Part 57 (2/2)

Peter's representative, the pope. Before this time the bishops of Rome had owned much land in Italy and had acted as virtual sovereigns in Rome and its neighborhood. Pepin's gift, known as the ”Donation of Pepin,” greatly increased their possessions, which came to be called the States of the Church. They remained in the hands of the popes until late in the nineteenth century. [13]

106. THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE, 768-814 A.D.

CHARLEMAGNE THE MAN

Pepin was succeeded in 768 A.D. by his two sons, one of whom, Charlemagne, three years later became sole king of the Franks. Charlemagne reigned for nearly half a century, and during this time he set his stamp on all later European history. His character and personality are familiar to us from a brief biography, written by his secretary, Einhard. Charlemagne, we learn, was a tall, square-shouldered, strongly built man, with bright, keen eyes, and an expression at once cheerful and dignified. Riding, hunting, and swimming were his favorite sports. He was simple in his tastes and very temperate in both food and drink. Except when in Rome, he wore the old Frankish costume, with high-laced boots, linen tunic, blue cloak, and sword girt at his side. He was a clear, fluent speaker, used Latin as readily as his native tongue, and understood Greek when it was spoken. ”He also tried to learn to write and often kept his tablets and writing book under the pillow of his couch, that, when he had leisure, he might practice his hand in forming letters; but he made little progress in this task, too long deferred and begun too late in life.” [14] For the times, however, Charlemagne was a well-educated man--by no means a barbarian.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLEMAGNE (Lateran Museum, Rome) A mosaic picture, made during the lifetime of Charlemagne and probably a fair likeness of him.]

CONQUEST AND CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS, 772-804 A.D.

Much of Charlemagne's long life, almost to its close, was filled with warfare. He fought chiefly against the still-heathen peoples on the frontiers of the Frankish realm. The subjugation of the Saxons, who lived in the forests and marshes of northwestern Germany, took many years.

Charlemagne at the head of a great army would invade their territory, beat them in battle, and receive their submission, only to find his work undone by a sudden rising of the liberty-loving natives, after the withdrawal of the Franks. Once when Charlemagne was exasperated by a fresh revolt, he ordered forty-five hundred prisoners to be executed. This savage ma.s.sacre was followed by equally severe laws, which threatened with death all Saxons who refused baptism or observed the old heathen rites. By such harsh means Charlemagne at length broke down the spirit of resistance among the people. All Saxony, from the Rhine to the Elbe, became a Christian land and a permanent part of the Frankish realm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE IRON CROWN OF LOMBARDY A fillet of iron, which, according to pious legend, had been beaten out of one of the nails of the True Cross. It came to the Lombards as a gift from Pope Gregory I. as a reward for their conversion to Roman Catholicism.

During the Middle Ages it was used to crown the German emperors kings of Italy. This precious relic is now kept in a church at Monza in northern Italy.]

CONQUEST OF THE LOMBARDS, 774 A.D.

Shortly after the beginning of the Saxon wars the king of the Franks received an urgent summons from the pope, who was again being threatened by his old enemies, the Lombards. Charlemagne led a mighty host across the Alps, captured Pavia, where the Lombard ruler had taken refuge, and added his possessions to those of the Franks. Thus pa.s.sed away one more of the Germanic states which had arisen on the ruins of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne now placed on his own head the famous ”Iron Crown,” and a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of ”King of the Franks and Lombards, and Patrician of the Romans.”

CHARLEMAGNE'S OTHER CONQUESTS

Charlemagne's conquests were not confined to Germanic peoples. He forced the wild Avars, who had advanced from the Caspian into the Danube valley, to acknowledge his supremacy. He compelled various Slavic tribes, including the Bohemians, to pay tribute. He also invaded Spain and wrested from the Moslems the district between the Ebro River and the Pyrenees. By this last conquest Charlemagne may be said to have begun the recovery of the Spanish peninsula from Mohammedan rule. [15]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, EUROPE In the Age of Charlemagne, 800 A.D.]

CHARLEMAGNE'S GOVERNMENT

Charlemagne was a statesman, as well as a warrior. He divided his wide dominions into counties, each one ruled by a count, who was expected to keep order and administer justice. The border districts, which lay exposed to invasion, were organized into ”marks,” under the military supervision of counts of the mark, or margraves (marquises). These officials had so much power and lived so far from the royal court that it was necessary for Charlemagne to appoint special agents, called _missi dominici_ (”the lord's messengers”), to maintain control over them. The _missi_ were usually sent out in pairs, a layman and a bishop or abbot, in order that the one might serve as a check upon the other. They traveled from county to county, bearing the orders of their royal master and making sure that these orders were promptly obeyed. In this way Charlemagne kept well informed as to the condition of affairs throughout his kingdom.

REVIVAL OF LEARNING UNDER CHARLEMAGNE

Charlemagne made a serious effort to revive cla.s.sical culture in the West from the low state into which it had fallen during the period of the invasions. We still possess a number of laws issued by this Frankish king for the promotion of education. He founded schools in the monasteries and cathedrals, where not only the clergy but also the common people might receive some training. He formed his whole court into a palace school, in which learned men from Italy, Spain, and England gave instruction to his own children and those of his n.o.bles. The king himself often studied with them, under the direction of his good friend, Alcuin, an Englishman and the foremost scholar in western Europe. He had the ma.n.u.scripts of Latin authors collected and copied, so that the knowledge preserved in books should not be forgotten. All this civilizing work, together with the peace and order which he maintained throughout a wide territory, made his reign the most brilliant period of the early Middle Ages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CATHEDRAL AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) was the capital city and favorite residence of Charlemagne. The church which he built here was almost entirely destroyed by the Northmen in the tenth century. The octagonal building surmounted by a dome which forms the central part of the present cathedral is a restoration of the original structure. The marble columns pavements and mosaics of Charlemagne's church were brought by him from Ravenna.]

107. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 800 A.D.

CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE, 800 A.D.

Charlemagne, the champion of Christendom and the foremost ruler in Europe, seemed to the men of his day the rightful successor of the Roman emperors.

He had their power, and now he was to have their name. In the year 800 A.D. the Frankish king visited Rome to investigate certain accusations made against the pope, Leo III, by his enemies in the city. Charlemagne absolved Leo of all wrong-doing and restored him to his office.

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