking  the  pope  to  send  him  the  statutes  of  all  the 
pontiffs  from  Peter  to  the  beginning  of  his  own 
pontificate,  a  request  which  Damasus  in  the  other 
letter  grants."     After  the  "  order  for  holding  a  coun- 

'  Hinschius,  p.  ccxxxvi.  ;  Kurtz,  vol.  i.,  p.  512  ;  Neander,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  721. 

"  Damasus  was  bishop  of  Rome  from  366  to  384  ad.  The 
genuine  decretals,  as  the  authoritative  papal  letters  are  called,  be- 


428  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

cil"  are  inserted  the  apocryphal  so-called  Apostolic 
Canons,  introduced  by  a  forged  letter  from  Jerome. 
Then  follow  the  decretals,  fifty-nine  letters  from 
thirty  popes,  beginning  Avith  Clement  and  ending 
with  Melchiades,  bishop  of  Rome  from  311  to  314, 
all,  with  the  exception  of  parts  of  the  first  two, 
which  are  an  earlier  forgery,  the  work  of  Pseudo- 
Isidore.  The  second  part  contains  the  acts  of  the 
principal  councils,  including  the  first  four  general 
and  some  early  Eastern  ones,  as  well  as  the  principal 
African  and  Spanish  councils.  These  were  inserted 
from  the  earlier  Spanish  collection,  in  order  to  give 
his  own  greater  completeness  and  value,  and  also  to 
impart  to  it  a  greater  semblance  of  exactness  in 
places  where  it  could  be  easily  tested.  All  are 
genuine  and  correctly  copied  with  one  exception  ; 
the  limitation  of  the  authority  of  country  bishops  is 
made  the  declaration  of  the  seventh  canon  of  the 
second  Spanish  council,  by  the  addition  of  the  words 
"  and  country  bishops,"  to  the  words  "  presbyters," 
adding  also  "  all  which  things  are  known  to  have 
been  prohibited  by  the  Apostolic  See."  This 
change  would  not  be  easily  detected,  and  served  to 
bring  the  council  into  agreement  with  one  of  the 
forged  letters  of  Leo.  There  are  two  or  three  other 
pieces,  chief  among  them  being  the  edict  or  letter 
of  Constantine  to  Pope  Sylvester,  giving  an  account 
of  his  conversion,  baptism,  and  healing  by  Sylves- 
ter, concluding  with  the  famous  donation,  a  forgery 
of  the  preceding  century. 

gin  with  Siricius,  who  was  the  successor  of  Damasus.  Hence, 
the  significance  of  this  feigned  request  is  easily  seen. 


Sources  of  the  Decretals.  429 

The  third  and  last  part  includes  the  decretals  and 
other  documents,  one  hundred  and  ninety  in  all,  of 
the  popes  from  Sylvester  to  Gregory  II.,  of  which 
thirty-five  are  forgeries.  This  part  concludes  with 
the  capitularies  of  Angilram,  which,  Hinschius  is  in- 
clined to  think,  were  written  by  Pseudo-Isidore 
himself  before  the  rest.' 

The  principal  sources  from  which  the  collection 
was  made  up  are  the  ecclesiastical  histories  of  Cassi- 
odorus  and  Rufinus,  the  "  Libri  Pontificum,"  the 
writings  of  Eunodius,  the  Vulgate  (Psalms  in 
Jerome's  version),  early  church  fathers,  letters  to  and 
from  Boniface,  letters  of  the  popes,  especially  Leo 
the  Great  and  Gregory  the  Great,  genuine  decretals 
and  acts  of  councils,  Roman  law  collections.  Prankish 
capitularies  and  decrees,  the  collection  of  Benedict 
Levite  and  of  Angilram.''  Of  course  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  suppose  that  Pseudo-Isidore  had  all  these 
books  together  at  any  one  time  or  in  one  place,  or 
that  he  read  each  of  them  entirely  through  in  order 
to  get  one  sentence  or  a  brief  extract  ;  in  many 
cases  he  undoubtedly  used  extracts  already  made  in 
books  which  he  had  at  hand.  If,  for  example,  he 
used  as  his  principal  source  the  collection  of  Bene- 
dict Levite,  a  conclusion  which  is  highly  probable 
and  is  now  quite  generally  accepted,  the  number  of 
separate  works  will  be  diminished  by  about  one 
fifth. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  a  technical 
discussion  of  this  question  of  sources,  but  one  point 
is  of  considerable  importance  and  of  no  little  inter- 
*  Hinschius,  p.  clxxx,  "^  Ibid.,  pp.  cx.-cxxxix. 


430  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

est — that  is,  the  consideration  of  the  version  of  the 
Bible  used  by  the  writer  in  the  quotations  he  makes 
from  the  Scriptures.  Unfortunately  the  question 
is  fraught  with  many  difficulties,  and  scholars  are 
by  no  means  agreed.  He  probably  used  the  Vulgate, 
but  he  does  not  seem  to  quote  passages  with  verbal 
accuracy,  except  in  the  Psalms,  where  it  is  agreed 
that  he  used  Jerome's  translation.  We  thus  find 
popes  of  the  first  four  centuries  quoting  from  a 
translation  made  long  after  they  were  dead. 

In  regard  to  the  vexed,  but  important  question 
as  to  the  relations  between  Benedict's  collection 
and  that  of  Pseudo-Isidore,  Hinschius  declares  it  to 
be  his  opinion  that  Pseudo-Isidore  used  Benedict's 
collection  as  the  source  of  his  own,  and  supports 
his  theory  by  several  arguments.  First,  Benedict 
often  changed  the  sources  which  he  used,  and  the 
same  things  which  Benedict  interpolated  into  the 
genuine  sources,  Pseudo-Isidore  also  introduced, 
but  the  latter  also  changed  some  passages  in  which 
Benedict  agreed  with  the  sources.  Secondly,  chap- 
ters are  found  in  Benedict's  collection  compiled  from 
different  sources  already  altered  by  Benedict.  These 
same  sentences  occur  in  Pseudo-Isidore  with  the 
changes  of  Benedict,  and  with  other  changes  also 
differing  from  the  source  still  more  than  they  do 
in  Benedict.  Consequently,  Benedict  is  in  closer 
agreement  with  the  source,  and  so  nearer  to  it  than 
is  Pseudo-Isidore.  Thirdly,  in  some  chapters  Bene- 
dict has  completely  changed  the  sense  of  the  source, 
and  Pseudo-Isidore  puts  forth  the  same  with  other 
changes.     Fourthly,  there  may  be  found  also  pas- 


Date  of  the  Decretals.  431 

sages  in  Pseudo-Isidore  which  have  been  made  up 
out  of  several  in  Benedict,  and  in  which  Pseudo- 
Isidore  has  used  not  only  the  text  of  the  chapters, 
but  their  titles  as  well.  These  arguments  settle  the 
vexed  question,  and  so  help  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
False  Decretals  as  after  the  capitularies  of  Bene- 
dict, for  Benedict  expressly  says  :  "  Otgar,  who 
ivas  then  archbishop  of  Mainz,  commanding  me,  I 
compiled  the  three  books."  Inasmuch  as  these 
lines  occur  in  the  preface  to  his  work,  the  words 
"  was  then"  show  that  it  must  have  been  written 
after  Otgar  ceased  to  be  archbishop — that  is,  after 
his  death,  which  took  place  April  21st,  847.  The 
False  Decretals  must  have  been  composed  after 
that,  if,  as  seems  to  have  been  proved,  their  author 
used  the  work  of  Benedict. 

They  must  also  have  appeared  before  the  year 
853,  for  the  first  certain  reference  to  them  was  made 
at  the  synod  held  at  Soissons  in  that  year. 

To  these  considerations  Hinschius  further  adds  : 
"  If,  however,  you  take  into  account  the  time  neces- 
sary to  circulate  the  collection  of  Benedict,  and  to 
write  up  and  circulate  the  decretals  of  Pseudo-Isi- 
dore, it  will  seem  very  probable  that  the  latter  com- 
pleted his  work  about  851  or  852  A.D."  1 

France  was  unquestionably,  and  probably  Rheims, 
the  place  of  their  origin.  They  were  cited  first  by 
Frankish  writers  and  in  Frankish  councils  connected 
with  the  affairs  of  Rheims,  their  sources  also  are 
largely  Frankish,  while  they  abound  in  Gallicisms, 
using  both  expressions  and  names  peculiar  to  the 
'  Hinschius,  p.  cci, 


432  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

Western  Kingdom  ;  but  more  than  all,  the  contents 
and  aims  of  the  decretals  harmonize  most  perfectly 
with  the  history  and  conditions  of  the  Church  of 
France,  even  in  some  of  its  minutest  details.'  The 
changed  conditions  in  the  Prankish  Church  at  the 
accession  of  Louis  the  Pious  have  been  mentioned 
already  earlier  in  this  chapter.  Greater  evils  fol- 
lowed, as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter. ° 
The  attempts  at  a  division  of  the  kingdom  among 
his  sons,  the  rebellion  against  their  father,  and  the 
civil  strife  among  themselves  before  and  after  his 
death,  filled  the  land  with  woes  and  miseries  of 
every  kind,  for  besides  the  bloodshed  and  devasta- 
tion always  wrought  by  war,  there  arose  widespread 
depravity  and  sacrilege,  the  contempt  of  all  law  and 
religion.  The  desecration  and  spoliation  of  churches 
and  of  ecclesiastical  property,  the  oppression  of  the 
clergy  and  their  subjection  to  and  dependence  upon 
the  civil  power  were  the  inevitable  results.  All 
ecclesiastical  discipline  was  failing.  The  clergy 
ceased  to  obey  the  bishops  and  abbots  who  could 
not  or  would  not  help  them.  In  too  many  cases 
the  abbots  and  bishops  themselves  had  taken  part 
in  the  civil  strifes  with  all  the  fierce  partisanship  of 
the  lay  nobles,  and  the  laity  too  often  saw  in  their 
bishops  and  clergy  poHtical  opponents  rather  than 
spiritual  guides.  They  even  bore  arms  and  fought 
for  the  cause  they  had  espoused.  Thus  in  a  battle, 
in  844,  between  Charles  the  Bald  and  Pippin  II.,  two 
abbots  were  taken  prisoners  and  two  bishops  were 

'  Wasserschleben,  p.  375  ;  Clarke,  p.  369. 
"  See  above,  ch.  xxxi. 


Failure  of  Other  Attempts.  433 

found  dead  on  the  field.  Sometimes  they  took  up 
arms  to  defend  their  churches  and  to  keep  their 
property  from  becoming  the  spoil  of  some  lay  lord. 
The  continual  civil  strife  left  the  country  exposed 
to  the  ravages  of  the  Northmen,  which  began  about 
this  time,  and  which  the  divided  and  weakened 
kingdom  was  powerless  to  oppose.  The  armies 
that  marched  against  them  were  hardly  less  devas- 
tating, and  here  again  abbots  and  bishops  had  to 
arm  themselves  in  defence.  Western  Francia  was 
forced  to  endure  the  worst  of  it,  for  there  the  great 
rebellions  took  place,  the  severest  battles  were 
fought,  and  the  most  frequent  devastations  were 
suffered  from  the  Northmen.  Life,  property,  every- 
thing was  insecure. 

Ecclesiastical  discipline  became  almost  an  impos- 
sibility. The  ecclesiastical  power  lost  its  sacred 
character,  and  having  no  strong  arm  to  protect  it, 
and  unable  to  defend  itself,  fell  more  and  more 
under  the  rule  and  sway  of  the  secular  power. 

The  acts  of  the  synods  held  at  this  time  at  Paris 
in  829,  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  836,  at  Meaux  in  845, 
and  at  Paris  in  846,  show  at  once  the  nature  of 
these  evils  and  their  failure  to  remedy  them.'  The 
only  hope  of  averting  such  disaster  was  to  be  found 
in  reforming  the  church,  and  in  elevating  the  dig- 
nity and  importance  of  the  ecclesiastical  order. 
The  nobles  had  opposed  the  attempts  already  made, 
the  acts  of  the  synods  could  not  be  enforced,  and 
some  other  scheme  must  be  devised  to  accomplish 
the  desired  result,  and  at  the  same  time  to  establish 

■  Hinschius,  pp.  ccxv.-ccxxi.  ;  Clarke,  pp.  358-360. 
BB 


434  ^'^'^  ^^^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

an  authority  which  would  compel  respect  and  uni- 
versal acceptance. 

This  goes  far  to  explain  the  general  system  of  the 
Forged  Decretals,  as  well  as  the  reason  and  method 
of  their  success.  By  the  development  and  increas- 
ing influence  of  feudalism,  the  church  not  only  had 
been  brought  into  closer  relations  with  the  secular 
power,  and  into  what  we  have  seen  was  practically 
a  feudal  subjection  to  the  state,  but  also  had  been 
very  much  weakened  and  divided  in  its  own  internal 
organization,  or,  to  express  it  more  accurately,  its 
lack  of  a  strong,  united,  and  even  centralized  organi- 
zation had  been  made  increasingly  apparent,  and 
the  need  of  something  of  the  sort  directly  in  line 
and  connected  with  its  previous  development  was 
increasingly  felt. 

The  three  great  objects  to  be  sought,  therefore, 
were  freedom  from  the  secular  power,  establishment 
of  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy  with  a  firm  discipline, 
and  centralization  of  organization,  upon  which  all 
could  depend. 

This  threefold  object,  so  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  time,  is  the  aim  and  purpose  of  the 
Forged  Decretals,  as  appears  from  a  careful  study 
of  their  contents.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  their 
author  wished  to  put  forth  not  only  a  collection  of 
the  ecclesiastical  sources  which  should  contain  the 
ecclesiastical  discipline  as  it  was  set  forth  in  particu- 
lar councils  and  in  genuine  decretals,  but  also  such 
decrees  as  he  deemed  necessary  for  restoring  the 
ecclesiastical  regime,  which  had  been  corrupted  and 
almost  destroyed  by  the  civil  war  waged  by  Louis 


Object  of  the  Decretals.  435 

the  Pious  and  his  sons  ;  therefore,  in  the  false  part 
of  his  collection  he  wished  to  accomplish  that  which 
the  synods  could  not  do.      Consequently,   by  the 
greatest  authority  known  to  the  church — namely, 
that  of  the  Roman  bishops,  and  especially  of  those 
who  lived  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church — he  cor- 
roborated that  which  every  article  of  the  decrees  of 
the   Synod    of    Paris   and    of    the   Constitution    of 
Worms,  and  the  declaration  appended  to  the  Synod 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle  asserted,  which  Benedict  had  put 
forth  as  drawn  from  the  capitularies.      He  beheld 
the  wounds  inflicted  upon  the  GaUican  Church  in 
the  turbulent  times  of  Louis  the  Pious  and  of  his 
sons,   he  saw  that  Louis  the    Pious   had  hastened 
with  great  zeal  to  aid  the  ruined  church,  and  that 
the  bishops  assembled  at  the  Council  of  Meaux  had 
set  forth  many  canons  for  reforming  ecclesiastical 
discipHne,   and  he  knew  that  the  earnestness  and 
labor  of  the  emperor,  and  of  the  bishops  especially, 
had  been  rendered  fruitless  by  the  nobles.      Having 
all  these  things  in  view,   therefore,  he  forged  the 
decrees  by  which  he  sought  to  provide  that  those 
things   which    up    to    that    time   had  troubled   the 
church  might  be  done  away  with  forever  ;  hoping, 
perchance,  that  if  he  showed  forth  to  the  men  of 
his  own  age,  as  in  a  mirror,  the  decrees  which  exhib- 
ited   the    laws    observed    in    the    earliest    Christian 
churches,  they  might  at  length  be  aroused  by  such 
a  method  to  reform  the  ecclesiastical  condition.' 

As  Alzog,   the    Roman    Catholic    historian   most 
accessible  to  Protestant  readers,  rightly  points  out, 
•  Hinschius,    p.  ccxvii. 


43^  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

"  The  majority  of  critics  have  confined  their  atten- 
tion almost  entirely  to  questions  of  ecclesiastical  law, 
such  as  the  primacy,  the  relations  of  bishops  to  the 
secular  power,  to  metropolitans,  to  provincial  coun- 
cils, and  to  others  of  a  kindred  nature,  as  if  the 
tJirec  parts  into  which  this  collection  is  divided  in 
the  most  ancient  manuscript  copies  contained  only 
such,  whereas  their  subject-matter  includes  dogmatic 
and  moi'al  theology,  liturgy,  penitential  discipline, 
teachings  on  the  prerogatives  and  dignity  of  the 
Roman  Church,  on^the  right  of  appeal  to  Rome,  on 
the  various  degrees  of  the  hierarchy,  and  the  like."  ' 

In  a  similar  way  Schaff  calls  attention  to  the  vari- 
ety of  contents.  "  All  these  documents  make  up  a 
manual  of  orthodox  doctrine  and  clerical  discipline. 
They  give  dogmatic  decisions  against  heresies,  espe- 
cially Arianism  (which  lingered  long  in  Spain),  and 
directions  on  worship,  the  sacraments,  feasts  and 
fasts,  sacred  rites  and  costumes,  the  consecration  of 
churches,  church  property,  and  especially  on  church 
polity.  The  work  breathes  throughout  the  spirit 
of  churchly  and  priestly  piety  and  reverence."  "" 

The  author  lays  down  most  firmly  as  fundamental 
the  distinction  between  clergy  and  laity,  amounting 
to  an  absolute  separation.  Expressions  in  the  New 
Testament  applying  to  the  relations  between  Chris- 
tians and  non-Christians  he  applies  to  the  relations 
between  clergy  and  laity. 

To  the  members  of  the  priesthood  are  applied  the 
phrases  which  usually  have  been  referred  to  all 
Christian    believers.       The   priests,    the  clergy,   are 

'  Alzog,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  270,  271.  2  Schaff,  vol.  iv.,  p.  269. 


Stiperiority  of  the   Clergy.  437 

the  spiritual,  the  members  of  God's  household. 
They  are  the  leaders  of  the  blind,  the  salt  of  the 
earth,  the  light  of  the  world.  He  who  resists  them 
resists  God.  They  cannot  be  judged  of  men,  for 
God  alone  is  their  judge.  The  greater  cannot  be 
judged  by  the  less.  They  are  the  masters,  and  the 
servant  is  not  above  his  master.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  laity  are  the  carnal,  they  are  the  blind, 
the  members  of  this  world,  and  are  subject  to  the 
clergy,  for  the  life  of  all  priests  is  higher  and  holier 
than  that  of  seculars  and  laymen,  and  is  separate 
from  them.  Even  to  the  emperor  or  to  any  guard- 
ian of  religion  it  is  not  lawful  to  undertake  any- 
thing against  the  divine  commands,  nor  to  do  any- 
thing which  is  forbidden  by  evangelical,  propheti- 
cal, and  apostolic  rules  ;  for  an  unjust  trial  and  an 
unjust  decision,  rendered  by  judges  influenced  by 
the  fear  or  order  of  the  king,  is  invalid,  nor  will  any- 
thing stand  which  has  been  done  contrary  to  the 
constitution  of  the  evangelical  or  prophetical  or 
apostolic  doctrine  of  the  fathers  who  are  their  suc- 
cessors. All  princes  of  the  earth,  and  all  men  are 
to  obey  them  [i.e.,  the  bishops),  and  to  submit  their 
lives  to  them  and  to  be  their  helpers,  that  they  all 
may  appear  equally  faithful  and  co-workers  of  the 
law  of  God,  lest  it  be  said  of  them,  "  All  they  who 
are  incensed  against  thee  shall  be  ashamed  and  con- 
founded :  they  shall  be  as  nothing,  and  they  that 
strive  with  thee  shall  perish"  (Isa.  xli.  11,  12).' 
The  next  point  is  the  establishment  of  the  hier- 

'  See  especially,  Ep.  i.,  Clementis,  §§32-36,  42  ;  Hinschius,  pp. 
40,  41,  44,  45. 


438  The  Age  of  Chaidemagjie. 

archy  and  the  relation  of  the  different  orders  of  the 
clergy.  "  The  order  of  priests  is  twofold,  presby- 
ters and  bishops,  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the 
Lord,  who  appointed  the  twelve  apostles,  and  then 
ordered  the  seventy  disciples  to  be  chosen  to  aid 
them.  The  bishops  hold  the  place  of  the  apostles, 
and  the  presbyters  the  place  of  the  seventy  disci- 
ples. The  bishops  are  the  keys  of  the  church.  All 
the  presbyters  ought  to  obey  in  all  things  without 
delay.  Wherefore  all  the  faithful,  and  especially 
all  the  presbyters  and  deacons  and  the  rest  of  the 
clergy,  must  give  heed  to  them,  that  they  do  noth- 
ing without  the  permission  of  their  own  bishop  ; 
for  those  who  obey  their  bishops  seem,  indeed,  to 
confer  a  favor  on  God."  ' 

"  The  bishop  ought  to  be  ordained  not  by  one, 
but  by  many  bishops,  and  to  be  placed  in  an  hon- 
orable city,  not  in  a  small  one,  lest  the  name  of 
bishop  be  lowered  in  dignity.  But  the  rank  of 
apostles  is  one,  though  those  are  primates  who  hold 
the  chief  cities,  who  in  certain  places  are  called  patri- 
archs by  some.  Those,  moreover,  who  have  been 
established  by  us  in  a  metropolis,  by  order  of  the 
blessed  Peter,  and  of  our  predecessor,  Clement,  can- 
not all  be  primates  or  patriarchs,  .  .  .  but  the  other 
metropohtan  cities  have  archbishops  or  metropoli- 
tans. But  this  sacred  Roman  Apostolic  Church  has 
obtained  the  primacy  not  from  the  apostles,  but 
from  our  Lord  and  Saviour  himself,  as  he  said  to  the 
blessed  Apostle  Peter,  '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 

>  Ep.  iii.,  Anacleti,  §  38  ;  Ep.  i.,  Clementis,  §§  36,  37  ;  Ep.  iii., 
Clementis,  §  70  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  85,  41,  57. 


Headship  of  Rome.  439 

this  rock  I  will  build  my  church  ;  and  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it  '  (St.  Matt.  xvi.  18). 
Therefore  the  first  See  by  the  favor  of  heaven  is  the 
Roman  Church.  The  second  See,  at  Alexandria, 
was  consecrated  in  the  name  of  the  blessed  Peter 
by  Mark,  his  disciple.  The  third  See  is  at  Anti- 
och,  where  the  blessed  Peter  lived  before  he  came 
to  Rome,  and  he  appointed  Ignatius  as  bishop 
there.  .  .  .  Then  the  blessed  apostles  settled  it 
among  themselves  that  the  bishops  of  each  nation 
might  know  who  among  them  was  chief,'  so  that 
their  greater  care  might  be  given  to  him  ;  for  even 
among  the  blessed  apostles  there  was  a  certain  dis- 
tinction, and  though  all  were  apostles,  yet  it  was 
granted  to  Peter  by  our  Lord,  and  they  wished  the 
very  same  thing  among  themselves,  that  he  should 
have  the  rule  over  all  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and 
be  Cephas — that  is,  the  head — and  should  hold  the 
headship  {principhwi)  of  the  apostleship,  who  also 
handed  down  the  same  system  to  their  successors 
and  the  rest  of  the  bishops.  And  this  is  declared 
not  only  in  the  New  Testament,  but  also  in  the 
Old.  As  it  is  written,  '  Moses  and  Aaron  among 
his  priests'  (Ps.  xcix.  6) — that  is,  they  were  chief 
among  them."  " 

From  all  these  quotations,  which  have  been  given 
thus  fully  in  order  that  a  fair  and  complete  idea 
may  be  gained  regarding  the  general  contents  of  the 
Forged  Decretals,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  the 
author's  main  object  was  to  free  the  clergy  from 

'  See  St.  Matt.  xx.  25,  26  ;  xxiii.  8-12  ;  St.  Mark  ix.  33-35. 
*  Ep.  ii.  and  iii.,  Anacleti,  §§  26-33  I  Hinschius,  pp.  79-84. 


440  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

the  secular  power,  and  to  establish  the  hierarchy, 
maintaining  the  coequal  authority  of  all  bishops, 
though  they  might  differ  in  importance,  placing  the 
Roman  See  at  the  head,  possessing  all  power  and 
authority  derived,  not,  as  the  others,  from  the  apos- 
tles, but  from  Christ  himself,  through  St.  Peter, 
whom  he  had  appointed  and  whom  the  other  apos- 
tles acknowledged  as  their  chief. 

The  authority  of  the  bishops  had  diminished 
greatly,  and  the  metropolitans  and  primates  threat- 
ened to  rival  the  power  of  Rome  herself.  Many 
bishops  had  been  accused  and  deprived  of  their 
sees  by  the  secular  authority.  Special  attention, 
therefore,  was  given  to  the  manner  of  bringing 
charges  against  the  bishops  and  of  proceeding  to 
trial.  These  accusations  and  trials  were  made  as 
difificult  as  possible  ;  impossible,  indeed,  for  the 
secular  power,  and  every  opportunity  was  given  for 
an  appeal  to  Rome.  The  judges  were  to  be  very 
carefully  chosen,  and  many  requirements  were  de- 
manded in  each  case.  The  chief  obstacle  lay  really 
in  the  feudal  relation  of  the  bishops  to  the  emperor, 
by  whom  they  were  promoted  to  the  episcopal  rank, 
and  from  whom  they  received  their  temporalities. 
A  complete  reformation  of  the  ecclesiastical  condi- 
tion would  have  demanded,  therefore,  the  surrender 
of  other  rights  of  the  emperor  besides  that  of  judg- 
ment, especially  the  right  of  conferring  bishoprics. 
This,  however,  was  not  attempted  till  the  Hilde- 
brandine  era,  for  in  the  period  of  which  we  are 
writing  no  other  relation  than  the  feudal  was 
thought   of  or   conceived,   and  it  was  only  in  the 


Case  of  Ebbo.  441 

matter  of  accusations  and  of  depositions  of  bishops 
that  the  integrity  of  the  church  seemed  in  danger, 
and  that  ruin  threatened.  It  was  to  this  point, 
therefore,  that  much  of  the  attention  of  both  Bene- 
dict and  Pseudo-Isidore  was  directed.  Indeed,  a 
case  in  point  had  recently  occurred  v/hich  was  of 
great  importance,  and  which  undoubtedly  served  to 
give  force  and  definiteness  to  their  statements. 
This  was  the  famous  case  of  Ebbo,  archbishop  of 
Rheims. 

Ebbo  was  a  special  favorite  with  Louis,  had  been 
brought  up  with  him  at  the  palace,  and  had  received 
from  him  many  grants  and  immunities  for  his 
church.'  In  822  he  had  distinguished  himself  as  a 
very  successful  missionary  to  the  Danes,''  but  he 
took  more  interest  in  the  secular  affairs  of  the  court, 
and  had  been  won  over  to  the  cause  of  Lothair.  In 
833  he  was  among  the  bishops  openly  arrayed 
against  Louis,  and  was  foremost  in  bringing  about 
the  emperor's  deposition,  and  in  imposing  the  eccle- 
siastical penalty  upon  him.  Consequently,  when 
Louis  was  re-established  on  his  throne  in  the  follow- 
ing year  Ebbo  was  seized  and  imprisoned  in  a  mon- 
astery, and  ordered  to  await  there  the  action  of  a 
synod.  One  was  accordingly  held  at  Thionville,  in 
835,  and  having  received  from  Ebbo  a  written  con- 
fession of  his  crime,  deposed  him.  The  whole  pro- 
cedure is  clearly  set  forth  in  various  parts  of  the 
decretals,'  so    exactly,    indeed,    that    the   passages 

'  Frodoard,  pp. 193-213. 
*  See  above,  pp.  415,  416  ;  also  407,  408. 

^  Ep.  i.,  Alexandri.  §§  3,  4,  7  ;    Felicis  I.,  §§  2,  3,  4,  5  ;    "  De- 
creta  Julii,"  §§  12,  13  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  95,  97,  98,  199,  467,  471. 


442  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

must  have  been  written  from  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  Ebbo's  affairs,  for  if  they  had  been  in  existence  at 
the  time  he  would  have  used  them  in  his  defence. 

Upon  Lothair's  accession  to  the  throne  in  840 
Ebbo  was  restored  to  his  archbishopric  by  an  im- 
perial decree  signed  by  twenty  bishops,  a  smaller 
number  than  had  signed  his  deposition.  The  canons 
declared  that  a  bishop  deposed  by  one  synod  could 
be  restored  only  by  a  larger  one.  It  was,  therefore, 
declared  by  the  Forged  Decretals  that  Athanasius 
was  restored  by  the  counsel  and  decree  of  a  smaller 
number  of  bishops  than  deposed  him.  In  reality, 
Athanasius  was  restored  by  the  imperial  decree 
alone,  but  this  did  not  correspond  closely  enough 
with  Ebbo's  case.' 

When  Charles  the  Bald  gained  the  throne  of  the 
West,  Ebbo  again  lost  his  see  and  fled  to  Lothair  in 
Italy.  Then  in  the  year  844  he  received  the  bishop- 
ric of  Hildesheim  from  Louis  the  German  -^  but  as 
he  had  never  given  up  his  claim  to  Rheims,  he  came 
into  new  opposition  to  the  canons,  which  allowed  a 
change  of  sees  only  when  absolutely  required  for 
the  good  of  the  church,  and  then  only  by  a  decree 
in  synod.  Here,  again,  Pseudo-Isidore  declares  it 
"  permissible  for  a  bishop  to  change  his  see  when 
forced  by  necessity  or  urged  by  special  advantage, 
but  especially  it  is  always  permitted  when  a  bishop 
has  been  driven  from  his  see,  and,  moreover,  the 
decree  of  a  synod  is  not  at  all  necessary.'"     Thus 

*  "  Decreta  Julii,"  §  13;  Hinschius,  p.  471,  cf.  p.  ccxii. 

*  Where  he  died,  in  851. 

*  Ep.  Anted,  §  2  ;  Ep.  ii.,  Pelagii  II.,  §  2  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  152,  727. 


Defence  of  the  Bishops.  443 

all  things  done  against  Ebbo  were  declared  by 
Pseudo-Isidore  to  be  unlawful,  but  whatever  he  did 
contrary  to  ecclesiastical  laws  was  declared  to  be 
lawful. 

Much  of  the  work  of  the  Forged  Decretals  cen- 
tred, therefore,  about  the  bishops,  who  were  de- 
fended not  only  against  the  secular  power,  but  also 
against  their  own  metropolitans,  by  making  a 
bishop's  trial  more  difficult,  as  we  have  seen,  and 
by  establishing  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  primate, 
or  to  Rome,  at  any  time,  as  all  greater,  that  is, 
episcopal,  cases,  were  declared  to  be  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  the  Roman  See.  Accusations 
are  made  difficult,  if  not  impossible  ;  '  neither  laity 
nor  lower  clergy  can  bring  accusations,''  and  even 
for  the  higher  clergy  the  test  is  very  vague  and  in- 
definite.^ If  the  accused  suspects  his  judges  (that 
is,  if  he  fears  conviction)  he  can  appeal  to  the  pri- 
mate or  to  the  pope.*  He  may  chose  his  twelve 
judges.^  The  witnesses  against  him  must  have  the 
same  qualifications  as  are  required  in  accusers,"  and 
must  be  seventy-two  in  number.'  Appeal  to  Rome 
may  be  made  during  the  trial  *  or  afterwards,  for  no 


'  Ep.  ii.,  Fabiani,  §  13  ;  Ep.  ii.,  Stephani  I.,  §  10;  Hinschius, 
pp.  162,  185. 

^  Ep.  iii.,  Julii,  §  12  ;  Ep.  ii.,  Stephani  I.,  §  12  ;  Hinschius,  pp. 
467,  186. 

^  Ep.  ii  ,  Evarasti.  §  10  ;  Hinschius,  p.  92. 

*  Ep.  iii.,  Fabiani,  §  29;  Ep.  ii.,  Cornelii,  §  5  ;  Ep.  i.,  Felicis, 
§  3;  Ep.  ii.,  Felicis,  §  14;  Hinschius,  pp.  168,  174,  198, 
203. 

*  Ep.  i.,  Zeppherini,  §  5  ;  Hinschius,  p.  132. 

*  Ep.  ii.,  Calixti,  §  17  ;   Hinschius,  pp.  140,  141. 
'  Ep.  i.,  Zeppherini,  §  2  ;  Hinschius,  p.  131. 

"  Ep.  ii.,  Eutychiani,  §  7  ;  Hinschius,  p.  211. 


444  ^'^^^  ^S^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

final  sentence  can  be  rendered  without  the  will  and 
knowledge  of  the  Apostolic  See,' 

The  bishops  were  to  be  protected  also  from  those 
who  were  specially  rivalling  and  undermining  their 
power,  bringing  weakness  and  confusion  into  the 
ecclesiastical  organization.  These  were  the  country 
bishops,  who  had  been  appointed  at  first  for  large 
outlying  districts  which  had  no  prominent  city  or 
town.  In  many  cases  they  became  a  sort  of  irre- 
sponsible body,  sometimes  being  used  as  assistants 
by  regular  city  bishops,  whose  dioceses  they  under- 
took to  rule,  usually  with  great  disadvantage  and 
loss,  while  the  regular  bishop  was  away  at  court  or 
elsewhere.  Often  they  were  placed  in  charge,  by 
the  secular  power,  during  a  vacancy  in  a  diocese, 
that  its  regular  income  m.ight  be  seized  and  misap- 
propriated. The  results  had  been  confusion,  neg- 
lect, and  the  seizure  of  church  lands  and  property  by 
both  clergy  and  laity.  This  was  especially  marked 
in  the  province  of  Rheims,  which  had  been  in  the 
care  of  country  bishops  from  the  deposition  of  Ebbo, 
in  835,  to  the  election  of  Hincmar,  in  845,  with  the 
exception  of  one  short  interval.'  Under  one  of 
these  substitutes  Charles  the  Bald  had  seized  and 
distributed  among  his  vassals  a  great  part  of  the 
possessions  of  the  church,  which  Hincmar  recovered 
only  in  part  and  with  the  greatest  difficulty.'  An- 
other, in  charge  for  a  time,  was  the  one  who  had 
ordained  Gottschalk,  whose  doctrines  concerning 
predestination  had  shaken  the  whole  Galilean  Church. 

'  VVasserschleban,  p.  371.  '^  Frodoard,  p.  214. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  220-225. 


The  Primates.  445 


Earlier  councils  of  the  century  already  had  at- 
tempted to  diminish  their  rights  and  privileges,  and 
finally  it  was  established  that  they  should  have  only 
priestly  authority.'  Synods  in  Rheims  had  tried  to 
abolish  their  powers,  and  Hincmar  v/as  strongly 
opposed  to  them/  The  Forged  Decretals  absolutely 
forbade  their  ordaining,  and  denied  to  them  any 
other  rights  than  those  of  presbyters/ 

The  bishops  were  still  further  protected,  and  the 
hierarchy  developed  and  strengthened  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  primates  or  patriarchs  above  the  metro- 
politans, and  in  closer  relations  with  Rome.  The 
metropolitans,  whose  waning  power  Pippin  and 
Charles  the  Great  had  endeavored  to  restore,  had 
become  more  closely  connected  with  the  national 
unity,  and  thus  more  dependent  upon  and  in  the 
control  of  the  secular  power  of  the  princes.  This 
union  of  the  metropolitans  with  the  civil  power 
brought  about  the  subjection  of  the  lower  clergy, 
especially  the  suffragan  bishops,  whose  only  refuge 
was  in  the  popes."  But  it  would  be  impossible  for 
the  bishops  to  run  away  to  the  pope  on  every  occa- 
sion of  dijfificulty.  The  position  of  primate  is  there- 
fore interposed  between  that  of  the  metropolitan 
and  that  of  the  pope.  Unlike  Benedict,  Pseudo- 
Isidore  uses  indiscriminately  the  names  primate  and 
patriarch.     To  primates,  or  patriarchs,  belong  the 

'  Gieseler,  vol.  ii  ,  p.  52. 

'  Frodoard,  p.  240. 

*  Ep.  xix.,  Damasi  ;  Ep.  xcvii.,  Leonis  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  509- 
516,  628,  629. 

•*  Hatch,  pp.  121-135  ;  Chastel,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  173,  174;  Kurtz, 
vol.  i.,  p.  497  ;  Gieseler,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  iii,  112. 


446  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

provinces  as  already  divided  before  the  coming  of 
Christ.  No  archbishops  or  metropoHtans  are  called 
primates  except  those  who  hold  the  principal  cities, 
whose  bishops  and  their  successors  have  been  regu- 
larly appointed  to  be  patriarchs  or  primates,  unless 
some  people  is  later  converted  to  the  faith,  for 
whom  it  is  necessary  that  a  primate  should  be  ap- 
pointed on  account  of  the  multitude  of  bishops.' 
When  necessity  arises  the  bishops  may  appeal  to 
the  primate,  saving  the  authority  of  the  Apostolic 
See,  the  final  sentence  being  reserved  to  Rome." 
To  the  primate  the  metropolitans  are  to  be  obedi- 
ent, although  reverence  and  respect  are  to  be  paid 
to  the  metropolitans  by  the  bishops.* 

As  to  the  other  matters  introduced  and  subjects 
discussed — morals,  ritual,  and  belief — they  may  be 
regarded  either  as  falling  in  with  the  general  purpose 
of  reformation  and  discipline,  or  as  tending  to  make 
the  work  more  natural,  and  to  give  it  greater  value 
and  more  general  acceptance.  They  are  neither  of  so 
much  importance  nor  of  such  interest.  As  an  ex- 
ample of  the  false  moral  teaching  coming  into  vogue, 
he  declares  that  seizing  church  property  is  sacrilege, 
and  that  sacrilege  is  a  greater  sin  than  an  offence 


'  Ep.  i.,  Clementis,  ^§  28,  29  ;  Ep.  ii.,  iii.,  Anacleti,  §§  26,  29  ; 
Ep.  Aniciti,  §  3  ;  Decreta  Julii,  §  12  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  39,  79,  82, 
83,  121,  469. 

»  Ep.  Victoris,  §  6  ;  Ep.  ii.,  Stephani  I.,  g§  9,  10;  Ep.  Sixti  II., 
§g  2,  3;  Decrela  Felicis  II.,  §§4-12  ;  Decreta  Damasi,  §§  8,  9  ; 
Hinschius,  pp.  128,  129.  185,  190,  479-488,  502,  503.  But  com- 
pare Ep.  i.,  Pelgii  II  ;  Ep.  i.,  Anaclrti,  §  15  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  724, 
73,  and  preface,  p.  ccxiv. 

^  Ep.  i.,  Clementis,  ^§  28.  29;  Ep.  ii.,  Stephani  I.,  §9;  Ep. 
Luci,  §  5  ;  Ep.  Aniciti,  |  2;  Hinschius,  pp.  39,  185,  176,  121. 


Relation  to  the  Papacy.  447 

against  one  of  the  ten  commandments/  In  dog- 
matic affairs  he  confines  himself  to  decisions  of  the 
early  councils.  There  is  no  allusion,  for  example, 
to  the  Gottschalk  controversy,  due  probably  to  his 
desire  to  appear  orthodox  and  to  avoid  theological 
entanglement.  Many  other  questions  in  dispute  at 
that  time,  and  which  came  up  for  discussion  in  the 
councils,  were  left  unnoticed  by  him,  showing  be- 
yond a  doubt  that  we  have  fully  considered  what 
seemed  to  him  the  most  important  matters  for  re- 
form, and  that  his  collection,  after  all,  was  drawn 
up  to  accomplish  a  few,  but  very  important  things. 
He  preferred  to  make  sure  of  success  in  those  par- 
ticulars by  continued  reiteration,  rather  than  to 
attempt  so  many  different  things  that  the  energy 
and  force  of  his  work  would  be  dissipated. 

It  has  been  said  sometimes,  and  it  is  supposed 
quite  generally,  that  the  main  object  of  the  decretals 
was  to  enhance  the  supremacy  of  Rome,  but  this 
view  is  now  given  up  by  all  the  best  and  most  re- 
cent scholars. 

In  the  first  place,  most  of  the  arguments  for  it 
have  been  directly  disproved.  The  Forged  Decre- 
tals were  not  composed  by  the  popes,  nor  written 
at  Rome.  They  were  not  first  known  to  the  popes, 
nor  first  used  by  the  popes  ;  indeed,  were  used  very 
little  by  the  popes  until  after  the  tenth  century, 
when  they  had  become  incorporated  into  the  gen- 
eral ecclesiastical  legislation.  They  give  recognition 
to  the  authority  of  papal  decretals,  which  had  already 
begun  to  be  shown  in  the  Dionysian  collection,  and 
*  Ep.  li.,  Pii  I.,  §  9  ;  Hinschius,  p.  iig  ;  Neander,  vol.  iii.,  p.  348. 


448  The  Age  of  Charlemagne, 

had  been  greatly  increased  by  Gregory  the  Great. 
The  powers  ascribed  to  the  Roman  bishop  were  very 
evidently  granted  for  the  freeing  of  the  church  from 
secular  control,  and  for  protecting  and  increasing 
the  power  of  the  bishops. 

If  the  author  had  had  in  view  the  advantages  and 
privileges  of  the  Roman  See  in  and  for  itself,  he 
must  have  paid  some  attention  to  the  patrimony  of 
St.  Peter,  the  gifts  of  lands,  rights,  and  powers  of 
which  the  papal  letters  of  the  eighth  century  were 
full.  True,  the  Donation  of  Constantine  is  inserted, 
but  that  was  a  forgery  already  in  existence.  It 
forms  an  isolated  instance  in  his  collection,  and  the 
favorable  opportunities  to  uphold  and  strengthen  it 
in  the  papal  letters  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries 
he  does  not  even  notice.'  Indeed,  the  position 
given  to  the  primates  and  the  mere  mention  of  papal 
vicars,  in  only  four  places,"  are  regarded  by  Hin- 
schius  and  others  as  showing  that  Pseudo-Isidore 
was  more  intent  on  freeing  the  bishops  from  the 
metropolitans  than  on  extending  the  power  of  the 
popes.^ 

The  later  history  of  the  decretals  throws  more 
light  on  these  Questions.  As  we  have  seen,  the  first 
distinct  reference  to  them  was  at  the  Council  of 
Soissons,  in  853,  when  questions  came  up  regarding 
the  validity  of  the  ordinations  made  by  the  deposed 
Ebbo.  In  857  they  were  quoted  at  the  Council  of 
Kiersy,  and  it  is  evident  that  they  were  first  known 

'  Wasserschleben,  p.  371. 

*  Ep.  i.,  Marcelli,  §  2  ;  Ep.  Victoris,  §  5  ;  Ep.  i.,  Sixti  II.,  §  2  ; 
Decreta  Julii,  §  12  ;  Hinschius,  pp.  224,  128,  190,  467. 

*  Hinschius,  pp.  ccxxv.,  cxcix.,  cc. 


Use  of  the  Decretals.  '  449 


to  Nicholas  I.,  so  as  to  be  used  by  him  in  865,' 
though  both  Hinschius  and  Wasserschleben  refer  to 
the  fact  that  Servatus  Lupus  called  the  pope's  atten- 
tion to  them  in  857  or  858  ;  but  Nicholas  in  his  reply 
passed  over  the  reference  in  silence.^  Later,  how- 
ever, in  the  disputes  with  Hincmar  about  Ilincmar 
of  Laon  and  Rothad  of  Soissons  he  undoubtedly 
made  use  of  them.  The  process  between  the  two 
Hincmars  furnishes  an  example  of  a  complete  prac- 
tical application  of  the  Forged  Decretals  on  the  side 
of  the  nephew,  the  decretals  here  serving,  in  their 
original  sense  and  character,  the  special  Pseudo- 
Isidorian — that  is,  episcopahan  tendency  ;  while  in 
the  case  of  Rothad,  and  later  on,  they  were  always 
appropriated  to  the  papal  interests.'  With  Hinc- 
mar opposition  to  them  ceased  for  a  long  time. 
After  Nicholas  L  they  were  used  by  Hadrian  H.,* 
also  by  Stephen  IV.,  Leo  IX.,  Gregory  VII.,  and 
Paschal  II.'  The  Prankish  and  German  episcopate 
clearly  recognized  the  danger  which  threatened  the 
existing  ecclesiastical  constitution  and  valid  rights 
by  means  of  them,  and  they  were  quoted  only  in 
harmless  passages  in  the  synods  of  the  last  part  of 
the  ninth  century.  In  the  Synod  of  Rheims,  in 
991,  one  more  strong  resistance  was  made  against 
them  by  the  Prankish  bishops,  but  the  ecclesiastical 
indifference  and  demoralization  of  the  bishops,  to- 

'  Hinschius,  pp.  cciv.-ccvii. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  cciv   ;  Wasserschleben,  pp.  380,  381. 
^  Wasserschleben,  pp.  381,  382. 

*  Ep.  28,  Ad   Episcopos  Duziac  ;    Harduin,   Concilia,   vol.   iv., 
p.  722  ;  a  passage  from  Anterus. 

''  Wasserschleben,  p.  3S3. 
CC 


450  The  Age  of  Charlemagne. 

gether  with  their  general  absorption  in  political 
affairs,  brought  the  unresisting  church  into  com- 
plete dependence  upon  the  power  of- Rome,  and  an- 
nulled the  early  independence  and  national  individ- 
uality. It  was  therefore  those  general  ecclesiasti- 
cal, political,  and  moral  conditions  which  brought 
about  this  result,  while  the  forgeries  alone  never 
would  have  made  it  possible.' 

"  The  same  shield  under  which  Pseudo-Isidore 
fought  for  the  protection  of  the  bishops  against 
metropolitans  and  synods,  the  primacy  of  Rome, 
was  the  same  with  which  the  Church  of  Rome 
crushed  them."  In  this  way  the  Forged  Decretals, 
in  complete  opposition  to  their  original  purpose, 
became  a  lever  for  raising  and  supporting  the  power 
of  the  papacy.^ 

Just  as  Pippin  and  Charles  the  Great,  in  connec- 
tion with  their  coronations,  had  ascribed  to  the  pope, 
for  their  own  benefit  and  advancement,  a  power 
which  he  was  only  too  ready  to  use  with  such  en- 
dorsement, and  which  he  never  afterwards  forgot, 
so  did  Pseudo-Isidore  ascribe  to  the  papal  see,  for 
the  protection  of  the  bishops,  powers  which  it 
speedily  went  on  to  realize  and  to  use  for  its  own 
sake.  If  all  this  is  true,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Forged  Decretals,  based  on  a  miscon- 
ception of  their  contents  and  history,  has  been  very 
much  overestimated,  but  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
accepting  the  statement  of  Alzog. 

The  compilers  of  the   decretals   by   stating  as 
facts  what  were  only  the  opinions  or  the  tendencies 

'  Neander,  vol.  iii. ,  p.  350.  ^  Wasserschleben,  p.  380. 


Proof  of  their  Falsity.  451 

of  the  age,  by  giving  as  ancient  and  authentic  docu- 
ments such  as  were  supposititious  and  modern,  and 
by  putting  forward  as  estabhshed  rights  and  legal 
precedents  claims  entirely  destitute  of  such  war- 
rant, did,  in  matter  of  fact,  hasten  the  development 
and  insure  the  triumph  of  the  very  ideas  and  princi- 
ples they  advocated,  signally  contributed  to  the 
growth  of  that  spirit  of  freedom  among  the  bishops 
which  made  them  independent  of  the  secular  power, 
and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  increasing  influence 
of  the  head  of  the  church  {episcopus  universalis), 
especially  in  its  relations  to  metropolitans  and  pro- 
vincial synods. ' '  ' 

Down  to  the  fifteenth  century  belief  in  their  gen- 
uineness was  quite  general,  only  a  few  voices  being 
raised  against  them.  Peter  Comeston,  in  the  twelfth 
century,  Stephen  of  Tournay,  in  the  thirteenth, 
Marsihus  of  Padua,  in  the  fourteenth,  Cardinal 
Nicholas  of  Cusa,  in  the  fifteenth,  and  Erasmus,  in 
the  sixteenth,  questioned  their  genuineness,  but  it 
remained  for  the  Magdeburg  Centuriators,  the  great 
Protestant  historians  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to 
give  full  proof  of  their  spuriousness,  while  shortly 
after,  in  1628,  David  Blondel,  in  a  masterly  work 
against  the  Jesuit  Turrian,  who  had  made  one  more 
attempt  to  defend  them,  finally  decided  the  ques- 
tion of  their  falsity,  which  to-day  no  one  doubts. 

'  Alzog,  vol.  ii.,  p.  274. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  HEIGHT  OF  THE  PAPACY — NICHOLAS  I.— - 
HADRIAN  II. — JOHN  VIII. — END  OF  THE  CARO- 
LINGIAN  LINE  IN  ITALY  —  IN  GERMANY  —  IN 
FRANCE — DEGRADATION   OF    THE   PAPACY. 

S  a  result  of  the  impetus  and  support 
given  by  the  early  Carolingians,  espe- 
I  cially  by  Charles  the  Great,  and  the 
spirit  which  was  or  had  worked  in  the 
first  half  of  the  ninth  century,  and  which 
found  its  completest  expression  in  the  Forged 
Decretals,  the  height  of  the  papacy  was  reached 
in  the  three  popes  whose  pontificates  cover  a  little 
more  than  the  third  quarter  of  the  ninth  century 
(858-882)— Nicholas  I.,  Hadrian  II.,  and  John 
VIII.  Nicholas  I.  was  the  greatest  of  the  popes 
between  Gregory  I.  and  Gregory  VII.  (Hildebrand), 
a  man  of  resolute  determination,  of  clear  insight, 
and  of  keen  intellect.  He  was  supported  by  a 
strong  public  opinion,  and  was  able  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  political  conditions  of  his  age.  In  three 
great  controversies  he  showed  at  once  his  moral 
greatness  and  the  wide  influence  which  his  position 
afforded,  as  well  as  the  strength  of  the  papal  organi- 
zation as  it  had  grown  up  under  liis  predecessors 

452 


Power  of  Nicholas  I.  453 

through  the  fostering  care  of  the  Carollngian  kings 
and  emperors.  The  first  struggle  was  with  Lothair 
II.,  of  Lotharingia,  the  second  son  of  the  Emperor 
Lothair.  He  had  discarded  his  wife,  Thietberga, 
accusing  her  of  heinous  crimes  in  order  to  marry  his 
mistress,  Waldrada.  Though  the  c^ueen  was  ac- 
quitted by  a  civil  tribunal  in  858,  Lothair  treated 
her  so  cruelly  that  she  was  induced  to  confess  her- 
self guilty  before  a  synod  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  859, 
held  in  the  presence  of  the  two  metropolitans, 
Giinther  of  Cologne  and  Thietgaut  of  Treves.  After- 
wards regretting  this  act,  she  fled  to  Charles  the 
Bald  in  Neustria.  Lothair,  however,  induced  a 
second  synod,  held  in  860,  to  annul  his  marriage 
with  her,  and  he  formally  married  Waldrada.  Hinc- 
mar,  however,  defended  the  queen,  and  she  ap- 
pealed to  the  pope.  Nicholas  sent  two  Itahan 
bishops  as  his  legates  to  investigate  the  affair,  but 
being  bribed  by  the  king,  they  pronounced  in  his 
favor  at  a  synod  in  Metz  in  863.  Nicholas  himself 
then  took  the  matter  in  hand,  excommunicated  his 
legates,  and  deposed  the  two  metropolitans.  In 
order  to  retaliate,  they  incited  the  Emperor  Louis 
XL,  Lothair's  brother,  to  take  up  their  cause.  He 
went  so  far  as  to  attack  Rome,  but  soon  came  to  an 
understanding  with  the  pope. 

Lothair  was  brought  to  terms,  and  a  papal 
legate  obliged  him  to  put  away  Waldrada  and  to 
take  back  his  queen.  Waldrada,  however,  exer- 
cised her  charms,  and  was  once  more  restored  to 
the  favor  of  the  king.  The  queen  now  asked  for  a 
divorce,  but  Nicholas  would  not  grant  it. 


454  ^^^^  ^£'^  ^f  Charlemagne. 

His  successor,  Hadrian  II.,  continued  the  strug- 
gle, and  finally  Lothair  himself  went  to  Rome,  and 
took  a  solemn  oath  that  he  had  been  innocent  of 
any  wrong  after  taking  back  Thietberga.  The  pope 
accordingly  administered  the  sacrament  to  him,  but 
on  his  way  home  he  died,  in  869. 

The  second  affair  was  in  relation  to  Constantino- 
ple and  the  Eastern  Church.  Ignatius,  the  patri- 
arch, had  been  deposed  and  banished  for  excommu- 
nicating Barbas,  the  uncle  of  the  Emperor  Michael 
III.  and  regent  of  the  empire,  who  had  been  living 
in  open  sin.  Photius,  formerly  commander  of  the 
imperial  forces,  was  put  in  his  place,  and  appealed 
to  Nicholas  to  support  him.  Nicholas  sent  two 
legates,  who  in  861  decided  against  Ignatius.  Here 
again  Nicholas,  who  had  made  independent  inquiry, 
deposed  his  own  legates,  reversed  their  action,  and 
declared  in  favor  of  Ignatius.  Photius  called  a 
synod  in  867,  and  accused  the  Church  of  Rome  of 
many  intolerable  heresies.  At  the  request  of  the 
pope  an  able  reply  was  written  by  Ratramnus  of 
Corbie.  In  the  same  year  Michael  was  murdered, 
and  Basil,  his  murderer,  became  his  successor,  and 
supported  the  cause  of  Ignatius,  appealing  to  Hadrian 
II.  Ignatius  was  restored  by  a  synod  at  Constanti- 
nople in  869,  regarded  by  the  Romans  as  the  eighth 
general  council.  Photius  bore  his  defeat  with 
patience,  became  reconciled  to  Ignatius,  and  when 
the  latter  died,  in  878,  Photius  was  restored  to  the 
patriarchate.  He  was  deposed  again  in  886  by  a 
new  emperor,  Leo  VI.,  and  died  in  monastic  exile 
in  891. 


Victory  of  John  VIII.  455 

The  third  struggle  was  much  more  serious  and  of 
greater  importance  to  the  organization  of  the  church 
and  to  the  claims  of  the  papal  power,  involving  as 
it  did  a  struggle  with  the  leading  archbishop  of  the 
West,  and  the  practical  overthrow  of  any  indepen- 
dent episcopal  authority.  Hincmar,  archbishop  of 
Rheims,  had  deposed  Rothad,  bishop  of  Soissons, 
in  861.  Rothad  appealed  to  the  pope  on  the  ground 
of  the  rights  conferred  by  the  Sardican  canons,  and 
after  a  long  and  severe  struggle  Nicholas  secured 
his  reinstatement  in  865.  A  similar  contest  took 
place  under  Hadrian  II.  Hincmar  deposed  his  own 
nephew,  Hincmar  of  Laon,  and  Hadrian,  in  869, 
took  up  the  side  of  the  nephew,  but  the  metropoli- 
tan gained  the  victory. 

John  VIII.,  the  last  of  the  three  popes,  and  the 
last  great  pope  before  the  weakness  and  corruption 
of  the  next  two  centuries,  seemed  to  have  attained 
a  complete  victory  over  the  temporal  power.  He 
succeeded  in  freeing  the  papal  chair  almost  com- 
pletely from  the  imperial  authority.  After  the  death 
of  the  emperor,  Louis  II.,  he  supported  the  claims 
of  Charles  the  Bald,  who  appeared  in  Rome,  and 
was  crowned  by  him  on  Christmas  Day,  875,  but, 
as  we  have  seen,  this  support  was  purchased  by 
Charles  at  the  price  of  great  concessions.  Hincmar 
and  his  clergy  made  a  determined  protest,  and  at 
the  synod  in  876  a  violent  controversy  arose.  Nor 
was  either  the  pope  or  the  emperor  satisfied  ;  in- 
deed, the  pope  had  freed  the  papacy  from  the  im- 
perial power  only  to  leave  it  unprotected  to  the 
sport  and  passions  of  nobles  and  party  factions  in 


456  The  Age  of  Charlcmag7te. 

and  about  Rome,  and  he  died,  in  882,  apparently 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  Hincmar  died  in  the 
same  year,  and  the  glory  and  independence  of  the 
Prankish  archbishops  disappeared  for  a  time. 

In  the  corruption  and  disorder  that  ensued,  the 
papacy,  separated  from  the  empire,  became  the 
sport  and  prey  of  the  factions  of  Italian  nobles,  and 
sank  into  weakness  and  confusion,  which  lasted  until 
the  Synod  of  Sutri,  in  1046. 

The  empire,  divided  by  the  strife  and  struggles 
of  the  sons  and  successors  of  Louis  the  Pious, 
though  united  for  one  brief  moment  under  the  weak 
and  ignominious  rule  of  Charles  the  Fat,  finally  fell 
apart  in  887,  never  to  be  reunited. 

The  Carolingian  line  died  out  in  Italy  in  899,  in 
Germany  in  911,  and  in  France  in  987.  The  empire 
which  Otto  I.  created  in  962  was  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  of  the  German  people,  but  of  the  vast 
domains  of  Charles  the  Great  it  comprised  only 
Germany  and  Italy.  Thus  for  a  time  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  empire  and  the  division  of  the  imperial 
forces  had  seemed  to  aid  the  papacy  to  realize  the 
position,  and  to  exercise  the  powers  gained  by  the 
influence  of  Charles  the  Great,  but  it  overreached 
itself,  and  the  final  collapse  of  the  imperial  power 
left  it  without  anything  on  which  to  lean  for  sup- 
port. Like  the  air  to  the  flying  bird  was  the  im- 
perial power  to  the  papacy,  and  the  weakness  of  the 
empire  was  followed  in  this,  as  in  every  instance, 
by  papal  demoralization. 


INDEX. 


Abassides,  overthrow  Ommiads, 
165. 

Abogard  of  Lyons,  430. 

Adalhard,  abbot  of  Corbie,  250, 
270.  379,  388. 

Adalung,  abbot  of  Saint  Vedast, 
392. 

Addiila,  abbess,  188. 

Adelbert,  condemned  by  Boni- 
face, 77,  107  ;  at  Soissons,  lOG, 

Adelperga,  191. 

Adoptionists,  condemned,  255, 
263  sq.  ;  belief,  26G,  350. 

Adrian.     See  Hadrian. 

Adriauople,  battle  of,  26. 

.^tius,  chief  minister  of  Irene, 
216. 

^tius,  Roman  general,  29. 

Agobard,  269,  351,  359,  363. 

Aistulf,  King  of  Lombards,  129  ; 
relations  to  Stephen  III.,  131 
sq.  ;  struggle  with  Franks,  140 
sq.  ;  final  subjection,  146  sq.  ; 
killed,  151  ;  characterized,  152. 

Alaric,  26. 

Albinus,  316. 

Alboin,  leader  of  Lombards,  96. 

Alcuin,  183,  188  ;  on  Charles, 
172,  214,  215  ;  meets  Charles, 
236  ;  "  Four  Caroline  Books," 
261  ;  treatise.  266,  267,  268  ; 
meets  Felix,  269  ;  on  the 
Filioque,  270  ;  on  Egbert,  317  ; 
sketch  of  life,  318  ;  relations 
to  Charles,  322  sq.  ;  powers, 
334,  325  ;  specimens  of  ques- 
tions, 328  sq.  ;  of  definitions, 


333  ;  poor  Greek  scholar,  333, 
384,  335  ;  no  evidence  as  to 
Hebrew.  334 ;  great  theolo- 
gian, 336  ;  timid,  337  ;  influ- 
ence, 337  ;  trials,  339  ;  abbot 
of  Tours.  340  sq.  ;  opposes 
Irish  school,  349,  350  ;  refutes 
Felix,  350  ;  death,  350  ;  sum- 
ming up,  350,  351. 

Alemanni,  30,  31  ;  Fridolin 
among,  55  ;  rebellion,  110. 113. 

Alexander  III.,  canonization  of 
Charles,  299, 

Alexandria,  patriarchate,  18  ;  in 
Pseudo  Isidore,  439. 

Almansor,  165. 

Alubert,  bishop,  187. 

Alzog,  on  Images,  85  ;  on  Forged 
Decretals,  435,  436,  450,  451. 

Amelia,  occupied  by  Liutprand, 
126  ;  restored,  128. 

Amola,  370. 

Amoricans,  31. 

Ampere  on  "  De  Litteris  Co- 
lendis, "  337  ;  on  growth  of 
Protestantism,  363  ;  on  Scotus, 
372  ;  on  Hincmar,  419. 

Anagrates,  monastery,  55. 

Auastasius,  Emperor,  titles  Clo- 
vis,  31. 

Anastasius,  papal  biographer, 
on  Donation  of  Charles,  196. 

Anastasius,  patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, 87. 

Andrews,  on  Charles,  240. 

Anegrey,  monastery,  55,  345. 

Angilbert,  abbot,  263,  334,  335. 


457 


458 


Index. 


Angilram,  bishop  of  Metz,  capit- 
ularies of,  427,  429. 
Aniane,  monastery,  281. 
Auointiag,  120,  121. 
Ausegis,    abbot  of   Foutenelles, 

426. 
Ausegis,  son  of  Arnulf ,  42. 
Anselm,  387. 

Ansgar,   missionary,   416  ;    mis- 
sion   destroyed,    417  ;    see    of 
Bremen,    417  ;    success,    417  ; 
"  Apostle  of  the  North,"  418_. 
Antioch,    patriarchate,     18 ;    in 

Pseudo  Isidore,  439. 
Apocrisiarhis,  95. 
Apostolic  Canons  (false),  428. 
Aquitanians,  submission,  65  ;  re- 
bellion,   110,    161  ;    revolt  on 
death  of  Pippin,  168. 
Arabia,  Arabs,  64  ;  contests  Math 
Charles  Martel,   64  sq.,   101  ; 
conflicts  with  Christians,  293, 
294.     See  Mahomet. 
Ardgar,  hermit,  417. 
Arians.  Arianism,  30,  31,  44,  51, 

52.  63,  436. 
Arichis,  duke  of  Benevento.    See 

Benevento. 
Aristotle,  study  of,  in  Charles's 

time,  320. 
Arithmetic,  in'Charles's  time, 336. 
Arno,  missionary,  418. 
Aruulf,  bishop  of  Metz,  3,  41,  49. 
Astronomy,   in    Charles's   time, 

336. 
Athalgis,  son  of  Desiderius,  191, 

197. 
Athanasius,  relation  to  Forged 

Decretals,  442. 
Atto,  bishop  of  Vercelli,  432. 
Augustine,  English  missionary, 

344. 
Augustine,  studied  by  Charles, 
19,  326  ;  against  Transubstan- 
tiation,  364. 
Aurelius  of  Carthage,  427. 
Austrasia.  32,  34  ;  battle  of  Tes- 
try,    42  ;    power,    59  ;     peace 
under  Pippin,  122. 


Autchar,  duke,  133. 
Avars,  236  sq.,  293. 
Avitus,  to  Clovis,  45. 
Aymer,  373. 

Baldwin,  373. 

Barbarians,  10.     See  under  sepa- 
rate titles. 
Barbas,  uncle  of  Michael  III., 

454. 
Basil,  murderer  of  Michael  III., 

454. 
Baugulf,  abbot  of  Fulda,  338. 
Bavaria,   Bavarians,    33  ;    Boni- 
face among,  70,  75  ;  rebellion, 
110  sq. 
Bede,  20  ;  on  mission  of  Willi- 
brod,    69  ;    on    Biscop,    314 ; 
work,  314,  315,  317  ;  on  study 
of  Greek,  334. 
Begga,  daughter  of  Pippin,  42. 
Belisarius,  defeats  Vandals,  26  ; 

conquests,  92. 
Benedict,  archdeacon  of  Rome, 

392. 
Benedict  Biscop,  312,  313,  314. 
Benedict  Levite,  287.  427,  430. 
Benedict  of  Aniane,  268,  281,  386, 

400. 
Benedict  of  Nursia,  54. 
Benedict,  Rule  of,  280,  281,  386, 
400  ;  enforced  at  first  German 
synod,  105. 
Benedictines,  53,  54. 
Benefices,  35,  63,  105. 
Benevento,  duke    of,   125,  152, 
153,    190,    197,  236,  237,  290, 
293. 
Bernhard,   count   of  Barcelona. 

398,  399,  404. 
Bernhard,  grandson  of  Charles, 
296,  378,  379  ;  relations  to  Leo, 
380,  381  ;  conspiracy,  386, 
387  ;  surrender,  387  ;  death, 
387,  388. 
Bernhard,  uncle  of  Charles,  234, 

380. 
Bernharius,   bishop   of  Worms, 
270. 


Index. 


459 


Bertrada,  queen  of  Pippin,  118, 
138,  169,  170. 

Bcser,  influence  on  Leo,  8i. 

Biscop,  Benedict,  312.  313,  314. 

Bishops,  position  of,  20,  21,  46  ; 
metropolitan  system,  273  sq.  ; 
election,  277  ;  influence,  278 
sq.,  284  ;  subordinate,  279  ; 
temporal  power,  284  ;  under 
Louis,  286,  359  ;  feudalism  and 
secularization,  419  sq.,  423 sq.  ; 
effect  of  Forged  Decretals  on, 
427  sq.,  448. 

Blera,  occupied  by  Liutpraud, 
126  ;  restored,  128. 

Blidulfus,  373. 

Blondel,  David,  on  False  Decre- 
tals, 451. 

Bobbio,  monastery,  56,  345. 

Boethius,  320.  336. 

Bohemians,  293. 

Bomarzo,  occupied  by  Liut- 
prand,  126  ;  restored,  128. 

Boniface,  20,  57  ;  on  bishops 
under  Charles  MarLel,  61  ;  on 
Charles  Martel,  67;  "Apostle 
of  Germany,"  68  ;  life,  68 sq.  ; 
oath  to  St.  Peter,  71  ;  impor- 
tance of  work,  73  sq.,  99,  108, 
110  ;  archbishop,  75  ;  papal 
legate,  75,  109  ;  among  Bava- 
rians, 75  ;  diocesan  system  in 
Prankish  centres,  76,  107,  108  ; 
at  llrst  German  synod,  76,  104  ; 
settles  at  Mainz,  77,  108,  109  ; 
monastery  of  Fulda,  77  ;  se- 
cures condemnations  of  bish- 
ops, 77  ;  no  part  in  Pippin's 
plots,  78  ;  letter  to  Cuthbert,  78, 
108  ;  resignation,  79  ;  martyr- 
dom, 79  ;  power  under  Karl- 
mann,  103  ;  consecrates  bish- 
ops of  Rouen,  Rheims,  and 
Sens,  100  ;  connection  with 
Pippin's  synods,  107  ;  not  pri- 
mate of  all  Germany,  108  ; 
influence  over  Gregory  of 
Utrecht,  186  ;  on  Sturm,  187  ; 
patronage  of  king,  424,  425. 


Bremen,  diocese,  189. 

Bretwalda,  Offa,  292.. 

Brunhilda,  40,  55. 

Bryce  on  coronation  of  Charles. 
210,  211. 

Buraburg,  bishopric,  76. 

Burchard,  bishop  of  Wurzburg, 
117. 

Burgundians,  Burgundy,  31  ; 
conquered,  33  ;  part  of  Mero- 
vingian monarchy,  34  ;  conver- 
sion, 44  ;  reconquered,  65. 

Bury,  on  coronation  of  Charles, 


Cfecilius,  taunt  of  Christians,  83. 

Calabria,  124. 

"  Canonical  life,"  280. 

Canons,  Dionysian,  283. 

Canons,  Sardican,  287. 

Capella,  ]\Iartianus,  320,  371. 

Capet,  Plugh,  414. 

Capitularies,  Saxon,  177  sq.  ;  of 
Charles,  229  sq.,  244  sq.,  255 
sq.  ;  of  Frankfort,  275  ;  of 
Louis,  281,  354,  383  ;  of  An- 
gilram,  429 ;  of  Isidore  and 
others,  426  sq. 

Caroliugiaus,  3,  25 ;  end,  413, 
414,  456.  See  under  names  of 
monarchs. 

Cassiodorus,  320,  336. 

Clialcedon,  Council  of,  347. 

Chalons,  battle  of,  29. 

Charlemagne.  See  Charles  the 
Great. 

Charles  Martel,  3,  42,  60  ;  rela- 
tions to  Church.  60  sq.,  G7,  76, 
101  ;  victory  over  Mahome- 
tans, 64,  65  ;  reconquers  Bur- 
gundy, 65  ;  attacks  Friesians, 
65  ;  Saxons,  65  ;  continues 
struggle  against  Arabs,  65  ; 
difliculties,  66  ;  drives  Arabs 
to  far  South,  66 ;  peace,  66  ; 
appealed  to  by  Gregory  IIL 
against  Lombards,  101,  102, 
126  ;   death,    102  ;  division  of 


460 


Index. 


kingdom,  103  ;  view  of  Church 
property,  310. 

Charles  the  Bald,  297  ;  rharac 
teristics,  06O,  361,  366  ;  Eucha- 
ristic  controversy,  304  ;  friend- 
ship for  Scotus,  366,  367  ; 
birth,  891  ;  kingdom,  397  ; 
new  division,  405  ;  sent  to 
monaster}^  407  ;  fresh  attempt 
to  enlarge  territory,  409  ;  re- 
ceives knightly  belt  and  terri- 
tory, 409  ;  attacked  by  Lothair, 
411  ;  victory,  412  ;  compact 
with  Louis,  412  ;  treaty  of 
Verdun,  413  ;  relations  to  Eb- 
bo,  442  ;  to  Hincmar,  444,  455. 

Charles  the  Bold,  accepts  crown, 
224. 

Charles  the  Fat,  414,  450. 

Charles  the  Great,  title  to  great- 
ness, 2,  3,  6.  7.  170  sq.,  240 
sq.,  377;  tlie  era,  3;  creates 
Carolingiau  empire,  25  ;  over- 
"throws  Lombards,  27  ;  meets 
Stephen  III.,  134;  consecra- 
tion, 138  ;  "  Patrician  of  the 
Romans."  138,  139,  202,  204; 
letter  from  Hadrian  L,  157, 198 
sq.,  282  ;  crowned  at  Noyon, 
168 ;    relations   to  Karlmann, 

169  ;  overtures  to  Tas.silo  and 
Desiderius,  169  ;  disowns  wife, 

170  ;  takes  up  liis  great  work, 
170  sq.  ;  sketch  of  life,  171 
sq.  ;  relations  to  Cliurch,  171, 
172,  226,  281  sq.,  425;  wars 
with  Saxons,  172  sq.  ;  subjec- 
tion of  Saxons,  176  sq.,  182  ; 
massacre  of  Verdeu,  180  ;  fresh 
revolts,  182,  183;  final  con- 
quest, 184;  "  Enlightener  of 
the  Saxons,"  185  sq.  ;  relations 
to  missionaries,  185  sq.  ;  mar- 
riage, 191  sq.  ;  letter  from 
Cuthwulf,  191  ;  Lombard  war, 
195,  196  ;  enters  Rome,  196  ; 
"  King  of  the  Lombards,"  197  ; 
not  crowned  with  iron  crown, 
198  ;  Donation,  196,  200,  201  ; 


protection  of  Leo,  205 ;  in 
Rome  again,  205,  236  ;  coro- 
nation, 207  ;  theories  concern- 
ing, 210  sq.  ;  relations  to  East, 
214  sq.  ;  letter  to  Michael, 
217  ;  Rome  not  his  home,  224  ; 
imperial  supremacy,  225  ;  fond 
of  Augustine,  226,  227  ;  Gen- 
eral admonition,  227  sq.  ;  the- 
ocracy, 231  sq.;  Spanish  cam- 
paign, 233  sq.  ;  at  Pavia,  235  ; 
capitularies,  235,  244  sq.,  255 
sq.  ;  meets  Alcuin,  236  ;  con- 
quers Avars,  236  sq.  ;  alle- 
giance of  Beneveuto,  236,  237  ; 
subdues  Tassilo,  237  ;  three- 
fold nature  of  his  work,  241 
sq.  ;  administration  of  govern- 
ment, 242  sq.  ;  national  assem- 
blies and  .synods,  249  sq.  ; 
iconoclastic  controversy,  259 
sq.  ;  "  Four  Caroline  Books," 
261  ;  Adoptionism  condemned, 
263  sq.  ;  Filioque,  269  sq.  ; 
"  Veni  Creator,"  271  ;  attempt 
to  establish  metropolitan  cen- 
tres, 277  ;  nomination  and  elec- 
tion of  bishops,  277,  278  ; 
"  Canonical  Life,"  280  ;  Diony- 
sian  canons,  283 ;  sacramen- 
tary  of  Gregory,  283 ;  marriage 
laws,  283 ;  tithes,  283  ;  su- 
preme j  udge  of  clergy,  284  ; 
closing  years,  288  sq.,  297  sq.  ; 
revision  of  laws,  288,  289  ;  re- 
lations to  Mahometans,  290  ; 
papal  support,  290  ;  friendly 
to  foreigners,  292  ;  protects 
Louis  against  corrupt  adminis 
tration,  294  ;  distribution  of 
kingdoms,  295  ;  takes  field 
against  Danes,  296  ;  confers 
crown  on  Louis,  298  ;  last  sick- 
ness and  death,  299 ;  canon- 
ized, 299  ;  summary,  300  sq.  ; 
schools,  303,  304  ;  intellectual 
life  and  development,  303  sq., 
326,  330  sq.  ;  relations  to  Al- 
cuin,  322  sq.  ;  "  De    Litteris 


I?idex. 


461 


Coleudis,"  337  ;  relations  to 
Irish  scholars,  849  sq.  ;  forces 
of  disuuiou,  374  sq. 

Charles,  sou  of  Charles  the  Great, 
183,  393  ;  early  career,  293  ; 
kingdom,  295,  296  ;  death, 
396. 

Charles,  sou  of  Pippin,  and 
grandson  of  Louis  the  Pious, 
409. 

ChildericI,  29. 

Childeric  111.,  103,  115. 

Chilperic,  47. 

Chrodegang,  bishop  of  Metz,  133, 
280  ;  rule.  353,  886,  400. 

"  Chorepiscopoi,"  379. 

Chronicles  of  Moissac,  on  coro 
nation  of  Charles,  308  sq. 

Church,  first  three  centuries,  14 
sq.  ;  inheritance,  14  ;  religiou 
established,  16, 17.  See  Rome, 
Chukcii  op. 

Classe,  taken  by  Pippin,  146. 

Claudius,  bishop  of  Turin,  363. 

Clement,  condemned  by  Boni- 
face, 77. 

Clement  of  Ireland,  349,  365. 

Clement.     See  VVilliurod. 

Clergy,  Forged  Decretals  on,  437 
sq.     See  Bishops. 

Clodio,  or  Clogio,  29. 

Clotaire  II.,  33,  39,  40,  56. 

Clovis,  8,  29  ;  victory  over  Syag- 
rius,  39  ;  conversion,  30  ; 
greatness,  30,  31  ;  conquests, 
31  ;  king  of  Ripuarians,  33  ; 
division  of  kingdom  at  death, 
33  ;  Catholic  champion,  44, 
45,  97  ;  contrasted  with  Theo- 
doric,  92  ;  not  anointed,  121. 

Cluuy,  373. 

Cnut,  419. 

Ccelesiine,  primacj'  of  Peter,  23, 
footnote  ;  greatness,  24. 

Cologne,  archbishopric,  £74. 

Coloni,  10. 

Columba,  St.,  55,  344. 

Columbanus,  missionar\%  55,  345, 
347  sq.,  851. 


Comeston.  Peter,  on  Forged  De- 
cretals, 451. 

Conrad,  brother  of  Judith,  404. 

Constanline  V.,  103. 

Coustantine  VI.,  betrothed  to 
Ruthrud,  212,  261. 

Coustantine,  Phrygian  bishop,  84. 

Coustantine,  Donation  of,  89, 
155  sq.,  448. 

Coustantinople,  struggle  with 
Rome,  4 ;  patriarchate,  18.  See 
Eastern  Ciiuiicn  and  Em- 
pire. 

Corbie,  monastery,  357. 

Council,  Seventh  General.  103. 

Courts,  Ecclesiastical,  285. 

Uuthbert,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 78,  108. 

Cuthwulf,  letter  to  Charles,  194. 

Cyprian,  19  ;  a^jpeal  to  Rome, 
18. 

Cyril,  Greek  monk,  419, 

Dagobert,  33,  89,  41. 

Daimatia,  218. 

Damasus,  Pope,  23,  437. 

Damiani,  Peter,  421,  423. 

Danes,  invasion,  396,  340,  341, 
360,  361,  375  ;  missions  among, 
415  sq. 

Daniel,  bishop  of  Winchester,  09. 

Dante,  on  Donation  of  Coustan- 
tine, 158. 

Decretals,  False,  387,  425,  436, 
437  sq.  See  Donation  op  Con- 
st antine. 

De  Maistre,  on  Charles,  3. 

Desiderata,  daughter  of  Deside- 
rius,  191,  193,  194.. 

Desiderius,  King  of  Lombards, 
152,  153,  160,  109;  political 
alliances,  190  ;  war  with 
Charles.  195.  196  ;  conquered, 
197,  198. 

Diacoaus,  Paulus,  on  Charles, 
240,  241, 

Dialectic,  in  time  of  Charles,  336, 
355. 

Diocletian,  13. 


462 


Index. 


Dionysian  canous,  283,  426. 

Dionysins  Exiguus,  426. 

Donation  of  Charles,  196,  200, 
201. 

Donation  of  Constantine,  89,  155 
sq.,  448. 

Donation  of  Pippin,  136  sq. 

Dorner,on  Adoptionism,  264, 265. 

Droclitegang,  abbot  of  Jumieges, 
183 

Drogo,  380.  387,  388. 

Dunstan,  archbisliop  of  Canter- 
bury, 422. 

Dyotheletic  Synod,  264. 

Eardulf,  290. 

Easter  dispute,  346,  347. 

Eastern  Cliurcli  and  Empire, 
struggle  with  Rome,  4  ;  rela- 
tion of  Charles  to,  214  sq., 
222  ;  Filioque  controversy,  269 
sq.  See  Exarchs  ;  Image 
Worship  ;  Leo  III. 

Eaubald,  archbishop  of  York, 
323. 

Ebbo,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  174, 
footnote,  407,  408,  420  ;  work 
among  the  Danes,  415  sq.  ; 
bearing  of  Forged  Decretals 
on,  441  sq. 

Eberhard,  408. 

Edict  of  615,  40. 

Egbert,  archbishop  of  York,  317, 
318. 

Egypt,  Mahometan,  64. 

Eichstadt,  bishopric,  76. 

Einhard,  on  Karlmann,  112  ;  on 
puppet  kings,  115  ;  on  Prank- 
ish support  of  papacy,  136 
on  war  with  Saxons,  173  sq. 
on  coronation  of  Charles,  212 
on  double  emperorship.  217 
on    Haroun    al    Raschid    and 
Charles,  291  ;  on  Charhs's  in- 
tellectual attainments,  326  ;  on 
Rabanus,356;  letter  to  Lothair 
and  death,  401  sq.  ;  Elipantus, 
archbishop  of  Toledo,  363,  264, 


Emerton,  on  distinction  of  race 

and  language  among  Franks, 

412. 
England,    Church    of,    time    of 

Charles,  311  sq.  ;  previous  to 

Norman  conquest,  424. 
English,  conversion  of,  20. 
Ennodius,  bishop  of   Pa  via,  use 

of  word  "  pope,"  23,  footnote. 
Ephesus,  Council  of,  primacy  of 

Peter  at,  22,  footnote. 
Episcopate.     See  Bishops. 
Erasmus,  on   Forged   Decretals, 

451. 
Erfurt,  bishopric,  76. 
Eric  of  Auxerre,  373. 
Eric  of  Jutland,  417. 
Erigena.     See  ScoTus. 
Erimbert,  417,  418. 
Estinues,  Council  at,  105. 
Ethelbert,   archbishop  of  York, 

318   32'-* 
Eucharist,  265,  363  sq. 
Eudes,  65. 
Eugene  II.,  393  ;  peaceful  reign, 

397. 
Eutychiaus,  265. 
Exarchs,   Exarchate,  88,  93,  95, 

127,    128,    130,    131,    132,    139, 

203,  2U4. 
Exiguus,  Dionysius,  426. 

False  Decretals,  23,  287,  425,  426, 
427  sq. 

Farfa,  monastery,  392. 

Felix  of  Urgel,  heresies  con- 
demned by  Charles,  231,  263, 
267  sq.  ;  belief,  266  ;  meets 
Alcuiu.  269  ;  refuted  by  Al- 
cuin.  350. 

Feudalism,  5,  21,  35,  36,  40,  46, 
47,  65,  258,  284.  300,  301,  802, 
875,  376,  378,  408,  419  sq.,  423 
sq. 

"  Field  of  Lies,"  406. 

Filioque  clause,  269  sq. 

Fleury,  on  letter  from  St.  Peter, 
145. 

Florus  of  Lyons,  Eucharistic  con- 


Index. 


46: 


troversy,  364  ;  predestinatiou 
controversy,  ii70. 

Poldrad,  abbot  of  St.  Denis,  117, 
133,  147,  159. 

Fontanas,  55. 

Fontenay,  55,  411. 

Frankfort,  assembly  of,  255, 363, 
268. 

Franlcfort,  capitularies  of,  275. 

Franks,  the,  5,  25,  27  ;  Catholics, 
44  ;  help  from  Church,  45  ; 
difference  between  their  king- 
dom and  otlier  German  liiug- 
doms,  58  ;  prestige  established, 
100  ;  rebellions  after  death  of 
Charles,  110  sq.  ;  signiiicance 
of  Pippin's  coronation,  118, 
119  ;  donation  of  Pippin,  136 
sq. ;  bound  to  papacy.  151  ; 
council  of  Vermeuil,  102  sq.  ; 
distinctions  of  race  and  lan- 
guage, 412.  bee  under  names 
of  kings. 

Frederick  I.,  canonization  of 
Charles,  299. 

Freising,  bishopric,  75. 

Fridolin,  Irish  missionary,  55. 

Friesians,  59,  05,  69. 

Frodoard,  373. 

Fulda,  77,  187,  354,  859. 

Fulrad.     See  Foldkad. 

Gallese,  acquisition  of  by  Greg- 
ory, 125. 

Qallus,  founder  of  St.  Gall,  56. 

Gauzbert,  missionary,  417. 

General  admonition,  227  sq.  ; 
338. 

Gentilly,  Synod  at,  269. 

Gerberga,  daughter  of  Deside- 
rius,  191. 

German  Church.    See  Boniface. 

Germans,  inheritors  of  Roman 
power  and  civilization,  13,  25 
sq.  ;  results  of  migrations  and 
conquests,  43  sq.  See  Clovis  ; 
Charles  the  Great  ;  Mero- 
vingians ;  Franks,  and  names 
of  separate  tribes, 


German  Synods,  First,  76,  104  : 
Second,  105. 

Germanus,  patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, deposed,  87. 

Gerold,  brolher-in-law  of  Charles, 
237. 

Gerold,  count,  380. 

Gerung,  389. 

Gewillleb,  109. 

Gibbon,  on  Theodoric,  92  ;  on 
temporal  power,  159  ;  on 
Charles,  240. 

Gieslemar,  monk,  416. 

Gisla,  sister  of  Cluirles,  170,  191. 

Goths,  26,  30  ;  conversion,  43. 

Gottfried,  373. 

Gottschalk,  on  Predestination, 
368  sq. 

Grammar,  time  of  Charles,  335, 
336. 

Gratian,  confers  papal  riglits 
upon  Damasus,  23. 

Greece,  intellectual  inheritance 
from,  8,  9. 

Greek  Church.  See  Eastern 
Church. 

Greek,  study  of,  time  of  Charles, 
333. 

Gregorovius,  on  conquest  of 
Liutprand,  100  ;  on  Icono- 
clasm,  123. 

Gregory  I.,  greatness,  24,  97,  98, 
124  ;  on  image  worship,  82  ; 
checks  Lombards,  97,  98  ; 
Miimau  on,  98. 

Gregory  II.,  aids  Boniface,  69  ; 
policy  towards  Leo,  87  sq., 
123  ;  checks  Liutprand,  100  ; 
death,  101  ;  probable  attempt 
at  confederation,  156. 

Gregory  III.,  rehitions  to  Boni- 
face, 75  ;  to  Franlis,  101.  102, 
126  ;  death,  102,  127  ;  decrees 
against  Iconoclasts,  123  ;  con- 
flict with  Leo,  124  ;  in  pos- 
session of  Gallese,  125  ;  rela- 
tions to  Lombard  dukes,  125  ; 
probable  falsitj^  of  tradition  of 
visit  to  Charles  Martel,  133. 


464 


Index. 


Gregory  IV.,  397,  406  ;  missions 
iu  the  North,  416. 

Gregory  VI.,  378. 

Gregory  VII.,  enforces  use  of 
word  "  pope,'  23,  footnote  ; 
scholar  of  CUuny,  373  ;  Forged 
Decretals,  449. 

G'l'egory  of  Tours,  on  Clovis, 
33  ;  social  position,  45  ;  on 
Chilperic,  47,  48,  footnote  ;  on 
learning.  309  ;  on  Capella,  321. 

Gregory  of  Utrecht,  1!S6,  187. 

Gregory  the  Great.  See  Greg- 
ory I. 

Grifo,  103  ;  rebellion,  118,  114  ; 
killed,  114,  footnote,  184;  ter- 
ritory, 297. 

Grimoald,  43, 

Guizot,  on  Charles,  241  ;  on  as- 
semblies, 254  ;  on  capitularies, 
255,  256. 

Giiather  of  Cologne,  453. 

Hadrian  I.,  letter  to  Charles, 
157,  198  sq.,  283;  policy,  195; 
Donation  of  Charles,  196,  200, 
201  ;  relations  to  East,  214  ; 
sends  copy  of  Dionysiau  canons 
to  Charles,  283  ;  also  copy  of 
Sacramentary  of  Gregory,  288. 

Hadrian  II.,  449,  454,  455. 

Hadrian  IV.,  claim  to  Ireland, 
157. 

Hadrian,  missionary,  312,  315. 

Halitgar,  bishop  of  Cambray, 
415. 

Hambury,  ecclesiastical  jurisdic- 
tions. 275. 

lianold,  duke  of  Aquitanians, 
110,  111,  112,  108,  169. 

Harold.  King  of  Danes,  379,  415. 

Haroun  al  Raschid,  291. 

Haureau,  on  Alciiin,  334. 

Henry  II.,  England,  grant  of 
Ireland,  158  ;  canonization  of 
Charles,  299. 

Herbert,  404. 

Ilersfield,  monastery,  187,  857. 

Hertford,  Council  of,  70. 


Hessians,  Boniface  among,  71, 
78. 

Hildegard,  193. 

Hildelidis,  315. 

Hildibald,  274.  299,  373,  381. 

Hildigar,  bishop  of  Cologne,  134. 

Hincmar,  on  General  Assem- 
blies, 250;  power,  276,  853, 
359,  419,  420;  relations  to 
Goltschalk,  370  ;  to  Charles 
the  Bald,  444  ;  to  Nicholas  I., 
449,  455  ;  defends  Thietberga, 
453  ;  relations  to  Hadrian  11., 
455  ;  death.  456. 

Hincmar  of  Laon,  449,  455. 

Hinschius,  on  Pseudo  Isidore, 
429  sq.,  448,  449.  See  Dona- 
tion OP  CONSTANTINE. 

Hirschau,  monastery,  357. 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  224,  456. 
Horik  of  Jutland,  417. 
Hugo,  father-in-law  of  Lothair, 

899. 
Hugo,  son  of  Charles,  880,  887, 

388. 
Humfrid,  count  of  Coire,  892. 
Huns,  26,  29,  875,  footnote, 

Ibas,  letter  to  Maris,  347. 

Ibn-al  Arabi,  governor  of  Sara- 
gossa,  234. 

Iconoclasm.  See  Image  Wor- 
ship. 

Ignatius,  patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, 454. 

Illyricum,  translated  to  i^atri- 
archate  of  Constantinople,  124. 

Image  Worship,  81  sq.,  09 ; 
iconoclasm,  85,  87,  88 ;  de- 
crees of  Gregory  III.,  128, 
124  ;  council  of  Nicea  in  favor 
of.  214.  259  sq.  ;  Constantino- 
politan  decrees  condemned  at 
Frankfort,  255. 

Immunities,  284,  285,  327. 

Ingelheim,  diet  of.  237. 

Innocent  I.,  24  ;  greatness,  98. 

Ireland,  zeal  in,  54 ;  develop- 
ment of  learning  in,  810  sq.. 


Index. 


465 


34u  sq.  ;    school  opposed   by 
Alcuin  and  Theodulf,  349  sq.' 

Irene,  209. 

Irmingard,  wife  of  Lothair,  388. 

Irmingard,  wife  of  Louis,  383, 
387. 

Isaac  of  Constantinople,  ad- 
dresses Frederick  as  emperor, 
218. 

Isidore  Mercator,  427. 

Isidore  of  Seville,  320,  336  426 
427. 

Islam.     See  Mahometanism. 

Italy,  after  division  of  empire, 
91  sq.  ;  national  movement, 
125. 

Jerusalem,  first  local  centre  of 
Church,  15  ;  patriarchate,  18. 

Jews,  image  worship,  hindrance 
to  conversion,  83. 

John,  archbishop  of  Aries,  381. 

John,  bishop  of  Blanche-Selve, 
392,  393. 

John  VIII.,  offers  crown  to 
Charles  the  Bold,  324  ;  great- 
ness, 455. 

Judith,  wife  of  Louis,  388,  391, 
397,  400,  404,  410  ;  godmother 
to  Danish  cj[ueen,  413. 

JuliuSj  bishop  of  Rome,  right  to 
receive  appeals,  82. 

Justinian,  92. 

Karlmann,  son  of  Charles  Martel, 
76,  103  ;  relations  to  Boniface, 
103  ;  German  synods,  103  sq.  ; 
proceeds  against  Saxons,  111  ; 
murders  Alemannians,  112; 
retirement,  112,  129 ;  urges 
Pippin  not  to  yield  to  Stephen, 
140  ;  removed  to  Vienna  and 
death,  141. 

Karlmann,  brother  of  Charles, 
consecrated  by  Stephen  III., 
138;  "Patrician  of  the  Ro- 
mans," 138,  139;  crowned  at 
Soissons,  168 ;  desertion  of 
Charles,  169,  194 ;  marriage, 
DD 


170,   191  sq.  ;  death,  168,  170, 

194. 
Karlmann,  son  of  Charles,  236. 
Kiersy,  Council  of,  448. 

Labuinus,  missionary,  186. 
Landfrid,  duke  of  the  Aleman- 
nians, 113. 
Langobards.     See  Lombards. 
Learning.  See  Alcuin  ;  Charles 
THE  Great  ;  Louis  the  Pious. 

Lehuerou,  on  consecration  of 
Clovis,  121  ;  on  General  As- 
semblies, 255. 

Leidrad,  archbishop  of  Lyons, 
268. 

Leo  I.,  pope,  primacy  of  Peter, 
22,  footnote  ;  greatness,  34,  98 ; 
relation  to  Pippin,  296. 

Leo  III.,  emperor,  victory  over 
Mahometans,  64  ;  on  Images, 
82,  84,  85  ;  edict,  86,  87 ; 
death,  103  ;  conflict  with  Greg- 
ory III.,  134 ;  confers  Mirfa 
and  Norma  on  pope,  139. 

Leo  III.,  pope,  receives  Charles's 
royal  claims,  204 ;  flees  to 
Charles,  205  ;  purgation,  205, 
206 ;  crowns  Charles,  207 ; 
Prankish  account  of  corona- 
tion, 308  ;  Filioque,  370  ;  se- 
verity, 380  ;  troubles  and 
death,  380,  381. 

Leo.  v.,  emperor,  379. 

Leo  VI.,  emperor,  454. 

Leo  IX.,  pope.  Forged  Decretals, 
449. 

Leo,  master  of  the  Knights,  393. 

Leo,  son-in-law  of  Theodore  of 
the  papal  palace,  393. 

Lestinnes,  council  at,  105. 

Liptinop,  council  at,  105. 

Liutprand,  ally  of  Charles  Mar- 
tel, 66,  107  ;  checked  by  Greg- 
ory IL,  100  ;  death,  103,  128  ; 
attacks  Spoleto,  136  ;  present 
at  the  function  of  Zacharias, 
137 ;  treaty  with  Zacharias, 
128  ;  attacks  Ravenna,  138. 


466 


Index. 


Lombards,  25,  27  ;  conversion, 
44  ;  aid  Ciiarles  Martel,  66  ; 
time  of  Leo  IIL,  88  sq.  ;  an- 
archy, 93  ;  invasion,  95  sq.  ; 
history  slietched,  96  ;  checked 
by  Gregory,  97,  98  ;  by  Greg- 
ory IL,  100  ;  final  efforts,  155  ; 
marriage  alliances  vrith 
Franks,  190  sq.  ;  war  with 
Charles,  195,  196  ;  conquest, 
197,  198.    See  Aistulf  ;  Liut- 

PRAND. 

Lorenz,  on  education  in  eighth 
century,  305,  333. 

Lothair  I.,  crowned  in  Rome, 
224,  358,  378  ;  crowned  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  384,  385  ;  mar- 
riage, 388  ;  in  Italy  and  Rome, 
389  ;  godfather  to  Charles  the 
Bald,  391  ;  protector,  392 ; 
strength,  392;  sent  to  adjust 
relations  with  Eugene  II.,  394  ; 
supreme  in  Rome,  394  ;  Ro- 
man constitution,  394  sq.  ;  en- 
croachments of  Charles  the 
Bald,  398  ;  against  Louis,  398  ; 
confined  to  Italy,  399  ;  letter 
from  Einhard,  401  sq.  ;  head- 
strong, 403  ;  open  rebellion, 
404  ;  restores  father  to  rights, 
404,  405  ;  new  division  of  ter- 
ritory, 405  ;  supreme,  406, 
407  ;  brothers  plot  against 
him,  407  ;  submission,  408  ; 
division  of  empire  with 
Charles,  410  ;  arms  against  his 
brothers,  411  ;  joins  with  Pip- 
pin, 411  ;  defeat  at  Fontenay, 
412  ;  treaty  of  Verdun,  413  ; 
case  of  Ebbo,  441,  442. 

Lothair  IL,  453,  454. 

Louis  the  Pious,  coronation,  213  ; 
never  at  Rome,  224  ;  King  of 
Aquitania,  236,  293  ;  adminis- 
tration of  districts  under,  248, 
254,  255  ;  election  of  bishops, 
277  ;  position  of  bishops  under, 
279  ;  "  Canonical  Life,"  281  ; 
capitularies,    281,     354,    383 ; 


early  career,  293,  294  ;  king- 
dom, 295  _;  gives  duchy  of 
Maine  to  his  son,  297  ;  closing 
years  of  his  father's  life,  297  ; 
joint  emperorship  with  father, 
298  ;  translation  of  Scriptures, 
352  ;  no  encouragement  to 
Irish  school,  365  ;  not  specu- 
lative, 366  ;  forces  of  disunion 
in  kingdom,  374  sq.,  384  ; 
early  career  on  throne,  378, 
379  ;  rylations  with  Leo,  380  ; 
v.-ith  Stephen  V.,  381  ;  crown- 
ed, 382  ;  donation  to  papacy, 
383  ;  Lothair  crowned,  384  ; 
"Regulation  of  the  Empire," 
885,  388  ;  rebellion  of  Bern- 
hard,  3S6,  387 ;  penance  for 
severities,  388  ;  sends  Lothair 
to  Italy,  389  ;  investigations 
in  Italy,  392  sq.  ;  under  influ- 
ence of  queen,  397  sq.  ;  rebel- 
lion in  family,  398,  400  ;  char- 
acteristics, 400,  401  ;  con- 
quered by  sons,  404  ;  retired, 
404  ;  restored,  405  ;  rebellion 
of  Louis,  405,  40G  ;  fresh  re- 
bellions of  sons,  406  sq.  ; 
Louis  and  Pippin  to  the  rescue, 

407  ;    submission   of    Lothair, 

408  ;  territory  of  Charles,  409, 
410  ;  arms  against  Louis  and 
death,  411  ;  patron  of  missions, 
416  sq.  ;  case  of  Ebbo,  441. 

Louis,  son  of  Louis  the  Pious, 
dispute  as  to  succession  after 
death,  224  ;  primogeniture, 
378,  379  ;  receives  Bavaria, 
385  ;  sides  with  Lothair,  398  ; 

•  new  division  of  territory,  405  ; 
rebellion,  405,  406  ;  to  rescue 
of  his  father,  407  ;  submission 
of  Lothair,  408  ;  fresh  plots, 
409 ;  possessions  confirmed, 
410  ;  attacked  by  father,  411  ; 
compact  with  Charles,  412 ; 
treaty  of  Verdun,  413  ;  offers 
see  of  Bremen  to  Ansgar,  417  ; 
relations  to  Ebbo,  442. 


Index. 


467 


Louis  II.,  brother  of  Lothair  II., 

224,  455. 
Louis  tlie  German.     See  Louis, 

Son  of  Louis  the  Pious. 
Ludwig  the  German.    See  Louis, 

Son  of  Louis  the  Pious. 
Liigenfeld,  406. 
Luidger,  missionary,  186,  188. 
Luitperga,  190. 
Lull,  successor  of  Boniface,  79, 

274. 
Lupus,  duke  of  Wasconia,  169. 
Lupus,   Servatus,  357,   359,  361 

sq.,  449. 
Luttich,  under  Hildibald,  274. 
Luxeuil,  monastery,  55,  345. 
Luxovium,  monastery,  55. 

Macchiavelli  on  Theodoric,  92. 

Magdeburg  Centuriators,  451. 

Mahomet,  Mahometanism,  influ- 
ence on  Church,  4  ;  victories 
and  progress,  63  sq.  ;  power, 
63,  64  ;  at  diet  of  Paderborn, 
233,  234  ;  in  Spain,  264  ;  rela- 
tions to  Charles,  290  ;  conflicts 
with  Christians,  293,  294  ;  pre- 
destination, 370  ;  invasions, 
375. 

Maifield,  Mayfield.  144,  162,  176, 
249  sq.,  254,  255. 

Maine,  duchy  of,  296. 

Mainz,  ecclesiastical  centre,  274  ; 
jurisdiction,  275,  276. 

Major  domus.  See  Mayoks  op 
Palace. 

Mar  field.     See  Maifield. 

Mariolatrj'-,  81. 

Marriage,  laws  of,  283. 

Marsilius  of  Padua,  on  Donation 
of  Constantine,'  158  ;  on  Forged 
Decretals,  451. 

Maurus  Rabanus.  See  Rabanus, 
Maurus. 

Mayors  of  the  palace,  38  sq.,  59, 
114  sq. 

Martianus  Capella,  320,  371. 

Meaux,  Council  of,  435. 

Merovingians,    3,    footnote,    29 


sq.  ;  deca}'  of  power,  34  sq., 

40  ;  fall,  42. 
Methodius,  Greek  monk,  419. 
Metropolitan  system,   276    sq.  ; 

Forged  Decretals,  436,  438,  440 

sq.,  451. 
Metz,  ecclesiastical  position,  276. 
Michael  I.,  emperor,  relations  to 

Charles,  217. 
Michael  III.,  emperor,  454. 
Milmau,  on  Gregory,  98. 
Mirfa,  conferred  on  Church,  129. 
Misd  Dominici,  243  sq. 
Missionary     work,    6,    53    sq.  ; 

under    Charles,    184    sq.,   343 

sq.  ;    among  Danes,  415  sq.  ; 

in  Sweden,  416,  417.    SeeANS- 

GAR  ;     Arno  ;      COLUJIBANUS  ; 

Boniface  ;    Fridolin  ;    Wil- 

LIBROD  ;    WiLLEHAD. 

Moissac,  chronicles  of,  on  corona- 
tion of  Charles,  208  sq. 

Mombert,  story  about  Hildegard, 
193  ;  on  intellectual  greatness 
of  Charles,  330  sq. 

Monasteries,  position  of,  in  this 
era,  6,  21  ;  united  under  Bene- 
dict, 54  ;  immunities,  284,  285  ; 
history  sketched,  307,  308. 

Monophysitism,  84,  85,  264. 

Monothelitism.  85,  2G4. 

Mullinger,  on  Alcuin,  335.  850  ; 
on  episcopal  schools,  353  ;  on 
Rabanus,  355  ;  on  Scotus,  371, 
372. 

Narses,  overthrows  Ostrogoths, 
27  ;  conquests,  92  ;  relations 
to  Lombards,  96. 

Neander,  on  Adelbert,  107. 

Nefrid,  bishop  of  Narbonne,  268. 

Nestorius,  Nestorianism,  264. 

Neustria,  32,  34  ;  battle  of  Tes- 
try,  42  ;  under  Charles  Martel, 
60  ;  under  Pippin,  122  ;  after 
death  of  Pippin,  168. 

Nicephorus,  217. 
[Nicholas  I.,   Forged   Decretals, 
'     449  ;  greatness,  453  ;  relations 


468 


Index. 


to  Lothair  II.,  453  ;  to  Eastern 

Church,  454. 
Nicholas  II.,  Forged  Decretals, 

449. 
Nicholas  of  Cusa,  on  Donation 

of  Coustantine,  158  ;  on  Forged 

Decretals,  451. 
Norma,    conferred    on    Church, 

129. 
Northalbingians,  183. 

"  Octavius"  of  Minucius  Felix, 
83,  84. 

Odo  of  Clugny,  873. 

Odoacer  the  Herulian,  27,  29, 
91  ;  overthrown,  92. 

Offa,  Brctwalda,  292,  340. 

Olaf,  of  Sweden,  417. 

Olaf  Skotkonung,  418. 

Olaf  the  Holy,  418. 

Ommiads,  overthrown,  165. 

Orleans,  school  at,  353. 

Orte,  occupied  by  Liutprand, 
126  ;  restored,  128. 

Ostrogothic  kingdom,  31  ;  con- 
version, 44,  51,  52. 

Otfried  of  Weisseuberg,  357. 

Otgar,  archbishop  of  Mainz,  401. 

Ottilo,  duke  of  Bavarians,  110. 

Otto  I.,  324,  375,  footnote.  456. 

Paderborn,  diet  of,  233  ;  under 

Mainz,  274. 
Palestine,  Mahometan,  64. 
Pallium,  the,  22,  276, 
Papacy.    See  Rome,  Church  of. 
Paris,  Council  of,  40. 
Paris,    University   of,    303,   304, 

389  ;  investiture  of  Louis,  392 

sq. 
Paschal  I.,  383,  387  ;  death,  393. 
Paschal  II.,  449. 
Paschal,  anti-pope,  canonization 

of  Charles,  299. 
Paschasius       Radbertus,      266 ; 

eucharistic    controversj',    383 

sq. 
Passau,  bishopric,  75. 
"  Patriarch,"  title,  23,  footnote. 


"  Patrician  of  the  Romans,"  138, 
139,  202.  204. 

Patrick,  St.,  54,  343,  344,  373, 
374. 

Paul  I.,  139 ;  succession,  152  ; 
letters  to  Pippin,  153  ;  on  Ro- 
man supremacy,  283. 

Paulicians,  82,  83. 

Paulinus,  of  York,  316. 

Paulinus,  patriafch  of  Aquileia, 
268,  323. 

Paul  the  Deacon,  323,  324,  338  ; 
on  Charles,  240,  241. 

Paulus  Diaconus.  See  Paul  thk 
Deacon. 

Pavia,  siege  of,  146,  196. 

"Peace,  The,"  421. 

Pecock,  on  Donation  of  Cou- 
stantine, 158. 

Pelagius  I.,  346. 

Pelagius  II.,  on  Franks,  97. 

Persia,  Mahometan,  64. 

Peter  Comeston,  on  Forged  De- 
cretals, 450. 

Peter  Damiani,  421. 

Peter  of  Pisa,  323,  324. 

Petersburg,  monastery,  357. 

Photius,  relations  to  Nicholas  I., 
454. 

Pippin,  Donation  of,  136  sq. 

Pippin,  father  of  Charles,  57,  76 
102,   103  ;    synod   at  SoissonS: 
106  ;  conquers  Bavarians,  111 
defence  of  Neustria,  111,  112 
receives  Karlmann's  kingdom 
112  ;  relations   to   Gnfo,    113 
puts  down  Saxon  revolt,  113 
coronation,  117  sq.  ;  character 
istics,   122  ;    peace    of    united 
kingdoms,    122 ;    relations    to 
Stephen  III.,  132  sq.  ;  fresh  re- 
volt of  Saxons,  133,  134;  meet- 
ing with   Stephen,   134,    135 ; 
promises   aid,    135  ;    consecra- 
tion, 138  ;  "  Patrician   of   the 
Romans, "  138,  139  ;  overtured 
byKarlmann,  140  ;  orders  him 
to  Vienne,   141  ;    attacks  Ais- 
tulf,  141  ;  fresh  appeals  from 


Index. 


469 


pope,  143  ;  deaf  ear,  143  ;  let- 
ter from  St.  Peter,  145  ;  crosses 
Alps  agaiu,  146  ;  foundation 
of  temporal  power,  147  sq.  ; 
return,  151  ;  letters  from  Paul 
I.,  153  ;  war  with  Aquitauia, 
161  ;  at  Verneuil,  163  ;  rela- 
tions to  emperor,  164,  165  ;  to 
Almansor,  165  ;  his  work,  166, 
167  ;  death  161,  167  ;  division 
of  kingdom,  167  ;  attempt  to 
establish  metropolitan  cen- 
tres. 377. 

Pippin  of  Heristal,  3,  43,  59,  60. 

Pippin  of  Lansteu,  3,  41,  43. 

Pippin,  son  of  Charles,  King  of 
Italy,  386,  393  ;  early  career, 
393  ;  kingdom,  395  ;  relations 
to  Leo,  396  ;  death,  396. 

Pippin,  son  of  Louis  the  Pious, 
378,  379,  385  ;  rebellion,  404  ; 
restores  father  to  rights,  404, 
405  ;  new  division  of  territorj-, 
405  ;  anger,  405  ;  fresh  rebel- 
lions, 406,  407  ;  to  the  rescue 
of  his  father,  407  ;  submission 
of  Lothair,  407  ;  death,  409. 

Pippin,  son  of  above,  409  ;  joins 
with  Lothair,  411. 

Pirminius,  77. 

Pius  IX.,  on  Boniface,  79. 

Plato,  study  of,  in  time  of 
Charles,  330. 

Poitiers,  battles  of,  31.  87,  101. 

"  Pope,"  history  of  term,  83. 

Porphyry,  336. 

Precarium,  63. 

Predestination  controversy,  368 
sq. 

Primogeniture,  378,  384. 

Probus,  358. 

Provincia,  33. 

Prudentius  of  Troyes,  on'Scotus, 
367  ;  predestination  controver- 
sy, 370  ;  dogmatist,  371. 

Pseudo  Isidore,  33,  387,  435,  436, 
437  sq. 

Rabanus,  Maurus,  366,  396,  353  ; 


"Veni    Creator,"    371;    life, 

354  ;  characteristics,  355,  356  ; 

monastic  work,  357  ;  loyal  to 

Louis,   358  ;   retirement,   358  ; 

regard  for  Louis  the  German, 

358 ;    bishop  of  Mainz,   359 ; 

eucharistic  confroversy,   364  ; 

relations    to   Gottschalk,    369, 

370  ;  influence,  373. 
Rachis,  King  of  Lombards,  119  ; 

retirement,  139. 
Radbertus,      Paschasius,      366  ; 

eucharistic    controversy,    363 

sq.  ;    on  miraculous   delivery 

of  Mary,  365. 
Rashdall,  on  schools  of  Charles; 

303. 
Rathbod,  King  of  Friesians,  59, 

69. 
Ratisbon,  bishopric,  75. 
Ratramnus,      366 ;     eucharistic 

controversy,      364 ;      against 

Radbert,    865 ;     defends    the 

Church,  454. 
Ravenna,    attacked,    138  ;    fall, 

130,  131. 
Ravenna,  archbishop  of,  377. 
Reccared,    conversion,    51,   369 ; 

anointed,  ISO. 
Redfield,  406. 

Regensberg,  a.ssembly  in,  367. 
Regensberg,  bishopric,  75. 
"  Regulation  of  the  empire, "  385, 

388. 
Reichenau,  monastery,  77. 
Relics,  81, 

Remi  of  Auxerre,  873. 
Remigius,  bishop  of  Rheims,  131. 
Remigius  of  Lyons,  370. 
Reminghad,  873. 
"  Republic  of  Rome,"  150. 
Rheims,  power,  376  ;  school  at, 

353  ;  synod  of,  449. 
Richbon  of  Treves,  368. 
Ripuarians,  37,  38,  32. 
Rois  Faineants,  41,  114  sq. 
Roland,  death,  285. 
Roman  Constitution,  394  sq. 
Rome,  Church  of,  struggle  with 


470 


Index. 


Constantinople,  4  ;  increasing- 
power,  4,  5,  19  sq.,  93  sq., 
136,  146  sq.,  158  sq.  ;  states  of 
the  Church  and  temporal  pow- 
er, 5,  93  sq.,  147  sq.  ;  feudal  re- 
lations, 36,  37,  419 sq.  ;  alliance 
with  Franks,  45  ;  connection 
with  state,  46  sq.,  93  sq.  ;  de- 
moralization, 53  sq.  ;  relations 
to  Charles  Martel,  60  sq.,  67  ; 
strengthened  by  Mahometan 
conquest  of  Eastern  patri- 
archates, 64,  100  ;  oath  of 
Boniface,  71,  72  ;  from  time  of 
Theodoric,  93  sq.,  99  ;  signifi- 
cance of  Pippin's  coronation, 
118,  119  ;  first  anointing  among 
Franks,  121  ;  independence  re- 
sult of  clashing  rival  powers, 
124  ;  iconoclastic  controversy. 
124  ;  political  interests,  125  ; 
Donation  of  Pippin,  136  sq.  ; 
"  Patrician  of  the  Romans," 
138,  139  ;  foundation  of  tem- 
poral power,  147  sq.  ;  Dona- 
tion of  Constantine,  155  sq.  ; 
facts  regarding  temporal  pow- 
er, 158  sq.  ;  results,  159,  100  ; 
relations  with  Charles,  171, 
172,  290  ;  effect  of  Frankish- 
Lombard  marriage  alliances, 
190  sq.  ;  Donation  of  Charles, 
196,  200,  201  ;  bound  up  in 
new  empire,  218,  219  ;  metro- 
politan system,  276  sq.  ;  letter 
of  Hadrian  on  supremacy,  282 
Paul  I.  on  same,  283  ;  acknowl 
edged  as  centre  and  head,  286 
influence  of  Cliarles,  300,  302 
power  of  hierarchy,  377  ;  elec- 
tion of  popes,  382  ;  Donation 
of  Louis,  383  ;  growth  of  rival 
imperial  and  papal  parties,  392 
sq.  ;  Roman  Constitution,  394 
sq.  ;  feudalism,  419  sq.  ; 
Forged  Decretals,  287,  425, 
426,  427  sq.,  447  sq.,  450; 
height  of  papacy,  452  sq.  ; 
subsequent     weakness,     436. 


See    Bishop  ;    Charles    the 
Great  ;    Charles    Martel 
GRECiORY  I.  ;    Gregory  II. 
Gregory  III.  ;  Hadrian  I. 
Louis  the   Pious  ;   Stephen 
III.  ;  Zacharias. 

Rome,  city,  attacked  by  Lom- 
bards, 142,  144,  145. 

Rome,  duke  of,  128,  133. 

Rome,  empire,  legacy  to  new 
peoples  of  the  West,  8  sq.  ;  rea- 
sons for  disorganization,  10  sq. 

Rome,  patriarchate,  18. 

Rome,  "  Republic  of,"  150. 

Rothard,  Duke,  133. 

Rothard  of  Soissons,  449,  455. 

Rothrud,  betrothed  to  Constan- 
tine, 212,  261. 

Rudolph,  brother  of  Judith,  404. 

Rudolph,  successor  of  Rabanus, 
357. 

Rugians,  conversion,  44. 

Sabellianism,  264. 

Sacramentary  of  Gregory,  283. 

St.  Gall,  monastery,  53,  77,  345. 

Saints,  veneration  of,  81. 

Saliaus,  27,  28. 

Salzburg,  bishopric,  75  ;  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction,  275. 

Sarabians,  293. 

Saracens,  26,  51  ;  occupy  Sicily, 
218.     See  Mahometans. 

Saragossa,  Charles  at,  234. 

Sardican  canons,  22,  287. 

Saxons,  attack  Charles  Martel, 
65,  66  ;  Boniface  among,  71 
rebellions,  110,  113,  134,  161 
wars  with  Charles,  173  sq. 
subjection,  176  sq.  ;  capitula 
ries,  177  sq.  ;  surrender,  181 
fresh  revolts  and  subjections 
182, 183  ;  final  overthrow,  184 
missions  among,  184  sq. 

Schaff,  on  Forged  Decretals,  430. 

Scotland,  conversion,  55. 

Scotus,  John,  eucharistic  contro- 
versy, 304  ;  wonder  of  age, 
365,  366  ;  books,  367  ;  philoso- 


Index. 


471 


phy,  367,  368  ;  predestination 
controversy,  368  sq.  ;  closing 
days,  072,  373. 

Scriptures,  translated  under 
Louis,  352. 

Sereuus,  bishop  of  Marseilles,  on 
images,  82. 

Sergius  I.,  69. 

Sergius,  librarian,  393. 

Sergius,  papal  legate.  111. 

"  Servant  of  the  Servants  of 
God,"  23,  footnote. 

Servatus  Lupus,  357,  359,  361 
sq.,  370,  449. 

Sicily,  124,  218. 

Sigulfus,  373. 

Slavs,  invasions,  375. 

Soissons,  council  at,  106, 107, 448. 

Spain,  Church  of,  263,  264. 

Spain,  expedition  of  Charles  into, 
233  sq. 

Spoleto,  duke  of,  relations  to 
papacy,  125, 126, 128, 152,  153, 
197  ;  attacked  by  Liutprand, 
126. 

States  of  the  Church,  5. 

Stephen  IL,  131. 

Stephen  IIL,  relations  to  Aistulf, 
131  sq.,  140  sq.  ;  to  Pippin,  132 
sq.  ;  crosses  Alps,  133  ;  meet- 
ing with  Pippin,  134, 135  ;  aid 
promised  by  Pippin,  135  ;  con- 
secrations, 138  ;  confers  title 
of  Patrician  of  the  Romans  on 
kings,  138,  139,  2u2 ;  threat- 
ened by  Aistulf,  141,  142; 
fresh  appeals  to  Pippin,  142 
sq.  ;  letter  from  St.  Peter,  145  ; 
on  Aistulf,  152  ;  death,  152. 

Stephen  IV.,  wrath  at  proposed 
marriage  of  Frankish  and 
Lombard  families,  170  ;  False 
Decretals,  449. 

Stephen  V.,  381  ;  crowns  Louis, 
382  ;  election  of  popes,  383  ; 
death,  383. 

Stephen  of  Tournay,  on  Forged 
Decretals,  451. 

Stilicho,  28. 


Strabo,  Walafrid,  324,  357. 

Stubbs,  on  Ebgert,  318. 

Sturm,  missionary,  186,  188. 

Suevi,  conversion,  44. 

Sutri,  granted  to  Gregory,  100. 

Sutri,  synod  of,  456. 

Sweden,   mission  work  in,  416, 

417. 
Syagrius,  29. 

Tarik,  64. 

Tassilo,  son  of  Ottilo,  114,  169, 

190,  194,  237,  290,  293. 
Tertullian,  19. 
Testry,  battle  of,  42. 
Theoderic,  son  of  Charles,  380, 

387,  388. 
Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 69,  70,  333. 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  347. 
Theodore,  prince  of  papal  pal- 
ace, 392. 
Theodore,  the  philosopher,  312, 

315  ;  Saxon  chronicle  on,  316. 
Theodoret,  against  Cyril,  347. 
Theodoric,    27.   30,    31,    33,    91  ; 

King    of    the     Romans,    92 ; 

death,  92. 
Theodoric  IV.,  103,  114. 
Theodulf,   bishop     of    Orleans, 

340,    349,   351,  353,    359,   381, 

387,  388,  420. 
Theophanes,     on     relations     of 

Charles  to  East,  216,  222,  238, 

270. 
Thietberga,  wife  of  Lothair  IL, 

453. 
Thietgaut,  of  Treves,  453. 
Thionville,  sj^nod,  441. 
Thuriugia,  33,  70. 
Tithes,  283. 
Toto,  duke.  160. 
Transubstantiation,  265,  363  sq. 
Treves,    ecclesiastical    position, 

276. 
"Truce  of  God,"  422. 
Turrian,  False  Decretals,  451. 

0131^30,43'    ;   '*/^\  \'i   \     '^r 


472 


Index. 


Urban  II.,  claim  to  Corsica,  157. 
Urolf,  archbislaop  of  Lorch,  419. 
Utrechit,  under  Hildibald,  274. 

Valens,  defeated  by  barbarians, 
26  ;  Arian,  44. 

Valentine  I.,  397. 

Valentinian,  edict  of,  123. 

Valla,  Lamentius,  on  Donation 
of  Constantine,  158. 

Vandals,  26  ;  conversion,  44. 

Vasconia,  55. 

Venetia,  Grecian  possession,  218. 

"  Veni  Creator  Spiiltus,"  271. 

Verden,  massacre,  180 ;  under 
Mainz,  274. 

Verdun,  treaty,  360,  413. 

Verneuil,  council,  162. 

"  Vicar  of  Peter,"  24,  footnote, 

Villedaigne,  battle,  294. 

Virgin,  worship  of,  81. 

Visigoths,  26,  29,  31  ;  Arian,  44, 
51  ;  Fardolin  among,  55  ;  Ma- 
hometan conquest  of,  64  ;  or- 
thodox, 264. 

Vitalian,  pope,  70. 

Waifar,  son  of  Himold,  112,  114, 

161,  168. 
Waitz,  on  coronation  of  Charles, 

221. 
Wala,  abbot,  408. 
Wala,  count,  380,  388,  389,  393. 
Walafrid,  on  Charles,  324  ;  pupil 

of  Rabanus,  357. 


Waldrada,  453. 

Wasserschleben,  on  Forged  De- 
cretals, 449. 

Wearmouth,  monastery,  313, 316. 

Werden,  Monastery,  188. 

Whitby,  council  of,  56,  70,  311, 
347. 

Wilfrid,  316,  317. 

Willehad,  missionary,  186,  189. 

William  of  Malmesburv,  on  Sco- 
tus,  372. 

Willibrod,  missionary,  59,  60, 
69,  71. 

Winfrid.     See  Boniface. 

Winnigis,  381. 

Witmar,  monk,  416. 

Wittekind,  176,  180,  181  ;  bap- 
tized, 182. 

Wulfhold,  387. 

Wiirzburg,  bishopric,  76. 

Yarrow,  monastery,  313,  316. 
York,  school  of,  316  sq.  ;  arch- 
bishopric, 317. 

Zacharias,  pope,  78  ;  on  second 
German  synod,  106  ;  reply  to 
Pippin's  question,  117  ;  eleva- 
tion and  characteristics,  127  ; 
treaty  with  Liutpraud,  128 ; 
receives  Mirfa  and  Norma, 
129  ;  renouncement  of  Karl- 
mann  and  Rachis,  129  ;  rela- 
tions to  Aistulf,  130  ;  death, 
131. 


'  These  volumes  certainly  mus  be  said  to  answer  their  description  admirably. 
The  reader  will  find  in  them  studies  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  a  series  of 
short  chapters  which  are  always  interesting  and  often  very  picturesque.' — 
Guardian. 

'By  a  bright,  attractive  appearance,  by  a  very  comfortable  typography,  by  the 
participation  of  dignified  scholars  and  experienced  writers,  this  series  is  likely  to 
enjoy  a  deserued popularity.' — New  World. 

'An  exceedingly  useful  series.' — Critical  Review. 

'These  "Eras  "  are  histories  that  will  be  enjoyably  read  and  easily  remembered.' — 
Literary  World. 


Evas 
^be    Cbvietian    Cbuvcb. 

EDITED   BY 

JOHN    FULTON,    D.D.,    LL.D., 

AUTHOR    OF    'INDEX    CANONUM,'     '  CHALCEDONIAN    DECREE,'    ETC. 

jSIessrs.  T.   &  T.   CLARK  have  pleasure  in  announcing  the 
Serial  Publication  of  '  Eras  of  the  Christian  Church.' 

Christians  of  all  denominations  have  begun  to  understand 
that  many  of  the  existing  divisions  of  Christendom  had  their 
origin  partly  in  misapprehensions  and  partly  in  causes  which 
have  long  since  passed  away,  and  that  the  cause  of  unity  will 
be  most  surely  promoted  by  a  calm  and  impartial  study  of  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  its  long  and  varied  experience  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  for  persons  of  ordinary  leisure 
and  opportunity  to  make  a  profound  study  of  ecclesiastical 
history.  It  has  therefore  been  suggested  that  a  series  of 
popular  monographs,  gi\'ing,  so  to  speak,  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  most  important  epochs  in  the  life  of  the  Church,  would 
supply  a  real  want,  and  this  Series  is  intended  to  furnish  such 
monographs. 

The  Series  will  be  complc'ed  in  Ten  Volumes, 
Price  Six  Sliillings  eacltm 

*  [P.T.O 


ERAS   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 

Six   Yolumes   are   now   ready,   price   6s.   each. 

]. 

Zbc  Hoc  of  1bil^cbran^ 

By    Professor    M.    E.    YINCE^^T,    D.D., 

PROFESSOR   OF   KEW   TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS,    UNION   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY, 
NEW    YORK. 

The  magnificent  scheme  of  ecclesiastical  supremacy  projected 
hy  Hildebrand ;  tlie  bold  attempt  of  Boniface  viir.  to  absorb 
the  power  of  the  Empire  into  the  papacy,  ■\vhich  led  at  last 
to  the  temporary  extinction  of  papal  power,  though  not  of 
paj^al  claims,  at  the  Council  of  Constance ;  the  rise  of  the 
Franciscan  and  Dominican  Orders  ;  the  conditions  of  monastic 
and  clerical  life  ;  the  beginnings  of  the  modern  national  S2)irit  ; 
the  establishment  and  progress  of  universities. 

■  The  book  is  well  written ;  the  interest  of  the  reader  is  arrested  at  the  beginning  and 
held  throughout,  and  what  appears  a  fair  and  well-considered  representation  of  the 
facts  is  given.  .  .  .  Altogether,  the  volume  before  us,  which  has  been  sent  from  the 
press  in  admirable  external  garb,  is  an  excellent  piece  of  woi'k.'— Critical  Beviev). 

'A  most  interesting  and  carefully  written  sketch  of  this  period  of  Church  history, 
and  one  that  may  be  protitably  studied  both  by  the  student  and  the  general  reader.' — 
Church  Family  Newspaper. 

II. 

Z\)C  Hoc  of  tbc  6ccat  Mc6tcni  Scbi6in» 

r,Y   Rev.    CLINTON   LOCKE,   D.D.,  Chicago. 

The  Great  Schism,  dividing  European  Christendom  for  genera- 
tions into  two  hostile  camps,  wliich  was  terminated  hy  a  supreme 
humiliation  of  the  papacy ;  the  Popes  at  Avignon ;  the  perse- 
cution of  the  Temiilars ;  the  rival  Popes,  and  the  Councils  of 
Pisa,  Constance,  and  Basle. 

'  The  work  is  replete  with  valuable  information,  and  the  reader  does  not  weary  of 

its  perusal.'— A/eWiorfisf  Times. 

in. 
Z\K  Bijc  of  tbc  CniCiabeiu 

By  J.  M.  LUDLOW,  D.D., 

AUTHOR   OF 
'captain   of  the   janizaries,'    'a   kino   of  tyre,'    ETC. 

The  Crusades,  with  their  heroic  personalities,  their  dramatic, 

tragic,  and  romantic  histories ;  the  real  religiousness  out  of  which 

the   crusading   movement   grew,  and   its   unconscious  preparation 

for    intellectual   and   spiritual   movements   which   no   man   could 

then  have  imagined. 

'His  account  of  the  political,  social,  and  religious  conditions  which  led  to  the 
Crusades,  as  well  as  of  the  results  to  Europe  which  followed  them,  is  admirably 
drsiwn,'— Christian  World, 


ERAS   OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 

Volumes  now  ready — continued. 
IV. 

Zhc  Hoc  of  tbc  IRcnascencc. 

By  PAUL  VAN  DYKE. 

With  Introduction  by  HENRY  VAN  DYKE,  D.D. 

The  intellectual  and  political  movements  which  preceded  and 
anticipated  the  Reformation,  including  the  Italian  Renascence, 
witii  the  extravagances  and  sanities  of  the  Humanists  ;  the  general 
growth  of  universities  and  great  cities  ;  the  fuller  development  of  a 
national  sjitirit,  especially  in  France  and  Germany  ;  the  religious 
fervour  and  the  awakened  spirituality  which  ai>peared  most  con- 
spicuously in  such  tragedies  as  that  of  John  Iluss  and  Jerome  of 
Prague,  in  the  Lollard  movement  in  England,  and  in  many  abortive 
attempts  at  reformation  elsewhere. 

'  We  have  no  hesitation  in  at  once  declaring;  that  the  work  is  in  every  sense 
admirable.  1  he  reader  is  led  on  from  chaptrr  to  chapter  by  a  very  real  charm.  He 
feels  that  he  is  under  the  spell  of  one  who  knows  his  subject  thoroughly,  and  writes  of 
it  with  a  freedom  and  an  ease  that  constitute  him  a  delightful  guide.'— A'ew  Age. 

\. 

ZTbe  iBcuincnical  (lounciUn 

By    Professor    W.    P.    Du    LOSE,    D.D., 

DKAN   AND   PROFESSOR  OF   EXEUESI.S   AND   MORAL   SCIENCE,    INIVEKKITY    OF 
THK   SOUTH,   TENNESSEE. 

The  age  of  the  Ecumenical  Councils,  with  its  tragic  importance 
and  its  incidental  comedies,  with  its  majestic  figures  and  its  incom- 
jiarable  saintliness  in  contrast  with  contem])tible  intrigue  ;  and, 
above  all,  the  ultimate  and  authoritative  definition  of  the  essentials 
of  the  Christian  faith. 

'Even  when  dealing  with  the  most  difficult  discussions,  it  is  luminous,  and  from 
the  first  i>age  to  the  last  we  feel  that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  a  teacher  who  has  pondered 
deeply  and  worked  hard  to  serve  \xs."—Lii(rnr\j  Wvrld. 

"J  his  book  is  most  attractive,  and  if  one  finds  an  interest  in  anything  beyond  a 
sensational  novel  one  will  surely  find  it  here.'— A'.cposiior!/  Times. 

VL 

Zbc  Bnolican  IRcfovmatiom 

By  WILLIAT^r    CLARK,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Etc., 

PROFESSOR   OF   PHILOSOPHY    IN   TRINITY    COLI.EOE,    TORONTO,  TRANSLATOR   OF   BISHOP 
HEFELE's    '  HLSTORY   of   THE   COUNCILS   OF   THE   CHURCH.' 

A  graphic  survey  of  the  Anglican  Reformation  which  liad  so 
mucli  in  common  with  the  Continental  and  Scottish  movements,  and 
yet  was  differentiated  from  them  l)y  peculiarities  of  principle  and 
action  which  remain  to  the  present  time. 

'Cannot  but  recommend  itself  to  students  of  Church  history,  and,  indeed,  to  all 
readers  who  desire  a  nianatseable  and  trustworthy  introduction  to  the  study  of  ita 
subject,'— Sfofsman. 


ERAS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

The    following    Volumes    are    in    Preparation— 

Zbc  Bpo6tolic  Bcjc. 

By    J.    YERJS^ON    LARTLET,    JNLA., 

MANSFIELD   COLLEGE,    OXFORD. 

The  constitution,  the  fundamental  polity,  the  doctrine,  the 
worship,  and  the  social  and  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Apostolic 
Church. 

Zhc  pocit^apocitolic  Uqc. 

By  the  Right  Rev.  IT.  C.  POTTER,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

BISHOr   OF   NEW   YORK  ; 

AND  Archdeacon  C.  C.  TIFFANY,  D.D. 

The  development  of  doctrine  in  the  Second  and  Third  Centuries, 
and  the  iniluence  of  Greek  thought  in  suggesting  (juestions  which 
rose  into  paramount  importance  in  the  Fourth  ;  the  growth  of 
liturgical  forms,  and  tlie  gradual  self-adjustment  of  the  Episcopal 
and  Conciliar  Constitution  of  the  Cliurch  ;  the  ascetic  and  monastic 
tendencies  in  which  there  was  so  much  good  piirpose  and  the 
beginning  of  so  much  evil  practice  ;  and  the  universal  evidence  of  a 
genuinely  new  jiower  worlcing  in  humanity. 

JLbc  protctitant  IRcfonnatiou. 

By  Professor  WILLISTOX  WALKER,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 

HARTFORD    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY. 

The  Protestant  Reformation  in  Germany,  Scandinavia,  Holland, 
Switzerland,  and  Scotland,  in  which  the  life  and  labours  of  Luther, 
Calvin,  Melancthon,  Erasmus,  John  Knox,  and  other  worthies,  will 
be  ajipreciatively  described. 

Z\K  F*oe  of  Cbarlcmaonc. 

By  Professor  CHARLES  L.  WELLS,  Ph.D., 

UNIYEHSITY   01    MINNESOTA. 

The  formative  period  of  the  Ninth  Century,  with  its  picturesque 
figures  and  stirring  events,  and  the  laying  of  the  foundations  of  the 
mediaeval  system,  ecclesiastical  and  civil. 

Such  are  the  topics  of  the  '  Eras  op  the  Christian  Church.' 
Their  perennial  interest  to  Christian  people  is  unquestionable,  and 
no  pains  will  be  sjtared,  either  by  the  writers  or  by  the  publishers, 
to  make  the  volumes  worthy  of  their  several  themes. 

EDINBURGH:  T.  &  T.CLARK,  38  GEORGE  STREET. 
LONDON:  SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL,  HAMILTON,  KENT,  &  CO.  LIMITED. 


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