The Story of Switzerland Part 3

Charlemagne's legislation, it hardly needs to be said, was highly favourable to the Church, and tended to increase her wealth largely. He allotted to her t.i.thes of the produce of the soil, and the people of their own free will overwhelmed the ecclesiastical and monastic inst.i.tutions with offerings of lands and money. In the eighth century the monastery of St. Gall already possessed 160,000 acres of land, which had been bestowed by pious donors, whilst the twelve hundred deeds-of-gift found amongst the old abbey doc.u.ments testify to the zeal of the givers. Religious establishments became the largest landowners in the country, and va.s.salage and the feudal system sprang up.

Under the territorial subdivision Switzerland fell into the shires of Thurgau, Aargau, Genevagau, Waldgau (Vaud), &c., far larger than at present, whence are derived the names of various cantons as we have them now. Some of the Swiss would seem to have shared in Charlemagne's military glory. The "Monk of St. Gall,"[16] recently identified with Notker Balbulus (the Stammerer), the popular biographer of Charlemagne, tells in bombastic style the feats of an Alamannic hero from Thurgau.

This mediaeval Hercules--Eishere the Giant by name--had accompanied the emperor against the Avars, and after his return, reported that they had "mowed down the enemy like gra.s.s," and that he himself had "strung on his lance some six or eight pigmy toads of Bohemians as if they were larks, then carried them hither and thither, not knowing what they were grumbling out"! Notker, the chronicler, had in his youth heard the story of the military exploits of Charlemagne, from an old Thurgau soldier who had followed the emperor in his wars. And when Charles III. was on a visit to St. Gall in 883, he was so delighted with the monk's lively chat about the matchless emperor, that he requested him to write down his recollections of his ill.u.s.trious ancestor. To this monkish chronicler we owe so many of the pleasant stories of Charlemagne current among us.[17]

Interesting and touching are the traits we constantly meet with in the glimpses we get of the Court and private life of the emperor. His daughters were not allowed to marry because he could not bear separation from them. Hatto of Basel, the most ill.u.s.trious of his elder bishops, often inveighed against the monarch's weaknesses, yet Charlemagne not only bore the bishop's censures, but sent him on a highly honourable mission to the Court of Constantinople, and chose him as one of the witnesses to his last will. The emperor's friendship with Pope Hadrian was quite remarkable, and, in spite of many differences, was deep and lasting. On hearing the news of Hadrian's death, Charlemagne burst into tears, and eulogized him in the most flattering terms. The emperor's management of his royal estates was in the highest degree prudent, skilful, energetic, and in every way admirable. To his property he gave the closest and most constant inspection, down to the very eggs produced on his farms.

He gathered round him scholars, artists, and teachers, from Italy and Greece, and a Court school was opened by Alcuin, the Anglo-Saxon scholar--the English were then the most cultured of the German peoples--and a body of English pupils followed him to France. Alcuin became the friend, and in matters educational the counsellor, of Charlemagne, by whom he was entrusted with the revision of the Bible.

Warnfried Paulus Diaconus, the famous Lombard writer, was ordered to compile a collection of homilies from the Fathers. Copies of both these remarkable ma.n.u.scripts--Bible and Homilies--were presented to the church of Zurich, and one, the beautiful Alcuin Bible, is still extant and among its literary treasures. Thronging the learned circle whose poetic centre was Charles himself, with his wife and daughters, and two sisters, were Einhard the German, the confidant and biographer of the emperor; Augilhard, the knightly poet; the Goth Theobald, Bishop of Orleans, a scholar and man of the world; as well as many another ill.u.s.trious man. Charlemagne's two sisters were nuns, and one of them, Gisela, was the great friend of Alcuin.[18]

Charlemagne was fond of visiting and occasionally teaching in his Court school. He took great interest in the progress of his scholars, praising the diligent and admonishing the indolent. The "Monk" informs us that on one occasion finding the compositions of the poorer boys praiseworthy, whilst those of the young n.o.bles were unsatisfactory, the emperor rose up in anger and warned these latter youths that their high birth and fine manners should not screen them from punishment if they did not get rid of their laziness. Then, turning to the poor but meritorious youths, he highly commended them, and exhorted them to be always thus diligent, promising them rewards and preferment if they continued in their good course. Charlemagne indeed gained imperishable glory by his educational efforts, through which a foundation was laid for after ages. Full of the conviction that religion and learning were essential to happiness, he yearned to spread education amongst his people, and made it the chief object of his later years. All parents ought, he says, "to send their boys to school, and let them abide there till they are well informed," a principle only imperfectly understood and acted upon even in our own day. This ideal side of his complex activity lifts him far above the other rulers of the Middle Ages. To our mind there is but one who bears comparison with him for greatness of character and lofty aims--Alfred the Great, of Wess.e.x. Clerical colleges, and secular schools attached to them, sprang up all over the country, and the knowledge of the Scriptures, hitherto confined to the clergy, was freely placed before the people.

The bishops were charged by the emperor to take care that the priests were "well qualified as religious teachers." Theobald enjoins his clergy to open schools and "teach the children with love, and to accept no fees but what the parents choose to give." Such was the emperor's educational zeal, that he ordains whipping and deprivation of food even for men and women if they do not know by heart the Confession of Faith and the Lord's Prayer, and are not able to repeat them in Latin to the priests. Yet he makes allowances for the dunces who are permitted to learn and repeat these exercises in their own illiterate language. He admonishes the monks to learn better grammar, and get rid of their uncouth modes of speech. He strongly reprimands a choirboy whose wrong notes grate on his delicate ear.

Amongst the bishops of Switzerland, Hatto of Basel, and Remedius of Chur-Rhaetia, were Charlemagne's chief supporters and lawgivers in their own dioceses. The latter prelate was a great friend of Alcuin, and held a brilliant Court with many va.s.sals. The power of these theocratic governors was very great. It may be mentioned, as an example of this, that Remedius decreed that persons guilty of sacrilege should be covered with hot tar and made to ride thus on a donkey through the villages. The emperor's protection to church and school foundations was exercised in many cases in Switzerland. According to tradition, Sion was enriched with landed property; and to St. Maurice was presented a fine onyx cup adorned with beautiful Greek _relievi_, still amongst the treasures of that church. Zurich attributes her oldest churches and schools to the emperor's bounty. To him she is said to owe her minster, bearing his name and statue; the Chorherrenstift, or College of Canons, and the Carolinum, a clerical school for prebends or canons, which developed in 1832 into the University and Gymnasium respectively, and finally the Wa.s.serkirche, a chapel by the riverside, on the spot where the martyrs Felix and Regula once suffered.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GREAT MINSTER AND Wa.s.sERKIRCHE, ZURICH.

(_Appenzeller, Zurich._)]

Zurich was indeed, according to tradition, a favourite residence of the great monarch, and his mansion is said to have been the Haus zum Loch (hole or cavern), standing on a steep incline near the minster.

Connected with this is a charming legend which reflects the character for justice he had gained amongst the people. This story may also serve as an example, the only one our s.p.a.ce will permit us to give, of the abundant store of legend collected around the memory of Charlemagne.

There was a chapel on the riverside where he had placed a bell for people to ring if they wished to appeal to justice. One day as he was at dinner with his queen this bell began to ring. None of the servants could inform him what was the matter. The bell rang a second time, and then a third. On this the emperor rose from the table, saying, "I am sure there is some poor man you don't wish me to see." So saying, he walked down the hill to the chapel, where, hanging to the bell rope, he found a large snake. The reptile crept down, moved towards him, and wagged her tail to pay her respects. Then going on in front she led Charlemagne to a tuft of nettles, and his servants examining the spot found a large toad sitting on the eggs in the serpent's nest. At once, grasping the meaning of this appeal, he sat him down in his chair of justice and pa.s.sed sentence that the toad should be killed and quartered. The next day at dinner time the snake appeared in the pa.s.sage, frightening the attendants grievously. However, Charles quieted them, and said, "G.o.d is wonderful, and we cannot know the meaning of this." The snake entered the hall, climbed on the table, and, beckoning the emperor to remove the lid of his golden goblet, dropped into it a beautiful jewel. Then, descending from the table, she bowed to the royal couple, and disappeared. Charles held this to be a good omen, and resolved never to part with the jewel. The moral is obvious. Charlemagne was so just, and his reputation for equity so widespread, that even the lower animals appealed to him, and not in vain.

According to another version, the stone exerted attraction like a loadstone, for where it was dropped the emperor could not leave the place. But Archbishop Turpin had dropped it into the springs of Aachen, and hence Charlemagne no more quitted that royal residence.

It would be impossible in our s.p.a.ce, even if it were interesting to the general reader, to enter into the discussions respecting Charlemagne's foundations in and visits to Zurich. Two things, however, come out clearly; first (thanks to the labours of the learned historian, Professor Georg von Wyss), that tradition is not entirely unworthy of trust, as there is doc.u.mentary evidence still extant to prove that Charlemagne reformed the College (Chorherrenstift); second, that he kept up a close connection with the city, whether he actually resided there or not.

No doubt this exaltation of Charlemagne's merits is an expression of the attachment felt for his person, and of the admiration for his marvellous educational efforts. His grandson, Louis the German, founded the Abbey of our Lady, in 853, on the site of an old convent erected to the memory of the patron saints of Zurich. Louis erected this new abbey in order to give a more brilliant church preferment to his daughter, Hildgard, Lady Princ.i.p.al of a small convent at Wurzburg. This Princess Abbess received the sole right of jurisdiction, and the convent rose rapidly, and with it extended the city commonwealth. (We shall show in a later chapter how this female government checked the growth of political power in that city, and yet was the making of her.)

FOOTNOTES:

[15] See Budinger, "Von den Anfangen des Schulzw.a.n.ges," Zurich, 1865, p.

10.

[16] Professor Bachtold, "History of German Literature in Switzerland,"

Frauenfeld, 1887.

[17] Professor Bachtold, "History of German Literature in Switzerland,"

Frauenfeld, 1887.

[18] See Gustav Freytag's charming "Pictures of the Middle Ages."

VI.

THE KINGDOM OF BURGUNDY; THE DUCHY OF SWABIA; AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

(843-1100.)

The death of the great emperor brought this realm into utter confusion, the whole fabric of his wise and firm administration falling to pieces.

All the heterogeneous and often refractory elements which his stern rule had kept in check burst their bounds and gained full play during the reigns of his descendants, who grew weaker and weaker, though with here and there an exception. The pretensions of the Church, which Charlemagne's own protection and fostering care had, so to speak, ushered in and strengthened; the struggles of eminent families and dynastic houses for sovereignty in the absence of one central and undisputed power; the increase of the immunities and the growth of feudalism--all these were serious difficulties for the coming rulers to cope with.

Louis the Pious, the only surviving son of Charlemagne, and heir to his crown, was clearly quite unfit to cope with these difficulties satisfactorily. The untimely distribution of the crown lands insisted on by the imperious Judith, his second wife, in favour of her own son, and the protracted struggles between the imperial princes, steeped the realm in intestine wars, and in the end led to its dissolution. It is impossible in this short sketch to follow to his tragical end this unworthy son of a great father. The treaty of Verdun (843) settled the b.l.o.o.d.y conflicts, but split the empire into three new dominions; the East Frankish realm devolving on Louis the German: the West Frankish kingdom falling to Charles the Bald; and the middle district, including Italy and the strip of land between the two first divisions just mentioned, and comprising Provence, Burgundy, Lorraine, and the Netherlands. This last realm fell to Lothair.

The treaty of Verdun, to which the French and German States trace their origin, also effected the most sweeping changes in Helvetia, and altered greatly its political aspect. The country was rent into two halves, East Switzerland, forming the Aare, with Chur-Rhaetia, being incorporated with the East Frankish kingdom; and West Helvetia and the Valais with Lorraine or the middle kingdom. This naturally tended to revive the national antagonism between the two Helvetias.

Freed from the iron hand which had crushed all attempts at insurrection, the peoples began again their struggles for the recovery of national independence and separate rule, and thence came the restoration of the kingdom of Burgundy and the Duchy of Alamannia, or Swabia.[19] Burgundy was the first to make sure of her national freedom. On the death of Lothair in 855 his kingdom fell to pieces. Count Boso, of Vienna, his relative, founded the kingdom of Burgundy _without_ Helvetia, 879 (Provence or Arles--_Arelatisches Reich_). After fruitless attempts by various Burgundian n.o.bles to establish their sovereignty _within_ Helvetia, a renowned n.o.bleman, Rudolf, of the ill.u.s.trious house of the Guelfs, set up as a pretender to Swiss Burgundy, after the precedent of Count Boso. Rudolf possessed vast estates in Swabia, on Lake Constance.

He had sworn allegiance to Charles III. (the "Stout"), who, weak as he was, had, strange to say, once more united the Empire under his sceptre.

On his death, in 888, Rudolf the Guelf was crowned king at St. Maurice, the venerable abbey-town in the Low-Valais, by a large a.s.sembly of Burgundian bishops and n.o.bles. Thus was established the Helvetian kingdom of Upper or New Burgundy (_Burgundia transjurans_), which seems to have extended into Lorraine and Savoy. In 933 both Burgundies were united.

Rudolf not only maintained his independence against the aggressive spirit of intruding neighbours, but carried his victories into East Helvetia, as far as Lake Zurich, and on his death in 912 his crown pa.s.sed without opposition to his son Rudolf II. This king had inherited his father's great abilities and restless habits, which engaged him in numerous wars. His greatest martial achievement was the defeat of the Hungarians, who were making their fearful inroads into Europe. In East Helvetia, however, his advance was checked by Burkhard I., Duke of Alamannia, who routed him at Winterthur, near Zurich, in 919. Led no doubt by their mutual admiration for each other's prowess, and by common political interests, they made peace and contracted a lasting friendship. To seal the union between the two Helvetias, Burkhard gave his lovely daughter, Bertha, in marriage to the Burgundian king, and gave her as dowry the land between the Aare and the Reuss, the district for which he had been contending. He even followed Rudolf on his expedition to Italy, and fell in a skirmish whilst succouring his son-in-law. But Rudolf was unable to maintain the authority of his Italian crown, and exchanged his claim to Lombardy for the kingdom of Lower Burgundy (Provence) in 933; this arrangement was, however, much contested.

When not engaged in wars he a.s.sisted his queen in her good works. The Burgundian kings as yet had no fixed residence, and moved from place to place on their royal estates--to Lausanne, Payerne, Yverdon, Solothurn, or Lake Thun. When making these rounds Rudolf loved to do as the judges of Israel of old--to seat himself under the shade of a fine oak and deal out justice to whoever might come near and appeal to him. Yet the memory of this good king is almost eclipsed by the glory of his wife, the famous "Spinning Queen," and her wisdom and ministry amongst the poor.

Things went less pleasantly with the Alamanni. Their efforts to restore separate or self-government--the pa.s.sionate yearning for national independence innate in the German tribes has done much to bring about the division of the German Empire into its many kingdoms, princ.i.p.alities, and duchies--met with far steadier and more violent opposition than was the case with the Burgundians.

Under the pacific rule of Louis the German (843-876) the Alamanni enjoyed the benefits of his peaceful tendencies, and we hear of no attempts at insurrection. This sensible and practical monarch left to East Helvetia the "remembrance of him in good works." Two things brought him into close relations with this country--his founding of the Abbey of our Lady at Zurich, where he installed his daughters Hildegard and Bertha, as has been stated before; and his benefactions to St. Gall, which he freed from the overlordship of Constance. Indeed, the chronicler of this latter inst.i.tution, Notker, _Monachus S. Gallensis_, would seem to have been fascinated by his personal charms and affable manners. Promoted to the position of an independent abbey, owing allegiance to none but the king himself, and enriched by continual grants of land on the part of pious donors, St. Gall developed into a flourishing monastic commonwealth. The peaceful colony of thrifty and studious monks--Benedictines they were--who, like their Irish founder, combined manual labour with learned contemplation, earnest study, and literary skill--form a society quite unique in its way. The holy men "conjure into their cells the departed spirits of cla.s.sical antiquity,"[20] and hold free intercourse with them; given to ecclesiastical learning, whilst not neglectful of profane studies, these learned and high-bred scholars const.i.tute a truly mediaeval university.

Their life and character is vividly set before us by their chroniclers.

Arnulf of Kaernthen (887-899), grandson of Louis, kept up a close connection with St. Gall, through his chaplain, Solomon III., its abbot.

He governed the East Frankish kingdom with firmness and great ability.

The military glory of the Carolingians seemed to be restored when he defeated the Normans brilliantly at Loewen on the river Dyle.

Unfortunately this vigorous ruler died after a short reign, leaving his crown to his only son, Louis "the Child," then only six years of age.

Through the reign of this sickly prince (900-911) the country was torn by party struggles, and the invasions of the Hungarians increased the distresses of the time. Contemporary writers seem hardly able to express the horror they felt at the very sight of the Asiatics, who appeared even loathsome to them. Arnulf was reproached with having launched them upon Europe when he led them against his enemies, the Maehren; whilst Charlemagne's policy had been altogether opposed to this, he having shut them in by raising gigantic walls on the Danube against the Avars. These were followers of the Huns of the fifth century, and resembled them by their savage warfare and indescribable habits.

"Woe to the realm whose king is a child," writes Solomon III. to a befriended bishop; "all are at variance, count and va.s.sals, shire and boundary neighbours; the towns rise in rebellion, the laws are trampled under foot, and we are at the mercy of the savage hordes." Such was the condition of the country at the opening of the tenth century. Solomon, who wrote these lamentations, was himself a powerful political ruler no less than a Church potentate. Next to Archbishop Hatto, of Mayence, who governed during the minority of Louis, Solomon was the most influential man at the German Court, and wielded its destinies after Hatto's death.

This high-born Churchman, educated as a secular priest at St. Gall, became secretary, chaplain, and chancellor, at the German Court, and enjoyed the friendship of four successive monarchs. Promoted by Arnulf to the Abbey of St. Gall in 890, and shortly afterwards to the see of Constance, he thus combined the dignities of the two rival inst.i.tutions.

Subtle, versatile, and indefatigable, this high ecclesiastic was the most consummate courtier and man of the world. Handsome and magnificent, he captivated his hearers in the council by the clearness of his argument and his ready wit; and melted the people to tears by his eloquence in the pulpit. His leadership at St. Gall promoted the magnificence of the abbey, and formed it into a prominent literary and political centre. It was, however, robbed of its ascetic character, Solomon being wanting in genuine piety, for one thing.

The absolute rule of this powerful prelate greatly checked the national risings of the Swabian leaders, for he strenuously maintained the oneness of Church and State. Conrad I. (911-919), the last of the East Frankish kings, gave all his energies to the one aim of strengthening and solidifying his rule by the suppression or abolition of the dukedoms, which he saw undermined the power of the sovereign. Relying on the support of the clergy, he was strongly influenced by Solomon's insinuations when he put forth his b.l.o.o.d.y measures against the Swabian pretenders.

During the reign of Louis the Child the state of anarchy had begotten numerous national risings, which led to the establishment of the Bavarian, Frankish, and Saxon duchies. At its very close a similar attempt was ventured upon in Alamannia. Burkhard, Marquis of Chur-Rhaetia, afterwards Graubunden, one of the most eminent of the Swabian grandees, put forward claims to the duchy. His sons were banished, and, it was whispered, by Solomon's machinations (911). Yet all this was no check on the aspirations of the two brothers, Erchanger and Bertold, brothers-in-law to the king, who aspired to the Duchy of Swabia. They, too, fell victims to the policy of the prelate, whose hatred was intensified when they laid hands on his person to arrest him.

Conrad called a Synod to a.s.sist him, and heavy punishment was awarded the pretenders. However, the king had them beheaded, no doubt to please his chancellor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FURKA Pa.s.s.]

The cruel fate of the two made a deep impression on the people. Next year, when Burkhard, son of the unfortunate marquis, returned to his country whence he had fled--for he had joined in the rising of the two brothers, and had been summoned before the Synod--he was unanimously elected by the n.o.bility and people (917). It was no small mortification to both king and bishop to have their designs thus thwarted, the principle they had so vigorously opposed being carried out. The annals of St. Gall bear witness to the fact that Solomon was implicated in the murders, for though usually exalting his merits, they report that the mighty prelate repented of his cruel actions, since he wandered as a pilgrim to Rome, contrite, weeping and lamenting, to do penance for his sins.

Conrad I., at the close of his reign, acknowledged that his policy had been a mistaken one by giving the crown to his most powerful antagonist, the Saxon leader, Duke Henry, whose power he had striven to abrogate.

Henry I., called "the Fowler" and the "City Founder" (919-936), was the first German ruler who erected a true German kingdom. With quick discernment he founded the authority of the Crown on the union of the tribes, by reconciling their leaders and enforcing their submission through the ascendency of his own powerful Saxon tribe. Binding them by oath of fealty without detracting from their honour, he met with no opposition. His son, Otho I., the "Great," obtained the imperial crown in Rome, and increased the greatness of his new kingdom. Thus we find East Helvetia with Chur-Rhaetia forming part of Alamannia, and presently the whole country was absorbed into, and its destinies bound up with, the vast empire.

Burkhard I., a.s.suming the t.i.tle of "Duke of Alamannia by Divine Right,"

bent to Henry's royal supremacy with little objection, no doubt feeling it a safeguard to his own position. His successors likewise held to Germany, and were faithful adherents of the emperors, who in their turn strove to knit Swabia more closely with the empire. This alliance was highly valued by them; they had to pa.s.s through Chur-Rhaetia on their expeditions to Italy; the Alamanni were famous for their prowess; and their religious inst.i.tutions, St. Gall, Rheinau, and Reichenau, were famous centres of culture. Swabia became a highly valuable fief to be granted at the pleasure of the emperors. On the death of Burkhard, who fell in a skirmish whilst accompanying his son-in-law, Rudolf of Burgundy, to the south, as we have seen above, the duchy devolved on the son of Otho I., and then on Burkhard II. of Chur-Rhaetia. He never swerved from his policy of holding to the empire, and his marriage with Otho's niece, whose beauty and courage and literary skill were celebrated in ballad and chronicle, drew the union still closer. On her husband's death, Hadwig inherited the t.i.tle and his estates, but the duchy was granted to a friend of Otho II. She retired to her favourite residence, her manor on Mount Hohentwiel, near Lake Constance, where she lived in deep seclusion till her death in 994. A good Greek scholar and fond of learning, she invited young Ekkehard II. of St. Gall to her castle, and made him her chaplain and her tutor in cla.s.sical studies.

Hadwig is the central figure in Scheffel's brilliant novel "Ekkehard,"

which glows with life and sparkling humour, and is a fanciful rendering of the amusing narratives contained in the St. Gall annals. The chronicler and the poet combining have produced an immortal work, and shed a lasting glory on the cloisters of St. Gall.