 Section 1. Book I. Concerning the piety of Charles and his care of the church. After the omnipotent ruler of the world, who orders alike the fate of kingdoms in the course of time, had broken the feet of iron and clay in one noble statue, to it the Romans, he raised by the hands of the illustrious Charles the golden head of another not less admirable among the Franks. Now it happened when he had begun to reign alone in the western parts of the world, when the pursuit of learning had been almost forgotten throughout all his realm, and the worship of the true Godhead was faint and weak. The two Scots came from Ireland to the coast of Gaul along with certain traders of Britain. These Scotchmen were unrivaled for their skill in sacred and secular learning, and day by day when the crowd gathered round them for traffic they exhibited no wares for sale, but cried out and said, Ho! everyone that desires wisdom, let him draw near and take it at our hands, for it is wisdom that we have for sale. Now they declared that they had wisdom for sale because they said that the people cared not for what was given freely, but only for what was sold, hoping that thus they might be incited to purchase wisdom along with other wares, and also, perhaps, hoping that by this announcement they themselves might become a wonder and a marvel to men, which indeed turned out to be the case. For so long did they make their proclamation that in the end those who wondered at these men, or perhaps thought them insane, brought the matter to the ears of King Charles, who always loved and sought after wisdom. Wherefore, he ordered them to come with all speed into his presence, and asked them whether it were true, as fame reported of them, that they had brought wisdom with them. They answered, We both possess it and are ready to give it in the name of God to those who seek it worthily. Again he asked them what price they asked for it, and they answered, We ask no price, O King, but we ask only for a fit place for teaching and quick minds to teach, and besides food to eat and raiment to put on, for without these we cannot accomplish our pilgrimage. This answer filled the King with a great joy, and first he kept both of them with him for a short time. But soon, when he must needs go to war, he made one of them named Clement Residen Gaul, and to him he sent many boys both of noble, middle, and humble birth, and he ordered as much food to be given them as they required, and he set aside for them buildings suitable for study. But he sent the second scholar into Italy, and gave him the monastery of St. Augustine near Pavia that all who wished might gather there to learn from him. But when Albinus, Alcoen, an Englishman, heard that that most religious emperor Charles gladly entertained wise men, he entered into a ship and came to him. Now Albinus was skilled in all learning beyond all others of our times, for he was the disciple of that most learned priest Bede, who next to St. Gregory was the most skillful interpreter of the scriptures. And Charles received Albinus kindly and kept him at his side to the end of his life, except when he marched with his armies to his vast wars. Nay, Charles would even call himself Albinus's disciple, and Albinus he would call his master. He appointed him to rule over the Abbey of St. Martin, near to the city of Tours, so that, when he himself was absent, Albinus might rest there and teach those who had recourse to him. And his teaching bore such fruit among his pupils that the modern Gauls or Franks came to equal the ancient Romans or Athenians. Then, when Charles came back after a long absence crowned with victory into Gaul, he ordered the boys whom he had entrusted to Clement to come before him and present to him letters and verses of their own composition. Now the boys of middle or low birth presented him with writings garnished with the sweet savers of wisdom beyond all that he could have hoped, while those of the children of noble parents were silly and tasteless. Then the most wise Charles, imitating the judgment of the eternal judge, gathered together those who had done well upon his right hand and addressed them in these words, My children, you have found much favor with me, because you have tried with all your strength to carry out my orders and win advantage for yourselves. Therefore, now, study to attain to perfection, and I will give you bishoprics and splendid monasteries, and you shall be always honorable in my eyes. Then he turned severely to those who were gathered on his left, and, smiting their consciences with the fire of his eyes, he flung at them in scorn these terrible words, which seemed thunder rather than human speech. You nobles, you sons of my chiefs, you superfined dandies, you have trusted to your birth and your possessions and have said it not, my orders to your own advancement. You have neglected the pursuit of learning, and you have given yourselves over to luxury and sport, to idleness and profitless pastimes. Then solemnly he raised his august head and his unconquered right hand to the heavens, and thus thundered against them. By the king of heaven I take no account of your noble birth and your fine looks, though others may admire you for them. Know this for certain that unless you make up for your former sloth by vigorous study you will never get any favor from Charles. Charles used to pick out all the best writers and readers from among the poor boys that I have spoken of and transferred them to his chapel, for that was the name that the kings of the Franks gave to their private oratory, taking the word from the cope of St. Martin, which they always took with them in war for a defense against their enemies. Now one day it was announced to this most wary king Charles that a certain bishop was dead, and when the king asked whether the dead bishop had made any bequests for the good of his soul, the messenger replied, Sir he has bequeathed no more than two pounds of silver. Thereupon one of his chaplains sighing and no longer able to keep the thoughts of his mind within his breast spake in the hearing of the king these words. That is a small provision for a long, a never-ending journey. Then Charles, the mildest of men, deliberated a space and said to the young man, Do you think then if you were to get the bishopric you would care to make more provision for that same long journey? These cautious words fell upon the chaplain as ripe grapes into the mouth of one who stands agape for them, and he threw himself at the feet of Charles and said, Sir, the matter rests upon the will of God and your own power. Said the king, Stand behind the curtain that hangs behind me and mark what kind of help you would receive if you were raised to that honor. Now when the officers of the palace who were always on the watch for deaths or accidents heard that the bishop was dead, one and all of them, impatient of delay and jealous of each other, began to make suit for the bishopric through the friends of the emperor. But Charles still persisted unmoved in his design. He refused everyone and said that he would not disappoint his young friend. At last Queen Hildegard sent some of the nobles of the realm and at last came in person to beg the bishopric for a certain clerk of her own. The emperor received her petition very graciously and said that he would not and could not deny her anything, but that he thought it shame to deceive his little chaplain. But still the queen, womanlike, thought that a woman's opinion and wish ought to outweigh the decrees of men, and so she concealed the passion that was rising in her heart. She sank her strong voice almost to a whisper, and with caressing gestures tried to soften the emperor's unspoken mind. My sir and king, she said. What does it matter if that boy does lose the bishopric? Nay, I beseech you, sweet sir, my glory and my refuge. Give it to your faithful servant, my clerk. Then that young man, who had heard the petitions from behind the curtain close to the king's chair where he had been placed, embraced the king through the curtain and cried, Sir King, stand fast and do not let anyone take from you the power that has been given you by God. Then that strict lover of truth bad him come out and said, I intend you to have the bishopric. But you must be very careful to spend more and make fuller provision for that same long and unreturning journey, both for yourself and for me. Now there was at the king's court a certain mean and humble clerk, very deficient also in a knowledge of letters. The most pious Charles pitied his poverty, and, though everyone hated him and tried to drive him from the court, he could never be persuaded to turn him away or dismiss him therefrom. Now it happened that on the eve of St. Martin the death of a certain bishop was announced to the emperor. He summoned one of his clerks, a man of high berth and great learning, and gave him the bishopric. The new bishop thereupon, bursting with joy, invited to his house many of the palace attendants and also received with great pomp many who came from the diocese to greet him, and to all he gave a superb banquet. It happened then that, loaded with food, drenched with liquor, and buried in wine, he failed to go to the evening service on that most solemn eve. Now it was the custom for the chief of the choir to assign the day before to everyone the responsory or responsibilities which they were to chant at night. The response, Lord, if still I am useful to thy people, had fallen to the lot of this man who had the bishopric as it were in his grasp. Well, he was absent, and after the lesson a long pause followed, and each man urged his neighbor to take up the responsory, and each man answered that he was bound to chant only what had been assigned to him. At last the emperor said, Come, one of you must chant it. Then this mean clerk, strengthened by some divine inspiration and encouraged by the command, took upon himself the responsory. The kindly king, thinking that he would not be able to chant the whole of it, ordered the others to help him, and all began at once to chant. But from none of them could the poor creature learn the words, and when the response was finished he began to chant the Lord's prayer with the proper intonation. Then everyone wished to stop him. But the most wise Charles wanted to see where he would get to, and forbade anyone to interfere with him. He finished with, thy kingdom come, and the rest willy-nilly had to take it up and say, thy will be done. When the early lords were finished the king went back to his palace, or rather to his bedroom, to warm himself and dress for the coming festival ceremony. He ordered that miserable servant an unpracticed chanter to come into his presence. Who told you to chant that responsory, he asked? Sir, you ordered someone to sing, said the other. Well, said the king, the emperor was called king at first. Who told you to begin in that particular responsory? Then the poor creature inspired, as it is thought by God, spoke as follows, in the fashion which inferiors then used to superiors, whether for honor, appeal, or flattery. Blessed Lord, and blessing bestowing king, as I could not find out the right verse from any one, I said to myself that I should incur the anger of your majesty if I introduced anything strange. So I determined to intone something, the latter part of which usually came at the end of the responsories. The kindly emperor smiled gently upon him, and thus spoke before all his nobles. That proud man, who neither feared nor honored God, or his king, who had befriended him enough to refrain one night from dissipation and be in his place to chant the response which I am told fell to his share, is by God's decree and mine deprived of his bishopric. You shall take it, for God gives it you, and I allow it, and be sure to administer it according to canonical and apostolic rules. When another prince of the church died, the emperor appointed a young man in his place. When the bishop-designate came out of the palace to take his departure, his servants, with all the decorum that was due to a bishop, wrought forward a horse and steps to mount it, but he took it amiss that they should treat him as though he were decrepit, and leaped from the ground onto the horse's back with such violence that he nearly fell off on the other side. The king looked on from the steps of the palace, and had him summoned, and thus addressed him. My good sir, you are nimble and quick, agile and headstrong. You know yourself that the calm of our empire is disturbed on all sides by the tempests of many wars. Wherefore I want a priest like you at my court. Remain, therefore, as an associate in my labours, as long as you can mount your horse with such agility. While I was speaking about the arrangement of the responses, I forgot to speak about the rules for reading, and I must devote a few words to that subject here. In the palace of the most learned, Charles, there was no one to apportion to each reader the passages that were to be read. No one put a seal at the end of the passage or made ever such a little mark with his fingernail. But all had to make themselves so well acquainted with the passage, which was set down for reading, that if they were suddenly called on to read they could perform their duty without incurring his censure. He indicated whom he wished to read by pointing his finger or his staff, or by sending some one of those who were sitting close by him to those at a distance. He marked the end of the reading by a guttural sound, and all watched so intently for this mark that whether it came at the end of a sentence or in the middle of a clause or a sub-clause, none dared go on for an instant, however strange the beginning or the end might seem. And thus it came to pass that all in the palace were excellent readers, even if they did not understand what they read. No foreigner and no celebrity dared enter his choir unless he could read and chant. When Charles one day came in his journeyings to a certain palace, a certain clerk from among the wandering monks entered the choir, and being completely ignorant of these rules was soon forced to remain stupid and silent among the singers. Thereupon the choir master raised his wand and threatened to strike him unless he went on singing. Then the poor clerk not knowing what to do or where to turn, and not daring to go out, twisted his neck into the shape of a bow, and with open mouth and distended cheeks did his utmost to imitate the appearance of a singer. All the rest could not restrain their laughter. But the most valiant emperor, whose mind was never shaken from its firm base even by great events, seemed not to notice his mockery of singing, and waited in due order until the end of the mass. But then he called the poor wretch before him, and pitying his struggles and his anxiety soothed his fears with these words. Many thanks, good clerk, for your singing and your efforts. Then he ordered a pound of silver to be given him to relieve his poverty. But I must not seem to forget or to neglect Al Kuhn, and will therefore make this true statement about his energy and his desserts. All his pupils, without exception, distinguished themselves by becoming either holy abits or bishops. My master Grimald studied the literal arts under him, first in Gaul and then in Italy. But those who are learned in these matters may charge me with falsehood for saying, All his pupils, without exception, when the fact is that there were in his schools two young men, sons of a miller in the service of the monastery of St. Columban, who did not seem fit and proper persons for promotion to the command of bishoprics or monasteries. But even these men were, by the influence probably of their teacher, advanced one after the other to the office of minister in the monastery of Bobbio, in which they displayed the greatest energy. So the most glorious Charles saw the study of letters flourishing throughout his whole realm, but still he was grieved to find that it did not reach the ripeness of the earlier fathers. And so, after superhuman labors, he broke out one day with this expression of his sorrow. Would that I had twelve clerks so learned in all wisdom, and so perfectly trained, as were Jerome and Augustine. Then the learned Al Kuhn, feeling himself ignorant indeed in comparison with these great names, rose to a height of daring that no man else attained to in the presence of the terrible Charles, and said, with deep indignation in his mind, but none in his countenance, The maker of heaven and earth has not many like to those men, and do you expect to have twelve? Here I must report something which the men of our time will find it difficult to believe, for I myself who write it could hardly believe it, so great is the difference between our method of chanting and the Roman. Were it not that we must trust rather the accuracy of our fathers than the false suggestions of modern sloth? Well, then, Charles, that never-weary lover of the service of God, when he could congratulate himself that all possible progress had been made in the knowledge of letters, was grieved to observe how widely the different provinces, nay, not the provinces only, but districts and cities, differed in the praise of God, that is to say, in their method of chanting. He therefore asked of Pope Stephen of blessed memory, the same who, after Hilderick, King of the Franks had been deposed and tauntured, had anointed Charles to be ruler of the kingdom after the ancestral custom of the people. He asked of Pope Stephen, I say, that he should provide him with twelve clerks deeply learned in divine song. The Pope yielded assent to his virtuous wish in his divinely inspired design, and sent to him in Franklin from the Apostolic Sea clerks skilled in divine song, and twelve in number, according to the number of the twelve apostles. Now, when I said Franklin just above, I meant all the provinces north of the Alps, for, as it is written, in those days ten men shall take hold out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. So at that time, by reason of the glory of Charles, Gauls, Aquitanians, Eduans, Spaniards, Germans and Bavarians thought that no small honor was paid to them if they were thought worthy to be called the servants of the Franks. Now, when the aforementioned clerks were departing from Rome, being like all Greeks and Romans torn with envy of the glory of the Franks, they took counsel among themselves, and determined so to vary their method of singing that his kingdom and dominion should never have caused to rejoice in unity and agreement. So when they came to Charles, they were received most honorably and dispatched to the chief places, and thereupon each in his allotted place began to chant as differently as possible, and to teach others to sing in like fashion, and in as false a manner as they could invent. But as the most cunning Charles celebrated one year, the feast of the birth and coming of Christ at Trev or Metz, and most carefully and cleverly grasped and understood the style of the singing, and then the next year passed the same solemn season at Paris or Tour, but found that the singing was wholly different from what he had heard in the preceding year, as moreover he found that those whom he had sent into different places were also at variance with one another, he reported the whole matter to Pope Leo of holy memory who had succeeded Stephen. The Pope summoned the clerks back to Rome and condemned them to exile or perpetual imprisonment, and then said to Charles, If I send you others, they will be blinded with the same malice as their predecessors and will not fail to cheat you. But I think I can satisfy your wishes in this way. Send me two of the cleverest clerks that you have by you in such a way that those who are with me may not know that they belong to you, and with God's help they shall attain to as perfect a knowledge of those things as you desire. So said, so done. Soon the Pope sent them back excellently trained to Charles. One of them he kept at his own court. The other, upon the petition of his son Drogo, Bishop of Metz, he sent to that cathedral. And not only did his energy show itself powerful in that city, but it soon spread so widely throughout all Franklin that now all in these regions who use Latin tongue call the ecclesiastical chant Metension, or if they use the Teutonic or Teutthiscan tongue they call it Mette, or if the Greek form is used it is called Metisk. The most pious emperor also ordered Peter, the singer who had come to reside with him, to reside for a while in the monastery of St. Gaul. There too Charles established the chanting as it is today with an authentic songbook, and gave most careful instructions, being always a warm champion of St. Gaul, that the Roman method of singing should be both taught and learnt. He gave to the monastery also much money and many lands. He gave two relics contained in a reliquary made of solid gold and gems, which is called the Shrine of Charles. It was the habit of the most religious and temperate Charles to take food during Lent at the seventh hour of the day, after having been present at the celebration of mass and evening lords, and in so doing he was not violating the fast, for he was following the Lord's command in taking food at an earlier hour than usual. Now a certain bishop who offended against the precept of Solomon in being just but foolish, took him unwisely to task for this, whereupon the most wise Charles concealed his wrath and received the bishop's admonition in all humility, saying, Good Sir Bishop, your admonition is good, and now my advice to you is that you should take no food until the very humblest of my servants who stand in my court have been fed. Now, while Charles was eating, he was weighted upon by dukes and rulers and kings of various peoples, and when his banquet was ended, then those who served him fed, and they were served by counts and prefects and nobles of different ranks. And when these last had made an end of eating, then came the military officers and the scholars of the palace, then the chiefs of the various departments of the palace, then their subordinates, then the servants of those servants, so that the last comers did not get a mouthful of food before the middle of the night. When, therefore, Lent was nearly ended and the bishop in question had endured this punishment all the time. The most merciful Charles said to him, Now, Sir Bishop, I think you have found out that it is not lack of self-restraint, but care for others which makes me dine in Lent before the hour of evening. Once he asked a bishop for his blessing, and he thereupon, after blessing the bread, partook of it first himself, and then wanted to give it to the most honorable Charles, who, however, said to him, You may keep all the bread for yourself, and much to the bishop's confusion he refused to receive his blessing. The most careful Charles would never give more than one county to any of his counts, unless they happened to live on the borders or marches of the barbarians, nor would he ever give a bishop any abyssey or church that was in the royal gift unless there were very special reasons for doing it. When his counsellors or friends asked him the reason for this he would answer, With that revenue or that estate, with that little abbey or that church, I can secure the fidelity of some vassal, as good a man as any bishop or count, and perhaps better. But when there were special reasons he would give several benefices to one man, as he did, for instance, to Udallric, brother of the great Hildegard, the mother of kings and emperors. Now, Udallric, after Hildegard's death, was deprived of his honors for a certain offence, and a buffoon thereupon said in the hearing of the most merciful Charles, Now has Udallric by the death of his sister lost all his honors both in East and West. Charles was touched by these words and restored to him at once all his former honors. He opened his hands most widely and liberally when justice bade him to certain holy places as will appear in the equal. There was a certain bishopric which lay full in Charles's path when he journeyed, and which indeed he could hardly avoid, and the bishop of this place, always anxious to give satisfaction, put everything that he had at Charles's disposal. But once the emperor came quite unexpectedly, and the bishop in great anxiety had to fly hither and thither like a swallow, and had not only the palaces and houses, but also the courts and squares swept and cleaned. And then tired and irritated came to meet him. The most pious Charles noticed this, and after examining all the various details he said to the bishop, My kind host, you always have everything splendidly clean for my arrival. Then the bishop, as if divinely inspired, bowed his head and grasped the king's never-conquered right hand, and, hiding his irritation, kissed it and said, It is but right, my lord, that wherever you come all things should be thoroughly cleansed. Then Charles, of all kings the wisest, understanding the state of affairs, said to him, If I empty I can also fill. And he added, You may have that estate which lies close to your bishopric, and all your successors may have it until the end of time. In the same journey to he came to a bishop who lived in a place through which he must need's pass. Now on that day, being the sixth day of the week, he was not willing to eat the flesh of beast or bird, and the bishop, being by reason of the nature of the place unable to procure a fish upon the sudden, ordered some excellent cheese, rich and creamy, to be placed before him. And the most self-restrained Charles, with the readiness which he showed everywhere and on all occasions, spared the blushes of the bishop, and required no better fare, but taking up his knife cut off the skin, which he thought unsavory, and fell too on the white of the cheese. Thereupon the bishop, who was standing near like a servant, drew closer and said, Why do you do that, Lord Emperor, you are throwing away the very best part. Then Charles, who deceived no one, and did not believe that anyone would deceive him, on the persuasion of the bishop put a piece of the skin in his mouth, and slowly ate it, and swallowed it like butter. Then, approving of the advice of the bishop, he said, Very true, my good host, and he added, Be sure to send me every year to X two cartloads of just such cheeses. The bishop was alarmed at the impossibility of the task, and, fearful of losing both his rank in his office, he rejoined, My Lord, I can procure the cheeses, but I cannot tell which are of this quality and which of another, much I fear lest I fall under your censure. Then Charles, from whose penetration and skill nothing could escape, however new or strange it might be, spoke thus to the bishop, who from childhood had known such cheeses, and yet could not test them. Cut them in two, he said, then fastened together with a skewer those that you find to be of the right quality, and keep them in your cellar for a time, and then send them to me. The rest you may keep for yourself, and your clergy and your family. This was done for two years, and the king ordered the present of cheeses to be taken in without remark. Then in the third year, the bishop bought in person his laboriously collected cheeses, but the most just Charles pitied his labor and anxiety, and added to the bishopric an excellent estate whence he and his successors might provide themselves with corn and wine. As we have shown how the most wise Charles exalted the humble, let us now show how he brought lo the proud. There was a bishop who sought above measure, vanities, and the fame of men. The most cunning Charles heard of this, and told a certain Jewish merchant whose custom it was to go to the land of promise and bring from thence rare and wonderful things to the countries beyond the sea, to deceive or cheat this bishop in whatever way he could. So the Jew caught an ordinary household mouse and stuffed it with various spices, and then offered it for sale to the bishop, saying that he had brought this most precious, never-before-seen animal from Judea. The bishop was delighted with what he thought a stroke of luck, and offered the Jew three pounds of silver for the precious ware. Then said the Jew, a fine price indeed for so precious an article, I had rather throw it into the sea than let any man have it at so cheap and shameful a price. So the bishop, who had much wealth and never gave anything to the poor, offered him ten pounds of silver for the incomparable treasure. But the cunning rascal with pretended indignation replied, The God of Abraham forbid that I should thus lose the fruit of my labor and journeyings. Then our avaricious bishop, all eager for the prize, offered twenty pounds. But the Jew in high dudgeon wrapped up the mouse in the most costly silk and made as if he would depart. Then the bishop, as thoroughly taken in as he deserved to be, offered a full measure of silver for the priceless object. And so at last our trader yielded to his entreaties with much show of reluctance, and, taking the money, went to the emperor and told him everything. A few days later the king called together all the bishops and chief men of the province to hold discourse with him. And, after many other matters had been considered, he ordered all that measure of silver to be brought and placed in the middle of the palace. Then, thus he spoke, and said, Fathers and guardians, bishops of our church, you ought to minister to the poor, or rather to Christ in them, and not to seek after vanities. But now you act quite contrary to this, and are vain glorious and avaricious beyond all other men. Then he added, One of you has given a Jew all this silver for a painted mouse. Then the bishop, who had been so wickedly deceived, threw himself at Charles' feet and begged pardon for his sin. Charles abraded him in suitable words, and then allowed him to depart in confusion. This same bishop was left to take care of Hildegard when the most warlike Charles was engaged in campaigns against the Huns. He was so puffed up by his intimacy with her that he had the audacity to ask her to allow him to use the golden scepter of the incomparable Charles on festal days, instead of his episcopal staff. She deceived him cleverly, and said that she'd dare not give it to anyone, but that she would carry his request faithfully to the king. So when Charles came back, she gestingly told him of the mad request of the bishop. He kindly promised to do what she wished, and even more. So when all Europe, so to speak, had come together to greet Charles after his victory over some mighty people, he pronounced these words in the hearing of small and great. Bishops should despise this world, and inspire others by their example to seek after heavenly things. But now they are misled by ambition beyond all the rest of mankind. And one of them, not content with holding the first episcopal sea in Germany, has dared, without my approval, to claim my golden scepter, which I carry to signify my royal will, in order that he might use it as his pastoral staff. The guilty man acknowledged his sin, received pardon, and retired. Now, my Lord Emperor Charles, I much fear that through my desire to obey your orders, I may incur the enmity of all who have taken vows, and especially of the highest clergy of all. But for all this I do not greatly care, if only I be not deprived of your protection. Once that most religious Emperor Charles gave orders that all bishops throughout his wide domains should preach in the name of their cathedral before a certain day, which he appointed under penalty of being deprived of the episcopal dignity, if they failed to comply with the order. But why do I say dignity when the apostle protests, he that desires a bishopric desires a good work? But in truth most serene of kings, I must confess to you that there is great dignity in the office, but not the slightest good work is required. Well, the aforementioned bishop was at first alarmed at this command, because gluttony and pride were all his learning, and he feared that if he lost his bishopric he would lose at the same time his soft living. So he invited two of the chiefs of the palace on the festal day, and after the reading of the lesson mounted the pulpit as though he were going to address the people. All the people ran together in wonder at so unexpected an occurrence, except one poor red-headed fellow who had his head covered with clouds because he had no hat, and was foolishly ashamed of his red hair. Then the bishop, bishop in name but not indeed, called to his doorkeeper, or rather his scario, whose dignity and duties went by the name of the ideal ship among the ancient Romans, and said, Bring me that man in the hat who is standing there near the door of the church. The doorkeeper made haste to obey, seized the poor man, and began to drag him towards the bishop. But he feared some heavy penalty for daring to stand in the house of God with covered head, and struggled with all his might to avoid being brought before the tribunal of the terrible judge. But the bishop, looking from his perch, now addressing his vassals and now chiding the poor nave, bawled out and preached as follows. Here with him, don't let him slip, willy-nilly, you've got to come. When at last force or fear brought him near, the bishop cried, Come forward! Nay, you must come quite close! Then he snatched the head covering from his captive, and cried to the people, Lo and behold, all ye people, the boar is red-headed! Then he returned to the altar and performed the ceremony, or pretended to perform it. When the mass was thus scrambled through, his guests passed into his hall, which was decorated with many colored carpets and cloths of all kinds, and there a magnificent banquet served in gold and silver and jeweled cups was provided, calculated to tickle the appetite of the fastidious, or the well-fed. The bishop himself sat on the softest of cushions, clad in precious silks and wearing the imperial purple, so that he seemed a king, except for the scepter in the title. He was surrounded by troops of rich knights, in comparison with whom the officers of the palace, nobles though they were of the unconquered charles, seemed to themselves most mean. When they asked leave to depart after this wonderful and more-than-royal banquet, he, desiring to show still more plainly his magnificence and his glory, ordered skilled musicians to come forward, the sound of whose voices could soften the hardest hearts or turn to ice the swiftly flowing waters of the Rhine. And at the same time every kind of choice drink subtly and variously compounded was offered them, in bowls of gold and gems, whose sheen was mixed with that of the flowers and leaves with which they were crowned. But their stomachs could contain no more, so that the glasses lay idle in their hands. Meanwhile pastry cooks and sausage-makers, servers and dressers offered preparations of exquisite art to stimulate their appetite, though their stomachs could contain no more. It was a banquet such as was never offered even to the great Charles himself. When morning came, and the bishop returned some way toward soberness, he thought with fear of the luxury that he had paraded before the servants of the emperor. So he called them into his presence, loaded them with presence worthy of a king, and implored them to speak to the terrible Charles of the goodness and simplicity of his life, and above all to tell him how he had preached publicly before them in his cathedral. Upon their return Charles asked them why the bishop had invited them. Thereupon they fell at his feet and said, Master, it was that he might honor us as your representatives, far beyond our humble desserts. He is, they went on, in every way the best and most faithful of bishops, and most worthy of the highest rank in the church. For if you will trust our poor judgment, we profess to your sublime majesty that we heard him preach in his church in the most stirring fashion. Then the emperor, who knew the bishop's lack of skill, pressed them further as to the manner of his preaching. And they, perforce, revealed all. Then the emperor saw that he had made an effort to say something rather than disobey the imperial order, and he allowed him in spite of his unworthiness to retain the bishopric. Shortly after, a young man, a relation of the emperors, sang on the occasion of some festival the Alleluia admirably. And the emperor turned to the same bishop and said, My clerk is singing very well. But the stupid man thought that he was jesting and did not know that the clerk was the emperor's relation, and so he answered. Any clown in our countryside roans as well as that to his oxen at their plowing. At this vulgar answer the emperor turned on him the lightning of his flashing eyes and dashed him terror-stricken to the very ground. But though the rest of mankind may be deceived by the wiles of the devil and his angels, it is pleasant to consider the word of our Lord, who in recognition of the bold confession of Saint Peter said, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Wherefore, even in these times of great peril and wickedness, he has allowed the church to remain unshaken and unmoved. Now, since envy always rages among the envious, so it is customary and regular with the Romans to oppose, or rather to fight against all strong popes who are from time to time raised to the apostolic sea. Whence it came to pass that certain of the Romans, themselves blinded with envy, charged the above-mentioned Pope Leo of holy memory with a deadly crime and tried to blind him? But they were frightened and held back by some divine impulse, and after trying in vain to gouge out his eyes, they slashed them across the middle with knives. The Pope had news of this carried secretly by his servants to Michael, Emperor of Constantinople. But he refused all assistance, saying, The Pope has an independent kingdom and one higher than mine, so he must act his own revenge upon his enemies. Thereupon the holy Leo invited the unconquered Charles to come to Rome. Following in this the ordinance of God, that, as Charles was already in very deed ruler and emperor over many nations, so also by the authority of the apostolic sea, he might have now the name of Emperor Caesar and Augustus. Now Charles, being always ready to march and in warlike array, though he knew nothing at all of the cause of the summons, came at once with his attendants and his vassals. Himself, the head of the world, he came to the city that had once been the head of the world. And when the abandoned people heard of his sudden coming at once as sparrows hide themselves when they hear the voice of their master, so they fled and hid in various hiding places, cellars and dens. Nowhere, however, under heaven, could they escape from his energy and penetration, and soon they were captured and brought in chains to the Cathedral of St. Peter. Then the undaunted father Leo took the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and held it over his head, and then in the presence of Charles and his knights, in the presence also of his persecutors, he swore in the following words, So on the day of the great judgment may I partake in the promises, as I am innocent of the charge that is falsely laid against me. Then many of the prisoners asked to be allowed to swear upon the tomb of St. Peter that they also were innocent of the charge laid against them. But the Pope knew their falseness and said to Charles, Do not, I pray you, unconquered servant of God, give assent to their cunning, for well they know that St. Peter is always ready to forgive. But seek among the tombs of the martyrs the stone upon which is written the name of St. Pancras, that boy of thirteen years, and if they will swear to you in his name, you may know that you have them fast. It was done as the Pope ordered, and when many people drew near to take the oath upon this tomb, straightway some fell back dead, and some were seized by the devil and went mad. Then the terrible Charles said to his servants, Take care that none of them escapes. Then he condemned all who had been taken prisoner, either to some kind of death or to perpetual imprisonment. Book 1 Part 4 As Charles stayed in Rome for a few days, the bishop of the Apostolic Sea called together all who would come from the neighboring districts, and then, in their presence and in the presence of all the knights of the unconquered Charles, he declared him to be emperor and defender of the Roman church. Now Charles had no guess of what was coming, and though he could not refuse what seemed to have been divinely preordained for him, nevertheless he received his new title with no show of thankfulness. For first he thought that the Greeks would be fired by greater envy than ever, and would plan some harm against the kingdom of the Franks, or at least would take greater precautions against a possible sudden attack of Charles to subdue their kingdom and add it to his own empire. And further, the magnanimous Charles recalled how ambassadors from the king of Constantinople had come to him and had told him that their master wished to be his loyal friend, and that if they became nearer neighbors, he had determined to treat him as his son and relieve the poverty of Charles from his resources. And how, upon hearing this, Charles was unable to contain any longer the fiery ardor of his heart, and had exclaimed, Oh, would that pool were not between us, for then we would either divide between us the wealth of the East, or we would hold it in common. But the Lord, who is both the giver and the restorer of health, so showed his favor to the innocency of the Blessed Leo that he restored his eyes to be brighter than they were before that wicked and cruel cutting. Except only that, in token of his virtue, a bright scar, like a very fine thread, marked his eyelids. The foolish may accuse me of folly, because just now I made Charles say that the sea, which that mighty emperor called playfully a little pool, lay between us and the Greeks. But I must tell my critics that at that date the Bulgarians and the Huns, and many other powerful races, barred the way to Greece with forces yet unattacked and unbroken. Soon afterwards it is true the most warlike Charles either hurled them to the ground, as he did the Slavs and the Bulgers, or else utterly destroyed them, as was the case with the Huns, that race of iron and adamant. And I will go on to speak of these exploits as soon as I have given a very slight account of the wonderful buildings which Charles, Emperor Augustus and Caesar, following the example of the all-wise Solomon built at X, either for God or for himself or for the bishops, abbots, counts, and all guests that came to him from all quarters of the world. When the most energetic emperor Charles could rest a while, he sought not sluggish ease, but labored in the service of God. He desired therefore to build upon his native soil a cathedral finer even than the works of the Romans, and soon his purpose was realized. For the building thereof he summoned architects and skilled workmen from all lands beyond the seas, and above all he placed a certain navish abbot whose competence for the execution of such tasks he knew, though he knew not his character. When the August Emperor had gone on a certain journey, this abbot allowed anyone to depart home who would pay sufficient money, and those who could not purchase their discharge or were not allowed to return by their masters, he burdened with unending labors, as the Egyptians once afflicted the people of God. By such navish tricks he gathered together a great mass of gold and silver and silken robes, and exhibiting in his chamber only the least precious articles, he concealed in boxes and chests all the richest treasures. Well, one day there was brought to him on a sudden the news that his house was on fire. He ran in great excitement and pushed his way through the bursting flames into the strong room where his boxes stuffed with gold were kept. He was not satisfied to take one away, but would only leave after he had loaded his servants with a box of peace. And as he was going out, a huge beam dislodged by the fire fell on the top of him, and then his body was burnt by temporal and his soul by eternal flames. Thus did the judgment of God keep watch for the most religious Emperor Charles when his attention was withdrawn by the business of his kingdom. There was another workman, the most skilled of all in the working of brass and glass. Now this man, his name was Tancho, and he was at one time a monk of St. Gall, made a fine bell, and the Emperor was delighted with its tone. Then said that most distinguished but most unfortunate worker in brass, Lord Emperor, give orders that a great weight of copper be brought to me that I may refine it, and instead of tin give me as much silver as I shall need, a hundred pounds at least, and I will cast such a bell for you that this will seem dumb in comparison to it. Then Charles, the most liberal of monarchs, who, if riches abounded, set not his heart upon them, readily gave the necessary orders to the great delight of the navish monk. He smelted and refined the brass, but he used not silver, but the purest sort of tin, and soon he made a bell, much better than the one that the Emperor had formerly admired, and, when he attested it, he took it to the Emperor, who admired its exquisite shape, and ordered the clapper to be inserted, and the bell to be hung in the bell-tower. That was soon done. And then the warden of the church, the attendants, and even the boys of the place, tried, one after the other, to make the bell sound. But all was in vain. And so at last the navish maker of the bell came up, seized the rope, and pulled at the bell. When, low and behold, down from on high came the brazen mass, fell on the very head of the cheating brass founder, killed him on the spot, and passed straight through his carcass and crashed to the ground, carrying his bowels with it. When the aforementioned weight of silver was found, the most righteous Charles ordered it to be distributed among the poorest servants of the palace. Now it was a rule at that time that if the Imperial mandate had gone out, that any task was to be accomplished, whether it was the making of bridges, or ships, or causeways, or the cleansing or paving or filling up of muddy roads, the counts might execute the less important work by the agency of their deputies or servants. But for the greater enterprises, and especially such as were of an original kind, no duke or count, no bishop or abbot could possibly get himself excused. The arches of the great bridge and mine bear witness to this, for all Europe, so to speak, laboured at this work in orderly cooperation. And then the navery of a few rascals who wanted to steal merchandise from the ships that passed underneath destroyed it. If any churches within the royal domain wanted decorating with carved ceilings or wall paintings, the neighboring bishops and abbots had to take charge of the task. But if new churches had to be built, then all bishops, dukes, and counts, all abbots and heads of royal churches, and all who were in occupation of any public office, had to work at it with never ceasing labour, from its foundations to its roof. You may see the proof of the emperor's skill in the cathedral at X, which seems a work half human and half divine. You may see it in the mansions of the various dignitaries, which, by Charles's device, were built round his own palace in such a way that from the windows of his chamber he could see all who went out or came in, and what they were doing, while they believed themselves free from observation. You may see it in all the houses of his nobles, which were lifted on high from the ground in such a fashion that beneath them the retainers of his nobles and the servants of those retainers and every class of man could be protected from rain or snow, from cold or heat, while at the same time they were not concealed from the eyes of the most vigilant Charles. But I am a prisoner within my monastery walls, and your ministers are free, and I will therefore leave to them the task of describing the cathedral, while I return to speak of how the judgment of God was made manifest in the building of it. The most careful Charles ordered certain nobles of the neighborhood to support with all their power the workmen whom he had set to their task, and to supply everything that they required for it. Those workmen who came from a distance he gave in charge to a certain Lutfried, the steward of his palace, telling him to feed and clothe them, and also most carefully to provide anything that was wanting for the building. The steward obeyed these commands for the short time that Charles remained in that place, but after his departure neglected them all together, and by cruel tortures collected such a mass of money from the poor workmen that dis and Pluto would require a camel to carry his ill-gotten gains to hell. Now this was found out in the following way. The most glorious Charles used to go to lords at night in a long and flowing cloak, which is now neither used nor known. Then when the morning chant was over he would go back to his chamber and dress himself in his imperial robes. All the clerks used to come ready dressed to the nightly office, and then they would wait for the emperor's arrival and for the celebration of mass, either in the church or in the porch, which then was called the Outer Court. Sometimes they would remain awake, or if anyone had need of sleep he would lean his head on his companion's breast. Now one poor clerk, who used often to go to Lutfried's house to get his clothes, rags I ought to call them, washed and mended, was sleeping with his head on a friend's knees when he saw in a vision a giant taller than the adversary of St. Anthony come from the king's court and hurry over the bridge that spanned a little stream to the house of the steward, and he led with him an enormous camel, burdened with baggage of inestimable value. He was in his dream, struck with amazement, and asked the giant who he was, and whither he wished to go, and the giant made answer, I come from the house of the king, and I go to the house of Lutfried, and I shall place Lutfried on these packages, and I shall take him and them down with me to hell. The clerk woke up in a fright, lest Charles should find him sleeping. He lifted up his head, and urged the others to wakefulness, and cried, Here I pray you my dream! I seem to see another polyphemus who walked on the earth and yet touched the stars, and passed through the Ionian sea without wetting his sides. I saw him hasten from the royal court to the house of Lutfried with a laden camel, and when I asked the cause of his journey he said, I am going to put Lutfried on top of the load, and then take him to hell. The story was hardly finished when there came from that house, which they all knew so well, a girl who fell at their feet, and asked them to remember her friend Lutfried in their prayers. And when they asked the reason for her words, she said, My Lord, he went out but now in good health, and as he stayed a long time we went in search of him, and found him dead. When the emperor heard of his sudden death, and was informed by the workmen and his servants of his grasping avarice, he ordered his treasures to be examined. They were found to be of priceless worth, and when the emperor, after God the greatest of judges, found by what wickedness they had been collected, he gave this public judgment. Nothing of that which was gained by fraud must go to the liberation of his souls from purgatory. Let his wealth be divided among the workmen of this our building, and the poorer servants of our palace. Now I must speak of two things which happened in that same place. There was a deacon who followed the Italian custom, and resisted the course of nature. For he went to the baths, and had himself closely shaved, polished his skin, cleaned his nails, and had his hair cut as short as if it had been done by a lathe. Then he put on linen and a white robe, and then, because he must not miss his turn, or rather desiring to make a fine show, he proceeded to read the gospel before God and his holy angels, and in presence of the most watchful king. His heart in the meantime being unclean as events were to show. For while he was reading, a spider came down from the ceiling by a thread, hooked itself onto the deacon's head, and then ran up again. The most observant Charles saw this happen a second and a third time, but pretended not to notice it, and the clerk, because of the emperor's presence, dared not keep off the spider with his head, and moreover, did not know that it was a spider attacking him, but thought that it was merely the tickling of a fly. So he finished the reading of the gospel, and also went through the rest of the office. But when he left the cathedral, he soon began to swell up, and died within an hour. But the most strupulous Charles, in as much as he had seen his danger and had not prevented it, thought himself guilty of manslaughter, and did public penance. Now the most glorious Charles had in his suite a certain clerk who was unsurpassed in every respect, and of him that was said which was never said of any other mortal man, for it was said that he excelled all mankind in knowledge of both sacred and profane literature, in song, whether ecclesiastical or festive, in the composition and rendering of poems, and in the sweet fullness of his voice and in the incredible pleasure which he gave. Other men have had drawbacks to compensate for their excellences. For Moses the law-giver filled with wisdom by the teaching of God complains nevertheless that he is not eloquent but slow of speech and of a slow tongue, and sent, therefore, Joshua to take counsel with Eleazar, the high priest, who by the authority of God who dwelt within him commanded even the heavenly bodies. And our Master Christ did not allow John the Baptist to work any miracle while in the body, though he bear witness that, among them that are born of women, their hath not arisen a greater than he. And he bad Peter revere the wisdom of Paul, though Peter, by the revelation of the Father, recognized him and received from him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And he allowed John, his best loved disciple, to fall into so great a terror that he did not dare to come to the place of his sepulchre, though weak women paid many visits to it. But as the scriptures say, to him that hath shall be given, and those who know from whom they have the little which they possess succeed, while he who knows not the giver of his possessions, or if he knows it gives not due thanks to the giver, loses all. For while this wonderful clerk was standing in friendly fashion near the most glorious emperor, suddenly he disappeared. The unconquered emperor Charles was dumbfounded at so unheard of and incredible in occurrence, but after he had made the sign of the cross he found in the place where the clerk had stood something that seemed to be a foul-smelling coal which had just ceased to burn. The mention of the trailing garment that the emperor wore at night has diverted us from his military array. Now, the dress and equipment of the old Franks was as follows. Their boots were gilt on the outside and decorated with laces three cubits long. The thongs round the legs were red, and under them they wore upon their legs and thighs linen of the same color, artistically embroidered. The laces stretched above these linen garments and above the crossed thongs, sometimes under them and sometimes over them, now in front of the leg and now behind. Then came a rich linen shirt, and then a buckled sword-belt. The great sword was surrounded first with a sheath, then with a covering of leather, and lastly with a linen wrap hardened with shining wax. The last part of their dress was a white or blue cloak in the shape of a double square, so that when it was placed upon the shoulders it touched the feet in front and behind, but at the side hardly came down to the knees. In the right hand was carried a stick of apple wood with regular knots strong and terrible. A handle of gold or silver decorated with figures was fastened to it. I myself am lazy and slower than a tortoise and so never got into Frankland, but I saw the king of the Franks in the monastery of St. Gaul, littering in the dress that I have described. But the habits of man change, and when the Franks in their wars with the Gauls saw the latter proudly wearing little striped cloaks, they dropped their national customs and began to imitate the Gauls. At first the strictest of emperors did not forbid the new habit, because it seemed more suitable for war, but when he found that the Frisians were abusing his permission and were selling these little cloaks at the same price as the old large ones, he gave orders that no one should buy from them at the usual price anything but the old cloaks, broad, wide, and long. And he added, What is the good of those little napkins? I cannot cover myself with them in bed, and when I am on horse back I cannot shield myself with them against wind and rain. In the preface to this little work I said I would follow three authorities only, but as the chief of these, Werenburt, died seven days ago, and today, the 13th of May, we, his bereaved sons and disciples, are going to pay solemn honor to his memory, here I will bring this book to an end, concerning the piety of Lord Charles and his care of the church, which has been taken from the lips of this same clerk, Werenburt. The next book which deals with the wars of the most fierce Charles is founded on the narrative of Werenburt's father, Adelbert. He followed his master, Caroll, in the Hunnish, Saxon, and Slavic wars, and when I was quite a child, and he a very old man, I lived in his house, and he used often to tell me the story of these events. I was most unwilling to listen and would often run away, but in the end, by sheer force, he made me here. The Life of Charlemagne by Nottger the Stammerer, translated by Arthur James Grant, Section 5, Book 2, Part 1 As I am going to found this narrative on the story told by a man of the world who had little skill in letters, I think it will be well that I should first recount something of earlier history on the credit of written books. When Julian, whom God hated, was slain in the Persian war by a blow from heaven, not only did the Transmarine provinces fall away from the Roman Empire, but also the neighboring provinces of Pannonia, Noricum, Retia, or, in other words, the Germans, and the Franks or Gauls. Then, too, the kings of the Franks or Gauls began to decay in power because they had slain St. Didier, Bishop of Vienna, and had expelled those most holy visitors, Columbon and Gaul, whereupon the race of the Huns, who had already often ravaged Francia and Aquitania, that is to say the Gauls and the Spains, now poured out with all their forces, devastated the whole land like a wide sweeping conflagration, and then carried off all their spoils to a very safe hiding-place. Now, Adalbert, whom I have already mentioned, used to explain the nature of this hiding-place as follows. The land of the Huns, he would say, was surrounded by nine rings. I could not think of any rings except our ordinary wicker rings for sheepfolds, and so I asked, what in the name of wonder do you mean, sir? Well, he said, it was fortified by nine hedges. I could not think of any hedges except those that protect our cornfields. So again I asked, and he answered, one ring was as wide that is, it contained as much within it as all the country between tour and constants. It was fashioned with logs of oak and ash and yew, and was 20 feet wide and the same in height. All the space within was filled with hard stones and binding clay, and the surface of these great ramparts was covered with sods and grass. Within the limits of the ring shrubs were planted of such a kind that, when lopped and bent down, they still threw out twigs and leaves. Then between these ramparts, hamlets and houses were so arranged that a man's voice could be made to reach from one to the other. And opposite to the houses had intervals in those unconquerable walls were constructed doors of no great size, and through these doors the inhabitants from far and near would pour out on marauding expeditions. The second ring was like the first and was distant 20 teutonic miles, or 40 Italian, from the third ring and so on to the ninth, though of course the successive rings were each much narrower than the preceding one. But in all the circles the estates and houses were everywhere so arranged that the peel of the trumpet would carry the news of any event from one to the other. For two hundred years and more the Huns had swept the wealth of the western states within these fortifications, and as the Goths and Vandals were disturbing the repose of the world at the same time the western world was almost turned into a desert. But the most unconquerable Charles so subdued them in eight years that he allowed scarcely any traces of them to remain. He withdrew his hand from the Bulgarians because after the destruction of the Huns they did not seem likely to do any harm to the kingdom of the Franks. All the booty of the Huns which he found in Pannonia he divided most liberally among the bishoprics and monasteries. In the Saxon War in which he was engaged in person for some considerable time, two private men, whose names I know but modesty forbids me to give them, organized a storming party and destroyed with great courage the walls of a very strong city in fortification. When the most just Charles saw this he made one of them with the consent of his master, Carole, commander of the country between the Rhine and the Italian Alps, and the other he enriched with gifts of land. At the same time there were the sons of two nobles whose duty it was to watch at the door of the king's tent. But one night they lay as dead, soaked in liquor, while Charles, wakeful as usual, went the round of the camp and came back to his tent without anyone having noticed him. When morning came he called to him the chiefs of his kingdom and asked them what punishment seemed due to those who betrayed the king of the Franks into the hands of the enemy. Then these nobles, quite ignorant of what had occurred, declared that such a man was worthy of death. But Charles merely uprated them bitterly and let them go unharmed. There were also with him two bastards, the children of a concubine. As they had fought in battle most bravely the emperor asked them who among whose children they were and where they were born. When he was informed of the facts he called them to his tent at midday and said, My good fellows, I want you to serve me and me only. They exclaimed that they were there for no other purpose than to take even the lowest place in his service. Well, then said Charles, you must serve in my chamber. They concealed their indignation and said they would be glad to do so, but soon they seized the moment when the emperor had begun to sleep soundly, and then rushed out to the camp of the enemy and in the fray that followed wiped out the taint of servitude in their own blood and that of the enemy. But occupations such as these did not prevent the high-sold emperor from sending frequent messengers carrying letters and presents to the kings of the most distant regions. They sent him, in turn, whatever honors their lands could bestow. From the theater of the Saxon War he sent messengers to the king of Constantinople who asked them whether the kingdom of his son Charles was at peace or was being invaded by the neighboring peoples. Then the leader of the embassy made answer that peace reigned everywhere, except only that a certain race called the Saxons were disturbing the territories of the Franks by frequent raids. Whereupon the sluggish and unwarlike Greek king answered, Poo! Why should my son take so much trouble about a petty enemy that possesses neither fame nor valor? I will give you the Saxon race and all that belong to it. When the envoy on his return gave this message to the most warlike Charles, he smiled and said, The king would have shown greater kindness to you if he had given you a leg-wrap for your long journey. I must not conceal the wise answer which the same envoy gave during his embassy to Greece. He came with his companions to one of the royal towns in the autumn. The party was divided for entertainment, and the envoy of whom I speak was courted on a certain bishop. This bishop was given up to fasting and prayer, and left the envoy to perish of almost continuous hunger. But with the first smile of spring, he presented the envoy to the king. The king asked him his opinion of the bishop. Then the envoy sighed from the very bottom of his heart and said, That bishop of yours reaches the highest point of holiness that can be attained to without God. The king was amazed and said, What, can a man be holy without God? Then said the envoy, It is written, God is love, and in that grace he is entirely lacking. Thereupon the king of Constantinople invited him to his banquet and placed him among his nobles. Now these had a law that no guest at the king's table, whether a native or a foreigner, should turn over any animal or part of an animal. He must eat only the upper part of whatever was placed before him. Now a river fish covered with spice was brought and placed on the dish before him. He knew nothing of the custom, and turned the fish over, where upon all the nobles rose up and cried, Master, you are dishonored, as no king ever was before you. Then the king groaned and said to our envoy, I cannot resist them. You must be put to death at once, but ask me any other favor you like, and I will grant it. He thought a while, and then in the hearing of all pronounced these words, I pray you, Lord Emperor, that in accordance with your promise you will grant me one small petition. And the king said, Ask what you will, and you shall have it, except only that I may not give you your life, for that is against the law of the Greeks. Then said the envoy, With my dying breath I ask one favor, let everyone who saw me turn that fish over be deprived of his eyes. The king was amazed at the stipulation and swore by Christ that he had seen nothing but had only trusted the word of others. Then the queen began to excuse herself, by the beneficent mother of God the holy Mary I notice nothing. Then the other nobles, in their desire to escape from the danger, swore one by the keeper of the keys of heaven and another by the apostle of the Gentiles, and all the rest by the virtue of the angels and the companies of the saints that they were beyond the reach of the stipulation. And so the clever Frank beat the empty-headed Greeks in their own land, and came home safe and sound. A few years later the unwirried Charles sent to Greece a certain bishop remarkable both for his physical and mental gifts, and with him the most noble Duke Hugo. After a long delay they were at last brought into the presence of the king, and then sent about to all manner of places, but at last they got their dismissal and returned after paying heavily for their journey by sea and land. Soon afterwards the Greek king sent his envoy to the most glorious Charles. It so happened that the bishop and the Duke whom I have mentioned were just then with the emperor. When it was announced that the envoys were coming, they advised the most wise Charles to have them led round through mountains and deserts so that they should only come into the emperor's presence when their clothes had been worn and wasted and their money was entirely spent. This was done, and when at last they arrived the bishop and his comrade, bad count of the stables, take his seat on a high throne in the midst of his underlings, so that it was impossible to believe him any one lower than the emperor. When the envoys saw him they fell upon the ground and wanted to worship him, but they were prevented by the ministers and forced to go farther. Then they saw the count of the palace presiding over a gathering of the nobles, and again they thought it was the emperor and flung themselves to earth. But those who were present drove them forward with blows, and said, That is not the emperor. Next they saw the master of the royal table surrounded by his noble band of servants, and again they fell to the ground thinking that it was the emperor. Driven thence they found the chamberlands of the emperor and their chief in council together, and then they did not doubt but that they were in the presence of the first of living men. But this man too denied that he was what they took him for, and yet he promised that he would use his influence with the nobles of the palace so that if possible the envoys might come into the presence of the most august emperor. Then there came servants from the imperial presence to introduce them with full honors. Now Charles, the most gracious of kings, was standing by an open window leaning upon Bishop Hytto, for that was the name of the bishop who had been sent to Constantinople. The emperor was clad in gems and gold, and glittered like the sun at its rising, and round about him stood as it were the chivalry of heaven, three young men, his sons, who have since been made partners in the kingdom, his daughters and their mother decorated with wisdom and beauty as well as with pearls. Leaders of the church, unsurpassed in dignity and virtue, abbots distinguished for their high birth and their sanctity, nobles like Joshua when he appeared in the camp of Gilgal, and an army like that which drove back the Syrians and Assyrians out of Samaria, so that if David had been there he might well have been young, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children, let them praise the name of the Lord. Then the envoys of the Greeks were astonished, their spirit left them and their courage failed, speechless and lifeless they fell upon the ground, but the most kindly emperor raised them and tried to cheer them with encouraging words. At last life returned to them, but when they saw Haito, whom they had once despised and rejected, now in so great honor, again they groveled on the ground in terror, until the king swore to them by the king of heaven that he would do them no harm. They took heart at this promise and began to act with a little more confidence, and so home they went and never came back again. CHAPTER II And here I must repeat that the most illustrious Charles had men of the greatest cleverness in all offices. When the morning lords had been celebrated before the emperor on the octave of the epiphany, the Greeks proceeded privately to sing to God in their own language psalms with the same melody and the same subject matter as weterem hominem and the following words in our missile. Thereupon the emperor ordered one of his chaplains who understood the Greek tongue to adopt that psalm in Latin to the same melody and to take special care that a separate syllable corresponded to every separate note, so that the Latin and Greek should resemble one another as far as the nature of the two languages allowed. Though it came to pass that all of them have been written in the same rhythm, and in one of them, conterreuit has been substituted for contrivet. These same Greek envoys brought with them every kind of organ, as well as other instruments of various kinds. All of these were covertly inspected by the workmen of the most wise Charles, and then exactly reproduced. The chief of these was that musician's organ wherein the great chests were made of brass, and bellows of oxhide blew through pipes of brass, and the bass was like the roaring of the thunder, and in sweetness it equaled the tinkling of lyre or cymbal. But I must not here and now speak of where it was set up and how long it lasted, and how it perished at the same time as other losses fell upon the state. Of the same time also, envoys of the Persians were sent to him. They knew not where Frank Land lay, but because of the fame of Rome over which they knew that Charles had rule, they thought it a great thing when they were able to reach the coast of Italy. They explained the reason of their journey to the bishops of Campania and Tuscany, of Emilia and Liguria, of Burgundy and Gaul, and to the abbots and counts of those regions, but by all they were either deceitfully handled or else actually driven off, so that a whole year had gone round before weary and foot sore with their long journey they reached X at last, and saw Charles, the most renowned of kings, by reason of his virtues. They arrived in the last week of Lent, and on their arrival being made known to the emperor, he postponed their presentation until Easter Eve. Then, when that incomparable monarch was dressed with incomparable magnificence for the chief of festivals, he ordered the introduction of the envoys of that race that had once held the whole world in awe. But they were so terrified at the sight of the most magnificent Charles that one might think they had never seen king or emperor before. He received them, however, most kindly, and granted them this privilege, that they might go wherever they had a mind to, even as one of his own children, and examine everything, and ask what questions and make what inquiries they chose. They jumped with joy at this favour, and valued the privilege of clinging close to Charles, of gazing upon him, of admiring him more than all the wealth of the east. They went up into the ambulatory that runs round the nave of the cathedral, and looked down upon the clergy and the nobles. Then they returned to the emperor, and, by reason of the greatness of their joy, they could not refrain from laughing aloud. And they clapped their hands, and said, We have seen only men of clay before. Here are men of gold. Then they went to the nobles, one by one, and gazed with wonder upon arms and clothes that were strange to them, and then came back to the emperor, whom they regarded with wonder still greater. They passed that night and the next Sunday continuously in church, and upon the most holy day itself they were invited by the most munificent Charles to a splendid banquet, along with the nobles of Frankland and Europe. There they were so struck with amazement at the strangeness of everything that they had hardly eaten anything at the end of the banquet. But when the mourn, leaving Tythonus' bed, illumined all the land with Phoebus' torch, then Charles, who would never endure idleness and sloth, went out to the woods to hunt the bison and the urochs, and made preparations to take the Persian envoys with him. But when they saw the immense animals they were stricken with a mighty fear, and turned and fled. But the undaunted hero, Charles, riding on a high-metal charger, drew near to one of these animals and, drawing his sword, tried to cut through its neck. But he missed his aim, and the monstrous beast ripped the boot and leg thongs of the emperor, and, slightly wounding his calf with the tip of its horn, made him limp slightly. After that, furious at the failure of its stroke, it fled to the shelter of a valley which was thickly covered with stones and trees. Nearly all the servants wanted to take off their own hose to give to Charles. But he forbade it, saying, I mean to go in this fashion to Hildegard. Then Isambard, the son of Warran, the same Warran that persecuted your patron saint Othmar, ran after the beast, and not daring to approach him more closely, through his lance, and pierced him to the heart between the shoulder and the windpipe, and brought the beast yet warm to the emperor. He seemed to pay no attention to the incident, but gave the carcass to his companions and went home. But then he called the queen and showed her how his leg coverings were torn, and said, What does the man deserve who freed me from the enemy that did this to me? She made answer, He deserves the highest boon. Then the emperor told the whole story, and produced the enormous horns of the beast in witness of his truth, so that the empress sighed and wept and beat her breast. But when she heard that it was Isambard who had saved him from this terrible enemy, Isambard, who was in ill favor with the emperor and who had been deprived of all his offices, she threw herself at his feet, and induced him to restore all that had been taken from him. And a largesse was given to him besides. These same Persian envoys brought the emperor an elephant, monkeys, balsam, nard, unguent of various kinds, spices, scents, and many kinds of drugs, in such profusion that it seemed as if the east had been left bare that the west might be filled. They came by and by to stand on very familiar terms with the emperor. And one day, when they were in especially merry mood and little heated with strong beer, they spoke in jest as follows, Sir Emperor, your power is indeed great, but much less than the report of it which has spread through all the kingdoms of the east. When he heard this he concealed his deepest pleasure and asked justingly of them, Why do you say that, my children? How did that idea get into your heads? Then they went back to the beginning and told him everything that had happened to them in the lands beyond the sea. And they said, We Persians and the Medes, Armenians, Indians, Parthians, Elamites, and all the inhabitants of the east fear you much more than our own ruler Haroun. And the Macedonians and all the Greeks, how shall we express it, they are beginning to fear your overwhelming greatness more than the waves of the Ionian Sea. And the inhabitants of all the islands through which we passed were as ready to obey you and as much devoted to your service as if they had been reared in your palace and loaded with your favors. But the nobles of your own kingdom, it seems to us, care very little about you except in your presence. For when we came as strangers to them and begged them to show us some kindness for the love of you to whom we desired to make our way, they gave no heed to us and sent us away empty-handed. Then the emperor deposed all counts and habits through whose territories those envoys had come from all the offices that they held, and fined the bishops in a huge sum of money. Then he ordered the envoys to be taken back to their own country with all care and honor. There came to him also envoys from the king of the Africans, bringing a Marmorian lion and a Numidian bear with Spanish iron and Tyrion purple and other noteworthy products of those regions. The most munificent Charles knew that the king and all the inhabitants of Africa were oppressed by constant poverty. And so, not only on this occasion but all through his life, he made them presence of the wealth of Europe, corn and wine and oil, and gave them liberal support, and thus he kept them constantly loyal and obedient to himself, and received from them a considerable tribute. Soon after the unwirried emperor sent to the emperor of the Persians horses and mules from Spain, Friesian robes, white, gray, red, and blue, which in Persia he was told were rarely seen and hardly prized. Dogs, too, he sent him, of remarkable swiftness and fierceness, such as the king of Persia had desired for the hunting and catching of lions and tigers. The king of Persia cast a careless eye over the other presence, but asked the envoys what wild beasts or animals these dogs were accustomed to fight with. He was told that they would pull down quickly anything they were set on to. Well, he said, experience will test that. Next day the shepherds were heard crying loudly as they fled from a lion. When the noise came to the palace of the king, he said to the envoys, Now, my friends of Franklin, mount your horses and follow me. Then they eagerly followed after the king, as though they had never known toil or weariness. When they came inside of the lion, though he was yet at a distance, the sit-trap of the sit-trap said to them, Now, set your dogs on to the lion. They obeyed, and eagerly galloped forward. The German dogs caught the Persian lion, and the envoys slew him with swords of northern metal, which had already been tempered in the blood of the Saxons. This sight, Haroun, the bravest inheritor of that name, understood the superior might of Charles from very small indications, and thus broke out in his praise. Now I know that what I heard of my brother Charles is true, how that by the frequent practice of hunting and by the unweary training of his body and mind he has acquired the habit of subduing all that is beneath the heavens. How can I make worthy recompense for the honors which he has bestowed upon me? If I give him the land which was promised to Abraham and shown to Joshua, it is so far away that he could not defend it from the barbarians. Or if, like the high-sold king that he is, he tried to defend it, I fear that the provinces which lie upon the frontiers of the Frankish kingdom would revolt from his empire. In this way I will try to show my gratitude for his generosity. I will give that land into his power, and I will rule over it as his representative. Whenever he likes or whenever there is a good opportunity, he shall send me envoys, and he will find me a faithful manager of the revenue of that province. Thus was brought to pass what the poet spoke of as an impossibility. The Parthian's eyes, the Arar's stream shall greet, and Tigris' waves shall lave the German's feet. For through the energy of the most vigorous Charles it was found not merely possible but quite easy for his envoys to go and return, and the messengers of Harun, whether young or old, passed easily from Parthia into Germany and returned from Germany to Parthia. And the poet's words are true, whatever interpretation the Grammarians put on the river Arar, whether they think it an affluent of the Rhone or the Rhine, for they have fallen into confusion on this point through their ignorance of the locality. I could call on Germany to bear witness to my words, for in the time of your glorious father Louis the land was compelled to pay a penny for every acre of land held under the law toward the redemption of Christian captives in the Holy Land, and they made their wretched appeal in the name of the Dominion anciently held over that land by your great grandfather Charles and your grandfather Louis. Now as the occasion has arisen to make honorable mention of your never sufficiently praised father, I should like to recall some prophetic words which the most wise Charles is known to have uttered about him. When he was six years old and had been most carefully reared in the house of his father, he was thought, unjustly, to be wiser than men sixty years of age. His father then, hardly thinking it possible that he could bring him to see his grandfather, nevertheless took him from his mother, who had reared him with the most tender care, and began to instruct him how to conduct himself with propriety and modesty in the presence of the emperor, and how if he were asked a question he was to make answer, and show in all things deference to his father. Thereafter he took him to the palace, and on the first or second day the emperor noted him with interest, standing among the rest of the courtiers. Who is that little fellow, he said to his son, and he had for answer, he is mine, sir, and yours if you deign to have him. So he said, give him to me. And when that was done, he took the little fellow and kissed him, and sent him back to the place where he had formerly stood. But now he knew his own rank, and thought it shame to stand lower than anyone who is lower in rank than the emperor. So with perfect composure of mind and body, he took his place on terms of equality with his father. The most prophetic Charles noticed this, and calling his son Louis told him to find out the name of the boy and why he acted in this way, and what it was that made him bold enough to claim equality with his father. The answer that Louis got was founded on good reason. When I was your vassal, he said, I stood behind you and among soldiers of my own rank as I was bound to do. But now I am your ally and comrade in arms, and so I rightly claim equality with you. When Louis reported this to the emperor, the latter gave utterance to words something like these. If that little fellow lives, he will be something great. I have borrowed these words from the life of St. Ambrose, because the actual words that Charles used cannot be translated directly into Latin, and it seems fair to apply the prophecy which was made of St. Ambrose to Louis, for Louis closely resembled the saint except in such points as are necessary to an earthly commonwealth, as for instance marriage and the use of arms. And in the power of his kingdom and his ill for religion, Louis was, if I may say so, superior to St. Ambrose. He was a Catholic in faith, devoted to the worship of God, and the unwearyed ally, protector, and defender of the servants of Christ. Here is an instance of this. When our faithful Abbot Hartmut, who is now your hermit, reported to him that the little endowment of St. Gaul, which was due not to royal munificence but to the petty offerings of private people, was not defended by any special charter such as other monasteries have, nor even by the laws that are common to all people, and so was unable to procure any defender or advocate, King Louis himself resisted all our opponents, and was not ashamed to proclaim himself the champion of our weakness in the presence of all his nobles. At the same time, too, he wrote a letter to your genius, directing that we should have license to make petition after taking a special vote for whatever we would through your authority. But alas, what a stupid creature I am. I have been probably drawn aside by my personal gratitude for the special kindness he showed us, away from his general and indescribable goodness and greatness and nobleness. End of Section 6.