Early European History Part 57

The failure of the Lombards to conquer all Italy had important results in later history. Sicily and the extreme southern part of the Italian peninsula, besides large districts containing the cities of Naples, Rome, Genoa, Venice, and Ravenna, continued to belong to the Roman Empire in the East. The rulers at Constantinople could not exercise effective control over their Italian possessions, now that these were separated from one another by the Lombard territories. The consequence was that Italy broke up into a number of small and practically independent states, which never combined into one kingdom until our own time. The ideal of a united Italy waited thirteen hundred years for its realization. [5]

104. THE FRANKS UNDER CLOVIS AND HIS SUCCESSORS

CLOVIS, KING OF THE FRANKS, 481-511 A.D.

We have already met the Franks in their home on the lower Rhine, from which they pushed gradually into Roman territory. [6] In 486 A.D., just ten years after the deposition of Romulus Augustulus, the Franks went forth to conquer under Clovis, [7] one of their chieftains. By overcoming the governor of Roman Gaul, in a battle near Soissons, Clovis destroyed the last vestige of imperial rule in the West and extended the Frankish dominions to the river Loire. Clovis then turned against his German neighbors. East of the Franks, in the region now known as Alsace, lived the Alamanni, a people whose name still survives in the French name of Germany. [8] The Alamanni were defeated in a great battle near Stra.s.sburg (496 A.D.), and much of their territory was added to that of the Franks.

Clovis subsequently conquered the Visigothic possessions between the Loire and the Pyrenees, and compelled the Burgundians to pay tribute. Thus Clovis made himself supreme over nearly the whole of Gaul and even extended his authority to the other side of the Rhine. This great work ent.i.tles him to be called the founder of the French nation.

THE FRANKS AND THE GALLO-ROMANS

Clovis reigned in western Europe as an independent king, but he acknowledged a sort of allegiance to the Roman emperor by accepting the t.i.tle of honorary consul. Henceforth to the Gallo-Romans he represented the distant ruler at Constantinople. The Roman inhabitants of Gaul were not oppressed; their cities were preserved; and their language and laws were undisturbed. Clovis, as a statesman, may be compared with his eminent contemporary, Theodoric the Ostrogoth.

CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE FRANKS, 496 A.D.

The Franks were still a heathen people, when they began their career of conquest. Clovis, however, had married a Burgundian princess, Clotilda, who was a devout Catholic and an ardent advocate of Christianity. The story is told how, when Clovis was hard-pressed by the Alamanni at the battle of Stra.s.sburg, he vowed that if Clotilda's G.o.d gave him victory he would become a Christian. The Franks won, and Clovis, faithful to his vow, had himself baptized by St. Remi, bishop of Reims. "Bow down thy head,"

spoke the bishop, as the Frankish king approached the font, "adore what thou hast burned, burn what thou has adored." [9] With Clovis were baptized on that same day three thousand of his warriors.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, GROWTH OF THE FRANKISH DOMINIONS, 481-768 A.D.]

SIGNIFICANCE OF CLOVIS'S CONVERSION

The conversion of Clovis was an event of the first importance. He and his Franks naturally embraced the orthodox Catholic faith, which was that of his wife, instead of the Arian form of Christianity, which had been accepted by almost all the other Germanic invaders. Thus, by what seems the merest accident, Catholicism, instead of Arianism, became the religion of a large part of western Europe. More than this, the conversion of Clovis gained for the Frankish king and his successors the support of conversion the Roman Church. The friendship between the popes and the Franks afterwards ripened into a close alliance which greatly influenced European history.

THE EARLIER MEROVINGIAN KINGS

The descendants of Clovis are called Merovingians. [10] They occupied the throne of the Franks for nearly two hundred and fifty years. The annals of their reigns form an unpleasant catalogue of b.l.o.o.d.y wars, horrible murders, and deeds of treachery without number. Nevertheless, the earlier Merovingians were strong men, under whose direction the Frankish territory continued to expand, until it included nearly all of what is now France, Belgium, and Holland, besides a considerable part of Germany.

CHARACTER OF THE FRANKISH CONQUESTS

The Frankish conquests differed in two important respects from those of the other Germanic peoples. In the first place, the Franks did not cut themselves off completely from their original homes. They kept permanently their territory in Germany, drawing from it continual reinforcements of fresh German blood. In the second place, the Franks steadily added new German lands to their possessions. They built up in this way what was the largest and the most permanent of all the barbarian states founded on the ruins of the Roman Empire.

105. THE FRANKS UNDER CHARLES MARTEL AND PEPIN THE SHORT

THE LATER MEROVINGIAN KINGS

After the middle of the seventh century the Frankish rulers, worn out by violence and excesses, degenerated into weaklings, who reigned but did not rule. The actual management of the state pa.s.sed into the hands of officers, called "mayors of the palace." They left to the kings little more than their t.i.tle, their long hair,--the badge of royalty among the Franks,--and a scanty allowance for their support. The later Merovingians, accordingly, are often known as the "do-nothing kings."

CHARLES MARTEL

The most ill.u.s.trious of these mayors was Charles, surnamed Martel, "the Hammer," from the terrible defeat which he administered to the Mohammedans near Tours, in central France. [11] Charles Martel was virtually a king, but he never ventured to set aside the Merovingian ruler and himself ascend the throne. This step was taken, however, by Charles's son, Pepin the Short.

PEPIN THE SHORT BECOMES KING OF THE FRANKS, 751 A.D.

Before dethroning the last feeble "do-nothing," Pepin sought the approval of the bishop of Rome. The pope, without hesitation, declared that it was only right that the man who had the real authority in the state should have the royal t.i.tle also. Pepin, accordingly, caused himself to be crowned king of the Franks, thus founding the Carolingian [12] dynasty.

(751 A.D.). Three years later Pope Stephen II came to Pepin's court and solemnly anointed the new ruler with holy oil, in accordance with ancient Jewish custom. The rite of anointing, something unknown to the Germans, gave to Pepin's coronation the sanction of the Roman Church. Henceforth the Frankish sovereigns called themselves "kings by the grade of G.o.d."

"DONATION OF PEPIN," 756 A.D.

Pepin was soon able to repay his great obligation to the Roman Church by becoming its protector against the Lombards. These barbarians, who were trying to extend their rule in Italy, threatened to capture Rome and the territory in the vicinity of that city, then under the control of the pope. Pepin twice entered Italy with his army, defeated the Lombards, and forced them to cede to Pope Stephen an extensive district lying between Rome and Ravenna. Pepin might have returned this district to the emperor at Constantinople, to whom it belonged, but the Frankish king declared that he had not fought for the advantage of any man but for the welfare of his own soul. He decided, therefore, to bestow his conquests on St.

Peter's representative, the pope. Before this time the bishops of Rome had owned much land in Italy and had acted as virtual sovereigns in Rome and its neighborhood. Pepin's gift, known as the "Donation of Pepin," greatly increased their possessions, which came to be called the States of the Church. They remained in the hands of the popes until late in the nineteenth century. [13]

106. THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE, 768-814 A.D.

CHARLEMAGNE THE MAN

Pepin was succeeded in 768 A.D. by his two sons, one of whom, Charlemagne, three years later became sole king of the Franks. Charlemagne reigned for nearly half a century, and during this time he set his stamp on all later European history. His character and personality are familiar to us from a brief biography, written by his secretary, Einhard. Charlemagne, we learn, was a tall, square-shouldered, strongly built man, with bright, keen eyes, and an expression at once cheerful and dignified. Riding, hunting, and swimming were his favorite sports. He was simple in his tastes and very temperate in both food and drink. Except when in Rome, he wore the old Frankish costume, with high-laced boots, linen tunic, blue cloak, and sword girt at his side. He was a clear, fluent speaker, used Latin as readily as his native tongue, and understood Greek when it was spoken. "He also tried to learn to write and often kept 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." [14] For the times, however, Charlemagne was a well-educated man--by no means a barbarian.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLEMAGNE (Lateran Museum, Rome) A mosaic picture, made during the lifetime of Charlemagne and probably a fair likeness of him.]

CONQUEST AND CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS, 772-804 A.D.

Much of Charlemagne's long life, almost to its close, was filled with warfare. He fought chiefly against the still-heathen peoples on the frontiers of the Frankish realm. The subjugation of the Saxons, who lived in the forests and marshes of northwestern Germany, took many years.

Charlemagne at the head of a great army would invade their territory, beat them in battle, and receive their submission, only to find his work undone by a sudden rising of the liberty-loving natives, after the withdrawal of the Franks. Once when Charlemagne was exasperated by a fresh revolt, he ordered forty-five hundred prisoners to be executed. This savage ma.s.sacre was followed by equally severe laws, which threatened with death all Saxons who refused baptism or observed the old heathen rites. By such harsh means Charlemagne at length broke down the spirit of resistance among the people. All Saxony, from the Rhine to the Elbe, became a Christian land and a permanent part of the Frankish realm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE IRON CROWN OF LOMBARDY A fillet of iron, which, according to pious legend, had been beaten out of one of the nails of the True Cross. It came to the Lombards as a gift from Pope Gregory I. as a reward for their conversion to Roman Catholicism.

During the Middle Ages it was used to crown the German emperors kings of Italy. This precious relic is now kept in a church at Monza in northern Italy.]

CONQUEST OF THE LOMBARDS, 774 A.D.

Shortly after the beginning of the Saxon wars the king of the Franks received an urgent summons from the pope, who was again being threatened by his old enemies, the Lombards. Charlemagne led a mighty host across the Alps, captured Pavia, where the Lombard ruler had taken refuge, and added his possessions to those of the Franks. Thus pa.s.sed away one more of the Germanic states which had arisen on the ruins of the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne now placed on his own head the famous "Iron Crown," and a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of "King of the Franks and Lombards, and Patrician of the Romans."

CHARLEMAGNE'S OTHER CONQUESTS

Charlemagne's conquests were not confined to Germanic peoples. He forced the wild Avars, who had advanced from the Caspian into the Danube valley, to acknowledge his supremacy. He compelled various Slavic tribes, including the Bohemians, to pay tribute. He also invaded Spain and wrested from the Moslems the district between the Ebro River and the Pyrenees. By this last conquest Charlemagne may be said to have begun the recovery of the Spanish peninsula from Mohammedan rule. [15]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, EUROPE In the Age of Charlemagne, 800 A.D.]

CHARLEMAGNE'S GOVERNMENT

Charlemagne was a statesman, as well as a warrior. He divided his wide dominions into counties, each one ruled by a count, who was expected to keep order and administer justice. The border districts, which lay exposed to invasion, were organized into "marks," under the military supervision of counts of the mark, or margraves (marquises). These officials had so much power and lived so far from the royal court that it was necessary for Charlemagne to appoint special agents, called _missi dominici_ ("the lord's messengers"), to maintain control over them. The _missi_ were usually sent out in pairs, a layman and a bishop or abbot, in order that the one might serve as a check upon the other. They traveled from county to county, bearing the orders of their royal master and making sure that these orders were promptly obeyed. In this way Charlemagne kept well informed as to the condition of affairs throughout his kingdom.

REVIVAL OF LEARNING UNDER CHARLEMAGNE

Charlemagne made a serious effort to revive cla.s.sical culture in the West from the low state into which it had fallen during the period of the invasions. We still possess a number of laws issued by this Frankish king for the promotion of education. He founded schools in the monasteries and cathedrals, where not only the clergy but also the common people might receive some training. He formed his whole court into a palace school, in which learned men from Italy, Spain, and England gave instruction to his own children and those of his n.o.bles. The king himself often studied with them, under the direction of his good friend, Alcuin, an Englishman and the foremost scholar in western Europe. He had the ma.n.u.scripts of Latin authors collected and copied, so that the knowledge preserved in books should not be forgotten. All this civilizing work, together with the peace and order which he maintained throughout a wide territory, made his reign the most brilliant period of the early Middle Ages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CATHEDRAL AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) was the capital city and favorite residence of Charlemagne. The church which he built here was almost entirely destroyed by the Northmen in the tenth century. The octagonal building surmounted by a dome which forms the central part of the present cathedral is a restoration of the original structure. The marble columns pavements and mosaics of Charlemagne's church were brought by him from Ravenna.]

107. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 800 A.D.

CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE, 800 A.D.

Charlemagne, the champion of Christendom and the foremost ruler in Europe, seemed to the men of his day the rightful successor of the Roman emperors.

He had their power, and now he was to have their name. In the year 800 A.D. the Frankish king visited Rome to investigate certain accusations made against the pope, Leo III, by his enemies in the city. Charlemagne absolved Leo of all wrong-doing and restored him to his office.