Gass J J H b Book J ^5 ft ^V6^ 9S PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES, THE DEATH OP CONSTANTINE THE GREAT TO THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. BY JOHN FEOST, LL.D. PKOFESSOK OF BELLES LETTKES IN THE HIGH SCHOOL OF PHILADELPHIA. PHILADELPHIA: - ^^ CHARLES J. GILLIS. 18 46. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by JOHN FROST, In the office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ti3 / / T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS. (4) -5 The period of the Middle Ages deserves a distinct consideration in universal history, because it is marked by characteristics widely different from the ages of antiquity or those of modern times. The ancients had their own peculiar institutions, arts, literature, and social condition, which all bear a certain stern and classical aspect, like some antique Egyptian or Grecian temple frovi^ning upon the modern build- ings which surround it. When ancient civilization and art were nearly swept from the face of the earth by the barbarian hordes of the north, a new element was infused into the civilization, art, and litera- ture which were to succeed — an element destined to pervade, vivify, and redeem. Constantine the Great, in pronouncing the Roman empire Christian, brought into operation the conservative principle of the Middle Ages. The empire fell, it is true, vanquished by the bar- barians; but they, in their turn, yielded to the milder conquest of Christianity, thenceforth to be the ruling power among the nations, VI PREFACE. until a new era should come — the modern period, distinguished from antiquity and the Middle Ages by the empire of diplomacy, philosophy, Machiavelism, and capital. In passing over this middle period in the world's history, one cannot but be struck with the great influence exerted on all temporal affairs, all great movements of the nations, by the Church. The pope humbles emperors; sends millions of crusaders against the infidels; crowns and uncrowns kings ; spreads dismay over whole nations by his interdict: blesses the Northman setting out for new conquests; and gives India to King John of Portugal, with one hand, w^hile with the other he bestows the New World upon Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic. Surely, the Middle Ages have their own peculiar political features. Such prodigies as these, the world witnessed at no other period. In literature and art, too, the Middle Ages have a character all their own. Then commenced the ballad literature, the old heroic songs which each modern nation of Europe has now learned to prize as the foundation of all its best poetry. Then were written those invaluable chronicles which have been the principal means of preserving, for modern historians, the living picture of the times, the very form and pressure of society as it existed in the days of chivalry and romance. Then were sown the seeds of all that is valuable in modern literature. Christianity had already breathed the breath of life into awakening intellect. The shroud of spiritual darkness, which had bound the ancient world, was already cast away. Life and immor- tality were brought to light ; and every subsequent effort of creative intellect was destined to recognise the infinite future, which is the Christian's hope and joy. The history of such a period must neces- sarily be full of interest. CHAPTER I. From the Death of Constantine to the Fall of the Western Empire .... Page 13 Successors of Constantine, 15; Julian, 16; Valentinian, 20; The Visigoths, 23; Theodo- sius, 25; Alaric, 29; .iEtius, Boniface, Genseric, 31 ; Attila, 33; Fall of the Western Empire, 35. CHAPTER II. The Period of the Establishment of the Barbarians in the Western Empire . . . Merovaeus, 37; Clovis, 39; Kingdom of Italy, 47; Theodoric, 49; Successors of Clovis, 51; Thierry, 53; Childebert, 55; Belisarius, 57; The Avars and Turks, 63; Justinian, 65, The Lombards, 69 ; Sigebert, 73 ; Gondovald, 77 ; The Merovingian Kings, 81 ; Brune- haut, 85; Dagobert, 87; The Austrasians, 93; Pepin d'Heristal, 97; Pepin, 101; Affairs of Britain, 110. 36 CHAPTER III. The Rise and Establishment of the Saracenic Power 112 Mohammed, 113; War with Persia, 121; Heraclius, 123; Death of Othman, 125; Om- miyade Dynasty, 127; Abderame, 129; Abdalrahman, 133. CHAPTER IV. Times of Charlemagne and his Successors 135 Charlemagne's E.xpedition into Italy, 139; AfTairs of the Eastern Empire, 143; Conquest of the Huns, 145 ; Coronation of Charlemagne, 149 ; Incursions of the Northmen, 151 ; PoHcy of Charlemagne, 155; Bernard, 157; Theophilus, 161; Lothaire, 163; Pope Leo IV., 165; Alfred the Great, 167; Charles the Bald, 171; Siege of Paris by the Northmen, 173; Rollo, 175; Hugh Capet, 179; Edred, 183; Canute, 185; William the Conqueror, 187; Affairs of Italy and Germany, 191; Otho the Great, 193; Affairs of the Eastern Empire, 195; Conquest of Sicily by the Normans, 197; Siege of Durazzo, 199; The Moors and Saracens, 201 ; Decline of the Caliphat, 203. (7) CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. Inckease of the Papal Power 204 The Iconoclasts, 205; Hildebrand, 209; The Normans in Italy, 211 ; Persecution of the Secular Clergy, 213; Excommunication of the Emperor, 215; Submission of Henry IV., 217; Death of Gregory VII., 221 ; Henry V., 223. CHAPTER VI. The Times of the Crusades 225 Peter the Hermit, 227; First Crusade, 229; Alexis Comnenus, 231 ; Siege of Nicaea, 233; Siege of Antioch, 235 ; Storming of Jerusalem, 239 ; Election of Godfrey of Bouillon, 241 ; Baldwin I., 243; Baldwin II., 245; Fall of Edessa, 251; Second Crusade, 254; Siege of Damascus, 257; Fall of Jerusalem, 259; Siege of Acre, 261 ; Battle of Azotus, 265; Siege of Jafi'a, 267; Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 269 ; Philip Augustus, 271; Enfranchise- ment of the Communes, 275; Henry II. — Louis le Jeune, 279; Thomas a Becket, 281; The Albigenses, 283 ; Magna Charta, 285 ; Affairs of Germany, 287 ; Latin Empire in Greece, 289; Frederic II. in Italy, 291 ; Death of King John, 293; Simon de Montfort, 295 ; St. Louis, 297 ; Death of St. Louis, 301 ; Affairs of Spain, 303. CHAPTER VII. Decline of the Papal Power 305 Suppression of the Templars, 306 ; Rodolph of Hapsburg, 309 ; The Swiss, 311 ; John of France, 313; Rienzi, 315; John Huss, 317; Battle of Halidon Hill, 319; Battle of Poi- tiers, 323; Charles the Wise, 325; Henry V., 327; Wars of the Roses, 328; Joan of Arc, 330; Ferdinand and Isabella, 331 ; Sweden, 337; The Turks, 339; Cosmo de Me- dici, 341 ; E.xpulsion of the Moors from Spain, 343. CHAPTER VIII. India 345 Ancient India, 346 ; Chandra Gupta, 347 ; Vasco de Gama, 348. CHAPTER IX. China 349 Ancient China, 349 ; The Chou-king, 350 ; The Hea Dynasty, 351 ; Tchoung Ting, 352 ; Confucius, 353 ; His Writings, 354 ; Lao-tseu, 355 ; Tartar Incursions, 356 ; The Huns in China, 357; Li-chi-min, 358; Kao Tsoung, 359; End of the Tartar Dynasty, 360. O H ^ A :J E N r S D T I T h 13 P A r, p. EMBLEMS OP THE J.tXJ5ULE AGS'! VIGNETTE. A T O U a N A LI E N T HEAD PIECE TO CONTENTS . TAIL PIECE TO CONTENTS. UK AD PIECE TO LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TAILPIECE. .■ 13.SITE0FK0ME. 13. ORNAMENTAL LETTER 17. PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR J tT L I A.N 21. VILLAQS'OF THE ANCIE7-IT 0.4UL3 2o. THEODOSIUS AND ST. AMBItOSE 30.ALABIC. 3 3 . ATTI LA. 36. HEADPIECE. ARMOUR. 36. ORNAMENTAL LETTER 38. ELEVATION OP KING CLOVIS 40. FRANK -WARRIOR BREAKING THE VA: 43. BATTLE OPTOLBIAC 44. INTERVIE-TO" OF ALARIC AND CLOVIS 46. BAPTISM OFCLOVIS 50. CLOVIS ENTERING TOURS. 61. FRANK ■V7ARBI0R . ' . d3. CLOTAIRE DISCOVERING AS3ASSI-.7S 55. MURDER OF CLODOMI R's C Jl I L D )t H NT 60. SIEGE0FZARAGO33A. 62. DEATHOPCHBAMME 64. CHILPERIC DIVIDING UlS FATITEll' TREASURES. 66. JUSTINIAN AND THE MONKS 65. SA20N TTARRIOR. 7 . B R U N B H A U T 1 :i . DEATH O'FSIGEBERT. 74. DEATH OF PRE TEST AT . 77.FREDEGONI5E. 70. MURDEltOFGOKDOVALD D E V E H E II S A U r. R E Y . FROM A PRE PRINT. HARDING W . R O O M E . CHEVALIER K U B E N S J . n A v'l ]■) . Ji E y -A L I E R J . DAVID. CHEVALIER J. DAVID VIC 1' OB ADAM J . DAVID FROM A F B E P R I N T DAVID \V . C R O O M E CHEVALIER ■W . C R O O M E VICTOR ADAM. J . DAVID ■W . C R O O M E C H 1 G . T . D E V E It E U S H . B R I C U E a. O. T. DEVEREUX ROBERTS. P . T,V A I T T . .JJ . B R I C H E R . B jl I G U T LT. Jt . D RI C H E B. B . F . W A I T T U . K I N N E R S I, E Y . G. T. DEVEREUX. H . B R I C H E R . B . F . Vr A I T r . BRIGHTLY. B. F. V A ITT. G. T. DEVEREUX. HBIOHTLT. G. T. DEVEREUS. H. BBICHEB. D . F . -,V A I T T. H . B R I C H E K . ■W . ROBERTS Vol. II.— 2 y) LIST OF EMBELLISHINIENTS, 83. 85. 86. 87. 69. 9 1. 94. 9 5. 99. 103. 106. 1 07. 108. 109. 111. 112. 1 12. 116. lis. 12 1. 12 5. 125. 12 6. 126. 134. 135. 135. 141. 144. ST. COLCTMB A.ND THE SOLDIERS . DEATH OF MEBOV^US. DSATH OP DR0NKUA0T .... CLOTAIKK MEASURING THE PRISON- ERS. TIIEDISROFDAOOBERT SUBMISSION OF THE GASCONS TO D AGO B E RT ..... MURDER OF CHILDERIO BATTLEOFTESTRT THE FUGITIVE "WOUNDED "WHEN SEEKINGSANCTUART CORONATION OF PEPIN LE BF. EP. FRANKS GIVING ARMS AND P]lISON- ERS FOR FOOD ...... CHARLESMARTEL CHARLES MARTEL RECEIVING THE pope's PRESENTS ... DEATHOFASTOLPHUS TAIL PIECE. REGALIA HEAD PIE 'IE. MOHAMMED ORNAMKl»rALLETTER. SWORD. KORAN. MOHAMMED EXPLAINING THE KORAN ATMEDINA. ENCAMPMENT OF ARABS. MOHAMMED MURDER OF OTEMAN . . . . MECCA DEFEAT OF RODRIOO . . . . BATTLEOFPai TIERS . TAILPIECE. NORMAN ARMOUR .... ORNAMENTAL LETTER . . . . CHARLEMAGNE CROSSING THE ALPS BAPTISM OP TTITIKIND BATTLEPIECE J. DAVID. R A F F E T ^V. C RO O U E BRIGUTLr. B . F . \V A I T T . \V . O R O O M E V I C 1' O R ADAM W. ROBERTS. B . F . -W A I T T . K. H. PEASE. 147. CORONATION OP CHARLEMAGNE . 150. ORNAMENTAL LETTER. 153. CHARLEMAGNE IN HIS IMPERIAL COSTUME 154. ORNAMENTAL LETTER. 169. NORTHMAN ...... 162. LOUIS LE DEBONNAIRE 163. FRANK TVARRIOR OF THE TIME OP LOUIS LE DEBONNAIRE 168. STANDARD OF THE RAVEN 170. BATTLE OF SAUCOURT. 173. SIEGE OF PARIS 175. TREATY BET-WEEN CHARLES IV. AND BOLLO ....... 17S. ELECTION OF HUGH CAPET. 1S2. ARMS, DRESS AND SHIP OP THE SAXONS ■W. CROOME . . . "W . ROBERTS. R. H . PEASE. J. DAVID N. B. DEVEREUS. ■W. CROOME. . . . B. F. WAITT. J.DAVID .... " " TV. CROOME. . . . H. BRIOHF, R. J. DAVID J. DOWNES. R A F F E T B . P . WAITT. GILBERT G. T. DEVEREUX. RAFFET . . . . . B. F. WAITT. W. CROOME ... " " " " G. T. D E V E R E U S. J. DAVID. .... "W. CROOME. VICTOR ADAM . . H. BRICHER. (PROM A PKENCH ( PRINT. TELLIER G.T. DEVEREUX. FROM A FRENCH B. H. PEASE. PRINT " " . . . H. KINNERSLEY. TELLIER G. T. DEVEREUX. (PROM A FRENCH) i VR.H. PEASE. ( PRINT. . . . ) " " . . . H. BRICHER. J. DAVID . . . . G. T. DEVEREUX. RAFFET H. BRICHER. ■W. CROOME . . . B. P. WAITT. RAFFET H. BRICHER. " Q.T. DEVEREUX. " R. H . P E A S E . CHEVALIER . . . N. B. DEVEREUS. TELLIER T. PEASE. VICTOR ADAM . . U. H. PE.\3S. iPROM AN ENGLISH) \ J. DOWNES. PRINT . . . . J LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 166. 188. 190. 19 4. 198. 200. 202. 204. 204. 206. 2 07 2 11 214 2 1 5 2 1-S 220 223 225 225 22 7 235. 240. 242. 245. 247. 248. 249. 25 1 2 52 2 53 256 257 260 261 262 263 265 268 272 276 276 LANDING OF WILLIAM THE CONQ-tJEROR B A. T T L E O F H A S T I N G S . ■WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR PKOMISINO TO OBSERVE THE LAWS OF ENGLAND OONBADII.. THE NORMANS CONQUERING SICILY ROBERT GUISCARD ORDERING HIS SHIPS TO BE BURNT . BURIAL OF ROBERT GUISCARD HILDEBRAND . . . * . SUBMISSION OF HENRY IV. OTHO THE GREAT .... OTHO ENTERTAINING THE SENATORS LEO IS. ABSOLVING THE NORMANS HENRYIV. PRIEST GODFREY OF BOUILLON, -KINO OF JE BUSALEM SIEGE OF ROME BY THE NORMANS HBNRYV. HEADPIECE. ORNAMENTAL LETTER. PETER THE HERMIT AND THE PATRI ARCH OF JERUSALEM PETER THE HERMIT LEADING CRU SADERS. ROBERT OF NORMANDY SLAYING THI TURK. BISHOP AD HE MAR BLESSING THE CRU SADERS. CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM BY THE CRU SADERS GODFREY'S CONTEST WITH THE BEAR FUNERAL OP BALDWIN I. KING OP JERUSALEM. ALEXIS C0MNENU3 . . . . • ORNAMENTALLETTER. ST. BERNARD PREACHING THE SECOND CRUSADE. ARAB WARRIOR .... ORNAMENTAL LETTER . . . . PASSAGE OF THE MEANDER LOUIS VII. AT MOUNT CADMUS ORNAMENTAL LETTER. FREDERICK BARBAROSSA MOUNTED KNIGHT .... ALBERIC CLEMENT AT THE SIEGE OP ACRE. CAPITULATION OF ACRE RICHARD CCEUR DE LION AT AZOTUS. RICHARD CCEUR DE LION DISGUISED. EMBARKATION OF WILLIAM THE CON- QUEROR. , FREEING THE COMMUNES DEATH OP WILLIAM BUPUS Drti^ncrs. T E L L 1 E H . ENGLISH PRINT T E L L I E R . W. C RO O M E T E LLI B R . G . W R L E T W. C RO O ME TE LLI E R W. C R O O M E FRENCH PRINT T E L L I E R . W . C R O O M E J. DAVID FRENCH PRINT W . C BO O M : FRENCH PRINT B A F F E T FRENCH PRINT •W. C ROO M E ENGLISH PRINT FRENCH PRINT T E L L I E R \V A I r T . DEVSBEUX. P. W A ITT. . G R O O M E . D O W N E S. B R I C H E R. D O W N B S. T. DEVEREDX. B . F . A^ A I T T . G. T. DEVEREUX H. BRICHER G. T. DEVEREDX H . PEASE. F. 17 A I TT. G I H N. O. T. DEVEREUS R . H. PEASE. H. BRICHER. B . F . ^^? A I T T . ■ H. BRICHER. G. T. DEVEREDX. R. H. PEASE. O. T. DEVEREDX. . PEASE. DEV EREUS LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 279. QUEEN EL E A. NOR DEATH OF THOMAS A B E C K E T KING JOUN ABSOLVED BY THE POPE' LEOATS. B A.T TLEOFBO0VINES ■WILLIAM LONOESPEE, EARL OP SAL ISBUBT. FALL OF CONoTA^rTINOPLE FBEDERICII. . SHIPS OP THE THIRTEENTH OENTTTRY BATTLE OP TAILLEBOURa SIEGE OF AVIGNON ST. LOUISINCAPTIVITT ST. LOUIS ENTERING PTOLEMAIS DEATH OP ST. LOUIS TAILPIECE HEAD PIECE. ARMOUR OP THE MID DLEAGES. ORNAMENTAL LETTER. SURVIVORS OF THE BATTLE OF NAZA R E T H . RODOLPH OF HAPSBURG ORNAMENTAL LETTER ORNAMENTAL LETTER. ORNAMENTAL LETTER ORNAMENTAL LETTER. CAPTIVITY OF JOUN, KING OF FRANCE RE TURN. OF KING JOHN TO FRANCE BATTLE OFAZINCOUR HENRY V. ENTERING LONDON. THE DUKE OF BEDFORD, REGENT O FRANCE JOAN OF ARC PRESENTED TO CHARLE VII.. CHARLES VII., KING OP PRANCE RICHARD II. OP ENGLAND. DEATHOFVJ-AT TYLER HENRY IV. AND RICHARD II. ENTER INGLONDON. RICHARD PLANTAGENET DUKE O YORK. RICHARD DUKE OF GLOUCESTER HENRY VI. RELEASED FROM THE TO"WE OPLONDON HENRY VII. CRO'WNED ON THE FIEL OFBOSV/ORTH. TURKISH ENCAMPMENT MOORIS'I ARCHITECTURE. CHURCH O T HE DOMINICANS AT CATALAYUD CAVESOFEI, LORA THEKUTTUBMINAR CONFUCIUS AND HIS DISCIPLES THE EMPEROR PLOUGHING TARTAR GENERAL AND HIS TROOPS TAILPIECE. 280 284 2S5 286 2S9 29 29 1 29 4 296 29 7 298 300 304 305 305 307 3 10 3 1 1 3 13 o 16 3 19 3 2 1 324 326 o2 7 328 33 1. 332. 333. 334. 33 5. 3a6. 337. 338. ii4 3 3 4 5. 348. 353. 356. 359 •iGO, ^FROM AN English) I PRINT. S jFROW A. FRENCnj P .H 1 N I' . ! VICTOR ADAM ENGLISH PRINT FRENCH PRINT •W. C ROO M E ENGLISH PRINT VICTOR ADAM (( (( FRENCH PRINT ■W . C R O O M E FRENCH PRINT T E L L I E R . VICTOR ADAM T E L L IE R . . . ENGLISH PRINT FRENCH PRINT ENGLISH PRINT FRENCH PRINT G. T. DEVEREDX B . CLAYTON O . F . SARGENT ENGL TSH PRINT Lcliravcr.. O. T. DEVEREDX. Jl . B R I O 1 1 F R . G. T. DEVERPUi:. H. B R I C 11 E R. B . F . W A I T T . H . B R I C H E R . H . II . PEASE. H. BRICHER. F. PEASE. R. H . PEASE. Q. T. DEVEREDS. G. T. DEVEREUi, J . D O Mi' N R, S . H. H R I II E R. N . B . D i V E R E O i . R . H . PEASE. H. 3 R I O H K H. (t (( G. T. DEVEHEUX H. BRICHER. SITE OF ROME. IlISTOHY or THE MIDDLE AGES. CHAPTER I. HE period called the Middle Ages may justly be regarded as in many respects the most interesting and instructive in the history of the world. It witnessed the destruction of nearly every institution and art which distinguished the ancient world, and the gradual formation of the social, political, literary, and religious ^systems which are the pride and boast of modern times. The false notion that this period is to be considered as one of unmitigated darkness and barba- now exploded. The opinion expressed by the liberal and enlightened some thirty years since, has now received the sanction of the most able 1 writers. In his lectures on the History of Literature, he says : " We (13) rism, IS Schlegel historica 14 CTTARACTRR OF THE MIDDLE AGES. often think of and represent to ourselves the middle age as a blank in the history of the human mind, an empty space between the refinement of antiquity and the illumination of modern times. We are willing to believe that art and science had entirely perished, that their resurrection after a thousand years' sleep may appear something more wonderful and sublime. Here, as in many others of our customary opinions, we are at once false, narrow-sighted, and unjust ; we give up substance for gaudiness, and sacrifice truth to effect. The fact is, that the substantial part of the knowledge and civilization of antiquity never was forgotten, and that for very many of the best and noblest productions of modern genius, we are entirely obliged to the inventive spirit of the middle age. It is upon the whole extremely doubtful whether those periods which are the most rich in literature, possess the o-reatest share either of moral excellence or of political happiness. We are well aware that the true and happy age of Roman greatness long preceded that of Roman refinement and Roman authors ; and I fear there is but too much reason to suppose that, in the history of the modern nations, we may find many exam- ples of the same kind. But even if we should not at all take into our considera- tion these higher and more universal standards of the worth and excellence of ages and nations, and although we should entirely confine our attention to litera- ture and intellectual cultivation alone, we. ought still, I imagine, to be very far from viewing the period of the middle ages with the fashionable degree of self- satisfaction and contempt. " If we consider literature in its widest sense, as the voice which gives ex- pression to human intellect — as the aggregate mass of symbols in which the spirit of an age or the character of a nation is shadowed forth ; then, indeed, a great and accomphshed literature is, without all doubt, the most valuable possession of which any nation can boast. But if we allow ourselves to narrow the meaning of the word literature so as to make it suit the limits of our prejudices, and expect to find in all literatures the same sort of excellencies, and the same sort of forms, we are sinning against the spirit of all philosophy, and manifesting our utter igno- rance of all nature. Everywhere, in individuals as in species, in small things as in great, the fulness of invention must precede the refinements of art, — legend must go before history, and poetry before criticism. If the literature of any nation has had no such poetical antiquity before arriving at its period of regular and arti- ficial developement, we may be sure that this literature can never attain to a national shape and character, or come to breathe the spirit of originality and inde- pendence. The Greeks possessed such a period of poetical wealth in those ages (ages certainly not very remarkable for their refinement either in literature, pro- perly so called, or in science) which elapsed between the Trojan adventures and the times of Solon and Pericles, and it is to this period that the literature of Greece was mainly indebted for the variety, originality, and beauty of its unri- valled productions. What that period was to Greece, the middle age was to modern Europe ; the fulness of creative fancy was the distinguishing characteristic of them both. The long and silent process of vegetation must precede the spring, THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. 15 and the sprinir must precede the maturity of the fruit. The youth of individuals has been often called their spring-time of life ; I imagine we "may speak so of whole nations with the same propriety as of individuals. They also have their seasons of unfolding intellect and mental blossoming. The age of crusades, chivalry, romance, and minstrelsy, was an intellectual spring among all the nations of the west." In treating this period of history, we commence with the reign of the imme- diate successors of Constantine the Great, under whose auspices the Roman empire had embraced Christianity, and a new element of political power had sprung into existence, which was destined to become the most striking charac- teristic of the middle ages. The tomb had not received the mortal remains of Constantine the Great, when a plot was laid for the destruction of some of the objects of his regard. The great emperor had permitted his unambitious brothers, Julius Constantius, Dal- matius, and Hannibalianus, to enjoy the most honourable rank and the most afflu- ent fortune that could be consistent with a private station. Besides these three brothers, several sisters of the emperor were living in the married state, and ten or twelve males, w^ho would in modern phrase be called princes of the royal family, appeared destined to inherit or support the throne of Constantine. The emperor had been instigated to murder his eldest son, Crispus; and after his death, he invested with the title of Csesar his three sons, Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, and the son of Dalmatius, who bore the name of his father. The brother of the young Dalmatius, who was named Hannibalianus, was clothed in a robe of purple and gold, and honoured with the title of JYobilhsimus. These five young men had all been carefully educated, and fitted both for the fatigues of war and the pursuits of science. The emperor himself instructed them in the art of government, and the knowledge of mankind, and at his death he shared the empire amongst them.* A zealous intrigue was commenced immediately after his death, which resulted in a loud and unanimous declaration of the troops that they would allow none but the sons of the late emperor to reign over the Roman Empire. The fate of the young Dalmatius and his royal brother was suspended until the arrival of Constantius, who governed the East, residing at Constan- tinople. The first care of that prince was to remove the apprehensions of his kinsmen by an oath which he pledged for their security : the second to procure a pretext for their murder, at a time when their fears should be allayed. Such a pretext was furnished by the Bishop of Nicomedia ; and Constantius caused the murder of his two uncles, seven of his cousins, among whom were the deposed princes, and others who were considered dangerous, either on account of their degree of relationship to Constantine, or because of their wealth and influence. * Gibbon. IG THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. This massacre was followed by a new division of the empire, each of the brothers receiving the title of Augustus. (A. D. o37.) Constantine governed, by a kind of pre-eminence, over his brothers, the new capital of the Empire ; Con- stantius ruled Thrace and the countries of the East ; and Constans received Italy, Africa, and Western Illyricum for his portion. Constantius found his patrimony menaced by Sapor, or Shahpoor, the monarch of Persia, who had splendidly commenced a career of conquest in the East. Dread of the power and genius of Constantine the Great had held him in check ; but on the death of that monarch, he poured his troops into Mesopotamia ; and for some years, the Roman annals had only to tell of armies defeated and towns captured by the Persian warrior. Constantius met him in a ninth battle, and half gained it ; but his soldiers neglected to guard well their camp in the night, and the brave Sapor led his weary troops to a briUiant and decisive victory. Having subsequently failed three times in besieging the important city of Nisibis, he turned his arms against the Massagetae, who had invaded the regions about the Oxus, and concluded a peace with the emperor. (A. D. 350.) The three sons of Constantine had already displayed their eagerness after territories which neither of them was able to govern. Constantine was dis- satisfied with his share of the spoils of his murdered kinsmen, and he demanded of his brother Constans the cession of Africa. A negotiation followed, in which Constantine became exasperated by the insincerity of his brother, and he suddenly invaded his dominions. But Constans was an able and prudent general ; and his plans for the prosecution of the war were w^ell laid and successfully executed. Constantine was surprised, surrounded, and slain, by an ambuscade into which he had been ensnared. (A. D. 340.) His provinces all refused to acknowledge the rule of Constantius ; so that the youngest brother now possessed two-thirds of the whole empire. Ten years afterwards, how- ever, he was punished for the murder of his brother by the traitor Magnen- tius, who revolted and assumed the purple. (A. D. 350.) The troops in Illyria forced their aged leader, Vetranio, to accept the title of Augustus, and to form an alliance with his fellow-usurper. They pro- posed terms of accommodation to Constantius, who indignantly rejected those of Magnentius, while he commenced an artful negotiation with the frank and simple Vetranio. In the end that general found that his soldiers had been bought over by the emperor, and he gladly accepted his life and the govern- ment of the city of Prusa, in exchange for the dangerous sceptre. At the head of the united armies, Constantius now marched against the remaining usurper, who was so successful in the commencement of the war, that the haughty emperor offered him peace. But he imprudently continued the struggle, and was defeated in a bloody battle at Mursa. He conducted bravely in the action, and of the fifty-four thousand men that were slain, the greater number fought on the side of Constantius. His army was totally ruined in a defeat near Mount Seleucus, in the following year, and he anticipated the vengeance of his enemies by falling on his own sword. (September 28, 351.) JULIAN. 17 Constantius, however, sunk in effeminacy and debauchery, and surrounded and governed by eimuchs, was unable alone to sustain the weight of govern- ment ; he therefore took to his assistance his cousin Gallus, who had hitherto been a state prisoner, and whose father he had previously slain. Gallus was created Caesar, and sent into the East to defend that quarter of the empire from its enemies. The new Caesar was in every way unfit to rule. Brought from his prison to a throne, he gave way to his naturally violent and tyran- nical temper. By the instigation of his wife Constantina, he retaliated upon his courtiers and subjects the injuries he had himself experienced : thus depriv- ing himself of the affections of the people, and furnishing a pretext for his destruction to the emperor, who could not abide a rival even in cruelty. Constantius, thinking that he would become dangerous, recalled him, deprived him of his dignity, and caused him to be banished to Pola, in Istria, where he was secretly beheaded. (December, 354.) His brother Julian, from whom the suspicious Constantius believed he had nothing to fear, was promoted in his place, created Cffisar, and sent to defend the frontiers on the Rhine. Although Julian passed suddenly from the Vol. n. 3 18 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. quiet pursuits of study to the toils and dangers of war, he not only fought the Germans with success, but also made a deep inroad into their country. Cffisar crossed the Rhine twice ; but Julian crossed over that river three times, and on each invasion his arms were attended with signal success. The emperor meanly claimed for himself the honours won by his unaided lieutenant. His generals had been beaten by the Persians, and he was pre- paring an expedition to chastise that enemy under his own direction. This circumstance afforded a pretext for withdrawing the troops from Gaul, and leaving Julian to certain destruction. But most of the soldiers had stipulated on entering the service that they should not be taken from their native country beyond the Alps, and the faith of Rome and the honour of Julian had been pledged for the observance of this condition. The commands of the emperor, however, were so explicit, that the Ceesar could only obey. He endeavoured to alleviate the sufferings of the oppressed soldiers by granting a sufficient num- ber of post wagons to transport their wives and families; but the grief of the army became changed into rage against its cause ; they loved Julian and hated Constantius ; they called to mind the virtues of the one and the vices of the other ; they listened in profound silence to the charge of the Caesar to conduct themselves with honour in the service of the emperor ; they retired from his presence to indulge in licentious festivities; which were ended by the forcible seizure of Julian, who was guarded with drawn swords through the streets of Paris, and saluted as emperor. Julian opposed their wishes at first, but accepted the empire when they declared that he must either reign or die.* (A. D. 361.) On the next day he assembled the troops and informed them that if the emperor of the East would acknowledge him, they should remain quiet in Gaul. He wrote to Constantius, excusing what had occurred, and requiring the confirmation of his dignity, but offering to acknowledge the supremacy of the elder emperor, and to sup- ply him annually with Spanish horses and barbarian recruits. While waiting for the result of this application to his cousin, Julian strengthened his army. Before commencing the civil war, he crossed the Rhine a fourth and a fifth time, and forced the Germans to make peace. Constantius returned a haughty answer to the letter of Julian, charging the Csesar with ingratitude, and requiring him to renounce his usurped title, and accept a pardon on certain conditions. The charge of ingratitude aroused the resentment of Julian, who had been engaged for more than twenty years in con- stant dissimulations, that he might save his life from the jealousy and fears of the murderer of his father and his brother. He had a few weeks before celebrated i)ul)licly the Christian festival of the Epiphany ; but he now as pub- licly renounced the religion and friendship of Constantius, by committing the care of his safety to the heathen gods. From this circumstance, he was ''^ Gibbon. DEATH OF JULIAN. 19 afterwards called the Apostate. The Gauls, who had revolted from Constan- tius when he required them to leave their native province, now took an oath to follow Julian wherever he should lead them, were it even to the ends of the earth. Julian was well aware of the importance of activity in the commence- ment of the anticipated struggle. He divided his army into three parts, at the head of one of which he plunged into the Black Forest, reached the Danube, and passed down that river in boats. By this movement he succeeded in capturing the important city of Sirmium, where he was joined by the other division of his army. He then seized the pass of Succi, in Mount Hsemus, which separates the provinces of Thrace and Dacia. Constantius left the prosecution of the war with the Persians, to combat for the throne. But on his way he was attacked by a fever, and died at the little town of Mopsu- crenae, in the forty-fifth year of his age.* Julian the Apostate began his reign with the reformation of the luxurious habits of the court. His abjuration of the dominant religion, which he wished gradually to annihilate, was an error in policy which he must have discovered to his cost, had his reign been prolonged. But though he gave a preference to his fellow-believers, in civil and military employments, and forbade the Christians from becoming schoolmasters, he proclaimed a general toleration ; the pagans were obliged to open their temples and offer victims, and the dif- ferent sects of Christians were conunanded to abstain from harassing and tormenting each other. Julian might now have indulged his philosophic disposition to an unlimited extent ; but he had been smitten with a thirst for military renown, and aspired to the conquest of the East. He refused peace to Sapor, and marched into Asia at the head of a formidable army. He w-as at first successful ; but he allowed himself to be misled by a deserter, was surrounded by Sapor, and fell mortally w^ounded, three years after his accession to the throne. (June 26, A.D. 853.) Jovian, a fervent Christian, now assumed the purple, with the consent of the officers and soldiers. He endeavoured to effect a retreat, but the per- severing energy of the Persians prevented him from advancing further than Dura, a hundred miles from the province of Corduene. Jovian there concluded a treaty of peace with Sapor, by which he restored to the Persians all the territory that had been conquered from them since the year 297. By this treaty the five provinces beyond the Tigris, with the cities of Nisibis, Singara, and the Moor's camp, were given up, and a truce was concluded for thirty years. The emperor who made this most inglorious treaty, the first by which the Roman empire had abandoned conquered territory to an enemy, did not long survive his disgrace. Whilst hastening towards the capital, he * Gibbon — Keightley — Heeren. 20 SUCCESSORS OF CONSTAN TINE. was one morning found dead in his bed, at Dadastana, a little town on the frontiers of Eithynia. He was but thirty- three years- old, and had only reigned eiffht months. Of the manv causes which are assioned for his death, the most probable is that which ascribes it to his having slept near a large char- coal fire in a newly-plastered room.* The army proclaimed Valentinian at Nice in his stead, and almost imme- diately forced him to nominate a colleague. He chose his brother Valens, and assigned him the eastern prefecture of the empire, reserving to himself the government of the West. In the year 367, he created his son Gratian Augustus with himself. Though he was in many respects a cruel prince, the reign of Valentinian is distinguished for the religious toleration which he main- tained. His brother Valens having adopted the opinion of the Arians, was not very popular in the East, a circumstance of which Procopius took advan- tage to instigate the people to an insurrection. It was quelled with some difficulty, and its leader slain. Meanwhile the Allemanni had been engaged in war with Valentinian, who, after triumphing over them, resolved to provide for the future defence of Gaul by constructing a chain of forts and castles, along the banks of the Rhine, from its source to the ocean. The houses of the ancient Gauls were generally round and spacious, founded on stone, and constructed of wood and earth. They were supported by posts, protected by hurdles, and covered with a conical roof, either thatched or made with straw worked with clay. The light was admitted by a narrow door, and by still narrower loopholes. A hole cut in the roof gave passage to the smoke of the hearth, which was constructed of three stones united at right angles. The population scattered through the country rushed at the cry of war to shut themselves up with their herds and moveable property in vast enclosures, formed by trees felled in the middle of woods or marshes. The habitations of the chiefs were little fortresses, defended by rocks, by the seacoast, the course of a river, or an impenetrable marsh. The villages were open, or defended by simple trenches filled with fas- cines. Some were surrounded with walls, and fortified by a collection of stones, beams, and earth, which added variety to the symmetrical appearance, and resisted alike the assaults of the battering ram and the approaches of fire. The capital cities of Armorica were doubtless fortified in this manner ; the rest of the country had no cities, properly so called. All the Gauls were soldiers. Each mother made her new-born child kiss the naked sword of its father. This was the infant's baptism. From time to time the chief of each village measured the young men with a girdle, and those whom intemperate or idle habits had rendered corpulent, were heavily fined. Foreign expeditions were made by enlisting able-bodied men ; but when * Gibbon — Keightley. REVOLT OF FIRM US. 21 VILLAGE OF THE ANCIENT GAni.S. their own country was invaded, every man was required to arm in her defence. Treachery or cowardice in this respect was punished by the loss of the nose, cars, or eyes of the offender. As sohliers, the Gauls were characterized by courapje and impetuosity ; but their wilil and intractable disposition rendered them impatient of military disci- pline. Among their most formidable enemies were the invaders of their sea coast. The pirates of the north, united under the name of Saxons, now infested the coasts of Britain and Gaul. Severus, the master of the infantry, marched against them, and by a dishonourable breach of a newly-made treaty, succeeded in cutting a large body of them to pieces. In Britain, the Picts and Scots, from the northern parts of the island, were pouring their savage hordes into the defenceless provinces, and spreading deso- lation far and .wide. The Spanish Count Theodosius was sent against them with success. He then returned and directed the operations against the Alle- manni, until the emperor was forced to despatch him to Africa, to quell a revolt. A Moorish prince, named Firmus, was in arms against the Roman governor, Romanus, who had exercised his power with the greatest tyranny (A. D. 372.) Theodosius first committed him to safe custody, and then reduced Firmus to the last extremity. To prevent being captured, the African prince embraced a voluntary death. By bribery and forgeries, the 22 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONS TAN TINE. guilty Romanus escaped punishment, whilst the brave and virtuous Theodosius was seized and beheaded at Carthage by the successor of Valentinian, on the vague suspicion that he was become too powerful for a subject. (A. D. 376.)* During the war in Africa, the Emperor Valentinian was himself engaged in the prosecution of hostilities against the Quadans and Sarmatians. He died in consequence of the bursting of a blood-vessel, while passionately reproach- ing the envoys of the Quadans, who sought peace in the most humble man- ner. At the time of his death, his son Gratian, who was seventeen years of age, resided at Treves. Merobandes and Equitius, two officers of rank, took advantage of his absence to increase the number of the emperors. Valen- tinian, aged four years, the young son of the late emperor, was brought to the camp and invested wuth the purple. Gratian accepted his young colleague, and acted towards him the part of a brother and a guardian. (A. D. 375.) Valens now found himself obliged to take the field against a formidable enemy, the Huns, whose entrance into Europe gave rise to the great popular migration, by which the Roman empire in the West may be said to have been overthrown. The immediate consequence was the admission of the greater part of the Visigoths into the Roman empire. This occasioned a war, which cost the Emperor Valens his life. The Huns, who were a nomad people of Asia, belonged to the great Mongolian race. Their history can be traced back to about 209 B. C, when the Chinese built the great wall to resist their inroads. The Huns were after- wards masters of Mongolia, and the greatest part of the north of Asia, as far as the Caspian Sea, and the borders of Thibet. The Chinese were for centuries their most formidable enemies, and finally succeeded in driving them towards the West. In the reign of Augustus, they were settled near the Caspian Sea, with the Alans on the south-west, and occupied the frontiers of the Roman empire ; while spreading to the north and south, they still carried on wars with the Chinese. But when the To-pa or To-ten, who dwelt on the river Amour, spread themselves on the west of China, and drove the Sienpi from their possessions, at the beginning of the fourth century, the Huns again pressed to the Caspian Sea and Pontus Eux- inus. After a bloody struggle with the Moors, they united with them to pass the Pontus Euxinus, and attack the Goths, (376,) and thus ultimately pro- duced the general irruption of the barbarians into the Roman empire, as will be seen in the sequel. The Goths, divided into Ostrogoths and Visigoths, were separated from each other by the Dnieper. The Ostrogoths wx're either reduced to submission or driven from their country. The bravest portion, with their infant sovereign, Witheric, penetrated to the Dniester, on whose banks Athanaric, the judge or ruler of the Visigoths, had determined to defend himself. But he was cora- * Keightley. INVASION OF THE VISIGOTHS. 23 pelled to retire to the hills, where the greater part of his people lost their courage and compelled their two other judges, Fritigern and Alavivus, to lead them to the Danube and implore a refuge in the Roman empire. Valens granted them a settlement within the bounds of the empire, on condition that they should deliver up their arms before passing the river. But the barba- rians eluded this condition by sacrificing their wealth and their women to the avarice and lust of the Roman officers ; and a powerful Gothic army was soon encamped on the hills and plains of Lower Moesia. (A.D. 376.)* Such a formidable host should have been dehcately managed ; but Lupi- cinus and Maximus, the governors of the province, thought only of indulging their avarice, and by furnishing to them the most loathsome food at the high- est prices, they drew from them all their property and most of their children. Their patience became thus exhausted, and the governors, terrified at their menaces, collected all the troops at their command into an army about their own persons. Thus the troops were drawn away from the Danube, and the Ostrogoths, who had been denied the privilege granted to their predecessors, seized the opportunity and crossed the Danube. The Visigoths, in compliance with the commands of the Roman general, advanced to Marcianopolis, seventy miles inland, where they were denied a market. Difficulties ensued, which resulted in a pitched battle, in which the Romans were totally defeated. In revenge for their former sufferings, the Goths perpetrated enormities of every kind upon the unhappy people who fell into their hands. A large Roman army was sent against them, and a battle which lasted from dawn till dusk was fought, without material advantage on either side. The Romans then fortified their lines, intending to confine the enemy to the position they occu- pied, till they should be reduced by the sure operation of famine. But they were surprised by the intelligence that the Visigoths had formed an alliance with the Ostrogoths, who were advancing to their aid, having, in addition to their own force, a considerable body of Huns and Alans, marshalled under their banners. Fearful of being surrounded, the Romans raised the siege of the Gothic camp, and their enemies rapidly spread devastation to the shores of the Hellespont. Valens had early sought the aid of his nephew Gratian, and that empe- ror was preparing to lead the forces of the West against the Goths, when the Allemanni, probably acting in concert with the Goths, crossed the Rhine, forty thousand strong. Gratian gave them battle at Colmar, in Alsace : their king was slain, and their entire host, save five thousand, cut to pieces. The gallant young emperor then invaded their country, and forced them to sue for peace. Meanwhile Valens had set out from Constantinople to take the command in person ; and his flatterers urged him to lose no time in bringing the war to a close by a decisive action, before Gratian could arrive to share * Gibbon. ^4 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. in the glory of the victory. This was precisely what Fritigern wished, and he secured its adoption by a stratagem similar to that practised by Themis- tocles at Salamis. The emperor was but too successfully deceived. The Goths amused him with fruitless negotiations until their reinforcements had arrived, and then inflicted on his army a more terrible defeat than any the Roman arms had experienced since the day of Cannae. Scarcely a third part of the army escaped from the field. The counts Trajan, Sebastian, Valerian, and Equitius, with thirty-six other officers of rank, were among the slain. (A.D. 378.) The fate of the emperor is uncertain : some accounts make him to have fallen at nightfall, mortally wounded, amid heaps of the common soldiers ; others say that when he fell he was carried into a neighbouring cottage, where his at- tendants were surrounded by the enemy while attempting to dress his wound. Straw and wood were heaped against the doors, and the house was burned, with all therein, except one soldier, w^ho escaped out of a window, and sur- vived to tell the story. The Goths having failed in an attack upon the walls of Adrianople, retired with their booty to the northern provinces, and spread their ravages as far as the Adriatic* Gratian was on the march to aid his uncle, when he heard of the victory of the Goths. He saw the necessity of selecting a colleague who could take charge of the East. His choice fell upon Theodosius, the son of the general of that name who had been put to death in Africa. Theodosius was invested with the purple at Sirmium, A. D. 379, and he immediately resorted to a Fabian policy, by which, in the course of four years, the army of Athanaric was added to the number of his own troops, and the victors of Adrianople became subjects of the empire.f Gratian, when death had removed the able advisers with whom his father had surrounded him, fell under the guidance of men of a different character. In consequence, he gradually lost the esteem of both the people and the array. When Maximus, having been proclaimed emperor by the revolted troops in Britain, crossed over to Gaul, Gratian suddenly found all the troops of Gaul opposed to him, and the gates of all the cities shut against him. He was slain near Lyons, as he was rising from the supper-table, August 25th, 383, and his brother Valentinian petitioned in vain for his body. By promising not to interfere with the young Valentinian, Maximus procured an acknowledgment of his title to the empire from Theodosius, who probably feared an invasion of the barbarians, should he attempt to avenge the murder of his patron.J The new emperor remained at rest for four years, but he finally began to cast an eye of cupidity upon the possessions of Valentinian, whom he nearly succeeded in capturing. The young prince fled with his mother and his sister Galla to seek aid from the emperor of the East, and an alliance * Keiglitley. Gibbon. Taylor. t Keightley. t lb. Ileercn. TIIEODOSIUS AND ST. AMBROSE. 25 was concluded between the two princes, which was sealed by the marriage of Galla with Theodosius. The royal bridegroom then set out to seek the forces of the usurper and traitor. Maximus was routed at Siscia, on the banks of the Save, and cap- tured and beheaded at Aquileia. His son was also put to death, and the whole of the West became subject to the rule of the young Valentinian. (A.D. 388.) Theodosius remained in Italy for three years after his victory, regulating the affairs of the empire for his colleague. While he was there, the people of Thessalonica, becoming enraged at the conduct of Botheric, the commander of the garrison, murdered him and his principal officers, and dragged their bodies about the streets. (A. D. 388.) Theodosius gave way to his naturally choleric temper, on learning the insult thus offered to his servant. He gave orders for a military execution, and afterwards attempted to recall it, but it was too late. The Thessalonians were invited to the circus, to witness the games: they came to the number of seven thousand. (A.D. 390.) The sig- nal was given, the soldiers commenced the work of massacre, and all were slain. Ambrose was at this time Archbishop of Milan, and the part which he took on that occasion shows the height to which ecclesiastical power had already attained. He wrote to the emperor that he had been warned in a vision not to offer the oblation in his name or presence, and advised him not to think of receiving the Eucharist with blood-stained hands. The intrepid bishop refused him admittance to the cathedral, and the lord of the Roman world was obliged to lay aside his imperial robe, and appear in the posture of a suppliant in the midst of the church of Milan, soliciting with tears the pardon of his sin. He was not restored to the communion of the faithful until he had accomplished a penance of eight months.* The troops of Valentinian were commanded by Count Arbogast, a Frank, who had held a high rank in the service of both Gratian and Theodosius. When the departure of the eastern emperor had removed the principal obsta- cle, he resolved to take advantage of the weakness of the young prince, and raise himself to the empire. He corrupted the army, filled the offices with his creatures, and made the emperor little better than a prisoner in his palace at Vienne. Valentinian wrote to inform Theodosius of his situation ; but, im- patient of delay, he sent for Arbogast, and dismissed him from his post. " You have not given me my authority, and you cannot take it away," said the general, and he indignantly tore up the document containing his dismissal. The prince snatched a sword from one of the guards, but he was not suf- fered to use it. A few days after he was privately strangled, and a report was spread that he had died by his own hand. (May loth, A.D. 392.) Arbogast, not yet prepared to assume the purple himself, clotheil Eugc- * Keiglitley. Vol. II. 4 26 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. THEODOSinS AND ST. AMBROS: niiis, one of his own creatures, with it ; and sent an embassy to Theodo- siiis, lamenting the decease of Valentinian, and beseeching him to ratify the clioice of his successor, already made by the people and the army. But the tears of his lovely bride Galla induced Theodosius to avenge his brother- in-law, and he marched for Italy, after two years consumed in preparation. Eugenius was taken and put to death (Sept. 6th, 314) ; the more wicked Arbo- gast avoided a similar fate by committing suicide, after wandering some days through the mountains.* Theotlosius survived his victory only five months. He had undermined his constitution by indulgence, and he died of dropsy at Milan (Jan. 17tli, A. D. 385), leaving his empire to his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius. Keighllcy. llcercn. Taylor. CHARACTER OF THEODOSIUS. 27 Suddenly called from a private station to the head of the Eastern Empire, Theodosius had remained true to his principles and early rules of conduct. He obtained his elevation in the most honourable manner, without intrigue and without court interest, and he held the power placed in his hands with the strictest regard to truth and justice. His defects were, a too slavish submis- sion to the intolerant ecclesiastics of his day, who forced him to the enact- ment of persecuting laws against heretics and pagans; a violence of temper, which led to the massacre of the Thessalonians ; and an over-fondness for the pleasures of the table, which brought him to a premature death, to the great injury of the empire. His efforts to preserve the boundaries of the empire, not a province of which was lost before his death, required an increase of taxes ; but, however oppressive this might be, we cannot impute it as a crime to the ruler. In an empire so enfeebled in itself, and which, nevertheless, had powerful foes on every side to contend with, it followed that every active reign would be oppressive. Yet never before had the internal depopu- lation of the empire made it necessary to take so many barbarians into Roman pay as under this reign ; whence naturally followed a change in the arms and tactics of the Roman armies.* After the death of Theodosius, the empires of the East and West became totally distinct and independent states. The former was at first governed by Arcadius, the eldest son of the late emperor, the Western Empire was ruled by Honorius, who was but eleven years old at the time of his accession. Their father left both the emperors under the care of Stilicho, a man of great talent, who had commanded both the cavalry and infantry of the empire. The Pre- fect of the East was Rufinus, a Gaul, who had gained the favour of the late emperor by his dissimulation and address. This man was the chief adviser of Arcadius, while Stilicho remained with young Honorius in Italy. Rufinus almost immediately commenced a course of conduct, which procured for him immense wealth, and the hatred and envy of all. He intended to effect the union of his daughter with the emperor ; but an errand of cruelty took him to Antioch, and his schemes were defeated in his absence. The emperor was wedded to the beautiful orphan, Eudoxia, the daughter of the Frank general, Bauto. Rufinus still possessed so much influence with the emperor as to induce him to forbid Stilicho to advance with the troops which were marching eastward under his command. Accordingly, Stilicho remained at Thessalonica, and sent on the soldiers under the command of Gainas, a Goth, whom he intrusted with the execution of a plan for the destruction of the ambitious Rufinus. The soldiers were well acquainted with the design of the commander, and they carefully preserved the secret, and co-operated with Gainas in effecting the downfall of the haughty minister. Rufinus was slain at the side of the emperor, and his body was treated with every species of indignity by the populace whom he had oppressed. (A. D. 395.) * Gibbon. Keiglitley. Heeren. 28 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. In the following year the Goths ,a(lvancecl into Greece, wliere they were met by Stilicho. Alaric, the young and intrepid leader of the Goths, circum- vented the minister in his attempts to surround them, until he had successmlly terminated a negotiation with Arcadius, the emperor of the East, for his appointment to the military command of Eastern lUyricum. Stilicho, having received orders to depart from the dominions of Arcadius, had his attention directed to Africa, where Gildo, the brother of the unfor- tunate Firmus, had risen, under the nominal title of Governor of Africa, to be an almost independent nder. Theodosius had neither noticed his excesses nor his absolute tyranny, but the wily African had no favour to expect from Sti- licho. He therefore tendered his allegiance to Arcadius, whose ministers sig- nified their title to the province. Stilicho caused the senate to proclaim the faithless governor a public enemy, and sent an army against him untler the charge of his own brother Mascezel, whom he had exiled, after killing his children. The troops of the rebel submitted without a battle, and he ended his existence by suicide. (A. D. 398.) Mascezel was received with great favour on his return, but he had roused the envy of Stilicho, who has been charged with his death. He was riding with Stilicho over a bridge, when his horse threw him into the river ; Stilicho smiled, the attendants gave no help, and the general was drowned.* The great Alaric was chosen by his people, King of the Visigoths, in addition to his other office of Governor of Illyricum. For some years he pur- sued a dubious policy between the Emperors of the East and the West, but he finally invaded Italy, and besieged the Emperor Honorius in the town of Asta, in Liguria. Stilicho was absent, employed in collecting an army. On his return, he succeeded in relieving the young emperor, and defeating Alaric, who repassed the Po for the purpose of inflicting a blow on another part of the empire. But a second defeat forced him to make a treaty, by which Italy was for a time delivered from the Goths. (A. D. 403.) Fearing another Gothic invasion, Honorius fixed his residence at Ravenna (A. D. 404), which continued for more than three centuries to be the seat of government in Italy. Two years after the departure of Alaric, a numerous host of Germans, estimated at 200,000 fighting men, with their wives, children and servants, poured into Italy. Stilicho pursued a cautious policy in the field ; surrounding them with impregnable lines of circumvallation, and forcing them by famine to surrender. Their leader Radagaisus was beheaded, and the common bar- barians sold for slaves. (A.D. 40o.) But Stilicho having entered into an alli- ance with Alaric, for the purpose of wresting from the empire of the East the province of Illyricum, was overreached by the intrigues of Olympius, a man who had been raised to the position he enjoyed in the emperor's regard by Stilicho himself. He took advantage of the weakness of the emperor, and * Zosimus. Gibbon. Keighlley. CHARACTER OF A LARIC. 29 of the jealousy between the Roman and foreign sokliers, to accuse his bene- fiictor of aspiring at the sovereignty, and Stilicho was executed. (Aug. 2'Sd, 408.) Tlius the folly of Honorius lost to his arms the only commander who was capable of defending his dominions, whose fame and fortune depended on the prosperity of the state, and who hatl repeatedly defeated the barbarians, to whom it was asserted he designed to deliver Italy. The virtues of Stilicho being no longer formidable, Alaric hesitated not to pay to them a great and worthy tribute. He announced himself as the friend of the murdered minister, and his determination to avenge his fall. In that character he appeared in Italy in the same year. Rome, for the first time since the days of Hannibal, saw a foreign enemy before her gates ; she purchased peace, but failing to fulfil the conditions, Alaric was again beneath her walls, became master of her seaport, and forced her citizens to acknowledge as emperor Attains, the prefect of the city. ( A. D. 409.) After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Ravenna, where Hono- rius resided, Alaric assumed the diadem, made himself master of Rome by force, and gave it up to be plundered by his troops. (Aug. 24th, 410.) He died soon afterwards in Lower Italy, where he was projecting the capture of Sicily and Africa. This great leader, the first to teach to barbarians the weakness of the mistress of the world, will ever be distinguished for the firm and judicious character of his policy. Uniting by his genius, his noble birth, and his glori- ous exploits, the whole body of his nation under his standards, Alaric was enabled at the same time to infuse into his subjects his own boldness and cunning, and to restrain their ardour until he w^as prepared to invade the dominions of the West. When defeated on the plains near Asta, he withdrew from the battle with the greatest part of his cavalry entire and unbroken, and rising superior to misfortune, he derived new resources from adversity, and resolved to shake the very walls of Rome itself. Such a spirit was invin- cible ; the proud mistress of the world paid a heavy retribution for the suffer- ings she had caused to so many cities, countries, and nations, in the days of her splendour and power. A thousand years had she been engaged in the collection of treasures — treasures wrun": from the blood of allies and enemies — treasures which now came at once into the possession of the mighty Goth. But Alaric was a Christian, and the least barbarous of all the conquerors that ravaged the Roman empire. Even his enemies praise his moderation, and accord their gratitude for his clemency in sparing not only the churches, but all who fled to them for shelter. The Romans rejoiced when he fell a prey to the king of terrors ; they hoped for the enjoyment of peace undis- turbed by the ravages of invaders ; but Alaric had taught to the barbarians the way to Rome, and the march of desolation was soon renewed. Adolphus, the brother-in-law and successor of Alaric, left the now ex- hausted Italy for Gaul, whence he proceeded into Spain, and founded the 30 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. A L AB IC. IdngJom of the Visigoths. While in Gaul, he married Placidia, the sister of llonorius, whom he had carried with him either as a prisoner or as a host- age. On his death (Aug. 415), she returned to her brother, who married her to Constantius, whom he afterwards associated in the empire. This honour was conferred upon Constantius as a reward for his valour in vanquishing and putting to death Constantine (Nov. 28th, 411), a usurper, who appeared in Britain and Gaul, during the war in Italy. The new Augustus did not long survive his elevation ; he died in 420, and Placidia retired to Constantinople, where she remained until the death of Honorius.* The dropsy carried off the feeble and contemptible monarch of the West (August 15th, 423), after an inglorious reign of twenty-eight years. After his death, his secretary, John, usurped the government, but was defeated by the Eastern emperor, Theodosius II. The nephew of Honorius, Valentinian III,, was then raised to the throne under the guardianship of his mother, Placidia. Besides the Gothic kingdom established in Spain and Eastern Gaul (A. D. 412), by Adolphus and his successor Wallia, the Franks, the Burgundians, and other barbarous tribes had cut off other portions of Gaul; and Britain and Armorica had become independent. The Britons had so degenerated that they were unable to resist their barbarous neighbours, the Picts and Scots ; they there- fore applied for aid to the warlike tribes of the Angles and Saxons. The * Ileorcn. tETIUS AND BONIFACE. 81 summons was readily obeyed ; but when the Picts and Scots were repelled, the defenders took possession of the redeemed territory, and named it Angle- land, since contracted into England. Britain was never after subject to the Roman emperors. In the meantime, the profligate administration of the Empress Eudoxia, and the eunuch Eutropius, had disgraced the reign of Arcadius in the East. The most illustrious persons fell victims to their cruelty, and the empress finally compassed the murder of her own colleague, Eutropius. St. Chr}sos- tom, the eloquent Bishop of Constantinople, boldly met the vices of the coui t and the church with the thunders of his eloquence ; but the guilty parties united in procuring his deposition and ruin, and he was hurried to the grave by his revengeful oppressors, under the name and authority of Arcadius. The younger Theodosius succeeded to the purple (A. D. 408), under the direction of his sister Pulcheria, who ruled the East with much of the spirit of her ancestor, the great Theodosius, for more than forty years. Placidia governed the West at the same time, though with far less ability. The armies of the West were commanded by two generals, ^Etius and Boni- face. The former had been engaged in the service of the secretary John, and had brought a force of 60,000 Huns to the confines of Italy, for the purpose of aiding him, when he heard of his death. The Hunnish army w^as then sent back, and he entered into the service of Valentinian, and the confidence of Placidia. He em- ployed his influence for the destruction of his rival, who easily fell into the snare laid for him. iEtius persuaded Placidia to recall Boniface, and at the same time assured that ofiicer that his recall was the first step towards his death, and advised him to disobey the imperial mandate. Boniface implicitly believed the assertions of his enemy, and repelled by arms the first attacks made on him ; but he doubted his abiUty to resist single-handed, and therefore proposed an alliance to Genseric, King of the Vandals, who had forcibly obtained possession of the province of BcEtica, afterwards called from them Andalusia. Genseric landed in Africa (May, 429), with a force of 50,000 Vandals, Alans, Goths, and others, and his standard was followed by the Moors and the persecuted Donatists. Boniface discovered the duplicity of iEtius, and the error he had committed, when too late. He returned to his allegiance, and requested Genseric to leave the pro- vince ; but the Vandal hero refused, and defeated him in a pitched battle. Boniface was besieged in Hippo Regius, the modern Bona, for fourteen months, when he was reinforced from the East. He then ventured upon another bat- tle, but was again defeated. (A.D. 431). He finally abandoned the province, and returned to Italy, where Placidia received him kindly, and raised hhn to high rank. Genseric had still two important fortresses to reduce ; Cirta and Carthage, and it was not till the tenth year after his landing in Africa that the latter was taken, and by surprise, not force.* (Oct. IS, 439). * Keiglitlcy. 32 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. The quarrel between iEtius and Bonilace was decided by a battle, in in which Boniface was victorious; but he was mortally wounded in the engage- ment. (A.D. 432.) iEtius was proclaimed a rebel, and forced to seek safety among the Huns. By the aid of a large body of that people, with whom he always remained on the most friendly terms, he dictated terms of peace to the empress, and in effect governed the empire. But notwithstanding his friendly relations with the Huns, he was unable to preserve the empire from the encroachments of their formidable ruler, Attila, called " The scourge of God." That able monarch had extorted vast sums as the price of forbearance from the Byzantine empire, and had threatened war against the Emperor Marcian, whom Pulcheria had made her husband and nominal emperor on the death of Theodosius II. Theodoric, the son of the great Alaric, occupied the throne of the Visigoths after the decease of Wallia. He had attempted to enlarge his dominions at the expense of the Romans ; but i^^tius successfully defended the invaded country, and Theodoric made peace. A war soon after followed between him and Genseric, who had shamefully mutilated his wife, and sent her home to her father, Theodoric. Genseric called for aid upon Attila, and Theodoric desisted from his intended invasion of Africa. Attila was incited to arms by Honoria, the sister of Valentinian, who desired to escape from a nun- nery in Constantinople, where she had been confined in consequence of the disco- very of an intrigue which she had had with her chamberlain. Hating a life of celibacy, she sent a trusty eunuch to Attila with a ring as the pledge of her affection. The Hunnish monarch immediately demanded her and a share of the empire. His demand being refused, he suddenly invaded Gaul, every- where slaughtering the inhabitants, and giving their houses and provisions to the flames. The heads of the murdered inhabitants were suspended as trophies round the bodies of their horses : and no enormity which barbarism could in- vent was omitted in their treatment of the unfortunate Romans. Their career of cruelty was, however, cut short at the great battle of Chalons, where the allies of the empire, led by iEtius and Theodoric, inflicted upon them a ter- rible defeat. (A.D. 452). The latter, however, lost his life in the conflict. Attila retired beyond the frontiers, but in the ensuing spring he poured his armies like a torrent into Italy, and laid waste the peninsula. He was induced to retire from Italy on receiving an immense sum as the dower of the Princess Honoria ; but he threatened dreadful vengeance if she were not deli- vered to his ambassador. The fall of the empire was delayed by his death, which happened in the following year. Having drank too freely on the occa- sion of marrying a new wife in addition to the number which he already had, he burst a blood-vessel anil expired. (A. D. 453). By a description which Jornandes has left us of the person of Attila, we learn tliat he had a large head, a flat nose, broad shoulders, and a short and ill-formed body. His walk was j)roud, his voice strong and well-toned. Savage though he was, pity Ibuml a {)lace in his bosom, and his assurance of pardon CHARACTER OF ATTILA 33 ATTIL A. . to a suppliant enemy was never violated. His reputation for justice and indul- gence was doubtless the cause of the submission of so many warlike tribes to his control ; and the rapidity with which his vast empire fell to pieces after his death, shows how vastly superior was his genius to that of his sons and successors. Not satisfied with being acknowledged as their bravest warrior and most skilful general, he sought to inspire the tribes over which he ruled with a supernatural reverence for his person. Superstitious to a degree himself, he well knew how to take advantage of the same quality in his countrymen. They reverenced the presiding genius of war, but knew not how to make a corporeal representation of him, nor to forin an abstract idea of his nature. Attila therefore supplied them with a symbol ; he gave out that he had found the sword of Mars, and then, as its rightful possessor, iisserted his holy and indisputable title to the dominion of the earth. The success of this scheme induced him to follow it up with another. He attributed the murder of his Itrother Bleda to a supernatural influence, and his followers celebrated the hor- rid deed with rejoicings as for a victory. As a general, he usually tempered his valour with prudence, yet when occasion required it, he exposed his person with the rashness of a private soldier, animating and encouraging his troops by his voice, his presence, and his example. Like Alaric, he sulFered neither defeat nor difficulty to impair his spirit, reputation, or resources, and his beha- viour after being defeated by --Etius w^as compared by his enemies to that of a lion encompassed in his den, threatening the hunters with redoubled fury. But, unlike the great Visigothic monarch, he gloried in his savage and destruc- VOL. II. 5 34 THE SUCCESSORS OF CONSTANTINE. tive spirit, frequently involved in indiscriminate massacre the whole of a con- quered people, and caused himself everywhere to be known by the title given to him by a hermit of Gaul : " The scourge of God." His table was served with wooden cups and platters ; flesh was his only food, and the conqueror of the north never tasted the luxury of bread.* It was a saying worthy of his fero- cious pride, that grass never grew where his horse had trod. The worthless and dissolute Valentinian feared and hated his able minis- ter, and, instigated by his favourites, he resolved to rid himself of the man who alone of all his subjects could support his throne. ^Etius came incau- tiously to the palace, and addressed an intemperate speech to the emperor. Valentinian drew his sword, for the first time in his life, and plunged it into his bosom ; his guards followed the example, and ^tius expired with a hun- dred wounds. (A.D. 454.) His principal friends all shared the same fate. iEtius was universally celebrated as the terror of the barbarians and the support of the republic, and his fate was regretted and his abilities esteemed within the walls of the palace itself. The emperor condescended to solicit the approbation of a Roman in his service for the murder, but he had applied to a man incapable of dissimulation even to a tyrant. " I am ignorant, sir, of your motives or provocations ; I only know that you have acted like a man who cuts off his right hand with his left." Much has been written concerning the crimes and the treason of ^tius, but at the time of his murder, he stood in the position of the protector of the empire, the conqueror of her most fero- cious enemy. "If the early acts of his life," says a learned commentator, " the introduction of the Huns into Italy, and of the Vandals into Africa, were among the proximate causes of the ruin of the empire, his murder w^as the signal for its almost immediate downfall."! Valentinian was speedily rewarded for his cowardice and treachery. Hav- ing invaded the domestic peace of the patrician Maximus, he was assassinated by two of his guards, who had formerly been the domestics of ^Etius, and who were instigated to revenge their master by the patrician. (March 16th, 455.) Maximus became his successor, and on the death of his wife, married the late emperor's widow. Having in an unguarded hour revealed to Eudoxia the part he had taken in the murder of Valentinian, whom, worthless as he was, she had tenderly loved, she sent a secret message to Genseric, inviting him to come to her aid. The Vandal king entered the Tiber with a large arma- ment ; Maximus was slain by his subjects (June 12th, 455) ; the city of Rome was delivered to pillage, attended with every species of atrocity ; and the Empress Eudoxia, with her two daughters, and thousands of other captives, w^ere embarked for Africa. During twenty years Genseric was the terror of the East and the West. He commanded his numerous fleet in person, and devastated all the coast of the Mediterranean. After his death, in 477, the * Gibbon. t Milman — Notes to Gibbon. FALL OF THE WESTERN EMIMRE. 35 Vandal kingdom was incessantly agitated by religious persecutions, or ha- rassed by the Moors, until Belisarius appeared on. the scene. The successor of Marcian, on the throne of the East, was Leo the Great (A. D. 457). He appeared to revive the long disused military elections of the empire. The Isaurian guard had displaced the Prsetorians, whose privi- leges they now assumed. On the death of Leo (Jan. 474), they chose Zeno, his son-in-law, to succeed him, and deposed his son, Leo IL But a revolu- tion deprived Zeno of the sceptre, and the empire fell into the hands of Basi- licus, who terminated by an edict of union the quarrels which divided the church. In 491, Anastasius, the Silentiary, was invested with the imperial dignity. He built Dara, in Armenia, to cover the Persian frontier, and sought to provide for the defence of Constantinople by building a wall from the Euxine to the Propontis. He relieved the people from many oppressive taxes ; but religious quarrels disturbed his reign, and on one occasion 100,000 of the inhabitants of the capital fell victims to their rancour. Justin I., a Thracian peasant, succeeded to the throne (A. D. 518) ; nine years afterwards the scep- tre came into the hands of his celebrated nephew, Justinian. After the death of Maximus, Avitus, a noble Gaul, was chosen Emperor of the West (A. D. 455), but Ricimer, the commander of the barbarian allies of Rome, deposed him, and gave the sceptre to Majorian. (A. D. 457.) The soldiers were dissatisfied with the choice, and dethroned him in turn. Ricimer then appointed Severus (A. D. 461), but he was forced by the Vandals to apply to Con- stantinople for aid, and to offer the nomination of an emperor to Leo the Great, who selected Anthemius as the best person to fill this high but dangerous station. A force was sent from the East against the Vandals in Africa ; but it was defeated, and compelled to return to Constantinople. (A.D.468.) Ricimer put Anthemius to death (A. D. 472), and chose Olybrius to succeed him. But the barbarian general and his puppet ruler both died within a few months, and Julius Nepos was made emperor by Leo. (A. D. 474.) Glycerins, an obscure sol- dier, disputed the succession with Nepos ; being unable, however, to con- tinue the contest, he resigned the sceptre and became Bishop of Salona. Nepos was deposed by Orestes, who had succeeded to the command of Rici- mer. He fled into Dalmatia, where the new-made bishop of Salona caused him to be assassinated. Orestes conferred upon his son Romulus Momillus the imperial dignity and the title of Augustulus ; but Odoacer, the leader of the German auxiliaries, took up arms, captured Orestes, and put him to death. (A. D. 476.) Augustulus soon after died a captive in Campania. Odoacer abo- lished the title of emperor, and assumed that of King of Italy. He was unable to defend the country against the invasions of the Ostrogoths, who hurled him from the throne and founded a ne\y empire. Thus ignominiously fell the empire of the West: that of the East endured for a thousand years longer, notwithstanding its intestine broils, and the continued attacks of the hosts of barbarians of the middle ages. CHAPTER II. ®l)c if t!p« airlairiajiiia an tht URING the four hundred years- that the Romans were exclusive masters of Spain, the people of that province advanced rapidly in civilization and the knowledge of the arts, but the galling chain of Roman servitude broke the spirit and destroyed the patriotism, courage, and haiilihood of the proud Spaniards. The Visigoths met with no resistance from the Spaniards, when they attempted to found their kingdom in Spain and Gaul ; their only task was to subdue the barbarous invaders who had preceded them. The Alani were destroyed, and the Vandals driven into Belgium, while the Suevi under Hermanrich, founded a kingdom in Galicia, which did not foil under the Gothic dominion till the year 5Sd. In half a century they had extended their dominions over Aquitaine, and the whole of Spain ; thus enlarging tueir limits as the empire abandoned the provinces.* The Ostrogoths were powerful in Hungary, where they derived great improvement from their neighbours the Italians, and the subjects of the Eastern empire. The country north of the Danube towards the Theiss was occupied by the Longobardi, who had long ago abandoned their seats upon the Elbe. A nation calling themselves the Bojoari had been gradually formed in Bavaria, from remnants of the Rugi, Heruli, Scyrri, Turcilingi, and from the Suevie * Dcti Michal's Middle Aw^-^N^\_w\^^v-\-^N^v^>^v \ >,x j£af" KINGDOM OF I T A L Y . 47 church, who lost no opportunity of showing their respect for a sovereign whose conduct evinced so great a regard for the interests of the orthodox church. There appeared no way of crossing the Vienne ; and the expedition seemed about to be compromised by delay, when a hart crossed the stream in sight of the whole army, and thus pointed out the ford. Clovis consulted the lots of St. Martin de Tours, which were favourable to him, and a pillar of fire appeared on the Cathedral of Poitiers for his guidance by night. In a plain near Vouille or Vironne, he encountered Alaric (A.D. 507). A great battle was fought, in which Alaric was transfixed by the spear of Clovis, who took pos- session of the chief cities of his country, and would probably have destroyed his whole kingdom, had not the great Theodoric interfered and driven him back with his irresistible might. Leaving Clovis for the present to content himself with the country between the Loire and the Garonne, we return to the kingdom of Italy, where impor- tant changes had taken place. The fellow-soldiers of Odoacer were barbarians of various nations, who had procured by their arms an independent and perpetual inheritance, in imitation of their brethren in Spain and Gaul. Though the sub- jection of Italy to an insolent soldiery, and the partition of the third of its territory among the brutal conquerors, seemed to plunge the degenerate Romans into the deepest abyss of misery and shame, we may trace from this epoch the slow revival of those energies which had long been extinguished in the Italians by the tyranny of the Caesars. The mixture of the barbarian soldiery of Odoacer with the slothful and voluptuous people whose possessions they had forcibly shared, infused the principles of life into a diseased and corrupted body. The settlement of the conquerors in the provinces of Italy must be re- garded only as the establishment, in a firmer posture, of the foreign mercenaries who had long formed the whole force of the state. Odoacer headed no new swarm of barbarians, and his prudence and humanity arrested the progress of desolation and wretchedness in a country which had groaned under every ex- tremity of war, pestilence, and famine. His reign was short ; but he fell to make way for other conquerors, and the native population was refreshed and invigorated by new accessions of foreign strength. At different intervals the Goths, the Lombards, and the Franks, successively acquired the dominion of Italy, and incorporated themselves with their subjects, until the Italian cha- racter, thus quickening with the spirit of personal independence, the glorious distinction of these northern people, rose from the depths of humiliation and cowardice to an elevation and dignity of soul which at once fitted it for the enjoyment and insured the possession of freedom.* In the year 489 A. D., fourteen years after Odoacer had assumed the sceptre, he was called to defend his dominions from the attacks of Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths. When the kingdom of the Huns fell asunder after * Procter's Italy. Sismondi's Italian Republics of the Middle A^es. 48 ESTABLISHMENT OP^ THE BARBARIANS. the death of the great Attila, that people became free and dwelt in Hungary and the neighbouring countries of the Danube. They had frequent disputes with the Emperors of the East, one of which was terminated by a peace pur- chased of the barbarians by the puerile Zeno. As a pledge of the alliance, Theodoric, or Dieterich, was sent to Constantinople, where he passed his youth in the acquisition of knowledge, the pleasures of warlike exercises, and the observance of the institutions of a great empire. By the death of his uncles and father he arrived at the sovereignty of his nation, and he brought to the throne all the heroic qualities of uncivilized life, with many of the milder vir- tues. He had proved to his subjects, by his exploits, that he had not de- generated from the valour of his ancestors ; and they all rallied round his banner, to be led from the unfruitful wastes of the Sau and the Danube, to a more desirable territory. Zeno seized the opportunity of ridding himself of a dan- gerous ally, by proposing to Theodoric that he might found the large and beautiful kingdom he desired in the fertile land of Italy. Since the fall of the western empire, Zeno had maintained a friendly correspondence with Odoacer, yet his fears led him to suffer Theodoric to lead his turbulent and restless followers into Italy as the faithful ally of the Emperor of the East. The march of Theodoric was the emigration of an entire people, the Goths having broken up their former seats and carried their families and most pre- cious effects with them. Theodoric encountered the army of Odoacer near Aquileia, and the King of Italy defended with unshaken courage the crown which his sword had won. His troops, however, were unable to resist the impetuous onset of the Goths, and the king was obliged to fly. Theodoric gained a second victory at Verona, from which he was styled in ballads and legendary songs, the great hero, Dieterich of Berne, which signifies Verona.* After suffering a third defeat near the Adda (A. D. 490), Odoacer found the gates of Rome closed against him. He retired to Ravenna, where he was besieged for three years. The contest was at length terminated by a treaty, which gave equal and undivided authority over Italy to the two leaders, and admitted Theodoric into Ravenna. During the rejoicings on the occasion, the unfortunate Odoacer was slain, either by the hand of Theodoric, or by his command (March 9, 493). His sokliers all shared the fate of their leader, and Theodoric reigned without opposition over all Italy. His long reign was an era of tranquil felicity for the inhabitants of that country ; he ruled with a kind and mild hand over both the Goths and the Romans, and introduced a happiness hito Italy to which it had long been a stranger. He renounced the prosecution of further conquests, to devote himself to the duties of civil government. The terror of his name was sufficient to preserve Italy, for forty years after his accession, from the horrors of invasion. Agriculture and trade * Kolilrauscli's Gcnuaiiy. REIGN OF THEODORIC. 49 flourished to a great extent ; the ItaUans not only raising sufficient corn to need no importations from Sicily and Africa, but actually transporting it into Gaul. Theodoric also protected art and science, and many ancient cities rose from their ruins under his fostering hand. Elevated far above the other kings of his time by his wisdom and justice, he appeared among them as an institu- tor of peace, and the most distant tribes sought his advice and honoured him v^'ith presents. He represented to the other barbarian kings the advantages of peace,* and held out to them the picture of a great alliance founded upon jus- tice and wisdom, between all the Christian nations of German origin who had fixed their seat in Europe. But while he preached peace with earnestness and love, Clovis waged war with his sword, despised his doctrines, and sought only to bring. a multitude of tribes under his dominion.* When he finally interposed his strong arm to save the kingdom of the Visigoths from destruc- tion, the whole of that people recognised his suzerainty and consented to pay him tribute. Thus the control of the principal countries of the w^estern world was divided between Clovis and his antagonist, the King of the Ostro- goths. Theodoric comprehended within his realm, all the provinces lying along the European coast of the Mediterranean, Italy, Illyria, Portugal, Spain, and Septimania. The latter w'as the new title of the Visigothic kingdom, which comprised Provence, and the territory skirting the Alps, and lying along that coast of the Mediterranean. The Frank kingdom was much less exten- sive than that of the Ostrogoths. It comprised the western, northern, and part of the southern provinces of France ; Belgium, a territory of questionable extent east of the Rhine ; and pretensions to sovereignty over the Thuringians, and the German tribes between the Rhine and the shores of the Baltic. The Burgundians Kved in secure insignificance, apart from all other nations, and enjoying their own laws, customs, creed, and observances.! The chagrin with which Clovis beheld the gigantic power of Theodoric dash from him the undivided sovereignty of France, for w^hich he had laboured during the whole of his stormy life, must have been excessive, and was but ill concealed by his attempts to appear contented with the glory and gain he had secured. Had his ambitious designs remained imchecked, he would proba- bly have spurned as an indignity a circumstance which he now turned into a matter of triumph. Anastasius, the eastern emperor, having quarrelled with Theodoric, sent ambassadors to Clovis during his disputes with that monarch, to invest him with the robes and ensigns of patrician and consul. This as- sumption of absolute authority on the part of the emperor, though it added nothing to the power or the dignity of Clovis, was received by him with appa- rent pleasure. Supposing that the formality would operate favourably upon the Visigothic population, who had become to a great extent Romanized, he hastened to exhibit to his subjects the imperial ensigns. A pageant was pre- * Kohlrausch. — Procter. t Pictorial History of France. Vol. II. 7 50 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS, CX.OVIS ENTERING TOUSS. pared at Tours, in which the monarch rode through the city dressed in the Roman costume, with eagles borne around him, and officers accompanying the procession scattering gold and silver among the gratified crowd. It is certain, from his conduct, that the king himself was but ill assured of the stability of the throne which he had founded. Unsuccessful in foreign ccnquest, he endeavoured to rid himself of all who were likely to interfere with his designs among his own people and family. The chiefs who had been of his council were sacrificed ; and he is said to have killed, with his own hand, two princes of his race. The remainder of the days of the first Christian King of the Franks is marked by murder, perfidy, and all the dark crimes of savage life ; his chief aim being to rid himself of all wdio were likely to interfere with his designs among his own people and family. The important part borne by the clergy in the civil administration of the realm, made it necessary to assemble a great council at Orleans for the regulation of church discipline throughout his do- minions, the decree for which was the last public act of his reign. He died Nov. 5th, 511, at Paris, in the thirtieth year of his reign, and the forty-fifth of his age.* The great Theodoric died in the year 526, a year which commenced the downfall of the monarchy he had founded. His son Athalaric, ten years of age, * Pictorial History of France. SUCCESSORS OF CLOVIS, 51 FRANK ■WARRIOR. succeeded to his throne ; but died soon after his father, the victim of his early vices. Before twenty-seven years had elapsed after the death of Theodosius, six princes had successively occupied his throne, five of whom were deposed or put to death by the turbulent and divided nobles. The Roman subjects, who were of the orthodox faction, hated their rulers, who, besides being of Gothic origin, professed the Arian heresy ; and many wished once again to be under the rule of the Greek emperors. The Emperor Justinian resolved to take advantage of this spirit, and thus was produced the conquest of Italy by Belisarius and Narses, an account of which will be found in the history of the reign of that emperor. Before pro- ceeding to recount its most remarkable incidents, it will perhaps be well to glance at the fate of the family of Clovis. On the death of that prince his four sons, each of whom headed one of the military en- campments, all became kings. They were, in general, worthy of their father. Thierry received Austrasia, or the eastern countries of France, comprehending Lorraine, Alsace, part of Champagne, Luxembourg, and the provinces of the Franks beyond the Rhine. Besides these, the districts which he himself had conquered from the Visigoths were assigned him by his father ; they were Rouergue, Auvergne, Quercy, Albigeois, and all the frontier of Provence and Septimania. The kingdom of Orleans, comprising Beauce, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Berry, was bequeathed to Clodomir. The Isle of France, a moiety of Cham- pagne and of Normandy, with the rights which Clovis had possessed to Armorica, were received by Childebert, with the title of King of Paris. Artois, Flanders, and Picardy were erected into the kingdom of Soissons, which was given to Clotaire. The three princes last named were the sons of Clovis by Clotilda ; they were not yet old enough to undertake the government of their respective states. Thierry had been born while Clovis was yet a pagan. He had given promise of a warlike, active career during the lifetime of his father, and he com- menced fulfilling it by repelling with great skill and vigour, a piratical incursion of Danes, under their king Chlochilaic. They had advanced as far as the duchy of Gueldres, marking the way by pillage and destruction. But Chlochi- laic was defeated and slain in a battle in which Theodebert, son of Thierry, greatly distinguished himself; the greater number of the invaders became prisoners, and the booty they had taken w^as all recovered. The throne of Thuringia was shared between the two brothers Hermanfroy and Balderic. The former, by the aid of Thierry, drove the latter from his throne. Thierry then claimed the reward for his services, and received only mockery from 52 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. Hermanfroy, who had taken refuge under the protection of Theodoric of Italy. Meanwhile, Gondebaud of Burgundy had died, leaving the throne to his son Sigismond. The sons of Clotilda who had attained manhood, were en- treated by that queen to avenge the wrongs she had suffered, by pouring out the blood of the son of her enemy, who could not have been involved in the crimes which stained his father's memory. Clodomir, King of Orleans, took the matter into his own charge, made war upon Sigismond, defeated him in battle, ravaged his territories, and compelled his subjects to deliver into his hands their king, with his wife and two sons. These were all murdered by command of Clodomir, and thrown into a well, which is still exhibited near Orleans. The unfortunate king was regarded as a martyr, both by the Franks and his own subjects, and the waters of the well into which his body w^as thrown, were long believed to possess miraculous powers — especially in the cure of fever. A second son of Gondebaud succeeded to the throne, and Clo- domir commenced a second campaign against Hungary, which would have resulted in the overthrow of that kingdom, had not the savage eagerness of Clodomir lost for him the fruits of a brilliant victory. Pursuing the flying Hungarians, he suffered himself to outstrip most of his followers, and found himself suddenly surrounded by the enemy, who recognised him by his long hair and his resemblance to his father. They made him a prisoner, cut off his head, and elevated it on a pike as a standard, around which their countrymen rallied and renewed the fight. But the Franks became furious at the death of their king, and fircely avenged him. The Burgundians were totally routed, and none who fell into the hands of the victors received quarter. Burgundy was reduced to a wilderness, but the fate of Sigismond had so excited the sympathy of the Burgundians, that they resolutely protected his brother Gon- domar in all vicissitudes. On the withdrawal of the Franks, he reascended his throne, and swayed the sceptre as an independent sovereign. The death of Theodoric removed the obstacle which had hitherto pre- vented the Frankish warriors from prosecuting the career of conquest which they had begun. Thuringia and Burgundy first felt the loss they had sustained. Thierry w^-is well prepared to seize the opportunity which he had long desired, of crushing the power of the deceitful Hermanfroy. He invited Clotaire to assist him, and the united forces of the two kings inflicted upon the Thurin- gians a defeat of the most sanguinary description. The deep and dangerous ford of the Onstrud was filled with the bodies of the slain, so that victors and vanquished passed over as on a bridge. The people submitted, in order to avoid the total desolation which seemed to hang over their country, and Hermanfroy himself came to Thierry and threw himself upon his mercy. He w^as kindly re- ceived and even loaded with presents ; but, a few days afterwards, an unknown hand pushed him into the fosse, as he was walking upon the ramparts of the town in which the Franks were quartered. The infamy of having executed or TREACHERY OF THIERRY. 53 ■LOT AIRE DISCOVERING THK ASSASSINS. devised this scheme, was generally fastened upon him to whom it had been most useful, the King of Austrasia, and an anecdote related of him while he was yet in Thuringia, by a histoiian before quoted, clearly shows him to have been perfectly well fitted for the undertaking. Thierry sent for his brother Clotaire as though he wished to see him upon some important business. When the King of Soissons arrived, Thierry led him to a hall across which some tapestry had been hung, for the purpose of screening a party of armed men, who waited there for a signal for the execution of their murderous design. But the tapestry proved too scanty for its purpose ; Clotaire saw the feet of the assassins peering from beneath, and instinctively clapped his hand upon his sword. Thierry saw that his design was discovered, and affected to treat the matter as a jest, arranged to frighten Clotaire. In order to convince him that fratricide had not been intended, he made him a present of a large silver bowl, with many protestations of affectionate solicitude and esteem.* In the same year, Childebert, King of Paris, made war upon Amalaric of Septimania, who had married his sister Clotilda, and shamefully treated her * Gregfory of Tours. 54 R S T A B I, I S II M E N T OF T TI R BARBARIANS. on account of her adherence to tin- orlhodnx faith. He heat her one day so cruelly that she sent to her brotlier a handkerchief stained with her blood. A victory gained at Narhonne opened the gates of that city to Childebert, and Amalaric was slain at the foot of an Arian altar, to which he had fled for refuge. Childebert then set out for Paris, carrying with him his sister Clotilda; but the unhappy princess died upon the way from the injuries she had received from her husband and his subjects. Septimania remained inde- pendent under the rule of Theudis. Thierry now wished to carry the war into Burgundy, without giving his brothers a share in the expedition ; but his followers refused to accede to this scheme, which they deemed antinational. The spirit of discontent thus raised, was fast verging to revolt, and some plan must be devised to prevent them from renouncing their allegiance. Thierry cast his eyes on Auvergne, which had revolted while Childebert was warring against Septimania. The hope of plundering their fellow-subjects in the south, secured the wavering faith of the northern soldiers. The fertile plains bordering Provence were speedily over- run, and everything valuable was taken from the cities, the towns, and even the monasteries and churches. This expedition, undertaken at first only for the purpose of gratifying his followers with plunder, soon assumed the aspect of a serious war. Roused against oppressors who were determined to strip them of all they held dear in life, the Auvergnats proved dangerous foes. Thierry was compelled to retire from a conflict with the defenders of the castle of Outre, now Volore, though he afterwards rained possession of the place by treachery. But the fate of their countrymen of Outre, failed to dis- hearten the garrison of Meroliac, who defended that fortress to the last extremity, notwithstanding the conduct of Thierry, who led fifty of their number, pre- viously captured, to the foot of the walls, and threatened to decapitate them if the citadel were not surrendered. When all opposition seemed to be crushed, the war was suddenly revived by Munderic, one of the wealthiest and most powerful chiefs in the country, who claimed affinity with Clovis. He caused himself to be proclaimed king, and though beaten in the open field, he threw himself into the town of Vitoriacum, (Vitry in Champagne,) w^hence he de- fied the power of the Austrasians. Thierry enticed him to a conference without the walls, and there murdered him; but his followers, animated by despair, continued the war, till after the decease of Thierry. Feeling the approach of death, that king resigned the command to his brave son Theodebert, and re- tired to Metz, where he died (A. D. 534). Theodebert terminated the con- fhct by totally destroying his opponents. Meanwhile important transactions had occurred in Burgundy. When Thierry marched to Auvergne, his brothers Clotaire and Childebert, with his son Theodebert, invaded Burgundy, captured Autun and Vienna, and defeated Gondomar in a general engagement. They then retired to their homes, and deferred the fate of Burgundy until a second invasion. This took place in MURDER OF CLODOMIR'S CHILDREN. 55 IIURDSR OF CLODOMIR'S CHILDaSSI. 532, when Gondomar was defeated and taken prisoner, and his dominions divided among the conquerors. Between the first and the second invasions of Burgundy, Childebert conceived the design of annexing to his dominions half of those which had belonged to his brother Clodomir. At the death of that king, his children were quite young ; and they had been carefully educated by Queen Clotilda, with a view to their inheriting their father's kingdom. She took them one day to Paris, where Childebert then held his court, and he wrote to his brother Clotaire to con- 56 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. suit him on the propriety of taking from them the investiture of Orleans. Clotaire hastened from Soissons, and readily agreed to the diabolical conspiracy. They demanded the princes from Clotilda on the pretence that they ought to be presented to the people as their kings, and the queen joyfully resigned her guardianship. When the infants were in their power, the royal assassins despatched Arcadius to Clotilda with a sword and a pair of scissors, desiring her to choose the fate of her grandsons. Distracted by the cruelty of her inhuman sons, the queen hesitated not to sacrifice their lives rather than see them live dishonoured. She well knew that if deprived of their locks they would live as objects of scorn and contempt to the Franks. She therefore cried, " If they are not to reign like their father, I had rather see them dead than shorn." Their doom was sealed. Brought to their uncles, Clotaire seized the eldest, threw him on the floor and gave him a mortal wound in the armpit with his dagger. His brother threw himself at the feet of Childe- bert, who was moved to compassion by his cries, and joined with him in en- deavouring to persuade Clotaire to spare his life. But pity and remorse never found a place in the heart of the savage Clotaire, who reproached his brother with having instigated him to the deed, and ordered him to cast off the prince or be slain himself. Then plunging his dagger in his side, he slew the child as he had slain his brother. The attendants of the princes, who had been confined in another part of the palace, shared the same fate. Clotaire then mounted his horse and rode off to his capital, while Childebert, whose heart was less callous, withdrew into the suburbs of Paris ; and his mother placed the bodies of her grandsons in one coffin, and buried them in the tomb of their grandfather Clovis. Justinian had become sole Emperor of the East on the death of his uncle Justin (A. D. 527). Theodora, his empress, was a woman of infamous char- acter, whose vices exceeded all that were before known in the licentious city of Constantinople. A great part of that city was ruined by firebrands in the hands of the emperor's soldiers, when they were engaged in quelling a tumult. The disturbance originated in the circus, where two rival factions distinguished themselves by the colours worn by the charioteers, who competed for the prize of swiftness. The rioters overcame the troops, and held possession of the city for some days ; but the Blues finally declared for the emperor, and against the Greens ; a strong body of veterans was marched to the Hippo- drome, or race-course, and peace was restored by the massacre of thirty thousand of the insurgents. By accepting the submission of the Lazi, a tributary people of Persia, Justin provoked a rupture, the consequences of which were reaped by his nephew. Cabades commenced the war by attacking the Roman workmen employed in constructing a fortress beyond Dara. Belisarius, who was Prefect of the East, hastened to succour the place, and commenced his glorious career by a victory over the enemy. Armenia was next attacked by the Persians, TRIUMPH OF BEL ISA RIUS. 57 and Syria would have fallen into their hands, had not Belisarius saved it by marching towards Antioch. As it was, he lost one battle. BeUsarius was superseded by Sittas, who could not force the enemy to abandon the siege of Martyropohs ; the unexpected death of Cabades, however, gave a different di- rection to the court of Ctesiphon. Chosroes, menaced on the throne by a disinherited brother, acceded to proposals of peace ; but the treaty of perpetual friendship, which the two sovereigns concluded, merely suspended the war for a time. One of the chief projects of the reign of Justinian was the extension of the imperial power over all the Roman provinces that had fallen into the hands of the barbarians. He first turned his attention towards Africa, and availed him- self, as a pretext, of the usurpation of Gelimer, who had at that time dethroned Hilderic. The once ferocious Vandals, then in possession of Africa, enervated by luxury and by the climate, promised an easy victory. Belisarius was appointed the commander of the imperial forces, and a large fleet was assembled in the harbour of Constantinople for the transportation of the army. Belisarius landed without opposition on the coast of Africa, advanced toward Carthage, defeated its defenders in a pitched battle, and captured the city itself. Gelimer made another effort to save his kingdom ; but was defeated at Tricameron, and be- sieged in the castle into which he had fled for safety. The want of provisions compelled him to surrender unconditionally. But Belisarius experienced the usual fate of victorious generals. The voice of envy asserted that he intended to appropriate to himself the throne of the Vandals. Justinian meanly gave his ear to the aspersion, and submitted to his able general the alternative of remaining in the province or returnmg to the capital, a favour which Belisa- rius well understood. He resolved to confound his enemies by his presence and submission ; his treasures, guards, and captives were instantly embarked, and his arrival at Constantinople gave to the emperor the first information of his leav- ing Carthage. Justinian's apprehensions were removed by the loyalty of his able general ; the gratitude and admiration of the public silenced the voice of envy ; and the honours of a triumph, a spectacle never before seen in Con- stantinople, were awarded to this third Africanus. The procession was con- ducted from the palace of Belisarius, through the principal streets, to the Hip- podrome ; the wealth of nations was displayed; the trophies of martial or effeminate luxury, rich armour, golden thrones, and the carriages of state, that had been used by the Vandal queen, royal furniture, precious stones, statues, vases, bullion, and coined gold, and the holy vessels of the Jewish temple, which were now deposited in the Christian church at Jerusalem. The great conqueror displayed his modesty and avoided the jealousy of his master by walking on foot at the head of his brave companions ; a long train of the noblest Vandals exposed their handsome countenances and lofty stature, while a dress of purple and a majestic air pointed out the captive king Gelimer. He bore his reverses without sorrow, consoling himself by repeating the reflection of Vol. it. 8 ^3 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. Solomon, " Vanity ! vanit) ! all is vanity I" The procession entered the gate of the Hippodrome, was saluted by the acclamations of the senate and people, and halted before the throne where the emperor was seated to receive the homage of the captive and the conqueror. They both performed the customary adora- tion, and falling prostrate on the ground, respectfully' touched the footstool of the prince. Some gentle violence was used to bend the stubborn spirit of the grandson of Genseric ; and, however trained to servitude, the genius of Beli- sarius must have seci-etly rebelled. He was immediately declared consul for the ensuing year, and the day of his inauguration resembled the pomp of a second triumph. His curule chair was borne aloft on the shoulders of caj)tive Vandals, and the spoils of war, gold cups and rich girdles, were profusely scattered among the populace.* The death of Athalaric, the young King of Italy, having deprived his mother Amalasontha of the power she had wielded during his lifetime, she procured the election of her cousin Theodatus, on his promise to divide with her the sovereign authority. Disappointed in her expectations, she was about to quit Italy, when she was arrested, thrown into prison, and put to death, by order of her ungrateful cousin. Justinian eagerly seized the opportunity of interfering in the affairs of the Goths, and the great Belisarius was selected as the instrument for driving them altogether from Italy. He first, however, en- tered into negotiation with the Franks, with a view of securing their assis- tance. Theodebert and the two sons of Clovis listened to his overtures, pro- mised their aid, and distributed his bribes among their troops. Theodatus had already been succeeded by Vitiges, who also sought assistance from the Franks. He offered them, in return, the sovereignty of Provence and an extension of their southern frontier. The wily Franks accepted his bribes also, and pro- mised their aid; but they finally resolved to remain neutral during the struggle, convinced that whoever might be successful, it would result in their gain. Theodebert was enriched beyond expectation, by the mere negotiations. Be- sides one-third of Provence, the country now inhabited by the Grisons was subjected to his dominion, and he was adopted by Justinian as his son. This substantial favour was very properly appreciated by Theodebert, who showed his gratitude for the kindness in a letter to the emperor, in which Justinian was styled " Father." Meanwhile, Belisarius had commenced the war. While he made himself master of Naples and of Rome, his lieutenant, Mundilas, captured Milan. Vitiges now came again to Theodebert, and by liberal concessions secured his aid. The Austrasian king, notwithstanding his promise to his " father," the empe- ror, sent ten thousand Burgundians (not Franks) over the Alps, into Italy. He caused these auxiliaries to march in detached bands, without chiefs, not as disciplined troops, but as raw volunteers. In Italy they reunited under '*" Gibbuii. THEODKBERT. 59 their leaders, and assisted Vitiges to retake Milan. A most fearful vengeance was inflicted on its garrison and inhabitants ; more than 300,000 males are said to have been massacred in the sack of the city ; the Burgundians re- ceiving for their share of the s})oiLs all the women and girls, who were sold into slavery. But the rapacity of these mercenary allies gave such trouble to Vitiges that he became tired of their aid, and solicited Theodebert to recall them, and aid him henceforth by his neutrality. The Austrasian, however, intended to secure for himself the kingdom of Theodoric ; and he therefore construed this demand as a subject of offence, and announced his determination to proceed to Italy in person, to end the war which consumed it. Both of the combatants heard, without alarm, of his advance to the Po at the head of a hundred thousand men, for he had led each to expect in him an ally. They were encamped near each other, between Pavia and Tortona, the Ostrogoths being nearest to the Franks. When Theodebert came up with them, the soldiers of Vitiges opened their ranks to receive him, and were thrown into irretrievable confusion by the attack made upon them by ^heir supposed friends. They were driven into the very midst of the imperial troops ; who, not doubting that the presents of Justinian had won the Franks over to his cause, joined with the victors in the pursuit. Vitiges escaped with his life, and threw himself into the fortress of Ravenna. Theodebert, by turning on the Romans, showed them that he had undertaken the expedition on his own account. Most of the imperialists threw down their arms, and dispersed for refuge in the towns and cities of Tuscany. The provinces of Liguria and ^Emilia were overrun and plundered by the victors. Genoa, with other cities, was captured and ruined. Want of provisions, however, induced them to re- turn to Austrasia, heavily laden with the rich spoils of both Goths antl Romans. Justinian pretended that his arms had forced them to retire, and assumed the title of Conqueror of the Franks. Theodebert w^as so much offended at his arrogance that he proposed to unite with the Goths, and wiih five hundred thousand men to march to the very gates of Constantinople. But the King of the Goths was obliged to remain cooped up in Ravenna, until by poisoning the water and firing the granaries of the towm, Belisarius induced him to sur- render, on condition that Italy should remain an independent kingdom, under the sceptre of the Roman general.* Meanwhile, Theodebert had become engaged in a w^ar between his uncles, Clotaire and Childebert. He succeeded in suddenly surrounding the army of Clotaire, who had invaded the territories of Childebert, and compelling him to seek safety in the forest of Arelaunium. While there, he totally escaped a terrific storm, which carried destruction and death into the camp of his brother. Fear- ing that they had all incurred the Divine wrath, the belligerents made peace, much to the joy of the aged queen Clotilda, who had prayed unceasingly for * Pictorial History of France. 60 KSTABTJSIIMENT OF THE B A R B A R I A N S. SIEGE OF ZARAGOSSA. the establishment of amicable relations. In 54)1, the restless Clotaire joined his brother in a war against the Visigoths in Spain. It commenced under the most favourable auspices. Pampeluna surrendered; and Biscay, Navarre, and Catalonia were overrun and ravaged. Zaragossa was besieg;ed, but escaped plunder in a marvellous manner. Being unable, from the want of provisions, to maintain the defence, the inhabitants, clothed in sackcloth, made a solemn procession round the Avails of their city, singing psalms and hymns, and in- voking the protection of their patron, Saint Vincent. They cairied at their DEATH OF Til RODE BERT. <>l head, and elevated as a standard, the tunic of the siiiiit. The Franks per- ceived this procession from their encampment ; and the somhre dresses of the actors, and the groups of women, with dishevelled hair and plaintive cries, who closed it, caused them to suppose that it was some incantation of Arian witch- craft. But when they learned the truth from a peasant, whom they took as he was attempting to quit the town, they respected the piety of the people, and the memory of the saint, and consented to raise the siege. In return for his forbearance, Childebert solicited and obtained the consecrated tunic, which he took with him on his return to Paris, where he founded for its preserva- tion the celebrated abbey of St. Germain-des-Pres.* In the following year, 544, the Franks destroyed the army of the Sep- timanian Goths ; but the war appears to have been undertaken only for pillage and the indulgence of a passion for military exercise. The independence of Septimania was still maintained, and the Franks and Visigoths preserved their former boundaries. In Italy, meanwhile, hostilities were continued between the Ostrogoths and the imperialists. Vitiges had been led a prisoner to Con- stantinople, and Eelisarius was sent to conduct the Persian war. After ex- periencing a variety of fortune, according as his own bravery, the misconduct of his infamous wife, or the jealousy of Justinian, gained the ascendency, he was sent back to Italy to recover the territory lost by his unskilful suc- sessors. In eight months, two new sovereigns had been seated on the Gothic throne, both of whom were assassinated. A soldier of considerable skill having been elevated by his countrymen to the rank of king, was making rapid progress towards the re-establishment of the power of Theodoric. He defeated an imperial army numbering nearly four times his force, reduced the greater part of Lower Italy to subjection, captured and pillaged Rome, and then abandoned it. Belisarius re-entered it, planted the Roman eagle on its walls, and prepared for a decisive struggle. Both parties sought the aid of Theodebert, but he had determined to adopt the same policy which he had formerly pursued with so much success. He sent his general, Bucelin, with a strong army nito Italy, with orders to treat both Ostrogoths and imperialists as enemies. He was joined by seventy-five thousand Allemanni, and the amount of booty which his soldiers sent home to France and Germany was immense. The Frank monarch, encouraged by his success, threatened to punish the emperor for his arrogance in assuming the title of Conqueror of the Franks, by investing his capital city, Constantinople. But his death (A. D. 547) prevented the execution of this design. In the same year, Clotilda, the widow of Clovis, died, and was buried at Paris, in the same tomb with her husband, her daughter, and her murdered grandsons. The imbecile Theodebald succeeded his fiither ; his accession was marked by the destruction of his forces in Italy. The Allemanni had marched to deposite their * Pictorial Ilibturv of Frunce. 62 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. booty in Northern Italy; but a plague broke out among them on the banks of Lake Benacus, and swept away the greater i)art of his army. Bucelin had, therefore, to contend alone f'oi- the mastery over Italy ; but he was defeated and slain in an engagement with the eunuch Narses, who had succeeded Belisarius in the command of the imperial forces. Before defeating the Franks, Narses had fought a battle with Totila, in which the vaHant Goth was defeated and slain. His successor, Teias, made a fruitless attempt to renew the war; he was slain in a battle which lasted two whole days, and which totally ruined the power of the Ostrogoths. The Franks having now lost all their conquests in Italy, the country was again annexed to the dominions of the Emperor of the Romans. (A. D. 5o3.) n E A. T Jd OP C 1 1 B A M W E . Theodebald died in the same year, and Clotaire seized the greatest part of his possessions. Childebert revenged himself by inciting Chramrae, Clotaire's eldest son, to rebel against his father, and claim Austrasia for himself. Chram- me was a debauched and profligate young man, in comparison with whose other vices, rebellion was a crime of little magnitude. A Saxon war, of which little is known, engaged Clotaire on the banks of the Rhine, and Chramme took advantage of this circumstance to unite with Childebert. But the death of that king (A. D. 5o8) put an end to his hopes of effectual resistance, and he sought and obtained forgiveness from his father. Two years afterwards, however, he fled from the court of his father, and found refuge with his wife and two infiint daughters, at the court of Canao, King of Brittany. This was a new THE AVARS AND TURKS. 63 monarchy which had sprung into existence since the death of Clovis ; it consisted of the remnant of the old Armorican confederation, and numbers of British re- fugees from the Saxon invaders. Clotaire marched against Canao, who made an attack upon his army, but was defeated, Chramme being forced to seek safety in flight. He reached the seashore, where he had engaged a vessel to carry him to another land; but he awaited the arrival of his wife and children, a delay which proved fatal to him. They had fallen into the hands of a band of Franks, who subsequently made him a prisoner. The w^hole family was enclosed in a small hut, bound to the timbers to prevent their escape, and burned to death with the building. (A. D. 560.) Two years after the death of Chramme, Clotaire himself died, leaving his kingdom to be divided between his four sons, Caribert, Gontran, Chilperic, and Sigebert. The division of their inheritance caused a civil war between the brothers. Chilperic commenced hostilities as soon as his father's corpse was buried. Hastening from the funeral ceremonies at Soissons to Braine, where Clotaire had had his favourite residence, he seized the royal treasures, had them brought from the subterranean chambers in which they had been kept, and induced the Franks of the neighbourhood to proclaim him sole king, by freely distributing the w-ealth of his father. But his brothers united against him, and compelled him, after a short struggle, to be content with a proper share of the realm. While the conquests of Belisarius were restoring to Justinian the western provinces of the Roman empire, the north-eastern frontiers were ravaged almost with impunity. Fearing to meet the hordes of the Gepidee in the field, the emperor gave to the Longobardi, or Lombards, a settlement in Pannonia ; and the empire was protected from the invasions of both hordes by a war wdiich raged between them for forty years. But the Sclavonians and Bulgarians annually purchased a passage through the territories of the Gepidffi, and made inroads into Southern Greece ; and the new" and formidable barbarian races of the Avars and the Turks, began to make themselves known to the people of the Eastern Empire. The Avars, from an unknow^n age, possessed the mountains and deseits in North-eastern Asia, bordering on Lake Baikal. Under a monarch named Tulun, they advanced southward, extending their empire to the sea which separates Corea from Japan. This monarch took the name Chakan, or Chagan, still used on the coins of the Turkish sultans. But civil wars broke out among the Avars; rival tribes from the north assailed them, and a new" horde over- threw their empire and totally destroyed their power. This was the nation of the Turks, called by the Chinese, Thi'.kpiii. They had been originally the slaves of the Avars; they inhabited the great Altaian mountains, and were engaged in fabricating armour and weapons, in working the mines and attending the forges. With Tiiumen for their leader, they asserted their inde- pendence, antl made slaves of their former masters. During the reigns of 64 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 13 A R 13 A R I A N S. C HIT P F H 1 r DIViniN lllS t \ l L h B b I'iaASDRi'S Thumen and his successor Dizabul, the Turkish dominions were extended from the Volga to the Sea of Japan. They were thus brought into possession of the countries through which the silk trade was carried, and commei-cial rehi- tions began to subsist between the Turks, • the Persians, and the Byzantines. In their career of conquest, the Turks overthrew the nation of the Ogors, or Varchonites, w^ho then migrated toward Europe, by the route of the Volga. They called themselves Avars, because that name was still so formidable as to awaken terror in their opponents.* *Tavlor. LEGISLATION OF JUSTINIAN. 65 . Chosroes, the Persian monarch, was the great rival of Justinian. He would most probably have again extended the power of Persia over the whole country ruled by Cyrus, had not the Eastern Emperor brought Belisarius into the field against him. When the jealousy of the emperor removed that general from the command, Chosroes urged forward his conquests with alarming ra- pidity ; Belisarius was reinstated, and the Persian was forced to retire. While Narses was reducing Italy, Belisarius had been restored to his proper rank, and sent to defend the empire from an invasion of the Bulgarians. He gained a decisive victory ; but the intrigues of the courtiers prevented him from following up his advantages. By the payment of a large ransom for their captives, the Bulgarians were induced to retire over the Danube, and Justinian claimed the gratitude of his subjects for their deliverance. Belisarius, the prop of the emperor's power, was soon after disgraced and imprisoned on a false charge of treason. His innocence was subsequently proved, and he was re- stored to freedom ; but grief and resentment hurried him to the grave, anrl the rapacious emperor took possession of his treasures. Eight months afterward Justinian toUowed him, scarcely regretted by his subjects. Under the reign of Justinian and by his direction, all the imperial laws that had been enacted since the accession of Adrian, were collected into a single vol- ume, the Code. The enormous chaos of ancient decisions was also reduced to order, in a work called the Pandects, arranged in fifty books, and containing all that was useful in ancient jurisprudence. Besides these, an elementary work on jurisprudence was prepared, as an introduction to the study of the law. This, which is the most valuable of all the works of Justinian, was named the Institulea. The Institutes, the Pandects, and the Code thus comprised the whole system of ancient Roman jurisprudence; and formed, according to the statement of the emperor, a holy and august temple, in which justice should pronounce her oracles. Justinian reserved to himself, in express terms, the right of adding subsequently and separately, such constitutions as he should judge necessary. These were called JVovels : they limit, extend, and in some instances repeal the Code ; in the last year of the emperor's reign they were collected into a volume. The principal agent in the preparation of these works was Tribonian, a very eminent lawyer, and a corrupt judge. Being accustomed to sell jus- tice, he found no difficulty in altering, suppressing, or perverting many excel- lent laws. The inconsistency of many of the emperor's Novels with the laws of the Code, lead to the suspicion that the emperor and his legal adviser were guided by interest and favour rather than by reason and equity. The Basilica, or Greek constitutions of later emperors, supplanted Justi- nian's Code in the East, and Illyria was the only province in the West that re- ceived it, until the overthrow of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. There it was soon superseded by the laws of the Lombards. When Charlemagne had over- thrown the Lombard monarchy, he searched Italy in vain for a copy of the legis- lation of Justinian. In the twelfth century, the troops of the emperor Lothaire II. Vol. II. 9 66 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. found a copy of the Digest in the city of Amalfi, which was presented as a reward for services to the citizens of Pisa. At a later period, a copy of the Code was found in Ravenna ; and the Novels, which were dispersed through- out Italy, were gathered into a collection. " Such were the origin and revo- lutions of this celebrated body of legislation, the source of the civil laws throughout Europe, and the great guide to the most civilized nations, in sup- plying the defects of their several legal systems."* Justinian, anxious to obtain for his subjects a certain supply of silk with- out subjecting the commerce of the Byzantines to the exactions of his enemies, endeavoured to wrest from the Persians some portion of their trade. In this JDS'J'IN1A.N AND IHE MONES. attempt he foiled ; but about the middle of the sixth century, when least expected, the object of his hopes was placed wnthin his reach. The labours of the silk- worms, and the method of rearing them, had been accurately observed by two Per- sian monks, while performing their duties as Christian missionaries, under the di- rection of some of the churches established in India. They communicated their information to Justinian, who, by liberal promises, induced them to undertake the task of introducing the cultivation of silk into his capital. They proceeded to China and returned with a competent supply of the eggs of the silk-worm, concealed in a hollow cane. The eggs were hatched, and the insects fed upon Taylor. THE SILK MANUFACTURE. 67 the leaves of the wild mulberry-tree. Success attended the labours of Jus- tinian and his pious assistants, and the worms increased so rapidly that the emperor opened the trade. In 571, scarcely twenty years after the discovery of the monks, the Turks, having learned from their tributaries, the Sogdians, that the carrying-trade had greatly fallen off, sent a commission to Constanti- nople to form a commercial treaty with the Byzantines. The astonishment of the ambassadors can scarcely be conceived when they found the people of Constantinople well supplied with silk of their own growth, and already rival- ling the manufactures of China. Sigebert, King of Austrasia, had scarcely received the homage of his new subjects before his presence was required beyond the Rhine, to repel an inva- sion of Thuringia by the Avars. They had left their homes in McBsia, in the hope of acquiring rich booty, by plundering the territory of the Franks. But their wild and formidable looks, which had awed the effeminate soldiers of Justinian, produced no effect on the stout-hearted Austrasians, who offered battle as soon as they met. Sigebert fought on foot at the head of his army, and succeeded in driving the invaders back. Four years afterwards, however, they returned to the attack, and achieved a complete victory. But they failed to make a conquest or settlement, and the battle would seem to have led to a friendly intercourse between the two armies. Sigebert having fallen into their hands a prisoner, they were struck with his manly beauty, and gave him his freedom and many presents. In return, Sigebert provided them with the means of subsistence during their return to their own country. The desire of protecting the frontiers of the empire from the Gepidse, had induced the emperor to allow the Lombards to settle on them. Thrace en- joyed comparative tranquillity while they warred with each other ; but when Alboin came to the Lombard throne, he united with the Avars, for the pur- pose of crushing the enemies of his nation. The emperor, Justin II., unwisely abandoned the Gepidse to their fate. Their king, Cunimund, was defeated and slain, and his skull was formed into a drinking-cup by his barbarous enemy. Rosamond, the daughter of the slaughtered king, was forced to become the spouse of the victor, and the bravest of the surviving Gepidse were incorpo- rated with the Lombard troops. The Avars received the territory of Dacia, with a large share of the spoils, for their assistance during the war. Alboin fixed his ambition on a higher object. The wealth and fertility of Italy had attracted the attention of a body of the Lombards, who had served under Narses m that country, and Alboin induced them to hope that this fair land might be their own. He recalled its advantages to their minds by producing some of its finest fruits at a feast. His designs were approved by his subjects, and the neighbouring German and Slavonic tribes sent many adventurers to join his standard. When ready to set out, the Lombards resigned their lands to the Avars, who promised to return them if their friends should fail in the conquest of Italy. As if to insure success to Alboin, the Empress Sophia 68 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. removed the skilful Narses from his office of exarch, and appointed Longinus in his stead. The Lombards found no army to oppose them in the field, and few even of the cities resisted Alboin's progress. Pavia closed her gates against him, and detained him three years before its walls. Famine at length forced it to sur- render ; and its inhabitants would have been put to a general massacre, had not the horse of Alboin stumbled as he was entering the gates. He believed that Heaven had sent him an omen to warn him against cruelty, and he granted pardon and safety to the vanquished. He died, however, before he could regulate the affairs of his new kingdom. One evening, maddened with wine, he sent to his wife Rosamond the tlrinking-cup which had been made of the skull of her father, filled to the brim, and commanded her to rejoice with her sire. She was obliged to obey ; but she vowed to wipe out the insult in the blood of its author. The indulgence of an adulterous passion was added to the desire of vengeance, and Alboin was murdered (A. D. 573). Clepho was chosen to succeed him ; but he was stabbed by a domestic at the end of eighteen months. His cruelty had given to his subjects a dis- like to royalty, and they changed the government to a federative form. This lasted for ten years, during which the Lombards were generally successful in Italy, but failed in all their attempts upon the Franks. Their first expedition of this kind was undertaken in 570. The army sent against them by Gontran was defeated ; and they proceeded through the country until the accumulation of their spoil made it necessary for them to re- turn. They soon undertook a second expedi- tion. Gontran sent against them Ennius, sur- named Mummol, an able general. He de- feated them near Embrun, and nearly all of them were captured. The defeat of these adventurers did not discourage others from following their exam- ple. An army of Saxons that had assisted Al- boin, crossed the Alps in the following year, animated by a thirst for vengeance and booty. They encamped near Estoublous, in Provence, and commenced pillaging the country. Mum- mol attacked them and forced them to leave their conquests, after abandoning the spoils they had taken. In the year 574, two hundred thousand Saxons entered the country, and ad- vanced along the banks of the Rhine toward the centre of the Frankish dominions. At Ly- ons they found a large army under Mummol, prepared to repel their advances. A battle S A S O N V7 AilRlOR INVASION OF THE LOMBARDS. 69 ensued, in which the Saxons were routed with the loss of all their booty. On their retreat they attempted to avenge their loss upon the people of Auverone ; but the Auvergnats ransomed such of their friends as were captured with pieces of copper gilt, which the barbarians took for real gold. On their return to their own country, the Saxons found that the Suevi had established themselves there ; and many battles and much bloodshed took place before they could be brought to divide, amicably, possessions which were sufficiently ample for both. The Saxons having left France, the Lombards appeared again upon the scene. In 576, Amon, Zaban, and Rhodan, three chiefs who had distinguished themselves in Italy, each led a large army over the Alps. Rhodan halted before Grenoble, while Zaban went to besiege Valence, and Amon displayed his banners under the walls of Aries. From the plain of La Crau, the inva- ders drove all the flocks of the high Alps, which usually pastured there in bad seasons ; and, but for Mummol, the inhabitants would have been left deso- late. Rhodan was first attacked. He w^as wounded in the battle, but escaped with five hundred men into Italy. The remainder of his army perished on the field. Zaban was at this time on the return home, but Mummol outstripped him in speed, and cut his army to pieces in the neighbourhood of Ernbrun. Amon learning the fate of his countrymen, would not risk an engagement; but threw himself into one of the Alpine gorges, hoping to reach the Lom- bard plains by an unknown route. But the eternal snows of the mountains proved graves to the greater number of his followers, and all the booty which he had collected was abandoned. These repeated disasters made the Lombards more cautious in their hostility tow^ard the Franks ; and shortly afterwards their attention was engrossed too exclusively by their domestic troubles, to allow them any advantage from the dissensions and w^ars of their neighbours.* In 562, during the first campaign of Sigebert against the Avars, his brother Chilperic, who inherited a large share of the inhumanity of his father, embraced the opportunity to make himself master of Rheims and several other towns that had fallen to the share of his brother. Sigebert, as soon as he had freed himself of the Avars, turned upon and captured Soissons, with its defender Theodebert, son of Chilperic. He afterwards defeated Chilperic him- self, took from him the dominions he had captured, and would have deprived him of his kingdom, but for the interposition of his two brothers. Soissons was finally restored to its owner ; but Theodebert was not set at liberty until he had taken an oath never to bear arms against his uncle. Caribert, King of Paris, was addicted to the practice of polygamy. A damsel named Meroflede, the daughter of a wool-comber, with her sister, and not less than four other women, were accounted as his wives. His brother Chilperic also had several wives and many mistresses, of whom the most cele- brated was Fredegonde. This favourite supplanted, in the affections of the * Pictorial History of France 70 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. days, king, the Queen Audovere, who had raised her from the most humble station, by taking her into her service. Sigebert demanded in marriage Brunehaut, the daughter of Athanagilde, the King of the Visigoths in Spain. Chilperic then sued for the hand of Brunehaut's sister, and, in order to obtain her, put away all his other wives and concubines. Fredegonde, however, did not leave the palace ; she succeeded in winning back the love of the king, and so es- tranged him from his wife, that the latter demanded permission to return to her father. But she had brought to her husband a very valuable dowry, which he would be obliged to restore at her dismissal. His pride and his avarice both urged him to refuse her request : he endeavoured, without success, to soothe and console her with words and promises ; and finally gave direc- tions for disposing of her to a slave, who took charge of her chamber for one night. In the morning she was found dead ; the king mourned for her a few and then married Fredegonde. Brunehaut instigated her husband to avenge the murder of her sister ; and he united his arms with those of his brother Gontran for that purpose. Chilperic was compelled to fly to Burgundy, the inhabitants of which had proclaimed their independence and elected a king. On promising to give to Brunehaut the possessions which he had received with her sister, Chilperic was allowed to return to his capital. Caribert had died some time since, and his possessions had been divided among his brothers. Sigebert, returning from the w^ar with the Avars, ibund Gontran again engaged in repelling the Saxons and the Lombards. He took advantage of his distresses by seizing the important city of Aries. Chilperic entered the province of the Loire, whence he was soon driven by Mummol. In 573 he renewed the struggle, and was again beaten. He then united his forces with those of Gontran against Sigebert, who awaited the advance of his German allies, in order to be able more fully to retaliate the atrocities which his revengeful brothers were commit- ting. He induced Gontran to leave his ally to his fate ; defeated and slew Theodebert near Angouleme ; reduced Chilperic to submission, and marched triumphantly through Neustria. His wife, Brunehaut, hastened with her three children to Paris, in order to share in her husband's triumph, and threw the weight of her influence into the scale against the murderer of her sister. The fate of Chilperic seemed finally decided. Sigebert denounced death against him, and forthwith proclaimed himself King of Soissons. He received every- where the homage of his brother's subjects, who immediately hastened to BRU BE H AUT. — ^^^^rS^^^ DEATH OF SIGEBERT. 73 abandon the cause of a prince who seemed now to be effectually deposed. But though the arms and entreaties of Chilperic had failed to procure for him the mercy of his brother, the genius of Fredegonde was successfully exerted to save him from destruction. She had been aroused by the triumphant insults of Brunehaut, and had determined to compass the destruction of both Sige- bert and his queen. To make sure of the success of her plan, she poisoned the daggers with which she armed her agents. These, under pretence of import- ant business, gained access to the king in the midst of his army, and ended his reign and his existence by striking him with their long daggers. (A. D. 575.) As soon as he was dead, the Neustrians renewed their fidelity to Chilperic, and the Austrasian army was disbanded. Fredegonde despatched immediate orders to Paris to seize Brunehaut and her children; and, when this was done, Chilperic was proclaimed King of Austrasia. In the confusion which followed, Childebert, the eldest son of Sigebert, was aided in escaping from his prison by Gondebaud, who hastened with him to his father's capital, and caused him, on Christmas day, to be proclaimed king. As he was but a child, and the exigencies of the times required able ministers to guide and direct his king- dom, the Austrasians appointed a Mayor of the Palace, who was empowered to perform the functions of royalty, in the king's name ; and who, by keeping a perpetual guard over his royal ward, managed to reduce the real authority of the sovereign to insignificance. Thus was commenced the reign of the Rois faineants, or sluggards, the subversion of whose dominion finally put an end to the Merovingian dynasty. Brunehaut, banished to Rouen, lived in continual dread of the cruelty of Fredegonde. While at Paris she had been seen by Merovsus, a son of Chilperic, by his former queen, Audovere, who now took advantage of her vicinity to his mother's residence in Mans, to pay the widowed queen a visit. He went to Rouen at Easter in 576, and offered himself in marriage to the beautiful queen, who accepted him in the hope that she would thus obtain a means of revenging herself upon Fredegonde. But proper secrecy was not observed ; the news of the wedding was immediately carried to Soissons, and the act of his son was represented to Chilperic as the commencement of a rebellion. Flying to Rouen, the king surprised the bride and bridegroom, sent the latter a prisoner to Soissons, and gave to the former her liberty, supposing that she would imme- diately seek the protection of her father. But she fled to Metz, and animated the Austrasians to defend their country against Chilperic, who came against it, breathing implacable enmity towards Brunehaut and Childebert. Mummol met him at Limoges, cut to pieces twenty thousand of his warriors, and forced him to make a disgraceful peace. Chilperic now vented his spleen upon the unfortunate Merovwus. He threw him into prison, cut off his long hair, divorced him from his wife, ordained him as a priest, and sent him under guard to the abbey of St. Calais, in Maine. On the way he escaped from his escort, and fled to the sanctuary Vol. it. 10 74 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. of St. Martin in Tours, where Bishop Gregory afforcled him protection. Chil- peric demanded the delivery of the refugee, but the good old Gregory refused. Chilperic then denied the right of the church to withhold criminals from jus- tice, and wrote a letter to Saint Martin for a decision on the subject. He deposited it with the necessary materials for writing an answer, on the tomb of the martyr ; but the good bishop disdained to practise the usual chicanery of the priests, and the letter remained unanswered. Merovffius also consulted supernatural agencies. A celebrated magician had predicted the year, the day, and the hour of the death of Caribert, King of Paris. He now informed the prince that, in one year, Chilperic would be in the grave, Merovseus on the throne, and his brothers in prison. A blind confidence in the truth of this prediction, caused the destruction of the superstitious prince. Narrowly escapmg several attempts made by Fredegonde's agents to capture or assassinate him, Merovseus escaped to Bru- nehaut, at Metz. She received him kindly, but the Austrasians commanded him to leave the kingdom. Lingering near Rheims, he received a deputation from the people of Therouanne, requesting him to come as sovereign to their city, and assuring him that the whole country was ready to take arms in his defence. He set out for the city; but on the way the pretended ambassadors proved to be his gaolers, acting under the orders of Fredegonde, who directed him to be slain. When Chilperic, informed of his capture, came to see him, he found him dead. By the influence of the queen, Pretextat, Bishop of Rouen, was deprived of his office, and banished to the Isle of Jersey, as a punishment for having performed the marriage ceremony at the nuptials of Merovseus. After the death of Chilperic, he returned to Rouen, and resumed his episcopal functions ; but the hatred of the queen had not abated. Soon after his return, as he was chanting mass in the cathedral, before a large congregation, an assassin made his way through the crowd to the altar, and plunged a dagger into the right breast of the bishop. Such was the surprise or indifference of the people, that the culprit, though seen and known, was suffered to escape, v/hile the bishop fell " at the foot of the altar, staining the pavement with his welling blood."* In 580, Fredegonde having lost her three sons by sickness, and mad- dened at the thought that Clovis, another son of Chilperic and Audovere, would succeed to his father's power, accused him of having poisoned her chil- (hen. Chilperic caused the unoffending prince to be arrested and murdered, and his sister was forced to take the veil. Audovere herself, after having seen the destruction of her family, fell a victim to the vices of the ungrateful woman whom she had raised to power. In 577, Gontran having lost both of his own sons, adopted Childebert, and * Pictorial History of Fnince. DEATH OF BISHOP PRHTKSTAT. GONDOVALD. 77 _,(_,,t>oaJii> FREDEOONDE. declared himself Protector of Austrasia. The union of these two princes prevented Chil- peric from waging war with either of them. But he sought a quarrel with Varoc of Brittany, who, ready for the contest, speedily overran Poitou with his troops. Chilperic suffered defeat in this war, and was nearly ruined, when by an opportune alliance with Childebert, he terminated hostilities, gain- ing from Gontran several places which had interfered with the compactness of his do- minions. All things seemed now to prosper with the husband of Fredegonde ; but the passions of his queen involved her in difficulties, and caused her husband's destruction. He accidentally discovered an intrigue which she maintained with a lover named Landry, and he withdrew from her presence to fall a victim to her fears. He was murdered as he dismounted from his horse, on returning from the chase. His hand was still resting on the shoulder of an attendant, when a strange man suddenly sprung upon him, and inflicted several wounds wuth a dagger. He fell to the ground, with the blood gush- ing from his wounds and his mouth, and died before he could be removed into the house. Fredegonde, taking her infant son, and all the money and jewels she was able to collect, sought sanctuary in the cathedral at Paris. She imme- fliately applied herself to gain the affections of the Parisians, by the liberal employment of gold and good words, and wrote an appeal to Gontran on be- half of " a realm without a master, and a young prince of four months old, whom his mother dared not confide to others." Gontran listened to her prayer, and hastened to Paris to defend the infant thus confided to his guardianship. As he entered one gate of the city with a band of faithful followers, Childe- bert appeared at the other, expecting to derive some benefit from the unset- tled state of affairs. The Parisians refused to admit him into the city ; and a civil war would have ensued, had not other troubles arose which demanded the whole attention of both the rival kings. A woman had once brought into the notice of the Austrasian king, Gon- dovald, an infant, whom she asserted to be a son of Clotaire I., and whose hair she had suffered to fall on his shoulders, like that of the princes of the royal line. But Clotaire refused to acknowledge him, and caused his hair to be cut off; and the Franks applied to him the derisive title of Ballomez, or " mock prince." He afterw^ards went to Italy, where he married a wealthy Greek lady, and then removed with her to Constantinople. Some Austrasian ambassadors to that city, saw him and induced him to resume his claims upon the Franks. When he landed in France in 582, he was joined by Mummol, 78 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. Gontran Bosun, Didier, and others. Their example favoured his progress, and he was speedily crowned as their king by the people of Aquitaine. As, ac- cording to custom, he was being carried round the camp on a shield, his foot slipped, and he nearly lost his equilibrium. The superstitious Franks regarded this omen as unfortunate ; but Muramol and the other leaders forwarded his cause, and nearly all the native authorities in the south enlisted themselves under his banner. Toulouse and Bordeaux fell into his hands, and he was preparing to press forward in a second campaign and finish the war, when a Burgundian army checked his advances by capturing the city of Poitiers. All the tortures known to the age were applied to punish the inhabitants for their rejection of the Merovingian rulers ; and the pillage was carried to such excess, that the bishop was forced to break a chalice belonging to the altar service, and share its pieces among the soldiery. An unexpected alliance between Gontran and Childebert disconcerted all the plans of the insurgents, and spread terror throughout their camp. Didier, with his vassals, deserted the standard of Gondovald, who was forced to seek for safety in Couvennes, a town built by Pompey, on the top of a steep mountain. The people prepared to sustain a siege ; but Mummol did not wish to feed them, and therefore sent them to meet the enemy, who, he said, had arrived in a neighbouring plain. When they returned they found their own gates shut against them ; antl the Burgundians now really arriving, heightened their misery. Gondovald paid dearly for suffering this act of perfidy to be done in his name. The besiegers were unable to accomplish their designs by force, their engineers pronouncing the place impracticable ; but their gold proved more efficient than their arms. A Burgundian emissary succeeded in bribing Mum- mol to desert his master, whose cause was evidently desperate ; and the sub- ordinate chiefs followed the example of their leader. In a general council they advised Gondovald to submit himself to his brother's direction, promising to intercede for him. He saw from this that he had been betrayed ; and he calmly signified his assent to their plans. He suffered himself to be conducted from the town and delivered into the custody of Ollon, Count of Burgundy, and Gontran Bosan, who had long since deserted his cause. As soon as they had delivered him up, Mummol and his follower retired into the citadel and closed the gates, while the unfortunate prince began to descend the mountain with his merciless enemies. On the way he was struck from behind by Ollon, who exclaimed, " Behold your Ballomez, the son and brother of kings." He was immediately pierced in the side by a lance thrust beneath his cuirass. He endeavoured to rise, but Bosan seized a large stone, hurled it upon his head, and crushed him to death. His barbarous enemies dragged his body by a rope through the camp, plucked out his hair and beard, and finally left his mangled body to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey in the plains. The faithless conduct of those who had tempted the unfortunate Gondo- MASSACRE OF COUVENNES. 79 vaM from his peaceful home in Constantinople, was now rewarded. The gates of the city w^ere opened at dawn on the following day, and the chiefs pre- pared to depart. But the besiegers immediately commenced a fearful massacre, in which the aged chief, Mummol, perished, with all the warriors, priests, citizens, women, and children, who had abode in Couvennes during the siege. When the sword could find no more victims, the town was set on fire and reduced to a mass of blackened stones. This tragedy made a lasting impression upon the Aquitanians, strength- ening their hatred against their conquerors, and teaching them their power when animated by a firm and patriotic spirit. We soon after find notices of sovereigns of Aquitaine independent of those of Neustria and Austrasia. It has been asserted that Fredegonde had sent messengers to Gondovald inviting him to come to Paris, and that her action was reported to Gontran. However true this may be, that king altered his conduct towards her after this event, and determined to humiliate her. He appointed a council of re- gency to direct the government, compelled Fredegonde to withdraw to the castle of Vaudreuil, four leagues from Rouen, inquired into the circumstances of the death of Chilperic, and brought to popular recollection the death of Prince Chilperic, and of Merovseus. He finally, but without success, attempted to establish the illegitimacy of the young prince, Clotaire II. In the mean time, every opportunity of enlarging her power had been seized by Brunchaut. 80 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. When her young son was sixteen years of age, she persuaded him to dismiss his council of regency, and intrust the care of the whole government to her- self. The leaders consented to this the more readily, as she already possessed much of the real power, and would be a dangerous opponent in a civil war. Her first step was a declaration of war against the King of the Visigoths. The other two Frankish monarchies were joined with Austrasia in this expe- dition, the whole being under the command of Gontran. It Avas entirely un- successful ; and the commander was fain to conclude a treaty of peace (A. D. 588), which imposed on him the condition of relinquishing all attempts upon Sep- timania. Before Gontran had set out, two other wars had been kindled ; one with the Bretons, the other with the Lombards. The former drove back their invaders with disgrace and loss, and retaliated by continual predatory incur- sions into the territory of Neustria. In 590, the King of Orleans, as guar- dian for Clotaire II., sent two armies to punish them for their aggressions. But Varoc, retreating after a battle with one division, led his pursuers into the midst of a morass, and then turned furiously upon them and entirely de- feated them. The leaders of the other party concluded a treaty of mutual forbearance with Varoc, which was not observed. As the army was beginning the passage of the river Ouh, on its way home, it was attacked by Cannao, the son of Varoc. Those who were already over escaped, but four-fifths of the whole number perished, either by the swords of the assailants, or by drownino- in the river. Four years afterwards, the indomitable Bretons repelled another Frankish invasion, considerably extended their frontier, and added to their dominions several important towns that had hitherto paid tribute to Frankish rulers. About the year 586, the emperor, Maurice of Constantinople, concluded a treaty with Childebert, in which, for fifty thousand pieces of gold, the Frank kino- undertook to settle a quarrel of his own, under the show of reducing the Lombards to the imperial rule. But he disregarded his engagements, and fol- lowed the example of Theodebert, in treating friend and foe ahke. Both sides finally agreed to pay him more for his neutrality than he could have expected for the most active co-operation. But the Lombards, after a time, discontinued the payment of this subsidy, and an army of Franks and Allemanni was sent ao-ainst them in 5S5. This expedition failed, in consequence of the national dissensions of the allies. A second invasion, undertaken in 588, was defeated by Autharis, the Lombard monarch, with " more loss and dishonour than the Franks had sustained since the foundation of their monarchy." In 590, however, they returned to the charge, so formidable in numbers, that Autharis withdrew with his treasures into the walled cities, between the Alps and the Apennines. But intemperance, disease, and desertion wasted the force of the invaders, while the twenty dukes, who led them, were engaged in useless disputes. After plundering the country for three months, they set out to re- THE MEROVINGIAN KINGS. 81 turn, and re-entered France with a multitude of captives, driven like yoked oxen before them. They were in such a destitute state, that they gave all their booty, their prisoners, their clothing, and even their arms, in exchange for food in the places through which they passed. By the perpetual exhibition of weakness and vice, the Merovingian princes had gradually allowed the power of the leudes (barons) to increase, while their own was diminished. The many wars in which the sovereigns had engaged, had produced little glory or gain ; and those of the leudes, who desired to aggran- dize themselves by increasing their private domains, were very unwilling to follow the standard of the king in an endless succession of foreign hostilities. The ancient inhabitants of the land were very restless, and perpetually received additions to their strength, in the foreigners whom the wars reduced to bond- age, and in the great tide of emigration which poured into the country from beyond the Rhine. The Franks, Saxons, Allemanni, and other tribes driven from their seats by new races pressing forward from the north, displaced their south- ern neighbours in their search for new homes. The ancient wars of the Cimbri and Teutones, seeking a home among the Gauls, seem to have been renewed in the Avaric, Lombard, and Saxon incursions. The primary cause of the great revolution which thus, from time to time, drove the Scythians and Scan- dinavians to the south-west, cannot be accurately ascertained, but it is unde- r\iable that the movement was continued till the ninth or tenth century. The wars of Thierry and Clotaire with the Thuringians and Saxons, and those of Theodebert and his successors in Italy, are ascribed by M. Guizot to the pres- sure from the north-east of new tribes, which were perpetually urging forward the old settlers, and compelling them to seek other colonies. " The warlike expeditions of the times," he says, " were not mere pillaging inroads, they were not expeditions undertaken for the purpose of plunder ; they were the result of necessity. The people, disturbed in their own settlements, pressed forward to better their fortune, and find new abodes elsewhere."* The Thu- ringians were impelled onward by the Danes, and these, in turn, by the Nor- mans, the Huns, the Bohemians, and the whole Slavonian race. Fredegonde endeavoured to turn to her account the troubles which impended over the country. The inhabitants of Soissons and Meaux, dissatisfied wuth her for holding her court at Vaudreuil, threw off their allegiance, and requested Childebert to give them his son, Theodebert, a child three years old, for king. He compUed, and the royal infant was inducted into his new kingdom, which was to be governed by a mayor of the palace, an officer now indispensable in the Frankish courts. Fredegonde protested against the usurpation, and implored Gontran to maintain the rights which he had guarantied to her son. But the growing disaffection of the leudes towards the Merovingian princes, now broke into an open rupture between Gontran and his court. He dared * Guizot's History of Civilization. Vol. II. 11 82 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. not stir abroad in the streets of Orleans without a strong guard ; his edicts were treated with contempt, and the nobles were roaming over the country with their vassals, and fiUing every part of it with rapine and plunder. Gon- tran was of too feeble a character to repress these lamentable excesses, and Brunehaut dared not take a stand against those by whose sufferance she held her authority. Fredegonde, hoping to recover her former power, encouraged by her emissaries the discontent of the nobles in the other realms, and cau- tiously refrained from opposing those among her own adherents. It has been asserted that she organized a conspiracy against Childebert, which, however, was discovered and foiled , by the assassination of its chief, Rauchingue. A mark of the wealth of the leudes, is found in the fact that the royal coffers did not contain so much treasure as was found in the mansions and castles of this noble. Gontran and Childebert joined their forces, and punished all those who were concerned in this attempt. It was on this occasion that the celebrated treaty of Andelot was formed, by which the two kings agreed to surrender all deserters from each other, and the royal grants, or benejfces, were confirmed to their holders independent of any future disposition of the sovereign, for the time being, in whose territories they might lie. No sooner was this revolt against Childebert suppressed, than another was contemplated. Its authors were betrayed and punished. Egidius, the Bishop of Rheims, being implicated in this aff'air, was tried and pronounced guilty, and sentenced to be deposed and banished to Strasburg. In Neustria, two families had become involved in a mortal feud. Frede- gonde's attempts to conciliate them failed through the obstinacy of three men of one of the parties. The queen invited the three Franks to a banquet in the palace ; seated them all side by side upon a bench, plied them freely with wine, and, when they were intoxicated, gave a preconcerted signal to three men who waited behind them. Each of these at the same moment raised his axe ; the floor of the hall was stained with blood, and the opposition to the queen's authority was ended. This violation of the laws of hospitality, however, enraged the Franks, and they besieged the royal palace ; but the arrival of a party of faithful troops restored quiet. Young Clotaire, soon after, fell sick at Paris, and the physicians despaired of saving his life ; but his mother undertook the treatment of his disease, and succeeded in effecting a cure. Gontran had commenced a march for Paris, intending to take possession of the kingdom as soon as his nephew should die ; but the queen w^on him over to her friendship, and induced him to become godfather to her son, M^ho had not yet been baptized. The indolent, weak- minded, and inconstant Gontran died two years afterwards, when Clotaire II. was eleven years of age. Childebert inherited his kingdom, and thus became master of a realm three times as large as that of his cousin Clotaire. He immediately put his troops in motion for the acquisition of the smaller king- ST. COLUMB. 83 dom; but Fredegonde quickly collected a small army which surprised and de- feated the invaders, and ravaged the territory of the enemy to the very gates of Rheims. A war with the Bretons, in which he was severely handled, and another with the Varni, whose name was stricken from the list of nations during its continuance, marked the remainder of the life of Childebert. He died in 596, leaving his kingdom to his two young sons, Theodebert and Thierry, and the care of the government to Brunehaut. Fredegonde immediately commenced enlarging the kingdom of Neustria, at the expense of her neighbours; and defeated an army which Brunehaut had sent to punish the aggression. She was advancing to Metz when she fell sick and died (A. D. 597), leaving behind her a name celebrated alike in the an- nals of infamy, and in the record of shrewd, able, and calculating rulers. Brunehaut survived her rival, and awoke from the panic under which she seems hitherto to have laboured. The Avars, who had continued to press upon the Rhine, were driven back in terror, and compelled to pay tribute. The Lombards renewed treaties of amity with the Austrasians, and the head of the church favoured Theodebert with the titles of most illustrious, most pious, and most Christian prince. But a revolt of chiefs soon after compelled Theodebert to banish Brunehaut from his kingdom. All deserted her, save a poor wood-cutter, named Didier, who met her as she was flying for her life, alone and on foot, in a wood on the frontiers of Champagne. He conducted her to the court of her grandson, Thierry. Here she was kindly received, and en- abled to reward the fidelity of Didier, who was made Bishop of Auxerre. At the court of Thierry she speedily organized a war for the recovery of the territory which Fredegonde had seized. The Neustrians were completely hum- bled, and the dominion of Clotaire was reduced to twelve counties, or governments of counts. During this war, Brunehaut procured the death of Bertoald, the mayor of the palace, who was too honest to be corrupted by her wiles, and too powerful to be openly displaced. Protadius, a Gallo-Roman, devoted to the interests of the queen, was chosen to fill the place of the virtuous Bertoald. The leudes, however, soon after put the new minister to death, in punishment for his having instigated the king to make war against Theodebert. About this time, too, the queen was opposed by St. Columb, a Scottish or Irish monk, who had founded a monastery of Culdees on the island of lona, and who now came to spread his doctrines among the Franks. The Pope had flattered the queen and her grandson with praises of their sanctity, and they now came to hear St. Columb preach, expecting the same servile adula- tion. But the worthy missionary saw sin in the same light whether practised by the highest or the meanest in the land ; and he accordingly reproached his royal listeners wath the viciousness of the lives they led, and refused to bless the children of the king, because of their illegitimacy. Brunehaut caused him to be apprehended, tried for heresy, and condemned to banishment from France. 84 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BARBARIANS. ST. COI.UMB AND THE SOLDI ERE The soldiers sent to execute this sentence knelt at the feet of the holy man, and implored his forgiveness of the crime which they were forced to commit. The immorality of Brunehaut and Thierry being made known so publicly, the clergy began to take some notice of it, and a quarrel with them was conse- sequently commenced by the queen. In 610, the war which the queen had long endeavoured to bring on be- tween her grandsons, suddenly broke out. Clotaire remained neutral, deter- mined to move after one of the belligerents should be reduced. Theodebert fought a final battle on the plains of Tolbiac, where the great Clovis had gained his victory and abjured paganism. The battle was terrible : the com- batants fighting so desperately, and so crowded together, that whole battahons remained dead on the ground in then- ranks ; many standing upright, being DEATH OF BRUNEHAUT. 85 IJEAIII OF IIEROVJ: 1 unable from the pressure of their comrades around them to fall to the V^-v-AA A--V- V^- - X-^\-^\- ' ^^\-^^^ DEATH OF GREGORY VII. 221 on the result, he was not to be found. The future conqueror of the Holy Tomb had borne on that field the banner of the lawful emperor. In the thickest of the fight, Rodolph and Godfrey of Bouillon met each other face to face. The rebel monarch received a thrust in his stomach from the spear on the imperial banner in the hands of the hero of the "Jerusalem Delivered." Another enemy cut off his right hand with a sword. He fixed his glassy eye upon the maimed limb, and his spirit passed away, as he murmured, " It is the hand with which I swore fidelity to Henry my emperor."* On the same day in which Henry was freed from this enemy, his troops defeated the army of the Countess Matilda in Italy. The fall of Rodolph was regarded as a judgment against the rebels ; and the partisans of Henry every- where rapidly increased in numbers. Leaving Otho to take what measures he pleased, the emperor crossed the Alps and advanced to Rome. Three times, in three successive years, he besieged the holy city. Bribery at length opened the gates to him, and Gregory was obliged to seek temporary safety in St. Angelo. In the great church of the Lateran Clement III. was formally con- secrated ; and then, as the successor of Peter, he placed the crown of Germany and of Italy on the brows of Henry and of Bertha, as they knelt before him. In a few hours the castle of St. Angelo would have been compelled to surren- der by famine or assault, and the aged pontiff would have been at the mercy of his enemy. But the wisdom which had united to the Holy See the arms of the Norman conquerors of Southern Italy, now met with its reward. Far away, attempting the conquest of the eastern capital and empire, Robert Guis- card had been unable to aid his suzerain in the struggle with the Germans ; but he returned in time to rescue him in his present extremity. The Norman battle-axe, the holy cross, and the Damascene scimitar, marked the component parts of the host which had come to encounter Henry, who hastily retreated out of Italy. But Gregory witnessed the destruction of two-thirds of the holy city by firebrands hurled by his allies. Plunder, lust, and carnage, were regarded by both the Northmen and the Saracens,, as the proper reward for their services. Every convent was violated and every altar profaned by their sacrilegious hands; and the darkness of night was dispelled by the glare of the burning city, that they might the more effectually prosecute their work. Gregory fled from the sight to the castle of Salerno, w^here he died. During his illness he continually hurled forth anathemas against Henry and all his adherents ; and as his unconquered spirit left its aged and worn-out tenement, he exclaimed ; " I have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile." Little respite was produced for Henry by the death of his great antago- nist. The cardinals chose Victor III. for his successor ; and during his short reign that pontiff gained many advantages over the imperialists. After him * KolJrausch. Ediuburirli Review. 222 INCREASE OF THE PAPAL POWER. came Urban II., the friend and pupil of Gregory. He announced, at the time of his accession, his intention of proceeding in the path of his old master. He again excommunicated the emperor, the antipope, and their adherents. He negotiated a marriage between Guelph, son to the Duke of Bavaria, and the Countess Matilda; and from this union the reigning family of England traces its descent.* Strenuously did this new ally and the popes continue the contest for ecclesiastical independence. They raised enemies to Henry in the bosom of his family, supported his sons in unnatural rebellions, and drew on him the fanatical hostility of the leaders of the first crusade, in their passage through Italy. For twenty years the emperor was persecuted by the unre- lenting hatred of the pontiffs — wearied with incessant hostilities, and loaded with anguish by the infamous revolt of his children. He was finally forced to abdicate by his second son, Henry, and died, in old age and misery, broken- hearted and destitute, 1106. Both Pope Pascal II., who had remorselessly instigated Henry V. to criminal violence towards his father, and the young emperor himself, who had unnaturally upheld the cause of the church against his parent, reaped the first fruits of their iniquity. Pascal was betrayed and imprisoned by the prince who had been his guilty confederate ; and Henry, on his part, was long trou- bled, and finally humiliated by the ecclesiastical power for whose alliance he had violated every filial duty.f Though he had revolted from his father before his death, Henry now acted according to his principles ; and in defiance of the papal laws, he still continued to impart the investiture with ring and staff— a right which, as he informed the pope, his ancestors, since Charles the Great, had legitimately exercised for three centuries, under sixty-three popes.J For more than fifteen years of his reign he was arrayed in open opposition to the church, in this struggle for ecclesiastical investiture ; and successive popes still maintained against him a strenuous opposition to this prerogative. As he was stronger in the support of his German vassals than his father had been, and knew how to combine cunning and hypocrisy with force, the pontiffs were never able to proceed to similar extremities with him ; and a long and injurious contest was protracted without any decisive success. At length, in the pon- tificate of Calixtus II., both parties had become utterly exhausted and weary of this ruinous struggle ; and a treaty was concluded at Worms which set at rest the question of ecclesiastical investiture, A. D. 1122.§ Each yielded to the other. The emperor permitted the free choice of bishops, and gave up the investiture with the ring and staff, as symbols of spiritual jurisdiction ; but for concession on the other hand, the election was to take place in the presence of the king or of his plenipotentiary, and he was to decide in doubtful cases, or in any disagreement of the electors, and lastly, confer fiefs of temporal possessions with his sceptre. The spiritual consecration of bishops was to take * Taylor, t Procter's Italy. % Kohlrausch. ^ Procter's Italy. ABELARD. 223 place in Germany, after the investiture with the sceptre ; but in Italy it was to precede it. After the records were publicly read, the legate of the pope gave to the emperor the kiss of peace, and afterwards the communion ; and all separated, as the records say, with infinite pleasure. The remainder of the reign of Henry V. was not disturbed by further dissen- sions with the church. He died childless, in 1125, at Utrecht, in the forty- fourth year of his age. He did not acquire the love of his contemporaries ; he was des- potic, severe, and often cruel. Yet he possessed many great qualities — activity, boldness, perseverance in misfortune, and a noble-minded disposition. The mainte- nance of the imperial dignity against every enemy, appeared to be the chief object of his life. He was buried at Spires, in the tomb of his ancestors.* Under the rule of Honorius II., the successor of Calixtus, the monk St. Malachi brought the church of Ireland under papal supremacy ; and the revolted r r I J ^ HENRY V. Normans, in Southern Italy, were forcibly held to their allegiance. Innocent and Anacletus were each inaugurated as the successor of Calixtus. Anacletus died, and his party elected another antipope, who, however, submitted to Innocent. This pope, with his successors, Celestine II., Lucius II., and Eugenius III., were deterred from encroaching on the rights of kings and emperors by the necessity they were under of defending their domestic power against the as- saults of the politicians, the followers of Arnold of Brescia. The most accom- plished scholar, the best logician, the most popular lecturer on rhetoric in the age of Innocent II., was Abelard, a monk of the order of St. Benedict. Though unable to break the bonds of scholastic philosophy, he gave to the spirit of inquiry an impulse w^hich produced beneficial effects in a later age. His Essay on the Trinity procured for him the hatred of the monks, who besought St. Bernard to accuse him of teaching heretical opinions. Bernard refused, for a long time, to prosecute a man whom he esteemed ; but finally yielded to the remonstrances of his friends — laid the doctrines of Abelard before the council of Sens, in 1140 — had them condemned, and obtained an order for his imprisonment. Abelard appealed to the pope, published his defence, and went to Rome. Passing through Clugni, he visited the abbot, Peter the Venerable. * Kolilrausch. 224 INCREASE OF THE PAPAL POWER. A reconciliation between him and his enemies was effected by this enhghtened divine ; but Abelard resolved to end his days in retirement, and consumed his streno-th in severe monastic discipline. He bequeathed his cause to Arnold of Brescia, and other faithful disciples, who strove to emancipate knowledge, and liberate the mind of man from the soHtude of the cloister and the thraldom of superstition. Pure theology distinguished the opinions of Abelard ; but Arnold abandoned his master's mysticism, and endeavoured to reform the church and the government. The sanctity of the clerical profession, in his view, was in- consistent with the possession of power and w^ealth ; and such was the influ- ence which Arnold obtained by his preaching in Germany and Italy, that he was invited to Rome to revive the repubhc. Under the direction of " the poHticians," Rome set the example of resistance to papal usurpations. For a time Italy, and even all Europe, followed the example ; superstition and igno- rance thus ceasing to pour wealth into the Roman exchequer, the Italians found their profits thereby decreased, and they changed from opponents to upholders of the delusion, on condition of sharing in the profits. While the Emperors Henry IV. and Henry V. thus warmly contested the pretensions of the Holy See, hundreds of thousands of Christians, sum- moned by the voice of the Church, and excited by their own religious enthu- siasm, abandoned their homes, and assembled together to march to Palestine, there to recover and secure from the power of the infidels the tomb of the Saviour. Such a w^ar had been planned by Gregory VII., but the occurrences we have related diverted his attention from the East, and prevented any attempt at the formation of a general league of the Christian princes against Mohammedanism. Indeed, insuperable obstacles to such a scheme were pre- sented by the difficulty of communicating with the powers of Europe and the necessity of securing the assent not only of the monarchs, but of their prin- cipal vassals. An unforeseen event supplied Pope Urban with a much better means of organizing Europe against the East ; and after much toil and blood- shed, Jerusalem was wrested from the hands of the Turks, and a Christian kingdom established in Palestine. The history of the wars for the possession of the holy sepulchre will be found in the succeeding chapter. CHAPTER VI. •Jif ^iffii?g tl tije ©xugaticsf. ~jS^^^^~^i^^^ii^S HE Crusades have been made the subject of much ^ misrepresentation. In treating of them writers are apt to regard this great movement of the people ^ ^ of Europe against those of Western Asia, as the ;;^ mere effect of popular delusion — a mad enterprise, without intelligent direction or useful objects. Such rude barbarians who had become the possessors of Europe, found its very existence menaced by the increasing power of the followers of Mohammed. The intelligent pontitf to whom the direction of ecclesiastical affairs was then intrusted, saw the danger, and seized upon a favourable occasion for striking a blow at Islamism in its own strongholds, the moral effect of which was felt for many succeed- ing ages. It is true, that in the prosecution of w^hat were termed the Holy Wars, many things occurred w^hich afford evidence of folly and wickedness, such as stain almost every page of the world's history ; but these wars also abounded Vol. It. 29 (225) 226 THE CRUSADES. with examples of noble heroism, piety, and self-sacrifice, such as we may vainly seek in the records of other military expeditions. In our account of the Crusades, we must adopt the statements of those historians who are regarded as impartial ; but at the same time, we entreat the reader to remember, that while recording the worst excesses of the crusaders, we give the better part of them due credit for their obedience to a noble sentiment of religion ; and we acknowledge, with gratitude, that the Christian world owes to these devoted soldiers of the Cross, many of the choicest bless- ings which it now enjoys. The immediate occasion which brought the Christian and Mohammedan powers into collision, was the manner in which the Turks, possessing Jerusa- lem, outraged the Christian feeling of veneration for the holy places which had witnessed the actions and sufferings of the Saviour. This feeling, entertained by the early Christians, had been augmented when the Roman empire became Christian. The Emperor Constantine caused a temple to be erected over the holy sepulchre ; and his mother Helena made a pilgrimage thither, during which she found what was reputed to be the cross on which our Lord expired. The number of those who followed her example annually increased ; and every great town soon contained houses of accommodation for pilgrims, founded expressly for that purpose by the pious and wealthy ; and even those engaged in the ravages of war, venerated and protected the superior sanctity which assumed the pilgrim's frock. Honour and consideration at home rewarded the wanderer on his return ; crowds came to the church, where, according to custom, he publicly gave thanks to God for the protection which had been granted to him, and gave to the priest, to be deposited on the altar, a branch of palrriy plucked in the garden of Abraham at Jericho. Known henceforth as a palmer, the narration of the toils he had undergone, and the holy sights he had wit- nessed, procured for him universal admiration ; and when any of his neigh- bours, moved by religious feelings, determined to follow his example, the whole community escorted him to the bounds of the parish ; the priest clothed him with the pilgrim's frock, the scarf, from which hung the wallet, and the con- secrated staff; and blessings and prayers for his safe return were uttered by all the multitude. The desire of possessing relics being universal, many pilgrims assumed a mercantile character, in order to gratify it ; and thus wealth was brought into the East. The politic rulers protected visiters whose arrival brought them profit ; and as Jerusalem had been the seat of prophets, whose inspiration both Christians and Mohammedans acknowledge, they found no difficulty in sympathizing with the veneration entertained for it by the pilgrims. An opinion that the end of the world was at hand, caused the number of pilgrimages to increase very rapidly, about the beginning of the eleventh century ; and many persons sold their estates and migrated to the Holy Land to await the comins of the Lord. PETER THE HERMIT. 227 Hitherto, the dangers of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land had been only those of the way ; none had awaited them at Jerusalem. But when the Turks, under Tutush, the brother of Malek Shah, conquered Syria to the borders of -^gypt' ^ rugged chief, named Orthok, received the government of Jerusalem and the surrounding district. Rude, impolitic, and fanatical, he suffered his followers to offer insults to the pious palmers, to beat the priests and profane the altar, the sacred vessels, and the images. The fees for entrance which the Saracens had charged, they exacted with far greater rigour ; and thousands of poor pilgrims lay about the gates unable to obtain admission. When they returned home, the palmers filled all Europe with tales of the many insults and miseries they had endured in their visit to the tomb of the Saviour.* Europe w-as at length effec- tually awakened to the import- ance of delivering the Holy City, by a simple pilgrim, who, to the fervour of an apostle, joined the courage of a martyr. Peter, a native of Amiens, in Picardy, had early entered upon a military life ; but he soon abandoned the pro- fession of arms and became a recluse. He retired to a hermit- age in the south of France, and there gained the reputation of a saint by his religious austerities. Leaving this retreat, he followed into Palestine the crowd of Chris- tians who went to visit the holy places. His emotions, at the sight of Jerusalem, were far greater than those of any of his fellow-travellers. Having followed them to Calvary, and to the holy sepulchre, he sought the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The snow-white head of Simeon, his venerable figure, and above all, the persecution he had suffered, merited for him all the confidence of the enthusi- astic Peter. They wept together over the wrongs of the Christians. The patriarch resolved to supplicate, by letter, the assistance of the pope and the princes of Europe ; the hermit was to be the interpreter of the Christians of the East, and to arm the West for their deliverance. Charged with the letters of the patriarch, Peter hastened to throw himself at the feet of Pope Urban IL The pontiff pronounced him a prophet, applauded his design, and furnished him with additional credentials to the temporal princes of Europe. PETES THE HERMIT AND THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM. * Keightley. Mills's History of the Crusades. 228 THE CRUSADES. Peter traversed the greater part of Europe, relating everywhere the miseries of the faithful in Palestine, and everywhere exciting for them the pity of their brethren of the west. He had succeeded in filling Western Eu- rope with the spirit of the crusades, when Urban convoked the council of Clermont in Auvergne. The pontiff crossed the Alps to attend this council, in the year 1095. The number of those who came to Clermont was immense. Thirteen arch- bishops, two hundred and twenty-five bishops, an equal number of abbots, with several thousand cavaliers and nobles, and an innumerable crowd of men and women of every condition, came thither in the heart of a most rigorous winter, impatient to hear the declaration of the Holy War ; Clermont and the towns and villages near it would not suffice to hold the concourse ; many were obliged to pitch tents in the open fields. Peter recounted to the masses here collected what he had already pub- lished in their houses and castles ; he excited their imagination by pathetic pictures of the prodigious outrages and persecutions inflicted by the Mussul- mans upon the faithful, who lived near holy places, and upon the pilgrims who visited them. Then Urban himself took up the argument. He called upon all Christians to arm to avenge the cause of Jesus Christ. " Let every one deny himself, and take on him the cross of Christ, that he may gain Christ ; let no Christian contend any more against another, that Chris- tianity itself may not perish, but rather be spread and advanced ; let blood- shed, enmity, and oppression cease ; let every one show hardihood and courage, not where they will bring on him a curse, but where they will gain him the forgiveness of sins and the crown of martyrdom. Let no one fear danger, for the might of the foe will be feeble before him who fighteth for the Lord ; let no one fear want, for he who wins the Lord is abundantly rich ; let no one be stayed at home by the tears of those he is leaving behind, for the grace of the Lord will protect them also." One cry, "God wills it!" burst forth from the lips of the whole assembly. Urban motioned them to silence and continued : " The words of the Scripture are now fulfilled : ' Where but two or three are gathered together in my name, I will be in the midst of them ;' for nothing but the influence of the Lord produces the like zeal in you all, and makes the same word be spoken by each. Let this word he your war-cry in every conflict into which you enter for the faith of Christ ; the cross be your sign for strength and humility. The curse of the Holy See shall fall upon every one who seeks to impede this great enterprise ; but its support in the name of the Lord shall smooth your path, and guide you in all your ways."* The clergy and the laity, lords and humble vassals, the * It will be perceived by attentively considering these exhortations, that if to Peter belongs the honour of awakening the crusading spirit, the credit is not less due to Urban of concentrating this spirit, and directing it to its proper object, the preservation of Christianity PETER AND ALEXIS COMNENUS. 231 free and the serf, monks, peasants, burghers, soldiers, all hurried to give their names to the holy leader, and to enrol themselves for the great invasion. Urban excused himself from conducting them to the East, on account of the unfriendly relations existing between him and the emperor ; all the multitude cast themselves on the ground, one of the cardinals read a general confession in their names, and the pope bestowed on them full absolution. Each pilgrim affixed a red cross to the right shoulder of his garment, and they thus gave themselves the name of the crossed {croises), and to the Holy War that of the Crusade. While the princes and the lords returned to their castles, and prepared themselves for the Holy War, the multitude whom the preaching of Peter had assembled around him, followed him, or rather pushed him before them, to the East. A single knight, Walter the Pennyless, served as a leader for this tumultuous band, who, in default of the manna which they had expected from Heaven, actually subsisted on their march by demanding alms. In France and in Germany the charity of the faithful came to their succour ; but arrived in the lands of Hungary and Bulgaria, their circumstances were altered. Kalmany or Carloman, King of Hungary, granted them a free passage through his territories, and a market ; and the advanced body, under Walter, passed on unharmed to Bulgaria. Their misconduct at Belgrade, which they impru- dently besieged, procured for them redoubtable enemies, who defeated them and forced Walter to throw himself on the protection of the Bulgarian prince, who sent them on to Constantinople. The main body followed them, under the direction of Peter himself. Kalmany would have treated them as he had Walter ; but fear of aggressions on the part of the pilgrims, and of robberies on the part of the inhabitants, produced continual suspicions, and finally led to hostilities, in which the Hermit lost the fourth part of his followers. With thirty thousand men, he finally effected a junction with Walter the Pennyless, beneath the walls of the imperial city. The Emperor Alexis Comnenus was curious to see the extraordinary man who had shaken all the West by his eloquence. He admitted Peter the Her- mit to a public audience, listened to the story of his mission and his mishaps, praised his zeal, and, as he had nothing to fear from the ambition of a her- mit, heaped presents upon him. He distributed to the impoverished army money and provisions, and counselled their leaders to wait, before commencing the war, for the arrival of the princes and the illustrious captains who had taken the cross. But the ardour of the crusaders w^as renewed with a supply of food, and, rejecting the well meant advice of the emperor, they crossed the Bosporus. against the increasing power of the Mohammedans. All who are familiar with the history of Eastern Europe, know that imminent danger from this source never ceased from the days of Charles Martel till the hour when the sword of John Sobieski saved Vienna from the in- vading Turks. 232 THE CRUSADES. Dissensions arose between the Germans and Lombards, and the French ; and the former chose Reginald for their leader, established a separate camp, and commenced plundering the country. Peter went back to Constantinople to obtain supplies. During his absence, the French gained some advantages over the Turks in Nicsea ; and Reginald, emulous of their fame, led forth the Germans to seek for booty and glory. Four miles from Nicaea they took a castle, and resolved to fortify themselves in it and await there the arrival of the other crusaders. But they suddenly found themselves besieged, and held out eight days without water. Reginald then made a secret treaty, ab- jured his faith, and, with a few followers, went over to the enemy. The rest of the garrison were either slain or led into captivity. The army marched out for the purpose of revenging their brethren; but the Turks attacked them unexpectedly, and all but three thousand perished. These the emperor rescued and brought back to Constantinople, where they determined to await the arrival of their companions. In the countries about the Rhine, a priest, named Gottschalk, assembled fifteen thousand pilgrims, and led them into Hungary. As they lived by plun- der, they were soon cut to pieces by the brave King Carloman. The same fate rewarded the like conduct of a body under the command of a lay brother called Volkmar. Eight months after the Council of Clermont, the badge of the cross was assumed by Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, who had mortgaged his paternal domain of Bouillon, in order that he might be able to make a suita- ble appearance among the Christian chiefs. At the head of eighty thousand men, he commenced the grand movement which was to transport into Asia all those whom Europe then counted the most valiant cavaliers. In the middle of August, 1096, Godfrey set out fronfi the Rhine. He passed unharmed through the territories of King Carloman, his brother Baldwin remaining with his family as hostages in the camp of the Hungarian king. At the frontiers, Car- loman, who had followed the crusaders at a respectful distance, returned the duke his thanks, restored the hostages, and distributed presents among the chiefs. Their strict discipline procured for the soldiers of Godfrey the favour of Alexis, and they marched without impediment to Philippopolis. The Duke of Vermandois left France with a numerous band of crusaders. He received the benediction of Urban at Lucca, passed through Rome, and directed his course to Bari. Sailing from this port he was shipwrecked, near Dyrrachium, and subsequently conducted by Prince John, the Kpiperor Alexis's nephew, to Constantinople. Here Hugh of Vermandois remained in a sort of honourable captivity, treated with kindness, but suspected of hostile intentions ; and allaying the emperor's fear by taking the oath of fealty. Under these circumstances, Hugh complained of his detention to the pious Godfrey. His message reached Godfrey at Philippopolis, and envoys were im- mediately sent to Constantinople to demand of the emperor the freedom of the SIEGE OF NIC^A. 933 French warrior. Alexis declined ; Godfrey gave the rein to his troops, and in a few days the region round Adrianople was made a desert. Two Franks came to say that the pilgrims were at liberty ; discipline resumed her sway, and the array marched to the capital. Alexis commenced a disgusting train of fraudu- tent negotiations, by which Godfrey and the other leaders were induced to swear fealty to him as the natural lord of the country they were about to invade. Though he had tried to persuade Godfrey to drive Alexis from the throne, Bohemond himself joined in the oath of allegiance. He also pledged himself that his bold nephew, Tancred, should do the same ; and the court of Flanders having also submitted, the fears of the emperor were relieved. Raymond of Toulouse and Archbishop Adhemar, having joined their forces, marched from Provence, in 1096. Godfrey, Bohemond, and the other chiefs were present at the meeting between the emperor and the haughty crusader, when Raymond refused to take the oath of fealty, and Alexis was obliged to be content with the promise that he would never commence or aid any hos- tihties against the emperor. Robert of Normandy, Stephen of Blois, Stephen of Albemarle, and others, at length arrived, at the head of the last army of pilgrims. After much hesi- tation, the leaders took the oath to Alexis, and followed the other bodies into Asia, to the great joy of the emperor and his subjects. The miserable remnant of the Hermit's followers were found at Nicomedia ; and while Peter recounted the evils which their cupidity had brought upon them, he rejoiced to witness the numbers of the armies which his eloquence had summoned to the field. By the lowest computation, the host marshalled on the plains of the Bosporus num- bered six hundred thousand souls, of whom three hundred thousand were well appointed infantry, and one hundred thousand mounted knights. The town of Nicaa, or Nice, the ancient capital of Bithynia, and the first town of importance in the Turkish territory, was speedily invested. The Sel- jukian, Kilij Arslan, had supplied it with a strong garrison, and was posted in its vicinity with his army. The failure of a fierce attack upon the crusaders convinced him of his inferiority, and he moved off to await the issue of the siege. The assaults were vigorous, but the heroic courage of the defenders withstood them. After seven toilsome weeks, the besiegers procured from Alexis an order for the transportation of his fleet from Kibotus overland to the lake, by which provisions and intelligence had been supplied to the garrison. Having by this means obtained the command of the lake, the crusaders marched with redoubled fury to assault the walls. The Turks defended themselves with valour and success. Many a brave pilgrim was stretched lifeless on the earth by their darts, arrows, and stones ; they poured boiling oil, melted pitch and fat from the walls, applied fire to the battering rams and other machines, and finally forced the assailants to retire to their camp. But when a cunning Lombard succeeded in undermining and throwing down the principal tower, and it became . Vol. ir. 30 234 THE CRUSADES. apparent that the town must soon be captured, Manuel Butumltes, the agent for Alexis, made overtures to the besieged, and by a skilfully conducted nego- tiation secured the possession of the city to the emperor, and indemnity from plunder to the inhabitants. Alexis treated the Turks kindly, lest at some future time, when the crusaders were not there to protect him, he might be made to feel the effects of their vengeance ; to the chief crusaders he promised large presents, and to the knights and poor pilgrims he sent money and provisions ; but these were regarded as a poor compensation for the rich booty they had expected, and they were with difficulty withheld from assaulting the city anew.* With invincible industry and courage, the crusaders next set out upon the long and difhcult journey to Syria. The march was made in two col- umns, one headed by Bohemond, the other by Godfrey. Kilij Arslan having collected a great army for the defence of his territory, took advantage of the separation of the crusaders to attack the troops under Bohemond at Dorylaeum. That leader sent a messenger to inform Godfrey of the attack, and then pre- pared to repel it ; but he met with indifferent success until the arrival of a large reinforcement from the other army. The Mussulmans fled, leaving their camp to the victors. Robert of Paris and four thousand of the holy warriors fell in the action ; the Turks lost but three thousand men. The crusaders, however, obtained immense plunder from the bodies of the three thousand slain and the tents which the enemy had left. They were now rich. After this battle the Turks ceased to oppose the progress of the Christians by force, preferring to render the country untenable, by laying it waste, and destroying provisions and forage. The rapidity of the march, however, ren- dered this attempt fruitless ; and the crusaders were speedily encamped before Antioch. The siege of this city commenced at the beginning of winter and lasted seven months, during which time there was much discouragement among the crusaders ; and Stephen, Count of Blois, publicly exposed his fears by re- tiring with four thousand men to Alexandretta. This city, however, was finally captured, through the treachery of a certain Pyrrhus, who kept one of the principal towers. In personal combat, several chiefs of the crusaders signalized their bravery durino- this siege. Godfrey of Bouillon, Tancred, Hugh of Vermandois, Robert of Flanders, and Robert of Normandy, all receive unqualified praise from the pens of the chroniclers. The spirit in which the greater part of the chiefs wao-ed the war is well illustrated by an anecdote told of the last-mentioned chief. A bold Saracen warrior advanced to attack him ; with one blow of his sword he cleft the scull of the infidel from the crown to the shoulders. One part falling to the ground struck his foot. " I devote thy unpure soul," said the pious soldier, " to the punishments of hell." At the bridge of Antioch * Keightley. SIEGE OF ANTIOCH. 235 ROBERT OF NOBMA-NDT SLATING THE TURK. a colossal Turk presented himself in the thickest of the fight, and with his first stroke cut in pieces the buckler of Godfrey. The Christian hero arose in his stirrups, and, darting on his adversary, gave him such a blow that he cut him in two pieces. The upper part of the body fell to the earth ; but so firmly did the infidel sit, that his lower limbs re- mained in the saddle, and the horse carried them into the town. They were speedily made sensible of the importance of this oversight, by the approach of Kerbogah with a powerful reinforcement. Fear seized upon them, and desertions thinned their ranks. William the Carpenter, William and Alberic of Grantmenil, and many of less note, basely fled over the walls, and after encountering every kind of hard- ship, joined Stephen, Count of Chartres, at Alexan- dretta. From their representations, Stephen supposed that the expedition must end in destruction, and therefore commenced his retreat to Europe. In Phrygia, he met Alexis, who was advancing to aid his feudal subjects in the siege of Antioch with a combined army of Greek soldiers and crusaders newly arrived from Europe. The timid emperor gave up all for lost, and commenced his return to Constantinople, forcing the crusa- ders to accompany him. The news of the retreat of Alexis filled the starving defenders of Antioch with fear and despondency. To inspire the dispirited soldiers with fresh hope and enthusiasm, Raymond of Toulouse caused one Peter Barthelemy, a Lombard clerk, to affirm that St. Andrew had appeared to him in a vision, had carried him through the air to the church of St. Peter, and had shown him where was buried the very lance that had pierced the side of our Saviour on the cross. All day the soldiers relieved each other in vainly digging for the precious relic ; but when night had come to favour the opera- tions of mystery, Peter himself descended into the excavation and speedily de- clared that the sacred weapon was found. Raymond's chaplain seized and embraced it ; and hope and fanatical courage immediately took the place of despair and terror. " They highly prized," says Fuller, " this military relic of Christ; as if, by wounding of him, it had got virtue to wound his enemies, and counted it a pawn of certain victories." Peter the Hermit was sent on an embassy to Kerbogah to propose to him a peace, a personal combat, or a general battle. " Choose," said the intrepid ambassador, "the bravest of thy army, and make them fight against a similar number of crusaders — or fight thyself against one of the Christian princes — or give the signal for a general battle — and thou shalt learn what thy enemies are, and thou wilt know who 236 THE CRUSADES. is the God that we serve." The confidence of the pilgrim astonished Kerbo- gah and procured for him an indignant answer ; but his companions so increased the wrath of the infidel chief, that nothing but their character as ambassadors saved them from destruction. Finally, the day of battle, the day of the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, dawned upon the impatient valour of the crusaders. The gates of Antioch were thrown open ; and the army marched forth in twelve divisions, in honour of the twelve apostles. Adhemar, the pious bishop of Puy, headed the fourth division, the most honourable, because it carried the holy lance. He walked at its head, clothed in the robes of the pontiffs, and surrounded by the symbols of religion and war. The venerable prelate, pausing before the bridge of the Orontes, addressed a pathetic discourse to the soldiers of the Cross, blessed them, and promised them the succour and recompense of Heaven. All the army shouted their approbation and assent. A part of the clergy advanced in the suite of the legate and chanted a martial hymn. The banks of the Orontes and the neighbouring mountains seemed to respond to these invocations, and resounded with the enthusiastic war-cry of the invaders, " God wills it ! God wills it I" The men who had lately awaited death in mute discouragement, rushed to the combat with the holy confidence of martyrs. In the heat of the action, when victory appeared about to declare for the enemy, three human figures, clad in white armour, and riding on white horses, appeared on the summit of the neigh- bouring hills. Adhemar called on the fainting troops to behold the aid which God had sent to them according to his promise. The cry of " God wills it!" was mingled with those of " St. George!" " St. Maurice!" and " St. Theodore!" the crusaders threw themselves with redoubled fury on the astonished infidels ; and before an hour had elapsed, nay, before the supernatural squadron had come to their aid, the superb army of the haughty Kerbogah was annihilated. So much booty was obtained by this glorious victory, that every one of the crusaders became richer than he was when he set out from home. The citadel of Antioch now surrendered ; and its governor and three hundred of his troops embraced the Christian faith, to the great joy of the crusaders. Bohe- mond received possession of the city as a reward for his services, and the army rested for a while from their labours. Wars of ambition next engaged the princes, and delayed the consummation of the original undertaking. Bohemohd and Raymond continued their jealousy ; and the latter began to assume a tone of superiority, from the fact of his being the keeper of the holy lance. Bohe- mond had ever been a sceptic on the subject, and he had widely promulgated his opinions. Some of his emissaries urged the warriors to demand of Peter Barthelemy the proof of his powers by the fiery ordeal, to which he had so confidently offered to submit the truth of his assertions. The wretched fanatic, having prepared himself by fasting and prayer, rushed into the flames, and was consumed. The attempts which Raymond afterwards made to support his re- STORMING OF JERUSALEM. 239 putation for spiritual superiority by new miracles totally failed ; and the treachery which his conduct sometimes evinced, greatly lessened his authority. The people became anxious for the completion of their pilgrimage, and the chiefs laid aside the thoughts of war for individual ambition, to lead the victorious crusaders to the Holy City. At length the rising sun discovered to their admiring gaze the turrets of the City of David. Religious frenzy invaded every soul. The cry of " Jerusalem ! Jerusalem !" burst from every lip. They threw themselves on their knees, prostrated themselves in the dust, and kissed with pious reverence the earth which the feet of the Saviour of the World had pressed. They cried aloud for joy, they wept, they beat their breasts, and renewed in a holy transport the oath to free Jerusalem from the impious yoke of the Mussulmans. Nor was this fiery enthusiasm confined to the lower orders of the army ; it seized on the chiefs themselves. " All," says Fuller, " had much ado to manage so great a gladness." They rushed to the assault ; but their zeal would not serve for scaling-ladders, and they were repulsed. At the end of a month, machines had been constructed by the Genoese, and the courage of the besiegers, which had sunk under the burning sun, was again revived. They made the tour of the city, headed by the clergy, with bare feet, who pointed out to them and recalled to their remembrance every holy place. They were all enthusiasm, and the insults hurled at them from the walls by the infidels inflamed them the more. On the 14th of July, 1099, Godfrey led them to the attack. Every man promised himself victory or death ; but all their zeal and courage failed to awe the resolute defenders. The battle jaged furiously until it was ended by night. Watching and alarm occupied both parties until the day dawned, and hostilities were recommenced. Noon had arrived, the Christians were almost exhausted, the Turks had commenced the shouts of victory, and even the most courageous of the crusaders thouoht that Heaven had deserted them. When all seemed to be lost, they saw a cava- lier, clothed in shining armour, appear on the top of the Mount of Olives, and give them the signal of a renewed charge by waving his glittering buckler. Godfrey of Bouillon was the first to notice the heavenly messenger. " St. George has come to the succour of the Christians !" he cried ; and a myriad of defenders could not have saved the holy city from the hands of his impetuous followers. In an hour, Godfrey's tower rested against the inner wall ; chiefs and soldiers precipitated themselves together upon it, and the banner of the cross streamed from the walls. Tancred and the two Roberts forced the defences on their side, and Raymond entered by scaling the walls. Twenty-three thousand helpless Saracens paid with their lives the penalty of having spilt Christian blood, and insulted the soldiers of the cross. Godfrey himself set the example ; and so great was the carnage that " in the porch and temple of Solomon (the mosque of Omar) the crusaders rode in the blood of the Saracens up to the knees of their horses." This work accomplished, Godfrey turned his attention to others of less questionable virtue. Laying aside his armour, he clothed him- 240 THE CRUSADES. CAPTtIHE OF JERUSAT. EM. self in a linen mantle, and with bare head and naked feet, followed by the w'hole army, proceeded to throw himself at the door of the holy sepulchre, and render adoration to the Founder of Christianity. The ghost of the dead Adhemar came with the spirits of all who had fallen on the march from Europe to Jerusalem, to share in the holy joy of the survivors at the rescue of the Temple from the possession of the infidels. Now was the cup of triumph of Peter the Hermit filled. "It was remembered that he had taken charge of letters from the patriarch to the princes of Europe ; it w^as acknowledged that he had excited their piety, and inllamed their zeal ; and the multitude fell at his feet in grati- tude for his faithful discharge of his trust, praising God, who was glorified in his servant."* Godfrey of Bouillon was born in the village of Beryg, near Nivelle, in the year 1060. He was the son of Eustace II., Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Bas-Lorraine. On the female side he was descended from Charlemagne. We have seen, in a former chapter, how he was distinguished in the War of the Investitures as a champion of the emperor ; and we find the promise there given of his abilities, fully borne out during the crusade. Taking the cross soon after the adjournment of the * Mills. ELECTION OF GODFREY. 241 Council of Clermont, he marched at the head of the first body of disciplined crusaders to Constantinople, where the Emperor Alexis adopted him as his son. The battle of Nice, the taking of Antioch, the private wars which im- mediately followed that achievement, and the siege and capture of Jerusalem, had all combined to assign to him the first rank among the Christian warriors ; and when it was determined to retain the advantage gained by the expedition by again erecting in the Holy City the throne of David, the electors decreed, as to the most worthy, this throne to Godfrey of Bouillon. Each prince knew the rank and family of the others, but they could only judge of their private characters by the testimony of their servants. The domestics of Godfrey as- serted that his only fault was this, " that when matins were done, he would stay so long in the church, to know of the priests the meaning of every image and picture, that dinner at home w^as spoiled by his long tarrying. All admired hereat, that this man's worst vice should be so great a virtue, and they unanimously chose him for their king. He accepted the place, but refused the solemnity thereof, and would not wear a crown of gold there, where the Saviour of mankind had worn a crown of thorns."* Godfrey did not long survive the great fatigues of the first crusade. He expired the 18th of July, 1100, one year and three days after the taking of Jerusalem. They buried his remains with all the pomp of the religious cere- mony, within the bounds of Calvary, and near the sepulchre of Jesus Christ, which he had delivered by his valour. His address in combat, and the ex- traordinary force of his blows, made him the admiration of heroes. To the bravery and virtue of a true knight, he joined the simplicity of a cenobite. The estimation in which he was held by the army, may be known from the universal lamentation which prevailed when he met with a disaster in Asia Minor. When alone in the dense part of a forest, the duke heard the cries of a poor pilgrim, who had been attacked by a bear, whilst cutting wood. Godfrey hastened to his relief, when the bear quitted his victim to attack his new enemy. He seized the duke by the cloak and dragged him to the ground. His sword being entangled between his legs, Godfrey wounded himself severely in the thigh in attempting to draw it. He continued the fight, however, until the noise brought others to the spot. A knight named Hasequin despatched the monster with his sword, and the almost exhausted duke was borne to the camp, where the loss of a battle would scarcely have spread more consternation than the unhappy spectacle he afforded to the eyes of the Christians. While at Antiochetta, before setting out for Antioch, Godfrey had sent for- ward his brother Baldwin and the gallant Tancred to explore the country and measure their swords with the Moslems. Tancred with his division cap- tured the city of Tarsus ; but Baldwin forced him to give it up on the score of his inferiority. Tancred then retired from the city. Soon after, three hun- * FuUer's Holy War. Vol. II. 31 242 THE CRUSADES. f f^ ifi ill . ' ;/'>••.- --<^ GOnFHKT S CONTEST "WITH THE BSAll. dred soldiers of Bohemond, for whom Tancred had held the town, came to the gates, and craved food and shelter. Baldwin refused thera both ; but the people, more compassionate, lowered them provisions from the walls, and they encamped upon the ground. In the night, the Turks came upon them, and all fell victims to the inhumanity and selfishness of Baldwin. That chief soon after received a considerable accession to his numbers, out of a fleet of pirates from Flanders, Holland, and Friesland, who had ceased to plunder their fellow-Christians, and assumed the cross. Baldwin next advanced to Mamistra, which Tancred had captured and plundered. The Norman chief still smarted under the insult he had received at Tarsus, and when the soldiers of Baldwin began to plunder his new subjects, he interfered to pre- vent the injustice. His troops shared in his angry feelings, and the dispute was soon changed to a bloody combat. Richard of Salerno, who originated the fight, lost his life. His fall, considered as a judgment for his impiety, brought his fellows to see the folly of their conduct, and they made peace. Learning that Godfrey was sick from the wound he had given himself in his contest with the bear, Baldwin hastened back to the main army, that he might succeed to his power in case of his death. But he found Godfrey re- BALDWIN I. 243 covered from his wound ; and he received so much censure from all for his treat- ment of the Norman pilgrims at Tarsus, that he became incensed, and resolved to leave the main army, and seek a new field for his ambition. At the sug- gestions of Pancratius, an Armenian Christian, he led a body of his own fol- lowers towards the Euphrates, and became the lord of a considerable territory, of which the city of Edessa was the capital. Several cities acknowledged his authority, and obeyed governors of his appointment ; and he entered upon the discharge of the duties of a sovereign with prudence and ability, and compro- mised the performance of his vow for the recovery of Jerusalem, by sending money and provisions to his brother. Godfrey, however, when on his death-bed, expressed his desire that Bald- win should succeed him on the throne of Jerusalem. Arnulf, who had inherited the great wealth of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and brother to WilUam the Con- queror, who had died on the crusade, joined his influence to that of the knights of the house of Bouillon, in favour of Baldwin. But Tancred, who had con- quered one kingdom for Bohemond, and the greater part of another for God- frey, desired that the crown of Jerusalem should- also grace the brows of his uncle. Bishop Daimbert and others supported his cause, and sent messengers to Bohemond to come quickly to the Holy City. But Bohemond was already a captive in the hands of the Turks, having lost his liberty in attempting to extend his dominions into Armenia. An attempt to fix the regal dignity upon Raymond of Toulouse failed ; and Baldwin, resigning Edessa to his relation, Baldwin du Bourg, came to take possession of the throne of Jerusalem. " As for that religious scruple," says Fuller, " which Godfrey made to wear a crown of gold where Christ wore one of thorns, Baldwin easily dispensed therewith. And surely in these things the mind is all ; a crown might be refused with pride, and worn with humility." Baldwin was immediately involved in a dispute with Tancred, who disre- garded a summons to appear at Jerusalem and do homage for some territories which he had captured from the Mussulmans. The people of Antioch, how- ever, summoned Tancred to take charge of his uncle's kingdom until he was released from captivity ; and he delivered the contested places to Baldwin, upon condition that, in the event of his return, he might enjoy them in feudal tenure. Baldwin was an able ruler ; and, under his guidance, the kingdom of Jerusalem rapidly acquired strength and extended its boundaries. The Mussulmans of Syria quailed beneath the frown of its king. Acre, Cesarea, Beritus and Sidon, all fell into his hands; but the Fatimite princes, supposing themselves to be beyond his reach, defied the power of the Christian king. Baldwin marched his army into Egypt, and met with some success ; but an old wound, which he had received in taking Ptolemais from the Syrians, broke out again, and caused his death. During his sickness, he endeavoured to animate the spirits of his friends, cautioned them to retire from Egypt, and recommended Baldwin du Bourg for his successor. He desired them not to 244 THE CRUSADES. leave his body in Egypt, a subject for Moslem ridicule ; and when they repre- sented the impossibility of carrying a corpse at that season, he taught them how to embalm it. Fearing lest the enemy should acquire confidence on learning the king's death, the Christians dissembled their grief, and commenced a retreat to Jerusalem. They reached this city on Palm Sunday, as Baldwin du Bourg and his Edessenes were coming to celebrate the feast of Easter. These joined the melancholy train, and the body of the deceased king was borne on towards the sepulchre of his brother. According to an established custom, all the Christian people, headed by the patriarch, descended on Palm Sundays, in a procession, from the Mount of Olives, carrying palm-branches and singing can- ticles in celebration of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Whilst this proces- sion traversed the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the coffin of Baldwin, carried by his companions, appeared suddenly in the midst of those who were chanting the hymns. A sudden, long, and mournful silence was followed by loud lamenta- tions. All the people followed the funeral procession to Calvary, where the remains of Baldwin were deposited with great pomp, in a tomb of white marble, near the sepulchre of Godfrey. (A.D. 1118.) Baldwin's remains were no sooner committed to the tomb than a council of the barons and prelates was assembled for the purpose of choosing a suc- cessor. Some urged the appointment of Eustace, the brother of the deceased sovereign; but that prince was in Europe. Joscelyn de Courtenay, once at- tached to the family of Baldwin du Bourg, had quarrelled with that ruler, and left his service for that of King Baldwin I. The council was not a little surprised, therefore, when suddenly rising, and setting aside the claims of Eustace, on account of the necessity of selecting a ruler who might take the sceptre at once into his hand, he urged the claims of his enemy, Baldwin du Bourg, as the near relative of the late king, and the most able, valiant, and wise of the Christian princes of the East. When the members of the council heard the enemy of Baldwin advance such sentiments, they hastened to aquiesce in them ; Baldwin du Bourg was elected to the throne, and generously re- warded the disinterestedness of Joscelyn, by conferring upon him the whole of the principality of Edessa. Baldwin II. reigned from 1118 to 1131 ; distinguished by the variety of the success attending his arms. Roger, regent of Antioch for young Bohe- mond, was captured in a rash engagement with the enemy ; Baldwin marched to rescue him at the head of a small army, and gained a decided victory. But Balak, a petty king of the Turks, succeeded in carrying Joscelyn into captivity, and Baldwin, coming to deliver him, met with the same fate. Jos- celyn, however, escaped from confinement, joined his arms with those of Eustace Grenier, the regent of Jerusalem, defeated Balak, and slew him with his own hands. He then captured and added Tyre to the dominions of Baldwin, who was released from captivity on condition of paying a hundred thousand raichaelets. " But," says Fuller, " he paid the Turks with their own BALDWIN III, 247 money, or, which was as good coin, with the money of the Saracens, van- quishing Barsequen their captain, at Antioch, 1125 : and not long after, he conquered Doldequin, another of their great commanders, at Damascus." He failed, however, to capture Damascus. Shortly before his death, which happened on the 22d of August, he renounced the world. He was buried in the tomb of his predecessors. The second Baldwin was succeeded on the throne, A. D. 1131, by his son-in-law Fulco, or Fulk, Count of Anjou, a French cavalier, whom religion and restlessness drove to the Holy Land in the prime of his life. Baldwin sought a husband for his daughter, and Fulk was selected as the happy bridegroom, the envied heir to the throne. He reigned until 1144, and left the state nearly as he found it. Baldwin III., the eldest son of the late king, succeeded him on the throne. He was at first placed under the authority of his mother, being but thirteen years old ; but he early cast off her restraint, and swayed the sceptre alone. During his reign, the Saracens under Zenghi conquered the city of Edessa, and the Christians of the West prepared for a new crusade. Meanwhile Raymond of Toulouse had been succeeded in his principaHty at Tortosa, by his son Bertrand, who added Tripoli to the other possessions of his father. Bertrand was followed by his son Pontius, a descendant by his mother's side from Eudes of Burgundy. When Tancred died, in the year 1112, he recommended his wife to bestow her hand upon Pontius ; and after his decease, she complied with the recommendation. Pontius lost his life by the swords of the Mussulmans; and his successor, Raymond, was made a cap- t'.ve by them. When the great Bohemond was a prisoner in the hands of the Arme- nian Prince Danischmend, the Emperor Alexis tried to obtain possession of his person by bribing Danischmend. But the Armenian preferred the alliance of Bohemond to that of Alexis, and the Prince of Antioch was allowed to re- sume the direction of his government. His faithful nephew had considerably enlarged his kingdom, but the hostility of the Greek emperor threatened its overthrow. Daimbert, flying from Je- rusalem, came to Antioch, and resolved to continue his journey to Europe. Bohemond determined to accompany him thither, and seek aid from the Western princes. He was kindly received by Philip, King of France, who gave him one of his daughters in marriage, ALEXIS COMNENUS. 248 THE CRUSADES. and betrothed another to the gallant Tancred. Five thousand horse, and forty thousand footmen followed him on his return to Antioch, and aided him in an open war with Alexis. The difficulties were finally arranged by a treaty between the two princes, and the greater part of Bohemond's army marched on to the Holy Land. Bohemond himself returned to Apulia, where he died the next year, 1118, just as he was about setting out on a journey for An- tioch. ANCRED, at his death, bequeathed the regency to his kinsman, Roger, son of Richard, Count of Capua, and Seneschal of Apulia. Roger died by the swords of the Saracens, in 1119, and Baldwin II. for a time held possession of the principality ; but Bohemond the younger arriving from Italy, claimed and received from him his patrimony. Bohemond married Alice, the daughter of Baldwin, who aspired to the sove- reignty when she was left regent for her daughter Constantia. Baldwin therefore caused that princess, though but a child, to be married to Raymond of Poitiers, the youngest son of William VII., Duke of Aquitaine. A contest speedily arose between Raymond and Alexis, with regard to the dependance of the principality of Antioch upon the throne of Constantinople. This continued from 1137 till 1142, when Alexis entered Syria, drove back some hostile Turks, and demanded com- plete sovereignty over Antioch. The chief dignitaries of the place waited on him, and informed him that even if Raymond and his wife surrendered their rio'hts, the people would choose another sovereign. The offended emperor then wasted the country, and retired to Cilicia, where he died before he could renew his hostilities. Joscelyn du Courtenay had become sole lord of Edessa when Baldwin du Bourg mounted the throne of Jerusalem. He was a lion in battle, and met his death on the field. He had been wounded while besieging a castle near Aleppo, and lay sick of his wound when the enemy renewed hostilities. His son headed the army, but decUned to meet the Moslems. Joscelyn caused him- self to be carried in a litter to the field, when the report of his presence ter- rified the enemy into a retreat, and the old hero died giving God thanks that the terror of his name had produced as powerful an effect as any of his old achievements.* The valiant and skilful Zenghi had been chosen emir by the Moslems, in the hope that his prowess might turn back the tide of European conquest; and his actions in the field fidly justified the choice. A feud between the * Mills's Crusades. FALL OF EDESSA. 251 Counts of Edessa and Antioch, offered an opportunity of striking a blow, and Zenghi led his troops towards Edessa. The Prince of Antioch gave no help, and but few soldiers came from Jerusalem to fight the battles of the son of Joscelyn. That prince was weak and effeminate, abandoning himself to pleasure in the town of Turbessel, while Zenghi was overturning his kingdom. The citizens of Edessa withstood his attacks for seventeen days ; the priest fio-ht- ing beside the meanest soldier, and the bishop blessing and encouraging the people. But the help, which they expected from without, came not. The Saracens entered the breaches, and the firm defence was punished by a dreadful massacre of men, women, and children. "^NGHI was assassinated during a petty war with a Mussulman prince ; and his sons, Saphadin and Noured- din, shared his kingdom. During the absence of their ruler from Edessa, the Christians in that place opened a communication \vith their former mas- ter in Turbessel, in consequence of which the prince suddenly appeared in Edessa, and forced the Turkish gar- rison to take refuge in the citadel. Noureddin flew to save his followers ; and the Christians, finding it impos- sible to keep possession of the city, resolved to cut their way through the enemy. But they were surrounded and attacked on all sides, and very few escaped the sabres of the Moslems. Thus Edessa remained in the hands of Noureddin, and the paleness which had spread over the star of Mohammedanism passed away. Horror and consternation reigned among the Christians of Europe when the news of the fall of Edessa arrived. The helpless condition of their brethren in the East, and the savage ferocity of the Moslems, were depicted in glowing colours. They seemed to see the Turks swimming in the blood of the thirty thousand slaughtered Christians at Edessa, and an ardour for vengeance became universal. The Emperor Conrad III,, and Louis VII. of France, headed a move- ment which was a second time to lead Europe against Asia. By the com- mand of the King of France, a parliament of the dignitaries of his kingdom was assembled at Vezelay. The concourse was too great to be contained within the bounds of this city, and the people spread themselves in an amphi- theatre to the foot of the mountain in which it is situated. Pope Eugenius III. had been invited by Louis to preach the crusade ; but other affairs had de- tained him in Italy, and the task devolved on St, Bernard, then the oracle 252 THE CRUSADES. of Christianity. The holy man, though worn in body with his austerities, and appearing to belong already to the tomb, found strength sufficient to accom- plish his grand mission. His eloquence was applauded by the barons and the chevaliers ; the king threw himself at the feet of the holy man, and de- manded the cross in the sight of all the people ; and the very hill shook with the shout of " God wills it !" bursting from the thousands of knights, the flower of European chivalry. The supply of crosses which had been provided for the occasion proved insufficient, and the pious saint tore his garments to make new ones. Queen Eleanor followed the example of her husband, and vowed to accomplish with him the great expedition. Louis having completed his preparations, went to the abbey of St. Denis, to take from its altar the consecrated banner, and the pilgrim's staff and wallet. He received them, with a benediction, from the hands of Pope Eugenius him- self, who had come to take part in the solemn and impressive ceremonies. He then set out at the head of a hundred thousand warriors, to march through Germany to Constantinople, where he had been preceded by the other crusa- ders. (A. D. 1147.) Learning that the Christians of Western Europe were again about to seek the Holy Land, the Greek Emperor Manuel fortified his cities, and evinced a determination to treat them as his father had done the mobs which followed Peter the Hermit. Conrad wanted the firmness and decision of Godfrey de Bouillon ; but Manuel was a son worthy of his grandfather Alexis. The ferocity, barbarism, and ignorance of the German soldiers, caused them much suffering in their passage through the Byzantine dominions ; and Conrad was so offended at what he deemed the duplicity and arrogance of Manuel, that he crossed the Bosporus without a meeting. HE wily Grecian treated Louis with every mark of respect, that the inhospitality shown towards the Germans might appear to have been caused by their own brutality. Harmony reigned almost without in- terruption between the Greeks and the French ; and the gates of Constantinople, which frowned in scornful defiance upon the Germans, were thrown open to their more polished auxiliaries. While Manuel thus enter- tained Louis and his followers, his subjects were ac- tively engaged in playing false to the host of the emperor, in its passage through Bithynia. They cor- rupted the coin with which they purchased goods of tl e pilgrims, and cheated them whenever an opportu- nity offered — mingling chalk with their meal, and practising mariy other shameful frauds. The Greek guides conducted them through deserts, where they suf- fered from fiimine, or led them into the midst of the hosts which the sultan had assembled for their destruction. But a tenth part of the number of fol- PASSAGE OF THE MEANDER. 255 lowers with which Conrad had crossed the Danube, effected a junction with the soldiers of Louis. The two armies then pursued the march together ; but near Ephesus, to which they directed their course, Conrad received letters from the emperor and empress, couched in the most affectionate terms, and in- viting him to recruit from his toils by spending the winter in Constantinople. He gladly accepted the friendship he had before despised, and received the most cordial treatment in the Imperial City, his power having been so reduced as to render him no longer formidable. Louis, left to bear all the burdens of the expedition, led his army through Asia Minor, to the banks of the Meander. The enemy were encamped on the opposite shore, and galled with their arrows all who attempted to procure water from the river. The French burned to cross and join battle with them ; and when, after some days, they succeeded in finding a ford, they crowded into the water, and gained the opposite bank. The Moslems attempted to drive them back with the sword and lance, but they were repulsed on all sides. Louis himself protected the passage of the army, and displayed signal valour in the combat on the opposite shore. He pursued the Turks to the mountains, and the banks of the river " were sown with dead enemies." The passage of the Meander was the first triumph of the crusade ; and the loss w^as so slight, that the pilgrims attributed it to the intervention of Divine Pro- vidence. By it, the crusaders were put in possession of Laodicea ; and their next step was to cross the mountains between that city and Satalia. The advanced guard entered imprudently into the defiles of Cadmus, and w^hen the remainder of the army attempted to follow them, the Turks suddenly attacked them from the mountain tops, and gained great advantages, notwithstanding the prodigies of a long and heroic resistance. In this action the king lost his escort ; but bold, agile, and vigorous, he seized the branches of a tree w^hich grew conve- nient, and sprang upon the highest part of a rock. A great number of the enemy rushed to secure his person, whilst others showered arrows on him from a distance. But his corslet happily defended him from their weapons ; and those who dared to approach within striking distance were punished for their presumption with the loss of their arms or heads. Ignorant of his rank, and fearful of his prowess, his enemies gave up the attack, and departed to secure the spoils of the battle-field before night. Louis took advantage of the dark- ness to make his way to the advanced guard, who were mourning him as slain. During the twelve days which were occupied in reaching Satalia, the crusaders were four times attacked by the Turks, and four times vigorously repulsed them. From this city, Louis VII. embarked for Antioch, with the chiefs of his army, leaving the remainder to march to Cilicia, under the charge of Thierry of Flanders. But the Governor of Satalia proved faithless to his treaty ; and the Turks destroyed nearly all of the unfortunate pilgrims. Louis was well re- ceived by Prince Raymond of Antioch, who wished to induce him to enter into 256 THE CRUSADES, LOUIS VII. ON MOUNT CADMUS. his own ambitious schemes; but though he united the persuasions and threats of Queen Eleanor to his own representations, nothing could move the king from his determination to proceed to the Holy City. At Jerusalem he found the Emperor Conrad, with the Dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, and the ruined German band. Manuel had encouraged and as- sisted them to proceed thither, preferring to allow Conrad to encounter new perils and dangers, rather than return to his own dominions without further loss. The new European commanders met the princes and prelates of Asia Minor in council at Ptolemais, and the champions of Christianity were there engaged to attempt the rehef of Damascus from the yoke of the Moslems. (A. D. 1148.) SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 257 HE king and the emperor signalized their valour » during the siege by many brilliant but useless exploits. The town was on the point of capitulation, when a dispute arose as to who should possess the prize. It was at length adjudged to Thierry of Flanders ; but the barons of Palestine were offended at this, and commenced negotiations with the infidels. The be- siegers moved their camp from the neighbourhood of the breaches to a sterile spot, where the defences were very strong; and the sons of Zenghi succeeded in throwing fresh squadrons into the town. The besiegers withstood the sallies of the new garrison for a short time, then broke up the camp and returned, sorrowful and disgraced, to Jerusalem. Conrad soon returned to Europe ; and Louis followed him, about a year afterwards. Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, who had acted as regent during the absence of Louis, suddenly astonished the French by attempting to restore the fortunes of the' Holy Land, at a time when all thoughts of a crusade had ceased. Failing to arouse his countrymen, he resolved, though seventy years of age, to lead the vassals of St. Denis thither ; hoping that, wdth the favour of heaven, they alone would accomplish more than all the legions of the king and the emperor. But a fever cut short his longings for military fame : he died at St. Denis, and his successor in the abbacy loved not to handle the sword. Thus the Christian States in the East were left without hope of suc- cour, though advancing rapidly towards dissolution. The councils of the chiefs there presented nothing but feuds and rivalry, in which Baldwin IV., the seventh king of Jerusalem, and his brother-in-law, Guy de Lusignan, bore prominent parts. Baldwin was a leper ; and the lords of Syria deprived him of his power, and gave the kingdom to his son, limited by a regent. But at the end of three years, both the Baldwins died ; and Guy de Lusignan took advantage of the troubles which ensued, to seize upon the throne of Jerusalem. Two Egyptians having engaged in a contest for the dignity of sultan of their own country, a title which the ministers of the Fatimite caliphs had ven- tured to assume, one of them, named Shawer, fled to the court of the Turkish prince, Noureddin, for aid. His opponent, Dargham, obtained a promise of as- sistance from Almeric, King of Jerusalem, who led an array to Egypt in person. Noureddin sent thither Shiracouch, and his nephew, Saladin, two valiant and hardy leaders. Dargham was slain ; and Shawer quarrelled with his Turkish auxiliaries, and joined his arms with those of the Christians against them. The war w^as ended by a peace, and Almeric returned to prepare for the conquest of Egypt for himself. He attempted it, but failed ; and Saladin soon after de- throned Shawer, and made his uncle sultan. (A. D. 1169.) Shiracouch enjoyed his new dignity but two months ; at the end of that time he died, and Saladin Vol. IL 33 258 THE CRUSADES. succeeded him. Saladin soon after revolted from the Fatimite caliph, the ca- liph of Bagdad was everywhere acknowledged as the head of the Mohamme- dan failh, and the great Moslem schism was healed. Noureddin soon after founil reason to suspect the allegiance of Saladin to himself, and commenced a journey to Egypt; but he died on the way, A. D. 1171, and Saladin imme- diately commenced the consolidation of the Turkish power in Syria and Egypt, a politic measure, the ellocts of which were but too severely felt by the Latins. Almeric attempted to profit by the confusion which immediately followed the death of Noureddin, but death put an end to his own schemes. The Syrian affairs of Saladin, however, prevented him from giving much annoyance to the Christians during the feeble reig^ns of Baldwin IV. and Baldwin V. Reginald, Lord of Karac and Montreal, on the Arabian frontiers of Pales- tine, disregarded the treaties existing between the King of Jerusalem and Sala- din, and perpetually plundered the subjects of the Moslem prince. Saladin swore to avenge himself upon the robber ; and when he found the court of Guy de Lusignan too wTak to afford him redress, he assembled his army, and avowed his intention of capturing the Holy City itself. The first im- portant events of the war occurred at Tiberias, the residence of the wife of the Count of Tripoli. That city being besieged by Saladin, the count an- nounced to Lusionan his willino;ness to allow it to fall into the hands of the enemy, and advised him to act altogether on the defensive, as the want of the necessaries of life would undoubtedly force the Moslems to retire. But by the advice of the grand master of the Templars, Lusignan resolved to pursue the opposite course. All the principal cities were emptied of their garrisons for the i)urpose of forming an army, and the King of Jerusalem hastened to en- counter his adversary. A battle lasting two days was fought in the plain near Tiberias, in which the superior numbers of the Moslems triumphed, and the Christians were massacred. The piece of the true cross was taken from its possessors, and the king and the principal cavaliers remained prisoners. Lusignan had his life spared by the conqueror ; but two hundred and thirty Templars were massacred after the battle. This decisive victory having been achieved, Saladin began to follow it up with vigour. Acre, Jaffa, Cesarea, Beritus, and Tiberias fell, and he laid siege to Tyre. The citizens would have delivered that city into his hands; but Conrad of Montferrat, whose father was a prisoner in the hands of Sala- din, imparted to them a portion of his unconquerable spirit, and they made a successful resistance. Ascalon next capitulated, and the conqueror soon after planted his standard beneath the walls of Jerusalem. In fourteen days the walls near the gate of St. Stephen's were undermined, and the garrison gave way to despair. They offered to capitulate, and the generous Moslems allowed them moderate terms. (October 2d, 1187.) The nobles and military were to be sent to Tyre, and the Latin Christians to become slaves unless redeemed at a certain rate. The queen and her retinue of ladies passed through the enemy's FALL OF JERUSALEM. 259 camp with the miserable inhabitants. Saladin met and pitied them, and with the courteous generosity which always distinguished him, granted their request for the release of their fathers, husbands, and brothers, who had been held in captivity since the battle of Tiberias. And now the infidels were again masters of the Holy City and the Se- pulchre. The flag of Islamism had replaced the standard of the cross on the mountain of Zion. The conquerors tore the great cross from the church of the Sepulchre, and dragged it through the streets with ropes; they broke in pieces all the bells of the churches, and converted them all into mosques ex- cept the church of the Resurrection. Four camel-loads of Damascene rose- water were employed in purifying the mosque of Omar ; " as if," says Fuller, " Saladin would wash it from profaneness, whilst he profaned it with his washing." The Saracen emirs imitated the noble generosity of their chief, and alleviated the misfortunes of many who were too poor to pay the stipu- lated ransom. Malek-el-Adel begged a thousand Christian prisoners from the sultan, and set them at liberty ; and the emirs of Edessa and Beer claimed those born on their territories as their property; and when they had obtained them, they set them free. Seven hundred of the poor obtained their liberty from the sultan at the suit of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and as many more at the request of Bakan, who had commanded the garrison during the siege. Then Saladin, who, as it has been justly observed, was a barbarian only in name, emulated the magnanimity of the emirs, and declared that in a certain day the gate of St. Lazarus should be open from sunrise till sunset, and that all poor Christians who came there, should be allowed to go free, if, on being searched, they were found to have no property about them. Everywhere in the Moslem territories the unfortunate Christians were treated with kindness and pity; but their fellow- worshippers proved themselves unworthy of the name they bore. They frequently refused them admittance into the cities, and robbed them of the effects which the generosity of Saladin and his soldiers had spared. With Jerusalem fell the cities and territories of Ascalon, Laodicea, Gabala, Sidon, Nazareth, and Bethlehem. But the spirit of freedom, and the valour of Conrad of Montferrat, again preserved the city of Tyre. Shortly after the capitulation of Ascalon, Guy de Lusignan and several of his principal chiefs obtained their freedom, after the King of Jerusalem had renounced to Saladin his claim to that title. He now took the road for Tyre, and announced his intention of entering it as its sovereign ; but the people resolved that he should rule it who had defended it so valiantly. The valour of the citizens of Tri- poli resisted the arms of Saladin, and he turned to the more easy conquest of the territories of Antioch. Twenty-five towns submitted, and Antioch itself became tributary to the Mussulmans. Unparalleled consternation was spread through Europe by the news of the battle of Tiberias, and the fall of Jerusalem. Pope Urban III. died of 260 THE CRUSADES, *52f^'^' grief, when it was communicated to him. His successor immediately called upon all the princes and people of the West for vengeance, and the celebrated historian, William, Archbishop of Tyre, a witness of the catastrophe, went to preach the crusade in France, England, and Germany. Several councils were held to promote his object, at which the es- tablishment of a general contribution, known ^^rk ^^^^ BATTLE OF AZOTUS, 265 the Templars. (A. D. 1191.) The disarmed garrison marched out of the city with their wives and chiklren ; but they did not appear ashamed of their misfortunes, the piide of their countenances was not lost, and their intrepid air appeared like the result of victory. A few weeks after the capitulation of Acre, Philip announced his in- tention of returning to Europe, and Richard gave his consent ; but made him promise not to make war on the English till at least forty days after the return of their king. Philip w^ent to Tyre, and thence sailed for Eu- rope. Richard repaired the walls and houses of Acre, and the clergy conse- crated anew the altars. But Saladin did not return the wood of the cross, and was probably unable to pay the ransom of the prisoners in Richard's hands. He endeavoured, however, to move Richard to mercy toward them ; but the lion-hearted king proved how destitute he was of the noble generosity of the lord of the woods, by murdering, in cold blood, all the poorer class of prisoners, and reserving the emirs and others for whom a high ransom was expected. Saladin made a vow never to spare the life of a Christian who should fall into his hands ; but the prisoners in his camp who were expecting freedom, were sent safely back to Damascus.* At the head of thirty thousand French, German, and English soldiers, Richard set out from Acre, and marched towards the south. Clouds of the Saracenic cavalry hung round the army ; and the Templars in the van, and Hospitallers in the rear, were often insufficient for the protection of the co- lumns. Near Azotus Richard was obliged to come to a general engagement. He headed the centre of the army in person ; the right wing was commanded by James D'Avesnes, the left by the Duke of Burgundy. The right wings of both armies were driven back ; but the Saracens were unable to make any serious impressions upon the " soldiers of iron." King Richard showed himself everywhere, and everywhere streams of blood and disordered squadrons marked his passage. When the enemy were beginning to fall into confusion, he ordered a charge to be sounded on the trumpets, the infantry wheeled behind the cavalry, and the knights rushed forth upon the foe. In a little time the army of Saladin was dispersed, and flying in all directions. Some fled to the . mountains, others threw themselves into the sea. Returning from the pursuit, the Christians suddenly found themselves attacked by Faki-ed-deen, .-' the nephew of Saladin, at the head of a reserve corps of twenty thousand men. The Moslem prince fought RICHARD I. AT AZOTUS. * Keiglilloy's Cmsades. Vol. II. 34 266 THE CRUSADES. with fury and desperation, and the fortune of the day would have been changed had not Richard arrived in season to succour his panic-stricken warriors. In this battle, Salailin lost more than eight thousand of his soldiers, and thirty-two of his emirs.* The victory cost Richard only a thousand men ; but it was dearly gained by the loss of the heroic champion of the cross, James d'Avesnes. After losing an arm and a leg, he had con- tinued to fight ; and he cried when dying, " Richard, revenge my death." The day after the battle, he was buried at Azotus, in the church of the Virgin. (A. D. 1191.) Richard now found his progress unmolested ; Saladin having drawn off his soldiers to disuiantle all the fortresses in Palestine. The enemy, he reasoned, would thereby be kept in the field, and his strength might be ex- hausted by frequent skirmishes. Richard wished to press forward to Ascalon ; but the army were anxious to restore the fortifications of Jaffa. While these were being completed, Richard amused himself in falconry, regardless of the enemy. On one of these occasions, he laid himself upon the ground, and went to sleep. The noise of a party of approaching Turks broke his slumbers, and he mounted his horse and put them to flight ; but as he pursued them with his knights he fell into an ambush. Four of his party were slain ; and the Turks had laitl hands upon the king himself, when William Dcspreaux an- nounced himself to be Richard, and the Turks secured him whilst the king escaped. The gallant knight was not long after exchanged for ten Turks. When the fortifications of Jaffa were completed, a negotiation was re- sorted to by Saladin, for the purpose of delaying the renewal of open war- fare. It of course ended fruitlessly, and the Christians set out for Jerusalem. As they approached that city, the Templars and Hospitallers dissuaded Richard from attacking it, for the reason that if it should be captured, they would be at once involved in wars with the Turks; while, the Sepulchre being recovered, the vows of most of the pilgrims would be accomplished, and they would return home, leaving the Holy Land to its fate. To Ascalon, there- fore, Richard retreated, and the whole army set about rebuilding its walls. The nobles, and the most distinguished clergy, laboured with the meanest soldier, and the work advanced with great rapidity. At the siege of Acre, the Duke of Austria took one of the enemy's towers, and planted his banners on it. Richard, incensed at what he considered the arrogance of an inferior, threw them into the ditch. This insult was probably remembered by the duke when the walls of Ascalon were to be rebuilt ; and he haughtily refused to assist in the work, saying that he was neither a carpenter nor a mason. This speech so inflamed the anger of Richard, that he smote the duke with his foot upon the breast, and ordered hira to depart instantly with his vassals from the Christian camp, threatening to break his standard, and throw it into the ^Michaud — Histoire des Croisades. SIEGE OF JAFFA. 267 river ; and while the duke retired muttering projects of vengeance, Richard followed him with imprecations. A civil war had broken out in Acre, between the Genoese and Pisans; and Conrad came from Tyre to bear a part in it. When Richard advanced to the city, Conrad retraced his steps, and the English monarch restored peace. Conrad soon after allied himself with Saladin, that he might maintain his inde- pendence ; and Richard again prepared for war. Meanwhile affairs in England demanded his presence, and he began to think of returning. A commander was to be selected to succeed him, as the head of the Christians ; and as the public voice named Conrad, Richard gave his assent. But that gallant prince was assassinated whilst preparations were making for his coronation. In the midst of the tumult which resulted from this act, appeared Henry of Cham- pagne, the favourite of the people. He was invited to seat himself upon the vacant throne, and with it he accepted the hand of the widow of Conrad. Henry soon afterwards joined Richard ; and the Duke of Burgundy, who had left the army at Ascalon, came with him. Richard now determined to con- tinue the prosecution of the war, and again the array marched towards Jeru- salem, harassed at every step by the flying parties of the Saracens. But again a council of the Templars and Hospitallers decided that a siege of the Holy City was inexpedient, and that the army should march to some other con- quest. Rancour and discord reigned throughout the camp, when this decision was published ; and the whole army would have been destroyed by the enemy, had not a retreat been commenced. Meanwhile, Saladin had learned the cause of the delay, and harl, by forced marches, reached and laid siege to Jaffa. The city was quickly reduced to such distress, that the knights bound themselves to surrender if aid from without did not reach them during the next day. Before morning, Richard arrived at the city, with about five hundred follow- ers, with whom he had come to the rescue by sea. He was the first to leap on shore, and so vigorous were the blows he dealt, that the Saracens fled in dismay, and he planted his banner on the walls. On the next night Saladin attempted to recover his advantages ; but the gallant band were proof against all his attempts, and the arm of Richard caused confusion to fall upon his enemies. A truce was then agreed on for three years and eight months ; the fort at Ascalon was to be destroyed, while Acre and Jaffa were to remain in the hands of the Christians. The people of the West were to be allowed to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, without being subject to taxation. The illustrious Saladin died at Damascus, soon after concluding the truce with Richard. He was a prince of great generosity and valour. An act which he performed on his death-bed, is worthy of notice. A public crier was sent through the town of Damascus, followed by a person bearing a winding- sheet aloft as a standard, and continually proclaiming, " This is all that re- mains to the mighty Saladin, the conqueror of the East." In his will he ordered charities to be distributed to the poor, without distinction of Jew, 268 THE CRUSADES. Christian, or Mohammedan, intending by this legacy to inculcate that all men are brethren ; and that when we would assist them, we ought not to inquire what they believe, but what they feel ; an admirable lesson to Christians, though given by an infidel. In that age, all the advantages of science, moderation and humanity, were on the side of the Saracens. KICHASD CCrP. DE LION IN DISGUISE. After the truce, Richard determined to return to England, to put an end to the intrigues of his brother John and the King of France; but as he did not wish to pass through the territories of the latter, he sailed to the Adriatic. Being shipwrecked near Aquileia, he put on the habit of a pilgrim, Hugh the Merchant, and attempted to pass secretly through Germany. But he forgot CAPTIVITY OF RICHARD. 269 to lay aside his kingly liberality, and was thereby betrayed. He became a prisoner in the hands of the Duke of Austria ; but Henry VI. thought it wrong that a king should be prisoner to a duke, and therefore Leopold deli- vered him to the emperor at Mentz, on the 23d of March, A. D. 1193. He w^as conveyed thence to Trifels, and afterwards to Worms. Meanwhile the English were much troubled about his fate. But Henry had written an ac- count of what had passed to the King of France, who in turn communicated it to the Archbishop of Rouen. Two abbots were sent from Oxford to Ger- many, to ascertain his situation. These met him on the way to Mentz ; he was cheerful as usual, amusing himself by practical jokes upon his keepers, and astonishing them by exhibitions of his great strength. He complained of his brother John ; but said that the treatment he had received from Leopold had not been harsh or unreasonably severe. Philip rejoiced at the captivity of his rival, and made war upon his ter- ritories in Normandy, where the Earl of Leicester bravely defended his sove- reign's possessions. Though Prince John attempted to seat himself on his brother's throne, the lords and the people sympathized with Richard. Queen Eleanor interested Pope Celestine in the cause of her son, and he threatened excommunication to Henry and Philip, if the one did not release his prisoner, and the other cease from his barbarous wars. But the emperor arraigned Richard before a diet at Worms, for supporting a usurper in Sicily, quarrelling with Philip of France, insulting Leopold of Austria, and murdering the Marquis of Tyre, who was a relative of the emperor. But the captive king pleaded his cause so well, as to leave no doubt of his innocence upon the minds of those who heard him. The emperor, nevertheless, still held him a prisoner. He was finally ransomed, by the payment of one hundred thousand marks of silver, raised by taxation in England ; and hostages were left for the payment of forty thousand in addition. Scarcely had the tumult of the third crusade subsided, when the terrors of famine and war menaced the unfortunate Christians in Palestine. The pope solicited the emperor to engage in a new crusade, for the relief of the Holy Land ; and a diet was accordingly convoked at Worms, where the emperor avowed his determination of taking the cross, and induced the whole assembly to follow his example. He divided the troops into three great armies, one of which, under the command of the Bishop of Mentz, took the route for Hun- gary, where it was joined by Margaret, queen of that country, who had re- solved to end her days in Palestine. The second army was assembled in Lower Saxony, to go thence by sea ; while the third was led by the emperor himself into Italy, in order to take vengeance on the Normans of Naples and Sicily, who had risen against his government. The rebels were humbled, and their chiefs put to death with such excruciating tortures, that the empress, by w^hose right he ruled over them, renounced her conjugal faith, and headed the people in a war for the recovery of their liberties. Henry had sent the army on its way to the Holy Land, and the empress obliged him to submit to such 270 THE CRUSADES. terras as she chose to impose on him in favour of the Sicilians. He died, not long after, in Messina, as was supposed of poison administered by the empress, who saw the ruin of her country hatching in his perfidious and vindictive heart. The Third Crusade was the last in which armies contended for the pos- session of the Holy Land upon its own soil ; and before proceeding to mention those which were productive only of suffering and barren glory, it may be well to take a glance at the progress of affairs in Europe during the period of the War of the Investitures and the first crusades. With the change of dynasty effected by Hugh Capet, France had become, like Germany, a government entirely feudal. Hereditary counts and dukes were found in every province, and the kingdom was a monstrous assemblage of members, without any compact body. He who coidd only seize on two or three small villages, paid homage to the usurper of a province; and he who had only a castle, held it of the possessor of a town. The royal domain of Louis V. had been reduced, at the time of his death, to the cities of Laon and Soissons; a sufficient reason for Capet, who possessed the Dukedom of France, the Countship of Paris, and extensive domains in Picardy and Champagne, for seizincr on a crown to which he gave more real strength than he received. During his life, and for the purpose of establishing his throne, he associated his son Robert in the government of the kingdom ; and at his death, which happened (A. D. 996) in the fifty-seventh year of his age, and eighth of his reio-n, Robert quietly succeeded to his power. Hugh Capet ruled with great prudence and moderation, and but few circumstances of bloodshed or violence at- tended his usurpation. Robert was equally amiable, but less vigorous. He had married Bertha, his cousin in the fourth degree, and several bishops sanc- tioned the union ; but Pope Clement V., without examining the cause, suddenly published a decree, ordering the king and queen to be separated under peril of excommunication. This monstrous outrage was resented by the king, who refused to part with his wife; but such was the superstition of the people, that Robert was abandoned by all his courtiers, and all his domestics save only two, who gave to the dogs all that remained from his table, and purified by fire the vessels in which they had been served. Fearful of civil commo- tions, Robert at length divorced his wife, and married the termagant Con- stance, daughter to the Count of Aries. In 1024, after the death of the German emperor, Henry IL, the ItaUans offered to him their crown, and the imperial dignity ; but he had sufficient firmness and wisdom to refuse acceptance of such a dangerous donation. His eldest son, Hugh, died before his father, and Queen Constance endeavoured to induce her youngest son, Robert, to make war on his brother Henry for the succession. But the fraternal love of the princes was so great, that her efforts failed, and she vented her anger against them both. Robert died in A. D. 1031, lamented by all classes of the people.* *Helgaldus. Russel. EMBARKATION OF WILLIAM. 271 Prudence and sagacity mark the character of Henry I., who succeeded his father at the age of twenty-seven. Constance, however, had not lost her en- mity towards him ; and she speedily organized a rebellion, by which Henry was driven to seek protection of Robert of Normandy. By the aid of the Nor- mans, he recovered his throne ; and in gratitude for the services he had re- ceived, he bestowed on them a considerable part of the possessions of the crown. Robert of Normandy soon after made a pilgrimage to Palestine, leav- ing Henry of France and Alain, Duke of Brittany, as guardians of his son and successor. Robert died during his pilgrimage, and the Norman barons spread war over the whole duchy. Alain came to quiet the disturbances ; but being roughly handled, he returned home, and not long after died of a slow poi- son, supposed to have been given him in Normandy. Henry soon afterwards invaded Normandy, joined his forces with those of the young duke, defeated the rebels, and secured the succession to William, A. D. 1046. Four years after, Henry died, and was succeeded by his son Philip, who, being only eight years old, was confided by Henry to the care of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, his uncle. This regency proved to be one of the most quiet and happy re- corded in history ; and Philip, by the death of Baldwin, in 1069, came into peaceable and firm possession of the throne, at the age of fifteen. Censure has however been applied to the conduct of Baldwin, in relation to William of Normandy. The supplies with which that prince accomplished his design of conquering England could certainly have been obstructed by the continental rulers ; but the papal influence was exerted in favour of the aspiring prince, and the emperor, Henry II., promised to protect Normandy in his ab- sence, and gave his vassals leave to embark in the enterprise. Baldwin had therefore sfood reasons for allowinor WiUiam to make levies in France and Flanders; and even had these been wanting, he could not with a good grace have refused the request of the duke, who was his son-in-law. The army which had been assembled might have been led against France in the event of a refusal, and the sixty thousand warriors who embarked for fame and glory in England, might have placed their leader on the throne of France. The education of Philip had been well conducted ; but he had acquired a sordid disposition, which led him on all occasions to prefer his advantage to his honour. The chief event of his reign is his marriage to Bertrand de Mont- ford, Duchess of Anjou, whilst her husband and his queen were both alive. For this, Pope Urban II. excommunicated him, in the same council of Cler- mont at which the first crusade was preached. Notwithstanding this, he lived with the countess until, after the deaths of Urban II. and the Queen of France, he was restored to the bosom of the church. But the nobles had taken ad- vantage of his domestic troubles to cast off much of his authority ; and he found it necessary to associate his son Louis VI. with him in the government. Louis was remarkable for activity, a quality which Philip did not possess ; he kept continually in the field, at the head of an army, compelled the noble 272 THE CRUSADES. 'ILLIAM THE CON freebooters to make restitution to the church and to others whom they had wronged, and punished their violations of the laws by demolishing their castles. The appearance of disinterestedness with which he executed this summary jus- tice was such, that when in his thirtieth year he succeeded his ftither on the throne, he brought to the support of the monarchy the affections of the no- bility, and the reverence and good wishes of the people. He engaged in a war with Henry I. of England, which terminated without altering the state of either kingdom. Louis, who, from his corpulency in his latter years, was sur- named the Gross, devoted himself to the regulation of the internal affairs of his kingdom. He married his son, afterwards Louis VIL, to the heiress of Guienne and Poitou ; and at his death, in the sixtieth year of his age, left him the crown. The commencement of the twelfth century saw the consummation of an important revolution in France, the Enfranchisement of the Communes. This has usually been attributed by historians as a merit to Louis le Gros ; but an impartial examination of the facts seems to show that non-resistance, and the simple work of mediation, are all that form the share which that monarch took in the enfranchisement of the communes. He was certainly the first monarch who granted royal charters to the free cities ; and on this the French historians have claimed for him the honour of foundinff them. The industrious population of the Gallo-Roman cities could not be enslaved like that of the agricultural districts : it continued, under all oppressions, undivided and indus- trious. Fellow-sufferers and co-labourers soon associated themselves for com- pX^K M ENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE COMMUNES. 275 mon defence ; they again fortified gradually, but securely, their half-ruined walls ; and then, when protected by a fortress, and holding arms in their hands, they declared to their noble oppressor that they were brothers, and their cities asylums of friendship, independence, and peace. The nobles resisted ; war ensued, and was terminated by the emancipation of the communes : sometimes by great success in the field, sometimes by payment of a sum of money. Thus was it in the south of France. The example was contagious: the new spirit spread north to the banks of the Somme and the Scheldt; the cities assumed the name of commonalties, they sent the archbishop and principal citizens to solicit the boon of a charter from the king : they were too powerful to be refused. Thus the communes Laon, Amiens, Noyon, and Saint Quentin, were enfran- chised by Louis le Gros : the cities of the south of France were already free. William II., surnamed Rufus or Red, from the colour of his hair, succeeded the Conqueror on the throne of England, while his brother, Robert, took peacea- ble possession of Normandy. But many Norman barons possessed estates in both countries ; they wished that one ruler should hold sway over both Eng- land and Normandy ; and as Robert possessed equal claims with his brother to the kingdom, and the exclusive right to the duchy, they engaged in a con- spiracy to dethrone the king, and raise his brother to power. They put them- selves in a military posture, and William began to tremble for his crown. His father, like all the Normans, had been much attached to the manly amusement of hunting ; and for the gratification of this passion, he had tyrannically caused a new forest to be made near Winchester, covering the country for an extent of thirty miles, and caused the forcible expulsion of the inhabitants, and the demolition of houses, churches, and convents. By increasing the rigour of the game-laws, and refusing to make any compensation for the property he destroyed, William I. had added to the ill-will of his English subjects; and this feeling they transferred to his successor, when they experienced his violence, haughtiness, and tyranny. But he conciliated them by concessions and pro- mises, and gave them leave to hunt in the royal forests. When they had aided him to suppress the rebellion, they found their burdens made as heavy as be- fore ; indeed, they were augmented by his tyrannical temper. Robert's brother, Henry, had furnished him with a sum of money in exchange for a portion of his dominions, and the two princes now united to repel an invasion of William Rufus. But the clergy mediated between the parties, and Robert and William were reconciled ; but Henry became incensed, and began to ravage the country in the neighbourhood of his fortress, on St. Michael's Mount. His brothers besieged him there, and he was obliged to capitulate. He afterwards wandered about, deprived of dominions and attendants, and suffering from poverty. Ro- bert soon after mortgaged his possessions to William Rufus, for ten thousand marks, and set out for the Holy Land. The death of the English king oc- curred just as he was about receiving a similar accession in the provinces of Guienne and Poitiers. This event took place in the New Forest, where he 276 THE CRUSADES. DSATH OF VTILLIAM RUFUS. was engaged in hunting, with a French gentleman, Walter Tyrrel, remarkable for his address in archery. Tyrrel let fly a shaft at a stag, that he might show his dexterity ; but it glanced against a tree, struck the king to the heart, and instantly killed him. Tyrrel, without informing any one of the accident, put spurs to his horse, fled to the sea-side, embarked for France, and went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land : a penance imposed in that age for all crimes, voluntary and involuntary. The throne of England would now have come by right to Robert of Nor- mandy ; but he did not return from the crusade until a month after his bro- ther's death ; and by that time Henry had placed the crown upon his own brows. In order to strengthen himself on the throne, and secure the love of the English, Henry married Matilda, niece of Edgar Atheling, the legitimate heir to the throne in the Saxon line, after the death of Harold. But Robert appeared and asserted his claims, and Henry was in danger of being driven from his elevation, if an accommodation had not been effected by the interpo- sition of Archbishop Anselm, A. D. 1101. Robert became the sport of for- tune, and lost his duchy, which was seized by Henry, in 1106; he was taken a prisoner to England, and there confined until his death, twenty-eight years afterwards. WilUam, the son of Robert, attempted to obtain Normandy for himself, and was supported by Louis VL of France ; but the diplomacy and the arms of the French king proved unsuccessful, and the vigour and dexterity of Henry DEATH OF FRINGE WILLIAM. 277 secured his triumph. The marriage of the son of the Norman Conqueror with Matilda, the niece of Edgar Atheling, was a poUtic measure, which revived the old Saxon feeling in the conquered and oppressed, and made them think that days of equality were in store for them, even under the new race. Matilda the Good was worthy to be a descendant of Alfred. She probably would have been more happy in the cloister to which she had fled for safety during the terrors of the Norman licentiousness, than with her ambitious, daring, profli- gate, but accomplished husband. Her influence over him did something, no doubt, for ameliorating the condition of her native land. 'She was a civilizer: she built bridges ; she cultivated music. But the promise which Henry had made when he seized the crown, that the old Saxon laws should be restored, was wholly broken as soon as he had fairly grasped the sword of authority. The collection entitled " The Laws of King Henry I." is a " compilation of ancient Saxon laws by some private person, and not a publication by authority of the state." The writer of this adds, " The general clamour in England for the Saxon laws of the Confessor, under the three Norman kings, makes it probable that this compilation was made by some private person at the time when the restoration of these laws was called for by, and repeatedly promised to, the nation." After an interview with Henry, the pope declared that of all men he had ever seen, the King of England was beyond comparison the most eloquent and persuasive ; and having gained the pope, Henry easily detached the Count of Anjou from the alliance, by giving the hand of his son William in marriage to the count's daughter. The pope disregarded the complaints of the Norman prince, and a victory gained by Henry caused Louis to end the war. In 1120, the English monarch brought his son William over to Normandy, that he might be acknowledged as heir to the crown. Returning to England, the royal party set sail from Barfleur ; the king's ship was soon out of sight ; out that in which the prince sailed was detained by an accident. The captain, Thomas Fitzstephen, and his crew, got intoxicated, while the damage was being repaired ; and when they put to sea, they ran the vessel on a rock, where she foundered. The prince had got into the boat, and was clear of the ship, and out of danger, when he heard his natural sister, the Countess of Perche, cry for aid. He made the seamen put back to save her ; but such numbers laid hold of the boat that it went down, and all on board perished. One hundred and forty young noblemen were with the prince ; and of all the passengers, a butcher of Rouen only escaped. He was saved by clinging to the mast. Fitzstephen also grasped it ; but having inquired for Prince William, he was informed that he had been drowned. " I will not survive him," said the unfortunate man ; and loosing his hold, he fell back into the sea and perished. When Henry was informed of the calamity, he fainted away, and v;as 278 THE CRUSADES. never afterwards seen to smile. He, however, attempted to secure the suc- cession in his own line, by marrying his daughter, Matilda, to Geoffrey, son of the Earl of Anjou. Geoffrey was recognised as the heir of his father, Ma- tilda as the heiress of Henry. In 1132, Matilda gave birth to a son, who was named Henry, and invested with the rights of both his parents. An in- cursion of the Welsh having taken place in 1135, Henry prepared to return from Normandy to England ; but having surfeited himself with eating lam- preys, he died on the first of December, in that year. Henry I. was one of the most able and accomplished princes that ever filled the English throne. Of his family the Conqueror only equalled him in talent. To the other quali- fications considered necessary in his day for the government of a nation, he added a taste for literature which would have rendered him remarkable in a private station, and which has obtained for him the name by which he is known in history, Henry Beauclerc, or Fine-scholar. Henry had fondly imagined that he had secured the succession to his little grandson, who was now three years old ; but he had himself shown that another road lay open to the throne besides that of legitimacy. His nephew Stephen, a grandson of the Conqueror, resolved to avail himself of this path to power. He succeeded in seizing the royal treasures, and in violation of his solemn oaths, and of all the ties of gratitude, sought to deprive of their inheritance the daughter and grandson of that uncle who had given him all he possessed. In this emergency, Robert, the illegitimate brother of Matilda, proved himself worthy of confidence and esteem. He boldly espoused her cause, and entered into a contest with the usurper. Louis le Gros of France, espoused the cause of Stephen, while David, the King of Scotland, assisted his niece Matilda. " All was dissension, and evil, and rapine," says the chronicle of the reign of Stephen. Stephen defeated the Scotch in a battle at Northallerton, called the Battle of the Standard, because the English used as a rallying point, a large crucifix on a wain. (Aug. 22, 1138.) Robert, Earl of Gloucester, went to the continent in 1139, and returned with his sister to England. Her cause quickly found partisans ; and blood was shed in all parts of the country, until the 14th of February, 1141, when a decisive battle was fought at Lincoln. Stephen behaved with the greatest bravery ; on foot, alone, and surrounded by numbers, he defended himself with his battleaxe, and when that was broken, exchanged it for his sword. But his sword too was shivered to pieces, and he unAvillingly submitted. The nobles of his party gave up the contest, and Matilda might have enjoyed the throne in quiet, had it not been for her irritable temper and her unwarrantable pride. Hostilities w^ere again renewed, and Robert was taken prisoner ; and so helpless were the partisans of Matilda without him, that they gladly gave King Stephen in exchange for him. Henry, the son of Matilda, did not take an active part in the contest till 1152, when he had reached his eighteenth year. He then married Eleanor of Guienne and Poitou, the faithless divorced wife of Louis VII. of France. Henry's dominions on the continent HENRY PLANTAGENET. 279 now extended from the confines of Flanders to the Pyrenees ; while Louis, as superior lord, only owned one-tenth of France. Incensed at the conduct of Henry, Louis aided Stephen's son, Eustace, to overrun Normandy. But Henry speedily expelled him, and then crossed over to the aid of his partisans in England. He was now so powerful that Stephen agreed to an accommo- dation. His son Eustace, however, continued in arms ; but his opposition was soon after ended by his death. A council was held at Winchester in Novem- ber, 1153, where it was agreed that Stephen should reign for the rest of his hfe on condition of adopting Henry as his son and successor ; that Stephen's son, William, should inherit all that his father owned before his usurpation ; that the adherents on both sides should sustain no injury ; and that all grants of crown lands made by Stephen should be revoked, and all castles built by his permission demolished. These terms being confirmed by oath, Henry re- turned to Normandy. Stephen died on the 25th of October, in the next year, and the throne of England came quietly into the possession of the son of Matilda. Stephen was a prince possessed of many noble and estimable qua- lities ; and would have probably made an excellent king if he had acquired his crown in a legal manner.* Henry Plantagenet, the successor of Stephen, was received in England with universal acclamations ; all swore the oath of allegiance to him with joy ; and good order and justice, to which the kingdom had long been a stranger, were re-established. He visited his foreign dominions, and reduced them to order. He then returned to England, and forced the turbulent Welsh into submission. In the year 1137, Louis VII., surnamed Le Jeune, ascended the throne of France. After settling the disturbances which had arisen in his kingdom, he resolved to go on a crusade to Pa- lestine. For this purpose he confided the go- vernment of France to the Abbot Suger, and set out with Queen Eleanor on the second crusade. When he returned, he divorced the queen for her faithlessness, and returned her dowry of Guienne and Poitou. The importance of these, her heredi- tary estates, was so great, that Henry Plantagenet, more politic than delicate, sought and obtained the hand that Louis had abandoned. From the time of this marriage, Henry was extremely for- midable to Louis, who therefore espoused the cause of Stephen in the civil wars in England. A dispute about the county of Thoulouse brought QUEEN SLEA.NOB. * Keightley. 280 THE CRUSADES. on a war between the two monarchs in 1157. This war is chiefly remark- able from the circumstance of Henry's raising troops by subsidies instead of the usual feudal service. Henry was anxious to abridge the extraordinary privileges of the clergy ; and in his efforts for attaining this object, he relied upon the aid of Thomas ii Becket, who had been his favourite, and whom he promoted to the archbi- shopric of Canterbury. In this he was disappointed ; for Becket, when ele- vated to the primacy, openly opposed the king, and by the aid of the pope succeeded in defeating all his measures. Henry in a moment of passion said, in the hearing of some of his ba- rons, " To what a wretched state am I reduced, when I cannot do as I will in mine own kingdom, by reason of one priest ; and there is no one to de- liver me out of my troubles I" These passionate words were taken as a hint for vengeance, and four knights of the king's household communicated their thoughts to each other, and withdrew secretly from court, and proceeding to DEATH OF THOMAS A BECKET. Canterbury, assassinated the primate at the altar. Henry, learning that they had dropped some threatening expressions, had despatched a messenger after them, charging them to attempt nothing against the person of the primate. But he was too late. The consequence of this transaction was unconditional submission to the pope on the part of Henry, who dreaded an exconuuunication for a crime which he had not intentionally instigated. CONQUEST OF IRELAND. 281 Finding that he was not to suffer from the thunders of the Vatican, Henry undertook and completed the conquest of Ireland; an enterprise for which he had formerly obtained a papal bull, but which he had not been able to prosecute, on account of his quarrel with Becket. The annexation of Ire- land to the English crown was easily effected; the small principalities into which it was divided being so weakened by long and destructive wars, that Henry had little to do but receive the homage of the inhabitants. On his return to England, he learned that two papal legates, sent to investigate the circumstances attending the murder of Becket, had arrived in Normandy. He went thither and cleared himself, by oath, of all participation in that unfortu- nate affair ; but as it was probably his intemperate expression which had pro- duced it, he bound himself to serve three years against the infidels, if the pope should require this atonement. The tranquillity of Henry appeared to be now re-established. It was, however, of short duration. Prince Henry, his son, had married the daughter of Louis VII., of France, and that monarch instigated him to take up arms against his father for the duchy of Normandy. His brothers also joined him in this unnatural league. Besides the King of France, William, King of Scotland, Philip of Flanders, and many other princes and barons on the con- tinent, and in England, espoused the quarrel of the princes. Unwilling to v;ar against his children, Henry had recourse to the pope, who excommunica- ted his enemies ; but they despised the ecclesiastical authority, and the un- happy father was forced to take up arms. Sensible of the effects of supersti- tion on the popular mind, Henry took advantage of it to secure the affection of the English. He went barefooted to the tomb of Becket; prostrated him- self before the shrine of the saint; remained in fasting and prayer during a whole day ; watched all night over the holy relics ; put scourges into the hands of the monks, and presented his bare shoulders to their castigation. Next morning he received absolution ; and a great victory that day ob- tained over the Scots by his generals, was heralded as a proof of his recon- ciliation with Heaven, and with Thomas a Becket.* In this battle, which was fought near Alnwick, the King of Scotland was made prisoner. It was deemed impious longer to resist a prince who was thus shown to be a favourite of Heaven, and hostilities were soon terminated by a peace. In 1179, Louis of France came over to England, and performed a pil- grimage to the shrine of Becket, that he might obtain his intercession for the recovery of his son and heir, Philip, from a severe illness. Soon after his return, he was struck with an apoplexy, which deprived him of his reason, and afterwards caused his death. (A. D. 1180.) Philip Augustus, though but fifteen at the time of his fiUher's misfortune, took the government on himself, and received the crown when his father died. The sovereign of England, * Russel. Vol. II. 3G 282 THE CRUSADES. rising above the jealousy and ambition common to the princes of his age, gener- ously employed himself in composing the troubles which arose in the royal family of France. Philip, however, ungratefully encouraged Henry's sons in their opposition to him, until both the sovereigns became imbued with the cru- sading spirit, and assumed the cross. Before they could join in this enterprise, much trouble was excited by the joint intrigues of Philip and Prince Richard, who had seduced the chief barons of Poitou, Guienne, Anjou, and Normandy, from their allesiance to his father. Henry was so unsuccessful in this war, that he granted to his rebellious son the most advantageous terms. Among the conditions of the treaty was one by which the king engaged to pardon all the associates of Richard. When he received the list of their names, he found upon it that of his fa- vourite son, John, whose influence with the king had often excited the jealousy of his brothers. Shocked at finding the confidence he had shared with his child so shamefully betrayed, the unhappy father gave himself up to despair. He vented maledictions, which he never retracted, on his ungrateful sons. The excitement thus produced threw him into a fever, which terminated his life, at the castle of Chinon in Normandy, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. Two of his sons had died during his life-time ; the other two occupied in succession his throne. The first efforts of Richard on taking possession of the throne which he had so long coveted, were directed towards the Holy Land. He joined the king and the forces of France at Vezelay, on the borders of Burgundy, where the two monarchs promised mutual friendship, and pledged themselves and their barons not to invade each other's dominions during the crusade. Equally haughty, ambitious, and inflexible, it was not to be expected that two such leaders as Philip and Richard, rivals for power and for glory, would be able to remain in the bonds of friendship. As we have seen, Philip be- came jealous of his rival, and returned without accomplishing the object of the expedition. On his return, he employed every means of force and in- trigue against the absent King of England. When, at the crisis of his aff*airs, Richard fell into the hands of his enemies in Germany, Philip endeavoured to prolong his captivity ; and even made the emperor the largest offers for the transfer of his person from the possession of the Austrian house to that of the Capetians. He formed an alliance, by marriage, with Denmark, that the claims of Denmark to the English crown might be transferred to him ; con- cluded a treaty with Richard's brother, John, and invaded Normandy while John attempted to make himself master of England. Richard finally bought his liberty of the emperor for one hundred and fifty thousand marks of silver, and appeared again in England, to the great joy of all his people. The ceremony of his coronation was again performed ; the fortresses in the hands of his brother's adherents were quickly reduced, and Richard passed over into Normandy, burning to be revenged on Philip. But no events worthy of note THE ALBIGENSES. 283 took place during this war, except the revolt of John from Philip to his brother, who generously forgave him his offences. He was also about to con- clude a peace with France, when he met with his death while besieging the castle of Chalus. The military talents of Richard formed the most shining part of his char- acter ; and the appellation of Cceur-de-Lion, the Lion-Heart, under which his fame has penetrated into every part of the globe, was awarded to him for the height to which he carried personal courage and intrepidity. His love for military distinction caused him utterly to neglect the welfare of his kingdom; and his violence and cruelty have scarcely any parallel, even in the worst ages of feudalism. As he left no issue, the throne came into the possession of his wicked brother, John. On his accession, Arthur, Duke of Brittany, the son of Richard's deceased elder brother, Geoffrey, attempted to gain possession of his uncle's crown. He was aided by Philip of France ; and all things promised success, when he was unfortunately taken prisoner by John. His assassination, which soon followed, was believed by his countrymen, the Bretons, to have been effected by the king's own hand. They rebelled, and were joined by Philip, who subsequently added Brittany to his own dominions, together with Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and part of Picardy. (A. D. 1205.) These misfortunes of John were followed by a quarrel with the pope, on the subject of investitures in his own kingdom ; and England was laid under an interdict. While England was thus suffering from the impolicy and misconduct of her sovereign, Innocent III. brought about a new and extraordinary war on the continent. He published a crusade against the Albigenses, a species of secta- ries in the south of France, whom he denominated heretics, because of their opposition to the power and influence of the clergy. The superstition which had led the chivalry of Europe against the infidels in Asia, and the reigning passion for military glory, now brought great numbers to the standard of the leader of this new crusade, Simon de Montfort. The Count of Toulouse, who protected the unhappy Albigenses, was robbed of all his possessions; and as though the sufferers had been the worst of malefactors, the knights of the cross laboured to exterminate them with incredible atrocity and barbarism, A. D. 1209. Having triumphed over these innocent opponents, the pope again renewed his operations against the impious king of England. A sentence of excommu- nication was pronounced against him, his subjects were absolved from their oath of allegiance, and Philip II. was appointed to cause his deposition. Anx- ious faithfully to perform so agreeable an office, Philip immediately commenced preparing an armament for the conquest of England ; and John made every exertion for the preservation of his dominions. But a papal legate passed through France into England, and nejjotiated with John for a cessation of hostili- ties, on the condition of being absolved and received again into the bosom of 284 THE CRUSADES. XING JOHN ABSOLVED BY THE POPE S LEGATE the church. John consented to do homage to the pope in the person of his legate, Pandolfo, and thenceforth to hold his kingdom as a vassal to the Holy See. The legate then returned to France, and at Boulogne met Philip, anx- iously awaiting his return, that he might proceed to England. His astonish- ment and chagrin at learning that, as England had become a fief of the Holy See, and its king the pope's vassal, he must not attack it, can scarcely be expressed. He intended, nevertheless, to have prosecuted the enterprise ; but the fleet of France vms destroyed by that of England ; the emperor, Otho IV., entered into an alliance with John against France; and Philip found him- self in danger of losing all his possessions in consequence of having accepted England as a present from Innocent. Undismayed, however, he advanced to meet his enemies with an army of fifty thousand chosen men, commanded by the chief nobility of France, THE GREAT CHARTER. 2^5 BATTLE OF TiOnVINMS and including twelve hundred knights. Otho was aided by the natural brother of King John, William Longespee, the Earl of Salisbury ; the Count of Flan- ders ; the Duke of Brabant ; seven German princes, and a force superior to that of his adversary. Near the village of Bouvines, between Lisle and Tournay, the contest was decided. The allies were totally routed ; the dead bodies of thirty thousand Germans covered the plain. Thus was the glory of Philip permanently established, and security given to all his dominions. (A. D. 1213.) A truce was soon after concluded between France and England ; but the peaceable possession of his throne was not to be the portion of John ; his weakness was well known, and the Norman barons determined to embrace the opportunity of recovering the natural and constitutional rights which had been stripped from them by the successors of the Conqueror. They entered into a confederacy, and formally demanded a restoration of their privileges ; and that their cause might wear the greater appearance of justice, they also included those of the clergy and people. With arms in their hands, they laid waste the royal domains, and John was obliged to humble himself. He appointed a conference with them at Runnymead, not far from Windsor ; and there, on the 19th of June, 1215, he signed and sealed the Great Charter. This deed granted very important liberties to every order of men in the kingdom, and 286 THE CRUSADES. ■WILLLIAM LONRESPEE EARL OP SALISBURY. is justly regarded by the English as the foundation of their free institutions. While thus tracing the progress of England and France, we have suffered the affairs of Germany and the rest of Europe to lie unnoticed. The emperor Henry V. was succeeded by Lothario, Duke of Saxe-Supplemburg, A. D. 1125. The principal ac- tions of Lothario were his establishment of Pope Innocent XL over his rival Anacletus, and the tem- porary expulsion of the Normans of Apuha, A. D. 1139. On his way back to Germany, he was taken sick and died at Trent, in the twelfth year of his reign. Conrad, Duke of Franconia, succeeded him; but Henry, the haughty Duke of Bavaria, contested his right to the throne. The family name of Henry was Guelf, whence his partisans obtained the name of Guelfs. Henry was stripped of his dominions ; and after his death, the contest was continued by his brother Guelf and Roger of Sicily. Frederick of Suabia commanded the armies of his brother, the emperor ; and he gave to his soldiers the name of Ghibellines, from the name of his birth-place. The terms of Guelf and Ghibelline were afterwards differ- ently applied : the former was used to designate an adherent of the pope, while a partisan of the emperor bore the title of Ghibelline. While the war in Germany was brought to an accommodation, disorders broke out in Italy, during the continuance of which Pope Lucius II. lost his life. The emperor dying in 1152, his nephew Frederic Barbarossa (Red Beard), was elected emperor, in the hope that he might reconcile the internal dissen- sions of the empire, as he was by the paternal side a Ghibelline, and a Guelf by the maternal. This he effected by giving Bavaria, the ancient inheritance of the Guelfs, to Henry the Lion, of Saxony, the head of that party. He after- wards turned his attention to the affairs of Italy, and in 1154 he held a great diet on the banks of the Po, where many complaints were made against Milan. This city, which had grown so great as to rival Rome itself, proudly refused to answer them, and the emperor therefore inflicted a punishment upon it. He left Italy with threats of future vengeance, but the Milanese, unawed by his power, continued their independent policy. By reducing Lodi to ashes, they incurred the wrath of Frederic, who marched against the city, compelled it to surrender, destroyed its fortifications, and spread waste and desolation over the homes of the unfortunate people, who were all exiled. Frederic then went to Rome and took part in the civil war, in the course of which his soldiers burnt St. Peter's Church. A plague followed, which destroyed his army, and compelled him to return hastily to Germany. AFFAIRS OF GERMANY. 287 But the very cities who had complained of the Milanese in the diet, were moved to compassion by the severe punishment inflicted upon that people. They conducted them back to their homes and entered into a confederacy with them; and, like Athens, Milan became more powerful than ever, because of her destruction. The confederation then, in one year, built and garrisoned a new city, which they named Alexandria, in defiance of the emperor, and in honour of the pope. Frederic besieged it seven months without success, and then fought a pitched battle with the allies at Lignano, May 29, 1176. Owing to the unexpected defection of Henry the Lion, he was totally defeated and obliged to recognise the independence of the Lombard cities. In conse- quence, the Duke of Bavaria was tried for felony, deposed from all his digni- ties and fiefs, and declared an outlaw. The emperor, however, took compassion on him, pardoned his offences, and counselled him to retire to the court of his father-in-law, Henry 11. of England, that the rage of his enemies might be moderated by his absence. Meanwhile, Brunswick and Luneberg, his hereditary possessions, were reserved to him. Thus the duke came to dwell as an exile in the country where his descendants were subsequently to ascend a brilliant throne ; for there his consort Matilda gave birth to William, founder of the chief branch of the house of Hanover, which has given a race of monarchs to Great Britain.* The emperor afterwards marched into Italy, where he was received as if no cause of enmity had ever existed. He gave to his son Henry the iron crown of Lombardy, and at the request of the Milanese, celebrated in their city the marriage of that prince with Constanza, the last heiress of the royal Norman race of Naples and Sicily. In May, 1189, Frederic set out for the Holy Land, where he expected to unite his arms with those of Philip and Richard against the great Saladin. As we have seen, however, he ended his days in Cilicia, a glorious death in a sacred cause. He was succeeded by Henry VI., who has gained everlasting infamy by the shameful manner in which he treated Richard I. of England. He died suddenly in Sicily, at the age of thirty-three, when he was planning the conquest of the Greek empire, as a means of securing a successful issue to the Holy War. (A.D. 1197.) After his death, the factions of the Guelfs and the Ghibellines tore the empire with civil war for ten years, Philip of Suabia, and Otho, the son of Henry the Lion, were both chosen to the imperial throne, and both alternately ravaged the country. Philip was assassinated, and Otho bore sole sway. But he quarrelled with the pope, who set up another emperor, Frederic II., to whom he had been guardian since the death of his f\Uher, Henry VI. (A. D. 1215.) The battle of Bouvines decided Otho's ruin. Abandoned by all his followers, he lived as a private man, an emperor without a throne, imtil his death. (A. D. 1218.) * Russell. Kohlrausch. 288 THE CRUSADES. These troubles in Europe, however, did not prevent the formation of another crusade for the recovery of the Holy Land. The adventurers in this expedition were chiefly French and Germans. The enterprising Venetians furnished them with ships, taking care to be well paid both with money and territory. To re- ward the Venetians, the crusaders reduced to its former allegiance the city of Zara, in Dalmatia, which had revolted from the government of the republic. We have seen the throne of the East filled successively by four princes of the house of the Comneni, Alexis I., John, Manuel, and Alexis II. The latter was dethroned by his uncle, Andronicus, who was deposed in turn by Isaac Angelus. (A.D. 1185.) Ten years afterwards, he too was expelled, with the loss of his eyes, by his brother, Alexis. Isaac had a son named Alexis, who besought the aid of the Latins for his father, engaging to supply them with provisions and money, and submit himself to papal jurisdiction. By them, Isaac was restored to the throne. He then ratified the treaty which his son had made with the strangers, and died. The young Alexis succeeded him, and fell a victim to the hatred of the Greeks, who were incensed at him for calling in the aid of the Latins. A relative, named Murtzufle, strangled him with his own hands, and usurped the throne. This gave the crusade'rs, who were headed by Baldwin of Flanders, a pre- text for interference. Constantinople was attacked on the 12th of April, 1204, and captured with little difficulty. The standards of the bishops of Soissons and Troyes were planted at the same instant on one of the towers. The blows of the battering-rams burst three of the gates of the city; the whole army of crusaders rushed in, and for several days the unfortunate citizens endured all the horrors of massacre and pillage. The very coffins of the emperors were stolen by the soldiers and valets in the army, who penetrated wherever silk shone, or gold glittered. The altar of the Virgin, a master-piece of art which decorated the church of St. Sophia, was pulled to pieces, and the veil of the sanctuary was torn to ribands. While some of the French danced with the ladies in the sanctuary, others engaged in gambling on the marble tablets which represented the apostles. The plate in the sacred edifice was used on the tables of the conquerors, and horses and mules fell dead, overcome with the weight of the spoils laid upon them. Baldwin of Flanders was elected emperor, and Murtzufle was condemned to be thrown headlong from the top of a lofty column. Thrace and Moesia w^ere all, however, that came into the possession of Baldwin; the Venetians receiving for their share Peloponnesus, Candia, and several cities on the coast of Phrygia, while the Marquis of Montferrat seized on Thessaly. The pope gained for a time the whole eastern church, an acquisition which was felt to be of more importance than the reconquest of Palestine,' very few knights indeed going into the Holy Land. Innocent III., in speaking of this conquest, says, " God, willing to console his church by the union of the Schis- matics, has made the empire to pass from the proud, superstitious, disobedient Greeks, to the humble, pious, Catholic, and submissive Latins." LATIN EMPIRE IN GREECE. 289 DESECRATION OF THE CHURCH AT TJIB CAPTURE OF CONSTAKTINOPLE. But the princes of the Comnenian race had not lost their courage with their empire. One of them, who bore the name of Alexis, erected on the coast of Colchis what he chose to call the empire of Trebizond ; and Theodore Lascaris retook Nice, and settled himself as an emperor in Bithynia. Other Greeks entered into an alliance with the Turks and the Bulgarians against Baldwin, who was taken prisoner by them near Adrianople. They cut off his arms and legs, and left him a prey to wild beasts. His brother and suc- cessor, Henry, was poisoned in 1216, and within half a century Constanti- nople was again in the possession of the Greeks. While these things passed in the east, Philip and Otho devastated the west. Vol. II. ;i7 290 THE CRUSADES. FREDERIC II. At his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, Frederic II. made a vow to go in person to the Holy Land, a vow which Pope Honorius III. repeatedly called upon him to perform. But the emperor excused himself under the plea of important affairs at home, and the crusaders were forced to take for their leader, John, King of Hungary. They found John of Brienne, who held the crown of Jeru- salem, at Ptolemais. Coradin, the nephew of the great Saladin, and the son of Sa- phadin. Sultan of Egypt and Babylon, com- manded the Saracen forces. The Christians advanced to give him battle, but he found their numerical superiority to be too great, and declined the contest. The Christian army then divided itself into four parts, for its better subsistence; and John of Hungary shortly after returned to his own dominions. Damietta in Egypt was invested, and taken after a siege of eighteen months. A papal legate, the Cardinal Albano, brought a rein- forcement of troops from the emperor, and the pope confirmed his claim to the command of the whole expedition. John of Brienne therefore resigned it, and the monkish general speedily lost all the advantages that had been gained by his able predecessor. He led his army to a position between two branches of the Nile, just at the season when that river overflows its banks. Meledin had succeeded to the power of his father, Saphadin, on the decease of that potentate, and his conduct on this occasion proves him to have been worthy of his family. While he burnt the ships of the Christians on one side, he opened the sluices of the Nile on the other; and the increasing waters of the river threatened the cardinal and his soldiers with the fate of Pharaoh and his host. They therefore hastily concluded a dishonourable peace, surrendered Damietta, and bound themselves not to serve against Me- ledin for eight years. In order to compel the Emperor Frederic to perform his vow. Pope Gre- gory IX. excommunicated hhn. He retahated by ravaging the papal terri- tories. But he at length resolved to perform the expedition, in order to re- move the cause of the trouble. He was now prohibited from embarking before he was absolved from the sentence of the church ; but he went in defiance of the papal interference. He neither desolated Asia nor destroyed the infi- dels ; but he concluded a peace with Meledin, who ceded to him Jerusalem and its territory as far as Jaffa ; Bethlehem, Nazareth, and all the country between Jerusalem and Ptolemais; Tyre, Sidon, and the neighbouring coun- tries. Frederic then granted the sultan a truce for ten years, and returned to Italy. (A. D. 1230.) FREDERIC II. IN ITALY. 291 SHIPS OF ■!' LlH T Li I R X E li li T U C E N U' U R T. During his absence a crusade had been preached against him ; and his own son, Henry, and his father-in-law, John of Brienne, took part with the pope and the Lombards against him. On his return, however, he re-es- tabhshed order; compelled the pope to release him from excommunication, and ordered a peace to be proclaimed by the preacher, John of Vicenza. (A. D. 1235.) But the peace was of short duration. The emperor reap- peared in Italy at the entreaty of Ezzelino de Romano, Podesta of Verona, and chief of the Ghibellines in Lombardy. This leader obtained possession of Padua; and Frederic, by a great victory over the Milanese at Corte JSTiova, in 1237, broke the power of the Lombards. Milan, Bologna, Piacenza, Brescia, and all the other cities surrendered. But the pope became again in- censed, and restored the hopes of the Guelfs by adding Venice and Genoa to their alliance. But when the emperor made his natural son, Enzio, King of Sardinia, in violation of the professed right of the Holy See to that island, and prepared to complete the subjugation of the Milanese, Gregory excom- municated him anew. (A. D. 1239.) Frederic then marched into Italy, cap- tured Ravenna, and made the pope tremble in his capital. Yet he forbore to proceed to extremities, and offered to submit to the decision of an assembly of the fathers of the church. When, however, he perceived that none but his avowed enemies were summoned to attend, he forbade them from going to Rome; and Enzio, finding them about to proceed thither, attacked and de- stroyed the Genoese fleet which carried them, and brought a hundred prelates prisoners to Naples. This blow caused the death of the haughty Gregory. 292 THE CRUSADES. (A. D. 1241.) He was immediately succeeded by Celestine IV., whose short reign was followed by an interregnum, which terminated in the election of Innocent IV., who, as Cardinal Fiesco, had been a friend to the emperor, but became, henceforth, his most formidable enemy. He confirmed the ex- communication of Gregory, and then fled to Lyons, where he summoned the emperor to appear before him. Thaddeus of Suessa here defended the cause of his master with all the powers of truth and eloquence ; but the struggle was vain, the fate of the emperor had been fixed. The pope pronounced the most dreadful curse upon him ; the priests remained silent, extinguished their candles, and threw them on the ground. The German bishops then awarded the imperial crown to Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia, who was, therefore, styled in derision, the " king of the priests." After his death (A. D. 1247) they chose another emperor, Wil- liam of Holland. By these proceedings, both Germany and Italy were in- volved in confusion. In the language of an old historian, " after the Emperor Frederic was excommunicated, the robbers congratulated themselves, and re- joiced at the opportunities thus afforded them for pillage. The ploughshares were transformed into swords, and the pruning-hooks into lances. Every one supplied himself with steel and flint, in order to be able to produce fire, and spread incendiarism instantly." In Italy the war continued uninterruptedly. The good fortune of the em- peror at length deserted him. His gallant son, Enzio, was taken prisoner by the Bolognese, and sentenced to perpetual confinement. He languished in prison twenty-two years, and survived all the sons and grandsons of Frederic, all of whom met with violent deaths. The hfe of the emperor, however, had drawn nearly to a close. He did not long survive the loss of his chivalric and handsome son. He died in the arras of his other child, Manfred, in 1250, at the castle of Fiorentino, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He had worn the crown forty-one years, during one of the most remarkable periods of the Middle Ages, when, under such pontiffs as Gregory VII. and Innocent III., the papal power was in its zenith ; when, by the establishment of the orders of knighthood, of the mendicant orders, and of the inquisition, the formidable pillars of the ecclesiastical structure were erected ; when, by means of the cru- sades, the people of Europe were first brought into a closer connexion by a common feeling imbodied in the sign of the cross; when chivalry, ennobled by religion, obtained a higher character, and a consistent organization; when the class of free citizens was gradually rising from its long degradation, and when the cities strengthened themselves against external dangers by great con- federacies, and completed and confirmed their internal organization, by the es- tablishment of corporations; when the first universities aroused the spirit of inquiry and examination ; when the songs of the Provencals had found a home in Germany and Italy, and were sung by emperors and kings -.—these were the times in which Frederic Hohenstaufen the Great lived and acted. Since DEATH OF KING JOHN. 293 Charlemagne and Alfred, no potentate had existed who loved and promoted civilization in its broadest sense, so much as Frederic II.* His virtues and talents were great, and continually serviceable to the cause of civilization. His faults were the result of bad education, and the corruption and violence of the age in which he lived. On the death of Frederic II., began the long German Interregnum, under which the clergy took arms against the laity, the weak were oppressed by the strong, and all laws, divine and human, disregarded. After the death of Frederic's son, Conrad, who had assumed the imperial dignity as successor to his father, and the decease of William of Holland, a variety of candidates appeared for the empire, and many were elected by different factions; but no emperor was properly acknowledged until 1273, when Rodolph of Hapsburg was unanimously raised to the vacant throne. Meanwhile, Denmark, Holland, and Hungary freed themselves from the allegiance they formerly paid to the empire, and several German cities erected a municipal form of government, which still continues. Lubec, Cologne, Brunswick, and Dantzic united for mu- tual defence against the encroachments of the great lords, by the famous asso- ciation known as the Hanseatic League. Eighty other towns, belonging to different states, afterwards joined to increase the wealth and power of this commercial republic.! The archbishops of Cologne, Mayence and Treves, the King of Bohe- mia, the Count Palatine, Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg, who had long enjoyed the right of Pretaxation or first Election, assumed, on the death of William of Holland, the exckisive privilege of electing the emperor. Hence we have the origin of the seven electors, whose power and sovereign attributes constituted from this time the Germanic Empire a federative body. England, meanwhile, had been the scene of much confusion. After being compelled to sign the Great Charter, John dismissed his forces, and promised that his government should conform to its provisions ; but his disregard of this promise speedily involved him in another war with the discontented barons, in which Louis the son of Philip Augustus participated, invaded England, and was about to take possession of the throne. While John w^as preparing to make a final struggle for the crown, death ended his eventful hfe in the forty-ninth year of his age, and eighteenth of his reign. Crimes the most odious, and vices of the worst kind, united to form the character of John. His tyranny was not only ruinous to his people, but destructive to himself. He was succeeded by his son Henry III., a child nine years old. The able and fiiithful Earl of Pembroke was chosen protector during the king's minority, and by a wdse and conciliatory conduct, succeeded in changing the feeling of resentment which the barons entertained towards the father, into * Encyclopedia Americana. Kolilrausch. f Russell. 294 THE CRUSADES. BATTLE OF T A I L L B B O tl R G . compassion for the helpless youth of the son. Throughout the kingdom loyalty revived ; the army of the French prince was defeated at Lincoln ; a fleet bringing reinforcements was compelled to return ; the barons hastened to make their peace with the protector, and Louis determined to abandon his designs. He accordingly concluded a treaty with Pembroke, by which he pro- mised to evacuate the kingdom, stipulating in return an indemnity to his ad- herents, a restitution of their honours and fortunes, and the free and equal enjoyment of those liberties which had been granted to the rest of the nation. (A.D. 1217.) The government of Henry HI., after the lamented death of the Earl of Pembroke, was weak and unfortunate. He married Eleanor, daughter of the Count of Provence ; a circumstance which induced the king to keep a great number of foreigners about his person, much to the dissatisfaction of the Eng- lish barons. At the invitation of his father-in-law, who promised to join him wuth all his forces, Henry, in 1242, declared war against France, and invaded Guienne. But the battle of Taillebourg secured victory to the French ; his allies deserted him, and he was obliged to return with disgrace to England, after having lost all his possessions in Poitou. (A. D. 1243.) Henry, like his father, was constantly engaged in disputes wnth the ba- rons, on the subject of extending their privileges at the expense of the royal prerogative. They exacted from him an oath to observe the provisions of Magna Charta ; and subsequently, with arms in their hands, under the lead- DEATH OF SIMON DE MONTFORT. 295 ing of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, brother-in-law of the king, they compelled him to grant them a new constitution, known as the " Statutes of Oxford." (A. D. 1258.) By these, the Earl of Leicester was piaced at the head of a legislative body of nobles, to whom the supreme power was transferred, that they might reform the state ; but at the end of three years it was found that they had only cared for the aggrandizement of their own families. All orders of men murmured at this breach of trust; the pope absolved Henry and his subjects from the oath taken at Oxford, and he resumed the government. But Leicester would not resign the power he had enjoyed, and many of the chieftains concurred in his views. The civil war was renewed in all its horrors ; and in a battle fought near Lewes, in Sussex, the royal party was de- feated, and Henry and his son Edward were made prisoners. Leicester then began to act as sole lord of the kingdom, and treated the barons with greater insolence than they had suffered from Henry himself. In 1265, he summoned a new parliament on a more democratical basis than any that had been assembled since the time of the Conqueror, and which presents the first rude outline of that now prominent feature in the British constitution, the House of Commons. Relying for support upon the lower classes, De Montfort ventured to tyrannize over the nobles, many of whom revolted, and joined the royalists. Their want of a leader was supplied by Prince Edward. The oppressions of the usurper produced a force which Leicester was un- able to resist. A battle was fought at Evesham, where the usurper was slain, and his forces totally routed. The victory thus gained was used with moderation ; no blood was shed on the scaffold, the mildness of Henry and the prudence of his son tempered the exercise of power, and order was happily restored to the state. Edward then undertook an expedition into the Holy Land (A. D. 1270), where he displayed his valour with such an effect, that the Saracens employed an as- sassin to murder him. Edward was wounded in the arm, but repaid the temerity of the ruffian with death. Meanwhile, Henry, sinking under the burdens of government, implored Edward to return. He obeyed, but before he reached England the king expired, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and the forty-sixth of his reign.* Soon after the return of Prince Louis of France from his invasion ot England, Philip Augustus died, leaving to his son a kingdom twice as extensive as that which he had inherited. Philip had refused to engage in the war against the Albigenses ; but Louis VIIL, surnamed the Lion, follow- ing the pernicious advice of his counsellors, not only attacked the heretics during the life of his father, but sought an opportunity immediately on his accession to the throne of continuing the war against them. He assembled an army of fifty thousand men, and with this force besieged Avignon. The citizens fought * Russell. 296 THE CRUSADES, fjMMk^^Jk,.., SIEGE OF AVIGNON. with the greatest obstinacy, and the besiegers lost above two thousand men. They were finally compelled to accept of a capitulation, the terms of which were uncommonly severe. Soon after this success, Louis died at Montpensier, on the 12th of November, 1226, four years after his accession. He was succeeded by his son, Louis IX., whose piety procured for him the title of Saint. During the minority of his son, the will of Louis VIII. provided that the affairs of the kingdom should be administered by his queen, Blanche, as regent. The prudence and firmness of the queen-mother repressed the excesses of the nobles, considerably augmented the kingdom, and secured the undisputed possession of it to her son. Louis falling sick, was so alarmed, that he took the cross, and vowed to lead an army against the infidels should he recover. The remonstrances of the queen-mother and her counsellors were insufficient to divert him from the performance of what he considered a solemn obligation. The greater part of the princes of the blood, and of his vassals, accompanied him on the expedition, which set sail from Marseilles for Cyprus. After some stay at that place, he determined to attack Egypt. His prodigious army appeared before Damietta, early in June, 1249, and soon succeeded in capturing it. On entering the city, the crusaders had the good fortune to deliver fifty-three captives, who had refused to abjure their faith, and who had ST. LOUIS IN CAPTIVITY. 297 ST. LOUIS IN CAPTIVITY. groaned in irons for twenty-two years. This happy commencement was soon followed by a disastrous reverse. Vanquished in the battle of Massoura, after performing prodigies of valour, Louis found himself and his two brothers pri- soners in the hands of the enemy. This misfortune served to show forth the virtue of the Christian hero, and the character of the great king. He did not address a prayer to his enemy, and his pride did not abase itself to the language of fear or submission. Of all his riches, his book of psalms alone remained to him — useless spoils for the Mussulmans — and when all else was lost, this was his only consolation. It was proposed to him to purchase his liberty by the surrender of Damietta, and the payment of a million of bezants. To this Louis replied, " A king of France may not buy himself with gold ; we will give you Damietta for my deliverance, and the million of bezants for the freedom of my army." The sultan, pleased with his dignified bearing, abated one-fifth Vol. IL 38 298 THE CRUSADES. ST. LOUIS ENTERING PTOLEMAIS. of the price. The treaty was about to be concluded, when the sultan lost his life at the hands of his revolted emirs. Louis, thus exposed to new dangers, escaped them all by his admirable calmness and firm bearing ; and, at length, he was permitted to embark for Ptolemais, with his queen and the remnant of his army. He arrived there while the people and the clergy were yet praying for his deUverance.* Louis still, however, continued the appearance of a holy war, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Queen Blanche, who enjoined him * Michiiud DEATH OF ST. LOUIS. 301 to return to his own troubled kingdom. Her death at length decided his return. (A. D. 1254.) In his own country he studied to render complete the happiness of his people, and to preserve peace with the neighbouring sovereigns. His justice became proverbial ; and his subjects, and strangers, gladly submitted their dis- putes to his decision. He never, however, abandoned the thought of a second crusade. The taking of Antioch by Bibars was a signal to him for its ac- complishment. The efforts of the warriors of the cross were now directed against the possessions of the infidels in Northern Africa. The interested suggestions of Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, and the hope of converting the King of Tunis, caused Louis to turn his arms against that city. But " instead of a proselyte," says Taylor, " he found a tedious siege, and a mortal disease." The crusaders were scarcely under the walls of Tunis, when a pestilence commenced its ravages among them. The king's two sons died of it; and Louis, weakened by the fatigues and austerities of his life, could not escape its malignity. Finding himself attacked by the malady, Louis de- manded the extreme unction. He answered to the prayers for the dying with a voice as firm as if he were giving orders for the battle-field. He knelt at the foot of the bed to receive the holy Sacrament, and supplicated the Throne of Grace for the whole human family, not excepting the infidels, who were the cause of his glory and his misfortunes. On the 2oth of August, A. D. 1270, feeling that his end approached, Louis caused himself to be laid upon a bed of ashes, where he remained extended, his arms crossed on his breast, and his eyes raised towards heaven, until the moment of his dissolution. As the sun sunk in the west he heaved a deep sigh ; and as he pronounced distinctly the words, " Lord, I hasten into thy mansion, and I will adore thee in thy holy temple," his soul fled to the holy temple which he longed to inhabit. His mortal remains were deposited in two funeral urns. One of them was given to his brother Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily ; the other, in which were the bones and the heart of his father, was carried by Philip into France. Philip III., surnamed the Hardy, thus came to the throne, afar from his na- tive land and in the midst of sickness and death. Charles of Anjou had arrived in the camp of the crusaders on the evening of his brother's death, bringing abundance of provisions and reinforcements. AH hopes of successfully completing the enterprise were vain, and Charles took the command of the army only to negotiate. After two months, a treaty was concluded by which the King of Tunis engaged to release all his Christian prisoners, and pay the expenses of the war. After the crusaders had left the shores of the Moslem prince, they experienced still further disasters. A storm off Trapani wrecked eighteen of the largest vessels, and many more transports. Many knights and warriors, wath an immense store of military equipments, and all the booty ob- tained at Tunis, were lost. At Trapani, Philip lost his wife and a new-born child ; and the old troubadour, Thibaut of Champagne, King of Navarre, ex- 302 THE CRUSADES. pired of exhaustion and chagrin, at the many miseries he had witnessed and sustained. The entry of Philip III. into his capital on the 22d of May, 1271, was with the most melancholy pomp with which sovereign was ever accom- panied when he went to take possession of a throne which had devolved on him without dispute. He was followed hy the coffins of his father, of his wife and child, of his brother John, and of the King of Navarre. Before the ceremony of his coronation was ended, his uncle and aunt, Alphonso of Poitou and his consort Jane, were added to the number of illustrious dead. By each of these deaths, however, the king personally was a gainer. The rich provinces of Auvergne, Poitou, Champagne, and Toulouse, fell at once, by right of inheritance, to the crown ; and for the first time the kingdom of France ex- tended from Calais to the Pyrenees, from Brest to the Rhone, and from Bay- onne to the Alps. The policy of Philip Augustus began then, in fact, to be developed by its fruits ; and the sceptre was seen to be something more than the mere staff of office borne by the president of a feudal confederacy. It was, per- haps, fortunate for royalty that at this period it was in close alliance with the populace — with the middle class then struggling into being ; it must, otherwise, have been compelled to fight its way through obstacles which, before the lapse of a century, would have given birth to pure democracy ; and thus have saved the world from the unnumbered throes and struggles which, from time to time, have since convulsed it, and the issue of which has yet to be decided by a revolution ; the character of which will be determined rather by the amount of intelligence which may direct, than by the degree of coercion employed in it. Had Philip possessed the talents of his father, his grandfather, or his great-grandfather, fie might have had the option of being the most despotic prince, or the most beneficent sovereign of his age ; but his genius resembled that of Charles of Anjou, and he chose rather to attempt the revival of the somewhat obsolete observances of knight-errantry, than to confine his attention to the concentration of his power, or the consolidation of his government. His intelligence was behind that of his day, and his reign consequently presented little that is of marked interest to mankind at large.* We now return to the affairs of Spain, which was still divided into many different sovereignties. Navarre, Castile, and Aragon would not unite against the Moors, whose strength was concentrated in Granada. Alphonso XI. was the only Castilian king who distinguished himself in war against the Moors. He raised the siege of Tariffa (A. D. 1340), and thus gained important advantages over them. Peter the Cruel, of Castile, was dethroned by his illegitimate brother, Henry of Trastamara ; but was subsequently restored by Edward the Black Prince. He was ungrateful to his benefactor ; and in a subsequent contest lost his kingdom and his life. Castile now passed to the * Pictorial France. ZINGIS KHAN 303 house of Trastamare, and for a long period enjoyed peace and prosperity. The kingdom of Aragon, less extensive than Castile, by the advantages of a better government, greater industry, and a line of sea-coast for foreign com- merce, had acquired superior political importance. Aragon counted, among its foreign dependencies, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, and the county of Barcelona, with several other Catalonian districts. These two kingdoms would probably have contested for the supremacy of Spain, had not the marriage of Ferdi- nand and Isabella united them into one. (A. D. 1469.) Portugal was on the point of being united to Castile by the marriage of King Ferdinand's daughter, Beatrice, to the Castilian monarch, John I. But on the death of Ferdinand, the regency was usurped by his illegitimate brother, Don Juan, who, after a fierce war with the Castilians, succeeded in maintaining the independence of Portugal. In the preceding pages of this volume, we have seen a horde of emigrant warriors, led by Attila the Hun, from the mountainous regions between China, Siberia, and the Caspian, desolate the fertile plains of Europe, and complete the destruction of the Western Empire of Rome. In like manner, in the be- ginning of the thirteenth century, an energetic prince, issuing from the wilds of Tartary with his Mongolian followers, succeeded in estabhshing his authority over most of the wealthy and powerful kingdoms of Asia. This prince was Temugin, the son of a monarch whose sway extended over thirteen hordes, numbering some thirty thousand families. By skilful conduct, he succeeded in acquiring the esteem and confidence of the neighbouring tribes, whose submis- sion swelled his power and dominions. Bringing superstition to his aid, he received from a naked prophet, whose powers were not unequal to the task of ascending on a white horse to heaven, the divine right of conquering the earth. Then, in a general assembly, he was solemnly proclaimed Zingis Khan (supreme monarch) of the Mongols and Tatars, or Tartars.* As his power over the pastoral nations extended, he resolved to turn his strength against the wealthy nations of the South. The Great Wall opposed his passage : it was, however, overcome, and the warlike khan led his forces to the gates of Pekin. The city was taken after a long and laborious siege ; Tartar war, and internal faction, desolated all China, and the five northern provinces were added to the empire of Zingis. The Sultan of Kharasm or Carizme, by an unprovoked outrage, drew upon himself the hostilities of the Mongol conqueror. The literary eminence of Bokhara, the commercial prosperity of Samarcand, and the multitude and valour of the sultan's troops, all availed nothing against the torrent of war- * Mogul is the name of the first of these rival but kindred tribes, as written by Gibbon. Mongol, however, appears to be more correct. The Chinese call them Mongkou ; the Mond- choux, their neighbours, Monggo. The proper name of the latter tribe is Tatars : they were descendants of Tatar Khan, and once formed a horde of seventy thousand families, on the borders of Kitay. See Notes to Gibbon. 304 THE CRUSADES. fare which poured over the land. In the first battle, one hundred and sixty thousand of the Carizmians were slain ; and in four years, ravages were com- mitted which the labour of five centuries has not been sufficient to repair. Not only Kharasm, but the greater part of Northern and Eastern Persia, As- trachan, and the territories to the confines of Russia, fell under the sway of Zingis Khan. He continued his career of conquest to the end of his life, which happened in the seventy-sixth year of his age. (A. D. 1227.) His successors followed in the path which he had marked out. China was com- pletely subdued, the dominion of the caliphs of Bagdad terminated, and the sultans of Iconium made tributary. The son and immediate successor of Zingis Khan, known to history as Octai Khan, sent two armies from the centre of China, one against the Corea, the other to the lands north-east of the Caspian. The Russian Empire was subdued, and the Mongols spread through Hungary, Poland, and Siberia, and to the coasts of the Adriatic. Kublai Khan was the grandson, and the last of the successors of Zingis Khan who is noted for his conquests ; the empire being ruined by partitions after his death. We have seen the death of a sultan of Egypt at the hands of his officers, at the time of the captivity of St. Louis. This occurrence marks the overthrow of the Ayubite dynasty, founded by Saladin's descendants in Syria, and in Egypt by the Mamelukes. These were Turkish captives, who had been sold into slavery by the Mongols. The Sultan Saleh had pur- chased a number of the younger captives, and had formed them into a camp on the sea-coast, where they received military instruction. Afterwards they were brought to guard the royal person, and the officers of state. But they rapidly grew numerous and powerful ; and as we have seen, Turan Shah, the son and successor of Saleh, was murdered for attempting to break their strength. (A. D. 1250.) Their dominion over Egypt lasted two centuries and a half. The office of sultan became subject to military election. The rulers, therefore, did not become so effeminate as in hereditary monarchies ; and under them the Mamelukes recaptured the kingdoms of Aleppo and Damascus, and united the whole of the ancient Saracenic possessions, in the Levantine coun- tries, into one empire. The principalities of Antioch and Tripoli were easily subdued ; and Acre and Tyre, the last memorials of the crusades, were taken, the first by assault, the latter by capitulation.* * Gibbon. Taylor. CHAPTER Vll e f I i n f of 1 1) c -p a r a 1 -^lii o Ski ? r . LREADY the papal power, which had reached its greatest height during the pontificates of Gre- gory X., Nicholas III., and Martin IV., had, on the death of the latter pontiff, begun sensibly to decline. For nearly ten years the succession of popes was so rapid as to deprive them, in a great measure, of their influence on the affairs of Europe. After the death of Nicholas IV., in 1292, the papal chair remained vacant for up- wards of two years, until the election of Celestine V., who soon afterwards, influenced by the Cardinal Benedict Cajetan, decreed his own abdication ; and his counsellor having previously gained the suffrages of the college, assumed the triple crown, under the name of Boniface VIII. Boniface renewed all the old pretensions of the church ; but he had not the power necessary to enforce his decrees. He aspired to universal sove- reignty over ecclesiastics, princes, and nations ; and in consequence of his as- sumptions, Philip the Fair, who had succeeded in 1285 to the throne of France, rebelled, and was excommunicated. This act, once so formidable, was disregarded by the French nation ; and the quarrel continued until, finally, the pope bestowed the kingdom of France upon the Emperor of Germany. Bo- niface himself was, in the meantime, excommunicated by the bishops of Hun- gary, for endeavouring to impose upon them a king of his choice. In a reunion or assembly of the bishops and barons of France, Philip appealed to a future council against the anathema of the pope ; and William de Nogaret, his attorney-general, accusing the pontiff of heresy and simony, it was determined to imprison him. This magistrate, seconded by the Ghibelline Vol. II. 39 (sos) 306 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. family of Colonna, whose estates the pope had confiscated, boldly arrested Bo- niface at his summer residence at Anagni. After maltreating him, they impri- soned him in one of the apartments of the palace ; but his adherents delivered him from their hands, and he retired to Rome, where he died, A. D. 1303. From the death of Boniface, the court of Rome will be found husbanding its strength, concentratmg its resources : no longer provoking the hostility of kings and emperors, but fighting only on the defensive. A few pontiffs may, perhaps, be found setting forth the claims of Gregory, Innocent, and Boni- face ; but their efforts appear puny and weak, and dying with themselves.* The life of Boniface's successor, Benedict XL, was too short to effect a reconciliation between the Holy See and the French crown. His successor, Clement V., was chosen by the influence of Philip of France ; and the papal court was removed from Rome to Avignon (A. D. 1309), where it continued under his six successors for nearly seventy years, known from this fact in the history of the church, as the Babylonish Captivity. Philip, having now come to an amicable understanding with the church, turned his attention to an object which has cast everlasting obloquy on his name. This was the suppression of the Knights Templars, an association founded (A. D. 1118) for the protection of pilgrims travelling towards the Holy Land. Afterwards, when Palestine was abandoned, and their services no longer required, they had altered the object of their institution to the sup- port of the popes of Rome. Their immense wealth had long excited the envy and cupidity of the King of France. Their destruction was determined ; and pretexts for dissolving the institution were easily found in their real and pre- tended corruptions and crimes. Having determined to suppress the order, Philip easily obtained the consent of his creature. Pope Clement V., to his design. On the 13th of October, 1307, James Molay, the grand-master of that order, wath about one hundred and forty of his subordinate knights, was arrested in the temple at Paris ; and on the same day similar seizures were made in every part of the kingdom. They were accused of idolatry, of blas- phemy, and of pollutions too horrible to be named. In the absence of suffi- cient testimony to convict them of these crimes, their persecutors had recourse to the rack ; and in their endeavours to torture their victims into confession, many murders were perpetrated. In Paris alone, thirty-six knights died upon the rack. This persecution continued for more than four years. At length, in March 1312, the council of Vienna decreed, and the pope confirmed the entire abolition of the order; Molay, the grand-master, and upwards of fifty others })erished at the stake in Paris ; in Senlis nine knights were burned on one funeral pile. The specified property of the Templars was conferred on their rivals, the Hospitallers ; while the residue, far greater in amount, fell to the prince or king in whose territory it was found. * Taylor. Proctor. WALLACE. 307 SURVIVORS OF TOE The heroism of the Templars in Pa- lestine, in the palmy days of the order, is well illustrated by their conduct at the battle of Nazareth. In 1187, when Jerusalem was threat- ened by Saladin, the Templars and Hos- pitallers took upon themselves its defence. They mustered but one hundred and thirty knights, and three or four hundred in- fantry, to oppose a Saracen army of seven thousand. The Christians, how- ever, did not hesitate to attack the enemy at Nazareth; and, overwhelmed by su- perior numbers, they all perished on the field of battle, except the grand-master of the temple and two of his knights, who were fortunate enough to escape the ge- neral carnage. England, in the meantime, had yielded as little respect to the papal mandates as France ; and Boniface's attempt to regulate the ecclesiastical re- venues of the kingdom was defeated by the firmness of Edward I. Edward had returned from the crusades with ideas of conquest tending rather to the advantage of his kingdom than to the deliverance of Jerusalem. The Welsh and Scotch had successfully defended their independence against the Saxon monarchs, but Edward determined to reduce them. With respect to Wales he was completely successful, and finally reduced that country to sub- jection. (A.D. 1283.) On a disputed succession to the crown of Scotland, Edward being chosen umpire, placed John Baliol, one of the twelve claimants, on the throne, with the condition of feudal dependence on the English sovereign. (A. D. 1292.) This was followed by rebellion and war. The King of England crossed the Tweed with thirty thousand foot and four thousand horse, and speedily reduced the Scots to submission, and made Baliol a prisoner. Edward was next engaged in a war with Philip the Fair of France (A. D. 1296), which was terminated in 1303 by the marriage of Philip's daughter, Isabella, to the heir of the English crown. Meantime, the Scots had again risen in arms, under the conduct of the celebrated William Wallace, to be again defeated. The victory at Falkirk rendered Edward once more master of Scotland, and the gallant Wallace was cruelly put to death. Robert Bruce, the grandson of one of the former com- petitors for the crown, was now recognised by the Scots as their king ; and war was declared anew. Edward was greatly exasperated, and prepared for a fresh invasion ; but his expedition was terminated by his death on the frontiers 308 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. of Scotland, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and thirty-fifth of his reign. With his dying breath the king charged his son to prosecute vigorously the war with Scotland. (A. D. 1307.) Edward II., however, leaving the war to be conducted by the Earl of Richmond, returned to England, and gave himself up to the direction of his favourites. The first of these. Piers Gaveston, incurred the hatred of the nobles and the people, and Edward was compelled to renounce him. His subse- quent restoration to favour, in 1312, occasioned a new revolt, which terminated in the destruction of the favourite. Edward, reconciled with his barons, under- took the execution of his father's designs against Scotland, where Bruce had been successfully exerting his power. The victorious career of this great hero was crowned by the decisive battle fought in 1314, at Bannockburn. There the independence of Scotland was secured, and Bruce fixed on the throne by giving to the English the greatest overthrow that they had received since the Conquest. Further shame and misfortune awaited the English monarch. Hugh Despenser, or Spenser, a nobleman of high rank, had succeeded Gaves- ton in the affections of the king and the hatred of the barons. A revolt headed by the Earl of Lancaster was, however, suppressed; the earl was behead- ed ; and of his followers, fourteen bannerets and fourteen knights-bachelors were hanged, drawn and quartered, and one knight was beheaded. After this triumph young Spenser became haughty and arrogant, overbearing and cruel. This con- duct of the favourite and the ill success of the Scottish war, again alienated the minds of the people from their king. On the 30th of May, 1323, Edward concluded a treaty for a suspension of hostilities with Bruce for thirteen years, and thus in fact, though not in express terms, acknowledged the independence of Scotland. Spenser having presumed to control the revenue of the queen, she fled to the court of her brother, the King of France. From the Earl of Hai- nault she obtained two thousand men, with whom she sailed for England, with her son Edward, and landed in Suffolk, where she was soon joined by many of the nobles. Every one deserted the unhappy king, except Spenser and his father, the Chancellor Baldock, and a few of their retainers. Edward fled to Wales; but the people among whom he was born gave him up to his enemies, and he was confined a close prisoner in Kenilworth Castle. He was soon afterwards removed to Berkeley Castle, where he was murdered in a horrible manner. (A. D. 1327.) The fall of the king involved the destruction of his favourites. Edward III. succeeded his father on the throne of England ; but the ad- ministration of afl'airs was given to his mother, the Queen Isabella, during his minority. Louis X. le Hutin (the Quarrelsome), succeeded his father, Phihp the Fair, on the throne of France, A. D. 1314. He united the kingdom of Na- varre, which he had inherited from his mother, to the crown of France. In RODOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 309 order to raise money for the necessary expenses of his coronation, Louis was obHged to make great concessions to the people of the disaffected provinces. He sold deeds and charters of emancipation to all who were willing to pay for them, liberated all the crown serfs, recalled the Jews, and redressed many of the alleged grievances of his father's reign. Louis died in 1316, after a reign of eighteen months. After some delay, Louis was succeeded by Philip V., the Tall. PhiHp induced his brother-in-law, Edward XL of England, to renew his homage for the counties of Guienne and Aquitaine; he pursued, with the greatest rigour, all Jews, heretics, lepers, and sorcerers. He also published an ordinance, re- markable for its sagacity, containing rules of justice, administration, and finance ; the most important of which declared the domain of the crown inalienable. Philip died on the 3d of January, 1322, leaving no son to succeed him on the throne. His brother, Charles IV., surnamed the Fair, succeeded 'to the crown without opposition. Charles immediately offered himself as a mediator be- tween the Count of Flanders and his subjects, who had imprisoned him in Bruges ; and he succeeded in procuring the liberation of the count, on his promising to respect the liberties of the towns and corporations. Charles soon after became involved in a war with the English. He captured Guienne and Aquitaine. Queen Isabella concluded a peace on the part of Edward II., by which the King of England resigned his right to the French provinces to his son, the Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward III. The queen then, as we have already seen, turning against her husband, invaded England, deposed Edward, and, it is probable, was the cause of his death. Charles reigned six years and one month, and died at Vincennes on the 1st of Februar}-, 1328. On the death of Charles IV,, the first branch of the family of Capet became extinct ; and the magnificent inheritance acquired by the arms and the policy of the descendants of Hugh Capet, was transmitted to Philip of Valois.* The German empire requiring a chief whose firmness should rescue it from the anarchy into which it had fallen during the interregnum, but whose power might not be sufficient to alarm the suspicions of the electors, Rodolph of Hapsburg was selected as possessing those quafifications. Ottocar, the King of Bohemia, however, protested against his election, and refused to do him homage. He was therefore outlawed at the diet of Augsburg, and sum- moned to restore the Austrian provinces which he had unjustl)'' acquired on the extinction of the house of Bamberg. In order to carry this sentence into execution, Rodolph formed an alliance with Ladislaus of Hungary, and secured Gregory X. to his interests. Ottocar, on his part, formed an alliance M'ith those princes whose states lay contiguous to the hereditary possessions of Rodolph. This war, w^hich broke out in 1275, continued, with but a short intermission, until 1278, when it was terminated by the death of Ottocar, at * Pictoiiiil Fiiince. Des Micliels. 310 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER R O r> O L P II OF U A I' S B D H t the battle of Markfield. The objects of contention came into the possession of the emperor, who continued to increase his fa- mily domains until he aroused the suspicions of the great feudal retainers ; so that, in 1290, when he attempted to secure the imperial crown to his eldest son, he no longer found the same ready compliance in the electors which he had hitherto expe- rienced, and in the following year he died, frustrated of his highest hopes. On his death, the electors of the em- pire, passing over lis son, Albert of Aus- tria, chose Adolphus of Nassau, emperor. This prince soon offended those by whose influence he was elected ; and Albert, rais- ing a strong party against him, obtained from a diet of the empire, the depo- sition of his rival, and his own election.* Adolphus appealed to arms. The two armies met at Worms, in 1298, w^here Albert was completely victorious, and Adolphus fell mortally wounded. Albert I. was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, and he immediately began to take measures for the extension of the empire. He already meditated the reduction of Thuringia, Bohemia, and Holland, when he was called to Switz- erland by a revolt of the sturdy mountaineers. The chief cities of Switzerland were originally imperial free cities. Albert wished to detach them from the empire, and unite them to his own province of Hapsburg ; but they, regarding his proposal with suspicion, refused ; upon which the emperor treated them with severity and cruelty. The insulting tyranny of his steward, Gesler of Bruneck, a haughty, overbearing nobleman, provoked the celebrated conspiracy of Grutli, in which the name of William Tell appears in all its glory. Three men, Werner Stauffacher of Schwitz, Walter Fiirst of Attinghau- sen, in Uri, and Arnold of Melchthal, in Unterwald, who, having all grievous cause for resentment, could depend with certainty on each other, met at mid- night, on the banks of the Lake of Lucerne, and resolved to unite themselves and their friends in an attempt to free their beloved country. Before the day fixed for their revolt arrived, the courage of the confede- rates was strengthened by the sympathy manifested by the people, in an occurrence which afterwards proved of some consequence to them. This was the celebrated incident of Tell's shooting the apple from the head of his son, with an arrow, at the command of Gesler, which was speeedily followed by * This diet is remarkable as being the first, which took upon itself to detlrrone an em- peror, whhout consulting the pope. THE SWISS. 311 the death of the tyrant, at the hands of the oppressed patriot. This circum- stance inspired the people of the mountains with hope ; and, accordingly, when they heard of the rising of the thirty-three, on New Year's day, they joined in it with earnestness. ,HEIR success was so great that on the 7th of January, the people from the three cantons of Uri, Schwitz, and Unterwald met, took the ancient oath of confederacy, and declared themselves independent. Albert now marched against them, but all his efforts being unsuccessful, he was returning towards Haps- burg, when, on the 1st of May, 1308, he was mur- dered by his nephew, Duke John of Suabia. On the death of Albert, the German princes elected Henry VII., count of Luxemburg, emperor. He acquired for his house, by marriage, the kingdom of Bohemia ; and to indicate his right of superiority over the popes, fought his way to Rome, where he was solemnly crowned, and imposed a tribute on all the states of Italy. He died suddenly, a supposed victim of papal resentment. Louis of Bavaria, and Frederic III. of Austria, were now both invested with the imperial dignity by opposite factions. Louis was crowned at Aix- la-Chapelle, and Frederic at Bonn, (A. D. 1314.) A seven years' war ensued. While the two emperors struggled for supremacy in Germany, Frederic de- spatched his brother, the Duke Leopold, to reduce the Swiss to obedience. The duke advanced into Switzerland, and on the 16th of November, 1315, was attacked in the pass of Morgarten, and completely routed by the hardy mountaineers, who first broke his ranks by rolling huge stones down on his close columns, and then attacked him with their iron pointed clubs and hal- berds. The Swiss then renewed their ancient bond of union at Brunnen, and the emperor Louis, in several letters, confirmed their Hberty. Five other cantons soon after joined the former three, and all the possessions of the house of Austria in Switzerland were soon conquered by the new republic. In Germany, in 1322, by the skill and courage of Schweppermann, Louis's general, a great victory was gained at Muhldorf, over Frederic, who was ta- ken prisoner, and confined in the fortress of Traussnitz. Three years after- wards, however, he was liberated by Louis, and associated with him in the empire. This good understanding drew upon them the malice of Pope John XXII. , and of Leopold, Frederic's brother. Leaving Frederic to govern Germany, and carry on the war against his brother, Louis entered Italy, and joined by all the Ghibelline princes forced the pope's legate to raise the siege of Milan. The pope excommunicated the emperor, but Louis pursued his course to Rome, 312 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. where he was crowned by Sciarra Colonna. A revolt of his soldiers, however, left him nearly powerless, and the intelligence of new troubles in his German dominions, obliged Louis to abandon Italy, and recross the Alps. (A. D. 1330.) Frederic died m 1330, and Louis remained sole emperor mitil his death in 1347. This event prevented a civil war, which would have resulted from the election of a rival emperor, Charles IV. of Luxemburg, who became his succes- sor. Charles added Brandenburg and Silesia to his dominions, and made many wise regulations for the government of Bohemia, paying less attention to the general concerns of the empire. In order to secure his coronation at Rome, on his visit to that city in 1355, Charles surrendered his supremacy over the papal dominions, renounced Padua and Verona to the Venetians, and appointed Galeazzo Visconti perpetual vicar of the empire in Lombardy. His coronation took place on Easter day, 1355. A diet of the empire, convened at Nuremburg in 1356, produced an edict, called from the seal of gold at- tached to it, the Golden Bull. This instrument determined the rights and privileges of the seven electors, fixed the order and form of imperial elec- tions, and gave supreme power to the electors of the Palatinate and Saxony, in case of an interregnum. Charles established the university of Prague, modelled after that of Paris, and soon after died. (A. D. 1378.) Charles's son and successor, Wenceslaus, followed the example of his father, and left the empire to take care of itself. His reign is remarkable only for the frequent seditions of his subjects, and for the attempt of Duke Leopold of Austria to enslave the Swiss, which was defeated by the victory at Sempach, gained by the devotion of Arnold of Winkelried, who, at the cost of his own life, broke the strong lines of the Austrians, and threw them into confusion. In this great battle, which was fought on the 9th of July, 1386, and which confirmed the freedom of Switzerland, the Duke Leopold perished, with six hundred and fifty-six counts, barons, and knights, and thousands of their vassals. Wenceslaus was imprisoned by his subjects in Bohemia, in 1393, and de- posed by the diet, seven years afterwards (A. D. 1400), and Robert, the elector palatine was chosen in his stead. Robert again attempted to restore the imperial power in Italy, but was defeated at Lake Garda ; and dying in 1410, the empire again returned to the house of Luxemburg. Wenceslaus, who was still acknowledged by some of the princes, consented to resign his pretensions in favour of his brother, Sigismund, King of Hungary, who was then unani- mously chosen by the electors. It was expected that Sigismund, who brought many titles and dignities to the empire, would restore its ancient splendour and power. This, however, was in some measure prevented by the attacks of the Ottomans, and the religious war which broke out in Bohemia. The council of Constance, which was con- vened in 1414, only brought fresh discord and misfortune on the empire. The persecution and martyrdom of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, occasioned rOPE JOHN XXII. 313 a rebellion, against which Sigismund was unable to contend, until the council of Basle, in 1431, made the concessions required. The states submitted ; those who still held out were defeated at Bohemischbroda, and in 1434, a treaty of peace was concluded at Iglau. Sigismund died three years afterwards, having first given his daughter to Albert II. of Austria ; who in 1438 succeeded his father-in-law in the empire, possessing at the same tinae in his own right, the coronet of Austria, and through his wife, the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. The imperial dignity henceforth continued in the house of Austria, until the failure of male heirs in that house in 1740.* ■'-—''--, HE wars of the Guelfs and Ghibellines still continued to rend Italy. The former were supported by the pope, the kings of France, and the princes of the Angevin house of Naples ; while the latter received some precarious and uncertain aid from the German emperors. Independent commanders of armed ad- venturers, known by the name of the Condottieri, proceeded to Italy, and hiring themselves to the highest bidder, desolated the whole country. After the death of Pope Clement V., in 1314, the rival parties of French and Italian cardinals strove more than two years in vain to elect a successor. The King of France at last assembled the cardinals at Lyons, and kept them shut up in close conclave, until they chose as pope, John XXII. Soon after, a war between Louis and the pope was commenced, in the course of which they deposed and excommunicated each other, Louis procured the election of an anti-pope, who took the title of Nicholas V. ; and if the avarice of the emperor, had not alienated from him the affections of the Ghibelline princes in Italy, he might have irretrievably crushed the power of Pope John. The anti-pope, deserted by his friends, was forced to surrender to John, who spared his life on the condition that he would appear in public with a rope around his neck, and ask the pardon of the pope and the public, for the evil he had done the church. (A. D. 1330.) He was then kept a close prisoner in the palace at Avignon, until his death, which happened about three years afterwards. It was about this time that John added the third crown to the pontifical tiara. The first crown worn by the popes, was sent by Clovis, King of France, as a present to St. John de Lateran, and was placed by Pope Hormisdas, about the year 515, upon his own head, over the cap which he usually wore. His successors, until Boniface VIII., wore the single crown ; but that pontiff, on his dispute with * KolUrausch. Des Michels. Vol. II. 40 314 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. Philip of France, assumed a double crown, to signify his claim to the temporal as well as spiritual authority. John added the third crown, in which form it has been worn by all his successors. He died in 1334, and his successor owed his election to his promise not to reside at Rome. Benedict XII. wished to restore peace to the church ; but Philip of Valois compelled him to a different course of policy. Edward III., King of Enoland, was preparing to assert his claim to the crown of France, and Philip feared that he would engage in his interest the Emperor of Germany; he therefore ordered Benedict to continue to harass and distress the empire. Benedict XII. thus suffered himself to become the tool of Philip of Valois. To prevent the German emperor from leaguing against him with Edward of Eno-land, Philip caused him to confirm the titles of the Lombard and other princes to the territories which they had usurped from the empire. His death, in 1342, placed upon the throne at Avignon, the ambitious and energetic Clement VI. Scarcely was he entered on the duties of his station, when he was involved in a quarrel with the emperor, in which he proved completely victorious. Robert, King of Naples, dying about this time, left his kingdom to his eldest daughter, Jane, with an injunction to marry Andrew, son of the King of Hungary, whose family had an ancient claim to the Neapolitan crown. The marriage took place ; but Andrew was soon after murdered, and Jane was suspected of having consented to the crime, as she immediately married again. Lewis, King of Hungary, the brother of Andrew, who had succeeded his father on the throne, advanced with an army to Naples, and revenged the murder by driving Jane and her husband out of the kingdom. (A. D. 1348.) The emperor, in order the more effectually to chastise the Guelfs, united his arms to those of Lewis, and was, consequently, again deposed by the pope, who prevailed on some of the electors to nominate Charles of Bohemia, Marquis of Moravia, to the empire. (A. D. 1346.) The new sovereign being brought up at the court of France, promised to recognise all the claims of the papal court ; but no real power was added to it, notwithstanding. In the meantime, while the princes of Europe were gradually emanci- pating themselves from the tyranny of the popes, a remarkable revolution wrested Rome itself from their grasp. The eternal city still preserved some of her republican institutions ; but the government hovered between an oligarchy and democracy, between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. At this juncture, Ni- cholas di Rienzi, the son of a miller, was sent with the ambassadors to Pope Clement to invite him to Rome. The pontiff refused to leave Avignon; and on the return of the embassy, Rienzi addressed the Romans in the capitol, exhibiting to them their deserted and miserable state, and painting in glowing colours, the happiness and prosperity of their ancient liberty. Such was the effect of his eloquence, that he was immediately declared tribune of the peo- ple, and invested with sovereign power. (A. D. 1347.) He degraded the RIENZI. 315 senators appointed by the pope, put to death several of the nobility who were convicted of oppression, and banished the Orsini, the Colonnas, and many other noble families, whose feuds were a constant source of confusion in the city. The messengers whom he sent to the several cities of Italy, informing them of the liberty of the Romans, were everywhere treated with respect ; and he governed with such justice and moderation, that not only the Italian, but also foreign princes sought his alliance. He received embassies, with re- quests for his mediation, from Lewis, King of Hungary, and Jane, Queen of Naples ; from the two emperors, Louis and Charles ; and also a letter from the pope, at Avignon, commending his proceedings, and exhorting him to go- vern Rome in his name. Rienzi, disdaining to have any dependence on the pope, resolved to be absolute master in the city of the Romans. He obtained for himself the honour of knighthood, summoned the candidates for the empire to appear before him, declared Rome the metropolis of the world, and assumed the strange titles of Candidate Knight of the Holy Ghost, Severe and Mer- ciful Deliverer of Rome, Assertor of the Liberties of Italy, Lover of the Uni- verse, and August Tribune ; which only proved his weakness and vanity, and eventually occasioned his ruin. Rienzi was excommunicated by the pope as a heretic and a mad enthusiast, the banished nobles returned to Rome, and the tribune fled to Naples, to Lewis King of Hungary. From thence he wandered to the court of Charles, who sent him to Avignon, where he was committed to prison by the pope. In the meantime, a dreadful pestilence, desolating the whole of Southern Europe, compelled the King of Hungary to abandon Naples; and the death of the Emperor Louis leaving Charles without a rival, Clement resolved to take advantage of these circumstances, and extend his power in Italy. He restored Naples to Jane, who, in her turn, gave Avignon to the church. By ordering that the jubilee appointed by Pope Boniface VIII. should be cele- brated more frequently than before, he gained the good will of the people of Rome, who were pleased with the wealth thus brought to their city. Dying in 13o2, Clement was succeeded in the papal chair by Pope Innocent VI., who sent Nicholas Rienzi, with a legate, to Rome, to oppose the designs of Francis Baroncelli, who, following the example of Nicholas, had expelled the nobility, and taken the title of tribune. Rienzi was received with great joy, and again created tribune; Baroncelli was put to death, and the legate acknowledged. But the turbulent and active Romans soon grew weary of their former fa- vourite, and Rienzi was murdered by the populace. Charles IV. soon after entered Rome, and by permission of the pope, was solemnly crowned. Weakly giving up his title to Italy, he was treated with great indignity by those who would otherwise have remained his firmest friends. Innocent VI. died in 1362, and was succeeded by Urban V. Convinced that the residence of the popes at Avignon was injurious to the interests of the church, Urban sought to restore the papal court to Rome, 316 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. and being invited to that city by the Emperor Charles, he hastened to leave a place where he was subject only to insult and ridicule. He was received with great joy by the Italians. He soon after quarrelled with Peter, King of Castile ; but afterwards accommodated all differences upon certain conditions not very honourable to the Holy See. HE emperor entered Italy in 1368, at the head of an army of forty thousand men, and when the pope came forth to meet him, led the horse on which the pontiff rode, by the bridle, as far as the church of St. Peter. This spectacle, instead of gratifying the Romans, induced them to treat the emperor with so much contempt, that he soon returned to Germany. The pope, not finding his Italian subjects as obedient and docile as he wished, took the opportunity of the renewal of the war between France and England, to return to Avignon, where he died in December, (A. D. 1370.) Gregory XI. was the successor of Urban. It was Gregory's policy to humble the Visconti, who were now masters of northern Italy. He entered upon a war for this purpose, during the continuance of which, the Florentines threw Romagna, La Marcha and Perugia, into a state of rebelUon. The difficulties were at length accommodated, and the Romans gave up their liberty, on condition that the pope should remove from Avignon to Rome. (A. D. 1377.) On his triumphant entry into Rome, the pope determined to take effec- tive measures against heresies and innovation. He was prevented in this de- sign by domestic troubles. His Italian subjects becoming refractory, refused to obey his edicts ; and he determined to call a council, to take measures for averting the evils which he foresaw would fall upon the church after his death. The council was called and opened at Serazanse ; but Gregory died before they had time to produce any important result. (A. D. 1378.) Upon the death of Gregory XI., the Italian prelates exhorted the car- dinals to choose a Roman or Italian pontiff; otherwise they threatened them with an insurrection of the people. When the cardinals assembled to elect a successor, the common people surrounded the palace, raised a tumult, rung the alarm bells, and declared that unless the cardinals immediately chose a Roman or Italian pope, they would put them to death. In this emergency, the French cardinals named the Archbishop of Bari, who was remarkable for his modesty and humanity, and who they thought would abdicate the pontifi- cate, on account of the force which had caused his election. But the arch- bishop soon convinced them of their error ; he assumed the name of Urban VI., and obliged the cardinals to come to his palace, and perform the cere- JOHN HUSS. 317 mony of his coronation. He even menaced several of them with punishment for their offences. Alarmed at his threats, the discontented cardinals fled to Anagni, where they declared his election void, warned all Christian sovereigns not to acknowledge him, and after excommunicating him, chose as pope Robert of Geneva, who took the title of Clement VII., and established his court at Avignon. Queen Jane of Naples espoused the cause of Clement, and was therefore deposed by Urban, who crowned Charles of Durazzo, King of Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem. Charles took possession of Naples, and Jane was captured and strangled in prison. She named as her heir, Louis of Anjou, who died while attempting to get possession of the throne. The contest for the Nea- politan throne was long protracted by the successors of the royal claimants. Thus a violent schism arose in the church, by which all Europe was divided. Italy, Holland, Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, Flanders, and England, declared their adherence to Urban ; while Spain, Navarre, Scotland, Savoy, Lorraine, and France, supported Clement. Many efforts to effect a reunion of the church having failed through the obstinacy of the rival popes, the cardinals deserted them both, called a general council at Pisa, and elected a third pope, who took the title of Alexander V., and immediately excommunicated the others with all their adherents. (A. D. 1409.) After Alexander died, his party chose John XXIIL, who was im- prisoned by the council of Constance until he resigned. The anti-pope, Gre- gory XII., soon after resigned ; but Benedict XIII. retained his office until his death. His successor, Clement VIII., voluntarily abdicated, and the schism w^as healed, by the election to the papacy of Otho Colonna, a Roman noble, who took the title of Martin V. (A. D. 1417.) During the disputes which had thus distracted the papal Avorld, the writings and doctrines of the celebrated English reformer, Wicliffe, had been brought to the continent, (A. D. 1406), and there preached and translated into the vulgar tongue by John Huss, rector of the University of Prague. In compliance wnth the demand of the emperors of Germany, John XXIIL called a council at Constance, and bishops, ambassadors, and theologians, flocked thither from every part of Christendom. (November, 1414.) On the emperor pledging himself for his safety, John Huss appeared before the council to defend the doctrine he taught. Sigismund was induced to forfeit his pledge, and Huss was thrown into prison, to be tried as a heretic. When, subsequently, John Huss, and his fellow-reformer, Jerome of Prague, were de- clared obstinate heretics, and burned at the stake, their friends in Bohemia, under the leading of the courageous Zisca, took up arms in the defence of civil and re- ligious liberty, and heroically defended the truth, until the church at the council of Basle, by her politic concessions, obtained their submission to her authority. The pontiff, alarmed at the reform threatened by the Council of Constance, had hastily dissolved that assembly ; but he was constrained to call another, 318 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. which met under his successor, Eugenius IV., at Basle, in 1431. Besides the reformation of abuses, this council was commissioned to deliberate re- specting the reunion of the Greek church, and other schismatic communions. The reformers pushed matters with such vehemence as to alarm the pontiff, who suspended the council, and convoked an assembly of the bishops at Ferrara, in 1431. This exercise of the papal authority produced another schism; the dis- sentient members continuing their deliberations, and electing another pope under the name of Felix V. This rupture, however, was healed in 1449, as well by the prudence of Pope Nicholas V., as by the abdication of Felix V., the anti-pope. By the two recent councils, it was made evident to the kings and princes of the earth, that there was a higher power than the pope, to which they might carry their appeals, and the mere dread of which often pro- cured concessions from the popes, which otherwise would never have been granted.* The advancement of science, art and civilization, however, proved far more powerful enemies to the despotism of the popes, than the opposition of kings and councils. The labours of Roger Bacon in experimental science, the invention or great improvement of printing and engraving, and the reform in the ItaUan language effected by Petrarch, Dante, and Boccacio, all served to emancipate the minds, and cultivate the understandings of men; while the invention of gunpowder, by reducing war to an exact science, rendered it far less destructive to human life than before. Hitherto the eastern ocean had been little known otherwise than by name, and the Atlantic was looked upon as a boundless expanse of sea, extending probably to the eastern shores of Asia. But the discovery of the polarity of the magnet, awakened a spirit of enterprise, which gave splendour and opulence to many cities of Europe, and a uniformly progressive impulse to commerce and manufactures. Edward III. ascended the throne of England in the year 1327. Being only in his fifteenth year, the parliament appointed twelve persons to admin- ister the government, as his privy council; but Mortimer and his mistress, the queen-dowager, contrived to usurp the whole sovereign authority. They surrounded the king with their creatures; and by their open criminal attach- ment, drew upon themselves the hatred of the whole nation. The Scots making irruptions into the north of England, the young king, glad of the op- portunity to escape from the court, put himself at the head of the army, and marched towards the north. He soon came up with the enemy, who were commanded by the Earl of Murray and Lord Douglas ; but though inferior in numbers, they were so advantageously posted on the banks of the Ware, that Edward feared to attack them. During the night, Lord Douglas, with about two hundred men, attacked the English camp, and penetrated to the royal tent; but Edward escaped, and they fought their way back with but little * Taylor. Des Michels. MachiaveL BATTLE OF HALIDON HILL. 319 loss. The Scots soon after decamped' secretly at midnight. A treaty, by which the independence of Scotland was acknowledged, was soon after (A. D. 1328) concluded by Mortimer ; but the young king vowed vengeance on those who had caused him such disgrace. Edward soon after put an end to the tyranny of Mortimer and his para- mour. The favourite was surprised in the castle of Nottingham, condemned by the parliament which was then sitting, and executed at the Elms, near London. The queen was confined to her own house at Risings, where she passed the remaining twenty-seven years of her life. Edward being now his own master, paid no attention to the treaty with Scotland signed by Mortimer, and declared war against David Bruce. At the same time he recognised as king of Scotland, Edward Baliol, the son of John Baliol, who had already renewed the war for the throne, but with little suc- cess. He therefore retired into England ; and Edward marched north with a prodigious army, vanquished the Scots in the battle of Halidon Hill, and re- established Baliol on the throne. That prince professed homage and feudal service to the King of England, and made over to Edward, in return for the assistance which he had rendered him, a great part of Scotland. David Bruce fled from the kingdom with his wife ; but the Scots, incensed at the conces- sions of their new king, rose in arms under the regents, and renewed the war. Three expeditions undertaken by Edward failed to establish the new king securely on the throne. A favourable opportunity for the renewal of hostilities was taken on the departure of Edward for a foreign enterprise, which gave greater scope to his ambition. N the death of Charles IV. without male issue, the crown of France was claimed by Edward in right of his mother, Isabella, the daughter of Philip the Fair, and sister of the last three kings of France. Philip of Valois (VI.) took possession of the crown, however, as the consin-german and nearest male heir of the late king. Edward engaged in his cause the Germans, the old enemies of France, and the Flemings, who, under Artavelde, a brewer of Ghent, had revolted from their count. Nothing of any consequence, however, trans- pired until the year 1346, except a great naval battle, in which the French were defeated with the loss of two hundred and thirty ships, and thirty thousand men.* This victory was soon after followed by a truce for • four years. Edward resumed his wars with Scotland ; and, Philip, soon after his re- turn to Paris, found himself involved in the famous quarrel of Blois and De * RUS801I. 320 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. Montfort in Brittany. John de Montfort laid claim to that province ; but as the daughter of an elder brother was alive and married to Charles of Blois, the king's nephew, Philip declared his nephew's wife the rightful heir, and a war ensued, during which De Monfort was taken prisoner, and confined in the Louvre. His wife Jane, the most extraordinary woman of her day, being roused by the misfortune of her husband from the domestic cares which had hitherto employed her, determined to support his falling fortunes. Having put the whole province in a posture of defence, she shut herself up in Hen- nebon, a town of great strength on the sea-coast, where she was besieged in the spring of 1342. She defended it with invincible courage, until Sir Walter Manny, and an English fleet, came to her rescue, and the French were compelled to retire. Jane, having thus called the English to her aid, success- fully resisted her enemies, and opened the way for another invasion of France by Edward III. He landed at La Hogue, in Normandy, and ravaged the kingdom without opposition, up to the very walls of Paris. Philip, however, assembled a superior army, and compelled him to retire. Edward retreated until he reached the field of Cressy, where, being on ground where he could fight with advantage, he declared he would retreat no further. The battle was commenced by a charge from the French, but they were driven back and totally defeated. Philip lost thirty thousand of his forces, including two kings, eleven princes, eight bannerets, and twelve hundred knights. In this battle the English are said for the first time to have used artillery. Edward the Black Prince, so called from the colour of his armour, though but fifteen years of age, commanded the English under his father the king, and performed prodigies of valour. His father, seeing his courage and success, would not rob him of any portion of his glory. " Tell him," said he, when informed that the prince was in great danger, " that he shall haA^e no assistance. Let the boy win his spurs ; he, and those with him, shall earn the whole glory of the day." Animated by these words, the prince fought more boldly still, and the French were thus completely defeated. Among the slain was the King of Bohemia. His crest, three ostrich feathers, with the motto "Ich dien," " I serve," was adopted by the Prince of Wales, and has ever since been borne by his successors.* Edward next invested Calais, which, after a siege of eleven months, was obliged by famine to capitulate. (A. D. 1346, Aug. 4.) The surrender of the town gave occasion for an exercise of the generosity of the heroic English queen Philippa, who, with prayers and tears, interceded for the six self-de- voted townsmen, who had given themselves up to Edward in order to save their city. In 1348, that dreadful pestilence, known as the plague of Florence, ravaged France ; and in 1350, Philip VI. died, at the age of fifty-eight. He was succeeded by his son, John II. * Historical Prints. BATTLE OF POITIERS. 323 While King Edward was thus engaged in France, the Scots, headed by their king, David Bruce, invaded England, but were met at Nevil's Cross, by the English army under Queen Philippa, and completely routed, with the loss of fifteen thousand men. He himself was taken a prisoner to London. (A. D. 1346.) In 1356, the French were again defeated by the Black Prince. This battle was fought at Poitiers, the French army numbering sixty thousand, while that of the English amounted only to twelve thousand. Notwithstanding this inferiority, the English routed the French, and took their king prisoner. The generous character of the Black Prince here manifested itself. He con- ducted the French king to his tent, with the utmost respect. He himself served at his table during supper, and refused to take a seat beside his royal prisoner, declaring that, as a subject, he was too well acquainted with the distance between his own rank and that of a monarch to assume such freedom. Thus had the English twice gloriously defeated the French ; but glory was their only reward. The treasury of England as w^ell as that of France was now completely exhausted. The Black Prince captured town after town ; but for want of the necessary means, he was unable to retain his conquests, and as soon as he turned his back upon any place, it was taken possession of by the dauphin, Charles, who had been constituted lieutenant-general of the king- dom by his father, and governed France during the king's captivity. In this way he recaptured St. Valois, Ponthieu, Rue, and Crotoy ; so that in a little time nearly the whole of France was recovered from the conqueror. Every calamity visited France during this disastrous war. Besides the disease already mentioned, Charles the Bad, King of Navarre, whom Philip had imprisoned, escaped from confinement, and rose in arms against the sove- reign authority. The adventurers and mercenary troops, whom the truce which followed the battle of Poitiers threw out of employment, spread them- selves over the defenceless country in search of plunder. The pope was as- sailed at Avignon, and compelled to redeem himself by a ransom of forty thousand crowns ; and the peasantry of many districts, impatient of distress, and maddened by oppression, broke out into an insurrection. This was named the Jacquerie, from the contemptuous phrase, " Jacques bon homme," applied by the nobles to their serfs, and it was marked by all the horrors that attend a war when men, brutalized by tyranny and maddened by wrongs, wreak vengeance on their oppressors.* The King of Navarre at length made peace with the dauphin ; the re- volt of the Jacquerie was suppressed by their destruction, and King John, be- coming weary of his long confinement in England, concluded an infamous treaty, which was rejected by the dauphin, and a convocation of the states, in 1359. Edward thereupon besieged the city of Rheims, but was repulsed ; * Taylor. 324 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER, BE TURN OF KING JOHN OF FRA.NCE. and the next year he was obliged to abandon the siege, and retreat towards Bretigny. Peace was at length concluded by the treaty of Bretigny, which pro- vided that Poitou, Guienne, Saintonge, and Limousin, should belong to the King of England — that Edward should renounce all pretensions to the crown of France, and to Normandy, Maine, Touraine, and Anjou — that John should pay four millions of golden crowns as ransom for himself and the other prisoners taken at Poitiers — and that hostages should remain in England, until the same should be paid. King John was set at liberty ; but the hostages escaped to France, and the king returned to England, saying, that " if good faith and loyalty were banished from the rest of the world, they ought still to he found in the CHARLES THE WISE. 325 hearts of kings." King John died a captive in 1364, and his son, Charles v., ascended the throne of France.* The Prince of Wales, invested by his father with the sovereignty of the duchy of Aquitaine, alienated the hearts of his vassals by his exactions. The Gascons, therefore, appealed for protection to Charles V., who, as the liege lord of the Black Prince, summoned him to appear at Paris. The prince re- plied, that he would go to Paris, but it should be at the head of sixty thou- sand men. The gallant prince, though greatly enfeebled by sickness, prepared to renew the war in the south of France, while his brother, the Duke of Lan- caster, desolated the north-eastern provinces. The fortune of war, however, soon turned. Charles, rightly surnamed " the Wise," appointed the great cap- tain, Du Guesclin, Constable of France. By his efforts, the Duke of Mont- fort, the firm friend of the Enghsh, was driven from his duchy ; the English fleet was defeated off Rochelle ; the Duke of Lancaster was unable to force the French to a battle ; and to complete the misfortunes of England, the Prince of Wales w^as obliged by sickness to return to his native country, where he soon after died. His father did not long survive him. At King Edward's death in 1377, his grandson Richard II. came to the throne at the age of eleven years. The weakness and indecision of Richard II., and the doubtful title of his successor, Henry IV., prevented the English from carrying on the war in France with any vigour ; and the French king, Charles the Wise, advanced far in the expulsion of the English from France, and in the promotion of interna] tranquillity. In the course of a few years, he succeeded in reconquering many provinces from the English; the feudatories of Upper Gascony transferred their allegiance to him; and he expelled the Duke of Brittany from his duchy, and the King of Navarre from nearly all his Norman possessions. Securing by marriage the succession of his brother, Philip of Burgundy, to Flanders, he attached that country to France. He carefully preserved the friendship of the emperor Charles IV. of Germany, and of his brother-in-law, Galeazzo Visconti, Master of Lombardy, and held the pope in complete de- pendence on him at Avignon. In his wars Charles had been ably seconded by his constable, Du Gues- clin, a man of great military knowledge and decision. He, however, had died, w^hile besieging the small castle of Randon; and now, when an English army again entered France, its movements were watched with uneasiness by the king, who was himself surprised by death in 1380, leaving the dauphin Charles, eleven years of age, under the guardianship of his uncles. The English having long been commercially connected with Flanders, on the annexation of that country to the duchy of Burgundy, they thought that, by concluding a separate treaty, the neutrality of the JBurgundian duke * Bonnechose. Russell. Pictorial France. 326 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. Vxx\ BA.TTLE OF A Z I N C O U B . would be secured to them in case of another invasion of France. Relying upon the promises of the duke, Henry V., in 1414, formally demanded the crown of France; and the next year, he landed in Normandy, and took the town of Harfleur. Henry lost so many men before this place, that he was obliged to retreat before the French towards Calais. Having at last arrived at a favourable position, near the town of Azincour, he halted, and prepared to face the pursuing enemy, though he knew them to be three times as nu- merous as his own army. The French commander D'Albret attacked him furiously. The nature of the ground, however, prevented him from availing himself of his immense superiority of numbers ; and the English gained a complete and brilliant victory. The French lost in this engagement seven princes, the high constable, and eight thousand gentlemen killed. The dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, and many other nobles and soldiers were made pri- ENTRY OF HENRY V. INTO LONDON, 327 soners.* In the midst of the fight, Henry was seen astride the fallen body of his brother Clarence, beating off the assailants. The stroke of a battle-axe brought hira to his knees, and a similar blow directly afterwards cut through the corner of his casque ; but the assailant was instantly slain as he was in the act of calling out to Henry, " I surrender myself to you ; I am the Duke of Alencon." The battle closed with the fall of this great chief. At Dover the English actually rushed into the sea, to meet their returning victorious king, and bore him on their shoulders to the shore. As he rode towards London, never was such enthusiasm, such rapture, such boundless and passionate love beheld as everywhere welcomed him. They rejoiced the more HENBT V. ENTKBI- LONDON in his modesty in not allowing his broken casque and bruised arms to be carried before him. The progress of the English in France was, for four years, almost unin- terrupted. At the end of that time (A. D. 1419), Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to avenge his father's murder, offered to place the crown of France on the head of Henry of England ; and the queen, unnaturally hating her son, the dauphin, offered to Henry her daughter, Margaret, in marriage. These circumstances brought about the treaty of Troyes, by which the hand of Margaret was given to the English king, and he was declared regent of France, and heir to the insane Charles VI. * Taylor. Bonnecliose. Russell's France. 328 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. DUKE OF BEDFORD. Accordingly, when the kings of both England and France died in 1422, Henry VI., who succeeded to the throne of Eng- land, was proclaimed as king throughout the northern provinces of France, and his uncle, the Duke of Bedford, was declared regent. In the southern provinces, however, notwith- standing the treaty of Troyes, Charles VII. was recognised as king on the death of his father. Deprived of his capital and of more than half of his kingdom, Charles, who held his court at Chinon, soon saw his stronghold of Orleans besieged by an immense English army ; and even he, to whom the eyes of all France were turned, seems to have given up the hope of retrieving her sinking fortunes. A simple country girl achieved that which the King of France could not do. Joan of Arc overthrew the power of the English in France. She believed herself favoured with a supernatural commission from Heaven, to deliver her suffering country. Charles, on her being presented at his court, listened eagerly to her repre- sentations, clothed her with armour, placed her at the head of an army of devotees, and committed the cause of France to Heaven and to her. She advanced, raised the siege of Orleans, and from that time was surnamed " The Maid of Orleans." She then recovered town after town, and castle after castle ; the English, overcome by a superstitious awe, retiring before her until they were cooped up in the single town of Calais. (A. D. 1449.) Charles was crowned at Rheims, and proclaimed king of all France. The Maid of Orleans, the deliverer of France, soon after fell into the hands of the Duke of Bedford, the English regent, by whom she was condemned to death, and burned at the stake as a heretic. So many of the nobles of France had been slain in the terrible wars which desolated their country, that Charles VII. now found little difficulty in giving the government something of a despotic character, which his able and crafty successor, Louis XL, rendered complete and permanent. By adopting several of the decrees of the Council of Basle, Charles VII. secured the Gal- lican church from the future encroachments of the Holy See. These decrees were solemnly recognised in a national assembly held at Bourges, in 1443. They are known in history by the name of the Pragmatic Sanction. Spain during this period was divided into several monarchies. The Moors held Granada with a firm hand, and the mutual jealousies and distrusts of the FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 331 O H A li L E ~ VII Christian kings of Castile, Aragon, and Na- varre, prevented them from uniting their forces against the followers of the Prophet. Alphonso XL, who, by his gallant defence of Tariffa against the combined forces of the kings of Granada and Morocco (A. D. 1340), had delivered his own frontiers, and acquired several important fortresses, left his throne, at his death, to his son, Peter I., the Cruel, a prince perfidious, debauched, and bloody. He began his reign by murdering all who stood between him and the objects of his passions : his father's mistress, his own wife, his natural brother, his ^ rr^^g cousin, and his nobles. His natural brother, ^ Henry, Count of Trastamare, took up arms i^ against him, but was compelled to fly into France. There Charles the Wise, equally anx- ious to avenge his murdered sister, and to be rid of the marauding companies, gave him per- mission to enlist them in his service, and Du Guesclin was emi)loyed to lead them.. Peter the Cruel was by this means dethroned; but he was afterwards restored by Edward the Black Prince, who defeated Henry in a great battle, and took Du Guesclin prisoner. Peter proved ungrateful to his benefactor ; Du Guesclin purchased his liberty ; and a second war w^as commenced, by which the throne of Castile was secured to Henry. In the first interview with Trastamare, after his overthrow, Peter, though disarmed, rushed in a transport of rage against Henry, who slew him with his own hands, in re- sentment of his cruelties. The weakness and debauchery of Henry IV., one of his descendants, occasioned a revolution in Castile. The majority of the nation rose in re- bellion; an assembly of the nobles deposed the king, and a civil war com- menced which was not ended until the death of the deposed sovereign (A.D. 1474), and the retirement of his daughter Jane (A. D. 1479) into a convent. During its continuance they had compelled him to settle the succession to the crown upon his sister Isabella, and had brought about a marriage of that princess with Ferdinand of Aragon. That kingdom had continued under a regular succession of princes for three hundred and thirty-nine years; and at the time of the accession of Ferdinand, in 1478, its commerce and maritime j)Ower had rendered it almost as important as Castile. The kings of Aragon had acquired the sovereignty of Sardinia, the Two Sicilies, the Balearic Islands, the county of Barcelona, and some other provinces in Catalonia. These two neighbouring kingdoms would probably have long struggled for the 332 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. supremacy of Spain, had they not been united by the marriage of the two heirs, Ferdinand and Isabella.* We now return to the affairs of England. As we have already stated in our notice of the affairs of France, Edward III., King of England, in 1377, was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II., the infi^nt son of the Black Prince. During the young king's minority, the government was vested in the hands of his uncles of Gloucester, York, and Lancaster, who troubled the kingdom by their ambitious contentions. The expensive wars carried on by the late king had exhausted the treasury, and an inequitable tax of three groats was imposed on every person above fifteen years of age for the pur- pose of replenishing it. This tax, falling as heavily on the poor as on the rich, excited the most violent commotions. The inhumanity and brutality of the tax-gatherers inflamed these combustible materials ; and one of them, by his brutal insolence, so incensed a blacksmith, named Wat Tyler, that he struck him dead with a blow of his hammer. The spectators applauded the act ; and animated by a preacher, who maintained that every one had an equal right to all the goods of nature, they flew to arms, and the whole of Essex was soon in a state of open rebellion. Tyler, at the head of one hundred thousand men, after committing the most horrible excesses, burning the palace of the Duke of Lancaster, and murdering the primate, the chancellor, and many others high in office, met the young king in Smithfield. During the conference, the insolence of the blacksmith so offended Sir William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, that he struck him to the ground with his mace, where one of the king's attendants despatched him with his sword. Seeing their leader fall, the mu- tineers prepared for revenge ; but the young king, with admirable presence of mind, in a few words addressed to them, turned them from their purpose, and promising to grant their demands, put an end to the rebellion. This act gave great promise of spirit and decision of character, which the subsequent conduct of Richard did not reafize. His mis- government ])rovoked a revolution, which was commenced by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, at a time when Richard was engaged in Ireland. He speedily acquired posses- sion of the kingdom ; and such was the spirit of disaffection that, though Richard brought twenty thousand men from Ireland, all but six thousand RICHARD II. * Taylor. Mavor. Froissart HENRY IV. OF ENGLAND. 333 DEATH OF AVAT TYLER. joined his opponent. This small force only exposed hira to danger, and he therefore secretly retired from their presence, and attempted to fly to France or Ireland. But the Duke of Northumherland treacherously succeeded in getting possession of his person, and delivered him to Henry. He was con- ducted to London by Henry, who was there received with the acclamations of the multitudinous populace. It is pretended that the recorder met him on the road, and in the name of the city entreated him, for the public safety, to put Richard to death, with all his adherents who were prisoners; but he had no such harsh designs against his unfortunate relative. He summoned a parliament, at which the deposition of Richard was read and accepted amid shouts of joy from the as- sembled people without. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, claimed the vacant throne, as the lineal descendant of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the second son of Edward III. Henry of Lancaster, however, whose father was the third son of Edward, was the favourite of the people and the master of the parliament, and claimed ihe throne by right of merit. He was proclaimed king under the title of Henry IV. (A.D. 1399); and the unfortunate Richard dying soon after, he was for a time secure in the possession of the crowm. The Mortimer claim was afterwards vested, by marriage, in the Duke of York, descended from the fourth son of Edward. Many of the nobles becoming discontented with the government of Henry, rebelled, and again threw the country into a civil war. The Percies, who headed this rebellion, were completely defeated at Shrewsbury in 1403 ; but their ally Owen Glendower, a descendant of the ancient princes of Wales, long showed his hostility to the House of Lancaster, 334 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. ENTRY OF HENRY IV. INTO LONDON. by making continual irruptions into the kingdom. Henry IV. commenced the persecution of the Lollards, as the followers of WiclifFe were termed, and the parliament passed a law condemning all heretics to the flames. Henry V. succeeded his father on the throne. (A. D. 1413.) By judi- cious reforms, and acts of favour towards the domestic enemies of his house, he secured the tranquillity of England ; and then renewing the claims of Ed- ward to the crown of France, he invaded that kingdom, gained the victory at Azincour, took possession of Paris, and died in France, in the midst of victory, in the year 1122 ; leaving as his heir, his son Henry, then only nine months old. With the death of Henry V. the good fortune of the English in France ceased ; and they were soon expelled from all their continental possessions, with the exception of the single town of Calais. (A. D. 1443.) These losses alie- nated the affections of the nation from the House of Lancaster, and this growing dislike was greatly increased by the incapacity of Henry, the pre- ference shown by him to his ambitious favourites, and the haughtiness of his Queen, Margaret of Anjou. At this crisis, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, in whom centred the rights of the House of Mortimer, and who consequently possessed a better title than Henry, now laid claim to the crown. Encou- raged by a large body of the nobility, and the commons in general, he took up arms and commenced a civil war which deluged England with blood. The ensign of the Yorkists was a white rose, that of the Lancastrians a red RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 335 rose, and the struggles which ensued are known as the " Wars of the Roses." (A. D. 1454.) In the battle of St. Albans, five thousand of the Lancastrians were slain, and the king was taken prisoner by the Duke of York, May 22, 1454. The spirit of the queen reanimated the Lancastrians, who soon drove the Duke of York to Ireland. His cause, meantime, was secretly maintained in England, by the Earl of Warwick. In the battle of Northampton, the Yorkists again prevailed, and Henry was once more brought pri- soner to London, while the dauntless queen still nobly exerted herself to retrieve his. fortunes. York now claimed the crown in open parhament, but prevailed only to have his right of succession ascertained on Henry's death, to the exclusion of the royal issue. In the next battle the Duke of York was slain, and his party defeated ; but his successor Edward, supported by Warwick, avenged richard du:ve of yorz. this disaster by a signal victory at Towton, in which forty thousand of the Lancastrians were slain. York was proclaimed king by the title of Edward IV. Edward proved ungrateful to Warwick, and forced him to join the Lan- castrians. A restoration of Henry VI. was the consequence, and Warwick gained the title of King-maker. Henry VI. was liberated from the Tower of London, where he had been a prisoner (A. D. 1470), and restored to the sovereignty, while Edward fled to the continent. But this chantre was of no duration. Edward returned, and defeated the Lancastrians in the battle of Barnet, where the brave Earl of Warwick was slain, 1472. Edward IV. died in 1483, leaving two sons, the elder, Edward V., only thirteen years of age. He was proclaimed king, and his uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was chosen pro- tector and defender of the realm, by the privy council, and subsequently by parliament. A conspiracy against the life of the protector having been entered into by Lords Hastings, Rivers and Grey, they were arrested and exe- cuted. The offspring of Edward IV. were declared illegitimate, on the ground that their father had a wife living at the time of his RICHARD DU. OF GLOUCKSliK. 336 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. nKNBT VI. RELEAaED FRUM THE TOWER. marriage with their mother. The citizens of London tendered the crown to the protector; Edward V. was formally deposed by the legislature, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was proclaimed king, by the title of Richard III. The character of Richard III, has been grossly misrepresented by different writers under the influence of the House of Tudor. He has been charged with murdering Henry VI., the Duke of Clarence, Eilward IV., and his children. The poetry of Shakspeare, and the prose of many historians, have united in representing him as a perfect monster of iniquity ; but the " Historic Doubts" of Horace Walpole, and the recent biography of Richard III. by Miss Hal- sted, have furnished abundant evidence of his innocence of these crimes, and of his abilities and justice as a sovereign. His views of national policy were too enlightened for the turbulent nobles of that stormy period in the history of England. They entered into a conspiracy with the Earl of Richmond, the surviving heir of the House of Lancaster, who, aided by Charles VIII. of France, landed with an army in England, gave battle in the field of Bosworth to Richard, who was entirely defeated and slain, while fighting with the most heroic courage, Aug. 22, 1485. The crown which had surmounted his helmet in the engagement, was immediately placed on the head of the conqueror, and he was proclaimed king, with the title of Henry VII. His subsequent mar- riage with EHzabeth, daughter of Edward IV., united for ever the rival houses of York and Lancaster, in the House of Tudor. The bloody disputes concerning the succession in Scotland, were finally terminated by the transfer of the crown to the fiimily of the Stuarts in the person of Robert II. Under this prince and his successors, the turbulence of the nobility was restrained by judicious enactments, and the royal authority so extended as readily to enforce the laws. SWEDEN. 337 HENRY VII. CROWNED ON BOSWORTH FIELD. For many ages the Scandinavian and Slavonian states are only known to history as the seat of continued petty wars and barbarian incursions. The expeditions of the piratical Northmen first introduced them to the more civi- lized portions of Europe. Christianity, with its accompanying elements of civilization, was gradually introduced into these distant lands by the intercourse of the Germans with the Swedes, and of the latter with the Danes and Nor- wegians. The intestine wars which harassed them, however, were not com- posed until the time of the great Queen Margaret, " the Semiramis of the North." Valdemar IV., of Denmark, left his kingdom to his daughter Mar- garet, the last descendant of the house of Odin. Albert of Mecklenburg having been elected to the throne of the Swedish states, to the exclusion of Hakon, the deposed sovereign came to Denmark and married the queen, Mar- garet. His subjects becoming dissatisfied with Albert, Margaret marched into Sweden, defeated Albert, and made him prisoner, in 1395. This victory was followed by the diet of Calmar, by which, in 1397, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were united into one state. But the Swedes, after the great queen's death, became dissatisfied with the union ; and when King Christopher VII. died without issue, they separated from the confederacy, and chose for a sove- reign one of their native nobles, Charles VIII. The Danes elevated Christian Vol. II. 43 338 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. I., Count of Oldenberg, to their throne, which has ever since been retained by his family. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the whole of the Russian provinces were under the domain of the Mongols, while the most western were also subjected to the ravages of the Poles. The Teutonic knights made a diversion in their favour, but the war was finally ended by the treaty of Thorn, under which the Poles acquired a considerable accession of Russian territory. (A. D. 1466.) Casimir the Great, King of Poland, wished, as he had no children, to secure the succession to his nephew, Louis of Hungary. He effected his object ; but the nobles seized the occasion to render the throne elective, and restrict the royal authority. On his death, Jagellon, Duke of Lithuania, was chosen to the throne. (A. D. 1382.) He renounced Pa- ganism, and established Christianity in his hereditary dominions.* The Ottoman Empire may be said to have commenced, in Asia Minor, about the middle of the thirteenth century, when the Mogul sultan, Gela- leddin, perished, and his army w^as scattered. That army was composed of many Turkish hordes, which, on the death of the great leader acknowledged by them all, separated, and followed each its own independent chieftain. One of these hordes followed Soliman Shah towards Iconiura. Soliman was drowned in crossing the Euphrates, and his son Orthogrul, with about four hundred families, became the subjects and soldiers of Aladin, Sultan of Ico- nium. His son Othman, in 1299, invaded the territory of Nicomedia, and finally established himself in its fortified towns and castles. His son Orchan, in 1326, compelled Prusa, the ancient capital of Bithynia, to surrender; and from that event we may date the true era of the Ottoman Empire. Soliman, the son of Orchan, one day left the encampment of his tribe, and rode along the shores of the Hellespont, passing on through the ruins of ancient cities, and fell into a silent reverie. " What is my khan thinking of?" said one of his escorts. " I am thinking," was the reply, " about our crossing over to Europe." They did cross over; and Soliman laid the foundation of the Turkish power in Europe by conquering Gallipolis. (A. D. 1358.) Soli- man's brother, Amurath I., captured Adrianople (A. D. 1360), and continued his conquests until his death, on the bloody field of Cossova. His successor, Bajazet I., threatened both Europe and Asia. He con- quered all the tribes from the Euphrates to the Danube ; and Eastern Europe was prostrated at the great battle of Nicopolis, where the valiant emperor defeated an army of a hundred thousand men, and became master of all the Eastern Empire except Constantinople. But another savage stronger than himself was destined to be the con- queror of Asia. Tamerlane was the son of a Turk of Zagatai, of the kingdom of Transoxiana. This, his native country, was, during his infancy, * Taylor. FALL OF BAJAZET. 339 TURKISH ENCAMPMENT. invaded and conquered by an army of Getes or Calmucks, under a khan of Kashgar. The young Tamerlane soon stood forth as the deliverer of his country ; and, in 1370, his grateful countrymen invested him with the imperial command, and declared him Emir of Zagatai. In about thirty years from that time, this great Tartar conquered Persia, Turkestan, or Eastern Tartary, Kipzak, Bulgaria, Circassia, Russia, and Hindostan ; thus extending his empire from the Wall of China to the Mediterranean Sea, and from India to Russia. His determination to wrest Syria and Anatolia from Bajazet, compelled the latter to abandon the siege of Constantinople. Timour invaded Syria (A. D. 1400), and in quick succession sacked the cities of Aleppo, Damascus, and Bagdad. Then turning towards Anatolia, he laid siege to Angora. There, in 1402, he was overtaken by Bajazet, who gave him battle in the plains around the city. This engagement continued a whole day, and thousands on both sides fell by the edge of the sword ; but, while displaying the utmost efforts of valour, Bajazet was defeated and made prisoner, and in less than a year he died in the camp of his conqueror. Tamerlane, not content with his vast possessions, but aspiring to the conquest of the whole world, next pre- pared an immense army for the invasion of China ; and had actually advanced, on that expedition, as far as Otrar, three hundred miles from the capital, when he fell a victim to fever and fatigue, and perished in the seventieth 340 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. year of his age, thirty-five years after he ascended the throne of Zagatai. (A. D. 1405.) His empire was dismembered after his death ; but upwards of a century afterwards (A. D. 1526), one of his descendants established, in Northern India, the empire of the Great Moguls, which subsisted almost to our own times. Fifty years after the defeat of Bajazet, Constantinople fell before the arms of one of his successors, Mohammed II. The sway of the cities on the coast of the Black Sea and the Adriatic was insufficient for the ambition of this enterprising ruler. He built a fleet, and began to conquer the islands of the iEgean in quick succession. Apulia was visited by his troops, and his ca- reer of victory threatened to be boundless. Christendom was filled with alarm, and Pope Pius II. convened a council at Mantua, resolving to preach a cru- sade against the Turks, and to lead it in person. His death at Ancona (A. D. 1464) cut short his project, and Mohammed was allowed to establish and consolidate his empire. When the first outbursts of fanatical rage were passed, he granted protection to his Christian subjects, and restored to Constantinople much of its ancient splendour.* In the meantime, during the greater part of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the states of Italy were continually at war with each other. About the year 1347, a battle was fought between the Venetian and Genoese fleets, in which the latter were completely defeated ; but, seven years afterwards, the fleets of the two rival cities again met, and the Venetians were in their turn defeated. Their commander, Pisano, and five thousand of his men, were made prisoners ; above twenty of their galleys were sunk ; and had Doria, the Genoese admiral, followed up his victory and attacked their city, it would probably have been reduced to a Genoese province. Doria, however, returned to Genoa, and the Venetians hastened to conclude a truce. War again broke out in 1378. Forty ships were equipped by the Vene- tians, and the command given to Victor Pisano, who, in 1380, attacked the Genoese squadron, under Ludovico Fiesco. As the hostile fleets approached each other, the sky was darkened by a cloud of arrows ; but this mode of attack was soon laid aside — the galleys grappling, and then being chained to each other in such a manner that the soldiers found it necessary to conquer or die. Thus, with their swords and spears, they fought a kind of land-battle on sea, in which, there being little room to dispute the victory, the slaughter was prodigious. It continued for two hours, when the Genoese were obliged to yield to the bravery of the Venetians. Although the son of Pisano was among the slain, and the victory was a bloody one, yet the capture of the Genoese admiral, with his whole fleet, caused the loss to be overlooked. Pisano gloried in the death of his son. The good fortune of the Venetians, however, did not continue long ; Pisano fell into an ambuscade laid by * Ranke. Tnj'lor. COSMO DE MEDICI. 341 the enemy ; and though he defended himself with almost supernatural courage, he was defeated by the Genoese. For this ill success, he was soon after recalled by the doge and senate, and thrown into prison. The Genoese, encouraged by his absence, captured Caorli, Grada, Palestrina, Chiozza, and even laid siege to Venice. The common people then rose in open insur- rection, threatened the doge and senate, and refused to enlist themselves for the defence of the city until Pisano was set at liberty. Their desire was com- plied with ; the siege of Venice was soon raised, the Genoese were defeated, and peace was concluded. In the beginning of the fifteenth century, war again broke out between the Venetians and the Genoese, and a dreadful battle took place between the hostile fleets, in which the victory was gained by a skilful manoeuvre of Zeno, the Venetian commander. The Genoese lost near three thousand men ; four of their ships were sunk and three taken. (A. D. 1403.) About the same time the Genoese were defeated on land, with great slaughter, by Sabello the Vene- tian general. Verona and Padua were soon after taken, and Venice attained her meridian power and prosperity. War w^as next declared by Venice against Milan. Carmagnola, the Venetian general, was met at Sama by Philip Visconti, Duke of Milan, (A. D. 1427.) The battle commenced at noon, and at night no advantage had been gained by either side. In the evening a storm of wind arising, drove before it such a cloud of dust, as rendered it impossible for the soldiers to distinguish each other. An advanced party of the Milanese, thinking to retire out of the confusion, found themselves in the middle of the Venetian camp, where they were made prisoners. At last both generals ordered a retreat to be sounded, each claiming the victory. The Milanese, however, were soon after defeated. Four years afterwards (A. D. 1431), the army of Carmagnola suffered a signal defeat. War was carried on between these two powers until 1450, when Venice and Milan, wearied with their long struggles, would have concluded a peace, had not their reconcdiation been prevented by Sforza, who had formerly been the general of Philip Visconti, but had changed sides. He now declared war against both powers ; but the Milanese, murdering the Venetian ambassador, declared Sforza their prince, and immediately renewed the war against Venice. It was towards the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fif- teenth century that the family of Medici arose in Florence. In the middle of the latter century, Cosmo de Medici was the most -powerful person in the city; and having many friends and partisans, he found it easy to maintain his power. In 1464, however, he died universally lamented. His authority and estate, his liberality, his prudence, and his success, made him a prince in his country, beloved and feared by the citizens, and much esteemed by all the princes of Europe. He greatly advanced the glory of his country by patronizing learning and learned men. On his tomb was inscribed the title of " Father of his Country." 342 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. He was succeeded in the government by his son Peter, who, after a tur- bulent administration of about six years, was followed by his sons Lorenzo and GiuHano. These princes had not long been promoted to this dignity, when a conspiracy was formed against them by Pope Sixtus IV., aided by the family of the Pazzi, at that time (A. D. 1477) the second in Florence. Giuliano was murdered ; but Lorenzo escaping, caused the conspirators to be punished, and retained the government. The war with the pope and the King of Naples was ended by the able negotiations of Lorenzo ; but he was no sooner freed from one war than he was involved in another, and the disturb- ances with the Venetians and the Genoese diverted his attention until he died, towards the end of the century, at the age of forty-four years. (A. D. 1492.) This great man was surnamed " The Magnificent," and resembled his grand- father, Cosmo, in all his public and private virtues. In the meantime, the papal power was hastening to its downftill. After the severe checks it received at the Councils of Constance and Basle, the pontiffs took a less conspicuous part in the general politics of Europe than in former times. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the commerce of Europe continually advanced in importance. Venice, by her victories over Genoa and other Italian cities, secured to herself the trade of the south and of India. By means of her treaty with the Sultan of Egypt, in 1343, Venice supplied the greater part of Europe with silks, spices, and the other commodities of India. In the north, the Hanseatic confederation, numbering, in the early part of the fifteenth century, eighty towns, possessed the exclusive commerce of the Baltic Sea, and carried to the markets of Bruges the produce of the unex- plored north. The progress of trade, and the intercourse thus effected between remote nations, naturally excited a love for maritime and inland discovery, which soon produced important consequences. As early as the ninth century, the Scandinavian pirates accidentally discovered the Feroe Islands, and soon after they reached the north-eastern coast of America, and gave it the name of Vinland. Among the nations which now engaged in foreign discoveries, Portugal stands pre-eminent. In the early part of the fifteenth century, Henry, the son of John L, King of Portugal, devoted most of his time to the study of astronomy, and the progress of maritime discovery. Under his auspices the western coast of Africa was explored as far as Cape de Verde, and the Cape de Verde Islands and the Azores were discovered. Prince Henry died in 1481, having first obtained a bull from the pope, investing the crown of Portugal with sovereign authority over all lands which might be discovered in the Atlantic, including India. During the reign of King John II., an expedition sailed from Lisbon, under the command of Bartholomew Diaz, who, in 1483, actually discovered the long-sought promontory, the southern point of Africa. A terrible storm prevented him from doubling it and prosecuting his researches, EXPULSION OF THE MOORS. 343 and he returned to Portugal, naming the headland, the " Cape of Tempests." King John, however, changed the name to that of the " Cape of Good Hope." The discovery of America, in 1492, diverting maritime research into another channel, it was not till 1498 that Vasco de Gama, having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, reached India, and dropped his anchor in the harbour of Calicut. 'a;^ MOORISH ABCHITSCTURE — CHURCH OF THE DOMINICANS AT CATALAYDD, SPAIM In 1484, the sovereigns of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, were engaged in a war of extermination against the Moors. They had entered the Moorish dommions at the head of a numerous army, and captured the cities of Malaga, Baza, Guadix, and Almeria. All communication with Africa was 344 DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. cut off; and the city of Granada, the last remaining stronghold of the Mos- lems in Spain, was invested by the Christian forces. After a siege of eight months, during which it was reduced to the greatest distress, the place sur- rendered, on condition that the inhabitants should retain possession of their houses and inheritances, and enjoy the exercise of their religion; and that the king, Abdallah, should receive the revenues of some fertile territories in the mountains of Alpujarras. Thus the important fortress of Granada, after having been held by the Moors nearly seven hundred and eighty years, was again brought under the power of the Christians, and the banner of the cross and the standards of Castile and Aragon, were triumphantly displayed on the towers of the Alhambra. Thus ended the empire of the Arabs in Spain, after a duration of eight hundred years, during which they had introduced a degree of civilization and refinement unknown to the rest of Europe, and which Spain would never have enjoyed, but for the Moorish domination. The remains of their architecture still found in Spain, afford sufficient evidence of the high degree of perfection in the arts and science to which they had attained. After the conquest of Granada, the sovereigns of Spain fitted out the expedition of Columbus, who, in 1492, effected the discovery of the New World. The Spaniards, however, paid but little attention to the colonization of the newly discovered countries; and though the Dutch, the English, the French, and the Portuguese all attempted to plant colonies in America, yet it was not until the time of Elizabeth that any regular plan was formed to co- lonize the New World. All the commercial nations of Europe emulated the Spaniards and Portuguese in the discovery of new lands, till in 1521 Ma- gellan circumnavigated the globe, and seemed to put an end to all further discoveries. From that time the great nations of the earth directed their at- tention to the improvement and colonization of the lands already discovered. The naval power of Europe was increased ; manufactures everywhere multi- plied, and states, which before were poor, became suddenly rich; while some of those which have hitherto claimed much of the attention of the historian, dwindled down into insignificance, and will be hereafter but seldom mentioned. Commerce now began to take the place of warlike enterprises in the minds of sovereigns; and the policy of governments, and the discovery of America, brought about a great revolution in the aspect of nations.* * Taylor. Mavor. CAVES OF ELLORA. CHAPTER VIII S lu jj i a ♦ Vol. II. FROM the complete state of civilization in which the in- habitants of the great tract of country which we call India, were found by Alexander the Great at the time of his invasion, it is probable that their civilization reaches back more than a thousand years before the Christian era. The institution of caste renders it also probable that the Hindoos are of a mixed extraction ; and their traditions, -^ records, and monumental remains point to the neigh- bourhood of the Ganges as the cradle of the race, which, highly civiHzed, immigrated from north to south. There is great reason to suppose that the first settlers were a company of priests, from whom descended the pow^erful order of Bramins, who established their re- ligion with a form of government constituted by them- selves, and gained an ascendancy over the barbarian natives by the influence of superior learning. The pe- riod of their arrival is unknown, and the land of their extraction has never been ascertained. The Bramins, like the priests in Egypt, exercised an indirect sove- reignty over all the other classes of society ; and though the kings in both countries were selected from the war- rior caste, their prerogatives were fettered by institu- 44 {^-A 346 INDIA. tioiis which laid all affairs open to the cognizance of the priests. The per- sons of the Bramins were held so sacred that they could not lawfully be put to death even for the greatest crimes ; whilst any person who injured a Era- min was punished with greater severity than for any other offence. The second caste was that of the Kshatriya, or warriors, which comprehended all the soldiers and rulers of the country ; kings, princes, and magistrates. The great mass of the people were included in the third class, the Vaisyas, which comprised all husbandmen, merchants, and all artisans and mechanics, except those who belonged to the fourth class, the Sudra or servile caste, composed of servants and labourers. No changes could lawfully be made from one caste to another, nor could the son pursue any other avocation than that of his fiither. Their religious rites were conducted with unsurpassed magnificence ; but their first simple form of religion, which taught them to adore one Divine Power, Brama, as the universal Creator, and other gods merely as personi- fications of his various attributes, in the course of time degenerated into idol- atry. There appear to have been two great dynasties in what is called India proper, the region north of the Krishna river, excluding the Deccan. One of these fixed its seat at Ayadda, the modern Oude ; the other at Delhi, a very extensive and magnificent city, whose site is supposed, from the extent of the ruins still seen around the present city, to have been equal in extent to the space of ground now occupied by London. Here, surrounded by ruins, stands the loftiest column known in the world, a beautiful round tower called the Kuttub Minar, forty feet higher than the great monument in London. It is built in the form of a minaret, of red granite, inlaid with white marble and crowned by a majestic dome. The two races were respectively designated by the names Solar and Lu- nar. Two branches of the former, known in Indian history by the names of Pandoos and Kooroos, engaged in a war which, though it proved destructive to both, was of great service in its influence upon the Indian poetry, literature, and art. The downfall of these two races was succeeded, perhaps effected, by the establishment of the dynasty of Magadha, the throne of which was fixed at or near the modern city of Patan. One of these kings was Chandra Gupta, the same with the Sandracottus of the Greeks, a prince celebrated for his extensive conquests. The Braminical hostility was excited by a mo- narch of Magadha, known by the name of Mahapadma Nanda, who was either a ffither or a near relation of Chandra Gupta. The mother of the latter, however, was of a very inferior caste, and he may therefore have been an object of the ridicule of Nanda's other sons. Be this as it may, however, it is certain that the power, ambition, cruelty, and avarice of Nanda pro- voked the Bramins to effect his destruction, and Chandra Gupta was employed as their agent. He was aided in the rebellion by a northern prince, Pawats- wara, who was to receive an accession of territory in reward for his services. Wlicn Nanda and his family were slain, however, Chandra Gupta and his CHANDRA GUPTA 347 advisers evaded their promise by assassinating Pawatswara. The murdered monarch had a son, called by the Indian histories Malayaketu, who led a host into India to avenge his fiither's death. Among the names of the nations composing this invading army, we recognise those of some of the Persian provinces. Dissensions dividing the councils of Malayaketu, he retired to his own country, having first made a treaty with Chandra Gupta. The latter thereby acquired additional territory ; the invader, who appears to have been none other than Seleucus Nicator, the first of the Seleucidse, gained several commercial advantages, and the supplies of elephants by which, on the bloody field of Ipsus, he wrested his dominions from the grasp of the ambitious An- tigonus. Chandra Gupta reigned in great glory twenty-four years, and left the kingdom to his son. Vicramaditya, called the Sovereign of all India, is the next celebrated character in the history of that country. His reign, which commenced about half a century before the Christian era, is preceded by a total blank in eastern tradition. He met with extraordinary success until near the close of his life, when he fell before the mighty Shahpoor of Persia, the second monarch of the Sassanian dynasty. The empire of India was made tributary to Persia. From this time until the Mohammedan invasion, India was divided among a great number of petty princes, who were all completely subject to the Bramins. The power of this priesthood, however, did not suffice to prevent opposition from reformers. The Vedas, or books of learning, the bloody sacrifices, and many of the laws of caste, were by them repudiated. The most celebrated of these reformers was Buddha, whose attempt to eman- cipate his countrymen was made long before Alexander's invasion. He de- voted his whole life to instructing the people, and lessening the power of the hierarchy. The religion which he founded prevailed over the greater part of IndiiJ for many centuries, and did not entirely disappear from the Deccan until the tenth century of our era. Since that time the Braminical system has been in tlie ascendant; but the religion of the modern Bramins differs very materially from that originally practised by their ancestors. All the sects, however, Bramins and Buddhists, have inculcated the doctrine of transmigration, and therefore interdicted the use of animal food and the destruction of animal hfe, except for sacrifice. In the first volume of this work, we had frequent occasion to mention the trade of the Phoenicians and Egyptians with India. Ptolemy Philadel- phus, not being very successful in his attempt to connect the Red Sea by a canal with the Mediterranean, built the city of Berenice under the tropic, and made it the great mart of Indian commerce. The goods were thence taken by land and the river Nile to Alexandria. The Persians were no sai- lors, and therefore carried on their Indian trade exclusively over land. Under the Roman government, the Egyptians made many more advances in navi- gation. Hippalus, an Egyptian commander, instead of creeping along the coast, stretched boldly across the ocean from the raoulh of the Arabian Gulf 348 INDIA. to the Malabar coast, favourerl on his voyage and return by the regular shift- ino- of the pericxHcal winds or monsoons. This gave a great impulse to the Indian trade, and it was soon followed by the discovery of Ceylon, hitherto unknown. The great increase of the supply of Indian goods thus effected enabled the merchants of Alexandria to supply Europe with spices and aro- matics, jewels, silks, and cotton cloths. From this time until the discovery of Vasco de Gama, little change was made in the routes of commercial com- munication with India. No attempts at colonization were made, and but little was known of the Hindoo manners and customs ; yet even that little serves to show that thousands of years have effected no change in their social insti- tutions.* * Tavlor. Corner. THE KDTTtJB MINAR. CHAPTER IX. HE Empire of China seems peculiarly fitted, as well by outward defence as by internal resources, for the isolated position which she holds among the nations of the globe. While the waves of a stormy ocean wash the shores of the east and the south, it is ^^ encircled by deserts on the north, and, on the west, separated from the western worlds by chains of lofty mountains. While continual wars, and repeated invasions, swept away the population and devastated the face of all the other countries of Asia, the forefathers of the three hundred and sixty millions of people now in- habiting China, guided the plough, and raised the sheep and silk-worms which were to supply their simple wants, in almost unbroken peace, secured from foreign invasion by the Himalaya Mountains, and the Tartar hordes beyond them. Commercial intercourse with the rest of the world they needed not ; for such was the extent of their empire, and so great the diversity of soil and climate com- prehended within its limits, that the products of the north and the south, the mountain and the plain, were all indigenous. Coal, copper, and iron are found in abundance in their snow-capped mountains, whence also originate the great rivers which, rushing from the west to the east, are received by the number- less canals, and distributed over the country. The principal rivers are the Kiang, or River of Rivers, and the Hoang Ho, which, rising near each other in the mountains of Thibet, run by widely diverging courses across China into the Yellow Sea. China also contains five large lakes, whose waters furnish so great a supply of salt, as to afford considerable revenue to the government, which monopolizes the manufacture. Salt is also procured in one district of (340) 350 CHINA. China, by boring a narrow shaft to a great depth in the rock. Twenty per cent, of salt, and a portion of nitre, are contained in the water procured from the wells, which also emit an inflammable gas, used by the workmen to evaporate the water, cook their food, and light the factory. The jealous exclusion of strangers, which has ever been the policy of the rulers of the Celestial Empire, renders it necessary to seek for their his- tory in their own annals, which have been fortunately preserved with a care, only surpassed by that of the ancient Egyptians. The Chou-king, the first of the five sacred books of the Chinese, gives the history of the empire from the reign of Yao, 2357 B. C, to the year 720 B. C. Native annalists, how- ever, date farther back. An emperor named Fou-ki, who had the head of a bull, and the body of a serpent, appeared to the benighted inhabitants of earth, instructed them in the arts of music, astronomy, and writing, introduced the marriage covenant, and taught them how to fortify their towns. Fou-ki was succeeded by Chin-noung, the " divine labourer," who invented the plough, diffused the knowledge of agriculture and botany over the land, exhibited his talents as an author and warrior in a work on the military art, measured the earth's dimensions, and first extracted salt from sea-water. Passing over his immediate successors, we come to Hoang Ti, the Yellow Emperor, with whose accession the annals assume a more authentic aspect. His accession is dated 2698 years before the Christian era; and it is in the sixty-first year of his reign that the methodical arrangement for computing time by the cycle of 60 years begins. An account of a rebellion which broke out five years previous to this period, is remarkable for the first notice which historians give of the use of the magnet. The Yellow Emperor pursued the rebels, finding his way by a chariot which indicated the south and the cardinal points. This emperor divided the people into classes, and the country into provinces, ten in number. These were again subdivided, each province forming ten departments, each department ten districts, the decimal system being carried to a great extent. Hoang Ti chose yellow for the imperial colour. He is celebrated as an historian, an astronomer, and a conqueror, but above all as the institutor of a system of public education. His empress taught her people to raise silk-worms and manufacture silks. The hundred years' reign of Hoang Ti was followed by that of his son Chao Hao, who governed his people well in many respects, but suffered them to fall into idolatry. After eighty-four years he was succeeded (B. C. 2513) by his nephew Tchouen Hio, who restored the ancient purity of the religion. In 2435 B. C, Ti Ko, the grandson of Tchouen Hio, ascended the throne. He caused music and some other branches of education to be taught to the people, but by marrying four wives introduced polygamy into China. The son of this emperor succeeded him, but was so wicked and feeble a prince that his subjects dethroned him and made his brother Yao emperor, 2357 B. C. As before noticed, the celebrated book Chou-king commences with THE HEA DYNASTY. 351 this great and good emperor. Though not so celebrated for magnificent works as many other emperors, the true Chinese dehght to recount to their family circles the numberless tales of his benevolence and piety. When he grew old he passed over his son, and selected as his associate in the empire, Yu Chun, a man remarkable for filial obetUence. Both these rulers were enabled to show their love for the people on the occasion of a great inundation. At the age of 118 Yao died, and was succeeded by Chun, 2255 B. C. His subjects mourned for him three years, and the same mark of public sorrow is now re- quired by law on the death of the emperor. At his inauguration, Chun "ex- amined the instrument which represented the stars, and the moveable tube which is used to observe them, and regulated the order of the seven planets," As he grew old, Chun determined to associate his servant Yu in the empire ; and when, after a reign of fifty years, Chun descended to the tomb, Yu reigned alone. This sovereign was the first of the Hea dynasty, the first of the twenty-two that have swayed the destinies of China. It furnished eighteen sovereigns, whose united reigns amounted to 439 years. (2205 B. C. to 1766 B. C.) With Yu commenced the practice of choosing a successor to the throne from among the sons of the monarch. He continued the good works begun by his predecessors, and zealously endeavoured to improve his subjects during the six years of his independent sway. When he died, in his hundredth year, his son Ki was chosen by the nobles to succeed him, Tai Kang, the successor of Ki, consulted his own pleasure in preference to the welfare of his subjects ; and was, therefore, taken from the throne and exiled. His brother Tchoung Kang was placed on the throne, 2159 B. C. In the history of the reign of this sovereign, an eclipse is recorded ; in connexion with which it is related that two astronomers, who through drunkenness and inattention had neglected to give notice of the approaching event, were punished with death. After the death of Tchoung Kang, the sceptre came into the hands of his son Siang. This prince was dethroned by a minister, who was himself assassinated. The second usurper was expelled by the lawful heir, the virtuous Chao Kang. His successors grew gradually wicked, until, in the person of Kie, cruelty and de- bauchery reached such a height as to cause a revolt. Kie was exiled, and the head of the princely conspirators, Tching Thang, was confirmed as the ruler of the empire. The dynasty which commences with him, takes its name from the small principality of Chang, over which he had before borne sway. It furnished thirty kings, who swayed the destinies of China from 1766 to 1122 B. C, a period of six hundred and forty-four years. The praises of Tching Thang have been celebrated by the great Chinese moralist, Khoung-tseu (Confucius), in his works. His reputation for wisdom was wide-spread, and the most profound veneration was entertained for him throughout his dominions. In the beginning of his reign, as we learn from the Chinese annals, there occurred a great drought which continued seven 352 CHINA. years: this may be supposed to have been contemporary with the seven years' famine which produced the elevation of Joseph in Egypt. The record states that a period was at length put to the calamity by the emperor, whose public prayer and confession of sins was followed by a copious rain. The grandson and successor of this monarch was Tai Kai, who displayed such an early in- clination to vicious courses that the minister who was his guardian locked him up, during the three years of mourning, in his father's tomb. This method of correction proved successful, and the prince became a wise and pious mo- narch. The succeeding rulers of this dynasty present the same variety of characters as those of the first. Among them w^e bestow a passing notice upon two, Tchoung Ting and Wou Ting. In the reign of the first an inun- dation of the Hoang Ho caused the seat of the imperial government to be re- moved from the province of Chensi, and it was finally settled in Tchili, in which Peking is situated. The other sovereign is noted for his piety, and for having selected his minister on account of his resemblance to a man who had appeared to him in a dream as the proper person to fill that important office. The last prince of this dynasty, Cheou Sin, plunged in crime to such an ex- tent that the virtuous Fa, Prince of Tcheou, was called upon by the indignant people to dethrone the tyrant and assume the crown. He complied, and col- lected an army. The slothful emperor, when threatened with the loss of his throne, showed a degree of talent which, had it been exerted in the proper time and manner, might have secured him the prayers and respect of his peo- ple. But it was now too late. His bravery was exhibited in vain to troops who hated him for his vices ; they were routed by the insurgents, and he fled to his palace, and made it his own funeral pile. His queen, the partner of his crimes, fled from the burning palace, and endeavoured to ensnare the heart of the conqueror, but he ordered her to be put to death. The name of Wou Wang, the Warrior King, was applied to Fa, who showed great mercy and wisdom in following up his victory. He exercised universal clemency towards those who had fought against him ; but committed an error in rewarding his own partisans and others of the chief men of the empire, by bestowing on them large fiefs. Thus the power of the sovereigns was weakened, and occasion given to ambitious men for frequent wars. We remark in the history of this dynasty two important facts: one, that the emperors are known by different names after their accession to the throne from those which they had previously borne, but which were not given to them until after their death in the Hall of Ancestors, and which were thus a kind of judgment of posterity ; the other, that when corruption was advancing with rapid strides, and the ancient laws were disregarded, there providentially appeared the celebrated philosopher and teacher, Khoung-tseu, or Confucius, whose precepts of morality even at this day regulate both the government and the religion of the state. He was the son of the chief minister at the court of one of the petty kings of China. Studious by nature he forsook the sports CONFUCIUS. 353 CONFUCIUS INSTRUCTING HIS DISCIPLES. of youth that he might read the ancient books, and store his mind with the wise maxims they contained. At the age of nineteen he married, but finding that a matrimonial hfe hindered the progress of his studies, he divorced his wife, and commenced frammg a perfect system of government founded on the works of the ancient sages. Being appointed to a pubUc station, he found that the people were in the habit of breaking the laws with impunity, of acting dishonestly towards each other, and were altogether guilty of so many vices, in consequence of the negligence of their rulers, that a complete re- formation was necessary throughout the country. Being desirous of promoting this important change, both by instruction •and example, he journeyed through the ditferent states, giving public lectures on the benefit of virtue and social order, which produced such good effects that he was soon at the head of three thousand disciples, converts to his doc- trines and practisers of his rules of conduct. But the philosopher, finding that his efforts to reform the court were unsuccessful, resigned his dignities, and devoted himself, with a few friends, entirely to the study of philosophy and the composition of those works which have immortalized his name. We ex- tract from Miss Corner's beautiful work on China, the following account of the Confucian system, which, like Mohammed's Koran, regulates both the councils of state and the fireside circles : The Confucians believe in one supreme Deity, and adore the earth as the mother of all things ; but they have no particular form of worship, nor any Vol. II. 45 854 CHINA. regular priesthood ; their rehgious rites consisting solely of sacrifices, made in the, temple on stated occasions, when the emperor officiates as high priest, and the chief mandarins of tlie court as his subordinates. The books of Confucius, which are studied by the Chinese as sacred volumes, teach them that the true principles of virtue and social order are, obedience to parents, elders, and rulers ; and the acting towards others as they would wish that others should act towards them. In the works of this great moralist, the duties of the sovereign are as strictly laid down as those of his subjects ; and while they are enjoined to obey him as a father, he is exhorted to take care of them as though they were his children. There was nothing new in this patriarchal system of government, which had existed from the very beginning of the monarchy ; but it was brought into a more perfect form, and the mutual ob- ligations of princes and people were more clearly defined, than they had ever been before. But it was not only on the government of the empire collectively that this celebrated teacher bestowed his attention ; he also made laws for private families, founded on the same principle of obedience from the younger to the elder, and submission from the inferior to the superior. Indeed, all classes of persons, including even young children, were instructed in the duties of their several stations by this highly gifted individual, who employed all the energies of his mighty mind for the benefit of mankind. The writings of Confucius are chiefly on the subject of moral philosophy ; but there are among them two books which may be considered historical, the one relating to his own, and the other to more ancient times. From the former is gathered all that is known of the state of the country at that period ; but the latter is regarded more as traditionary than as historical, as it is sup- posed to be merely a collection and arrangement of the records kept at the courts of the early monarchs by their historians. This work is entitled the Chou-king; and there is another called the Chi-king, containing all the ancient poems and songs of the country, which were sung or recited before the emperors. It may, therefore, be imagined that there were bards among the Chinese in those olden times, who celebrated in verse the great and good actions of their heroes and sages. These traditional poems were col- lected and revised by Confucius, who formed them into a volume, which- is still one of the standard works of the Chinese, and must be studied by all who aspire to preferment, as it forms the subject of a part of their examina- tion, before they can be admitted as candidates for any high office. The same great man formed into a code of laws all the ancient observances, both in public and private life ; being of opinion that the preservation of order in a state depended much upon the outward forms of society in general. This code, which is called the " Book of Rites," entirely regulates and governs the manners and customs of the whole community, from the emperor to the most obscure of his subjects ; and as it has maintained its influence to the present time, we may readily account for the little change which has taken LAO-TSEU. 355 place in the habits of the people. The study of this book constitutes an im- portant branch of the education of every Chinese, and is, in fact, a part of his religion. Confucius died at the age of seventy-three, having spent the whole of his long life in the practice and inculcation of virtue. Nearly twenty- four centuries after his death, his name is held in the highest veneration over all his native country, and many temples are dedicated to his memory in the provitices of China, His descendants, who are very numerous, are the only persons who acquire the dignity of mandarins by inheritance ; they are also ex- empt from taxes, and enjoy other privileges on account of their great ancestor. Confucius has not inaptly been styled the " Apostle of Antiquity," as he sought only to revive the purity of former ages. In this respect, and in the practical nature of his laws, he totally differs from another great philosopher, Lao-tseu, who had appeared a half-century before him. This reformer, who desired equally with Confucius to improve his countrymen, lived in a modest and re- tired manner, assuming no honours to himself, though many of his disciples regard him as a divinity. He taught his followers to abstract themselves from worldly affairs, and subdue the promptings of the animal nature by religious contemplation and philosophical inaction, that they might be absorbed into the bosom of the Creator, whom he calls Tao, the Supreme Universal Reason. Of one of the successors of Wou Wang, it is recorded, that he highly prized his horses, which are scarce in China ; and he was so pleased with the skill of his hostler that he conferred on him the principality of Thsin. Tartar irruptions afterwards became frequent, particularly about the time of Siouen Wang. (B. C. 790.) Of this prince it is recorded, that he refused to perform the time-honoured ceremony of ploughing and sowing seed in an enclosure set apart for that purpose, on the great annual festival which celebrates the season of spring. This is one of the ancient observances that help to preserve the primitive character of the nation. The day for the royal ploughing is fixed by the Board of Rites, and the ceremony is accompanied by many solemnities on the part of the emperor and those who are to assist him, such as fasts and abstinence from amusements. As a just retribution for the impiety of Siouen Wang, the historians assert that his army was afterwards defeated by barbarians near the very field where he should have ploughed. His son, Yeou Wang, lost his life by a Tartar irruption, and his grandson. Ping Wang, " the pacific king," was a feeble prince, who re- moved the court to one of the eastern provinces, and gave the former capi- tal, with the title of king, to the warlike prince of Thsin, a descendant of the fortunate hostler above mentioned. The prince in return bound himself to protect the frontiers from the invaders. This was an unfortunate step for the reigning dynasty. Many opulent families would not remove with the court, but remained under the dominion of the King of Thsin, who, as he already surpassed him in power, immediately began to rival his imperial mas- ter in pomp. 356 CHINA EMPEROR PLOUGHING. The Tartar incursions nevertheless continued, and the chiefs of the principa- lities most exposed strove to fortify their dominions and augment their power. Three of these princes soon added the territories of their less powerful neigh- bours to their own, but the princes of Thsin eclipsed them all. For a time they suffered the feeble emperors to retain their title; but in 249 B.C., Thsin Chi Hoang Ti, the Augustan emperor of Thsin, dethroned Nan Wang, the last ruler of the race of the mighty Wou Wang. This warlike emperor reduced the whole of the Chinese principalities, and extended the southern and eastern limits of the kingdom to the sea. He protected the frontiers from the Tartars, by an army of three hundred thousand men; and at the cost of im- mense treasures, and the hves of four hundred thousand of his subjects, built the Great Chinese Wall. This act of tyranny has been cited as a proof of his wisdom, as he thereby kept the discontented among his subjects fully era- ployed. But his superior genius is more fully shown by the form of govern- ment which he framed, and which, after a lapse of two thousand years, is still the constitution of the empire. The author of a new constitution, Hoang Ti aspired to be considered by pos- terity as the founder of the empire. He therefore ordered all the sacred books — the historical annals — in short, every reUc of ancient times, to be destroyed; and death was decreed as the punishment of all who should retain any of them THE HUNS IN CHINA. 357 after the expiration of thirty days. Many suffered death rather than submit to this edict, and imperial power itself could not succeed in blotting out the whole of these loved records. Numerous books were concealed until the storm had blown over, then to he produced and cherished as of greater value than gold. This great monarch died 210 B. C, and his decease was imme- diately followed by a struggle for the throne, which endured eight years and caused the murder of several emperors. The Han dynasty is the name given to that founded by Kao Tsou, 202 years before the Christian era. Though it endured 422 years, and is known in Chinese annals as the heroic period, it commenced with rather unfavourable auspices. The new emperor had hardly taken his seat before he was called upon to suppress a revolt of the Hioung Nou, or " turbulent slaves," one of whom blockaded the emperor for seven days, and forced him to purchase a peace by giving the bold rebel a bride from the imperial family. After having quieted these disturbers, Kao Tsou directed his attention to the roads, and ef- fected almost incredible improvements upon them. His successor, Hoei Ti, " the generous emperor," revoked the decrees of Hoang Ti against the books. After him, came a barbarous and wicked woman, Liu Heou, the first female that swayed the sceptre of China. She was followed by a benevolent monarch. Wen Ti, " the literary," whose active encouragement of literature and the arts caused the invention of paper. Here- tofore, slips of bamboo formed the substance used in the manufacture of books. Wen Ti died 156 B. C, and was succeeded by his son King Ti. The glory of this prince is lost in that of Wou Ti, " the warUke," the patron of learning and the friend of the people. After a long struggle, he succeeded in subduing the Hioung Nou, or Huns, the turbulent slaves who troubled Kao Tsou. The attention of this people was soon after directed to the Yue Tchi, the ancient Scythians, who inhabited a country west of the province of Chensi, and who are supposed to have been the same people known in Europe as the Goths. The Hioung Nou, or Huns, failing to make an impression on the Chi- nese, attacked these Scythians, and drove them from their native land to the fertile and cultivated province of Transoxiana ; and accordingly we find Strabo giving an account of their operations there, in his history of the wars of the Parthians and the Scythians. (126 B. C.) The Chinese emperor was apprised of this migration, and to continue it he attacked the Huns and drove them further from his own territories. Wou Ti gave place to his son Sioueng Ti. (A.D. 65.) This was a wise and able monarch. His successors, however, differed greatly from him in cha- racter, and troubles consequently arose. We gladly pass over a long and un- interesting list of succeeding emperors and dynasties to Kao Tsou, who proved himself a friend of the people, and an enemy to pride and pomp. He com- pelled a hundred thousand monks of the Buddhists and other sects to marry ; and, although he was himself a partisan of Lao-tseu, he paid public honours 358 CHINA. to Khoung-tseu (Confucius), and instituted schools in every village. His son, the Prince Li-chi-min, was a gallant soldier, who exhibited his prowess by driving a horde of Tartar invaders out of the country. In 626, Kao Tsou abdicated in favour of Li-chi-min, who took the name Tai Tsoung on his ac- cession to the throne. Few of the Chinese monarchs have surpassed him in valour, wisdom, and learning. His palace was converted, as it were, into a college, to which all the learned men of the kingdom resorted. Ten thousand pupils were collected together into an academy in the capital, and the sacred books were multiplied, and scattered thoughout the land. He remitted half the taxes, rewarded virtue, and mitigated severe punishments. After the death of this great and good emperor, w^e find the family to which he be- longed running the same downward course which had brought to destruc- tion those which preceded it. His immediate successors were unworthy of the connexion, and those more remote reflect little else than dishonour upon the annals of China. Some of them began to reign well, and reformed abuses ; but they soon grew corrupt, and gave the reins to license and dis- order. The power of the eunuchs, the " gnawing worms" of the Chinese historians, continually increased, so that in the year 900 they presumed to seize upon the emperor and the empress, and imprison them. Escaping, how- ever, the sovereign made open war upon them. The mandarins actively seconded his efforts; and every eunuch in the empire was put to death save thirty, reserved that they might sweep the courts of the palace. But the emperor was no sooner rid of this evil than he was threatened by another still more formidable. The general who had been chiefly engaged in the destruction of the eunuchs was rewarded with promotion ; but his am- bition grew with his power, and he took advantage of a favourable oppor- tunity to dethrone his imperial master. He founded the first of five small dynasties, collectively known in the history of China as the Wou-tai. Cruelty and rebellion, parricide and murder, usurpation and foreign invasion, make up the political annals of the empire during the successive reigns of the mo- narchs composing these five families. Tai-Tsou, the first ancestor of the Soung dynasty, mounted the throne (A. D. 960) by election of the nobles, the heir being too young to assume the task of governing a state which the strongest hand could with difficulty keep in order. The new emperor was worthy of the honour conferred upon him. He encouraged learning, and extended his paternal benevolence over the whole realm. He died in 976, and was succeeded by his ^n Tai Tsoung. Between the date of the accession of this emperor and 1064 A. D., the throne was filled by three emperors, who governed with so great advantage to the people that we can only regret the short continuance of their lives. During all this period the northern Tartars, who had assumed the name of Khitans, continued their devastating wars with the empire. Under the succeeding emperors they gained still greater advantages. Hoei Tsoung, who reigned from 1101 to 1125, im- KHOUBILAI KHAN. 359 TAHTAR GENEKAL AND HIS TROOPS. prudently called in the Joutchi Tartars from the eastern provinces to repel the Khitans, and this new branch of foreigners became more formidable than the other. Kao Tsoung (1127 to 1162) was obliged to acknowledge himself a tributary of the Tartar prince, Hi Tsoung, who would probably have conquered all China, had he not lost his life by a revolt of his troops. Con- tinual war followed. The Chinese called upon the western Tartars to repel those of the east ; and when these had rescued the rich provinces from the others, they secured them for themselves. Under Khoubilai Khan, a man great by station and by nature, they reduced the whole of China. He was the grandson of the renowned Zingis Khan, who began the conquest of China. Khoubilai Khan is the first of the Tartar monarchs whom the Chinese ac- knowledge as an emperor. They call him Hou-pi-lie, and Youan Chi Tsou (first imperial ancestor of the Youan dynasty). His character for benevolence, 360 CHINA, equity, and piety, gained for him the good will of his new subjects; and by his munificent patronage he attracted to his court learned men and skilful artisans of other nations, among whom we can mention Marco Polo, the celebrated Venetian traveller, who was for three years the governor of a southern province. Khoubilai built the city of Ta-tou, now Peking, and took possession of it in 1267. Secured upon his throne by the affections of his new subjects, Hou-pi-lie extended the bounds of the empire beyond their greatest previous extent. His realm reached from the Arctic Ocean on the north to the Straits of Malacca on the south, and comprehended Tartary, Thibet, and the country of the Oigours. Siam, Cochin China, Tonquin, and the Corea paid him tribute ; and his relations, who ruled over Western Asia, did nothing without his consent. Though the early Tartars introduced many new habits and a new re- ligion into the conquered country, we find their successors soon subdued by the honoured laws, rites, and institutions of civilized China, and bowing in reverence at the feet of Confucius. His books were translated into the Mon- gul language, and distributed among all the Tartars in the kingdom, who were recommended by the emperor to make themselves acquainted with the precepts they contained. But in the course of time, the emperors degenerated, and they finally came to be heartily detested by the people. Then arose from the lowest ranks a deliverer. A patriot general, who had risen from the labouring class, was proclaimed emperor by his troops ; the Chinese flocked in crowds to his standard ; and the last Tartar emperor, Chun Ti, finding his cause desperate, retired, with his whole court, into Tartary. (A, D. 1368.) Thus ended the Tartar dynasty.