The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine Part 25

XXVII

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE

As Rouen in Normandy was known as "the city of the Conqueror," so Aix-la-Chapelle became known, at a much earlier date, as "the city of Charlemagne."

Charlemagne was more than a conqueror; he was a statesman, with a boundless ambition. He founded the German Empire, and changed tribes of lawless barbarians into a civilized people. At Aix-la-Chapelle he received the emba.s.sies of the Caliph of Baghdad and of the Saxon Kings of England, and there he endeavoured to advance the enlightenment of his people by the founding of monasteries and by giving very material aid to the monks and priests.

Aix therefore became the scene of some of the most interesting episodes in the life and career of Charlemagne.

At the death of his consort, Frastrade, Charlemagne was inconsolable.

Even when she had been dead for three weeks, the monarch would not hear her death spoken of. "She did but sleep," he said; and the Emperor clung to the chamber of his beloved, and would not abate his watchfulness "till Frastrade woke."

Meantime the affairs of the Empire were falling into confusion.

Provinces were all but revolting, and foreign foes were mustering their forces. The Emperor's chief counsellor was the Archbishop of Reims. One night--though this is more legendary than historical--the archbishop was walking by himself when he came upon a shape in the moonlight which proclaimed itself as follows: "I am the good genius of Charlemagne. I came to teach you how to remove the shadow from his spirit. Dig, where I stand, a grave and let the festering body of Frastrade lie in it. But, mark you! Ere you move her body, search beneath her tongue and take out what you find there."

The archbishop hurried toward a grotesquely carved cottage door where lived a gravedigger.

"No silken sleeper so calm as they Who seek a couch in the churchyard clay,"

sang a voice from within.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLEMAGNE]

In half an hour the grave was begun, and in another half-hour the churchman was in the chamber of Frastrade, where the Emperor, exhausted by his vigil, slept kneeling at the bedside.

The archbishop approached, and, peering into the mouth of the corpse, saw beneath the tongue a glittering jewel.

With hasty fingers he seized the token, and, as he removed it, a loud wail startled the silence of the death-chamber and aroused the king.

_The spell was broken._

Throwing but a single glance at the corpse of his wife, Charlemagne left the chamber, and, even as he went, agreed to the archbishop's arrangements for her burial.

The grave so secretly made ready was unnecessary, however, for the body was borne to Mayence, where a tomb raised to the memory of Frastrade is still to be seen.

At the archbishop's desire Charlemagne once more took his seat in the Council of State, and once more the Empire was put in order.

The courtiers resented the advent of the churchman into the favour of the Emperor, who at length, when the court was sitting at Aix-la-Chapelle, determined to rid himself of the mystic jewel. Choosing a dark night, he sought a deep pool near the centre of a mora.s.s as being suitable for concealing the gem, which he had determined no man should ever see. Coming upon the spot, and holding the bauble in his hand above the waters, he dropped it and saw it sink, as though the pit were bottomless. But the brilliancy of the gem was inextinguishable.

Next morning the court was pleased to note that the archbishop's influence over the Emperor was quite gone.

As the Emperor was strolling about the city, he fell upon the pool which held the gem. There he would sit by the hour, gazing upon the still waters, near which he afterward built himself a home, known to-day, though in ruins, as the castle of Frankenberg.

A few years after the death of his wife, Charlemagne built _La Chapelle_, that great octagonal church which gives the city its French name. The tomb of Charlemagne is there, inscribed only _Carolo Magno_.

He died at Aix-la-Chapelle in 814, and was buried with great pomp.

Victor Hugo gives Aix-la-Chapelle as the place of his birth, which is manifestly an error.

Charlemagne's body was placed in the tomb in a sitting posture, and three centuries later was exhumed by Frederick Barbarossa that he might sit in the same place, and afterward the German Emperors used the seat as a sort of throne of state at their coronations.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The sword and sceptre and all that was mortal of the great Charlemagne are gone, but his memory still lives in an enduring monument in the cathedral.

The cathedral is wonderful for its antiquary and charming to all who come within its spell; furthermore it forms a shrine for hero-worshippers which should not be neglected.

At one of the entrances is a bronze wolf, placed there to keep in memory a monkish legend which pa.s.ses current at Aix-la-Chapelle to this day.

It runs as follows:

"In former times the zealous and devout inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle determined to build a cathedral. For six months the clang of the hammer and axe resounded with wonderful activity, but alas! the money which had been supplied by pious Christians for this holy work became exhausted, the wages of the masons were suspended, and with them their desire to hew and hammer, for, after all, men were not so very religious in those days as to build a temple on credit.

"Thus it stood, half-finished, resembling a falling ruin. Moss, gra.s.s, and wild parsley flourished in the cracks of the walls, screech-owls already discovered convenient places for their nests, and amorous sparrows hopped lovingly about where holy priests should have been teaching lessons of chast.i.ty.

"The builders were confounded; they endeavoured to borrow here and there, but no rich man could be induced to advance so large a sum. The collection from house to house fell short. When the magistracy received this report, they were out of humour, and looked with desponding countenances toward the cathedral walls, as fathers look upon the remains of favourite children.

"At this moment a stranger of commanding figure and something of pride in his voice and bearing entered and exclaimed: '_Bon Dieu!_ they say that you are out of spirits. Hem! if nothing but money is wanting, you may console yourselves, gentlemen. I possess mines of gold and silver, and both can and will most willingly supply you with a ton of it.'

"The astounded Senators sat like a row of pillars, measuring the stranger from head to foot. The burgomaster first found his tongue. 'Who are you, n.o.ble lord,' said he, 'that thus, entirely unknown, speak of tons of gold as though they were sacks of beans? Tell us your name, your rank in this world, and whether you are sent from the regions above to a.s.sist us.'

"'I have not the honour to reside there,' replied the stranger, 'and, between ourselves, I beg most particularly to be no longer troubled with questions concerning who and what I am. Suffice it to say I have gold plentiful as summer hay!' Then, drawing forth a leathern pouch, he proceeded: 'This little purse contains the tenth of what I'll give. The rest shall soon be forthcoming. Now listen, my masters,' continued he, clinking the coin, 'all this trumpery is and shall remain yours if you promise to give me the first little soul that enters the door of the new temple when it is consecrated.'

"The astonished Senators now sprang from their seats as if they had been shot up by an earthquake, and then rushed pell-mell, and fell all of a lump into the farthest corner of the room, where they rolled and clung to each other like lambs frightened at flashes of lightning. Only one of the party, who had not entirely lost his wits, collected his remaining senses, and, drawing his head out of the heap, uttered boldly, 'Avaunt, thou wicked spirit!'

"But the stranger, who was no less a person than Master Urian, laughed at them. 'What's all this outcry about?' said he at length; 'is my offence so heinous that you are all become like children? It is I that may suffer from this business, not you. With my hundreds and thousands I have not far to run to buy a score of souls. From you I ask but one in exchange for all my money. What are you picking at straws for? One may plainly see you are a mere set of humbugs! For the good of the commonwealth (which high-sounding name is often borrowed for all sorts of purposes), many a prince would instantly conduct a whole army to be butchered, and you refuse one single man for that purpose! Fie! I am ashamed, O overwise counsellors, to hear you reason thus absurdly and citizen-like. What! do you think to deprive yourselves of the kernel of your people by granting my wish? Oh, no, there your wisdom is quite at fault, for, depend on it, hypocrites are always the earliest church-birds.'

"By degrees, as the cunning fiend thus spoke, the Senators took courage and whispered in each other's ear: 'What is the use of our resisting?

The grim lion will only show his teeth once; if we don't a.s.sent, we shall infallibly be packed off ourselves. It is better, therefore, to quiet him directly.'

"Scarcely was this sanguinary contract concluded when a swarm of purses flew into the room through the doors and windows, and Urian, more civil than before, took leave without leaving any smell behind. He stopped, however, at the door, and called out with a grim leer: 'Count it over again, for fear that I may have cheated you.'

"The h.e.l.lish gold was piously expended in finishing the cathedral, but, nevertheless, when the building shone forth in all its splendour, the whole town was filled with fear and alarm at the sight of it. The fact was that, although the Senators had promised by bond and oath not to trust the secret to anybody, one of them had prated to his wife, and she had made it a market-place tale, so that all declared they would never set foot within the temple. The terrified council now consulted the clergy, but the good priests all hung down their heads. At last a monk cried out: 'A thought strikes me. The wolf which has so long ravaged the neighbourhood of our town was this morning caught alive. This will be a well-merited punishment for the destroyer of our flocks; let him be cast to the devil in the fiery gulf. 'Tis possible the arch h.e.l.l-hound may not relish this breakfast, yet _nolens volens_ he must swallow it. You promised him certainly a soul, but whose was not decidedly specified.'

"The monk's plan was plausible, and the Senate determined to put the cunning trick into execution. At length the day of consecration arrived, and orders were given to bring the wolf to the princ.i.p.al entrance of the cathedral. So, just as the bells began to ring, the trap-door of the cage was pulled open, and the savage beast darted out into the nave of the empty church. Master Urian, from his lurking-place, beheld this consecration offering with the utmost fury. Burning with choler at being thus deceived, he raged like a tempest and then rushed forth, slamming the bra.s.s gate so violently after him that the rings split in two.

"This crack, which serves to commemorate the priest's victory over the tricks of the devil, is still exhibited to the gaping travellers who visit the cathedral."

So much for the legend. But the devil, disappointed at the turn of affairs in respect to the cathedral, had his revenge when Aix, fifty years or more ago, first became the centre of public gaming-tables, which only lately have been deserted by what is known as smart society for other resorts of a similar nature elsewhere.

There can be no question but that Charlemagne's church at Aix, while it is itself a rather vivid memory of Ravenna, is the prototype of much church-building elsewhere. The round churches of Germany followed in due course, while, in respect to some details, the cathedral has been claimed to be the forerunner of the true Gothic. At any rate, there is a reflection of its dome in that which terminates the centre of the cross of St. Fedele at Como. The similarity goes to prove that Charlemagne's industry in church-building in Italy was as great as his desire of conquest.

The church at Aix-la-Chapelle was frankly designed as the tomb of Charlemagne, and that perhaps accounts for the combining of the rotunda of a ceremonial edifice with that of a basilica intended solely for worship. Part of it was undoubtedly the work of the Comacine builders whom Charlemagne brought from Italy, and part is nothing more than an importation or adaptation of cla.s.sical and Byzantine adornments.

Charlemagne's architects studied geography and climate well when they erected this link between the Romanesque-Lombardic style of the south and the Gothic of the north.

That portion of the present cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle which was built by Charlemagne is the octagonal projection toward the east. It forms a truly regal mausoleum, and for twelve hundred years has well stood the march of time.

It is supposed to have been the most magnificent church edifice of Charlemagne's era throughout all Europe, though it was seriously injured by an earthquake a few years after its completion.