THE UNIVERSITY Hof'ilij^is rJ ^RARY 040 "RSG V'. I room .... Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. University of Illinois Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/readingsineurope01 robM READINGS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY Volume I , ^ READINGS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY A collection of extracts from the sources chosen with the purpose of illustrating the progress of culture in Western Europe since the German Invasions BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON Professor of History in Columbia University Volume I From the breaking up of the Roman Empire TO the Protestant Revolt GINN & COMPANY BOSTON . NEW YORK • CHICAGO ■ LONDON ^^0 Y,l Copyright, 1904, by JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 211.8 TCfje ^tfjenccum 35resf« GINN & COMPANY . PRO- PRIETORS . BOSTON . U.S.A, To E. P. C. AND D. C. M. ONCE MY COLLEAGUES AND EVER MY STAUNCH FRIENDS AND FAITHFUL FELLOW-WORKERS, THIS VOL- UME IS FITTINGLY DEDICATED •jiwrro PREFACE In preparing my Introduction to the History of Western Europe I was forced to forego all the amenities of historical narration, except those of clearness and order, in my anxiety to present a tolerably coherent sketch of the course of events and the development of institutions. In this and the suc- ceeding volume I hope that the reader, whether teacher or student, may find some of that life and reality without which historical study must remain arid and well-nigh profitless. I have accordingly made a special effort to select such pas- sages as might most readily conciliate the reader’s interest. Yet they are not the less useful for being interesting. Indeed, I hope that they may prove to be like that river of which Gregory the Great speaks, which is both shallow and deep, ‘‘wherein the lamb may find a footing and the ele- phant float at large ” ; for there are few among the excerpts that will not repay careful study and give the teacher abun- dant opportunity to test his own and his students’ insight. The rather long and elaborate bibliographies which follow the several chapters demand a word of explanation. They each fall into three divisions. The first section, contains specific references to a collection of forty or fifty standard volumes which should be in any good high-school library. Additional readings in English^ is especially designed for those who have a good college library at their disposal, although many of the volumes mentioned in this division vii Vlll Preface might profitably be used by the high-school student. Lastly, under C, the teacher and advanced university student will find the necessary guidance in carrying on his work as far as he may feel inclined. In the preparation of the present volume I am under special obligations to Miss Ellen Scott Davison, who greatly aided me in the quest for suitable material and in the transla- tion, and to Miss Louise Ropes Loomis, Lecturer in Barnard College, who prepared portions of the bibliographies and also forwarded the translation. With the kind permission of my friends. Professors Cheyney and Munro, I have used some of the extracts which have already appeared in the Translations and Reprints^ of which we three were the original editors. I have also included some of the pieces in Dr. Henderson’s very useful Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, but I have frequently preferred a different rendering from his. I am also indebted to the translations in the Bohn series, although here, too, I have freely modified the wording in the interests of accuracy and clearness. I owe most of all, perhaps, to the admirable Geschichtschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit in clearing up the occasional obscurities of the mediaeval chroniclers. My indebtedness to a consid- erable number of translators and editors is acknowledged in the list of citations which follows. J. H. R. High Mowing, Jaffrey, N.H., September i, 1904. CONTENTS AND LIST OF CITATIONS VOLUME I CHAPTER I — THE HISTORICAL POINT OF VIEW CHAPTER II — WESTERN EUROPE BEFORE THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS PAGE I. Resemblances between Paganism and Christianity 1. Seneca on God’s gifts to man 14 De beneficiis^ Lib. iv, cc. 5-7, and Lib. i, c. 2 ; ed. Hosius (Teubner, 1900) ; trans.i by Th. Lodge in the Temple Classics Series 2. Epictetus 15 Dissertationes (or Enchiridion)^ Book I, Chaps. 30 and 9; trans. from the Greek of Arrian by G. Long in the Bohn Library 3. The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius 17 Book II, Chaps. 1-3 ; trans. from the Greek by G. Long in the Bohn Library 4. Important contrasts between Christianity and paganism 18 Lecky, History of European Morals^ opening of Chap. IV II. The Early Conception of a Universal Church 5. The Catholic Church as conceived by Cyprian ... 19 De catholicae ecclesiae unitate^ cc. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, and 14 : Cor- pus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, III ; trans. by R. E. Wallis in Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, VIII III. The Church and the Roman Emperors 6. Edict of Galerius (a.d. 31 i), which first granted toler- ation to the Christians 21 Lactantius, De mortihus persecutorum^ c. 34: Corpus script, eccl. Lat. XXVII, Fas. ii; trans. by William Fletcher in the Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, XXII ^ While I have freely availed myself of the assistance offered by translations, I have not hesitated to modify, or even frankly desert in some cases, the renderings which I mention in this list. ix X Contents and List of Citations 7. The edicts of Constantine and his successors relating to the Church in the Theodosian Code 23 Codex Theodosianus^ ed. Haenel, Lib. xvi : tit. i, 2 (a.d. 380) ; tit. ii, 2 (A.D. 319), 6 (A.D. 326), 9 (A.D. 349), 24 (A.D. 377)! 16 (A.D. 361), 5 (A.D. 323), 4 (A.D. 321), 41 (A.D. 412) ; tit. V, I (A.D. 326), 3 (A.D. 372), 34 (A.D. 398), 66 (A.D. 435), 46 (a.d. 409) IV. Comparison between the Lot of those within the Empire and those living among the Barbarians 8. Salvian’s comparison of the Romans and barbarians . 28 De gubernatione Dei^ Lib. v, cc. 4 sq.^ Lib. iv, c. 14 : Mon. Ger. Hist., Auc. ant. I 9. Conversation of Priscus with a Greek living among the barbarians (448) 30 Priscus Panites, Historiarum fragmenta^ in Muller, Frag- menta historicorum Graecorum, IV, 86 sq. ; trans. by Bury, History of the Later Roman Emfire^ I, 218 sqq. CHAPTER III — THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE I. The Huns force the West Goths across the Danube 10. Description of the Huns by Ammianus Marcellinus . . 35 Rerum gestarum libri qui sufersunt^ Lib. xxxi, cc. 2-4 and 13; ed. Gardthausen (Teubner, 1874); trans. by C. D. Yonge in the Bohn Library II. How the West Goths became Arians and Alaric took Rome 11. Jordanes on the conversion of the Goths and the sack of Rome 39 Jordanes, De origine actusque Getarum^ cc. 25-31 ; ed. Mommsen, Mon. Ger. Hist., Auc. ant. V 12. St. Jerome on the destruction wrought by the barbarians 44 (a) Ep. ad Ageruchiam ; Migne, Patrologia Latina, XXH, cols. 1057 sq.\ (b) Comment aria in Ezechielem^ Preface to Lib. iii ; Ibid. XXV, col. 79 13. Dill on the reports of the sack of Rome 45 Roman Society in the Last Century of the Roman 'Empire^ 309 sq. III. Attila and the Huns 14. Priscus’ description of the court of Attila 46 Muller, Frag. hist. Graec. (as above. No. 9), IV, 85 and 91 sq.\ Bury, I, 217 sqq. Contents and List of Citations XI IV. How Pope Leo saved Rome from Attila 15. Prosper’s account of the meeting of Leo and Attila . . 49 Prosper Tiro, Epitoma chronicon^ ad an. 450: Mon. Ger. Hist., Auc. ant. IX 16. Later account of Leo’s intervention 50 Vita S. Leonis Papae^ Lib. i, c. 2 ; Acta sanctorum, April, II, 18 V. Clovis and the Franks 17. Gregory of Tours and his history of the Franks ... 51 Plistoriae ecclesiasticae Fran corum libri X, Lib. ii, cc. 27, 29-31 : Mon. Ger. Hist., SS. rer. Mer., I CHAPTER IV — THE RISE OF THE PAPACY I. The Bishop of Rome and the Headship of the Church 18. Irenaeus’ catalogue of the bishops of Rome 63 Contra haereses^ Lib. iii, c. 3, §§ 2-3 : Migne, Pat. Grace. VII, cols. 848 sqq. ; trans. in Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, V 19. Tertullian on the distinction of the Roman Church . . 64 (a) De praescriptione haereticorum, c. 36 : Migne, Pat. Lat. II, cols. 9 sqq. ; trans. in Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, XV. (b) De Pudicitia^ c. 21 : Corpus script, eccl. Lat. XX; trans. in Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, XVHI 20. Cyprian on the danger of appeals to Rome 66 Ad Cornelium ; (Ep. 54 or, in some editions, 59) : Corpus script, eccl. Lat. HI ; trans. in Library of Ante-Nicene Fathers, VIII 21. Sixth canon of Nicaea 66 Mansi, Conciliorum collectio, II, 669 sqq. 22. Decretal of Siricius 68 c. XV, § 20 : Mansi, III, 661, or Migne, Pat. Lat. LVI, col. 554 23. St. Jerome on the equality of the bishops 69 Ad Evangelum (Ep. 146) : Migne, XXII, col. 1194 24. Sermon by Leo the Great on Peter’s headship .... 69 (a) Sermones, IV : Migne, LIV, cols. 148 sqq. (b) Ad Ana- stasium episcopum Thessalonicensem (Ep. 14) : Migne, LIV, col. 676 25. Edict of Valentinian recognizing the supremacy of the bishop of Rome 72 Novellae Cod. Theod. 1 1 , Lib. iii, tit. xvi 26. Pope Gelasius on the superiority of the spiritual power 72 Ad Anastasium imperatorem^ c. 2; Migne, LVI, col. 633. Contents and List of Citations xii II. Gregory, the Great and his Times PAGE 27. Milman’s appreciation of Gregory the Great .... 73 History of Latin Christianity^ Book III, Chap. 7 28. Conditions depicted in Gregory’s letters 74 (a) Ad Leandrum episcopum Hispalensem (Ep. Lib. i., 43) ; Migne, LXXVII, cols. 496 sq. (b) Homiliae in Evan- gelia^ Lib. i, Homilia i; Migne, LXXVI, col. 1078. 29. How a monk dared to have gold in his possession . . 76 Gregorius Magnus, Dialogorum libri IV, de vita et miraculis patrum Italicorum, Lib. iv, c. 55 : Migne, LXXVII, cols. 420 sq, 30. Extracts from Gregory the Great’s Moralia 77 Moralium libri sive expositio in Ubrum B. Job. (a) “ Epis- tola Missoria,” cc. 4 sq.> Migne, LXXV, cols. 514 sqq. (b) Lib. i, c. 16 : Migne, LXXV, cols. 537 sq. ; translated (very freely) in Library of the Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, 3 vols., Oxford, 1844 sq. 31. Extracts from Gregory’s Pastoral Charge 80 Regulae pastor alis liber, Pars ii, cc. 8 sq., and Pars iii, “Prologue”: Migne, LXXVII. Good translation by Rev. H. R. Bramley, with Latin original on opposite pages, Oxford and London, 1874. CHAPTER V — THE MONKS AND THE CON- VERSION OF THE GERMANS I. The Monastic Attitude of Mind 32. St. Jerome’s plea for a life of solitude 86 Ad Heliodorum monachum, cc. 2 sq. (Ep. 14) : Migne, XXII, cols. 548 sq. 33. Ideals of monasticism described by a Spanish monk . 87 Saint Jean de la Croix, Vie et CEuvres, 1893, 94 ’ cited by William James, The Varieties oj Religious Experience, 304 sq. 34. A modern psychologist’s analysis of asceticism ... 88 James, The Varieties oJ Religious Experience, 298 and 296 sq. II. The Devil and his Wicked Angels 35. The Pagan gods, devils in disguise 90 Gregory the Great’s Dialogues (as above. No. 29), Lib. iii, c. 7 : Migne, LXXVII, cols. 229 sqq. 36. St. Gall and the demons 90 Wettinus, Vita Galli conjessoris, cc. 7 sq.'. Mon. Ger. Hist., SS. rer. Mer. IV. 37. Martin, a hermit, withstands the terrors of the devil . 92 Gregory the Great’s Dialogues (as above. No. 29), Lib. iii, c. 16: Migne, LXXVII, col. 257 Contents and List of Citations xiii III. Purgatory, Hell, and Heaven 38. Description of purgatory, hell, and heaven 93 Beda, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum^ Bib. v, c. 12; trans. by Giles’ Beda^ Complete Works in the origi- nal Latin with a new translation of the historical works y 1843-1844 IV. The Conversion of England, as described by Bede 39. Arrival in Kent of the missionaries sent by Gregory the Great 97 Bede (as above, No. 38), Lib. i, cc. 23 and 25 40. Instructions of Gregory the Great for the missionaries in England 100 Ibid. Lib. i, c. 30 41. The conversion of Northumbria loi Ibid. Lib. ii, c. 13 42. Controversy between the Roman and Irish missionaries over the date of Easter 103 Ibid. Lib. iii, c. 25 V. Boniface and the Conversion of Germany 43. Boniface’s commission from the pope ....... 105 S. Bonifatii et Lulli epistolae: Mon. Ger. Hist., Epist. Ill, 258; also in Jaffe, Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum, III, 62 44. Gregory II appoints Boniface presiding bishop in Ger- many 105 Ibid. Mon. Ger. Hist., 292 ; Jaffe, III, 103 45. Oath taken by Boniface to the pope 106 Ibid. Mon. Ger. Hist., 265 ; Jaffe, 76 sq. 46. How Boniface destroyed the oak of Thor 106 Willibald, Vita Sancti Bonifatii^ c. 6: Jaffe, Bib. rer. Ger. HI, 452 47. How the monastery of Fulda was founded 107 Vita Sancti Sturmis abbatis^ cc. 4-14 : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, II, 367 sqq. CHAPTER VI — CHARLES MARTEL AND PIPPIN I. The Koran 48. Passages from the Koran ...116 Cc. I, 2, 78, and 56; trans. by Stanley Lane-Poole, The Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Mohammad. Chap. H is from The Qur'’an^ trans. by E. H. Palmer, 2 vols., Oxford, 1880 . XIV Contents and List of Citations II. How Pippin became King of the Franks p^ge 49. Weakness of the later Merovingian kings 120 Einhard, Vita Karoli (as below, No. 53), c. i 50. Pope Zacharias authorizes the coronation of Pippin. . 121 Annales Laurissenses minores^ ad an. 750: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, I, 139 51. Coronation of Pippin by the pope ........ 122 Einhard, Annales^ ad an. 753 sq. \ Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, h 139 III. The Lombards, Pope Stephen and Pippin 52. Letter of Pope Stephen to Pippin 122 Codex CarolinuSj Ep, 9: Mon. Ger. Hist., Epist. Ill, 498; Jaffe, Bib. rer. Ger. IV, 48 sqq. CHAPTER VII — CHARLEMAGNE I. Charlemagne, the Man 53. Charlemagne’s personal appearance and habits . . .126 Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni^ cc. 22-25 : Jaffe, Bib. rer. Ger. IV, 509 sqq. ; Mon. Ger. Hist., octavo edition 11. Charlemagne and the Saxons 54. Charlemagne conquers the Saxons in order to convert them 129 Vita Sancti Sturmis (as above. No. 47), c. 22 55. The Rebellion of Widukind 129 Einhard, Annales (as above. No. 51), ad an. 782 III. How Charlemagne was made Emperor 56. Charlemagne’s coronation as emperor 131 Einhard, Ibid., ad an. 799-801 IV. Charlemagne’s Way of raising Troops 57. The Heerbann, or fine for refusing to join the army . 135 Capitular e It alicum: Mon. Ger. Hist., Capitularia regum Francorum, denuo edidit Alfredus Boretius, I, 205, — a new edition much superior to that first issued in the Monumenta by Pertz; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 58. W ealthy landholders required to go to the army in person 135 Capitulare missorum de exercitu promovendo., c. i : Boretius (as above. No. 57), 137 ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 Contents and List of Citations XV PAGB 59. Nature of the supplies for the army 135 Capitular e Aquisgranense, cc. 9 sq. : Boretius (as above, No. 57), 171 ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 60. Summons to Abbot Fulrad to join the army . . . .136 Karoli ad Fulradum abbatem epistola; Boretius (as above, No. 57), 168; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 V. Charlemagne’s Income from his Farms 61. Extracts from the Capitulary de Villis 1 37 Capitulare de villis: Boretius (as above, No. 57), S2 sqq,\ trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. Ill, No. 2 VI. Charlemagne’s Ideals of Government 62. Extracts from the capitulary for the missi 139 Capitulare missorum generale: Boretius (as above, No. 57), 91 sqq.\ trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 VII. Charlemagne’s Anxiety to improve Education 63. Charlemagne’s letter on the dangers of ignorance . . 144 Karoli epistola de litteris colendis: Boretius (as above. No. 57), 79; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 64. Charlemagne commands the establishment of episcopal and monastery schools 145 Admonitio generalise c. 72 : Boretius (as above. No. 57), 59; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. VI, No. 5 CHAPTER VIII — THE DISRUPTION OF CHARLE- MAGNE’S EMPIRE I. The Northmen 65. Apollinaris Sidonius describes the Saxon pirates . . .150 Epistulae^ Lib. viii, Ep. 6 (close) : Mon. Ger. Hist., Auc. ant. VIII, 132 sq.'e trans. by Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders^ II, 366 sq» 66. A Northman’s baptism 151 Monachus Sangallensis, De gestis Karoli imperatoris^ c. 19 : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, II, 761 sq. 67. Opening of The Story of Burnt Njal 1 52 The Story of Burnt Njal^ translated from the Norse by Dasent, 2 vols., 1861 II. Struggles between Sons of Louis the Pious 68. Death of Louis the Pious 1 55 Rudolfus Fuldensis, AnnaleSe ad an. 840 sq. i Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, I, 362 sqq. xvi Contents and List of Citations PAGE 69. The Northmen at Nantes 1^7 Annalium Bertinianorum pars secunda, ad an. 843 : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, I, 439 sq. III. A Melancholy Glimpse of the Conditions in the Ninth Century 70. An extract from the Annals of Xanten 158 Annales Xantenses, ad an. 844 sqq. : Mon. Ger. Hist., Per'tz, H, 227 sqq. IV. How the Northmen harried Frankland and laid Siege to Paris 71. How the Northmen laid siege to Paris 163 Annales Vedastini, ad an. 882 sqq. : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, I, 529 sqq. CHAPTER IX— FEUDALISM I. The Older Institutions which serve to explain Feudalism 72. Grant of immunity to a bishop 171 Roziere, Recueil generate des formules usitees dans I’empire des Francs du V® au X® siecle. 3 vols. 1859-1871. No. 16; Vol. I, 17. Trans., — as well as the following numbers to 88 inclusive — by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. IV, No. 3 73. Grant of a vill with immunity to a layman 172 Rozifere, No. 147; Vol. I, 185 74. Land received as a beneficium from a monastery . . .173 Roziere, No. 350 ; Vol. I, 433 75. A Frankish formula of commendation 175 Roziere, No. 43 ; Vol. I, 69 76. Formal acceptance of a follower by his lord . . . .176 Roziere, No. 8 ; Vol. I, 8 II. The Granting of Fiefs 77. How an allodial tenure might be turned into a fief . .176 Quantin, Recueil de pieces du Xlllme Siecle, No. 631, pp. 310 sg. 78. The count of Troyes grants a manor as a fief . . . .177 Ibid., No. 2, p. I 79. Record of grant of a fief to a knight 178 Historia Monasterii de Abingdon^ II, 135, Rolls Series 80. The count of Champagne grants a fief to a bishop . .178 Brussel, Usage des Fiefs, I, 3, note Co7itents and List of Citations xvii PAGE 8 1. Pons of Mont-Saint-Jean becomes the man of the countess of Champagne 178 Quantin (as above, No. 77), No. 220, p. loi 82. How a knight accepted a money fief from the king of France 179 Boutaric, Institutions militaires de la France^ p. 12 1 III. Ceremony of doing Homage and swearing Fealty 83. How the count of Flanders received the homage of his vassals 179 Galbert de Bruges, De multro^ traditione^ et occisione gloriosi Karoli comitis Flandriarum; ed. by Pirenne, p. 89 : Collection de textes 84. The viscount of Carcassonne does homage to the abbot of St. Mary of Grasse 180 Teulet, Layettes du Tresor des Chartes, No. 39 ; Vol. I, p. 36 85. Rules for homage and fealty established by St. Louis . 182 Etablissements de St. Louis, II, c. 19 ; ed. by Viollet, II, 395 86. How a prelate threatened his vassals with excommuni- cation 183 Bouquet, Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France, X, 447 sq. IV. Mutual Duties of Vassal and Lord 87. Fulbert of Chartres explains the duties of lord and vassal 184 Bouquet (as above, No. 86), X, 463 V. Feudal Military Service 88. List of vassals summoned by the king of France in 1272 185 Bouquet (as above. No. 86), XXIII, 753 sq. and 759 sq. VI. Failure of Feudalism to secure Order. The Truce of God 89. Bishop Stubbs’ definition of ideal feudalism . . . .187 Constitutional History of England, Chap. IX, § 93 90. The truce of God 187 Mon. Ger. Hist., Leges, II, 55 sqq. ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 2 CHAPTER X — THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRANCE I. The Election of Hugh Capet 91. How Hugh Capet was chosen king 195 Richer, Historiarum libri IV, Lib. iv, cc. ii sq,\ Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, III, 633 sq. \ xviii Contents and List of Citations II. King Robert and his Unruly Vassals page 92. King Robert and his troubles with his vassals . . . .196 Raoul Glaber, Francorum historiae libri V, iii, c. 2 ; ed. by Prou in Collection de textes, 1886, pp. 56 sq. III. How Louis the Fat consolidated his Power 93. Suger’s account of Louis the Fat and his vassals . .198 Gesta Ludovici regis cognomento grossly cc. 2, 3, 8, 23-25 J ed. by Molinier in Collection de textes IV. Philip Augustus and his Vassals 94. Philip suppresses a rebellion and extends the royal domain 206 Rigord, Gesta Philippi II Augusti regis Francorum^ cc. 9, 26-28 ; ed. by Delaborde, Soc. de I’hist. de Fr. V. Philip Augustus and John of England 94a. How Philip Augustus took Normandy from John . . 209 Rigord (as above, No. 94), cc. 138, 140-142 VI. St. Louis 95. Extracts from Joinville 213 Jean, Sire de Joinville, Histoire de Saint-Louis^ texte original accompagne d’une traduction, par de Wailly, 2d ed., Paris, 1874, cc. 15 sq.\ 47 sq. and 50 ; 6 and 12 CHAPTER XI — ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES I. King Alfred’s Interest in Learning 96. Alfred’s introduction to his translation of the Pastoral Care 222 King Alfred'^ s West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care; ed. by Sweet (Early English Text Soc.), 1871, pp. 2 sqq. II. The Battle of Hastings : English and Normans 97. Conduct of Harold and William in the battle of Has- tings 224 William of Malmesbury, De gestis regum Anglorum libri V, Lib. iii, §§ 241 sqq. ; ed. by Stubbs, Rolls Series ; trans. by Stevenson in The Church Historians of Eng- land, 1854; also in the Bohn Library III. Rule of William the Conqueror 98. William orders Doomsday Book to be drawn up . . . 229 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle., ad an. 1185 and 1187 ; ed. with an introduction by Benj. Thorpe, Rolls Series, II, 186 and 188 sqq. Contents and List of Citations XIX IV. How the Great Charter was Won 99. John and his barons . . . 231 Roger of Wendover, Chronica sive Liber qvi dicitur Flores historiarnm^ ad an. 1215; ed. by Hewlett in Rolls Series ; trans. by Giles in the Bohn Library V. Principal Provisions of the Great Charter 100. Principal articles of Magna Charta 233 Stubbs, Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History, 8th ed., 296 sqq.\ trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 6. VI. Writs of Summons to the Model Parliament 101. Summonses to bishops, barons, and representatives of the towns and shires 239 Stubbs, Select Charters, 484 sqq.\ trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 6 CHAPTER XII — GERMANY AND ITALY IN THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENTURIES I. The Times of Henry I and Otto the Great 102. Germany in the early tenth century 245 Continuatio Reginonis Trevirensis^ ad an. 907 sqq.\ Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, I, 614 sqq, 103. Election of Otto the Great 249 WiDUKiND, Res gestae Saxonicae, Lib. ii, cc. i sq. : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, III, 437 sq. II. Rome and the Papacy in the Time of Otto the Great 104. Degradation of the papacy in the tenth century . . . 250 Benedictus Sancti Andreae Monachus, Chronicon^ cc. 30 sqq. : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, III, 714 sqq. III. Liutprand and his Book of Retribution 105. Liutprand explains why he wrote his book 256 Antapodosis^ Lib. i, c. i, and Lib. iii, c. i : Mon. Ger. Hist., octavo ed. IV. Bruno, the Ideal of a Scholar in the Tenth Century 106. Extract from Ruotger’s Life of Bruno 259 Ruotger, Vita Brunonis^ selections from cc. 4-10 and 30 ; Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, IV, 255 sqq. XX Contents and List of Citations CHAPTER XIII — THE CONFLICT BETWEEN GREGORY VII AND HENRY IV I. The Early Years of Henry IV 107. The early part of Henry IV’s reign 266 Ekkehard, Chronicon universale^ ad an. 1057 sqq. : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, VI, 198 sqq. II. The Issue between the Pope and the Emperor in the Matter of Investiture 108. Conference at Chalons in regard to investitures . . .272 Suger (as above. No. 93), c. 9 III. Gregory VII's Conception of the Pope’s Preroga- tives 109. The Dictatus of Gregory VII 274 Gregorius VII, Registrum, Lib. ii, No. 55 a : Jaffe (Bib. rer. Ger., No. 43), II, 174 sqq., and in the convenient Menu- menta Germaniae Historica Selecta, ed. by Doeberl, III, p. 17 IV. Origin of the Troubles between Gregory VII and Henry IV no. Decree forbidding lay investitures 275 Ibid. Lib. vi, 5b, and vii, 14a: Jaffe, II, 332 and 398 sq.‘, Doeberl, III, 16 sq. [I am somewhat indebted here, as well as in the following numbers to 117 inclusive, to the translation in Henderson’s Select Historical Documents] III. Gregory’s letter upbraiding Henry for neglecting the papal decrees 276 Ibid. Lib. hi. No. 10: Jaffe, II, 218 sqq., and Doeberl, III, 18 sq. 1 1 2. Henry’s violent reply to Gregory 279 Mon. Ger. Hist., Leges, II, 47, and Doeberl, III, 24 sqq. V. Gregory’s Deposition of Henry IV. Henry’s Penance at Canossa 1 1 3. First deposition and excommunication of Henry IV . 281 Register of Gregory VII (as above, No. 109), Lib. iii. No, loa : Jaff6, H, 223 sq., and Doeberl, III, 26 1 14. Gregory’s account of Henry’s penance at Canossa . . 282 Ibid. Lib. iv. No. 12 : Jaff6, II, 256 sqq.^ and Doeberl, III, 33 ^ 9 ^- Contents and List of Citations xxi VI. The Pope explains the Supremacy of the Spiritual Power PAGE 1 1 5. Letter of Gregory to Bishop Hermann of Metz . . . 284 Contra illos qui stulte dicunt imperatorem excommunicari 7 ton posse a Romano pontifice^ Ibid. Lib. viii, No. 21 : Jaffe, II, 453 sqq.^ and Doeberl, III, 40 sqq. The whole letter may be found translated in Henderson’s Select Documents VII. The Formal Settlement of the Question of Inves- titure 1 16. A proposed plan to keep the clergy out of politics . . 290 Paschalis II privilegium pri'mae conventionis : Mon. Ger. Hist., Leges, H, 68 sq., and Doeberl, HI, 56 sqq. 1 17. Concordat of Worms 292 (a) Priviligium Calixti pape secundi: Mon. Ger. Hist., Leges, H, 75 sq.^ and Doeberl, 59 sq. (b) PrecepUim Henrici quarti [V] imperatoris^ Doeberl, HI, 60 sqq.^ as published in the Mittheilungen des Instituts fiir Oesterreichischen Geschichte, VI, 105 sqq. CHAPTER XIV — THE HOHENSTAUFEN EMPERORS AND THE POPES I. The German Cities begin to take a Hand in Politics 1 18. How Cologne fought Henry V 296 Chronica regia Coloniensis, ad an. 1114 and 1187: ed. by Waitz in Mon. Ger. Hist., octavo ed., pp. 53 sqq. and 136 1 19. Situation of the towns in the Netherlands 300 Reiner, Annales ad an. 1203 and 1212: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, XVI, 656 sq. and 664 II. Otto of Freising’s Account of the Italian Cities 120. Emperor Frederick’s letter to Otto of Freising . . . 302 Otto of Freising, Gesta Friderici (at opening) •. Mon. Ger. Hist., octavo ed., p. i 1 21. Otto’s description of the Lombard towns 303 Ibid. Lib. ii, cc. 13 and 13b : octavo ed., pp. 13 sqq. III. Struggle over the Throne between Philip and Otto 122. How the rivals, Philip and Otto, were elected .... 307 Chronica regia Coloniensis^ ad an. 1198 : octavo ed., 162 sqq. XXll Contents and List of Citations CHAPTER XV — THE CRUSADES I. Pope Urban’s Address at Clermont 123. Urban’s speech at Clermont 312 Robertus Monachus, Historia Iherosolytana^ Lib. i, cc. I sq. : Recueil des historiens des croisades, Historiens occidentaux, III, 727 sqq. The extract in note is from Fulcher of Chartres, Historia Iherosolytana^ Lib. i, c. 3: Ibid. p. 324; trans.by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 2 II. The First Crusade 124. Ekkehard on the opening of the First Crusade . . .316 Ekkehard (as above. No. 107), ad an. 1099: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, VI, 21 1 sqq. 125. Anna Comnena on the bad manners of the crusaders . 320 Michaud, Bibliotheque des croisades. III, 393 sq. III. Campaigns in Palestine, from the Letters of the Crusaders 126. Stephen of Blois to his wife 321 D’Achery, Spicilegium, 2d ed., Ill, 430 sq. ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 4 127. Godfrey of Bouillon and his companions to the pope . 325 Annales Sancti Disibodi (to wit, the monastery of Disen- berg near Mayence),ad an. 1100: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, XVII, 17 sq.\ trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 4 IV. St. Bernard and the Second Crusade 128. St. Bernard exhorts the people to take arms against the infidel 330 Epist. (No. 363), ad orientates Franciae clerum et popu- turn: Migne, CLXXXH, cols. 564 ; trans. by Eales, Life and Works of St. Bernard^ II, 906 sqq. 129. St. Bernard blamed for the outcome of the crusade . . 334 Gaufridus, Vita S. Bernardi Clarvallensis, Lib. iii, c. 2: Acta sanctorum, August, Vol. IV, 298 ; Migne, CLXXXV, cols. 308 sq. V. A Holy Pilgrim 130. The pilgrimage of Udalrich to Jerusalem 336 Vita prior S. U d air ici prior is Cellensis: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, XH, 252 Co7itents and List of Citations xxiii VI. Inducements offered to the Crusaders 131. Privileges granted by Eugenius III (1146) 337 Otto of Freising, Gesta Friderici^ Lib. i, c. 35: Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, XX, 371 ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. I, No. 2 132. Privileges granted by Innocent III (1215) 338 Mansi, Conciliorum collectio, XXII, 1057 VII. A Glimpse of the Court of the Eastern Emperor 133. Luitprand’s account of his reception in Constantinople . 340 Antapodosisj Lib. vi, cc. 5-9 : Mon. Ger. Hist., octavo ed. CHAPTER XVI — THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH AT ITS HEIGHT I. The Preeminence of the Church 134. The bull Unam Sanctam of Boniface VIII (1302) . . 346 Text based upon the papal register given by Mury, Revue des questions historiques, XL VI, 255 sq. II. The Seven Sacraments 135. An account of the seven sacraments by Eugenius IV (1438) 348 From the bull Exultate Deo^ Denzinger, Enchiridion sym- bolorum et definitionum, pp. 201 sqq. III. Tales illustrating the Miraculous Power of the Sacraments 136. Christ is seen in the hands of a priest 355 CiESAR OF Heisterbach, Dialogus miraculorum^ Dist. ix, c. 28 ; ed. by Strange, 2 vols., 1851, Vol. H, 186 ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. 4 137. Bees construct a church for the host 355 Anecdotes historiques^, Legendes et Apologues tires du Recueil medit d'’ Etienne de Bourbon ; ed. Lecoy de la Marche, 1877, No. 317, pp. 266 sq. (in the publications of the Soc. de I’hist. de Fr.) ; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. H, No. 4 138. Through confession a forgotten prayer is erased from the devil’s register 356 Stephen of Bourbon (as above, No. 137), No. 176, pp. 155 sq. xxiv Contents and List of Citations PAGE 139. The Virgin saves the reputation of an erring matron and monk 357 The Exempla of Jacques de Vitry ; ed. by T. F. Crane; pub. by the Folk Lore Society, 1890, No. cclxxxii, pp. 1 17 sqq.\ trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. 4 IV. The Privilege of Benefit of Clergy 140. How a clergyman might be saved from the gallows by reading a line 359 Philobiblon of Richard of Bury^ c. iv ; ed. and trans. by E. C. Thomas, 1889, pp. 173 sqq. V. How the Churches and Monasteries were Sup- ported 14 1. The revenue of a parish church 361 Bibliotheque de I’ecole des chartes, XXIV, 467 142. Manors given to the monastery of Zwifalt 362 Ortlieb, De fundatione monasterii ZwivildensiSy Lib. ii, c. 5 : Mon. Ger. Hist., Pertz, X, 74 sq. 143. The family of the monastery of Zwifalt 363 Ibid. Lib. ii, c. 9; Pertz, pp. 77 sq. VI. Tales illustrating the Mediaeval Attitude towards Heretics 144. The body of a burned heretic turns into toads . . . 364 Luke, bishop of Tuy, De altera vita, Lib. iii, c. 15: in Magna bibliotheca veterum patrum; ed. of 1688, XIII, 283 145. Two heretics work miracles with the deviPs aid . . . 365 CiESAR OF Heisterbach (as above. No. 136), Dist. v, c. 18, Vol. I, 269 sqq.) trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. 4 CHAPTER XVII — HERESY AND THE FRIARS I. Denunciations of the Evil Lives of the Clergy 146. The Revelation of Golias the Bis shoppe 371 The Latin poems attributed to Walter Mafes, ed. Thomas Wright (Camden Soc. Pub.), London, 1841, pp. 271 sqq. 147. WalthervonderVogelweide on the practices of the popes 375 Trans, by Lea, History of the Inquisition, Vol. I, Chap. I 148. A troubadour’s description of the abuses in the Church 375 Ibid. Contents and List of Citations XXV 11. Report of the Habits of the Norman Clergy page 149. Habits of the Norman Clergy in the Thirteenth Century 378 Eudes Rigaud, Regestrum visitationum archiepiscopi RothomagensiSy Rouen, 1847, 4to, pp. 35, 245, 305, and 159 III. The Waldensian and Albigensian Heretics 150. Waldo of Lyons 380 Ex chronico tiniversali anonymi Laudunensis^ s. a. 1173 : Mon. Ger. Hist, Pertz, XXVI, 447 sq. 1 51. Description of the Albigenses 381 Bernard of Gui, Pratica inquisitionis heretice pravitatis ; ed. Douais, Pars V, c. i, § 4 IV. The Efficacy of the Sacraments in Polluted Hands 152. The efficacy of the sacraments in the hands of bad priests 383 PiLCHDORFFius, Contra Waldenses, cc. xvi-xvii; in Max- ima bibliotheca patrum (1677), XXV, 281 sq. V. Attitude of the Civil Government toward Heretics 153. Provisions of laws of Frederick II concerning heretics . 385 Historia diplomatica Friderici secundi ; ed. Huilliard-Bre- holles. Tome IV, Pt. I, pp. 5 sq. VI. Life and Character of St. Francis 154. How St. Francis undertook his mission 387 Thomas of Celano, Vita prima^ Book I, cc. ii-iv : Acta sanctorum, October, Vol. II, pp. 685 sqq. 155. St Francis preaches to the birds 391 Ibid. c. vi, p. 669 156. The will of St. Francis 392 Acta sanctorum, October, Vol. II, pp. 663 sq.\ trans. in Sabatier, Life of St. Francis of Assisi, 337 ^ 9 ^' CHAPTER XVIII — THE PEOPLE IN COUNTRY AND TOWN I. The Manor and its People 157. Official description of a manor belonging to Peter- borough Abbey 399 Liber niger monasterii S. Petri de Burgo, in Chronicon Peterburgense, pp. 160 sq. (Camden Soc. Pub.) ; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. Ill, No. 5 xxvi Contents and List of Citations PAGE 158. A manor in Sussex 400 Custumals of Battle Abbey ^ pp. 17 sqq. (Camden Soc. Pub.) ; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. Ill, No. 5 159. Description of an English manor house ...... 404 Historical MSS. Commission Reports, 9, 1 , pp. 35 sq. ; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. Ill, No. 5 160. Freeing a serf 405 Dugdale, Monasticon, I, 394; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. Ill, No. 5 II. The Mediaeval Town 161. Customs of the town of Chester 406 Domesday Book^ I, 262, b: Stubbs, Select Charters, 83 sq.\ trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. i 162. Opening of charter granted to Lincoln 408 Rymer, Foedera, I, 40: Stubbs, Select Charters, 158 sq.\ trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. i 163. Charter granted to Chester 408 Gross, Gild Merchant^ II, 140; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. i 164. Articles of the spurriers of London 409 Riley, Memorials of London^ pp. 226 sqq. ; trans. by Cheyney, Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. i 165. Rules of the guild of white-tawyers 41 1 Ibid. pp. 232 sqq. III. The Hanseatic League 166. Otto II promises protection to the merchants of Mag- deburg (975) 412 Hansisches Urkundenbuch, ed. Hdhlbaum, Halle, 1876, I, I, No. I 167. Alliance between Munster, Dortmund, Soest, and Lippstadt (1253) 413 Ibid. I, 164 sq.^ No. 460 168. Agreement between London and Hansa towns (1282) . 414 Ibid. I, 308 sqq.., No. 902 IV. Knights, Burghers, and Farmers 169. Knights and burghers in the thirteenth century . . .416 Wolfram von Eschenbach, Wilhelm von Orange., mod- ern German version by San Mante, Halle, 1873 170. Farmer Helmbrecht 418 Wernher, Helmbrecht, HaupPs Zeitschrift fiir deutsches Alterthum, IV ; Freitag’s version translated by G. L. Burr and privately printed Contents a7id List of Citations xxvii V. Maltreatment of the Jews 17 1. Expulsion of the Jews from France 426 Rigord (as above, No. 94), cc. 6, 12, 13, 15, and 16 CHAPTER XIX — THE CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES I. The Development of Modern Languages 172. An example of Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (as above, No. 98), ad an. 1068 173. English of the thirteenth century The Story of Genesis and Exodus: an early English song {ca. A.D. 1250), ed. by Morris (Early Eng. Text Soc.) 174. Comparison of the various stages in the development of French 433 Histoire de la langue et litterature fran^aise^ publiee sous la direction de Petit de Julleville, I, Ixxvii 175. A few lines of Proven9al 434 From a metrical romance, Flameyica^ written in the first half of the thirteenth century; Langlois, La Societ'e fran^aise au \y.eme silcle^ P* ^57 176. The ideals of the troubadours 434 Smith, J. H., The Troubadours at Home^ I, 150 sq. 177. A troubadour’s song by Arnault de Maruelh .... 435 Ibid. I, 169 sq. 178. The troubadours’ creed, from Sordel 436 Ibid. I, 269 sq. 179. A song by Vidal 436 Ibid. I, 302 180. A song by Bernard de Ventadorn 437 Ibid. II, 162 18 1. A song by Walther von der Vogelweide 437 Lays of the Minnesingers ; ed. by Edg. Taylor, London, 1825, pp. 204 sq. TL Mediaeval Natural Science 182. Extracts from Alexander of Neckam 439 De naturis rerum., Lib. i, cc. 23 and 78; Lib. ii, c. 98; ed. by Thomas Wright (Rolls Series), pp. 71, 122 jy., and 183 183. Mediaeval ideas of the earth and stars 441 Popular Treatises on Science written during the Middle Ages in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English ; ed. by Thomas Wright, London, 1841 xxviii Contents and List of Citations PAGE 184. The pelican and its habits 442 Ibid. pp. 1 15 sq, 185. Of fauns, Cyclops, etc 443 Bartholomew Anglicus, De proprietatibus rerum^ as selected and modernized by Steele, Mediceval Lore^ London, 1893, PP* ^34 HI. Historical Knowledge in the Middle Ages 186. How the Merovingian kings sprang from the Trojans . 445 Rigord (as above, No. 94) IV. Abelard and the Universities 187. Abelard’s popularity as a teacher 447 McCabe, Abelard^ New York, 1901, 82 sq. 188. Abelard’s autobiography 447 Abaelardus, P., Opera; ed. V. Cousin, Paris, 1849-1859, 2 vols. ; Vol. I (first letter) 189. Abelard’s Yea and Nay 450 Petrus Abelardus Sic et Non; ed. Henke et Lindenkohl, Marburg, 1851. (Not complete as given in Cousin’s Opera inedita of Abelard) 190. Privileges granted to students by Frederick Barbarossa 452 Habita of Frederick I: Mon. Ger. Hist., Leges, II, 114; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. H, No. 3 1 91. The system of lecturing at Paris 453 McCabe (as above. No. 187), 79 sq. 192. Student life at Paris 454 Jacques de Vitry, Historia occidentalis, Lib. ii, c. 7; trans. by Munro in Tr. and Rp. Vol. II, No. 3 V. Supremacy of Aristotle in the Mediaeval Univer- sities. Scholasticism 193. Averroes on Aristotle’s greatness 456 Averroes, introduction to his edition of Aristotle’s Physics 194. Aquinas and his work 458 Rashdall, History of the Mediceval Universities^ I, 365 and 367 VI. Roger Bacon and the Beginning of Modern Experi- mental Science 195. Roger Bacon’s eulogy of Peter of Maricourt .... 460 Opus Tertium., c. cxiii : Opera quaedam hactenus inedita; ed. by Brewer in the Rolls Series, 1859, pp. 46 sq. Contents and List of Citations XXIX PAGE 196. Bacon prophesies marvelous progress in science . . . 461 Epistola fratris Rogerii Baconis de secretis operibus artis et naturae^ et de nullitate magiae ; Brewer’s ed., 523 sqq. CHAPTER XX — THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR I. Froissart’s Account of the Battle of Crecy 197. The great battle between the French and the English . 466 Froissart, Chroniques^ cc. 128 sqq.; trans. based upon that of Lord Berners — made in the time of Henry VIII — given in the Globe ed. of Tbe Chrojticles of Froissart^ ed. by G. C. Macaulay, pp. 102 sqq. 11. How King John of France was captured at Poitiers 198. The capture of King John 470 Ibid. cc. 164 and 168 ; Globe ed., pp. 128 sq. and 131 III. Devastation wrought by the Hundred Years’ War 199. Sack of Limoges (1370) 472 Froissart (as above. No. 197), c. 283; Globe ed., p. 201 200. How the count of Arundel burned a town 474 (a) Denifle, La desolation des eglises, monastlres et hbpi- taux en France^ 1897, I, 27, No. 95. (b) Ibid. I, 275, No. 600 201. Conditions in the time of Charles VII 474 Thomas Basin, Histoire de Charles VII et de Louis Xf in Denifle, op. cit. I, 514 sq., No. 999 IV. The Vision of Piers the Plowman 202. Extracts from Piers Plowman 475 Langland, Vision of Piers Plowman, passus vi, v, vii; done into modern English by Miss Kate M. Warren, Lon- don, 1899 V. Charles the Bold of Burgundy and the Swiss 203. Charles the Bold and the Swiss 477 Philip de Commines, Memoires, Liv. vi, c. 12, and Liv. v, c. 2 ; trans. in Bohn Library, II, 84 sq., I, 303 sqq., and 31 1 sq. VI. Louis XI of France 204. Character and troublous death of Louis XI .... 481 Ibid. Liv. vi, c, 12, and c. n j Bohn trans. II, 80 sq., 70 sq., and 75 sqq. XXX Contents and List of Citations CHAPTER XXI — THE POPES AND THE COUNCILS I. Might the Civil Government tax the Church Prop- erty ? PAGE 205. The bull Clericis Laicos 488 Rymer’s Foedera (ed. of 1727), II, 706 sq. II. Marsiglio of Padua and his Defender of Peace 206. Analysis of the Defensor pads 491 Defensor pads, Lib. iii and Lib. ii, c. 16 (end), in Goldast, Monarchia Romani imperii, etc., 161 1-1614, Tom. II III. Wycliffe’s Attack on Pope and Clergy 207. Wycliffe on the evil state of the clergy 497 Select English Works of John Wycliffe; ed. by Thomas Arnold, Clarendon Press, 1869-1871, 3 vols. ; I, 208 sq.\ II, 30 sq. 208. Wycliffe on auricular confession, etc 499 Ibid. II, 87 sq. and 169 sq. 209. Statement of the views of Wycliffe’s followers . . . 500 Ibid. II, 457 sqq. IV. The Popes at Avignon. Origin of the Great Schism 210. Letter of Petrarch’s describing the papal court at Avignon 502 Petrarcha Opera omnia, Basel, 1581, — “ Epistolae sine titulo,” V 21 1. Beginning of the schism in holy Church 504 Froissart (as above. No. 197), cc. 326 sq.'. Globe ed., 207 sqq. 212. Nicholas of Clamanges on the three chief vices in the Church 508 Von der Hardt, Magnum Constantiense concilium, I, Pt. Ill, pp. 7 and 88 213. How corruption spread from the prelates to the lower clergy 510 Dietrich Vrie, Ibid. Tom. I, pp. 104 sq. V. The Council of Constance 214. The decree Sacrosancta 5 ^^ Von der Hardt (as above. No. 212), Tom. IV, p. 98 215. The decree Frequens 512 Ibid. Tom. IV, p. 98 (1436) 216. List of abuses discussed at Constance 5^3 Ibid. Tom. IV (1452) Contents arid List of Citations XXXI CHAPTER XXII — THE ITALIAN CITIES AND THE RENAISSANCE I. The Italian Despots 217. Machiavelli’s advice to despots 516 II Principe^ cc. 13, 15, 17; trans., among other places, in Morley’s Universal Library II. Humanism 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. 224. 225. Dante and the great writers of Greece and Rome . . 520 Divine Comedy^ canto iv (close) : trans. by C. E. Norton Dante’s defense of Italian 522 Convito, Lib. i, c. n ; ed. by Moore ; trans. (badly) in Morley’s Universal Library ; better by Miss Katharine Hillard Dante’s account of his sad life 524 Ibid. Lib. i, c. 3 Petrarch’s description of himself Epistola ad poster os: Epistolae de rebus familiaribus et variae ; ed. by Fracassetti, Vol. I; trans. in Robinson AND Rolfe, Petrarch^ 59 sqq. and 63 Petrarch’s wide reputation 526 Ibid. Ep. Fam.., Lib. xiii, 7 : Robinson and Rolfe, 165 sq. Petrarch copies a work of Cicero 527 Ibid. Ep. Fam.y Lib. xviii, 12 : Robinson and Rolfe, 275 sqq. Founding of the Vatican Library by Nicholas V . . . 529 Vespasiano, Vite di uo 77 tini illustri del secolo XV, Life of Nicholas V, cc. 25 sq. ; trans. by Whitcomb, Literary Source-Book of the Italian Renaissance How Cosimo de’ Medici founded a library 530 Ibid. Life of Cosimo, cc. 12 sqq. HI. The Artists of the Renaissance 226. Cellini and the art-loving pope, Clement VII . . . . 532 Vita da lui medisimo scritta, Lib. i, cc. 43 sq. and 5 1 ; trans. by Thos. Nugent, 2 vols., 1812 ; also by Symonds, Roscoe, and others 227. Remarkable versatility of Leonardo da Vinci .... 535 Vasari Vite dd piu eccelenti pittore, etc. ; trans. by Mrs. Fos- ter, Bohn Library, II, 366 sqq. 228. Kindly disposition of Raphael 536 Ibid. Ill, 61 sq. 229. Michael Angelo and the popes : his character and aims 537 Ibid. V, 253, 257 sq., 293, 312 sq., and 335 230. Michael Angelo’s fiery impetuosity 541 ViGNERO, as quoted by Mrs. Foster, V, 242, note. READINGS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY CHAPTER I THE HISTORICAL POINT OF VIEW It is clear that all our information in regard to past events and conditions must be derived from evidence of some kind. This evidence is called the source. Some- times there are a number of good and reliable sources for an event, as, for example, for the decapitation of Charles I, or for the march of Napoleon into Russia. Sometimes there is but a single, unreliable source, as, for instance, in the case of the burial of Alaric in a river bed.^ For a great many important matters about which we should like to know there are, unfortunately, no written sources at all, and we can only guess how things were. For example, we do not know what the Germans were doing before Caesar came into contact with them and took the trouble to give a brief account of them. We can learn but little about the bishops of Rome before the time of Constantine, for few references to them have come down to us. Few, however, of those who read and study history ever come in contact with the primary^ or first-hand Primary or original historical sources. Secondary sources. ^ See below, 43. 2 Readings in European History Historical manuals usually con- tain third- hand infor- mation, or worse. Repetition the enemy of accuracy. sources ; they get their information at second hand. It is much more convenient to read what Gibbon has to say of Constantine than to refer to Eusebius, Eutropius, and other ancient writers from whom he gained his knowledge. Moreover, Gibbon carefully studied and com- pared all the primary sources, and it may be urged that he has given a truer, fuller, and more attractive account of the period than can be found in any one of them. His Decline and Fall of the Roman Eptpire is certainly a work of the highest rank; but, nevertheless, it is only a report of others’ reports. It is therefore not a primary but a secondary source. Most of the historical knowledge current among us is not, however, derived from even secondary sources, such as Gibbon and similar authoritative writers, but comes from the reading of text-books, encyclopedias, stories, dramas, and magazine articles. Popular manuals and articles are commonly written by those who know little or nothing of the primary sources ; they are conse- quently at least third hand, even when based upon the best secondary accounts. As a matter of fact, they are usually patched together from older manuals and articles, and may be four, five, or six removes from the original source of knowledge. It is well known that the often er a report passes from mouth to mouth the less trustworthy and accurate does it tend to become. Unimportant details which appeal to the imagination will be magnified, while fundamental considerations are easily forgotten, if they happen to be prosaic and commonplace. Historians, like other men, are sometimes fond of good stories and may be led astray by some false rumor which, once started into The Historical Point of View 3 circulation, gets farther and farther from the truth with each repetition. For example, a distinguished historian of the Church, Cardinal Baronius, writing about 1600, made the state- ment, upon very insufficient evidence, that, as the year 1000 approached, the people of Europe generally believed that the world was about to come to an end. Robertson, a very popular Scotch historian of the eighteenth cen- tury, repeated the statement and went on to describe the terrible panic which seized upon sinful men as the awful year drew on. Succeeding writers, including some very distinguished ones, accepted and even elaborated Rob- ertson's account. About thirty years ago, however, a French scholar pointed out that there was really no ade- quate basis for this strange tale. To the chroniclers of the time the year 1 000 was clearly no more portentous than 997 or 1003. This story of the panic, which passed current as historical fact for some three hundred years, offers an excellent illustration of the danger of relying upon secondary sources.^ One of the first questions then to ask upon taking up an historical work is. Where did the writer obtain his information t Has he simply copied his statements from the more easily accessible works in his own lan- guage, however unreliable and out of date they may be ; or has he, dissatisfied with such uncertain sources, famil- iarized himself with the most recent researches of the distinguished scholars in his field, in whatever language they may have been written ; or, still better, has he him- self made a personal study of the original evidence which 1 See an interesting account of this matter by Professor George L. Burr in The American Historical Review^ Vol. VI, pp. 429 sqq. Sad example of the myth- ical panic of the year 1000. The impor- tance of the question, Where did the writer obtain his information! 4 Readings in European History Advantages of making some use of the primary sources in teaching and studying history. has come down to us of the events and conditions which he discusses ? For example, a little book or essay on Charlemagne might be written after reading Hodgkin’s Charles the Great, West’s Alenin, and one or two other easily acces- sible books on the subject. On the other hand, the writer might turn to the great French and German treatises on Charlemagne’s reign and acquaint himself with all the articles which have appeared on the subject in histori- cal magazines or in the transactions of learned societies. Every conscientious historian would wish, however, to go still farther and see the evidence with his own eyes and draw his own conclusions. He would turn to the sources themselves and carefully read the Annals of the Monastery of Lorsch, the life of Charlemagne by his secretary, Einhard, and the so-called Annals of Einhard. He would also scrutinize all the numerous laws passed in Charlemagne’s reign and consult all the writers of the time who refer to the emperor or to public events. In this way he would master all that the past has handed down to us upon this subject and would know all that is to be known about the matter. The most reliable his- torian, therefore, is one who examines the sources for himself, but who at the same time takes advantage of the suggestions, criticisms, and explanations which have been made by other scholars who have also studied the original documents. No improvement in the methods of historical instruc- tion in our high schools and colleges bids fair to produce better results than the plan of bringing the student into contact with the first-hand accounts of events, or, as they are technically termed, the primary sources. The Historical Point of View S This term may perhaps call up in the minds of some the vision of a solitary stoop-shouldered, spectacled en- thusiast, engaged in painfully deciphering obscure Latin abbreviations on yellow parchment. But it is a mis- take to conclude that the primary sources are always difficult to get at, dull, and hard to read. On the con- trary, they are sometimes ready to hand, and are often more vivid and entertaining than even the most striking descriptions by the pen of gifted writers like Gibbon or Macaulay. The best secondary authorities stand to the sources somewhat as the description of a work of art or of a masterpiece of literature stands to the original. Just as we cannot afford to ignore the picture itself, or the great poem or drama, and confine ourselves to some one else's account of it, so in our historical work we ought to grasp every opportunity of examining for ourselves the foundations upon which history rests. It may, of course, be urged that the trained historian, after acquainting himself with the men and the circum- stances of a particular period, can make better use of the sources than any relatively unskilled student. But, admit- ting the force of this argument, there is, nevertheless, so much to be learned from a study of the original accounts that cannot be reproduced by the most skilled hand, that no earnest student or reader should content himself with second-hand descriptions when primary sources are available. The sources are unconsciously molded by the spirit of the time in which they were written. Every line gives some hint of the period in which the author lived and makes an impression upon us which volumes of Vividness of the primary sources. . 6 Readings in European History A study of the sources cultivates judgment and fair- mindedness. second-hand accounts can never produce. The mere information, too, comes to us in a form which we do not easily forget. The facts sink into our memory. One who actually talked with Attila, or who witnessed the capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders, is clearly more likely to excite our interest than a writer of our own day, however much he may know of the king of the Huns or of the first crusade. It makes no great impression upon us to be told that the scholars of Dante’s time had begun to be interested once more in the ancient learning of the Greeks and Romans ; but no one can for- get Dante’s own poetic account of his kindly reception in the lower regions by the august representatives of pagan literature, — Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan, — people “with eyes slow and grave, of great authority in their looks,” who “spake seldom and with soft voices.” Moreover, the study of the sources enables us to some extent to form our own opinions of the past, so that we need not rely entirely upon mere manuals, which are always one, and generally two or three, removes from the sources themselves. When we get at the sources themselves we no longer merely read and memorize; we begin to consider what may be safely inferred from the statements before us and so develop the all-important faculty of criticism. We are not simply accumulating facts but are attempting to determine their true nature and meaning. The power to do this is not alone necessary to schol- arly work; it is of the utmost importance as well in deal- ing with the affairs of everyday life. To take a single illustration : one cannot fail to see from a study of the sources that Luther was exceedingly unfair to his The Historical Point of View 7 enemies and ascribed their conduct to evil motives when they were acting quite consistently and according to what they considered the truth. His opponents, on the other hand, treated him with equal unfairness and pro- claimed him a wicked and profligate man because he refused to accept their views. We meet precisely the same unfairness nowadays, as, for instance, in the case of a municipal election, where each party speaks only evil of the other. It is, however, not so hard to look impartially at the motives and con- duct of men who lived long ago as it is to be fair-minded in matters which interest us personally very deeply. By cultivating sympathy and impartiality in dealing with the past we may hope to reach a point where we can view the present coolly and temperately. In this way really thoughtful, historical study serves to develop the very fundamental virtues of sympathy, fairness, and caution in forming our judgments.^ Even as lately as a hundred years ago the path to the sources of European history was still a thorny one. The manuscripts of historical importance were often scattered about in innumerable small collections, chiefly in the monasteries. The documents were stacked up in dark rooms, damp cellars, and dusty garrets. They were often carelessly transcribed, full of blunders, and illegible except to those specially versed in the art of deciphering ancient handwriting. There were usually no catalogues and nothing to guide the investigator to the material of which 1 A fuller discussion of this matter will be found in the excellent introduction to Historical Sources in Schools (a report drawn up by Professor C. D. Hazen and others for the New England Teachers Association), The Macmillan Company, 1902, 60 cents. Former difficulties in the way of using manuscript sources. 8 Readings in European History Amenities of modern historical investigation. How the sources have been printed in convenient collections. Progress during the nineteenth century. The Monumenta Germaniae Historica. he was in search. He was forced to travel from place to place and turn over masses of worthless or irrelevant matter in the uncertain quest for the little which might be useful to him. But all this is changed. The scholar may now sit at a convenient desk in a comfortable, well-lighted library ; he has a clearly printed book before him, the text of which has been established by a comparison of all the known manuscripts of the work in question. These have been collated by an expert ; errors have been elimi- nated, and difficult passages annotated. The work has been carefully analyzed and supplied with an index, so that one may discover in a few moments just those paragraphs which have to do with the subject in hand. The task of rendering the sources available has been a long and painful one, and has been going on for three or four hundred years. As early as the sixteenth cen- tury scholars began to bring together the mediaeval chronicles and print them in convenient collections. In the time of Louis XIV a group of Benedictine monks in France won new distinction for their ancient order by publishing several admirable series and by preparing treatises to facilitate historical research. The nineteenth century witnessed a development of the critical scientific spirit which has made it necessary to reprint many sources that had appeared previously in a defective form. Moreover, thousands of volumes of precious material hitherto available only in manuscript have been added to our resources. The most notable of the many collections is that which has been in course of publication in Germany since 1826, — the Monimtcnta Germaniae Historica, Begun under The Historical Pomt of View 9 the auspices of an historical society, it was, upon the death of Pertz, the original editor, placed under the super- vision of a government commission (1875). The volumes published since that date have established a standard of the highest excellence.^ In England many volumes of historical material have been issued since 1858 under the direction of the Master of the Rolls, and constitute the so-called “ Rolls Series.’' France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, and other European countries have each their series, great and small. Some of these enjoy the support of the government, but the greater part of them are due to the enterprise of his- torical societies or individual scholars.^ So rapidly are the sources being printed that it is no longer necessary in most fields of historical research to rely, as formerly, upon the manuscripts in the European libraries and archives. Some, at least, of our very best university and public libraries now contain many of the great collections of printed sources, and it is possible to carry on satisfactory historical research in some fields in Boston or New York as well as in London or Paris.^ It would be useless to enumerate the names of these many series, even of the very important ones, for it is impossible to infer from the general title of an exten- sive set what particular works and documents it con- tains. Moreover, the modern publication, investigation. Research in European history can now be carried on in the great libraries of the United States. Examples of the modem apparatus for histori- cal research 1 For a description of the Monumenta see below, pp. 262 sq. 2 See Bourne, The Teaching of History, Chapter II, for a brief account of the enterprises in this field. A fuller account is given by Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen, “ Einleitung,” pp. 1-40. ^ The chief collections of material, whether in the original languages or in English translation, will be found mentioned in the bibliographies given below at the close of the chapters. lO Readings in European History Bibliogra- phies of sources. Potthast’s Wegweiser. Bibliogra- phies for particular countries. and criticism of the sources have led to the preparation of a number of indispensable works of reference which do not aim to deal directly with history but to serve as a guide to those in search of the material upon which the historian must rely. A very few of the most noteworthy will be mentioned here as illustrations of the apparatus necessary in all professional historical study. To learn what the sources are and where they may be found is the first requisite of historical investigation. A French writer, Langlois, has published a very useful bibliography of historical bibliographies,^ — a catalogue of the best lists of sources and of historical treatises. Such lists are very numerous and often voluminous. The most useful and scholarly is Potthast’s Wegweiser^ or ‘‘guide,” in two stout volumes.^ The compiler has, with infinite patience, sought to bring together in an alphabetical list the sources for the history of western Europe from the year 400 to 1500, and to state when and where they have been printed. One anxious to learn whether there has been a new critical edition of a partic- ular chronicle, or whether there are any lives of St. Boni face, or Gregory VII, or Frederick Barbarossa, written by those who lived in their times, can obtain the desired information from Potthast, as well as a list of modern works relating to the topic under consideration. Admirable guides exist for the study of particular coun- tries. German scholars have compiled a list ^ of all the 1 Langlois, Manuel de bibliographie historique^ Part I, “ Instruments bibliographiques,” 2d ed., Paris, 1901, 4 fr. 2 Wegweiser durch die Geschichtswerke des Europdischen Mtttel- alters bis igoo, 2 vols., 2d ed., Berlin, 1895-1896, M. 26.50. 3 Dahlmann-Waitz, Quellenkunde der deutschen Geschichte^ 6th ed., Gottingen, 1894, M. 12. TIlc Historical Point of View 1 1 important books and articles relating to the history of their own country from the time of Tacitus to the present day. A still better and more extensive work by Molinier and others is in course of publication for the history of France.^ Of course the history both of France and of Germany is so closely associated with that of other European countries that the above-mentioned guides are very valuable for the student of general Euro- pean affairs. A similar collection of titles has been prepared by Professor Charles Gross for England.^ After discovering the sources it is essential to deter- mine their character and reliability. There are special treatises upon this important subject.^ The best and most generally useful is perhaps Wattenbach’s Histori- cal Sources for Germany during the Middle Ages,^ in which the various writers and their works are thoroughly discussed. Molinier gives many useful hints in his great bibliography referred to above. A discussion of the his- torical writers of the Middle Ages is given in Early Chroniclers of Europe.^ I know of no other work of the kind available in English except that of Flint, who, in ^ his interesting History of the Philosophy of History^ 1 Les sources de Vhistoire de France^ des origines aux guerres d'^Italie (14^4); — to be continued to 1815 — 5 vols., Paris, 1901 s^^., 5 fr. a volume. 2 Sources of English History Longmans, 1901, ^5.00. ^ For brief accounts of the results of modern criticism of the sources see the Introduction to Henderson’s History of Germany in the Middle Ages, and Bury’s Introduction to his edition of Gibbon, pp. 45 s^^. ^ Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter bis zur Mitte des igten fahrhundert, 2 vols., 6th ed., 1893-1894, M. 20. (Vol. I of a 7th edition appeared in 1904.) ^ England by Gairdner, France by Masson, and Italy by Balzani. I Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 3 vols., London, 1883-1888. ® Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1894, ^4.00. : Criticism of the sources. 12 Readings in European History Methods of historical research ; Bernheim’s manual. Du Cange’s Dictionary of Mediaeval Latin. Giry’s Manual of Diplomatics. takes up in turn the writers dealing with France, espe- cially in modern times. Bury, in the appendices which he has added to his edition of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire^ mentions and criticises briefly many sources. Indeed, it is not at all uncommon in modern scientiflc histories to And similar discussions. By far the most important treatise upon the use of the sources and the methods of historical investigation is that of Bernheim.i Every one proposing to devote himself to historical research should be thoroughly familiar with this remarkable work. No other single volume contains such a wealth of valuable information in regard to almost all branches of knowledge which directly concern the historical student. Suggestive, but far less exhaustive than Bernheim’s manual, is the Int 7 ^oduction to the Study of History by Langlois and Seignobos.^ For an explanation of the many troublesome terms and expressions used in mediaeval writings one should turn to the monumental Dictionary of Mediaeval Latin originally compiled by Du Cange and first issued in 1678.’^ In successive editions, later scholars have added many terms which Du Cange overlooked, but one is still often disappointed not to And words he would like to have explained. For all matters relating to public and private docu- ments, decrees, papal bulls, methods of dating, etc.^ 1 Lehrbiich der historische 7 i Methode imd der Geschichtsphilosophie^ mit Nachweis der wichtigsten Qiielleii und Hilfsmittel zum Studhim der Geschichte^ 3d and 4th eds., Leipzig, 1903, M. 17. 2 New York, Henry Holt, ^2.25. The French original, however, costs but 3 fr. ^ Glossarium mediae et infi 7 nae latuiitatis^ 7 vols., Paris, 1840-1850. This edition, which may be had for about ^40, is preferable to a more recent reprint which appeared 1883-1887. The Historical Point of View i 3 Giry’s Manual of Diplomatics^ is the most useful modern work. Of the historical atlases the most generally used is Historical that edited by Droysen/'^ but Schrader’s^ is excellent and contains a number of important special maps and plans as well as an index. A truly admirable and very inex- pensive collection of historical maps may be found in Putzger’s cheap and unassuming Historical School Atlas.^ This is in many ways as useful as Droysen, and in some respects actually superior to the more elaborate work. While but few of the aids to historical research are here given, those mentioned are of the utmost impor- tance by reason of the range and accuracy of the informa- tion which they furnish and of the ease with which they can be consulted. No really advanced work in history can be carried on without their aid. Many other useful works of the same class may be found in the lists given by Bernheim in the manual spoken of above. 1 Manuel de diplomatique^ Paris, 1894, 20 fr. 2 Allgenieiner historischer Ha 7 idatlas^ mit erlauterndem Text, Leipzig, M. 25. 3 Atlas de geographie historique^ sous la direction de F. Schrader, Paris, Hachette, 35 fr. The only really adequate atlas in English is the Historical Atlas of Modern Europe^ edited by R. L. Poole (Clarendon Press, $38.50), which is unfortunately far more expensive than the equally satisfactory German and French works of the same class. 4 Putzger’s Historischer Schul-Atlas, edited by Baldamus and Schwabe. An American edition of this may be had, accompanied by an English translation of the German forms of the geographical names. New York, Lemcke and Buchner, $1.00. A new school Atlas of European History^ edited by Professor Dow, is announced by Henry Holt. CHAPTER II 1. Seneca on Gftd’s gifts to man. / WESTERN EUROPE BEFORE THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS I. Some Resemblances between Thoughtful Paganism AND Christianity The philosopher and statesman, Seneca (d. a.d. 65), who lived in the time of Nero, in his little book on Benefits speaks thus of the bounty of God : Doth not God bestow all benefits upon us ? From whence then hast thou all those things whereof thou art possessed } which thou givest ? which thou deniest ? which thou keep- est? which thou takest unjustly? From whence come the infiniteness of things that delight the eye, affect the ear, and please the understanding? . . . From whence have we so many trees, bearing sundry sorts of savory fruit, so many wholesome herbs, for the maintenance of our health, such variety of meats, strong for all seasons through the whole year, so that an idle sluggard may pick up without effort sufficient sustenance upon the earth to feed and nourish him ? . . . If a man should give thee money, and fill thy coffer (for that seemeth a great thing in thy sight) thou wouldst term it a benefit. And thinkest thou it no favor, that God hath hidden so many metals in the earth, spread so many rivers on the sands, which floating, discover ingots of massy gold, silver, brass, and iron, which he hath hidden everywhere ; that he hath given thee means and knowledge to find it out, by setting marks of his covert riches on the upper face of the earth ? If a man should give thee a house enriched with marble pillars, if the cover thereof were re- splendent, and painted with gold and goodly colors, thou 14 Vestcrn Europe befo7'e the Barba7nan Invasions i 5 St highly esteem this present of his : God hath builded great palace, without any danger or fear of falling o^n, wherein thou seest not little pieces, smaller than the chisel itself wherewith they were carved, but entire huge masses of precious stone, all fastened and fashioned after divers manners, the least piece whereof maketh thee wonder at the beauty of the same : the roof whereof shineth after one sort by day and after another by night : and wilt thou then deny that thou hast received any benefit at all ? . . . It is Nature, saith one, that communicateth and giveth me all these things. But understandest thou not that in speaking after this manner, thou only changest the name of God ? For what else is Nature but God, a divine being and reason, which by his searching assistance resideth in the world, and all the parts thereof ? . . . To bestow a favor in hope to receive another, is a con- Seneca on un- temptible and base usury. How badly soever thy former selfish ‘giving favors have fallen out, yet persevere thou in bestowing others. They are best hoarded in the hands of the ungrateful, whom either shame, or occasion, or imitation, may at length fashion to be grateful. Persevere continually, and cease not to be bountiful : accomplish that good work which thou hast begun, and perform the duty of a good man. Relieve this man with thy goods, another with thy credit; that man by thy favor, this with thy good counsels and wholesome precepts. Some idea of the resemblance betvireen the beliefs of 2. Epictetus, the Stoics and those of the Christians may be obtained from the teachings of Epictetus, a slave who for many years belonged to a member of Nero's. household. By some whim of his master’s, Epictetus was given a good education, and after his master’s death he taught phi- losophy at Rome. He himself wrote nothing, but a devoted pupil of his — Arrian — has left us a conscien- tious account of his teachings, which represent the most elevated form of stoicism. Attitude of the Stoics toward the evils of life. Like the Christians, Epictetus held that all men were brothers, for all were God’s chil- dren. 1 6 Readings in European history The attitude of the Stoic towards the evils of clearly expressed in the following passage : When you are going in to any great personage, remember that another also from above sees what is going on, and that you ought to please him above all others. He then who sees from above asks you : In the schools what used you to say about exile, and bonds, and death, and disgrace.^ I used to say that they are things indifferent (neither good nor bad). What then do you say of them now ? Are they changed at all ? No. Are you changed then 1 No. Tell me then what things are indifferent? The things which are independent of the will. Tell me, also, what follows from this. The things which are independent of the will are nothing to me. Tell me also about the Good ; what did you hold it to be ? A will such as we ought to have and also a right use of things about us. And our aim, what is it ? To follow thee. Do you say this now also ? I say the same now also. Then go in to the great personage boldly and remember these things ; and you will see what a youth is who has studied these things when he is among men who have not studied them. . . . If the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do than what Socrates did ? Never say, in reply to the question. To what country do you belong? that you are an Athenian, or a Corinthian, but that you are a citizen of the world. . . . He who hgs observed with intelligence the administration of the world, and has learned that the great- est and the supreme and the most comprehensive community is that which is composed of men and God, . . . why should not such a man call himself a citizen of the world, why not a son of God, and why should he be afraid of anything which happens among men ? Is kinship with the emp^dr or with any other of the powerful in Rome sufficient to enable us to live in safety, and above contempt and without any fear ?t all ? But to have God for your maker, and father, and guard- ian, shall not this release us from our sorrows and fears? Western before the Barbarian Invasions 17 The Thoicghts of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, a • collection of notes which he made for his own private use, is one of the most famous and stimulating books which Roman writers have handed down to us. It is easily obtainable and every one should possess a copy. A single extract will serve to illustrate its character : 3. The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. These are so by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature of the good, that it is beautiful, and of the bad, that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, that he is akin to me, only of the same blood and origin, but that he partici^ in the same intelligence and the same portion of the di I can neither be injured by any of those I meet, for no can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kins- man, nor hate him. For we are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away. . . . If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldest be bound to give it back immedi- ately ; if thou boldest to this, expecting nothing, fearing noth- ing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this. It should not be forgotten, however, that there were a great many fundamental differences between the pagan religions and Christianity. These have been admirably stated by Mr. Lecky in his well-known History of European Morals. i8 Readings in European 4. Important contrasts between Christianity and the pagan religions. The chief objects of Pagan religions were to foretell the future, to explain the universe, to avert calamity, to obtain the assistance of the gods. They contained no instruments of moral teaching analogous to our institution of preaching, or to the moral preparation for the reception of the sacra- ment, or to confession, or to the reading of the Bible, or to religious education, or to united prayer for spiritual benefits. To make men virtuous was no more the function of the priest than of the physician. On the other hand, the philosophic expositions of duty [such as those given above] were wholly unconnected with the religious ceremonies of the temple. The high moral teachings of the philosophers, like eca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, had doubtless n brought to the attention of a considerable number educated people through the discussions of the rhetori- cians. Some sects, like the Pythagoreans, recommended religious ceremonies for the purpose of purifying the mind, and among the Oriental religions (such as the worship of Mithras), which were introduced at Rome under the Empire, certain rites were to be found which closely resembled those of the Christians. Moral teach- ing the duty of the Christian priest. But it was the distinguishing characteristic of Christianity that its moral influence was not indirect, casual, remote, or spasmodic. U nlike all Pag a n relig io ns, it ma^le jnnr al te aching a main function of its clergy, mor?l l eading oh]pr.t of its services, mo^ral dispositju iis-theua^ces- s ary cond i gn oJ the dije ppjJnrm ance of i tsrites. By the pulpit, by Its ceremonies, by all the agencies oEpower it pos- sessed, it laboured systematically and perseveringly for the regeneration of mankind. Under its influence, doctrines concerning the nature of God, the immortality of the soul, and the duties of man, which the noblest intellects of antiq- uity could barely grasp, have become the truisms of the village school, the proverbs of the cottage and of the alley. Western Europe before the Barbariarv Invasions 19 II. The Early Conception op a Catholic ( i.E. Universal) Church It was not unnatural that differences of opinion should develop among the early Christians in regard to particu- lar religious beliefs and practices. This led to the forma- tion of sects similar to the various denominations which exist in Protestant lands to-day. This want of agreement seemed a terrible thing to those who felt that there could be but one true faith handed down from Christ through the apostles, and consequently one Catholic or Universal Church outside of which there could be no salvation. They accordingly denounced all who departed from%the generally accepted (i.e. orthodox) beliefs as heretics who were destroying the unity of the Church by their perversity. This conception of one all-embracing Church to which all should be forced to belong was accepted by the Roman emperors after Constantine, and prevailed all through the Middle Ages. It was earlier clearly set forth by Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who died in 258.^ The old enemy of mankind was vanquished and overcome at the advent of Christ’s kingdom. He saw his idols for- saken and his fanes and temples deserted for the altars of Christ ; so he devised new wiles by which he might deceive the unwary Christian under the very name of Christianity itself. He invented heresies and schisms ; and by these he hath overthrown the faith, corrupted the truth, and broken the unity of the Church. Those whom he cannot keep back in the darkness of the old way, he entraps and deceives by error in the new path. He snatches men from the Church 1 A description of the martyrdom of Cyprian, who was beheaded during a persecution of the Christians, may be found in Tra7islations and R'>printSy Vol. IV, No. i. 5. The Catholic or Universal Church as conceived by Cyprian in his Unity of the Church. 20 Readings in European History herself ; and while they think they have now drawn near to the light and have escaped the night of heathenism, he casts over them in their ignorance yet other shades, so that they call themselves Christians, and yet do not abide in the Gospel and the precepts and the law of Christ. They think they have the light, and yet walk in the darkness. . . . Our Lord said to Peter : ‘‘ I also say unto thee. That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and what- soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’^ He thus erected his Church upon one [founda- tion].^ And though after his resurrection he gave equal powers to all the apostles, saying, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. . . . Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained,’’ nevertheless, that he might manifest unity he established one Church, and by his own authority determined that in its origin this unity should proceed from one [source or person]. . . . He who holds not this unity of the Church, does he believe that he holds the faith ? He who struggles against the Church and resists her, does he believe that he is a member of the Church ? . . . The episcopate is one : it is shared among individuals, yet each possesses the entire authority.^ The Church also is one, though she is widely extended among the multitude. As there are many rays of the sun, but one light ; and many branches of a tree, but one strength lying in its tenacious root ; and since from one spring flow many streams, yet the unity is preserved in the source. Separate a ray of the sun from its body of light, its unity does not permit a division of the light ; break a branch from the tree, when broken it will not be able to bud; cut off the stream from its fountain, and that which is cut off dries up. 1 Super unum aedificat ecclesiam. 2 Episcopatus unus est, cuius a singulis in solidum pars tenetur. Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasiojis 21 Thus the Church sheds forth her rays over the whole world ; yet it is one light which is everywhere diffused. . . . Whoever is separated from the Church is separated from the promises of the Church ; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger ; he is profane ; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his father who has not the Church for his mother. If any one could escape who was outside the ark of Noah, then he also may escape who shall be outside of the Church. . . . These heretics appoint themselves prelates without proper ordination, and assume the name of bishops, although no one gives them the episcopate. . . . They sit in the seat of pestilence, are plagues and spots of the faith, deceiving with serpent’s tongue and artful in cor- rupting the truth, vomiting forth deadly poisons from pesti- lential tongues; whose speech doth creep like a cancer, whose discourse forms a deadly poison in the heart and breast of every one. . . . Though such a man should suffer death for confessing the name of Christ, his guilt is not washed away by blood, nor is the grievous and inexpiable sin of discord wiped out by suffering. He who is without the Church cannot be a martyr. He cannot reach the kingdom of heaven. . . . Though they are given over to the flames and burn in the fires; though cast to the wild beasts, they lay down their lives, this shall not be a crown of faith, but a punishment of faith- lessness. Such a man may be killed, but not crowned. . . . III. The Church and the Roman Emperors In spite of the fact that the Roman emperors per- mitted the greatest variety of worship within their vast realm and showed no disposition to compel their sub- jects to think alike upon religious matters, they viewed Christianity with the most cruel suspicion almost from its first appearance. Christians were assumed to be Denuncia- tion of the heretics. 6 . Edict of Galerius (31 1), which first granted toleration to the Christians. 22 Readings m European History hostile to the government, and were consequently treated with the utmost harshness. Even the wisest and best emperors, such as Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, ordered that any one should be condemned to death who was convicted of bearing the name of Christian. ^ Christians were first put upon a legal footing with adherents of the various pagan religions by Emperor Galerius in the year 311.^ His edict reads as follows: Amongst our other measures for the advantage of the Empire, we have hitherto endeavored to bring all things into conformity with the ancient laws and public order of the Romans. We have been especially anxious that even the Christians, who have abandoned the religion of their ances- tors, should return to reason. For they have fallen, we know not how, into such perversity and folly that, instead of adhering to those ancient institutions which possibly their own forefathers established, they have arbitrarily made laws of their own and collected together various peoples from various quarters. After the publication, on our part, of an order command- ing the Christians to return to the observance of the ancient customs, many of them, it is true, submitted in view of the danger, while many others suffered death. Nevertheless, since many of them have continued to persist in their opin- ions and we see that in the present situation they neither 1 Christians were not, however, to be sought out by the government officials and could only be tried when accusation was brought against them by some definite person. A series of extracts illustrating the extent and character of the early persecutions of the Christians is to be found in Translations and Reprints^ Vol. IV, No. i. 2 A German scholar, Seeck, has pretty conclusively shown that the so-called Edict of Milan, by which Constantine was long supposed to have rescued the Christians from persecution, was not really an edict at all, but a letter addressed by Constantine's colleague, Licinius, to some government official in the East, commanding him to see that the edict of Galerius was carried out in a thorough manner. See Zeit- schrift fiir Kirchengeschichte^ Vol. XII, pp. 381 sqq. Western Eitrope before the Barbarian Invasions 23 duly adore and venerate the gods nor yet worship the god of the Christians, we, with our wonted clemency, have judged it wise to extend a pardon even to these men and permit them once more to become Christians and reestablish their places of meeting ; in such manner, however, that they shall in no way offend against good order. We propose to notify the magistrates in another mandate in regard to the course that they should pursue. Wherefore it should be the duty of the Christians, in view of our clemency, to pray to their god for our welfare, for that of the Empire, and for their own, so that the Empire may remain intact in all its parts, and that they themselves may live safely in their habitations. When under Theodosius II a collection of the laws of the Roman Empire was published (438), the edicts which had been issued by Constantine and the succeed- ing emperors in regard to the Christian religion, — the privileges of the clergy, the status of heretics, etc., — were conveniently brought together in the last book of the new code. The very first title, 0n the Catholic Faith, makes it clear that the government would tolerate no one who disagreed with the particular form of Christian belief which the state chose to sanction. We desire that all those who are under the sway of our clemency shall adhere to that religion which, according to his own testimony, coming down even to our own day, the blessed apostle Peter delivered to the Romans, namely, the doctrine which the pontiff Damasus [bishop of Rome] and Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic sanctity, accept. According to the teachings of the apostles and of the Gospel we believe in one Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the blessed Trinity, alike in majesty. We ordain that the name of Catholic Christians shall apply to all those who obey this present law. All others we judge to be mad and demented ; we declare them guilty of the 7. The edicts of Constantine and his suc- cessors relating to the Church in the Theo- dosian Code. The Roman government orders every one to accept the view of the Trinity defined by the Council of Nicaea. 24 Readings in European History The clergy to be exempted from public burdens ; but only the poor in this world’s goods to be admitted to the clergy. The govern- ment would have the cler- gy a poor, her- editary class. infamy of holding heretical doctrine ; their assemblies shall not receive the name of churches. They shall first suffer the wrath of God, then the punishment which in accordance with divine judgment we shall inflict [a.d. 380]. The emperors showed themselves ready to exempt the orthodox clergy from the various taxes and other public burdens imposed by the state, but upon condition that only poor men should become clerics. No decurion, that is to say one who was rich enough to assume the heavy responsibilities which the government threw upon the wealthier class in the cities, might join the clergy. Those who exercise the functions of divine worship, that is to say those who are called clerics \clerici\ shall be exempt from all public burdens, lest otherwise they might be called away from their sacred duties through some one’s malicious interference [a.d. 319]. Immunity from public burdens is to be granted neither by custom nor upon any one’s plea that he is a clergyman ; nor may persons join the order of the clergy easily or in too great numbers. But when a cleric dies another shall be chosen in his stead. He shall not be of decurion rank by descent, nor possess sufficient means easily to bear the public burdens. Should doubt arise between a city and the clergy in regard to any candidate, if justice indicates that he should bear the public burdens and he should appear, either by descent or owing to his patrimony, to be suitable for the rank of decurion, he shall leave the clergy and be turned over to the city. For it is proper that the rich should bear the burdens of the world and that the poor should be sup- ported by the wealth of the Church [a.d. 326]. From public burdens and from every disquietude of civil office all clerics shall be free, and their sons shall continue in the Church if they are not subject to public responsibilities [a.d. 349]. Western Eicrope before the BarbaiPan Invasiojis 25 We decree that all priests, deacons, subdeacons, exorcists, lectors, and doorkeepers, likewise all who are in higher orders, shall be free from personal taxes ^ [a.d. 377]. In every city, in every town, hamlet, and burg, whoever, according to the spirit of the Christian law, shall have sincerely striven to bring home to all its supreme and peculiar merits shall enjoy permanent protection. We should rejoice and be exceeding glad in the faith, knowing that our empire is maintained more by religion than by officials or by the labor and sweat of the body [a.d. 361]. Inasmuch as we have learned that certain clergymen and others who minister to the Catholic faith have been com- pelled by men of other religions to celebrate the lustral sac- rifices, we hereby ordain that, should any one maintain that those who keep the most holy law should be forced to observe the rites of another’s superstition, such an one shall, if his station permits, be beaten with rods. If his rank forbid this punishment, he shall be condemned to a heavy fine which shall fall to the state [a.d. 323]. Every one shall have the right, when he is dying, to leave so much of his goods as he will to the holy and Catholic Church . . . [a.d. 321]. It is right that clerics, whether they be bishops, priests, deacons, or those of lower rank, ministers of the Christian law, should be accused only before a bishop — unless there is some reason why the case should be considered elsewhere [a.d. 412]. Minor civil cases and those v^here church rites were involved were also to be tried by ecclesiastics. These provisions were the beginning of benefit of clergy and of the vast jurisdiction of the mediaeval Church. ^ Church lands were, however, by no means to be exempted from the land tax, nor were the clergy to engage in trade on any considerable scale without paying the tax to which lay tradesmen were subject. Exemption from personal taxation. The power of the empire maintained by the clergy. Christians not to be forced to observe heathen rites Bequests to the Church. Judicial privileges of the ^lergy. 26 Readings in Eicropean History None but the orthodox clergy to enjoy privileges. Manichaeans to be prose- cuted. Heretical books to be sought out and burned. Various dis- abilities of the heretics. Privileges which are granted on religious grounds should be confined to those who observe the law. We will that heretics and schismatics should not only be excluded from such privileges, but that they should be subject to various burdens [a.d. 326]. Whenever an assembly of Manichaeans^ is discovered, let their teachers be heavily fined. Those who are in attend- ance should be cast out from among their fellow-men as infamous and discredited. The houses or dwelling places in which their profane doctrines are taught should be con- fiscated by the government [a.d. 372]. Clerics adhering to the Eunomian or Montanist super- stition shall be excluded from all intercourse with any city or town. Should any of these heretics sojourning in the country attempt to gather the people together or collect an assembly, let them be sent into perpetual exile. . . . We command that their books, which contain the sub- stance of their criminal teachings, be sought out with the utmost care and burnt with fire under the eyes of the magis- trates. Should any one perchance be convicted of conceal- ing, through deceit or otherwise, and of failing to produce, any work of this kind, let him know that as the possessor of harmful books written witb criminal intent he shall suffer capital punishment [a.d. 398]. Here we find the same spirit of active and cruel religious intolerance which appears in the mediaeval laws, notably the thirteenth century. Other edicts pro- vide that certain heretics — e.g. the Manichaeans — should lose the right to bequeath and inherit property. Illegal bequests of heretics were to revert to the public treasury. Heretics were to be heavily fined, and in some cases were excluded from the army. Slaves might be 1 This Manichaean heresy was revived in the later Middle Ages. See the account of the Albigenses in History of Western Europe^ p. 221. Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 27 beaten into the orthodox faith. One edict (407) deprives convicted Manichaeans of the right of buying, selling, or entering into any contract, on the ground that this kind of man has nothing in common with other men, either in customs or laws.” Even the dead, if they be proved to have been tainted with Manichaean heresy, are to have their wills invalidated. In 409 the following edict was issued : Lest the Donatists and other deluded heretics and those who, like the Jews and the Gentiles (commonly called “pagans”), cannot be brought into the .communion of the Catholic religion, should conclude that the force of the laws formerly directed against them had declined, let all the magistrates take note that those provisions of the law are to be faithfully observed, and that they should not hesitate to enforce all that we have decreed against the heretics. A later title of the Theodosian Code is devoted to “ pagans, sacrifices, and temples.” The temples were first ordered to be destroyed in the towns, later in the country. Heavy fines were to be inflicted upon those who dared to offer sacrifices ’to the old heathen gods. Pagans were exeluded by law from judicial and adminis- trative offices, although it seems impossible that this measure could have been strietly carried out. In 423 we find a law declaring that, although pagans deserved to suffer capital punishment, they were required only to surrender their property to the government and go into exile. It is noteworthy, however, that far less attention is given to the pagans than to the Manichseans and the various Christian sects, like the Arians, Montanists, Donatists, and others, who ventured to differ from the theological opinions sanctioned by the government. Laws against heretics to be carefully enforced. Provisions of the code in regard to pagans. 28 Readings in European History IV. Comparison between the Lot of those within the Empire and those who lived among Barbarians 8 . Salvian’s comparison of the Romans with the barbarians (ca. 440). It was inevitable that thoughtful observers should be struck with the contrast between the habits and govern- ment of the Romans and the customs of the various barbarian peoples. Tacitus, the first to describe the manners and institutions of the Germans with care, is frequently tempted to compare them with those of the Empire, often to the obvious disadvantage of the latter.^ We have two other notable comparisons of a much later date : the first by a fervid Christian, the other by a judi- cious writer, who was probably a pagan. Salvian, a Christian priest, writing about 440, under- took in his book Of God' s Government to show that the misfortunes of the time were only the divinely inflicted punishments which the people of the Empire had brought upon themselves by their wickedness and corruption. He contends that the Romans, who had once been vir- tuous and heroic, had lapsed into a degradation which rendered them, in spite of their civilization and advan- tages, far inferior to the untutored but sturdy barbarians. In what respects can our customs be preferred to those of the Goths and Vandals, or even compared with them ? And first, to speak of affection and mutual charity (which, our Lord teaches, is the chief virtue, saying, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another ’’), almost all barbarians, at least those who are of one race and kin, love each other, while the Romans per- secute each other. ‘ For what citizen does not envy his fellow- citizen ? What citizen shows to his neighbor full charity } 1 The very important little work of Tacitus on Germany, the Ger- mania^ has been published in Translations and Reprints^ Vol. Vl, No. 3. Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 29 [The Romans oppress each other with exactions] nay, not each other : it would be quite tolerable, if each suf- fered what he indicted. It is worse than that ; for the many are oppressed by the few, who regard public exactions as their own peculiar right, who carry on private trafdc under the guise of collecting the taxes. And this is done not only by nobles, but by men of lowest rank; not by judges only, but by judges’ subordinates. For where is the city even the town or village — which has not as many tyrants as it has curials . What place is there, therefore, as I have said, where the substance of widows and orphans, nay even of the saints, is not devoured by the chief citizens.? . None but the great is secure from the devastations of these plundering brigands, except those who are themselves robbers. [Nay, the state has fallen upon such evil days that a man cannot be safe unless he is wicked] Even those in a position to protest against the iniquity which they see about them dare not speak lest they make matters worse than before. So the poor are despoiled, the widows sigh, the orphans are oppressed, until many of them, born of families not obscure, and liberally educated, flee to our enemies that they may no longer suffer the oppression of public persecution. They doubtless seek Roman humanity among the barb arians, because they cannot bear barbarian inhumanity among tEF" Romans. And although they differ from the people to whom they flee in manner and in language ; although they are unlike as regards th^ fetid odor of the barbarians’ bodies and garments, yet \they would rather endure a for- eign civilization among the barbarians than cruel injustice among the Romans. So they migrate to the Goths, or to the Bagaudes, or to some other tribe of the barbarians who are ruling every- where, and do not regret their exile. For they would rather live free under an appearance of slavery than live as captives under an appearance of liberty. The name of Roman citi- zen, once so highly esteemed and so dearly bought, is now a thing that men repudiate and flee from. . . . Why Roman subjects prefer to live among the barbarians. 30 Readings in European History 9. Conver- sation of Priscus with a Greek living among the barbarians (448). It is urged that if we Romans are wicked and corrupt^ that the barbarians commit the same sins, and are not so miserable as we. There is, however, this difference, that if the barbarians commit the same crimes as we, yet we sin more grievously. . . . All the barbarians, as we have already said, are pagans or heretics. The Saxon race is cruel, the Franks are faithless, the Gepidae are inhuman, the Huns are unchaste, — in short, there is vice in the life of all the bar- barian peoples. But are their offenses as serious as ours } Is the unchastity of the Hun so criminal as ours } Is the faithlessness of the Frank so blameworthy as ours ? Is the intemperance of the Alemanni so base as the intemper- ance of the Christians ? Does the greed of the Alani so merit condemnation as the greed of the Christians 'I If the Hun or the Gepid cheat, what is there to wonder at, since he does not know that cheating is a crime ? If a Frank perjures himself, does he do anything strange, he who regards perjury as a way of speaking, not as a crime? About the time that Salvian was writing, the imperial government at Constantinople dispatched an embassy to Attila, the king of the Hu ns. One of the imperial mes- sengers, Priscus, has left a very interesting account of his experiences. He tells, among other things, of a con- versation that he had with a former inhabitant of the Roman Empire who declared that life among the bar- barians had many advantages. As Priscus was waiting for his audience with Attila, he says : A man whom, from his Scythian dress, I took for a bar- barian, came up and addressed me in Greek, with the word ‘‘ Hail ! I was surprised at a Scythian ^ speaking Greek. For the subjects of the Huns, swept together from various lands, speak, beside their own barbarous tongue, either Hun- nic or Gothic, or — as many as have commercial dealings 1 Priscus seems to use this term “ Scythian ” as almost synonymous with barbarian. Western Europe before the Barbarian Invasions 3 1 with the western Romans — Latin; but none of them speak Greek readily, except captives from the Thracian or Illyrian seacoast ; and these last are easily known to any stranger oy their torn garments and the squalor of their head, as men who have met with a reverse. This man, on the con- trary, resembled a well-to-do Scythian, being well dressed, and having his hair cut in a circle after Scythian fashion. Having returned his salutation, I asked him who he was and whence he had come into a foreign land and adopted Scythian life. When he asked me why I wanted to know, I told him that his Hellenic speech had prompted my curi- osity. Then he smiled and said that he was born a Greek and had gone as a merchant to Viminacium, on the Danube, where he had stayed a long time, and married a very rich wife. But the city fell a prey to the barbarians, and he was stripped of his prosperity, and on account of his riches was allotted to Onegesius [a Hunnish leader] in the division of the spoil, as it was the custom among the Scythians for the chiefs to reserve for themselves the rich prisoners. Having fought bravely against the Romans and the Acatiri, he had paid the spoils he won to his master, and so obtained free- dom. He then married a barbarian wife and had children, and had the privilege of partaking at the table of Onegesius. He considered his new li^e among the Scythians better than his old life among the Romans, and the reasons he urged were as follows : After war the Scythians live at leisure, enjoying what they have got, and not at all, or very little, disturbed. The Romans, on the other hand, are in the first place very liable to be killed, if there are any hos- tilities, since they have to rest their hopes of protection on others, and are not allowed, by their tyrants, to use arms. And those who do use them are injured by the cowardice of their generals, who cannot properly conduct war. But the condition of Roman subjects in time of peace is far more grievous than the evils of war, for the exaction of the taxes is very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others because the laws are practically not valid against all classes. A transgressor who belongs to the wealthy Advantages of living among the barbarians 32 Readings in European History Priscus defends the Roman government. classes is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man, who does not understand business, undergoes the legal penalty, — that is, if he does not depart this life before the trial, so long is the course of lawsuits protracted, and so much money is expended on them. The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice. For no one will give a hearing to the injured man except he pay a sum of money to the judge and the judge’s clerks.” In reply to this attack on the empire, I asked him to be good enough to listen with patience to the other side of the question. “The creators of the Roman Republic,” I said, “who were wise and good men, in order to prevent things from being done at haphazard, made one class of men gu ardians of the l aws, and appointed another class to the pr ofession of arm s, who were to have no other object than toT)e always ready for battle, and to go forth to war without dread, as though to their ordinary exercise, having by prac- tice exhausted all their fear beforehand. Others again were assigned to attend to the cultivation of the ground, to sup- port themselves and those who fight in their defense by contributing the military corn supply. . . . To those who protect the interests of the litigants a sum of money is paid by the latter, just as a payment is made by the farmers to the soldiers. Is it not fair to support him who assists and requite him for his kindness ? . . . “Those who spend money on a suit and lose it in the end cannot fairly put it down to anything but the injustice of their case. And as to the long time spent on lawsuits, that is due to anxiety for justice, that judges may not fail in passing accurate judgments by having to give sentence offhand ; it is better that they should reflect, and conclude the case more tardily, than that by judging in a hurry they should both injure man and transgress against the Deity, the institutor of justice. . . . “ The Romans treat their slaves better than the king of the Scythians treats his subjects. They deal with them as fathers or teachers, admonishing them to abstain from evil and follow the lines of conduct which they have esteemed Western Eitrope befoi^e the Barbarian Invasions 33 honorable; they reprove them for their errors like their own children. They are not allowed, like the Scythians, to inflict death on their slaves. They have numerous ways of con- ferring freedom ; they can manumit not only during life, but also by their wills, and the testamentary wishes of a Roman in regard to his property are law.’’ My interlocutor shed tears, and confessed that the laws and constitution of the Romans were fair, but deplored that the officials, not possessing the spirit of former generations, were ruining the state. BIBLIOGRAPHY The books here mentioned are selected with a view to explaining those conditions in the later Roman Empire some conception of which is essential to an understanding of the Middle Ages. Almost all the accounts of Roman society deal with the period of the later Republic and the early Empire.^ Conditions upon the Eve of the Barbarian Invasions : For these the best work in English is, Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire. See especially Book II, “Society of the West”; Book IIIj “ The Failure of the Administration and the Ruin of the Middle Class as revealed in the Theodosian Code.” See also Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire., Chapter II, “ The Roman Empire before the Invasions of the Barbarians.” Relations between Paganism and Christianity : Dill, Book I, “The Tenacity of Paganism,” and Gibbon, Chapter XXVIII (Bury’s edition, Vol. Ill, pp. 188-215), “The Final Destruction of Paganism.” Literature and the Text-Books v/hich the Middle Ages inherited from the Later Empire : Dill, Book V, “ Characteristics of Roman Education and Culture in the Fifth Century.” See also references to Taylor, in section below. Economic Conditions: Cunningham, Western Civilization^ Vol. I, Book III, Chapter III, “ The Roman Empire.” Bury, A History of the Later Roman Empire., A . D . ^g^-800. Book I, Chapters III-IV, “ The Elements of Disintegration within the Roman Empire ” and “ The Administration of the Empire.” 1 The most notable of these is Friedldnder ., Darstellungen aus der Sitten- geschichte Roms in der Zeit von Augustus bis zum Ausgang der AntoninCj ' 2 vols., 7th ed., Leipzig, 1901. A. Refer- ences. B. Addi- tional read- ing in English. 34 Readings in European History C. Materials for advanced study. For the religious conditions: Hatch, The Influence of Greek Thought upon the Christian Church ; Renan, The Influence of Ro^ne on the Devel- opment of the Catholic Church; Farrar, Seekers after God., for the teachings of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius ; Bury, Book I, Chapters I-H, “ Christianity and Paganism ” and “ The Influence of Christianity on Society”; Lecky, History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne., Vol. II, Chapter IV (opening) ; Taylor, Classi- cal Heritage of the Middle Ages, Chapter II, gives an admirable account of the passing of the antique man into the mediaeval man. For the general intellectual and moral transition, see, above all, Taylor, Chapters III-V, “ Phases of Pagan Decadence,” “ The Antique Culture,” and “Pagan Elements Christianized in Transmission.” The bibliographical notes at the end of Taylor’s volume are very full and useful in this field. See also Glover, Life and Letters in the Fourth Century, Cambridge, England, 1901. A remarkable account of the general conditions, especially in Gaul, immediately preceding the barbarian invasions maybe found in Fustel DE CouLANGES, Histoire des histitutions de Tancienne France (Paris, 1891), Vol. II, “ L’invasion germanique,” pp. 1-244. Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'a la Revolution, edited by Lavisse, Vol. I, Part II, also describes Gaul under the Roman Empire. A shorter account is given in Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire Generate, Vol. I, Chapter I, “ Le Monde romain.” For the religious situation : Boissier, La Fin du paganism, 2 vols., Paris, 1891, and Martha, Les Moralists sous V empire romain, Paris, 1894. A clear and most excellent analysis of the literary works in the West from the third century to the time of Charlemagne may be found in Vol. I of Ebert, Allgemeine Geschichte der Liter atur des Mittelalters im Abendlande, 3 vols., Leipzig, 1880-1889. There is a French translation of this admirable work, Histoire genirale de la literature du moyen age, Paris, 1883-1889. For the economic conditions, see, especially, Levasseur, Histoire des classes ouvrieres avant iy 8 g (2 vols., 2d ed., Paris, 1901, 25 fr.), Book I, especially Chapter III, on slaves and the villa. References for the highly important history of the law will be found at the end of Chapter III; those for the development of the Christian Church under the Roman Empire, at the close of Chapter IV. CHAPTER III THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE L The Movements of the Huns force the West Goths ACROSS THE DANUBE INTO THE ROMAN EmPIRE, A.D. 376 The retired soldier, Ammianus Marcellinus, writing not more than ten or fifteen years after the battle of Adrianople, thus describes the Huns and the passage of the Goths into the Empire. The people called Huns, barely mentioned in ancient records, live beyond the sea of Azof, on the border of the Frozen Ocean, and are a race savage beyond all parallel. At the very moment of birth the cheeks of their infant children are deeply marked by an iron, in order that the hair, instead of growing at the proper season on their faces, may be hindered by the scars ; accordingly the Huns grow up without beards, and without any beauty. They all have closely knit and strong limbs and plump necks ; they are of great size, and low legged, so that you might fancy them two-legged beasts, or the stout figures which are hewn out in a rude manner with an ax on the posts at the end of bridges. They are certainly in the shape of men, however uncouth, and are so hardy that they neither require fire nor well fla- vored food, but live on the roots of such herbs as they get in the fields, or on the half-raw flesh of any animal, which they merely warm rapidly by placing it between their own thighs and the backs of their horses. They never shelter themselves under roofed houses, but avoid them, as people ordinarily avoid sepulchers as things 35 10. Descrip- tion by Ammianus Marcellinus of the Huns and of the movements of the Goths. 36 Readings iti European History The Goths decide to cross the Danube. not fit for common use. Nor is there even to be found among them a cabin thatched with reeds ; but they wander about, roaming over the mountains and the woods, and accustom themselves to bear frost and hunger and thirst from their very cradles. . . . There is not a person in the whole nation who cannot remain on his horse day and night. On horseback they buy and sell, they take their meat and drink, and there they recline on the narrow neck of their steed, and yield to sleep so deep as to indulge in every variety of dream. And when any deliberation is to take place on any weighty matter, they all hold their common council on horseback. They are not under kingly authority,^ but are contented with the irregular government of their chiefs, and under their lead they force their way through all obstacles. . . . None of them plow, or even touch a plow handle, for they have no settled abode, but are homeless and lawless, perpet- ually wandering with their wagons, which they make their homes ; in fact, they seem to be people always in flight. . . . This active and indomitable race, being excited by an unrestrained desire of plundering the possessions of others, went on ravaging and slaughtering all the nations in their neighborhood till they reached the Alani. . . . [After having harassed the territory of the Alani and having slain many of them and acquired much plunder, the Huns made a treaty of friendship and alliance with those who survived. The allies then attacked the German peoples to the west.] In the meantime a report spread far and wide through the nations of the Goths, that a race of men, hitherto unknown, had suddenly descended like a whirlwind from the lofty mountains, as if they had risen from some secret recess of the earth, and were ravaging and destroying everything which came in their way. And then the greater part of the population resolved to flee and to seek a home remote from all knowledge of the new 1 The Huns in Attila’s time had a king and appear to have lived in houses and huts. See account given by Priscus below, pp. 46 sqq. The German Invasions 37 barbariai's; and after long deliberation as to where to fix their abode, they resolved that a retreat into Thrace was the most suitable for these two reasons : first of all, because it is a district most fertile in grass ; and secondly, because, owing to the great breadth of the Danube, it is wholly separated from the districts exposed to the impending attacks of the invaders. Accordingly, under the command of their leader Alavivus, they occupied the banks of the Danube, and sent ambassa- dors to the emperor Valens, humbly entreating to be received by him as his subjects. They promised to live quietly, and to furnish a body of auxiliary troops if necessary. While these events were taking place abroad, the terrify- ing rumor reached us that the tribes of the north were planning new and unprecedented attacks upon us ; and that over the whole region which extends from the country of the Marcomanni and Quadi to Pontus, hosts of barbarians composed of various nations, which had suddenly been driven by force from their own countries, were now, with all their families, wandering about in different directions on the banks of the river Danube. At first this intelligence was lightly treated by our people, because they were not in the habit of hearing of any wars in those remote districts till they were terminated either by victory or by treaty. But presently the belief in these occurrences grew stronger and was confirmed by the arrival of ambassadors, who, with prayers and earnest entreaties, begged that their people, thus driven from their homes and now encamped on the other side of the river, might be kindly received by us. The affair now seemed a cause of joy rather than of fear, according to the skillful flatterers who were always extolling and exaggerating the good fortune of the emperor. They congratulated him that an embassy had come from the farthest corners of the earth, unexpectedly offering him a large body of recruits ; and that, by combining the strength of his own people with these foreign forces, he would have an army absolutely invincible. They observed further that the News of the movements of the Goths reaches the Roman gov- ernment. 38 Readings in European History With Valens^ permission great num- bers of Goths pour into the Empire. The Goths are misused by the Roman officials. payment for military reenforcements, which came in every year from the provinces, might now be saved and accumu- lated in his coffers and form a vast treasure of gold. Full of this hope, he sent forth several officers to bring this ferocious people and their carts into our territory. And such great pains were taken to gratify this nation which was destined to overthrow the Empire of Rome, that not one was left behind, not even of those who were stricken with mortal disease. Moreover, so soon as they had obtained permission of the emperor to cross the Danube and to culti- vate some districts in Thrace, they poured across the stream day and night, without ceasing, embarking in troops on board ships and rafts and on canoes made of the hollow trunks of trees. ... In this way, through the turbulent zeal of violent people, the ruin of the Roman Empire was brought about. This, at all events, is neither obscure nor uncertain, that the unhappy officers who were intrusted with the charge of conducting the multitude of the barbarians across the river, though they repeatedly endeavored to calculate their numbers, at last abandoned the attempt as hopeless. The man who would wish to ascertain the number might as well (as the most illustrious of poets says) attempt to count the waves in the African sea, or the grains of sand tossed about by the zephyrs. . . . At that period, moreover, the defenses of our provinces were much exposed, and the armies of barbarians spread over them like the lava of Mount Etna. The imminence of our danger manifestly called for generals already illus- trious for their past achievements in war ; but nevertheless, as if some unpropitious deity had made the selection, the men who were sought out for the chief military appointments were of tainted character. The chief among them were Lupicinus and Maximus, — the one being count of Thrace, the other a leader notoriously wicked, — both men of great ignorance and rashness. And their treacherous covetousness was the cause of all our disasters. . . . For when the barbarians who had been The German Invasions 39 conducted across the river were in great distress from want of provisions, those detested generals conceived the idea of a most disgraceful traffic ; and having collected dogs from all quarters with the most insatiable rapacity, they exchanged them for an equal number of slaves, among whom were several sons of men of noble birth. . . . After narrating the events which led up to the battle of Adrianople, and vividly describing the battle itself, Ammianus thus records the death of the emperor Valens: So now, with rage flashing in their eyes, the barbarians pursued our men, who were in a state of torpor, the warmth of their veins having deserted them. Many were slain with- out knowing who smote them ; some were overwhelmed by the mere weight of the crowd which pressed upon them ; and some died of wounds inflicted by their own comrades. The barbarians spared neither those who yielded nor those who resisted. . . . Just when it first became dark, the emperor, being among a crowd of common soldiers as it was believed, — for no one said either that he had seen him or been near him, — was mortally wounded with an arrow, and, very shortly after, died, though his body was never found. For as some of the enemy loitered for a long time about the field in order to plunder the dead, none of the defeated army or of the inhabitants ventured to go to them. II. How THE West Goths became Arian Christians; HOW Alaric took Rome in 410 The following account is by Jordanes, himself a Goth, but unlike most of his people not an Arian, but an ortho- dox Christian. He wrote about 551, nearly a century and a half after the events which he here narrates : The West Goths [terrified by the victories of the Huns over the East Goths] requested Emperor Valens to grant Battle of Adrianople and death of Valens. 11. Jordanes describes the conver- sion of the Goths to Arian Christian- ity. 40 Readings in European History Jordanes’ account of the death of Valens. them a portion of Thrace or Moesia south of the Danube in which to settle. They promised to obey his laws and commands and, in order still further to gain his confidence, they engaged to become Christians if only the emperor would send to them teachers who knew their language. When Valens heard this he readily agreed to a plan which he might himself have proposed. He received the Goths into Moesia and erected them, so to speak, into a sort of rampart to protect his empire against the other tribes. Now, since Valens was infected with the heresy of the Arians and had closed all the churches which belonged to our party [i.e. the orthodox], he sent the Goths preachers of his own infection. These missionaries poured out for the newcomers, who were inexperienced and ignorant, the poison of their own false faith. So the West Goths were made Arians rather than Christians by Emperor Valens. Moreover, in their enthusiasm they converted their kinsmen, the East Goths and the Gepidae, and taught them to respect this heresy. They invited all nations of their own tongue everywhere to adopt the creed of this sect. We have seen how, according to Ammianus Marcel- linus, the forces of the emperor maltreated the poor Goths and drove them to revolt. When news of this reached the emperor Valens at Antioch, he hastened with an army into Thrace. Here it came to a miserable battle in which the Goths conquered. The emperor fled to a peasant’s hut not far from Adrianople. The Goths, according to the custom of the raging enemy, set fire to the buildings, having no idea that there was an emperor hidden in the little hut, and so he was consumed in his kingly pomp.^ This was in accordance with God’s 1 Zosimus, a pagan historian, probably of the fifth century, also reports that Valens perished in a hamlet which had been set on fire by the enemy. Jordanes’ tone in speaking of the death of Valens is but one of the many indications of the bitterness of feeling with which the Catholic Christians viewed the Arians. The German Invasions 41 judgment that he should be burned with fire by them, since when they asked for the true faith he misled, them with false teaching and changed for them the fire of love into the fire of hell. After the great and glorious victory, the West Goths set themselves to cultivate Thrace and the Dacian river valley as if it were their native soil of which they had just gained possession. [There they remained, hostile to the Empire, and a per- petual menace. Finally Theodosius the Great, the brave and stern, the wise and liberal, ended the war between the Goths and the Romans by a treaty. By his presents and his friendly bearing, he won the friendship of Athanaric, king of the West Goths, and invited him to go to Constanti- nople.] When the West Goth entered the royal city he was astounded. Now I see what I have often heard without believing — the glory of this great city.’’ Looking here and there, he admired the site of the city, and the number of ships, and the magnificent walls. He saw people of many nations, like a stream flowing from different sources into one fountain. He marveled at the martial array of the soldiers and exclaimed, “ Doubtless the emperor is a god of this earth, and whoever has raised his hand against him is guilty of his own blood.” A few months later, Athanaric, upon whom the emperor heaped his favors, departed from this world, and the emperor, because of his affection for Athanaric, honored him almost more in death than he had done in life, gave him worthy burial, and was himself present beside the bier at the funeral. After the death of Athanaric, all his army remained in the service of the emperor Theodosius, submitted to the Roman power, and formed, as it were, one body with its soldiers. They resembled the allies whom Constantine had had, who were called Feeder atL After Theodosius, who cherished both peace and the Gothic people, had departed this life, his sons [Honorius and Arcadius], through their lives of indulgence, began to The king of the West Goths visits Constanti- nople. Alaric leads the West Goths into Italy. 42 Readings in European History Incorrect statements of Jordanes.i bring ruin down upon their empires and withdrew from their allies, the Goths, the accustomed gifts. The Goths soon grew disgusted with the emperors, and since they were fear- ful lest their bravery in war should decline by too long a period of peace, they made Alaric their king. . . . So, since the said Alaric was chosen king, he took counsel with his fellows and declared to them that it was preferable to conquer a kingdom through one’s own force rather than to live in peace under the yoke of strangers. He thereupon took his army and advanced, during the consulate of Stilicho and Aurelianus, through Pannonia and Sirmium into Italy. This country was so completely deprived of forces that Alaric approached without opposition to the bridge over the Candiano, three miles from the imperial city of Ravenna. . . . The Goths sent messengers to the emperor Honorius, who was at Ravenna, requesting that they might be per- mitted to settle quietly in Italy. Should they be allowed to do this, they would live as one people with the Romans; other- wise they would try which people could expel the other, the victor to remain in control. But the emperor Honorius, fearing both suggestions, took counsel with his senate how they might rid Italy of the Goths. He at last concluded to assign the distant provinces of Gaul and Spain to the West Goths. ^ He had, indeed, already nearly lost these districts, for they had been devastated by an incursion of Genseric, king of the Vandals. If Alaric and his people could succeed in conquering the region, they might have it as their home. [The Goths agreed to this, but on their way thither were treacherously attacked by Stilicho, the emperor’s father-in- law (402). The Goths, however, held their own in the battle 1 The brief account which Jordanes here gives of the eight or ten years that Alaric spent in northern Italy before finally marching upon Rome is probably incorrect. Historians naturally prefer to rely upon the pagan historian Zosimus, who probably lived a generation or two earlier than Jordanes and who gives a very detailed account of the movements of the West Goths. He says nothing of the emperor’s offer- ing Gaul and Spain to the barbarians. The German Invasions 43 which followed. They turned back, full of wrath, towards Italy, and wasted the northern part of the peninsula during the following years ; then moved south into Tuscany.] Finally they entered the city of Rome and sacked it at Alaric’s command. They did not, however, set fire to the city, as is the custom of the wild peoples, and would not permit that any of the holy places should be desecrated. They then proceeded into Campania and Lucania, which they likewise plundered, and came then to Britii. . . . Alaric, the king of the West Goths, also brought hither the treasures of all Italy which he had won by plunder, and determined to cross from here over to Sicily and thence to Africa, which would offer him a final abode. But a number of his ships were swallowed up by that fearful sea, and many were injured ; for man is unable to carry out his wishes when they are opposed to God’s will. While Alaric, discouraged by this misfortune, was con- sidering what he should do, he was struck down by an early death and departed this world. His followers mourned the loss of him they had so dearly loved. They diverted the river Busento from its ordinary bed near the town of Con- sentia — this river, it may be added, brings salubrious water from the foot of the mountains to the town — and had a grave dug by captives in the middle of the channel. Here they buried Alaric, together with many precious objects. Then they permitted the water to return once more to its old bed. Moreover, in order that the place might never be found, they killed all those who had helped dig the grave. The Goths transferred the rule to Atavulf, a relative of Alaric’s, and a man of fine figure and lofty spirit, who, although he was not distinguished for his size, was remarkable for his figure and face. When Atavulf had assumed the rule he turned back again to Rome, and what had been left there from the first sack was now swept clean away, as a field might be devastated by grasshoppers. He robbed not only individuals of their wealth in Italy, but he also took that of the state, and Emperor Honorius was able in no way Sack of Rome by the West Goths, 410 Jordanes tells of the death and burial of Alaric. 44 Readings in Eicropean History to restrain him.^ He even led away prisoner from Rome Placidia, the sister of Honorius, and daughter of Emperor Theodosius by his second wife. [Later he married Placidia and strengthened the Gothic cause by this royal alliance. He then moved on to Gaul, where he engaged in a struggle with the other barbarians.] 12. St. Jerome laments the destruc- tion wrought by the bar- barians. The deep impression v^hich the influx of barbarians and the sack of Rome made upon one of the most dis- tinguished scholars of the time is apparent from several passages in the writings of St. Jerome (d. a.d. 420). Nations innumerable and most savage have invaded all Gaul. The whole region between the Alps and the Pyre- nees, the ocean and the Rhine, has been devastated by the Quadi, the Vandals, the Sarmati, the Alani, the Gepidae, the hostile Heruli, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Ale- manni and the Pannonians. O wretched Empire ! Mayence, formerly so noble a city, has been taken and ruined, and in the church many thousands of men have been massacred. Worms has been destroyed after a long siege. Rheims, that powerful city, Amiens, Arras, Speyer, Strasburg,^ — all have seen their citizens led away captive into Germany. Aquitaine and the provinces of Lyons and Narbonne, all save a few towns, have been depopulated; and these the sword threatens without, while hunger ravages within. I cannot speak with- out tears of Toulouse, which the merits of the holy Bishop Exuperius have prevailed so far to save from destruction. Spain, even, is in daily terror lest it perish, remembering the invasion of the Cimbri ; and whatsoever the other provinces have suffered once, they continue to suffer in their fear. 1 This alleged second sack of Rome is probably a gross exaggeration, as will appear below. Jordanes is our sole authority for the strange burial of Alaric, and there is no particular reason to suppose that he i§ any nearer the truth in this matter than in the many instances where he can be shown to be in contradiction with more trustworthy writers. 2 The names of modern cities here used are not in all cases exact equivalents for the regions mentioned by Jerome. The German Invasions 45 I will keep silence concerning the rest, lest I seem to despair of the mercy of God. For a long time, from the Black Sea to the Julian Alps, those things which are ours have not been ours ; and for thirty years, since the Danube boundary was broken, war has been waged in the very midst of the Roman Empire. Our tears are dried by old age. Except a few old men, all were born in captivity and siege, and do not desire the liberty they never knew. Who could believe this How could the whole tale be worthily told.^ How Rome has fought within her own bosom not for glory, but for preservation — nay, how she has not even fought, but with gold and all her precious things has ransomed her life. . . . Who could believe [Jerome exclaims in another passage] that Rome, built upon the conquest of the whole world, would fall to the ground ? that the mother herself would become the tomb of her peoples ? that all the regions of the East, of Africa and Egypt, once ruled by the queenly city, would be filled with troops of slaves and handmaidens ? that to-day holy Bethlehem should shelter men and women of noble birth, who once abounded in wealth and are now beggars ? In regard to the conflicting impressions which we derive from the writers of the time, Mr. Dill in his Roman Society makes the following sensible observations : It is probable that the slaughter and material damage inflicted by Alaric have been exaggerated. The ancient authorities give very different accounts of the matter. According to some, there was wholesale massacre, and sena- tors were tortured and put to death in large numbers ; the city was ravaged with fire, and most of the great works of art were destroyed. On the other hand, Orosius,^ writing only a few years after the sack, states that, while some buildings were burned down, Alaric gave orders to his sol- diers to content themselves with plunder and to abstain 1 See below, p. 58. 13. Dill’s criticism of our infor- mation in regard to the sack of Rome. 46 Readings in European History Rutilius Namatianus, a poet of the early fifth century, says nothing of the destruc- tion of Rome by the Goths. 14. Priscus describes the court of Attila, king of the Huns (448). from bloodshed. Jordanes even asserts that the Goths did not set fire to any buildings, and that by Alaric’s command they confined themselves to pillage. The probabilities of the case are all in favour of the less tragic view of the catas- trophe. The three days, during which the Goths remained within the walls, were short enough for the collection of the enormous spoil which Alaric carried off in his southward march. . . . Even if Alaric had not been restrained by policy from a wholesale and wanton destruction of great masterpieces of art, his Goths could not have wrought such havoc in so short a time. But the most convincing argument is derived from the poem of Rutilius Namatianus, who, as he bids a reluctant farewell [six years after Rome’s sack by Alaric] to the city which he regards with a passionate love and reverence, sees only the crowded monuments of her glory, and has his eyes dazzled by the radiance of her glittering fanes. . . . The temples of the gods are still standing in their dazzling radi- ance under the serene Italian sky. The cheers of the spec- tators in the circus reach his ears as his ship still lingers in the Tiber. He feels a passionate regret at quitting ‘‘ this fair queen of the world,” so mighty, so merciful, so bounte- ous, whose visible splendour is only the faint symbol of her worldwide and godlike sway. Certainly there is here no querulous and faint-hearted lamentation over a crushing and appalling disaster. The troubles of the time, referred to in a few vague phrases, are treated as merely vicissitudes of fortune, such as Rome has known before, and from which she has always risen with renewed vitality. III. Attila and the Huns A description has already been given of the Huns when they first drove the Goths into the Empire.^ Seventy years after the battle of Adrianople, Priscus,^ who actually visited the Huns and conversed with Attila, 1 See above, pp. 35 sqq. 2 3^^ above, p. 30. The German Invasions 47 received a very different impression of the people from that given by Ammianus Marcellinus. We may how- ever infer that the Huns had been a good deal changed by their contact with the European peoples. Priscus and a companion, Maxim, were sent by the Ro- man government with messages to Attila in 448. Priscus first tells of their long journey from Constantinople to Scythia, the territory then occupied by the Huns north of the lower Danube. After some difficulty the mes- sengers obtained a first interview with Attila. Then, as the king of the Huns was about to move northward, he and his companion determined to follow him. After de- scribing the incidents of their journey and their arrival at a large village, Priscus continues : Attila’s residence, which was situated here, was said to be more splendid than his houses in other places. It was made of polished boards, and surrounded with wooden inclosures, designed not so much for protection as for appearance’ sake. The house of the chieftain Onegesius was second only to the king’s in splendor and was also encircled with a wooden inclosure, but it was not adorned with towers like that of the king. Not far from the inclos- ure was a large bath built by Onegesius, who was the second in power among the Scythians. The stones for this bath had been brought from Pannonia, for the barbarians in this district had no stones or trees, but used imported material The next day I entered the inclosure of Attila’s palace, bearing gifts to his wife, whose name was Kreka. She had three sons, of whom the eldest governed the Acatiri and the other nations who dwell in Pontic Scythia. Within the inclosures were numerous buildings, some of carved boards beautifully fitted together, others of straight planed beams, without carving, fastened on round wooden blocks which rose to a moderate height from the ground. Attila’s wife lived here ; and, having been admitted by the barbarians at Attila’s fine house. 48 Readings in Enropean History A banquet at Attila’s. the door, I found her reclining on a soft couch. The floor of the room was covered with woolen mats for walking on. A number of servants stood round her, and maids sitting on the floor in front of her embroidered with colors linen cloths intended to be placed over the Scythian dress for ornament. Having approached, saluted her, and presented the gifts, I went out and walked to the other houses, where Attila .was, and waited for Onegesius, who, as I knew, was with Attila. . . . I saw a number of people advancing, and a great com- motion and noise, Attila’s egress being expected. And he came forth from the house with a dignified strut, looking round on this side and on that. He was accompanied by Onegesius, and stood in front of the house ; and many persons who had lawsuits with one another came up and received his judgment. Then he returned into the house and received ambassadors of barbarous peoples. . . . [We were invited to a banquet with Attila at three o’clock.] When the hour arrived we went to the palace, along with the embassy from the western Romans, and stood on the threshold of the hall in the presence of Attila. The cupbearers gave us a cup, according to the national custom, that we might pray before we sat down. Having tasted the cup, we proceeded to take our seats, all the chairs being ranged along the walls of the room on either side. Attila sat in the middle on a couch ; a second couch was set behind him, and from it steps led up to his bed, which was covered with linen sheets and wrought coverlets for ornament, such as Greeks and Romans used to deck bridal beds. The places on the right of Attila were held chief in honor ; those on the left, where we sat, were only second. . . . [First the king and his guests pledged one another with the wine.] When this ceremony was over the cupbearers retired, and tables, large enough for three or four, or even more, to sit at, were placed next the table of Attila, so that each could take of the food on the dishes without leaving his seat. The attendant of Attila first entered with a dish The Ge7'man Invasions 49 full of meat, and behind him came the other attendants with bread and viands, which they laid on the tables. A luxurious meal, served on silver plate, had been made ready for us and the barbarian guests, but Attila ate nothing but meat on a wooden trencher. In everything else, too, he showed himself temperate ; his cup was of wood, while to the guests were given goblets of gold and silver. His dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean. The sword he carried at his side, the latchets of his Scythian shoes, the bridle of his horse were not adorned, like those of the other Scythians, with gold or gems or anything costly. When the viands of the first course had been consumed, we all stood up, and did not resume our seats until each one, in the order before observed, drank to the health of Attila in the goblet of wine presented to him. We then sat down, and a second dish was placed on each table with eatables of another kind. After this course the same ceremony was observed as after the first. When evening fell torches were lit, and two barbarians coming forward in front of Attila sang songs they had composed, celebrating his victories and deeds of valor in war. IV. How Pope Leo the Great saved Rome from Attila Prosper, a Christian chronicler, writing about 455, gives the following simple account of Leo’s famous inter- view with the king of the Huns three years before: Now Attila, having once more collected his forces which had been scattered in Gaul [at the battle of Chalons], took his way through Pannonia into Italy. . . . To the emperor and the senate and Roman people none of all the proposed plans to oppose the enemy seemed so practicable as to send legates to the most savage king and beg for peace. Our most blessed Pope Leo — trusting in the help of God, who never fails the righteous in their trials — undertook the task, accom- panied by Avienus, a man of consular rank, and the prefect 15. Pros- per’s ac- count of the meeting of Leo the Great and Attila (452), Readings in European History 16. Later account of Leo’s inter- vention. (Somewhat condensed.) SO Trygetius. And the outcome was what his faith had fore- seen ; for when the king had received the embassy, he was so impressed by the presence of the high priest that he ordered his army to give up warfare and, after he had promised peace, he departed beyond the Danube. In a life of Leo the Great by some later author, whose name is unknown to us, the episode as told by Prosper has been developed into a miraculous tale calculated to meet the taste of the time : Attila, the leader of the Huns, who was called the scourge of God, came into Italy, inflamed with fury, after he had laid waste with most savage frenzy Thrace and Illyricum, Macedonia and Moesia, Achaia and Greece, Pannonia and Germany. He was utterly cruel in inflicting torture, greedy in plundering, insolent in abuse. . . . He destroyed Aquileia from the foundations and razed to the ground those regal cities, Pavia and Milan ; he laid waste many other towns, ^ and was rushing down upon Rome. Then Leo had compassion on the calamity of Italy and Rome, and with one of the consuls and a large part of the Roman senate he went to meet Attila. The old man of harmless simplicity, venerable in his gray hair and his majestic garb, ready of his own will to give himself entirely for the defense of his flock, went forth to meet the tyrant who was destroying all things. He met Attila, it is said, in the neighborhood of the river Mincio, and he spoke to the grim monarch, saying: The senate and the people of Rome, once conquerors of the world, now indeed vanquished, come before thee as suppliants. We pray for mercy and deliver- ance. O Attila, thou king of kings, thou couldst have no greater glory than to see suppliant at thy feet this people before whom once all peoples and kings lay suppliant. Thou hast subdued, O Attila, the whole circle of the lands which it was granted to the Romans, victors over all peoples, to ^ This is, of course, an exaggeration. Attila does not seem to have destroyed the buildings, even in Milan and Pavia. The German Invasions 51 conquer. Now we pray that thou, who hast conquered others, shouldst conquer thyself. The people have felt thy scourge; now as suppliants they would feel thy mercy.'’ As Leo said these things Attila stood looking upon his veneral^le garb and aspect, silent, as if thinking deeply. And lo, suddenly there were seen the apostles Peter and Paul, clad like bishops, standing by Leo, the one on the right hand, the other on the left. They held swords stretched out over his head, and threatened Attila with death if he did not obey the pope's command. Wherefore Attila was appeased by Leo’s intercession, — he who had raged as one mad. He straightway promised a lasting peace and withdrew beyond the Danube. V. Clovis and the Franks The history of the Franks was written about a cen- tury after the time of Clovis by Gregory, bishop of Tours. The following extracts give some notion of this valuable source, upon which a great part of our knowledge of the Merovingian period rests ^ : At this time [a.d. 486] the army of Clovis pillaged many churches, for he was still sunk in the errors of idolatry. The soldiers had borne away from a church, with all the other ornaments of the holy ministry, a vase of marvelous size and beauty. The bishop of this church sent messengers to the king, begging that if the church might not recover any other of the holy vessels, at least this one might be restored. The king, hearing these things, replied to the messenger: ‘‘ Follow thou us to Soissons, for there all things that have been acquired are to be divided. If the lot shall give me this vase, I will do what the bishop desires.” When he had reached Soissons, and all the booty had been placed in the midst of the army, the king pointed to this vase, and said : ‘‘ I ask you, O most valiant warriors, not to refuse to me the vase in addition to my rightful part” 1 See below, p. 60. 17. Gregory of Tours and his history of the Franks. The incident of the vase at Soissons 52 Readings in European History The conver- sion of Clovis to Chris- tianity. Those of discerning mind among his men answered, “ O glorious king, all things which we see are thine, and we our- selves are subject to thy power ; now do what seems pleasing to thee, for none is strong enough to resist thee.’’ When they had thus spoken one of the soldiers, impetuous, envious, and vain, raised his battle-ax aloft and crushed the vase with it, crying, ‘‘ Thou shalt receive nothing of this unless a just lot give it to thee.” At this all were stupefied. The king bore his injury with the calmness of patience, and when he had received the crushed vase he gave it to the bishop’s messenger; but he cherished a hidden wound in his breast. When a year had passed he ordered the whole army to come fully equipped to the Campus Martius and show their arms in brilliant array. But when he had reviewed them all he came to the breaker of the vase, and said to him, “ No one bears his arms so clumsily as thou ; for neither thy spear, nor thy sword, nor thy ax is ready for use.” And seizing his ax, he cast it on the ground. And when the soldier had bent a little to pick it up the king raised his hands and crushed his head with his own ax. “ Thus,” he said, ‘‘ didst thou to the vase at Soissons.” [Clovis took to wife Clotilde, daughter of the king of the Burgundians. Now Clotilde was a Christian. When her first son was born] she wished to consecrate him by bap- tism, and begged her husband unceasingly, saying, “The gods whom thou honorest are nothing ; they cannot help themselves nor others; for they are carved from stone, or from wood, or from some metal. The names which you have given them were of men, not of gods, — like Saturn, who is said to have escaped by flight, to avoid being deprived of his power by his son; and like Jupiter himself, foul perpe- trator of all uncleanness. . . . What power have Mars and Mercury ever had ? They are endowed with magical arts rather than divine power. “ The God who should be worshiped is he who by his word created from nothingness the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that in them is ; he who made the sun to The Germa7i hivasions 53 shine and adorned the sky with stars ; who filled the waters with creeping things, the land with animals, the air with winged creatures ; by whose bounty the earth is glad with crops, the trees with fruit, the vines with grapes; by whose hand the human race was created ; whose bounty has ordained that all things should give homage and service to man, whom he created.’’ But when the queen had said these things, the mind of Clovis was not stirred to believe. He answered: “By the will of our gods all things are created and produced. Evi- dently your god can do nothing, and it is not even proved that he belongs to the race of gods.” Meantime the faithful queen presented her son for bap- tism. She had the church adorned with tapestry, seeking to attract by this splendor him whom her exhortations had not moved. But the child whom they called Ingomer, after he had been born again through baptism, died in his white baptismal robe. Then the king reproached the queen bit- terly. “ If the child had been consecrated in the name of my gods he would be alive still. But now, because he is baptized in the name of your god, he cannot live.” . . . After this another son was born to him, and called in baptism Clodomir. He fell very ill. Then the king said : “ Because he, like his brother, was baptized in the name of Christ, he must soon die.” But his mother prayed, and by God’s will the child recovered. The queen unceasingly urged the king to acknowledge the true God, and forsake idols. But he could not in any wise be brought to believe until a war broke out with the Alemanni. Then he was by necessity compelled to confess what he had before willfully denied. It happened that the two armies were in battle, and there was great slaughter. Clovis’ army was near to utter destruction. He saw the danger ; his heart was stirred ; he was moved to tears, and he raised his eyes to heaven, say- ing : Jesus Christ, whom Clotilde declares to be the son of the living God, who it is said givest aid to the oppressed, and victory to those who put their hope in thee, I beseech the 54 Readings in European Plistory glory of thy aid. If thou shalt grant me victory over these enemies and I test that power which people consecrated to thy name say they have proved concerning thee, I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name. For I have called upon my gods, but, as I have proved, they are far removed from my aid. So I believe that they have no power, for they do not succor those who serve them. Now I call upon thee, and I long to believe in thee — all the more that I may escape my enemies.’’ When he had said these things, the Alemanni turned their backs and began to flee. When they saw that their king was killed, they submitted to the sway of Clovis, saying: “We wish that no more people should perish. Now we are thine.” When the king had forbidden further war, and praised his soldiers, he told the queen how he had won the victory by calling on the name of Christ. Then the queen sent to the blessed Remigius, bishop of the city of Rheims, praying him to bring to the king the gospel of salvation. The priest, little by little and secretly, led him to believe in the true God, maker of heaven and earth, and to forsake idols, which could not help him nor anybody else. But the king said : “Willingly will I hear thee, O father; but one thing is in the way — that the people who follow me are not content to leave their gods. I will go and speak to them according to thy word.” When he came among them, the power of God went before him, and before he had spoken all the people cried out together: “We cast off mortal gods, O righteous king, and we are ready to follow the God whom Remigius tells us is immortal.” These things were told to the bishop. He was filled with joy, and ordered the font to be prepared. The streets were shaded with embroidered hangings ; the churches were adorned with white tapestries, the baptistery was set in order, the odor of balsam spread around, candles gleamed, and all the temple of the baptistery was filled with divine odor. . . . Then the king confessed the God omnipotent in The Gej'nian Invasions 55 the Trinity, and was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and was anointed with the sacred chrism with the sign of the cross of Christ. Of his army there were baptized more than three thousand. BIBLIOGRAPHY General Accounts: Adams, Civilization during the Middle Agesy A. Refer- pp. 65-88 and 137-146; Bryce, Holy Roman Empirey Chapter III, ^'t^ces. pp. 14-33; Henderson, Germany in the Middle Ages, pp. 15-40; Dill, Ro 7 nan Society y Book IV, Chapter I, pp. 285-302, “ The General Char- acter of the Invasions ” ; Chapter H, pp. 303-345, “ Roman Feeling about the Invasions”; Chapter III, pp. 342-382, “Relations of the Romans with the Invaders.” The West Goths : Emerton, Introduction to the Middle AgeSy Chapter HI, pp. 22-34 ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Bury’s edition), Vol. HI, Chapter XXVI, pp. 69-132, “ Cross- ing of the Eastern Frontier and Battle of Adrianople”; Vol. HI, Chap- ters XXX-XXXI, pp. 240-356, on the Invasion of the West. The Huns: Emerton, pp. 41 - 47 ; Gibbon, Vol. HI, Chapters XXXIV-XXXV, pp. 416-479* Odoacer: Emerton, pp. 48-52 ; Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XXXVI, pp. 1-56; Oman, European History y from pj 6 to giS, Chapter I, pp. 1-18. The Ostrogoths : Emerton, pp. 52-57 ; Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XXXIX, pp. 170-203; Oman, Chapter H, pp. 19-32. Justinian : Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XL, pp. 205-267, “ Character and Policy”; Vol. IV, Chapters XLI and XLHI, pp. 270-338 and 388-431, on the Conquests in the West ; Oman, Chapters V and VI, pp. 65-1 10. The Lombards: Emerton, pp. 57-59; Gibbon, Vol. V, Chapter XLV, first part, pp. 1-30 ; Oman, pp. 180-198 and 272-288. The Franks: Adams, Growth of the French A'ation, pp. 22-38; Emerton, pp. 60-72 ; Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XXXVIII, pp. 98-120 ; Oman, pp. 55-64, “Clovis”; pp. 111-127 and 158-180, “The Mero- vingians”; pp. 256-271, “Mayors of the Palace.” German Laws and Customs : Adams, Civilizatiouy Chapter V, pp. 89-T06; Emerton, pp. 12-21 and 73-91 ; Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XXXVIII, pp. 122-140; Henderson, Short History of Germanyy pp. 1-2 1. The Germania of Tacitus, Translations and Reprints y Vol. VI, No. 3. Selections from, in Colby, Sources of English Historyy pp. 9-1 1 ; Kendall, Source Book of English Historyy pp. 4-1 1. 56 Readings in Eicropean History B. Addi- tional read- ing hi English. English ver- sions of the sources. C. Materials for advanced study. The Salic Law : Henderson, Historical Documents of the Middle Ages., pp. 176-189. Formulae for Trials and Ordeals : Henderson, Historical Documents, pp. 314-319; Translations and Reprints, Vol. IV, No. 4, pp. 3-22. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, 8 vols. The fullest and most scholarly treatment in English, with many valuable extracts from sources. Dynasty of Theodosius and Theodoric the Goth, Two useful books by the same author, giving in brief form some of the results reached in his larger work. ViLLARi, The Barbarian Invasions of Italy, 2 vols. An animated and graphic narrative of events down to Charlemagne, with extracts from the sources, intended to interest the general reader. Gregorovius, History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vols. I and H. An able discussion of the period, particularly as regards the city of Rome. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, 2 vols. The best sur- vey of conditions in the Empire, especially in the East. McCabe, St. Augustine, His Life and Times. An attractive and sympathetic sketch of the great church father and his contempo- raries. Ammianus Marcellinus, History of Romef translated by Yonge (Bohn Library). St. Augustine, The City of God. Examples of the charming letters of Apollinaris Sidonius are given by Hodgkin, Vol. II, pp. 304-373 (see below, pp. 58 sqqi). The Letters of Cassiodo 7 'us,^ translated by Hodgkin, London, 1886. WiETERSHElM, Geschichte der Volkerwanderung, 2 vols., Leipzig, n. d. (1880 This second edition has been completely recast and revised by Felix Dahn, who has devoted his life to this field of history. Volume I deals with the Romans and barbarians before the coming of the Huns. The second volume, which takes up the invasions of the Goths, Franks, etc., with its critical notes and exhaustive bibliography, is certainly the best guide to the period for the advanced student. Damn’s own voluminous Urgeschichte der germanischen und romani- schen Volker, 4 vols., 1881-1889 (Oncken’s series), covering the early his- tory of the Germans and their movements to the death of Charlemagne, is in general parallel to Hodgkin. It is supplied with illustrations and maps. 1 See below, section C. 2 See below, section C. The German Invasions 57 Gebhardt, Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte^ 2 vols., 2d ed., 1901, is a very condensed history of Germany, — a species of elaborate syllabus prepared by a number of specialists, who give full references to the latest monographs and discussions. It devotes a good deal of space to the Germans before and during the invasions. Fustel DE Coulanges, Histoh'e des histiHitions politiques de Van- cien 7 te France^ Vol. II, “ L’invasion germanique et la fin de I’empire,” Paris, 1891. A brilliant statement of fresh investigations by which the author sought to prove that France owed much more to the Romans and much less to the German barbarians than German scholars had admitted. Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqtPa la Revolution^ edited by Lavisse, Vol. II, Part I (1903), is the most recent and readable gen- eral review of the Merovingian period. The laws of the various German peoples — Franks, West Goths, Burgundians, Lombards, etc. — which were written down during the invasions and afterwards, throw a great deal of light upon the customs, institutions, and ideals of the barbarians. The most complete but not very critical texts of these laws are to be found in the Monu77ienta. Of the histories of law and institutions which make use of this mate- rial, the clearest and most available are : Esmein, Cours Slementaire d* histoire du droit f 7 'an<^ais^ 4th ed., Paris, 1901, 10 fr. ; R. Schroder, Lehrbuch der deutschen Rechtsgeschichte, 4th ed., Leipzig, 1902, M. 22 ; ViOLLET, Histoire des institutions politiques et adTninistratives de la France, 3 vols., Paris, 1890-1903. Pleasantly written and supplied with plentiful references. In these works one finds incorporated such inves- tigations as those of Waitz and Brunner, who have written exhaustive works on the institutions of the Frankish period. The sources of information for the long period of four hundred years which elapsed between the battle of Adrianople and the accession of Charlemagne are very meager and unsatisfactory. Gibbon, after recounting the first great victory of the Goths over the Roman army, as described by Ammianus Marcellinus, says : “ It is not without the most sincere regret that I must now take leave of an accurate and faithful guide, who has composed the history of his own times with- out indulging the passions which usually affect the mind of a contem- porary. Ammianus Marcellinus, who terminates his useful work with the defeat and death of Valens, recommends the more glorious subject of the ensuing reign to the youthful vigour and eloquence of the rising generation. The rising generation w^as not disposed to accept his advice or to imitate his example ; and in the study of the reign of Theodosius U nsatisfac tory charac’ ter of the sources for the barba- rian inva- sions. Gibbon on Ammianus Marcellinus. 58 Readings in European History Augustine’s City of God. Orosius and his History directed against the Pagans. Salvian’s Government of God. Apollinaris Sidonius and his letters. we are reduced to illustrate the partial narrative of Zosimus ^ by the obscure hints of fragments and chronicles, by the figurative style of poetry or panegyric, and by the precarious assistance of the ecclesiasti- cal writers who, in the heat of religious faction, are apt to despise the profane virtues of sincerity and moderation. Conscious of these disad- vantages, which will continue to involve a considerable portion of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, I shall proceed with doubtful and timorous steps.” ^ Instigated by the capture of Rome by Alaric and the West Goths, St. Augustine composed his famous work. The City of God, to that the disaster could not, as the pagans urged, be reasonably attributed to the anger of the heathen gods who had been deserted for the God of the Christians. Orosius, a disciple and ardent admirer of Augustine, undertook further to confound the pagans by reviewing the whole history of the past with the aim of showing that mankind had in all ages suffered from terrible calamities and disasters. Human trouble was no new thing ; so it was absurd, he maintained, to cast the blame for the dis- orders of the time upon the Christians and their religion. His Seven Books of History directed against the Pagans was one of the most popu- lar books of the Middle Ages and greatly affected later writers. The facts were, however, selected and presented with the purpose of proving his gloomy thesis, and only the latter chapters of the work, which closes with the year 417, have any historical value, for they relate to the writer’s own time, about which little is known. There is a cheap and excellent edition of Orosius published by Teub- ner, 1889. The work is to be found in Mtgne, Patrologia Latina, Vol. XXXI, and, better, in the Corpus script 07 'um e c cl esiasti corum I^ati- norum, Vol. V. A specimen has already been given (see pp. 28 sqq. above) of Salvian’s Eight Books on the Government of God, written about 450. This is not a history, nor an impartial description of the social conditions of the time, since the writer is tempted to paint them in too dark colors, and, conversely, to give too cheerful a view of the habits and conduct of the barbarians, whom he believed God had sent to punish the civilized world for its monstrous iniquities. Apollinaris Sidonius, an amiable contemporary of Salvian’s, took a much less gloomy view of the situation than he. The ancestors of 1 See above, p. 42, note. 2 Biiry’s edition, Vol. Ill, p. 122. An amusing but none the less valuable denunciation of the sources for the period of the invasions may be found in Hodgkin, Italy a 7 id her Invaders^ Vol. II, pp. 299-303. The Gei'man Invasions 59 Sidonius had held high offices under the Roman emperors. He was born in Lyons about 430. He received a good education, made many friends, became bishop of Averni, died of a fever about 489, and left to posterity a great number of letters which give a lively idea of the world in which he lived. ‘‘ Sometimes we think of the hundred years between Theodosius and Theodoric as wholly filled with rapine and bloodshed. Sometimes we carry back into the fifth century the thick darkness which hung over the intellectual life of Merowingian France or Lombard Italy. In both these estimates we are mistaken. A careful perusal of the three volumes of the letters and poems of Sidonius reveals to us the fact that in Gaul, at any rate, the air still teemed with intellectual life, that authors were still writing, amanuenses still transcribing, friends complimenting or criticising, and all the cares and pleasures of literature filling the minds of large classes of men just as though no empires were sinking and no strange nationalities were suddenly rising around them” (Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders^ Vol. II, p. 305). For an extract from a letter of Sidonius, see below, pp. 150 sq. The numerous Lives of the saints, although a very uncritical kind of biography, are sometimes helpful to the historical student. The best known of those for the fifth century is the Life of Severinus (d. 482), a missionary who labored in Noricum among the Germans on the Danube. His biography was prepared by his disciple Eugisippus in 51 1. (Text in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. New edition in the octavo edition of the Monumenta; translation in the Geschichtschreiber der deut- schen Vorzeitl) Cassiodorus {ca. \^y-ca. 57o),Theodoric’s minister, was the chief liter- ary promoter of the sixth century. He edited a Tripartite History made up of extracts from three ecclesiastical historians, — Sozomenus, Socrates, and Theodoret, — who had written in Greek a hundred years before. This compilation comes down to 441. Cassiodorus also wrote a history of the Goths, which has unfortunately been lost. But most important of all is his own vast correspondence, which forms an invaluable source for the period. (Text of the Letters, Variarum (epistolarum) Libri XII, edited by Mommsen in the Momcmeitta. Hodgkin has published a condensed English translation.) We have an abridgment of Cassiodorus’ lost History of the Goths made by the illiterate Jordanes about 551. Here for the first time the ancient religious legends of the Germans and the tales of their heroes found their way into Latin. (See above, pp. 39 sqqi) 1 For a description of the Monume^ita and its various divisions and offshoots, see below, pp. 262 sq. Lives of the saints, especially that of Severinus. Cassiodorus, Historia T ripartita. Jordanes. 6o Readings in European History Procopius and his history of the wars of Justinian. Gregory of Tours and his Ten Books of Frankish History. One historical work at least was produced in the sixth century which possesses some of the fine traits of the classical Greek writers. Proco- pius had little in common with the crude and unlettered Jordanes. In his History of his Own Time., which closes with the year 559, he gives an excellent account of Justinian’s wars with the Persians, Goths, and Vandals. (See Bury’s Gibbon,Vol. IV, p. 513.) (Procopius is rather inac- cessible. It is published with a Latin translation in the Corpus scrip- torum historiae Byzantinae., Bonn, 1833-1838. A new edition of the Gothic wars may be had with an Italian translation by Comparetti, Rome, 1895 ^ complete edition, edited by Haury, is announced by Teubner.) As Cassiodorus was spending his last days in a monastery of southern Italy, where he brought his long life to an end, Gregory of Tours (540-594) was beginning his celebrated history of the Franks, without which we should know practically nothing of Clovis and the earlier Merovingian period. Gregory’s position as bishop of Tours gave him a very important place in the Frankish kingdoms, and he had ample opportunity to become acquainted with prominent men, to familiarize himself with public affairs, and to talk with the many pilgrims who flocked to the revered shrine of St. Martin of Tours. The first of his Ten Books of Frankish History hastily reviews the history of the world down to the death of St. Martin of Tours in 397. The two following books deal with Clovis and his successors. The remaining books, constituting the great body of the work and bringing the story down to 591, are really a history of his own time. Here Gregory made use apparently almost altogether of oral tradition and his own observations, for he himself must have witnessed, or had personal knowledge of, many of the things which he narrates. Gregory had little knowledge of the ancient writers, as he himself freely confesses ; his language is grammatically very incorrect, but is simple and direct, and is supposed by some to have nearly approached the spoken Latin of the period. As an ardent orthodox churchman, he hated the Arian Burgundians and West Goths, and too freely condoned the treacherous and bloody deeds of Clovis and others, whom he held to be God’s instruments for the extension of the true Church. Yet in spite of his ignorance and his enthusiasm for his particular form of Christianity, Gregory’s book remains the chief and almost sole historical monument of the Merovingian period. Moreover, he rarely fails to gain his readers’ confidence by his unmistakable sincerity and his directness and freedom from artificiality. (Editions in the Monumenta Germa^tiae Historica ; also in' the Collection de Textes pour servir h V etude de The German Invasions 6i Vhistoire^ 1886-1893. Translation in Geschichtschreiber. The text with a French translation is published by the Societe de I’histoire de France.) The only historical work dealing with the. Franks in the seventh century which has come down to us is that which passes for convenience under the name of Fredegarius the Schoolmaster, although there is no reason to suppose that a man of that name wrote it. Indeed, three writers who probably lived in Burgundy would seem to have been responsible for the only valuable part of the work, which covers the period from Gregory of Tours to the year 660. In the following century, under the inspiration of the brother of Charles Martel, the chronicle of Fredegarius was continued by three other successive writers, who brought it down to the year 768. (Text in the Monu- mental in Geschichtschreiber^ and Guizot, Collection de Me'moires.) The Lombards found their historian in Paulus Warnefridi, com- monly called Paul the Deacon, born about 725 in northern Italy. He was teacher and friend of the Lombard princess Adelperga and became so distinguished as an historian that Charlemagne summoned him to join the literary circle of his court. His history of the Lombards closes with the year 744. (In the Monumenta; also in the octavo edition of the Monumenta and in the Geschichtschreiber 1 ) Full accounts of the sources mentioned above and of the other materials will be found in Wattenbach and in Molinier (see above, p. ii). For Bede’s History of the English Church and The Lives of the Saints which throw light on the conversion of the Germans, see close of Chapter V. The imagi- nary school- master Fredegarius and his chronicle. Paulus Dia- conus (d. ca. 800), and his history of the Lom- bards. CHAPTER IV Threefold nature of the papal claims. Peter’s sojourn at Rome. THE RISE OF THE PAPACY I. The Bishop of Rome and the Headship of the Church The claim of the bishop of Rome to be the divinely ordained head of the Christian Church has always rested upon three main assumptions : (i) that Peter was desig- nated by Christ as the chief of the apostles, (2) that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, and lastly (3) that he handed down to succeeding bishops of Rome the powers which he himself enjoyed. The following extracts illus- trate the nature of these claims and the arguments adduced in support of them. In the New Testament there is indirect evidence of Peter’s sojourn in Rome. The First Epistle of Peter closes with the words, ‘‘The church that is at Babylon . . . saluteth you.” Since there is no reason to think that a Christian community existed at Babylon, it has generally been assumed that Rome is here meant. This appears to be a justifiable interpretation, for the early Christians were wont to denounce Rome as a very Babylon of wickedness.^ Very little has been preserved which casts any light on the position of the bishop of Rome for a century 1 Further evidence for Peter’s presence in Rome is adduced from the New Testament. See, among other writers, Langen, Geschichte der romischen Kirche,^ pp. 40 sqq. 62 The Rise of the Papacy 63 after Peter’s death, which probably occurred during the persecution of the Christians under Nero (a.d. 64) or not long after.^ ■ Irenaeus, who became bishop of Lyons in 177 and is. irenaeus who died about 202, in a work directed against the vari- gtves ^ ous heresies which prevailed, emphasizes the purity and authority of the beliefs handed down in the Roman Rome. Church. He would put to confusion all those who dis- sented from the orthodox belief by bringing forward that tradition derived from the apos- tles of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known — church, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. This is the faith preached to men which comes down to our own times through the succession of the bishops. . . . And it is a matter of neces- sity that every church should agree with this church, on account of its preeminent authority.^ . . . 1 About the year 95 a letter, ascribed to Clement — who, according to later tradition, was bishop of Rome — was dispatched from the Roman Church to that at Corinth. This speaks of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, in enumerating the noble examples of Christian heroes “ furnished in our own generation.” It also reproves the Corinthian Church for deposing certain churchmen, and so seems to assume a species of supe- riority. A few years later (probably in 107) Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the Church at Rome that he was on his way to the capital to suffer martyrdom. His letter begins : “ To the church which is beloved and enlightened by the will of Him that willeth all things, . . . which presides in the place of the region of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, presiding in love, is named from Christ, and from the Father,” etc. To some scholars these passages seem to indicate the early supremacy of the Roman Church. To others they appear too vague to prove more than a natural preeminence of the Christian community of the capital, which had num- bered Peter and Paul among its many martyrs. 2 This rather vague and much discussed passage reads. Ad hanc enim ecclesiam propter potiorem principalitatem. necesse est omnem con- venire ecclesiam. 64 Readings in European History The blessed apostles, having founded and built up the church, committed the office of bishop into the hands of Linus. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus ; and after him in the third place from the apostles, Clement was assigned the bishopric. This man, since he had seen the blessed apostles and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing in his ears and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone in this, for there were still many remaining who had received instruc- tions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful let- ter to the Corinthians,^ exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles. . . . To this Clement succeeded Evaristus. Alexander fol- lowed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed ; after him Telesphorus, who was gloriously mar- tyred ; then Hyginus ; after him Pius ; then after him Ani- cetus. Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now in the twelfth place from the apostles hold the inherit- ance of the episcopate. In this order and by this succes- sion, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles and the preaching of the truth have come down to us, and this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivify- ing ffiith which has now been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now and handed down in truth. Tertullian, presbyter at Carthage, a vigorous writer of the second and early third century, thus speaks of the churches founded by the apostles : Come now you who would profitably direct your curiosity toward the interests of your salvation, run over the apostolic churches in which the chairs of the apostles still preside in 19. Tertul- lian (ca. i6o- ca . 220) dwells upon the special distinction of the apos- tolic church at Rome. 1 See note i on preceding page. The Rise of the Papacy 65 their places, where their own authentic letters are still read, bringing back their voice and the face of each. If you hap- pen to be near Achaia, you have Corinth ; if you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi and Thessalonica. If you can turn toward Asia, you have Ephesus. If you live near Italy, you have Rome, from whence comes the authority in our own case. How happy is this church on which apostles poured forth all their teachings along with their blood! where Peter endures a passion like his Lord’s 1 where Paul wins his crown in a death like John’s, where the Apostle John was plunged — but uninjured — into boiling oil, and then sent to his island exile! See what she has learned and taught and the fellowship she has enjoyed with even [our] churches in Africa. Later Tertullian joined the sect of the Montanists, who were regarded as heretics by the Roman Church. In his treatise On Modesty ” he protests scornfully against the powers claimed by the bishop of Rome. He learns, he says, that the sovereign pontiff, that is, the bishop of bishops,” has issued a certain edict of which he can in no way approve. He then proceeds to inquire whence the bishop of Rome ^Hisurp^this right. If because the Lord said to Peter, upon this rock will I build my church,” to thee have^ given the keys of the heavenly kingdom,” or “ whatSQjever thou shalt have bound or loosed on earth shall be jx4^fid or loosed in the heavens,” you, therefore, presume that the power of binding and loos- ing has come down to you, that is, to every church akin to Peter, what sort of man are you, subverting and wholly changing the manifest intention of the Lord, who conferred this right upon Peter personally, ‘‘ On theef he says, “ will I build my church,” and ‘H will give to thee the keys,” not to the church ; and ‘‘whatsoever thou shalt have loosed or bound,” not what they shall have loosed or bound. Later Ter- tullian ques- tions the claims of the bishop of Rome. 66 Readings in European History 20. Cyprian on the danger of appeals to the bishop of Rome (252). 21. The Council of Nicaea mentions the bishop of Rome among the archbishops. The attitude of Cyprian toward the bishop of Rome and the bishops in general has already been shown. ^ There are, however, certain interesting passages in his letters in regard to the matter in hand. For example, certain persons having withdrawn from the unity of the Church and set up a bishop of their own, Cyprian says of them : They dare to appeal to the throne of Peter, and to the chief church whence priestly unity takes its source. . . . But we have all agreed — as is both fair and just — that every case should be heard there where the crime has been com- mitted ; and a portion of the flock has been assigned to each individual pastor, which he is to rule and govern, hav- ing to give an account of his deeds to the Lord. It certainly behooves those over whom we are placed not to run about, nor to break up the harmonious agreement of the bishops with their crafty and deceitful rashness, but there to plead their cause, where they may be able to have both accusers and witnesses to their crime. It was almost inevitable that the bishops in the vari- ous great cities of the Empire should be conceded a cer- tain preeminence over the bishops about them. In this way the office of archbishop, or metropolitan, developed. The first distinct, legal recognition of the rights of the archbishops is found in the famous sixth canon of the Council of Nicaea (325). The old custom in Egypt, Libya, and the Pentapolis shall continue to be observed, so that the bishop of Alexandria shall exercise authority over all these regions, for the bishop of Rome enjoys a similar right. Similarly in Antioch and in the other provinces the churches shall retain their preroga- tives. Moreover let it be known that should any one have 1 See above, pp. i()sqq. The Rise of the Papacy 67 become bishop without the approval of the metropolitan, this great council has ordained that such an one shall not be regarded as a bishop. . . . The council says nothing of a single head of the Church having jurisdiction over all the other bishops. And here it is necessary to notice a very important but often neglected distinction between (i) the moral and religious supremacy accorded to the bishop of Rome, and (2) the recognition of his right to be the supreme director of the whole church government. As the head of the venerated church at Rome, and as the successor of the two most glorious of the apostles, who had con- firmed with their blood the teachings which they had handed down to their successors, the bishop of Rome doubtless seemed to the prelates assembled at Nicaea, as he had seemed to Irenaeus and Cyprian, chief among the bishops. Yet there is no indication in the acts of the Council of Nicaea that as an officer in the Church the bishop of Rome enjoyed any greater or wider jurisdic- tion than other metropolitans, such as the archbishop of Alexandria or of Antioch. Nevertheless, the bishop of Rome was destined to be recognized in the West both as spiritual and govern- mental head of the Church. The Council of Sardika, eighteen years after the Council of Nicaea, decreed that should any bishop believe that he had been unjustly condemned and deposed by a synod, he should have the privilege of appealing to the bishop of Rome. If the latter decided that the case should be reconsidered, he should order a new trial by other judges. There is evidence that the Roman church and its bishops had from the earliest times been consulted by Distinction between the position of the bishop of Rome as religious and as govern- mental head of the Church. The Council of Sardika (343) permits condemned bishops to appeal to Rome for a new trial. 68 Readings in Eiiropean History 22. The decretal of Siricius(385) the first authentic example of a papal decree. The bishop of Rome assumes his right to issue decrees bind- ing upon other bishops. other churches when dissension arose, and that the rulings of Rome enjoyed the greatest authority. But the earliest extant example of an authoritative order addressed to the Church in general by a bishop of Rome is the famous Decretal of Pope Siricius, issued sixty years after the Council of Nicaea. A bishop of Spain had submitted a number of ques- tions to the bishop of Rome. These Siricius decides in detail, and then closes his letter as follow^ I believe that I have now given a sufficient answer to the various questions which you have referred to the Roman church as to the head of your body. Now we would stimu- late you, our brother, more and more carefully to observe the canons and adhere to the decretals^ which have been ordained. Moreover, we would have you bring to the attention of all our fellow-bishops those things which we have written in reply to your questions, not only to those bishops who are within your dioceses, but to all the Carthaginians, Baeticans, Lusitanians, and Gallicians,^ as well as to those in the neigh- boring provinces. Let all the matters which have been duly settled by us be transmitted to them through letters from you. For although no priest of God is likely to remain in ignorance of the decrees of the Apostolic See and the vener- able decisions of the canons, it will be more expedient and more to the glory of the ancient station which you occupy if those general orders which I have addressed to you individu- ally should be brought through you to the attention of all our brethren. In this way those things which have been ordained by us with the utmost circumspection and caution, after due 1 The term “ decretal,” applied to papal ordinances, is derived from epistolae decretales^ i.e. letters which authoritatively established some point. The acts of the councils are usually called “ canons,” i.e. rules.” 2 Siricius is addressing the bishop of Tarragona. The regions here enumerated included the rest of the Spanish peninsula. The Rise of the Papacy 69 deliberation and by no means hastily, shall be permanently observed, and thus all possibility of those excuses which might otherwise reach us shall be removed. St. Jerome, however, in spite of the veneration which he often expressed for the Church of Rome, does not always appear to recognize the supremacy of the bishop of Rome over the other bishops. The church at Rome is not to be considered as one thing and the rest of the churches throughout the world as another. Those of Gaul and Britain, Africa, Persia, and India, as well as the various barbarous nations, adore one Christ and observe a single rule of truth. If you are looking for author- ity, the world is surely greater than the city of Rome. Where- ever there is a bishop, whether at Rome or Eugubium, at Constantinople, Rhegium, or Alexandria, his rank and priest- hood are the same. Neither the power that riches bring nor the humility of poverty makes a bishop higher or lower in rank. All are successors of the apostles. . . . Why urge the custom of a single city ? Leo the Great gives the following clear statement of nature and grounds of the pope’s claim to be head of the whole Church. ... A single person, Peter, is appointed from the whole world as a leader in the calling of all peoples, and is placed above all the other apostles and the fathers of the Church. Although there are many priests among the people of God, and many pastors, Peter should of right rule all of those whom Christ himself rules in the first instance. Great and marvelous, my dear brethren, is the participation in its own power which it has pleased the Divine Excellency to grant to this man. And such powers as it granted to other leaders in common with Peter were granted only through Peter. Our Lord, indeed, asked all the apostles what men said of him, but so long as it was left to all to reply, so long was the hesitation 23. St. Jerome (d. 420 ) on the equality of all the bishops. 24. A ser- mon by Leo the Great on Peter^s headship. 7o Readings in European Histoiy of human ignorance clearly displayed. But when the opin- ion of the apostles was asked, he who was first in apostolic dignity was the first to reply; who when he had answered, “ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’’ Jesus said to him, ‘‘Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven ” — that is to say, thou art blessed for this reason, for my father has taught thee, neither has mere earthly opin- ion misled thee, but thou art instructed by a heavenly inspi- ration. ... I am the foundation than which none other can be established ; yet thou too art a rock \^petra\ because thou art made firm by my strength, so that those things which I have in virtue of my power thou shalt have in common with me by participation. “And upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” . . . And he said to the blessed Peter, “ I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and what- soever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The right to this power passed also to the other apostles, and the provisions of this ordinance went forth to all the leaders of the Church. Still it was not in vain that what was made known to all was especially recommended to one. For this power was intrusted expressly to Peter, since Peter was placed as a model before all the rulers of the Church. Peter’.? prerogative remains and everywhere his judgment goes forth in equity. For never is severity too great nor forgiveness too lax where nothing is bound nor loosed except the blessed Peter bind or loose it. Just before his passion, which was about to shake the apostles’ constancy, the Lord said to Simon, “ Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat : but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not: and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, stab- lish thy brethren,” 2 that you should not enter into tempta- tion. The danger of the temptation to yield to fear was ^ Matthew xvi. 16-17. 2 Luke xxii. 31-32. The Rise of the Papacy 71 common to all the apostles and all alike needed the aid of divine protection, since the devil desired to confound and ruin them all. Yet the Lord took special care of Peter and prayed especially that Peter might have faith, as if the state of the others would be more secure if the mind of their chief was not overcome. In Peter, therefore, the strength of all was confirmed and the aid of divine grace so ordered that the strength which was granted to Peter by Christ was in turn transmitted through Peter to the apostles. Since, therefore, beloved brethren, we behold this protec- tion divinely appointed to us, we may properly and justly rejoice in the merits and dignity of our leader, sending up thanks to our eternal King and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, for giving such power to him whom he made the head of the whole Church : so that if anything, even in our own days, is rightly done by us and rightly ordained, it should be properly attributed to the influence and guidance of him to whom it was said : When once thou hast turned again, stablish thy brethren.’^ To whom, moreover, his Lord, after his resurrection, when Peter had three times professed his eternal love, said mystically three times, ‘‘ Feed my sheep.’’ ^ Like a faithful shepherd, he has beyond a doubt fulfilled his Lord’s command, confirming us by his exhortations, and never ceasing to pray for us that we be not overcome by any temptation. . . . [Elsewhere Leo says :] Although the priests enjoy a com- mon dignity, they are not all on the same footing, since even among the blessed apostles, who were alike in honor, there was a certain distinction in authority. All were alike chosen, but it was given to one that he should be preeminent among the others. Upon this model the distinction among the bishops is based, and it is salutarily provided that all should not claim the right to do all things, but in each province there should be one who should have the first word among his brethren. Again, in the greater cities others are appointed to greater responsibilities. Through these the oversight of Leo on the hierarchy (446). 1 John xxi. 15 sqq. 72 Readings in European History 25. The edict of the emperor Valentinian recognizing the suprem- acy of the bishop of Rome (445). 26. Letter of Pope Gelasius I to Emperor Anastasias on the superiority of the spiritual over the temporal power ( 494 ). the whole Church is concentrated in one see, that of Peter, and from this head there should never be any dissent. The following edict was issued by the western emperor, during Leo’s pontificate : Since, then, the primacy of the Apostolic See is estab- lished by the merit of St. Peter (who is the chief among the bishops), by the majesty of the city of Rome, and finally by the authority of a holy council,^ no one, without inexcusable pre- sumption, may attempt anything against the authority of that see. Peace will be secured among the churches if every one recognize his ruler. [After a reference to the independent action of certain prelates of Gaul, the edict continues.] Lest even a slight commotion should arise in the churches, or the religious order be disturbed, we herewith permanently decree that not only the bishops of Gaul, but those of the other prov- inces, shall attempt nothing counter to ancient custom with- out the authority of the venerable father {^papa^ of the Eternal City. Whatever shall be sanctioned by the author- ity of the Apostolic See shall be law to them and to every one else ; so that if one of the bishops be summoned to the judgment of the Roman bishop and shall neglect to appear, he shall be forced by the moderator ^ of his province to present himself. In all respects let the privileges be main- tained which our deified predecessors have conferred upon the Roman church. The pope’s view of the natural superiority of the spir- itual over the temporal power finds a clear expression in the following remarkable letter of Gelasius I (494). . . . There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power. Of these, that of the priests is the more weighty, since they have to render an account for even the kings of men in the divine judgment. You are 1 That of Sardika: see above, p. 67. ^ An imperial official. The Rise of the Papacy 73 also aware, dear son, that while you are permitted honorably to rule over human kind, yet in things divine you bow your head humbly before the leaders of the clergy and await from their hands the means of your salvation. In the reception and proper disposition of the heavenly mysteries you rec- ognize that you should be subordinate rather than superior to the religious order, and that in these matters you depend on their judgment rather than wish to force them to follow your will. If the ministers of religion, recognizing the supremacy granted you from heaven in matters affecting the public order, obey your laws, lest otherwise they might obstruct the course of secular affairs by irrelevant considerations, with what readiness should you not yield them obedience to whom is assigned the dispensing of the sacred mysterie.s of religion. Accordingly, just as there is no slight danger in the case of the priests if they refrain from speaking when the service of the divinity requires, so there is no little risk for those who disdain — which God forbid — when they should obey. And if it is fitting that the hearts of the faithful should submit to all priests in general who properly administer divine affairs, how much the more is obedience due to the bishop of that see which the Most High ordained to be above all others, and which is consequently dutifully honored by the devotion of the whole Church. II. Gregory the Great and his Times Times of emergency call forth great men — men at least, if not great in relation to the true intellectual, moral, and spiritual dignity of man, great in relation to the state and to the necessities of their age ; engrossed by the powerful and dominant principles of their time, and bringing to the advancement of those principles surpassing energies of character, inflexible resolution, the full conviction of the wisdom, justice, and holiness of their cause, in religious affairs of the direct and undeniable sanction of God. Such 27. Milman on Gregory the Great and the importance of the papacy. 74 Readings in European History was Gregory I, to whom his own age and posterity have assigned the appellation of the Great. Now was the crisis in which the Papacy must reawaken its obscured and suspended life. It was the only power which lay not entirely and absolutely prostrate before the disasters of the times, — a power which had an inherent strength, and might resume its majesty. It was this power which was most imperatively required to preserve all which was to survive out of the crumbling wreck of Roman civilization. To Western Christianity was absolutely necessary a centre, standing alone, strong in traditionary reverence, and in acknowledged claims to supremacy. Even the perfect organization of the Christian hierarchy might in all human probability have fallen to pieces in perpetual conflict : it might have degenerated into a half secular feudal caste with hereditary benefices, more and more entirely subserv- ient to the civil authority, a priesthood of each nation or each tribe, gradually sinking to the intellectual or religious level of the nation or tribe. . . . It is impossible to conceive what had been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the middle ages, without the mediaeval Papacy ; and of the mediaeval Papacy the real X father is Gregory the Great. In all his predecessors there was much of the uncertainty and indefiniteness of a new dominion. Christianity had converted the Western world — it had by this time transmuted it : in all except the Roman law, it was one with it. Even Leo the Great had something of the Roman dictator. Gregory is the Roman altogether merged in the Christian bishop. 28. Sad state of the western world as depicted in the letters of Gregory the Great. The calamities of the times, especially the coming of ‘‘the most unspeakable Lombards,” as he com- monly calls them, convinced Gregory that the end of the world was near at hand. In a letter written to a fellow-bishop shortly after he reluctantly became pope, he gives a dark picture of the world and of his heavy responsibilities : The Rise of the Papacy 75 Gregory to Leander^ bishop of Seville : With all my heart I have wished to answer you better, but the burden of my pastoral calls so overpowers me that I would rather weep than speak, — as your reverence un- doubtedly gathers from the very character of my corre- spondence when I am remiss in addressing one whom I warmly love. In fact, so beaten about am I by the billows in this corner of the world, that I can in no wise bring to harbor the ancient, rolling ship at whose helm I stand through God’s mysterious dispensation. Now the waves break over us from the front, now at the side the foaming mountains of the sea swell high, now in the rear the tempest pursues us. Beset by all these perils, I am forced first to steer directly in the face of the storm, again to swerve the vessel and to receive obliquely the onset of the waters. I groan, because I know that if I am negli- gent the bilge water of vice is deepening, and that if the storm assails us furiously at that instant the decaying planks forebode shipwreck. Fearful, I remember that I have lost my quiet shore of peace, and sighing I gaze toward the land which, while the wind of circumstances blows contrarily, I cannot gain. So, dearest brother, if you love me, stretch forth the hand of prayer to me amid these floods, and, as you aid me in my troubles, thus as a reward shall you come forth more valiantly from yours. . . . [Of all the signs described by our Lord as presaging the end of the world], some we see already accomplished ; the others we dread as close upon us. For we now see that nation rises against nation, and that they press and weigh upon the land in our own times as never before in the annals of the past. Earthquakes overwhelm countless cities, as we often hear from other parts of the world. Pestilence we endure without interruption. It is true that as yet we do not behold signs in the sun and moon and stars ; but that these are not far off we may infer from the changes in the atmosphere. Before Italy was given over to be desolated by the sword of a heathen foe, we beheld fiery ranks in Signs that the end of the world is at hand. (From one of Gregory’s Sermons^ A reference, perhaps, to the aurora borealis. 76 Readings in European History heaven, and even the streaming blood of the human race as it was afterwards spilt. 29. How a monk dared to have gold in his possession. (From Gregory’s Dialogues.) Gregory’s Dialogues, a collection of the lives of holy men, was for centuries, probably, the most popular of his works. Two examples of his accounts of the saints and the miracles which they performed will be found in the following chapter. The incident given below sheds light upon Gregory’s life as abbot of a monastery. There was in my monastery a certain monk, Justus by name, skilled in medicinal arts. . . . When he knew that his end was at hand, he made known to Copiosus, his brother in the flesh, how that he had three gold pieces hidden away. Copiosus, of course, could not conceal this from the breth- ren. He sought carefully, and examined all his brother’s drugs, until he found the three gold pieces hidden away among the medicines. When he told me this great calamity that concerned a brother who had lived in common with us, I could hardly hear it with calmness. For the rule of this our monastery was always that the brothers should live in common and own nothing individually. Then, stricken with great grief, I began to think what I could do to cleanse the dying man, and how I should make his sins a warning to the living brethren. Accordingly, having summoned Pretiosus, the superintendent of the monastery, I commanded him to see that none of the brothers visited the dying man, who was not to hear any words of consolation. If in the hour of death he asked for the brethren, then his own brother in the flesh was to tell him how he was hated by the brethren because he had concealed money ; so that at death remorse for his guilt might pierce his heart and cleanse him from the sin he had committed. When he was dead his body was not placed with the bodies of the brethren, but a grave was dug in the dung pit, and his body was flung down into it, and the three pieces of > gold he had left were cast upon him, while all together cried, “Thy money perish with thee!” .... The Rise of the Papaey 77 When thirty days had passed after his death, my heart began to have compassion on my dead brother, and to ponder prayers with deep grief, and to seek what remedy there might be for him. Then I called before me Pretiosus, superintendent of the monastery, and said sadly : “It is a long time that our brother who died has been tormented by fire, and we ought to have charity toward him, and aid him so far as we can, that he may be delivered. Go, therefore, and for thirty successive days from this day offer sacrifices for him. See to it that no day is allowed to pass on which the salvation-bringing mass \_hostia] is not offered up for his abso- lution.”^ He departed forthwith and obeyed my words. W'e, however, were busy with other things, and did not count the days as they rolled by. But lo ! the brother who had died appeared by night to a certain brother, even to Copiosus, his brother in the flesh. When Copiosus saw him he asked him, saying, “ What is it, brother ? How art thou?” To which he answered: “Up to this time I have been in torment ; but now all is well with me, because to-day I have received the communion.” This Copiosus straightway reported to the brethren in the monastery. Then the brethren carefully reckoned the days, and it was the very day on which the thirtieth oblation was made for him. Copiosus did not know what the brethren were doing for his dead brother, and the brethren did not know that Copiosus had seen him ; yet at one and the same time he learned what they had done and they learned what he had seen, and the vision and the sacrifice harmonized. So the fact was plainly shown forth how that the brother who had died had escaped punishment through the salvation- giving mass. Among the works of Gregory the Great, none was more highly esteemed than his great Commentary on the Book of Job, — his Moralia, as he entitled it. The ^ This is, perhaps, the earliest clear reference to masses for the souls of the dead. How the soul of the sinning monk was saved by the saying of masses. 30. Gregory’s Moralia, or Commentary on the Book of Job. 78 Readings in E^iropean History The Scrip- tures taken in their literal sense are fitted for the simple- minded, but there is a deeper alle- gorical mean* ing for the wise. Gregory’s ill health. Gregory justifies his neglect of grammar and rhetoric. work is prefaced by a letter to a friend who had urged him to undertake it. In spite of the burden of his other responsibilities, Gregory, relying upon God’s aid, resolved to attempt to give the deeper allegorical meaning as well as the literal explanation. For as the Word of God, by the mysteries which it con- tains, exercises the understanding of the wise, so it often nourishes the simple-minded by what presents itself on the outside. It presenteth in open day that wherewith the little onts may be fed ; it keepeth in secret that whereby men of a /loftier range may be held in wondering suspense. It is, it were, a kind of river, if I may so liken it, which is both / shallow and deep, wherein both the lamb may find a footing and the elephant float at large. ... This exposition being such as I have described, I have transmitted it to your Blessedness for your inspection, not because I have carried it out as worthily as I should, but because I remember that I promised it at your request. In which whatsoever your Holiness may discover that is languid or unpolished, let it be excused, since, as is well known, I was ill when I prepared it. When the body is worn out with sickness, the mind being also affected, our efforts to express ourselves grow weak. For many years now I have been afflicted with frequent pains in the bowels, and the powers of my stomach being broken down, I am at all times and seasons weakly. Under the influence of fevers, slow, but in constant succession, I draw my breath with difficulty. . . . And perchance it was by Divine Providence designed that I, a stricken one, should set forth Job stricken, and that, through being scourged myself, I should the more perfectly enter into the feelings of one that was scourged. . . . I beg, moreover, that in going through the statements of this work you would not seek the foliage of eloquence therein ; for by the sacred oracles the vanity of a barren wordiness is purposely debarred those that treat thereof. The Rise of the Papaey 79 . . . Hence that art of speaking which is conveyed by rules of worldly training I have despised to observe ; for as the tenor of this epistle also will tell, I do not escape harsh- sounding consonants, nor do I avoid barbarisms, and I pay little attention to rhetorical situations and arrangements, and the cases of propositions. For I account it very far from meet to submit the words of the divine oracle to the rules of Donatus ^ ; neither are these observed by any of the translators thereof, in the authoritative text of Holy Writ. Now as my exposition takes its origin from thence^ it is plainly meet that this production, like a kind of offspring, should wear the likeness of its mother. The manner of this allegorical interpretation, so pop- ular throughout the Middle Ages, may be illustrated by Gregory’s commentary on the statement that Job pos- sessed, among other property, ‘‘five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred she asses.” We have said above that by the number fifty, which is completed by seven weeks and the addition of an unit, rest is signified, and by the number ten the sum of perfection is set forth. Now, forasmuch as the perfection of rest is promised to the faithful, by multiplying fifty ten times, we arrive at five hundred. But in Sacred Writ the title of oxen sometimes represents the dullness of the foolish sort, and sometimes the life of well-doers. For because the stupidity of the fool is represented by the title of an ox, Solomon says rightly, ‘‘ He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter.” Again, that the life of every laborer is set forth by the title of oxen, the precepts of the Law are a testimony, which enjoined through Moses, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.” And this again is declared in plain words, “ The labourer is worthy of his hire.” ^ A grammarian, St. Jerome^s teacher, who wrote the elementary grammar most widely used during the Middle Ages. A reaction against the current literary bombast. An example of allegorical interpreta- tion. 8o Readings in European History By the title of asses, too, we have represented sometimes the unrestrained indulgence of the wanton, sometimes the simple-mindedness of the Gentiles ; for the inertness of fools is imaged by the designation of asses, as where it is said through Moses, “Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together/’ As though he said, “ Do not associate fools and wise men together in preaching, lest by means of him who has no power to accomplish the work you hinder him who has abundant power.” The unrestrained indulgence of the wanton is likewise set forth by the appellation of asses, as the prophet testifies when he says, “ whose flesh is as the flesh of asses.” Again, by the title of asses is shown the simplicity of the Gentiles. Hence, when the Lord went up to Jerusalem, he is related to have sat upon a young ass. For what is it for him to come to Jerusalem sitting upon an ass, except taking possession of the simple hearts of the Gentiles to conduct them to the vision of peace, by ruling and ordering them And this is shown by one passage, and that a very easy one, in that both the workmen of Judea are represented by oxen, and the Gentile peoples by an ass, when it is said by the prophet, “ The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib.” For who appears as the ox saving the Jewish people, whose neck was worn by the yoke of the Law ? And who was the ass but the Gentile world, which was like a brute animal readily seduced by every deceiver, for he did not resist by exercise of reason ? 31. Greg- ory’s insight into human nature exhibited in his Pastoral Charge. The modern reader who may not find either the Dialogues or the Moralia to his taste will, nevertheless, agree that few works exhibit a deeper insight into human character and motives than Gregory’s Pastoral Charge^ in which he discourses on the difficult position of the bishops : It is hard for a preacher who is not loved, however right may be his warnings, to be heard gladly. He, therefore, The Rise of the Papacy 8i who is over others ought to study to be loved, that he may be heard ; and yet not to seek his own popularity for itself, lest he be found by a secret usurpation in thought to oppose him whom by his office he appeareth to serve. This Paul well signifieth, when he maketh manifest to us the secrets of his desires, saying, “ Even as I please all men in all things ’’ ; who nevertheless saith again, ‘‘ If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.’^ Paul therefore pleaseth and pleaseth not, because in that he desireth to please, he seeketh not that he himself, but that through him the Truth, should please men. The spiritual guide ought also to know that vices for the most part feign themselves to be virtues. For niggardliness often cloaketh itself under the name of frugality ; and lavish- ness, on the other hand, hideth itself under the title of bounty. Often an inordinate forgiveness is thought to be kindness, and unbridled wrath is reckoned the virtue of spiritual zeal. Often headlong action is supposed to be the efficiency of speed, and slowness apes the deliberation of seriousness. Hence the ruler of souls must needs distinguish with watchful care between virtues and vices ; lest either nig- gardliness take possession of his heart, and he be delighted to appear frugal in his distributions ; or when a thing is lavishly expended, he should boast himself as bountiful in showing mercy ; or by forgiving that which he ought to smite, he should drag his subjects to eternal punishments; or by smiting ruthlessly that which is wrong, he do more grievous wrong himself; or by unreasonably hastening that which might have been done duly and seriously, he should render it of no esteem; or by putting off the merit of a good action, he should change it for the worse. Inasmuch, then, as we have shown what manner of man the pastor ought to be, let us now make known after what manner he teacheth. For, as Gregory Nazianzen of rever- end memory hath taught long before us, one and the same The preacher should make himself beloved, but not seek popularity for its own sake. Vices cloak themselves in virtues. Many men of many minds. A. Refer- ences. B. Addi- tional read- ing in English. 82 Readings in European History exhortation is not suited to all, because all are not bound by the same manner of character. For ofttimes the things which profit some are bad for others. Inasmuch as for the most part the herbs also which feed some animals kill others; and a gentle whistling which stilleth horses setteth dogs astir; and the medicine which abateth one disease giveth force to another ; and the bread which strengtheneth the life of the vigorous putteth an end to that of babes. The speech, therefore, of teachers ought to be fashioned according to the condition of the hearers, that it may both be suited to each for his own needs, and yet may never depart from the system of general edification. For what are the attentive minds of the hearers but, as I may so say, certain strings stretched tight on a harp which he that is skillful in playing, to the end that he may produce a tune which shall not be at variance with itself, striketh in various ways ? And therefore the strings give back harmonious melody because they are beaten with one quill indeed but not with one stroke. Whence also every teacher, to the end that he may edify all in the one virtue of charity, ought to touch the hearts of his hearers out of one system of teaching but not with one and the same address. BIBLIOGRAPHY General Accounts: Emerton, Introduction^ pp. 93-109; Adams, Civilization^ Chapter IX, pp. 92-113; B^mont and Monod, pp. 1 15-124. Gregory the Great : Gibbon, Vol. V, Chapter XLV, end, pp. 25-32 ; Oman, pp. 198-203. Newman, Manual of Church History^ Vol. I. Covering the whole period before the Protestant Revolt. The most useful recent introduc- tion to the subject, with good bibliographies. ^ 1 The innumerable histories of the Church are all of them somewhat unsatis- factory from the standpoint of the ordinary historical student who turns to them for an account of the general development of the Church and the rise of the papacy. He is likely to be especially confused and impeded by the frequent and often highly technical discussions of heresies and doctrinal controversies which have always had an irresistible charm for ecclesiastical writers. Nevertheless the The Rise of the Papacy 83 Milman, History of Latin Christianity. First published in 1856; consequently rather old, but scholarly, readable, and fair-minded, so that it is still deservedly popular as a fuller treatment. For Gregory the Great, see Book III, Chapter VII. Alzog, Manual of Universal Church History ^ 3 vols. The most careful and scholarly general account from a Catholic standpoint to be had in English. Hatch, Growth of Church Institutions. A brief but excellent account of the evolution of certain prominent features in church organization. SCHAFF, History of the Christia7i Churchy Vols. I-I V to Gregory VII. Vol. V has never appeared. Vols. VI and VII relate to the Protestant Revolt. A voluminous but well-written treatise, where the student will find special topics fully and interestingly treated. It was written a generation later than Milman’s volumes referred to above. Rivington, Luke, • The Primitive Church and the See of Peter. A discussion by a Catholic of the position of the bishops of Rome in the early Church. Mann, Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, A.D. ggo-ygg, 2 vols. The most careful and recent treatise on the papacy during this period. Barney, Gregory the Great. A condensed account of Gregory’s life and times, followed by a summary of his works. Schaff-Herzog, a Religious E7icyclopcedia, 4 vols., 1891. Based upon the great German Realencyklopddie mentioned below. Addis and Arnold, A Catholic Dictionary, containing some account of the doctrine, discipline, rites, ceremonies, councils, and religious orders of the Catholic Church, 2d ed., London, 1884. These dictionaries are a great aid to the historical student in looking up special topics and in discovering the exact meaning of technical terms. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, Vols. I and II. This is a C. Materials rather poor English translation of a very condensed but highly scholarly for advanced and valuable German manual, which takes careful account of all the recent discussions, especially those which have appeared in German periodicals and monographs. The best work of reference in this field. Gieseler, Ecclesiastical History, 5 vols. A scanty outline accom- panied by voluminous footnotes in which long and important passages church histories are indispensable, and by consulting the tables of contents one can easily discover the sections which bear upon the matters in which the reader is interested. 84 Readings in European History from the sources are given. This renders it especially useful to one who has not a large library at his disposal. Hergenrother, Joseph, Cardinal, Allgemeine Kirchengeschichte^ 3d ed., 1884-1886 (4th ed., edited by Kirsch, Vol. I, 1902, carrying the history down to the seventh century). The work of a distinguished Catholic authority. Realencyklopddie fur protestantische Theologie und Kirche. Begriin- det von J. /. Herzog. A third carefully revised edition of this all- important ecclesiastical encyclopedia is being issued under the editor- ship of Hauck. Vols. I-XIII, over half the work, have appeared. Leipzig, 1896 sqq. Kirchenlexikon oder Encyklopddie der Katholischen Theologie und ihre Hilfswissenschaften. Second edition edited by Hergenrother and Kauler, 12 vols. and separately bound index, Freiburg, 1882-1901. Both of the above are of the utmost value to the student of general history, who should turn to them for special topics and bibliographies. Mirbt, Carl, Quellen zur Geschichte des Papsthums., 2d ed., 1903* A very useful selection of documents given in the original Latin. Langen, Geschichte der Rdmischen Kirche^ 4 vols., Bonn, 1881-1893. Coming down to Innocent III. Probably the best detailed history of the popes. It claims to be written exclusively from the sources. Hefele, Conciliengeschichte., 2d ed., 1873-1890 : Vols. I-VI reach the opening of the fifteenth chapter (Vol. VII has not appeared in the second edition; Vols. VIII and IX are a continuation by Cardinal Hergenrother). The classical history of the Christian councils, written by a remarkable Catholic scholar. Harnack, History of Dogma^ 7 vols. (Boston, ^17.50) ; original German edition, under the title Lehrbuchder Dogmengeschichte^'}^s[o\^..,'}fi%^.y 1894- 1897, M. 52.50. Although a technical work dealing with a phase of the past in which the historical student is not commonly much interested, he should have some acquaintance, at least, with this truly astounding production of a great authority in the field of church history. The breadth and scholarship of the treatment cannot fail to make a deep impression upon even a casual reader. Migne, Patrologia Latina., 221 vols., Paris, 1844-1866. Migne was a Parisian publisher who conceived the bold plan of bringing together into one great uniform series all the writings relating to the Church, its doctrines and history from Tertullian to Innocent HI. While the editions that he used have in some cases been superseded, the collection nevertheless contains a wealth of material which even the best libraries are hardly likely to have in any other form. A list of all the works The Rise of the Papacy 85 included in the Patrologia may be found in Potthast’s Wegweiser^ pp. xciv sqq. Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinoruniy Vienna, 1866 sqq. This series, issued under the auspices of the Vienna Academy, is still in the course of publication, and is only to include the ecclesiastical writers previous to the seventh century. It naturally supersedes the older editions reprinted in Migne’s Patrologia. Ante-Nicene Fathers., 10 vols.; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, two series in 12 vols. each. A scholarly English translation, with excellent notes, of the more important patristic writings, to the time of Gregory the Great. The chief sources for the history of the papacy to Gregory’s time are the lives of the popes in the Liber pontificalis, and their letters, espe- cially those of Leo the Great and of Gregory himself. The Liber pontificalis has given rise to a great deal of discussion among scholars. It contains brief, fragmentary accounts of all the bishops of Rome from Peter down. Many of the lives would hardly fill a page of this volume. Just how the collection grew up, no one knows. According to Duchesne, the earliest part was got into its present form shortly after Theodoric’s death, and then accounts of the succeeding popes were added from time to time, bringing the collection down to the latter part of the ninth century. Modern editions : Duchesne, Liber pontificalis, published in the Bibliotheque des Scales d^ Athene s et de Rome, 1886-1892. Mommsen has edited the most important part of the collection, down to 715 in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. An older edition in Migne, Patro- logia Latina, CXXVII-CXXIX. It is there attributed, as formerly, to Anastasias Bibliothecarius, a writer of the ninth century. As for the letters of the popes, many will be found in Migne ; those of Leo I in Vol. LIII and of Gregory I in Vol. LXXVII. The best edi- tion of Gregory I’s letters is in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. An invaluable guide to the history of the papacy is Jaffe, Regesta pontificum, 2d ed., edited by Wattenbach and others, 1885-1888. This is a register of all the acts, edicts, and letters of the successive bishops of Rome. It is as complete an official diary as it was possible to recon- struct. An analysis is usually given of all the more important papers, and then a list is added of the various printed collections where the documents may be found in full. But all the information that it was possible to find for the five centuries which elapsed between the times of St. Peter and the accession of Gregory I fills but 140 pages, while Gregory’s own pontificate alone occupies 75 pages. The sources The Liber pontificalis. Jaffe’s Regesta, a monu- mental work CHAPTER V 32 . Jerome’s plea for the life of soli- tude (373). Family ties and obliga- tions should not stand in the way of the monastic life. Delights of the hermit. THE MONKS AND THE CONVERSION OF THE GERMANS I. The Monastic Attitude of Mind One of the earliest and most eloquent pleas for mo- nasticism is found in a well-known letter of St. Jerome’s, who himself led the life of a monk for many years. He thus urges on a friend, first the duty, then the beauty, of a hermit’s existence. Though your little nephew twine his arms around your neck; though your mother, with disheveled hair and tear- ing her robe asunder, point to the breast with which she nourished you ; though your father fall down on the thresh- old before you, pass on over your father^s body. Fly with tearful eyes to the banner of the cross. In this matter cruelty is the only piety. . . . Your widowed sister may throw her gentle arms around you. . . . Your father may implore you to wait but a short time to bury those near to you, who will soon be no more. Your weeping mother may recall your childish days, and may point to her shrunken breast and to her wrinkled brow. Those around you may tell you that all the household rests upon you. Such chains as these the love of God and the fear of hell can easily break. You say that Scripture orders you to obey your parents, but he who loves them more than Christ loses his soul. The enemy brandishes a sword to slay me. Shall I think of a mother’s tears ? [When once his friend has cast oif the responsibilities of the world he will discover that the desert is full of attrac- tions.] O solitude, whence are brought the stones of the city of the Great King ! O wilderness rejoicing close to 86 The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 87 God ! What would you, brother, in the world, — you that are greater than the world? How long are the shades of roofs to oppress you ? How long the dungeon of a city’s smoke ? Believe me, I see more of light ! How refreshing to cast off the things that oppress the body and fly away into the pure sparkling ether ! Do you fear poverty ? Christ called the poor blessed.” Are you terrified at labor? No athlete without sweat is crowned. Do you think of food? Faith fears not hunger. Do you dread the naked ground for limbs consumed with fasts ? The Lord lies with you. Does the thought of unkempt locks disturb you? Your head is Christ. Does the infinite vastness of the desert affright you ? In the mind walk abroad in Paradise. So often as you do this there will be no desert. Does your skin roughen without baths? Who is once washed in Christ needs not to wash again. In a word, hear the apostle as he answers: “The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us ! ” You are too pleasure-loving, brother, if you wish to rejoice in this world and hereafter to reign with Christ ! The spirit of rigorous monasticisrn is admirably ex- pressed by a monk of the sixteenth century, as follows : First of all, carefully excite in yourself an habitual affec- tionate will in all things to imitate Jesus Christ. If any- thing agreeable offers itself to your senses, yet does not at the same time tend purely to the honor and glory of God, renounce it and separate yourself from it for the love of Christ, who all his life long had no other taste or wish than to do the will of his Father, whom he called his meat and nourishment. For example, you take satisfaction in hearing of things in which the glory of God bears no part. Deny yourself this satisfaction : mortify your wish to listen. You take pleasure in seeing objects which do not raise your mind to God: refuse yourself this pleasure, and turn away your eyes. The same with conversations and all other things. 33. The practice of monasticism as described by a Spanish monk of the sixteenth century. 88 Readings in European History Act similarly, so far as you are able, with all the operations of the senses, striving to make yourself free from their yokes. The radical remedy lies in the mortification of the four great natural passions, joy, hope, fear, and grief. You must seek to deprive these of every satisfaction and leave them, as it were, in darkness and the void. Let your soul, therefore, turn always : Not to what is most easy, but to what is hardest ; Not to what tastes best, but to what is most distasteful; Not to what most pleases, but to what disgusts ; Not to matter of consolation, but to matter for desolation rather ; Not to rest, but to labor ; Not to despise the more, but the less ; Not to aspire to what is highest and most precious, but to what is lowest and most contemptible ; Not to will anything, but to will nothing; Not to seek the best in everything, but to seek the worst, so that you may enter for the love of Christ into a complete destitution, a perfect poverty of spirit, and an absolute renunciation of everything in this world. Embrace these practices with all the energy of your soul and you will find in a short time great delights and unspeak- able consolations. Professor William James has set forth the various feelings which lie at the basis of asceticism in the fol- lowing remarkable passages : 34. A modern psycholo- gist’s view of the ascetic spirit. (From James, Varieties of Religious Experience.) Where to seek the easy and the pleasant seems instinctive — and instinctive it appears to be in man ; any deliberate tendency to pursue the hard and painful as such and for their own sakes might well strike one as purely abnormal. Nevertheless, in moderate degrees it is "natural and even usual to human nature to court the arduous. It is only the extreme manifestations of the tendency that can be regarded as a paradox. . . . Some men and women, indeed, there are who can live on smiles and the word “ yes forever. The Monks and the Convei^sion of the Gej'mans 89 But for others (indeed for most), this is too tepid and relaxed a moral climate. Passive happiness is slack and insipid, and soon grows mawkish and intolerable. Some austerity and wintry negativity, some roughness, danger, stringency, and effort, some “ no ! no ! must be mixed in, to produce the sense of an existence with character and texture and power. . . . Asceticism may be a mere expression of organic hardihood, disgusted with too much ease. Temperance in meat and drink, simplicity of apparel, chastity, and non-pampering of the body generally, may be fruits of the love of purity, shocked by whatever savors of the sensual. They may also be fruits of love, that is, they may appeal to the subject in the light of sacrifices which he is happy in making to the Deity whom he acknowledges. Again, ascetic mortification and torments may be due to pessimistic feelings about the self, combined with theo- logical beliefs concerning expiation. The devotee may feel that he is buying himself free, or escaping worse sufferings hereafter by doing penance now. In psychopathic persons, mortifications may be entered on irrationally, by a sort of obsession or fixed idea which comes as a challenge and must be worked off, because only thus does the subject get his interior consciousness feeling right again. Finally, ascetic exercises may in rarer instances be prompted by genuine perversions of the bodily sensibility, in consequence of which normally pain-giving stimuli are actually felt as pleasures. II. The Devil and his Wicked Angels The following passages give some idea of the religious world in which the monks and missionaries lived, and the views of the next world which they inculcated in the minds of the newly converted barbarians. 90 Readings in European History 35. The pagan gods only devils in disguise. (From the Dialogues of Gregory the Great, condensed.) Belief in miracles and ever- present demons. 36. St. Gall and the demons. (From the Life of St. Gall (630) by an anonymous writer.) Andrew, by God^s mercy bishop of Fondi, was a man of most holy life, but the ancient enemy of mankind sought to tempt him, by causing him to think evil thoughts. Now one day a certain Jew was coming to Rome from Campania, and he traveled by the Appian Way. When he reached the hill of Fondi he saw that the day was dark- ening toward evening, and he did not know at all where he might sleep. He was near a temple of Apollo, and he decided to stay there. He feared the sacrilegious character of the place, so, though he had not the faith of the cross, he took care to pro- tect himself with the sign of the cross. In the middle of the night he was disturbed by the very fear of solitude, and lay awake. Suddenly he looked up, and saw a crowd of evil spirits. He who was in authority over the rest took his place in the midst of them and began to discuss the deeds of each spirit, and to ask how much evil each one had accomplished. One of the spirits told how he had caused Bishop Andrew to think an unholy thought. Then the evil spirit and enemy of the human race exhorted that spirit to carry out what he had begun in Andrew^s soul. Then the spirit who commanded the rest ordered his fol- lowers to find out who had presumed to sleep in that temple. But the Jew made the sign of the cross, and all the throng of evil spirits, crying out ‘‘ Woe, woe ! ’’ disappeared. [St. Columban and St. Gall came, about the year 610, to a village near the Lake of Constance called Bregenz, where they had heard that there might be opportunity to serve God.] There the brethren’s hands made ready a dwelling, and the holy Columban fervently prayed to Christ in behalf of that place. The superstitious pagans worshiped three idols of gilded metal, and believed in returning thanks to them rather than to the creator of the world. So Columban, the man of God, wished to destroy that superstition, and told Gall to talk to the people, since he himself excelled in Latin, but not in the language of that The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 91 tribe. The people gathered at the temple for their wonted festival ; but they were attracted by the sight of the stran- gers, not, however, by reverence for the divine religion. When they were assembled. Gall, the elect of God, fed their hearts with honeyed words, exhorting them to turn to their Creator, and to Jesus Christ the Son of God, who opened the gate of heaven for the human race, sunk in indifference and uncleanness. Then before them all he broke in pieces with stones the enthroned idols, and cast them into the depths of the lake. Then part of the people confessed their sins and believed, but others were angry and enraged, and departed in wrath ; and Columban, the man of God, blessed the water and sanc- tified the place, and remained there with his followers three years. . . . Some time after, in the silence of the night, Gall, the elect of God, was laying nets in the water, and lo ! he heard the demon of the mountain top calling to his fellow who dwelt in the depths of the lake. The demon of the lake answered, ‘‘I am here^’; he of the mountain returned: “Arise, come to my aid ! Behold the aliens come, and thrust me from my temple. Come, come ! help me to drive them from our lands.” The demon of the lake answered : “ One of them is upon the lake, whom I could never harm. For I wished to break his nets, but see, I am vanquished and mourn. The sign of his prayer protects him always, and sleep never overcomes him.” Gall, the elect of God, heard this, and fortified himself on all sides with the sign of the cross, and said to them : “ In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you, leave this place, and do not presume to harm any one here.” And he hastened to return to the shore, and told his abbot what he had heard. When Columban, the man of God, heard this, he called the brethren together in the church, and made the accustomed sign (the cross). Before the brethren could raise their voices, the voice of an unseen being was heard, and wail- ing and lamentation echoed from the mountain top. So the 92 Readings in European History malicious demons departed with mourning, and the prayer of the brethren arose as they sent up their supplications to God. Gregory the Great tells the following tale in his Dialogues to illustrate the manner in which the devil was wont to harass those who sought to avoid worldly temptations by seeking solitude : 37. Martin, a hermit, resists the terrors of the devil. (From Gregory's Dialogues.) In Campania, upon Mt. Marsicus, a venerable man called Martin lived for many years the solitary life, shut up in a very small cave. Many of us knew him, and were witnesses of his deeds. I myself have heard much of him both from Pope Pelagius, my predecessor, and from other religious men who related anecdotes of him. His first miracle was this: hardly had he established himself in the cleft of the mountain, when from the very rock which was hollowed out to make his narrow cave burst forth a stream of water just sufficient to supply the daily need of the servant of God, and there was never too much or too little. . . . But the ancient enemy of mankind envied the man’s strength, and labored with his wonted skill to drive him forth from the cave. For he entered into the beast that is his friend — the serpent — and sought to make the monk afraid, and to drive him from his dwelling. He came at twilight, and stretched himself out before the holy man when he was praying, and lay down with him when he went to rest. The holy man was entirely unafraid. He would hold to the serpent’s mouth his hand or his foot, and say to him, “ If thou hast leave to smite me, I do not say thee nay.” After these things had taken place continually for three years, on a certain day the ancient enemy of mankind, vanquished by such great endurance, groaned ; and the serpent let him- self glide over the steep mountain side to a precipice. And the flame that went out from him burned all the trees in that place. Almighty God constrained him to burn the mountain side, and so compelled him to show forth the great virtue of the man from whom he had departed, conquered. The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 93 III. Purgatory, Hell, and Heaven At this time [Bede writes] a memorable miracle, and like to those of former days, was wrought in Britain ; for, to the end that the living might be saved from the death of the soul, a certain person, who had been some time dead, rose again to life, and related many remarkable things he had seen ; some of which I have thought fit here briefly to take notice of. There was a master of a family in that district of the Northumbrians which is called Cunningham, who led a reli- gious life, as did also all that belonged to him. This man fell sick, and his distemper daily increasing, being brought to extremity, he died in the beginning of the night ; but in the morning early he suddenly came to life again, and sat up, upon which all those that sat about the body weeping fled away in a great fright : only his wife, who loved him best, though in a great consternation and trembling, remained with him. He, comforting her, said, “ Fear not, for I am now truly risen from death, and permitted again to live among men; however, I am not to live hereafter as I was wont, but from henceforward after a very different manner.’’ Then rising immediately, he repaired to the oratory of the little town and, continuing in prayer till day, immediately divided all his substance into three parts, one whereof he gave to his wife, another to his children, and the third, belonging to himself, he instantly distributed among the poor. Not long after he repaired to the monastery of Melrose, which is almost inclosed by the winding of the river Tweed, and having been shaven, went into a private dwelling which the abbot had provided, where he continued till the day of his death in such extraordinary contrition of mind and body that, though his tongue had been silent, his life declared that he had seen many things, either to be dreaded or coveted, which others knew nothing of. Thus he related what he had seen. “ He that led me had a shining countenance and a bright garment, and we went on silently, as I thought, towards the northeast. Walking on, we came to a vale of great breadth and depth, but of 38. Descrip- tion of purgatory, hell, and heaven. (From Bede’s Ecclesiastical Histoiry of England.) Vision of purgatory. 94 Readings in Europeari History Vision of the mouth of hell. infinite length ; on the left it appeared full of dreadful flames ; the other side was no less horrid for violent hail and cold snow flying in all directions ; both places were full of men’s souls, which seemed by turns to be tossed from one side to the other, as it were by a violent storm ; for when the wretches could no longer endure the excess of heat, they leaped into the middle of the cutting cold; and finding no rest there, they leaped back again into the middle of the unquenchable flames. “Now whereas an innumerable multitude of deformed spirits were thus alternately tormented far and near, as far as could be seen, without any intermission, I began to think that this perhaps might be hell, of whose intolerable flames I had often heard talk. My guide, who went before me, answered to my thought, saying, ‘Do not believe so, for this is not hell, as you imagine.’ “ When he had conducted me, much frightened with that horrid spectacle, by degrees, to the farther end, on a sudden I saw the place begin to grow dusk and filled with darkness. When I came into it, the darkness, by degrees, grew so thick that I could see nothing besides it and the shape and gar- ment of him that led me. As we went on through the shades of night, on a sudden there appeared before us frequent globes of black flames, rising, as it were, out of a great pit, and falling back again into the same. “ When I had been conducted thither, my leader suddenly vanished, and left me alone in the midst of darkness and this horrid vision, whilst those same globes of fire, without intermission, at one time flew up and at another fell back into the bottom of the abyss ; and I observed that all the flames, as they ascended, were full of human souls, which, like sparks flying up with smoke, were sometimes thrown on high, and again, when the vapor of the fire ceased, dropped down into the depth below. Moreover, an insuffer- able stench came forth with the vapors, and filled all those dark places. “ Having stood there a long time in much dread, not know- ing what to do, which way to turn, or what end I might The Monks arid the Conversion of the Germajis 95 expect, on a sudden I heard behind me the noise of a most hideous and wretched lamentation, and at the same time a loud laughing, as of a rude multitude insulting captured enemies. When that noise, growing plainer, came up to me, I observed a gang of evil spirits dragging the howling and lamenting souls of men into the midst of the darkness, whilst they themselves laughed and rejoiced. “Among those men, as I could discern, there was one shorn like a clergyman, also a layman, and a woman. The evil spirits that dragged them went down into the midst of the burning pit ; and as they went down deeper, I could no longer distinguish between the lamentation of the men and the laugh- ing of the devils, yet I still had a confused sound in my ears. “ In the meantime some of the dark spirits ascended from that flaming abyss, and, running forward, beset me on all sides, and much perplexed me with their glaring eyes and the stifling fire which proceeded from their mouths and nostrils ; and they threatened to lay hold on me with burn- ing tongs, which they had in their hands ; yet they durst not touch me, though they frightened me. Being thus on all sides inclosed with enemies and darkness, and looking about on every side for assistance, there appeared behind me, on the way that I came, as it were, the brightness of a star shin- ing amidst the darkness, which increased by degrees, and came rapidly towards me : when it drew near, all those evil spirits that had sought to carry me away with their tongs dispersed and fled. “ He whose approach put them to flight was the same that had led me before ; who, turning then towards the right, began to lead me, as it were, towards the southeast, and hav- ing soon brought me out of the darkness, conducted me into an atmosphere of clear light. “While he thus led me in open light, I saw a vast wall before us, the length and height of which, in every direction, seemed to be altogether boundless. I began to wonder why we went up to the wall, seeing no door, window, or path through it. When we came to the wall, we were presently, 1 know not by what means, on the top of it, and within it was 96 Readings in European History Vision of heaven. a vast and beautiful field, so full of fragrant flowers that the odor of its delightful sweetness immediately dispelled the stench of the dark furnace, which had penetrated me through and through. So great was the light in this place that it seemed to exceed the brightness of the day, or of the sun in its merid- ian height. In this field were innumerable assemblies of men in white and many companies seated together rejoicing. As he led me through the midst of these happy people, I began to think that this might, perhaps, be the kingdom of heaven, of which I had often heard so much. He an- swered to my thought, saying, ‘ This is not the kingdom of heaven, as you imagine.’ When we had passed those mansions of blessed souls and gone farther on, I discovered before me a much more beautiful light, and heard therein sweet voices of persons singing ; and so wonderful a fragrancy proceeded from the place that the other, which I had before thought most deli- cious, then seemed to me but very indifferent, even as that extraordinary brightness of the flowery field, compared with this, appeared mean and inconsiderable. When I began to hope we should enter that delightful place, my guide on a sudden stood still ; and then, turning round, led me back by the way we came. ‘‘ When we returned to those joyful mansions of the souls in white, he said to me, ‘ Do you know what all these things are which you have seen ? ’ I answered that I did not ; and then he replied, ‘ That vale you saw, so dreadful for its con- suming flames and cutting cold, is the place in which the souls of those are tried and punished who, delaying to confess and amend their crimes, at length have recourse to repent- ance at the point of death, and so depart this life ; but nevertheless because they, even at their death, confessed and repented, they shall all be received into the kingdom of heaven at the day of judgment by the prayers, alms, and fasting of the living, and more especially by masses. “ ‘ That fiery and stinking pit which you saw is the mouth of hell, into which whosoever falls shall never be delivered The Monks and the Co 7 iversion of the Gej'mans 97 to all eternity. This flowery place, in which you see these most beautiful young people, so bright and gay, is that into which the souls of those are received who depart the body in good works, but who are not so perfect as to deserve to be immediately admitted into the kingdom of heaven ; yet they shall all, at the day of judgment, see Christ and partake of the joys of his kingdom ; for whoever are perfect in thought, word, and deed, as soon as they depart the body immediately enter into the kingdom of heaven; in the neigh- borhood whereof that place is, where you heard the sound of sweet singing, with the fragrant odor and bright light. “ ‘ As for you, who are now to return to your body and live among men again, if you will endeavor nicely to watch your actions, and to direct your speech and behavior in right- eousness and simplicity, you shall, after death, have a place of residence among these joyful troops of blessed souls ; for when I left you for a while, it was to know how you were to be disposed of.’ When he had said this to me I much abhorred returning to my body, being delighted with the sweetness and beauty of the place I beheld and with the company of those I saw in it. However, I durst not ask him any questions; but in the meantime, on a sudden, I found myself alive among men.” IV. The Conversion of England, as described BY Bede In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth emperor from Augustus, ascended the throne and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a man renowned for learning and behavior, was promoted to the apostolic see of Rome, and presided over it thirteen years, six months, and ten days. He, being moved by divine inspiration, about the one hundred and fiftieth year after the coming of the English into Britain, sent the servant of God, Augustine, and with him several other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the word of God to the English nation. . . . 39. The arrival in Kent of the missionaries sent by- Gregory the Great (597). (From Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England.) 98 Readings in European History King Ethel- bert meets the Roman missionaries. [Augustine, with his companions, arrived in Britain.] The powerful Ethelbert was at that time king of Kent ; he had extended his dominions as far as the great river Humber, by which the southern Saxons are divided from the northern. On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according to the English way of reckon- ing, six hundred families, and divided from the other land by the river Wantsum, which is about three furlongs across and fordable only in two places, for both ends of it run into the sea. In this island landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men. They had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, brought interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome, and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would never end with the living and true God. The king, having heard this, ordered them to stay in that island where they had landed and that they should be fur- nished with all necessaries till he should consider what to do with them. For he had heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife, of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha, whom he had received from her parents upon condition that she should be permitted to practice her reli- gion with the bishop, Luidhard, who was sent with her to preserve the faith. Some days later the king came into the island and, sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, accord- ing to an ancient superstition, if they practiced any magical arts they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not with magic, power, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board ; and singing the litany, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 99 eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom they came. When Augustine had sat down, pursuant to the king^s com- mands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, the king answered thus : ‘‘Your words and promises are very fair, but they are new to us and of uncer- tain import, and I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true and most bene- ficial, we will not molest you, but give you favorable enter- tainment and take care to supply you with the necessary sustenance ; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion.’^ Accordingly, he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and pursuant of his promise, besides allowing them suste- nance, did not refuse them the liberty to preach. . . . As soon as they entered the dwelling place assigned them, they began to imitate the course of life practiced in the primi- tive church : applying themselves to frequent prayer, watch- ing, and fasting ; preaching the word of life to as many as they could ; despising all worldly things, as not belonging to them ; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught ; living themselves in all respects conformably to what they prescribed to others, and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were bap- tized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was on the east side of the city a church dedicated to St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptize, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly and to build or repair churches in all places. Augustine founds a monastery at Canterbury. Augustine preaches to the king. lOO Readings in European History When he among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these holy men and their delightful promises, which, by many miracles, they proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the word and, forsaking their heathen rites, to asso- ciate themselves, by believing, to the unity of the Church of Christ. The great sagacity and practical good sense of Gregory the Great are exhibited in his instructions to the missionaries. 40. Pope Gregory’s instructions to the mis- sionaries in England (6oi). When Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, after mature deliberation on the affairs of the English, determined upon, namely, that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed, but let the idols that are in them be destroyed ; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples ; let altars be erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts and, knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed. And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, some solemnity must be substituted for them on this account, as, for instance, that on the day of the dedication, or of the nativities of the holy martyrs whose relics are there deposited, they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees about those churches which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting, no more offering beasts to the devil, but killing cattle to the praise of God in their eating, and returning thanks to the Giver of all things for their suste- nance ; to the end that, whilst some outward gratifications are permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God. The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans i o i For there is no doubt that it is impossible to efface every- thing at once from their obdurate minds, because he who endeavors to ascend to the highest place rises by degrees or steps and not by leaps. Thus the Lord made himself known to the people of Israel in Egypt ; and yet he allowed them to use the sacrifices which they were wont to offer to the devil in his own worship, commanding them in his sacrifice to kill beasts to the end that, changing their hearts, they might lay aside one part of the sacrifice, whilst they retained another; that whilst they offered the same beasts which they were wont to offer, they should offer them to God, and not to idols, and thus they would no longer be the same sacrifices. Bede relates the story of the conversion of Northum- bria to the Roman Catholic form of faith, as follows : [Edwin, king of Northumbria, urged by his Christian wife, Ethelberga, and by the bishop Paulinus,] answered that he was both willing and bound to receive the new faith which the bishop taught, but that he wished, nevertheless, to confer about it with his principal friends and counselors, to the end that, if they also were of his opinion, they might all be cleansed together in Christ, the Fountain of Life. Paulinus consenting, the king did as he had said ; for, hold- ing a council with the wise men, he asked of every one in particular what he thought of the new doctrine and the new worship that was preached. To which the chief of his own priests, Coifi, immediately answered: “O king, consider what this is which is now preached to us ; for I verily declare to you that the religion which we have hitherto professed has, as far as I can learn, no virtue in it. For none of your people has applied him- self more diligently to the worship of our gods than I ; and yet there are many who receive greater favors from you, and are more preferred than I, and who are more prosperous in all their undertakings. Now if the gods were good for any- thing, they would rather forward me, who have been more The heathen should be gently and gradually weaned from their old gods. 41. Bede’s account of the conver- sion of Northum- bria. 102 Readings in European History careful to serve them. It follows, therefore, that if upon examination you find those new doctrines which are now preached to us better and more efficacious, we should imme- diately receive them without any delay.^^ Another of the king’s chief men, approving of Coifi’s words and exhortations, presently added : The present life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison with that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter amid your officers and ministers, with a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the spar- row, I say, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within is safe from the wintry storm ; but after a short space of fair weather he immediately van- ishes out of your sight into the dark winter from which he has emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before or what is to follow we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains some- thing more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.” The other elders and king’s counselors, by divine inspira- tion, spoke to the same effect. But Coifi added that he wished more attentively to hear Paulinus discourse concern- ing the God whom he preached. So the bishop having spoken by the king’s command at greater length, Coifi, hear- ing his words, cried out : “ I have long since been sensible that there was nothing in that which we worshiped, because the more diligently I sought after truth in that worship, the less I found it. But now I freely confess that such evident truth appears in this preaching as can confer on us the gifts of life, of salvation, and of eternal happiness. For which reason I advise, O king, that we instantly abjure and set fire to those temples and altars which we have consecrated with- out reaping any benefits from them.” In short, the king publicly gave his permission to Paulinus to preach the gospel, and, renouncing idolatry, declared that he received the faith of Christ : and when he inquired of the high priest who should first profane the altars and temples of their idols, with the inclosures that were about them, the The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 103 high priest answered, “ I ; for who can more properly than myself destroy those things which I worshiped through igno- rance, for an example to all others, through the wisdom which has been given me by the true God ? ” Then immediately, in contempt of his former superstitions, he desired the king to furnish him with arms and a stallion, and mounting the latter, he set out to destroy the idols ; for it was not lawful before for the high priest either to carry arms or to ride on any beast but a mare. Having, therefore, girt on a sword and carrying a spear in his hand, he mounted the king’s stallion and proceeded to the idols. The multitude, beholding him, concluded he was distracted ; but he lost no time, for as soon as he drew near the temple he profaned the same, casting into it the spear which he held. And rejoicing in the knowledge of the worship of the true God, he com- manded his companions to destroy the temple, with all its inclosures, by fire. This place where the idols were is still shown, not far from York, to the eastward, beyond the river Derwent, and is now called Godmundingham ; where the high priest, by the inspiration of the true God, profaned and destroyed the altars which he had himself consecrated. The Roman monks, sent by Gregory the Great, found that the Christian missionaries from Ireland observed Easter at a different time from that appointed by the Roman church. After years of controversy it was agreed that a synod should be held where the difficulty might be settled. Bede thus describes the arguments advanced by both sides and the victory of the Roman party: [Bishop Colman spoke for the Scots (i.e. Irish) and said:] “ The Easter which I keep I received from my elders, who sent me hither as bishop ; all our forefathers, men beloved of God, are known to have kept it after the same manner; and that this may not seem to any contemptible or worthy to be rejected, it is the same which St. John the Evangelist, the 42. The con- troversy between the Roman and Irish missionaries in regard to the time of Easter. The king’s decision in favor of the Roman Church. 104 Readings in European History disciple beloved of our Lord, with all the churches over which he presided, is recorded to have observed.” . . . Then Wilfrid was ordered by the king to speak for the Roman practice : ‘‘ The Easter which we observe we saw celebrated by all at Rome, where the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, lived, taught, suffered, and were buried ; we saw the same done in Italy and in France, when we traveled through those countries for pilgrimage and prayer. We found that Easter was celebrated at one and the same time in Africa, Asia, Egypt, Greece, and all the world, wherever the Church of Christ is spread abroad, through the various nations and tongues ; except only among these and their accomplices in obstinacy, I mean the Piets and the Britons, who foolishly, in these two remote islands of the world, and only in part even of them, oppose all the rest of the uni- verse. . . . ‘‘ You certainly sin if, having heard the decree of the apos- tolic see, and of the universal Church, and that the same is confirmed by Holy Writ, you refuse to follow them ; for, though your fathers were holy, do you think that their small number, in a corner of the remotest island, is to be preferred before the universal Church of Christ throughout the world? And though that Columba^ of yours (and, I may say, ours also, if he was Christ’s servant) was a holy man and power- ful in miracles, yet should he be preferred before the most blessed prince of the apostles, to whom our Lord said, ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ’ ? ” When Wilfrid had spoken thus, the king said, “ Is it true, Colman, that these words were spoken to Peter by our Lord? ” He answered, “ It is true, O king ! ” Then said he, “ Can you show any such power given to your Columba ? ” Colman answered, “ None.” Then added the king, “ Do both of you agree that these words were principally directed to Peter, 1 An Irish missionary (d. 597) ; not to be confused with St. Columban, who carried the gospel to the Franks. The Monks and the Conversion of the Germafis 105 and that the keys of heaven were given to him by our Lord?’’ They both answered, We do.” Then the king concluded, “And I also say unto you, that he is the doorkeeper, whom I will not contradict, but will, as far as I know and am able, in all things obey his decrees, lest when I come to the gates of the kingdom of heaven there should be none to open them, he being my adversary who is proved to have the keys.” The king having said this, all present, both great and small, gave their assent and, renouncing the more imperfect insti- tution, resolved to conform to that which they found to be better. ^ V. Boniface and the Conversion of Germany The following documents make clear the close relations between Boniface and the papacy. Gregory^ servant of the servants of God, to the devout priest Boniface : Knowing that thou hast from childhood been devoted to sacred letters, and that thou hast labored to reveal to un- believing people the mystery of faith, ... we decree in the name of the indivisible Trinity, through the unshaken authority of Peter, chief of the apostles, whose doctrine it is our charge to teach, and whose holy see is in our keeping, that, since thou seemest to glow with the salvation-bringing fire which our Lord came to send upon the earth, thou shalt hasten to whatsoever tribes are lingering in the error of unbelief, and shalt institute the rites of the kingdom of God. . . . And we desire thee to establish the discipline of the sacraments, according to the observance of our holy apostolic see. Gregory, pope, to our well-heloved bishops established in Bavaria and Alemannia : ... It is fitting that ye recognize our brother and fellow- bishop, Boniface, as our representative, and that ye receive him with due honor in the name of Christ. And ye shall maintain the ministry of the Church with the Catholic faith 43. Boniface commis- sioned by Pope Greg- ory II to preach the gospel to the heathen tribes (719) (condensed). 44. Gregory II appoints Boniface the presiding bishop in Germany (722). Readings in Eiiropean History 45. Oath taken by Boniface to the pope (722). 46. How Boniface destroyed the oak of Thor. (From Willibald’s Life of Boniface, written before 786.) 106 according to the custom and precepts of the holy Catholic Apostolic Church ; . . . And ye shall abhor the rites of the heathen, and the teaching of those coming from Britain and of false heretical priests. . . . I, Boniface, bishop by the grace of God, promise to you, the blessed Peter, chief of the apostles, and to thy vicar, the blessed Pope Gregory, and to his successors, by the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the indivisible Trinity, and by this thy most holy body, that, God helping me, I will maintain all the belief and the purity of the holy Catholic faith, and I will remain steadfast in the unity of this faith in which the whole salvation of Christians lies, as is established without doubt. I will in no wise oppose the unity of the one universal Church, no matter who may seek to persuade me. But as I have said, I will maintain my faith and purity and union with thee and the benefits of thy Church, to whom God has given the power to loose and to bind, and with thy vicar and his successors, in all things. And if it comes to my knowledge that priests have turned from the ancient practices of the holy fathers, I will have no intercourse nor connection with them ; but rather, if I can restrain them, I will. If I cannot, I will at once faithfully make known the whole matter to my apostolic lord.^ Many of the people of Hesse were converted [by Boniface] to the Catholic faith and confirmed by the grace of the spirit : and they received the laying on of hands. But some there were, not yet strong of soul, who refused to accept wholly the teachings of the true faith. Some men sacrificed secretly, some even openly, to trees and springs. Some secretly practiced divining, soothsaying, and incantations, and some openly. But others, who were of sounder mind, cast aside all heathen profanation and did none of these things ; and it 1 This oath follows almost word for word that taken to the pope by the bishops in the immediate vicinity of Rome, who were under his special control. The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans 1 07 was with the advice and consent of these men that Boniface sought to fell a certain tree of great size, at Geismar, and called, in the ancient speech of the region, the oak of Jove [i.e. Thor]. The man of God was surrounded by the servants of God. When he would cut down the tree, behold a great throng of pagans who were there cursed him bitterly among themselves because he was the enemy of their gods. And when he had cut into the trunk a little way, a breeze sent by God stirred overhead, and suddenly the branching top of the tree was broken off, and the oak in all its huge bulk fell to the ground. And it was broken into four parts, as if by the divine will, so that the trunk was divided into four huge sections without any effort of the brethren who stood by. When the pagans who had cursed did see this, they left off cursing and, believ- ing, blessed God. Then the most holy priest took counsel with the brethren : and he built from the wood of the tree an oratory, and dedicated it to the holy apostle Peter. The following account of the founding of the famous monastery of Fulda was written by Sturmi’s disciple Eigil, who was abbot of Fulda during the years 818 to 822. [The holy and venerable archbishop Boniface came to Bavaria, and turned many people to the gospel of Christ. Among them a certain boy, Sturmi, son of noble and Chris- tian parents, followed the teaching of Boniface and was ordained priest.] For almost three years he fulfilled the duties of the priesthood, preaching and baptizing among the people. Then by the inspiration of God the purpose came into his soul to chasten himself by the straiter life and the hardships of the wilderness. He sought counsel thereupon from Boniface, — his master in the spirit, — who, when he understood Sturmi, knew that this purpose was inspired of God and rejoiced that God had designed to lead him by his grace. He gave Sturmi two companions, and when he had prayed and blessed them all he said: ‘‘Go forth into that solitude which is called Bochonia and seek a place meet for 47. How the monastery of Fulda was founded in the Ger- man forest. (From the Life of St. Sturmi.) io8 Readings in European History [Somewhat condensed.] Sturmi starts forth alone to discover a proper site for the monastery. the servants of God to dwell in. For God is able to prepare for his servants a place in the wilderness.” And so those three went forth into the wilderness and entered into places solitary and rough, and saw almost noth- ing but heaven and earth and great trees; and they prayed Christ fervently that he would direct their feet in the path of peace. On the third day they came to the place which even to this day is called Hersfeld ; and when they had seen and explored the region round about, they asked Christ that the place might be blest to the dwellers therein. On the very spot where the monastery now stands they built poor huts of the bark of trees. There they tarried many days, serving God with holy fasts and watching and prayer. . . . Then after some time spent in holy meditation Sturmi returned to the bishop, and described the lay of the land and the course of the streams, and the hills and valleys. . . . Boniface heard him attentively, and answered : I fear to have you dwell in this place which ye have found because a barbarous race lives close by, for, as thou knowest, the fell Saxons are near at hand. Wherefore seek a dwelling in the wilderness farther away and higher up the stream, where ye may remain without danger.” Then the holy man Sturmi returned to his companions. With two brethren he entered a boat and traveled along the river Fulda, spying out the land, but they found no place which pleased them. So Sturmi went again to Boniface and said, “For many days did we sail along the river Fulda, but we found nothing that we would dare to praise to you.” And the holy bishop saw that God had not yet revealed the place which he had chosen. Sturmi returned to the cell which had now been built in a place above Hersfeld. Here he saluted the brethren and reported to them what the holy bishop had counseled. Then after resting a little he mounted his ass and set forth alone, commending his journey to Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. All alone, sitting upon his ass, he began his journey through the vast places of the wilderness. He eagerly explored the region and observed with quick eye the The Monks and the Conversion of the Germa^is 109 mountains and the hills and the plains, the springs and tor- rents and rivers. With psalms always upon his lips, he prayed to God with groaning, his soul lifted up to heaven. And wherever night found him, there he rested; and he hewed wood with the sword which he bore in his hand, and laid it in a circle, and set it on fire to protect his ass, lest the wild beasts which were there in great numbers might devour him. For himself, he made on his forehead the sign of the cross of Christ, in the name of God, and rested in safety. . . . Once as he had paused at sunset, and was busied with preparing for the night, he heard a sound as of a living crea- ture, but whether it was man or beast he knew not. . . . Then because the man of God did not wish to cry out, he struck a hollow tree with the sword he bore in his hand. And verily when the man had heard the sound of the blow he came thither, and spoke to Sturmi. And when the man of God asked him whence he came, he answered that he came from Wetteran and led in his hand the horse of Ortis, his lord. So they talked together and stayed there together that- night. Now the man had a full acquaintance with the solitudes of the forest, and when the man of God made known to him what was in his mind and what he would fain do, he began to tell him the names of the places, and to show him how the torrents and springs did flow. ... At sunrise they blessed each the other, and straightway the secular man went upon his way to Grapfelt. . . . [And Sturmi also went on his. way till he reached the tor-, rent that even to this day is called Grezzibach.] He saw how the land lay, and what was the nature of the soil, and he tarried there a little space. And then he went back a little way and came to the place already made ready and blessed by God, even the place where the holy monastery [of Fulda] now stands. When he had come thither straightway the holy man Sturmi was filled with exceeding great joy, for he knew that through the merits and prayers of the holy bishop Boni- face the place had been revealed to him by God. Then on the second day the man of God came again to Hersfeld and found his brethren there calling upon God with I lO Readings in European History [This para- graph is condensed.] Boniface procures a charter from King Carloman for Fulda. The building of the monastery. fervent prayers. He told them of the place he had found and bade them make ready to go thither with him. But Sturmi went straightway to the holy bishop Boniface to tell him how he had found a place for the brethren to dwell in. Together they rejoiced and gave God thanks and held sweet converse about the life and conversation of monks. Then did the bishop let Sturmi go back to his wilderness, while he went to the palace of Carloman, the king, to gain from him a grant of the place Sturmi had chosen. When Boniface came before the king, he said to him: ‘‘We have found in the wilderness called Bochonia, beside the river named Fulda, a place meet for the servants of God to dwell in, where before us no man has dwelt. It is under your sway, and we do beg of your beneficence to give us this place, so that we may be enabled to serve God under your protection.’’ . . . Then did the king before all the lords of his palace give over to the bishop the place he had asked* for, saying, “ This place which thou seekest on the bank of the river Fulda I give over whole and entire from my law to the law of God — from that place in all directions in a circle four thousand paces toward east and west and north and south, ye shall hold the region.” Then the king gave command that a charter be written to this end, and he sealed it with his own hand. In the year of the incarnation of Christ 744, in the first month, the twelfth day of the month, while the brothers Car- loman and Pippin were reigning over the Frankish people, did Sturmi arise, in the name of God, and with seven breth- ren he did go to the place where now the monastery stands. They prayed to the Lord Christ that he would ever protect and defend them by his power; and, serving God in sacred psalms and in fasts, vigils, and prayers by day and by night, they did busy themselves cutting down the forests and clearing the ground by their own labor so far as strength was given them. When two months had passed by, and a multitude of men were gathered together, the reverend archbishop Boniface came unto them ; and when he looked and saw the conven- ience and great resources of the place, he exulted in the The Monks and the Conversion of the Germans in Holy Spirit, giving thanks and praising Christ because he had deigned to bestow upon his servants such a lodge in the wilderness. . . . And the brethren decided to follow the rule of the holy father Benedict. They spent many years in holy pursuits ; and the number of brethren in the monastery grew greater, for many men gave themselves and all that they had to serve God there. And the holy bishop was zealous to visit them from time to time ; and he had compassion upon their poverty, and gave them some lands to furnish them neces- sary food. BIBLIOGRAPHY The Monks: Adams, Civilization^ 131-136; Emerton, Introduc- tion, Chapter XI, pp. 135-149; Gibbon, Vol. IV, Chapter XXXVII, PP- 57 - 75 * The Benedictine Rule : Selections in Fling, European History Studies, Vol. II, No. 6, pp. 94-99. The most complete translation is in Henderson, Select Documents, pp. 274-314. Monastery Charters: Fling, pp. 91-94; Henderson, pp. 329-333. The Conversion of the Saxons : Bemont and Monod, pp. 1 24-1 32 ; Gardiner, Student's History of Englaitd, pp. 37-52 ; Green, Short History of the English People (larger edition). Chapter I, section 3, pp. 17- 36 ; Terry, History of England, pp. 34-49 ; Gee and Hardy, Documents of English Church History, pp. 2-15; Old South Leaflets, No. 113; Ken- dall, Source Book of English History, pp. 14-16; Green, pp. 38-41. Missionaries to the Continent : Life of St. Columban, written in the seventh century. Translations and Reprints, Vol. H, No. 7. Very valu- able and interesting. Montalembert, The Monks of the West, 6 vols. The best and fullest discussion of the subject, attractive on account of the writer’s enthusiasm and literary style. See especially Introduction, Chapters H, III, and IV, on the nature of monasticism and its services to Christen- dom ; Books H and HI on the precursors of Benedict in the East and West; Book IV on Benedict; Book VII on St. Columban ; and Books VHI-XIV on the establishment of the Church in Britain. Smith, T. G., Christian Monasticism from the Eourth to the Ninth Centuries. A brief survey of the same field. Harnack, Monasticism. An admirable philosophical comparison of the spirit of eastern and western monasticism. [Condensed.] A. Refer- ences. B. Addi- tional read- ing in English. I 12 Readings in Eicropean History C. Materials for advanced study. Taylor, The Classical Heritage of the Middle Agesj Chapter VII. An eloquent description of the character of monasticism and its founders. Good general chapters on the origin and spread of monastic institu- tions are to be found in works already mentioned. Newman, Manual of Church His lory j Chapter 111^ sections loand ii; Schaff, History of the Christian Church., Vol. IV, Chapter II; Milman, History of Latin Christianity., Book III, Chapter VI, on Western Monasticism in Gen- eral ; Book IV, Chapters III and IV, Conversion of England; Book IV, Chapter V, Conversion of the Germans. Heron, The Celtic Church in Ireland. The story of the work of St. Patrick, with an account of the sources of his life. Poole, Illustrations of the History of Mediceval Thought^ Introduc- tion. A valuable summary of the work of the Irish schools. The Fathers for English Readers. This series contains reliable, short, and convenient biographies of St. Jerome and St. Boniface. CuTTS, Augustine of Canterbury., and Mason, The Mission of St. Augustine according to the Original Documents., furnish and discuss the material for the life of the missionary to England. Cooke, The Life and Work of St. Cohi7nba., an interesting narrative of the labors of the “Apostle of Caledonia’^ (d. 598), who planted the Celtic church on the shores of Scotland. Adamnanus, Vita S. Columbae^ edited with a translation by Fowler. An excellent edition of one of the very few absolutely contemporary lives of an early mediaeval saint. One of the few sources for conditions in Ireland and Scotland during this period. Bede, Ecclesiastical History ^ translated by Giles (Latin and English on opposite pages). The great authority for the beginnings of the English Church. A type of the best early mediaeval historian. (For recent edition, see below, section C.) ZocKLER, Askese und Monchthum., Frankfurt, 1897. Well arranged and contains full references to the whole literature of asceticism. Hauck, Kirchengeschichte Deutschlandsy 3 vols., Leipzig, 1896-1898 ; coming down to 1 122. Vol. I gives the most detailed and careful account of the Christian missions in Germany to the death of Boniface. Benedicti Regula^ edited by Woelfilin (Teubner). A critical edition of the text. Bede, Opera Historica., edited by Plummer, 2 vols.. Clarendon Press, 1896. The most elaborate and scholarly edition of this important source. A cheaper edition is edited by Holder, Freiburg, 1890, M. 4.50. .The Mofiks ct 7 id the CouveTsiofi of the Cjevificius 113 The chief sources for the monastic life and the missions are the Lives of the Saints. These are usually very unsatisfactory, for they were in most cases written, or rewritten, long after the death of those whose history they tell. Moreover, their authors did not write with a view of describing in detail the situation and conduct of their heroes. The main object was to edify the reader, or to glorify the founder of a monastery by reciting the miracles he performed. Every saint must, like Elijah, raise the dead or, like Jesus, heal the sick, walk on the waves, quiet tempests, and predict future events. (See Molinier, 94 sqq., and Wattenbach, 7th ed., 124 sqq) The greatest collection of the Lives of the Saints is the vast Acta Sanctorufn, begun by the Jesuit, Bolland, in 1643. Although no less than sixty-two folio volumes have appeared in the past two hundred and sixty- five years, the series is not completed, and is now carried on with con- scientious care by a group of Jesuit scholars, commonly known as the Bollandists, from the father of their enterprise. The lives are not arranged historically, that is, in the order in which the saints lived, but follow the order of the saints’ “ days ” as they appear in the church calendar.^ Hence under January 5, for example, we find men as widely separated in time as St. Telesphorus (d. about 139), Simeon Stylites (d. 460), Edward the Confessor (d. 1066), and a certain St. Gerlach (d. about 1570). A new and perhaps overcritical edition of the more important lives for the history of the Merovingian period, is in the course of publication in the Monumenta. Of the Lives of the Saints for our period, the following in the Monu- menta may be especially noted : That of St. Caesarius of Arles (d. 542) was written almost immediately after his death ; Life of St. Columba by Adamnanus, a contemporary (see above, section Life of St. Colum- ban by the monk Jonas (see above, section B)\ Life of St. Gall, written in its original form before the end of the eighth century; Willibald, IJfe of St. Boniface, written before 786; Life of St. Sturmi, abbot of Fulda (d. 779), by a succeeding abbot, Eigil (d. 822) (see extracts given above, pp. 107 sqq.). German translations of the Lives of St. Gall, Boni- face, Sturmi, and others of this period may be found in the Geschicht- schreiber der deutschen Vorzeit. A very remarkable and weighty source is a collection of the letters Df Boniface and his successor. Lull, in the Monumenta. I 1 The festival or “natal” day of a saint is usually the anniversary of his I ieath, — his true birthday into eternal life. The Lives of the Saints. Acta Sanc- torum, CHAPTER VI Singular origin of the Koran, the Bible of the Mohamme- dans. CHARLES MARTEL AND PIPPIN I. The Koran Mohammed apparently suffered from a certain nervous disorder which is often accompanied by hallucinations. When about forty years of age, as he was engaged in meditation upon a solitary mountain near Mecca, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and uttered five verses, the first of the revelations from heaven which were to compose the Koran. Similar messages came to him from time to time during his periods of nervous excite- ment. These he revealed to his friends and converts, who committed them to memory and, in some cases, wrote them down. It is probable that the prophet him- self could neither read nor write. At the time of his death no collection had as yet been made of these inspired utterances ; they had only been recorded piecemeal on palm leaves, skins, shoulder blades of animals, and, above all, in the hearts of his followers. The early caliphs, realizing that the Book of God might otherwise be speedily lost, ordered that a man who had acted as Mohammed’s amanuensis should collect and arrange the text. A second and more careful edition, made in 660, was sent to all the chief cities in the Mohammedan empire and has remained the authorita- tive text among all Mohammedans down to the present day. 114 Charles Martel and Pippin 1 1 5 The revelations were strung together without regard to the order in which Mohammed received them and with little or no attention to their contents. The longer surahs or chapters come first and then the short ones, although chronologically the shorter were the earlier. It is therefore not unnatural that the Koran should be confused and often obscure, and in an English version it is hard to perceive much of the marvelous eloquence which recommends it to the Arab mind. It is chiefly made up of repeated assertions of God’s unity and greatness and of the futility and wickedness of the worship of idols. There are frequent references to the last judgment, to heaven and its delights, to hell and the fate of those who stubbornly refuse to accept the Koran as the word of God, and Mohammed as his prophet. Many episodes from the Old and New Testaments are given here and there, such as the stories of Abraham, of Joseph, of Moses, of the birth of Jesus. Mohammed could hardly have been acquainted with the Bible at first hand, but must have gathered his knowledge of it from the Jews and Christians settled in Arabia. The Koran also embodies popular sayings and favorite legends current among the desert tribes long before the time of Mohammed. Some important rules of conduct are also laid down. Mohammed had not lived among the sheepfolds in vain, and spent long solitary nights gazing at the silent heaven and watching the dawn break over the mountains. .This earliest portion of the Koran is one long blazonry ^of nature’s beauty. How can you believe in aught but ijthe One omnipotent God when you see this glorious world around you and this wondrous tent of heaven above you ? Lane-Poole’s view of Mohammed’s character. Readings in Etiropean History 1 16 is Mohammed’s frequent question to his countrymen. ‘All things in heaven and earth supplicate him; then which of the bounties of the Lord will ye deny.?’ . . . “ In conclusion, let us banish from bur minds any con- ception of the Koran as a code of laws, or a systematic exposition of a creed. It is neither of these. Let us only think of a simple enthusiast confronted with many and varied difficulties, and trying to meet them as best he could by the inward light that guided him. The guidance was not perfect, we know, and there is much that is blameworthy in Mohammed; but whatever we believe' of him, let it be granted that his errors were not the result of premeditated imposition, but were the mistakes of an ignorant, impressible, superstitious, but nevertheless noble and great man.” In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful 48. Passages from the Koran. The opening prayer. Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds ! The Compassionate, the Merciful ! King of the day of judgment ! Thee we worship, and Thee we ask for help. Guide us in the straight way, The way of those to whom Thou art gracious ; Not of those upon whom is Thy wrath, nor of the erring. The angel Gabriel extols the divineWord, which he reveals to Mohammed, and de- nounces unbelievers. In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. That is the bookM there is no doubt therein; a guide to the pious, who believe in the unseen, and are steadfast in prayer, and of what we have given them expend in alms ; who believe in what is revealed to thee, and what was revealed before thee, and of the hereafter they are sure. These are in guidance from their Lord, and these are the prosperous. 1 Namely, the book which Gabriel, the speaker, is revealing. Charles Martel and Pippin 1 1 7 Verily, those who misbelieve, it is the same to them if ye warn them or if ye warn them not, they will not believe. God has set a seal upon their hearts and on their hearing ; and on their eyes is dimness, and for them is grievous woe. There are, indeed, those among men who say, “ We believe in God and in the last day’’; but they do not believe. They would deceive God and those who do believe ; but they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive. In their hearts is a sickness, and God has made them still more sick, and for them is grievous woe because they lied. . . . And if ye are in doubt of what we have revealed unto our servant, then bring a chapter like it, and call your witnesses other than God if ye tell truth. But if ye do it not, and ye shall surely do it not, then fear the fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for misbelievers. But bear the glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that for them are gardens beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with fruit therefrom they say, This is what we were provided with before, and they shall be pro- vided with the like ; and there are pure wives for them therein, and they shall dwell therein for aye.” . . . In the Name of God, th^Cojnpassionate, the Merciful Have we not made the earth as a bed ? God’s beau- And the mountains as tent-pegs ? tiful world. And created you in pairs. And made you sleep for rest. And made the night for a mantle. And made the day for bread-winning. And built above you seven firmaments. And put therein a burning lamp. And sent down water pouring from the squeezed clouds To bring forth grain and herb withal. And gardens thick with trees ? Lo ! the Day of Decision is appointed — The day when there shall be a blowing of the trumpet, and ye shall come in troops. 1 1 8 Readings in European History And the heavens shall be opened, and be full of gates, And the mountains shall be removed, and turn into mist. Verily hell lieth in wait. The goal for rebels. To abide therein for ages ; They shall not taste therein coolness nor drink. Save scalding water and running sores, — A meet reward ! Verily they did not expect the reckoning. And they denied our signs with lies ; But everything have we recorded in a book : — Description of the bliss of heaven and the pains of hell. When the earth shall be shaken in a shock. And the mountains shall be powdered in powder. And become like flying dust. And ye shall be three kinds. Then the people of the right hand — what people of good omen ! And the people of the left hand — what people of ill omen! And the outstrippers, still outstripping : — These are the nearest [to God], In gardens of delight ; A crowd of the men of yore. And a few of the latter days ; Upon inwrought couches. Reclining thereon face to face. Youths ever young shall go unto them round about With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine, — Their heads shall not ache with it, neither shall they be confused ; And fruits of their choice. And flesh of birds to their desire ; And damsels with bright eyes like hidden pearls, — A reward for what they have wrought. They shall hear no folly therein, nor any sin. But only the greeting, ‘‘ Peace I peace I ’’ Charles Martel and Pippin 1 19 And the people of the right hand — what people of good omen ! Amid thornless lote-trees, And bananas laden with fruit, And shade outspread, And water flowing, And fruit abundant. Never failing, nor forbidden, . . . But the people of the left hand — what people of ill omen ! — Amid burning wind and scalding water. And a shade of black smoke. Not cool or grateful ! Verily before that they were prosperous; But they persisted in the most grievous sin. And used to say, ‘‘ When we have died, and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be raised again, ^ And our fathers, the men of yore,’^ Say : Verily those of yore and of the latter days Shall surely be gathered to the trysting-place of a day which is known. Then ye, O ye who err and call it a lie. Shall surely eat of the tree of Zakkum, And fill your bellies with it. And drink upon it scalding water, — Drink like the thirsty camel : — This shall be their entertainment on the Day of Judgment! We came out with the prophet, with a part of the army, and a man passed by a cavern in which was water and ver- dure, and he said in his heart, ‘‘ I shall stay here, and retire from the world.” Then he asked the prophet’s permission to live in the cavern; but he said, “Verily I have not been sent on the Jewish religion, nor the Christian, to quit the delights of society ; but I have been sent on the religion inclining to truth, and that which is easy, wherein is no diffi- culty or austerity, I swear by God, in whose hand is my life, that marching about morning and evening to fight for religion Fighting for the faith better than prayers. (From the traditional sayings of Mohammed not included in the Koran.) 120 Readmgs in European History is better than the world and everything that is in it : and verily the standing of one of you in the line of battle is better than supererogatory prayers performed in your house for sixty years. II. How Pippin, the First of the Carolingian Line, BECAME King of France 49. The weakness of the later Merovingian kings. (From Ein- hard’s Life of the Emperor Charles.) The Franks in olden times were wont to choose their kings from the family of the Merovingians. This royal line is con- sidered to have come to an end in the person of Childeric III, who was deposed from the throne by command of Stephen, the Roman pontiff; his long hair was cut off and he was thrust into a monastery. Although the line of the Merovingians actually ended with Childeric, it had nevertheless for some time previously been so utterly wanting in power that it had displayed no mark of royalty except the empty kingly title. All the resources and power of the kingdom had passed into the control of the prefects of the palace, who were called the ‘‘mayors of the palace,” ^ and who employed the supreme authority. Nothing was left to the king. He had to con- tent himself with his royal title, his flowing locks, and long beard. Seated in a chair of state, he was wont to display an appearance of power by receiving foreign ambassadors on their arrival, and, on their departure, giving them, as if on his own authority, those answers which he had been taught or commanded to give. Thus, except for his empty title, and an uncertain allow- ance for his subsistence, which the prefect of the palace used to furnish at his pleasure, there was nothing that the king could call his own, unless it were the income from a single farm, and that a very small one, where he made his home, and where such servants as were needful to wait on him con- stituted his scanty household. When he went anywhere he traveled in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, with a rustic 1 Maiores domus. Charles Martel and Pippin I2I oxherd for charioteer. In this manner he proceeded to the palace, and to the public assemblies of the people held every year for the dispatch of the business of the kingdom, and he returned home again in the same sort of state. The admin- istration of the kingdom, and every matter which had to be undertaken and carried through, both at home and abroad, was managed by the mayor of the palace. In the year of the Incarnation of our Lord, 750,^ Pippin sent ambassadors to Pope Zacharias to ask his opinion in the matter of the kings of the Franks, who, though of the royal line, and called kings, enjoyed in truth no power in the realm except that official documents were issued in their name. Otherwise they were destitute of power, and did only what the mayor of the palace told them. Only upon the day when the people, according to ancient usage, wer.e wont to bring gifts to their sovereign on the March Field, did the king, surrounded by the army, sit in his chair, the mayor of the palace standing before him, and proclaim such laws as had been established by the Franks. The next day he returned home, and stayed there during the remainder of the year. Pope Zacharias, therefore, in virtue of apostolic authority, told the ambassadors that he judged it better and more advantageous that he should be king and be called king who had the power rather than he who was falsely called king. The said pontiff accordingly enjoined the king and the people of the Franks that Pippin, who already exercised the regal power, should be called king and raised to the throne. And this was done by St. Boniface, the archbishop, who anointed him king in the city of Soissons. And so it came about that Pippin was called king, while Childeric, falsely called king, was shaven and sent to the monastery. 1 It appears from other sources that it was in 752 — not 750 — that Pippin received the kingly crown from the hand of Boniface, 50. Pope Zacharius authorizes the corona- tion of Pippin. (From The Lesser Annals of Lorsch.) 122 Readings in European History 51. The coronation of Pippin by the pope. (From Einhard^ s Annals.) 52. A letter of Pope Stephen III describing the atroci- ties of the Lombards (756). (753) . . • In this year Pope Stephen [the successor of Zacharias] came to King Pippin in the town which is called Kiersey, to beg protection for himself and the Roman church from the attacks of the Lombards. . . . (754) Pope Stephen, after King Pippin had assured him that he would defend the Roman church, consecrated him to the honor of the royal dignity, and with him his two sons, Karl and Carloman ; and the pope spent that winter in Francia. III. The Lombards, Pope Stephen, and King Pippin Pope Stephen was driven, as we have seen, by the threatening attitude of the Lombards to visit the court of Pippin in search of help. The Frankish king, with the approbation of his councilors, made an expedition to Italy in 755, defeated the Lombards, and forced Aistulf, their king, to promise that he would return all the terri- tory about Rome and never invade the region again. Yet Pippin had hardly recrossed the Alps when Aistulf broke his treaty and attacked Rome. The pope then appealed to Pippin, in successive letters, describing the devastation wrought by the Lombards and the desperate plight of the city. Of these letters the following is a sample: Pope Stephen to the most excellent lord., Pippin, our son and kinsman in the spirit, King of the Franks and Patrician of the Romans : Woeful and bitter is the distress in which we find our- selves ; our difficulties and anxieties are constantly increas- ing and call forth floods of tears. “ Who could witness such tribulations and not mourn ? Who could listen to our calam- ities and not bewail ? . . . We must believe, however, most Christian and excellent son, that all our sorrows are known to your Highness: how the treaties of peace have been broken by the accursed King Aistulf, how none of the stipulations have been observed even Charles Martel and Pippin 123 when confirmed by the most solemn oath, how the Lombards have desolated all our lands and committed many murders. And now thou knowest, O most excellent son and spiritual kinsman, thou knowest what we would say with many tears and much sorrow of heart. The very first of January all the army of this same Aistulf, king of the Lombards, gathered from the confines of Tuscany, against the city of Rome, and encamped close to the gate of the blessed apostle Peter and the gate of St. Pancratius and the Ostian gate. Then Aistulf himself joined his army, with further reenforcements, and pitched his tents beside the Salarian gate and other gates. And he drew up his army and said to us Romans : “ Open to me the Salarian gate that I may enter the city ; and deliver your pontiff into my hands. Then I will have mercy upon you. If you do not these things, I will destroy your walls, and put you to the sword. And I will see who can deliver you out of my hands.’’ . . . They have wasted with fire and sword, far and wide, all the lands outside the city, and have burned the churches of God, and have cast the most holy images of the saints into the fire, and destroyed them. And they have put that holy treasure, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, into their own polluted vessels and, sated with abundance of meat, they ate this blessed treasure. The altar cloths and other ornaments of the churches of God — oh, too infamous to tell! — they bore away and used for their own purposes. The monks, servants of God, who dwelt in mountains for the praise of God, they beat with many blows, and many of them they cut to pieces. And they seized nuns and recluses dedicated from their earliest years to the cloister, and sub- jected them to the most cruel abuses, so that some of them were seen to perish. They have cut off vines well-nigh to the roots, and have altogether destroyed the harvests. There is no chance of safety for the household of our holy church, nor for any one indeed who remains in the city of Rome. . . . Now for five and fifty days they have besieged and sur- rounded on every side this afflicted city of Rome ; and this 124 Readings in Etiropean History A. Refer- ences. B. Addi- tional read- htg in English. wicked Aistulf will kill us all with one sword. For so he has sworn with rage, and has cast this in our teeth : ‘‘Behold, you were surrounded by us and could not escape out of our clutches. Now let the Franks come and wrest you from our grasp.’’ . . . Therefore hear me, O son — hear and help us. Behold, now is the time to save us. Save us lest we perish, O most Christian king! BIBLIOGRAPHY General Discussion of the Work of Charles Martel and Pippin: Adams, Civilization., pp. 146-154. Charles Martel: Emerton, Introduction., Chapter X, pp. 1 14-134; Henderson, Germany in the Middle Ages, pp. 40-46 ; Oman, Chap- ter XVH, pp. 289-299. The Ar/tbs — their Original Character : Gibbon, Vol. V, Chapter L, first part, pp. 31 1-332. Mohammed: Bemont and Monod, Chapter X, pp. 135-147 ; Gib- bon, Vol. V, Chapter L, latter part, pp. 333-396. Arab Conquests and Civilization : Gibbon, Vol. V, Chapter LI, pp. 397-494; Munro, History of the Middle Ages, Chapter IX, pp. 86-94. Pippin: Emerton, Chapter XH, pp. 1 50-1 79; Henderson, pp. 46-56; Oman, Chapter XIX, pp. 322-334. Gilman, The Saracens (with an excellent bibliography at the end) ; Ameer Ali, The Life and Teachings of Mohammed and A Short His- tory of the Saracens. Two recent and interesting studies from the point of view of an enlightened Oriental writer. Muir, Life of Mahomet and Annals of the Early Caliphate. The former is the most thorough treat- ment in English ; the latter deals with the fifty years following Moham- med’s death. Milman, Book IV, Chapters I-H. The whole Koran has been carefully translated by E. H. Palmer, 2 vols., 1880; but most readers will derive far more pleasure and profit from the extracts given in Stanley Lane-Poole, Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, — a most charming little book, which helps one to feel the beauty of the poetical passages of the Koran. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VH, Book VHI, Chapters HI-XI. Charles Martel and Pippin 125 Gregorovius, Vol. II, Book IV, Chapters I- III. Kitchin, History of France^ Vol. I, Book II, Part I, Chapters I-II. The history of Mohammed and the movements of the Arabs hardly belong to the field of European history, and the sources are in general available only for those who read Arabic. Three recent foreign works may be added to the list given above. Muller, A., Der Islam im Morgen- und Abendland, 2 vols., Berlin, 1885-1887 (Oncken Series). Oelsner, Kbnig Pippin in Jahrbiicher der deutschen Geschichte^ 1882. Guyard, Stanislas, La Civilisation Musulmane. For the sources of the history of the early Carolingian rulers, see bibliography at the close of the following chapter. C. Materials for advanced study. CHAPTER VII 53. Charle- magne’s personal appearance and habits. (From Ein- hard’s Life of Charles.) CHARLEMAGNE I. Charlemagne, the Man Charles was large and robust, of commanding stature and excellent proportions, for it appears that he measured in height seven times the length of his own foot. The top of his head was round, his eyes large and animated, his nose somewhat long. He had a fine head of gray hair, and his face was bright and pleasant ; so that, whether standing or sitting, he showed great presence and dignity. Although his neck was thick and rather short, and his belly too promi- nent, still the good proportions of his limbs concealed these defects. His walk was firm, and the whole carriage of his body was manly. His voice was clear, but not so strong as his frame would have led one to expect. His health was good until the last four years of his life, when he was attacked with frequent fevers, and latterly walked lame on one foot. Even then he relied more on his own judgment than on the advice of physicians, whom he almost hated because they used to recommend him to leave off roasted meats, which he preferred, and to accustom himself to boiled. He took constant exercise in riding and hunting, which was natural for a Frank, since scarcely any nation can be found to equal them in these pursuits. He also delighted in the natural warm baths, frequently exercising himself by swimming, in which he was very skillful, no one being able to outstrip him. It was on account of the warm baths at Aix-la-Chapelle that he built his f>alace there and lived there constantly during the last years of his life and until his death. . . . 126 Charlemagne 127 He wore the dress of his native country, that is, the Frankish; next his body a linen shirt and linen drawers; then a tunic with a silken border, and stockings. He bound his legs with garters and wore shoes on his feet. In the winter he protected his shoulders and chest with a vest made of the skins of otters and sable. He wore a blue cloak, and was always girt with his sword, the hilt and belt being of gold and silver. Sometimes he wore a jeweled sword, but he did so only on great festivals or when receiving foreign ambassadors. He thoroughly disliked the dress of foreigners, however fine; and he never put it on except at Rome — once at the request of Pope Adrian, and again, a second time, to please Adrianas successor. Pope Leo. He then wore a long tunic, chlamys, and shoes made after the Roman fashion. On festivals he used to walk in processions clad in a garment woven with gold, and shoes studded with jewels, his cloak fastened with a golden clasp, and wearing a crown of gold set with precious stones. At other times his dress differed little from that of a private person. In his eating and drinking he was temperate ; more par- ticularly so in his drinking, for he had the greatest abhor- rence of drunkenness in anybody, but more especially in himself and his companions. He was unable to abstain from food for any length of time, and often complained that fasting was injurious to him. On the other hand, he very rarely feasted, only on great festive occasions, when there were very large gatherings. The daily service of his table consisted of only four dishes in addition to the roast meat, which the hunters used to bring in on spits, and of which he partook more freely than of any other food. While he was dining he listened to music or reading. History and the deeds of men of old were most often read. He derived much pleasure from the works of St. Augustine, especially from his book called The City of God, He par- took very sparingly of wine^ and other drinks, rarely taking at meals more than three draughts. In summer, after the midday repast, he would take some fruit and one draught, Charle- magne’s preference in dress. Tastes and habits. 128 Readings in European History Charle- magne’s Icnowledge of the ancient languages. Alcuin. Charle- magne never learned to write. and then, throwing aside his clothes and shoes as at night, he would repose for two or three hours. He slept at night so lightly that he would break his rest four or five times, not merely by awaking, but even getting up. While he was dressing and binding on his sandals, he would receive his friends ; and also, if the count of the pal- ace announced that there was any case which could only be settled by his decision, the suitors were immediately ordered into his presence, and he heard the case and gave judgment as if sitting in court. And this was not the only business that he used to arrange at that time, for he also gave orders for whatever had to be done on that day by any officer or servant. He was ready and fluent in speaking, and able to express himself with great clearness. He did not confine himself to his native tongue, but took pains to learn foreign languages, acquiring such knowledge of Latin that he could make an address in that language as well as in his own. Greek he could better understand than speak. Indeed, he was so pol- ished in speech that he might have passed for a learned man. He was an ardent admirer of the liberal arts, and greatly revered their professors, whom he promoted to high honors. In order to learn grammar, he attended the lectures of the aged Peter of Pisa, a deacon ; and for other branches he chose as his preceptor Albinus, otherwise called Alcuin, also a deacon, — a Saxon by race, from Britain, the most learned man of the day, with whom the king spent much time in learning rhetoric and logic, and more especially astronomy. He learned the art of determining the dates upon which the movable festivals of the Church fall, and with deep thought and skill most carefully calculated the courses of the planets. Charles also tried to learn to write, and used to keep his tablets and writing book under the pillow of his couch, that when he had leisure he might practice his hand in forming letters ; but he made little progress in this task, too long deferred and begun too late in life. Charlemagne 129 II. Charlemagne and the Saxons Now the Saxon race was cruel and very dangerous to all, and was much given over to pagan observances. But King Charles, always faithful to God, because he was most Chris- tian, began to take thought how he might seek to win this people for Christ. He took counsel with the servants of God and besought their prayers that they might obtain their desire from God. Then he gathered a great army, and after he had called upon the name of Christ, he marched into Saxony. He took with him a host of priests and abbots, so that this race which, from the beginning of the world, had been bound by the chains of demons might bow to the yoke of the sweet and gentle Christ by believing in the holy doctrines. When the king had come into the land of the Saxons, he succeeded, partly by war, partly by persuasions, partly even by gifts, in turning great numbers of the people to the faith of Christ. And before long he divided the whole province into episcopal dioceses, and gave the servants of ’God authority to teach and to baptize. At the beginning of the year [782], when supplies were plentiful and the army could be led into the field, the king decided to go into Saxony and to hold there a general assem- bly, as he was used to do every year in Francia. He crossed the Rhine at Cologne, and with the whole Frankish army came to the source of the Lippe, where he made a camp and remained for many days. He there heard and dismissed the ambassadors sent by Sigfried, king of the Danes, and those who had come from Caganus and Juggurus, chiefs of the Huns, to seek peace. When the assembly was dissolved, and he had betaken .himself across the Rhine into Gallia, Widukind, who had fled to the Northmen, returned to his fatherland, and with vain hop^s aroused the Saxons to rebellion. In the mean- time it was reported to the king that the Sorabi Slavs, who 1 See above p. 107 . 54. The abbot of Fulda de- clares that Charle- magne con- quered the Saxons in order to bring them to Christ. (From the Life of St. Sturmi.^) 55. There* bellion of Widukind c (From the so-called Annals of Einhard.) 130 Readings in European History inhabit the region between the Elbe and the Saale, had invaded the lands of the Thuringians and Saxons, their neighbors, on a plundering expedition and had sacked and burned several places. He immediately summoned his three ministers, — Adalgis, his chamberlain; Geilo, his constable; and Woradus, the head of the palace, — ordered that they should take with them East Franks and Saxons and chastise forthwith the audacity of the unruly Slavs. When the leaders of this force learned, upon entering the Saxon territory, that the Saxons, by Widukind’s advice, were about to ‘Wage war on the Franks, they abandoned the cam- paign against the Slavs, and with the forces of the East Franks pushed forward to the place where they had heard the Saxons were massed. Count Theodoric, a kinsman of the king, hastened to join them in Saxony with all the forces he could collect hurriedly in Ripuaria after news reached him of the Saxon revolt. . . . Then they all pushed forward to a mountain [situated on the southern bank of the river Weser], called Suntal. The camp of the Saxons lay on the northern side of this moun- tain. In this place Theodoric pitched his camp, while the leaders of the East Franks crossed the Weser and encamped on the river bank, to the end that they might easily join the forces of Theodoric and so surround the mountain. Then did the leaders of the East Franks take counsel together: for they feared that the glory of victory might be given to Theodoric, if they had him with them in this battle. So they decided to attack the Saxons without him. They accordingly armed themselves, and each man rushed forward with his utmost speed, as fast as his horse could carry him, as if they were pursuing and plundering a fleeing foe rather than attacking an enemy drawn up in line of battle. But the Saxons stood before their camp ready to meet the onslaught ; and because the attack was ill planned it was ill fought. When they gave battle the Franks were sur- rounded by the Saxons and almost all of them were slain. Those who made good their escape fled for refuge, not to the camp whence they had gone forth, but to the camp of Charlemagne 1 3 1 Theodoric, which was on the other side of the mountain. The Frankish loss was greater than mere numbers, for two of the ambassadors, Adalgis and Geilo, were killed, also four counts, and twenty other noble and distinguished men, together with those who followed them, because they would rather die with them than live after them. When the king heard of this disaster he decided not to delay, but made haste to gather an army, and marched into Saxony. There he called to his presence the chiefs of the Saxons, and inquired who had induced the people to rebel. They all declared that Widukind was the author of the trea- son, but said that they could not produce him because after the deed was done he had fled to the Northmen. But the others who had carried out his will and committed the crime they delivered up to the king to the number of four thousand and five hundred ; and by the king^s command they were all beheaded in one day upon the river Aller in the place called Verden. When he had wreaked vengeance after this fashion, the king withdrew to the town of Diedenhofen for winter quarters, and there he celebrated the Nativity of our Lord and Easter as he was wont to do. III. How Charlemagne was made Emperor A.D. 799 As Pope Leo [HI] was riding from the Lateran in Rome to service in the church of St. Lawrence, called “ the Grid- iron,’’ he fell into an ambush which the Romans had set for him in the neighborhood of this church. He was dragged from off his horse and, as some would have it, his eyes put out, his tongue cut off, and he was then left lying in the street, naked and half dead. Afterward the insti- gators of this deed ordered that he should be taken into the monastery of the holy martyr Erasmus to be cared for. His chamberlain Albinus succeeded, however, in letting him down over the wall at night, whereupon Duke Winigis of Spoleto, who had hurried to Rome on hearing of this deed The mas- sacre of Verden (782). 56. Circum- stances of Charle- magne’s coronation as emperor. (From the so-called Annals of Einhard.) Maltreat- ment of Pope Leo by the Romans. Charlemagne reinstates Pope Leo. 132 Readings in E 2 Lropca 7 i History of sacrilege, took him into his charge and carried him to Spoleto. When the king [Charlemagne] received news of this occur- rence, he gave orders that the Roman pope, the successor of St. Peter, should be brought to him, with all due honor. He did not, however, give up on this account the expedition into Saxony which he had undertaken. He held a general assem- bly at a place called Lippeham, on the Rhine ; he then crossed the river and pushed on with his entire army to Paderborn, where he set up his camp and awaited the pope. In the meantime he sent his son Charles, with a part of the army, to the Elbe to settle certain matters with the Wilzer and Abodrites and to receive into his charge certain of the North Saxons. While he was awaiting his son’s return, the pope arrived, was honorably received, and remained several days with him. After he had laid before the king all the reasons for his coming, he was accompanied back to Rome by the king’s ambassadors and reinstated in his authority there. After the pope’s departure, the king remained several days longer and finished his business with Daniel, ambassador of the Patrician Michael of Sicily. He received also the sad news of the undoing of Gerold and Eric ; the one, Gerold, governor of Bavaria, lost his life in a battle with the Huns and was buried in Reichenau; the other, Eric, after many battles and brilliant victories, met his death through the treachery of the inhabitants of Tersat,^ a town of Liburnia. When affairs in Saxony had been as well ordered as time would permit, the king returned again to Francia. In the winter, which was spent in Aix-la-Chapelle, came Count Wido, count and governor of the border land of Brittany, who, during this year, and in alliance with other counts, had traversed the whole territory of the Bretons, and now brought to the king the arms of the dukes who had submitted themselves, with their several names inscribed thereon. It appeared at that time as if that whole country 1 Near Fiume. 133 Charlemagne was completely subjugated; and so it would have been had not the fickleness of its faithless people soon changed all this, as usual. Trophies of victory were also brought which had been taken from Moorish robbers killed on the island of Majorca. The Saracen, Azan, governor of Oska, sent to the king the keys of that city, together with other gifts, and promised to give the town over to him whenever opportunity should offer. Moreover, a monk came from Jerusalem, bringing to the king the blessing of the Patriarch and certain relics from the place of the resurrection of our Lord. The king spent Christmas in his palace at Aix-la-Chapelle. When the monk desired to return home, he gave him, as a companion, Zacharias, a priest of his palace, and sent, besides, pious gifts to the holy places. A.D. 800 When spring came again, about the middle of March, the king left Aix-la-Chapelle and journeyed toward the coast of Gaul. Off this coast, which was being devastated by the piratical Northmen, he built and manned a fleet. Easter he celebrated in St. Riquier at the shrine of St. Richard. From here he traveled along the coast to the city of Rouen, where he crossed the Seine and betook himself to Tours in order to perform his devotions at the shrine of St. Martin. On account of the illness of his wife, Luitgarda, who died and was buried here, he was forced to remain some days in this place; she died on the 4th of June. From here he re- turned, by way of Orleans and Paris, to Aix-la-Chapelle ; early in August he reached Mayence, where he held a diet and announced his intended journey to Italy. From Mayence he went with his army to Ravenna, where he stayed only seven days and whence he dispatched his son Pippin, with the army, into the country of Beneventum. He and his son left Ravenna together, but at Ancona they parted company and he betook himself to Rome. On the very day of his arrival Pope Leo went to meet him at Momentum. He received the pope with great reverence. 134 Readings in European History and they dined together. Then he remained behind while the pope returned to the city in order that he might be waiting to receive him the next morning on the steps of St. Peter’s, together with the bishops and all the clergy. When he appeared and dismounted from his horse, the pope received him with gratitude and thanksgiving and con- ducted him into the church, while all the people glorified God in hymns of praise. This was on the 24th day of November. Seven days later, the king publicly proclaimed, in an assembly which he had called together, all the reasons why he had come to Rome, and thenceforth he labored daily to carry out all that he had come to do. He began with the most serious and difficult matter, namely, the investigation into the offenses of which the pope had been accused. But since no one could be found who was willing to substantiate the charges, the pope, carrying the Gospels in his hand, mounted the pulpit in St. Peter’s and before all the people, and in the name of the Holy Trinity, took an oath to clear himself from the crimes imputed to him. On the same day Zacharias, the priest whom the king had dispatched to Jerusalem, arrived at Rome with two monks sent to the king by the Patriarch. By way of a blessing, they brought with them the keys to the sepulcher of our Lord and to the place of Calvary, together with an ensign. The king received them graciously, kept them as his guests for some days, and when they were ready to return, dismissed them with gifts. A.D. 801 On the most holy day of the birth of our Lord, the king went to mass at St. Peter’s, and as he knelt in prayer before the altar Pope Leo set a crown upon his head, while all the Roman populace cried aloud, “ Long life and victory to the mighty Charles, the great and pacific Emperor of the Romans, crowned of God ! After he had been thus acclaimed, the pope did homage to him, as had been the custom with the early rulers, and henceforth he dropped the title of Patrician and was called Emperor and Augustus. . . . Charlemagne 135 IV. Charlemagne’s Way of raising Troops The following provisions are taken from three differ- ent capitularies issued after Charlemagne became emperor. If any free man, out of contempt for our command, shall have presumed to remain at home when the others go to war, let him know that he ought to pay the full hari bannum according to the law of the Franks, — that is, sixty solidu Likewise, also, for contempt of single capitularies which we have promulgated by our royal authority, — that is, any one who shall have broken the peace decreed for the churches of God, widows, orphans, wards, and the weak shall pay the fine of sixty solidi. If any one shall have shown himself so contumacious or haughty as to leave the army and return home without the command or permission of the king, — that is, if he is guilty of what we call in the German language herisliz ^ — he him- self, as a criminal, shall incur the peril of losing his life, and his property shall be confiscated for our treasury. Every free man who has four mansi^^ of his own property, or as a benefice from any one, shall equip himself and go to the army, either with his lord, if the lord goes, or with his count. He who has three mansi of his own property shall be joined to a man who has one mansus^ and shall aid him so that he may serve for both. He who has only two mansi of his own property shall be joined to another who likewise has two ma7isi^ and one of them, with the aid of the other, shall go to the army. He who has only one mansus of his own shall be joined to one of three men who have the same and shall aid him, and the latter shall go alone; the three who have aided him shall remain at home. Concerning going to the army : the count in his county under penalty of the ban, and each man under penalty of 1 This capitulary was addressed to Charlemagne’s officials in Italy. 2 A mansus contained about 135 acres. 57. The Heerbann, or fine for refusing to join the army ( 801 ). Concerning deserters. 58. The wealthier landholders are 'required to go to the army in person; the poorer, to help equip a soldier ( 808 ). 59. Nature of the sup- plies for the army. 136 Readings in European History sixty solidi, shall go to the army, so that they come to the appointed muster at that place where it is ordered. And the count himself shall see in what manner they are prepared ; that is, each one shall have a lance, shield, bow with two strings, and twelve arrows. And the bishops, counts, and abbots shall oversee their own men and shall come on the day of the appointed muster and there show how they are prepared. The equipments of the king shall be carried in carts, also the equipments of the bishops, counts, abbots, and nobles of the king ; flour, wine, pork, and victuals in abundance, mills, adzes, axes, augers, slings, and men who know how to use these well. And the marshals of the king shall add stones for these on twenty beasts of burden, if there is need. And each one shall be prepared for the army and shall have plenty of all utensils. And each count shall save two parts of the fodder in his county for the army’s use, and he shall main- tain good bridges and good boats. 60 . Charle- magne’s letter to Abbot Ful- rad, sum- moning him to join the muster. In the name of the Father^ Son^ and Holy Spirit^ Charles^ serene and august^ crowned by God great and pacific Em- peror^ and by God^s mercy King of the F^'a^tks and the Lom- bards^ to Fulrad the Abbot : Be it known to you that we have decided to hold our general assembly for this year in the eastern part of Saxony, on the river Bode, at the place which is called Strassfurt. Wherefore we do command thee that thou come to this place with thy full quota of men, well armed and equipped, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of July, which is seven days before the feast of St. John the Baptist. Then shalt thou come to the aforesaid place, with thy men ready, so that thou canst go in military array in any direction whither our command shall send thee. Thou shalt have arms and gear, and warlike instruments, and food and clothing. Each horseman shall have a shield, lance, sword, dagger, bow, and quivers with arrows. In the carts ye shall have implements of divers kinds: axes, planes, augers, boards, spades, iron shovels, and other tools of which Charlemagne 137 an army has need. In the carts you must also have sup- plies of food for three months, dating from the time of the assembly, and arms and clothing for a half year. We order you to attend carefully to all these things so that you may proceed peacefully to the aforesaid place. For through whatever part of our realm your journey shall take you, you shall not presume to take anything but fodder, food, and water. Let the men of each one of your vassals march along with the carts and horsemen, and let the leader always be with them until they reach the aforesaid place, so that the absence of a lord may not give to his men an opportunity of doing evil. . . . V. Charlemagne’s Income from his Farms We desire that each steward shall make an annual state- ment of all our income, giving an account of our lands culti- vated by the oxen which our own plowmen drive and of our lands which the tenants of farms ought to plow ; of the pigs, of the rents, of the obligations and fines; of the game taken in our forests without our permission ; of the various composi- tions ; of the mills, of the forest, of the fields, of the bridges and ships ; of the free men and the districts under obligations to our treasury; of markets, vineyards, and those who owe wine to us; of the hay, firewood, torches, planks, and other kinds of lumber; of the waste lands; of the vegetables, mil- let, panic; of the wool, flax, and hemp; of the fruits of the trees ; of the nut trees, larger and smaller ; of the grafted trees of all kinds ; of the gardens ; of the turnips ; of the fish ponds ; of the hides, skins, and horns ; of the honey and wax ; of the fat, tallow, and soap ; of the mulberry wine, cooked wine, mead, vinegar, beer, and wine, new and old; of the new grain and the old ; of the hens and eggs ; of the geese ; of the number of fishermen, workers in metal, sword makers, and shoemakers ; of the bins and boxes ; of the turn- ers and saddlers; of the forges and mines, — that is, of iron, lead, or other substances ; of the colts and fillies. They shall make all these known to us, set forth separately and in 61 . Extracts from the Capitulary de Villis, issued in the year 800 or earlier. 138 Readings in Eicropean History order, at Christmas, so that, we may know what and how much of each thing we have. The greatest care must be taken that whatever is prepared or made with the hands, — that is, bacon, smoked meat, sau- sage,^ partially salted meat, wine, vinegar, mulberry wine, cooked wine, garum,^ mustard, cheese, butter, malt, beer, mead, honey, wax, flour, — all should be prepared and made with the greatest cleanliness. Each steward on each of our domains shall always have, for the sake of ornament, peacocks, pheasants, ducks, pig- eons, partridges, and turtle-doves. In each of our estates the chambers shall be provided with counterpanes, cushions, pillows, bedclothes, coverings for the tables and benches; vessels of brass, lead, iron, and wood; andirons, chains, pothooks, adzes axes, augers, cut- lasses, and all other kinds of tools, so that it shall never be necessary to go elsewhere for them, or to borrow them. And the weapons which are carried against the enemy shall be well cared for, so as to keep them in good condition; and when they are brought back they shall be placed in the chamber. For our women’s work they are to give at the proper time, as has been ordered, the materials, — that is, the linen, wool, woad, vermilion, madder, wool combs, teasels, soap, grease, vessels, and the other objects which are necessary. Of the kinds of food not forbidden on fast days, two thirds shall be sent each year for our own use, — that is, of the vege- tables, fish, cheese, butter, honey, mustard, vinegar, millet, panic, dried and green herbs, radishes, and, in addition, of the wax, soap, and other small products ; and let it be re- ported to us, by a statement, how much is left, as we have said above; and this statement must not be omitted as in the past, because after those two thirds we wish to know how much remains. 1 Some of the many names of products here given are of uncertain meaning. 2 A kind of drink made of salt fish. Charlemagfie 13^ Each steward shall have in his district good workmen, namely, blacksmiths, a goldsmith, a silversmith, shoemakers, turners, carpenters, sword makers, fishermen, toilers, soap makers, men who know how to make beer, cider, perry, or other kind of liquor good to drink, bakers to make pastry for our table, net makers who know how to make nets for hunting, fishing, and fowling, and other sorts of workmen too numerous to be designated. VI. Charlemagne’s Ideals of Government In the elaborate instructions for the missi we have the fullest statemept of the tasks of government which devolved upon Charlemagne, and of the various offenses which he foresaw and for which he deemed it especially necessary to provide. The most serene and most Christian lord emperor Charles has chosen from his nobles the wisest and most prudent men, archbishops and some of the other bishops also, together with venerable abbots and pious laymen, and has sent them throughout his whole kingdom; through them he would have all the various classes of persons mentioned in the following sections live strictly in accordance with the law. Moreover, where anything which is not right and just has been enacted in the law, he has ordered them to inquire into this most diligently and to inform him of it ; he desires, God granting, to reform it. And let no one, through cunning craft, dare to oppose or thwart the written law, as many are wont to do, or the judi- cial sentence passed upon him ; or to do injury to the churches of God, or the poor, or the widows, or the wards, cr any Christian. But all shall live entirely in accordance >vith God’s precept, justly and under a just rule, and each :>ne shall be admonished to live in harmony with his fellows n his business or profession. The canonical clergy ought 0 observe in every respect a canonical life without heeding 62 . Extracts from the general capitulary for the missi (802). General duties of the 77iissi, All required to take an oath of fidel- ity to Charle- magne as emperor. What the oath to the emperor included. 140 Readings in European History base gain ; nuns ought to keep diligent watch over their lives ; laymen and the secular clergy ought rightly to observe their laws without malicious fraud ; and all ought to live in mutual charity and perfect peace. And let the missi themselves make a diligent investigation whenever any man claims that an injustice has been done to him by any one, just as they desire to deserve the grace of omnipotent God and to keep their fidelity pledged to him, so that in all cases, everywhere, they shall, in accordance with the will and fear of God, administer the law fully and justly in the case of the holy churches of God and of the poor, of wards and widows, and of the whole people. And if there shall be anything of such a nature that they, together with the provincial counts, are not able of themselves to correct it and to do justice concerning it, they shall, without any reser- vations, refer this, together with their reports, to the judgment of the emperor. The straight path of justice shall not be impeded by any one on account of flattery or gifts, or on account of any relationship, or from fear of the powerful. Concerning the fidelity to be promised to the lord emperor: he has commanded that every man in his whole kingdom, whether ecclesiastic or layman, each according to his vow and occupation, shall now pledge to him as emperor the fidelity which he has previously promised to him as king; and all of those who have not yet taken any oath shall do likewise, down to those who are twelve years old. And that it shall be announced to all in public, so that each one may know, how great and how many things are com- prehended in that oath; not merely, as many have thought hitherto, fidelity to the lord emperor as regards his life, and not introducing any enemy into his kingdom out of enmity, and not consenting to, or concealing another’s faithlessness to him; but that all may know that this oath contains in itself the following meaning: First, that each one voluntarily shall strive, in accordance with his knowledge and ability, to live entirely in the holy service of God in accordance with the precept of God and in Cha rlemagne 1 4 1 accordance with his own promise, because the lord emperor is unable to give to all individually the necessary care and discipline. Secondly, that no man, either through perjury or any other wile or fraud, or on account of the flattery or gift of any one, shall refuse to give back or dare to abstract or conceal a serf of the lord emperor, or a district, or land, or anything that belongs to him ; and that no one shall presume, through perjury or other wile, to conceal or abstract his fugitive serfs belonging to the fisc, who wrongly and fraudulently claim that they are free. That no one shall presume to rob or in any way do injury fraudulently to the churches of God, or to widows or orphans or pilgrims; for the lord emperor himself, after God and his saints, has constituted himself their protector and defender. That no one shall dare to lay waste a benefice of the lord emperor, or to make it his own property. That no one shall presume to neglect a summons to war from the lord emperor; and that no one of the counts shall be so presumptuous as to dare to excuse any one of those who owe military service, either on account of relationship, or flattery, or gifts from any one. That no one shall presume to impede in any way a ban or command of the lord emperor, or to dally with his work, or to impede or to lessen or in any way to act contrary to his will or commands. And that no one shall dare to neglect to pay his dues or tax. That no one, for any reason, shall make a practice in court of defending another unjustly, either from any desire of gain when the cause is weak, or by impeding a just judg- ment by his skill in reasoning, or by a desire of oppressing when the cause is weak. . . . The oath to the emperor should include the observance of all those things mentioned above. Bishops and priests shall live according to the canons and shall teach others to do the same. Duties of prelates. 142 Readings in Europea7i History Duties of the monks The clergy shall not hunt. Bishops, abbots, and abbesses, who are in charge of others, shall strive with the greatest devotion to surpass those sub- ject to them in this diligence and shall not oppress those subject to them with a harsh rule of tyranny, but with sincere love shall carefully guard the flock committed to them with mercy and charity and by the examples of good works. . . . The monks shall live sincerely and strictly in accordance with the rule, because we know that any one whose good will is lukewarm is displeasing to God, as John bears wit- ness in the Apocalypse : ‘‘ I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Let them in no way usurp to themselves secular business. They shall not have leave to go outside of their monastery at all, unless compelled by a very great necessity; but the bishop in whose diocese they are shall take care in every way that they do not get accustomed to wandering outside of the monastery. But if it shall be necessary for a monk to go outside in obe- dience to a command, this shall be done with the counsel and consent of the bishop. Such persons shall be sent out with a certificate, that there may be no suspicion of evil in them and that no evil report may arise from them. To manage the property and business outside of the mon- astery, the abbot, with the permission and counsel of the bishop, shall appoint some person who is not a monk, but another of the faithful. Let the monks wholly shun secular gain or a desire for worldly affairs ; for avarice or a desire for this world ought to be avoided by all Christians, but espe- cially by those who claim to have renounced the world and its lusts. Let no one presume in any way to incite strife or controversies, either within or without the monastery. But if any one shall have presumed to do so, he shall be cor- rected by the most severe discipline of the rule, and in such a manner that others shall fear to commit such actions. Let them entirely shun drunkenness and feasting, because it is known to all that these give rise to lust. . . . Let no bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, or other mem- bers of the clergy presume to keep dogs for hunting, or Charlemagne 143 hawks, falcons, and sparrow hawks, but each shall observe fully the canons or rule of his order. If any one shall pre- sume to violate this order, let him know that he shall lose his office ; and in addition he shall suffer such punishment for his offense that the others will be afraid to appropriate such things for themselves. . . . And we command that no one in our whole kingdom shall dare to deny hospitality either to rich or poor, or to pil- grims ; that is, no one shall deny shelter and fire and water to pilgrims traversing our country in God’s name, or to any one traveling for the love of God or for the safety of his own soul. If, moreover, any one shall wish to serve them farther, let him expect the best reward from God, who him- self said, “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me”; and elsewhere, “ I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” All shall pro- vide for the stranger. Concerning messengers coming from the lord emperor : the counts and centena7‘ii shall provide most carefully, as they desire the grace of the lord emperor, for the missi who are sent out, so that they may go through their provinces without any delay. The emperor commands all, everywhere, to see to it that the missi are not hindered anywhere, but are sent forward with the utmost dispatch and provided with such things as they may require. . . . In our forests no one shall dare to steal our game. This has already been many times forbidden; we now again strictly forbid it for the future. If one would keep his fidelity pledged to us, let him take heed to his conduct. . . . Finally, we desire that all our commands should be made known throughout our whole realm by means of the missi now sent forth, whether these commands be directed to those connected with the Church — bishops, abbots, priests, dea- cons, canons, monks or nuns — with a view of securing the observance of our ban or decrees, or whether we would duly thank the citizens for their good will, or request them to furnish aid, or to correct some matter. . . . The counts to aid the 7nissi, No one to disturb the royal game. Various pur- poses of the orders sent out by the missi. 63. Charle- magne’s letter on the dangers of ignorance. 144 Readings in European History VII. Charlemagne’s Anxiety to improve Education Charlemagne's attitude toward the ignorance of many of the churchmen of his time and his appreciation of the advantages of elementary education are most fully expressed in a famous letter written some time between 780 and 800. Charles^ by the grace of God, King of the Franks and Lombards and Patrician of the Romans, to Abbot Baugulf, and to all the congregation, also to the faithful committed to you, we have directed a loving greeting by our messengers in the name of omnipote 7 it God : Be it known, therefore, to your Devotion pleasing to God, that we, together with our faithful, have considered it to be expedient that the bishoprics and monasteries intrusted by the favor of Christ to our government, in addition to the rule of monastic life and the intercourse of holy religion, ought to be zealous also in the culture of letters, teaching those who by the gift of God are able to learn, according to the capacity of each individual; so that just as the observance of the monastic rule imparts order and grace to moral conduct, so also zeal in teaching and learning may do the same for the use of words, so that those who desire to please God by living rightly should not neglect to please him also by speaking correctly. For it is written, ‘‘ Either from thy words thou shalt be justified, or from thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Although it is better to do the right than know it, neverthe- less knowledge should precede action. Therefore, each one ought to study what he would accomplish, so that the mind may the better know what ought to be done, if the tongue utters the praises of omnipotent God without the hindrances of errors. For if errors should be shunned by all men, so much the more ought they to be avoided, as far as possible, by those who are chosen for the very purpose that they may be the servants of truth. Charlemagne 145 Yet, in recent years, when letters have been written to us from various monasteries to inform us that the brethren who dwelt there were offering up in our behalf holy and pious prayers, we noted in most of these letters correct thoughts but uncouth expressions ; for what pious devotion dictated faithfully to the mind, the tongue, uneducated on account of the neglect of study, was not able to express without error. We, therefore, began to fear lest perchance, as the skill in writing was wanting, so also the wisdom for understand- ing the Holy Scriptures might be much less than it rightly ought to be. And we all know well that, although errors of speech are dangerous, far more dangerous are errors of the understanding. Therefore, we exhort you not only not to neglect the study of letters, but also with most humble mind, pleasing to God, to pursue it earnestly in order that you may be able more easily and more correctly to penetrate the mys- teries of the divine Scriptures. Since, moreover, figures of speech, tropes, and the like are found in the sacred pages, it cannot be doubted that in reading these one will understand the spiritual sense more quickly if previously he shall have been fully instructed in the mastery of letters. Such men truly are to be chosen for this work as have both the will and the ability to learn and a desire to instruct others. And may this be done with a zeal as great as the earnestness with which we command it. One of the chapters addressed to the clergy in a general ‘‘admonition’' issued in 789 supplements the preceding letter as follows : . . . Let the ministers of the altar of God adorn their [j ministry by good manners, and likewise the other orders who observe a rule, and the congregations of monks. We ! implore them to lead a just and fitting life, just as God :| himself commanded in the gospel. “ Let your light so j- shine before men, that they may see your good works, and I glorify your Father which is in heaven/’ so that by our 64. Charle- magne com- mands that schools be established by the bishops and in the monasteries. 146 Readings in European History A. Refer- ences. B. Addi- tional read- ing in English. example many may be led to serve God. Let them join and associate to themselves not only children of servile condi- tion, but also sons of freemen. And let schools be estab- lished in which boys may learn to read. Correct carefully the Psalms, the signs in writing, the songs, the calendar, the grammar, in each monastery or bishopric, and the Catholic books ; because often men desire to pray to God properly, but they pray badly because of the incorrect books. And do not permit mere boys to corrupt them in reading or writing. If there is need of writing the Gospel, Psalter, and Missal, let men of mature age do the writing with all diligence. BIBLIOGRAPHY General Summary of the Work of Charlemagne : Adams, Civiliza- tion, pp. 154-169. The Conquests: Bemont and Monod, pp. 179; Emerton, Intro- duction, Chapter XIII, pp. 180-213 and 232-235; Henderson, Germany ht the Middle Ages, pp. 56-70 ; Short History of Germa^ty, pp. 26-30 ; Oman, Chapters XX-XXI, pp. 335-368. Capitulary for the Saxons : Translations and Reprints, Vol. VI, No. 5, pp. 2-5. The Revival of the Empire : Bemont and Monod, p. 203 ; Bryce, Holy Roman Empire, Chapters IV-V, pp. 34-75; Emerton, pp. 214- 227 ; Henderson, Germany in the Middle Ages, pp. 71-79 ; Short His- tory of Germany, pp. 30-35 ; Munro, History of the Middle Ages, pp. 9- 18; Oman, pp. 369-379. Division of the Empire in 806 : Translations and Reprints, Vol. VI, No. 5, pp. 27-33. The Revival of Culture : Bemont and Monod, pp. 203-206 ; Emer- ton, pp. 227-232 ; Henderson, Germany in the Middle Ages, pp. 79- 81 ; Short History of Germany, pp. 35-38; Oman, pp. 379-382. Letter of Alcuin on Education : Sources of Ettglish History, pp. 16-19. Davis, Charlemagne, 1900. Mombert, a History of Cha 7 ‘les the Great. A scholarly and inter- esting work, with a good discussion of the sources. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VH, Book VHI, Chapters XHI-XIV, and Vol. VIH. A short account by the same author may be found in his Charles the Great. Charlemagne 147 The intellectual conditions are discussed in Mullinger, Schools of Charles the Greats and West, Alctein. Life of Charlemagne, translated by Turner. An inexpen- sive English version of this extraordinary little work. Kitchin, History of France, Book II, Part II, Chapter III. Gregorovius, Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. II, Book IV, Chapters IV-VII, and Vol. Ill, Book V, Chapter I. Morley, MedicEval Tales , Parts I and II, furnishes examples of the romances which in later years wove themselves about the name of the great emperor. Ebert (see above, p. 34), Vol. II, Book IV, gives an excellent account of the literary activity of Charlemagne’s time. Lavisse, Histoire de France, Vol. II, Part I. Lamprecht, Deutsche Geschichte, Vol. II, Book V, Chapters I-II. Gebhardt (see above, p. 57), where the reader will find references to the abundant literature on this subject in German. Abel and Simson, faJirbiicher der deutschen Geschichte, “ Unter Karl dem Grossen,” 2 vols., 1866-1883. The most exhaustive technical treat- ment (see below, pp. 261 sq^. Richter, Annalen der deutsche^i Geschichte im Mittelalter, Vol. II, “The Carolingian Period,” 1885-1887 (see below, p. 262). Mathews, Select Mediceval Documents (1892), pp. 9-14, gives brief extracts from the Latin text of documents important for the history of the Church and the Empire. In the times of Charles Martel and Pippin a new kind of histori- cal source makes its appearance, — the aftnals. These had a peculiar origin. The day upon which the great Christian festival of Easter fell each year was a matter of the utmost importance to all the monasteries and churches ; but the time varies in such a way that it is little w^onder that the monks and churchmen of the eighth century were commonly unable to master the rules for determining the recurrence of the festival. Tables of the dates of Easter were therefore prepared and were welcomed every- where. The wide margins invited a brief record opposite each year, of some occurrence which had made the year memorable in the particular abbey or the neighboring region. Rude and trivial as these entries often w^ere, they tended to grow fuller as the eighth century advanced, and now serve to establish the dates of many important events. These scanty histories were, however, C. Materiah for advanced study. The sources. Origin of the annals. 148 Readings in European History The Royal Annals. Annals of Einhard. The capitu- laries. often taken from monastery to monastery, copied, combined, and con- tinued in such a way that errors and inconsistencies crept in which have greatly puzzled scholars in our own day. The annals are sometimes named from the abbey where a copy was found, although, as in the case of the Gi'eater Annals of Lorsch^ they may not have originated there ; or they may be named for the person who discovered a copy, or from the region to which they oftenest refer and where it is assumed that they were written. By far the most important of the annals for Charlemagne’s time are the so-called Royal A^tnals. These were apparently drawn up by per- sons who resided at the king’s court ; for the writers were evidently devoted to the interests of the reigning family, and were in a position to follow closely the course of public events. The Royal Annals cover the period from 741 to 829 and are the work of several chroniclers. In the first place, some unknown ecclesiastic undertook, apparently about 787, to bring together as full an account as he could of the deeds of Charlemagne’s house since the death of Charles Martel (741). This was the origin of the so-called Greater Annals of Lor sch. These were later brought down to 801. The work was then rewritten in better Latin and considerably modified, and a continuation was added, bring- ing the history down to 829. This revision, together with the continuation, was long attributed to Einhard, Charlemagne’s secretary, but many scholars now agree in thinking that if Einhard had a hand in the work at all he was only one of several writers. See a discussion of the annals in general in Wattenbach, pp. 154 sqq. ; for the Royal Annals^ pp. 210 sqq. See also Molinier, pp. 21 1- 215 and 224 sqq. (The text of the various early annals including the Royal is in Monumeitia Germaniae Historic a. A better edition of the Royal Annals in octavo edition (1895); translation in the Geschicktschreiber.) The laws, the so-called capitularies., issued by Charlemagne, are of great importance to one who wishes to form an idea of his government and the conditions within his empire. There is a recent edition of the capitularies in the Mo 7 tuinenta, edited by Boretius, 1883 Einhard’s Vita Caroli may be found in the octavo edition of the Monumenta ; also edited by Holder, Freiburg, 1882 (60 Pf.). For Eng- lish translation, see above, section B. “ Einhard,” says Ranke, “ enjoyed singular good fortune in finding in his great contemporary the most worthy subject for an historical work. Out of gratitude he erected a monument to one to whom he was peculiarly indebted for his early education, and thereby provided that he himself should be remembered for all time.’* Charlemagne 149 The Codex Carolinus is a collection, made by Charlemagne’s orders, of the letters addressed to him and his father by the popes. (It may be found in Jaffe, Bibliotheca rertim Germanicarum and better in the Monumental) From the diverting tales of Charlemagne, told by the Monk of St. Gall, seventy years after the emperor’s death, we can form an idea of the fabulous proportions which that hero had already assumed in the minds of posterity. (In the Monnmenta ; newer edition in Jaffe, Bibliotheca rerum Ger7nanicarum ^ Vol.' IV ; translated in the Geschicht- schreiber and in Guizot’s Collection^) Gaston Paris, Histoire poetique de Charlemagne^ gives a scientific analysis of the origin and development of the mediaeval Carolingian legend. The best source for Alcuin’s life and work is his correspondence, edited by Jaffe, Bibliotheca reru7n Germanicarum^ Vol. VI. The Monk of St. Gall. CHAPTER VIII 65 . Apolli- naris Sido- nius de- scribes the Saxon pirates of the fifth century. THE DISRUPTION OF CHARLEMAGNE'S EMPIRE I. The Northmen For centuries the German peoples of the North har- assed the coasts of the North Sea and often extended their invasions far inland. In one of the letters of Apollinaris Sidonius ^ we have a vivid picture of the Saxons about the time that they were getting their foothold in England in the middle of the fifth century. At the end of a long letter to a friend, Sidonius says : Behold, when I was on the point of concluding this epistle, in which I have already chattered on too long, a messenger suddenly arrived from Saintonge with whom I have spent some hours in conversing about you and your doings. He affirms that you have just sounded your trumpet on board the fleet, and that, combining the duties of a sailor and a soldier, you are roaming along the winding shores of the ocean, looking out for the curved pinnaces of the Saxons. When you see the rowers of that nation you may at once make up your mind that every one of them is an arch-pirate ; with such wonderful unanimity do all at once command, obey, teach, and learn their one chosen business of brigandage. For this reason I ought to warn you to be more than ever on your guard in this warfare. Our enemy is the most truculent of all enemies. Unex- pectedly he attacks ; when expected he escapes ; he despises those who seek to block his path, he overthrows those who are off their guard ; he always succeeds in cutting off the ^ See above, pp. 58 sq. 150 The Disruption of Chaidemagne' s Empire i 5 i enemy whom he follows, while he never fails when he desires to effect his own escape. Moreover, to these men a shipwreck is capital practice rather than an object of terror. The dangers of the deep are to them not casual acquaintances but intimate friends. For since a tempest throws the invaded off their guard and prevents the invaders from being descried from afar, they hail with joy the crash of waves on the rocks, which gives them their best chance of escaping from other enemies than the elements. The Monk of St. Gall ^ gives us some idea of the atti- tude of the Northmen toward the rites of the Christian religion. ^ Speaking of the Northmen, I will illustrate their esteem for the faith, and for baptism, by telling an anecdote of the days of our grandfathers. This terrible people, who had stood in awe of the great Emperor Charles and paid him tribute, continued after his death to exhibit to his son Louis [the Pious] the respect they had shown his father. After a time the pious emperor had compassion upon their ambas- sadors, and asked them whether they would accept the Christian faith. They answered that they were ready to obey him in all things, always and everywhere. He then commanded that they be baptized in his name of whom the learned Augustine said : If there were no Trinity, the Truth itself would not have said, ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ ” The Northmen were treated like adopted sons by the chief lords of the court. They received from the king’s closet the white baptismal robe, and from their sponsors the Frankish dress — costly garments, and weapons, and ornaments. This custom was followed for a long time. The North- men came year after year in even greater numbers, not for Christ’s sake, but for worldly gain. They did not come now 66. A North- man’s bap- tism. (From the Monk of St. Gall’s Deeds of Charles the Great.) 1 See above, p. 149. 152 Readings in European History The Norse sagas give us the North- man’s idea of himself and his people. 67. Opening of The Story of Burnt Njat. as ambassadors ; but as submissive vassals they hastened at the holy Eastertide to do homage to the emperor. Finally one year they came fifty strong. The emperor asked them whether they would be baptized. They assented, and he commanded that they be straightway sprinkled with holy water. There were not enough linen robes, so the emperor had more garments cut out and sewed up roughly like a bag or towel. One of these robes was suddenly put upon one of the oldest of the Northmen. He looked at it awhile with crit- ical eyes, and grew not a little angry. Then he said to the emperor : I have been baptized here twenty times before, and every time I was clad in the best and whitest garments; and now you give me a sack which befits a swineherd rather than a warrior. I have given up my own garments and would be ashamed of my nakedness if I cast aside this one also, else I would leave thy robe to thee and thy Christ.’^ In the extracts from the Annals given below there are plenty of sad pictures of the Northmen as pirates and cruel invaders, but to gain an idea of how they viewed themselves, we must turn to the Norse sagas. About the time that Charles the Fat was bargaining with the Northmen in France, many belonging to the same race were streaming over from Norway to Iceland. Here it was that the Norse literature sprang up — the sagas, or tales, which still delight the reader in something the same way that Homer does. Of these sagas the finest is perhaps The Story of Burnt Njal, who lived in the time of Otto the Great. The famous tale opens as follows : There was a man named Mord whose surname was Fiddle; he was the son of Sigvat the Red, and he dwelt at the “Vale^’ in the Rangrivervales. He was a mighty chief, and a great taker up of suits, and so great a lawyer that no The Disruption of Charlemagne s Empire i 53 judgments were thought lawful unless he had a hand in them. He had an only daughter named Unna. She was a fair, courteous, and gifted woman, and was thought the best match in all the Rangrivervales. Now the story turns westward to the Broadfirth dales, where, at Hauskuldstede, in Laxriverdale, dwelt a man named Hauskuld, who was Dalakolks son, and his mother’s name was Thorgerda. He had a brother named Hrut, who dwelt at Hrutstede ; he was of the same mother as Hauskuld, but his father’s name was Heriolf. Hrut was handsome, tall and strong, well skilled in arms, and mild of temper; he was one of the wisest of men — stern towards his foes, but a good counselor on great matters. It happened once that Hauskuld bade his friends to a feast, and his brother Hrut was there, and sat next him. Hauskuld had a daughter named Hallgerda, who was play- ing on the floor with some other girls. She was fair of face and tall of growth, and her hair was as soft as silk ; it was so long, too, that it came down to her waist. Hauskuld called out to her, ‘‘ Come hither to me, daughter.” So she went up to him, and he took her by the chin, and kissed her ; and after that she went away. Then Hauskuld said to Hrut, ‘‘What dost thou think of this maiden? Is she not fair?” Hrut held his peace. Hauskuld said the same thing to him a second time, and then Hrut answered, “ Fair enough is this maid, and many will smart for it, but this I know not, whence thief’s eyes have come into our race.” Then Hauskuld was wroth, and for a time the brothers saw little of each other. [Gunnar, who is one of the chief personages in the story, has been on a successful sea-roving expedition, during which he has shown much prowess and won much booty. Before returning home he visits Denmark, where the fame of his deeds has preceded him. He is summoned to the court of King Harold, Gorm’s son, who offers to get him a wife and to raise him to great power if he will settle down there.] Gunnar thanked the king for his offer and said, “ I will first of all sail back to Iceland to see my friends and kinsfolk.” Gunnar visits Denmark. 154 Readings in Enr'opean History Gunnar woos Hallgerda. “ Then thou wilt never come back to us/’ says the king. “ Fate will settle that, Lord,” says Gunnar. Gunnar gave the king a good long-ship, and much goods besides, and the king gave him a robe of honor and golden- seamed gloves, and a fillet with a knot of gold on it, and a Russian hat. [On his return to Iceland Gunnar visited the Althing^ the annual general assembly of the people.] It happened one day that Gunnar went away from the Hill of Laws and passed by the booths of the men from Mossfell; then he saw a woman coming to meet him, and she was in goodly attire ; but when they met she spoke to Gunnar at once. He took her greeting well, and asked what woman she might be. She told him that her name was Hallgerda, and said that she was the daughter of Hauskuld, Dalakoll’s son. She spoke up boldly to him, and bade him tell her of his voyages ; and he said that he would not gainsay her a talk. Then they sat them down and talked. She was so clad that she had on a red kirtle, and had thrown over her a scarlet cloak trimmed with needlework down to the waist. Her hair came down to her bosom, and was both fair and full. Gunnar was clad in the scarlet clothes which King Harold, Gorm’s son, had given him ; he had also the golden ring on his arm which Earl Hacon had given him. So they talked long out loud, and at last it came about that he asked whether she were unmarried. She said, so it was, “ and there are not manj^ tfiat-wauld run the risk of that.” Thinkest tho