Ferdinand Schmidt

“ He who had so long watched over the welfare of the Empire, he who had so often sat upon his steed as the battle hero, upon his throne as lawgiver, judge, and counsellor, and as teacher among the scholars of the academy, should he now lie in a coffin? ”

“ Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, might well have been entitled Charles the Greatest. He was great in war and great in peace—a great conqueror, great law-maker, great scholar, great organizer, great civilizer. He subdued savage nations, introduced learning, extended religion, encouraged the arts and sciences, and established one of the mightiest empires of the olden times. All the races of Germany, of Italy, and of France were welded by him into one great monarchy. He maintained and extended the influence of Christian culture. ”

“ From the earliest times the Eastern emperors had made claims upon Italy, and the Pope had not been protected until Pepin and Charlemagne appeared. Considering these things, and the dangerous situation, can anyone blame Leo for proclaiming the Frankish King, who had saved him before all the world, as the all-powerful champion of Christendom, and for conferring upon him a title which would impress all people as the commemoration of a great deed? ”

“ The palace itself is described by contemporaries as a wonder of art, transplanted as if by magic from the Italian Ravenna to the banks of the Rhine. Charlemagne secured the hundred marble and granite columns upon which the structure rests, as well as the mural decorations of the interior, through the favor of the Pope. Barbarian opulence in buildings was usually displayed in the lavish use of gold and silver, and artistic effect was sought for in brilliant metallic shimmer. ”

“ If he overlooked their bloody deed it would only incite the Saxons to perpetrate fresh atrocities. He determined to execute a penalty severe enough to intimidate the Saxons ever after, and to protect those who might be exposed to danger if the guilty went free. Charlemagne acted upon the theory that a judge who releases a murderer is equally guilty if that murderer commits fresh crimes. He put down the uprising at once; and when the Saxons as usual implored mercy and charged Wittekind (who had again fled) with the blame, he demanded the surrender of the guilty persons. ”

“ The Frankish kingdom, as well as the German Christian world, was saved by him from a great disaster at the hands of the Moors, who twenty-one years later (711) overthrew the power of the West Goths in Spain and established themselves there.
28
Another Pepin, called “the Short,” by reason of his low stature, succeeded Charles Martel. The enemies of the country—the Saxons particularly—felt the weight of his power. An enmity of long standing existed between the Saxons and the Franks, and they had often met in fierce encounters. ”

“ The glimmer of weapons foretold a day for the doomed city as dark as night. Then Charlemagne himself appeared—that man of iron, iron-helmeted and gauntleted, his breast and shoulders in coat of iron mail, with lance uplifted in his right hand, his left grasping his sword-hilt.
Famine and pestilence forced the surrender of the city. Desiderius was deposed and his throne declared forfeited, and he was sent first to Luttich and thence to the monastery of Corvey, [24] where he was compelled to spend his remaining days in the exercise of penance. His son, Adalgis, escaped a like fate by flight. ”

“ Clovis next assumed the role of avenger of Frankish chiefs killed by Siegbert. He summoned the heads of the Frankish families and brought such inducements to bear that they voluntarily acknowledged his authority and accepted his sovereignty. He secretly inspired an uprising against one relative, who had proved too obstinate; and when he was brought before him by his own people in chains, Clovis exclaimed: “What! are you not ashamed to appear before me in chains and to disgrace our princely race?” ”

“ A royal palace stood there in Pepin’s time; and even if Charlemagne was not born there, as is sometimes asserted, yet it is certain that he spent the most of his boyhood amid these scenes.
Bathing was one of his favorite pleasures, and many a time he breasted the blue waves of the Rhine. The warm mineral baths at Aix-la-Chapelle were his especial delight. There were also thickly wooded spots in the vicinity which attracted him. He was as fond of hunting as of bathing, even in his last years ”

“ Carloman’s action was not only regarded as faithless toward his brother, but even stigmatized as treachery against the united kingdom, the evil consequences of which could be averted only by Charlemagne’s strong arm. The latter’s leading warriors, indeed, had been in favor of taking the field against Wolf without paying any attention to his brother. It was due to Charlemagne’s mother, the royal widow Bertha, [19] that the world of that day was spared the tragedy of a fraternal and civil war. ”

“ The only remnant of Roman power left in Gaul (that part of it lying between the Seine and the Loire) still maintained its political independence. It was against this region, which was under the rule of the Roman patrician Syagrius, that Clovis next directed his operations. He provoked him to war, defeated him, and forced the West Goth King, Alaric the Second (who was ultimately slain in battle by Clovis) , with whom Syagrius sought shelter, to give him up. ”

“ A debtor who could not pay was considered the slave of his creditor and tendered him the shears with which to cut his beard. If a young warrior was taken prisoner by one of the barbarians and doomed to death, he would beseech his captor not to soil his hair with blood or allow a slave to touch it. ”

“ If we do this in the right way, refusing to be influenced by those harpies who pursue all great and noble men in history that they may besmirch their memories, we shall be inspired by the example of his great deeds to make our own pilgrimage a blessing both to ourselves and others. ”

“ Desiderius, enraged to the extreme both against Charlemagne and the Pope, held the latter principally responsible for the affront put upon his daughter, and resolved to wreak vengeance at once. He demanded that the Pope should crown the son of Carloman as King of the Franks, intending after that to incite an uprising in that country in his favor. The time seemed auspicious, as Charlemagne was now at war with the Saxons. While the Pope was hesitating, and just as Desiderius was about to use force, Stephen died and was succeeded by Hadrian. ”

“ Charlemagne not only determined to introduce Christianity, but Frankish laws as well. Saxony was divided into districts to which Frankish chiefs were assigned. He deemed it of the highest importance that a people who had violated their obligations so frequently should be restrained by severe measures. The immediate outcome of this, however, was the almost complete destruction of a division of the Frankish army and the massacre of four princes and twenty distinguished nobles, by the Saxons, led by Wittekind and his brother Albion. ”

“ He summoned the leaders of his people to Regensburg, denounced his royal cousin, reviled him, and openly declared he would not respect a compulsory promise even if it cost him ten sons. The foolish Duke did not realize how contemptible he made himself by his conduct in the eyes of all honest men. He renewed negotiations with the Avars and induced them to join him. One division of the barbarians was led by Thassilo through Bavarian territory into the Frankish kingdom, and a second into Italy ”

“ The Saxons were not far advanced in civilization. The hatred which they entertained against the Germans, who had been converted to Christianity by Boniface [29] and other missionaries, had caused them to break off friendly intercourse with their ancestral associates. They worshipped Odin and other heathen divinities in their forests, as of old. Charlemagne conducted his campaign against them, not so much in the interest of religion as to overthrow the power of a dangerous neighbor, before he went to Italy to subjugate Desiderius. ”

“ The Burgundians were also a German race which invaded Gaul and founded the Kingdom of Burgundy.
[8] The West Goths are usually called Visigoths.
[9] Clovis, founder of the Merovingian line, was born about 465 and was the son of Childeric. He married the Christian princess Clotilde in 493 and, after victories over the Alemanni and Burgundians, established his court in Paris in 507. He died in 511.
[10] The word “family,” as used in this translation, signifies “tribe.”
[11] Toul is on the Moselle River in France. It is an important fortress and strategic point. ”

“ A large part of his life was spent in the field, and yet he found time for the political establishment and development of a great empire, for the reorganization of the Church, for the promotion of education, for the conservation of classic culture, and for an astonishing display of many-sided activity. ”

“ Charlemagne now realized that the time had come for him to deal with Thassilo, Duke of Bavaria, a somewhat difficult matter because of their near relationship, Thassilo being, as already stated, Pepin’s nephew. The Duke was not only secretly conspiring against Charlemagne in Italy, but he was also in communication with the leaders of the Slavs and Thuringians, urging them to resist Charlemagne’s authority. His most serious offence, however, was his effort to induce the Avars [37] to assist in the war against the King. ”

“ At that time marital separations and remarriages were not uncommon among the upper classes, and some of the very highest class had several wives. Bertha had managed this business secretly, and the Pope did not hear of her plans until Desiderata had gone to the Frankish country. It is not strange that the news caused him the greatest anxiety, for he clearly foresaw that if Charlemagne became the son-in-law of Desiderius, he could no longer look to the Franks for the protection of the territory which Pepin had taken from the Lombards and given to the Church. ”