Archbishop Turpin

“ In that place not one of my twelve peers shall set his foot!"
At these words, every one keeps silence. However, Turpin rises from his seat—Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims. He, in turn, asks for the [Pg 384] glove and staff; but Charles commands him to sit down, and not say another word. Then addressing himself once more to his barons, he says, "Free knights, will you not, then, tell me who shall carry my message to Marsilion?"
And Roland answers: "Let it be my father-in-law, Ganelon." And the French agreed, saying: "He is the man you want; for a more skilful one you could not find." ”

“ The Count Rollánd Pursues them not, for Veillantif lies dead. On foot he stands whether he will or not. To help Turpin, the Archbishop, fast he ran, His helm unclasped, removed the hauberk white And light, then ripped the sides of his blialt To find his gaping wounds ”

“ While traversing the valley of the Orbieu, one of the principal tributaries of the Aude, Archbishop Turpin came across seven hermits, viz., Thomas of Rouen, Richard of Pavia, Robert Prince of Hungary, Germain of Scotland, Alayran of Flanders, Philip of Cologne, and Bartholomew, son of the King of Egypt, who, after completing their studies at Paris, left the world in search of Christ [Pg 644] and were led by angels to this solitary valley, where they built an oratory in honor of St. ”

“ But Turpin, seconded by the good Dukes Namo and Salomon, prayed so hard for him that Charlemagne consented to remit a violent death, but sentenced him to close imprisonment, under the charge of the Archbishop, strictly limiting his food to one quarter of a loaf of bread per day, with one piece of meat, and a quarter of a cup of wine. In this way he hoped to quickly put an end to his life without bringing on himself the hostility of the King of Denmark, and other powerful friends of Ogier. He exacted a new oath of Turpin to obey his order strictly. ”

“ It is thus possible that the warlike legends which have gathered around the name of Turpin are due to some confusion of his identity with that of his martial predecessor. Flodoard says that Tilpin was originally a monk at St Denis, and Hincmar tells how after his appointment to Reims he occupied himself in securing the restoration of the rights and properties of his church, the revenues and prestige of which had been impaired under Milo’s rule. Tilpin was elected archbishop between 752 and 768, probably in 753 ”

“ Doc. from the archbishop of Canterbury in 1889, and in 1892 was appointed warden of Trinity College of Music, London. Turpin died in London on 25 October 1907. He married (1) in 1867 Sarah Anne, daughter of Robert Watson of Whitemoor, Nottinghamshire, by whom he had a daughter ”

“ However, his weakness overcame him before he reached the water, and he fell forward dying. Feebly he made his confession, painfully he joined his hands in prayer, and as he prayed his spirit fled. Turpin, the faithful champion of the Cross, in teaching and in battle, died in the service of Charlemagne. May God have mercy on his soul!
When Roland awoke from his swoon he looked for Turpin, and found him dead, and, seeing Olifant, he guessed what the archbishop’s aim had been, and wept for pity. Crossing the fair white hands over Turpin’s breast, he sadly prayed:
“‘Alas! ”

“ Knights of the round table.
[5] The Paladines of France.
[6] Instead of forging the life of a saint, Archbishop Turpin was better employed in falsifying the history of Charlemagne.
[7] A bull was issued, commanding all good citizens to believe Ariosto's poem, founded upon Turpin's history.
[8] Arabian fictions ingrafted on the Gothic romance.
[9] Romance of the Rose, written soon after the Crusades.
[10] Early prose Romances, originally Spanish.
[11] Fictions of Romance, allegorized by Spenser.
[Pg 27] TO URBAN.
Lo! ”

“ The chronicle of the pseudo-Turpin is of little real importance in the history of French literature, because it is admitted to have been written in Latin. The busy idleness of critics has however prompted them to discuss at great length the question whether the Chanson de Roland may not possibly have been composed from this chronicle. The facts are these. Tilpin or Turpin was actually archbishop of Rheims from 753-794, but nobody pretends that the chronicle going under his name is authentic. ”

“ Richard Turpin was born on September 21st, 1705, at the village of Hempstead, in Essex. There are those who find a fanciful appropriateness in the fact, that a man, whose wife was to become a "hempen widow," should have been born at a place so significantly named. Those who are curious enough to seek it, may duly find the record of the future highwayman's baptism in the parish register, and will find the baptism of an elder sister, Maria, recorded nearly three years and a half earlier, April 28th, 1702. ”

“ All the priests are vowed to perpetual celibacy, and should one of them break his vows of chastity, he is at once disgraced and expelled from the priesthood. Although they all obey the same head priest, they do not conform to a universal rule of life. Some live in their own houses at their own expense and are not a burden on society. Remote from the stresses of the world and despising mundane joys, they are unnoticed by the public and make their dwelling among the rocks or in deep forests or in deserts. ”

“ On the cessation of hostilities between the Dutch and the French, ambassadors were chosen to bear a reply to the French monarch. The King built a church at his own expense. This edifice still remains and the memory of its founder made it to respected by the persecutors of the followers of Christ. The people, free to select a religion, would have ranged themselves under the banner of the Gospel, if the chief minister had not secretly disobeyed the order of his master. ”

“ I should be rash to embrace a religion of which I know nothing. I wish for no other judge than this wise and virtuous prince. A sudden change might cause a revolution and I do not intend to forsake lightly a religion received and practised without interruption in my kingdom for the last 2229 years. Besides this I am greatly surprised at the eagerness with which this King upholds the cause of heaven, it seems that God himself takes no interest whatever in the matter, and that He has left the mode of worship which is due to Him to our own discretion. ”

“ The courtiers wondered at Turpin’s influence. Many of them were quite jealous. As for poor Turpin, he was wearied beyond all expression. He could find no rest either by night or by day. Vainly he sought for some plan by which he might rid himself of the troublesome gem.
At length it happened that Charlemagne and Turpin set out from the palace of Ingelheim on a journey to the north. They camped one night in a great forest. While his master lay asleep Turpin left the camp and wandered out into the moonlight alone. Not once before, since he had found the ring, had he been free from the Emperor. ”

“ In B, when they have already started for Constantinople, Turpin persuades them to go rather to Jerusalem: in the other versions it must be assumed that the holy city was on the route. As Karl enters the church the bells ring and the candles light of themselves, C, D. There are thirteen seats in the choir: Karl takes the one that Jesus had occupied, and the peers those of the apostles. A heathen tells the patriarch [277] that the Lord is come down from heaven, C, D. The patriarch proceeds to the church, with no attendance but his altar-book [singing from his altar-book] ”

“ The priests discredited, and without the enjoyment of Court favour, saw to their sorrow a minister, who despised their religion and set an example to the nation of forsaking their gods and superstitions. The common people, blind to common sense, and ready to follow any leader as foolish as themselves, espoused the cause of the priests who, to promote the cause of Heaven, sowed dissensions broadcast. Kings ought to have learnt by experience that when a people is discontented, an ambitious man is all that is required to make it rebellious. ”

“ Turpin principally concerned himself in those twenty-six days that bridged the distance between sentence and execution in joking, drinking with the many visitors who came to see him, and telling stories of his adventures. He turned a deaf ear to the ministrations of the Ordinary, and was infinitely more concerned that he should make a last "respectable" appearance in this world, on the scaffold, than for his welfare in the next. Nothing would satisfy him but new clothes, a brand-new fustian frock, and a smart pair of pumps to die in. ”

“ But Turpin was on his feet almost instantly; and though he bore four lance-wounds in his body, he raised his sword on high and ran to the side of Roland, crying,—
"I am not defeated! A brave soldier yields with life alone!" Then wreaked he such vengeance upon the heathen hordes that some say God wrought a miracle in his behalf.
If miracle of God there was, it was not granted to save the Christian few from destruction. In the last struggle, the valiant Turpin, wounded and afoot, and the matchless Roland faced the Moslem hosts alone. ”

“ The priests who had become more haughty since the King had entered their order, demanded that they should receive divine honours. The ignorant populace wasted their substance in their support, and kept them in idleness. These holy ministers, naturally poor, found abundant means of livelihood in the folly of the vulgar, an inexhaustible ever ready source of supplies for the use of impostors. ”

“ In Tonkin the gospel-harvest has been more fruitful than in any other of the lands of the Indies. The scorn of the great for the idolatrous priests has contributed to the success of the Missionaries, who have more than 200,000 converts in this kingdom of whom more than 15,000 are under the charge of a French Missionary recently elevated to the rank of Bishop of Agathopolis and who is assisted in his duties by three French priests and four Chinese converts. ”

“ They had priests who became legislators and who, in order to avoid the risk of having their arguments refuted, produced books written in foreign characters. As their teachings were not understood, they appeared to be highly mysterious and were greatly respected, and it was no difficult matter for these cunning impostors to attribute a divine origin to their doctrinal hypotheses. Their learned men are divided into three classes. Some teach how the universe and the gods have been created, but they base their arguments on fables and not on facts. ”

“ Turpin had been frequently known to levy contributions at the back of Islington, and in a few hours to rob in a distant county.
It was remarkable, that, for such a course of time as from the date of the king’s reward of two hundred pounds for his apprehension, he should still go on with his depredations with the most audacious impunity, insomuch that it affected the national character in the eyes of foreigners, who could not help remarking, that the native bravery of the English was supine in bringing such a daring of fender to justice. ”

“ For most of our bishops, for most of our judges, of our statesmen, our orators, our generals, for many even of our doctors and our parsons, even our attorneys, our tax-gatherers, and certainly our butlers and our coachmen, Mr. Turveydrop, the great professor of deportment, has done much. But there should always be the art to underlie and protect the art;—the art that can hide the art. The really clever archbishop,—the really potent chief justice, the man who, as a politician, will succeed in becoming a king of men, should know how to carry his buckram without showing it. ”

“ The obscurity of their lives increases the veneration of superstitious folk who from the earliest times have believed that the deity prefers the silence of the forests or the fearsome solitude of a mountain peak. There are certain days on which they exhort the people to practise virtue. Simple as their preaching is they never argue on knotty points of doctrine. They believe that every religion is acceptable to God and that the observance of the laws of nature will always be worthy of a heavenly reward.
The nobility is noticeable in many ways. ”

“ There is a certain sect of priests who believe that they share in the power of the gods. They are summoned to a grand banquet by the relatives of the deceased, and if they refuse the invitation, it is a sign that the soul of the dead man has been cast into the nethermost hell. Hired mourners are engaged to make a loud outcry. The dead whose relatives have not been able to honour with a funeral pyre, are exposed at the water's edge, and are carried away by the stream. ”

“ One of their idols is dragged on a heavy car and is accompanied by Priests dressed in white. The fanatical devotees cast themselves under the wheels, and their blood is held to be a most pleasing offering to the god. Others are fastened by iron hooks to the car and, covered with blood, they are placed in a temple where they become objects of public worship. It is a matter of congratulation to all those on whose garments a drop of their blood falls. These holy madmen are worshipped as martyrs. There are three grades of priests. ”

“ The priests, sworn to celibacy, console themselves with the belief that after death they will have the power to create a number of women with whom they may do as they please. They practise chastity during their lifetime with the sole idea of satiating their vicious desires in the next world, and that which is regarded as a virtue in Heaven is considered to be a vice on earth. Their monasteries are schools of debauchery or are filled with men of the lowest class. ”