A History of Germany Part 10

No ruler before Charlemagne, and none for at least four centuries after him, did so much to increase and perpetuate the learning of his time.

During his meals, some one always read aloud to him out of old chronicles or theological works. He spoke Latin fluently, and had a good knowledge of Greek. In order to become a good writer, he carried his tablets about with him, and even slept with them under his pillow. The men whom he a.s.sembled at his Court were the most intelligent of that age. His chaplain and chief counsellor was Alcuin, an English monk, and a man of great learning. His secretary, Einhard (or Eginhard) wrote a history of the Emperor's life and times. Among his other friends were Paul Diaconus, a learned Lombard, and the chronicler, Bishop Turpin.

These men formed, with Charlemagne, a literary society, which held regular meetings to discuss matters of science, politics and literature.

Under Charlemagne the political inst.i.tutions of the Merovingian kings, as well as those which existed among the German races, were materially changed. As far as possible, he set aside the Dukes, each of whom, up to that time, was the head of a tribe or division of the people, and broke up their half-independent states into districts, governed by Counts.

These districts were divided into "hundreds," as in the old Germanic times, each in charge of a n.o.ble, who every week acted as judge in smaller civil or criminal cases. The Counts, in conjunction with from seven to twelve magistrates, held monthly courts wherein cases which concerned life, freedom or landed property were decided. They were also obliged to furnish a certain number of soldiers when called upon. The same obligation rested upon the archbishops, bishops, and abbots of the monasteries, all of whom, together with the Counts, were called Va.s.sals of the Empire.

[Sidenote: 810. POLITICAL INSt.i.tUTIONS.]

The free men, in case of war, were compelled to serve as hors.e.m.e.n or foot-soldiers, according to their wealth, either three or five of the very poorest furnishing one well-equipped man. The soldiers were not only not paid, but each was obliged to bear his own expenses; so the burden fell very heavily upon this cla.s.s of the people. In order to escape it, large numbers of the poorer freemen voluntarily became dependents of the n.o.bility or clergy, who in return equipped and supported them. The national a.s.semblies were still annually held, but the people, in becoming dependents, gradually lost their ancient authority, and their votes ceased to control the course of events. The only part they played in the a.s.semblies was to bring tribute to the Emperor, to whom they paid no taxes, and whose court was kept up partly from their offerings and partly from the revenues of the "domains" or crown-lands. Thus, while Charlemagne introduced throughout his whole empire a unity of government and an order unknown before, while he antic.i.p.ated Prussia in making all his people liable, at any time, to military service, on the other hand he was slowly and unconsciously changing the free Germans into a race of lords and serfs.

It is not likely, either, that the people themselves saw the tendency of his government. Their respect and love for him increased, as the comparative peace of the Empire allowed him to turn to interests which more immediately concerned their lives. In his ordinary habits he was as simple as they. His daughters spun and wove the flax for his plain linen garments; personally he looked after his orchards and vegetable gardens, set the schools an example by learning to improve his own reading and writing, treated high and low with equal frankness and heartiness, and, even in his old age, surpa.s.sed all around him in feats of strength or endurance. There seemed to be no serfdom in bowing to a man so magnificently endowed by nature and so favored by fortune.

One event came to embitter his last days. The Scandinavian Goths, now known as Nors.e.m.e.n, were beginning to build their "sea-dragons" and sally forth on voyages of plunder and conquest. They laid waste the sh.o.r.es of Holland and Northern France, and the legend says that Charlemagne burst into tears of rage and shame, on perceiving his inability to subdue them or prevent their incursions. One of his last acts was to order the construction of a fleet at Boulogne, but when it was ready the Norse Vikings suddenly appeared in the Mediterranean and ravaged the southern coast of France. Charlemagne began too late to make the Germans either a naval or a commercial people: his attempt to unite the Main and Danube by a ca.n.a.l also failed, but the very design shows his wise foresight and his energy.

[Sidenote: 813.]

Towards the end of the year 813, feeling his death approaching, he called an Imperial Diet together at Aix-la-Chapelle, to recognize his son Ludwig as his successor. After this was done, he conducted Ludwig to the Cathedral, made him vow to be just and G.o.d-fearing in his rule, and then bade him take the Imperial crown from the altar and set it upon his head. On the 28th of January, 814, Charlemagne died, and was buried in the Cathedral, where his ashes still repose.

CHAPTER XII.

THE EMPERORS OF THE CAROLINGIAN LINE.

(814--911.)

Character of Ludwig the Pious. --His Subjection to the Priests.

--Injury to German Literature. --Division of the Empire.

--Treatment of his Nephew, Bernard. --Ludwig's Remorse. --The Empress Judith and her Son. --Revolt of Ludwig's Sons. --His Abdication and Death. --Compact of Karl the Bald and Ludwig the German. --The French and German Languages. --The Low-German.

--Lothar's Resistance. --The Part.i.tion of Verdun. --Germany and France separated. --The Nors.e.m.e.n. --Internal Troubles. --Ludwig the German's Sons. --His Death. --Division of Germany. --Karl the Fat.

--His Cowardice. --The Empire restored. --Karl's Death. --Duke Arnulf made King. --He defeats the Nors.e.m.e.n and Bohemians. --His Favors to the Church. --The "Isidorian Decretals." --Arnulf Crowned Emperor. --His Death. --Ludwig the Child. --Invasions of the Magyars. --End of the Carolingian line in Germany.

[Sidenote: 814. LUDWIG THE PIOUS.]

The last act of Charlemagne's life in ordering the manner of his son's coronation,--which was imitated, a thousand years afterwards, by Napoleon, who, in the presence of the Pope, Pius VII., himself set the crown upon his own head--showed that he designed keeping the Imperial power independent of that of the Church. But his son, Ludwig, was already a submissive and willing dependent of Rome. During his reign as king of Aquitaine he had covered the land with monasteries: he was the pupil of monks, and his own inclination was for a monastic life. But at Charlemagne's death he was the only legitimate heir to the throne. Being therefore obliged to wear the Imperial purple, he exercised his sovereignty chiefly in the interest of the Church. His first act was to send to the Pope the treasures ama.s.sed by his father; his next, to surround himself with prelates and priests, who soon learned to control his policy. He was called "Ludwig the Pious," but in those days, when so many worldly qualities were necessary to the ruler of the Empire, the t.i.tle was hardly one of praise. He appears to have been of a kindly nature, and many of his acts show that he meant to be just; the weakness of his character, however, too often made his good intentions of no avail.

[Sidenote: 816.]

It was a great misfortune for Germany that Ludwig's piety took the form of hostility to all learning except of a theological nature. So far as he was able, he undid the great work of education commenced by Charlemagne. The schools were given entirely into the hands of the priests, and the character of the instruction was changed. He inflicted an irreparable loss on all after ages by destroying the collection of songs, ballads and legends of the German people, which Charlemagne had taken such pains to gather and preserve. It is not believed that a single copy escaped destruction, although some scholars suppose that a fragment of the "Song of Hildebrand," written in the eighth century, may have formed part of the collection. In the year 816, Ludwig was visited in Rheims by the Pope, Stephen IV., who again crowned him Emperor in the Cathedral, and thus restored the spiritual authority which Charlemagne had tried to set aside. Ludwig's attempts to release the estates belonging to the Bishops, monasteries and priesthood from the payment of taxes, and the obligation to furnish soldiers in case of war, created so much dissatisfaction among the n.o.bles and people, that, at a diet held the following year, he was summoned to divide the government of the Empire among his three sons. He resisted at first, but was finally forced to consent: his eldest son, Lothar, was crowned as Co-Emperor of the Franks, Ludwig as king of Bavaria, and Pippin, his third son, as king of Aquitaine.

In this division no notice was taken of Bernard, king of Lombardy, also a grandson of Charlemagne. The latter at once entered into a conspiracy with certain Frank n.o.bles, to have his rights recognized; but, while preparing for war, he was induced, under promises of his personal safety, to visit the Emperor's court. There, after having revealed the names of his fellow-conspirators, he was treacherously arrested, and his eyes put out; in consequence of which treatment he died. The Empress, Irmingarde, died soon afterwards, and Ludwig was so overcome both by grief for her loss and remorse for having caused the death of his nephew, that he was with great difficulty restrained from abdicating and retiring into a monastery. It was not in the interest of the priesthood to lose so powerful a friend, and they finally persuaded him to marry again.

[Sidenote: 822. LUDWIG'S PENITENCE.]

His second wife was Judith, daughter of Welf, a Bavarian count, to whom he was united in 819. Although this gave him another son, Karl, afterwards known as Karl (Charles) the Bald, he appears to have found very little peace of mind. At a diet held in 822, at Attigny, in France, he appeared publicly in the sackcloth and ashes of a repentant sinner, and made open confession of his misdeeds. This act showed his sincerity as a man, but in those days it must have greatly diminished the reverence which the people felt for him as their Emperor. The next year his son Lothar, who, after Bernard's death, became also King of Lombardy, visited Rome and was recrowned by the Pope. For a while, Lothar made himself very popular by seeking out and correcting abuses in the administration of the laws.

During the first fifteen years of Ludwig's reign, the boundaries of the Empire were constantly disturbed by invasions of the Danes, the Slavonic tribes in Prussia, and the Saracens in Spain, while the Basques and Bretons became turbulent within the realm. All these revolts or invasions were suppressed; the eastern frontier was not only held but extended, and the military power of the Frank Empire was everywhere recognized and feared. The Saxons and Frisians, who had been treated with great mildness by Ludwig, gave no further trouble; in fact, the whole population of the Empire became peaceable and orderly in proportion as the higher civilization encouraged by Charlemagne was developed among them.

The remainder of Ludwig's reign might have been untroubled, but for a family difficulty. The Empress Judith demanded that her son, Karl, should also have a kingdom, like his three step-brothers. An Imperial Diet was therefore called together at Worms, in 829, and, in spite of fierce opposition, a new kingdom was formed out of parts of Burgundy, Switzerland and Suabia. The three sons, Lothar, Pippin and Ludwig, acquiesced at first; but when a Spanish count, Bernard, was appointed regent during Karl's minority, the two former began secretly to conspire against their father. They took him captive in France, and endeavored, but in vain, to force him to retire into a monastery. The sympathies of the people were with him, and by their help he was able, the following year, to regain his authority, and force his sons to submit.

[Sidenote: 833.]

Ludwig, however, manifested his preference for his last son, Karl, so openly that in 833 his three other sons united against him, and a war ensued which lasted nearly five years. Finally, when the two armies stood face to face, on a plain near Colmar, in Alsatia, and a b.l.o.o.d.y battle between father and sons seemed imminent, the Pope, Gregory IV.,

suddenly made his appearance. He offered his services as a mediator, went to and fro, and at last treacherously carried all the Emperor's chief supporters over to the camp of the sons. Ludwig, then sixty years old and broken in strength and spirit, was forced to surrender. The people gave the name of "The Field of Lies" to the scene of this event.

The old Emperor was compelled by his sons to give up his sword, to appear as a penitent in Church, and to undergo such other degradations, that the sympathies of the people were again aroused in his favor. They rallied to his support from all sides: his authority was restored, Lothar, the leader of the rebellion, fled to Italy, Pippin had died shortly before, and Ludwig proffered his submission. The old man now had a prospect of quiet; but the machinations of the Empress Judith on behalf of her son, Karl, disturbed his last years. His son Ludwig was marching against him for the second time, when he died, in 840, on an island in the Rhine, near Ingelheim.

The death of Ludwig the Pious was the signal for a succession of fratricidal wars. His youngest son, Karl the Bald, first united his interests with those of his eldest step-brother, Lothar, but he soon went over to Ludwig's side, while Lothar allied himself with the sons of Pippin, in Aquitaine. A terrific battle was fought near Auxerre, in France, in the summer of 841. Lothar was defeated, and Ludwig and Karl then determined to divide the Empire between them. The following winter they came together, with their n.o.bles and armies, near Strasburg, and vowed to keep faith with each other thenceforth. The language of France and Germany, even among the descendants of the original Franks, was no longer the same, and the oath which was drawn up for the occasion was p.r.o.nounced by Karl in German to the army of Ludwig, and by Ludwig in French to the army of Karl. The text of it has been preserved, and it is a very interesting ill.u.s.tration of the two languages, as they were spoken a thousand years ago. We will quote the opening phrases:

LUDWIG (_French_). Pro Deo amur et (pro) Christian poblo KARL (_German_). In G.o.des minna ind (in thes) Christianes folches _English_. In G.o.d's love and (that of the) Christian folk

LUDWIG. et nostro comun salvament,-- dist di in avant, KARL. ind unser bedhero gehaltnissi,--fon thesemo dage framordes, _English_. and our mutual preservation,--from this day forth,

LUDWIG. -- in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, &c.

KARL. -- so fram so mir G.o.d gewiczi ind mahd furgibit, &c.

_English_. --as long as to me G.o.d knowledge and might gives, &c.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EMPIRE of CHARLEMAGNE, (with the Treaty of Verdun, A. D. 843.)]

[Sidenote: 843.]

It is very easy to see, from this slight specimen, how much the language of the Franks had been modified by the Gallic-Latin, and how much of the original tongue (taking the Gothic Bible of Ulfila as an evidence of its character) has been retained in German and English. About the same time there was written in the Low-German, or Saxon dialect, a Gospel narrative in verse, called the _Heliand_ ("Saviour"), many lines of which are almost identical with early English; as the following:

_Slogun cald isarn_ They drove cold iron

_hardo mit hamuron_ hard with hammers

_thuru is hendi enti thuru is fuoti;_ through his hands and through his feet;

_is blod ran an ertha._ his blood ran on earth.

This separation of the languages is a sign of the difference in national character which now split asunder the great empire of Charlemagne.

Lothar, after the solemn alliance between Karl the Bald and Ludwig, resorted to desperate measures. He offered to give the Saxons their old laws and even to allow them to return to their pagan faith, if they would support his claims; he invited the Nors.e.m.e.n to Belgium and Northern France; and, by retreating towards Italy when his brothers approached him in force, and then returning when an opportunity favored, he disturbed and wasted the best portions of the Empire. Finally the Bishops intervened, and after a long time spent in negotiations, the three rival brothers met in 843, and agreed to the famous "Part.i.tion of Verdun" (so called from Verdun, near Metz, where it was signed), by which the realm of Charlemagne was divided among them.

[Sidenote: 843. SEPARATION OF GERMANY AND FRANCE.]

Lothar, as the eldest, received Italy, together with a long, narrow strip of territory extending to the North Sea, including part of Burgundy, Switzerland, Eastern Belgium and Holland. All west of this, embracing the greater part of France, was given to Karl the Bald; all east, with a strip of territory west of the Rhine, from Basle to Mayence, "for the sake of its wine," as the doc.u.ment stated, became the kingdom of Ludwig, who was thenceforth called "The German." The last-named also received Eastern Switzerland and Bavaria, to the Alps.

This division was almost as arbitrary and unnatural as that which Pippin the Short attempted to make. Neither Karl's nor Ludwig's shares included all the French or German territory; while Lothar's was a long, narrow slice cut out of both, and attached to Italy, where a new race and language were already developed out of the mixture of Romans, Goths and Lombards. In fact, it became necessary to invent a name for the northern part of Lothar's dominions, and that portion between Burgundy and Holland was called, after him, Lotharingia. As _Lothringen_ in German, and _Lorraine_ in French, the name still remains in existence.

Each of the three monarchs received unrestricted sway over his realm.

They agreed, however, upon a common line of policy in the interest of the dynasty, and admitted the right of inheritance to each other's sovereignty, in the absence of direct heirs. The Treaty of Verdun, therefore, marks the beginning of Germany and France as distinct nationalities; and now, after following the Germanic races over the greater part of Europe for so many centuries, we come back to recommence their history on the soil where we first found them. In fact, the word _Deutsch_, "German," signifying _of the people_, now first came into general use, to designate the language and the races--Franks, Alemanni, Bavarians, Thuringians, Saxons, etc.--under Ludwig's rule. There was, as yet, no political unity among these races; they were reciprocally jealous, and often hostile; but, by contrast with the inhabitants of France and Italy, they felt their blood-relationship as never before, and a national spirit grew up, of a narrower but more natural character than that which Charlemagne endeavored to establish.

Internal struggles awaited both the Roman Emperor, Lothar, and the Frank king, Karl the Bald. The former was obliged to suppress revolts in Provence and Italy; the latter in Brittany and Aquitaine, while the Spanish Mark, beyond the Pyrenees, pa.s.sed out of his hands. Ludwig the German inherited a long peace at home, but a succession of wars with the Wends and Bohemians along his eastern frontier. The Nors.e.m.e.n came down upon his coasts, destroyed Hamburg, and sailed up the Elbe with 600 vessels, burning and plundering wherever they went. The necessity of keeping an army almost constantly in the field gave the clergy and n.o.bility an opportunity of exacting better terms for their support; the independent dukedoms, suppressed by Charlemagne, were gradually re-established, and thus Ludwig diminished his own power while protecting his territory from invasion.

[Sidenote: 858.]