■|4^LU^ nj*1»«i SL^wii ' '
UNIVERSITY
OF PITTSBURGH
LIBRARY
RIDPATH'S
UNIVERSAL HISTORY
AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN, PRIMITIVE CONDITION AND ETHNIC DEVELOPMENT
OF THE GREAT RACES OF MANKIND, AND OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN THE
EVOLUTION AND PROGRESS OF THE CIVILIZED LIFE AMONG MEN
AND NATIONS, FROM RECENT AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES.
WITH A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY ON THE TIME. PLACE AND MANNER
OF THE BEGINNING.
By JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, LL. D.,
AUTHOR OF A POPULAR HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC.
Complete in Sixteen Volumes
A NARRATIVE OF MORE THAN SIX THOUSAND PAGES, PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH
COLORED PLATES, RACE CHARTS, HISTORICAL MAPS, TYPE-PICTURES,
SKETCHES AND DL\GRAMS TO THE NUMBER OF MORE
THAN THREE THOUSAND.
VOLUME XII.
CINCINNATI:
THE JONES BROTHERS PUBLISHING COMPANY.
Ibi ilonos In-ollvr? Pufli.'Hng £oiih\
so/n /? )• srnsrR/rrro.y ox/, v.
. RIDPATH^S
UNIVERSAL HISTORY
VOLUME XIL
BOOK XI. —BARBARIAN ASCENDENCY
BOOK XII. —THE MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDENCY
BOOK Xm. —THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE
BOOK XIV.— THE FEUDAL ASCENDENCY
BOOK XV. —THE CRUSADES
mjnijhlcd by .lunts lirulhirtf Pub. Co. 1S8'
QUEEN BOADICEA
JBonk Jirucnlh.
Barbariax Ascexdexcy,
CHARTER LXXTII— TKIBES OK THE NOKTH.
HE opening paragrai^hs of
Modern History relate to
the Barbarian Nations.
The 'warlike tribes that
for several centuries had
beaten against the north-
eastern frontiers of the
Knnian l^iiiiiie at last burst through the bar-
riers which the Ctesars had set against them
and swept the Old Civilization into ruins.
Peninsular Euroije became the sjioil of the
invaders. The immense populations of bar-
barism, long heaped up on the further banks
of the Ehine and the Danube, suddenly dif-
fused themselves as a spreading flood over all
the better 25ai"ts of the West. It may prove
of interest to take at least a cursory survey of
the barbarians, as it respects their ethnology,
institutions, and general history.
The warlike peojiles by whom the Empire
of the Eomans was subverted behinged to
three different races: the Germanic, the Slavic,
and the ScytJiic. Whether the first two groups
may be traced to a common Teutonic origin is
a question belonging to the ethnologist rather
than to the historian. It is suflicient to note
ly of a distinct
mis, whom they
cmitines of the
family belonged
isiims of Visi- or
■rn Goths; the
insisting of sev-
the chief; the
the fact that in the fifth century the Germanic
and Slavic tribes were already so clearly dis-
criminated as to constitute ditierent groups of
population. As to tlie Scythic or Asiatic
invaders they were manifc
stock from the Teutonic lui
drove before them into thi
Empire.
1. The Gerjians. To th
the Goths, with their twd di
Western, and Ostro- or Ea-
Allemannian confederal imi,
eral tribes, the Suevi bciii
Marcomanni, the Quad!, the Hormunduri, the
Heruli, the Gcpidie, the Vandals, the Lom-
bards, the Franks, the Angles, the Saxons,
the Burgundians, and the Bavarians.
Of these many and jiopulims tiibus, among
the most important were the Gotiis. Their
origin has never been definitely ascertained.
The first historical contact between them and
the Romans was in the year A. D. 250, when
the Emperor Decius was called to confront
them on the Danube. Thev liad, however,
been previously mentioned Imth liv I'liii\- and
Ptolemy. By some authors ihtv have been
388
UyiVEHSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
coufouodLcl with t
fusion tluH 1- II > .
HMoiualU, tin
the V.ukIiI- iii'l t
deed, leuaid- tin il
ions of tilt ^.imc n i
pact with the Eom
in the region noitli
, Ih- .iu a-Kut.d «ith
■ 1 lud.e. I'lotopiu-, m-
lubc^ a^ meiL tuljduis-
1 Bttdie theu hrst im-
thi (r(.th> wcic located
till LiiMiii A (intuiv
with the Lmpue betrau. In the mean time
they became di\ided into the two gieat fam-
ilies of \'i'-i- 01 We-teiu, and O-tio- oi Eastern
Goth--. The latter occupied the teiiitoiy l}iug
between the Danube and the Caqiathian
mountains, and stretching fiom the boideis of
HuuLfaiy to Bessarabia. The foimer ■nere
loiatdl in Southern Ru-^ia hetween the Don
later, ahout A. D. 2ri().
on the Lower Daiiubc.
had made an iniui-'Hin
vasted a considerablr di
the year 2(52 they were
J^milianus, and seven years later by Clau-
dius. Near the close of the third century
thcv obtained jwissessioii nf the province of
Daria, and I'mm this region their struggle
the^
• were c
stabl
shed
Bet
ire t
lat
time
they
inti
Th
•ar
" am
,k-
-trie
t of
nlry.
In
defeated
in
bat'tl
e In-
and the Dniester. Fi>r a while the two races
were ruled by a common king. When the
Iluiinish invasions began the Visigoths put
tbcnistlves under the protection of the Empire
and were first assigned a district in Thrace,
but afterwards came into possession of Moesia.
From the times of Theodosius the Goths
became einistantly more aggressive, and it was
evident that they contemplated no less than
BARBARIAX ASCKXliKXcV. — TlUIlKS OF THE XnUTIL
the subversion of the Empire. ]\Ieaii\vhilr,
they were presseil forward by the Hiiiiiiisli
hordes that raiiie iioLirina- in from Asia. Tin y
were tlius i.ncii>itated into Italy. Led on l.y
Ahirie, they weiv, lii-t in the year 40.s, l,,,nuli't
ofl" witli an enormous ransom. A second and
a third time the Gothic king returned to the
siege of tlie city, and in August of 410 Rome
■was taken and pillaged. Called, however, to
other fields of conquest, the Goths left the
crippled Empire for a season to the successors
of Honorius. In the middle of the century
they joined the Romans in a combined attack
upon the half-million of Huns whom Attila
had led into Gaul. In the years that followed
the countries of Spain and Southern France
■were completely dominated liy the < Jothir laer,
and in A. D." 476 the nation of the lleruli,
led by their king Odoacer, overthrew what
remained of the Western Empire, and estab-
lished the OsTROGOTHic KiNGDOM of Italy.
Of the two Gothic peoples, the Visigoths,
if not the more powerful, were the more en-
lightened. Having first established themselves
in South-western France, they gradually made
their way through the Pyrenees and spread as
far as the river Ebro. Under the leadership
of their king, Wallia, they overthrew the king-
dom of the Silingi, a trilie of Vandal origin,
and thus secured a tdotlidld in Spain. The
Vandals, under the lead of (ienseric, retired
into Northern Africa, and the Visigoths soon
overran the whole of the Spanish peninsula.
Only a small district in the north-west re-
mained under the dominion of the Suevi.
Even this province, after maintaining its in-
dependence till the year 585, was reduced
to submission and added to the Visigoteiic
Kingdom.
In A. D. 471 King Enric, the most distin-
guished sovereign of the Visigoths, put an end
to Roman authority in Spain, and established
a new constitution. By the close of the sixth
century a fusion had been effected of the na-
tive Spanish, Latin, and Gothic elements of pop-
ulation, and the Kixgdo5I of the Visigoths
became the sole political power in the pen-
insula.
In a jiaragrajih above mention was made
of the persistent stand of the Suevi in North-
western Spain. This tribe of Germans had
its native seat in ITpper Saxony, beyond the
There in ancient times, in a sacred
were erected the altars of their sujjer-
This forest, called the Sonnenwald,
Thr S
uevi were anidug the- nm-t warlike and
pnwrl
t'ul of the Teutonic triljes. Tiiey sjn-ead
IVnlu
the banks of the Oder to the Danube.
Siieh
was their prowess that the Gaulish na-
tioll>
hvhired to Ca-sar bv tlicir ambassadors
that t
ny regarded it as n,. dis,,,ae.. t.> have
llr,l 1,
•fiire the Suevi, against whcjui not even
thr il
nu.irtal gods might stand in battle. It
was i
1 tlie reign of the Emperor CaracaUa
that t
lit' Suevi were first felt on the borders
of i;,,
111'. The legionaries of the Empire were
stunnt
d bv the fierce blows of the Germanic
In the distui-bed period following the reign
of Uecius the Suevi made their way into Gaul,
and thence proceeded by way of Ravenna
till their savage banners were seen almost as
far south as Rome. The Senate, in the ab-
sence of the Emperors, spurred into activity
by the imminent peril of the state, raised a
large army of pra}torians and conscripts, and
the Suevi, not without an immense collection
of spoils, fell back into Germany. Soon after-
wards, however, an army of three hundred
tlmusand Allemauni was again in Italy, but
wa- ili'fiated liy (iallieiiu,- in a liattle near
:Milan. In order to stay the inroads of the
barbarians, the Emperor then espoused Pipa,
the daughter of the king of the Suevi, and
gave to her father as the jn'ice of ]^)eace the
jirovince of Pannonia. After many vicLssi-
tudes the Suevi became established on the
banks of the Neekar, and, as already men-
tioned, in the ijrovime of <.iallicia, in Spain.
In the former ]in,-iiion tiny laid the founda-
tions of the KiNGlH.M (IF SuEViA, which is
only a variation of the original name of the
tribe ; and from the latter they were expelled
by the Visigoths in the year 5<S5.
Our first notices of the Marcomanni are
derived from Strabo and Tacitus. The native
seats of this strong tribe were in Bohemia and
IMoravia. Here, under their great king ]\Iaro-
boibius, they established a powerful monarchy,
and became a terror to the surrounding na-
tions. The name Marcomanni signifies Mirch-
meii or borderers, and was, no doubt. a]i])lied
to several neighboring tribes in the confines of
392
uyi\-i:h'sAL nisTonv.-TiiE M()I>i:i:.x world.
Germany. In tli
( 'jL-sar, the .Marco-
tlie army of Ario-
Miit of their kin-
eeanie involve.l ill
1 MH.ii afterwanls
i~ -tatione.l nil the
.Ml
.Ala
■us A Il-
ls-Da
hnal
pniviiiees
■comauni,
a perma-
■euturies,
ion grew
ireil fr(jm
coiilroiitrd I
Dauubian h
In the V
relius, the .Ahii- aiiiii h, lele.l a e..iifeder-
ation (if (ieriiiaii tiilus a;jaiii>l lii<' Romans.
Aurelius ilie.l uhil.' . iii;aiie.l in tlie attempt to
break u
son ComiiuHhis w
peace which he
German ailvei>ai
fourth eeiituiies
were seyera! time;
but they ilid n.it
where, in hiyim;-
nent state. In t
the relative imp
less and k'ss, unt
history.
The QuADi were kinsmen of the Sueyi,
having their original homes in South-eastern
Germany. One of their principal haunts was
the celebrated Hercyniau Forest, nf which so
graphic an account has been iireserved in the
Sixth Book of CVsar's GalUc War. Their ter-
ritories had joined iIki-c oi' the raunonians
and the Marcomamii, with whom they were
generally in alliance. At the time of the es-
tablishment of the Koman Empire the Quadi
were among the most jiowerful of the German
nation.s. In the time (if the Kmperer Tiberius
their government was a iik diarchy, a certain
Vannius occuiiyiiig the throne. DuriiiL' the
reign of ^lareiis Aiireliii>, the (^uadi became
against the Romans, and
he great battle of A. D.
destroy the imperial le-
liiiiate occurrence of a
■ and i;aye the victory to
a member of tin
which was ori^aiii/.i
it was they whd, ii
174, were alxait t
gions, when the
storm turned the t:
Rome.
During the yea
posed provinces of
harrassed by tliis ■
liance with the Sai
tier posts, and mat
•s A. D. :;.'i7-o.")l», the ex-
die i-:m|iirc were dreadfully
arlike people, wlio, in ai-
maliaiis, captured the fron-
e it necessary for Coustan-
tius to exert himself to the utmost to stay
their ravages. They were, however, speedily
subdued, and the cliiefs of the nation, even
from beyond the ( aipaiiiian mountains, were
glad to -ave tli(iii-(lve> liy making their sub-
mi>>ioii and Liiviiig hostages to the Emperor.
The nation maiiitaiued its independence until
near the close of the following century when
thev were ali-orbcd by the more powerful
(niths, and ceax'd to be a separate people.
Tlie nation of the Hekuli were destined to
establish tiic tii>i barbarian kingdom in Italy.
These were the iiKJst migratory of all the Ger-
man tl■ib(^^, inxmiiich that their original seats
have iviuaiiied a matter of conjecture. At
diflerent times they ajipearcd on the Dniester
and the Rhine; in Greece and Italy; in Spain
and Scandinavia. In the third century of our
era, (kiriiii;- the rei-ii,~ of Claudius and (ialli-
enus, the lleruli joined the (ioths on their ex-
pedition against the countries of the Euxiue.
In war they were among the bravest of the
brave, disdaining the use of defensive armor
and coiideiuiiiiig the widows and infirm of the
tribe to peri>li iiecause they were of no further
service to the nation. After uniting their forces
with those of the (ioths in various invasions
of the Dauubian provinces of the Empire,
they were c(iii(|ii( red by their allies, and re-
4.")1, they joined Attila on his march into
Gaul, ami after the death of that savage chief-
tain were united with the other German na-
tions in the final expedition against Rome.
With the capture of the city, in the year 476,
Gdoacer assumed the title of king of Italy,
ami, tliouLih by no means the greatest of the
bai'liariaii leaders, became the founder of the
first kingdom establi-licd by the invaders on
the ruins of Rome. About the same time the
lleruli succeeded in establishing a second
kingdom in the central part of Hungary,
where they maintained themselves until they
were overpowered by the Lombards.
The native haunts of the Gepid.'e appear
to have been on the Vistula, near the Baltic.
It is from this position that their first move-
ments were directed against the civilized states
of the South. At the first they were associ-
ated with the Vandals, and were afterwards
leagued with the (Jothsof the Mi(hlle Danube.
At the time of the inva.sion of Attila they
were obliged to follow the standard of that
imperial savage, but after his death they re-
BAHBAIUAX A.SCKSDKycV. — TmBES OF THE yoimi. 393
394
rXIVKL'SAL lllSTi>l:Y. — THK M<iDi:i:X WOULD.
gaiued tlifir iiiil<ii.iiiliiii-.-. L'ndci- tliclr kiii--
Adaric. lluy l»at ba<-k tl,.' Ihui- In.!,, lli.ir
territdi-ifs ..n llu' L..\\.t Danul..-, aii.l iHcain.-
one of the nin^t |.n.-|Mi-..ii- ,-lal.>. Twilvc
years att.r ilu- dnuiifall mI' ilu- WrMmi Ku.-
pire, Tluudoric, kiiiu of ili.- (»-iioi:ntl,~, dr-
feated llii' (icjiida' in a -r.at Kaitlc mar Sir-
mium. AftiTward.-, in 'i<;ri, tin- iiaiinii .MitH-rcd
a secoial .A-.Ttlnnw at \\u- l.ai.d- nf Allu.iii,
king of the Li.inl.anl~, an.l In.n. that linic- the
S(.rlHMl l,v the dumiiiant i.opahiti..n.< ar..und
them.
Next to the Goths in inii...rtaure \vas tlie
great race of the Vam.ai.>. It appeals that
they, like the AUenianni, e.,iiH-t.d at th.- )ii>t
of a coufederatiou of tril»> l...nii.l t..-vtli.f l.y
a commuiuty of inter. '~t> ami iii-iitiiti..iis.
Their native seats were in the matiieru parts
of Germany, whence at an earlj- period they
migrated into the country of the Riesongeltirge
and subsequently into Pauii..nia ami llacia.
Some eminent authors hav.' .ia— ili.'.l the 11. r-
uli, Burgundiaus, au.l L..inl.ar.l~ a- .litli iviit
branches' ..f the Van.lal race. In tiie l..gin-
uiug ..f the tiftli c.-ntiiry tlii.- great pi-..ple
began its movement westward thmugli (Ger-
many into Gaul and .Spain. Having ci-..ss((l
the Pyrenees they estaiilished thenisi-lv.< al.out
the y.'-ar 41il in tlie .■..miiry ea.t aii.l s..nth ..f
the "kiiig.l..in ..f til.- Spauidi Su.vi. A >li..rt
time sulise.pieiitly ili. y pr.>-.-.l tli.ir way
southward into tlu' am'i.-iit provincf ..f I'.atica,
where they foun.le.l tlie still ni..i-,- e.-l. l.iat.'d
kiiiL'.l..ni ..f Vaxdalvsia, still known as Anda-
lii-ia. At tlie close of the first quarter of the
tittli ceiiturv the «;-reat Geuseric became king
of the Van.lal, an.l .liirim; lii> L.ng ivign
coutriliut..! l.y his g.>iiiii> ami l.iav.ry to
establish and exteii.l lli.- .lnniiiii..n ..f hi- p.-..-
ple. In the year 42:i. ul.il.' tli.' iml....Ml.. an.l
profligate Valentinian ill. ...-.•upi.-.l \\u- all. ii..l
throne of the W.-t.in I'aiipii.', < m-ii-. ri.-. a~
already rclate.l in th.- pi..'. .liiiL;' \'..lniii.,' was
invitci by ?,..nii;i.'.-, ;j.,v.rn..r ..f AlVi.'a. t..
cross ovi-r an.l ~iipp.iit lii> eaii-i-. l"a-ilv \va>
the Van.lal kin- p. i-na.l.-.l
measure which pr.nni-. .1 -m-l:
pensive results. A\'iili an an
i-lan.l> ..f Siri
lialeaivs uviv ,
i,.ns. In th.'
I.itak.'
an.l ill.
iftv th.
sand men he siib.lii.Ml tlie wide cast .>f
Northern Africa as far s.mth as Tunis. The
'.See Volume II., i.. :M4.
anliiiia, Ci-.-iea, and the
i.l.l.-il to ( ieiiseric's domiu-
4:.:. an army of Vandals
retiiriie.l int.* Italy ami captured the city of
Koine. In matters of religious faith they were
f..ll.iwers ..f Ariii-, and this brought them into
coiilli.-t with th.- ..nli...l..x CliiiMiaii- of Italy,
against whom ih.y wag.-.l a li. ive p.a>eeiiti./n.
I'liiis were laid the foundations of the KiNc;-
]M .M ( .1- THE Vaxuals. For more than a ceu-
luiy the state grew and flourished. The
wh".le ..f Spain, ^ll,■ W.-st.rn .M.-.lit..iTanean
i.-iaii.l. ami .\..rtlieni AtViea were inclmle.l
witiiiu the limits . f X'andal .luiuiniou. :Not
until lieli.-ariii-, tli.- gi'eat general of Justinian,
lift. .1 aLiain the l.anmr of the Empire in the
W.'.t .lid ih.- kiii-.h.m of the Vamlals receive
a slagg.riiig 1.1. .w. In the year o:;4 Gelimer,
the la,>t ..f th.ir king., was" .l.^leated and de-
throm-.l by th.- le.nian arm.. The Vandals
never r.cov.-r.-.l fi-..ni the .-hock, but at once
eea.-eil I.. I..- the ruling people in the vast
domain^ which Geuseric had conquered. It
is li. ri.\f.l that in the Berber islands their
de.-cemlaiits aiv still t<. be recognized by the
blue eyes an.l fair c..iiiplexi..n peculiar to the
N.'Xt ill influence among the liarbariau
iiati..ii.- w.r.' the LoMBARD.s or Long Beards,
an ancient Teutonic tribe, kin.snien of the
.•^u.vi. Their lii>t lii.-t..rical appearance was
..11 th.' bank- of th.' river Lll.e. In this region
ih. y l...gaii t.. iiiaiiit;..t their a.-livities as early
a. till- reign of Augustus, F.ir a while they
were leagued with Armiiiius, prince of the
Cherusci, whom tli.y as.isti-d in destroying
the legions of Varus. In the palmy times of
,-i-ii ..f h..stility to civilizali..ii, but in the
b. -iiiiiiii- ..f ihi- liflh c.ntniy they sml.leidy
ivapp.an.l in llum^ary ami ..11 the n..rtliern
l.aiik.- ..f th.' Daiiiil..-. It app.-ars that in
tin-.' districts th.y were f..r a while hehl in
Milij,-,.ti..n by the Ileruli; but in the sixth
.iiituiy they reversed their relations with this
p. ..pi.- an.l waged against them an externii-
iiatiii- warfar.-. They then crossed the Danube
ami 111a. le an expedition into the Panuouian
kiii',;i|..iii ..t' tlii> Gepidse. At a later period
tiny tiav.i-c.l the Julian Alps, led by their
gr.at kin- Alb.iin, and debouched into the
vall..y of the Po. Here, in tlic year .568, they
BAHBAIIIAX ASCEXDKXCV. — TRIBES OF THE XORTH.
otto
laid the foundatious of the Kingdom of Lom-
BAEDY, which continued for more than two
hundred years to be one of the leadinji' liarha-
rian states of the West.
The great race of the Franks, like the Al-
lemanni and the Suevi, first apjiear as a cuni-
federatiou of tribes. The old names of the
Sigambri, Chamavi, Amisrivarii, Bructeri, and
Catti are thought to have designated those
early tribal divisions. The native seats of the
race were on the Lower Rhine, where they re-
mained until the thu-d century, when large
bodies of the Fraukish warriors began to make
incursions into Gaul. As early as the times
of the Emperor Probus they became a menace
to Roman authority in the North. When
Carausius, who had beeu sent to defend the
Gallic states against the barbarians, turned
traitor to his master, he made an alliauce with
the Franks, to whom in recompense for their
services he gave the country on the Scheldt.
This region they continued to hold till the
reign of Coustantine the Great, when they
were repressed by that sovereign, and cun-
iined to their original settlements. In the
times of Julian the Apostate, however, tjiey
regained the countries confcircd l)y Carau-
sius, and continued to hold thcni until the
overthrow of the Empire. They beeaiue di-
vided into two nations, known as the Salian
and the Ripuariau Franks. It was the fVirnier
division which during the fifth century con-
tinued to assail the tribes of Gaul, and pres-
ently afterwards, under the chieftain Clovis,
laid the foundations of the Kingdom of the
Franks, or France. The Ripuariau Franks
spread southward, occupying bnth banks lA' the
Rhine, extending their borders westward U>
the Meuse and eastward to the ^lain. In the
latter region they established the head-quarters
of their dominion in the country named Fran-
conia. Both divisions of the nation have con-
tributed largely to the modern populations of
France and the adjacent parts of Germany.
We now come to two barbarian peoples,
who were properly the progenitors of the
English-speaking race — the Angles and the
Saxons. The first were an ancient German
tribe of the North. Though migratory in
their habits, they seem to have found a per-
manent footing in the Danish islands, where
they multiplied and lieeame a jiowerful budy
of warriors and pirates, l-'rnni Denmark west-
ward they iui'ested the -eas, braving the open
oceau in two-uared biial.-. and fiiiJitiiig a con-
stant Ijattle with tlie temeity ef nature. They
made their way to Britain, invaded the island
under the lead of their elii< Itain-, and eluini;ed
the name of the conijui'icil einintiv tn Anole-
Laud, or England. The name <,t' the race is
also preserved in the distiiet cif Aii;;eln in
Schleswig, but their tiime is instihir rather
than continental.
The more powerful ami noted iiatii)iis were
the Saxons, whose ori-inal seats weic in the
the Lower Elbe. Th,' nam,, of the 'race hal
beeu variously derived fr ^nhx. nnaning a
knife or short sword, and liom Siibii.^iiii'i, or
sous of the Sakai, or Scythians. In the earli-
est times the Saxous were the head of a low-
land league, embracing the tribis between the
Skager Rack and the country of the Franks.
The beginning of the iifth eentnry founil them
in alliance with the I! ans. A little later
they were the leaders of the barljarians by
whom Britain was wrested trom the Celts. In
this great movement they were so closely united
with the Angles that tlie two jieoples — having
no 2)articular disdimiiiatioii from each other
in race, institutions, or hiiimiaei — became
known as Anglo-Saxons. Tlie.-e liardy war-
riors were, if the tradition of the times may
be accredited, at the tir>t invited by \'ortigern,
king of the Briti>h Celt.-, to eome over to the
i.slaud and aid him in rejieiling the Picts and
Scots, who, after the withdrawal of the Roman
legions, had lu'oken over the northern border,
and were threatening the (Vhie tribes with
destrn.'ti.m. No >o.,ner, however, had the
Saxons landed in the idan.l tjian tlieir cupid-
ity was aroused, ami seniliuL;- for reenforce-
ments of their eoiiiitiytneii they swept the
Celts befoi-e tlH'in, and seized the better part
of Britain for themselves. The whole south-
eastern part of tlie island jiasscd under the
dominion of the invach-rs, and the foundations)^
were presently laiil of the petty Saxon king-
doms of Kent, Sussex, A\'i:ss]:x, East
Anglia, Meecta, Essex, Bkrnicia, and
Deira, which by their meirement in the
eii^hth century were destined to constitute the
lia>is of the greatness of IhiL:land.
Next in order niav be mentioned the Bur-
390
r.\n-i:i:sAi. nisTnuv.-riii-: moi^khx world.
BARBAJRIAX ASCEXDEyCY.—TBIBES OF THE NORTH.
GUSDIANS, whn iu their origin are tlnmi^lit to
have been of the same stock with the (intiis.
Their primitive seats lay between the ( >clir
anil the \'istula, from which po.^itinn tliey
were ixiicllcil at an early period by the (.ie-
piihe. Thiv then settled in the region between
the ?i[aiu :'m.l the Xeckar, and in the begin-
ning of thi' tiftli century ji)iued the Su^'vi a)id
the Vandals in their initial ineiir-inns into
Gaul. In the country bounded by the Al[)s,
the !-^aone and the Rhone, the Burgundians
establislied themselves, fixing their capital first
at (iencva, and afterwards at Lycms. Here
they remained until the year 534, when their
king, Guudeniar, was conquered and killed in
a battle with the Franks, who thereupon be-
came masters of Burgundy. Having lost their
political piiwer by this catastroiihc, tiie ]5ur-
the coU(piering pieople, and ceased tn lie an
independent race.
Among the Teutonic tribes swejit westward
by the invasion of Attila should be mentioned
the Bavarians. The first references to this
nation discover their presence in Pannonia and
Noricum. A little later, however, when The-
odosius had purchased an ignominious peace
of the Huns, the Bavarians revolted from At-
tila, and, being supported by the Eomans,
succeeded in maintaining their independence.
The nation became influential in Rhetia, Yin-
delicia, and Norieum, where the Bavarians
were governed \>\ tiieir own kings botli liefore
and after the downfall of the West. From
the middle of the sixth to the middle of the
seventh century, the Franks by continued ag-
gressions gradually curtailed the Bavarian do-
minions and finally incorporated the state with
their own, leaving the government, however,
to be administered by native dukes. These
rulers tVciiucntly revolted against their mas-
ters, and wfv,- as many times suppressed, until
finally, in 777, an insurrection, headed by
Thassilo II., was put down by the strong hand
of Charlemagne. The government of Bavaria
then remained to the Carlovingian House un-
til the same became extinct in A. D. 911.
Of these barbarian nations, and many other
petty tribes of the same race, the most power-
ful were, as already said, the Goths, the Van-
dals, and the Franks. It was among the first
of these, perhaps, that the barbarian character
displayed itself in its best estate. Especially
were the Visigoths conspicuous among the Teu-
tonic peoples for the character and extent of
their culture. The language of this peojile
was more highly (lfvcl()|i(d than those of tlie
other Teutonic trilics. 'Hicir cimtact with the
Romans, csperiallv aflir thiir settlement in
hither Dacia, was'mnre ,v-ular and benelieial
than that between the Empire and any „ther
State. The Christianization of the Goths, also,
falling as the new faith did ujiou the conscience
of a people just awaking from the slumbers of
barbarism, .showed better results so far as the
development of moral character was concerned
tlian had ever lieeii .'xhibited iu Rome. To
the-e eh.vMiing iufiuenees sli.iuld be added the
spe.-ial fa.'t of the early translation of the Bi-
l)Ie into the Gothic language — a circumstance
so remarkable in its nature and ultimate re-
sults as to merit a particular notice iu this
place.
In the year A. D. L'lw, in the course of a
war with the Eastern Ivnpire, an army of
Goths was sent into Asia .Minor, where the in-
vaders laid waste the province of Cappadocia,
and carried back to the Danube a large num-
ber of prisoners, among whom were many per-
sons of culture and many Clu-istians. In the
year 311, there was Ixirn in a Gothic home
in Dacia, of one of the t'a]ipailocian mothers
whom a Gothic chief had taken to wife, a chiLl
who received from his parents the name of
Ulfila-S. From his Ixpylidod he was taught the
doctrines of Christianity, and early became a
zealous adherent of that faith. He studied
Cxreek and Latin, going [<> ('oiistantinople for
that purjmse, thus familiarizing himself with
the New Testament in the original. About
this time, the Christian Goths fell under the
displeasure of their pagan neighbors, and were
subjected 1iy them t" severe jiersecutions. In
order to save hi< brethren from martyrdom,
the young Ulfilas conceived the design of em-
igrating with his people to the hither side of
the Danube. He accordingly went as ambas-
sador to Constautine, and obtained from that
sovereign the privilege of bringing a Christian
colony into the province of hither Dacia.
Wliile the youthful apostle was in Constan-
tiuoiile he became acquainted with the re-
nowned Eusebius, then bisliop of the Eastern
Church, and bv him was liiniself consecrated
UM\i:i:sAi. iiisTonv.—Tiii-: moI'Ku.x whuld
(le.s
Nvars niila< lal-n-l avM.limn.ly at tin- ,-ivat
ta.-k whirl, !„■ Iia.l un,l, rlakrn. At tl,- .rnl
of that tillU' th.' xvhnh. liihlr, with 111- -xrrp-
tiou iii-rhap- ..f ihr I'.n-k nf Kin-, ha.l h.-en
tniilsiatr.l ill thr v.na.-ular. Tla- lai,i:uai:v.
thoildi -till half l.ail.aniii-, -In.wr,! itM-lf fl.llv
:\Iax MiilkT wrll -av. uf the work acr.nu-
lili-luMl hv rhila>: •■it iv,,„i,v,l a i.n.phrtic
insight anil a fiiih in th.-.h-tiny ..f the.-e half-
savage ti-ihr- an. I a CDiiviclidn ak-^o uf the
utter etR-trn( " of the llmnan l>vzantiiie cm-
liiivs hcf..iv a hi-hop .M,nl,| have h|-niiglit
iiini-clf f. tian>lat.' th<' ISihh- int.. the vnl-ar
diaWt ..f his l.arhan.ns ....nnt, yn,.n." Th,-
achieveni.'iit ..f I'lHla^ i-.-.|uir.- a c cspcrial
attention for th- r-a-..n that th.' (n.thie Bil.l-
thus pro(_hu-ed was tlu' tir.-l l.o..k cv.r written
in a Teutonic lauguagr, an.l f..r the a.l.liti..iial
reason that tlie suhH'.pi.'nt I.-i-lati..n ami
social status <.f th.' \'i-ii:..lli.- in Spain were
tracealih- in a l'oo.I nu'a>nr.' t.. th.' Scriptures
imp.
of a paragraph on the charact.iistic-
Gothic language. The chaia.'t.is ii
this rough but vigorous spc.i'h was
are said to have been inv.nt.'.l by 1'
conformity to the Greek alphabet. Th.
verb has two voices, an active an.l a
two tenses, a present an.l a pa>I ; thr.i
the indicative, the (.ptativ.-. an.l th.'
tiv.-, be-i.l.s an infinitive ami a pr.Miit an.l a
the language are the same as those of Anglo-
Saxon, German, and English. Gothic nouns
have three genders, two numbers an.l five
cases. Adjectives are inll.'.-te.l in tw.i f.irnis.
Prepositions precede tie- m.un-, whi.li tli.y
govern in the genitive, .lalixc ..r accn-ative
ease. The language ha- m. in.lelinite ai'li.'le.
the place of the deflnit.- arti.l.' Ii.ing -npplie.l
with Ae pronoun. The entire literature of the
Gothic language consists of three or four frag-
mentary manuscrii)ts, the lir.st and most im-
portant of which is the iiarcliment containing
what has been ])r(-ervc(l e
L-|,sala
hi- parchment also, consi.st-
h.-.is, contains fragments of
Hint. A third manuscript,
';„■„/;»».-, diMv.v.T.Ml in 175(;,
. VerM> .,f the eleventh to the
ef Paul's letter to the Ko-
th.r fragments of Gothic are
■tei- with those here described.
u-d
habit-, an.l p.
of the wo.„l>.
aus care fm- I
the civilize.l si
most stalwart i
presence wa> ;
Li
capable
definite
k's New Tes-
mn.i- and customs of
I. rally to those of the
i..ii.-. The people of
in.in tyjie, and strongly
T. . ( a.sar and Tacitus
knowledge of the lives,
aring of the Germans
Thov were a people
li.l till'' har.ly barbari-
h,' ci.nitorts and di.-cemforts of
at.-. In person they were the
if all the ancient peoples. Their
tern ir even to the veteran le-
;.iine. They are described as
vhit.' li.iili.>; l.ing, yellow hair ;
>; biaxMiy jnuscles; florid com-
irc blue eyes that gleamed un-
with the lightnings of animosity
In III i ml they were daring to
War was their profession.
Iters .if men as well as of wild
the strongest attachment for
loliiity, they were nevertheless
.rniimible expeditions and in-
liii'j- in the forest. Ariovistus,
n'j-, t.il.l C'le.sar to his face that
lie I.I lin.l out what the inviu-
wh.i f.ir f.iurteen years had not
nil if. w I mill lie able to accom-
val.ir; and though the pro-
a- unfulfilled for five centuries,
mis nf the barbaric chieftain
.1 in the siiliver-iou of Rome.
II- Were an a— einblage of tribes.
iiiimm tra.liti.in and a common
Tlnv .Iwelt in towns and
BABBAIilAN ASCP:Xf)E^'CY.—TEIBES OF THE XOBTH.
villages, and their days were spent in the vi-
cissitudes of the chase and war. In their
personal habits they were coarse, heavy, glut-
tonous. They filled their capacious stomachs
with meat and cheese. They heated them-
selves with strong drinks. When excitement
failed, they would lie tor \vh..lc days in half-
stupor in the ashes of their heart h-sKmes, un-
kempt, and indiflerent to all surroundings.
Very different, however, was their mood when
aroused by the summons of war. In battle
their onset was terrible. They fought both
on foot and on horseback — the footman run-
ning by the side of the cavalryman and sup-
porting himself by the horse's mane. If the
horseman fell in the fight, the footman bore
away his body and took his place in the next
onset. The intrepidity of these barliarian
warriors was such as to challenge the admira-
tion as well as excite the terror of their
enemies.
The government of the German trilies was
a kind of military monarchy ; but the chief-
tain was elected by the warriors of his nation,
whose custom it was to raise their leader on
their shields and thus proclaim him king.
Between the various tribes there was a strong
bond of sympathy, and frequent alliances
were made, embracing many peoples and kin-
dreds in different parts of Germany. Such
leagues, hmvever, were generally formed for
a specific purpose, and when this end had
once been attained the confederation ceased,
and the tribes resumed their independent
station.
The nations of the North had their own
superstitions and system of religion. The great
gods of the race were Odin and Thor — the
former being the supreme deity of the Teu-
tonic pantheon, and the latter having some of
the attributes of Hercules and others of Jove.
The goddess Freya, or Frigga was also wor-
shiped as a favorite divinity, as the mistress
of nature and the guardian of the dead. The
superstitions of the race were peculiarly dark
and doleful, but the Germanic mythology was
far more rational than that of the Celts. In
general, the Teutones rejected the notion of
sacrifice. Thev refused to recognize as gods
any beings whom they could not gee. Only the
obvious was worshiped. A deity by whose
assistance they were not manifestly benefited
they rejected as worse than useless. Tliev
adored the sun, the moon, and tire; Imt the
unseen deities of the Greeks and Koniaio thev
regarded as inane abstractions, unworthy of
adoration. With the infinitely inflected mvth-
ological systems of the >South the (iernians
were unacquainted, even by common report.
Their worship consisted mostly of prayers,
supplications, and fervid hymns chanted in
praise of the somber deities of the North.
Among the Teutonic nations the family tie
was especially strong and abiding:'. That uliieh
the modern world defines as virtue appears to
have been an inherent quality of the (-ierman
nature. A common sentiment or instinct,
rather than positive enactments of law n])held
the monogamie relation, and insured a chastity
which, if not universal, was the prevailing
rule of conduct. The German youth of both
sexes were reared in the utmost freedom ; but
such was the force of public opinion among
the tribes that lapses from the established
standard of morality were almost unknown.
No young man might marry until he had
passed his twentieth year, and the preserva-
tion of continence to a still later period of life
was regarded as highly honorable. " For,"
says Ciesar, "it is held among the Germans
that by this reservation of the bodily powers
tlir stature
is ilUTra-.'.l, tl
e streiiLfth au,u'-
Tlie l,ee.
iiar
ISl-e of s,-|f-e
eetion t,, lead-
nH-ntr.l, ;u,.l
llu- xvliol,. l,M,h
nei-ve,l'«iili ail-
e.-slnj, i. e,
te.i
pv the lioma
1 historian as
<liliu,K,I .Mn.
lillK- ran- u
i:tli." Ill tlu- '
l- taken 1.. eu,
.ari.arian >..eietv
eeal the |,e,>en".
anv
f (o-nnan jh,
cliief >ittin,L:-
ilieal lite. It
in the eouncil
aii.l iin -haul
■ wa- felt on a.
eount of til., ex-
of tlie tlihe
nii.L
ht i.roelain. 1
ini>elf a leader
l,n-un-. Tlu
men and wn
len of tlie iril.e
an,l eall nj,
m tl
o,e who ,|,M1-,
<1 to follow his
l.atlHMl |,n,i,i
>eunu.lv. 1.1,1 1
lV>erve,l tile Ut-
lorlmies to
exp,
.s their pre
efeiiee by an-
lUn^t |V.|„vt.
Fm-elothin-, >
kin>of,leer vveiv
nonnein- tli
nil,-. AVlien
siieh a choice
m.l tho-,. XV ho had elili-ted and th.
■oilow the ,diiefiain were iveko,,,.,!
iiid traitor.-.
<,f land or delinit- l.onndarie- to his |.o-.-e,- < iernian.- reeooni/.ed the ri-lit- of hospitality,
sion-. In eaeh year the iiia-i-trate- and .-liiet:- They ihoii^ht it not lawful to injure -n,-sts or
cred he-i, a i-ertaiii portion ,,f -r..iiud. aii.l in , d.nt had thrown int(, their eoniiiiunities. The
to
remove
to anoth
•r trael." I-
.r thi- custom
1],-
ho,
-,-.1 ;
n.l f.-.l. Hi- p.-r-
.11 was
invio-
th
.ed the
following rei
-o„<; na.nely,
lal
1.-,
m.l.
if ii.-c.-.--ary, th.- <
.ernian
-w.r.l
e^
th
Co
In
l.a
1"
fn
hi
1h
th
V 1
It the
rlike .
-orli th.
- th,- I
d In th
.IV likel
ThelV
evidel
torian,
■ir land
re -,-,il,
jiniiin;.:'
• niilita
d that
land- ot
ddiliona
• >anie t<
V to rem;
va- aiiot
that tl
,-e liord,
■e of th.
•that th
s ahand
of war
y dictati
l.y the a.
the niniv p
rea>oii is :
mre a- th.-ir
in contented
ler lieiion o
at >tate ha
i> are ,-oliin
■. "Thevtl
ir valor."' ad
i.ir h la
,11 olHeer en
■ werfnl would
1 Iniml.le. To
s of the L^reat
..un, would he
w ith their lot.
the Teutonic
tin. -ivate-t
h- and who-e
1- the Konian
expelled fron,
ie-." At th.-
■|-.->pondi,l- \n
m- wa< .-h.,M.n
,,|- 1 tilit\'
th
th
N,
ar
th
Tl
ho
th
An.
.1.-
rth.
■ t.-i
.- ( I
i-.h
hink
r Im.
1..- ,
..-ar
l.'i- <
.-.-ml
1 t..
..f '1
pie.
-.-,,-.1
.1.1, 1
with
.-lll.-l
i..r ..
pi„
fi-ature of Teutoni.-
..f which would h
nts of the old har
.- eliivalr..us i-,-,-p,-
hav,- slmwn t.. wot
f t,-.-i.liti..nal h..ii..r ,
-.1 ii..t ..nly l.y th..
ami w,.r-hip. Ahl
il hi-toiian a> (iiiiz.
t of Taeitn-, r.--ar.
■u..ma,ih 1 am..n-
- .-him.-ra, it w..nl
the rank whi.li w
lifi-, t.i
■ r..-.-nt
larian- .
-t whici
Kill, r
i.le ha.-
- sai.l t.
.- .,f h,-
.-ml„-r,-
rati..n 1
t ha- .1.-
in- the
th.- (l.-r
1 n.-v.-,-t
-.- of .-hi
..mit
.1 l.y
f the
tlmy
...n a
-.-ared
mi-iit.
have
• OWU
.f her
.r.ler-
,i;i-eat
-lared
.-tipe-
heless
ained
wi
1"
•Ide.l tl
lee the,
of life and
-neh -npre,
to
1 fr.
the,
n, tl
;',llv'inthe'hou"l!
.|.l-..f ]-■
f.-ted
ith.-r-
th.- .-hi.-ls ..f .-a.-h .-ant..n r,-,imi„-j .-..ntn.l ..f lan.l. that ill.- .-lain, ..f (;.-,-nian pat,-i..ti-ni may
th.-ir r.-sp.-.-tiv.- tril.es. Th.- (;.-rman> an- >ai.l well 1.,- all..w.-.l t.. stan.l nn.-hall.-nL:.-.l.
l.v C.-.-ar, p.-rhaps n,.t wilh..nt a toii.-h ..f It i-, li..w.-v.-r, with tin- inllu.-m-.-s ..f the
slaml.-i-, to have h.-l.l i-..I.I.,-rv a< m. .-rim.- am-i.-nt T.-nt..,ii.- ] pl.-s U| m...i.:n .-iviliza-
uh.-n .-..m,nitt.-.l l..-v 1 tli.- limits ..f lli. ir ti..|i that th.- hi>t..rian ..f t. .-.lay i- im'-tly ,-..n-
owii Stat.-. Th.-v ev.-n i-e.,;ai-,l.-.l <l.-p,-.-.lati..n .-.-rm-.l. Th.-,-.- appear to 1..- at 1. a-t tw.. ..f
al.r..a.l a- a h.althfid .-N.-r.-i<.- f..r the y..uth th.- -.-ntim.-nl- up..n whi.-h the m...l..,-n w..i-ld
..f th.- nali.,11— a f,v.- -.-h...,l f..r th.- trainimi- is ku'L-.-lv fi-am.-.l whi.-h ..w.- th.-ir ..ri,-in to
ami .l.-v(-l..p,m-nt <<i' th..-.- manly jiowers whi.-h th.- Ii!n-lia,-ian-. The lii->t ..f th.-<i- i- th.- no-
communitv. ' tuted, iii.k-ed. the verv o.-.-m-,- ..f all that is
BAI^EAIUAX ASCEXDKXCY. — TBIBES OF THE XOUTH.
pleasurable in the liarliaric life. It i>, pcrlKips,
impossible t'nr oin- of our liay to aiiprniatr
the lull force nf tlii.s ^entiiueiit as it exi>tril
among the primitive tribes of Northern Eu-
rope. Personal self-assertion was the most
potent element in the best charaetpr of tlie
times. The life of enterjirise ami ailvciituri',
tilled with every hazard and viris^itudr,
bounded by no restrictions of law or customs,
gave full scope and .stimulus to the individ-
ual development of man. Restraint became
intolerable and libtMty a necessity.
M. Thierry, in liis hi.toiy ,,f the Norman
Conquest, has contributi-d a masterly sketch
of the character ami disiio.^itions of the peo-
ple who laid the foundations of Modern Eu-
rope. The instincts, passions, prejudices,
motives, and sentiments are drawn with a
skill and fervor which leave little wantint:' to
the completeness of the [lieture. Tliou;^h
there was much that was coarse and soltish
in the unrestrained and violent lili- ot' the
barbarian as he fought back and forth over
the frontier of the Rhine or wandered at will
through the labyrinths of the Black Forest;
though the chivalrous sentiment for women
did not always jjreserve him from l)rutality,
or his profession of honor prevent tiie perpe-
tration of gross crimes against morality anil
the better laws of human eouiluct, yet there
were many ennobling traits and much njoral
grandeur in the strongly personal, even will-
ful, character and life of the barl)aric tribes;
and these latter qualities have flowed down in
invigorating streams into the veins of every
modern state to whose population the Teutonic
race has contributed a moiety of its strength.
It was of vast imjiortance that stich an
idea as tlie personal worth and individual
right of man should be as.serted and trans-
mitted to the modern world. In the ani'ient
States, the importance of men was ihriml.
In Rome, the honor and rights of tlie patri-
cian were deduced from the order to wliieh
he belonged. The same was true of every
other rank of citizenship. The individual
was born into societv, and took his status
from the body of whi.-li lie was a mend)er.
Even in Athens, the citizen .leinoerat asserted
his rights as common to the democraey, and
in Sparta every grade of nninliood, tVoni tlie
supreme oligarch to the degradeil Helot, de-
It thu~ happened ihat the lll.erti.^s of the
deduced from the .-tati — to ]„• ,■,, needed l,y
some of tlie oigaiiie forms ot' society. AVith
tile German warriors, however, all this Avas
different. Each nieuilier of the Irilie claimed
and exercised his rights as his mrn. They
were not derived, but iuhei-cut : not deduced
from some lio.ly of which he wa- a luemlter,
but born with himself as an inheritan.e which
none might alienate. The barbarian spoke of
\wjWe,hnm, not of hi. lllHrlv. lli^ in.livid-
uality predominated in all the c.mduct of life.
Whatever coinpa.'t- he m.-id.' in society, he
The >econd idea wlii,-h ni,.dern time,
inherited fr..m the barbarian nations i
out .le.troviu- the'tVeedoUl of the illdiv
attachi^s one man to another. At fii
doulll, tlM> loyal bond \\hich linked th.
vidnal to hi^' fellow exi.-ted wiihout 1
S,, unile.l. Soon, houever, the tie I.
one of graduati-il subordination. Tlr
was in the service of the other, and the
protected the first. Th.' -aiii-tion of tin
was personal loyalty aihl de\-oiioii — ai
which, in the eoui-e of a few centnri
came a passion thi'o\iL:hout I'jirope. am
stituted not only the e-seiitial iirincipl
also the redeemin- trail, of feudali>ni
deed, but for tlie growiu- li.lelilv .if i,
societ}' could bav.' .'ouiiuuiMl i.. exi,~t ii
an age of deea.l.'in-.' an. I Liloom as tlia
which Europe pluneed al'tei- the .ivertlir
tie- Roman Empiiv.
The s,.c.,n.l an.l third -roups of barl
■came
■ one
latter
such
into
>w of
form.iT .livi.i.iu .-mbra.v.l th,' ImMiian:
Servians, the ('r..atian-:. the AV.'ii.li, the :
the B..li.:-mian,-, the .M..ravians, th.' 1'..
niau~. the Wiltsiaus, the Lu<atiaus, th.'
niaii<, an.l the Lithuanian-. Of thi'>
m.iie inip.irtant were the Poles, the Bn
UMVKnsAL hist()i:y.—the M()I)i:i:x world.
B.n<, til
■ P
.nicr
U]ia
IS, ail
1 ll.r hill.
As alix
idy
sii.l
il
IS hcl.
1 by -~ .■
gists tl
ill.-
Si
ivic,
,1- Slav.ii.i.
were <>
i'-:i
lally
an
.iti:-h.
It In. Ml tl
Teuton'
..rk
of
iianUi
ul. JV th
may, it
i.
(vrt;
hat t
le Slavic ,::
barbari
Ul<
have
ex.-
vi-,-,1
a lev- iiiiji..
flueuce uii.iu tin- .l.Mliii.'s ..f 111...I. rn Eur..pe
aud the worl.l than have tin- 'i'cui..iiic uali<.iis.
The Bosnians .-am.' int.. Kun.iie in the
seventh centurv. Th.ir tlr~l Impact was up..n
the i..-..i.lc ..f Illyiia, «li<.m tlu-y dislodged
fr<.m a i...iti..n ..i' the ci.niitry. They have
theii- modern n'|.ivMiitativ.s in the people of
Albania, where th.y c..n-tilnU- ihc nilin-
class, embracin- ih.' l.,ys, n..l.ility, and land-
owuers. Th.' Servians first iiia.lc their ap-
pearanc
Til
the Cduntry whi.'li
the eai-lv days ..f
..nel-e.l bv the K..!
the Huns. It was v.
Byzantine E.npiiv,
seventh century, wl
the Avars, to whon
n..w bears tli.-ir name. In
111' l-aiipire they were eou-
-ri.-uni, the Servian .li>tri.-t
,s M.,-ia Snpeii..r. This
in bv the ()-Ir..-..ths an.l
aft.rwanl alla.'h.'d L. the
III,- ini.l.lle ..f the
was .leva.^tated by
.rti..n "f the lands
were permanently all..tt.'.l. Servia theu re-
mained a dependency "f the Ivislern Iviii)ire
until the time of the rnisa.l.s.
The Ceoatiaxs, or Cia..\Ts, belonged t.) the
Illyrico-Serviau branch of the Slavic race.
Their primitive European settlement seems to
have been in the south-western angle of Hun-
gary. This country was originally a part of
Pannonia, and became a part of the Empire
in th.' times ..f Augustus. It was ..verrun
Avars. It theu became subject to the Eastern
Empire, and so remained until the tenth cen-
tury, when the Croatian princes liecame inde-
pendent.
The Weniii, or Wknds, were one of the
north-western tribes of the Slavic family.
From the fourth t.. ih.- ninth (■.•ntnry they
were found in the c..untry stretching fr.mi the
Saale and the Elbe northward to the Eider.
In the times of Charlemagne they became ag-
gressive, and were driven back by that war-
rior in the directi.,n nf the Vistula. Subse-
quently they were well-nigh exterminated liy
kin-,-
.y the sixteenth cen
■ a scattere.l ]...pul:i
kn.iwn as Brau.leii
.1 ('
the Sla
).l.r an.l
le y'../.o,s
le of the jirincipal
e. Their first Eu-
■ se.iii> t.. have been in the
V b.ars ih.ir name. Some-
-.•a.l int.. the region betw-eeu
\'i.-tula. They were known
.•ailing the People of the
Plain, an.l >..<iii b.'. "11111' th.' 111. ist conspicuous
of all ihi' Slavic iiathuis. The hi.?tory of
P..lan.l an.l the Poles will hereafter demand
..ur attention as a special study.
Th.' B(inE5ii.\Ns grew from the tribe of
the B.iii, classified by Cresar among the Celtic
pe.iph's of (iaul. They were displaced from
their ..riginal settlements by the Marcomanni.
Thev niigrateil int.. Bavaria and Bohemia,
an.l w.r.' ^llb^e.)uently inc.irporated with
Slavi.' Czechs. German colonists also settled
ill til.' country, and the jieople became com-
p.isit.'. Of their own accord the Bohemians
sought annexation to the emi-ire of Charle-
magne, with which they were assuciateil for
The tribes kn.iwii as MORAVIANS made their
aii]>earaii.'e in the early times of the Empire,
in the country which still bears their name.
Here with difiiculty they maintained them-
selves against the successive assaults of the
Qua.li, the Kugii. the Heriili, and the
Lombar.ls. The c.iuntry was subsequently
conquered by Charlemagne, who, after his
usual manner, imposed tribute upon the
^Moravians and obliged them to accept the
Christian r,'ligi..ii. Of the ancient Pomera-
nians very littl.' is known, except that they
were of the Slavic race and constituted a part
of the old monarchy of the Wends. The
same may be said of the Lusatians, who
seem to have been a mixture of the Wendic
and Germanic stock, and who, after a period
of independence, were reduced to the tribu-
tary relation by Henry I. of Germany, in the
early part of the tenth century.
The LivoNiANS first made their appearance
in the country stretching eastward from the
i bay of Riga. The modern representatives of
I the race are f..unil in the Finns and Letts ;
' but neither the ancient country nor its inhabi-
BABBABIAX ASCEXDEXCY.—TBIBES OF THE SOh'TH.
40.3
tints were made kuowu tu Eui-diif until alinit
the middle of the twelfth ci-utury, wlieu iiitt r-
course was ujjeued iq) between ifiga ami the
West by the merchants of Bremen. The
existence of Lithuania and her people was
made known a century and a half earlier, at
which time the inhabitants were still iu a state
of half-savagery, subsisting I'nr the nidst part
on wild products of the woods. From this
time forth theii- country became subject to
the various Russian princes who were just
then beginning to be felt iu the afiairs of Eu-
rope. In the twelfth century they achieved
their independence, and iu the thirteenth
maintained it iu a long and severe struggle
with the Teutonic knights who had estab-
lished themselves on the shores of the Baltic.
The third or Scythic division of the bar-
barian nations included, besides the great race
of the Huns, the Alani or Alans, the Averi,
the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Turks,
and the Tartars. Of all the savage peoples
who beat along the borders of the Roman Em-
pire and finally broke through and destroyed
the civilization of the ancient world, the most
ferocious were the Huns. Beyond their
Asiatic origin, nothing has been ascertained
of their primitive history. To the Greeks
they were known, in a general way, by the
name of Chuni, and by that title they are de-
scribed by the historian Ptolemy as early as
the second century of our era. They are be-
lieved to have come originally of a Tartar
stock, and to have had their primitive seats in
the country north of the great wall of China.
After long and bloody wars with the Chinese,
they were at last subdued by the emperor
Vonti; but the unbroken spirit led to a mi-
gration of the race in preference to submission.
Accordingly, in the first century of our era,
they left their original settlements to discover
and conquer new homes in the West. One
division of the tribes, known as the White
Huns, took possession of the country east of
the Caspian, but the great body continued
their westward march to the banks of the
Volga. In the course of the third century
they crossed the river and overran the country
of the Alani, many of whom they incorpo-
rated with their own nation. After another
century, continuing their march to the west,
they fell upon the Goths, and, in A. D. 375,
defeated them in battle. Then it was that
the Gothic people were pressed between the
upper and the nether millstone. Behind them
were the sw'ords of the Huns, and before them
the lances of the Kdnian,-. li was iu this
emergency that the Gutlis .-uiiuht and obtained
permission to settle within tin- b.mlers of the
Empire. The Huns then iixe.I their habita-
tion on the banks of the Don and the Dnieper.
They took possession of Pannonia. Rome
fought for the defense of her provinces, but
Attila, the " Scourge of God," led his tre-
mendous armies of savages to glut themselves
with the accumulated spoils of centuries. The
story of his invasion of Italy has alreatly been
nam-ated iu the preceding Volume.'
In A. D. 453 Attihr .lied, an.l the vast
domini..n which he had established fell
to pieces. His followers were broken up
into bands, and gradually amalgamateil with
succeeding hordes of barbarians from the
North. Of all the wide dominions, ruled by
the sword rather than the scepter of Attila,
only the modern kingdom of Hungary has
jweserved the name of his ferocious people;
and of the various races included within the
borders of that kingdom, only the JMagyars are
of genuine Huunish descent.
The origin of the Alaxi is shrouded in un-
certainty. They appear to have migrated
from the eastern part of the Caucasus to the
river Don. During the reign of Aurelian
they were associated with the Goths in an
expedition into Asia Minor. Near the close
of the fourth century they were defeated by
the Huns, whom they presently afterwards
joined in a war with the Goths. In the year
406 they were confederated with the Suevi
and the Vandals, who were then engaged in
devastating Gaul. Subsequently a colony of
Alans occupied the country south of the
Loire, while another established itself in Spain.
A portion of X.irthern Italy was also occu-
pied by the Alani until they were displaced
by subseipient invasions.
The third of the Scythic trilies that con-
tributed to the overthrow of ancient civiliza-
tion was the Avari or Avars. They first
appeai-ed in the West about the michlle of the
sixth century, when they began to try the
Roman outposts on the line of the Danube.
' See
:ik Tenth, dute p. 345
41)4 UXIVKJi'SAL HISTORY.— THE MODERS WORLD.
ni tlR t luntn h. tu.ui
Don 111 tht tiiiK . t hi
alliaute with tlit (n V.
^^ald» with the Ldinlm I
m a war ai;am-t tin < ■
the\ po^^e^'-ed the 1 ii _ i
th u_li
tht (
t hi\i heeii -uliiLCt- ot tht Khiii UMilted, aud all of his
[Hill ml the kiii_dniii, except Pannoma, fell away. In
th \ wtii m tht -tiiu_dt ot the Ba\aiiaiiv against Chaile-
lu I ittci I ma.,iit, the A\aii aided the toimei ; but l)i)th
ih \ I -i-ttd paitie> weic ()\eKome 1)\ the kiiiir nf the
\l II tiUR ' Ti uik- ml u I ln| 11 1 t iMcpt a tiilm-
and here they estal.lished a kiiiL'
greatest of their soverei.trns wa^ Ki
who flourished from A. I>. "iTit to
dominions are said to have cxtrndc
river Elbe to the Euxinc Such
thority that even tlu- I'-iniHrnr o
was obliged to pay him iiiliuir.
conquered Daliiiatia ami liai'a<<cil
and Germanv. In the year Ii40,
rXS IX GEUM.'
loin. The The Bri.i:Ai:rANS first appeared on the west
AN r.AlAN, ern banks of the Volga. From this loeality
t'l.K). His tlicv iiiiLii-atrd to the Don, and in the latter
d from the ]iart of the fifth century passed westward to
n-as his au- | the Daimlic After establishing themselves
f the East ^ in tin' rcjiiui on the other side of the river
The Avars fVi>ni that whicli now bears their name, they
b(jth Italy bcLian a >crics of aggressions against the East-
the Slavic ern Eini.iie. The many iucursiou.s of this
BAL'BAKIAX ASCEXDEXCY — TRIBES OF THE XOBTH.
■warlike people, who sometimes made their
■way to the very gates of Coustantiuople, have
already been recorded iu the preceding vol-
ume.' Duriug the reign of Anastasius, the
Empire -ivas obliged to purchase peace by the
payment of an enormous bribe. The Bulga-
rians retiied only to letum iu the lei^u of
Justinian, but the ^etelau Bcli»anu> die« hi>
S'woid agiinst them, and the} ^^ele quickh
dii\eii to their o\\u phce. Bulgiiu \\ t>
©■\eriun by the A^^l>, but the c in(pie--t \^ is
ube into Mcesia Inferior. Here, in the year
680, between that river and the Balkans were
laid the foundations of the priucipality of
modern Bulgaria.
The fifth branch of the Scythic fomily iu
Europe was the Hungarian. By this no ref-
eience is intended to the nnnj othei nations —
Dacnus, Illjuaus, Pannomaus, Bulgarians,
Itz\ges, Aliu>, A\ai-. Huu-, Gepid e, Lom-
biid-, Khijii — thit ha\e contubuted to peo-
jik the Hun^iinn Empuc liut t > tin ]\rA(;-
■of short duration, and the people soon re-
gained their independence. The greatest of
the Bulgarian khans was Kuveat, who made
a league with the Emperor Heraclius, and re-
ceived from him the title of patrician. After
his death the old Bulgarian dominion was
broken up, and his five sous became as many
conquerors iu distant parts. The fir.st sub-
dued a district on the banks of the Dou ; the
second established himself iu Pannonia; the
third, iu Moldavia; the fourth, in Italy; and
the fifth, named Asparukh, crossed the Dau-
•See Book Ti-nth, ante pp. 353-300.
YAES or HuNGAEiAN.s proper. These ■were a
warlike people, whose original seats were in
the vicinity of the Caucasus. Their first mi-
gration carried them into the region between
the Don and the Dniester. Afterwards they
crossed the Carpathiau mountains, led by Ax-
MOS, one of their .seven chieftains. They were
at this time a band of seven tribes, united in
a compact which, under the sanction of oaths,
gave a guaranty of justice and equality to all
members of tlie federation. Arpad, the son
and successor of Almos, overran all of Hun-
gary and Transylvania, and early iu the tenth
UXIVEh'SAL HISTORY.— THE MODKHX WORLD.
Of tllf cnllliuu- iif :hr
rn:K> iniii \Ve.~ti'rn
Th.- 11
HI.
Asia ami Eastern Eumi
1', snnie account has
trihal api
■11
already been given in the
prece<liug volume.'
Ihvu um.
t
These people had the >
anu' original homes
tinns. \'
i~t
with the Hun and the
Eu-tar. With them
lar ill vac
they engaged in l\v»r t
icrce wars with the
fruiu il„-i
Chi
the'
State
<e which nfru|ii'd the lu'st centuries
■ and after the Chri-'.ian era. As early
,' cstalili-hnient ot' the Ixuniaa Empire
iiad made their way westward to the
Dun. In the third century a Turkish
was established in the country around
Lake Balkasli. :Meanwhile the conflicts of
the Turks and the Chinese continued in
Tartary.
It will be rememl)ered that in the sixth
reutury the Emperor Justin II. made a
Grseco-Turcoman league against the Sassani-
(Ife^aa alliance which led to the permanent
establishment of Turkish institutions in West-
ern Asia. In the eighth century there wei-e
recognized no fewer than eight distinct Turk-
ish nations, scattered in various parts nf the
vast region between Tartary and A-ia Minor.
During the sixth and seventh centuries they
had already established themselves perma-
nently in what is now Asiatic Turkey. The
Seljukian dynasty, the most famous of all the
Turkish mediceval powers, extended itself in
the eleventh century almost to Constantino-
ple, and after the collapse of this empire, the
Ottoman dynasty arose on its ruins, grew pow-
erful throuiihout the West, finally crossed
mil in 14.V; comj.letcd the sub-
Eiiipiiv ,,f the East.
i4' Taktai:, like >.. many other
ivis, uiipears at the tirst to have
<k>iguate an assemblage of na-
1111'Ils of half-savage tribes simi-
It
lught by
qiansion
Central and -Xorthern A^
ethnologists that the gn
took its origin from the locality of modern
Turkistau. Many scholars regard the Turco-
mans themselves as a Tartar race. The physi-
cal type, even to the present day, appears to
indicate some such race-identity. It is from
this source that the great Mongol dynasty of
the I\Iiddle Ages arose and extended itself
around so large a part of the world. From
the Iburth to the tenth century, the slopes of
the Altai Mnuntains, which seem to have
been a center of the ^longolian movement,
threw otf wave after wave of barbarous popu-
lation, which sank successively in the coun-
tries toward the West. Perhaps the largest
European influence of the Tartar race in
modern times is seen in Eastern and Southern
Eussia. — Such is a sketch in outline of the
principal barbarian nations who, from the first
to the fifteenth centuries of our era, contrib-
uted by invasion and war to destroy the
Europe that was, and to fill the Europe that
now is with peoples of different races. It now
remains tn take up in their order and consider
liricriv the principal barbarian kingdoms which
wci-e founiled on the ruins of Rome.
CHARTER LXXIV. — BAKBARIAX IvIXGDOXIS IN ITALY.
if kingdoms estab-
thc barliarians
vas that of the
This nation was
he iicninsula liy
.Id chieftain Odo-
whn assured his fol-
ilain liy force the
iind for the cession
of a third part of the lands. It will be re-
membered that this demand was resisted by
Orestes, regent for his son, the helpless Au-
LMistnlus and that the father, for this patriotic
but fnnlhaidv conduct, was driven into Pavia
and slain bv the barbarians. This left the
Imv Au-u-tulus like a shorn lamb, to the
nirrcv nf th.' winds. He could only im]dore
the clciucih-y of Odoacer, and when did a
victi.riou- barbarian forbear?
BARBARIAX ASCEXDEXCY.—KIXfiDOMS IX ITALY.
Augustus the Little, the lioy-Ciesar of ex-
piring Kome, wus huirieil away tn tlii' castle
of Lucullus iu Cauipauia. Oduaeer at once
made himself kiug of Italy. iJume was
dowo, aud the residue was ground under the
heel of a German chieftain out of the North,
;vho, to the one-third of the lands of Italy
which had been demanded by his folluwcrs as
a recompense for their services, added the
remaining two-thirds to fill up the measure.
King Odoacer soon showed himself master
of the .strange situation which had supervened
in Italy. He wisely adapted his lurthnds of
government to the condition of the jjei.iple.
Having himself been pireviously iu the service
of the Empire, he was well acquainted with
the character and disposition of the Roman
race. He accepted the title of king, but re-
fused the purjile and the diadem, thus con-
ciliating both the rieiinan princes and the
phantom nobility of Italy. The Senate was
allowed to remain and even to correspond in
the usual way with the authorities of the
Eastern Empire. The body went so far as to
make out a programme, iu accordance with
which the seat of emjjire was to be transferred
to Constantinople. Italy was to become a
diocese, and the senators respectfully asked
that this scheme be approved by the recogni-
tion of Odoacer as Patrician of the Italian
province.
At this amusing by-play aud nonsensical
assumption of an authority which no longer
existed, the king of Italy might well smile a
smile of condescension. In a prudent way he
deferred to the prejudices and political cus-
toms of his subjects. In the cnuisc i.t'a i\-\v
years he reinstituted the con^ul.-hip and con-
tinued to avoid the Imperial dii:nity. The
old laws were still enforced, and the old
executive officers, including the pnetorian pre-
fect and his subordinates, were retained in
their places. In a politic way, Odoacer de-
volved the unpleasant duties of administra-
tion, such as the collection of the public
revenue, ujdou native Eoman magistrates ; but
the execution of those measures v.-hich were
ikel
■iKUiee a tavorahle impression upon
^Meanwhile the honor of Italy, which had
been so long dragged in the dust by the de-
generate descendants of Theodosius, was re-
vived by the swnr,l „f her barbarian m<.nareh.
On the north the old finiKier .,1' Italy was
reestabji.died, and wa- rci'o-uized by the chief-
tains of (iaul and Germany. 0<loacer made
a successful campaign in Dalmatia, and re-
gained possession of that province. He
crossed the Alps and made war upon the
king of the Ktigii, whom he defeated and
made prisoner. >So great was his success iu
arms that the Roman Senate might well decree
an honor to their warlike king.
.A!i-e,alile, however, was "the s.,cial aud
ce.iiioinic condition of Italy. Aafieulture and
commerce had almost ceased. For their cur-
rent supjdies of provisions the Romans were
at the mercy of the winds and the seas. The
granaries of Egypt and Africa no longer sent
their abundance into tin- marts of the Eternal
Citv. War, famine, and p.siil.nce had added
their horrors through i;enerations of ,lecay.
The tendency t.i depopulation was seen on
every hand. Prosperous districts were left
without inhabitants; tor the breast of dis-
h(jnored Nature yielded su-li iiauce im longer
to a raee of idle,- an,l bri:;an.ls. As to the
in.lu-tiial and artistic aspect ,.f life, that
was seen no more. The value of property
decliued to a miiumum ; i'or the senators knew
not in what day or hour a new company of
homes by the contiscation of estates. The
Eoman nubility hd a life of tremulous anxiety,
humbly subsei-vieut to the master to whom
they owed their lives and the remnant of their
fortnues. Nor di.l the kin- fail in many in-
stance- to iiitei-poM. b,-tw(M-n the rapacity of
Roman subjects. The demands ot' the (iermau
chiefs were fre(pieutly ie.~i,Med liy the king,
aud .several of the more insolent were ])Ut to
death f.r tlie attenjptcd robliery of native
noblemen.
In the iiur.-uaiice of tlii- ditticidt policy
Odoacer consi mI the fourteen v.'ars of his
rei:;n. AVith him rose and fell tiie Hcruliau
kingdom in Italv. Ilis ]ie<.ple were neither
str.m- cnou'ji nor >utHeieutly civilized to
found a permanent d(.iiiinion.' Abva.ly the
great nation of the (_)>lrogoths, un.ler the
leadership of the justly celebrated Theodoeic,
whom the discriminating Gibbon has declared
to have been "a hero alike excellent iu the
UXIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
,-,, .Inw,
an.l (i
them
•j: (.■st;il)li>lK'il tliuni?L-lvu.< in I'auuimia
1, the Ostrogoths had growu to be
itliieuce among the Ixirbariaii states,
rclatidiis liad liccii cultivated Ijetweeu
the Kinpiiv of ih,' Ka>t. The Em-
luarks (if hi> lavui-, and iipoii Thiodorie, their
king, the litlts (if iiatriciaii and eonsuL The
Goths, however, were still in a half-barbarous
conilition, and the various (hiuatives, made to
them by tlie Eastern Emperor, were quickly
consumed in the liciiise of appetite. It was
in tills condition of atliurs that the far-seeing
mind of Tlieodoric perceived in the state of
Italy an inviting opportunity for the exercise
of hi> own genius and a veut for the restless
activities of his people.
He accordingly applied to the Eastern em-
peror. "Italy, the inheritance of your ju-ed-
ecessor," said he in a httcr to the court at
Constantinople, "and Rome itself, the head
and mistress of the world, imw fluctuate under
the violence and oiipn'ssiou (jf Odoaccr, the
'mercenary. Direct ine with my national
troops to march against the tyrant. If I fall,
you will be relieved from an expensive and
trotiblesome friend ; !)ut, if with the Divine
permission I succeed, I shall govern in your
name and to your glory the Roman Senate
and the part of the republic deliv.'red from
slavery by my victorious arms." Thi- propo>al
of Til'eodorie was -ladly ent.-rtained by the
Emperor, who saw, no doubt, in the euterpri.se
the prospective restoration ot' his own influence
in the West.
Theodoric accordingly umlertook the con-
quest of Italy. The invasion was in the
nature of an emigration ot' the whole (iothic
people. The aged, the inlirtn, the women tind
children, were all borne along with the im-
mense procession of warriors, and the whole
property was included with the baggage,
burin-- the pro-re~s of the march of seven
Gothic host was freipieiitly threatened with
famine. On the way Theodoric was actively
opposed by the Bulgarians, the Gepidre, and
the SarmatiaiLs, who had been prompted to
such a cour-e bv Odoacer. Nevertheless, the
ob^tael.-, pa.-ed the Julian Alps, ami made
his way into Italy.
Odoacer went boldly f.rth to meet him.
a deciMve battle Was fought, in which the
()Mro-oil|. Mere .-nce-.-fid. The country of
the Veneti as far south as Venma lhu~' fell
into the hands of Theod.jric. At the river
Adige a seccjud battle was fought, in which
the Heruli were again defeated. Odoacer
took reiuge in Ravenna, and Theodoric ad-
vanced to ^lilan. At this juncture, however,
the treachery of a deserter, to whom the
command of the vanguanl had been intru-ted,
brought Odoacer again into the field. The-
odoric was reduced to the necessity of calling
for assistance to the Visigoths of CJtiul; but,
after a brief continuance, all Italy, with the
exception of Eavenna, was delivered to the
Ostrogoth ie king. In that city Odoacer im-
luuriMl himself during a three years' siege.
Finally, however, he was obliged to yield, and
the ()>tr(igiiths to.ik ]iossessii>n of Ravenna.
.Vftera feu day-, Odoacer, to whom an li(mor-
able capitulation had been granted, was stabbed
at a baiKjuet; nor is it doul)tful that the blow
was struck with the knowledge and coiiidv-
ance ot' 'I'lieodoric himself. Several ot' the
l>rinei|ial adherents of the Herulian king were
al-o killed, and Theodoric, proclaimed liy his
< ^ithie sld'jeets, was acknowled- ei I tliroU-hout
Italy and rehi.-tantly accepted bv the Emperor
of the East. Thus, in the year A. D. 4!).'!,
the O-tro-othic kinedom was c-tabli.-hed in
Italy.
Theodoric at once entered upon a reign of
thirty-three years' duration. In accordance
with the rigiits <if conquest, a third of the
hiii.l,> was apportioned to his foll,,wer.s. To
the (ioih-, long ai'cu.-tomed to the cheerless
rigors of th.' North, their new liomes in Italy
seemed a paradise. The new nation that was
thus transporteil to the South was estimated
at two luindreil thousand nnii of war, besides
III some respects the new population was
a.-,Miiiilateii to the old, and in son,.', the old
to the new. The conquerors a— iiiiied the
moiv elegant dn-s and many ..f the social
cuMoms of the Romans: but the (iotlii.^ Ian-
BARBARIAX AS<•EXI)E^TY.—KIXGDnMS IX ITALY.
guage held its own aguiust the Latin. It lic-
came the policy oi Theuilurie tu viicdiu-agc
the Italians in the industrial inirsuit^, and in
reserve the Goths as the warrior caste of the
state. The latter held their lauds as a gift of
military patronage, and were expected to be
ever ready to march at the sound of the
trumpet. It was a part of the king's theory
that his realm must lie niaintaini'(l liy the
same power- by which it had been creatcil,
wherefore supreme reliance was placed iu the
arm of military power.
It is hardly to be doubted that, had he so
chosen, Theodoric, after the subjugation of
Italy, might have entered upon a ueiiei'al ca-
reer of couc^uest in the West: but snch a
purpose was no part of his plans or |ioliey.
He devoted hira.self assiduously to the re(ir-
ganization of Italian societ\-, and with tliat
woilc his ambitious wen- >ati-lied. He estab-
lished his capital at Kav.Mina, and his court
soon attracted ambassnlois from all parts of
Europe. His two dau-lilei-s, his >i>tei-, and
his niece were son;jlit in niairiaL:i' liv the
kin-s of tlie Franks, the Ibn-un.lians, tlie
Visigotlis, and the Vandals, Olferinus were
brought, as if to oue of the magnilicent
princes of the East, a distance of fifteen
hundred miles, from the far-off shores of the
Baltic.
It is rare that history has the pleasant
duty of recording the career of a sovereign
bt'giunini: iu war and ending in peace, as did
that of Theodoric the Great. Wlien ..bligi-d
to aliolish his peaceful policy, it was rather to
act on the defensive or to enforce the edicts
of the administration tlian to gratify tlie lust
of conquest. He establishe.l a ;:overiinient of
the provinces of Rh;etia, Noiieuni, Dalmatia,
and Pannonia, thus extending his authority
from the sources of the Danube to Illyricuni.
It was luitural that the successful career
of Theodoric in the West .should awaken the
jealousy of the Eastern Emperor. A Avar
broke out between the two powers, and in the
year 505 came to a climax in battle on- the
field of ^largus. Victory declared for Theod-
oric, who, more humane than his enemy,
used his victory as not abusin-- it. ^Maddened
by his defeat, the Emperor Anastasius sent
a powerful fleet and army to the shores of
Southern Italy. The ancient city of Taren-
his way rapidly into the
eipiipped a fleet, and ha,-te
of the marauding s(|uailr(ii
About this tim.' Clov
Franks, gained the ascendei
of Gaul — a movement wiiic
Theodoric as untavorable ti
king of the Visigoths, \\
career of Clovis coidd be n
the remnant of tlie royal
sought and found a i'rien.
court of Kaveuua. At tl
Alemanui, who were now sc
the surrounding nation^, v
the protection of the kiuLi
hostile Burgundians were m
as to desire^uo further ai;-r
<.f Aries and -^Iar>eilles n^
free communication thus e-
the two kingdoms of the (
this time Theodoric was
>\vs the
d.- teni-
c made
■parture
The V
veuua, and the abuses whieb li:
in the southern kingdom wei-e n
sovereign of Italy. Tin- Gnthi
was thus establi.shed from Sicily
ube and from Belgrade to the At
It was a virtual restoration, nmler
auspices, of the Emiiire of the \\'e,-
It was deemed expedient by Tin
to a.ssume the insignia ot' Impei-ial
He accepted the title of king — a n
congenial than that of emperoi- to t
of the Xorth. As a leuidat.n', tin
was less fortunate than in the wv.
xivs to the titnos of tliin-s, as dete
stitution the etlete statutes ,,f ( ',
He studiously maintained his re
amity with the Ea.steru Empire, :
correspondence with Anastasius ;:
tone at once deferential and diploni
sovereigns of the East and the We
themselves as in alliance, and the
annually confirmed liy the choice
suls, the oue from Coustantinnpl
other from Rome.
isman, the
vii'torious
■ i,npede.l,
pressed bv
ken under
y, ami the
•Iv handled
The <-ities
ken, and a
■tl between
In.leed, at
zed as the
isi-oths of
u-y of Ka-
grown up
tie.l by the
. the Dau-
itic Gcean.
idoric not
luthority.
ime more
■cord-
:.d by
lations of
an.l in his
issumed a
latic. The
-t regarded
union was
.f two con-
410
UMVEIiSAL HISTORY. — THE MODKHX WOULD.
The pulacu nf thr (i.ithi,- i,i<marrli al Ka-
vfuna \va^ aft.-r l\u- -ivU- „i iIh laur vm-
IH-n.rs ..r tlic \\'c -I. Til.- iiiiiii.-ui> ^f ^late
were the iTat-rian preleet, the pieteet of
Rome, the iiia-ter nl' the ntiiees, ete., with
the names au.l .lutie.- nf \vh..iii thr le.uuui.'^
were h.n- familiar. The -uveriim. ut ..f the
fifteen •• l;e-i..n>" "f Jial.v «a~ a-Muued to
seven eiiii>iilar~, three enrMetnrs, and five
presidents; and the tin'ms .it' administration
were derived fmni the cxi-lin,- statute.- of the
Romans. In tlie enurt- of tlie eountry the
proceedings were deterndin-d hy the uatiouul-
ity of the ])arties to the eau-e. When the
aetion was l>etween Roman and Rumau, then
the trial wa- eon.hieted aeeording to the
practice of the Empire. If tlie parties were
Gotliic, then the Gothic statutes were em-
phjyed; and in case of a suit of a Roman
and a (iotii, a mixed court lieard and deter-
mined the cause.
In the management of the atlairs of the
stale. Theodoric exhiliited niucli wisdom ami
lilierality. Instead of persecuting the friends
of Odoacer, he appointed Liherius, one of the
firmest supporters of the Heruliau ri<jrme, to
be iirictorian prefect. He took into his coun-
cil the two authors, t'as>iodorus and Boethius,
and deferred to their prudent advi.'C. While
learning was thus patronized, Theodoric also
took pains to encouraee the revival of Komaii
institutions by at lea-t a re>pe.tful u-e of the
old repuhlican form.-. The de.-eeiidauts of
the patricians were flattered l.y hearin- the
name of the Republic; au.l tlie Roman iio,,r
were pleased with the old-time distribution of
provisions. The games were reiustituted in
feeble imitation of tiic .-jileiidor of Imperial
times. The African lion a'jain bounded into
the arena, and the gladiator au<l eymnast ev-
hibited their prowe-aud skill before a mixe.l
niultilu.le of German- and Italian-.
In the year A. 1). .'.<M), Th.-odoiic visited
Rome, where he was received \\itli all the
glorv that the dindni-bed sun ..f the ol.l me-
itropolis wa- able m -bed on her soverei-n.
For six n.onth- tie- (..ahie kin- remained at
the an.'ient cajutal of the (Wars, where his
manner- and , al- "ere ju-llv applaude,]
bv those who a- .-hildren had witne-sed the
extinetiou of the i:m|/nv. 'fhe still remain-
inu landmarks of power, .such as the column
and torum of Trajan and the theater of Pom-
pey, made a jirofound impre-ssiou upon the
mind of TluMjdorie, who conceived from these
remnants of Roman glory a shadowy notion
of what the Eternal City had been in the
days of her renown, lie li.jrmed the design
of preserving, as far as possible, from further
decay the grand monuments of a civilization
wduch no longer existed. He issued edicts to
])revent further injury to the great works
architects and set aside revenues to repair
and restoie tho-e structures which were tiiU-
ing into nun. This lilieral i>atronage was
likewi.-e extended to the works of art which
the cily still iio.s-essed, and even the barba-
work of resiuini: from olilivion the trophies
When hi- brief residence at the old capital
expiied, Theoiloric returned to Ravenna. He
.set an example not only to those of the court,
but even to the humble. AVith hi- .,wn hand
he i.rnne.l and cared tor an orchard, and
f(.)und an actual delight in all the pursuits <:if
peace. When his borders were troubled l)y
the barbarians, he removed his court to Ve-
rona. Not only that capital and Ravenna,
but also the cities of Spoleto, Naples, auil I'a-
via, exhibited in the multiplication of their
chuivhes and otlit r buildings, which now for
the tirst time showed the pointed architecture
of the (iiiths, the manifest presence of a mas-
ter spirit at the helm of state. Society be-
came mole settled and happy than at any
tin;e during' the previous century. The peas-
ant was aL:aiii seen in the field, and the Ro-
man nobleman in the porch of his villa. The
agri.adlural interests of the state were rapidly
i-eviveil, and the mines of Dalmatia and Erut-
In reli-ious faith Theodoric, like his peo-
l)le, was an Arian. This fact ojieued a chasm
between the (loilis and the Italians, the latter
acceptine ih,. Ni.eiie creed. The king, how-
ever, wa- littl.- .li-po.sed to trouble^ or be
troubled in matters of Ihith. He and his
(oithii' subjects pursued their o\\ ii way, and
the orlho.lox (■alholi,.s, their.s. Those "of the
(ioth- who preferred to apostatize to the Atha-
nasian belief were jHiinitted to do so without
BAF!BABIAX ASCBXDKXCY.—KIXGDOMS IX ITALY.
was marked with a .spirit of ti>leranct_' ami
moderatioo. The old theory of tW- lunniui
law that every citizen might choose lii> dwu
reliiiinii was adopted as best suited to the con-
dition of the people.
It wutild, however, be far from the truth
to suppose that the government of Theodoric
was above reproach or his times without their
vices. In the beginning of his reign the He-
ruli were unjustly oppressed with taxation,
and several of the economic projects of the
king would, lint for the opposition of Boothius,
have greatly injured tlie industrial iiitircsts
of the kingdom. The nobles and friends of
the mouarch were in some instances piTniitted
to wrest estates from others and to hold their
unjust acquisitions. Nor was it possible that
the two hundred thousand Gothic warriors, by
whose barbaric valor Theodoric hail conipiered
an empiif, could In-, even in the midst <if
peaeefid >uironndinL;-, converted at once from
savagery to civilization. The native fierce-
ness of these warriors, who could hardly be
restrained to the ]irosaic life of a settled resi-
dence, had iiKiuy times to be conciliated by a
temporizin-- policy on the part of the king.
It appears that the religious toleration in-
troduced into the state by Theodoric, though
outwardly accepted liy the Catholics, was
exceeilini;ly di~ta.-tcful to their ortjiodoxy.
Without the power to rever>e or rc>cnt the
policy of the king, the Italian zealots turned
their animosity upon the Jews and made that
persecuted race the object of their scorn and
persecution. IMany rich but defenseless Israel-
ites— traders and merchants living at Rome,
Naples, Ravenna, Milan, and Genoa — were
deprived of their property and turned adrift
as so many paupers. Their synagogues were
desfioileil ami then burned, their homes ]iil-
laged., and their persons outraged. To the
credit of Theo,|oric, he set hiuis.df aiiainst
these manifestation- ot' rapacious liiL:otr\-. and
some of the chief leader^ of the tumult were
obliged to make restitution to their victims,
and were then condemned to be publicly
whipped iu the streets by the executioner.
Then it was that tlie Italian Catholics set
up a cry against the jiersecution of the ( 'luuvli.
The clemency and good deeds of the king
were firo-otten by those who were opposed to
martyrdom when themselves were the martyrs.
The later year.- of the k
n;/.- life were clouded
with these religious .li-t
nhances in his kiug-
j (lorn. Nor did the .■.
iduct of his Italian
subjects fail to excite in
the ndnd of the .<ov-
ereigu the small vices <
f jealousy and liitter-
ness. It is alleged that 1
e secured the services
of informers against the
malcontent but uoljle
bigots of the kingdom,
whom he .-u,-pected.
not without eau.se, of a
ecret and treasonable
correspondence with the
Emperor of the East.
Certain it is that Ju
tinian, who had now
1 succeeded to ]iower at
Coii-tantinojile, re-
solved to puree til.' Chi
rch of heresy a> well
in the Wot a- in hi-
paternal ilomiini>ns.
An edict wa. i-ud
fi-oni (Aiiistantinojile
again.st the Arian ('liii>
tians in all the .Med-
iterranean state-. Tlio>
■ who refused to ac-
cept the estaldid.ed cree
1 of the Church were
to sutler the i.enalty
if excommunication.
This cour-e wa> indi-na
itly resented by The-
odorie, who ju,-tl\' rea-o
ed that the same tol-
eration shown by liini
elf to his Catholic
subjects in the A\'e,-t -h
■ old of riuht lie ex-
teudeil to the Aiian (In
i-tians in the Empire
of the Greek.-. Theo.lor
• a.vordinelv ordered
the Roman poiitiH' an
1 fmr di>tinenished
seimtors to go on an endia
-y to < 'onstaiitinople.
and there demand of Ji
-tinian the rit^hts of
reliuious freedom. The\
Were I'ommanded in
their ii^.>truction- to nr-.
upon that nmnarch
that any preten>e to a d
■ million over the con-
science of man is a usii
pat ion of the divine
prerogative, that the p
iw.r of the earthly
sovereign is limited to
earthlv things, and
that the m.i-t .langerou,-
hia-c.-y in a state is
that of a ruler who ].n
s fiom himself and
his prijtectiou a part i^
his subjects on ac-
count of their relieions
I'aith. The rejection
bv Justinian of tlii- ap|
1 al furnished, so far
as anv a.'t could funiid
, to Theodoric good
-round f.r i-Miin- an e
lict that, after a cer-
tain :lav, tie- orthodox
1 ,,. r il It 1 +1, ,. 1, I, ,.1- T +
religiou should be
,1,-
pl olulllteil throUl^lloUt It
of the bitterness ex-
cited liy thi- sdii-niatic 1
roil that the virtuous
and philosophic ISoethiu
-, who had ,-o long
been the greatest and Im
-t ol' the kin^'.- couu-
>eh,l-<. \va- aceu-ed of t
casori, imprisoned iu
the tow. r of I'avia. ami
then subjected to an
ignoniinious execution.
As Theodoric became
more gloomy iu his old
age, Boethius soared
into a clearer atmosphei
e. In the practical
41:
UMVKHSAL HISTORY.— THE MnUKUX WORLD.
ai;ain-t rvn-y cnul aiiil tyr;uuiical ima.-uiv ;
believe that the furilu-r existence of the
Romau Senate was iiieoiiipatible witli hi* own
safety, resolved upon the aniiihilatiMii of that
iLT him Boetbiu.s made the
AUnnus were criminal, be
le senators were eiiuallv
lid not
,. A IK
Kinpen.i
hini.-elf and all tl
guilty; and to thl-
court arc tn be
added that, should
to liberate Rome tVi
divulge his in t' inn:
he East,
invitini:- liini to the delivei-anrt.- of Italy, and
signed liy Albiuus and Boethius. The latter
was accordingly arrested and thrust into
prison. The subservient Senate passed a sen-
tence of confiscation and death, and Boethius
sat in his dungeon awaiting the Idow which
should <l(Iiver bini from darkness.
To the ihipri-onnient of this benign spirit
the win-ld is indrbteil for the comitosition of
that sublime treatise, the Consolufion of riilhm-
fhy — a work which the calm Gil)l)on declares
to be "a gulden volume, not unworthy of the
lei.-urc nf I'lato I, I- Tiilly, but which claims in-
blr inri-it IVoni the Ijarbarism of the
id the situation of the author." In it
^ travi iM-^ the whole circuit of those
ill which the i)biloso].ihic mind has
ii-t iiitiTc-t Miicc the human spirit fii>t
o coll-cinlH bcill-. Tlh- dllll-cn of
the prisoner becomc< ino,-,. liiiiiinou- than the
chamber of the king, lua-on tiaihcs that the
conipa
times,
Botth
theme
foun.l
awoki;
cipllll.
d III t
ethics
of coi
goes t
.rth to
tiny.
What
free-w
ill, of 1
of etf
rnity?
f.ir th
■ iiiasf<
Such
are tht
svil ^tnl,:
of manki
s[jirit of Borthiiis grappled with in the dim
light ot' hi- prison. Then came the execution-
er-. A cold was drawn around the neck of
the jihilo-opher, and tightened until his eyes
were bursting from their sockets. Then was
ho ,y(, ,T;f»//v beaten to death with clubs. The
life was out, but the work >iirvived ; and iu a
di-taiit a-v, Alfiv.l the (iivat of England
found time to give to our Anglo-Saxon fathers
;i tran-lation of the nolile work of the Roman
niartvr.
ThiK in \u< old age was the life of Tbeod-
oric clomlrd with >u-piciou and crime. It ap-
jicai--, houi'vcr, that the severe German cou-
scirnco within him laid upon him the merciless
la,-h for hi- mixleeds and cruelty. As he fell
into decrepitude and the shadows of death
gathered near, the ghosts of his murdered vic-
tims glared at him out of the settling dark-
ness. Especially did the specter of the vener-
able Symmachus, who had been executed soon
after Boethius, frriwn out of the shadows and
menace the trembling king, who hobbled into
his chamber, and after tlircc days of remorse
died, in August, A. I). .V_'(;.
The decease of the (oithic sovereign was
not so sudden as to prcvint him from arrang-
lietween his two grand,-on^, Amalauic and
ATll.VL.iiilc, the Rhone being fixed as the boun-
dary lietween their dominions. To the former
was assigned the throne of Spain, and to the lat-
ter the emjiire of Italy. Atlialaric was at this
time but ten year- of a-v, and wa- under the
control of his mother, the celebrated Ajiala-
.SOXTHA. Around the bedside of the dying The-
odoric gathered the Gothic cliiefs and Italian
ma-i-tratc., and swore all.-giance to the lioyish
pi-iiicc, who, under the iv^eiii-y of lii^ niot'her,
wa< now ,le-tined to be their ruler. To iier-
the
It (_.
nous monument near the city of Ravenna, and
here, iu a vase of porphyry snpjiorted by foiu-
columns, his remains were deposited.
The -ovei-ninent of a nation of two hun-
dred thou-and warriors was now intrusted to a
woinan. The mother of Amalasontha was the
-i-ter of Clovis, king of the Franks. The
ipieeii reiieiit of Italv was thus descended from
the. two roval IIou-cs of the M>'n>rhH/wns
and the J„c,/;,o,.<. Nevertheless, the laws of
BAHBARIAX ASCEXDEXCV.—KIXGDOMS IX ITALY.
413
the barbarians tnrbadf the (»
throne by a woiiiaii. Such, 1
peculiar circunistaiice.s of In
with the death of her fathei
almost obliged to concede ti
tives of sovereiii'i
which union was b,
whom Theoilorie de
In the mean time
vonng widow, whose
whicli the
sitv the cl
In the
the last
. She had coutractcd a
with prince Eutharic, of
iin the youth, Atlialaric,
-ignated as his successor.
Eutharic died, and the
])ersonal charms and keen
aied by the best cbicatiou
Id atll.rd, became nf ncccs-
age in the Gothic state.
■ of her regency, Amala-
terate the hitter memories
of her father's reigu had
let't in tlie miuds of her subjects liy restnriiig
the children .if B.iethins and Svmniachus to
their lost inheritance. She al-o c.inciHatccl her
Roman subjects and quieted the tilths by sal-
utary restraints. The chief of her counselors
was the statesman and orator, Cas.siodorus, by
whose wise advice she was generally guided.
^Meanwhile, she devoted herself a.-sidimu-ly to
the education of her son. That youth, liow-
ever, soon proved liimself to lie unwortliy of
his parentage. Having been properly punished
by his mother for some neglected iluty, he es-
chiefs, already bi'couie nialconteut under the
reign of a wnman. They e>pi>used the cause
ly kiuLL', and detiriiiiued to rescue
he control ,,f Amala.nutha an.l her
ministry. The lad was a.'conlin-ly set free
among the wild indulgences of the semi-liar-
barie lite, and the queen found herself envi-
roned with enemies. Opposition stirred up the
worst elements of her nature, and in order to
maintain herself she resorted to assassination.
Several of the ( Jothic noldes fell 1yv treachery.
In order further to strenethcu lier po-ition,
she then iMiutrai'ti/d a man-iage with tlie pi-iuce
Theodati's, lidpini
self in the governi
however, olitaind
Theodatus, an.l in -Vlo th.' .pi.^.-n was .lep.ised
from p.iwei', an.l snlij.et. .1 to imjiris.inment on
an island in Lake E. ilscna.
Now it was that the Emperor Justinian un-
dertook to avail himself of the dissensions of
of tl
him
-ociate him with her-
The Gothic faction,
I over the mind of
the Gotlis, and thereby recover Italy. By
his agents he pr.jcured the signature of the
captive queen to a document surrendering her
claims in his fav.ir. The Emperor thus found
opp..rtunity f.ir interference in the affairs of
th.' \Ve>t ; l)Ut belbre any serious measures
ciid.l be taken, Amalasontha was strangled in
her bath by order of Theodatus. Such, how-
ever, was the condition of affairs in Italy and
Africa that abundant excuse was ofiered to
the Byzantine court tor ])rosecuting its designs
again>t the bai'barian kiu-.loms. Tlie state of
til.' \ an.lals was .listra.-te.l with civil commo-
tii.n-. Ilil.l.'iii-, the rightful sovereign, had
be.n (lepo-i.'.l an.l iniprisoni'.l, and the usurp-
in- < ielim.a- was s.'ai.'.l .,n the throne. The
Cath.ili.- party ..f the We-t fav.ired the resto-
rati.ai ..f the .lep.ise.l M.vei'.ign, and appealed
t.i Justinian to ai.l in that work. The latter
fitt.'.l out a ]>.iwerful expediti.m, the conuuaud
of which was intrusteil t.i Bici.isAUifs. In the
year 53:1, the armament pr.i.'ce.lc.l t.i the Af-
rican c..a>t. .V b.attl.' was tbught with the
Vandals a few mil.'s fn.m Carthage, an.l Bel-
isarius was com|il.-tely vict..ri.ins. The East-
ern army entered the \'anilal i;apital. (/ielimer
was again defeat. '.I an.l ..lili'jc.l i.i surren.ler.
Withi'^u three ni..iith^, ..r.l.a- was r.'M..iv.l in
Africa and B.li<urins letnine.l t.. C.n^tanti-
n..ple to be re.'.'iv.'.l with .li-trust liy his sns-
however, that a great triumph was c.'lebrateil
in his honor in the capital ..f th.' Ea-t.
An excuse was s.ion fnund ior tlie contin-
uaii.-e ..f <Ti-ei.k int.-rf.i-en.'c in the affitirs of
Itah'. ( >n th.- ...■.■a>i..n ..f the marriage of a
sister of Th.MMlori.- th.' (ir.'at t.i Thrasimond,
king of AtVi.'a, th.- f.Mtr.-> ..f Lilybaaim in
the islan.l ..f Si.-ilv was giv.-n as a bri.lal pres-
ent t.i th.' \'an.hil-. An army ..f G.ithic
wai-i-ii.rs a<v..nipaniiil th.' -il't an.l [lailhapated
in th.' ..•.iiiHi.'t .if th.- Van.lals with tie- ?il.i..rs.
S ,, h,,wever, th.- <;.iths an.l th.- Van.lals
.luarn-le.i, an.l F.elisarius was invite.l by the
the kine-.l..m .if Italy. To this^vas a.hled the
m.itive of vengeance against the mnr.lerers of
Amalasontha." Accordingly in A. D. r.3.=i,
Belisarius was again sent out fr.im Constanti-
nople t.i reduce Sicily. That work was ac-
complished without serious opjoosition, and in
the following spring Belisarius crossed over
414
I 'M I -ICnSA L JUS TOT! ) '. — THE MOD ER .V 11 "O ULD.
into Italv. The wliolr cnuntrv sninli ..f Caiii-
]K.nia was >|,(H,lilv r..lii<'..I. "( apna and :^a-
1,1<- wr,v tak.-n. "'n,ro,lamssiiowin- no si-iis
of capacity in the ciiicr-iciicy <if his coiiinry
was deposed liy the Gotliic cliief's, who lifted
tlieir jreiii'i-al YiTic;i:s upDii their bucklers and
l-nM-laiiiird him king. Theodatusflrd and was
nmi-ilnvd in the Flaniinian Way.
'I'hc old lioman faction of Italy, thoroughly
ortlind..>c and thon.ii-hly tired of the suprem-
acy of the (ioths, went over to Belisarius, and
the cit\- of the (.'a'sars was once more rescued
from liailiarism. The king of the Goths, how-
ever, collccird a formidable army in the North
and in tiie sjiring of 537 besieged Belisarius
in Rome. A line of fortifications was drawn
around the city. Many of the ancient struc-
tures won- demolished and the material rebuilt
into the i-amparts. The mausoleums of the
old Emperors were converted into citadels.
When the Goths swarmed around the sepul-
cher of Hadrian, the immortal marbles of
Praxiteles and Lysippus were torn from their
pedestals and hurled down upon the heads of
the barbarians in the ditch. Belisarius made
one audacious sortie after another, hurling
back his inveterate assailants. Neai-ly the
whole Gothic nation gathered around the
Eternal City, but Belisarius held out until re-
inforcements arrived from the East, and after
a siege of a year and nine days' duration,
Eome was delivered from the clutch of her as-
sailants. A'itiges was obliged to burn his tents
and retnat before his pursuing antagonist to
Ravenna.
Great were the present afflictions of Italy.
In the brief interval wdiich followed tlie with-
drawal of the Gothic king from Rome, the
Frank, Theodebcrt, king of Gaul, sent down
from the Alps an army of Burguudians to es-
liou>o tlio cause of the Goths. The city of
]\Iihiu, which had gone over to Belisarius, was
by them besieged, taken, and dismantled. In
the next year (A. D. 539) Theodel)ert hi7n-
self, with an army of a hundred thousand
Prankish warriors, entered Italy, and en-
camped ,m the Po. It soon became evident
that liy him the CJoth and the Roman wei-e to
be treated without discrimination. Theodebert
fell at the same time upon the opposing camps
of Belisarius and Vilipes. ami drove every
thing before him. Soon, however, the jirovis-
,f the Fi
e broke
Th
warriors demanded to be led hack to their
homes beyond the Alps, and Theodebert was
constrained to comply with their wishes. The
barl)arian liorde was <mirkly witlidrawn, and
Belisarius again found oppdrtunitv b) tblhjw
up his successes against Vitiges.
The king of the Goths now shut himself
up in the impregnable fortifications of Ra-
venna. Nothing could tempt him to show
himself beyond the defenses of the city. Nev-
ertheless the Roman general laid siege to the
place, and awaited the results of impending
famine. He vigilantly guarded the apjiroacheg
to the city, cut off' supplies, fired the exjiosed
granaries, and even poisoned the waters of the
city. In the midst of their distress the Goths,
conceiving that Belisai-ius hut for his oljedi-
euce to Justinian would make them a better
king than their own, otiered to surrender the
city into his hands and become his subjects,
if he would renounce his allegiance to the
Emperor of the East and accept the crown of
Italy. Belisarius seemed to conij)ly. Ravenna
was given up by the Goths, and the victor
took possession. It w-as, however, no part of
the purpose of Belisarius to prove a traitor to
the Emperor, though the conduct of Justinian
towards himself furnished an excellent excuse
for treason. The suspicion of the thing done
soon reached Constantinoj^le, and Justinian
made haste to recall the conqueror from the
West. So the hero, who by his military gen-
ius and personal courage had well-nigh recov-
ered the entire Western Empire of the Ro-
mans, took .-jhip at Ravenna and sailed for the
Eastern capital.
With the departure of Belisarius the cour-
age of the Goths revived. They still possessed
Pavia, which was defended by a thousand war-
riors, and, what was far more valuable, the
unconf|uerable love of freedom. Totila, a
ne])hew of Vitiges, was called to the throne,
and intrusted with the work of reestalili-hing
the kinii-dom. Of the Roman generals whom
Belisarius left behind him in Italy, not one
proved equal to the task of meeting the Goth
in the field. The latter traversed the country
without opposition, marched through the heart
of Italv. and compelled submission even to
BARBARIAN ASLESDENCY.— KINGDOMS IN ITAL Y. 41.-,
,^iLji jU'liL (.!•■
i'y [vi:i;sAL history.— the modern world.
T,, the
of li.'ILsi
si.iriKMl t.
E:i>t against the
theu
that
It;:
In
Wr-t. ('aiv was taken,
.,■.,.■ that the aye.l eoni-
il.T.-.l with surh re>tri.-
a eonspicuuLis success
!• T.itihi laid actual siege
h.iw.ver, hv th.. I
man.l.T -h.>ul,l l„.
tinn- as w.ul.l II
inqms-iKl,.. Mrau
toKoin.., an4a.loi,t,.l starvation as his allv.
The .'itv was .h.f-ndr.lhv liiivr th,.u>an.l sol-
diers nn.l.T th.. eoninian.l of lir>~as, a veteran
Goth. The besies^eil were trra<lually reduced
to the extremity of eating bread made of bran
and devouriuL' d(JiiS, cats, and mice, to sav
n.ithin- of drad h..r-.> and otiiil. When Be'l-
i.-ariu. landed in Italy he made an in.'rti-.-tnal
attempt to raise the siege of the city, and the
Romans were theu obliged to capitulate. In
the day of the surrender the barbarian in To-
tihi asserted itself, aud the city was given up
to indiscriminate pillage. The walls were
thrown down; some of the grand structures
of anti'iuity wm- battered into ruins, aud the
Goth dri-lai^d that he would convert Rome
into a pastuir. But before the wor.st could
lie aiToiiipli^hid Belisarius seut so strong a
protest to Totila that the latter reversed his
purpose, and the city was saved from gen-
eral ruin.
The Gothic king next directed his march
into Southern Italy, where he overran Lucania
and Apulia, and quickly restored the Gothic
suiireiiiacy as far as the strait of ^I(>ssina.
his siHithern expeilition when Belisarius, who
had established himself in the port of Rome,
sallird forth with extraordinary daring, and
roL'ained possession of the city. He then ex-
erted himself to the utmost to repair tlie de-
fenses, and was so snccessfid in this work that
when, after twenty-five days, Totila returned
from the South the Goths were repulsed iu
.|U,
wh
1
he
.-.4'
1
tl
ev
1
it
11
da
-'St
•es
.
■ t
he
I!c
were treated with consideration, and eipies-
trian games were again exhibited in the circus
I under the patronage of barbarians.
In the mean time Belisarius was finally
recalled t(j t'onstantiuople aud was forced into
an inglorious retirement by a court which had
never shown itself worthy of his services. He
I was succeeded in the command <if the Roman
army in the West by the eiinneh Xap.ses. who
the spiiit of a warrior. The disjiatch of Jus-
tinian recalliuL;- Belisarius had declared that
tlie lenniaiit of the (iothic war was no longer
woiihv of hi> |ire-eiiec. It Was this " rem-
I naiit" that in the vear :.ol wa.
XarM-.. lIi>po«er>'were ample ai
sutheient evi'ii for a -nater work
ill- in Italy lie made ha>te t<. brii.
the eil.-i- of battle. On his way fr
to Rome lie became convinced that delay
would be fatal to success. On every side there
were evidences of a coiinter-rexdliitioii in favor
of the Goth>. It wa> evident that nothing
but a victory could restore the influence of the
Bvzantine government iu the West. Advanc-
ing rapidlv on the capital he met the Goths
in the Flamiiiian Way. a short distance from
the city. Heiv, in July of 552, the fate of
the kingdom established by Theodoric was
yielded to the arbitraiuent of arin.-. A fierce
and obstinate conflict ensued in which Totila
itrnsted to
natters to
Ravenna
Xi
Eternal Ci
of Justini
d his army scattered to the winds,
ved the keys of Rome iu the name
r, tliis lieing Xhe fifth time that the
r had been taken during the reign
1. The remnants of the Goths
BARBABIAX ASCEXDE.XCV.—KIXGDOMS IX ITALY
retired beyond the Fo, where they a-s.-sfmljled
and chose Teias for their king.
The new monarch at once solicited tlie aid
of the Franks, and then marched into Cam-
pania to the relief of his brother Aligern, w!io
was defending the treasure-house of Cumw, in
which Totila had deposited a large part of the
riches of the state. In the year 553 Narses
met this second array in battle and again
routed the Goths and killed their king. Ali-
gern was then besieged in Curare for more
than a yiar, and was obliged to surrender. It
■was evident that the kingdom of the Goths
was in the hour and article of death.
At this juncture, however, an army of
seventy-five thousand Germans, led by the two
dukes of the Aleraanni, carae down from the
Rhretian Alps and threatened to burst like a
thunder cloud upon Central Italy. The change
of climate, however, and the wine-swilling
gluttony of the Teutonic warriors combined to
bring on contagion and decimate their ranks.
Narses went forth with an army of eighteen
thousand men and met the foe on the banks
of the Vulturnns. Here, in 554, the petty
eunuch intlictid <m tlie barbarians a defeat »o
decisive as to refix the status of Italy. The
greater part of the Gothic army perished
either by the sword or in attempting to cross
the river. The victorious army returned laden
•with the spoils of the Goths, and for the last
time the Via Sacra was the scene of the spec-
tacle of victory called a triumph. It was a
vain shadow of the Imperial glory of the
Cffisars.
Thus, in the year 554, after a period of
sixty years' duration, was subverted the Ostr(j-
gothic throne of Italy. One-third of this time
had been consumed in actual war. The coun-
try was devastated — almost depopulated — by
the conflict. The vast area of the kingdom
■was reduced to the narrow limits of a province,
which, under the name of the Exarchate of
Eavenna, remained as an appanage of the
Eastern Empire. As for the Goths, they either
retired to their native seats beyond the mount-
ains or were absorbed by the Italians. The
Franks also receded beyond the limits of Italy,
and the Emperor and the pope, using Narses
as the right arm of their power, proceeded to
restore a certain degree of order to the dis-
tracted peninsula.
In the mean time two other barbarian na-
tions became competitors for the sovereignty
of the North. These were the Gepidie and the
Lombards. The latter, after having disai)peared
from history since the days of Trajan, again
returned to the stage, and for a seas.m lioeanie
the princii^al actors of the drama. After a
contest of thirty years, they succeeded in over-
throwing the Gepidre, who befeire sidmiittiiig
fought to the verge of extermination. Audoin,
king of the Lombards, was succeeded liy his
son, Alboin, who souglit fu- his wife the
princess Rosamond, daughter uf the king nf
the Gepidre; but the demand was refused, and
Alljoin undertook to obtain by force the eov
eted treasure. A dreadful war ensued, wliieli,
as above stated, resulted in the destruetimi of
tlie Gepidie. Allioiii tonk the prinee.s Knsa-
mond after the hemic fashion, and converted
the skull of his beloved father-in-law into a
drinking cup.
Thus had the king of the Londiards a taste
of the glory of war. He ra~t his eves upon
the sunny plains of Italy. An.iind'iiis ban-
ners were gathered not only his own trihes,
Init also many of the (Jei'nians and Sevtlis.
]\leaiiw]iile, the able though tyrannical Narses,
aeeii-eil liy his Roman subjects of exactions
and cruelty, had been recalled from Italy, and
was succeeded l)y the exarch, Longinus. For-
tunate it was for the Lombards that the pui.s-
sant eunuch was not their competitor for the
possession of the Italian prize. In the year
567, Alboiu descended from the Julian Al[)s
into the valley of tlie Po. Kunim- .pivad lier
wings before the aven-ing avalan.l.e, and no
army could be found to confront the invaders.
The peo]ile fled like sheep before the terrible
Lombards, and Alboin was besought by the
cowering multitudes to assume the lawful sover-
eignty of the country. Only the fortress of
Pavia held out against the invaders until it
was reduced by famine. Here Alboiu estab-
lished his court, and for more than two centu-
ries Pavia, the ancient Ticinuni, became the
capital of Lombardy.
Brief, however, was the glory of the con-
queror. The barbarian instincts of Alboin
soon led to his destruction. Engaging in a
night revel in a palace near Verona, he drank
wine to furious mtoxication. While his bar-
baric brain flashed with hilarious delirium, he
418
uxivkhsal iiistohy.—the moderx world.
orderea tlie .kiill
law, to Im' l.n.uji
He tliLii ha.l tlu
carried to ihr (juc
shoul.l .Irink ai
Obli-ea to ,o,„i,
quest, Kosaiuoiiil i
.1 lillr
■n with or,lri> that .-he too
I ,v;„;,v »■;//, /,,,■ father i
V with tlie alx.iuiiiable re-
esolved on vengeance. She
induced two chieftains to join her enterprise,
and while tlie kiuil was sleeping heavily from
the .'ff.-t- of di-ink, >hr oi„.,...-.1 his chanil.er
door and adiiiitt.-.l thr a>-a"iiis. Thus in the
rear 'u-) tlio founder of the kingdom of the
Loiiiliards met his fate on the spears of mur-
derers.
For the monn^nt the rcniiiant of the Ge-
pidte at Verona attriii|it('.i to uph<ild their
queen ; but the Lomlianl chiefs qnickly rallied
from the shock, and Rosamond fled to Ravenna.
Here she .soon caiitivated the exarch Longi-
nus, and witli him >\u- con^pinMl to destroy
Helmichas, the lovi-r who had aiconiiianied
her in her flight. Wlnle in his hatli she gave
him a cup of poison, which he partly drained;
but, discovering the treachery, he drew his
dagger and compelled Kosamond l<i drink
the red!
In the mean time the Lombard chiefs had
assembled at Pa via and chosen Clepho for
their king. Short, however, was his reign.
After a year and a half he was stabbed by a
servant, and his hereditary rights and the
regal office descended to his son Autharis.
During his minority of ten years uo regular
regency was established, and Northern Italy
was distracted by the couflictiug claims and
animosities of thirty dukes, Roman and barba-
rian. In the year 584 Autharis attained his
majoritv and assumed the warrior's garb. He
vigorously asserted his kingly rights, and again
consolidated the Lombard party over the mal-
content regions of Italy. It was well for the
barbarians that their sovereign was able and
warlike. Soen after the accession of Autharis,
Childebert, king of the Fraid<s, passed the
Alps with a jiowcrful army, which was pres-
ently broken nji by the ipiarrels of the Ale-
mauuian and Fraidush leaders. A second
expedition was met and defeated by the Lom-
bard king, and a third, after a partial success,
yielded to famine and pestilence. The domin-
ion of Autharis was indisputably established
from the Alps to the headlands of Calabria.
In the vi-ar r,'.)() Autharis died and left no
licir. The Londiard chiefs laid npou his
wi.low, Thoodoliuda, the duty of choosing a
hu>l,and. uho -hould lie king. The queen's
lircfereiice fill tijion Agihilf, duke of Turin,
who entc-ri'd upon a reign of twenty-five
year-, lireat was the reputation gained by
Th.odoliinh, among the Catholics; for she
converted her hii>band to the true faith from
tlie heresy of Ariu<. S,, marked was the
dox hicraridiy that Pojie Gregory presented to
her the celebrated iron crown, afterwards worn
by the kings of the Lombards. This famous
royal baidile deriveil its name from an iron
band with which it was surrounded, said to
havi' bei'u wrou-lit from one (jf the nails used
in the ero- of Chri-t.
For a period ot' tw(.i hundred years Italy
remaineil under the dominion of the Lom-
bard-. The petty exarchate of Ravenna also
maintained its existence under eighteen suc-
cessive governors. Besides the immediate
territories ruled by the exarchs, the provinces
of Rome, Venice, and Naples were also sub-
ject to their authority. Pavia continued to
be the capital of the Lombard kingdom,
whose confines swept around on the north,
east, and west as far
Avars, the Bavarians,
and the Burgiindians.
The Lomlianl monarchy was elective. The
right of the chiefs to choose their own sov-
ereign, though many times waived in deference
to heredity and other conditions, was not re-
sisted <ir denied. About eighty years after
the establishment of the kingdom, the laws of
the Loml)ards were reduced to a written code.
Nor does their legislation comjiare unfavorably
with that of any other barbarian state.
This ejioch in history should not be passed
over without reference to the rapid growth of
thePajial Chureh in the close of the sixth and
the begiiiniii'j- of the seventh century. Most
of all by (iregory the Great, whose pontificate
extended from .jiJO to 604, was the supremacy
of the apostolic see asserted and maintained.
Under the triple titles of Bishop of Rome,
Primate of Italy, and Apostle of the West he
gradually, by gentle insinuation or bold asser-
tion, as best suited tke circumstances, elevated
the episcopacy of Rome into a genuine papacy
the countries of the
■ Austrasian Franks,
BAEBARIAX ASCEXDEXCY.—KINCWOMS IX ITALY.
4i;
of the Chuivh. 11 u <.l, 1 111 Inn.mj tht Western ew/< m (.uUti L^ul thin tht^
AriaDS of Ital> ml ^i un int > t\w ( uh li< achiL\ement- wi- the u muM ud ui Vu.l
fold, an.l tini-' .111 1th. shluitx t the I ^ixon fithei-ot r.ntini I 1 1\ luoiik. un I
UNIVERSAL inS'lVUY.—THE MoDKUX WOULD.
the leadfi-.-hip u
out by Gregory in ic,-cir
gauism, and sucli wa- iliuii
that in a short tiiiit- Kthi
xvith trii th.ui>au.l of hi.-,
Vuirustiue were seat | Chinvh, liut liot lirave enough
jnli-out the
-hind froiu pa-
•- in evangelism
king of Kent,
was the beginning of the great spirimal lu.jn-
archy of Rome. Though the imlependeuce of
the Greek Church was yet reluctantly recog-
nized liv the jiopes of tiic West, and though
the ,, iH.il a-erti..,, ,.f their t^-ni|H, nd dominion
wa. .till withheld a. in.-xprdi<-nl or premature,
yc-t th.. foundations of the great hierarchical
kingdnm in the nd.l-t of the iiati-uis were
securely laid, chietly by th.- ::eniu,~ and .-tate.-
mauship of <!regory the Great.
It was the growth an.l eneroa.'hmeiit ol'
Catholic pnwrr ill Italv that ultiniatelv led to
the ..verthnnv of the Lombard kingdom. As
the eighth century drew to a close and the
kingdom of the Franks became nmr:' and
more predominant beyond the Alp>, the pop<-s
Carlovi
Lombard iucubu>. A- early a. the time, of
Gregory 111., Charhs .Marlel «as solicited 1.
come to the aiil of his Catholic bi-ethreii in
the South. Tlie entreaties of Pope Stephen
were still mme importunate, and Pepin, kini^
of theFrank>. ^^a. induced to lead an arm.N
aero.ss the Alp>. Twn r.,iluiies nf cumpara
tive j)eace had somewhat abated the warliki
valor of the Lombards. Thev were still brave
spears of the Franks. Astolphus, the Lom-
bartl king, cowered at the apjiroach of Pepin,
and he and his princes eagerly took au oath
to resti.ire to the Church her captive posses-
sions anil heiicetbrth to respect her wishes.
:so sooner, however, had the Frankish sov-
ereign returned bey.m.l the ni.uintains than
Ast..lphu.. bn.ke lii. faith and renewed his
pre.latory war ,,ii the Catholic dioee.e. A
recreant Lombard.-', uh.,,-e cimiitry he overran
an,l left the kingdom proMral... For a period
of abnut tw.mty years the Lnmbard .-tate sur-
vived the sh.H-k of this inva.-i.m, and then re-
turned to its oM ways. Again the lioiuans
ironi their town,-. P,.p.- Adrian' I. had now
come t.i the papal throne, and Charlemagne
had su<-,-,eded his fatli.r J'epiii. Vainly did
the Lnmliard- altmiipt to guard the pa.s,..-. ,,f
the Alp-a-aiiiM the gn-at Frankish compieror.
Lv hi.- vi-.:ilaii.-e he surpri^cl the Loiubard
outpo-t- and made lii> wav f. Pavia. Ileiv,
in 77.:, J)e,-iderius, the last of the Lombani
princes, made his stand. F>r lilb-eii months
th.- eilv wa- b,-ieg.-d bv the Franks. When
the ri-j..rs of tie- in vestm,-iit culd be ,-ii.lui-ed
no loiiuer, the eitv su rn-iiden-d , and the king-
dom of the Lmubal-ds ua- at an eii.l. The
(-ountry becam.- a ].roviiH-.- in tlu- empiie of
Charlemagne, luit Lombardy continued ibr a
time under the government of native jirinces.
enough to make occasional depredations upon So much was conceded to the original kinship
the provinces and sanctuaries of the Holy ' of the Lombards and the Franks.
CHAPTER L.XXV IvINCtDOMIS OK 'fHK \' I i=.lGOTH S,
\".\X1JALS, AX 13 KRA.X IvS.
the >
he <;
ear 410.
,th, was
Alps.
alliaii
Ilonnriusn-
•.-, and thr
adly
(n.tl
di
pted
the j.rotlered
1 his march
the el
lannel ,,f
into <
iaiil. The <-it
le.- o
■Na
■boil
le, Toul.Mise,
tlUS, 1
his 1
is folio w-
n„ller-in-
and
and t
I'.nnleau.-v we
h,- (iothic .1.
■e 1
erm
neli
,'.u extended
e tii.-ndly league between Adolphus
111- llmuaii Empire was further ce-
d by hi- marriage with Placidia, daugli-
• Theodo-iiis the Gnat. P.v the vear
PERSIA.
ARABIA.
. Chosroes II
40. Uu 111
The Arabians were desceihi. i I i im i !i - i: i Ahra
ham. They have nlw,i\ ; i ,■ :' : ' ilili.iugl
generally at war with tin n ii. Kht-.i-. \v ii,, ir i.i-iMiy n
unknown and unimporluni. i-.v. i|.i ti, li.^ , ..lau. uuii witl
other nations, it is unnecessary tu mention tliem until th(
time of Mohammed and the subsequent conquests ol hi:
followers, the Saracens, who were Arabians.
. Justin II., a weak prince.
EASTERN EMPIRE.
.S4. Bellsarlus U)
Dreadful pesti
73. Tiberius III.
He defeats the
Persians.
; Carthage, and ends the Vandal kingdom
i-fc-isors. ; 40. Library of Alexandria (700,000 volume)
les III.; he nun'Krs ; stroved by the command of Omar.
tlur. ■ 45. Othman. He subdues Baclriana am
J". Siroes. aftier murdering
his iiiiherland brothers. 60. Moawiyah (Ommlas), firs
■■■■-■ Horimlsdas. OMMIADES. »■• At
Mohammed, M. Ali, a brave and virtuous caliph i
rj. Begins to propagate his A '
doctrines. Ali removes his seai
27. He is saluted king, from Mecca to Cuja.
32. Abu-Beker, his father-in-law, sue- 84.
ceeds him as caliph ;
takes Damascus.
33. Omar, in one campaign he conquers Syi
Phcenicia, Mesopotamia, and Cbaldaea ;
in the next, the whole of Persia. His gen
als subdue Egypt, Libya, and Numic"
11. Heracllus II.
11. Heracieonas.
u. Constans II. or Constan-
They I
;def
ho bums t
celebrated '
idii t "f Heraclius, called 85. Justinia
the ■ Ethesis or Expositio
he prohibits any dispute t
the question of one or
wills in Jesus Christ.
YISIGOTHIG KINGDOM.
conquered by the Vi
V-c. Vitiges. Totila.
WESTERN EMPIRE
king
A the
LOMBARDS IN ITALY.
60. Gundebertus.
3. Clephes. The
. Vj. Anarchy. 91. A
Athalaric. ::t, Beiisarius i:ik''^ i;..iii.-. ; .s4. Antharis.
:;l. Theodatus. Hi. Totila the IGoth takes and F
pluii'ljers Rome. bi
AND 49 Rome reitaken by Beiisarius
5U. Agiiinlrecovered by
30. The order of Bone- Toltila. 90. Gregory
KINGDOM OF THE OSTROGOTHS.
; to the bishop of
wiving, "We hast
ir Holiness, who
..theGIiiEAT. 40. John IV. r,7. Vitalia
6.;Bonif3celll. 4'.i. Martin I.
17. Boniface IV. 42 Theodore.
; 'St. Honorius I.
h. The Pantheon at Rome dedicated i
. Adeodatus.
7b. Agatho.
Middle Ages Begin.
16. Computation of time from
duced by Diouysius, the
. Fifth General Council, at Con
writingswf Theodorus, Theo
demnedias heresies.
GAUL
. Childebert has Paris, Clotaire I. has Soissons,
Clodomir has Orleans, and Thierry ha.s Metz.
Clotaire reunites the kingdom by 559,
but at his death, in 562, it is again
di%'ided among his sons.
62. Chllperic has Soissons, Charibert
has Paris, Grotan has Bur-
gundy, and Sigebert I. has Aus-
FRANCE.
MEROVINGIAN HOUSE.
87. Pepin d'Heristal
mils all the real Thierry ; defi
p5wer into the hands of the authority, thi
mayor of the palace, which the honors o
accounts for the character of
the succeeding liings, aptly
denominated "sluggards.
38. He dies, and his dominions are divided be-
tween his two sons. 91. Clovl
38. Clovls II. has Nuestria, and Dagobert II hiis
ceeds Chilperic. Austrasia. 65. Clotaire II.
;s tranquillity 28. Dagobert I. 73. Thierry II.
ng the kingdom.
SAXON HEPTARCHY.
71. KA.ST ANGLIA, found
NORTHUMBERLAND, 97. Au
founded by Idda. mi
d by Offa.
tin (Augustine) and forty monks arrive as
sionaries, sent by Gregory, bishop of Rome.
CHRONOLOGICAL CHART No. IV.
Barbarian axd Mohammedan Ascendencies.
From 500 to 900 A. D.
PREPARED BY JOHN CLARK RIDPATH. LL D
WALES.
SCOTLAND.
1 (or Cleneth) I.
36. Donald IV. 63. Malduln.
SO. Ferchard II.
:avansaries built.
49. Abul-Abbas, first of the 79. Al Modi.
ABBASSIDES. 84. MusalHadi
SARACEN
1- »6. Haroun Al
id III. and benev
rwan II. does n
Al Mansor ; does much for science.
62. Builds Bagdad for his capi-
tal, and calls it the city of
Peace.
. After conquering Spain
they invade Gaul. portance.
In consequence of this, Ara-
61. Al Montaser.
V Mamun, a great encou
ager of learning.
33 Al Motasem.
EMPIRE
RaSChid, a brave 41. Al Wathek. 69. f
olent caliph; he ...........
h for science. ■*''• Al Motawakkel.
" The Augustan age of Saracenic literature."
Haroun sends Charlemagne a clock,
the first ever seen in Europe. 61. Aft^er the murder of the
ca;liph the Turkish guards
dispose of the throne at
thifir pleasure.
41. Constantine V.
onths. t'oPK
sars in succession
' Calinicus, 11. Phillplcus Bardanes.
pswiththe 13. Anastasius II.
16. IS AURIC agmiw.
irus Tiberius. RACE. causes
7J. Leo IV., iconoclast
or image-breaker.
81. Constantine VI.
Irene is regent in
She restores im
negotiates a m
ct lemagne, but i
a- 88. Irene murde
■h proclaimed
2. Nicephorus. 29. Theophilus
11. Miciiael I. Cukop.al.vtes.
13. Leo v.. THE AK.MEN
20. Michael 11, THt
her son's minority. Stam.mekek.
age- worship. Irene
arriage with Char- 42. Michael III.
s dethroned. the Ukin
rs her son. and is
Basil I. lias a vigorous reign ; i
stores in some measure the fa:
ing honor of the empire ; foum
the MACEDONIAN RACE.
sole empress.
Photius, patriarch of Constani
ngdom or caliphate of
;The Visigoths conquered by 55. Thi
■ the Saracens, who, having Cordova founded
! extended their dominion rahman of the House of Om-
I along the northern coast miades. He and hissuccess-
; of Africa, invade Spain ors encourage literature and
I from Mauritania, whence science.
; they are called Moors. The
; Goths retire into Asturias. 87. Hashem.
kingdom <
22. Abderrahman II. He encourages science and literature,
nsurrection at Cordova. In- 52. Mohammed I. 89. Abdalla, a mild
surgents exiled, a body of and enlightened prince.
race of pirates from Scandin
during two centuries (from 800 to 1000),
ravage almost every coast in Europe.
jimbertus usurps.
)ertus II.
12. Ansprandus.
Luitprandus; he takes Ravenna.
. Hildebrandus deplosed for his vices.
Rachisius. 1 74. Is deposed by
56. Desiderius. ,' annexes Ital
49. Aslolphus ; he retakes Ravenna a
is defeated b-y Pepin.
ud threatens Rome ;
75.Charles the Bald. kiir.
I 77 Carloman.
Louis II. ; bi}. Charles the Fat,
Cnnt
the pope.
ith
ope Step
(■hate of Ravenna
I. >- Constantine. 41 Zachary. 57. Paul I. 67. Stephen III. 9.5. Leo.
John VII. 31. Gregory III. 511 Stephen II. 72. Adrian I.
7. Sissinius.
15 Gregory
26 to N7. Controversies respecting
image-worship,
at Constantinople, at which Pope llcnioriii
ishops are solemnly anathematized.
PAPAL
87 Seventh Gen
CHURCH.
Eighth General Council s
Leo IV.
I 55 Louis II. 66. He goes against the Sara-
13. Louis I., THE Pious.fJO. Lothaire I. His cens, who had invaded
Divides his domin-;brother (. harles has Itulv, and is defeated.
ions among hisjFrance, and Louis 75. Charles II., the B.»ld,
sons ; thev revolt. 'Bavaria. 12. Louis of Bavaria, kiiin of Fnirice.
; .SI. Charles the Gross. Kiaiids..ii of Louis I.
Ikes 1
, declares war against 52. He applies to the pope witli reference to the
deposition of Childeric III. The decision
is that " As Pepin possesses the power, he
shall also bear the title of king." The
last of the Merovingians is therefore dis-
missed into a convent. 71. Carloman dies.
68. Charles the Great, or Charlemagne,
er as mayor. 3-2. rours— Charles defeats the Saracens with im
11. Dagobert III. 47. Chilperic III. liberties and religion of Europe.
15. Chilperic II. 72-803. Charlemagne subdues the
41. Pepin le Bref, son Saxons seven times.
20. Thierry IV. of Charles in 73. He defeats Desiderius.who hart
Austrasia. invaded the dominions of the pope
Charlemagne, or Charles the 40. Charles II., the Bald.
Great, crowned emperor of the 41. /'on(c»ai;— Lothaire defeated by his
West; brave and industrious; brothers Louis and Charles,
a statesman and patron of learning. 77. Louis II., the Stammerer.
The Normans overthrow all the 79. Louis III. and Carloman.
and Carloman. '™''"™ provinces, burning and destrojing.
mense slaughter and saves the 87. Charles deposed for cow- 88. Eudes
Ik'e, and the imperial dignity transferred from France
CARLOVINGIAN. IMPERIAL. '" ^^^
ted.
Egbert the Great ;
72. Alfred the Great, [;
the "father of
EDE. " the Venerable." an ecclesi
19. Conquers Kent. 38. Ethelwoif. dcfiii-
24. Conquers Essex. 57. Ethelbald. divi'l
27. Finishes the conquest of the aiirt > -
ither kingdoms, and remains sole king. m.
.58. Fresh inv:i-,
00. Ethelbert.
1 Uriel, King of Man, and 77. He divides the kingdom among
wife Esyth, heiress of his sons into three principali-
es. 43. Roderick II., tics; viz.. North and South
the Gke.at. Wales and Powy's Land.
nberkeleth.
. Eugene VII.
21. Mordach.
30. Etfinus.
64. Fergus III.
1. Eugene VIII.
AKCHANis. 19. Congal III. 57. Donald V. 74. Ethus. 92. Donald VI.
24. Oongal. 58. Constantine II. 75. Gregory the Great.
43. He extirpates the Picts, and He defeats the
takes the title of king of Scotland. Danes and Welsh.
BARBARIAN ASCEXDEXCY.— KINGDOM OE THE VISIGOTHS.
414 nearly the whole of Gaul had sul)niitte(l
to the conqueror, who next turned his arms
against the barbarians of Spain. Five years
previously the Spanish peninsula had been
overrun by the Vandals, who with but little
opposition gained possession of the country.
Adolphus now made his way across the Pyre-
nees and began a career of conquest, which
in the following year was cut short by his as-
sassination. The chieftains, however, chose
AVallia as a successor, and in three successive
campaigns drove the Vandals out of Spain.
The country was thus nominally reiiuncxed to
the Western Empire. On returning into
Gaul, in the year 418, the Goths were re-
warded by Honorius by the cession of Aqui-
taine, the .same being the extensive region
between the Garonne and the Loire. The
Gothic cai)ital was fixed at the city of Tou-
louse, and a more settled state of atlairs ruiper-
vened than had been witnessed since the
beginning of the barbarian invasion.?.
During the reign of Theodoric he was fre-
quently called upon to protect his Visigothic
friends in Gaul and Spain. The Franks,
however, became more and more aggressive.
By the year 507 Clevis had fixed his capital
at Paris. In a council held at that city he
declared his purpose of making war on the
Goths because of their heresy in following the
creed of Ariu.s. The nobles proclaimed their
readiness to follow and their determination
never to shave their Ijeards until victory had
crowned their enterprise. Clotilda, the queen,
added woman's zeal to the cause, and through
her influence Clovis vowed to build a church
to the holy apostles, who were expected to be
his patrons in the extermination of the Gothic
heretics. A campaign was accordingly organ-
ized for the recovery of Aquitaine.
At this time the king of the Visigoths was
Alaric, a warlike prince, but no match for
Clovis. After mutual preparations the two
armies came ftice to face a few miles from
Poitiers, where the overthrow of the Goths
was easily effected. The two kings met in the
battle, and Alaric fell under the battle-axe of
his rival. The conquest of the rich province
of Aquitaine was the result of the conflict,
but the Goths were permitted to retain the
narrow tract of Seiitimania, extending from
the Rhone to the Pyrenees. As to the rest of
the Gaulish possessions of the Visigoths, they
were permanently annoxed to thi' kingdom
of France.
In the mean time, during tin- lattrr half of
the fifth century, the race of Alaric had
planted itself firmly in Spain. In this c^m-
try the barbarians made little concealment of
their purpose to extinguish the Roman Em-
pire. Theodoric II., wIkj had himself obtained
the Visigothic throne liy iimrdcr, was in his
turn assassinated by lii~ 1 nether, Euric, who
proved to be as able as he was base. In the
year 472 he passed the Pyivnct-s and raptured
Saragossa and Pampeluna. Thr noblt.-s of the
Roman party gathered an army to resist his
progress, but were defeated in battle. He
then extended his conquest into Lusitania,
an.I re.luced the wli..l.. pmiiisula. Even the
little kingdom of the Suevi was made to
arku<iwledge the authority of the Gothic
With the beginning of the f .llowing cen-
tury the royal line of the Goths was broken
Ity the death of the infant grandson of The-
odoric, and the government fell into the
hands of Count Theudes, whose valor as a
chieftain had already maile him a power in
the nation. At this time thi' (i.iths were en-
gaged in a war with the \'andal>, and it was
resolved to invade Africa. In tiie year .335
an expedition was made against Ceuta, on the
African coast. The place was besieged, with
every prospect of success on the part of the
besiegers ; but on the Saljbath day the pious
Goths forebore to i>ress the enemy and en-
gaged in worship. Takin- advantage of this
respite, the h-religioiis \'aiidals .sallied forth
and broke up the investment. It was with
difficulty that Theudes made his escape into
Spain. In a short time, however, an embassy
came from Gelimer, now in the deepest dis-
tress; for Belisarius was victorious over the
Vandals, and their king was a fu-itive. In
534 he applied to Theudes fu- lielp; hut the
latter merely temporized with the nie.-sengers
until he learned of the downlall of Carthage,
whereupon he dismissed them.
After the conque.st of Africa, Belisarius
repaired to Italy and the \'isigothie kingdom
was for a while left undisturbed. When
Theu.les died the .<ureessi,,n was disputed, and
the less worthy of the two eaadidat.'^ appealed
VXIVEUSAL HISTORY— THE 3I0DEIIX WORLD.
to Justinian iVir
TheKiniKTnr,.^,
in reluni m-v. ral
ompeuse. In tl
Easteru Eni]iirr
stored iu SpMin.
the .-ixtli an.! i!
<-entury the kini
■Ji-ell be re.-anl.-.l
Between ilie
the CI
jal agencies
the
i|r<l uiili -viiiial r.iuscs iu effecting
At (he period referred to, Leovi-
sild was kill- nt' ihc (loths. He, like his
sulij.M-t^, li.l.l 1., ArianisMi. His son, Her-
nieiir-ihl, clin-c for his wife the nrtliodnx
(hiu-htcr of Si-cl„-rt, kin-- of the Franks.
Between her and the wife of the Gothic
monarch violent dissensions arose, and the
yountrer jirincess was at last beaten almost to
death and ..rdered to he drowne.l in a fish-
pond. Ilernien-^ild, hackrd hy tlie arrh-
bislinp ,,r S,.vilK., pr,-venfd ih- .■x-.cution of
th<. i,inrd,i-ons purp.,-,. of the .pieen. The
C'ath..li.' party rallied t., ihc Mipport of Her-
meuegild and liis wife, and civil war — which
was reallv a war nf i-eli^ions — broke out in
the kingdom. For the time success declared
for the side of the kin- and the Arians. The
rebellious son was ov.rthmwn, and finally,
after repeated arts of treason, was put to
death.
When Leiivi'jild died, he was succeeded
bv hi- sou, Keeared, uho, like his brother,
was ..f tlie oihodox belief. He deelared him-
self a Catlioli,., II,. ealhMl a .•ouneil of the
Arian el,.r-v, and na-on aii.l supcTstitiou
pe
their error. I!v
var'
ms means they were
w(m over, thou..-
had to be ,.ru-h
■d Ih
■ral nascent rebellions
fore the change in the
national fiith <-.
dd 1
.,. ,.ti;.cted. The whole
bo.ly of the Vi-
.;ollii
. pe,,pl,. was gradually
brought within
li(. (
•athnli,- fol.l, ami the
Suevi of North-w
(■Men
Spain wi.re also added
to the Chunh.
One of the 1
rin(.i|
al acts of the reign of
Eecared was the
ealli
IL.- of thi. great Council
of Toledo — first ot' the conventions of that
name. Seventy bishops of the Church as-
sendiled and lestilied the zeal of new converts
by extending the doctrines of the Nicene
Creed. The king celebrated the religious re-
covery of his people liy sending costly pres-
ent- to (Me-ory the <ireat, and that pontiff re-
ciproiale.l by retui'iuiig to Kecared the hairs
of John tlie Baptist, .some of the wood of the
True Cross, and some iron rust from the
chains of St. Peter.
During the seventh century the Visigothic
kin;:dom iu Spain flouri-shed as greatly as
miglit be expected of a barbarian ]iower iu a
barbarie a,-... One of th.. marked f.atures of
the time, was the establishment of numy ..olo-
nies of Jews in the Spanish peninsula. The
warlike spirit in the sons of Israel was now
extinct, but their buffetings aiuoug the na-
tions had developed iu the race that marvelouc
fai^idty of gain by wdiich the Jewish people
have ever sinci^ been characterized. Their
rapid accnniulations had made them the vic-
tims of avarice in every state where they had
settli.d. N(ii- Were the pious Visigoths any
exi^eptiou to the rule of persecution. Of
course the religion of the Jews was generally
made an excuse for the perpetration of deeds
the real object of which was mere confiscatiou
and robliery. Indeed, it may be stated as a
general fact that, during the Middle Ages in
Eur()]ic, the right of property was never re-
garded cxeept wdien enforced by the sword.
In the beginning of the seventh century
the Visigothic king was Sisebut. During his
reiiin a great persecution was instituted
against the Spanish Jews. The real motive
was plunder. Ninety thousand of the Israel-
ites were compelled under penalty of confis-
cation to accept the rite of baptism. Those
who refused were put to torture; nor were
the recusants permitted to avoid the alterna-
tive by escaping from the country. It was
baptism or death. The obstinacy of the Jews
was such that most of their property passed
to the hands of their jiersecutors. When
there was little more to Vie obtained by rob-
ber v one of the successors of Sisebut issued
an edict for the banishment of all Jews from
iiis donnnion. One of the great councils of
Toledo re(piired all succeeding sovereigns to
sub-erilie to the law of banishment; but cu-
BABBABIAN ASCEXDEXCY.— KINGDOM OE THE VANDALS.
pidity was generally stronger tluui au oath,
and it became the practice tu despuil and
enslave the Jews rather than drive them to
foreign lauds. Notwithstanding the distresses
■which they suflered the Jews continued to
increase, and it can not be doubted that they
were the agents of that intercourse by whieh
in the early part of the eighth century the
Moors of Africa, already panting for such an
enterprise, were induced to cross the strait
and undertake the conquest of Europe.
The story of this great movement, by which
the JMohammedans were precipitated into
Sjjain, will be reserved for its proper place in
the Second Book. It is sufficient in this con-
nection to say that in the year 711 a great
army of mixed races, all professing the faith
of the Prophet, and led by the great chieftain
Taric, crossed the strait of Gibraltar and began
a career of conquest which resulted in the
subjugation of Spain. The Visigothic ascen-
dency was ended, except in the Christian king-
<loiu ijf CastUe, in which the remnant of the
(.'iui^tian powers were consolidated and were
eiuibUMl to maintain themselves during the
remainder of the Middle Ages.
Of the Kingdom of the Vandals a good
deal has already been said in the preceding
jiages. The progress of this people from
the north and their settlement in Spain will
readily be recalled.' Having once obtained a
foothold in the peninsula they gradually pre-
vailed over their adversaries. Even the Ro-
man general Castinus, who in 428 was sent
out against them, was defeated in battle and
obliged to save himself by llight. The cities
of Seville and Carthagena fell into the hands
of the Vandals, who thence made their way
to tlie islands of Majorca and Minorca, and
then into Africa. Into the latter country
till y wrrr invited by King Boniface, who had
liirMiii, ihc Iraderof an African revolt against
iiis lival Aetius. The disposition of the Van-
dals to extend their conquests beyond the sea
had been quickened by the warlike zeal of the
great Genseric, who, after the death of his
brother Gonderlc, was elected to the Vandal
throne. So great was the prowess of this
mighty warrior that his name is written with
those of Alaric and Attila as the thii'd of the
barbaric thunderbolts liy which the great tree
' See Book First, p. 3ii.
of Rome was riven to the heart. He is rep-
resented as a man of medium stature, lame in
one leg, slow of speech, taciturn, concealing
his plans in the deep recesses of his barbaric
jrpirit. His ambition was as great as his
policy was subtle. To conquer was the prin-
cipal thing; by creating strife among his ene-
mies, if might be, liy open liattle if necessary.
"When about tu dc]>art fir the war in
Africa — though Genseric coutemjilateil no less
than the removal of the whole Vandal race
to the south side of the Mediterranean and
the consequent abaudunineiit of tlic Spanish
peninsula — he turned about tu chastise the
king of the Suevi, who had rashly 2'resumed
to begin an invasion of the territory from
which the Vandals were departing. Genseric
fell upon the impudent violators of the peace
and drove them into the river Anas. Then
in the year 429 he embarked at the head of
his nation, crossed the strait of Gibraltar, and
lauded on the African coast.
The number transported for the succor of
Boniface amounted to fifty thousand men of
war, besides the aged and infirm, the women
and the children of the nation. It was, how-
ever, the prestige of victory rather than the
array of numbers that rendered the Vandal
invasion so formidable to the African triljea.
Strange, indeed, was the contrast between the
florid-complexioned, blue-eyed German war-
riors, strangely dressed and still more strangely
disciplined, and the swarthy natives of that
sun-scorched shore. Soon, however, the Moors
came to understand that the Vandals were
the enemies of Rome, and that sufficed for
friendship. The African tribes crowded around
the camp and eagerly entered into alliances
with Genseric, willing to accept any kind of
a master instead of the relentless lords of
Italy.
No sooner had the Vandals established
themselves in Africa than Count Boniface
and the Princess Placidia found abundant
cause to repent of their rashness in soliciting
the aid of the inexorable barbarians. It be-
came manifest that neither Tyrian nor Trojan
would receive any consideration at the hands
of the stern king of the Vandals. Boniface
sought and obtained the pardon of Aetius.
Carthage, and the other Roman posts, by
which Africa had long been overawed and
428
ryivj:i:sAL history.— the modkux world.
held iu -uhi.
( tmii rclurnc'l
C|llirkly In tl
I'ir
lat.Vi th
allegiance, an
1 1! iiiira.-.- will
an ani'iy of x
i-t-
viit'iriui
eran« won 1.1 _
l.i.lh have c'.M
priau-.l with
l/ilifS nt
con-titiit(.l .11
tliMiiii,.. ill ,lri\
iiiL^ iIk' \'aii.
al-^
iviuaiiici
be\ 1)11(1 tliL -
(a But (iuiis
hi-
The
tar and wide until only the
Cii-ta, and Hippo lilK-ius
>..— inn (,f the Kniuau-.
.ii.litinn ,,f AtViea eontril.-
THE LANDIM., OF THE VANDALS IX AFRICA.
Drawn by F. E. Wolfrom.
BAKBARIAX ASCEMn:X('V.—KIXGDO.V OF THE VAXDALS.
uted to its rai>i(l conquest by Geiiseric A
sect called the Donatists, so named fnmi their
leader, Douatus, who flourished in the begin-
ning of the fourth ceotury, fell under the ban
of the orthodox party and were bitterly per-
secuted. Three hundred bishops and tliou-
sanils of clergymen of inferior rank were de-
prived of their property, expelled from their
country, and driven into exile. lutoleralile
fines were imposed upon persons of distinc-
tion supposed to be in sympathy with the
heretics. Under these persecutions many of
the Donatists gave way of necessity ami en-
tered the Catholic fold ; but the fanatical ele-
ment could not be subdued, and this numer-
ous party became the natural all)' of Geuseric.
The sacking of the Catholic churches which
ensued, and which, as reported by thr f'atlnrs,
has made the word vaiuhili-<in a synonym inr
wanton robbery, is doubtless to be attributed
to the uncontrollable vengeance of the Don-
atists rather than to the barbarians them-
selves, who, on the whole, were h'ss to be
dreaded for their savagery than either tiie
Goths or the Huns.
In the year 430, the seven rich provinces
stretching from Tangier to Tripoli were over-
run by the invaders. The cities were gener-
ally destroyed. The wealth accumulated by
ages of extortion was exposed by the torture
of its possessors, and seized with a rapacity
known only to barbarism. In many instances
the unresisting inhabitants of towns were
butchered by the frenzied A^'andals. Boniface
himself, after vainly attempting to stay the
work which he had provoked, was besieged
in Hippo Rhegius. For fourteen months
the garrison held out, but was finally reduced
by famine. Meanwhile, the Empire sent what
succor might lie spared to shore up the totter-
ing fortunes of Africa. A powerful arma-
ment, under the command of Aspar, leaving
Constantinople, joined the forces of Boniface,
and the latter again offered battle to the Van-
dals. A decisive conflict ensued, in which
the Imperial army was destroyed. Boniface
soon after fell in Italy in a civil broil with his
old rival, Aetius.
It appears that, after the capture of Hippo
Rhegius and the overthrow of Boniface, Gen-
seric did not press his advantage as might
have been expected. He entered into nego-
tiations with the Emperor of the West, and
agreed to concede to that sovereign the pos-
session of Mauritania. Several aspirants for
the Vandal throne, notably the sons of Gon-
deric, appeared to annoy ratinr than endanger
th(.' svi}ireniacy of the barbarian monarch.
Xor could the turbulent impulaiidns which he
had subdued be easily rediiciil in an orderly
state. An interval of eight \i'ais was thus
placed between the defi'at of Ilmiiface and
tile capture of Carthage. Wluii tlir city fell
into the hands of tlie assaihuits. it was de-
spoileil of its treasures after the manner of
tile age. Tlie d.iminant ]uu-ty of the Car-
thaginians was subjected to the severest
treatment by the conqueror. The nobles,
senators, and ecclesiastics were driven iuto
jierpftual banishment.
With the downfall of Carthage the suprem-
acy of the Vandals in Xortheru Africa was
completely established. The maritime propen-
sities of the Moorish nations had not been
extinguished by centuries of warfare. Nor
was Genseric slow to perceive that the ocean
was now the proper pathway to fnrther con-
quest and glory. The coast towns again rang
«-ith the shipbuilders' axe, and the Vandals
emulated the nautical skill of the subject peo-
ple. It was not long till an African fleet
conveyed an army into Sicily, which was
readily subjugated. Descnits w.av made on
the coasts of Italy, and it bicame a question
with the emperors, not whether they could re-
cover Africa, but whether Rome herself could
be saved from the clutches of (4enseric.
A Vandal fleet anehor.d at the mouth of
the Tiber. Maximus had ivccntly succeeded
Valentiuian on the Imperial throne, but at the
end of three months he was murdered and his
body thrown into the Tiber. Three days after
this event, the Vandals advanced against the
city. The Roman liishop, Leo, and a proces-
sion of the clergy came forth, and in the name
of religion and humanity demanded that the
inoffensive should be spared and the city saved
from nun. Genseric promised moderation,
liut vain was the pledge of barbarism. For
fourteen days and nights Rome was given up
to indiscriminate pillage. The treasures of
the Eternal City were carried ou board the
Vandal ships, and wanton destruction, fire,
and murder added to the horrors of the sack.
LMVKRSAL HISTORY.— Tin-: MODKRX WORLD.
She thul hud <k->i.uikMl the i.ali..ii< wa. in her
turn outraged and h-t't lyin- \n hur own Ijloud
by the bank:^ uf the I'ilnr.
From this time, \nv a [.rriod of eight years,
the Vaudals beeamr ihi- terror of the .Medi-
terranean. The <-oa,-i> of Spain, Lignria,
Tuscany, Campania, Lueania, Bnittium, Apu-
lia, Calabria, Venetia, Daliiialia, Epirus,
Greece, Sicily, Sanli'nia, and indeed of all the
couutries from (nin-altar to Egypt, were as-
sailed by the piratieal erat't of (u-nserie. With
all of his con. pi. -t- aii.l predatory excursions
the Vandal kin- .-h..\ve.l himself capable of
policy and statecraft. After the capture of
Rome, he took the Empress Eiidoxia and her
daughter, Eudocia, to Carthage. He com-
pelled the young princess to accept his son
Hunuerie in marriage, and thus established a
kind of legitimacy in the Vandal government.
Eudoxia and her other ilaughter, Placidia,
were then restored iVom their captivity.
The separation between the Ea.stern and
Western Empires had now become so com-
plete that the one couhl no longer depend
upon the other for succor. The West was
thus left to struggle with the barliarians as
best she might; nor were her appeals for aid
much regarded liy the court of Constantinople.
The warlike Count Ricimer, leader of the bar-
barian armies in Italy in alliance with Rome,
was reduced to the necessity of tendering tbe
submission of the country to the Eastern Em-
peror as the condition of protection against
the Vandals.
On his return to his African kingdom,
Geuseric again found himself embroiled with
his Catholic subjects. The orthodox bishops
openly disputed with his ministers in the
synods, anil the king resorted to persecution
as a means of intellectual conquest. In the
reign of Huxxeric, who succeeded his father
in the year 477, the Catholic party was still
more seriously proscribed. Many were exiled,
and a few were tortured on account of their
religious creed. After the death of Hunneric
in 484, the tlii-..n.. .l.-c.ii.le.l successively to
his two neph.ws. (iiNDXMfVD and Thrasi-
JttTXD, the former ol' wlioni reigned twelve
and the latter twenty-si'ven years.
This period in Van.lal history was occupied
with the (piarrek ami war- of the Arian and
orthodi>x parties in the Chur.-h. ^Meanwhile,
Hi
Hunii
majority, and alter the death of his cousin
Thrasimun.i, in rrl-), acceded to the throne.
His disposition w;is much more humane than
that of his predecessors, but his goodness was
supplemented by feebleness, and, after halting
through a weak reign of x-v.ii years, he was
supphmte.l ..n the thn.ne by hi- ,-..u.-ili ( Je-
l.iMi;i:. The end of the Van.lal power. h..w-
ever, was already at hand. raitjy with a
view to exterminate the Aiian heresy, and
partly for the purpose of restoring the suprem-
acy of the Empire throughout the West, Bel-
isarius was disjjatched into xVfrica and
intru>te.l with the w.irk of recoiKpiering the
c.iintry. The years .530-5o4 were occupied
by the great general in overthrowing the do-
minion established by Genseric south of the
Mediterranean. Gelimer was driven from the
throne, and attempted to make his escape to
the capital of the Visigoths in Spain. He
made his way as far as the inland districts of
Nuinidia, but was there seized and brought
back a pri.soner. In the year .534, Belisarius
was honored with a triumph in the streets of
Constantinople, and the appearance of the
aged Gelimer in the captive train was a notifi-
cation to history that the kingdom of the
Vandals existed no longer.
The origin and course of the Fraxkish
Nation down to the time of Clovis has already
been narrated in the preceding pages.' It
will be remembered that, after their settlement
in (iaul in the beginning of the fifth century,
the Franks were ruled in the German manner
liv a noM.^ fannly, which traced its origin to
the prime ^NIeroveus and was known as the
]\Ierovingian House. The chieftains of this
family were elevated on the bucklers of their
followers and proclaimed kings of the Franks.
They were represented as having blue eyes
and long, flaxen hair, tall in stature, warlike
in (lisi)osition. Ci.. uu. ix, the first of these
kings, held his e..\i)t at a t.>wn between Lou-
vain ami Brii»el>. His kingdom is said to
have extende.l from the Rhine to the Somme.
On hi- deatli the kingdom was left to his two
sons, the ehler t)f whom appealed to Attila,
and the younger — Jleroveus — to the court of
Rome. Thus was prepared one of the condi-
tions of the Hunnish invasion of Gaul. Of
' See Bo..>k First, p. 37.
BAHBABIAX ASri:XI>EMT.--KIX(^DO.U OF TlIK Fh'AXh'S
the ieiti:n of ]\Iu(i\eu>. not nuK h i^ kiKiwn
The uext i5(i\eieign, named Childfrr, was
banished on account of his Aouthful follies
For foui \eus he Ined m letuemeut m Gei-
111 iu\, where he aluised
king of the Thuriii-i^
his quetn wh i i |
into Gnil Ot thi-
ll his way
l.nni the
THIS DIDs-l TH
UXI VERSA L HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
pi-iuce KllLODWlG, 111- C'i.OVl<, \vlii> i-^ n-ai'lcd
as the f.uin.U-r of ihe Krauki-li inniKUx-hy.
Ill III,- your 4M lu' su<tcim1,mI his fatluT in the
frdveniiiieiii, lieing tlieii liut lilieeii years
.li-l...Mtio
(.lie ol' h
was a warrior tn>iii lii--
yniith. His
eaptiiied the
ealhe,ln,l
nf it> trc
of Kheims ami ihs]ioi
i>iires. Among tlie ri
eil the altar
•li 1 tv was
When it
kin--a^
whieii n
■ us vase of ,<:-reat ~i/'
,-aiue to a .livi-ion nf
,iii-t that usi-e ,.f tlie
,nii-.-a that all the s
aii.l value,
the spoil, the
H.ils of war
^^hoiil.l K.
hiiii^elt.
.livi.h.l hv l,,t— ~ou-h
F,,i- the l.i^ho|, nf l;lu
the vase for
iiiis had sent
to liiin a
les, ,rni
h>, an.l Clovis wouh
of the price-
1 fain make
friend- with the Christian iiehleiaau. But
,,iie nf the Franki>h chiefs struck the vase
with his l,attle-axe and destroye.l it.
Clovis was greatly angered, hut for a while
concealed his wrath. lu the course of time
there was a military inspection of the Franks,
anil when the king came to examine the arms
>,r him who had l.)roken the vase he found
thciii ru-ty and unfit W- use. He wrenched
the hattle-axe out nf t',e hands of the chief
and threw it on the ground, and when the
owner >tnnped to recover it dashed his own
]i..iidirnus weapon into the skull of the stoop-
in- warrior. '-Thus," said he, "didst thou
to the va.-e at Sni-smi-." N-.r did any dare
tn rcM'iit the murder of the chief.
At the time of the accession of Clovis the
kin-dnin of the Franks embraced only the
|irnvinccs nt' Tournav and Arras, and the
nunihcr nf Clnvis's warrinrs di.l nnt, j.erhaps,
ex<'eed five thousand. It was, however, a
part of the freedom of the C4erman tribes to
attach themselves to what chieftain soever ap-
peared most worthy to he their leader.
At tii>t (/lovis was a snldiia- of fortune. In
his earlier expeditions an.l cniKpiests the
spoils nf battle were divided among his fol-
lowers. Discipline, however, was the law of
his annv. and justice the motto of his govern-
in. .nt. His a>'cen.haicv over the Franks and
other (iernian tribes -non became the most
marked of any thus tar witnes>ed since the
after his acce-.-ion t.i aiithorilv, Clovis was
obligeil to cnnten.l for his rights with the
l\(jmau .Syagrius, who claimed to be master-
general of Ciaul. That elenjeut in Gaulish
society, however, which was represented by
Syagrius had .so greatly declined in numbers
and influeuce that Clovis gained an easy vic-
tory, and his rival was delivered over to the
executiniier.
The next conflict of the king of the Franks
was with the Alemanui. This strong confed-
eration of tribes claimed jurisdiction over the
Khiiie from its sources to the Moselle. Their
aujii ,-,-ions in the kingdom of Cologne brought
th. Ill into lonllict with Clovis, and the latter
defeated tlieiii ill a great battle fought iu the
].lain of Tolbiac. The king of the Alemanni
was slain, and his followers were obliged to
submit to the conqueror. The result of the
conflict was so lar-reaching that Thcodoric
the fireat .sent his congratulations from Ka-
veniia.
In the year 496 Clovis was converted from
paganism to Christianity. In the mean time
he had married Cleti. ua, a Catholic princess,
niece of the king '" Burgundy. It was
through her instrume •tality that the king's
mind was gradually w m from the supersti-
tions of the North. The tradition exists that
in the vnsis of the battle of Tolbiac, when
the kingdom as well as the life of Clovis was
hanging in the balance, he prayed aloud to
the "God of Clotilda," whereupon victory
declared in his favor. The pious warrior
could do no less than recognize his obligation
by accepting the religious faith of his queen.
It appears, moreover, that the doctrines of
Christianity had already difl'used themselves
not a little among the chiefs of the Frankish
nation. Though it was anticipated that the
conversion of Clovis would be illy received
by his people, yet the opposite was true. The
chiefs of the Franks applauded his course and
followed his example. In the year -196 Clovis
was puldicly baptized in the cathedral of
Rheims, and the officiating bishops and priests
spared no pains to make the ceremony as sol-
emn and magnificent as possible. Three thou-
sand of the principal Franks were likewise
baptized into the new faith.' Thus, nominally.
It is narrated that Clovis was greatly excited
hi-arinsr repeated the tragic story of tlie cruci-
iin of Chri.st. His feelings were a mixture of
BAEBARIAN ASCEXDEXCY.—KIXiWOM OF THE FEAXKS.
at ler
the m
,f Cl..vi
kiugilom estab
was plautC'il up
thfully lui
d cluURtLl
suhjett A\
Ih
Christianity.
It couia not lie tri
ever, that the lives a
Fraukisli kin.u and hi.-
modified liy their conv
raauaers aud coarse iust
still coutiiiued to predoi
the o-radual influ-
ences of enlighten-
ment dispelleil the
darkness of heath-
enism. The rei-'u
of Clovis thus he-
came a mixture of
Christian professijo
and pagan practices.
He accepted the mir-
acles performed at
the holy sepulcher
at Tours liy St. Mar-
tin, and drank in
the entire supersti-
ti<in of his times.
Hi' ivreived from the
Catholic clergy the
title of Eldest Son
of the Church; for
he was the first of
the pagan kings to
accept the doctrines
of Christianity as
they were promul-
gated from the See
of Rome.
But neither the
professions of relig-
ious faith, nor the
baptismal ceremony,
nor any humanity
in the king himself
preventeil him from
imbruing his hands in the 11 d ft the
innocent. He assassinated all the pimce t
the Merovingian family as coollj and delib
erately as though he were an Oriental de pot
nor was any human life or inteiest permitted
t) tml l)et\\iin him ml In puip e In
tlu ^eii 447 the \imoiKin an eie obliged tr
ubniit to the new Fieuch moniichv About
tlu tme time the iemimiu_ tioo]~, md gai
11 m withm the hunt t ( ml \\ it o^el
1 \\ It 1 I \ the Ii ml III tiiitli 1 npie t-,
(-l)M extended hi iuthoiit\ (\ti the noith
eui pioMute and in 4'^!'^) lit be_an ^ai on
Ciuudi bild king of the Buuuudiiii In the
Christian pathos and Imrharian vengeance. "Had
I been present with my valiant Franks," he ex-
claimed in wrath, " I would liave revenged his
injuries."
If iliii t tint 111 ini h a pie\iou ly in those
t the 1 111 (t tht Iimk leligiou chmor
^\'i at It htuht bttween the C itholic and
\nin piiti The 1 in„ adhered to the lat
tei an 1 tht t imei h uing a natuial affiln
tion with CloMs 1 t^ood excu e wa gi\en to
the king of the Franks for undertaking the
war in the name of religion. In the year
•500 a great Ijattle was fought between Langres
■i-.'A
rXIVKliSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
and Dijon. Vi
guu.lyiMcanu-
a .^liiirt time < u
which were ii
the war was ii
contiuued his
n.,u.rnr, ami
iM, liowever,
til hi> death,
, .Sigismund.
Burguudians
was destined X" cxtiinlinii. In tlie year 5o2,
an army of Frank- wa.- Ird inln th'' t-nnntry,
and Sigismund was driven IVimi tliL- tlirctne,
captured, and, with lii- wife and two children,
buried alive in a well. The Burguudians
were still allowed to enjuy their hieal laws,
but were otherwise inrorporatfd with the do-
minions of the eon(|ueror. There thus re-
mained to the sous of (.'lovis a realm almost
as broad as the Republic of France.
In the mean time Clovis had established
his cajjital at Paris. In the first quarter of
the sixth century occurred the great struggle
between the Goths and the Franks for posses-
sion of the country uorth of the Alps. A
personal interview was held between Clovis
and Alaric on an island in the Loire. Many
were the mutual professions of kingly and
brotherly affection between the two distin-
guished monarchs, who each hid beneath the
cloak of Christian regard a profound and
settled purpose to undo his friend at the first
opportunity. In the year 507 a great battle
was fought about ten miles from Poitiers, in
which the Franks were completely victorious.
In the next year the kingdom of Aquitaiue
was overrun by Clovis and annexed to his
dominions. Hearing of these great conquests
and especially delighted with the Christian
profession of the king of the Franks, the Em-
peror Anasta.sius, looking out from Constan-
tinople to the west, conferred u])on him the
imperial titles. The king entered the church
of St. Martin, clad liinwelf in purple, and was
saluted as Consul and .i((;/"•^'"•^■•
Something was still wanting to complete
the establishment of the French monarchy,
and this was >u|)|ilieil a quarter of a century
after the death of Clnvi-. The city of Aries
and Marseilles, the la-t strongholds of the
Ostrogoths in (iaul. « -v Mirren.lered to the
Franks, ami the tran>rer was sanctioned liy
Justinian. The |>e(j|ile of the provinces beyon<l
the Alps were al.-olved from then- allegiance
to the Emperor of tin' Ea>t, and by this act
the independent s<,vereignty of the Franks
was \iitually recognized. So complete was
the autonomy of the new government that
gold coins, stamped with the name and image
of the ^Merovingians, ])assed current as a meas-
ure of value in the exchanges of the Empire.
The settled state of afiairs which thus super-
vened among the people of Gaul, contributed
]io\M'rfiilly to stimulate the nascent civilization
of the tpoeh. Already under the immediate
suceess(]rs of Clovis, the Franks or French
became of all the recently barbarous peoples
of the North the most polite in manners, lan-
guage, and dress.
It may be interesting in this connection to
add a few i)aragraphs respecting the growth
of law, and, in general, of the social usages
which prevailed among the barbarian peoples,
especially among the Franks, in the times of
the Merovingian kings. Before the elevation
of the House of .Meroveus, namely, in the
beginning of the fifth century, the Franks
appointed four of their sagest chieftains to
reduce to writing the usages of the nation.
Their work resulted in the production of a
code known as the Salic Laics. These statutes
were reported to three successive assemblies of
the people and were duly approved. When
Clovis became a Christian he found it neces-
sary to modify several of the laws which
touched u])on questions of religion. His suc-
cessors in the kingdom further revised the
Salic code until in the eoure of a century
from the time of Clovis the statutes were
reduced to their ultimate form. About the
same time the laws of the Ripuariau Franks
were codified and promulgated ; and these two
bodies of law were made the basis of the legis-
lation of Charlemagne. It will be remembered
that when the Alemanni were conquered by
the Franks they were permitted to retain their
own local institutions. The same was true in
the case lif the coiKpiest of the Bavarians.
The ]\Ierovin-ian kiniis took care that the laws
of the two peoples last mentioned should also
be conq.iled as a part of th; local statutes of
the kin-dom. lu the case of the Visigoths
and the liuigundians, written legislation had al-
reaily ju-eeeded the Prankish conquest. Among
the former ] pie King Euric himself was the
trilial leud^lator, bv whom the immemorial
BARBARIAN ASCEXDEMV.—KIXGDOM OF THE FRAXK>
4:>"'i
usages of his nation were redueeil to statuti in-
form.
In general, the barl.iarian hi\v> wcri' such
as sprang necessarily out of the eniiditions
present iu their rude society. Each tril)e iiad
its local customs and usages, which iu the
course of time obtained first the sanctinu of
observance and then of authority. Whm th.-
kingdom was consolidated under the Mimviu-
gians each tribe was permitted ti> retain its
own laws; nor did Clovis and his successors
attempt to exact tiniformity. The same free-
dom which was thus extended to the various
nations composing the Frankish power was
conceded to the different classes of society.
In some sense there was a law for each member
of the tribe. Individuality was the essential
principle — -free doom the first thing consulted
in legislation.
The barbarian customs were persistent —
transmitted from father to sou. The child
received and followed the law of the parent;
the wife, of her husband; the freedman, of
his patron. In all procedures the preference
■was given to the defendant, who must be tried
in his own court, and might choose the law
under which he w'as prosecuted.
The peculiar vice of the barbarian legisla-
tion was the fact of its being jiersnual. Crime
was regarded as committed against the indi-
vidual, not against society. This led inevitably
to the substitution of private vengeance for
public punishment. As among the American
aborigines, so among the ancient Germans,
revenge was regarded as honorable. Society
conceded to each the privilege of vindicating
his own rights and punishing the wrongdoer.
The individual executor of the law was thus
in his turn subjected to the will of the kins-
men of any whom he had punished. Venge-
ance and counter-vengeance thus became the
common methods of obtaining redress. The
lex talionis was the law of society. To the
extent that this principle prevailed the magis-
trate was reduced to an advisory officer, whose
duty was to mediate between man and man,
rather than enforce by authority a common
law upon all.
Growing out of these vicious principles was
the idea present iu nearly all the barbarian
codes that human life might be measured by
monetary valuation, that blood had its price.
The admission of this elrninit into the legis-
lation of the Germans left the lu'iiiciple of hue
and forfeiture as almost the only rcstniint
against the commission of criiin'. K-M-h mem-
ber of society was permitted to take the life
of the other, subject only t" hi< aliilitv to pay
the price of the deed. Every ]M'ison was ajv
praix'd for criminal purposes. I'poii thi- life
of t-ach was set an estimate, and this i stiniate
was freely admitted as the liasis of crinur.al
proceedings. Of the Aiilrii^tiiiii<, or persons
of the first rank, the lives were ap[>raiscd at
six hunilred jaieces of gold. The next grade
of persons, embracing those wiio >at at the
king's table, were listed at one-half as much as
the Antrustions. The ordinary Frankish free-
man was reckoned as worth two hundred
pieces of gold, while the lives of persons of
inferior quality were set at a [irii'e of a hun-
dred or even fifty pieces. Ju general, the
commis.sion of crime against the life of a per-
son was followed by the payment of a fine
equal to the price at which the murdered man
was appraised. It was perhaps fortunate that
this irrational and inadi'ipiate punishment was
reenforced by the fear of that personal venge-
ance which might in turn be taken upon the
murderer.
With the lapse of time greater rigor was
introduced in the administration of justice;
and by the time of the ail vent of ( 'harlemagne
legislation had tlir the most part lieeome im-
per.sonal — that is, punishment was thenceforth
inflicted in the name of society, ..ml not in the
name of the individual.
In the sixth century the law was generally
executed by the duke or prefi't ot' tiie county.
The judge was nearly always unlearned, pas-
sionate, perhaps vindictive. The methods
employed in the alleged courts of justice were
worthy of a barbarous age. The defendant
might introduce his friends as witnesses, and
prove that they believed him innocent! If as
manv as seventy-two persons could be iound
so to testify, it was sufficient to ab^jlve an
incendiary. It was found that the barbarian
I conscience was a very indifferent .safeguard
against the crime of perjury. In order more
certainly to obtain the truth, tw - new methods
were invented of putting tlu' jiartie^- to the
test. These were known by the common name
of the ".Judgment of God." The first was by
UXIVKHSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
fire, the see<.ii.l l.y nvuI.t. Tl
put tn the tcsl (if liaiKllillL:-
1 -111. Ill the -ithri- ,-aH- thv
. |„U iiitu th.- w:il, r. Shoul.l he
,|,, the j.Ml-iii.-nt \va-, -V../ CnUtu:
iltnl,ut..l' to ihr hnvuiver Guii.hj-
.1, ki
Annt
■ iirial rolllhal. Ill
xpeetetl to confrout
thi- arcii- I-, aii'l to \iii.li(aie his iuuoceuee by
hatth-. 'I'hi' ioiiil,ataiit< met each other on
foot or. .11 hoi-.l.ark. aii.l foiidit, eaeh aeeonl-
iiiu- to tho IN. tho.l of hi. own coniitryiiH-n;
an. I ill.' eourt a.ljii.l-.'.l that h.- wli.i f.'ll was
th.Ti-iiiiiiial. Thi< inati.mal aii.l .a-u.'! in.thoil
of .l.-,-i,li„- .li>|,ut.'~, h.'-.,tlrii, as it was, Ijy
i.-iiora an. I eia.lh-.l \\\ superstition, siiread
thi'.iii-h..iit all thr >tati- of Europe, and con-
tiiiii..! 1.1 pn-vail for many eenturies. Nor
mi:;ht th.- w.-ak, ex.'ci.t l.v 'th.' aid of a eliam-
pi.m, h..|i,. t.i e.iiiteii.l sueee.>fully with the
vi.pl.aii;.' of th.' >ti-oii!j: oppressor.
A- till- lia.k a~ the days of Ariovistus, a.
claim uas ,-ial.li>h.-,l liy "tlie Germans upon
th.- hin.U of (raid. At tir~t on.-tliir.l. and
afterwai'.l- tu.i-thir.l^. of the t.-rrit.n-y of the
vSeipiaui were a~>i-iii-.l to the warriors Ijeyond
the Rhine. Aft.-r tiv.- hundred years these
claims, once i-.-.-ouni/.i-d. were reasserted by
the Vi.-i'ji>ths ail. I 1 iiir-iin.liaiis, and became
the liaM. of th.- ,-ul.-.-.|U,-nt Ian. I titles of Gaul.
At the tinii- of tin- Fianki~h invasion, the
rijriitsof theori-inal (iaiil- and i;.imaii> c.-as.-d
by ('!.ivi> to his t'.ill.i\vi-i-s has already been
mi-ntioii.-.l. The Mi-niviii-jian princes took and
retaiii.-il lari;.- .lomains out of the comniered
ten-it. iry. Tlu-y also a-iiiii.-.l th.- ri-jht ..f .-.,ii-
feri-iiiu- ii|..iu the Fi-anki.h nolil.- (-.-itaiii lan.N
call.-.l h.n.fu:.. vvhi<-h w.-n- t.. lu- li.-l.l in tli,-
t;-ii.lal fa-lii..ii .,1, th.- r.,i,.liti.,i,s of military
s.-rvi.-.- an. I leuna-.- t-i th.- .iiz.-rain. B.-si,les
tilt- royal i->tat.-> an.l beiiefi.-iary lands, two
oth.r (-la».-s ,if till.-, kn.iwn as the alh„r,al and
S,„r,r ,„,.,...Moi,, w.i-,- ab.. r.-r,,-nized. Already
tin- sv.^t.-iii of F.-ii.lali-m mi-hl lie .M-en o.izin-
out .if bai-bai-i.- Fi-ai,.-.-.
The .M-stem of -lav.-rv wa^ a.lopte.l bv the
Franks as well a,~ bv th\- i;,,maiis. Th,-' bar-
lui-ed to M-i-vitnde the prisouere
ar. In general, however, the cap-
L-.lneed to .serfdom were attached to
• f their masters, and were heiice-
l(-.l a> liel.im:iii- t.i till- land rather
t to p.i->oiial owiii-r.-hip. Still the
th,- di.
-s oi
The consoliilatincr and civilizinjr fiirces which
began to assert themselves during the reign of
Clovis were greatly retarded after his death.
That event occuived in Paris in tlie rear 511.
Th.- kin- was buri,-d in th.- l.a-ili,-a ..f the
Holy Ap..~tl,-, which ha.l b.-.-ii ,i-.-<-t,-.l by
him at the instance of Glolihla. The king
lett tiinr sons as his siH-ce^-irs. The first,
named Theodoric, was born of a German wife,
who preceded Gloiihla. The other three,
named Childebert, ('lo.loinir, and Clotaire,
were the sons of the ipieeii. The unfortunate
policy was adopted of dividing the kingdom
among them. Theodoric received for his por-
tion parts of Western Gt-rmany and Aquitaiue,
to-.th.-i- with th.- c.ainlry bounded by the
lihiue an.l tin- ^leiise. Ghildebert reigned at
Paris ; Chxlomir, at Orleans ; and Clotaire, at
Soissous. The last uaiueil king was destined
to unite the dominions of his brothers with
his own.
At first the three sovereigns of Gaul formed
an alliance and made a succe.^sful war on Bur-
gundy, in the course of which Clodomir was
kill.'d. A. D. 531. Thereupon, Clotaire and
Chil.lL-bert conspired together to take his king-
iloin. The territory of the Orleans prince was
accordingly divided between Paris aud Sois-
sous. After this Childebert made an expedi-
tion into Spain, aud achieved .some success over
th,' Visigoths, but made no permanent con-
.|ii,->ts. Returning into France, a dispute arose
bit w, -ell him and Clotaire, and the brothers
1111,1, -It. i.ik t.i settle their troubles by battle.
But liefore the coutest vva.s decided, Chilrlcbert
died ; aud by this mortal accident, the French
territories of Clovis were again consolidated
in the hamls of his sou. Jleanwhile, the east-
ern part of the FrankLsh Empire, called Aus-
tralia, remained under the authority of The-
oiioric. Two of the s,ms ,.f Clo.h.mir aro.'^e to
claim the re.-titution of the (.)rleans lirovince
B ABB Am AS
ASCEXJ)Kycy.-
-KLXGDOM OF THE Fh'AXKS. 4Z
which had Ijelongf.l to thti
iatln-r; hut th.-v
the kingdom of Clovis in a single govern
were hunted down and iimr
Irivd hv C'l..tain".
ment.
A rebelliou headed by L'
iranine," th. kind's
Clotaire II. died in the year til's, and wa
soil, was next suppressed b}
• tlie roval arniv ;
buried in th;_' seiiulchcr of the Meinviu-iun
and the disloyal prince, together with his wife
at Paris. He was succ.-cded in the -nvern
and children, was burned a
live. Theodoric's
ment by his son Dagobei-t I. Ilifor,' the deat
crown descended to his gi
audson, who died
of his father, namely, in (i22, lie had h.ei
without issue, and IBH
IBIiiimmHBBlMB
iWiiii iiiiiiiiiffliMBiiSBBsriiifciJ'iiiiw iiMiiiiiiiiP^iroiiiiMiB'B^M
Austra-ia al.n was H
hhI^EBbh
E^^i^^^^^^^^^^Hi^^^iHl
added to the kingdom HH
HhhBBBB
H|^^^Hn^^H^ra^KraH^^^^
ofClotaire, wdiichnow |^|
^^HHR^HH
Bi^M^^Hml^^M^K^^H^^^
equaled in extent the
^H
I^Hffiffl^^H
^SHR^^H^B^^HI^^^^B
realm governed by
HI
|PBiilE|^H
H^PHI^^H^^^^^^^^S^^RI
his father. His reign
HB
||^p^Hh|hj|
sBB^Im^^^^^^^W^^^ |t^H||
was extended for three
m
h^hHIhh
^^H^B^^^Bw^ U ' f \ |li;if
years after the extinc-
Hi
||ji|||BHBH|
hBB^vV''
tion of the Austrasiau
IS
^ra^^H^BH
H|^^B||P|\
branch, when he died.
IB
BfflB^p^ftjII
i^^mHnll '^ t
leaving the Empire
HP
iilillfm^^HH
H^^^i t^J»^^^
again to be divided
B^
iBiBw^Hi
among his foui son--,
llllj
IH^^^HhIP
^^^^^^^^^ ^^"^^^^^^^j
Charibert, Gontian,
^H
IBBJIH^PP^
^^^^^^^^^^^•''^^^^^liiB^'" '
Chilperic and Sige
^B
l^l^^^wm
bert. These all be
Hk
HH^^^^K^J
^^^r^^^^^H
longed to the lace of
H|
hH'w
Eois FuineanU, oi
hI
$^^^^^^ ^^rJ^B^^^^^^^p
Eoyal Donothmgs as
^S
^^^^S} Sk
^^^^^^^l^^^^k^^^^^^^^ral
they were called, m
HI
^^^l^^^^m
'^^^m^^A^^^^^^^^^^m^^^
contempt of then m
^M
^O^^^^^K
^^^^^^^^^^^bM^^P^^^M
dolent disposition and
^9
^^^R-3-J^^
^ ^'"^^^W^^^^mHiii >W^^^M
slothful habits
^'^
^*^^~'^ ,
^ A^^^^M^^^^^flS
On the deith nt
,>~-*-^
'^^^^H
Chilperic the ciown
i^ec,^
des.vnde,! to 1 ,i„nd
t'lotaire, \\h<. it th.
4
^^^^
^^^HH
ripe age ot hjui
mouths, \\as left t i
^^^U^j^
'_yjv^^^^^^^pW|
the regency of hi-
~
~"'"^^' "" "^ ^^M^^^^^^^H
mother, Fiedegond i
>JY
At this time the An
trasian go\einment
r^J
was uudei the iegenc\
m=::^
^
of the Pi UK ess Biu
nehaut, \\hogo^elned
in the name of hei Liandso
IS rut^^.Ml the
let .iiizel 1 kin_ t Vu tn u ■\ftel the
two regents i wii bioke out
knidhd «uh the
1 .tist t tie kii. ^.^lstl,l ml l.ui unh
double feiocit^ of biibausm
Uld NN miinl.n 1
i 11 t D hut 1 1 hti t n 1 1 il 1 e
In the veil bl3 Biunehuit
« Is ,,\, l|„l^M ltd
I ht 1 tl 1 111 ] m f \ lUltlll ^ hi h
by the nobles of Buicrunih t
nd delneitd lut
hil 1 ten pieMoush issi ne 1 ti Clnulitit,
the hands of Clotiiie wlio
pnt hei to death
^^^s leinnexed to the consolidated Empiie
with an excess of cruelty.
Her extinction
D unbelt ] i(\td to be so\eui.ni of _ieat
removed the last obstat
le t.
the reuniting f
d iliti nl imbiti u He mil i i ni ital
438
LMVKRSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERX WORLD.
the mil:
patroiiiz
He 0111
revisc-il
earn I -I I
the <.>(
was tl
nxl tl
i-loin
of l,i>
.1 the Sol-
was well
.ul.lic and
plav..
. Th
te lii;-.
1 in li
•ni h.-
Striking
- conduct
invited to
acci'pi
then 1
He den in the jialaee. When Dagobert II. -^vas
isans. a-sa>sinated Pepiji and .Martin were honored
He with the title- of dnke- of the Franks. At
itutes the .siirie time tin- kin-ly title was abolished
in Au-tra-ia. In the year lj«0 Martin was
killeil in hattle, and I'epin liecame master of
the state. The Uerinau tribes ou the border
had now become hostile, and Duke Pepiu was
obliged to exert himself to maintain his east-
ern frontier. In i;s7 h<- inflicted a .signal
IS and defeat on the enemy, and then invaded the
eeame territorv of Xeii^tria. He met the f .rces of
I. MEROV.ffi;US, 458.
2.CH.L.,eI,,s:.
3. Clovi.*. Sll-fl.oTrLDA.
1 ' ' 1
4 TlliniU:V I. .'tl.".. 4. ei.nuullIP.. r,4J 4. 1 HILDEBEET. .MS. 4. Cl.oTAIRE I., 561.
5. CH.tElIiEP.T I,. .>S.-.. .=.. (U--NTI1K.1M. .V.Kl. .^. ChILPERIC I.. .iSl-Bp.r-VEH.AlT. S. Sk.ebeRT I.. ,iM-FREDEGOXDE.
f.. Cl.eTAmE 11., WS r. . •■HLDEDERT II.. 6M.
i 1
610.
1 1
S. D.IUOBERT I.. r,:N. .V. 1 IIAKIBERT 11., 031. 7. ThEODEBEET, 613. T. THIERRY 11.
9. Sir.EBEP.T II,. iViO. 'J. (LOVIS II.. fi.V,.
10. ClOTAIRE III.. .■.:,!. 10. CHILDEBK II.. 67.S. 11. IlAGOBERT IT., 6T9.
12. Thierry III., 691.
13. fI.ovisIII..69n.
1
1 I 1
!•!. riiiM.F.r.Er:T III . 711 15. Dagobert III., 715. 16. CiiiLPEKir 11.,
720.
THE MEROVINGIANS. 17. Thierry IV..
37.
EXPLANATION: I* f„, 'nr,,, TTT
Figures;;rfffrfin^na.i.^slnciir.alethenKmV>orthProien. . . 1.. i HIl.nERic 111.
siK-cmlinn " " " d,-»tp of denth or depontion.
•• prerrdlnn " and repeated indicate contemporaneous reigns
from « to IS are the Tl.iis Faineants
7S2,
for th
' time a k
tractei
wit
1 the
numlic
rle-s
con. -11
63S, a
id ^v
I- bill-
Pa~
siiii:-
iVer t
of Si,
ell.T
t II.,
who 1
i'ld
he th
he was
a>^a
siiiate
his bn
tlier
Mai-ti
office
had,
durin
ind of Onei
vear
the
<. He dii'd
It St. Di.iiis.
rief and inglorious reign
come to Dagobert II.,
from 674 to 679, when
Pepix of Heristal and
in, mayor of the palace. This
the alleged reigns of the
Bois Fa!neanis, become the most important in
the Prankish government. The mayor of the
palace was the great functionary of the state,
and the king with his imbecile glory was hid-
this province in the battle of Testry, and in-
flicted upon them a defeat so signal as to com-
plete at one stroke the conquest of Northern
France," as that territorv
Gaul, or "i;.
was then calhil.
Perhaps no otlur prince ever had more
"kings" at his di<po.sal than Pepin had. He
did not, after the manner of C'lovis, attempt
the extermination of the remaining Merovin-
gians, but permitted them each in his turn to
occupy the nominal throne, behind which he
himself stood a grisly terror. Tho kings
Thierrv HI „ Dasrobert II., Clevis IH., Chil-
debert'lIL, and Dagobert HI. were so many
BARBARIAX ASCENDEXCY.— KINGDOM OF THE EUAXKS.
royal puppets in the lumil.s of the great Fraiik-
ish master. Ouce a year, ou !May-ilay, wh.u
the national assembly was convened at I'aii-,
Pepiu would bring forth his little sovereign and
show him to the penpk'. After this ceremony
had been performed the king was sent l)ark
to the seclusion of his villa, where he was licpt
under guard, wiiile lV[iin conducted the aliiiiis
of state.
The period reaching from the year 687 to
712 was occupied with fierce struggles be-
tween the Franks and Frisians on the Rhine
frontier. The former, however, ha^■ing now
gained the strength of civilization without
having lost the heroic virtues of barbarism,
were more than a match for the savage tribes
whom they encountered in the north-east.
The Frisians and the Aleraauni were com-
pelled, after repeated overthrows, to acknowl-
edge the mastery of the victorious Franks.
Great were the domestic misfortunes to
which Pepin iu his old age was subjected. A
fierce rivalry broke out between his queen,
named Plectruda, and his mistress, Alpaida.
Grimoald, son of the former, the legitimate
heir of his father's power, was murdered ; and
the king was obliged to indicate a grandson,
Dagobert IK., as ids successor. The son of
Alpaida was Karl, or diaries, afterwards sur-
named Martcl, meaning the Hammer. When
in the year 714, the boy grandson of Pepin
acceded to power, he was placed under the
regency of the widowed queen Plectruda ; but
Charles Martel soon escaped from the prison
in which he had been confined by his father,
seized his nephew, the king, and drove the
queen from the palace. The way was rapidly
preparing for a new dynasty.
In his restoration to liberty, Charles was
aided by the Austrasians, who proclaimeil
him their duke. The Franks were now, as
always, greatly discontented with the rule of
a woman. Wherefore, when Martel led an
army of Austrasians into Neustria, he easily
gained the victory over the forces of the
queen ; and the Western Franks were little
indisposed to acknowledge his leadership and
authority. Becoming mayor of the palace,
he permitted Dagobert to continue in the
nominal occupancy of the throne. After his
death three other kinglets, Chilperic, Clo-
taipe, and Thierry, followed in rapid succes-
..■t>. Bn
when,
ilc clynav
V died.
the Ihn
e, and
lb', Jiin
self as-
allhirs, a
iid the
H.l ^vitl
. The
■iinrd to
accept
y retain
ng his
no successor was appoi
snincd supreme direct!
RiiU Faineants were
new monarch, howevt
any title of royalty,
rank as Duke of'the" Franks. "
Cn-vAt was the energy now disphived in the
government. This was the epoch' in which
the struggle began to he manifested between
the Frankish kings and their nobles. The
barbarian aristocracy was littlj disposed to
submit to the rule of a monarch. They felt
that their free doom was curtailed by the au-
thority of a king. Charles Martel was com-
pelled to take arms against the powerful
chieftains of Austrasia before they would
.*ubmit ; and the prelates of Neustria were in
like manner reduced to obedience. He was
also successful iu several campaigns against
the German tribes on the north-eastern fron-
tier ; but the great distinction of his reign
and glory of his own genius were shown in
his conflict with the ^Mohammedans.
The appearance in 8])ain of these fiery fol-
lowers of the Arabian Prophet, their victo-
ries over the Visigoths, and the establishment
of the Moorish kingdoms in the peninsula
have already been referred to and will here-
after be narrated in full.' Having conquered
Spain, the Moslems crossed the Pyrenees and
invaded Gaul. Their purpose of conquest was
nothing less than all Europe for Allah and the
Crescent. In the south of France a gallant
defense was made by Count Eudes, Duke of
Aquitaine, who in 721 defeated the Saracens
in a liattle at Toulouse, where Zama, leader
of the host and lieutenant of the caliph, was
slain. The Moslems rallied, however, under
their great leader Abdalrahman, and con-
tinued the invasion. Count Eudes called
loudly to the Franks for aid, and the call
needed no second ; for the Saracens had al-
ready penetrated as far as Poitiers, and the
kingdom was threatened with extinction.
Charles took the field at the head of his
Frankish and German warriors and con
fronted the Moslem host on the memorable
field a few miles north-east of Poitiers. Here,
■^ee Book Second, pp. 114-154.
■i4(
rXIVIJUSAL JIISTOL'V. — rJIK MODFJiS WORLD.
on the .'M nf Ortnl„T. ::;■_', was fuuulit .me
of the givat liattK- nf hi-lnry. in uhirli tlir
religious stains of ]uir.i|ir was lixiJ. All
day loug tiie coiillict raged with fury. The
Arabian cavalry beat audaciously agaiust the
ranks of the heavy-armed German warriors,
wild with their battli-axes dashed down what-
ever opposed. At .-unset the Ai'abs retired
to theii- own eanii). During the niglit some
u.entlv anuexe.l to the
Fi-a.iki.li domin'ion.-. Charles eontinn.Ml to
rule the empire until his death in 741, when
the gcjvernment descended to his two sons,
Carlomas, who received Au.stra.«ia, and Pkpin
THE .SiiOKT, to whom was assigned the remain-
der of the Frankish d.jnuni.m. The latter
soon obtained posse>,-ion of hi- Au>trasiau
provine
as wel
i-^ hi<
of the Moslem tribes fell into battle with each
other, and on the nion-.,w the host rolled back
to the south. Thus just one hundred years
after the death of the Prophet, the tide of his
conquests was Ibievcr stayed in the West.
In honor of his triunijih over the .Saracens,
Charles re.'eivd tli.' nam.' of the Hammer;
for he hail b.at. n tli.' infi.lels int.i th.' earth.
Without any impiihl.nt att.iiipt to jjursue
the MohanmH-dan li..nl. - b.v.m.l the limits of
safetn-, he nev.rllMl.-> piv-.d his a.lvantage
to the extent ..f ilrivin- lliein bey.m.l the
Pvrenees. The pr.ivin.-e of A.iiutaine was
nam. of kin;., and thu- be. ame the founder
of Tin ('\1J()\IN(.I\N D-i'N.\'!TY.
On hi- iii-t a. le^sion to power, Pei)in
adopted the ]ioli. \ of hi- immediate predeces-
sors and set up a AI. loMiiirian figure-head in
the i>ei-on of ( hil.l. ii, III. This poor shadow
of .111 . \tin. t Ilou-e wa- made to play his part
until th. Mar I'tl, when a decision was ob-
tiim.I f 1 Pope Zacharv in favor of the
( .11 lo\ III. 1.111 lamih . ( hihleric was thereupon
-hut up 111 a mona-ttn, and Pepin the 8hort
w I- .iiioint.il an.l (i..wn..l as king by St.
]'...nituc 111 tlu .ath..li il (.f S..issons.' He
BARBARIAX ASCENDEXCV. — THE AXGLO-SAXOX KIXdDOMS.
sigiializfil the tir.--t year of his reigu hy aii-
iiexiug to his tlomiuious the proviuee of Wep-
timaiiia, which for several years had been held
by the Saracens of Spain. In 753 he engaged
in a war with the Saxons, and compelled tluit
haughty race to acknowledge his supremacy,
to pay a tribute of three hundred horses, and
to give pledges that the Christian missionaries
within their borders should be distressed no
nil ire.
From the days of Clovis friendly relations
were cultivated between the Frankisli kings
and the bishops of Eome. After the defeat
of the Saxons, Pope Stephen III. made a visit
to France, and earnestly besought the aid of
Pepin against the barbarian Astolphus, king
of the Lombards. The Frank readily accepted
the invitation, and led an army into Italy.
Astolphus was besieged in Pavia, and smm
obliged to sue for peace. A favorable settle-
ment was made by Pepin, who then retired to
his own capital ; but no sooner was he beyond
the Alps than Astolphus violated the terms
of the treaty and threatened the capture of
Kome. In the year 755 Pepin returned into
Lombardy, overthrew Astolphus, comjuered
the exarchate of Ravenna, and made a pres-
ent of that principality to the head of tlif
Church. Thus was laid the fouudatimi of the
so-called temporal sovereignty of Rdnie.
Five years later the attenticiii (if I'c|.iii was
demanded by the condition of atiairs in Aipii-
taine. In that country a popular leader,
named Waifar, had arisen ; and under his in-
fluence the province was declared imlependent.
For eight years the war continued with vary-
ing succe.sses; nor was Pepin at the last able
to enforce submission until Iir hail procured
the assassination of Waifar. lii TCiS the king
of the Franks returneil to liis capital, where
a few days afterwards he dird at thi- ai^e of
fifty-three. The kingdom d.-rnnlid to his
two sons, Carloman and Caiolii^, or Karl,
commonly known as Charji-. or Karl the
Great, or still more generally liy his French
name of Charlemagne. — Such in luiefisthe
history of the Frankish kingdom from the
half-mythical and wholly barliarous times of
Meroveus to the coming of tliat great sov-
ereign, who by his genius in war and peace
may be said to have laid the political fnunda-
I tious of both France and CJermanv.
CHAPTKR LXX\"I.— The ^NOLO = SA>COX IvIMGnOMS.
) people of the English-
leaking race, the story
of the Anglo-Saxons can
never fail of interest.
Tlie hardy and adventur-
ous stock transplanted
from the stormy shores
ot' tlie iialiic to the foggy island of Britain
has grown into imperishable renown, and the
rough accent of the old pirates of Jutland is
heard in all the harbors of the world.
The native seat of the Anglo-Saxons has
been already defined. From the river Scheldt
to the islands of the Jutes, and extending far
inland, lies a low and marshy country, through
which the rivers for want of fall can scarcely
make their way to the sea. The soil is a
sediment; the sky, a bed of dun mist and
heavy clouds, pouring out their perpetual
rains. Ever and anon the stoi-m< mil in from
the North Sea, and the black waves jilunge
and roar and bellow along the coast. From
the first, human life in this low- and doleful
region has been an everlasting Inoil with
the ocean.
It was from these dreary regions that the
storm-beaten, war-hardened fathers of the
English race came forth in the middle of the
fifth century to plant themselves in Britain.
Nor was the natural scenery of the new
habitat, shrouded in fogs and drenched with
rain, girdled with stormy oceans and clad in
sunless forests, better calculated than their
original seats to develop in our forefathers the
sentiments of tenderness and refinement. By
the banks of the muddy Briti-sh rivers, and
on the margin of the somber oak woods, the
mixed trilies of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and
rXIVFRSAL HISTORY.— THE MODKIIX WORLD.
Frir-i;ms c.-talili-hcl tli,in>.lv, < an.l In-an to
the inandmiit is most jirotitalile and most
^\<n■k nut lh.> >.-v,iv lull -nin.! |.r..l,l,-in< nf
n.ihle ; th. y Lit tli-- eaiv .,f the land- and Hocks
En-lUli civill/alinii. Ol' Ihr iHi>Mnal c'liarac-
to tlu' women and .dave- s.-afaring, war, and
terijties and iiitrlK-ctiial l'.atiirr< of the race
l)illage was tlu'ir whole idea of a freeman's
much has hecn written, hiil nnihin^ ln-ttcr in
work. They <lashed to sea in their two-sailed
the way of description and analysis tliaii the
harks, landed anywhere, killed every thing;
essay of tlie eloiiucnt Taiiie. Of tlie Anglo-
and haviiej >acritiec<l in honor of their gods a
Saxons he savs:
tithe of their ]>risoncis. and leaving behind
"Hu-e wliite h..di.s. rnol-hlooded, with
theni the red light of their burnings, went
fierce blue cyis, reddi-li llaxin hair; ravenous
farther on to begin again. 'Lord,' says a
stomachs, tilhd with meat and cheese, heated
certain litany, ' deliver us from the fury of
1)V stron"- drinks; of a eold temperament.
the Jutes.' 'Of all Imrbarians these are
slow t 1 1 t 1 ] 1 ue to biutil
tion^e t of bol> an 1 heirt the mot for-
drill 1 tl t tl 1 li\ tlefeatuie
mihbk —we mi\ id 1 the most cruelly
whicl 1 t 11 t pe i\e lu tie
fei
CF THE \NCLO SAXON
Drawn bv A de Neu 1
race, and these arc what the Eomau historians
discovered in their former country. There is
no living in these lauds without abundance
of solid food; bad weather keeps people at
home; strong drinks are necessary to cheer
them; the .senses liccome blunted, the muscles
are braced, the will vigorous. In every coun-
try the body of man is i-ooted deep into the
soil of nature; ami in this instance still
deeper, because, being uncultivated, he is less
removed from nature. In Germany, storm-
beaten, in wreteheil boats of hide, amid the
hard-ships and dangers of seafaring life, they
were preeminently adajited for endurance and
enterprise, inured to misfortune, scorners of
danger.
"Pirates at first: of all kinds of huntinir
" When murder liecomes a trade, it be-
comes a pleasure. Aliout the eighth century,
the final decay of the great Eoman corpse,
which Charlemagne had tried to revive, and
which was settling down into corruption,
called them like vultures to the prey. Those
who remained in Denmark, with their brothers
of Norway, fimatical pagans, incensed against
the ('luistians, maile a descent on all the sur-
rounding coasts. Their .sea-kings, 'who had
never slept under the smoky rafters of a roof,
who had never drained the ale-horn by an in-
habited hearth,' laughed at winds and storms
and sang: 'The blast of the tempest aids our
oars: the bellowing of heaven, the howling of
the thiniilei-. hurt us n<jt ; the hurricane is our
.servant, and drives us whither we wish to go.'
BA NBA R I A X A SCEXD K.\( 'V.~ THE A XGL OS A X< ) X KIXOIX UIS.
"Behdl.l them n..\v in En-lan.l i,i..iv set-
tled ;in(l wealthier. I)<i you hn,k tu liiid
them mueh ehan.ue.l? Chan.ueJ it may l.r,
but t.ji- the worse, like the Franks, like all
barbarians who jiass from action to enjoyment.
They are more gluttonous, carving their hogs,
filling themsel'ves with flesh, swallowing down
deep draughts of nn^ad, alf, spieed wims, all
the strong coarse, drinks which they eaii pro-
cure; and so they are cheered and stimulated.
Add to this the pleasure of the fight. Not
easily with such instincts can they attain to
culture; to find a natural and ready culture
we must look among the sober and sprightly
populations of the South."
Such is a picture of the character and life
of the Anglo-Saxons when they began to possess
themselves of England. It was in the middle
decade of the fifth century of our era that the
half-civilized Celtic people of South Britain, left
naked by the withdrawal of the Roman legions,
and hard pressed on the north by the Picts
and the Scots, adopted the fatal expedient of
inviting to their aid the barbarians of the
Baltic. The tribes thus solicited were the
Jutes, the Angles, the Saxons, and the Fris-
ians. The first mentioned dwelt in the Cim-
bric Chersonesus, now Jutland, or Denmark.
Parts of Schleswig and Holsteiu were also
included in their territories. In the latter
country the district known as Angeln was the
native seat of the Angle.s. To the .south
of these tw(j regions, spreading from the Weser
to the delta of the Rhine, lay the country of
the Saxons, embracing the states afterwards
known as Westphalia, Friesland, Holland,
and a part of Belgium. A glance at the map
will show that these tribes occupied a position
of easy approach by sea to the British Isles.
At this epoch the condition of Britain
was much the same as it had been during the
Roman Supremacy. With the retiracy of
the legions from the island the life of the
British Celts liad in a measure flowed back
into its old channel. The institution of the
ancient race had been in large part revived.
Especially had the religions superstition of
the Celts reasserted its sway, and the Druidi-
cal ceremonial was again witnessed under the
oaks and I)v the clitis risiiii:- from the sea.
Here, as of" ol,l, the Drui.l priests by their
mysterious and often bloodv ritual reached
out the hand of iiower
sul.iects and swaycil thei
Albeit, ill matters of wai
were no match for the ru.
X<irtli, who now descended
•r men- savage
i-ions at will,
e lintid, Celts
nharians of the
ountless swarms
ujion the coasts of the island.
It is believed that Hengist an.l Horsa, the
leaders of the barbarian host which acce]ited
the call of the Celts, as well as a majority of
their followers in the first exjiedition, were
Jute>. With them, however, a large liody of
Angles from Holstein. and Saxons from Fries-
land, was joined in the invasion. So I'ame a
mixed host into England. At this time the
king of the British Celts was Vortigern.
Him the Jute chieftains aided in driving back
the Picts and Scots. When the island was
thus freed from its peril the Celtic king was
entertained at a feast given by Hengist.
Beautiful was Rowena, the daughter of the
warlike host. By her was the li.art of Vorti-
gern fatally ensnared. Ilunilily he sought
and gladly received her hand, and in proof ijf
gratitude he gave to the .lutes the isle of
Thanct. Here the invaders found a jierma-
nent footing and would not be dismissed.
Fresh l)auds were invited from the Baltic.
The fertility of expo.sed Britain and the
wealth of the Celtic towns excited the insatia-
ble cupidity of the barbarians. First quarrels
and then hostilities broke out between them
and the Celts. The sw.rd was ,lrawn. Vor-
tigern was deposed and his .son Vortimer
elected in his steail. A hollow and deceptive
truce was concluded, and the chief personages
on both sides came together in a feast. When
the drinking was at it height, Hengist called
out to his Saxons, "XiinpJ nirr f:rri.vas" (Take
your swords); whereupon each warrior ilrew
forth his i)laile and <ut down all who were
present except Vortigern. The result of the
first contest in the island was that all of
Kent, the ancient Cautinm, was seized liy the
invadei-s and ruled by Eric, the son and suc-
cessor of Hengist. Thus was estullli^hed the
first Saxon kingdom in England.
Thus for the predominating foreigners were
Jutes, mixed with Angles. This condition of
affairs continued ^yith little change for about
a century. In the vear 477 a
named Ella and his' tlnve sous
erful force of their countrymen
((uar
ixon
in whit w I- ifieiwiul- c r
Sav)ii\ llii- 'ii-t -itt'
UNIVERSAL mSTORV.-THE MODERN WORLD.
(\ ,11 S utli i-hii.l(.i Nl-i \ Jlui-tu i!i( CtltK popuk-
un'u In llK I tiou. had imiM.i.l.lN lu M th< ii own hut a
^r."'ii"\Nuh.iin_s 111 the I vcriou. fctui^'gk n .w 1h,ui h.i ih. i-o-t-i.^n
DRUIDS OFFERING HUMAN SACRIFICE.
Drawn by A^ tie NeiiviUe.
BABBABIAX ASCEXDEXi Y. — THE AXGLO-^AXOX KIXGDOMfi.
of Britain. Tlie native peoples tooli; up arms
and made a spirited resistance. A great bat-
tle was fought iu wliich the Saxons were vic-
torious, and the Celts were driven into the
forest of Andredswold. Meanwhile new bands
of Saxons poured into the island and joined
their countrymen. The British princes estab-
lished a confederacy, but Ella defeated their
army in a second battle and gained possession
of nearly the whole of Sussex. Such was the
founding of the second Saxon kingdom in
Britain.
The coast now in possession of the invaders
extended from the estuary of the Thames to
the river Arun. Near the close of the fifth
century the Saxon leader, Cerdic, with a sec-
ond army from the continent, landed in tlio
island and carried the conquest westward over
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to the river
Avon. Tlius was fnumh^l Wessex, or the
kingdom of tlie West Saxni,>. Wtst nf tlic
Avon the country was still held by the Brit-
ons, who now fought desperately to maintain
their frontier against the invaders.
North of the river Thames the first con-
quest was made in 527 liy the Saxon prince,
Ercenwine, who overran the flat country of
Essex, establishing here the kingdom of the
East Saxons. Subsequent conquests soon ex-
tended the Saxon border northward to tlie
Stour, which was maintained as the frontier
till 547.
The next descent made by the German
tribes from the Baltic was on the coast at
Flamborough Head. A long space was thus
left between the frontier of the East Saxons
and the scene of the new invasion. This time
the invaders were Angles. The wild country
between the Tees and the Tyne, embracing
the present county of Durham, was overrun,
and here was founded the kingdom of Bernicia.
The next incoming tribe was also of the Angle
race. The territory lietween the Tees and the
Humber was now occupied, lint not without a
long and bl.iody contest with the natives.
This region became the kingdom of Deira.
Near the close of the sixth century the
barbarians came in swarms. The most jiopu-
lous bands were out of Angelu. The names
of the chieftains by whom they were led have
not been preserved. The new-comers were
divided into two bauds, called the South Folk
and the North Folk. They overran the coun-
try between the Stowe and the Great Ouse,
including the present counties of Sull'olk and
Norfolk. This district constituted the state
of East Anglia. The country of which these
last invaders possessed themselves was almost
insular in its isolaticni from the rest of the
island. Around its westei-n frontier lay a
series of bog.s, meres, and lakes, and to the
defense thus naturally afibrded the EastxVngles
added a long earthwork, the line of which is
still plainlv to be seen, being known as the
Lhv;r.< DIW.
Still the northern tribes poured into the
island. In the beginning of the seventh cen-
tury the country between the Wash and the
Hundier, constituting the modern Lincolnshire,
was conquered, the same being the only chasm
now unoccupied by the foreigners between the
Avon of Hampshire and the North Umbrian
Tyne. Thi" northern l.onn.lary was now ex-
ten. led t.. the Frith of F,,rth.' In the year
G17 the Angles of Bernicia and Deira were
unitiMl and foinied into the kingdom of North
Undiria. The \vestern coast of England, from
the Frith of Glyde to the Land's End in
wall to the borders of llanqishire i-eiiiained in
possession of the Celts.
The inland frontier of the Saxon kingdoms
was for a long time wavering and uncertain.
It was ])erpetnally fixed and unfixed by the
varying fiirtunes of war. During the seventh
century a branch of the populous Angles
founded the inland kini^dom of jMercia, ex-
tending from the Sexci-n to tln' Humber, and
bounded on the west by ^\■ales. In this dis-
trict a war of conquest was not so violent as
in other jiarts of the island. A large propor-
tion of the original Celts remained iu their
homes, and were blended with the conquering
people. The jNIercian Angles are said to have
contributed more than any other of the north-
ern tribes to the genei'al subjugation of Britain.
Such was the Saxon conquest of England!,
and sui'h is the storv of the establishment of
the seven ]ietty kingdoms known by the name
of the HicPT.\RCHY. The movement of the
German tribes from the north occupied a pe-
riod of nearly two hundred years. More than
half of that time Cso stubborn was the resist-
ance of the Bri tains) was occupied with fierce
441 ;
UyiVKU^iAL lIlSTOltY.—TlIK MODKRy WOULD.
wars betwcfU tin- iiivuiliTs and the iiivudcd.
Of the pn-viniis hi-tniy nf iIr- J'.riti-h C h^
very little is kimun. Nn,- ,an tin- iradilinns
which have lic-m |.i-,m rvt-d (if the faiiiiiiis
Prince Arthur and hi> i-hivalnui,- kni-iits "f
the Round Table In- artnpted a-^ lii,-t<irical
truth. 01,1 British patri-tiMn ha- wi.v.n the
f.rtinn <.f a n.ythi.-al. national h.^m, wlms,-
aetual exi.loils wm- atn nd, d doulnh- with
the disasters and mi-fnitinn - of the Saxon
conquest, and mij;ht iu- r<-:iidid as heroic
only because they wrw- jh rfoinu-d iiy a patri-
otic and valnnnis prinre strivin-- to defend his
country.
It has been matter of dispute among those
who have most critically examined the history
of the Saxon Heptarchy whether the kini^s of
the different states were of r<|iial and inde-
pendent rank, or whether one was I'rcoL^iii/.iMl
as superior to the rest. Arrni-.TinL;- to luMle,
the Anglo-Saxon chronicler, one of liie princes
of the ^kingdoms held the tith' and rank of
Br'dwalda, or Wielder of the Britaius, being
sovereign of the rest. If, however, any such tie
of sovereignty bound together the several king-
doms of the Heptarchy, it was a very feeble
and ineffectual bond.
The first Britwalda, or ruler of Britain, is
said to have been Ella, the conqueror of Sus-
sex, who hehl that rank until r)]!). After this
for a consi.leralile period no prince was pre-
eminent. Then aro>e ('ea^^lin, king of We-ex,
who became Britwalda in 5i>'S, but his right
of sovereignty was disputed by Ethelbert.
jburth king of Kent, and a descendant of
Hengist. Hostilities broke out between the
two princes; but Ceawlin held the primacy
until his death in •')<):!. The office then fell to
Ethelbert. This prince took for hi> ,,n,.en tlie
beautiful Bertha, daugliter of Charibert, ..ne
of the i?oi> FahmmU of Paris. It was the
fortune of Ethelbert to be in authority at the
time when the forty Christian monks >ent out
set up the'-tandnrd of the en.-. Now it wa-
'that the Anglo-Saxon- wee induced to al.an-
don the super-iition- and piaciiec- of pagan-
ism and acce],! the. doctrine- of ( ■hri>tianity.
The lii-t three r.ritwaida— Ella, Ceawlin.
and Eth.ll.ert— weiv Saxon-, or Jute-. The
f ,urtli was Kedwald, kin- o|' East Anglia, who
is said to have obtained the -unrcnie rank in
the year (il7. His reign was occupied with
wars. iir,-t with the Scoi>, an<l afterwards with
Edilfrid, kin- of the ^orth L'nda-ian.-. wlnmi
he d.leate.l in a L:reat battle in Nottingham-
shire. .Xevertlu le- a few \ ear- later the othce
of IJrilwalda ].a--ed to Edwin, kin- of North
to the north of the i-land. The old hi.-torian
Eabyan ha~ tlii< to -ay of the peaceful reign
of Edwin: "In this time wa> mi great peace
iu the kingdom of Edwin that a woman might
grief or annovance; and f.r the refreshing of
wav--oer. tl.i'- lOdwin ordained at cl,-ar wells
Clip- or dl>lH- of brax or iron to l,e lastene.l
to po>t> standing by the said wells' si.Ies; and
no man was so hardy as to take away those
Clip-, he kept so good ju-stice." Such are the
sim]ile annals of a simjde age.
It was during the reign of Edwin that the
Isles ..f .Man and Anglesea were a.hled to
North I'mbria. So powerful became the king
that all the Saxon chiefs of South Britain
aeknowleil-ed hi- authority. In the year 633,
however, I'cnda, the Saxon king of 3Iercia,
relielled again.-t Edwin, and formed an alliance
with Cadwallader, king of Wales. In the
next year a great battle was fought at Hat-
field, "near the river Trent, in wlii.di Edwin
was ,l.t;at<'d and killed. Penda next inva.led
the cuuitry of the East Angles. In these
inovements he stood as the representative of
the' old paganism of the Angles. It was im-
]iossible, however, that the principles which
he repre-ented slionld make much headway
against the convertc-d nations along the coast.
In (;:^4 <)>wald. a nephew of Edwin, gathered
an armv, fell unexpectedly upon Cadwallader
and hi-' Wel-h in their camp near Hexham,
and routed them with great slaughter. Cad-
wallader hini-elt' was among the slain. The
tcnjpoi-.arv a-ccndency of Wales was destroyed.
(),-wald retook the territories which E.lwin
had !o-t, and he wa- r-o,,n afterwards recognized
a- Uritwalda of the Heptarchy.
In thi- epoch in the history of the Anglo-
Saxon fathers, churches and monasteries began
to lie built in various inirts of the kiuL'doms.
BAEBARIAX ASCEXDEXCV.~THE AXGLO-SAXOX KIXO'IXLMS.
447
sion of whose peojile aud those of "Wessex he
labored assiduously. The enertry "f his l"'v-
ernment cau uot be doubted. He eiiniiieilcd
even the Scots and Picts to aekuowletlye his
authority. In him rather than in any of the
preceding Britwalda might be recognized the
lineaments of a real king of the Angles.
In 642 Oswald was slain in Ixittle, where-
upon Penda, the pagan king of ^lercia, en-
deavored to regain his ascendency over the
Angles; but Oswy, the brother of Oswald,
rallied his countrymen, aud the Mercians were
beaten back. Osw}', however, was not recog-
nized as Britwalda. Under the repeated as-
saults of Penda he was re.stricted to the old
kingdom of Beruicia, while Deira was given
to a prince named Odelwald. In (l')'_' the
Mercian king again advanced into Xorth Um-
bria, laying waste with fire aud sword like a
savage. In his despair Oswy sued for peace,
which was granted un such terms as greatly
to weaken the North Umlirian kingdom. Two
years later, however, the compact was broken
aud a great battle was fought near York
between the Mercians and North Umbriaus.
In this conflict Penda and thirty of his princes
were killed. In gratitude for his unexpected
victory, Oswy established ten abbeys anil sent
one of his daughters to become a nun with
the Lady of Hilda.
Following up his success the victorious
Oswy inflicted a signal vengeance on the Mer-
cians. All the territory north of the Trent he
annexed to his kingdom, and soon afterwards
added the remainder south of the river. In
655 he assumed the ofEce of Britwalda, but
his claim was disputed by a rival. In the
following year the North Umbrians revolted
under Wulfere, sou of Penda, ami nut nnly
regained their kingdom, but also made a suc-
cessful conquest of a part of Wessex. Aliout
this time Oswy was greatly afflicted by the
revolt of his son Alchfrid, who demanded that
a part of North Umbria should lie given to
him in sovereignty. The king was obliged to
ciimply with the wi.sh of the rebellious prince.
jMeauwhile an epidemic called the yellow
plague broke out with violence, and for twenty
years continued to decimate the island. In
670 Oswy died, being the last of the Brit-
waldas, unless an exception should be made in
the case of Ethelbald, king of Mercia.
In the mean time a eDU-MJiduting tendency
had appeared among the states of the Hep-
tarchy. The seven kingdoms were reduced to
three. Kent, Sussex, Essex, and East Anglia
were swallowed up in North I'mbria, ]\Iercia,
and Wessex, which now biia the ruling
states of England. This fact of consolidation
greatly simplifies the remaining history of the
.Suxoii kingdoms, and further on we shall liiul
the tendency to union constantly illustrateil
until the final niereement in the times of
The successor of Oswy in N(jrth Umbria
was his son Egfrid. Scarcely was the latter
seated ou the throne when his northern fron-
tier was assailed by the Piet-. In (i71 they
were defeated by Egfrid's cavalrv and driven
to their own territories. Eight years after-
wards the king made war on Mercia, and his
army met that of his enemy on the banks of
the Trent. Here was touLiht another bloody
battle, in which many Itrave leaders ou each
side were slain. Peace was made by the in-
terposition of a Christian bishop, who induced
the rival Saxons to desist from further blood-
shed. In 685 the Picts and the Scots again
rushed down from the North, and were con-
fronted by Egfrid. This, however, was the
last of his battles. He was slain in a conflict
with Brude, the Picti.^h king.
Such was the violence of these times, that
of the fourteen kings who reigned in England
during the seventh century, six were slain by
rival competitors, generally their own kins-
men ; five were overthrcjwn by their rebel
subjects; two sought refuge in monasteries;
and one died with the crown ou his head.
Of such bloody materials was composed the
concrete under the heavy walls of the English
^Monarchy !
During the first quarter of the eighth cen-
tury, a dubious contest was waged lietween
the kingdoms of Jlercia aud Wessex. The
tide seemed to set against the lattei-, and the
kings of Wessex were reduced to a kind of vas-"
salagf!'. In 737, Ethelbald, king of Mercia,
was recognized as monarch over the whole
country south of the Humber, excej)ting
Wales. In the fifth year of that monarch's
reign, however, the Saxons of the West King-
dom rose against the Mercians and defeated
them in a creat battle at Buxfurd, in Oxford.
rXlVKRSAf. niSTonV. — THE MOf>Fl:.\ WORLD.
^hiiv. From
7.')7 t'
7! 14 tiie paramount au-
trie's noblemen, bn
th.-rity c,r .M(
rria w;
< a-aiu recognized, e:^pe-
was drunk i)y the k
t'ially in thr
ni-ii
of King Otfa, who, after
horrid manner. Th
subduing Sii-
-.x an
1 Kent, overran all that
rose against the b
part of the ki
i-.loni
,f\V,v-,.xon ih,. l,.ftbauk
she was expelled fr
of tlic Thanu'
. ilo
then n.adc war on Wales
to the court of C'hai
an.l .Irov.- tl
,. kin-
beyond the river Wye.
convent fu- securit_
Tlic country 1
ctwccl
that >lream and the Sev-
tion reasserted Itselt
cm \va^ lurn
an.-ntl.
■ occupied by .'^axou col-
of door.-, V,ar,^
onists. In o
arr to
secnre this r.'gi.m from
haggard and foih.
rcconqnrst, li
■ raUM_
1 a ditch and an earth-
.streets of I 'a via.
xvnrk to l,e ,1
rawn 1
,r a hundred ndlcs along
Learning of the
the W.i-h fro
iticr.
I'he line of thi> defcn.* is
returned IVom the
still tM 1.,. tra
n l!a-in-werke to Bristol.
kingdom of Wessex
Kin- (»tfa
\va- (•
died the Terrible. Well
subjects with grea
mi-ht h.- .->
lir n
inied by the yeomanry
without further oj
of Wahs wli
. man
• times felt his vengeful
prise wa- to e>tabli>
blow-. Tlln>
wimn
he met in battle he .slew,
.shir,, and on the si
ami the lapt
Vr~ he
reduced to shu-erv. Al-
had thi- work bee,
beit,lir\va>a
taritnr
i-pirit. always abonnding
sex wa- inva.hd 1
mistake the potion
king himself, who died in a
thanes and warriors then
inde.l
queen, and
kingd
■ m. Flying
e, she
vas sent to a
•e lier
bad dLsposi-
he wa
turned out
■ds >ll
■ was seen,
.ing 1
read in tlie
<,f Be.
It and
trie. Egbert
claimed the
tt J.
:ed
lirst
reputation other than that of a bloo.ly tyrant.
In the year 71(5 the king of Mereia died,
and the jiower which he had established by
his warlike deeds began rai)idly to decline.
At the same time X.irth Umbria fell into a
weak and helple.s condition. Meanwldle the
kingdom of We.ssex had been gradually gain-
ing an ascendency which was soon to be as-
serted in a still more .striking manner. At
the time of Otili's death the West Saxons
were ruled by Beotric. His right, however,
was di.-puted"by Prince Egbert, who, after a
short and un,-ucVc-,-fnl strngLde f .r the crown,
was obli-ed to s.uk saf.ty in l!i-ht. He found
rctiiL'e at the I'onrt of .Alercia, whither he was
fdlowed by the nie>,-enger.- of lleotric, who
demanded that the .<ax<.n refn-.'c >h<,uhl be
killed, and Eadbnr-ha. daughter ..f Otih, be
tlu' .Meriaan capital, Egbert Hed to the camp
of Charlemagne and took service in the army
(d' that great monarch. Beotric obtained
be the bane ..f the kin-doni. .'-^he instigated
her husband to the perpetration of many
crimes. She then became a murderess herself.
She prepared a cup of poison for one of Beo-
li- authority in Devon-
of Cornwall. Scarcely
•complished when Wes-
the Mercians. Egbert
now otablisheil his character as a great cap-
tain bv inflicting a decisive defeat on the en-
emy. Following up his advantage he subdued
the whole kingdom of Mercia, and annexed it
ernor f .r the country and others for East An-
glia and Kent. The country north of the
Humber was next invaded, and in a short
time Nortli Undn-ia was compelled to submit.
Eanred, the North L'mbrian king, became a
vas.sal of Egbert, whose authority was acknowl-
e<lged from Cornwall to the Frith of Forth.
Thus in the year 827 were the kingdoms
of the Saxon Heptarchy consolidated under a
single ruler. It was three hundred and
seveutv-six years since the landing of Hengist
and Hor.-a, and eleven years after the death
of Charlemagne. It will thus appear that the
tendency to political union was felt somewhat
later in England than on the continent, where
the great Frankish emperor had already estab-
lished a single rule over most of the barbarian
state-, l-^-bert continued to style himself the
king of We-ex and Britwalda of the Saxon
states. The nanu' of king of England was
reserved for his illustrious grandson.
For seven years the island enjoyed the
blessings (d' a government more regular and
exten-ive by far than any previously estab-
lished in Britain. Local insurrections here
and there were easily suppressed, and the En-
glish people began to feel the influence of
BARBARIAX ASCEXDENCY. — THE AXGLO-SAXOX KIXGDOMS.
4-19
civilizatiou. Sraively, however, bail this .-tate
of affiiirs superveiieil wheu the country was
profouudly s-hakeu by a new invasion from
the north. The Ani;lo-Saxons were in their
turn maJe tn f.'cl the iih.iws of hiwless bar-
in their native seats on the Baltic, t(j(jk tn sea,
as the Angles and Saxons had done, and threw
themselves on the shores of England.
Xo lirood of pirates more reckless, fierce,
and hardv had ever gone forth on the hazard-
ous seas of fortune. The first landing of
these Xorthmcn was eSected in the Isle of
Sheppey in the year 832. In the following
year a new band was landed from thirty-five
ships at Chartmouth, in Devonshire. Here
they were met by the army of Egbert, and,
after a stubborn conflict, driven back on ship-
board. The Saxons were astonished at the
ilesperate valor displayed in battle by their
new enemy. The whole coast became infested
with the sea-robbers, who captured, killed, or
destroyed whatever .-ame in their na.di. They
ma.le'a lea-ue with Cornwall, an.l in 834
landed an army in that country to cmiperate
with the Corni.sh king against Devonshire.
Egbert, however, was not to be discouraged,
much less alarmed, by the activity of the Danes.
The people of Cornwall were in a state of
comparative independence. They felt them-
selves well able to regain the political position
which they had had before the invasion of
Egbert ; but this hope was vain. They were
met by the Saxons at Hengsdown Hill, and
defeated with great slaughter. Great was the
misfortune tn AVessex and all England when,
in 83(3, the warlike Egbert died. It became
at once ajiparent that the kingdom which he
had lliunded had been maintained by his
genius and sword. Scarcely was he buried
until the supremacy of the West Saxons was
denied, ami the states began to reassert their
independence. The crown of the West Saxons
descended to Egbert's son Ethelwulf, who
began his reign by conferring the kingdom of
Kent on Jus son Athelstane. IMercia revolted
and regained her independence. Thus at the
very time when the piratical Danes were
swarming along the coast, that political union
by which only England might hope to protect
herself against the invaders was broken up.
FindinK that the o;reat Egbert was dead.
the Xdrthraen spread inland everywhere.
The southern jsarts of Wessex and Kent were
completely overrun, and a fleet of Danes sail-
ing up the Thames captured and pillaged
Lon.h.n. So desperate became the cndition
of the country that, in ^:A, the bish<.]is and
thaiics (if AVessex and Mercia met in a con-
urosut Kingsbury to devise means of defense,
liarhulf, king of JMercia, led an army against
the Danes, but was defeated and .slain. Better
success attended the campaign of Ethelwulf,
who, with his West Saxons, overthrew the
Northmen in Surrey, inflicting up(jn them
such a bloody defeat as they had never before
sufl'ered in the island. Another victory was
gained over the pirates at Sauwich by Athel-
stane. of Kent. Ceorl, chief of Devonshire,
also defeated the Danes at Wenbury.
Tile distractions of Fi'ance were at this
time such as to make that country a more in-
viting field than England to the rapacious
Northmen. In the time following their de-
feats they saile.I up th.' Seiu,., captured Paris,
and laid "the city in a~h. ~. j:nghuid was for
the moment relieved liy this diversion of her
enemies. Ethelwulf even found time to make
an expedition into Wales and to punish the
jieople of that country for a recent insurrec-
tion. He carried his banners as far as An-
glesey, and the Welsh were obliged to yield.
Returning from his war, Ethelwulf, whose
religious zeal was even greater than his mili-
tary abilities, determined to make a pilgrimage
to Rome. In the year 853 he passed over to
the continent, crossed the Alps, and reached
Rome, where he remained for nearly a year.
On his return into France, the aged zealot
fell in love with Judith, daughter of Charles
the Bald, of France. Obtaining her father's
consent, he led the princess to the altar of the
cathedral at Rheims, where they were married,
with a solemn ceremony.
Ethelwulf had five sons. Athalstane, the
eldest, who had been king of Kent, was now
dead. Ethelbald, the next of the brothers,
was ambitious to receive the kingdom from his
father. A plot was formed to anticipate the
course of nature by dethroning Ethelwulf.
The conspiracy extended over all Wessex. A
manifesto was issued, in which the direful
flagitiimsness of Ethelwulf was set forth in
this — that he had openly eaten with his French
450
queen at tin-
that the tu\
Alfred, 1km I
uyivKnsAL nisTnin:—THE moderx would.
Kii,
tlRi pujR. na.i am.
oil. It i# alMi t
king's first witi- ;
not yet dead, li
room for Judith.
The old kinsr
brni! in his kiiipl
divi.ion nf \Vr.,-,
was given to Ktl
long survive.
succeeded t(j
kin.L'dnni. 1
athv tn his
Hit
i greatly distraetrd hy the
Finally he agreed to a
by which the better part
)ald. Ethelwulf did not
He died in 857, and Ethelbald
the government of the whole
nnw appeared that his antip-
utherV Fivnrh -p'e.u was ,,,-
.k that
princess for lii.~ dwn witr, thus -etting at
defiance all emisisteney and law. Si. flagrant,
however, was this otlt^nse that the Church at
once lifted her hand and demanded a divorce.
Judith returned to France, and presently
f.und s,,larc with a third husband, Baldwin
of Anl.nnrs. Her >un luTanie ICarl .,f Flan-
ders, and married Elfrida, daughter nf Alfred
the Great, of whom was born that Maud, or
Matilda, who, as the wife of William the C.n-
queror, became the great mother of all the
subsequent sovereigns of England.
After a brief reign, Ethelbald was suc-
ceeded by his brother, Ethelbert. Meanwhile
the Danes returned in swarms and hovered
.und
d- from
pita! of
everv quarter. Winehe-tw, the
F>.ex, uas seized and l,un,e<l. hi MiT the
king died an.l \\a> sueeeed.<l by Ethelred.
During the iir>t y. ar c.f his reign he
fought nine pitched battles with the Danes.
Hundreds and tl,(iU>and,- of the inva.lers fell
under the swoiils of tiie Sax(jns, l)ut as soon
as one horde was destroyed another arose in
its place. As the war progressed, it became
contautly more apparent that the main reli-
ance of the Saxons mtist be jilaeed in Prince
Alfred, who in the fierce battle- longht by his
brother with the Danes disi)layed not onlv the
greatest courage but also the highest qualities
of generalship. In the fierce battle of Ashtoa
the day was saved Ijy hi^ valor and jires-
eiii f mind. In the year ^7n, two tierce
conflicts occurred in which the .Sixijiis were
defeated, and in the following year Ethelred
died. The crown then descended without dis-
pute to Alfred, the youngest and greatest of
the sons of Ethelwulf. For him destiny had
reserved a jnore distinguished part than for
any other sovereign of primitive England.
The events of his glori(nis career, and the cir-
cumstances attending the real founding of the
English jMoiiarchy will be fully narrated in
the Third Book of the present Volume. —
Such is a brief sketch of the principal states
and kingdoms founded by tho.?e l)arbarous
nations that converted the Roman Enii)ire
into a desolation and then estalilished them-
selves amid the ruin.
J3aok hmMj.
The Mohammedax Ascexuexcy.
CHA.F>TKR LXXX'II.— Cakkek ok the PROF'HET.
[OHAMMED, the sou of
Abdallali, of the tribe of
Hashem, was born iu
]\Iecca on the mideasteru
shore of the Red Sea, iu
the year 569. His in-
fancy was obscure and
I'tunate. llie tamily were poor Arabs,
and the child was afflicted with epileptic
spasms. His uncles and aunts, of the Hashem
tribe, declared him to be possessed of the
Djin, or Demons. So that from his childhood
he was looked upon with a certain measure of
superstitious dread ; but the boy proved to be
amiable, and the prejudice of his kinsfolk
against him was gradually relaxed.
The father, Abdallah, died when IMoham-
med was but two months old, and the child
was given to a Bedouin nurse, who reared the
little epileptic on a regimen of goat's milk and
rice. By and by he was returned to his
mother, but the latter, unwilling to endure
his convulsions, gave him to his grandfather,
a tough old personage, named Abd el Mottal-
lib. When he was six years old his mother
died, and presently the tenacious grandfather
also ceased, after which the young Prophet
was put under the care of an uncle named
Abu Taleb, who disliked his ward and ab-
horred the Djin by whom he was possessed.
At the age of nine the ]»,v ^[ohammed
was mounted on a camel and di,~iiatched on a
merchandising expedition into Syria. While
abroad he saw the sacred places of the Jews.
He stood on the spot where the King of
Salem came out and did olicisance to Abra-
ham. He was shown the jilace where his
great mother, the bondwoman Hagar, went
forth leading Ishmael by the hand. He saw
Damascus, city of the desert, and Sinai, the
mountain of the law. Then he returned to
Mecca full of visions and dreams.
When twelve years old Mohammed left
Abu Taleb and lived with another uncle
named Zubeir. He was also a merchant, but
did not, like Abu Taleb, trade in the direction
of Palestine and Egypt. Zubeir led his cara-
van into Southern Arabia, and him Moham-
med, now reaching his sixteenth year, accom-
panied on a second expedition of trade and
travel. He continued in his service till he
was twenty years of age. Then, becoming
(451)
452
UNIVERSAL HISTOUY.—THK MODERN WORLD.
WU-. The
1 with au
Kiiiaiuih,
weary of irksninc ih-niii.ihiii<s
journeys, he iiiimil hi- aticiu
Meccuus IjL'caiiii- invnivc.l in a
East-Arahie trihe callnl tlir
aud Mohammed enli-tcil with lii> r..uiiirymfu.
After the war was ..v.r li,- ntunied to Mecca
and took U|i thr vmatinn ..f a shepherd.
Afterwards \w fnrnird a partnership with a
lineu merchant nankd Saili, ami su dividrd
his attention hctwi-cn liis linck.- and liis nicr-
chandisr. Whilr i ii;ja'jcd in carrying on the
linen trade, li<' iHranic acquainted with the
rich widow Kadijah. living at the town of
tlioiiLih inncli older than him-
Iv inairii'd, thus obtaining a
id a lai-c c-tatc. Ho thcre-
Hajasha.
self, he 1
faithfid V
upon gav
and lived at Kadijah's home in llajasha.
Thus, from the age of twenty-six to thirty-
five. Mohammed passed the time as an Arab
citizen in jirivate life. About the year .594,
however, he was bnjught to the attention of
his countrymen in a (■on>pieuoas way. The
idolatrous temiile in Mecca was called the
Kaaba. W
at that pla.
white .-t.me
pur-
Abraham lived
■iel
ive mm a
tone th.
was Iniilt. With the growing wickeilness of
the world the stone became as black as pitch.
The Kaal)a had now become dilapidateil, and
it was decided by the chiefs of Mecca that
the edifice must be ii built. This was accord-
ingly done; but when it came to the sacred
task of removing the Black Wtone into its new
resting-place, the chiefs fell into violent quar-
rels as to wh.i should ].erf irm the work. At
last itwasa-ieed that the matter >honld be
decided by aibitialion, and Mohammed wa<
called from llaja.-ha \n be the umpire. Ou
coming to .Meeea he piTlornied his ditticult
duty in a manner highly sali>fai'l<iry to all
concerned. It was the lir.-t public transaction
of the Prophet's life.
It appears that the dispute of the chiefs
about the Black Stone of the Kaaba made a
profound im]ires-ion on ^lohammed's mind.
To a man of lii- dear understanding, it is
likely that the quarrel apjieared in its naked
absurdity. lb- may liav.' slid to Kadijah, on
his return In.me, that the tath<-rs of his race,
Abraham aud Ishmael, would be ashamed of
such wrangles as he luul lately witnessed at
Mecca.
iMohannued was exceedingly unfortunate in
his cliildi<n. One after another they died.
The bereaved father grew melancholy and
morose. I'lie iniitlierly Kadijah was growing
old. 'i'iie I'r.iphtt walked alone among the
hills aud talked ab>tractedly to himself. One
(lav he wandereil among the rocks at the fiot
<,f"M.iunt Ilara. lb- entered the mouth of a
cave and sat musing. All at once — so he
afterwards told Kadijah — he fell into an
agonv. He was shaken as by an unseen power,
and [;i-eat .Irops of sweat roU,.,! ,lown his face.
Whih- he sat shndderin-. all of a sudden a
li-ht tladie.l ai'ound him, and there stood the
au-el (ialiriel. Mohammed was overwhelmed
with terror, but tlie angelic voice spoke out
clearlv and said:
"Cryl In the name ,,f the Lord who has
created all thin'.:s: who hath created man of
congealeil IiIo.mI. Cryl V>\ the most benefi-
cent Loid, who taught the u>e of the pen;
who teaclieth man that which he knoweth not
of him>elf Assuredly. Verily man becom-
eth insoli-nt, because he seeth himself abound
in riches. Assuredly." Such is the first
clnqiter of the KuR.\N.
M,.hamm.Ml is reinirted to have run home
after hi- swo,,n and crie.l out: "O, Kadijah!
I have either become a soothsayer or else I am
po.sse.-sed of the Djin and have gone mad."
The good Kadijah answered: "O, Abu '1 Ca-
sem! (iod is my jirotection. He will surely
not let such a thing happen unto thee, for
thou speake-t the truth. Thou dost not re-
turn evil for t'vil : neither art thou a talker
abroad on the streets. What hath befallen
thee-;'" .Mohammed told her what had hap-
jiened to him in the grotto. The wife re-
),lied: ■•llejoice, my hu>band, O, Abu '1 Ca-
sem, i'or my life shall .-taiid as a witness that
thou wilt be the prophet of this peojile."
[Mohammed tlioueht, however, that he was
possess.,! of the Djin, and on the next day,
being in despair, he went out to M..uut Hara
to kill him.elf; but (iabriel reappeare.l, hel.l
back the rash Arab from his purpose, and
.said: "1 am (iabriel, an,l thcni art M.iham-
med. the Prophet of God." Still the son of
Abdallah troiid)led and refused to believe.
It is related that at this juncture Moham-
3I0HAMMEDAN ASCENDENCY.— CAREER OF THE PROPHET.
4:,:)
med aud Kudijali took a eertam Jew
some say, a mouk, uamed Waraki uit
confideuce, aud tuld him all tli u h
curred. Thereupon the holy
man said: "I swear by Him
in whose hands Waraka's life
is, that God has chosen thee,
O Alni'l Casem, to be the
Prophet of this people." — Such
was the commission of Mo-
hammed, the beginning of his
prophetic office.
For more than twenty years
revelations continued to be
given by Gabriel, as circum-
stances seemed to require. Xo
oue ever saw the celestial visi-
tant but the Prophet himself:
he was his own interpreter.
What Gabriel told him iu the
grotto he repeated to Kadijah
or other believers ; and these
revelations, gathered t<>i:cthir
by his followers after his death,
constitute the Book Al Koran,
the Bible of Islam.
Having persuaded liimseH'
of the truth of his vi-iMn-.
IMohammed began proehiiiiniiL;
his mission to the Arabs. His
first converts were those of
his own household. From this
nucleus his doctrines leavened
the surrounding neighborhood.
Finally the tribe of Hashem
was called together iu council.
Before the assembly the
Prophet stood up aud ex-
plaiued his purpose and the
principles of the new faith.
There was much contrariety of
opinions among the Hashe-
mites. The Prophet's uncle,
Abu Talel), arose aud pro-
nounced him a fool. Young
Ali, sou of Abu Taleb, however,
expressed his admiration for
his cousin's doctrines aud his
purpose to follow him and fight for his cau«e. I
Most of the tribe voted in the same way ; but
Abu Taleb remained an infidel. He used to
say, as Mohammed passed by: "There he
Its u )\\ ' L I k ut ' II IS goiug to talk
It ut Hei\eu ' \ uiL 11\
\ttei a biiei pi jlI im iti u of his doctrines
at Ha)a-ha, Mohammed rqi.iired to ]Mecca.
Heie he pleached with jia'-^iouate vehemence.
He told the Meccans that they were a race of
miserable idolaters, unfit either to live or to
UMVKnsAi. lu^Tnnv.^THK Mor>Ki:s world.
die. ''Tl
by (lay a
re 1:^110 Guil but Allah," h
1 ni-ht. He sUmhI u], in
Knivi-^h, the Arabian l.(\
■ nf tl„. Kaaba, ainl .1
Knn-i.-b
balrb to
took fright an.l .alka iq A I
suppress his iieplnw a> an iiuiny ot re-
ligion; but Abu ciiuld net ihi it. The alter-
native was thus placid liirorc the priests of
themselves luin- convcrteil or takint;- up arms.
They chose the latter course, and hostilities
were about to begin at Mecca.
Mohammed was sagacious. Seeing him-
self not sufficiently strong to cope with his
enemies, disliking at first to undertake the
propagation of religion by the sword, he es-
caped from his native city and took refuge at
the court of Aby.sslnia. The king received
him and was converted, as were also the mem-
bers of his court. Nor did his flight from
Mecca discourage his followers in that city.
They continued to proi'laini his doctrines and
await his return. Many took sides against
the Koreish, and the latter were obliged to
consent to pracc ^Mohammed returiied little
less than victorious.
A new factor was now introduced into the
situation. About sixty miles from Mecca was
the town of Yathreb. In this place there
was a large colony of Jews, who, with that
tenacity of religious belief for which over all
the world they are proverbial, had established
a synagogue. Here on every Saturday the
priests stood up and expounded Hallachah and
Hitqiiaihdi — the Law and the Tradition. They
looked for a Messiah, and said " Lo here and
Lo there." The.se Israelites traded with Mecca
and found that city profoundly agitated by
the presence of Jlohamraed. They heard the
Meccans reciting how the Son of Abdallah
of the tribe of Hashem had become a great
Prophet. This news was carried to Yathreb,
and the synagogue became excited with the
belief that the jNIessiah had come. The Rab-
bins took council together, and said : "If this
Mohammed is indeed that great Prophet, let
us, first of all, tender to him our allegiance.
Wherefore, when he shall have become the
ruler of the nations, he will honor us as the
first to accept him." An embassy was sent to
Mecca to ascertain the truth, and to tender
the submission of the .Tews. Mohammed cau-
tiou.-lv acCL-[)ted the offer. " For," said he,
•■ Ishniael our liither was the uncle of Jacob.
As<urr.|lv."
Thr Korci-h now became .Icsperate. Tlu-y
held a council, and re.-olved that Mohammed
should be assa.ssinated. A committee was ap-
pointed to do the bloody work ; but when the
night came for the perpetration of the wicked
deed ^lohainnicd, informed of the C(mspiracy,
wraj)ped hiui>clt' in his cousin All's cloak,
and aided by the darkness, escaped from the
perilous city and fled towards Yathreb. This
event, which occurred in the year 622, is called
the Hegira, and is the Era of Islam.
As Mohammed approached Yathreb the
gates were opened by the Jews. He entered
and was safe. The name of the city was
changed from Yathreb to Medinet al Nabbi,
or City of the Prophet — the modern jMedina.
From this time forth, the Son of Abdallah
awaited an opportunity to be revenged on the
Meccans. The city of his birth soon became
distracted with the civil feuds of his friends
and his enemies. When the time ripened for
the event, the Prophet, accompanied by a
great band of pilgrims, set out from ]\Iedina
and returned to Mecca. In that city, so pow-
erful had his influence now become, the Kore-
ish were obliged to submit. They sent out
an embassy and concluded a treaty with the
conqueror for a period of ten years. The
neighboring tribes also sent messengers, ten-
dering their acceptance of his doctrines. The
star of Islam was in the ascendant.
After a year or two the Meccans broke
their treaty ; but ]\Iohammed was now strong
enough to enforce obedience. The vocation
of the Koreish was gone. The idolatrous
images were knocked from their places in the
Kaaba, and the renovated temple was dedi-
cated to the worship of Allah.
The Prophet now lost no time in giving
shape to the new religion. He built a mosque
at Medina. He systematized his dogmas.
He labored with the discordant elements of
Arabian thought. He struggled with bellig-
erent factions. He allayed feuds, jealousies,
and schisms. He consolidated the scattered
bands of his followers, and planned great for-
eign wars. His purpose contemplated no less
than the subjugation of the world by the Book
and sword of Islam.
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDENCY.— CAREER OF THE PROPHET.
In the beginning of his military career
Mohammed was unsuccessful. lu his first
battle, however, Avhich was fought with Abu
Sofian, chief of the Meccaus, the Prophet
gained the victory. Afterwards be met witii
a series of reverses. In 62.") he was defeate<l
bv the Knivi^hit<>s in the battle of .M,,unt
dh<Ml. Two yr;,,'. hitcr he was besi.-e.l in
:Modiua. Amung hi> own f .ll..w.-rs tla^re w.'ie
dangerous factions and contentions. Ilis con-
nection witli tile ,]f\\< proved unfortunate.
He could not be their ^Messiah ; tliey would
not be his people. His alienation from tlie
sons of Israel became so great that war eii-
against the .lewish tiibcs in Arabia. In re-
venge for the.se aggressions against her coun-
trymen, a Jewess, named Zainab, fed the
Prophet a poisoned landi. the eflects of whicli
burned in his bonrs until his death.
By this time the idra of propagating tlie
doctrines of Islam bv the sword had talvcn
complete po.s.session of the mind of ^loluini-
med. He sent to C'lmsroes II., king of IVr-
sia, a written demand that he slioul.l snbnnt
himself and his people to Allali and his
Prophet. When tlii< was n'fused, he under-
took to enforce compliance by war. A des-
perate battle was tijugbt at jinta. in which
Mohammed's general, Kii.vled, so greatly dis-
tinguished himself that he received the sur-
name of the "Sword of God."
^leanwhile the Meccans a'jain revolted.
After a severe struggle, however, thev were
subdued, and their sulmiission was the end of
present resistance in Araliia. For a seascm
the Prophet returned to ^Medina, where, in
the ninth year of tlic Ilcgira, lie received am-
bassadors from many of the surrounding
states. He ue.xt made a demand of submis-
sion upon Heraclius, Emperor of the East,
but the same was rejected with as much dis-
dain as that Somewhat mild-mannered sover-
eign could command. Mojunnmed thereup<m
declared war, but his attempted concpiest re-
sidted in a ridicidous failure. The soldiers of
the Prophet became discontented and muti-
nous, but were finally rpiieted.
Eesuming his station at ]\Iedina, Moham-
med now busied himself with the preparation
of a great pilgrimage to Mecca. The event
was set for the tenth year of the Hegira. At
28
least forty thousand ]iilgrims assembled for
tlie journey. The rite.- and ceremonies of the
prei>ariition and tlie marcli liave ever .yuce re-
mained the models of the annual pilgrimage
ot' the faithful to the shrine of their Prophet.
In the year 632, three months after his return
to Medina, he was taken with a fatal illness.
He clearly foresaw the end which his friends
would have concealed ii-oin bis vision. He
luid liimself taken to tlie house of his favorite
wife Ayesha — for the good Kadijah was now
ilead. This house adjoined the mosrpte, and
tlie Prophet ordered himself borne back and
toi-tli from his couch to tlie shrine. He spoke
of his approa.'hing death. He liberated his
shives an<l distributed sums of m(uiey to tlie
poor. He then jirayed for support in the
final struggle and <niietly lireathed his last.
Tliere was much di-pute ab.mt tlie place of
the Prophet's burial. It was, li,.wevcr, finally
determined that he sliould be interrd in the
house where he died, adjacent to the mosque
of Medina. Subsequently the temple was en-
larged so as to include the spot wliere the
bones of Abdallah's son are still reposing.
Of all hi- ehildreii ,,nly a ilaiighter named
Fatima surviveil her father. She was married
to Ali, the Prophet's cousin, and became the
mother of the rulers and nobles of the ilo-
hammedan world.
^lohamraed was a man of medium stature
and of a well knitted and sinewy frame. His
body was of the Oriental ty[ie, and his con-
stitution delicate. He had a fine oval face,
full of tender lines, and a massive liead with
slightly curling dark hair. His long well-
arched Arabian eyebrows were separated mid-
way by a vein which swelleil and throbbed
visibly when he was excited. His eyes were
large, black, and restle--. Ilis hand, which in
salutation he never first witlnlrew from another,
was exceedingly small, and soft as the hand
of woman. His step was cpiick and energetic,
and is descrilied in tradition as being like that
of one who steps from a higher place to a
lower. When his attention was called he
stopped short, and turned not only his face
but his whole body in that direction.
In mind the Prophet had the rare union
of womanly timidity with extraordinai'v cour-
age. In times of danger he would, without a
moment's hesitation, put his life in peril. He
rM\'Ki;SAL ni.sTonY.-^TllE MDDKliX WORLD.
wasoi'a lurvnns aii<l ir>tli-
ofteu low <pirii,-,l. 11.- u
tive, but iiinre iViMiumlly
walked alone, nioinly ainl
spoke hb wor.l.< ••aiuc loitl
an overwholniini:- tlucni-y.
him smile," saiil the early
" VnU -Wnlllil liavc tllell^lll
"in thf ,-liaia.tri- ..f .M..IiamnuMl tlu-re were
traits of cliiiaiikc .Miaplirity. Alter KaJijali's
death he used to sit in the house and play
with the dolls whieh his -irl-wife Ayesha had
broujrht with her. TJie love of solitude and the
,.Hli„
i. ^
Vhen he
■i-i< and
'• If \
.iU
lad ,-een
hrnnic
f th.-
le .
f I>huu,
hine."
ranient,aud i Sea, fivjni the Strait of Bab el Maudeb to the
times talka- borders of Falestiue, people of any other blood
[, and ofteu 1 were either infrequent or entii-e strangers.
Thi- wild otrspring of Hagar's sou led the
life of IK ■mad-. Tiieir hand was against every
man ami ivciy man'< hand against them.
After the dotrnciion of Jerusalem -by Titus,
many of the fiiiiitives escaped into foreign
lands. Nut a few bands and colonies found
ret'uge in Arabia. Geographical jiroximity, the
vagrant di,-p..Mtl,,n of the Aralis, which had left
large di>triet> sparsely peopled or not peopled
at all, the tie> of consanguinity by which the
•Vrabs 'ind the Jews were bound together,
the ithnit\ of then hu£ruage — both de-
lue 1 i\ m 1 c mmon oiij.mal — all invited
tl lilt nite «ous of I lael to find a
1 e\ ! n niona then eiiit kinsmen
t tl '^ nil ^ Ttwil itlements
^ 1 1 1 1 \ 1 L 1 1 the close
t tl 1 It I t n tl All coast of
tl 1 1 ^ tl 1 ^1 z .1 1 to .Alecca
ill I U hi 1 \Mtl httle Jewi>h
1 1 hi w ill w ne t^ nuder the
(_ \ 111 -sAeie al inland colonies,
tl t 1 tl A nth tentuiy Jewish
1 1 \ I I 1 1 u 1 en toius were
\ II 11 1 1 il I t nnlgamated.
Oi tl I t 1 1 lel _i u however,
1 1 1 1 1 I t t its < flu traditions
^ ai 1 1 1 1 11 Vial c ntiuued idol-
d lU
h
Ol th:
hilt
1
i 1
I I
\ I
m m eem
in th h
A httl
t th
\ 11 Ih
In lit
cau 1 t AI 1
It the 1 1
1 th , nn li
1\ tie till i
ui Cult t the 1 1
lilt 1 t AI
■\I 1 1 1 CI tl 1 i\ -11 cand flour-
' 1 1 1 1 tl "S itl n mi lonaries of
tl Ci i 11 1 z il ] hnted the seeds
t tl 1 t 1 h m e\ci\ quaiter of the
] 1 M \ t the e monks evangel-
it t 1 1 netiitel iiabia and there
J 1 1 111 t t 11 t the unrepentant
III 11 1 111 1 then hearers sit-
tm 1 tl ill I 1 1 d ne m the syna-
^ ^ue ai 1 1 I I 1 t the exj sition of
Hdl II 17/ ' / B It these Jews
\ 1 til 1 11 I t ui 1 1 the preaching
1 tl < 1 1 V 1 1 1 1 iiitt than the
It tl I 1 1 t I 1 Vrabs. were
It 1 t tl 1 It that by the
Lcn tint i» the birth of
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDENCY.— CAREER OF THE rROPHEr.
JMohammed two Semitic religions, nei
very flourishing condition, existed
side in the laud of his appearing. J\i(lai>iii
and Christianity, the old and the nc"," (K-v(lo|i-
ment of Mosaism, dwelt together in a sort df
subdued antagonism. The time had now cnme
when a third Semitic faith, more aggressive
than either and possessing the same original
ingredients as both, should appear to contest
with its predecessors the battle-field of faith.
The system of Mohammed may be detined,
first of all, as an eflbrt to rescue the Arabs
from idolatry. But in a larger and more phil-
osophic sense it was an effort on the part (jf
the Prophet to furnish a common ground and
basis of union between the Christians and the
Jews by which all the descendants of Abraham
might be gathered into a single religious house-
hold. The scheme was worthy of a great and
capacious genius. It showed that Jlohanuned
realized the condition of the religious world.
He saw in the chaos of the Semitic race around
him the materials for the aggrandizement of
his own nation and the glory of his own name.
He conceived it possible to readjust the Sem-
itic fragments and to bind together both
Christian and Jew l)y an indissoluble tie ; but
he misjudged the peoples with whom he had
to deal. So far as his on ii cnuiitrynien were
concerned they were soon brought within the
fold of Islam ; but the sons of Israel and the
followers of Christ remained immovable in
their respective beliefs. After several tenta-
tive efforts on the Prophet's part, an open
rupture occurred between the three religious
parties in Arabia. Islam began its own inde-
pendent career; Judaism fell away into obsti-
nate conservatism, and Christianity parted
company with both. From this time forth
the three Semitic religions are seen like three
ships sailing a.part ou the expanse of ocean.
It may be of interest, before proceeding to
notice the political development of Moham-
medanism, to review briefly the points of con-
cord and dissonance between the three religious
systems here referred to. In many of tlu-ir
fundamentals they were all at one. AH had
a common historical basis. That there is one
God, Father Omnipotent and Maker of heaven
and earth. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity
all emiihaticaHv atlirni. Secondlv, that the
held bv a i:^
this kino-dn,
a ^b>Mah, .
Islam ch.ni...
:hat
un.l
p.-rp.tuallv ruled bv
d «'hri-tianilv aHirm';
that .Mo,M-.~ was a. I in-
, .l>ii:.t, Ju.laiHii, IMam.
y all affirm. F.„uthlv, that
nspire.l T.arh.r and Prophet,
tianity afiirm; .Tu.laiHii .lenies.
iri^t is thr .Mr.-
iristianitv affirm
Christ w
Ishuu an
Fifthly, that ( Jiri-t is tlir 31. -Mali and Savior
of the w..rld, Christianity affirms; .ludaism an<l
Islam str.nuously deny. Sixtldy, that :\ro-
hammed was an inspired Teacher and Prophet,
Islam vehemently affirms; Judaism doi-s not
affirm; Christianity denies. Seventhly, that
the Scriptures of the Old Testament coiiiain
the inspired and authoritative doctrines of
God, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity affirm.
Eighthly, that tlir S.riptures of the New Tes-
tament are the words of Divine truth, Chris-
tianity affirms ; Islam affirms in part, and
Judaism denies. Ninthly, that the Book Al
Koran is the revealed truth of (lod, Islam
strongly affirms; Judaism d.'iiits /// pmi, and
Christianity denies In u-lnl . Tcnthly, that
the world is ruled by eternal Fate, Islam af-
firms; Judaism does not affirm, and Christian-
ity denies. Eleventhly, that man is a free or,
at any rati-, n-ponsibh' agmt, Chri-tianitv
aflirms; Ju.laisn, dn.> not dmy, and I.-lam
denies. Twilfthlv. that man i- rrwardod for
those actions whii-h aio callid \irtiioiis and
pitnished lor tho.,. whirh aro callrd virions,
Christianity, JudaiMii, and Islam all atnrm.
Thirteenthiy, that thiiv i> a resinivrtiou of
the body aftor drath, Chri-tiaiiitv and Islam
aflirm; Judaism iirithrr aliiniis nor dniies.
Fourtrrntldv, that it i~ tin- liijio-t dtitv of
Jui
all affirm. Fifte.ntl
Christianity atfiiiii- ;
Sixteenthlv, that (ioi
of nothin-, Chri-liaii
all affirm. Si-vinte.
point. .1 a Dav .,f J
Is!
affii
Div
is to be
does not attirm or denies.
This list of fundamental pro]...-
be greatly extended, but \\\\\ \k-
snfti.'i..nt"to dve a clear idea .if
features of the three relioious svst
111. aii.l I>lam
•O.I is Triune,
1.1 Mam .l.-ny.
' uiiiv.'fse out
111, au.l Idam
Jii.l
UXI I 'KUSA L HIS TOR }'. -
The material oi' il
flurini;- Muliaiiini.Mrs
eillplialically iimiK,!
<■ K,
lit',-.
„iMi
an \
Tlu
•. '1
as all ppvlueed
vvh,,le ^v„l•k is
In- ,.nene.-s of
Gn,l is 111,-' ,1 inai
LoJIIah II Alhh, '■ t!
is mtcratcMl „n aim
1 tl,
CIV is
ist CN
.nL^ln
n,j (
,,!■ ihe whole.
mhI 1,ui Allah,"
laLiv. Not the
sevi-n >t |ia»a-c> (if
!„• .1,
wi>li
I'-niateiieh are
miirr .~iii-ular in lli,
ir < n
n,,'i:
li,.ii ,.r ,,ne iu-
preiiic am! indivi-ili
]K';Ued declaratii)ns (
Tim-; ill the one Inn,.
,• I),
1- tlu-
,v,l ;
ily I
n,l t
• tl
lai. are the re-
in ivs of Islam.
\,-lfih Chapter:
' eternal <:iod :
" ( Vy ! ( ;," 1 is im
tll,T
. II
THE MODERN WORLD.
Tlie i,lea ihat Ciod had had a .sou, born of
woman, in any other sense than that all men
are his otlsjiriug, was so rei)u<ruant to the
mind of Mohammed as to call forth his sever-
est dennueiatitJiis. In the nineteenth C'hajiter
the Koran says :
"This uas Jesus, the sou of ;\Iary, the
word of iniih, eoncerniug whom they doulit.
But it is not meet for God that he should have
a sou : Praise to Allah ! Yet they say God
hath begotten a Son. In this they utter a
lilasphcniy : and but little is wanting that the
Heavens shouM tear open, and the earth
eave asunder aud the mountains fall down,
for that they attribute children to the most
Merciful. Verily it is not meet for God to
peril of the Day of Judg-
ment is everywhere depicted in the Koran.
The threatened retribution is held forth as the
must powerful motive of humpn conduct. In
e expectation of this final ordeal, Islam sets
rth every deed of man and utters against
every .species of sin the terrible invectives of
the coming wrath. Everywhere the Koran
proclaims the approach of inexorable doom for
every soul that sinneth. The fifty-first Chap-
ter has tlie following paragraj^h :
"Cursed lie the liars who waile iu deep
waters of ignorance neglecting their salvation.
Forsooth tliey ask, Wheu will the Day of
meut come? By the winds dispersing
scattering the dust ; and by the clouds
bi'aiing a load of rains ; and by the angelic
ban, Is who distribute things necessary for the
creatures; verily that where-
threatened is certainly true, aud
Day of Judgment will come. Assuredly."
Iu the fifty-second chapter the same strain
■,iniinn,',l : " Ev the mountain of Sinai;
bii,.k written in an expanded scroll ;
1 liy ihe visii,-,l house; and by the elevated
111 by the swelling ocean ;
lit of the Lord will surely
on that dav wherein the heaven
ken and shall reel, and the mount-
agL'er and pass away."
Ill iiianv parts the Koran breathes a spirit
at variance with lli,' vindic-
tive utterances of other portions. There are
occasional tender and beautiful pa.ssages which
may well be compared with the best of the
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEyDEMY. — CAREER OF THE J'ROl'IIET.
Vedie Hymus or tlie Psalms of Davia. Th.-
following, which stands as Chaiitcr tii>i in
most of the fditious, might well have been
sung by the sou of Jesse :
"Praise be to God, the Lord of all his
creatures; the most merciful, the King <if t!ie
Day of Judgment. Thee do atc wor-hip and
of thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in
the right way, in the path of tliose to whom
thou hast been gracious; not iu the way of
those against whom thou art incensed, nor of
those who go astray."
The Koran is preeminently seusUDUs in its
imagery. The delights of the blessed and the
torments of the wicked are given with all the
realism of detail peculiar to the Arabian imag-
ination. Para.lise and Hell are paintnl witii
a vividness that might well add new glcani,^
of light and darkness to the glorv and dolor
of the Divine Comedy. The fifty-.~ixtl, Chap-
ter of the Koran gives a true idea of Lhini's
abodes of peace and anguish :
"When that inevitable Da}' of Judgment
sliall suddenly come, no soul shall charge the
pre.Iirtinn ,.f "its cnniim' with falsehood. Then
the rartli >hall be shaken with a violent .shock;
anil the mountains shall lie dashed iu jiieces,
and shall become as dust scattered abmad ;
and men shall be separated into three distinct
elassc's: the companions of the vijit hand;
(how happy shall the eouipanions of tla- right
hand be!) and the com])anions of the left
hand ; (how miserable shall the companions
fif the left hand be !) and those who have been
preeminent iu the faith of Islam. These last
are they who shall approach nearest unto God,
and shall dwell in the gardens of delight. They
shall repose on couches adorned with gold and
[irecious stones, and shall sit opposite to each
other's face. Youths who shall continue iu
their bloom forever shall go round about to
attend them with goblets, and beakers and a
cup of flowing wine: their heads shall not
ache for drinking it, neither shall their reason
be disturbed : and with fruits of the sorts
which they shall choose, and with the flesh of
liirds of the kind which they shall desire shall
they be fed. And there shall accompany them
fair damsels having great black eyes resem-
bling pearls that are hidden in their shells;
and tliese shall be tlie rewar.l lor the work
which the righteous shall have wrought. They
shall U(jt hear therein any vain discourse, or
wrangling, or charge of sin ; but only the sal-
utation of Peace ! Peace ! — And the compan-
ions ,,f the right hand (h.^w happy shall the
companions of the right hand be!) shall have
their abode among lotus trees that are free
from thorns, and trees of Mauz laden regularly
with their ])r(jduce from top to bottom; under
an exallcd .-hade, near a flowing water and
aniid-t abundant fruits whi.-h .^hall not lail,
nor be tbrliidden to be gath< red. . . . But
the companions of the left hand i how nnsera-
ble shall the companions of the left hand lie!)
shall dw.Il amidst buridng winds, an.l scald-
ing water, under the shade of a i.lack smoke
shall
and tuey
of the
fruit of the tree of
Al Zakkum, and
they shall fill their
l.)odies like to burst,
and shall drink
lioiling water like a
thii-stv camel. This
fors,,oth shall l)e
on the Day of Judgment.
But it is
fidelity, and i
of the truth -
of Islam rise,
swears by the
darkness', by
stars, by M
.spanned the
and the smal
Book, l,y th
angels, by tli
and by the Day of Judgment I Such are the
oaths of Islam, ami such is Islam's liook — a
book under whose fiery influence the wild
Arabian tribes were converted into a terrible
nation, whose flaming swords and fierce uu-
quenchalile valor conquered an em]>ire gi'eater
than that of Alexander.
uprecatious agauist in-
ible oaths in attestation
->ion, that the Prophet
■ight of his jiower. He
\\aters and by the grim
II- sun and the setting
ai and by Him who
it, by the human soul
> the' Kaaba and by the
m.l the dawn ami the
jhts of dread mystery,
UMlLnsAL lllsTonV-THE MnJ>j:j;X Wmn.li
CHAPTKF^ LXXX'IU. CONQUESTS OF THE KiRSX
CA.LI1^HS.
..1 wnliMiii (.itatc, lost any mi-lit arniM- him of enricliiuo^
II"' AiaKs himself from the Caiii.liatr.
• >- llnM The .leath (,f .Mnhaiunir.l was the ^i-nal of
l,i-,.|iL;inu>.iithu>iaMii. >ri,.at rom, notion.. All Aial.ia was atilcteJ
loni ihr >j>ii-it ..f hy the intelli-enee that ihr I'rophet was iu>
ihit. tliat ill. re more. After the liitt.r iHT-i-rntion^ to whieli,
l\ \\;i- no ,i:in;jrr of ili-ohi- j in the beginning of hi- mini-try. tiir son .)f
.l.atli of AlHlnllalf- >on four | Al).lallah""ha<l been .ul.jortr,!, 'h,- ha.l pro-
of his to||o\\, i>— two of il,,-m <-ivilians au.l claimnl the propa-ali-u of Mam l.y the
two mililarv h.ro,..— ha.l ahva.ly ac.iuin-,1 a swonl. It will !.,■ n niomh. av.l that the larger
national n|inlalion. The eivilians were .AIo- part of tho t.n y.ar. of ],i. pnl.lie .'areor wa*
hamm.Mf. kin-men, his uncle Abu Beker and .lovot.-.I to tlir' work of nli-ious con.,no,-t.
his .•onMU. thr noMr yonng Ali, heretofav Thr e-tahli-hnnnt nf hi- i.ow.a- in Aral.ia was
mentiom-.I. Tin- two military l.a.lei- u.av by for.-..; thr Arabs f,ar,-.| him as a ron-
the Pr(,i.h.-t-- g.-n.ral-, thr au-t.-rr < )mar and .,'urror. Th.' rondition wa- surh a- to l,,a.l
the oI,l v.-toran Khalr.l. Karli ,,f tin-..- had inovital.lv to nvolt whmi lii< d.ath was known,
his |.ani-an<, and .-a.'li miuht liavo pr.-.-.-.l hi< , Tho Aral, trib,-, bolioving that th.-v ha-l
claims a> the righlfnl ,-u. ■(■.•-.. r ..f M..hamm..l. m.thing fnrlh.r f. f.-ar, now r..>e in robelfmn.
But the leaders .,f y.,nn- l-hnn u. n^ f.., ^^i-,. ■I'h.y gave m. Ii.v.l t.. Abu li.-ker. They re-
and full of zeal t.. iii.bdi;.' in ..p.ii .[uarr.l-. fu-..l t.. pay lb.' Zumi. i,r nli';i..us tribute.
The .•succession was alh.w.l f. pa- .pii.-tlv i.. whirl, th.' p'r.iph.t ha.l imp.-e.l. The revolt
Abu Bokcr. Ali .'..uM \\.ll abi.l.. hi- tin,.., spr.'a.l far an. I wi.h-. until in a sln.rt time
and the g.-m-rals w.av .ati-fi.-d uiili .'arryin- then- wa- m.tliin- left of il,,. ..mpire of 1-lam
the banners nf th,. n.'W laith int.. f,rei-n but the tinv. eiti.s ,,f ."\Ie.ra, Me.lina, and
lands. The remain, I. r .,f th.. present I!....k Tavef.
will be occupie.l with th.' narrative ..f The n^lud- t....k the fi.d-l un.ler the ha.l .)f
the Mohammedan conquests, beginning with the chieftain Male.- Ibn X..wirah. He was
Arabia. ! note.l as a val.m.us Arab knight, as well as a
The Caliph Abu B.-k.:-r c.ntente.l him^.df p.iet au.l man ..f ,-ulture. His p.ipularity,
with the title of kiln: ..r priu.v. reje.ain- all ni..reover, wa< increa>.'.l by the i'an.,- of his
claims t.. b,- th.' vi.ar .,f (i...! ..n .'artli. II.- wiib. who wa- r.-pnt.-.l I.. !..■ the m..-t b.auti-
was surname.l HI S,..l,l,k, ..r the T.-titi.r ..f fnl w..man in Arabia. Th.' a.lvance of .Malee
the Truth, lb- wa- a!-., .all..! th.- fath.-r ..f a-ain,-t .M.'.liua -av n.ai.'e to Abu Beker
the virgin, th.' r.f.ivnee being t.i Aye.-ha, the that the iu-nr-.-ut- aime.l at the entire ex-
only ..n,- of the l'r.>phet"s wives who was mar- tincti.in ..f hi- authority au.l the restoration
rie.i a mai.l.n. ' of tribal in. l.'p.'U.lenee through<.ut the <'.iuntry.
Abu Beker s.xm sh..we.l th.- hi-Ji.--t .piali- Th.- Caliph hapten. -.1 t.. f.rtify the city,
ties of leadership. His purp..-.-, m..n-..v.-r, Th.- w.,m.-u. the ehil.lr.-n, th.- age.l, and the
were for the promotion ..f the .-an,-.- ..f I-lani inlirm w.-n- s,-nt t.. th.- nmnntains t.) tiud
and the general •J.....1 ..f the Arabian p.-..p].-. fr.-.-.l..m an.l >.-.-urity. Tin- .-hief r.-lianee .)f
'He was a man ..f virtue an.l int.--rity. linl.- Abu B.-k.-r was u]h.u th,- v,-t,ran Khal,-,1. to
sus,-eptibl,- 1,, tl„- inllu.-n.-,- ,.f luxury an,l in- uh..m th.- .-..mman.l ,,f th.- army wa< iu-
ilubj-.-u,-,-. In tl„- -..vernment In- r,-,-,-iv,-,l n.. ti-n-l,-.l. .\t the h,-a,l ,.f lour th..u.au.l five
enn.lum.-nts, a,-,-.ptin- ,inlv a ,-am,-l an,l a hun.ln-.l m,-u the li.-ry .-,.l.li,-r ,.f 1-lam w,-nt
bla.-k -lav.-. On.-nt.-rin- iut..,.(ii.-el,.-.lir.-.-l.-.l forth an.l ,pii,-kly overllir,-w Malec in battle.
Av,-lia t,, mak.- an iuv.-nt..rv ,.f hi- i..-r-.-nal lb- ha.l K.-.-u in-^tru.-t,-,! bv Abu Beker to
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEXDEXCl'.—COXQUESTS OF FIBST LALIFHS.
4V.I
treat the relicl ehiettaiu with courtesy, Init
Khaleil was devnid of sentimeut, ami pro-
oeeileil to hiy waste the territories of the re-
volteil tribes. He had Malec brought iuto
his presence and demanded wh_\
av the Zucat ; and when the cajitive
that he couhl pray without any such
liis head was struck oti' by (jue of
iildiers. Abu Belter felt constrained
tiie murder of the prisoner to pass
unaven-vd.
M.'anwhiie, in t
sc prophet Mose
Itc.i the belief n
he
Cahdla, prince of tlie
wdc
Tam
.f Abu
vi.ite.l
the alle,u-eil proj^het, and tlie twain became
enamored. While tliis brief idyl was enact-
ini;', Khalrd marched forth from ^Medina and
overtlirew tlie followers of Mosedma near tlie
the <-apital of the rhapsodist. The prophet
him^elt' was killed, au.l the remnant of his
forces e<ea]ied destruction by professing the
faith of Islam. Klialed then marched from
tribe to tribe, enforcing obedience and exact-
ing tithes and tribute. The rebellion was
everywhere broken up, and before the end of
the fust year of Aim Beker's reign, the Mo-
hammedan empire was reestablished throughout
Araliia.
N(iW it was that Abu Beker undertook to
collect and reduce to form the precepts and
revelations of the Koran. Many of the
speeches of the Prophet already existed in
writing, but many others were preserved only
in the memories of his friends and followers.
Abu Beker perceived that in the course of
nature, to say nothing of the hazards of bat-
tle, the assoeiat.'s ,,f :>Iohaiinne,l would s..on
pass away, and that the preci(jus words which
he had uttered would erelong be given to the
uncertainties of tradition. " In a little while,''
said the zealous Omar, "all the living testi-
tiers to the faith who liear the revelations of
it in their memories will have passed awav,
and with tluqn so many records of the <loc-
rri^eil by these considerations, Abu Beker
proceeded to collect from various sources the
materials of the Book. The surviving disci-
ples were diligently (piestioiied as to the say-
ings of the Prophet, and whatevei- could be
thus obtained was written down, revised, and
made authentic. >Sucli parts a- already ex-
isted in manuscript were e pared aii.l Jdited
by the scrilies of the Caliph, and the whole
work brought into nearly the Ibrin which the
Koran at present bears. The work, however,
was subjected to a subsequent revision by a
later Caliph, after which furllier modilications
were forljidden. But the idiief honor of the
permanent composition of the I'.ible of Islam
As soon as the reeon(|iiest of the Arabian
tribi's had been completed, the vision of uni-
versal dominion again rose on the court of
;\[edina. The prophet had said that the world
should lie subdued to his doctrines. Either
lier>ua;iou or the sword should avail to firing
all nations to submission. I!y his ott-repeated
injunctions, bis followers were incited to un-
dertake the conquest of the world. From
Arabia the scepter of authority was to be
stretched out to the remotest habitable bor-
di'is; and pagans, idolaters, and unbelievers
should bow to the sway of Allah and his
servants.
Nor was the time inauspicious for the nn-
dertaking. The K<jman Empire of the West
was under the heel of the barbarians. The
Byzantine power and the Em]iire of Persia
had exhausted themselves with long-continued
wars. .<eaively a single state of Western
Asia, and not one of the kiii'jdoins \vl,nse ter-
ritories touched the 2tleiliteriaiieaii was iu a
condition to ofler a successful resistance to a
new and aggressive power. .Vbti Beker,
therefore, made haste as soon as Khaled had
reduced the Arab tribes, to assume the work
enjoined by Mohammed. The first country
against which he raised his arm was Syria.
The Syrian states, embracing Phojnicia and
Palestine, had long been consolidated into a
province of the Eastern Empire of the
Komans. Heraclius now reigned at Constan-
tinople, but the Byzantine power had so
iiiueli deelined from \yliat it was in the days
of Theodosius as to invite attack from every
quarter. Syria was especially exposed ; nor
did the Arabs fail to perceive in that country
a fair field of conquest. Their <'aravans going
and coming from the Syrian cities had made
)ti2
rMyi:i:sAL insTnuv -thi: mdhkus world
.uvrv> of l,i. I'n,,,l„t: Tliis i- to il
tliriii faiHiliar witli lla- aliUU<lant iv~.
tlu- i.n,vin.-,.. „u I,- ilian will, it-
tiv.-lv ,hf, n-.l.- |....ui,,n. .\,T.,r,|
AKu JJtk.T aii.l 1 nmin.l vou tli;
iiilonu yni, that I
r ill.' faillii'ul into
■V IVnni ii„. i„lia-ls,
Mu,:
i-Ml.Ml
s th
tlia
ll.r
II,.-
uil,l
liur-rni
I tlork
■11 o
m1 t
.M..
inn,
ca'^tT t
> joi
the
naii.l
.lilion.
of the
Th
ho.-
\va.-
-iv.-
1 Vrzc-l
. an
till- ainiv
th.' I'l-oplH-t. Ho thou
Lrave to Yozo.l his
part in- injmn-tions,
whi.h may well ho re-
li.atoil a-' ilhi,-ti-ative
I>h.ni p.in- forth to
■•T.vat voui- Hohli.-i-s
with kin.ln. -s an,l ron-
M.loiation." >ai.l Ahu
];,-kor to hi. -onoral.
-V.v Jn-t in all vonr
(loalin'i^-uilh thorn.' an. 1
(on-nlt lh.il f,.lii,.-
in.l ..i.im..n- I i.lit
\iliinth m.l n, \u
1... ^\h.ll \i. t..M,.u-,
l).-tl.,^ n.,t
.t ^u^ km.l,
,t tlu e..inhJ.l
. n..i kill iiu
I- ..I the Iw.i Ai
l..ll..«.n. 1.1... lin,.n..n
111 ih. nini. ..1 til. Ar..-t Ah i.itul (.
Ah.hllih Vlh. k Ihn \l.ii k ihili t.. ill t
.h'l..- ihit -li..n
ni,l.,li.\.i- ..t .li
il... n..
(;...!. i'r
MOHAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXcY.^COXQUESTS OE EIL'ST (ALII'irS. 4(1
•V embrace
skulls uu:
renJer tribute."
So Yezed hegaii the invasion «i' Syria.
<Jn the borders of the country he met an
army which Heraclius had sent to oppose his
inarch, aud the Mohammedans gained an ea.sy
victory. Twelve hundred of the enemy were
left dead on the field, and a long train of
liuotv was sent to Medina. Arabia was fired
with the
niti
■IK\
under the eomniaud of Amru, and sent to the
Syrian frontier. In a short time uo fewer
than four Mohammedan generals were carry-
ing the banners of Islam through the encmy'.s
country. Amru invaded Palestine. Oi)cidah
marched against Emessa. Seid proceeded to-
wards Damascus, and Hassan overran the
country beyond the Jordan. All four of the
armies were to act in concert, aud Obeidah
was to be geueral-in-chief
While the Syrian war was
tion, a .second campaign was
ancient Babylonia, now triliu
siau monarch, aud of this exp
us put m mo-
lertaken into
V to the Per-
tion the com-
mand was given to the veteran Khaled. With
ten thousand men he undertook the subjuga-
tion of the country. He besieged the city of
Hira, carried the place by storm, aud killed
the king in battle. The Chaldsean kingdom
was quickly subdued, aud an annual tribute
of seventy thousand pieces of gold was im-
posed upon the conquered people. The con-
queror then marched against the city of Aila,
where he overthrew the Persian general Hor-
nuiz, aud sent his crown, a fifth part of the
booty, aud an elephant, to Al)u Bekor. Such
were tlie first instances of a tribute levied fiy
Islam upon a foreign nation.
Nothing could withstand the headlong
career of Khaled. Three Persian armies were
successively beaten down before him. The
Babylonian cities were taken oue after another
until opposition on the banks of the Euphrates
ceased. The name of Khaled became a terror
to unbelievers. EstalilisliiuL:- his head-ijuartcrs
in Babylonia, lie wrote a lett.r to tlu' I'rr-iaii
nionan'h, saying: "Pn.fr.s the iaith of AUah
and his Prophet or ].av trihuti' to tlulr M'r-
vauts. If you refuse botli, I will conir upon
you with a host who love death as nnich as
vou love life."
poureil into .Mt-iliiia tin- -Vr.iina
the earnest of universal trium
zeal of the followers of the P
with the sight of captured ci
from the heads of infidel [ui
Koran promised immortal lilies
soldier who should tail in bati
chie.'srushrd to the upllftul sta
Eupiira
es. ■
Bv All
"all w.
inaiik
iud is n
another
,-urli
,s Khal
.^Ira
i«hil,
, houv
.M:,
ilhful
Arab
jss sui.
■!i l\
.i tl
cess. Abu '(Jbei.luh prov, ,1 u
task which was inqioxd npoi
Caliph. While each su.r, r.lil,;;
Khaled brought to Medina tin
couragement aud alarm, lie 1
great armies were on the uiaii-h timu (_'oii>tau-
tinople to oppose him and ileeiiied hiiusilf
unable to confront the hosts of Heraclius.
Great w-as the contract thus exhibited to the
mind of Abu Beker In- the headloiiLr career
of Khaled and the timid inactivity of nbeidah.
The Caliph accordingly onleivd hi> victorious
general to leave the Euphrates and assuiue
the direction of the war in Syria.
Khaled at once hastened across the Syrian
desert with a force of fifteen hundred horse
and joined the armv of his countrvmen before
the city of Bosra. This important mart near
the Arabian frontier wa- a place of Linat
strength. Komanus, the i^uvenior, estinuiting
the probabilities of the conflict, would have
surrendered to the ^Mohammedan,-, liut the
garrison aud the inhaliitants resisted the prop-
osition aud insisted on defense. Before the
arrival of Khaled, the city was already assailed
by ten thousand JMohammedau horsemen un-
der the command of the veteran Seijaliil; but
the garrison sallied forth, threw the .Me.-jems -
into confii-^ion, and cut them down with ureat
The terrified JMohammedaus were already
breaking into a rout when a great cloud of
dust on the horizon annouuced the arrival of
Khaled. The impetuous warrior dadie.l iijion
the field, restored order, drove the Svriau -ar-
VMVKHSAL UlSTOnV. — THE MODKUy WORLD.
If. lil^ lui
rr.i|.liri.
AthT
llix'Vrs,
llnliu;
Thr cilv was taken and the
.1 I.V lllr nnirr of Khalr,l. The
w.MV ..l,li-,.,l to r,.,inun,r Chris-
t., accept M.^hanniiiMl as their
,l..wnlail of lioM-a Khalea fixed
. With a to,vnftl,irty-M.ve,i thousand
„■ |,i-. -,d t;.i-uard t.i the ri.-h ],hdn and
uitilul was the si-hf which' -i-eeted tiie
.r the ^fn-h.ni ilo-t thai it .-eenH'd tn
a vi-i(ni <if tlial I'aradi-e wldcii the
ed tn the faitlifuh The
rrnphet had
citv was St 1-1 111
to
%.
<>i?--:.'
.,f Khah'
\. The -(n
ernor was wounded ami
|lllt to fl
■jlil. Then
upon the wdiole ^loslein
to.ve ..h;
l-e.l upon
till- opposing army aud
drove th
• l,ede-ed
leadlon-- into the city.
With ni;^
It fa 11 the, -a
es wcreclo<e<l and Bos'ra
Takiir
advantage
ifthedarkm-sTtomanus,
d li iii- own hiiu-e near
the wall .
'riheei;;';";
Kiiah-d.
dred me,
a li|-ee,,|„
AlHlali-ahii
erted ^i-iial
■ his wav to the tent ot
in wa< sent with a hnn-
V to open the u-ates. At
ih,. >rn-hin lio-ts rush.'d
aejh the -ates, and th,'
|„.o|.le „
■ r,n-ra Uel
■ -iiddeidv aron^e.l with
Hei-aelii,>. who was
then holdin- his
court at Antioch,
that tiie expedition
of Khah'd was more
to he feared than a
preilatory foray of
nomads. He there-
foie merely ordered
a lorce of five tllotl-
■:iiid men to march
liom Antioch fortlie
succor of Damascus.
Arriving at the city,
Caloiis, the general
of the detachment,
^ attem]ite(l to assume
the eommaml. and
violent dissensions ensued. :\leanuhile Khalcd
drew near at the head of his army, and a sense
of danger .served to unite the factions within the
walls. The garrison was drawn out through
the gates, ami the two armies were brought
face to fai'c in the phiin. A fierce battle en-
stied, in whii'h both the Christian commandei's
%.:'
■%.
was now besieged. Heraclius,
real character of the foe with
1 to grapple, sent forward from
niiv of a hun.lred thou-aml ni.u.
lunted Khaled sallie.l forth into
et the approaching hosts in de-
il intlictcd upon them a conij)lete
I rout. The siege was again re-
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDEXCY.— CONQUESTS OF FIRST CALIPHS. 4(
Hit Ho
ills, \w\\ thoroughly :
IV of soventv thdiL-a
niascus. Khaled called upon tlir r*Jo>lrm
chiefs of Arabia for aid, and as soon as |Mi>si-
ble broke up his camp before the city, march-
ing in the (lirectinn of Aizuadin. The garri-
son of Daiuascns sallied forth ami pursued the
retiring army. Khaled, however, turned upon
them and inflicted a severe defeat; but the
assailants succeeded in carrying off a part of
the baggage and many of the Moslem women.
These in turn were recaptured by Khali d,
and the assailants were glad to make good
their escape within the fortifications of the city.
Meanwhile the Moslem reeuforcements ar-
rived before Aiznadiu, where Khale<l now gath-
ered his entire force for the impending battle.
The Im]ierial army greatly exceedeil the^Moham-
medan in number, and was thoroiiiihly ciiuipped
ami di^eiplin(•d according to the Koman nulliod.
After lying face to face for a day Wenlan,
the commander of the Christian host, sought
to circiiinveiit Khale<l by treacherv ; but the
latter oiitwitte.l his rival, and Werdan was
caught ami slain in his .,wn .-trata-em. Tak-
\\\'S advantage of the temporary di.-may of the
Im[ieiial array, Khaled, though outnumbered
two to one, charged upon the opposing camp,
and a massacre ensued hitherto unparalleled
in the fierce confiicts of those desert lauds.
Those of the Christians who survived the on-
set fled in all directions. The spoils of the
overthrown were greater than the victorious
^Moslems could will dispone of An immense
train of booty wa- di-iiatrln d to .^[.•di^a, and
Abdalrahmaii was romniissioned to bear the
news of the viitory to Abu Beker.
It appeared that all Arabia was now ready
for the field. Every chief and his tribe were
eager to join the victorious Khaled for the
capture of Damascus. After the victorv of
Ai/.nadin the ^[ohammedaus resumed the in-
vestment of the city, and the siege was pressed
with .-neh -everity that neither citizen nor
soldier durst venture bevond the ramparts.
The ^loslems, however, were repelled in sev-
eral assaults, and the garrison in turn was
driven back at every sally. For seventy days
the siege continued with unremitting rigor.
When at last the people were reduced to ex-
tremity, an embassy went forth, and one of
the city gates was opened to Obeidah. At the
same time Khaled obtained jjossessicni of the
gate on the opposite side, and fought his way
into the city, where he met the forces of
Obeidah, peacefully marching in according to
the terms of capitulation. Great was the rage
of Khaled, who swore by Allah that he woukl
put every infidel to the sword. For a while
the slaughter continued; but Khaled was at
length induced to desist, and to honor the
terms which had been granted bv the more
mereiful Obeidah.
.•^o Dtima-rus fell into the hands of the
Moslems. A part of the inhabitants remained
and became tributary to the Caliph, and the
rest were permitted to retire with their prop-
erty in the direction of Antioch. The latter,
however, were pursued by the merciless Kha-
led, overtaken iu their encampment beyond
^Mouiit Libanus, and were all slain or captured.
This exploit having been accomplished, the
JMoslems hastened back to Damascus, where
.«ome time was spent in dividing the spoils of
the great conquest.
In the mean time Aim P.eker grew feeble
with age, and died at ^bilina. His death oc-
cui'i-ed on the very day of the cai)ture of Da-
nia,-eu>, and before the news of that great
vietoiy could reach him. Perceiving his end
at hand, the aged Caliph dictated a will to his
secretary, in which he nominated < >mar as his
successor. The latter was little disposed to
accept the Inirden of the Calii)hate. Having
extorted from Omar a promise to accept the
office and to rule in accordance with the pre-
cepts of the Koran, good Abu Beker, after a
reign of a little more than two years, left the
world in full assurance of Taiadise.
The succession fell peaceably to Omai;, who
began his reign in A. D. (io4. He was a man
great in mind and great in stature, strong of
will and resolute of jinrpose. The two years'
successful reign of his predecessor had left
the Calij)hate in the ascendant ; and it was
not likely that Omar would allow the con-
quests of Islam to stop with their present
limits. His religious zeal was equal to his
warlike valor, and liis ])rivate life was as tem-
perate as his public exaiiqile was commendable.
For the fiilse luxury of the world he had no
liking. His manners were as severe as those
of John the Baptist. His beverage was water;
466
his r..,Hi, ofiKiii.
\v;is: •• Im.ui- tl.ii
wonl; llu' .[M,!
lif-I.M-tcil opporl
On acrriliii"-
i\\n-i:i:sAL iii.sroin: ^the modkrs would
aii.l the Mvivt rail,.- i;.i-u;..nl ..i III.
kiK.ul.Ml::,.,! ih.^ir >\n. an<l
iv.-il thr tlnii- .■o.iH-iciir,-. wnv >ali~l
title of Kluii-al-.Mo,n,i,ni,i. ,„■ Cmnniai
the FaithluL II.' l...,Lian hi~ caiv, r I,
iti.ms ha.l \nvu in
ir .>un arr,,nl, a.'-
^w.,v uhipiK.,! till
r,l.
i-.m in Danias.ais
.■.iiii|il.'tc tlic cun-
■>l
11,
pan. I a tu
certain ehi-:
■n.l. i>, an.l the remedy was , -iin KIk
so iV.-.'ly n|.pli..l a> t.. |ir.iv..l;e tlie sayiug, I ol' lli.' .M
"Omar's i\vi,-te.| s.'ourL:.' is more U) be feared i tli.' dire.
One of tlie tir>t aels .jf tli.' new C'alij.h of.Iu,-h,'
was t.. r.'rii.p.nnt Aim Ol,..i.lali t.. the e.,m- f..r a y.-a
man.l of ti,.' arniv in Svria. Th.^ nn^a-ure I., tl,.' ^h
was .m<. .,f -r.-at |..'ril ; fi.r n.^itli.-r .li.l Oh,.i- On n-
dal, .l.'Mre t., 1... ,. nm-al-in-ehi,.f, u..r was it Klial.-d I
,f a liaailH-e. As > , a> ih.' .AiM.lili.m N\as 1k-
i Khal..! was .-.mt foruanl willi .m.-thinl
wh.i had r.'e,.iv..
of <;o.l," aee,-].
Ohei.lah. A .di
Tin
Kme-.a. d'h.' main l.o.l
an.l .-hi. f. a.lvan.vd l,v w;
:)l..l.lah f..un,l that
in a si,^.-. An in-
■ aiitli-.riti.,- .,f the
l.v th.' pavm.mt of
• fi.Ty wan-ioi-.
.,f Ih.' ••Sw,,r.l
sniH.nlinaie t..
this tran-f.-r of
Avn ..f Ahvia,
din-, an.l huii-
>. It was stipnlat.'.l that
..f a v,.ar Km., -a sh.ml.l
. th.. :\I..d.-nr~, .m .-.mdili.n, t
Is, wa. tak.n 1.
annv. V,x th.-.-
itier.s of the
ain .d- si„,il was .Iriv.m -..v.rnn
d th.- ,.hin.l.r,li.tril,nt..l As .
M,
of I-
dam .•.,H.lii.-..l
to th.-ir eN.-..|l
,li.-r^.
Whih- ill.- a
n-, llo\\r\-er. tl
,,, ,l„. ,,f ll,,.
wini-
Oh.'i,
iKUiS
of ,|nml-.mm'''
aliz.'.l with ..e
-. •■r.v Allal
th.- m.Mvhants ,d' Em.:-a fonn.l
ih.miM-lve-.-e.Mir.- fr..m a,L::jiv-i.m th.-y ..|hi,..1
I lh<- -at.- of th.' .-itv, .■MaMidi..l fair-, an.l
■ l,.'i;an t.i j.lv a |.r..lilahh' tra.h- uith th.-ir .-.m-
s ,|n.T,,r>. Th.' -id .,f d'hrift l,.-an t-. r.v,,v.T
- fr.mi ^lars a |Mirti..n ..f hi- >|H,il-, ddie .^f.e
- hamme.lan. in.'anuhil.' rava^.-.l the Mirnmn.l-
- in- e.mnlrv, fell u| th.- villa;.. ■> ..f the nn-
1 h.-li.-v.r-, an.l .-.'i/.d th.' |.n.|M.rty ..f whoewr
I \\..nl,l n..t |,rof,-> hiins, if a folh.w.'r of the
- !>r..|.l.,;. ddi.' Syrian (in.ks, havin- mn.di
• .d'th.- r.'liL^i.Mi- .-I'loplmi.',- f.r uhi.h tli.ar ra.'C
l,il,lH-r-." A m.-au.' wa- pn-paiv.! at th
su--.',-ti. f All, wh.i.mi Oli.a.iah was .1
n.-t.-.l t.. hav.- tie- ollm,.l,a> |ml,li.-lv uhippe,
On r.MM-ivin- th.- .li-pal.-h ih.- -en.-ral sun
m.m.'.l th.' .euiltv, an.l had th.- ha.tina.h, lai
vn.on th.ir fh-di until the h.mor of Islam w:
:\r..iiam-
. d'.iwn
bv their own aet the
will ,-
■11.1
]iioi;.5 11
(■11 t.. iiistnu
t VOll,
shall
refuse
yoiiv
trilmt
pai
, _\
pv
ticipate i
m shall
It' \IIU 1
11 all <mv to
be left in j
1 the payn
eicet lidth 1
'iP\
forll,
fV(
walls
2I0HAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXCy.—COXQUEHTS OF FIRST CALIl'HS.
whole territories of Emessa, Alhailir, and
Keooesriu were saved from devastation.
Relations quite friendly were thus estab-
lished between the dominant Moslems and the
subject Syrian populations. The policy of
Obeidah was so successful that when for a
long time no intelligence of further conquest
was borne to i\Iediua, Caliph Omar, Ijelieviug
that Oheidah had ceased to glorify the Prophet,
wrote him a letter complaining of his apathy
in the cause. Stung by the reproaches of his
master, Obeidah left Khaled to await the ex-
]iiration of the year's truce at Emessa, and
himself at once set forward on an expedition
to Baalbec. While on the march W raptureil
a rich caravan of merchants and fomid him-
self in possession of four hundred loads of
silks and sugars. The caravan, however, was
permitted to ransom itself and continue on its
w-ny to Baalbec. Thus were the people of that
city notitied of the approach of the ^Moslems.
Herbis, the Syrian governor, believing that
the distiirbei's of his peace were only a baud
of marauders, sallied forth with an army to
put to flight the assailants of his people; but
Obeidah inflicted on him a severe defeat and
he was glad to secure himself within the walls
of Baalbec. The city was soon besieged, but
the garrison made a brave defense. lu a sally
which was ordered by Herbis, the Moslems
were driven back. Shortly the besieged made
a second sortie in full force, and a general
battle ensued, in which the Syrians were de-
feated. Being reduced to extremities, Herbis
finally sought a conference with Obeidah, and
Baalbec, like Emessa, was ransomed from pil-
lage at a heavy cost. The same scenes which
had been witnessed at Emessa were now re-
enacted in the recently captured citv. ISler-
chantmen grew fat by the estalili-liinnit of a
trade with the vietori.ius but ivck].-< Modrms,
who, burdened with the .pi.ils of wnr, wn-e
quick to purchase at an exorbitant price what-
ever pleased their fancv.
Meanwhile the year of truce with Emessa
expired, and Olieidah demanded the actual
surrender of the city. The sole condition of
exemption was the acceptance by the people
of the faith of Islam or the payment of an
annual tribute. "I invite you," .■=aid Obeidah,
"to embrace our holy faltli and the law re-
vealed to our Prophet M.jhanmied, and wc
Allah, the supreme judge, il. eid./ bctw > )i u^."
The authorities of Emessa icj. eted this
summons with contempt. The ■.;arii,~oii pre-
entlv sallied forth, and. the .Alo.de, „> were
handled roughly. Obeidah then resorted to
stratai^eni and proposed to the inhabitants that
he would retire and undertake the conquest
of other cities, on condition that his armv
.-liould be provid.iiied for a five davs' luare'h
from the storehouses of the city. The proposal
was gladly accepted, but wlieii tin- five da\s'
provisions were dealt out to the ^[osh m-.
Obeidah, pretending that the sup^ily was still
insufficient, asked the privilege of purchasing
additional stores. This granted, he continued
to buy until the supplies of Emessa were
greatly re.lueed. Tlu^ Modem army then
marched away and cpiiekly captured the towns
of .Vrrestan and Shaizar, This done, he re-
turned with all haste to Emessa, claiming that
his promise to leave the city was liy no means
a promise not to return.
Thus by craft and subtlety the inhaliitants
of Emessa found themselves overreached and
subjected to the hardshi])s of another siege.
After several days' fighting, during which the
impression on the steady [ihalaiixes of the
Syrian Greeks, they resorted to their ii>iial
.stratagem of pretending to fly from the ii;jht.
The opposing army, believing that the Arabs
were n.ally routed, rushed forward in pursuit
and fell to plnnderiii- the Modem camp.
Suddenly, however, the forces of Obeidah
turned from their flight and threw themselves
headlong ujion the broken ranks of the .'Syri-
ans. The latter were thunderstruck by "the
unexpected on-et of a foe whom they eon-iil-
ered overthrown, and were unable to reiin-m
the phalanx. Then a terrible slaughter en-
sued. The field wa. >trc^wn with Christian
dead. The huge bulk of the governor was dis-
covered among the slain, his bloody garments
still fragrant with the perfumes of the East.
The city, unable to offer further resistance,
immediately surrendered. Obeidah, however.
r.\ni:iiSAi. iiisrony.-^TJiK modi-lw wojujk
was uual.lc M avail U\m.r\f nf tin- a.K
„i- vi.-iniv. I'm- in 111.- luoiurnl ..f i
of tile KiniHTor. wa< api.n.a.-lin,;: uilli an iii
m.n>.- arniv ..f hravv-arint-.l (iivrk~. tlauk.
hv a li..-t'uf aiixiliari.- a-aiuM ^^ilo,n tl
Mu.l,.,„> rouM 11. .t h.,|„. to Man. I. h lH-,;an
,/„ui--.' >li..ul.l Ih- |.ui-mi,'.1 I., uiaiiilain tli,' w<
tlir ,lcvil an.l Ih 11 li.liind. Fisrlit bravely, ami
y..n will MMaiiv tli.' ..n.- fly, and yuu will fall
ini.i the .itli.a." 'I'll.- liii-tilr armies met near
Y.ini.ink. Tlir Katilc lu-an at muniiuL', and
rap-.l fnn..u-lv tl,P.u-l,..ut tli,- ,lav. Three
tiua- til.- .M..-l.-ni~ u.iv .hiv.-u Lack l.v the
■Mi.'.l I., uiaililain tli.- wnx the Ar
, a .-..iin.al ..f uar it was tlu- w;
V.Tni.iuk, nn the Im.hUts -av,- a
,iv await th,' anmiael. of I'mphr
Il.ra.-liiis, at
ir.t d.>,,i
<in-- thr re
M.iluniini.Mlan
ns'on 111.-
>..utl
was now thon.
ijilv ala
■IU..1 at th
■ i".rt
intellisi-ence \vl
i.-h fnn-u
l.hhc.M.-l
■ni ru
of all Syria.
An ani
y of .-i-h
mc
un.hr the (•..niinan.l .,f .Manii.l, win. wa< ..i
dere.l t.. r.-e.,v,'r lli.- Syrian pn.vin.-e fn.in th
Arab-. .Manti.'l wa^ 'i..in.-.l n, mnh' l,v an
r- t.) n-n.-w th.' h,-ht. Xi-htlhli
)v ini.rninu- li-lit the hattle was re-
1 a-ain <-..iitinui.l to the darkness.
:inil f..nrtli day- of the eontliet were
Th.- Christian hosts were at last
■i.ai liv th.' fierv as>aiilts ..f
the M..d.ni~. -Mann. 1 wa~ .-lain an.l his army
e..nii,l,-t.ly n.nf.l. Tii.- .•.mtli.t was deeisive
Aft. a- a H,..ntlf> n-t at Dania-.als, the Arab
arn.v |,r...-.-,.h-.l t., b.-si.-.- .K-ru>alem. The
inhabitant- ..f that .-ity iirepaied fir defense
by LiathiiiiiL:' [irovi.-ion- ami planting engines
on th.' walls. Th.- usual demands made by
M,
r.l .laba
.1 bv th.' M..>l.ni
c.imin,- ha.l .ibli-.Ml tin
the viet.iri.ius M.,-h.m<
Em.»a.
The Arab. j.ai.a-als. ii.
i.eril an.l a-kin- lor r,
that the people should
aitli of Islam or b.-eome
ir of th.' I'r.iphet were
■<tnient lii'i;an. For ten
■t' r.n.'wt.l from time to
dat Y.'rm.iuk. fillow.'.l
he L
It w:
Omar sli,.uh:
t., ol
h.lW.'
firth
.'i.lah. IVt
a-r, tin- in,
uith a bo
.r.' ih.
■'•""■"
Iv .it'
arrival ..
- Khal.'.l
p.'k.'.l t>
■ this fir
ha.l sail
HI].-, lal
til,' a
f'at.
.\- .Mann.
In- o|„no.
1- Jab
inlli.'t
■'i'l"
n."j'..l
ll.lll, wh..
la.'la.l wi
ialioiis wi
h Ih,' m
Khal
',1 «as M-nt
li;.-t.'.| rxr,
I.I .'1 1-.
It th.'
nf.'n'iie.'.
but noth
.Mill,,' A
,'.1 that th,'
.fn.in M.'.liuaand r,',',ive the city. That
mat,' a,','..r.lin;Jy trav.r-.'.l the Arabian
, d.'>.'rt, an.l th.' Il.ilv ( ilv wa- -iven into his
1 han.b. h wa- Mipulal..! that the Christiaus
, sh.iid.l buil.l .w ,'hnn'h,'- in the countries
■ whi.'h liny .-unvn.l.'r.'.l; that the d...:irs of all
It the b,-lbsh,iuld
ila<',',l ,'on
rwar,l ,Hit
nl M.ihainin.'.h,
lul,
In th.' ini|,.'n.r
in- his .iwn aliilil
t.i Khal.'.l. Thai
the ,'onrii,'t. nia.h'
address. '-I'ara.li
In- ,'ity .,f Davi.l.
Omar m'I n|iul..n>l v ob-.a-ved the terms of
h' -uri'.'inhr. Th.' ' .M.i-h'ins were forbidden
o play ill th,' Christian churches. The devo-
ion- of the Ishunite.s were at first limited to
he slips ami porches of the sacred edifices.
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEyDEXCV. — COXl^UE.-STS OF FIRST CALIPHS. W.
4711 i\\]vr:i;sAL insTDnv.—THK modkrx world.
The Calii'li, howrvrr. .li.i not t'liil l-. :ul.l ilic t'u-i..n <:i>U( .1 a> liiiiMc as any thing which
Scan-liin-- <.ul lli«- >hf ni' ili.' icmplc t<\' S,,l,,- ijtini-c this .Ir-pcrair, internal strife could be
innti. hr rl.ar.-.l tli- skih-.I >i,oi .,f ilir :l:hri< .lai.-tcl, Khalr.l a|ii»anM| uith liis army bo-
or centuries, and laid tlieri'.>n the fouudations | tore the walls. Tile city was stormed, the
of the -reat mos(|Ue whieli still bears bis name, conllict ra-in- tiercely lor many hours, until
.t ma-nilieml <],eeimens of Arabian arcbi- , d.e.-ist IVom ibe a>sailt. The beads of the
teemre. Tim-, in tli- vear A. I ». C-'i:. the Arai> inison.r- wen- cut ..ifan.l thrown down
l)asse.l into the' ban.l- of the follow.rs oi' the by liv<|Uent sdlies, niade himself a terror even
iiefoiv baviuL;- .Terusalem ()n)ar planned For live month- the citad-l was besieged,
Soiitliern >vria wa- a— i'jned to Abu Sotian, prise ; but the Caliph ordere(l the investnieut
while the iiorthern region lyin- betwe.n ; to be pro->ed to a conclusion. At last an Arab
Hauran an,l Aleppo was committed to (Jbei- i stratagem >ucc,ede,l where courage had failed,
dah. At the .same time an iuvasion of Egypit A certain ]\lo-|rm Hercide.s, named Damas,
was ordered, and an expedition against that ' with a band of thirty reckless followers, scaled
c.umtrv put under command of Aniru. The-e the ca-tle wall by night, killed the guard,
in triumph to .Medina. During his ab-ence Islani. an.l held the gate until Khaled and his
the atlidrs of ^tate had beeu managed by Ali, irre^i.-tible ho,-t poinrd in and captured the
whom the Caliph had intrusted with the gov- citadel. Aleppo wa- the pri/.e of victory. The
ernmeiit. terrible Yoiikenna, linding the Arab sword at
throat, savid himsell' l)y a sudden couver-
to Jshuu, and mo>t of the garrison fol-
mI his example. He signalized hi.s defec-
1'rom the Christian cause by taking uj)
.-word of the Prophet. He i>etraved the
of Aaza/, into the hand^ of Obeidah, ami
oriilied, aiul the eitad.l, then undertook no less an enterprise than the
I, moun,l. ,-e.-m.-d inipre^- drlivery of Antioch to the .Mohammedans.
riie pla.'e was under com- . To tlii> end lu- gave himself up at one of the
le |Kople by word and jucseiicc ot' Herac'lius at the Syrian capital.
■ed to li-ht for the city to lb- pretended to be a fugitive. The Emperor
.•idah couM reaeh .\leppo. aeeepted hi- .-tory, and put him in command
rth with ten thoir-and men of th.- v.ry bam'l of renegades whom he had
to .■onlVont the ap|>roa(ddng Moslem-. Dur- led within'.-ight of the chy. He rapidly rose
ing hi- ali-eiieo thi' peace-loving traders of j in the Imperial favor. He was made a coun-
Aleppr. .-cut a d. piitation to ( )beidah, otil-ring I selor of the court, and became one of the mo.st
to make the city tributary on condition of important lier-ona-es in Antioi-h.
being spared. But, while the negotiation- .Meanwhilo, ( HM-idah came on with the main
werc^ pending, Youkenna surp,rised the Arab army to be.-iege the city. The treacherous
a.lvance and -ained a partial suec-s; then. Yo.dc.mna wa- intru-ted with the defense,
hearing what tlu- eiiiz,m- ,,f Aleppo had d.m.-, -fl..- f iree.- of tl„. Knip.-ror were drawn up and
he hastened ba.d; to the city to lu'event a nviewed without the walls, ami Heraeliii.s
surrender. him.-elf made a present of a crucifix to each
On reenterintr the irates Youkenna charged battalion. The main dependence for the safety
upon the citizen-, and liumlreds were jiut to ol' Antioch was the great stone bridge across
the sword. A sciie of bhxMlshed and con- the river Orontes. This iiassat^e must be
Yu-.
the no:
tnwhile.
, Ob,.i,lah
. The citi
began his n,
les of Kenm-
.arch to
rin and
Alhadi
r w.-re
surrender
.■d to him u
ithout a
couHi.'i
;. The
lantile metro
poll, of
Alepp,
., how,
■ver. wa-
not to be -'
iven up
Withou
t an ol
ll-L;le. Thi-
wealthv
wh
ex;
nd <.f an
Y.
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDEXCV.—COXQUESTS OF FinST CALIPHS. 47
.secured by the ]Mii.-ilems before they cduhl
hope to take the eity. The guards ..f the
bridge, however, ha^l a private t-pite t(.» be
gratified, and as socm as the Arab army drew
near surrendtred tliemselves and their charge
to Obeiihib. Tluis was the approach to Au-
tideh huil opeii, aud the two armies were
lirought face to face before the walls of the
city.
lu the mean time Youkeuua, who held
command within the ramparts, completed his
treason by liberating the Arab prisoners.
When the intelligence of his proceedings was
carried to Heraelius, the latter fell into de-
spair, slipped away from the Christian camp
with a few followers, took his course to the
sea-shore, aud embarked for Constantinople.
The generals of the Emperor, however, re-
mained aud fought. In the severe battle
which ensued before the walls of the city, the
Moslems were again triumphant. Antioch
surrendered, aud was obliged to purchase her
exemption from pillage by the payment of
three thousand ducats of gold.
The conquest of Syria was now virtually
complete. Khaled, at the head of a division
of the army, traversed the country as far as
the Euphrates. Everywhere the towns aud
villages were compelled either to profess the
faith of Islam or pay an annual tribute.
Another leader, named Mesroud, undertook
the conquest of the Syrian mountains. Little
success, however, attended the expedition un-
til Khaled went to the assistance of Mesroud,
whereupon the opposing army of Greeks
withdrew from the country.
In the mean time Amru, to whom had
been assigned the subjugation of Egypt, pro-
ceeded against Ctesarea. Here was posted
Constantine, son of the Emperor, in command
of a large army of Grseco-Syrians. Great
were the embarrassments of Amru in the con-
duct of his expedition ; for many Christian
Arabs, who could not well be discriminated
from the true followers of the Prophet, hov-
ered as spies about the Moslem camp and
carried to Constantine intelligence of what-
ever was done or purposed. None the less,
the Christian general entertained a wholesome
dread of the ^Moslems, and on their ap-
proach sought a peaceable settlement. He re-
monstrated with Amru, and at the same time
29
.tested that the Greeks aud Aral
A I
ru niamtaniei
that
rdint
to the Noachic distribution of the world Syria
belonged to the descendants of Shem ; that
they had been wrongfully dispossessed aud
thrust into the deserts of Arabia, and that
tht-y were now come to repossess their inheri-
tance liy the sword. After much jjarley, the
usual alternative was presented by the Mo-
hammedan. The people of Csesarea must
either accept Mohammed as their Prophet and
acknowledge the unity of God or else become
tributary to the Caliph Omar. The armies
then j)repared for battle. It was the peculiar-
ity of all these conflicts that challenges to
jiersonal combat were given and accepted by
the leaders. Before the wall of Cfesarea a
]Wj\verful Christian warrior rode forth and de-
fieil the Moslem host to send a man to match
him in fight. An Arab youth from Yemen
otl'ered himself for martyrdom and was quickly
slain. A second and third followed his ex-
ample. Then the veteran Serjabil went forth
and was prostrated by the Christian hero.
But when the latter was about to take the
life of his fallen foeman, his own hand was
cut oft' by a saber stroke of a certain Greek,
who came to the rescue.
Presently after this adventure — the weather
being cold and boisterous — Constantine im-
mured himself in Cresarea. That place was
then besieged by the jMoslems, and Constan-
tine, iustead of being reenforced, received the
intelligence of the capture of Tripoli and
Tyre. He also learned that a fleet of muni-
tions and supplies which had been sent to his
relief had fallen into the hands of the enemy.
Discouraged by these tidings, he gathered to-
gether his treasures and family, slipped away
from Cffisarea, and emliarked for Constantino-
ple. As soon as the authorities of the city
learned that the prince had fled, they made
overtures to Amru and secured their safety
by the patient of a ransom of two hundred
thousand pieces of silver. A few other places
of minor importance were taken by the Mo-
hammedan, and by the following year, A. D.
639, opjiosition ceased. All Syria was wrested
from the Empire of the East and added to
the Caliphate of j\Iedina.
It will be remembered that on the accession
4,2
UXIVEIiSAL niSTnUY. — THE MODKILX WORLD.
of Oiuar that potentate displaced the victorious
Khaled from the commaud of the Syrian
army, and in other ways showed his dislike
for the favorite general of Abu Beker.
Khaled was a hero according to the Arab
heart and model. Eschaus, one of the many
jinets of tlie desert, san- tlie praises of tlie
Sword of God and attrihule.l to him the full
glory of the Syrian victories. For this bit of
adulation Khaled was weak enough to make
the poet a present of thirty thousand pieces
of silver. To the austere Omar, already in-
imical to Khaled. tlii< vainglory appeared in-
tolerable. The vetei'an soldier was, moreover,
accusal of euibez/.lcin.iil, was deposed from
his command, and divnieed with a trial.
Alreadv aged and infirm, the hardy warrior
.•ould not I'ecover from his disgrace. He died
of a broki-n heart, liut from the sepulcher his
fame >hone out more brightly than ever.
For it was found that instead of enriching
himself iiy emijezzlemeut, his whole estate
consisted (jf his war-hoi-se and armor.
Amru was now free to prosecute his inva-
sion nf K-vpt. Having crossed the bord.'r.
his \\\A work was to capture I'elu>iuni, wliicli
he ilid after a siege of a month's durati(ju.
He then marched against Misrah, the ancient
Memi)his, which, next to Alexandria, was now
the most important eity of Egyi)t. The place
was investi-i! for >cveii months, nor niinlit it
ihe h;
.Is of the Mo.s-
the governor,
correspondence
render the city
)e permitted to retain
had collected while in
then have fallen into il
lems, but for the tri:i,-
Mokawkas, who enten-d
with Amru, and agreed
ou condition that he b
the treasures whicl
ofhce.
Having thus posse-e<l himself of M.-mphis,
Amru next set out for Alexandria. By the
terms of capitulation the people were obliged
to prepare the way liefore him, bridge the
canals, and >upply pi-ovisions. The malcon-
llv tl'i.' (hvek— eh^ni.'nt ,,f K-vp-
frll back bcfuv the invadin-
specui
tiau society Icii
army and took i
strongly fortified m
ioned and defemh
to all the fleets of
attempted reductic
appeared the proj.
less, Amru made t
Al
isily accessible
anean, that its
[1 of the desert
tV. XcVCthc-
umds of nji--
ious and civil submi.s.-iou to the Prophet and
his vicar, and when these were refused, boldly
laid siege to the powerful capital. In a short
time he succeeded in capturing the citadel,
but the (i reeks rallied in great force, drove
out the assailants, and made prisoners of
Amru and several of hi- oflicer-. Xot know-
ing, however, the rank ami imjHjrtance of
their cajjtives, the victors permitted them to
depart ou the easy mission of obtaining favor-
al)le terms from Amru! The far-resounding
shouts of the Moslems on beholding the safe
rctui-n ot' their general gave notice to the
cicdulous governor of Alexandria that he had
let fly the most important bird <.f tlie de>ert.
For fourteen months the >icge of ilie city
continued. Xothing could di.sajipoint the des-
pciatc .Mo-lcms of their prey. Caliph Omar
.-I'Ut army alter army to reenforce the besieg-
ers. It i- said that twenty-three thousand of
the Arabs fell in various unsuccessful assaults
before the city was obliged to yield. At last,
however, the end came, and the capital of
Egy])t succumbed to the followers of the
I'rophet. The fiery Crescent took the place
of the Crov- in the metropolis of Africa.
3Iost of the Greeks, who for .some centu-
ries had been the predominant class iu Egypt,
t<iok ship and left the country. For a while,
howevei-, they hovered about the coast, and
when it was learned that Amru. leavini;- a
.-^mall garrison in Alexandria, l.a.l started (,n
hi. march up the valh^y of the Nile, a large
fire,' .if ihe(ireek fugitives >u.l.l,-nly returned
anil retook the city. Great was the wrath of
Amru ou hearing what was done. He at
once marched back to the capital, and after a
bri..f invotment, again carrie.l the citadel by
a.-ault. M.ist of the (ircks were cut to
pieces, and the rest escaping to their ships
took flight by sea. The ^Mohammedans were
now mad for the pillage of the city, and were
with dittii'ulty h.'l.l in .•heck by Amru and a
m.'»a'je from the <'alipli. (^mar was very far
from .l.-siriu'.: that the magnifi.'ent metrojjolis
>li..ul.l b,. .l,.>tr..v,Ml. At thi- time Alexau-
.Iria is sai.l t.i hav c tain.Ml fair th.m.suid
]ialaces, five thousand baths, four hundred
theaters, twelve thousand gardeners, and forty
thousand tributary Jews. The Cidiph was
sufti.'iently wise t.i tin.lerstand that not pillage
but till- iiiipn>ition of tribute was the best
3I0HAMMEDAX ASCEXDEycY. — COXQUESTS OF FIUST CALll'H^
method of replcuishiug the coffers of Medina
and providing the ret^ources of war.
Formidable resistance ceased iu Egypt
with the capture of the capital. The other
towns and villages surrendered at the first
summons and became tributary to the con-
queror. A tax of two ducats was laid upon
every male Egyptian, and a large additional
revenue was derived from the landed property
of the kiugdom. It was estimated that the
Caliph received from these various sources the
sum of twelve millions of ducats.
At the time of the conquest of Egypt,
there was resident in Alexandria a certain
Christian scholar of the sect of the Jacobites,
known by his Greek name of Johannes Gram-
inaticus, aud the cognomen of Philoponus.
"With him Amru, himself a scholar and a poet,
liecame acquainted. The antagonism of re-
ligious zeal was for once overcome by the
sentiment of personal regard. While still
resident in the city, the Grammarian informed
Amru that Alexandria contained one treasure,
which he had not yet beheld, more valuable
and glorious than all her other riches. This
was, in brief, the renowned Alexandrian
Library, the vastest collection of manuscripts
known to the ancient world. It had been
fcnmded by Ptolemy Soter, who placed the
vast collection made in his own times in a
building called the Bruchion. Here was
gathered during the reigns of the earlier Pto-
lemies a mass of four hundred thousand vol-
umes. An additional building, called the
Serapeon, was subsequently procured, and in
this another collection of three hundred thou-
sand was stored. During Julius Csesar's in-
vasion of Egypt, he was besieged in Alex-
andria; a fire broke out, aud the Bruchion
with its contents was destroyed. The Serajieon
was saved from destruction. Afterwards, as
far as practicable, the lost collection was re-
stored. During the ascendency of Cleopatra,
the library of Pergamus was brought by her
lover, Mark Antony, to Egypt, and presented
to the easy-going but ambitious princess. Not-
withstanding the injuries which the great
library at various times sustained, it was, at
the time of the Moslem invasion, by far the
grandest and most valuable collection of liooks
in the world.
In making an inventorv of the treasures of
the city according to directions received from
Omar, Amru, through ignorance of its exist-
tence, failed to take notice of the library.
The Grammarian thereupon besought him that
he himself might be made the possessor of the
vast collection. Amru, disposed to favor his
friend, referred the matter to the Caliph
Omar for decision. From that potentate he
presently received the following fatal missive:
"The contents of those books are in con-
formity WITH the Koran or they are not.
If they are, the Koran is sufficient
without them ; if they are not, they are
pernicious. Let them, therefore, be de-
stroyed."
This reckless mandate of ignorant bigotry
was carried out to the letter. The invaluable
treasures of the Bruchion and 8erapeou were
torn from their places and (li>tiil)uted as fuel
among the five thou-and baihs of the city.
So vast were the collcctidiis that six mouths
were required to consume them. At last,
however, the work of barliarism was com-
pleted, and the library of Alexandria was no
more.'
The capture of Alexandria ended the do-
minion of the Eoman Empire in the South-
east. So great was the affliction of Heraclius
on account of his losses that he presently fell
into a jjaroxysm and died. The crown de-
scended to his sou Constantine, but that
prince had neither the courage nor ability to
undertake the recouquest of Syria. Fortunate
it was for the Mohammedans that Egypt fell
at this juncture into their hands. A great
dearth ensued throughout Araliia, and Calijih
Omar was obliged to call upon Amru to fur-
nish Medina and Mecca with supplies. The
rich granaries of Egypt were etnptied of their
stores to save the people of the South from
starvation.
In order to open and facilitate communica-
tion between Egypt and Arabia, Amru C(.im-
pleted the canal from the Nile to the Red
Sea — a work which had been begun liy the
Emperor Trajan. By tliis means an all-water
' Tlie story of the destruction of the Alexan-
drian Library has been doubted by so careful an
authority as Gibbon, who found the act unmen-
tioned by two of the most ancient historians, and
regarded it, inoreover, as a deed altogether incon-
sistent with the intelligence and character of
Amru.
UXIVEHSAL IIISTOny. — THE MODKHX WOULD.
route was fstahhslicd i.ciwciii tlic J'.-vptuin
stor(-linu-,.s aihl 111.- caiiital nf tl„- ( ■alii.hatc.
Amni rnntimir,! \\,i- .uu,v liinr in llir -..v.-ni-
ment ..ftl.c rnuntrv uln,-li !,.• IkhI .-oihiiun-,!,
exliil.itiii- in l"'ar,. tal.ntv a- ivinarkal.l.' as
thu.r whirl, !„■ hacl .li-|.layr,i in war.
Ill the iiaaii tiinr, uliilc tlir cdliqucst of
Syria an.! Ivjvpl l.a-l Ih.i, pn.-ressing, tlie
Mohammedan ilMiuiiiiMii had likewise been ex-
tended in the :!ii.-, li r I'crsia. The vic-
tories of the IJoiiiaii^ ill that <-<miitry, no less
tliaii till' <-ivil hidils and iiiunlers with which
the Persian cinirt was (■(instantly disgraced,
invited the xms of Wain to undertake an in-
vasion. The caiiilal (if the country was now
the city of Madain, on the Tigris, the site of
the ancient Ctesiphon. The conquests of
Khaled on the Euphrates before his recall to
aid in the subjiiL'-ation of Ryria have been
already narrated. It will be nnieinbered that
on going to the aid <if Ohcidali, Khaled left
the larger part of his army under command
of Mosenna to carry mi the war. On the ac-
cession of Omar a new (ifliicr was appointed
to the governorship of lialiyl-mia, which
Khaled had subdued to Islam. It does not
appear that Mosenna was competent as a
military chieftain. For a time nothing was
added to the Mohammedan dominion, and
Caliph Omar, tired of his subordinate in the
East, sent a second Olieidah, surnamed Sakfi,
to supersede M(jseiuia and carry out the policy
of Abu Beker.
On the approach of the new commander to
the capital, an army of thirty thousand men
was sent out by the Persians to confront the
invaders on the border. A battle was fought
between the advance detachments of this force
and the Arabs, in which the latter were vic-
torious. The main body came up too late to
succor the routed van, and was itself signally
defeated. The reserves of the kingdom were
now brfuight out under the command of Beh-
man, who led into the field a new army
and thirty elephants. The Persian forces
were reorganized on the plains of Babylon,
and were vastly superior in number to the
Moslems, whose army consisted of nine thou-
sand men. There was a dispute between
Obeidah and the other commanders as to
whether they should hazard a second battle or
retire into the desert "nd wait for reeuforce-
nients fnnii Arabia. Olieidah was for fight,
and lii- view- prevailed over the adverse
,,pini(,n< ..f hi- eciierals. The Arabs crossed
the la I pi 1 rate- and attacked the Persians on
the (ipp(i>iie bank, Init reckless valor could
nut prevail over the hosts of the enemy.
Olieidah wa< -lain, and fair thousand of liis
men were either killed (.r dniwiied in attempt-
ing I'l relicat. Had the Persians followed up
their ,-uree,-s with energy, the whole jMoslem
army inn>l have been destroyed. Mosenna,
howcvir, siieeeeded in rallying three thousand
of his men, and was soon reenforced by de-
taelinunts out of Syria. Thus enabled to
reiissume the oliiaisive, ^Io.senna ravaged
the Balivldiiiau ])lains, capturing towns and
villages.'
After the battle on the Eui>hrates, Queen
Ar/.emia, then the ruler of Persia, gave the
ciininiaiid (if her army to Mahran, who was
ordered to check the Career of jSIoseuna. The
liostile armies again met in liattle near the
town of Hirah, on the confines of the desert.
From midday until the setting of the sun the
tight raged tierccly, and the victory remained
undecided, till at last Mosenna and Mahran
met in single combat. The latter was slain,
and the Persians took to flight. A revolution
in the capital followed the news of the battle.
Arzeniia was dethroned by Rustam, prince of
Khoras.san, who put his captive sovereign to
death. A new army was mustered, and it
was determined to scourge the Arabs from
the land.
^leainvhile, the Caliph Omar had not been
idle. A large contingent of nomad warriors
was gathered at ^Medina, and Omar was with
difficulty dissuaded from taking the field in
person. The command of the reenforcements
was at length given to the veteran Abu
Wakkas, who had been a companion of the
Prophet. He was given the general com-
mand of all the Moslems in Persia, and was
intrusted with the completion of the conquest.
Mosenna presently died, and the whole re-
sponsibility devolved on Abu Wakkas.
The Persians still greatly outnumbered
their assailants. Their army, under command
of Rustam, was posted at Kadesia, on the
frontier. So great was the disparity of num-
bers that Abu Wakkas would fain have
waited for reenforcements ; but the messenger
JIOHAJLMEDAX ASCEXDEXrY.^i OXi^CES'L'y OE EIRST CALIPHS.
of the Caliijh exhorted the general to tl-ai'
not, but to strike in the name of the Proiiht-t.
Before venturing on a battle, however. Aim
Wakkas determined to attempt the eoi[ver>i<in
of his euem_y by jjersuasiou. An end):is>y,
consisting of the most eminent Aral)s, was
sent to the Persian capital, and the king was
exhorted to turn to the tliith of Islam. The
the
is suh-
latler was indi-i
and the eoiil^ivnre wa. bmkrn
tual recriminations.
Again the fate of the kingdi
nutted to the arbitrament of liatrle. Tli.- two
hi.istile armies were drawn up on tin/ plains
of Kadesia. Here a terrible contii'/t cii-iicd,
but nitiht came without decisive n -ult^. The
next day wa- ron.-iunrd in .kinuidiiii- and
personal romliats in whir], ,-,.v.'ral ..f the
leaders ou Loth ^i^rs were >laiii. The third
day's tii;lit was atti nded with varying suc-
night. On the next morning Ru-tain was
killed, whereupon the Persian army took to
night, and the camp wa- .1. spoiled by the
^[oslems. Thirty iliou-and of the Persians
were slain in the Imttle and the pursuit, and
an incalculable amount of booty fell into the
hands of the victors. The suclvd banm-r of
Persia was captured by an Aral) .-oMicr, wlio
received therefor thirty thou-and pin, s of
gold. Thus, in the year (i:')o, was f..ULiht the
great liattle which di^cided the fate of Per.sia.
The work of organizing the Babylonian
country was now devolved bv the Caliph on
Abu Wakkas. A mw capital, named Bas-
sora, was founded on the united Euphrates
and Tigris, and here were established the
head-quarters of the ^Mohammedans in the
East. In a short time the city grew into
importance, becoming a great mart for the
commerce of India. Vntil the present day
Bassora is regarded as one of the i)rincipal
emporiums of eastern trade.
As yet the capital of Persia had not lieen
assailed by the Motion,.. But after the liattle
of Kadesia, the juMiplc were so dispirited that
the completion of the conquest by the Arabs
was only a question of time. INIauy cities and
Is were given up without even a
stron
show of defense. What
Babylon thus fell into the
ers of the Prophet.
led of ancient
of the follow-
After a short time Abu Wakkas gathered
his forces, crossed the Tigris, and adxaiiced
against ^ladain. On his approaili to tlio cap-
ita! the Persian coun.selors bi-oiiuht tin- kinir,
Yezilegird, to save himself ami tlicm by living
into Khorassan. Xo s.-ttled pnli,-y wa'~ d'eter-
miued on until the ^lio-Lins wm- wiiliiii one
day's march of :^Iadain. Tlien the king, ac-
companied by his panir-strnek household, took
to tli-hi. Tiiere was no f .nnal resistance to
the entrance of the Arabs into the capital of
Per.sia. The city was left sitting with her
treasures in her hand. "How manv gar-
den-^ and fountain^." said Abu Wakkas' "and
fiehb ,,f corn and fair dwellin- and other
■sof
lai:e. A scene ensued like that of the sack
of Rome by the barbarians. The Arabs of
the de>ei-t in'oke into the magniticeut palace
of rhnsroes and reveled in the >plemlid halls
of the Sassaniau king. While tlie Prophet
lived he had written a letter to the Persian
monarch, demanding his suiimi--ioii to the
new kingdom which Allah wa~ e>talili>hing in
tlie earth; but the hauelitv soveiei-n tore up
the Prophet's letter in contempt. " Even so,"
said Mohammed, " ,-hall Allah rend hi,- empire
111 pieces." When the Arabs gained posses-
sion of the Persian basilica, they cried out:
"Behohl the white jialace of Khosru ! This
is the fiilHUment of tlie pi'ophecv of the
Ap.istle oi' (iod."
Abu Wakka- e-tabli-hed himself in the
royal aliode. Mo,-t ot' the treasures wdiich
throii-h age-, had been accumulated in the
vault> of the capital were >eize,l by the :\r,,s-
lems. Tlie>e unto],l ^poil- of war were di-
tributed according to the Arab method. (.)ne-
fifth of the whole was >et apart ibr the Caliph,
and the remainder was diviiK'd among the
sixtv thoiismd f .llowers of Abu Wakkas, each
soMier iveeiviiig twclvc hundred pieces of
^ilver. A caravan of nine hundred heavily
Caliph',- portion to Medina. Xever before
had such an enormous train of spoil fieeii seen
in the streets of the Citv of the Prophet.'
' As illustrative of the sph-it of tlie Moham-
meilans, an incident may be related of the (hvision
of the spoils. Tlie rnyal carpet of the Persian
palace, [lerluips the most famous piece of tniiestry
■iiii
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODKRX WORLD.
Thus, iu the year Go7— the event heiug coin-
eideut with the capture of Jei-usalem by
Omar— the Euqiire uf Persia jnissed under
the dominion of tlio .Mohaniniedans. The
clond, apparmlly no larjir tiian the hand of
a luau ri.-iiiL:- from ilir .-liores of the Red Sea,
spread out
i<t until its shadow
the Euphrates and
fell beyond tlie valic\
the lofty rauL'e of Zai;io>.
Remaiuinfi iu tiu- capital of Pia-sia, Abu
Wakkas sent forward an army of twelve thou-
sand men in |>ui>uit of the fugitive king.
The latter had tied to Ilohvan, iu the Median
hills. This place was besieged for six mouths,
aud finally captured. FroiB this place Yez-
degird made good his retreat to Ehaga, the
ancient nv-idiiiic of the Parthian kings. The
further pur>uil ot' the moiuirch was forbidden
by the (-'alijih, whc^ urged that the welfare of
the believers was of more importance thau
booty taken from infidels.
Abu Wakkas soon discovered the unhealth-
fulness of the situation at Madain. At the
suggestion nf the Caliph it was determined to
seek a more sahdirious position for the Arab
army. The village of Cuta, ou the western
hank of the Euphrates, was accordingly
choseu and made tlie future head-quarters of
the :Moslems of the East.' Iu building his
new city Abu Wakka> .lespoile.l the old; for
many of the editiees of Madain were pulled
down to furnish material for the new struc-
tures on the hither side of the Euphrates. —
And now came a characteristic event iu the
career of the compiering Islam.
It appears that Abu Wakkas was too sus-
ceptible to tlie influences of Persian luxury.
He began to a>Hinie the habit and >pleudi,l
manners of the Ivist. lie had built for him-
of ancient times, was taken with the other booty
to :Medina. What disposition should be made of
this most beautiful and costly trophy ? Sliould it
be spread out aud used on state occasions by tlie
Caliph? or sliould it be cut up and distributed
with the other spoils ? Omar decided that justice
required the partition of all booty. The beautiful
carpet was accordiufrly divided without respect to
the design or workmanship, and jiarceled out in
scraps tolhosi' who liad lakeii the j.alace.
'The tnwu of Cula was <leserv<Mlly famr.us in
the trailitions <,i the S.-mitir nations. Tiiere
Xoah, when the world was al.out to be drowned,
entered the ark of saiety. aud there the serpent
that tempted Eve was haui.-hcd under the cur.se.
self at (-'ufa a maLiiiitica-nt Kiosk, or summer
residence, wh.re he a»umed the state of
royalty like that of a Persian priuce. Great
was the niortiticatiou of Caliph Omar wdieu
the news ol' these proceedings was borne to
^b-dina. Hi' immediately wrote a message to
Abu Wakka>, aial (h.^patehed the same by
the hands (jf a iaitht'ul envoy named ^Moham-
ined. The latter repaired at once to, Cuta,
wliere he signalized his advent by burning to
the ground tiie stimi)tiu.)US Kiosk of Abu
W'akkas. When that di>tinguished personage
came forth indi-uantly and demanded to know
the reason of this incendiary work, the am-
bas.sador put into his hands the following
letter from Omar: "I am told thou hast built
a lofty ]ialaee, like to that of the Khosrus,
and decorated it with a door taken from the
hitter; with a view to have guards aud cham-
berlain- ,-tationed about it to keep off those
who niav c'ome in quest (if justice or assistance,
as was the practice of the Kho-srus before
thee. In so doing thou hast departed from
the ways of the Prophet (on wdioiu be bene-
diction<), and hast fallen into the ways ..f the
Persian monarchs. Know tliat the Kho^ais
have jiassed from their palace to the tomb;
while the Prophet, from his lowly habitation
on earth, has been elevated to the highest
heaven. I have sent .M..liamuied Ibn Mus-
leinah to burn thy palace. In this world twi>
houses are .-ufhcieiit for thee; one to dwell in,
the other to contain the treasure of the
IMo.slems."
Islam had now become an Empire. The
austere Omar found himself burdened with
the cares of state. His main dependence iu
the ti-an-acti"n of |iulilic business was iu the
advice of Othman and Ali. Between them
and himself he drew as closely as possible the
ties of relationship and interest. In the same
year with the founding of Cufa he married
the Arab ]irineess, Omni Kolsam, daughter of
.\li and Fatima, ami granddaughter of the
Prophet. The relation of the reigning Caliph
with what may be called the royal family of
1-lam was thus more closely drawn, and the
-uppoit of jUi secured for the future.
.Meanwhile Hormuzau, satrap of Susiana,
looked with ill-concealed aversion upon the
.Mohammedan power in Babylonia. T. him
the fjumliui: of the citv of Bas.-ora on the
MOHAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXCY.^COXQUESTS OF FIRST CALIPHS.
Lower Euphrates appeared a.s a nienaee.
The haughty prince foresaw that his proviuce
must also presently succumb to the aggressive
Mohammedans, or else that they must be re-
pelled from his borders. He accordingly re-
solved on war and made Bassora the object of
his hostility. The people of that city applied
to the Calijih for assistance, and another army
of the faithful was sent out from Medina.
The conflict was short and decisive. Hor-
muzan was defeated in a series of battles, and
half of his provim-e was adde.l to tiie Moslem
dominions in the East. In the mean time
Yezdegird, the fugitive king of Persia, sent
word from Rhaga to the governor of Faristan
to take up arms in common with Hormuzan
for the recovery of the kingdom. The con-
flict was accordingly renewed. Reenforce-
ments were sent forwai'd by the Caliph, and
Hormuzan was pressed to the border. Be-
sieged in the fortress of Ahwaz, he was finally
compelled to surrender, and taken as a pris-
oner to ^Medina. Here, in order to save his
life, he was compelled to accept the doctrines
of Islam and be enrolled among the taithful.
Nothing gave greater cause of anxiety to
Caliph Omar than the apprehension that his
generals would be corrupted by the luxurious
habits of the people whom they conipiered.
Es])erially was the distrust of Omar directed
agaiu.-t Aim Wakkas, who was again reported
at Medina as having assumed the manners of
a Persian prince. This report so offended the
Caliph that he deposed Abu Wakkas from
the command and appointed Numan to suc-
ceed him. Wlien the news of this proceeding
was carried to Yezdegird, his hopes again re-
vived, and he ordered the governors of the
provinces still unsubdued to send forward all
their available troops to rendezvous at N"eha-
vend, fifteen leagues from Ecbatana. Here
in a short time an army of a hundred and
fifty thousand men was collected for battle.
This force was greatly superior in numbers to
that of the Moslems, but the latter were dis-
ciiilinc-il in all the hardships of war and
trained to victory until they regarded them-
selves as invincible. The command of the
Persian host was given to Firuzan, an aged
warrior, whose discretion was as great as his
courage. On assuming control of the army,
he adopted the policy of fortifying himself in
an impregnable camp until what time the
Moslems should wear out their energies by in-
eflectual assaults.
Accordingl}', when Nuniau arrived liefore
the Persian camp, the army of Firuzan could
not be induced to come forth and fight. For
tv.'o months the Arabs beat in vain against
tlie position of the enemy. But when valor
failed stratagem succeeded. Pretending to
break up his camp and retreat, the crafty
Numau fell back for one day's march and was
followed cautiously by the Persians. For
another day the ^I(]slcms continued their
feigned retreat; but on the third morning,
with the break of day, they turned back with
terrible impetuosity on tlieir pursuers, and in
an hour inflicted upon them a di-astnius de-
feat. The Arabs, in their turn, pursued the
routed host and cut them down by thousands.
B(jth Numan and Firuzan were killed, the
former in the heat of liattle and the latter in
the flight. The number of the Persian dead
was reckoned at a hundred tb.iusand. So de-
cisive of the fate of the Persian Empire was
this great conflict that the ^Moslems ever after-
wards cclel)rated their triumph as the "Vic-
tory of Victoi'ies."
8oon after this signal success of the ]\Io-
hammedans, a strange Per-iaii rode into the
^Moslem camp ami promi-ei], under pledge
that his life should be >pare.l, to .-how the
Arab commander a greater treasure than any
his eyes had yet beheld. It appeared that
this stranger had received from the hand of
the fugitive Yezdegird a box containing the
crown jewels of Per.-ia. The casket was
opened in the presence ot' Hadifeh, who had
succeeded to the command after the death of
Numan. The Moslem general accepted the
treasure; but since it bad not been taken by
the sword, it might not be distributed to the
soldiers. The scrupulous Hadifeli accordingly
sent the box to the Caliph ; luit the latter
looked upon the fla.-hing jewels with ill-con-
cealed contempt aliki' for the precious stoues
and for any who eoul.l be dazzled by them.
"You do not know," said he, "what these
things are. Neither do I; but they justly be-
long to those who slew the infidels and to no
one el-e.'' He then ordered the box to be
carried liack to Hadifeli, by whom the jewels
were s(ild to the merchants who followed the
478
UyiVKBSAL HISTORY. -THK MODEUS WOULD.
u' s;ile were -Aly a.lvic'.- i. to make i.eaee and tlieu pay
Moslem camp. The proeeeil< ot" the sale were
dUtributed to the aniiy, eaeh soldier reeeiviug
for his portion lour thousand pieces of -ohl.
In the mean time the remnant- of the Per-
sian army ovnlirown on tlu-liold of ^ehavend
had eoUeete.l at Ilamadan, thr an.'i.'nt Keha-
tana. Here, in a ^iro,,- firlr.-. tlu-y took
refn-eaml made a -land. llalH-h. the com-
feh, at thr -am.' timr pn-parin- an ohstinatr
• lefeii-i' lor thr rity. Learnin- of th,' trearli-
ery whirl, had In'on prarti.-ed upon his lieu-
teiiant. Caliph Omar -rnt forward a d.taeli-
ment of hi- an. IV to Im^I,-,- Ilamadan and
hrin- llalH-li to' l,i> >rnMS. The latl.r in a
sh.)rt time Ird out Ids army, and a -reat hat-
tie wa- fou.-ht iH-f.re the M.-dian capital.
After a strugde of three days' duration llie
conflict ended with the overthrow (jf the Per-
sians and the capture of Hamadan.
All .Media now lav open to the invader-
The Aral) .^'eiieral, Nuhahn, wa- .h-patdied
to hunt <lo\vu the kill-- in his hidin- place at
Pdia,^a. Hearing of his approach tin- monarch
fled, leaving the defense of the town to a
suhordinate officer. Tlie -atcs w.ae soon
opened by a rival i-hieftain: two thousand
Mohamme.lans wen- admitted; the Pc-ian
governor was cut down in the -tri'cts, and the
city taken in the mid,-t of much slaughter.
The traitor Zain, who had betrayed the place
to the .Moslems, was made provincial governor,
l^.oilies of troojis were sent out to reduce the
surrounding country. Ee.sistance was virtually
at an end. Town "after town yiel.led to th.'
invader^ and became tributarv to the <'aliph-
ate. The province ,,f Taba'ri-tnn paid live
hundr.-d ihou-and pieces of u,,hl to pun-ha-,-
exemption from llie levying of troops within
her borders. It wa- ivident, moreover, that
so liir as the reli'jioiis svstems in conflict were
JJuring the concpie-t of Hamadan. the
.Mo.-lem> had to encounter the s.Jdieis of
pr..vin'ee in the north-wc-t of Media to aid
their countrymen in the .S.u.th. It was luit
likelv that 1-lam would r.v.ilook su(di an af-
Iront'. more j.articnlarly when it proceeded
from the Fire Wor.-hiper-, who had their altars
at the fH.t (if .^lount Cau-'a-u-. >'o so.mer,
theref .re, ha.l llama.lan f.llen int.. th.' hands
,.f the .M.,han.n,..lan,- than th.y tun.e.l their
arms a-ain-t Azerbijan. The ^lagian priest-
hooil ami sii'ular princes of the country rallied
resist the
m ; but the god
.e M:
thn.wn by the follower.- ..f ih.^ Pn.ph. t. The
arndes of Azerbijan were l.,at.-n f. the t^arth,
anil till- province was a.Me.l without a s.-rious
Th.' plain .■..untries s.,uth <.f the defiles of
the Cau.-asus ha.l now all been subdue.l. It
ivmaim-d for the njcky passes of the North to
1m- s.-iz.'il by the men of the desert. Of ohl
time th.-i- passes had been guarde.l by IV.r-
c..nrag.'..u,- s..|.liers were able to keej. at bay
the innumerable hordes of Gog and ^Magog
from beyond the mountains. It was necessary
to the further ]n-ogress of Islam that the de-
tiles o
iVi.-n.l:
suit, s
Pr<.
.uld 1
T.
It f.
.|...n.on
lor.'.l
ward all.r th.- .-..n.piest of Az.-rbijan, ami the
pa»e.- w.-i'e taken fr.nn the enemy. One
fortress, known as Dcmir-Capi, or the Gate
of Iron, was wrested from the barbarians only
after a severe conflict, in which not a few of
the M..,-I,i„s fill.
Wh.ii th.' .jafwavs of the North were
faith
c.l Ab.lal-
spirit fail. Th.
Per-ian- f.resa
,1.. r.-Mdt. A
religion of ours ha- be,-,, me obs.)lete; the new-
religion is can-ying i-v.-ry ihing before it.
.a-.- a-ain-t anv ,...»ibh- irru).-
ri-m fn.m the North. The gov-
lormii.^- his .luty as guardian of
..f 1-lam. t.i.ik into his confidence
.- of till- mountain chieftains,
-Za.l, wh.im he made his subordi-
MOHAMMKDAX ASCEXI)EXCY.~iVX(^UESTS OF FIRST CALII'HS. 47
nate iu the work of defense. T
ance of the Moslem \vith this l);ir
aud the stories which the hittei
mysterious regions of Gul:- and .M
determined the adventurous Alxi
d.-lik-
IS arms hevonu
du-
ll.
Ca.H
unknown tn the fan
penetrated the conutri
and the Euxine, where lie encountered the
ancestors of the Turks, who wt-re a-toni.-hed
at the strange demeanor of the Aralis. "Are
you angels or the sous of A(hiiii'/" >aid thi-v
to the ^Moslems. To which the true believers
gave answer that they were the sons of Adam,
but that the angels were on their side, tiglit-
ms th.- l.attl.'s of tiie x-rvant- of Allah.
'>ora while thr harl.aiiaus were kept aloof
bv awe; but presently, when the .=pell was
broken, they fought the invaders with savage
audacity. By degrees, however, the Turco-
mans were overcome, and Abdalrahman turned
his arms against the Huns. He laid siege to
Belandscher, the capital city of the liarhnrians,
but the place with.-t I ],\> a-auh-. Tiie
Turks came to the as>istaiiee of tlieir lielea-
guered neighbors. A hard battle was fought
before the walls, aud AbiUdrahman, who had
undertaken the expedition without the consent
of the Caliph, paid f.r his rashn.'^s with liis
life. His body was taken by the euen.v. an.l
became an object of superstitious rexereuce.
The army of the ftiithful luade its way baek
into the pa.sses of the Cauea-us. Si-hnan Ilm
Rabiah, brother of Abihdrahinau. was ap-
pointed as his successor iu eoiniiiainl of the
northeru outposts of Ishiiu.
For the Caliiih < >niar the day of fate was
now at hand. Anion;; the Persian prisoners
taken to Medina wa~ a ei-rtaiii carpenter,
named iMruz. He was a folh.wer of the I\Iagi,
worshiping the Hre. Like otliers of his class,
he was subject to the taunts aud exactions of
the Mohammedans. Being compelled by the
authorities to pay a tax of two pieces of silver
a day, he went to the (.'aliiih, complained of
the abuse to which he was subjected, and de-
manded a redress of his grievance. Dinar
heard his story, and decided that one who
received such large wages as Firuz did (he
being a manufacturer of windmills) could well
afford to pay a tax of two pieces a day. Firuz
turning away exclaimed: "'I'hen I will build
a windmill for you that shall keep grinding
until the Day of Judgment!" "The slave
threatens me,'" said the inuli-turlied Omar.
"If 1 were dispoM.l to piniish any one on
su,-piciou, I .-h.iuld take ol!' l,i. h-'ad." hiruz,
however, «as allowed to -o at liberty, ^"or
carried into effect. Three days afier the inter-
view, while the great Caliph was praying in
the mos.pi,. ,jf :M,,,lina, the Persian a-ssas-sin
cam.' unpereeiv.'d behind him and stabbed
him three tiuie> with hi- da^^er. The attend-
ants rushe.l upon the murderer, who ,lefeu,led
hiius.-lf as long as he eould, and then com-
mitted suicide rather than be taken.
The goo.l Omar finish,.! hi- praver, and
was then borne to his ,.wn house to die. He
refn.sed to name a su,-e,--oi, (h;claring that he
preferred to fillow the examph' of the Prophet.
He, however, appoint..! a ncil of six, to
wh..m the .piestioii of su.-.-esH..u should be
ref'.'rr..!. F.,r, s...mr^ that tlie elmice woul.l
likily fall .m Ali ..r < )thnian, he exhorted Iwth
th.'se priu.'.s t.i b.wari- of unrighteousness and
pers.iiia! aml)iti.>n. T.i his own son Abdallah
lie Liave much fatherly e.iunsel. instructing
ury .•i-ht.M'U th..u-an.r.lirh.ii,-, wlii.di he him-
self ha.l borr..w.-,l. II.. a!,-., wn.t.^ a t.iuehing
lett.-r t.. him wl„, shonl.l !,.■ his su.-.-.>s.,r, full
of a.lm.,niti..n. au.l patri.,ti.- maxims. He
th.ai ma.l.. arran-.-m.ait- with Avsha that he
sh.,id.l be buri...I by th.. si.le .,f Abu Beker;
an.l then, .>u th.' srv.. nth .lay aff..r his assas-
sination, .pn.'tly ..xpir...l. His .li.atli occurred
iu th.. ..I.v.nth v..ar ..f his reian and the
sixtv-thir.l ..f hi- a-...
A lil.Hi.lv se.n.. f.lh.we.l the murder of the
Calii.h. The enra-...] Ab.lallah was easily
persnadeil tliat ..tliers as w.'ll as Firuz were
acccss.iry t.. tli.. lakin.j-.,tf ..f his father. Be-
lieving that a .•.mspira..y ha.l existed, he flew
np..ii th.. ima-iu...! e.inspirat..rs and cut them
.I..WU with.,ut a trial. Tlius were slain Tnln— "
th.. .lauj,|..r ..f Firuz— a .'..rtain Cln-i-tian,
nam...l I »-.!.. ,fein.., an.l II.,rmuzau, wh.. will be
rem..nibi 1. .1 as the ..a|>tiv.. satrap ..f Susiaua.
S,, .li.-tiu-nishe.l a part ,Iid Caliph Omar
bear in thi> estalilishment ami jiropagati.m of
Islam as fairly to entitle him to his appellative
of the Great. He had all the virtues which
480
UXIVEUSAL HIsrOnV. — THK MOUKHX WORLD.
Il,u-i;i-l,i nf
rul.T was
tluin u.>(>nKU-. 111. uhoK. rnr.,..,,! Allah
,,, 1,,.;, man u I,..-, .ui.liii- h ua. ,luni
li.. h.-Mtatcl nut to hrai, tlu-
,nt- nf iH.w.i- pa-x'd adiuini-tnilinii ,,f allaii-. Ai
„rni- apuMlr (.f ihr (ii-aiii/..-(l aii.i put uiali r tin
Tlir v.ar u\- .M.
r th.' Va
ai-lv Mam, ami to him iiimv than to any s.-civ
tl,.:,- ruha' or man. sivr onlv the l'f..|.hol, the from .Mrcra \s
Kmiiiiv of the -Mohaiu- wiiicii all cvolils wi
,f hi. oovcrnmrnt niav !»■ favofalily <-om- iianir of the ( ali|i!i Omar with the in-cri|iti(
1 with tho.c of tho' -ivalost an.l l.r~t L' > li.i.Aii It, Ali.AII, — " Thciv is no C.
-.■i-n.. It was a ruir of hi< na-n that no l.ut Alhih."
1,. .-aiitivf win. iMcamo a mother sh.mld It wa^, however, by the vast woi'k of (■(
,1,1 a- a slave. In tin' .li-trihnlions of (|m-t that the rei,<;u of Omar the Oreat v
H'a.urv mo>t ai-lin-ni.^iie.l. Th.- .Mohamine.lan ree,,:
exi.lanation of his eonrM- the Calilih was a:
en-tome,l to sav; "Allah lias hestowe.l tl
;:■ 1 thii.-s of this worl.l to relh've our ne,v
siti.'.s. not to rewanl onr virtues. Our virtu.
,.. Call
■ •■aptuivoi tliirtv-.Hx tlioiisiml towns
■e-M- a> tr.i|.hie>of the ten-aml-a-half
hi- a.lniini>tration. ISut Omar was
•aii> a ,l.-tioyer. As fhr as was prae-
,y. Not only s.,, l.ut W liuilt in the
of eommiave. 'Tmh r liis authority
.hate was eonsoli.iate.l an.l his rei-n
was -rant. '.1 a vi^arly stiji.ii.i of two hiin.lr.Ml tuiv>. Out of tiiis .-j h m-v the ui-aut
tli..u-aii.l .lirli.ali>. X.'arly all tin- v.'t.rans .,f ti-uiv ..i' Sara, en .l.uninioii, an.l t.. it must 1
the Svrian, I'.-rsian, an.l K-vptian wars w.av r.f. riv.l th.' v\>v of that politi.'al .-reatne
rewara.-.l with h.Minti.'s va'rvin- fnmi on.' ; whi.h ii.r nianv -■.•mrati..ns nia.le the Ai
thousaii.l to five th.iusan.l .lirh.ins. Nor w.ml.l ', l.ians th,' mast. as of the Ea.st.
2I0HAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXCV.—OTHMAX AXD ALL
The new potentate was already seventy
years of age, gray as to his fiowiog beard, tall,
swarthy, and in every sense Arabian. He had
not the austerity nf iiianiK r- I'r siiuiillcity nt'
character which had liclnn-cd tn (>mar; Imt
in the strict observanrr ..f ivli-i-u- duties he
emulated his predeees>i'i-. It wa-, hciwever,
in the matter of expenditure that Othuian
differed most from the second L'aliiih. He was
lavish in the distribution of the great riehes
which conquest had turned into ^lediua. Xor
was there wanting among the faithful a spirit
to appreciate the liberality of the ruler. In
times of famine the poor were freely supplied
from the bounty of the state. The Caliph
foiled not in his antecedents and present con-
duct to excite the adniiratimi and loyalty of
the true believers. He tnok in marriage two
daughters of the Prophet, thus combiuiug in
his household the profoundest elements of per-
sonal veneration known t<i the Islamites. In
his previous history Otliniaii ha.l been inti-
mately a-..eiated with :Mol,anin;e,l, and had
been a partner of both of his tlights. Xor did
any of the companions of the Prophet stand
more closely in his affections than did the faith-
ful Othmau. Of him the sou of Abdallah said :
' ' Each thing has its mate, and each thing its
associate : my associate in Paradise is Othmau."
The fugitive Yezdegird still hung like a
shadow on the borders of the ancient king-
dom. Hope of recovering his former power,
there was none ; but the friends of the exiled
king still rose in rebellion here aud there, and
gave trouble not a little to the Jloslems. The
latter, under their veteran leaders, continued
their conquests in all directions. Ancient As-
syria was overrun liy their arms. The ruins
of Nineveh, as those of Babylon had already
been, were trodden umler foot liy the men of
the desert. Yezdegird was pursued from town
to town, from province to province. Being
driven from Rhaga, he found shelter for a
brief season at the magnificent city of Ispahan,
and then fled to the mountains of Faristan,
whence in ancient times the Achtemenian kings
had gone forth to the conquest of the world.
Afterwards Yezdegird sought refuge in Istakar,
among the ruins of Persepolis, and here he
barely escaped capture l>y his enemies. Thence
he fled to the province of Kerman, and thence
into Khorassan. For a while he hid himself
on the borders of Bactria. In his flight he
still maintained the forms of kingly authority.
About four thousand dependents of the old
Persian court at .Madain still followed the
wretched king an.l shared hi> fortunes.
\Vliile tarrying at the city of Merv, Yez-
de'.:ird bu.sied himself with his superstitions.
He built a temple fir the fire-worship, and
h(.|HMl, perchance, t.. win through the fovor of
heaven what he ha-l lo.t bv the folly of earth.
.Meanwhile the citv of Ispahan was regarri-
soned liy the fragments of the Persian army
whieh had siuwived the battle of Nehavend.
Ihit on the approach of the ^loslems the gov-
ei'iior proved treacherous, aud the city was
given up. A sterner defense was made at
■. Around this veu.Tal.le site were ^ath-
,e traditions of Persian glory. Within
mparts of the city were collected no
than a hundred and twenty thousand
men. who, under the leadership of Shah-Reg,
the lu-ovincial governor, made a final lirave
stand fir Persia. But no eoiira-e or patriot-
ism could avail against the finiou- assaults of
the ^b.slenrs. A .threat l.atlle. f,u-lit outside
the walls, resulted in the annihilation of the
Persian forces. Shah-Reg was killed, aud Is-
takar fell into the hands of the ^Mohammedans.
The province of Khorassan was the next
Istak
ere.l
the 1
fewei
driven to the border
and fled to the Scytl:
derings cease until hf
khan of Tartary am
Returnino- from tlc.-i
kin-d.,ni. Soon, I
bv his X,utheni a
who had .so Ion- -.v
tered into a conspi
hands of the enenT\
.dued until Ye/.de-ird,
crosscil the river Oxus
ans. Xor did his wan-
]n'escnted himself to the
the emperor of Chiua.
remote pilgrimages aud
irtars, he crossed into
the effort to recover his
ever, he was deserted
s while his own nobles,
red to his fortunes, eu-
V to betray him into the
Discovering the treason.
he escaped from i\Ierv and continued his flight
to a river, wdiitln
of hm-semen and
cimeters. Thus,
last of the old 1
the fire-temples o
fall, an.l the dvn;
of I'
East
xpuv
Witl
of C'hosroes was extinct.
Persia became a iMohammedan province.
INIeanwdiile Egypt had remained quietly
482
[■xni:i;sAL lusTony.—TiiK Mni>]:i;x would.
under the .L"ivc-in(.r.~hi|i 'A' Amru. Till iH-n-
ple, if not contentful wiili \\\r clian-.- of mas-
ters, acceptcil ihf Civ-iit a~ til.' ( lul.Kin (if
their i'at.'. A tnleial.le ,lee,ve of ,,niet was
niaintaincMl until the a.ee.-ion of Othinan,
ship to make room for Saa.l, l.roiher of the
Caliph. The ii.w ollirer oue.l iiis elevation
of Ann.t in' i-xeenlive 'ahilities. The hitter
had, in.f'e.l, won the alfvtion^ ..f the K-yii-
tians liv hi< jn-iiee timl luo.h'ration, and they
bitterly resented his ,lep,,-itnm. From the
Hr,-t the ears of the new i^overnor were
gn-eted with the niiitterin-> of revolt. Nor
did tlie ,inoe,-or. Coir-tantine. who ha,l sn,-
lly hy again deposing
loiship and reiip2)ointing
le latter, smarting nnder
d not l,e wined out l.v
itile.
hx
ioivi-n (■o.„|ue>t. He a.'eordingly
•ye upon Nortlierii Africa as an in-
vitiii'.;- tield foi- his operations. There, from
the liorder- of I'];jvpt, ,-tri'tehing awav across
liarea to Cap.. .\on' in the .li.tant AVest, Liy
a <'onntry more than two thoii>and miles in
extent, many of the <li^tri.•ts popidons and
fertile t.i exui.erance, and all of hislo|-ie fame.
Here were the countries of Jfdiva, -Aranuirica,
Cyreiiaicu, Cartha-e, Nnnfidia,' and .Ahnirita-
-spi
il t..
Mol,
thu< liecii fimenteil in Egypt. A iieet was
immi-diately eipiipped, placed nnder the com-
mand of .Manmd, and >ent against Alexan-
dria. With him the (:.vek> of the great me-
tropolis eiitcavd into correspondence, and the
citv was pre-eiitlv lietiaved into his hanils.
Thus of a SU.ldell, the political condition of
the kingdom was rev, is,d, and Othman found
quick occasion to repent of his folly in ap-
pointing an incompi'ient hu'orite to office.
Amru was at once reinstated. The ohl
general repaired to the M'cni' of action, rai.~ed
a large army, composed lar^ifly of thi' anti-
Greek element in Egypt, and a'.iain laiil siege
to Alexandria. It was now the third time
that that city had been invented by the forces
of Amru. The veteran now registered an oatli
in heaven that it wa- the /„.-/ time that the
capital of E-ypt would liiul herself in a con-
dition to lii'comi- the vubjeei <if a sicge. Ac-
eordin-lv, when, after an obstinate <lefen..=e on
the part of the (ire.ks, the city a-tdn fell
into hi< li;,nd-, h,' levele.l th,. ramparts to the
sault on every sid.'. .Maun. I and his (nv.-ks,
spieil away to ( 'on-tantinople. The rest of the
inhabitaiUs were, for tile most jiart, spared,
and the sp..t wh.fe the slaughter was stayed
was conuuemoraled by the merciful Amru,
who built thereon a mo>,,ne c^alled the .MoMpte
of Mercv.
As s,,on as tlie ,ian-er was pa>
E-vtit pacilied. the Caliph Otliinai
lans. Ait.r the disastrous
wars lelated in the la>t liook ..f the preced-
ing and the first of the present Volume, the
African states had, during the sixth century,
sunk into a condition of helple.« decay. They
were now to be rou-ed from their stupor liy
the .■lamorou> war-.ay ,.f Arabia.
A> soon a. Saad htid settled the affairs of
Egvpt after his reinstatement in office, he be-
gan to prepare I'or his contemplated African
campaiijii. \\\ army of forty thousand Arabs,
fully eipnppeil, mostly veteran soldiers, well
supplie(l with camels for the march across the
de>ert, wa< mustere.l on the border of Egypt,
lookin- ..nt to the west.
A toilsome march was now begun across
th<. trackless wastes of Libya. But to the
Arab and the camel the doert was a native
plai-e of peace and free.h.m. Arrivin- ;it the
city of Tripoli, one <il the most wealthy em-
porium- <if the .\fiican .oast, .Saiid began a
si. ■■/.'. \ \alianl r.^i-tance, however, was
ma. I.' liy the inhabitant- aii.l the Greek aux-
iliai'i.s wh.i ctniie to lln^ir assistance, and the
:\I..>l.ins w.iv .Iriv.n ba.k with .-evcre l._>s>es.
M.anwhil.. the lu.man governor, Gregorius,
arriv.'.l on the s.'eiie with an army numbering
a hnn.lre.l an<l twenty thou.sin.l'men. Most
of these, however, were raw recruits whom
the general had gathered in Barbary for the
defense of his African territories. The host,
tli..udi -r.allv .mtnumb.rin- the ^ilo-lems,
was bill., .■apabl.- ..f >lan.ling before the Arab
v.t.raii- in batll..
■fhe tw.. armi.s m.t betbre tlie walls of
TriiMili. Foi- -everal davs the conflict was
MOHA}rMEDAX ASCEXDEXCY.—OTHMAX AXD ALL
desperately renewed trum moruing till iinon,
when the African sun would drive the coni-
batants to the shade of their- tents. Saad dis-
tinguished himself in the battle. In the part
of the field where he fought the enemy was
driven back with slaughter, but in other parts
the Moslems were repulsed. One of the most
conspicuous personages of the fight was the
warlike daughter of Gregorius, who, mounted
on a tremendous steed, flashing in bm-uished
armor, scoured the field like Bellona.
The Roman general, unable to rout the
Arabs, undertook to accomplish by perfidy
what he could not do by force. He ottered a
reward of a hundred thousand pieces of gold
and the hand of his Amazonian daughter to
any one who would bring him the head of
Saiid. Hearing of this proposal, the Arab
leader was induced to keep aloof from the
field, and the battle went against him until
what time it was suggested that he in his turn
should offer a hundred thousand pieces and
the hand of the same maiden — so soon as she
should be taken captive — to him who would
cut oif the head of Gregorius. Then the
Arabs fell to stratagem. On the following
moruing, pretending to renew the fight, they
held most of their forces in reserve until the
teated hour of noon. Then the Moslems,
fresh from their rest, led by the valiant Zobeir,
broke from their tents, fell upon the exhausted
enemy, killed Gregorius, captured his daugh-
ter, and inflicted an overwhelming defeat on
his army. Zobeir, by whom the Roman gen-
eral was slain, refused to accept the reward,
and though he was made the bearer of the
news of victory to Medina, he forebore all
reference to his own deeds in reciting to the
Caliph the story of the battle.
Though completely triumphant over the
army of his enemy, Saiid was unable to follow
up his successes. So great had been his losses
that he could not further prosecute his con-
quests. He was not even strong enough to
retain possession of the territories which he
had overrun, but was obliged, after an ab-
sence of fifteen months, to return to Egypt.
The expedition had been more fruitful in
slaves and spoils than in the addition of ter-
ritory to the dominions of Islam. In the fol-
lowing year Saiid made similar expeditions
from Upper Egypt into the kingdom of
JSTuljia. The people ut' that laud had been
christianized by the agency of traveling mis-
sionaries, who had set up the Cross as far
south as the Equator. The Nubian king was
compelled by the Moslems to acknowledge the
supremacy of the Caliph, and to emphasize
his own dependency by an annual coiitriliu-
tion of Ethiopian slaves.
In establishing the authority of the Caliph-
ate over the distant countries subdued by the
prowess of the Arabs, it became necessary to
organize provinces and to establish therein a
kind of satrapial governments. In pursuing
this policy. Caliph Othman appointed as gov-
ernor of Syria one of his ablest generals,
named Moawyah Ibn Abu Sofian, chief of the
tribi' of Koreish, to which belonged Moham-
me(l. Abu Sofian proved to be an able and
ambitious ofiicer. During his service under
Omar he had frequently sought permission of
that Caliph to build a fleet and extend the
authority of Islam over the seas. Omar,
whose policy it was to hold his ambitious gen-
erals in check, refused the permission ; but
after the accession of Othman, namely, in the
year 649, it was agreed that Abu Sofian
should equip an armament and try the for-
tunes of the Mediterranean. The outlying
Asiatic islands still owned a nominal depend-
ence upon the Empire of the East ; but the
decadence of the government at Constantino-
ple had left the insular kingdoms exposed to
easy conqtiest. Abu Sofian directed his first
movement against the island of Cyprus. The
garrison proved too weak to make any effect-
ual resistance, and a conquest was easily ef-
fected. In the island of Aradus, however,
the Moslems met with a more serious recep-
tion. Once and again they landed, and as
often were repulsed by the heroic inhabitants.
With superior forces the Arabs then renewed
the attack, overran the island, fired the prin-
cipal city, and drove most of the native Ara-
dians into exile.
In the mean time the Emperor Constantine
fitted out a squadron, took command in per-
son, and went forth to encounter the Moslem
fleet in the Phoenician Sea. It was the first
decisive conflict of Islam on the deep. Con-
stantine ordered psalms to be sung and the
Cross to be lifted on high as his ships went
into battle. On the other side the golden
484
UMVKHSAL HISTORY. — TEE MODE J! X WORLD.
nd I
itli.-t. The kll-
, as ^^■A\ a~ bv
fleet
Crescent was displayed
passages of the Kmai
faithful as thev be-an
tie snnn >h,,wed tliat,
land, a ueu pnwn- had aii-i, t„ ,
the suiiremacy of the iiatim,-. Tl
the Emperor was either wi-eeked or driven
from the scene, and (_ oii>taiitine himself
barely escaped by tlight. >^uch was the bat-
tle of the blasts.
The next movements of the Moslems were
directed against ( 'nte and Malta. Landings
were effected, citii's taken, (■nn,|Ue>ts maiie in
the name of the Propiiet. Tlie island and city
of Rhodes suffered a memorable assault. That
celebrated Colossus, which was reckoned oiie
of the Seven "Wonders of the ancient world,
was broken into fragments, shipped to Alex-
andria, and sold to a Jewish merchant.'
Soon afterwards a second sea-fight was had
with the Christians in the Bay of Feneke,
less decisive in its results than the so-called
Battle of the JIasts in the Sea of Phoenicia.
Subsequently the Arabs coasted along the
shores of Asia Minor, crossed the Hellespont,
and flaunted the emblem of Islam within
sight of the turrets of Constantinople. Thus
in a few years did the inflamed followers of
the Camel-driver of Mecca, s])ringing, as it
were, from the parrli.d san.ls of the desert,
inspire.l with the sullen dn-nia of Fate and
the rapturous vision of Paradise, rear their
victorious banners over the ruins of the most
famous states of anticjuity.
Ominous was the accident which now be-
fell the Caliph Othman. Mohammed had had
a ring. At his death he gave it to the vener-
able Abu Beker. After his departniv the
sacred relic passed to Oniai-, and fmni him to
Othman. It cou-sisted of a baml of silver, in-
scribed with the words, " Mohaninieil. the
Apostle of Allah." One day, while gazing
into a linink. Othman drop|ieil the ring into
the water. The sti-eam was seandied in vain;
the relic could not be found. It was the sig-
net of authority. Great was the dread wliich
fell upon the superstitious Arabs on account
of this irreparable loss.
' The fragments of the frreat bronze statue are
said to have Ijeen so many and lieavy that it re-
quired a caravan of nine lumdred camels to trans-
port them across the desert.
It came to pa>s that since the days of Abu
Beker the lioi.k ut' Al Koran had become cor-
rupted liy the interpolation of many spurious
passages and false versions. Violent disjmtes
arose among the teachers of Islam as to what
was and what was not the true Koranic doc-
trine. The .piaiivls of the doeloi-> b.-eanie a
scandal t.) the faith, and Otlinian ua.- impelled
to correct the ai)Uses by authority. A council
of the chief ^Moslems was called, and it was
decreed that all the copies of the Koran, ex-
cepting one only which was in the hands of
the old jn'iucess Hafza, widow of ^lohammed,
and which was recognized as genuine, should
be burned. The precious volume of the widow
was then used as the basis of seven carefully
made transcripts, and one copy of the authen-
tic original thus established was ordered to be
placed for preservation in the seven cities of
Mecca, Yemen, Damascus, Bahrein, Bassora,
Cufa, and ^Meilina. All othei-s were given to
the flames. Wherefrom the careful Othman
received the title of the Gatherer of the Koran.
The Caliph was already in his dotage. For
several years his secretary, named 3Ierwan,
had had an undue ascendency over the ol<l
mau's mind and was indeed the master spirit
in the government. Two other circumstances
tended powerfully to render the administration
unpojnilar. In the first j)lace, during the
quarter of a century from the death of [Mo-
hammed, the true moral enthusiasm of his
followers had .somewhat abated. The motives
of action which impelled the leaders of Islam
were more worldly, less sincere. Of coitrse
the fiery zeal for the propagation of the faith
still linrned in the hearts of soldier and civil-
ian, liut tJie dross of per.sonal ambition and
the cros.-purposes of enmity and jealousy pre-
vailed over the higher principles and impulses
of the first believers. In the next jdace, the
personal and administrative character of Oth-
man was of a kind well calculated to offend
and incite the faithful to disconteni. ; )thinan
had assumed a bearing more haui;hty than
that of his predecessors. His expenditures of
the jniblic money were unreasonably lavish.
He wasted the treasures of Islam tijion friends
and favorites, many of whom were unworthy
of respect. To the parasites of the court he
gave money without stint. The ambitious
secretarv received a gift of more than five
MOHAMMEDAX AsrEM)£ycy. — UTHJlAy AM) ALL
xiiiiM*MiJ»r!Sgfa ,»if
:!;:lili!::i;|!j::l!!ls:i:t:i!ll!li:;!il:iii:!!i!J!lll;!i:!ii:iL:L
4S(;
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
w..ul(l 1
patieiici
people.
tlinii.un.l .liiiuv-, thr .lonativc hrmg
llr.l ..lit nfllir >l".il- nf Africa. ^nr
le haii-litv nl,| iinli-iilat.- Uimik with
the critiri>i,i~ an.l r,„„|,laii,t.- nf his
His coiidurt ill ivinoviiiL: tlu/ ahie
Aiuru from the -nvmim-.-liii. ..f K-ypt aii.l
the appniiitninit in hi^ ^Lail of Saa.l, his own
foster Un,ther, ha.l hii.l the fniiialatioiis of
distrust iu the begimiiiig of his administration.
Other removals of faithful officers had added
to the discoutent, and now, for the first time
in the history of Islam, were hear^l the niiit-
terings of revolt and mutiny.
Accidental circumstances fired the train of
rebellion. On a certain occasion the Caliph
went into the pulpit of the mosque and de-
fended himself auainst the charges which were
freely circulated. He declared that the money
in the public treasury belonged to Allah, and
that the Caliph, as the successor of the Prophet,
had a right to distribute the funds in what
maimer soever he would. Hereupon a certain
veteran Moslem, named Ammar Ibn Yaser,
who had been one of the companions of the
Prophet, spoke out openly in the mosque,
contradicting what the Caliph had .said. For
this he was attacked by the kinsfolk of 0th-
man and shamefully beaten until he fainted
away. When the intelligence of this outrage
was spread abroad the smouldering elements
of sedition were fanned into a flame.
At this juncture a certain leader arose,
being a converted Jew of the name of Ibn
Caba. Knowing the distempered spirit of the
people he went aliout inciting to revolt. He
visited Yemen, Hidschaf, Bassora, Cufe, Syria,
and Egypt, denouncing the government of
Caliph Othmau and inviting the multitude to
dethrone their sovereign. He advised that a
fictitious pilgrimage to Mecca be undertaken
■with the ulterior object of collecting an army
against the government. It began to be said
that Ali was the rightful potentate of Islam,
and that the reign of Othman had been a
'usurpation from the first. This was done,
'however, without the connivance of Ali, who
remained faithful to Othman.
The seed sown by Ibn Caba took root and
grew and flourished. Bands from all parts of
the country began to assemble at iledina.
Encamping at a distance of a league from the
city, the insurgents sent a message to the Ca-
liph, dcinaiidln:;- that he should either refoi-m
tile aliu.-c- lit" hi> LiTivernment or abdicate the
throne. S(, critical became the situation that
Utliniau was oiiiiged to seek the services of
Ali as a mediator of the people. The latter
agreed to um^ his influence for jieace on condi-
tion tliat till' Caliiih would denounce the errors
of his reign and make reparation for the wrongs
which he had inflicted. The aged Othman
was obliged to go into the mosque and make
a public confession of his sins, and to ofl'er
prayer to Allah for reconciliation and forgive-
ness. The multitude was quieted, and a tem-
porary peace secured.
Ill a short time, however, the Caliph, act-
ing under the inspiration of his secretary, who
had been absent from Medina during the re-
cent crisis, returned to the old abuses; and the
people, learning of his perfidy, again rose in
revolt. Ali refused to interfere ; for Othman
had broken faith. When the rebellion was
about to break into open violence, the Caliph
again came to his senses and eagerly sought
to maintain the peace. He implored Ali to
lend his aid in placating the multitude. The
latter finally agreed, on condition of a written
pledge, that the abuses in the government
should be corrected, to go forth again and per-
suade the people to desist from violence. Saiid
was removed from the governorship of Egypt,
and the popular Mohammed, son of Abu Beker,
was appointed in his stead. The new officer
set out for Alexandria, and affairs at Medina
again assumed a more peaceable aspect; but
while Mohammed was on his way to Egypt,
one of the slaves of Merwan, riding by, was
taken, and upon his person a dispatch was
found <lirected to Saiid, and signed by Oth-
man. The former was directed by the latter
to seize jMohammed on his arrival in Egypt,
and put him to death ! Thus had a double
treachery been perpetrated by the government
at Jledina.
Mohammed at once marched back to the
capital. Othman was confronted with his let-
ter, but he denied all knowledge of its compo-
sition. Suspicion fell on Merwan, but the Ca-
liph refused to give up his secretary to the
vengeance of the people. A great tumult arose
in the city. Ali and other patriotic INIoslems
sought in vain to allay the excitement. The
insurgents, led by Mohammed and Ammar
MOHAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXCY. — OTinLiX AXD ALL
Ibn Yaser, broki- into the Mosijiie, •winre
Othmaii, uuw ei-hty-twn years ut' a-e, >at
reatling the Knraii. By .-<ime he was struek
with clubs ami by others pierced with swoi-ils
till he was dead. The treasure - h<.iu.>e was
plundered, and the body of the mur<lered C'a-
As simn a- it was iviiown tliat vengeance
had done it~ wurk, the rity l,ceanie tir^t calm
and then r.'iH ntant. Tlie magnanimous Ali
gave pul>lic rxjiri-,-siou to liis sorrow, and re-
buked liis sons for not having fought more
bravely in defense of the dead Calipii. It a[)-
peared, moreover, that the treacherous letter
to the emir of E-ypt had really been written
by Merwau for tlie purpose of hastening the
revolution; for he, in the mean time, had se-
cretly abandoned the cause of Othman, and
gone over to the insnroent^. Thus in the year
A. D. (355, the thirdCaliph of the .^loham-
medau states ended an unpopular reign with
a shameful dcatli.
Thouuli no >urcc~~or was named by Oth-
man, the [lopuhu- voice at once indicated Ali.
But several candidates appeared for the vacant
Caliphate and the delegates wdio came to ^Medina
from the various parts of the iloslem Empire
were clamorous for their respective favorites.
From the first, bowever, it appeared that the
election of Ali Ciidd hardly be defeated. He
was liy birth the Proplict's cousin ; by mar-
riage, his son-iudaw. He was courageous, elo-
quent, and liberal. He had reputation l)otb
iu tbe field and in the cabinet. It was per-
ceived, moreover, that his election would es-
tablish the crown in the House of ^Mohammed ;
for Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, was the
wife of Ali, and the mother of all the liiiral
descenilants of Abdallab's son. The chief of
the O]iposiug candiilates were Zobeir, avIio had
distinguished himself in the war with Barbary
by the slaying of Gregorius ; Telha, who had
been one of the electoral council appointed to
choose a successor to Omar the Great, and
Moawyah, the satrap of Syi-ia.
Medina was tbrown into great excitement
on the occasion of the election. Nor might
the choice of a new Caliph be postponed ; for
the people were clamorous for a new ruler.
The leading men pleaded with Ali to accept
the office, and he was disposed to yield to
their entreaties; but he refused, as in the elec-
to l.il
indei>endence and justice to all. 'fh./ clirtion
was held iu the mosque of ^ledina. Tho choice
fell on Ai.i, and the other .-andidates came
forward and gave their ri-lit hands in token
of allegiance. Moawyah, Jiowever, was not
present at the election, and his liiinily, the
tribe of Ommiah, withdrew as s( as they
perceived the result of the eleetion. It was
.loubtful also whether the pled-e -iv.n by
Zobeir and Telha was any thin'; more than a
superficial recognition of what they were un-
able to prevent. Their merely nominal loyalty
w-as soon discovered iu an eflijrt which they
made to ensnare Ali iu difficulty by advising
him to investigate the assassiiuition of (hhnian
and to punish the perjietrators (,f that deed.
Thi>, if undertaken, would lia\c iiopelessly
eudiroiled the government with ,-ome of its
most able supporters. Ali imidently adopted
the jiolicy of letting the dead pa,-t bury its
de.ad ; nor did he omit any niea.-ure which
wisdom could dictate to j.iopitiate the iavor
of the tribes of Koividi and Onniiiah, which
had so strenuously su]ipoited Moawyah fir the
Caliphate.
Ali ba.l the genius to ,b-eover an-l ihe will
to eoi-rect the governmental abu.-e< whii-h had
sprung u}) during his predi ssor's reign. He
liegan his work by reforming the provincial
governments. The subject states of Islam had
received as their governors at the hands of
Othman a class of favorites who, as a nde,
had little fitness foi- their ottiee. It hecanie
the duty of Ali to disi.laee these worthles.s
satraps and to ajqioint others in their stead.
In the performance of this duty he disj^layed
his usual courage. Notwithstanding the tem-
porizing advice of his counselors he proceeded to
depose the incompetent and to put the faith-
ful in their places. Strenuous efl!brts were
made to retain ^Nfoawyah in the governorship
of Syria. His wealth and influence were so
great as to make him a terror to the timid
advisers of the Caliph. But the disloyalty of
Moawyah was so manifest that Ali could not
blink the situation without jeoparding his own
authority.
The governor of Syria had recently dis-
played one of the bloody garments of 0th-
UXTVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
man in the mu^-inu- "f l)aiiiaM.'U.- ami liaii ex-
horted the Syrians in ilcniaml tin- inuii^linu-nl
of the wrctchw wiui had .-hiin th< ir .-nveivigii.
To permit Moawyah tci ri-tain authority in
the East was a virtual abdication on the joart
of All. A new c-ataloirui' of governors was
accordingly niadi- i>ut. and ilir ntii<-i-r< so ap-
pointed were at oucf .-rut to iliuir n-spt-rlive
provinces.
These measures were attmdeil with much
hazard. The new officers were either not ac-
cepted at all or received with aversion and
distrust. The deposed governor of Arabia,
Felix, resigned to his successor, but carried
off the treasur.'s (rf the province to Medina
and delivered tlieiii to Ayer-ha, who was of the
l)arty of the malcontents. The new governor
of Bassora found his subjects in such a state
Df eruption that he was obliged to retire from
the citv, and was glad to etK-et his escape.
Amniar Ibn Sahel, who had received the
satrapv of Cufa, found the people of his
province in ami-, >uppi>rting the former gov-
eriinr, whom Otliinau had appointeil. Saiid
Ibn Kais, who had received the governorship
of Egypt, was met by multitudes who de-
manded that tlie murderers of Othman should
tii-t he [lunlslird, ami pio\ incial governors
app.-intr.l aftrwanl.-. Urn Kai>. like the rest,
unable to suppiu't his claims by fcjrce, returned
to ^Medina. Xor did lietter success attend the
effort of Sahel Ibn Hanif to install himself in
the goveriioi-hip of Syria. Sn c.inpletely were
the people of this proyimx- under the influence
of Moawyah, that they drew their cimeters on
the very borders, and forbade the satrap to
set his foot within their territory. It thus
happened that four out of the five provincial
governors wen- oMIliciI to i-cturu as it' ti-Diu a
fool's erran.l into foivi-n parts, and procnt
th.niMJvc. cnq.tv handed to the Caliph.
It ua- nnu .-vidcnt that allhirs had reached
a ci'i-i-. -\li di-patched a messenger to ^Moa-
wvali dcniandiu'j hi- alh-^iance, and the Syrian
guverm.r .-eiit hack to Mclina hv the hands
of au officer a scaled nn->ive; but when the
letter was ojiencd it wa- found to contain not
a word. Sii,-h a ni..ckery could not he (Jther-
wi,-e niterpreied lliaii as a cliallenge to battle.
Moawvali ini liately ]irepared for the
conriict. ' He liun- up in th.' mos,|ue of Da-
UuiMMis th.' binndv vc.-t -f Otliinau. an.l hy
his ascemleney over the pa.-^ious of the Syr-
He made a ]iul)lic declaration in the name of
Allah ;ind the Trophet that he was guiltless
of the blood of his predecessor. He then
disjjatched mes-sengers into all the jirovinces,
demanding that the true believers should rally
around the emblem of Islam.
Meanwhile, Ayesha, Znbeir, and Telha
withdrew with their confederates fr.mi .Me.lina
and made their head-quarters at Mecca. The
birthi)laee of the Prophet became the .seat
of a conspiracy for the dethronement of his
succe.s.sor. Aye>ha was the leading spirit of
the great relielli(.n. Supported by the two
powerful fiimilies of Koreish and Ommiah,
she sent out couriers inviting the coriperatiou
of those governors whom Ali would have de-
posed and inciting the people of the provinces
to insurrection. In a council which was held
at ]\Iecca, it was resolved that the rebellious
army, under the leadership of Telha, should
march to Bassora and make that city the base
of future operations against the Caliph. At
the same time the following proclamation was
prepared by Ayesha and truini)eted through
the street- of ."\i.'cca:
'•In the name of the -Most High God.
Ayesha, ^lother of the Faithful, accompanied
by the chiefs Telha and Zobeir, is going in
person to Ba.ssora. All those of the faithful
who burn with a de.-ire to defend the faith
and avenge the death of the Caliph Othman,
have only to ]ire>ent themselves and they
shall be furnished with all necessaries for the
journey."
The retirement of the insurgent host from
]\Ieeca was not unJ'ke the embarrassed move-
ments of the Priphet and his friends in the
earlv davs ' f Islam. Ayesha, mounted on a
camel, led the way ; init the princess was dis-
tracted with sui>erstitious fears. On arriving
;it Bassora the gates were closed against her
and her arniv ; for the ])eople of the city were
divided in tiieii- allegiance, and the party of
Ali had gained the ascendency. Some went
forth and joined the camp of Ayesha, and
skirmishing began between the two factious.
^Meanwhile, a message was sent to ^Medina to
know whether Telha an.l Zobeir ha<l freely
a-ent,d to the ele.-tiou of Ali or had acted
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDENCY.— OTHMAN AND ALL
4^9
under coiiipulsi.m. While this business was
pending, however, the partisans of Aj-esha
broke into the city, killed the governor's
guard, and obtained possession of his person.
By this means the party of All was suppressed
and Bassora remained in the hands of the
rebels. The latter conducted themselves with
more pruilence than was to have been ex-
pected, for they forebore to persecute the
adherents of the Caliph, seeking to win
them from their allegiance by kindness and
blandishments.
All was not idle in the emergency. Being
an orator, he harangued the multitudes from
the mosque. There was, however, less enthu-
siasm for his cause in the city than a sanguine
prince would hope for. Still the people came
to his standard, and when two learned doctors
of the law made a solemn declaration that
Ali was in no wise implicated in the murder
of Othnian, the loyalty of the peojile was kin-
dled to full heat. Taking advantage of the
uprising, the Caliph marched forth from the
city and proceeded against Bassora. He sent
word to Abu Musa Alashaii-, governor of
Cufa, and to the other satraps who were fa-
vorable to his cause to come to his assistance ;
but the ruler of Cufa was little disposed to
aid a prince who had attempted to depose him
from office. A reply was accordingly sent
which meant either evasion or nothing at all.
jNIeanwhile, the governor of Bassora, who had
been put out of office by Ayesha, and whose
beard had been contemptuously pulled out
hair by hair, came to the camp of Ali and
made a plaint of his degradation. The Ca-
liph next dispatched his son Hassan and Am-
mar Ibn Yaser to expostulate with the gov-
ernor of Cufa and to demand a contingent of
troops.
These messengers were kindlv received by
the governor, and urged upon him the reason-
ableness of All's demands ; but he held aloof
from complying. He was for arbitration, for
investigating the oflense which was charged
to the Caliph, for every thing, indeed, except
furnishing the troops. While the negotiations
were pending, another one of the Calipli's
ambassadors had struck to the bottom of the
question by seizing the citadel of Cufa, scourg-
ing the garrison into obedience, and sending
the soldiers of the escort to stop the nonsense
which was onacti'd at the mdsque. The i)eo-
Jile thcrcniion turned suddenly U> the eause
of Ali. Xinr tli..usand of tjir inhabitauts
followed the ambassadors to the Caliph's camp.
Bassora was invested by a loyal army of thirty
thousand men. Seeing the futility of resist-
ance to such a force, Zobeir and Tellia would
have capitulated; but the vindictive Ayesha
defeated the negotiations furiieace; and the
issue was decided by battle.
A severe conflict ensued om>idi- tlie walls,
in which Ayesha, seated nu her camel, rode
up and down among her partisans, urging
them til strike for victory and spoil. After a
bloody fight, in which Moslem cut down Mos-
lem with no l)etter inspiration than the breath
of faction, victory declared for Ali. Telba
was killed, and Zobeir, withdrawing from the
field, set out towards Mecca, but was over-
taken at a brook and slain while kneeling
down to pray. When his gory lieail was borne
to Ali, the generous Calijih wejit bitterly at
the sight, and bade the wretch who lirought
it to carry the tidings of his bloody deed to
Ben Safiah in hell! Thus perished the two
rebels who had been the main supinrrt of the
insurrection. As to Ayesha, she continued
the fight until her camel, hacked with the
merciless swords of All's men, sank to the
earth and left her a prisoner. Ali, however,
had given orders that no indignity should be
oflered to her who had received the absurd
name of Mother of the Faithful.' The spoils
of victory were divided according to the rules
of war, and the reliellion in Araliia was at an
end.
Not so, however, with the revolt in Syria.
Here the powerful ^Moawvah stood in arms
and defied the authority of the (.'ulii)h. The
minds of the Syrians had lieen abused with
the belief that Ali was guilty of the murder
of Othman, and the local power of the provin-
cial governor was useil to divide them more and
more widely fioni all sympathy with the govern-
ment at ^Medina. Nor was ^Nloawyah ^Yanting
in the subtle jtolicy peculiar to aniliitious
chieftains. He sent word to Amru, the de-
posed governor of Egypt, now in Palestine,
to come and join his standard, ]ironiising to
restore him to the high authority which he
had held under the former Cali]iliate. Amru
' Absurd, for Ayesha hod ic< rhil'hm.
UXIVERSAI. HISTni;V.~THK MODKRX WOULD.
was not
iIl^l■ll^
ihl,' tu
ih.. appeal. Jom-„eyi„g
of tlie pn.phct-
^. Ali accordingly directed his
to Dam;
l.-^ru-,
h- ha.l
ail interview with Jloa-
attendani- «1,
1 II' I'l dig, and a huge stone
wvah, ai
ul i.u
hllrly ,
■a-t in his lortuiie.s with
heiii- wilh dil
ii<-iiliy overturned, the well of
tii..... ,,r
tlic n
■ImIHoi
,. Jl thu<li<eai„enerP.-
antiquity wa.
found. The army was saved
sary tor
Ali t
o c.aiti
luue ill the field in order
rn.m thir.-t am
1 liie hermit converted to Islam.
to "ket'ii
the th
rone.
In the yeai
■ f,.-)? the forces of the Caliph
For t
he pro
u of'lii.s Syrian campaign
came face to i
ace with those of :\roawvah in
■AI'TCRE OF AYKSHA BY ALI,
Drawn by F. Fikfiitsher.
the Caliph raised an army of ninety thousand
men. Arriving on the borders of Syria, the
soldiers suffered fur water; hut a Christian
monk who lived in thi' iici'.diliorhood jiroduced
an ancient iian-hiihiit, -aid to have lieen writ-
ten by Saint Peter, wherein it was ]iredicted
that a well digged of old by Israel should be
reopened by the lawful successor of the last
the plain of Seffein, near the Euphrates. The
army of the enemy, led by the rebellious gover-
nor and Aniru, numbered eighty thousand men.
The leading generals on the other side were Ali
himself and the venerable Ammar Ibu Yaser,
now ninety-two years of age, of old time one
of the companions of the Prophet. When the
two hosts came in sight Ali attempted to se-
MUHAMMEDAX ASCKXDEXCY. — OTHMAX AM> ALL
cure jivace l\v iieuuliiuinus : hut ^Ii);i\vy:ih was
iniplacaliK-, and tlit- i^sue was i^ivfU to the ile-
cisiou of llu' .~\v..i(l— an.l thu decisidu was ivn-
den-d in favni- ,>f the (;alii.li.
Duriu- tlK' tour ni.uith.s that ihUowed sev-
eral hattles eusueil, hut the results were
iudedsive. Tlie general advantage was cm
the side of Ali, whose successes, liowover,
wei-e chiuded i)y the loss of several ahl - otti-
cers, among whom was the iiatriarch Aniniar
Ihn Yaser. In one of the desuhory lights Ali
sjjurreil his Steed within hearing of Moawyah,
and challenged him to come firth and decide
their ,|iiarrcl l,y a pci-onal comhat ; hut the
wary rehel would n<it put liis life upon such a
hazard. His refusal precipitated a general
battle, which was fought during the night,
and which resulted in the rout of the Syrian
armv. When, however, the defeated insur-
gents were driven to their camp, aud were
ahout to he exterminated, they hoisted the
Koran on a lance and demanded that the dis-
pute shoidd lie settled by the decisions of the
Book. The victorious Ali was little dispose.!
to surrender the fruits of a triumph so hardly
won to an arbitration which IMoawyah had
many times refused; but the religious preju-
dices of the Moslems were so strong that they
trailed their lances in the presence of tlie Ko-
ran, and would not fight against those who
ai)])ealed to its decision. Au arbiter was ac-
conlinglv appointed from each army, Abu
Mu-a hein- chosen bv Ali and Amni bv
]\Ioawyah. ^
The amliassadors met at Jumat al Joudel,
and the negotiations were undertaken. It
soon appeared that Musa was overreached by
the wit and subtlety of Moawyah's agent.
Amru succeeded in persuading him to a dcci-
.sion by which both Ali and Moawyah were to
be deposed and a new Caliph elected. When,
however, it came to the piroclamatiou of the
lesult, and a tribunal had been erected be-
tween the two armies, Musa was induced to
go up tirst and to announce that Ali was ile-
posed. It was then Amru's turn to declare
the deposition of Moawyah ; but instead of
making the proper proclamation, he ascended
the tribunal and said: "You have heard how
.Musa on hi. j.art has deposed Ali; I <m my
part dep..s,. him also, and I adju.Ige the fa-
liphate to ^Moawvah, and I invest him with it
as I invest my linger with ili
it with justice, for he is the
and avenger of Othman."
Great were the surprise a
the announcement of this fr;
Strange that a decision so ]
mulgated should have )_ieeu
ing force ; but the bigotry ai
the age were ready to enfoi
which bore the mnblaucc of
,iih.<t.ni,r was clearly a fraud,
wilhtlrew his army, and [hi
religious animosity betwei
})owers were substituteil for
Thus it w-as that victory
vanished from the firasii of
;.n ot
an agreement
:li, though its
11 accordingly
d hatred and
ll pposinc
orable battle,
■aih' achieved
C'aiinh. The
Caliphate was jirofoundly shaken by the catas-
trophe, and the influence of Ali failed away
for a season. Dissensions sprang
those who had been his adhi^rc
party, called the Karigites, deiK
Caliph bitterly for allowin- hinisel
nned
Moa
1— and with
s, on the i.a
) among
s. One
iced the
(1 I)e cir-
■u. The
th— that
Syrians,
a palpalile fraud, aud that its observance on
the part of the Arabians was a piece of super-
stiti(jus folly. The Karigites renounced their
alkgiance and took up arms, and Ali w-as
obliged to suppress them by force.
^learnvhile, Moawyah attenipteil to make
g....<l the iiromise which he had given t.. Amru
I'espectiug his resti.iration to authority in Egypt.
In order to secure Ijy subtlety ^vhat he C(_iuld
not accomplish by force, the Syrian governor
forged a letter purporting to lie written to
himself by Saiid Ibn Kai's, the governor of
Egvjit, in which treacherous overtures were
made respecting an alliance again.st Ali. This
letter was jwrmitted to fall into the hands of
tlie Caliph, whose mind was thereby poisoned
against Saiid, and who appointed jMohammed,
the sou of Abu Beker, to supersede him.
The government of Saiid in Egypt had been
as poptdar as that of .Mohannne.l proved to be,
di.sta.-teful to the pc.ple. I )i.->eiisi(ms were
spread abroad and revolt followed. Learning
of the condition iif atiairs, Ali sent out a new
governor, named ]Malec Shutur; but the latter
wa- poi.nn.'.l bef .re reachin- his destination.
Ailair> were thus thrown into such c.infusion
that .Moawvah .lisi.atched Amru with au armv
UNIVERSAL inSTOin'.--THE MODERN WORLD.
to seize the Egyptian goveniuieut for liiinselt'.
The movement was ^;lu•L■e.<st■^lI. The party of
Ali was ovortlirowu. Mohammed was slain,
ami his hmlv, iiirln<,Ml in the carcass of an
ass, \va< l.urnt \i> a-hi's. Thus was Egypt
suddenly snatchud away from the successor of
the Prophet.
Moawyah now liecame more active than
ever. He assumed the ofleusive, carried his
arms into Arahia, ravaged Yemen, and hoisted
his banner over the Kaal.a at ?*Ieera. The
spirits of Ali w. IV s,, -ivatly dei.resse.l that
he fell int.. iiichmrhuly, and he, who had
been called ili<- Linn c.f l.dam, went about
with an ab>trarlrd air cir SLLt in moody silence.
At length, linwiver, he roused himself to
action. lie raised an army nf sixty thousand
men, and deti'rmined that .Moawyah should
feel erelong the force of a staggering blow.
But at this juncture the remnants of the
Karigites became a factor in the political con-
dition of the times. Three of the fanatic
sect, meeting in the mosque of Mecca, and at-
tributing the distractions of Islam to the am-
bitious rivalries of Ali, Moawyah, and Aniru,
resolved upon the assassination of all three of
the rulers. The conspirators then separated
and went to their allotted stations.
Barak, who undertook the murder of Mo-
awyah, went to Damaseiis, to..k his stan.l in
the m(iS(iue, and as .>io;iwyali knelt to pray,
dealt him a terriiile lilow with his sword.
The governor, however, was saved alive, and
finally recovered from his wound ; but the
assassin was taken and put to death. The
second murderer, Anini, the son of Asi, re-
di, nii-tn
paired to P'gvpt,
killed the I mail.
the governor. This a-sassin was also taken
and executed. The third conspirator, named
Abdalrahman, made his way to Cufa, which
was now the capital of Ali. Here he entered
the house of a Karigite woman, to whom he
presently made an offer of marriage. 8he
agreed to L^ive lier hand on condition that her
hush;ind uoiiM lirin'.:' her as a dowry three
thon~and |.ieei< ot' -ilver, a slave, a maid-ser-
vant, an.l the head of the Caliph Ali. All
these thine-s Abdalrahman agreed to bestow.
He accortling
confederates.
y took
and th
selves m the
their vielim.
niosipie
When
upon him wi
fatal wound.
One ot
nto his confidence two
three stationed them-
to await the coming of
Ali drew near they fell
swords and inflicted a
tlie murderers escaped,
one was slain as he was flying from the scene,
ami Aliilalrahman was taken. "Let him not
be tortured," said the benignant Calijih before
he expired, and his orders were obeyed. Thus,
in the vear A. D. C^^M), the fourth successor
of th,- Pn.phet <lie,l a vi..Ient death.
The character of Ali sulliTs not by com-
parison with that of any of the early ^loslems.
In war he was a warricn-, in peace, peaceable.
But for the rebellion of Moawyah, Zobeir,
and Telha his reign would, perhaps, have been
the most prosperous among those of the early
Caliphs. Nor should failure be made to men-
tion his patronage of letters and art ; for it
was from this epoch that the Arabians began
to be distinguished as poets, historians, and
philosophers. Ali himself was a devotee of
the Arabian Parnassus. His career through-
out .showed the man of sentiment ami reflec-
tion rather than the fiery zealot which was
revealed in Omar. " I^ife." said the poetic
Ali, "is but the shadow of a cloud, the dream
of a .sleeper."
The family of the Caliph Ali emln-aced the
lineal descendants of ]\Iohanimed. Ills Hrst
wife, Fatima, was the Prophet's daughter, and
by her he had three .sons, Mohas.san, Hassan,
and Hosein, two of whom survived their
father. Of his other eight wives were born
twelve sons and eighteen daughters. The
children of Fatima, as being of the blood of
the Prophet, were held in great esteem. They
were permitted to distinguish themselves by
their turbans and other dress from all other
Moslems. The descendants of this line were
known as the Fati.mites, from the name of
their great mother, and were ever regarded by
the Arabians as the legitimate sovereigns of
Islam. By that people the memory of Ali
was held most sacred, next to that of the
Prophet, and the anniversary of his death is
still scrupulously observed as a solemnity liy
the thithful.
MOHAMMEDAX ASCEyDEMV. — OMMIADES AXD EA TLmiES.
CHAPTER LXXX.— OMXIIA.DES AIVD FATIMITES.
fFTER the death of Ali his
sou Hassan was choseu to
the Calij^hate •u-ithout op-
position. He was well
fitted by the excellence
of his character and the
benevolence of his pur-
poses for the sovereignty of a great state ; but
the times were distracted with rebellion and
turmoil, and Hassan was little disposed to war.
Nevertheless, in his inaugural ceremony he
pledged himself to uphold the Book of Allah,
to f )llow the tradition of the Prophet, and to
make war against all opposers. The penple,
in their turn, pledged themselves to sujipurt
his government, both in peace and in war.
The circumstances of the accession of a new
Caliph were such as hardly to permit him to re-
main at peace. There, on the Syrian horizon,
stood the hostile figure of Moawyah. Against
him the Caliph Ali, at the time of his assassina-
tion, had already prepared an army of sixty
thousand men. The warlike Hosein, brother
of Hassan, was eager for the fight. The Caliph
accordingly took the field in the first year of
his reign, and marched against the Syrians.
In a shiirt time, however, his inefficiency
as a general was manifest. A tumult having
broken out in the army, he was unable to
enforce discijjline, and treachery became rife
around him. His courage failed, and he re-
solved to make overtures to iloawyah. He
accordingly sent to that potentate an embassy,
proposing to surrender to him the Caliphate
on condition that he himself should be per-
mitted to retain the public treasury, and that
no furthrr slnnders should be uttered against
the memory of his t'ather. The first condition
was fully agreed to, and the second in part.
Hassan himself was not to be offended by
hearing his father's name spoken with con-
tempt. It was also stipulated a- a part of
the terms of Hassan's abdication that he
should return to power on the death of
Moawyah.
Nothwitlistauding the auger of the war-
like Hosein, and notwithstanding that the
people of Ciifa refused to surremler the treas-
ury, which they claimed as their own, the
settlement was carried into effect, and the
governor of Syria became Caliph, with the
title of Moawyah I. Hassan received a large
revenue, and retiring to Medina found com-
jsensation for the loss of power in distributing
to the necessities of the poor.
The dissensions of the Empire lieiug thus
quieted, and the shade of Othmau placated
by the destruction of those who had taken his
life, Islam had jieace. Abottt the only faction
remaining to di-turb the >t:ite of the faithful
were the Karigites, wlio stirreil nii a revolt in
Syria and were with difficulty suppressed.
They were a sect of fanatical zealots who,
contemptuous of all the forms of government,
attempted to esfalilisli a reign of spiritiuil
frenzy over the prostrate form of reason.
The new line of sovereigns begiuning with
Moawyah was known as the Ommiad Dynasty,
being so called from Ommiah, the ancestor of
' the tribe to which the Caliph l>eIonged. The
opposing party of princes in the politics of
Islam, representing the true descendants of
the Projihet, were, as already said, known as
the Fatdiites.
The powerful warrior, whose ambition was
thus at last gratified with the possession of
the throne of Islam, now gave his attention
to the arts of peace. He called about him
many learned men, jioets, scholars, and states-
men, many of whom were lirought from the
Grecian islands, and whose culture added to
the luster of the court of Damascus. But
while the Caliph thus strengthened himself in
the world of letters, a strange family compli-
cation iutroducecl s(inie excitetuent in the
world of polities. It had happened in the
days of yore tliat Abu Sofian. father of Mo-
awyah, had, while sojourning in the city of
Taycf. liccome enamored of a Greek slave,
who afterwards bore him a son. The child,
being illegitimate, was named Ziyad Ibn
Abihi, that is, Ziyad the son of Nobodv. But
4; 14
the bloud of his ai
bau. Thi' youth
himself 1)V his elo.
pen,,!.. During tl
UMVKL'SAL niSTunV.
ncoti-v tolil ill .-|.itc of the
to
f the
the eourts ,,f Wiiiu.
1 liiiii -..venior of
ilf dvt'\
uir h.
ill Ik'M
h. The
.f Zivad
The Calii.h Ali aj.,.'
Persia, ami that i...-i
accession of hi- half-lii-..tli( r to the
But the Son of Noho,ly l.y no i
tened to reeo-niz,. Moawyah a- Ca
latter became alanm.l at the sileilc
and sent a kindly invitation I'm- him to come
to Cufa. Acrijiiin-- the invitation, he was
met ami emhiared by :\b.awyah, wli., thus
publiely aekiiowled-ed the Governor a< his
brother. An aet wa> semied by vvhirh Ziyad
was made a lc<;itimate liranrb of the TIoii>o
of Koreish and a priii<-e ot' the realms of I-lani.
Great was the anger of the aristocratic
Ommiades to be thus scandalized l\v tlie iu-
trotluctiou into their ranks of the parvenu
son of a (iivrk -lavr. lint the far-i-ht.d
Moawyah let fume their idle passion, for he
had gained a jiowerfid frieml and supporter.
Nor did the Caliph fail to make good use of
his new-found brother. He sent him to as-
sume authority in the city of Bassora, where
a reign of anarchy and assassination had been
established. The eity had become a den of
thieves, and it- reputation a >teiii'h in the
nostrils of Islam. To all this the Son of Xo-
body put a speedy termination. Two huiiilird
ruffians were put to death on the first niyht
after his assumption rif otHee.
Order was at once restored. The gov-
ernor was then sent to Kli'(ia»an. So e.xem-
plary were his measures that quiet reigned
wherever he went. As he journeyed from
city to city, he made ])roclamatiou that the
people -honld leave tlieir doors open at night,
])roniisiiii;- to make g 1 whatever was taken
by theft. Having reduced all Babylonia to
good government, he set out for Arabia Pctra.
But wdiile on his way thither he was attacked
with the pla-m' and did. So u-reat had been
his merit that lii< familv ri-ht^ wmv eontlrm.-d
to his son Ol.oiilallali. who was made governor
of Klioras-an and a prince of the empire.
Another son. named Salem, was, in like man-
ner, honore(l. and -' ■ L;ri at wa- his po]iularity
that twenty ihoii-and eliildn n were said to
have received his name. The third son,
nil-: }[<n>Ki;x mould.
Kameil, wa.^ al>o .-o mueh ilistiuguished by his
talents that he \\a- made a prince of Arabia
Felix, an.l hi- d. -e. ndaiit- considered it an
honor to 1„. called the children of Ziyad. It
thu.- happ.-ii.-d that the l.a-.-horn Son of No-
body hecame the illu.-triou- Taiher of Some-
body. Nature had writt.n her sign-manual
above the puny statute- (,f nun.
-^loawyah kept hi- liiiih with Amru by re-
llui the latt.r did not h,ng .-urvive the recoverv
of what had b..,-!, the ,,bj,ri ,,f hU ambition.
In A. I). CC.:; ho ,li,d, aial I.-lani had cause
to lament the fall .,f <.ne ,,f the abh-.-t veter-
ans of the faith. Like manv of hi.- IV-llow-
leade,-. hebe.-amein hi- .ildm.ie ..„amoredof
letter., and sought by patr na-e and example
t.. ha-teii the return of the dav ..f li-lit and
learning.
The ivi^^n of Moawyah wa- ncited as the
epoch when hostility to the Eastern Empire
became a part of tb.^ .^etth'd poliev of I-lam.
The warlike imjaihe- ..f tile Caliph were
turned in the direction of Con-tantinople.
The injunction of the Prophet to eomiuer the
world still rang in the ears of true believers,
and the general (luiet of the I\Iohammedan
.states eucouraiieil the half-dormant desire of
foreign conquest. It was now aliuost a half
century since the death of the Prophet. His
promi.se of full pardon for all the sins com-
mitted by the soldiers who should conquer
Con.stantinople was not wanting as an incen-
tive of war in the brea^^ts of faithful veterans
wh(j recalled with a sigli the glorious days of
early Islam.
An army was ai/corilingly mustered to
march against the di-iant (J reeks. The com-
mand was given to the veteran Sofian, who,
Avith several other aL.:(il patriot-, comjianious
of Mohammed, undertook the enterpri.-e with
the fiery zeal of youth. Hosein, the brother
of Hassan, was given a command, and a chiv-
alrous spirit pervaded the army, to which the
soldiers of the Crescent had become strangers
during the civil wars. The enthusia.-m of
battle wa- in the raid^s, and future victory
wa> re-aided a- a j'art of that necessity which
the I'r.i|4iet hail jiroelaimed as the immutable
law ..f the world. On the other hand, a gen-
eral llavoi- of ih'cay was noticeable throughout
'he Emoire of the Greeks. Especially were
MUHAMMEDAX ASCEXVEXCY. — OMMIADES AXD EA TBIITES.
the armies which issued from the gate.> of
Constautiuople fatigued, as it were, with the
lassitude of decliuLug age. In no re.^pect,
moreover, was the weakness of the Eustciu
Empire more displayed than in the will aud
character of Constautiue IV., the rfi:;uiii^
sovereign, whose chief element of grcatue^s
was a famous name.
In the preceding volume' a brief reference
has already been made to this effort (jf the
Moslems to capture Coustantinojile. Xo ex-
tensive details of the expedition have been
preserved. It is only known that the Moliam-
medan squadron jrassed the Dardanelles in
safety aud debarked the army a few miles
from the city. The Arabs with their accus-
tomed vehemence began a siege, but very un-
like were the battlements of Constantinople to
the puny ramparts surrounding the towns of
Syria and the East. The Greek capital, more-
over, was well defended by trooj^s collected
from many quarters, most of them veterans in
the defense of cities. The en)i)loymeut of
Greek fire spread terror among the assailants,
to whom such explosive and portentous bombs
seemed no less than the favorite hand-balls of
Ben Safiah. Of course, the besiegers with
their nomad armor could make no impression
on the rock-built bastions of the city. So,
despairing of success, they fell away t'nnu the
prize which was beyond their grasji and rav-
aged the adjacent coasts of the two continents.
They established themselves in the island of
Scyzicus, and from time to time renewed the
conflict through a period of two years.
As the war continued, the forces of the
Moslems were gradually wasted. On the other
hand, the courage of the Greeks was revived
when it was seen that they only had been able
to interpose a bar to the progre.^s of Islam.
By aud by they marched forth with their
forces and pursued the Mohammedans, inflict-
ing several defeats. Moawyah was first driven
to act on the defensive, and then compelled to
seek an expensive peace. A truce was estab-
lished for thirty years, and the Caliph agreed
to pay the Emperor an annual tribute of three
thousand pieces of gold, fifty slaves, and fifty
Arabian steeds.
In the mean time the Caliph had grown
old. The compact still existed with Hassan
iSee Book Tenth, nnl,' p. 3s3.
that the latter shoiil.l ,-
ment on the death of >
the Caliph's eldest sou, \
tor to secure the succe
the vear 669, the exeni
Hassiii ended his careei
It tl
serene frame of mind, calmly consigning his
murderers to the mercies of Allah, liel'ore whom
they must presently stand, stripjied of all
disguises.
The politic Yezid refused to marry her whose
crime had opened to him the way to the throne;
but lie procured her .-ilr with laiuv gifts of
money and jewel>. TlioiiL^h Ila-siu iiimself
was destroyed, his family was by no means ex-
tinguished. He left as liis eontribiition to the
House of Fatima fifteen .-oi,,. ami five <laugli-
ter.«. One of his man-iage- lia.l lieen with the
daughter of Yezdeginl, the' la>t king of Per-
sia, and the expiring glory of the Sassanidte
was lilended with the proiihetic blood of Islam.
A lew years after the death of Hassan, the
celebrated Ayesha, wli.> had survived the death
of .M..hauinied f.rty-seveii years, and by the
perpetual feuds sjiringing from her jealousy of
Fatima had kept
he con
rt of iledina constantlv
embroilec
, expir
^d, A.
D
678
She left no
offspring
nor di
1 any
of
the c
ther wives of
the Prophet, exc
e]iting
on
ly F:
tinia, transmit
his name
to post.
ritv.
It will
be rei
lembel
e.l
how
the unpopular
Al.lallah
Ibn S:
a.I att
ell
,.ted
to make good
his claim
to le:
der-hi
, 1
y th
i conquest of
Northern
Africa
and
h.
w he
failed before
the walls
of Trip
.li. A
ft.
■wart.
s the attention
of the iSIoslems was absoilieil in the civil wars,
and then in the rontest with Constantinople.
Thus for a while the African enteriirise was
abaiid d. The foothold which Islam had
gained .111 tlie coa>t west of Egypt was broken,
aliiio>t re>trieted to the valley of the Xile.
Aftta- the tailure of his war with the Greeks,
Moawyah determined to devote the energies of
his old age to the recovery of what had lieen
lost on the African eoast. To tliis end an arinv
was .n-ganized and [.huvd under eoinniaiid of
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
t;Er=;;,c:^,;'%'v'fe?,i.- ^ -j v \ nf" ^I'^u <. -w' -k^^V .'^T^-Jni^,,
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEXBEyCY. — OMMIADES AXD FATIMITES.
A'M
departed from Damascus to enter on his cam-
paign. His first movement was dii'ected against
the province of Cyreuaica, and its capital, Cy-
rene. Tiie city was besieged and taken, its
walls thrown down, the country concjuered.
From the borders of this province Acbah
then continued his march to the west. Through
dense and serpent-haunted \yoods and trackless
wastes of sand, he pressed onward to the site
of ancient Carthage. Here he chose a heav-
ily wooded valley as the place in which to
found a city which should serve as the head-
quarters of Islam in the West. Nor has tra-
ditidn tliilr,! to nenrd Ikiw Acbah went forth
into thr (lank wilduruess, infested as it was
with lions, tigers, and serpents, and conjured
them to fly to other jungles. " Hence ! " said
he; "avaunt, wild beasts and serpents! Hence,
quit this wood and valley ! " Then they fled to
parts unknown.
When the news of the progress of Acbah
was borne to ]Moawyah, he added the newly
conquered countries to the province of Egypt,
and appointed Muhegir governor. But the
action of the Caliph was based upon ignorance
of the vast extent of the territory which Ac-
bah had overrun. The latter had meanwhile
established himself in his new city and exer-
cised authority over the surrounding country.
When Muhegir arrived in Egypt, he became
desperately jealous of the fame of Acbah, and
slandered him in letters to the Caliph ti> the
extent of securing his recall and deposition
from his command. The valorous Acljah,
however, indignant at the injustice done him,
hastened to Damascus and made so manly a
remonstrance that he was at once reinstated.
Returning by way of Egypt he found that
Muhegir had used the interim to destroy, as far
as possible, the results of the conquest. Acbah
accordingly deposed him from authority and
placed him in irons, and then went about to
remedy the mischief which he had accomplished.
In a short time he had reduced the country
to such a state of .jiiirt that he w-as able to re-
sume his work of roiiijui'st in the West. From
the frontier which he had already established
at Crerwan, he marched into Algiers, the an-
cient Numidia, and setting up the banners of
Islam, compelled the barliarous tribes to rev-
erence the name of the Prophet. He then
proceeded into Morocco, the ^Mauritania of
the ancients, and in like manner reduced the
inhabitants to submission. .Still westward lie
pressed his way until reaching the Atlantic,
he rode into the salt waves to his saddle girth,
and drawing his cimeter, declared that only
the sea prevented him from honoring the
Prophet by further conquests in his name.
In the mean time intelligence was borne to
the victorious Moslem that the Greeks of the
African coast behind him, as well as the sav-
age tribes of the interior, had revolted and
were about to overthrow his authority. His
caj)ital of Crerwan was threatened with cap-
ture. Returning by rajiid marches he was at-
tacked in Numidia by the Berbers or Moors,
who gave him great annoyance, but could not
be brought to battle. On reaching his cajiital,
however, Acbah found that his lieutenant Zo-
hair had beaten the reliels in battle, and re-
stored order in the jirovince. As soon as
every thing was made secure, the adventurous
governor returned into Numidia to j)unish the
audacious Moors.
Meanwhile, the Greeks of the coast had
joined their fortunes with the barbarians of
the mountain slopes, and Acbah found a
large army ready to oppose him. The leader
of the Moors was a noted chieftain named
Abu Cahina. When Acbah came in sight
of the enemy, he perceived that their num-
bers were so great as to make a victory over
them impossible ; but with the dauntless zeal
of a true follower of the Prophet, he deter-
mined to conquer or die. He struck oft' the
chains of Muhegir and gave him a horse and
armor. The two then rode, side by side, into
the hopeless conflict. The jMoslems fought
with thinning ranks, but invincible courage.
At last only a handful remained, but they
faced the enemy until all had perished. The
dead body of Acbah was discovered still grasp-
ing his sword and surrounded with a heap of
infidel slain. The destruction of the heroic
band of Islam was complete.
^leanwhile, important events had taken
place in the Caliphate. Tlie aged Moawyah,
forecasting the end of his career, named Yezid
as his successor. This act was in violation of
the precedent established by Mohammed and
oliserved by Abu Beker, Omar, and Othman.
It was a direct eff"ort on the part of Moawyah
to make the erown of Islam hereditary in his
LM\i:i:sAi. iiisTony. — Tiu: Moni:i:.\ woin.n
family — to substitute tiie ]>iiiic'i]ili- n
for the rigiit uf elwti.m. S,i,-1, a p
counter to ail the niaxiiii> nl' Aialiiaii
tlie variuus |ii-nviiu-e> to appcjiut ilelegates wIki
should perform the art <,f fealty to the j)riiu-e
Yeziil, nearly all the re-icms made a favor-
able response, anil the prince was ai-knuwl-
edged as the lepn ,-entalive <i|' die (Jmniiadr-
Thu> was e>lal.li~lied bv llie will and power of
.Moawyah th.. .lynasly .,f the lIon.~e of Oni-
miah, I'roni which fourteen Caliphs were des-
tined to arise.
The instituti.in of a regular court, after the
manner of the Ka-t. liad now becnie an es-
tabli-lied fact in the Caliphate. Th.- stern de-
meanor of the primitive successors of the
Prophet relaxed in the soft airs of Dama.seus.
The transformation from the au.stere rajiine
established by Abu Beker and Omar was
mostly effected during the reigu of ^Nloawyah
I. Already before the death of that poten-
tate, his liouseholil and t;(iveiiinient, in the
luxurious capital of Syria, had a^unied the
typical a.spect of the courts of the East. The
plaiu food, siiujile garb, and severe manners
of the early JIo.<lem rulers yielded to the in-
fluences of ea-e and opulence, and the exem-
plary virtues (if the first Caliphs were no
longer regarded as the passports to Paradise.
Superstition still held sway over the minds
of the greatest. It was a part of the policy
of Moawvah to make Damascus one of the
.sicred eiiie- of 1-lam. To this end he con-
ceived the pioje.l of transferring from Medina
.«onie ,,f llle relies mo.t .<arLvd in th.- eves of
true l,eli,.ve,-. Amnn- the obj.vts to be re-
moved wen- the walkin- stalf of the I'lophet
an.l the pnlpit fn.m wliieli he u>r,\ to di-eoui-e
to the penpl,-. Tlu- >talf was found aiid trans-
ferred to the n.'W capital, but when the ].ulpit
was about to be removed an eclili.~e of the
To see the >tar< in daytime was too much
even for Moawvali, and the pulpit of the
Prophet wa- all.'.ued to i-emain in .M,-dina.
Feelin.j his ,.nd approa,-!, .Moawyah siim-
his parting injunctions. In A. J). f.T'.i, bein-
then in the twentieth year of his reign, the
gn-al
Cali
.h Wtls,-athere,l to 1
is ihthel
<. His
sepnl
■her
was niade at Dam;
M'Us, wh
1 .■.,,.;...
eh had
,.)■ tl,,.
.MoIk
> .Mo
Ian Kmpiiv. (ire:
1 i.ipii.i
t was ll
his ,le,
ol tlie
e fame
Is, and
gfeal
mani
T
■est.d
le SIR
tlie grief which th
on liis dej.artnie f
ce.-ion had abvad>
• true 1
r I'arad
(lie vers
p..itited
to Y
.ZIIl.
He receivid the i
.yal L'aii
leiits in
the .s
the
prn„
prine,.
■ame to
falh.
r's p(
• nndi r the lull
pularily and the n
imi.iilse
of his
won by
hi- o
\Mi al
ililiesimd ambition
s. Neve
1-thele.SS
his c
larac
er as a youth had
been -r.
ally io-
jun-,
bv 1
is associations in D
,masr„s.
aiid his
aeee,s>ii,ii to jiower at the aL;i- ot' iliirty-four
II,- enteie.l upon his reien, how,-v.-r, with
many ansjiicious omens and no opposition, save
from ]\Ieeca, Medina, and some of tlie towns
on the Euphrates.
The jiersonal rivals whom he had most
cau.se to fear were Ilosein, brother of Hassan,
and Abdallah, son of Zobeir. To the danger
to be a]i|in-hend((l from these princes the new
Cali]ih was fully awake. A plot was made
against their lives, but they escaped from
Medina and fled to Mecca. "While resident
here Hosein received a secret message from
the city of Cufa, declaring that the pc<i]ile of
that nu-tropolis were ready to acknowledge
him as the rightful successor of the Pro])bet.
He was informed that on going thither lie
would be recognized and obeyed as Caliph.
To a.-^certain the truth <if thi->e reports a
me.-isenger was sent to Cufa, who found atiairs
as represt-nted, but the governor of the city
hail no knowledge of the conspiracy. By some
means, however, intelligence of the true state
of ali;di-> was conveyed to the Caliph, who
despat.-lieil Obiidallah, .< .f Ziyad, to sup-
press tl„- n-volt. This .,.„eral 'ha>tened to
Cufa. took jHxsessi, f the city, killeii the
amba^>ailor of lliw-in, and scattered the con-
spirators in all directions.
In the mean time the nnfoitunate ])rince,
who ex]iected to reach the Caliphate by meairs
louini-ved toward Cufa. On the borders of
iiabylonia he was met by a band of hor.-emen,
i-eiit out by ()b,-iilallah to bring the aspir.ant
into his presence. The prince was led along
MOHAMMEDAX ASCEXDEXCV.—OMMIADES AM) F ATI MITES.
to the banks of the Euphrates. Fiiuliug tliat
every thing had turned against him he would
fain have returned into Arabia. Those wlio
had him in charge woukl gladly have shown
considenUiiin ti) a descendant of the Projahet,
but Obeidallah had resolved that Hosein
should acknowledge Yezid or j^erish for his
temerity. The son of Ali, however, chose to
die rather than submit. With his small band
he attempted to defend himself in his camp.
Desultory fighting continued for several
days. His followers fell one by one until he
le Day
scpul-
to the
ibe assassmatiim ot their prn:
proibund impression on the minds
mites. The day of his death becai
versary ..f mourning, and was rail
of ILl.rill. Oil thr >p..t whciv lu.
cher was built, and tradition rec
coming generations, the omens and portents
wherewith Allah threatened the world when
the descendant of his Apostle was slain.
Among those whom the dying .Moawvuh had
named as persons to be feared hy liis successor
was Zobeir's son, Abdallah. The caution was
^^..^s^^m^^>:j^-\MM' "
was left alone. At last he .sank to the earth,
bleeding with thirty wounds, and died under
the swords of his assailants. His head was
then cut off and carried to Obeidallah in Cufa.
After being displayed to that savage warrior
the bloody trophy was sent to the Caliph
Yezid at Damascus, who either through real or
affected grief denounced the murder of the
prince and cursed Obeidallah as the son of a
Greek slave. The Caliph treated the family
of Hosein with consideration, and thus in
some measure made atonement for the destruc-
tion of the grandson of the Prophet.
well taken ; for after the death of Hosein the
tribe of Hashem proclaimed Abdallah as Ca-
liph, and he was recognized as such by the
people of Medina and Jlecca. The prince
thus made conspicuous was ambitious and war-
like. The party of Fatima, enraged at the
murder of Hosein, rallied to the support of
Alidallah, and a seer out of Egypt declared
that the Prophet Daniel had i.redicted for this
j prince the honors of royalty. The Caliph
I Yezid became alarmed at the couditiim of af-
I fairs in Western Arabia ; but pretending to
i despise the presumption of Abdallah, he sent
jUU
UMVKRSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
woril t(i tlie governor of Mt-diim tn ].iit a sil-
ver rdlhir aroiiiul the neck of tin- iinlcndcr,
should he not di'sist from his claim-, and >ciid
him in fetters tn l>ai]iaM-u>. The -(ivern..r,
however — as did alsn \i\- >ui-ct-Mir — iearcd tu
undertake the duty x\hirh V.zid had assigned.
Xor did the task allnti.Ml hy thr Caliph to his
subonlinate become less (inrrMii> when the sto-
ries of his own immoral lifi' "'le circulated
among the abstemious and continent Arabs.
The unpopularity of the rei-ning prince be-
came so great that an insurrection broki' (Jiit
in Medina, an.l thr few adherents of Yc/id
were obliged for safety to >hut tliem-elvc- up
in the palace ..f the gov.rn..r. It wa. with
great ditficiilty that the Caliph .-ccured an
to go against the insur-
.eteran Meslem assumed
edition departed to sup-
the P
11 calculated to
army and a -e,
gents. At len.tl
command, and tl
press the revolt.
Meanwhile the peoph
trench around the city
fend theni-elves to the
arriveil he summoned tl
but for three successive
refused. On t
if :Me.lina digged a
nd pr.'pared t<, de-
ist. When .M.>lem
place to surrender,
•e days the demand was
th ;\Iedina was attackeil
and carried by storm. The friends of Yezid
were liberateil from the governor's palace, and
the city given uji to indiscriminate shiughter
and pillage. Having completed the work of
destruction, jMe.slem started on tlie march for
Mecca, but died before reaching his destina-
tion. The command devolved upon Hozein
Ibn Thamir, who jiroceeded to the city and
began a siege. ]''or f /rty days the walls were
battered by the Syrian engines. A part of
the Kaaba was broken down, and the rest
burned to ashes. The .Meeeaii- were brought
to the Ic
death o
Ye,
Tl
Ho/.ein, an.l demau(h'd that since the ( ali|.li
wa> no iiior.-, hostilities should come t.. an
< the news was confirmed the
■d to a truce. The siege was
the Syrian army, accompanied
r ( )nnniah, retired to Damas-
cus. Nor did the true believers of the party
of Fatima fail to ascribe the sudden death of
the Cali])h to the avenging hand of Allali ;
for the pillage of ^Medina, the sacred home of
id. As
aban.h.ned. ai
by the famil\
M.
1 II., s.,n of Ye/.i,|, was at once
prorlaimed Caliph. lb- wa> still a mere
youth, weak in Ixxly and in nnnd, liekle in
conduct, and somewhat heretical in lielief.
For his teacher, Almeksus, being of the sect
of the Kadarii, taught the freedom of the
will as against the doctrine of jiredestinatiim,
and the young Moawyah indiilied the danger-
ous heresy. He was afflicted with weak eyes,
and obliged to avoid the daylight, from which
circumstance the Arabs gave him the surname
of Abuleilah or Father of the Night. For
six months he nominally held the scepter and
then abdicated, refusing to name a successor.
This unhcanl-of proceeding greatly excited the
Omndade.-, who attrilmte.l the prince's resig-
nation to the influence of Almeksus. Him
they accordingly seized and buried alive.
The recreant IMoawyah not only refused to
name his successor, but even went so far as to
denounce the Ommiad line, saying that his
grandfather was a man less worthy than Ali,
and that Yezid had been unfit to reign. He
also very jiroperly included himself in the list
of unworthies. Having thus relieved his
conscience, he shut himself in a dark cham-
ber and remained there until he died.
It thus became necessary for the princes of
Islam to choose a new Caliph. In a conven-
tion at Damascus, the election fell on ^Ierwan,
the same who had once been the secretary of
Othmau. It was stipulated, however, that at
his decease — for he was already aged — the
crown should descend to Khaled, tlie junior
son of Y'ezid. Merwan gave the required
jdedges and entered upon his reign at Damas-
.■us. Meanwhile Abdullah, the sou of Zobeir,
wa< acknowledge.! as Caliph throughout the
W.-st. N.it only Arabia, but al... Khorassau,
liabyjonia. aiLlKgypt, re,'..giiized him as the
li'Ldtimate ruler of Islam. At the same time,
th.- 1,1 ly-miii.l.'.l Ob.i.lallah, son of Ziyad
and emir of Bassora, endeavored to obtain
the Calijihate. He jileaded that the disseu-
.«ions between the Houses of Fatima and Om-
miah were sufficient .-aiise for the iii.lepcnd-
ence of Bassora ami his own apii.iintment as
Caliph. The chiefs of the city were ready to
second the movement, and Olieidallah was
called upon to accept the primacy, at least
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEXDEXCV.—OMMIADES AXD FATLUrfES.
until a new ruler could be legally electeil.
This action, however, was soon repented. The
people of Cufa, still remembering the atrocious
conduct of Obeidallah in the murder of H(j-
sein, rejected his claims with disdain ; and the
inhabitants of Bassora, turning upon their
own creature, drove him from power. He
was obliged to disguise himself as a woman
and fly for his life. He escaped into Syria,
and perceiving the jiresent hopelessness of his
situation, gave his influence to Merwan and
aided in his election to the (.'alipliate. Tliis
adherence of Obeidallah to the cause of the
Oramiades was one of the circumstances which
led to the defection of Babylonia and the
transfer of the allegiance of that country to
Abdallah, Caliph of the West.
The accession of Merwan was thus recog-
nized only in Syria, and among the Syrians
themselves a strong party arose in opposition
to his claims. The leader of the disafl'eeted
was a certain chieftain named Dehac Ibn
Kais, recently governor of Cufa, who sympa-
thizing with the politics of the people of his
former province, declared for Abdallah and
raised an army to support his pretensions.
Merwan at once took the field against his
Syrian enemies, and a bloody battle was
fought, in which Dehac was killed and his
army cut to pieces. Merwan returned in tri-
umph to Damascus, and began his administra-
tion from the palace of JMoawyah and Yezid.
The great age of the Caliph and the gen-
eral suspicion that he would attempt to vio-
late the agreement respecting the succession
led to a movement on the part of the author-
ities of Damascus to secure a guaranty. They
demanded that JNIerwan should marry the
•widow of Yezid, and thus place himself in
loco •patris to the young Khaled. He com-
plied with reluctance; but in order to extri-
cate himself as far as possible from the com-
plication, he raised an army and set out on
an expedition against Egy^rt. The campaign
■was attended with success, and the party of
Abdallah was overthrown in that province.
Merwan then returneil to Damascus. But
scarcely had he reached the capital when
news came that ]Musab, the brother of the
Western Caliph, was marching upon Egypt to
recover what was lost. A second time the
Syrian army, led by Amru, the son of Saad,
marched against the Egyptians, ami another
hard-fought battle resulted in a cniuplcte vic-
tory for Merwan and the reestal)li>hiiicut of
his authority in tne valley of the Nile. He
appointed his son Abdalaziz governor of the
conquered country, and again returned to the
capital of Syria.
In the mean time the people of Kliorassau,
disgusted with the quarrels of the rival Ca-
liphs, chose for their governor Salem, the son
of Ziyad, who was to act as regent of the
province until what time the ixilitiral affairs
of the Caliphate sh.iuld be settled. While
Khorassan was thus virtually made independ-
ent, the people of Cufa, long ill at ease on
account of the murder of Hosein, sought by
repentance to make their peace with the
Fatimites. A society was organized, called
The Penitents, embracing in its membership
the principal men of the state. The whole
movement had for its ulterior design the re-
storation of the House of Ali to the undi-
vided sovereignty of Islam. The leader of
the revolutionary ])arty was Solyman Ibn
Sorad, wdio had ]m-v\\ (uic <if' tlic coniiianions
of the Prophet. An army was mustered,
which, after passing a day and night in prayer
on the spot where Hosein was murdered, be-
gan its march into Syria. But Ijei'ore Soly-
man reached Damascus, Obeidallah came forth
at the head of twenty thcmsaiid men and
scattered the revolutionists tn thi' fnur winds.
It will be remembered Imw tin- In ro Acbab,
on the far-ofl' plains of Numidia, was over-
powered and destroyed by tlir ^Mmirish host
led by Abu Cahina. The latter, alter his victory,
pressed on to Cajrwan where he began a siege.
At this juncture, however, ref !iforcements ar-
rived, sent out from Egypt by Alidalaziz, the
recently appointed governor. Every thing
looked to the speedy repulse of Cahina and
the restoration of Moslem authority in North-
ern Africa. But in the mean time the sleepy
court of Constantinople bad anmsed itself to
action and dispatched an Injperial army to
make common cause with the iMoors in the
expulsion of the Mohammedans. Against
these combined forces of < ']iri>tianity and
barbarism, Zobeir, the governor ofCarwan,
made a desperate but ineHectual resistance.
The Moslems were defeated in battle and
driven back to Barca. Crerwau was assaulted
:)()-2
UXIVEBSAL HJSTony. — THE MODEUX WORLD.
aud taken, ami all the western part.s ot the
African e(jast restoivil to the condition in
which they had been Ijefure the conciuest l)y
Aehah.
Ju>t after the fiax'o of Solynian in Syria,
the inteili-eiir,. ,,f thr h..<s of Korthern Africa
was cai-rici! li> Dainax-us. It had the etlect
of an eliTtrl.' -park upon the half-paralyzed
ri-ht an,i nf IMaui. Fur the u-.n.'e, the Litter
Thnii-h /nlhir nro-iii/.ed the Caliph of the
West, .Mriwaii >.iit firward a large army,
nnder eniniuaiid nf his son Abdalnialec to
assist the African governor in recovering his
province. The forces of Zobeir and those of
Syria were united in the Barcau desert, and
an expedition was at once begun to regain the
lost territories. The old spirit of the Arabs
was fully aroused in the struggle with the un-
believers. The Christians aud Moors were
driven back precipitately upon C'Derwan.
The eitv was lie-ii-. ij and retaken, aud the
whiih' reiiimi reeevered fmni the enemy more
quickly than they had wen it. Zeljeir was
reinstated as govenmi- et' Africa, and Alnlal-
malec marched back to join his fither at
Dania<.-us.
In his la-t davs, the aired Merwau at-
teni
,lee
which he lue
It was evidc'iit that his ..atli to transmit the
crown to Khaled had l)een taken with meutal
reservation. It transpired that when engaged
in the strngLile fir the recovery of Egypt,
^lerwan had pmiai-ed the succession to Amru
Ibn Saad eu eondltieu that that prince would
aid him in the establishment of his power.
Tin- iir^niise also was made in bad faith ; for
the iiienarcdi all the while entertained the
purp(.~i' te advance his own son, Abdalmalec,
to thi' ihrnne. Circumstances favored the
scheme: f'>r Abdalmalec returned iu great
glory from his African campaign, and was re-
ceived witli such fovor by the Damascenes
that ]\Ierwan found little difficulty iu having
him recognized as his successor. This act,
however, hastened the exit of the Caliph and
substituted violence for the order of nature.
The prince Khaled reproached his faith-break-
ing step-father for his comluct, and the latter
denounced the prince as a sen of unchastity.
Thereupon the mother who was thus insulted
thrust a pillow into the face of the feeble
old Caliph and sat tipon it until he was smoth-
ered to death. Thu.s, in the year 684, the
Caliphate ef Damascus was transferred to
Abdalmai.kc.
The new potentate was acknoweldged by
Syria, Egypt, and Africa. From the first he
exhibited the qualities of a powerful aud am-
bitious ruler. He gave his attention to aftairs
(if state aud laid extensive plans for the pro-
iiKitiou of the interests of Islam. The chief
weaknesses of his character were superstition
and par.simony. He was a .scrupulous ob-
server of dreams and omens, and his conduct
was so sordid that the Arabs gave him the
surname of Rafhol Hejer, or the Sweat-Stone.
Abdallah, the sen ..f Zobeir, still held the
Western Caliphate, having his capital at
]\Iecca. jS'ot a little fame was added to his
government by the fact that the sacred city
of the Mohammedans was the seat of his au-
thority. It was deemed desirable by Abdal-
malec t<j establii^h in his own dominions a sec-
oinl sacred place to which the faithful might
diiret their pilgrimages. To this end the
temple of Jerusalem was selected, and the
enterprise of enlarging and beautifying the
edifices on Mount Moriah and of filling them
with holy relics was undertaken by the Ca-
liph. The stone upon which the patriarch
Jacob laid his head on the night of his heav-
enly vision was placed in position to receive
the kisses of true believers, even as the Black
Stone of the Kaaba was saluted in the holy
jdace at ISIecca. Thus did the Calijih en-
deavor to divert the :\roslems from visiting
the scenes which were associated with the
memorv of the Prophet in the caj)ital of
Abdallah.
Among those chieftains who in the city of
Cufa had favored the cause of Hosein was a
certain Al Thakifi, surnamed Al Moktar, the
Avenger. When the emir Obeidallah sup-
pressed that unfortunate insurrection, Al Mok-
tar was persecuted and im])risoned. He re-
ceived from Obeidallah a blow which put out
one of his eyes. Being released by Yezid, he
swore eternal enmity against the tribe of Obei-
dallah, aud his vengeance neither waited nor
slept. Finally his time came to be avenged.
Before the accession of Abdalmalec, at whose
court the family of Obeidallah was in high
MOHAMMEDAN ASCENDESCY. — OMMIADES AND EA'H MITES.
favor, Al Moktar had goue to 3Iecea aud
espoused the cause of xlbdallah, where he
fought with great bravery uutil the death of
Yezid occasioued the raising of the siege.
Afterwards he went to Cufa aud became au
agent in the organization of a band of Peni-
tents. Witii the ovurtlirow of that sect he
was auain iiniii-ison(<l, but was released on the
death of ilerwan. He then weut into Arabia,
and became recognized as one of the strongest
supporters of the House of Ali. At the head
of a body of avengers he fell upon aud de-
stroyed Shamar, who had commanded iu tlie
massacre of Hoseiu and his friends. He slew
Caulah, another of that baud, and burued his
body iu his own dwelling. Others of the en-
emies of Hosein met a .similar fate, until the
larger number were destroyed.
Al Moktar established himself in Cufe and
extended his authority over all Babylonia.
The attitude which he here assumed was such
as to liring iiiiou liini the hostility of both the
Caliphs. Tiicy accordingly made preparations
to suppress him by force. Al Moktar eutered
into a correspondence with Mohammed, half-
brother of Hosein, then residing at Mecca,
but could not induce him to do any thing dis-
loyal to Abdallah. But the suspicious of the
Western Caliph were excited, aud Mohammed
and his friends were thrown into prison. Al
Moktar now advanced with a small army of
horsemen to release his friends by force. The
assailants made their way into Mecca, broke
open the prison, and set the son of Ali at lib-
erty. The frightened Caliph, however, was
permitted to remain in authority, and Al
Moktar returned to Cufa to defend himself
against Obei<lallah, who was approaching at
the head of a Syrian army. The latter was
encountered a short distance from the city,
and utterly routed by the forces of the
Avenger. Obeidallah was killed, aud a large
part of his followers destroyed in the flight.
When the head of the slain emir was carried
to Al IMoktar he struck the bloody face a ter-
rible blow, as if to repay the stroke which he
had himself received from Obeidallah, aud liy
which oue of his eyes had been destroyed.
The Avenger was thus left victorious at
Cufa. A combination, liowever, was soon
formed against him, and armies were mustered
to besiege his capital ; but .\1 INIoktar marched
forth boldly to meet his enemies iu the open
field. A battle was fought, iu which he was
defeated and driven into the citadel. Here,
with about seven thousand men, he defended
himself till he was slain. Thereujiou the gar-
rison surrendered to IMusab, the general of
Alidallah, and every man was put to the
sword. The enemies of the house of Ommiah
were avenged on the Avenger.
By the victory thus gained over Al ]\x(ik-
tar the province of Babylonia became a de-
peudeucy of the Western Caliphate. Musab,
the governor, was the brother of J^bdallah,
and Al)dalmalec perceived that in order to
maintain his authority he must reconquer the
country on the Euphrates. He accordingly
mustered a large army, and leaving Amru as
his regent at Damascus, set out on an expe-
dition into Babylonia. No sooner, however,
had the army departed than Amru, cherishing
the memory of the wrongs which he had suf-
fered at the hands of JMerwan, usurped the
vacant seat of the Caliph and undertook to
jierjietuate his authority. Hearing of this
flagrant proceeding, Abdalmalec returned to
Damascus, put the usurper to death, and
drove his family into exile. The Caliph then
again departed on his Babylonian campaign.
A battle was fought with the Cufians, near
the city of Palmyra, in which the army of
Musab was completely routed. The emir and
his son were both among the slain. It is nar-
rated that when the head of Musab was car-
ried to the Caliph an aged patriarch living in
the castle took up his burden and said: "I
am four-score aud ten years old, and have
outlived many generations. In this very cas-
tle I have seen the head of Hosein presented
to Olteidallah, the sou of Ziyad ; then the
head of ObeidaUah to Al Moktar : thcu the
head of Al :\Ioktar to Musab, aud now tliat
of Musab to yourself." Determiuing that the
fifth act should not be added by the presenta-
tion of his own head to another within that
castle, Abdalmalec ordered the noble edifice
to be leveled to the ground. Having done
so much at the dictation of superstition, he
appointed his lirotlicr Besner aud the prince
Khaleil to l)e governcjrs of Babylonia and Bas-
sora, and then returned to Damascus.
The next difficulty in which the Eastern
Caliphate was involved was with a sect of
VNIVKRSAL HISTORY. — THE M01>I:RX WORLD.
muniMic pan
ennnrni, alii
whil.. tlu-M-
.M..hall.l,, .„„
\vheu the latt
ill arms, and
AlKlalaziz to
.vn.rals -.t' ^lus.
(•>,< the iiir^urrec-tiou the
t'aiiatir^ wiTc viri.. lions, iuflictiiig ou the reg-
ular armv a .li^astimis drfcat. This overthrow
ho\v(.-vi'}', o.Tuircd liuiinu- the absence of Mo-
lialicli at Ba^sora. That general was now re-
stored to the coiiiiiiaiid, aud the Separatists
were soon scattered to tlie winds.
During the continuance of these dissensions
and 1)1 \y strifes the Emperor of the East
had not faiUd to avail himself of the distrac-
tions of Islam. In order to save his domin-
ions i'rom invasion, Abdalmalec was con-
strained to add fifty thousand ducats to the
annual tribute hitherto assessed by tbe court
at Constantinople. By this means, however,
the Caliph secured immunity, and having
established his authority in all the eastern
parts of his dominion, he resolved on the sub-
jugation of Arabia, to the end that all the
followers of the Prophet might be united in a
single kingdom. An army was accordingly
raised, jilaced under the command of Al IIi'-
jagi, and dispatched against Blecca. Abdal-
lah soon found himself besieged in the sacrc(l
city. The investment continued for some
time, and many assaults were made, in \\\\u-\\
both assailants and assailed suffered all the
havoc of war. Aliilallah was redu.ed t.. <le.-
perate extremities, Init still ]ierseveied with
the courage of a true ^loslem. When most
of his friends had fallen away or were slain in
battle, he led fn-th the courageous few v>ho
sdd the dvin- ('ali|
h; and the enemy strnek
oH'his head with a -
word. Thus peii-lud the
valorous Abdallah,
son of Z.ibeir, Caiiph ..t
tlie West.
The fall of hi,- V
val left Al)dalmalec mas-
ter <,f the Mohainn
.•dan Empire. The onlv
emir to dis|iule hi-
-overei.ntv wa,- .\bdallai,
Ilm Tlazen,, .d' tl,
provinee of Kh.a-a-su,.
In (H-diT to intin>i.
all' thi- -ovenior. Aivial-
malec sent to him, as an earnest of what lie
might expect in case of hostility, the head of
the dead Caliph of Mecca. But the loyal son
of Ila/.em reverently eiidialmed the gory relic
and sent it home to the family of the .slain
sovereign. He then compelled the ambassador
of Abdalmalec to eat the letter which he had
brought, and threatened to cut off his head if
he did not take himself out of sight. This
piece of loyal bravado, however, cost the
emir dearly. Al Hejagi was called from
Africa and sent witli a powerful army into
Khorassan. Abdallah went bravely forth to
fight, lint was met by the enemy, defeated in
several liattles, and .slain.
80 signal had been the successes achieved
l)y Al Hejagi that the Caliph next sent him
to as.-\une the duties of governor in Babylonia.
He at once repaired to the city of Cufa,
spoke to the people from the door of the
mosque, and gave them to understand that
their turbulence aud treason would now be
brought to an end. Nor was his threatening
oration unbacked by equal severity of action.
Beginning with the old enemies of the Caliph
Othman, he proceeded with unsparing hand
to weed out the elements of discontent.
Among those who were singled out for de-
struction was the late prime minister of the
pro^•ince, the veteran Mnsa. Ibn Ncsseyr, who
in order to save his life fled first to Damascus
and thence into Egypt. At Bassora he was
enually severe. An insurrection broke out
un(ha- his despotic rule, but the same was
(piieklv suppressed, and eighteen of the leaders
lost their heads.
In the year t)97 an attempt was made to
do away with Abdalmalec by assassination.
Two <jf the Sejiaratists undertook to murder
the ('ali].li, but the plot was dis,..vere<l aud
the eon-pirator- ,.l,li;jed to llv tor their lives.
They repaired to the town of Daias, in :\Ieso-
potamia, where they organi/.eil a revolt aud
took the field. The general Adi was sent
aiiainst them, but was ,l,.feated and slain. In
one .if th
eir leaders killed. But
lied his n
en, and the army of the
again roi
ted. Shebih, the Sepa-
in, assum
L-d the honors of goveru-
.\1 Hejag
)uit him to flight and
s follows
rs. The fanatic then
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEXDEXCY. — OMMIADES AXD EATIMITES.
scoured Persia, rallied a uew band, and agaiu
returned to the Tigris. Here, however, he
was drowned in attemjjtiug to cross the river.'
The next difficulty which the governor
Hejagi had to contend with was with one
of his officers, named Abdalrahman. In order
to dispose of the refractory general, the emii-
sent him with an inadequate force against tlie
Turks; but the general perceived the machi-
nation against himself, revealed the plot to his
soldiers, and took the field against Hejagi.
The latter went forth to suppress the rebel-
lion, but was signaUy defeated in two bloody
battles. Abdalrahman entered Cufa in tri-
umph, and was proclaimed Caliph. The
Babylonians recognized the usurpation and
rejoiced to be set free from the tyranny of
Hejagi. The latter, however, soon collected
a third army, divided the insurgent forces,
drove the mock Cali))h into a fortress and
besieged him, until Abdalrahman, losing all
hope of escape, threw himself down from a
tower and was killed.
Among the Mohammedans the emir Hejagi
acquired an unenviable reputation. He is
said to have caused the death of a hundred
and twenty thousand people. When near his
end, he sent for a soothsayer to know if any
distinguished general was about to die. The
seer consulted the stars and reported that a
great captain named Kotaib, or the Dog,
would soon expire. "That," said the dying
emir, "is the name by which my mother
called me when I was a child. And since
you are so wise, I will take you with me that
I may have the benefit of your skill in the
other world." He then ordered the astrolo-
ger's head to be cut oS'.
Finding himself at length freed from do-
mestic enemies, the Caliph Abdalmalec sought
the glory of foreign wars. He accordingly
tlirew before the Emperor of the East the
gage of battle, by refusing to pay any longer
tlie enormous tribute which that sovereign re-
ceived from Islam. This act of hostility was
followed by another. The Mohammedan gen-
eral Alid was sent to make inroads upon the
territories of the Empire. Nor was the expe-
■Araljic tradition says tliat Shebilj was literally
tlie nir.st hard-hmrtnl of all reliels. For when the
l""ly was ilraircer] up an.l opened, and his heart
taken out, that organ was found to be like a stone.
] dition unattended with success. Several cities
were taken by the invaders, and Alid re-
turned to Damascus laden with an immense
amount of booty.
During the time when the attention of the
Caliph was absorbed with his troubles in Bab-
ylonia, the Eastern emperor had taken advan-
tage of the situation to recover his ascendency
in Northern Africa. The fleets of the Greeks
hovered along the coasts. Armies were landed
wherever the weakness of the Moslems seemed
to invite attack. Zohair, the Arab governor
of Barca, was assailed, defeated, and slain.
Such was the deplorable condition of the po-
litical aflairs of Islam in the countries west
of Egypt that a reconquest of Northern
Africa was necessary to lift up the fallen
Crescent. To this end, in the year 696, Ab-
dalmalec called out an army of forty thousand
men, and sent the same, under the command
of Hossan Ibn Annoman, on a campaign
against the Africans. The general proceeded
at once against the city of Carthage, and
after a tedious siege, carried the place by
storm. The walls were demolished, and a
vast amount of booty, including a great num-
ber of Moorish maidens to be sold as slaves,
■was added to the treasures of Islam. A short
time afterwards, however, an Imperialist fleet
arrived unexpectedly in the harbor, and the
Moslems were expelled from the city. But
the success of the Greeks was only temporary.
The Arabs soon rallied and returned to the
attack with redoubled fury. Carthage was
again taken and reduced to ashes.
Hussau now continued his expedition along
the coast, carrying every thing before him.
At length, however, he encountered a formid-
able rival in the princess Dhabba, who ap-
peared among the Berliers as a prophetess.
The nomad tribes of JIauritauia and of the
neighboring deserts flocked to her standard;
nor was this strange woman without the abil-
ity to organize and discipline an army. A
superstitious belief that their queen was di-
vinely inspired added enthusiasm and audac-
ity to the Moors, who attacked the army of
Hossan with such fury that he was eventually
driven back to the very borders of Egypt.
Having thus secured a momentary liberation
from foreign despotism, the Berlier prophetess
exhorted her followers to reduce the country
uxiVKHSAL histi>i:y.—the m<)I>krx world.
till- Arabs
tlie region
The advice
,-,1, an.l the w.irk of de-
Treasmes were hurled iu
s were cut down ; gardens
demolished ; walls leveled
ties Inirued to ashes, and
1 11 t ween Tripoli and Tan-
to such a condition that not
would longer be able to trav
which patriotism iiad desolate
■was eagerly ari-cptrd, and tli
struction lie-an. Treasures '
the earth; orchards were cut
destroyed ; house:
with the earth ;
the whole cnuntr
gier reduced to a di-crt.
These terrible measures, however, soon
wrought their result. The ruin of their homes
led the wild people of the devastated region
to turn to the ^Moslems for protection. The
hosts that had gathered around Dhabba de-
serted her standard and retired to their own
districts. The (pieen attempted to check the
march nf Hossan, wlio was now returning
with augmented forces; but she was presently
defeated and taken prisoner. When brought
before the ^Moslem general, she haughtily re-
fused either to pay tribute or acknowledge
Mohammed. Finding his fierce captive ut-
terly intractable, Hossan ordered her to be
put to death. Her savage head was em-
balmed and sent as a trophy to the Caliph.
After his victory over the Africans, Hos-
san returned to Damascus; where he was re-
ceived with great honor, and appointed gov-
ernor of the conquered countries. Barca was
included in his dominions; but this addition
of territory proved a bane to the recipient.
For Abdalaziz, the Caliph's brother, then emir
of Egvpt, claimed the Barean province as
his own. A- Hossan was returning to the
countrii> over which he had been appointed,
his commission was taken away and destroyed
by Abdalaziz, who did not cease from his
persecutions until Hossan was brought to dis-
grace and death.
The next officer appointed to the governor-
ship of Northern Africa was that ]\Iusa Ibn
Nosseyr, previously mentioned as a supporter
of the ;\Ierwan House in Babylonia. He was
already sixty years of age, but was in the full
vigor of health and strength. Eepairing to
the African cani]i, lie took command in the
name of the Proplict aii.l his successor. On
his arrival he found thr nauitry of Tunis and
Algiers terrorized by the Berbers, who, from
the mountain slopes, would rush down upon
tlie coast, devastate, pillage, burn, and then
fly to their inaccessilile retreats. But Musa
soon jiroved more than a match for the ma-
rauders. He pursued the Berljers to their
fastn,-s,-. and hewe.l them d.iwn by thou-
sands. <ireat was the reputation which he
thus achieved. He became upon the poetic
tongue of Islam what Pompey the Great was
to Rome after his destruction of the Cilician
pirates.
]\Iu-a, like other faithful Arab conquerors,
carried the swonl in one hand and the Koran
in the other. The Berber tribes might choose
between the two. Not a few preferred the
latter, and believing ]\Ioors began to be added
ti) the mixed host of warriors — Arabs, Syr-
ians, Persians, Copts — that gathered around
the standard of Musa. He took advantage of
every situation to establish and augment his
authority. He jiatronized the old tradition
that the Berbers were of the same original
family with the Arabs. Presently the full
tide of conversion swept over the plains of
Mauritania an.l Xunddia, and the Berbers by
thousands took up the cry of Allah and his
Prophet. Some of the tribes, however, still
resisted and fought. Thus especially did the
Zenetes and the Gomeres, until in the year
702 they were beaten down iu the extreme
West by the victorious army of ^Musa.
The great African governor now became a
patron of fleets and navies. Notwithstanding
the success which had attended a similar en-
terprise during the reign of ^loawyah, the
work undertaken by ^Nlnsa was met with doubt
and suspicion. But the veteran general was
not to lie iliverted from his pnrjiose. He or-
ganized a company of ship-carpenters, and a
jNloslem fleet was soon launched from the
dock-vard of Tunis. The armament went to
sea, and for a while secured much booty. At
length, however, the squadron was caught in
a storm an<l dashed to pieces on a rock-bound
coast. But another armament was soon
equipped, and not only the shores of Africa,
but the distant islands of the ]\Iediterranean,
were coasted by the freeliooters of Islam.
Thus were laid the beginnings of those auda-
cious Moorish piracies which have ever since
vexed the civilization of the world.
In the year 70.5 the Caliph Abdalmalec
dieil, and was succeeded by his eldest son
Wai.ed. a glance at the city of Damascus,
MOHAMMEDAN ASCEXDEXCY.—OMMIADES AX1> FATIMITES.
■which was imw the capital and cliii'f i:h'iv nf
I>huu, would sliow that the Arah.- had liy this
epuc'h imbibed largely of the arts and learn-
ing of surrounding nations. Contact with the
Greeks had contributed not a little to the de-
velopment of the philosophic spirit. The
political orgauizatiou was mostly copied from
the Persians, and the same j^eople had contrib-
uted most of all to form the manners which
lieuceforth prevailed in the Arabian court.
But not all of the grandeur which Islam now
displayed — not even the major part thereof —
should be attributed to foreign causes. It
di-hiiicnts, the unwarlikc (Caliph f..rgot the
cares of state and aliaiidducd the service of
ilars. In better moments he gave himself to
the arts and muses, and failed not to glorify
the Prophet's name by an orthodox observance
of religious rites. By him the mosque of
Omar, iu Jerusalem, was enlarged and beau-
titied, and that of Medina was In- his orders
so extended as to include the tomb of ]\Io-
hammed.
Of similar sort was the enterprise of en-
larging the Kaiiba at Mecca. The adjacent
liuildinc's were cleared awav to make room
was the epoch of tlie Arabic ev(ihuii)ii. The
native genius of the race burst forth in efflo-
rescence. The religious fervor kindled by the
Projihet furnished the motive power of an
abundant tlmugh bigoted activity, which at
the first di-pl:ivcd itself in heroic coniiuest and
Itv.
:'w Cal
W;
It has been sui.l thai
led, whose youth had been passed in Damascus,
was in his manners and tastes more Greek
than Arabian. Certain it is that he was in-
ilulent iu habit and voluptunu- in disiH.-itinii.
The harem had ab-eady beemiie nne .,l' the
chief deli-hts of I-lam. ^--ootlie.l by its lilan-
f(jr the more than magniliceut structure which
the architects of Damascus planned to occupy
the site of the ancient edifice. Not without
iinK.'h regret and luauy conservative murmur-
mgs di.l the ,,ld people ,if :\Iecca behold these
preparation^, by wbiili tlie most venerable
slrui-tnre known to the true lielievers was to
be rephi.-ed with a new au.l more stately build-
ing. At Damascus, likewise, tlie Calijih com-
memorated his reign liy the erection of one
of the grandest mosques in the ^Moliammedan
I Enq,
: he.-e
I tist,
A< a siti
ted
ificeiit
edific
Folin t
,e Bap
Con>
i\\ivi:i;sAi. nisToh'V.'-THK M<>i)i:i:.\
til.. Chri^l
pn.lt tin-
Chiuvll tnv
foivil,!,. |H
tlH.USHI.I
t l.V III.' .
,f -..1,1; l.m
Walr.l t....k
; aii.l woul.l
Meal
ate wert
leraa, (n
W;
'I'-ii-
I., A^a Minor, wlu-re
il the city of Tyaua.
He aftn-wanl- caincd liis virtorious arms into
Poutus, Anii.uia, aii.l (Jalatia, in all of \vl.icli
provinces lu' ivai-ril the (/resceiit and ;^atliere(l
the spoils of war.
Ou the side of the East the dnminions ..f
the empire were enlariied liy Mosleina's son,
Khatiba. Having heeu appointed to the gov-
ernorship of Khorassau, he carried the Crescent
across the Oxus into Turkestan, where he met
and defeated a great army of Turks and Tar-
tars. The city of Bokhara was captured and
the khan of Chariam driven into Saniaicand.
The city was then besieged by the e.iiiiaL:e..us
Khatiba, and after a long investment was
obliged to snrrender. A mosque was at ouce
erected, and the concpieror himself ascending
the pulpit explained the doctrines of Islam.
Still further to the east, another general,
named Mohammed Ibn Casem, led an army
of the faithful into India. The kingdom of
Sinde was successfully invaded. A great bat-
tle was fought; the Moslems were victorious,
and the head of the Indian monarch was sent
as a trophy to Damascus. The expedition
then contiuued to the east, until the victori-
ous standard of the Prophet was erected ou
the banks of the Ganges.
In the far w..<t the ,.nnr :\rn-a was still
busy with his army and lleet. In the year
70-4" a M..l,ammeda,i ^.piadron ..ommitted 'rav-
ages in .'-iaivlinia and Sjeily. On land the
emir cari'ie.l his banner westward to whi'iv
the spurs .,f the Atlas descend into the At-
lantic. The ..onntries of Fez, Dn.iuella,
Morocco, an.l Si,< vv.a-e ad.led bv su.ressive
conquests. The i-,.m-.|1,-< swav of I>lam was
extended to where the -ettiu'.:- sun easts his
last look at the hea.llan.ls of Cape X<.n.
As a governor Mu>a e>tabH-lied ..nhr.
His administration was so wise and sinq.le
.Mte
e, to snlMlue the
he two cities of
? fortresses were
•Spaniards, whose
' of the strait was
IS dele
-Musa
lleete.l an army an.l a.lvauced
a-ainst C.uta, whieh was held by a strong
earrison, niider command of Count Julian.
'1'Ih- Mo-I.ni- laiil siege to the fortress and sev-
eral nn-neee-slul assaults were made, in which
thousands of the a.ssailants were slain. It had
already become evident that with the imperfect
besieging enginery of the Arabs, they would
be unable to take the citadel.
At this juncture, however, the Count Ju-
lian committed treason. A correspondence
was opened with Musa, and it was agreed
that Ceuta .should be surrendered to the Mos-
lems. The treachery also embraced the deliv-
ery of the whole kingdom of Andalusia, then
ruled by the Gothic king Eoderic, to the fol-
lowers of the Prophet! It transpired that
Ccnint Julian had been the victim of private
wrongs at the hands of his sovereign, and he
now sought this method of squaring the ac-
count. Great %vas the surprise of the veteran
^Musa in having thus opened to his imagina-
tion the easy conquest of Spain.
Meanwliile the great .soldier Taric Ibn Saiid,
to whom had been assigned the capture of
Tane-iers, had succeeded in his W(n-k. Those
of the -ai-risun who b.-l.mg.-d to the llerlH.r
race were converted to .Mohammedani>m, and
tlie Chri-lian inhabitants of the city were per-
mitted n. r( lire into Spain. ]\lusa suspecting
tlie M,ie,.|iiv of Count .Julian— for the latter
the oov,.rnment of Roderic — now sent lor
Tarie, and ordered him to cross the strait in
eompanv with Julian and ascertain the true
e'.niliti f afl'airs in .Spain. By summoning
hi- iVi.iids, the Count seemed to verify the
representalioiis whieh he had made to jNIusa.
MOllAMMEDAX ASCEXDKycY. — nMMIADKS AND FA TnilTKS.
Nor did Tavic, in returning tn AtVii'a, tail to
scour the Hpanisli eoas-t and carry liiuuf a >liiji
load of spoils and female eaptive.<. (_)u ree<iv-
ing his amhassatlor, ^lusa at once wmte to
the Calij)h, ilepicting in glowing colors the
glorious prospect which opened before his
vision in Spain. He implored 'Waled to per-
mit him to undertake the con(|uest (if the
Visigothic kiiigiloin, and the Cuinmander of
the Faitlifiil was nut slow to give his C(msent.
Accordingly in the spring of the year 711,
an army under command of Taric was sent
across the strait and landed on the opposite
headland, to which the Moslems now gave the
name of Gehel al Tarie, corrupted by modern
times into Gibraltar. King Roderic, on hear-
ing of the invasi(jn, sent Edeco, one of his
lieutenants, to bind the audacious strangers
and throw them into the sea. Edeco was easily
defeated by Taric, and his forces scattered.
Roderic then summoned the nobles of the
kingdom to rally for defense. An army of
ninety thousand men was quickly mustered to
repel the invaders ; but great disaffection pre-
vailed, chiefly on account of Julian, who in-
duced great numbers of the Christians to joiu
the Arabs and share in the spoliation of Spain.
In midsummer the two armies met on the
opposite banks of the river Guadalete. For
several days there was continuous skirmishing,
which at last brought on a general battle.
Victory inclined to the banners of the Chris-
tians. The field was strewn with sixteen thou-
sand of the Moslem dead. "My brethren,"
said Taric, " the enemy is before you, the sea
is behind ; whither would ye fly ? Follow your
general ! I am resolved either to lose my life
or to trample upon the prostrate king of the
Romans."
Before the battle was deciiled, another in-
terview with Count Julian led to a defection
in the Gothic ranks, and Taric rallied his
men with the energy of despair. The Goths
broke and fled. Roderic, leaping down from
an absurd ivory ear, in which by two white
mules he hud bcm drawn ahout the field of
battle, attempted to escape across the Guada-
lete and was drowned. His crown and kingly
robes and charger were found on the banks
of the river.
A short time after this decisive victory, the
city of Cordova was assaulted and taken liy a
II' mean-
through
the city
J. The
the Sierra .^lorena until hr ,■
of Toled.j, which at once ca
conduct of the coimueror was Mich as to merit
praise even on the page of modern history.
The Christians were permitted to continue their
worshij) — the priests to ofiiciiite as usual. Nor
were the (iotli^ driven from civil authority,
btit were allowid to remain in the siiliordinate
offices of the kingdom. Especially were the
Jews, long and bitterly persecuted by the Chris-
tians, rejoiced at the fact of deliverance.
As yet, however, the collapse of the Gothic
power was not complete. Some half-spirited,
but futile, efforts were made to beat back the
invadeis. But Taric, marching forth from
Toledo, carried his banners to the North until
the regions of Castile and Leon were added to
the Moslem conquests. A few invincible fugi-
tives retreated into the hill country of the As-
turias, and defied the Arabs to dislodge them.
Bleanwhile Musa, excited and perhaps jeal-
ous on account of the successes of Taric, has-
tened to cross the strait with a second army
under his own command. Something still re-
mained for the sword of the master to accom-
plish. The fortified cities of Seville and Me-
rida still remained in the hands of the Goths.
Both cities were besieged and taken, though
the latter fell only after an obstinate defense.
iMusa then continued his march to Toledo,
where it soon became apparent that his feel-
ings toward Taric were any other than kind
and generous. The brave general was com-
pelled to give an exact account of the treas-
ures which had fallen into his hands, and was
then scourged and imprisoned. Having estab-
lished himself in the capital, the conqueror
soon planned a campaign against the Goths of
the North. He crossed the Pyrenees, con-
quered the province of Scptimania, fixed his
frontier at Narbonne, and returned in triumph
to Toh'do.
The remnants uC the Gothic power in the
peninsida were rein-esented after the death of
Roderic by the prince Theodemir. With him
a treaty was now made by which he was al-
lowed to retain the territories of IMurcia and
(JartlnLiiiia, and to exi^rcise therein the rights
of a |>roviiicial -;-ovcrnor. The conditions of
peace cmliracc.l the following clauses: That
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MnDERX WORLD.
Theodemir should nni be disturbed o\- iiijiiix-d
in his prineiiiality ; tliat he sliould deliver
3S to the Arabs; that ho sh
lual
the
tribute into tlie ]\Iosleni treasury.
Thus did the years 711-714 ^
overthrow of the (iotliic monarehy of Spain
and the substitutinn thrrcfor of the institutions
of the Arabs. Mii>a, however, did not long
survive his triumph. The same ungenerous
treatiiii'iit whirh he liad visited on Taric was
now HM-rvrd inr himself. He fell under the
suspicion of the court of Damascus and was
arrested by the messenger of the Caliph. His
two sons, Adallah and Abdalaziz, were left in
the governments of Africa and Sjiain. The
journey of the veteran INIusa into Syria,
though lie was virtually a prisoner was little less
than a triumphal procession. Before he could
reach Damascus the Caliph Waled died, but
his successor was enually unfricmlly to ^Nfiisa.
The old general was tried on a ehariic of vanity
and ncLilcct (.f duty and was fined two hun-
ihfil thoiisaiid pieees of gold. He was then
whippiMJ and obliged to stand in disgrace
before the palace, until, condemned to exile,
he was permitted to depart on a pilgrimage to
Mecca. The resolute spirit of the aged soldier
was broken, and In- (li(<l on reaching the shrine
of the Prophet.
In a short time after the conquest Sjiain
became the most prosperous and civilized coun-
try of the West, JManufactures and commerce
spVang up. Cordova became a i^yal seat.
The city contained six hundred inos(jnes, nine
hundred baths, and two hundred thousand
dwellings. Within the limits of the kingdom
were ciuditv cities of the first class and three
second and third, and the
dal.piivi,- were adnnie.l with
lamlets and villa-es.
huu.l
twelve thousand liai
Having tlm- -e
selves iu tlie Span
soon 1h.-ui tn l.,.,k
bevond the Pvrene
dominion of all lai
the i)arbarian kin-
tiiev would carrv tlh
of "th.. Danube ni
pve~~ed ..n Ibe ea~t.
Ih
tor 10 u-
,uis north of the Alps,
< "reseeiit down the banks
11 the Greek Emiiire,
ind the west by the vic-
■ the Koran, should col-
lapse, and tlie Ijaiiuers of Islam be set up
around the ( ntiic .Mediteri-anean. Such was
the outline of a jmrpose which wanted but
little of fullillinent.
To the mirth of the Pyrenees lay the king-
dom of the Franks, fallen into decline under
the la.-t of the Merovingians. The condition
of the couiitiy was such as to provoke an in-
vasion by the men of the South. Pepiu the
Elder, mayor of the palace, had died, and after
a brief contention among his illegitimate chil-
dren, his rights had descended to Charles, who
was destined soon to win the sobriquet of the
Ilammer. Fortunate it was for the destinies
of Christian Europe that the Roh Faineants
had been dispossessed of the throne of the
Franks and the power transmitted to one who
was aide to defend it against aggression.
It has already been noted that in the first
years of their Spanish ascendency the Arabi-
ans carried their arms to the north of the
Pyrenees and overran Septimauia or Laugue-
doc. By degrees the limits of their Prankish
territory were extended until the south of
France, from the mouth of the Garonne to
that of the Khone was included in the Jloslem
Tills realm, however, was by no means as
broad as the ambition of Abiialraliman, the
Arab envenior of Spain. Tn lilni it appeared
name of the Prophet by addiug Western
Europe to his heritage. He accordingly deter-
mined to undertake a <;'reat exiieditiou acaiust
the F
raised
1 kinplnni. In the year 7l'1 he
nldable army ami set out on his
north. Having crossed the Pyre-
reded to the Rhoue and laiil siege
of Aries. The Christian army
forth fill- its defense was terribly
llie bank- of the river, and thou-
slain and drowned were carried
; and arnnvy Phone \i> tlu' sea.
It li:i
The (■
loss of
Th,
f Aqui-
e of the
tie was
lie former.
1 with the
- thousands.
iress of the Mohammedans north-
iw continued unchecked a distance
1 a thousand miles from Gibraltar.
MOHAMMEDAN ASi'EXDKXCY. — OMMIADES AND EA TEMEEES.
Another similar sjiau would have carried the
Crescent to the borders of Poland and the Scot-
tish Highlands; and in that event the conjec-
ture of the sedate Gibbon that the Koran
would to-day be used as the principal text-
book in the University of Oxford, would ap-
pear to be justified.
Destiny, however, had contrived another
end. The battle-axe of Charles, the bastard
son of the elder Pepin, still showed its terri-
ble edge between Abdalrahman and the goal.
The Frankish warrior was already hardened
in the conflicts of twenty-four years of service.
In the great emergency which was now upon
the kingdom, it was the policy of Charles to
let the Arabian torrent diffuse itself before
of the other, and forbore to close iu the grap-
ple of death, victory inclined the rather to the
banner of Islam; but, on the seventh day of
the tight, the terrible Germans arose with
their battle-axes upon the lighter sdldiery of
the .South and hewed them down by thou-
sands. Night closed upon victorious Europe.
Charles had won his surname of the Hammer;
for he had beaten the followers of the Prophet
into the earth. Abdalrahman was slain. In
the shadows of evening the shattered hosts of
Spain and Africa gathered in their camps, but
the Moorish warriors rose against each other
in the confusion and darkness, and ere the
morning light the broken remnants sought
safety by flight. On the morrow the Mo-
attempting to stem the tide. Nor is the sus-
picion wanting that the delay of the great
mayor iu going forth to meet the enemy was
partly attributable to his willingness that his
rival, the duke of Aquitaine, should sutl'er the
humiliation of an overthrow at the hands (if
the Mohammedans.
Meanwhile, Abdalrahman advanced with-
out further resistance to the center of France, I
and pitched his camp iu the plain between ]
Tours and Poitiers. Here, however, he was
confronted by the army of the Franks.
Europe was arrayed against Asia and Africa;
the Cross against the Crescent; Christ against
Mohammed. For six days of desultory fight-
ing, in which each party, apparently conscious
of the crisis in the aflairs of men, seemed warv
hammedau camp was taken liy the Christians,
and the spoils of one of the greatest battles
of history were gathered by the Franks.
The Arabs hastily retired across the Pyr-
enees. Cdunt Eudi's recovered his province
(if Aipiitaine. and all Europe breathed freely
after escape from a peril which was never to
be renewed. Thus, in tlie year 7.'>2, precisely
a century alter the (l(-:itli ni' Mdliai'.iraed, did
(US
A- Isl;
The
'It would have lieen supi'osed flint Cluirler.
INIartel we.uld have receivea the highest honors
whicli the Christian world could bestow. But a
dili'event result followed his viotory. In raising
and eciniiiidng his army, he had lieen obliged to
•)12
rMVi:i;sM. iustohv.-tiik m<>i>i:i:.\ would
Franks, h.,v
the .McliaiMi
■.lan.<
d i;
appi-Dpnati/ Ihc tn'usuivs d sevcra
for this sacriU-i.uis act the ri._-r.uy <
that Charli-s ha.l .irmie tn pcnliticj
saints lia<l a visicii, in wliicli tlie
was si'fii roaslcii in purgatorial 111
tion gained curri-ncy tliat \vl
Onf of the
o of Poitiers
and a tradi-
3 t(jiii1j was
opened, tlie spectators were alirighted with the
smell of sulphur and the apparition of a dragon.
on of the country.
i>t' art and learning',
.(•anie the saws of
-idcnce of prejudice
•yond the ry'renees
I'.air to the Moluuu-
nicdaii schools to irceive all education which
could not lie oliiaiiicd in tlie barbarous insti-
tutions of the ^'orth. The seeds of learning
were scattered by the scholars of Islam, and the
Crescent taught the Cross the rudiments of art
The Arah ..hilo.
the \V.>!. Wilh
the unlrttend
and the Alp. I
ik l^irlrnil(|.
The Age of Ciiareemagxe.
CHAPTER LX>CXI. THH; KlKST CARLOVINGIAN S.
K^^^^^^l
tm.
!
W^
HE Aryan nations again
claim our attention. Af-
ter a long sojourn among
the tribes of Ishmael —
after following the flam-
ing Crescent to its zenith
over the field of P(..itiers—
let 11- luiu ti) the peoples north of the Alps
and the Pyrenees, and, taking our stand in
the great Kingdom of the Franks, trace out
the course of human afl'airs in the west of
Eur(i[ie.
The career of Pepin of Heristal, duke of
the Austrasiau Franks, has already been
sketched in the First Book of the present vol-
ume.' It will be remembered that after the bat-
tle of Laon, A. D. C80, in which conflict his
brother ^Martin was killed, Pepin became sole
ruler of the Austrasians. In the years that
followed he was engaged in several desultory
wars with the German tribes on the right bank
of the Rhine, and in (>>^7 invaded the province
of Neustria. The fate of this country was
decided in the battle of Testry, in which Pe-
pin was victorious. lionian France, as the
northern part .if (iaul was called, yicl.led to
the Austrasians ; and Duke Pepin was ac-
knowledged as the sovereign of the Prankish
empire.
It was now the heyday of the Eois Faine-
ants. The kingly Donothiugs still occupied
the alleged throne of the Franks. They had,
however, been gradually reduced to the con-
dition of puppets in the hands of the power-
ful mayors of the palace. For reasons of pol-
icy Pepin chose not to disturb the royal show,
and the Faineants were kept in nominal au-
thority. Thus the puny race was lengthened
fiut during the so-called reigns of Thierry III.,
Dagobert II., Clovis III., Childebert III., and
Dagobert III. Once a year, namely, at the
great national assembly in May, Peiiin would
bring forth the royal manikin, show him to
the people, and then return him to the villa,
where he was kept under guard.
For a quarter of a century (687-712) Pe-
pin was engaged in almost constant wars with
the Frisians and Alemanni dwelling on the
Rhine. The hardest battles of the period
were fought with these liarbarians, who, after
its,
It
r,ir.
LWIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODKRX UVULD.
in his wars, that I'l-pin was destineil to dis-
tinguish himself as one of the chief personages
of his times. But the fouuding of his family
was attended with many troubles. Besides
his wife I'lectruda, he ha.l a i.ii-trcss, Al-
l)ai.la, upon wiinin he lavi-li.d the Lnvater
part of his aUrnli.m-. A liiit^ r 1'. :i'l wa-; thn =
obliged to appease public indignation and pri-
vate wrath by putting in prison the sou of his
mistress, afterwards known as Martel. That
bold and impetuous spirit, however, could not
long be kt'pi in coiitinemeut. Regaining his
liberty he >ni)ii overthrew the regency which
Pi'iiiii li:id lift !'i !;:-■ v/idow duriiiL' the minor-
MI 1 I 1 1 1 PIM()\LD
< SOU, and Sfi/.fd the mayor-
CharK- Man,'! .l..v,n to the
createil in the mayor's palace botweeu the law- ity of <ii-
ful and the uiihiwful wife of the ruler. In ally for lii
these rivalries Al|.aida gained the ascendeney, 'I'h,. ra
and Plcctni.la, with \uv children, was thru'st batlle ..f I'oili.r. has already been narrated in
into the baek.^io 1. Finally Criinoabi, her the two preeeibng J'.o,,k>.' Al't.r that great
^-11. atid the h.ir expeeiaiit oi' I'epiiiV right-, evetii his pnid.'iiee foibad,' any reckless
wa.- murdered, and liie party of Alpai.hi wa- .<,.,. |.„„,|, Ki.-venlh, n.l. j.. Al-J u..l IVok
involved in llie ciime. The mayor was | T\vel;;li, ./„;. i, :il.
THE AGE OF L'HARLEMAU SE. — THE FIRST CARLOVIXGLiXS.
pui^suit of the Arabs, who, though ovcrtlirowu
north of the Pyrenees, were still io full foree
in Spain. He afterwards renewed the war
with the Arabian emii-s, who still retained a
foothold on the Gallic side of the mountains,
and the intruders were gradually forced out
of the country. The annexation of Aquitaiue
to the Prankish kingdom followed ; nor was
there any longer a likelihood that the Sara-
cens could regain what they had lost within
the limits of Gaul. Charles continued in au-
thority until his death. Like his father, how-
ever, he chose to be recognized as Mayor ot
the Palace rather than as King of the Franks.
The assumption of the latter dignity remained
for his son and successor, Pepin the Short.
At his death Charles Martel bequeathed
his authority to his two heirs, Carlojian, who
received Austrasia, and Pepix, who inherited
Neustria. The measures by which the latter
circumvented his brother and became sole
ruler of the Prankish kingdom have been
already narrated. Pepin soon took upon him-
self the title of king. Childeric III. , the last
of the Rois Paineants, was sent to the monas-
tery of Sithien, at Saint Oiuer, and Pope
Zachary consented to the substitution of the
Caelovingian for the !Merovi>-gian dynasty.
Pepin was anointed and crowned by Saint
Boniface at Soissons, in the year 752.
It was at this time that the province of
Septimania, which had been overrun by the
Mohammedans, finally submitted to the
Franks. In 753 Pepin enforced the payment
of tribute upon the Saxons, and also obliged
them to receive with civility the Christian
ministers who had been sent among them.
At this juncture the relations existing between
France and Italy were greatly strengthened
and extended by the favor of the Pope to the
Carlovingiau dynasty. Stephen III. crossed
the Alps and visited Pepin, with a view to se-
curing his aid against the Lombards. Astol-
phus, the king of that j)eople, had become
the oppressor of the papacy, and the Pope
naturally looked for help to the IMost Chris-
tian King of the Franks. Pepin received
the great ecclesiastic with as much dignity
as an uncourtly barbarian could be ex-
pected to maintain. He readily assented to
lend the powerful aid of the Franks in up-
holding the dignity and honor of the Chureli.
A large army was at once collocted and
led across the mountains to Pavia, where As-
t(jlphus was besieged and brought to his
seust'S. The Lombard king sought earnestly
fur a peace, Ivut it soon appeared that liis ear-
nestness was in direct ratio to his fears. For
no .sooner had Pepin consented to cease from
hostility and withdrawn his army than Astol-
phus rejuidiated the compact and threatened,
should he again be disturbed, to capture and
pillage Rome. But Pepin was a monarch
whom threats merely excited to belligerency.
He hastily recrossed the mountains and com-
pletely broke the power of Astolphus. The
exarchate of Ravenna was overrun, and that
province, together with the Pentapolis, was
given to Pope Stephen. Thus, in the year
755, was laid the foundation of the temporal
sovereignty of the Poj^es of Rome.
Five years later, the chieftain Waifar
raised a revolt in Aquitania. The province
was declared independent, and the Aquitanians
defended themselves with great heroism. For
eight years Pej^in and his Franks were seri-
ously occupied with the rebellion. iS'or did
the king succeed in bringing the refractory
state to submission until he had procured the
removal of "Waifar by assas-sination. Pepin,
however, did not long survive this crime. He
die;! in 768, and left the kingdom to his two
sons, Carloman and Karl, or Charles.
The elder son of the late king of the
Pranks exercised but a small influence on the
destinies of the state. His character was
without the element of greatness, and his
early death, which occurred only three years
after that of his father, cut short any small
plans of ambition which he may have enter-
tained. In 771 his younger brother, soon to
be known as Charlemagne, or Charles the
Great, became sole sovereign of the kingdom
of the Pranks, which now embraced the whole
of Gaul and the western parts of Germany.
But even this widely extended territory was
by no means commensurate with the ambition
of the young prince who occupied the throne.
He soon developed a genius which, alike in
war and peace, shone with such extraordinary
luster that its brilliancy flashed into the
courts of the East.
Charlemagne appears to have been one of
those men of whom Guizot has said that to them
UXIVKIiSAL HISTORY. — THE MOJ>Ki:X WORLD.
e. It nrra.-iol
as a tiling ill
uucoiii|iieral)l
,1 lint
lual sliu.l-
Tliev k'cl
restore order; to iiitrodiR-e sometliin,.: ;jiiiii:il,
regular, and peniiaiieut into the woilil «liicli
is placed before tliem. 'riM'iiu-iiddiis pdwirl
often tyraunical, coiumittiiiL'- a tliuu.-aiid in-
iquities, a thousand errors; for Inniian weak-
ness accompanies it. Glorious and sahitaiy
power, nevertheless, for it gives to luiinanity
by the hand of man a new and powerful
impulse."
lu the veiy lieiiinuing of his career the
new sovereign of the Franks was confronted
with the necessity of a war with the Lom-
bards. The ascendency attained by his father
south of the Alps was about to be lost by the
ambitious and intrigues of the Lomljard king,
Desiderius. The jealousy between the two
monarehs was mutual and leased upon causes
which medireval kings were very prone to
observe. Before his accession Prince Karl
had married Desiderata, daughter of Deside-
rius; Init after becoming king — being otlended
at the conduct of his father-in-law — he sent
the (jueen home to her parents, for whom he
took no pains to conceal his contempt. For
his part, Desiderius received and protected
the nej)hews of Charlemagne — an act whieli
seemed to discover a purpose of supporting
the claims of the fiimily of Carloman. De-
siderius alHi added t-. ' liis ofll-nses by un-
friendly conduct towards the r.^ic, wlmse
partiality for the Carlovingiaus was notorious.
It was not likely that Charlemagne would
jtennit any indignity offered to the Holy
Father to ]ia<s witlimit aile(juate |inni,-linient.
with lii~ reliLiinn- prejudices, and both were
e.Keited l.v the l.nid Call of Po].e Adrian I.,
who lie-Mii-lit the Frankish monarch to come
t(i the 1-. -eue (,f the newly estal)lished but
ni)w ini|.i ril( il |iatrimony of Saint Peter.
At the lii-i, Charlemagne, prcservino- the
rins re,|,„.Min- that lliat ni..naveh sl.onl.l
reganl the riLilil- -f l!i- Pni"-: but the L,„„-
bai-d ivfiiMd. and ( 1iailenia-ne inmiedial.ly
p.vpaivd f.ii- the inva-io,, nf Italy. One
arniv. I.d l,v tl.e kin- in person, ero-M-d the
Alps by way (jf ~Slnni Cenis, and the other
ilesceiided iipcin Luinhardy by way of Saint
Bernard. Oil the dtluT side of the mount-
ains Desiderius made a lirave resistance, but
was xinii obliged to take refuge within the
wall- of I'avia. Charlemagne at once ad-
vanced to the siege. The defense was con-
ducted with obstinate courage. The assaults
of the Franks were several times repelled,
and the king of the Franks was obliged to
sprinkle cool ])atience on his ardor. Finding
that the investment was to continue during
the winter, he converted his camp into a royal
head-quarters, aud built a chapel for the appro-
priate celebration of the Christmas festivities.
He then sent for the Queen Hildegarde, a
Suabian princess whom he had married in-
stead of the discarded Desiderata, aud with
her made the hours of the siege less tedious.
Winter wore away aud the spring came, and
still the Lombards held the city.
IMeanwhile Pope Adrian was all anxietv to
secure the presence of Charlemagne in Rome.
The dream of the nuptials of the Holy See
with the great Frankish bridegroom had risen
in full splendor upon the vision of the pon-
tiff, and he would fain make it real by a con-
summation of the ceremony. Charlemagne
was induced by the Romish ambassadors to
leave the siege of Pavia to his lieutenants
and to hasten forward to the city of St. Peter.
On approaching the battlements of the
ancient capital, the Frankish sovereign was
met by the magistrates aud people, who
poured forth through the gates to welcome
their great champiou from beyond the mount-
ains. The children of the schools came in
jiroccssions, carrying palms and singing hymns
of praise. He was cordially welcomed by the
ro|ie, who, with a strange mixture of afiec-
tion aud dignity, Leaped honors and distinc-
tions on his guest. He gave to Charlemagne
a book containing the canons of the Church
from its foundation to the current date, and
iir^erilied upon the title-page a copy of verses
containing tlie following anagram: Pope
Adrian to his most excellent .sou, Charle-
I'oi- some time the king of tlie Franks con-
tinued in eimference with the Holy Father at
IJonie. The Po])e took all ))ains during the
sojourn of his (listini;iiished i;ne>t to inii)ress
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE. — THE FIRST CARLnVLXd lAXS.
UXI\J:1!SAL HIsTiinV.^THE MODERN WORLD.
h\i mind as inu.l, a- po-iMr uiili tlu- pa-.ant
of the ImiH-rial rily aii.l ihr .yvrUxAr .,f the
Imperial laitli. He urjred him to continue his
cou.iui-t- in the name of religion, hut dissuaded
him from incorporating Lombardy with his
own dominions. As soon as the conference
was at an ecil, the king returned to his
city was pre-ently hnnight to a successful
conclusion.
The capital of I^omhardy was surrendered
to the Franks. The whole country fell before
the conquering arms of the Carlovingian. The
various dukes and counts, who had hitherto,
after the German fashion, maintained them-
selves in a .state of semi-independence, hastened
to make their submission, and resistance was at
an end. The only exception was in the case ot
Aregisius, duke of Beneventum, who for a
season held himself in hostility. Desiderius
hini-cU was taken prisoner and led into
France, where first at Liege and afterwards
at Corbie he found leisure to repent of his
rashne.«s in lifting his arm a-uinst Charles
the Great.
It appears that liis visit to Kome and the
magnificent and holy things there witnessed
made a profound impression upon the mind
of Charlemagne. It should not be forgotten
that this great personage was still iu manners
and purposes but half emerged from barbar-
ism, and his dispositions were peculiarly sus-
ceptible to such infiuences as the adroit Bishop
of Kome was able to bring to bear. The Holy
See at this time made the discovery that the
presentation of moral truth and obligation to
the barbarian imagination was less effective
than splendid shows and gilded ceremonies.
She therefore adopted pageant instead of mo-
ral expostulation, and converted the barbarians
with spectacles.
After tarrying at Rome until the spring of
774, Charlemagne returned to France. Hav-
ing i^atisfactorily regulated the afiiiirs of Italy,
he now conceived the plan of extending the
empire of religion in the opposite directions of
.'^axoiiv and Spain. In furtherance ot this
purpo-v Ik- convened at Paderliorn, in the y. ar
777, a general assembly of his people, and
there the scheme of conquest was matured.
The German chiefs had generally obeyed his
summons and were lu-cscnt at the assemblv, but
Wi
ixons, was conspieu-
Charleinagne had already had occasion to
note the olistinacy of the Saxon people. Of
all the barbarians the.se were most sullen in
their refusal to accept the doctrine and prac-
tice of Christianity. As early as 772 the king
of the Franks had felt constrained to make
war on the tribes dwelling north of the Elbe.
He invaded Saxony, wasted the country with
fire and sword, captured the fortress of Ehres-
burg, and overthrew the great idol whom the
pagans called IrminsuU These offenses, how-
ever, rather excited than allayed the bellig-
erent spirit of the Saxons, who henceforth
lost no ojiportunity to repay the Christian
Franks for the injuries which they had
inflicted. The border of the Elbe became
a scene of constant depredation, inroad,
and destruction of villages and towns. The
fierce Saxons stayed not their hands where-
ever they could find the hamlets of their
recreant countrymen, who had betrayed the
faith of their pagan fathers.
Such were the antecedents of the contest
which Charlemagne was now about to under-
take with the barbarians of the North. The
subjugation of Saxony became indispensable
to the peace and safety of the kingdom, and
it was manifest that no conquest could be ef-
fectual which did not include the substitution
of Christianity for paganism. The Saxons
fought not only for national independence,
but for the whole myth and tradition of the
German race. The Franks, on the other
hand, entered the conflict under the full iu-
' It was at this assembly of the Saxon cliiefs
that Charlemagne gave his refractory subjects
their option of baptism or the sword. The im-
penitent barbarians, yielding in action but obdu-
rate in mind, were compelled to kneel down at
the liank of a stream while the priests who ac-
companied Charlemagne's army poured water
upon their lieads and pronounced the bap-
tismal ritual. The king soon had cause to
learn the ineflSciency of such a conversion from
l)aganism.
- It appears that the effigy called Irminsul
I German, Ilcrrmann-Suule, or Herrmann's Pillar)
was so named in honor of the great hero Armin-
ius, who, by the destruction of the legions of Va-
rus (see Vol. II., p. •-'721, had made Imperial Rome
ti niblc for her safety. On this great feat of the
W^vian arms Saxon patriotism had reared a
pagai. superstition.
THE AGE OF CHAELEMAfiNE. — THE FIRST CARLOVIXGLiNS. 521
fluenro c,f i n. w li in ipIiji u~ /. il i\> t uiilik. will tlu combitiut- \\nt ik t iinlik. , 1hui_ i f
tint wIikIi liul tiud the '^uaceii- iii the con j the same bl.Hid iml inoduitie- 1 h. '•tin..!.-
cjiie^t^ ot I-lnii Til ( 111 i.'P m 1 111(1 .niitnhh wa. fU .tmo 1 t . ( (iiitiniio with \ im in ' \ im i-
F:
■HAKLEJIACfNE INFLICTING BAPTISM UPON THE tiAXONS
Drawn by A. rte NtuviUe.
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. ^THK MODERN ]10RLI>.
tudes for i
aud to fiiil
the polirv I
he made a
left a gani:
rose a cluir
Franki>h cl
1 the triumiih of tlie Fraiik,^.
tlif war Charlemagne adoi>ted
ilitaiv ..rcupatioii.' Wheivvur
I'.y the >h\v of iwry castle
lid at tlir li.L^ht hand of even-
in ^1 1 a j)i-k'st. But victory
iiii.-iance.s and over such a foe
[leriiianency. As soou as the
nied into another district the
f iVoni the earth behind the
■y Moinied hi.< castles, burned
ed the -arrisons, and
lid missionaries to the
could not insure
march was resini
pagans rose as ii
con(|ueror. The
the churches, si;
sacrificed thi' pi
In tlie midst of these bloody scenes the
priest was more audacious than the soldier.
The missionaries in the very face of death
made tlioir way into the Saxon woods and
preached the gospel to the barbarians. It
was, however, a gospel of the sword rather
than of peace. A certain priest, named
Saint Liebwin, made liis way to the banks of
the Weser, and warned the general assembly
of the Saxons to make peace with the power-
ful prince, who, as the captain of heaven's
army, was aljout to fall ujion them. "The
idols ye worship," said the i)riest, "live not,
neither do they perceive: tiii'y are the work
of men's hands; they can do naught eitlier
for themselves or i'or other<. Wherefore the
one God, good and Just, having compassion
on your errors, luith mii! nie unto you. If
ye put not away your iiiii|uity I I'oretell unto
you a troidile that \r do not expect, and that
the King of Heaven hath ordained aforetime;
there shall come a jirince, strong and wise
aud indefatigable, not from afitr, but from
nigh at hand, to lldl ujion you like a torrent,
in order to solh u \dur hard hearts and bow
down v.ur proud 'hea.ls. At one ru,-h lu'
shall inva.h' the country: he shall lay at wast.-
with fire and -word and carry away your
wives and chiMreii into captivity."
prophecy that many rushed into the ibrest
and began to cut sticks on which to impale
the priest alive: but a certain prince, Buto,
appealed to tlie a-embly of chiefs to respect
the sacred ri;^lits of embassy. So Liebwin es-
caped with ids lite.
Tlie Saxon nation at this time consisted of
three or lour difii-ient jiopulations. These
were the ICa.-tpludians, the Westphaliau.s, the
Anglian,-, and the Jsorth-Albingians — though
the latter were sometimes classified as a dis-
tinct people. Each <.f these principal nations
wa,- sul,divid,-d into many tribes each with
its own chieftain aud local institutions. Cliar-
lemague was thoroughly familiar with this
German con.stitutiou of society, aud well un-
derstood how to avail iiimself of the feuds
aud jealousies of the Saxon jieople. He
ailojjted the plan of making war upon each
tribe separately, and of j)reveuting, as far as
jiossible, any cohesion of the nation as a
whole. If a given chieftain could be induced
to submit aud to accejit Christianity, the
king would treat w^ith him separately aud
make peace on terms favorable to the tribe;
and if others offered a stubborn resistance,
they were punished with more than the usual
severity. In a general way, however, the
Saxons made common cause against the in-
vader, and in doing .so they found a leader
worthy of the < iernian name.
'WiTTiKiXD, son of Weruekind, king of the
Saxons north of the Elbe, appeared as the
national hero. Besides his own hereditary
rights and abilities as a chieftain, his relation
with the surrounding states was such as to
make him a formidable foe. He had mai'ried
the sister of Siegfried, king of the Danes, and
was in close alliance with Eatbod, king of the
Frisians. He it was who now, in the year
777, refused to attend the assembly of chiefs
called by Charlemagne at Paderborn ; and by
his refusal gave notice of his 0})eu hostility to
the king of the Frauks.
The previous disturlwuces of his country
had made it necessary for Wittikiud to find
refuge with his brother-indaw, the king of
the Danes. From this vantage-.'irouud, liow-
.'ver, he ilirected the council of the Saxon
.•hief- aud enc.mraged them to a renewal of
their rebellion. Followin- hi- advice, the peo-
ple a-aiu rushed to arni>, and the Franks re-
coiled from the fury of their assa.ilts. In
77.S the barbarian army advanced to the
Rhine, and destroyed nearly all the towns and
villages on the right bank oi' that river iVom
Cologne to the mouth of tin' Moselle. No
age, sex, or condition was spared by the
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE.-THE FIRST CARLOVIXGIAXS.
523
bloody swords of the enraged pagans. The I The revolted tribes fell back from the Rhme
Fraukish forces met the insurgent barbarians and were driven to submission. IMauy of the
on the Rhenish fn.ntior, and for three vear- 1 .'liiefs s^.u-ht peace, and accepted reconcilia-
!^M^^i45S=;-
CUTTING DOWN \ s\fRED OAK OF TUt ^WON^
Drawn by H. Leutemann.
the Struggle with them continued almost with-
out cessation.
Gradually, however, the superior dis-
cipline and equipment ol the Franks tri-
umphed over the obstinacy of their enemy.
tiou witli the king <in condition of professing
the Christian thith and receiving baptism.
Wittikind returned into Denmarli ; but the
politic Siegfried was now anxious tor peace,
and the Saxon king was obliged for a season
UMVEI^SAL HISTORY.— THE MODKHX WORED.
to make his headHjuartLTs among the Xorth-
meu. Witliiu a year, Iwwever, he again
crossed into Saxony and incited his country-
men to another revolt. In ~>i'l Cliarlemagne's
armies were twice defeated on the banks of
the Weser, and the king himself was obliged
to take the field. Unable to meet his great
enemy, Wittikind again fled to the Northmen,
and the brunt of the king's hostility fell upon
those who had jjarticipated in the revolt.
Four thousand five hundred of the Saxons
were brought together at Werdeu, on the
river Aller, and were all beheaded by the or-
ders of Charlemagne. Having thus soaked
the river banks in Idodd, the king retired
into France ami made his winter iiuarters at
Thionville.'
The terrible vengeance taken by the king
of the Franks was by no means sufficient to
terrify the now desperate Saxons. On the
contrary, their anger and determination rose
to a greater height than ever. During the
winter of 782-83 the tribes again revolted,
and held out against the most persistent ef-
forts of Charlemagne till 785. In the latter
year the king's victories were mure decisive,
and it seemed that tiie pagans must finally
submit. The king took up his residence at
the castle of Ehresburg, and from that strong-
hold sent out one expedition after another to
overawe the rebellious tribes.
Charlemagne had now learned what the
barbaric despair of the pagan Saxons was
able to do in war. Nor did he lack that
kingly prudence upon which the desire for
personal vengeance was made to wait in pa-
tience. He adopted diplomacy where force
had failed. He sent across the Elbe a distin-
guished embassy to the place where Wittikind
had his camp, and invited that austere war-
rior and his friend, the chieftain Abbio, to
come to him under protection and to confer
on the interests of Saxony. At first the great
' History has her pictures and contrasts. It
was on this same river AVeser tliat Cliarlemaane,
on a previous occasion, had patliered an entire
tribe of the barbarians for wholesale baptism.
The proaram was unique, the ceremony expedi-
tious. The Church militant stood on the shore;
a priest lifted up the cross, and the ministrants
poured water on the penitent Saxons as they
waded across the river. On this occasion Charle-
magne tried a baptism of blood.
barbarian I'eareil to trust himself to the good
faith of his foemau, but was finally induced to
accept the invitation. He accordingly pre-
sented himself to the king at the palace of
Attigny, and so considerate was the reception
extended by Charlemagne, and so favorable
the proffered conditions of peace, that Witti-
kind was induced to accept them for himself
and his countrymen. He accordingly pro-
fessed the Christian faith and underwent the
rite of baptism. He received at the hands of
Charlemagne a full amnesty and the title of
Duke of Saxony, though the sovereignty was
thenceforth to be lodged with the king of the
Franks.
Wittikind ever faithfully observed the
conditions to which he had pledged his honor.
So exemplary was his life, so tractable his
disposition under the teaching of the priests,
that .some of the old chroniclers added his
name to the calendar of the saints. In the
year 807 he was killed in a battle with Cer-
oid, duke of Suabia, and the tomb of the old
Saxon hero is still to be seen at Ratisbonne.
Nor is the tradition wanting that the great
House of Capet, destined, after two centuries,
to supplant the Carlovingian dynasty on the
throne of France, had Wittikind for its an-
cestor; for the legend runs that he was the
father of Robert the Strong, great-grandfathei
of Hugh Capet.
But the pacification of Saxony was not
completed by the action of Wittikind. The
old spirit of paganism was not to be extin-
guished by a single act. Through a series of
years insurrections broke out here and there,
and were suppressed with not a little difficulty
and bloodshed. In some instances the king
found it necessary to remove whole tribes to
other territories, and to fill their places with
Christian, or at least Fraukish, colonists.
Nevertheless it was not doubtful after the
surrender of Wittikind, that the conquest of
Saxony was virtually accomplished, and Char-
lemagne might -with propriety consider the
country beyond the Elbe as an integral part
of his growing empire.
The task of Charlemagne on the German
side of Gaul was by no means completed.
]\rany of the populations which had already
been subdued continued in a state of turbu-
lence, and the utmost vigilance of the king
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE. — THE FIRST CARLOVIXGIAXS.
was necessary to keep them iu tolerable sulj-
ordinatiou to authority. The Frisians had to
be reduced by force of arms, and only then
consented to a sullen peace. On the di^^taiit
horizon of the north and ea.st lay the >till
more sayage peoples — the Avars, the Huns,
the Slavonians, the Bulgarians, and the
Danes — all bearing down from their several
quarters of the compass upon the frontiers of
the Fraukish empire. Nothing le.ss than the
most strenumis aotivitv and warlike L'-enin* (if
successful warfare \vith the savage i
came upon him from the north and
to give them a permanent check,
with respect to the general dr>tiii
age, the king of the Franks may pr
called the 8tayer of Barbarism.
In the year 781 Charlemagne f lu
spicuous occasion on which again tn
and honor the majesty of the Pn]
years previously Queen Hilde;;a
•aces who
east, and
Viewed
ies of his
•iiperly be
nd a con-
reccignize
le. Four
i-de had
who re-
B,\PTISM OF BAR
Charlemagne was requisite to hurl back the
barbarian races to their own dominions, and
to keep a solid front on the side of barbarism.
The monarch jjroved equal to every emer-
gency. In his contests 'with the more distant
nations he had the advantage of a Germanic
barrier between himself and the foe. Before
a barbarian army could inflict a wound on
any vital part nf the dominion it must trav-
erse 8axony or some other frontier state
which the king had established as a break-
water between himself and the wild ocean
beyond. He thus was enabled to carry on
S IN THE WESER.
ceived the name of Pejiin, and who was now
presented to Pope Adrian for baptism. The
rite was administered to the Carlovingian
scion, and he was anointed by the Holy
Father as King of Italy — this title being con-
ferred out of deference to the Pope's advice
that Lonibardy should not be incorporated
with the kingdom of the Franks.
Meanwhile, on the south-west, events had
taken place of but little less importance than
those which were happening on the Elbe, the
Rhine, and the Weser. The forty years fol-
lowius; the battle of Poitiers had
r)2()
UXIVERSAL iIISTni;y.-TJII-: M(il>i:i!X WOL'LJ)
|.aiii>li fi-Mii-
Tin. ivi
n,l .MnlKUn-
Mrrovi.
Icr-Uiii.liii,-.
ship ,.!■
hut tew ili>tiirh:uici-s ahm.i:
tier of (.aul. The Chri.-i
medaiis c-diniii'.' to a hri
au.l havin- a t-K-rahh' iv-anl for earh other's
rights, ha.l iiiainlainr.l a fair degree of peaee.
With the ai-ci"i f Charlemagne, however,
the ambitions of tlie Franks aud the jealous-
ies of the Saraeeiis had in a measure revived.
The one, ].erhai.s, cr.erished the dream of
au early rxpiil-ion of the ^rolianmiedans
from Eup.|io. and ih.- otlu-r look.d «iih ill-
couccaleil riiinity at the rapid pro-rr-s and
ovcrwhehning intluinee of the liari)arian Em-
peror on the other side of the Pyrenees. Nor
might it well l)e forgotten or forgiven that he
was the grandson of that other Charles, at
whose hands the great Abdalrahman had met
his fate.
Mixed with these general motives was a
speeific aet of treason. Among tho.se wiio in
777 had eonvened at the assembly of Pader-
born was a certain Ibn al Arabi, the Saraeen
governor of Saraiios-a. Having a difiieulty
with the Caliiili, h.- ,M,u-lit the aid of the
Christian Fraid^s, and wouhl fain make eoin-
mon cause with them against the Miiliainnicd-
ans. For this reason came he to the asseuilily
called by Charlemagne.
The king of the Franks was C[uick to seize
the opportunity thus afforded of extending his
dominions on the side of Spain. Though still
emliarrassed with his German wars, he gladly
accepted the inyitation of Ibn al Arabi to be-
come his champion aud avenger.
In the spring of 787 the Frankish sover-
eign, having divided his army into two parts,
as in the Italian campaign, set out on the
Spanish expedition. One division of his
troop>, under coininand of Duke Bernard,
wa.- dinctrd to .-eek the eastern passes of tlie
Pyrenees, and traverse the peninsula by way
of Gerona and Barcelona to Saragossa. The
other division, led by Charlemagne in person,
was to pass to thr wc-t. enter Spain by the
valley of Roiiee-valles, and march by way
ofParapelnna to thi- phiee of meeting before
the walls ot' Sarai^o,-sa. In carrying out his
own part of the cainpaign, Charlemagne trav-
ersed the proviiH'cs of Aquitaine and Vasco-
nia, at this time ruleil by Duke Lupus 11.,
son of that Duke Waifar who will be r,".-alled
as a f.rmidalile anta-oni-t of Pfiiin the Sliort.
[ii-inee was descended from the
■al im lination be expceted to
fa\cir tlie eaiisc of tlie Carlo\ingian eoiKjueror.
The latter, however, soothed Duke Lu])us,
aud by generous treatment ,-e( lurd tioni him
an oath of fealty. But the rv.iit soon showed
that the pledge was given with the mental
reservation to break it as soon as circum-
stances might seem to warrant the act of
perfidy.
Alter this brief but necessary detention
Charlemagne hurried forward to prosecute his
work in Spain. Passing thnmgh the valley
of Koucesvalles, he arrived before Pampeluna,
and received the surrender of that city; for
the Arab governor deemed himself ill able to
make a successful defense against the Franks.
The king then pressed forward to Saragossa,
where he expected to receive a similar surren-
der at the hands of his friend Ilm al Arabi.
But as has .so many times occurred in the his-
tory of the world, the recreant governor had
promised more than he could fulfill. It was
one thing to agree and another to deliver.
F..r. in the mean time, tlie old Arab spirit
was thoroughly arou-ed from its dream of
peace. Tlie local quarrels of tliese ambitious
towns of the Western Caliphate were suddenly
hushed in the presence of the common danger.
The Saracens rushed forward to the succor of
Saragossa, and Charlemagne found that he
must take by a serious siege — should he be able
to take at all — the prize which the officious
Arabi was to have delivered with such
facility.
Ill a short time there was a greater scarcity
of provisions outside than inside the walls.
The besiegers were constantly beset by new
bodies of troops arriving from various parts
of the peninsula. Diseases broke out in the
camp of the Franks, aud they found them-
selves more endangered by the invisible
plagues of the air than by the swords of the
."^araeens. At the same time intelligence came
that the Saxons on the opposite side of the
kingdom had again risen in arms, and were
threatening to undo the entire work of con-
quest on the north-east. It was, therefore, fortu-
nat<- for Charlemagne that at this juncture the
.\rabs sought to open negotiations. The king
gladly aeeepted their ofl'er of a large ransom
TEE AGE OF CHARLEMAOyE. — THE FIRST CARLOVIXdlAXS.
to be paid iu gold aud guaranteed by hostages
in lieu of tlie besieged city. Such an oti'er
gave him a good excuse for the abaudonmcnt
of an entei-pi-isb which would soon have had
to be given up without even a show of success.
As soon, therefore, as a settlement had
been effected with the authorities of Sara-
gossa, Charlemagne began a retreat out of
Spain On arriving at Pampeluua, he or-
deied the walk of the city to be le\ele(l
with the L'nuii 1 in ill +lnt iin fnt ii
lives in the engagement. Eginhard, master
of the king's household; Anselm, count of
the palace ; aud the chivalric Ilolaud, prefect
of Brittany, aud greatest knight of his
times, were amiiiig the slaiu. Nur was
Charlemague iu any condition to turn upon
the mountain guerrillas who had thus afflicted
his army. He was obliged to continue !iis
march aud leave the Basques to the full en-
joMuent i>f then Mctoiv.'
1 ' I 1 ( h 111 111 _n A\ 1 T t il le to pun-
TIIE BATTLE IN JUL \ ALLL\ ul- 1
Drawn by H. Vogel.
revolt of the people might be attended with
greater hazard. The kings army then rcrii-
tf-red the passes of Eoncesvalles, and had
partly escaped through the defiles when the
Basques, having taken possession of the
heights, liegan to hurl down upon the soldiers
in the pass huge masses of stone. The dis-
comfiture of those who constituted the rear-
guard of the army was complete. Very few
of the Franks escaped from their dangerous
situation. The Basques fell upon the baggage-
train and captured a great amount of booty.
Several of Charlemagne's captains lost their
ish the mountaineers of Vascouia for their
perfidy in the aflair of Roncesvalles, he failed
not to take vengeance upon the j^eople of
Aquitaine. Duke Lupus, who was thought
to have had a hand iu the insurrection, was
^ The defeat of the Franks in the
Eoncesvalles gave rise to a cycle of heroic
some of whicli are still popular in the
France. The Sour/ of lioland, reciting the
and tragic dentin of that hero, became a
with his cnunti-ynien, and was chanted by
diers as an inspiration to victory. The
AVilliam the Conqueror sang the hymn
marched to the battle of Hastings.
passes of
legends,
south of
exploits
favorite
the sol-
men of
as they
r.\n'i:i!SAL in>'n>i:Y.^THi-: Moin.ny woiii.h
.1 t.
seized ana lian-ra. Tlu- livr- ..
■were .•spared only „\\ ciiinliliMi]
But while A.|iiilain,- wa- tlni-
the province .-li..nia >iill I"- Irli .-utHcifiiily
free to constitute a liulwark aL:ain>l lln- Ai-al>.-.
The national vanilv ot ihr A^iuilauianv wa.-
flattered with ihc nilr ol' a nativr diik.-, l)iil
the real purposi- nf .-urh a i-iincr^ion wa- tin
making of a defense against the Andahi-iaii
Arabs.
th.- ,a>lcrn \,..u\vv^ .if ilu^ Prankish dnniini.ms
the Ilun- and Shivcnians were drivin hack
a;;ainsi the horders of the Empire of the JCast.
The Saracens were confined to Sjiain and the
islands of Corsica and Sardinia. On all sides
a houudary was so well estaiilidie.l a- to .se-
cure coni])arative exemption from foreign
eminent to his new capital of Ai.\da-(-'hapelle,
which wa.s favorahlv situated ..n the side of
lies. At
paign Queen Hildcgarde added another son to j this phici- the court of the monarch hecaiue
the royal househohh The child received the I the ino-t impoitunt, if not the uio-t s],lcndid,
name of Louis. an<l was afterwards known as in all ( 'hii-tendom. Hither eaine emhassies
the Del.onair. In 7>1 the ehild, then three hiarin;.-- juvM-nl- ti-om the -nat jiotentates of
years of age, was taken with his ))rother Pepin ! Etirope, Asia, and Africa. Neither the em-
to Rome, and was anointed by the Pope as jx-rors of the East nor the Caliphs of 13aghdad
King of Aquitaine. Within less than a year failed to re.speet in this way their fellow sov
he was taken bv the courtiers to his own iirov- \ ei
ince. In order that the farce might he as
imposing as p(is.-ilile the chihl was clad in
armor, mounteil on a horse, and conducted
by his councilors to the royal seat of goveru-
meut. The administration of the affairs of
Aiitiitania was henceforth conducted in Louis's
name, tliough the real authority proceeded
from the court of Charlemagne.
One of the leading principles in the policy
of the king of France was the e-tal.li-liiueut
of a secure frontier around his empire. In
this work he was mea>uralily su<-ces>fiil. From
ereign of the West. So great had been his
activity acd .n H^nal \n< su.'.-e>s, l,oth in war
and in' pe.ace, that by the close of the eighth
century Charlemagne had taken and held a
rank among the greatest mouarchs of the age.'
In the year 799 intelligence was brought
baud of conspirators had been organized, that
Pope Leo lU. had been attacked, that his
eyes and his tongue had lieen cut out, and
nuts. The intention of the Ilolv Father, thus
.\s
i-itv of Cliarle
.le
THE riFTV-THUF.E C.\MP.\IGN"S
Y
s! ■■■■■ ■■
■'^
— —>-
- ' - ' . ' ,.,,1 Wr.,-ial,.l.-\llL
■ ■ . - ■'.■:uA IhcEll"'.
> : " _ -, '''.I'h'.rlJ.l'l.yhisse.ierals.
I'l ,.r,.,„l.lM'„|,mi.
-- i ■ \l;r,. .!!!!. 1,'i illlfw'.'/uL'
Oil l..i«vi-Kll.canii the Oder.
w.c- 1 :,nlln.'li I D.uiuheanil Rh;.
- : . lv>„n.llhe Elln- and thf We.i
ib
1 C- ,-a^..I;-■■:y■"l■I Kl'n'tl!." l',.'i«,''r Kl".- Ul',.'l'\\.-IT.
il ■■ Ar.i'.. ..1 S|„,in, c,,i..liiri,.i bvlii^^MH l.,,uK
1,. -.\..;,- l;.'yMi,.i til.' i;lli.-,
lii. -.:'v :,- ', '''"' 1 '.T<.''.'.u'.] l!vl!i-~i'II-,'""' ■
Mm -.III.. I'.cm.Mi ili.>;!l...„,iU tlircMer.
Mm - .n. .;;;.,,,- ( ,„mIii.-1m,1 I ,y 1,1- -m1, ( l,nti,>.
- , 'i . . •'■ . ■-'''". 'i'.'.n.hilhA liV h'.'- ■j'.'m-l'all'."'
. ' . ■' ■ ■ ■ - -^ ■.']'^ Im.M.
■ . i: i.r,ii„i ihfO.icr.
THE AGE OF CHAllLEMAGXE.—THE FIRST CARLO VIXGLiyS.
brutally treated, was aoiiouuced to appeal to
the king of the Franks as the defender of the
insulted Church. In a short time his Holiness
came in person to Paderborn, and poured out
his grievances in the ready ear of Charle-
magne. Nor was it doubtful that the latter
would uphold the cause of the Pope with all
the ieM)uices at his command. Having tar-
utd toi a brief season in the Prankish doniiu-
lons, Leo leturned to Rome.
the sanctuary of the apostle. Some time was
spent in examining the eliargc-s made by and
against the Pope. Two monks, sent by the
patriarch of Jerusalem, brought to the great
Carloviugian the blessing of their master and
the keys of the Holy .Sepulcher. Finally, on
Christmas day, when the king came into the
basilica to attend the celebration of mass,
even as he was bnwing down to (jtier prayer,
Pope Leo jilaeed ui^ou his head the golden
The first months of the year 800 were
spent by the king in the usual affairs of gov-
ernment; but in midsummer he announced to
the national assembly his purpose of making
another visit to Italy. The journey was un-
dertaken in the autumn, and late in Novem-
ber the king arrived befoi'e the walls of
Rome. The Pope came forth and received
him with every mark of obsequious favor.
He was led into the city and given a recep-
tion on the steps of the basilica of Saint
Peter, from which place, followed by the
shouts of the multitude, he was taken into
crown of the Empire, while the people shouted,
"Long life and victory to Charles Augustus,
crowned by Ood, tlie great and jiacific Em-
peror of tlio Romans! " (liailes assumed to
be astoni>li.d at the ei'owning and the procla-
mation. He even declared that, had he
known of what was intended, he would not
have entered the church, even to attenil the
Christmas festivities. But his faculties were
not sufficiently confused or his luiniility suffi-
ciently shocked to prevent him from })aying
adoration to the Pope, according to the old-
time metlKid at the coronation of the em-
rx[vr:i;sAL ihstory.—thk M(>j>i:j;x world.
(jiiisli lii.s title of I'a
iffr
.1 I.
assume tliat <>f Kiii]icr..i- an.l Aiijii-lus. It can
not reas()iial)!v lie (iniihtcil thai the whole
tahleau an.l (■.nr.iony ha.l h.-m an-ai>,<:v,l l,y
Leo an.l Charhina-iH- on tho o,-..,Moti of the
reeiail vi-it of the foiiii.r to Franer.
It \va< now eh-ar that a p.ineipal eloinont
in th." mutual a.hniration of th. Holy See
anil the kin- of the l'rank> was the pfoject to
n-storc tho laiipiiv ^'l' the \Vr<t. The scheme
ini't with a tav.irahlr rcr.ptioii, especially in
Italy, whero thr I'op.s an.l l'.i>ho|.s hecarae
an.l ,Mippo,-t,.r north of the Alps. It re-
niaine'l lor the laupci-ors of the East to ex-
hihit ih.-ii- joalou-y over an .-vent which they
wei-i- inipotiut to hiniler. But Chaflemagne
coul.l wrll artoi-a to veil un.ler a kingly snav-
itv ami prmlent anilii-uitv his roiitenipt for
the inii.erilo i-nln- of ( ■on-lantinopl... His
coniiiiunirations with tin- .•a>tern .nipefors
\Vl-
wrll tni-n
ike
miration. By such uican< ho avoi.hil any
open rupture with the elf-te political ]iow<a'
which from the palace of Constantinople still
claimed to he the Empire of the C';esars.
lu the internal affairs of his government,
no less than in his foreign wars, ( 'harlemagne
exhil.ite.l a genius of the hi-hct or.ler. By
the close of the eighth century, hi> conquests
tad made him ma.ster of the whole country
from the Elhe to the El.ro, from the NortJi
8ea to the ^Mediterranean. Germany, Bel-
gium, I'ranii', Switzerland, and the northern
parts of Italy and Spain were included in his
d.imluious. '.\t his a<-ce>sion to p,,wer the
.liver.e hn-tile trilies iidial.itiug these wide
domain- wer^' Imt half emerged from bar-
liari-m. Thi' lanpin'or of the Franks imposed
upon himself till- herculean task of civilizing
the<e pertui-l.ed nations and of Ldviu- to
them th.' advaula-es of a re-ular Government.
It was impo-ilile ill the nature of things
that even the ma-terful sjfirit of Charlemagne
.-hould -uceed at once in giving order and
rest to til.' Iiarharic -oeletv of We>tern Eu-
rope. The- geuiu- of confu-ion still struggled
with the >pirit of co-nios. and the evolution
of regidar forms wa< >low and painful. The
administration was one of adaptation ami ex-
pedients. Whatever the Emperor found to be
practii'alU- available in carrying out his man-
dates, that he retained as a part of his admiu-
i>tiative system. Whatever failed was re-
jected. The king struggled like a Titan with
till' elements of disorder around him. Wher-
ever the superhuman energies of his will were
manifested, there peace and quiet reigned for
a season. But no sooner would the imperial
presence he turned to some other quarter of
the kingdom than the old violence would
reassert itself, and the reign of chaos would
begin anew.
The eflbrts of the Emperor to form his sub-
jects into a single nation and government
were beset with special ditiiculties. The peo-
]ih- oi' his empire spoke many languages.
Their institutions were dissimilar; their prog-
ress and civilization variable. In some of the
states the authority was in the hands of as-
semblies of freemen; in others, military chief-
tains held the chief authority. Xo fewer
than four class distinctions were recognized in
society. First, there were the Freemen; that
is, tho-e who, acknowledging no superior or
patron, liel.l their lands and life as if by their
own inherent right. The second class was
comjiosed of those who were known as Luedes,
Fidele.s, Antrut'tions, etc.; that is, those who
were connected with a superior, to whom they
owed fealty as to a chief or lord, and from
whom they accepted and held their lauds.
Third, Freedmen; that is, those who had, for
some .signal act of .service or as an act of
favor, been raised from serfdom to a condition
of dependence upon .some leader or chief to
whom they attached them.selves in war, and
near whom they resided in peace. Fourth,
NA/ivs; that is, those who, lieing the original
occupants of the soil, had been reduced to
boudage on the conquest of the country, or
those who, taken captive in war, were con-
verted by the ca])tors into serfs.
But these classes were by no means fixed.
]Many of the j.eoj.le sank from a higher to a
lower level ; some rose from a lower to a
higher. Weak Freemen would attach them-
selves to some distinguished leader and be-
come his vassal-. Ambitious Antrustious —
even Slaves — would not only achieve their
emancipation, but wouhl themselves couquer
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE. — THE FIRST CAULOVLXGIAXS.
estates and become independent. It was with
this vast, inorganic, and shiftini;- mass that
Charlemagne had to deal, and it was mit of
tliis heterogeneous material that he labored to
create a great and stable state.
The Fraukish Emperor was by no means a
theorist. However anxious he may have been
to see a regular system of authority estab-
lished over the peoples whom he ruled, he \vas
preeuiiuently willing to be taught liy ciiciiiu-
stauces. However eager he was to govern by
reason and law, he none the less retained the
sanction of force as the means of preserving
order. In an epuch (if traiisitimi, wliile the
winds of barbarism lilew tVmn all (jiiartii- i>f
the compass and met in his capital, lie dppdsrd
to their fury the barrier of his will, saying,
"Thus far, but no farther." He was thus
enabled, by personal energy, stcniiie^s df de-
cision, and inveterate activity, to build up in
a boisterous age the fabric of a cnl..,->al iimn-
archv, well wortliv t(i rival the Kiiipirc of tlic
C;esars. In all his i.iethod> aii.l work theiv
were, of course, the iiiliereiit vices of al)solute
power; but the system established by Charle-
magne was the best that the times would bear
or the people were able to receive.
If we look more closely into the nature of
the Imperial administration, we shall find first
of all the central government established at
Aix-la-Chapelle. Here the Emperor reigned ;
here held his court ; here summoned Ids min-
isters to council. Beside those di-intaries who
were immediately associated with him in the
government, by whom he dispensed his au-
thority, and upon whose judgment he relied
somewhat in conducting the affairs of state,
the general assemblies, composed of the chief
men from all parts of the kingdom, consti-
tuted a notable feature of the political system.
According to the judgment of modern histo-
rians, indeed, the national councils of Charle-
magne were the distinguishing characteristic
of his reign. No fewer than thirty-five of
these great assemblies were convened by royal
authority. Sometimes one city and sometimes
another was named as the place of the coun-
cil. Worms, Valenciennes, Geneva, Pader-
born, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Thionville were in
turn selected as the seat of the assemblies.
Manv of the dukes and cmmts answered the
edict of tlie king with trreat reluctance ; but
the Emperor's overwhelming influence was gen-
erally sufficient to .secure a large attendance.
Tlie meetings, when convened, were in the
natitre of congresses, in which measures were
jiroposed and debated after the manner of
more recent times. It was the wish of Char-
lemagne to make his chiefs and nobles partic-
ijiants in the government, and to concede to
tliem such freedom of expression as might at
least enable him to apprehend the wishes of
the people.
In regard, however, to the measures dis-
cussed by the assemblies, the right of propos-
ing the same was reserved by the king. It
does not appear that at any time the initiative
of legislative action might be taken by the
assembly itself. Every thing waited on the
pleasure of the sovereign, who wrote out and
laid before his congress the suliject matter to
be (leliated. The assembly which convened in
the early spring was called the ]March-parade;
which was appointed for the first of May, was
known as the May-parade. In the interval be-
tween one meeting and the next Charlemagne
was wont to note down such matters as he
deemed it prudent to lay before the assembly,
and it not infrequently happened in times of
emergency that special sessions were convened
to consider the needs of the state. ^Modern
times are greatly indebted to Hincmar, arch-
bishop of IJheims, who Houii,~hed near the
isfactory sketch of the great Erankish assem-
blies and of the business therein transacted.
Both the subject-matter and the style of this
venerable chronicler may justify the quotation
of a few paragraphs from his work. He says :
"It was the cu.stom at this time to hold
two assemblies every year. In both, that
they might not seem to have been convoked
without motive, there were submitted to the
examination and deliberation of the gran-
dees . . . and liy virtite of orders from the
king, the fragments ot' law called oijiitula,
which the king himself hail drawn up under
the inspiration of God or the necessity for
which had been made manifest to him in the
intervals between the meetings."
The next paragraph from Hincmar shows
conclusively that not only the initiative but
also the definitive or final act in IcLdslation
IWJVKRSAL lIISTDRY. — THi: MODRRX WOULD.
rested with the Emjieror. The chrdiiirliT eon-
timies :
"After liaviug received the.-r cnimnmiic;!-
tious, they [the couiiseldr.-] delilni-alnl in\
them two or three days (jr more, according to
the importance of the husiuess. Pahice mes-
sengers, going and coming, took their ques-
tions and carried l)ack the answers. No stran-
ger came near the jihice of their meeting until
the result of their deliberatidiis had lieen able
to be submitted to tlie smitiny (if tlie great
prince, who then, with thi- wisdmii he had re-
ceived from God, adopted a resolution, which
all obeyed."
The talkative archbishop thus further
describes the workings of the Imperial gov-
ernment :
"Things went on thus for one or two
capitularies, or a greater uuudier, until, with
God's lielp, all the necessities of the oceasidu
were regulated.
"Whilst these matters were thus proceed-
ing out of the king's presence, the prince
himself, in the midst of the multitude, came
to the general assembly, was occupied in re-
ceiving the presents, saluting the men of most
note, conversing with those he .saw .seldom,
showing towards the elders a tender interest,
disporting himself with the young.sters, and
doing the same thing, or something like it,
with the ecclesiasti<-s as well as the seenJars,
However, if those who were delilieratiiig about
the matter subuiitled to their examination
showed a desire fir it, the kini: re|iaireil to
them and remaine<l with ihian as long a< they
wished; and then they reported to him with
perfect familiarity wliat tliey thought aliout all
matters, and what \\e]-e the frien<lly disiais-
sious that iiad arisen amongst them. 1 must
not forget to sa\- that, it tlie weather weic
fine, every thing took place in the open air;
otherwise, in sevei-al <listiuct buildings, where
these who had to delilierate on the king's
the men of
The places a,.]
lords were divi
that the l>i>h.
of hi-h rank
■il into two ]iarts, m sueli sort
, the abbots, and the clerics
light meet without mixture
In the same way the counts
of the >tate underwent sepa-
kiu'' was
Honor p
laical ai
morning, until, whether the
t oi- :ili-ent, all were gathered
together; tlen the loi.U aliove specified, the
cleri.'s on tli.ir si, I.- an.l the lai.'s on theirs,
repaired to the hall uliiel, had li.en as.-igned
for them. When the lor.ls
ia-tieal were thu> >epaiated
from the multitude, it 'vmained in their
power to sit separately or together, according
to the nature of the business they had to deal
with, ecclesiastical, secular, or mi.^ed. In the
same way, if they wi.-lied to si'ud for any <ine,
either to ilemaml refreshment, or to put any
(piestion, and to dismi-s him after getting
what they wanted, it wa> at tleir option. Thus
took pla<-e the examination <.f aliliii- ].roposed
to them by the king for delilnratiou.
"The second business of the king was to
a.sk of each what tlierc was to report to him
or enlighten him touching the pait of the
kingdom each had come from. X.,t only was
val between the as-emlili.s, about what hap-
l>ened within or without the kingdom ; and
they weiv bound to seek kii.iu ledge from for-
eigners as well as natives, enemies as well as
friends, sometimes by em25loying emissaries,
and without troubling them.selves much about
the manner in which they ae(piired their in-
formation. The kin- wi-hed to know whether
was nee(»ary to draw the attention of the
eouneil-geiieral, and other similar niatter.s.
He s,,uj,t also to know whetlna- any .if the
subjugated nation, were inclined to revolt;
whether any of those that had I'evolted .seemed
dispo.sed towards submission; and whether
those that were still independent were ihreat-
enin- th,. kingdom with any atta.'k. On all
the.e Md.jeets, whenever there was any mani-
feMalion'of .li.Mirder or daiu;vr, he .hmianded
ehiellv what were the motiv.'S or occasion of
them."
Ill this description it is easy to discover the
real pri-|ioiiderance of Charlemagne himself in
all the alHurs of the Prankish kingdom. The
a.s-iemblies were convened liv his edict. He
THE AGE OF CHAELEMAGXE.—THE FIRST CARLOVIXdIAM;.
initiates the law and completes it. He i.s ad-
vised, but decides the matter according to his
own preference. He consults with his dukes
and counts, not to derive autlmrity fnim
them— for that he already has — l)ut tn olitain
information of the real condition of the em-
pire, to the end that he may adjust the
clumsy machinery of state to the work to be
accomplished. Nor is it proper to suppose
that any true public liberty was couched in
the national assemblies. They were not a ve-
hicle for the maintenance of popular rights,
but for the transmission of royal authority.
They were the means which the greatest sov-
ereign of the age adopted for the purpose of
reforming society by the introduction of regu-
larity and law in the place of caprice and
violence. The government of Charlemagne
was absolute, but salutary.
Turning from the general to the local
administration of affairs, and passing from the
capital into the provinces, we are alile to dis-
cover the scheme of the Fraukish Emperor in
practical application. To secure obedience
and unity, he recognized in the provincial
governments two classes of agents, the one
local, the other general ; the one native and
to the manner born, the other appointed by
the king as his resident representatives. In
the first class may be enumerated the dukes,
counts, vicars, sheriffs, and magistrates — the
natural lords and leaders of the political
society of the provinces. These were em-
ployed by the Emperor as his agents in dis-
pensing authority. Nor did he omit any rea-
sonable means to secure their fidelity and
cooperation in maintaining the order and
unity of the kingdom. In the second class
were included those beneficiaries and vassals
of the Emperor who held their lands and
properties directly from him, and were there-
fore more immediately dependent upon him
than were the native provincial dukes and
counts. Politically, the royal vassals were
the agents of the government. Their inter-
est, to say nothing of loyalty, inclined them
to the support of the throne, and they thus
constituted a powerful influence to counteract
or suppress local rebellions.'
' The relations of the native dukes and the
royal beneficiaries in the administrative system of
Charlemagne were not dissimilar to those of State
A third class of officers, over and above
the former two, were the royal messengers,
called the Missl Regii, whom the Emperor ap-
li'iiiitiMl to travel into every [lart of his do-
niiiiiiins, to find out and punish wrong-doing,
to sui)eriuteud the administration of ju.stice,
and esj^ecially to inform the sovereign of the
actual condition of aflairs throughout the
empu-e. The office of these important agents
was not only informatory, but administrative.
They stood wherever they went for the king
in person. They exercised authority in his
name, and in general their acts required no
confirmation from the royal court.
There was thus extemporized, so to speak,
out of the crude materials of Frankish polit-
ical society, and by the genius of an extraor-
dinary man, a huge monarchy, rude but
powerful — a government of adaptation and
expedients, rather than a government of con-
stitutional fi)rm. The motive of Charlemagne
was single. He desired to introduce order
into human society, to restore in some meas-
ure the symmetry of that social constitution
which he saw dimly through the shadows of
the past. He thus oeeame a reformer of the
heroic type, and laid about him with an en-
ergy and persisten<'y that would have been
creditable in any, even the greatest, characters
of history.
The personal character of the Frankish
sovereign may well be illustrated from the
memoranda which he left behind him of Car
pitidaries, or statutes either actually adopted
by the national assemblies or intended to be
di.scussed by those august bodies. In these
notes and suggestions of laws we find a strange
intermixture of ethics, religion, and politics.
Sometimes the royal note-book contains a
principle like this: " Covetousness doth con-
sist in desiring that which others possess, and
in giving away naught of that which one's
self possesseth ; according to the Apostle it is
the root of all evil." Again the king says
briefly: "Hospitality must lu- practiced."
Boon afterwards, however, he adds: "If men-
dicants be met with, and they labor not with
and Federal officers in the goyernment of the
United States. The local counts an<l sheriffs rep-
resented the State system under our American con-
stitution, while the royal vassals stood in the rela-
tion of Federal appointees.
Uyil'KliSAL HISTORY. — rilE MODKHX WOULD.
\ir lake- tlioiiL:lil almiit i;iv-
in hi:
nu.'h
a lix..l pii.-r on |,n.vi-i..i,.. II,. ua> jcalons
of tlir JnMi. f lii- a.lnnni-liallou an. I ihc
reputation of hi- .-onrl. Tho loval hra.l-.|nai--
t.T. wrrr not tn h,- nia.l.- an a^vlnn, for ciim-
iual.s: •' \\\- do uill and dccivf tiiat none of
those will) Mi\r in oni- [)alace shall take leave
to receive ihcniii any man who seeketh ref-
uge there and cometh to hide there by reason
of theft, homicide, adultery, or any other
crime. Tiuit if any free man do break tlirotmh
his shotildei- to the pulilic (|uarti'r, and be
there tied to the same stake as the male-
factor. "
It was in the latter rather than in the ear-
lier |iart of his reigu that Charlemagne be-
came conspicuous as a leui-lntor. Of the
sixty-five statutes attributed to liini, only thir-
teen are referable ti> that part of his reign
ing tifty-two are all in.'lude.l l)et\veen the
years <S01 an.l .sl4. We are thu> afforded
another example of a military leader wiio,
having compiered a i)eaee with the swoid,
was anxious to preserve liy law what had
been so hardly arhii-ved.
Any sket.'h of the life and times of Char-
omitted therefrom of his attitude towards
learning. Instead (jf that jealou-y which so
manv of his pi-e(lecc\-sors and r'onteniporaries
manifesto towards srholai- and philn.opher.s—
instead of that contempt whieh the small
rulerv of the human ra-.. have ever >hown
f(,r the bi--bniin.-d, radi.'al thinkers of tl„.
l.as-in- a-e — tlir -real Carlovin-ian t<..,k
special pain- to seek the accpiaintanee and
lailtivate the esteem of the leariieil. Upon
scholais and teachers he looked with the
greatest favor. He invited them to his court.
He mad,- them hi- .onnselors. He sought
their a<lvice in the ::rave>t emergencie-. He
bestowed lavors upon them, anil made no
concealment of hi- wish to be indelited to
them for a knowled-e of letters and the arts.
Intheniid>t of suclKurronndings. hefaind
exact knowled-c. lie obtained the rudiments
of science. He stndled -raniniar, rhetoric,
certain extent, the recondite problems of the-
ologv. He even, in some mca-ure, assumed
the ilntv of teaching: tho- branches to his
children and member- of hi- hnn.-ehold, and
it is amu.-5iyg to find in his eorrespoudeuce
many interesting references to such small
questions of scholarship. Thus, in a letter to
the learned x\lcuin, lieing troubled, for.-^ooth,
because he could no |oni;cr di,-covcr the j)laiiet
^lars, he writes: "What thinkest thou of
this ,l/i(/v, which, last year, lieing concealed in
the sign of Cancer, was intercepted from the
sight of men by the light of the sun ? Is it
the regular course of his revolution ? Is it
the influence of the sun? Is it a miracle?
Could he have been two years about perform-
ing the course of a single one?"
Nearly all of the distinguished men of the
eiiihth and ninth centuries were grouped
about the court of Charlemagne. These were
employed by the Emperor, either as his polit-
ical advisers or as the instructors of his house-
hold. Some were sent to Pepin in Italy to
superintend that prince's education, and some
to Aipiitaine to teach young Louis the rudi-
ments of learning. Tho.se who remained at
Aix-la-Chajielle were organized into a body
known as the School ok the Pal.\ce. Over
this Charlemagne presided in ]ier,<on. Here
ipiestions of scholarship, theories of learning,
anil speculations of metaphysics were dis-
cussed with all the vigorous zeal for which
the men and the times were noted. At the
head ot' this group of scholars and philoso-
]ihers stood the two most distinguished literary
men of the age. These were Alcuin, the
]irincipal director of the School of the Palace,
and Eginhard, who was distinguished as a
historian and biographer of his sovereign.
Among the other most eminent scholars may
lie mentioned the bishops Augilbert, Leidrade,
Adalhanl, A-obard, and Theodulph, who were
at the head of the Sees of St. Keipiier, Lyons,
and Orleans. Of all these, Alcuin stood high-
est in the confidence of the Emperor. To his
sovereign he was wont to say : " If your zeal
were imitated. ])erchance one might see arise
THE AGE OF CHARLEMA GXE. - THE FIRST CARL <) ) 'IXGIAXS. 5:
in France a new A.heus far more glonou- ^^,„k~, and «a, xl.. mtu.^tul ^uth th. clu.
thau the ancient -the Athens of Christ.' tiou ot Piinte Loui.
Egluhara was made master of the i.uUli, I The 'school ol the P d lu h,l it ill,
Cn^KLEMAUM, PKE-UjIMj 1\ iUK S( H<
Drawn by A, de Neuville,
.-,:;.;
uxiVKHsAL nisTonv.
Tlu- n
Anti.|
1 l,y tl
,. M-h..h,r~ <A' ill.- rniirt. Alniin
w:i^ .■all.-.l Kla.ru-; A„-ill..Tt, li.m,.-r; Tlu-.,-
dulph, Pin.lar. ( •|Kul._'niague hini.-flf selecte.l
his nioilel .mt .if Isia.'l, audcho.se to be known
as David. Rut lh.'>i. >uiall vanities and imi-
tations may w.'ll 1h- ('..ri^ivcu t.. mt-u who
made life a M-ri..us lui-in.-s aii.l with wlium
public office wa.s n(.-vcr a siuecure.
lu his habits, manners, and preferences
Charlemanrne remained essentially German.
Thi' .il.l Prankish stock was ever h..u..re.l by
his <<\\u aud the example of his i-.iurt. II.-
sp.ik.- (..-rmau. an.I lo.Aed with littk- fav..r
u|,..n that iii.-ipi.-)]! Fr.-ii.-h whi.-h, by ih,-
bl.-niliii- ..f th.- .-..i-nipt Latin ..f tlu- (iauls
with till- Fraiiki>li .liah/cts, was l.)e<rinuiug to
],ri-vail as ill.- l'..lk-<iicech of France. It
was at this tinu- that the two great divisions
of Fr.-ii.-h, tlu- /.'(//;//(' iFnc of the South,
siHUi t.i be iii.i.lilu-il into rroveu5al, and the
Laii'iiir ./' .1(7 .if tlu- N.irth, which was the real
fiiuii.lati.m iif iii.iil.-rn Fn-ii.-h, t.iok their rise
as ]ii-riiiaiu-iit vari.-ti.s ..f huiiian .speech. As
f.ir L'harlemagne an.I his .-ourt, they hel.l
st.iutly to the mugher tongue of tlit.-ir
Franki.<h fathers.
As the Emper.ir gi-..-w .il.l hi^ a.-tivities were
somewhat abated. Mni- ami lu.irt- he iii-
trustc.l to others the management of the
afi'aiis iif state, and more and more he gave
hinis(-lf to enjoyment, recreation, and religious
devotions. H<- f.mii.I .lelight in the warm
baths of Aix-la-( 'hap.-ll.'. T.i these resorts he
invited his family, his friends, an.I many ..f
the nobility of the kingdom. His ..1.1 f.m.l-
ness for ri.ling and the cha.se n.-v.-r f.irs.mk
him. Of inild,-r j.iys he pn-h-m-.l the exhil-
arati.iii ..f imi-i.-, aiul t.i tlu- .-lul that he
niii^ht lit- llui- iu-pir.-.l and .s.iothed, he brought
t.i his .-aiiital the nmst distinguished musicians
of Italy. In the midst of such exercises and
amusements he f.irgot not the near approach
of the inevitable hour. Several times he made
and unma.Ie or modified his will. He jir.i-
vided with the greatest care n.it .mly f.n- th.-
settlement of the affairs of the king.l.mi, but
also for the di.-tributi.m ..f his own estate.
His property he .livi.l.-.l iut.i three major por-
tions. The first t\v..-thir.ls were given to the
twenty-one (irim-ipal churches .if the empire.
-THE M<)J)Ki;y WORLD.
The remaining tliir.I was reserved for himself
during lift-, an.I \vas then to be distributed to
his family, <ir b.-st.iwed in alms on the poor.
Having att.-iuled to his personal affairs, the
aged Emper.ir, in the year 813, set about the
settlement ..f the successi.m. Three years be-
fore this time he hail l.ist by death his second
son Pei)in, king of Italy, and in 811 his eldest
sou Charles, whom he had intended as his
successor in France, had died. Prince Louis
was now summoned by his father to Aix-la-
Chapelle, to be publicly recognized as his suc-
i-.-ss.ii-. The principal bi.shops, abbots, counts,
and lai.- luiblemen of the kingdom were or-
di-red to convene and ratify the Emperor's
choice. Of what follows, the biographer
Eginhard says: "He [the Emperor] invited
them to make his sou Louis king-emperor;
whereto all assented, saying that it was very
expedient, and pleasing, also, to the people.
On Sunday in the next month, August, 813,
Charlemagne repaired, crown on head, with
his son Louis, to the cathedral of Aix-la-Cha-
pelle, laid upon the altar another crown, and,
after praying, addressed to his son a solemn
exhortation respecting all his duties as king
towar.ls (bid and the Church, towards his
lamily aiul his people, asked him if he were
fully r.-s.ilv.-.l t.i fulfill tli.-m, an.I, at the an-
swer that lu- was, ba.le him take the crown
that lay up.m the altar and place it with his
own ban. Is upon his head, which Louis did
amidst the acclamation of all present, -who
crie.l, ' Long live the Emperor Louis ! ' Char-
lemagne then declared his son Emperor jointly
with him, and ended the solemnity with these
words: 'Blessed be Thou, O Lord God, who
bast granted me grace to see with mine own
eyes my .son seated on my throne!'" The
ceremony being completed, the prince re-
turned into his own province, there to await
the event which all foresaw as near at hand.
In the beginning of the year 814 the Em-
peror was taken ill of a fever. The resolute
old monarch adopted the usual methods which
he had previously used in sickness, but in
tliis instance to no avail. On the seventh day
after his attack, having received the com-
munion at the hands of the bishop, he quietly
expired, being then in the seventy-first year
of his age and the forty-seventh of his remark-
able reign.
THE AGE OF CEARLEMAC XE. —SUCCESSORS OF CHARLEMAiiXE
In so far as the energies of Cluirk'
i;\-ere devoted to the great work of eret
barrier agaiust barbarism, and of givini
viviiig Eurnpe a state of ijuietude in
the arts of peace might once more liour
career was one of tlie most successful
history. The barbarians were brought '
On the uorth and east the still half-
tribc>, siarcely improved since the
days (,f Julius Cic.-ur, were com-
pelled to give over their wandering
life and to settle within fixed lim-
its of territory. On the south-wc>t
the fiery cohorts of Islam were
thrust back into the {)eninsuhi
tlie dead is dead, and that the
purpose of men can never av;
has" left behind. In the wot .i
lizatiou of tlie Ox
pired nearly three e
il tn
Spain. Xor was it
M.i
to be supposed that
medau army would dare to make
its appearance uorth of the Pyi-
euees. lu these respects the ser-
vices rendered to civilization by
the Emperor of the Franks can
hardly l)e overestimated. But if
we scrutinize the other great
purpose of Charlemagne, namely,
the restoration of the Eouum
Empire of the "West, we shall hi
ing but the inevitable failure. In
spect the Emperor's political tlie<
utterly at fault. He ai)prelieuded
ly in its growth
-t of Europe the
lie ra.'c luid ex-
')efore Cliarle-
ne became a sovereign ; and his grand
estoratiou, kindled as it was in
1 notl
the flame of his own ambition and fanned by
the perpetual encouragement of the Church,
could but prove a delusive dream — an idle
vision of the impos.-ible.
CHAPTER L>:XXII.— SUCCESSORS OK C HP^KLE M AG^^; E.
UrjXG the leign .>f
Charlemagne the Carlo-
vingiau race reached it>
hi^diest glory. None of
-uccp"ors proved to
death of Charlemagne to the overthrow of the
Carlovincrian dynasty, a period of a huudred
and seventy-three years elap>ed, and thi>
epoch may in iieneral t< im- be detined a- one
of decline and retro^re-ion. The oidy sub-
stantial fact which remained to te-tify <it tlie
grandeur of the times (]f Charles the Great
■was the permanent repre>-iou of the barbarian
33
niii;ratioii-. So etlii-it-iit liad been the work
accompli^ied in the la-t ipiarter of the eighth
century that the territorial foundations of
modern France and Germauy were laid on au
immovable basi~. Thouuh the barbarian inva-
sions were renewe.l or at(. iiipted throughout
the ^^hole of the (•allo^i
i-ian ascendency,
yet the re-tle- tiib, , of
tlie North cimld
never aLi.iiu do more tlia
1 indent the terri-
torial line, ^^lneh liad b.
,„ ,b-a\\n (m the
map ot' Wi-ttru Europe
l,y the .-^\ord of
Charh maune.
Another general tact t(
be uot.d le^pect-
'Tlie signature coiivist. o
tlu- ,Toss «itli the
f,mr letters " K L l; --.it tl.
. eii.Kof til' iMi-s.
lm\i:j;sal iii^rni:y.~-nu-: M<iiii:i:.\ would.
..|- il„- S, a-,
he,-.' ,i,,-|Mr
Nnrwav, I)
spccui
rates.
\<Mlli-\\i>tirn Eui'Diic was such as
o [\\xn\- ihc movements of the \)\-
Th
the couiitrv by
,1 then th:
of tlie riv.T.. At tii-t
Scheldt, aii.l iuhl„-,l th.- ha
The Seine fuini-h.Ml the
guerrillas nf iIh- North ^
Loire. Bcfnre the mi. I. lie d' th.- ninth cen-
tury they had asceu<h;.l the fiar.inne au.l
sacked his villages. In .'>4-"i the city .ifSaiiites
was burnt by the sea-rol)l)ei-s ; and in the fol-
lowing year Limoges was taken and sacked.
Following up their advantages, the piratical
craft next appeared in the rivers of Aqui-
taiue, and the city of Bordeaux, after making
one successful defense against their assaults,
was captured, plundered, and given to the
flames. Tours, liouen, Augers, Orleans,
Meaux, Toulouse, Saint Lo, Bayeux, Ev-
reux, Nautes, and Beaubais were sooner or
later pillaged by the insatiable' Northmen.
More, however, will be added in detail with
respect to these incursions when we come to
con.sider the times in which they occurred.
Resuming the narrative, we find L. nis,
the third son of Charlemagne, seated on the
throne vacated by his father's death. He is
known in history as the Debonair, though
by his contemporaries he was called the
Pious. Perhaps the name of the Weak would
have suited him better than either. He was
altogether wanting in that physical energy
un.l immoral robustness which had .•i>n>titut.il
the salient features in the chara<-ter .if his
father. It should not be overlooked, how-
ever, that in the single matter of moral recti-
tude, the new sovereign far excelled his
predecessor ; but his political incapacity ren-
dered his domestic virtues of but small or
even nesxative value.
the niann.r.- an.l lial.iln.h- .>f the e.,url. The
(•xc.».> ..f ih.- |ii-e.-i-.ling ivi-n ha. I ii.-en en-
.lure.i li.-.-auM- i.f tJM- nia-nilieetit strength
with wiii.-h lli.y were a<-i'niii|.aniiMl. A code
ol'au-t.iiiy ua> ii..\v >iih>tiliile.l in the palace,
teni|it> were iiiaile In thi-.iw oil' e.itain abuses
which ha. I ll..uri-he.l .hninu the p.vee.ling
a.ln,ini.Mi-ali..n. The >ul.ju::at. .1. th.uigh stiU
sullen Sax..n~, w.av re>t..iv.l f, a p.u-ti.m of
their lili.iti.-. IJ.ival iii.->. ii;jcrs were sent
into various i.i-ovince< \\h\\ anth.iritv to miti-
ing reign,
leke.l with
r-v which
i;.
L..ui< ha.l alrea.ly lueii pivsente.l by the
i|Ueen Ilermengarde with three sous, Lothaire,
IVpin, and Louis. These princes, at the date
of their grandfather's death, were already ad-
vancing towards manhood, the elder being
nineteen years of age. Three years after
coming to Imperial power Louis convened a
national assembly at his capital, and an-
nounced to that liody his purpose of sharing
the thi-..iu' with L.ithaii-e. The measure was
coujile.l with tile as.-erti.m of the Emperor that
he did not by any means purpose to break up
the iiuity of the great kingdom which he had
received from his father ; but the merest
novice in statecraft could not fail to see the
inevitable effect of the joint sovereignty thus
instituted in the emjiire.
Couicident with the elevation of Lothaire
til Imperial dignity, the other two sons of the
emjieror — Pepin and Louis — were crowned as
kings, the former receiving Aquitaine, South-
ern Gaul, and Burgundy; and the latter, the
countries beyond the Rhine. The rest of
Gaul and Germany, together with Italy, fell
to Lothaire, and the subordinate rulers were
directed to repair to him from time to time
and receive their authority at his hands.
During the remainder of his life Louis the
Debonair was to retain the home kingdom,
having Lothaire as his associate in the gov-
ernment. The two junior sons of the Emperor,
youths as they were, repaired to their re-
spective provinces and assume. 1 the duties of
THE AGE OE CHAELE-UAdXE.—SUCCESSOBS OF CHAREEMAdXE.
government, the oue iu Aquitaiue, the <<
in Bavaria. Thus, withiu five years after
death of Charlemagne, were made t!ie
giimiugB of the great three fohl divi>ioi
Western Europe into Feaxce, (iicuM;
and Italy.
At the very commencement of his re
the weakness ami subserviencv of Emii
ingian had set ou these
te with dignity and kii
had shown due deterei
Louis. As Stephen drew near to
the Emperor went forth to meet
prostrated himself at full lni,jfh he
I. CHARLEMAGNE, 814.
I
IL LOUIS THE DEBONAIR, SIO.
LUfIS THE GEE.Ma;
ULES THE FAT, SS:
v. CHAKLES THE BALD. 877
Uth.x.l SAXONY.
VIl. ARNTLF,
ronrndof FRANCONI
. CONKAD I., 91S.
XI. OTHO THE GREAT.
XILOTHOI
XIII. OTHO I
XIV. HENRY IL. 1024.
lONRAD I
CNRY III., 1056.
XIX. LOTH AIRE OF SAXOXY, Henry the Blank. XVIIl, HEXRY V.
Agnes=Frederick of HOHENSTAUFEN.
Gertrade=Heiiry the Proud.
Henry the Lion.
Jiidith=Frederick.
XXII. HENRY VI.. ir.17.
XXIV. FREDERICK 11.. liM.
25. Conrad IV., 1234.
J indicate drscrnf.
Conradin.
EXPLANATION:
' the order of the reigns.
I. Carlo%-insian Line, A. D. nxv-911, SSovereigns.
II. Sa.xon •■ •• 911-10M.5
111. Franconian ■• '■ 1024-1115.4
— - ■ 1125-li>l.6
XV. Hohenstaufen
Id icate EMPERORS,
, DTNASTIES.
s, NOT EMPEKOR
GERMAN HOUSES
MIDDLE ACES.
Louis were manifested. Two years after his
accession, Pope Stephen IV. was invited
to come into France and perform the cere-
mony of consecration. The Roman pontifis
had already ou several occasions performed like
service for the Most Christian Kings of
France. Charlemagne had been crowned by
Leo III., and his sons consecrated at Rome.
The example, however, which the great Car-
There he lay uutil the Pope stretched forth
his hand and lifted up the groveling ruler
from the dust.
It was not long until the inherent weak-
ness of the government gave occasion for
insurrection. The mountaineers of Yasconia
first rose in revolt. Meanwhile Bernard, who,
before the death of Charlemagne, had suc-
ceeded his father Pepin iu the kingdom of
.'.10 cxi\-Ki:sAL HISTORY.— TEE .moi>j:j:x would.
Italy, was Ir.atli tn see the crnwii tran-ferrcd ; AVurir.s niiil o]H-iily annulled the ?ettlenient
to hi>cnu,-in Loihaiiv. in..re i.arti"ul;.rly ^inee \ which he had iiia<l"e twelve year> i,reviou>lv.
the latter ha<l rm Letter ehiii.i r,,, ih- "throne He took away from re].in" and L„um the
of Italy than iniidit he found in the cai.rice • proviui-e.- of Burj:undy and Aleinannia and
undertook ti> maintain his ri-lu^ l.y f.rn-; This lla-rant act led to an immediate revolt
hut tlie rehi'llioii ncfived lilli-- r.nnui-naiice. on the |.a!-t of Lothaire, Peiiin, and Louis,
even >outh of the Alps and ];. mard was and to thr liitterness of this reh.Hion were
qui<-llv i.ut and,., 'fhe \-a>rons wrre also adih'd th." .lis.-rac.dul quarnds wideh pre-
eadly n.lue, d to sulmd-don. In lirittany, vailed at thr n.yal court. An amhitious Sep-
howcvrr. a nvolt ocrnn-ed of more serious i timanian nohleman. named Bernard, was ad-
pro|iorlit.ns The c'ountry wa> siill covered vanced to the ]>osition (d' ehandierlain of the
willi hc:ivv forests and many facilities of re- j j.alace. He .-oon enpiL'-cd in an intriLiue wdth
.sistancc were allord.d to an in>uruvnt p<.pula- | (Juecn duditli which scan.laliz, d the court
tion. In the year Ms. the inhahiiauN ch(,-e ' and increased the oppodti.m to Louis and his
Morvan. They renounced their alleeiaucc clndin- many of the chief men of the k'ing-
aud refu-ed to pay iiiliute to the Frank-. (hmi. The Empress was seized and >lint nji iu
At the very time when the Emperor Loui< a convent. Louis was obliged to no forth
wa- pre-idiuLT in a national a--endilv at Aix- from hi- capital and give himself up to the
la-Ciiapelle, Count Landiert. govern..r of in>ureent-. V,y them he was depio-ed from
Brittany, made his wav to the capiral, and otti.-e and th.- .a-..wn continued to Lr.thaire.
reported that V\< province wa< in a >tate of | The old act of 817, hy which the distribution
revolt ;ind that Ei-anee wa- invaded. There- j of the kingdom among the sons of Hermen-
upon a Franki>h monk, named Dilcar, was i garde hail lieen determined, was restoi-ed ; and
sent to the Breton kin- to know hi> griev- ' the more recent act of Emi.cror Louis relative
ances and t.. command snluui-dou. A haunhty to Prince Charles, was annulled. Thus, by a
answer wa- returned, and the Fraiildsh nion- sudden outbur.-t of p.ipular indignation, the
arch wa- ohli.^ed |o -o to war. A liattle was ambitiou- .-.■lieine< of (^leen Judith were
the reliels Were utteilv routed. ]\[orvan was Soon, howcvei-, there was a great re 'ulsion
slain, and his bh.odv head wa> hrou-ht hv the of public fvling in favor of the ,lidi nored
slaver to Ditcar f.r recognition. The revolt king. It was tardily perceive.l that he had
wa- .|nicklv extin-uidied in blooil. lieen moiv dniied against than sinning. The
Aftei- the di;!lh i^f tile Enipiv>s Ilernieu- jn-iuce- Louis and Pei)iu, moreover, became
garde, Loui- cho<e for his >eeoiid wife the bitieily i,.;dou,- ..u account u{ tile Imperial
lu-ince-< .liidith of liavaria, dau-hti-r of Count dignity couf-rrd upon Lothaire. They ac-
(iuelf— a fiinily de-tiu<d to the hi-he-t di- cordinely went over to their father's siile ; nor
tinciiou in the subse.pient ainials of Ihiropi-an were tin- eccdesiastics slow to repent of the
nionarehv. In tlie vcar X'l'-\, the new Empre<- cour-e wliiidi they had recently pursued towards
]ire-ented her lord with .a -on. who beeairie their -overeie-n. Another national assembly
know u amonu- the rnh-r- ot' France a- Cliaile- wa- convened at Ximegueu, and the acts
the r.ald. There wa< thu- added to the kin-'- whi.li had been adopted by the former body
household of heir- anoth.-r exp.'ciant. who, were abro-ated. Louis the Debonair was
backed bv the ab-orbin- pa-ion and brilliant re<t..red t.) his ri-hts, and the two princes,
abilltie-of his nioiher. wa- from thetii-t an ob- Pepin and Lotds, were reinstated in their
tlie Emperor had alivadv settled the succe-.-iou. Now it was that the Emperor was obliged
Nor was it Ion- until - 1 reason was shown : to maintain his authority by force. He ac-
for their jealousv. In the vear M".i the king, | eordiiigly mustered an army and marched
now completelv under the influence of (;»ueen ' a.-ain-t his refractory sons. Prince Pe].in, of
Judith, went before a national assemblv at ' Aijuitaine. had been already overthrown by
THE AGE OE CHARLEMACXE.—SUCCESSOES OE cnAELE.}LUL\E.
his brothers Lothiiire and Louis, ami his king-
dom g-ivcu to Charles the Bald. It wa> imw
the father's turn to try the issue ol' liatllr
with Iiis own .iH-priii--. The two armies met
at a l.laee ealle<l the Field of ll-d, situated
between Tohnar and Bale. But when the
Ixittle was about to lH',i:in a lari;e part <if
KiuL;' Loni-'s t'orccs abandoned him and went
over to Bothairc. The monarch was thus
left naki'd to the mi'rey of his .sous. The
name of the Field of Bed was changed to the
Fiehl of Falseh 1.
The victorious princes, however, received
their lather with the consideration due to his
rank, but their filial respect did not extend to
his restoration to power. On the contrary,
Lothaire convened a national assembly and
had himself proclaimed Emjjeror. In a short
time another convention of grandees and
bishops was held at Compiegne, and Louis
the Debonair was again formally deposed.
He was obliged to hear the decree of his own
<lethronement, in which the charges of inca-
pacity and weakness were openly set forth,
read aloud to the multitude. He meekly ac-
cejited the situation which had been imposed
by his subjects, and retired to the convent
of Bheims.'
It now appeared that the aflairs of the
Empire were permanently .settled ; but though
the Emperor Louis was dethroned the party
of his supporters was by no means annihilated.
In a short time rebellions in his favor occurred
in various parts of his kingdom, and the
usurping sous t'ound it difficult to retain the
power which they had seized by force. The
beautiful and audiitious Judith was still at
liberty, and her intrigues prevailed to win
over many friends to the cause of her dis-
honor..! hn>baud. X..t a few of tlie cleigy
rallie.l to his sujiport. In the year X'.'A two
national assemblies were held, and the acts of
the convention of Compiegne were formally
revoked. The Imperial dignity was again
conferred ou Loni~, an.l the kingdom con-
tinued in a ferment of revolt as before.
Four years after this second restoration of
the Emperor to ]iower Pei)in of Acjuitaine
died. The la-oblem of the Empire was thus
somewhat simplified. lu 839 an assemlily was
called at Worms. The general <'.iniliti(in oi'
the dvnastv and the distriliution of p.ilitieal
iv,-,,lvr.l t.i make a new territ..rial ,livisi..u of
th.. king.hnn. Bavaria an.l th.^ .■in-un.ja.rnt
r.-i..nswere left as beloiv to tl„; Bri,,.-,. I.nuis,
heucef)rth known as L.iuis llir CmtKiii. The
w.-t. rn p..rti..u of ili.^ Enipir.' was ilivided
int.. tu.i parts by \W Bh ■ an.l the Meuse,
till' ca-tcin .livi>ion failing liy his own choice
to Lothaire. The west.rn part was assigned
to Charles the Bald. The Ceriiian, h.iwever,
was l.iy no means satisfied with the distribution.
He took up arms to undo the settlement, and
his imbecile father in his old age was obliged
once more to attemjit the maintenance of
peace by wai-. At lli.' bead of his army he
.set out towai-.ls the Bli.nish frontier; but on
ai-rivin-' near th.' .-ity of ]\Iayence he fell sick
of a fc\-er an.l .li<-.l at the castle of lugelheim.
Thus in the .Summer of 840 the question of
the settlement of the kingdom was still fur-
ther simplified by the course of nature.
In his last h.iuis th.- expiring mouarch
transmitted the Inipei-ial emwn an.l sword to
his sou Lothaire. To Louis of Bavaria he
sent the assurance of pardon, and to both
princes the earnest admouition that the rights'
of the Queen Judith an.l the young King
Charles the Bald should be i'aithfn'lly observed.
Of little avail, Imwovei', were these chari-
itable iujuncti.)ns of th.' dying Emperor. For
in the mean time the jirince Pepin II., son
of the deceased Pejiin of Aquitaine, had
usurpeil the government of his father's pro-
vince. With him Lotliaire now entered into
a conspiracy f .r .l.sp.iilinir- Charles the Bald
of his inheritani'e. The latter took the alarm,
and made an alliance with Louis the German,
who, like himself, was imperiled by the am-
bition of Lothaire. The Empress Judith went
on a missi.m to the Bavarian prince, and the
latter, as soon as pra.'tieable, sent an army to
the aid of Charles. In the next summer after
the death of the Debonair the forces of the
rival lirothers, Charles and Louis on one side,
and Lothaire an.l his nephew Pepin II. on
the other, met nii-ar th.- villag.' ..f F".)ntenailles,
where the destinies of the Carloviugian em-
jiire were again t.i lie decided. The two
armies are sai.l to havi' numbered three hun-
.Ir.'.l thousand ni.'U. For four days the an-
tagonists inauenvi're.l, dreading to come to
battle. lu the beiiinniuir of the conflict
UyiVKnSAL lUSTOllV.—THE MODIJlX WORLD.
victiirv >i
LotludR-;
rallieil In;
flicted oil
Hardly c^
had such
overthrow
oils to tl
rlfiii
e'buwaU
aged poet nt' the- I'liurl
the irr<']);iralil«' di-a,-n r '
made m(jst -tivnuou- cir.rt- h< r.-tni-i^ hi- f'lr-
tuues. He apiH^ali-d to thr Saxmi- and (.idiii-
ised the n-tnialinn nt' iia-ani-iu if tiny wmuI.I
espouse hi> cause. Si'veral of the tribes re-
volted in hi~ favor; but Louis and Charles
were little di^p(l-ed to lose by uegligence the
fruits of their great victory. The two princes
met in a public assembly on the right bank
of the Rhine, between Bale and Strasbourg.
Each cuiiie at the head of his army, and there,
in the most solemn manner, they renewed
their covenant against Lothaire. The alliance
thus made was publicly celebrated by the offi-
cers and soldiers of the two armies in a series
of games, military sports, and joustiugs, the
same being, perhaps, the beginning of those
knightly tournaments which became one of the
leading features in the s(jcaal history of the
Middle Ages. The two kings themselves, clad
in armor, entered the lists, attacked each other,
as if in battle, pursued, retreated, and per-
formed feats of fictitious daring.
But neither the league between Louis and
Charles nor the ro\al sports which they insti-
tuted for the delight of their soldiers could
overawe the courageous Lothaire. In spite
of the efforts of the allied princes he made such
headway on the side of Saxony that they were
obliged to recognize his rights and to consent
to a new territorial adjustment. The three
brothers met in a conference in the summer
' Angilbert thus utters his anguish over the
battle of Fontenailles: "Accursed be this day!
Be it unnumbered in the return of the year, but
■wiped out of all remembrance ! Be it unlit by the
light of the sun ! Be it without either dawn or
twilight ! Accursed, also, be this night, this awful
night, in which fell the brave, the most expert in
battle! Eye ne'er hatli seen more fearful slaugh-
ter: in streams of blood fell (■l.ii>tiaii men; the
linen vestments of the i\v:\A did whitm tlie cham-
paign even as it is whitened liy the Ijirds of au-
tumn."
of .s-lo, and it was agreed that Italy, A.jui-
.should aUo be given the ihree cirie. .d' -May-
enee, Worni.s, and >i.in>, on the h ll bank of
thelvhine. The eastern part of ( lanl. bound d
iiy the lihine and llie Wyo and tiie rivers
.>ieu.-e, Saone, and Khoue, wa- assigned to
Lothaire. The remainder <if tlie (iaulidi ter-
rito,-y was given to Charles tlie Bald, and to
liini al,~o fell tlie jirovinces of Vascouia, Sep-
tiniania, and the French po.ssessions beyond
the ryrences.
This .settlement of affairs made at Verdun,
in the year 8-43, gave the iiui.shing stroke to
the project of I'estoring the Empire of the
West. The name of Emjjerm- was still re-
tained and has continued for many centuries
as a sort of traditional factor in the politics of
Europe. But it was the shadow without the
substance. The Empire itself became a myth,
into which not even the greatest minds could
do more than breathe the breath of a fitful
and evanescent vitality.
In the midst of the great civil disturbances
to which the Frankish kingdoms were thus
subjected the Northern Pirates came in to-
reap their abundant harvests of spoil. They
made their way at times to the very gates of
Paris. The abbeys of St. Germain and St.
Denis were captured and sacked. The outer
quarters of the city were several times in the
hands of the sea-robbers, to whom all treas-
ures, both sacred and profane, were alike. lu
the year SfiO Pepin of Aquitaine made a
league with the Northmen and consented to-
their capture of Toulouse. The marauders
went from place to jilace through the prov-
ince of Aquitaine, seizing what they liked
and destroying what they would. Nor did it
appear that either Pepin or Charles the Bald
had the courage requisite to scourge the
Northmen ont of their territories.
One of the most audacious of the piratical
leaders was the sea-king Hastings. Several
times he appeared with his fleet in the rivers
and harbors of France. Not satisfied with
the spoils of the western coasts, he made his
way into the Mediterranean. On the shore
of Tuscany he descried a city which he mis-
took for Rome, hut being unable to take the
place bv assault, he resorted to stratagem.
THE AGE OE CHABLEMAGXE.— SUCCESSORS OE CHAHLEMACNE. ^43
Pretending to repent of his pa^t life, lie ^ent pdit to be cueuLited that he \\a~ ih ad, and
for the Chii^tian bishop, and ^\as baptized a- I hi- toUowei- claimed for him the ii.ht-- of
a eonveit. Soon afteiwaid- he cau-ed the u- \ buii.il 'Hit IhhU w i- li nu to thi < itludral,
UMVKJ;S.\L insToHY. — THE MoPI-.I.W WOIUJ).
but
i|. .~i>
1- the
licli
prostrate Ilasliii-s, .hvw W\< >\\uv>\. ainl slew
the ecclcsiii.-tirs ■■i-iit ami I'I'l. ili> iin-ii, at
the si-nal. joiiMMl in tlu- hl.n\y woik. 'Hie
cathedral \va< pluinl.nd, ami llie ml.l.ers
made away willi tli( ir <|".il> lielnre tiie .-lupe-
tied iMipulati-ii .-nuld rvali/r u hat wa^ done.
At a lalrrdah^ lla-liii- and l,i< l.aii.i rav-
H,. then s,ii,d ui, tl... S.in.' and appeared I,'.-
fere Pari-. Chariivs was taken, and fliarles
the Bald was oliliged to entreueh himself at
St. Denis. >So great was the terror which
the Northmen had spread abroad that the
king — though again-t tlie ailvire ol' many of
Hastings, and rdun iit.d td pinvhase a peace.
It was agi'i'd t(i (■((!(■ tn the triumphant
robber and lii-^ loll. .wits the county of Char-
tre.s, oil condition that he wotdil t'case from
his piracies and liecoinr a Chnstian. It seems
that the rapacity of Hastings was at last sat-
istied, and he accepted the overtures of the
Fraukish king. But liis fellow-chieftaiu Bi-
oeru, not yet satiated with plunder, could not
be reconciled. He sailed away with a cargo
f hootv, was wrecked on the coast of Fries-
lan.l, aiid soon afterwards died. Theiv was
then a lull in the tempest of north i-n inva-
sion, an.l the kingdom of the Fraid^s for a
while flowed in the more (piiet currents of
history.
Three kingdoms issued from the treaty of
Yerduu — Italy, Germany, and France. Po-
litii'al causes — the accidental circumstance of
nniny sons in the family of Louis the Deb-
onair— had condiined with the general facts
of geography, language, and race-kinship to
divide the descendants of the subjects of Char-
lemagne into Italians, Germans, and French.
The imbecility of the Emperor Louis had co-
operated with the tongue of Clovis in the
formation of nations ; and the jealousy of the
queens, Hermengarde and Judith, had made
a league with the Alps.
Aiiion'j- the various immediate successors
of Chaileina-tM' the most distinguished were
Charles the Bald and Lothairc. The former
inherited the brilliant faeulties of \\\< niotluT,
and added a iu.l-inrnt an.l will of hi- own.
He maintaine.l about his eaiiital an.l eouft
\[- \.
nair hail had no other .son
pire founded by the greate
gians might have i)roserv(
Deb.).
e l-:m-
It will now be desirable to note briefly the
principal events in the history of the three
kingdoms of Italy, Germany, and France, from
the middle of the ninth century to the acces-
sion of Hugh Caj^et. Taken altogether, the
period is oue of the least interesting and in-
structive in the whole course of Jlodern His-
tory. During its continuance men appear
with little heroism, and events are jirojected
on a stage so little dramatic as scarcely to ex-
cite a passing interest.
Charles the Bald continue. 1 his reign from
S.'il) to X'o with sean-ely a notable inei.lent.
After the settlein.ait of Hastings at Chartres,
the king.l.Jin, though freipiently menaced, suf-
fere.l f.ir tlie time not much actual injury
from till' in.airsions of the Danes. In the
year .s?:. Loui< II. of (i.'fiiianv .li.'.l. For
some years that sovrei-n ha.l b.,in.. the Im-
perial title ; f.a- Lothaire ha.l cease.l to b.' Em-
peror in the year 855. On the death .if Louis,
Charles the Bald .seized the title ; but so small
had already be.'.nne the influence of this tra-
ditional dignifv that the French king was
rather weakem-.l than ina.le strong by its as-
sumpti.)n. Slioitlv afterwanls a much more
important event oceunv.l in the e>talilishment
of the hereditary principle among the noble
families of France. Hitherto the dukes,
counts, and grandees had hel.l and exercised
their authority by th.' r.ival (.remgative. In
876 Charles wa- obligid to >i.jn a decree by
which the tenure of the noble titles of the
kingdom, with the landed estates thereunto
belonging, was remanded to the law of de-
si'ent. Thus as early as the last quar-
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAdXE.—SUCCESSOIiS OF CHARLEMAdM:.
ter of the ninth ceutuiy were Liiil in ]''i-:iiice
the fouuiUitions of the feudal s_\>teni, which
wa^; destined in the course of tinu' tn (.l>taiii
the mastery of alnmst the wlmh' nf \V..-ti ru
Europe, in the fnlh.wiii-- year, .^77, < 'harlrs
the Bald died in a village at the fiK.it i>f
Jlout Cenis; nor was the suspicion wanting
that his life was taken by poison administered
by his Jewish iihysician, Sedecias. A fitting
epitaph for himself and his reign is furnished
in the pungent comment of one of the old
French chroniclers: "Fortune in conformity
to his humor made him happy in appearance
and miserable in reality."
The late king had been exceedingly un-
firtunate in his family. Of his four suns,
namely, Louis, Charles, Lothaire, and Carlo-
man, the eldest two proved to be rebellious
and turbulent princes. It was the purpose of
the father that Lothaire and Carloman should
be devoted to the ser\-ice of the Church. The
thought was uppermost in his mind that his
own sins might thus be vicariously expiated.
The Prince Lothaire, being weak and lame,
submitted to his fate and entered a monastery,
but Carloman refused obedience. He broke
oft' from the enforced obligations of the monas-
tic life and fled into Belgium. Here he
raised a revolt, put himself at the head of
the insurgents, and laid waste the country.
The forces of the king were called out against
him, and the prince was defeated and taken
prisoner. Convicted of violating his religious
vows, he was condemned to have his eyes put
out ; but escaping from confinement, he made
his way into Bavaria, and found refuge with
his uncle, Louis the German. Charles and
Lothaire soon died, and Louis was thus left as
the heir expectant of tlie kingdom and the
empire. On the death of his father he
quietly ascended the throne, taking the title
of Louis II., and receiving the sobriquet of
the Stammerer.
The new reign was brief and inauspicious.
No event of importance occurred during the
two short years in which he held the royal
power. He died in 879, leaving two sons,
named Louis and Carloman, and a posthu-
mous heir who received the name of Charles.
Louis took as his inheritance the kingdom of
Neustria, and Carloman obtained the province
of Aquitaiue. All the rest of the territories
recently governed liy
the exception of I'r
.!■ Lm
man. The excepted ,li.inci< uciv >rmA hv
i;,./,on, Count of I'rovcncc, who had married
tion was recognized by I'cipc Jolni \'1I1., an,l
Bozoii was crowned as king. Thus, by a hold
and successful, though bloodless, usurpation,
were laid the foundations of the little king-
dom of Provence, which was destined to
fiourish for several centuries, ami to liccome
the most polite and refined center of culture
north of the Pyrenees.
King Louis, like his predecessor, was des-
tined to a brief and inglorious reign. He
came to a premature clcath in the year 882,
and was succeeded by tlie exiled CarLiman,
who held feebly to the crown for the space of
two years. The posthumous Prince Charles,
being now but five years of age, was consid-
ered l\v the not over-loyal barons as too
young t<j assume the burdens of the state.
They therefore sent a deputation to Bavaria,
and tendered the French ci-own to Cliarles,
the youngest son of Louis the (icrnmn. This
prince had already received the Iiii]n rial dia-
dem at the hands of the Pope, and thii>, hy
a concurrence of fortuitous events, ail the do-
minions of Charlemagne, with the exception
of the kingdoms of Provence and Aragon,
were again united in a single government.
To their new sovereign the French gave the
surname of Le Geos, or The Fat ; for ho was
corpulent to the last degree. Xor was he more
energetic in mind than in Imdy. ^lorc even,
perhaps, than his predecessors, did he lieconie
the tool of the intriguing courtiers by whom
he was surrounded. Neither did the humili-
ating j)Osition into which he was forced
arouse his pride, nor the distresses of his peo-
ple awaken his sympathies.
Now it was that France was destined, more
than ever, to feel the scourge of the liands of
the Northmen, and to experience the full '
humiliation arising from the imbecilitj' of a
rider who was incompetent to defend her.
The piratical Danes had in the meantime
found a leader greater and more warlike than
Hastings. The new chieftain bore th(.' name
of Rolf, or RollO, who by native CDurago and
brawn had obtained an easy ascendency over
uyin:i:sAj. iiisioin'.—TJii-: moderx world.
well us tl.al c.f lii^ ^^■A^■v\^
tily ..r Paris a.i.l l.rii,,- liu
iu the person nf its king
ance with their wislie.s. T'
..fiiis liirl.ulent
ron ver
cil anil ill.
unci 111 verteil Nortluuan emlej
hi^ aiiil>itii)ii, as
with I
1<- e\pii,~
iilalimis of the oue ami the
til capture the
cleliani-
• of the
it her. Ha.stLug.s returued to
niiiii uiuuarchy
the Fi
lukish a
my, and preparatiou.s were
I supple cumpli-
reuewe
1 lor the
impeudiug coufliet.
anuies of Mori h-
At
this jui
eture au episode oerurred
jy lioUo iu per-
worthy
of note.
A certain Count ThibaiUt,
other liy his acsneiate chieftain, I who had greatly coveted the estate? which
le latter was to ascend the Peine, i were held by Hastings, availed himself of the
.situation to jday upon the fears and credulity
of that reformed pirate. The count told his
victim that King Charles had purpo.sed his
death, and that his only .safety lay in flight.
Hastings thereupon sold to his informer at
son and the
Siegfried. T
and the former, having captured the city of
Rouen, was to join liim before the towers of
Paris. In the emergency that was upon him,
Charles the Fat sent for Hastings and em-
ployed him as an ambassador to the chief of
the Da
But the interview between the I trifling price his town of C'hartres, fled to his
THE AilE OF CHARLEMAGNE.— SUCCESSORS OF CHARLE.VACXE.
couutrymeu, and lapsed lutu the- more ecu-
genial 2)iirsuits of |iiraey.
Meanwhile, the ^lorthmeu gathered belore
the walls of Paris.' Their fleet consisted of
seven hundred huge barks and obstructed the
Seine for the distance of two leagues. The
forces of Rolf and Siegfried numbered fully
thirty thousand men, and every one was a
weather-beaten warrior, hardened by every
species of exposure, aud expert in all the
dangers of laud and sea. But even this wild
aud daring host was astonished at the walls
aud towers of Paris. Everywhere new forti-
fications had been reared, aud a defiant sol-
diery looked down from the ramparts. Great
towers of stone stood here and there, and the
solid walls of St. Denis and St. Germain were
seen in the distance. Even the dauntless
Siegfried forbore for a season to make an as-
sault upon the impregnable bulwarks of the
city, but rather sought to gaiu his end by
parley and negotiation.
The city of Paris was at this time held aud
defended by Count Eudes, eldest son of Rob-
ert the Strong, of Aujou. Of him the Danes
made the demand of a free passage through
the city, and promised, if this were granted,
to refrain from all injury and violence. But
neither Eudes himself nor the bishop Gozlin,
by whom the negotiations were conducted,
was silly enough to be entrapped by the wiles
of a pirate. So the baffled Danes were obliged
to give over their stratagem and resort to
opeu force.
A siege ensued of thirteen mouths' dura-
tion. Eight unsuccessful assaults were made
by the Daues. The old Abbe, a monk of St.
Germain des Pres, has left on record a poem,
recounting the progress and daring exploits
of the struggle. The leaders within the city
were Eudes and Gozlin. The latter died during
the siege, and Count Eudes, quitting the city,
made his way to the Emperor Charles, calling
for reenforcemeuts. On his return with three
battalions of troops, he was obliged to cut his
' It will be remembered that the outskirts of
Paris had 1ieen already several times taken and
pillaged 1iy the Panish pirates. But the heart of
the metropolis, tliat is, so much of Paris as is situ-
ated in the Jle de la cite, liad not thus far been pen-
etrated by the marauders. It was this center of
the city that was now assailed by Rolf and his
robbers.
way from the heights of Montmartre through
the Danes to the gates of the city. The in-
vestmeut continued until the autumn of .S.Sti,
when Charles the Fat came with a large army
to the succor of the besieged. But it was a
fatal succor which he brought to Paris. On
his arrival he agread to purchase with a heavy
ransum the retreat of the Northmen, who
were iuiluced for the wiutcr to retire into
Burgundy.
So pusillanimous was this conduct of the
king that a diet, convened in the following
year ou the banks of the Rhine, passed a de-
cree of deposition, aud the Imperial dignity
was conferred ujjon Arnulf, a natural son of
Carloman, brother of Louis III. At the
same time the title of king was conferred
on Count Eudes, who had so bravely defended
Paris, and the monarch-elect was presently
crowned by the archbishoj) of Sens. Another
claim to the crown of France was at the same
time advanced by Guy, duke of Spoleto, whose
alleged rights were founded on the fact that
he was descended from Charlemague in the
female line. The duke hastened over from
Italy, and was proclaimed by the bishop of
Langres. But the accession of Eudes was
already a fact accomjdished, and *-iuy re-
turned to his own place as hastily as he had
C(inie.
:\Ican while, Bozon, king of Pnivenee, died
and was succeeded by Boso, duke of Aides.
At the same time, Count Rodoljih was giveu
the title of king in Transjurau Burgundy, and
was crowned at St. Jlaurice. All the while
the young Prince Charles, son of Louis the
Stammerer, and legitimate heir of the Carlo-
vingian House, was overlooked and well-nigh
forgotten. He was, as yet, only a child, and
the ambitious dukes aud enuiits, themselves
eager to seize some jHtty crown, were little
disposed on the score of loyalty to hunt up
and lionor the feeble scion cd" the stock of
Charlemagne.
Having retired from his unsuccessful siege
of Paris, the chieftain Rollo renewed in AVest-
ern France his career of cruising and pillag-
ing. It appears, however, that his contact
with civilization began to reiict upon his fac-
ulties; for he was a man of genius. Before
entering upon his French coufiuests he had
alren<ly made an expedition into England,
CMVKusAL iiisT()i;y.~THi-: mddkhx woni.D.
THE AGE OF CHAIILEMAG XE.— SUCCESSORS OF CHAHLEMAH SE.
hail been dniie iu the c;qHtal. Only when he
met with (ilnlurate resiistance diil the olil
vhileuce "1' liis nature break forth a_L:ain>t
his tne<.
This ehange iu the eharaeter aial .cnli-
ments nf the Danish chief le.l to a eorroponil-
inu^ change iu the niauner of warfare. -Vt'ter
the ileiiositiou of Charles the Fat, the struggle
between King Eudes and Kollo eontinurd
with varying fortune. The former gaiiir.l a
great victory over the Danes at ^loutlaucnn,
but was in his turn defeated at Vcrniamloi,-.
In the latter conflict the veteran Ila.-iings
agaiu appeared as the leader of the Nonh-
men. Itollo, now master of many towns, lie-
gan to treat the subject populations with kind-
ness and justice. At times he showed himself
disposed to forbear from further excursions
and maintain the existing status. On one
occasion he went over to Euglanil, and there
renewed his old-time frieudshi}! with King
Athelstaoe, who had succeeded Alfred on the
throne. So great became the reputation of
Rollo for increasing wisdom and humanity
that Eudes was obliged to recognize and deal
with him as king with king.
In the year 898 the French monarch died,
and Charles the Simple, the legitimate Car-
lovingian prince, now nineteen years of age,
was raised to the throne. Kollo and the
Danes still held their own in the western
parts of France, and it became more and
more apparent that their expulsion from the
country was a remote, if not impossible,
event. In the first years of the tenth century
the <juestion of some satisfactory settlement
with the Xorthmeu was many times debated
in the councils of the king, and Rollo himself
was by no means an unwilling hearer of the
premonitory rumors of peace. Nevertheless,
the great Danish chieftain was not at all dis-
posed to relinquish aught of his advantages.
In the year 911 Charles was advised by his
counselors to open negotiations with Kollo
with a view to securing the permanent settle-
ment ijf the question between the two peoples,
even by the cession of territory. Franco,
archbishop of Kouen, acting on behalf of the
king, was authorized to otfer the Dane a con-
siderable part of Keustria and the hand of
Gisele, daughter of Chai-les the Simple, on
condition that Rollo would become the king's
vassd and endirace Christianity. The North-
man regarded this projiosition in >o fuvoralile
a light'that he consented to a thrrc inonl!.,'
enee between Ko'Uo and the French ni,.narrl,.
A meeting was held at St. Clair-sur-Epte,
Charles taking his station on one side (if the
river and the"" Dane o,, thr other. Th.: kin-
otil'red to ee.le Flanders, hut this was reth-rd.
Xoi- wonh
N.
liiaritime parts of Neu.tria. He dnnandod,
also, that those districts ,.f iSrittanv which
had been .seized by the French slionld be
added to the cession, and that the dukes of
the ceded provinces should become his vassals.
To these demands the king at la-t eon-ented,
and a treaty was formed accordin^jly.' The
question of a century was settled by the ad-
mission of a nation of invaders within the
borders of France.
Thus it was that tlie pa.'ified Northmen
ceased to threaten. Having now a country
of their own to defend, they trouliled their
neighbors no longer. The piratical habit was
abandoned, and the agricultural life was sub-
stituted for predatory warfare.
On tlie southern bonier of France, for the
last half century, the Saracens had not ceased
to trouble. Time and a'jain wvrr the prov-
inces of Aquitaine, Sei.tiinania, and rroveiice
invaded by bands of hri-aii'ls and roMiers.
The Mohammedan banditti apjiearcd now on
the Rhone at Arle-. in Camaigne, in Dau-
phine, Kouer-ue, and Liino„si„. A-ainst
these incursions the iinhccilc sncc.-ssors of
Charlemagne seemed imjiolent to defend the
people. Each province lutd to protect itself
as best it mieht. To this end towers and fort-
i.eii lavsei-ved of
tills settlement,
in token of his
t'liarles. but the
• rnneli i^rleying
eiiiM Ke iloiie by
VMsaiqinintedby
Init the warrior
is master. Bend
the knee he wouLl not. The king stood upright
and so did tlie Dane. At lengtli the warrior
stooped down and takin<.' la.ld of the royal foot
lifte.l it so lii-h an.l snddeidy that Cliarles fell
baekwarils on the i;ronnd. It was fortunate that
the ridiculous scene ended in laughter.
the ratitication of the te
The Franks insisted tli;i
vassalaw should kiss tlic
Dane indignantly refuse.!
it was agreed that the l;i
proxy, and a certain Xoi
Kollo to perform the eei
so selected was as hangli
UXlVEJiSAL lIlSTom'. — THK MoDKlLX WORLD.
■, thv
resjfs were lu
these, when I
i-aiseil iu \.\w
iur shelter.
Ou the whule, licnvever
the southern border \vu.-
than dangerous. The iiu
by hordes ot' robin r.-, who
and % rather ihau plan.
, and into
I'aceu " was
would tlee
iisturuauee ou
v'oking rather
:is were made
led til pluDtler
d ii^hl.
Nt
-ed from
lues b
were the JloluumuetUius of Spain ].re
behind by other hosts out of AiVii a
the Northmen, driven fnuu ihi ir I
iunumeralile .^wanus nt' .V>iatie liarli;nian.-.
Thus it hajiiieiied that, uhile the nurtlieni
and western iVoiitier nf Franee \\a> brnkeu in
and a large part of her territory taken liy the
audacious Daues, the southern Imrder was
preserved from serious iufraetion.
As to the new province thus ceded l)y
Cliarles the Simple to Rollo and his couulry-
pri.,~perous ,li-triets in Franre. The great
Danish chieftain was recognized as Duke of
XoRJiAXDY. Nor should the peu of history
here fail to note that William the Conqueror,
whose valorous blood has flowed into the veins
of all the English kings and queens who have
reigned since the Norman conquest of 10(5(3,
was himself — though illegitimate — the eighth
in regular descent from Kolf, the Danish
pirate turned reformer and civilizer.
After the settlement between Charles the
Simjile and Duke Rollo, the kingdom enjoyed
peace for the space of ten years; liut iu S^l'l
the ever-growing ambition of the Freiieh
barons led to a revolt against the feeble-
minded Charles aud in favor of Count Rob-
ert, brother of Eudes. Civil war broke out
between the rival parties, ami Cliarlis, in at-
tempting to iiiaintaiu his ri-ht-, lialf reileenied
his forfeited fame. He tunk the tield in j.er-
smi, met C.iiint rmbert in iiattle and slew
him with his own hand. But the cause of
the rebelliiin was taken up by Hugh the
Great, son nf the slain count, aud the king
was soon di-a>trou>ly defeated. Hugh, al-
ready Count of Paris, was andiitiniis tn be
the maker of kiiiL^- rather than be king him-
self. He would fain restore that ancient
regime in which the ]\Iayor of the Palace
stood behind the throne and directed the
affairs of the kimrdnm. Accordiudv, after
the defeat and tiight of Charle.- the Simple—
for the latter with all speed sought refuge
with Herbert, eniiut of Vermaudois — Hugh
brought it about that the French crown
should be conferred on Rodolph, duke of
Burgimdy, to wlumi his own sister had been
given iu marriage. So predominant was the
iutlueiiee of the great count that Rodolph's
noiiiiuatiiiu was ratified by the barons, while
the deposed Charles was shut up as a prisoner
in the Chateau Thierry. Elgiva, the wife of
the tlethroned monarch, who was a sister to
Atliel>taue, king of England, escajied with
her Sou Loui- and sought protection with her
The statu> thus fixed by revolution was
maintaineil tmtil Hl'ti. In that year Charles
the Siuqile died, his takiug-ort' being ascribed
to poison. Rodolph continued to reigii until
'.t^ii; but the real jmwer of the kingdom was
wiel.le.l by Hugh the Great. Rudolph died
at the disposal of the great leader, who again
refused to claim it for him.self. Nor can it
be doubted that in his policy Count Hugh
was guided by a desire to secure the peace
aud prosperity of the kingdom. In looking
about for a new sovereign he faOed not to
take note of the absent Prince Louis, who
with his mother was still sojourning with his
uncle Athelstane, of England. A message
was sent to the English court, requesting the
exiled (jueen to return with her son, in order
that he might receive the crown of France.
As was natural, the sincerity of the count
was distrusted, and the queen at first refused
to put herself at his mercy. King Athelstane
also .shared his sister's apprehensions ; but the
fears of the exiles were at length quieted, and
Louis returned with his mother to France.
They were recei\ed liy Hugh with profound
respect, and were conducted by him to the
cathedral at Rheims where the prince was
solemnly crowned with the title of Loris IV.
Nor did the imaginative French fail to find
for their new sovereign an apjiropriate sobri-
quet. He was called D'Out r, mn; or the
Stranger; for his youth had been passed
beyond the sea.
It was not long until King Louis showed
iu the management of public afl^airs an ability
aud prudence greater than had been exhibited
THE AGE OF CHAKLEMAGXE.—SUCCESSOBS OF CHA1:LEMA(:XE.
by auy previous kiug siuce the days of C'liar-
lemagne. Had his character been as sincere
as his sagacity '\vas prot'ouud, the greatest
good might have beeu exjjected to the king-
dom ; Init lie was dishonest, and in some re-
spects vicious, to the extent that his great
abilities bore little fruit. The foreign afiairs
of the kingdom, moreover, were now of such
a sort as to require the full resources uf the
state.
In the year 937 France was invaded by
the Hungarians, who were with dithculty re-
pelled beyond the liorder. Two years after-
wards the people of Lorraine, who had re-
belled against the authority of Otho I. of
Germany, made a voluntary transfer of tlieir
allegiance to King Louis. That nKinnrch had
married Otho's sister Gerberge ; but this athn-
ity did not prevent the rival br(jtliers-in-law
from going to war. In the struggle that en-
sued, it was Louis's misfortune to have alien-
ated many of his great counts and barons.
In the very beginning of his reigu he had at-
tempted to shake off Count Hugh of Paris;
but that powerful nobleman was not to be
easily disposed of, and the sympathies of the
other nobles were naturally attracted to his
cause. It thus happened that while King
Louis gained the inhabitants of Lorraine and
went to war to defend his acijuisition, the
great vassals of France went over to Otho
and proclaimed him king. The war became
one between Louis and his own subjects. A
battle was fought before Laon, in 941, and
the king's army was defeated. Hugh of Paris
was on the eve of again becoming master of
the situation when Otho, satisfied with the
humiliation of his rival, interfered in his be-
half and saved him from ruin. The war was
brought to an end. The German Emperor
received back the province of Lorraine, and
then with the aid of the Pope mediated a
peace between Louis and his barons.
The next complication in the affairs of
France was in respect to the duchy of Xor-
maudy. In the recent civil war William
Longsword, duke of that province, had taken
sides with Count Hugh against the king.
But Arnulf, count of Flanders, supported the
royal cause. The two nobles were thus
brought into antagonism, and after the cessa-
tion of hostilities William was assassinated bv
his enemy. The young Duke Kirhu
•d fell
into the hands of King Loiii,-. ^^ll<., uii
In- the
pretense of educating him at the <
apital,
would have taken away hi- libcity, a
.1 ,,or-
haps his life. But the boyV p.vcni
ir, ( )s-
moud, perceiving what \\a> iiitmilri
l.',.,.r-
suad.-.l \a< ward to U ign ilhu-s, and ^^\
\lr the
kiug and his olticers were oil' \\w\v
■ ] jl. , ,- i.-j.,,. liil 1 MW-IX' i' ■ tI
vnard,
in a ini-s ,,f hay. He tli.'n'oM'aprd «
castle
ilh his
chai'^v, and took the lad ior [irotcctioi
to his
unci.', the i-nnnt of Sonlis. Soon aft.
rwards
this n<.l.lrmaii smrrodrd in makiu.a
King
Louis l,ini>rll- a pii~ T, and oliji.^o,]'"
dm to
ich he
.rcl to
liis,hd.,-don,. and by his marriap' witii
Anne,
(lau-litcr ot 11
j)owerful ridci
character less
He received tl
such were the
.•aut
'.ivat, soon iHcame a
Avas his goodness of
courage was notable,
ne I ' the Fearless, and
if his person, the atla-
bility of manners and the generosity of his
conduct, as to make him at :>!!ce the favorite
tongues. It was one of the caprices of tins
amialde prince to prepare his <iwn cottin,
which was hewn of stone. I'ntil what time
it might be used for its ultimate purpose,
the sarcophagus was on every Friilay filled
with wheat and coins, which were distributed
to the poor. When about to die, he gave or-
ders that the open cofiin should be set under
the eaves of the church of Fecamp until the
rains should wash his lioncs chan and white.
The reign <if Loins ])'( »uti<nicr continued
until the year 954. While still in the full
strength of manhood, he journeyed one day
from Laon to Eheims. A vagrant wolf
crossed the pathway before him, and the
king, spurring after the beast with all his
might, was thrown from his horse and killed.
He left as his heirs two sons, Lothaire and
Charles, the latter being in his infancy. The
elder son, now at the age of fourteen, re-
ceived the crown by the right of succession,
and with the consent of the counts and
barons. The unfortunate policy of dividing
the kingdom among the sous of the deceased
monarch — a political method which had pre-
vailed from the times of Louis the Debonair-
was now abandoned, never to be revived.
uyi\i:i;sAL iii^touy.—the M()1>ei:s wurld.
Tho un.livi.h.
1 .s..V>
r.-i-iuy of 1m
aiiee was
coiil'cnvil tiiH)
1 Lnl
llAiKi;, anil C
larles, liis
youii::Ti- linilli
L'r, wa>
left I., aiiidr 1
is time.
The c.liu-i
i.>ii .>l
ihe 11. 'W snve
■ei.mi hail
been caivfully
.■..ii.h
et.-.l liy hi.-^ Ill
itlier anil
her l.i-uih.i-, 'i
„■ ,vl
l.ral.-.rsi. l;r
mo. His
characUT, tliu
s loriii
•.1, was above
the .-tan-
,hinl .,f thr (
n-l.,vi.
-iaii kill--: 1.
It hi- ani-
bitinlK WlTr
.iiii.'lii
1,- ill-.lir.vt,il
an.l his
roi-ii was Mil
til.' w
ii.le le-s sileee
.fill than
that lit' his \\a
i.-r.
Two N-..ai-s
lit. a- tl
e siirri — i,,ii ot
Lothaire,
Hugh the Ci
■at .11
■il. llr hail 1
laiatained
his ascciKleiir
• in I
!•• atlair- ol' I
"nuiee for
nearly half a'
.■el,t,l
y, ami llii- In
iir of his
,, ii-i. ti...
(Icath fiiiiiiil
penple. 11..
rei'ii^iii"' till- la
la.l !"■
-i-tril ill ill.-
,1- hilH-.-lf, lil'll
witli the
,,olii,V of
with til.- .lu.-li.
- ..f 1';
1-i-. r,ut tiii> 1
^eiiliaritv
IS auti
not Ijoanng tlie title ol i ^
was regal.
In the year OT-". the Emperor Otbo the
Gi-i-at <li.-il, "ami bei|iiealhril iiis ri-ht-, kingly
anil Imperial, to hi- son Olln. I[. This trans-
prince gave opportmiity to Kiiii^ Lothaire to
reassert bis elaims to ihe provinee of Lor-
raine. He aeeoiilinulv rai-iil an army, and
without aiiv notilii-aiion of his intentions to
the Germans, maivhr.l upon Aix-la-Chapelle,
the then ea[.ital of ihe lOmperor. The Prinee
■Iv l.v surprise. He
■oni th.' ilinn.T-tal.le
aii.l sp.-i-il away, in onl. r to |.>rapi- IV..111 the
eitv. Lothaire .•aptun-.l ami pilla-.-.l th.- pal-
a.v, ami then returnnl to Fram-.-. Oil...,
how.-v.-r, .-oon .-howeil him-elf wortliv of his
Otbo was taken eomp
was oliligi-il to spring
pnt ,h-
Otho ih
He mareheil ..n Paris, wast
IS he went; but the Coun
tb.
Lot Ik
ho hail threatened, be
ili-i] hiiiisilf with nonsensical menaces.
1-' taken possession of tho heights of
Montmartro, be drew uji his army ami made
them sing a Latin eantiele. The perf.jrmanee
was like Ihe lowing of a herd of bulliilors, and
the mu/u- reverberate.l throngh Paris! it was
the lir<t <;ermaii opera, iierformed before an
Having inilii'ted this terrible in.-ult upon
bis fi.-, Otho maivhed awav towards Ger-
many. Lolhaiie sallied f .rth in pursuit, ami
overtook hi- eou-in's f..r.vs on the banks of
the Ai>ne. One divi-ion of the army bad al-
ready crossed to the other side. The river
rose in the night, ami tlu- French were thus
enabled to fall ujion and destroy the remain-
ing division with little danger to themselves.
In this emergency Otho sent a challenge to
Lothaire to meet him in single combat; but
the French barons, .listiu.-tiiig the puissance
of their king, .-aeiitiei-d tin ir ehivalry to pru-
dence, and indu.-e.l him to decline tlie battle.
Having at length fatigued their own capri-
cious aniliiti.iiis with mar.'hiug, countermarch-
ing, and indecisive conllicts, the two mouarchs
agreed to a treaty of peace. The province of
Lorraine was divided, one part being returned
to (.)tlio and till' other assigned to Prince
Charhs, brother of the French king. The
lattrr, ill the y.ar itJ^fi. died, leaving his
the Sluggard. This prinee wa- twenty years
of ago at the time of his father's death, but
so feeble were his faculties that the ministers
were obliged to put him under the guardian-
ship of Hugh Gapet. It appeared that the
drama .if a puppet king with the real monarch
behind the throne was about to be reenacted.
But the French barons were now tired of the
ridiculous farce which had been performed at
intervals since the days of the Roh Faineants,
and tliey determined to have a real king or
none. Loyalty to the Garloviugiau dynasty
was now almost extinguished, and the people —
if the woril people may be properly applied
tl) the inhabitants of a European state iu the
tintb centurv — were ready for a revolution.
Tho logic of events at this crisis was assisted
liv til.' iarl\- death of Loiiis V., who reigned
but little more than a year. His brother
Gharlos, duke of Lorraine, was now the sole
male survivor iu the line of Charlemagne.
Sui'h, however, was the insipid character of
this iirince that ho ceased, bv bis own worth-
THE AGE OF CHAELEJUGXE.— SUCCESSORS OF CHARLEMAGNE.
.ppiove-l
iuateil liy nature and
A race which lia.l hrhl the thr..ne of Franr,.
fur tWM hiiiiili-rd :ind fi>i-ty->ix yi-ais. and
one Lii'i'at rulrr, wa^ ui^w to </\\i- pla'-c tn
anothvi', tViini which wcfc to sjirini;- .^oiik- of
the i:rcatr,-t >ovcrcii;n,< of Eurojic.
Turniii'j-. then, to another branch of the
Carh.vini.ian IIon~e, we tind in Ciennanv a
list of i.rinces not unlike those of France. It
will he remeinhered that with the deatii of
Lonis the Debonair the empire of Charle-
uia,!iiie was divided anioni;' his tliree sons — Lo-
thaire, Louis, and Charles. To the secoml of
the.se princes was assigned <lerniany. lie
made his capital in liavaria, and rei-neil nn-
.said to l)ei:in with the treaty of Verdun in
843. The uatnre of the strui;yle among the
three .sons of the Debonair has already been
sufficiently narrated in the history of the
French t'arh.vin-ians. It will be r..inemb,avd
tliat, in .SfUt, Cliarl.s the Hal.l an.l L.mis tiie
German divided between them the territory
wliich had fallen to Lothaire IL, the line of
division running between Verdun and Metz,
thence along the Vosges, and terminating at
the Rhine, near the city of Bale. It may
also be recalled that the settlement of a suc-
cession in the House of the German was
attended with as much difficulty as the Deb-
onair had experienced witli ///s sons. For
Carloman and Louis, the lieirs of the P]m-
peror, were already before their father's death
engaged in intrigues against each other or
their father. It was partly to free himself
from the presence of a dangerous aspirant
that the Prince Carloman was sent by Louis
to make war on the Wends and Slavonians,
who were threatening the frontier of the
Elbe. The year 875 was marked by another
attempt on the part of the rulers of France j
and Germany to obtain possession of the j
kingdom of Italy. In this ambition Charles
and Louis, intlaine.l with jealous anger, pre-
pared to make war on the French king. But
in the year 876 he died, being then at the
age of seventy-one.
34
With this event tlie (ierni:
n kingdom was
partitioned amoim- tlie three .
on. u\- the late
soveivign, Carloman, Louis th
L' Younger, and
Charles the Fat. Hoping to
tlie distracted condition of the (
ivail hini-^elf of
ountry, Charles
the V,-M marched against tlir <
irrniaii prin.-e.s.
but lie was met at Aiideniach
..1.1 t 1.1. :i ii. ] +■ .If 11,. . 1 .
on the Lliiue,
ami terrilily '.leleated hy an a
nian<l of Louis the Young
■r.' The three
brothers then peaceably adji
dirterences. Bavaria, Cariuthi:
sted their own
. the Dannbian
provinc... uihI the hali-^oyer.
i;:nty of ISolie-
niia anil :Moravia were as-igiie
1 to' Carloman.
Louis the Younger I'eceived
all of Ceidral
an.l Northern Germany, wlii
e Charles the
Fat became king of Siiabia.
A~ .~o,,n as this seitlenier
t had 1ieen ef-
(h.ni of Italy: but befoiv he
sei/.i' the king-
conld establish
Ah IS wi
an
the
•s III.
if c
lle.l the Lonil.anls to acknowl-
rei-nty, and was .rowncl by the
In'Cer-
recognized as
Arnulf, legit-
imate son <if the latter, was made Duke
of Carinthia.
This condition of atlairs coutinned until
882, when, by the death of the childless
Louis the Younger, all Germany and Italy
became united under Charles the Fat. It
will be reiiieniberi'd that shortly after this
consolidation ot' power in the East and South,
the Frnirli Louis anil Carloman, sous of
Charle< the ISald, died, leaving the crown of
France to the imbecile stripling, Charles the
Simple. Nor will it lie forgotten that, when
the latter intensified the folly of childhood by
the absence of intellect, the French nobles
offered the sovereignty to Charles the Fat,
who by its acceptance became monarch of the
reunited empire of Charlemagne.
The story of the invasion of the Northmen,
and of the utter incapacity of the Emperor
Charles to repel them from his dominions,
need not lie repeated. Such were his feeble-
ness and timidity that he soon lost all hold
upon the confidence of his nobles, in so much
that a conspiracy was organized against him,
ux]\'i:i:sAi. ni.sToin'.—Tjn: M(U>i:i:x uojuj).
anil HI .S«7 1r- was drivcu IV..111 the llirour, to , They juii purLil
tlie i\-inanii
hi.- life- ..II
At this crisis iKilmv a.-ain a,-.(Tt.-,l lu-r .su-
periority over h'lritiniacy. Duke Aknulf, the
bastard grandson of Loiii- ihr (Icinum, was
reeojrnized as the sueees-..r <>i' ChaiKs the Fat
in C.rnianv. Tlir Franki^h .loiuinions, as
already narrated. I,r,an to I..- dlsnienihere,!.
The kin-d.m, ..f r.u.-mi,ly ua- Inuii.h.l, with
Aries for its .-apiud. In Italy, Ikivn-ar,
dnkeof Friuli. -. i/, d U| ihv inh. ritan.-e of
the Carlovini^ian- uhilc FaMcni France and
Wol.ru Switz, ih.iid w.rc Ljivcn to Dnke
Conrad, -ran.]--,, of Loui- the D.^iionair.
They 1
decree-
and in
of the anc
the,,, the
he a n
.1,1 .■elll,
claii,,> 0
|)i'oil,icti.
■'the 1"
n of the
Church,
]i.s 1.) he
rcL-ard,
1 a- the \
i,'a,-s .if
Chri-t.
th,- viee-
<;-c.renl>
arl)itei>
astical
ri
,,|- (n,d ,
,.f all 1,1,1
,>r civil, w
he-.. .-Iain,
1, .iUlll,
an alfaii
- th.- CI
a„.l th.
-, wlu'th
livo.allN
iiivh ),.".
ri.i;htful
■r e.'.F-.M-
a.-.i1.-.l.
V plant.d
her.Mlf, aii.l l.n.k.d I,,,.' ami th.n- lor the
means will, whi.l, t.. i„aii,tai„ h,r i...>iti..n.
Kin- Arnidf s....i, f. 1111. 1 his r.war.l. The
P.ijje Forino^iis was at this lin,,- in the jM.wer
of a Lonihard i,rin.-.-, on wl,..-e hea.I ho
ha.I heen oonii.elle.l to ,,la.-c the .-n.wn .,f
.-mpir.-. I'll. ha- the p,-.I,xt ..f lilHiatin- His
,f II. ,1
F.,r
tared Ki>nie, and wa:
As for Kin,- .\,-,i,df !,.■ a.l..i.t..l th.> |H.li.';
attending' stri.tly t., his ..wi, .l.iiiii,ii..iis.
sueces-sfnlly and finally dr.,ve l,a.-k the 1);
from his northeru and the B.ihenuans from peror. Here, howev. r, hi- ......1 f .rtii
his eastern frontiers. A-ainst the latter peo- t.) a sudden end. Sl,..,tly afl.r his
1,1, • h.' |.,ii-.-u.-.l his a.lvanta::.- I.y makin- an ti.,n 1,.- wa- ],.,i>..i,e.l, ai,<l tli..i,-h h.-
ii,va.-i.,„ ..f th.ir .■..uiiti-y. I lalf harhari.' P..
heniia was thus -I'oini.l li.tw..,, th.' ii|i|..
and the ii.thei- i,iill-t..ii.-. F.u- at thi- jui,.
ture the lierce, l>|...Ml-,l,ii,ki,iL; .Ma-yar-, in..;
savage of the Fii,i,i,-1, ra..-, ha.I Imrst .mt .)
Huugarv ..I, th,' .a,-!, an.l u.iv livali,,- ll
honles of Attila in th.-ir .l.-va-latin- .-..111-.
Haviii- ,-.,n,|,l,.t...l hi- .-.m.in.-t in r.ol,.
mia, Arnidf ,'.liirii...l int., hi- ..un kii,-i..ii
kin- l.-.l
.ii>, cap-
I as F,n-
,tl, i.iit
I.- .li.-.l in Mt',1, an.l was ^uc-
la,-t
the,
He ...•.•uuI.mI
111, until th.-
th
with th.- Hungarians. Th
)4 w,
.1 t,. Il
mo.st in,|,..rta„t ..f Arnulfs a.
Chitreh. A„,i.iti.,us t., ll.'
and ther.-r..iv .a-.r t.. -.■.-ii,-.
the p., pes, tl,.' kin- favo,-.'.l
body to ll,.- la-t .l.-.,-e.-. II.
that the .ivil .,lli.-.-i- -I, ..,,1,1
.sh.iul.l f..rf-it
hut half-av.nv
I',.- kh,L! 11.. I
.f H..
(i.-i-i.iai,y. |„ ,l,e ,„.,,„ Ii„„- a ,-.-i-i.-s ..f ,l...-
uni.-nls, ,-all.-.l tl,.- M.h,,-:,,,, fhmlah. w.-re
hn.n-ht t.. Ii-J,l 1 L,av.- slill fiirth.-r .■i,.-..iir-
agement to tla- ai,,l.ili..i,s ..f tl,.- l!o,,,an \un\-
ti'ffs. These c.-l.l.,at.-.| pa,-.-l,„,.-nts r.-,-. Iv.-.l
'; V whom th.-v w.-,'.- sai.l P. have been writt.-n.
the liel.l ..f hi- overthrow, cou-
[rilmti- as a c..i,.litiou of peace,
e folhiwin- v.-ar.
ain.-ti..n of' the Carlovingian
„any. th.- <-r,.wn of that king.
,1 ,1..],, w.iiiM. a.-'..iiliii- to th.- terms of the
•t tr.atv ..f \'. i-.lun. hav.- il. ■,-.•. 1,. led to Charles
- thi- Siiupl,-. th.-n .il, th.- throne of France.
.1 Bill th.- <;.-,-iiiaii n..l.l.- ha.I l..-.-..n„" t.,.. in.le-
,1 I pen. 1. -lit t.. s„l.i„it th.n,.-.lves a-ain t.. a
.1 j Fi-anki-h s..v. r.i-n. Th.-y ac.-or.lingly met
o I in a .li.-t at F..r.-!,.-in, an.l cl,.i-e f.r th.-ir khig
-, ' l),ik.- ('..,i,-a.l .,f Fran. -.mia. H.- b.-longed
,.■ l.v ta„,ilv lo tl„- Salian Frai,ks. an.l thus was
if : .-^tal.li-i,. .1 what i- kn.iwn as th.- ^-^.M.I.VN Dy-
.- I XASTV. insiea.l ..f the Carh.vingian. Pope
!-e St.-].h.'n IH. ha.I threatened to anathematize
r- 1 all wl,.. a.-k,)..wl,..hj.-,l alh'-iance to any Em-
„- I p.-r.ir n.il a . I. -.■.-i,.lai,t of Charlemagne. But
-.1 j Kin-j C..i,,-a.l. f.-arin- him not, accepted the
I', ' h.inoi- .■..nl'.-i-,-.'.l bv tlie iliet, and was crowned
Halt... ar.-hliish..i> of :\ravence.
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE.—ISUCLESSOBS OF VHAIiLEMAGXE. •",.-,.-,
The new king <if Gerraauy soou showetl iiionaicli dusiiairfil of uiilmlding ihe kiugihjin.
himself to be a brave aud geueruus ruler, j Ilr aecoidinglv, when near his death, ordered
Great was the favor with which he was re- his brother Elierhard to lieaj- the crown and
ceived by his subjects, aud great his abilities ! se. pier to Henky oi' Saxuxy, whom he de-
in court and field. But the success of his gov- i elai-e(l to lie the only in-inre i-;i[iaMe of rul-
enuuent was by no meaus equal to his de- ing ( ierniany. The andiassadors found their
serving. The Hungarians again iuvaded the [ [nini'e expectant nettini:- finches in a valley
country, and were defeated in a great battle ' near the Ilartz, from wlni-h circumstance they
by the Bavarians and Snabians; but the , gave him the sobricjuet of ^/i- i«(c/(;r. Lithe
iPl-.^
CUNRAD ELEl'TED I^
counts, Arnulf, Eerthold, aud Erchauger, 1 ^eai 'H'
who commanded the kiuL^'s forces, now set I
their sovereign at detianee and would lain
rule as independent ]u-inces. ('oni-ad suc-
ceeded in deposing them; but Arnulf tied to
the Hungarians and in,'it,',l tliem to niar.'h
again into O.Tmanv. The kin-, thus badg-
ered and distressed, appealed to the Pope f ,r
succor; but the latter reiilid that Conrad
should pay tithes. P,eim:- woundeil in a bat-
tle with the Hun-arians. the unfortunate
,LI,M Wl
!'l h, va~
tt( d upon t
nn d I- km
lie i.t tl
nil. 1 .1 tl.
dint ol \\
lid ( o inian fa^h-
.1 till nobh - anil
hi-
p] Ihii^ « 1- 1 bmal
id th< old to. ot ( hu-
1 ,11 th( tliion. ol <.. iiinm
11. in-(ih. d th, . \|M(tition~of
riiMiJ, ^Ml biok. out .,lmo-t
I --nibii I'.n nil and Loi-
i-MVi:i;SAL IIISTOHV. — THK MODKHX WORLD.
pun
iug his rivals to MiUinis^i.m. 1„ like nKiiiiier
was ?ctth-(l a .lilii.-iihy with Charl.^ the Siui-
l>k', .if Fran.-.., Nvilli ulimn. in lia- vt-ar !)21,
a tivatv wa^ iikuIc (Iclininu the territorial
l„,uii.lai'i.< ..r 111,- twM kiii-.ln,,,.--. Three years
atterwanlMlh- lluii-ai-ian~ a-aiii iuvadearnu-
ra.lV kin,.l.Hu. ami nver them i)e likewise
ohtaine.l lh.- advantaue hy a superiority of
wit. Havint;- luul the .ucumI fortune to capture
one of the Ilun-arian ehiefs, the king wouhl
aeecpt a< the conilition of his lilieratiou
unthin- Ir- than a nine years' truee. A
hreathiii--linie was thn< .il.taine,! in whieh to
prepare f.ir the next oulhreak ol' war.
feat after another
Kin- II
lalM.r
UlK
Saxnii warriors hille no aeeii-tonieil to fight
only on foot, were exerei^ d a< hoi>enien until
their skill heeanie ecpial t.i that of the best.
The frontier of the kinii.lom ,,n the side (.f
dansrer was carefullv .~nrv( ved, and the liirti-
fied' t,.wns of (^ledlinl.urg, Mer-elmrg, and
Mei-en wer.' founded within .supporting dis-
tance of eael, otle-r. Th- people were ordered
to store within the foi-tiiied inelosures one-
third of the produets of tlieir fields, and regu-
lar markets were instituted in order to I'acilitate
the transfer of supplier.
Having now a well-disciplined army, Henry
tried the mettle of his soldiers in a campaign
against the Slavonians beyond the Elbe. In
928 he conquered the province of Branden-
burg, which was destined in after times to
expand i
kin-dom of Prussia. His con-
Oder; an.l in !lo2 Lusatia, .,r Ea>t Saxony,
was a<lded to his dominions, thus ailvancing
his frontier line from Stettin, on the Baltic,
to Vienna, on the Danube.
Finally, when the nine years' truce with
the Hungarians had expired. Kin- H.-nry,
who, in order to ^eeure the truce, had agreed
to pay tribute in tli.' interim, sent as his an-
nual cijiitiibution to the Hungarian treasury
a mamjij durjl The insult was easily under-
stood, and the Magyars rushed to the conflict
with such furv that the kin<jf's forces were at
first stunned 'by the >lioek ; but they soon
•St was
• Hun-
rds Henry made a suc-
he king of Denmark,
lack across the Eider,
A short time aft(
cessful \var on Gor
The latter was driv
and .Sdil.-wig was annexed to (iennany.
Haviii'j thuscon(piereil a peace throuiihotit his
iloniinions, the king seemed destined to a long
and glorious reign ; but in the year 935 he
fell under a stroke of apoplexy and came to
\\\< deatli. \\'hile he lingered, however, he
called a diet at Erfurt, and his second son
Otho, afterwards known as Otho the Great,
was chosen ibr the succession. Though the
king had two other .sons, no attempt was
made again to divide the kingdom, the unity
of which hail been achieved only after a cen-
tury of turmoil.
Henry the Fowler died in the summer of
OoC). Otho was accepted without opposition,
and was crowned with a splendid ceremony in
'he cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle. The dukes
■f Lorraine, Franconia, Suabia, and Bavaria
served as chandierlaiu, steward, cup-bearer,
and luar.-hal at the coronation. Nor was there
wanting any circumstance of pomp to this
royal spectacle, which so critical a thinker as
Bayard Taylor has declared to be "the first
national event of a spontaneous character
which took place in Germany."
Without the prudence and patience of Lis
f.-ther, King Otho equaled that monarch in
mergy and .surpassed him in genius. Great,
however, as were his abilities, and distin-
guished as was his reign, he failed — could
but fail — to give unity and nationality to the
German peojile. The various parts of the
Teutonic race were still discordant, belligerent.
Nor could it be hoped that a German king of
the tenth century could do more than hold
together by the force of his will and the magic
of his sword the as vet heterogeneous parts of
his people.
Tlie first duty of Emperor Otho was to re-
liel the Bohemians and Wends, who had made
their way into Brandenburg. The wars that
ensued were of considerable duration, but vic-
tory remained with the Germans. The Hun-
garians were also defeated in Thuringia and
Saxon V. But while these successes crowned
THE AGE OE CHAI!LE}LiGXE.—SUCCESSOBS OE CUARLE.VAiiXE.
the king's arms abroad, a civil feud c>l' j^irimi-
proportious disturbed the peace uf tlie iciiiL:-
dom. Eberhard aud Thaukuiar, the sun of
a divorced wife of Heury the Fowler, and
therefore half-brother to Otho, eous}iired with
Giselhert, duke of L.araine, tn aehirve inde-
pendence in their rc.-pectivc pruvincc,-. The
8axon nobles, also, were offended li(caii>c cf
the preemineuee of the kiuii's favorite i^mcral,
Count Hermauu, aud joined the insuln.iilinate
dukes. The situation portended ureal p.iil tn
the king; but the conspirators failed u> act in
concert, and Otho was victurinus, Thunkinar
was killed an.l Eherliard eblit;ed tu put him-
self at the mercy ,,f his snvereigu. .M.an-
while, however, the king's younger brother,
Henry, had been tempted into sedition, and
the revolt suddenly broke out anew. This
time the insurgents were headed bv (iin I'lert,
Eherhard, and Prince Henry. Otho again
took the field and marched to the Khine ; but
while ]iart of his forces were on one side of
the river aud part on the other, he was at-
tacked by the rebel dukes. For the time it
seemed that everj' thing was lost. ]Jut Otho
exhiliited the greatest heroism ; liis men ral-
lied to the charge, aud the insurgent army
was annihilated. ^
Xow it was that the defeated princes
sought aid of Louis (r()inri'mer of France.
Nor
A Fr
penetrated Alsatia. All of the territoiy w,-st
.pf the Khine was overrun. The fate 'of the
Emperor again hung in the balance, but his
courage was ecjual to the occasion. Marching
to the frontier, he gained the day in several
minor engagements, and fiually won a great
victory iu the battle of Andcrnaeh. Eher-
hard was sLiin and Giselbert drowned in the
river. The French fled towards Paris, whither
they were ptir.sued by Otho; but the fortifi-
cations of the city bade defiance to the Ger-
mans. Negotiations were presently opened
between the two monarchs, and a definitive
treaty was made, by which Lorraine was as-
figned to the Emperor and the other boun-
daries rec'stalilished as before.
< )tlio a'jain showed his magnanimity by jiar-
doning his brother Henry. The ]irince was
sent to be governor of Lorraine ; but unable
to defend himself in the position to which he
had been assigned, he entered into a plot with
even to tht
Li the 1
Hu,
d.lished bev,
and Wen.li.'
remoter terri
ide an ex])ef
oth, kine-ofi
ear 94ii Emiie
omi
lion was
i:
l.e. The
we
■e 1 )eaten
The
Emperor
gain
St Harold
-c : a
id march-
n'\.
threw his
hi>
dianiniou
tho
vas called
, to
a.~>i,-t him
w;
jing with
ins.
'i"iie two
and
this atiin-
ntei
est of the
biti
.us of the
monarclis were brothers-in-law,
ity, together with the natural i
German ruler in seeing the am
nobles curtailed, leil him to ae<-ept the invita-
tion. He marched an army of thirty-two
thousand men into Normandy ; but no great
success attended the movements of the allied
monarchs, and Count Hugh liild out several
years before he was liroiight to .-uhmisslou.
In the mean time, a complication hail
arisen in Italy which drew the lilmiieror's at-
tention. After the time- of Charlemagne,
that unfortunate country had luen left to
the mercy of the winds. The Saracens,
Greeks, Normans, and Hum:aiian,- had as-
.sailed the Italian coasts at will. Neither the
impotent Pope nm- the >liadowy IJonian Em-
peror beyond the mountain,- wa,- ahlc to afi'ord
relief. In this condition of afiinrs, Berengar,
duke of Friuli, one of tho.se strong and tur-
bulent spirits that arise from the great deep
in times of anarchy, had him>elf proclaimed
king of Italy. He ilemamled in marriage the
Princess Adelheid. M-ter of Conrad of Bur-
gundy. But she refn-eil to aeivpt >o rough a
lord, and was thrown into jirison. She nntu-
aged from thence to send a message to Otho,
who at once conceived the double project of
liberating the princess and claiming her for
himself. ' For his Engli.sh ipiei^n, Edith, was
now dead.
The Emjieror accordingly crossed the Alps
with a liirire arm
tured the i-itirs ut'
married Aililhc-iil.
king of Italy. ]
retain the crown
of siirreuderiug tl
Istria.
Soon after tliis
by the princes Kii
UXIVi:i;SAL HISTORY. — THE MOJ'KHX WORLD.
of Lorraine,
If ..1
)ke out in
uid -Mila
u- title
ui.l r.innu
For uearh
four years the country was plunged into civil
war. At length the rebellious princes per-
mitted the IIuiiLTarians to pass unopposed
throuc-h their onivinrrs to the end that the
invaders uii-ht fall upun the b^mpcror. This
action anmsfd the 'reiilonie .-pirit ai^ainst the
rebels, and the revolt was Immght to an end
in the year 954.
The Hungarian-, however, were not yet
couquereib lu Ho") they returned to the at-
tack, but were defeated by Otlio in a great
battle near Augsburg. So .-iL:nal was the
overthrow of the barbarians that but few ><{'
them escaped to their own country. X<ir did
thev ever afterwards dare to renew the eon-
fliei. In a short time Prinee Heurv of Bava-
ria died, as ,lid also Rudolf, son of Otlio.
Civil war came to an vnA in (ienuanv. In
the lull that en-ued Oth,, found opportunity
to gratify his ambition by a coronation at
Rome. Pope John XII., then a youth but
seven years of age, officiated at the ceremony,
' Emiieror was asrain
.f R<
and the tith
borne by a j)rinee of <bi-uiany.
It was not huig, however, until the bo_\
Pope repented of his action anil woidd fain de
stroy the traditional rights which he had con
ferred on Otho at the conjiiat
to stir up the whole world ai
wrote to the Em|
in deposing Otho
He sfuigbt
worM auainst him. He
r of the p:ast to ai.l him
m power. He incited all
Italy to revolt, and tried to induce the Hun-
garians and the Saracens of Corsica to nuike
war on the Germans. The Emperor, how-
ever, met the emergency with great boldness.
He marched into Italy, captured Rome, de-
posed the Pope, drove Berengar into exile,
reduced the country to quiet, and in 965 re-
turned in triumph to Ai.\-la-Chapelle.
The ambition of Otho was greatly in-
flamed bv these successes. He be<ran to neg-
from the Kuq.e
iph of Cordova
lect the real interests of the German peojile
for the tic'titious .splendors of a court. He
demanded a- wife f.r his son Otho the Prin-
cess The,,phauia, daughter of the Emperor of
till' V/A-l: and when the latter was reluctant
to comply, the (ierman sovereign attempted
to oveitliiow the Byzantine rule in Italy.
Theopliaiiia wa- at len-th given to the Prince
Otho, and ua^ ,-eut to tlie ( n-rman cajiital in
the year 972. In the following year the suc-
cesses of the Emperor were duly celebrated
at a great Easter festival in the city of Qued-
liiduuv. No paL-eant so .-plendid" had been
witne->,'d siuee the da\s ot' Charlemagne.
The duke< and counts of the hhnpire, the
1 Poland, ambassadors
the Ea-t, from the Cal-
Tom the kings of Bul-
garia, Russia, Denmark, and Hungaria were
present at the fete. Soon afterwards the Em-
peror, foreseeing his end, retired to ]\Iemle-
ben, in Thuringia, and there was presently
stricken with apojilexy. He lingered for a
brief season, died sitting in his chair, and was
buried in .Alagdeburg.
Ilavine- thus traced the hi>tory of Ger-
main' from the accession of the Cailovingian
line to the death of Otho the Great, it wiU be
appropriate to turn to another field of obser-
vation. The consolidation of the English
Heptarchy and the growth of a regular mon-
archy on the ruins of the Saxon states of
Britain may now well claim our attention.
It is only necessary, before concluding the
jireseut chapter, to remark that, as will have
already been observed by the careful reader,
the history of Italy, the third of the Carlo-
vingian kingdoms, during the ninth and tenth
centuries, is so intimately involved with that
of Germany and France that a separate sketch
from the Italian point of view is altogether
superfluous. As a matter of fact, Italy had
alreadv become — as she was destined to re-
main— an appanage of the greater states
north of the Alps, and her local annals dur-
ing this, the epoch of her ruin and decay, are
devoid alike of iutere.«t and instruction. In
the following Book the history of France will
be resumed with the triumph of the House of
Cajiet, and that of Germany with the acces-
sion of Otho II.
THE AGE OF CEAULEMAUSE.— ALFRED AND MIS SUUCESHOIiS.
CHAPTER L:n:X^11I — ALFKEi:) AXD HIS t>UCCESSORS.
'F the career of Egbert,
the powerful king of Wes-
^ex, a sketch has ah-eady
1 given in the First
Book of the present vol-
ume.' It will l)e remem-
bered that in the first
quarter of the ninth century this distinguished
ruler succeeded in bringing under one sover-
eignty all the states of the Heptarchy. He
disclaimed for himself, however, the title of
king of England, being content with that of
Wessex. The peace of his long reign was by
no means undisturbed; fur now it was that
the Northmen began to prey u|ion the coasts
of Endand. In the year 832 a baud of these
audacious piratrs captured and ravaged the
island of .Sheppey. In the next year Dorset-
shire suftered a similar fate. The method of
the Danes was to fall upon a given coast, rob,
devastate, and fly. Attempting to protect his
shores, King Egbert was himself at one time
in imminent dauger of capture. In SS-t the
Northmen invaded Devonshire, being joined
on the expedition by the rebellious people of
Land's End. Others of the old Britons
espoused the cause of the Danes ; but Egbert,
ecpial to the emergency, met the enemy at
Heugsdown Hill, and defeated them with great
slaughter. Si) decisive was the victory that
for two years tiie pirates kept aloof; but the
career of Egljert was already at an end. He
died in the year 836, and was succeeded by
Ethelwulf, his oldest surviving son.
At this time might be noticed in the rising
monarchy of England the same disposition
which has so many times been remarked in
the history of Germany and France, to divide
among several sons the political power which
had been held by the father. Such was the
policy of Ethelwulf, who, on coming to the
throne, gave up Kent, Sussex, and Essex to
be held as a separate kingdom by his son
Athelstane. For himself he retained Wessex
and iMercia, but the latter soon revolted and
' See Buck Kk-veuth, ,inle p. -148.
became independent. Nor were the Danes
slow to perceive the broken-up condition of
Euglaml. They returned like birds of prey.
They took and pillaged London, Rochester,
and Canterbury. In 851 a congress of the
Saxon Thanes was held at Kingsbury, and
measures of defense were planned against the
Danes. In the course of the ensuing struggle
Barhulf, king of Mercia, was killed. But the
"West Saxons, led by Ethelwulf, won a great
victory over the enemy in Surrey. Athel-
stane, king of Kent, was hardly less success-
ful in a battle at Sandwich, where he took
nine ships from the iiiratcs. The men of Dev-
onshire also gained a victory at Weubury,
and the sea-rolibers, thus baffled at every
point, turned from tlio i-laiid, which seemed
to bristle with Saxon spears, and fell upon
the more inviting fields and hamlets of France.
The devout Ethelwulf now found oppor-
tunity to make a i)ilgrimage to Rome. In
8.j3 he crossed the Alps, and was received
with honor in the Eternal City. On his re-
turn he fell in love— i-or .-u.li is the phrase of
man— with .Juilith, daugliler of Charles the
Bald, and her he took in marriage. In the
mean time Athelstane, king of Kent, died,
and the king's next oldest son, Ethelbald, en-
gaged in a conspiracy to dethrone his father.
The ostensible reason for the treasonable plot
was found in the fact that Ethelwulf had had
his new French wife crowned as queen in the
cathedral of Rheinis. He had actually eaten
with her at the talile ! Such insults were not
to be borne by Anglo-Saxon patriotism. Thus
came it to pass that when Ethelwulf returned
with his bride to England, he found his hos-
tile subjects in arms to oppose him. The
ased monarch would not go to war to main-
tain his rights, but agreed to a compromise,
by which the western and better portion of
Wessex was given up to Ids reliellious son.
In 857 the old king .lied, and Ethellsald suc-
ceeded to his whole dominions.
On his succession to the full crown of
Wessex, King Ethelbald claimed his father's
".liii r.\ni:i;sM. lu^Tnuv.—Tin-: mohkus wduli
Ch
a ilii.- r.
Ic.l its ;
riage, and sunn
divorcL'.'
Ethelbaia «;,> M„T.-,.,l..l in ilir kin-.ln,n
by Ethenxn, ^vh.,. alt, r a ^h.irt ati.l iii-lnri-
ous reigu, ilicl in tin' yi-ai- MJCi. The ri-nwii
thereupon (Icsi'ukIciI to lln' lliinl luoth.r,
Ethelred, in wia..^ iviuii tlir I>aiii-< a'^aln
swarmeil in inniiin(i-al)le liu.-i> almiL: llu- >lhir,.-
of Endan.l. 'I'lav jiad ahva.lv iiiva.l.-,l W,-
ma>> was (.vcr, AllVcd threw himself
iii- W. -t Sax.-ns ii|.un the on-e.iiuiiig
IS, aii.l tini- siv.-d thr kinu- .•ati-e fn.iii
. in tlir i.alilr. of JiaMo- and .Alnvton,
h ^^.w fon-ht n.on att.rwards, Etheh'ed
.Irhalrd. In tlsc lasiMiained eonfliet he
vrd a xvonnd fiviu whirh he nresentlv
.pposition
Thr 11.
|M,],idai- I'l-in.-.' Au-i:i;i).
r wa. .I.Min.-.l In an inheri-
,.,f war an.l ,-l.>iv. Within a iiauith
his Mi.-,M-M.>n h.- wa- olili-.-.l t.i tight a
\r l,atlh. uith 111.- Dan.-. N.-ar iiidil-
I. EGBERT, S36.
2. Ethllwllf. ,s:i7.
1 !
3. EtHELEALL.. 4. KrllELELKI. h. ElUELEED
6. Alfred the Gf.e.it,
7. Edward THE Elder,
1 ilia.
Dulie la.liani II.
Dulii.-l;..l>rrtth.> Devil.
S. Athelstane, 940. 'J. Ed.mund the Atueli.ng, W
1
. lU, Edked, 955,
Elfridn.
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
15. PwEVN the Dane, 1013.
:3. Edward 14. Ethelred the V.neeadv, 1015^
THE Martyr. 97.S. :
=Emma= 17. Cam-tethe GREAT.-Alffrivn
ofXormnndv. 1035.
16. Edmu.nd Ironside. 1017. E.hvy.
I'J. llAKDICASUTE, 104J, IS. HAR..LD
FmprTnrrnnr.Tin.
Edmund. E.lwanl-Gunhilde.
Earl r.ndwin.
AP.n, THE CONFES'iOI;, l.ilid.
(
Edsar Christina. MargarPt-lVT ALCOLM.
the .itlieling.
1
1\ Harold, lOiW.
Edilha~.':0. Edtv
EXPLANATION:
DWedS'inls'indic'a'te'XfJi/inm^ rf. «- nl
gn.. THE ANGLO-SAXON
. or .,.,...o„cMn. sovereign. ^^^^^
sex and laina-.l Wiiwh.-t.'r, whi.h was tin
the capittil. I'h. y lia.l .Malili-li.-.l tli.inM-U
in the Ish' ..f Than.-t, from whi.li tli.y 11.
went forth t.i rava-.-, plnn.l.a-, an.l d.-tr..
Ethelred is sai.i t.. liav f.uight nin- pii.-h
battles with tli.-.-.- f.r.i.ions martiu.Urs.
was in the coiiim' ..f tin-.' iiiii..ns cnlli.
that the military geiiiii- ..f I'rince Alfr.
youngest but grctit.'st s.m ..f lali.-lwulf, Iteg,
to be displaye.l. In the liar.|-f..u-ht battle
Ashton, while the jiious Ethelred was at 1
prayers and refused to go into the fight 1111
' F.ir the subseqin^nt career of Queen Ju.li
eee Vol. II.. lV...k Kl.-veiitl.. j.. AA'.<.
th.jir .iuart,-r> at Kejit
m. In
a was overrun \'\ th
■ Danes
friths of Clyde an.l
F.,rth,
e into contact with th
• S.'otS.
1- h.,>t, di
THE AGE OF CHARLE.MAUXE.^ALFllED ASD HLS SCCCE.Ssoj;.^.
vided Xorthumbria among his fulli^Ufrs, who, ,
mingling with the Anglo-Saxons, wt-iv, in tlif
course of some generations, united iiiio a
single people. Another army of Northmen
captured Cambridge, which they fortiiled and
converted into a camp. Having thus overrun
the kingdoms of Korthumbria, ^lercia, and
East Anglia, the Danes again looked to the
AVest Saxons and their king, belweeu whom
and themselves a contest was now to be waged
for the mastery of England.
The i^rudeut Alfred, having now had the
advantages of a three years' truce, had era-
ployed the interval in preparatinns. E.-jie-
cially had his wLsdom been rwcalrd in the
construction of a fleet, which, though small
and rude, may be regarded as the beginning
of England's greatness on the sea. Origi-
nally the Anglo-Saxons had been as skillful
and courageous seamen as the l>aiies them-
selves. But in the course of four centuries
from the coming of Hengist and Horsa their
followers had given over the maritime life,
forgotten the management of ships, and de-
generated into swineherds and peasants. Not,
indeed, that the warlike valor of the race was
in any wise abated, but the settled life had
superseded the jjiratical habit, and the mas-
tery of the sea had passed to their kinsmen of
the North.
Meanwhile the Danes, breaking from their
winter camp at Cambridge, swore by their
golden bracelets that they would drive the
West Saxons from the laud. In Dorsetshire
they surprised the castle of Wareham and de-
vastated the surrounding country. Soon aft-
erwards, however, the Danish >(juadi-on was
attacked and destroyed by Alfred's rude
flotilla. The eftect was electrical upon l)oth
parties, being inspiration to the Saxons and
paralysis to the Danes. The latter speedily
agreed to make peace and evacuate the king-
dom. King Alfred made his enemy swear
upon the relics of the saints that they woidd
abstain from further injury. But on the very
next night, as the king was journeying with
a small band of followers towards Winchester,
the oath-breaking pagans fell upon him, and
he narrowly escaped with his life. The Danes
then retired to Exeter, where they wei'e joined
by others of their nation, and the war was re-
newed with more violence than ever.
It now became the jidiiey of the ^'(irtlnneu
t<i incite the people of Cornwall to revolt. lu
order to strengthen the in>unectioii in tlie
West a Danish fleet put to xa troin tlii> mouth
of the Thames. But AlfredV e. .uiagenus navy
attaeked and de>trove.l the lio.til.' x'uadron.
The ai'niv of the kini:' had in the mean time
marched" agaiu.t Ex.ter. lleiv (iuthrun,
king of the Danes, A\as boiegeil ; Imt learning
that his flotiUa had been destroyed, he gladly
cajiitulated, and, giving ho.-taj:es to Alfred,
retired with his army into ileivia.
lu these fierce conflicts between Alfred and
his antagoui^t it soon became apiuuent that
the faith of the Danes even when supported
by the most solemn oaths, was utterly value-
less as a basis of trust or action. No sooner
had King Guthrun returneil into Jlercia than
he prepai-ed to renew the war. His maneu-
vers exhibited suili skill as in a civilized ruler
would have indicated a chief of dijilomacy.
He advanced his head-(piarters to (iloucester,
a position as near as practicaMe to tjiat of
Alfred. At this place his follower- rallied in
great numbers, and tlieii' pi-e.-ence wa- a
source of constant alarm to the kingdom of
Wessex.
The time had now come t'or a new depart-
ure by King Guthnin. Ilitheito the devas-
tating excursions of the Dano had always
been conducted in summer. In winter they
shut themselves up in some fortiiied town and
spent the frozen season in drinkin- and carous-
ing, after the manner of the men of the North.
On the first day of January, 87.S, the king of
the Danes issued to his followers a secret order
to meet him on horseback at a cei-tain rendez-
vous. King Alfred was at that time in his
capital at Chippenham, little anticipating the
impending attack. While he and his Saxons
were observing the ica~t of th.' i;|iiiihany the
an overwhelming force, and the kin- barely
save.l himself l,v tli-iit. A.-conij-aiiied by a
small band of faithful followers, he ilcl into'
the w<.ods an.I con.'calcd himself in the s..m-
ber moorlands of the West. ( •hipiicnham was
pillaged bv the vi.-toiious niaramh^rs, who
then rode in triumi.h fioni one .^nd of Wes-
sex to the oih,.r. Some of the inhabitants
made their way to the Isle ..f Wieht. Some
escaped to the continent. INb.st of the peas-
an try n-
mini. Ills
::::;;;,ii::
still uph
ill thi. Ii'a
Alfiv,! ,
a,ui. a.u
t;.nla,„ls.
ill. fol
haiiiit lit
will! lira-
Here tlu
kin,- u;
self as 1h
-t hi- run
Sometini
■~ hi- ami
forth l.\
ni.ht m
CMVEliSAL lllsTnUY.— THE MuLiKUX WOULD.
nl Wire rnliK-i-il tn au iyno- 111 thi- exti'i inity nt' hi- fortunes the king
l.v th.-ir Daiii-h nia-tiT-. \va- iliseovereiMn utlii-r- of his faithful friends.
Ill' >iinnr-i t a In mii- hanil Many rallii-ii ainunil hini as the hope of Saxon
niiri-- iif ihi- km.: : hiiiwhi-u J-^nLilaml. I'ln- i-h-i where they gathered,
,ii.j- till m hi- ua- i.Ii1il;i-i1, "a- fiirliheil, ami Alfred began to look for-
I i-\-, til hidi- liini-i If in till' ward tn an c-i-ajie from his shameful sulijec-
ind a Inrkinu-piari- in the tinn. Jli- -jiiiit was also strengthened by a
l-laiid. whii-li wa- tinn tin- vi-imi nf >t. ('utlilnii, wlm came to him in
t~and till- linim- iif i.ntlaw-. the i:ui-e of a piLriiii, begging alms. With
- (ilili-.-d til maintain him- liiin the king divided his only hiaf, and the
d liv fi-liim:- and tin- ilia-i-. ]iil,riiu -went away; but he returned by night
hi- i-iinnianiiin- wnuld .sillv and comforted the kinu' with assurances of suc-
Dani-.s plnndi-r -.,mc ..xpi.-d ca:
return t v.-rt. To tlii- i-po.-:
hardship lii-lon,- the -tm-y of Al
the hut of tin- -winilin-d,' when-
some tiinr niikiiown to tin- jiei
hovel was l.akin'.
the loaves w.-n
length di-i-oM-rii
rushnl upon him
,-laiinid: '• Voii
bread you see b
enouirh to eat it !
Mianwhilr. the men of Somerset-hire,
Wilt-hire. ])or-et-liire, and Hamiishire took
hi-art aiiain-t the Danes and flocked to the
caniji of All'rcd, now no longer concealed.
Till- (-oiiraui- of the gathering army was still
fnrthi-rkimllrdbvan'evint in' D.voli. Unbba,
one of tin- DaiiMi rliii-f-, had lamlnl ^^ith
lioii-ewif.-, at of Di-von ro-e upon them in .-rea
,|- h.-r bread, -lew the kiuir with nine humln d m
-ture and ex- lower-, and caiitured their Imnner, end
will not turn the
t vou will be glad
with the terrible raven of Denmark.
Already the king ventured forth and skir-
mished with the eneiuv. Determinincr to as-
THE AdE OE L'HAKLEMACrXE.—ALERED AND HIS SLTCESSOIiS.
certain the uuiuber and resources of the
Danes, he adopted the hazardous expedient
of going into their camp in disguise. He ac-
cordingly clad liimself as a minstrel (^called
gleeman by the Anglo-Saxons), and gained an
entrance in this garb to the camp of Kiug
Guthrun. There he entertained the warriors
with ballads and songs ; but he carefully noted
the conditi<jn of the camp, and was delighted
to oliserve the security in which the Danes
were resting. He obtained full inforruatiou
of their plans and pur[i(>ses aud then returned
to his own retreat in safety.
Believing that the time had come to strike
a decisive blow, Alfred now sent word to the
warriors of Wessex to rendezvuus in Schvucjd
forest. His faithful subjects tlork.d to the
designated spot, knowing not, hdwwcr, that
their kiug had sent the summons. Great was
the joy of the army on the sudden appear-
ance of the beloved Alfred among them. The
enthusiam of the Saxons rose to the highest
pitch, and the king, perceiving that the au-
spicious hour had come, marched rapidly
upon the Danes at Ethaudune. Here a great
battle was fought, in which the enemy, taken
completely by surprise, was utterly routed.
Guthrun, with the reiniuuit of his forces, fled
to his fortifications, whither he was immedi-
ately pursued and besieged by the Saxons.
After a fortnight the supplies of the Danes
were exhausted, and Guthrun was obliged to
capitulate. Xot hoping to drive the enemy
out of England, Alfred demanded that the
Danes should evacuate all Wessex, and that
their king should receive Christian baptism.
The enlightened policy of the Saxon king was
clearly shown in the conditions which he im-
posed. Guthrun accepted the terms which
were offered, and Alfreil, with the consent of
his Thanes, matle to him a cession of all the
eastern part of the island from the Thames to
the Humber.' The kingdom of North Ura-
bria, lying beyond the Htnnber, was already
under the dominion of the Danes ; so that
after the treatv their territories, which now
'The l.inguage of King Alfred's cession to the
Danes is as follows : " Let the bounds of our
dominion stretch to the river Thames, and from
thence to the water of Lea, even unto the head
of the same water ; and thence straight unto
Bedford, and finally going along by the river Ouse
let them end at Watlinfrstreet."
took the name of Daiiekujh, extended from
the Thames to the Tweed. The policy of
Alfreil, as it respected the foreigners in Eng-
land, evidently contemplated their fusion with
the S;ixiins aud the consequent production of
a single people in the island. At the liaptism
of the Danish king, his genei-ous cmiijueror
answered for him at the font. He received
the name of Athelstan, and in 878 was dis-
missed U> his own territory, loaded with
After this treaty between the Danes and
Saxons, the two peoi)les lived in comparative
peace; liut tliis was true duly of the Nerth-
hordes kept jjouriug iu trom Denmark aud
infesting the shores of Saxon England. It
was the epoch when HoUaud, Belgium,
France, an;l Britain were alternately assailed
by the northern pirates, aud the success of
any of these countries iu beating back the ma-
rauders was generally an index of the inability
of some other to beat them off. Thus when
Alfred repelled them from his shores, they
redoubled the fury of their assaults in the
Low Countries and iu France.
In his relations with the English Danes,
Alfred exhibited his lilierality and jirudence.
The laws of till- two peoples were gradually
assimilated. It was agreed that Danish sub-
jects should be regarded as under the protec-
tion of Saxon statutes. If an Englishman
slew a Dane, he was punished in the same
manner and degree as though his victim had
been of the homicide's own race. All fines
were assessed in the money of both people
and were j^ayable in that of either. The in-
tercourse between the Saxou and Danish sol-
diery was carefully regulated to the end that
incursions, reprisals, and retaliations might be
avoided.
Now it was that King Alfred began to
display his qualities as a civilizer. In his
Ixiyhodd lie had been taken by his father to
Eiiine, and hail there imbibed a taste for the
culture (if the South. He longed to see his
own jieople humanized and refined by the in-
fluence of letters. With a view to planting
the seeds of learning, he invited As.ser, a
monk of St. David's, who was then esteemed
the greatest philosopher in England, to come
to his court, that he might profit by the con-
:.t;4 LXIVKHSAL HISTOUY.-
vtKatiou:^ au.l in>ti-urii,,ns nf mie >.. learned.
Fur a luug tiiiu- A-.r rciuaiiir,! with tlie
kiug, reading Nvilh liiui .ku .,f ihe l.e.<t Imoks
and teaching liini IV.. m the aluindanee of his
hire. The'' ties luiw.en the- distinguished
monk and hi> sovereign luraine a. en.h.ring
as they were atreetiriiate. 'I'he royal nwnd
and tlie niin.l nf ihe -elmhir en„perated to
kindle in the fogs ..four ancestral island, even
THK MODKL'S WOULD.
soon,
though on t
le immediate fr.iutii'i- of
Dan,
lagh, l.eeaiue
.ne of the m.jst imp..rtant
eitii's
h
..f tlu- kiug.l.
th.- iiiian tin
m.
e the fleet of England had
JHM.n
.-t.a.lilv .-xtei
.ling the .Saxon dominion
on tl
it ne
.if hi
< ..uu'.ail.ir-.
lir-t the kiug had found
■oiiut of the inexi)erieuee
.1 enijiloy foreign cai.tains
f.ir h
> lioliUa. M;
nv Fii.-.iaiMl.i>. skillful in
iu the ibikne-* of a i,l..oin\ and Mokut ate,
that toich of gentle la.hance \\hich -hincth in
the darkness.
In the year 8<S6, while the piratical Danes
were engaged in the siege of Paris, King
Alfred availed himself of the opportunity to
rebuild and fortify th.' .-itv ..f F..n.I..n. Tliis
ancient munieipalitv, th.' f.un.ling ot wlii.'h
is said to antedat.' th.- leniian conquest, ha.l
been l)urned bv tli.' Dam-, ami the place was
reduced almost to a wa-t.-. i'n.ler the patron-
age of the king, the city ar..-e fr.im her ashes
and soon became mor.' ]i..|iul..iis than ever.
Ethelred, earl of :\rerria an.l .-..n-in-law of the
king, was m.ade pr..tect..r ..f D.m.h.n, whi.'h
\
..•iin..l bv th.- English anna-
\
n ._! t
\ B\ 1 1 \ 1 1 .m in a.lniini-
\ tl iti n 1 1 i> successes in
\\ 11 Vlti 1 o strengthened
1 hi kin^d m that his enemies
/ were kept at bay. For a pe-
( iiDd jf e^en years, during
wl 1 1 tii the atteiiti.in ..f
tl 1 1 the ^'..rth was
h^
ah t 1 llv occui.ie.l in
1
Fh 1 1 in France, the
/
1 ill 11 by the king of
tl e A\ t "^ixous had peace
in 1 1 1 1 t\ Already iu the
^1 n \\ tuies of England
wti en thise fl..cks and
hei 1 ^^ln h i jr more than a
th.iusan.l years have consti-
tute.1 a leading feature of the
f t
h.' islan.l. But while this pros-
rev
,il,-.l in the insular kinu.h.m,
th..,-i- which were infested by the- Dams,
were .listressed with a grievous famine.
This ci.n.liti.m of aflairs soon led the N..rth-
mi-n t.i abnn.h.n tin- regions of starvation
tor th.' r.-abii^ ..f i>l.-iity. The very pros-
].,-vitv ..f Eniilan.l b.-.'ame a bait to allure
,„i.'.''m..n' t.i her >h..res the w..ltish pirate.- of
th,' Haiti.',
In the year .S9o, the most formidable fleet
of Danes ever thus fiir seen iu English waters
aiiiieareil oft' the coast of Romuey ^Mar.sh,
The armament consisted of two huu.lre.l and
THE AGE OE CHARLEMAdXE.—ALERED AND HIS SUCCESSons.
fifty ships, every vessel being tilled with war-
riors aud horses gathered out of Flanders and
France. The Heet aochoreil at the eastern ter-
mination of tlie Wood of Anderi.hi, near the
month of the river Limine, into whieh they
towed their vessels. The invaders then
inarched inland aud constructed a fortified
camp at Appledore. In the same year, the
celebrated Hastings, eoinniamler-in-ehief of
the Danish fleet, sailed up the Thames with a
squadron ..f ei-hty ships aud .lel.arked at
Milton. Here, also, a strong f .nitieatinn was
constructed. Fur the Danes had now i;rowu
wary of the English king, and acted on tlie
defensive. The aged Guthrun was dead, ami
his conservative influence was no longer felt
in the movements of his countrymen. Every
thing conspired to stake once more the fate of
England on the issue of battle. lu the strug-
gle that ensued, the military skill and valor
of King Alfred were fairly weighed a'jainst
the prowess of the brave and audacious
Hastings.
The genius of the king now appeared con-
spicuous. According to Saxon law, the mili-
tia of the kingdom could only be called into
the field for the space of forty days. This
short periixl of service seemed an insnpcralilc
difficulty in the organization of an army. To
remove this embarrassment, the king adopted
the plan of organizing his f'orc-es into two di-
visions, whose duties alternated between the
home .service and the service of the field. He
thus succeeded in producing a more permanent
and thoroughly disciplined army than had
been seen in Britain since the days of the
Romans.
Having in this manner prepared himself
for the conflict, the king advanced into Kent
and secured a position Ijetweeu the two divis-
ions of the Danes. His station was chosen
with so much skill aud held with so much
courage that the two armies of the Northmen
could in no way firm a junction. From his
camp he sent firth small detachments of troops
to scour the connti-y in all directions, and cut
ofi" supplies from the Daues. The latter were
thus brought to the extremity of breaking up
their camp and leaving the kingdom. But
this movement of Hastings was only a feint.
The Danish army, encamped on the Limine,
instead of sailing away, marched rapidly
to Alfred's rear. When the kin- tniiiid
about and followed this division of the eneiuv,
Hastings, who had apparently put to sea, re-
turned to Beurteet in Es>ex. Alfred, h.,w-
ever, continued his iiursuit of tlie oilier army,
and overtook them at Farndiam, in Surrey.
Here a great battle was fim-ht, in which the
Saxons were victorious. Tho>e of the Danes
who escaped were pursued thron-h .Mi-ldlcsex
and i:-ex a.To-> tlie river Coin hito the I>le
of :\lei-cv. Here they Were besieged by Al-
lied and conip,-lled to sue for ijeace. They
snri-endci'cd on condition of an immediate de-
parture from England.
But before Alfred conld enforce the terms
of capitulation the men of Danela-h rose in
revolt, and created stnh a diversion that the
attention of Alfred wa^ immediately drawn to
other parts of his kingdom. A large Danish
fleet bore down upon the coast of Devon, and
the citv of Exeter was liesieged. Another
aniiament, e., nipped bv the em.mv in Xortli-
uudiria, sailed around Scotlaml, and, ilesceml-
iug the western coast as far as Bristol Channel,
entered that water, and laid siege to a fVirtified
town on the Severn. The king was thus
obli-ed to make all speed from Es.sex to the
We,-t. On ri'aching Exeter he attacked aud
oveithrew till' Danes, driving them iiell-mell
to their ships. In like manner the Saxons
fell upon the enemy at Severn, and obliged
the raising of the siege. While these move-
ments were in progress the king's son-indaw,
Ethelred, rallied the soldiery of Loudon, at-
tacked the fortified post of the enemy at Ben-
fleet, captured the Danish encampment, and
made captives of the wife of Hastings and his
two sons. With a generosity unusual, perhajis
nneipialcd in those half-barbaric times, the
king ordered th.' priMiuers to be r.tin-m'd to
the Danish chieftain. It was an act which
would have been expected in vain at the hands
of Charlemagne, or even of Otho the Great.
It a])iiears that Hastings had but a feeble
appreciation of the chivalrous conduct of his
adversary. In a short time he reapjieared
with his fleet in the Thames, and then marched
to the West. He traversed the country as
far as the Severn, aud established himself at
Buttiugton. But the Welsh as well as the
Saxons were now thoroughly arouse<l, aud
with them made a common cause against the
UynKhSAJ. HISTORY.— THE M()J>Ki;.\ WOULD.
Hastings was surnuimk-d aiul be-
Supplics'^wriv cut oti: and Alfred
(I the- iil.aMirc <•[■ lirariu,^' that the
u|, Danes wi
of fillin- th.ir insitiaMr n,a«^ uitli the desk
of their own hall-.-tarvrd h-r.-.-. The Danish
leader, however, knew no ^ueh word as de-
spair, SuiniiiMiiiii- all ill- re.-our(.-e.s for the
etiort, he (hL>hed hini.-elt' upon the Hue of the
besiegers and -ueeeeded in breaking through.
But the des]ieiat>' exploit cost him the larger
part of his foree-. \\'ith the remainder he
ret I
d his fleet on
In tile Inllnwing winter Hastings was reeo-
forced by men out ni' Danelagh. With the
opening of spring he made an expedition into
the central eountie.s of the kingilom. He
gained possession of the tiuvn (it' C'liester, for-
tified of old by the Eoniau-. and here estab-
li-bed hiniMlf'iu a poMti..!, impregnable to
assault. So skillful, however, were the ma-
neuvers of Alfnd that IIa-ting> in a sliort
time found hi- -npplie- em tifi', and, dreadinL'
a repetitiou of hi- ( xperieine at Buttington,
left Chester and maivlied iuto the north of I
A\'ales. In that enunlrv thev were confronted I
and turned ba.-k l,y all annv of Welsh and '
.Sixoiis. On the ivti-eat the Daiie^ traversed
ynrthumbria, Liue,,ln-I.iiv, Norfolk, and Suf-
folk, and tiuallv n^aehed their winter (piarters
in E-ex.
In the f. 11.. will- y.ar Hastings a.scemled
the river Lea ami er.i'i.-.l a f.rtress at Ware.
Here he was attack.. 1 by the men of London,
but the latter wir.- .1. feateil with great losses.
Alfred was ..lilij.'.l t.. pr.,te..t the people of
the city by eii.-ain|.iii- bitweeii it and the po-
sition of til.' Danish aiiiiv. At tlii- jiiiicture
the genius of tli.- kim: -t.....! him w. II in lian.l,
Takfug p.,ss,.-i..ii ..f th,. L.a at a p..iiit below j
the town of \\'ai-e, h.' threw ii|) f..rtifications
and then diiiLi.'d iln-e.^ il.'e|i and broad canals
from the river t.j ilc 'riiaiii.'^. The waters of
the Lea were thus .iraim-.l into the parent
stream, an.l the [)aiii-h fle.-t, left hidi and
drv, was ivn.hav.l ii-.le-. IVrceiviii- his
crui.'al .■.,n.lin..i,, Ha-tii,-- abandoncl every
thing, broke from liis camp by night, and
made for the Severn, Here lie took up a
strong position at Quatbrido-e, and having for-
tified his caiuii, reiiiain.'.l therein durinir the
winter. Meanw liile the men of London made
their way t.. the Lea, seizetl the stranded fleet,
destroyed what .-hips they coul.l not drag
away, an.l fh.ate.l the re.-t d.,wu to the city.
It was now evident that the career of
Hastings on English soil was well-nigh at an
end. His exjieditions ha.l been gradually re-
stricte.l Ii. th.' p.i..n.r di.-triets of the country,
and hi- ill sii.-.o- diiriiiL' the last three years
had d(-lr..y.'.l hi- prestige with his own peo-
jile. \\'liil.' ill thi.'ir winter quarti'rs at (^iiat-
bridge. tlii' Danish leaders quarreled, and with
the o|.eiiing of the spring of 897, these rest-
less followers of the raven of Denmark left
their fortifications, broke up into small de-
tachments and scattered in all directions. A
few who still adhered to the fortunes of
Hastings made their way to the eastern coast,
whi.r
Er
api.l
Engli:
of th.
Eii..;la
It a Di
1.1. Tl
equipjied a small fleet and sailed
eeu the ].r..-re>s of the
le biiil.liii- and nianage-
Kiii- Altrcl's navy was
■ t.i any whi.'h the I')anes
him.' The fi.nii of the
M'tn iiiipr.ivi'.l and their
.i>t double the dimensions
i.iiat.-.. The shores of
El.
th tl
:, ni.ii-e..vir, a.i.q.te.l a more
...li.-y with re>pei-t to his enemies,
• hope ot' con. pi. St being n.iw alian-
aiiee a severe sea-fight occurred off the
Wight. Two of the enemy's ships
■ir crews were taken and brought to
shore, Avliereu]ioii the king onlered the last
man of them to lie hanged. In the following
three year-, the same severity was sli.iwn in
the ca-. .if tw.'iity otli.r .-liijis cajitiireil fr.im
the eiHiiiv: ami this .■..ndiii't, so at variance
with the huiiiaiie .li>p. .-itioii of the king, was
so tak.ii wei-i' trait. >rs out .'f Danelagh and
Diiriie.' till- peri.'.l ..f the Danish invasions
of England, the country suffered besides the
calamities of war the ravages of pestilence.
The contemporaneous famine on the conti-
nent seems not trreatlv to have distressed the
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE.—ALFRED AXD HIS SIVLESSOB,'
British Islaiuis. But the horrors of the plague
couuturhalaiiced the immunity from famine.
Many "f the best and noblest Saxons, includ-
ing not a few of the must powerful Thanes in
Wessex, were carried ulf. At the same time
the murrain broke out among the English
cattle, so that death in the city -was answered
by death iu the field. It was in the midst of
these. dangers, distresses, and sorrows that the
virtues of the greatest and wisest of the early
English kings were tried in the fire and found
pure gold.
The career of Alfred was already drawing
to a close. His labors in the camp, the field,
and the court were as unceasing as those of
goodness of character was aeki:
his contemporaries and has been
the judgment of modern times,
was'e.pialed bv his benelir,.,,,.,.,
d,mi by his surress. I-i his ,'l,il
carefully trained by his iiinthci-,
panied his father through Fiai
to Rome. Nor is it doubtful
but eight years of age, his min
impressed with the supci'inrity n
refinement of the South. One
lioyhood was spent in the Etei
one in Paris. The active mind
could but have been much orcu
owledged by
confirmed by
His genius
and his wis-
II d he was
He accom-
i'-e and Italy
tliat, though
d was deeply
f the art and
year of his
ual City and
of the prince
lit'd with the
olossal struc-
-^^r ^>
Drawn Ijv A. de Xr
Charlemagne ; but the equalde tempered Eng-
lish monarch was a man of tar finer fiber and
mould than his great Prankish contemporary.
In his boyhood Alfred was cufeebled bv <lis-
ease, and about the time of reaching his ma-
jority he was attacked Ijy another and pain-
ful malady, which atfiicted him through life.
Even in times of his greatest activity he was
seldom free from pain. Soon after the retire-
ment of the Danes from the kingdom, his
health began rapidly to decline. In the
month of October, 901, the good king, being
then in the fiftv-third year of his age, died
and was buried in the monastery which he
had founded at Winchester.
The estimate of th.' life and work of Al-
fred the Great can hardlv be overdrawn. His
tures
of st<iuc in
the <
1.1 ai
d the new capital
and
the
jx.or V
oodel
b..i
~es ami low, mud
huts
of 1
is own
count
T
lese
episod.
< in t
ie b,
v-lit'e of the great
kin-
him
the
donl>t,
1( ive 1 '
di.l 1
' lett
Uleh
to inspire within
He conceived the
great
baris
project of
m and brin
rai.-'in
_dna-
g his
hem
people from bar-
to the light. He
bcii-a
1 th
is w.,rk
with
the
cultivation of his
own
mini
1. He
]i>t<.n
■d ^\
itli delight to the
gleei
len
.< they
recit.
d in
his father's court
the
Saxr
heart
vil.l
, an
and w
He le;
1 his
irlike
rued
ball:
liis ,
.n,.ti,
(U of the Auglo-
luntrv's songs by
genius, even in
1h,v1i
.nd.
was i
lUS
dn.ll.
d into a flame.
'h
then
uni
11- niasti
lertook
red il
the
earni
laeular, the prince
ug of Latin, the
r.\ni:i!SAL iiisniny.—riiE moui.hs world.
skillful transl
inii>r..vr tl..- I
:nu.-a Dun,-^
. TIm- on.T !l..,„-i-hin- sdin„l.s of Nurth-
ly to uiiilu'
laial \v(ii' I'illii r (lotrnyed or had fallen
Irriii- into
l.cay. ■riu- iMnoninrJ of the English
1 Ihr |HMi|,l,
wa- ania/.in^ f.a- it^ i:ro.-.<iiess. xVt the
■ sum- tiini-
.f thr .l.'atli (if Ethelred there was
■,l l>i- M".lvr
y a iiro|r~>i..nal teacher in all Wessex,
U, tl...- :ui.l t
111- An-ln-Saxiin laniiiiatre could not
•ul. in l.oast
if a Mn-lr t.\t-li.«.k. In his efforts to
.1 ana , -r-an
ze pulilir xlinoU ih.' kiiiL'- was ohliged
-N
to send to .Mi'ivia tor teachers, and
e^en in th it kin 1 ni n ne weie
i ml ni| t nt 1 1 th. u ik except
th pi t V hw nistiuctois were
111 u lit \ 1 li m FMnce Bishop
^
V II \\\ n wh in Alfifd m st relied
111 til 1 1 iiti n t hi ( hi itionil
1
cnti i| 11 \\ 1 1 W 1 hill in In oi
4i'f'* '
del t ii| 1 l\ th t \t 1 In iiy
1 1 hi 1 |l th km. 1 niiiRuded
wks^ i
the tl III hti 11 f ^^ il ill i 1\ cxi-t
mK^h f
m. Ill I itiii 1 I 1 11 h ml tliu In
i^^^^
IK It ml (\iin|l h in^ht ti
^^^^L ^
iiiipl lut 111 th n I lit nun 1 t I lu
^^^^\
hnd the tunluiuntil if cultuic ^nd
S||^ft ^,^
learning
m^^^v
Tht''niiititi n t Kiiu IHicd as
^^^^P*
a dili_int h 1 II 11 1 thm a wai
^^^^^_
like o\LiLi_ii 1 I wil I th tune
'-
(t the English i k i It i i niittii
-
it ^uipn^e ho\\ iim 1 tla udu u
-^
dutic i ^ \einiiKut ind the dm
-^^n^
_t 1 uid 11 1 tu of ^^ i this benign
\iui_ii t nil 1 tiiiK 111 1 ( ppoitunit\
t , tl, 1 ,,. 1 ,1 1 , ,,, .,,t ,., „ 1,,, 1,
11 til 1 111 1 il 1 ] 111 lilt 111 \\ till li
Ik _i uI\ 1 h-ht 1 ^ thing
useful books be translated into the language
which we all understand ; so that all the
youths of England, Init more especially those
who are of '
kind
He
edin
IS — for they
til thev are
iirt. H
ts of th.
s content
3 availed
the seeds
kinirdoni.
r popular
surjiassed that of Charleniague in France.
Ou his accession to the throne the outlook for
English culture was liy no means encouraging.
The seats of learnint: lia.l been ravaged bv the
but the most methodical division of his
time could have enabled him, with the mea-
ger facilities at bis command, to make so
great progress in scholarship and literature.'
The greatest of King Alfred's works as an
author are his translations of Boethius's Con-
mlatioii of PItilosojiIt'j and of Bede's Ecclesiasti-
cal History of the Enfjlish. Measured by mod-
ern standards, neither of these works would
be considered preeminent as a translation.
The king sought to reproduce the spirit rather
than the letter of the original. The work of
Boethius was rendered bv the king at Wood-
' The king's daily program of duty and rest was
as follows: eight hours for meals, exercise, and
slepi>: eislit hours for the affairs of government;
and fidit for study and devotion.
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE.— ALFRED AND HIS SUCCESSORS.
stock, iu OxtViixIshire, and "was called by
him — from its adai)tatioii to the ciimmou af-
fairs of life— the Handbook or Manual. The
rendering of the Ecclesiastical History of the
Venerable Bede was a work of the highest im-
portance to the yonng nationality of England,
for the sti'ry was of snch sort as to atiect the
still half-barliarous Anglo-Saxons much as
Homer's song of ancient Troy may be sup-
posed to have swayed the passions of the old
Hellenes.
Time would fail to narrate the swift trans-
formation of England effected by the genius
of Alfred the Great. He found his country
without a navy and his countrymen ignorant
of the management of ships. AVhen he died,
the English fleet was the best on the western
coast of Europe. By the most unwearied ef-
forts he obtained a fair geographical knowl-
edge, not only of his own country, but also
of most of the nearer states and kingdoms of
the continent. Whatever could be gathered
iu the wav of information was carefully re-
duced t'l writiiii:'. Travelers and voyagers
were sent abroad fur the express purpose
of deciding disputed points in geography.
On such a mission even so distinguished a
person as Switlielin, liishop of Sherburu, was
dispatched overland to India! Xdt less as-
tonishing is the fact that the journey was
safely performed, and that the adventurous
bishop came happily home, bringing with him
gems and spices from the East.
Among the other enterprises of Alfred
may be mentioned the better style of building
which he introduced : the general prevalence
of human comfirt which he encouraged; the
rebuilding of desolated tow-ns and the found-
ing of others; the construction of fortifica-
tions and harbors; the survey of the coasts
and rivers of England ; the erection of strong
towers and castks in different parts of the
kingdom ; the revision of the Anglo-Saxon
laws ; the development of the Witemniemot
into a regular parliament, upon which, jointly
with himself, was devolved the care of the
state ; the institution of a system of police so
effective that it was said bracelets of gold
might be hung out of doors without the least
danger of theft , the establishment of an effi-
cient judiciary ; and the general stimulus
which "he atfonh'.l t.i all kinds (,f in.lustry iu
the kingdom. It is not wonderful, iu view of
the prodigious activities, kindly genius, and
generous character of Alfred, that even after
the times of William the Conqueror the Nor-
man kings and nobles were accustomed to re-
fer to this illustrious ruler as the chief glory
of early England.
On the death of Alfred the Great, iu the
year 901, the succession was disputed by his
son Edward and his uejihew Ethelwald, son
of that Ethelbald who had preceded Alfred on
the throne. Each of the claimants gathered
au army ; but the forces of Ethelwald were
found so much inferior to those of Edward
that the former, forbearing to fight, fled into
Danelagh, where he was recognized as king.
Prince Edward then ascended the throne of
England, and received the surname of the
Elder.
The turbulent Danes had long fretted un-
der the strict law of Alfred, and many rest-
less spirits among the Saxons had chosen the
North as the more congenial scene of their
lawlessness. All of these malcontent elements
of the rising English society combined around
the standard of Ethelwald. Between him and
Edward, in the year 905, a terrible battle
was fought, in which Ethelwald was slain ;
but the general result was so indecisive that
the Danes were enabled to treat on equal
terms with the Saxon prince. The project
of the complete independence of Danelagh
was entertained by the rebels ; nor were they
without a ho2>e of regaining their ascendency
over the whole island. For six years the war
continued with varying successes; but iu 911
Edward met the Danes on the river Severn,
and inflicted on them an overwhelming defeat.
In the mean time a peculiar complication
had arisen in the earldom of JMercia. In that
country the Princess Ethelfleda, daughter of
Alfred" the Great and wife ..f Ethel're.l, had
succeeded her deccas^MJ husl.an.l iu authority.
Xor dill she he-itato to a>srrt and maintain
the iiidci.cndc nee of her couiitiy of her brother
Edward's rule. She raised an army and com-
manded like a warrior. It was evident that
her f'atlier's spirit was upon her. She made a
successful defense against the claims of her
bnith.T, and then drove the Danes out of
Derliv and Leicester. In battle ^he com-
niuniled ill person, and even led successful
u:sivEi:sAL uisToiiy.—Tin: MoDKuy would.
stunuiUL; parties against seeinin.Lriy iinpi\',irua-
ble lurtilifutious. Slie cumlucted au expedition
iuto Wales and made prisoner the wile of the
king. Al'u-r a l)rillianl ear*er of eiglit years
she dieil in Itl'D, whnvup.in the kingdom of
Mercia was given up to Edward. This gave
the king a great advantage in the North, in
so mueli that all the country between the
Thames and the Huniber was presently over-
awed by the Saxim anus. From this vantage
ground King Edward made eampaigns against
the people of N'ortliern Danelagh. He sub-
dued the WeLsh and the 8coteh. He made suc-
cessful warfare upon the inhal)itant.s of Strath-
clyde, Cumbria, and Galloway, thus extending
further than ever before the dominions of
England in the Xorth.
After a successful reign of twenty-four
years Edward died, and in 925 was succeeded
by his son Athel.stane. The court of this
king is represented as having been more brill-
iant than that of any preceding sovereign.
His policy was to carry f(jrward the civiliza-
tion of England — a work so well begun by his
father and grandfather. The great event of
the earlier part of his reign was the cont|uest
of Wales, which country at this time became
more subjected than hitherto to tlie author-
ity of the English kings. So marked were
the successes of Athelstane in the We>t that
the Welsh were compelh'd to make payment
of heavy tribute, and droves (jf beeves from
the pastures of Wales were now^ first driven
into Loudon and Oxford. A like sulijugation
of the people was effected in Cornwall, and
the warlike tribes beyond the river Tamar
were reduced to obedience.
Meanwhile the people of Danelagh, always
restive under English rule, had again gath-
ered head for an insurrection. A leader was
found in the Prince Olaf, or Aulaf, of Xorth-
umljria, who ha<l of late carried on a success-
ful war in Ireland, where he took the city of
Dublin, and compelled the Celtic nations of
the island to pay tribute. After these ex-
ploits the Danish chieftain returned to North-
umbria, and sailed up the Humlier with a
fleet of si.K hundred and twenty sail. He
effected an alliance with Constantine, king
of the S,-(,ts, and wa- joineil by the men of
Strathelyde and Cunduia. The" whcile North
rose in arms and bore down ujion King Atl:-
elstane, who came forth and met his enemies
on the field of lirunualjurg. Here the En-
glish gained a glorious victory. Five Danish
2)riuces of royal rank antl seven earls were
slain in this battle. A handful led by Olaf
fled iuto Ireland. Cou.-tanilne made lii.- way
north of the Frith (jf Forth, wailing out his
grief for the death of his sou. So decisive
was the victory of Athelstane that none durst
any longer resist his authority. The consoli-
dation of the kingdoms and peoples of the
island was now so complete that Athelstane
felt warranted in assuming the title of "King
of the English, " a dignity whicli had not been
elaime,! l)y either Edward or Alfred the
Great.
The apjilication (jf the term Eui^land to
the growing monarchy is no hiUger ina])pro-
iess .splendid tlian that of the later Carlovin-
gians. Several foreign princes, either for ob-
servaticjn or safety, made their home for a
season with the English monarch. As already
narrated, Louis d'Outremer found with his
nKjther a safe retreat in London. Haco, son
of King Harold of Norway, also abode with
the courtiers of Athelstane. The counts of
Jirittany and Armorica, driven from their na-
tive possessions by the fury of the Danes,
waited in England for the subsidence of the
storm. Kulers of distant nations .-eiit to the
English king many and eo.-lly gifts, and the
givei's sought diligently to ally themselves
with the Saxim blood by .seeking the sisters
of Athelstane in marriage.
In his patronage of letters and art Athel-
stane emulated the example of his grand-
father. The tran.slation of the Bible into
Anglo-Saxon — a work which had been well
begun in the reign of Alfred — was now dili-
gently promoted, and the rising literature of
England had no cause to complain of the
want of royal patronage. After a brilliant
reign of fifteen years, Athelstane died, and
was succeeded in 940 by his brother Edmund,
surnanied the Atheling.
The new king proved to be a prince
worthy of his stock. His character, however,
showed itself in a fondness for the pursuits
lit peace railiir than the carnage of war.
IMnnind was compelled, none the less, to lead
hi- p( ople in the loUL'-eontinued strugcle with
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE.— ALFRED AND Hlii SUCCE6:i()RS.
the Danes; for the great leader, Okif, ikiw
returned from his retreat iu Ireland, and
again incited his countrymen to rise against
the English. In the struggle that ensued the
fortune of war turned iu favor of the Danes,
■who gained several victories over Edmund's
forces. The kiug was obliged at last to consent
to a peace on the basis of resigning to the Danes
the whole country north of Watlingstreet.
Scarcely, however, had this brief settlement
been effected when the Danish leader died,
and King Edmund succeeded in regaining the
countries of the North. The kingdom of the
Scots by this time began to show signs of vi-
tality and progress. With jMalcolm, king of
that realm, Edmund deemed it expedient to
cultivate friendly relations, and the two sov-
ereigns made an allinnce against the Danes.
The English ruler soon showed his faith by
his works. He made :m invasion of Ciuiihria,
whose people were in rebellion, and having
reduced them to submission, made a present
of the province to Malcolm. In the course
of his war with the Cumbrians, Edmund made
prisoners of the two sons of the king, Dum-
mail, and them, in a manner wholly at vari-
ance with the usual clemency of the Anglo-
Saxons in victory, he barbarously deprived of
their eyes. Nemesis, however, soon brought
hfr retribution for the deed. At the festival
of St. Augustine in that year, while the king
caroused with his nobles and Thanes, he rec-
ognized in the company a noted outlaw named
Leof, who had been banished. Edmund or-
dered his expulsion from the festival, but the
bandit stood his ground. The king, already
heated with wine, sprang from his seat, seized
Leof by his long hair, and attempted to lay
him low, but the robber could not be handled.
He drew a dagger and stabbed Edmund to
the vitals. Thus, in the year 946, the crown
of the kingdom was transferred by the sudden
death of the king to Eldred, another son of
Edward the Elder.
This prince was already by the ravages of
disease a physical wreck, and on account of
his debility was nicknamed Debilis Pedibus, or
Weak Feet. Fortunate it was for the new
administration that the resolute Dunstan, ab-
bot of Glastonbury, was one of the king's
counselors, as was also the able Torkatul,
chancellor of the kingdom.
On the accession ..f Eldred, thr p, nj.le of
Danelagh, in rominon witii the (Jthn- iidiabi-
tants of the North, took the oath of allegiance
to the new kiug. But it was not long until,
incited by Eric, prince of Denmark, they
took up arms against the Saxons. By this
time the English army had become a veteran
soldiery, and the discijiline of Eldred's forces
triumphed over the audacity of the Danes.
Several blocjdy battles were fought, in which
the English were victorious. Northumbria
was more completely subjugated than ever be-
fore. The title of kiug was abolished, and
the province was incorporated with the other
realms of Eldred. It was not long, however,
after these marked successes until the king
died, without offspring, and left the crown
(A. D. 955) to his brother Edwy, a youth
but fifteen years of age.
The incapacity of the new sovereign was
manifested in one of the first acts of his
reign. He appointed his brother Edgar sub-
regulus, or under king, of the old realm of
Mercia, thus laying again the foundation for
a possible dismemberment of tlic kingdom.
The recent chastisement of the Danes and the
generally quiet condition of affairs in the
North gave promise of a peaceful reign. It
happened, however, that a domestic embro-
glio arose, almost as ominous as a foreign
war. The youthful king became enamored
of his cousin Elgiva, whom he might not
marry without violation to one of the most
deeply seated prejudices of the Church. The
prince, however, took the law into his own
hands and married the maiden of his choice.
Dunstan, already referred to as wielding a
powerful influence in the state, set his face
against the union. At the nuptial festival,
when the monks and bishops, in common
with the Thanes, had imbibed wine until they
were uproariously drunken, the young king,
less intemperate than his courtiers, slipped
from the banquet hall and sought the cham-
ber of his queen. His absence was at once
remarked by the banqueters, who were deeply
offended at their monarch's withdrawal. Dun-
stan was at once dispatched to bring him
back. The monk accordingly broke into the
bridal chamber, seized upon Edwy, dragged
him from the side of Elgiva, and hurried him
back to the banquet. The queen, also, and
UXIVKHSAJ. HISTniiY. — THK MnDKJLX WORLD.
luiU whei
her niMtlier wore uMi-cd to Ini.l
euce; and wlieu they n-adi
the revelers were cariiu>iii;j, lliry were in-
sulted with filthy and di,-L'u>tinL'- language.
This conduct struck tire from the indignant 1
spirit of Edwy, and he determined to be re-
venged on the indecent churchmen who had
disgraced his nuptials.
At this time the English Church was rent
with feuds and quarrels over the question of
the celibacy of the clergy. Some main-
tained— and to this class the secular clergymen
mn~tly lii-lniigeil — that the priests might marry
without ntiense to the divine law; but the
monks on the contrary, held that the mar-
riage of a priest was a thing most horrible
in the sight of heaven. The leaders of the
latter party were Odo, archbishop of Canter-
bury, and the monk Dunstan. It appears that
the king had espoused the opposite doctrine,
and this fact added fuel to the quarrel which
had broken out at the marriage feast. Dun-
stan, who had been treasurer of the kingdom
during the reign of Elilred, was charged with
peculation and driven into exile. He fled
made an unsuccc»t'ul attiinpt to have tin'
monk's eyes put out by the people of Ghent.
Archbishop Odo remained in Xorthumbria.
Himself a Dane, he ajipealed to the penjile of
his race t<i rise in revolt aLiaiiisu tlu' impious
Edwy. In oi-.Kt t.. ciiroura-r a rivil war,
the in,-ui--ciit party pioclaininl Ivluar king
of till' whoir couiury north of tlir Thames.
Dunstan, hearing of the iiisuri'ei'tion which
had been so successfully begun, returned from
his exile.
While these events were takinir iilace, the
rum. A .o
erly bandits
Canterbury,
seized the 1
the faee wi
n[iloyca liy tlie arclilii-lio|i oi
oke into the roval re-i.leii,'e,
utiful Elgiva, braiideil lu-r in
a hot iron, and dragging her
away, ea-t her, a disfigured exile, into Ire-
laud. The |)e,,|ile of that island ban compas-
sion upon her in lier iiii^fortiiiies. They care-
fully nui— d her back to health and beauty—
for her wounds healed without scars — and sent
her back to P^nglaDd. But the relentless Odo
was nn the alert. His briL'-ands again seized
the iiiii'ortunate fimen. liv them she vas
barbarou>ly mutilated. The tendons of her
limbs were cut ; and iu a few days the suffer-
ing princess expired in agony. This shock
wa-s more than the high-spirited Edwy could
bear. In a short time, being in de.spair,
he died. Nor is the suspicion wanting that
the expiring agonies of the royal heart were
hastened to a close by an assassin.
Thus in the j'ear 959 Prince Edgar came
to the throne of England. The event, viewed
politically, was the triumph of the monkish
party, headed by Odo and Dunstan. A re-
lentless warfare was now waged against the
married clergymen of the kingilom. They
were everywhere expelled from the abbeys,
monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. The-
doctrine of celibacy was enforced with merci-
less rigor. The raonki.sh party ruled both
king and kingdom. The youthful Edgar be-
came a pliant tool in the hands of the old
foxes, who were loose in the pastures and gar-
dens of England. In the midst of this pro-
gressive retrogression several circumstances
conspired to improve the condition of the
kiuL^dom. The king had been reared among
the Dane-, and was l,v them looked upon as
then- own prinee. Ills ar,vsMon to the thn.no
was regarded as a kind of Danish asoondency
iu the island. This fact contributed greatly
to the general peace of the realm. Nor can
it 1m- .I'enied that ()d.. and Dunstan adminis-
teiv.l the atiliii-s of >tate with givat vi-o,- and
aliility. The kingdom was more thoroughly
consoli.lateil than ever before. The English
army was lietter disciplined, and the fleet was
increased to three hundred and sixty sail.
)f the king indueeil him to
of iourneviug in i)ersou into
The
a ]iolie
i-tsofEii
making the acquaintance
(ii' the jioople, holding courts, and encourag-
ing enterprise. So great was his reputation
that eight kings are said to have rowed his
l)arge iu the river Dee.
This actual augmentation of power was re
fleeted in the high-sounding titles which Edgar
assumed. He was called Emperor of Albion,
King of the English and of all the islands
anil nations around. It was the good fortune
of his reign not to be disturbed by a single
war, and from this auspicious circumstance
the king received the surname of the Peace-
able. His policy was conciliatory. The-
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAdXE.— ALFRED AXD HIS SUCCESSORS.
Wt'lsh tribute was commuted into three luui-
drcd wuli-scalps aunually. He called in the
worn and mutilated coin of the kingdom, and
reissued a new money iu place of the old.
Many other beneficent measures attested the
progressive character of the tinu's. In his
private life, however, the king was any other
than a temperate or virtuous ruler. His
court was the resort of profligate men and
abandoned women. Notwithstanding the fact
that the king, as the willing instrument of
Odo and Dunstan, enforced the celibacy of
the clergy with a rigor never before known
among the Anglo-Saxons, he himself failed
iugloriously as an exemplar of the domestic
canons of the church. He bore the character
of a profligate, surrounding himself with con-
cubines and converting the court into a harem.
Not satisfied with ordinary flagitiousness, he
abducted from the monastery of Wiltim a
beautiful nun, named Elfreda, and made her
his paramour. Notwithstanding this out-
rageous conduct the monkish chroniclers of
the age bestow great praise on Edgar as a
virtuous and godly prince! Forsooth it was
sufticieut that he countenanced them iu their
■doctrines and practices, and supported the
profligate race of shaven scribes who lauded
liis fictitious and sham morality.
The story of Edgar's second marriage is
illustrative of the character of the times. Or-
gar, earl of Devonshire, had a lieautiful
daughter named Elfrida. The fame of her
charms was borne to the ears of the royal
voluptuary. Imagining himself already in
love with the lily of Devon, he sent thither
one 111' his <'()urtiers named Athelwold to spy
out the hiddrn beauty of the West, and to re-
cite to him her varied attractions. The cour-
ier d'mnour found the princess even as she
had been represented, and then, after the
manner of men, fell in love with her himself.
Concealing the true object of his mission, he
sought and obtained the haml of Or^ar's
daughter in marriage. He then hurried hack
to his master and reported that the princess
of Devon was indeed wealthy, but that her
lieauty was a myth. The king, hnwi'Vcr, ins-
pected his spy of lyino-, and dctcrniiucl to
resolve witli his own' eves the .[Uestion of Kl-
frida's charms. Atlielwold was ,,rd,ivd to
return to Devon and to make straight a path
for the king. The courlier, thus brought into
a narrow place, and knowing not what to do,
ordered his w'ife to put on coarse attire and
demean herself like a j:>easant; Init she, jier-
ceiving that she had taken a courtier when
she might have married a king, was not un-
willing that her beauty might da/.zh' the royal
vision. It thus happened that tiie <loulile-
dealing Athelwold was hoisted on his own
petard. Presently afterwards he was found
murdered in the woods, and the ambitious
Elfrida was taken by the king. It was not
long until Edgar's son by his former wife waa
also disposed of, and the way thus cleared for the
succession of Elfrida's oflfepriug to the throne.
A few years after the perpetration of these
crimes King Edgar died, and was succeeded in
97.5 by his son, called Edward the Martyk,
at that time but fifteen years of age. He it
was whose claims were resisted )iy Elfrida.
iShe ailvanced the charge that Edward was of
illegitimate birth. The right of her own son
Ethelred was boldly advanced by the unscru-
pulous queen, and the two half-brothers were
soon arrayed against each other in war. Now
it was that the anti-celibate party in the
priesthood rallied from obscurity and banish-
ishment, and espousing the cause of Ethelred,
sought the restoration of their fortunes. On
the other hand, Dunstan, who had now suc-
ceeded Odo as archbishop of Canterbury, up-
held the claims of Edward. In the struggk
that ensued the latter was at first succe.ssful ,
but Elfrida was by no means content to see
her son displaced. She made a league with
Alfere, the eolderman of JMercia, and organ-
ized a conspii-aey among the Thanes of the
North. For three years the hostile jiarties
faced each other, Init did not proceed to the
extremity of war. l-'dfrida and her son,
meanwhile, resided at Corle Castle, in Dorset-
shire. On a certain occa>ion, the king, hunt-
ing in this neighbor! 1, ivsolved to pay a
visit to his half-brothi r. I^lti'ida received
Edwaivl with smiles at tlu' castle gate, and
uave him a cup of wine to drink: Imt as he
was raising the- cup t.i his lips, one of ]:ifrida's
attendants stal.b.d liini in tli<' back. The
wounded kin- lint si.urs to ],i> horse and fled.
;ged
was
it throutrh
uyivi:i;sAL jiistohv.—tjii-: M()I>i:j;\ would.
It apiM
brothc-i
liliiiMly (lut
111 111 h.-ii- I
■ars ilial ii
vinl.a
t <m
ItVid;
ihy. Il is
K-niUlit of
beat him
-iiitih
of
dead liiin-
ad no |,a,
even related iliat wlnii
Edward's .leath, lli.- fui
with a torch until lie w
self. The p.r-o„al ini
odium en'^^.-nd.nd hy hi- mntlu-r's erimes.
Takiuo- advaiiia-e of il,i~ faet. the able and
crafty DiiTislaii a'jaiii ainirarid on the scene,
and rallied the iiionkidi party against the
throne. He found a elainiaiit to the crown in
the Princess Eiliiilha. daii-hter of Edgar and
that lady whom he lia.l aliducted from the
nunnery of Wilton. Edgitha, however, had
taken the veil and refused to exchange her
quiet life for the dangers and passions of the
court. The celibate ]iarty was therefore
obliged to consent that the crown should be
worn by the indiccilc .-on of Elfrida, upon
whom they vented their spleen by giving him
the nickname of the Unready.
The personal character of several of the
recent kings, and the clinics and murders
which had been committed by rival claimants
of the crown and their partisans, no less than
the disgraceful church broils of the celibate
and anti-celibate ]iarties, had by this time
almost extinguished the hearty Saxon loyalty
with which the pc.ipic had regarded the
House of Alfred. Why ,-hould sturdy En-
glishmen any longer uphold the degenerate
representative of that illustrious family?
Meanwhile, in the course of the last half cen-
tury, the ancient and terrible animo.sity be-
tween the Saxons and the Danes had sub-
sided. Each had come, in a certain measure,
to regard the other as countrymen. Affinity
of race and language had been supplemented
by hundreds and thousands of inter-marriages.
It thus hap]iened that the Saxon Thanes and
yeomanry of Wcsscx and the Smith began to
look with tavor upon the project .if substitut-
ing an aide Dane for a dci^cncnitc Saxon on
the throne of En-land. And wldl,. thi< feel-
ing grew apace in the c<iuniry south of the
Thames, certain general causes, having their
roots in the political conditiim of Norway,
Denmark, France, and England, also con-
duced to a chaiiire of ilvnastv.
For in ihc mean time Prince Sweyn, son
of the kin- of Denmark, having ipiarrcled
with hi- lalher, uas liani-hcd from the kilig-
,1.1111. Su.li, how.v.r. u.iv hi- taleiils, ambi-
tion, an.l iicrs.inal intlueiice, that a large
company of warriors and adventurers gathered
arouml hi- banner and foll.iwed his fortunes
.111 th.' ,-ca. Afl.u- a few ]iivliininary a.lveii-
tures, Ih,' au.la<i..us Dane nia.le a descent ,in
Englan.l; an.l tlcugh at tir-t lli.' exp.-.liti.m
was int. -11.1.. I rath.r t.. .li-.-ver th.' .■on.liti,,n
of attliir- anil try the spirit of the pe.iple than
to undertake a serious conquest, yet it was
not long until Sweyn conceived a larger and
more alarming enterprise. In the year !tSl
ampt.iii. From liiuice he pr.icee.led t.i t'li.'sler
and London. These imjaortant places were
also taken and pillaged. The ominous raven
of Denmark was seen now here, no\y there,
as far as the borders of Cornwall. The in-
competency of Ethelred to defend his king-
dom against these aggres.sions was painfully
manifested. His attention in the great crisis
wliiidi was upon the country was absorbed
with local difficulties and the quarrels of the
monks. Alfere of Mercia was now dead, and
the earldom had descended to his son, Alfric.
Him the king had first banished and then re-
called ; but the earl nursed his revenge until
the day of judgment. That day was now
at hand, ami Sweyn the Dane was the pre-
cursor.
In the year 991 the English were defeated
in a great battle fought in East Anglia.
Alarmed at the situation of aflltirs, Ethelred
had recourse to the fatal expedient of pur-
chasing a peace. The payment of ten thou-
sand pounds of silver procured the temporary
retirement of the enemy from the country.
In a short time, however, the Saxon Witena-
gemot adopted meastires for the enlargement
and better equipment of the fleet, and the
Enc-lish s.ion found themselves again masters
of the s.-a. But the command of the squad-
r..ii wa- -iveii to Alfric, who now found am-
ple o]i|inniiuity to be revenged. As soon as
an .■ii-a-.inent with the Danes could be
lirought about he went over with a large part
of the fleet to the enemy. Ethelred was re-
duced to the miserable expedient of seizing
Alfric's .son and puttiug out his eves.
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGXE.-ALFRED AND HIS SUCCESSOBS.
lu tlie year Wo all of aucient Danelagh
■was overrun by the native insurgents com-
bined witli to reign marauders. Meanwhile,
the king of Denmark Avas slain, and Sweyn
ascended the throne. He formed an alliauee
with Olaf of Norway, and in the following
year the two monarchs made a formidable de-
scent upon the southern coasts of England.
Ethelred was again obliged to buy off his as-
sailants, who now exacted sixteen thousand
pounds as the price of peace. The miserable
and now priest-ridden spirit of the Faxons
found some solace in a clause of the treaty
which required the victors to be baptized. To
this the Danes readily assented. To them it
was no more than a plunge in the water.
Sweyn himself had already several times re-
ceived the rite at the hands of the zealous
priests, anxious for the welfare of his bar-
baric soul. One of the other leaders made a
boast that he had been, washed twenty tiiiies !
In the case of Olaf, however, it appears that
a genuine conversion from paganism was ef-
fected. At any rate he honestly observed his
oath not to trouble the English further.
The same could not be said of his country-
men, who took only to break the oath. From
998 to 1001 the country was constantly vexed
with Danish incursions. MeanwhQe, the mil-
itary resources of the kingdom, under the
puerile management of Ethelred and his coun-
cil, rapidly declined until the only available
means of preventing the ascendency of the
Danes was the gold of the treasury. On one
occasion as much as twenty-four thousand
pounds was paid to secure the departure of
the enemy. This tremendous burden was
lifted by a tax, known as the Dane-geld, which
was levied upon the Saxon yeomanry.
While this deplorable state of affairs ex-
isted at home, Ethelred managed to embroil
the kingdom in foreign complications. He
quarreled with Eichard II., duke of Nor-
mandy, and the two princes were proceeding
to war when the Pope commanded the peace.
Ethelred then sought the hand of the Princess
Emma, sister of the Norman duke, and by this
marriage of the English king with her who
was known as the Flower of Normandy was
laid the foundation of that claim which, in
lOfiG, led to the conquest of the British Isles
1)y William the Conqueror.
The general condition of the Danes ami
Saxons in England and tlieir relntions with
each other, living in nianv pai'ts iiitci-iiiiiiiilcd
as a rnnnnnn p.^.pK., have b,,.., alivadv de-
scribed. In the North tlie Dani-I, pnpuh.ti.m
was generally predominant; in the Smith, the
Saxon. In the central districts the two pen-
pies were mixed together. The situation was
such as in case of treachery to expose the vic-
tims ef a plot to the g-eatest hardships.
It api)ears that King Ethelred was as per-
fidious as he was weak. The situatinn of the
Danes seems to have suggesteil to him the
hiinible pri.jeet of exterminating them by a
wbn|e-ale niassacfe! It can not be deui-d
that the fori'igners and their descendants in
the island had behaved with great harsh-
ness towards the native population. The se-
verity and outrage peculiar to the early years
of the Danish domination had, however, at
length given place to a milder, more tolerable
condition of affairs. Quiet and orderly hab-
its had at length become prevalent among the
grandsons of those old pirates who had made
England red with the light of their burnings.
This state of his peojjle, however, seems to
have had no effect upon the bloody mind of
Ethelred and the scarcely less perfidious spirit
of his Saxon subjects.
In the latter part of the year 1002 the
king sent out secret orders into all the cities
and towns, appointing a day and hour in
which the Saxons should everywhere fall upon
and destroy the Danes. The time set for the
great atrocity was the feast of St. Brice,
namely, the loth of November. With a hor-
rid precision the murderous scheme was car-
ried out. At the ajipointed hour the unsus-
isecting Danes in every town and hamlet were
attacked and cut down liy their neighbors.
No mercy was shown to any. All ages and
conditions were hewed down together. Even
Gunhilda, sister of King Sweyn, herself a
Christian and married to an English earl of
Danish descent, was obliged to look on while
her husband and child were put to death, and
was herself then murdered. No wonder, when
the news of this bloody work was carried to
Denmark, the heart of Sweyn grew hot within
him, and he resolved to visit on the treacher-
ous English such a vengeance as should never
be forgotten.
uyiVEUSAL iusT(inY.—THE jioj>j:j:x world.
off the coast- nf JmimIuh.!.
11 \n tl... pri
sen
warriors, all in tiir piinu' <<\ lUe, ^va.s em-
liarkcil, ami tlic ;-.|iiaili(Ui set sail for its cles-
tinatinii. The liisl lamliug was effected near
the city of Exeter. 'I'liat place was soou takeu
ami ])liiu(lere(l. The work of vengeance was
U(j\v liegiiu in earnest. In every town through
which the invading army passed the Danes
compelled the Saxons to furnish them a feast.
As soou as the warriors had eaten their fill
thev slew their llnsts all.l set HlT- to the ll<.U.es.
Wl'ien at last a .Six.iii army of nearly e.pial
strength was brought out to stay this desolat-
ing inroad, it was commanded by that same
Alfric of Mercia who had already betrayed an
English fleet into the hands of the enemy.
How or why he had again been restored to
the king's favor does not appear. At any
rate, when a battle was imminent, the trait(jr
got in his work by feigning .sickness until
what time King Sweyn succeeded in securing
his booty and made his way unmolested to
the coast. In the year 1004 England was re-
duced to famine, and the Danes, not liking
the pro.spect of starvation in a foreign island,
sailed away to the Baltic.
In the mean time that train of evi/nts was
carried firward which portemled the i'stal)li>h-
meiit of thi' Norman a>cen.leney in Kn-land.
Ethelre.l had hoped, by hi> marriage with the
Princess Emma, to obtain an alliance with the
Kormans against the Danes. In his emer-
gency he appealed to Duke Richard for hel|).
The latter heeded his call, but only iu such a
way as to promote the interests of his country.
Those Normans who came over to the island
for the ostensible purpose of taking up Ethel-
red's cause against the northern invaders were
more concerned about the establishment of
their master's influence in England than about
the chastisement of the Danes. In the mean
lieen sueh as to give mcrtal <iti;'nse t.i her
womanly priilc. She laid her cause before
lier lirnili,.,-, the duke and found in him a
ready li-trmr to tlir -lory of her wrongs. A
violi'nt .piarrel broki- out bi'tween him and
Ethelred. TJM" latt.T was w the eve of in-
vadin- Nnrmandy, an.l wa< -ady himlere.I in
his i.urpo,-,. hv the distracted condition of tlie
kiugd(jm. The diikr. ujion his ])art, seized
upon all the English iu his realm, killed
some, and cast the rest into prison. Thus
was engendered between Englan<l and Nor-
mandy a state of hostility which was not
of one of the countries by the other.
While these events were iu progress King
.Sweyn again returned into England, fur-
ther to appease his vengeance on the murder-
ers of his countrymen. The Witeuagemot,
knowing the warrior with wliom tliey had to
sovereign, adojited the usual exj>i-di( nt of pur-
chasing a peace. But the triumjihant .Sweyn
now demanded thu-ty thousand pounds as the
price of his forbearance. This enormous sum
was raised and paid ; but the jieople began at
last to .see that the spoliation of the country
was as dreadful under the policy adopted by
the king as if the land were left a ])rey to the
Danes. '^
In 1008, only two years after the former
levy, another assessment was made upon the
lands of the kingdom. The object in this in-
stance was to rebuild the English fleet ; but
after this work was accomplished the squad-
ron was soon broken up by the dissensions
and treachery of the commanders. A certain
courtier named Edric had obtained such an
ascn.leney over Ethelred's mind that he vir-
tually ruled the kingdom. Bithric, a lin.ther
of this magnate, was also in liigh favor. The
latter made a consjnracy against Earl Wulf-
noth, who was obliged to .save himself by
flight. He took with him, liowever, twenty
sli'fps of the English navy, an.l when pursued
liy Bithric, with eighty ve.ssel.-, had the good
fortune to see his enemy's squadron wrecked
in a storm. The remainder of the Euglish
armament was dispersed by mismanagement
or accident, and the kingdom was thus left
naked to her enemies.
A- sonn as it was known in Denmark that
eiime to uanglit, a larL^e fleet was equipped
and an ai-niv jiut on board, under command
of a l.-adi'r named Thurkill. F.>r three years
tlii> lio.t ravaged England at will. The king-
<!i.m had no peace or security except such as
wa< airmded by brief truces purchased from
tlie Danes. During this peri..d the adherents
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAdNE.— ALFRED AND HIS SUCCESSORS.
of Etht'lred's governmeut fell away until he
was left without suf)porters. As for liiniself,
ho still pursued the policy of quieting the en-
emy with bribes. It is said that he paid to
Thurkill the sum of forty-eight th(nisand
pounds. By this means the Danish leader
was induced to consent to a peace, and even
to ally himself with Ethelred. It appears,
however, that his motives were treacherous,
and that he was really acting in concert with
Sweyn, who now contemplated the complete
subjugation of England. Presently Thurkill
quarreled with Ethelred, and undertook a new
expedition ; but the Danish king now ap-
peared on the scene, and avowed his purpose
of reducing both Thurkill and the Saxon
monarch to submission. With the appearance
of Sweyn on the Humber the people of Dane-
lagh rose and joined his banners. Most of
the army of Thurkill did the same. The cen-
tral counties of England quietly submitted.
Oxford and Winchester opened their gates to
receive him. Ethelred meanwhile took refuge
in Loudon, and here the valor of the citizens
kept the Danes at bay for a season. All the
West soon submitted to the Danish king.
Seeing that the rest of the kingdom had
felleu away, the Londoners at length gave up
the contest, and Ethelred fled with his family
and sought protection at the court of his
brother-in-law, the Duke of Normandy. In the
beginning of the year 1013 Sweyn was acknowl-
edged as the king of England ; but a few
weeks afterwards he died at the town of
Gainsborough. Thereupon the Saxon Thanes
reasserted themselves, and invited Ethelred,
after his six weeks' banishment, to return to
the throne. The Danish party meanwhile
proclaimed the Prince Canute, son of King
Sweyn, as monarch of the countrv. Civil
war again broke out, and for a season there
was a reign of bloodshed and burning.
At length, completely despairing of relief
at the hands of their unready sovereign, the
Saxon nobles .set aside the claims of Ethelred
and his legitimate children, and selected for
their king his natural son, the warlike Ed-
JIUXD, surnamed Ironside. It was the mis-
fortune of this valorous j)riuce to receive at
the hands of his supporters an already ex-
hausted country. Nevertheless he did as
much as couraare misht to retrieve the for-
tunes of Saxon Eugland. Twice he attempted
to relieve the beleaguered city of Loudon.
He fcnight with the euemy five pitched battles,
but the Danes were generally victorious. As
a last desperate measure of defense he chal-
lenged Canute to mortal combat. The latter,
however, durst not meet his stalwart antago-
nist in personal battle, but proposed instead
the division of the kingdom between them.
The proposition was accepted ; Edmund Iron-
side ruled over the South, and Canute re-
ceived the rest of the i-sland.
This settlement, however, was of only two
months' duration. Within that time after the
treaty the Saxon monarch died, and in 1017
the whole kingdom passed under the dominion
of Canute. This distinguished ruler began
his reign with measures of conciliation, but
his course in this respect was more politic
than sincere. The House of Ethelred was
bitterly persecuted, and many of that family
and its Saxon adherents were hunted down
and slain. Edward and Ednmnd, the infant
sons of Edmund Ironside, were .seized and
sent to Sweden. The king of that country,
having compassion upon their misfortunes,
sent them to distant Hungary, where Edmund
died. The Prince Edward, however, married
the daughter of the Emjieror of Germany, of
which union were born Edgar Athcliiig,
Christina, and Margaret. The last uaincil
was married to Malcolm, king of Scotland,
and thus through a Scottish House the Ijlood
of King Alfred was transmitted to aftertimes.
Meanwhile the warrior King Canute was
menaced by a sjDecter out of Normandy. In
that country the two princes, Edward and
Alfred, sons of Ethelred and Emma, were
supported by Duke Richard, tlieir uncle.
The latter demanded of the Danish king that
tlie rights of his nephews should be respected ;
and when this demand was treated with con-
tempt, the Norman duke offered his sister, the
widowed Emma, to the Dane in marriage. It
appears that Duke Richard, the wiilow her-
self, and Canute were equally anxious to con-
summate this unnatural uiiion. Nor was it
with a view to securini;- the ri-hts of her .sous
so much as again becoining (juecu of England
that the Flower of N.ji-niandy went up gladly
to the bed of the royal Danish ruffian by
wliom her former husband had been destroved.
uxiVEnsAL iiisTonv.—THE modkhx would.
successt
u
au ii
u
results
t
Alfred t
h
axed th
land, Dl
combined on the head
northern kin-.huns howf
mu.'li di-put.'d, and he w;
tor- ii:n war-. Th.. la^t .:
■ Canute. In the
■r, his claims were
involved in several
liis expeditions was
undertaken in the year 1017 against Duncan,
king of Cuniliria. The war lasted for two
years; nor could the Cunihriaus and Scots
be subdued until the king's resources were
strained to the utmost. After this conflict in
king th^
the tide
he, '-th
not to
ro.=e hig
dripj.ini
turned
His reveng.-ful nature found m. fur-
iif offense, and in his old age, for-
^^^ getting to be cruel, he sought
"^ comfort for his soul in a pil-
^^ grimage to Rome. In the
r^ year 1030 he assumed the
- VF; pilgrim's garb and journeyed
to the Eternal City. Return-
ing from his holy visit, he
went intii Denmark, where
he tarried for some time.
From that country he seut
his commands to England by
the abbot of Tavistock, and
thus maintained his authority
(iver his English realms.
Of King Canute tradition
has fondly repeated a famous
incident. At the height of
his power, struck one day
with remor.seful reflections on
the brevity and follies of hu-
man greatness, and disgusted
with the excessive flatteries
of the sycophants about the
court, he ordered them to
bear him down to the sea-
shore in his chair of state.
Having seated himself in the
very edge of the surf a« the
tide came roaring in he de-
manded to know of his cour-
tiers wdiether the sea would
cliey him and stand back.
After the manner of liars,
they answered that the great
deep would shrink at his
gesture of command. The
n sat silently awaiting the issue, while
rolled in around him. "Ocean," .«aid
land and the sea are mine. Presume
,et the edge of my robe." The surf
ler and the king was obliged to wade
from the waters. Thereupon he
and rebuked the fawning flatterers,
1-timed adulation had magnified the
- ..f tlie weak.
THE AGE OE CHARLEMA<iyE.—ALERED AND lllS SiXVESSOi:
In the year 10;]5 Cauute died, and was
burie.l at, Winehester. lie left t.> the ivuhii
another dispitted i^ueecf^sion ; fur the ehiii]i.- <>t'
Hardicaxute, Ills «.)n l)y the widow uf Ethel-
red, were disputed by his two illegitimate
sous, named Sweya and Harold. As to those
two princes, the scandal of the time deelarefl
that they were not of the royal Mood at all.
It wa- said that Altgiva, the mistress .,f Ca-
nute, had imposed on him two bantlings not
his own ; the gossip of the times was perhaps
a true interpretation of the facts. Neverthe-
less, the credulous Canute recognized i^weyn
and Harold as joint heirs with Hardieanute,
and purposed to divide his kingdom among
them. He accordiugl_y provided that England
should fall to Harold, Denmark to Hardiea-
nute, and Norway to Sweyn. When the
king died, two of his sons, Hardieanute and
Sweyn, were in the north of Euroi)e, only
Harold being in England. The claims of Har-
dieanute to the English crown were ardently
supported by the old Saxon party in the island,
for he was the son of the widow of Ethelred,
and therefore allied to the royal family. In
the Danelagh, however, the people recognized
Harold. Civil war was again imminent, and
was only obviated by the interference of
the AVitenagemot, which body convened at Ox-
ford and divided the realm between the rival
claimants. Harold should have the country
north of the Thames, with London fiir his
capital, and Hardieanute should rule the
South.
The latter prince, lieing still in Denmark,
sent his mother, Emma, as regent of Eng-
land. With her the powerful Earl Godwin
was to share the authority during the absence
of the king. Harold, however, perceiving
the weakness of the situation, resolved to
usurp his brother's throne, and the condition
of affiiirs in the southern kingdom favored
such an enterprise.
Meanwhile Prince Edward, son of Ethelred
and Emma, still residing in Normandy, ad-
vanced his claims to the crown once worn by
his fiither. Hearing of the death of Canute,
he set sail for England and landed at South-
ampton. From his mother's friends he had
expected a cordial reception and support ; but
that unscrupulous lady was now engaged in an
intritrue to secure the succession for her son
Hard
Canute. Edward \
vas ohli
.vd
to brat a
hasiy
retreat from the
ishind.
S,
nn afUT-
wards
both of the sons
if Etllr
nd
wei'e in-
vilrd
hy a treacherous
\rUrV, 1
iir|
ortiug to
have
leen written by th<
ir motl
er.
to return
to En
.iland and eUiiin tl
■ir iiihe
ita
l.T. Kd-
ward
was wary of tlie
invitat
on,
luit the
young
AliVed, "attended
by six
hui
dred ful-
lowers, accepted his mother's call, and hinded
opposite to Canterbury. Here he wa- nut liy
the powerful Earl Godwin, who swoic ade-
giance to the prince and began to c.induet
him inland. When the party had advanced
as far as Guildford, while Alfred and his
friends were sleeping unarmed at night, they
were suddenly assailed and massacred by the
barbarous soldiers of King Harold. The eyes
of the prince were torn out, and he died in
agony. The ruler of England had thus put
out of the way another of his possible rivals.
Nor was it long until he secured for himself
the full title of the King of England. He
received the surname of Harefoot. Of his
reign there is little to be recorded otiier than
the quarrels of the clergy and the intrigues
of the Saxon and Danish parties to obtain an
ascendency in the affairs of state.
After a reign of four years, Har^lil died
and in 1040 was succeeded by his half-brother,
Hardieanute. It was the happy fortune of
this prince to be acceptable to both the Eng-
glish factions — to the Saxons, because he was
the son of Emma; to the Danes, because he
was the son of Canute. As for the prince, he
favored his father's people. He chose his
courtiers from among his countrymen of the
North, and his army and navy were Danish.
During the early years of his reign there were
several insurrections, chiefly traceable to the
king's partiality for men of his own race.
For his predecessor, however, he manifested
such contempt that the Saxons were delighted.
The bo<ly of Harold was digged from the
grave, insulted, decapitated, and thrown into
the river. In his tastes the king manifested
all the gluttonous excesses of his people.
Four times a day he feasted, and then held a
carousal at night. ^Meanwhile, the afi'airs of
government were managed by Earl Godwin
anil the queen-mother Emma. At length,
after a reign of nearly two years, in the
midst of a revel bv niudit, Hardieanute, al-
uxivehsal history.— the modkrx world.
ready drunken, fell down .lead on the flour
of his banquet-hall.
After his foolish atteiujit to secure the
throne of England, the I'rinee Edward had
retired to Normandy, and there devoted him-
self to more conirenial ]>ursuits. Fain would
he have heroine a Ih'Iv man and retired from
the world. With ihr (hath of Hardicanute,
however, a plain way was opened before his
feet, and in 1042 he ascended the throne of
England. The Danes had now no descendant
of Canute to advance against Edward's claims,
and many of their nobles retired from the
island. Even Earl Godwin forebore to op-
pose the acce.ssiou of Edward, who received
the surname of the Confessor, and began a
pro.sperous but not untroubled reign.
One of the first acts of the new sovereign
was to accept in marriage the daughter of
Godwin. It is believed that the stern father-
in-law himself dictated this union with a view-
to increasing his own power in the kingdom.
This circumstance may in part account for the
fact that in no long time the report went
abroad that King Edward treated his wife
with great harshness. As to his mother, the
royal severity was mingled with scorn. Per-
haps the treatment was not unmerited ; for
the belief was prevalent that the death of the
Prince Alfred might be traced to a plot hav-
ing its seat in the bosom of Emma.
In the year 1043 an attempt was made by
Magnus, king of Denmark, to restore the for-
tunes of his House in England. A Danish
fleet once more ajipeared off the coast; but
the Saxons were now prepared to receive
their enemy, and the latter deemed it prudent
to retire to the Baltic. The Saxon monarchy
had now come to rest on so firm a basis that
an overthrow was no longer to be feared at
the hands of buccaneers and marauders.
Notwithstanding the general quiet of Ed-
ward's reign, his authority over his subjects
had in it an element of feebleness. The great
Earl Godwin and the other Thanes and nobles
of the kingdom had so augmented their power
as to make their ruler a king by sufferance.
By them most of the lands of the kingdom
had been appropriatrd. By them courts were
held, judges appointed, and levies made of
troops and money. The combined power of
this nascent, feudal nobility was greater than
that of the iiioiiairh, and but for their jeal-
ousirs and •(U;ii-ril<, they nnght have at any
time rnnipa-.-cd hi- dethronement.
Another element of weakness specially to
be noted in the government of Edward was
his preference for the Normans. He could
but SCI' that those polite gentlemen of Rouen,
in whi>>r society he had passed the greater
]iart of his life, were greatly superior in man-
ners and culture to even the most refined of
his rough, untutored countrymen. He pre-
ferred the language and dress of his adopted
country to those of his native laud. The
royal predilection in these regards furnished a
suflScient motive for constant communication
with the gay court of Rouen. Many schol-
arh' and courtlj' Normans came over to Ed-
ward's capital, and brought with them the
sunlight of Normandy. For these ample pro-
vision was made by the king, and it was not
long before this dawning Norman ascendency
was felt in all parts of the kingdom.
However agreeable this state of aflairs may
have been to the king himself, it was gall and
wormwood to the Saxons. The already over-
grown power of Earl Godwin was thus greatly
increased ; for he was regarded as the leader
of the native nobility against the Norman in-
novations. In 1044, however, a circumstance
occurred which for a while greatly injured
the earl's popularity and power. His oldest
son, bearing the famous name of Sweyn,
proved to be a brigand and adventurer. Con-
temptuous of all law and sanctity, he violated
an abbess and was banished from the king-
dom. He improved his exile by becoming a
terrible pirate, which vocation he plied until
what time his fiither procured for him a par-
don from the king. In the delay incident to
such a business Sweyn became impatient and
laid the blame upon his cousin Beorn, then resid-
ing at the court. Him, on returning to Eng-
land, he first conciliated and then murdered.
But his father's influence was able to secure a
seeonil jiardon, and Sweyn was restored to his
estates.
In the year 10.")1 Count Eustace, of Bou-
logne, who. Iiy his marriage with the Lady
Goihi, ihiu-iitrr of Ethelred, became brother-
in-law to the kiiii:. paid a visit to Edward
and his court. Here he fouml every thing
conf iniu'd t(j the stvle and manner of Nor-
THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE.— ALFRED AND HIS SUCCESSORS.
It was not wonderful that he con-
ceived for the Saxons a sentiment of profound
contempt. On departing after his sojourn the
count, witli his retainers, entered the town of
Dover, and there became embroiled in a bloody
riot with the inhabitants. Eustace thereupon
returned to the capital and laid his grievances
before the king. The latter ordered Earl
Godwin to proceed forthwith to the punish-
ment of those who had insulted his Norman
brother-in-law.
Instead of doing as he was hid the earl
espoused the cause of the men of Dover, and
told the king plainly that the Normans were
they who deserved the punishment. Edward
thereupon summoned Godwin himself before
his foreign court at Gloucester, there to an-
swer for his contumacious conduct. Incensed
at this summons, the earl took up arms. At
this time the whole country south of the
Thames was under his sway. His eldest son,
Harold, appeared on the scene. This young
prince and his brother Sweyn, as well as their
father, led large bands of armed men to
Gloucester, and demanded that Count Eustace
should be given up. The king, in this crisis,
sought to gain time by negotiation. Mean-
while Siward, earl of Northumbria, and Leo-
fric, earl of Mercia, who were rivals of God-
win, came to the rescue of Edward. The two
armies came face to face ; but it was now dis-
covered that the fierce animosity so lunt;-
existing between the Saxons of the South and
the Anglo-Danes of the North had so hr died
away that the angry leaders could not precip-
itate a battle. Godwin and the king were
obliged, by a popular sentiment, to make
peace and to refer their difficulties to the
Witeuai;riunt f.ii- settlement. But before the
time iif till' nil niii.; of that body the tide had
so turneil against < imlwiu that he was unable
to sustain his cause, and he was banished.
Together with his wife and three of his sons,
he set sail for Flanders, where he was cor-
dially received by Baldwin, count of that
province. The princes Harold and Leofwin
escaped from the western coast and made their
way to Ireland.
Having thus freed himself Irom the
presence of the male members of the House
of Godwin, the king next turned his auger
upon his wife Editha, who, as will be re-
membered, was a daughter of the banished
earl. From her Edward took away her es-
tates and jewels, and then, when she was
completely broken in spirit, conhned her in
the monastery of Wherwell.
Thus, for the time, was the Saxon party
overthrown and scattered. Eelieved of the
presence of his most formidable opponents,
Edward gave free rein to his preference for
the people and institutions of Normandy. The
Norman nobles came over in great numbers,
and settled at his court. Even Prince Will-
iam, the illegitimate son of Duke Robert,
availed himself of the opportunity to tarry for
a season with Edward and his friends. Nor
is it doubtful that this ambitious aspirant,
who was destined to play so important a part
in the history of medireval England, was al-
ready, on the occasion of his visit, looking to
the possibilities of the future. King Edward
was childless, and it was said that he was
under a sort of monastic vow to remain so.
The Norman rage, already prevalent in the
upper circles of English politics, pointed even
now to a not remote contingency of a Norman
dynasty in the island. The Prince William
was cousin to the reignini;- kini^-, and the cir-
cumstance of his being the son of a tanner's
daughter had little weight, so long as he was
also the son of the Duke of Normandy. He
was received by Edward with every mark of
esteem and preference. He was lakru into
the private counsels of the kin;:-, and it is
hardly to be doubted that then and there it
was understood that after Edward's death the
crown of England should descend to William.
^Meanwhile, however, the great Earl God-
win, now exiled in Flanders, was neither idle
nor despairing. In 1052 he got together a
powerful fleet and boldly returned to Eng-
land. Lauding on the southern coast, he was
cordial) v welcomed l)y tlie Saxons, who every-
wliere rose in liis tavor. Han.ld and Leofwin
returned from Ireland and joined his standard.
Presently the earl's fleet sailed up the Thames,
and on approaching Loudon was reenforced by
many of the men and sliijis of Edward. God-
win behaved with niiicli nioika-ation, merely
demanding a revocation of the edict of exile
against himself and family and a redress of
grievances. This the king ol)stinately refused.
But tlie crisis in the royal liouseliold soon be-
umvehsal iiiyronY.—THE modebx would.
was that thr Norniai
Eihvanl .-u.l,l.-iily b,
were the fogs of Lni^
congenial to the elc;
Some took refuge ii
but the greater jiari
To eo.nplete wha;
accomplished, the \\ i
x,
itiou
No
iiagemot assembled aud
outlawry against the
the king.
^t of
midst of the banquet,
at its height, the earl
iv, aud fell dying from
IS lie expired, and his
,drd to Prince Harold.
■umstunees now eons])ired to turn
aud expectancy of the kiugdom
f Godwin. Siward, the earl of
, died ; his eldest sou, O.sberne,
l)atth' with tlie Scots, and the
too iiiiiiiatiii'c to succeed to his
restored to their estates. Queen Editha was
taken from the monastery aud brought back in
triuni]ih to Ijondou. Only Sweyn, the brig-
ami, was cxcIikKmI iVoiu the pardon. Find-
ing that the l)lood-staius of his crimes could
not be waslied away, the bandit son of God-
win made the most of the situation by putting
on a pilgrim's garli and walking barefoot to
Jerus:
lem !
By
this c
asain
l.iec:
Godw
u. h<
u the Saxon party
in the kingdom,
long survive his
d a kind of en-
e fea-tcd one dav
father's tith's. :McanwhiIe the thoughts of the
king were turned more and more from this
world to the uext, and he resolved as a meas-
ure preparatory to his exit to make a pilgrim-
age to Rome. The Witenagemot, seeing their
childless king about to depart, recalled his
pious thoughts to the foct that no succession
had been provided in case of his death. This
emergency in the state brought out from long
obscurity the Prince Edward Atheling, son of
Ednnimi Iron.-idc. and set him f>rth as heir
ex]iectant of the crown. Edward was sent
for, aud brought with many acclamations to
London. Shortly after his arrival, however,
THE AGE OE CHAELEMAGXE.—ALERED AXD HIS SCCVESSOi;.'
he suddenly sickened and died, and the suspi-
cion was blown abroad that the means of his
taking-oft" was jjoison, and the cause the jeal-
ousy of Harold. Be this as it may, the prolj-
lem of the succession was reduced to this:
whether Har(jl(l, as the representative of the
Saxon party but of no blood kinship to the
former kings of England, should succeed Ed-
ward on the throne, or whether the crnwn,
after the demise of Edward, should descend
to William of Normandy.
Now are we come to the complications
which immediately preceded the estaljlishment
of a Norman dynasty in the British Islands.
King Edward is said to have made a will in
which he bequeathed his crown to Duke Will-
iam, his cousin. It is said that this will was
executed before the recall of Edward the
Atheling. It is said that the nature of this
instrument was kept a prMfoimd secret for
years, and that Harold remained in ignorance
of the scheme which had been concocted to
thwart his ambition. It is said, on the other
hand, that the king's will was not made until
1065, the year before his death ; and that
Harold, instead of being kept in ignorance
of its contents, was himself dispatched by the
king to reveal the provisions of the instru-
ment to Duke William. Certain it is that
Prince Harold found his way — whether by
accident or design does not appear — to the
Norman court ; that he was wrecked at the
mouth of the river Somme ; that he was seized
by the Count of Pouthieu ; that he was im-
prisoned in the castle of Beaurain ; and that
he appealed in his distress to Duke William
for help. The latter quickly saw his advan-
tage. He demanded that Harold should be
released and sent to Rouen. In order to
secure this result he gave to the Count of
Pouthieu a large sum of money and a fine
estate. It was not long until he had Harold
in his power, but the crafty Norman preferred
to gain his end by policy rather than vio-
lence. He made kuowu to Harold, who now
perceived the extreme peril of his situation,
his purpose of claiming the crown of England
in accordance with a long-standing pledge
made to himself by Edward the Confessor.
Harold was dumfounded and — helpless.
He was in the power of his great rival. Will-
iara proceeded to extort from his guest a
promise that the hitter would jii-i.ninte his
scheme for the assiimiitioii of the i:ii-li.~h
crown. He induced the pi'iuee to ju-uuiise
that in the event of Edward's death he would
aid him in obtaining the kiugdom. Albeit
the jn-omise was given with mental reserva-
tion ; Ijut what could Harold do, being in the
clutches of his rival? To make assurance
doubly sure, William eoutrived that Ilamld
shoul.l swear to fulfill his pledges. N(,r was
either the moral character of the Norman
duke or the spirit of the age above resorting
t(j a ridiculous suliterfuge in order to give ad-
ditinnal sanctity to the oath. A imi'tiug was
his chair of state and the Norman nobles were
ranged around according to their rank. When
Harold appeared the Duke arose and said,
"Ivirl Harohl, I re,,uii-e vou, before this
nolile a^MMubly, tn,.,,uhrni, by <.atii, the prom-
ises you have made me — to wit: to assist me
in obtaining the kingdom of England, after
King Edward's death, to marry my daughter
Adele, and to send me your sister, that I may
give her in marriage to one of mine." The
prince had no alternative but to swear. He
laid his hand upon the Bible and took the
oath, being in evident trejiidation. Then, at
a signal from the duke, the cloth which cov-
ered a table was jerked aside, and there was
revealed a box filled with the bones of saints
and martyrs. Over this terrilile heap of oste-
ology, the son of Godwin had sworn away his
own right to the throne of England !
Prince Harold, thus duped and over-
reached, was permitted to depart. He re-
turned to England loaded with presents and
accompanied by Haco, one of the Saxon
nobles whom Godwin had given as a hostage
to Edward the Confessor, and by him had
been sent for safe keeping to his cousin, Will-
iam of Normandy. The other hostage was
detained at Eoueu as a guaranty for the ful-
fillment of Harold's oath.
On his return to his own country, the
English jirince, tlioui;h hunnliated, was re-
ceived with honor. He became again the rec-
ognized head of the Saxon party, by whom he
was openly upheld for the succession. The
event was now at hand which was to deter-
mine the value of his claims. The childless
Edward came to his death-bed. It is said
UXIVERSAL HISTORY'. — THE MODERN WORLD.
that, in hi> l:i>t In
presence i<( his imlilt
vision of his will \\\
descend to \\'illiai
know right woll, iu_\
have bequeathed my
Normandy : ami arc
have pli,i:lited uatlis
rViraiu it
Ivinsr kii
cession .'
scene the
urs, he renewed in the
s and attendants the pro-
which the crown was to
1 of Normandy. " Ye
lords," said he, " tliat I
kinL'dom t(i tlie Duke of
tlicre nnt tli-sc h.Tc who
to srcurr William's su<-
is said that in the last
M named Prince Harold
his successor. Be that as it mav, Edward
died in Jaiiuai-y of loiili, and the question of
the sueces:-ion niiKiiueil to be decided by the
rival claimant.- to the crown.
We are now in the day -break of the Nor-
man conquest of England. That great event
will be fully narrated in the succeeding Book.
Here for the jinsiiit we pause. The narra-
tive will l)i' rt-sumfd at the proper place, be-
ginning with the death of Edward the Con-
fessor and the consecjueut struggle of Harold
and William for the English crown.
]3aok 'PourfcEnl^,
The Feudal Ascexdexxt.
CHAPTER LXXX1\\-FEUDALISM PRORER.
BOUT the close of the
niutli century the ;<till lialt-
barl.iaric society of Wc.-t-
em Europe begau t(.i be
trausfornii-(l into a iirw
couditioii. The moveiueiit
was a \> p a r e n 1 1 y retro-
grade. The unity which had been attained
in several states and kingdoms begau to be
broken up, and the peojile seemed to jirefcr
a return to tribal indepeudeuee. General
goverumeut, in a measure, disappeared, and
was replaced by local institutions. Gradually
this process went on, now in France and Ger-
many, and finally in England, until the whole
face of society was changed. By the close of
the eleventh century the great governments
which had been established by such rulers as
Charlemagne and Alfred the Great were seen
no longer. But in their stead had risen a
multitude of dukedoms, counties, and petty
dependencies, dotting the whole face of the
country, and bound together — if bonml at
all — by ties which had been voluntarily as-
sumed and might generally be rennunccd at
will. The state of society which thus super-
and which \nx'
part of Europe,
•ailed throughout the
from the .'iioch of the
Carlovingians to the times of the t'rusadcs, is
known as the Feudal Sy.-^tk.m, and will now
claim our attention.
The social condition wliirh thus presents
itself for analysis and review is, perliaps, the
most difficult to grasp and uu.l.istaiid. of all
the aspects in human history. Wiiy it was
that the political power, ^eeuiiiiuly so well
established by Charlemagne ami otlurs, should
suddenly be loosened in all its bonds and fall
back as if into the very chaos from which it
had emerged, is a problem which has occupied
the attention of the greatest thinkers and per-
plexed the pen of history. Certain it is that
the fact existed, and that in the times of
which we siieak, when all human expectancy
would have looked in the ..iher direction and
predietid the growth ami development of great
stutis out of the energetic materials of barbar-
ism, a suilden collapse and decline appeared
in the affairs of the AVestern nations, and a
sulitle >oeial chemistry, seizing upon the ele-
ments of society, resolved them into the prim-
itive .omlition. It is the first duty of the
UMVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODKRX UORLD.
• I, II,;
It w:
the Fra
Clmrk-iii
will 1i;m
sulK.nlii
such as these that
il to the scepter of
persoual
a cnler
[;.s of hi
i.a ;
liiit
' man
Itr, 1)11
hn |in
U<\ Ix'l
hithert
y vir
n unk
lyi
rii.ler these feel-
character was i)ro-
Kiirope. Diirin-
full strength. The miiiratoiy hal.it encour-
aged freedom and disci. ura-id a.->..ciatioii.
Fixed territorial limits arc miliary to the
idea of a state. The- liarljarian- had m. rstali-
lished territories. Tlicy were driven t'n.iii
their homes by other triljes more savage than
themselves. For a while they raged around
the borders of the Roman Em])ire, and then
burst through. Now it was that \\w necessity
of combination was forced upi.n thmn. In
order to battle successfully with the liomans
they must have union, leadership. Great was
the importance which the German kings at-
tained by means of ;yar. The tril)cs came t.)
understand that safety ami sii.'i-ess hiy in the
direction of union and suh.ii-dinatinn. \"ery
less, hdW sullen, how terrible with supiiroseil
anger was the German warrior under the re-
straints of military command and civil author-
ity ! His logic of the situation was that lie
wonlil su)1;t the ills of obedience until the
enemies ..f liis nation were overthrown, and
then he wouhl teach a lesson to thi.>e \\\\,,
were despoiling him of his rights. The ncov-
ery of his freedom was merely postponed. He
looked forward t.. the time wdien he should
break the bonds ..I' that galling restraint un-
der wdiich necessity had jihiced him, and re-
gain the glorious license which his fathers had
enjoyed in the forests of ( iennany.
and local independenc
tained a fixed resiiK'ni
rial boundaries were m
of t'harlemagne. The
upon each other an.l f
the idea of pers.jnal
The barbarians ob-
on tlie soil. Territo-
rk.'.l out by th.. sword
ti-ibes ceased to jostle
migrate fr-.m place to
foreign enemies, this
al virtues of barl)a-
of less value and im-
but as it related to
nt of local fixeduess
prerogatives. To the
I, wa> .le-irabl.' in the
lit distasteful in the
place. A> it related
lact ma.le the yvr:
rian dukes and conn
portance than hitheri
the king, the attain
was unfavorable to 1
German chiefs a mon
emergencies of war,
safety and security of peace.
The first cause, th.ai, of the institution of
Feudalism was the revival of the sense of
Frankidi nobles, leading them to claim and
achieve local independence of their sovereign.
This w'as the beginuiug of the universal
break-uj) of political society. The great duke
declared his indejMm.h'nce ,.f the king; the
count, (d' the duke; the loi-d, of th.' count;
the i)etty vassal, of the lord; and so on,
until the S(.cial fabric was dissolveil into its
elements.
The next general cause of the social disin-
tegration of Europe in the tenth and eleventh
centuries may be discovered in the relufwm
<ti,<l iJnln.ojiliinil hri;,fi wliich hail superseded
those of jiaganisni. Christianity everywhere
sup]danted the mythology of the North. The
monks and jjriests, perceiving that the barba-
rians were creatures of sense, converted them
by means of shows ami spectacles. The mys-
tic concepts of the Ciiristian .system were in-
teipieteil literallv to the barbarian imagina-
tion, 'Hie figurative sense of the Scriptures
was entirely lost upon the pagans who now
accepted the new faith for the old. With
them the history, prophecy, and ethics of the
Biblical record were received as the literal ac-
count of tlie things done and to be done in
the .-cheme of the salvation of man. All the
FEUDAL ASCENDEXCY.— FEUDALISM FHOFER.
ferocious houesty of the barbarian nature be-
came pledged to the absolute fultillment of
the law and the jjrophecies.
Among the jirophetic utterances relating
to the future, and indeed abi)ve them all, was
that ominous prediction whieli fnretnli! ihc
eud of the world. The earth and all that
therein dwells were to pass away in a catas-
trophe of fire. The universe was to be rolled
up as a scroll. As soon as the thousand
years from the bii-th of Christ should l)e ful-
filled, a consuming flame should wraj) the
world, and a throne of judgment should lie
set in heaven. The Dies Irce, that terrible
crisis in the destinies of mankind, should sud-
denly flash up through the ashes of nature ;
and the cowering ghosts of men, flocking in
spectral shoals from the fnir quarters of
the burut-up ball, should bow before the in-
exorable Judge and receive the everlasting
sentence of their doom.
The effect of this prophecy, accepted by
the barbarians in all its literal horror, was de-
structive of all hope and fatal to all progress.
As the end drew nigh, all general interests
ceased. Human life became an individual
concern. Each must save himself in the hour
of catastrophe. The king with his council,
the peasant with his flocks, must both alike
erelong suffer the pangs of the transform-
ing fire.
In the shadow of this awful foreboding the
race of man sat dumb. The brilliant activi-
ties of former times gave place to dolor and
gloom. A belief in the impotence and deca-
dence of man became universal. The vision
of the old world, glorious afar off", full of
great cities, splendid works of art, and march-
ing armies, was dimly seen in recollection — a
beautiful dream of the delusive past. As for
the world which now lay doomed under the
curse, it was ready by its sins and crimes
for its imminent perdition. These gloomy
thoughts sank deeper and deeper into the
hearts of the deluded millions, and they sat
in dumb despair awaiting the day of fiite.
It was impossible under such a system of
belief that any great human interests should
flourish. That which the mind of man con-
ceives of as real becomes in some sense reality.
Mankind have bowed to specters more than
they have bowed to facts. In the tenth cen-
tury, all classes of people from the king to
the serf were haunted with the iu'iiet' that the
w..rld was soon to be destrovrd, and llii.- be-
lief acted as a paralysis uj-ou all tli,' m.-rgies
and as|iirations of the people. What was the
Empire of Charlemagne — so reas.jiinl the
monks and fanatics — since the Dirx Jni was at
hand? Why should any fabric of human
greatness and folly be longer maintained in
the shadow of the impending catastrophe?
With such a cataclysm just before, the mass-
book was better than a constitution, and an
asceusion robe more important than the
robe of a king.
Added to these general influences were
many special circumstances which contril)Uted
to the political disintegration of Western
Europe. Among the principal of these may be
mentioned the personal character of the
LATER Carlovixgians. Nearly all of these
sovereigns were, as iudividuals, contemptible.
With the exception of D'Outremer and two
or three others, not a single one of the de-
scendants of Charlemagne had the courage
and talents requisite in a king, ilost of them
were imbeciles and blockheads — a second race
of Faineants of the same grade with the Do-
nothings of the old Merovingians. One of
the Carlovingian neuters was the Simple, and
another was the Fat. One was the Stam-
merer, another the Child. It was impossible
that the old Frankish warriors and their <le-
scendants should look with favor upon this
degenerate line of royalty, llrre a duke and
there a count came to uu(hT,-tand the sinijile
lesson that nature makes the great men and
society the manikins. That artificial loyalty
and absurd devotion to factitious greatue.^s,
which had done so much of old to suiqiort
the gilded thrones of the East, found no place
in the breasts of the nobles of the ^liddle
Ages. For a while they hxjked on with dis-
dain while the ridiculous farce was enacted,
and then turned their backs upon the pageant
of the court and .struck for independence.
As s<ion as the swords of a few of the bolder
lords had cleft a passage tlirnugh the royal
harness and freed themselves fi-om the domi-
nation of some kingly simpleton, the less
courageous were inspired to do the same.
Provinces fell away. Counties became inde-
pendent. Personal ties, voluntarily assumed.
olio
UXIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
took the place of iinpo.-ed aulli<irit_v, and
goverument gave way to — Femlalism. The
Empire of Charlemagne was maile into three,
then into four, and then into ?even kingdoms.
Each of these in its turn was divided into
great fiefs, of which there were in the aggre-
gate, at the end of the ninth crntiny, twi-nty-
'uine in France alone, and at the clu.-e of tlie
tenth, no fewer than jijtij-Jive! Uver each of
these some duke, count, or viscount estab-
lished himself in almost independent sover-
eignty. He held his own courts, issued his
own edicts, and in many instances coined his
own money. He sublet his fief to his vassals,
and exacted of them taxes, fealty, and hom-
age. From the times of Charles the Bald,
877, the greater nobles of France claimed
and exercised the right of transmitting their
estates to their sons, according to their j)leas-
ure. Landed property became the basis of
all the dignities of the state. The crown and
prerogatives of the king fluctuated between
real facts and myths. Though the constitu-
tion of the kingdom still gave to the nominal
ninnan-li the ritrht t« distribute benefices to
his ncrliles, the hereditary principle in the no-
ble houses themselves had really i;aiiieil the
upper hand, to the extent of sul>>titatiiii:' the
law of descent f)r the royal preru'jative.
Thus it was that the Femlal system was suli-
The word feu<lal, llius use
state of society wliieh prevai
from the tenth to the twelfth
England.
.1 define the
in Europe
era, is derived from the Low Latin /•cilnm.
and more remotely from the Cernian word
r(V/(, meaning cattle, <ir, more e-ener.ally,
goods, money, or property. In other wcjrds,
the thing defined was the propnitj system, as
contradistinguished from the political system
which it supplanted. In its broader .sense, feud-
alism was a type of social organization based on
the ownership of land. In the nature <jf the
,case the system implied several things:
First, tliat the l:in.Is ,.f tlie state shouLl be
concentrated in the liamls of a few :
i^eeondiv, that pnlitieal ri-l.ts >hould be
made dependent on land.d ri-ht-: and —
Thinllv, that all pul.lie relation- should be
(le.lueed from tlu' i.rivatc relations of those
It will readily be seen from this general
outline of tlie system that in its essential na-
ture feudalism reversed the old theory of soci
ety by putting the Man before the State.
Nor will the close connection of the system,
historically considered, with the primitive in-
stitutions of Germany fail to be noted by any
one accustomed to trace out the .sequence of
events. The real transformation of the society
of ancient Germany into that of ^Medisval
Europe reached no further than this — that the
political organization from being personal in
the former became territorial in the latter. In
the language of another, land became the sac-
ramental tie of all public relations. The poor
man depended on the rich, not as his chosen
patron, but as the owner of the laud which he
must cultivate, the lord of the court to which
he must bring his suit and service, and in
war the leader whom he was bound to follow.
It is only by a stretch of language that the
word sydem can be applied to the feudal state
of Europe. Theoretical writers have been
pleased to see in the European king of the
eleventh century the suzerain or head of grad-
tiated orders ranged around this central figure,
and sloping down in all directions until they
rested on serfs and peasants. Xor is this view
of the situation wholly devoid of truth. But,
like so many other tlieories of human affairs,
it is constrneted out of imagination rather than
out of the facts. True it is that during the
jirovalence of feudalism the king was, in gen-
eral terms, the suzerain or sovereign of all the
nobles of the kingdom. In this sense he was
the head (if the system. But the i'eudal
seheiiie was niuch more irregular and broken
than wliat i> liere iniplie.l. :\Iany of the
dukes and nianiuises held their lands in entire
independence of the king. Even lords of
lower rank sometimes possessed estates for
which they paid no tax and did no homage to
any superior. In hundreds of instances one
duke or count held his lands of another, and
it not irif'rec|uently happened that while the
nobleman A held certain lands of the nobleman
B. the latter also held certain other lands of the
nobleman A. At one season of the year A
(I'd l:.,nia-e to B as a pledge of the renewal
of his fealty and service, and then in like
manner would B do homage to A. The king
himself held estates in many parts of the king-
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDALISM PROl'ER.
•dom, and these he let to his vassals witlumt
much respect to their rank. Lords of low as
well as lords of high degree were thus bound
directly to the king, so that the supposition
of a graduated order ranged around the sov-
ereign would be no adequate representation of
the fact. In truth, during the prevalence of
the feudal system the whole structure of soci-
ety was bound and rebound with ties and
cross-ties, without either the appearance or in-
tention of regularity or systematic gradation.
Tiie conditions on which feudal lands were
held in the Middle Ages are well uuderstdod.
They were, in general, three in number —
homage, taxation, and military service. The
act of homage was intended to indicate the
submission of a vassal to his lord. It could
be received by the lord only, in person. When
the relation of dependence was sought or en-
forced, fhe person about to become a vassal
presented himself to his liege with uncovered
head, and prayed that he might be allowed to
enter into the feudal relation with him. The
request being granted, the vassal took off his
sword and spurs, ungirt his belt, knelt before
his lord, placed his own two hands in his, and
said: "I become your man from this day
forth, of life and limb, and will hold faith to
you for the lauds I claim to hold of you."
The oath of fealty was then administered, and
the ceremony of investiture followed. If the
homage had been done on the lands received
by the vassal, the lord gave to him a haudfid
of earth or a stone in token of the transfer of
right ; and if the ceremony was performed off
the estate referred to, the superior generally
gave to the vassal a bit of turf taken from
the estate.
As already said, feudal rights were gener-
ally liereilitary. On the death of a vassal the
estate fell to his eldest sou. But the latter
must immediately repau- to the manor and
repeat the act of homage done by his father.
It was possible for an infant to do homage \i\
jiroxy. But in this instance the act must be
repeated as soon as the vassal had reached his
majority.
A:^ to the taxes imposed by a suzerain
upon his vassal, the same might be <lischarged
either in monev or in the ]iriiiliict-; of the
estate. In the case of the king ami the greater
nobles, money was generally exarteil; fur the
royal chamberlains preferred to purchase pro-
visions for the king's household from the me-
dieval market. But in the ease of the lords
of low degree, who dwell perhaps upon the es-
tates cultivated by their vassals and serfs, their
suzerains might well choose to accept the an-
nual stipend in products of the land. Ever
and anon, the peasants and villagers were seen
gathering from the fields and handets the
tithes belonging to the master and conveying
the same in rude carts to the store-house of
the baronial castle.
Most of all, however, did vassalage depend
upon the condition nf military service. The
vassal was solemnly bduml tn rally at the call
of his lord, to accompany him in all his en-
terprises of war, and to fight his battles to the
death. The JNIiddle Age was in some sense a
camp as wide as Western Europe. As a rule
the peasant must bring from his hamlet the
armor and supplies necessary for the cam-
paign. Woe to the wight who failed to arm
himself for the fray. Sometimes the expedi-
tion was long and full of hardships. Gener-
ally it was undertaken at the caprice or whim
of the suzerain, who, tired of the gluttony of
peace, sought instinctively the noble sport of
slaughter. What cared the well-fatted king,
the duke, the marquis for the butchery of the
low-born serfs and cattle whom they drove
into the fight? It was enough that some
petty sj)ite, engendered of kingly malice, or
some bitter jealousy li.uii in tlu' kingly lied,
should be propitiated with the liase lilood
of serfs.
It can not be doubted that Feudalism was
a necessity of the social condition of Europe
in the tenth century. The universality of its
adoption would of itself be a suflicieut proof
that the system sprang naturally and inevit-
ably out of the existing condition of political
society. With the cessation of barbarism, the
feudal principle began to assert itself. It
sprang up, as if from the soil. Wherever a
given situation was present, there the feudal
tenure prevailed more and nmre until the
whole social machinery of "\^'estern Europe
was conformed to a common tyjie of action.
Every existina- institution adojited the feudal
i\n-m. Monks hated it. Kin-s dreaded it.
Both eiiihvaeed it. Even tlu' Chnivh juit oil
her inijierial habit and donnecl the garments
UXIVEIISAL IJISTOBV.— rHE MODERN WOULD.
1.1 iiiniKi.-trrirs ■ (,r-:uiizatin,i .,f tlir lUiiiilv, t
of Feudalism. CailH.lnils aii.l iiiniia.-trri,.
One city iMcamr ilir -u/.n-aiii <if aiinthcr
The king hi.ns.-ir wa- n„ly a r.u.lal Innl ,,f rant, hrav
larger growtii. N"l "nly lamli''! i-tatc-, Imt a> thr Ira
rights, prern-ativcs. |irivih-;j-« tlir >uriili.-i' : the tiinr
fees of the Cluiivli. the n-vcmi<- .l.-riv.-.l fn,„i th.^ ,-nunt
the liaiiti-iiKil rit.-, llie |.i-ivil.--v of ti~iiin- in who in ih
a given river .,r of . iitlin-- w 1 in a -iveii in tli.' roi
forest— all w.mv eoiirclc.l l,y th.' superior to j Latin Ian
the inferior aft.'r the feu.lal manner. The itive n.-a'.:
system took complete possession of society, and | like i)eo|,
household, the
ite of a f.iHhil liainn ..f the .Middle A-es.
11.- ua< hini.elf a uarrior. lie was igno-
t, hravr, and Lilon..H-ly hrutal. He came
he le.-ider of a hand out of tl,,. N,,rlh. At
time of hi> appearin.u tlio inhahitants of
.-ou.itry were tli-e half-Uonianized Celts,
. in the cities and towii^ had wlmjly, an.l
he ronntrv di-trita- i.arllv, >uh>titntrd the
■hese one.- war-
constrained every other institution to accept
its form, if not its spirit.
Looking more cioseiv Into the social con-
dition of Feudal Europe, we find much of in-
terest an.l instruction. Mo.lerii times have
been and are still hii-Li.ly influenced by c.in-
ditious whicli w.-r.- nativ.' to the s.iil of Feu-
dalism. The- faniili
feudal in its .■iiara^
the nature of laii.l-
states of the "West
origin. From these
interestiuEr to skete
of Rome, had become tame an.l timid. They
were trodden under foot by the mighty war-
riors of the German woods. The work of
suhjugatioii was quickly and easily accom-
pli.-iie.l. A powerful liarbarism sat down with
.•ni>hing weight upon the abject Celtic peas-
antry of Western Europe.
The leader of this conquering band was
now destined to become a feudal lord. He
s.'ttl.d in the country which he had con-
i|UiiiMJ. He ch.ise f >r himself an estate with
a limit iiroporti.inate to his power an.l ambi-
th.ii. The inhabitants of these lands— vU-
FEUDAL ASCEXDEyrr.— FEUDALISM PROPEli
lagers, farmers, shei^herds, peasants — cowerfil
in terror at the sight of his naked sword.
Kesist him, they durst not. He entered and
took possession, and it was astonishinir fi si'C
the Celtic serfs gathering around him fir yv)-
tection ! They huddled around his drea<ll'ul
plume, preferring his savage domination to a
probable conquest by another still more terri-
ble and cruel.
The first work of the inci])ieut baron was
to create for himself a permanent residence.
To this end he selected some solitary spot, a
high hill, an almost inaccessible crag, or de-
fensible position by the water side, and there
laid the foundations of his castle. With the
aid of his companions and the subject peas-
ants, he reared the huge walls of stone. The
battlements and towers appeared. A deep
moat was drawn around, and draw-bridge and
portcullis completed what part of the defenses
had been omitted by nature. 'Within were
capacious and high chambers, finished in im-
perishable oak. Within the stone-girt inclos-
ure were stables, kennels, and store-houses.
Nothing was wanting to complete the isola-
tion, solitude, and defensibility of the massive
pile in which the warrior chief now took up
his abode.
With him into his castle came his family.
This consisted, first of all, of his German wife
and children. Them he held in all the love
and honor of barbaric tenderness. Besides
these, there were generally in the baron's
household a number of dependent kinsmen —
some feeble uncle or indifferent cousin, who
had been unable to conquer an estate for
himself, and who preferred the safety of hang-
ing on, rather than the dangerous glory of in-
dependence. The same disposition was shown
by many other freemen who chose to associate
themselves with the master and to obey his
commands in return for a safe abode in his
castle. Thus was created about the new baro-
nial lord a body of retainers, who constituted
a principal element in the feudal society. —
Such was the small, isolated family or com-
munity which constituted the nucleus of
power in the new system which had taken
possession of Europe.
At the foot of the hill on which stood the
castle of the lord were clustered the village
and hamlets of the serfs and peasants. They
drew near to their master as to a rock of
stifety. They dreaded him, feared him, re-
s[n'eted him, hated him — tor who ever loved a
master? They hnd.ll.d to-rth.r and looked
up at the height; it wa- iiuirr.sMl,],.. They
, accejited their lot; and thfii lir;;an that weaiy
career of toil, servility, and di/spair through
I which the peasantry of Europe has held its
suffering way even to the present hour.
At the first there were few ties existent
between the master and his servants. Perhaps
the first real bond which came to unite thera
in interest and feeling was the tie of a com-
mon religion. The Christian priest insinuated
himself into the new situation. For a while
the castle w\ill kept him at bay, and he was
obliged to content himself with a residence
among the peasants of the village. To them
he ministered in holy things. He baptized
their children, solemnized their marriages,
soothed them in affliction, and ministered
consolation at the grave. It was from these
benevolent ministrations that the Christian
priest of the Middle Ages gained and held so
powerful an ascendency over the peasant
mind of Europe. But with the baron in the
castle the expositor of religion was far less
successful. The manners and sentiments of
the early feudal family were pagan rather
than Christian. It was not to be expected
that the baronial chief, who had thrown ofl
all restraint, who held his estates in his own
rights and contemned even the prerogatives of
the king, would patiently give up his soul to
the management of a priest. To be sure, the
banm became nominally a Christian ; but his
instincts, opinions, and manners were not
much curbed by the restraints of the faith
which he professed. He held the priest aloof
or tolerated his interference as a necessary evil.
If we look into the sentiments and feelings
of the feudal fiimily, we shall observe several
traits of marked importance. In the first
place, the situation was such as to encourage
in the possessor of a fief the idea of his own
personal greatness and his vast superiority to
those around him. No other condition of
man ever so powerfully conduced to engender
pride and a sense of personal consequence as
did the institution of Feudalism. The baron
saw himself lifted vastly above the common
herd. He saw himself deferred to, feared,
UXI I -Ki:SA L HIS TOR 1 '. — THE MOIjEUX 1 1 VIILD.
obeyed, ajiproauhed witli awe aud ob;efjuiinis-
ness. He appeared to luiustdt' as the source
and fountain of authority and honor. His
importance was not derived, but inherent.
He had conquered his estate with the sword.
He had built his castle without permission
even of the king. His greatness belonged to
himself alone, or, at most, to his family. To
his son he looked as his successor, and in-
stilled in him the same lessons of hauglity
self-assertion which he hilll^clf had learned
was a system in which the chieftain was the
i'ather of a family proper, set in an inacessi-
ble position above a subject people, between
whom and himself (for they were not of the
same race) there existed no ties of kinship or
friendly feeling and few bonds of common
interest.
The situation of the feudal family wa3
such as t(j bring into play and develop the do-
mestic and chivalrous sentiment in a measure
uneijualed in any other social institution of
Tl L OF niM VDI JWOS IN' TRAXSYLVANI
first in war ami
ds
estate.
As to the feudal family, it was unlike any
other pre.seuted in lii.-tory. It was n"t a
tribe after the patriarrhic fashion— a gray and
venerable sage, father, granrlt'ather, and great-
grandfather of the shepherds who gathered
around his tents; nor was it a clan after the
manner of tlie primitive society of Scotland —
a chief livinL' a|i:irl from his followers and
pursuing a dilK-nnt life, leading his men in
war and commahain- tlicin in peace: but it
tlie
The members of the familv,
com pi
u lov(
ilation.
nd h^
]ilai-c(l as they were i:
iiiiisf holil each other
With each nightfall tlie draw-bri.lge was
thnnvn up, and all the housrhold gathered in
tlic banqueting-hall and around the baronial
hearth. AVine and latighter and song ruled
the hours of the gloomy night. There hung
the arms of the master and the trophies
which he had gathered in war. There the
baron's beautiful daughter took part in her
bnitlier's irames and listened with them to the
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.— FEUDALISM PROPER
warrior father's epic recital of the deeds done
in the fire of his youth. The mother, too,
was in the midst of the scene, still strong-
limbed and glorious after the battles of many
an expedition and the victorious struggles of
maternity; It was not strange that Woman
here and now became the idol of a nascent
civilization, honored, adored, worshiped as she
had never been before. The sentiment of
Ideal Love gained here an ascendency over the
mind of man, and about his life began to be
woven those magic cords of chivalrous devo-
tion which he has gladly and nobly worn for
nearly a thousand years. May many another
thousand be added to the past before those
strong and tender cords shall be broken and
the soul of man, so hardly emerged from the
old fenlands and sloughs of lust, be remanded
again to the level of brutality and the horrid
styes of animalism !
Another circumstance to lie noted in con-
nection with the feudal institution was the
growth therein of the princii)le of inheritance.
The baronial lord naturally liniked around to
discover some means or expedient whereby to
preserve in its integrity the estate which he
had won by the sword. The suggestion of
substituting the law of descent for the law of
conquest arose naturally in his mind ; and
since the division of an estate among several
sons would have destroyed the very system
which it was intended to conserve, the prin-
ciple of primogeniture came in as the inevit-
able concomitant of the law of inheritance.
The complication arose with respect to the
younger sons of the feudal family. AVhat
should be done in the case of him who had
the misfortune not to be the first-born of the
household? The only solution of the diffi-
culty seemed to rest in the fact that the
younger son, if born to the inheritance of
valor and ambition, might go forth and con-
quer an estate of his own. The world was
wide. Many provinces still lay in the waste
of half-savagery. He who would and could,
might take and keep a domain of his own.
Missing this opportunity of conquest, the only
alternative remaining to the younger scion of
feudalism was either to win the only daugh-
ter of some sonless baron or to become the
hanger-on of an elder brother.
As it respected the small community of
serfs, the government of the feudal lord was
arliitrary and tyrannical. The peasants were
regarded as destitute of rights. All the powers
and prerogatives which modern society has
delegated to the magistrate were exercised
and abused at will by the baronial master.
He made the law and executed it. He levied
and collected taxes. He inflicted punishment
and treated his tenants as slaves.
There was thus established over the peas-
antry of Medieval Europe a tyranny the most
galling, as it has been the most jsersistent,
known in the annals of mankind. The most
bitter hardship of the system lay in the fact
that the despotism of the feudal baron was
jjerfonal. He did not pretend to derive his
authority from the consent of the governed.
Neither the concession of the king nor the
permission of heaven was recognized as a nec-
essary antecedent of his authorit}'. He ruled
in his own right. It was man over man — the
most odious of all the species of tyranny.
Hence has arisen and continued throughout
Western Europe the deep-seated aversion or
positive hatred of the jieasant classes for the
system of feudal d(iniinatii)ii. Nor can it
well be doubted that the day will come when
this aversion of the subject for the ruling
classes in European society will result in sub-
stituting everywhere the government of rea-
son and consent for the government of per-
sonal will.
The feudal family, as descrilxMl in the
preceding paragraphs, constituted a part
of a general society. The face of Europe
was dotted with castles. Though the iso-
lation of each was complete, the common
origin and character nf all produced a like
situation on the face of Europe. The people
in all parts became divided into lords and
vassals. Ties, first of kinship and afterwards
of political interest, were gradually estab-
lished between the possessors of fiefs. Obli-
gations of service and counter-service stretched
from castle to castle, fVimi province to prov-l
ince, from state to state. The new social con-
dition which had ;:r:iiliially nci/.ed out of bar-
barism became orLiaiiii-, was ci inverted into a
system. True it is that the.-e ties and obliga-
tions, mutually ami voluntarily imposed upon
each other and their serfs by the feudal lords,
never became constitutional, never were de-
UXIVKI;SAL lllSTDRY.^THK MODKUy WOULl)
]5ut
concedeil
I.lcas an.l
The- one
service,
n sprang
The princi
the argunii
t\!/t'i!fLTp'r"naM'v!!t''
took the pi
i.-c nl' written statutrs ami inaxi?ii.~
of the cn)\
n.
As it r
■spoctcil the feuilal baron anil his
family, it i
an harilly be denied that this pe-
was the twitter of the adventurous bird in the
gray light of the early morning. Albeit the
untutored baron and hi.s sons and daughters
wist not that in the general destinies of the
world they were entertaining the wierd pre-
cursor of the mighty banls of the future.
>>'ot s'>, Imwever, res]ieeting the intellectual
dovelnpnii-iit of the serfs. To them the sys-
tem was worniw 1 and despair. They must
tnil and give to another. They must patiently
endure the lirutal treatment and exactions of
the lords. They must live without andjition
and die without encomium. They must trans-
— ^^^
culiar system which took possession of Europe
■was beneficial — salutary. The character of
the lord and his household grew and expanded
under the stimulus of the institution which
he had created. The baronial castle became
the seat of sentiment and affection. Here the
wandering luinstrrl, that forlorn, i<lealistic
spirit, drifting up and down the ways and
byways of half-barbaric Europe, found a
resting-place at night. Here he was enter-
tained by the amused lord and his household.
Here that long-haired harper of the dawn
sang tlie first songs and ballads of the new
era bv and 1)V to lireak upon the world. It
mit their hard estate to a household of squalid
wretches like themselves. They must consent
without a murmur to half-starvation of the
body and total starvation of the mind. They
must accept a life with no tradition except
the memory of hardship, with no fruition
exce])t the sour lireail of poverty, and with
no prospect except a gloomy mass of shadow
and cloud out of which shot two tongues of
fire, the one in the shape of a sword and the
other in the shape of a lash.
The great system which has thus been
sketched in outline gained possession of almost
the entire social fabric of Western Europe.
FEUDAL ASCESDESLY.— FEUDALISM FKOI'ER.
France became fciulal. As early as the treaty
of Verduu in 843 two princes divided tlie
Franliisli lands with Charles the Bald. The
king of Ai|uitaine t.n.k his p.u'ti.in of the
territories, and i\w Duke (if Brittany di.l like-
wise. The action of Charles in .STIi, in rvc-
ognizing the hereditary rights of his lords, has
already been narrated in the preceding Book.'
By the end of the ninth century, twenty-nine
great fiefs had been established in Carlnviu-
gian France, and in the century filhiwiug
the number was increased to fifty-five. Dur-
ing the tenth century the disruptive tendency
in society everywhere displayed itself in full
force. The ties between the great dukes and
lords on the one side and the king on the
other were either greatly weakened or wholly
abrogated. But little was wanting to the
complete independence of the petty states
into which the kingdom was resolved. In
process of time the only obligation recognized
by the lords and nobles was the insignificant
act of fealty performed by them in the pres-
ence of a shadowy king.
In Germany, also, the break-up under the
successors of Charlemagne lacked little of
completeness. Here Feudalism as a system be-
came a definite political form, which in some
parts has remained with few changes unto
the present day. In the first place, Saxony
and Bavaria asserted their independence.
The Suabian and Saxon dukes became suzer-
ains and united the interests of their subjects
■with their own. Feudal government — that
graduated system of jurisdiction in which
every lord judged, taxed, and commanded the
class of persons next below him — was substi-
tuted for that legal system which had been
established by Charlemagne.
In England there were symptoms of an in-
digenous Feudalism as early as the time of
Alfred the Great. Under Canute the Great
all Britain was divi.l.d int.. four grrat earl-
doms. East Aiiglla was -iven to Thurkill ;
Mercia, to Eadri.'; Noitlanuliriii, to Erie;
^^hil(■ \\\-t Saxony was ivmtw.I hv ( 'Mnnte.
Whcihrr the sy.<tr,n thus fairly inau-iiratr,l
in Danish England would have conif to full
flower anil fruitage under the auspices of the
Saxons and the Korthmen, can only be dcter-
niin(<l by Conjecture. At the tiiiir of the
Nonnan CoU(pifst, the institutions of the
island were in a semi-feudalized condition.
With the coming of William the Conqueror,
the native tendencies were suddenly arrested.
He introduced into England a great central
administration, to which the country had
hitherto been a stranger. He took the lands
of the kingdom in his own right, and became
the lord-paramount of all England. The ad-
ministrative functions of the old Saxon and
Danish earls were transferred to the sherifis of
the king. Vainly did the native Ixirons re-
sist the encroachments upon their rights.
They were overpowered and jiut down liy the
arm of one more powerful than themselves.
Norman noliles were insinuated into the places
of the expelled Danish and Saxon proprie-
tors, and the new order was established, which
has remained the basis of land tenure, and,
in some sense, of the general constitution of
England, to the present day.
Having thus drawn an outline of the
feudal system itself — having considered that
peculiar institution in its origin, growth, and
tendencies, and noted the sentiments and
ideas which sprang naturally from the bosom
of that society, forecasting, here and there,
the influences which the system might be ex-
pected to exert on the destinies of modern
times — we will now proceed to sketch the
social and political progress of the various
states of Europe over which Feudalism as-
serted its sway.
' See Book Thirteenth, pp. 544, 54."
CSniJ!>,AL Ul.^liiltY. — TUK MoDKUy WOULD.
CHAl-TKK I,XXX\'.-KKIJ1J^I. KlxiAXCE.
)f Franco (lied
\Viih him the
rl..viugianshe-
ixti}i(t. Even be-
lls death that ouce
ions line of kings
had sunk to a level with
111- hi (Kid of Charlemagne no
more a.ssL-rletl itself as a living force in the
state. For many years the powerful Hugh
Capet, son of Hugh the Great, had wielded
the power of the kingdom. Louis the Slug-
gard was no more than putty in his hands.
Now that the puppet king was dead, uow that
only a distant collateral and discredited rep-
resentative might claim the crown, the issue
was squarely made whether Hugh would him-
self accept an election to the throne or allow
the choice to fall upon another.
As soon as King Lmiis was dead the
French nobles assembled at S(.'ulis. The tide
of public opinion ran strongly iu the direction
of the choice of Hugh Capet. A feeble eflbrt
was made by the remaining descendant of the
Carlovingians, Duke Charles of Lower Lor-
raine, to obtain the royal power for himself;
but his claims were treated with contempt.
In June of 987 the grandees reassembled at
Senlis and proceeded to an election. Count
Hugh was jircscnt among them and addressed
the assembly. 'l"hc nobles were of one opin-
ion as to him who .should be raised to the .seat
of Charlemagne. Hugh Capet was unanimously
elected, and on the following day was crowned
king of the Gauls, the Bretons, the Xormans,
the Aquitaiuians, the Goths, the Spaniards, and
the Bas(iues. Thus, in the year 987, the Ca-
petiau line was substituted for the Carlovin-
gian on the throne oi' I'^'anco.
One of the lirst cares of the new king was
to estalilish the succession. He proposed to
the nobles that to secure the stabilitv of the
lattei
(1 been
hat tlie
kingdom hi-
with him.selt
proposal wa^
cent interva
i;.
be associated
At first the
. In the re-
of the Slusr-
titness in the choice of a king of France.
Kow there was a manifest disposition on the
part of the supporters of the king to reverse
the late rule of action and restore the law of
descent. After some debates Duke Robert
was solemnly crowned in the basilica of Sainte-
Croix, and associated witli his father in the
government.
The election of Hugh Capet to the throne
of France was the substitution of a feudal
kingdom in the place of the constitutional
monarchy established by Charlemagne. King
Hugh was the greatest feudal chieftain of his
times. He was duke of the country called
France, and count of the city of Paris. His
coronation as king of the French was a public
recognition of tile fact that the Lnperialistic
claims of the Carlovingians had given i)lace
to Feudalism as the essential principle of the
state. The very nobles who had elected Hugh
to the throne forbare not presently to assert
their independence of it. A certain Adelbert,
who had participated in the recent royal elec-
tion, fell into an altercation with his sover-
eign, and hot words passed between them.
" "Who made thee Count?" demanded the king
of his vassal. And the vassal replied with
the equally pertinent question, " T17io made
thre KiiKjf The incident is illustrative of
the i'act that feudal insubordination had al-
ready trimiiplied over monarchical prerogative.
Duke Charles of Lorraine made a spas-
modic and inglorious attempt to regain the
throne of his fathers. The struggle was vain,
liein^;- in the face of fate. A new order had
taken ]ii,vsession not only of France, but of
all WeMern Lun,].('. In the year 992 the
Duke Ch.-ules (lied, and liis family fell into
still grealer oliM-uritv tlian i^-er. King Hugh,
meanwhile, entered upon his reign with wis-
dom and moderation, and the throne was soon
stalilished in his House. From the
. however, it was evident that the
seen
verv
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDAL FRANCE.
incipient struggle was on between the inde-
pendent claims of tlie feudal baron and the
assertion of kingly authority. It was tlie bo-
ginning of a conflict which was to continue
for centuries, and which was finally to be de-
cided in favor of the crown by the triumiih
of Louis XI. over Charles the Bold.
The reign of Hugh Capet was of nine
years' duration. He administered the affairs
of state wisely and well. He had the advan-
tage of continuing the policy which he him-
self had instituted during his uncrowned
career before the death of the Sluggard.
Under his auspices the civilization of France,
destined to remain under the direction of his
matters. It hai)pened that Robert and his
queen were cousins in the fnurth degree, and
this relationship was, acrdi'dinu; to tlie canons
of tlie church, an insuperable oli-iacli' to mar-
riage. Pope Gregory \'. issued an edict or-
dering an immediate divorce under pain of
excommunication. But the twain clung to-
gether even under the dire anathema of Rome.
They remained in the palace, abandoned by
their friends, destitute, suffering, starving ;
for none durst bring them food or minister to
their necessities. The whole kingdom was
placed under an Interdict. Still the law of
love prevailed in the royal bosom. At length
the queen became a mother, but her chUd
^KX^-4-
House for eight hundred years, began to mijve
forward with rapid strides, and the kingdom
soon surpassed in refinement and culture any
other state north of the Alps. In 996 Hugh
Capet died, and was quietly suceeedeil bv his
son Robert, already king-elect of France.
The new sovereign of the now feudal king-
dom entered upon a long, obscure, and in-
glorious reign. No regular annals of the
period are iu existence, and the partial records
which have been preserved are confused and
contradictory. In the year before his acces-
sion to the throne the king had taken in mar-
riage Bertha, the widow of Eudes, count of
Chartres, for whom he had long cherished a
romantic affection. The Church of Rome,
however, was little given to romancing in such
was born dead. Thereupon the monks pro
claimed that it was the curse of God upon
the kingly pair for their unholy marriage.
They circulated the report that the dead child
was a niniistnius diinrniity, having no sem-
blance ti. tlie ollsprinu of man. Terror now
seized \\\»m tlic mind of King Robert, and
he consented to divorce the queen. Bertha
was sent in her sorrow to a convent, and
there passed the remainder of her life as a nun.
In abilities and energy Robert, who now
received the surname of the Pious, was
greatly inferior to Ins father. Hi- luived his
way with good intentions, Imt the snperstnie-
tnre of his reign was reared of weakness and
folly. Tiie king mixed an amiable disposition
aiKi kindly designs with foolish miscoucep-
ux]rj:i;sAL iustory.—the modern world.
.1 that
IS tc
■allur ihaii In relieve the
H" ill ihe exeirl.se of aii-
-1 i as a lieeuse by the
■li-i"ii> seiitiuients were so
ti.-tieil with forms aud cer-
kiiiu-
K,",l,e
.She f
hadni
if her Liay ami ileliMhtful friends from
1. Their hii-lit div.sses dashed in the
the sedate courtiers with whom the
surrounded himself. Their free aud
laiinors were horrifyiiisi; to the pious
l.ut to the .iiieeii all this was life.
1 the palaee with minstrels and trou-
She contrived exciting sports and
aniu-eiiiiiits, and made the monk-shadowed
hall rill.;- with the high glee of jocularity.
The despairing king sought refuge with his
jiriests. He assisted them in the church serv-
ices. He went on lonesome pilgrimages to
the shrines of the saints. He sought the com-
panionship of filthy beggars, and was in the
habit of uwltliiij llwir j'irt as a token of his
humility.
The reign .if Knliert the Pious is note-
worthy in French history as the time when
the lirst Hush of the crusading fever was felt
in Western Europe. At the very time when
Queen Constance was holding high revel with
her tiiiiiliadours in the palace at Paris, and
the cli-((iiis(ilate king was wamlering here and
there in seairh <if siiiiie liahii fnr his dyspeptic
spirit, vague rumors tloated westward and the
east wind liegan to whisper the story of out-
rage dniie liy the .sacrilegious Saracens at the
tomli of Christ. It was said that the holy
places of .Jerusalem were defiled by Infidel
dugs, win I spiu-Med with the foot of contempt
the h.wly Christians of Palestine. It was the
pecnliaiity uf this priiiiDiiitdi-y excitement,
which, after smouldering for nearly a cen-
tury, was destined to wrap all Europe in its
flames, that the wrath of the Western Chris-
tians was at first directed against the Jews.
It was saiil that these people, still hating
Cln-ist and \n< lollnwers, had iustigate.l the
(um-a-.'s whiei, had l.r, n committe.l iiv the
.Mnhaiiiiiirdaii- ill I'al.-tiiie. They had car-
ried on a .seci'et correspondence with the In-
fidels of the East, and had suggested the
exterminatiim of the Asiatic Christians. Poj)e
Sylvester II., though now in his old age,
vc'heiiieiitly proi laiiiied the duty of Europe
to d.-ti'oy th.' porll.loiis .Jews and proceed
time, however, had not yet come when such
an appeal couhl fire tli.-' niullitu.les and fiing
them headlong into Asia.
In the year 1002 i;..lMrt became emln-oiled
with the iniucs of Bur-undy. Duke Henry
of that lu-ovince, uncle of the French king,
died aud left no children ; but after his death
his step-son Otho came in aud claimed the
dukedom. King Robert also laid claim to
Burgundy as the nephew of Duke Henry.
But the king was not fitted, either by disposi-
tion or experience, for a conflict which must
be decided by force of arms. He accordingly
called in his great vassal, the Duke of Nor-
mamly, to aiil him against the Burgundian
usuipi^r. The latter in the mean time raised
an army, advanced to meet his foe, and took
pos.session of the aliliey of 8t. Germain, near
the city of Auxerre. 'I'iie army of French and
Normans came on from the west, and were
aliout to attack the Burgundians at the aljbey
when a priest came forth and warned the
king not to incur the anger of God liy as-
.siuhiiig his earthly samliiary. At that mo-
ment a thick mist ai-ose up from the river.
It was the spirit of St. Germain himself come
from the deeps to reenforce the appeal of
his priest!
The pious King Robert could not stand be-
fore such an apparition from the unseen
world. He and his army turned and fled.
The rebel Otho was left master of the situa-
tion. In 100.3 the king made a second abor-
tive attempt to reduce the Burgundian to
sulimission. The cam]iaign ended with as
little success as before, and Otho continued to
rule tlie province for a period of eleven years.
At the end of that time he made a voluntary
sulimission to the king, whose vassal he be-
came, with the title of Count of Burgundy.
King Roltert held the throne of France
until the year lO.Jl. His eldest son Hugh
FEUDAL ASCEyDENCY.— FEUDAL FltAyCE.
«as recognized as his successor, and was
crowned as the expectant heir while still a
child. But this prince died six years ln'f.jro
the death (if iiis father. Eudcs, tli.' Mcond
sou of Robert, was an idiot; so Henry, thu
third son, was chosen for the succession,
though this act was done against the violent
opposition of Queen Constance, who desired
that the crown should be bestowed upon her
favorite, the Prince Robert, youngest of the
four brothers. lu the year 10;]1, Kinu' lu.li-
ert, being then in his sixtieth yiai' ;nid the
thirty-fourth of his reign, was attacketl with a
fever while im his return frmu a pilgrimage.
He died at the t.)wn <if :Meluu, ami was suc-
ceeded by Prince Heney.
No sooner was the new king seated on the
thi-one than the partial and implacable queen-
mother stirred up a revolt against him. So
great was her influence in the court and cap-
ital, and so critical became the aspect, that
Henry fled from Paris and sinight the protec-
tion of Roliert the ^Magnificent, the reigning
Duke of Normandy. That country had re-
cently been the scene of tumult, intrigue, and
crime. The Duke Richard H. had died in
1027, and was succeeded by his son, Richard
HI. With him his brother Robert, ambitious
to gain the duchy for himself, raised a quar-
rel, and the two princes took up arms to decide
the controversy. Richard at first gained the
advantage, and Robert was besieged in the
castle of Falaise. The latter, finding himself
pent up, resorted to treachery. Pretending
to desire reconciliation, he opened the gates
to his brother and invited him and his nobles
to a banquet. Thereupon Richard sickened
and died, the probable cause being poison.
An accusation was brought against Robert,
and he was excommunicated by his brother,
Archbishop Manger, of Rouen. Presently
afterwards, however, the sentence was re-
moved, and he gained the title not only of
Duke of Normandy, but also of the Mag-
nificent. To him King Henry now appealed
as to a protector against the malice of his
delightful mother. Robert at once espoused
the cause of the royal appellant, marched on
Paris, brought the queen-mother to obedience,
and shut her up in a convent. There she had
leisure to recall the pleasures of youth, and
to hear afjain in dreams the thrumming
of mediieval guitars in the hands of her
troul)adours.
As a rcwanl fiir service rend.Tod, King
Ilriiry gavr t.. his lVi,n<l, Dnkr llol.crt, the
pr..viiircs ,.f Pontuisr and (u.ors. These
were annexed to Noiiiiamly. At the same
time he appeased the anibiiinn of his (jwn
brother Robert by l).•slu^viug on him the crown
of Burgundy. Shortly afterwards the Duke
^Magnificent discovered an alarming balance
ai;ainst his soul in the ledger of conscience,
lb' dreamed of the treacherous banquet at
Falaisr, and saw his brother's face in the
shadows. Fain would he aliaiidou tlie splen-
dor which he had s(j foully won, and regain
the favor of heaven by a pilgrimage to Jeru-
salem. But what of the succession to the
dukedom? He had no children save one and
he was — illegitimate. Robert had been enam-
ored of the daughter of a tanuer ! Feudalism
woulil hardly recognize the offspring of so
base a union. But Nature had set on the
brow of the youth the seal of genius. The
father was anxious to have him acknowledged
as his successor. At last the reluctant barons
consented. They came into the jaresence of
the ))astard boy and swore allegiance to him
who was presently to become William the
Conqueror ! Then the penitent Robert, in
pilgrim's garb, wended his way to the holy
places of the East, and died in Palestine.
No sooner was Duke William acknowl-
edged as the rightful ruler of Normandy than
lie began to display the great qualities of am-
bition and daring for which he was so greatly
distinguished. The Norman nobles became
proud of their young suzerain, and the bishops
blinked the story of his birth. Meanwhile,
King Henry of France, surprised at seeing
thus to bud from the bosom of a tanner's
daughter a plant which seemed likely to over-
shadow the realm, bitterly repented the part
which he had taken in favor of Robert and
his base-born son. He accordingly conspired
with Archbishop ^lau'ji i-, uncle of the aspii--
ing duke, to reverse the oi-iler of events and
transfer the Norman duchy to another. But
AVilliam was so firmly established in the re-
spect and affections of his subjects that the
plot against him came to naught. Nature
went forth to victory, and legitimacy sat
UXIVERSAL IIISTOHY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
King Il.-iin- (iiTU]ii((l the throne ot" France
from lO.jo lo liHin. His rt-ign, on the \vh(jle,
was weak, it' not contt'mptiljle. Three times
was lie man-ieil. The first two unions were
with queens who brought him no chililreu ;
but in the tliird marriage he tooli to the pal-
ace the Russian princess Anne, daughter of
the czar, and by her he had three sons. This
third marriage of the king with the daughter
of a ro_val House then scarcely known in West-
ern Europe was an event the motives of which
it would be difficult to discover. But such was
the wifely and the queeuly character of the
foreign princess thus oddly introduced into the
palace of the Capets that all cavil against the
king's caprice was quieted. The three sons
born to King Henry were Phelip, who suc-
ceeded him; Robert, who died in childhood;
and Hugh, who became count of Vermandois.
Now it was that the disk of Feudalism grew
large and bright. At the same time the sun
of royalty waned, as if to its setting. The
splendor of the king's court was actually
eclipsed by the superior brightness of the
courts of many of his vassals. The great
counts of Toulouse, Flanders, and Anjou out-
shone their king in magnificence, and were
fully bis equals in the li.ld. The Count of
Champagne and ISlois, iialf-hrother to King
Henry, maintained a court in rivalry to that
of Paris. He even set up a pretension of
royalty, and in Ktt? fought a bloody battle
with the Emperor Conrad of Germany. He
claimed from that nKJiiarch the territories
which bad belonged to Conrad the Pacific ;
but the count was slain in liattle, and his
claims were thus blown away. The elder of
his two sons was permitted to inherit the earl-
dom of Champagne, and the younger became
Count of Blois.
The reign of King Henry, however undis-
tinguished in itself, was a noted epoch for two
considerations. The first was the formal effort
which was now put forth bv the Romish .Sec
to reform the abuses of the Church, and the
second was the growth and development of
Chttalry. For a long time ecclesiastical af-
fairs, especially in France, had been sinking
deeper and deeper into confusion and disgrace.
The conduct of the Gallic clergy had been
such as to cover the cause of religion with re-
proach and shame.
It will be remembered that the celibate party
had, ill the great struggle of the ninth cen-
tury, Won the day over the supporters of a
married clergy. For a generation or two the
celibate monks rejoiced in their victory ; but
by and by they began themselves to be rest-
less under the system whicli they had suc-
ceeded in enforcing. Many of them broke
their vows and left the monasteries. The
Cluin-li was greatly scandalized. Other abuses
a<lded Xo the disgraces of the organization.
Benefices were frequently sold to the highest
bidder. Even the Papal crown itself had
been so disposed of. The folly of the earthly
kingdoms in permitting children and boys to
occupy thrones was witnessed also at Rome,
where Benedict IX., a stripling but ten years
of age was raised to the seat of St. Peter.
The more serious and sincere ecclesiastics felt
keenly the shame consequent upon these cor-
ruptions. The cry of reform was raised. The
conscience of Germany was deeply stirred at
the existing condition of affairs. In the year
1049 the celebrated Bruno was chosen Pope,
under the auspices of Henry III. The new
dignitary was a man of sanctity and learning.
Under the name of Leo IX. he undertook a
renovation of the Church. He passed over
into France, and convened a great council at
Rlieims. Here the prelates of the kingdom
were summoned, and a more rigorous enforce-
ment of the canonical and moral law was made
against those who had been guilty of cirme.
As a further measure of reform in the
Church, St. Bruno instituted the order of
Carthusian monks, the same being a branch
of the Benedictines, already established. A
wild and solitary spot near the city of Greno-
ble, in the department of La Chartreuse, was
chosen as the site of the first monastery. The
observances of the new order were austere and
penitential in the last degree. Nor was it
long until the Carthusians gained a reputation
for benevolence and sanctity above that of
any contemporary establishment. Their mon-
asteries soon appeared in various parts of
France, Germany, and England. One branch
of the brotherhood was established in the
Thermre of Diocletian at Rome. Great was
the industry displayed by the shorn brothers
of Chartreuse in the works peculiar to the
monastic life.
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.— FEUDAL FEAXCE.
Another feature of the religious history of
these times was the spread of various heresies.
The doctrines of the Church were denied or
assailed by many of the clergy. Persecutions
for opinion's sake were already frequent.
Sects of fanatics, anxious by some extraordi-
nary method and discipline of life to merit the
special favor of heaven, arose in diti'erent
parts of the country. Of these, the cliarac-
teristics were some almost intolerable form of
penance, or unusual rigor of restraint upon
the natural appetites. It was the peculiar
tenet of one of the heretical sects to fast to
the last extreme, with total abstinence from
all animal food. Under this severe self-denial
the devotees of the community were presently
wasted until they were more like wan specters
than men of tlesli and blood. To be so re-
duced in body was iv-anlfd as the hi-liest
evidence of sani'tity, and tin- liaL:-:;ard visaye
was thought to br tlu' only cnuutenance wurthy
the name of Clnisiian.
Turning from tlu-i' pi'culiar aspects of the
religious history nt' the ilcventh century, we
note the rise of (_'iu\ alkv. This institution,
like Feudalism, of which it was a concomitant
development, grew naturally out of the social
condition of Western Europe. As early as
the days of Tacitus the sentiment of honor
was noticeable as a characteristic of German
life. Under a system where the man was
every thing and the state was little it was nec-
essary to the very existence of tribal society
that truth and devotion should prevail ovur
the intriguing and treacherous spirit. In such
a state trust was an antecedent of actiim.
When the Frankish trilies gained possession
of Gaul, and, giving (ivrr the wandering life,
fixed their residence on the soil, they began
almost from the very first to cultivate those
sentiments which they had come to regard as
the best traits of German character. When
the Frankish youths were first presented with
the weapons which they were to wear in man-
hood, they were made to take an oath that
they would be brave, valiant, and honorable
soldiers. Even in those early times the worst
stigma which could be affixed to the tribal
name was a dishonorable act on the part of
its chief. Such were the fundamental facts
upon which the chivalrous institutions of the
Middle Ages were founded.
In the beginning of the eleventh century,
Frankish society having then taken ou a
definite form and Feudalism liavinL' become
the basis of the state, the Chiuvh discdvered
in the chivalrous sentimeius i,{' ihe Franks
the means of giving a new impulse i„ relig-
ion. Many of the pious imliles wlm had been
actual warriors by profession were induced to
become ideal soidi.rs of the Cross. They
consecrateil their >words to the cause of vir-
tue, truth, and religion. Th.-y took upon
them vows to defend the iiinoeeiit ami uphold
the weak. They became the sworn foes of
oppression, the enemies of wrong-doing where-
ever and whenever found. The old warlike
impulses thus found a vent, and the restless
energies of the barbarian character, still pres-
ent in the descendants of the Teutones, flowed
in a newer and broader eluinml. Just at the
time when the couseiou>ue-s of ^Vestern Eu-
rojio was reviving t'rom its long, Ijarbaric
sleep, just at the time when tlie human imag-
ination began to paint an aureole about the
gross head of the feudal chieftain. Chivalry
came with its refinement of thought and gen-
erosity of action to add new radiance to the
morning of civilization.
The noble principles and high ideals which
thus began to gain an aseemleney in mediceval
society soon became organii' in an institution.
An Order of Knighthood was established as
the conservator of the new heroism of nascent
Europe. Laws and reijuhitions were adopted
and a discipline establi-hed for the better de-
velopment of chivalrous sentiments and the
jii-oper ilireetion of kni-htl\' ardor. The order
<ipened its portals to none but men of noble
birth. The vulgar [.easautry was absolutely
excluded. What dreams of iieroism and gen-
erosity, of honor, virtue, and truth, of the
rescue of the helpless and the defense of the
weak, could agitate the unimaginative brains
of ignoble serfs ? So reasoned and queried
the suzerain, the royal warrior, the baronial
lord and his aspiring sons, riding forth td
tournament or going abroad in search of
heroic and adventurous excitement.
The ceremonial of knighthood was in-
teresting and elaborate. The aspirant to
knightly honors, after a period of probation,
came at length to the day when he was to be
admitted among the noble order. The candi-
(M
UXIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODKUX WORLD.
■arffully l.atht-.l, in onk-r that
u.seoted pure bei'ore the luinis-
the wa.'^hiug he was clothed iu
over which iu a kiter part of
.-a.s phiceil a crimsou vest. Fi-
enca.~ed iu a eoat-of-mail.
(htte wa,- first
hr nii-ht lie p
trauts. After
a white tunie,
the ceremouy
nally lie wa;
His waist \va< Imuiitl with a lielt. Spurs v.i-re
affixed to his l.nnt- and a sw.ird -iit at his
side. Tiie various jiart.- of hLs dre« aud
armor had a speculative siguificance as well
as an actual use. The white tunic was syra-
hnliral ..f the new life which the kniiiht "had
vowr.l to loud. The rr,l vest, syiuhol of
blood, indicated that his business ' was war.
Hi:, armor, which was of a sable hue, was to
nobh- Ilou~i- woic put for pre]iaratory di.sci-
lessons of the master, imbibing his courtly
manners aud emulating his chivalrous deeds.
The sentiment of heroic adventure became
the one absorbing passion of Feudal Europe,
aud the armor of the returning knight, coming
home victoriou.s over the enemies of truth
and chastity, was regarded as the most Ikju-
orable emblem of the age.
Xor should failure here be made to men-
tion the part which woman naturally assumed
under the chivalric Tvijime which now jire-
vailed instead of the barbaric rule of the iiast.
A KIXG GOING TO TOrUNAMEXT.
remind him of th,. blarkne.s of death. His
She wa< the ra.liaiit and adored goddess of the
1)elt signified that he was girt with cha-tity.
chivalrous ai;e. To her, in some sort, the
aud his spurs that he should fly to the res-
whole system was directed. Weaker than
cue of the innocent. When the ceremony of
man, her protection, from being an instinc-
clothing the initiate was completed, he knelt
tive simtiment, became the open and avowed
before the olficiatiiiL:- kni-ht, who there-
duty of till' kni'jht. Religion said that the
upon struok him a bh.w on the shoulder with
kni-ht ,-lioiild 1.1- true to God; humanity,
the side of his .word, and exclaimed : "In the
that III' should 1.1- true to woman. The times
name of (iod, St. .Mi.h:i.-1, and St. George, I
wire >till full of violence. Lawless passions
dub thee kni',:ht. !'.'• brave, bold, and loyal.
still >oiii:lit to be -ratified at the expense of
Rise, Sirl" For Sir wa< the knightly title.
virtue, unable to defend itself against the
Great was tlir popularity immediately at-
stroll-. The feudal situation was such as to
tained by the chivahoiis orders. The one
eneoura'je the .sentiment of ennobling love.
overmasteriuL' aiiibillon of the noble youth of
Wo/nau was Mclmled from base familiarity.
Europe was to !„■ admitted to knighthood.
She -rew up in the ca>ile liall.^. The baron's
To this eml the x.n- of the feudal lords were
dauuliter was rarely seen abroad. From her
carefully bred and traiiiod. The scions of the
fatlurV castle to the ca.-tle of her pos>il.le
FEUDAL ASCE^DE^■CY.~FEUDAL FHAXCE.
lover was tlie space of fifty, iierliaps a hun-
dred, miles. It was hill country, dark wddds,
and deep rivers — hills without a roadway,
woods infested with brigands and robljers, and
rivers without a l^ridge. Her lover niu>t
come to her at peril nf his life. She had
never seen him : he had never seen her.
They had only dreamr.l and imagined each
other's loyalty and devotidn. Their fatliei-s,
])erhaps, were friends — old-time conijianidns
in the perils and hardslups of war. Perhaps
lling the reigns to a
II and shining armor,
if her father's castle.
It was tiie beginning of that great romance
whirl, for a thousand years has been the
<lreani of the human heart, gilding the gloom
with the
The institu
lished in the I
nd adorning the coarseness of life
auty and tenderness of ideal love.
■ eliivalry, thus estab-
ig of the'elevnth een-
hrouuhout the western
KNIGHTS'-ERRANT.
they were enemies! May be between them
yawned a chasm which had been rent open Ijy
the deadly feuds of a hundred years. The
young baron saw the divinity of his life afar.
He must blow his bugle outside of the moat.
The warder must announce a stranger and let
down the drawbridge if he was welcome. Uji
must be flung the portcullis, and in must
ride the aspiring lover, wIkj would lain lielmld
and worship the goddess of his dreams.
Meanwhile she, after the manner of her sex,
looked down into the court from her high and
narrow window and saw hint dismount from
part of Europe. Knightl
ood in France be-
came the dominant aspe(
t of society. In a
short time a class of eh
impious known as
knights-errant became jire
•alciit. and the rep-
resentatives of this Ordei
nn;jlil be seen in
almost every jiai't of the <
ountry. In Sjiain
the buMness ,,f the knidi
\\a- more serious
an.l Ies> ideal. There tli.
.Moors were to be
eoniVonted. There the b.
nni r of the Cross
was to be lifted against tli
It ot' the Crescent.
There in a tlmusand priv
ite encounters and
deadly p.i-onal battle>
he metal of the
Christian sword was to be
tested against that
f,()(
UXIVEHSAL HISTOIiV. — TJIE MOHKUX WORLD.
of thr M..liainmc(l:in. It thus luippcued that
the sentiment of hatred and contempt of Infi-
dels prevailed over noLler motives in the
chivaliy of 8]jain. Of all the countries of
Eun.p.', iii>ular and piarii.-al Kn-lan.l was
least favorahl.. tn tlir nr.pii.-n of knighth.M.l.
The kni-htly Kraii.-h of the military service
were those -mrilv vi.imaii aj-cliers, whose Ioult
bows of \>
w w.r
.-o t,
rril.le
to the enemy.
In the suc(
cediii,:;-
Honk
the i
iHuence of the
chivalrous
tioii as on
)nl.a-s V
• of tl
vill a,-
e l,a.
ill- 1
uand our attcii-
upulses of the
Crusa.l.'s.
It \Ta
in tl
t.sc ni
irvelous move-
ments of K
iro,„. I
, Ih.. ]
:a-t tl
at the knightly
spirit of th
■ Wr-t
found
it^ l.r
ad(/st and most
congenial fuM ui' aiiivity.
AftiT lii> drath in the year 1060, King
Henry was >uc(ccdrd (ui the throne of France
by his son I'hilip I. This prince was a mere
child, licing luit seven years of age at the
time of his accession. The late king had
taken the piceautinn tn appoint as regent Earl
Baldwin of Flanders duriu- the minoritv of
Philip. In lOi;; the protecuor died, and the
young king was lei't to his own resources and
responsiliiliiies.
The domestic relations of the new prince
were no more fortuuati' than those of his
father. Two years after the death of the
regent, I'hilip took in man-iage the Princess
Bertha, daughter of tlu' ('ount of Holland.
Sis years afterwards she liroiight to her lord a
son, who was destined to succeed him with the
title of Louis the Fat. After twenty years of
married life, th<' king made the convenient
discovery that he and the (pieen were within
the prohiliiied .legreesof kinship. He there-
fore put her away liy di\orce, and she went
into lianishnient at .Montivuil-sur-Mer. Nor
was it long uulil tlie ua^u re of the king's con-
scientious scruples Were amply revealed. He
had conceived a violent passion for the beauti-
ful Bertrade, fourth wife of his vassal, the
Count of Anjou.
But no sooner was Queen Bertha disposed
of thaii the king .set out for Tours, made
known his so-called love for Bertrade, who
presently left her eonsoi-t and joined her al-
leged lover at Orleans. The bishops and
priests were jiroperly shocke(l at these proceed-
ings on the part ot' their sovereign. Scarcely
coidd the king <liscover one of the clergv suf-
ficiently bold and unscrupulous to perform the
marriage ceremouy. The whole Church of
France was up in arms against it. The Pope
jiromptly joined his authority with that of the
(iailicaii lii.-hops who refu.sed to recognize the
validity of the union. Then followed a des-
jierate struggle between papal and kingly
prerogative. One excommunication after an-
other ua< launched at the heads of the king
au,l ids t'ew adherents, hut all t.. n.. avail.
He kept hi> ipu-en and mocked at the Ploly
Fatliei's auilioiitv. Philip's spirit rose with
the persecution against him. The priests re-
fused to jjerform religious services in any
town where he was sojourning, and when he
dejiarted from a town the bells rang a peal of
joy lor his departure. Thereupon he was ac-
customed to say with a laugh to her who was
the cause of the insult, "Dost hear, my love,
how they are ringing tis out?"
This social disturliance in the king's house
soon di>tracted the afiairs of the wdiole realm.
The kingdom was [uit under an interdict by
the Pope. For twelve years France lay
smitten with the awful displeasure of the
Holy See. Isot until the First Crusade had
drawn the attention of both Church and king
to the more serious question of expelling the
Infidels from Palestine did Philip finally yield
to the dictation of the Church. In the year
1104, in a great convocation of the bishops at
Paris, the king went humbly before the body,
confessed his sin, renounced his wife, and
promised to expiate his crime with meek and
penitential works. In like manner, Bertrade
yielded to the inevitalile and took the oath of
reniini-iation and future obedience. Kever-
theless, it is more than probable that both
king and queen, in abjuring their past lives,
swore falsely even on the Gospel. A short
time afterwards the audacious twain were liv-
ing as before, and jniblicly journeying to-
gether from place to place in the kingdom.
It appears, however, that King Philip was
not wholly engrossed with his vices. In the
early part of his reign he drew his sword in a
war with Robert, duke of Friesland, who had
seized tq».ii the duchy of Holland. But the
event soon showed that the king of the French
was by 110 ini'ans a match for Count Robert
and his ni>rtliern warriors. A peace was ac-
FEUDAL ASCEXDESiJ v.— FEUDAL FRANCE.
(j(t
cordingly made, on terms altogether favorable
to the Duke of Frieslaud. Eobert stipulated
that the young king should accept in marriage
his daughter Eertha. Fur she was that Bertha
■who has already been mentioned as the first
wife of Philip.
It was already llir daybreak of the Cru-
sades. The r^.a.'h'r «ill readily recall that
part of the narrative in tlie Second Bcxik <<{'
the present Yulunic «licrciu an account is
given of the more friendly relations which
were gradually estaldished between the Chris-
tians and Mohammedans in the East. iSor is
it likely that the old Hames of auinidsity
would have burst out anew if the mild-man-
nered Saracens of the East had remained in
possession of the Holy Sepulcher. It was
needed that the prejudice of race should be
added to the prejuilice of relic;iiin before the
ancient fires could be rekindlrd. But this
missing condition necessary to wrap all Eti-
rope in a conflagration was presently supplied
in the conquest of Palestine by the Seljukian
Turks. In the latt.r part of the eleventh
century these li.Tcc barbarians, themselves
the followers of the Pr(ii)lict, but a very dif-
ferent people from the refined and philosophi-
cal Arabs who controlled the destinies of
Islam in the South and the West, gained jios-
sessiou of the city '<{' .brusalrui, and lugaii a
career of violence an<l persecution which was
almost as repugnant to the Saracens as to the
Christians themselves. What should be said
of the despicable wntciics who, without com-
punction or fear, (•nn\-.it( d the churches of
the city of David and <-'hri-t into cow-houses
and stables?
The news of what was done in Palestine
created the grralc.-t iuibunatinu and ra'jr.
The Christian piLrini-, who r-raprd iVoni the
nous Christian stat
up.Mi, them to rally t.. the
])eriled Cross, ileanwliil
Eun.pe, calling luudly
rd of the im-
laiii IVter, a
atrt
ties
spread the stnry ,,r tlie sirrih--inu,- rnm,-
by Turks „„ the f .lluwei- ,,;■ Chri-t. It
be remeiuliered that at tlii- jnnetui-e of:
the Empire of Constantinople tieiabh-d
base. The menaeini:- Tniks were even
at the threshold. Th.' I'.mi.eror ^liehael
distrusting his own ability to >ave the <
Empire from destruetiou, sent a hurriet
bassy to Pope Gregory VII., implorin
aid against the common enemy. The
Father thereupon dispatched letters to tl
VII.
Holv
devout monk of Picardy, hail made a jiilgrim-
age to Jerusalem. There ln' had been mal-
treateil and abused according to the manner
of the conscienceless Turks. The monk saw
with indignati(_>u and sliaiue hi.- enuntry-
tbe .-anie manner as liiiiixll'. (ioin- to the
Chri-tlaii ]iatriarch of .lenisdeni, he laid be-
fav him the ..t<.i-y of his wn.n-s. But the
liatriarch was unable t(j redics- lii> ;:iievances.
He told Peter, moreover, that the < ut'ek Em-
peror was as impotent as biiiis(.lf to protect
the pilgrims from the fury of the malignant
Turks. The monk thereupon returned to
Italy and flung himself before the successor
of St. Peter, beseeching him to rally aU
Christendom against the defileis of the tomb
of Christ.
Meanwliile the Cbureh of the West was
rent with a violent schism. In ION-s (iregory
VII. was succeeded on the i)apal throne by a
Benedictine monk named Otho de Lagny,
who took the title of Urban II. But Henry
I\'., Emperor of Germany, refused to recog-
nize him, and put up Clement HI. as anti-
l)ope. The latter was presently expelled by
the Komans, and be and Henry were excom-
municated by Urban. In KHH the Emperor
marched an army to IJoine, restored the anti-
pope, and obliged the Pope to fly into Apulia.
Two years later, however, Urlian regained the
pajial crown, and in 109.5 called a great coun-
cil at Piaeeuza. There were present at the
assemlily two linndreil bishops, three thousand
men. AVIiile this -ivat eonvoeation was busy
with the atiair- ..1' the ( huivli ambassadors
arrived lioin Alexin- Conineiius, Emperor of
the Ea-t, who joined hi. voiee with that of
Peter of Pieardv in implorin- the aid ..f West-
ern Europe against the Turk-. Erban lent a
willih'j ear to the appeal, and called upon the
('liri-lian princes to draw their- sw ords against
the Iniidels. The agitation spread everyw-here.
The eouncil of Piacenza adjourned, and the
bi.diops returned to their several countries,
fired with the risin- spirit of crusaders. Be-
fore tile eiiil of the same year — namelv, in
Xovember of l();t.5— Po,,e Urban II. Jailed
auutlier great ci
vergue, ami tlx-i
taken tor tlic rc>
the Turk.-.— ILi
UXIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERX WORLD.
uiicil at C'K'rinnnt, in Au- feudal history nf France to sketch the course
I" the tir>t toniial step was of events in tlif surroumlin-- states before en-
■uc of iIr- Ilnly Land from teriiiL' ujion the lii.-tory .if that tumultuous
i\ then, we ijause in the movement called the Crusades.
CHARTER LXXXX^I.— Ff:udai. Gerxianv.
___g^^
jgjJ^TTg^g'
m-^t^^^rm
^^m
%^^
S
)th
That distin-ui.-hed
sovcrci-n was suc-ccdcd on the throne liy his
sou Otho II., surnamed the Red. The prince
who thus came into the kiuglr and Imperial
dignity was at the time of his accession but
seventeen years of a-e. It was the first fate
of his reign to fall under the regency of his
mother, Adelheid, who exhibited great altilities
during the minority of her son. But Theo-
•phania, the wife of (Jtho, became inflamed
■with jealousy on account of the asecndiMicy of
her mother-in-law, and the latter was tuvM.ntly
obliged to descend from her preeminence and
retire into Burgunily.
In the first years of the reign ..f Oth-.. the
Emperor's cousin, Henry of Bavaria, headed a
revolutionary movement against the crown,
with a view of .securing the independence of
his o^vu state. The revolt made considerable
progress, and Henry was crowned at Eatis-
bon ; but the tide pre-ently turned agaiu.st
him, and in '.>7<'i lie wa- overthrown in battle.
The ambitious |iuriio-c ot' the barbai-ians was
brought to naneht, and tliey hail the clunirin
to see their country united with the province
of Sualna
states, ert
century,
\\\
his union of the two (Tcrman
I the last quarter of the tenth
d the foundations of the mod-
ern kin-ilom and em|iiiv of Austria.
The next complicntion demanding the at-
tention of Otho nro-e ,,n the frontier of Bo-
hemia and Denmark. With both of the.se
states he went to uar and wa- so successful as
father. But while the Emiieror's energies
provin.
and th
which
found
([uiet
While
It wa-
hus ali-orlieil in the Xorth-east, Lo-
kine- of France, seized the favoring
niity to po.-.~ess himself of the lower
•e of Lorraine. In the suiumer of
succecileil in capturing Aix-la-Chapelle
us established himself in the aucieut
of L'harlemague. Great was the wrath
these events excited throughout Ger-
An army of ^ixty thousand men was
and Otho, turnine- upon the Franks,
:hem back more rapidly than they had
The Emperor pursued the retreating
re to Paris and besieged him in his own
Then it \\as that the German army,
led (in Moiitmartre, performed an ex-
pic-ce of bravado by bellowing the
litany in the ears of the Parisians.'
I WAV ot' two years' duration, a personal
ew was had lietween Otho and Lothaire,
( ir difficulties were settled l\y the res-
n of Lorraine to Germany.
■ next troulile in which the Empire was
•d was on the side of Italy. The Eter-
ly had for some time been the scene of
I and confu-ion. In the year 891 Otho
it necessary to go to Rome in order to
the disturl)ances in the government,
engaged in this duty he had personal
ews with Courad, duke of Burgundy,
le great count, Hugh Capet of France.
Hither, the ex-empre-ss Adelheid, also
im at I'avia, and the two were recon-
At this time the coasts of Italy were
1 by both the Greeks and the Saracens,
nece-sary for Otho. in virtue of his Im-
title, to defend the ."^outh agaiu.st the
s of her enemies. Notwithstanding the
animosities existing between the Greeks
le Saracens, an alliance was made be-
them for the purjiose of resisting the
FEUDAL ASCEXDJ:XrV.~FEUDAL GEEMAXV.
Germau Eniperor. For uue year a (le^ultury
war was carried on between the belligeri'Ut.s nf
Italy ; but in the summer of 982, a .Liivat and
decisive battle was fought on the coast of fa-
laln-ia. The army of Otho was utterly roiit.d
bv the Saracens, and he hiniself only escaped
destruction by flinging liiui.-elf into the sea
and swiniuiiug to a ship. The vessel was
found to be a galley of the Greeks, but Otho
induced the captain to put him ashore at Kos-
sano, where he was joined by the Empress.
Thence the Iniperinr pair niado their ,.>,'apc
into Northern Italy, and in the fnllouin- yrar
0th.) summoned the Diet of the Empire to
meet him at \'erona.
The call was obeyed with alacrity. The
princes assembled from most of the states of
Western Europe, and the Diet was the most
imposing deliberativi' lioily which had been
convened for centniiis. The kings of Hun-
gary and Bohemia sat -ide hy >ide with the
dukes of Saxony, France, and Bavaria. One
of the first duties devolving on the assembly
was the establishment of the succession. The
choice fell naturally on the p]m]X'rm-'s son,
then a child but three years of age, after-
wards to be known as Otho III. Great prep-
arations were then made for prosecuting the
war with the Saracens. The national spirit
of the tiermans was thiiri)ughly aroused, and
the energies of the Empire were bent to the
destrni'tiou of the ALjhammedau buccaneers
in the ^b.Mliterranean. But before the prepa-
rations tor the conflict could be completed the
Emperor Otho fell siek and died, being then
in the tweiity-ei-lith year of his age and the
tenth of his ivi-n.
The n,ini<lers at Aix-la-( 'hap.'lle ^vere .m-
g.age,l in the eon.nati.iu of Otii., HI.— f..lh>w-
ing in that matter the decree of the Diet at
Verona — at the time when the news came of
his father's death. The establishment of a
regency became an immediate necessity, and
a violent dispute arose lietween the queen-
mother, Theopbaina, and the ([iteen-grand-
mother, Adelheid, as to whiih should have the
guardianship of tin- Inipeiial scion. Duke
Henry of Bavaria al-o came forward, and
claimed the regency, being actnate<] thereto
by the ill-di.sguised motive of obtaining the
crown for himself. The German princes,
however, were not at all disposed to favor
this ambitious project, and the vision of the
aspiring Henry was soon reduced to his own
dukedom of Bavaria. The regency went to
Adelhei.l and Theophania, the latter •■x.'rcis-
many. and the former doin^ likewi,-c in Italy.
In b.-th cmntries the^. roval w.nnen wielded
their authority with prudence and su.ress.
After eight year> Thenphania died, and the
now aged Adellieid beeaUK' >ole regent of the
bia, IJavana, and Tuscany as niemlHT> of
her cnuncil, ,W continued for three v.-ars
rea.-liin,L: tlie a-e of sixteen, took into his own
hand- the rein- of government.
In tiii- period ,.f thirteen years since the
death of OtliM II. the Empire was almost con-
stantly m.naeed willi «ar. The Wends in
Brandenlmr- again re\oli.,,l and fell upon the
German settlements beyond the Ellie. Nor,
for the time, was any effective aid rendered
by the Impi-rial army to the people of this
exposed fi-ontier. The ."^axons themselves,
however, i)r(iyed equal to the emergency, and
the AVendish revolt was suppressed after a
severe and bloody struggle. Nor were the
relations of the Empire on the side of France
mure peaceable than in the Northeast.
Though open hostilities were not resorted to,
the sentiment of war in-evailed during the
whole minority of Otho III. This was the
epoch in French history when the House of
Charlemagne was in the ,-low agonies of ex-
ate' line, was setting up his feeble and ridicu-
lous claim to the crown of the kingdom,
whih' the great Hugh Capet was quietly tak-
in- to himself the royal dignity, with the
ample consent of the imbles and jicople of
Fran.'e.
Ijittle was the (German Empire benefited
ered but virtuon- hand of Adelheid to that of/
her facile and capricious -random. Though
the educatiun of Otho III. had by no means
been neijlected, his instruction had been
Cireek rather than German. Like many
another up-tart stripling, he preferred his for-
eign to hi< native culture. He att'ected to
be — and iierhaps was — a-shamed of his Saxon
CSIVEL'SAL insTOUY.—THK MoDEUN WOULD.
lineage, and was fnol cimu-li i^i >tylr him
a Greek hy l,irth au.l a ];..iiiaii l.y ri-li
rule. AllH.it Km littj.- - 1 luiJn i..- .x- .
]KTt.d to flow iVnu, til.- ln,|Mlial M-,;,I.r uhilr (
aii.l al.Mii'.l ill hi- n.xal n,aiii,rn-iii-.
hi acei.rilanrr witli lii- tii.nry ,,f n-,-ar.liii- .
himself as a llmiian ralhii- than a < m iiiiaii Juii-
peror, v(uiii-< n\\>> iiia.h-all >|.ic.l tn tli.- Ktenial (
Citv t.i ivr.iv.- hi- .rMUli at llir haii.l- ..f thr i
Holy Fatli.T. Th.- papal rhair ua- at that :
ciaii. It Ava- lirl.l liy the people that he
prartire.l tlu' Jihek Art an.l was the ^-rvaut
..f his lua-lrr. the Jl. vil. Alivaily w.iv .lis-
eovnahh- tlir ,-viiiptoi,,- of an ojithnak l.e-
twoiai tlu- ealii.->pinl,il. beiuvolrat fouiidfrs
ol' >ric'iiee ami the iL:iioraiit zral of liiiioted
,-iv,lulity.
For tliiv,. y,,,i- Otho III. reniaiiieil in
y, o.TupyiiiM hi- time with the reli.L---
Maiit- of thr rity and eultivatiilL;- the
tarn-,- of thi- eol..i,riti.- of the niuivh.
dolni X\'l.. uliom In A. ]1
(iirmaiiv.
0th.
certa
:le with
lit, th.- J'rii,.-,-s ,Mat
the .-itv. Th.- I'.,p.-, how.-v.-r, .
Emp.-ror wa< . ,/ r„ntr i„t,, lialv
ter fouii.l it m-,-e>>arv f. .-r.-at.- 1
b
h.-.l with
One of
.r.-at. .r ; the setting up of an iii.h-jH-mh-ut Cluir.-h 1)
y ajipuintiiig to the papa.-y his ,-,,usiu Ihiiii.., the Poles. These ])euph-, uml,-r the h-ad o'
"ho took the seat ..f St. I'.-tor with the title the Archlnshop of :\Iagdehur,-, ileniamled an.
of Gr.--ory V. Bv him Otho was erowii.-.l
few day.- after his' arrival in the eity. How, i their dioeese fr.
in.h-.-.l,' ,-oul.l the P..p.- .1.. ..th.-rwise', wh.-n he ' .-om-<-ssi,,ns mail
him-,-lf ha.l 1..-.-U rai-.-.l up f -r that e-pe.-i
duty -.'
It .-.M,n app.-an-.l that th,- l'..pe ha.l ll
■ l.ar-aiii. \Vli,-ii th.- .-.-i-.-m.a
p of .Magdehuri:, .ieinaiuled and
tained from the Emperor the sejiaration of
the Empire. The
1 this resiieet wore
worst
manv an.l ii
■ (;ermaii K
]'..lan<l wa.
Diii-ing tin-
lUtl
the
kin-de
of coronation wa- (l.)n.-, an.l (IiIhi
from Italy, ('r,-.-.-ntiii< r..-.- a-aiii-t tli.- I'..p.-
expelled him IVom p.i\v.-i-, an.l >.t up a n.-w
creature of his own. < hi airiviiiL:- in (.o-rnian\
Otho fu.n.l that the W.-n.ls of rni-ia w.-n
fronti.-r ha.l h.-.-n l.n.k.-n in l.y th.- Dam-s
aflairs, thi- h.mp.-r.ir !. ft his ..wn
defend hers.-lt' a-ain-t h.-r .-n.-ini.--,
.1 : P,.l,-s.
n- of Otho with the
from the principal
ree:
liu.-iness in han.l t.i mak.- a pilgrimage to the
l.imh of St. A.lalli.rt at Prague. Afterwards
he nia.le a j..urm.-y t.. Aixda-Cha]ielh-, and
thi-re gratiti.-d hi- iie.rliiil fan.-y l.y i-ntering
th.- M-i)tilcliei- of ('haih-niat:n.-. It ^va.- one
of the dreams ..f Otli.. that h.- ,-lioul.l li.-,-ome
n ..f I the rest.n-er <.f th.- Poinan Kmpir.- ..f the
■y t.. ' W.-t. That, t..... ha.l l.een th.- ,l.-lu.-ive
i-tilv vi-i..ii whi.-h flitt.-.l li.-f.,r.- the fan.-y .if the
- ..f -i-.-at.-st (_arl..viiiuian. Xow the O.-rmau
wa- of- 1 .lurali..!.. II.- .li.-l in <i!i'.i. v
his phi.-.- was tak.-n hy C-rlH-rt ..f ilh.-ii
wdi.iiii Otho n.,w lai-.-il t.. the paj-al .-lu
with the till.- of S\lv.-t.-r II.
The 11,-w pontiir ha.l l..-,-n the teaeh.-r
the Einpi-ror in l».vh I, an.l wa- gn-atlv
teem,-.l lor lii< l.-aniin-. th..Ui:li not at all
his pi.-tv. In.l..-.l. th,- P..p.-'.- -.-iMilar-hip,
sain for him the ha.l fam.- ..f liein- a im
- W..U1.1 -p.-ak 1.. him an.l t.-a.-h him h.JW
- ..l.j.-.-t mi-ht 1..- a.-.-ompli-h.-.l.
It wa- 11. ,t h.nu until th.- e..ii.liti..ii of af-
1- in Italy a-.:aiii .l.nian.l.-.l th.- ].r,-.-.-iiee of
- l-aii|i.-i'oi'. Sylv.-st.r was n.it nnieh more
i.lly n.-.-iv.-.l liv th.- j;..man> than had l.eeu
■ pn-.l.-.-.-M.r. A >tron- part v of the Italiean
la-t two P..|,.-. In th.- y.-ar K
peror returned to Rome ami e.-
Em-
.1 his
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDAL CERMANY.
court on the Aventioe. But his presence \vas
illy brooked by the insurgent joeople. jMoved
partly by his unpleasant surroundings and
partly l)y euiiosity, Othn ^lippid (.ut nf tlic
city by night and made a vi.il to W-inr,.
On his return to Home, huwever, he found
the gates closed against him. Enraged at this
inhospitahle reception, he gathereil a i'urce
and began a siege of the city. But before he
could make any impression upon the defenses
he sickened and died, being at that time in
the sixth year of his reign and the tumty-
third of his age. His body was takiii in
charge by his followers, who cut ihrir way
through the Roman insurgents, boic thrir
lifeless burden across the Alps, and buried it
in the royal tomb at Aixda-( 'hapille.
In the following year, A. 1). I0(i:;, Sylves-
ter II. died, and the j)apal seat was seized upon
by the counts of Tuseuhun. By them an ef-
fort was now made to apply the hereditary
principle to the ILily See, and to establi>li a
papal succession in their own family. One of
the counts, then a youth but -eveuteeu vear.s
of age, was raised to the pontitieal dijuity
with the title of John XVIL, and in the
course of the following nine years he was suc-
ceeded by three others as immature as him-
self. Thus, whUe the Imperial crown of
Germany, so ably ami houoialily worn by
Otho the Great, descended to a iiiutastie strip-
ling incapable of any great and serious enter-
prise, the papal tiara in like manner declined
from the In-oad brow of Leo VII. to rest on
tents, John XVllI. and Sergius IV. Su.'h
was the waning and eclipse of the magnitieent
dream of Charlemagne to reestablish the an-
cient empire in state and Church.
At the death of (Jtho III. the Imp.Tial
crown was claimed liy three of the (it.rman
princes. The choice fell at length upon the
late Emperor's cousin, Duke Henry of Bava-
ria, great grandson of Henry the Fowler.
The eleetiou of this prince was .seriously op-
posed by the dukes of Saxony, Suabia, and
Lorraine; and foi- a season the Empire was
threatened with disruption. But in due time
the refractory electors subndtted, and the
authority of Henry was recognized throughmit
Germany. Not • so, however, in the South.
The disposition to resard Italy as a separate
the Italians were quick to perceive the ditt;-
eiiee bitween a jiowerful S(jvereign like ( )ll
the (.reat and the present wearer of the Ii.
p.-rial en.wu.
Durin- the greater part of hi- rei.,
Hkxky 11. was vexe.l with the ,-om|,licaii,
of his atlldrs south of the Alps. But a mo
lu-e-Hn. d.iuaud wa^ u.ade upon the mibtai
Boledan, tl
si(,ns of the I'ol, -. F
imi Duke of Poland, a brave and warlike
]irince, undertoiik to unite Bohemia and all
the Slavonic omntrie- eastward of the Elbe
into an indcpendi'nt kiuudoiii. The(iermau
tei-ritori.> in thi- region were thus about to
be wrote.l away troui the parent state and
abs.irbed in a loreign dominion. The first
sixteen years of Henry 11. 's rei-u were almo.st
wdiolly consumed in warfare with the Poles.
One blooily campaign after another was waged,
until at la-t, in infs, [.race wa- concluded by
the acceptance of a depindeiit relation on the
part of IVjland. But to compensate for this
hundjle position as a tributary of the ( Jerman
Empire, the Saxon ]irovine<' of Meissen was
forced into a like relation of dependence upon
the Polish .luehy.
While these events had been in progress
bey. .ml the Elbe the "Wends had again revolted
and obtained the mastery of Northern Prussia.
In that region the authority of the Empire
was overthrown an.l pa-ani-m i>tal.li>hed on
the ruins (.f the (hur.h. In the mean time
Anluin, duke of Ivr.a, ha.l ..nee m<.re in-
du.-e.l th.' Lombards t.. thn.w ..If th.ir alle-
giance. Indep,qi,hn.v wa- .l.'clar.Ml an.l the
,luk.' wa- ch..Mm kiiiL:. A- .arlv as KHHi
ll..nrv II. wa. ..bli-..l f. l.a.l an arniv aen.ss
Italy. ]'r..cee.lingaLiain-t I'avia he lai.l si.-e
to that eitv. which wa- [.resently taken and
b\irned. li.licxinii th.' iii>urrectiou at an end
the king r.-turn..l int., ( iermany. But no
s..oner were th,' Al|.s b.^tw..,,, him an<! Ar-
duin than the lalt.a- a-ain .-am.' t.. the fr.mt
as the lea.l.^r ..f th.' r.-v..luti..n. Pope Bene-
,li.-t VHP. tlie thinl .,r th.' Imv i-.mtitls of
th,' Tu-.nlau dyua-ty, wa- s,, har.l ].ressed by
the insni-gents that he II.mI t.. < Germany, and
besought Henry t.. ai.l him in recovering the
chair of St. Peter. In KJlo the king con-
UXIVEESAL HISTORY.— THE MOD ERX WORLD.
tn.uhkMl wi
of the Em]
intesration
IJu.loliih III.
r.n
IS til
trni.lie the Bui-ni,.liaiis unit to
annirs of Heiiiy II. inaivh..,! iTq
re^^ciK' aud tlie cnuntry was com^
two arduou.s caniiiaii:iis.
Tlie vai- lOl'O was si-naliz.-.l l,v the .k-di-
,-ati..,i nf th.. -ivat ,-uth,-dral nf P.an.hr,-.
Ul,nutliis,<tni<tiiivth,.I-:i„iH-rni-l,ad for many
year.* lavisheil his treasure. The Pujie made
a journey from Rome iu order to be present
and direct the ceremonie.s of eouseeratiou.
His Holiness avaik'd liiniself of the opportu-
nities iif tlie ((ei'Miaii court a>i:ain to implore
tlie mterterenee ..f Henry in the afliiirs of
Italy. The southern part nf that cnuntry was
now overrun and held hv the Creeks." The
citv of Capua had l.cii taken hv them, and
culd not he l-eCMVelvd l.v the Italians. The
Einpena
he,-
itated
no
to ivs|
mil to the call.
In the t
.Ih
win-
yea
r he le
I a large army
acni>> th
. Alps a
id .
\p( lied the Greeks from
the Wllnl
the eoa-
■ 1'
■iiin-i
la.
except
. The
a few iilaces on
campaign, how-
ever, wa
- al
iii'-t ;
. d
-astrous
to the German.s
as t(. tl
neni\
XV
,o„l th
V defeated. A
pestileiic
■ lu
nke '(
nt.
an.l th(
army of Henry
was well
ni-
1 de.
r( i\
■d hefoi
■ it could e.scape
from the
cm
ntry.
The 1
cm:
iniui:
thi
ee years
of the reign of
the Em
lier
a- Hi
nr\
were .>
pent iu settling
the atili
i-s
.f (n
nil
uiv. 0
1 every side the
ro.jativc was a^sailed hy the dukes
< Mni — lin- attir the manner of
I- to I.eeonie independent of their
ill., develoi.nient of a feeling of
\\a~ thu^ eoLinterchecked by the
if local imlepiudeuce. In spite of
ous etlbrts of Henry H. he was
witness the constant disintegration
lire. The spirit of the times had so
nee the d.'atli of Otho the Creat
ce to cheek the forces of localism
h.' state in on.'. In the year 1024
or (lieil and was liurieil iu his cathe-
anihei-. With him expired the
nnt to make of
I'd to his exit he j
lis niphew, who 1
-ning Emperor. |
1 pass under the
vent this catas-
t to war. The
I rapidly to the
with Conra.l L iu KLS.
It thus became necessary for the German
nobles to elect a new sovereign iu the place
of Henry II. For this ])urpo.se a great assem-
bly was held on the Idiine, near the city of
Mayen.e. Thi~ had now become the border
line betw,...n the (nrnians and th.' Franks.
About sixty thou>aiid peiMins came to the
assembly. Two great camps were formed,
the one on the eastern, the other on the west-
ern bank of the river. The candi<lates for
the Inqniial crown were two eou.dns, both
named <.'oiirad, and both .-iipported by a pow-
erful following. At l.aigth, after hve days of
discussion not unmixed with intrigue, the
choice fell on Cuni:ai> nv SuAiiiA, the elder
and more jiopular of the candidates, and he at
once received the crown iu the cathedral of
!\rayence. The election had turned largely
up.ai the thet. that Conra.l was a man of
givat abilities, an.l that h.' ha.l marrie.l the
Priuce.ss Ciisela of Suabia. By her — for she
was already experienced iu the matter of gov-
ernment— the new Emperor was greatly aided
iu conducting the afliiirs of state. Nor was
any serious ojipositiou mauifested to the as-
sumption of royal power by one so worthy to
wield the scepter.
It was the ]ieculiarity of mediaeval times that
a .•han-e of .Ivnasty generally furnished the
oiN'a>ion f.ir th.> revolt of malcontent peoples.
The accession of Conrad II. prove.l to be no
exception to the rule. First of all, the Lom-
barils threw off the German yoke. Tliey fell
U]i.pii the city of Pavia and destroyed the Im-
rierial iialace. At the same time Rudolph of
Burgundy,
whii, a
< will l.r
rciiu'i
ull.Ti'
1, l.ad
Dmin- t
desigiifd t'
-ivo
his kin-.
1111 to
ll._-n
■y II..
Italv. an ah
now chaiii'
of Coma.l.
.1 Ills 1
lu 1
liii.l and
.land, al
rcsisiL
u, Ki
1 tlu.
1- J!
.■hums
.K-laii
sui.,.i-v...i„.d i
of Sual.ia,
aniuill.Ml tl
i_: uxi<t
nu' tn-at^
• and
rrl'u,-.
d any
.-taiidanl of i
FEUDAL ASCEyDESry.— FEUDAL CERMASY. ci;!
..■n.T of the Eini.oi-or in
eonditi.ni nf allair^ had
many. Diikr Knu -i II.,
1 of Coni-ad, i-ai-rd the
nd iaid.daiiu to ih.^ itowu
longer to reeognize the tributary relation irt' ot ihir-inidy. On n-arhin- die [latenial kiug-
tlie kingdom. Ju.~t at the time, howeviT. ilom ih,' i;ni[i(ioi- inaivhi.d against the insur-
■wheu the Emiare .-^eemed to totter, the Polish gents, difcated Imih.-i and threw him into
kin- dird, aii.l u-hile his .-ons were enga.ge.l ill pri-oii. Th,- [.rayt-rs of (iis.da, tlie reliel
a violent qiian-el ahout the sueeessiou C'oiirad ' juiner's mother, at leii-th prevailed to ,-eeure
foiuid opportunity to ree.stabli.sh his .sover- him hi- lii.eiation. P.nt he faile.l to k.'ei>
eignty over the eountry. In Buivuudy al-o faith with the eiuwn. united himself with
the ehildless Rudolph III. was pre.sentlyoidige.l j C'ount Werne,- ,,f Kyi, nig, heeame an outlaw
to yield to the h.gic of events and aekuowl- . in the Black For. -i, an.l was -.,.m afteiwar.l.s
e.l-e C.inra.l as his .succes.sor. With Canute [ killed in a hattl.' with tlu' Impeiial ti.i.,ps.
the Gri'at .if England the Eniper.ir iiia.le a ' Sueli. howev.r, ha. I lieen the daring career
treaty hv which the Eider was e-taWidie.! as which th.' ivl,elli.,ns prin.-e lual run that he
his h.iun.lary on the side of D.mniaik. lu'ea a popular her... ami his e.xphiits were
Ilaviii- thus ..fil.ete.l a .-.■itl.-m.iit ..f the s,u,^. i„ the l.alla.ls an.l n.-io'-l in the tradi-
atihirs imnh ..f the Alps, C.nra.l n.'Xt turim.l ti.ais ,,f a st.iryd.iviii- |...ople. Duke Ernest
hi.s attention to the in.-uriivnt L..ml.anls. He , was th.- l;.,l.in II 1 ,,l' ( ;. i-niany.
led an army acn— the in.uiiuains, an.l early d"li.' atlhiis .,f P..laii.l, aft.'r an cp.i.di of
iu 1026 enten-d the valley of the I'.i. Fin.l- ' torl.nl.ne.. sulis...p,ent t.. ilie d.^atli of Boles-
ing Pavia in the hands of the rebels, the king Ian, at l.ii-th fell i.> a ealm. The Poles
proceeded to Milan, where he received, at the ajaiii a~~.rte.l their iml.'p.-n.lem'.' of the (ier-
hands of the nobles, the iron crown of Lorn- man cr.iwii. an.l C -a.l inva.le.l the cmntry
bar.lv. In the curse of a sin-Ie v.^ar all t., iv. -tabliMi his antlnaitv. But the expe.li-
Xorthern Italy yielde.l t.. his sway. In the ti.m en.l..l in .lisaster. The Imp.aial army
following spring he continued his course to , was utt.iiy .l.feate.l ami f.in.'ed ba. k t'l the
Eorae, where he was welcomed by Pope John river P^lb.'. By this time a war ha.l broken
XIX., one of the Tusculan pontiffs, being (uit betw.en Cmiit Albeit of Austria and
now but twelve years of age. At the hands | Kin- .'^i.ph. n ..f llnn-ary. dli.' latt.a' ha.l
of this sage father of the Holy See, Conrad re- : su.'.'e.-.le.l in induein- hi- p.-., pie t.. aban.l.m
ceived the golden crown of Empire. Canute [ jiaganisni, and ha.l hini.-elf, in the year lil(ll),
of England and Rudolph of Burgundy were ; been baptized by Pop.' Sylvester II.; but his
present on the occasion, which was signalized I piety, which afterwar.ls gaine.l tbr him the
by the betrothal of (lunhil.le, .lau-hter of appellati..n of ,S„;»(, ,li,l n..t .sive him fr.mi
Canute, to Prince Henry, s..n .,f th.' Emper.,r. the lu-t ..f war. Count Albert app.'aled
In the mean time the a.lvcnturiius X.irmans t.i th.' Emper.ir f,r ai.l, ami th.' Iliinga-
had ma.le their way into Southern Italy, an.! , riaus w.'iv ..bli-.'.l t.. cmseiit t., a treaty
had there succeede.l in expelling from the of p. a..' dietat..! I\v the c.iii.pierors. A set-
country the Greeks an.l the Saracens. After | tlement bavin- b.'eii r.'a.'h.'.l ..n th.' Danubian
their manner they t.>ok p..-s,,,.-ion fu- them- '■ frontier. C.nra.l loiin.l opportunity to renew
selves, and a new Xorinamly was about to be the war with th." l'..les. In tlii>, als.., he was
necessarv t.. -tr.t.lV ..ut the Iiuiii'rial s.-epl.-r to the hhiipii'.'. In ln:;i' i;n.|.,lph of Bur-
towar.ls' th.' :\Ie.lit.'rram'an. But th.' N.a-- , -umlv fullill.'.l th.' pr i-.. whi.'h he ha.l
man,-, th..u-h tliev r.-a.lilv a,s-uni.'.l th.' r.'la- iii.-i.l.- bv -,'ii.lin- his ,.,'..wn an.l se.'pter t.. the
ti..ii ..f va-sals t..'tli.' .'n.wn, r.'fu-ed t.i leave ' Emp.-nn-. 1 1.'r.'iip..n, Cmnt O.bi -.f Cham-
the pn.vin.'.'s whi.'h th.'y had conquered. ! i-a-ne, wh., as th.' n.'xt r.lativ.' t.. Ku.h.lph,
Thus .li.l the 1.1, ,.,.1 .,f the northern races : claim, ',1 the ,lii.'hv .,f P.ui -mi.ly, an.l rais.'.l a
assert itself as tar as the strait of -Alessina. ' rev,, It in the .southern part of that province.
LWIVEIiSAL lU^iTORY.—THE MUJJEHy WORLD.
'"7£w '^wm:"zi
FE UDAL A^L KM) EM ' } '. —FE UDAL G EUM. 1 .N' 1 '.
The insurrectiou was of sufficient imiMii-tunce
to demaud the presence of an Inipei-ial army.
But Count Odo was overthrown, and Courad
was crowned king of Buru-undy. Thus, in
the early part of the eleventh century was the
valley of the Pdioue, inehnlin'j- aKout the Jialf
of Switzerland, incurpdratrd with the Kiiipire.
The imiou, however, extended no further than
the establishment of a political bond, and not
to the institutions, language, and social cus-
toms of the Burgundians, who continued as
they had been, essentially French.
In Italy a movement was now lieu'un which
in its result was one of the most iiiiporiaiit in
the Middle Ages. The Imiierial sway ..ver
the Italian peoples was nominal rathci- than
real. It aflbrded but little protection to suri-
ety and had in itself no element of staMlity.
In order to continue, it had t" be constantly
reestablished by force. To lie sui'e, the jiapal
power never failed to uphold the author-
ity of the Emperors ; for by this means the
Popes were in turn enabled in every time of
need to call forth the secular sword in defense
of their interests.
Many of the Italian nobles and patriots,
however, perceived the hollowness of tiiis ta(;-
titious system of government. A few of the
bolder spirits grew restless under a fjreign
domination which claimed every thing and
gave nothing. Chief among these brave
spirits was Heribert, archlii-hop of ^Milan.
In the year 1037 he induced the people
of his city to throw oft' the Imperial yoke and
assert their independence. The insurrection
was organized under the leadership of Heri-
bert, who staked all on the ca.-t of the die.
He was deposed by the Emperor and excom-
municated by the Pope. But he detied them
both, and prepared the defense of I\lilau. The
fortifications of the city were so strengthened
that Conrad's army was obliged to desist from
the siege, and the virtual independence of
Milan was achieved. Such was the beL'inniug
of that movement which, in the foll(Jwing
century, led to the emancipation of the cities
and the establishment of the petty but vigor-
ous Republics of the jNIiddle Ages.
The career of Conrad II. was already
drawing to a close. Two years after the re-
volt of Milan he died at the city of Utrecht,
and was succeeded by his son Henry III.
Tlie latter, now twenty-three years of a-e,
was a ].rinee of the hi-hest lu■oIlli^.^ In tal-
emin.ait, and the condition of ihr haupin' at
the time of his aeee-ion wa- sneh as to fur-
nish a fair opportuiiitv foi- ihe .li-phiy of his
abilities. In (_i<a-many Proper th.iv was a
general peace. The Bohemians and HunL;:a-
rians, however, again rose against I he crown
and attempted to gain their inde|ieii(leuee.
In two arihious canipaii^ns lleiiiy o\( rthicw
the armies of the insuri^vnt slate- and le-
stored his authority. Duke CuHmir, of P,-
hiiid, an,l INt.a-, kin- .,f Ilun-aiv, were
both eompeUed to aekuowh.l-e th,-ir'.h'pend-
ence upon the Impeiial eiown. The Kus-ian
Czar attempted to ally hi> fortunes with those
of the Empire, lie otHavd his .laii-hier to
Henry after the death of (,>tm.ai (iunhilde,
but the jiriucess was deeliued liy the Emiieror
second queen.
A cursory view of the social condition of
Germany in the midide of the eleventh cen-
tury would reveal a -looiuy au<l forliidding
prospect. The resoui-ees of the state were
waste.l in almost eoutiuiial warfare. F..now-
ing hard after this fact stalked ever the -pec-
ters of pestilence and faiuine. The ministers
of the state and the dignitai-ies ol' the Church
were, for the most part, iiiuoi'aut, mereenary,
corrupt. The general a.Iministratiou of the
Church, under the auspices of the hoy Popes
of Tusculum, had sunk to the lo\M>t le\el.
The prostitution of the Italian cK i-y to the
fiasest of motives and jirai'tii'cs had led to a
similar defilement throughout all ( 'hri>tendom.
The year A. D. l(H»(i ha.l passed uiihout the
fiery catastrophe, and the End of the World
seemetl to be indefinitely jMstponed. Reiicting
from the abject despair of the preceding ceu-
turv, the leaders of the ai;v lailiavd upon a
career of defiance and .aiminal l.rava.l..; ami
though the End of the World was no longer
to be dreaded, the End of Humanity seemed
nigh at han.l. Disappointed superstition sub-
stituted the gulf of depravity for the abyss
of fear.
It will not have escaped the atteiitiim of
any careful student of history that the human
race has in itself in the last hour of it>
despair the jiower of sudden recovery. Just
f,ic, UMVEIISAL HISTORY.— THE MoDKHX WOULD.
at the time when tlie la t eiiilieis of hopi' are [ l)ut with h',-> -ueee- tiiaii ha.l atteuded their
exiiirin- in tlie a>he. nf l,itlenir,-~ an.l ,i:l..,,ni, etinrts in .■.unl.atin- the niereil.>v method:- of
a sudden hree/.e, a< if l.lowr, up fr.mi ih.- |.a- war. Il.-nr.v HI. a-aiu hut hi^ aid in the ef-
vilion of the uu~.Mii wnild, L.urh.s thr d\inu f.,rl at refunu. lie took pain,- t.) favor the
(■<K[\<. i<indles tliiiu iutn a fe, lile j. i, li,.- jrt appi liht ui. u I . .f .-ui'ii pi'ie,-t,~ ( lU Iv a> wcre morai
into a llaiue, the llaui.^ iulu a e..ulla,- nil inu. and inl.lli:;(-ut. He iutei'fered iu the atliiir.s
The el.-.'ll cif r.'vival .-uerr.ds lh,> ep.M'h nf ,,f the Holy S.e. Three rival IVjieS Were at
ill.un.'d with new am- tliis time eonteiidin- f ir th.- .-eat of St. Pet
bition, Ix'-ins a-aiii the eonliileiit battle.-^ of Kaeh of the.~e iiad exc>.mmuni<'ated tlie other
existence. tu.., to.jither with tlieir foljowei-. There was
In the mid.<t of thi> violent and pestilential - 1 iea>ou why the Emperor .-hould cross
century, the tiisi throb (.f oiu- of tlio.- ivvivaU the Alp- aud attiiiipt the ivMituiioii of order
of humaidtv was f-lt in Snuthern Kurop,. aud .he,. uey iu the papal state. Aeeordin-ly,
The .,eea>ion ior the ivaetion a-aiust lli.' in KldC, Henry mado his uay iuto Loud.ar.ly,
crimi aud .le.-pair of tli.- a-e \va- fouuil in the aud theiie.' to the ohl Ktrusraii eity of .Sutri,
seaudalou- eorruptiou of tiie Chiireh, ;ind tlio wheiv a -reat svuod \va> luld to consider and
tir>t movement of ivlorm had the same (ui-iu re.oneile the diltieultie> of the Church. It
with the abuse which d.miauded it. Tin- was voted that all three of the alleged P..pcs
Bur-uiKlian monks of Cluuv, led bv th.lr ab- .houl.l be deposed, an.l that th.- tiara sh.mhl
b..l, (Mil... b.-an 1.. inv.i-h a-ain-t tic- vi-.- b.' pla.M.l ..u th.- h.-a.l ..f th.- llish.,p of Bam-
of th.' lim.-, .-.-^p.-.-iallv a-ain>t the r.-m..rMl.-,-s b.-r- Thi- cli..i.-i-, h.nvev.-r. .-.. evi.lently
m.-lli...ls .if ui.-.lia-val warfare. Tli.-y pro- . lua.l.- ..ut of ileference t.. th.- Emperor, was
claim. -<1 a .l..-ma whi.-h b.-.-auu- kimwn' a> the v.iy .li>tasteful to th.- real ri-f.irmers, aud the
Tl;f.i: <n- <i..ii, by w!ii.-h all .-..lubats, wh.-th.-r .lldik.- ior Cl.-m.-nt H.— tor su<-h was the title
j.ubli.- ..r privat.-, «.-ie f.rbi.l.l.-n fn.in th.- of th.- m-w ],..utitl— wa. -r.-atly iu.-r.-as.-d
ev.-idn- .d'.-a.-h W.-.lues.lay utitil the m..rniu- wh.-n th.- H..ly Eath.-r, «u th.- .-am,- <h,v ..f his
.,f th.- lolhiwin- .M. .11. lav. ' Th.- lar,-.-i- part ..f own .-..r.inati.>n, ctmferred tin- Inip.-rial cn.wn
th.- w.-.-k wa- tliu- ab-oliit.lv ivM-rv.-.l f..r th.- .ai H.-ury. The growing republi. -an sjiirit ..f
duti.-s ..f p,-a.-.-. I'rivat.- f.u.ls an.l publi.- Italy was vexed and oft^nd.-.l bv thi< ill-.-ou-
battles were .s.. imp,-.l..l by th.- p.-rp.-tual n- .-.-ah-.l bai-.:aiu stru.-k by th.- l'..pe an.l the
curreuce of th.- tni.-.- that th.- liatil.-.l spirit ..f laup.-r.ir in th.- v.-ry .-.-ut.-r ..f th.- refoi-matory
retaliation an.l n-v,-u-.- .-..ul.l har.lly any m.iv.-m.-ut. Tlu- lenip..rary ba.-ks.-t ,-ivcn to
l,mii.-r b.- -ratifi.-.l. Th.- n. w .l.i.-trim- was th.- w..rk actcl as a .-timulu,- t.. the .h-mo-
re.-.-iv..l with ,-r.at favr. The nmid^s wlc. crati.- spirit alr.a.ly rife iu V.ni.-.- an.l -Alilaii.
ha.l ..ri-inat.-.l th.- iu.-a>ur,- b.-.ame ku..wu as It ua- at tlii> tim.- that th.- Italican clergy
till- ('om;i'.-gati..n .d' Cliiiiv, an. I many pi. .us an.l p.-oph-. wh.. ha.l liitli.-il.. bi-en an actual
ec.-l.sia.-tii-s in ililf-r.-nt an.l di-tant part^ tii.lor in th.- el.-.-ti.m .if th.- ]'.>pes, were re-
s.m-ht t.i j.)in tli.-iii~.-lv.-< with th.- p.ac.-fiil maml.-.l t.. th.- ba.-kgr-.uu.l. Tin- riglit of
br..lh.-rli..o.'l. N..t a f.-w..f th.- >.-.-ular prin.-.-s , .-h..i.-.- fell int.. the hau.ls of the bi.di.ips, anil
iavore.l the ben.-li.-.ut m.-a-iir.-, au.l tin- Eau- th.-y, r.-c.-iviiii; th.-ir :ippointm.-ut fr..ni the
peror Il.-nry III. .-all.-.l a .li.t ..f th.- ( n-ruian Emp.-r..r, w.-n- c.-rtaiu to loll,,w his lea.l and
n..bl.-s f.r 'the ,-xpr.-.. purp..-e .if eiddr.-iu- jin-f.-r.-u.-.- iu th.- >.l.-.-ti..u ..f a p.intitl'. Be-
th.- .,b-.-rvau.-.- ..f the tru.-.-. | tw.-.-n th.- y.-ar> 11)47 an.l iK.-,,") n., few.-r than
Oil.- r.-f.rm l.-.l t.. an..th.-r. At this ep...-h j fuir Eo]..-s w.-r.- su.-.-.-ssively rais.-.l to the pa-
,li-idty at the .li.-tath.u of Henry HI.
N.-ai- th.- <-l..M- .,f hi< r. i-n the Emj.eror
du vi-it.-.l Italy, au.l r.-a.lju.-t.-.l the atl'airs
th.' Xoruian prin.-ipalili.- iu th.- southern
ov(-r the ..rreatest m.-rit. The ( '.iugrei;ati.in .d' . tnrb.-.l with .lutbr.-aks ami .li-sensi..u>. The
Clunv attack.-d thi- abuse with ureat vigor. ' thret- c.unt.s— G.idfrey of L.irraine, Baldwin
;he .-riiu.-
III' siiu.inv, .
.rth.' pra.-ti<-e..fs.'lliuL
du- ..fii.-.-
^.-au.laEu-
dv"'l-..vr,i
Iv ..f th.- ('hiir.-h. wa-
t. Eu<.-rupnh.u> a-pir
,uts, all t
to tlu- pa,
11." '■'-nimon pri.-s.h
pref.-nu.-u
t. Th.' lai-..
-,-t bi'ib.- w.in th.' c..ul.'>
FE I'D A L A SL Eyi) EM ' } '. —FE UDA L G ERJLiX } '.
of Fholei ■\u\ Diitiuh t H Ihn 1
thiew otf the luipenil w u and i iite'
iudepeudence Ihe olct lou of thi ihim
outbieik ^\ 1 the jiei i tent ioll> ot Heiin
filling the oftte^ ot the Lmi n \\itl
soual tiiend lud km meu t ih \ hi i
moie able ind meiitjiiou cluiiiiiit ^ ,
wa the abu e comphmed ot tint b\ th
lOol ill the tite t Teiinun \itli the
gle exception t "^ix ii\ \\ le „o\einLl In
the pel sonil fi Rill ml i litne oi the Fm
peioi But the tubb)iii in iiu h wa ii t t
be put ti )m hi puipo e h^ i i in n II
plunge I intD a foui \eii
the lebellnu duke II ill It hi nil.
creatuie Pope Leo I \ uh \ i niiuiii it 1
the in ur out Ht ] i
of thf Ell h h ml Dun h 11 et
UXIVKHSAL HISTORY. — THE MUUERX WORLD.
11, 1> til. lH.illl. 11
w I- -iin|ihht..l 1)V
the death
t L... IX 111.1 1
s th. Iiiiii.iidapi
Liintmeiit
t \i.t.i I! 1-
111- -u, ..".,1 JS,
w it was
hit til. p.lWtltU
1 IkukI, hi^t -ha.
1..WV and
lull u il, .it the Lelebiate.l Hihlebia
ud of 8a-
i-ihl. h. 1.111 1 111
11. ink ot Clum , ht
gaii to be
1 of St.
t.i his
V- t.. H. iii\ III., the
id wab now at hau.l. In
le fall of 1006, while re-
iling at the castle of Gos-
1 , he ■\\ a^ ^ i^ited hy the
Pope ; Init the latter was
unable to lai&e the brokeu
-pints of the aged and
tioubled monaich Already'
ill hi> last illness, his exit
w I- h ivteued by the news
of I ili-aster which his
ami} had leceived at the
ds of the Slavonians.
The cm tain fell, and the
-cepter wa& left to the Em-
iLi-oi'sMin, ahead} crowned
as king of Geimany, and
atteiwaids to leceive the
Impel lal title of Henry IV.
B. 111. Ml m his iniii.ir-
'""-' l"i"«' "-'IS
ed iiiidei the regency
ot his mothei, the Empress
Aanes, of Poitieis. The
1.1 t<
It b.
will
Eiu|...
liiso his flomini-
set out for
.Vrriving in Lom-
hel.l a review
. Just after-
her husliaii.l. The lios-
proviuees .if Flanders and Lorraine were
again brought to a peaceful acknowledgment
of the Imperial sway. It was not long, how-
ever, until th.- .il.l favorites of the deceased
ascendency, and the reform
was brought to an end. The feudal lords
scarcely any longer heeded the Imperial man-
date, but each pursued his own way tow^ards
independence. In Italy especially they
themselves in affairs of Church and
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.— FEUDAL GEE3HXY.
state, aud demanded the old-time right of
uominating the Pope. This claim was re-
sisted 1>y the Empress, who iu 1U58 raised
Nicholas II. to the throue. Iu a short time
the new pontiff surprised the queen-regeut l)y
abaudonding the interests of the Empire aud
casting iu his lot with the Normau barons
aud uew-bom republican cities of Italy. In
the home kingdom, also, the feudal broils were
perpetually renewed. A conspiracy was made
to destriiy Prince Henry and change the dy-
nasty. When the first plot was foiled, a
second was lormi-d under the lead of Hauno,
archbisho]) of Cologne. The purpose now was
to wrest Henry IV. from his mother, drive
her into retirement, aud transfer the regency
to some prince who was able to exercise Im-
perial authority. Hauno succeeded iu eutic-
ing youug Henry ou board his vessel at Kai-
serswerth. Here the royal lad, then but
twelve years of age, was seized by the con-
spirators aud forcibly carried away. Shortly
afterwards a meeting of the princes was held,
aud the 3'ouug king was jjlaced under the
guardianship) of Hauno.
The severity of his protector soon alienated
both Henry and the nobles of the Empire.
A counter revolution deprived Hauno of
the guardianship, and the same was trans-
ferred to Adelbert of Bremen. The latter
held the troublesome distinction until 1065,
when the prince, theu reaching the age of
fifteen, was invested with the sword of man-
hood. Taking the government upon himself,
Henry reluctantly accepted Hanno as his
chief couuselor, the latter being forced uixm
him by the princes of Cohigne aud others
affiliated with them.
At the age of seventeen the young king
took for his wife the Italian princess. Bertha.
But iu the course of three years he wearied
of his choice and sought to be divorced. The
Archbishop of Mayeuce gave his sanction ;
but Hildebrand, now the chancellor of Pope
Alexan<lcr 11., imluced the pontiff to deny the
king's wishrs, and Henry was obliged to yield.
His humiliatiiiu over the failure of the project
was compensated by tlie death of the old en-
emy of his House, Godfrey of Lorraine.
About the same time another foe, Duk.- Otho
of Bavaria, was seized by the king's party and
deprived of his duchy. Both these events
tended powerfully to establish Henry iu the
Empire, but the tendency was somewhat neu-
tralized by the hostile attitude of Magnus of
Saxony. The Saxons had never been patient
under the rule of the Franconian Emjierors,
and circumstances now favored a general re-
volt of the nation. The people, under the
leadership of the deposed Duke of Bavaria, rose
to the number of sixty thousand, marched
upon the castle of Harzburg, and demanded
of Henry the dismissal of his counselors and
a rcl'iirm of the government. This the king
refuses], and was thereupon besieged in his
castle.
When the situation became critical, he es-
caped from Harzburg aud tied almost without
a following. Not uutil he reached the Rhine
was there any general ujirising iu his favor.
The cities in this region, however, had grown
restive under the domination of the bishops,
and were eager to begin a revolution by receiv-
ing the fugitive Emperor. His fortunes were
thus stayed by a powerful support, but he was
presently oliliged to make peace with the
Saxons, who dictated their own terms of set-
tlement. They even proceeded to the extreme
of demolishing the Emperor's castle and church
at Harzlnirg, where the bones of his father
were buried. This flagrant abuse of victory
soon turned the tide iu favor of Henry, who
rallied a large army, entered the country of
the Saxons, and inflicted ou them an over-
whelming defeat. Thus at length were all
jiarts of the Empire reduced to submission,
aud the thmne (if Henry IV. seemed more
firmly established than that of any former
Emperor of the German race.
Now it was, however, that the great monk
Hildebrand, after having moulded the policy
of the papacy during four successive pontifi-
cates, himself assumed the tiara, and, with the
title of Gregory VII., took the seat of St.
Peter. He was without doubt the greatest
genius of his age, and the work of his far-
reaching intellect in establishing a new order
throughout Christendom has continued to be
felt for more than eio-ht hundred years.
Cniiiin- t(. tlie papal tlmuie iu 107:1, he at
once srt abciut rci'astiim- the wlmle jtolicy and
form of tlie papal Church. At the first the
Bishop of Rome had neither claimed nor ex-
ercised any special preeminence over the other
CXIVERSAL niSTORY. — TIIK MODEILX WORLD.
prelates of tlv
sixth to the e
claimed U> lie,
Christendom; 1
as suhoi-'liiKiio
kings and eiii|P'
for Gregory \'
scheme of i'ai>i
powers and doi
ect was no ler-
>f the
il)ute,
■r th.
the cau-r ol
an uu-
]II74 th,. law
., t'iii'(l-iiiiont
oi'eclib-
,1 i.i-ii.
il luiu-
d from
ow.r and i
dlueuce
n th.- Cliurel
1 began
tinally extii
iguished
lishmenf t
whicli ill I ni
do 1 ^^dlin
prodigi lu 1
first St 1 n
the Chill h
thed tiiii
that ( \ n 1
us empn e to
id tubes should
iniuj ut this
u\el thit the
^entli century.
In the next ])lace, Gregory
turned his attention to the crime
of simony. The proclamation
of the celibacy of the priesthood
was (piickly fnli..wed by another
deiiouneiii.;: llic sale of the otR-
ces of the Church. It was de-
clared that henceforth the bish-
ops, instead of being invested
with the insignia of uffive by
the secular princes, whom they
paid for the preferment, should
'.(■ifive the ring and crosier only
from the hands of the Pope.
Without a moment's hesitation
Gregory sent orders to Henry IV.
to enforce the reform through-
out the Empire. Henry was
at this time wearing the Im-
perial crown. He was Emperor
of the West — successor of Ca?sar
and Charlemagne. To lie thus
addressed by a Po^jp — a creature
until now made and unmade by
an Imperial edict — seemed not
only a reversal of the whole
order of human authority, but
also a flagrant insult done to the
greatest potentate in tin' world.
In the height of his indignation the Em-
peror called a synod at Worms, and, with the
ai<l of the
pose tb,. 1>
ih
t £
Chul 1
pile th
bishops, at once proceeded to de-
|.(. from otfice. Word was sent to
cut elements in liome, advising
o^ant monk of Savona be driven
V ; but brforc the message was re-
iorv, tlioii-h environed with foes
■lied with an insurrection of the
1 the South, had suppressed the
lit, enforced order throughout the
!■ Cliurch, aii.l now stood ready to
Olds with the Emt.eror. Against
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDAL GERMANY.
that potcutate he hurled tlie bolt of excom-
miiiiii'atioii.
It was un^x Pleiiry's time to act on tlir de-
fensive. He issued a summons for a national
Diet, liut the lukewarm princes hesitated to
come to his aid. After a year of endeavor,
the assembly at last was held at Mayeuce in
1076. But the nobles would not jiermit the
Emperor to be present. He was obliged to send
a messenger and to siiiiiify his willingness to
yield the whole qiiestiim at issue between him-
self and the Pope to the body for decision.
In the following year the assembly reconvened
at Augsburg, and Gregory rather than Henry
was invited to be present. The latter, now
greatly alarmed at the situation, at once set
out for Italy, in the hope of settling the contro-
versy by a personal interview with the Pope.
On arriving in Lombardy he found the peo-
ple in insurrection and might easily have led
them in triumph against his great enemy.
The latter, indeed, seeing the peril to which
he was then exposed, took counsel of his
prudence, and though already on his way to
meet the German Diet, he turned aside t(j
find .safety in a castle of Canossa in the
Apennines.
Henry, however, was f:ir from availing
himself of the possible advantage. Instead
of warlike menace and flourish of the sword,
he humbly clad himself in sackcloth, went
barefoot to the gate of the castle of Canossa,
and sought admittance as a penitent. There
for three days in the snow and sleet, the suc-
cessor of Cresar was allowed to stand waiting
before the gate. At last being admitted he
flung himself before the triumphant Gregory,
promised present submission and future obedi-
ence, and was lifted up with the kiss of rec-
onciliation.'
The pardon bestowed by the Pope on the
penitent king turned many of the princes
against the [jowerful pontiff; for they had
hoped to see the Emperor deposed and de-
'Tliis humiliation of Henry was in a measure
atoned for by tlie papacy a few years afterwards
when Gregory's successor, Calixtus II., was com-
pelled at the Diet of Worms to surrender to
Henry V. the right of investiture. In 1122 Calix-
tus openly laid down before the imperial tliroue
the symbols of his temporal authority, reserving
for himself only tlie ring and crosier as the signs
of his spiritual ilominion.
stroyed. Many now w-ent over to the linjie-
rial interest, and the Empire was rent with
strife. The anti-imperial party in Germany
proclaimed King Rudolph of Suabia as Henrv's
succe..or, au.l tlie En,peror wa> supported l,v
the Lomhanls. For two year> a fi.-rce civil
war left its ravages on battle-fiehl and in
city, until 1080, Rudolph fell in the conflict,
antl the power of Henry was completely re-
established.
The victor now remembered the Pi.ijie as
the cause of all his griefs. With a large
army he crossed the mountains and received
the iron crown at the hands of the uoliles of
Lombardy. The Countess Matilda of Tus-
cany, to whom belonged the castle of Canossa,
exerted herself to the utmost, but in vain, to
prevent the progress of the invaders. Rome
was besieged by the German army, and Greg-
ory was obliged to take refuge in the castle
of St. Angelo. In his extremity he issued an
edict, relea.sing from a previous ban Robert
Guiseard, the Norman suzerain of Southern
Italy, who was now besought by the Pcjpe to
come to the rescue and aid in the expulsion
of the Germans from Italy. Guiseard here-
upon led an army of thirty thousand men,
mostly Saracens out of Sardinia and Corsica,
to the Eternal City, and the Emperor was
obliged to retire before them. The Pope
gained his release by the aid of the Normans,
but his allies proved to be almost as much to
be dreaded as the enemy from beyond the Alps.
The city of Eome, the greater part of which
had already been destroyed by the Germans
during the siege, was now a>sailed by the
friendly Saracens, win. bunied what remained,
sluicing the streets witli blood and carrying
away thousands of the inhabitants into slav-
ery. So complete was the devastation of the
City of the Ages that the Pope durst not re-
main with the desperate brigands who now
l^rowled around hei- ashes, but chose to retire
with the Saracens as far as Salerno. There
in los.i the greatest of the Popes of Eome
expired in exile.
The death of Greoorv VII. was the signal
of a papal -cl,i>m. The Enq-eror made haste
.f Ita
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
junrt, ., ^^.th tl h
au auti r 1 in tli i
tweeu tlu ii\ il 1 111
other th n t hi t
amljitiou t )iil(l m^jiiu
'Oregon % dtitli uutil th
Crusade^ the lelentle-- ^ti
t up
J.
u h
t mid \\ 111 11 ilk t ) niuntun him It
1 11.1 t hi 1 tl 1 (mhulh h tte\u hi
ii| 1 It 1 I II i\\ i\ till he himvtlt u i-
1/ I III 1 till uii into pu'-ju
1 lu kiii_ II n hjoked aiiMou 1\ t) liw
N( un^Li •- n lliia\ as his ■succc--^ i m the
Imptiial di^'uit> But the enemies of the
Lnipeioi, mstij;ited and encouiage<l hv the
(11 uu I I il in 11 s„ , 1 1 in iluu-it-
D \.\U IltL 1 L
and Western ('liristeiiihiin was I'cmvulsed with
the shock.
As for the Emperor, he seized the oppor-
tunity aflbrded hy the warfare of the rival
Popes to resume his duties as the secular ruler
of the German Emjiire. Trouble and disas-
ter, however, attended tlie latter years of his
reign. The Prinee ('onnid, eldest son of the
kiiii; anil heir cxpfctiiiit to the crown, lierame
ivlirllious and nsurped the thmiie ..f Lmn-
hardy. Hi. UMirpalioii was a.-kiinu led-ed hy
Urliau II., and il a|,|..aiv,l tor a while that
ing the younger prince from his father, as-
they had already done in the case of Conrad.
Thus in distraction and gloom the reign of
Henry IV. dratiged on apace, while the first
clarion of the Crusades w'aked the slumbering
echoes in the valleys of Western Europe.
Peter the Hermit came back from Palestine
telling the .story of his wrongs. The people
of the European states, wearied of the broils
of the scrular princes, disgusted with ]ia]ial
intrigues, and desjiairing of national unity
under the shadow of Feudalism, rose as one
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDAL ENGLAND.
muu at the bugle-call aud drew theii- swords
lor the rescue of the holy places of the East.
Peter called aloud to the auti-Pope Url);iu,
and Urbau called to christeudom. lu ilarch
of 1095 a great assembly was held at Piaceuza,
aud the cause of outraged Palestine was elo-
quently pleaded by the Pope aud the envoys
from Constantinople. Thence was issued the
summons for the great Council of Clermont,
which assembled in November of the same
year, aud before which august body of French,
Italian, aud CTermau potentates, the wUd cry
of Dleu le VeuV was raised by the fanatic
multitudes. In the presence of the new and
burniug enthusiasm, the old feuds of kings,
Popes, and princes were forgotten, and all
Christendom eagerly lifted the bauuer of the
Cross.
The present chapter may be appropriately
concluded with a reference to the interesting
raediteval episode of the philosopher Abelaed.
This distinguished and unfortunate scholar
was born at Nantes, iu 1079. His childhood
was precocious. At the age of sixteen he be-
came the pupil of William de Champeaux.
Before reaching his majority, he was already
considered one of the most eminent disputators
of his times. De Champeaux became bitterly
jealous of his pupil, aud at the age of twenty-
two Abelard opened a school of philosophy of
his owu at Melun, near Paris. This establish-
ment was soon iu great repute. In scholastic
deljates with De Champeaux, Abelard came
oti" victorious. Now it was that Heloise, the
beautiful daughter of the canon Fulbert, was
jjut under charge of the young philosopher as
a pupil. Soon they loved. The story is
known to all the world — the most pathetic of
the Middle Ages. The bigotry of the times
drove the master into the monastery of Saint
Denis aud threw the veil over the despairing
Heloise in the nuuuery of Ai-genteuil. The
catastrophe, however, was the virtual begin-
ning of the ascendency of Abelard over the
philosophical opinions of his times ; nor can it
well be doubted that his min<l was the most
versatile and brilliant of the Ijcuighted epoch
in which he lived.
CHAPTER L^XXVII. — FEUDAL ENQLAND.
N the fifth dav of .January,
1066, died 'Edward the
Confessor. For four and
twenty years he had
swayed the scepter of
England, but now there
was an eud. The race
of Crnlir and Alfred the Great expired with
the childless king, aud over his silent clay
was written defuiidus est in the abbey of West-
minster. To his honor be it said that, living
iu a warlike age and beset with many enemies,
King Edward preferred the pursuits of peace,
and would fain have brought her blessing to
all the hamlets of England.
As soon as the body of the late monarch
was properly interred, the Prince Harold, son
of the great Earl Godwin, was proclaimed
kinii in a grand assembly at London. The
' "God wills it"— the cry of the first Cnisadors
on assuming the Cross.
crowning immediately followed, the ceremony
being performed by Stigand, archbishop of
Canterbury. No doubt, as the coronation
oath was administered, the memory of that
other oath which the prince had taken over
the bones of the saints in the presence of
William the Norman came unbidden to his
mind; but he cast all upon the die of the
present, aud the bones of the martyrs were
remanded to the pa^^t.
In all the southern counties of England
the accession of Harold was hailed with joy-
ful acclamations. In him the peo^jle saw a
Saxon king and the jiossible founder of a new
Saxon dynasty. H.' thus lierame the repre-
sentative of the (ihl national spirit aud the
hope of those who longed to see the country
freed from foreign domination. Not without
prudence aud sound policy did the new sov-
ereign begin his reign. He souglit to win and
to deserve the aflectious of the people. Oner-
624
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
ibolished, and tlic w;
.M.
k- llaroia
i-vauce of the
I he king, first of all, ex-
iiiit the whole swarm of
Diit while this policy was
will) respect to the for-
ous taxes w
those who wcri'
raised to a lii^hr
sought to strciigt
the Church Vy
duties of reliiiinii
In secidar atl;
pelled from th.-
Norman favniiti-
rigorously )iiii-.-u
eigners, they were imt driven from the coun-
try (ir riililicd dl' thcii- estates. Many of the
Noniiaiis, hdwcvcr, lied IVom England and re-
turned wilh all ,'^]ici'il t(i their f)wn country.
They it was ulm lin.ii-lit t.i Duke William
the news of the death u{' Edward the Confessor
and the usurpation of the throne by Harold,
the sou of Godwin.
Tradition has rec(,rded that William, when
he first revived th.' intrlli-cnce, was huntinu-
in the \v..,,d ,,f i;,,ii<n, an.l that his ei.untc-
nance and manner were at once changed to
an expression of great concern and indigna-
tion. He affected to regard the act of Harold
as the grossest and most outrageous perjury.
Notwithstanding his wrath William deemed it
prudent to conciliate his enemies, actual and
possible, with a show of moderation. He at
once dispatched ambassadors to Harold with
the following mes-sage : "William, duke of
the Normans, warns thee of the oath thou
hast sworn him witii thy mouth and with thy
hand on goml and IkiIv relics." To this mes-
sage, which had all tiie superficial semblance
of soundness. King Harold responded with
sterling .speech: "It is true that I made an
oath to William, but I made it under the in-
fluence of force. I promised what did not
belong to me, and engaged to do what I never
could do; for my royalty does not belong to
me, nor can I di.spose of it without the con-
sent of my country. In the like manner I
can not, without the consent of my country,
espouse a foreign wife. As for my sister,
whom the duke claims in order that he may
marry her to our ><[' his chiefs, she has been
dead some tiinr. Will he that I send him her
corpse ?"
There was no mistaking the nature of these
negotiations. England was td lie invaded by
the Ncrmans. Duke William, however, took
pains to send over another embassy, again
pres>iiig liis .•lainis and reminding Harold of
his „ath. Tliivats and recriminations foll„wed,
and then pn parations tor war. According to
tlie constitution of ^l'o^naudy it was necessary
for William to have the consent of his barons,
and this was not obtained without much diffi-
culty. The N..rman vassals held that their
Feudal oath ilid not bind them to follow and
serve their lord lieyond the sea, but only in
the defense of his own realms. A national
assendjiy was called at Lillebonne, and a
stormy debate had well-nigh ended in ri<it
and insurrection ; but William,
and self-restraint, finally succeeded iu bring-
ing the refractory nobles to his support. A
great force of knights, chiefs, and foot-soldiers
floekcil to his standard. At this fortunate
crisis in the duke's affairs a legate arrived
from tlie Pope, bringing a bull expressing
I the ajipioval of the Holy Father. Hereupon
\ a new imjictus was given to the enterprise.
Under the sanction of religion the oath-break-
ing Harold was to be punished and his king-
dom given to another. A consecrated banner
and a ring containing one of the hairs of
St. Peter were sent from Rome to the ambi-
tious prince, who, thus encouraged, made no
concealment of his intentions soon to be king
of England.
During the early spring and summer of
1066 all the seaports of Normandy rang with
the clamor of jsreparation. Ships were built
and equipped, sailors enlisted, armor forged,
supplies brought into the store-houses. Mean-
while a similar but less energetic scene was
displayed across the channel. Harold, hear-
ing the notes of preparation from the other
side, braced his sinews for the struggle. He
sent over spies to ascertain the nature and ex-
tent of William's armament ; but when one
of the.se was brought into the duke's presence
he showed him every thing, and bade him say
to King Harold not to trouble himself about
the Norman's strength, as he should see and
feel it before the end of the 3'ear.
It was now the misfortune of the English
king to 111- attacked by a domestic foe. His
own brothia- Tostig, formerly carl of North-
uiiibiia, but now an exile in Flanders, suc-
ceeded ill raising abroad a scpiadron with
which he made a descent .m the Isle of Wight.
Driven back bv the kiui^'s fleet, Tostig next
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.—FEUDAL EXdLAXD.
nM^a I the coq^t of Lincolnshire ami then
«iikrl np the Ilnniln i Expelled from thence,
he nndc his « i) lii^t to the coast of Scotland
and then to Denniark, where ho besought the
king to join him in an invasion of England,
Failing in this enterprise Tostig renewed hia
LANDING OF THE CONQfEKOR.
rin,ivn hy A. .iPXruviUe.
UXIVEL'SAL HISTORY. — THE MoDKh'X WOULD.
offt-r to Hardrada, kiiiL' nf Xurwav, w\u< ac-
cepteil the iuvitati'iii and swooped down on
the English coast with two hundivd .-hips of
war. Under the conchiet (jf the rebel Saxon
the Norwegians eft'eeted a lamling at Eicoall
and marched directly on York. This city fell
into the hands of the enemy, and here the
king of Xorw-ay ostul.li>he(l his Iiead-.piart.-rs.
Tims while the threatening note was hoi-ne
across the chauu«-l from iS'ormaudy the
clamor of present war sounded in the ears of
the distracted Harold. Nevertheless he girt
himself bravely for the contest. He marched
boldly forth and confronted the jSTorwegiaus
at Stamford Bridge. Here a bloody battle
was fought, in which King Hardrada and
nearly every one of his chiefs were slain.
The victory of the Saxons was complete and
overwhelming.
No sooner, however, was one of the great
foes of Harold destroyed than the other ap-
peared in sight. Only three days after the
overthrow of the Norwegians the squadron of
Duke William anchored on the coast. A
landing was effected on the shore of Sussex,
at a place called Bulverhithe. Archers, horse-
men, and spearmen came on shore without
opposition. William was the last man to
leave his ship. Tradition has recorded that
when his foot touched the sand he slipped
and fell; but with unfailing presence of mind
he sprang up as though the accident had been
by design and showed his two hands filled
with the soil of England. "Here," cried he
aloud to his men, "I have taken seisin of
this land with my hands and by the sjilendor
of God, as far as it extends, it is mine — it
is yours! "
In the mean time King Harold was ad-
vancing to his station on tlie field of HASTlX(is,
near the Fair Light Downs. On his way
thither he stojiped at London and sent out a
fleet of seven hundred vessels to blockade the
fleet of William and [irevent his escape from
the inland. The Xorman duke had ur.w
reached Hastings, and the time was at hand
when the question between him and the Saxon
king must be decided.
Tlie prudent William before hazarding a
battle sent another message to Harold. "Go
and tell Harold." said he. "that if he will
keep ids old bar-ain willi me I will l.-av. liim
all tlie country beyond the river Humber, and
will give his lirothVr (Mirth all the lands of his
father, Karl (lodwiii; but if h,- ob.-tiuatelv
refuse wliat I oliir him thon wilt tell him
before all his people tiiat he is perjured and a
liar; that he and all those who .shall support
him are exconiiiiuuicated by the Pope, and
that I carry a bull to that effect."
Notwith>tandiiig this terrible threat the
English chiefs stood firmly to the cause of
their king. William had in the mean time
fortified his camj) and stood ready for the
shock. Harold came on with great intrepid-
ity; nor could he be prevented by the expos-
tulations of his friends from taking the per-
sonal responsibility and peril of battle. On
the night of the 13th of October the two
armies lay face to iace in their respective
camps at Hastings. The English were up-
roarious and confident of victory. They had
recently overwhelmed the Norwegians and
now in like manner they would beat down the
adventurers of Normandy. They danced and
sang and drained their horn-cups brimming
with ale until late at night, and then in the
heavy English fitshion flung themselves to
rest. On the other side the Normans were
looking carefully to their armor, examining
the harness of their horses, and joining in
the litanies which were chanted by the priests.
With the coming of morning, both armies
were marshaled forth for battle. Duke AVill-
iam, having arranged his forces in three col-
umns, made a brief and spirited address, in
which he recited the cruelties aud treachery
of the foe and promised the rewards of vic-
tory. A Norman giant, named Taillefer,
rode in front of the ranks, brandishing hia
sword and singing the old heroic ballads of
Normandy. The army took up the chorus,
and the enthusiasm of battle spread like a
flame among the knightly ranks.' The oppos-
ing English had fortified with trenches and
palisades the lii-h ground on which they were
eni-ani]ied. The two kings, equally courage-
ous, eoniniaiided their respective armies in
jiersou, and each sought to be foremost in the
fight. At the first, the assaults of the Norman
bowmen and crossbowmen produced little ef-
fect on the English lines; and even the
'It w:is on this oi-ensinn tluit the Xormans
santr llie Sumi ,'t' liolutnl, the liero of Eoncesvalles.
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.— FEUDAL EXGLAKD.
charge of William's cavalry was bravrly met
aud repelled. The English battle-axes eut the
lances of the knights and cleft both hoi'se and
rider. At one time the rejoort was spread
tliat AVilliam was slain, and his followers fell
into dismay and confusion. But the j^i'iuce
reappeared unhurt, threw up his visor that he
might be seen, and rallied his men to the
charge. From nine o'clock in the forenoon
until three in the afternoon the battle raged
with fury. At the last, after many maneu-
vers, Duke William resorted to a stratagem.
English were made to Ijelieve themselves vic-
torious, but were again turned upon and
routed. The lines of Harold's encamjjment
were broken through. Then the fight raged
briefly around the standard of England, which
was iinally cut down and supplanted liy the
banner of Normandy. Harold's two brothers
were slain in the struggle. The English were
turned into a rout, but ever and anon they
made a stand in that disastrous twilight of
Saxon England. Victory declared tor AV^ill-
iam. King Harold himself was killed by a
BATTLE OF
iTINGS.
He ordered his knights to charge and then to
turn and fly. The English, deceived by the
pretended retreat of the foe, broke from their
lines to pursue the flying Normans. The lat-
ter, being stnmgly reinforced, turned suddenly
aljiiut at a signal and fell upon their scattered
pursuers. The disordered English were en-
compassed and cut down by thousands. The
chieftains wielded their battle-axes with terri-
ble effect, but were ridden down and slain.
In another part of the field the Normans
adopted the same stratagem and were again
suecessful. Even a third time tlie iniiinidrnt
random arrow, which, piereing his
entered his brain. Nearly one-half
diers were either killed or woiiii
William's army, more than a fourth
in the battle, and the jubilation of
triumpli sounded like a spasmodie
the dead bodies of three tliousan.l
kniglit>. Sorrowful was tlie si-lit
Edith searching among the slain foi'
of her lord. At siieh a pri.'e was
made uo,,d which Prince Harold h;
IV t:i
left eye,
.f his sol-
led. Of
p..ri.hed
^s'onnau
Nonnau
,f (^iren
the body
the oatii
d unwit-
lints.
UXIVEIiSAL HISTORY.— THE MODKRX WORLD.
Ha>tiuirs was to tran.^tlT oue-fourtli of the
kiu-ilciin to William the Normau. As soou as
it \vu> cKar that the victory was his, the Cou-
t \\\> the eiiiiseerated banner which
-riit hiiii I'V ihe l'"|>e, and his sol-
liers iirorciMlcil in >i.:lil "l' that >acred emblem
'!»
William vowed to
\vv\- spot where the
ml had been struck
lie the monastery of
li monks to celebrate
the souls of the slain
to despoil the Saxnii
erect an aUljry ni'
banner of Saxon IC
down, and in a >hn,-
St. .Martin was lilKd
masses for the rrpn-c
knights of Nnnnaiidy.
In was still necessary that William .should
make haste slowly in the further reduction of
the kingdom. More than two months elapsed
before he reached the city of London. In
the interval he beat along the coast, hoping
that the people would make a voluntary sub-
mission ; but in this he was di.sappointed.
Finding that moderation was of little avail
with the stubborn Saxons, he continued the
conquest by the capture of Romney and
Dover. While at the latter place he was
strongly reinforced with recruits fi-om Nor-
mandy. Thus strengthened, the Conqueror
left the coast and marched direct to London.
The defeat of Hastings had broken the spirit
of resistance, and little opposition was luani-
fested to his progress. Nevertheless, the
Witenagemot assembled in the capital, and the
uppermost question related to the succession
rather than submission to the Normans.
After much discussion, it was decided to
confer the crown on Edgar the Atheling, grand-
son of Edmund Ironside, who had previously
been set aside on account of the spurious de-
scent of his ancestor. This measure, however,
was carried by the old Saxon or National
pai'tv, in the face of the strenuous opposition
of the Ninnian taction, supported as it was by
most of the clergy, who trembled at the
thought of excommunication. The fact that
Prince Edgar himself was devoid of all kingly
qualities added strengtli to the Norman cause
and di^couraiii-d the national movement.
Smh wa- till' condition of affairs when
William apiiiarcd brlore the citv. Finding
rava-vd
pie of >
shire wt
d Southwark and
ountry. The peo-
ip>hire, and Berk-
all the ten
of
war. In a short time communication was cut
off between the city and the cotmtry and tiie
shadow of famine began to hang over We-'V
minster Abliey. The earls, Edwin and Mor-
car, to whom the defense had been intrusted,
withdri'W towards the Humber, taking with
them the forces of Northumbria and Mercia.
Their retirement from London was the sig-
nal of submission. An embassy, headed by
"King" Edgar himself and Archbishop Sti-
gand of Canterbury, went forth to Berk-
hampstead, and there presented themselves to
the Conqueror. The submission was formal
and complete. Edgar for himself renounced
the throne, and Stigand for the Church took
the oath of loyalty. The politic William
made a jiretense of reluctance in accepting
the crown of England ; but his feeble remon-
strance was drowned in the acclaim of his
nobles and courtiers. As soon as the embassy
had completed its work, the Normans set out
for the capital, conducted by the distinguished
envoys. In a short time the Conqueror estab-
lisheil himself in the city and preparations
were completed for the coronation.
The Alibey of Westminster was chosen as
the place for the ceremony. Attended by two
hundred and sixty of his nobles, the duke
rode between files of soldiers that lined the
approaches, and presented himself before the
altar. When in reply to the question ad-
dressed to those present by Aldred, archbishop
of York, whether they would accept William
of Normandy as their lawful king, they all
set up a shout. Those Normans outside the
Abbey, heai-ing the noise and conjecturing
that some act of treachery had been com-
mitted against their prince, began to set fire
to the houses of the English and to kill all
who fell in their way. Others rushed into the
Abbey as if to rescue William, and the cere-
mony was interrupted in the midst of univer-
sal turmoil. For a while it appeared that
both parties, each misunderstanding the other,
would, in the wildness of their frenzy, raze the
city to the ground. But Archbishop Aldred
j continued and completed the duty of corona-
tion, and the first of the Norman kings of
EiiLdanil arose from before the altar, cro^vned
with the crown of iUfred.
Thus, in the latter part of the year 1066,
was the Norman dynasty established in Eng-
FEUDAL AS< 'KXPEXcy.— FEUDAL EX(rLAXD.
laud The iHilit> adopted b) Ldwiid tliL tioiid ~innt an 1 mid p
Confessor, combmiiit;; -nith the geneial h\\s i,in_« uid m^tituti . i- nt
of causation, hid tiiniiphod mot the old m- I m w s-.Miu.n h\ d hi- n
EDITH DISCOVERS THE BODY OP HAKOLD.
D^a^YIl by A. Ju Neiivilk-.
(;:;o
UXIVERSAL HISTOR Y.
would tivat thr Kii-li^li |.ro,,lr a- wll a^ the
be.t of Ih.ii- nalivr kiu.-> l.a.l .1,.,,,., 1,,-aii
the athaiiii.-tiati if tlir -(ivcnuiiL-ut with as
much iiiikhK'ss as \\w -.v^i- was litted to receive.
It can uot he liimhlcil that tlie English thanes
and great earls, who made their suhmissiou to
the king, gained from his hautls a generous
consideration. To them were confirmed their
estates and hou.us, and the work of coutisca-
tion began only with those who were rebel-
lious or disloyal. Tlie domains of Harold and
his brother, as well as those of less distin-
guished leaders and chiefs, were seized by
William and conferred on his Xdrnian nobles.
Though these acts might well be defended as
strictly in accordance with the usages of war
and conquest, they failed uot to sow the seeds
of bitterness and revenge, which for centu-
ries together grew rank and piiisouous in the
soil of England.
Prominent among those Saxons wlio re-
ceived the favor of William was the royal
cipher, Edgar Atheling. Without the ability
to accomplish serious harm in the state, this
nominal jirince of the old n'gime was still I'e-
garded with aft'ection by the adherents of tlie
lost cause. For this rea-oii i-ather than on
account of personal esleeni, he was recon-
firmed by the king in th,' earldom of Oxford,
■which had been conferred on him at the ac-
cession of Harold.
In furtherance of his p.iliey William pres-
ently set iorth from IJai-kiiiu; to visit the va-
rious districts of the king<lom. His jjrogress
was half-civil, half-military, and wholly royal.
For he would fain impi'ess the English with a
new idea of kiiii;ly pomp and greatness. At
every pla.v li.' fiile.l not, as far as praeti-
cabl.', to ,lis|,lay a -.neroiis eondeseensi.m. In
allot his inleiv.,ui-o he took ear.', byai.rudeiit
restraint of temper and courteous di-meaiior
towai-ds the Saxon 'I'lianes, t ii'iliate their
esteem and favor. In liis edi.'ts he carefully
regarded the .,ld An-lo-Saxon laws, and in
the administration of Jnsii li.l not un.bdy
incline to ihe interests of his uwn country-
men. In M • in-tances h<' even went lieyond
five favor to the na'.ive intercuts and institu-
tions ,,f the Island. lie , ,dar-ed the privi-
leges of the ,'or -atioi, ,,|- London, and made
THE MODERN WORLD.
hitnself the patiou of English commerce and
Whil.- in this conciliatory way the Con-
.pu'ror diligently .<ou-ht to gain the trust and
even the alliction ,,f hi>
power with bulwark,
was that thoM- \\,,n(
castles, which .-till
.-axon siniject-, he at
•ry can. to fortifv his
nd ,lefen.-e.-. Xow it
ul feu.lal towers an.l
nable firtre.sses cjf Xorn.an (hiUiination. On
every side the Haxon thanes antl jx-asauts be-
held arising these huge structures of stone, and
sighed with vain regrets or mutterings of re-
venge at this everlastin- menace f, the old
liberth's an.l institutions ,.f the T.-ut,,ni,- race.
Th.' X.u-mansalso umlersto.i.l the sitiuttion.
Th..y appr.-ciated the necessity of laying deep
and sliong the innnovable Inittresses .)f their
.lomini.ui. Well they kn.'W the vi-..r, the
f.MUin.lity, an.l warlike val.ir of the Anglo-
Saxon pe.iple. Well did they forecast tlie
impending struggle of the races, and wisely
did they prepare for the maintenance of the
]Hiwer which they had gained and established
by .■.uiquest.
On., .if the greatest difficulties which King
A\'illiam ha. I t.i me.t an.l overcome was found
in ill., lapa.'ity .d' his foll.jwers. The great
h.ist of Xorma'u l.n-.ls an.l bi.shops who had
f.illow.'.l hiiu fr.im th.' .-.mtinent constantly
.•lamor,..l lor the >p.iil.- of the kingdom. The
for.-ign t'.-.-le.-iasli.'s were ...ven more greedy
restrained fr.mi the in.-tantaneous seizure of
the catheilrals an.l abli.y.- of England. Many
of the har.lships uu.l.'r whi.di the Saxons were
insatialil.. .I.'nian.ls .if William's foll.iwers,
ralli.'r than l.i the i,..r.-.iiial wish.s .d' the king
1.1 iullici injuri.s.m his Sax. m sidijects. Even
from ill., lirsl year of lli.' C.n.iu.-sl th,. sup-
pr..^-...l ivli..|ii,,n in th.' Ii.'art .if naliv.' I'hig-
I an.l win
The rich
..pup.
.if th.. .-.Mirllv f .r..i-u l.ir.i- fla-he.l in the
s of Ih.. KieJi'sh niai.l.n.- with a .laz/.ling
:iiln.-s. Wlial .-h.iul.i be the brawn and
•ws .,f il„. naliv.. 1 r. with hi- bma.l
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.— FEUDAL EXGLAXD.
shouMers, florid face, aud uucut flaxeu hair,
comparoil with the elegant limbs, graceful
diguitv, and condescending smile of the gay
and polished knight of Koucn? Even the
widows of valiant Saxon thanes, who had
fallen on the field of Hastings, proved to
he not over-diflicult to win by the splendid
foreigners. Love fanned
by admiration prevailed _ r.
over patriotism fanned by
memory.
The Conquest of Eiil:-
land was, as yet, by n^i 1 i_
means completed. AU the
West lay unsubdued. In
the south-eastern part of
the island the conquerors
had firmly established
themselves in the country.
In the spring of liM'.T
King William went ovci
to Normandy, leaving hi-
half-brother Odo as regent
during his absence. It ii:i-
been conjectured by Huint
that the motive of th<
Conqueror in going abroad
at this juncture was fouiKi
in the belief that as sodu
as his absence was known
the Saxons would break
into revolt, and thus fur-
nish him a valid excu-e
for completing the subju-
gation of the Island and
confiscating the estates of
the Thanes. For he was
greatly harassed by the
Norman nobles to supply
them with lands and titles,
as he had promised at the
beginning of the Con-
quest. The character of
Odo, who was arbitrary, impolitic, and reck-
less, moreover conduced to the result which
William anticipated.
At Rouen the victorious king was received
■with great ccUit. To his friends at home he
distributed many rich presents, and gave a
glowing account of the country which he had
subdued. Nor did he hesitate to exhibit to
the people and the foreign ambassadors at his
court living specimens (if tlie
race tl
at had
yielded to his arms; tor as a
pnvai
tinnary
measure he had taken with bin
on hi>
return
a number of the Saxon thanes.
^leanwhile atiairs in Englan
1 w.iv
rapidly
approaching a crisis. The t\
I'anny
of O.lo
and his coun.selors began to pro
s heavi
y npoM
I^a'
,- V
ili,;am TilE .
the subject race. Their rapacity sought grat-
ification in pillage and robbery. Not only
the peasants, but people of the highest rank,
were made the victims of outrage and spolin-
tion. In vain did they cry out for justice
and revenge upon the noble brigands who
had ruined their homes. The complaints of
the sufferers were met with insult and mockery.
Not long could the Saxon blood be expected
uyi\i:i:sAL jiistohv.—thk modern would.
wo,, to tlu- lurklr,- NoMiiaii kl.i,i:lit who was
caught outsi,le the walls of his castle. Soon
there was concert of action among the insur-
gents, anil the forci,^u dominion was menaced
ence. Tlii' Sa\<.ii plottcis x nt word to Count
Eustace of lloulo-i,r to mnw over and be
their leader; lor In- was known to be a bitter
foe to Kini^- William. 'J'lu- count accepted
the call and landed with a chosen baud near
the castle of Dover. Here he \va:3 joined by
the rebel Saxons of Kent, and an imprudent
son, who sallied forth from the gates antl
drove the rush meu of Kent headlong over
the clitts. Count Eustace fled to the coast
and thence across the sea.
Among those who soon after his landing in
the previous 3'ear did obeisance to the C(jn-
queror was Thaue Edric the Forester, of the
river Severn. He had been sincere in his
protestations, but was soon provoked into
hostility by the cruelty and injustice of the
rapacious Normans. With two of the princes
of Wales he made an alliance, and the
Normau garrison that held the city of Here-
ford was ([uickly pent up within the fortifica-
tions. All the country round about was
overrun by the insurgents, and for the time it
appeared that there only wanted a national
leader to rally the Saxons as one man and
expel their oppressors from the island.
At this juncture the two sons of Harold
came over from Ireland with a fleet of sixty
ships, and made a .spasmodii' attempt to regain
the crown of their father. 15ut they were re-
ceived with little favor, even by their own
countrymen. Attacking the city of Bristol,
they were repulsed and driven to their ships,
pursnrd
by the Saxon
. The two prill
:»,. r T
lo their way ba
•k to the safe obsi
itv ol 1
' .M,al
while- th,- spirit
of discontent and
hellion
jrew rilV- thro
li^hout the count
One mr
--a-e aft.-r anot
ur was sent to K
William
ur-ini: hi,^ i
uincdiate return
En-Jan.
. But. either 1
ot sharin- the ah
of his ,,
vii countrymen
,1 ll.r i-laiid or ,U
voke him to war, he tarried at Rouen for the
space of eijrht months, and then, in December
of 10(57, returned to Loudon. On arriving
at his cajntal, he at once resented to his old
policy of favor and blandishment to the Saxon
chiefs. At the ChrLstmas festival he received
them with all the kingly courtesy which he
was able to command. He jiroinised the peo-
ple of Loudon a restitution and observance of
the old laws of the Anglo-Saxons; and then,
as soon as confidence was somewhat restored,
proceeded to levy a burdensome tax upon his
subjects.
The .spring of lOOS witnessed the outbreak
of a ivb.llioii in Devon.hiiv. The people of
Exeter forlilii'd their city and made ready to
defend it to the last. So great was the pop-
ular exasperation that the crews of some Nor-
man ships, which were wrecked on the coast,
were butchered after the worst manner of
savagery. Against the insurgents of Devon-
shire, King William led out his army in per-
son. Approaching the city of Exeter he
demanded submission, but was met with refu-
sal and detiaiiep. A siege ensued of eighteen
days' diiiaiioii, and then Exeter fell into the
hands of the Conqueror. A strong castle
was built in the captured town and garrisoned
with Norman soldiers.
During the summer of this year the sons
of Godwin made a second absurd attempt to
create a rising in the West. Several landings
were effected on the shores of Devon and
Ciiruwall, but the leaders were met with the
same aversion as in the previous year. Find-
ing neither support nor .sympathy, they again
abandoned their native land and took refuge
in Denmark.
After the coiKjuest of Devon, King Will-
iam quickly added that of Somerset and
Gloucester. The city of Oxford was taken
and fortified. In every district subdued by
his arms, the lands were confiscated and ap-
portioned to his followers. New castles were
built and occupied by Norman lords. Mean-
while every ship from Rouen brought another
company of hungry nobles to demand a share
in the spoils of England. The enforced con-
siileration which William had hitherto com-
jielled his followers to show to the Saxons was
soon no longer ob.served. After the garrulous
manner >A' his tribe, the old chronicler Holiu-
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— FEUDAL EXGLAXD
shed thus describes the afflictions of his people
in the early years of William the Coniiuerur:
"He [the king] took away from divers of
the nobility, and others of the better sort, all
their livings, and gave the same to his Nor-
mans. iMoreover, he raised great taxes and
subsidies through the realms; nor in any thing
regarded the English nobility, so that they
who before thought themselves to be made
forever by bringing a stranger into the realm,
did now see themselves trodden under foot, to
be despised, and to be mocked on all sides, in
so much that many of them were constrained
(as it were, for a further testimony of servi-
tude and bondage) to shave their beards, to
round their hair, and to frame themselves, as
well in apparel as in service and diet at their
tallies, after the Norman manner, very strange
and tar ditferiug from the ancient customs and
old usages of their country. Others, utterly
refusing to sustain such an intolerable yoke of
thralldom as was daily laid upon them by the
Xnrmans, chose rather to leave all, both goods
anil lauds, and, after the manner of outlaws,
got them to the woods with their wives, children,
and servants, meaning from thenceforth to live
upon the spoils of the country adjoining, and to
take whatsoever come next to hand. Where-
upon it came to pass within a while that no
man might travel in safety from his own
house or town to his next neighbor's, and
every quiet and honest man's house became,
as it were, a hold and fortress, furnished for
defense with bows and arrows, bills, pole-axes,
swords, clubs, and staves and othei- weapons,
the doors being kept locked and strongly
bolted in the night season, as it had been in
time of open war and amongst public enemies.
Prayers were said also by the master of the
house, as though they had been in the midst
of the seas in some stormy tempest ; and when
the windows and doors should be shut in or
closed they used to say Benedieite, and others
to answer Domimis, in like sort as the priest
and his penitent were wont to do at confession
in the church."
It was in the miilst of such conditions as
these that the deep-seated and long-enduring
hatred of the Normans was laid in the lieart
of Saxon England. Ever and evermore the '
chasm seemed to widen between the hostile
races. Now came the great earl. Eilwin of '
^Nlereia, wlio, under lirnmi.>e of receivin- the
king's daughter in marriage, ha.l suppoibMl
his rause, claiming the hand of thr .Nonnau
UKii.l.u. He was rcfu>c<l and in-ult.d.
Thereupon he k-ft Lon,l,,u with a buniiii-
heart, called hi. Kn.tiier .M,.ivar to l,i, -uA,
and raised the .-taiidaid of war in the north
of England. The rebel princes took their
stand beyond the Humljcr. Around their
banners rallied the 8axo-Danish jjatriots of
Yorkshire and Northumbria. In their wrath
they took an oath tiiat nevermore would
they sleep b.iieath the r.M,f until they ha.l
taken an ample revenge upon the perlidi-
ous and cruel Normans. But the warlike and
energetic William was little alarmed by the
menace of such a rebellion. Putting himself at
the head of his army he marched rapidly from
Oxford to Warwick, from Warwick to Leices-
ter, from Leicester to Di il,y and Nottingham,
from Nottingham to Lincoln, from Lincoln to
the Humber. Near the contiuence of the Ouse
he met and completely routed the forces of
the rebel earls. Hosts of the English fell in
the battle and the remnant Hed for refuge
within the fortiii.-itions of York. Thither
they were pursueil by William and his sol-
diers, who broke through the gates, captured
the city, and put the people to the sword. A
citadel of great strength was built within the
conquered town and garrisoned with ti\e hun-
dred warriors and knights. The city of York
became henceforth the stronghold of the Nor-
mans in the North.
In the second ami third years after the
Conquest, the country was agitated through
its whole extent l>y oiitlneaks and upris-
ing of the Saxons. By degrees the English
nobles, who had thus far upheld the Ci.mquer-
or's cause, became alienated and took sides
with their own countrymen. As to the Saxon
peasants, they groaned and writhed under the
oppression of their masters and seizeil every
opportunity, fair oi- foul, to wreak their venge-
ance on the hated forei-ner^. While the Nor-
lUS
with mutt
the
the
all his smiles
,:,4
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
alluiviiicnt>, tlie kin-V ..wii l.rutluT-in-law,
Earl Tilkiiil (if lla>tiii-s Castle, and the pow-
erful IIu.-li .le (ii-auuiiesiiil, earl uf >,„rlulk,
quitteil Eu.iilau.l and retired into ^'ormaudy.
So serious was tlie sitnali.m that the kiuy
deemed it expedient U> send his queen, Ma-
tilila, liaek to Kouen. For himself, however,
he was a< undaunl.d as ever. To till the
places made vaeant hy defection and desertiou,
he sent invitations into all the couutries of
Western Enn.pe, otllrin^ the lirilliant rewards
of con(|iiest to those who would join his stand-
ard. Nor was the call without an answer.
Baudrj of rovers, wandering knights, soldiers
in ill-repute, and refugee noljlemen came
flocking to the prey.
The vear lOd'.i was mostly occupied with
military ..peratious in the North. The city of
York was liesieged hy the insurgent popula-
tion, and was (july relieved liy the approach of
William with an army. A second fortress
and garrison were cstahlisheel in the city,
which was thus rendered impregnable. As
soon as the outposts were secure, a campaign
was undertaken against the rel.els of Durham.
The expedition was le.l liy lioliert de Cmine,
who marched into the enemy's country and
entered Durham with little opposition. Dur-
ing the night, however, the English lighted
signal-fires on the neighboring heights and
gathered from all directions. At day-break
on the following morning they burst into the
town, fired the houses, fell upon the Normans,
and slaughtered them without mercy. Of
Robert's forces only two men escaped to tell
the tale of destruction.
Encouraged by their great success, the
Xorthuhilirians immediately dispatched am-
bassadois to the king of Denmark, urging him
to make an invasion of England. At the
same time they sent overtures to Malcolm,
king of the Scots, representing to him the ad-
vantages of an alliance against the Normans.
At the court of the Scottish monarch Edgar
Atheling had fnund a refuge, and hh claims
to the crown of I'n-land were not forgotten in
the general movement. The sons of King
Harold, also, were abroad and were regarded
liy ^o^ne as a po>-il.iliiy of the future. But
the very multiiilieity of interests in the at-
tempted coniliination against the Normans
prevented unity of action and forbade success.
liy and hy a DanLsh fleet of two hundred
and forty ships, commanded by the sous of
the Daiii.-h king, was sent to aid the North-
umbrians and Scots against the Conqueror.
The squadron first appeared ofl" Dover and
then sailing northward entered the Humber.
A landing was effected at the mouth of the
Ouse, and the army of Danes, reinforced by
their English allies, marched directly on York.
The Normans were driven into the fortifica-
tions, and were cut oS from all communica-
tion with the country. For eight days the
assailants beat around the ramparts. Finally
a fire broke out, and the city was wrapped in
flames. In order to escape a more horrid
death, the Normans rushed forth, sword in
hand, and met their fate on the spears of the
infuriated Northumbrians and Danes. The
.^laughter degenerated into a massacre, and
of the three thousand men composing the
garrison only a few escaped with their lives.
The smouldering ashes of York steamed with
the blood of Normandy.
King William was hunting in the forest of
Dean when the terrible news came to him of
the Initehery of his Yorkshire army. Flam-
ing with rage, he burst out with his usual
oath, "by the splendor of God," that he
would leave not a Northumbrian alive. As a
preparatory measure, he at once relaxed his
severity towards the Saxons of South Eng-
land, and resumed his old role of cajoling
them with bountiful promises. At the same
time he managed by shrewd diplomacy to
induce the king of Denmark to withdraw his
army from England. As to the Saxons, how-
ever, they were not any longer to be lulled
with soothing words. When with the open-
ing of the following spring, the Conqueror, at
the head of a powerful army began his march
against the Northumbrians, the sullen and
vengeful English rose behind him witn
torch and pike and pole-axe to satiate their
desperate anger in the wake of his campaign.
But the persistent William was not to be dis-
tracted from his purpose. The son of a tan-
ner's daughter had in his mind's eye the vision
of burut-up York and the bleaching bones of
his Norman knights.
Now was it the turn of the men of the
North to (juake with well-grounded apprehen-
sion. Ill the hour of need the Danish fleet
FE UDAL ASCEND EXL 'Y.—FE UDA L ENG LA M).
sailed down the Humber and disappeared.
The Xorthiimbriaus were left naked to the
sword of the Conqueror. He fell upon them
a short distance from York, and only a few
escaped his vengeance. Edgar Atheling Hed
from the apparition and returned to the court
of ilak'olm. Perhaps no district was ever
before smitten with such a besom as that
which now swept across the fields and hamlets
of Noithumbiia The Nwman armj bioke
up into bancK and slew and buint and it\-
atred until tlu \\ 11 iii.h iiiMtuI 1. tlni t f i
he next proceeded to seize the movable pmp-
erty (if his English subjects. The wealthy
Saxdus had generally ailnptcd the plan of de-
jiositing their treasures in the monasteries,
believing that these sacred precincts would
remain inviolate. The commissioners of the
king, however, soon broke into the holy
places of England, and robbed with as much
freedom as if they had been ravaging a vulgar
village. A regular sjstem of apjioitionment
i\ IS adopted, by which the lands of England
AMU duidtdout t. the X. lunii 1, i,U— Thus
bloody vengeance was appeased. The old
chronicler, William nf ^lalmsbury, declares
that, " from York to Durham not an inhab-
ited village remained. Fire, slaughter, and
desolation made a vast wilderness there, which
continues to this day.'" Oderic Vitalis esti-
mates the number of victims of this murder-
ous expedition at a humlred thousand souls.
From this time forth the policy of concil-
iation was flung aside by the Conqueror of
England. It now became his avowed purpose
to seize all the landed estates of the kingdom.
Nor satisfied with this enormous spoliation,
'About the year A. D. 1150.
were the first seven years after the invasion
consumed in perpetual insurrections, lirutal
punishments, confiscation, robbery, and ruin
throughout the realm of England.
In the year 1074 William was obliged by
the condition of his continental affairs to re-
turn for a season to Normandy. The county
of :Maine, on the borders of his paternal
king.l..i,i, bad iH.en beqn.'athed to the Con-
queror before his departure for England.
About two years after the devastation of North-
urubiia, Count Foulque of Anjou instigated
the people iif Elaine to rise against William
and exjiel bis magistrates from the country.
(io(i
UNIVERSAL HIHTORY.— THE MODKRX WORLD.
With a shrewd iin.lii>taii«liii,t: of ihe simatinii,
William, in (U-iianin- fur tii.' ,-..iitiiH-ut, to,,k
with liii.i (.lily ail En'fi.h army, K'aviiii: all
his Norniaa I'uives l.diiml liiiu. With th,->r
troops he made his way into Maiiii'. ami suoii
drove the insurgent.- iniu a liittvr repentance
for their folly.
While engaged in Mippressing thi- rebel-
lion, William rceeiv.'d intelligenee of a .till
more alarming onthreak in England. This
time it was the Xornian liarous themselves,
who had conspired to overthrow their master.
The otfice of prime counselor of the kingdom
was now held hv Roger Fitz-Osborn, who
was also Earl -.f ILn-lbrd. This di>tinguishe<l
young lord had, during the Compieror's ab-
sence, paid his enurt to the daughter of
Ralph de Gael, earl of Xnrf..lk; and her he
was about to take in inarriage. The rumor
of the intended uninii was borne to the Con-
queror, who for some na.-on >ent back a mes-
sage forbidding the marriage. This interfer-
ence was bitterly resented by Fitz-Osborn
and his prospective father-in-law. Without
regard to the interdict, the marriage was cele-
brated, and the leading Norman barons were
present at the feast. While heated with wine,
a sudden disloyalty lirokc mit among them,
Normans as they were, and a e.mspiraey was
made to destroy William and redivide the
realm into the three old kingdoms of Wessex,
IMercia, and Northumbria. The earls of
Waltheof and Norwich entered into the jilot
with Fitz-Osborn and De Gael, and the
drunken revel endnl in an insane insurrec-
tion. Walthi'ot', however, as soon as he was
sober, waslnd lii> hands of the disloyal busi-
ness. Fitz-Osborn was cmfronted on tlie
.Severn by a loyal army sent out by Aivli-
bishop Lanfranc, pi
and the iiisurgi'iii< u
were beaten down b
Odo, Inshop ot V,:v
until the who].- n
naught. Williani i
uent, and tlir r..ii
some with miitilati
ment, and some witi
It was 11., w the fa
touched in a still lu
son of hi^ <o„ Itol,..
prince had been hm
l.-r the Earl <.f Norf-.lk
a f.rce commanded by
nx. Nor was it Ion-
•llion was brought to
urned from the .■oiiti-
. .Mime with imprisoii-
h'alh.
of the CoU'iueror to be
. dnke of Maine. This
the .leparture of the latter fjr his comptest of
England. William had induced his Norman
barons to d,, the act of fealty to Robert as
their future >overeigii. On coming to man's
otate, the duke, without regard to his flither's
wishc,-, would fain a>snme the government in
a brief but comprelieii.-ive letter. " 'Sly .son,"
said he, " I wot not to throw off my clothes
till I go to lied." This figurative expression
was ea>ily understood In" the youth, who
openly demanded the fulfillment of the king's
proini>e to make him duke of Normandy.
"Sire," said Robert, in an interview with his
father, "I came here to claim my right, and
not to listen to sermons. 1 heard plenty
of them, and tedious ones, too, when I
was learning my grammar." Hereupon the
estrangement broke into hostility. Robert
fled into foreign parts, but was presently re-
ceived and supported by Philip of France,
who was glad to find so sharp a weapon
wherewith to hew away some of the greatness
of his rival William. The rebel prince was
e>labli>liiil in the castle of Gerberay, on the
borders of Normandy, and sujiplied with
French soldiers, with whom he made preda-
tory i'orays into his father's duchy. King
William in great wrath crossed the channel
with an English army and laid siege to the
castle where Robert had made his stand.
Hire it was that the famous incident occurred
in which the king was brought within a
siiiiile stroke of losing both his crown and
his life.
On a certain day, when the u>ual desultory
fiiihting was going on in the vicinity of the
.•a-tle, Duke Robert, who had sallied forth,
met anil engaged in deadly eontlict with a
>talwart Norman knight, whom he had the
- I f.rtnne to unhorse and hurl to the
-round. Springing from his horse and draw-
in- his sword, the duke was about to despatch
lii< fallen fieman when the latter cried out
for lielp. It was the v(,ice of William the
The latter, however, was sud-
I with chivalrous and filial devo-
■ew himself on his knees before
rostrate f>rm of his father, craved a
d pardon, assi>ted the wounded William
11.
FEUDAL ASCENDEXCr.— FEUDAL ENGLAND.
into the sailiUe, and permitted liiiu to ride
away to his own camp.
After this heroic episode, so illustrative of
the temper of the Jliddle Ages, strenuous ef-
I'orts were made l)y William's frieuds and
couuselors to efiect a reconciliation between
DUKE ROBERT RECOGXIZES HIS FATHER.
Iiniwu by L. P. U-yL-iiai-clii.T.
UXIVKHSAL HISTORV. — THE MODERN WORLD.
him and \\U -.,,,. At lir,-t tli.' iji..nih.-.l aii.l
augry kiii,<;-. >till wral; IVmhi ih,- womi-l which
Kobert lui.l iiillictiMl, wniiM \u-.a- h< iiMthiiiu
but submis.-inii and luiiii-hiin-nt. At K-ii-th,
however, hi- wratii Mili-iilcil and h- arcrptL-d
of the prddiual'- ripcntamr. Jiut it Mum a|>-
sincerity of hi- |hii-|)(i<i->. A secuud ijuanvl
soon ensueil. and tlir |u-iiice was again driven
(Is Od
intrigue to make
e (in-gnrv VII.,
fort
h, never tn -(
(■ his father more.
K.S
two
bro
h..rs, Willian
ami Henry, bv a
nion-
du-
tifii
1 cnndllrt ivt
u\w>\ their fath.-r'
alfr.'
au(
Wrrr dr-linr,
. each in ids turn.
to OCI
iipy
the
thn.nr of i;.
jhmd.
surrection at Durliam. The duty of govern-
ing the warlike population of Xorthumbria
had been intrusted to Walcher, of Lorraine,
a valorou< lii-hop of the Church. His rulr
was arbitrarv and oppros-ive. The Engli>li
who appealed to him for redress of grievamts
were treated with injustice and di-dain.
Liulf, one of the noblest natives of Jsorthiiin-
bria, having been robbed by some of the
bishop's retainers, and appealing to that dig-
nitary for redress, was repelled and presently
assassinated, h^nra'jid at this crime against
their race the ]']ngli,-h in the neighborhood of
Durham made a conspiracy by night and came
in great numbers, petitioning Walcher to render
up the murderers of I^iiilf. Each of the yeo-
men had a short sword hiddin under Iiis gar-
ment. The bislaip pereeivinu^ that a tumult
was threatened retired into the church, which
was soon surrounded by an angry multitude.
The building was fired, and Walcher and his
satellites were obliged to come forth and be
killed in preference to being burned to death.
The murderers of Litilf were slain with
the rest.
Fearful was the vengeance taken on the
Northunibrians Wn- their savage deed. Odo,
bish..p of ]!ayeiix, half-brother to King 'Will-
iam, was sent with a large army against the
ceeded. with, Hit the sli-lite-t attempt to dis-
criminate between the guilty and the innocent,
to smite the whole di-ti-iet with fire and sword.
Beheadings, mutilations, and bnrninL'-s were
,loo,
d his halfd,
tl bv
'Sted,
o Norm;
.lui
The years l(is;;-,s4 were filled with alarm
on aeeonnt of the threatening movement of
the Danes. In that country King Sueno and
his son HaroM had both died, leaving the
Clown to the illegitimate Canute, who did not
hoitate to lay claim to England as the suc-
ces-or of Canute the tireat. An issue was
tlins niaile up between one royal liastard who
coveted and another who held the English
throne. Canute began his work by making a
league with ( llaf the Peaceful, king of Nor-
way. With them, also, was united Robert,
earl of Flandtis, Canute's father-in-law, who
piniiii^ed to furnish six hundred .ships to aid
in the ex]iul.-ion i>f the Normans from Eng-
land. It was proposed to bear down on the
Island with an armament of a thousand .sail.
When the squadron was about to depart ona
distracting circumstance after another arose,
and treachery followed treachery until the en-
terprise was completely frustrated. The move-
ments of his n(jrthern enemies, however, had
sufficed for the -pace of two years to keep the
Conqticior ill a state of anxiety and alarm,
and to lay iijxni the English people such griev-
ous liunlen> a- they liail rarely borne before.
For William, by taxes, levies, and contribu-
tions seized upon a large part of the resources
of the kingdom in his preparations to meet
and repel the Danes.
About the year 1080 was undertaken one
of the mo.-^t memorable of the works of Will-
iam the Conqueror. This was the great sur-
vey of the kingdom of England, the results of
which were recorded in the famous work
known as Domesd.\y Book, which has ever
since remained the basis of land tenure in
tho-e pan- of the Island to which it applied.
The kiiiL;V in>ticiaries, or agents, traversed the
entire kingdom and gathered the required in-
formation from the sheriffs, lords, priests,
reeves, bailiffs, and villeins of each district.
Thus wa- made out in detail a complete record
the b
lurches, monasteries, manors,.
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXL' v.— FEUDAL EXGLA^F).
teuauts in chief, ami under tenants (if the ILm.-e. At tlie jireseiit ihiy it lies seei
realm; and tc this were a.lde.l the name of a >i,nii- ,-hi>> ea>e in tlie Ofhee ..f
eaeh phl.'e, tlie name i.f the holder, the ex- lie.-urd,-, an.l may ih.av he cuusulte.l
tent of the holding, the wuud, the meadow, , williout payment <if a lee.
the pasture, the mills, the ponds, the live I Like many another inonareh the em
stock, the total appraisement, the number of of England was unhirtunate in hi> e|
viUeiusamlfreemen, ami the property of each. The >tory <,f Duke Uoherl's relHll,,
Upon the whole estate three estimates were dowatall has already Keen t,,ld. Did.
made bv the inmrs; Hrst. as the same had e.\- , ar.l, th.' .-econ.l horn, after wearin- t
secondlv, as the property was when granted
byAViliiam t.. his va.sal's; and thirdly, as it
now stood after the Iap,-i' ot' thirteen years.
the king's oiiioers was di-r^ted at Winchester
and carefully recorded, the tir>t part in a great
vellnm f)lio" (,f three hnndre.l and .-idity-tw,.
double column pages, and the se,-on.l part in
a ipiarto of four hundred and fifty pages.
The first volume contains the d.-eriptiou of
the estates in the counties of Kent, Sussex,
Surrey, S..ntIiampton, T.erk-, Wilts, Dorset,
Somerset, Devon, Cornwall. Middh-ex, Here-
ford, Bueks, Oxford, (ilonce-ter, W..rcester,
Cambridge, Ilnntinedon, IJedf.rd, Xorthamp-
ton, Lcicest..r, Warwi.-k, Stalli.rd, Salop,
C'he.-^hir.', Derby, ^'otts Yoi-k, and I>incoln.
The .-e,-on.l exhibits the lecor.l lor the coun-
ties of K~>ex, ^'orfolk. and Snlfolk. together
with ad.lilional Mirvev. f,r Wilt<, Dorset,
Somerset, D<^von. and Cornuall. The two
volumes were name.l re~peclively the Great
and Little Domesday, and were at first carried
about with the' kine- and the great seal of
England. Afterwards they were deposited in
the vault of the chapel ot the cathednd of
Dcmu, I).;.'
So carefully was the ureat survey executeil
and so accui-atelv were its result^ recorded
thrtt the authority <.f D.aues.lay F.ook as an
ul.imale appeal in matters allectin- the lan.l
tides of IhcJand ha. never be,.n called in
M,r a while the invaluable record
quest I
;it We
the auditor and .■handH-rlain .d the exel,e,pier.
L: H;:i(! it was transferred to the ( 'haptei
" "'"it lias l.eeii .li^pufe,] wlieilicr tile n:niie o|
Dom.s.l.ni T',o,,k isn eornilition ef tl,e name of tli.
catlie.li-al Ih„„ns I>,,. or wlieiher it is iirriperly
D„nnl,.I,ni I'.nok, 1 1 Ul I is. tile ! '.o, ,1c , ,f tlc UaV ol
hum,,. The I:, lie,- seems tol.ethe l.etler spellini;
and etvicolo^jv.
the years ,>f his youth the s.'andal, ]
the slamlcr, of iUegitinui.'y w.mt linn
New Eorest and was goi'vd to deatl
stag. The third son William, ami He
f lurth, as they grew to manh 1, be;
nalely, however, both the youths w.
ses.,.l of kingly abilities, tlmuuh neith.
iiromise of the i.reeminent m-nius di;
On.
the woist ai-ts of King W
wiieii the maudumt abated, the roval :
fambheil with abstinenee from blood,
appease.l with the slau;Jiler of bea^
favorite n^siilence of the kiiie was tin
Win.'hcster. Desirous that his hiiiili
should be at no great distance from
ilal William, without sernples, took ].
of all the southwvsteru i.art of 11,-
■ po.s-
i;ave
laved
[letite,
IS best
The
ilv of
: I'lark
village
nioli-l,
d an.
haml
1 sw.-
'ts, :
11 ..f whi.-h were de-
way that th.' native
w b
liunter
of the
Park,
we IV ,1
lime d
-. Th
Con.p
n whi,
■stin.:.
it.^.l t
hthr
to ,1
;■ pi
,■ b\
for the sport of royal
h.. i-l..-.- of th.' reign
stablidi.'.l X.'w F.irest
n.v- .,f his own blood
viol.ai.'c. From this
ie <,f tliii-e gaiiM-laws
an.l f.
vstda\
-s wh
.•h 1
a\,' be,-ii th.' bane of
the pe
•■For,'
.pi,. ,.t
saith
Favj.
.•v.a-
Ikuvs
an.l
fh..
iii.l
Fii-li~h n.,bl.' l.,rd,
fox.'s w.irth 111.,!'.' thaU
the ba
In
.■ .-hui
h.. y..;
Is wh
i, tl
il.l .l.'str.iy tli.'iii?"
' king .'ail.'.l together
a 'jre:
hold.r
depart
t ass,
1.. r,
WI t.i
mbhiL
.■ of
,. .,1
his in.bl.'s an.l fief-
1 their h..ma-.' before
Hilt. Th.' gr.'at and
lesser
sixty t
musai
d.'ass
leaf
■mbl
e.l at Winchester and
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
atU-rwan
Noniiaiii
of Fnin.'
I'hili
r~ J-Pt
Vv
■ ami ()i>". The .-itu-
il a <-oai>e joke perpe-
. kiug ut William's
u the iiiagaziue. At
, the Coiuiueror fell
• wa^ (Irlaved till tiie
trated l>y th
expense was ;
this juncture.
sick, and iii>
followiu.u- year. Hut as seen as the suiuiuer
of 1087 had rii»iied the harvests and made
heavy the iuir|ple vineyards of France, the
now aged \Villiaui teek horse at the head of
his army and began an invasion of the disputed
territory.
The ehjective ])eiiit of the warlike expedi-
tion was the city ef Mantes, capital of the
eoveteil district, and thither the Conqueror
made his way. liotreyiug every thing in his
path. ilautes was besieged, taken, and
burned. Just as tlie city, wrapped in the
consuming Hame, was sinking into ashes, the
Conqueror, eager to be in at the death,
spurred forward his horse till the charger,
plunging hi- fere feet into the hot embers of
the rampail, reared backwards and threw tlie
now corpulent kin;:' with great violence upon
the pommel of th.' saddle. His body was
ruptured, and it was eviilent that a fatal in-
jury had been received. The wounded king
was taken first to Rouen and thence to the
monastery of >St. (Jervas, just outside the
walls of the city. There for six weeks the
king of England liiigere.l on the border of
that realm where ihr -moke of burning towns
is never seen. As deaili drew nigh, the in-
vincible s]iirit of the man relaxed. The better
memories and iiuipiises of his life revived,
and he wouM fain in some measure make
amends for his sins and crimes. His last days
were marked hy sevei-al acts of benevolence
and magnamiuity. He issued an edict releas-
ing from eniiliiieiiiriit all the surviving state
prisoners wimm lie had shut up in dungeons.
He attempteil to (juiet the voices witliin him
by contriiiutiii'j- lai-ue sums tor the endowment
of churches and monasteries. He even re-
membered the rebe.'lious Robert, and in his
last hotirs conferred on him the duchy of
Maine. As to the la-own of England', he
made :io attempt to estalili>h the succession.
expres,si„„-^ however, the ardent wish tliat his
son rriiiee William might obtain ami bold
that -r.at inl;eritance. To Henry he pive
live thou.s.uid. pounds of silver, with tlie ad-
monition that, as it respeetid political powel-,
he slionld oatiently aliide hi.- time. ()u the
morning of the yth of .September, lOST, the
great king was for a moment aroused from his
stupor by the sound of liells, and then, after
a st.a'iiiy au<l victorious career, and almost in
sight of the spot of his birth, the sou of the
tanners dauuhter of Rouen lav still and
pulseless.
Unto his dying day William the Con-
queror was followed by the curses of English-
men. So hostile to him and his Hou.se were
the native poi)ulations of the Island that
Prince William Rnf'us, knowing the temper
of the nation, deemed it expedient to secure
by silent haste and subtlety the throne va-
eati'd by his father's death. He quickly left
Normandy and reached Winchester in ad-
vance of the new- of the decease of the king.
There he coutidid the momentous intelligence
to the jn-iniate Lanfranc, archbishop of Can-
terbury. Him he induced to become the
<'hain])ion of his cause. A council of barons
aiicl ])relates was hastily summoned, and the
form of an eleeliou was had, in which,
though not without opposition, the choice fell
on Rufus. Such was the expedition with
which every thing was done, that, on the sev-
enteenth day after the ConquiTor's death, the
kin-ele.'t was dulv crowne.l bv Archbishop
The tlr
t act o
f the 11. 'W sovereiun exhib-
iti'd at oil
.if th.' -.V'
'.' his .
. 11.'
wu .piality anil the tem])er
i^sue.l orders that all the
EiKjVi.li 11.
ll.'S 1','.
.iitly liberated from prison
bv'hi.- fat
l.'r she
il.l again be seized and in-
carcerateil. Th.' Norm,
finne.l iu th.' h..iiors an.
theV had b.'el. re.'.'lltlv
i\[,'anwhih' Duk.' R.-l
n,n.r. or Shorl-IIos.', el
p,,.-.-
riianie.l Oimde-
n .,f the C.m-
.w lor maiiv years an .'xile in France
laiiy, h.'ariii- .'f his fatlier's death,
^pe.-.l into Normandy and claimed
lom. Hi' was received with great
le prelates of R.meii, who, f.irtitie.l
in-.le.'isio,i of Kiii'^ William, ula.llv
FEUD A L A SCEXD KXC 1 '. — FE i 'DA L EXO L . 1 XD.
he?:tinveil the (
Priuce Henry,
pounds bequeat
going into a i
jealous eye of <!
Thedispo-iti.
brothers was little C(in<h
tious among them. But
were tnrhident spirits,
,^l, II th
I- la
Wi
ht km„
tlR I ill
Th, kui_ It th hill
111
1 1 1
a^iin t Bi h 1 Ol «h 1
lit
ititi 1
111 r he tei Ci tk In
m th
n t th
wtie ]iit enth dm en m
P
\tn i\
was such as greatly to embarrass the
vassals of the two princes. Many of
the 11, lilies had estates both in Eng-
laii,l and in Xnriiianily. All such
h,d,l a ,livid,,l all.-iaii,-,. t,, William
and Kiibert, and it became their
interest either to preserve the peace
or else to dethrone either the duke or
the king. In a short time an alarm-
ing conspiracy was made in Englan,l
with a view to unseating William
aii,l the placing of Robert ,iii tlu'
thniiie. The chief manipulatur <it'
the phit was Bishop Oilo, half-uncle
of Robert, who found in him a ready
and able servant. The Duke ,if
Norman, ly, for his part, promise, 1 tn
senil over an army to the supprnt ,,1
his .■,iiife,l,.iates.
Th,' ,'nn<piracy gathered hea,l in
Kent aii,l Diirliaiu, and in the West.
In these parts the revolt broke out
with violence. But there was little
concert of action, and the insurrection
made slow headway against the es-
tablished order. The army of Duke
Robert was delayed until a fleet of
English privateers — first, perhaps,
of their kind in modern times — put
to sea and cut off the Norman .squadron in
detail. Siuce the movement against the king
proceeded exclusively from his Norman sub-
jects, the English rallied to his banner. In
oriler to encourage this movement nf the na-
tiv,'s a^aiii-t lii< in-urgent cuiiitrymen, he
wh,i hail >iirviv,'d thr,iugli twenty years of
warfar,', aii,l tn them made pledges favorable
to their oiiiitryiiieii. It thus happened, by a
Strang turn in th,' p,,liti,'al attaiix of the
kint:,l,ini, that the ,.1,1 lMi-li>li stock revive,!
after seven weeks they w,'re ,ivei
scattered. Odo was taken jiiis,,
onler t,i save his life agreed to gi
ester Castle to the king anil to
laii,l f,iivver. At this time, h.
tliiv.wn aP,l
ler, an,] in
•e up Roch-
leave Eng-
wever, the
castl,' was lii'l,] by En<ta,'e, I'arl .,
■ 15„nl„giie,
whii making a pr,'t,'n<,' ,if wrath a
c,.lhHi,.ii with <),l,i, sei/,,',1 that
1,1 a, -ting in
irelate and
drew him within the walls. •I'h,'
hfeiise was
begun aiew, ami was linallv In
niulit to a
,'1.,M' bv ,li^,'ase an,l faniin,-' rati
,'r than bv
fi42
U:^IVKi;SAJ. IIISTOUY. — THE MoUEUX WORLD.
,1 K\vA\A\ IVankliiis wDuld i After tlir .~.itlcineiit of his affair.- uu the
fuiu liave .l.-trov.-.l the uIm
sin-v.il.. j;,it ll,.' .\..riuai
Kiifu- i.a.l many iVim.l- :
aii.l th,' i;in- v,a.< ia.lu.v,!
leave the
of Duke Kul.er
11. .thin-.
The ten,,,,,-
the a-e new .lei
porters of Willi
Altera seasm
and eanie t.
I-- and the .-pirit ol
taliati<in. The su})- Ivui'us \v
^land determiued to ! led to a
itinent. William Itufus was fjr a while en-
;vd, in a war willi Maleolm Caeuniore, king
S.niland. The latter had heen the ajT-
s-..r durin- the ah-.n.v ol' Kufus from Ids
-dom. When William retarne.l, he fell
in the .Seottish army, then iu jS'orthum-
land, and inllieted on the enemy a signal
eat, in wiiieh l.ioth Malcolm and his son
In the year lOli:!, the iiou-coniplianee of
tei-ms of the treaty of Caeu
;il of hostilities between him
make \\ar on leilirri S||,iit-ll(ise in his own , ami JJid;e liohei't. The French king came
dnehy. The edmllllnii .it' allaiis iu Normandy t.i the ix-seue of the latter, but "William suc-
fav.Mv.l snili an .iil. rpiis.'. The duke, al- eeed.'.l in liriliiu;: him t.) retb-e into his own
way- m.ir.^ .■.inia;j.'.ius than prudent, had, e.iunti-y. It.ilurt \vas tiius left alone to strug-
duehy fell int. I anarehy. In his distress Kob- i havf wre-t.-.l fr.uii Itobert the whole duchy
ei't ma.le .ivertui-.'s Id the king of France, <if X..rman.ly had not the affairs of his own
'.vh.i. pr.iinisin-- his ai.l, marched an army to . r.alm .l.inan.le.l his immediate return from
t:.:' fr.mti.r .if X.irman.ly, hut lent u.i ].raeti- I th.' e.mtiuent.
cal as-i.-tan.'e t<i hi< ally. A counter insurree-
ti.in fav.iralil:' to Kin'- William n.iw br.ike
out in th,' <luel,y an.l ua- with .litH.-ultv ,-np-
pn-M,d. .Al.anuhil.. William liufiis .i.rupi.;.!
his time with pr.'paiati.ins, an.l in the begin-
ning .if lO'.il er..,-.-.Ml .iv.a- with an English
army int.. X.irman.ly. When the i.ssue be-
tween the twii lir.ith.a-s was ab.iut to come to
the ariiitranii'iit ..f battl.', the king of France
F.ir the pe.iple of Wales ha.l now rf-en
against the ^..iiuan d.imini.m, and the revolt
s.i.m became on.' of the mo.st alarming that
ha.l iHcnn.'.l f.c many y.ars. The insurgents
hrsl IMl upon an.l .■aplnre.l the castl.^ of
:\[.intg.iinery an.l then ..verran Cli.-hire,
Shr,ip,-hire,"lIeretonl.-hnv, ami the i.de ,if An-
gh-.-a. On reaching his kingdom, Kufus at
line.' niarchcil into the reliellious di.-trict, but
jr, and a treaty of i c.ml.l nut liring the Welsh mountaineers to a
]i.'ace wa- .■on.'ln.l.-.l at Caen. The terms i g.inral battle. The enemy kept to the hilla
were vei-y fav.ualil.' t.i the English king, who ' an.l lor.'st-, whence they sallied forth iu sud-
in ca.e Duke Koli
Thi,- settlemen
- .if his brothers realm, .1.
.in .if the whole duchy F
lul.l die iirst. ' m
of cour.se, exceediuglv la
di,-tast..ful t.i I'i'in.M. H.-nry, who stiU la
his c.iv.'rt awailin- th.' .I.'ath or d.iwnfa
I'uctive attacks uji.m tin- r.ival forces,
y.ars the king with hi. Wavy N,..r-
alry c.iiitinut.l an un-uecessful war-
his ri-lii'lli.ius snlii.'.'ts; but he was
I r.Mlii.v them t.i s!dimi.-i.in, ami was
ibli-.'.l 1.1 .■unteiit himself with the
.1 .11
It .if th.
He
ilv that h.' liroke in
■ I'.'.l hiniM-lf bri.-lb,
i.i-. In thi'si' he cstalilished garrisons ami
h.n tnrn.il asi.ic to put down an insurrection
.1 t'l th.- alm.ist'impreg- in the N.irili, whl.-h was h.;a.leil by Ilobert
s.if St. :\Iicliael, off' the ; .Mowbray, earl of N.irthumberlan.l,
In lu:)(i ihe English kin- lound hit-self
• on.-.' more In resume operations a'^ainst
-e.l by the forces of
wa< at last obli-od
„.,,,H,,iis were taken X.
William an.l U.ib..
t.i .■apinilati'. Al
away, an.l h.' was i
l;:ittany, a.-c.impani.Ml by ,ine knight, three I u
.ly. In the pr.'.-eiling autumn, how-
v.a-, an cv.nt ha.l .n'cnrr..! which, in a most
.1 maiimr, .l.ri.l...! th.' wh.ile ques-
ni'. Till' Council of Clermont was
FE UDA L ASCEXD A'.VC i'. —FEUD A L EXG LA XD.
■<V-\
called by Urban II., aud all Western Eun.pe
had taken tire at the recital of the outrages
<loue to the Christians in the East. Duke
l\(iliert was among the first to catch the en-
thusiasm aud draw his s\v..rd. What was the
maintenance and developmcut (if his province
of Normaudy compared with the glory of
smiting the infidel Turk wlm sat crossdegged
on the tomb of Christ'/ Jiiit the coii'ers of
the fiery Robert were empty. In order to
raise the means necessary to cpiip a baud of
Xorman Crusaders, he proposed to his brother
Kufus to sell to him for a period of five years
the duchy of Normandy for the sum of ten
thiiusand pounds. The ofler was tjuickly ac-
cepted, and William in order to raise the
mouey was coustrained to resort to such cruel
exactions as were, by the old chroniclers,
compared to flaying the people alive. I>iit
the tell thousand pounds were raised ami paid
into the trca<ury of Robert, who -hid.ly ac-
cepted the o[)portunity thus atil.i-ded of ex-
changing an actual earthly kingdom for the
prospect of a heavenly.
In entering upon the possession of Nor-
mandy thus acijuired, William Rufus was
well received by his subjects. The people of
Elaine, however, were not at all disposed to
accept the change of masters. Under the
leadership of then- chief nobleman, the Baron
of La Fleche, they rose in hot rebellion, and
it was only after a serious conflict that the
king succeeded in reducing them to submis-
sion. Once aud again the presence of Will-
iam was demanded in JIaine to overawe tlie
disaffected inhabitants. In the last of his ex-
peditious in that province the king received a
wound, which induced him to return to Eng-
land. On reaching home he found that the
crusading fever had already begun to spread
in the Island. Several of his noblemen, imi-
tating the cxam|)le of Duke Robert, preferred
to mortgage or sell their estates in order to
gain the means to join in the universal cam-
paign against the Infidels. Cleans were thus
artordcl the kin- of -r.atlv extending his
territorial po><is-ioiis. ISut while engaged in
this win-k his career was l>rotight to a sudden
and tragic end.
In the summer of the year 1100, William,
aecov.ling to his wont, sought the excitement
of the chase in the great hunting iiark of New
Forest. He was accompanied by several of
his nobles. Among tlu' rest was Sir Walter de
Poix, better ku<iwn by his Euglisl: nunie of
Sir Walter Tyrrel. The cavalcade v\a^ gay
the gnat trees of .Malu bkeep. When
the eomiiany in higli spirits were aljout to
begin the hunt, a messenger came runninL:^ to
St. I'etet'sat ( lTouce,-,er ha.l dnamt a dna.n
of horrid p.,rteul respecting the sud.len death
of tlie king. ■■(iive him a hundred pence,"
sai.l Rufus, "and hid him dream of belter
fortune to our pers.m. I),, th.y think I am
one of those fools that give up their pleasiu'e
or tlieir busine.ss becau.se an old woman hap-
jiens to dream or to sneeze. To hoise, Wal-
ter ,le Toix!"
Hereupon the reckless king with his
I n companions dashed into the woods and
began the chase. Towards evening a hart
sprang itp lietweeu Rufus ami the' thicket
where Sir Walter was f,r tlie moment stand-
ing. The king drew his bow to ,|,out; l)Ut
the striug snajijied, and his anow went wide
of the mark. He rai-ed his hand as if to
sha<le his eyes while watching the hart and
called aloud'to his companion, •■Jn the name
of the devil, sh.iot, Walter, sli.Hit 1" Sir Wal-
ter at oi'.ce let fly his arrow, but the fatal
shaft, glancing against the siile of an oak,
struck William iu the left breast ami pierced
him to the heart. He fell from his hor.e and
expired without a wonl. Nor has autlieiitic
historv ever lieen able to de.'ide whether the
bolt tiiat sped him to his ,leath was, according
to common traditi winged by accident or
whether it was purposely sent on its deadly
mi.ssiou either by Sir Walter hinist It or liy
some secret foe of the king ambushed in the
thicket. At any rate, the childless William
Rufiis died with an arrowdiead in his breast in
the .lepth of New F.ire.t liunting-i:n.und, and
the pojudar superstition was i-infirnied that
that great Park creal.d aloretiuK^ by the de-i
strucliou of so n.iany Anglo-Saxon handets
and churches, was (lestiihd many times to be
wet with the blood of tiie royal tyrants whose
wanton ]>assions were therein excited aud
gralilie.l.
The history of Feudal England has thus
I.eer traced tVom the b,-innin- of the Nor-
6-IJ r.V/IAV/.s.lA inyinl!V.~THE MODERN MORLI).
man .Ux-whuvy in tl,<' tin,,- nf V,Ux:u;\ ll„. i Kufus
JLilH (It \\n lUM 1 I Fit,
FEUDAL ASCEXDILXcy.—MOHAMMEDAX STA TE>_
r,4.
be recalled, the jieople «f the vaiinus >tatrs tlir Li..n Hi-art liftr-l his liattlf-axc a-aiiist
were already ill uuiversal riiininutioii tV.uii tin.' the Iiihdels; hut the dati- nf the Council (if
preaching of the Fir.<t Crusade. In iu-uhir Cleriiiuut (A. D. KnCii has ;dr.adv lici.ai
England the excitement was by no means s<i Hxed upon as the limit nf tlic ]ircM ui IJunk
great; nor was English society thoroughly | and the beginning nf the mxt. JIcit, iIkh,
aroused until in the succeeding reigns of , we pause in the narrative nf JCniilidi aliiurs,
Stephen, Henry Plantagenet, an. I l;i<'liai-d I. j with the purpose of ivsumiiig the same here-
This fact would indicate the ciuitiuuaiirc of after with the accessi.in of Henry, surnamed
the present narrative down to tiie time wlirn | ]i(-auclei-c, to the throne of England.
CHAPTER LX.XXX'III.— MOH.-\MMEDA?v! STATES AND
NORTHEKX IvIXOLJOMiS.
'ET us again, I'm- a brief
scas.iii, folhiw the yellow
Crescent of Islam, waning
in the West, fulling in
the East. The history of
the Mohammedan power
IS been given in the
preceding Eook from the time of the Prophet
to the age of decline in the Caliphate of
Damascus during the reign of Merwan H.
The latter, who was the fourteenth ami last
of the Ommiyad Dynasty, held the throne till
the year 750, when a
contest broke out between
him and Abul Abbas,
which ended in the over-
throw of Merwan ami
the setting up of the
Abbasside Caliph. Abul
Abbas claimed to be a
lineal descendant of 'Sh-
hammed's uncle Ablia-,
and for this reason the
name Abbassidce was given
to the House.
Not only was Merwan
overthrown by his enemy,
but the Ommiyades were
presently afterwards as-
sembled with treacherous mtint
but two of them were iiuirderi'd.
survivors escaped, the one intn A
the other into Sjiain. Tlu' Arab
becam.> the head of a line of in
century, and he who came to Spain laid the
foundation of the (_'aliphate of Cordova.
Having secured the throne of Damascus,
Abul Aljbas began a reign of great severity.
The fugitive Merwan was pursued into Egypt
and barbarously put to death. 'I'iic xictorinus
Caliph earned' for himself ihr nainr of Al-
.Saffah, or the Blood-.-liedder. So complete
was the destruction of his enemies that in all
the East none durst raise the hand against
him. The new dynasty was hrmly established
ii-oiu Mauritania to the borders <if Persia.
i^i^^
nil
ill
^pain
-ecuied hei indi pi n
1, n .
but the le-
Th.
two
maind
erof the M. .hammed
m state
^ fell to the
d.ia
and
Abl.a^
-ide..
)nii
iyad
At
er a ivi-ii of f lur V(
ar>' .In
■ati.m Abul
al 1
ulers
Al.l.a-
died, and was sueee
■ded nl
th.- thr.me
<ixt(
eiith
l.y hi-
brnther Ar,-:\rANsori
. Til..
s.iverei-nty
r,4r,
UMVJ-m^SAL HISTORY. — THE MODKUX WOULD.
was also claimed Ijy his unrle Abaaliah, l.y
\\lioui tin- (k-.-trucliuii i.r tilt- Uiiuuiya.lus had
hc-L-u accniuplidaMl. Al.dallah Innk" up aims
to maimaiu his caii.-e, I. at Ahii Mo.k-m, tho
lieuteiiaut of Al-^laii.>oui', wriil IVirth agaiust
the insurgents, and ilicy were eomjjletely de-
feated. Abu Moslem, however, soou after-
wards incurred the anger of his master, and
was deprived of his eves for refusing to accept
the gnv.n.ni-hip of "H::vpt. J.ike^is prede-
ces-.r, Al-.Man-.ur marked his reign with
cal sect, calle.l'the Havendites, whose primd-
pal leu.'l was the ..Id l^iivptian doctrine ..f
of t'ulii, the then .apital cd' the Eastern
C'alipliale. They fell into violent quarrels
and riots with the orthodox J\I(jliammedaus,
and thus c'ame under the extreme displeasure
of the Cahph. Afttr much violence and
Idood-hed, Al-.Man<uur d.'lerndned to punish
the citv and people hv removinii- the capital
to another place. IlJ ae.-ordinglv selected a
site on the Tigris, .mce o.^cuided by the
As-yrian kin-s and there fnunded the new
city of Ilaglidad, whieh wa- .h-iiiie.l to remain
the Mnhammedan kii.g.ioms in the East.
In the year 7C)1.'-C>:j the >eat of g(.ivernment
was traiistirreil, and Al-.Mansour began his
reign of twc>nty-(jne yeai'^ with beautifying his
pahiee and drawing in his court the art and
learning ,.f his cunlrvmen. It was n<.t Ion-,
how.'ver, until he was obliged to go to war.
The descendants of Ali, sou of Abu Taleli,
raised the standard of revolt and attempted to
recover the Caliphate. The armies of Al-
:Man-,ur, however, -aine,l the vi.-t.iry <,v<r
the < iie,nie< of their inaMer, ami A-ia :Minor
and Armenia, in whieh the in.Mirre.-tion had
made mn-t headwav. w.re redn.-e.l to subnds-
.sion. r.ut in the West Ihe revolt hehl on its
wav and .-..uld not be suppressed. Distance
and the intervening :\Ie.literranean favored
the rebellion ill Spain to the extent of secur-
ing the independence of that i.rovince, which
could never be re-ained bv the Eastern
Caliphs.
IJiit more impr)rtant than the r,-ars of
Al-.^laii>our wro his (tforts to set tip a higher
standard (d' literarv enltiiiv than ha.l hitherto
been known amon^- the .Mohammedans. The
dkp,
ous of Islam were
reasonable view of
made to yield to a moi
human culture and retiuement. The art> and
humanities embalmed in the works of the
Greeks were revealed by translation to the
wondering philosophers of the Tigris, ^vho
were stimulated and encouraged in their work
by the liberal patronage of the Calijih.
After a successful and distinguished reign
of twenty-one years Al-.Mansour died, an.l W'as
succeeded by his son .M.uiJH, who held the
throne for a [lerioil of ten years. Perhaps
the mo.-t di>iiiigui>lied part of his reign re-
late.I to th.' slav.' Khai/eran, by whom he be-
came the lath.r ,.f the .elelirate.l llar.mn
Al-Ua-hi.l, m..>t di.^tingiii.di.Ml .,f all th.' Ca-
liphs of the East. The young prince liecame
his father's chief military leader. He eom-
nian.led an army of ninety-five thousand men
in an expedition against the Byzantiii.' Imu-
jiire, then ruled by the Empress Irene. \\'ith
his weU-uigh invincible soldiers, he marched
thr.iugh Asia Minor, overthrew the (-ireek
gi'iieral, Isicetas, in battle, reached the I>os-
jihorus, and in the year 7S1 gained possession
.if the heights of Scutari, opjjosite Constanti-
n.iple. iSuch was the alarm of the Empress
an.l her council that she was glad to purcliase
the retirement of the Mohammedans bv the
payment of an annual tribute of .seventy
thousand pieces of gold.
AVhile the fame of the.se exploits was fill-
ing all the realms of Islam with the name of
the slave-woman's son, his elder brother IIadi
was busily engaged in a conspiracy to destroy
b.ith his reputation and his life. Kor was the
bitterness of Hadi at all appeased when, iu
7s."i, the lather ^Mah.li died and left him heir
to the Caliphate. No sooner had he reached
thi> p.isition than, fired with increasing jeal-
ousy, he issiitd or.leis lor the execution of
llaroun; an.l tlie edict was prevented from
fulfillment onlv bv tli.> .h-ath ..f Ila.li, who
When
l-.l, Al.dlASIlID
His t'haracter and aliilities lar >urpas>ed those
of any ].rece.ling Caliph. AVith his accession
came the gol.leii era of ^Mohammedanism. In
his .l.'alin-s with the ditterent nations under
his .iomini.n,, he fully m.'fite.l his h..i,orabIe
sobii.iu.t ..f the Just.' He selecte.l his miu-
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCY.—.VniLLVMEDAX STA TES.
isters from the diflereut states of the Empire,
aud thus united in his government the chiims
and sympathies of all. Among those who
were thus brought into his administration
were Tahya and his t^im
JalTar, two of the ancient
tire-worshiping priest-
hood of Persia. By their
influence the people
whom they represented
were greatly advanced
in the favor of the Ca-
liphate, and even the
religious system of Zo-
riiastrr, which had waned
almost to extinction, was
permitted to Inirn more
brightly while it- r.pre-
seutatives remaineil in
power.
In his foreign rela-
tions, Harouu Al-Kashid
busied himself in
strengthening his front-
iers on the siile of tho
Byzantine Empirt-.
While thus engaged, a
disgraceful war broke
out between religious
factions in Syria. The
general Musa was sent
by Al-Rashid into this
region, aud the leaders
of the rival parties were
captured aud tuktu to
Baghdad. An en.l was
thus made of the Syrian
dissensions, and Jaffar
was appointed governor
of that province, includ-
ing Egypt.
It was at this time
that the powerful family
of the Barmecides be-
came predominant in the
aflfliirs of the Caliphate. The head of this
family, Khaled ben Barmek, had been the
tutor of Haroun Al-Rashid in liis youth. It
was his son, Tahya, who became prime minis-
ter in 786. Twenty-five members of the fam-
ily held important oflices in the diflerent jjrov-
inces of the Empire. For fifteen years, their
ascendency remain(
in 803, a crrcunista
fuel to the alreadv
Hashid and led to' t
ABBAS.
Abdullah.
Mobl.l.
Ibrahim. 1. .\n
■l ABBAS, A. U. 754. 2. AL Ma;
SUE, 775.
3. Ma
4ia,7s5.
4. Hadi. 797. 5. Hae
iU-SALRASCHID,S09.
6. Al A.mix, nix
1
7. AL Ma.MVN, 8.33. 8. AL MoT.
ssiM, S42.
M..hamm.-.l.
9. VaTHEK, S47. 10. M.. TAW.
KKEL, SOL
1 .
12. IIOSTAIX SGG.
14. MoHTADI, S70.
AZZ, 867.
Mowaffak. 11. Maxiasie,
62. 15. MOOTAMIL, .'.M. I:.;. Moo
IR. MOi'.TAL.ILi, ■102.
I'j. Kahie, y.i!. IS. M
_l ^_^ __ \
1
22. M.i-TAKFI, 946.
Ishak. ■-
3. M.iTi, 974. 21. MuTTAKI, 945. 20. RATI, 941
25. Kadib, ;031.
24. TaI, 993.
26. Kaim, i079.
Mohammed al Di
n.
27. Moktadi, 1099.
2S. Mo&TAzniE, 1124.
31. MOKTAFI, 1167. 29. M
..STAKSIIID. 114L
32. MOSTANJID, 1178. 30.
Raechid, 1142.
33. MOSTADI, 11S7.
34.X.is,E,1234.
35. Zahir, 1235.
THE ABBASID CALIPHS.
36. M0STAKSI'E,1252.
Caliphs in small capitals, ami dated.
1
37. MoSTASIM. 1255.
idsnn ofKha-
Abassa, sistei
er rein-eseuted
rides. Tlie minister .Tatlar, l
led ben Barmek, made love
of the Caliph; aud when the
to Ilaroun that his afleetion for tlie princess
was purely platonic, it was agreed that he
might marry her. In course of time, how-
ever, Abassa jtreseuted her singular lord with
UXIVKRSAL HlfiToHY.—THE MODKHX WORLD.
au lieir, greatly I
So hot was lii> r;
be beheadi'il. T:
anil tlirown into
N.-arlv all tlir n
,f the Calii.h.
,-e<l Jatfar tu
Aveiv chaine.l
.,f p:
and imprisiiiiiuiiit. The iiilliieuet- df tlie
House was thus muMiiiIv ihrnwu uA'. But the
luemoiy of Al-Ka-hid sufi'rivd imt a little
from the aratiliealinu of his jias-ieu against
those whom he had no eau>e of hating other
than jealousy.
In the same year with the dowutall of the
Barmecides, >»ieeiihorus, haviugtheu sueeeeded
Irene on the throne of the Byzantine Emjiire,
made a sudden show of old-time virtue by re-
fusing payment of the annual tribute agreed
to by his predecessor. Not only did he de-
cline longer to continue the stipend, but he
sent an endia>sy to Al-IIashid, demanding a
restituticm of all the sums previnudy jiaid l.iy
Irene. Thereupon the Caliph, tlaming with
rage, returned the following i)erspicuous but
undiplomatic message: "In the name of the
3I(,st Merciful G.mC Har.um Al-Rashid, com-
mander of the Faithful, to Xicephorus the
Koman dog. I have read thy letter, 0 thou
son of au unbelieving mollier. Thou shalt
not hear, thou shalt lielmld my reply." Xor
was this threatening manifesto without au im-
mediate fulfillment. The Calii)h put himself
at the head of his armv, wasted a large part
of A>ia Minor, besiegvd the city of He-
raelia, and (piiekly oliliged Xicephorus to
resume the payment of tribute.
The Emperor was not yet satisfied, and
soon violated his agreement. In 806 Harouu
five thousLiid men, ovrrtook Xirrphnrus in
Phrygia, and defeated him with a loss of forty
thousand of his troops. 8till the Greek Em-
peror was not satisfied. Two years later, he
again refused to p;'V the stipulated tribute,
and Al-Ha-hid .■an„'up,,n him with an army
twice a. gr.-at as ]Uvviouslv. He ravaged
A.ia Min,,r f. tli^ iM.nhrs ,.f'the .Egean, and
thru takin- to hi^ flr.t, ,,vernin the islands of
< 'rete. Tile tribute was
i;hod,..,(yp,a
reimpoM d 1,11
ever. But 1,;
^ll^
tired from th
•ir
ious Greek Y,
npi
M
perfid-
.tl- his
enga'.;fnient and took up arms. Haroun re-
mwed the war with tlie greatest fury, swear-
ing that he m ver would treat again with such
an oatli-hriaking enemy as Xicejihorus. But
liitoic his vengeance on the Grerk could
wivak a bloody satisfaction, a rev(.ilt liroke
out in Klioia.-an, and Al-Eashid was recalled
fioia the West to overawe the insurgents.
Bit'ore naehinL:- the revolted province, how-
ever, he fell sick and died, leaving behind a
reputation i'or ambition, prudence, and wis-
dom uneipuded by any of his 23i"edecessors in
the Caliphate. He had a breadth of appre-
hension which would have been creditable in
a sovereign of modern times. He cultivated
the aeijuaintame of the great rulers of his
age. He corresponded with Charlemagne,
and in the year 807 sent to that monarch a
water-clock, an elephant, and the keys of the
j H.ily Sepulch.r. Xine times did Al-Bashid
make the pilgrimage to 3bcca. Above all
his contemporaries, he sought to encourage the
dcvclopiiiciit of literature and art. About
his court Hia-e gathered the greatest geniuses
of Islam, and le-end an.l poetrv have woven
about his nam.' the imperishable garlan.l of
the Arnlwui M,ihl.<.
On the -leath of Al-Rashid, in the year
8(1'.), the su.'cvsMou was contested by his two
sons, Ai.-Amin- and Al-.Mamoun. The former
(.laained the throne and held it f.r four
years. But his brother grew in favor and
power, and when in 813 the issue came to be
settled by the sword, Al-Amiu was killed and
Ai.-^lAMurx took the Caliphate. He entered
upon his administration by adopting the pol-
icy of his ihther, especially as it related to
the encouragement of learning. The chief
towns of the East were made the seats of
academic instruction and philosophy. Many
imporiaut ^Mirks were translated from the
(Jreek and the Sanskrit. From the Hindus
were obtainecl the rudiments of the mathe-
j matical sciences, especially those of arith-
I metic and algebra. Ancient Chalda;a gave to
the in.|ui-itive >clio]ars of the age her wealth
ofstardorv; while the elements of logic, nat-
ural hi-torv. and the Aristotelian system of
j.hilosnphv'were brou-ht iu fVom the Archi-
I As a warrior Al-Mamoun was 1.-. .li-tin-
' ouishcd. In hi> eountrv, as iu the We.-t, a
FEUDAL ASCKXDEyry.— MOHAMMEDAN STA TES.
11 tlu' .
.p.ll,l,.,
n, llu'
isruptive force Ijegaii to appear in the u'ov-
froiii the center (jfthe Empire, regaiued their
■e. liiiliMMJ, near the close of his
ili.~iiitegratiou became alarniiug ;
anil when the ;:iiveniineut passed by liis
deaili, in the war ^:;;i. ta his l)r..tlier Al-
iloTAs^loi, the' Empire seemed .in the verge
of dissiiliiiiou. The hitter sovereign received
the name of the Octonar}', for he had fought
e)<j]it victorious battles with the enemies of
Ishim.' His reign, however, Ls chiefly notable
for the fact that at this time the Seljukian
Tnriis began to be a jjowerful element both
in the armies and government of the Caliph-
ate. The Seljuk soldiers surpassed in courage
and vigor any others who ranged themselves
under the Crescent. Daring the siege of Amo-
riiiin, in Phrygia, in the year So.S, in wliich
the army of the Emperur TlicipliiUn was envi-
r.ined by the M..hanime,hiiis, it was the Tnrk-
ish cavalry that dealt the most te:riljh> blows
to the Greeks. Thirty thousand .if th.' ( hri^-
tians were taken captive and re.hi.-.-.l to slav-
ery, an.l .ither thirty thoiism.l were slau-li-
t.iv.l ,.n the li.l.l. Er.ini this time lortli,
the Turks were receive.l into the ./ai ital.
They lieeame the guards of the Caliph's pal-
ace, and it was not long until tli.-y liel.l the
same relation to the government as .11.1 th.'
])netoriau cohort six hundred years b.foiv to
the Imperial househol.l in Rome. It was .^ti-
niated that by the mi.l.lle ..f the ninth .vnt-
ury there were fullv titty thousan.l Turks in
Baghda.l.
1 dangerous patronage of the
wed .m a ra.'e of lawless for-
Tigris, ali.int forty miles .listaiit from the cap-
Ual an.l ih.re otal.lidi a ii.'W nival ivsLlcnce.
Th.. Caliph M.irAWAKKi:!., next aVhr Vatiiick,
S.m .if .M.ilns.eni, >till fnrth.r yur.nu-.virA the
Turkish u-rru,l-ury until th.' uuar.l-, having
come t.i pivf.a- ih.' I'riii.v .M. -N rAss,;,:, .-on of
the Caliph, ninr.l..re.l th.ir ma^.r ami ..t up
the y.iuth in his stea.l. The latt.r eni,.v,.l or
sutfen.l the fruits of his eriine n.. m.uv than
six months, wli./u the same powta- that had
creat.'.l, .l...-trov...l him, ami set up his brother
M,,STAIX, who reigii.,1 until SCili, From this
time until the close ..f ih.- .■.nlurv, f mr ..ther
obs.aire < aliphs— ^b itaz. .■\l.iirrAiii, .Motam-
MEi. an.l .M.iTAiiiii:].— n.-.v,.l,Ml .a.^li other in
rapi.lsn.v,>M..n in th.. Caliphate. The f.ill.iw-
r.i-iis, b.ing th.i... .,f .M.iktafi I., :\Ioktader,
Kah. r, Kha.li, .Mottaki, M.istakti, :\b,thi, Tai,
an.l Ka.ler. I-lxcejit in a sp...ial historv of
the East..rn Caliphat.., but littl.. interest
w.iul.l b.. a.l.:_..| t<, the general annals of man-
kiml by n.-itiii- in detail the bl.i.i.ly and
criminal pr. igi'os of events on the Tigris and
in A-ia Minor.
Ill th.. billowing— the t..iith~|.entury the
This new a
Caliphate best
eign.'rs, warlik..,
medan countries.
Even during the reign of
.Motassem, who was the Edward Confessor of
the East, the quarrels of his Turkish guards
with the native inhabitants of P.a.Ji.la.l (iro-
yenrs, eis;lit months, a:
ei'j:ht sons, eisbt flaushti
and eight millions of t,'ol
iiiclers, 5I.5tassem
ivereisn. He was
He reicne.l eiirht
t .lays. TI,. l,.ft
[ th.iusan.l slaves.
abl.. .lominati.in was f.lt an.l re-..iit...l almost
cpially by th,. moiv .,ui..t .Mohamme.lans of
th.. soiitli-u..,-t .li~tii..|- .if th.. Caliphate and
by th.. Christians wh... .spi.-ially in th.- H.:.lv
Lan.l, w.re sulij<.rt,..l to ev..ry linniiliati.m
an.l barbarity uhi.li the .Sljuks ciul.l well
invi.nt. Thi- ..ii-.-umstaiice, viewed from the
A>iatii. staii.l]H,iiit, was the antecedent condi-
tioii .if that liir.... tmni.iil .if excitement and
wrath whi.h .spna.l tlir.iUL:h W..-t..rn Eur.ipe
in Ihe latt..r lialf of lli.- el.. v.. nth ....ntiiry and
broke out in the wilil tiame of th.. Crusa.les.
Meanwhile the Crescent still fl.iat...l over
Spain. For in the gnat iii<.s..ripti.iii of the
nmiuiva.l.s a i-.ival y.mth, named Alirif.iniAll-
MAX. son ..f .■\lerwan 11., ..s.ap.-l the rage of
the Alilia>M.l. s an.l II. ..1 inlo W.-Lrn AlVi.^a.
From tli..n.... h.. nia.l.. hi- wav into Spain,
wli..r<.. .111 th.. ...la-t ..f AmlaliiHa. h.. was sa-
liU(..l with ill.. a....lamati..iis .if th.. iii.onle.
H..
rXIVEi;SAL HISTDUY. — THE MODKRX WORLD.
a bnet straggle with the eniiteii<hii-- taeti..iis,
under the leadei>hip of rival i mir,-, he was
elevated to the thnnK' of Cordova, and thus,
in 756, was established the Oinmiyad dynasty
iu the Western Caliphate.
While these movements were taking plaee
south of the Pyrenees, the ]\[ohaiuiiiedaus
were gradually expelled from their foothold
in the North aud driven back into Sjiain.
The triumph of the Franks, however, was as
advantageous to the Mohammedans as to
themselves. A mountain barrier was estab-
lished between the two races, and the Islam-
ites were left on the southern slope to con-
centrate their energies aud develop into
nationality.
At tirst the head of the Eastern Caliphate
relished not the idea of the independence of
Spain. On the contrary, it was determined
to make a strenuous effort to subject the Ca-
liphate of Cordova to the scepter of Baghdad.
One of the Abbasside lieutenants was sent
into Spain with a fleet and army, but was
overthrown iu battle and slain by Abderrab-
man. The Caliph Al-Mansour at length came
to understand that it was best for his rival to
be left undisturbed in the West, lest his dan-
gerous energies should be turned against him-
self. By the time of the accession of Charle-
magne, tlie Caliphate of Cordova had alreaily
grown so much in solidity and strength as to
become a formidable power with which to
contend, even to the king of the Franks. The
meager success, or positive unsuccess, of Char-
lemagne's expedition against Saragossa has
already been narrated in the preceding Book.
Much of the glory of the Arabian civiliza-
tion in Spain must be referred to the great-
ness of Abderrahman and hLs reign. To him
the city of Cordova was indebted for the
most magnificent of her mosques, of which
structure the Caliph himself was the designer.
He also it was who jilanted the first palm-tree
in Cordova, and from that original all the
palms of Spain are said to be descended. His
immeiliate successors were Hashem I., Al-
Hak;eii I., and ABDERRAroiAN II., whose reign
extended to the year 852. The greatest of the
House after the founder was Abderrahmam
III., who in the beginning of the tenth cen-
tury occupied the throne for forty-nine years.
The whole Ommiyad Dynasty in Spain em-
braced the ni-ii- of twenty-two Caliphs and
extended to thr y.ar lii:;i, wiirn Ila.-h.ni 111.
was deposed by a nvoliition having it> ori-iu
in tlie army. During this time Spain, iindrr
tiu' patronage of the :Mohamnudans, maile
greater progress in civilization than at anv
period before or since. -Vgriciiltnre and com-
merce were pr(Jinoted. Science aud art flour-
ished, and institutions of learning were estab-
lished, the fame of which extended from
Ireland to Constantinople, aud drew within
their walls a host of students from almost
every country in Europe. It was from this
source that the fundamentals of scholarship
were deduced by the uncultured Christians
north of the Apennines aud the Alps. The
language and customs of the ]Moors became
predominant iu the peninsula, and during the
latter half of the eighth and the whole of the
ninth century there was little disposition to
dispute the excellence of the Mohammedan
institutions which spread and flourished itiider
the patronage of the Cordovan Caliphs.
In the course of time, however, the relative
power of the Cross and the Crescent in Spain
began to be reversed. About the beginning
of the eleventh century, the dissensions and
strife which prevailed in the Caliphate of
Cordova gave opportunity for the growth of
the Christian states iu the north-western part
of the peninsula. Here, iu the mountainous
district of Oviedo, under Pelayo and Alfonso
I., the dominion of the Cross was considerably
extciid( d. Portions of Leon and Castile were
aihled to Oviedo by conquest, and thus was.
planted the kingdom of Asturias. Under
Ordoiio II. the kingly residence was trans-
ferred to Leon, and that city henceforth gave
the name to the Christian kingdom. Mean-
while, on the L^pper Ebro and Pisuerga, arose
the kingdom of Castile. In this region there
had always been preserved a remnant of in-
dependence, even since the days of the ^lo-
hammedan conquest. Until the year 9(31
Castile was in some sense a dependency of
Leon. At that date Fernando Gonzales ap-
peared, and the people of Castile, under his-
leadership, gained aud kept their freedom.
In 1037 Ferdinand I. reunited the kingdoms
of Leon and Castile, and the combined states-
soon became the most powerful in Spain.
While these events were in progress north
FEUDAL ASCENDENCY.— MOHAMMEDAN STA TES.
of the strait of (iihrultar a new line of Ca-
liplis was estalili.-hf.l ill Africa. This .lyiia-ty
is kiitiwu as the Afrieau Fatimites; fur the
founder of the house was a certain Abu,
claiming to be the sou of ObeidaUah, a de-
scendant of Fatinia. The dynasty was founded
in the year 909 and continued during the
reigns of fourteen Calijjhs to the death of
Adhed in 1171. But the Fatimites of Africa
did not display the energies which were ex-
hibited by their coutemporaries at Baghdad
and (.'(Jidnva, and
such rapid prcigress
>pain,
lijihate was given up to luxury. That luuu-
ut' thirty millinii puuiuls sterling, ami this
vast sum was cousumeil in a few years ou the
vices and ambitious of his successors. His
son JIahdi is said to have squandered six
million dinars of gold during a single pilgrim-
age to Mecca. His camels were laden with
packages of snow gathered from the mountains
of Armenia, and the natives of ]Mecca were
astonished to see the white and cooling crys-
tals dissolving ill the wines or sprinkled ou
the fruits of the royal worshipers. iU-Ma-
ever rctanlcd in the states south of the ]\Ied-
iterranean.
Of the three or four divisions of the Mo-
hammedan power during the Middle Ages
the most splendid and luxurious was the Ca-
liphate of Baghdad ; the most progressive, the
kingdom of Cordova. In the latter realm it
was intellectual culture and architectural
grandeur that demanded the applause of the
age; while in the East a certain Oriental mag-
nificence attracted the attention of travelers
and historians. In their capital on the Tigris
the Abbassides soon forgot the temperate life
and austere manners of the early apostles of
Islam. They were attracted rather by the
splendor of tlie Persian kings. As early as
the reiirn of Al-.Mansour the court of the Ca-
40
moun is .^aid to have given away two millioM
four hundred dinars of gold ••before he drew
his foot frorj the stirrup." On the occasion
of the marriage of that prince a thousand
pearls of largest size were showered ou the
head of the bride. In the times <,f .Moktader
the army of the Caliphate iiunilieied a hun-
dred and sixty thousand men. The otficers
were arrayed in siilendid apparel. Their belts
were ornamented with gems and gold. Seven
thousand cnnuclis ami seven hundred door-
keepers were a part of the govei'niuental reti-
nue, (^n the Tigris might be seen superbly
decorated boats floating like gilded swans.
In the palace were thirty-eight thousand pieces
of tapestrv. Among the ,,rnam..nts of the
roval house was a tree wrouuht of -oI,l au.l
UXIVE1!.'>AL HISrORY.—THE MODERN WORLD.
silver with
eiLf
iteen spi
these were
ph.
■eJ a va
birds, whie
h A
(.•re mail
tive notes.
Though lcs^
the Ahhassidc
gorgeou?
mouarch
—
11 ■, f
o
111 i\ ih
VI 1
1 111 11
lU III
1 tie
1
itil tl t
jl u
illil
a t an 1
f / 1
1
T en
t\ me
•seal
^^l the
i
ut t
t u a 1
uil lui
an
1 thiee
n
t 1
1
1
11 1
11 tl
The 111
t
1 lit 1
lit
1 1 li
tl e a
1
1 t
t (
1 t
tn
I tl t
1
1 1
1 It
\ 1 t
1 tl
i'l
■ii.h.r.
A\
ithin t
ic hall ..t
ui.h.aire
h g(.)kl and pearls, and the
great basin in the center was surnninded with
life-like effigies of birds and beasts.
Kot less was the magnificence disjjlayed in
the famous residence of the ^Moorish kings at
Granaila. This celebrated structure, known
as the Ai.uajii;i:a, has (though partly in ruins)
lemainc 1 to our day
one ot the wonders of
tl e n 1 rii world. In
It tiu -ture nothing
tl it c ul 1 contribute to
tl etuiity and gratifi-
tat on ot man or woman
L 11 t have been
1 itt 1 The grandest
a[ iti It was known
tl Hall of Lions,
I 1 in the midst was a
pi It m irble and alabas-
tti f uutaiu supported
]\ li ns and orna-
II nte I with arabesques.
In the HaU of Abencer-
la L the ceiling was
of ce 1 ir inlaid with
m thti f- pearl, ivory,
ai 1 il\ r. The color-
11 w 1 exquisite and
1 e lutitul and even at
the 2'ie eut day, after
the laj e of more than
h\c hundred years, the
1 1 llnnt tints flash down
\\\ n the beholder as
tl u h they were the
^\ il ot the highest art
t -i tti:lay.
In tl er parts of the
C il } h ite the glories of
^I 1 ammedau civiliza-
ti n '\\eie disjilayed in
aim 3 t equal si^leudor.
fi-se centuiies the city of
1 hei 11 "-less and adorn-
nent tiit cnti les ml cuius of Islam.
The 1 luhtitn 1 e t three hundred
thou an 1 oul Peihaps no tower in all
tl c Air lem empues =uipas ed in grsndeur
tl CTir\ir\ tt "^eMlle fiom whose summit
11 tl m
. lc^tlkl
tilt cnci
1 juhtitn
,t the Ii.ipl
This
:>ble
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXcy.^MoHAMMEDAX STA TE.
structure was two h
iu height, aud illust
arabesque architecture
the other editices of th
was the famous Moor-
ish castle called the
Alcazar, which was
the resideuee of the
priuce of the city,
aud was iu mauy re-
spects equal La arch-
itectural excellence
to the Alhambra
itself.
While the greater
part of Spain was
thus dominated by
the Moors, the Chris-
tians still maintained
their hold in the
north-western part
of the peninsula.
The kings of Leon
and Castile, during
the eleventh century
made some valorous
attempts to advance
their frontiers aud to
reestablish the Cross.
Of these sovereigns
the most distin-
guished were Sancho
II. aud his brother
Alphouso. To this
epoch belonged the
exploits of the hero,
RoDRiGO DrAZ, com-
monly known as the
CiD, the most valor-
ous Christian war-
rior of his time. In
the country below
the Pyrenees he was,
for a season, a sort
of Richard Lion
Heart, whose battle-
axe was well-nigh as
terrible to the Moors as was that of Plautageuet
iu Palestine. He made war in the name of
his sovereign against the Arab governors of
Spain, and marked his way with havoc. He
overthrew the Kadi of Valencia, took the
Ximena, who accompauie
ditions, and was, after his
in the palace of Valencia.
Such in brief is a sketch ii
character and progress of th'
his expe-
ith, his successor
654
UXIVKnSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
"tite- <luiin_' tliL :Mi,MI. \_.- l.( t u- hmw conditi.m w i- tlu puun-ular aud insular kiug-
befuie 1)( L'limiii^'- a ln-ton it tin (,iii-a(k- ddin (it Di nm \i>k 1 he earliest of the pupu-
consider iii a t<_ u biicl jiaia.i ipli- tla u~(_ and i latKni <it thi^ K_auu appear to have been the
earK .levcl<.pnient of the kiii-d.uiis of North-
ern Europe.
Amoucr the earliest of the Northern states
to make some prosress toward the civilized
Ciiubri, who held the country as early as the
close of the second century. This race, how-
ever, was afterwards overrun by the Goths,
who gained possession of Jutland shortlj' after
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXCV.—XOKTHERX KINGDOMS.
the downfall ol the Wf-tem EiupuL oi the
Romans. The gieat Gothic chiettam l-'kiokl,
sou of Woden, led his countnmen on thi^ m-
\ i^ion, and btume the fii^t Liuj; of the coun-
tn Deumaik lemaineduudei GdtliH au«pice''
thiiiTinh the =ixth nnd =PVPnth ( ntn - th 1
UMVKJISAL HISTORY. — TIIK MODKL'X WORLD.
charartrr ua.
oth.T •IVutuiii.
Dan,,, the tat
the ninth cen
seats by the I
waged by Ch;
rthiurii who i,
.111 thi'ir native
I'outiuueil war
. the Northen
nations, took to the sea in their pagan barges,
became pirates and hunters of men, and made
all Western Europe red by night with the
glare of their burnings. They fell upon Eng-
land and gained possession of the island,
proving themselves the equals, if not the su-
periors, of tiie warlilie Auglo-Saxous. In the
ninth century the ditlerent states of Denmark
were consolidated into a single monarchy. In
the year lUOt.) Ivor way was added to the king-
dom, and iu 1013 the greater part of England
was gained by the conquests of Sweyn. Three
years afterwards Canute the Great reigned
over the entire Island, as well as his paternal
kingdom. It was at this epoch that Chris-
tianity was carried by the missionaries to the
Danes, who were finally induced to abandon
paganism.
About the time of tlie iiolitical separatimi
of England and Denmark in 1042 the iutiu-
ence of the latter kingdom among the North-
ern nations somewhat declined. Gradually
the Feudal system made its way to the North,
and the political power of Denmark under-
went the same process of dissolution by which
Germany, France, and Entiland were trans-
formed int.. a new coii.lition. The Danish
barons quarreled with their sovereign, went to
war, and gained the same sort of independence
which the nobles of the South attained under
the Capetiau kiiiLis. Not initil 1387 did
Queen Margaret, called the Semiramis of the
North, arise, and, by tlie union of Denmark
and Norway, restore the old-time prerogatives
of the crown. As the widow of Haco, daugh-
ter of Waldeniar HI., ami descendant of Ca-
nute the <ii-eat. An- elaiine.l the triple crown
of Denmark, Sweden, and N(.rway; and these
three powers were nniied under her sway by
the Treaty of Calmar in lo'.lT.
The kingdom <.f Norway has the same
mythical origin with that of DenmarU. Prior
to the seventh century, the history of the
country rests wholly on myth and tradition.
The first kin-> were ivpnle.'l to l,e the deseen.l-
anls ..r Woden, the lirst of the line hearing
the name ..f So,iuinn-. After him came Nor,
out of Finlan.l, aii.l established himself on the
site of the modi-111 city of Droutheim. From
this iootholil, gained in the fourth century,
he mad.- war ui.on the neighboring tribes and
reduced them to submission. Not, however,
until the niiddli' of the ninth century do we
come to the actual dawn of Norwegian history.
The great Harold Harfager, or the Fair Hair,
came to the throne and reduced the petty
chieftains of the country to submission. Love
was the impelling motive of his conquests.
For the beautiful Gyda, daughter of the Earl
of Har.laland, vowil t.. wed him not until he
had make himself king of all Norway. The
Norse noblemen whom he overthrew took to
sea and found iu the exhilarating pursuits of
piracy an oblivion for their losses. After
Harfager, his son Haco, surnamed the Good,
who had been educated at the court of Athel-
stane, king of England, reigned iu his father's
stead. Under his patronage the Christian
monks traversed Norway, and the strongholds
of jiagaiiism yielded under the influence of
their teachings. Olaf I. came to the throne
in the year SHIfi, and continued the work be-
gun by the monks. Pagan temples were de-
stroyed, and churches built on their ashes.
This king also laid the foundations of Dron-
theim, which soon became the most flourishing
of the Norwegian cities. Under Olaf, Den-
mark and Norway were involved in war. The
king of the latter cuiitry was killed in battle,
and Norway was overrun by the Swedes and
Danes. In 1015 King Olaf II. signaliz.Ml his
zeal for the new faith by a bitter perse, nt ion
of the pagans. Thirteen years later, Canute
the Great landed on the Norwegian coast, de-
throned and defeated Olaf, and was himself
chosen king of the country. In 1030 the de-
p.ise.l king attempted to regain the throne,
but was ..v.rthrown ami slain in the battle
of Stikkl.>ta.l. The nati(.nal cause, however,
was revive.! by .Magnus I., son of Olaf II.,
who succeeded in driving Sweyn, the succes-
sor of Canute, out of the kingdom. In 1047
Harold III., surnamed Hardrada, made an
invasion of England, where he captured
York, but was afterwards defeated and killed
ill the battle ..f Stainf..r.l Bri.liie. During the
rei-ii ..f his ^ran.l-..n :\Ia-i,us III. iAWW-
FEUDAL ASCEXDEXrr.—XOllTHEEX KINGDOMS.
1103), the Isle of :\rau, the Shethaiuls the
Orkueys, and the Hebrides were overrun by
the Daue;:. Ireland was invaded, and there
Magnus was slaiu in battle. His son Sigurd
I. became the Scandinavian hero of the Cru-
sades, and his exploits against the Moors in
Spain, as well as in Palestine, were the sub-
ject of many an epic ballad of the North.
Of the primitive history of Sweden but
few authentic scraps have been preserved.
Tradition relates that, when Woden with an
army of Swedes entered the country, he found
it already in possession of the Goths, who
had previously expelled the Lapps and
Finns. At the first Woden ruled over
only the central portion, but under his
successors the remainder was conquered
before the eighth century. As early as
829, Ansgar, a monk of Corbie, visited i:
Sweden, and made the first converts to
Christianity. Paganism, however, held
its ground for more than a century, and
it was not until the reign of Olaf Skot-
konuug that a regular bishopric was es-
tablished at Skara.
When the Swedes took possession of
the land to which they gave their name,
the Goths were permitted to remain in
the country. No union, however, was
for many centuries eflected between the t
two races, and innumerable feuds and
frequent civil wars fill up the annals of
the times. It was not until the accession
of Waldemar, in the year 1250, that
a political union was accomplished be-
tween the hostile peoples.
The authentic history of Russia be-
gins at a period somewhat later than that
of the Scandinavian nations. There is a sense,
however, in which the statement may be re-
versed, for the tribes inhabiting the vast region
now included under the name of Russia were
better known to the Greeks and Romans than
were those of the Baltic provinces. The names
Scythian and Sarmatian are sufficiently familiar
as the tribal epithets by which the peoples of
the great north-eastern steppes were designated.
During the great ethnic movements of the
fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries Russia was
the principal field on which aud over which
the powerful nations of Goths, Alans, Huns,
Avars, and Bulgarians marshaled their hosts
for the subjugation of the West. At a later
period the Slavonic tribes first appeared on the
scene — unless, indeed, these were the descend-
ants of the ancient Sarmatians. Their first
impact was upon the Finns, whom they drove
from their native seats. iMany, however, re-
mained, aud were blended with the doniinanf
Slavs. From this union and amalgamation
sprang the modern Russians.
Soon after the Slavic tribes gained the as-
cendency they founded the towns of Novgorod
and Kiev, which became the capitals of the
t\Ao diMbions of the country. In the course
of a century the former principality was in-
vaded by the Rus out of the North, and both
Slavs and Finus were reduced to a tributary
relation. Several times the Slavic trilies re-
volted ; !)ut finally, despairing (jf success, they
invited the great Rus jDrince, Ruiut', to come
to Novgorod and be their king. In the year
862 he came with his brothers Sinaf and Tru-
ver, and then and there was foumled the Rus-
sian Empire.
From this time until nearly the middle of
the eleventh century the family of Ruric oc-
cupied the throne. On the death of the great
G5S
uyjvi:i;sAL history.— the moi>ki;x world.
chieftain, in ST'.t. llu- mi.mt-m.m, pa.-si-d to his
cousin (_)1cl:', «hn rci-mil Wtv twenty-tliree
years. Dui-inL' llii- lime ihc principality of
Kiev was (•(uxpicnMl ami ad.lcd to that of
Novgorod. 'I'hr i\hazai-s between the Dnieper
and the Caspian wcie also subdued, and the
Magyars were driven out of Russia iu the
direction of Hungary. Oleg next made
war on the Byzantine Empire, and pre.s.sed
upon the (li-reks with sueh force that iu
911 the Empenir was obliged to consent
to a peace in
evi'i
y way advantageous to
the Rus.
After the d
■atJi
if Oleg, iu the following
year, Igor, son
u[- i;
ii-ic, came to the throne.
and reigned fm-
tliirtN
-three years. His career
was that of a
warrii
I-. He first put down a
revolt of the
)revl
nis ,,n the Pripet, and
then vanipiisli
.1 tl,
■ I'..trh..n,-s, who had
their seats on
til.' s
mres of the Black Sea.
Afterwards, in
'••41,
le engaged iu a war with
the Greek Kn
perm
, but was less .successful
than his pi-ed
•(■es>.)
■. In a second conflict
with the Drevl
an< 1
wa- def.ate.l and slain.
and. the erowii
pu<s(
1 to his son Sviatoslav,
uniler the i-ei^e
()l.a, hisnmther. This
jn-inress l)eeanie a convert to C^hristianity, and
the new faith gained a footing at Kiev.
The Emperor, however, remained a pagan,
and devoted himself to war. He made cam-
paigns against tlie same nations that hail felt
the sword of his fatlier and grandfatlier. The
Bulgarians also were at one time his enemies,
and were defeated in battle. While returning
from an unsuccessful expedition against the
Greeks of Constantinople Sviatoslav was at-
tacked and killed by the Petchenegs, through
^ whose country he was passing. On his
death, in 972. the Empire, which was now
extended to the sea of Azov, was divided
among his three sons, Yaropolk, Oleg, and
Vladimir. The fir.st received Kiev, the
second the country of the Drevliaus, and
the third Novgorod. The brothers soon
quarreled and went to war. Oleg was slain
ami Vladimir fled. Yaropolk gained jios-
.session of the whole country, but Vladi-
mir gathered the Rus tribes to his stand-
ard, returned agaiust his brother, put him
to death, and secured the Empire for him-
self. He then conquered Red Russia,
Lithuania, and Livonia. He became a
C'hristian, married the sister of the Greek
Emjicror, and received the title of the
Great. Under his influence and example
Russia turned from paganism to Christian-
ity. Churches rose on every hand ; schools
were founded, and new cities gave token
that the night of barbarism was lifting
from the great power of the North.
Vladimir left twelve sons to contend for
the crown. On his death civil war broke out
amonn- them, and .several of the claimants
were slain. At length Sviatopolk, son of
Yaropolk, himself an adopted son of Vladi-
mir, hewed his way to the throne over the
bodies of three of his foster brothers. Yaro-
slav, one of the surviving sons of the late
Emperor, allied himself with Henry H. of
(ieniiaiiy and returned to tlie contest. The
strueiileronlinued until lOl'.i, when a decisive
batth' was fouiiht, in which Sviatopolk was
signally defeated. He fled from the field and
died on his way to Poland. After this crisis
the Empire was divided between Yaroslav
and Jletislav, but the latter presently died,
and tlie former became sole ruler of Ru.ssia.
To this epoch lielong the beginnings of art
FEUDAL ASCENDEXCY.—XORTHEKXKIXCWOMS.
( ;.")'. I
and learuiDg in the Northern Empire. T
works of the Greelis began to be trauslat
into Slavic. Learned institutions were lounded
in various cities, and scholars were patronized
and honored. The Kussian customs and usages
were compiled into a code of laws, and am-
icable relations were established with foreign
states. Three of the daughters of Yaroslav
were taken in marriage by the kings of Nor-
way, Hungary, and France — a clear recogni-
tion of the rank of the new Russian Emjjire
among the kingdoms of the earth.
In the year 1051 Yaroslav established
the succession on his sou Izaslav, but por-
tions of the Empire were to go to the three
brothers of the heii- expectant. They were ij
to acknowledge the eldest as their sovereign.
In the same year the Emperor died, and
the four brothers took the inheritance.
The result was that the unity of the Empire
was broken. Each of the rulers became
independent; the feudal principle came in,
and Russia was reduced to a confedera-
tion. Thus weakened, the frontiers were !|
successfully assailed by the Poles, Lithuan-
ians, Danes, and Teutonic barons. Such
was the condition of affairs when Europe
forgot her own turmoils and sorrows in a
common animosity against the Infidels of
the East.
In close ethnic affinity with the Rus-
sians were the primitive Slavic triljes of
Poland. Of these peoples the most nu-
merous and powerful were the Polans, who
ultimately gave a name to the amalgamated
race. The mythical hero of this branch of
European population was Prince Lech,
brother to Rus and Czech, so that tradi-
tion as well as history associates the Poles
and the Russians. Another fabulous leader
was Krakus, the reputed founder of Cracow.
The first historical ruler of Poland was Ziem-
owit, who was elected king in 800.
But the annals of the first century of
Poland are very obscure, and it is nut until
962 that we reach the solid ground of authen-
ticity with the accession of Miecislas I. This
prince took in marriage a Bohemian princess,
by whom he was induced to become a Chris-
tian and to urge upon his people the alian-
donmcnt of paganism. In common with so
many other riders of his times he adopted the
:■ I fatal policy of dividing his kingduiii aiiidug
1 his sons. Civil wars and turmoils ensued until
I , what time Boleslas, the eldest of tlic claim-
ants, subdued his brothers and regained the
sovereignty of all Poland. He received the
surname of the Brave, and vindicated his
title by successful wars beyond the Oder, the
Dneister, and the Carpathian mountains. His
right to reign was acknowledged by the Em-
peror Otho HI., but at a later datr he en-
gaged in war with Utlio's successor, Henry II.
Afterwards he was called into Russia as arbi-
ter between Novgorod and Kiev. In the
civil admiuistration he was still more success-
ful than in war. He encouraged the indus-
trial and commercial enterprises of the king-
dom and promoted the cause of learning. He
held his turbulent subjects with a strong hand
and administered justice with impartiality.
He a,-suni.,l th,' sta'tr of a king, and had him-
self ,io«n.,l l,y til,' Christian liidiops. On
his death, in the vear lOLTi, the Polish crown
doscviide,! peaceably to his son :\n,cis!as IL,
who-r lii-ii'frei-n was lolh.wt.I by tlir n-vncy
of I, is widow liixa; for the Prince Casiniir,
her son. was not vet old eiiou-h to assume
the antics ,
went baiUy,
regal ao-c Ik
1' t\w ^ovrv
l.Ut Wllrll (
took ll|Hlll
„nrnt. TIk-
liiiiM.lf the VI
1 at the
)\\n ami
gaiiK-.l th.. ^
In thr y,
ohri.jurt of
ar ln:,s ,1„.
th- Uc-tonT.
l'o!i<h kill- <1
ie,h an,l
UXIVF.nSAL inSTol;V.— THE ^fODKHX WORLD.
own L'nviriiiiii lit tlie ivputati.in of a tyrant.
l)v flavin- St. Stani.-his, hishoj, ,,f Crarow,
uhnha.l n'l.riiuan.lea him Im- .,„„e „f his art<.
He was .Iriven tVmn the thiviie, ami in ]()sl
ilie.l in e.xile. His half-inilieeile lirother, La-
(lislas Herman, isucceedcd to the crown of
Poland, wore it for a season, and then ahdi-
fated to neeppt the less dangerous distinction
ef a ilnkedoni. — Sneh was the condition of
Polish aflairs when Urban II., pursuing the
policy of Gregory the Great, summoned the
council of Clermont and exhorted all Christen-
dom to lift the Cross against the Crescent.
Att.
decisive vie
moneil into Hungary to decide a dispute rela-
tive to the crown of that country, and a like
mission to Kiev was successfully accomplished.
Ruturning from that city he acquired in his
Cnpyrightcd by Jones Brot/iers Pub.
Painted by Gustave Dore.
SALADI N.
Elched b> G \ Turner
,S '-
.7
:^<i\':
^r) i
/ ' s^
gaak ^Piflcfiilft.
The Crusades.
Chapter lxxxix.— The tiprising oe Europe.
HAT great movement of
inediffival society kuowu
as the Crusades was
the first European event.
i That is, the agitation in-
'Ived all Europe, territo-
illy, socially, religiously,
poUtieally. Hitherto the various enterprises
which had filled the annais of the West since
the subversion of the Roman Empire had
lacked the general character. They had been
local — peculiar to some particular state or na-
tion. At last the time arrived when every
people west of the Bosphorus was moved by a
common sentiment, impelled to action by a
common motive. As far as the Cross was
adored, as far as the Crescent was hated, so
far was the proclamation heeded which called
all chrir^tenddm to unsheath the avenging sword
against the Infidels.
Not only were the Crusades a European
event — the first of modern times — but they
were the first nafimial event in the several
states of the West. The condition of Europe
during the Feudal Ascendency has alreaily
been delineated. Continental unity had bcin
a delusive dream of Charlemagne. Xatiniial
unity was a vision, a hope, rather tlian a re-
ality. Europe parted into king<l(>iiis ; king-
doms, into dukedoms ; dukedoms, into counties;
counties, into petty fiefs. The dissolution was
universal. Common interests ceased. Any
thing that might properly be defined as na-
tional or European was impossible. The
break-up was to the very bottom of the social
fabric.
Even in the darkest age of the world there
is something in the nature of man which re-
vives, expands, develops. So it was in the
time of the feudal dissolution of society. Hu-
manity made suflicient' progress to demand a
common interest. Only the cause, the occa-
sion, was wanting to call togrtlier tlie discor-
dant and belligerent elements and unite them
in a universal enterprise.
An outrage — a series <if outrages — done to
the i-eligions sentiment of ]Mii-opr furnished
the opportunity and motive of ai'tion. 3Iu-
tual hatred had long rxi-tcd brtwcin the
Christians and the Moha rd-A„<.
t.'r aforetime had done in.-aleuhil.
to the prospects of tile Cio-. Al
The lat-
e damage
that the
oiiiplished
Northern
CCA
UXIVEliSAL HISTORY.— THE MOUKUX WORLD.
Africa, had l.een e
of the Prophet. '
was cai-ried iuto !■
kiugdom of the N'i.^i
The system of Ch
veru-e of extiurtini
l.y til.- follnwi-rs
1 the (.'hristuiu
t down Ijefore it.
seemed on the
^lartel aud his
Hue of battle-axes st.H>d hetweeu the tottering
Cross aud apiiarent doom.
When at hist the tide ndled back aud the
Pyrenees became tiie Thus far to Lskm, a
deep-seated resentment took iDosse.ssiou of the
mind of Barbarian Europe. An instinct of
revenge postponeil hiy ih-e]) in the seadjed of
European piupi>se. The West said in her
heart, " Veugeance is mine, I will repay."
When with the coming of the eleventh cen-
tury the prophetic Dies Ine went by, and the
Christians came to see that the drama of the
world was not yet ended, the recollection of
the old feud with the jMohammedans came
back with redoubled violence. Europe — she
that trembled under the shadow of impending
fate — found time and occasion to gratify her
passions and animosities as of old.
All ages and peoples have bad their scape-
goats. The meanness and barbaric gloom of
human nature have always found something
which they might rend aud tear with popular
approval. The eleventh century discovered
its common enemy in the Infidel Turk. In
him were concentrated all the objective condi-
tions of hatred. To destroy him and eradi-
cate his stock from the earth was the one work
worthy of the praise of man and the favor of
heaven.
The thoughtful reader of the preceding
pages will already have discovered the antece-
dent conditions or causes of the Crusades. The
most general of these was the long-suspended
reaction of Christian Europe against Moham-
medan Asia. In the eighth century Islam
struck the West a staggering blow. As a re-
sult of the conquests of Taric and Abdalrah-
tiesand brought intu relations with the Asiatic
states. The Spanish Crescent continued for
centuries a flaunting menace to the followers
of Christ. The movement of the ^Mohammed-
ans westward thmuuli AtViea and northward
an-^wered bv tlie eouiitei-nnnvenient of the
ChriMians .-aMward thnmj, I.nrope and into
Asia in the ( leventh. Tiie sword of the liv-
ing (i.idfrev was crossed with that of tlie dead
Tarie.
The more imme<llate and specilie causes of
the uprising of the Christians against the Infi-
dels were to be found in the condition of af-
fairs in the Holy Laud. About the year 1050
the great sultan Togrul Beg, grandsim of that
Seljiik who gave his name to one division of
the Turkish race, came out of the Northeast,
overran Khorassan aud other j^roviuces of Per-
sia, and in 10.55 took possession of Bhagdad.
His apparition, however, was that of a revo-
lutionist rather than a con.iueror. He and his
followers were already disciples of Islam, aud
on assuming authority in the Eastern Caliph-
ate he took the usual title of Commander of
the Faithful. In 1063 he died and was suc-
ceeded by his equally famous nephew Alp Ars-
lan, or the Valiant Lion. He continued the
warlike policy of his predecessor, drove back
the Byzantine Greeks, and captured the Em-
peror, Romanus Diogenes. He carried his
victorious arms from Antioch to the Black
Sea, and then turning about ])lanned an ex-
pedition against Turkestan, the native seat of
his race. Having crossed the Oxus and taken
the first fortress in his route, he was assassin-
ated by the governor of the town. The sul-
tanate passed to his son IMalek Shah, who
transferred the capital of the East to Ispa-
han. Renewing the unfinished enterprise of
his father and grandfother, he extended the
Seljukian dominion from the borders of China
to the Bosphorus.
In the course of these triumphant cam-
paigns of the Seljuks they came upon Pales-
tine. This province was at the time an ap-
panage of the Caliphate of Cairo, now under
the rule of those wild-mannered African Fat-
imites, successors of Abu Obsidallah. About
the year 1076 Jerusalem was taken by the
Turks, and the Fatimite governors were
oblige,! to retire into Egypt. The Holy City
fell umler the dominion of the viceroys of
.Malek Siiah, who instituted a high revel of
violence and outrage against liotli Christians
and Arabs.
For many years the fanatic religious senti-
ment of the West had prescribed a pilgrim-
aiic to xiine holy place as the best balm for
a. I inflamed .■onseienee. The morbid s,,ul of
THE CRUSADES. — THE UFBISIXG OF EUHOI'E.
the Western Frauk saw iu the saiiJal-shdoii
and scallop-shell of the pilgrim the einlil.ni-
and passport of a better life. He \\\u> lia<l
sinned, he who had consumed his ywnh in
lawlessness and passion, he who had iu his
manhood done some bloody deed for which
he was haunted by specters, he who had for-
gotten the ties of kindred and stopped his
ears to the entreaties of the weak, must ere
the twOight faded into darkness find peace
and reconciliation by throwing off the insig-
nia of human power and folly and going bare-
foot to the holy places of the East. And
■what other spot so sacred, so meritorious, as
the scene of the crucifixion aud l>urial uf
Christ?
Pilgrimages abounded. The paths of Asia
Minor were thronged with those who made their
way to and from the Holy Sepulcher. Around
that Tomb of tombs knelt the devout believers
from every state of Christendom. Jerusalem
was the Mecca of Europe. What, therefore,
was the horror of the followers of Christ when
the news was borne abroad that the Seljuk
dogs, who had supplanted the Fatimites in the
Holy City, were spurning and spitting upon
the lowly at the very tomb of their Lord? —
Such was the condition of affairs in Palestine
as the eleventh gloomy century of our era
drew to its dreary close.
Great was the terror inspired in the Byzan-
tine emperors by the conquests of the Turks.
Alp Arslan had waved his defiant banners
almost in sight of Constantinople. Tlie de-
generate successors of the Ctesars quaked in
their capital. In their agitation they looked
abroad for help. Could they induce the bar-
barous West to come to their rescue? Would
the successor of St. Peter heed their cry? Per-
haps if the Pope w-ere allured with the pros-
pect of gaining an unquestioned recognition
as the head of Christendom — even of Eastern
Christendom — he would call the Italians, the
Franks, the Germans, to the defense of the
capital of the East. Such were the sentiments
which moved the Greek Emperor to send an
embassy to Gregory VII., and to implore that
ambitious potentate to rally the armies of Eu-
rope against the Infidels.
iMean while the pious monk of Savona, Peter
of Picardy, came home from Palestine, recit-
ing with fervid and pathetic eloquence the
story of the intoleralili- (luli-a-cs U< wliii-li the
I'liristian pilgrims were subjcctrd. lie hini-
SL'lf iiad received brutal insults at tlir liaii.ls
of the savage Turks. Into lii^ <'ar> the vener-
able patriarch of Jerusalem !ia<l poinvil a tale
of horror. Christ was put to .-haiue. His
name was blasjjhemed. His lowlv rliilihcn
were beaten, mocked, trampled under fo(ji by
the base and bloody-minded fullo\MTs of the
false Prophet. Under this recital Kuropc lie-
gau to quake with the premonit(iiy .-luidilcr
of the great ui^heaval. In this condition of
affairs the Greek Emperor saw the prospect of
rescue and sujjport. Urban II. saw the way
open by which he was to confound his enemies
and carry forward the ambitious plans of his
great predecessor. The secular rulers of Europe
saw an opportunity to recover from the feudal
barons the lost prerogatives of royalty. The
priests and bishops saw the ]iroiiiotion and
glory of the Church; and tlir igiioiaiit zealot
saw in the gore of the ]\Ii»lciiis Miicared on
sword-blade and Cross the element of purifica-
tion and peace.
The council of Piaceuza, held in the sum-
mer of 1095, was quickly followed by that of
Clermont. Meanwhile Peter the Hermit had
gone from town to town, from church to
church, preaching the holy war. France took
fire. The feudal settlements were all ablaze.
Lord, retainer, and peasant all caught the
spirit of the inflammatory ap})eal. Crowds
followed at the Hermit's heels. Tlicy bowed
down and kissed the hem of his garment.
They plucked hairs as precious mementos
J'wm the mane of his inule! His fame spread
throughout the continent, and even in insular
England the barons of William Rufus shared
the excitement of their friends in Normandy.
When the time came for the great council
convened by the Pope, Clermont was like a
vast camp. Tliree hundred bishops v,-ere pres-
ent. Thousands of priests flocked to the as-
semlily. ^lultitudes gathered from all the sur-
rounding states. Pope Urban braved the cold
and fatigue of a journey across the Alps, and
came in person to preside over the council.
Princes, prelates, and ambassadors thronged to
the scene, and caught the common spirit. The
messages from Alexius, Emperor of the East,
were read to the multitude. The Pope was
warned of the peril to Constantinople, and of
Ct>^
VSIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MOIJERX WORLD.
the inciilcuhililr l..,-s U> ( 'In-i-lcmlom if lluit
city .-^huulil fall iiii.. thr luiuds of the Turks.
The secular primi^ wnc t-xhorted to rise for
the sake of the Crn.>s, fur the sake of the rich
rewards which the Emperor Avas able to bestow,
and for the sake of Greek women whose charms
■would be freely yielded to those who became
their champions against the infidel dogs of Asia.
On the tenth day of the council the meet-
ing was held in the great square of Clermont.
The Pope, accompanied by the cardinals and
Peter the Hermit, aMvn.led a throne and made
a pathetic i.Mress to the people. His Holi-
uess said :
" ChrLstiau warriors, rejoice ! for you who
without ceasing seek vain pretext for war have
to-day found true ones. You are not now called
to avenge the injuries of men, but injuries of-
fered to God. It is not now a town or castle
that \vill reward your valor, but the wealth of
Asia, and a land flowing with milk and honey.
If you triumph over your foes the kingdoms
of the East will be yum- heritage. If you are
conquered y.m will have the glory of dying
where Christ died. This is the time to prove
that you are animated by a true courage, and
to expiate so many violences committed in the
bosom of peace. When Christ summons you
to his defense let no base affections detain you
at home. Listen to nothing but the groans
of Jerusalem, and remember that the Lord has
said, ' He that will not take up his cross and
follow- me, is unworthy of me.' Gird your
sworils to v(nir thighs, ye men of might. It
is our part to ])ray, yours to do battle ; ours —
with Closes — to hold up unwearied hands, yours
to stretch forth the sword against the children
of Amalek."
Then it was that the surging mass arose in
their enthusiastic rage, and the loud cry of
Dleu le Villi! Dim li ]'iid! resounded like the
voice of many waters. " God indeed wills it,"
responded the Pope. "Go forth, brave war-
rior.s of the Cross, and let 'God wills it' be
your watchword and battle-cry in the holy
war." Such was tin- tuinultudtts scene in which
the Cnisadc- wc iv tir-t Inrnially jH-oclaimed.
As soon as the loud cry of Dieu le Veut was
hushed at a gesture from the Pope, one ot the
cardinals arose and pronounced a form of con-
fession for all those who would enlist in the
holy enterprise. Tlierenj)on, Adhemar, bishop
ot Puy, raiiie forward and received from the
hands of Urban one of the red crosses which
had been consecrated for the occasion. Knights
and barons crowded around the seat of his
Holiness U) receive the sacred badge and to
take the oath of loyalty to Christ. The cross
of reil cloth was then stitcheil upon the right
shoulder of the mantle, and the wearer became
a soldier of the Cross — a Cni.-^iiilcr.^
As soon as the council of Clrrinont was
dissolved those who had participated in its
proceedings dispersed to their several provinces
to rouse the people and to prepare for the
advance on Palestine. Everywhere they were
received with applause and enthusiasm. Ur-
ban II. traversed France, and the people gath-
ered from far and wide to hear the story of
the sorrows of Jerusalem. Already France
resounded with the din of preparation. ISIen
of every rank assumed the cross and demanded
to be led against the defilers of the Holy
Sepulcher. The more ignorant classes were
l)r(if(iinidly agitated. The peasants surged to
and fro and could scarcely be restrained from
setting out in the dead of winter. Many of
the nobles felt the spell and eagerly prepared
for an expedition to the East. In order to
secure the means of raising and equipping
forces they borrowed money and mortgaged
their estates. Men were thus enlisted and
furnished, and by the beginning of 1096 a
large army was gathered for the holy war.
i From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean the
Crusade was preached with a fiery zeal that
kindled a flame in every village. In accord-
ance with a canon of the Council of Clermont
the taking of the cro.ss was to be accepted in
, lieu of all the penances due to the church.
The license thus granted was in the nature of
a plenary indulgence and became one of the
most powerful incitements to the cause. The
peasant mind of Europe, long galled by eccle-
siastical restraint, fired with the prospect of
liberation, and the nobles were not proof
aizainst the same seductive motive. The bits
wiTc >iid(l(iily taken out of the mouth of
I'lapiiii', and the old pirate came up serenely
witii the red cross on hLs shoulder. All the
warlike lusts of the age were .set at liberty
under the sanction of reliction and retributive
' Tlie word crusade is derived from tlie French
sade, "a holy war," from croir, a "cross."
THE CUUSADEH. — THK UPBISIXG OF KUUi)PK. iicy
justice. The extravagaut iniagiiiatidiis of | the opiik'iit Ea.^t, aii.l to uiii tli..-r fnun the
traders and ijilgrims paiuted iu .u'lowiu:;- colors inlidcl A.-iatics setmcd in li, tlj, n iiiu il le-
the exhaustless treasures and rich jiroviiico of ward of all v. ho w.iuld a.~>iiiii. ihi ( io-~
PREACHING THE <'RrSADE.— " DIEU LE VEUT !
UMVi:i!SAL HISTORY.— THE MODKRX WORLD.
Tlif cl.T-v \v.nv in tli.- Iiry.lay nf tlmallral
gl..iy. All th.. NvoiM >uay. .Tin aii.! tV.. umler
the'iua-iral x'rpt.r of Cliii-t. The ;n<.iik^
fouu.l a - 1 cxru.^r lo Irave tlicir cloisters
ami >liari' in tlii' (■(ninu"ii artivities of life.
Thry hi'h.'M ail tli.' i.liirc.- of religion suddenly
elevate.] tn a new i-i-peet and dignity. They
saw tlieiiisrh,- liee.inie the leaders of society,
loiiked to as tlie arliilers of the common fate.
To them il was an escape from bondage and
o^)[l^e^^i(^n. Thosc who werB in debt gladly
threw oil' i\\v burden by assuming the cross.
The creditor might no longer menace or dis-
turb those who had become the soldiers of
Christ. Offenders and criminals also found
the day ausiiieinns. No prison wall might any
longer restrain liim wlio took the sword against
the Infidel. Over the thief and the murderer
on whose right shoulders appeared the sacred
emblem of the lioly war the church threw the
iegis of her proteetiiin. All manner of crime
was to be washed white in the blood of the
sacrilegious Turks.
In the midst of the excitement of tliese
scenes the Italian inerehaiits began to l:>iiild
tip a profilabli' eoninieree. It was necessary
that Europe should be furnished the means
of arming herself for the fray, and of supply-
ing her armies with provisions for the war.
Perhaps, of all the classes of society, the
traders gained tiie most solid and permanent
advantages from tin' ureat eonimotion. They
became the factors and carriers of the time,
and in many instances furnished the money
with which the lords and vassals armed
themselves and their retainers. From the very
first a certain advantage was thus gained by
tLe merchants and townspeople over the own-
ers of estates and country folk, who became
indebted to them for the means of joining the
army of Crusailers.
The actual number of tliose who from the
various ranks ot' society sprang up as if by
a eoniiiion impulse, took on the cross, and ral-
lied at the call of Peter and his fellow apos-
tles, can never be authentically ascertained.
Certain it is that all Europe seemed to rise as
if by a common impulse. By one of the an-
cient chroniclers the estimate is placed at six
millions of persons. In an age when no au-
thentic reeorijs were kept, every thing was left
to eoiijeeture, but it is probable that after
making due allowances for various delays and
for tiie inlluiiiee of returning reason, and for
the thou-aml ai-eidental causes which would
operate to ir(Uiee the host, the number was
not mueh -holt of that given above. For
awhilo it app.aivd that all Europe would be
The eastern frontiers of France became the
scene of the gathering. There Peter the
Hermit, as the chief promoter of the enter-
prise, assumed the leadership of the host.
Without adequate preparation, without suit-
able arms, without any appreciation of the
dangtTs and ditticulties to be encountered, the
vast and tumultuous throng swept out of
France and into Germany. The great sea of
angry and excited humanity overflowed the
ordinary routes of travel, and spread devasta-
tion on every hand. The means of subsistence
were quickly exhausted, and the multitudes
began to prey on the countries through which
they traversiil. They swept on through the
German territories like an army of devouring
locusts, until through sheer waste of resources
they were obliged to divide into smaller masses.
One liand iiunibering about twenty thou-
sand, eomman<le(l by Walter the Penniless, of
Burguntly, pressed forward through Hungary
and Bulgaria in the direction of Constantinople.
It is said of this advanced host that there
were only eight horsemen in the whole num-
ber. The rest of the wretched mob proceeded
on foot, generally marching without shoes and
hundreds falling by the wayside through ex-
posure, disease, and famine. Nothing but the
tolerance and friendly disposition of Carlonian,
king of the Hungarians, saved the miserable
vanguard from entire destruction. In Bul-
garia, however, the lieutenant of the Eastern
Emperor looked with less favor upon the law-
less horde that had been precipitated into his
kingdom. The Crusaders were quickly cut off
from supplies and were obliged to have re-
course to violence, but they now found them-
selves opposed by a race as savage as them-
selves.
The Bulgarians took up arms to defend
their country from destruction. The track of
Walter and bis army was marked with blood
and fire. The Crusaders were cut off day by
THE CRUSADES.— THE UPBTSIxa OF EUnOPE.
Jav until
at the I'oiiliiirs i)f the emintiy
only
W.Iti-i- a
1(1 a few followers remained to i
lake
their wav
tliroii,n-h the forests to Constaiitiii
.pie.
^U■■.m^
hile the second division of the
J ahont fnrtv th.iU<au.l iii-.n, wo,
in.t.
an.l .-IiiM
Hrnilit ll
VII, under the romiiiaud of IVte
111 -elf, pres-ed on in the same t
the
irec-
tinii taken hy Walter. Their march was pro-
moteil thrnii-h Hungary by the favor of king-
and peojile. The wants of the va>t multitude
were supplied, and friendly relations were
maintained, as far as the city of Zemlin.
Here on the walls were di.splayed some of the
spoils which had been taken two mouths jiro-
viously from Walter and his savages. On see-
ing these tokens of their friends' overthrow
the Crusaders broke into ungovernaiile rage,
and fell furiously upon the otiending eity.
The ramparts were scaled, thousands of the
people were butchered, and Zemlin suti'ereil all
the horrors of pillage and burning.
These atrocious proceedings aroused the
auger even of King Carlonian. He ipiiekly
gathered an army, and nuireheil agaiii.-t the
despoih-rs of his city. At his approach the
Crusaders hastily withdrew from Zendin, and
made their escape by crossing the river Save.
On the opposite bank, however, they were
furiously attacked liy the wild Bulgarians, who
had gathered to dispute their jiassage. The
savage people were driven back by the des-
perate Crusaders, who, though they thus forced
a way liefore them, fouud solitude ou every
hand. The Bulgarians withdrew into their
fastnesses or shut themselves in fortified towns,
from which they could not be di-lodjrd.
Peter and his followers were thus left to the
mercy of the elements, and were reduced to
the necessity of purchasing supplies from the
Imperial officers who commanded the towers.
The feeling between the invaders and the in-
habitants became more and niore hostile until
the people of Hissa, who had been maltreated
by the Crusaders, sallied forth and massacred
the rear-guard. Hereupon the whole army —
if such a Maine may bi' applied to au unor-
ganized host — tiiriiid about and assailed the
city, thinking to renew at Hissa the havoc and
spoliation of Zemlin, but the citizens defended
them.selves with great bravery. The assailants
were driven back from the walls and were imr-
sued in a general rout ami slaughter, in which
plundered
■d that ten tlinusui
the His.-ans, an.l tl
d fi
pre=M
Meamvhile the Enijieror Ah'sius began to
exert his intiuence to >ave the remnant of the
Crusaders fi'om destruetinii. A few of the van-
guard under the leader-hip of Walter the
Penniless had aln a.ly reaehed tli.^ J-a-tein
capital. Tho.-e who survived of Peter's divis-
ion were now received in the city, and their
wants were Mippliid from the Imperial store-
houses. Such was the desnerate character.
sper
d and
Mild
raging and plundering their protectors. Their
presence in the city became intolerable, and
the Emperor gladly acceded to their request
to be transported into Asia. The ragged and
desperate fanatics were accordingly taken on
ship-board and carried across the Bosphorus
into A>ia IMiiior; but no Mioner were they out
of sight of the capital than they let lon>e all
their fury upon the unott'endiiig siilijects of
Alexiu.s. Not Peter himself could prevent the
wholesale robbery of the districts through
which the Crusaders were ijassiug. After striv-
ing ill vain to preserve order and moderation
in^'the fanatic herd of his followers he aban-
doned them to their own will, ami returned to
Constantinople.
But Walter the Peimih >- had all the spirit
of the turbulent ho,-t. When they deinamh d
to be led against the Infidel.-, he willingly as-
sumed the nspon-iliility of leadei>hip. At
this juncture the Cru.-aders were greatly ex-
cited by the report that the city of Nice, cap-
ital of the province of Koum, had fallen into
the hands of the Christians. Hoping to share
the spoil- of this important compic-t, the mul-
titude ru,-hed blindly into the hostile country,
and reached the plain of Nice. Here, how-
ever, they received no welcome from Christian
allies or signal from Chri.-tian banners. On
the contrarv thev were surrounded by an im-
mense arnivnf Tuiki-h cavalrv. The ('ni-aders
W;
tliou,-;i
le Tur
'Weil down
UXIVEHSAL HISTORY. — THE MODEKX WORLD.
\\i
ike Tainrrlaufs pyraiuicl
o otlier laiiatical bust; ti.
surviVL-a reaped iiilu iIr- Bv/aiiliuc tuiT.-t, ai
i.Kul.- tliL-ir way back to ( ■oii.-iaiiiiiini,l,-. Tl
tiiinii]iliaut Turks jiathtr.Ml ini,, a liu:;.- iiiuui
thr hones of tbe
lel'r the mouume
ol'.-^kulLs a warn
beware of Asia Minor.
Thus ai.l thr tii-t two .liviMons of tlie cru-
sading host >ink into tlie earth. A tliir.l rab-
ble soon f .llowe.l from Germany. A certain
monk uameil Go.le-chal, envious of the tiune
of Peter aud "Walter, preached the holy ^var
through his uative districts, aud about fifteen
thou-saod villagers aud peasants flocked to his
standard. Folj.iwing the same route which
had been taken by the pi'cceding divisions,
Godc-clial led his followers iuto Hungary.
Carloinau, however, had uow wearied of cast-
in- his pearls before swine, and gave to the
German fiinatics an inhospitable reception.
He adopted the policy of despatching them j
witli all haste through his kingdom. But
the lawless multitude was not to be appeased
with any thing but violence and rapine. The
former scenes of plundering- aud outrage were
renewed until the Hun-arians lo-e in arms,
and the king permitted tliem to do as they
would with tlie iuvaders. He even went fur-
ther, and did an act of perfidy in order to
free the land from the presence of the hate-
ful horde. Wheu the Germans had gathered
liefore the walls of Belgrade, he induced them
witli fair promises to lay down their arms, but
no s.Hiuer had they done si) thau the inhabi-
tants were let loose upon them, aud they were
nia.ssacred almost to a man.
lu the mean time, the fourth aud last divis-
ion of the host gathered on the ea.steru cou-
fiues of Germany. Perhaps no other such exe-
crable mass of vile humanity wa.s seen before or
since in the world. France sent her thieves;
the Rhine provinces, their offsconring ; the
British Islands, their outlaws ; and all the
A\ est, her pads and murderers. This delight-
ful army of European refuse heaped up to
the number of more than two hundred thou-
.<and. A few ignorant nobl.s with their bands
of retainers were merged in the common mass;
but when it came to the eleeti(m of leaders,
the choice fell on « f/o«( and a qno.-ir! These
ridiculous creatures were actually set forwanl
as the divinelv constituted a<rent- by wliich the
ho^t wa- to be li-d to vielorv over the infidel
Turk- ..f A-ia:
The n>ult wa.as revolting a> tlie beginning
wa> abniinnal.l.-. The Miiur-titions horde fell
U|ion the .ii\\i-h eol(iiii-t> in the cities of the
lihin.. an.l the .M.i.^He, and began to rob and
murder. The victims of the atrocity had,
under tlie protection of the barons of the
towns, become prosperous aud wealthy. This
circumstance whetted the appetite of the vile
rabble, who pretended to see in the Jews only
the enemies of Christ. They propo.sed to be-
gin the holy war by exterminating the foes of
God in Europe before proceeding against those
in Asia. The blood of the unotti^nding Lsra-
elites flowed in torrents, aud their homes were
ravaged aud destroyed. In spite of the pro-
tests of the Romish Church, under whose call
the Crusade had been begun, the Jews were
massacred liy thou-ands, and other thousands,
in order to save thini>elves from a worse fate
under the brutal swords of their persecutors,
threw themselves into the flames or rivers.
When the ruffian host could find no further
material for slaughter, the march was resumed
from the Rhine to the Danube. The whole
route was a scene of liarbarous lust and licen-
tiou>iie>s. ^s.ithiiiL:' whieh native depravity
could .-n-i:e>t or M-n.-nal fanaticism euforce
was omitted to complete the horrors of the
advance. The day of judgmeut, however, at
last arrived. On the thither side of the Dau-
ube a Hungarian army was drawn up to dis-
pute the progress of the iuvaders. It was
now their turn to feel the edge of a merci-
le-s sword. The Hungarian leaders proved
to be more thau a match for General Goat
and General Goose. The immense rabble was
hemmed in aud beaten back agaiust the river.
The tide of the Danube was red with the blood
of robbers. The bodies of the slain floated like
drift-wood, or choked the channel with a hor-
rid mass of putrefection. Very few escaped
the vengeance of the Huugarians aud the
engulfing river. It was perhaps the vastest
and nio-t salntai-y execution of criminals ever
witnessed within the limits of Europe. Thus
]H li-lied the fimrth aud last of those fitnatic
niuhitiides that arose at the call of Peter the
Hermit. Already more thau a quarter of a
million of human beings had beeu swallowed
from .-i^lit before a regular armv could be
THE CRUSADEii.— TnE UPRISING OF EUBOPE.
equippeil uud started in the wake (if the imp-
ular tuiuult. Xnt a ( ■|iri>tiaii >nl,li,.,- had
thn> far i.eiietraled heyni„| the phiin of M,-,..
Walter the Peiuiik,-/ was dead. The lame
of Peter was at a disemint, hut the fever of
Europe was in no wi^e idoled. It still le-
maiued for her soldiery to undertake by reg-
ular expeditious what her peasants and mouks,
her o'oose and her goat, had failed to accom-
piisi:.
In the meau time the seeular jirinces of the
AVest, who had attended the Council of Cler-
mont and assumed the cross, were busily en-
j^aged in preparing for the holy -n-ar. Among
those who were destined to distinguish them-
selves as crusaders, should be mentioned, first
•of all, Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lorraine.
His reputation for piety, h^aiiiing, and courage
was equal to that ot' the best prince of his age.
In his father's house Peter the Hermit had
lived before he became a monk. From his
mother, who had in her veins the lilood of
the Carlovingians. (J.i.UVey inherited his duko-
■dom. In early lite he took up arms for the
Emperor Henry l\ . in liis war with Ililde-
iirand, and won high distiiietion as a soldiia-.
In the bloody battle which was fought <.n the
banks of the Elster he had struck .h.wn witli
his own hand that Kodolph of Suabia whom
the Pope had invested with the crown of Ger-
many. Afterwards, during the siege of Rome,
when the papal banner trailed and Gregory
fled for refuge into the castle of 8t. Angclo,
it was Godfrey who, first of all the imperial
cajjtains, broke over the ramparts and opened
the gates of the city. With the subsequent
triumph of the Pope, however, the duke's con-
science began to upbraid him for the wicked
part he had taken against the Head of the
church. Living in his duchy, surrounded
with wealth and enjoying a good name, he
none the less suffered all the pangs of remorse.
How else should he atone for the great sins
of his rash youth except by taking the cross
and giving his life, if necessary, in recovering
the Holy Laud from the Infidel-:'
With no half-hearted jHirp.ise di,l Duke
Godfrey become a Cr\isader. No sacrifices
were spared to secure the desired end. He
sold nr morta-aued all of his castles and estates.
He alienated his cities and principalities and
gave up his dueliy. He laid all (m the altar
leav.n, whieh he lia.l forfeihd by niakin- war
on I he viear .,f riiri.-t. With the niouev pro-
cured by the.-aieof hisva-tdnn,ahisherai>ed
and <'(iuipped a magnificent army. Ten tliou-
eighty thousand to,,t made up the body ot his
forces. His principal oflieeis were his two
br.it hers, Eustace and Baldwin, the former
count ,d' B.uiillon; his kinsnum Baldwin du
Bouig, and Mveral other noblemeu less con-
sjiieuou-: by the ir rank and reputation.
In till' south of France the men of war
were rallie.l to tlie cross by Ravmond, count
of Toulnu>e, He too was a soldier liy profes-
sion. He liad fought against the Saracens in
Spain. He had distinguished himself at the
right hand of the Ci,l. He had wedded the
daughter of King Alphonso, and was known
as one of the most valiant caiitains of his
times. It was his saying that he had spent
hi. youth fighting the followei- of the false
Pniphet in Europe, and would ,-pen.l \n< ,,1,1
agi' in warring with them in A.-ia. Alivady
aged, his white locks made a conspicuous >vs\\
ai'ouiid which ,-oon was gathered out of Prov-
ence and CaMM.uv an armv of a huu.lre.l thou-
sand men. Hi- priu.'ipal officer wa- the P.i.diop
of Puy, who, after the Council of CUermont
was made legate of the Pope, aud uow became
a soldier of the cross militant against the
Infidels.
Whih' the Crusa.lers of Lorraine and Prov-
ence were thu< mar-haled bv Godfrev and
Raymond, Hugh, of V.'rmandoi.-, bnithca- ..f
Kilig Phdip of France, and Pobert, Count of
Flanders, sounded the call in their respective
provinces and armed their several hosts.
Stephen, Count of Blois, and Roliert, Count
of Paris, al-o rallid their knights and retain-
ers and made readv for the march into Asia.
It wa- at this timi' that the crusading fervor
kindh'd all Normaudv into a glow. The court
of Roucu furui-hcd two gallant leaders. These
w,.re Robert Short Hose, s.in of William the
Coiepieror. ami E,l,-ar Athding, heir of the
Saxon line to the throne of Phigland.
The characters aud dis]iositions cf both
these princes have already been sketched in the
prece.liug iM.ok. Such wa> the inq.rovi.lence
of Unbelt, au.l -0 frequeutlv was he made the
'■i rXJVKh'SAL HISTdUY. — THE MUDKUX WORLD.
Mctim cif tilt will - uiil ( u] ii \
ti-oii ( t liH ( lilt tint 1h u I
,e<luc It 1 -t 1. t uluul u 1 \ it\ Ik I duikd b> 1)1- juuu^ci bl( tliii ti'i,
lull liil in hiiii ill iIk ckniiiit- ( f T .(iiuiiic Cm-
111111- J -1(1 1 — 1)1 i\i, 1 i-h, lanatu il iiii| , uin ii tx-
ilu tliKine
lUi. iruLK 1-hAlih.K.- vi IIIE FIKST rKU.>^AI.E.-GODFi:EY, KAYMOXIl, BlEMVND, TAM.RED.
THE Cni'SADES. — TlIE Vl'lUSEM; OE EUROEE.
•of Eugland, be.st-t liy u.^urcrs wlm (UniaiMlfil
their iuterest and woiik'Ii who waiitrd pic.-iiit-
ill exchange fur their alle-i-d virtiu — he \\as
I)reeisi4y the surt "f a i>er,-oiiage who, witliout
iu(hieeiiient to remain at home, might gladly
emharic in the re^peetalde eiUerpri.<e of hunting
IuH(k-ls. Such were the autecedeuts of that
mutiially prolitalile hargaiii by ^\■hich Count
Eohert for the sum of ten tliousaiul marks sokl
out his duchy of Normandy to his lirother
William Rufus of England.
As to Edgar Atheling, though of a ditter-
eut character, and already past the fortieth mile-
.stone of life, he too found many and potent
reasons for joining in the holy war. Pro-
scribed from England, and robbed of even the
eon.hu-t ot hi> own atiairs, set out with an
army of Anglo- and ScotoSaxons to eject Don-
ald IJane fr.mi the throne which he bad
u-urpe,!. IJefore departing however, he prom-
i-c.l lii- friend. Count liol.ert, to join him in
the East as .-oun as the .Scotti-h invtender
should have been hurleil from power.
Meanwhile, the Short Hose set up his white
banner, and at the signal nudtitudes of Nor-
man Knights flocked to j<iin their fortunes
with those of a leader so well renowned for
generosity and courage. Stephen, Earl of
Alliermarle, Edward Percy, Aubrey de Vere,
Joscelyn de Courteuay, Conau de Montacute,
and Girard de Goiiruey were the principal
Anglo-Normau barons who set out with Count
prospect of the crown worn by his Anglo-
Saxon fathers, he had for many years found
his chief delight in the companionship of
dogs and the solace of philosophy. Neither
the one nor the other, however, had sufficed
to quiet his ambition, and when the prevail-
ing enthusiasm reached Roueu, especially when
his friend Robert Short Hose caught the ci
tagiou, Edgar also fired with the crusading
fever, and put the red cross on his shouldt
At this juncture, however, it happened that
a certain Donald Bane, an ambitious Scot, had
.seized upon the thi-oiie of his I'onntry, wliiel
of hereditary ri-ht helon-ed to a ,-on ol' Kd
gar's sister. To resrat hi< nephew on tlie Scot
tish throne, the En-li,-h I'rini'e, ac'tiiii:- witl
more energy than he had ever .-howu in the
F
Till, iLl^.VIiEE,-.
■y A. Maillard.
Koliert to rescue the sepulehei
of Christ from
1
the Turk..
f
Vei-v unlik.' the p('a:-aiit-ra
ible were these
r
magniheiait band, of warriors.
All the wealth
1
and intelligence of Etn-ope we
e now commit-
ted to the enter[irise, anil as f;
r as the igno-
1
ranee of the age would allow, <
ue prejiarations
-
were maile to in>nre the sueei
>s ,d' the great
expedition. All Enropo went
to prayers as
the knightly pageant ilcpart.d.
In the matter
t
of arimir the best >kill of tl.r
tine- was em-
1
]iloyed to perfect it. Ivich (
ca-.'pic and liaubcrk of ,-liain i
iiisader wore a
lail. The foot
>oldicr> carried Ion- .Iiicld-, ai
worc-ircularl.n.'klcr-. The u.
d the knights
a]H,n- consisted
1
of >\\ord-. lance-, pnniai'd-, a\
-, niaci's, bow.?
i
to
r
■
hi
}:m.
PRAYIN'; FOR THE t^UCCESS OF THE CRUSA DKIW.
THE riU'SADKS. — THE FIRST rHUSADE. <;::
iou of in<tniinrnt aii.l niissilv i»ru\\:n- t.. the Mimv r..,,k their wivs an. 1 rl,il,l,vi, v.ith tlu-m.
warthiv oi- thr .Aii.iaic A-.'s. Still iIumt was , 1 »i-li'ii-iii-li.-a l.an.ns nnl,- :,|.,„.^ uiu, ,h,,i,.
no true forr.-i-ht nf the .litlieultie< to he (ai- ' lui-le-huriH aii.l Mew at iiitervah- as if in -.,ui„.l
Cduntere.l. The ,iistau<v was totally lui-ap-i the >it;iials ,,f the cha,-e. S,,i„e earrle.l hav. ;,..
preheii.le.l. The roiit.--^ to the East weie litth^ o,, tj,,,;,. v.aasts, whil.. IhiuimIs ti'otl.-il hv the
known. Th.' real oh.taeles t.i i)e overe.>n.e he- .i.le of the hors.s. Kveu yet the Cru-aae wr„s
fore a Mow eonhl l.e deliven.l were either eoiisi.jer.'.i rather in th.' liu'ht .4' a iul-riina,e-e—
unheanl of or e>t.'enie.l as tritles. The most , a .l.anoii.-tratioii in have a-aiust the Inti.lels—
intelligent knidits he-an the extraordinary than as a military eNpe.litiou involving l<a,u^
march as thouuh it were a hunt or a holichiv. , marches, sttiMiorn sieecs, ami hleoilv hattles.
CHAPTER XC— The KiRisx Crusade.
HE pilgrim princes who
were now about to di-
rect the chivalry of Eu-
rope against the Turks
111 sufficient jirudeuce to
insider the difficulty of
sistence. The coun-
tries throuuh which they were to pass were al-
ready half exhausted by the ravages
excesses of the precursive multitudes. It was
now agreed among the leaders to set out at
different dates and by different routes, ('ou-
stantinople was to be the rendezvous. It was
clear that if all the hosts now under arms
were to proceed in one body, the provinces
thron/h which they should jiass would be ut-
terly consumed. Europe could survive only
by distributing the stomachs of her defenders.
The rabble vanguard of the soldiers of tlie
Cross had not left a favorable impression on
the minds of the Byzantine Greeks. The Em-
peror Alexius found reason to rep.ait of liavinu'
called from the vasty deep the p.a-turlied spii--
its of the West. Now came the news to CVju-
stantinople that other vast armies, less sav-
age, but more severe, were on their way to
the Eastern Capital. The Emperor began to
see that he might as well have braved the
warriors of Alp Arslan as to have evok.
by his messages such an insatiaMe host of
From this time forth Alexius was driven
by the winds and tossed. Unable to dictate
by authority and enforce with a menacing
attitude sneli mandates as seemed necessary
for the preservation of the Emi)ire, he fell
into subterfuge and double dealing — the last
resorts of the weak against the strong.
Never was monarch more beset with perils.
IWIVKhSAL HISTnnV. — THE MOHERX WORLD.
rrnwn, uitli hi- lira.l in ii. mwumI l- Ik- ralh,r tl,- niMtivr ..f Invaltv i- allo-Pther
l>r.--.,.,l riat lirtwvcii a Tuiki-li shield and a uantin- in Mich a -oldi.rv. T.. matrh the
Chii-tian hiu-khr. Ji.-ynnd the Bosphorus hlivd haiharian- of the' Ka^trni Empire
Ava- th,. fhimin- C.VMvnt. Ov.T the Hun-a- a-ain-1 the niaiMad \vum..i-~ c,f (Jodfivy and
rian forot wa- ~.en the p..iientnu.- sha.h.w of Kay.nond warlike setting cm- ..n ina,-titt>.—
the- eoniin- ( n.-. So the Kinperor fell back on eiafl and snhtlety.
The (iriek IhiipiT^.r, with something of ^leanwhile the several ern^ailiiiL;- armies
the old-tiine ( iattine-.> nt' his race, perceived took uj) their march foi- the East. Eor a
th.at the (_'rii-adcr- were really adventurers. while atiiiirs went well. J!v and hv, however.
He knew that the iMank-. and especially the Hugh of Vermaiidoi-, leader (,f the French
Normans, had Just one da-- of tVicnds— those , Knight>, having set out with the Pope's ban-
th
.It thes
e -ree.lv
m
en wou
d di-cov
of
the E:
-t evi-rv
t.
excite-
tl
e p,-c-c
,ce of >p,
The s
itical.
- w-ere
ituatioii
The am
made u
me cla-^s of enemies— ne
in-. lie uuder.too.l of
ndants of the North- ec
the luxurious capital II
which was calculateil an
Ei.inis. I,
he Al,
is opportunity. He ordered Count
be seized, brought to Constantinople,
1 as a hosttiire. By this means he
-vhat roliber in hopi-d to make Kin-.;- Philip of France, a
to tind a cause brother of the prisoner, depcndt-nt upon his
pleasure respecting the future conduct of the
highest degree Crusade. Count Hugh was also held as a
-po<al of Alex- jdedge for the future good conduct of the
arie-. At all Fraidc< while traversing the territories of the
-Iv di-loval, or Emi.iri--
THE rRVSADES.-^THK FIRST CRUSADE. In!)
couslmI at this act ..f IkhI laith oi, il,r ],ai-l Ivi-t 'lia.l iK^ap..! up in lin- lap. It ua. not
■A- tlie Eiiipfn.!'. Laii.liii- at Pliilipupoli, tl„. 1,,,,- until Al.xius priv.iv,.! llial ain.tlirr pul-
Dukr of Lon-ainr <li^patclir,l a n.,>s,,n-<a- t.i irv n,u>t lir aW-.p!..! uitli tli.^ warrior- of ihe
Con-tantinoplr t.. know ih,. oo-a-ion of the Wo.-t. II.' ,-rnt a ni.'.Mai-cr to (ohIiVov in-
arr.-t of tlio I'ount of \\-rniaii4oi-, and to loriuin- linn of lii> ,lr,-in' to Mipplv llio arinv
ileiiKuid his lihoration. To tiiis .ivil ro.iuo.-t , ,.ut ..f tho >torrs of ih,' c-ity, and th.. duki-
an evasive an.l uiisit;,-fa.-torv aiisucr \va> re- tlioivupon ordered hi- iojlowor- to (h-,~i>t from
turned. It was uut, long until crowds of fugi- ; further pilla-e. A better und.a>tan.lin- was
tive Greeks rushing into Constantinople gave I thus arrived at between the treaeherous Greeks
notice that Godfrey ha,'' become the avenger I and their unwelcome guest.
of his friend, and turned his warriors Ljoso i Kotwithstaudiug the outvvar<l show of amity
upm the peihlious C3uuti\ | lutiiel wtie eoust'\ntl> bietkni_ utletween
Ale\iu time pii kh t hi i Vi tl t \ 1 1 e \t tni \\ \\\ lu 1 tl it their
e d 1 \ AM 1 1 t 1 1 1 t 1 1 t ( It t t tl 1 ik w dl be
ji mi m^ t 11 e\ih t 1 1 1 t 1 i 1 11 t tt u tl 1 tt i le iimniti ns
•^^-ivr-^ ^~
Rl VLLt fN THE P W 1 1 LETINE
f Byzantine and
Cru-adrrs were
the violence done to Hugh, and b.ggi,,- him wliieh burned in tlf h
to restrain his f .llowers from furth.a- ravauvs. Frank. More than ..n
The prince thereupon liade his warriors to on the evo of a— aiiltin^ the eity, and the
refrain from further injury to the Greeks, and i leaders of tin- lio-t wore little eoneerned to
then presseil forwanl to the Eastern Capital. I prevent sueli a eoidli.a. It uere hai.l to .say
Arriving brf. re the -ates he f.iind them elo-ed whether at thi- juiielnie the eiipidily of the
against the arniv of the Cross; f,r the highly , western soldi. as ..r th,' inxileliee of the Greeks
moral Al..xin-, havin- n..w ,-o„.-eiv,Ml the was m..iv .litti.adt t.. curb.
noble d,-iL;n..f-tarvin-th.'Crnsi.l.i-st., death, The Einp.r..r within th.' walls l.u.ked with
had tin-bill. I.ai th.' Gre.'ks lo s\i].|ilv them with ever-iner.>asini;- alarm upon the threatening at-
preheii.le.l th.' .-pirit and tianper .d' th.' men of .li|ilonia.'y wa- t.. mmmmv from lln' Western
with wh.im h.' ha.l to .l.-al. Th.' Crnsa.l.a-s piin,v< wli.. ha.l th.'ir ,"imp< ..tit-i.l.' the ram-
were unwillin- to b.' ..liia-.-.l up ..n th.. altar part- -u.-li a.t- ..f h.Hna;jv ami ..atli- of tealty
of hung..r. Th.'V bui-t inf. th.' Miburbs ..f t.. hini-lf as .■.-nl.l it..( !..■ h.,n.,rablv or even
tie- .'itv, ].lun.l.-r.'.l i.ala.vs :i,i.l villa-vs. .'a].- .l.v.aitlv vL^lat.-.l. II,. Iir>t lri...l ih.. ii,.w
tur...u'tor,-.-h.Mi-,.-an.l h..lp,..l th,.in-,.|v,-b.,nn- p. :Ii..v ^^itl, -.1...... upon Hn-J, ,.f V.-rman-
r.XIVi:i!SAL HISTORY. — TIIE MOUKHX WOULD.
.-riir hw Mill as a
,1 ihcir iviui-uauoe
ilh l,laiHli>lini.'iit>.
-,-, au.l the (•(.ants
■ntc.l t(i(l.. l,..i.ia,-('
; liut liavuiundcf
liii to i-eli.kT f(_-alty
iiK' a ]ir(_il)k'in with
he might liring the
■ (if what was due
he western princes
and taken to the
d(ns, and, having i
succeeded in securi
oath. Great was tl
grim camp when th
known. But the J{
hostage to the ('rusa(
was graduallv over.
Godfrey, Itoin-n Sh
of Fhiuders and ni-
to Alexins as their -
Toulouse refii-ed uil
to such a nia-ter.
the Empercr in whn
sturdy Cru-ader K'
the majesty ef Cmi-
On the app(iiiite(
■were admitted to tl
palace of Alexius. There —
High on a throne ..f n.yal state that far
Outshone the wealth of Onnus or of Ind—
sat the Emperor of Byzantium, surrounded by
the Imperial court. Nothini:- wa-^ emitted which
artificial magnificence e.)iild -npply to impress
the Crusaders with a -eii-e of ea-t.rii greatness.
But the eve of penetration eoold not have
failed to pierce thron-h the tliin-y and -ilded
sham and perceive the e-elltial weaklie- of
the [lower whi(di wa< placed under the pndec-
tion of the sword, of we~terii cliri-tendom.
Godfrey, the two Uol.ert-. and Stephen did
the act of homa-e a~ mi'jht lieeome great
knights and warri( .r~. Kidi gift-^ were showered
upon them, and the Enijieror liegan to wrap
himself in the cloak of a delusive security.
Before the ceremony was fairly ended an
incident occurred which shocked the crafty
Greek from his pleasing reverie. Count Rob-
erto of Paris was among the number of nobles
who were present at the obeisance of the lead-
ers. While the ,iai!-eant was still set this stal-
nierv that wa<
•iiactiiej-,
1(1 -at d(
strode boldly forward
wii l.v the side of the
Emperor. At
ihi- tlle
( ; reeks were horrified
and the Cru.ad
1- laieji
■d. S(, me of the more
prudent Frank-
(■ount i;(,l.,rt.
attempt
,1,(1 one
(1 to remonstrate with
,f them taking him by
the arm said:
" Wl,c,l
you are in a foreign
conntrv vou <
l-llt to
re-^jiect its custom^:"
"Indeed!" Kii(
the im
pii.leiit count, with a
significant lool
at Al.
Nil,-: ••but tlii-^ is a
V.'hat
e Cru.ai
vonr lii
he wit!
(1 \vl
surlv l;ol„rt. --I am a Freiichinaii," .-aid
the' Frank, "and of the hi-he.-t rank .,f
iH.bles. And one thing I kn.,w. that in my
country there i? a [ila e near a church where
tli'oe repair who are eager to attest their valor.
1 have often been there mv.self, and no one
has ventured to present himself before me."
The hint of a challen-e wa< lo-t on the mild-
mannered Alexius, who had as little notion of
exposing his person as he had of hazarding
his thnme.
^Meanwhile the people of Southern Italy,
esjiecially the Xormans of Calabria, had been
roused from their slumbers by Prince Bwinnnd,
of Tarento. He was the son of that R(ibert
Guiscard by whom and his brother William
the knights" of the ^'orth had been led again>t
the Saracens in the war for the jio-ssession of
the lower part of the peuinsida and the Sici-
lies. Xow he took up arms in the common
cause. IFi- own principality was far t(,o small
a fii'id f(,r hi.- amhition. Like many aiaither
restless baron, he would seek in the East and
under cover of a holy enterprise the opportu-
nity which the West no longer afl'orded.
But while the aspirations of BQ?mund urged
him to a>.-ume the cross he found himself with
neither money nor .soldiers. At this time the
Norman army of the South, led by one of the
brothers of the Prince of Tarento, was engaged
in the siege of Amalfi, a stronghold of South-
ern Italy, which the Normans had not yet
reduced. Boemund repaired to the camp of
his c(,untrymen and began to excite their
minds with the story of outraged Jerusalem
and to compare the glories of a crusade with
the unworth of the petty war in which they
were engaged. From the enthusiasm which
lie thii< kindled to the leadership of an expe-
dition \va- but a st(.-p, and Birmund soon found
1, ill, -elf at the head of a multitude of knights
who wore the red cross and shouted. Dim le
]'< III. The siege of Amalfi was given up, and
the ariiiv. thirty thwisand strong, departed
for tile Holv Land. Anioie.:- the leaders of
this division of Cl■u^a(lrl■s was the riiiicc Tan-
cwl, iK'pliosv ..rj'.c'iiiun.l, -loStilUMl t(. lirrnnu
one of the -rcatt-st hi'riic< i>f the a^v.
The Hi-t hiiKlin.- nf the Italian kni-hts ^\a.
made at Dura//,... At this place the Piin.-,
of Ta.vi.to had ahvady in his youth .listin
.U-ui.-hed lun.M.ir in a ennlliet with the <iiv, k..
Even now hi- seei'i 1 iini-[i()>e was rather t'
renew the war with the Eastern Emj
to exterminate tlie Turks. He act
sent word to ( hidfrey, at Constautin
Tin-: CUUSAhKS.^THK FIRST rJHSADK
'an- I self rather than on the '
.1 >.,
to eai.q, and cro.-s into A-ia Mi
an was >afely in Bithynia on the
id- iirolilic West numhcivd IuIIv.m
risit llk..]y
lern avoided
^,.1 l.y(;od-
the (ollow-
,re-iliir sat-
■ak up their
The ho-t
rch for Pal-
out of the
nidrrd thou-
.■d thou-and
!!..
he no party to sikIi an eiiterprisi
then advanced thiou-h ^Maeidoina and ap-
proaclied the Eastern Capital.
When Alexius heard that the Xorman
Kniu'hts were cominir. and that the impla-
cable Prince of Tarento was their leader, he
resorte.l to his u>ual met la. d of duplicity.
He roolved, if po>-ihh., to make Bcemund
his va-al l.v ni.ans of l.rihcs. He invited
him wi
ived
11 the arts kn.jwu to au imperial
deniai;oiiUi'. Xor did Btemund himself fail in
the ilisplay of craft. The meeting (.f the
twain was occupied with high-flown e(.mpli-
ments and hollow professions of friendshiii.
In the cour.=e of the sham interview, Alexius
was indiscreet enough to exhibit to his dan-
gerous guest one of the treasure houses of the
palace. The eyes of the Prince of Tarento
dilated with the sight. "Here is enough,"
said he, "to conquer a kingdom." Deeming
the moment opportune, the Emperor immedi-
ately ordered the treasures to be conveyed to
Bcemuud's tent as a present. The latter af-
fected to decline the gift. "Your niuniti-
cence,' " said he, "is too great; Init if you
would liave me your vassal forever malr )iie
Grand Domei-fte of the Empire T This re-
quest went through Alexius like a dart; for
he himself had seized the Impei-ial crown
while holding th<' othce of Grand Domestic.
He aec.nlingly replied, that he couhl not
confer the desirid honor, but that he wouhl
grant it as a reward (.f future services.
Thus was the y.'ar lOilC ,-,,i,.-unie.l with tlie
gathering of the armies of the W.-t before the
walls of Constantinople. All winter long the
Emperor was in extreme anxiety lest the up-
lifted sword of Christendom should fall on him-
M.ldi.a- in armor. The mix.'.
charaeter of
tlie va>t throng was <till pres.
rve.l. Priest,
matron, an.l mai.l still journev
m1 l.y the side
(.f young warriors, wh..' .'arrie.
white hawks
on their wri>ts, and wlii-tled :
t intervals to
the hounds. At the hea.l ro.
e the austere
(iodfrey, the white-haired Hay
n..ud of Ton-
h.use, ami Peter the Ih-viuh s.a
ed on a mule.
The immense army pre>-,-.l ,-t
adily forward
and came to Xice, the capital <
f I'lithynia.
The sultan of thi- pro\ iui'i' i
ade ,-trenuous
etli.rts to put his king.h.m in
I .•onditi(.n of
defense. Nice was .Irou-lv 1
.ilili<-d. The
people were rot,.,.! hv a ,,ro,
laiuation, pnd
called in for the pn.teetiou oft
..■ capital. In
aee(.rdauce with the military i
lethod^ of the
East, the n(.n-eonibatant> wci-e
plaeeil within
the walls, while the Turki>h ai
my pit.hed its
camp on the neighboring nioun
■.uu<. On the
10th of May, lOilT, the bamie
- ..f the Cru-
.saders came in sight, (^iiite dili'ereiit was the
])rospect from that which the W'e.-tern chivalry
had expected to descry. Iba-e lay a powerful
citv surrounded with the seennugly impreg-
nable rampart, protected by Lake Ascanius
and a ditch deep and l.niad, flooded with
water. Here were turrets bristling with
Turkish spears, and yonder (.n the mountain
slope wave<l the blai-k banner of the Abbas-
sides over a powerful army of ^loslem war-
riors. But the coiirai^e ol' the Crusaders was
ratlier aw-akened into aeti\e eiierey than
coole.l by the spectacle. TakiuL^ their posi-
innnediat.lv lUan a .-i.-v. Th.. .lay'ha.l at
last arriv.'.l wluui th." is<u.' ..f val.ir, whi.di
before on the fiehl of Poiti.as, was again to be
de<-i.led, but now on the plains <.f Asia Minor.
L\\J\KJ;SAJ. HISTORY. — THE MOPEh'X WOULD.
and Crescent trsicd cacli dlln-r's >iiriiL:tli ami
powers in ilc^iiltui-y ami iiiil(ci-i\r (■(j|itlicl>.
Several times the Cni-a.l.r- lluii- llic'iiiM-Jvcs
with cunM.lrral.lr !.>".-. i;,n Ihr -iillaii aii4
his -riici-al- ,liM-nv.'iv,l in ill,..,- ivrkl,'>s as-
saults a ,-,,ui-au.' an, I .l,t,iniinati,,n wl.i.-h ha,l
ha,l not iH.n u iin,>-,.,l in \V,M,Tn Asia since
the (lays ,if Al,\an,l,i- tli,- <ii-,at. After some
delay, the .M,,-I,in l,a,l.Ts d.-termined to risk
a battle. Th,' sultan harangued his soldiers,
appealing to i'v,ay nmiivi' which seemed likely
to call forth th,' in,ist hei'nic energies of Islam.
Then, girdin,;:' ,jn his swdivI, he gave orders for
the charge, an,l ili,' .Mi.sl,'ni host, surging down
the mountain si,)|i,', l',ll headlong upon the
Christian camp. Su,'li was the fury of the
charge that the soldi, is ,if Raymond of Tou-
l,iu.-e, l.y whuni the hrunt of the battle was
hi>t li,irn,', wiTi' tlu-nwn intu s,ime disorder
an,l drivi'ii tVimi tli,'ir lines. But the advan-
tage thus gain,d liy tli,' Saracens was of brief
duiati,,n. l;ayni,,n,l lalli,'.] his men with the
great, '.t l)i-av,a-y. i;,,l),rt tlie Sh,,it H.-se,
now in the h,'ight of his i:l,)iy, an,l KolMTt of
Flander.s, rushed to tli,' iv-iai,-, ami in a short
time the bugles of tlie sidian w, r,' li,'anl
sounding the retrtat. The ( 'ni-a,li'is rais,'d
the shout of ti'inmph, an,l tlie sha,l,,w of th,'
victorious Cmss fill atliwait th,- liehl of ear-
uage. The losses ,.f ll,.' .M,,d<'ms, liow,'V,r,
were not great; i'm- tli,- sultan aliamhuiiiiL;' his
capital, made good his i','tn'at, ami iio,~tp,>ii,'d
the decisive conllii't. Th,' ( 'in.~a,l,'vs wer,- thus
left to batter ,hiwu the walls ,,f Ni.'e at their
X,it
vithstan
ling
the w
lh,liawal ,,f the
city h.
•my ,.f
1,1 out
h.f,.n~
y a-a'h
iiiis,Mi within the
st the besiegers.
Tlie lal
t.T, hou
.\-el-.
W.T,' 11
it to be put from
their p
irpose.
A L
imhani
ent^iiicer lent his
sldU il
cliim's
tlie pn
paral
;n,,w
1 t,, Ih.
skill ,ir th,.' :\ri,i-
,11,. A.
■s Th,
An ,1
ran
parN VN
,'alh.,l
Ih,. l.ali>l..i- ,li-
<'liar-v,
en.n-m
,11- -
aiii-t th,. tnrivi-.
Catapu
ro,'k n
ts hurl
)oii th,.
.,1 In
lli-fel
liTS ,li'
M.< ,if w.„h1 an,l
ill,. I'ilv, ami th,'
tower.
Imil
at a
li-l.-m,.,' fnmi tli,'
1,1 t,. Iian.l eiieountei's on the toj. of the
eK,-i..,u,.,liiieanwhih'aiiMv,.|v,l f,,iv,. with
, Ih,. pla.',. ,.f th.' falhn Mippli,.,l with
.Mi.r-. ami th,. ('rusnl,-.- k,.pt at bay.
th,. .-i,.-,- had, ',,1,111111, .1 lor s,.v,.|'al w,.,.ks
,liM',,v,'iv,| l.y (;,„ltVev aii,l th,. ,.,,nf,.,l-
,rin,.,.- ihal sii,',','s- w,,ul,l I..' in, 1,. finitely
11, .,1 as l,,iig as the inhabitants ,,f Nice
II',. ingress and egre.ss by way of lake
ills. To gain posse.ssion of this body of
iH'i'aine therefore the inini..,liati. oiiject
( Vii.-aih'i's. Boats wiiv l,r,ai::lit ,i'ver-
inann,.,l with sohliers and launcheil by
on th,. lake. The morning brought cou-
lioii t,i the inhabitants of Nice. The
111,1 li,,uselii>lil of the sultan atteni]iting
amazeimnt, when the charge wa> about
iiiail,., the standard of the bniiperor
I- I-,,-,, abov,. the turrets of the city.
thai they wer,' ali,)Ut to prove victorious, he
seiii his L^eiieral and admiral to open secret
ii,...:oiiati,.n,- with the besieged. The latter
w,.r,' in,ln,'.',l t,, lielh-v,' that it would be far
pi-efel-alile f,,' them to vield the city to their
tVi.'iid, the iiionaieh of Byzantium, than to
snrn'iidi'i- to th,' t,.i-iilile warriors of the West.
To tlii- , 'Oil I'M- the aiiilioi-itie< oi' Nice were easily
p,'i'Hia.l,.,l. A,.,',.i-,liii'Jv when the Cnisaders'
1,11-1, .<«,.ivab,, ,11 to >,, 1111,1 tlie,'l,ai-|. ill an as-
sault which miiM have pn,v,.,l sm.,.,'.>fiil, the
siibth'tv ,.r th,. (;iv,'k pn-vailid over the valor
of kni-hth 1, and ih.' capital of Bithyiiia was
Liiven to him rather than to them. The weak-
iiex oi' hiiiiian nature found amjile illustra-
tion in th,' ('■imliiet of the western ])rinces.
Thev wer,' calh'd to-ether by the Kmiieror, and
theii- ri-iii'^' ra-e iil the treaeliery to which
tli,'\- ha, I lu'eii siilijected was quenched in a
cpioii- -how, r of presents. But ev,'ii this
,.,.ol,.r iiiion th,. iiidiunation natural to such
With sullen
two-fae,',l All
i,.v wiln,.-..,l th,. transfer to his
,e' i.ri/..' won by their valor, and
THE CRUSADES. — THE FIRST CRUSADE
then set out in no cnvia
their march toward Jerusalem. sultai
Departing from the scene of their victuri- arm-
ous Jiscomtiture, the Crusaders srt nut in two the ('
divisions. The first ami hy far the lai-rr ' all >e
force was enmmanded hy tiic Counts (iudl'iiy, liur>t
Eaymond, Hugh and' Knluit ..f Fland.rs. a-mn
The other and nmre warlike army e(.m|ioM-.l liit tl
for tlie most part ot' the Xcrmaii knii^lits. was Xmn
un.ler the lea.l of Short Hose, JJo'iuund, mun.l
au.l Tanen.l. Thr tii-t .liviMon a.lvan.-o.l took
across the plain of Doryhmm, and tlir o|l,..i- ih,. C
.entered the valley of 1)(hiiii:it.\.\. Ten ilays
after their departure, namely, on the oHili of
June, the warrior.? under the lead of Biemimd
pitched their tents iu what was deemed a se-
cure position and prepareil fir the rest of the
night. Early on the following-
spies hurried into the ea)iip ;
the approach of the sultan with two liundr(
thousand men. Before the I'i'u-adois eon
prepare for the onset, elouds of du>t hoil
up .in the horizon, an.l the Turks hore dov
at full speed to l.attle.
les wi
.icked
d tl
n thr h.
Now
Tai
■d ^^A\-m■A^ lost, IJohert S -t Ho.e
h a frrdi lio.lv of horM.nirn upon the
d Turk., and'.M.veral ,,r tie ir Irad.rs
u-t un<l,.r the ila-hiu- swi.rds of ili.-
. In another part of the li, Id JSo-
llio.l his m,ai to the eharg,., and re-
<'amp. Ni.vrthele- thr o,ld- a-aiu-t
tian- wcrf as five to one, and it seemed
o that the liiilit could be long main-
Tlie Ciii>ader> were beaten back into
rn.ie band xvlirn the shrill l.uulr. of
were hrard in the .liManee, and in a
nng Greek moment more than fifty thousaml sabre- Hadi-
annonnced ing in the sunlit;ht uikIii- the banner of Ilu^h
o hundr.Ml of Verman.loi<gh.amrd ovrr the summit of
the hills iM.hin.l the Christian camp. It was
now tho turn of the sultan to b,- .liMuavcd.
IIi> bu.l.- M,und,..l a r.tn-at, and tl,. Turks
' fril bark rapidlv, pur-urd by the Crusulrrs.
;-s of P.irmund of Thr liiir- of thr rnrmy were broken, and the
li'il lu.-trr. The Sai'arrn,- soon found llirmselves hemmed in on
with a palisele rvrry si,l,., and sladird by the swords of the
>. I!a<-k,.l a-ainvt tie- hilb. Hi Jit was
!<■. Thr ho-t was rut down l.v tleai-
Brhinr
tnd Tan-
was the
camp was lia>tily -urrou
formed with the wagons.
combatants were plai'rd
knights, vaidting into t
took the battle-line, with
cred furious f.ir the figli
order of the conflict set wleu thr white tur- I The Turkidi
bans and green sashes and loui;- sprars of the urt's, eaniels,
Turks flash..! out ..f the .lu-t-rl.,u.l an.l bn.ke ' the .-..leiueni
up..ii the Christians. Th.ai f .ll.>w.d th,' bl.,w- army .-bant.;,
ing .if h.irns thr i-,,ll ,.f drums, the v.'ll ..f line of thr t
the Sara.vn-, an.l tl,.- .k.u.i ..f ,lart^ .leseen.l- | Vall.'v .,f D.
ing with .hailly .lin and i-altl.' up.m the arm.ir
of the Xormau horsemen. Galle.l by the jave-
lins which .set the horses in a foam of rage and
fear, the Crusaders dashed into the small river
which separated them from the eneiuy, and
rushed han.l to hand with their assailants.
The skillful Turks opened their lines, and the
Chri-tian< m-.tu.-.I t.i b.-at the air. Then the
emany wh.-.l.'.l, r.'tiirur.l t.i the fray, .liseharged | d
their arrows, an.l a-aiii sp.'.l out ..f r.-a.'
Manvof the kni^hl- r.Mlr.l fmm th.ir si.l.ll
and fell. Horses .la-h.-.l « il.jlv ab.mt tl,.- li.-L
Gnifusion an.l nmt se.-nn-.l t.i impen.l .,v
the Christian armv. C..unt i;.,li.rt ..f Pai
lly b.,
n will
Thr
Cru-a.l.i- mig
It with g.io.l reas.in eel-
ebrat.- t
i.'ir viet.iry.
It was 11, iw evi.lent that
the Sai
iceus were n.
t able to stan.l before
them ii
liattle. The
•.HI rage of the e.mquer-
ors aros
' with the .).-.■;
sion, an.l with renewed
euthusii
sm they to.ik
ip tbi'ir mar,-l, t.iwards
Anti.K'l
far, h.,\
. The exp.'.li
■•■ver, until a
ti.m ha.l n.,t proceeded
.■hanr.' .-an,.' ..vrr the
.hvan,s
.f thr Christia
IS. Tl,.- sultan ,,f Nice,
unwillii
a.h.ptr.1
g t.i hazard
an.nher engagement,
laying waste the couu-
Thr ar,
he en.l th.at h
,v ..f the ],rini
s enemies might starve.
es s.ion came int., a re-
gi.in wl
ere n., f,.«l w.
s t.i br f,un.! f.ir man
BATTLE OF D0(. ■■!:■. \N -I
THE CRUSADES.^TIIE FIRST CRUSADE.
or beast. The distress lieeame extreme. The
jDilgrims were obliged to subsist uu tlie roots
of plants aud the chance products which had
escaped destruction by the Turk. The hawks
and hounds starved to death. Men and horses
fell famishing. The despalriug moans of dy-
ing women were heard in the camp. Hun-
dreds and thousands dropped by the wayside
and perished. Then the water failed. Not a
brook, fountain, or well was any longer found.
The horrors of thirst were added to those of
famine. At length, when the whole host .seemed
on the brink of destruction, some of the strag-
gling hounds came into camp dripping with
water. They had found a river, bathed in it,
aud drank to repletion. The pilgrims hasted
in that direction, aud soon came to a cool,
running stream. Forgetting all moderation,
they rushed in aud drank till nature gave way
under the sudden reaction, and other hundreds
died on the banks. Others sickened from the
overdraught, and the camp was filled with an-
guish. Still the host quailed not; and evening
aud morning the heralds made proclamation of
"Save the Holy Sepuleher ! " aud the chiefs
courageously renewed the toilsome march.
At length in the middle of autumu a pass
was found in the mountains, and the half-
starved Crusaders, dragging themselves through,
came into a region of plenty. Supplies were
gathered from the towns and fields, and the
spirits of the enfeebled warriors revived with
the quieting of hunger. Presently, Antioch,
with its lofty castles and four huudred and
sixty towers, came in sight, and the second
great prize to be contended for by the armies
of Christendom was reached.
The city itself was an object of the great-
est interest. Beyond rose a mountain, the
hither slope being covered with houses aud
gardens. lu one of the suburbs the celebrated
fountain of Daphne tossed its waters in the
sunlight. The feet of the rich metropolis were
washed by the great river Orontes, plentiful
iu waters. But better than her natural beauty
and opulence were the hallowed associations
of Antioch. Here the followers of Christ had
first taken the name of Chrhtians. "ere St.
Peter was made first bishop of the Church.
Here the early saints and martyrs had per-
formed their miracles and given to the city a
sanctity second only to that of Jerusalem.
The jMirtiou of Upper Syria of wiiich An-
tioch was the capital was at tlh' time of the
First CriLsade governed l>y I'rim-c Auxian, a
dependent of the Caliphair. :\ot di-iitute of
warlike abilities, this ruler now ma<le prepara-
tions for an obstinate defeu>e. So -i-eat, how-
ever, was the fame which flew bef u'e the tri-
umphant Crusaders that the iloslems had come
to anticipate defeat; and the momentum of
victory carried the invaders onward.
Xot (inly had .success, in despite of I'amiue
and disasters, thus far attended the main body
led by Godfrey aud Short Hose, but the other
divisions had in like mauner triumphed over
the Infidels. Tancred and Baldwin (of Bouil-
lon) had cajitured Tarsus. The former had
also been victorious at IMalmistra and Alexan-
dretta, and the latter had subdued the princi-
pality of Edessa. He then wreathed his sword
iu flowers by marrying a daughter of the prince
of Armenia, by which act he gained the bet-
ter portion of Ancient Assyria. Indeed, the
greater jiart of Asia ]\Iin<ir was already dom-
inated by the Cross; and the various divisions,
elated with repeated successes, concentrated be-
fore Antioch.
Between that city and the cru.sading armiea
flowed the Orontes. The stream was sjianned
by a great bridge defemle.l by iimi towers.
Before the Christians ceiuld reach the other
side, the bridge must be captured, and this
duty was as-signed to Robert Short Hose of
Normandy. In him it were hard to say
whether his courage was greater than his rash-
ness. He had all the heroic virtues and splen-
did vices of his age. With a picked force of
Norman knights he attacked the bridge with
the greatest audacity, and such was the terror
of his flashing sword, that the iloslems aban-
doned the towers and fled. The Christian bu-
gles sounded the charge, aud the crusading
host crossed in safety to the other side. A
camp was pitched before the walls of Antioch,
and here the mail-clad warriors of the West
lay down to rest in the shadow of the palms
of Syria.
Thus far in the course of the great expe-
dition from the Kliiiie to Constantinople, from
Constantinople t(j Nice, from Nice to Aiuiocli,
not much opportunity had been given the Cru-
saders to reap the harvest of promised pleas-
ure. One of the chief incentives to the
uyivi:i:sAL nisTum'.—niK modeux world.
the (.'hurch u> all
over the luliiKl.
i)e unknown. Th
the (lark-ev.Ml Imu
nanic.l as a i.ait ..:
■ t (
hair-.li'
in til.-
beauties flii
walls of Antinch the
down to enjiiv whatf\
The -n,l ,,f Lie,.n>e Wv
itv. All restraint was
i-rwar.l due M lli.-i
n-k IVum liis .^eat ..
tl„. C'rii.ader in hi
m1 li-iires of Oi-ipnt:i
■ niii'a-e. Before th
li.u ,>f tlie AVest >a
r the land attord.d
ne the favorite diviii
tst aside. Everv vi]
I Ian Id,
and .li-
dth the cold,
the wake of
Robert Shnrt
Hose aiKl Jxei
bron-ht l.aek
Western ho,~t
Now there w:
und scoured the couutrv and
ittle. All .summer long the
lad tilleil itself with fatne.ss.
ii.j mon,. Sufterinir be-an.
Tei
Th
lage in the surrounding country was recklessly
pillaged, and the camp of the Crusaders was
heaped with spoils. Then the armed warriors
gave themselves up to feasting and love-making
with the Syrian damsels. Bishops of the
Church wandered wantonly through the or-
chards and lay on the grass playing dice with
Cyprians. Believing that the garrison of An-
tioi'h would not dare to come firth and at-
tack them, the Franks abandoned themselves
to riotous living, and all manner of excess.
It was not long until this course provoked
its natural consecjuences. The defenders of
the city watched their opportunity and made
a successful sally. The Crusaders were dis-
persed in neighboring villages, expecting no
attack. Thus exposed, they were slaughtered
in large numbers, and the heads of all who
were overtaken were cut off and thrown into
the camp as a taunt. Great was the fury of
the Crusaders on behoMing the bloody remind-
ers of their own and >]ain friends' folly. Roused
to a sudden fury, they .-eizcd their arms and
rushed like madmen upon the fortifications.
They were beaten back with large losses by
the garrison. In onler to prosecute the siege
the (Christians now f)und it necessary to for-
tify their camp and build a bridge across the
Orontes. The next work was the construc-
tion of wooden towers commanding the river ;
for a blockade was essential to the success of
the investment.
Ere the siege was well begun winter came
on. The riotousnoss of the ,-uiumer and vin-
nients of the Crusaders were worn to rags.
Disea>e lirought anguish, and many in despair
gave up the enterpri.se and set out secretly for
lioini'. I'lter the Hermit escaped from the
camp and had gone some distance liefore he
was overtaken and brought back by force.
The daring Short Hose undertook to save him-
self by retiring into Laodicea ; but when God-
frey sent a summons to him in the name of
Christ he was induced to return.
When affairs were about at their worst the
Caliph of Baghdad, learning of the situation
at Antioch, .sent an embassy to the Crusailers
w ith an offer of alliance and protedion ! The
Norman and French knights were in no mood
to bi- protected by an Infidel. They sent back
a defiant message and resolutely continued the
siege. Winter wore away, and the condition
of the woeful warriors began to imjjrove with
the sunny weather ; but better than the change
of season was the news that came from the
port of St. Simeon. That harbor had been
entered 1 iv a fleet of provision-ships from
(ientia and l'i,-a. Sucli was the elation of
the Cru-ad.-rs that many hurried ofi" to the
coa>t to obtain supplies, but returning without
due caution they were attacked by a division
of Saracens and disper.sed. Thereupon (oid-
frey, Tancred, and Short Hose called out their
forces and went to the rescue. Seeing this
movement the commandant of Antioch ordered
the garrison to sally forth and attack the
camp. Ill order to make sure of success he
shut tlir ,j„l.', },. Iini.l them. The Crusaders turned
fui-iously upon the Moslems and drove them to
the wall. Here they were hewed down untd
ni'jhtfall, when Auxian reopened the gates
and the survivors rushed in for safety.
Still the defenses of the city held out.
S|iring went by and summer came, and the
pusition <if the combatants remained un-
changed At last, however, when the sheer
valoi- iif tlie Crusaders seemed insufficient to
gain for them the coveted prize, an act ;if
trea-oii did what force of arms had been un-
able to aceomnli.-h. One of the iirincii.al
THE CRUSADES. — THE FIRST CRUSADE.
commauders iu Antioch was a curtain rene-
gade Christian named Emipher. For rea-
sons of his own, in former years he had kit
the Cross to follow the Crescent, and by ser-
vility and zeal had gained the favor of the
sultan of Antioch. Auxian had taken him
into his official household, and given him an
important command. The chief towers on the
ramparts were committed to his keeping.
The situation suggested td him the protita-
bleness of a reconversion t(^ Christianity.
Looking down into the camp of the Cru-
saders, he soon descried the figure of one to
whom he deemed it well to open his designs.
This was Bcemund of Tareuto. Not that
this jjrince was disloyal to the cause for
which he fought; but he was ambitious in
the last degree, and had long been fixed in
his purpose to conquer a principality of his
own. The great and rich city of Antioch
seemed to be the prize which he had seen
in vision. Such was his frame of mind
that when a secret message was delivered to
him from Emipher, requesting an interview
on matters of the highest moment, he not
only scented the treachery which was intended,
but gladly welcomed the opportunity of gain-
ing nis end by dishonorable means.
The meeting was held. The hypocrite Em-
ipher narrated how Christ had come to him in
a dream and warned him to turn again to the
Cross and to bring forth fruits meet for repent-
ance. The good Bcemund exhorted lum to go
on and to follow the cimniand of the Lord.
Tlie result was that the shrewd Prince of Ta-
reuto overreached the traitor, gained his con-
fidence, and secured from him a promise to
deliver Antioch into his hands.
Bcemund now called the Western leaders
together, and offered to gain po.ssession of An-
tioch on condition that he should be recognized
as prince of the cit3\ At first the proposition
was received with great disfavor. The ambi-
tious leader was rebuked for his scheme, and
like Achilles he went off to his tent in sullen
anger. It was not long, however, until news
was borne to the camp which changed the dis-
position of the Western princes. The sultans
of Nice and jMossouI had aroused half the East,
and were marching a host of four hundred thou-
sand Moslems for the relief of Antioch. It
dons
force w<ui
sad.-i
<. Co.ltVe,
prud
nt enough
only a question of
inie wnen
nq.i.
lie hurled ujion tli-
o put asi.le till ir >r
and, sending for Bienuuxl, they ^iL!niliell to
him their willingness that lu' sIkhiM !»■ prince
of Antioch if he would olitaiii pos.-rs^ion of
the city. Communication was accordingly
opeueil with Emipher, and it was arranged
that on a given night the towers should be
surrenilered into the hands of the Christians.
It was a perilous piece of business. The
traitor was suspected and sent for by Auxian.
Such, however, was his skill as a dissembler,
that he completely reestablished the sultan's
confidence. On the day appointed for the
delivery, the Crusaders withdrew as if aban-
doning the siege. They hid themselves in a
neighboring valley, and lay there uutil night-
fall. A storm came on and favored the en-
terprise. The besiegers returned and swarmed
silently around that portion of the rampart
which was held by Emipher. The latter es-
tablished communication with the Franks be-
low, and the Lombard engineer was taken up
to the towers to see that every thing was in
readiuess for the surrender. When the sig-
nal was at last given for the Crusaders to
l)lant their ladders and ascend, they became
apprehensive of a double treachery, and re-
fused to scale the ramj)art. It was with the
utmost difficulty that Bcemund and a few
others, by first climbing the ladders them-
selves anil reporting every thing in readiness,
finally induced their followers to ascend. It
was found that Emipher was in bloody ear-
nest. There, in the tower, lay the body of
his brother, whom he had butchered because
he refused to lie a participant in the treason.
The turrets were quickly filled with Chris-
tian warriors, and, when all was secure, they
poured down into the city. Trumpets were
sounded, and the thunder-struck Moslems
were roused from their slumbers by the fear-
ful and far-resounding cry of Dku le Veut!
In the midst of the panic and darkness they
heard the crasli of the Ci-usaders' swords.
Auxian, ])eri'eiving that he had been be-
trayed, attempted to escape, but was cut
down by his enemies. The Saracens, rush-
ing to and fro in the night, were slaughtered
by thousanils. The gray dawn of June
4tli, KIDS, .vjiowed the streets heaped with
STORMING OF ANTIOCH.— Drawn by Gustave Dor6.
THE CRUSADES. — THE FIRST CRUSADE.
;.s'j
corpses, anil the banner ni' Bteniund of Ta-
rento floatin-- tVoni tln' hi-lir>t tower of
Antioch. Only the citadel remained in pos-
session of the jMoslems.
Jleanwhile the great army nf Turks, led
by Kerboga, the .siiltau of ^lossdul, and Kil-
idge Arslan, sultau of Nice, drew near to
the city. The Christians were now inside
the walls and the enemy without. Great
was the disparity in numbers; for the Asi-
atics were estimated at nearly a half a mill-
ion, of whom one hundred thijusand were
cavalry. Godfrey and Bremund found them-
selves in possession of abundance, but it was
that kind of abundance upon which an army
could not long subsist. The actual stores
and provisions of Antioch had been well-
nigh exhausted in the course of the recent
siege, and gold and treasure could not suf-
fice for bread. The Turks -ainr,! jiossession
of the Orontes between th.' city ami the sea,
and cut off communication witii the port of
St. Simeon. No further su|.|ilios could, for
this reason, be obtained from iMu-ope. The
allied sultans, perceiving their advantage, sat
down in a spacious and luxurious camp and
quietly awaited the day when the pent-up
Christians must yield to the inevitable.
The condition soon became desperate.
Hawks and hounds disappeared. Then horses
began to be eateu. Many a hungry knight
saw with famishing rage the splendid steed
that had borne him proudly in every bat-
tle, from Scutari to the Orontes, slaughtered
and devoured. Luxury was on every hand,
but no focJd. The leaders saw that it was
better to tight and die than to remain within
the walls and starve. They, therefore, ex-
horted their followers to sally forth with
them, and meet their fate like heroes; but
the exhortation now fell on dull and de-
spairing ears. Zeal had perished of hunger.
But, when every thing else failed, supersti-
tion came to the rescue. A certain monk,
named Peter Barthelemy, had a dream. St.
Andrew came to him and said: "Arise! Go
and dig in a spot which I will show thee in
the Church of St. Peter, and thou shalt find
the spear wherewith the soldier jiierced the
side of the Lord. Take that sacred weapon
and carry it at the head of the army, and
the Infidels shall flee before it."
The i)ilgrims went hastily an.l di--ed. Lo !
the object Of their search. It \va> bi-ou-ht
fiirtli and shown to the armv. Ineoiiceivable
was thr .•xeltement producr.l l,y the exhibi-
tion of the wonderful wea|ion. Now wei'e
thry r.'adv to g., forth and fall upon tlie
profnir dogs of Asia. The host drniaiidod
to bo l.d f ,rth to that victory which St. An-
drew had foretold.
It was deemed prudent by the W.>>torn
princes to send an embassy to the sultan and
warn him to retire fiom the country. Peter
the Hermit was chosen to bear the message.
Mountnl on a mule and <'lad in a woolen inan-
tlo, tho little monk of Sav.ma n.do boldly
Ihrou-h the .-atc'> ..f Antioch to onlcr out of
Syria an army of f. in- hundred thousan.l Turk-
ish warriors! Comiim to the sultan's camp
he founil him in a splcndiil jiavilion, sui--
rounded with all the hixurv of tlie i:a-t, and
amu>ine himself with a ijaiiie of chess. "I
come." said the Hermit, •■ in the name ,,f the
princes a-embled in Antioch, and I conjure
molested. Bn
t a battle .'oiM
ause." Th.M.I
you r
■ von
rage and scorn
speech. "Eeti
swelled Wi
thi- ins,,le
o those w
■ow they
thei
ite.
sent you, and tell them tha
quered to receive <'onditio:
them. Bid thy ca|itains hn-
day imjilore my clemency,
wiil find that tlieir (ohI, w
himself, will not .save them
Drive the vagabond away."
With the return of this answer the Crusa-
ders grew hot for battle. The chiefs prepared
for the fight, and in a way half miraculous
one full meal was served to the army. ( )n the
morning of the 1st of ,Iuly the i;ates of Anti-
I och were thrown open and the Crusaders went
forth to stake all on a single hazard. Godfrey
and the other leaders arranged their forces in
twelve divisions in honor of the. twelve apos-
tles. The Duke of Lorraine himself led the
right wing, supported by his brother Eustace
and his kinsman Baldwin of Bourg. The left
was under command of the Short Hose, and
the C.>unt of Fland.i-. The re-.-rve<. inclu-
dine- the An-lo-Norman kni-hts, under the
UMVERSAL HISTORY.—THE MODERN WORLD.
Earl of Albennark', were held l.y Eutmuud
of Tarento. lu tlie vau of the ragged host
marched a cumpauy of priests bearing aloft
the spear-head whieh Barihelemy had fouud
under the altar of the Church of St. Peter.
Notwithstanding theii- desperate condition,
the Crusaders were confident of victory. De-
lirious with the superstitions of the age, they
urged their way towards the Turkish camp,
fully persuaded that heaveu would make gond
the promise of triumph.
The ^Moslems lay undisturbed iu their en-
campment. Even when the Crusading army
came in sight the sultan of Mossoul, himself
an experienced warrior, refused to believe
that the Christians had come forth to fight.
" Dotditless," said he, "they come to implore
my clemency." The peculiar "clemency"
which they sought, however, was soon revealed
in their conduct. Hardly liad the Saracen
trumpets sounded and the Moslem captains
marshaled their immeuse army for battle, be-
fore the Crusaders set up their shout of Dieu
le Veut, and rushed headlong to the charge.
Perhaps the leaders knew that the fate of the
First Crusade was staked upon the issue. The
onset of the Christians was so fierce that noth-
ing could stand before them. The Saracen
host was borne back by the shock, and the
first charge seemed to foretell the triumph of
the Cross.
In the beginning of the engagement, how-
ever, the sultan of Nice had not brought his
array into action. Seeing the Moslems driven
back along the river, he now made a detour
and fell upon the rear of the Crusaders. The
latter were thus pent between two hosts seem-
ingly innumerable. The ^loslems set fire to
the grass and bushes which covered the jilain,
and the stifling smoke was blown into the
faces of the Christians. Godfrey and Bcemuud
had the mortification to see theii- followers be-
gin to waver, give way, and despair. For a
moment, as on the iield of Poitiers, three liun-
dred and sixty-six years before, the fate of the
two continents and the two great Semitic re-
ligions seemed to hang in the balance. In the
crisis of the fight, the Crusaders cried out to the
priests and demanded to know where was the
promised succor from heaven. The undaunted
Adhemar, bishop of Puy, pointed calmly
through the clouds of smoke and exclaimed :
"There, they are come at last ! Behold those
white horsemen ! They are the blessed mar-
tyrs, St. (^ieorge, St. Demetrius, and St. The-
odore come to fight our battle !" Then the
cry of, " God wills it!" rose louder than ever.
The news was borne from rank to rank that
the heavenly host had come to the rescue.
Fiery enthusiasm was rekindled in every Cru-
sader's breast, and the Moslems suddenly felt
the battle renewed with imj^etuous fury. On
every side they fell back in disorder before the
irresistible assaults of the Christians. The
field was swept in all directions, and the blaring
bugles of Islam called in vain to the rally.
Terror succeeded defeat, and the flying Sara-
cens were hewed down by frenzied Crusaders,
who knew not to spare or pity. The heavy
masses of the sultan's army rolled away in
one of the most disastrous routs of the Middle
Ages. The victorious Crusaders mounted the
horses of the slain IMoslems and pursued the
fugitives until wearied with the excess of
slaughter. The immense hosts of Kerboga.
and Kilidge Arslan melted from sight forever.
As soon as the result of the great battle
was known iu Antioch the citadel was surren-
dered to the Christians. Boemund was now-
complete master of his priucif)ality. A still
more important result of the decisive conflict
was the reopening of communication with th;
port of St. Simeon, and the capture of great
quautities of provisions and stores in the Sara-
cen camp. The whole aspect of the struggle
was changed, and the Christian warriors began
again to look forward with pleasing anticipa-
tion to the day when they should kneel as
humble victors on the recovered sepulcher of
Christ.
The position of the Crusaders in Antioch
was not unlike that of the Carthaginians at
Capua. It was evident that the Holy City
miiilit now lie easily wrested from the Infidels.
Those (if the iiilLTrims who were actuated by
religious railu-r than political motives were
eager to advance at once into Palestine. There
lay the goal of their ambition. Not so, how-
ever with the leaders. The example of Bald-
win iu seizing the Principality of Edessa, and
of Boemund in gaining for himself the great
and opulent city of Antioch, had proved in-
fectious, and nearly every prominent chieftain
now cherished the secret hope that erelong
THE CRUSADES. — THE FIRST CRUSADE.
mi
he should possess a iirovince of his own. Just
in pi'oportiou as this ambitious sentiment was
wai-med and nurtured among the knights their
horror of the atrocious Turk, sitting on the
H0I3' Sepulcher, was mitigated into a mild sort
of hatred which might well be postponed. But
the multitude clamored to be led on against
Jerusalem, and the princes were obliged to
frame excuses for spending the summer at Au-
tioeh. The horses taken from the Tui'ks must
be trained to service under warriors of heavy
armor. The season was too hut for a campaign
through Syria — the autumn would be titter for
the enterprise.
The stay in the city, however, proved un-
fortunate. Raymi.md of Toulouse, to whom
the citadel had been surrendered just after the
battle, quarreled with Bremuud, and the army
was distracted with their feud. The luxuri-
ous living of Antioch proved too much for
the rough men of the West. A contagion
broke out, and fifty thousand Christians were
carried off before its ravages were stayed.
Among those who perished was Adhemar,
bishop of Puy and legate of the Pope, a
man scarcely less important in rank and in-
fluence than Godfrey and Boemund. So the
summer of 1098 was wasted in enterprises of
personal ambition, little conducive to the rep-
utation of the Western princes.
What with battle, what with famine, what
with pestilence and desertion, the army of the
First Crusade was now reduced to fifty thou-
sand men. It was perceived by the warrior
pilgrims that their chiefs were busy with tlicir
own attairs, and neglectful of the isvi-.it nlijcct
for which the Holy War had been undertaken.
Their discontent at this state of aflfivirs broke
into murmurs, and murmurs into threats. The
Crusaders declared that they would discard the
old aud choose new leaders, who would bring
them to the city and tomb of Christ. This
ominous word broke the spell, and Godfrey,
Raymond, Short Hose, and Tancred agreed to
march at once on Palestine. As for Stephen
of Blois aud Hugh of Vcrniandnis. they had
already given over the war and r(.'tnrned to
Europe.
It was evident on tlie niareli from Antioch
t.i Jerusalem that already the fnrinus zeal with
wliieh theCrnsad,' l,ad l-e.^n be-nn had some-
what aVinted. Now a iietty expe.lition acainst
the Saracens of a neighboring province, and
now a (luarrel between Ai'uold de IJolie^, <'liap-
lain of l;,,bert Sliort ILw. and P.'ter Barthe-
lemy, relativ.' to tiie sacred spear-head found
in the eluu-eli at Antioch, distracted the
attention of the warriors from the prime ob-
ject of tile war. The whole winter was thus
consumed, and it was not until the 29th of
May, lU9'.t, that the remnant of the great
army, ascending the Heights of Emails, came
at early morning in sight of the City of David.
Then followed a scene of indescvibable emo-
tion. There lay the walls and towers of that
holy but now profaned place, where the Son
of Mary and the Carpenter had walked among
men. To the Crusaders, the thought was ove"-
powering. They uncovered their heads. They
put off their sandals. They fell upon their
faces. They wept. They threw up their hand*,
and cried: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" Then
they seized their swords, aud would fain rush
to an immediate assault. In a short time Tan
cred secured po.ssession of Bethlehem, and,
when a body of Saracen cavalry came forth
to stay the progress of the Christians, he
chased them furiously to aud through the
gates of the city. The main army encamped
on the north side of Jerusalem — that part
of the rampart being most accessible to as-
sault. The leaders present to share in the
toil and glory of the siege were Godfrey of
Bouillon and his brother Eustace, Raymond
of Toulouse, Baldwin du Bourg, Robert of
Flanders, Robert Short Hose of Normandy,
and Edgar Atheling of England, who, after
settling the affairs of Scotland with the usur-
per Donold Bane, had led his Saxon Knights
to the East and joined the Christian army in
Laodicea.
While the preparations were making for
the siege an anchorite came out of the hermit-
age on jMouut Olivet and harangued the
princes. He exhorted them to take the city by
.=torm, assuring them of the aid of heaven.
Great was the enthusiasm ins]nred by his ])res-
enoe in the eainp. Soldiers and chiefs were
make an immediate assault. Poorly as they
wi.Te snp|ilied with the necessary implements
ami maelnnes for such an undei'taking, the
("rn-aders ])rc>sed their way to the outer wall
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MUDERX WORLD.
pike.s. Tliroudi tliis tlu-y jioiuvil into tlie
space between the nuter ami tlie iiiuer raiujnut
and prueecdeil {,, -inriu the hitter; but the
emir of Jenisalem haci taken measure.^ fur a
successful aefeUM,. The wall pr..ve.l t.. be ton
Strong to be lirnkeu. The garriM.ii poured
down every species of missile — arrows, stones,
blocks of wood, flaming torches, boiling pitch,
balls of Greek fire — upon the heads of the
Crusaders, who, unalile to break the second
rampart, or to stand the stnnii of destruction,
were obliged to retreat to their eaiiip. The
bermit of Mount Olivet had i.mved a l>ad
counselor and worse prophet.
The siege was now undertaken in a regular
way. But there was need that the Christians
should be expeditious in the work. The Sar-
acens, before retiring into the city, had swej^t
all the region round about of its provisions.
Every village was stripped of its supplies to
fill the store-houses of Jerusalem. The wells
were filled up and the fountains poisoned. The
brook Kedron hail run dry and the remitting
spring of Sjhjab was altogether inadequate to
supply a sufficient fjuautity of water for an
army of fifty thousand men. It became neces-
sary to carry water in the skins of animals
and to seek it at a great distance from Jeru-
salem. To add to the embarrassment the sum-
mer came on with its burning sun of Syria,
and the Western pilgrims were unable to bear
the heat.
As had many times already happened since
tbe Crusade was undertaken, good news came
in time to save tbe enterprise. Messengers
arrived from Joppa, the -eaport of Jerusalem,
forty miles distant, and brouelit the intelli-
gence that a Geuoese fleet had arrived at that
place with provisions and stores and engineers
for the siege. With p-reat joy the Crnsailevs
at once dispalched a tro(i|i of cavalry to eon-
duct the sup[ilies an<l rei'ul'oreenients from the
coast to Jerusalem. But on arriving at Joppa
the forces sent out for ]-)rotection discovered to
their chagrin that the Saracens had been there
before them and bad destroyed the fleet. The
disaster, however, was not eoniydete, for tbe
engineers jiad maile tleir e-cape and had
saved a jiart of the >torev >o much needed by
the Crusader-. All that e-eaped the Infidels
were taken to Jerusalem.
The besieirers were thus considerably en-
couraged. One of tlie chief difticidties was to
procure tinibei- for tlie Construction ot'en-iues.
After much search a f..re.-t was toun.l on a
lo-s were drawn to the city by oxen shod with
iron, and the engineers rapidly construeted
such machines as were necessary for the demo-
lition of the walls. Before the astonished
Saracens could well understand what was done
towers were brought against the ramparts, and
the Crusaders were thus enaliled to figlit hand
to haiMl with their enemies.
While this encoura.eing w(,rk was going ..n
the hermit of ]\Iount Olivet again appeared as
a leader. He persuaded the Christians to go
in a procession about the walls of the city
even as the Israelites of old encomjiassed the
walls of Jericho. A procession was formed,
beaded by the priests, who clad themselves in
white, carried the sacred images, and sang
psalms as they marched. Trumpets were blown
and banners waved until tbe warriors reached
Olivet, where they halted, and from the height
viewed the city which they had come to rescue.
They were harangued by Arnold de Rohes
and other ])riests, who pointed out the sacred
places troiMeii under the profeue feet of the
Tm-ks, ami exhorted them to pause not in the
holy work until the Infidels had expiated with
their blood the sin and shame of their pres-
ence and deeds in the sacred precincts of
Jerusalem. The zeal of the Crusaders was thus
rekindled, and they demanded to be led for-
ward to the assault.
By the 14th of July, Km, every thing
was in readine.ss for a .second general attack
on the city. The vigor with which tbe Cru-
saders had of late prosecuted the siege had
alarmed thi' Saracens and given the advantage
to the ass.-ulant>. The huge towers which the
enuine.'rs had binlt were rolled down against
the walls and the Christians were thus enabled
to face the ^Moslems on the top of the rampart.
The defenders of the city, however, irrew des-
jierafe, and tbuuht with ereater valor than at
any previ.ms time. They resorte.l to every
m.ans tn beat back their foes. They poured
.low 11 <;nck fire and boding oil upon the
lieads of those who attempted to .scale the
w-alls. They hurled stones and beams ami
lilocks of wood upon the pilgrim warriors wlio
THE CRUSADES.^TIIE FIRST CRUSADE.
battered the rainpart.-. Sd rcMilute Ava.-: the
defeus^e that after twelve hours nf hai-il ti;;!it-
ing the Crusaders were obliurd i.i fall liaik,
amidst the taunts and insults i,f tlmsc wh,,
manned the tun-cts.
With both fhri.tians and :\roslems the
crisis had now come. With both it was con-
quer or perish. The former were peculiarly
pressed by the situation. A jiitreou flyint,'
towards the city was intrnvjitrd with a letter
under its wini,'s, and the ("iiisaders were niai.le
aware that armies of Saracens were gathering
for the relief of the city. It was therefore de-
termined to continue the assault on the mor-
row. With early morning the engines were
again advanced to the walls, and the Christians
rushed forward to the attack. For a long
time it could hardly be known wlictlicr tln' as-
sault or the defense was made with greater (jU-
stinacy. In some parts the walls gave way
before the thundering blows of the machines
built by the Genoese engineers ; but the gar-
rison threw- down straw and other yieldiiii:'
material to prevent the strokes of the battering
rams from taking effect. In one place, how-
ever, a huge catapult played havoc with all
resistance, and a breach was about to be ef-
fected, when two Saracen witches were sent to
interpose their charms to the work of destruc-
tion. But the insensate monster hammered
away with no regard to their spells and incan-
tations. The Jloslems saw their prophetesses
perish as though the unseen world had nothing
to do with war.
Still, for the time, the Crusaders couhl not
break into the city. The Saracens found that
fire was more potent thau witchcraft as a
means of resisting wooden engines. They
threw down burning materials upon the cata-
pults, and several of them were consumed.
On the afternoon of thr sr..md day it >.■,., n.d
as if the Chri.-tians would again h<- ihiwu
back. They were well-nigh exhaustcil with
heat and fatigue. They weltered and 1ilcil in
the dust outside the walls. Jnst as thry were
wavering aii.l ali.nit to retreat, (indtVey, who
throughout the sie-e and n-ault had nmre
than ever distinguisheil Iniu-elf liy liis hen.-
ism, resorted to the usual ex|ieilie}it to revive
the drooping courage of his followei-s. T, unking
up to Mount Olivet, he belu'ld there a
"Bel„,l.l!"erie,l the hero, ••St. (Jeorge comes
a-ain to ,,ur aid and u.ak.s a <i-iial fm- us to
enter the Holy City." Jh.nir Im,/ ' ,-e~|,o,„led
the (Vu-i.lei-s, springiiii;- iorxvard with unenn-
(iueralile purpose. As on the Held liefore An-
tio,.|i, when the celestial warrior^ eame to the
reseue, so now the dust-cnven-d, heal-oppressed
Christians became suddenly iiiviiieilile. With
an irresistible impulse thev rushed to the
wall and renewed the onset. The rampart
bi'..ke iiefore them. Tradition recites that
Keinibanlt of Crete was the first to mount the
wall, (iodtivy followed. Then came Eustace
with a host of warri(jrs and knights. Clouds
of smoke mixed with .lust and flame arose on
every hand as the victorious Crusaders broke
over all opposition and jioure.l into the city.
The Saiaeeiis gave way before them. They
retreated tliroui^h the streets, fighting at in-
tervals until they weie driven into the pre-
cinct.- .,f til.' M.,..pi.- of Omar. I!l.....l flowed
in the eutt. i>, an.l Imrii.! h.'aps of the dead
lay pil.'.l at ev.ry .-.iiiier. X.me were spared
by the freii/,i.-.l (_'hri>tians, wh.j saw in the
gore of the Infidels the white Way of Redemp-
tion. Ten thousand dead, scattered through
the city, gave token of the merciless spirit of
the men of the West. Another ten thousand
were heaped in the reeking cmrts of the great
mosque on ]\Iount !Moriah. " Go.l wills it,"
said the pilgrims.
The indiscriminate buteherv of the Sara-
cens was carried on
by t
le rank an.l file of
the Crusading arm}
. ' Ii
this bl.io.ly work
they neeile.l no i
irenti\
e— n.i commander.
Eacli sword flam..!
with
hatre.l until it was
co.:)kMl in the dripp
n- lit
■ of the enemies of
Christ. As tor (;.„
li-.'V.
le was missed from
the slau-ht.T. An.
,,osM.sM,.n ..f hi- l.r
th.T .-
■a-t.
•ntiment had taken
As so. Ill as he saw
the eitv in th.. ban
1- ..f
li- followers, he re-
m.iub.av.l th.. U.<U
hiiM-.'lf ..f lii> arm..
ha.l b.-en lai.l .■l.-vi
an.l
n ..f
.•h.r. He stripped
vent l.anf.i.it to the
*ilate an.l the Jews
li.'s a-... There on
his kn.M- th.' L.r..at
< 'rusa
l.r h.iw.'.l an.l wor-
ship.-.l f.r a sea-..n.
whil.
ld- foll.iwers com-
plet.'.l the extermiii:
ti.in 1
f the Sara.'cns.'
>Ti,e spirit <.f tlie
•re is u-.'ll iUustrated
in th.' I.'tl.'v which t
le (hi
-riaii prill. 'es sent to
His H.iliiiess th.' I'..].
'. Th
' .l.'vnt writers say.
•'It y..u wish to kn.
w wh
It we .li.l t.) the ene-
694
UXIVEliSAL HlST0h7. — THE MODKUS WORLD.
As soon as the host lieiird of the act of
their pious lemler, tliey tn.i niu'l.- a pause. A
suddeu revuisi(]ii df iicliiii: -wrpt over thnn
They td.ik off ili.ir l.lon.l.v «,apons, and bared
their head- and f.et. They wa.died the gore
from their haii<l>, and tornied themselves into
a procession. Lid hy the priests and singing
penitential psalms, they then marched — many
of them upon tlieir knees — to the Church of
the Resurrection, and there found that sacred
but long desecrated spot ^vhich had been the
object and end of their more than tliree years
of warfare — the sepulcher of Christ. There,
like their most distingui.shed leader, they knelt
and offered up such adoration as the heart of
the ^Middle Ages was able to render to its Lord.
One of tlie most interesting incidents of
the capture of the city was the emergence
fri>m places of concealment of many Christians,
who came forth as if from prison to welcome
their deliverers. Great was the mutual joy of
these long-distressed wretches and the Crusaders.
There was weeping as if the lost were found.
In the midst of many frantic demonstrations,
the victorious multitude turned with an enthu-
siastic outburst to one who had almost passed
from sight during the siege — Peter the Her-
mit. The little fanatic monk was singled out
as the greatest of all the human agencies by
which the deliverance of Jeru.salem had been
accomplished. Around him, clad in his woolen
garment and mounted on his mule, the me-
diaeval zealots gathered in an enormous crowd,
and did obeisance as to a liberator and savior.
Thus, ever in the history of the worl.l the real
brawn and valor, the true heroic virtue whieli
tights and bleeds and wins the liattle, aliases
itself at the last before some scrawny embodi-
ment of enfeebled bigotry.
The First Crusade liad m.w reached its
climax. Thr Holy City wa< wrested from the
Turks. The UIimmI ,,f the Iiitldel iron-forgers
of tlie Altais had poinvd in thick streams down
tlie slop.'s (if Mduiit :\[nriali. The Syrian sun
ri-ing fnun tiic phuns of Mesopotamia, flung
the shadow of tlie ('ros< tVoni the summit of
Calvary to tlie distant ^Mediterranean. But
in'u'S we fnunil in the city, learn that in tlie portico
of Solomon an.l in tlie Temple onr liorses walked
ni. to tlie knees in the inijiure Mi i of the Sar-
what should the victors do with their tro-
pliy? As tor Lalihvin, he had made himself
secure in tlie priiici[iality of Edessa. As fur
Biemunil, his .-.jiisli and ambitious nattire had
satisfied itself among the palaces and fountains
of Antioch. As for the half million pilgrim
warriors who had set out for Constantinople
in the summer of 1096, nine out of every ten
had jierished. The remnant, now numbering
fewer than fifty thousand, had reached the goal,
and had planted their banners on the holy
places in the City of the Great King. Could
they preserve the jirize which they had won?
A few days after the capture of Jerusalem
the Western princes met to consider the dis-
position to be made of Palestine. The almost
inevitable solution was the conversion of the
country into a Ciiristian state. The form of
government was, of course, that feudal type
of monarchy which then prevailed throughout
Europe. It devolved upon the princes to
choose a king, and to this task they set them-
selves with alacrity. Of the leading Crusa-
ders, those who were eligible to the high office
were Robert Short Hose of Normandy, Rob-
ert of Flanders, Raymond of Toulouse, and
Godfrey of Bouillon. From the first the tide
set strongly in favor of the last named duke.
Short Hose and the Count of Flanders both
announced their intention of returning forth-
with to Europe, and as to Raymond, his
haughty bearing and impetuous temper made
him unpopular as a leader.
In order to settle the question, a commis-
sion of ten of the most discreet cliieftains was
appianted, and they at once set about the duty
of election, (ireat care was exercised in re-
gard to the fitness of the candidates. Duke
<;odfrey's servants were called and questioned
relative to the private life and manners of
their master. "The only firult we find with
him," said they, "is that, when matins are
over, he will stay so long in church, to learn
the name of every image and jiicture, that
dinner is often spoiled by his long tarrying."
"What ilevdtion!" exclaimed the pious elec-
tors, "dciusalem could have no lietter king."
So he was eliosrii. The Kingdom of Jerusa-
i.i:ai was proiliiiiiicd in the city, and the nomi-
nation of Duke 'Godfrey was made known to
thr ea-or and joyous multitude. Thus, on the
I'Md of .July, ill the last vear of the eleventh
THE CRUSADES. — THE KIXGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
century, the Holy Land with its c-;i]iit:il,
once the City of David and the Clirist, now
■R-renched from the domiuiou of the Turks Ijy
a series of exploits of well-nigh inconceivable
audacity, was erected into a feudal monarchy
after the European fashion, and placed under
the suzerainty of Go
destined for the pri>
defending than lie 1
his heritage, an<l In
tlie nuisu of Tasso as
Dcrweml
Lorraine,
■(•r I
i..rr ills in
111
■o,H,uermg
talizod hv
f th
Jeru^akm
Chaptkr >CCI.— The Ivinodom of Jerusalem.
UKE GODFREY ac-
cepted the office but re-
fused the title of king.
He declared to the elect-
ors that it ^yould be uu-
omiug in him to wear
a crown of gold in the
city where (. hrist had been crowned with
thorns. It was, therefore, decided that the
new ruler of Jerusalem should be entitled
"First Baron and Defender of the Holy
Sepulcher." His sovereignty, however, was
ample, and his right undisputed.
As soon as the monarchy was proclaimed,
the king-elect repaired with the pilgrim princes
to the Church of the Resurrection, and there
took an oath to reign according to the laws
of justice and honor. Hardly was this cere-
mony ended, when the startling intelligence
was l;)orne to the city that a powerful Mos-
lem army, led by Afdhal, one of the most
valiant emirs of the East, had reached Asca-
lon, and was searching for a force of Cru-
saders sufficiently strong to offer battle. The
warlike emir had taken an oath in the pres-
ence of the Caliph to drive every European
out of Syria ; nor could it be denied that a
knowledge of his coming had spread terror
before him. In the city, the Christians were
in consternation. But King Godfrey had seen
too much of War to be any longer frightened
at the sound of his chariot. With unwaver-
ing courage he summoned his followers to
resume the weapons which they had so re-
cently laid aside, and go forth to victory. His
influence and authority secured the desired ob-
ject. Even Robert Short Hose and Raymond
consented to renew the struggle with the Infi-
dels. The Ch'usaders were marshaled forth,
and led out in the direction of the foe.
The march led into the plain between
Jopi)a and Ascalon. When the Christians
were about encamping for the night — it was
now the 11th of August — the whole horizon
seemed to be disturbed with some dark agita-
tion. Scouts were sent out to a.scertain the
cause, and, returning, brought back the report
that immense herds of cattle and camels were
driven along in the distance. This news fired
the cupidity of the Crusaders, and they would
fain go forth to seize so rich a Ijooty. God-
frey, however, scented a stratagem, and pru-
dently restrained his followers. No man was
permitted to leave the ranks for the night.
Events soon showed the wisdom of the king.
For, before the break of day, news was
brought to the camp that the IMoslem army
was but a short distance away. With due
celerity Godfrey and his captains set their
forces in order of battle. Nine divisions were
formed, and placed under command of leaders
true and tried. At dawn of day Arnold de
Rohes, who had been elected Patriarch of
Jerusalem, went tliroiiL^h tlie ranks, bearing
the cross and i)ronouneing lilessings on the
soldiers. The army then knelt down, and
besought the favor of heaven preparatory
to the decisive struggle. As the march
was n^snineil in the direction of the enemy,
the tempting droves of cattle were seen to
Hid to the rear, as if to distract the
of the Crusaders from the great
)n to be enacted in front.
> these movements were performed by
-tians the Emir Afdhal had also pre-
pared for the conflict. He had jiostcd himself
on the edge of the plain of Ase
tiou strongly defensible by nat
mountains and the sea conspired to protect
the wings of the Moslem arniv, and in the
pa
s ar
att
'iitli
game >
Wli
the
Ch
n a posi-
For the
(>',l(l
uxivkhsal nisTony.—THE modern world.
distance the towci-s of the eily— one of the
stroii'^o.-t in l'ul('>tiiic — wtie mcii as a refuge.
The Saraeen army uas diauii up in two
liue.s, an.l was teml.h' in its a>iHrt an. I extent.
The disparity ,,f nunil» i> uas so uivat that to
any other tiian a ('ru.si'K r it woulil luivc ap-
peared the e.xeess ot' iiiadne.-s to ofhr liattle.
But to cue who hail mhii the war-horse of
St. George and lui.l touched the sacred spear
wlier.-uith til.' >ide of Christ lia<l heeii pierce.l
no tasli could appal, no nuniliers trrrify.
On the other hand, where every rational
ground of confidence existed, the Saracens
shook at the sight of the Christian banners.
No oxhortation of the Kuiir couM suffice to
inspir.' tie- ho>l under his ,'nnuuaii(l. At the
moment when battle was about ti^ begin the
device which the iloslems had invented to
destroy their adversaries turned against them-
selves. The vast droves of cattle which had
been intended to decoy the Crusaders were
seen in the rear of Cxodfrey's army and were
mistaken by Afdhal's forces for a part of the
foe whom they had to face. The discourage-
ment of the Saracens was so great that in tlie
beginning of the engagement they fought but
■feebly, while every furious blow of the Chris-
tian knights fell with fatal effect upon the
Mohammedan ranks. As usual on such <icca-
sions, Robert Short Hose fought like a lion.
With a body of cavalry he forced his way to
the Saracen center and captured the Emir's
standard. The infantry rushed after him and
the enemy's lines were broken and scattered.
For a while a division of Ethiopians,
after the peculiar tactics of their country, fell
on their knees to discharge their javelins and
then with a clubbed weapon resembling a flail,
aruK'd with iai:i;cd balls of iron, sprang u]i
and a~siilod'the Crusaders with the fury of
Huns; lint even these fierce warriors were
soon routid liv the resistless charges of God-
frey's kni-hts. The whole Saracen army broke
and llrd in .nnrii-ion. They rushed in the
ilirectioii of A^calon, and were pursued with
hav..r an,l >ia,i-htrr. Thousands p,.risl....l on
th,- ti.-ld; nthrr th.aisiii.l- in th.' lli-lit, and
still othrrsat tin- drawl. rid-r of the city, upon
which thev w.ae hopM,-dv .■row.le,! by the
Christian warriors. Asealon itself, in whirl,
Af.llial found rcfug.' with the fugitives, might
have b. on ra-llv taken but inr a ouarrel whirl,
broke out between Godfrey and Raymond,
whose ungovernable temper was as dreadfid
to his friends as his sword was fatal to his
enemies. As it was, the Cl,ristiai,s withdi-ew
fnmi the s.vm- of th.dr givat vi.-toiy ladm
with sp,.il an.l driving I.efoiv tlua,, the her.ls
of cattle which hail already served them better
than the enemy. As for the defeated Emir,
believing himself unsafe in Asealon, he took
ship for Egypt, and sought security under the
shallow of the Caliphate.
The battle of Asealon was decisive of the
present fate of Palestine. For the time the
Turk was hurled from his seat. With the
accomplishment of this result the prime motive
of the Crusade was satisfied. Many of the
princes now- made preparation to return to
Europe. The eccentric Raymond, however,
had sworn never to see the West again. He
accordingly repaired to Constantinople, and
received from the Emperor as the portion due
his heroism the city of Laodicea. Eustace of
Bouillon and Robert of Flanders returned to
their respective countries, and resumed pos-
session of their estates. Here they passed the
remainder of their lives in prosperity and
honor. Rolicrt Short Hose went back to Xor-
manily, and when the five years expired,
during which he had leased his dukedom to
William Rufus, he recovered his inheritance.
His stormy life, however, was still agitated
and unfortunate. A few years after his return
his paternal dominions were invaded by his
brother Henry, king of England. A battle
was fought between the two princes at Tench-
ebray, and Robert was defeated and captured.
He was taken to Cardifl' Castle and there con-
fined as a prisoner of state until the year 1148,
when his strange and romantic career was
ended liy death. Peter the Hermit likewise
left the H..ly City an<l started on a homeward
voyagi'. In mid sea his shiji was caught in a
storm and the terrified monk vowed, if he
should be spared to found an abbey in honor
of the tomb of Christ. The tempest passed
and Peter ki'pt his v.iw by building a monas-
t.'i'v on thr baidvs of the ^las. Here he spent
the remnant of his .lay< in pmitential works,
after the manner of his .udrr. As for the
counts — Stephen an.l Iln-h — they, as will
be i-.an.'mb.a-e.l, hail al.an.loii.'.l the ( 'rusaile
li. fniv Anti..eh, an.l ^\ith..iit parti. apating in
THE CRUSADES.— Tin: KIXODO-U OE JERUSALVJL
in, liouvvr,'
4, ot i.ul.li.
the glory of capturing- Jcnisalt'i
to Europe. The age lii-:iiiil.-,l
as recreant.?, aud undir tlif
opinion tliev rallied their knights iwr a new
expedition.
Thus in a short time King (Godfrey found
hinisi.lf in the IL.ly I'ity witli only a few huii-
dre.l warriors to defend it. His e(iura-r, how-
ever, was as great as the situalion was |i.iil-
ous. His reputation as a nulitaiy chirliaiu
stood him well in hand, and the swollrn stream
of pilgrims from the West, who might now lie
expected to crowd towards Jeru.salem, would
doubtless be sufficient for defense.
But the valiant Godfrey w-as not dotinrd
long to enjoy the fruits of his toil and waii'arc.
As Baron of the Holy Sepulcher he .lid as
mm'h as man well might to give regular insti-
tutions to the country and people that li<' had
conquered. A code of laws, known as the
Amzei of Jerusalem, was drawn up under Ids
auspices, and Palestine was suitably divided
for purposes of administration. The military
arm was strengthened, and Tancred was sent
into Galilee, where he captured the town of
Tiberias. The whole province was taken from
the Turks aud added to Godfrey's dominions.
The valorous Tancred carried the war still
further into the sultan's territories, where-
upon a Saracen army was sent out from Da-
niaseus, and the adventurous ('rii>a(ler was
about to be cut off. Godfrey huri'ied to his
assistance, and the Moslems were defeated in
battle. Returning to Jerusalem, the Defender
of the Holy Sepulcher passed by way of Ces-
area, and was met by the emir of that district,
who made him a seemingly courteous offer of
fruits. The unsuspecting Godti-ey ai'i-epted
and ate an apple. Doubtless it Jiad lieen
jioisoiied, for the prince immediately sickened.
He was taken in haste to Joppa, where he
lingi'i-ed until the 18th of July, 1100, when
he died. Willi tlioii-htfld solii-ifu.l.' lie eom-
niitted hi- kiii-dom of Jeru-deiii to th.' pro-
ti'etion lit' his companions, and directed that
his l„,dv -liouhl be buried near tlie tomb
of ( hri.-t. A few davs after Id- death his
Tiie decease of
lught on a crisi:
ried until the bar
■ SU.'eessi.m. Til
■Hold de Itoh.'S, 1
[.port
Aiiti
It an
d to
aid in .saving the Holy City from anarchy.
The opposition meanwhile dispatched messen-
gers to Baldwin of Edes.sa, brother of the late
king, to come to Jerusalem and take the crown
which now, according to feudal tenure, would
ri-htfully ile.-ceiid to him. The envoys sent
by Arnold to Antioch lir.iu-ht ba.'k the dole-
ful intelligence that Bd'iiniud had been re-
cently taken prisoner liy the 'i'niks, and was
himself far more in need of a>sistaiice than
able to go to the rescue of another. Not so,
however, with Prince Baldwin. Notwithstand-
ing the iloulitful expeilieiiey of endangering
all by leaving his safe priiuapality of Ede.s.sa
for the hazards attending the crown of Jeru-
salem, he gladly accepted the invitation of the
barons, and laid claim to the throne vacated
by the death <if his brother. Putting all on
the ca.st of the die, he made over the princi-
pality of Edessa to his kinsman, Baldwin du
Bourg, and set out with fourteen hundred
horsemen to make good his claims in the Holy
City.
His reception was flattering. The inhab-
itants of Jerusalem came forth to meet their
new .sovereign, and welcomed him with ]ilau-
dits. So marked were the e.\pies>ions of ap-
proval that the Patriarch Arnold, after a few
davs of sullen discontent, gave in his adhe-
rence, and consented to officiate in the coro-
nation of hi. suce,.->f,il rival.
As soon as thi- ceremony was comidetcd,
B.VLDWIN .set about the diitie- of U\< ollii'C with
great energy. His abililies wiiv >cai-eely in-
ferior to those of his predece<-oi-, and his au-
dac'ity greater, Tiie Saracens >
that the transfer of the crown wa
>ii learned
not likely
■lit. King
HIS against
such as to
(m
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
strike terror into the ranks of the t'oe. The
cities ot' Cesarea, Sidoii, Trijiuli, ami Acre were
quickly taken, and the frontiers of the king-
dom widened and established on all sides.
The forces of the king were in the mean-
time augmented by almost constant arrivals
from Europe. Several bodies of warriors,
who were drawn iu the wake of the First
Crusade, reached the Holy City iu the first
years of the new century, and joined the vic-
torious standard of those who had preceded
them. Xow it was that Stephen of Bio is and
Hui;h nf Vermandois returned to the scenes
of fjrmer days, shame-faced for their aban-
donment of the cause, and eager to retrieve
their honor. The dukes of Aquitaine and
Bavaria, and the couuts of Burgundy, Ven-
dome, Nevere, and Parma, all envious of the
fame achieved bv their brethren in the East,
years later, when the armies of Baldwin
were engaged iu the siege of Sidon, two
fleets, manned liy Scandinavian Crusaders,
arrived from the Baltic, and rendered im-
portant service in the reduction of the city.
To this epoch belongs the last of the ex-
ploits of Ivaymond of Toulouse. Before the
captiu-e of the Phoenician cities, he had acted
as guide and leader to a band of French
knights on their way through Asia Minor to
Jerusalem. Obtaining an ascendency over
them, he induced them to join him iu the
conquest of Tortosa, on the coast of Syria.
A new principality was thus founded, with
Kaymond for its ruler. He employed his
own knights from Provence in enlarging the
borders of his state, and presently undertook
the reduction of Tripoli ; but, before this
object couhl be reached, the veteran warrior
DUKE OF BOUILLON.
II., 1144.
Dukeof Bouilluii.
Count of Bouillon
1
1. GOI.FREY, IIUO.
THE KINGS
JERUSALEM.
S B.ILDWIN
2.B.L^wi.I.,ni8. Fulkof..njou=Milli'eent
1
4. B.4LDWIN- III., 1162.
5. .\i.m'eric 1170.
1
Y OF LrsiGNAN, 1189=8. Sybilla, ILSO-Marquis of Montferrat.
, 7 Baldwin v., 1177.
C. BALmvisIV..n76.
a.ssunu'd the cross and arrived with their
knights in Palestine. So long and full of
hardships was the march through Eastern
Europe and Asia Minor, that those who sur-
vived were already veterans before reaching
their destination, and the armies of Baldwin
were thus repleuished by a class of warrii.irs
scarcely inferior to the war-hardened Cru-
saders of the first expedition.
AuLither source of strength to the king-
dom was the constant arrival on the Plueni-
cian coast cf tic.-ts fVnni (Tenoa and other
Eur(i|nan ports. A rradicr communication
wa< tlui- iiiaiiitaiiiiMl with the parent states.
fnrcfs in the snl.ju'jniinii .,f the maritime
districts of Syria. ' As caily a- 1104, P„.yrut
and Serejita were c.iiiquered, ]iartly tlirnu-h
the aid of the Genm'se .-.luadruu. A few
of Toulouse died. The work of suljugation,
however, was continued by King Baldwin,
a.ssisted by all the Latin princes of the East.
Tripoli was taken, and became the capital
of a new dukedom, which was conferi-eil on
Bertrand, .^ou of Raymond. The state thus
formed was subject, after the feudal maimer,
to the Kingdom of Jeru.salem ; but its im-
portance, lying as it did midway between
the principality of Autioch ami the Holy
Land, was such as to give to Trijioli a rank
of almost independent sovereignty.
At Antioch affairs had not pdiie ju-osper-
ou.sly. Btemund, as already narrated, was
made pri-oiier by the Turks. Tancred there-
upon assumed the government during the mi-
nority of ISiemund's son. While acting thus as
nucnt lie continued his unending warfare with
tlie Saracons ami was killed in battle. Bee-
THE CRUSADES.— THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
GO!)
muiul finally eflected his escape aiul soon after-
wards eugaf,^e(l in hostilities with the Eastern
Empire. Uusucce>st\il in this war he returned
to Tarento, and there, iu his old age, sat
brooding and despondent amid the scenes of
his boyhood. His restless nature, tormented
with the vision of impossible activities, gave
way to gloom, and he died of despair-.
Of the heroic comjjanious of Godfrey,
there now remained in the East only King
Baldwin and Baldwin du Bourg, prince of
Edessa. The former was sonless, and reason
and preference both indicated the latter as his
successor to the crown of Jerusalem. In the
year 1118 the king died and Baldwin du Bourg
came to the throne with the title of Baldwin
II. On his accession he transferred the Prin-
cipality of Edessa to Joscelyn de Courtenay,
a noble knight of France, who had gone to
Asia Minor in the wake of the First Crusade.
In the mean time, Count Foulque, of Anjou,
father of that Geoffrey Plantagenet who gave
a race of kings to England, falling into jjro-
found melancholy on account of the death of
his wife, would fain distract his thoughts from
his grief by taking the cross and going on a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He accordingly left
his province to the care of his son and de-
parted for the East. On reaching the Holy
City he became greatly admired for his quali-
ties of mind and person. Nor was it long till
he found a panacea for his sorrow in the ac-
quaintance of the Princess Millicent, daughter
of Baldwin H. Her he wooed and won, and
when her father died he received and wore the
crown rather as the husband of Millicent than
in his own right. His son was named for his
maternal grandfather, and afterwards reigned
with the title of Baldwin HI.
The principal event of the reign of Baldwin
du Bourg was the siege and capture of Tyre.
This great feat was accomplished in the year
1124, and chiefly by the aid of the Venetian
fleet sent out by the Doge Ordelafo Falieri.
Before engaging in the enterprise, however,
this thrifty ruler stipulated that he should
receive the sovereignty of one-third of the city
as the price of his services. Already the Ital-
ian princes, especially those who held authority
in the maritime Republics, had learned the
value of their services to the Crusaders, and
were not slow to turn their advantage to a
profitable account. Henceforth — though not
less zealous than others iu proclaiming the dis-
interested motives by which they were actu-
ated in sending out their fleets against the
Moslems — they ever took care to extort from
those whom they aided exorbitant pay for
their service. The squadron of Falieri arrived
on the Phceuician coast, and the city of Tyre
was obliged, after a five months' siege, to ca-
pitulate. The new conquest was erected into
an archbishopric and added to the patriarchate
of Jerusalem. Thus, in the last year of the
first quarter of the twelfth century the most
ojjuleut city on the Syrian coast, being also
the last stronghold of the Bloslems in Palestine,
was won by the Crusaders and annexed to
their dominions.
This is the date of the greatest power and
influence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The
Holy Land was now all recovered from the
Infidels. Neither the Turks from the direction
of Baghdad, nor the Fatimites from the side
of Egypt, were able for the time to shake the
foundations of the Christian state. From the
Mediterranean to the desert of Arabia, and
from Beyrut to the Gulf of Sinai, the country
acknowledged the sway of Baldwin II. Besides
the large territory thus defined the County of
Tripoli under Bertraud, and the Principalities
of Edessa and Antioch were as distinctly
Christian states as was Jerusalem itself, and
throughout the whole of these C(ninti-ies the
feudal institutions of Western Europe were
established on what appeared to be an endur-
ing basis.
The Christian kingdom of Palestine was
divided into the four great fiets of .latla,
Galilee, Cesarea, and Tripoli, and over each
was set a baron who was the va>sal of the
king. The one fatal weakness of the situation
lay in the fact that while a constant stream
of pilgrim warriors was setting towards Jeru-
salem, another stream fully as copious was
flowing back into Europe. Even at the time
of greatest solidity and peace the number of
knights and soldiers resident in Palestine was
never sufficient to defend the countrv in the
event of a formidable invasion by the Moslems.
It was estimated that the regular force of
knights whom as his vassals Baldwin II. might
call into the field did not exceed two thousand
five hundred ; and the feudal militia, consist-
UXIVERSAL HLSTOny. — THE MODERN WORLD.
ilia- for the nin~t piirt nf aivliers on loot, only
uiiinln'rcil twclvr tliou-aiid.
Another rirciiiii-taiic- trii.rma to uiiilermiuc
the fouiiihitioii ..(• thi' kiii-aoiii was the rapid
deterioration ot' \W ["oph- ot' tlie U est under
the e.mditio,,. of lit,- in Syria. The resident
Crasid.-r. w.-ro l.ronjit into eoniinnnion and
felloudiip with tlu- native Cliristians of the
coimtry — Syrian^, (in.k-, Arnieuiaus, — a
nerveless race ot' Orientals, di>timte <if the
warlike vi-or of tlir \Ve>tcrn pil-rinis. Besides,
the .Mus>uhnan |)ia>antiy remained iu the vil-
laacs ami conlinncii to cultivate the soil. After
the lap~r of a frw \cars these diverse races
beaan lo idmniiuulo, ami a new type of popu-
lation «a,- pidducrd, iidieritina but little vir-
tue iVoiu cither line of parentage. These
hylirid inlialntants were known by the name
of RiiHiiii'i or I'oidaius — a degeuerate stock
deduced lioni a had ci'o-- \uider the influence
of a balcfnl I'liniatc and di-ca-cil society.
(Jnc of ilic prini-ipal events belonging to
the interval I.etucen tlic Fir-t and Second Cru-
.sades was the in-titution of tlie two principal
Orders of Knighthood. The prime motives
of the origin of these celebrated societies are
to be found in tlic martial spirit and religiotts
enthusia>iii of ihi' age. The condition of soci-
ety was >uch as to suggest the conservation of
the chivalrous and lienevoleut sentiments by
means of organization. As soon as the orders
were established they rose to celebrity, and it
was not long until the highest honors of secu-
lar socit tv would have been freely exchanged
IVir the distinction conferred by the liadges of
knighthood.
The fundamental ]irinciple on which the
new Orders wen- foiimlt-d was ihe union of mona-
chism and chimh-ij. Ilitiierto the devotion of
man to religion had made him a monk ; his
devotion to truth denied and innocence dis-
tressed, had made him a secular warrior. It
now happened that the warlike vow and the
TOW of religion were united in the single con-
secration of knighthood. The condition of
atliiirs in Palestine — unfavorable to monasti-
cism from the inseciuity of .society, and unfa-
vorabli- to -ec-idar (-hivalry on account of the
ab>em-e of lofty sentiments among the lay
jiopulatiou of the country — was pecidiarly fa-
vorable to the development of organizations
based on the cross militant. Such organiza-
tions contemplated the sword under the cowl —
warfare in the name of Christ. The same
ideas which had brought-about the Crusade de-
manded preservation under the sanction of
secrecy and l)rotherhood.
The oldest of the religio-chivalric orders
was the Knights of Saint John of .Jerusa-
lem, known also as Knight.s Hospitallers,
and subsequently as Knights of Rhodes and
Knights of Malta. The circumstances of the
origin of this celebrated Order date back to
the middle of the eleventh century. In the
year 1048 some benevolent merchants of the
Italian city of Anialfi obtained permission of
tlie Faiinnte ruK-rs of .Jerusalem to build in
the Ibjjy City a chapel for the itse of Latin
pilgrims. The establishment took the name
of Saint Mary, and was for a while used in
common by both men and women. Soon after-
wards two hosiiitals were built in connection
with the chapel ; and then a second chapel,
called after Saint Mary Magdalen, was erected
adjacent to the woman's hospital. The man's
hospital took the name of Saint John the Al-
moner, an Alexandrian patriarch of the sev-
enth century. This saint had left a sweet
memory in the City of David by sending
thither in the yi-ar (114, after the destructive
siege and capture liy Chosroes 11., a plentiful
supply of money and provisions to the sufler-
iug people. Such was the origin of the hos-
pitals or hostelries of Jerusalem.
To the whole establishment thus founded
was given the name of Saint John, who be-
came the recognized patron of the Order. The
services in the hospitals were performed by a
brotherhood — and sisterhood — of pilgrims un-
under the direction of Pierre Gerard le Bien-
heureux, or Gerard the Blessed. It was this
Order of the Hospital that came forth on the
occasion of the capture of the city by the Cru-
saders, and rendered so great service to hu-
manity by caring for the wounded amd dying.
So heroic were the efforts of the brotherhood,
that Raymond du Puy joined the Order, and
Godfrey himself bestowed on them their first
foreign possession, namely, the estate of Mont-
baire in Brabant. His example was imitated
by other princes, and it was not long until the
brothers of the Hospital found themselves in
possession of aliundant means.
Inow it was that the Order took on a per-
THE CRUSADES.— THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
mauent character. After the establishment of
the Kingdom of Jerusalem the brothers bound
themselves by a vow to labor forever in the
hospitals. They were to liecome henceforth
the "servants of Christ and his poor." Their
vows embraced the trinity of medireval vir-
tues— obedience, chastity, and poverty. As a
garb they chose the black robe of the Augus-
tinian monks, and to this was added a white
linen cross of eight points, worn on the left
breast. On the 15th of February, lllo, the
Order was approved by Pope Paschal II., un-
der the name of the "Brothers Hospitallers
of Saint John in Jerusalem."
In the organization which was thus made
regular and permanent, Pierre Gerard was
chosen Guardian and Provost of the Order.
Gifts poured in upon the fraternity. A splen-
did church was built on the traditional site of
the abode of the parents of Saint .John the
Baptist, and hospitals for the arconmiodation
of pilgrims were founded in the principal sea-
port towns of Western Europe.
After five years of .service as Guardian,
Gerard died, and was succeeded by Raymond
du Puy. He it was who, in order to protect
the Christians of Palestine from injury or in-
sult at the hands of the Moslems, armed liim-
.self and former companion knights, and thus
gave to the Ordei- its first military cast. The
movement was applauded by the age. Both
in the Holy Land and in the West the broth-
ers in arms became more popular than ever.
The chivalric sentiment was thus added to the
charitable vows of the fraternity, and persons
of distinction and liigh rank began eagerly to
seek admission into the Order. The vow to bear
arms in defense of Christ and his cause, and
to defend from insult and wrong the Christians
of all lands and languages, was taken with
even more enthusiasm than the vow of mo-
nasticism and charity.
From the accession of Raymond to the
guardianship of the Order, three degrees were
recognized in the hospital ; knights, priests,
and brothers-servants. To these a fourth
grade, called sergeants or half-knights, was
presently added; and to these intermediates
certain duties in both the field and the in-
firmary were assigned.
Under the auspices of Raymond, a code
was drawn up for the government of the
Order. The Augu.^tinian rule \\;i.- made the
basis of tlie statute adopted loi- ih.^ Hiotli. rs
of the Hospital. The nam.' of il„ rhirt
officer was changed from (iuaiilian to Master,
and Saint John the Baptist wa^ s\ili>titutod
for Saint John the Almomi-, as tlu' patron
of the brotherhood. In llL'o the new con-
stitution was submitted to Pope Calixtus II.,
and hv him ci.irdiallv approved.
S,,' rapidlv ,li.r th,' II..si,itall<Ts rxfnd
their estabhdiments and memberdiip that it
cording t<.i the nationalitv and lani:uage of
the member^— a nine-fold divisitjn of the
( )nler. The eommauderies were thenceforth
elassitied as those of Provence, Auvergne,
France, Italy, Aragon, Germanv, England,
Castile, and Portugal.
Before the middle of the twelfth e<mturv,
the IL.spitaliers had l>ee,,me a powerful
military iaetor in tiie alliiii- of llic East.
Their memberslii[i embrai-.d the most pu-
issant knights of ('lnistiii<l(.m. During the
siege of Tyre, they coiitriliiiti d })o\\( ifully to
the cajiture of thr i-ity, and tin- filial cxpid-
sion of the -Mo.d.ni. from I'alotiiie. In ll.'io
they aided in the taking of A^ralon. tli.ir
valorous actions being the pride of tin Clnis-
tians and the terror of the Sarai-.ais. After
these successful victories for the < 'ro>s, the
wealth of the Order aceumulat.d with great
rapidit
V. Nor was it loni:
until
the moral
and chivalric grandeui- ot
til.' 1
n.tli.-rli..od
began to be undermined li\
th.. ii
vi.li.ius in-
fluence
s of luxury ami e.nr
ipti.in.
As -arly
as 1168, the Master Gill.
11 .lA
-alit, suc-
cessor
to Raymond du Puy,
wa- s.'
liieed with
bribes.
together with the 1
u-ger 1
art of the
Order,
to violate a treaty with Eg
•})t, and to
make
in invasion of that .
.inntry
In 11.87
the H
..spitallers of Palestin
. W.'IV
almost ex-
terminated in the disastrous
liattle .
f Tiberias,
where
Saladiu so signally o\
.rthrew
the Chris-
tians.
When pos>.~sion .
f Jeru
salem was
finally
regained by the Sa
■a. •ens,
the Order
mad.'
its li.'a.l-.piarters f.ii
a wh
li' at the
Castl.'
..f -Mai-at, an.l a^ t
h.. >an
■ time the
womai
•s hospitals in the
f:ast \
■ere abau-
doned.
At this epoch, the
knisl
ts suffered
much
fr.im tiieir disputes
ui.l ri^
alries with
th.' T
niplars: l.iit in tim.
S of .1
niier both
broth.'
■hoo.l. gave their lie>
hloo.l
in defense
702
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
of the common causo. In ilu' l
Gaza, A. D. 12-14, the 1..sm<
pitallers and Temjilars were ^n
two Orders came nigh sutleriug
Hos-
lat the
at this tinif that the Order of .Saint John
became a maritime power, having its <j\vu
fleets and winning its own victories in the
eastern Mediterranean. Early in tlie fuur-
«ir^
1..;.
M
-^^J- )
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF RHODES, TIME OF THE
tinction. Finally, when, in 1291, the city of
Acre was taken by the ^Moslems, the knights
retired to Cyprus, where they made a stand
and recruited their wasteil ranks for tlie over-
flowing commanderies of the West. It was
teenth century, they seized the island of
Rhodes, where they established their power,
and defied the Turks for more than two Inin-
dr('(l years. In lo^'i they were driven from
llieir stroii:;luilil, and obliged to seek a new
THE CRUSADES.— THE jaXGDO.U OF JERUSALEM.
footiug furthur \ve:^t. They sought a refuge
first in Crete, tlieu in ^Messina, thou in the
main-hmd of Italy, and, finally, in 1530, were
given the island of Malta liy the Emiaeror,
Charles V. This sea-horn possession they
converted into a fortress, whieh, in spite of
the uK.ist strenu(.)Hs eliorts of the Turks, was
held l\v the knights until IT'.^"^, when it was
taken Ijy Bonaparte.
The second of the great orders of knight-
hood was originally known as the Knights
OF THE Temple of Solomon, and afterwards
as Knights Templars, or Knights of the
Ked Cross. Under these various designa-
tions they ran a briefer but more glorious
career than the Hospitallers, by whom they
were at first generously aided and afterwards
bitterly opposed. The founding of the Order
of the Temple dates to the year 1117. Two
French knights, Hugues des Paiiens and Geof-
frey of Saint-Omer, jierceiviug the hardsliipis
to which Christian travelers were exposed in
and about the Holy City, took np(.)n them-
selves the duty of conducting the pilgrims
who journeyed between Jerusalem and the
Jordan. This charitable ofiice soon gained a
reputation for the humble warrior-guides, and
thev were joined by seven others, like-minded
with themselves. An organization was effected
under the benevolent patronage of the patri-
arch of the city. The members bound them-
selves by the usual monastic vows of obedi-
ence, chastity, and poverty; and to these two
others were added, to defend the Holy Sepul-
cher and to protect the way-faring pilgrims
in Palestine. — Such was the humlile beginning
of the Or.ler.
At the first the Knights of Saint John,
now in the flush of their heroic virtues, lent
aid and encouragement to the new society of
brothers. Xothing was to lie feared from a
humlile fraternity known liy the name of the
"P...,r Soldiers of the Holy City." Nothing
could exceed the lowliness of the meek knights
who foundeil the brotherhood. Hugues and
GeoH'rey had one horse between them, and him
they rode together on their first missions of
benevolenee.' The first members were given
a lodging by Baldwin II., who assigned them
(juarters in his palace on the site of tlu- ancient
temple. Their first armory was estal)li>hed in
a church near by, and here were stored their
first knightly weapons. The iirst ehaiiter was
limited to nine mendiers ; but this limiiation
was removed by the council <if Troves in 1127.
At this assembly St. Bernard, of Clairvaux,
was commissioned to draw up a suitable code
for the government of the body, and to devise
an appropriate garb. The ilress iliosru was in
strong contrast with that of the Hospitallers,
consisting of a white tunic and mantle, with a
red cross on the left breast. The rule of con-
duct and discipline was approved in 1128 by
Pope Honorius II. The jirincipal articles were
these: The
'The great seal of the Teuii-Uirs still perpetu-
ittes the story of the lowly origin of the Order in
the figure ofthe steed with two riders.
43
teen articles of faith, the
creeds of the apostles and of Athana-iu-'; to
uphold the doctrines of the Two Tevtaiiieiit'^,
iucludinu the interiiretation- of the Fathers,
the unity of God and the trinity of hi^ per-
sons, and the virainity of .Mary both Im fore
and after the birth ot' her Son; to go beyon,!
the seas wdieu called to do so in defense of the
cause; to fiy not from the foe unless assailed
by more than three Infidels at once.
Such was the luicleus of the Onler. Hu-
mility was one of the first principles of the
inemiHTship. The helmet of the Templar should
have no crest— hi> liear.l shouhl not be cut—
his demeanor should be that of a servant of
UNIVEIISAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
bis fellows. Eucli iiiciiiljer (jii a.-siiiuiiig the
garb of a Knight imi>t lie gii't with a liueu
cord ill token that lie was heiicefc.irtb bouud
to service.
The organization of the Templars embraced
four classes of members — knights, squires, serv-
itors, and priests. Each had their peculiar
duties and obligations. The presiding officer
of the Order was called the blaster — afterwards
the Grand Master — and he had as his assist-
ants a lieutenant, a seneschal, a marshal, and
a treasurer, all of whom were elected by the
chaptei The states of Chustendom weie di
vided into pioMUces, and o\ei each was ^et a
provincial nn^tti Tht Gi iiid Mistei of Je
rusalemwt-i ill tl 1i 1 ftheentiu
be affiliated with tlie brotherhood in order to
share its beuehts. Every thing cousj)ired to
make the Knights the favorites of the cent-
ury. They had the prestige of Crusaders.
They had St. Bernard for their Master. Tliey
had the blessing of the Pope. They had the
applause and gratitude of those whom they
had relieved and protected. They had estates
and castles and churches. They had the pat-
ronage of the great and the benediction of
the Church.
It was the peculiarity of medieval institu-
tions that beginning in Mituous poveity they
ended in luxui} and ciime As eaih as the
mi Idle of the twelfth centun the membership
(t the r(m])l\i wis leciuited largely from
brotherhood, which soou grew in numbers, in-
fluence, and wealth to be one of the most jiow-
erful organizations in the world. Counts, dukes,
princes, and even kings, eagerly sought the
honor which was everywhere conceded to the
red cross and white mantle of the Templar.
In course of time the Knights of the Temple
became a sovereign body, owing no allegiance
to any secular potentate. In spiritual mat-
ters the Pope was still regarded as supreme,
but in all other affiiirs the Grand Master
was as independent as the greatest sovereign
of Europe. The liouses of the Knights could
not be invaded by any civil officer. Their
churches and cemeteries were exempt from in-
terdicts; their properties and revenues from
taxation. 80 great were the immunities thus
eiijiiycd that th.nusauds of persons sought to
the class of adventurers and outlaws with
whom Europe so greatly abounded. St. Ber-
nard himself declared in a series of exhorta-
tions addressed to the Order that the greater
number of the nobles who had joined the sol-
diers of the Temple had been men stained
with every species of crime, the oppressors
and scourges of Europe.
In the division of the Christian states into
provinces by the Order of the Red Cross, three
were formed in the East — Jerusalem, Antioch,
and Tripoli. In the West the provinces num-
bered .sixteen — France, Auvergne, Normandy,
Aquitaine, Poitou, Provence, England, Ger-
many, Upper and Lower Italy, Apulia, Sicily,
Portugal, Castile, Leon, and Aragou. Of all
these the most important by far was France.
A majority of all the Temidars were French,
J4. Conrad II. 3'.) Henr
1. Otho defeats the Saracens in Italy, cr
2. St. Henry, great-grandson toHenrj" I.
GERMANY.
lenry I
aged s
HOUSE OF FRANCONIA.
5 of bloody 1
Robert II., son of Hugh Capet. 31. Henry I. 60. Ptiilip I. Invasion
The pope annuls his marriage 32. He defeats his brother Robert, whom his the Con
with nis cousin Bertha, and puts mother. ( 'onstantia, has endeavored to
his kingdom under an interdict. raise to the throne.
The feudal system still gains strength, and the j.du er of the monarch declines. Private ua
tinually carried on between the 6nroiK<.
In the nextcenturvLouis Vl.and hissiin ■ ^ struggle
■ • ■ iiiNjlidal
vith their vassals. Under them
the power of the crown begins to r
FRANCE.
CAPETIAN RACE.
40. The 1
. which forbids priv
. Louis VI., THE Fat; he
37. Louis Vll..™«-!
nder CRUSADING.
19. Brcn?i«!'i7fe— Lou;
featedbvtheKi
34. The emper.
ENGLAND.
■ir, DANISH KINGS.
inute II.. oppressive,;
s.m of Canute the-
Great. :
Edward the Confcssor,f5on of Ethelred II., mild, partial to th e
44. rnitesallthelawsjof England into one body, called the
6. Henry defeats Robci I
causes his eyes to bi'
fines him for life (is
Canute the Gre;at, a Dane, and the
most iiowerlul {sovereign in Europe.
NORMAN KINGS.
Henrj- marries Matilda, great-grand ■
issue. Matilda or Maud : she man
earl of Anjou— issue, Henry II.
4. Malcolm II.; he publishes a
SCOTLAND.
code of Laws. o7. Malcolm III., ^'anmoi
lean I.
I usurps after murdering Dun
[ iVII.) the Bane.
.Anarchy.
Edgar.
31. Al Kaymen, caliph at Bagdad.
The Saracens introduce the Arabic numeral 55. Bagdad taken by the Turks,
ciphers into Europe. From thi-; uiii.' tli.' c al
Ferdusi. pn., the Persian Homer. ' ' '
' MvTheTurks'takeJ
EMPIRE.
Melech
41. Michael V. :•:> Constantine X.
28. Romanus Ml. 4:; Constantine IX. Tv Nicephorus.
31. Michael IV. .>1. Theodora, tlio last of tlic Ma, .■.l.aiiaus.
.57. Isaac Comnenus resigns, .si. Alexius I. C'o>
54. Schism of the East completed la separation of
EASTERN OR GREEK EMPIRE. ^^^i^J^^^^^^"^::^:^
Lcarninn and imnmn-n j«
IV.P 1 M- '. ^ ■• -
I., the first king, defeats the
POLAND. ""'11^-^? 'in
Rusi
ns. and Bohemians, and l^"\
. Boleslaus M. 79. Ladislau
to lUOU A. D. Poland was t:. .
OUirnril Chnstiamty supposed
SWEDEN. mark about 826 A.
The history of Sweden previous to the fourteenth century
have been introduced into Sweden about 830, and into Den
confused and
odfreyof Bouillon, 'luk' III Ijininin ; Hugh. I. Hither
Robert, -"ii "i Uiliiam i]i- i ■,,,;, |ii,i..i , iiial ott
h.a.l Ml .;"ii,.."i"aiii.-i-, aa.i.Ml l.x Peter the H
Solyman. at tli.> lira.l >,i {]\- I'^irkv i^ .l.f. ated, ai
\ second time victorious, tlie (Tusadcrs laptun
sieged in .^ntioch by Solyman and the Persian
^scaton— Godfrey defeats the Moslems 1 100,000 h(
Mustali. 46. Co
They assault Jerusalem, and obtain the object a
the deliverance of the Holy City from the 1
Godfrey is elected king.
1.8. John I. CoMXENi-.s, a great a
( the talents and bravery n/the COMNENI tl.
The Erics and Swerli
Sweyn conquers England. 36. Canute III.
4,5. Magnus the Good, of ?
nCMUADI^ 16. Canute II., THE Great be- rivil war.
ULlllllAnNi comes king of England.
19. Conqiicrs Nonvay.
.Harold VII. 87. Olaus. 95 Eric.
6. St. Canute IV.
Unhappy times /or near
century; 0/ nine kings, five
Nicholas. 35. Ercl IV.
5. The clergy and nobility ob-
tain the chief power. 39. Eric V
GHRONOLOGIGAL 6HART
No. V.
EuropeduringtheCrusades,
From 1000 to 1-330 A. D.
ITepari-d by Jnlin riark Ridpath, Lb. D.
PORTUGAL.
: ' Ferdinand I. i
Henry, a grandson of Robert of France, assists Alp]
a reward of his bravery, gives him his daughteri
- "• 39. Proclaim
CASTILE AND LEON.
Alphonso VI. of Leon in 7:
Cid. mnqiKTs N\'W Cas
ARAGON.
4. Alphonso I,, tin w vi;i:h •
ions. '24. Ramirez I
6. Milan revolts and (
,,kof Sicilv. 30. Rodgerll.,k. of Sicil!
19-30. War between Pisa and Gen
Henry V.. emperor and king of Italy.
s mutual hatred. Study of the Civil Law revived
ITALY.
, and PISA, rise in power and wealth. The foundations of
I )n after 900 ; they are greatly enriched by the Crusades.
: Ardoin loses most of Italy; soon after resigns.
tween his troops and the people Pavia is burnt, which can
phich for
. . elected by the states ; oj
the family of the Guelph;
gives rise to the factions of the
lies (partisans
desolate Italy
ofiei
thre
79. Philip exconununicat
deric I., Baeeakossa, gT-eat-great-grandso
cs Italy, has contests with the pope,
5IA. 90 Henry VI.
jreign^
Philip II., AuGu
Banishes the J
fiscates
90. Goes on
's; Louis burns the
, filled with rebels.
1 a crusade to atone for his
joined England, defeated and forced to re
II., (grandson to Henry I.), Plantagenet,
edsaccording to agreement, and proves the
■ monarch of the age.
sed by Thomas a Becl<et, archbishop of
aterbury.
Ham the Conqueror, usurps, notwithstand-
ilda and her son Henrv.
70. Becket killed. „• l j
iken prisoner by the earl of 89. Richard
''brother. 73. His sons rebel. 90. Goeso
74. Does penance at Becket'
71. Ireland conquered ; given bv
the p. .pe to Henry II. in 5(
HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET
I., THE Lion.
crusade, defeats ^a
John Lacl<land, a 1,
;he
taken,
are themselves be-
agiiin victorious.
10,000 foot)under
y destroyed by the
Saladin, sultan of Egj-pt, a
He conquers Syria, Assyria,
onium.
, He defeats the
takes Jerusa
91. Acre taken
PhiUp A
91. Richard de
9:;. Saladin d
of Louis destroyed in Laodicea.
lower of the Crusaders declines.
le second Crusade cost Europe 200.C
ed, assassinate
of Henry IV.
41 League of the Han
f the obi s
■- HOUSEOFHAPSBURG
STUS.
property.
Third Cri
ving S Philip IV THt
u defeats H nrv of Eng
to the H 1 La 1 nidef
ken pn oner n Eo-\ pt pu cl
s SO ot f mi p
el b tJohndyn" soon after he s forced
LousVIII thfLo H sezcs lleE
1 a bar n d to gi the
Magna Charta or Great Charter
h secures mpo ta r gl s
o 1 classes
Henry 111 a eak k ng goven ed b
cl e
pardon
on and
s tl ere
1 gl-
ad
on hs
fH
RI
up b he baron
Ob e
eate 1 and made
ea 1 Of Le caster
a i defeat and
ba tie iron tl s time
"n ce of \\ales s
the 1 1 e of the king s
I ate 1 e ght ea s marr es Margaret
The W e tern I la ds conquered om
Denmark 8d Bal ol and Bruce
\ Ougia Khan
Gengh Khin
Richard an
ugustus.
■ ! Saladin.
nd his do
ided.
80. Alexius II. Comxenl-
S3. Andronicus I. Com.n
85. Isaac Angelus.
object of respect or of terror to the
th the Turks and
.Alexius IV.. T c\
s. 4. Baldwin I wi
4 Frencl o L ti
W The Greek
hi M chae Pa e
Andron cus II
licislaus III.
78. Casimir the Just ; he
9 Lesko the Black
—the Po e defeated b the Moguls ho
e k 1 e n 1 e rs of tl e la n
d for dominion.
Wisbv becomes one of the H nse
Waldemar I., the Vktoriois, defeats
the Slavonic pirates.
^ > Jomsberg, the grea
: VI Chr stopher I
Abe Ere VII
f Waldemar
0 Coun depu es of
the pe antry to
P rf me t
8b Ere VIM
. Alphonso, ai
irt of Portugal,
So. Sancho I.
1 II Capel us 46
4 Deposed bv the ^ope
) onys us or Denn s
12. Alphonso
14. Hen y I
17 St Fe d t
d Leon
nd U kes Cordova
1 1 a emp s o reco
d of e Moo
TheAp
inso II. ' "!, I'.i ^- I': .> nre. 9ti. Peter
irried to Raymond, cmmi of Barcelona
League of the Italian cities to preserve
III., THE Bad.
k of Venice established,
eric takes Crema. 67. He takes Rome
Frederic takes Milan. 83. Pence of Con
S. William IV., the Good, king of Sicil
oO Conrad k f
Lou s s
great
fltjly
enoa
THE CRUSADES. — THE KLXGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
anil thfir possessions on French soil exceeded
the aggregate of all others together. It was
estimated that by the middle of the thirteenth
century as many as nine thousand manors were
held by the Temjslars of France. It naturally
came to pass that all the other elements of
society were alarmed and excited on account of
the bloated development of this monopoly of
the wealth and honors of the kingdom. The
protection of pilgrims was meanwdiile forgotten
in the rivalry for power and the lust of gain.
In the course of the subsequent Crusades the
Knights not infrequently acted in bad faith
towards those whom they pretended to serve.
When the Christian kingdom in the East tot-
tered to its downfall, the Templars, with a
strange depravity of principle, attempted to
secure their own interests by separate treaties
with the Moslems ; but their fortunes were in-
volved with those of the Western powers, and
all went down together.
The chief seat of the Templars remained at
Jerusalem from the foundation in 1118 to the
year 1187, and was then transferred to Auti-
uch. Here the Grand Master had his head-
quarters for four years, removing thence, in
1 191, to Acre. This stronghold of Knighthood
ciintinued to be the head-quarters of the Order
until 1217, when a third removal was made
to the Pilgrim's Castle near Cesarea. With
tlie capture of Acre, in 1291, and the conse-
quent overthrow of the Christian kingdom, the
Tcinplai's retired to Cyprus, which they jnir-
chased fri)m Richard the Lion Heart iov thirty-
five thousand marks.
About this time the Order fell under the
ban in several parts of the West. Esjieciallv
in France were the suspicions and jealousies of
the government aroused against the Knights.
Their exemption from aU the burdens of the
state, their arrogance, their pride and licen-
tiousness aU conspired to excite against them
the dread and hatred of the people and the
king. Nor is it to be doubted that the great
wealth amassed by the Order in the course of
nearly two centuries had aroused the cupidity
of those who, unscrupulous a-s the Knights
themselves, were ready to seize the first jire-
text of violence. Especially was the hostility
of Philip the Fair of France awakened against
a power which he conceived to be a menace
to the perpetuity of his kingdom. He accord-
ingly determined to free the realm (if the jires-
enee of the dangerous and amliitimi- linither-
hood. He took counsel with Pupr Clrment
V. how^ the Order might be exterminated. A
judicial inquiry was instituted, the Knights
being charged with heresy and immoi-ality.
In 1306 Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of
the Templars, was induced to come to Paris,
and in October of the following year he and
all the members of the brotherhood in France
were seized. Their property was taken to
await the issue of the proceedings. In the
course of the trial many grave accusations,
some of them contradictory of others, were
brought forward, and the brothers were made
to answer. They were charged with infidelity,
Slohammedanism, atheism, heresy, profanation
of holy things, and unclean ness. The prose-
cution was greatly troubled to produce evi-
dence, but balked in the usual methods, a
resort was had to tnrturi', and many of the
prisoners made confession. The Pojie was loth
to give his sanction to a measure of extermi-
nation, but Philip was determined, and the
archbishop of Sens lent his countenance to the
jjroceedings.
A grand council w\is called in Paris on the
10th of Jlay, LSIO, and three days afterwards
fifty-four of the Templars being condemned
were led into the field behind the alley of
St. Antoine and burned at the stake. This
example of vindictive fury was imitated in
other jxirts of the kingdom. The reign of
viiilence provoked action from the Pojje, who
two years later convened the Council of Venice
to consider the cjuestion of the fate of the
Templars. It was decided that the Order .should
be abolished and its property confiscated ; but
at the same time the Pope reserved his judg-
ment as to whether the Knights were guilty of
the heinous charges brought against them.
The landed possessions of the famous brother-
hood were transferred to the Hospitallers, and
their movable property went to the sover-
eigns of the various states. Everywhere in
Christendom, except in the kingdom of Por-
tugal, where the brotherhood assumed the
name of the Knights of Christ, the Templars
as an organization were suppressed. De ^lolay
himself and Guv of Auvergue were burned
at Paris,
Tlie third of the sreat ehivalric biidies.
■10
UXIVEPSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
takiiiL' its ri.-e in the tini.' (if the CniMnlrs was
theTEiTONir KMc.iri>, cir KNKnrrsoF Saint
Majryof jEnrsAi.KM. Like it- t\v<i [iredeet'ssors
the -new Onln- \v:i> Ua~'-i| mi a union of mo-
nastic and militai-v ^rv\\rr. A f.-w years after
the capture of .Icru.-akiu liy the Christians, a
German merchant and his wife, dwelling in
the city, threw open their house for the enter-
tainment of the sick and distressed of their
own nation. The atti-ntion uf the Patriarch
near by w-as attached to the humble hospital,
which received the name of Saint ]Mary. The
founder of the institution devoted all his own
means to the \M.i-k, and it was not long until
alms began to pour in in aid of the enterprise.
Several distinguished Germans contributed
their jsroperty to the support of the work be-
gun by their countrymen. A service and rit-
ual were establishid, and in the year 1119,
only one year after the fnunding of the Tem-
plars, the new Order received the sanction of
Pope Calixtus II. lieligious and martial vows
were taken by the brothers, who made the
work of charity and the relief of the dis-
tressed the prominent feature of their dicijsline.
In the choice of a dress and regalia, the
Teutonic Knights distingui>ln(l tliemselves as
much as possible fmrn tlie Hospitallers and the
Templars. The gown was black with a white
mantle, and on this was a black cross with a
sUver edging. The Order soon achieved an
enviable fame, and its members became the
recipients of the same fltvors and honors which
were showered upon the other two brother-
hoods. The srcniid .•>tabli-hnirnt (.f the Teu-
tonic Kniglits was founded in lls'.l liy the
burghers of Bremen and Liibeek, whn, during
the siege of Acre, were moved to luiild a hos-
pital for the relief of their countrymen. The
two chapters were presently combined into one
order by Dnke Frederick of Suabia, who in
1192 obtained for the union the sanction of
Pope C'ele-tine III. The rule of the body was
.amplified and the discipline of the Augustin-
ians adopted for its government.
At the origin of the Teutonic Order none
but Germans of noble birth were admitted to
membi'i--hi]i. Not until 1221 were sergeants
and priests added to the fraternity. The'^chief
officer was called the ( irand :\raster. At the
fir.'^t, he had his resideiiee in .Jerusalem. Aftev
tlie fall of Acre in 1291 he removed to Venice
and shortly afterward to ^Marburg.
The Teutonic knights fir.st appeared as a
powerful military factor in the affairs of Eu-
rope about the beginning of the thirteenth
centiu-y. In ]22ii they were called out by
the Grand Master, Hermann of Salza, to
aid Conrad, duke of Masovia, in repelling
the Prussian and Lithuanian pagans from
his borders. Tiieir valor and religious zeal
attracted the attention of all the European
states ; and Conrad gave them, in reward fur
their services, the jn-oviuce of Culm on the
Vistula. E.stablishing themselves in this ter-
ritory, they extended their authority over
Prussia, Courland, and Livonia. In their
wars in these dark regions, they carried the
sword in one hand and the Go.spel in the
otlier, and the pagans were given their
choice. In the year 1309, the residence of
the Grand Master was transferred to Marien-
burg, from which, as a center, the Order
became aliuo.-t as dominant in the North as
the Tcmphirs in the South. The territory
under their rule extended from the Gulf of
Finland to the river Oder, and the annual
revenues of the fraternity were estimated at
SdOjMMi marks. The highest dignitaries of
Nortlierii iMiroiie eagerly sought membcrsliip,
and the Church smiled her fairest approval.
As in the case of the Hospitallers and the
Templars, the Teutonic Order felt the disas-
trous effects of luxury and power. The hum-
ble professions and practices of the founders
were fore'otten by the haughty Crerman barous
wlio now controbed the destinies of the brother-
hood. Oppression followed in the wake of
opulence and authority, and violent dissensions
arose as the precursors of decline. By the
beginning of the fifteenth century, the Order
had reached its climax. At that epoch, a
series of conflicts began with the kings of
Poland which hastened the downfall of the
fraternity. In 1410 the knights fought the
great battle of Griinwald, in which they were
disa-trnu>ly defeated by La.li^laus Yagellon ;
and, in a sulise(juent struegle with Casimir
IV., West Prussia was wrested from them
and annexed to the Polish dominions. Even
in East Prussia they were reduced to the rank
of vassals.
At I'englh the iiroud Knights, galled bv their
THE CRUSADES.— THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
subjugation, made an efl'ort to regain tlieir iu-
depondence. In 1525 they revolted and went
to war, but the conflict resulted in a still
fui-ther eclipse of their fortunes. East Prus-
sia was reduced to a duchy, and bestowed by
Sigismuud I. on the Grand Master, Albert of
Brandenburg. The Order became the shadow
of its former glory, and, after a precarious
existence of three centuries, was finally abol-
ished by Napoleon in 1809.
Let us, then, return to the course of po-
litical events iu the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
When, in 1118, Baldwin du Bourg succeeded
his cousin, Baldwin I., on the throne, he was
indebted for his elevation to the influence of
his powerful kinsman, Joscelyu de Courte-
nay. This distinguished nobleman had gone
to Asia Minor with the Count of Chartres iu
the wake of the First Crusade, and had set-
tled at Edessa. Afterwards he was taken
prisoner by the Turks, but, after five years,
he escaped from his captors, and received
from Baldwin a province within the limits
of Edessa. In the course of time he and
his patron quarreled, and Joscelyu, being
grievously maltreated, retired to Jerusalem.
Here he lived at the time of the death of
Baldwin I. He and Baldwin du Bourg now
made up their quarrel, and, when the latter
became a candidate for the throne, Joscelyu
iavored his election, with a view of securing
for himself the Principality of Edessa. The
arrang-ement was carried out, and, when Bald-
win II. came to the throne of Jerusalem, De
C'ourtenay was rewarded with his kinsman's
duchy.
Edessa proved to be a stormy inheritance.
From the first. Prince Joscelyn had to fight
for the maintenance of his authority. The
Saracens on the side of the Euphrates were
full of audacious enterprises, and the utmost
efforts of the Christians were necessary to
keep thera at bay. Such, however, were the
warlike energies of the veteran De Courte-
nay, that, during his lifetime, the Mo.slems
were unable to break into his dominions.
At the last he met his fate in a manner
bi-.'oiui.i- the hero of the elinrch militant.
While hiving .-iege to a fortress near the
city of Aleppo, the aged warrior was crushed
beneath the ruins of a wall; and, when re-
covered from the debris, was fotmd to be
fatally injured. He was, however, conveyed
to Edessa, and there awaited the hour of
doom. His sou, who also bore the honored
name of Joscelyn, was named as his suc-
cessor, and to him the dying governor looked
for the defense of the realm. But the youth
was lacking in the soldierly vigor of the fiither ;
and, when the latter summoned him to go on
the instant to the defense of a stronghold which
luul Ijeeu attacked by the Saracens, the younger
De Courteuay replied that he feared his forces
were insufficient. Indignant at hearing such
a word as fear from the lips of his son, the
bruised and mutilated old Crusader ordered
hiuLself to be carried on a litter to where the
Saracens were besieging his town. Learning
of his approach, the enemy broke up their
camp and fled. Whereupon, looking up into
heaven from his couch, the chivalrous De
Courteuay expired in unclouded content.
Events soon showed that the date of his
death was a dark day for the Principality of
Edessa. The younger Joscelyn was a me-
diieval roue. Without regard to the inter-
ests of the government or the glory of war,
he gave himself up to a life of sensual pleas-
ure. Seeking a luxurious retreat on the banks
of the Euphrates, he surrounded his court
with others like-minded with himself, and
gave free reign to appetite. Such measures
as were essential for the safety and welfare
of the Principality were drowned in the pleas-
ures of abandonment.
At the same time, when the government
of Edessa was thus falling into incompetent
hands, a great prince appeared among the
Moslems. This was the warrior Sauguin, sul-
tan of ^Mossul. By successful campaigns, he
had already added Alejjpo and other Syrian
cities to his dominions. After thus strength-
ening his borders, he turned his attention to
Edessa, and eagerly longed for an opportunity
to measure swords with that degenerate city.
As soon as he learned of the character and apt-
itudes of the young De C'ourtenay, he lo.st no
time in setting out on a campaign against the
almost defenseless capital of the Christian duchy.
1 Wiiile Joscelyn was holding high carnival on
the Euphrates, tlie sobering intelligence was
lini-nc t(i liis ears that a powerful Saracen army
had ahvady encamped before Edessa. It is the
lir^t inniulse of an alarmed drunkard to call
rsn-EnsAi. history.— the modkhx would.
1:0 t(i
The tLTi-itied Df Coiii'ti'iiay .-fiil iiiini.diatcly
to MiUicent, (iLU.Hi-iv:Jout'()r .J.ru.s.lmi, anil
to the pniiee (.!' Autlnrh, iM i
assistance iu hi< Imiir nf i>rril.
the queeu iior ilir ]ii-ince was a
his rescue. E.losa was hit In h.r fate; aii.l,
after a siege nf a nminh's iluratimi, ihe vic-
torious Saracens ciilti-.d the city, and ^lut the
inhabitants to the swukI.
Every thoniilitful reader <if liisiory must
have been astonislied at the many sudden re-
vulsions of fortune presented for his contem-
plation. The career of the warlilce Sanguiu
furnishes such an example. Just as his do-
minion seemed to bo firmly establisiied bv his
c.Hi.|ur>t ..f Ed.'ssa, he was ass.s.iiian-.l bV his
Slav,-: and ju~t a^ Jn-,-.lyn d.' Court, nay was
n-diir,.d to th.' rank ..f an adv.ntui-rr withnut
a i.roviiK-.', without a ritv. he Mi.I.K'ulv r-.u-rd
hiin,~.lf tV.iUi his ^tuiM,i-.',bvw his >w.'.nl, and
putting liimself at the head of his trii(i})s, rctonk
his capital from the Moslems. His spa-niodic
heroism, however, was not sufficient to wn -t
the citadel of Ed, -SI fnnii the hands of the foe.
Meanwhile, Xounililin, -on ami successor of
Sanguin, came to tlie rescue of the beleaguered
garrison; and the Christians found themselves
pressed desperately between two armies of Sar-
acens, the one within and the other without the
city. Finding his situation hopeless, Joscelyn
determined to save himself and his army by
flight. In the silence of ini,lnii:ht, the gates of
the city were opened, and the Christians un-
dertook to make their exit. But the garrison
iu the citadel discovering the movement made
a signal to the ^loslems outside the walls and
the esca|iing army was smldcnly arnst,',l in its
flight. Only a few succe.-d,.,l iu l,r,..akin-
through the Saracen camp and making their
way to th,- fricn,lly settlements on the Eu-
phrates. All the ivst were slaughtered. Fully
thirty thousand victims were lu'wcl ilown iu
an imliscriininato massacre by ih,' ri'lonth'ss
Islamites. On the morrow the Crescent was
raised al)ove the blood-smeared city, and the
Christian principality of Edessa was no more
This ^rcat disasi.-r o,-cnrv,| in the year
114.".. The news of tlir lall .,f thr ciiv was
sprra,l thr,iUi:h,ait ( Ini-hn.h.n!, an,l ih.^ na-
tions w,iv pr,,r,,in„llv Mim,l. -i-hc king.lom b
of .Terusdrni wa< diak.n t,. it,> c.nt.-r. It was <1
ist Cru-
of -Mohanmudan inva>ion. Jt wa> this condi-
ti,m of atliiirs that le,l t,. th,. pn^a.-hing of the
Secu-ND Ctu-sAi.i-; in Eur,.p,-. The principal
agent in the w,irk of arousing the people for
the succor of th<. holy places of the East was
Saint Bia-nard, abbot of Clairvaux.
duced to a >, ,-oii,I upri.Mn- ,if tin- Eui'o|.(an
Christians. The hali-r,.nlnry whi<-h lia,l .lai.-ed
sin,- th,. C,,nn,al ..f Cl.-rm',,ni ha,l phmt, ,1 in
scv.ral of th,. Western stat,.s th,- ,.<,n,iitions
of another movement ou Asia similar t,i the
fir.t. In France, King Philip I. ,li,,l in the
y,ar HOC. and was suc,:.,:.e(le,l by his sou Louis
the Fat. Til,' hLtter fr,>m the age of eighteen
ha,l bi-in assoi'iated with his lather in the gov-
ernment. Tin- intellect of the new sovereigu
\\a> canparatively a blank, but his moral (jual-
itic- will' of a hiiiher order than was coni-
m,m in his a-,'. He ha,l a >incere re-anl lor
justice, an,l his t,'mp,'r had something of that
gayety and enthusiasm for wdiich the subjects
of his remote descendants became so noted
among the more .somber peoples of Europe.
The better energies of Louis's reign were ex-
pended in a laudable effort to protect the peas-
antry of France from the exactions of the
feudal nobility. The larg.T part of hi< time
was consumed in petty wars with his liarons,
whom he endeavored in vain to repress and
force into obedience. This task, however,
was beyond the limits of his power. The time
liad not yet arrivi'd wh,'n the arrogance of
the I'reni-h nobility was to lie broken on the
wheel of royal prerogative.
In the thirteenth year of his reign, Louis
was inyolved in a war with Henry I, king of
En.vland. It will b,' remembered that that
ambitious prin,',' lia,l >ui',',','ded his brother
WiUiam Tbi fns whi'U tin- latter was killed in
Ih,' ton'M: abo that th.' dn.-hy of Xormaudy
bail, .luriii'^- th,' ab<,'n.'e of TJobert Short Ho.se
in thi' Ea-t, b, ,11 helil as an appanage of the
F.n-li-h i'r,,wn. <bi th,> r.'turn of Robert from
I'al.-tiiu. h.. n'ii,,<M'--,',l JiiiiiM'lf of his estates,
i-^ p
1,',1
and con-
THE CnUSADES. — THK KINGDOM OF .JERl'SALFJI.
demued to perpetunl iiiiprisoumeut in the
fortress of Carditi'. William, the sou of Duke
Robert, tied for his life and sou.u'ht refuye
with the Idui:- nf Fraiirr. It was the protec-
tion of this I'u^itive priH(v liy Louis tlie Fat
that brought on a war between that luimarch
and King Heury. A l>attle was fouglit bctwcm
their armies at Brenneville, in wliieli t!ie
English were vii'torinus, l)ut the vietory was
neither bliMwly nor decisive. Indeed, it was
the peculiarity of the feudal wars in the ^\■est
not to kill but to capture, for the ransom of
distinguished captives was more profitable to
the victor than the brief exhibition of dead
bodies on the battle-field. Only three Knights
are said to have been slain in the liattle of
Brenneville. It liap|ii'ncd that at the tiiuc of
the coutiiet r..pe (Adi.xtu,-^ II., who lia.l oM-apcd
from the disturbances of Italy, was soionining
in France. The potentate was gnatly -riivo.l
at the war which had broken out between his
subjects on the two sides of the Channel. lie
accordingly mediated between them, and the
two kings agreed to be at peace.
In the year 1124 hostilities broke out a
second time between the two kingdoms. The
Emperor, Henry V., of Germany, had in the
mean time married the Princess Matilda,
daughter of Henry I., and the English king
now called upon his powerful father-in-law to
aid him in his war with Louis the Fat. The
Emperor gladly accepted the invitation, for he
had many causes of enmity against King Louis.
The latter raised a powerful army of two hun-
dred thousand men, but before actual hostilities
began Henry V. died, and the war was thus
averted. As to Prince "William, Louis bestowed
on him the earldom of Flanders as a recom-
pense for the loss of Normandy, but the young
earl pri>~ently died from the effects of a neg-
lected wound.
In 112t) King Louis had his eldest son
Philip, who was the pride and expectancy of
the state, crowned with himself as heir appar-
ent to the throne. Two years afterwards,
however, the prince died, and such was the
effect of the lo^s upon his lather that the king
was ini:'oiis(.lablo and refrained for a long time
from iiublie duties.'
' The manner of the death of the Dauphin well
illustrates the existing conditions of life in Paris.
While the prince was riding; tln-ough the filth and
In the following year the succession was
established to Prince Louis, the king's second
son, then but twelve years of age. Two years
afterwards, borne down with cxcossive eor|)u-
lency, the monarch was attacked with a mal-
ady, and, believing his end at hand, hr >ou-lit
ililigenlly to be reconciled with all his toes.
Destiny, however, had appointed him three
additional y.ars of life. He ,lied in 11:J7,
In aeeoi-,lauec with the [iroviiius settlrment,
the crown pas-r.l |i<acealilv to I'rineo Louis,
who to,,k the title of Louis VII. It was his
go<id fortune to have for his minister the Aljlie
Segur, one of the ablest and most scholarly
men of the kingdom. "With such a support the
yonn- king found opp(]rtunity in tlie early
for chivalrous amusements, to wliich he de-
vote<l most of his time. His first serious busi-
ness was in 1142, when he became involved in
a quarrel with the Pope respecting the right
of investiture iu the French church. He also
alienated from himself Earl Thibaud of Cham-
pagne, whose sister had been married to the
Count of Vermandois. Him the king induced'
to divorce his wife, and to wed a sister of
Queen Eleanor. Thibaud was so greatly in-
censed that he took up arms, and the king, in
order to sujipress the insurrection, marched a
large force into Champagne, and laid siege to
the castle of "Vitry. Meeting with a stubborn
resistance, he set fire to the fortress, and by
an unexjiected spread of the confiagration the
town was wrapped in flames. A church in
which thirteen hundred human beings had
taken refuge was a part of the holocaust. The
king, who had not intended that the fire should
do so horrible a work, was near enough to hear
the shrieks of the dying, and was seized with
remorse and terror. Never afterwards did he
recover from tlio shock, and the work of paci-
fying his eons<aeiie(' became henceforth his
chief coui.'ern. It was wlnle he was brooding
the
that
n the
rulil)ish-eneumliei'eil streets a swine
his lioi-se. threw him, and fatallv
rider. The kins ther.MiiH.n issur.i a
swine shoul<l not be allow.-,! n, imi a
streets; but the proelainal ii.n was so s. riouslv re-
sisted by the monks of St. AutoiuL- that the (irder
was so moditied as to give Dirir sacred pipfs the
frr.Mloni of the city, on condition that said pigs
should uxai- helh! .Such was Paris!
rXIVimSAL niSTt)HY.~THE MODERN WOUIJi
Wr^t
llr that
fall <.f
dertakiiiy: a Crusi.li' \va- at nii<v MiLi-v^tuil tn
Louis's ininil a> a luian- "1 ixiiialioii. An
assembly of liarmi^ ami lii>lii)ps was calk-il,
and the wish of the king tu undertake a eani-
paigti against the Infidels of Asia was presented
for di>eus>i(.n. The im-asure was received with
mueli favi.r, an.l llir IN.pe, .m Ining eunsidted,
gave his aiijiroval of tlie enterprise.
Til the mean time, the Empress Matilda, the
childless widow of Henrj- V. of Germany, had
been given by her father, Heury I. of England,
to (icntlVi y I'lantageuet, sou of that Prince
Fduliju.- whn, liy his marriage with the queeu-
reiiviit (it'.Iiru-ah-ra, was acting so large a part
in the ('hii-tian kingdom of Palestine. It was
a pmirct lit' the English king (for he now liad
no .Min') ti. <>iahli>h the succession to his
daughter, wiih (ieoliley for Prince Consort.
Very averse, however, to such a project were
the barons and squires of England, who j)re-
ferred a man for their ruler. For this reason
they t.M.k si.hs with thr Piin.v Strph.-n, >nn
of Adria, ,iau-hlrr(.f the ( ■.,ii.,ii,n.r, and vig-
orously supported his claims a-ainst thn<,. of
Matilda. In the year 1127, thi' Fni^lish kin--
went abroad and resided with Ins daughter,
the Empress Matilda, whose three sous by
Plantagenet cheered their grandfather with
the prospect of the future. In ll.'>"j, Henry
I. died at St. I),.nis, but was brought home to
En-huid r..r buiiah
Events soon showed that tlie precautious
taken by the late king, respecting the succes-
sion, were of no avail. His ue])hew, Stephen,
upon whom be liad bestowed many fiivors, io-
ately appeared on the scene to dispute the
claims .if Maiilda. Every thing went in his
iiivei-. and he \\a> erowued in Westminster, in
11:;:.. i;,.t;.re the friends and
the wife ,,f IManIa-,-net
sueees.fullv enn.lnd.d ;
sup;
when David, kin- of Seothiud, t.n.k uj) arms
against him, the Engli>h munareh uas able to
meet him on equal teriii> ; and David was in-
duced, by the ces.siou of a part of the four
ncjrtheru counties of England, to desist from
hostilities. The Earl of (Uoueester, a natural
son (jf the late King Henry, was disposed to
light for the riglits of his fatlier's familv; but
.1 the earl
to join
ijred to
It soon happened, however, that the sever-
ity of Stephen towards his nobles disturbed
their loyalty ; and after the manner of the
men of their age, they went over to the oppo-
sition. Hostilities broke out between the rival
parties, but the war was conducted in the des-
ultory and indecisive manner peculiar to the
feudal times. It was not until Februarv of
1141 tliat the Earl of Olouee>ler, who com-
nianiled the army ,.f .Alatihla, succeeded in
bringing bis enemy to battle before the town
of Lincoln. Here a terrible conflict ensued,
in which King Stephen was defeated, cap-
ture,!, and imprisomMl in the castle ,,f Hri^toL
.Maiilda eiit.r.Ml London in tiiiimpli and was
aeknowhMlge.l as,,ueen. ]i..inre her .•ornna-
ti.in, bow.-v.'r. she behaved in so in,p,.rious a
manner toward- the people of the city as to
alienate the atllctions even of her best sup-
jioiters. M'itbin a month she was obliged to
(ly to Winchester for safety. From this place
.she was quickly drivi'ii t.'. Devi/.'s, and the
Earl of Gloucester, in attempting to follow her
thitlier, was in his turn caj.tured and shut up
in the ea~th' of I;oeh,.-ter.
The rival paiiies were now in a position to
exchange their noble pri-onei-s. The Earl of
Gloucester was given uji for Stephan. The
former immediately repaired for Normandy to
bring over Matilda's eldest son, the Prince
Henry Plantagenet,' to whom the people al-
readv began to look for a solution ol' their
1 Stephen f.mnd
' TIk
much '
is|,nl
ell ,1
e /'/,
pular e.-teem. So
/./,;, „,,,/;,
anin
,n of Ilenvv I., was
1- irom Xornjan.ly,
I'hl
ll. Ol
his latlierto receive
was se(
nv'e,
wUl
ijiiiel has been the snlijeetof
I. est <'tymr.loL'y, i.erluii.s, is
e won] from Lou- ].atin ;./oH-
lii-ooiii tui'js. " It apjiears
.f Anjon. wl.o first bore the
ha.l committed some crime
n a ]ii!e-rimage to Rome he
Mill, ami acee],tcd the title
I'ommenioration of liis pun-
THE CRUS.iDES.^TllE KIXdDOM OF JERUSALEM.
difficulties. Stephen resumed the exerci^f ol"
tiie ruval prerogatives, aud besieged the eiii-
jiress in the castle of Oxford. After a scasun
she made her escape and fled to Abiugdou,
where she was presently juiued liy Gloucester
aud her son. The warfare between her ami
iStejihcn continued until 1147, when the Earl
of Gloucester died, and Matilda resigning her
claim to her son, retired w-ith that prince into
Normandy. For six years there was a lull, but
in 1153 young Henry, now grown to man's
estate, raised an army, and returning to Eng-
land renewed the struggle for the crown. The
rival princes came face to face at the town of
Wallingford, but the barons on neither side
were disposed to begin a battle in which they
had nothing to gain and every thing to lose.
•Stephen and Henry were thus obliged to sub-
mit to their arbitration, and it was decided
that the former, whose only son, Eustace, had
recently died, should continue king of Eng-
land during his life, and that the crown should
then descend to Henry.
Such, then, was the condition of afl'airs in
England, when the voice of St. Bernard was
heard afar announcing the capture of Edessa
by the Turks, and calling on Christendom to
niliy to the rescue of the imperiled Cross.
Meanwhile, in Germany, in 1106, the great
but unfortunate Emperor, Henry IV., died,
aud was succeeded by his unfilial son, Henry
V. The accession of the latter was accom-
plished by the influence of the papal or anti-
German party ; but, no sooner was the young
monarch seated on the throne than he went
over to the policy of his father, and set him-
self against the assumptions of the Church.
In a short time he and Pope Paschal II. were
embroiled in the same way as Henry IV. and
Gregory had been in the preceding century.
The general result of the long struggle was
the gradual decline of Imperial influence, until
the .shadow of the Carlovingian reality was
hardly any longer seen outside of the borders
of Germany, and even here the spirit of feu-
dalism, cooperating with the destruction of
civil wars, had reduced the Empire to a fic-
tion. Nor was the character of Henry V. of
a sort to revive the reality of three centuries
ago. He was a cold, stern, and heartless
prince, whose chief motive of action was a
certain rational selfishness, and whose prin-
cipal virtue was force of will. The latter
quality was in constant aud salutary exercise
in repressing the arrogance of the German
feudal lords, who were robl)ers or gentlemen
ju.st as the sword of authority was drawn or
sheathed by their master.
The first foreign enterprise umlertaken by
Henry was the invasion of Italy. In 1110
he raised an army of thirty thousand knights,
and crossed into Lombardy. The cities of
that realm acknowledged his authority, as
did also Matilda of Tuscany. Even the
Pope deemed it expedient to yield to his
powerful antagonist, and, going forth, met
him as a friend. His Holiness agreed to
officiate at the coronation of Henry, but
still claimed the right of investing the bish-
ops. To this the Emperor would not assent,
and the Pope then made the radical proposi-
tion that there should be a complete "sepa-
ration of Church and State" — that is, that
the bishops, abbots, and priests should give
up their secular power, and become simply
officials of the Church. Tliis, of eourse, in-
volved the reversion to the ci'own of the
lands belonging to the ecrle>instie>. The
measure was assented to by Ilem-y, and the
long and bitter quarrel bitwei'n the Popes
and the Emperors seemed at an en<l.
Not so, however, in reality. When Henry
advanced to Rome, he was met by a great
procession headed by the Pope. The two
potentates walked hand in hand into the
city. But, when the agreement was read
in the presence of the bishops assendiled in
St. Peter's, there was an angry tunudt, and
the ecclesiastics refused to ratify the compact.
The ceremony of coronation was brought to a
standstill, the Pope refusing to proceed ; but
he was at once seized by the German knights,
and the scene became one of a bloody riot.
After two mouths the Inqierial party was tri-
umphant. Pascal was obliged to put the
crown of empire on the head of Henry, and
the supporters of tlie ]k\]k\\ prerogative were
for the time forced into -nl.nii-ion.
On his return into Cieii.iany, ilie Emperor
made a successful campaign again>t tiie Thu-
ringians and Saxons; ami, in 1114, married
the Princess Matilda, (lani:hler of Ib^nry I.
of Englaml. Pre-ently atfrward. theiv'was
a <!-eneral revolt in the North of (iernianv.
ry[VERSAL niSTORY. — THE MODKHX WORIA).
Frk-slan.l, Cln^r
le, Tliuriii'jia. and Saxony
all renounced t
u" Ini[i(Tial autiiority, and
took up arms t
) iiiainlain their independ-
ence. Bcl'orc t
li-^ diliirllltV CduM !>.• sot-
tied, the Eiiipcn
r was called iiitd halv, on
account of the
,lratli df ihe Cdunte-s df
Tuscany, wild 1)<
,,ueailied her ivalui td llie
Church, in^tcail i
ftd the empire, a- had iieen
pnvidu-lv a.rr. .1
li. ury .-ueceeded in secur-
ill- Tll-(-UllV, 1,11
l aKd in installing a ne\y
PdllC of lli- dW
1 appdiiitment in place of
Pa-^cal, wild !kh
died. The Freneh and
can-e. and eleeted aiidtliei- piintitf, by whom
IL'iirv wa- exediniuimi.'ate.l. But the ful-
niinalidii dt' >iieh a haii had already become
lesw tenilie than df did, an.l the act wa- ig-
nored l.dth l.y Ileiiiy hiiiiM-lf an.l (;alixtu>.
who came to the papal chair in 111^.
Four years later a great diet was convened
at "Worms for the final settlement of the dis-
pute hetweeu the Popes and the German Em-
jiernr-. The question was laid before the body
ami a decision was reached to the efiect that
henceforth the inve-titure of bishops with the
ring and cresier shdiild remain wnth the Pope;
Init all ndiiiiiiatidiis td the episcopal office
shdiild be iiiaili- in the Emperor's presence,
and till' candidate- >hduld receive their tem-
poral autlidiity fnini him. Siaii was the cel-
ebrated Ci,iii;,,-ihif nf Win-iii.<. by which the
quarrel between the papal and imperial parties
was settled for a period of fifty years.
In 1125 Henry Y. died at Utrecht, in
Holland. According to popular belief, the
judgment of Heaven was upon him for his
unnati
eond
let towards his father. He
1 td tl
e grave withmit an heir, and
•e t'eU
td iiidVii-n fdr his untinaiv
Ii~ hai
-htimss and cdld temper had
,-V.ll 1
i- piT-diial fdUdwing, and the
i< lilth
di-|H,-,d td halldw the septil-
!.■ «h.
had. end.avdn..l with all his
\. w;
< the la-t df the Hdhenstaufen
The 1
atidiial <liet which was sum-
el- hi^
eleetidii Was in. .re favorable to
l.arl>
than anv whi.ii f..r a len-
..nveiie.l hi (i,'i-liianv, Att.T
<e<-idn
the eh-.ie.' ..f ill.- .■Ie.-t..r. f.il
bishops to
the Eniper
upon LoTiT.Min:. Dnki
evinced his servilitv t.
for a c.jronatidn at the hands of the Pope, and
by giving up that provision of the Concmlat
of V\'orms which required
T.I .■dm]).nsile Wiv this |..ss df ].rerogative he
nii.l.rt....k \n dl.tain ..f Fiv.l.-riek of H.,hen-
stailf.n th.' .-tate- whl.ii ha.l be.-n be.jueathed
to that jirin.-.' by Henry V. Put in the war
which ibihiwed the Emperor was defeated and
obliged to give up the contest. In llo-'! he
went to Kome and was crowned by Pope Inno-
cent II. Siieh wa< his hnniilily that he agreed
td ])ay t.i the ehuivh an annual tribute of
four hundred pounds for the possessimi of
Tuscany — an act by which he virtually ac-
nowledged himself a Yas.sal of the Komish .See.
It Ava< at this epoch that the violent and
disuiae.tul feud broke out between the rival
Pojies Inniieent and Ana.i.te. Lothaire was
in duty bound to take .-i.l. s with the fdrmer,
while the latter was Mipp..rt.-.l by K..ger II.,
the Xorman king of Sicily. In 1137 the Em-
peror conducted an aniiy iiite ."^(.uth.a'n Italy,
and gained some succes>es over the oppe.sitidii.
But before the campaign could be brought to
an end Lothaire found it necessary to return
to Germany. On his way thither he was
attacked with a fatal malady, and die.l in the
Brenner Pass of the Aljis.
Wlien the national diet was convened for
the choice of a successor, the most prominent
candidate for the throne was Henry the Proud,
duke of Bavaria. In addition to liis hered-
itary claims to the throne, he had greatly
strengthened his cause by marrying Gertrude,
the only daughter of Lothaire. The great
prominence of Henry, however, acted against
him in the diet ; for the electors were jealous
lieforehand of one who seemed likely to prove
an emperor in fact as well as in name. They
accordingly turned from the able and haughty
Prince of Bavaria, and in violation of the pre-
vious .settlement elected Conr.^d of Hoheustau-
fen. To this action Henry, wiio was himself
a member of the diet, would not assent ; and
when the Emperor elect undertook to force
him into submission, he rai.sed an army of
Saxdiis an.l w.ait to war. Before any decisive
r.-iilt <'.iiil.l b.' r.'aiiied, however, Henry the
Pi-dii.l .li.-<l. an.l the claims of the Guelphic
Hduse .1,.m-,.ii.I.m1 to his nepk
II.
ifterwards
The brother of
THE CRUSADES.— THE KIX(;l>OM OF JERUSALEM.
the late duke continued tlie war with ('(iiuad
of Hohenstaufen, and in the cdiu-.-u ol' time
the cause of the Bavarian prinns ln-caiar iden-
tified with that «f \hr paiial party, while that
of Conrad wa^ r-pou-rd l,y the iiiiprriali.ts
throiidvuit (^criiKiny. Fnau this time forth
the name nf (inoi.rii wa> ti-i-d tn designate
the former, and Giiibellini: to denote the
latter party iu tlie long and violent strtiggle
which ensued.
The contlict between the Giielphs and Ghib-
bellines broke out with the year ll-'i:), and
continued for centuries togetiier, lieing the
most ol)durLit(; and jier-jstent eonte-t known in
the history of the .Middh' A-es. Is was in
the sixth year of the reign of this Conrad .d'
Hoheustaufen that the Christian pri}ieipality
of Edessa was, as already narrated, captured
by Xoured.lin and his Turks. Let ns then
after these Ion-- digressions — necessary to an
understaniliiiL;' nt' the condition of afiairs of
the leadiii-- -tat. - of Western Europe, during
the first half of the twelfth century as well as
to a proper appreciation of the origin and
character of the three great Orders of Knight-
hood, destined hereafter to take so prominent
a part in the eonduet of the Crusades — re-
sume the story of the second npri-ing of the
European Christians under the inspiration of
the preaching of St. Bernard.
This distinguished abbot began his work in
the spring of 114(i. A great asseinl)ly was
called at Vezalay, and Bernard, ehi.l in tlie
garb of an anchorite, stood on the hillside out-
side the walls and harangued the multitude.
Among those present were the king and queen
of France, together with all the most distin-
guished barons of the kingdom. Xot even
Peter the Hermit was more successful in kind-
ling the enthusiasm of the throng at Clermont
than was the great preacher of Clairvaux of
ddv of \'e7.alav. When his
luded the hn-t was in the
don aii.l raise.l the wild cry
vith all the ardor of the first
Lonis fluiig himself on his
fator anil reeeived the badge
een Eleanor also gladly ae-
rousiii
■■ th.
oratioi
wa
white
leat
of />;.
1 Ir
Crusa,
,.,.s.
knees
.efil
of the
ero.
cepti'd
the
erow.l,
d ai
he wa^
obli
supply
the
)wn vestments
their shoulder
111 other places the scene was repeatd.
I'^veiy province and city was roused from its
slumliers. France was on iire, but when St.
r.eniard went to ,Spiivs and l.c-oiighl the ban-
peror Conrad t,. join the cnterpii-e the latter,
who N\a~ naturally .,f a lukewarm .li-poMtio,,,
wa> hard to roii-e from hi- < icniiaii iiiim..hil-
ity. Not until the eloipiciit aMiot paused in
the niiilst of mass and ex|iatiated on the ijiiilt
of those who refused to lly to the rescue of
the imperiled cross did the apathy of Conrad
gi\-e place to emotion. His eyes brought forth
th.' witne-< of tears and he meekly and eonr-
ageou,-ly a,-Mimed the ei...-. The Cbrman
baron, fallowed the example of their sovia--
eii:ii, and the w-armth of the glow- which had
been kindled at Vezalay was felt iu the som-
ber castles of the North. Even the women of
(iermany armed themselves with sword and
lance and took the vow of the cross.
Thus were the king cd' France and the ruler
of the German Empire brought into an alliance
against the distant but liate.l Infidel. It was
agreed that their armies, setting forth in the
.spring of 1147, should rendezvous at Constan-
tinople.
With the break of winter all the roads of
France and Germany were throngeil with ]iil-
grim warriors, on their way to the various
camps. The ui^heaval ,-ui|.a-> cd, if po--il.le,
the ..utpouring of the Fii>t Cru-ade, in so
much that St. Bernar.l found occasion to write
to the Pope, saying: " Villa-cs and castles
are deserted, and there are none left lint wid-
ows and orphans, whose husbands and parents
are still alive." Evervwhere men were seen
the field. Peasants abandoned their oxen still
harnessed to their carts. Tradesmen quitted
tlieir places of barter. Lords were seen issu-
ing from their castles. l'ric>t- left the village
chuivh, and monks the moiia-tcry. Every
class of society contriliutcd a full quota of its
best men fin- the rccovci-v of i:de-sa and the
rescue of the Holy Scpulcher.
Xor did France and Germany only send
fiirtli their hosts with the sacred badges of red
on their sh.inlders. England, though rent
with the strife' between the usurping Stephen
and the aspiring Plantagenets, and Italy, dis-
tracteil with the quarrel between the papal
fl»
UMVEUSAL HISTORY— THE MoDKUS WORLD.
ami imperial parties, both alike seut Ibrtli
their bauds of warrior kuights to join tlie
armies of Capet ami Ilohenstaufea.
The Enipcrnr c^ialili-hcd liis head-quarters
at Ratisbon. ll.iv uvit -alliL-red his dukes
aud barous, arinrd for llu- di.-taut fray. Hither
came Bishop Otli". «\' Krisiyeu; Duke Fred-
erick Barliai-.j-sa, of Suabia, nephew of Con-
rad; the Manpiis (if .Mcintferrat; tlie Duke of
Bohemia, and many other dukes aud barons,
brave and notablL'. A liundred thousand war-
KN
r.nTS cm
riors were
here
c.
at the he:
d, til
the East.
Empei
,r E
iia
AlexiuS;
vas I
zautiura,
ind
o
1.)y the cr
l>adi
cr of the Greeks of By-
ainbassadors were seut
■\'<. aiinonni'inc their a]i-
proarh to ('on-lnntinn|,l,.. :\Iaiiy w,Te the
],roi;-ioiis of iViriid-lilii made by the wily
Emperor of the (jreeks to the hardy warriors
of Enro]>e, and many were the secret messa-
ges which he at the same time seut to the
Asiatic sultans, apprising them of the move-
ments of their foes. It became the policy of
Comnenus, as it had been of his graudsire, to
play double with the Christian and the Sara-
cen, to the end that his own iiiliie,-ts might
in any event be subserved.
\Vhen the Crusaders at last reaeh<-d Con-
stantinople, they were received with outward
blandishments and iuward hostility. Conrad
and his chiefs had discernment enough to per-
ceive the actual sentiments with which they
were entertained ; aud, although it had
been agreed that tiie German army should
await the approach of the French at the
Eastern capital, so keen was the resent-
ment of the leader-s that they hastened
their departure, and crossed the Bosphorus
^ into Asia.
^ No sooner were the Crusaders beyond
- the sea than the hostility of the Greeks,
~- which had been hidden under their du-
plieitv until now, began to show it.self in
a manner not to be mistaken. All the
towns were shut and barred against the
army of Conrad, and tlie Crusaders began
to suffer for provisions. Greek hucksters
from the top of the walls bargained with
the hungry knights outside, to whom they
let down baskets in which to receive the
silver paid for their meal— and the meal
was foiuid to be adulterated with an eipial
]iart of lime; nor diil the impudent
traders, from whom the German chiefs
were obliged to secure their supplies, for-
"" bear to utter against their customers such
taunts and insults as plentiful arrogance
behind a wall might safely discharge at
Worse than this was the perfidy of the
Greek guides, whom Comnenus sent out
to lead the Crusaders to — destruction. Know-
ing well the lines of march, these su))])le,
cen M'onts full information of the coui>e to
be taken liv the ( iermaii army. 80, in addi-
tion to mi-jnidin'j- the forces of Conrad, the
(ireek- purpo-elv le,l them into dangerous
],la.'.-, wher,' an'ibuH-a.les had been carefully
laid bv til.' enemy. At la-t, however, the
river Meander v\a> ivaelie.l, and there, on
the ,.piM.-lte bank, the :\lodem.- had gathered
in gix'at ibive to resist the pa>sage. And now
THE CRUSADES.— THE KIXGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
"19
followed one of the most extraordiuary epi-niKs
of the H.ilv Wars.
The -Meander was barely fordahle, if f.-rd-
able at all, hy iufautry. Conrad, howcvrr,
eager to reaeh the foe, and believing that his
men could swim or struggle through tlie
deeper part of the current, drew up the Cru-
saders on the hither bank, exhorted them to
heroic battle, and gave the order to ])hinge
into the stream. The commaml was oiiryed
■with alacrity, and so great a nundier uf war-
riors rushed into the river that the current
was broken above and the waters ran away
from below, leaving the bed almost as dry as
the banks. Great was the amazement of the
Moslems at this, to them, miraculous phe-
nomenon. Believing that their enemies were
aided by supernatural powers, they made but
a feeble resistance, and then fled in a route.
The Germans pursued the flying foe, and
slaughtered them by thousands. Years after-
wards their bones might be seen bleaching in
heaps along the bank of the Jleander.
The effect of the victory was very inspir-
iting to the Crusaders, who began to draw the
fallacious inference that they were invincible.
From the Meander, Conrad took his way in
the dii'ection of Iconium. Still at the mercy
of his Greek guides, he was led into the
defiles near that city, where the sultan had
collected an immense army to oppose his
further "proiiress. "While the Germans were
ro-ang their way through a narrow pass,
thev beheld above the hill-crests the spear-
ncads cV-d turbans of what seemed au iunu-
meraole host of Moslems. Great was the
disadvantage at which the Crusadei's were
placed in the battle which ensued. Encum-
bered with heavy armor, it seemed impossible
for them to reach and smite the light-armed
Saracens, who swooped down on them from
above. It was not long until the line of
march was blocked up with the dead bodies
of German warriors. Thousands upon thou-
sands were slain ; and Conrad had the infinite
chagrin of seeing his army melting away under
the blows of an anemy who, from his inacces-
sible position, suffered .scarcely any losses.
After struggling vainly and courageously
against the fate of his situation, the Emperor
perceived that his only hope lay in a retreat.
He according withdrew the remnant of his
that anv
.v.,l from
the
and
inrees from the detiles, aw
back in the directiim l>y whi(
It was with the greatest di
pdrtiou uf the German army
.lestructi.in. The Turkish ",
tiank and rear, and every >t
compact cohimn of the (.vi'
weary remnant was cut down witliout mercy.
Slowly and desperately, Conrad made his way
back across Asia Minor, and finally reached
Constantinople. Nine-tenths of his warrior
knights had perished under the javelins and
swords of the Moslems.
Doubtless the fatal folly of the Second Cru-
sade consisted in the failure of the French and
German armies to form the intended junction
at the Eastern capital. Nothing could have
lieen more disastrous than the jn'emature ad-
vance of Conrad before the arrival of his allies
on the Bosphorus. In the mean time King
Louis of France, repairing to the abliey of
St. Denis, took from above the altar that cel-
ebrated banner called the Oriflamme, and bore
it with hin. as his standard.' Together with
Queen Eleanor, he obtaineil permission to de-
part from the kingdom — a fact illnstrative uf
the strong ascendency of the Freneli church
over civil authority in tlie twelfth century.
The queen, who, before her marriage to Louis,
had as Princess of Acpiitaiue lieen thoroughly
imbued with the culture of the South, took
with her the refined ladies of her court, and
a baud of troubadours to eidiven tlie tedium
of the expedition. The first jxiint of rendez-
vous was the frontier city of ^letz, and here
were gathered by hundreds aud thousands the
barons, knights, and warriors of the kingdom.
The early autumn was occupied with the ad-
vance to Constantinople, where Louis aiiived
with his army about the beginning of October.
On reaching the Eastern capital the French
were received with all the fictitious ardor
which Comnenus was able to a<suine. His
professions of friendship were unbounded, and
for a while Louis and his knights l.elieved them-
selves to be the most cordially entertained of
any soldiery in Christendom. By and by, how-
ever, the king learned that Comnenus was of
^The old national banner of the Cajietian kings
was called the Oriflamme, from liavinir its edges
shaped like flames of fire, and Ijeing attached to a
staff of gold.
UMV1:J!SAL niSTORY. — THK MODKRX WORLD.
V Turks,
destrurtin,, ,.!■ tlir W.-i. in ain.i. -. Such was
the iudi-iialinii ,,[' thr I'lvn.-h kiiiL^lil- that
they were lain tn fall ii|m.ii thr l-^a<liiii caiiital
and snatch tlic .-c.pirr Jr.ini tli.- hand.-- of the
treacherous Cireek. A (.•niincil was held aud
prudence aud moderation hardly jjrevailed to
hold back the wrathful haruus from then-
purpose.
Comnenus soon perceived the change in the
sentiments and demeanor of his guests, aud
fearing their presence in the city, sought a
means of securing their departure. He ac-
cordingly spread abroad the report — known to
himself to be false — that Conrad and his Ger-
mans were gaining great victories over the Sar-
acens in the regions of Iconium. The French
were thus fired with emulation, aud the leaders
fearing lest the honors of the Crusade should
be gathered by Conrad aud his barons, urged
an Immediate departure. Comnenus soon had
the gratification of seeing King Louis ami his
army on the other side of the Ijo>i)hoius.
Xot far iKid thr Freni'h advanced into Asia
]\[inor until iniclli-incf caiiK' of the over-
whehning disaMcr wlii.li had b.falleu the Ger-
mans in the (Iclilcs of Iconiuni. The news, how-
ever— forsurh was thr s|iirit of the age — damp-
ened not the ardor of the wailikr French. Not
only did they press Iniward to meet the enemy,
but they became over-eontident, and took but
little precaution either in eanip or marching.
They made their way through LaoJicea with-
out eneouiitoring the Moslems; but beyond the
limits of llii< province lay a mountainous re-
gion, peculiarly favuralile to the tactics of the
Turks— and here the latter had gathered to
oppose the Christians.
It was now the fate of King Louis to be
overtaken and intiapped in precisely the same
manner as C ail hail been at Iconium. In
the defih's beyi>nd Laodicea the careless French
encamped in a position esi)ecially favorable to
their nun de-irn.'tion. While the Crusaders
wen. in the u-ual confndon of the camp, the
Saracen- >mMeHlv appeared bv tliousan.l- .m
' u-l,ed down with y(dls aud
upon the astounded French.
complet... The main body
as in a i>odtion where ad-
1 battle were all alike well-
X\v
The .urpri-
of Louis's :
vance, retrt
nigh impo.-.dlile. The horror of the scene that
ensued ua- urealer <'\i]i than that which had
lieen wiln«',"ed in the pa,-s of Iconium. The
gorgo weic -.ion filled with the mangled bodies
of the clii\aliy of France; and upon this bleed-
ing ma,-s of humanity huge rocks came crash-
ing down from the precipice above.
The king behaved with the greatest valor.
Collecting a body of his best knights he charged
the enemy, and secured a jjosition from which
after nightfall he made his escape and rejoined
all his soldiers who luul succeeded in extricat-
ing themselves from the defiles. Reorganizing
his forces as best he could he theu made his
way to the Greek city of Attalia, where he
was received with the usual treacherous civil-
ity. The French encamped without the walls,
and negotiations were opened between the
king and the governor of the city. The latter
ottered to furnish a fleet and convey the French
to a i)lace of .safety ; and although the .squad-
ron was only sutticient to receive the king,
his nobh'> anil cavalry, he accepted the pro-
jMisal and embarked for Ai.cioch. As to the
foot-soldiers of his army, they were left to
their fate before the walls of Attalia. The
Greeks would not receive them into the city.
The Saracens spared none who fell within their
jiowcr. (iiailually the French were reduced
to a lianilfuL Some turned Mohammedan,
(ithei,- died in de-pair. The rest were dispersed
or slain. With the exception of those who
accompanied the king to Antioch none were
left to tell the story.
In the early spring of 114,'^, Louis aud
Eleanor with their Kniiihts reached the city
of Antioch. This old capital of Syria was
now governed by Itaymond of Poitiers, uucle
of the queen aud grandson by marriage of
Boemund of Tarento. This relationship secured
to the Fi-ench a cordial reception. Amid the
[ilentv ami sunshim' of the palaces, and under
the branching trees of Antioch, the horrors of
the expedition were forgotten, and Queen
Eleanor's troubadours tuned their harps and
sang the songs of the South. She who was
herself the center of this romantic revival gave
way to the admiration with which she was
oppressed, and lulled by the soft airs of Syria,
behaved ni.t al'iei- the manner of a queen, for-
got her e,-pou<als. ].r(pvoked the king's jealousy,
and was bv him carried otf to Jeru.salem.
ml
^']i;^^p\mw^^'''^'^'^WW\^''^^'^W
ۤ
QltEN EI LWliK Wll HLK 1 KoL LAboL K-. — iJi luu I j ousUm. Liu
umvehsal history.— the moderx wored.
Here Lnui.< was received with great enthu-
siasm. Ill the eity he niei (/..iirail, who, ai'ter
his retreat to t'on-taniiiioiiie, hail put on the
sandal-shoon, taken the -eallnj,-.-hell and gone
as a pilgriiu to th.- Ilnly Ciiy. ]5au.\vin- III.,
the young ruKr of .leiiisdeiii, was thus en-
abled to entertain on -Mt. Zioii the king of
France and the Gernian Emperor. It was not
to be presumed that tlie younger of the three
princes would allow >nch an oiiportunity to
pass without impreveineiit. He called a coun-
cil of the great Christians of the East to
assemble at Acre for the consideration of the
interests of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Louis
and Conrad both attended the assembly. ]\Iany
projects for the further establishment of the
cross in the East were debated before the coun-
cil, and it was tinally determined that an ex-
pedition should be undertaken by the combined
armies of Syria against the city of Damascus.
The German Emperor and the kings of
France and Jerusalem were appointed as lead-
ers. The campaign was begun with alacrity
and zeal, and the patriarch of the Holy City,
walking before the army, carried the cross as
the source of inspiration and the earnest of
victory. On arriving at Damascus the Cru-
saders encamped in the orchards and gardens
outside the walls, and immediately began a
siege of the city. For a while the investment
was pressed with great vigor and every pros-
pect of success. It seemed certain that the
old capital of the Caliphate would be wrested
from the followers of the Prophet, and added
to the Christian dominions in the East.
But as the hour of capture drew near, the
richness of the prize, seemingly within the grasp)
of the allied armies, proved the ruin of the
enterprise. For who should have the Queen
Citv of the desert when the capture should be
etll'eted? Conrad an.l Louis decided that Da-
ma-ens ,-hould be given to Thierry, Count of
Flanders; but the barons of Syria, nnwilling
that the Western leaders should gain such a
complete influence over the Christian states of
the East, refused their assent, and demanded
the city for one of their own number. In the
hour of possible victory, violent discord broke
out in the camp of the besiegers. Ayoub,
governor of Damascus, learniuLr of the quarrel,
made haste to avail hiuKelf of the folly of his
foes. He so iiiana-ed an intrigue with the
byruiii party m tiie ( iiisaders camp that the
grip of the investment was presently broken,
and the whole enterprise was quickly brought
to uotliing.
For a brief season the minds of the Chris-
tian warriors were now occupied with the pro-
ject of an expedition against Ascalou. But
both Conrad and Louis were in reality anx-
ious to return to Europe, and the second ex-
pedition was abandoned. With the coming <jf
autumn 1149, the king of France took ship at
Acre, and retiu-ned to his own realm. He
was accompanied by a small fragment of his
once splendid army, and was received with lit-
tle honor by his subjects. His bearing ever
afterwards was rather that of a monk than
that of a king. Queen Eleanor little aijpre-
ciated the alleged heroism of her husband, and
still less his monastic manners and behavior.
Tired out with his conduct and ill success, she
separated herself from him, procured a divorce,
and retired to her own province of Aquitaine,
whic'li no\v reverted to her as a dowry.
Very little was the king aftccted by this
infelicity. He satisfied himself with circulat-
ing the report that while at Antioch the queen
had fallen in love with a horrid Turk, named
Saladln, and that even then she had been dis-
loyal to the royal bed. By this means he
hoped to be revenged, and to destroy the pos-
sibility of a future marriage between Eleanor
and any Christian prince. Xot so, however,
the result. The charms of the queen had lost
none of their power. Scarcely had she left
Paris on her way to Aquitaine when the Count
of Blois, through whose province she was pass-
ing, arrested her jJi'ogress, and attempted to
wed her by force. She managed, however, to
escape from the snare, and made her way to
Tours, whei-e almost the same scene was en-
acted by the wife-seeking Count of Anjou.
Again slie withdrew from the ambush, and
proceeded to Poitiers. Here a third lover
awaited her coming. Young Henry Plantage-
net of England, handsome, accomplished, and
royal in his bearing, proved a better wooer
than his fellow-princes of the continent. Xor
did the fact that he was several years the
junior of the queen militate against his suc-
cess in winning her hand and with it the
dueliv of A.|uitaiiie.
A> to tlie Kniiien.r Conrad, he tarried in
THE CRUSADES. — THE KIXGDOM OF .JERUSALEM.
his i)iigrim yurb a j'ear longer in Pak'.<tiuL-,
and tlieu remnied with a .small body of his
followers to Gerruauy. The Secoud Crusade,
undertaken with so much enthusiasm and
eclat, preached liy a saint and commanded by
an Emperor and a king, had proved to be
among the most abortive of all the projects of
fanatical amliition. Not a .-ingle permanent
advantage had been gained by the ijuarter of
a million of French and German warrior's who
flung themselves into the mountain passe.s of
Asia ilioor as if Europe had no graves.
Notwithstanding the collapse of the Second
Cru.sade, the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem,
under the rule of Baldwin III., for a while
held its own against the assaults of the Mo.s-
lems. The king was at all times able to call
to his aid the feudal lords and warriors of his
own dominion ; and lieside these the Knights
of the Hospital and the Temjihirs were ever
ready to rally at his summons. He was thus
able to make a fair defense of his own king-
dom, and at the same time to strike an occa-
sional blow at some stronghold of the enemy.
The capture of Ascalon, which lunl been pro-
posed by the German Empror and King L(juis
after their failure bef(ire Damascus, was un-
dertaken and successfull}' accomplished in 1153
by Baldwin and his warriors. After a sucee.-^s-
ftd reign of eighteen years, he ilied from the
effects of poison administered by a Syrian
physician, in 1162, and left his crown to his
brother Aljieric, a prince who was unfortunate
in having an ambition greater than his genius.
On coming to the throne, the new king of
Jeru.sdeni at once projected an expedition into
Egy]}t. In that country the government of
the Fatimites had become a thing of contempt.
The Calii'hs themselves had little influence,
and the actual power was disputed bv ambi-
tious viziers, reckless of all interests save their
own. At the time of the death of Baldwin
ni. , two rival viziers named Dargan and Sa-
ner, contended for the supremacy in Cairo ;
while their master, El Hadac, was passing his
time in the voluptuous indulgences of the ha-
rem. When the cpiarrel between the viziers
was at its height, Sanor appealed for aid to
Noureddin, who, after wresting the principal-
ity of Edessa from the younger De Courtenay,
had become sultan of Dama.scus. Not unwill-
ingly did this distinguished Moslem hear the
1 a power-
thc allied
S defeateil
■ "'^^^ I'l-'^s-
appeal from Egypt. With ;
his own interest, he sent tint
ful army, and though at tli
force of Syrians and Egypti
by the troops ,,f Daruan, tli
ently .slain, and .Smor e>tabli>lieil ni authoritv.
As soo„, however, as sue,vss was a.'hievcd,
Syraeon, eomniander of the army of Noured-
din, instead of withdrawing to Damascus, lie-
gau to behave like a coucjueror, and Sanor
discovered in his late friend a foeman more to
be dreaded than his former rival. Alarmed at
the situation and tendency of affairs, the vi-
zier bethought him of those terrible Crusaders
I who had conquered Palestine. With all haste
' he dispatched messengers to Jerusalem and ap-
pealed to Almeric to send an army into Egypt
and aid him in expelling the Syrians. The
Christian king was not slow to avail himself
of the fatal opportunity. A force of Crusa-
ders was at once dispatched to the a.«sistance
of Sanor, and Syraci.m was driven from the
country.
The defeated Syrian general at once re-
paired to Damascus and reported to Noured-
din. The sultan hereupon sent word to the
Caliph of Baghdad inviting him to join in a
formidable expedition against Egypt, with a
view to the extermination of the Fatimite dv-
nasty and the transfer of the K-yptian Cali-
phate to the Al)ba-Mde-. The riniH.r of the
proposed invasion was carried to Sanor, who,
in great alarm, sent the intelligence to the
king of Jerusalem, imploring him in the name
of a common cause to foce the armies which
were coming hither for their destruction, and
offering him forty tliousand ducats as the price
of an alliance. T.i make assui-ance ilonbiv
sure, Almeric insisted that a jjersonal inter-
view must be had with the Caliph of Cairo ; for
Sanor was only a subordinate and might not
be able to fulfill his agreement. Hugh, earl
of Ce.sarea, accompaiued liy a Knight Tem-
plar, was .■^ent on an end)assy to Egypt, and
was conducted into the palace of El Hadac —
a jilaoe wliere no Christian had ever set foot
before. Here the eyes of the Christians were
greeted with such a spectacle of splendor as
they had previously beheld oidy in dreams.
With much hesitation the Caliph permitted the
warriors to look upon him seated on his throne
of yold, and then ratified the conditions made bv
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERy WORLD.
tlu- vizier with tlie kiii^. Alimiic was already j
on lii> iiiai-ch toward.- ligyjit, and on coining-
near Cairo, wa^ joinrd 'oy tln' army of the
viceroy. Svracon \\a- nn-t and defeated in
battle by the allit d inrc- of the Christians
aud the Fatimiir .Mo-1, m-. Tlic enemy retired
ffrom the couiilrv and AlnjerieV army returned
to Jerusalem laden uith -old and presents.
Had the Christian king he.-n content with
what he had now achieved, all would have
still been well. But the sight of J-^-ypt with
her stnri.Ml ina-nres and the knowiedge of
the condition of imliicility into which the
government ..f I hat count'ry lia.l fallen, iu-
tlame.l the mind of Almeric with the pas-
face of Ids I'ecent treaty witli the Caliph, to
make an inva-ion of Egypt; Imt, before un-
dertaking S(.i important and peiilous an enter-
prise, he had the pr\ideiiee to >eek aud obtain
an alliance with Comneini-, lanperor of the
East, whose ilaii-litir he liad taken iu mar-
riage. Fortitie(l witli the piondse of assist-
ance from hi- fiihei-iiidaw, lie deliberately
broke \\\< promi-.' with VA Ha. lac, and began
an expedition into tlie country of his recent
allies. Tliis peilidious proceeding, however,
was bv no mean- heartily ratified by the
kni-hts and wanioi- of Palestine. The Grand
:\Ia-ter of the Templars entered hi- proi,-t
a-ain-t the .li-lionor of cau-de-lv violating
a treaty; but the lb,-pita]l.i>, le-s -en-itive
to the point of honor, and actuated by rivalry
of the oppo-ing <>r<ler, corditilly supported the
king. Almeric was by no means to be turned
from lii- ].uipo-e. At the head of his army
he marched into Lower Esypt, took the city
of Bell.ei-, and l.nrned it t.. the -round.
In the mean time, however, the -ultan of
Dama-cus wtis himself planning an invasion
of Ivjvpt. perceiving the eft'eteness of the
Patimite dyna-ty, he was thoroughly con-
•nin.xation of the land of the Pharaohs to
lltc Ea-t.-rn Caliphate. While co-itating hi-
-clH'tne-, tlieaml.ilionsNoured.lin was amaze.l
on receivin- iVom the E-vptian Caliph an
earnest mes-a-e to I'oine to his aid against
the enemies of the Pn.phet. who were already
in the country \\itli an army. Quickly as
IH.ssil.le the .-ultan, ivjoieing at the news,
,li-i,alched an armv aero- the desert t.. se-
cure whatever was to lie gained by war or
diplomacy in the African CaliiHiaLC.
]5efore the arrival of this army, which was
led by .Syracoii, the vizier 8au(u- had beaten
the king of Jerusalem at his own game of
duplicity. The crafty Egyptian sent to Al-
meric an embassy, ofl'ering to give him two
millions of crowns if he would aliandon the
invasi,,n. Dazzled with the sj.lendid prosjiect,
the king -too.l waiting while tlie Egyptians
fortitied their cities, and otherwi-e i)rej)ared
for defense. When he awoke from his reve-
rie, he heard on one side the derisive laugh-
ter of the Fatimites, and on the other the
blasts of Svracou's trumpets c.Jinin- u}) from
the desert. "
Almeric, perceiving his condition, turned
ab(iut, not without a .show of valor, aud
oltlred battle to the Syrians. But Syracon
wa> warv of the Chri-tian warri..rs, a'nd de-
<-lined to tight unt
1 «■
Kit
tim
e he ha
1 .'ilected
a jiinclion with tl
e ]•
,-yi
tia.i
-. TJM
kin- of
Jein-alem, finding
hit
is,4t
111
al.leto
■ope with
the uidted armie-
of
,i-
ti le
, witlal
ew from
the isthmus and r
■till
led
to
he llol
\ < itv.
It would have
be,
II si
ir
.-e,| th:
t hi-'late
exiierienees wi-re <
)f ;i
sort
to
cure th
■ f.lly of
not so with th.. ambitions ]nince. In-tead of
falliii- back u| [.■feii-ive m.^a-iii,- he at
till' banperor Comucnus to join him iu the
iiiagniticent project of the conquest of Egypt.
If the fulfillment had been equal to the prom-
ises made by the wily Cireek to his ardent
son-in-law, then indeed not only Egypt, but
the world, might have been subdued. Com-
n.iins, howevi'i', had no thought of hazarding
an-lit in the intercut of the kingdom of Jeru-
salem. He tliirefor<^, after the manner of his
race, promi-i^il and promised and did nothing.
Tlie di-appointed Almeric returned to Jerusa-
l.^in -till haunted with the vi-ion of the gold
and tr.'a-uivs whi.^li his eml-a-.-adors had .-ecu
in tlie palace of El Iladac.
\'cry soon after the withdrawal of the
Cliii-tian army from E-ypt the ambitious aud
-iicce— till .*^anor met an inglorious end at the
liand- ot' Syracon, who had him seized and put
to deatli. The office of vizier was transferred
THE CRUSADES.— THE KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM.
On his death he was succeeded by his nephew,
jiamed Sallah-u-deen or Saladix, destined ere-
long to become the most famous of all the
leaders in the later annals of Islam. This
young iMoslem chief was by birth a native of
Kurdistan, who had drifted westward out of
■obscurity and joined his uncle's army in the
two invasions of Egypt. His military genius
first revealed itself in the defense of Alexan-
dria, which he conducted in so able a manner
as to win the applause of the Jloslem leaders.
This episode, together with the influence of
Syracon, procured for the ambitious young
Kurd the viziership at his uncle's death, nor
was it long until, by his aliilitles, his intelli-
gence and far-reaching plans, he had made
himself the real, though not the nominal,
master of Egypt.
Even at this early period he had conceived
the design of uniting in one all the domiui(JUs
of Islam in the East. As a measiu'e inaugur-
ative of so bold a plan he presently caused
one of his followers — a priest — to go into the
principal pulpit of Cairo and ofler prayers,
substituting the name of the Caliph of Baghdad
for that of the Fatimite. Such was the auda-
city of the business that it succeeded. The
people were either dumb or indifl'ercnt. As
for the Egyptian Caliph himself, he was secluded
in his palace and knew not what was done.
A few days afterwards he died a natural death,
and one troublesome obstacle to the success of
Saladin's schemes was removed. He then
caused the green emblems of the Fatimites to
be removed from the mosques and palace of
Cairo and to be replaced with the lilack badges
of the Abbassides. Thus silently, and as if
by magic, the descendants of Ali, who for two
centuries had held sway oxer Egypt, were
overwhelmed, and tlu-ii- dynasty extinguished
by a parvenu Kurdish rhiettalu lilowu n\) from
the desert.
Saladiu, now emir o{ Egypt under the sul-
tanate of Xoureddin of Damascus, abiiled his
time. While his master lived he deemed
it prudent to remain in loyal subordination.
But when in 1173 Xoureddin — one of the
greatest and best Moslems of his times — died,
Saladin threw away all concealment of his de-
signs, and putting aside the minor sons of the
late sultan, usurped the government iiir him-
self Such was the brilliancy of his coup de
main that all stood paralyzed until the work
was accomplished, and then ajiplaudt-il the
thing done. In a short time SalaiHu had
united in one all the Moslem states between
the Nile and the Tigris. He it was who was
now in a position to look with a malevolent
and angry eye upon the figure of the Cross
seen above the walls of Jerusalem.
In the mean time, while Saladin remained
in Egypt waiting for the death of Noureddin
to open the way before him, the king of Je-
rusalem died, and bequeathed his crown to his
son, B.U.DWIN IV. This young prince was
atHieted with leprosy, to the extent of being
wholly incapacitated for the duties of govern-
ment. He accordingly, withoitt himself re-
signing the crown, committed the kingdom to
the regency of his sister, Sybilla, and her hus-
band. Guy of Lusigxan. This event hap-
pened in the same year in which Saladin, by
his stroke of policy, had made himself master
ot Islam— 1173.
The consort of Sybilla soon showed his in-
ability to bear the eai-es of state. His con-
duct wa- sn little worthy of his portion that
the l.an.iis of rah^tiiie tunic.l fiom hiiu with
the marhinatioii> ,,r Kayinoiid 11., ,.f Tripoli",
whose mi-fortune it was to In- no more virtu-
ous than he wliom he opposed. The lords and
knights of the kingdom were thus divided into
factions, whose partisan selfishness boded no
good to the Christian causi' in tin- Ka>t. At
fength the leprous Baldwin 1\'. was oblioed
by his vassals to make a nrw xttliim.-nt >A'
tlie kingdom, which hr rtirrU'A I.V alH,li~hill-
the regency of Sybilla and hor iin>l,and, and
lje>towiug the crown ujion liri' ^ou liy lior
former husband, the Count of :\Iontf.rrat. This
prince, who, by his uncle's abdication, took the
name of Baldwin V., was himself a minor,
anil was for the time committed to the guardiau-
shiii of Joseelyn do Conrtenaw son of that
din had snatched the Principality of Edessa.
At the same time of the settlement of the
crown of Jerusalem upon Baldwin V. the cus-
tody .if the tortri'sses of the Holy Land was
intru-tr.l to the Hospitallers and the Tem-
jilai-, and the general rc-encv of the kingdom
to Count Kaynion.l of Tripoli.
Soon after this a.ljii^tmeiit of a«air> Bald-
■2r;
UyiVKESAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
1 «a. .luickly fol-
ural lakiug-uti' of
was thus broutrht
Ifi- uf uature and
rcircnt Kaymoud.
win IV. died, an.l liis dcatl
lowed by the proliahly uimat
Baldwiu V. The j^ettleimut
to naught, partly by the (jn
partly by the crime of the
Svbilhi hereupon reapiieare(
au.l. support,..! by the I'atriaivh of tlie city,
pmeured the .•onniatinn nf her>elf and ( niy
of Lusig-nan as Kiui: and l^ieeu of Jerusalem,
This procedure led to eivil war. JIauy of the
barons refused to acknowledge the new sover-
eigns, and took up arms umler the lead of
Raymond, and with the ostensible object of
raising Isabella, a sLster of Sybilla, to the
throne of ralestino. Such was the bitterness
of the strife that, although the queen by lier
prudent and conciliatory measures succeeded
iu winning over most of the insurgent uoi)les,
the remainder iu their implacable distemper
allied themselves with Saladin ! Thus when
the storm of Jloslem fury was already about
to br.ak u[ion the kingdom won from the
Intidols by the swords of Short Hose, Tancred,
and (ioiUVry, the day of wrath was hastened
bv the tri-ason of those wdio wore the sacred
CHAPTER >^C1I.— FALL Oh^ THE CROSS.
HO.M
he .'^upernals would
destro
V thev first make
mad.
So it was with the
Chri-tians of Palatine.
At the very crisis when
Saladin, after settling the
atiairs of Egypt and Sy-
upon the kingdom of
Jerusalem, that disaster was precipitated l>y
the rashness of a conscienceless baron of the
Holy Land.
In the year 11 ■'^ij a certain Reginald de
Chatillon, an adventurer more fit to be called
a robber than a kni;jlit, iMl upon a Moham-
medan ca.th- on the borders of the Arabian
desert, and having cajitured the place made it
his head-quarters, from wdiich he sallied forth
to plunder the caravans passing back and
forth between Egypt and ]\Iecca. Hearing of
this lawdess work the sultan, Saladin, with
due rccard to the existing treaty, sent a mes-
sage to the kinn' "f Jenisaleni demanding
redre-s for the outrages cmuuitted by his
vassal. Guy of Lusiguau, wdio had lately
receiveil the crown, was either unable or un-
willing to punish Reginald for his crimes, and
Saladin was left to ])ursue his own course.
He immediately put himself at the head of
an army of eighty thousand men and began
an invasion of Palestine.
The march of the Moslems was first directed
against the fortress of Tiberias, the most im-
portant stronghold of the Christians in the
northern part of their kingdom. It was all-
imi)ortant that King Guy should save this
outpost from falling into the hands of the
Tureomans. He accordingly mustered his
t'orees for the conflict and proceeded in the
direction of Tiberias. His whole army num-
bered no more than twelve hundred knights-
and twenty thousand infantry, and even this
small force was shaken with quarrels and ani-
mosities. Raymond of Tripoli was accounted
a traitor, and the king himself was considered
a coward. Yet upon such a force tinder such
a Commander was now to be staked the fate
of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem.
It was midsummer of 1187. The two armies
met iu the plain of Tiberias. Events soon
.showed that Saladin was as superior in skill
as he was in numbers. During the first day's
l)attle he succeeded in forcing the Christians
into a position where they could procure no
water. He then fired the neighboring woods
and almost sufibcated his enemies with smoke
and lieat. On the following morning he re-
newed the battle with great fury, and although
the Templars and Hospitals, as well as the
foot, fought with their old-time bravery, they
were surnnuided, hewed down, piled in heaps,
exterminated. All the principal leaders of
the Christian army were either slain or taken.
The Grand Ma.ster of the Hospitallers was
mortally wounded. He of the Templars, the
Mai-ipiis of Montferrat, Reginald de Chatillon,
Kirn: <'uv himself, and a host of nobles and
THE CBUSADES.—FALL OF THE CL'OSS.
tuights were made ^Ji'isoner?. The scene that
€usued well illustrates the spirit aud temj)er
of the crusading epoch aud the character of
war aud victory iu the twelfth ceutury.
Hardly had the dust aud noise of the bat-
tle passed when the captives were led iuto the
presence of vSaladiu. With a smile the p-reat
Islamite received the tremljling- king, and after
the manner of the East tendered him a cup
■of cold water. Moved either by fear of poison
or by the desire to include another with himself
in the friendly act, he of Lusignan accepted
the cup, but passed it to Chatillon. There-
upon the rage of Saladiu shot up like a flame.
He declared that so far from Reginald's shar-
ing his clemency he should then and there
■embrace Mohammedanism or die like a dog.
It was the Christian robber's time to show his
mettle. He haughtily spurned the condition
of escape by apostasy. Thereupon the sultan
■drew his cimeter and with one blow struck off
his head.
It appears that Saladin rightly appreciated
the character of the Templars and Hosiiitallers.
AVhile he was all courtesy to the king — pol-
troon as he was — he was all severity towards
the Knights. To them he now presented the
same alternative which he had put before the
audacious Reginald. Not a man of them
blanched in the presence of his fate. They
could die, but apostatize never. Their vows
of knighthood and loyalty to the Cross were
stronger than all the bonds of kindred, all the
ties of affection, all the hopes of mortality.
To them the Prophet was Antichrist, and his
religion the gateway to hell. The two hun-
dred and thirty captive Knights stood fast in
their integrity, and were all beheaded.
The battle of Tiberias shook the kingdom
to its center. Nearly all the fortresses had
been emptied of their garrisons to make up
the inadequate army which had met its fate
in the North. Saladin was in no wise dispose.".
to rest on a single victory. Tiberias itself fell
into his hands aud then Cesarea. Aero, .TafFa.
and Beyrut went down in succession. Tyi-o
was for the present saved from capture by the
heroic defense made by her inhaliitants, led by
the son of the ca]itive ]\[ar<|uis of Moiilfcrrat.
Finding himself delayed by the olistiiuK'v
of the Tyrians, Saladin abandniicd the siciio
and pressed on to Jerusalem. Sad was the
plight of the city. Fugitives from all parts
of Palestine had gathered within the walls,
but there was no sense of safety. The queen
was unable to conceal her own trepidation, to
say nothing of the defense of her capital ; and
when the enemy encamped before the walls
there were already moanings of despair within.
None the less, there was a show of defense.
The summons of the sultan to surrender was
met with a defiant refusal. The garrison made
several furious sallies, and fourteen days
elapsed before the Turks could bring their en-
gines against the ranij)arts. Then, however,
the courage of the besieged gave way and
they sought to capitulate. But Saladin was
now enraged, and swore by the Prophet that
the stains of that atrocious butchery of the
Faithful, done by the ancestors of the then
Christian dogs in the City of David should
now be washed out with their own impure
blood. At fir.st he seemed as relentless as a
pagan in his rage ; but with the subsidence of
his jJassion he fell into a more humane mood,
and when the Christians humbly put them-
selves at his mercy, he dictated terms less sav-
age than his conquered foes had reason to ex-
pect. None of the inhabitants of Jerusalem
should be slaughtered. The queen, with her
household, nobles, aud knights should be con-
veyed in safety to Tyre. The common people
of the city should become slaves, but might
be ransomed at the rate of ten crowns of gold
for each man ; five, for each woman ; one, for
each child. Eagerly did the vancjuished sub-
mit, and the Crescent was raised aliove the
Holy City.
Thus,"in 1187, f.'ll Jerusalem. The fierce
nature of Saladiu rdaxi-il iiiidir tin- influence
of his victory, ami he bigaii nunc fully than
befiire to manifest that magnanimity of which
he was capable. By the concurrent testimony
of the Christian and IMohammedan writers, his
cimdurt was sm-li a< to merit the eulogies
which |H.st.-ritv lias s.. fn-.'lv bestowed. It
appears that no drop of 1
>]on,l was shed after
the capitulation. lu-icai
-if liuteheriiig ten
thousanil of the inhaliit.
iit< within the pre-
einots of the Temple a>
the Crusa.lers had
• lone iu 1(>'.»1), he >pan.d
all \\hn Mibniitted.
Th.- frightened queen w:
s treated with cou-
Hd.-ration. As she and
lier train withdrew
thi-i'ugh *'"=■ gates of the
city, weeping after
UNIVEBSAL HISTORY.— THE MODKHX WORLD.
the mauuer of women over their misfortunes,
he forbore not, touched as lie was with the
spectacle of their misery, to shed tears of sym-
pathy. He endeavored to soothe the princesses
with manly and chivalrous words of condo-
lence. Nor was his conduct towards the cap-
tured city less worthy of praise. The ransom
of the common people was enforced with little
rigor, or else not enforced at all. Finding a
group of Hospitallers still plying their merci-
ful vocation about the Church of St. John the
Baptist — though at first he was enraged at the
sight of their hateful badges — he left them un-
molested in their good work of healing the
sick and succoring the distressed.
As soon as the captive queen and her com-
pany had withdrawn in the direction of Tyre,
Saladin made a triumphal entry into Jerusa-
lem. The golden cross which stood above the
dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was
pulled down and dragged through the streets
of the city. The - reat ^h is. |ue of Omar, which
now for eighty-ei-lit \ r;ir~ had been consecrated
to the worship nf (inil and Christ, was reded-
icated to the worship of God and ^lohammed.
In order to remove all stains of defilement
from the sacred edifice, the walls and courts
and portals were carefully washed with rose-
water of Damascus.
The other towns of Palestine quickly sub-
mitted to the victor. Nazareth, Bethlehem,
Ascalon, and Sidon were successfully taken
by the Moslems. Of all the Christian pos-
sessions in the Holy Laud only Tyre re-
mained as a refuge for the scattered fol-
lowers of Christ. To that city the garrisons
of the other towns and fortresses were jier-
mitted to retire, and its walls were soon
crowded with the chivalry nf the East.
Here, moreover. Prince Conrad, son of the
captive ^Marquis of Montferrat, was still dis-
tinguishing himself by his courageous defense
against the enemy. \"w strongly reenforced
by the gathering nf tin- Christians into Tyre,
he was still m.>n. able to keep the ^Moslems
at bay. So 'jrcat was his popularity, that
the inhabitants voted him the sovereignty of
the city ; and ^vhen the captive king of Jeru-
salem, who, on condition of perpetual renun-
ciation of the crown, had been set at liberty
by i^aladin, attempted to enter Tyre, the peo-
ple rejected him with contempt, and would
not even permit him to come within their
walls. Meanwhile the victorious sultan, well
satisfied with tht- results of his conquests, re-
turned to Damascus, and there, amid the
delights of his palace and the cool shadow
of the palms, found time to meditate, after
the manner of a true .Saracen, upon the
vicissitudes of human aft'airs and the glori-
ous rewards of war. Here he remained at
peace until the winds of the jMediterranean
wafted across the Syrian desert the news of
belligerent and angry Eumiie ]UT])ariiig her
armor ami mustering her warriors tor the
Third Crus.4.de.
For great was the consternation, the grief,
the resentment of all Christendom when the
intelligence came that the Holy City had been
retaken by the Turks. The fact that the In-
fidel was again rampant in all the places once
hallowed by the feet of Christ acted like a
fire-brand on the inflammable passions of the
West. It was not to be conjectured that the
Christian states of Europe would patiently
bear such an outrage done to their traditions
and sentiments. The first days of gloom and
sullen despair which followed the news of the
great disaster quickly gave place to other da3'3
of angry excitement and eager preparation for
the renewal of the conflict.
By this time the crusading agitation, which
had begun in the very sea-bottom of Europe-
a century before, and, after stirring up first of
all the filthiest dregs of European society, had
risen into the higher ranks until nobles and
princes fell under the sway of the popular
fanaticism, now swept on its tide the greatest
kings and potentates west of the Bosphorus.
Of all tlic Irading sovereigns of Europe, only
the <'liri^tian rulers south of the Pyrenees —
who were themselves sufficiently occupied with-
the ^Mohammedans at home — failed to coope-
rate in the great movement which was now
Oi-ganized for the recovery of the Holy Land
from the Infidels. Henry Plantagenet of Eng-
land, Philiji II. of France, Frederick Barba-
rov<a of (.Termany, and Popos Gregory and
Clement, all alike vied with each other in pro-
moting the common cause.
Nor had the people lost while tlie kings
had caught the enthu.';iasm of war. The pop-
ular impatience c.aild not await the slower
preparat
)f prudent royalty making ready
THE CRVSADES.-FALL OF THE VU0S6.
'29
for the struggle. Thou«\u(ls upou tliuu,-;iiuls
of pilgrim warriors, uualile tn ri.'.straiu their
ardor, Imrrieil to thr seaports (jf the Mediter-
ranean, aud euiharked at their own expense
to imperiled Palestine. The maritime Repub-
lics of Italy, more than ever before, came to
the front as the carriers nf the numerous bauds
that now urged their way to the East. iS'ot
only the ports of Italy, Southern France, and
Greece furnish an outlet for this tumultuous
movement, but those of the Baltic, the North
Sea, aud the British Channel in like manner
sent forth their hosts of warriors.
So rapid was the accumulation nf the Cru-
saders at Tyre that, by the beginning of 11NI»,
the alleged King (iuy found hinisulf at the
head of more than a hundred thousand men.
Such was the zeal of the host that the leaders
were urged on to undertake the siege of Acre.
It wa< this niov,.in..nt whirh minrd Saladin
fr.mi his ,ir.anis at Dama^n,., and H.undrd
the tocsin for the renewal of war. A\'itli a
great army, the sultan set out for the relief
of his beleaguered stronghold, and it was not
long until the Christians were in their turn
besieged. With great diligence, however, they
fortified their position, and, while on one side
they continued to press hard upon the walls
of Acre, on the other they kept Saladin and
his host at bay.
Meanwhile a Christian and a Mohammedan
fleet gathered to participate in the struggle.
While the Jloslem shij)S brought relief and
supplies to the garrison of Acre, the Christian
ships did the same for the Crusaders. For the
reeuforcemeut of the latter, Europe continued
to pour out her tens of thousands, while be-
hind the ^rnslLin army were the iiirasm-eless re-
sources of the (k'siTt and the East, •'■■o numer-
ous became the Christian host that supplies
failed, and the terrors of famine were added
to the horrors of disease. In like manner,
though in a less degree, the jNIohammedans be-
came sutierers from their excess of numbers;
and in both armies abused nature cooperated
with the destructive energies of war to re-
duce the battling multitudes. jSTor is it likely
that in any other of the great struggles of
human history so terrible a waste of life was
ever witnessed as before the walls of Acre.
It was estimated that the Christian losses
reached the enormous aggregate of three hun-
dred thousand men, while those of the Mos-
lems were but little inferior, and then the siege
was iiulecisive. Such was tiie afterpiece of
the struggle between Isaac and Ishmael !
Even this awful conflict and carnage was but
premonitory of the real battle which was to come.
For in the mean time the great potentates of
the West were preparing for the struggle. First
of all in the work was the aged but still fiery
and warlike Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor
of Germany. Already for forty years a vet-
eran, he flung himself into the breach with
all the enthusiasm of youth, moderated by the
prudence of manhood. A great national fete
peri)r and vowed the vow of the cross.
Of all who had preceded him, not one was
Barbarossa's equal in genius and generalship.
Hr car. fully weighed the peril> of the great
uiHlertaking, and provided again>t its hazards.
In mustering his forces he would accept no vol-
unteer who could not furuish the means of his
own subsistence for a whole year. A German
of the (iennans, he would not intrust himself
aud his army to the mercies and rapacity of
the ri>an and \'enetian shiiwnasters, but de-
termineil to take the old land route by Avay
of Constantinople ami Asia ]\[inor. His army
in the aggregate, exclusive of unarmed pU-
grims, numbered over a hundred thousand
men. Of these, sixty tlioll^and wei'e cavalry,
and of tliese fifteen tlioiisui.l w.iv Knights,
the flower of the Teutonic Order. The Em-
peror had with him as a leader, his son. tlie
DukeofSuabia, together with the dukes oi' Aus-
tria and ^Moravia, and moi-e than sixt\- other
distinguished [.rinces and ban.ns. The great
army was tliiaon-hly di~i'iplined aud .-upplied,
and the host move.l forward with a regularity
and military subordination wliich would have
been creditable to a modern commander.
In travertin- tlie Gn^ek Em],ire, Fred-
erick met with the same double-dealing and
treachery which had marked the course of
the Byzantines from the first. At times the
fury of the German warriors was ready to
break fiirth and consume the ])erfidious Con-
stantinopolitans, but Barbarossa, with a firm
hand, restrained them from violence. Shar-
ing their indieiiaticju, however, he refused to
acce])t the invitation <if the reigning Csesar,
UNIVERSAL IIISTOL'Y.—THE MODERN WORLD.
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CEOSS.
Isaac Angelas, to visit him iu his cai)itaL
AVith an eye single to the work iu hand, he
crossed into Asia Minor, and began the her-
culean task of making his way towards Au-
tioeh. Iu this movement he was opposed, as
his predecessor had beeu, by every inimical
force in man and nature. He was obliged
to make his way through heated deserts and
dangerous passes with the Turcoman hordes
darkening every horizon and circling around
every encampment. But they were never
able to take the old hero oft' his guard. He
overcame every obstacle, fought his way
through every peril, and came without seri-
ous disaster to Iccmium. Here he was con-
fronted by the sultan, whom he defeated
in battle, and whose capital he took by storm.
By this time the name of Frederick had be-
come a terror, and the Moslems began to staud
aloof from the invincible German army.
Here, however, was the end of Barba-
rossa's warlike pilgrimage. While moving for-
ward steadily, he came, in Cilicia, to the
little river Calycaduus, where, ou the 10th
of June, 1190, he met his death. But Tra-
dition, with her usual painstaking obscurity,
has not decided whether he died of a fall
from his horse, or from carelessly bathing,
when overheated, in the ice-cold waters of
the stream.'
Evil was the day when Frederick died.
It was soon discovered to what a great de-
gree the success of the German invasion had
been due to his genius. The Moslems had
properly judged that the leader was the soul
of the Christian army, and, learuing of his
death, they returned to the charge with im-
petuous audacity. Disease and famine began
to make terrible havoc among the German
soldiers. The command devolved upon the
son of Barbarossa, who was in many respects
worthy of his father's fame. Slowly the Cru-
saders toiled on, harassed bv the almost dailv
1 Frederick Barliarnssa. the Red Beard, is the
national hero of Germany. The folk-lore of that
story-telling land has preserved a tradition that
he did not die, hut, returning to Europe, en-
tered a cave at Salzhnrg, where he went to sleeji.
There he sits nodding until to-day. But whenever
Fatherland is endangered, he wakes from his
slumber, comes forth in armor, and is seen on
the battle-field where Germans are fighting, terri-
ble as of old.
onsets of the Saracens, whom to reprl was liut
to embolden for another charge
At last the worn-out warriors rearhcl An-
tioch. Niue-tenths of their number had per-
ished, but the remnant had in them all the
courage and steadfastness of their race. The
Principality of Antioch was at this time hekf
by the forces of Saladiu, and their uumljcrs
far exceeded those of the Crusaders. Neverthe-
less the German Knights, disregarding their
numerical inferii.rity, fell lioldly upon the
Moslems and scattered all liefore them. Anti-
och was taken, and the Saracens retreated in
the direction of Damascus.
Having achieved this marked, albeit unex-
pected, success, the Crusaders pressed forward
to Acre. They were received with great joy
by the Christian army, but the force was so
wasted by sickness and continuous fightiug
that the addition to the numbers of the besieg-
ers was scarcely noticeable. In a short time
the gallant Duke of Suabia died, and the mag-
nificent army of Barbarossa was reduced to a
handful. The leader, however, did not j^erish
until he had had the honor of incorporating
into a regularly organized body the Order of
Teutonic Knights, which had hitherto held a
precarious and uncertain course since the date
of its founding, as already narrated iu the
preceding- chapter. A papal edict followed,
putting the new brotherhood ou the same level
with the Hospitallers and Templars, under the
sanctiiin ancl encouragement of the Church.
At this juncture a new figure rose on the
horizon — a warrior armed cap-a-pie, riding a
powerful war-horse, brandishing a ponderous
battle-axe, without the sense of fear, stalwart,
and auilacious, a Crusader of the Crusaders,
greatest of all the medieval heroes — young
Richard Plantageuet the Lion Heart, king of
England. In that (■ountry Henry 11., foun-
der of the Plaiitagenet dynasty, liad died in
.July of 11S9. The siege of Acre was then iu
progress, and Frederick Barbarossa was on his
march to the Holv Land, King Henrv him-'
self had de^inMl to -hare in tlu- glory of deliv-
ering .lerusalcni from the Turk-, hut the
troubles of his own kingdom al.sorbed his
attention. Greatly was I
least angered, bv the con
Piehard and .Toiiu. The
strong, the latter enuiiing.
aMlirioi;, or at
•t of his sons,
rmer was hcad-
d both di>l.,val
gu^tus ,,f FraiicM — a
and witli >ni,i..|l,in- cf
In vain ,li,l i\u- Kn
l.ivak thr attarhni.nl 1
CXIlKh-SAL HISTORY.-^THK MODEJiX WORLD.
1.1 kin^. Kirhanl had cou- ivady lor
,■ all'r.'liun iMi- riiilip An- l.r.-ii' arra
-a i.niK-r of Id- nun a-v, th.ir loR
.edition to tlie East. It had
lat he and Philip should juiu
X'azeluy, and thither iu the
Ml aiMhu'ity. siiniim i- of IIIKI both king.s repaired with
king en.leavor to thrir ai-nii. -.' England \vas left to the care
1 hi,< heir and the of Bidioj, Hugh (.f Durham and Bishop Loug-
Fn-nch niiinaivli. Th. y continued to vow , ehanip of Ely, while the guardian.-liip of the
eternal frimd-liip and to i-esolve that they French Kingdom was intrusted to Philip's
would light the Inlidil- together. Even wheu queen and ministers.
Heury went lo war with Philip, he had the Arriving at their reudezvous, the French
mortitication and horror of finding his sons and English kings renewed their vows of
lis) 1
hi I
n h
tl \
I I 1 hiid h \\e\ei
III w t^ eieith in 1
\ 1 tckno^\ledJred
I tl L 3d of Septem
w I the lei-t piit of
uti.ie-. in the in u
nus the En.h h ui 1
I I 1 hi in thei El
I I um ot
I 1 It hL nnde
\ 1 tl u 111 n 1 nnie thin
11 1 1 11 1 a ut n a
Vii Ml It tl it it\ thty
I 11 t 1 III t I 1 It tl tin
t t Me lUt in '-leih Phdip
111 L-\ous to Geuoi ^\hKh wis
nikrtion, while Eichaid pio-
' Bitiie dtpirtmg hrra En^kn 1 Eitharl's
M (s f ■^^hlch he nn le little ii m c -.ncenlment,
1 ecirae the rccision nt a fimous inci lent and cut-
tin^ lejaitee \ceitam F ul^ue of Neuilh azeal-
Ubj leulici cf the Crusule uj briided him for his
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE t'A'0>
ceeded to Mai-seilles, to await the arrival of
his fleet from England. Tlie Au,n delay wldrli
here occurred proved iiitnlerable t<.' his iinjiet-
uous spirit, aiid, hiring a few ships, he em-
barked with lii- iiniuediate following, aud sailed
for Italy. lu the mean time, the English
squadron made its way into the Mediterranean,
reached JIarseilles, took on board the army,
aud arrived at Messina ahead (d' both Philip
and Richard.
In Sicily the French and Englidi armies
were niaiiitaiiicil duiing the winter. It was
not Inng until thr idaud was in a ferment
of excitniirnt. Tancred, the reiguiug king,
had impri-oned Juan, wiiluw of his jjredeces-
sor and sister ,d" Itidiar.l. The English king
not only enforced her liberatiou, but seized a
Kic'liard
s dreams had something to do with
the cha
nge iu his aflectious. For at this
junrtun
tiie Princess Bereugai'ia, daughter of
Kiu- S.
neho of Navarre, arrived in Sicily,
r>n,rted
l>y the queeu-mother, Eleanor of
Englun.
. With her Plantaoenet fell deeply
in love,
an.l Pliilip was a-'d,.,,,]v otl'ended.
Nothing
however, culd slay the tide of
castle and gave it to her as a resideuce.
permitted his soldiers to help themselves ti
best which the i-slaud afforded. \Vlut\ In
ties broke out between his furees ami
the inhabitants of Messina, aud the lat-
ter were defeated, he allowed the city to
be sacked as though it were a strongh<ild
of the Tuiks. Thc'^e pioceedmgs gieath
offended KmL' Phdip, for Tancied wis
his \a^^al , but Richaul enfoictd hi- \\ dl
and then, m oidei to j)la(. ite the Fit m h
kiut;, sent him a pn-i nt ot t«ent\ thou
11 \\
I i-tl
he had e\-
K ( ot pei( e
I 1. (d 1, th
1 ' hi- mflu
le -ci
iffi
/// km s
sand ounce- cd .
toited fiomTuK i
He al-o ga\e i -|
val to the kni_ht
armie-, thu- .k i
en( e uid pnpul II
Soon itteiu u
cult\ aio-e lnt\M
Foi -ome time I!
engagemi nt \^ ith
Piime- V hill
of th( 1 \ 1 . l(
siou loi the piiuet— hv\ been one of the thief
cau-e- of e-tiangement between him-elt and
hi- fathei Hem's Pulnp- the apptaimce
ot mothd Kn d mnd.
his \ohiiituousiip-s flhuh he dp-i„ii iteil is the
'kinfi\ thi ft ihiuq!itn'' ' Youi counsel is excellent '
said Richard, " .ind I here and now part witli my
three daushter.s forever. I give the first to the
Knights Templars; the second, to the monks of St.
Benedict ; and the third to wy priests and bish-
ops." Foulque was one of them.
lull hil lu.nuiidei
'hilip t 1 iiiun hi- -i-tei the
ut toi -ome lea-on the auloi
Foi-ooth, his foimei pa-
he i 1 at t II aud j. lined
his t ice to the a i -s 1 t e \cie Richard,
on the othei haul ha 1 ill foi tune. Off the
o4
uxJVEnsAL JiisroJiY.—riiE moukux would.
coast of Crete, his sijuadruii was sliattereJ by
a storm. Two of bis vessels were wrecked on
the shores of Cyprus; and, although he him-
'ielf had reached Khodes when the news over-
took liim tliat the strauded crews had been
robbed and detained as jJi'isoners by the Cv-
priots. he turned about to avenge the injury.
DiKiiibarkin- his trui.ps, he took the capital
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
of the islaud by stnnii, and ]iut the govenior
in chains. And, tn add insult to i'jnmniuy,
the chains were made nf -ilvrr. The inhabi-
tants of Cyprus were made to pay dearly for
their aggression, for the king levied upon
them a tribute as heavy as their ofi'ense had
been rank.
Satisfied with his vengeance, Richard now
celebrated his nuptials with Bereugaria, whom
he had hithert" firborne to wed, the season
being Lent. Wlien the festivities were over,
he sailed for Acre. His squadron at this
time consisted of fifty war-galleys, thirteen
store-ships, and more than a hun<lred trans-
ports. On his way to the eastern coast, he
had the good f jrtune to overhaul a large ship
of the enemy carrying fifteen hundred men
and stored with Greek fire. So terrible was
the defense made by the iloslem sailors that
the vessel, shattered by the conflict, went to
the bottom with all her stores. Only thirty-
five of her defenders were take alive from the
foaming se?.
Arriving at Acre, the English king was re-
ceived with great enthusiasm. His astonish-
ing audacity and prowess were precisely the
qualities needed in the Christian camp before
the fortress. On his appearance, notwithstand-
ing the serious illness with which he was pros-
trated, new life flashed through the dispirited
ranks. His battering engines seemed to work
with the vigor of his own will. He became
the Achilles of the h.ist, whom nothing could
resist or divert from liis purpose. The re-
peated and unwearied eiforts of Saladin to
relieve and reenforce the beleaguered garrison
were repulsed as fast as made. The inhabi-
tants of Acre found themselves in the grip of
a giant. The walls were broken on every side.
The garrison was reduced in numbers and
driven to despair. Saladin at last gave a re-
luctant assent, and Acre, hitherto impregnable,
surrendered to the Crusaders.
In the hour of victory the character of Coeur
de Lion revealed itself in full force. Without
the show of courtesy to Philip, he took posses-
sion of the palace for himself He would not
brook even a protest against his arbitrary and
high-handed proceedings. Perceiving that Leo-
pold, duke of Austria, had planted his banner
on the wall, Richard seized the standard and
hurling it into the ditch, set up the banner
of St. (ieorge in its stead; uor did Leopold
dare to express by other sign tiiau silent rage
his burning resentment.
The sultan was obliged to make terms most
favorable to the Christians. Fifteen hundred
captives held by him were to be given up.
Acre was to be surrendered, and tlie gai-rison
ransomed by the payment of two hundred
thousand crowns of gold. The victorious kings
agreed on their part to sjJare the lives of the
prisoners. The jNIoslem camp iicfore Acre was
broken up and the army withdrawn in the di-
rection of Damascus. The Lion Heart having
detained about five thousand h(jstages, permit-
ted the remaining inhabitants of the captured
city to depart in peace. And now followed a
scene terribly characteristic of tlie bloody an-
nals, ferocious spiri.. and vindictive methods
of the age.
Saladin fiiiled either through negligence or
inability to pay to the victors within the pre-
scribed time the stipulated ransom for the cap-
tives of Acre. Thereupon Richard fell into a
furious passion, and the Moslem Iiostages to
the numlier of five thousand weri' leil oui tVoni
the walls to the camps of the I'lcneh and
English and there beheaded in cold liloiid, and
so little was the humanity of the great Crusa-
der shocked, that he complacently beheld tlie
end of the horrid tragedy, and then wrote a
letter in which his deed was boasted as a ser-
vice most acceptable to heaven.
The massacre of his subjects provoked Sal-
adin to retaliation. He revenged himself by
butchering the Christian captives in his hands
and seizing others for a similar fate. One
massacre followed another until the lineaments
of civilized warfare were no longer diseo\-i r-
able in the struggle. Nor could it well lie ile-
cided Nvhether the Cross or the Crescent was
more smeared with the blood of the helpless
in these ferocious butcheries.
The news of the recapture of Acre was re-
ceived with great joy by the Christians of both
Asia and Europe. The success of the En-
glish and French kings seemed the well-omened
harbinger of the recovery of Jerusalem and
all the East. Great, therefore, was the vexa-
tion that followed when it was knoAvn that
Philip Augustus had abandoned the conflict
and left tlie Holv War to others. To this
course lie was actuated by a severe illness with
:ri-it..,l .... I . .
flentan.l politic, I'laiJin u.. ,,,. ,i '• ^ '"" ' ^•''■' '''^^ ^^^kl,., a. 1„. w , The latter
- -__' "■'""'■ I" '■- ii.-illv o-raud.
^i:U£ADED.
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CliOSS.
The former \yas shrewd, cautious, wise, a liiiif;
rather thau a wai-rior. Such qualities as his
were disprized by the age, while those of the
Linu Heart were the ideals of the times in
which he lived. But Philip could unt l,ear
the praise aud enthusiasm with which liichard
was everywhere greeted, much less his arro-
gance aud caprice, of which the oue was intol-
erable and the other past aiiprehension. Per-
haps it was well after all that the French
king withdrew at the time he did fr(.im an al-
liance which must soon have resulted in an
open and probably fatal rupture. He left
the scene which had brought him little per-
sonal glory, repaired to his own (loiiiiiii,,ns, and
presently exhibited a perfidinus di-pii,~ition by
attacking the dominions of his recent ally.
By the retirement of Philip from the con-
test Richard was left iu the srde leadership of
Christian affairs in Syria. All of the French
forces retired with tlieir king except a division
of ten thousand men under the Duke of Bur-
gundy. Finding himself deserted liy ITh i>ld-
time boon-companion, the English king pre-
pared to renew the war. With an army of
about thirty thousand warriors he left Acre
aud proceeded along the coast in the direction
of Jafllt. The English fleet, laden with sup-
plies, accompanied the march, but the pngress
of the expedition was by no means iniclu'ckcd
by adverse forces. The enemy gathcn-d in
great numbers aud hovered with >lcipl('.~s vigi-
lance on flank and n-ar. Fur tiftei-n days the
Christians advanced under an alninst ciinstaiit
shower of arrows from an enemy who durst
not come to battle. At last, however, the
sultan resolved (for his army was now increased
to great propoitious) to hazard a general en-
gagement. When on the 7th of September,
1191, the Crusaders had come near the town
of Azotus he ordered a charge of his whole
host upon their position. The conflict that
ensued was one of the most remarkable of the
Jliddle Ages. The mere weight of the !Mos-
lem myriads pressed the Christians into a small
space, and here from all directions, except
from the side of the sea, a shower of arrows
that darkened the air rained upon them.
Smarting under these missiles the restless
but undaunted Knights eagerly desired to return
the charge of the foe, but the genius of Rich-
ard shone out starlike. With a courage and
calmness that W(juld liave done credit tn Na'
leon he ordered hi- wari-ini> tn .-tand f;i>i ui
the Turks had eniplie.l tluir .piivrrs an.l fl
to make the charge. Si.i, when Sahidin's h.
had exhausted their missiles upon the will-ni
impenetrable armor of the Crusader,-, 1
Christian ranks were suddenly opened and 1
Kniuht> l>ur-t forth like a thunderbolt ni
the imp
.(•ted
masses
of the M
,slenis. I
earful
was the
revel
ge ul
ich those
steel-clad
warri-
ors U(i\\
tiM,k
up..n
the inso
ent foe.
Seven
thousani
lof tl
le nobl
est of the
Turkish c
avalry
\vere hewn d
iwn on
the field
The S:
rarrns
fled in
dl di
ectidu
~, an,l on
Iv the sp
.■,1 of
tlirir ll<
rses s
ived t
leni fron
the swor
Is and
luittle-axes of
the C
usaders.
Aftr
tlii-
si-nal
victory.
Richard contin-
Urd his
man-
1 to.b
rth, whirl
city was
alian-
dnnrd 1
y Sa
a.lin ;
t hi- ap,
niach. C
esarea
was also
" reta
ien b\
the Chr
stians ; m
r is it
improba
,le tl
at if t
le king'<
wi-h to a.
Ivance
at once
on Jerusale
u ha<l Ix
en secom
ed by
his subordinates th
e Holy Sepulcher
might
have Ix'
n wrested a
.ain from
its defilers
. The
Frrnrh
laron
s, llllW
•vcr, in-i-
ted that tl
le bet-
tvv p(,li.
v wa
s to t:
rry on tl
e coast, 1
ehuild
the ruin
■d inl
tn->M-
vt' the re(
ipture
Tlr
Ch
IS tool-
of Jerusalem for the next •
golden opportunity was thu-
witliout impr<ivement, and thi
ishly rented on their laurels.
With the opening of the .spring of 1192 the
Crusaders were again rallied around the ban-
ner of Plantagenet for the great original pur-
pose of retaking the Holy City. All the
Knights took a solemn oath that they would
not abandon the cause until the tomb of Christ
should be reco-\-ei-ed. Tlic army proceeded
from the coast as far as the valley of Helirou,
and it seemed to the ^Moslems that the day of
flite had again arrived. Jlany fled from Jeru-
salem, aud Saladin himself gave up all for
lost. Strange and inexplicable, therefore, was
the event. The Christians, already in sight
of the city, halted. Was it the treachery of
the Duke of Bur-uu.lv ? Was it the whim of
the king? Had he and Saladin come to a
secret uuderstanding? or did the military
genius of Richard warn him of the insuffi-
ciency of his resources for such an undertaking
as the siege of the city? Did the news from
England, telling him of the intrigues of his
in. r>F I ION IN IIIF PAITI L Ob A70TCa_DrttWU u> i.iistJivi- Dore
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
treacherous brother Jolm, who was tn<lravnr-
iug in his absence to lU'privc him (if thr kiiiu'-
dom, prevail to reverse his jihuis ami dcstniy
his hopes? or was it one of those unaccount-
able failures of will which, in the supreme
hours of the lives of the greatest, have so
many times supervened to lireak the knees of
the demigod on the tliresliold of his highest
ambition ? None can answer.
Here in the valley of Hebron, with the
towers of Jerusalem in view, the Lion Hmrt
called a council ! Ten of the leading barons
were caUed upon to decide whether the siege
of the city should be undertaken or deferred.
It was decided that the present prosecution of
the enterprise was inexpedient, and should be
given up. Great was the chagrin of the army
when this decision was promulgated ; and if
appearances might be trusted, Richard was
himself as much mortified as any (pf his chiefs.
With slow and discontented footsteps tlio Eng-
lish warriors and their Syrian allies made their
way back to the coast, and Jerusalem was left
to the perpetual profanation of the Turks.
The supposition that 8aladin was in collu-
sion with Richard in the abandonment of his
enterprise against the Holy City seems to be
contradicted by the conduct of the sultan after
the fact. He eagerly followed the retreating
Christians, and sought every opportunity to
strike them a fatal blow. While the Crusaders
were on their way from Jaffa to Acre, a host
of Moslems assailed the former city and gained
possession of all but the fortresses. Many of
the inhabitants and garrison were cut down
in the streets. Richard was already at Acre,
and busy with his preparations to sail for
Europe, when the news came of what the Turks
had done at Jaffa. Enraged at the sultan for
this aggression, he at once took ship with a
mere handful of Knights, and returned to
Jaffa. Here he found the Christians still in
posse.ssion of the citadel, and doing their best
to keep the Moslems at bay. With the very
excess of reckless daring the king, on coming
into the shoal-water, jumped out of his boat
and waded to the shore, followed by his war-
riors. There was no standing against such
valor. The Saracens who lined the beach were
amazed, and gave way before the brandi.shed
battle-axe of Plantagenet as though he were
the Evil Genius of Islam. In a short time
tlie assailants of Jail'a escaped IVoni )he euvi-
roiuueiits of the town, and lied to the hills for
safety. The entire fore," of Riejiard, iuclud-
iug the defenders of the city, amounted to
fifty-five Knights and two tlioiisainl infantry;
and yet with this mere liandfu! lie defiantly
pitched his camp oiiliidr <>f thr inill.<, as if to
taunt all the hosts of Saladin with the implied
charge of cowardice.
This was more than the Turks could stand.
On the next day, perceiving the insignificance
of the force from which they had fled, they
returned with overpowering numbers and re-
newed the battle. From the fury of their on-
set it seemed that they had determined to de-
stroy Richard at whatever cost to themselves ;
but the English hero grew more terrilile with
the crisis. He fought up and down the shore
like Castor on the fielil of Ti'oy. Neither
nundiers nor coura-v prevailed t(; stay his
fury. He charged a whole s(piailron as though
it were composed of boys and women. His
pathway was strewn with cleft skulls and head-
less trunks. He was in the height of his
glory. Appalled at the flash of his death-
dealing weapon, the greatest warriors of Islam
fell l)ack from the circle of destruction. They
lowered upon him from a distance, but durst
not g'ne him battle. Not until the shadows
of the Syrian twilidit gatliereil over the scene
did Richard au.l his Kniphts ahat.' their furi-
ous onsets. The Moslems ha.l had euougli ; they
retreated from before the city, and the siege
was abandoned.'
We have now come to the close of the
Third Crusade. The exploits of the Lion
Heart in Palestine were at an end. His tre-
mendous exertions in the battle of Jaffa brought
on a fever oi' which he was for some time pros-
trated. His eagerness to return to Europe was
' Pei-haps no other warrior ever excited so great
personal terror in battle as did Richard Coeur de
Lion. His prodiL'ious dei'.ls in fight might well
be regarded as wlnilly fiititi"ns were it not for the
concurrent testimony of iHitli Christian and Mo-
hammedan writers. Tradition ever afterwards
preserved a memory of his dread name and fame
in the East. Syrian mothers were accustomed for
centuries (if not to the present day) to frighten
tlieir refractory children with the mention of his
name; and the Islamite traveler, wlien his horse
would suddenly start by the way, was wont to say,
Ciiidnt In que ce soil le Roi BIchartf That is,
"Think'st Ihon that it is King Richard?"
BATTI.E BEFORE ACRE.— Drawn by Gustave Dor,',
THE CRUiiADES.—FALL OF THE ClKKSS.
increased by every additional item of news
which he received from his o^YU kingdom. A
conspiracy had been formed by the faithless
Prince John and Philip Augustus to rob him
of his crown ; and the Emperor Henry VI. of
Germany was not without a guilty knowledge
of the pl(jt. iMoreover, his recent triumphant
defense of Jafla had so increased his iuHu-
ence in the East that the aged Saladin, whose
sands of life were almost run, was more than
■willing to come to an understanding with the
■Crusaders. A treaty, or rather a truce for
three years and three months, was accordingly
concluded between him and Plantagcuet, which,
if both had lived, might have had in it the
■elements of permanency. It was agreed that
Richard should dismantle the fortress of Asca-
lon, the same being while held by the Chris-
tians a constant menace to the peace of
Egypt. On the other hand, Tyre, Acre, aud
Jaffa, with all the sea-coasts between them,
should remain to the Crusaders. Antioeh and
Tripoli should not be molested by the Turks,
and all Christian pilgrims who came unarmed
should have free ingress and egress in visiting
the holy places of Palestine, especially those
in Jerusalem. Having concluded this settle-
ment, Kiug Richard embarked from Acre in
the autumn of 1192, and started on his home-
ward voyage.
The great Crusader was now destined to
rough sailing aud hard treatment. His fiime had
filled all Europe, aud nearly all the monarchs
of Christendom were in a league of common
jealousy against him. After making his way
through many st(jrms at sea into the Adriatic,
his vessel was wrecked near the head of that
water, and he was cast ashore in the neighbor-
hood of the coast-town of Aquileia, iu the do-
minions of Leopold, duke of Austria. That
personage had been among the German ]irincps
engaged in the siege of Acre when Richard
first arrived in Palestine. On a certain occa-
sion the English king had torn down the duke's
banner, aud had struck him an insulting blow
which he durst not resent. It now happened
that Plantagenet, disguised as a pilgrim — for
in that guise he hoped to make his way in
safety to his own dominions — was brought into
the presence of the offended dnke, who recog-
nized him by a mark which no disguise could
hide — his kingly bearing and profuseness.
Here, then, was an opportunity for revenge.
But avarice jjrevaUed over malice, aud hous-
ing to share in the large ransom which was
sure to follow the imprisonment of Richard,
the Duke of Austria sent him under guai'il to
the Emperor Henry VI.
Of all the i^eople of England, Prince John
was most rejoiced at the news of his brother's
capture. Otherwise there was great grief
throughout the kingdom. John sent abroad
the lying report that the Lion Heart was dead,
aud his confederal.', the king of France, made
an invasion of 2\(]i-mandy. The Engli>li liar-
ons, however, remained loyal to Richard, aud
defended his rights during his absence.
At the hands of the Emperor Henry,
Richard received every indi-uity. He was
put in chains and thrown into a dungeon.
Kothing but his alnindance of animal spirits
saved him from despair. But the prisoner
was a man of so great distinction and fame
that the Emperor durst not destroy liim, or
even Continue to persecute. A diet of the
Empire was presently held at Woi-nis, and
the princes, showing a disposition to demand
of Henry a reason for his course, he had
Richard conveyed to Worms to be disposed
of. As a justification for his own conduct, he
accused the English king of having driven
Philip Augustus out of Palestine and mal-
treated the Duke of Austria. He also cliarged
him with having concluded with Saladin a
peace wholly favorable to the ]\Ioslenis and
against the interests and wishes of Cliristen-
dnni. The dei'cn.e of Richar.l again>t these
calninniationv was iu every way triunipliant,
insomuch that .some of his judges were ex-
cited to tears by the eloquence aud pathos
of his story. It was impossible to convict
such a prisoner in such a presence. Never-
tlieless, the spirit of the age permitted the
Emperor to exact of his royal ]ui>oner a
ransom of a hundred lli.iu-and marks as the
price of his lilicratinn. Richanl was also
obliged to give hostages as se.'urity for the
pavment of sixty thousand marks additional
on his return to his own country.
On hearing tlie news that Richard wai
asain at liberty, his brother John and Philip
of France were iu the frame of mind pecul-
iar to a wolf and a fox when a lion is turned
into then- keep. The king of Frauce at once
UNIVERSAL HISTOilY.— THE MODEHX WORLD.
seut word to liis ally to take care of himself
as best he could. The coufederatcs uext at-
tempted to bribe Henry VI. to detain Richard
for another year, and that money -making ^o\-
ereign ^yould have gladly accepted the bait
but for the interference of the Pope, who
threatened him with excommuuicatinu should
he dare further to molest the greate.-t cham-
pion of the Cross.
Richard's fricnd.s in England were mean-
while exerting themselves to raise the re-
quired ransom. In order to secure the
amount a general tax was levied, and, the
sum thus raised being insufficient, the noldes
contributed a fourth of their yearly income,
while many of the churches gave up their
silver-service to be coined for the king's re-
demption. "When the sum was secured,
Queen Eleanor herself took the money to
Germany, and lirr great son was liberated.
In March of ll:i4, the king arrived in
England. He had lieen alisent from the
kingdom for four years, the last fifteen
months of which he had been held as a
prisoner. Great was the joy of the English
people, not only in London, but throughout
the realm, on again beholding their sover-
eign. There was a burst of loyal devotion
on every hand, and the king in the midst of
aci'laniations miglit well forget the perils and
hardshiiis to which he had been exposed. As
for Prince John, who was as timid as he was
treacherous, he availed himself of the first
opportunity to rush into the apartment of
his famous brother, and, flinging himself
down at his feet, anxiously pleaded for for-
giveness. It was not in Richard's nature to
withhold a pardon from his abject brother;
but he accompanied the act with the laconic
remark to some of his friends that he hoped
to forget the injuries done to himself as soon
as John wo\dd firget his pardon!
Richaril took \\\y iirccaiition to have him-
self recrowiK'd ; lor lir Imd been a prisoner.
As soon as the aliairs of tlio kingdom could
be satisfactorily scitli'd, lie ci-ossi-d over into
Normandy to defend that province against the
aggressions of Philip. For the remaining four
years of the king's life he was almost con-
stantly occupied in preparations for war, or
making truces with the French, who had neither
the good faith to keep a treaty or the courage
to fight. In the year 11:J!» the report was
spread abroad that a treasure had been dis-
covered on the estate of the Viscount of Li-
moges. He being Richard's vassal, the king
claimed the treasure, but the viscount would
yii'ld only a part. Thereupon Plantageuet
Wfut with a band of ^\arnors to take the
castle of his rcfrartoiT sulijcct. One day,
while surveying the defenses preparatory to
an attack, he incautiously walked too near the
wall and was wounded by an arrow. Though
the injury was .slight, a gangrene came on, and
the king was brought to his death. Before
that event, however, the castle was taken and
all of its defenders hanged except Bertrame de
Gourdon, who discharged the fatal arrow. He
was taken and brought into Richard's presence
to receive sentence of his doom. "What
harm have I done you," said the king, "that
you sliould thus have attempted my death?"
" You killed my lather and brother with your
own hands," said the prisoner, " and you in-
tended to kill me. I am ready to sutler with
joy any torments you can invent, since I have
been so happy as to destroy one who has
brought so many miseries on mankind." Rich-
ard was so imjiressed with the boldness and
truth of this answer that he ordered Bertrame
to be set at liberty. His soldiers, however,
were less merciful, and as soon as the king
was dead, his slayer was executed.
Before he expired Richard changed his will,
and being childless, bequeathed his kingdom
to his brother John. Hitherto he had made a
provision that the crown should descend to his
nephew, Prince Arthur of Brittany, son of
Geoflrey Plantagenet. On the 6th of April,
1199, Richard breathed his last, and in his
death was greatly lamented by the English
nation, whose name he had made a terror as
far as the corners of Asia.
At the epoch of the Third Crusade it was
the ini-l'oi-tuni' of the Christians of Palestine
to be I'ciit liv faction. One party embraced
the adlierents of Guy of Lusignan, and the
other the followers of the valiant Conrad,
count of ]\Iontferrat. "N^lien Richard and
Philiji were at Acre the former espoused the
cause of Guy, and the latter that of Conrad.
After the departure of the French king, how-
ever, Richard, finding the country on the verge
of civil war, and perhaps discovering the-
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
J43
worthlessuess of Lusignau, concluded to recog-
nize Courad as king of Jerusalem. Guy was
reconciled, or at least conciliated, by the be-
stowal of the crown of Cyprus. But this set-
tlement was of short duration. Courad w'as
murdered in the streets of Tyre by two of the
Assassins, a new sect of fanatic Moslems,
'whose leading tenet was to destroy their ene-
mies by secret murder. The destruction of
"Conrad, however, was charged to the old
enmity of Richard, and the factional bitterness
of the Christians was increased by this false
accusation.
After the death of Courad his wid(3w was
married to Count Henry, of Champagne, who
in \irtue of the union was by common consent
made titular king of Jerusalem. This settle-
ment tended to allay the malignant imrty
strife which had prevailed in Palestine, and,
together with the successes of the Crusaders at
Acre and Jaffa, gave promise of an actual
resti;)rati<ju of the kingd<jiu.
This favorable turn in the tide of affaii-s
was promoted by the death of Saladin. This
most distinguished of the later Moslems died a
few months after the conclusion of his truce
with Richard, and- left his Empu'e to his
three sous, who soon established three distinct
thrones at Cairo, Damascus, and Aleppo. The
solidarity of the Caliphate was thus broken,
•and the Christian kingdom, or rather the pros-
pect of its reestablishment, gained greatly by
the division. The bad tendency of Moslem
affairs was still further increased by the con-
duct of the great Caliph's brother, Saphadin,
who, stronger than his nej^hews, wrested from
them a large part of Syria, and in 1193 organ-
ized it into a government of his own.
It \vas with some imjiatience that the C'hris-
tians of Palestine awaited the expiration of
the three years' truce concluded by Creur de
Lion with Saladin. The dissensions among
the Moslems gave good ground of hope that
the kingdom established by Godfrey might he
restored, and the Holy City recovered from
the Turks. This feeling was especially potent
among the Temjilars and Hospitallers, whose
profession of arms had little glory in the
"weak, piping time of peace" which fol-
lowed the Third Crusade. It became the pol-
icy of the two Oi'ders to promote every move-
ment in Western Europe whicli looked to a
renewal of the holy war. In 1194 they induced
Pope Celestiue UI. to proclaim another Cru-
sade, and the same \vas preached in Germany,
France, and England. At this juncture, how-
ever, there was no such exciting cause of an
uprising as had existed on previous occasions,
and the French and English refused t" ai;itate.
In Germany a cause was found in the p( rsdiial
ambition of the Emperor, Henry VI. A\'ith-
out great breadth of mind, he was nevertheless
capable of that sort of avarice which could
look with eager and covetous eye upon the
treasures of the East. It was one of the curses
of the iMiddle Ages that the rulers of Chris-
tendom generally preferred to replenish their
coffers by robbery rather than bj' the encour-
agement of industry and frugality among their
subjects.
Henry VI. brought the whole Imperial in-
fluence to bear in favor of the new Crusade.
The German clergy assisted in the work, and
a sufficient agitation was produced to draw
together a large army of volunteers. Three
formidable bodies of warriors were fitted out
and were dispatched in succession t.i Acre.
On arriving at this stronghold of Syrian Chris-
tianity the spirits of the Europeans, especially
of the Knights, revived, and a momentary
enthusiasm was kindled which perhaps under
great direction might have led to great results.
When it was known to the Moslems that
new armies of Christians were arriving in the
East they quickly made common cause to repel
the invasion. Saphadin was chosen as the
leader most likely to succeed in driviuL'- the
German Crusaders out of Palestine. < >n the
other hand, the chiefs wlio comniamled the
Christian h...t .juanvled an,l dividrd their
forces. Dui-iii- the years H'.I.V.m; a series of
indecisive conflicts ensued, in which, though
the Germans were sometimes victorious, no
permanent results were reached in the way of
reconr|uering the country. As a general rule
the Turks were unable to confront tlie Knights
in liattle, but the former were for the most
part a light-armed cavalry, that fought or fled
as the exigency seemed to demand, and which
it was almost impossilde for the mailed war-
riors of the Xorth to licat to the ground.
After two rears of this desultdrv warfare
the EniiH.rnr died, and tlio prinee. and prehites
wh.i ha.l ecnnnanded his annies in Palestine
1-14
UXIVER.'SAL HISTORY. — THE MODERX WORLD.
retumea tc Europe. The ninvmuiit luul af-
fectt'd but slightly the (h'stinii- "f thr cijuflict
in the East, aud the mo.<t critical aiitluir:^ have
not diguitied the expedition l.y iiumlicriug it
among the Crusade^. I'criiap- a >li.:lit M.lidity
was given to the all< i^t d ■' kiiii^doni," whi'di
now, under the ride of the nominal kini;,
Henry of Champagne, included within its lim-
its the better part of the coast of Palestine.
In 1196 Henry died, and soon afterwar.ls his
accommodatin-- ciui'cn, for tlie third time a
widow, was married to Almcric (jf Lusignan,
successor of Guy in the kim^dom of the Cypriots.
A union was thus ettected Ketween the two
sovereignties, and the joint rulers were desiu-
nated as the King and (^uei'U of .Jeru-aiein
and Cyprus.
In the year ll'.IS the papal crown passed from
Celestine to Innocent III. Tlie latter was one
of the most able and amliitious PontiHs recently
regnant over cliri-tendoni. Sdon after his ai'-
cession he determined, if pos.~ilile, to ickinille
the expiring fires of religious zeal by priiclaim-
ing a new Crusade. He became niore largely
instrumental in the movement that followed
than any of hi? predecessors since the days of
Urban had been in arousing the Christians of
Europe to comairrent action against the Infi-
dels. He wrote to all the e'hristiau riders of
the West, urging them to rally to the Cross
and to assist the holy work he had in hand,
eitlier !:)y themselves enlisting for the war, or
by contributing a part of their means for the
glorious enterprise. As to the Church, he ex-
acted of all the ecclesiastics in Europe a tithe
of one-fortieth part of their revenues, and at
the same time, by his messengers, he urged
the laity to give in like manner a liberal per
centum of their incomes.
So eflii'ctive were the measures thus origi-
nated that the papal cofters were soon filled
to overflowing. At this juncture a popular
preacher appeared who, like Peter the Her-
mit aud St. Bernard, was destined to enforce
and energize the will of the Pope by an ap-
peal to the nia-i-. Pi-etendiug to have reve-
lati(jns from heaven, this fanatic priest, whose
name was Fouhiue of Xeuilly, went abroad
loudly and vehemently preaching to the ]ieo|>le
and calling upon them in the name of all things
sacred, to enlist in the holy war. To convince
them of his mission he performed miracles.
and as a linishmg touch to the spectacular, he
exhibited Iiiin.<rlj' as an example of devotion
and sacrifice ; for he had formerly been a dis-
tinguished libertine.' The fiame of excite-
ment roM' higli under the appeal- ol' tlii- dra-
matic orator, and thousan.ls in France and
Flander> rushed forward to take the cross.
>.'ow it was that the gallant Couut Thibaut
of Chamiiagne, and his cousin. Earl Louis of
Bl..is. fircl the French chivahy liv their ex-
ample. At a great tot
count's province in the
nobles publicly renounci'
the knightly ring for tlie
,t hele
d.'cls of
-t servi
hundreds
emulated
bad-e of
di-tin-ui-
-Monttort,
spread in
the
Fl;
by their devotion, and
ni.lcl knights and n..l,les
■ by putting on the red
arfare. Among the most
number was Simon de
]\Iante. The excitement
. and Count Bahhvin, a
l.rother-indau ,,f Thiliaut. enlisted with a
great company of chivalry. Other famous
leaders also appeared: from Italy the ^larquis
Boniface of Montferrat; from Germany, the
bishop of Ilalberstadt ; from Hungary, the
king. Such was the beginning of the Fourth
Ceu.sade.
As a means of jiromotiug the cause two
great councils weri> held, the one at Soissous
and the other at Compeigne. At these meet-
aud disasters which the former Crusaders
had undergone, by taking the sea — instead of
the land — route to Palestine. It was also de-
termined as a necessary part of this policy to
employ the fleets of the maritime Republics
of Italy as the best means of transportation to
the East. Especially did the princes turn to
the Venetians, whose navy w-as by far the lar-
gest and most efficient in Europe. The lead-
ers accordingly sent ambassadors to the veteran
Venetian doge, Henrico Dandolo, now ninety-
three years of age and blind as a stone, but
still fi're.l with the zeal and spirit of youth.
The councils of state were convened, and aft-
' It was this Fouliine whom Richard Plantagenet
horrilieil witli the proposition to give bis three
daughters, Pride, Avarice, and Voluptuousness, to
the Templars, the Benedictines, and (he priests!
THE CBUSADES.—FALL OF THE CliOSS.
erwards the citizen? were called together in
the great square of St. JIark. Here iu tlic
presence of the assembled state of Venice the
French barons knelt before the majesty of the
people, and besought with all the fervor of el-
oquence the aid of the Republic in the ]-ecov-
ery of the holy places of the East.
The Venetians heard the petitions with
favor, and agreed to furnish a navy for the
required service fur the sum of eighty-five
th(jusand silver marks. For this sum it was
stipulated that Venice should transport to
any designated coast of the East four thou-
sand five hundred knights, nine thousand
esquires and men-at-ai'ms, twenty thuusand
infantry with hursrs and accdutirincnts, and
provisions for nine nmnth^. The fleet set
apart for this service iiuinlirnMl fifty galleys,
being perhaps the lust vi>m1s then afloat in
the ]\Iediterranean.
Great was the joy of the gathering Cru-
saders of France on learning that the '\''ene-
tians had agreed to transport them to Pal-
estine. Soon, however, the ardor of the
chivalry was cooled by the untoward circum-
stance of the death of their- chosen leader.
Count Thibaut, of Champagne. This posi-
tive loss, moreover, was greatly aggravated
by the jealousy and hrart-l>nrnings of the
French barons, whose mutual rivalries pre-
vented a choice of any one of their own
number to the command of the expeditinn.
It thus happened that a foreign prince, the
Marquis Boniface of ^lontferrat, was chosen
as leader of the Fourth ( 'rusadc ; a!id thus
it happened, also, that what with the em-
bassy' to Venice, and what with the delays
incident to the bickerings and disputes of
the barons, the space of two years elapsed
from the tournament of Champagne to the
gathering of the Crusaders at Venice, pre-
paratory to their departure for Syria.
When at last, in the year 1202, the wai--
riors of the Cross were mustered in the Place
of St. Mark, it was found that many, through
the abatement of zeal, had remained at home,
and that others were less willing, or, perhaps,
less able, than in the first glow of their enthu-
siasm, to pay the subscriptions which they
had made to meet the Venetian indebtedness.
Less than fifty tliousand marks of the whole
sum could now be secured. The dooe and
;is of the Republic reft
ture of the fieet until
it became apparent that the Crusade, even
after two years of preparation, must lie aban-
doned because of non-compliance with tlie
the doue hini-elf 'eanie fi.rward witli a meas-
ure of relief. He proposed that instead of
the present payment of the remaining thirty
thousand marks, the Crusaders shmdd assist
him i
on th.
Zn
ijiorts
cing the revolted >
of Dalmatia. If they would
and, in that event, he w..ul.l liim.-elf assi
the cross, liecome a soldier of Christ, and (
I duct the A'enetian fleet against the
j of the Syrian Infidels.
, This advantageous proposition, though it
seemed to ilivert the Crusaders from their
original purpose, was gladly accepted by
them. Indeed, such was the situation of
affairs that they had no alternative. At this
juneture. however, a new complication arose
which threatened to annul the whole com-
pact. Tile inhabitants (jf Zara had, after
their revolt, nunle haste to put themselves
under the protection of the Hungarians. The
king of Hungary was himself one of the pro-
moters of the Crusade, and had taken the
cross. Pope Innocent III. now interfered,
and forbade the Crusaders to turn their arms
against a people who were umler the pro-
tection of a Christian king, engaged in war
with Inridils. But the Venetian republicans
stood li-< in awe of tlie papal authority than
,li,l th.' feii.hd bar.ins fr.mi bevon.l the Alps.
Not cai-ini:- whether their a.'tioii was pleasing
or dis|.le.-i-ircj- to His Holin. — , they went
ahead with the enterinisi', and prevailed with
most of the lea.lers to join them in the ex-
pedition. The :\Iar.|iiis' of ^b.ntferrat, how-
scruple-, acconipanv the expedition. The fleet
of Venetians and Cnis^iders d,. parted under
comman.l ..f the blind <.ld do-e, who, though
seeing not with his i-yes, perceived with the
inner .-iiiht the exigencies of the campaign,
'■i^> UXIVEIl.'iAL HISTORY. — THE MUDEliy WORLD.
■\n\ iliicLtcd In- 1 kl- with -ii i Z ii i | GieU w i- tli( ui_ti il tht. Pope wlun he
th ii.h out (t the -ti 11. t 1 itiL--L- 111 kuiK 1 1 thi tliiii d u( li\ hi- ill- bt limt
Liu ipt_ « I- l)c-R_nl la 1 tiUii iltLi a h\e | childitu Hl cxc mmuuic itcd both \ ene
di\- in\e-tmciit ih Im - f th i 1 Hi u- tun- lud Cm il i hut v,\un tht Fitnch
nihil Unit- wiK 1 11 1 1 ut th( t itih iti n , bn ii- went lininlih ti E in. ml ikdired
A\ 1 till wn diwii unl the nt\ it i It _i\ui ti Inn cent thin inuiteiKt f ii thin evil
up In pilla.c. ! dud, he jiantul tluiu a paiduii mi tht con-
TEE CRUSADES.— FALL OF TEE CPOSS.
ditions that they should restore to the iieo-
ple of Zara the booty of which they had
been robbed, and that the alliance with the
refractory and perverse Venetians should be
at once broken off. It was, however, in a
manner impossil^le for the barons to comply
with these conditions. They were so entan-
gled with the Republic, that to break the
league was to give uji the Crusade and vio-
late their knightly vows. Simon de ^Nlout-
fort, however, more fanatic than the rest,
heeded and obeyed the papal injunction. As
for the other Crusaders, they went into winter
quarters with their allies at Venice and Zara.
During the interval between the capture
of the Dalmatian fortress and the opening
of the spring of 1203, circumstances oc-
curred which led to a complete change of
the original purpose of the Crusade. A new
condition of affairs had supervened in the
Eastern Empire which excited the hostility
of the Western Christians to the extent of
making war on Constantinople instead of the
cities of Syria. The Comneuian emperors
were now represented in the person of Alex-
ius, who had conspired against his brother
Isaac, whom he had deposed from the throne,
deprived of his eyes, and thrust into a dun-
geon. The son of Isaac, who also bore the
name of Alexius, was but twelve years of
age, and was spared by his victorious uncle.
This young prince made his escape and
fled to Italy, and, when the Crusaders gathered
at Venice, he had sufficient penetration to
see in the host there mustered the possible
means of his own or his father's restoration
to the thi-one of the Eastern Empire. He
accordingly laid his cause before the Chris-
tian princes, and besought their aid. His
petitions were strongly backed by the influ-
ence of his brother-in-law, the Duke of 8ua-
bia. During the interval, when the barons
of the West were lying inactive at Zara,
the negotiations were continued, and both
Crusaders and Venetians were won over to
the idea of a canipai'jn against Constantino-
ple. Indec.l, >o far as the sulijects of the
doge were concerned, not much was wanting
to inflame the motives already existing for
war. For a C(Uarter of a century a rivalry
had existed between Venice and the capital
of the East. At one time, the Emperor
Manuel had confiscated all the property of
the Venetians in the ports of the Empire.
At another, the ships of the Venetian mer-
chants had made a descent uimiu several of
the Byzantine islands and laid them waste.
By and liy the Emp)eror adopted the policy
of encouraging the Pisans, the rivals of the
Venetians, by conferring on them the carry-
ing-traile of the East. This act was worm-
wood to Venice, and she awaited an oppor-
tunity of revenge.
The aged but ambitious Dandolo now per-
ceived that by espousing the cause of the
young Alexius against the usurping uncle of
the same name the wrongs of the Republic
might be avenged and her commercial advan-
tages restored in the Eastern ^Mediterranean.
It thus happened that the prayers of the
Prince Alexius were supported not only by
the Duke of Suabia, but also by the still more
powerful voice of the doge.
Such was the temper of the age, that though
the attention of both the Crusaders and Vene-
tians was thus diverted to the enterprise of a
campaijii auain^t C<aistaiitiii<i])lr, neither party
of tho .■onf.^lrrat- wa> di-pn.,,,! to do so with-
out fir>t ixtiirtiiig i-vtiy pos>ilile advantage
from the young prince in whose interest the
expedition was to be ostensibly undertaken.
The Imperial lad was led on under the stimu-
lus of hope to make the most flattering prom-
ises. He agreed to pay the Crusaders two
hundred thousand marks for the restoration
of his imprisoned and sightless father to the
throne of Constantinople. He also promised to
heal the fatal schism of the Greek and Latin
Churches, to the end that spiritual unity might
be attained throughout Christendom under the
Pope of Rome. He would, moreover, when
the affairs of the Empire should be satisfacto-
rily settled, either himself become a Crusader
or else send out a division of ten thousand
men at his own expense to aid in the recovery
of Palestine. Furthermore, he would main-
tain during his life a body of five hundred
Kni-hts in the Holy Land, 'to the end that the
Turks mi-ht not again regain their ascendency.
Jleanwhile the usurper, Alexius, had been
on the alert to prevent the impending inva-
sion of his dominions. He at once set about
the work of arraying the Pope against the
scheme of his enemies. The pajial sanction
•4S
UMVEBSAL HISTORY.— THE MODEUX WOULD.
11 th.- cnnriicts of
uin this the .-efU-
n l,i.lal^ain^t tadi uthL-r
ii.iw a|iiieai\'d that the
miL:i'i- Alexius was -will-
lii'iuU'iicy of the Greek
■t of Itome. The East-
:ly sent ambassadors to
ilen'il the submission of
lis as the iirice of pajial
It was already angered
id the Crusaders them-
•efractory a sjjirit as to
Since, therefore, in
ty I if the cliitrcli was to
ui»iiiii of the schismatic
was an important taetMi
the Middle Ages, and t
lar princes were wiuit tn
as in a market. It n
elder as well as the vdii
iug to sell out the imlei
Church for the supimrt
em Emperor accnnliugl
Pope Innocent am
the Byzantine Chi
interference. Iiu
with the Veuetiai
selves had .shown
incur his displea
either case the sol
be attained l.y the
Greeks, the Pope readily, even eagerly, es-
poused the cause of the Emperor against the
prince. The Crusaders were forbidden to dis-
turb the peace of a Chri.-tiaii dominion. The
tyrant of Constantiuni.le was promi.sed the
protection of Koine. She. and not the barons
and knights, would heal tlu- M-hi-iu of long-
suflering christendimi. If any would di.sobey
her mandate, let them remember the terrors
wherewith she was wont to afflict those who
set at naught her wislies. Legates were sent
to Zara to acquaint the teiu|ited army with the
will and purpo.se of the Holy Father.
Little were the Venetians terrified by these
premonitory mutteriugs from the Vatican.
They openly disregnrde<l the interdict and
proceeded with their jn-eiiarations for the ex-
pedition. The Crn-adcrs proper heard the
papal voice with more respect, but with them
there •\^as a division of sentiment. The more
scrupulous were disposed to heed and obey the
command of the Pope, but the greater num-
ber, either regarding themselves as hopelessly
involved and comin-omised with the Venetians,
or else influenced by the lu-tful hope of repair-
ing their fortunes out of the treasures of Con-
stantinople, chose to stop their ears and follow
their iuclination.s.
When the papal eiivovs jioreeived that their
mission was fruitless they left Zara, took ship
ami >aileil fir Syria. In doing SO they bade
all follow who wouhl tight for the Cross and
obey the voice of the C'hurch. Not a few of
the barons and knights acee])ted this opportu-
iiitv <.f escaping iVoiii all entanglements and
goiiiL' on lioard with the legates, departed for
Palestine. The remaining and more adventur-
ous p.irtiou of the Cru.saders silently defied
the rope, cast iu their lot with the Venetians,
and iiKele ready for the campaign against the
Ey/,antine eapital. Chief among those who
thus joined their iortunes with republican
^'eiiii'c ill pivtereuce to papal Pome were the
Maniiii- of .Moiitferrat, the counts of Flanders,
151. li-, ami St. Paid, eight others of the lead-
ing French barons, and a majority of the war-
riors who hail originally embarked in the
Crusade.
The expedition which was now set on foot
against Constantinople was the most iiirmidable
armament which had been seen in the Mediter-
ranean since the days of Pompey the Great.
The squailron included fifty galleys of war,
one hundred and twenty horse-transports, two
hundred and forty vessels for the conveyance
of the troojis and military engines, and seventy
store-ships for the supplies. The force of
Crusaders on board consisted of six thousand
cavalry and ten thousand f lot, ami the Vene-
tian soldiers numbered about twenty thousand.
It now appeared that Alexius Comnenus
was much more of a diplomatist and intriguer
than warrior. During the whole progress of
the expedition which was openly directed
against his capital he made no attempt to stay
its course or prevent its entrance to the Bos-
phorus. The harbor of Constantinople was
found to be defended by only twenty galleys ;
for the Greek admiral, Michael Struphnos,
brother-in-law of the Emperor, had broken up
the vessels of his master's fleet in order that
he might sell for his own profit the masts, rig-
ging, and iron which they contained. When
in the immediate face of the peril the propo-
sition was made to build a new navy, the
eunuchs of the Imperial palace to whom the
keeping of the parks and hunting-grounds had
been intrusted refused to have the timber cut]
Such has ever been the folly of those effete des-
potisms which have survived their u-sefulness.
Kor did the people of the city of Constan-
tino show much interest in the crisis which
was evidently upon them. Like voluptuous
idlers floating in the Bay of Biscay, they recked
not of the gathering storm. AVhat to them
was a change of masters? The tyrant Alex-
ius was in a measure deserted to his tate.
(ireat. however, was the strength of the
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CIIOSS.
74f>
city before whose walls the men of the West
were now come with hostile purpn-e. There
rose the massive raiupaits .if .-lunr ; there the
lofty turrets of palaces aud basilica— a splen-
did show of beauty, magniticeuce, and streugth,
such as the Crusaders had uever before beheld.
At first the fleet was l.roii.-ht h< anchor on
the Asiatic side of the eluiinu'l. Fur a lew
days after the landing the forces of the doge
aud the Marquis of ^Mootferrat, who may be
regarded as the commauders of the army, were
allowed to rest in Scutari, aud whUe they were
here reposing, negotiations were opened by the
Emperor. He offered to expedite the march
of the Crusaders into Asia ^Miimr! They were
not going in that direction. IIi- waniccl them
agaiust any disturbanc' in \u< (Idinininns.
It was for the express piirpusc of (li-tiirbiiiu-
his dominions that tliry had conic, llu thn-at-
ened them with the Pope. The I'opc ha<l al-
ready done his w(.r>t. Un the other hand. th..
doge and barons warneil him to i-onn' down
from the throne which he had u-iupcd nnder
penalty of such punishment as the soldiers of
the Cross were wont to visit Ulxai the op-
jMisers of the will aud cause of olfended
heaveu.
After these mutual fidniinations the Cru-
saders prepared to cro>- to the other side of
the strait. They ran-vil thein-elves in six di-
visions, anil, pas.-iuu' across tln' channel, scat-
tered the Byzantine forces which were drawn
up to resist their landing, and captured the
suburb Galata. The great chain which had
been stretched across the mouth of the harbor
was broken, and the few ships remaining to
the Greeks captured and destroyed.
The assailants now found themselves before
the huge walls of the city. Constantinople
was at this time the most strongly fortified
metropolis in the world. The act of the Cru-
saders in undertaking the siege of such a place
is perhaps without a parallel in the annals of
audacity. Their forces were only sufficient to
inved one side of the ramparts. Their provis-
ions were regarded as good for three weeks'
subsistence. If onlv the physical conditions
of the situation should be con^i.lered, then in-
deed mi-ht Alexius and his officers well look
down with indifference and contempt upon the
puny preparations outside the walls. But the
menial conditions were different.
To the Crusaders delay would be fatal.
They accordingly exerted tht m.-elves to the
utmost to bring on the crisis of an a— ault. In
this work the Venetians vied with theji- allies
in the prodigious activity which they di--
jilayed. It was determined to a-siil the walls
from the si.le of the sea and in the pans ad-
jaceut. With herculean endeavor the Cru-
saders succeeded in filling up the ditch and
thus were enabled to bring their engines to
bear uj)on the fortifications. In a few days
the walls had been sufficiently injured to war-
rant the hazard of an as>ault. Tlu' Mind old
doge of Venice took his station on the raiseil
deck of his vessel, an.l with th.. banner of
^t. Mark above his hea.l, dire.-ted his men in
the attack by sea. The \'enetian ealleys were
brought to the beach iiuiuediately under the
walls. Drawbridges were thrown from the
nKi-t> to the top- of the niiiipaits, and for the
then with a rush and a sliout the liattlements
were surmounted. Twenty-five towers were
carried by the marines of Venice, and the
banner of the Itepublic was jilanted on the
sunnuit.
The Crusaders in making the atlaek from
the land-side had met with poor .-n(«e->. The
breaches made by their engines ]iro\ed to be
less complete than had 1 ii thought, and
those who had been set to defend this part of
the walls were (if the history may be credited),
a body of Auglo-Saxou and Danish guards
whom the Emperor had taken into his service.
Very different were these brave and stalwart
warriors of the N"orth from the supple and de-
generate Greeks, who had inherited all the
vices without any of the virtues of their ances-
tors. The Crusaders were confronted in their
impetuous charge by tlu'si' resolute and ]iow-
erful soldiers, aud were unable to iuvak into
the city.
As soon, however, as the doi^e was victori-
ous fiviin the side of the sea, he made ha^te to
fire the part of the city which was in his
power, aud then hurried to the succor of his
allies. On the appearance of the Venetians,
the LTuards and Greek cavali-v \\]mk by sheer
force of numbers, had almo-t sun-.i\nided the
<-hivalry. and were assailing;- tlu' hard pressed
Crusaders in front and .m lioth tlanks, fell
back quickly and sought safety within the
7.)U
UXIVEESAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
walls. Night came on and the allies auxiously
awaitcil the muniini: to renew the .-^truyiile.
But Alexiu.s was nut nmre tyrant than pol-
troon. In the darkness df midnight he roblied
the Imperial treasure-huiise, gathered together
his terrified followers and fled from Constanti-
nople. With the coming of dawn the Crusa-
ders were amazed to see issuing from the city
an emliassy which, making its way to the
camp, informed the Ijarons and the doge that
Alexius had fled, that the blind Isaac had
come from his dungeon and was on the throne,
and that he desired the immediate presence of
his son and deliverers in the city. In answer
to this message, two I)arons and two Venetians
were sent to congratulate Isaac on his restora-
tion, and to notify him of the conditions which
Lis son had made, in accordance with which
they had come to effect his deliverance and
restoration.
Great was the shock to Isaac when he
learned of the hard, almost intolerable terms
■which his rash l3ut loyal boy had made with
the mercenary soldiers of the Cross. But he
was in the grip of an appalling necessity, and
there was no alternative but to ratify the con-
ditions imposed by liis masters. All was agreed
to. The young Alexius made a triumphant
entry into the city and was jointly crowned
with his father. For the moment there seemed
to be an end of the .struggle and the beginning
of a lasting peace.
The character of the Latins and Greeks,
however, forbade any permanent concord be-
tween them. The coarse vigor of the one,
and the pusillanimous spirit of the other,
made it impo.ssible for them to harmonize
in interest or purpose. For the time, the
Greeks were obliged to yield in all things
to their conquerors. The Patriarch of Con-
stantinople was constrained by the compact
and the i)resencc of the Crusaders to do his
part l.y im.clainiiim- fn.m the Church of St.
Sophia tlio M,l, mi-ion of Ea^t.-ni chri.-t.-n-
doiii to the Komish See. This was, perhaps,
the most intoleral)le exaction of all to which
the peojile of the city were subjected. Their
hatred of the heretical faith ami ritual, which
they were obliged to acct-pt, \vas transferred
to the young Enijicror .Mexin-. in whose in-
terest the revolution hail been arconipli-ln-d.
Nor was his own condiict sueh a> to allav
I the antipathy which was thus aroused. During
his two years' s(journ in the camp of the
Crusader-, hr had become thoroughly im-
bued with their manners and spirit. Their
carousals and debaucheries were now a part
of his life as much as of their own. He
W(juld not, perhaps could not, shake off" the
rude and intemperate habits which he had
thus acquired by contact with the boisterous
.soldiers of the West. Under the force of a
disjMsition which had now become a second
nature, he continued to prefer the license and
nproar of the Crusaders' camj) to the refine-
ments and ceremony of the palace and court.
It was not long until the re.spect and es-
teem of his own countrymen had been so com-
pletely forfeited by Alexius that he found it
necessary to retain the Latin warriors in his
capital as a means of suj^port. Nor did they
appear reluctant — so greatly had their ferocious
morality been corrupted — to postpone the ful-
fillment of their vows in order to enjoy the
winter in Constantinople. IMeanwhile their
self-confidence was in a great measure restored
by the pardon received from the Pope. Both
they and the Venetians, after their capture of
the city, had made such penitential professions
to the Holy Father that he gladly extended
full absolution to his wayward and refractory
children.
During the winter the time was occupied
by a portion of the Crusaders with an expedi-
tion into Thrace. Alexius himself accompa-
nied the barons on this campaign, and his
absence from the city, together with that of
the INIarquis of Montferrat, was made the oc-
casion of a disastrous outlireak. The Latin
warriors, tircil of inaction, fell upon and
almo.st extcrininatc(l a I'olony of ^loslem
merchants, who had long enjoyed the protec-
tion of the city. The Mohammedans made a
brave defen.se, and the Greeks came in large
numbers to the rescue. In like manner the
Latin paity in the city rallie.I to the supjiort
of the Cru.>aders, an<i the battle became a
slaughter. In the niid-t of the conflict a
fire In-oke out which continued to rage for
eight days. One-third of the beautiful city
was reduced to ashes. The multitude of
Greeks thus dispossessed of their homes were
c'xa.-peiated to the last degree; and. falling
n]ion the Latin residents of the city, whom
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
they rejrarded as having instigated the oiit-
the camp nf tlio t'ni>adei-s.
The cireuiiistaiiefs uf the depositiou and
murder of ly.v.u- and his son Alexius in a
conspiracy hrailed liy Angelus Ducas, sur-
namcd Monrzoutle, and the assumjitiou cjf
the crnwu by the latter; the wrath nf tlie
Crusaders on learning of what was done;
the second siege of Constantinople ; the cap-
ture and pillage of that city ; the desecration
of the churches; the overthrow of the Greek
Empire, and the establishment of a Latin dy-
nasty in the capital of the Eastern Ctesars, —
have already been narrated in the Ninth
BiKik of the preceding Volume.' As soon
as tliis work was accomplished, the Western
revdlutinnists set about the partition of the
spoils of an empire. As to the vacant throne
of Constantinople, the same was conferred on
Balilwin, count of Flainlers. The new em-
peror-elect was raised on a Inickler by the
barous and knights and liornr on their shoul-
ders to the Church of St. Sophia, where he
was clothed with imperial puiple. The ;\Iar-
quis of Montferrat was rewarded with ^Mace-
donia and Greece and the title of king. The
various provinces of the Empire in Europe
and Asia were divided among the barons
who commanded the Crusaihis, Imt not until
three-eighths of the wdiole, inelndi}ig Crete
and most of the archipelago, had Ijeen .«et
aside tor the Kepublie of Venice.
As Mion as the divi-iou of the territorial
and other spoils had been effected, the barons
and knights departed with their re.spective
followers to occupy their provinces. As to
the two fugitives, Alexius Angelus and Du-
cas Mourzoufle, both usurpers and both claim-
ing the Imperial dignity, the former soon fell
into the power of the latter, and was deprived
of his eyes; while Mourzoufle himself was
seized by the Latins, tried and condemned,
and ea-t headlong from the lofty summit of
the Pillar of Theodosiii-. A new claimant
hereupon arose in tho poison of Theodore
Lascaris, wdio, possessing more of the quali-
ties of heroism than any of his predecessors
of the preceding century, obtained the lead
of the anti-Latin parties in the East, and
became a formidable obstacle to the progress
'See Book Ti'nlh, ante pp. 37.5, 376.
and permanency of the Lai in .
in a marvelous manner, unl'o
Christians and .Moslems, the o
of the Fourth Crusade was nit
and forgotten. The inijmlse ol
expired west of the Bosphorus
of theehivah'ous liarous and kr
and Italy foil upon the heads o
tireeks instead of the crests (.f
Islam.
The interval between the Fi
Crusades was noted for the exti
tacle of an uprising among
ciiildren of France and (4er
Thius,
ike bv
Byzantine
varriorsof
to inosi- oi ins own age. ihr apiM-a
yrruA to l,oth sexes. Heaven hail
th,. w.ak things of this worl.l to conf
mighty. The ehildrrn of Chri-lrnd
to taki- the Holy Sepulelur from thr
Another peasant boy named Xiehl.la^
the rrtVain in Germany and nui>t<re(l
of inn.Mvnts at Cologne. Around tl
cal standards of tlieso two >triplin-- \
ered a i:reat multitude of lio\-s and u
idels!
ik ui;
mi.labl,. than shrp]„,rd
s eroiiks, set out under
the san-tion of a r-.yal
edict to liallle with the
Moslems of Syria.
End.aiking from 3[ar-
scilles tuidrr tho lea(
of a t'vW pious tools.
older but no wi-^ir tlia
1 tlieniselve^, tli.'y Came
to a miMiablc .'ud l.v
-hipwreek on the' i.-laud
of San Pirtro. Sn.'h
wa.- the s.,-eali.il CllII^
3)Ui;n's CinsAi.i:— on
of the strangest and
m..,-t ab-nrd spce(a<-les
recorded in history.
Thrre still remain 1
1 be recounted the an-
nals of the la-t four
novenients of christen-
dom against the Turks
The conijuest of the
Greek Empire was etti
cted in the year 1204.
Never was there to all
human seeming a more
unfortunate diversion
of an enterprise than
that which turned the
Fonrth Ci-nsade against
Constantinople instea.
of .Teru<alem. The
condition of the Island
e dominion in the East
was at this jtmcture preei-i ly -mh as to invite
a renewal of the efl()i-|s of the Christians for
the n.-overy of the Holy Citv. Egypt was
dreadfully scourged with ' i.estden.'e an.l fam-
ine. Syria was rent with the disputes and
turmoils of the succe.ssors of Saladin. Every
eircum>tance seemed favorable to the restora-
THE nin.DREN'b CKL-SALjE— Druwi
-nS7^!K/s'//i(j-lMm
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
tiou of Christiau supremacy, not only iu Pal-
estiue but in all the jirincipalities which they
had formerly held. Aud yet of all the advan-
tages atibrded by the general condition of
affairs, the Syrian Christians secured no more
than this: a six years' truce with Saphadin.
Meanwhile, Almeric and Isabella, titular
king aud queen of Jerusalem, both died ; aud
the shadowy crown of that alleged " kiugdom "'
descended to the Princess Maey, daughter of
Isabella by her former marriage with C'onrad
of Tyre. It was, however, deemed e#.seutial
by the barons and knights of the West that
the young Queen ilary should be strengthened
by the arm of a husband, and the choice be-
ing left to Philip Augustus of France, that
monarch selected the Prince John, son of the
Count of Brieune, as most worthy of the
honor. Accordingly, in 1210, the prince de-
parted for Palestine, claimed the hand of Mary,
aud with her was jointly crowned.
When the truce with Saphadin expu-ed, the
Christians refused to renew the treaty, and hos-
tilities were presently resumed. It soon ap-
peared that King John, with tlie handful of
knights whom he had bmnglit with him frmii
Europe, was unable to reprl tlie encroachments
of the Turks. In lii< di-tress he wrote a pa-
thetic appeal to Pope Innocent III., beseech-
ing him for the love of the fallen Cross again
to rally the Christians of the West for the sal-
vation of Palestine. His Holiness was most
ready to unilertake the enterprise. Although
he was at present profoundly engaged in the
work of suppressing the heretical Albigenses
in the south of France, he sent a fovoralde
answer to King John's appeal, and issued a
letter to the Christian rulers of Europe, pro-
claiming a new Crusade. He also directed the
■clergy of all Christendom to urge forward the
■ laity, should the latter lag iu renewing the
Holy War. The fourth council of the Lateran
the august liody to undertake uwrv iiiorc the
great work of snijiugating the Inhdels of Syiia.
Such was the origin of the Fifth Crusabe.
The leaders of the new expedition to the
East were King Andrew of Hungary and the
Emperor Frederick II. Besides the armies
led by these two princes a third was organized,
consisting of a mixed multitude of Germans,
French, Italians, and Endish. King Andrew
set out with his forces iu the year 1216, and
wa- i'liiicd on his route by the dukes of Aus-
tria and Bavaria. On reaching Palestine the
Hungarian mimareh made sonir disidtnrv in-
cursions into the JMoslem territorirs, but boidrs
ravagiug undefended districts accoiuplishrd
nothing honorable to him.self or hi- cnumrv.
He soon abandoned the enterju-isr, gathiicd
his forces on the coast, aud reembarkcd tor
Europe. The Germans, however, wlm had
accompanied the expedition, refused to ri-iurn,
and joined themselves with the knights of
Palestine to aid them in defending whatever
remained of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Other
bands of warriors like-mindiil with themselves
arrived from Germany, and the fjrces of the
Christians were so augmented that it was re-
solved to make a campaign against Egypt.
That country had been reduced to such a
state by nnsrule, liuiiiiie. anil pestilence as to
have become an especially inviting held for
foreign invasion. There only wanted the addi-
tional fact of storied wealth aud ti'easure to
inflame to the highest pitch the cupidity of
th,. mereenary chivalrv of the We>t. 'Xor
could it be denied that even troiii a military
point of view the cumaust of Ei:\ i>t was an
titt
Xi
important, it not a necessary ante
that of Syria.
In the year 1218 an armament
at Acre left the Syrian coast and
against Daniietta, at the mouth of
The Chi-istiaii f.ives were landed before the
city, and the place was at once besieged. An
assatdt was made upon a ea>tle in the river,
and though the a>sailaHts were lieaten back,
so furious was their oiimI that the defemlers
of the castle were teiiitied intn a capitulation.
A short time afterwards the news wa- borne
to tlie ('liri>tian camp that their great enemy,
Saphadin, was dead, and the dread which they
ha.l hitherto felt of Syrian assi.-tance to the
EL:V],liau- wa> dismi--ed. Another eireum-
staiiee llivorable t<. the (Vn.-adei's was the
Enrop,
chief 1
jm
, Franc
e heade.l 1
■, and En
Nev.rs
and La M
rSalishu
ry. Anuid.
the fore
>s of tlie 1
re thus
augmente
UXIVEIISAL HISTORY.— THE MODERX WORLD.
elenieut of di.^cord and danger -was introduced
in the jealousies and intrigues which at once
sprang up among so many eminent .leaders.
Within the city were the ravages of disease
and famine, yet the residue of the courageous
people held out for seventeen mouths. "When
at last neither passive endurance nor actual
bravery availed any longer to keep the Cru-
saders at bay, the latter Inirst into the city
and found themselves in a metropolis of death.
The other cities of Egvpt wore greativ
alarmed l.v the cni.tni- ■ ■ !>-- ' •■ - T'-
sui-e the conquest of Palestine. Both the sul-
tans were anxious for peace. He of Damascus
denjolished the fortifications of Jerusalem and
joined with his brother in ofl'ering to cede that
city and all Palestine to the Christians on the
single condition that they should withdraw
from Egypt. Thus at last, itjjon the camp of
the Crusaders, pitched on the sands of Lower
Egj-jit, arose out of the Syrian desert the
glorious sun of success, flashing hLs full beams
on the satires and Necropolis of Cairo.
Tl,.. i,nir..eM„-..-i..nTi,..H --.1.1-,- of the Cross
<ECKOfOLlS OF CAIEO.
r the pninting of P. Miirilhat.
consternation spread throughout all Syria, and
for once the Christians were completely mas-
ters of the situation. For the time they might
have dirtat.'d to tlie terrilied [Moslems what-
ever terms they chose to otl'er. ]\Ieanwhde,
Coradinus and Camel, two sous of Saphadln,
both weaklings, had been seated on the respec-
tive thrones of Damascus and Cairo. It were
hard to sav which of these two princes was
now mure .-criously distressed. Camel saw his
stronghold wrested from his grasp, while Cor-
adinus remembered that the Crusaders were
only warring in Egypt with a view to making
were anxious to accept the terms "which were
offered by the brother sultans. ^Tiy should
they war any longer since the scpulcher of
Christ and all the sacred pilaces of the Holy
Land were now freely, almost abjectly, offered
by the cowering representatives of Islam ? The
king of Jerusalem, the French and English
barons, and the Teutonic knights, eagerly fa-
vored the conclusion of a treaty. But the
Templars and Hospitallers, together with the
Italian leaders, influenced partly by theii' in-
sane lust for the treasure-hotises of Egypt and
partly by the stu^aid bigotry of Cardinal Pe-
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
lagius, the legate of the Pope, vehemently op-
posed the conclusion of a peace, and over-
rode the wishes and wise counsels of the allied
chieftains. Whenever the latter would urge
the immense and definitive advantages of the
proposed cession of Palestine with the conse-
quent recovery of the Holy Sepuleher and
every thing for which the blood and treasure
of Europe had been poured out like water for
a hundred and twenty-five years, the blatant
Pelagius would bawl out with imperious incon-
sistency that the soldiers nf the Cross should
never compromise with Infidels. The result
■was that the auspicious opportunity of ending
the Holy War on terms most satisfactory to
every sincere knight in Christendom, went by
unimproved, and instead of withdrawing from
Egypt the Crusaders passed an inglorious win-
ter in the captured city of Damietta.
Perceiving that their enemies were inexor-
able, the Moslems rallied from their despair
and employed the interval in recruiting their
armies and planning campaigns for the ensu-
ing year. With the beginning of 1220, the
army of Curadinus came out of Syria and was
joined to that of Camel at Caii'o. The in-
competency of Pelagius, and the outrageous
folly of his course, were now fully manifested.
While hesitating to attack the Lslamite armies,
he permitted his own forces to remain in the
vicinity of Damietta until with the rise of the
Nile the Egyptians deliberately cut the canals
on the side next the Isthmus, and inundated
the country. On a sudden the Christians
found themselves in a world of waters, swell-
ing higher and higher. The crisis was over-
whelming. The bigots who were responsible
for it were obliged to send a humble embassy
to the sultan, and to offer him the city of Da-
mietta for the privilege of retiring from Egypt.
The sultan accepted the offer, but took care to
detain as a ho.stage the king of Jerusalem un-
til what time the embarkation should be ef-
fected. The miserable and crestMlen Crusaders
took .ship as quickly as possible and sailed to
Acre. So completely was the host dispirited
that great numbers of the warriors abaudoue<l
the enterprise and returned to Europe.
The broils which hail so many times dis-
tracted the counsels and defeated the plans of
the Christian princes in the East were now
transferred to the West, Great was the mor-
46
tificatiou of Christendom when it was known
what might have been, and what was, accom-
plished in Egypt. It seemed necessary to find
a scapegoat, on whose head might be laid the
sin and ignominy of the foilure. Popular in-
dignation with a due apprehension of the facts
pointed to Pelagius, and great odium was set
against his name. But Honorius III., who
had now come to the papal throne, defended
his legate from the aspersions of his enemies ;
and, in order that the blame might rest upon
some one sufficiently eminent to bear the dis-
grace. His Holiness laid the charge of failure
at the feet of Frederick II. That distinguished
and obstinate ruler had promised, but had not
fulfilled. In 1220 he had gone to Rome in a
triumphal fashion and had been crowned by
the Pope, who had every hope that the eccen-
tric Emperor would become an obedient son
of the Church. Now it was said by the papal
adherents that the Emperor, after taking the
vow of the Cross, had failed to keep his cove-
nant, and had left the suffering Crusaders to
their fate among the floods of Lower Egypt.
It soon appeared, however, that Frederick
was not to be moved by such imputations of
dishonor. The Pope accordingly changed his
tone, and undertook to accomplish by jxilicy
what he could not effect by upbraiding the
iiniioiial Crusader. He managed to bring it
ab..ut that Herman de Saltza, GJrand ^Master
of the Teutonic Knights, should bring to the
Emperor from the East a proposal from King
John of Jerusalem that his daughter lolanta
sliould be given to Fredei-iek in marriage.
The scheme amounted to this, tliat the king-
dom of .Jerusalem should liecome an appanage
of the German Empire. John of Brienne was
most willing to give up the shadowy distinc-
tion with which he had been honored and to
escape from the perils of Syrian warfare, and
Frederick was e(|ually willing to accejit a trust
made p:datal.lc bv Midi a ;;it\ a^ the Princess
lolantn. Accenlin-lv, in the year 1225, the
pri.ject wa> ceinplcied. ami tlie Emperor .sol-
eiiuilv bouml liinisell' to lead an army to the
Helv Lan.I fer the re.;>tablidimeut of the
kiu-dom i.lauted by Go.ltn'y in the City of
Ziou.
The event allowed, however, that Frederick
was slow to fulfill what he had .so readily
prcinii-ed. .\ period of five years elapsed and
CXIVEliSAL HISTORY.-THE MODERN WORLD.
still he was uot leaih to ileimt iui the La-t
Pope Houoiiub died and ^^a^ '^iRceeded b}
Gregon IX , \\hu (_-]» u- d with zed the cn-
Hib HuhoL- excommumcated him, and finally
loibade him to do the \eij thmg ^\hich he
hid so lon„ utu^ed to iindeitake Thi- last
^^-;3
terijii^t which hi- pi 1.
tee accomph-he<l I n
l-eroi to ffo foiw nd |i\
it inedto j iiKiMiip --eem- to hi\e ainu-ed the peiTeise
tli( Till- f'leihiuk h\ tlie h\\ of coiitiadiaion, foi set-
<i-uiM.ii, I tiii_r It inu_ht l)oth the thitit- and the inter-
TEE CRUSADES.— FALL OF TEE CEOSS.
diets of the Pope, he collected a small squad-
ron and departed for Palestine.
The armament with which the Emperor,
still under the ban, set out on his mission con-
sisted of only twenty galleys. Those who had
had experience in the long-continued wars with
the Infidels were excited to contempt on wit-
nessing the departure of the ruler of the Ger-
man Empire with such a force on such an ex-
pedition. It was not long, however, until
their contempt was turned into wonder at the
extraordinary success which attended the arms
of Frederick. Notwithstanding the anathemas
of the Pope, and the unwearied eftbrts of that
potentate to defeat his plans and cover him
with disgrace, the Emperor made all speed to
Acre, and there with his handful of soldiers
prepared for the reconquest of Palestine. Both
the Hospitallers and the Templars, acting un-
der the commands of the Pope, withheld their
support, and Frederick was left with only his
own trooiis and the Teutonic knights. Such,
however, was the vigor of his movements that
many of the Sp'ian chivalry were impelled by
a sense of shame, even against the papal in-
terdict, to join their German brethren in their
struggle with the Infidels.
Having made every thing secure at Acre,
Frederick courageously set his forces in mo-
tion toward Jaffa. Contrary to expectation,
this stronghold was taken from the Turks, re-
fortified, and garrisoned. It appears that
Frederick, more wise than his predecessors in
the Holy War, had conceived the project of
playing off the sultan of Damascus against
his brother of Cairo, and of gaining through
their conflict of interests and ambitions what
the other Crusaders had failed to reach — the
recovery of Jerusalem. But before he was
able to achieve any results by this shrewd
policy, Coradinus died and Camel was left
without a rival to contend with the German
invaders. Frederick, however, was not to be
put from his purpose. He pressed forward
from Jafia in the direction of the Holy City,
and the Infidels fell back before him. Bethle-
hem, Nazareth, and other important places were
taken without a battle, and so great was the
alarm both in Jerusalem and in Damascus that
the sultan made overtures for peace. Thus,
against all expectation (unless it were his own ),
Frederick found himself in a position to dic-
tate terms almost as favorable as might have
been obtained by the conquerors of Danuetta.
Nor has any one ever been able to discover
the nature of the motives which he was able
to bring to bear on the sultan to secure so fa-
vorable a settlement. It was stipulated that
henceforth all Christians should have free ac-
cess to the Holy City ; that the Mohammedans
should approach the temple on jNIoriah only
in the garb of pilgrims ; that Bethlehem, Naz-
areth, and other recent conquests should re-
main to the Christians ; that the peace should
not be broken for a period of ten years.
Great was the wrath of the Pope on hear-
ing of the victory of the excummuuicated
prince. The whole power of the Church
was rallied to deny and explain away the
signal success and good fortune of FiX'd-
erick. The latter, however, was now in a
position to laugh at, if not despise, his ene-
mies. Preferring to consider himself unde'-
the ban, he determined to celebrate his coro-
nation in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Nor durst the Moslems offijr any opposition
to the ceremony. The Emperor accordingly
entered the city with his train of Teutonic
Knights and .soldiers, and, repairing to the
altar, took therefrom the crown and placed
it on his head; for the patriarch of Jerusa-
lem, fearing the Pope, refused to perform
the crowning, nor would the Templars and
Hospitallers be present at the ceremony.
Thus, in the year 1229, the Fifth and least
pretentious of all the Crusades terminated
with complete success. The victorious Em-
peror returneil t" Arrr, and then set sail
for Europe, f illowed fiy tlie plaudits of his
own countrymen, but jeered at and scandal-
ized by the papal party throughout Palestine.
It had already come to jiass that Rome looked
with greater aversion and lintri'd upon a hereti-
cal and disobedient Cliristiau than upon the
worst of the Infidel Turks.
Such was the anger of the pajial party
against him liy whom the rest(irati(in of
Christian influence in the Holy Land had
been achieved, that no efforts were niade to
conserve the fruits of his conquests. Not
satisfied with this negative policy, the ad-
herents of Gregory began a series of active
aggressions against Frederick, looking to the
undoing of his Imperial title, and the sap-
UXIVEIiSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
plug of the loyalty ui' his suhjccts. Bitter
were the jiersecutious whieli were directed
against him. When the Empress lolanta
died at the birth of her sou, the auti-
Geriiian j.arty insisted tliat tlie child sh..uld
be discarded along with its fatlicr, aud that
the crown of Jerusalem should be given to ^
Alice, daughter of Isabella aud Henry of
Champagne. The latter claimant went over
from i'v|inis ti> Syria to set up her preten-
sions, wliercup.in, in ll'oO, a civil war en-
sued between her adherents aud the sup-
porters of Frederick. The party of Alice
had greatest numerical strength, but the |
Teutonic Knights remained loyal to their
Emperor, and more than counterbalanced
the advantage of his enemies.
After the strife had continued for a sea-
sou, a reconciliation was effected between
Frederick and the Pope. The settlement
was without any sincere foundation on either
side, but was sufficiently meritorious to bring
about a peace in Syria. But in that coun-
try the mischief had already been accom-
plished. More than half of the time of the
truce concluded by the Emperor with Sul-
tan Camel had alread}^ run to waste, and
nothing had been done towards securing the
conquests made by the Germans in Palestine.
Perceiving their opportunity in the quar-
rels and turmoils of the Christians, the Sar-
acen emirs of Syria disclaimed the compact
which had been made by their sovereign,
and renewed hostilities. They fell upon the
outposts which had been established by Fred-
erick, and drove away the defenders. Pur-
suing their successes, they attacked and mas-
sacred a large body of Christian Pilgrims on
their way from Acre to Jerusalem. Less
atrocious, but more serious in its consequences,
was the defeat of the Tcnqihirs, who had
undertaken an expedition aminst Aleppo.
So terrible was the loss inflicted upon the
KniLihts, that a considerable period elapsed
lict'on- tlii'V could rally from their overthrow.
One disaster followiil another, and it soon
liccanie apparent tliat, unless a new Crusade
should be speedily undertaken, the Holy Land
would be entirely regained by the Infidels.
The same Church which had so recently, by
neglect and positive opposition, thwarted the
efforts of Frederick for the restoration of the
Christian kingdom, now exerted itself to the
utmost to organize a new expedition against
the Turks. A great council was called at
Spok'to, where it was resolved to reuew the
Holy \Var, and the two orders of Francis-
can and Dominican friars were commissioned
to preacli the Crusade. It appeared, however,
that the mouks were lukewarm in the cause,
and it was soon known that the moneys which
they procured for the equipment of armies
were finding a lodgment in their own coflers
aud the papal treasury at Rome.
In this way seven j-ears of precious time
were squandered, and still no relief was brought
to the suffering Christians of Palestine. In
the interval their fortunes had constantly run
from bad to worse. At last the sultan of
Egypt, incited thereto partly by the news of
the preparations made in Europe for renewing
the war, and partly by the hope of restoring-
his own influence throughout the Moslem do-
minions, raised an army, marched against
Jerusalem, ejected the Christians, and shut
the gates of the city against them.
When the news of this proceeding was car-
ried to Europe the people were everywhere
aroused from their apathy. Not even the self-
ish aud sordid policy of the Pojie and the
uKjuks could any longer avail to check or
' divert popular indignation from its purpose.
I The barons of France and England assumed
the Cross, aud in spite of j)apal ojiposition and-
interdict, the Sixth Ceu.^ade was organized.
I In order to make sure that their object should
! in no -wise be thwarted the English nobles'
met at Xorthampton and solemnly recorded
their vows that within a year they would in
ppri'on lead their forces into Palestine.
Nor were the French barons of highest
rank less active and zealous in the cause.
Count Thibaut — now king of Kavarre — the
Dnke of Burgundy, the counts of Brittany and
jMontfort were the most noble of the leaders
who sprann- forward to rally their countrymen
and arm them for the expedition. They even
outran the English lords in the work of j)rep-
arati..ii, and before the latter were well on
their way the French were already at Acre
preparing a campaign against the Moslems at
Ascalon. The latter were driven liack, and
the French, grown confident, divided their
' forces. The Count of Brittany plunged into-
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS
■the enemy's country, made his way victoriously
to the very walls of Damascus, aud returned
laden with booty. The effect of this success,
however, was presently worse than a reverse.
'The counts of Bar and Moutfort, emulating
-the fame gained by the Lord of Brittany, led
their forces in the direction of Gaza, and were
•disastrously routed by the Moslems. De Bar
was slain aud Moutfort taken prisoner. The
king of Navarre was constrained to gather up
the remnants of the French army aud retreat
"to Acre.
In these expeditions led by the banms of
France the Hospitallers and Templars took
little part. It was evident that the Knights
had no sympathy with any movement by
-which glory might accrue to others than them-
:selves. Finding in this defection of the two
military orders a good excuse for such a course,
the French nobles collected their followei-s,
:and taking ship from Acre returned to Europe.
In the mean time the more tardy but more
resolute English came upon the scene which the
.coutinental lords had just abandoned. They
were led by one well calculated tii achieve
great victories, even by the termr of his
name — Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother to
Henry III. of England, and nephew to the
Lion Heart. Such was the fame of the Plan-
tagenet that on his arrival at Acre he was al-
most immediately placed in control of the
.affairs of the kingdom, and as the hopes of
the Christians rose, the fears of the ^loslems
were excited.
Nor was the great Earl Richard slow to
avail himself of the various comlitious favora-
ble to success. It happened that on his arri-
val in Palestine, the sultans of Cairo aud Da-
mascus had fallen into dissensions, and were
pursuing diflerent policies with respect to the
Christians. Richard, emboldened by a knowl-
edge of this fact, at once demanded of the
•emir of Karac the restoration of the prisoners
taken by that high Turk in the battle of Gaza.
When the emir refused or neglected to release
his captives, the English forces set out towards
•Jaffa to enforce compliance, but the jMoslems
durst not resist cue who carried the terrible
sword of Plautagenet. The prisoners were
liberated before the Christians struck a blow.
'One success quickly followed another, until
■with little bloodshed all that the Crusaders had
contended for since the capture of the Holy
City by Saladiu was accomplished. The hum-
ble sultans made haste to renew their offers of
peace. Richard acceded to their proposals,
for these were all that he or the most sanguine
of the Western princes could have desired. It
was solemnly agreed by the Moslems that Je-
rusalem, with the greater part of the territory
which had belonged to the kingdom in the
times of Baldwin I., should be absolutely
given up to the Christians. In addition to this
prime concession it was stipulated that all cap-
tives held by the Turks should be liberated
without ransom. Thus by a single and almost
bloodless campaign, headed by the English
priuce, w^ the reconquest of the Holy Land
at last effected. The Crescent was replaced by
the Cross in the city of David, and Richard
and his barons, well satisfied with the result,
departed for their homes. The immediate care
of Jerusalem was left to the Patriarch of that
sacred metropolis and to the Hospitallers, who
undertook the rebuilding of the walls. As to
the crown of the kingdom, the same was de-
creed to Frederick II., who had previously
assunieil the somewhat dubious honor in the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
For the moment, it now apjicared that the
epoch of the Crusades was closed with the
complete triumph of the Christians. The es-
sential question at issue had been decided
in their favor. It happened, however, that
just as this auspicious state succeeded the
ceutury and a half of war, a new element was
introduced into the Syrian im.blem. The
story of the great invasiim of Genghis Khau
and his iMonguls has already lieen recited in
the j)receding volume of this work.' It is
only necessary in this connection to note the
fact that in the overthrow of the Persian Em-
pire by the jMonguls, the Corasmius of that
region were driven from their seats of power
to make room for the conquerors. These Co-
i^assmins made their way to the west at the
very time when the victorious Earl of Corn-
wall was reestablishing the kingdom of Je-
rusalem. Within two years after that event,
the Persian brigands, acting under the advice
and guidance of the Emir of Egypt, himself
justly offended by some hostilities of the Tem-
]ilars, broke into Palestine twenty thousand
'See Vol. II., Book Tenth, pp. 378,
UXIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODEL'X WORLD.
btiODj^ lod iiutki the It i
1 111] 1 th 11 hKt
Bubacin -et it nxu.ht
ill ml t \\ 11 in
peace The Ho i it ilh i
h I 1 11 t \ft uc
eeeded m u t ini_ th
w ill t Jeiu lleui
and the iii\ 1 1 i iinin 1
It h duet ted thei
maieh i_ iiii t th u in
L 111 1 1 ^'*^'-l *Ji '1*'
fen>e the Km ht il in 1
11 l/i n t hn iitt
In thf A 11 1 4 il
( 1 1 nun i] ] iir
bet iL th nun 1 i ii i| iii
1 1 III 1 «nl u
th 1 11 h k (elite barbarians had
II 111 1 il tme luce the dawu of liis-
1 I 1 t ti\ then cciuse, the Kuitrhts
in I th M 1 m joined then- forces ;
1 mil t I Njt iiiuk common cause
( 1 I 111111 I-stu 1 casual glance
iii{ HI 11 f th twr confederate ar-
il 1 n t I 111 1 h \\ th • complete and
re'ii^tauce fh n t 11 wi 1 i n t Initdi n
haidh ejutl 1 1\ th nil I 1 1 the M
lems b\ the ainn t (t lii(\ In thi^ m
«tince (_hii tnn in 1 M himmedm weietieated
with no discrimination. Xor did the savages
desist from their work with the destruction of
human life. The churches were robbed and
desecrated : the tombs, broken open and rifled ;
the sacred places, profaned. Jerusalem, al-
ready desolate, was converted into a waste.
( hii t an! tin Pi ij het The original antip-
athi f Chi I tnn iiid AI km had given
phte t-i other c n liti n f h utility in which
the rid time anta in m ( f C ross and Cres-
cent were forgotten.
The confederate army of Knights and Syr-
ian Moslems was presently induced by the pa-
triarch of Jerusalem and other zealots to risk
a battle with the combined forces of Coras-
mins and Egyptians. Xever was there a more
THE LRUiiADES.—FALL OF THE t'llOHS.
7(;l
complete and niiuous overthrow than that to
which tlie Christians were now doomed. Tlieir
entire forces were either killed or jfcattered.
The Grand blasters of the Hospitaller.- and
Knights Templars were both slain. Only
twenty-six Knights of the Hospital, thirty-
three of the Temple, and three of the Teu-
tonic Order were left alive of the whole Chris-
tian chivalry of Palestine. The blood-smeared
and ferocious victors made haste to seize the
fortress of Tiberias and Ascalou, aud every
other stronghold of Eastern Christendom, with
the exception of Acre. Here were gathered
the fugitives from all parts of the Holy Land,
as to a last rock of refuge. Nor is it likely that
even this medieval Gibraltar of the East would
have been able to escape the general fate but
for the fortunate quarrels which broke out be-
tween the Corasmins aud their Egyptian allies.
But this unnatural league came to a natu-
ral end. The Emir of Egypt sought a more
congenial coinbiuatiou of his forces with his
fellow Moslems of S3'ria. Meanwhile the bar-
barous Corasmins continued to devastate the
country as far as Damascus, which city they
capt\ired and jiillaged. The effect of this ter-
rible devastation was to arouse the half apa-
thetic Jloslems from their stupor. With a
heroic effort they rallied a large army, con-
fronted the Corasmiu hordes in the Desert near
Damascus, and routed them with tremendous
slaughter. The invaders were driven entirely
out of Palestine, aud Syria was relieved of
her peril.
To the Christians, however, the destruction
of the Corasmins brought uo advantage. The
Moslems had not reconquered the Holy Land
to deliver it gratis to the followers of Christ.
The sway of Islam was restored in Jerusalem,
and the Christian kingdom continued to be
bounded by the fortifications of Acre.
As soon as this deplorable condition of
affairs was known iu Europe the same scene
which had been already six times witnessed in
the Western states was again enacted. In 124.5
Pope Innocent IV. convened a general council
of the church at Lyons, aud it was resolved
to undertake another crusade to restore the
Cross to the waste places of Palestine. To
this end it was decreed that all wars among
the secular princes of the West should be sus-
pended for a period of four years, so that the
comliiued energies of all might be devoted to
a great expedition against the Intidels. Again
the jareachers went forth proclaiming a renewal
of the conflict, aud from Norway to Spain
the country resounded with the oulcrv of the
monks.
In (ieruumy the old bitterness between the
Emperor Frederick II. and the pai)al party
had broken out afresh, and the etfbrts of the
zealots to rekindle the fires of a holy war were
not of much avail. Time aud again the Im-
perial forces and papal troops were engaged in
battles in which the aiiinio>ity of the German
Knights, l)eating with battle-axe and sword
around the standard - wagons of the Italian
zealots, was not less fierce than were the sim-
ilar conflicts of the Christians aud Islamites iu
Syria. In France and England the flame of
crusading enthusiasm burst foi-tli with brighter
flame, and many of the greatest nobles of the
two kingdoms ardently espoused the cause.
Thus did William Long Sword, the Bishop
of Salisbury, the Earl of Leicester, Sir Walter
de Lacy, and many other English Knights,
who armed themselves and their followers for
the conflict. Haco, kiug of Norway, also
took the Cross, aud became an ardent pro-
moter of the enterprise, but before the expe-
dition could depart for Syria he was induced
by reasons best known to himself to abandon
the cause. Most of all, however, was the cru-
sading spirit revived in France, in which realm
Kiug Louis IX., most .saintly of all the medie-
val rulers, sjiread among all ranks of his ad-
miring subjects the fire of enthusiasm. It was
under his devoted leadership that the Seventh
Crusahe was now undeitaken.
The island of (.Cyprus was appointed as the
place f)f rendezvous. Thither, in the year
1248, repaired the barons, knights, and sol-
diery of the West. King Louis, leaving his
government iu charge of his mother, Blanche
of Castile, departed with his warriors and
became the soul of the enterprise. As in the
case of the Fifth Crusade, it was resolved to
make a descent on Egypt, and to conquer
that country as the gateway of Syria. Nothing
could more clearly illustrate the blind folly,
recklessness, and infatuation of the military
methods of the ]\Iiddle Ages than the c(nirse
now pursued by St, Louis and his army. With
a siui:ular (li.-re-;ar.l of the lesnin of the recent
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
{)ast, the Crusader.s jiruceeilol airainst Dami-
etta, there to repeat in ahiidst every particular
the blimdering disasters of the fifth expedition.
The force with whieh tlie French king set
' ^--^^'
BATTLE OF GERMAN KXIGHTS ANI
Drawn Ijy N. Sanesi.
able ever seen in the East. The fleet contained
eighteen hundred vessels, and the army num-
bered two thousand eight hundred Knights,
seven thousand men-at-arms, and about sev-
enty-five tliiiusand infantry. IJut never was
an c.\i)edition attended with worse fortune.
The squadron was caught in a storm and scat-
tered. On arriving before Damietta the king
was accompanied by only seven hundred
ot his KniLihi-, ;iihl lii- other forces were
< oiic-pondmgly re-
hited On the shore
tilt -ultau hadgath-
1 icd an immense
linn to ojipose the
1 indmg ot his ene-
mu- Such was the
.iiia\ and such the
^\ .11 like braying of
the tiunipets of la-
1 im tliat the lead-
( 1 - admonished
Louii not to at-
tempt debarkation
until hi-> strength
-hould be increased
b\ the ai rival of
his dispersed ships.
But he was by no
means to be deterred
from his purpose.
With a courage that
would have done
credit to the Lion
Heart he ordered
s vessels to ap-
oach the shore,
sprang into the
waters with the ori-
tlamme of France
above his head,
\\aded with his res-
(ilute Knights
through the surf,
and attacked the
Y^ g y p t i a n army.
Such was the hero-
ism of the onset that
the iMoslems gave
wav in dismay be-
lore the incredible
charge and fled, first
to and then from Damietta. That city, which
since its previous caiitiirc liy tlii' Christians
had been converted into a >tioiiL:li"M, was
taken without serious resistance, but the Infi-
dels, before retreatiiiLr, set fire to th
commer-
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
cial portion of the emporium, and the flames
destroyed all that was most valuable tn the
captors.
It was the peculiarity of the military tem-
per of the Islamites of the thirteenth century
that they sometimes fled from shadows and
sometimes fought like the lious of the desert.
There was still in them a residue of that fiery
valor which they had displayed in the days of
Omar the Great. At the present juncture,
after flying from a fortress which they might
Christians found themselves closely invested
and in danger of extermination. It was well
for them that their scattered fleet, most of
which had been driven into Acre, now ar-
rived with reinforcements. At the same time
William Long Sword and his English chivalry
reached Damietta, and joined themselves to
the forces of King Louis. The French, thus
strengthened, might have sallied forth with a
strong prospect of raising the siege and scat-
tering the Moslem array.
r"
=i-^i«?#-j;fe£?^^^^
LANDING OF S.MNT LOUIS IN EGYPT.
easily have defended, they suddenly turned
about in great force, and the Christian army
in Damietta was in its turn besieged. The
Sultan Nejmeddin, great-nephew of Saladin,
now occupied the throne of Eg^-pt; nor did
he fail to exhibit those sterling qualities as a
soldier which niiirbt have been expected in
one of so heroic a lineage. Himself suffering
fi'om disease, he hastened to Damietta, put
to death fifty of his officers for having in so
cowardly a manner given up the city to the
invaders, took command in person, and soon
reversed the fortunes of the campaign. The
Much valuable time was wasted in inac-
tion. At length it was resolved by the Chris-
tians to make their exit up that branch of the
Nile on which Damietta was located, and force
their way to Cairo. As soon as the Sloslems
discovered the movement, they threw their
forces along the river, and strenuously op-
posed the progress of King Louis's army.
After much hard fighting, the Christians
reached Mansoura. Here a terrible conflict
ensued. Before the city could be taken, it
was necessary that the Crusaders slioiild cross
the AshnK.un canal, and this was held bv the
UNIVERSAL mSTORY.-THE MODERN WORLD.
\w>t lit' the I.-^huiiile w
the Count nf Arti.i
king, jiutlifriiiu' am
the Kiiiglus of Jm
ceeded in forcing lii
tlie verv faee of tht
H.mI into Mai.-.ura.
art.-.l with .li~r,vli.
At hist, however,
V of the French
1 the bravest of
ml France, suc-
!■<.- the canal in
who turned and
ronnt had now
well; lint, in-l. ;i.l of yi. Ming to the prudent
counsels of Williani Long Su.inl and other
cool-li,ad,(l l.adri-, he ra-hly and impetli-
ou-lv pin-Mird tho flying f.H- into the town.
The otlirr Knights, not to he shamed by his
valor, pre.-.-ed after him, and the whole disor-
gauized mass of mingled ^loslems and Chris-
tians rolled through the gates of Mansoura.
lu a short time the Infidels perceived the
folly of their pursuers, and made a rally in
overwhelming numbers. He of Artois and his
ra-h followci-s found themselves surrounded.
Valor availrd not. The count himself, Long
^word. and the (n-and ilaster of the Templars,
were all either killed outright, or hewed down in
blood. The Grand Master of the Hospitallers
was taken prisoner ; nor would any of the force
have escaped but for the opportune arrival of
the king with the main army. The Christians
succeeded in holding ]\Iansoura, but the vic-
tory was comparatively fruitless.
At this juncture Nejmeddiu died, and the
sultanate passed to his son; but, before the
latter was well seated on the throne, the pow-
erful Bibars, general of the ^Mamelukes, ob-
tained the direction of affairs, and presently
took the crown for himself. Under his direc-
tion, the Egyptians now took up their galleys
from the Nile above the Christian camp, and
drew the .same ovcrlanil to a position between
the Cru.?aders and Damhtta. In this wise, the
army of King Louis was left in precisely the
same predicament as the Knights of the Fifth
Crusade had been aforetime. In a brief period
famine was added to the horrors of disease in
the French camp, and it became evident that,
unless a retreat could be effected to Damietta,
the whole fiive woulil be destroyed. Daily
the aiidacioii< Intid.ls. emboldened by the near
prospect (if surciss. narrowed their lines and
renewed their a>sanlts on the failing Chris-
tians. When tlie latter began their retreat,
the vietoriou- ^fovlcni- eaiitured the camp.
the stragglers were cut off, and the main
bcjdy \\a< tiirowu into confusion, overwhelmed,
annihilati-d. King Louis and his two re-
maining brothers, the counts of Aujou and
Poitiers, together with a few other nobles,
Were taken prisoners, but the remainder, to
the nunilier of at least thirty thousand, were
massacred without mercy.
The son and suceeJs.,r of Xejmeddin was
named T.mran 8hah. By him 'King Louis
and his fellow captives were treated with
some consideration, and negotiations were
opened with a view to securing the ransom
of the prisoners. But, before the terms of
liberation could be carried into effect, a revo-
lution broke out in Egypt by which the lives
of the captives were brought into imminent
peril. The Mamelukes, that fierce baud of
Turcoman horsemen, revolted against the
government, and Touran Shah was slain.
His death was the extinction of that Kur-
dish dynasty which had been established by
Saladin, in place of which was substituted a
Mameluke dynasty, beginning in 1250 with
the chieftain Bibars.
At length avarice prevailed over the thirst
for blood, and Louis should be liberated for
the fortress of Damietta, which was still held
by the Christians, and that all his living fol-
lowers should be redeemed for four hundred
thousand livres in gold. In order to obtain
the first installment of the ransom, the sor-
rowing but still saintly warrior-king was
obliged to borrow the requisite sum from
the Knights Templars. Damietta was sur-
rendered to the Moslems, and Louis, with the
shattered remnant of his forces, took ship for
Acre.
]Most of the French barons and knights,
however, considering their vows fairly ful-
filled by their sufferings in Egypt, sought
the first opportunity to return home. As to
the king, no such course was to be thought
of His pride and religious zeal both for-
I bade his retirement from the lands of the
Turk until he had done something to re-
quite the Infidels for the destruction of his
army. Entering Acre, the pious monarch
at once set about the work of reorganizing
the small band of warriors who still adhered
to hi< fallen fortunes. Of those who had
I survived the ill-starred expedition, and of resi-
,T OF ARTOIS IN TUF HATTLK i<V M \N I Ivl
L'XirERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
dent Christian soklier.s iu rak-.stiiie, he col-
lected an aruiy of nearly four thousand men,
but with this handful he was uuable to under-
take any important campaign. Nevertheless,
his energies were successfully directed to the
scarcely less essential work of repairing the
fortifications of the few places over which
the Christians could still claim authority.
The walls and fortress of Acre were greatly
strengthened, and Cesarea, Jaffa, and Sidon
put in a state of tolerable defense. In this
way the king succeeded, in the course of four
years, in making more secure the little that
wa.s left of the Latin kingdom in the East.
The hopes of Louis grew with the occa-
sion. The Egyi)tiau and Syrian Moslems
quarreled and went to war. S(i bitter was
the feud between the new Mameluke dynasty
and the adherents of the Kurdish House at
Damascus, that the French king was able to
obtain from the former the release of all his
prisoners still remaining unransomed with the
sultan of Cairo. Jlore hopeful still was the
promise which he secured from that ]ioteutate
of a recession of Jerusalem to the Christians.
Nor is it to be doubted that, if the war be-
tween Egypt and Syria had continued, the
king would have accomplished a great part of
what all Christendom had fought and prayed
for for more than a hundred and fifty years.
But the early reconciliation of the warring
Moslems served to bla.st all expectation of .so
happy a result. The sultans not only made
peace but combined their forces to crush the
rising hopes of the Syrian Christians. The
latter were so feeble in numbers that no suc-
cessful stand could be made against the Infi-
del hosts that ha<l gathered on every hand.
All the fortresses, excejit that of Acre, were
again given up to the Moslems, and even the
gates of that stronghold were threatened by
the triumphant soldiers of the Crescent. At
length, however, the Islamites withdrew with-
out seriously attempting the reduction of Acre,
and this movement on their part, together
with the news which was now borne to Syria
of the death of the king's mother, gave him
good excuse fir rctii-iiiL' fmni the unc(|ual ron-
quest. In V1:A lir t<..>k >V\\< at \rv,-. and the
Seventh Crusade wa> at an md.
Though in a iiiaiiiKi- barren nt' jui^itivc re-
sidts, the exiieditiMU df Saint Li.ui- in Tali--
tine had done much to shore up the tottering
fabric of the Christian kingdom. Perhaps, if
he had iu his turn been well sujiported by the
states of the West and by the three great Or-
ders of Knights, a more permanent result might
have been achieved. But the Templars and
Hospitallers had now forgotten their vows and
given themselves up to the mercenary and self-
ish spirit of the times, to the extent that the
Cro.ss was shamed rather than honored Ijy their
support. ^loreover, a state of atiairs had su-
j)erveued in the West unfavorable to the main-
tenance of the Christian cause. The Venetians,
Genoese, and Pisans had fallen into such bit-
ter rivalries as to preclude any possibility of
a united effort in any enterprise. These peo-
ples had grown wealthy and cosmopolitan, and
had ceased to care about the ditterent religions
of the world. It was enough that those with
whom they held intercourse should desire mer-
chandise and possess the means of purcha.se.
For these and many other reasons the discour-
agement to the cause of Eastern Christianity
was extreme, and all who were at once thought-
ful and not blinded by religious fanaticism
could but see in the near future the probable
and final expulsion of the Christians from the
remaining fortresses still held by them in Syria.
As soon as the new Mameluke sultan Bibars
was firmly seated on the throne of Egypt, he
began a career of conquest. He made expe-
ditions into the Moslem states of Syria, and
compelled them to submit to his sway. He
then carried his ravages into the territories
.still nominally belonging to the kingdom of
Jerusalem. This movement served the good
purpose of hushing for the moment the dis-
sensions of the Templars and Hospitallers who
had recently been breathing out threats of
mutual destruction. They now united their
ho.<tile forces, and did as much as valor might
to resist the overwhelming forces of the sultan.
As a grn. ral rule tlir Knight- f.ii-lit t.i the
last, rcl'uMii- to a|».-tatize. dying rather than
aban.JMii the faitli. In ll'ii'i a liody <if ninety
of theM. invinriMe ^^-M■v\<>v- del'ended the fort-
ress (it A/j.tus until the last man was killed.
Till' Ti'inplars aeted with as much bravery as
they of the Hns|iital. In the year following
the ea]iture i.t' A /..it Us, the jirior of the Order
nt the Teniple made a courageous defense of
.•^a|ilioiii\ , and finally capitulated on a promise
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
of honorable treatment. Sultan Bibars, how-
ever, violated his pledge, and gave his prison-
ers their option of death or the acceptance of
Islam. All chose death, and gave up their
lives as a seal to their fidelity. Before the
year 1270, all the inland castles belonging to
the Orders, including the fortresses of Cesarea,
Laodicea, and Jaffa, had been taken by the In-
fidels. At last, in 1268, the city of Antloch
was captured by the ]\Iamelukes. Many thou-
sands of the Christians were massacred, and
no fewer than a hundred thousand sold into
slavery. For a while it seemed that Acre it-
self would share the fate of the Syrian cap-
ital ; but the opportune arrival of the king of
Cyprus, and the still more opportune preva-
lence of the tempest in which the Egyptian
fleet was well-nigh destroyed, postponed for a
season the final catastrophe.
Such was the imminent doom now impend-
ing over the Christian power in the East that
the Eomish See was at last awakened from its
slumbers. The news of the capture of Anti-
och produced something of the same shock in
Western Christendom which had been felt on
so many previous occasions. The zeal of Pope
Clement IV. cooperated with the devotion of
Saint Louis to revive the flagging cause. Nev-
ertheless so completely had the impulses of
fanaticism abated that three years were con-
sumed in preparation before the now aged
French king was able to gather the armies of
the Eighth Crusade, and set out for the
East. On the 4th of July, 1270, the expedi-
tion departed from the port of Aigues-Mortes,
and came to Sardinia. Here it was deter-
mined— such being the king's own wish in the
premises — to make a descent on the coast of
Africa with a view to the conquest of Tunis.
For it was believed that both the king of this
country and his subjects might be converted
to Christianity.
Such was the extraordinary nature of this
enterprise that many of King Louis's barons
tried to dissuade him from the project. But
the piety of the king, backed as it was by
the interested motives of his brother Charles
of Anjou, now king of Xaples and Sicily,
proved superior to all objections, and on the
24th of July the squadron was brought to an-
chor in the harbor of ancient Carthage.
At this epoch the kingdom of Tunis was
torn by faction. The royal or Saracenic jiarty
was opposed by the Berbers. It appears that
King Louis had hoped to prolit liy this dissen-
sion and by espousing the cause of the Sar-
acen ruler to bring him and his countrymen
to Christianity. The presence of the French
army, however, had the effect to heal the
breach in the African kingdom, and both par-
ties made common cause again.st the invaders.
The king of Tunis raised a powerful army to
drive his officious friends into the sea. He
desired neither them nor their religion. For
the time no general battle was fought. Both
parties avoided it. The Moors knew, and the
Christians soon came to know that the climate
of that sun-scorched region would avail more
than the sword in the destruction of a Euro-
pean arm}'.
Pestilences broke out in the camp of the
Crusaders. The soldiers died by hundreds and
then by thousands. The air became laden
with poisonous vapors. The dead lay unbur-
ied, for the living were sick. Many of the
noljlest of France yielded to the blight. The
counts of Vendome, La Marche, Gaultier, and
Nemours, and the barons of I\Ioutmorency,
Pienne, and Bressac, sickened and died. The
king's fiu-orite sou, the Duke of Nevers, fol-
lowed them to the land of shadows, and then
Saint Louis himself fell before the destroyer.
The few who remained alive eagerly sought
to save themselves by flying from the horrid
situation and returning to France.
In the mean time, however, another train
of circumstances had been laid which led to a
continuance of the Crusade after the death of
King Louis and the ruin of his army. The
barons of England, also, hearing of the fall of
Autioch, had felt a generous pang and taken
the cross for the rescue. Prince Edward Plan-
tagenet, son of Henry III., and heir of the
English crown, rallied his nobles to aid the
French in the salvation of the Christian states
of the East. He was supported in the work
by five of the great earls of England, and a
fdi-cc (if lords and knights numbering about a
tliini-antl. With this .small but spirited army
Edward set out from the kingdom which he
was soon to inherit, and landing on the Afri-
can coast joined himself and his brave follow-
ers with the army of King Louis to aid in the
conquest of Tunis. The French forces, how-
UMVERSAL HISTORY.-THE MODF.nx WORLD.
'• ciuimie the Crusade by embarking for the
ever, were already in the pan-s of di.vH.Imiun
and when, after tlie death and funeral ..t
Saint Louis, Edward an.l hi- .arl.^ trird t,
persuade the siek and ilvin- M.Jdi^ r- ,,r Fi,,,,
East, tliey^ refused to proceed. Kot so, how-
ever, the Enorlish. With a steady
Iiarl,,|l„.irrar,.
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
to Palestine and thus redeem the Eighth Cru-
sade from taihire.
lu the autumn of 1270 Edward and his
■warriors arrived at Acre. The Christians of
that forlorn outpost of the Cross were greatly
inspirited by the coming of their English
friends, led by one who bore the terrible name
of Plautagenet. The Moslems conceived a
wholesome dread of the Knights, -who had just
arrived from the AVest. The Sultan Bibars,
Avho was already before the gates of Acre,
retired in haste when he learned that Edward
Pkmtagenet was in the fortress. The scattered
Christian warriors of Palestine sought shelter
and a renewal of confidence by gathering
around the English standard. Prince Edward
thus succeeded iu rallying a force of about
seven thousand warriors, and with this small
army went boldly forth to encounter the hosts
of Islam.
Marching iu the directi(m of Xazareth the
Crusaders soon fell in with a division of the
^loslems, whom they defeated and dispersed.
Proceeding to the boyhood home of Christ
they took the town by storm and slaughtered
the inhabitants with an excess of ferocity
which might well have signalized the deeds of
the first Crusaders. The Christians took up
their station in Nazareth, but were almost im-
mediately attacked with dreadful diseases, more
fatal than the swords of the Moslems. Hun-
dreds of the small army fell victims to the
pestilence. The prince himself fell sick, and
while confined to his couch was assailed by
cue of the Assassins. The wretch, under pre-
tense of giving Edward important information,
gained access to his tent, and while the latter
was reading the pretended credentials attacked
him with a poisoned dagger. Plantagenet,
however, was not to be extinguished by a mur-
derer. Springing from the couch he seized
his assailant, threw him to the earth, and
transfixed him with his own weapon. The
prince's physician then excised the poisoned
wounds of the prince and his vigorous consti-
tution prevailed over both his injuries and the
pestilence. So greatly, however, were his
scanty forces wasted that a further continuance
of the conflict seemed out of the question.
The news now came from England that
King Henry IH. was sick unto death, and
the prince's presence was necessary to the
l)eace of the realm. Hr u.-c.nliugly d,,t,.r-
miued to avail liiiiisilf of tlu' civiTtiuo made
by the sultan, who perhaps m.t knowing the
condition of Edward and his handlul of war-
riors, and entertaining for tlicm a sahitarv
respect had j)nn)osed a truce tni- a ]ii rind df
ten yrars. A settlement was aiToidin-lv made
on this liasis, and after a residence of Inuite.n
months Prince Edward retired from Pale-tine.
The success of his camj)aign had been such as
to secure another resjiite to the tottering fabric
of Christianity in Syria.
Ill the year 1274 the Pope's li-ate in Pal-
estine, the Count Tliibaut. was elected to the
papal throne with the title of (iregory X.
Himself familiar by Imig and i)aiiiful oliser-
vation with the deploiablc condition of Chris-
tian attiiirs in the Holy Land, he at .mee re-
solved to lio as much a> hiy in tlir power of
the pontitt' to n.use the states of Ivirope from
of his elevation to the papacy, convoked the
second council of Lyons, and there exerted him-
self to the utmost to induce another iijirising
of the people. The efloit was in vain. Tiiough
several of the secular princes pr(jniisc(l to lend
their aid in a new movement to the I^ast, their
pledges remained unfulfilleil, and with the
death of the Pope two years afterwanls the
whole enterprise came to naught.
For eight years the Syrian Christians re-
mained unmolested. This <ibservaiice by the
JNInslems of the treaty made with Prince
Edward was due, however, rather to the dis-
•sensions of the Islamites than to any considera-
tion of a compact which they knew the Cliri.s-
tians to be unable to enforce. After the death
of Frederick II., in the year 1250, the crown
of Jerusalem had been conferred on Hugh of
Lu.signan, king of Cyprus, though his claim
to the mythical dignity was controverted by
Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily. The latter
by his recent victory over Count Manfred of
Xai>les, whom he defeated and slew in the
decisive battle of Beuevcnto, had become the
leading actor in the afiliir^ of Italy. Tlie new
sovereign was, howevi-r, so fai- as liis Syrian
dominions were concerned, a nicic pliaiitfun.
No attempt was made by him to r.covcr the
Holy City or any other of the lost possessions of
Christendom in Asia. Indeed, the Latin power
ou the coast existed only by sufl'erance. In
UyiVKHSAL IlIHTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
ef.a-e the
expiration of the
u traders
own- :ui.!
[living their voca-
villa-f- of Pales-
sak-in, wa.s taken and garrisoueil by the Mos-
lem.*. From year to year he continued his
aggressions until the mere foothold in the for-
tress ot Ariv \-;i- nil that remained under the
^^^^^ -^-^^^^ shadow of the I'ro.ss
i3Wt -' -^=0- in Syria.
It was a strange
siiectaele even in
•auding Christians. After demanding re-
■s and obtaining none, the sultan of Egypt
sliort the existing order by raising an
y and renewing the eonfliet. The Latin
[losls were cut off one by one until Trijioli,
last remainips fief of the erowii of .lei-u-
the Christians thus
1 1 nt up in a single
t( «u, still display-
ing the spirit of
i_'jiession. It is
the duty of History
to lecord that the
I i^t Crusaders iu
Palestine were as
bla^e and reckless
a^ the first. Kot-
withstanding their
feebleness, these
htiange warriors of
the Middle Ages
a\ ailed themselves
I I e\ ery opportu-
L\\U to sally forth
and attack the Mos-
lem merchants
T\hom chance or in-
t icst drew into the
\Rinity of Acre.
Ihi^lioliey wascon-
tnuit 1 until the.Sul-
tui Khatil, then
enn^ed at the au-
d leIt^, not to say
1 tifidv, of these re-
ni lining soldiers of
the Cross, swore liy
tilt name of Allah
and his Prophet
that he would ex-
terminate the last Christian dog within the
limits of his dominions. He accordingly drew
out an immense army of two hundred thou-
sand men, and in 1291 pitched his camp before
the walls of Acre.
Perhaps at this time there was gathered
F\F\TO
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF THE CROSS.
of Eunipi
•e.l
within tlie defenses of the hi>t :^tn>nL:h'il<l of
Christendom in Palestine siieli a ni,hinfir,>{'\ plf
as never before or since was ei'ii^riL:at(.d in a
city. Almost every nati<.
represented in the multiti
the streets. So great was the diversity of
tongues, races, and n'liuii'iis that seventeen
independent tribunals were instituted in tlie
alleged administration of justice. It was Gog
and ^lagog with the immense throng between
whom and the swords of Khatil's Mamelukes
only the walls and towers of Acre interposed.
Such was the distraction of counsels prev-
alent in the city, that no adequate measures
of defense cotdd be carried into eflect. The
ramparts were imperfectly defended, and the
crowds of non-combatants soon came to under-
stand that safety lay in the direction of escape.
In a short time the ships in the harbor were
crowded with those who were fortunate enough
first to perceive the situation and avail them-
selves of the opportunity. This' process of
debarkation went on steadil}' until it appeared
that Acre would be left without an inhabitant.
But the knights of the three military orders
and a few other warriors, to the number of
about twelve thousand in all, showed a differ-
ent mettle.
Perhaps nothing more heroic has been wit-
nessed in the annals of warfare than the reso-
lute and unwavering courage displayed by this
band of European and Syrian chivalry in de-
fending the last fortress of Eastern Christen-
dom. For thirty-three days they manned the
ramparts against Khatil and his twenty myri-
ads of Mamelukes. With ever increasing ve-
hemence the Moslems leveled their destroying
engines against the tottering walls and towers.
At last an important defense, known by the
name of the Cursed Tower, yielded to the as-
sailants, and went down with a crash. The
breach thus effected in the defenses opened into
the heart of the city. Then it was that Hugh
of Lusignan, whom the folly of the times still
designated as king of Jerusalem, gathering
together a baud of friends and favorites, fled
in the darkness, went on shipboard, and left
the city to its fate. But the Teutonic Knights,
scorning the conduct of the royal poltroon, ral-
lied in the breach with an energy born of hero-
ism rather than despair, and beat back the Mos-
lems with terrible slaughter. The latter rallied
again and again to the charge, and at last the
lil.Miling Knights, reduced to a handful, were
.A-rilM,i-iic by the Infidel host, and hurled baek-
wanls fn.m their post of o|,u-y. In pourr.l tlie
savage tides of victoriou> l-laiii, liungry ior
blocid and revenge. Thr few iiilialiitauts wh(v
remained in the city \\v\f quickly butchcrcil or
seized as slaves. In the hist liours, the surviv-
ing Knights of the Hospital and the Temi)le
shared the dying glory of the Teutonic chiv-
alry. Sallying forth from the parts of tlie
defenses which had been assigned to their
keeping, they chargcMl upon the Moslems, and
fought till only svven of the gallant band re-
mained to tell the tale of destruction. This
remnant of an Order which it is impossible
not to admire for its stubliorn exhibition of
mediieval virtues gained the coast, and, with
good reason, considering that their monastic
vows had been fulfilled, saved themselves by
embarkation.
For three days after the assault and capture
of the city, the surviving Templars defended
themselves in their monastery. Here their
Grand blaster, Pierre de Beaujeu, one of the
bravest of the brave, was killed by a poisoned
arrow. His comjianions continued the defense
until the sultan, nut uiia|i[ireciative of such
heroism, granted thcui hounralile terms of ca-
jiitulation. No sooner, hourvcr, hail they sur-
rendered than they were assailed with jeers
and insults by the infuriated ^Mamelukes, who
could hardly be restrained. Enraged at this
treatment, the Knights attacked their enemies
with redoubled fury, ami fought until they
were exterminated almost h> a man. A few,
escaping into the interior, continued to smite
every Moslem whom they met, until finally, re-
turning to the coast, they took ship and sailed
for Cyprus.
Such was the last act of the drama. The
few ('hristians still clinging to the coast towns
of Syria iiiailc their esca|ie as soon as possible,
and left the savage ^laiiielukes in complete pos-
ses.^ion of the cnuntry. .\fter a continuance
of a hundred ami ninety-niie years, the con-
test between the Cmss and tlie Crescent had
ended in a complete re>tiiratinii of the am'ieiit
m/imt through,.ut Syria an.l Asia .Minoi'. The
setnilune of Islam was again in the ascendent.
The hardy virtues of the races of Western and
Nortliern Europe had not been, perhaps could
UNIVERSAL IIISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
uot be, transplanted to the liirthplace of that
religious system under the influence of which
the Crusader.-- had fluiii;- themselves upon the
East. The eolhipse was llital. The spirit, which
had so many times iiilhumd the zeal and pas-
sion of Europe, Ikk! rxpireil, and cnuld he no
more evoked from the sliaduus. Spasmodic-
ally, at intervals, for a period of niore than
fifty years after the fall of Acre, the voice of
the Popes was heard, calling on lethargic Chris-
tendom to lift again the standard of the Cross
in Palestine. But the cry fell on deaf ears.
The nations would agitate no more ; and the
j)icture, drawn with such vivid effect in the
prei-eding century, of the profane and tur-
baned Turk performing his orgies on the tomb
of Christ, kindU'<l no more forever the insane
fanaticism of the Christians of the West.
It is appropriate in this connection to add
a few paragraphs on the effects which followed
the Crusades as their antecedent and cause. It
is a difficult question on which to express such
a judgment as will fairly reconcile the conflict-
ing views of those writers who have essayed the
discussion. It is natural, in the first place, to
look at the relative position and strength of
the combatants 'after the conflict was en<led.
In general, it may be said that neither Islam
nor Christianity was much retarded or pro-
moted by the issue of the almost two ceutu-
i-ies of wiir. The prospects of the Crescent in
Syria and Asia Minor were nearly the same
after the fliU of Acre as they had been before
the Council of Clermont. The Crusades failed
to alter the established condition of Asia ; and
it is to be doubted whether, taken all in all, the
downfall of Constantinople was cither greatly
delayed or promoted by the Holy Wars.
The same may be said of the religious con-
dition of Europe. The Mohammedans fought
to maintain a status; and to that extent they
were successful. But tlii'V seem never to have
contemplated llic> invasion of tlie Chri-tiaii
continent as a me:i>uic of retaliation. It was
sufficient that the soldiers of the C'ro.ss were
expelled from Palestine, and limited to such
intestine strifes as were native to their own
As to religious o|iiiiioiis, a larger change
was effected. At the be-inning of the con-
iiiet, both Christians ami Mohammedans en-
terlaiiKMJ for each other's beliefs and practices
an indescribable abhorrence. A mutual hatred
more profound than that with which the first
Crn.^aders and the Infidels were inflamed can
hardly be imagined. The fanaticism and
liigdtry ot' tiie Christians was more intense in
jiroportion as they were more ignorant than
the Islamites. They believed that Moham-
med was the Devil, or, at least, that Anti-
christ whom to exterminate was the first duty
and highest privilege of Christian warriors.
By degrees, however, this insane frenzy passed
away, and was replaced with a certain respect
for an enemy whom they found more intelli-
gent and less bloody-minded than themselves.
From the time of the Third and Fourth Cru-
sades it was easy to perceive a change of sen-
timent afl'ecting the conduct of the combat-
ants. Their battles were no longer mere
massacres of the vanquished by the victors.
Saladin himself, though .still in a measure
under the influence of savage Islam, set the
example of a more humane and tolerant
spirit. Ill somi- degree his conduct was emu-
lated by tiie Cliristians, and the later years
of the war were marked by less atrocity and
fewer butcheries.
The altered .sentiments of the Crusaders
and the ^Moslems are easily discoveralile in the
tone assumed by the earlier and later writers
who followed the Chri-lian armies. In the
older chronicles there i,- .litfus,.! on every page
the intense hatred of the author. It is mani-
fest that they write of peoples wliom they had
not yet seen, of beliefs which they did not
understand, of institutions and practices which
they had not witnessed. They detest the J\Io-
jiammedans as if they were monsters, dogs,
devils. P>ut in the later annals of the Crusades
there is a change of tone and opinion. The
Moslems are no longer the savage and inhuman
beasts which they had been represented to be
by the earlier historians. The Christians had
eome to understand and to a certain degree to
appreeiati- tlu' ideas and social customs of the
Islamites. Friendly relations spiam:- up in the
intervals between the succes>ive ('lu-mle-, and
it is doubtless true that the Cliri-tian .Iwellers
in the Holy Land freipiently heard with regret
and grief the ]iremonitory mutterings of an-
other outbreak, by which their moiety of jieace
was to lie swept away. Besides this, the later
(.'luistian chroniclers have words of uraise not
THE CRUSADES.— FALL OF TEE CROSS.
773
few or stinted for the great ilohammedau lead-
ers with whom they had become acquaiuted.
Bernard le Tresorier pronounces a glowing
eulogium on the character of Saladin, and
William of Tyre praises Noureddin in a strain
■of equal commendation. It is evident that by
the close of the thirteenth century the opinions
of that part of Christendom which had come
into actual contact with Islam had undergone
a radical change. There are not wanting Chris-
tian writers of the epoch who go to the length
of drawing unfavorable comparisons between
the manners, customs, and institutions of their
own people in the West and those of the more
refined Mohammedans. The historical treatises
and letters of the later Crusaders are thus
found to express sentiments and opinions which
would have been horrifying in the last de-
gree to the contemporaries of Godfrey and
Baldwin.'
It will be seen, then, that the general ten-
dency of the Crusade was, so far as ideas and
beliefs were concerned, in the direction of the
emancipation of the human mind. Though
the Holy Wars were begun under the impulse
of religious fanaticism, though they were con-
tinued for the express purpose of making re-
ligious zeal the criterion of human character
and conduct, yet year by year the despotic
sway of that fanaticism and zeal was loosened
and the mind set free in wider fields of activ-
ity. The change of place and scene had a
marvelous effect upon the rude imaginations
and confined beliefs of the Crusaders. They
saw Rome, the mother of mysteries. They saw
Constantinople, the wonder of two continents.
' The following paragraphs from Sir John ^Man-
deville will illustrate the altered tone of the later
Christian writers relative to manners and merits
of the Moslems. Sir John thus, in 1.356, narrates
the story of his interview with the sultan, and of
the sentiments which they interchanged:
" And therefore .shall I tell you what the sul-
tan told me one day in his chamber. He sent out
of the room all manner of men, both lords and
others, for he would speak with me in private :
And there he asked me in what manner the Chris-
tian folk govern themselves in our country. And
I answered liim, ' Right well ; thanks to God.'
And he replied, ' Indeed not so; for the Christian
people do not know how to serve God rightly.
You should give pxample to the lewd folk to do
well. V>nt yr.ii L'ivr thcin rxMiiiple to do evil. For
your v"'"!'!"' n|"'U iV-tival days when they should
gn to chun-h to s.-ivi- ( <in\, then go they to taverns,
They .«aw Jerusalem, and found it only a Syrian
town hallowed by nothing save its associations.
They observed the riches and elegant manners
of the Moslems, and thus by degrees were
weaned from the domination of those ideas
which had impelled them to take the Cross.
As to the Papal Church, the influence of
the Crusades was more baleful than beneficial.
There is no doubt that the ambition of Greg-
ory was sincere ; nor are we at liberty to sup-
pose that Urban II. was actuated by other
than a true zeal for the honor of the Cross.
But the Holy Wars had not long continued
until the Popes discovered in the situation a
vast source of profit to themselves and the
Church. The principle of a monetary equiv-
alent for military service was admitted, and it
became the custom with the Crusaders to pay
into the papal treasury large sums as a satis-
faction for unfulfilled vows. This usage, if
not the actual beginning, was at least the pow-
erful excitant and auxiliary of the sale of in-
dulgences by the Church. The principal of
buying exemption from military service was
extended to other classes of service ami duty:
and the plan of purchasing the removal of
penalties, both past and prospective, became
almost universally prevalent.
Another fatal consequence flowing to the
Church from the Crusades was the subsequent
misdirection of the zeal and fanaticism which
she had evoked against the Infidels. When
papal Europe ceased to agitate against the
Moslems, it became a i|uestion with the Popes
to what end tlie forces whirh ha<l been ex-
pending themselves in warfare with the Turks
and remain there in gluttony all day and all night,
eating an<l drinking as lieasts that have no reason,
and wit not when they have enough.' ....
And then he calloil in all the lords whom he had
sent out of his cliamlur and there he showed me
four that were graudn's in that country; and
these told me of my ccunitry and of many other
Christian countries as truly as if they had been
there themselves. And they spake French right
well ; and the s\iltan also, wliereof I had great
marvel. Alas! it is a great scandal to our faith
and our law when they that are without the law
do thus reprove and underrate us on account of
our sins. And truly they have good reason. For
the Saracens are ijood and faithful. For tliey keep
])erfectly thi' commandment of the Holy Book
.\I-K(irau. whirh God sent them by his messenger
M"liani i\. to whom, as they .«ay, God often re-
vealed his will by the angel Gabriel."
(\\IVi:];SAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
cousuiued-
oi)en
.1 nut wholly
t\v(i channels
■1' ami private
rivtical. The
th.
ipremacy of the ]'al.-r
riie horrid crueltir,<
turies Europe \va.s td
', were reteralile m a
xpired and nialitrnaut
It;- rpoeh, niisdireeted
ently en^ned, every circumstanee lavored the
eanse i>f a^pirini: rnvaltv as atrainst that of
the frudal n.ihles.
iStill more striking, however, was the influ-
ence of the Crusades in promoting the growth
and develojjnieut of the free municipalities of
Europe. First of all did the maritime Kepub-
■1 th.
■tns
tud
jected for opinini
large measure t"
energies of the (
against the eleari
science of the age.
Among the political etlects of the Cru-
sades, the most marked and important was
the stimulus given to monarchy at the ex-
pense of leudalism. At the outlnvak of the
Holy Wars, Europ,. was fen.lal ; at tli.-ir close,
she had become monarchic. Not that feudal-
ism was extinct; not that monarchy was com-
pletely triumphant; but the beginning of the
new ordei- of things had been seeni-ely laid,
ami thi' extinetiim of the old system was .mly
a tjuestiou (if time. The events whieli led to
this residt are easily apprelien.h.d. The Cru-
sades were the very whe.d under which feu-
dalism mi-lit be most eflectually crushed.
The movement at the first was headed by
feudal barons, but there was a survival of
the fittest. Th.- littest l.,.-ame kings. The
rest sank out of sight. AVhile the Crusades
were thus bringing princes to the front, a
process of transformation was going on in
the home .states, out of which the pilgrim
warrioi-s had lieeii recruited. Here the smaller
il.-fs wen> rapidly aliM.rbe,! in the larger. The
great and powerful barons -jrew towards the
kingly estate, and {hv f.-eble lords lo.st their
importance with their lands. At the close of
the Crusades, the kings of the Western states
found themselves op]Msed by a less numerous
nobility ; and many of the surviving grandees
were barons of low^ degree, or knights of
shreds and patches. In the contest that pres-
L;realne>s under the agitati(jn of the Northern
stales. It is in the nature of war that it makes
heavy drafts upon commerce and raanufac-
tiucs. The latter produce and the former
cnn veys to the destined field the arms, muni-
tions, and enginery necessary to the success of
tlie ixpedition. Before the Council of Cler-
mont the Italian Republics had already grown
to such a stature that they were ready to avail
themselves of every opportunity to get gain.
During the i)rogress of the Holy Wars these-
sturdy niaritime states sprang forward with
rapid strides and took their place among the-
leadiug ]».wers of the West. The general up-
heaval of Europi'an society contributed won-
derfully to the pro.-perity and influence of the
seafaring republicans who, caring but little for
the j)rineijiles involved between the Christian
l)arons and the Moslems, were ready with ships
and merchandise to serve whoever would jiay
for the use of their wharves and fleets. Dur-
ing the latter half of the thirteenth century
i nearlj' all the pilgrimages and ex|)editious to
the East were conducted in Venetian vessels,
tlioueh the ships of Pisa and Genoa competed
with iheii- more prosperous rivals for the car-
rying tiade with the ports of Syria, Egypt,
and .V.-ia Minor. The squandered wealth lifted
l>y religious fanaticism from the j)roducts of
the peasant labor of France, England, and
Germany iouiid its way to the Venetian mer-
chants, and into the swollen coflers of the Ro-
mish See.
Not only did the crusading expeditions
inure to the benefit of the Italian Republics,
b\it also to the general commerce of the West-
ern states. The naval enterprises were con-
ducted with so great success by the merchant
sailors of Italy that trading-ports were estab-
lished in the Levant, into which were poured
and out of -which were exported the riches of
the Orient. ^Merchandising became the most
profitable of all pursuits. Not only the cities
of Italy, but those of Germany, of England,.
THE CIIUSADES.—FALL OF THE CBOSS.
and of the North of Eurui)f, f^lt the life-giviii.u
imjjulses of the new cotuinerce established with
the East, No other circumstauce between the
time of the dowufiill of the Roman Emjjire of
the West aud the (h)ul)le discovery of the New
World aud an all-water route to India, did so
much to revivi' tin' (lni-niant (•iiiiiniri-cial spirit
of Europe as did the Ilwly ^\■ars of the twelfth
aud thirteenth centuries.
Perhaps the influence of the Crusades, as
it respects the diffusion of the learning of the
East, has been overestimated. It has been
the custom of writers to draw an analogy be-
tween the effects of the con<inests of Alexan-
der the Great an,l th..-e which followed the
■establishment nf tlie Latin kingdom in the
East. A closer examination of the facts de-
sti'oys the parallel. The comparative barbar-
ity of the Crusaders, their want of learning
.and complete depravity of literary taste, for-
bade the absorption by them of the intellectual
wealth of the peoples whom they concpiered.
JSven in Constantinople the French liamns and
knights appear not to have been afli?cte(l by
the culture and nfinenieiit of the city. Only
their cupidity was excited by the splemhir and
literary treasures of the Eastern metropolis.
It does not appear that the Crusaders, even
the most enlightened of the leaders, were suf-
ficiently interested in the possibilities of the
.situation to learn the language of the Crreeks.
The literary imagination of the invaders and
•conquerors of Palestine seem not to have been
excited in the midst of scenes which might
have been suj^posed to be the native sources
•of inspiration. Poetry followed not in the
wake of those devastating excursions. Art
•came not as the fruit of war-like agitation, or
to commemorate the exploits of mediteval
heroes.
Perhaps the greatest single advantage flo\v-
ing from the Crusades was the establishment
•of intercour.«e between the Asiatic ami the
European nations. Hitherto the peoples of
the East and the West had lived in almost
complete ignorance of each other's manners,
•customs, and national character. Traveling
became common, and the minds of men began
to be emancipated from the fetters of locality.
]Many Europeans settled in the East, and be-
■coming acquaintid with the .Vsialies, dillii^.d
a knowledsre of tlu- Orient aiuoni: their own
ishe.l be-
lu states.
eeu
the
pro-
countrviuen. Relations were
tw,...n"the M..slem and the
EnihasMi^s were sent l.iaek and toi-tl, be-
the ]M(]ngol emperors and the kings o
AW'stern nations. More than once it wa;
lio>ed that the Christians and the Mongols
should enter into an alliane.', an.l that the
<'in>ades should be continued by tliein a,::ainst
the conunon enemy, the Turks. The impress
made upon the mind and destinies of Europe
by these relations of the Christians and the
IMohammedans, is thus descrilied liy the distin-
guished historian, Abel Remusat:
" i\Iauy meu of religious orders, Italians,
French, and Flemings, were charged with dip-
lomatic missions to the court of the Cireat
Khan. Mongols of distinction came to Rome,
Barcelona, Valetia, Lyons, Paris, I-ondon, and
Northampton, and a Franci-scan of the king-
dom of Naples was archbi.shop of Pekin. His
successor was a professor of theology in the
University of Paris. But how many other
jieople f illowe<l in the train of these person-
ages, either as slaves, or attracted bv the desire
of i.rotit, or led l,y curinMiy into regi,.iis hith-
erto unknown! Chanee has i.reserve.l the
names of .some of these; the first envoy who
visited the king of Hungary on the part of
the Tartars was an Englishman, who had been
bani-^hed from hi> country for certain crimes,
an.l «lio, after having wandered over Asia,
at last entered into the service of the IMongols.
A Flemish Cordelier, in the heart of Tartary,
fell in with a woman of JMetz called Paquette,
who had been carried off into Hungary ; also
a Parisian goldsmith, and a young man from
the neighborhood of Rouen, wlio had been at
the taking of Bel-rade. In the same eountrv
he fell in also with Russians, Hungarians, and
Flemin-s. A >in-er. called Bobrrt, after hav-
•nd
A T:
:h
Eastei
n Asia, returned
th
■ catht
dral of Chartres.
in
IV.
isher <
Fair,
nk, w
f helmets in the
Jean de Plancar-
th a Russian gen-
ill
T nl.
any ii
•, aud who acted
erchants of Bres-
Ta
stria,
rtary.
ii'.-..nipanie.l him
<)tli.'r> returned
;u-
-ia : tl
-•y w.av (;,.noese.
. Tu
' A'en.'tians, mer-
e
,ad l,r.
ught t.. Bokhara,
LMMU'y \L IIISIOUY.—THE MODKRX WORLD.
foUowul 1 Mduol mil, I ill nl l.\ ll(iul-
aguii I kli ul.ilu 111 s 1 iiiui 1 luiiu yrar.-^
iu Chilli 111.1 1 11 til \ 1 mill. I uiili \M^K
from the l.i. ii Klun i li 1' !• ""I ^'ff'i-
•wards \\eiit in. k i th l\liiii i ikin, with
them tht -.111 1 n 1 th. li miiuh. l iIr' rilt-
brat.MJ ^Flu . r I Hi I .'Utt m.ut kli the
C.jurt .it kh nihil 11 t . 1 tmu to \ ciucl Trav-
els of this 11 ituiL WLic not less hequeiit in the
following; (cutui}. Ot this numbti aie those
of John Arui.kMlle, an Eu^lish ph\Mciau;
O.leri. 1. 1 11 111, Pcgolettl, Guilkauiue de
BiiiiM II 111 1 -L\eial others.
•■It inn \m111h vupi)o-((l, thitth.M travels
of whi. h lliL lULinoi} is pit^eivcd, toiiii iitit a
MARCO POLO.
small part of those which were imdertaken, and
there were in those days many more people who
were able to perform those long journeys than
to write accounts of them. Many of those ad-
venturers must have remained and died in the
countries they went to visit. Others returned
home, as obscure as before, but havinp: their im-
agination full of tho thinp-s they had seen, re-
lating them t.j thiir faiiiili.'s, with iiiiicli exag-
geration, no .liiiibt. lint l.'iiviii'j lichin.l them,
among many ri.li.'iil.nis talil.'s, useful rec.iUcc-
tions and tia.liti.m- .-apalil.' i>f bi'iiiiiv.:- tVuit.
Thus, in (ienuauy, Italy, aii.l France, in the
monasteries, among the nobility, and even .lnwn
to tlie lowest classes of society, there were .k-
p...ite.l many pnri.nis mmmIs ilestilied to bud at
a Muneuliat'lat.r p.ii.Hl. All these unknown
trv iiit.> .lisialit n-i.iiis, l.n.ii-lit l.a.-k other
pke,.. ,,r kinA\kMl-.. i„,t I,-- pi-e,-i.,iis, and,
\vitli..iit l..-iii,- aware ..f it, nui.l.- ex.-liaiiges
By th.-se ni.aiis, ii.,t ..iily the tralHe in the
siiks, i-oivlaiii, aii.l oth.r .■oiiiiiio.lities ,,f Hin-
dostau, beeani,' i.ioiv .xt.'iisiv,. aii.l pra.'ti.'able,
and new paths wvw op. ned to e.pinnu-reial in-
dustry ami .■ntirprisi' ; Init, what was more val-
uable still, ton iijn inaiin.is, unknown nations,
extra. ir.linaiy pro.lii.-ti.piis, presented themselves-
ill ab.in.laii.'e to tli.' iniii.ls of the Europeans,
whi.h, siii.v the tall of the i;..niaii eiiii.ire, lia.l
been
begar
beaut
.M,
to the
w.iii.l. Ih.y h.'iiaii to stii.ly tli.' arts, tlie re-
li-i.iii-, th.' laneiiages, of the nations by whom
it was inhabit. .1 : and there was even an inten-
tion of t'stablishing a professorship of the Tartar-
language in the university of Paris. The ac-
counts of travelers, strange and exaggerated,
indeed, but .soon discussed and cleared up, dif-
fused more correct and varied notions of those
distant regions. The world seemed to open, as
it were, towards the East; geography made an
immense stride ; and ardor for discovery became
the new form assum.
Eurojiean spirit of
iii.ilh.r heniisiihere.
if .AI;
th.
longer seemed an imjirobalil.'
was when in search of the Zi|
Poll) that Christopher C.ilunilii
New AVorl.l."
j\Iany dispnt.'s have occurred relative to the
discoveries aii.l inventions alleged to have been
brought iiit.i J'air.ipe by the returning Cru-
saders. It stall. Is t.i reason that things kiiowu
in Asia, an.l unknown in the W.st, wouhl be
revealed to the pilgrim warriors, an.l by them
reporteil to their ciuiitryiiii'ii. It should lie
reni.'iiil„r..I, h.iwever, that the big.itry of tlie
Criisa. Ill's knew no bounds. They went to
Asia as ,h ^tmijn-g^. They beat to tlie earth, with
uii.li-.Tiniinating hatred, both man and his
w.irks. It was their theory and belief that all
things .M,,liainiii.Mlan were "of the I)..vil. Act-
inn- un.ler this bliii.l an.l superstitious fanati-
THE rnUSADKS.—EMlLAXD AND FRAXCK IX TIIK 13TII (EXTUir.
ci.-iu, tliev were little disposed ti
merit, mueh less to eopy the adv
Asiatic discoveries in art and seiei
been said that those Lireat laetors
mariner's coin|iass— xv.Te known in
the epncli of the ( 'rii>ades, and tl
reason to doiiht tliat >urh was :
case; but it would perhaps he dilH(
that a knowledge of these sterlini;
ail
ed ill Europe iV.in, l
he Ch
istian
'■'
tiirnin- from I'ale.tin.
. It ^
as in
rte
•nth and fill, ■.■nth e.
nliirie>
that
lis
began to employ the
eompa
S-, to
til
1 t
;■ "^l;l"^2 milvill.
1 ""•!"■>
•s of
Per-
unor'lud'pm.'nd'fnm
ol''>ne
1 arts
■'■
M-eeeded, I , y a eoiisid,
•ahle 1
■liod,
ua
iutroduetiou among t
le uatio
n.s of
Chapter XCIII.— Enqlanlj anid Krance in the
THIKTEEXTH CENTUKV.
a hrief sketch of the his-
tory of England aii.l
France in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. In
the former cmntry, be-
giuning 'with the accession of the House of
Plantagenet, we come, in 1154, to the reign
of Henry H. This distinguished prince was
the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Matilda,
daughter of Henry I. Though no Crusader
himself, he gave to the Holy Wars the great-
est of all Crusaders in the person of his son,
the Lion Heart. The reign of Henry ex-
tended to the year IIMI, an<l was on the whole
a time of distress and trouble.
The middle of this period was noted for a
violent outbreak between the civil and ecclesi-
astical authorities of the kingdom, the former
headed by the king, and the latter by the cel-
ebrated Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Can-
terbury. On the one side were arrayed most
of the barons and lords, and not a few of the
clergy, including at one time the Arehhishop
of York ; while on the other were marshaled
most of the bishops and priests, backed by the
whole power of Rome. From the peculiar
structure of English soeiety it happened that
the common people, who wen' grievously op-
pressed by the barons, were all on the side of
the church as against the king. By them the
Archbishop of Canterbury was regarded as a
friend, champion, and protector, and they
looked to him as to one able to deliver them
from the woes of secular despeitism. Becket
himself had been a soldier, and besides the
reputation which he had gained in the field,
he bore the name of one of the ripest scholars
of the age. He had been the bosom friend
of Henry Tlantagenet, and hy the influence
of that sovereign had heeii raided through suc-
cessive grades of ecclesiastical preferment to
the archbishopric of Cauterbiir}-. His break
with the king may be dated from the year
ll<i4, when, by setting himself in antagonism
to a series of royal measures known as the
"Constitution of Clarendon," he incurred the
monarch's undying enmity. The great preb
ate's opposition was without doubt based upon
a sincere devotion to the cause of the English
commons, no less than on the purpose to
maintain the independence of ecclesiastical
authority.
In the beginning of the quarrel. King
Henry withdrew his son from the tutorship of
Becket, and placed him with the Archbishop
of York. By and by the rojie interfered, and
Becki't was at the first onleied to cease from
his opposition to the iiuasures of the king.
Henry procured the archbishop's trial by the
piarliameut of Northam])ton, and he was
obliged to fly from the kingdom. !More than
four hundred of his relatives were driven into
exile ; but Becket, having surremlered his au-
thority into the hands of the Pope, was rein-
stated by him in all bis former and several
additional dignities. The measure was openly
canvassed in the Romish See of excoiiiinuni-
77.< i-yi\i:j;.>AL iustohy.—the moderx world.
the cliurch. The 1 lUu h wtMi w i^ i~ (h Ciulubun In tht. e ul> juil.t 1170, a su-
stinate as his euemie~ H( hid the coiunatiou jjeifacuil icLOuciliatiou wjn patched uji between
of his son Heury remauded to the Aiehbi^hop the king aud the pielate, but Hein> gave
of York, thus open! \ dtii\m_ tlie ]iiiuuc\ of '•ome ot hi^ k-> ^luijjuIuu^ ))uun-. to iinder-
Ml-RUKR OF THOMAS A KEi'KEI
imuvn l.y L. 1', Ia'.vcu.K-i kc
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAXD AM) FHAXCE IX THE 13 TH CEXTUHY.
stauil that Tlioma.s a Becket's exit from the
world \vuul(-l be a fact uio.-st pleasing to him-
self. Hereupon Regiuald Fitzurse, William
de Tracy, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard
Brito made a conspiracy against the archbish-
op's life. On the 28th of December, 1170,
they met at the castle of Rauulph de Broc,
near Canterbury, aud were there joined by a
body of armed men ready for any business,
however desperate. On the following day the
leaders, who appear to have desired to stoji
short of taking the prelate's life, had an in-
terview with him, aud tried to frighten him
out of the realm. But the soldier j^riest was
not to be terrified, and on the evening of that
day, the conspirators forced their way into the
cathedral, where Becket was conducting ves-
pers. They first attempted to drag him from
the church, but the bishop tore himself from
their clutches aud knelt down at the altar,
already bleeding with a sword gash in his
head. His assailants now fell upon him with
fury, aud dashed out his braius on the floor.
Though the king's party had thus freed
themselves from the presence of their powerful
enemy, the spirit which he represented was
not so easily extinguished. The jieople of
Knaresborough rose in their wrath, and the
slayers of Becket were obliged to fly from the
kingdom. Everywhere throughout England
the tide rose so high against Henry that he
and his dynasty were threatened with over-
throw. The king of France took up arms
and the Pope threatened excommunication.
The king, however, escaped from the danger-
ous situation by taking a solemn oath that he
had not been privy to the murder of Becket ;
but even after this he deemed it necessary to
make a further atonement at the altars of the
irate church. He accordingly made a pilgrim-
age to the tomb of Thomas a Becket, and after
fasting and praying at the shrine of that mar-
tyr received a flagellation on his naked back
at the hands of the monks. After this public
mark of his submission and penitence the ex-
citement subsided, and Henry forljore to give
further cause of offense to the ecclesiastical
party.
The king now found time to resist an inva-
sion of the Scots. The latter proved to be
unequal to the enterprise winch they had
innlertaken. Henrv defeated them, compelled
the king of .Scotland to .-unvudur a jiart of
his dominions and himself ami liis sous to do
homage for the remainder.
On the death of King Henry, in llMI, the
crown descended to his eccentric ami laiiious
son, Richard the Lion Heart. On tiie oc-
casion of his coronation an insurrection broke
out in London, aud the hated Jews became
the objects of a popular vengeance which C(juld
not be easily ajjpeased. At t!ie first the new
king sought to stay the fury of his subjects,
and afforded some protection to the hunted
Israelites. But when Richard, by nature large-
hearted and generous, departed on the great
Crusade, the persecutions l)roke out afresh,
and extended into various parts of the king-
dom. It was the peculiarity of the times that
the brutal religious fanaticism of the people
of Western Europe burst lorth with indiscrim-
inate madness against all those who were, or
had ever been, the enemies of Christ. The
Jews were as much hated in various parts of
the West as were the ilohammedans in the
East. England was the scene of several butch-
eries hardly surpassed in any age of barbarism.
Three years after the crowning of the Lion
Heart the city of York witnessed a massacre
of unusual atrocity. Hundreds of the Jews
were slaughtered without nieny. Their dis-
tinguished and kind-spirited rabbi, with a large
number of his people, was driven into the cas-
tle of York, where, attempting to save them-
selves from destruction, and despairing of help
or compassion, they slew their wives and chil-
dren, fired the edifice, and perished in the
flames.
The earlier years of the twelfth century
were a stormy and agitated epoch — a kind of
]\Iarch-month of English liberty. In the clos-
ing year of the preceding centennium King
Richard Coeur de Lion died, becjueathing his
crown and kingdom to his unheroic and con-
temptible brother John, surnamed Sansterre,
or Lackland. The latter came to the throne
with all of the vices and none of the virtues
of the Plautagenets. The Lion Heart had
been induced in the last hours of his life to
discard his nephew Arthur, of Brittany, in
favor of the unprincipled John, who was already
intriguing against the interests of England.
Phili]). who liad lieen the jn-otector of Prince
Arthur, aliandoned him on the accession of
' ■■'" t'A7 1 'Eli^A L HIS TOR Y. — THE MODERN WORLD.
Jului til the throue, ami a treaty was made ' ter, Blanche fif Castile, should be married to
between the French and English kings by j Louis, the Daujihin of France. Arthur was
which it was agreed that the niece of the lat- | to be given up to the lender mercies of his
:£e^"
LiEATlI OF THE KABBI ANiJ THE JtV
Iirawn by H. Leutt^raaim.
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN THE 13TH CENTrRY.
r8i
Arthur marrkMl the
1 his futher-iii4aw es-
deil him ill the hostil-
is takt
uncle. Thi.s settlei
a fulfinmeut. V
daughter of Pliili
poused his cause
ities which eiisueih
Shortly after this chau-e i.t
part of the French kint;-, Art I
prisiiiier by his uncle John, and was sluit up
in the castle of Bristol. The English king,
with his usual perfidy, gave orders to Hubert
de Burgh, governor of Falaise, to which place
Arthur had been transferred, to put the prisoner
to death ; but the heart of Hubert tailed him
in the execution of the order, and King John
was deceived with a false repurt of the prince's
execution and funeral. The peii|ile nf Brit-
tany also believing that Arthur had been mur-
dered, rose in revolt, and Hubert, in order to
save himself from odium and probable de-
struction, was obliged to divulge the truth.
Great was the wrath thus enkindled against
the unnatural king. The barons of England
refused to join his standard, and Philip, mak-
ing war upon him in the French provinces
belonging to the English crown overthrew his
authority and drove him out of Novmandy.
That great duchy, after having belonged to
England for more than three centuries, was
torn away and united to France. So great an
offense and injury to the English crown had
not been known since the days of Rolio the
Dane.
In the ninth year of his reign. King John
fell into a violent quarrel with Pupe Innocent
III. The matter at issue was the choice of a
new archbishop for the see of Canterbury.
The choice of the Pope was the distinguished
Stephen Langton, already a cardinal of the
Church. The appointment, however, was vio-
lently opposed by John, and, in 1208, Innocent
laid the kingdom under an interdict. But the
punishment was insufficient to bring the mon-
arch to his senses. He continued his career of
injustice and folly, making war on the peoi)le
of Wales and Ireland, and filling his coffers by
confiscation and cruel extortion. On one oc-
casion he called together all the abbots and
abbesses of the religious houses in London,
and then deliberately informed them that tiny
were his prisoners until what time they should
pay him a large sum of money. So flagrant
was the outrage thus perpetrated against the
honor and dignity of the church, that the
Pope jji-oceeded to excommunicate King Jolui,
and to absolve his subjects iVom their oath of
allegiance. The Holy Father, in his wrath,
went to the extreme of inviting the (. Ini-tiau
])rincesof Europe to unite in a crusade aiiaiust
the au.lariou. an.l disobedient king ..f Kn-land.
Philip ,,f France, as the secular head <.f West-
ern Christendom, was especially besought to
uixlertake a war; and he was by no means
loth to seize the opportunity of increasing his
own power at the expense of his fellow prince.
This movement, however, aroused the ire of
the English barons, who, though the}' heartily
detcstid their king and his policy, were not at
all disposed to yield to the settlement of their
national affairs by the French. Philip pro-
ceetled with his preparations for the invasion ;
and King John, taking advantage of the re-
action among his subjects, collecteil a large
army at Dover. Just before his departure,
the French monarch received from the Pope,
by the hands of the legate Pandulf, a mes-
sage to abandon the undertaking! For, in
the mean time. His Holiness had nnule an
offer to the refractory John that, if the latter
would accept Langton as arclibishop of Can-
terbury, and resign the crown of England
into the papal hands, the Pope would restore
the same to him, and would forliid the inva-
sion of his re:dm by the Fri'iich. These
terms were accepted by the base Plantagenet,
who laid down his crown at the feet of Pan-
dulf. This haughty cardinal is said to have
kicked contemptuously the diadem which had
once been worn by William the Conqueror.
Satisfied with this act of abasement, he then
replaced the dishonored crown on the head of
the alleged king.
Great was the rage of Philip on receiving
the message of the Pope. Fearing to disobey,
an<l unwilling that his military preparations
should come to naught, he diverted the expe-
dition against the territories of Eai'l Ferrand
of Flanders. The latter immediately ap})lied
to King John for help : and that monarch,
responding with an unusual show of alacrity,
scut a large s(|uadron to aid the Flemish earl in
liiaintaiiiinir his independence. A battle was
tought between the English an<l French fleets,
in which the armament of Philip was either
destroyed or dispersed. So signal was the dis-
UXIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
up
.|i^<.
It appears that Julm ^vas c-razeil by his vic-
tory. Eager to follow up his advantage, he
purposed an invasion of France ; but his bar-
ons, though havinL^ nn alfcTtiim for the French,
and very willing to <j:" to war to maintain the
honor of England, were in no wise disposed
to follow the banner of an unpopuhi king on
a foreign expedition. John wi^ theiefoie
obliged to forego his pi-ojcct. But thoULdi
In a short time, however, the English king
received intelligence that his ally, the German
Emperor, had, in 1:214, been "decisively de
feated liy the French iu the great battle of
Bouviues. Seeing that Philip would now be
able to concentrate all his forces against the
English, John made haste to eonelude with
that monarch a five years' tiuee. and (juickly
made hLs way back to England.
The L-hnd duiing the king's absence had
become the ^cene of a trie it commotion The
biioii^ tiioiou.hJN (li-.n^tid \Mth Iohu'^%aeil-
unsiippoi-ted hy his iiohles ami l>\ tin t(
of his kingdom, lie still s.mglit 'to , in
hit3 retaliatory purpose against tin 1
king. He accordingly sought an lihiUM
Frederick II., Emperor of (ieimin\
v.hom it was arranged to make an un i-i
France on the east, while John \\ould ,1
same in the ]irovinees iidjaeeiit to tht (. h
An English annv, i.Kele up in lai_. in,
of the n-fus,. of the kinu-lom, \n ,- „
ingly land.MJ at I'oito,,, and an exp, ditio
beuun into .Vniou an.l Briltanv.
l<uu^ ,.un-t hna uid tiu lno^e-
IHImI Ml, li li, idu i\ thit 1r (juultd
],o\\uliil but diJ, \d Hib|tas
I 111. ton Juit til, ^111, ti,.n of the
ih, iiiMm,,ti.m 111,1 pl,.^,,l him
, iM, 111,1 111 ..111. I. i.l. 1 IIu
hnt.i -i_ii.,l b\ H.iiiv 1 xNluuin \\,i, -et
f.,ith ni.l .1111 iiit,,,l b\ th, i..\ d M il the
11. ht 111,1 pii\il,..-.,t 1 nji^limui h. iin.le
It the bi-i> ot I 11, w Bill ot Ki.ht- \\huh he
THE CRUSADES.-EXGLAXD AXD EHAXlE IX THE 13TH ( EXTiliV. 7s:i
drew up and wliirh the Iwrous detcrmineil tn
maintain with their .-wimls. >Sucii was the
laniim.s (h)eunient known as M.veiXA Ciiauta —
the Great Charter of Euglish Liberty.
When the king returned from Franee the
demand was made of him by the barons that
he shonl.l siiin their iusti-umeut. This he re-
fused to do, and endeavore.l to oppose li.ree
with force; but finding his banner almost de-
serted, he came to his senses and consented to
hold a conference which had been proposed
by the Earl of Pemljroke. On the 15th of
June, 11^15, a meeting was accordingly held
at a place called Ruunymede, between Wind-
sor and Staines, and there tlie king was obligeil
to sign the C'harter.
In general terms Magna Charta was intended
by its authors to prevent the exercise of arbi-
trary authority over his subjects by an En-
glish king. The royal prerogatives were lim-
ited in several important particulars, so that
the despotism which had been so freely prac-
ticed during the feudal ascendency, became
impossible in England, save in violation of
the chartered rights of the people. The great
document thus wrenched from the pusillani-
mous John consisted of sixty-three articles,
most of them being negative, defining what
the kings of England might not do as it re-
spected their subjects. Of positive rights con-
ceded and guaranteed iu the Charter, the tw(j
greatest were the Habeas Corpus and the Right
of Trial by Jury. The first was that salutary
provision of the English Common Law by
which every free subject of the kingdom was
exempted from arbitrary arrest and detention ;
and the second, that every person accused of
crime or misdemeanor, should be entitled to a
trial by his peers iu accordance with the law
of the land. The right of disposing of prop-
erty by will was also conciMlcd, and in case no
will should be made, it was provided that the
goods and estate of the father should descend
to his children by the law of inheritance. On
the negative side there were interdicts against
outlawry an<l banishment, and against the
seizure of the ]iropertv of freemen.
It should not be supiiosed, however, that
popular liberty, in the niodein sense, was se-
cured or even contemplated in Mauna Chaita.
True it is that many invaluable ])riiieiple- and
maxims were assumed bv the barons, and that
■t. r. Lut tlie feu-
ill iveo^nize.!, and
nored. Ahliou.h it wa- provide.l that no
/rnninu .-hnuld be .ei/,,.d or diMres-M.I in bis
pei->nn or property, but litth- wa. -aid ,v-peet-
ing the ridit. and i,nn, unities of the hdmrin^
classes of Englishmen. Unlv a sin-le i-lau,-e
of Magna Charta was intendi.l to .-eeuie to the
peasant those immunities and piivile-es which
in every civilized country are now reganled as
his birthright. It \\a< enacted that 'cni ,i rii4te
should not be deprived of his carts, plows, and
implements of husbandry. So great was the
difference between the .spirit of the thirteenth
and that of the nineteenth centurv !
Notwithstanding the humiliation eif King
John at Runnymede, he immediately sought
opportunity of avenging himself on his bar-
ons. Great was his wrath on account of the
Charter, and at those who had compelled him
to sign it. The barons were little alarmed at
his preparations and oaths of vengeance ; but
with an army of foreign mercenaries he re-
duced them to such extremity that they in
their folly invited Prince Louis, the heir of
France, to come to their aid, and promised to
reward him with the crown of iMigland. The
fortune of war was turned ai^ainst the king
and he was obliged to .-hut hiniH-lf up in the
castle of Dover. In the mean time the bar-
ons grew tired of their French protector, and
many of them rejoined the standard of John.
The latter again entered the field and marched
into Lincolnshire, where he was attacked of a
fever, and died on the Ifffh of October, iL'Ki.
It was .luring the rei-n of King John, who
has the bad reputation of being the wor,-t sov-
ereign that ever reigned over England, that
the great outlaw Robin Hood began his career
as a bandit. It apjiears that the true name
of this generous bri-and wh.., until the year
1247, set tlie laws at .letianee an.l m,.asured
sw.rds with England, was Roliert, earl of
Huntingdon. The legend recites that iu his
youth he attended a great tiutrnament in
an-hery, wh.av bv his skill lie exeite.l the
erivv of some rival noblemen, who had the
he turned
7S4
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
upon thtiu aud ^hot du\^n ~L\tiU ot llu a
numbei He then made hi- c~l ipt into ^1ki-
'v\ood foie^t, ^\heie he btcame the htad <it a
band ot outla\\- hke hiiu~ilt Iheii jnaLtice
wa^ to ])illa4e the t-tntc^ of the iich, to
the \\eahh-s and titkd pti-imaTje^
tJie piocted-
and
pui-ut 1 1 \ tin III ii\ R 1 m ini
hi- men that
llit\ _niiMl I _i U 1 |uliti)i
p, iMnI- m-omuth thit hilh.K
comniemon
tnc it hi- exphnt- aud chu di
iiin.-t pripidar literature of the tii
became tlie
les. and have
ever .-^iiiee rciiiaini'd as a witness
in whicli even a laul.-- l.rnitiict
,.f the esteem
nr i- held by
au oppressed people.
On the death of the kin? tl
sceuded to bis eldest son, Ilenrv
e riuwii .1,-
uf Winelies-
tLi wlij took the title of Henry the Third.
Beiu.'- I nlv eight years of age at the time of
hi- tithti"s death, the management of the
kiu_dom was intrusted to the Earl of Pem-
lAe The latter had the wisdom during his
mini-tiation to eontirm the articles of Magna
Hit I and by this means those English bar-
j had still adhered to the fortunes of
Piince Louis of France were won back
to the royal cause. Louis, though his
orces were greatly reduced, ventured
on a battle in 1217, in which he was so
di-astrously defeated that he was glad
to escape with the remnant of his fol-
lowers from the kingdom. Two years
atterward the Earl of Pembroke died,
and his office of protector was given to
Hubert de Burgh.
"When King Henry reached the age
ot sixteen he was declared capable of
conducting the government. In the
tolluwing year, 1224, Philip of France
died and was succeeded by his son
Louis, but the latter soon after passed
iway and the crown descended to his
-on Louis IX., who being a mere child
\\as left to the guardiaushiji of his
mother, Blanche of Castile. Perceiv-
ing the exposed condition of the French
kingdom on account of the minority of
Lodis, King Henry determined to in-
\ iile France and attempt the recovery
t Xormaudy. He accordingly raised
1 large army, aud in 1230 undertook
in expedition against the French. But
ht soon showed himself to be of little
c mpetency for such au undertaking.
• )ue disaster followed another until in
the course of a few months the king
'^ was glad to give up the enterprise and
leturn to England. In his matrimo-
nnl adventure he was scarcely more
foitunatt than in war. In his search for a
puui he chose Eleanor, daughter of the Earl
ot Pio\ence, who brought with her into Eng-
land a letinue of friends, for whom impor-
tant jilaces in the government were provided.
A great offense was thus given to the English
barons, who would not quietly brook the eleva-
tion of strangers and foreigners to the chief
otlices of England.
While the king was thus exhibiting his folly
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN THE 13TH (ENTCRV.
lie also showed his weakness. Nearly all his
administrative acts were marked by a spirit of
narrowness and bigoted imprudence. Popes
Innocent IV. and Alexander IV. were not slow
to perceive the advantages which might be
gained for the Church by an interference with
English affairs. Italian ecclesiastics were ac-
cordingly insinuated into the principal religious
offices of the kingdom, and these became the
agents to carry out the papal will and pleas-
ure respecting questions which were purely
English. In 12.55 the Pope conferred on the
king's sou Edmund the title of King of Sicily,
hoping by this means to induce the English
nation to espouse his own cause in a quarrel
which he had had with Mainfroy, the .Sicilian
monarch. But the English barons, more wise
than their sovereign, refused to be inveigled
into the Pope's scheme, and the enterprise was
about to come to nought. Hein-y, however,
finding that no inducement cnuld avail with
his refractory subjects, undertook to raise the
money for the Sicilian expedition by a means
as novel as it was outrageous. He caused to
be drawn bills of exchange against the prelates
of England, and gave these bills to Italian
merchants for money pretendedly advanced by
them for the war. The prelates at first re-
fused payment of these forged accounts, but
since the ecclesiastics were not supported by
either the king or the Pope, who made com-
mon cause in support of the fraud, they were
obli'/t'd to give up the contest and pay the
Italian bills."
The effect of these measures was to revive
the antipathies of the English nobles against
the king. A new rebellion broke out in 1258.
Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, who had
himself been one of the king's favorites, headed
the insurrection. The insurgents gathered in
such strength at Oxford that Henry and his son
were obliged to sign a treaty, by which it was
agreed that twenty-four of the barons, includ-
ing the Earl of Leicester, should be constituted
a sort of commission to reform the abuses of
the kingdom. The legitimate work of reform,
however, was soon abandoned for the assump-
tion of the right of government by the barons.
The nation was thrown into a state of turmoil,
which continued with unaliated violence for
al)out six years. The struggle is known in
history as tlie Wars of the Baikins, and
>a,-truus e^)ochs
Louis IX. of
(ivcs than were
iuies, made un-
constituted one of the nm
in the annals of Enghu
France, actuated by noblei
common in the princes of
availing efforts to bring about a peace lietween
Henry and his nobles; but neither wcnild the
one yifld to rcasun iir the other to patriotisni.
Not until the y,ar 1264 did events assume
such form as to promise a settlement. At
that time Prince Edward, heir to the En-
glish crown, born to greater candor than his
grandfather and greater ability than his father,
came forward as a leader of the royal forces,
and for a season it appeared that the insur-
gent nobles had met their match. ^lany of
the Ijarons, seeing with pride the .spirit and
valor displayed by their prince, went over to
his standard. At length a battle was hazarded
with the forces of De ^lontfort, but the result
was exceedingly disastrous to the royal cause.
Edward's army was defeated and himself cap-
tured, and sent with his cousin, Prince Henry,
a prisoner to the Castle of Dover.
The Earl of Leicester was now master of
the field. He at once conceived the ambition
of making himself king of England. To this
end he seized the royal castles not a few, and
presently allowed his ambition to reveal his
purposes. At this juncture, the Earl of Glouces-
ter appeared as a rival of De ]Montfort, and
began to plan his overthrow. Leicester per-
ceived that the heart of the nobles was turned
against him, and began to bid for a renewal
and continuance of their sujiport. All his
acts were done in the king's name. As a sop
to Cerberus, he set Prince Edward at liberty.
Gloucester established himself on the confines
of Wales, and De Montfort, having proclaimed
his rival a traitor, and assuming the office of
jirotector to Henry and Edward, set out to
overthrow the insurgents. When nr;iring the
camp of Gloucester, the latter niaiuiLicd to
open communications with Edward, and the
prince made good his escape, and went over
to the barons." Jlany of the nobles followe.l
his .'xanipl.., and Lei.'vst, r was ,,l,]ip.,l to send
ill all haste to London for an army of rem-
foreenients commanded by his son, Simon de
]\[ontfort, the younger. The latter was inter-
cepted on the way to join his fathei-, and was
drri-ivrly drirawA bv Prin.'e Kdwanl in the
lialtle of K,-iiiluo,lh.' A -.mrral rii-ai.r,.„ient
''^i5 UXIVEIISAL HISTORY.-THE MODERy WORLD.
iollo«t.l at Est^Kim, 111 wlu.h tli(. Eail ut .iiii,,u. tin .l.l.att.l l.,i,<., nnjo about to l.e
Leice-tei wa- loiit^-.l, and In- i<.iu- .li-puM.l tut .l-.uii U a m,],Iiu, hut declaied his iden-
Kiu4 Henn, who «a~ uinMlhu.l\ (ktauuil I tit\ in tinu to m\( lii^ life Both Loir-p'^ter
THE CRUSADES.—EXGLAXD AND FRANCE IX THE 13 TH CEXTUKV.
and his .-(ju, the youuger Montfort, were .-hiiii
in the battle.
The story of Prince Edward'.s departure fnr
the Holy Land, to take part iu the Eighth
Crusade, has already hcin narrated iu the pre-
ceding pages.' This event ha})pened in 1270.
Henry III. had nnw ,,eeupied the throne of
Englan.l for fll'ty-foiir years. His -..vernnient
was as feeble as himself was dt-ei-epit. Tlie
land was full of violence and di>ii-e.s. His
nephew, Prince Henry, sou of Kiehard, the
king's brother, was assassiuated by the exiled
sons of Leicester, who had survived the battle
of Evesham. Richard died of grief The
barons de-pi-ed their suverei,-n, and h.oked
of his death. Kiots and violence prevailed iu
many parts of the kingdom. At last, in Xo-
vemlier of 1272, the aged and despised Henry
died, being then in the tifty-seventh year of
his reign.
Prince Edward, on hearing the news of
his father's death, set out from Palestine, and
arrived in England iu 1274. His presence —
even the knowledge of his coming — tended to
restore coufideuce and order. He began his
reign with the enactment of many salutary
regulations relating to the police of the king-
dom, and other measures of public safety.
He was greatly distressed on the score of
means with which to administer the govern-
ment, and, in his embarrassment, adopted a
measure which came near producing a civil
war. He appointed a commission to examine
into the titles by which the barons of the king-
dom were holding their estates, with a view to
the couitscatiou of any which might prove to
be illegally held. The commissioners had not
proceeded far, however, until they came upon
the Earl of Warrenue, who, when summoned
to produce his titles, deliberately drew his
sword from its scabbard, and, laying his hand
significantly on the hilt, replied: " Tim is the
instrument by which my ancestors gained their
estate, and by which I will keep it as long as
I live." This answer reported to the king had
the effect of putting an end to the project of
fine and confiscation.
In the vear 12S2 an insurrection broke out
in Wales." The people of that country ha<l
illy brooked the conditions of peace which
Edw:
nl
lad imj
osei
tie ot
E^
eshani.
L
count
ryn
en in t
le ii
a climax
in a ai
eat
were
tot.
lly del
.•ate
and
lis
brothel
Di
\\n\r-.
A
King Edw:
?lf In M.
pnjmi
of the
'See ante,
■d for claiming the crown for
tiling the terms of peace he
e the people of Wales a prince
uutry, and when the eomlition
was accepted he presented them with his own
son, who had been born a few davs before iu
the Welsh castle of Caernarvon. To this babe
was given the title of Prince of Wales, which
has ever since been borne by the eldest sons
of the kings of Eugland.
While Wales was thus acquired by con-
quest a jilaii, ].artly the product of natural
tion, was brought forth with a view of adding
the crown of Scotland to that of England. In
that country King Alexander HI. had chosen
for his queen the sister of the English mon-
arch, and of this union the only issue was the
Princess Jlargaret, who was married to the
king of Norway; and of rt/.s union only a little
daughter survived, who became the heiress of
Scotland. In 12.'<(i Alexander died, and the
Norwegian priiiee>,- inherited her grandfather's
dominions. Edwar<l now^ proposed that his
new-born son and the infant queen of Scotland
.=hould be betrothed, and the proposition was
aeeepted by both the king of Norway and the
Seotti,-h pailiament. It thus appeared that
the union of the crowns of England and Scot-
land was about to be etl(?cted. But destiny
had prepared the event otherwise. The Nor-
wegian princess on her way from the country
of her liirth to the kingdom which she had
inherited was taken ill on shipboard and died
at the Orkney Islands. This unfortunate occur-
rence produced great grief throughout the three
kingdoms f)f England, Scotland, and Norway.
The union of the former two ivalnis was post-
poiie.l for three huiidre<l year>, and such was
the distraction of the Scottish councils that no
fewer than thirteen claimants of the crown
apjieared in the field. While feuds and tur-
moils jirevaileil <in all sides it was agreed to
rel'er the settlement (if the succession toKing
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.—THE MODERN WORLD.
Edward, who, after weighing- tiie relative rights
of Robert Bruce and John Baliol, decided iu
favor of the latter. The English king, with
an eye to his own interest, requii-ed that the
Scottish castles should be put into his hands
before rendering his dt'cisiou. The result was
that Baliol, wlm had little of the nature and
qualities of a king, liecanie a mere puppet iu
the hands of the English monarch, who pro-
ceeded to settle the aflaiis of the Xortheru
kingdom actoidnig to hi> wdl and purpose.
Hereujiiin an ni^uiiKtmn lnok( out, and Ed-
ward, mauluug acKi-^ iUl boidti, defeated
(hiienue under this fiction of doing homage for
it than riiilip refused to make the promised
restitution. So deeply at this time was Edward
involved iu the complications relating to the
crown of Scotland that he was unable to re-
cover by force what he had lost by the craft
and subtlety of Philip the Fail-. Such was the
condition of afiairs in England from the begin-
ning of the thirteenth century up to the time
when, by the capture of Acre, the Christian
kingdom iu the East was finally overthrown.
Let us then refer lu-iefly to the course of
France iu the later pdocIis of the
the Scots in the great battle of Dunbar. Baliol
surrendered hiin-df tn the victorious king and
was detained in captivity for three years, after
which he was pcimitted to retire into France.
It was at this ,'|Hi(li that the province of
Guienue, which ha.l d.scended to the English
crown from the old (^iieen Eleanor, who had
possessed that realm on her marriage to Henry
n. , was regained by the king of France. Gui-
enne owed fealty to the French crown, and
Philip the Fair persuaded Edward to perform
the act of homage as a recognition of that
relation, at the same time iiroml>iii- to restore
the province as soon as the fomial act \va.-
done. But no sooner had Edward re-igned
Crusades. In 11 M> Philip II., surnamed Au-
gustus, inlierited the French crown. Such
were his talents and ambitions, and such his
impatience niidcr the restraints imposed on his
kingdom by Feudalism, that he set himself to
work after the manner of a politician and
statesman to overthrow the feudal princes and
to build upon the ruins of their privileges and
liberties the structure of regular monarchy.
What might have been his success but for the
condition of affairs in Syria it were perhaps
useless to conjecture. It will be remembered
that Philip, before coming to the throne of
Fi:nic<\ lia<l f'orine<l an attachment tc) Prince
Itii-hard Plautagenet, and that the two princes.
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN THE 13TH CENTER V. 7>^y
in ordfi- to vex and ili.-itract the luiud uf Kiut;
Henry II., of England, had made a great
parade of theii- alleged friendship. After the
two royal youths acceded to the thrones of
their respective kingdoms their attaclitnent
continued and led to an agreement between
them to undertake that p
great Crusade of which
an account has already
been given in the pre-
ceding pages.'
After Philip's return
from Palestine, in which
country the breach lic-
tween him and his ( 1 1
time friend had becoiiK
irreparable, he nmlt
haste to attempt the d'
struction of the mteie-t^
and rights of the Lion
Heart in Westeiu Eu
rope. To this end he
made an attack on ISoi
mandy and incited the
unworthy John Liilv
land to seize on En.
land, though both ( t
these schemes weie th
feated and brought i<<
nought. But not untd
the foundation of mfanite
mischief had been 1 ii 1
between the kmgdi lu^
of France and Eu^dind
Philip continued hi-
machinations against
Coeur de Lion untd tin.
latter, having obtauK 1
a tardy liberation at tlu
hands of the Genu lu
Emperor, made his w u
as rapidly as possiblt in
the du'ection of his o«n
kingdom. Heaiing that
his friend had been set
at liberty, Philip sent a hasty message to John
of England to take care of himself as best he
could, for the devil was unchained !
As soon as Eichard had reestablished his
F.uthority in the kingdom, he sought to avenge
out, and continued without abatement almost
to the end of the century. In 1194 a deci-
sive battle was fought at N'endome, in which
Philip was disastrously defeated. His money,
.piiiiULic, and the ivrni-,1. of til.' king-
,lom were
himself on the pei-fidious Philip. W:
' See ante, p. 73'2.
broke
In the mean time the French monarch be-
came involved in a quarrel with the Pojie, which
])lunged the kingdom into still deeper distre.«s.
Tlie king's first wife, Isabella of Hainault. had
' It is noteworthy of the character of the times
that lip to the battle of Vemloine it had been the
custom of the feudal kind's of France to bear about
rao
UNIVERSAL HISTORY. — THE MODERN WORLD.
died in llitl, and two years afterwards Pliilip
had taken as a second ijuecn the Prineess lii-
geberge of Denmark, lint the iJaiiish lady
SdOD fell under the displeasure (if her hird and
was divorced. The sns|iici(iii was not wanting
that the kiiit,' had aln-ady turned a longing
eye upon ]\Iana, the daughter of the Duke of
Dalmatia, and that the discarding of Inge-
berge was attributable to that circumstance.
These pioccediusjs weie highlj disj^leasiug to
Pope Innocent III , and he oideied the abio-
gation ot the miniaj;t \Mth IMiiia and the
restitution of that \Mth the duoucd lu^ebti^e
crown after the death of his uncl^, Richard
Plantagenet. King John, refusing to obey
the summons, was declared guilty of murder
and felony, and his province of Normandy
was said to be forfeited. Philip lost no time
in asserting his claim to the countries of which
he hoped to deprive his rival. Laying siege
to the Chateau Gaillard, he succeeded, after a
rigorous investment of many months' duration,
in 1 educing the place to submission. The rest
ot Noiman(h was easih subdued The whole
dueh\ w is ^\u■-ted tiom the imbecile John and
his sutLL— ois toie\ei Foi two bundled and
Philip refused obedience, and His Huliness
laid the kingdom under an interdict for the
space of three years. At last the French mon-
arch was obliged to yield, and the discarded
queen was brought back to Paris.
In the early part of the following century,
Philip summoned King John of England to
come to the French capital and answer to the
charge of having murdered Prince Arthur of
Brittany, the rightful heir to the English
with them from place to place the royal archives.
It now penetrated the thick skull of the age that
a permanent depository of such records was a ne-
cessity of the situation. Philip Augustus accord-
ingly directed the construction of a suitable builJ-
ing in Paris for that purpose.
ninety-three years Normandy had been a part
of the English dominions, and would doubt-
less have so remained but for the pusillanimous
character of the king, whose duty it was to de-
fend his continental possessions.
Philip now went on from conquering to con-
quest. The provinces of Maine, Touraiue, and
Anjou were successively taken, and added to
the French domains. In 1213 the king, sup-
ported by Pope Innocent III., undertook the
invasion of England. The miscarriage of this
expedition, and the diversion of the campaign
into Flanders, have already been recounted in
the preceding narrative.' The battle of Bou-
■See anle, p. 781.
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAND AND EE'ANCE IN THE 13 TH LENT UK Y. 791
vines i-L'salteel in a complete uvertlirow of tlie
Flemish aud German auxiliarie.-^. The counts
of Flanders and Boulogne were taken prisoners,
and were confined, the one in the tower of the
Louvre, aud the other in the castle Pirou.
It was at this epoch that the religio-civil
war with the Albigeuses broke out in the Miuth
of France. From the year ll'mi to li'l-^, the
best portions of the kingdom were ravaged with
a ferocity that would have done credit to the
Mamelukes. The harmless fathers of French
protestantism were made to feel how cruel a
thing the sword is when backed by religious in-
tolerance. It ought not to be denied, however,
that in the outbreak of the war the papal party
had a ju>t cau-e of comiihrnit. In iL'O.^ tl
>:-: \
was suc-
iig under
1 tile war
son. In IL'L':] Philip II. died,
ceeded by Louis VIll., wlm,
the instigation of the Pope, reU'
against the Albigeuses; but his sliort reign
was terminated by his death in 1220.
After a three years' continuance of the
stniiiiiie Paynioud VII. was induced by the,
distresses to which his people were .subjected
to purchase exeiiiptiou from further persecu-
I tiou and relief trom the penalties of excommu-
nication by the cession of a portion of his ter-
ritories to the king of France and by adopting
as his heir to the remainder the brother-in-law
of Saint Louis. The Albigeuses. ^\ere thus
deprived of the i)i(itt ( ti.m of the , ounts of
I Toulouse, and to till up the cup of bitterness
ft
PEI.sri UTIOX OF THE Ai.Bir,E\SES
Pope's legate, Peter of Castelnau, was mur- ' wliieli the pa
dered under circumstances which gave Inuo- ties to <liink,
cent III. good ground for believing that the | of Horror, w
heretical nobles of Southern France were re- | termination,
sponsible for the crime. Suspicion was di- | cutions to w
rected against Ravmoud VI. of Toulouse, ami subjected, tli
a crusa.le was pivaehed against him and his survive,! to (
people. Ly makiii- a humiliatin- submission, and .ven aih
the Count of Toulouse saved himself I'roiu the a.lheivnis .if th.'
impending blow: and tlir erusadiuu ai'uiv was ,iiily in Southern
turned against the vismunts lii.g. r of .Vllii, pait- of Italy aui
Beziers, Carcass.inue, and Ras,/„ wlio.e lanils The course of
were laid waste and contiseateil by Simon de reign of Saint I
Montfort. Eaymond thus gai 1 time to re- ski'tehed in the :
new the conflict, which was c tinned until Si'venth I'rusaile
1218, when Sim.m was kille.l in the .-i,.-e of y.ai- the king n
Toulouse. :Most of the coiKptests made l.v .Inlv of 12.')4, ai
:Montfort were vr..vvvv,\ l.v Kavinon.l and hi- <t...-, I.e-an an
al party now mixed for the here-
he In,|uisitioii, with its Chamber
s ori:ani/,e.l to comjilete their ex-
Xotwithstandiug the fierce perse-
ieh these early protestauts were
name of the Albigensian sect
V close of the thirteenth century,
the beginning of the fourteenth,
thi' jiartv were still found, not
•in Frane,., but also in secluded
aint
Aft.i
the
ally
the
UXIVEBSAL HISTORY. — THE MODEIiX WORLD.
marked by much pomp aud cureinony. He
became a reiormer of abuses in the kingdom,
abrogating ojjpressive taxes, reguhiting tlie
French municipalities, aud framing new codes
of laws. Until a late date the shade-tree was
still standing in the Buis de Vincennes under
which Saint l.nu\< was w..nt to sit, hearing
the ruiuplaiiits of thr poor, and redressing
the grievances of those who had suti'ered
wrong.
As it respected integrity of character and
sincerity of purpose, Louis IX, (iiioy((l the
best reputation of all the monai'ili< of his age.
So great was his fame for justice and probity,
that neighboring princes, when involved in
diifieulties among themselves, were accustomed
to refer the
matters in
dispute to
the calm
temper and
into the hand'- ot the nnper
many by the marriage of the daughter of the
last Norman king of the Two Sicilies to the
father of Frederick 11. , and when this Emperor
died the kingdom was seized by his illegitimate
son Manfred. Pope Urban I\., regarding the
accession of this pseudo prince as a scandal to
Christendom, aud offended at the additional
power thus gained by the Ghibellines, set up
Charles of Anjou, brother of Louis IX., as
king of the Two Sicilies, and in 1265 the
'One of Saint Louis's maxims may well be re-
peated: "It is good policy to be just; inasmuch
as a reputation for probity and disinterestedness
gives a prince more real autliority and power than
any accession of territories."
claims of the latter were successfully a.sserted
by the defeat of :Manfred in battle. Charles,
however, was a man very different in charac-
ter from his brother, the king of France. His
life and reign were marked by personal ambi-
tion, selfishness, and cruelty. His name aud
that of liis country became forever afterwards
odious ill tlie kingdom which he ruled. Two
years after his accession to the throne the Ger-
man princes, under the lead of Conradin, sou
of Conrad IV., and last representative of the
House of Hoheii<taufcn, made an attempt to
expel the French from Italy, Init they were
decisively defeated. Conradin was taken pris-
oner, carried to Naples, and put to death by
order of King Charles. When about to be
executed, he threw down his glove from the
scaffold, appealing to the crowd to convey it
to any of his kinsmen in token that whoever
received it was invested with his rights, and
charged with the duty of avenging his death.
In the year 1258 Philip, eldest son of Saint
Louis, received in marriage the Princess Isa-
liella, daughter of the king of Aragou. When
this union was affected, it was agreed bv the
kings of France and Spain that the latter
should surrender to the former the towns which
he held in the south of France, aud that Louis
should give in exchange to the king of Ara-
gou those districts of Spain which had been
wrested by Charlemagne from the INIoham-
medans. About the same time the French
monarch secured a large portion of the prov-
ince of Champagne by purchase from Count
Thibault, who in virtue of his mother's right
had acceded to the throne of Navarre.
Having completed the disposition of affitirs
in his kingdom, Louis IX. at last found him-
st'lf in readiness to renew the war with the
Turks and Mamelukes. How the expedition
with which he left France in the year 1270
was diverted into a campaign against Tunis,
how the plagtie broke out in the French army
encamped on that sun-scorched shore, how
many thousands perished in anguish and de-
spair, and how the aged king himself sickened
and died, have already been recounted in a
preceding chapter.'
Saint Louis left as his successor his son
Philip by Margaret of Provence. This prince
was with his father in the siege of Tunis, and
' See ante, p. 767.
THE CRU^ADES.^EXdLAXD AXD FltAXCE IX THE 13TH LEXTURY. 7ii;J
Itke him w i~ attukcil with the plvia lu i I)< JJio-m, thus ».
coveriu^ tmni the m.iLuh he tmhaikul lot the ^ai,e ot battk
home ami leathed Sicih m the lattci jwit ot ou a t,ihhtt.
the yeai 127U Htie hi'^ quecu died, a^ (hd M(aii\\liil
also King Thibault of Xa^aue Mtu> ntlai thi 1 w '^h i
distiuguishedpei»ouage»couuected with the c\- I pu-uid iiii
pedition, including Alfou-o — the kiu.'s uncle — | a^ tlie hi id
and the Couute--, ot Pinxeuct, tell mi tiiu- U> \ i h i-ed iimii
the pestilence In the
beginning of the lol
lowing yeai Philip
reached his own do-
minions, bearing ^ itli
him in «ad piocessiou
the dead bodu t 1 i
queen and lii- I il \
The ue\\ ^ \ i i n
ascended the thmue
■with the title ot Philip
III. , and recei\ ed tlie
surname of the Bold
In liis pi)lie\, he mu-
tated the methods of
liistathei T\MMtais
after his letuin to
France, he took in
marriage the Piincess
Maria of Bi abaut In
the mean time, he h nl
raided to the position
of chief minister ot
the kingdom a certain
parvenu named Piei i<
de la Brosse, who-i
former vocation ot
barber ha.l little m-
ommended him ioi
afiairs of state. Xot
long after the kingS
marriage, De Brosse
conceived a violent
hatred for the queen,
and resolved to com-
pa.«s her downfall
In 1276, Prince Louis.
died, and the circumstances were such as to
favor the false accusation that Queen Maria
had caused his death by poison. For the
mtioi
aud
duist not aci
Inm lit tvcel
, Chuks„t Aiipu, 11 .w king of
11 - w is puisuuj^ his schemes of
ition Desnmg to be letraided
>t Listiiu thustcndom, he pui-
th. _i uiddui_lit.i ot (tu> of
ji I Mr\T
the king's eldest son,
ippeared that her cause
time it
less, but a valiant brother came forw
after the manner of the age, challc
accuser to a mortal combat. The
s hope-
■d. and.
:-ed the
titl
Lusi_n 111 th
Tht etttct of this
a iiudizement w
a h sf ( f enemie
c\l 1 him ti m th
M u t ill th 1
kui„ ot JfcUisilem.
[In 1 measuies of self-
1 up aiound Charles
ill 1(1 iispii icy to
I 111 V _ iK 1 il mas-
111 N I] lis mil Sicily
I It thi iin.nnic of
tM it 1 istei 12X2.
r94
UNIVERSAL HISTORY.-THE MODERN WORLD.
"With fatnl jn-ecision, tliou-h the plot had l}eeii
iu preparatiou for the space of two year.s, the
diabolical jjlot was carried out. The massacre
began in Palermo, and si)read from town to
the .Sicilian Vespeiis— a fitting prelude to the
massacre of St. Bartholomew.
In the year 1285 Philip the Third found it
necessary to undertake a war with Pedro, kin^
town, wheivvrr the Fn'iicli li
ments, until at least ei.uht X\\>
people had been butchered. Tl
rage against human life is kim
,^'on. That ruler had ])resnmed to set
iiilit till' settlement sanctioned l)v the
by which tlir i-rowu of Aragon was to
lU Prince Charles,
th,
THE CRUSADES.— ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN THE 13 TH CENTURY.
French king. The expeditiuu undertaken i)y
Philip was, however, attended with disaster.
A tleet which had been sent out with provis-
ions for his army was captured by the Ara-
gonese commauder, De Lauria, and the French
ti-oops were left without supplies. It miw
appeai'ed, moreover, that the health of King
Philip had been ruined in the African cam-
paign of his father. Despairing of success, he
attempted to withdraw into France, but, on
arriving at Perpignan, he found it impossible
into Aragon. For a while, he was withheld
from his purpose by the mediation of King
Edward of England, whose daughter had been
married to Alfonso of Aragon. But the siood
otHee^ of the Engli'^h monarth muld nut per-
manently avail to prevent ho-tilita-. A war
broke out between the French and Arai;one--e,
and continued for some years ^\itliout deci-ive
results. At the la-t, the contest wa> ended
by the indi jitiidt nee of Aranou, which «as
attained withdut material lo-s of territorv.
FUNERAL OF SAINT LOUIS.
to proceed, and died at that place in October j It was during the continuance of this petty
of 1286. The crown descended, without dis- and disgraceful conflict that the news of the
pute, to his son Philip, surnamed the Fair, [ downfall of Acre, and the consequent subver-
who ascended the throne with the title of ! sion of the kingdom of Jerusalem, was car-
Philip IV. In him the mild temper and pru- j ried to Western Europe. That event has
ipou as a ])ro])er limit for
Hrre, then, uu the lliu'h
1 wln.'h, Inokin- t.. the
le wilil and extravagant
ides, and, turning to the
• eol,,,-al form of Mon-
thr ruins of ^ro.li:eval
dent behavior, which had of late characterized
the kings of France, disappeared, and was re-
placed with violence, avarice, and excess, in-
somuch that a strange contrast was presented
between the beauty of the royal person and
the moral deformity of the king.
At the first, Philip IV. undertook to re-
trieve the misfortunes of the late expeditiun
already been fixed
the present Buok.
•lividing rid.ae tV,,
past, we liehdld t
drama of the Cvw.
future, discover tl
avchv risiii- ab.ivi
Kunme— the free
ro6
UyiVEBSAL HISTORY.— THE MODERN WORLD.
powerful as the cuuservator.^ of public lib-
erty, and the convex rim of the IS'ew World
seen afar in the watery horizon of the West, —
we pause, intending to resume, in the begin-
ning of the following Book, the annals of
Germany, Italy, France, and England, from
the close of the thirteenth century to the dis-
covery of America by Columbus.
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