 Preface of Famous Men of the Middle Ages. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by David Kloparik. Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland. Preface. The study of history, like the study of the landscape, should begin with the most conspicuous features. Not until these have been fixed in memory will the lesser features fall into their appropriate places and assume their right proportions. The famous men of ancient and modern times are the mountain peaks of history. It is logical then that the study of history should begin with the biographies of these men. Not only is it logical, it is also pedagogical. Experience has proven that in order to attract and hold the child's attention, each conspicuous feature of history presented to him should have an individual for its center. The child identifies himself with the personage presented. It is not Romulus or Hercules or Alexander that the child has in mind when he reads, but himself acting under similar conditions. Prominent educators, appreciating these truths, have long recognized the value of biography as a preparation for the study of history and have given it an important place in their scheme of studies. The former practice in many elementary schools of beginning the detailed study of American history without any previous knowledge of general history limited the pupils' range of vision, restricted his sympathies, and left him without material for comparisons. Moreover, it denied him a knowledge of his inheritance from the Greek philosopher, the Roman lawgiver, the Teutonic lover of freedom. Hence, the recommendation so strongly urged in the report of the Committee of Ten, and emphasized also in the report of the Committee of Fifteen, that the study of Greek, Roman, and modern European history in the form of biography should precede the study of detailed American history in our elementary schools. The Committee of Ten recommends an eight years course in history, beginning with the fifth year in school and continuing to the end of the high school course. The first two years in this course are given wholly to the study of biography and mythology. The Committee of Fifteen recommends that history be taught in all the grades of the elementary school and emphasizes the value of biography and of general history. The series of historical stories to which this volume belongs was prepared in conformity with the foregoing recommendations and with the best practice of leading schools. It has been the aim of the authors to make an interesting story of each man's life and to tell these stories in a style so simple that pupils in the lower grades will read them with pleasure and so dignified that they may be used with profit as textbooks for reading. Teachers who find it impracticable to give the study of mythology and biography a place of its own in an already overcrowded curriculum usually prefer to correlate history with reading and for this purpose the volumes of this series will be found most desirable. The value of the illustrations can scarcely be overestimated. They will be found to surpass in number and excellence anything heretofore offered in a schoolbook. For the most part they are reproductions of world-famous pictures and for that reason the artist's name are generally affixed. End of Preface Recorded by David Kleparick Chapter 1 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Leon Meyer Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Horan and A.B. Poland Chapter 1 The Gods of the Tutans In the little volume called The Famous Men of Rome you have read about the great empire which the Romans established. Now we come to a time when the power of Rome was broken and tribes of barbarians who lived north of the Danube and the Rhine took possession of lands that had been part of the Roman Empire. These tribes were the Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks and Anglo-Saxons. From them have come the greatest nations of modern times. All except the Huns belong to the same race and are known as Tutans. They were warlike, savage and cruel. They spoke the same language, though in different dialects, and worshipped the same gods. Like the old Greeks and Romans they had many gods. Woden, who was also called Odin, was the greatest of all. His name means mighty warrior and he was king of all the gods. He rode through the air, mounted on Sleipner, an eight-footed horse, fleeter than the eagle. When the tempest roared the Tutans said it was the snorting of Sleipner. When their ships came safely into port they said it was Woden's breath that had filled their sails and wafted their vessels over the blue waters. Thor, a son of Woden, ranked next to him among the gods. He rode through the air in a chariot drawn by goats. The Germans called him Doner and Thuner, words which are like our word thunder. From this we can see that he was the thunder-god. In his hand he carried a wonderful hammer which always came back to his hand when he threw it. Its head was so bright that as it flew through the air it made the lightning. When it struck the vast ice mountains they reeled and splintered into fragments and thus Thor's hammer made thunder. Another great god of our ancestors was Tiu. He was a son of Woden and was the god of battle. He was armed with a sword which flashed like lightning when he brandished it. A savage chief named Attila routed the armies of the Romans and so terrified all the world that he was called the Scourge of God. His people believed that he gained his victories because he had the sword of Tiu, which a herdsman chanced to find where the god had allowed it to fall. The Tutans prayed to Tiu when they went into battle. Freya was the wife of Woden and the queen of the gods. She ruled the bright clouds that gleam in the summer sky and caused them to pour their showers on meadow and forest and mountain. Four of the days of the week are named after these gods. Tuesday means the day of Tiu, Wednesday the day of Woden, Thursday the day of Thor, and Friday the day of Freya. Freya's son was Balder, who was the favorite of all the gods. Only Loki, the spirit of evil, hated him. Balder's face was as bright as sunshine. His hair gleamed like burnished gold. Wherever he went, night was turned in today. One morning, when he looked toward earth from his father Woden's palace, black clouds covered the sky, but he saw a splendid rainbow reaching down from the clouds to the earth. Balder walked upon this rainbow from the home of the gods to the dwellings of men. The rainbow was a bridge upon which the gods used to come to earth. When Balder stepped from the rainbow bridge to the earth, he saw a king's daughter so beautiful that he fell in love with her. But an earthly prince had also fallen in love with her. So he and Balder fought for her hand. Balder was a god, and hence was very much stronger than the prince. But some of Balder's magic food was given to the prince and it made him as strong as Balder. Freya heard about this and feared that Balder was doomed to be killed. So she went to every beast on the land, and every fish of the sea, and every bird of the air, and to every tree of the wood, and every plant of the field, and made each promise not to hurt Balder. But she forgot the mistletoe. So Loki, who always tried to do mischief, made an arrow of mistletoe and gave it to the prince, who shot and killed Balder with it. Then all the gods wept, the summer breeze wailed, the leaves fell from the sorrowing trees, the flowers faded and died from grief, and the earth grew stiff and cold. Bruin the bear and his neighbors, the hedgehogs and squirrels, crept into holes, and refused to eat for weeks and weeks. The pleasure of all living things in Balder's presence means the happiness that the sunlight brings. The sorrow of all living things at his death means the gloom of northern countries when winter comes. The Valkyries were beautiful female warriors. They had some of Woden's own strength and were armed with helmet and shield and spear. Like Woden they rode unseen through the air and their horses were almost as swift as Slatner himself. They swiftly carried Woden's favorite warriors to Valhalla, the hull of the slain. The walls of Valhalla were hung with shields, its ceiling glittered with polished spearheads. From its five hundred and forty gates, each wide enough for eight hundred men abreast to march through, the warriors rushed every morning to find a battle that lasted till nightfall and began again at the break of each day. When the heroes returned to Valhalla, the Valkyries served them with goblets of mead such as Woden drank himself. The Teutons believed that before there were any gods or any world there was a great empty space where the world now is. It was called by the curious name Gnungagap, which means a yawning abyss. To the north of Gnungagap it was bitterly cold. Nothing was there but fields of snow and mountains of ice. To the south of Gnungagap was a region where frost and snow were never seen. It was always bright and was the home of light and heat. The sunshine from the south melted the ice mountains of the north so that they toppled over and fell into Gnungagap. There they were changed into a frost giant whose name was Emer. He had three sons. They and their father were so strong that the gods were afraid of them. So Woden and his brothers killed Emer. They broke his body in pieces and made the world of them. His bones and teeth became mountains and rocks. His hair became leaves for trees and plants. Out of his skull was made the sky. But Emer was colder than ice, and the earth that was made of his body was so cold that nothing could live or grow upon it. So the gods took sparks from the home of light and set them in the sky. Two big ones were the sun and moon, and the little ones were the stars. Then the earth became warm. Trees grew and flowers bloomed so that the world was a beautiful home for men. Of all the trees the most wonderful was a great ash tree. Sometimes called the world tree. Its branches covered the earth and reached beyond the sky till they almost touched the stars. Its roots ran in three directions. To heaven, to the frost giant's home, and to the underworld beneath the earth. Near the roots in the dark underworld sat the norns or fates. Each held a bowl with which she dipped water out of a sacred spring and poured it upon the roots of the ash tree. This was the reason why the wonderful tree was always growing and why it grew as high as the sky. When Woden killed Emer he tried to kill all Emer's children too, but one escaped, and ever after he and his family, the frost giants, tried to do mischief and fought against the gods and men. According to the beliefs of the Teutons wicked giants will someday destroy the beautiful world. Even the gods themselves will be killed in a dreadful battle with them. First of all will come three terrible winters without any spring or summer. The sun and moon will cease to shine and the bright stars will fall from the sky. The earth will be shaken as when there is a great earthquake the waves of the sea will roar and the highest mountains will totter and fall. The trees will be torn up by the roots and even the world tree will tremble from its roots to its topmost bowels. At last the quivering earth will sink beneath the waters of the sea. Then Loki, the spirit of evil, will break loose from the fetters with which the gods have bound him. The frost giants will join him. They will try to make a secret attack on the gods, but Heimdall, the sentry of heaven, will be on guard at the end of the rainbow bridge. He needs no more sleep than a bird and can see for a hundred miles either by day or night. He only can sound the horn whose blast can be heard through heaven and earth and the underworld. Loki and his army will be seen by him. His loud alarm will sound and bring the gods together. They will rush to meet the giants. Woden will wield his spear. Tiu, his glittering sword. Thor, his terrible hammer. These will all be in vain. The gods must die. But so must the giants and Loki. And then a new earth will rise from the sea. The leaves of its forests will never fall. Its fields will yield harvests unsown. And in a hall far brighter than Woden's Valhalla the brave and good will be gathered forever. End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Leon Meyer Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Horan and A. B. Paul Chapter 2 The Nebelungs 1 The time came when the people of Western Europe learned to believe in one god and were converted to Christianity. But the old stories about the gods and Valkyries and giants and heroes who were half gods and half men were not forgotten. These stories were repeated from fathers and the gods who were half gods and half men and these stories were repeated from father to son for generations. And in the 12th century a poet whose name we do not know wrote them in verse. He called his poem The Nebelung in Lead Song of the Nebelungs It is the great national poem of the Germans. The legends told in it are the basis of Wagner's operas. Nebelungs was the name given to some northern dwarves whose king had once possessed the treasure of gold and precious stones but had lost it. Whoever got possession of this treasure was followed by a curse. The Nebelung in Lead tells the adventures of those who possessed the treasure. 2 And the grand old city of Worms in Burgundy there lived long ago the princess Creamhilda. Her eldest brother, Gunter, was king of Burgundy. In the far away Netherland where the Rhine pours its waters into the sea, dwelt a prince named Siegfried, son of Siegmoon the king. Air long, Sir Siegfried heard of the beauty of Fair Creamhilda. He said to his father give me twelve nights and I will ride to King Gunter's land. I must win the heart of Creamhilda. After seven days' journey the prince and his company drew near the lands of Worms. All wondered who the strangers were and whence they came. Hagen, Creamhilda's uncle, guessed. He said I never have seen the famed hero of Netherland, yet I am sure that Yonder Knight is none but Sir Siegfried. And who, asked the wondering people may Siegfried be? Siegfried, answered Sir Hagen, is a truly wonderful knight. Once riding all alone he came to a mountain where lay the treasure of the king of the Nibelungs. The king's two sons had brought it out from the cave in which it had been hidden, to divide it between them. But they did not agree about the division. So when Siegfried drew near both princes said divide for us, Sir Siegfried, our father's horde. There were so many jewels that one hundred wagons could not carry them and of ruddy gold there was even more. Siegfried made the fairest division he could and as a reward the princes gave him their father's sword called Balmung. But although Siegfried had done his best to satisfy them with his division they soon fell to quarreling and fighting and when he tried to separate them they made an attack on him. To save his own life he slew them both. Albaric a mountain dwarf who had long been guardian of the Nibelung Horde rushed to avenge his masters. But Siegfried vanquished him and took from him his cap of darkness which made its wearer invisible and gave him the strength of twelve men. The hero then ordered Albaric to place the treasure again in the mountain cave and guard it for him. Hagen then told another story of Siegfried. Once he slew a fierce dragon and bathed himself in its blood and this turned the hero's skin to horn so that no sword or spear can wound him. When Hagen had told these tales he advised King Gunter and the people of Burgundy to receive Siegfried with all honour. So as the fashion was in those times games were held in the courtyard of the palace in honour of Siegfried and Creamhilda watched the sport from her window. For a full year Siegfried stayed at the court of King Gunter but never in all that time told why he had come and never once saw Creamhilda. At the end of the year sudden tidings came that the Saxons and Danes as was their habit were pillaging the lands of Burgundy. At the head of a thousand Burgundian knights Siegfried conquered both Saxons and Danes. The king of the Danes was taken prisoner and the Saxon king surrendered. The victorious warriors returned to Worms and the air was filled with glad shouts of welcome. King Gunter asked Creamhilda to welcome Siegfried and offer him the thanks of all the land of Burgundy. Siegfried stood before her and she said, Welcome, Sir Siegfried, thank you one and all. He bent before her and she kissed him. Three Far over the sea from sunny Burgundy lived Brunhilda Queen of Iceland. Fair was she of face and strong beyond compare. If a knight would woo and win her he must surpass her in three contests leaping, hurling the spear and pitching the stone. He failed in even one he must forfeit his life. King Gunter resolved to wed this strange princess and Siegfried promised to help him. But, said Siegfried, if we succeed I must have as my wife thy sister Creamhilda. To this Gunter agreed and the voyage to Iceland began. When Gunter and his companions neared Brunhilda's palace the gates were opened and the strangers were welcomed. Siegfried thanked the queen for her kindness and told how Gunter had come to Iceland in hope of winning her hand. If in three contests he gained the mastery, she said, I will become his wife. If not both he and you who are with him must lose your lives. Brunhilda prepared for the contests. Her shield was so thick and heavy that four strong men were needed to bear it. Three could scarcely carry her spear and the stone that she hurled could just be lifted by twelve. Siegfried now helped Gunter in a wonderful way. He put on his cap of darkness so that no one could see him. Then he stood by Gunter's side and did the fighting. Brunhilda threw her spear against the king's bright shield and sparks flew from the steel. But the unseen night dealt Brunhilda such blows that she confessed herself conquered. In the second and third contests she fared no better and so she had to become king Gunter's bride. But she said that before she would leave Iceland she must tell all her kinsmen. Daily her kinsfolk came riding to the castle and soon an army had assembled. Then Gunter and his friends feared unfair play. So Siegfried put on his cap of darkness, stepped into a boat, and went to the Nibelung land where Albrecht the dwarf was guarding the wonderful Nibelung treasure. Bring me here, he cried to the dwarf, a thousand Nibelung knights. At the call of the dwarf the warriors gathered around Sir Siegfried. Then they sailed with him to Brunhilda's isle and her kinsmen, fearing such warriors, welcomed them instead of fighting. Soon after their arrival King Gunter and his men Siegfried and his Nibelungs and Queen Brunhilda with two thousand of her kinsmen set sail for King Gunter's land. As soon as they reached Worms the marriage of Gunter and Brunhilda took place. Siegfried and Creamhilda also were married to Siegfried's Netherland castle. There they lived many years more happily than I can tell. Four Now comes the sad part of the Nibelung tale. Brunhilda and Gunter invited Siegfried and Creamhilda to visit them at Worms. During the visit the two queens quarreled and Brunhilda made Gunter angry of Siegfried. Hagen too began to hate Siegfried and wished to kill him. But Siegfried could not be wounded except in one spot on which a falling leaf had rested when he bathed himself in the dragon's blood. Only Creamhilda knew where this spot was. Hagen told her that a battle was soon to be fought and got her to sew a little silk cross upon Siegfried's dress to mark the spot so that he might defend Siegfried in a fight. No battle was fought but Siegfried went hunting with Gunter and Hagen one day and they challenged him to race with them. He easily won but after running he was hot and thirsty and knelt to drink at a spring. Then Hagen seized a spear and plunged it through the cross into the hero's body. Thus the treasure of the Nibelungs brought disaster to Siegfried. Gunter and Hagen told Creamhilda that robbers in the wood had slain her husband but she could not be deceived. Creamhilda determined to take vengeance on the murderers of Siegfried and so she would not leave worms. There too stayed one thousand knights who had followed Siegfried from the Nibelungs land. Soon after Siegfried's death Creamhilda begged her younger brother to bring the Nibelungs treasure from the mountain cave to worms. When it arrived Creamhilda gave gold and jewels to rich and poor in Burgundy and Hagen feared that soon she would win the love of all the people and turn them against him. So one day he took the treasure and hid it in the Rhine. He hoped some day to enjoy it himself. As Hagen now possessed the Nibelung treasure the name Nibelungs was given to him and his companions. Five Etzel, or as we call him Attila, king of the Huns heard of the beauty of Creamhilda and sent one of his knights to ask the queen to become his wife. At first she refused. However, when she remembered that Etzel carried the sword of Tiu she changed her mind because if she became his wife she might persuade him to take vengeance upon Gunter and Hagen. And so it came to pass. Shortly after their marriage Etzel and Creamhilda invited Gunter and all his court to a grand Midsummer festival in the land of the Huns. Hagen was afraid to go for he felt sure that Creamhilda had not forgiven the murder of Siegfried. However, it was decided that the invitation should be accepted but that ten thousand knights should go with Gunter as a bodyguard. Shortly after Gunter and his followers arrived at Etila's court a banquet was prepared. Nine thousand Burgundians were seated at the board when Etila's brother came into the banquet hall with a thousand well-armed knights. A quarrel arose and a fight followed. Thousands of the Burgundians were slain. The struggle continued for days. At last, of all the knights of Burgundy, Gunter and Hagen alone were left alive. Then one of Creamhilda's friends fought with them and overpowered both. He bound them and delivered them to Creamhilda. The queen ordered one of her knights to cut off Gunter's head and she herself cut off the head of Hagen with Baalmoon Siegfried's wonderful sword. A friend of Hagen then avenged his death by killing Creamhilda herself. Of all the Nibelungs who entered the land of the Huns and only ever returned to Burgundy. End of chapter 2 Chapter 3 A Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox. L-I-B-R-I-V-U-X dot org. Recording by Paradise Camouflage Famous Men of the Middle Ages N-H-H-H-R-N-A-B-P-L-N-T Chapter 3 Alaric the Visigoth King from 394 to 410 A.D. Long before the beginning of the period known as the Middle Ages, a tribe of barbarians called the Goths lived north of the River Danube in the country which is now known as Romania. It was then a part of the Great Roman Empire which at that time had two capitals, Constantinople the new city of Constantin and Rome. The Goths had come from the shores of the Baltic sea and settled on this Roman territory and the Romans had not driven them back. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Valance some of the Goths joined a conspiracy against him. Valance pushed him for this by crossing the Danube and laying waste their country. At last the Goths had to beg for mercy. The Gothic chief was afraid to set foot in the Roman soil so he and Valance met on their boats in the middle of the Danube and made a treaty of peace. For a long time the Goths were at war with another tribe of barbarians called Huns. Sometimes the Huns defeated the Goths and drove them to their camps in the mountains. Sometimes the Goths came down to the plains again and defeated the Huns. At last the Goths grew tired of such constant fighting and he sent some of their leading men to the Emperor Valance to ask permission to settle in some country belonging to Rome. The messages said to the Emperor if you will allow us to make homes in the country south of the Danube we will be friends of Rome and fight for her when she needs our help. The Emperor once granted this request he said to the Gothic chiefs Rome always needs good soldiers your people may cross the Danube and settle on our land as long as you remain true to Rome you will protect you against your enemies. These Goths were known as Visigoths or Western Goths. Other tribes of Goths who had settled in southern Russia were called Austro Goths or Eastern Goths. After getting permission from the Emperor Valance a large number of the Visigoths crossed the Danube with their families and their cattle and settled in a town called Bulgaria. In course of time they became a very powerful nation and in the year 394 they chose as their king one of the chiefs named Alaric. He was a brave man and a great soldier even when at a child he took delight in war and at the age of 16 he fought as bravely as the older soldiers. One night not long after he became king Alaric had a very strange dream he was driving in a golden chariot through the streets of Rome and with the shouts of the people who hailed him as Emperor this dream made a deep impression on his mind. He was always thinking of it and at last he began to have the idea that he could make the dream come true. To be master of the Roman Empire he said to himself that is indeed worth trying for and why should I not try with my brave soldiers and I shall make the attempt so Alaric called his chiefs together and told them what he had made up his mind to do. The chiefs gave a cry of delight for the approved of the king's proposal in those days fighting was almost the only business of chiefs and they were always glad to be at war especially when there was hope of getting rich spoils and so the Visigoth chiefs rejoiced at the idea of war against Rome for they knew if they were victorious they would have the wealth of the rich city of the world to divide among themselves. Soon they got ready a great army with Alaric in command they marched through Thrace and Macedonia and before long reached Athens there were now no great warriors in Athens and the city surrendered to Alaric the Goths plundered the homes and temples of the Athenians and then marched to the state of Elys in the south western part of Greece here a famous Roman general named Stelito besieged them in their camp Alaric managed to force his way through the lines of the Romans and escaped he marched through Epirus this was a province of Greece that lay on the east side of the Ionian sea Archaegius the emperor of the east now made Alaric governor of this district and a large region lying near it the whole territory was called Elly Recom and formed part of the eastern empire Alaric now set out to make an attack on Rome the capital of the western empire as soon as Onorius emperor of the west Lunter Alaric was approaching he fled to a strong fortress along the mountains of north Italy his great general Stelico came to his rescue and defeated Alaric near Verona but even after this he was so afraid of Alaric that he made him governor of a part of his empire called western Elly Recom and gave him a large yearly income Onorius however did not keep certain of his promises to Alaric who consequently in the year 408 marched through Rome and besieged it the cowardly emperor fled to Ravenna leaving his general to make terms with Alaric it was agreed that Alaric should withdraw from Rome upon the paper of £5,000 of gold and £30,000 of silver when Onorius read the treaty he refused to sign it Alaric then demanded that the city be surrendered to him and the people terrified opened their gates and even agreed that Alaric should appoint another emperor in place of Onorius this new emperor however ruled so badly that Alaric thought it best to restore Onorius when just about to be treated so honourably allowed a barbarian chief who was an ally of his to make an attack upon Alaric the attack was unsuccessful and Alaric immediately laid siege to Rome for a third time the city was taken and Alaric's dream came true in a grand procession he rode at the head of his army through the streets of the great capital then began the work of destruction the Goths the Goths ran in crowds through the city wrecked private houses and public buildings and seized everything of value they could find Alaric gave orders that no entry should be done to the Christian churches but other splendid buildings of the great city were stripped of their beautiful and costly articles that they contained and all the gold and silver was carried away from the public treasury in the midst of the pillage Alaric dressed himself in splendid robes and sat upon the throne of the emperor with a golden crown upon his head while Alaric was sitting on the throne thousands of Romans were compelled to kneel down on the ground before him and shout out his name as conqueror and emperor then the theaters and circuses were opened and Roman athletes and gladiators had to give performances for the amusement of the conquerors after six days of pillage and pleasure Alaric and his army marched through the gates carrying with them the riches of Rome Alaric died on his way to Sicily which he had thought to conquer also he felt his death coming and ordered his men to bury him in the bed of the river Bucento and to put into his grave the richest treasures that he had taken from Rome this order was carried out a large number of Roman slaves were set to work to dig a channel and turn the water of the Bucento into it they made the grave in the bed of the river put Alaric's body into and closed it up then the river was turned back into its old channel as soon as the grave was covered up and the water flowed over it the slaves who had done the work were put to death by the Visigoth chiefs End of Chapter 3 by Andy from Inveragon Scotland m-a-l-y-s dot w-s Chapter 4 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by David Kloparek Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland Chapter 4 Attila the Hun Attila the Hun King from 434 to 453 A.D. 1 The fierce and warlike tribe called the Huns who had driven the Gauss to seek new homes came from Asia into southeastern Europe and took possession of a large territory lying north of the River Danube during the first half of the fifth century the Huns had a famous king named Attila he was only 21 years old when he became their king but although he was young he was very brave and ambitious and he wanted to be a great and powerful king not far from Attila's palace there was a great rocky cave in the mountains in this cave lived a strange man called the Hermit of the Rocks no one knew his real name or from what country he had come he was very old with wrinkled face and long gray hair and beard and many persons believed that he was a fortune teller so people often went to him to inquire what was to happen to them one day shortly after he became king Attila went to the cave to get his fortune told wise man said he look into the future and tell me what is before me in the path of life the Hermit thought for a few moments and then said, oh king I see you a famous conqueror the master of many nations I see you going from country to country defeating armies and destroying cities until men call you the fear of the world you heap up vast riches but just after you have married the woman you love grim death strikes you down with a cry of horror Attila fled from the cave for a time he thought of giving up his idea of becoming a great man but he was young and full of spirit and very soon he remembered only what had been said to him about his becoming a great and famous conqueror and began to prepare for war he gathered together the best men from the various tribes of his people and trained them into a great army of good soldiers two about this time one of the king's shepherds while taking care of the cattle in the fields noticed blood dripping from the foot the shepherd followed the streak of blood through the grass and at last found the sharp point of his sword sticking up out of the earth he dug out a weapon carried it to the palace and gave it to King Attila the king declared it was the sword of Tew the god of war he then strapped it to his side and said he would always wear it I shall never be defeated in battle he cried as long as I fight with the sword of Tew as soon as his army was ready he marched with it into the countries which belonged to Rome he defeated the Romans in several great battles and captured many of their cities the Roman emperor Theodosius had to ask for terms of peace Attila agreed that there should be peace but soon afterwards he found out that Theodosius had formed a plot to murder him he was so enraged at this that he again began war he plundered and burned cities wherever he went and at last the emperor had to give him a large sum of money and a portion of country south of Danube this made peace but the peace did not last long in a few years Attila appeared at the head of an army of 700,000 men with this great force he marched across Germany and into Gaul he rode on a beautiful black horse and carried out his side the sword of Tew he attacked and destroyed towns and killed the inhabitants without mercy the people had such dread of him that he was called the Scourge of God and the Fear of the World 3 Attila and his terrible Huns marched through Gaul until they came to the city of Orlins here the people bravely resisted the invaders they shut their gates and defended themselves in every way they could in those times all towns of any great size were surrounded by strong walls there was war constantly going on nearly everywhere and there were a great many fierce tribes and chiefs who lived by robbing their neighbors so the towns and castles in which there was much money and more valuable property were not safe without high in strong walls Attila tried to take Orlins but soon after he began to attack the walls he saw a great army at a distance coming towards the city he quickly gathered his forces together marched to the neighboring plain of Champagne and halted at the place where the city of Chalons now stands the army Attila saw was an army of 300,000 Romans and Visigoths it was led by a Roman general named Aetius and the Visigoth King Theodoric the Visigoths after the death of Alaric had settled in parts of Gaul and their king had now agreed to join the Romans against the common enemy the terrible Huns so the great army of the Romans and Visigoths marched up to the Huns at Chalons it was a fierce battle both sides fought with the greatest bravery at first the Huns seemed to be winning they drove back the Romans and Visigoths from the field and in the fight Theodoric was killed Aetius now began to fear that he would be beaten but just at that moment Thorismund, the son of Theodoric made another charge against the Huns taking command of the Visigoths when his father was killed and now he led them on to fight they were all eager to have revenge for the death of their king so they fought like lions and swept across the plain with great fury the Huns were soon beaten on every side and Attila himself fled to his camp it was the first time he had ever been defeated Thorismund, the conqueror on the battlefield and hailed as king of the Visigoths when Attila reached his camp he had all his baggage and wagons gathered in a great heap he intended to set fire to it and jump into the flames if the Romans should come there to attack him here I will perish in the flames he cried rather than surrender to my enemies but the Romans did not come to attack him in a few days he marched back to his own country very soon however he was again on the warpath this time he invaded Italy he attacked and plundered a town of Achilia and terrified inhabitants fled for their lives to the hills and mountains some of them took refuge in the islands and marshes of the Adriatic Sea here they founded Venice the people of Rome and the emperor Valentinian were greatly alarmed at the approach of the dreaded Attila he was now near the city and they had no army strong enough to send against him Rome would have been again destroyed if it had not been for Pope Leo the first who went to camp of Attila and persuaded him not to attack the city it is said that the barbarian king was odd at the majestic aspect and priestly robes of Leo it is also told that the apostles Peter and Paul appeared to Attila in his camp and threatened him with death if he should attack Rome he did not go away however without getting a large sum of money as ransom shortly after leaving Italy Attila suddenly died only the day before his death he had married a beautiful woman whom he had loved very much the Huns mourned their king in a barbarous way they shaved their heads and cut themselves on their faces with knives so that their blood instead of their tears flowed for the loss of their great leader they enclosed his body in three coffins one of gold one of silver and one of iron and they buried him at night in a secret spot of the mountains when the funeral was over they killed the slaves who had dug the grave as Visigas had done after the burial of Alaric after the death of Attila we hear little more of the Huns End of Chapter 4 Recording by David Kloparek For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by David Kloparek Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland Chapter 5 Genseric the Vandal Genseric the Vandal King from 427 to 477 A.D. 1 The Vandals were another wild and fierce tribe that came up from the shores of the Baltic and invaded central and southern Europe in the later times of the Roman Empire in the 5th century some of these people occupied a region in south Spain one of their most celebrated kings was named Genseric he became king in 427 when he was but 21 years of age he was lame in one leg and looked as if he were a very ordinary person like most of the vandals he was a cruel and cunning man but he had a great ability in many ways he fought in battles even when a boy and was known far and wide for his bravery and skill as a leader about the time that Genseric became king the governor of Roman province in the north of Africa on the Mediterranean coast was a man called Count Boniface Count Boniface had been a good and loyal officer in Rome but a plot was formed against him by Aetius the general who had fought Attila at Chalens the Roman Emperor at the time of the plot was Valentinian the 3rd he was then too young to act as ruler so the affairs of government were managed by his mother Placidia Aetius advised Placidia to dismiss Boniface and call him home from Africa he said the Count was a traitor and that he was going to make war against Rome at the same time he wrote secretly to Count Boniface and told him that if he came to Rome the Empress would put him to death Boniface believed this story and he refused to return to Rome he also sent a letter to Genseric inviting him to come to Africa with an army Genseric was greatly delighted to receive the invitation from Boniface to attack Rome and take from her some of the rich countries she had conquered and now a good opportunity offered so he got ready a great army of his brave vandals and they sailed across the Strait of Gibraltar to Africa they soon gained possession of that part of an African coast on which they had landed and marched into other parts of the coast and captured towns and cities by this time Boniface had learned all about the wicked plot of Aetius he now regretted having invited the vandals to Africa and tried to induce them to return to Spain but Genseric sternly refused never he said shall I go back to Spain until I am master of Africa then cried Boniface I will drive you back soon after there was a battle between the Romans and vandals and the Romans were defeated they were also defeated in several other battles at last they had to flee for safety to two or three towns which the vandals had not yet taken one of these towns was Hippo Genseric captured this town after a siege of 13 months then he burned the churches and other buildings and laid waste to the neighboring country this is what the vandals did whenever they took to town and so the word vandal came to mean a person who needlessly and wantonly destroyed valuable property a great many of the natives of Africa joined the army of Genseric they had for a long time been ill treated by the Romans and were glad to see them defeated Genseric continued his work of conquest until he took the city of Carthage which he made the capital of his new kingdom in Africa he was not content with conquering merely on land he built great fleets and sailed over the Mediterranean capturing trading vessels for many years he plundered towns along the coasts so the name of Genseric became a tear to the people of all the countries bordering the Mediterranean two one day a Roman ship came to Carthage with a messenger from the emperors Eudoxia to Genseric Eudoxia was the widow of Valentinian the third after ruling several years Valentinian had just been murdered by a Roman noble named Maximus who had at once made himself emperor when the messenger entered the room where Genseric was he said great king I bring you a message from the emperor Eudoxia she begs your help she and her two beautiful daughters are in danger in Rome she wishes you to protect them against Maximus she invites you to come with an army to Rome and take the city she and her friends will help you as much as they can with a cry of joy Genseric sprang to his feet and exclaimed tell the emperors that I accept her invitation I shall set out for Rome immediately I shall set out for Rome immediately I shall protect Eudoxia and her friends Genseric then got ready a fleet and a great army and sailed across the Mediterranean in the mouth of Tiber when the emperor Maximus heard that the vandals were coming he prepared to flee from the city and he advised the senate to do the same the people were so angry that they put him to death and threw his body in the river three days later Genseric and his army were at the gates of Rome there was no one to oppose them and they marched in and took possession of the city it was only 45 years since they arrived there and carried off all the valuable things that he could find but since then Rome had become again grand and wealthy so there was plenty for Genseric and his vandals to carry away they spent 14 days in the work of plunder they sacked the temples and public buildings and private houses and the emperors palace they took off to their ships immense quantities of gold and silver and long furniture and destroyed hundreds of beautiful and priceless works of art the vandal king also put to death a number of Roman citizens and carried away many more as slaves he took Eudoxia and her daughters with him to Carthage one of the daughters was soon afterwards married to Genseric's eldest son, Huneric three some years after the capture of Rome by Genseric the emperor named Magorion he was a good ruler and a brave man the vandals still continued to attack in plunder cities in Italy and other countries belonging to Rome and a Magorion resolved to punish them so he got together a great army and built a fleet of 300 ships to carry his troops to Carthage but he first marched his men across the Alps through Gaul and down to the seaport of Carthagina in Spain where his fleet was stationed he took this route because he expected to add to his forces as he went along before sailing with his army for Carthage he wished very much to see with his own eyes what sort of people the vandals were and whether they were so powerful at home as was generally believed so he dyed his hair and disguised himself in other ways and went to Carthage pretending that he was a messenger or ambassador from the Roman emperor coming to talk about peace Jenceric received him with respect and entertained him hospitably not knowing that he was the emperor Magorion of course peace was not made the emperor left Carthage after having got as much information as he could but Jenceric did not wait for the Roman fleet to come to attack him in his capital when he got word that it was in the bay of Carthagina he sailed there with a fleet of his own and in a single day burned or sank nearly all the ships after this the vandals became more than ever the terror of the Mediterranean and all the countries bordering upon it every year their ships went round the coasts from Asia Minor to Spain attacking and plundering cities on their way and carrying off prisoners all the efforts of the Romans failed to post stop to these ravages the emperor Leo who ruled over the eastern division of the empire fitted out the Roman army with his army the eastern division of the empire fitted out a great fleet at Constantinople to make another attempt to suppress the pirates there were more than a thousand ships in this fleet and they carried a hundred thousand men the command of this expedition was given to Basilicus the brother of emperor Leo's wife Basilicus sailed with his ships to Africa and landed the army not far from Carthage Generic asked for a truce for five days to consider terms of peace and the truce was granted but the cunning vandal was not thinking of peace he only wanted time to carry out a plan he had made to destroy the Roman fleet one dark night during the truce he filled the largest of his ships with some of the bravest of his soldiers they sailed silently and cautiously in among the Roman ships towing behind them large boats filled with material that would easily burn these boats were set on fire and floated against the Roman vessels which also were soon on fire the flames quickly spread and in a very short time a great part of the Roman fleet was destroyed Basilicus fled with as many ships as he could save and returned to Constantinople this was the last attempt of the Romans to conquer the vandals Generic lived to a good old age and when he died in 477 all the countries he had conquered during his life still remained parts of the vandal dominions End of Chapter 5 Recording by David Kliperic Chapter 6 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Haran and A. B. Polin Chapter 6 Theoterek the Ostrogoth King from 475 to 526 A.D. The Ostrogoths or East Goths who had settled in southern Russia at length pushed southward and westward to the mouth of the Danube They were continually invading countries belonging to the Romans and their warlike raids were dreaded by the emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire who lived at Constantinople One emperor gave them land and money and thus stopped their invasions for a time The most famous of the Ostrogoth kings was Theoterek the Great He was the son of Theotemir who was also a king of the Ostrogoths When Theoterek was 8 years old he was sent to Constantinople to be held as hostage by Leo the emperor of the east In former times when kings made treaties with one another it was customary for one to give to the other a pledge or security that he would fulfill the conditions of the treaty The pledge usually given was some important person or persons perhaps the king's son or a number of his chief men persons so given as his security were called hostages When Theoterek was a boy he was given as a hostage by the king carrying out a treaty with the emperor and was sent to Constantinople to live Here the youth was well treated by Leo he was educated with great care and trained in all the exercises of war Theotemir died in 475 and then Theoterek returned to his own country and became king of the Ostrogoths At this time he was 18 years of age He was handsome and brave and people loved him He was tall and strong and brave was liked by everybody For some years after he became king Theoterek had frequent wars with other Gothic kings and also with the Roman emperor Zeno He was nearly always successful in battle and at last Zeno began to think it would be better to try to make friends with him So he gave Theoterek some rich lands and made him commander of the imperial guard of Constantinople But the emperor soon became tired of serving the Ostrogoth king at his court and to get rid of him he agreed that Theoterek should go with his army to Italy and take that country from Theoterek Theoterek was delighted at the proposal and began at once to make his preparations Theoterek was at that time king of Italy Before he became king he had been a general in the army of Romulus Augustulus the western Roman emperor The soldiers of the army were not satisfied with their pay and when they asked for more they did not get it Then they drove Romulus Augustulus from the throne and chose a doaker to succeed him But a doaker would not take the name of emperor He was called the patrician of Italy and he ruled the country well Theoterek started for Italy not only with the great army but with all the people of his country He meant to take Italy and to be its king and to settle in it with all his Ostrogoths Then he set out he had with him 250,000 persons men, women and children with a great number of horses and wagons to carry them and their things He also had an army of 60,000 brave soldiers It was a long and weary journey from the shores of the Black Sea overland to the foot of the Alps mountains and across the Alps into Italy Here and there on the way they met savage tribes that tried to stop them and took a great many of them prisoners He made these prisoners women as well as men helped carry the baggage and do other work The journey took months but alas the Ostrogoths reached the top of the Alps Then they could see, stretched out before them the beautiful land of Italy They were all delighted They shouted and danced with joy and Theoterek cried out There is the country, which shall be our home Let us march on, it certainly shall be ours Then they passed quickly down and soon they were in Italy A Doaker had heard of their coming and he got ready an army to drive them away Theoterek also got his fighting men ready The two armies met and there was a great battle near the town of Aquialia A Doaker was defeated then he tried to get Theoterek to leave Italy by offering him a large sum of money I will give you, said he thousands of pounds of gold and silver if you agree to go back to your own country But Theoterek would not go He said he had as good a right to be king of Italy as a Doaker and he would remain and conquer the country and be its king Soon after there was another battle near Verona and a Doaker was again defeated Theoterek came very near being killed in this battle He was saved only by the courage of his mother She was in his camp and at one time she saw a number of the Ostrogoths running away from that part of the battlefield where her son was killed thus leaving him without support the mother rushed forward and stopped the fleeing men She made them feel it was a shame for them to desert their leader and they at once returned to the field and fought beside their king until the battle was won After the battle of Verona a Doaker went with his army to the city of Ravenna and remained there for some time Theoterek followed with his Ostrogoths and tried to take the city but there was a very strong wall around it and the Ostrogoths could not capture it Although Theoterek was not able to take Ravenna he did not remain idle He marched off to other parts of the country and took possession of towns and districts wherever he went For a while a Doaker got together a better army than he had before and made another effort to defeat Theoterek but he again failed Theoterek defeated him in another great battle which was fought on the banks of the river Ata After this battle a Doaker again fled to Ravenna Theoterek followed again and laid siege to the city This time his army surrounded it and kept provisions from being sent in and at last when there was no food in the city for the soldiers or the people to eat a Doaker had to surrender A treaty was made between the two kings and both agreed that they should rule together over Italy each to have equal power but a few days afterwards Theoterek murdered a Doaker while sitting at a banquet and then made himself the sole ruler of Italy He divided one third of the land of the country among his followers So the Ostrogoths settled in Italy and Ostrogoths, Romans and Visigoths were governed by Theoterek as one people Theoterek died at the age of 71 after ruling Italy for 33 years End of chapter 6 Chapter 7 A Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox l-i-b-r-i-v-o-x dot org Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Harren and A.B. Poland Chapter 7 Clovis King from 481 to 511 A.D. Chapter 1 While the power of the Roman Empire was declining they dwelt on the banks of the river Rhine a number of savage student tribes called Franks The word Frank means free and those tribes took pride in being known as Franks or Freeman The Franks occupied the east bank of the Rhine for about 200 years Then many of the tribes crossed the river in search of new homes The river west of the river was at that time called Gaul Here the Franks established themselves and became a powerful people From their name the country was afterwards called France Each tribe of the Franks had its own king The greatest of all these kings was Chlodwig or Clovis as we call him who became ruler of his tribe in the year 481 6 years after theodoric became king of the Ostrogoths Clovis was then only 16 years of age but though he was so young he proved in a very short time that he could govern as well as older men He was intelligent and brave no one ever knew him to be afraid of anything even when he was but a child His father, who was named Chlodwig often took him to wars which the Franks had and he was very proud of his son's bravery The young man was also a bold and skillful horseman He could tame and ride the most fiery horse When Clovis became king of the Franks a great part of Gaul still belonged to Rome This part was then governed by a Roman general named Cyagreus Clovis resolved to drive them out of the country and he talked over the matter with the head men of his army that he is that the Franks shall have possession of every part of this fair land I shall drive the Romans and their friends away and make Gaul the empire of the Franks Part 2 At this time the Romans had a great army in Gaul It was encamped near the city of Swissum and was commanded by Cyagreus Clovis resolved to attack it and led his army at once to Swissum When he came near the city he summoned Cyagreus to surrender Cyagreus refused and asked for an interview with the commander of the Franks Clovis consented to meet him and an arrangement was made that the meeting should take place in the open space between the two armies When Clovis stepped out in front of his army accompanied by some of his savage warriors Cyagreus also came forward But the moment he saw the king of the Franks he laughed loudly and exclaimed A boy A boy has come to fight me The Franks with a boy to lead them have come to fight the Romans Clovis was very angry at this insulting language and shouted back Aye, but this boy will conquer you Then both sides prepared for battle The Romans thought they would win the victory easily but they were mistaken Every time that they made a change upon the Franks they were beaten back by the warriors of Clovis The young man himself fought briefly and with his own sword struck down a number of the Romans He tried to find Cyagreus and fight with him but the Roman commander was nowhere to be found Early in the battle he had fled from the field leaving his men to defend themselves as best they could The Franks gained a great victory with their gallant boy king leading them on they drove the Romans before them and when the battle was over they took possession of the city of Swisson Clovis afterwards conquered all the other Frankus chiefs and made himself king of all the Franks Part 3 Not very long after Clovis became king he heard of a beautiful young girl the niece of Gondobod King of Burgundy and he thought he would like to marry her Her name was Clotilde and she was an orphan for her wicked uncle Gondobod had killed her father and mother Clovis sent one of his mobiles to Gondobod to ask her for his wife and first Gondobod thought of refusing to let the girl go he feared that she might have him punished for the murder of her parents if she became the wife of so powerful a man as Clovis but he was also afraid that by refusing he would provoke the anger of Clovis so he admitted the girl to be taken to the court of the king of the Franks Clovis was delighted when he saw her and they were immediately married Clotilde was a devout Christian and she wished very much to convert her husband who, like most of his people was a worshiper of the heathen gods but Clovis was not willing to give up his own religion nevertheless, Clotilde continued to do everything she could to persuade him to become a Christian soon after his marriage Clovis had a war with a tribe called the Allemani this tribe had crossed the Rhine from Germany and taken possession of some of the eastern provinces of Gaul Clovis speedily got his warriors together and marched against them a battle was fought at the place called Tolbiac, not far from the prison city of Cologne in this battle the Franks were nearly beaten for the Allemani were fierce and brave men and skillful fighters when Clovis saw his soldiers driven back several times to the top but at that moment he thought of his pious wife and of the powerful god of him she had so often spoken then he raised his hands to heaven and earnestly prayed to that god oh god of Clotilde he cried help me in this my hour of need if that will give me victory now I will believe in thee almost immediately the course of the battle began to change in favour of the Franks Clovis led his warriors at that time the Allemani fled before them in terror the Franks gained a great victory and they believed it was in answer to the prayer of their king when Clovis returned home he did not forget his promise he told Clotilde how he prayed to her god for help and how his prayer had been heard and he said he was now ready to become a Christian Clotilde was very happy on hearing this and she arranged that her husband should be baptised in the church on the following Christmas day meanwhile Clovis issued a proclamation to his people declaring that he was a believer in Christ and giving orders that all the images and temples of a heathen gods should be destroyed this was immediately done and many of the people followed his example and became Christians Clovis was a very earnest and fervent convert one day the bishop of Rem in the doctrines of Christianity described the death of Christ as the bishop proceeded Clovis became much excited and at last jumped up from his seat and exclaimed had I been there with my brave Franks I would have avenged his wrongs on Christmas day a great multitude assembled in the church of Rem to witness the baptism of the king a large number of his fierce warriors were baptised at the same time the service was performed with great ceremony by the bishop of Rem and the title of most Christian king was conferred on Clovis by the Pope this title was ever afterwards born by the kings of France like most of the kings and chiefs of those rude and barbarous times Clovis often did cruel and wicked things when a Rem was captured before he became a Christian a golden vase was taken by some soldiers from the church the bishop asked Clovis to have it returned and Clovis bade him wait until the division of spoils all the valuable things taken by soldiers in war were divided among the whole army each man getting his share according to Rem such things were called spoils when the next time came for dividing spoils Clovis asked that he might have the vase over and above his regular share his intention being to return it to the bishop but one of the soldiers objected saying that the king should have no more than his fair share and at the same time shattered the vase with his axe Clovis was very angry but at the time he said nothing soon afterwards however there was the usual examination of the arms of the soldiers to see that they were in proper condition for active service Clovis himself took part in the examination and when he came to the soldier who had broken the vase he found fault with the condition of his weapons and with one blow of his battle axe struck the man dead part 4 the next war that Clovis engaged in was with some tribes of the Goths who occupied the country called Akiten lying south of the river Loire he defeated them and added Akiten to the kingdom of the Franks Clovis afterwards made war upon other people of Gaul and defeated them the provinces from the lower Rhine to the Pyrenees mountains were compelled to acknowledge him as king he then went to reside at the city of Paris which he made the capital of his kingdom he died there AD 511 the dynasty or family of kings to which he belonged is known in history as the Merovingian dynasty it was so called from Merovius the father of Hildiric and grandfather of Clovis end of chapter 7 recording by Andy from Inverarland Meroius.ws chapter 8 Justinian the Great in the time of Clovis the country now called Bulgaria was inhabited by Goths one day a poor shepherd boy about 16 years of age left his mountain home in that country to go to the city of Constantinople many miles away the boy had no money to pay for the expenses of the journey but he was determined to go even though he should have to walk every step of the road and live on fruits that he could gather by the way he was a bright clever boy who had spent his life hitherto in a village but was now eager to go out into the world to seek his fortune some years before this boy's uncle who was named Justin in Constantinople and joined the Roman army he was so brave and so good a soldier that he soon came to be commander of the imperial guard which attended the emperor the poor shepherd boy had heard of the success of his uncle and this was the reason why he resolved to set out for the big city so he started down the mountain and trudged along the valley in high hope feeling certain that he would reach the end of his journey to safety it was a difficult and dangerous journey it took him several weeks for he had to go through dark forests and to cross rivers and high hills but at last one afternoon in mid-summer he walked through the main gate of Constantinople proud and happy that he had accomplished his purpose he had no trouble in finding his uncle Justin for everybody in Constantinople knew the commander of the emperor's guards he appeared at the great man's house and told who he was his uncle received him with much kindness he took him into his own family and gave him the best education that could be had in the city as the boy was very talented and eager for knowledge he soon became an excellent scholar he grew up a tall good-looking man with black eyes and curly hair he was always richly dressed he was well liked at the emperor's court and was respected by everybody on account of his learning two one day a great change came for both uncle and nephew the emperor died and the people chose Justin to succeed him he took the title of justinus the first and so the young scholar who had once been a poor shepherd boy was now nephew of an emperor after some years justinus was advised by his nobles to take the young man who had adopted the name of justinian to help him in ruling the empire justinus agreed to this proposal for he was now old and in feeble health and not able himself to attend to the important affairs of government he therefore called the great lords of the court together and in their presence he placed a crown on the head of his nephew who thus became joint emperor with his uncle only a few months after and then justinian was declared emperor this was in the year 527 justinian reigned for nearly forty years and did so many important things that he was afterwards called justinian the great he had many wars during his reign but he himself did not take part in them he was not experienced as a soldier for he had spent most his time in study he was fortunate enough however to have two great generals to lead his armies one of them was named Belacerius and the other Narciss Belacerius was one of the greatest soldiers that ever lived he gained wonderful victories for justinian and conquered some of the old Roman provinces that had been lost for many years the victories of these two generals largely helped to make the reign of justinian remarkable in history many years before he ascended to the throne as you have read conquered the northern part of Africa and established a kingdom there with Carthage as its capital the vandal king in the time of justinian was named Gelimer and he lived in Carthage justinian resolved to make war on this king in order to recover northern Africa and make it again a part of the empire so Belacerius was sent to Africa with an army of thirty five thousand men and horses that were carried on a fleet of six hundred ships it took this fleet three months to make the voyage from Constantinople to Africa the same voyage may now be made in a very few days but in the time of Belacerius there were no steam ships and nothing was known of the power of steam for moving machinery the ships or galleys were sailing vessels and when there was no wind when Belacerius reached Africa he left five men as a guard in each vessel and with the body of his army he marched for some days along the coast the people received him in a friendly way for they had grown tired of the rule of the vandals and preferred to be under the government of the Romans about ten miles from Carthage he met a large army led by the brother of Gelimer a battle immediately took place and the vandals were utterly defeated Gelimer's brother was killed and the king himself who had followed with another army and joined the fight was also defeated and fled from the field Belacerius then proceeded to Carthage and took possession of the city soon afterwards Gelimer collected another army and fought the Romans in another battle twenty miles from Carthage but Belacerius again defeated him and the vandal king again fled this was the end of the vandal king in Africa in a short time Gelimer gave himself up to Belacerius who took him to Constantinople Justinian set apart an estate for him to live upon and the conquered king passed the rest of his life in peaceful retirement after conquering the vandals Justinian resolved to conquer Italy which was then held by the Ostrogoths a large army was got together and put under the command of Belacerius and Narciss who immediately set out for Italy when they arrived there they marched straight to Rome and after some fighting took possession of the city but in a few months Vitigas, king of the Gauss appeared with an army before the gates and challenged Belacerius and Narciss to come out and fight the Roman generals however were not then ready to fight so the Ostrogoth king thinking that he would compel the Romans to surrender but instead of having any thought of surrender Belacerius was preparing his men for fight and when they were ready he attacked Vitigas and defeated him Vitigas retired to Ravenna and Belacerius quickly followed and made such an assault on the city that it was compelled to surrender the Ostrogoth army was captured and Vitigas was taken to Constantinople a prisoner Belacerius and Narciss then went to northern Italy and after a long war conquered all the tribes there thus the power of Justinian was established throughout the whole country and the city of Rome was again under the dominion of a Roman emperor while his brave generals were winning these victories for the empire Justinian himself was busy in making improvements of various kinds of the capital he erected great public buildings that were not only useful but ornamental to the city the most remarkable of them was the very magnificent cathedral of Saint Sophia for a long time the grandest church structure in the world the great temple still exists in all its beauty and grandeur but is now used as a Mohammedan mosque the most important thing that Justinian did the work for which he is most celebrated was the improving and collecting of the laws he knew laws and reformed many of the old laws so that he became famous as one of the greatest of the world's legislators for a long time the Roman laws had been difficult to understand there was a vast number of them and different riders differed widely as to what the laws really were and what they meant Justinian employed a great lawyer named Trebonian to collect and simplify the principal laws Justinian which he made was called the Code of Justinian it still exists and is the model according to which most of the countries of the Europe have made their laws Justinian also did a great deal of good by establishing a number of manufacturers in Constantinople it was he who first brought silkworms into Europe to the last year of his life Justinian was strong and active and a hard worker he often worked or studied all day and all night without eating or sleeping he died in 565 at the age of 83 years end of chapter 8 recording by David Kloparek chapter 9 of famous men of the middle ages this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by David Kloparek famous men of the middle ages by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland chapter 9, Mohammed Mohammed lived from 570 to 632 A.D one a great number of people in Asia and Africa and much of those in Turkey and Europe professed the Mohammedan religion they are called Mohammedans Muslims or Muslims and the proper name for their religion is Islam which means obedience or submission the founder of this religion was a man named Mohammed or Mohammed he was born in the year 570 in Mecca a city of Arabia his parents were poor people though it is said they were descended from Arabian princes they died when Mohammed was a child a kind-hearted man named Abu Talib took him home and brought him up when the boy grew old enough he took care of his uncle's sheep and camels sometimes he went on journeys with his uncle to different parts of Arabia to help him in his business as a trader on these journeys Mohammed used to ride on the camel and he soon became a skillful camel driver Mohammed was very faithful and honest in all his work he always spoke the truth I have given my promise he would say and I must keep it he became so well known in Mecca for being truthful and trustworthy that people gave him the name of El Amin which means the truthful at this time he was only 16 years of age but the rich traders had so much confidence in him that they gave him important business to attend to and trusted him with large sums of money he often went with caravans to the shore of the Red Sea 65 miles from Mecca and sold there the goods carried by the camels he then guided the long line of camels back to Mecca and faithfully paid over to the owners of the goods the money he had received Mohammed had no school education he could neither read nor write but he was not ignorant he knew well how to do the work entrusted to him and was a first rate man of business two one day when Mohammed was about 25 years old he was walking through the bizarre or marketplace of Mecca when he met the chief camel driver of a wealthy woman named Khadija this woman was a widow who was carrying on the business left her by her husband as soon as the camel driver saw Mohammed he stopped him and said my mistress wishes to see you before noon I think she intends to engage you in the charge of her caravans Mohammed waited to hear no more as quickly as possible he went to the house of Khadija for he was well pleased at the thought of being employed in so important a service the widow received him in a very friendly way she said I've heard much of you among the traders they say that though you're so young you're a good caravan manager and can be trusted are you willing to take charge of my caravans and give your whole time and service to me Mohammed was delighted I accept your offer he said and I shall do all I can to serve and please you Khadija then engaged him as the manager of her business and he served her well and faithfully she thought a great deal of him and he was much attracted to her and soon they came to love one another and were married as he was now the husband of a rich woman he did not need to work very hard he still continued to attend to his wife's business he did not make so many journeys as before he spent much of his time in thinking about religion he learned all he could about Judaism and Christianity but he was not satisfied with either of them at the time most people of Arabia worshipped idols very few of them were Christians Mohammed was very earnest and serious in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca he spent several weeks every year in prayer and religious meditation he declared that while praying in his cave he often had visions of God and heaven he said that many times the angel Gabriel appeared to him and revealed to him the religion which he afterward taught his followers as he himself could not write he committed to memory all that the angel had told him and had it written in a book this book is called the Quran which means like our own word Bible the book the Quran is the Bible of the Mohammedans 3 when Mohammed returned home after the angel had first spoken to him he told his wife of what he had seen and heard she had once believed and so became a convert to the new religion she fell upon her knees at the feet of her husband and cried out there is but one God Mohammed is God's prophet Mohammed then told the story to other members of his family some of them believed and became his first followers soon afterwards he began to preach to the people he spoke in the market and other public places most of the people who heard him laughed at what he told them but some poor people and a few slaves believed him and adopted the new religion others said he was a dreamer and a fool Mohammed however paid no heed to the insults he received he went on telling about the appearance of Gabriel and preaching the doctrines which he said the angel had ordered him to teach the people often when speaking in public Mohammed had what he called a vision of heavenly things at such times his face grew pale as death his eyes became red and staring he spoke in a loud voice and his body trembled violently then he would tell what he had seen in his vision after a time when he had to increase people came from distant parts of Arabia and from neighboring countries to hear him one day six of the chief men of Medina one of the largest cities in Arabia listened earnestly to his preaching and were converted when they returned home they talked with the new religion to their fellow citizens and a great many of them became believers but the people of Mecca Mohammed's own home was close to him they would not believe what he preached and they called him an imposter the people of the tribe to which he himself belonged were the most bitter against him they even threatened to put him to death as an enemy of the gods about this time Mohammed's uncle and wife died and he had then hardly any friends in Mecca he therefore resolved to leave that city and go to Medina numbers of the people there believed his doctrines and wished him to come and live among them so he secretly left his native town and fled from his enemies with a few faithful companions he made his escaped Medina it was in the year of our lord 622 that Mohammed fled from Mecca this event is very important in the Mohammedan history it is called the flight of the prophet or the Hajira a word which means flight the Hajira is the beginning of the Mohammedan era and so in all the countries where the rulers of the people are Mohammedans the years are counted from the Hajira instead of from the birth of Christ on his arrival in Medina the people received Mohammed with great rejoicing he lived there the remainder of his life a splendid church was built for him in Medina it was called a mosque and all the Mohammedan churches or places of worship are called by this name it means a place for prostration or prayer Mohammed thought it was right to spread his religion by force and to make war on unbelievers as he called all people who did not accept his teaching he therefore got together in the army and fought battles with unbelievers he gained many victories he marched against Mecca with an army of 10,000 men and the cities rendered with little resistance the people then joined his religion and destroyed their idols before long the inhabitants of Arabia and many other people from neighboring countries became Mohammedans Mohammed died in Medina in the year of our lord 632 or year 11 of the Hajira he was buried in the mosque in which he had held religious services for so many years and Medina has ever since been honored because it contains the tomb of the prophet it is believed by his followers that the body still lies in the coffin in the same state as when it was first buried there is also a story that the coffin of Mohammed rests somewhere between heaven and earth suspended in the air but this fable was invented by enemies to bring ridicule on the prophet and his religion the tomb of Mohammed is visited every year by people of all Mohammedan countries Mecca the birthplace of the prophet is also visited by a vast number of pilgrims every musliman is bound by his religion to make a visit or pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life whenever a musliman prays no matter in what part of the world he turns his face toward Mecca as if he were always thinking of going there good Mohammedans pray five times every day and there is a church officer called a Muezzin who gives them notice of the hour for prayer this he does by going on the platform or balcony of the minaret or tower of the mosque enchanting in a loud voice such words as these come to prayer come to prayer but God he giveth life and he died not I praise his perfection God is great in Mecca there is a mosque called the great mosque it is a large enclosure in the form of a quadrangle or square which can hold 35,000 persons it is enclosed by arcades with pillars of marble and granite and has 19 gates each with a minaret within this enclosure is a famous building called the Kaaba or cube it is nearly a cube in shape in its wall at one corner is the celebrated black stone Muslims regard this stone with the greatest reverence they say that it came down from heaven it is said to have been once white but has become dark from being wept upon and touched by many millions of pilgrims it really is reddish brown in color before the time of Muhammad the Kaaba was a pagan temple but when he took possession of Mecca he made the old temple the center of worship for his own religion after Muhammad died a person was appointed to be his successor as head of the muslim church he was called the caliph a word which means successor and this title has been born ever since by the religious chief of the Mohammedans in modern times the sultans or rulers of Turkey have been commonly regarded as the caliphs Arab scholars however say that really the Sharif i.e. the governor of Mecca is entitled by the Quran to hold this position end of chapter 9 recording by David Klaperik Chapter 10 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages This is the Librivox recording all Librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Librivox.org Chapter 10 of Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Hardin and A.B. Poland Charles Martel 714-741 A.D. and Pepin 741-760 A.D. Part 1 After the death of Mohammed the Saracens as Mohammedans are also called became great warriors they conquered many countries and established the Mohammedan religion in them in 711 the Saracens invaded and conquered a great part of Spain and founded a powerful kingdom there which lasted about 700 years they intended to conquer the land of the Franks next and then all Europe they thought it would be easy to conquer the Franks because the Frankish king at that time was a very weak man he was one of a number of kings who were called the do-nothings they reigned from about 638-751 they spent all their time in amusements and pleasures leaving the affairs of the government to be managed by persons called mayors of the palace the mayors of the palace were officers who at first managed the king's household afterwards there were made guardians of kings who came to the throne when very young as long as the king was under age the mayor of the palace acted as chief officer of the government in his name and as several of the young kings even when they were old enough to rule gave less attention to business than to pleasure the mayors continued to do all the business until at last they did everything the king ought to have done they made war led armies in battle raised money and spent it and carried on the government as they pleased without consulting the kings the do-nothings had the title of king but nothing more in fact they did not desire to have any business to do the things they cared for were dogs, horses and sport the most famous of the mayors was a man called Pepin once a year it is said Pepin had the king dressed in his finest clothes and paraded through the city of Paris where the court was held a splendid throng of nobles and courtiers accompanied the king and did him honour as he went along the streets in a gilded chariot drawn by a long line of beautiful horses the king was cheered by the people and he acknowledged their greetings most graciously after the parade the king was escorted to the great hall of the palace which was filled with nobles seated on a magnificent throne he saluted the assemblage and made a short speech the speech was prepared beforehand by Pepin and committed to memory by the king at the close of the ceremony the royal nobody retired to his country house and was not heard of again for a year part 2 Pepin died in 714 AD and his son Charles who was 25 years old at that time succeeded him as mayor of the palace this Charles is known in history as Charles Martel he was a brave young man he had fought in many of his father's battles and so had become a skilled soldier his men were devoted to him while he was mayor of the palace he led armies in several wars against the enemies of the Franks the most important of his wars was worn with the Saracens who came across the Pyrenees from Spain and invaded the land of the Franks intending to establish Mohammedanism there their army was led by Abdel Rahman the Saracen governor of Spain on his march through the southern districts of the land of the Franks Abdel Rahman destroyed many towns and villages killed a number of the people and seized all the property he could carry off he plundered the city of Bogdó and it is said obtained so many valuable things that every soldier was loaded with golden vases and cups and emeralds and other precious stones but meanwhile Charles Martel was not idle as quickly as he could he got together a great army of Franks and Germans and marched against the Saracens the two armies met between the city of Tour and Poitiers in October 732 for six days there was nothing but an occasional skirmish small parties from both sides but on the seventh day a great battle took place both Christians and Mohammedans fought with terrible earnestness the fight went on all day and the field was covered with the bodies of the slain but toward evening during a resolute charge made by the Franks Abdel Rahman was killed then the Saracens gradually retired to their camp it was not yet known however which side had won and the Franks expected that the fight would be renewed in the morning but when Charles Martel with his Christian warriors appeared on the field at sunrise there was no enemy to fight the Mohammedans had fled in the silence and darkness of the night and had left behind them all their valuable spoils there was now no doubt which side had won the battle of Thur of Prothier as it should be called is regarded as one of the decisive battles of the world it decided that Christians and not Muslims should be the ruling power in Europe Charles Martel is especially celebrated as the hero of this battle it is said that the name Martel was given to him because of his bravery during the fight Martou is the French word for hammer and one of the old French historians says that as a hammer breaks and crushes iron and steel so Charles broke and crushed the power of his enemies in the battle of Thur but though the Saracens fled from the battlefield of Thur they did not leave the land of the Franks and Charles had to fight other battles with them before they were finally defeated at last however he drove them across the Pyrenees however again attempted to invade Frankland after his defeat of the Saracens Charles Martel was looked upon as the great champion of Christianity and to the day of his death in 741 he was in reality though not in name the king of the Franks Part 3 Charles Martel had two sons Pepin and Carlemont for a time they ruled together but Carlemont wished to lead a religious life so he went to a monastery and became a monk then Pepin was sole ruler Pepin was quite low in stature and therefore was called Pepin the short but he had great strength and courage a story is told of him which shows how fearless he was one day he went with a few of his nobles to a circus to see a fight between a lion and a bull soon after the fight began it looked as though the bull were getting the worst of it Pepin cried out to his companions will one of you separate the beasts but there was no answer none of them had the courage to make the attempt then Pepin jumped from his seat rushed into the arena and with the thrust of his sword killed the lion in the early years of Pepin's rule at the palace the throne was occupied by a king named Hilderic the third like his father and other do nothing kings Hilderic cared more for pleasures and amusements than for affairs of government Pepin was the real ruler and after a while he began to think that he ought to have the title of king as he had all the power and did all the work of governing and defending the kingdom so he sent some friends to Rome to help the Pope they said to his holiness holy father who ought to be the king of France the man who has the title or the man who has the power and does all the duties of the king certainly replied the Pope the man who has the power and does the duties then surely said the Pepin ought to be the king of the Franks for he has all the power the Pope gave his consent and Pepin was crowned king of the Franks and thus the reign of Hilderic ended and that of Pepin began during nearly his whole reign Pepin was engaged in war several times he went to Italy to defend the Pope against the Lombards these people occupied certain parts of Italy including the province still called Lombardi Pepin conquered them and gave as a present to the Pope that part of their processions were some distance around Rome this was called Pepin's donation it was the beginning of what is known as the temporal power of the Popes that is their power as rulers a part of Italy Pepin died in 768 end of chapter 10 recording by Andy from Inferno a minute Chapter 11 a famous men of the Middle Ages this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Horan and A.B. Poland Chapter 11 Charlemagne King from 768 to 814 A.D. Part 1 Pepin had two sons Charles and Carlemagne after the death of their father they ruled together but in a few years Carlemagne died and then Charles became soul king this Charles was the most famous of the kings of the Franks he did so many great and wonderful things that he is called Charlemagne which means Charles the Great he was a great soldier for 30 years he carried on a war against the Saxons finally he conquered them and their great chief Wittiken submitted to him the Saxons were a people of Germany who then lived near the land of the Franks they spoke the same language and were of the same race as the Franks but had not been civilized by contact with the Romans they were still pagans just as the Franks had been before Clovis became a Christian they actually offered human sacrifices after Charlemagne conquered them he made their lands part of his kingdom a great number of them among whom was Wittiken then became Christians and were baptized and soon they had churches and schools in many parts of their country another of Charlemagne's wars was against the Lombards Pepin as you have read had defeated the Lombards and given to the Pope part of the country held by them the Lombard king now invaded the Pope's lands and threatened Rome itself so the Pope sent to Charlemagne for help Charlemagne quickly marched across the Alps and attacked the Lombards he drove them out of the Pope's lands and took possession of their country after he had conquered the Lombards he carried on war in 778 in Spain a large portion of Spain was then held by the Moorish Saracens but a Mohammedan leader from Damascus had invaded their country and the Moors invited Charlemagne to help them he therefore led an army across the Pyrenees he succeeded in putting his Moorish friends in possession of their lands in Spain and then set out on his return to his own country on the march his army was divided into two parts the main body was led by Charlemagne himself the rearguard was commanded by a famous warrior named Roland while marching through the narrow pass of Ronthus Valleus among the Pyrenees Roland's division was attacked by a tribe called the Basques who lived on the mountain slopes of the neighboring region high cliffs walled in the pass on either side from the tops of these cliffs the Basques hurled down rocks and trunks of trees upon the Franks and crushed many of them to death besides this wild mountaineers descended into the pass and attacked them with weapons Roland fought bravely but at last he was overpowered and he and all his men were killed Roland had a friend and companion named Oliver who was as brave as himself many stories and songs have been written telling of the wonderful adventures they were said to have had and of their wonderful deeds in war the work of Charlemagne in Spain was quickly undone for Abdurrahman the leader of the Mohammedans who had come from Damascus soon conquered almost all the territory south of the Pyrenees for more than 40 years Charlemagne was king of the Franks but a still greater dignity was to come to him in the year 800 some of the people in Rome rebelled against the Pope and Charlemagne went with an army to put down the rebellion and soon conquered the rebels on Christmas day he went to the church of St. Peter and as he knelt before the altar the Pope placed a crown upon his head saying Long live Charles Augustus, emperor of the Romans the people assembled in the church shouted the same words and so Charlemagne was now emperor of the Western Roman Empire as well as king of the Franks the emperors of Constantinople called themselves Roman emperors and still claimed Italy, Germany and France as part of their empire though really their authority had not been respected in these countries for more than 300 years Charlemagne built a splendid palace at Axel of Chapelle a town in Germany where perhaps he was born Charlemagne was a tall man with long flowing beard and of noble appearance he dressed in very simple style but when he went into battle he wore armor as was the custom for kings and nobles and often for ordinary soldiers in his day armor was made of leather or iron or both together there was a helmet of iron for the head and a breastplate to cover the breast or a coat of mail to cover the body the coat of mail was made of small iron or still rings linked together or fastened on to a leather shirt coverings for the legs and feet were often attached to the coat Part 2 Charlemagne was a great king in many other ways besides the fighting of battles he did much good for his people he made many excellent laws and appointed judges to see that the laws were carried out he established schools and placed good teachers in charge of them he had a school in his palace for his own children and he employed as their teacher a very learned Englishman named Alquin in those times few people could read or write there were not many schools anywhere and in most places there were none at all even the kings had little education indeed few of them could write their own names and most of them did not care about sending their children to school they did not think that reading or writing was of much use but thought that it was far better for his soldiers and for girls to learn to spin and weave Charlemagne had a very different opinion he was fond of learning and whenever he heard of a learned man living in any foreign country he tried to get him to come and live in Franklin the fame of Charlemagne is a great warrior and a wise emperor spread all over the world many kings sent messengers to him to ask his friendship and bring him presents the famous Rashid who lived in Baghdad in Asia sent him an elephant and a clock which struck the hours the Franks were much astonished at the sight of the elephant for they had never seen one before they also wondered much at the clock in those days there were in Europe no clocks such as we have but water clocks and hour classes were used in some places the water clock was a vessel to which water was allowed to trickle it contained a float which pointed to a scale of hours on the side of the vessel the float gradually rose as the water trickled in the hour glasses measured time by the falling of fine sand from the top to the bottom of a glass vessel made with a narrow neck in the middle for the sand to go through they were like the little glasses called egg timers which are used for measuring the time Charlemagne died in 814 he was buried in the church which he had built in Axle Chapelle his body was placed in the tomb seated upon a grand chair dressed in royal robes with a crown on the head a sword at the side and a Bible in the hands this famous emperor is known in history as Charlemagne which is the French word for the German name Carl de Groce Charles the Great the name by which he was called at his own court during his life the German name would really be a better name for him for he was a German and German was the language that he spoke the common name of his favorite residence Axle Chapelle also is French but he knew the place as Ochin the great empire which Charlemagne built up held together only during the life of his son then it was divided among his three sons Louis took the eastern part Lothair took the central part with the title of emperor and Charles took the