08. Charlemagne
CHAPTER VIII. Charlemagne (771-814)
Pepin's two sons, Karl and Karloman, divided between them their father's kingdom. Karloman died three years later, and Karl became king of the whole. Karl is the German for Charles, and while some of Karl's subjects, who lived in Austrasia and spoke a language something like the present German, called him Karl, the Neustrians, who talked the language which has now become French, called him Charles, and when he became great and powerful they added on to Charles a Latin word, magnus, meaning great, Charles-magnus, and he was written of in history and is to this day known as Charlemagne.
Charlemagne was one of the wisest most powerful kings that ever ruled over any country. His kingdom was very large; it had in it almost all that is now Germany, and almost all of Italy. In Italy the Popes had asked him to help them against the Lombards, which he did, and after some trouble conquered that turbulent nation, had the king shut up in a monastery, and gave the high places in the State to Frankish chiefs instead of Lombards. He also made war on the Arabs in Spain, on the Aquitanians, who were the people living in the south-west part of France, and on other nations whose names I will not mention, except that of the Saxons, the old enemies of his father and grandfather, against whom Charlemagne fought for thirty-three years, and at last succeeded in conquering them and forcing them to become Christians.
Charlemagne led a life of war; he went out to fight each summer, and came back to his own kingdom when the severe winter weather began. He was hardly ever defeated, for he was wise, warlike, and very active, moving his soldiers about so quickly that he took his enemies by surprise, and was able with a small body of men to do them as much harm as a slower general would have done with a larger number. He held a council of war every Easter, at which all his great chiefs, counts, viscounts, barons, and even bishops were present, and he then told them what wars he meant to undertake that year, and asked them if they agreed, which they always did.
Charlemagne had made improvements in the armour and weapons of his soldiers. They wore helmets on their heads with vizors or pieces of steel that could be pulled down to defend their faces while they were fighting, and put up when they were in no danger, and a long buckler or shield, instead of the round <skin covered> shield (covered with skins), of the old Gaul. The Franks fought with long-pointed, two-handed swords, and with heavy clubs, covered with iron knots, which must have killed their enemies in the most unpleasant way possible. Charlemagne bought particularly strong horses, bred in the pastures of the Rhine, for his men, and he knew so much geography that, his army being thus prepared, he was able always to send his soldiers to the weakest parts of the country he wished to attack.
He cared for other things, however, besides war; he watched over the education of his subjects and the laws of the country; be sent officers into the different provinces to see that the judges were doing justice honestly to the people; he assembled all the chief men of the country twice every year to help him to make laws, and to tell him of any matter in which they or their neighbours had been ill-treated, and wanted help or advice. He was anxious to help, to watch over, and to protect the poor. Many of his laws about slaves are still remaining.
At this time there were more slaves in Gaul than there had ever been before; nine-tenths of the people were in this state. The labourers on an estate, who were always slaves, were considered as part of the land, and if the estate was sold or given away, they went with it. The only way in which a slave could escape from slavery was by fleeing for help to a monastery, and as they were carefully watched by their masters' servants, this was very difficult. No one thought or cared about the slaves; but Charlemagne, who was just and humane to all his subjects, made laws to protect them as far as he could against unkind masters and the hardships they often had to suffer.
Charlemagne was fond of study of all sorts; he knew Latin and Greek, studied grammar, astronomy, music; he improved the German language, which was his own, by inventing some of the words that were wanting in it, such as the names of seasons, months, and winds. He tried also to learn to write, but that was too hard for him. He liked to see the wisest men of his time at his court, and he received them well, and learned from them as much as possible.
There is a story about him which shows how much he cared that his subjects should be well taught and should learn to be industrious and wise. Some monks came to his court and asked leave to set up a school, which Charlemagne granted them, and came often to see how the boys were learning, and what progress they made.
On one of these visits he was told that some of the boys, who were the sons of poor men, had worked very well, but that others, the sons of noblemen, who thought there would never be need for them to work for their bread, had been idle and troublesome. Charlemagne called up all the boys before him, put the good ones on his right hand, and the bad on his left, and made them a speech, in which he thanked the poor boys for having done his bidding and their duty, and promised them monasteries, bishoprics, and all kinds of honours if they continued to do well, but severely reproved the young noblemen, telling them that if they did not make up for their idleness by hard work, they would get no good from Karl. We are not told how the boys behaved afterwards, but we must hope that they paid more attention to the king's lecture than they had done to those of their Schoolmaster.
Charlemagne was gay and cheerful, fond of hunting, feasting, joking, and all kinds of amusement. A monk who lived soon afterwards has left many stories about him. He tells us how the king once commanded a troop of courtiers, who were standing round him in all their silk, feathers, and fine clothes, to follow him to the chase as they were, through storm, mud, and brambles; and how he made an unhappy chorister, who had forgotten his responses, imitate the others who were singing, by making a set of faces to look as if he were singing too.
Charlemagne never had any illness till he was seventy years old, and to the end of his life he would have no more to do with doctors than he could help, saying they always advised him to eat boiled meat instead of roast, which he preferred.
Charlemagne was always on friendly terms with the Pope, as his father, Pepin le Bref, had been. One of the Popes called Leo had to fly from Rome because the Romans rose up against him, accused him of several wicked deeds, and tried to put out his eyes. He went for help to Charlemagne, who received him kindly, and after keeping him at his court for a year, took him back to Rome, overcame and punished his enemies, and established Leo as Pope again. Before Charlemagne left Rome a solemn meeting was held on Christmas Day in the year 800 A.D., at which the Pope crowned the Prankish king with a golden crown, poured holy oil upon his head, and declared him to be the Emperor of the Romans.
I must go back about eight hundred years to explain what was meant by emperor. Julius Cæsar, the conqueror of the Gauls, had gone back to Rome when his work in Gaul was ended, and had been chosen Dictator, which was the name given to the person who had the chief power in Rome. Dictators usually kept their power for six months only, but he was made Dictator for life. He was soon afterwards murdered by some of the Romans, who thought he had too much power; but after his death such struggles, wars, and disturbances of all kinds took place amongst the different men who wanted to become rulers of the country, that the Romans determined to choose one ruler once for all, to call him Emperor, and to allow him to leave the title to his son, or to any one he might choose to succeed him.
From this time, for four hundred years, one emperor after another reigned over all the country belonging to the Romans. At last the first Christian emperor, who found the people of Rome hard to govern, and inclined to rise up against him. and resist him in many ways, determined to leave Rome and build a new city for his capital. This he did, and called it after his own name, Constantinople. It is now the capital of Turkey, and, as may be seen in the map, is a long way from Rome.
This emperor left two sons, one of whom ruled in Rome, and the other in Constantinople. The country which had made one empire was divided into two — the Western Empire, which had Rome for its capital, and the Eastern, which had Constantinople. Since the barbarians had taken Rome there had been no Emperor of the West; the Pope had been the chief person in Rome, and it might have been supposed that the Pope would not wish to have an emperor over himself but would rather continue to be the chief man in the city and in the country.
But the Popes had enemies in Italy, and they wished to find some nation to fight their battles, be their soldiers, and protect them in all difficulties. Pope Leo thought that by making Charlemagne emperor, which was supposed to give him power over all Italy and all other countries belonging to the Romans, he should make sure of always having him for a friend; and as Charlemagne was the best and bravest soldier in Europe, the Pope thought he would be the best possible friend to have.
Charlemagne therefore became Emperor of France, of Germany, and of Italy. He himself was a German and not a Frenchman; he spoke German, and his dress, his habits, and his tastes, were German.
He felt himself growing old. and determined to divide his empire among his sons, of whom he had three. Two of them, however, died before their father. Louis, the third son, was the only one remaining at Charlemagne's death, and he became, like his father. Emperor of the West, and ruler over the whole of his father's enormous empire.
