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diff --git a/old/54334-0.txt b/old/54334-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7ba553f..0000000 --- a/old/54334-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16391 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Europe in the Middle Ages, by Ierne Lifford Plunket - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Europe in the Middle Ages - -Author: Ierne Lifford Plunket - -Release Date: March 10, 2017 [EBook #54334] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE AGES *** - - - - -Produced by Clarity, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -EUROPE - -IN THE MIDDLE AGES - - - - - EUROPE - IN THE MIDDLE AGES - - BY - IERNE L. PLUNKET - - M.A. OXON. - - AUTHOR OF ‘THE FALL OF THE OLD ORDER’, ‘ISABEL OF CASTILE’, ETC. - - - OXFORD - AT THE CLARENDON PRESS - 1922 - - - - - OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS - - London Edinburgh Glasgow Copenhagen - New York Toronto Melbourne Cape Town - Bombay Calcutta Madras Shanghai - - HUMPHREY MILFORD - Publisher to the University - - - Printed in England - - - - -PREFACE - - -The history of Mediaeval Europe is so vast a subject that the -attempt to deal with it in a small compass must entail either severe -compression or what may appear at first sight reckless omission. - -The path of compression has been trodden many times, as in J. H. -Robinson’s _Introduction to the History of Western Europe_, or in -such series as the ‘Periods of European History’ published by Messrs. -Rivingtons for students, or text-books of European History published by -the Clarendon Press and Messrs. Methuen. - -To the authors of all these I should like to express my indebtedness -both for facts and perspective, as to Mr. H. W. Davis for his admirable -summary of the mediaeval outlook in the Home University Library series; -but in spite of so many authorities covering the same ground, I venture -to claim for the present book a pioneer path of ‘omission’; it may be -reckless but yet, I believe, justifiable. - -It has been my object not so much to supply students with facts as to -make Mediaeval Europe live, for the many who, knowing nothing of her -history, would like to know a little, in the lives of her principal -heroes and villains, as well as in the tendencies of her classes, and -in the beliefs and prejudices of her thinkers. This task I have found -even more difficult than I had expected, for limits of space have -insisted on the omission of many events and names I would have wished -to include. These I have sacrificed to the hope of creating reality and -arousing interest, and if I have in any way succeeded I should like -to pay my thanks first of all to Mr. Henry Osborn Taylor for his two -volumes of _The Mediaeval Mind_ that have been my chief inspiration, -and then to the many authors whose names and books I give elsewhere, -and whose researches have enabled me to tell my tale. - - IERNE L. PLUNKET. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I. The Greatness of Rome 1 - - II. The Decline of Rome 9 - - III. The Dawn of Christianity 21 - - IV. Constantine the Great 27 - - V. The Invasions of the Barbarians 37 - - VI. The Rise of the Franks 54 - - VII. Mahomet 66 - - VIII. Charlemagne 79 - - IX. The Invasions of the Northmen 101 - - X. Feudalism and Monasticism 117 - - XI. The Investiture Question 130 - - XII. The Early Crusades 143 - - XIII. The Making of France 159 - - XIV. Empire and Papacy 176 - - XV. Learning and Ecclesiastical Organization in the Middle - Ages 196 - - XVI. The Faith of the Middle Ages 207 - - XVII. France under Two Strong Kings 223 - - XVIII. The Hundred Years’ War 236 - - XIX. Spain in the Middle Ages 259 - - XX. Central and Northern Europe in the Later Middle Ages 276 - - XXI. Italy in the Later Middle Ages 297 - - XXII. Part I: The Fall of the Greek Empire 327 - Part II: Voyage and Discovery 337 - - XXIII. The Renaissance 346 - - Some Authorities on Mediaeval History 365 - - Chronological Summary, 476-1494 368 - - Mediaeval Genealogies 375 - - Index 385 - - - - -MAPS - - - The Roman Empire in the Time of Constantine the Great 28 - - The Empire of Charlemagne 80 - - France in the Reign of Henry II 161 - - The Treaty of Bretigni 246 - - France in 1429 254 - - The Spanish Kingdoms, 1263-1492 260 - - North-East Europe in the Middle Ages 287 - - Italy in the Later Middle Ages 298 - - The Near East in the Middle Ages 328 - - - - -I - -THE GREATNESS OF ROME - - -‘_Ave, Roma Immortalis!_’, ‘_Hail, Immortal Rome!_’ This cry, breaking -from the lips of a race that had carried the imperial eagles from the -northern shores of Europe to Asia and Africa, was no mere patriotic -catchword. It was the expression of a belief that, though humanity must -die and personal ambitions fade away, yet Rome herself was eternal and -unconquerable, and what was wrought in her name would outlast the ages. - -In the modern world it is sometimes necessary to remind people of -their citizenship, but the Roman never forgot the greatness of his -inheritance. When St. Paul, bound with thongs and condemned to be -scourged, declared, ‘I am Roman born,’ the Captain of the Guard, who -had only gained his citizenship by paying a large sum of money, was -afraid of the prisoner on whom he had laid hands without a trial. - -To be a Roman, however apparently poor and defenceless, was to walk the -earth protected by a shield that none might set aside save at great -peril. Not to be a Roman, however rich and of high standing, was to -pass in Roman eyes as a ‘barbarian’, a creature of altogether inferior -quality and repute. - -‘Be it thine, O Roman,’ says Virgil, the greatest of Latin poets, ‘to -govern the nations with thy imperial rule’: and such indeed was felt by -Romans to be the destiny of their race. - -Stretching on the west through Spain and Gaul to the Atlantic, that -vast ‘Sea of Darkness’ beyond which according to popular belief the -earth dropped suddenly into nothingness, the outposts of the Empire in -the east looked across the plains of Mesopotamia towards Persia and the -kingdoms of central Asia. Babylon ‘the Wondrous’, Syria, and Palestine -with its turbulent Jewish population, Egypt, the Kingdom of the -Pharaohs long ere Romulus the City-builder slew his brother, Carthage, -the Queen of Mediterranean commerce, all were now Roman provinces, -their lustre dimmed by a glory greater than they had ever known. - -[Sidenote: Roman Trade Routes] - -The Mediterranean, once the battle-ground of rival Powers, had become -an imperial lake, the high road of the grain ships that sailed -perpetually from Spain and Egypt to feed the central market of the -world; for Rome, like England to-day, was quite unable to satisfy -her population from home cornfields. The fleets that brought the -necessaries of life convoyed also shiploads of oriental luxuries, -silks, jewels, and perfumes, transported from Ceylon and India in -trading-sloops to the shores of the Red Sea, and thence by caravans of -camels to the port of Alexandria. - -Other trade routes than the Mediterranean were the vast network of -roads that, like the threads of a spider’s web, kept every part of -the Empire, however remote, in touch with the centre from which their -common fate was spun. At intervals of six miles were ‘post-houses’, -provided each with forty or more horses, that imperial messengers, -speeding to or from the capital with important news, might dismount -and mount again at the different stages, hastening on their way with -undiminished speed. - -How firm and well made were their roads we know to-day, when, after -the lapse of nearly nineteen centuries of traffic, we use and praise -them still. They hold in their strong foundations one secret of -their maker’s greatness, that the Roman brought to his handiwork the -thoroughness inspired by a vision not merely of something that should -last a few years or even his lifetime, but that should endure like the -city he believed eternal. - -It was the boast of Augustus, 27 B.C.-A.D. 14, the first of the Roman -Emperors, that he had found his capital built of brick and had left it -marble; and his tradition as an architect passed to his successors. -There are few parts of what was once the Roman Empire that possess no -trace to-day of massive aqueduct or Forum, of public baths or stately -colonnades. In Rome itself, the Colosseum, the scene of many a martyr’s -death and gladiator’s struggle; elsewhere, as at Nîmes in southern -France, a provincial amphitheatre; the aqueduct of Segovia in Spain, -the baths in England that have made and named a town; the walls that -mark the outposts of empire--all are the witnesses of a genius that -dared to plan greatly, nor spared expense or labour in carrying out its -designs. - -Those who have visited the Border Country between England and Scotland -know the Emperor Hadrian’s wall, twenty feet high by seven feet broad, -constructed to keep out the fierce Picts and Scots from this the most -northern of his possessions. Those of the enemy that scaled the top -would find themselves faced by a ditch and further wall, bristling with -spears; while the legions flashed their summons for reinforcements from -guardhouse to guardhouse along the seventy miles of massive barrier. -All that human labour could do had made the position impregnable. - -A scheme of fortifications was also attempted in central Europe along -the lines of the Rhine and Danube. These rivers provided the third of -the imperial trade routes, and it is well to remember them in this -connexion, for their importance as highways lasted right through Roman -and mediaeval into modern times. Railways have altered the face of -Europe: they have cut through her waste places and turned them into -thriving centres of industry: they have looped up her mines and ports -and tunnelled her mountains: there is hardly a corner of any land where -they have not penetrated; and the change they have made is so vast that -it is often difficult to imagine the world before their invention. -In Roman times, in neighbourhoods where the sea was remote and road -traffic slow and inconvenient, there only remained the earliest of -all means of transport, the rivers. The Rhine and Danube, one flowing -north-west, the other south-east, both neither too swift nor too -sluggish for navigation, were the natural main high roads of central -Europe: they were also an obvious barrier between the Empire and -barbarian tribes. - -To connect the Rhine and Danube at their sources by a massive wall, -to establish forts with strong garrisons at every point where these -rivers could be easily forded, such were the precautions by which wise -Emperors planned to shut in Rome’s civilization, and to keep out all -who would lay violent hands upon it. - -The Emperor Augustus left a warning to his successors that they should -be content with these natural boundaries, lest in pushing forward to -increase their territory they should in reality weaken their position. -It is easy to agree with his views centuries afterwards, when we know -that the defences of the Empire, pushed ever forward, snapped at the -finish like an elastic band; but the average Roman of imperial days -believed his nation equal to any strain. - -It was a boast of the army that ‘Roman banners never retreat’. If then -a tribe of barbarians were to succeed in fording the Danube and in -surprising some outpost fort, the legions sent to punish them would -clamour not merely to exact vengeance and return home, but to conquer -and add the territory to the Empire. In the case of swamps or forest -land the clamour might be checked; but where there was pasturage or -good agricultural soil, it would be almost irresistible. Emigrants from -crowded Italy would demand leave to form a colony, traders would hasten -in their footsteps, and soon another responsibility of land and lives, -perhaps with no natural protection of river, sea, or mountains, would -be added to Rome’s burden of government. Such was the fertile province -of Dacia, north of the Danube, a notable gain in territory, but yet a -future source of weakness. - -[Sidenote: Government of the Roman Empire] - -At the head of the Empire stood the Emperor, ‘Caesar Augustus’, the -commander-in-chief of the army, the supreme authority in the state, the -fountain of justice, a god before whose altar every loyal Roman must -burn incense and bow the knee in reverence. - -It was a great change from the old days, when Rome was a republic, and -her Senate, or council of leading citizens, had been responsible to -the rest of the people for their good or bad government. The historian -Tacitus, looking back from imperial days with a sigh of regret, says -that in that happy age man could speak what was in his mind without -fear of his neighbours, and draws the contrast with his own time when -the Emperor’s spies wormed their way into house and tavern, paid to -betray those about them to prison or death for some chance word or -incautious action. Yet Rome by her conquests had brought on herself the -tyranny of the Empire. - -It is comparatively easy to rule a small city well, where fraud and -self-seeking can be quickly detected; but when Rome began to extend -her boundaries and to employ more people in the work of government, -unscrupulous politicians appeared. These built up private fortunes -during their term of office: they became senators, and the Senate -ceased to represent the will of the people and began to govern in the -interests of a small group of wealthy men. Members of their families -became governors of provinces, first in Italy, and then as conquests -continued, across the mountains in Gaul and Spain, and beyond the seas -in Egypt and Asia Minor. Except in name, senators and governors ceased -to be simple citizens and lived as princes, with officials and servants -ready to carry out their slightest wish. - -Perhaps it may seem odd that the Roman people, once so fond of liberty -that they had driven into exile the kings who oppressed them, should -afterwards let themselves be bullied or neglected by a hundred petty -tyrants; but in truth the people had changed even more than the class -of ‘patricians’ to whom they found themselves in bondage. - -No longer pure Roman or Latin, but through conquest and intermarriage -of every race from the stalwart Teuton to the supple Oriental or -swarthy Egyptian, few amongst the men and women crowding the streets of -Rome remembered or reverenced the traditions of her early days. Rome -stood for military glory, luxury, culture, at her best for even-handed -justice, but no longer for an ideal of liberty. If national pride -was satisfied, and adequate food and amusement provided, the Roman -populace was content to be ruled from above and to hail rival senators -as masters, according to the extent of their promises and success. A -failure to fulfil such promises, resulting in a lost campaign or a -dearth of corn, would throw the military tyrant of the moment from his -pedestal, but only to set up another in his place. - -It was an easy transition from the rule of a corrupt Senate to that of -an autocrat. ‘Better one tyrant than many’ was the attitude of mind of -the average citizen towards Octavius Caesar, when under the title of -Augustus he gathered to himself the supreme command over army and state -and so became the first of the Emperors. Had he been a tactless man and -shouted his triumph to the Seven Hills he would probably have fallen a -victim to an assassin’s knife; but he skilfully disguised his authority -and posed as being only the first magistrate of the state. - -Under his guiding hand the Senate was reformed, and its outward dignity -rather increased than shorn. Augustus could issue his own ‘edicts’ or -commands independently of the Senate’s consent; but he more frequently -preferred to lay his measures before it, and to let them reach the -public as a senatorial decree. In this he ran no risk, for the -senators, impressive figures in the eyes of the ordinary citizen, were -really puppets of his creation. At any minute he could cast them away. - -His fellow magistrates were equally at his mercy, for in his hands -alone rested the supreme military command, the _imperium_, from which -the title of _imperator_, or ‘emperor’, was derived. At first he -accepted the office only for ten years, but at the end of that time, -resigning it to a submissive Senate, he received it again amid shouts -of popular joy. The tyranny of Augustus had proved a blessing. - -Instead of corps of troops raised here and there in different -provinces by governors at war with one another, and thus divided in -their allegiance, there had begun to develop a disciplined army, -whose ‘legions’ were enrolled, paid, and dismissed in the name of the -all-powerful Caesar, and who therefore obeyed his commands rather than -those of their immediate captains. - -The same system of centring all authority in one absolute ruler was -followed in the civil government. Governors of provinces, once petty -rulers, became merely servants of the state. Caesar sent them from -Rome: he appointed the officials under them: he paid them their -salaries: and to him they must give an account of their stewardship. -‘If thou let this man go thou art not Caesar’s friend.’ Such was the -threat that induced Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea in the reign of -Tiberius, to condemn to death a man he knew to be innocent of crime. - -This is but one of many stories that show the dread of the Emperor’s -name in Rome’s far-distant provinces. Governors, military commanders, -judges, tax-collectors, all the vast army of officials who bore the -responsibility of government on their shoulders, had an ultimate appeal -from their decisions to Caesar, and were exalted by his smile or -trembled at his frown. - -It is not a modern notion of good government, this complete power -vested in one man, but Rome nearly two thousand years ago was content -that a master should rule her, so long as he would guarantee prosperity -and peace at home. This under the early Caesars was at least secured. - -Two fleets patrolled the Mediterranean, but their vigilance was not -needed, save for an occasional brush with pirates. Naught but storms -disturbed her waters. The legions on the frontiers, whether in Syria or -Egypt, or along the Rhine and Danube, kept the barbarians at bay until -Romans ceased to think of war as a trade to which every man might one -day be called. It was a profession left to the few, the ‘many’ content -to pay the taxes required by the state and to devote themselves to a -civilian’s life. - -To one would fall the management of a large estate, another would stand -for election to a government office, a third would become a lawyer or a -judge. Others would keep shops or taverns or work as hired labourers, -while below these again would be the class of slaves, whether prisoners -of war sold in the market-place or citizens deprived of their freedom -for crime or debt. - -In Rome itself was a large population, living in uncomfortable -lodging-houses very like the slum tenements of a modern city. Some of -the inhabitants would be engaged in casual labour, some idle; but when -the Empire was at its zenith lavish gifts of corn from the government -stood between this otherwise destitute population and starvation. It -crowded the streets to see Caesar pass, threw flowers on his chariot, -and hailed him as Emperor and God, and in return he bestowed on it -food and amusements. - -The huge amphitheatres of Rome and her provinces were built to satisfy -the public desire for pageantry and sport; and, because life was held -cheap, and for all his boasted civilization the Roman was often a -savage at heart, he would spend his holidays watching the despised sect -of Christians thrown to the lions, or hired gladiators fall in mortal -struggle. ‘We, about to die, salute thee.’ With these words the victims -of an emperor’s lust of bloodshed bent the knee before the imperial -throne, and at Caesar’s nod passed to slay or be slain. The emperor’s -sceptre did not bring mercy, but order, justice, and prosperity above -the ordinary standard of the age. - - - - -II - -THE DECLINE OF ROME - - -The years of Rome’s greatness seemed to her sons an age of gold, but -even at the height of her prosperity there were traces of the evils -that brought about her downfall. An autocracy, that is, the rule of one -man, might be a perfect form of government were the autocrat not a man -but a god, thus combining superhuman goodness and understanding with -absolute power. Unfortunately, Roman emperors were representatives of -human nature in all its phases. Some, like Augustus, were great rulers; -others, though good men, incompetent in the management of public -affairs; whilst not a few led evil lives and regarded their office as a -means of gratifying their own desires. - -The Emperor Nero (54-68), for instance, was cruel and profligate, -guilty of the murder of his half-brother, mother, and wife, and also of -the deaths of numberless senators and citizens whose wealth he coveted. -Because he was an absolute ruler his corrupt officials were able to -bribe and oppress his subjects as they wished until he was fortunately -assassinated. He was the last of his line, the famous House of Julius -to which Augustus had belonged, and the period that followed his death -was known as ‘the year of the four Emperors’, because during that time -no less than four rivals claimed and struggled for the coveted honour. - -Nominally, the right of election lay with the Senate, but the final -champion, Vespasian (69-79), was not even a Roman nor an aristocrat, -but a soldier from the provinces. He had climbed the ladder of fame by -sheer endurance and his power of managing others, and his accession was -a triumph not for the Senate but the legions who had supported him and -who now learned their power. Henceforward it would be the soldier with -his naked sword who could make and unmake emperors, and especially the -Praetorian Guard whose right it was to maintain order in Rome. - -The gradual recognition of this idea had a disastrous effect on the -government of the Empire. Too often the successful general of a -campaign on the frontier would remember Vespasian and become obsessed -with the thought that he also might be a Caesar. Led by ambition he -would hold out to his legions hopes of the rewards they would receive -were he crowned in Rome, and some sort of bargain would be struck, -lowering the tone of the army by corrupting its loyalty and making its -soldiers insolent and grasping. - -The Senate attempted to deal with this difficulty of the succession by -passing a law that every Emperor should, during his lifetime, name his -successor, and that the latter should at once be hailed as Caesar, take -a secondary share in the government, and have his effigy printed on -coins. In this way he would become known to the whole Roman world, and -when the Emperor died would at once be acknowledged in his place. Thus -the Romans hoped to establish the theory that England expresses to-day -in the phrase ‘The King never dies’. - -Though to a certain extent successful in their efforts to avoid -civil war, they failed to arrest other evils that were undermining -the prosperity of the government. One of these was the imperial -expenditure. It was only natural that the Emperor should assume a -magnificence and liberality in excess of his wealthiest subjects, -but in addition he found it necessary to buy the allegiance of the -Praetorian Guard and to keep the Roman populace satisfied in its -demands for free corn and expensive amusements. - -The standard of luxury had grown, and Romans no longer admired, except -in books, the simple life of their forefathers. Instead the fashionable -ideal was that of the East they had enslaved, and the Emperor was -gradually shut off from the mass of his subjects by a host of court -officials who thronged his antechambers and exacted heavy bribes for -admission. In this unhealthy atmosphere suspicion and plots grew apace -like weeds, and money dripped through the imperial fingers as through -a sieve, now into the pockets of one favourite, now of another. - -‘I have lost a day,’ was said by the Emperor Titus (A.D. 79-81), -whenever twenty-four hours had passed without his having made some -valuable present to those about him. His courtiers were ready to fall -on their knees and hail him for his liberality as ‘Darling of the human -race’; but he only reigned for two years. Had he lived to exhaust his -treasury it is probable that the greedy throng would have passed a -different verdict. - -Extravagance is as catching as the plague, and the Roman aristocracy -did not fail to copy the imperial example. Just as the Emperor was -surrounded by a court, so every noble of importance had his following -of ‘clients’ who would wait submissively on his doorstep in the morning -and attend him when he walked abroad to the Forum or the Public Baths. -Some would be idle gentlemen, the penniless younger sons of noble -houses, others professional poets ready to write flattering verses -to order, others again famous gladiators whose long death-roll of -victims had made them as popular in Rome as a champion tennis-player -or footballer in England to-day. All were united in the one hope of -gaining something from their patron, perhaps a gift of money, or his -influence to secure them a coveted office, at the least an invitation -to a banquet or feast. - -[Sidenote: The Roman Villa] - -The class of senators to which most of these aristocrats belonged had -grown steadily richer as the years of empire increased, building up -immense landed properties something like the feudal estates of a later -date. These ‘villas’, as they were called, were miniature kingdoms -over which their owners had secured absolute power. Their affairs were -administered by an agent, probably a favoured slave who had gained his -freedom, assisted by a small army of officials. The principal subjects -of the landlord would be the small proprietors of farms who paid a rent -or did various services in return for their houses, while below these -again would be a larger number of actual slaves, employed as household -servants, bakers, shoe-makers, shepherds, &c. - -The most striking thing about the Roman ‘villa’ was that it was -absolutely self-contained. All that was needed for the life of its -inhabitants, whether food or clothing, could be grown and manufactured -on the estate. The crimes that were committed there would be judged by -the master or his agent, and from the former’s decision there would -be little hope of appeal. Where the proprietor was harsh or selfish, -miserable indeed was the condition of those condemned to live on his -‘villa’. - -The income of the average senator in the fourth century A.D. was -about £60,000, a very large sum when money was not as plentiful as -it is to-day. Aurelius Symmachus, a young senator typical of this -time, possessed no less than fifteen country seats, besides large -estates in different parts of Italy and three town houses in Rome or -her suburbs. It was his object to become Praetor of Rome, one of the -highest offices in the city; and in order to gain popularity he and -his father organized public games that cost them some £90,000. Lions -and crocodiles were fetched from Africa, dogs from Scotland, a special -breed of horses from Spain; while captured warriors were brought from -Germany, whom he destined to fight with one another in the arena. - -The life of this young senator, according to his letters, was -controlled by purely selfish considerations. He did not want the -praetorship in order to be of use to the Empire, but merely that the -Empire might crown his career with a coveted honour. The same narrow -outlook and lack of public spirit was common to the majority of the -other men and women of his class, and so great was their blindness that -they could not even see that they were undermining Rome’s power, far -less avail to save her. - -More fatal even than the corruption of the aristocracy was the decline -of the middle classes, usually called the backbone of a nation’s -greatness. ‘The name of Roman citizen,’ says a native of Marseilles in -the fifth century, ‘formerly so highly valued and even bought with a -great price, is now ... shunned, nay it is regarded with abomination.’ - -[Sidenote: Taxation under the Roman Empire] - -This change from the days of St. Paul may be traced back long before -the time when Symmachus wasted his patrimony in bringing crocodiles -from Africa and horses from Spain. Its cause was the gradual but -constant increase of taxation required to fill the imperial treasury, -and the unequal scale according to which such taxation was levied. - -Rome’s main source of revenue was an impost on land, and ought by -rights to have been exacted from the senatorial class that owned the -majority of the large estates. Unfortunately, it was left to the local -municipal councils, the _curias_, to collect this tax, and if it -fell short of the amount required from the locality by the imperial -treasury, the _curiales_, or class compelled as a duty to attend the -councils, were held responsible for the deficit. - -Here was a problem for Roman citizens of medium wealth, members of -their _curia_ by birth, quite unable to divest themselves of this more -than doubtful honour, and conscious that their sons at eighteen must -also accept the dignity and put their shoulders to the burden. It was -one thing to assess the chief landlords of the neighbourhood at a -sum that matched their revenues, it was another to obtain the money -from them. In England to-day the man who refuses to pay his taxes is -punished; in imperial Rome it was the tax-collector. - -Possessed of money and influence, it was not hard for a senator to -outwit mere _curiales_, either by obtaining an exemption from the -Emperor, or by bribing the occasional inspectors sent by the central -government to condone his refusal to pay. The imperial court set an -example of corruption, and those who could imitate this example did so. - -The _curiales_, faced by ruin, sought relief in various ways. Those -with most wealth tried to raise themselves to senatorial rank: others, -unable to achieve this, yet conscious that they must obtain the money -required at all costs, demanded the heaviest taxes from those who could -not resist them, so that the phrase spread abroad, ‘So many _curiales_ -just so many robbers.’ - -Less important members of the middle classes, unable to pay their share -of taxation or to force others to do so instead, tried in every way to -divest themselves of an honour grown intolerable, and the legislation -of the later Empire shows their efforts to escape out of the net in -which the government tried to hold them enmeshed. Some sought the -protection of the nearest landowners, and joined the dependants of -their ‘villas’: others, though forbidden by law, entered the army: -while others again sold themselves into slavery, since a master’s -self-interest would at least secure them food and clothing. - -More desperate and adventurous spirits saw in brigandage a means both -of livelihood and of revenge. Joining themselves to bands of criminals -and escaped slaves, they infested the high roads, waylaid and robbed -travellers, and carried off their spoils to mountain fastnesses. Thus, -through fraud or violence, the ranks of the _curiales_ diminished, and -taxation fell with still heavier pressure on those who remained to -support its burdens. - -This evil state of affairs was intensified by the widespread system of -slavery that, besides its bad influence on the character of both master -and slave, had other economic defects. When forced labour and free work -side by side, the former will nearly always drive the latter out of the -market, because it can be provided more cheaply. A master need not pay -his slaves wages; he can make them work as many hours as he chooses, -and lodge and feed them just as he pleases. From his point of view it -is more convenient to employ men who cannot leave his service however -much they dislike the work and conditions. For these reasons business -and trade tended to fall into the hands of wealthy slave-owners who -could undersell the employers of free labour, and as the number of -slaves increased the number of free workmen grew less. - -In Rome, and the large towns also, free labourers who remained -were corrupted like men and women of a higher rank by the general -extravagance and love of pleasure. They did not agitate so much for a -reform of taxation or the abolition of slavery, but for larger supplies -of free corn and more frequent public games and spectacles. - -An extravagant court, a corrupt government, slavery, class selfishness, -these were some of the principal causes of Rome’s decline; but in -recording them it must be remembered that the taint was only gradual, -like some corroding acid eating away good metal. Not all _curiales_, -in spite of popular assertions, were robbers, not every taxpayer on -the verge of starvation, not every dependant of a ‘villa’ cowed and -miserable. In many houses masters would free or help their slaves, -slaves be found ready to die for their masters. The canker lay in the -indifference of individual Roman citizens to evils that did not touch -them personally, in the refusal to cure with radical reform even those -that did, in the foolish confidence of the majority in the glory of the -past as a safeguard for the present. ‘Faith in Rome killed all faith in -a wider future for humanity.’ - -This lack of vision has ruined many an empire and kingdom, and Rome -only half-opened her eyes even when the despised barbarians who were to -expose her weakness were already knocking at the imperial gates. - - * * * * * - -‘Barbarian’, we have noticed, was the epithet used by the Roman of the -early Empire to describe and condemn the person not fortunate enough to -share his citizenship. - -At this time the most formidable of the barbarians were the German -tribes who inhabited large stretches of forest and mountain land to the -north of the Danube and east of the Rhine--a tall, powerfully built -race for the most part with ruddy hair and fierce blue eyes, whose -business was warfare, and the occupation of their leisure hours the -chase or gambling. - -[Sidenote: Tacitus’ ‘Germania’] - -In his book, the _Germania_, Tacitus, a famous Roman historian of the -first century, describes these Teutons, and besides drawing attention -to their primitive customs and lack of culture, he made copy of their -simplicity to lash the vices of his own countrymen. - -The Germans, he said, did not live in walled towns but in straggling -villages standing amid fields. These were either shared as common -pasturage or tilled in allotments, parcelled out annually amongst the -inhabitants. A number of villages would form a _pagus_ or canton, a -number of _pagi_ a _civitas_ or state. At the head of the state was -more usually a king, but sometimes only a number of important chiefs, -or dukes, who would be treated with the utmost reverence. - -It was their place to preside over the small councils that dealt with -the less important affairs of the state, and to lay before the larger -meeting of the tribe measures that seemed to require public discussion. -Lying round their camp fire in the moonlight the younger men would -listen to the advice of the more experienced and clash their weapons as -a sign of approval when some suggestion pleased them. - -At the councils were chosen the _principes_, or magistrates, whose -duty it was to administer justice in the various cantons and villages. -Tribal law was very primitive in comparison with the Roman code that -required highly trained lawyers to interpret it. Had a man betrayed -his fellow villagers to their enemies, let him be hung from the -nearest tree that all might learn the fitting reward of treachery. -Had he turned coward and fled from the battle, let him be buried in -a morass out of sight beneath a hurdle, that such shame should be -quickly forgotten. Had he in a rage or by accident slain or injured a -neighbour, let him pay a fine in compensation, half to his victim’s -nearest relations, half to the state. If the decision did not satisfy -those concerned, the family of the injured person could itself exact -vengeance, but since it would probably meet with opposition in so -doing, more bloodshed would almost certainly result, and a feud, like -the later Corsican _vendetta_, be handed down from generation to -generation. - -Such a state of unrest had no horror for the German tribesman. From his -earliest days he looked forward to the moment when, receiving from his -kinsmen the gift of a shield and sword, he might leave boyhood behind -him and assume a man’s responsibilities and dangers. With his comrades -he would at once hasten to offer his services to some great leader of -his tribe, and as a member of the latter’s _comitatus_, or following, -go joyfully out to battle. - -Like the Spartan of old he went with the cry ringing in his ears, ‘With -your shield or on your shield!’ - -‘It is a disgrace’, says Tacitus, ‘for the chief to be surpassed in -battle ... and it is an infamy and a reproach for life to have survived -the chief and returned from the field.’ - -This statement explains the reckless daring with which the scattered -groups of Germans would fling themselves time after time against -the disciplined Roman phalanxes. The women shared the hardihood of -the race, bringing and receiving as wedding-gifts not ornaments or -beautiful clothes but a warrior’s horse, a lance, or sword. - -‘Lest a woman should think herself to stand apart from aspirations -after noble deeds and from the perils of war, she is reminded by the -ceremony that inaugurates marriage that she is her husband’s partner -in toil and danger, destined to suffer and die with him alike both in -peace and war.’ - -Chaste, industrious, devoted to the interests of husband and children, -yet so patriotic that, watching the battle, she would urge them rather -to perish than retreat, the barbarian woman struck Tacitus as a living -reproach to the many faithless, idle, pleasure-seeking wives and -mothers of Rome in his own day. The German tribes might be uncouth, -their armies without discipline, even their nobles ignorant of culture, -but they were brave, hospitable, and loyal. Above all they held a -distinction between right and wrong: they did not ‘laugh at vice’. - -It is probable that in the days of Tacitus his views were received -throughout the Roman Empire with an amused shrug of the shoulders, for -to many the Germans were merely good fighters, whose giant build added -considerably to the glory of a triumphal procession, when they walked -sullenly in their shackles behind the Victor’s car. With the passing of -the years into centuries, however, intercourse changed this attitude, -and much of the contempt on one side and hatred on the other vanished. - -Germans captured in childhood were brought up in Roman households and -grew invaluable to their masters: numbers were freed and remained as -citizens in the land of their captivity. The tribes along the borders -became more civilized: they exchanged raw produce or furs in the -nearest Roman markets for luxuries and comforts, and as their hatred of -Rome disappeared admiration took its place. Something of the greatness -of the Empire touched their imagination: they realized for the first -time the possibilities of peace under an ordered government; and whole -tribes offered their allegiance to a power that knew not only how to -conquer but to rule. - -Emperors, nothing loath, gathered these new forces under their -standards as auxiliaries or allies (_foederati_), and Franks from -Flanders, at the imperial bidding, drove back fellow barbarians from -the left bank of the Rhine; while fair-haired Alemanni and Saxons fell -in Caesar’s service on the plains of Mesopotamia or on the arid sands -of Africa. From auxiliary forces to the ranks of the regular army was -an easy stage, the more so as the Roman legions were every year in -greater need of recruits as the boundaries of the Empire spread. - -It is at first sight surprising to find that the military profession -was unpopular when we recall that it rested in the hands of the legions -to make or dispossess their rulers; but such opportunities of acquiring -bribes and plunder did not often fall to the lot of the ordinary -soldier, while the disadvantages of his career were many. - -A very small proportion of the army was kept in the large towns of the -south, save in Rome that had its own Praetorian Guards: the majority -of the legions defended the Rhine and Danube frontiers, or still -worse were quartered in cold and foggy Britain, shut up in fortress -outposts like York or Chester. English regiments to-day think little of -service in far-distant countries like Egypt or India, indeed men are -often glad to have the experience of seeing other lands; but the Roman -soldier as he said farewell to his Italian village knew in his heart -that it had practically passed out of his life. The shortest period of -military service was sixteen years, the longest twenty-five; and when -we remember that, owing to the slow and difficult means of transport, -leave was impossible we see the Roman legionary was little more than -the serf of his government, bound to spend all the best years of his -life defending less warlike countrymen. - -Moving with his family from outpost to outpost, the memories of his -old home would grow blurred, and the legion to which he belonged would -occupy the chief place in his thoughts. As he grew older his sons, -bred in the atmosphere of war, would enlist in their turn, and so the -military profession would tend to become a caste, handed down from -father to son. - -The soldier could have little sympathy with fellow citizens whose -interests he did not share, but would despise them because they did not -know how to use arms. The civilians, on their side, would think the -soldier rough and ignorant, and forget how much they were dependent -on his protection for their trade and pleasure. Instead of trying to -bridge this gulf, the government, in their terror of losing taxpayers, -widened it by refusing to let _curiales_ enlist. At the same time they -filled up the gaps in the legions with corps of Franks, Germans, or -Goths; because they were good fighting material, and others of their -tribe had proved brave and loyal. - -In the same way, when land in Italy fell out of cultivation, the -Emperor would send numbers of barbarians as _coloni_ or settlers to -till the fields and build themselves homes. At first they might be -looked on with suspicion by their neighbours, but gradually they would -intermarry and their sons adopt Roman habits, until in time their -descendants would sit in municipal councils, and even rise to become -Praetors or Consuls. - -[Sidenote: Barbarian Invasions] - -When it is said that the Roman Empire fell because of the inroads of -barbarians, the impression sometimes left on people’s minds is that -hordes of uncivilized tribes, filled with contempt for Rome’s luxury -and corruption, suddenly swept across the Alps in the fifth century, -laying waste the whole of North Italy. This is far from the truth. -The peaceful invasion of the Empire by barbarians, whether as slaves, -traders, soldiers, or colonists, was a continuous movement from early -imperial days. There is no doubt that, as it increased, it weakened -the Roman power of resistance to the actually hostile raids along the -frontiers that began in the second and third centuries and culminated -in the collapse of the imperial government in the West in the fifth. -An army partly composed of half-civilized barbarian troops could not -prove so trustworthy as the well-disciplined and seasoned Romans of -an earlier age; for the foreign element was liable in some gust of -passion to join forces with those of its own blood against its oath of -allegiance. - -As to the main cause of the raids, it was rather love of Rome’s wealth -than a sturdy contempt of luxury that led these barbarians to assault -the dreaded legions. Had it been mere love of fighting, the Alemanni -would as soon have slain their Saxon neighbours as the imperial troops; -but nowhere save in Spain, or southern Gaul, or on the plains of Italy -could they hope to find opulent cities or herds of cattle. Plunder was -their earliest rallying cry; but in the third century the pressure of -other tribes on their flank forced them to redouble in self-defence -efforts begun for very different reasons. - -This movement of the barbarians has been called ‘the Wandering of -the Nations’. Gradually but surely, like a stream released from some -mountain cavern, Goths from the North and Huns and Vandals from the -East descended in irresistible numbers on southern Germany, driving the -tribes who were already in possession there up against the barriers, -first of the Danube and then of the Alps and Rhine. - -Italy and Gaul ceased to be merely a paradise for looters, but were -sought by barbarians, who had learned something of Rome’s civilization, -as a refuge from other barbarians who trod women and children -underfoot, leaving a track wherever their cruel hordes passed red with -blood and fire. With their coming, Europe passed from the brightness of -Rome into the ‘Dark Ages’. - - - - -III - -THE DAWN OF CHRISTIANITY - - -When Augustus became Emperor of Rome, Jesus Christ was not yet born. -With the exception of the Jews, who believed in the one Almighty -‘Jehovah’, most of the races within the boundaries of the Empire -worshipped a number of gods; and these, according to popular tales, -were no better than the men and women who burned incense at their -altars, but differed from them only in being immortal, and because they -could yield to their passions and desires with greater success. - -The Roman god ‘Juppiter’, who was the same as the Greek ‘Zeus’, was -often described as ‘King of gods and men’; but far from proving -himself an impartial judge and ruler, the legends in which he appears -show him cruel, faithless, and revengeful. ‘Juno’, the Greek ‘Hera’, -‘Queen of Heaven’, was jealous and implacable in her wrath, as the -‘much-enduring’ hero, Ulysses, found when time after time her spite -drove him from his homeward course from Troy. ‘Mercury’, the messenger -of the gods, was merely a cunning thief. - -Most of the thoughtful Greeks and Romans, it is true, came to regard -the old mythology as a series of tales invented by their primitive -ancestors to explain mysterious facts of nature like fire, thunder, -earthquakes. Because, however, this form of worship had played so great -a part in national history, patriotism dictated that it should not be -forgotten entirely; and therefore emperors were raised to the number of -the gods; and citizens of Rome, whether they believed in their hearts -or no, continued to burn incense before the altars of Juppiter, Juno, -or Augustus in token of their loyalty to the Empire. - -The human race has found it almost impossible to believe in nothing, -for man is always seeking theories to explain his higher nature and -why it is he recognizes so early the difference between right and -wrong. Far back in the third and fourth centuries before Christ, Greek -philosophers had discussed the problem of the human soul, and some of -them had laid down rules for leading the best life possible. - -Epicurus taught that since our present life is the only one, man must -make it his object to gain the greatest amount of pleasure that he -can. Of course this doctrine gave an opening to people who wished to -live only for themselves; but Epicurus himself had been simple, almost -ascetic in his habits, and had clearly stated that although pleasure -was his object, yet ‘we can not live pleasantly without living wisely, -nobly, and righteously’. The self-indulgent man will defeat his own -ends by ruining his health and character until he closes his days not -in pleasure but in misery. - -Another Greek philosopher was Zeno, whose followers were called -‘Stoics’ from the _stoa_ or porch of the house in Athens in which -he taught his first disciples. Zeno believed that man’s fortune was -settled by destiny, and that he could only find true happiness by -hardening himself until he grew indifferent to his fate. Death, pain, -loss of friends, defeated ambitions, all these the Stoic must face -without yielding to fear, grief, or passion. Brutus, the leader of the -conspirators who slew Julius Caesar, was a Stoic, and Shakespeare in -his tragedy shows the self-control that Brutus exerted when he learned -that his wife Portia whom he loved had killed herself. - -The teaching of Epicurus and Zeno did something during the Roman Empire -to provide ideals after which men could strive, but neither could hold -out hopes of a happiness without end or blemish. The ‘Hades’ of the old -mythology was no heaven but a world of shades beyond the river Styx, -gloomy alike for good and bad. At the gates stood the three-headed -monster Cerberus, ready to prevent souls from escaping once more to -light and sunshine. - -Paganism was thus a sad religion for all who thought of the future: -and this is one of the reasons why the tidings of Christianity were -received so joyfully. When St. Paul went to Athens he found an altar -set up to ‘the unknown God’, showing that men and women were out of -sympathy with their old beliefs and seeking an answer to their doubts -and questions. He tried to tell the Greeks that the Christ he preached -was the God they sought; but those who heard him ridiculed the idea -that a Jewish peasant who had suffered the shameful death of the cross -could possibly be divine. - -[Sidenote: Early Christianity] - -The earliest followers of Christianity were not as a rule cultured -people like the Athenians, but those who were poor and ignorant. To -them Christ’s message was one of brotherhood and love overriding -all differences between classes and nations. Yet it did not merely -attract because it promised immortality and happiness; it also set up -a definite standard of right and wrong. The Jewish religion had laid -down the Ten Commandments as the rule of life, but the Jews had never -tried to persuade other nations to obey them--rather they had jealously -guarded their beliefs from the Gentiles. The Christians on the other -hand had received the direct command ‘to go into all the world and -preach the Gospel to every creature’; and even the slave, when he felt -within himself the certainty of his new faith, would be sure to talk -about it to others in his household. In time the strange story would -reach the ears of his master and mistress, and they would begin to -wonder if what this fellow believed so earnestly could possibly be true. - -In a brutal age, when the world was largely ruled by physical force, -Christianity made a special appeal to women and to the higher type -of men who hated violence. One argument in its favour amongst the -observant was the life led by the early Christians--their gentleness, -their meekness, and their constancy. It is one thing to suffer an -insult through cowardice, quite another to bear it patiently and -yet be brave enough to face torture and death rather than surrender -convictions. Christian martyrs taught the world that their faith had -nothing in it mean or spiritless. - -Perhaps it may seem strange that men and women whose conduct was so -quiet and inoffensive should meet with persecution at all. Christ -had told His disciples to ‘render unto Caesar the things that are -Caesar’s’, and the strength of Christianity lay not in rebellion to the -civil government but in submission. This is true, yet the Christian who -paid his taxes and took care to avoid breaking the laws of his province -would find it hard all the same to live at peace with pagan fellow -citizens. Like the Jew he could not pretend to worship gods whom he -considered idols: he could not offer incense at the altars of Juppiter -and Augustus: he could not go to a pagan feast and pour out a libation -of wine to some deity, nor hang laurel branches sacred to the nymph -Daphne over his door on occasions of public rejoicing. - -Such neglect of ordinary customs made him an object of suspicion and -dislike amongst neighbours who did not share his faith. A hint was -given here and there by mischief makers, and confirmed with nods and -whisperings, that his quietness was only a cloak for evil practices -in secret; and this grew into a rumour throughout the Empire that the -murder of newborn babies was part of the Christian rites. - -Had the Christians proved more pliant the imperial government -might have cleared their name from such imputations and given them -protection, but it also distrusted their refusal to share in public -worship. Lax themselves, the emperors were ready to permit the god of -the Jews or Christians a place amongst their own deities; and they -could not understand the attitude of mind that objected to a like -toleration of Juppiter or Juno. The commandment ‘Thou shalt have none -other gods but me’ found no place in their faith, and they therefore -accused the Christians and Jews of want of patriotism, and used them as -scapegoats for the popular fury when occasion required. - -In the reign of Nero a tremendous fire broke out in Rome that reduced -more than half the city to ruins. The Emperor, who was already -unpopular because of his cruelty and extravagance, fearing that he -would be held responsible for the calamity, declared hastily that he -had evidence that the fire was planned by Christians; and so the first -serious persecution of the new faith began. - -[Sidenote: Persecution of the Christians] - -Here is part of an account given by Tacitus, whose history of the -German tribes we have already noticed: - -‘He, Nero, inflicted the most exquisite tortures on those men who under -the vulgar appellation of Christians were already branded with deserved -infamy.... They died in torments, and their torments were embittered -by insult and derision. Some were nailed on crosses; others sewn up -in the skins of wild beasts and exposed to the fury of dogs; others -again, smeared over with combustible materials, were used as torches to -illuminate the darkness of the night. The gardens of Nero were destined -for this melancholy spectacle, which was accompanied with a horse race -and honoured with the presence of the Emperor.’ - -Tacitus was himself a pagan and hostile to the Christians, yet -he admits that this cruelty aroused sympathy. Nevertheless the -persecutions continued under different emperors, some of them, unlike -Nero, wise rulers and good men. - -‘These people’, wrote the Spanish Emperor Trajan (98-117), referring to -the Christians, ‘should not be searched for, but if they are informed -against and convicted they should be punished.’ - -Marcus Aurelius (161-180) declared that those who acknowledged that -they were Christians should be beaten to death; and during his reign -men and women were tortured and killed on account of their faith in -every part of the Empire. The test required by the magistrates was -nearly always the same, that the accused must offer wine and incense -before the statue of the Emperor and revile the name of Christ. - -The motive that inspired these later emperors was not Nero’s innate -love of cruelty or desire of finding a scapegoat, but genuine fear of a -sect that grew steadily in numbers and wealth, and that threatened to -interfere with the ordinary worship of the temples, so bound up with -the national life. - -In the reign of Trajan the Governor of Bithynia wrote to the Emperor -complaining that on account of the spread of Christian teaching little -money was now spent in buying sacrificial beasts. ‘Nor’, he added, -‘are cities alone permeated by the contagion of this superstition, but -villages and country parts as well.’ - -Emperors and magistrates were at first confident that, if only they -were severe enough in their punishments, the new religion could be -crushed out of existence. Instead it was the imperial government that -collapsed while Christianity conquered Europe. - -Very early in the history of Christianity the Apostles had found it -necessary to introduce some form of government into the Church; and -later, as the faith spread from country to country, there arose in each -province men who from their goodness, influence, or learning, were -chosen by their fellow Christians to control the religious affairs of -the neighbourhood. These were called ‘Episcopi’, or bishops, from the -Latin word _Episcopus_, ‘an overseer’. Tradition claims that Peter was -the first bishop of the Church in Rome, and that during the reign of -Nero he was crucified for loyalty to the Christ he had formerly denied. - -To help the bishops a number of ‘presbyters’ or ‘priests’ were -appointed, and below these again ‘deacons’ who should undertake -the less responsible work. The first deacons had been employed in -distributing the alms of the wealthier members of the congregation -amongst the poor; and though in early days the sums received were not -large, yet as men of every rank accepted Christianity regardless of -scorn or danger and made offerings of their goods, the revenues of the -Church began to grow. The bishops also became persons of importance in -the world around them. - -In time emperors and magistrates whose predecessors had believed in -persecution came to recognize that it was not an advantage to the -government, even a danger, and instead they began to consult and honour -the men who were so much trusted by their fellow citizens. At last, in -the fourth century, there succeeded to the throne an emperor who looked -on Christianity not with hatred or dread, but with friendly eyes as -a more valuable ally than the paganism of his fathers. This was the -Emperor Constantine the Great. - - - - -IV - -CONSTANTINE THE GREAT - - -Constantine the Great was born at a time when the Empire was divided -up between different emperors. His father, Constantius Chlorus, ruled -over Spain, Gaul, and Britain; and when he died at York in A.D. 306, -Constantine his eldest son succeeded to the government of these -provinces. The new Emperor, who was thirty-two years old, had been bred -in the school of war. He was handsome, brave, and capable, and knew -how to make himself popular with the legions under his command without -losing his dignity or letting them become undisciplined. - -When he had reigned a few years he quarrelled with his brother-in-law -Maxentius who was Emperor at Rome, and determined to cross the Alps and -drive him from his throne. The task was difficult; for the Roman army, -consisting of picked Praetorian Guards, and regiments of Sicilians, -Moors, and Carthaginians, was quite four times as large as the invading -forces. Yet Constantine, once he had made his decision, did not -hesitate. He knew his rival had little military experience, and that -the corruption and luxury of the Roman court had not increased either -his energy or valour. - -It is said also that Constantine believed that the God of the -Christians was on his side, for as he prepared for a battle on the -plains of Italy against vastly superior forces, he saw before him in -the sky a shining cross and underneath the words ‘By this conquer!’ At -once he gave orders that his legions should place on their shields the -sign of the cross, and with this same sign as his banner he advanced -to the attack. It was completely successful, the Roman army fled in -confusion, Maxentius was slain, and Constantine entered the capital -almost unopposed. The arch in Rome that bears his name celebrates this -triumph. - -Constantine was now Emperor of the whole of Western Europe, and some -years later, after a furious struggle with Licinius the Emperor of the -East, he succeeded in uniting all the provinces of the Empire under his -rule. - -[Illustration: The ROMAN EMPIRE - -in the time of Constantine the Great] - -This was a joyful day for Christians, for though Constantine was not -actually baptized until just before his death, yet, throughout his -reign, he showed his sympathy with the Christian religion and did all -in his power to help those who professed it. He used his influence -to prevent gladiatorial shows, abolished the horrible punishment of -crucifixion, and made it easier than ever before for slaves to free -themselves. When he could, he avoided pagan rites, though as Emperor he -still retained the office of _Pontifex Maximus_, or ‘High Priest’, and -attended services in the temples. - -His mother, the Empress Helena, to whom he was devoted, was a -Christian; and one of the old legends describes her pilgrimage to the -Holy Land, and how she found and brought back with her some wood from -the cross on which Christ had been crucified. - -[Sidenote: Growth of Christianity] - -Soon after Constantine conquered Rome he published the famous ‘Edict -of Milan’ that allowed liberty of worship to all inhabitants of the -Empire, whether pagans, Jews, or Christians. The latter were no longer -to be treated as criminals but as citizens with full civil rights, -while the places of worship and lands that had been taken from them -were to be restored. - -Later, as Constantine’s interest in the Christians deepened, he -departed from this impartial attitude and showed them special favours, -confiscating some of the treasures of the temples and giving them to -the Church, as well as handing over to it sums of money out of the -public revenues. He also tried to free the clergy from taxation, and -allowed bishops to interfere with the civil law courts. - -Many of these measures were unwise. For one thing, Christianity when it -was persecuted or placed on a level with other religions only attracted -those who really believed in Christ’s teaching. When it received -material advantages, on the other hand, the ambitious at once saw a way -to royal favour and their own success by professing the new beliefs. A -false element was thus introduced into the Church. - -For another thing, few even of the sincere Christians could be trusted -not to abuse their privileges. The fourth century did not understand -toleration; and those who had suffered persecution were quite ready -as a rule to use compulsion in their turn towards men and women who -disagreed with them, whether pagans or those of their own faith. Quite -early in its history the Church was torn by disputes, since much of its -teaching had been handed down by ‘tradition’, or word of mouth, and -this led to disagreement as to what Christ had really said or meant by -many of his words. At length the Church decided that it would gather -the principal doctrines of the ‘Catholic’ or ‘universal’ faith into a -form of belief that men could learn and recite. Thus the ‘Apostles’ -Creed’ came into existence. - -In spite of this definition of the faith controversy continued. At the -beginning of the fourth century a dispute as to the exact relationship -of God the Father to God the Son in the doctrine of the Trinity broke -out between Arius, a presbyter of the Church in Egypt, and the Bishop -of Alexandria, the latter declaring that Arius had denied the divinity -of Christ. Partisans defended either side, and the quarrel grew so -embittered that an appeal was made to the Emperor to give his decision. - -Constantine was reluctant to interfere. ‘They demand my judgement,’ -he said, ‘who myself expect the judgement of Christ. What audacity of -madness!’ When he found, however, that some steps must be taken if -there was to be any order in the Church at all, he summoned a Council -to meet at Nicea and consider the question, and thither came bishops -and clergy from all parts of the Christian world. The meetings were -prolonged and stormy; but the eloquence of a young Egyptian deacon -called Athanasius decided the case against Arius; and the latter, -refusing to submit to the decrees of the Council, was proclaimed a -heretic, or outlaw. The orthodox Catholics, that is, the majority of -bishops who were present, then drew up a new creed to express their -exact views, and this took its name from the Council, and was called -the ‘Nicene Creed’. In a revised form it is still recited in all the -Catholic churches of Christendom. - -Arius, though defeated at the Council, succeeded in winning the Emperor -over to his views, and Constantine tried to persuade the Catholics -to receive him back into the Church. When this suggestion met with -refusal the Emperor, who now believed that he had a right to settle -ecclesiastical matters, was so angry that he tried to install Arius in -one of the churches of his new city of Constantinople by force of arms. -The orthodox bishop promptly closed and barred the gates, and riots -ensued that were only ended by the death of Arius himself. - -The schism, however, continued, and it may be claimed that its -bitterness had a considerable influence in deciding the future of -Europe by raising barriers between races that might otherwise have -become friends. Arianism, like orthodox Catholicism, was full of the -missionary spirit, and from its priests the half-civilized tribes of -Goths and Vandals learned the new faith. A Gothic bishop was present -at the Council of Nicea, while another, Ulfilas, who had studied Latin, -Greek, and Hebrew at Constantinople, afterwards translated a great part -of the Bible into his own tongue. This is the first-known missionary -Bible; and, though the original has disappeared, a copy made about a -century later is in a museum at Upsala, written in Gothic characters in -silver and gold on purple vellum. - -The Goths regarded their Bible with deep awe, and carried it with them -on their wanderings, consulting it before they went into battle. Like -the Vandals, who had also been converted by the Arians, they considered -themselves true Christians; but the orthodox Catholics disliked them as -heretics almost more than the pagans. - -[Sidenote: Early Monasticism] - -Constantine himself imbibed the spirit of fanaticism; and when he -became the champion of Arius, persecuted Athanasius, who had been made -Bishop of Alexandria, and compelled him to go into exile. Athanasius -went to Rome, where it is said that he was at first ridiculed because -he was accompanied by two Egyptian monks in hoods and cowls. Western -Europe had heard little as yet of monasticism, though the Eastern -Church had adopted it for some time. - -To the early Christians with their high ideals the world around them -seemed a wicked place, in which it was difficult for them to lead a -Christ-like life. They thought that by withdrawing from an atmosphere -of brutality and material pleasure, and by giving themselves up to -fasting and prayer, they would be able more easily to fix their minds -on God and so fit themselves for Heaven. Sometimes they would go to -desert places and live as hermits in caves, perhaps without talking to -a living person for months or even years. Others who could not face -such loneliness would join a community of monks, dwelling together -under special rules of discipline. At fixed hours of the day and night -they would recite the services of the Church, and in between whiles -they would work or pray and study the Scriptures. - -Many of the austerities they practised sound to us absurd, for it is -hard to feel in sympathy with a Simon Stylites who spent the best days -of his manhood crouched on a high pillar at the mercy of sun, wind, -and rain, until his limbs stiffened and withered away. Yet the hermits -and monks were an arresting witness to Christianity in an age that had -not fully realized what Christ’s teaching meant. ‘He that will serve -me let him take up his cross and follow me.’ This ideal of sacrifice -was brought home for the first time to hundreds of thoughtless men -and women when they saw some one whom they knew give up his worldly -prospects and the joy of a home and children in order to lead a life of -perpetual discomfort until death should come to him as a blessing not -a curse. The majority of the leading clergy in the early Church, the -‘Fathers of the Church’, as they are usually called, were monks. - -[Sidenote: The Fathers of the Church] - -Two of them, St. Gregory and St. Basil, studied together at the -University of Athens in the fourth century. St. Basil founded a -community of monks in Asia Minor, where his reputation for holiness -soon drew together a large number of disciples. He did not try to -win them by fair words or the promise of ease and comfort, for his -monks were allowed little to eat and spent their days in prayer and -manual labour of the hardest kind. The Arians, who hated St. Basil -as an orthodox Catholic, once threatened that they would confiscate -his belongings, torture him, and put him to death. ‘My sole wealth is -a ragged cloak and some books,’ replied the hermit calmly. ‘My days -on earth are but a pilgrimage, and my body is so feeble that it will -expire at the first torment. Death will be a relief.’ It came when -he was only fifty, but not at the hands of his enemies, for he died -exhausted by the penances and privations of his customary life. He left -many letters and theological works that throw light on the religious -questions of his day. - -St. Gregory had lived for a time with St. Basil and his monks in Asia -Minor but was not strong enough to submit to the same harsh discipline. -Indeed he declared that but for the kindness of St. Basil’s mother he -would have died of starvation. Afterwards he returned home and was -ordained a priest. He was a gentler type of man than St. Basil, a poet -of no little merit and an eloquent preacher. - -Yet another of the Catholic ‘Fathers of the Church’ was St. Ambrose, -Bishop of Milan. He was elected to this see against his own will by -the people of the town, who respected him because he was strong and -fearless. St. Ambrose did not hesitate to use the wealth of the Church, -even melting down some of the altar-vessels, to ransom Christians who -had been carried away captive during one of the barbarian invasions. -‘The Church,’ he declared, ‘possesses gold and silver not to hoard, but -to spend on the welfare and happiness of men.’ - -The impetuosity and vigour that made him a born leader he also employed -to express his intolerance of those who disagreed with him. When -some Christians in Milan burned a Jewish synagogue and the Emperor -Theodosius ordered them to rebuild it, St. Ambrose advised them not to -do so. ‘I myself,’ he said, ‘would have burned the synagogue.... What -has been done is but a trifling retaliation for acts of plunder and -destruction committed by Jews and heretics against the Catholics.’ This -was not the spirit of the Founder of Christianity: it was too often the -spirit of the mediaeval Church. - -A man of even greater influence than St. Ambrose of Milan was St. -Jerome, a monk of the fifth century, who is chiefly remembered to-day -because of his Latin translation of the Bible, ‘the Vulgate’ as it is -called, that is still the recognized edition of the Roman Catholic -Church. - -St. Jerome was born in Italy, but in his extreme asceticism he followed -the practices of the Eastern rather than the Western Church. As a youth -he had led a wild life, but, suddenly repenting, he disappeared to live -as a hermit in the desert, starving and mortifying himself. So strongly -did he believe that this was the only road to Heaven that when he went -to Rome he preached continually in favour of celibacy, urging men and -women not to marry, as if marriage had been a sin. He was afraid that -if they became happy and contented in their home life they would forget -God. - -Many of the leading families, and especially their women, came under -St. Jerome’s influence, but such exaggerated views could never be -really popular and, instead of being chosen Bishop of Rome as he had -expected, he was forced, by the many enemies he had aroused, to leave -the town, and returned once more to the desert. Of his sincerity there -can be little doubt, but his outlook on life was warped because, like -so many good and earnest contemporary Christians, he believed that -human nature and this earth were entirely bad and that only by the -suppression of any enjoyment in them could the soul obtain salvation. - -Several centuries were to pass before St. Francis of Assisi taught his -fellow men the beauty and value of what is human. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: Foundation of Constantinople] - -Constantinople (the _Polis_ or city of Constantine) had been a Greek -colony under the name of Byzantium long before Rome existed. Built on -the headland of the Golden Horn, its walls were lapped by an inland sea -whose depth and smoothness made a splendid harbour from the rougher -waters of the Mediterranean. Almost impregnable in its fortifications, -it frowned on Asia across the narrow straits of the Hellespont and -completely commanded the entrance to the Black Sea, with its rich -ports, markets then as now for the corn and grain of southern Russia. - -Constantine, when he decided that Byzantium should be his capital, -was well aware of these advantages. He had been born in the Balkans, -had spent a great part of his life as a soldier in Asia, had assumed -the imperial crown in Britain, and ruled Gaul for his first kingdom. -This medley of experience left little place in his heart for Italy, -and the name of Rome had no power to stir his blood. Rome to him was -a corrupt town in one of the outlying limbs of his Empire: it had no -harbour nor special military value on land, while the Alps were a -barrier preventing news from passing quickly to and fro. Byzantium, on -the other hand, near the mouth of the Danube, was easy of access and -yet could be rendered almost impregnable to his foes. It had the great -military advantage also of serving as an admirable head-quarters for -keeping watch over the northern frontier and an outlook towards the -East. - -The walls of the original town could not embrace the Emperor’s -ambitions, and he himself, wand in hand, designed the boundaries. His -court, following him, gasped with dismay. ‘It is enough,’ they urged; -‘no imperial city was ever so great before.’ ‘I shall go on,’ replied -Constantine, ‘until he, the invisible guide who marches before me, -thinks fit to stop.’ - -Not until the seven hills outside Byzantium were enclosed within -his circuit was the Emperor satisfied; and then the great work of -building began, and the white marble of Forum and Baths, of Palaces -and Colonnades, arose to adorn the Constantinople that has ever since -this time played so large a part in the history of Europe. In the new -market-place, just beyond the original walls, was placed the ‘Golden -Milestone’, a marble column within a small temple, bearing the proud -inscription that here was the ‘central point of the world’. Inside were -statues of Constantine and Queen Helena his mother, while Rome herself -and the cities of Greece were robbed of their masterpieces of sculpture -to embellish the buildings of the new capital. - -In May A.D. 330 Constantinople was solemnly consecrated, and the -Empire kept high festival in honour of an event that few of the -revellers recognized would alter the whole course of her destiny. The -new capital, through her splendid strategic position, was to preserve -the imperial throne with one short lapse for more than a thousand -years, but this advantage was obtained at the expense of Rome, and the -complete severance of the interests of the Empire in the East and West. - -The Romans had never loved the Greeks, even when they most admired -their art and subtle intellect, and now in the fourth century this -persistent distrust was intensified when Greece usurped the glory that -had been her conqueror’s. In the absence of an Emperor and of the many -high officials who had gone to swell the triumph of his new court, -Rome set up another idol. The symbols of material glory might vanish, -but the Christian faith had supplied men with fresh ideals through the -teaching of the Apostles and their representatives, the Bishops. - -Roman bishops claimed that the gift of grace they received at their -consecration had been passed down to them by the successive laying-on -of hands from St. Peter himself. ‘Thou art Peter, and on this rock I -will build my Church ... and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall -be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall -be loosed in heaven.’ These words of Christ seemed to grant to his -apostle complete authority over the souls of men; and Christians at -Rome began to ask if the power of St. Peter to ‘bind and loose’ had not -been handed down to his successors? If so _Il Papa_, that is, ‘their -father’, the Pope, was undoubtedly the first bishop in Christendom, for -on no other apostle had Christ bestowed a like authority. - -It must not be imagined that this reasoning came like a flash of -inspiration or was willingly received by all Christians. Many -generations of Popes, from the days of St. Peter onwards, were regarded -merely as Bishops of Rome, that is, as ‘overseers’ of the Church in -the chief city of the Empire. They were loved and esteemed by their -flock not on account of special divine authority but because they -stood neither for self-interest nor for faction, but for principles of -justice, mercy, and brotherhood. - -Had a Roman been robbed by a fellow citizen, were there a plague or -famine, was the city threatened by enemies without her walls, it was -to her bishop Rome turned, demanding help and protection. Afterwards -it was only natural that the one power that could and did afford these -things when Emperors and Senators were far away should in time take the -Emperor’s place, and that the Pope should appear to Rome, and gradually -as we shall see to Western Europe, God’s very viceroy on earth. - -To the Church in Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor he never assumed this -halo of glory. Byzantium, the great Constantinople, was the pivot -on which the eastern world turned, and the Bishop of Rome with his -tradition of St. Peter made no authoritative appeal. Thus far back in -the fourth century the cleft had already opened between the Churches of -the East and West that was to widen into a veritable chasm. - -Constantine ‘the Great’ died in 337, and if greatness be measured by -achievement he well deserves his title. Where men of higher genius -and originality had failed he had succeeded, beating down with calm -perseverance every object that threatened his ambitions, until at -last the Christian ruler of a united empire, feared and respected by -subjects and enemies alike, he passed to his rest. - - - - -V - -THE INVASIONS OF THE BARBARIANS - - -Instead of endeavouring to maintain a united empire, Constantine in -his will divided up his dominions between three sons and two nephews. -Before thirty years were over, however, a series of murders and civil -wars had exterminated his family; and two brothers, Valentian and -Valens, men of humble birth but capable soldiers, were elected as joint -emperors. Valens ruled at Constantinople, his brother at Milan; and it -was during this reign that the Empire received one of the worst blows -that had ever befallen her. - -We have already mentioned the Goths, a race of barbarians -half-civilized by Roman influence and converted to Christianity by -followers of Arius. One of their tribes, the Visigoths, had settled -in large numbers in the country to the north of the Danube. On the -whole their relations with the Empire were friendly, and it was -hardly their fault that the peace was finally broken, but rather of -a strange Tartar race the Huns, that, massing in the plains of Asia, -had suddenly swept over Europe. Here is a description given of the -Huns by a Gothic writer: ‘Men with faces that can scarcely be called -faces, rather shapeless black collops of flesh with tiny points instead -of eyes: little in stature but lithe and active, skilful in riding, -broad-shouldered, hiding under a barely human form the ferocity of a -wild beast.’ - -Tradition says that these monsters, mounted on their shaggy ponies, -rode women and children under foot and feasted on human flesh. Whether -this be true or no, their name became a terror to the civilized world, -and after a few encounters with them the Visigoths crowded on the edge -of the Danube and implored the Emperor to allow them to shelter behind -the line of Roman forts. - -Valens, to whom the petition was made, hesitated. There was obvious -danger to his dominions in this sudden influx of a whole tribe; but on -the other hand fear might madden the Visigoths into trying to cross -even if he refused, and if so could he withstand them? - -‘All the multitude that had escaped from the murderous savagery of the -Huns,’ says a writer of the day, ‘no less than 200,000 fighting men -besides women and old men and children, were there on the river bank, -stretching out their hands with loud lamentations ... and promising -that they would ever faithfully adhere to the imperial alliance, if -only the boon was granted them.’ - -Reluctantly Valens yielded; and soon the province of Dacia was crowded -with refugees; but here the real trouble began. Food must be found -for this multitude, and it was evident that the local crops would not -suffice. In vain the Emperor commanded that corn should be imported: -the greed of officials who were responsible for carrying out this order -led them to hold up large consignments, and to sell what little they -allowed to pass at wholly extortionate rates. Their unwelcome guests, -half-starved and fleeced of the small savings they had been able to -bring with them, complained, plotted, and broke at last into open -rebellion. - -This treatment of the Visigoths in Dacia is one of the worst pages -in the history of the Roman Empire, but it brought its own speedy -punishment. The suspicion and hatred engendered by misery spread like a -flame, and the barbarian forces were joined by deserters of their own -race from the imperial legions and by runaway slaves until they had -grown into a formidable army. Valens, forced to take steps to preserve -his throne, met them on the battle-field of Adrianople, but only to -suffer crushing defeat. He himself was slain, and some 40,000 of those -who had served under his banner. - -[Sidenote: The Emperor Theodosius] - -Never before had the imperial eagles met with such a reverse at -barbarian hands, and the Visigoths after the first moment of triumph -were almost alarmed at the extent of their own success. Before the -frowning walls of Constantinople their courage faltered, and without -attempting a siege they retreated northwards into Thrace. Gladly they -came to terms with Theodosius, Valens’s successor, who, not content -with regranting them the lands to the south of the Danube that they so -much desired, increased his army by taking whole regiments of their -best warriors into his pay. - -‘Lover of peace and of the Goths’ is the character with which -Theodosius has passed down to posterity, and during his reign the -Visigoths and other northern tribes received continual marks of his -favour. - -One of the Gothic kings, the old chief Athanaric, went to visit him at -Constantinople, and was overwhelmed by the magnificence and luxury he -saw around him. ‘Now do I at last behold,’ he exclaimed, ‘what I have -often heard but deemed incredible.... Doubtless the Emperor is a God on -earth, and he who raises a hand against him is guilty of his own blood.’ - -The alliance between Goth and Greek served its purpose at the moment, -for by the aid of his new troops Theodosius was able to defeat the -rival Emperor of Rome and to conquer Italy. When he died he left -Constantinople and the East to his eldest son Arcadius, a youth of -eighteen, and Rome and the West to the younger, Honorius, who was only -eleven. True to his belief in barbarian ability, Theodosius selected -a Vandal chief, Stilicho, to whom he had given his niece in marriage, -that he might act as the boy’s adviser and command the imperial forces. - -Under a wise regent a nation may wait in patience for their child ruler -to mature. Unfortunately, Honorius, as he grew up, belied any promise -of manliness he had ever shown, languidly refusing to continue his -boyish sports of riding or archery, and taking no interest save in -some cocks and hens that it was his daily pleasure to feed himself. He -had no affection or reverence for Rome, and finally settled in Ravenna -on the Adriatic as the safest fortress in his dominions. From here he -consented to sign the orders that dispatched the legions to protect his -frontiers, or issued haughty manifestoes to his enemies. - -So long as Stilicho lived such feebleness passed comparatively -unnoticed; for the Vandal, a man of giant build and strength, possessed -to the full the tireless energy and daring that the dangers of the time -demanded. - -Theodosius had made the Visigoths his friends; but on his death they -began to chafe at the restrictions laid upon them by the imperial -alliance. Arcadius was nearly as poor a creature as his younger -brother, ‘so inactive that he seldom spoke and always looked as though -he were about to fall asleep.’ The barbarians bore him no hatred, but -on the other hand he could scarcely inspire their affection or fear, -and so they chose a king of their own, Alaric, one of their most famous -generals, and from this moment they began to think of fresh conquests -and pillage. - -[Sidenote: Visigothic Invasion] - -The suggestion of sacking Constantinople was put on one side. Those -massive walls against their background of sea would make it a difficult -task; besides, the Visigoths argued, were there not other towns equally -rich and more vulnerable? With an exultant shout that answered this -question they set out on their march first towards Illyricum on the -eastern coast of the Adriatic, and then to the fertile plains of Italy. - -Alaric and Stilicho were well matched as generals, and for years, -through arduous campaigns of battles and sieges, the Vandal kept the -Goth at bay. When at last death forced him to resign the challenge, it -was no enemy’s sword but the weapon of treachery that robbed Rome of -her best defender. - -Honorius, lacking in gratitude as in other virtues, had been ill -pleased at the success of his armies; for wily courtiers, hoping to -plant their fortunes amid another’s ruin, told him that Stilicho -intended to secure the imperial throne for himself and that in order to -do so he would think little of murdering his royal master. Suspicion -made the timid Emperor writhe with terror through sleepless nights. It -seemed to him that he would never know peace of mind again until he had -rid himself of his formidable commander-in-chief; and so by his orders -Stilicho was put to death and Italy lay at the mercy of Alaric and his -followers. - -Sweeping across the Alps, the Visigoths paused at last before the gates -of Rome. ‘We are many in number and prepared to fight,’ boldly began -the ambassadors sent out from the city. ‘Thick grass is easier to mow -than thin,’ replied Alaric. - -Dropping their lofty tone, the ambassadors demanded the price of peace, -and on the answer, ‘Your gold and silver, your treasures, all that you -have,’ they exclaimed in horror, ‘What then do you leave us?’ ‘Your -souls,’ was the mocking rejoinder. - -After much argument the Visigoths consented to be bought off and -retreated northwards, but it was only to return in the summer of the -year 410, when Rome after a feeble resistance opened her gates. Her -enemies poured in triumph through the streets; but Alaric was no Hun -loving slaughter for its own sake, and ordered his troops to respect -human life and to spare the churches and the gold and silver vessels -that rested on their altars. - -He spent only a few days in sacking the city and then marched -southwards, intending to invade Africa. While his army was embarking, -however, he fell ill and died, and so great was his loss that all -thought of the campaign was surrendered. Alaric was mourned by his -people as a national hero, and, unable to bear the thought that his -enemies might one day desecrate his tomb, they dammed up a river in the -neighbourhood, and dug a grave for their general deep in its bed. When -they had laid his body there, they released the stream into its old -course, and so left their hero safe from insult beneath the waters. - -The sack of Rome that moved the civilized world profoundly made little -impression upon the young Emperor. He had named one of his favourite -hens after the capital; and when a messenger, haggard with the news he -had brought, fell on his knees, gasping, ‘Sire, Rome has perished,’ -Honorius only frowned, and replied, ‘Impossible! I fed her myself this -morning.’ - -St. Jerome, in his hermit’s cell at Bethlehem, was stupefied at the -fate of the ‘Eternal City’. ‘The world crumbles,’ he said. ‘There is -no created work that rust or age does not consume: but Rome! Who could -have believed that, raised by her victories above the universe, she -would one day fall?’ - -Why had Rome fallen? This was the question on everybody’s lips. We -know to-day that the process of her corruption had been working for -centuries; but men and women rarely see what is going on around them, -and some began to murmur that the old gods of Olympus were angry -because their religion had been forsaken. It was affirmed that Christ -would save the world, but what had He done to save Rome? - -Christianity was not long in finding a champion to defend her cause--an -African monk, Augustine, to mediaeval minds the greatest of all the -‘Fathers of the Church’. Augustine was the son of a pagan father and a -Christian mother and grew up a wild and undisciplined boy. After some -years at the University of Carthage, spent in casual study and habitual -dissipation, he determined to go to Rome, and from there passed to -Milan, where he went out of curiosity to listen to the preaching of -St. Ambrose. It was obvious that he would either hate or be strongly -influenced by this fiery old man; and in truth Augustine, who secretly -repented of the way he had wasted his life, was in a ripe mood to -receive the message that he had refused to hear from the lips of Monica -his mother. Soon he was converted and baptized, and later he was made -Bishop of Hippo, a place not far from Carthage. - -It is difficult to give a picture of Augustine in a few words. Like St. -Ambrose and others of the early ‘Fathers’ he was quite intolerant of -heresy and believed that ordinary human love and the simplest pleasures -of the world were snares set by the devil to catch the unwary; but -against these unbalanced views, largely the product of the age in which -he lived, must be set his burning enthusiasm for God, and the services -that he rendered to Christianity. - -A modern writer says of him, ‘As the supreme man of his time he summed -up the past as it still lived, remoulded it, added to it from himself, -and gave it a new unity and form wherein it was to live on.... The -great heart, the great mind, the mind led by the heart’s inspiration, -the heart guided by the mind--this is Augustine.’ - -Superior in intellect to other men of his day, his whole being filled -with the love of God and fired by the desire to make the world share -his worship, he preached, worked, and wrote only to this end. In his -_Confessions_ he describes his youth and repentance; but his most -famous work is his _Civitas Dei_. - -Here was the answer to those who declared that Rome had fallen because -she neglected her pagan deities. Rome, he maintained, was not and never -could be eternal; for the one eternal kingdom was the _Civitas Dei_, or -‘City of God’, towards whose reign of triumph the human race had been -tending since earliest times. Before her glory the kingdoms of this -world, and all the culture and civilization of which men boasted, must -fade away. Thus God had destined; and St. Augustine exerted all his -eloquence and powers of reasoning to prove from history the magnitude -and sureness of the divine purpose. - -[Sidenote: Vandal Invasion] - -The author of the _Civitas Dei_ was to have his faith severely tested, -for he died amid scenes of desolation and horror that held out no hope -of happiness for man on earth. Rome stood at the mercy of barbarians, -and Christian Africa was also fast falling under their yoke. These -new invaders, the Vandals, were also a German tribe, who, as soon as -Stilicho withdrew legions from the Rhine to defend Italy from the -Visigoths, broke over the weakened frontier into Gaul, and from there -crossed the Pyrenees and marched southwards. - -Spain had been one of the richest of Rome’s provinces, and besides her -minerals and corn had provided the Empire with not a few rulers as -well as famous authors and poets. In her commercial prosperity she had -grown, like her neighbours, corrupt and unwarlike, so that the Vandals -met with little resistance and plundered and pillaged at their will. -Instead of settling down amid their conquests they were driven by the -promise of further loot and the pressure of other barbarian tribes -following hard on their heels to cross the narrow Strait of Gibraltar -and to pursue their way due east along the African coast. In Spain -they have left the memory of their presence in the name of one of her -fairest provinces, Andalusia. - -The chief of the Vandals at this time was Genseric, who not only -conquered all the coast-line of North Africa, but also built a fleet -that became the terror of the Mediterranean. Like the Goths the Vandals -were Christians, but they held the views of Arius and there could be -little hope that they would tolerate the orthodox Catholics. Though -hardly as inhuman and ruthless as their opponents would have had -the world believe, they pillaged and laid waste as they passed; and -posterity has since applied the word _vandal_ to the man who wilfully -destroys. - -The name ‘Hun’ is of even more sinister repute. In the first half of -the fifth century the Huns in their triumphant march across Europe were -led by their king, Attila, ‘the Scourge of God’, whose boast it was -that never grass grew again where his horse’s hoofs had once trod. So -short and squat as to be almost deformed, flat-nosed, with a swarthy -skin and deep-set eyes, that he would roll hideously when angered, the -King loved to inspire terror not only amongst his enemies but in the -chieftains under his command. Pity, gentleness, civilization, such -words were either unknown or abhorrent to him; and in the towns whose -walls were stormed by his troops, old men, women, priests, and children -fell alike victims to his sword. - -It was his ambition that the name of ‘Attila’ should become a terror -to the whole earth, but the extent to which he succeeded in realizing -this aim brought a serious check to his arms; for when he reached the -boundaries of Gaul, he found that fear had gathered into a single -hostile force of formidable size races that had warred for centuries -amongst themselves. Here were not only ‘Provincials’, descendants of -the Romanized inhabitants of Gaul, but Goths, Franks, Burgundians, and -other tribes who, like the Vandals, had forced the passage of the Rhine -as soon as the imperial garrisons were weakened or withdrawn. They had -little in common save hatred of the Hun, a passion so strong that in a -desperate battle on the plain of Chalons they hurled back the Tartar -hordes for ever from the lands of Western Europe. - -Shaken by his defeat, but sullen and vindictive, Attila turned his -thoughts to Italy; and he and his warriors swept across the passes of -the Alps and descended on the fertile country lying to the north-west -of the Adriatic. The Italians made but a feeble resistance, and the -palaces, baths, and amphitheatres of once wealthy towns vanished in -smoking ruins. - -One important work of construction Attila unconsciously assisted, for -the inhabitants of Aquileia, seeking a refuge from their cruel foe, -fled to the coast, and there amid the desolate lagoons they and their -descendants built for themselves in the course of centuries a new city, -Venice, the future ‘Queen of the Adriatic’. Aquileia had been a city of -repute, but it can be safely guessed that she would never have attained -the world-wide glory that Venice, safe behind her barrier of marshes -and with every incentive to naval enterprise, was to establish in the -Middle Ages. - -From the Adriatic provinces Attila passed to Rome, but refrained from -sacking the city. It is said that he was uneasy because the armies -of Gaul that had defeated him at Chalons still hung on his rear, -threatening to cut off his retreat across the Alps. At any rate, -he consented to make terms negotiated by the Pope on behalf of the -citizens of Rome. Contemporary accounts declare that the Hun was awed -by the sight of Leo I in his priestly robes and by the fearlessness of -his bearing, and certainly for his mediation he well deserved the title -of ‘Great’ that the people in their gratitude bestowed on him. - -Attila, when he left Rome, turned northwards, but died quite shortly -after some drunken orgy. The kingdom of massacre and fire that he had -built on the terror of his name fell rapidly to pieces, and only the -remembrance of that terror remained; while Huns merged themselves in -the armies of other tribes or fought together in petty rivalry. - -[Sidenote: Vandal Sack of Rome] - -Rome had been taken by Alaric the Visigoth and spared by Attila, but -her trials were not yet at an end. Genseric, the Vandal king, who had -established himself at Carthage, was only awaiting his opportunity to -plunder a city that was still a world-famous treasure house. His fleet, -that had cut off Italy entirely from the cornfields of Egypt, blockaded -the mouth of the Tiber, and the Romans, weakened by famine and the -warfare of the past few years, quickly sued for peace. - -Once more Pope Leo went as mediator to the camp of his enemies; but -the Arian Vandal, unlike the pagan Hun, was adamant. He was willing -to forgo a general massacre but nothing further, and for a fortnight -the city was ruthlessly pillaged. Then Genseric sailed away, carrying -with him thousands of prisoners besides all the treasures of money and -art on which he could lay hands. Nearly four hundred years before, the -Emperor Titus, when he sacked Jerusalem, brought to Rome the golden -altar and candlesticks of the Jewish Temple, and now Rome in her turn -was despoiled of these trophies of her former victories. - -It was little wonder if the Western emperors, who had systematically -failed to save their capital, became discredited at last among their -own troops, and Rome, that had begun life according to tradition under -a ‘Romulus’, was to end her Empire under another, a handsome boy, -nicknamed in derision of his helplessness ‘Augustulus’, or ‘little -Augustus’. - -The pretext of his deposition was his refusal to grant Italian lands -to the German troops who formed the main part of the imperial army, on -which their captain, Odoacer, compelled him to abdicate. So low had -the imperial dignity sunk in public estimation that Odoacer, instead -of claiming the once-coveted honour, sent the diadem and purple robe -to the Emperor at Constantinople. ‘We disclaim the necessity or even -the wish’, wrote Augustulus, ‘of continuing any longer the imperial -succession in Italy.... The majesty of a sole monarch is sufficient to -pervade and protect at the same time both East and West.’ - -The writer, so fortunate in his insignificance that no one wished -to assassinate him, spent the rest of his days in a castle by the -Mediterranean, supported by a revenue from the state; while Odoacer, -with the title of ‘Patrician’, ruled the land with statesmanlike -moderation for fourteen years. - -[Sidenote: Ostrogothic Invasion] - -Two more waves of invasion were yet to break across the Alps and -hinder all attempts at restoration and unity. The first was that -of the ‘Ostrogoths’, or ‘Eastern’ Goths, a tribe of the same race -as the Visigoths that, meeting the first onslaught of the Huns in -their advance from Asia, had only just on the death of Attila freed -themselves from this terrible yoke. They sought now an independent -kingdom, and under the leadership of their prince, Theodoric, chafed -on the boundaries of the Eastern Empire, with which they had formed an -alliance. - -Theodoric had been educated in Constantinople, and though brave and -warlike did not share the reckless love of battle that animated his -followers. He realized, however, that he must lead the Ostrogoths -to a new land of plenty or incur their hatred and suspicion, so he -appealed to the Emperor Zeno for leave to go to Italy as his general -and depose Odoacer. ‘Direct me with the soldiers of my nation,’ he -wrote, ‘to march against the tyrant. If I fall you will be relieved -from an expensive and troublesome friend; if, with divine permission, I -succeed, I shall govern in your name and to your glory.’ - -Zeno had not been sufficiently powerful to prevent Odoacer from taking -the title of ‘Patrician’, but he had never liked the ‘barbarian -upstart’ who had dared to depose an emperor. He had also begun to dread -the presence of the restless Ostrogoths so close to Constantinople, and -warmly appreciated Theodoric’s arguments in favour of their exodus. -If the two barbarian kings destroyed one another, it would be all the -better for the Empire, and so with the imperial blessing Theodoric -started on his great adventure. - -He took with him not only his warriors but the women and children -of his tribe and all their possessions; and after several battles -succeeded in defeating and slaying his opponent. Rome, that looked upon -him as the Emperor’s representative, joyfully opened her gates, but -Theodoric preferred to make Ravenna his capital, and here he settled -and planted an orchard with his own hands. - -It was his hope that he might win the trust and affection of his -new subjects, and, though he ruled exactly as he liked, he remained -outwardly submissive to the Emperor, writing him humble letters and -marking the coinage with the imperial stamp. He frequently consulted -the Senate at Rome that, though it had long ago lost any real power, -had never ceased to take a nominal share in the government; and when -he gave a third of the Italian lands to his own countrymen he allowed -Roman officials to make the division. - -Theodoric also maintained the laws and customs of Italy and forced -the Ostrogoths to respect them too; but his army remained a national -bodyguard, and in spite of his efforts at conciliation the two peoples -did not mingle. Between them stood the barrier of religious bitterness, -for the Ostrogoths were Arians, and, though their ruler was very -tolerant in his attitude, the Catholics were always suspicious of his -intentions. - -On one occasion there had been a riot against the Jews and several -synagogues had been burned. Theodoric ordered a collection of money to -be made amongst the orthodox Catholics who were responsible, that the -buildings might be restored. This command was disobeyed, and when the -ring-leaders of the strike were whipped through the streets, popular -anger against the Gothic king grew to white heat. He himself changed in -character as he became older and showed himself morose and tyrannical. -Towards the end of his reign he put to death Boethius, a Roman senator, -who had been one of his favourite advisers, but who had dared to defend -openly a man whom he himself had condemned. - -Boethius was not only a fearless champion of his friends--he was a -great scholar who had kept alight the torch of classical learning amid -the darkness and horror of invasion. Besides translating some of the -works of Aristotle he wrote treatises on logic, arithmetic, geometry, -and astronomy, and made an able defence of the Nicene Creed against -Arian attacks. The last and most famous of his works, that for ten -centuries men have remembered and loved, was his _Consolations of -Philosophy_, written when death in a most horrible form was already -drawing close. Tortured by a cord drawn closely round his forehead, -and then beaten with clubs, the philosopher escaped from a life where -fortune had dealt with him cruelly. His master survived him by two -years, repenting on his death-bed in an agony of remorse the brutal -sentence he had meted out. - -It is scarcely fair to judge Theodoric by the tyranny of his last -days. It is better to recall the glory of his prime, and how ‘in -the Western part of the Empire there was no people who refused him -homage’. Allied by family ties with the Burgundians, the Visigoths, -the Vandals, and the Franks, he was undoubtedly the greatest of all -the barbarians of his age. Had his successors shown a little of his -statesmanlike qualities, Ostrogoth and Italian, in spite of their -religious differences, might have united to form a single nation, but -unfortunately, before twenty years had passed, the kingdom he had -founded was destined to disappear. - -Theodoric was succeeded by his grandson, a boy who lived only a -few years, and then by a worthless nephew, without either royal or -statesmanlike qualities. In contrast to this weak dynasty, there ruled -at Constantinople an Emperor who possessed in the highest degree the -ability and steadfastness of purpose that the times required. - -[Sidenote: The Emperor Justinian] - -Justinian was only a peasant by birth, but he had been well educated -and took a keen interest not only in questions of law and finance that -concerned the government but in theology, music, and architecture. -In his manner to his subjects he was friendly though dignified, but -there was something unsympathetic in his nature that prevented him -from becoming popular. His courtiers regarded his industry with awe, -but some professed to believe that he could not spend so many midnight -hours at work unless he were an evil spirit not requiring sleep. One -writer says that ‘no one ever remembered him young’: yet this serious -prince married for love a beautiful actress, Theodora, and dared, in -the face of general indignation, to make her his empress. An historian -of the time says of Theodora, ‘it were impossible for mere man to -describe her comeliness in words or imitate it in art’; yet she was -no doll, but took a very definite share in the government, extorting -admiration by her dignity even from those who had pretended to despise -her. - -Justinian’s chief passion was for building, and he spent a great part -of his revenue in erecting bridges, baths, forts, and palaces. Most -famous of all the architecture of his time was Saint Sophia, ‘the -Church of the Holy Wisdom’, that after Constantinople passed into the -hands of the Turks became a mosque. - -It is not, however, for Saint Sophia that Justinian is chiefly -remembered but for the _Corpus Juris Civilis_, literally ‘the body of -Civil Law’, that he published in order that his subjects might know -what the Roman law really was. The _Corpus Juris Civilis_ consisted -of three parts--the ‘Code’, a collection of decrees made by various -emperors; next the ‘Digest’, the decisions of eminent lawyers; and -thirdly the ‘Institutes’, an explanation of the principles of Roman -law. ‘After thirteen centuries,’ says a modern writer, ‘it stands -unsurpassed as a treasury of legal knowledge;’ and all through the -Middle Ages men were to look to it for inspiration. Thus it was on the -_Corpus Juris Civilis_ that ecclesiastical lawyers based the Canon law -that gave to the Pope an emperor’s power over the Church. - -Justinian worked for the progress of the world when he codified Roman -law. It was unfortunate that military ambition led him to exhaust his -treasury and overtax his subjects, in order that he might establish his -rule over the whole of Europe like Theodosius and Constantine. Besides -carrying on an almost continuous war with the King of Persia, he sent -an army and fleet under an able general, Belisarius, to fight against -the Vandals in North Africa; and so successful was this campaign that -Justinian became master of the whole coast-line, and even of a part of -southern Spain. This gave him command of the Mediterranean, and he at -once determined to overthrow the feeble descendants of Theodoric, and -to restore the imperial dominion over Italy in deed, not as it had been -from the time of Odoacer merely in name. - -The task was not easy, for the Italians, as we have noticed, did not -love the Greeks, while the Goths fought bravely for independence. At -length, in the year 555, after nineteen campaigns, Narses, an Armenian -who was at the head of Justinian’s forces, succeeded in crushing the -Barbarians and established his rule at Ravenna, from which city, under -the title of _Exarch_, he controlled the whole peninsula. - -[Sidenote: Lombard Invasion] - -Narses’ triumph had been in a great measure due to a German tribe, ‘The -Lombards’, whose hosts he had enrolled under the imperial banner. These -Lombards, _Longobardi_ or ‘Long Beards’ as the name originally stood, -had migrated from the banks of the Elbe to the basin of the Danube, and -there, looking about them for a warlike outlet for their energies, were -quite as willing to invade Italy at Justinian’s command as to go on any -other campaign that promised to be profitable. - -Narses, as soon as he was assured of success, paid them liberally for -their services and sent them back to their own people; but the Lombards -had learned to love the sunny climate and the vines growing out of -doors, and were soon discontented with their bleaker homeland. They -waited therefore until Narses, whom they knew and feared, was dead; and -then, under the leadership of Alboin, their king, crossed over the Alps -and invaded North Italy. They did not come in such tremendous strength -as the Ostrogoths in the past, nor were the imperial troops powerless -to stand against them: indeed, the two forces were so balanced that, -while the Lombards succeeded in establishing themselves in the province -of Lombardy, to which they gave their name, with Pavia as its capital, -the representatives of the Emperor still held the coast-line on both -sides, also Ravenna, Naples, Rome, and other principal towns. - -This Lombard inroad, the last of the great Barbarian invasions of -Italy, was by far the most important in its effects. For one thing, two -hundred years were to pass before the power of the new settlers was -seriously shaken; and therefore, even the fact that they were pagans -and imposed their own laws ruthlessly on the Italians could not keep -the races from gradually intermingling. In time the higher civilization -conquered, and the fair-haired Teutons learned to worship the Christian -God, forgot their own tongue, and adopted the customs and habits they -saw around them. The Italians, on their part, in the course of their -struggles with the Lombards became trained in the art of war they had -almost forgotten. By the eighth century the fusion was complete. - -Another very interesting and important result of the Lombard invasion -was that the prolonged duel between Barbarians and Greeks prevented -the development of any common form of government. There might in time -emerge an Italian race, but there could be no Italian nation so long as -towns and provinces were dominated by rulers whose policy and ambitions -were utterly opposed. The _Exarch_ of Ravenna claimed, in the name of -the Emperor at Constantinople, to collect taxes from and administer -the whole peninsula, but in practice he often ruled merely the strip -of land round his city cut off from other Greek officials by Lombard -dukes. He would be able to communicate by sea with the important towns -on or near the coast, such as Naples, but so irregularly that their -governments would tend to grow every year more independent of his -control. In Rome, for instance, there was not only the Senate with its -traditions of government, but the Pope, who even more than the Senate -had become the protector and adviser of his fellow citizens. - -[Sidenote: Pope Gregory ‘the Great’] - -We have seen how Leo ‘the Great’ persuaded Attila the Hun to withdraw -when his armies threatened the very gates of Rome, while later he went -on a like though unavailing mission to Genseric the Vandal. It was acts -like these that won recognition for the Papacy amongst other rulers; -and more than any of the Popes before him, Gregory ‘the Great’, who -ascended the chair of Peter in A.D. 590, built up the foundations of -this authority. - -A Roman of position and wealth, Gregory had become in middle age a poor -monk, giving all his money to the poor and disciplining himself by -fasting and penance. He is remembered best in England to-day for the -interest he showed in the fair-haired Angles in the Roman slave-market. -‘They have Angels’ faces, they should be fellow-heirs of the Angels in -Heaven.’ His comment he followed up by a petition that he might sail -as a missionary to the northern island from which these slaves came; -and, when instead he was sent on an embassy to Constantinople, he did -not forget England in the years that passed, but after he became Pope, -chose St. Augustine to go and convert the heathen King of Kent. In this -way southern England was christianized and brought into touch with the -life of Western Europe. - -‘A great Pope,’ it has been said, ‘is always a missionary Pope.’ -Gregory had the true missionary’s enthusiasm, and his writings, all -of them theological, bear the stamp of St. Augustine of Hippo’s -ardent spirit enforced with a faith absolutely assured and unbending. -Besides being instrumental in converting England, Gregory during his -pontificate saw the Arian Church in Spain reconciled to the Catholic, -while he succeeded in winning the Lombard king to Christianity and -friendship. - -It was little wonder that the people of Rome, who had been at war with -these invaders for long years, looked up to the peace-maker not only -as their spiritual father but also as a temporal ruler. Had he not fed -them when they were starving, declaring that it was thus the Church -should use her wealth? Had he not raised soldiers to guard the walls -and sent out envoys to plead the city’s cause against her enemies? -There was no such practical help to be obtained from the Exarchs of -Ravenna, talk as they might about the glories of Constantinople. -Thus Romans argued, and Gregory, who knew the real weakness of -Constantinople, was able to disregard the imperial viceroys when he -chose, a policy of independence followed by his successors. - -Since the Lombard kingdom had split up into a number of duchies each -with its own capital, Italy, in the early Middle Ages, tended to become -a group of city states, each jealous of its neighbours and ambitious -only for local interests. This provincial influence was so strong that -it has lasted into modern times. An Englishman or a Frenchman will -claim his country before thinking of the particular part from which he -comes, but it is more natural for an Italian to say first ‘I am Roman,’ -or ‘Neapolitan,’ or ‘Florentine,’ as the case may be. It is only by -remembering this difference that Italian history can be read aright. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - A.D. - The Emperors Valentian and Valens 364 - Battle of Adrianople 378 - The Emperor Theodosius 379-95 - Vandal Invasion of Africa 441 - Battle of Chalons 451 - Huns invade Italy 452 - Pope Leo I ‘the Great’ 440 - - - - -VI - -THE RISE OF THE FRANKS - - -The historian Tacitus, whose description of the German tribes we have -already quoted, had told the people of Gaul that, unless these same -Germans were kept at bay by the Roman armies on the Rhine frontier, -they would ‘exchange the solitude of their woods and morasses for the -wealth and fertility of Gaul’. ‘The fall of Rome,’ he added, ‘would be -fatal to the provinces, and you would be buried in the ruins of that -mighty fabric.’ - -This prophetic warning proved only too true when Vandal and Visigoth, -Burgundian, Hun, and Frank forced the passage of the Rhine, and swept -in irresistible masses across vineyards and cornfields, setting fire -to those towns and fortresses that dared to offer resistance. The -Vandal migration was but a meteor flash on the road to Spain and North -Africa; while on the battle-field of Chalons the Huns were beaten back -and carried their campaign of bloodshed to Italy: but the other three -tribes succeeded in establishing formidable kingdoms in Gaul during the -fifth and sixth centuries. - -At the head of the Visigoths rode Athaulf, brother-in-law of Alaric, -unanimously chosen king by the tribe on the death of that mighty -warrior.[1] Instead of continuing the campaign in South Italy, Athaulf -had made peace with the Emperor Honorius and married his sister, thus -gaining a semi-royal position in the eyes of Roman citizens. - -‘I once aspired,’ he said frankly, ‘to obliterate the name of Rome -and to erect on its ruins the dominion of the Goths, but ... I was -gradually convinced that laws are essentially necessary to maintain -and regulate a well-constituted state.... From that moment, I proposed -to myself a different object of glory and ambition; and it is now -my sincere wish that the gratitude of future ages should acknowledge -the merits of a stranger, who employed the sword of the Goths, not -to subvert, but to restore and maintain the prosperity of the Roman -Empire.’ - -Fortified by such sentiments and the benediction of the Emperor, who -was glad to free Italy from his brother-in-law’s presence, Athaulf -succeeded, after a short struggle, in establishing a Visigothic kingdom -in southern Gaul, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Bay of -Biscay. This, under his successors, was enlarged until it embraced the -whole of the province of Aquitania, with Toulouse as its capital, as -well as both slopes of the Pyrenees. - -The Burgundians, another German tribe, had, in the meanwhile, built up -a middle kingdom along the banks of the Rhone. Years of intercourse -with the Romans had done much to civilize both their manners and -thoughts, and they were quite prepared to respect the laws and customs -that they found in Gaul so long as they met with no serious opposition -to their rule. The fact that both Burgundians and Visigoths were Arians -raised, however, a fatal barrier between conquerors and conquered, and -did more than anything else to determine that ultimate dominion over -the whole of Gaul should be the prize of neither of these races, but -of a third Teutonic tribe, the Salian Franks, whom good fortune placed -beyond the influence of heresy. - -[Sidenote: The Franks] - -The Franks were a tall, fair-haired, loose-limbed people, who, emerging -from Germany, had settled for a time in the country we now call -Belgium. Like their ancestors, they worshipped Woden and other heathen -gods of the Teutons, while in their Salic law we see much to recall the -German customs described by Tacitus five centuries before. - -The king was no longer elected by his people, for his office had become -hereditary in the House of Meroveus, one of the heroes of the race. No -woman, even of the Merovingian line, might succeed to the throne, nor -prince whose hair had been shorn, since with the Franks flowing locks -were a sign of royalty. Yet, in spite of the king’s new position, the -old spirit of equality had not entirely disappeared. The assembly -of freemen, still held once a year, had degenerated into a military -review: but the warriors thus collected could demand that the coming -campaign should meet with their approval. When a battle was over and -victory obtained, the lion’s share of the booty did not fall to the -king, but the whole was divided by lot. - -A great part of the Salic law was really a tariff of violent acts, -with the fine that those who had committed them must pay, so much for -shooting a poisoned arrow, even if it missed its mark; so much for -wounding another in the head, or for cutting off his nose, or his great -toe, or, worst of all, for damaging his second finger, so that he could -no longer draw the bowstring. - -The underlying principle of this code was different from that of -the Roman law, which set up a certain standard of right, inflicting -penalties on those who fell short of it. Thus the Roman citizen who -murdered or maimed his neighbour would be punished because he had dared -to do what the state condemned as a crime. The Frank, in a similar -case, would be fined by the judges of his tribe, and the money paid as -compensation to the person, or the relations of the person, whom he had -wronged: the idea being, not to appease the anger of the state, but to -remove the resentment of the injured party. - -For this purpose each Frank had his _wergeld_, literally his -‘worth-gold’ or the sum of money at which, according to his rank, his -life was valued, beginning with the nobles of the king’s palace and -descending in a scale to the lowest freeman. When the Franks left -Belgium and advanced, conquering, into northern Gaul, they also fixed -_wergelds_ for their Roman subjects; but rated them at only half the -value of their own race. The _wergeld_ of a Frankish freeman was two -hundred gold pieces, of a Roman only one hundred. - -By the beginning of the sixth century, when the Franks were well -established in Gaul, the management of their important tribal affairs -had passed entirely into the hands of the nobles surrounding the king. -These bore such titles as _Major Domus_ or ‘Mayor of the Palace’, at -first only a steward, but later the chief minister of the crown; the -‘Seneschal’ or head of the royal household; the ‘Marshal’ or Master of -the Stables; the ‘Chamberlain’ or chief servant of the bedchamber. - -[Sidenote: Clovis, King of the Franks] - -The most famous of the Merovingian kings, as the descendants of -Merovius were called, was Clovis, who established the Frankish capital -at Paris. He and his tribe, though pagans, were on friendly terms with -the Roman inhabitants of northern Gaul, and especially with some of the -Catholic clergy. When Clovis sacked the town of Soissons he tried to -save the church plate, and especially a vase of great beauty that he -knew St. Remi, Bishop of Reims, highly valued. ‘Let it be put amongst -my booty,’ he said to his soldiers, intending to give it to the bishop -later; but one of them answered him insolently, ‘Only that is thine -which falls to thy share by lot,’ and with his axe he shivered the vase -into a thousand pieces. - -Clovis concealed his fury at the moment, but he did not forget, and a -year afterwards, when he was reviewing his troops, he noticed the same -man who had opposed his will. Stepping forward, he tore the fellow’s -weapons from his grasp and threw them on the ground, saying, ‘No arms -are worse cared for than thine!’ The soldier stooped to pick them up, -and Clovis, raising his battle-axe high in the air, brought it down on -the bent head before him with the comment, ‘Thus didst thou to the vase -at Soissons!’ - -Clovis married a Christian princess, Clotilda, a niece of the -Burgundian king, and, at her request, he allowed their eldest child -to be baptized, but for a long time he refused to become a Christian -himself. One day, however, when in the midst of a battle in which his -warriors were so hard pressed that they had almost taken to flight, he -cried aloud--‘Jesus Christ, thou whom Clotilda doth call the Son of the -Living God ... I now devoutly beseech thy aid, and I promise if thou -dost give me victory over these my enemies ... that I will believe in -thee and be baptized in thy name, for I have called on my own gods and -they have failed to help me.’ - -Shortly afterwards the tide of battle turned, the Franks rallied, and -Clovis obtained a complete victory. Remembering his promise, he went to -Reims, and there he and three thousand of his warriors were received -into the Catholic Church. ‘Bow thy head low,’ said St. Remi who -baptized the King, ‘henceforth adore that which thou hast burned and -burn that which thou didst formerly adore.’ - -When he became a Catholic, Clovis had no idea that he had altered the -whole future of his race, for to him it seemed merely that he had -fulfilled the bargain he had made with the Christian God. He did not -change his ways, but pursued his ambitions as before, now by treachery -and now by force. It was his determination to make himself supreme -ruler over all the Franks, and in the case of another branch, the -Ripuarians, he began by secretly persuading their heir to the kingly -title, the young prince Chloderic, to kill his father and seize the -royal coffers. - -Chloderic, fired by the idea of becoming powerful, did so and wrote -exultingly to Clovis, ‘My father is dead and his wealth is mine. Let -some of thy men come hither, and that of his treasure which pleaseth -them I will send thee.’ - -Ambassadors from the Salians duly arrived, and Chloderic led them -secretly apart and showed them his money, running his hand through the -pieces of gold that lay on the surface of the coffer. The men begged -him to thrust his arm in deep that they might judge how great his -wealth really was, and as he bent to do so, one of them struck him a -mortal wound from behind. Then they fled. Thus by treachery died both -father and son; but Clovis unblushingly denied to the Ripuarian Franks -that he had been in any way responsible. - -‘Chloderic murdered his father, and he hath been assassinated by I know -not whom. I am no partner in such deeds, for it is against the law -to take the life of relations. Nevertheless, since it has happened, -I offer you this advice, that you should put yourselves under my -protection.’ - -The Ripuarian Franks were without a leader, and like all barbarians -they worshipped success; so, believing that Clovis would surely lead -them to victory, they raised him on their shields and hailed him as -king. - -‘Each day God struck down the enemies of Clovis under his hand,’ says -Bishop Gregory of Tours, describing these events, ‘and enlarged his -kingdom, because he went with an upright heart before the Lord and did -the things that were pleasing in His sight.’ It is startling to find -a bishop pass such a verdict on a career of treachery and murder, the -more that Gregory of Tours was no cringing court-flatterer but a priest -with a high sense of duty who dared, when he believed it right, to -oppose some of the later Frankish kings even at the risk of his life. -Yet it must be remembered that a sense of honour was not understood by -barbarians, except in a very crude form. They believed it was clever -to outwit their neighbours, while to murder them was so ordinary as -to excite little or no comment, save the infliction of a _wergeld_ if -the crime could be brought home. Centuries of the civilizing influence -of Christianity were needed before the men and women of these fierce -tribes could accept the Christian principles of truth, justice, and -mercy in anything like their real spirit. - -The Romans in Gaul had almost given up expecting anything but brutality -from their invaders if they aroused their enmity, and therefore -welcomed even the smallest sign of grace. Thus the protection that -Clovis afforded to the Catholic Church, after her years of persecution, -blinded their eyes to many of his vices. - -When Clovis had made himself master of the greater part of northern -Gaul, he determined to strike a blow at the Visigoths in the south. -‘It pains me,’ he said to his followers, ‘to see Arians in a part of -Gaul. Let us march against these heretics with God’s aid and gain their -country for ourselves.’ - -Probably he was sincere in his dislike of heresy, but it was a politic -attitude to adopt, for it meant that wherever he and his warriors -marched they would find help against the Burgundians and Visigoths -amongst the orthodox Roman population. It seemed to the latter that -Clovis brought with him something of the glory of the vanished Roman -Empire, kept alive by the Catholic Church and now revived through her -in this her latest champion. - -In a fierce battle near Poitiers, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and -drove them out of Aquitaine, leaving them merely narrow strips of -territory along the Mediterranean seaboard and on either slope of the -Pyrenees. He also fought against the Burgundians and, though he was not -so successful, reduced them temporarily to submission. When he died, at -the age of forty-five, he was master of three-quarters of Gaul, and had -stamped the name of his race for ever on the land he had invaded. - -His work of conquest was continued by his successors and reached its -zenith in the time of King Dagobert, who lived at the beginning of -the seventh century. Dagobert has been called ‘the French Solomon’, -because, like the Jewish king, he was world-famed for his wisdom -and riches. Not content with maintaining his power over Gaul to the -west of the Rhine, he fought against the Saxon and Frisian tribes in -Germany and forced them to pay tribute. At last his Empire stretched -from the Atlantic to the mountains of Bohemia; the Duke of Brittany, -who had hitherto remained independent of the Franks, came to offer -his allegiance, while the Emperor of Constantinople sought a Frankish -alliance. - -A chronicler of the day, speaking of Dagobert, says, ‘He was a prince -terrible in his wrath towards traitors and rebels. He held the royal -sceptre firmly in his grasp, and like a lion he sprang upon those who -would foment discord.’ - -Another account describes his journeys through his kingdom, and how he -administered justice with an even hand, not altogether to the joy of -tyrannical landowners. ‘His judgements struck terror into the hearts of -the bishops and of the great men, but it overwhelmed the poor with joy.’ - -In the troublous years that were to come his reign stood out in -people’s minds as an age of prosperity, but already, before the death -of the king, this prosperity had begun to wane. Luxury sapped the -vigour of a once-powerful mind and body, and the authority that ‘the -French Solomon’ relaxed in his later years through self-indulgence was -never regained by his successors. - -With the contemptuous title ‘The Sluggard Kings’ the last rulers of the -Merovingian line have passed down to posterity. Few were endowed with -any ability or even ambition to govern, the majority died before they -had reached manhood looking already like senile old men; and the power -that should have been theirs passed into the hands of the Mayors of the -Palace who administered their demesnes. On state occasions, indeed, -they were still shown to their subjects, as they jolted to the place -of assembly in a rough cart drawn by oxen; but the ceremony over, they -returned to their royal villas and insignificance. ‘Nothing was left to -the king save the name of king, the flowing locks, the long beard. He -sat on his throne and played at government, gave audiences to envoys, -and dismissed them with the answers with which he had been schooled.’ - -[Sidenote: The Carolingians] - -It was a situation that could only last so long as the name ‘Meroveus’ -retained its spell over the Franks; but the day came when the spell -was broken, and a race of stronger fibre, the Carolingians, usurped -the royal title. The heads of this family had for generations held -the office of ‘Mayor of the Palace’ in the part of Gaul between the -Meuse and the Lower Rhine, then called Austrasia. It was their duty to -administer the royal demesnes in this large district, that is, to see -that the laws were obeyed, to superintend the cultivation of the soil, -and to collect a share of the various harvests as a revenue for the -king. - -This was more important work than it may sound to modern ears; for in -the early Middle Ages the majority of people, unlike men and women -to-day, lived in the country. Ever since the decay of the Roman Empire, -when the making of roads was neglected and the imperial grain-fleets -disappeared from the Mediterranean, the problem of carrying merchandise -and food from one part of Europe to another had grown steadily more -acute. As commerce and industry languished, towns ceased to be centres -of population and became merely strongholds where the neighbourhood -could find refuge when attacked by its enemies. People preferred to -spend their ordinary life in villages in the midst of fields, where -they could grow corn and barley, or keep their own sheep and oxen, and -if the crops failed or their beasts were smitten by disease a whole -province might suffer starvation. - -The Mayor of the Palace must guard the royal demesnes, as far as -possible, from the ravages of weather, wolves, or lawless men, for -the King of the Franks, as much as any of his subjects, depended on -the harvests and herds for his prosperity rather than on commerce or -manufactures. By the end of the seventh century the Mayors of Austrasia -had ceased to interest themselves merely in local affairs and had begun -to extend their authority over the whole of France. Nominally, they -acted in the name of the Merovingian kings, but once when the throne -fell vacant they did not trouble to fill it for two years. The Franks -made no protest: it was to their mayors, not to their kings, that they -now turned whether in search of good government or daring national -exploits. - -The Carolingian Charles ‘Martel’, Charles ‘the Hammer’, was a warrior -calculated to arouse their profound admiration. ‘He was a Herculean -warrior,’ says an old chronicle, ‘an ever-victorious prince ... who -triumphed gloriously over other princes, and kings, and peoples, and -barbarous nations: in so much that, from the Slavs to the Frisians and -even to the Spaniards and Saracens, there were none who rose up against -him that escaped from his hand, without prostrating themselves in the -dust before his empire.’ - -It was Charles Martel who saved France from falling under the yoke of -the Saracens, a race of Arabian warriors who, crossing from Africa at -the Strait of Gibraltar, subdued in one short campaign three-quarters -of Spain. Describing the first great victory over the Gothic King -Rodrigo at Guadalete, the Governor of Africa wrote to his master the -Caliph, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, these are no common conquests; -they are like the meeting of the nations on the Day of Judgement.’ - -Puffed up with the glory they had gained, the Saracens, who were -followers of the Prophet Mahomet, believed that they had only to -advance for Christian armies to run away; and over the Pyrenees they -swept in large bands, seizing first one stronghold on the Mediterranean -coast and then another. Before this invasion Charles Martel had been -engaged in a quarrel with the Duke of Aquitaine, but now they hastily -made friends and on the field of Poitiers joined their forces to stem -the Saracen tide. So terrible was the battle, we are told, that over -three hundred thousand Saracens fell before the Frankish warriors -‘inflexible as a block of ice’. The number is almost certainly an -exaggeration, and so also is the claim that the victors, by forcing -the remnant of the Mahometan army to retreat towards the Pyrenees in -hasty flight, saved Europe for Christianity. Even had the decision -of the battle been reversed, the Moors would have found the task of -holding Spain in the years to come quite sufficient to absorb all -their energies. Indeed, their attacks on Gaul were, from the first, -more in the nature of gigantic raids than of invasions with a view -to settlement, though at the time their ferocity made them seem of -world-wide importance. - -Thus it was only natural that the Mayor of the Palace, to whom the -victory was mainly due, became the hero of Christendom. The Pope, who -was at that time trying to defend Rome from the King of the Lombards, -sent to implore his aid; but Charles knew that his forces had been -weakened by their struggle with the Saracens and dared not undertake so -big a campaign. - -[Sidenote: Pepin, King of the Franks] - -Some years later his son, Pepin ‘the Short’ (751-68), who had succeeded -him, received the suggestion with a different answer. Pepin, as his -nickname shows, was short in stature, but he was powerfully built -and so strong that with a single blow of his axe he once cut off the -head of a lion. Energetic and shrewd, he saw a way of turning the -Pope’s need of support against the Lombards to his own advantage. He -therefore sent Frankish ambassadors to Rome to inquire whether it was -not shameful for a land to be governed by kings who had no authority. -The Pope, who was anxious to please Pepin, replied discreetly, ‘He who -possesses the authority should doubtless possess the title also.’ - -This was exactly what the Mayor of the Palace had expected and wished, -and the rest of the story may be told in the words of the old Frankish -annals for the year 751: ‘In this year Pepin was named king of the -Franks with the sanction of the Popes, and in the city of Soissons he -was anointed with the holy oil ... and was raised to the throne after -the custom of the Franks. But Childeric, who had the name of king, was -shorn of his locks and sent into a monastery.’ - -The last of the Merovingians had vanished into the oblivion of a -cloister, and Pepin the Carolingian was ruler of France. With the -Pope’s blessing he had achieved his ambition, and fortune soon enabled -him to repay his debt, mainly, as it happened, at another’s expense. - -In the last chapter we described the effect of the Lombard invasion -of Italy, and how that Teutonic race sank its roots deep in the heart -of the peninsula, leaving a Greek fringe along the coasts that still -considered itself part of the Eastern Empire. Rome in theory belonged -to this fringe, but in reality the Popes hated the imperial authority -almost as much as the aggressions of Lombard king and dukes, and -struggled to free themselves from its yoke. - -When Pepin, his own ambition satisfied, turned his attention to the -Pope’s affairs, the Lombards had just succeeded in over-running the -Exarchate of Ravenna, the seat of the imperial government in Italy. -Collecting an army, the King of the Franks crossed the Alps without -encountering any opposition, marched on Pavia, the Lombard capital, and -struck such terror into his enemies that, almost without fighting, they -agreed to the terms that he dictated. - -Legally, he should have at once commanded the restoration of the -Exarchate to the Empire, but there was no particular reason why Pepin -should gratify Constantinople, while he had a very strong inclination -to please Rome. He therefore told the Lombards to give the Exarchate -to Stephen II, who was Pope at that time, and this they faithfully -promised to do; but, as he turned homewards, they began instead to -oppress the country round Rome, preventing food from entering the city -and pillaging churches. - -[Sidenote: The Temporal Power of the Papacy] - -Pepin was very angry when he heard the news. Once more he descended on -Italy, and this time the Lombards were compelled to keep their word, -and the Papacy received the first of its temporal possessions, ratified -by a formal treaty that declared the exact extent of the territory and -the Papal rights over it. This was an important event in mediaeval -history, for it meant that henceforward the Pope, who claimed to be the -spiritual head of Christendom, would be also an Italian prince with -recognized lands and revenues, and therefore with private ambitions -concerning these. It would be his instinct to distrust any other ruler -in the peninsula who might become powerful enough to deprive him of -these lands; while he would always be faced, when in difficulties, by -the temptation to use his spiritual power to further purely worldly -ends. On the way in which Popes dealt with this problem of their -temporal and spiritual power, much of the future history of Europe was -to depend. - -Pepin, in spite of his shrewdness, had no idea of the troubles he had -sown by his donation. Well pleased with the generosity he had found so -easy, with the title of ‘Patrician’ bestowed on him by the Pope, and -perhaps still more by the spoils that he and his Franks had collected -in Lombardy, he left Italy, and was soon engaged in other campaigns -nearer home against the Saracens and rebellious German tribes. In these -he continued until his death in 768. - - - - -VII - -MAHOMET - - -Christianity, first preached by humble fishermen in Palestine, had -become the foundation of life in mediaeval Europe. Some three hundred -years after Constantine the Great had made this possible another -religion, ‘Islam’, destined to be the rival of Christianity, was also -born in the East, in Arabia, a narrow strip of territory lying between -the Red Sea and miles of uninhabitable desert. - -On the sea-coast of Arabia were some harbours, inland a few fertile -oases, where towns of low, white stone houses and mud hovels had -sprung into being; but from the very nature of the soil and climate -the Arabs were not drawn to manufacture goods or grow corn. Instead -they preferred a wanderer’s life, to tend the herds of horses or sheep -that ranged the peninsula in search of water and pasturage, or if more -adventurous to guard the caravans of camels that carried the silks and -spices of India to Mediterranean seaports. These caravans had their -regular routes, and every merchant a band of armed men to protect -his goods and drive off robbers along the way. Only in the ‘Sacred -Months’, the time of the sowing of seeds in the spring and at the -autumn harvest, were such convoys of goods safe from attack; for then, -and then only, every Arab believed, according to the traditions of his -forefathers, that peace was a duty, and that a curse would fall on him -who dared to break it. - -The Arab, like all Orientals, was superstitious. He worshipped ‘Allah’, -the all supreme God, but he accepted also a variety of other gods, -heavenly bodies, spirits and devils, stones and idols. One of the most -famous Arabian sanctuaries was a temple at Mecca called the ‘Ka’bah’, -where a black stone had been built into the wall that pilgrims would -come from long distances to kiss and worship. Amongst the youths of -the town who saw this ceremony and himself took part in the religious -processions was an orphan lad, Mahomet (576-632), brought up in the -house of his uncle, Abu Talib. - -[Sidenote: The Young Mahomet] - -Mahomet was handsome and strong: he had looked after sheep on the edge -of the desert, taken part in tribal fights, and from the age of twelve -wandered with caravans as far as the sea-coast. What distinguished him -from his companions was not his education, nor any special skill as a -warrior, but his quickness of observation, his tenacious memory, and -his gift for bending others to his will. Unable to read, he could only -gain knowledge by word of mouth, and wherever he went, amongst the -colonies of the Jews who were the chief manufacturers in the towns, or -lying beside the camp fires of the caravans at night, he would keep -his ears open and store up in his mind all the tales that he heard. In -this way he learned of the Jewish religion and a garbled version of -Christianity. Soon he knew the stories of Joseph and of Abraham and -some of the sayings of Christ, and the more he thought over them the -more he grew to hate the idol worship of the Arabs round him. - -When he was twenty-five Mahomet married a rich widow, Khadijah, whose -caravan he had successfully steered across the desert; and in this way -he became a man of independent means, possessing camels and horses of -his own. Khadijah was some years older than Mahomet, but she was a very -good wife to him, and brought him not only a fortune but a trust and -belief in his mission that he was to need sorely in the coming years. -To her he confided his hatred of idol-worship, and also to Abu Bakr, -the wealthy son of a cloth merchant of Mecca, who had fallen under his -influence. Mahomet declared that God, and later the Angel Gabriel, had -appeared to him in visions and had given him messages condemning the -superstitions of the Arabs. - -‘There is but one God, Allah ... and Mahomet is His Prophet.’ - -This was the chief message, received at first with contempt but -destined to be carried triumphant in the centuries to come right to the -Pyrenees and the gates of Vienna. - -The visions, or trances, during which Mahomet received his messages, -afterwards collected in the sacred book, the Koran, are thought by -many to have been epileptic fits. His face would turn livid and he -would cover himself with a blanket, emerging at last exhausted to -deliver some command or exhortation. Later it would seem that he could -produce this state of insensibility at will and without much effort, -whenever questions were asked, indeed, in answering which he required -divine guidance. Much of the teaching in the Koran was based, like -Judaism or Christianity, on far higher ideals than the fetish worship -of the Arabs: it emphasized such things as the duty of almsgiving, -the discipline that comes of fasting, the necessity of personal -cleanliness, while it forbade the use of wine, declaring drunkenness a -crime. - -With regard to the position of women the Koran could show nothing of -the chivalry that was to develop in Christendom through the respect -felt by Christians for the mother of Christ and for the many women -martyrs and saints who suffered during the early persecutions. Moslems -were allowed by the Koran to have four wives (Mahomet permitted himself -ten), and these might be divorced at their husband’s pleasure without -any corresponding right on their part. On the other hand the power -of holding property before denied was now secured to women, and the -murder of female children that had been a practice in the peninsula was -sternly abolished. - -As the years passed more and more ‘Surahs’, or chapters, were added to -the Koran, but at first the Prophet’s messages were few and appealed -only to the poor and humble. When the Meccans, told by Abu Bakr that -Mahomet was a prophet, came to demand a miracle as proof, he declared -that there could be no greater miracle than the words he uttered; but -this to the prosperous merchants seemed merely crazy nonsense. When he -went farther, and, acting on what he declared was Allah’s revelation, -destroyed some of the local idols, contempt changed to anger; for the -inhabitants argued that if ‘Ka’bah’ ceased to be a sanctuary their -trade with the pilgrims who usually came to Mecca would cease. - -For more than eight years, while the Prophet maintained his unpopular -mission, his poorer followers were stoned and beaten, and he himself -shunned. Perhaps it seems odd that in such a barbarous community he -was not killed; but though Arabia possessed no government in any -modern sense, yet a system of tribal law existed that went far towards -preventing promiscuous murder. Each man of any importance belonged to -a tribe that he was bound to support with his sword, and that in turn -was responsible for his life. If he were slain the tribe would exact -vengeance or demand ‘blood money’ from the murderer. Now the head of -Mahomet’s tribe was Abu Talib, his uncle, and, though the old man -refused to accept his nephew as a prophet, he would not allow him to be -molested. - -In spite of persecution the number of believers in Mahomet’s doctrines -grew, and when some of those who had been driven out of the city -took refuge with the Christian King of Abyssinia and were treated by -him with greater kindness than the pagan Arabs, the Meccans at home -became so much alarmed that they adopted a new policy of aggression. -Henceforward both Mahomet and his followers, the hated ‘Moslems’, or -‘heathen’ as they were nicknamed in the Syriac tongue, were to be -outlaws, and no one might trade with them or give them food. - -In an undisciplined community like an Arabian town such an order -would not be strictly kept, and for three years Mahomet was able to -defy the ban, but every day his position grew more precarious and the -sufferings of his followers from hunger and poverty increased. During -this time too both Khadijah and Abu Talib died, and the Prophet, almost -overwhelmed with his misfortunes, was only kept from doubting his -mission by the faith and loyalty of those who would not desert him. - -Weary of trying to convert Mecca he sent messengers through Arabia to -find if there were any tribe that would welcome a prophet, and at last -he received an invitation to go to Yathrib. This was a larger town than -Mecca, farther to the north, and was populated mainly by Jewish tribes -who hated the Arabian idol-worshippers and welcomed the idea of a -teacher whose views were based largely on Jewish traditions. - -[Sidenote: The Hijrah] - -In 622, therefore, Mahomet and his followers fled secretly from Mecca -to Yathrib, later called Medinah or ‘the city of the Prophet’; and -this date of the ‘Hijrah’ or ‘Flight’, when the new religion broke -definitely with old Arab traditions, was taken as the first year of the -Moslem calendar, just as Christians reckon their time from the birth of -Christ. Here in Medinah was built the first mosque, or temple of the -new faith, a faith christened by its believers Islam, a word meaning -‘surrender’, for in surrender to Allah and to the will of his Prophet -lay the way of salvation to the Moslem Garden of Paradise. - -So beautiful to the Arab mind were the very material luxuries and -pleasures with which Mahomet entranced the imagination of believers -that in later years his soldiers would fling themselves recklessly -against their enemies’ spears in order to gain Paradise the quicker. -The alternative for the unbeliever was Hell, the everlasting fires of -the Old Testament that so terrified the minds of mediaeval Christians; -and between Paradise and Hell there was no middle way. - -The Jews in Medinah were, like Mahomet, worshippers of one God, but -they soon showed that they were not prepared to accept this wandering -Arab as Jehovah’s final revelation to man. They demanded miracles, -sneered at the Koran, which they declared was a parody of their own -Scriptures, and took advantage of the poverty of the refugees to drive -hard bargains with them. At length it became obvious that the Moslems -must find some means of livelihood or else Medinah, like Mecca, must be -left for more friendly soil. - -Pressed by circumstances Mahomet evolved a policy that was destined to -overthrow the tribal system of government in Arabia. Mention has been -made already of the caravans of camels that journeyed regularly from -south to north of the peninsula, bearing merchandise. Many of these -caravans were owned by wealthy Meccans, whose chief trade route passed -quite close by the town of Medinah, and they were protected and guarded -by members of the tribe of Abu Talib and of other families whose -relations were serving with the Prophet. - -At first, when Mahomet commanded that these caravans should be attacked -and looted, his followers looked aghast, for the sacredness of -tribes from attack by kinsmen was a tradition they had inherited for -generations. Their Prophet at once proved to them by a message from -Allah that a new relationship had been formed stronger than the ties -of blood, namely, the bond of faith, and that to the believer the -unbeliever, whether father or son, was accursed. In the same way, when -the first marauding expeditions were unsuccessful because the caravans -attacked were too well guarded, Mahomet explained away the ‘Sacred -Months’ and chose in future that very time for his warriors to descend -upon unsuspecting merchants. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Badr] - -The Meccans, outraged by what they somewhat naturally considered -treachery, soon dispatched some thousand men, determined to make an -end of the Prophet and his followers; and at Badr, not very far from -the coast on the trade route between the two towns, this large force -encountered three hundred Moslems commanded by Mahomet. It is difficult -to gain a clear impression of the battle, for romance and legend have -rendered real details obscure; but, either by superior generalship, -the valour and discipline of the Moslems as compared to the conduct of -their forces, or, as was later stated, through the agency of angels -sent by Allah from Heaven, the vastly more numerous Meccan force was -utterly put to rout. - -Moslems refer to the battle of Badr as ‘the Day of Deliverance’, for -though, not long afterwards, they in their turn were defeated by the -Meccans, yet never again were they to become mere discredited refugees. -Success pays, and, with the victory of Badr as a tangible miracle -to satisfy would-be converts, Mahomet soon gained a large army of -warriors, whom his personality moulded into obedience to his will. - -The Jews who had mocked him had soon cause to repent, for Mahomet, -remembering their jibes and the petty persecution to which they had -subjected his followers, adopted a definitely hostile attitude towards -them. Taking advantage of the reluctance with which these Jews had -shared in the defence of Medinah and in the throwing-up of earthworks -to protect it, when the Meccans came to besiege it in the year 5 of -the new calendar, Mahomet as soon as the siege was raised obtained his -revenge. Those Jews of the city who still refused to recognize him as -a Prophet were slaughtered, their wives and children sold into slavery. -The teaching and ritual of the Koran also, once carefully based on the -Scriptures of Israel, began to cast off this influence, and where of -old Mahomet had commanded his followers to look towards Jerusalem in -their prayers, he now bade them kneel with their faces towards Mecca. - -In this command may be seen his new policy of conciliation towards -his native town; for Mahomet recognized that in the city of Mecca -lay the key to the peninsula, and he was determined to establish his -power there, if not by force then by diplomacy. After some years of -negotiation he persuaded those who had driven him into exile not so -much of the truth of his teaching as of the certainty that his presence -would bring more pilgrims than ever before to visit the shrine of -Ka’bah. - -In A.D. 630 he entered Mecca in triumph, and the worship of Islam was -established in the heart of Arabia. As a concession to the Meccans, -divine revelation announced that the sacred black stone built into the -temple wall had been hallowed by Abraham, and was therefore worthy of -veneration. - -Instead of a general scheme of revenge only two of Mahomet’s enemies -were put to death; and it is well to remember that, judged by the -standards of his age and race, the Prophet was no lover of cruelty. -In his teaching he condemned the use of torture, and throughout his -life he was nearly always ready to treat with his foes rather than -slay them. Those amongst his enemies who refused him recognition as -a Prophet while willing to acknowledge him as a ruler were usually -allowed to live in peace on the payment of a yearly ransom divided -amongst the believers; but in cases where he had met with an obstinate -refusal or persistent treachery, as from the Jews of Medinah, Mahomet -would put whole tribes to the sword. - -In 632 the Prophet of Islam died, leaving a group of Arabian tribes -bound far more securely together by the faith he had taught them than -they could have been by the succession of any royal house. ‘Though -Mahomet is dead, yet is Mahomet’s God not dead.’ - -While Mahomet was still an exile at Medinah it is evident that he -already contemplated the idea of gaining the world for Islam. ‘Let -there be in you a nation summoning unto good,’ says the Koran, and in -token of this mission the Prophet, in the years following his Arabian -victories, sent letters to foreign rulers to announce his ambition. -Here is one to the chief of the Copts, a Christian race living in Egypt: - - ‘In the name of Allah ... the Merciful. - - ‘From the Apostle of Allah to ..., Chief of the Copts. Peace be - upon him who follows the guidance. Next I summon thee with the - appeal to Islam: become a Moslem and thou shalt be safe. God shall - give thee thy reward twofold. But if thou decline then on thee is - the guilt of the Copts. O ye people of the Book come unto an equal - arrangement between us and you that we should serve none save God, - associating nothing with Him, and not taking one another for Lords - besides God,--and if ye decline, then bear witness that we are - Moslems.’ - -[Sidenote: The Kingdom of Persia] - -Similar letters were sent to Chosroes, King of Persia, and to -Heraclius, the Christian Emperor at Constantinople. The former tore -the letter in pieces contemptuously, for at that time his kingdom -extended over the greater part of Asia; Jerusalem, once the pride of -the Eastern Empire, had fallen into his grasp; while his armies were -besieging Constantinople itself. A letter that he himself penned to -the Christian Emperor shows his overweening pride, and the depths into -which Byzantium had fallen in the public regard: - - ‘Chosroes, Greatest of Gods, and Master of the whole earth, to - Heraclius, his vile and insensate slave. Why do you still refuse to - submit to our rule and call yourself a king? Have I not destroyed - the Greeks? You say that you trust in your God. Why has he not - delivered out of my hand Caesarea, Jerusalem, Alexandria? and shall - I not also destroy Constantinople? But I will pardon your faults if - you will submit to me, and come hither with your wife and children, - and I will give you lands, vineyards, and olive groves, and look - upon you with a kindly aspect. Do not deceive yourself with vain - hope in that Christ, who was not even able to save himself from the - Jews, who killed him by nailing him to a cross. Even if you take - refuge in the depths of the sea I shall stretch out my hand and - take you, so that you shall see me whether you will or no.’ - -Christendom was fortunate in Heraclius. Instead of contemplating -either despair or surrender, he called upon the Church to summon all -Christians to his aid, and by means of the gold and silver plate -presented to him as a war loan by the bishops and clergy, and in -command of a large army of volunteers, he beat back the Persians from -the very gates of his capital. Not content with a policy of defence, he -next invaded Asia, and at the battle of Nineveh utterly destroyed the -hosts of Chosroes. The fallen King, deposed by his subjects, was forced -to take refuge in the mountains, and later was thrown into a dungeon -where he died of cold and starvation. - -Had the reign of Heraclius ended at this date, it would be remembered -as a glorious era in the history of Constantinople; but unfortunately -for his fame another foe was to make more lasting inroads on his -Empire, already weakened by the Persian occupation. - -When the Emperor (610-41), like Chosroes, received Mahomet’s letter, -he is said to have read it with polite interest. It seemed to him that -this fanatic Arab, who hated the Jews as much as the Christians did, -might turn his successful sword not only against them but against the -Persians. In this surmise Heraclius was right, for under Abu Bakr, now -Caliph, or ‘successor’, of Mahomet, since the Prophet had left no son, -the Moslems invaded Persia. - -Unfortunately for Heraclius, they were equally bent on an aggressive -campaign against the Christian Empire. ‘There is but one God, Allah!’ -With this test, by which they could distinguish friend from foe, the -Arab hosts burst through the gate of Syria, and at Yermuk encountered -the imperial army sent by Heraclius to oppose them. The Greeks fought -so stubbornly that at first it seemed that their disciplined valour -must win. ‘Is not Paradise before you?... Are not Hell and Satan -behind?’ cried the Arab leader to his fanatical hordes, and in -response to his words they rallied, broke the opposing lines by the -sudden ferocity of their charge, and finally drove the imperial troops -in headlong flight. - -[Sidenote: Mahometan Victories] - -After the battle of Yermuk Syria fell and Palestine was invaded. In -637 Jerusalem became a Moslem town, with a mosque standing where once -had been the famous temple of Solomon. Mahomet had declared Jerusalem -a sanctuary only second in glory to Mecca; and his followers with a -toleration strange in that age left under Christian guardianship the -Tomb of the Holy Sepulchre and other sacred sites. - -After Syria, Palestine; after Palestine, Egypt and the north African -coast-line. The dying Heraclius heard nothing but the bitter news of -disaster, and after his death the quarrels of his descendants increased -the feebleness of Christian resistance. A spirit of unity might have -carried the Moslem banners to the limits of the Eastern Empire, but -in 656 the Caliph Othman was murdered, and the civil war that ensued -enabled the Christian Emperor, Constans II, to negotiate peace. He -had lost Tripoli, Syria, Egypt, and the greater part of Armenia to -his foes, who had also succeeded in establishing a naval base in the -Mediterranean that threatened the islands of Greece herself. In the -north his borders were overrun by Bulgar and Slav tribes, while in -Italy the Lombards maintained a perpetual struggle against his viceroy, -the Exarch of Ravenna. - -Constans himself spent six years in Italy, the greater part in -campaigns against the Lombards. He even visited Rome, but earned hatred -there as elsewhere by his ruthless pillage of the West for the benefit -of the East. Thus the Pantheon was stripped of its golden tiles to -enrich Constantinople, and the churches of South Italy robbed of their -plate to pay for his wars. At last a conspiracy was formed against him, -and while enjoying the baths at Syracuse one of his servants struck him -on the head with a marble soap-box and fractured his skull. Constans -had been a brave and resolute Emperor of considerable military ability. -His son, Constantine ‘Pogonatus’, or ‘the bearded’, inherited his gifts -and drove back the Mahometans from Constantinople with so great a loss -of men and prestige that the Caliph promised to pay a large sum of -money as tribute every year in return for peace. - -Constantine ‘Pogonatus’ died when a comparatively young man and was -succeeded by his son, Justinian II, a lad of seventeen, arrogant, -cruel, and restless. Without any reason save ambition he picked a -quarrel with the Moslem Caliph, marched a large army across his Eastern -border, and, when he met with defeat, proceeded in his rage to execute -his generals and soldiers, declaring that they had failed him. At home, -in Constantinople, his ministers tortured the inhabitants in order to -exact money for his treasury and filled the imperial dungeons with -senators and men of rank suspected of disloyalty. - -Such a state of affairs could not last; and the Emperor, who treated -his friends as badly as his foes, was captured by one of his own -generals, and, after having his nose cruelly slit, was exiled to the -Crimea. Mutilation was supposed to be a final bar to the right of -wearing the imperial crown; but Justinian II was the type of man to be -ignored only when dead. After some years of brooding over his wrongs he -fled from the Crimea and took refuge with the King of the Bulgars. - -On his sea-journey a terrific storm arose that threatened to overwhelm -both him and his crew. ‘My Lord,’ exclaimed one of his attendants, ‘I -pray you make a vow to God that if He spare you, you also will spare -your enemies.’ ‘May God sink this vessel here and now,’ retorted his -master, ‘if I spare a single one of them that falls into my hands,’ -and the words were an ill omen for his reign, that began once more in -705 when, with the aid of Bulgar troops and of treachery within the -capital, Justinian II established himself once more in Constantinople. - -During six years the Empire suffered his tyranny anew; and those who -had previously helped to dethrone him were hunted down, tortured, and -put to death. Like Nero of old he burned alive his political enemies, -or he would order the nobles of his court who had offended him to be -sewn up in sacks and thrown into the sea. At last another rebellion -brought a final end to his reign, and that of the house of Heraclius, -for both he and his young son were murdered, and the Eastern Empire -given up to anarchy. - -[Sidenote: Leo the Isaurian] - -The man who did most to save Constantinople from the next Mahometan -invasion was one of the military governors of the Empire called Leo the -Isaurian. Conscious of his own ability he took advantage of his first -successes to seize the imperial crown; and then, having heard that the -Mahometan fleet was moored off the shores of Asia Minor, he secretly -sent a squadron of his own vessels that set the enemy’s ships on fire. -In the panic that ensued more than half the Arabian ships were sunk. -About the same time a Mahometan land force was also defeated by the -King of the Bulgars, who had allied himself with the Emperor on account -of their mutual dread of an Eastern invasion. The result of these -combined Christian victories was that the Caliph Moslemah, whose main -forces were encamped beneath the walls of Constantinople, grew alarmed -lest he should be cut off from support and provisions. He therefore -raised the siege, embarked his army in what remained of his fleet, and -retreated to his own kingdom, leaving the Christian capital free from -acute danger from the East for another three hundred years. - -Elsewhere the Mahometans pursued their triumphant progress with little -check. After the fall of Carthage in 697 North Africa lay almost -undefended before them; and the half-savage tribes such as the Berbers, -who lived on the borders of the desert, welcomed the new faith with its -mission of conversion by the sword and prospects of plunder. - -It was the Berbers who at the invitation, according to tradition, of -a treacherous Spanish Governor, Count Julian, crossed the Strait of -Gibraltar and descended on the plains of Andalusia. - -Spain, when the power of the Roman Empire snapped, had been invaded -first by Vandals and then by Visigoths. The Vandals, as we have -seen,[2] passed on to Africa, while the Visigoths, like the Lombards -in Italy, became converted to Christianity, and, falling under the -influence of the civilization and luxury they saw around them, -gradually adapted their government, laws, and way of life to the system -and ideals of those whom they had conquered. Thus their famous _Lex -Visigothorum_, or ‘Law of the Visigoths’, was in reality the Roman code -remodelled to suit the German settlers. - -In this new land the descendants of the once warlike Teutons acquired -an indifference to the arts of war, and when their King Rodrigo -had been killed at the disastrous battle of Guadelete and his army -overthrown, they made little further resistance to the Saracen hordes -except in the far northern mountains of the Asturias. From France we -have seen[3] the Mahometans were beaten back by Charles Martel, and -here, established in Spain and on the borders of the Eastern Empire, -we must leave their fortunes for the time. If Mahomet’s life is short -and can be quickly told the story of how his followers attempted to -establish their rule over Christendom is nothing else than the history -of the foreign policy of Europe during mediaeval times. - - - - -VIII - -CHARLEMAGNE - - -Just before his death Pepin the Short had divided his lands between his -two sons, Charles, who was about twenty-six, and Carloman, a youth some -years younger. As they had no affection for each other, this division -did not work well. Carloman gave little promise of statesmanlike -qualities: he was peevish and jealous, and easily persuaded by the -nobles who surrounded him that his elder brother was a rival who -intended to rob him of his possessions, it might be of his life. There -seems to have been no ground for this suspicion; but nevertheless he -spent his days in trying to hinder whatever schemes Charles proposed; -and when he died, three years later, there was a general breath of -relief. - -Enumerating the blessings that Heaven had bestowed on Charlemagne, a -monk, writing to the King about this time, completed his list with the -candid statement: ‘the fifth and not least that God has removed your -brother from this earthly kingdom’. - -Charlemagne was exactly the kind of person to seize the fancy of the -early Middle Ages. Tall and well built, with an eagle nose and eyes -that flashed like a lion when he was angry so that none dared to -meet their gaze, he excelled all his court in strength, energy, and -skill. He could straighten out with his fingers four horseshoes locked -together, lift a warrior fully equipped for battle to the level of his -shoulder, and fell a horse and its rider with a single blow. - -It was his delight to keep up old national customs and to wear the -Frankish dress with its linen tunic, cross-gartered leggings, and long -mantle reaching to the feet. ‘What is the use of these rags?’ he once -inquired contemptuously of his courtiers, pointing to their short -cloaks--‘Will they cover me in bed, or shield me from the wind and rain -when I ride abroad?’ - -[Illustration: The EMPIRE of CHARLEMAGNE] - -This criticism was characteristic of the King. Intent on a multitude -of schemes for the extension or improvement of his lands, and so eager -to realize them that he would start on fresh ones when still heavily -encumbered with the old, he was yet, for all his enthusiasm, no vague -dreamer but a level-headed man looking questions in the face and -demanding a practical answer. - -[Sidenote: The Chanson de Roland] - -By the irony of fate it is the least practical and important task -he undertook that has made his name world-famous; for the story of -Charlemagne and his Paladins, told in that greatest of mediaeval -epics, the _Chanson de Roland_, exceeds to-day in popularity even the -exploits of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This much is -history--that Charlemagne, invited secretly by some discontented Emirs -to invade Spain and attack the Caliph of Cordova, crossed the Pyrenees, -and, after reducing several towns successfully, was forced to retreat. -On his way back across the mountains his rearguard was cut off by -Gascon mountaineers, and slaughtered almost to a man; while he and the -rest of his army escaped with difficulty. - -On this meagre and rather inglorious foundation poets of the eleventh -century based a cycle of romance. Charlemagne is the central figure, -but round him are grouped numerous ‘Paladins’, or famous knights, -including the inseparable friends Oliver and Roland, Warden of the -Breton Marches. After numerous deeds of glory in the land of Spain, -the King, it was said, was forced by treachery to turn back towards -the French mountains, and had already passed the summits, when Roland, -in charge of the rearguard, found himself entrapped in the Pass of -Roncesvalles by a large force of Gascons. His horn was slung at his -side but he disdained to summon help from those in the van, and drawing -his good sword ‘Durenda’ laid about him valiantly. - -The Gascons fell back, dismayed by the vigorous resistance of the -French; but thirty thousand Saracens came to their aid, and the odds -were now overwhelming. Oliver lay dead, and, covered with wounds, -Roland fell to the ground also, but first of all he broke ‘Durenda’ -in half that none save he might use this peerless blade. Putting his -horn to his lips, with his dying breath he sounded a blast that was -heard by Charlemagne in his camp more than eight miles away. ‘Surely -that is the horn of Roland?’ cried the King uneasily, but treacherous -courtiers explained away the sound; and it was not till a breathless -messenger came with the news of the reverse that he hastened towards -the scene of battle. There in the pass, stretched on the ground amid -the heaped-up bodies of their enemies, he found his Paladins--Roland -with his arms spread in the form of a cross, his broken sword beside -him: and seeing him the King fell on his knees weeping. ‘Oh, right arm -of thy Sovereign’s body, Honour of the Franks, Sword of Justice.... Why -did I leave thee here to perish? How can I behold thee dead and not -die with thee?’ At last, restraining his grief, Charlemagne gathered -his forces together; and the very sun, we are told, stood still to -watch his terrible vengeance on Gascons and Saracens for the slaughter -of Christians at Roncesvalles. - -The _Chanson de Roland_ is one of the masterpieces of French -literature. It is not history, but in its fiction lies a substantial -germ of truth. Charlemagne in the early ninth century was what poets -described him more than two hundred years later--the central figure -in Christendom, the recognized champion of the Cross whether against -Mahometans or pagans. ‘Through your prosperity’, wrote Alcuin, an -Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar who lived at his court, ‘Christendom is -preserved, the Catholic Faith defended, the law of justice made known -to all men.’ - -[Sidenote: Invasion of Lombardy] - -When the Popes sought help against the Lombards, it was to Charlemagne -as to his father Pepin that they naturally turned. Charlemagne had -hoped at the beginning of his reign to maintain a friendship with King -Didier of Lombardy and had even married his daughter, an alliance that -roused the Pope of that date to demand in somewhat violent language: -‘Do you not know that all the children of the Lombards are lepers, that -the race is outcast from the family of nations? For these there is -neither part nor lot in the Heavenly Kingdom. May they broil with the -devil and his angels in everlasting fire!’ - -Charlemagne went his own way, in spite of papal denunciations; but -he soon tired of his bride, who was plain and feeble in health, and -divorced her that he might marry a beautiful German princess. This was, -of course, a direct insult to King Didier, who henceforth regarded the -Frankish king as his enemy; and Rome took care that the gulf once made -between the sovereigns should not be bridged. - -In papal eyes the Lombards had really become accursed. It is true that -they had been since the days of Gregory the Great orthodox Catholics, -that their churches were some of the most beautiful in Italy, their -monasteries the most famous for learning, and Pavia, their capital, -a centre for students and men of letters. Their sin did not lie in -heretical views, but in the position of their kingdom that now included -not only modern Lombardy in the north, but also the Duchy of Spoletum -in South Italy. Between stretched the papal dominions like a broad -wall from Ravenna to the Western Mediterranean; and on either side -the Lombards chafed, trying to annex a piece of land here or a city -there, while the Popes watched them, lynx-eyed, eager on their part -to dispossess such dangerous neighbours, but unable to do so without -assistance from beyond the Alps. - -Soon after the death of his younger brother Charlemagne was persuaded -to take up the papal cause and invade Italy. At Geneva, where he held -the ‘Mayfield’ or annual military review of his troops, he laid the -object of his campaign before them, and was answered by their shouts of -approval. - -It was a formidable host, for the Franks expected every man who owned -land in their dominions to appear at these gatherings prepared for -war. The rich would be mounted, protected by mail shirts and iron -headpieces, and armed with sword and dagger; the poor would come on -foot, some with bows and arrows, others with lance and shield, and the -humblest of all with merely scythes or wooden clubs. Tenants on the -royal demesnes must bring with them all the free men on their estates; -and while it was possible to obtain exemption the fine demanded was so -heavy that few could pay it. - -When the army set out in battle array, it was accompanied by numerous -baggage-carts, lumbering wagons covered with leather awnings, that -contained enough food for three months as well as extra clothes and -weapons. It was the general hope that on the return journey the wagons -would be filled to overflowing with the spoils of the conquered enemy. - -The Lombards had ceased, with the growth of luxury and comfortable town -life, to be warriors like the Franks; and Charlemagne met with almost -as little resistance as Pepin in past campaigns. After a vain attempt -to hold the Western passes of the Alps, Didier and his army fled to -Pavia, where they fortified themselves, leaving the rest of the country -at the mercy of the invaders. - -Frankish chroniclers in later years drew a realistic picture of Didier, -crouched in one of the high towers of the city, awaiting in trembling -suspense the coming of the ‘terrible Charles’. Beside him stood -Otger, a Frankish duke, who had been a follower of the dead Carloman -and was therefore hostile to his elder brother. ‘Is Charles in that -great host?’ demanded the King continually, as first the long line of -baggage-wagons came winding across the plain, and then an army of the -‘common-folk’, and after them the bishops with their train of abbots -and clerks. Every time his companion answered him, ‘No! not yet!’ - - ‘Then Didier hated the light of day. He stammered and sobbed and - said, “Let us go down and hide in the earth from so terrible a - foe.” And Otger too was afraid; well he knew the might and the - wrath of the peerless Charles; in his better days he had often - been at court. And he said, “When you see the plain bristle with a - harvest of spears, and rivers of black steel come pouring in upon - your city walls, then you may look for the coming of Charles.” - While he yet spoke a black cloud arose in the West and the glorious - daylight was turned to darkness. The Emperor came on; a dawn - of spears darker than night rose on the beleaguered city. King - Charles, that man of iron, appeared; iron his helmet, iron his - armguards, iron the corselet on his breast and shoulders. His left - hand grasped an iron lance ... iron the spirit, iron the hue of - his war steed. Before, behind, and at his side rode men arrayed in - the same guise. Iron filled the plain and open spaces, iron points - flashed back the sunlight. “There is the man whom you would see,” - said Otger to the king; and so saying he swooned away, like one - dead.’ - -In spite of this picture of Carolingian might, it took the Franks six -months to reduce Pavia; and then Didier, at last surrendering, was -sent to a monastery, while Charlemagne proclaimed himself king of the -newly acquired territories. During the siege, leaving capable generals -to conduct it, he himself had gone to Rome, where he was received with -feasting and joy. Crowds of citizens came out to the gates to welcome -him, carrying palms and olive-branches, and hailed him as ‘Patrician’ -and ‘Defender of the Church’. Dismounting from his horse he passed on -foot through the streets of Rome to the cathedral; and there, in the -manner of the ordinary pilgrim, climbed the steps on his knees, until -the Pope awaiting him at the top, raised and embraced him. From the -choir arose the exultant shout, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name -of the Lord.’ - -A few days later, once more standing in St. Peter’s, Charlemagne -affixed his seal to the donation Pepin had given to the Church. The -document was entered amongst the papal archives; but it has long since -disappeared, and with it exact information as to the territories -concerned. - -[Sidenote: Donation of Constantine] - -About this time the papal court produced another document, the -so-called ‘Donation of Constantine’, in which the first of the -Christian emperors apparently granted to the Popes the western half of -the Roman Empire. Centuries later this was proved to be a forgery, but -for a long while people accepted it as genuine, and the power of the -Popes was greatly increased. We do not know how much Charles believed -in papal supremacy in temporal matters; but throughout his reign his -attitude to the Pope over Italian affairs was rather that of master -to servant than the reverse. It was only when spiritual questions -were under discussion that he was prepared to yield as if to a higher -authority. - -When he had reduced Pavia Charlemagne left Lombardy to be ruled by one -of his sons and returned to France; but it was not very long before -he was called back to Italy, as fresh trouble had arisen there. The -cause was the unpopularity of Pope Leo III in Rome and the surrounding -country, where turbulent nobles rebelled as often as they could against -the papal government. One day, as Leo was riding through the city at -the head of a religious procession, a band of armed men rushed out from -a side street, separated him from his attendants, dragged him from his -horse, and beat him mercilessly, leaving him half dead. It was even -said that they put out his eyes and cut off his tongue, but that these -were later restored by a miracle. - -Leo, at any rate, whole though shaken, succeeded in reaching -Charlemagne’s presence, and the King was faced by the problem of going -to Rome to restore order. Had it been merely a matter of exacting -vengeance, he would have found little difficulty with his army of -stalwart Franks behind him; but Leo’s enemies were not slow in bringing -forward accusations against their victim that they claimed justified -their assault. Charlemagne was thus in an awkward position, for he was -too honest a ruler to refuse to hear both sides, and his respect for -the papal office could not blind him to the possibility of evil in the -acts of the person who held it, especially in the case of an ambitious -statesman like Leo III. - -He felt that it was his duty to sift the matter to the bottom; and yet -by what law could the King of France or even of Italy put Christ’s -vice-regent upon his trial and cross-examine him? - -One way of dealing with this problem would have been to seek judgement -at Constantinople as the seat of Empire, a final ‘appeal unto Caesar’ -such as St. Paul had made in classical times: but, ever since Pepin -the Short had given the Exarchate of Ravenna to the Pope instead of -restoring it to Byzantine Emperors, relations with the East, never -cordial, had grown more strained. Now they were at breaking point. The -late Emperor, a mere boy, had been thrown into a dungeon and blinded -by his mother, the Empress Irene, in order that she might usurp his -throne; and the Western Empire recoiled from the idea of accepting such -a woman as arbiter of their destinies. - -Thus Charlemagne, forced to act on his own responsibility, examined the -evidence laid before him and declared Leo innocent of the crimes of -which he had been accused. In one sense it was a complete triumph for -the Pope; but Leo was a clear-sighted statesman and knew that the power -to which he had been restored rested on a weak foundation. The very -fact that he had been compelled to appeal for justice to a temporal -sovereign lowered the office that he held in the eyes of the world; -and he possessed no guarantee that, once the Franks had left Rome, his -enemies would not again attack him. Without a recognized champion, -always ready to enforce her will, the Papacy remained at the mercy of -those who chose to oppose or hinder her. - -In the dramatic scene that took place in St. Peter’s Cathedral on -Christmas Day, A.D. 800, Leo found a way out of his difficulties. -Arrayed in gorgeous vestments, he said Mass before the High Altar, lit -by a thousand candles hanging at the arched entrance to the chancel. In -the half-gloom beyond knelt Charlemagne and his sons; and at the end -of the service Leo, approaching them with a golden crown in his hands, -placed it upon the King’s head. Instantly the congregation burst into -the cry with which Roman emperors of old had been acclaimed at their -accession. ‘To Charles Augustus, crowned of God, the great and pacific -Emperor, long life and victory!’ ‘From that time’, says a Frankish -chronicle, commenting on this scene, ‘there was no more a Roman Empire -at Constantinople.’ - -[Sidenote: Foundation of Western Empire] - -Leo had found his champion, and in anointing and crowning him had -emphasized the dignity of his own office. He had also pleased the -citizens of Rome, who rejoiced to have an Emperor again after the -lapse of more than three centuries. Charlemagne alone was doubtful -of the greatness that had been thrust upon him and accepted it with -reluctance. He had troubles enough near home without embroiling himself -with Constantinople; but as it turned out the Eastern Empire was too -busy deposing the Empress Irene to object actively to its rejection in -the West; and Irene’s successors agreed to acknowledge the imperial -rank of their rival in return for the cession of certain coveted lands -on the Eastern Adriatic. - -Other sovereigns hastened to pay their respects to the new Emperor, -and Charlemagne received several embassies in search of alliance from -Haroun al-Raschid, the Caliph of Bagdad. Haroun al-Raschid ruled over -a mighty empire stretching from Persia to Egypt, and thence along the -North African coast to the Strait of Gibraltar. On one occasion he sent -Charlemagne a present of a wonderful water-clock that, as it struck the -hour of twelve, opened as many windows, through which armed horsemen -rode forth and back again. Far more exciting in Western eyes was the -unhappy elephant that for nine years remained the glory of the imperial -court at Aachen. Its death, when they were about to lead it forth on an -expedition against the northern tribes of Germany, is noted sadly in -the national annals. - -Rulers less fortunate than Haroun al-Raschid sought not so much the -friendship of the Western Emperor as his protection, and through -his influence exiled kings of Wessex and Northumberland were able to -recover their thrones. Most significant tribute of all to the honour -in which Charlemagne’s name was held was the petition of the Patriarch -of Jerusalem that he would come and rescue Christ’s city from the -infidel. The message was accompanied by a banner and the keys of the -Holy Sepulchre; but Charlemagne, though deeply moved by such a call to -the defence of Christendom, knew that the campaign was beyond his power -and put it from him. Were there not infidels to be subdued within the -boundaries of his own Empire, fierce Saxon tribes that year after year -made mock both of the sovereignty of the Franks and their religion? - -The Saxons lived amongst the ranges of low hills between the Rhine and -the Elbe. By the end of the eighth century, when other Teutonic races -such as the Franks and the Bavarians had yielded to the civilizing -influence of Christianity, they still cherished their old beliefs -in the gods of nature and offered sacrifices to spirits dwelling in -groves and fountains. The chief object of their worship was a huge tree -trunk that they kept hidden in the heart of a forest, their priests -declaring that the whole Heavens rested upon it. This _Irminsul_, or -‘All-supporting pillar’, was the bond between one group of Saxons and -another that led them to rally round their chiefs when any foreign army -appeared on their soil; though, if at peace with the rest of the world, -they would fight amongst themselves for sheer love of battle. - -[Sidenote: St. Boniface] - -A part of the Saxon race had settled in the island of Britain, when the -Roman authority weakened at the break-up of the Empire; and amongst -the descendants of these settlers were some Christian priests who -determined to carry the Gospel to the heathen tribes of Germany, men -and women of their own race but still living in spiritual darkness. The -most famous of these missionaries was St. Winifrith, or St. Boniface -according to the Latin version of his name that means, ‘He who brings -peace.’ - -About the time that Charles Martel was Duke of the Franks Boniface -arrived in Germany and began to travel from one part of the country to -another, explaining the Gospel of Christ, and persuading those whom he -converted to build churches and monasteries. When he went to Rome to -give an account of his work the Pope made him a bishop and sent him to -preach in the Duchy of Bavaria. Later, as his influence increased and -he gathered disciples round him, he was able to found not only parish -churches but bishoprics with a central archbishopric at Mainz; thus, -long before Germany became a nation she possessed a Church with an -organized government that belonged not to one but to all her provinces. - -Only in the north and far east of Germany heathenism still held sway; -and St. Boniface, after he had gone at the Pope’s wish to help the -Franks reform their Church, determined to make one last effort to -complete his missionary work in the land he had chosen as his own. He -was now sixty-five, but nothing daunted by the hardships and dangers of -the task before him he set off with a few disciples to Friesland and -began to preach to the wild pagan tribes who lived there. Before he -could gain a hearing, however, he was attacked, and, refusing to defend -himself, was put to death. - -Thus passed away ‘the Apostle of Germany’ and with him much of the -kindliness of his message. Christianity was to come indeed to these -northern tribes, but through violence and the sword rather than by -the influence of a gentle life. Charlemagne had a sincere love of the -Catholic Faith, whose champion he believed himself; but he considered -that only folly and obstinacy could blind men’s eyes to the truth of -Christianity, and he was determined to enforce its doctrines by the -sword if necessary. - -The Saxons, on the other hand, though if they were beaten in battle -they might yield for a time and might promise to pay tribute to -the Franks and build churches, remained heathens at heart. When an -opportunity occurred, and they learned that the greater part of the -Frankish army was in Italy or on the Spanish border, they would sally -forth across their boundaries and drive out or kill the missionaries. -Charlemagne knew that he could have no peace within his Empire until he -had subdued the Saxons; but the task he had set himself was harder than -he had imagined, and it was thirty-eight years before he could claim -that he had succeeded. - -[Sidenote: Conquest of Saxon Tribes] - -‘The final conquest of the Saxons’, says Eginhard, a scholar who -lived at Charlemagne’s court and wrote his life, ‘would have been -accomplished sooner but for their treachery. It is hard to tell how -often they broke faith, surrendering to the King and accepting his -terms, and then breaking out into wild rebellion once more.’ Eginhard -continues that Charlemagne’s method was never to allow a revolt to -remain unpunished but to set out at once with an army and exact -vengeance. On one of these campaigns he succeeded in reaching the -forest where the sacred trunk _Irminsul_ was kept and set fire to it -and destroyed it; but the Saxons, though disheartened for the moment, -soon rallied under the banner of a famous chief called Witikind. We -know little of the latter except his undaunted courage that made him -refuse for many years to submit to a foe so much stronger that he must -obviously gain the final victory. - -Charlemagne, exasperated by repeated opposition, used every means to -forward his aim. Sometimes he would bribe separate chieftains to betray -their side; but often he would employ methods of deliberate cruelty -in order to strike terror into his foes. Four thousand five hundred -Saxons who had started a rebellion were once cut off and captured by -the Franks. They pleaded that Witikind, who had escaped into Denmark, -had prompted them to act against their better judgement. ‘If Witikind -is not here you must pay the penalty in his stead,’ returned the King -relentlessly, and the whole number were put to the sword. - -At different times he transplanted hundreds of Saxon households into -the heart of France, and in the place of ‘this great multitude’, as the -chronicle describes them, he established Frankish garrisons. He also -sent missionaries to build churches in the conquered territories and -compelled the inhabitants to become Christians. - -Often the bishops and priests thus sent would have to fly before a -sudden raid of heathen Saxons hiding in the neighbouring forests and -marshes; and, lacking the courage of St. Boniface, a few would hesitate -to return when the danger was suppressed. ‘What ought I to do?’ cried -one of the most timid, appealing to Charlemagne. ‘In Christ’s name go -back to thy diocese,’ was the stern answer. - -While the King expected the same obedience and devotion from church -officials as from the captains in his army, he took care that they -should not lack his support in the work he had set them to do. - - ‘If any man among the Saxons, being not yet baptized, shall hide - himself and refuse to come to baptism, let him die the death.’ - - ‘If any man despise the Lenten fast for contempt of Christianity, - let him die the death.’ - - ‘Let all men, whether nobles, free, or serfs, give to the Churches - and the priests the tenth part of their substance and labour.’ - -These ‘capitularies’, or laws, show that Charlemagne was still half -a barbarian at heart and matched pagan savagery with a severity more -ruthless because it was more calculating. In the end Witikind himself, -in spite of his courage, was forced to surrender and accept baptism, -and gradually the whole of Saxony fell under the Frankish yoke. - -The Duchy of Bavaria, that had been Christian for many years, did not -offer nearly so stubborn a resistance; and after he had reduced both it -and Saxony to submission, Charlemagne was ruler not merely in name but -in reality of an Empire that included France, the modern Holland and -Belgium, Germany, and the greater part of Italy. Some of the conquests -he had made were to fall away, but Germany that had suffered most at -his hands emerged in the end the greatest achievement of his foreign -wars. - - He swept away the black deceitful night - And taught our race to know the only light, - -wrote a Saxon monk of the ninth century, showing that already some of -the bitterness had vanished. ‘In a few generations’, says a modern -writer, ‘the Saxons were conspicuous for their loyalty to the Faith.’ - -No story of Charlemagne would be true to life that omitted his harsh -dealings with his Saxon foe; and yet it would be equally unfair to -paint him only as a warrior, mercilessly exterminating all who -opposed him in barbaric fashion. Far more than a conqueror he was an -empire-builder to whom war was not an end in itself, as to his Frankish -forefathers, but a means towards the safeguarding of his realm. - -The forts and outworks that he planted along his boundaries, the -churches that he built in the midst of hostile territory, belonged -indeed to his policy of inspiring terror and awe: but Charlemagne had -also other designs only in part of a military nature. Roads and bridges -that should make a network of communication across the Empire, acting -like channels of civilization in assisting transport and encouraging -trade and intercourse: royal palaces that should become centres of -justice for the surrounding country: monasteries that should shed the -light of knowledge and of faith: all these formed part of his dream of -a Roman Empire brought back to her old stately life and power. - -A canal joining the Rhine and Danube and thus making a continuous -waterway between East and West was planned and even begun, but had to -wait till modern times for its completion. Charlemagne possessed the -vision and enterprise that did not quail before big undertakings, but -he lacked the money and labour necessary for carrying them out. Unlike -the Roman Emperors of classic times he had no treasury on whose taxes -he could draw; but depended, save for certain rents, on the revenues -of his private estates that were usually paid ‘in kind’, that is to -say, not in coin but at the rate of so many head of cattle, or of so -much milk, corn, or barley, according to the means of the tenant. Of -these supplies he kept a careful account even to the number of hens on -the royal farms and the quantity of eggs that they laid. Yet at their -greatest extent revenues ‘in kind’ could do little more than satisfy -the daily needs of the palace. - -The chief debt that the Frankish nation owed to the state was not -financial but military, the obligation of service in the field laid on -every freeman. As the Empire increased in size this became so irksome -that the system was somewhat modified. In future men who possessed less -than a certain quantity of land might join together and pay one or two -of their number, according to the size of their joint properties, to -represent them in the army abroad, while the rest remained at home to -see to the cultivation of the crops. - -[Sidenote: Court of Charlemagne] - -Charlemagne was very anxious to raise a body of labourers from each -district to assist in his building schemes, but this suggestion -awoke a storm of indignation. Landowners maintained that they were -only required by law to repair the roads and bridges in their own -neighbourhood, not to put their tenants at the disposal of the Emperor -that he might send them at his whim from Aquitaine to Bavaria, or from -Austria to Lombardy; and in face of this opposition many of his designs -ceased abruptly from lack of labour. A royal palace and cathedral, -adorned with columns and mosaics from Ravenna, were, however, completed -at Aachen; and here Charlemagne established his principal residence and -gathered his court round him. - -The life of this ‘new Rome’, as he loved to call it, was simple in -the extreme; for the Emperor, like a true Frank, hated unnecessary -ostentation and ceremony. When the chief nobles and officials assembled -twice a year in the spring and autumn to debate on public matters, -he would receive them in person, thanking them for the gifts they -had brought him, and walking up and down amongst them to jest with -one and ask questions of another with an informality that would have -scandalized the court at Constantinople. - -In this easy intercourse between sovereign and subject lay the secret -of Charlemagne’s personal magnetism. To warriors and churchmen as to -officials and the ordinary freemen of his demesnes he was not some -far-removed authority, who could be approached only through a maze of -court intrigue, but a man like themselves with virtues and failings -they could understand. - -If his temper was hasty and terrible when roused, it would soon melt -away into a genial humour that appreciated to the full the rough -practical jokes in which the age delighted. The chronicles tell us -with much satisfaction how Charlemagne once persuaded a Jew to offer -a ‘vainglorious bishop ever fond of vanities’ a painted mouse that he -pretended he had brought back straight from Judea. The bishop at first -declined to give more than £3 for such a treasure; but, deceived -by the Jew’s prompt refusal to part with it for so paltry a sum, -consented at length to hand over a bushel of silver in exchange. The -Emperor, hearing this, gathered the rest of the bishops at his court -together--‘See what one of you has paid for a mouse!’ he exclaimed -gleefully; and we may be sure that the story did not stop at the royal -presence but spread throughout the country, where haughty ecclesiastics -were looked on with little favour. - -We are told also that Charlemagne loved to bombard the people he met, -from the Pope downwards, with difficult questions; but it was not -merely a malicious desire to bring them to confusion that prompted his -inquiries. Alert himself, and keenly interested in whatever business he -had in hand, he despised slipshod or inefficient knowledge. He expected -a bishop to be an authority on theology, an official to be an expert on -methods of government, a scholar to be well grounded in the ordinary -sciences of his day. - -Hard work was the surest road to his favour, and he spared neither -himself nor those who entered his service. Even at night he would -place writing materials beneath his pillow that if he woke or thought -of anything it might be noted down. On one occasion he visited the -palace school that he had founded, and discovered that while the boys -of humble birth were making the most of their opportunities, the sons -of the nobles, despising book-learning, had frittered away their time. -Commending those who had done well, the Emperor turned to the others -with an angry frown. ‘Relying on your birth and wealth,’ he exclaimed, -‘and caring nothing for our commands and your own improvement, you -have neglected the study of letters and have indulged yourselves in -pleasures and idleness.... By the King of Heaven I care little for your -noble birth.... Know this, unless straightway you make up for your -former negligence by earnest study, you need never expect any favour -from the hand of Charles.’ - -[Sidenote: Government of Charlemagne] - -It was with the wealthy nobles and landowners that Charlemagne fought -some of his hardest battles, though no sword was drawn or open war -declared. Not only were most of the high offices at court in their -hands, but it was from their ranks that the counts, and later the -viscounts, were chosen who ruled over the districts into which the -Empire was divided and subdivided. - -The count received a third of the gifts and rents from his province -that would have otherwise been paid to the King; and these, if he were -unscrupulous, he could increase at the expense of those he governed. -He presided in the local law-courts and was responsible for the -administration of justice, the exaction of fines, and for the building -of roads and bridges. He was in fact a petty king, and would often -tyrannize over the people and neglect the royal interests to forward -his selfish ambitions. - -The Merovingians had tried to limit the authority of the counts and -other provincial officials by occasionally sending private agents of -their own to inquire into the state of the provinces and to reform -the abuses that they found. Charlemagne adopted this practice as a -regular system; and at the annual assemblies he appointed _Missi_, or -‘messengers’, who should make a tour of inspection in the district to -which they had been sent at least four times in the year and afterwards -report on their progress to the Emperor. Wherever they went the count -or viscount must yield up his authority to them for the time being, -allowing them to sit in his court and hear all the grievances and -complaints that the men and women of the district cared to bring -forward. If the _Missi_ insisted on certain reforms the count must -carry them out and also make atonement for any charges proved against -him. - -Here are some of the evils that the men of Istria, a province on the -Eastern Adriatic, suffered at the hands of their lord, ‘Johannes’, and -that the inquiries of the royal _Missi_ at length brought to light. -Johannes had sold the people on his estates as serfs to his sons and -daughters: he had forced them to build houses for his family and to go -voyages on his business across the sea to Venice and Ravenna: he had -seized the common land and used it as his own, bringing in Slavs from -across the border to till it for his private use: he had robbed his -tenants of their horses and their money on the plea of the Emperor’s -service and had given them nothing in exchange. ‘If the Emperor will -help us,’ they cried, ‘we may be saved, but if not we had better die -than live.’ - -From this account we can see that Charlemagne appeared to the mass -of his subjects as their champion against the tyranny of the nobles, -and in this sense his government may be called popular; but the old -‘popular’ assemblies of the Franks at which the laws were made had -ceased by this reign to be anything but aristocratic gatherings -summoned to approve of the measures laid before them. - -The Emperor’s ‘capitularies’ would be based on the advice he had -received from his most trusted _Missi_; and when they had been -discussed by the principal nobles, they would be read to the general -assembly and ratified by a formal acceptance that meant nothing, -because it rarely or never was changed into a refusal. - -Besides introducing new legislation in the form of royal edicts or -capitularies, Charlemagne commanded that a collection should be made -of all the old tribal laws, such as the Salic Law of the Franks, and -of the chief codes that had been handed down by tradition, or word of -mouth, for generations; and this compilation was revised and brought -up to date. It was a very useful and necessary piece of work, yet -Charlemagne for all his industry does not deserve to be ranked as a -great lawgiver like Justinian. The very earnestness of his desire to -secure immediate justice made his capitularies hasty and inadequate. He -would not wait to trace some evil to its root and then try to eradicate -it, but would pass a number of laws on the matter, only touching the -surface of what was wrong and creating confusion by the multiplicity of -instructions and the contradictions they contained. - -Sometimes the _Missi_ themselves were not a success, but would take -bribes from the rich landowners on their tour of inspection, and this -would mean more government machinery and fresh laws to bring them under -the royal control in their turn. If it was difficult to make wise laws, -it was even harder in that rough age to carry them out; for the nobles -found it to their interest to defy or at least hinder an authority that -struck at their power; while the mass of the people were too ignorant -to bear responsibility, and few save those educated in the palace -schools could become trustworthy ‘counts’ or royal agents. - -Dimly, however, the nation understood that the Emperor held some high -ideal of government planned for their prosperity, ‘No one cried out -to him’, says the chronicle, ‘but straightway he should have good -justice’: and in every church throughout France those who had not been -called to follow him to battle prayed for his safety and that God would -subdue the barbarians before his triumphant arms. - -To Charlemagne there was a higher vision than that of mere victory in -battle, a vision born of his favourite book, the _Civitas Dei_, wherein -St. Augustine had described the perfect Emperor, holding his sceptre as -a gift God had given and might take away, and conquering his enemies -that he might lead them to a greater knowledge and prosperity. - -[Sidenote: Charlemagne and the Church] - -Charlemagne believed that to him had been entrusted the guardianship of -the Catholic Church, not only from the heathen without its pale, but -from false doctrine and evil living within. To the Pope, as Christ’s -vice-regent, he bore himself humbly, as on the day when he had climbed -St. Peter’s steps on his knees, but to the Pope as a man dealing with -other men he spoke as a lord to his vassal, tendering his views and -expecting compliance, in return for which he guaranteed the support of -his sword. - -‘May the ruler of the Church be rightly ruled by thee, O King, and -may’st thou be ruled by the right hand of the Almighty!’ In this prayer -Alcuin probably expressed the Emperor’s opinion of his own position. -Leo III, on the other hand, preferred to talk of his champion as a -faithful son of the mother Church of Rome; thereby implying that the -Emperor should pay a son’s duty of obedience: but he himself was never -in a strong enough position to enforce this point of view, and the -clash of Empire and Papacy was left for a later age. - -Within his own dominions Charlemagne, like the Frankish kings before -him, reigned supreme over the Church, appointing whom he would -as bishops, and using them often as _Missi_ to assist him in his -government. Yet the Church remained an ‘estate’ apart from the rest -of the nation, supported by the revenues of the large sees belonging -to the different bishoprics and by the _tithe_, or tenth part of a -layman’s income. When churchmen attended the annual assembly they were -allowed to deliberate apart from the nobles and freemen: when a bishop -excommunicated some heretic or sinner, the Emperor’s court was bound -to enforce the sentence. Thus the privileges and rights were many; but -Charlemagne determined that the men who enjoyed them must also fulfil -the obligations that they carried with them. - -In earlier years Charles Martel and St. Boniface had struggled hard to -raise the character of the Frankish Church, and Charlemagne continued -their task with his usual energy, insisting on frequent inspections of -the monasteries and convents and on the maintenance of a stricter rule -of life within their walls. - -The ordinary parish clergy were also brought under more vigilant -supervision. In accordance with the laws of the Roman Church they were -not allowed to marry, nor might they take part in any worldly business, -enter a tavern, carry arms, or go hunting or hawking. Above all they -were encouraged to educate themselves that they might be able to teach -their parishioners and set a good example. - -‘Good works are better than knowledge’, wrote Charlemagne to his -bishops and abbots in a letter of advice, ‘but without knowledge good -works are impossible.’ In accordance with this view he commanded that -a school should be established in every diocese, in order that the -boys of the neighbourhood might receive a grounding in the ordinary -education of their day. His own court became a centre of learning; for -he himself was keenly interested in all branches of knowledge, from a -close study of the Scriptures to mathematics or tales of distant lands. -Histories he liked to have read out to him at meals. Eginhard, his -biographer, tells us that he never learned to write, but that he was -proficient in Latin and could understand Greek. - -It was his desire to emulate Augustus, the first of the Roman Emperors, -and gather round him the most literary men of Europe, and he eagerly -welcomed foreign scholars and took them into his service. Chief -amongst these adopted sons of the Empire was Alcuin the Northumbrian, a -‘wanderer on the face of the earth’ as he called himself, whom Danish -invasions had driven from his native land. - -Alcuin settled at the Frankish court, organized the ‘palace school’ of -which we have already made mention, and himself wrote the primers from -which the boys were taught. His influence soon extended beyond this -sphere, and he became the Emperor’s chief adviser, inspiring his master -with high ideals, while he himself was stirred by the other’s vivid -personality to share his passion for hard work. - -[Sidenote: Character of Charlemagne] - -It is this almost volcanic energy that gives the force and charm to -Charlemagne’s many-sided character. We think of him first, it may be, -as the warrior, the hero of romance, or else as a statesman planning -his Empire of the West. At another time we see in him the guardian of -his people, the king who ‘wills that justice should be done’, but we -recall a story such as that of the painted mouse, and instantly his -simple, almost schoolboy, side becomes apparent. The ‘Great Charles’ -was no saint but a Frank of the rough type of soldiers he led to -battle, capable of cruelty as of kindness, hot-tempered, a lover of -sport, strong perhaps where his ideals were at stake, but weak towards -women, and an over-indulgent father, who let the intrigues of his -daughters bring scandal on his court. Yet another contrast to this -homely figure is the scholar and theologian, the friend of Alcuin, who -believed that without knowledge good works were impossible. - -Many famous characters in history have equalled or surpassed -Charlemagne as general, statesman, or legislator--there have been -better scholars and more refined princes--but few or none have followed -such divers aims and achieved by the sheer force of their personality -such memorable results. Painters and chroniclers love to depict him in -old age still majestic; and in truth up till nearly the end of his long -reign he kept the fire and vigour of his youth, swimming like a boy in -the baths of Aachen, or hunting the wild boar upon the hills, drawing -up capitularies, or dictating advice to his bishops, doing, in fact, -whatever came to hand with an intensity that would have exhausted any -one less healthy and self-reliant. - -Fortunately for Charlemagne he had the sturdy constitution of his race, -and when at last he died an old man in 814 people believed that he did -not share the common fate of humanity. Nearly two hundred years later, -it was said, when the funeral vault was opened, he was found seated in -his chair of state, firm of flesh as in life, with his crown on his -snowy hair, and his sword clasped in his hand. - -‘Our Lord gave this boon to Charlemagne that men should speak of him -as long as the world endureth.’ It is a boast that as centuries pass, -sweeping away the memory of lesser heroes, time still justifies. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Charlemagne, King of the Franks 768-800 - Charlemagne, Emperor of the West 800-14 - Battle of Roncesvalles 778 - Invasion of Lombardy 773 - Haroun al-Raschid died 809 - St. Boniface 715 - - - - -IX - -THE INVASIONS OF THE NORTHMEN - - -At the death of Charlemagne the Empire that he had built up stretched -from Denmark to the Pyrenees and the Duchy of Spoletum south of Rome, -from the Atlantic on the West to the Baltic, Bohemia, and the Dalmatian -coast. It had been a brave attempt to realize the old Roman ideal of -all civilized Europe gathered under one ruler; but he himself was well -aware that the foundations he had laid were weak, his own personality -that must vanish the mortar holding them together. Without his genius -and the terror of his name his possessions were only too likely to fall -away; and therefore, instead of attempting to leave a united Empire, he -nominated one son to be emperor in name, but made a rough division of -his territory between three. Only the death of two just before his own -defeated his aims and united the inheritance under the survivor, Louis. - -The new Emperor was like his father in build, but without his -wideness of outlook. His natural geniality was sometimes marred by -uncontrollable fits of suspicion and cruelty, as in the case of his -nephew, Bernard, King of Italy, whom he believed to be secretly -conspiring to bring about his overthrow. Louis ordered the young man -to appear at his court, and when Bernard hesitated, fearing treachery, -his uncle sent him a special promise of safety by the Empress, whom -he trusted. Reluctantly Bernard at last obeyed the summons, whereupon -he was seized, thrust into a dungeon, and his eyes put out so cruelly -that he died. Shortly afterwards the Empress died also, and Louis who -had loved her believed that God was punishing him for his broken word. -Overcome by remorse he became so devout in his religious observances -that his subjects called him ‘Louis the Pious’. - -Louis, like his father, was ever ready to listen to the petitions of -those who were oppressed and to pass laws for their security. For the -first sixteen years of his reign the Carolingian dominions, put to -no test, appeared unshaken, and then of a sudden, just as if a cloud -were blotting out the sunlight, prosperity and peace were lost in the -horrors of civil war. - -Louis the Pious had three sons by his first wife, and following -Charlemagne’s example he named the eldest, Lothar, as his successor in -the Empire, while he divided his lands between the other two. It was -only when he married again and another son, Charles, was born to him -that trouble began. This fourth son was the old Emperor’s favourite, -and Louis would gladly have left him a large kingdom; but such a gift -he could only make now at the expense of the elder brothers, who hated -the young boy as an interloper, and were determined that he should -receive nothing to which they could lay a claim. - -When Charles was six years old Louis insisted that the country now -called Switzerland and part of modern Germany (Suabia) should be -recognized as his inheritance; and on hearing this all three elder -brothers, who had been secretly making disloyal plots, broke into open -revolt. - -The history of the next ten years is an ignominious chronicle of -the Emperor’s weakness. Twice were he and his Empress imprisoned -and insulted; and on each occasion, when the quarrels of his sons -amongst themselves led to his release, he was induced to grant a weak -forgiveness that led to further rebellion. - -When Louis died in 840, the seeds of dissension were widely scattered; -and those of his House who came after him openly showed that they -cared for nothing save personal ambition. Lothar, the eldest, was -proclaimed Emperor, and obtained as his share of the dominions a large -middle kingdom stretching from the mouth of the Rhine to Italy, and -including the two capitals of Aachen and Rome. To the East, in what is -now Germany, reigned his brother Louis, to the West, in France, Charles -‘the Bald’, the hated younger brother who had succeeded at the last in -obtaining a substantial inheritance. - -[Sidenote: Oath of Strasbourg] - -This division is interesting because it shows two of the nationalities -of Europe already emerging from the imperial melting-pot. When the -brothers Louis and Charles met at Strasbourg in 842 to confirm an -alliance they had formed against Lothar, Charles and his followers took -the oath in German, Louis and his nobles in the Romance tongue of which -modern French is the descendant. This they did that the armies on both -sides might clearly understand how their leaders had bound themselves, -and the Oath of Strasbourg remains to-day as evidence of this new -growth of nationality that had already acquired distinct national -tongues. - -The Partition of Verdun, signed shortly afterwards by all three -brothers, acknowledged the division of the Empire into three parts, -France on the West, Germany in the East, and between them the debatable -kingdom of Lotharingia, that, dwindled during the Middle Ages and -modern times into the province of Lorraine, has remained always a -source of war and trouble. - -It would be wearisome to trace in detail the history of the years that -followed the Partition of Verdun. One historian has described it as ‘a -dizzy and unintelligible spectacle of monotonous confusion, a scene of -unrestrained treachery, of insatiable and blind rapacity. No son is -obedient or loyal to his father, no brother can trust his brother, no -uncle spares his nephew.... There were rapid alterations in fortune, -rapid changing of sides, there was universal distrust and universal -reliance on falsehood or crime.’ - -In 881 Charles ‘the Fat’, son of Louis the German, of Strasbourg Oath -fame, succeeded, owing to the deaths of his rival cousins and uncles, -in uniting for a few years all the dominions of Charlemagne under his -sceptre; but, weak and unhealthy, he was not the man to control so -great possessions, and very shortly he was deposed and died in prison -on an island in Lake Constance. With him faded away the last reflection -of the Carolingian glory that had once dazzled the world. In France the -descendants of Charles ‘the Bald’ carried on a precarious existence for -several generations, despised and threatened by their own nobles, as -the later Merovingians had been, and utterly unable to defend their -land from the hostile invasions of Northmen, that, beginning in the -eighth century, seemed likely during the ninth and tenth centuries to -paralyse the civilization and trade of Europe as the inroads of Goths, -Huns, and Vandals had broken up the Roman Empire. - -The long ships of the Northmen had been seen off the French coasts even -in the days of Charlemagne, and one of the chroniclers records how the -wise king seeing them exclaimed, ‘These vessels bear no merchandise but -cruel foes,’ and then continued, with prophetic grief, ‘Know ye why -I weep? Truly I fear not that these will injure me; but I am deeply -grieved that in my lifetime they should be so near a landing on these -shores, and I am overwhelmed with sorrow as I look forward and see what -evils they will bring upon my offspring and their people.’ - -The Northmen, we can guess from their name, came from the wild, often -snow-bound, coasts of Scandinavia and Denmark. Few weaklings could -survive in such a climate; and the race was tall, well built, and -hardy, made up of men and women who despised the fireside and loved to -feel the fresh sea-wind beating against their faces. Life to them was -a perpetual struggle, but a struggle they had glorified into an ideal, -until they had ceased to dread either its discomforts or dangers. - -Here is a description of the three classes, thrall, churl, and noble, -into which these tribes of Northmen, or ‘Vikings’, were divided. - - ‘Thrall was swarthy of skin, his hands wrinkled, his knuckles bent, - his fingers thick, his face ugly, his back broad, his heels long. - He began to put forth his strength binding bast, making loads, - and bearing home faggots the weary day long. His children busied - themselves with building fences, dunging ploughland, tending swine, - herding goats, and digging peat.... Carl, or Churl, was red and - ruddy, with rolling eyes, and took to breaking oxen, building - ploughs, timbering houses, and making carts. Earl, the noble, had - yellow hair, his cheeks were rosy, his eyes were keen as a young - serpent’s. His occupation was shaping the shield, bending the bow, - hurling the javelin, shaking the lance, riding horses, throwing - dice, fencing and swimming. He began to wake war, to redden the - field, and to fell the doomed.’ - -‘To wake war.’ This was the object of the Viking’s existence. His gods, -‘Odin’ and ‘Thor’, were battle heroes who struck one another in the -flash of lightning and with the rumble of thunder as they moved their -shields. Not for the man who lived long and comfortably and died at -last in his bed were either the glory of this world or the joys of -the next. The Scandinavian ‘Valhalla’ was no such ‘paradise’ as the -faithful Moslems conceived, where, in sunlit gardens gay with fruit -and flowers, he should rest from his labours, attended by ‘houris’, or -maidens of celestial beauty. The Viking asked for no rest, only for -unfailing strength and a foe to kill. In the halls of his paradise -reigned perpetual battle all the day long, and, in the evening, feasts -where the warrior, miraculously cured of his wounds, could boast of his -prowess and rise again on the morrow to fresh deeds of heroic slaughter. - -[Sidenote: Northmen Raids] - -In their dragon-ships, the huge prows fashioned into the heads of -fierce animals or monsters, the Viking ‘Earls’, weary of dicing and -throwing the javelin at home, or exiled by their kings for some -misdeeds, would sweep in fleets across the North Sea, some to explore -Iceland and the far-off shores of Greenland and North America, -some to burn the monasteries along the Irish coast, others to raid -North Germany, France, or England. At first their only object was -plunder, for unlike the Huns they did not despise the luxuries of -civilization--only those who allowed its influence to make them ‘soft’. -At a later date, when they met with little resistance, they began to -build homes, and thus the east coast of England became settled with -Danish colonies. - -‘In this year’, says the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, writing under the -date 855, ‘the heathen men for the first time remained over winter in -Sheppey.’ - -[Sidenote: Alfred the Great] - -During the fifty years that followed it seemed as if the invaders might -sweep away the Anglo-Saxons as completely as the ancestors of these -Anglo-Saxons had exterminated the original British inhabitants and -their Roman conquerors. That they failed was largely due to one of the -most famous of English kings, Alfred ‘the Great’, a prince of the royal -house of Wessex. Wessex was a province lying mainly to the south of -the River Thames, and at Wantage in Berkshire in the year 849 Alfred -was born, cradled in an atmosphere of war and danger. From boyhood he -fought by the side of his brothers in a long campaign of which the -very victories could not hold at bay the restless Danes. When Alfred -succeeded to the throne he secured a temporary peace and began to build -a fleet and reform his army; but in a few years his enemies broke -across his boundaries once more, and he himself, overwhelmed by their -numbers, was forced to take refuge in the marshes of Somerset. Here at -Athelney he built a fort and, collecting round him the English warriors -of the neighbouring counties, organized so strong a resistance that at -last he inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Danish army. King Guthrum, -his enemy, sued for peace and at the Treaty of Wedmore consented to -become a Christian and to recognize Alfred as King of Wessex, while he -himself retained the Danelaw to the north of the Thames. - -This was the beginning of a new England, for from this time Alfred and -his descendants, having secured the freedom of Wessex, set themselves -to win back bit by bit the territory held by the Danes. First of all -under Edward ‘the Elder’, Alfred’s son, the middle kingdom of Mercia -was won back, and the Danes beyond its border agreed to recognize the -King of Wessex as their overlord, while later other Wessex rulers -overran Northumbria and the South of Scotland, so that by the middle of -the tenth century it could be said that ‘England from the Forth to the -Channel was under one ruler’. - -The winning back of the Danelaw had not been merely a matter of hewing -down Northmen, nor did Alfred earn his title of ‘the Great’ because -he could wield a sword bravely and lead other men who could do the -same. He was a successful general because in an age of wild fighting -he recognized the value of discipline and training. In order to obtain -the type of men he required he increased the number of ‘Thegns’, that -is, of nobles whose duty it was to serve the King as horsemen, while -he reorganized the ‘fyrd’ or local militia. Henceforth, instead of a -large army of peasants, who must be sent to their homes every autumn -to reap the harvest, he arranged for the maintenance of a small force -that he could keep in the field as long as required. Its arms were to -be supplied by fellow villagers released from the obligation to serve -themselves on this condition. - -Alfred, besides remodelling his army, set up fortresses along his -borders, and constructed a fleet; and, because he believed that no -great nation can be built on war alone, he made wise laws and appointed -judges, like Charlemagne’s _Missi_, to see that they were carried out. -He also founded schools and tried, by translating books himself and -inviting scholars to his court, to teach the men around him the glories -and interests of peace. Amongst the books that he chose to set before -his people in the Anglo-Saxon tongue was one called _Pastoral Care_, by -the Pope Gregory who had wished to go to England as a missionary, and -_The Consolations of Philosophy_, written by Boethius in prison.[4] - -‘I have desired,’ said Alfred the Great, summing up his ideal of life, -‘to leave to the men who come after me my memory in good works’; and -English people to-day, descendants of both Anglo-Saxons and their -Danish foes, remember with pride and affection this ‘Wise King’, -this ‘Truth-teller’, this ‘England’s darling’, as he was called in -his own day, who like Charlemagne believed in patriotism, justice, -and knowledge. For three-quarters of a century after Alfred’s death -his descendants kept alive something at any rate of this spirit of -greatness, but in 978 there succeeded to the crown a boy of ten -called Ethelred, who as he grew up earned for himself the nickname of -‘rede-less’ or ‘man without advice’. - -It is only fair before condemning Ethelred’s conduct to point out the -heavy difficulties with which he was faced; both the renewed Danish -attacks on his shores, and also the jealousies and feuds of his own -nobles, the Earls, or ‘Ealdormen’, who had carved out large estates for -themselves that they ruled as petty kings. Even a statesman like Alfred -would have needed all his strength and tact to unite these powerful -subjects under one banner in order to lead them against the invaders. -Ethelred proved himself weak and without any power of leadership. The -policy for which he has been chiefly remembered is his levy of a tax -called ‘Danegeld’, or Danish gold, the sums of money that he raised -from his reluctant subjects to pay the Danes to go away. As a wiser man -would have realized, this really meant that he paid them to return in -still larger numbers in order to obtain more money. At last, alarmed at -the result of this policy, he did something still more short-sighted -and less defensible: he ordered a general massacre of all the Danes in -the kingdom. - -The Massacre of St. Brice’s Day, as this drastic measure is usually -called, brought on England a bitter revenge at the hands of the angry -Vikings. One well-armed force after another landed on the coasts, -combining in an attack on the Anglo-Saxon King that drove him from the -country to seek refuge in France. Very shortly afterwards he died, and -Cnut, one of the Danish leaders, forced the country to accept him as -her ruler. - -This accession of a Danish foe might have been expected to undo all -the work of Alfred and his sons, but fortunately for England Cnut was -no reckless Viking with his heart set on war for war’s sake. On the -contrary, he was by nature a statesman who planned the foundation of -a northern Empire with England as its central point. He maintained a -bodyguard of Danish ‘Hus carls’ supported by a tax levied on his new -subjects in order to ensure his personal safety and the fulfilment of -his orders, but otherwise he showed himself an Englishman in every way -he could. In especial he made large gifts to monasteries and convents, -bestowed favour and lands on English nobles, and accepted the laws and -customs of the country whose throne he had usurped. King of Denmark, -and conqueror of England and Norway, he was anxious to ally his Empire -with the nations of the Continent. With this in view he went on a -pilgrimage to Rome to win the sympathy of the Pope and took a great -deal of trouble to arrange foreign alliances. He himself married -Emma, widow of Ethelred ‘the Rede-less’, and a sister of the Duke of -Normandy, thus pleasing the English and bringing himself into touch -with France. - -The mention of Normandy brings us to a second invasion of Northmen, -for the Normans, like Cnut himself, were of Scandinavian origin. -When some of the Vikings during the ninth century had sailed up the -Humber and the Thames in the search of plunder and homes, others, as -Charlemagne, according to the chronicler, had foreseen, preferred the -harbours of the Seine, the Somme, and the Loire. In their methods they -showed the same reckless daring and brutality as the early invaders of -England, leaving where they passed smoking ruins of towns and churches. - -Charles ‘the Bald’ and the feeble remnant of the Carolingian line who -succeeded him were quite unable to deal with this terror, and it was -only the creation of a Duchy of Paris, whose forces were commanded by a -fighting hero, Odo Capet, that saved the future capital of France. - -‘History repeats itself,’ it is sometimes said; and certainly the fate -that the Carolingian ‘Mayors of the Palace’ had meted out to their -Merovingian kings their own descendants were destined to receive again -in full measure. - -In 987 died Louis ‘the Good-for-nothing’, the last of the Carolingian -kings, leaving as heir to the throne an uncle, Charles, Duke of -Lorraine. In his short reign Louis had shown himself feeble and -profligate; and the nobles of northern France, weary of a royal House -that like Ethelred of England preferred bribing the goodwill of -invaders to fighting them, readily agreed to set Charles on one side -and to take in his place Hugh Capet, Duke of Paris, descendant of the -famous Odo. - -‘Our crown goes not by inheritance,’ exclaimed the Archbishop of Reims, -when sanctioning the usurper’s claims, ‘but by wisdom and noble blood.’ - -[Sidenote: The House of Capet] - -The unfortunate Duke of Lorraine, captured after a vain attempt to -gain his inheritance, perished in prison, and with him disappeared the -Carolingians. The House of Capet, built on their ruin, survived in the -direct line until the fourteenth century, and then in a younger branch, -the Valois, until France in modern times was declared a republic. - -Under the Capets France became not merely a collection of tribes and -races as under the Merovingians, nor a section of a European Empire as -under the House of Charlemagne, but a nation as we see her to-day, with -separate interests and customs to distinguish her from other nations. -This process of fusion was slow, and King Hugh and his immediate -successors appeared in their own day more as powerful rulers of the -small district in which they lived than as overlords of France. When -they marched abroad at the head of a large army, achieving victories, -outlying provinces hastily recognized them as suzerains, or overlords, -but when they turned their backs and went home, the commands they had -issued would be ignored and defied. - -Amongst the most formidable neighbours of these rulers of Paris were -the Dukes of Normandy, descendants of a certain Viking chief, Rollo -‘the Ganger’, so called because on account of his size he could find -no horse capable of bearing him and must therefore ‘gang afoot’. This -Rollo established himself at Rouen, and because Charles ‘the Simple’, -one of the later Carolingians,[5] was unable to defeat him in battle -he gave him instead the lands which he had won, and created him Duke, -hoping that like a poacher turned gamekeeper he might prove as valuable -a subject as he had been a troublesome foe. In return Rollo promised -to become a Christian and to acknowledge Charles as his overlord. One -of the old chronicles says that when Rollo was asked to ratify this -allegiance by kissing his toe, the Viking replied indignantly, ‘Not -so, by God!’ and that a Dane who consented to do so in his place was -so rough that he tumbled Charles from his throne amid the jeers of his -companions. - -This is probably only a tale, for in reality Rollo married a daughter -of Charles and settled down in his capital at Rouen as the model ruler -of a semi-civilized state, supporting the Church, and administering -such law and order that it was said when he left a massive bracelet -hanging on a tree and forgot he had done so, that the ornament remained -for three years without any one daring to steal it. - -[Sidenote: William the Conqueror] - -The rulers of the new Duchy were nearly all strong men, hard fighters, -shrewd-headed, and ambitious; but the greatest of the line was -undoubtedly William, an illegitimate son of Duke Robert ‘the Devil’. -William’s ambition was of the restless type of his Scandinavian -forefathers, and his duchy in northern France seemed to him too small -to match his hopes. When he noted that England was ruled by Edward ‘the -Confessor’, a feeble son of Ethelred ‘the Rede-less’, who had gained -the throne on the death of Cnut’s two sons, he determined shrewdly that -his conquests should lie in this direction. Many things favoured his -cause, not the least that Edward the Confessor himself, who had been -brought up in Normandy and who had no direct heirs, was quite willing -to acknowledge William as his successor. - -The national hero of England at the time Edward died, and who promptly -proclaimed himself king, was Harold the Saxon, a member of the powerful -family of Godwin that had for years controlled and owned the greater -part of the land in the south. - -Unfortunately for Harold the north and midlands were mainly governed by -the House of Morkere and their friends, who hated the family of Godwin -as dangerous rivals far more than they dreaded a Norman invasion. -Thus any help that they or their tenants proffered was so slow in its -rendering and so niggardly in its amount that it proved of very little -use. - -In addition to jealousies at home, Harold, at the moment that he heard -William, Duke of Normandy, had indeed landed on the south coast, was -far off in Yorkshire, where he had just succeeded in repelling an -invasion of Danes at the battle of Stamford Bridge. At once he started -southwards, but as he marched his army melted away, some of the men -to enjoy the spoils taken from the Danes, others to attend to their -harvests. - -The deserters could claim that they were following the advice of the -Father of Christendom, since Pope Gregory VII had given William a -banner that he had blessed and had denounced Harold as a perjurer. - -One of the reasons for Gregory’s anger with the Saxons was that Harold -had dared to appoint as Archbishop of Canterbury a bishop of whom he -did not approve, while further the crafty William had persuaded him -that Harold, who as a young man had been wrecked upon the Norman coast, -had sworn on the bones of some holy saint that he would never seize the -crown of England. He had been a prisoner in William’s power and only -on this condition had he been set free to return to his native land. - -The exact truth of events so long ago is hard to reach; but Harold, -at any rate, fought under a cloud of suspicion and neglect, and -not all his reckless daring, nor the devotion of his brothers and -friends, could save his fortunes when on the field of Senlac, standing -beneath his dragon-banner, he met the shock of the disciplined Norman -forces. Chroniclers relate that the human wall of Saxon archers and -foot-soldiers remained unshaken on the hill-side until William, setting -a snare, turned in pretended flight. The ruse was successful; for -as the Saxons, cheering triumphantly, descended from their position -in pursuit, the invaders faced round and charged their disordered -ranks. Only Harold and the men of his bodyguard remained firm under -the onslaught, until at the last an arrow fired in the air struck the -Saxon King in the eye as he looked up, so that he fell down dead. All -resistance was now at an end and William, Duke of Normandy, was left -master of the field and ruler of England. - - Here rose the dragon-banner of our realm: - Here fought, here fell, our Norman-slandered king. - O garden blossoming out of English blood! - O strange hate-healer Time! We stroll and stare - Where might made right eight hundred years ago. - -These lines of Tennyson on ‘Battle Abbey’ recall the fact that just -as the Danes and Saxons were fused into one race, so would the Norman -invaders mingle with their descendants, until to after-generations -William as well as Harold should appear a national hero. - -[Sidenote: Domesday Book] - -In his own day ‘the Conqueror’ struck terror into the heart of the -conquered. In 1069, when the North of England, too late to help Harold, -rose in revolt, he laid waste a desert by sword and fire from the -Humber to the Tees. When the Norman barons and English earls challenged -his rule he threw them alike into dungeons. What seemed to the Saxon -mind even more wonderful and horrible than his cruelty was the record -of all the wealth of his kingdom that he caused to be compiled. -This ‘Domesday Book’ contained a close account not only of the great -estates, lay and ecclesiastical, but of every small hamlet, and even of -the number of live stock on each farm. - -‘So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made,’ says the -_Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, ‘that there was not a single hide nor a rood -of land, nor (it is shameful to relate that which he thought no shame -to do) was there an ox, or a cow, or a pig, passed by that was not set -down in the account.’ - -William, it can be seen, was thorough in his methods, both in war and -peace, and through this very thoroughness he won the respect if not -the affection of his new subjects. Ever since the death of Cnut the -Dane, England had suffered either from actual civil war or from a weak -ruler who allowed his nobles to quarrel and oppress the rest of the -nation. As a result of the Norman Conquest the bulk of the population -found that they had gained one tyrant instead of many; and how they -appreciated the change is shown by the way, all through Norman times, -the middle and lower classes would help their foreign king against his -turbulent baronage. - -This is what a monk, an Anglo-Saxon, and therefore by race an enemy of -the Conqueror, wrote about him in his chronicle: - - ‘If any would know what manner of man King William was ... then - will we describe him as we have known him.... This King William - ... was a very wise and a great man, and more honoured and more - powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good - men who loved God, but severe beyond measure to those who withstood - his will.... So also he was a very stern and wrathful man, so that - none durst do anything against his will, and he kept in prison - those Earls who acted against his pleasure. He removed bishops from - their sees ... and at length he spared not his own brother Odo. - - ‘Amongst other things the good order that William established must - not be forgotten; it was such that any man who was himself aught - might travel over the kingdom with a bosom full of gold unmolested, - and no man durst kill another, however great the injury he might - have received from him.’ - -A few lines farther on the chronicler, having mentioned the peace that -William gave, sadly relates the tyranny that was the price he extorted -in exchange: - - ‘Truly there was much trouble in these times and very great - distress; he caused castles to be built and oppressed the poor.... - He was given to avarice and greedily loved gain. He made large - forests for the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever - killed a hart or a hind should be blinded ..., he loved the tall - stags as if he were their father. He also appointed concerning the - hares that they should go free. The rich complained and the poor - murmured, but he was so sturdy that he recked nought of them; they - must will all that the king willed if they would live.... Alas that - any man should so exalt himself.... May Almighty God show mercy to - his soul!’ - -The monk wrote after September 1087, when the Conqueror lay dead. Not -in any Viking glory of battle against a national foe had he passed to -his fathers, but in sordid struggle with his eldest son Robert who, -aided by the French king, had rebelled against him. His crown was at -once seized by his second son William Rufus, and with him the line of -Norman kings was firmly established on the English throne. - -The adventurous spirit of the Northmen had led them from Denmark and -Scandinavia to the coasts of England and France; and from France -their descendants, driven by the same roving instincts, had crossed -the Channel in search of fresh conquests. Other Normans in the -eleventh century sailed south instead of north. Their talk was of a -pilgrimage to Rome, perhaps to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; but -when they found that the beautiful island of Sicily had been taken by -the Moslems, and that South Italy was divided up amongst a number of -princes too jealous of one another to unite against any invaders either -Christian or pagan, their thoughts turned quite naturally to conquest. - -[Sidenote: Norman Conquests in Italy] - -An Italian of this time describes the Normans as ‘cunning and -revengeful’, and adds: ‘In their eager search for wealth and dominion -they despise whatever they possess and hope whatever they desire.’ Such -an impression was to be gained by bitter experience; but not knowing -it, Maniaces, the Greek governor of that part of South Italy that -still maintained its allegiance to the Eastern Empire, invited these -Northern warriors in the eleventh century to help him win back Sicily -from the Saracens. They agreed, attacked in force, gained the greater -part of the island, but then quarrelled with Maniaces over the spoils. -Outraged by what they considered his miserly conduct, they invaded the -province of Apulia, made themselves master of it, and established their -capital at Melfi. - -The head of the new Norman state was a certain William de Hauteville, -who with several of his brothers had been leaders in the Italian -expedition. - -‘No member of the House of Hauteville ever saw a neighbour’s lands -without wanting them for himself.’ So says a biographer of that -family; and if this was their ideal it was certainly shared by William -and his numerous brothers. Since other people’s possessions were -not surrendered without a struggle, even in the Middle Ages, it was -fortunate for them that they had the genius to win and hold what they -coveted. - -Pope Leo IX, like his predecessors in the See of Peter ever since -Charlemagne had confirmed their right to the lands of the Exarch of -Ravenna,[6] looked uneasily on invaders of Italy, and he therefore -attempted to form a league with both the Emperors of the East and West -that should ruin these presumptuous usurpers. The league came into -being, but the Pope’s allies failed him, and at the battle of Civitate -he was defeated and all but taken prisoner. - -Here was a chance for Norman diplomacy, or, as Italians would have -called it, ‘cunning’, and the conquerors promptly declared that it -had been with the utmost reluctance that they had made war on the -Father of Christendom, and begged his forgiveness. His absolution was -obtained, and a few years later, through the mediation of Hildebrand, -then Archdeacon of Rome and later as Pope Gregory VII, one of the -leading statesmen of Europe, a compact was arranged by which the -Normans recognized Pope Nicholas II as their overlord, while he, on his -part, acknowledged their right to keep their conquests. Both parties -to this bargain were pleased: the Pope because he had gained a vassal -state however unruly, the Normans since they felt that they no longer -reigned on sufferance, but had a legal status in the eyes of Europe. -Neither had any idea of the mine of trouble they were laying for future -generations. - -The fortunes of the House of Hauteville, thus established, mounted -steadily. William died and was succeeded by a younger brother, Robert, -nicknamed ‘Guiscard’ or ‘the Wise’. During his reign he forced both the -Greek governor and the independent princes who held the rest of South -Italy to surrender their possessions, while he even carried his war -against the Eastern Empire to Greece itself. Only his death put an end -to this daring campaign. - -Robert Guiscard, as master of South Italy, had been created Duke of -Apulia; his nephew, Roger II, Count of Sicily, who inherited his -statecraft and strength, induced the Pope to magnify both mainland and -island into a joint kingdom, and thereafter reigned as King of Naples. -‘He was a lover of justice’, says a chronicler of his day, ‘and a most -severe avenger of crime. He hated lying ... and never promised what -he did not mean to perform. He never persecuted his private enemies, -and in war endeavoured on all occasions to gain his point without -shedding blood. Justice and peace were universally observed through his -dominions.’ - -Roger II of Naples was evidently a finer and more civilized character -than William of England; but in both lay that Norman capacity for -establishing and maintaining order that at first seems so strange an -inheritance from wild Norse ancestors. Clear-sighted, iron-nerved, -an adventurer with an instinct for business, the Norman of the Early -Middle Ages was just the leaven that Europe required to raise her out -of the indolent depression of the ‘Dark Ages’ that followed the fall of -Rome. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - The Emperor Lothar 840-55 - Massacre of St. Brice’s Day 1002 - William, Duke of Normandy 1035-87 - William, King of England 1066-87 - Edward the Confessor 1042-66 - Domesday Book 1086 - Pope Leo IX 1048-54 - Battle of Civitate 1053 - Pope Nicholas II 1058-61 - Robert, Duke of Apulia 1060-85 - Roger II, King of Naples 1130 - - - - -X - -FEUDALISM AND MONASTICISM - - -FEUDALISM - -Wherever in the course of history men have gathered together they have -gradually evolved some form of association that would ensure mutual -interests. It might be merely the tribal bond of the Arabians, by -which a man’s relations were responsible for his acts and avenged his -wrongs; it might be a council of village elders such as the Russian -‘Mir’, making laws for the younger men and women; it might be a group -of German chiefs legislating on moonlit nights, according to the -description of Tacitus, by their camp fires. - -In contrast to primitive associations stands the elaborate government -of Rome under Augustus and his successors; the despotic Emperor, -his numberless officials, the senators with their huge estates, -the struggling _curiales_, the army of legions carrying out the -imperial commands from Scotland to the Euphrates. When Rome fell, her -government, like a house whose foundations have collapsed, fell also. -Barbarian conquerors, established in Italy and the Roman provinces, -took what they liked of the laws that they found, added to them their -own customs, and out of the blend evolved new codes of legislation. Yet -legislation, without some method of ensuring its execution, could not -save nations from invasion nor the merchant or peasant from becoming -the victim of robberies and petty crimes. - -Mediaeval centuries are sometimes called the Age of Feudalism, because -during this time feudalism was the method gradually adopted for dealing -with the problems of public life amongst all classes in nearly all the -nations of Europe. There are two chief things to be remembered about -feudalism--first that it was no sudden invention but a growth out of -old ideas both Roman and barbarian, and next that it was intimately -connected in men’s minds with the thought of land. This was natural, -for after all, land or its products are as necessary to the life of -every individual as air and water, and therefore the cultivation of the -soil and the distribution of its fruits are the first problems with -which governments are faced. - -Feudalism assumed that all the land belonging to a nation belonged in -the first place to that nation’s king. Because he could not govern or -cultivate it all himself he would parcel it out in ‘fiefs’ amongst the -chief nobles at his court, promising them his protection, and asking -in return that they should do him some specified service. This system -recalls the ‘villa’ of Roman days with its senator, granting protection -to his tenants from robbery and excessive taxation, and employing them -to plough and sow, to reap his crops, and build his houses and bridges. - -In the Middle Ages the service of the chief tenants was nearly always -military: to appear when summoned by the king with so many horsemen -and so many archers fully armed. In order to provide this force the -tenant would be driven in his turn to grant out parts of his lands to -other tenants, who would come when he called them with horsemen and -arms that they had collected in a similar way. This process was called -‘sub-infeudation’. Society thus took the form of a pyramid with the -king at the apex, immediately below him his tenants-in-chief, and below -them in graded ranks or layers the other tenants. - -This brings us to the base of the pyramid, the people who could not -fight themselves, having neither horses nor weapons, and who certainly -could not lend any other soldiers to their lord’s banner. Were they to -receive no land? - -In the Roman ‘villa’ the bottom strata was the slave, the chattel with -no rights even over his own body. Under the system of feudalism the -base of the pyramid was made up of ‘serfs’, men originally free, with -a customary right to the land on which they lived, who had lost their -freedom under feudal law and had become bound to the land, _ascripti -glebae_, in such a way that if the land were sub-let or sold they would -pass over to the new owner like the trees or the grass. In return for -their land, though they might not serve their master with spear or bow, -they would work in his fields, build his bridges and castles, mend his -roads, and guard his cattle. - -From top to bottom of this pyramid of feudal society ran the binding -mortar of ‘tenure’ and ‘service’; but these were not the only links -which kept feudal society together. When a tenant did ‘homage’ for his -land, and ‘with head uncovered, with belt ungirt, his sword removed’, -placed his hands between those of his lord, and took an oath, after -the manner of the thegns of Wessex to their king, ‘to love what he -loved and shun what he shunned both on sea and on land’, there entered -into this relationship the finer bond of loyalty due from a vassal to -his overlord. It was the descendant of the old Teutonic idea of the -_comitatus_ described by Tacitus,[7] the chief destined to lead and -guide, his bodyguard pledged to follow him to death if necessary. - -Put shortly, then, feudalism may be described as a system of society -based upon the holding of land--a system, that is, in which a man’s -legal status and social rank were in the main determined by the -conditions on which he held (i.e. possessed) his land. Such a system, -to return to our example of the pyramid, grew not only from the apex, -by the sovereign granting lands, as the King of France did to Rollo -‘the Ganger’, but from the middle and base as well. - -One of the chief feudal powers in mediaeval times was the Church, for -though abbots and bishops were not supposed to fight themselves, yet -they would often have numbers of lay military tenants to bring to the -help of the king or their overlord. Some of these tenants were men -whom they had provided with estates, but others were landowners who -had voluntarily surrendered their rights over their land in return -for the protection of a local monastery or bishopric, and thus become -its tenants. A large part of the Church land was, however, held, not -by military or lay tenure, but in return for spiritual services, or -free alms as it was called, i.e. prayers for the soul of the donor. -Perhaps a landowner wished to make a pious gift on his death-bed, or -had committed a crime and believed that a surrender of his property -to the Church would placate God. For some such reason, at any rate, -he made over his land, or part of it, to the Church, which in this -way accumulated great estates and endowments, free from the usual -liabilities of lay tenure. All over Europe other men, and even whole -villages and towns, were taking the same steps, seeking protection -direct from the king, or a great lord, or an abbot or bishop, offering -in return rent, services, or tolls on their merchandise. - -Feudalism at its best stood for the protection of the weak in an age -when armies and a police force as we understand the terms did not -exist. Even when the system fell below this standard, and it often fell -badly, there still remained in its appeal to loyalty an ideal above and -beyond the ordinary outlook of the day, a seed of nobler feeling that -with the growth of civilization and under the influence of the Church -blossomed into the flower of chivalry. - - I made them lay their hands in mine and swear - To reverence the King as if he were - Their conscience, and their conscience as their King: - To break the heathen and uphold the Christ, - To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, - To speak no slander; no! nor listen to it, - To honour his own word as if his God’s, - To live sweet lives in purest chastity. - -Such are the vows that Tennyson puts in the mouth of Arthur’s knights, -who with Charlemagne and his Paladins were the heroes of mediaeval -romance and dreams. King Henry the Fowler, who ruled Germany in the -early part of the tenth century, instituted the Order of Knighthood, -forming a bodyguard from the younger brothers and sons of his chief -barons. Before they received the sword-tap on the shoulder that -confirmed their new rank, these candidates for knighthood took four -vows: first to speak the truth, next to serve faithfully both King and -Church, thirdly never to harm a woman, and lastly never to turn their -back on a foe. - -Probably many of these half-barbarian young swashbucklers broke their -vows freely; but some would remember and obey; and so amid the general -roughness and cruelty of the age, there would be established a small -leaven of gentleness and pity left to expand its influence through the -coming generations. It is because of this ideal of chivalry, often -eclipsed and even travestied by those who claimed to be its brightest -mirrors, but never quite lost to Europe, that strong nations have been -found ready to defend the rights of the weak, and men have laid down -their lives to avenge the oppression of women and children. - -Of the evil side of feudalism much more could be written than of the -good. The system, on its military side, was intended to provide the -king with an army; but if one of his tenants-in-chief chose to rebel -against him, the vassals who held their lands from this tenant were -much more likely to keep faith with the lord to whom they had paid -immediate homage than with their sovereign. Thus often the only force -on which a king could rely were the vassals of the royal domain. - -Again, feudalism, by its policy of making tenants-in-chief responsible -for law and order on their estates, had set up a number of petty -rulers with almost absolute power. Peasants were tried for their -offences in their lord’s court by his bailiff or agent, and by his -will they suffered death or paid their fines. Except in the case of a -Charlemagne, strong enough to send out _Missi_[8] and to support them -when they overrode local decisions, the lord’s justice or injustice -would seem a real thing to his tenants and serfs, the king’s law -something shadowy and far away. - -As Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror had been quite as powerful -as his overlord the King of France. When he came to England he was -determined that none of the barons to whom he had granted estates -should ever be his equal in this way. He therefore summoned all -landowning men in England to a council at Salisbury in 1086, and made -them take an oath of allegiance to himself before all other lords. -Because he was a strong man he kept his barons true to their oath or -punished them, but during the reign of his grandson Stephen, who -disputed the English throne with his cousin Matilda and therefore tried -to buy the support of the military class by gifts and concessions, the -vices of feudalism ran almost unchecked. - - ‘They had done homage to him and sworn oaths,’ says the Anglo-Saxon - chronicler, ‘but they no faith kept ... for every rich man built - his castles and defended them against him, and they filled the land - with castles.... Then they took these whom they suspected to have - any goods by night and by day, seizing both men and women, and - they put them in prison for their gold and silver, and tortured - them with pains unspeakable.... I cannot and I may not tell of all - the wounds and of all the tortures that they inflicted upon the - wretched men of this land; and this state of things lasted the - nineteen years that Stephen was king and ever grew worse and worse.’ - -Stephen was a weak ruler struggling with a civil war; so that it might -be argued that no system of government could have worked well under -such auspices; but if we turn to the normal life of the peasant folk -on the estates of the monastery of Mont St. Michael in the thirteenth -century, we shall see that the humble tenants at the base of the feudal -pyramid paid dearly enough for the protection of their overlords. - - ‘In June the peasants must cut and pile the hay and carry it to the - manor-house ... in August they must reap and carry in the Convent - grain, their own grain lies exposed to wind and rain.... On the - Nativity of the Virgin the villein owes the pork due, one pig in - eight ... at Xmas the fowl fine and good ... on Palm Sunday the - sheep due ... at Easter he must plough, sow, and harrow. When there - is building the tenant must bring stone and serve the masons ... he - must also haul the convent wood for two deniers a day. If he sells - his land he owes his lord a thirteenth of its value, if he marries - his daughter outside the lord’s demense he pays a fine,--he must - grind his grain at the lord’s mill and bake his bread at the lord’s - oven, where the customary charges never satisfy the servants.’ - -Certainly the peasant of the Middle Ages can have had little time -to lament even his own misery. Perhaps to keep his hovel from fire -and pillage and his family from starvation was all to which he often -aspired. - -‘War’, it has been said, ‘was the law of the feudal world’, and all -over Europe the moat-girt castles of powerful barons, and walled towns -and villages sprang up as a witness to the turbulent state of society -during these centuries. To some natures this atmosphere of violence of -course appealed. - - I, Sirs, am for war, - Peace giveth me pain, - No other creed will hold me again. - On Monday, on Tuesday,--whenever you will, - Day, week, month, or year, are the same to me still. - -So sang a Provençal baron of the twelfth century, and we find an echo -of his spirit in Spain as late as the fifteenth, when a certain noble, -sighing for the joys and spoils of civil war, remarked, ‘I would there -were many kings in Castile for then I should be one of them.’ - -[Sidenote: The Truce of God] - -The Church, endeavouring to cope with the spirit of anarchy, succeeded -in establishing on different occasions a ‘Truce of God’, somewhat -resembling the ‘Sacred Months’ devised by the Arabs for a like purpose. -From Wednesday to Monday, and during certain seasons of the year, such -as Advent or Lent, war was completely forbidden under ecclesiastical -censure, while at no time were priests, labourers, women, or children -to be molested. - -The defect of such reforms lay in the absence of machinery to enforce -them; and feudalism, the system by which in practice the few lived at -the expense of the many, continued to flourish until foreign adventure, -such as the Crusades, absorbed some of its chief supporters, and -civilization and humanity succeeded in building up new foundations of -society to take its place. It would seem as if the lessons of good -government had to be learned in a hard school, generally through bitter -experience on the part of the governed. - - -MONASTICISM - -If the study of feudalism is necessary to a knowledge of the material -life of the Middle Ages, its spirit is equally a closed book without -an understanding of monasticism. What induced men and women, not just -a few devout souls, but thousands of ordinary people of all nations -and classes from the prince to the serf to forsake the world for the -cloister; and, far from regretting this sacrifice, to maintain with -obvious sincerity that they had chosen the better part? If we would -realize the mediaeval mind we must find an answer to this question. - -Turning to the earliest days of monasticism, when the ‘Fathers of the -Church’ sought hermits’ cells, we recall the shrinking of finer natures -from the brutality and lust of pagan society; the intense conviction -that the way to draw nearer God was to shut out the world; the desire -of a Simon Stylites to make the thoughtless mind by the sight of his -self-inflicted penance think for a moment at any rate of a future -Heaven and Hell. - -Motives such as these continued to inspire the enthusiastic Christian -throughout the Dark Ages following the fall of Rome; but, as Europe -became outwardly converted to the Catholic Faith, it was not paganism -from which the monk fled, but the mockery of his own beliefs that he -found in the lives of so-called Christians. The corruption of imperial -courts, even those of a Constantine or Charlemagne, the cunning cruelty -of a baptized Clovis, the ruthless selfishness of a feudal baron or -Norman adventurer fighting in the name of Christ: all these were hard -to reconcile with a gospel of poverty, gentleness, and brotherhood. - -Even the light of pure ideals once held aloft by the Church had begun -to burn dim; for men are usually tolerant of evils to which they are -accustomed, and the priest who had grown up amid barbarian invasions -was inclined to look on the coarseness and violence that they bred as -a natural side of life. As a rule he continued to maintain a slightly -higher standard of conduct than his parishioners, but sometimes he fell -to their level or below. - -The great danger to the Church, however, was, as always in her history, -not the hardships that she encountered but the prosperity. The bishops, -‘overseers’ responsible for the discipline and well-being of their -dioceses, became in the Middle Ages, by reason of their very power and -influence, too often the servants of earthly rulers rather than of -God. Far better educated and disciplined than the laymen, experienced -in diocesan affairs, without ties of wife and family, since the Church -law forbade the clergy to marry, they were selected by kings for -responsible office in the state. Usually they proved the wisdom of -his choice through their gifts of administration and loyalty, but the -effect on the Church of adding political to ecclesiastical power proved -disastrous in the end. - -Their great landed wealth made the bishops feudal barons, while -bishoprics in their turn came to be regarded as offices at the disposal -of the king; a bad king would parcel them out amongst his favourites or -sell them to the highest bidders, heedless of their moral character. -Thus crept into the Church the sin of ‘simony’ or ‘traffic in holy -things’ so strongly condemned by the first Apostles, and, following -hard on the heels of simony, the worldliness born of the temptations of -wealth and power. The bishop who was numbered amongst a feudal baronage -and entertained a lax nobility at his palace was little likely to be -shocked at priests convicted of ignorance or immorality, or to spend -his time in trying to reform their habits. - -It was, then, not only in horror of the world, but in reproach of the -Church herself that the monk turned to the idea of separation from man -and communion with God. In the earliest days of monasticism each hermit -followed his special theory of prayer and self-discipline; he would -gather round him small communities of disciples, and these would remain -or go away to form other communities as they chose, a lack of system -that often resulted in unhealthy fanaticism or useless idleness. - -[Sidenote: St. Benedict] - -In the sixth century an Italian monk, Benedict of Nursia (480-543), -compiled a set of regulations for his followers, which, under the -name of ‘the rule of Benedict’, became the standard Code of monastic -life for all Western Christendom. Benedict demanded of his monks a -‘novitiate’ of twelve months during which they could test their call to -a life of continual sacrifice. At the end of this time, if the novice -still continued resolute in his intention and was approved by the -monastic authorities, he was accepted into the brotherhood by taking -the perpetual vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity, the three -conditions of life most hostile to the lust of possession, turbulence, -and sensuality that dominated the Middle Ages. To these vows were added -the obligation of manual labour--seven hours work a day in addition to -the recitation of prayers enjoined on the community. - -The faithful Benedictine at least could never be accused of idleness, -and to the civilizing influence of the ‘regulars’, as the monks were -called because they obeyed a rule (_regula_), in contrast to the -‘secular’ priests who lived in the world, Europe owed an immense debt -of gratitude. - -Sometimes it is said contemptuously that the monks of the Middle Ages -chose beautiful sites on which to found luxurious homes. Certainly they -selected as a rule the neighbourhood of rivers and lakes, water being -a prime necessity of life, and in such neighbourhoods raised chapels -and monasteries that have become the architectural wonder of the world. -Yet many of these wonders began in a circle of wooden huts built on a -reclaimed marsh, and it was the labour of the followers of St. Benedict -that replaced wood by stone and swamps by gardens and farms. - -Where the barbarian or feudal anarchist burned and destroyed, the -monk of the Middle Ages brought back the barren soil to pasturage or -tillage; and just as he weeded, sowed, and planted as part of his -obligation to God, so from the produce of his labours he provided for -the destitute at his gate, or in his cloister schools supplied the -ignorant with the rudiments of knowledge and culture. The monasteries -were centres of mediaeval life, not, like the castles, of death. In -his quiet cell the monk chronicler became an historian; the copyist -reproduced with careful affection decaying manuscripts; the illuminator -made careful pictures of his day; the chemist concocted strange healing -medicines, or in his crucibles developed wondrous colours. - -‘Good is it for us to dwell here, where man lives more purely, falls -more rarely, rises more quickly, treads more cautiously, rests more -securely, is absolved more easily, and rewarded more plenteously.’ This -is the saying of St. Bernard, one of the later monastic reformers; -and his ideal was the general conception of the best life possible as -understood in the Middle Ages. To the monasteries flocked the devout -seeking a home of prayer; but also the student or artist unable to -follow his bent in the turbulent world, and the man who despised or -feared the atmosphere of war. Even the feudal baron would pause in -his quarrels to make some pious gift to abbey or priory, a tribute -to a faith he admired but was too weak to practise. Sometimes he -came in later life, a penitent who, toiling like his serf, sought in -the cloister the salvation of his soul. ‘In the monasteries,’ says a -mediaeval German, ‘one saw Counts cooking in the kitchen and Margraves -leading their pigs out to feed.’ - -Monasticism, with its belief in brotherhood, was a leveller of class -distinctions; but, like the rest of the Church, it found in the popular -enthusiasm it aroused the path of temptation. Men, we have seen, -entered the cloister for other reasons than pure devotion to God; -and the rule of Benedict proving too strict they yielded secretly to -sins that perhaps were not checked or reproved because abbots in time -ceased to be saints and became, like the bishops, feudal landlords with -worldly interests. In this way vice and laziness were allowed to spread -and cling like bindweed. - -Throughout the Middle Ages there were times of corruption and failure -amongst the monastic Orders, followed by waves of sweeping reform and -earnest endeavour, when once again the Cross was raised as an emblem of -sacrifice and drew the more spiritual of men unto it. - -[Sidenote: Foundation of Cluni] - -In 910 the monastery of Cluni was founded in Burgundy, and, freed from -the jurisdiction of local bishops by being placed under the direct -control of the Pope, was able to establish a reformed Benedictine -Order. Its abbot was recognized not only as the superior of the -monastery at Cluni but also of ‘daughter’ houses that sprang up all -over Europe subject to his discipline and rule. - -Other monastic Orders founded shortly after this date were those of the -Carthusians and Cistercians. - -In their desire to combat worldliness the early Carthusians, or monks -of the monastery of Chartreux, carried on unceasing war against the -pleasures of the world. Strict fasting for eight months in the year; -one meal a day eaten in silence and alone; no conversation with other -brethren save at a weekly meeting; this was the background to a life of -toil and prayer. - -The monastery of Citeaux in southern France, from which the Cistercians -take their name, was another attempt to live in the world but not of -it. ‘The White Monks’, so called from the colour of their woollen -frocks, sought solitudes in which to build their houses. Their churches -and monasteries remain among the glories of architecture; but through -fear of riches they refused to place in them crosses of gold and silver -or to allow their priests to wear embroidered vestments. No Cistercian -might recite the service of the Mass for money or be paid for the cure -of souls. With his hands he must work for his meagre fare, remembering -always to give God thanks for the complete self-renunciation to which -he was pledged by his Order. - -[Sidenote: St. Bernard of Clairvaux] - -Chief amongst the Cistercian saints is Bernard (1090-1153), a -Burgundian noble, who in 1115 founded a daughter monastery of his Order -at Clairvaux, and as its head became one of the leaders of mediaeval -thought. When he was only twenty he had appeared before the Abbot of -Citeaux with a band of companions, relations and friends whom his -eloquence had persuaded to enter the monastery with him. Throughout his -life this power over others and his fearlessness in making use of this -influence were his most vivid characteristics. ‘His speech’, wrote some -one who knew him, ‘was suited to his audience ... to country-folk he -spoke as though born and bred in the country, and so to other classes -as though he had been always occupied with their business. He adapted -himself to all, desiring to gain all for Christ.’ - -In these last words lie his mission and the secret of his success. -Never was his eloquence exerted for himself, and so men who wished -to criticize were overborne by his single-minded sincerity. Severe -to his own shortcomings, gentle and humble to his brethren, ready to -accept reproof or to undertake the meanest task, Bernard was fierce and -implacable to the man or the conditions that seemed to him to stand in -the way of God’s will. - - ‘I grieve over thee, my son Geoffrey,’ he wrote to a young monk who - had fled the austerities of Clairvaux.... ‘How could you, who were - called by God, follow the Devil, recalling thee?... Turn back, I - say, before the abyss swallows thee ... before bound hand and foot - thou art cast into outer darkness ... shut in with the darkness of - death.’ - -To the ruler of France he sent a letter of reproof ending with the -words: ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God -even for thee, O King!’ and his audacity, instead of working his ruin, -brought the leading clergy and statesmen of Europe to the cells of -Clairvaux as if to some oracle’s temple, to learn the will of God. - -From his cell St. Bernard preached the Second Crusade, reformed abuses -in the Church, deposed an Anti-Pope, and denounced heretics. In his -distrust of human reason, trying to free itself from some of the -dogmatic assertions of early Christian thought, he represented the -narrow outlook of his age: but in his love of God and through God of -humanity he typifies the spiritual charm that like a thread of gold -runs through all the dross of hardness and treachery in the mediaeval -mind. - - ‘Do not grieve,’ he wrote to the parents of a novice ... ‘he goes - to God but you do not lose him ... rather through him you gain many - sons, for all of us who belong to Clairvaux have taken him to be a - brother and you to be our parents.’ - -To St. Bernard self-renunciation meant self-realization, the laying -down of a life to find it again purified and enriched; and this was the -ideal of monasticism, often misunderstood and discredited by its weaker -followers, like all ideals, but yet the glory of its saints. - - - - -XI - -THE INVESTITURE QUESTION - - -We have said that in ‘the Oath of Strasbourg’[9] it was possible to -distinguish the infant nations of France and Germany. This is true--yet -Germany, though distinct from her neighbours, was to remain all through -the Middle Ages rather an agglomeration of states than a nation as we -understand the word to-day. - -One reason for the absence of any common policy and ambitions was that -Charlemagne, though he had conquered the Saxons and other Germanic -tribes, had never succeeded in welding them into one people. Under -his successors the different races easily slipped back into regarding -themselves rather as Saxons, Franconians, or Bavarians than as Germans: -indeed the Bohemians relapsed into heathendom and became once more -altogether uncivilized. - -This instinct for separation was aided by the feudal system, since -rebel tenants-in-chiefs could count on provincial feeling to support -them against the king their overlord. It is hardly surprising, then, if -the struggle that broke out in Germany as elsewhere in Europe between -rulers and their feudal baronage was decided there in favour of the -baronage. - -Perhaps if some strong king could have given his undivided attention -to the problem he might have succeeded, like William I of England, -in making himself real master of all Germany; but unfortunately the -rulers of the German kingdom were never free from foreign wars. Just as -the Norsemen had descended on the coasts of France, so Danes, Slavs, -and Hungarians were a constant menace to the civilization of Germany; -hordes of these barbarians breaking over the frontiers every year, and -even pillaging districts as far west as the Rhine. - -German kings, in consequence of this external menace, had to rely -for the defence of their frontiers upon the military power of their -great vassals. They were even forced to create large estates called -‘Marks’ (march-lands) upon their northern and eastern borders to act -as national bulwarks. Over these ruled ‘Margraves’ (‘grafs’ or Counts -of the Mark) with a large measure of independence. Modern Prussia was -once the Mark of Brandenburg, a war state created against the Slav; -Austria the Mark placed in the east between Bavaria and the Hungarians; -Schleswig the Mark established to hold back the Danes. - -Yet another cause told for disruption: the fact that when the -Carolingian line came to an end in Germany early in the tenth century -the practice sprang up of electing kings from among the chief princes -and dukes. Though this plan worked well if the electors made an honest -choice, yet it gave the feudal baronage a weapon, on the other hand, if -they wished to strike a bargain with a would-be ruler or to appoint a -weakling whose authority they could undermine. - -[Sidenote: Henry ‘the Fowler’] - -The first of the elected kings of Germany was Conrad of Franconia, -during whose reign the feudal system took strong root, and who ruled -rather through his barons than in opposition to their wishes. On his -death-bed he showed his honest desire for the welfare of Germany. ‘I -know,’ he declared, ‘that no man is worthier to sit on my throne than -my enemy Henry of Saxony.... When I am dead, take him the crown and the -sacred lance, the golden armlet, the sword, and the purple mantle of -the old kings.’ The princes, who followed his advice, found their new -ruler out hawking on the mountain side, and under the nickname Henry -‘the Fowler’ he became their king and one of Germany’s national heroes. - -In his untiring struggle against invaders Henry I recalls the -Anglo-Saxon Alfred ‘the Great’, and like Alfred he was at first forced -to fly before his enemies. To the disgust of the great dukes he bought -a nine years’ peace from the Hungarians by paying tribute; but when -the enemy went away he at once began to build castles or ‘burgs’, and -filled them with soldiers under the command of ‘burgraves’. These -castles were placed all along the frontiers, and gradually villages -and towns gathered round them for safety. - -In the tenth year the Hungarians came as usual to ask for the tribute -money, but Henry ordered a dead dog to be thrown at their messenger’s -feet. - -‘In future this is all your master will get from us,’ he exclaimed, and -the answer, as he expected, provoked an immediate invasion. Instead -of being able to lay waste the countryside as of old, however, the -Hungarians now found ‘burgs’ well fortified and provisioned that they -could neither take nor leave with safety in their rear. When at last -they met Henry in pitched battle, they broke and fled before his -onslaught, declaring that the golden banner of St. Michael, carried at -the head of his troops, had by some wizardry contrived their ruin. - -Besides repulsing invaders, Henry the Fowler imposed his will to -a considerable extent over his rebellious baronage. In another -chapter[10] we have noticed how he instituted ‘the order of -knighthood’ as a way of harnessing to his service the restless energy -of the younger sons of the nobles: he also tried to strengthen the -middle classes as a counterpoise to the baronage by encouraging the -construction of walled towns for the protection of merchants, while -he would hold his councils rather in towns than in the woods like -his predecessors, in order to attract people to settle there. Many -of the Marks owe their origin to Henry’s policy of strengthening the -border provinces; and in this and in his determination to subdue the -Hungarians he found an able successor in his son Otto I. - -[Sidenote: Otto ‘the Great’] - -Otto’s reign might from one aspect be called a history of wars. First -there were foreign wars--the subjugation of Denmark, whose king became -a German vassal; the reconquest and conversion of Bohemia; and also a -series of campaigns against the Hungarians, resulting at last in 955 in -a victory at Augsburg so complete that never again the hated invaders -dared to cross the border save in marauding bands. - -But besides fighting against foreign neighbours Otto had a continual -struggle at home in order to reassert the authority of the crown over -the great duchies such as Lotharingia and Bavaria. When he was able to -do so he would replace the most turbulent of the dukes by members of -his own family, or he would make gifts of large estates to bishops, -hoping in this way to provide himself with loyal tenants-in-chief. In -this, however, he was not successful, for he found the feudal bishops -amongst his worst enemies; so that he turned at last for help to the -new type of Churchman, bred by the Cluniac reform movement--men of -learning and culture, monks in their religious observances, statesmen -in their outlook. These were at one with him in his desire for a united -Germany and a purer Church; but Otto was faced by a great problem when -he wished to reform and control his bishops. How far were the German -clergy under his jurisdiction? How far did they owe obedience only to -Rome, as they claimed if he tried to exert his authority over them? - -Charlemagne had been able to deal easily with such difficulties, for -the Pope had been his ally, almost it might be said his vassal, and so -they could have but one mind on Church matters. By the time of Otto the -Great, however, German kings had long ceased to be emperors, and the -imperial title, bandied about from one Italian prince to another, had -become tarnished in the world’s eyes. Was it worth while, then, for a -German king to regain this title in order to gain control over the See -of St. Peter? - -Students of history, able to test mediaeval policy by its ultimate -results, will answer ‘No’, seeing that German kings would have done -well to resist the will-of-the-wisp lure of the crowns of Lombardy and -Rome; but to Otto the question of interference in Italy bore a very -different aspect. Too great to be dazzled by the title of Emperor, too -busy to invade Italy merely for the sake of forcing the Pope to become -his ally, Otto found himself faced by the necessity of choosing whether -he would make himself lord of the lands on the other side of the Alps -or see one of his most powerful subjects, the Duke of Bavaria, do so -instead. - -The occasion of this choice was the murder of Count Lothair of -Provence, one of the claimants to the throne of Italy. Lothair’s -widow, Adelaide, a Burgundian princess, appealed to Germany to avenge -her wrongs--a piece of knight-errantry with such prospects of profit -that several of the German princes and notably the Duke of Bavaria, -whose lands lay just to the north of the Alps, were only too willing -to undertake it. In 951 Otto the Great, anticipating their ambitions, -crossed the Alps with an army, rescued Adelaide from her husband’s -murderer, married her himself, and was crowned King of Italy at Pavia. - -Recalled to Germany by foreign invasions, he appeared again in Italy -ten years later, and in February 962 was crowned Emperor by the Pope -at Rome. His successors, dropping the title ‘King of Germany’, claimed -henceforth to be ‘Kings of the Romans’ on their election and, after -their coronation by the Pope, ‘Holy Roman Emperors’--temporal overlords -of Christendom, as the Popes claimed to be spiritual viceroys. - -This coronation of Otto the Great was a turning-point in the history -of Germany, though at the time it caused little stir. To Otto himself -it was merely the culminating success of his career, enabling him to -undertake without interference the reform of the German Church that he -had planned, and also to issue a charter that, while confirming the -Popes in their temporal possessions, insisted that they should take an -oath of allegiance to the Emperor before their consecration. By this -measure the Papacy became in the eyes of Europe merely the chief see -in the Emperor’s dominions; and under Otto’s immediate successors this -supremacy was not seriously disputed by the Popes themselves. In some -cases they were German nominees, ready to acknowledge the sceptre that -secured their election; but, even where this was not the case, there -was a general feeling that Rome had less to fear from the tyranny of -Emperors beyond the Alps than from the encroachments of the petty lords -of Italy. - -The Dukes of Spoletum, Counts of Tuscany, and Barons of the Roman -Campagna had no respect at all for the head of Christendom except as -a pawn in their political moves. One of the most unscrupulous and -dissolute families in the vicinity of Rome, the Crescentii, who claimed -the title of Patrician, once granted by Eastern Emperors to Italian -viceroys, secured the Papacy for three successive members of their -house. Under the last of these, Benedict IX, a boy of twelve at the -time of his election, vice and tyranny walked through the streets of -Rome rampant and unashamed. The young Pope, described by a contemporary -as ‘a captain of thieves and brigands’, did not scruple to crown his -sins by selling his holy office in a moment of danger to another of his -family. As his excesses had already led the people of Rome to set up an -Anti-Pope, and as he himself withdrew his abdication very shortly, the -disgraceful state of affairs culminated in three Popes, each denouncing -one another, and each arming his followers for battle in the streets. - -[Sidenote: Synod of Sutri] - -The interference of the Emperor Henry III (a member of the Salian -House of Saxony) was welcomed on all sides, and at the Synod of Sutri -the rival Popes were all deposed and a German bishop, chosen by the -Emperor, elected in their place. - -Henry III has been described by a modern historian as ‘the strongest -Prince that Europe had seen since Charlemagne’. Not only did he -succeed in subduing the unruly Bohemians and Hungarians, but he also -built Germany into the temporary semblance of a nation, mastering -her baronage and purifying her Church. His influence over Italy was -wholly for her good; but by the irony of fate his cousin Bruno, whom -he nominated to the See of St. Peter under the name of Leo IX, was -destined to lay the foundations of a Papacy independent of German -control. - -Bruno himself insisted that he should be elected legally by the clergy -and people of Rome and, though of royal blood, he entered the city -barefoot as a penitent. Unlike the haughty Roman nobles to whom the -title ‘Pope’ had merely seemed an extra means of obtaining worldly -honour and pleasure, he remained after his consecration gentle and -accessible to his inferiors, and devoted his whole time to the work of -reform. At his first council he strongly condemned the sin of simony, -and he insisted on the celibacy of the clergy as the only way to free -them from worldly distractions and ambitions. - -In order that his message might not seem intended for Italy alone, he -made long journeys through Germany and France. Everywhere he went he -preached the purified ideal of the Church upheld by the monks of Cluni; -but side by side with this he and his successors set another vision -that they strove to realize, the predominance of the Papacy in Italy as -a temporal power. - -It was Leo IX who, dreading the Norman settlements in southern Italy -as a menace to the states of the Church, formed a league against the -invaders, but after his defeat at their hands, followed shortly by his -death, his successors, as we have seen, wisely concluded a peace that -left them feudal overlords of Apulia and Calabria.[11] Realizing that -to dominate the affairs of the peninsula they must remain at home, -future Popes sent ambassadors called ‘Legates’ to express and explain -their will in foreign countries; while in 1059, in a further effort -towards independence, Pope Nicholas II revolutionized the method of -papal elections. Popes, it was decreed, were no longer to be chosen -by the voice of the people and clergy of Rome generally, but only by -the ‘Cardinals’, that is, the principal bishops of the city sitting in -secret conclave. This body, the College of Cardinals, was to be free of -imperial interference. - -[Sidenote: Pope Gregory VII] - -Behind Pope Nicholas, in this daring policy of independence, stood one -of the most powerful figures of his age, Hildebrand, Archdeacon of -Rome. The son of a village carpenter, small, ill formed, insignificant -in appearance, he possessed the shrewd, practical mind and indomitable -will of the born ruler of men. It is said that in boyhood his -companions found him tracing with the chips and shavings of his -father’s workshop the words, ‘I shall reign from sea to sea’, yet he -began his career by deliberately accepting exile with the best of the -Popes deposed by the Council of Sutri; and it was Leo IX, who, hearing -of his genius, found him and brought him back to Rome. - -Gradually not only successive Popes but the city itself grew to lean -upon his strength, and when in 1073 the Holy See was left vacant, a -general cry arose from the populace: ‘Hildebrand is Pope.... It is the -will of St. Peter!’ - -Taking the name of Gregory VII, Hildebrand reluctantly, if we are to -believe his own account, accepted the headship of the Church. Perhaps, -knowing how different was his ideal of the office from its reality, -he momentarily trembled at the task he had set himself; but once -enthroned there was no weakness in his manner to the world. - -In his ears the words of Christ, ‘Thou art Peter, and on this rock I -will build my Church’, could never be reconciled with vassalage to -any temporal ruler. To St. Peter and his successors, not to emperors -or kings, had been given the power to bind or loose, and Gregory’s -interpretation of this text did not even admit of two co-equal powers -ruling Christendom by their alliance. ‘Human pride has created the -power of kings,’ he declared, ‘God’s mercy has created the power of -bishops ... the Pope is master of Emperors and is rendered holy by the -merits of his predecessor St. Peter. The Roman Church has never erred -and Holy Scripture proves that it never can err. To resist it is to -resist God.’ - -Such a point of view, if put to any practical test, was sure to -encounter firm if not violent opposition. Thus, when Gregory demanded -from William of Normandy the oath of fealty alleged to have been -promised by the latter to Alexander II in return for the Papal blessing -upon the conquest of England, the Conqueror replied by sending rich -gifts in token of his gratitude for papal support, but supplemented -them with a message as uncompromising as the Pope’s ideal: ‘I have -not sworn, nor will I swear fealty, which was never sworn by any of -my predecessors to yours.’ William thereupon proceeded to dispose of -benefices and bishoprics in his new kingdom as he chose, and even -went so far as to forbid the recognition of any new Pope within his -dominions without his leave, or the publication of papal letters and -decrees that had not received his sanction. - -Perhaps if England had been nearer to Italy, or if William had misused -his authority instead of reforming the English Church, Gregory VII -might have taken up the gauntlet of defiance thus thrown at his feet. -Instead he remained on friendly terms with William; and it was in the -Empire, not in England, that the struggle between Church and State -began. - -The Emperor Henry III, who had summoned the Synod of Sutri, had been -a great ruler, great enough even to have effected a satisfactory -compromise with Hildebrand, but, though before he died he succeeded -in securing his crown for his son Henry, a boy of six, he could not -bequeath him strength of character or statesmanship. Thus from his -death, in 1056, the fortunes of his House and Empire slowly waned. - -It is difficult to estimate the natural gifts of the new ruler of -Germany, for an unhappy upbringing warped his outlook and affections. -Left at first under the guardianship of his mother, the Empress Agnes, -the young Henry IV was enticed at the age of eleven on board a ship -belonging to Anno, the ambitious Archbishop of Cologne. While he was -still admiring her wonders the ship set sail up the Rhine, and though -the boy plunged overboard in an effort to escape his kidnappers he was -rescued and brought back. For the next four years he remained first the -pupil of Archbishop Anno, who punished him for the slightest fault with -harsh cruelty and deprived him of all companionship of his own age, and -then of Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen, who indulged his every whim and -passion. - -At length, at the age of fifteen, handsome and kingly in appearance, -but utterly uncontrolled and dissolute in his way of life, Henry -was declared of age to govern for himself, and straightway began to -alienate his barons and people. He had been married against his wish -to the plain daughter of one of his Margraves, and expressed his -indignation by ill-treating and neglecting her, to the wrath of her -powerful relations: he also built castles on the hill-tops in Saxony, -from which his troops oppressed the countryside: but the sin for which -he was destined to be called to account was his flagrant misuse of his -power over the German Church. - -At first, when reproved by the Pope for selling bishoprics and -benefices, Henry was apologetic in his letters; but he had no real -intention of amending his ways and soon began to chafe openly at Roman -criticism and threats. At last acrimonious disputes came to a head in -what is called the ‘Investiture Question’, and because it is a problem -that affected the whole relations of Church and State in the eleventh -century it is important to understand what it exactly meant to Europe. - -Investiture was the ceremony by which a temporal ruler, such as a -king, transferred to a newly chosen Church official, such as a bishop, -the lands and rights belonging to his office. The king would present -the bishop with a ring and crozier and the bishop in return would -place his hands between those of the king and do him homage like a lay -tenant-in-chief. - -The Roman See declared that it was not fitting for hands sacred to the -service of God at His altar to be placed in submission between those -that a temporal ruler had stained with the blood of war. Behind this -figure of speech lay the real reason, the implication that if the ring -and crozier were to be taken as symbols of lands and offices, bishops -would tend to regard these temporal possessions as the chief things -in their lives, and the oath of homage they gave in exchange as more -important than their vow to do God’s service. - -Gregory VII believed that he could not reform the Church unless he -could detach its officials from dependence on lay rulers who could -bribe or intimidate them; and in the age in which he lived he could -show that for every William of Normandy ready to ‘invest’ good -churchmen there were a hundred kings or petty rulers who only cared -about good tenants, that is, landlords who would supply them faithfully -with soldiers and weapons. - -As a counter argument temporal rulers maintained that churchmen who -accepted lands and offices were lay tenants in this respect, whatever -Popes might choose to call them. The king who lost the power of -investing his bishops lost control over wealthy and important subjects, -and since he would also lose the right to refuse investiture he might -find his principal bishoprics in the hands of disloyal rebels or of -foreigners about whom he knew nothing. - -The whole question was complicated, largely because there was so much -truth on both sides; Gregory, however, forced the issue, and early in -1075, in a Synod held at Rome, put forth the famous decree by which -lay investiture was henceforth sternly forbidden. Henry IV, on the -other hand, spoiled his case by his wild disregard of justice. In the -same year he appointed a new archbishop to the important See of Milan -and invested him without consulting Gregory VII at all; he further -proceeded to appoint two unknown foreigners to Italian bishoprics. -Angry at the letter of remonstrance which these acts aroused he called -a church council at Worms in the following year, and there induced the -majority of German bishops very reluctantly to declare Gregory deposed. - -‘Henry, King not by usurpation but by God’s grace, to Hildebrand, -henceforth no Pope but false monk....’ Thus began his next letter to -the Roman pontiff, to which Hildebrand replied by excommunicating his -deposer. - - ‘Blessed Peter ... as thy representative I have received from God - the power to bind and loose in Heaven and on earth. For the honour - and security of thy Church, in the name of God Almighty, I prohibit - Henry the King, son of Henry the Emperor, ... from ruling Germany - and Italy. I release all Christians from the oaths of fealty they - may have taken to him, and I order that no one shall obey him.’ - -This decree provided occasion for all German nobles whom Henry IV had -alienated to gather under the banner of the papal legate, and for the -oppressed Saxon countryside to renew the serious revolt which had -broken out two years before. Even the German bishops grew frightened of -the part they had played in deposing Gregory, so that the once-powerful -ruler found himself looked upon as an outlaw with scarcely a real -friend, save the wife he had ill-treated, and no hope save submission. -In the winter of 1066, as an old story tells, when the mountains were -frozen hard with snow and ice, he and his wife and one attendant -crossed the Alps on sledges, and sought the Pope in his castle of -Canossa, built amidst the highest ridges of the Apennines. - -Gregory coldly refused him audience. The King, he intimated, might -declare that he was repentant, he had done so often in the past, but -words were not deeds. Putting aside his royal robes and clad in a -penitent’s woollen tunic, Henry to show his sincerity remained barefoot -for three days like a beggar, in the castle yard. Then only on the -entreaty of some Italian friends was he admitted to the presence of the -Pope, who at his cry of ‘Holy Father, spare me!’ raised him up and gave -him formal forgiveness. - -The scene at Canossa is so dramatic in its display of Hildebrand’s -triumph and the Emperor’s humiliation that it has lived in the world’s -memory: yet it was no closing act in their struggle, but merely an -episode that passed and left little mark. Henry IV, as soon as he could -win himself a following in Germany and Italy, returned to the practice -of lay investiture, and Gregory VII, who had never believed in his -sincerity, continued to denounce him and plan the coronation of rival -emperors. - -Imperial ambitions at last reached their height, for Henry IV -succeeded in inducing German and Italian bishops to depose Gregory -once more and even appoint an Anti-Pope, in whose name imperial armies -ravaged Lombardy, forced their way as far south as Rome, and besieged -Hildebrand in the castle of St. Angelo. From this predicament he was -rescued by the Normans of South Italy under Robert Guiscard; but these -ruthless vassals of the Church massacred and looted the Holy City -directly they had scaled the walls, and when they turned homewards, -carrying Gregory VII with them, they left half Rome in ruins. - -Gregory VII died not long afterwards, homeless and deposed, but -with unshaken confidence in the righteousness of his cause. ‘I have -loved justice and hated iniquity,’ he said, during his last illness, -‘therefore I die in exile.’ ‘In exile thou couldst not die,’ replied -a bishop standing at his bedside. ‘Vicar of Christ and His Apostles, -thou hast received the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost -parts of the earth for thy possession.’ Future history was to show that -Hildebrand in defeat had achieved more than his rival in victory. - -Henry IV outlived his enemy by twenty-one years, but they were bitter -with disillusionment. Harassed by Gregory VII’s successors who -continued to advocate papal supremacy, faced by one rebellion after -another in Germany and Italy, Henry IV yielded at last to weariness and -old age, when he found his sons had become leaders of the forces most -hostile to him. Even in his submission to their demands he found no -peace, for he was thrust into prison, compelled to abdicate, and left -to die miserably of starvation and neglect. - -In the reign of his son, Henry V, a compromise on the ‘Investiture -Question’ was arranged between Church and Empire. By the Concordat -of Worms it was agreed first that rulers should renounce their claim -to invest bishops and abbots with the ring and crozier. These were -to be given by representatives of the Church to candidates chosen -and approved by them; but the second point of importance was that -this ceremony must take place in the presence of the king or his -representative, to whom the new bishop or abbot would at once do homage -for his lands and offices. - -Almost a similar settlement had been arrived at between Church and -State in England some fifteen years earlier, arising out of the refusal -of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, to do homage to Henry I, the -Conqueror’s son. In this case there was no clash of bitterness and -dislike, for the old archbishop was perfectly loyal to the king at -heart, though prepared to go to the stake on a matter of conscience, as -this question had become to earnest churchmen. His master, on his side, -respected Anselm’s saintly character and only wished to safeguard his -royal rights over all his subjects. - -Compromise was therefore a matter of rejoicing on both sides, and -with the decisions of the Council at Worms investiture ceased to be a -vital problem. Its importance lies in the fact that it was one of the -first battles between Church and State and, though a compromise, yet -a formal victory for the Church. The dependence of the Papacy on the -imperial government that Europe had considered natural in the days of -Charlemagne, or of Otto the Great, was a thing of the past, for the -acknowledgement of ecclesiastical freedom from lay supremacy, one of -the main issues for which Hildebrand had struggled, schemed, and died, -had been won by his successors following in his steps. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Pope Benedict IX 1033-48 - Pope Leo IX 1048-54 - Pope Nicholas II 1058-61 - - - - -XII - -THE EARLY CRUSADES - - -The imperial standards of Constantinople were designed with a -two-headed eagle typifying Constantine’s rule over the kingdoms of -East and West. Towards the end of the eleventh century this emblem had -become more symbolic of the Emperor’s anxious outlook upon hostile -neighbours. With Asia Minor practically lost by the establishment of a -Mahometan dynasty at Nicea within one hundred miles of the Christian -capital, with the Bulgarians at the gates of Adrianople, and the -Normans and the Popes in possession of his Greek patrimony in Italy, -Alexius Commenus, when he ascended the throne of the Caesars, found -himself master of an attenuated Empire, consisting mainly of strips of -Grecian seaboard. - -Yet in spite of her shorn territories Constantinople remained the -greatest city in Europe, not merely in her magnificent site and -architecture, nor even in her commerce, but in the hold she preserved -over the imagination of men. - -Athanaric the Goth had exclaimed that the ruler of Constantinople -must be a god: eleventh-century Europe accepted him as mortal, but -still crowned the lord of so great a city with a halo of awe. It was -Constantinople that had won the Russians, the Bulgars, and the Slavs -from heathenism to Christianity, not to the Catholicism of Western -Europe but the Greek interpretation of the Christian faith called -by its believers the ‘orthodox’. It was Constantinople whose gold -coin, ‘the byzant’, was recognized as the medium of exchange between -merchants of all nations. It was Constantinople again, her wealth, her -palaces, her glory of pomp and government, that drew Russian, Norse, -and Slav adventurers to serve as mercenaries in the Emperor’s army, -just as auxiliaries had clamoured of old to join the Roman eagles. -Amongst the ‘Varangar’ bodyguard, responsible for the safety of the -Emperor’s person, were to be found at one time many followers of Harold -the Saxon, who, escaping from a conquered England, gladly entered the -service of a new master to whom the name ‘Norman’ was also anathema. - -Alexius Commenus was in character like his Empire--a shrinkage from the -dimensions of former days. There was nothing of the practical genius -of a Constantine in his unscrupulous ability to mould small things -to his advantage; nothing of the heroic Charlemagne in his eminently -calculating courage. Yet his daughter, Anna Commena, who wrote a -history of his reign, regarded him as a model of imperial virtues; -and his court, that had ceased to distinguish pomp from greatness and -elaborate ceremonial from glory, echoed this fiction. It was this -mixture of pretension and weakness, of skill and cunning, of nerve and -treachery, so typical of the later Eastern Emperors, that made the -nations of Western Europe, while they admired Byzantium, yet use the -word ‘Byzantine’ as a term of mingled contempt and dislike. - -The Emperor, on his part, had no reason to love his Western neighbours. -The Popes had robbed him of the Exarchate of Ravenna: they had set up -a Headship of the Church in Rome deaf to the claims of Constantinople. -When in the eighth century the Emperor Leo, the Isaurian,[12] earned -the nickname of ‘Iconoclast’, or ‘Image-breaker’, by a campaign of -destruction amongst devotional pictures and images that he denounced as -idolatrous, Rome definitely refused to accept this ruling on behalf of -Western Christendom. - -This was the beginning of the actual schism between the Eastern and -Western Churches that had been always alien in their outlook. In the -ninth century the breach widened, for Pope Nicholas I supported a -Patriarch, or Bishop of the Eastern Church, deposed by the Emperor and -excommunicated his rival and successor, while subsequent disputes were -rendered irreconcilable in the middle of the eleventh century when the -Patriarch of Constantinople closed the Latin churches and convents in -his diocese and publicly declared the views of Rome heretical. - -Besides the Pope at Rome the Eastern Empire possessed other foes in -Italy. Chief of these were the Normans, who, not content with acquiring -Naples, had, under the leadership of Robert Guiscard and his son -Bohemund, captured the famous port of Durazzo on the Adriatic and -invaded Macedonia. From this province they were only evicted by Alexius -Commenus after wearying campaigns of guerrilla warfare to which his -military ability was better suited than to pitched battles or shock -tactics. - -[Sidenote: The Venetian Republic] - -More subtly dangerous than either Pope or Normans was the commercial -rivalry of the merchant cities of the Mediterranean, Pisa, Genoa, -and Venice. It was Venice who from behind her barrier of islands had -watched Attila the Hun lead away his armies in impotent rage.[13] It -was Venice again who of the North Italian states successfully resisted -the feudal domination of Western Emperors and kept her own form of -republican government inviolate of external control. It was the young -Venice, the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’ as her sons and daughters proudly -called her, that could alone in her commercial splendour and arrogance -compare with the dying glory of Constantinople. - -Alexius Commenus in his struggles against Robert Guiscard had been -compelled to call twice upon Venice for the assistance of her fleet; -but he paid dearly for this alliance in the trading privileges he was -forced to grant in Eastern waters. Wherever in the Orient Venetian -merchants landed to exchange goods they were quick to establish a -political footing; and the world mart on the Adriatic, into which -poured the silks and dyes, the sugar and spices of Asia, built up under -the rule of its ‘Doges’, or Dukes, a national as well as a commercial -reputation. - -In 1095 necessity spurred Alexius Commenus to appeal not merely to -Venice for succour but to Pope Urban II and all the leading princes of -Western Europe. - -‘From Jerusalem to the Aegean,’ he wrote, ‘the Turkish hordes -have mastered all: their galleys, sweeping the Black Sea and the -Mediterranean, threaten the imperial city itself, which, if fall it -must, had better fall into the hands of Latins than of Pagans.’ - -These Turks, or ‘Tartars’, to whom he referred, were the cause of -the Eastern Empire’s sudden danger. Descendants of a Mongol race in -central Asia, of which the Huns were also an offshoot, they turned -their faces westward some centuries later than the ancestors of Attila, -fired by the same love of battle and bloodshed and the same contempt -for civilization. To them the wonderful Arabian kingdom, moulded by -successive Caliphs of Bagdad out of Eastern art, luxury, and mysticism, -held no charm save loot. Conquered Greece had endowed Rome with its -culture, but the inheritance of Haroun al-Raschid bequeathed to its -conquerors only the fighting creed of Islam. - -Mahometans in faith, the Turkish armies, more dangerous than ever -because more fanatical, swept over Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Asia -Minor, subjugating Arabs and Christians until they came almost to the -straits of the Bosporus. Here it was that they forced Alexius Commenus -to realize his imminent danger and to turn to his enemies in Europe for -the protection of his tottering Empire. - -The Latins, or Christians of the West, to whom he appealed, had reasons -enough of their own for answering him with ready promises of men and -money. From the early days of the Church it had been the custom of -pious folk, or of sinners anxious to expiate some crime, to set out in -small companies to visit the Holy Places in Jerusalem where tradition -held that Christ had preached, prayed, and suffered, that there they -might give praise to God and seek His pardon. These ‘pilgrimages’, with -their mixture of good comradeship, danger, and discomfort, had become -very dear to the popular mind, and, if not encouraged by the Mahometan -Arabs, had been at least tolerated. ‘Hospitals’, or sanctuaries, were -built for the refreshment of weary or sick travellers, and pilgrims on -the payment of a toll could wander practically where they chose. - -On the advent of the Turks all was changed: the Holy Places became -more and more difficult to visit, Christians were stoned and beaten, -mulcted of their last pennies in extortionate tolls, and left to die of -hunger or flung into dungeons for ransom. - -[Sidenote: The First Crusade] - -Tradition says that a certain French hermit called Peter, who visited -Jerusalem during the worst days of Turkish rule, went one night to the -Holy Sepulchre weeping at the horrors he had seen, and as he knelt in -prayer, it seemed to him that Christ himself stood before him and bade -him ‘rouse the Faithful to the cleansing of the Holy Places’. With this -mission in mind he at once left the Holy Land and sought Pope Urban II, -who had already received the letter of Alexius Commenus and now, fired -by the hermit’s enthusiasm, willingly promised his support. - -Whether Urban was persuaded by Peter or no is a matter of doubt, but he -at any rate summoned a council to Clermont in 1095, and there in moving -words besought the chivalry of Europe to set aside its private feuds -and either recover the Holy Places or die before the city where Christ -had given his life for the world. It is likely that he spoke from mixed -motives. A true inheritor of the theories of Gregory VII, he could not -but recognize in the prospect of a religious war, where the armies of -Europe would fight under the papal banner and at the papal will, the -exaltation of the Roman See. Was there not also the hope of bringing -the Greek Church into submission to the Roman as the outcome of an -alliance with the Greek Empire? Might not many turbulent feudal princes -be persuaded to journey to the East, who by happy chance would return -no more to trouble Europe? - -Such calculations could Urban’s ambitions weave, but with them were -entwined unworldly visions that lent him a force and eloquence that no -calculations could have supplied. Wherever he spoke the surging crowd -would rush forward with the shout _Deus vult_, ‘It is the will of God,’ -and this became the battle-cry of the crusaders. - - ‘The whole world,’ says a contemporary, ‘desired to go to the tomb - of our Lord at Jerusalem.... First of all went the meaner people, - then the men of middle rank, and lastly very many kings, counts, - marquesses, and bishops, and, a thing that never happened before, - many women turned their steps in the same direction.’ - -The order is significant and shows that the appeal of Urban and of -Peter the Hermit had touched first the heart of the masses to whom the -rich man’s temptation to hesitate and think of the morrow were of no -account. Corn had been dear in France before the Council of Clermont -owing to bad harvests; but the speculators who had bought up the grain -to sell at a high price to those who later must eat or die found it -left on their hands after the council was over. The men and women of -France were selling not buying, regardless of possible famine, that -they might find money to fulfil their burning desire to go to the Holy -Land and there win the Holy Sepulchre and gain pardon for their sins as -Pope and hermit had promised them. - -The ordinary crusading route passed through the Catholic kingdom of -Hungary to Bulgaria and thence to Constantinople, where the various -companies of armed pilgrims had agreed to meet. It was with the -entry into Bulgaria, whose ‘orthodox’[14] king was secretly hostile -to the pilgrims, that trouble began. Food and drink were grudged -by the suspicious natives even to those willing to pay their way; -whereupon the utterly undisciplined forces could not be prevented from -retaliating on this inhospitality by fire and pillage. A species of -warfare ensued in which Latin stragglers were cut off and murdered by -mountain robbers, while the many ‘undesirables’, who had joined the -crusaders more in hope of loot and adventure than of pardon, brought an -evil reputation on their comrades by their greed and the brutality they -exhibited towards the peasants. - -Reason enough was here to account for the pathetic failure of the -advance-guard of crusaders, the poor, the fanatic, the disreputable, -drawn together in no settled organization and with no leaders of -military repute. - -Alexius Commenus, who had demanded an army, not a rabble, dealt -characteristically with the problem by shipping these first crusaders -in haste and unsupported to Asia Minor. There he left them to fall a -prey to the Turks, disease, and their own inadequacy, so that few ever -saw the coasts of their native lands again. - -If the First Crusade began in tragedy it ended in triumph, through the -arrival in Constantinople of a second force from the West, this time of -disciplined troops under the chief military leaders of Europe. Alexius -Commenus had good cause to remember the prowess of his old enemy, -Bohemund, son of Robert Guiscard, who rode at the head of his Sicilian -Normans, while other names of repute were Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of -Lorraine, and Robert, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, with -Archbishop Odo of Bayeux, his uncle. - - ‘Some of the crusaders’, wrote Anna Commena, ‘were guileless men - and women, marching in all simplicity to worship at the tomb - of Christ; but there were others of a more wicked kind, to wit - Bohemund and the like: such men had but one object--to obtain - possession of the imperial city.’ - -These suspicions, perhaps well founded, were natural to the daughter -of the untrustworthy Alexius Commenus, who trusted nobody. Hating to -entertain at his court so many well-armed and often insolent strangers, -yet fearing in his heart to aid their advance lest they should set up -a rival kingdom to his own, the Emperor, having cajoled the leaders -into promises of homage for any conquests they might make, at length -transported them and their followers across the Hellespont. - -The Christian campaign began with the capture of Nicea in 1097, -followed by a victorious progress through Asia Minor. For nearly a -year the crusaders besieged and then were in their turn besieged in -Antioch, enduring tortures of hunger, thirst, and disease. When courage -flagged and hope seemed nearly dead, it was the supposed discovery, -by one of the chaplains, of the lance that had pierced Christ’s side -as he hung upon the Cross that kept the Christians from surrender. -With this famous relic borne in their midst by the papal legate, the -crusaders flung the gates of Antioch wide and issued forth in a charge -so irresistible in its certainty of victory that the Turks broke and -fled. The defeat became a rout, and Antioch remained as a Christian -principality under Bohemund, when the crusaders marched southwards -along the coast route towards Jerusalem. - -They came in sight of this, the goal of their ambitions, on 7th June, -1099, not garbed as knights and soldiers but barefooted as humble -pilgrims, kneeling in an ecstasy of awe upon the Mount of Olives. This -mood of prayer passed rapidly into one of fierce determination, and on -15th June Godfrey de Bouillon and his Lorrainers forced a breach in -the massive walls, and, hacking their way with sword and spear through -the streets, met their fellow crusaders triumphantly entering from -another side. The scene that followed, while in keeping with mediaeval -savagery, has left a shameful stain upon the Christianity it professed -to represent. Turks, Arabs, and Jews, old men and women, children -and babies, thousands of a defenceless population, were deliberately -butchered as a sacrifice to the Christ who, dying, preached -forgiveness. The crusaders rode their horses up to the knees in the -blood of that human shambles. ‘There might no prayers nor crying of -mercy prevail,’ says an eyewitness. ‘Such a slaughter of pagan folk had -never been seen nor heard of. None knew their number, save God alone.’ - -Their mission accomplished, the majority of crusaders turned their -faces homewards, but before they went they elected Godfrey de Bouillon -to be the first ruler of the new Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, with -Antioch and Edessa in the north as dependent principalities. - -Godfrey reigned for almost a year, bearing the title ‘Guardian of the -Holy Grave’, since he refused to be crowned master of a city where -Christ had worn a wreath of thorns. His protest is typical of the -genuine humility and love of God that mingled so strangely in his veins -with pride and cruelty. When he died he left a reputation for courage -and justice that wove around his memory romance and legends like the -tales of Charlemagne. - -[Sidenote: The Military Orders] - -His immediate successors were a brother and nephew, and it is in the -reign of the latter that we first hear mention of the Military Orders, -so famous in the crusading annals of the Middle Ages. These were the -‘Hospitallers’ or ‘Knights of St. John’, inheritors of the rents -and property belonging to the old ‘Hospital’ founded for pilgrims in -Jerusalem, and the ‘Templars’, so called from their residence near the -sight of Solomon’s Temple. - -Both Orders were bound like the monks by the vows of poverty, -obedience, and chastity; but the work demanded of them, instead of -labour in the fields, was perpetual war against the infidel. ‘When the -Templars are summoned to arms,’ said a thirteenth-century writer, ‘they -inquire not of the number but of the position of their foe. They are -lions in war, lambs in the house: to the enemies of Christ fierce and -implacable, but to Christians kind and gracious.’ - -Yet a third Order, that of the Teutonic Knights, was founded in the -twelfth century, arising like that of the Knights of St. John out -of a hospital, but one that had been built by German merchants for -crusaders of their own race. At the end of the thirteenth century the -Order removed to the southern Baltic, and on these cold inhospitable -shores embarked on a crusade against the heathen Lithuanians. It is of -interest to students of modern history to note that in the sixteenth -century the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights became converted -to the doctrines of Luther, suppressed his Order, and absorbed the -estates into an hereditary fief, the Duchy of Brandenburg. On the -‘Mark’[15] and Duchy of Brandenburg, both founded with entirely -military objects, was the future kingdom of Prussia built. - -The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1187) survived for more than -three-quarters of a century. That it had been established with such -comparative ease was due not only to the fighting quality of the -crusaders, but also to the feuds that divided Turkish rulers of the -House of Seljuk. The Turks far outnumbered the Christians, and whenever -the Caliphs of Bagdad and Cairo should sink their rivalries, or one -Moslem ruler in the East gain supremacy over all others, the days of -the small Latin kingdom in Palestine would be numbered. In the meantime -the Latins maintained their position with varying fortune, now with the -aid of fresh recruits from Europe and Genoese and Venetian sailors, -capturing coast towns, now losing land-outposts there were insufficient -garrisons to protect. - -It was the loss of Edessa that roused Europe to its Second Crusade, -this time through the eloquence of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who -persuaded not only Louis VII of France and his wife, Queen Eleanor, -but also the at first reluctant Emperor Conrad III, to bind the Cross -on their arms and go to the succour of Christendom. ‘The Christian who -slays the unbeliever in the Holy War is sure of his reward, more sure -if he is slain.’ - -The pictures of the glories of martyrdom and of earthly conquests -painted by the famous monk were so vivid that on one occasion he was -forced to tear up his own robes to provide sufficient crosses for the -eager multitude, but the triumph to which he called so great a part -of the populations of France and Germany proved the beckoning hand of -death and failure. - -Both the King and Emperor reached Palestine--Louis VII even visited -Jerusalem--but when they sailed homewards they had accomplished nothing -of any lasting value. Edessa remained under Mahometan rule and the -Christians had been forced to abandon the siege of Damascus that they -had intended as a prelude to a victorious campaign. What was worse was -that Louis and Conrad had left the chivalry of their armies in a track -of whitening bones where they had retreated, victims not merely of -Turkish prowess and numbers but of Christian feuds, Greek treachery, -the failure of food supplies, and disease. - -The Byzantine Empire owed to the first crusaders large tracts of -territory recovered from the Turks in Asia Minor; but, angered by -broken promises of homage on the part of Latin rulers, the Greeks -repaid this debt in the Second Crusade by acting as spies and secret -allies of the Mahometans. On occasions they were even to be found -fighting openly side by side with the Turks, yet more merciless than -these pagans in their brutal refusal to give food and drink to the -stragglers of the Latin armies whom they had so basely betrayed. - -The widows and orphans of France and Germany, when their rulers -returned reft both of glory and men-at-arms, reviled St. Bernard as a -false prophet; but though he responded sternly that the guilt lay not -with God but in the worldliness of those who had taken the Cross, he -was sorely troubled at the shattering of his own hopes. - - ‘The Sons of God’, he wrote wearily, ‘have been overthrown in the - desert, slain with the sword, or destroyed by famine. We promised - good things and behold disorder. The judgements of the Lord are - righteous, but this one is an abyss so deep that I must call him - blessed who is not scandalized therein.’ - -[Sidenote: Fall of Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem] - -For some years after the Second Crusade Western Europe turned a deaf -ear to entreaties for help from Palestine, and the Latin kingdom -of Jerusalem continued to decline steadily not only in territory -but in its way of life. The ennervating climate, the temptations -to an unhealthy luxury that forgot Christian ideals, the almost -unavoidable intermarriage of the races of East and West: all these -sapped the vitality and efficiency of the crusading settlers; while -the establishment of a feudal government at Jerusalem resulted in the -usual quarrels amongst tenants-in-chief and their sub-tenants. In these -feuds the Hospitallers and Templars joined with an avaricious rivalry -unworthy of their creed of self-denial. - -By 1183 Guy de Lusignan, who had succeeded in seizing the crown of -Jerusalem by craft on the failure of the royal line, could only -count on the lukewarm support of the majority of Latin barons. Thus -handicapped he found himself suddenly confronted by a union of the -Turks of Egypt and Syria under Saladin, Caliph of Cairo, a leader so -capable and popular that the downfall of divided enemies was inevitable. - -At Hattin, near the Lake of Tiberias, on a rocky, waterless spot, the -Christians and Mahometans met for a decisive battle in the summer of -1187. The Latins, hemmed in by superior numbers, and tortured by the -heat and thirst, fought desperately beneath the relic of the True Cross -that they had borne with them as an incitement to their courage; but -the odds were too great, and King Guy himself was forced to surrender -when the defeat of his army had turned into a rout. - -In the autumn of the same year Jerusalem, after less than a month’s -siege, opened her gates to the victor. Very different was the entry -of Saladin to that of the first crusaders; for instead of a general -massacre the Christian population was put to ransom, the Sultan and his -brother as an ‘acceptable alms to Allah’ freeing hundreds of the poorer -classes for whom enough money could not be provided. - -[Sidenote: The Third Crusade] - -Europe received the news that the Holy Sepulchre had returned to the -custody of the infidel with a shame and indignation that was expressed -in the Third Crusade. This time, however, no straggling bands of -enthusiasts were encouraged; and though the expedition was approved by -the Pope, neither he nor any famous churchman, such as Peter the Hermit -or St. Bernard of Clairvaux, were responsible for the majority of -volunteers. - -The Third Crusade was in character a military campaign of three great -nations: of the Germans under the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, or the -‘Red Beard’; of the French under Philip II; and of the English under -Richard the ‘Lion-Heart’. Other princes famous enough in their lands -for wealth and prowess sailed also; and had there been union in that -great host Saladin might well have trembled for his Empire. He was -saved by the utter lack of cohesion and petty jealousies of his enemies -as well as by his statecraft and military skill. - -While English and French rulers still haggled over the terms of an -alliance that would allow them to leave their lands with an easy -mind, Frederick Barbarossa, the last to take the Cross, set out from -Germany, rapidly crossed Hungary and Bulgaria, reduced the Greek -Emperor to hostile inactivity by threats and military display, and -began a victorious campaign through Asia Minor. Here fate intervened to -help the Mahometans, for while fording a river in Cilicia the Emperor -was swept from his horse by the current and drowned. So passed away -Frederick the ‘Red Beard’, and with him what his strong personality -had made an army. Some of the Teutons returned home, while those who -remained degenerated into a rabble, easy victims for their enemies’ -spears and arrows. - -In the meantime Richard of England (1189-99) and Philip of France had -clasped the hand of friendship, and, having levied the Saladin Tithe, -a tax of one-tenth of the possessions of all their subjects, in order -to pay their expenses, set sail eastwards from Marseilles. Both were -young and eager for military glory; but the French king could plot and -wait to achieve the ultimate success he desired while in Richard the -statesman was wholly sunk in the soldier of fortune. - -To mediaeval chroniclers there was something dazzling in the -Lion-Heart’s physical strength, and in the sheer daring with which he -would force success out of apparently inevitable failure, or realize -some dangerous enterprise. - - ‘Though fortune wreaks her spleen on whomsoever she pleases, yet - was he not drowned for all her adverse waves.’ - - ‘The Lord of Ages gave him such generosity of soul and endued him - with such virtues that he seemed rather to belong to earlier times - than these.’ - - ‘To record his deeds would cramp the writer’s finger joints and - stun the hearer’s mind.’ - -Such are a few of the many flattering descriptions the obvious -sincerity of which paints the English king as he seemed to the men who -fought beside him. - -A clever strategist, a born leader in battle, fearless himself, and -with a restless energy that inspired him when sick to be carried on -cushions in order to direct the fire of his stone-slingers, Richard -turned his golden qualities of generalship to dust by his utter lack -of diplomacy and tact. Of gifts such as these, that are one-half of -kingship, he was not so much ignorant as heedless. He ‘willed’ to do -things like his great ancestor, the Conqueror, but his sole weapon was -his right hand, not the subtlety of his brain. - - ‘The King of England had gallows erected outside his camp to hang - thieves and robbers on ... deeming it no matter of what country - the criminals were, he considered every man as his own and left no - wrong unavenged.’ - -This typical high-handed action, no doubt splendid in theory as a -method of discouraging the crimes that had helped to ruin previous -campaigns, was, when put into practice, sufficient alone to account for -the hatred Richard inspired amongst rulers whose subjects he thus chose -to judge and execute at will. The King of France, we are told, ‘winked -at the wrongs his men inflicted and received,’ but he gained friends, -while Richard’s progress was a series of embittered feuds, accepted -light-heartedly without any thought of his own future interests or of -those of the crusade. - -Open rupture with Philip II of France was brought about almost before -they had left the French coasts through Richard’s repudiation of his -ally’s sister, to whom he had been bethrothed, since the English king -was now determined on a match with Berengaria, the daughter of the King -of Navarre. - -In South Italy he acquired his next enemies in both claimants then -disputing the crown of Sicily, but before he sailed away he had -battered one of the rivals, the Norman, Tancred, into an outwardly -submissive ally after a battle in the streets of Messina. The other -rival, Henry, son of Frederick Barbarossa, and afterwards the Emperor -Henry VI, remained his enemy, storing up a grudge against him in the -hopes of a suitable opportunity for displaying it. - -From Cyprus Richard, pursuing military glory, drove its Greek ruler -because he had dared to imprison some shipwrecked Englishmen; and thus, -adding an island to his dominions and the Eastern Emperor to his list -of foes, arrived at last in Palestine, in the summer of 1191, just in -time to join Philip II in the siege of Acre. - -‘The two kings and peoples did less together than they would have done -separately, and each set but light store by the other.’ So the tale -runs in the contemporary chronicle; and when Acre at last surrendered -the feuds between the English and French had grown so irreconcilable -that Philip II, who had fallen sick, sulkily declared that he had -fulfilled his crusading vow and departed homewards. Not long afterwards -went Leopold, Archduke of Austria, nursing cold rage against Richard -in his heart because of an insult to his banner, that, planted on an -earthwork beside the arms of England, had been contemptuously flung -into the ditch below. - -The Lion-Heart was now master of the enterprise in Palestine, a terror -to the Turks, who would use his name to frighten their unruly children -into submission; but though he remained fourteen months, the jealousies -and rivalries of his camp, with which he was not the man to contend, -kept him dallying on the coast route to Jerusalem, unable to proceed by -open warfare or to get the better of the wily Saladin in diplomacy. - -News came that Philip II and the Emperor Henry VI were plotting with -his brother John for his ruin at home, and Richard, weary at heart and -sick in health, agreed to a three years and eight months’ truce that -left the Christians in the possession of the seaports of Jaffa and -Tyre, with the coastal territory between them, and gave pilgrims leave -to visit Jerusalem untaxed. He himself refused with tears in his eyes -even to gaze from a distant height on the city he could not conquer; -but, vowing he would return, he set sail for the West in the autumn of -1192, and with his departure the Third Crusade ended. - -There were to be many other crusades, but none that expressed in the -same way as these first three expeditions the united aspirations of -Western Europe for the recovery of the land of the Holy Sepulchre. -National jealousies had ruined the chances of the Third Crusade, and -with every year the spirit of nationality was to grow in strength and -make common action less possible for Europe. - -There is another reason also for the changing character of the -Crusades, namely, the loss of the religious enthusiasm in which they -had their origin. Men and women had believed that the cross on their -arms could turn sinners into saints, break down battlements, and -destroy infidels, as if by miracle. When they found that human passions -flourished as easily in Palestine as at home and that the way of -salvation was, as ever, the path of hard labour and constant effort, -they were disillusioned, and eager multitudes no longer clamoured to go -to the East. The Crusades did not stop suddenly, but degenerated with a -few exceptions into mere political enterprises, patronized now by one -nation, now by another: the armies recruited by mere love of adventure, -lust of battle, or the desire for plunder. - -If Western Christendom had gained no other blessing by them, the early -Crusades at least freed the nations at a critical moment from a large -proportion of the unruly baronage that had been a danger to commerce -and good government. England paid heavily in gold for the Third -Crusade; but the money supplied by merchants and towns was well spent -in securing from the Lion-Heart privileges and charters that laid the -foundations of municipal liberty. - -In France the results of the Second Crusade had been for the moment -devastating. Whole villages marched away, cities and castles stood -empty, and in some provinces it was said ‘scarce one man remained to -seven women’. In the orgy of selling that marked this exodus lands -and possessions rapidly changed hands, the smaller fiefs tending to -be absorbed by the larger fiefs and many of these in their turn by -the crown. Aided also by other causes, the King of France with his -increased demesnes and revenues came to assume a predominant position -in the national life. - -Perhaps the chief effect of the Crusades on Europe generally was the -stimulus of new influences. Men and women, if they live in a rut and -feed their brains continually on the same ideas, grow prejudiced. It -is good for them to travel and come in contact with opposite views -of life and different manners and customs, however much it may annoy -them at the time. The Crusades provided this kind of stimulus not only -to the commerce of Mediterranean ports but in the world of thought, -literature, and art. The necessity of transport for large armies -improved shipbuilding; the cunning of Turkish foes the ingenuity -of Christian armourers and engineers; the influence of Byzantine -architecture and mosaics the splendour of Venice in stone and colour. - -Western Europe continued to hate the East; but she could not live -without her silks, spices, and perfumes, nor forget to dream of the -fabulous wonders of Cathay. Thus the age of the Crusades will be seen -at last to merge its failures in the successes of an age of discovery, -that were to lay bare a new West and another road to the Orient. - - - - -XIII - -THE MAKING OF FRANCE - - -Amongst those who took the Cross during the Second Crusade had -been Louis VII of France and his wife, Queen Eleanor. They were an -ill-matched pair, the King of mediocre ability, weak, peace-loving, and -pious; Eleanor, like all the House of Aquitaine, to which she belonged, -imperious, fierce-willed, and without scruples where she loved or -hated. Restless excitement had prompted her journey to Palestine; and -Louis was impelled by the scandal to which her conduct there gave rise, -and also by his annoyance that they had no son, to divorce her soon -after they returned home. - -The foolishness of this step from a political point of view can be -gauged by studying a map of France in the middle of the twelfth -century, and remembering that, though king of the whole country in -name, Louis as feudal overlord could depend on little but the revenues -and forces to be raised from his own estates. These lay in a small -block round Paris, while away to the north, east, and south were the -provinces of tenants-in-chief three or four times as extensive in area -as those of the royal House of Capet. By marrying Eleanor, Countess of -Poitou and Duchess of Aquitaine, Louis had become direct ruler of the -middle and south-west of France as well as of his own crown demesnes, -but when he divorced his wife he at once forfeited her possessions. - -[Sidenote: Henry II of England] - -Worse from his point of view was to follow; for Eleanor made immediate -use of her freedom to marry Henry, Count of Anjou, a man fourteen years -her junior, but the most important tenant-in-chief of the King of -France and therefore, if he chose, not unlikely to prove that king’s -most dangerous enemy. This Henry, besides being Count of Anjou, Maine, -and Touraine, was also Duke of Normandy and King of England, for he was -a grandson of Henry I, and had in 1154 succeeded the feeble Stephen, -of the anarchy of whose reign we gave a slight description in another -chapter.[16] - -Before dealing with the results of Henry’s marriage with the heiress -of Aquitaine it is well to note his work as King of England, for this -was destined to be the greatest and most lasting of all the many tasks -he undertook. In character Henry was the exact opposite of Stephen. -Where the other had wavered he pressed forward, utterly determined to -be master of his own land. One by one he besieged the rebel barons, and -levelled with the ground the castles they had built in order to torture -and oppress their neighbours. He also took from them the crown lands -which Stephen had recklessly given away in the effort to buy popularity -and support. When he found that many of these nobles had usurped the -chief offices of state he replaced them as quickly as he could by men -of humble rank and of his own choosing. In this way he appointed a -Londoner, Thomas Becket, whom he had first created Chancellor, to be -Archbishop of Canterbury; but the impetuous choice proved one of his -few mistakes. - -Henry was so self-confident himself that he was apt to underrate the -abilities of those with whom life brought him in contact and to believe -that every other will must necessarily bow to his own. It is certain -that he found it difficult to pause and listen to reason, for his -restless energy was ever spurring him on to fresh ambitions, and he -could not bear to waste time, as he thought, in listening to criticisms -on what he had already decided. Chroniclers describe how he would -fidget impatiently or draw pictures during Mass, commending the priest -who read fastest, while he would devote odd moments of his day to -patching his old clothes for want of something more interesting to do. - -[Illustration: FRANCE - -in the reign of HENRY II] - -Henry II was so able that haste in his case did not mean that his work -was slipshod. He had plenty of foresight, and did not content himself -with destroying those of his subjects who were unruly. He knew that he -must win the support of the English people if he hoped to build up -his estates in France, and this, though destined to bear no lasting -fruit, was ever his chief ambition. Henry II was one of the greatest of -English kings, but he had been brought up in France and remained more -of an Angevin than an Englishman at heart. - -Instead of driving his barons into sulky isolation Henry summoned -them frequently to his _Magnum Concilium_, or ‘Great Council’, and -asked their advice. When they objected to serving with their followers -in France as often as he wished, he arranged a compromise that was -greatly to his advantage. This was the institution of ‘Scutage’, or -‘Shield-money’, a tax paid by the barons in order to escape military -service abroad. With the funds that ‘scutage’ supplied Henry could -hire mercenary troops, while the feudal barons lost a military -training-ground. - -Besides consulting his ‘Great Council’, destined to develop into our -national parliament, Henry strengthened the _Curia Regis_, or ‘King’s -Court’, that his grandfather, Henry I, had established to deal with -questions of justice and finance. The barons in the time of Stephen had -tried to make their own feudal courts entirely independent of royal -authority; but Henry, besides establishing a central Court of Justice -to which any subject who thought himself wronged might appeal for a new -trial, greatly improved and extended the system of ‘Itinerant Justices’ -whose circuits through the country to hold ‘Pleas of the Crown’ had -been instituted by Henry I. - -This interference he found was resented not only by the feudal courts -but also by the Sheriffs of the County Courts, the Norman form of the -old ‘shire-moots’, a popular institution of Anglo-Saxon times. Of late -years the latter courts had more and more fallen under the domination -of neighbouring landowners, and in order to free them Henry held an -‘Inquest’ into the doings of the Sheriffs, and deposed many of the -great nobles who had usurped these offices, replacing them by men of -lesser rank who would look to him for favour and advice. - -Other sovereigns in Europe adopted somewhat similar means of exalting -royal authority; but England was fortunate in possessing such popular -institutions as the ‘moots’ or ‘meetings’ of the shire and ‘hundred’, -through which Henry could establish his justice, instead of merely -through crown officials who would have no personal interest in local -conditions. - -By the Assize of Clarendon it was decreed that twelve men from each -hundred and four from each township should decide in criminal cases who -amongst the accused were sufficiently implicated to be justly sentenced -by the royal judges. Local representatives also were employed on other -occasions during Henry’s reign in assisting his judges in assessing -taxes and in deciding how many weapons and of what sort the ordinary -freeman might fittingly carry to the safety of his neighbours and of -himself. In civil cases, as when the ownership of land or personal -property was in dispute, twelve ‘lawful men’ of the neighbourhood, -or in certain cases twelve Knights of the Shire, were to be elected -to help the Sheriff arrive at a just decision. In this system of -‘recognition’, as it was called, lay the germ of our modern jury. - -It is probable that the knights and representatives of the hundreds -and townships grumbled continually at the trouble and expense to -which the King’s legislation put them; for neither they nor Henry II -himself would realize that they were receiving a splendid education in -the A B C of self-government that must be the foundation of any true -democracy. Yet a few generations later, when Henry’s weak grandson and -namesake Henry III misruled England, the Knights of the Shire were -already accepted as men of public experience, and their representatives -summoned to a parliament to defend the liberties of England. - -Henry II used popular institutions and crown officials as levers -against the independence of his baronage, but the chief struggle of his -reign in England was not with the barons so much as with the Church. -Thomas Becket as Chancellor had been Henry’s right hand in attacking -feudal privileges: he had warned his master that as a leading Churchman -his love might turn to hate, his help to opposition. The King refused -to believe him, thrust the burden of the archbishopric of Canterbury -on his unwilling shoulders, and then found to his surprise and rage -that he had secured the election of a very Hildebrand, who held so high -a conception of the dignity of the Church that it clashed with royal -demands at every turn. - -[Sidenote: The Becket Controversy] - -One of the chief subjects of dispute was the claim of the Church to -reserve for her jurisdiction all cases that affected ‘clerks’, that is, -not only priests, but men employed in the service of the Church, such -as acolytes or choristers. The King insisted that clerks convicted in -ecclesiastical courts of serious crimes should be handed over to the -royal courts for secular punishment. His argument was that if a clerk -had committed a murder the ecclesiastical judge was not allowed by -Canon law to deliver a death-sentence, and so could do no more than -‘unfrock’ the guilty man and fine or imprison him. Thus a clerk could -live to commit two murders where a layman would by command of the royal -judges be hung at the first offence. - -Becket, on his side, would not swerve from his opinion that it was -sacrilege for royal officials to lay hands on a priest or clerk whether -‘criminous’ or not; and when Henry embodied his suggestions of royal -supremacy in a decree called the Constitutions of Clarendon, the -Archbishop publicly refused to sign his agreement to them. Threats -and insults were heaped upon him by angry courtiers, and one of his -attendants, terrified by the scene, exclaimed, ‘Oh, my master, this -is a fearful day!’ ‘The Day of Judgement will be yet more fearful,’ -answered the undaunted Becket, and in the face of his fearlessness no -one at the moment dared to lay hands on him. - -Shortly afterwards Becket fled abroad, hoping to win the support of -Rome, but the Pope to whom he appealed did not wish to quarrel with -the King of England, and used his influence to patch up an agreement -that was far too vague to have any binding strength. Thomas Becket -returned to Canterbury, but exile had not modified his opinions, and -he had hardly landed before he once more appeared in open opposition -to Henry’s wishes, excommunicating those bishops who had dared to act -during his absence without his leave. - -The rest of the story is well known--the ungovernable rage of the -Angevin king at an obstinacy as great as his own, his rash cry, ‘Is my -house so full of fools and dastards that none will avenge me on this -upstart clerk?’ and then his remorse on learning of the four knights -who had taken him at his word and murdered the Archbishop as he knelt, -still undaunted, on the altar steps of Canterbury Cathedral. - -So great was the horror and indignation of Europe, even of those who -were devoted to Henry’s cause, that the King was driven to strip and -scourge himself before the tomb of Thomas the Martyr, as a public act -of penance, and all question of the supremacy of the state over the -Church was for the time dropped. - -One of the many pilgrims who in the next few years visited the shrine -of St. Thomas of Canterbury in the hope of a miracle was Louis VII of -France, and the miracle that he so earnestly desired was the recovery -of his son and heir, Philip Augustus, from a fever that threatened his -life. With many misgivings the old king crossed the Channel to the land -of a ruler with whom he had been at almost constant war since Eleanor -of Aquitaine’s remarriage; but his faith in the vision of the Martyr -that had prompted his journey was rewarded. Henry received him with -‘great rejoicing and honour’ after the manner of a loyal vassal, and -when the French king returned home he found his son convalescent. - -The sequel to this journey, however, was the sudden paralysis and -lingering death of Louis himself, and the coronation of the boy prince -in whom France was to find so great a ruler. When the bells of Paris -had rung out the joyous tidings of his birth one hot August evening -fourteen years before, a young British student had put his head out -of his lodging window and demanded the news. ‘A boy,’ answered the -citizens, ‘has been given to us this night who by God’s grace shall -be the hammer of your king, and who beyond a doubt shall diminish the -power and lands of him and his subjects.’ One-half of the reign of -Philip Augustus, _le Dieu-donné_, or ‘God-given’, was the fulfilment of -this prophecy. - -At first sight it would seem as though Henry II of England entered the -lists against his overlord the Champion of France with overwhelming -odds in his favour. Ruler of a territory stretching from Scotland, his -dependency, to the Pyrenees, he added to his lands and wealth the brain -of a statesman and the experience of long years of war and intrigue. -What could a mere boy, fenced round even in his capital of Paris by -turbulent barons, hope to achieve against such strength? - -Yet the weapons of destruction lay ready to his hand, in the very -household of the Angevin ruler himself. Legend records that the blood -of some Demon ancestress ran in the veins of the Dukes of Aquitaine, -endowing them with a ferocity and falseness strange even to mediaeval -minds; and the sons whom Eleanor bore to her second husband were true -to this bad strain if to nothing else. ‘Dost thou not know’, wrote -one of them to his father who had reproached him for plotting against -his authority, ‘that it is our proper nature that none of us should -love the other, but that ever brother should strive with brother and -son against father? I would not that thou shouldst deprive us of our -hereditary right and seek to rob us of our nature.’ - -Louis VII, in order to weaken Henry II, had encouraged this spirit of -treachery, and even provided a refuge for Becket during his exile: his -policy was continued by Philip Augustus, who kept open house at Paris -for the rebellious family of his tenant-in-chief whenever misfortune -drove them to fly before their father’s wrath or ambition brought them -to hatch some new conspiracy. - -Could Henry have once established the same firm grip he had obtained -in England over his French possessions, he might have triumphed in -the struggle with both sons and overlord; but in Poitou and Aquitaine -he was merely regarded as Eleanor’s consort, and the people looked to -his heirs as rulers, especially to Richard his mother’s favourite. Yet -never had they suffered a reign of greater licence and oppression than -under the reckless and selfish Lion-Heart. - -After much secret plotting and open rebellion, Henry succeeded in -imprisoning Eleanor, who had encouraged her sons to defy their father, -but with Richard supported by Philip Augustus and the strength of -southern France he was forced to come to terms towards the end of his -reign. Though only fifty-six, he was already failing in health, and the -news that his own province of Maine was fast falling to his enemies had -broken his courage. Cursing the son who had betrayed him, he sullenly -renewed the oath of homage he owed to Philip, and promised to Richard -the wealth and independence he had demanded. The compact signed he rode -away, heavy with fever, to his castle of Chinon, and there, indifferent -to life, sank into a state of stupor. News was brought him that his -youngest son John, for whom he had carved out a principality in -Ireland, had been a secret member of the League that had just brought -him to his knees. ‘Is it true,’ he asked, roused for the minute, ‘that -John, my heart ... has deserted me?’ Reading the answer in the downcast -faces of his attendants, he turned his face to the wall. ‘Now let -things go as they will ... I care no more for myself or the world.’ -Thus the old king died. - -[Sidenote: Richard I of England] - -In 1189 Richard the False succeeded his father, and by his prowess -in Palestine became Richard ‘Cœur-de-Lion’. How he quarrelled with -Philip II we have seen in the last chapter, and that Philip, after the -siege of Acre, returned home in disgust at the other’s overbearing -personality. - -Philip Augustus does not cut the same heroic figure on the battle-field -as his rival: indeed there was no match in Europe for the ‘Devil of -Aquitaine’, who knew not the word fear, and the glamour of whose feats -of arms has outlasted seven centuries. It is in kingship that Philip -stands pre-eminent in his own age, ready to do battle at the right -moment, but still more ready to serve France by patient statecraft. -While Richard remained in Palestine, Philip plotted with the -ever-treacherous John for their mutual advantage at the absent king’s -expense; but their enmity remained secret until the joyful news arrived -that the royal crusader had been captured in disguise on his way home -by the very Leopold of Austria whose banner he had once contemptuously -cast into a ditch. - -Now the Duke of Austria’s overlord was the Emperor Henry VI, whose -claims to Sicily Richard had often derided; and the Lion-Heart, passing -from the dungeon of the vassal to that of the overlord, did not escape -until his subjects had paid a huge ransom and he himself had promised -to hold England as a fief of the Empire. ‘Beware, the Devil is loose’, -wrote Philip to John, when he heard that their united efforts to bribe -Henry VI into keeping his prisoner permanently had failed. - -The next few years saw a prolonged struggle between the French armies -that had invaded Normandy and the forces of Richard, who, burning for -revenge, proved as terrible a rival to Philip in the north of France as -he had been in the East; and the duel continued until a poisoned arrow -pierced the Lion-Heart’s shoulder, causing his death. ‘God visited the -land of France,’ wrote a chronicler, ‘for King Richard was no more.’ - -From this moment Philip Augustus began to realize his most cherished -ambitions, slowly at first, but, thanks to the ‘worst of the English -kings’, with ever-increasing rapidity. John, who had succeeded Richard, -was neither statesman nor soldier. To meaningless outbursts of Angevin -rage he added the treachery and cruelty of the House of Aquitaine and a -sluggish disregard of dignity and ordinary decency peculiarly his own. -Soon all his subjects were banded together against him in fear, hatred, -and scorn: the Church, on whose privileges he trampled; the barons, -whose wives and daughters were unsafe at his court, and whose lands he -ravaged and confiscated; the people, whom his mercenaries tortured and -oppressed. How he quarrelled with the Chapter of Canterbury over its -choice of an archbishop, defied Pope Innocent III, and then, brought -to his knees by an interdict, did homage to the Holy See for his -possessions; these things, and the signing of Magna Charta, the English -Charter of Popular Liberties, at Runymede, are tales well known in -English history. - -What is important to emphasize here in a European history is the -contrast of the unpopularity that John had gained for himself amongst -all classes of his own subjects at the very moment that Philip Augustus -seemed, in French eyes, to be indeed their ‘God-given’ king. - -[Sidenote: French Conquest of Normandy] - -While John feasted at Rouen messengers brought word that Philip was -conquering Normandy. ‘Let him alone! Some day I will win back all -he has taken.’ So answered the sluggard, but when he at last raised -his standard it was already too late. The English barons would have -followed ‘Cœur-de-Lion’ on the road to Paris: they were reluctant to -take sword out of scabbard for John: the very Angevins and Normans were -beginning to realize that they had more in common with their French -conquerors than with any king across the Channel. Aquitaine, it is -true, looked sourly on Philip’s progress, but the reason was not that -she loved England, but that she feared the domination of Paris, and -made it a systematic part of her policy for years to support the ruler -who lived farthest away, and would therefore be likely to interfere the -least in her internal affairs. - -In 1214 John made his most formidable effort, dispatching an army to -Flanders to unite with that of the powerful Flemish Count Ferrand, -one of Philip’s tenants-in-chief, and with the Emperor Otto IV, in a -combined attack on the northern French frontier. At Bouvines the armies -met, Philip Augustus, in command of his forces, riding with a joyful -face ‘no less than if he had been bidden to a wedding’. - -The battle, when it opened, found him wherever the fight was hottest, -wielding his sword, encouraging, rallying, until by nightfall he -remained victor of the field, with the Count of Flanders and many -another of his chief enemies, including the English commander, -prisoners at his mercy. - -Philip carried Count Ferrand behind him in chains on his triumphal -march to Paris, while all the churches along the way rang their bells, -and the crowds poured forth to cheer their king and sing _Te Deums_. - -‘The Battle of Bouvines was perhaps the most important engagement ever -fought on French soil.’ So wrote a modern historian before the war of -1914. - -In the days of Louis VII the Kings of France had stood dwarfed amid -Dukes of Normandy and Aquitaine and Counts of Flanders and Anjou. -Now the son of Louis had defeated an emperor, thrown one rebellious -tenant-in-chief into a dungeon, and from another, the Angevin John, -gained as the reward of his victory all the long-coveted provinces -north of the Loire. Even the crown treasury, once so poor, was replete -for the time with the revenues of the confiscated Norman and Angevin -estates of English barons, who had been forbidden by their sovereign to -do homage any more to a French overlord. - -Philip Augustus had shown himself Philip ‘the Conqueror’; but he was -something far greater--a king who, like Henry II of England, could -build as well as destroy. During his reign the menace of the old feudal -baronage was swept away, and the government received its permanent -stamp as a servant of the monarchy. - -In his dealing with the French Church Philip followed the traditions -of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne, yet gratifying as were his -numerous gifts to monasteries and convents, they were dovetailed into -a scheme of combining the liberal patron with the firm master. That -good relations between the king and clergy resulted was largely due to -Philip’s policy of replacing bishops belonging to powerful families -by men of humble origin accustomed to subservience. Also he would -usually support the lesser clergy in their frequent quarrels with their -ecclesiastical superiors, thus weakening the leaders while he won the -affection of the rank and file. - -[Sidenote: Innocent III and France] - -Like John he came into collision with the iron will of Pope Innocent -III, but on a purely moral question, his refusal to live with -the Danish princess Ingeborg, to whom he had taken a violent and -unaccountable dislike on his wedding-day. The bride was a girl of -eighteen; she could speak no French, her husband’s bishops were afraid -to uphold her cause whatever their secret opinions, but in appealing to -the Pope for help she gained an unyielding champion. - -In other chapters we shall see Innocent III as a politician and a -persecutor of heretics: here he stands as the moral leader of Europe; -and no estimate of his character and work would be fair that neglected -this aspect. It was to Innocent’s political advantage to please the -French king, whose help he needed to chastise the English John and to -support a crusade against an outburst of heresy in Languedoc. Moreover, -he had no armies to compel a king who accused his wife of witchcraft to -recognize her as queen. Yet Innocent believed that Philip was in the -wrong; and when the French king persuaded his bishops to divorce him -and then promptly married again, papal letters proceeded to denounce -the divorce as a farce and the new marriage as illegal. - -‘Recall your lawful wife,’ wrote Innocent, ‘and then we will hear all -that you can righteously urge. If you do not do this no power shall -move us to right or left until justice be done.’ This letter was -followed by threats of excommunication, and after some months by an -interdict that reduced Philip to a promise of submission in return -for a full inquiry into his case. The promise so grudgingly given -remained but a promise, and it was not until 1213, nearly twenty years -since he had so cruelly repudiated Ingeborg, that, driven by continual -papal pressure and the critical state of his fortunes, Philip openly -acknowledged the Danish princess as his wife and queen. - -We have seen something of Philip’s dealings with his greater -tenants-in-chief; but such achievements as the conquest of Normandy -and Anjou and the victory of Bouvines were but the fruits of years of -diplomacy, during which the royal power had permeated the land, like -ether the atmosphere, almost unnoticed. In lending a sympathetic ear to -the complaints of Richard and his brothers against their father, Philip -was merely carrying out the policy we have noticed in his treatment of -the Church. - -‘He never began a new campaign without forming alliances that might -support him at each step’, says Philip’s modern biographer; and these -allies were often the sub-tenants of large feudal estates to whom -in the days of peace he had given his support against the claims of -their feudal overlords. Sometimes he had merely used his influence as -a mediator, at others he had granted privileges to the tenants, or -else he had called the case in dispute before his own royal court for -judgement. By one means or another, at any rate, he had made the lesser -tenants feel that he was their friend, so that when he went out to -battle they would flock eagerly to his banner, sometimes in defiance of -their overlord. - -One danger to the crown lay, not in the actual feudal baronage, but -in the _prévôts_, officials appointed by the king with power to exact -taxes, administer the laws, and judge offenders in his name in the -provinces. When the monarchy was weak these _prévôts_, from lack of -control, developed into petty tyrants, and it was fortunate for Philip -that their encroachments were resented by both nobles and clergy, -so that a system of reform that reduced them again to a subordinate -position was everywhere welcomed. - -Gradually a link was established between local administration and -the king’s council, namely, officials called in the north of France -_baillis_, in the south _sénéchals_, whose duty was to keep a watch -over the _prévôt_ and to depose or report him if necessary. The -_prévôt_ was still to collect the royal revenues as of old, but the -_bailli_ would take care that he did not cheat the king, and would -forward the money that he received to the central government: he would -also hold assizes and from time to time visit Paris, where he would -give an account of local conditions and how he had dealt with them. - -In these reforms, as in those of Henry II of England, a process that -was gradually changing the face of Europe can be seen at work, first -the crumbling of feudal machinery too clumsy to keep pace with the -needs and demands of dawning civilization, and next its replacement by -an official class, educated in the intricacies of finance, justice, and -administration, and dependent not on the baronage but on the monarchy -for its inspiration and success. - -The chief nobles of France in early mediaeval times had regarded such -titles as ‘Mayor of the Palace’, ‘Seneschal’, ‘Chamberlain’, ‘Butler’, -&c., as bestowing both hereditary glory and also political power. With -the passing of years some of the titles vanished, while under Philip -Augustus and his grandson Louis IX those that remained passed to ‘new’ -men of humbler rank, who bore them merely while they retained the -office, or else, shorn of any political power, continued as honours -of the court and ballroom. In effect the royal household, once a kind -of general servant ‘doing a bit of everything inadequately’ as in the -days of Charlemagne, had now developed into two distinct bodies, each -with their separate sphere of work: the great nobles surrounding their -sovereign with the dignity and ceremonial in which the Middle Ages -rejoiced, the trained officials advising him and carrying out his will. - -[Sidenote: French Communes] - -In his attitude to the large towns, except on his own crown lands where -like other landowners he hesitated to encourage independence, Philip -II showed himself sympathetic to the attempts of citizens to throw -off the yoke of neighbouring barons, bishops, and abbots. Many of the -towns had formed ‘communes’, that is, corporations something like a -modern trade union, but these, though destined to play a large part -in French history, were as yet only in their infancy. They had their -origin sometimes in a revolutionary outburst against oppression, but -often in a real effort on the part of leading townsmen to organize the -civil life on profitable lines by means of ‘guilds’, or associations -of merchants and traders with special privileges and laws. Some of -the privileges at which these city corporations aimed were the right -to collect their own taxes, to hold their own law-courts for deciding -purely local disputes, and to protect their trade against fraud, -tyranny, and competition from outside. It all sounds natural enough to -modern ears, but it awoke profound indignation in a French writer of -the twelfth century. - - ‘The word “commune”, he says, ‘is new and detestable, for this is - what it implies; that those who owe taxes shall pay the rent that - is due to their lord but once in the year only, and if they commit - a crime against him they shall find pardon when they have made - amends according to a fixed tariff of justice.’ - -Except within his own demesnes Phillip II readily granted charters -confirming the ‘communes’ in their coveted rights, and he also founded -‘new’ towns under royal protection, offering there upon certain -conditions a refuge to escaped serfs able to pay the necessary taxes. - -[Sidenote: Achievements of Philip II] - -In Paris itself his reign marks a new era, when, instead of a town -famed according to a chronicler of the day chiefly for its pestiferous -smells, there were laid the foundations of one of the most luxurious -cities of Europe. The cleansing and paving of the filthy streets, the -building of fortifications, of markets, and of churches, and above -all of that glory of Gothic architecture, Nôtre Dame de la Victoire, -founded to celebrate the triumph of Bouvines: such were some of the -works planned or undertaken in the capital during this reign. Over the -young University of Paris the King also stretched out a protecting -hand, defending the students from the hostility of the townsfolk by -the command that they should be admitted to the privileges enjoyed by -priests. For this practical sympathy he and his successors were well -repaid in the growth of an educated public opinion ready to exalt its -patron the crown by tongue and pen. - -Philip Augustus died in July 1223. Great among the many great figures -of his day, French chroniclers have yet left no distinct impression of -his personality. It would almost seem as if the will, the foresight, -and the patience that have won him fame in the eyes of posterity, built -up a baffling barrier between his character and those who actually saw -him. Men recognized him as a king to be admired and feared, ‘august’ -in his conquests, terrible in his wrath if any dared cross his will, -but his reserve, his indifference to court gaiety, his rigid attitude -of dislike to those who used oaths or blasphemy, they found wholly -unsympathetic and strange. Of the great work he had done for France -they were too close to judge fairly, and would have understood him -better had he been rash and heedless of design like the Lion-Heart. -For a real appreciation of Philip Augustus we must turn to his modern -biographer. - - ‘He had found France a small realm hedged in by mighty rivals. When - he began his reign but a very small portion of the French-speaking - people owned his sway. As suzerain his power was derided. Even as - immediate lord he was defied and set at nought. But when he died - the whole face of France was changed. The King of the Franks was - undisputedly the king of by far the greater part of the land, and - the internal strength of his government had advanced as rapidly - and as securely as the external power.’ - -Such was the change in France itself, but we can estimate also to-day, -what no contemporary of Philip Augustus could have realized, the effect -of that change on Europe, when France from a collection of feudal fiefs -stood forth at last a nation in the modern sense, ready to take her -place as a leader amongst her more backward neighbours. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Louis VII of France 1137-47 - Henry II of England 1154-89 - Philip II of France 1180-1223 - John, King of England 1199-1216 - Battle of Bouvines 1214 - - - - -XIV - -EMPIRE AND PAPACY - - -When the Emperor Henry IV crossed the ice-bound Alps on his journey -of submission to Canossa he was accompanied by a faithful knight, -Frederick of Buren, whom he later rewarded for his loyalty with the -hand of his daughter and the title Duke of Suabia. Frederick’s son was -elected Emperor as Conrad III,[17] the first of the imperial line of -Hohenstaufen that was destined to carry on through several generations -the war between Empire and Papacy. - -The Hohenstaufen received their name from a hill on which stood one -of Frederick of Buren’s strongest castles, but they were also called -‘Waiblingen’ after a town in their possession; while the House of -Bavaria, their chief rivals, was called ‘Welf’ after an early ancestor. -The feud of the Waiblingen and the Welfs that convulsed Germany had -no less devastating an effect upon Italy, always exposed to influence -from beyond the Alps, and the names of the rivals, corrupted on Italian -tongues into ‘Ghibellines’ and ‘Guelfs’, became party cries throughout -the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. - -[Sidenote: The Italian Communes] - -In our last chapter we spoke of French ‘communes’, municipalities that -rebelled against their overlords, setting up a government of their own: -the same process of emancipation was at work in North Italy only that -it was able to act with greater rapidity and success for a time on -account of the national tendency towards separation and the vigour of -town life. - -‘In France’, says a thirteenth-century Italian, in surprise, ‘only the -townspeople dwell in towns: the knights and noble ladies stay ... on -their own demesnes.’ Certainly the contrast with his native Lombardy -was strong. There each city lived like a fortified kingdom on its -hill-top, or in the midst of wide plains, cut off from its neighbours -by suspicion, by jealousy, by competition. In the narrow streets -noble and knight jostled shoulders perforce with merchants, students, -mountebanks, and beggars. The limits of space dictated that many things -in life must be shared in common, whether religious processions or -plagues, and if street fighting flourished in consequence so also did -class intimacy and a sharpening of wits as well as of swords. Thus -the towns of North Italy, like flowers in a hot-house, bore fruits of -civilization in advance of the world outside, whether in commerce, -painting, or the art of self-government; and visitors from beyond the -Alps stared astonished at merchants’ luxurious palaces that made the -castles of their own princes seem mere barbarian strongholds. - -Yet this profitable independence was not won without struggles so -fierce and continuous that they finally endangered the political -freedom in whose interests they had originally been waged. At first the -struggle was with barbarian invaders; and here, as in the case of Rome -and the Popes, it was often the local bishops who, when emperors at -Constantinople ceased to govern except in name, fostered the young life -of the city states and educated their citizens in a rough knowledge of -war and statecraft. - -With the dawn of feudalism bishops degenerated into tyrants, and -municipalities began to elect consuls and advisory councils and under -their leadership to rebel against their former benefactors, and to -establish governments independent of their control. - -The next danger was from within: cities are swayed more easily than -nations, and too often the ‘communes’ of Lombardy became the prey of -private factions or of more powerful city neighbours. Class warred -against class and city against city; and out of their struggles -arose leagues and counter-leagues, bewildering to follow like the -ever-changing colours of a kaleidoscope. - -Into this atmosphere of turmoil the quarrel between Popes and Holy -Roman Emperors, begun by Henry IV and Hildebrand and carried on by -the Hohenstaufen and the inheritors of Hildebrand’s ideals, entered -from the ‘communes’ point of view like a heaven-sent opportunity -for establishing their independence. In the words of a tenth-century -bishop: ‘The Italians always wish to have two masters that they may -keep one in check by the other.’ - -The cities that followed the Hohenstaufen were labelled ‘Ghibelline’, -those that upheld the Pope ‘Guelf’; and at first, and indeed throughout -the contest where cruelty and treachery were concerned, there was -little to choose between the rivals. Later, however, the fierce -imperialism of Frederick I was to give to the warfare of his opponents, -the Guelfs, a patriotic aspect. - -Frederick I, the ‘Barbarossa’ of the Third Crusade, was a Hohenstaufen -on his father’s side, a Welf on his mother’s; and it had been the -hope of those who elected him Emperor that ‘like a corner-stone he -would bind the two together ... that thus with God’s blessing he -might end their ancient quarrel’. At first it appeared this hope -might be realized, for the new Emperor made a friend of his cousin -Henry the Lion who, as Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, was heir of the -Welf ambitions. Frederick also, by his firm and business-like rule, -established what the chroniclers called such ‘unwonted peace’ that ‘men -seemed changed, the world a different one, the very Heaven milder and -softer’. - -Unfortunately Frederick, who has been aptly described as an -‘imperialist Hildebrand’, regarded the peace of Germany merely as a -stepping-stone to wider ambitions. Justinian, who had ruled Europe from -Constantinople, was his model, and with the help of lawyers from the -University of Bologna, whom he handsomely rewarded for their services, -he revived all the old imperial claims over North Italy that men had -forgotten or allowed to slip into disuse. The ‘communes’ found that -rights and privileges for which their ancestors had fought and died -were trampled under foot by an imperial official, the _podestà_, sent -as supreme governor to each of the more important towns: taxes were -imposed and exacted to the uttermost coin by his iron hand: complaint -or rebellion were punished by torture and death. - -‘Death for freedom is the next best thing to freedom,’ cried the men of -Crema, flaming into wild revolt, while Milan shut her gates against -her _podestà_ in an obstinate three years’ siege. Deliverance was not -yet, and Frederick and his vast army of Germans desolated the plains: -Crema was burned, her starving population turned adrift: the glory of -Milan was reduced to a stone quarry: Pope Alexander III who, feeling -his own independence threatened by imperial demands, had supported the -movement for liberty, was driven from Rome and forced to seek refuge -in France. Everywhere the Ghibellines triumphed, and it was in these -black days in Italy that the Guelfs ceased for a time to be a faction -and became patriots, while the Pope stood before the world the would-be -saviour of his land from a foreign yoke. - -Amid the smouldering ruins of Milan the Lombard League sprang into -life: town after town, weary of German oppression and insolence, -offered their allegiance: even Venice, usually selfish in the safe -isolation of her lagoons, proffered ships and money. Milan was rebuilt, -and a new city, called after the patriot Pope ‘Alessandria’, was -founded on a strategic site. _Alessandria degla paglia_, ‘Alessandria -of the straw’, Barbarossa nicknamed it contemptuously, threatening to -burn it like a heap of weeds; but the new walls withstood his best -engines, and plague and the damp cold of winter devastated his armies -encamped around them. - -The political horizon was not, indeed, so fair for the Emperor as in -the early days of his reign. Germany seethed with plots in her master’s -absence, and Frederick had good reason to suspect that Henry the Lion -was their chief author, the more that he had sulkily refused to share -in this last Italian campaign. Worst of all was the news that Alexander -III, having negotiated alliances with the Kings of France and England, -had returned to Italy and was busy stirring up any possible seeds of -revolt against Frederick, whom he had excommunicated. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Legnano] - -In the year 1176, at Legnano, fifteen miles from Milan, the armies -of the League and Empire met in decisive battle, Barbarossa nothing -doubting of his success against mere armed citizens; but the spirit of -the men of Crema survived in the ‘Company of Death’, a bodyguard of -Milanese knights sworn to protect their _carroccio_, or sacred cart, -or else to fall beside it. Upon the _carroccio_ was raised a figure of -Christ with arms outstretched, beneath his feet an altar, while from a -lofty pole hung the banner of St. Ambrose, patron saint of Milan. - -When the battle opened the first terrific onslaught of German cavalry -broke the Milanese lines; but the Company of Death, reckless in their -resolve, rallied the waverers and turned defence into attack. In the -ensuing struggle the Emperor was unhorsed, and, as the rumour spread -through the ranks that he had been killed, the Germans broke, and their -retreat became a wild, unreasoning rout that bore their commander back -on its tide, unable to stem the current, scarcely able to save himself. - -Such was the battle of Legnano, worthy to be remembered not as an -isolated twelfth-century victory of one set of forces against another, -but as one of the first very definite advances in the great campaign -for liberty that is still the battle of the world. At Venice in the -following year the Hohenstaufen acknowledged his defeat and was -reconciled to the Church; while by the ‘Perpetual Peace of Constance’ -signed in 1183 he granted to the communes of North Italy ‘all the royal -rights (regalia) which they had ever had or at the moment enjoyed’. - -Such rights--coinage, the election of officials and judges, the power -to raise and control armies, to impose and exact taxes--are the pillars -on which democracy must support her house of freedom. Yet since -‘freedom’ to the mediaeval mind too often implied the right to oppress -some one else or maintain a state of anarchy, too much stress must not -be laid on the immediate gains. North Italy in the coming centuries was -to fall again under foreign rule, her ‘communes’ to abuse and betray -the rights for which the Company of Death had risked their lives: yet, -in spite of this taint of ignorance and treachery, the victory of -Legnano had won for Europe something infinitely precious, the knowledge -that tyrants could be overthrown by the popular will and feudal armies -discomfited by citizen levies. - -[Sidenote: Henry ‘the Lion’] - -Barbarossa returned to Germany to vent his rage on Henry the Lion, -to whose refusal to accompany him to Italy he considered his defeat -largely due. Strong in the support of the Church, to which he was now -reconciled, he summoned his cousin to appear before an imperial Diet -and make answer to the charge of having confiscated ecclesiastical -lands and revenues for his own use. Henry merely replied to this -mandate by setting fire to Church property in Saxony, and in his -absence the ban of outlawry was passed against him by the Diet. Here -again was the old ‘Waiblingen’ and ‘Welf’ feud bursting into flame, -like a fire that has been but half-suppressed, and cousinship went to -the wall. Henry the Welf was a son-in-law of Henry II of England and -had made allies of Philip Augustus and the King of Denmark: his Duchy -of Bavaria in the south and of Saxony in the north covered a third of -German territory: he had been winning military laurels in a struggle -against the Slavs, while Frederick had been losing Lombardy. Thus he -pitted himself against the Emperor, unmindful that even in Germany the -hands of the political clock were moving forward and feudalism slowly -giving up its dominion. - -To the dawning sense of German nationality Barbarossa was something -more than first among his barons, he was a king supported by the -Church, and Bavarians and Saxons came reluctantly to the rebel banner; -while, as the campaign developed, the other princes saw their fellow -vassal beaten and despoiled of his lands and driven into exile without -raising a finger to help him. - -Frederick allowed Henry the Lion to keep his Brunswick estates, but -Saxony and Bavaria he divided up amongst minor vassals, in order to -avoid the risk of another powerful rival. Master of Germany not merely -in name but in power, he and his successors could have built up a -strong monarchy, as Philip II and the House of Capet were to do in -France, had not the siren voice of Italy called them to wreck on her -shifting policies. - -Hitherto we have spoken chiefly of North Italy; but Frederick I bound -Germany to her southern neighbours by fresh ties when he married his -eldest son Henry in 1187 to Constance, heiress of the Norman kingdom of -Naples and Sicily. By this alliance he hoped to establish a permanent -Hohenstaufen counterpoise in the south to the alliance of the Pope -and the Guelf towns in the north. Triumphant over the wrathful but -helpless Roman See, he felt himself an emperor indeed, and having -crowned his son Henry as ‘Caesar’, in imitation of classic times, he -rode away to the Third Crusade, still lusting after adventure and glory. - -The news of his death in Asia Minor[18] swept Germany with sadness and -pride. Like all his house, he had been cruel and hard; but vices like -these seemed to weigh little to the mediaeval mind against the peace -and prosperity enjoyed under his rule. Legends grew about his name, -and the peasants whispered that he had not died but slept beneath the -sandstone rocks, and would awake again when his people were in danger -to be their leader and protector. - -Henry VI, who succeeded Frederick in the Empire, succeeded also to -his dreams and the pitfalls that they inspired. One of his earliest -struggles had been the finally successful attempt to secure Sicily -against the claims of Count Tancred, an illegitimate grandson of the -last ruler. Great were the sufferings of the unhappy Sicilians who -had adopted the Norman’s cause; for Henry, having bribed or coerced -the Pope and North Italy into a temporary alliance, exacted a bitter -vengeance. Tancred’s youthful son, blinded and mutilated, was sent with -his mother to an Alpine prison to end his days, while in the dungeons -of Palermo and Apulia torture and starvation brought to his followers -death as a blessed relief from pain. - -Queen Constance, who had been powerless to check these atrocities, -turned against her husband in loathing: the Pope excommunicated their -author; but Henry VI laughed contemptuously at both. It was his -threefold ambition: first, to make the imperial crown not elective but -hereditary in the House of Hohenstaufen; next, to tempt the German -princes into accepting this proposition by the incorporation of Naples -and Sicily as a province of the Empire; and thirdly, to rule all his -dominions from his southern kingdom, with the Pope at Rome, as in the -days of Otto the Great, the chief bishop in his empire. - -Strong-willed, persistent, resourceful, with the imagination that sees -visions, and the practical brain of a man of business who can realize -them, Henry VI, had he lived longer, might have gained at least a -temporary recognition of his schemes; but in 1197 he died at the age -of thirty-two, leaving a son not yet three years old as the heir of -Hohenstaufen ambitions. Twelve months later died also Queen Constance, -having reversed as much as she could during her short widowhood of her -hated husband’s German policy, and having bequeathed the little King of -Naples to the guardianship of the greatest of mediaeval Popes and the -champion of the Guelfs, Innocent III. - -[Sidenote: Pope Innocent III] - -At the coronation of Innocent III the officiating priest had used these -words: ‘Take the tiara and know that thou art the father of princes and -kings, the ruler of the world, the Vicar on earth of our Saviour Jesus -Christ.’ To Lothario di Conti this utterance was but the confirmation -of his own beliefs, as unshakable as those of Hildebrand, as wide in -their scope as the imperialism of Frederick Barbarossa or Henry VI. -‘The Lord Jesus Christ,’ he declared, ‘has set up one ruler over all -things as His Universal Vicar, and as all things in Heaven, Earth, and -Hell bow the knee to Christ, so should all obey Christ’s Vicar that -there be one flock and one shepherd.’ Again: ‘Princes have power on -earth, priests have also power in Heaven.’ - -In illustration of these views he likened the Papacy to the sun, the -Empire to the lesser light of the moon, and recalled how Christ in -the Garden of Gethsemane gave to St. Peter two swords. By these, he -explained, were meant temporal and spiritual power, and emperors who -claimed to exercise the former could only do so by the gracious consent -of St. Peter’s successors, since ‘the Lord gave Peter the rule not only -of the universal Church but also the rule of the whole world’. - -Gregory VII had made men wonder in the triumph of Canossa whether such -an ideal of the Papacy could ever be realized; but as if in proof he -had been hunted from Rome and died in exile. It was left to Innocent -III to exhibit the partial fulfilment, at any rate, of all that his -predecessor had dreamed. In character no saintly Bernard of Clairvaux, -but a clear-brained practical statesman, he set before himself the -vision of a kingdom of God on earth after the pattern of earthly -kingdoms; and to this end, that he sincerely believed carried with it -the blessing of God for the perfecting of mankind, he used every weapon -in his armoury. - -Sometimes his ambitions failed, as when, in a real glow of enthusiasm, -he preached the Fourth Crusade--an expedition that ended in Venice, -who had promised the necessary ships, diverting the crusaders to storm -her a coveted port on the Dalmatian coast, and afterwards to sack and -burn Constantinople in the mingled interests of commerce and pillage. -His anger at the news that the remonstrances of his legates had been -ignored could hardly at first be extinguished. Not thus had been his -plan of winning Eastern Christendom to the Catholic Faith and of -destroying the infidel; for the Latin Empire of Constantinople, set -up by the victorious crusaders, was obviously too weak to maintain -for long its tyranny over hostile Greeks, or to serve as an effective -barrier against the Turks. Statesmanship, however, prompted him to reap -what immediate harvest he could from the blunders of his faithless -sons; and he accepted the submission of the Church in Constantinople as -a debt long owing to the Holy See. - -The Fourth Crusade, in spite of the extension of Rome’s ecclesiastical -influence, must be reckoned as one of Innocent’s failures. In the -West, on the other hand, the atmosphere created by his personality -and statecraft made the name of ‘The Lord Innocent’ one of weight and -fear to his enemies, of rejoicing to his friends. When upholding Queen -Ingeborg he had stood as a moral force, bending Philip Augustus to his -will by his convinced determination; and this same tenacity of belief -and purpose, added to the purity of his personal life and the charm of -his manner, won him the affection of the Roman populace, usually so -hostile to its Vicars. - -Mediaeval popes were, as a rule, respected less in Italy than beyond -the Alps, and least of all in their own capital, where too many -spiritual gifts had been seen debased for material ends, and papal acts -were often at variance with pious professions. During the pontificate -of Innocent III, however, we find the ‘Prefect’, the imperial -representative at Rome, accept investiture at his hands, the ‘Senator’, -chief magistrate of the municipality, do him homage; and through this -double influence his control became paramount over the city government. - -In Naples and Sicily he was able to continue the policy of Constance, -drive out rebellious German barons, struggle against the Saracens -in Sicily, and develop the education of his ward, the young King of -Naples, as the spiritual son who should one day do battle for his -ideals. ‘God has not spared the rod,’ he wrote to Frederick II. ‘He -has taken away your father and mother: yet he has given you a worthier -father, His Vicar; and a better mother, the Church.’ - -In Lombardy, where the Guelfs naturally turned to him as their -champion, the papal way was comparatively smooth, for the cruelty of -Barbarossa and his son Henry VI had aroused hatred and suspicion on all -sides. Thus Innocent found himself more nearly the master of Italy than -any Pope before his time, and from Italy his patronage and alliances -extended like a web all over Europe. - -Philip Augustus of France, trying to ignore and defy him, found -in the end the anger he aroused worth placating: John of England -changed his petulant defiance into submission and an oath of homage: -Portugal accepted him as her suzerain: rival kings of Hungary sought -his arbitration: even distant Armenia sent ambassadors to ask his -protection. His most impressive triumph, however, was secured in his -dealings with the Empire. - -Henry VI had wished, we have seen, to make the imperial crown -hereditary; but no German prince would have been willing to accept -the child he left as heir to his troubled fortunes. The choice of the -electors therefore wavered between another Hohenstaufen, Philip of -Suabia, brother of the late Emperor, and the Welf Otto, son of Henry -the Lion. The votes were divided, and each claimant afterwards declared -himself the legally elected emperor, one with the title Philip II, the -other with that of Otto IV. - -For ten long years Germany was devastated by their civil wars. Otto, -as the Guelf representative, gained the support of Innocent the Great, -to whom the claimants at one time appealed for arbitration; but Philip -refused to submit to this judgement in favour of his rival, believing -that he himself had behind him the majority of the German princes and -of the official class. - - ‘Inasmuch,’ declared Innocent, ‘as our dearest son in Christ, Otto, - is industrious, prudent, discreet, strong and constant, himself - devoted to the Church ... we by the authority of St. Peter receive - him as King and will in due course bestow on him the imperial - crown.’ - -Here was papal triumph! Rome no longer patronized but patron, with -Otto on his knees, gratefully promising submission and homage with -every kind of ecclesiastical privilege, to complete the picture. -Yet circumstances change traditions as well as people, and when the -death of Philip of Suabia left him master of Germany, the Guelf Otto -found his old ideals impracticable: he became a Ghibelline in policy, -announced his imperial rights over Lombardy, even over some of the -towns belonging to the Pope, while he loudly announced his intention of -driving the young Hohenstaufen from Naples. - -Innocent’s wrath at this _volte-face_ was unbounded. Otto, no longer -his ‘dearest son in Christ’, was now a perjurer and schismatic, whose -excommunication and deposition were the immediate duty of Rome. -Neither, however, was likely to be effective unless the Pope could -provide Italy and Germany with a rival, whose dazzling claims, backed -by papal support, would win him followers wherever he went. In this -crisis Innocent found his champion in the Hohenstaufen prince denounced -by Otto, a lad educated almost since infancy in the tenets and -ambitions of the Catholic Church. - -[Sidenote: Frederick II] - -Frederick, King of Naples and Sicily, was an interesting development -of hereditary tastes and the atmosphere in which he had been reared. -To the southern blood that leaped in his veins he owed perhaps his -hot passions, his sensuous appreciation of luxury and art, his almost -Saracen contempt for women save as toys to amuse his leisure hours. -From the Hohenstaufen he imbibed strength, ambition, and cruelty, -from the Norman strain on his mother’s side his reckless daring -and treachery. With the ordinary education of a prince of his day, -Frederick’s qualities and vices might have merely produced a warrior -king of rather exceptional ability; but thanks to the papal tutors -provided by Innocent, the boy’s naturally quick brain and imagination -were stirred by a course of studies far superior to what his lay -contemporaries usually enjoyed, and he emerged in manhood with a real -love of books and culture, and with an eager curiosity on such subjects -as philosophy and natural history. - -In the royal charter by which he founded the University of Naples -Frederick expressed his intention that here ‘those within the Kingdom -who had hunger for knowledge might find the food for which they were -yearning’; and his court at Palermo, if from one aspect dissolute and -luxurious, was also a centre for men of wit and knowledge against whose -brains the King loved to test his own quips and theories. - -When Frederick reached Rome, on Innocent’s hasty summons to unsheath -the sword of the Hohenstaufen against Otto, much of his character -was as yet a closed book even to himself. Impulsive and eager, like -any ambitious youth of seventeen called to high adventure, and with -a genuine respect for his guardian, he did not look far ahead; but -kneeling at the Pope’s feet, pledged his homage and faith before he -rode away northwards to win an empire. In Germany a considerable -following awaited him, lifelong opponents of Otto on account of his -Welf blood, and others who hated him for his churlish manners. Amongst -them Frederick scattered lavishly some money he had borrowed from the -Republic of Genoa, and this generosity, combined with his Hohenstaufen -strength and daring, increased the happy reputation that papal legates -had already established for him in many quarters. - -In December 1212 he was crowned in Mainz. Civil war followed, -embittered by papal and imperial leagues, but in 1214 Otto IV was -decisively beaten at Bouvines in the struggle with Philip II of France -that we have already described,[19] and the tide which had been -previously turning against him now swept away his few friends and last -hopes. With the entry of his young rival into the Rhineland provinces -the dual Empire ceased to exist, and Frederick was crowned in Aachen, -the old capital of Charlemagne. - -Innocent III had now reached the summit of his power, for his pupil -and protégé sat on the throne of Rome’s imperial rival. In the same -year he called a Council to the Lateran Palace, the fourth gathering -of its kind, to consider the two objects dearest to his heart, ‘the -deliverance of the Holy Land and the reform of the Church Universal’. -Crusading zeal, however, he could not rouse again: to cleanse and -spiritualize the life of the Church in the thirteenth century was -to prove a task beyond men of finer fibre than Innocent: but, as an -illustration of his immense influence over Europe, the Fourth Lateran -Council with its dense submissive crowds, representative of every land -and class, was a fitting end to his pontificate. - -In the year 1216 Innocent III died--the most powerful of all Popes, -a striking personality whose life by kindly fate did not outlast his -glory. In estimating Innocent’s ability as a statesman there stands -one blot against his record in the clear light shed by after-events, -namely, the short-sighted policy that once again united the Kingdom of -Naples to the Empire, and laid the Papacy between the upper millstone -of Lombardy and the nether millstone of southern Italy. Excuse may -be found in Innocent’s desperate need of a champion with Otto IV -threatening his papal heritage, added to his belief in the promises of -the young Hohenstaufen to remain his faithful vassal. He also tried -to safeguard the future by making Frederick publicly declare that he -would bequeath Naples to a son who would not stand for election to the -Empire; but in trusting the word of the young Emperor he had sown a -wind from which his successors were to reap a whirlwind. - -The new Emperor was just twenty years old when Innocent died. Either -to please his guardian, or moved by a momentary religious impulse, he -had taken the Cross immediately after his entry into Aachen; but the -years passed and he showed himself in no haste to fulfil the vow. Much -of his time was spent in his loved southern kingdom, where he completed -Innocent’s work of reducing to submission the Saracen population that -had remained in Sicily since the Mahometan conquest.[20] As infidels -the Papacy had regarded these Arabs with special hatred; but Frederick, -once assured that they were so weak that they would be in future -dependent on his favour, began protecting instead of persecuting them. -He also encouraged their silk industry by building them a town, Lucera, -on the Neapolitan coast, where they could pursue it undisturbed; while -he enrolled large numbers of Arab warriors in his army, and used them -to enforce his will on the feudal aristocracy, descendants of the -Norman adventurers of the eleventh century. - -So successful was he in playing off one section of his subjects against -another, opposing or aiding the different classes as policy dictated, -that he soon reigned as an autocrat in Naples. Many of the nobles’ -strongholds were levelled with the dust: their claim to wage private -war was forbidden on pain of death: cases were taken away from their -law-courts and those of the feudal bishops to be decided by royal -justices: towns were deprived of their freedom to elect their own -magistrates, while crown officials sent from Palermo administered the -laws, and imposed and collected taxes. - -On the whole these changes were beneficial, for private privileges had -been greatly abused in Naples, and Frederick, like Philip Augustus or -the Angevin Henry II, had the instinct and ability to govern well when -he chose. Nevertheless the subjugation of ‘the Kingdom’, as Naples was -usually called in Italy, was of course received with loud outcries of -anger by Neapolitan barons and churchmen, who hastened to inform the -Holy See that their ruler loved infidels better than Christians and -kept an eastern harem at Palermo. - -Honorius III, the new Pope, accepted such reports and scandals with -dismay. He had himself noted uneasily Frederick’s absorption in Italian -affairs and frequently reminded him of his crusading vow. Being gentle -and slow to commit himself to any decided step however, it was not till -the Hohenstaufen deliberately broke his promise to Innocent III, and -had his eldest son Henry crowned King of the Romans as well as King of -Naples, thus acknowledging him as his heir in both Germany and Italy, -that Honorius’s wrath flamed into a threat of excommunication. For a -time it spread no farther, since Frederick was lavish in explanations -and in promises of friendship that he had no intention of fulfilling, -while the old Pope chose to believe him rather than risk an actual -conflagration. At last, however, the patient Honorius died. - -Gregory IX, the new Pope, was of the family of Innocent, and -shared to the full his views of the world-wide supremacy of the -Church. An old man of austere life and feverish energy, he regarded -Frederick as a monster of ingratitude and became almost hysterical -and quite unreasonable in his efforts to humble him. Goaded by his -constant reproaches and threats, the Emperor began to make leisurely -preparations at Brindisi for his crusade; but when he at last started, -an epidemic of fever, to which he himself fell a victim, forced him -to put back to port. Gregory, refusing to believe in this illness as -anything more than an excuse for delay, at once excommunicated him; -and then, though Frederick set sail as soon as he was well enough, -repeated the ban, giving as his reason that the Emperor had not waited -to receive his pardon for the first offence like an obedient son of the -Church. - -A crusader excommunicated by the Head of Christendom first for not -fulfilling his vow and then for fulfilling it! This was a degrading -and ridiculous sight; and Frederick, now definitely hostile to Rome, -continued on his way, determined with obstinate pride that, if not for -the Catholic Faith, then for his own glory, he would carry out his -purpose. The Templars refused him support: the Christians still left -in the neighbourhood of Acre helped him half-heartedly or stood aloof, -frightened by the warnings of their priests; but Frederick achieved -more without the Pope’s aid than other crusaders had done of late -years with his blessing. By force of arms, and still more by skilful -negotiations, he obtained from the Sultan possession of Jerusalem, and -entering in triumph placed on his head the crown of the Latin kings. - -His vow fulfilled, he sailed for Sicily, and the Pope, whose troops in -Frederick’s absence had been harrying ‘the Kingdom’, hastily patched -up a peace at San Germano. ‘I will remember the past no more,’ cried -Frederick, but anger burned within him at papal hostility. ‘The Emperor -has come to me with the zeal of a devoted son,’ said Gregory, but there -was no trust in his heart that corresponded to his words. - -A Hohenstaufen, who had taken Jerusalem unaided, supreme in Naples, -supreme also in Germany, stretching out his imperial sceptre over -Lombardy! What Pope, who believed that the future of the Church rested -on the temporal independence of Rome, could sleep tranquilly in his bed -with such a vision? - -It is not possible to describe here in any detail the renewed war -between Empire and Papacy that followed the inevitable breakdown of -the treaty of San Germano. Very bitter was the spirit in which it was -waged on both sides. Frederick, whatever his intentions, could not -forget that it was the Father of Christendom who had tried to ruin his -crusade. The remembrance did not so much shake his faith as wake in -him an exasperated sense of injustice that rendered him deaf to those -who counselled compromise. Unable to rid himself wholly of the fear of -papal censure, he yet saw clearly enough that the sin for which Popes -relentlessly pursued him was not his cruelty, nor profligacy, nor even -his toleration of Saracens, but the fact that he was King of Naples as -well as Holy Roman Emperor. - -To a man of Frederick’s haughty temperament there was but one -absolution he could win for this crime, so to master Rome that he could -squeeze her judgements to his fancy like a sponge between his strong -fingers. ‘Italy is my heritage,’ he wrote to the Pope, ‘and all the -world knows it.’ - -In his passionate determination to obtain this heritage statesmanship -was thrown to the winds. He had planned a strong monarchy in Naples, -but in Germany he undermined the foundations of royal authority that -Barbarossa and Henry VI had begun to lay. ‘Let every Prince’, he -declared, ‘enjoy in peace, according to the improved custom of his -land, his immunities, jurisdictions, counties and hundreds, both those -which belong to him in full right, and those which have been granted -out to him in fief.’ - -The Italian Hohenstaufen only sought from his northern kingdom, whose -good government he thus carelessly sacrificed to feudal anarchy, -sufficient money to pay for his campaigns beyond the Alps and leisure -to pursue them. In the words of a modern historian, ‘he bartered his -German kingship for an immediate triumph over his hated foe.’ - -At first victory rewarded his energy and skill. His hereditary enemy, -the ‘Lombard League’, had tampered with the loyalty of his eldest -son, Henry, King of the Romans, whom he had left to rule in Germany: -but Frederick discovered the plot in time and deposed and imprisoned -the culprit. In despair at the prospect of lifelong imprisonment held -out to him, the young Henry flung himself to his death down a steep -mountain-side; and Conrad, his younger brother, a boy of eight, was -crowned in his stead. - -In North Italy Frederick pursued the policy not so much of trampling -down resistance with his German levies, like his grandfather -Barbarossa, as of employing Italian nobles of the Ghibelline party, -whom he supported and financed that they might fight his battles and -make his wrath terrible in the popular hearing. Such were Eccelin de -Romano and his brother Alberigo, lords of Verona and Vicenza, whose -tyranny and cruelties seemed abnormal even in their day. - -‘The Devil’s own Servant’ Eccelin is called by a contemporary, who -describes how he slaughtered in cold blood eleven thousand prisoners. - - ‘I believe, in truth, no such wicked man has been from the - beginning of the world unto our own days: for all men trembled at - him as a rush quivers in the water ... he who lived to-day was not - sure of the morrow, the father would seek out and slay his son, and - the son his father or any of his kinsfolk to please this man.’ - -Alberigo ‘hanged twenty-five of the greatest men of Treviso who had -in no wise offended or harmed him’; and as the prisoners struggled in -their death agonies he thrust among their feet their wives, daughters, -and sisters, whom he afterwards turned adrift half-naked to seek -protection where they might. - -Revenge when this ‘Limb of Satan’ fell into the hands of his enemies -was of a brutality to match; for Alberigo and his young sons were torn -in pieces by an infuriated mob, his wife and daughters burned alive, -‘though they were noble maidens and the fairest in the world and -guiltless.’ - -Passions ran too deep between Guelf and Ghibelline to distinguish -innocency, or to spare youth or sex. Cruelty, the most despicable and -infectious of vices, was the very atmosphere of the thirteenth century, -desecrating what has been described from another aspect as ‘an age of -high ideals and heroic lives’. - -It is remarked with some surprise by contemporaries that Frederick II -could pardon a joke at his own expense; but on the other hand we read -of his cutting off the thumb of a notary who had misspelt his name, -and callously ordering one of his servants, by way of amusement, to -dive and dive again into the sea after a golden cup, until from sheer -exhaustion he reappeared no more. - -At Cortenuova the Lombard League was decisively beaten by the imperial -forces, the _carroccio_ of Milan seized and burned. Frederick, flushed -with success, now declared that not only North but also Middle Italy -was subject to his allegiance, and replied to a new excommunication by -advancing into Romagna and besieging some of the papal towns. Gregory, -worn out by grief and fury, died as his enemy approached the gates of -Rome: and his immediate successor, unnerved by excitement, followed him -to the grave before the cardinals who had elected him could proceed to -his consecration. - -Innocent IV, who now ascended the papal throne, had of old shown some -sympathy to the imperial cause; but Frederick, when he heard of his -election, is reported to have said, ‘I have lost a friend, for no Pope -can be a Ghibelline.’ With the example of Otto IV in his mind he should -have added that no Emperor could remain a Guelf. - -Frederick had indeed gained an inveterate enemy, more dangerous than -Gregory IX, because more politic and discreet. From Lyons, whither -he had fled, Innocent IV maintained unflinchingly the claims he -could no longer set forth in Rome, declaring the victorious Emperor -excommunicate and deposed. ‘Has the Pope deposed me?’ asked Frederick -scornfully, when the news came. ‘Bring me my crowns that I may see what -he has taken away!’ - -One after another he placed on his head the seven crowns his attendants -brought him, the royal crown of Germany and imperial diadem of Rome, -the iron circlet of Lombardy, the crowns of Jerusalem, of Burgundy, of -Sardinia, and of Sicily and Naples. ‘See!’ he said, ‘Are they not all -mine still? and none shall take them from me without a struggle.’ - -So the hideous war between Welf and Waiblingen, between Guelf and -Ghibelline continued, and Germany and Italy were deluged with blood and -flames. ‘After the Emperor Frederick was put under the ban,’ says a -German chronicler, ‘the robbers rejoiced over the spoils. Then were the -ploughshares beaten into swords and reaping-hooks into lances. No one -went anywhere without flint and steel to set on fire whatever he could -kindle.’ - -The ebb from the high-water mark of the Emperor’s fortunes was marked -by the revolt and successful resistance of the Guelf city of Parma to -the imperial forces--a defeat Frederick might have wiped out in fresh -victory had not his own health begun to fail. In 1250 he died, still -excommunicate, snatched away to hell, according to his enemies, not -dead, according to many who from love or hate believed his personality -of more than human endurance. - -Yet Frederick, whether for good or ill, had perished, and with him his -imperial ambitions. Popes might tremble at other nightmares, but the -supremacy of the Holy Roman Empire over Italy would no more haunt their -dreams for many years. Naples also, to whose conquest and government -he had devoted the best of his brain and judgement, was torn from -his heirs and presented by his papal enemy to the French House of -Anjou. Struggling against these usurpers the last of the royal line of -Hohenstaufen, Conradin, son of Conrad, a lad of fifteen, gallant and -reckless as his grandfather, was captured in battle and beheaded. - -Frederick had destroyed in Germany and built on sand elsewhere; and -of all his conquests and achievements only their memory was to dazzle -after-generations. _Stupor et Gloria Mundi_ he was called by those who -knew him, and in spite of his ultimate failure and his vices he still -remains a ‘wonder of the world’, set above enemies and friends by his -personality, the glory of his courage, his audacity, and his strength -of purpose. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Pope Alexander III 1159-81 - Emperor Philip II 1197-1208 - Emperor Otto IV 1197-1215 - Fourth Lateran Council 1215 - The Sixth Crusade 1228-9 - Battle of Cortenuova 1237 - Death of Conradin 1268 - - - - -XV - -LEARNING AND ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATION IN THE MIDDLE AGES - - -The word ‘progress’ implies to modern men and women a moving forward -towards a perfection as yet unknown, freshly imagined indeed by each -generation: to the Middle Ages it meant rather a peering back through -the mist of barbarian invasions to an idealized Christian Rome. -Inspiration lay in the past, not merely in such political conceptions -as the Holy Roman Empire, but in the domain of art and thought, where -too often tradition laid her choking grip upon originality struggling -for expression. - -The painting of the early Middle Ages was stereotyped in the stiff -though beautiful models of Byzantium, that ‘Fathers of the Church’ -had insisted, by means of decrees passed at Church councils, should -be considered as fitting representations of Christian subjects for -all time. Less impressive but more lifelike were the illuminations of -missals and holy books, that, in illustrating the Gospels or lives of -the Saints, reproduced the artist’s own surroundings--the noble he -could see from the window of his cell ride by with hawk or hounds, the -labourer sowing or delving, the merchant with his money-bags, the man -of fashion trailing his furred gown. - -Vignettes such as these, with their neat craftsmanship of line and -colour, their almost photographic love of detail, lend a reality to -our glimpses of life in Europe from the twelfth to the fourteenth -centuries; yet great as is the debt we owe them, the real art of the -Middle Ages was not consummated with the brush but with the builder’s -tools and sculptor’s chisel. - -[Sidenote: Mediaeval Architecture] - -Like the painter’s, the architect’s impulse was at first almost -entirely religious, though guild-halls and universities followed on -the erection of churches and monasteries. Nourished on St. Augustine’s -belief in this life as a mere transitory journey towards the eternal -‘City of God’, mediaeval men and women saw this pilgrimage encompassed -with a vast army of devils and saints, ranged in constant battle for -the human soul. Only through faith and the kindly assistance of the -Saints could man hope to beat off the legions of hell which hung like a -pack of wolves about his footsteps, and nowhere with greater efficacy -than in the sanctuary from which human prayer arose daily to God’s -throne. - -Churches and chapels in modern times have become the property of a -section of the public--that is, of those who think or believe in a -certain way; and sometimes through poverty of purse or spirit, through -bad workmanship or material, the architecture that results is shoddy -or insignificant. In the Middle Ages his parish church was the most -certain fact in every Christian’s existence, from the day he was -carried to the font for baptism until his last journey to rest beneath -its shadow. Here he would make his confessions, his vows of repentance -and amendment, and offer his worship and thanksgiving: here he would -often find a fortified refuge from violence in the street outside, a -school, a granary, a parish council-chamber. - -What more natural than that mediaeval artists, their souls attune with -the hopes and fears of their age, should realize their genius best in -constructing and ornamenting buildings that were to all citizens alike -the symbol of their belief? ‘Let us build,’ said the people of Siena in -the thirteenth century, ‘such a church to the glory of God that all men -shall wonder!’ - -The cathedral, when completed, was but a third in size and grandeur -of the original design, for the Black Death fell upon Siena and -carried off her builders in the midst of their work; yet it remains -magnificently arresting to modern eyes, as though the faith of those -who planned and fashioned its slabs of black and white marble for -the love of God and their city had breathed into their workmanship -something of the mediaeval soul. - -The same is true of ‘Nôtre Dame de la Victoire’ in Paris, founded by -Philip Augustus, of which Victor Hugo says ‘each face, each stone, is -a page of history’. It is true of nearly all mediaeval churches that -have outlived the ravages of war and fire, memorials of an age, that if -it lagged behind our own in ultimate achievement, was pre-eminent in -one art at least--ecclesiastical architecture. - -Where the architect stopped the mediaeval sculptor took up his work, -at first with simple severity but later in a riot of imagination that -peopled façades, vaulted roofs, and capitals of columns with the -angels, demons, and hybrid monsters that haunted the fancy of the -day. The flying buttress, the invention of which made possible lofty -clerestories with vast expanses of window, brought to perfection -another art, the painting of glass. Here also the mediaeval artist -excelled, and the crucibles in which he mixed the colours that hold -us wrapt before the windows of Leon, Albi, and Chartres, still keep -unsolved the secret of their transparent delicacy and depth. - -[Sidenote: Learning and Church Organization] - -In the architecture, the sculpture, and in the stained glass of the -Middle Ages we see original genius at work, but in learning and culture -Europe was slower to throw off the giant influence of Rome. Even -under the crushing inroads of barbarian ignorance Italy had managed -to keep alive the study of classical authors and of Roman law. Latin -remained the language of the educated man or woman, the language in -which the services of the Church were recited, sermons were preached, -correspondence carried on, business transacted, and students in -universities and schools addressed by their professors. - -The advantages of a common tongue can be imagined: the comparative -ease with which a pope or king could keep in touch with bishops or -subjects of a different race; the accessibility of the best books to -students of all nations, since scarcely a mediaeval author of repute -would condescend to employ his own tongue: above all perhaps the ease -with which an ambassador, a merchant, or a pilgrim could make himself -understood on a journey across Europe, instead of torturing his brain -with struggles after the right word in first one foreign dialect and -then another. - -This classical form, so rigidly withholding knowledge from the grasp -of the ignorant, had also its disadvantage; for many a mediaeval -pen, that could have flown across the vellum in joyful intimacy in -its owner’s tongue, stumbled clumsily amidst Latin constructions, -leaving in the end not a spontaneous record of current events, but a -‘dry-as-dust’ catalogue, in bad imitation of some Latin stylist. The -modern world is more grateful to mediaeval culture for such lapses as -Dante’s _Divina Commedia_ than for all the heavy Latin tomes, whose -authors hoped for laurelled immortality. - -For those in England and France who could not easily master Latin or -found its stately periods too cumbrous for ordinary conversation, -French, descended from the spoken Latin of the Roman soldier or -merchant in Gaul, was in the Middle Ages, as to-day, the language of -polite society. It possessed two distinct dialects, the ‘langue d’œil’ -and the ‘langue d’oc’, so called because the northern Frenchman, -including the Norman, was supposed to pronounce _oui_ as _œil_, while -his southern fellow countryman pronounced it as _oc_. - -England, where, ever since the Conquest of William I, French had been -the natural tongue of a semi-foreign court, owed an enormous literary -impulse to the ‘langue d’œil’ during the twelfth and thirteenth -centuries; while the ‘langue d’oc’ that gave its name to a district in -the south of France shared its poetry and romance between Provençals -and Catalans. The descendants of the former are to-day French, of the -latter Spanish: but in the eleventh century they were fellow subjects -of the Counts of Toulouse, who ruled over a district stretching from -the source of the Rhone to the Mediterranean, from the Italian Alps to -the Ebro. - -[Sidenote: Mediaeval Culture] - -In this semi-independent kingdom there developed a civilization and -culture of hot-house growth, precocious in its appreciation of the -less violent pleasures of life, such as love, art, music, literature, -but often corrupt in their enjoyment. The gay court of Toulouse paid -no heed to St. Augustine’s hell, whose fears haunted the rest of -Europe in its more thoughtful moments. Joyous and inconsequent, it -lived for the passing hour, and out of its atmosphere of dalliance -and culture was born a race of poet-singers. These troubadours -(_trouvers_ = discoverers) sang of love, whose silken fetters could -hold in thrall knights and fair ladies; and their golden lyrics, now -plaintive, now gay, were carried to the crowded cities of Italy and -Spain, or found schools of imitators elsewhere, as in Germany amongst -her thirteenth-century _minnesingers_ (love-singers). In the north of -France and in England appeared minstrels also, but their themes were -less of love than of battle; and audiences revelled by castle and -camp-fire in the ‘gestes’ or ‘deeds’ of Charlemagne and his Paladins, -the chivalry of Arthur and his Knights, or in stirring Border ballads -such as Chevy Chase. - -[Sidenote: Mediaeval Universities] - -The market-place, the camp, and the baronial hall, where were sung or -recited these often imaginary stories of the past, were the schools of -the many unlettered; just as the conversation of Arabs and Jews around -the desert fires had stimulated the imagination of the young Mahomet; -but for the few who could afford a sounder education there were the -universities--Paris, Bologna, Oxford, to name but three of the most -famous. - -The word _universitas_ implied in the Middle Ages a union of men; -such a corporation as the ‘guilds’ formed by fishmongers and drapers -to protect their trade interests; and the universities had indeed -originated for a similar purpose. Cities to-day that have universities -in their midst are proud of the fact, and welcome new students; but in -early mediaeval times an influx of young men of all ages from every -part of Europe, many of them wild and unruly, some so poor that they -must beg or steal their daily bread, was at first sight a very doubtful -blessing. Street fights between nationalities who hated one another on -principle, or between bands of students and citizens, were a common -occurrence in the towns that learning honoured with her presence, and -had their usual accompaniment of broken heads, fires, and looting. But -for the _universitas_ formed by masters and students to control and -protect their members, these centres of education would probably have -been stamped out by indignant tradesmen: as it was they had to fight -for their existence. - -Municipalities looked with no lenient eye upon a corporation that -seemed to them a ‘state within a state’, threatening their own right -to govern all within the city. It was not until after many generations -that they understood the meaning of the word co-operation, that is, -the possibility of assisting instead of hindering the work of the -_universitas_. Sometimes a king like Philip Augustus insisted on -toleration by granting to his students the ‘privilege of clergy’, but -as the University grew it became able to enforce its own lessons. In -the thirteenth century the Masters of Paris closed their lecture-halls -and led away their flock, in protest for what they considered unfair -treatment by the city authorities during a riot, and their absence -taught Parisians that, in spite of head-breakings, the students were an -asset, not a loss, to municipal life. Under the protection therefore of -a papal ‘bull’, they returned a few weeks later in triumph to the Latin -Quarter. - -It was only by degrees that colleges where the students could live -were erected, or that anything resembling the elaborate organization -of a modern university was evolved. Students lodged where they could, -and ‘masters’ lived on the goodwill of those who paid their fees, and -starved if their popularity waned and with it their audience. The life -of both teacher and pupil was vague and hazardous, with a background -of poverty and crime lurking at the street corners to ruin the unwary -or foolish. Nor was the period of study a mere ‘passing sojourn’ like -some modern ‘terms’: the Bachelor of Arts at Oxford or Paris must be -a student of five years’ standing, the Master of Arts calculated on -devoting three years more to gaining his final degree, a Doctor of -Theology would be faced with eight years’ hard work at least. It might -almost be said that higher education under these circumstances became a -profession. - -To Bologna, the greatest of Italian universities, went those who -wished to study Roman law at the fountain-head. This does not mean to -stir up the legal dust of a dead empire out of a student’s curiosity, -but to master a living system of law that barbarian invaders had -gradually grafted on to their own national codes. In the eleventh -century the laws of Justinian[21] were as much or more revered than -in his own day. We have seen that Frederick Barbarossa set the lawyers -of Bologna to work to justify from old legal documents the claims he -wished to establish over Lombardy; and when they had succeeded to his -satisfaction he rewarded them with gifts and knighthood, showing what -value he put on their achievement. This is a very good example of the -respect felt by mediaeval minds for the laws and title-deeds of an -earlier age, even though the tyranny that resulted led the ‘Lombard -League’ to dispute such claims. - -[Sidenote: Mediaeval Papal Government] - -Still more closely allied than the civil codes of Europe to the old -Roman legal texts was the ‘Canon’ law of the Church that had been -directly based upon classic models; and with the rise of Hildebrand’s -world-wide ambitions its decisions assumed a growing importance and -demanded an enormous army of trained lawyers to interpret and arrange -them. For youths of a practical and ambitious turn of mind here was a -course of study leading to a profession profitable in all ages; and -a text-book was provided for such budding lawyers in the _decretum_ -of Gratian, a monk who in the twelfth century compiled a full and -authoritative text of Canon law. - -The existence of the Ecclesiastical Courts, in which Canon law was -administered, we have already mentioned in discussing the quarrel of -Henry II of England and Thomas Becket.[22] Founded originally to deal -with purely ecclesiastical cases and officials, they tended in time to -draw within their competence any one over whom the Church could claim -protection and any causes that affected the rites of the Catholic -Church. It was a wide net with a very small mesh, as the Angevin Henry -II and other lay rulers of Europe found. The protection that spread -its wings over priests and clerks stretched also to crusaders, widows, -and orphans: the jurisdiction of the Church Courts claimed not merely -moral questions such as heresy, sacrilege, and perjury, but all matters -connected with probate of wills, marriage and divorce, and even libel. - -Rome became a hive of ecclesiastical lawyers, with the Pope, like the -Roman emperors of old, the supreme law-giver and final court of appeal -for all Church Courts of Europe. His rule was absolute, at least in -theory, for by his power of ‘dispensation’ he could set aside, if he -considered advisable, the very Canon law his officials administered. He -could also summon to his _curia_, or papal court, any case on which he -wished to pronounce judgement, at whatever stage in its litigation in -an inferior ecclesiastical court. - -Under the Pope in an ordered hierarchy, corresponding to the feudal -arrangement of lay society, came the metropolitans, who received from -his hand or from those of his legates the narrow woollen scarf, or -_pallium_, that was the symbol of their authority. Next in order came -the diocesan bishops with their ‘officials’, the archdeacons and rural -deans, each with their own court and measure of jurisdiction. - -The Pope’s will went forth to Christendom in the form of letters called -‘bulls’, from the _bulla_ or heavy seal that was attached to them. -Against those who paid no heed to their contents he could hurl either -the weapon of excommunication--that is, of personal outlawry from the -Church--or else, if the offender were a king or a city, the still more -blasting ‘interdict’ that fell on ruler and ruled alike. The land that -groaned under an interdict was bereft of all spiritual comfort: no -priest might say public Mass, baptize a new-born child, perform the -marriage service, console the dying with ‘supreme unction’, or bury the -dead. The very church bells would ring no more. - -It was under this pressure of spiritual starvation, when the Saints -seemed to have withdrawn their sheltering arms and the demons to have -gathered joyfully to a harvest of lost souls, that John of England -was brought by the curses of his people to turn to Rome in repentance -and submission. Yet, as in the case of most weapons, familiarity -bred contempt, and too frequent use of powers of ‘interdict’ and -‘excommunication’ was to blunt their efficacy--a Frederick II, the -oft-excommunicated, proved able to conquer Jerusalem and dominate Italy -even under the papal ban. - -The Church, in her claims to world empire, demanded in truth an -obedience it was beyond her ability to enforce. She also laid herself -open to temptations to which from the nature of her temporal -ambitions she must inevitably succumb. No such elaborate and expensive -administration as emanated from her _curia_ could continue without -an inexhaustible flow of money into her treasury. Lawyers, priests, -legates, cardinals, the Pope himself, had each to be maintained in a -state befitting their office in the eyes of a world, as ready in the -thirteenth century as in the twentieth to judge by appearances and -offer its homage accordingly. - -In addition to the ordinary expenses of a ruler, whose court was a -centre of religious and intellectual life for Europe, there was the -constant burden of war, first with neighbouring Italian rulers and -then with the Empire. Innocent IV triumphed over the Hohenstaufen; but -largely by dipping his hands into English money-bags, to such an extent -indeed during the reign of John’s son, Henry III, that England gained -the scoffing name of the ‘milch cow of the Papacy’. - -At first, when the ecclesiastical courts had offered to criminals a -justice at once more humane and comprehensive than the rough-and-ready -tyranny of a king or feudal lord, the upholders of the rights of Canon -law were regarded as popular heroes. Later, however, with the growth of -national feeling and the development and better administration of the -civil codes, men and women began to falter in their allegiance. Canon -law was found to be both expensive and tardy, especially in the case of -‘appeals’, that is, of cases, called from some inferior court to Rome. -The key also to the judgements given at Rome was often too obviously -gold and of heavy weight. - -[Sidenote: Papal Exactions] - -Nor was justice alone to be bought or sold. A large part of the money -that filled the Roman treasury was derived from benefices and livings -in different countries of Europe that had by one means or another -accumulated in papal hands. The constant pressure of the wars with -emperors and Italian Ghibellines made it necessary for the Popes -to administer this patronage as profitably as possible; and so the -spiritual needs of dioceses and parishes became sacrificed to the -military calls on the Roman treasury. - -Sometimes it was not a living itself for which a clerical candidate -paid heavily, but merely the promise of ‘preferment’ to the next -vacancy; or he would pledge himself in the case of nomination to send -his ‘firstfruits’, that is, his first year’s revenue, to Rome. Those -who could afford the requisite sum might be natives of the country in -which the vacant bishopric or living occurred; often they were not, -and the successful nominee, instead of going in person to exercise his -duties, would merely send an agent to collect his dues. These dues came -from many different sources, but in the case of livings principally -from the ‘tithe’, a tax for the maintenance of the Church, supposed to -represent one-tenth of every man’s income. - -People usually grumble when they are continually asked for money, and -mediaeval men and women were no exception to this rule. Thus, to take -the case of England, while the wars between Emperor and Pope left -her comparatively indifferent as to the issues involved, the growing -exactions of the Roman _curia_ that touched her pockets awoke a -smouldering resentment that every now and then flared into hostility. - - ‘In these times’, wrote the chronicler, Matthew Paris, ‘the small - fire of faith began to grow exceeding chill, so that it was well - nigh reduced to ashes ... for now was simony practised without - shame.... Every day illiterate persons of the lowest class, - armed with bulls from Rome, feared not to plunder the revenues - which our pious forefathers had assigned for the maintenance of - the Religious, the support of the poor, and the sustaining of - strangers.’ - -At Oxford in the reign of Henry III (1216-72), the papal legate was -forced to fly from the town by indignant ‘clerks’ of the university, or -undergraduates as we should call them to-day. ‘Where is that usurer, -that simoniac, that plunderer of revenues, that thirster for money?’ -they cried, as they hunted him and his retinue through the streets, -‘it is he who perverts the King and subverts the kingdom to enrich -foreigners with our spoils.’ - -At Lincoln Bishop Grosstete indignantly refused to invest Innocent -IV’s nephew, a boy of twelve, with the next vacant prebendary of his -cathedral. Other papal relatives were absorbing livings and bishoprics -elsewhere in Europe, for under Innocent IV began the open practice of -‘nepotism’, that is, of Popes using their revenues and their office in -order to provide for their nephews and other members of their families. - -‘He laid aside all shame,’ says Matthew Paris of this Pope, ‘he -extorted larger sums of money than any before him.’ The ‘sums of money’ -enabled Rome to cast down her imperial foe, but the extortion was a -dangerous expedient. Throughout the early Middle Ages the Pope had -been accepted by Western Christendom as speaking for the Church with -the voice of Christ’s authority. In his disputes with kings the latter -could never be sure of the loyalty of their people, should they call on -them to take up arms against the ‘Holy Father’. - -With the growth of nations and of Rome as a temporal power a gradual -change came over the European outlook; subjects were more inclined -to obey rulers whom they knew than a distant potentate whom they did -not; they were also less ready to accept papal interference without -criticism. Thus a distinction was for the first time drawn between the -Pope and the Church. - -When King Hako of Norway was offered the imperial crown on the -deposition of Frederick II by Innocent IV, he refused, saying, ‘I will -gladly fight the enemies of the Church, but I will not fight against -the foes of the Pope.’ His words were significant of a new spirit. -In the feuds of Guelfs and Ghibellines that racked the twelfth and -thirteenth centuries were laid the foundations of a movement to control -the Popes by Universal Councils in the fifteenth, and of that still -more drastic opposition to his powers in the sixteenth that we call the -Reformation. - - - - -XVI - -THE FAITH OF THE MIDDLE AGES - - -A modern student, when he passes from school to a university, soon -finds that he is standing at a cross-roads: he cannot hope, like a -philosopher of the sixteenth century, to ‘take all knowledge for -his province’, but must choose which of the many signposts he will -follow--law, classics, science, economics, chemistry, medicine, to -name but a few of the more important. Mediaeval minds would have -been sorely puzzled by some of these avenues of knowledge, while the -rest they would denounce as mere sidetracks, leading by a devious -route to the main high road of theology. Science, for instance, the -patient searching after truth by building up knowledge from facts, and -accepting nothing as a fact that had not been verified by proof, was a -closed book in the thirteenth century. - -Roger Bacon, an English friar, one of the first to attempt scientific -experiments, was regarded with such suspicion on account of his -researches and his sarcastic comments on the views of his day that he -was believed to be in league with the devil; and even the favour of a -pope more enlightened than most of his contemporaries could not save -him in later years from imprisonment as a suspected magician. - -Men and women hate to change the ideas in which they have been brought -up; and in the thirteenth century they readily accepted as facts -such fabulous stories told by early Christian writers as that of the -phoenix who at five hundred years old casts herself into a sacred fire, -emerging renewed in health and vigour from her own ashes, or of the -pelican killing her young at birth and reviving them in three days, -or of the unicorn resisting all the wiles of the hunter but captured -easily by a pure maiden. The charm of such natural history lay to -mediaeval minds not in its legendary quaintness but in the use to -which it could be turned in pointing a moral or adorning the doctrines -of theology. - -Theology was the chief course of study at Paris, just as Roman law -reigned at Bologna. It comprised a thorough mastery of the Scriptures -as expounded by ‘Fathers of the Church’, and also of what was then -known through Latin and Arabic translations of the works of the Greek -philosopher Aristotle. Although he had been a pagan, Aristotle was -almost as much revered by many mediaeval theologians as St. Jerome or -St. Augustine, and it was their life-work to try and reconcile his -views with those of Catholic Christianity. - -[Sidenote: Scholasticism] - -The philosophy that resulted from the study of these very different -authorities is called ‘scholasticism’, and those who gave patient years -of thought to the arguments that built up and maintained its theories -the ‘schoolmen’. - -The first of the great Paris theologians was Peter Abelard, a -Breton--handsome, self-confident, ready of tongue and brain. Having -studied ‘dialectics’, that is, the system of reasoning by which the -mediaeval mind constructed its philosophy, he aroused the disgust of -his masters by drawing away their pupils, through his eloquence and -originality, as soon as he understood the subject-matter sufficiently -to lecture on his own account. - -In Paris so many young men of his day crowded round his desk that -Abelard has been sometimes called the founder of the university. This -is not true, but his popularity may be said to have decided that Paris -rather than any other town should become the intellectual centre of -France. Greedily his audience listened while he endeavoured to prove by -human reason beliefs that the Church taught as a matter of faith; and, -though he had set out with the intention of defending her, it was with -the Church that he soon came into conflict. - -One of his books, called _Yes and No_, contained a brief summary of -the views of early Christian Fathers on various theological questions. -Drawn into such close proximity some of these views were found to -conflict, and the Breton lecturer became an object of suspicion in -ecclesiastical quarters, especially to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, -who believed that human reason was given to man merely that he might -accept the teaching of the Church, not to raise arguments or criticisms -concerning it. - - ‘Peter Abelard’, he wrote to the Pope, ‘is trying to make void the - merit of Christian faith when he deems himself able by human reason - to comprehend God altogether ... the man is great in his own eyes - ... this scrutinizer of Majesty and fabricator of heresies.’ - -The minds of the two men were indeed utterly opposed--types of -conflicting human thought in all ages. St. Bernard, in spite of his -frank denunciations of the sins of the Church, was docile to the voice -of her authority, and hated and feared the pride of the human intellect -as the deadliest of all sins. Abelard, by nature inquisitive and -sceptical, regarded his deft brain as a surgeon’s knife, given him to -cut away diseased or worn-out tissues from the thought of his day in -order to leave it healthier and purer. - -As antagonists they were no match, for St. Bernard was infinitely the -greater man, without any of the other’s petty vanity and worldliness -to confuse the issue for which they struggled: he had behind him also -the sympathy of mediaeval minds not as yet awakened to any spirit of -inquiry, and so the Breton was driven into the retirement of a monk’s -cell and his condemned works publicly burned. - -One of his pupils, Peter Lombard, adopted his master’s methods without -arousing the anger of the orthodox by any daring feats of controversy, -and produced a _Book of Sentences_ (_sententiae_ = opinions) that -became the text-book for scholasticism, just as the _Decretum_ was the -authority for students of Roman law. Without being a work of genius the -_Sentences_ cleared a pathway through the jungle of mediaeval thought -for more original minds, while the discovery in the latter half of -the twelfth century of several hitherto unknown works of Aristotle -gave added zest to the researches of the ‘Schoolmen’. Greatest of all -these ‘Schoolmen’ was Thomas Aquinas, ‘the Angelic Doctor’, as he has -sometimes been called. - -Aquinas was a Neapolitan of noble family, who ran away from home as a -boy to join the Dominicans, an Order of wandering preachers of whose -foundation we shall shortly speak. Thomas was recaptured and brought -home by his elder brother, a noble at the court of Frederick II; but -neither threats nor imprisonment could persuade the young novice to -give up the life he had chosen. After a year he broke the bars of his -window, escaped from Naples, and went to Cologne and Paris, where he -studied theology, emerging from this education the greatest lecturer -and teacher of his day. In his _Summa Theologiae_, his best-known book, -he set forth his belief in man’s highest good as the chief thought -of God, using both the commentaries of the Church Fathers and the -works of Aristotle as quarries to provide the material for fashioning -his arguments. Like Abelard, he believed in the voice of reason, but -without any of the Breton’s probing scepticism. Human reason bridled by -divine grace was the guide he sought to lead his pen through the maze -of theology; and so clear and judicial were his methods, so brilliant -the intellect that shone through his writings, that Aquinas became for -later generations an authority almost equal to St. Augustine. - -[Sidenote: Mediaeval Faith] - -The intense preoccupation of mediaeval minds with theology and the -importance attached to ‘right belief’ are the most striking mental -characteristics of the period with which we are dealing. To-day we are -inclined to judge a man by his actions rather than by his beliefs, to -sum up a character as good or bad because its owner is generous or -selfish, kind or cruel, brave or cowardly. In the twelfth or thirteenth -centuries this would have seemed a wholly false standard. The ideal -of conduct, for one thing, maintained by monks like St. Bernard of -Clairvaux was so exalted that, to the ordinary men and women in an age -of cruelty and fierce passions, a good life seemed impossible save -for Saints. The sins and failings of the rest of the world received a -very easy pardon except from ascetics; and it was generally felt that -God in His mercy, through the intercession of the kindly Saints, would -be compassionate to human weakness so long as the sinner repented, -confessed, and clung to a belief in the teaching of the Church. This -teaching, or ‘Faith’, declared to have been given by Christ to His -Apostles, set forth in the writings of the Christian Fathers, gathered -together in the Creeds and Sacraments defined by Church Councils, -preached and expounded by the clergy and theologians, defended by the -Pope, was the torch that could alone guide man’s wavering footsteps to -the ‘City of God’. - - ‘Do you know what I shall gain,’ asked a French Count of the - thirteenth century, ‘in that during this mortal life I have - believed as Holy Church teaches? I shall have a crown in the - Heavens above the angels, for the angels cannot but believe - inasmuch as they see God face to face.’ - -Heresy--the refusal to accept the teaching of the Church--was the one -unpardonable sin, a moral leprosy worse in mediaeval eyes than any -human disease because it affected the soul, not the body, and the life -of the soul was everlasting. The heretic must be suppressed, converted -if possible, but if not, burned and forgotten like a diseased rag, -lest his wrong beliefs should infect others and so lose their souls -also eternally. To-day we know that neither suppression nor burnings -can ultimately extinguish that independence of thought and spirit of -inquiry that are as much the motive power of some human natures as the -acceptance of authority is of others. Tolerance, and how far it can be -extended to actions as well as beliefs, is one of the problems that -the world is still studying. The towns and provinces, where the first -battles were fought, are sown with the blood and ashes of those who -neither sought nor offered the way of compromise as a solution. - -Another of Abelard’s pupils, besides the orthodox Peter Lombard, was an -Italian, Arnold of Brescia--in many ways a man of like intellect with -his master, self-centred, restless, and ambitious. When he returned -home from the University he at once took a violent part in the life of -the Brescian commune, declaring publicly that the Church should return -to the days of ‘apostolic poverty’, and urging the citizens to cast off -the yoke of their bishop. Exiled from Italy by the anger of the Pope -and clergy at his views he went again to Paris, where he taught in the -University until by the King’s command he was driven away. He next -found a refuge in Germany under the protection of a papal legate, who -had known and admired him in earlier days; but this news aroused the -furious anger of St. Bernard. - - ‘Arnold of Brescia,’ he wrote to the legate, ‘whose speech is honey - ... whose doctrine poison, the man whom Brescia has vomited forth, - whom Rome abhors, whom France drives into exile, whom Germany - curses, whom Italy refuses to receive, obtains thy support. To be - his friend is to be the foe of the Pope and God.’ - -The legate contrived by mediation to reconcile the heretic temporarily -with the Church; but Arnold was by nature a firebrand, and, having -settled in Rome, soon became leader in one of the many plots to make -that city a ‘Free Town’, owing allegiance only to the Emperor. Largely -through his efforts the Pope was compelled to go into exile; but later -the Romans, under the fear of an interdict that would deprive them of -the visits of pilgrims out of whom they usually made their living, -deserted him; and the republican leader was forced to fly. Captured -amongst the Italian hills, he was taken to Rome and burned, his ashes -being thrown into the Tiber lest they should be claimed as relics by -those of the populace who still loved him. His judges need not have -taken this precaution, for neither Arnold’s religious nor political -views could claim any large measure of public approval in his own day. -Elsewhere, indeed, heresy and rebellion were seething, but it was not -till the beginning of the thirteenth century that the outbreak became a -vital problem for the Papacy. - -The widest area of heresy was in the provinces of Languedoc and -Provence, to whose precocious mental development we have already -referred.[23] The Counts of Toulouse no longer ruled in the thirteenth -century over any of modern Spain, but north of the Pyrenees they -were tenants-in-chief to the French king for one of the most fertile -provinces of southern France, while as Marquesses of Provence they were -vassals of the Emperor for the country beyond the Rhone. - -Semi-independent of the control of either of these overlords, Count -Raymond VI presided over a court famed for its luxury and gaiety -of heart, its light morals, and unorthodox religious views. When -he received complaints from Rome that his people were deriding the -Catholic Faith and stoning his bishops and priests, he scarcely -pretended regret, for his sceptical nature was quite unshocked by -heresy, and both he and his nobles fully approved of popular insistence -on ‘apostolic poverty’, a doctrine that enabled them to appropriate -ecclesiastical lands and revenues for their own purposes. - -[Sidenote: Heresy in Languedoc] - -The heretical sects in Languedoc were many: perhaps the most important -those of the Albigenses and Waldensians. The former practically denied -Christianity, maintaining that good and evil were co-equal powers, and -that Christ’s death was of no avail to save mankind. The Waldensians, -or ‘Poor men of Lyons’, on the other hand, had at first tried to find -acceptance for their beliefs within the Church. Peter Waldo, their -founder, a rich merchant of Lyons, had translated some of the Gospels -from Latin into the language of the countryside, and, having given -away all his goods, he travelled from village to village, preaching, -and trying with his followers to imitate the lives of the Apostles in -simplicity and poverty. - -In spite of condemnation from the Pope, who was suspicious of their -teaching, the Waldensians increased in number. They declared that the -authority of the Bible was superior to that of the Church, appointed -ministers of their own, and denied many of the principal articles of -Faith that the Church insisted were necessary to salvation. - -The mediaeval Church taught that only through belief in these articles -of Faith, that is, in the Creeds and Sacraments (_sacramentum_ = -something sacred), as administered by the clergy, could man hope to be -saved. The most important of the Sacraments, of which there were seven, -was the miracle of the Mass, sometimes called ‘transubstantiation’. Its -origin was the Last Supper, when Christ before His crucifixion gave -His disciples bread and wine, saying ‘Take, eat, this is my body....’ -‘Take, drink, this is my blood which was shed for you.’ The mediaeval -Church declared that every time at the service of Mass the priest -offered up ‘the Host’, or consecrated bread, Christ was sacrificed anew -for the sins of the world, and that the bread became in truth converted -into the substance of His body. - -The Waldensians, and many sects that later broke away from the tenets -of the mediaeval Church, denied this miracle and also the sacred -character of the priests who could perform it. According to the Church, -her clergy at ordination received through the laying on of the bishop’s -hands some of the mysterious power that Christ had given to St. Peter, -conferring on them the power also to forgive sins. No matter if the -priest became idle or vicious, he still by virtue of his ordination -retained his sacred character, and to lay hands upon him was to incur -the wrath of God. - -Even in the twelfth century, when St. Bernard travelled in Languedoc, -he had been horrified to find ‘the sacraments no longer sacred and -priests without respect’. His attempts at remonstrance were met -with stones and threats, while the establishment of an ‘episcopal -inquisition’ to inquire into and stamp out this hostility only -increased Provençal bitterness and determination. - -‘I would rather be a Jew,’ was an expression of disdain in the Middle -Ages; but in Toulouse the people said, ‘I had rather be a priest,’ and -the clergy who walked abroad were forced to conceal their tonsures for -fear of assault. - -‘Heresy can only be destroyed by solid instruction’ was Innocent III’s -first verdict. ‘It is by preaching the truth that we sap foundations -of error.’ He therefore sent some Cistercians to hold a mission in -Languedoc, and in their company travelled a young Spaniard, Dominic -de Guzman, burning to win souls for the Faith or suffer martyrdom. -The Cistercians rode on horses with a large train of servants and -with wagons drawn by oxen to carry their clothes and their food. This -display aroused the scornful mirth of the Albigenses and Waldensians. -‘See,’ they cried, ‘the wealthy missionaries of a God who was humble -and despised, loaded with honours!’ - -Everywhere were the same ridicule and contempt, and it was in this -moment of failure that Dominic the Spaniard interposed, speaking -earnestly to those who were with him of the contrast between the -heretic ministers in their lives of poverty and self-denial with -the luxury and worldliness of the local clergy, and even with the -ostentatious parade of his fellow preachers. Because he had long -practised austerities himself, wearing a hair shirt, fasting often, -and denying himself every pleasure, the young Spaniard received a -respectful hearing, and so fired the Cistercians with his enthusiasm -that they sent away their horses and baggage-wagons, and set out on -foot through the country to try and win the populace by different -methods. With them went Dominic, barefoot, exulting in this opportunity -of bearing witness in the face of danger to the Faith he held so -precious. - -The attitude of the men and women of Languedoc towards the papal -mission was no longer derisive but it remained hostile, for they -also held their Faith sacred, while all the racial prejudice of the -countryside was thrown into the balance of opposition to Rome. Thus -converts were few, and angry gatherings at which stones were thrown at -the strangers many; and so matters drifted on and the mission grew more -and more discouraged. - -In 1208 occurred a violent crisis, for the papal legate, having -excommunicated Count Raymond of Toulouse for appropriating certain -Church lands and refusing to restore them, was murdered, and the -Count himself implicated in the crime, seeing that, as in the case of -Henry II and Becket, it had been his angry curses that had prompted -some knights to do the deed. Innocent III at once declared the Count -deposed, and preached a crusade against him and his subjects as -heretics. - -Twenty years of bloodshed and cruelty followed; for under the command -of the French Count Simon de Montfort, an utterly unscrupulous and -brutal general, the orthodox legions of northern France gathered at -the papal summons to stamp out the independence of the south that they -had always hated as a rival. Languedoc, her nobles and people united, -fought hard for her religious and political freedom; but the struggle -was uneven, and she was finally forced into submission. Thirty -thousand of her sons and daughters had perished, and with them the -civilization and culture that had made the name of Provence glorious in -mediaeval Europe. - -[Sidenote: The Albigensian Crusade] - -The name of Dominic the Spaniard does not appear in the bloodstained -annals of the Albigensian Crusade. He had advocated very different -measures; and in 1216, pursuing his ideal, received from the Pope leave -to form an Order of ‘Preaching Brothers’, modelled on the Monastic -Orders, except that the ‘Friars’ (_Fratres_ = brothers), as these monks -were called, were commanded not to live permanently in communities -but to spend their lives travelling about from village to village, -preaching as they went. They were to beg their daily bread; and the -very Order itself was forbidden to acquire wealth, their founder hoping -by this stringent rule to prevent the worldliness that had corrupted -the other religious communities. - -Dominic, or St. Dominic, for the enthusiasm of the mediaeval Church -soon canonized him, was a son of his age in his intense devotion to -the Faith; but his spiritual outlook was beyond the comprehension of -all save a few. In Innocent III may be found a more typical figure of -the early thirteenth century; and to Innocent’s standard, and not to -that of their founder, the followers of St. Dominic for the most part -conformed. - -Pope Innocent had advocated the driving out of error by right -teaching; but his failure by this method woke in him an exasperation -that made the obstinate heresy of Languedoc seem a moral and social -plague to be suppressed ruthlessly. Thorough in this undertaking as -in all to which he set his mind and hand, he added to the slaughter -of Simon de Montfort’s Crusade the terrible and efficient machinery -of the Inquisition, and this during the pontificate of Gregory IX was -transferred from the jurisdiction of local bishops to that of the Papal -See. The Inquisitors, empowered to discover heresy and convert the -heretic by torture and fire, were mainly Dominicans, selected for this -task on account of their theological training and the very devotion to -the Faith on which their founder had laid such stress. - -The most important political fruits of the Albigensian Crusade were -gathered by Philip II of France, who had himself stood aloof from the -struggle, although permitting and encouraging his nobles to take the -Cross. By the deposition and fall of his powerful tenant-in-chief, the -Count of Toulouse, the centre and south of France, hitherto so proudly -independent, lost a formidable ally; and large tracts of Poitou and -Aquitaine fell under royal influence and were incorporated amongst the -crown lands. - -This process continued under Philip’s son, Louis VIII, who himself -joined in the Crusade and marched with an army down the valley of the -Rhone, capturing Avignon, and arriving almost at the gates of Toulouse. -His sudden illness and death brought the campaign to an end; but his -widow, Blanche of Castile, acting as regent for her son the boy King -Louis IX, concluded a treaty with the new Count of Toulouse, Raymond -VII, that left that noble a chastened and submissive vassal of both -king and pope. Amongst other things he was forced to acknowledge one of -the French king’s younger brothers as his successor in the County of -Provence. - -[Sidenote: St. Francis of Assisi] - -It is pleasant to turn from the Albigensian Crusade, one of the -blackest pictures of the Middle Ages, to its best and brightest, the -story of St. Francis of Assisi. - -In 1182 there was born at Assisi, a little Umbrian village, a boy -whom his mother named John, but whom his father, a rich merchant, -who had lately travelled in France, nicknamed ‘Francis’, or ‘the -Frenchman’. St. Dominic had developed his fiery faith in an austere and -intensely religious home; but Francis shared the light-hearted sociable -intercourse of an Italian town, and in boyhood was distinguished only -from his fellows by his generosity, innate purity, and irrepressible -joy in life. - -When he grew up, Francis went to fight with the forces of Assisi -against the neighbouring city of Perugia, and was taken prisoner with -some others of his fellow townsmen and thrown into a dungeon. The -grumbling and bitterness of the majority during that twelve months of -captivity were very natural; but Francis, unlike the rest, met the -general discomfort with serene good-humour, even merriment, so that -not for the last time in his career he was denounced as crazy. - -On his release and return home, the merchant Bernadone wished his son -to cut some figure in the world; and when the young man dreamed of -shining armour and military glory, he provided him with all he had -asked in the way of clothes and accoutrements and sent him in the train -of a wealthy noble who was going to fight in Naples. - -Half-way on his journey Francis turned back to Assisi. God, he -believed, had told him to do so--why he could not tell. He tried to -follow the frivolous life he had led before, but now the laughter of -his companions seemed to ring hollow in his ears. It was as if they -found pleasure in a shadow, while he alone was conscious that somewhere -close was a reality of joy that, if he could only discover it, would -illumine the whole world. - -Then his call came; but to the comfortable citizens of Assisi it seemed -the voice of madness. The young Bernadone, it was rumoured, had been -seen in the company of lepers and entertaining beggars at his table. -Almost all the money and goods he possessed he had given away; nay, -there came a final word that he had sold his horse and left his home to -live in a cave outside the town. The people shook their heads at such -folly and sympathized with the old Bernadone at this end to his fine -ambitions for his son. - -Pietro Bernadone in truth had developed such a furious anger that he -appealed to the Bishop of Assisi, entreating him either to persuade -Francis to give up his new way of life or else to compel him to -surrender the few belongings he had still left. Francis was then -summoned, and in the bishop’s presence handed back to his father his -purse and even his very clothes. Penniless he stood before Assisi who -had often ridden through the streets a rich man’s heir, and it was a -beggar’s grey robe with a white cross roughly chalked upon it that he -adopted as the uniform of his new career. - -His fellow townsmen had been moved by this complete renunciation; but -mingled at first with their admiration was a half-scornful incredulity. -They could understand saints ardent in defence of the Faith against -heresy, fiery in their denunciation of all worldly pleasures, for such -belonged to the religious atmosphere of the Middle Ages; but this son -of Assisi, who raised no banner in controversy, and found an equal joy -of life in the sunshine on a hill-side, in the warmth of a fire, in the -squalor of a slum, was at first beyond their spiritual vision. - -Yet Francis Bernadone belonged as truly to the mediaeval world as St. -Dominic or St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In his spirit was mingled the -self-denial of the ‘Poor Men of Lyons’ and the romance of the Provençal -singers. These troubadours sang of knights whose glory and boast were -the life-service of some incomparable lady. Francis exulted in his -servitude to ‘My Lady Poverty’, his soul aflame with a chivalry in -contrast to which the conventional devotion of poets burned dim. - -In honour of ‘My Lady Poverty’ the rich merchant’s son had cast away -his father’s affection, his military ambitions, his comfortable home -and gay clothes; and because of the strength and depth of his devotion -the surrender left no bitterness, only an intense joy that found beauty -amid the rags, disease, and filth of the most sordid surroundings. - -[Sidenote: The Franciscan Order] - -For some time it never occurred to Francis to found an Order from -amongst the men who, irresistibly drawn by his sincerity and joy, -wished to become his followers and share his privations and work -amongst the poor and sick. When they asked him for a ‘rule of life’, -such as that possessed by the monastic foundations, he led them to the -nearest church. In the words of a chronicler: - - ‘Commencing to pray (because they were simple men and did not know - where to find the Gospel text relating to the renouncing of the - world), they asked the Lord devoutly that He would deign to show - them His will at the first opening of the Book. - - ‘When they had prayed, the blessed Francis, taking in his hands the - closed Book, kneeling before the Altar opened it, and his eye fell - first upon the precept of the Lord, “If thou wouldst be perfect, - sell all that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have - treasure in Heaven”: at which the blessed Francis was very glad and - gave thanks to God.’ - -Thus, in dedication to the service of ‘My Lady Poverty’, the Order of -the ‘Lesser Brethren’ (Minorites), or the ‘Poor Men of Assisi’, was -founded and received permission from Innocent III to carry on its work -amongst lepers and outcasts, though it was not till 1223 that formal -sanction for an Order was received from Rome. - -Three years later St. Francis died, and the Friars who had lived with -him declared that he had followed Christ so closely that in his hands -and feet were found the ‘stigmata’ or marks of the wounds his Master -had endured in the agony of crucifixion. Tales have been handed down of -his humility and gentleness, of how, in the early days of the Order, he -would go himself and beg the daily bread for his small community rather -than send his companions to encounter possible insults; of how, in an -age that set little store even by human lives, he would rescue doves in -their cages that lads carried about for sale, and set them free; and of -how, because he read something of God’s soul in every creature that had -life, he preached to the birds as well as to men. - -Brotherhood to the friar of Assisi meant the union not only of all -human souls but of all creation in the praise of God, and daily he -offered thanks for the help of his brothers, the sun, the fire, and the -wind; and for his sisters, the moon and the water; and for his mother, -the earth. It was his love of nature, most strange to the thirteenth -century, that is one of the strongest bonds between St. Francis and the -men and women of to-day. - - ‘He told the brother who made the garden’, says his chronicler, - ‘not to devote all of it to vegetables, but to have some part for - flowering plants, which in their season produce “brother flowers” - for love of Him who is called “Flower of the Field” and “Lily of - the Valley”. He said, indeed, that Brother Gardener always ought to - make a beautiful patch in some part of the garden and plant it with - all sorts of sweet-smelling herbs, and herbs that produce beautiful - flowers, so that in their season they may invite men, seeing them, - to praise the Lord. For every creature cries aloud, “God made me - for thy sake, O Man!”’ - -Once the true beauty of St. Francis’s life was recognized, his -followers increased rapidly and no longer had to fear insult or injury -when they begged. Crowds, indeed, collected to hear them preach and to -bring them offerings. Some Franciscans settled in France and Germany, -and others went to England during the reign of Henry III and lived amid -the slums of London, Oxford, and Norwich, wherever it seemed to them -that they could best serve ‘Lady Poverty’. - -St. Francis himself before he died had been puzzled and almost alarmed -by the popularity he had never courted, and he confessed sadly that, -instead of living the lives of Saints, some of those who professed to -follow him were ‘fain to receive praise and honour by rehearsing and -preaching the works that the Saints did themselves achieve’. - -He was right in his fear for the future. Rules are a dead letter -without the spirit of understanding that gives them a true obedience; -and the secret of his joyous and unassuming self-denial Francis could -only bequeath to a few. Preaching, not for the sake of helping man -and glorifying God, but in order to earn the wealth and esteem their -founder had held as dross--this was the temptation to which the ‘Grey -Brethren’ succumbed, even within the generation that had known St. -Francis himself. Avarice and self-satisfaction, following their wide -popularity, soon led the Franciscans into quarrels with the other -religious Orders and with the lecturers of the Universities and the -secular clergy. These looked upon the ‘Mendicants’ as interlopers, -trying to thieve congregations, fees, and revenues to which they had no -right. - -‘None of the Faithful’, says a contemporary Benedictine sourly, -‘believe they can be saved unless they are under the direction of -the Preachers or Minorites.’ The power of the Franciscans, as of -the Dominicans, was encouraged by the majority of Popes, who, like -Innocent III, recognized in their enthusiasm a new weapon with which to -defend Rome from accusations of worldliness and corruption. In return -for papal sympathy and support the Friars became Rome’s most ardent -champions, and in defence of a system rather than in devotion to an -ideal of life they deteriorated and accepted the ordinary religious -standard of their day. - -Once more a wave of reform had swept into the mediaeval Church in a -cleansing flood, only to be lost in the ebb tide of reaction. Yet this -ultimate failure did not mean that the force of the wave was spent -in vain. St. Francis could not stem the corruption of the thirteenth -century; but his simple sincerity could reveal again to mankind an -almost-forgotten truth that the road to the love of God is the love of -humanity. - -‘The Benedictine Order was the retreat from the World, the Franciscan -the return to it.’ These words show that the mediaeval mind, with its -suspicion and dread of human nature, was undergoing transformation. -Already it showed a gleam of that more modern spirit that traces -something of the divine in every work of God, and therefore does not -feel distrust but sympathy and interest. - -To St. Augustine the way to the _Civitas Dei_ had been a precipitous -and narrow road for each human soul, encompassed by legions of evil -in its struggle for salvation. To St. Francis it was a pathway, steep -indeed and rough, but bright with flowers, and so lit by the joy of -serving others that the pilgrim scarce realized his feet were bleeding -from the stones. - -In the dungeons of Perugia the mirth of Francis Bernadone had been -called by his companions ‘craziness’, and to those whose eyes read evil -rather than good in this world his message still borders on madness. -Yet the Saint of Assisi has had his followers in all ages since his -death, distinguished not necessarily by the Grey Friar’s robe, but by -their silent spending of themselves for others and their joyous belief -in God and man. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Roger Bacon 1214-92 - Peter Abelard 1079-1142 - Thomas Aquinas 1227-74 - Arnold of Brescia (burned) 1155 - St. Dominic 1170-1221 - The Albigensian Crusade 1209 - Louis VIII of France 1223-6 - St. Francis of Assisi 1182-1226 - Foundation of Franciscan Order 1223 - - - - -XVII - -FRANCE UNDER TWO STRONG KINGS - - -We have seen that Philip Augustus laid the foundations of a strong -French monarchy, but his death was followed by feudal reaction, the -nobles struggling in every way by fraud or violence to recover the -independence that they had lost. - -Louis VIII, the new king, in order to checkmate their designs, -determined to divide his lands amongst his sons, all the younger -paying allegiance to the eldest, but each directly responsible for the -administration of his own province. Perhaps at the time this was the -most obvious means of ruling in the interests of the crown a kingdom -that, in its rapid absorption of Normandy, Anjou, Poitou, and Toulouse, -had outrun the central government. Yet it was in truth a short-sighted -policy for, since these ‘appanages’, or royal fiefs, were hereditary, -they ended by replacing the old feudal nobility with a new, the more -arrogant in its ambitions because it could claim kinship with the House -of Capet. - -[Sidenote: Louis IX] - -Louis VIII did not live long enough to put his plan into execution; -and Louis IX, a boy of twelve at the time of his accession, though -accepting later the provision made for his younger brothers in his -father’s will, was enabled, partly by the administrative ability of his -mother and guardian, Queen Blanche, partly by his own personality, to -maintain his supremacy undiminished. On one occasion his brother, the -Count of Anjou, had imprisoned a knight, in anger that the man should -have dared to appeal to the king’s court against a judicial decision -he himself had given. ‘I will have but one king in France,’ exclaimed -Louis when he heard, and ordered the knight to be released and that -both he and the count should bring their case to Paris for royal -judgement. - -Heavy penalties were also inflicted by Louis on any promoters of -private warfare, while the baronage was restricted in its right to -coin money. At this time eighty nobles besides the King are said to -have possessed their own mints. Louis, who knew the feudal coinage was -freely debased, forbade its circulation except in the province where it -had been minted; while his own money, which was of far higher value, -was made current everywhere. Men and women naturally prefer good coins -to bad in exchange for merchandise; and so the King hoped that the -debased money, when restricted in use, would gradually be driven out of -existence. - -If Louis believed in his rights as an absolute king, he had an equally -high conception of the duties that such rights involved. ‘Make thyself -beloved by thy people,’ he said to his son, ‘for I would rather that -a Scotchman came from Scotland and governed my subjects well and -equitably than that thou shouldst govern them badly.’ - -Royal justice, like the coinage, must be superior to any other justice; -and so the chroniclers tell us that Louis selected as his bailiffs -and seneschals those who were ‘loyal and wise, of upright conduct and -good reputation, above all, men with clean hands’. Knowing the ease -with which even well-meaning officials could be corrupted by money and -honours, he ordered his deputies neither to receive nor give presents, -while he warned his judges always to lean rather to the side of the -poor than of the rich in a case of law until evidence revealed the -truth. - -Philip Augustus had followed justice because he believed that it paid, -and his subjects had feared and respected him. His grandson, with his -keen sense of honour, shrank from injustice as something unclean; and -we are told that the people ‘loved him as men love God and the Saints’. - -Like nearly all the kings of France, Louis was a devout son of the -Church, and it was under his protection that Innocent IV resided safely -at Lyons when Frederick II had driven him from Rome.[24] Nevertheless -the King’s sincere love of the Faith, that later won him canonization -as a Saint, never hindered his determination that he would be master of -all his subjects, both lay and ecclesiastical. If the clergy sinned -after the manner of laymen he was firm that they should be tried in the -lay courts; and while his contemporary, Henry III of England, remained -a feeble victim of papal encroachments, Louis boldly declared, ‘It -is unheard of that the Holy See, when it is in need, should impose -subsidies on the Church of France, and levy those contributions on -temporal goods that can only be imposed by the King.’ - -No storm of protest was aroused, for the Papacy in its bitter struggle -with the Empire was largely dependent on French support; while Louis’s -transparent purity of motive in maintaining his supremacy disarmed -indignation. An Italian friar, who saw him humbly sharing the meal -of some Franciscan brethren, described him as ‘more monk than king’. -This assumption was at first sight borne out by his daily life: his -simple diet and love of sombre clothes; his habit of rising from his -bed at midnight and in the early mornings to share in the services of -the Church; his hatred of oaths, lying, and idle gossip; his almost -reckless charity; the eager help he offered in nursing the sick amongst -his Paris slums and in washing the feet of the most repulsive beggars -who crowded at his gate. ‘He was frail and slender,’ says the same -Italian, ‘with an angelic expression, and dove’s eyes full of grace.’ - -Perhaps, if Louis had not been called to the life of a king, he might -have become a friar; but living in the world he loved his wife and -children, and would sometimes tease the former by protesting, when she -complained how poorly he dressed, that if he put on gaudy clothes to -please her she also must go in drab attire to please him. - -Those of his subjects who saw Louis on the battle-field describe him as -‘the finest knight ever seen’, and recount tales of their difficulty -in restraining his hot courage, that would carry him into the fiercest -hand-to-hand conflict without any thought of personal danger. Yet this -king was a lover of peace in his heart. He wished to be friends with -all his Christian neighbours, and, well content with the lands that -already belonged to the French crown, he negotiated a treaty by which -he recognized English claims to the Duchy of Guienne. Less successful -was his effort to act as mediator between popes and emperors; but if -he could not secure peace he determined at least to remain as neutral -in the struggle as possible, refusing the imperial crown when the Pope -deposed Frederick II. Nor would he reap advantage out of the anarchy -that followed on that emperor’s death. - -War between Christians was hateful to Louis because it prevented any -combined action against the Turks; for in him, as in Innocent III, -burned the old crusading spirit that had never quite died out in France. - -At the beginning of the thirteenth century a French peasant lad, -Stephen, had preached a new crusade, saying that God had told him in a -vision that it was left for Christian children to succeed where their -elders had failed in recovering the Holy Sepulchre. Thousands of boys -and girls, some of them only twelve or thirteen years of age, collected -at Marseilles in eager response to this message. They expected that -a pathway would be opened to them across the sea as in the days of -Moses and the Chosen People, and when they had waited for some time -in vain for this miracle, they allowed themselves to be entrapped by -false merchants, who, though Christian in name, would allow nothing to -stand in the way of the gold that they coveted. Enticed on board ship, -disarmed, bound, and manacled, the unfortunate young crusaders were -sold in the market-places of Egypt and Syria to become the slaves of -the Moslems whom they had hoped to conquer. - -When he had first heard of the Children’s Crusade, Innocent III had -exclaimed, ‘The children shame us indeed!’ and St. Louis, the inheritor -of their spirit, felt that his kingship would be shamed unless he used -his power and influence to convert and overthrow the Turk. - -[Sidenote: The Seventh Crusade] - -One of his subjects, who loved him, the Sieur de Joinville, has left a -graphic personal account of the expedition undertaken against Egypt. -From Cyprus, the head-quarters of the crusaders, a fleet of some one -thousand eight hundred vessels, great and small, sailed to Damietta, at -the mouth of the Nile; and Louis, seeing his ensign borne ashore, would -not be restrained, but leaped himself into the water, lance in hand, -shouting his battle-cry of ‘Mont-joie St. Denys!’ - -Before the impetuosity of an army inspired by this zeal the town soon -fell; but the mediaeval mind had reckoned little with difficulties of -climate, and soon the unhealthy mists that hung over the delta of the -Nile were decimating the Christian ranks with fever and dysentery, -while many of the best troops perished in unimportant skirmishes into -which daring rather than a wise judgement had led them. The advance -once checked became a retreat, the retreat a rout; and St. Louis, -refusing to desert his rear-guard, was taken prisoner by the Mahometans. - -The disaster was complete, for only on the surrender of Damietta and -the payment of a huge ransom was the King released, but his patience -and chivalry redeemed his failure from all stain of ignominy. Instead -of returning to France he sailed to the Holy Land; where, though -Jerusalem had again fallen to the Turks after Frederick II’s temporary -possession of it, yet a strip of seaboard, including the port of Acre, -remained to the Christians. - -Louis believed that, unless he persevered in fulfilling his vow, -crusaders of a lesser rank would lose their hope and courage, and so, -enfeebled by disease, he stayed for three years in Palestine, until -the death of his mother, Queen Blanche, whom he had left as regent in -France, compelled him to return home. Joinville relates how on this -voyage, because of the fierceness of the storm, the sailors would have -put the King ashore at Cyprus, but Louis feared a panic amongst the -terrified troops if he agreed. ‘There is none’, he said, ‘that does -not love his life as much as I love mine, and these peradventure would -never return to their own land. Therefore I like better to place my own -person ... in God’s hands than to do this harm to the many people who -are here.’ - -Louis reached France in safety, but, chafing at his crusading failures, -he once more took the Cross, against the advice of his barons, in 1270. -It was his aim to regain Tunis, and so to free part of North Africa at -least from Mahometan rule. To this task he brought his old religious -enthusiasm, but France was weary of crusades, and many of those who -had fought willingly in Syria and Egypt now refused to follow him, -leaving the greater part of his army to be composed of mercenaries, -tempted only by their pay. - -Landing near Carthage, the crusaders soon found themselves outnumbered, -and were blockaded by their foes amid the ruins of the town. Pestilence -swept the crowded, insanitary camp, and one of the first to fall a -victim was the delicate king. ‘Lord, have pity on Thy people whom I -have led here. Send them to their homes in safety. Let them not fall -into the hands of their enemies, nor let them be forced to deny Thy -Holy Name.’ - -The dying words of the saint are characteristic of his love of the -Faith and of his people; and everywhere in the camp and in France, when -the news of his death reached her, there was mourning for this king -among kings who had sacrificed his life for his ideals. Yet the flame -of enthusiasm he had tried to keep alight quickly flickered out into -the darkness, and his son and successor, Philip III, made a truce with -the Sultan of Tunis that enabled him to withdraw his army and embark -for home. The only person really annoyed by this arrangement was the -English prince Edward, afterwards Edward I, who arrived on the scene -just at the time of St. Louis’s death, thirsting for a campaign and -military glory; but owing to the general indifference he was forced to -give up the idea of war in Africa and continue his journey alone to the -Holy Land. - -Philip III of France has left little mark on history. He stands, with -the title of ‘the Rash’, between two kings of dominant personality--his -father, canonized as a saint before the century had closed, and his son -Philip IV, ‘the Fair’, anything but a saint in his hard, unscrupulous -dealings with the world, but yet one of the strongest rulers that -France has known. - -Philip IV was only seventeen when he became king. From his nickname -‘le Bel’ it is obvious that he was handsome, but no kindly Joinville -has left a record of his personal life and character. We can only draw -our conclusions from his acts, and these show him ruthless in his -ambitions, mean, and vindictive. - -In his dealings with the Papacy Philip’s conduct stands contrasted -with the usual affectionate reverence of his predecessors; but this -contrast is partly accounted for by the fact that, at the end of the -quarrel between Empire and Papacy, Rome found herself regarding France -from a very changed standpoint to the early days of that encounter. - -Ever since the time of Gregory VII the Hohenstaufen emperors had loomed -like a thunder-cloud on the papal horizon, but with the execution of -Conradin, the last of the royal line,[25] this threatening atmosphere -had cleared. The Empire fell a prey to civil war during the Great -Interregnum, that is, during the seventeen years when English, -Spanish, and German princes contended without any decisive results -for the imperial crown. Count Rudolf of Habsburg, who at last emerged -triumphant, had learned at least one diplomatic lesson, that if he -wished to have a free hand in Germany he could do so best as the friend -of the Pope, not as his enemy. One of his earliest acts was to ratify a -concordat with Rome in which he resigned all those imperial claims to -the lands belonging to the Holy See that Frederick II had put forward. -He also agreed to acknowledge Count Charles of Anjou, brother of St. -Louis and the Pope’s chief ally, as Count of Provence and King of -Naples and Sicily. - -Italy was thus freed from German intervention, but her cities remained -torn by the factions of Guelfs and Ghibellines; and the iron hand of -the French lay as heavily on ‘The Kingdom’ as ever the Hohenstaufen’s -despotic sceptre. The Sicilians, restless under the yoke, began to -mourn Frederick, who, whatever his sins, had been born and bred in the -south, the son of a southern princess; while these French were cruel -with the indifferent ferocity of strangers who despised those whom they -oppressed. - -[Sidenote: The Sicilian Vespers] - -Out of the sullen hatred of the multitude, stirred of a sudden to -white heat by the assault of a French soldier on a woman of Palermo, -sprang the ‘Sicilian Vespers’, the rebellion and massacre of an Easter -Monday night, when more than four thousand of the hated strangers, -men, women, and children, were put to death and their bodies flung -into an open pit. Charles of Anjou prepared a fitting revenge for -this insult to his race, a revenge that he intended to exact to the -uttermost farthing, for he had little of his brother’s sense of justice -and tender heart; but while he made his preparations a Spanish prince, -Peter III of Aragon, came to the rescue of the Sicilians with a large -fleet. A fierce war followed, but in spite of defeats, treaties that -would have sacrificed her to the interests of kings, and continuous -papal threats, Sicily clung staunch to her new ally, gaining at last -as a recognized Aragonese possession a triumphant independence of the -Angevin kingdom of Naples. - -Rome, under a pope who was merely the puppet of Charles of Anjou, had -hurled anathemas at Peter III; but his successors of more independent -mind envied the Sicilians. It was of little use for Rome to throw off -Hohenstaufen chains if she must rivet in their stead those of the -French House of Anjou. This was the fear that made her look with cold -suspicion on her once well-beloved sons the kings of France, whose -relations of the blood-royal were also kings of Naples. - -[Sidenote: Boniface VIII] - -In 1294 Pope Boniface VIII, sometimes called ‘the last of the mediaeval -Popes’ because any hopes of realizing the world-wide ambitions of a -Hildebrand or of an Innocent III died with him, was elected to the -Chair of St. Peter. His jubilee, held at Rome in 1300 to celebrate the -new century, was of a splendour to dazzle the thousands of pilgrims -from all parts of Europe who poured their offerings into his coffers; -but its glamour was delusive. - -Already he had suffered rebuffs in encounters with the kings of England -and France: for, when he published a Bull, _Clericis Laicos_, that -forbade the clergy to pay taxes any longer to a lay ruler, Edward I -at once condemned the English Church to outlawry, until from fear of -the wholesale robbery of their lands and goods his bishops consented -to a compromise that made the Bull a dead letter. Philip IV of France, -on his part, was even more violent, for he retaliated by ordering his -subjects to send no more contributions to Rome of any kind. - -A wiser man than Boniface might have realized from his failures that -the growth of nationality was proving too strong for any theories of -world-government, whether papal or imperial; but, old and stubborn, he -could not set aside his Hildebrandine ideals. When one of his legates, -a Frenchman, embarked on a dispute with Philip IV, Boniface told him to -meet the King with open defiance, upon which Philip immediately ordered -the ecclesiastic’s arrest, and that his archbishop should degrade him -from his office. Boniface then fulminated threats of excommunication -and deposition, to which the French king replied by an act of open -violence. - -The agent he chose to inflict this insult was a certain Nogaret, -grandson of an Albigensian heretic who had been burned at the stake, -and this man joined himself to some of the nobles of the Roman -Campagna, who had equally little reverence for the Head of Christendom. -Heavily armed, they appeared in the village of Anagni, where Boniface -VIII was staying, and demanded to see him. Outside in the street their -men-at-arms stood shouting ‘Death to the Pope!’ - -Boniface could hear them from his audience-chamber, but though he was -eighty-six his courage did not fail him. Clad in his full pontifical -robes, his cross in one hand, his keys of St. Peter in the other, -he received the intruders. Nogaret roughly demanded his abdication. -‘Here is my head! Here is my neck!’ he replied. ‘Betrayed like Jesus -Christ, if I must die like Him I will at least die Pope.’ At this one -of the Roman nobles struck him across the face with his mailed glove, -felling him to the ground, and would have killed him had not Nogaret -interfered. It was the Provençal’s mission to intimidate rather than to -murder, and while he argued with the Italians a hostile crowd assembled -to rescue their Vicar, and the French agents were forced to fly. - -The proud old man survived the indignities he had suffered only by a -few weeks, and his successor, having dared to excommunicate those who -took part in the scene at Anagni, died also with mysterious suddenness. -No definite suspicion attached to Philip IV, but rumour whispered the -fatal word ‘poison’, and the conclave of cardinals spent ten uneasy -months in trying to find a new pope. At last a choice emerged from the -conclave, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, with the title of Clement V. He -was crowned at Lyons, and never ventured into Italy, choosing as his -residence the city of Avignon in Provence. - -Here for just over seventy years, during the ‘Babylonish Captivity’ -as it was usually called, a succession of popes reigned under French -influence, having exchanged the imperial yoke for one still more -binding. - -Philip IV at once made use of this French Head of Christendom to -condemn the Order of Templars, which from their powerful organization -and extensive revenues he had long regarded with dislike and envy. - -The crusades at an end, the Templars had outlived the object of their -foundation; while the self-denial imposed upon them and their roving, -uncloistered life, exposed them to constant temptations to which many -of the less spiritual succumbed. Thus their suppression was probably -wise; but Philip IV, a pitiless enemy, did not merely suppress, he -pursued the Knights of the Temple with vindictive cruelty. Hundreds -were thrown into dungeons, and there tortured into confessing crimes, -the committal of which they afterwards recanted in vain; while their -principal officers were burned at the stake in the market-places of -the large French towns. By papal commands the revenues of the Templars -passed into the exchequer of the Knights of St. John, who still guarded -one of the outposts of Christendom, the island of Rhodes; but the -French king took care that a substantial part of the money confiscated -in France went instead to his own treasury. - -Philip was indeed in serious financial straits, for the revenues of -the royal demesnes were proving quite inadequate to meet the expenses -of a government that now extended its sway over the length and breadth -of France. Philip tried many expedients to meet the deficiency, most -of them bad. Such were the frequent debasement of the coinage and the -imposition of the _gabelle_, that is of a tax on the sale of goods. -This was justly hated because instead of encouraging commerce it -penalized industry by adding to the price of nearly every commodity put -on the market. Thus a _gabelle_ imposed on grain would mean that a man -must pay a tax on it three times over, first in the form of grain, -then of flour, and finally as bread. - -Worse even than the _gabelle_ was Philip’s method of ‘farming’ -the taxes, that is, of selling the right to collect them to some -speculator, who would make himself responsible to the government for -a round sum, and then squeeze what extra money he could out of the -unfortunate populace in order to repay his efforts. - -[Sidenote: Government of Philip IV] - -It is not, then, for any improved financial administration that the -reign of Philip IV is worthy of praise. His was no original genius, -but rather a practical ability for developing the schemes invented by -his predecessors. Like them he hated and distrusted his insubordinate -baronage; and, seeking to impose his fierce will upon them, turned -for advice and obedience to men of lesser rank, employing as the main -instrument of his government the lawyer class that Philip Augustus -and Louis IX had introduced in limited numbers amongst the feudal -office-holders at their court. - -The employment of trained workers in the place of amateurs resulted in -improved administration, so it followed that under Philip IV the French -government began to take a definitely modern stamp and became divided -into separate departments for considering different kinds of work. Thus -it was the duty of the _Conseil du Roi_, or King’s Council, to give the -Sovereign advice; of the _Chambre des Comptes_, or Chamber of Finance, -to deal with financial questions; of the _Parlement_, or chief judicial -court, to sit in Paris for two months at least twice a year to hold -assizes and give judgements. - -The _Parlement de Paris_ resembles the English Parliament somewhat in -name; but except for a right, later acquired, of registering royal -edicts, its work was entirely judicial, not legislative. The body in -France that most nearly corresponded to the English Parliament was the -‘States-General’, composed of representatives of the three ‘Estates’ or -classes, of clergy, nobles, and citizens. The peasants of France, who -composed the greater part of her population, were not represented at -all. - -Philip IV summoned the ‘States-General’ several times to approve his -suggestions; but, unlike the ‘Model Parliament’ called by his English -contemporary Edward I for similar reasons, it never developed into a -legislative assembly that could act as a competent check upon royal -tyranny, but existed merely as it seemed to accept responsibility -for its ruler’s laws and financial demands, whether good or bad. Its -weakness arose partly from the fact that it often sat only for a day at -a time and so had no leisure to discuss the measures laid before it, -but still more owing to the class selfishness that prevented the three -classes from combining to insist on reforms before they would vote any -taxes. - -This was very unfortunate for France, since on the one occasion that -the nobles and burghers actually did combine in refusing to submit to -an especially obnoxious _gabelle_ that hit both their pockets, Philip -IV was forced to yield, reluctantly enough because the loss of the -money led to his failure in a war in Flanders. - -Flanders was a fief of the French crown, and because its count, his -tenant-in-chief, had dared to rebel against him, Philip had flung him -into prison and declared his lands confiscated. Then with his queen he -had ridden north to visit this territory now owning direct allegiance -to himself, in the belief that he had nothing to do but to give -orders to its inhabitants and await their immediate fulfilment. The -chroniclers tell us that the royal pair were overcome with astonishment -at the display of fine clothes and jewels made by the burghers of -Bruges to do them honour. - -‘I thought that there was only one Queen in France,’ exclaimed Philip’s -consort discontentedly. ‘Here I see at least six hundred.’ The King, -always with an eye to the main chance, regarded the brilliant throng -more philosophically. They seemed to him very suitable subjects -for taxation; but the Flemings had won their wealth by a sturdy -independence of spirit both in the market-place and on the high seas: -they had been indifferent to the fate of their count, but at any time -preferred the risks of rebellion to being plucked like geese by the -King of France. - -On the field of Courtrai, where Philip brought his army to punish -their insolence, the Flemish burghers taught Europe, as their Milanese -fellows had at Legnano in the twelfth century, that citizen levies -could hold their own against heavily-armed feudal troops; and though -the King’s careful generalship redeemed this defeat two years later, he -found the victory he obtained barren of fruit. Within a few weeks of -the burghers’ apparent collapse yet another citizen army had rallied to -attack the royal camp, and Philip, declaring angrily that ‘it rained -Flemings’, was driven to conclude a peace. - -[Sidenote: Philip IV] - -Besides hating the independence of the Flemings, Philip IV grudged -the English supremacy over the Duchy of Guienne that his grandfather -had so willingly acknowledged. To his jealous eyes it ran its wedge -like an alien dagger into the heart of his kingdom; and watching -his opportunity until Edward I was involved in wars with Wales and -Scotland, Philip crossed the borders of the Duchy, and by force or -craft obtained control of the greater number of its fortresses. There -is little doubt that had he lived he would gradually have absorbed -the whole of the southern provinces; but when only forty-six he died, -mourned by few of his subjects, and yet one of the kings who had set -his stamp with the most lasting results upon the government of France. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - The Children’s Crusade 1212 - Philip III of France 1270-85 - Edward I of England 1272-1307 - Clement V 1305-14 - Battle of Courtrai 1302 - - - - -XVIII - -THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR - - -During fourteen years, from 1314 to 1328, three sons of Philip IV -reigned in rapid succession; but with the death of the last the main -line of the House of Capet came to an end, and the crown passed to his -nephew and namesake Philip of Valois.[26] The latter declared that his -claims were based on a clause of the old Salic Law[27] forbidding a -woman to inherit landed property, because as it happened Philip IV had -left a daughter Isabel, who had married Edward II of England, and their -son Edward III loudly protested that his right to the throne of France -was stronger than that of the Valois. The Salic Law, Edward maintained, -might prevent a woman from succeeding to the throne, but there was -nothing in this restriction to forbid the inheritance passing to her -male heirs. - -[Sidenote: Causes of the Hundred Years’ War] - -The question of the Salic Law is important because its different -interpretations were the immediate excuse for opening hostilities -between England and France in that long and weary struggle called -the ‘Hundred Years’ War’. There were of course other and far deeper -reasons. One of these reasons was that English kings had never -forgotten or forgiven John’s expulsion from Normandy. They wanted to -avenge this ignominious defeat and also Philip IV’s encroachments in -the Duchy of Guienne, that, united to his policy of supporting the -Scottish chieftains in their war of independence, had been a steady -source of disaster to England since the beginning of the fourteenth -century. - -Because of his failure in Scotland and the revolts of his turbulent -barons Edward II was murdered; and Edward III, taking warning from his -father’s fate, welcomed the war with France, not merely in the hope -of revenge and glory, but still more in order to find an occupation -for the hot English blood that might otherwise in the course of its -embittered feuds murder him. - -He rode forth to battle, the hero of his court and of the chivalry -of England; but no less, as it happened, the champion of her middle -classes, who cheerfully put their hands in their pockets to pay for -his first campaigns. The reason of their enthusiasm for this war was -that Philip of Valois, in order to annoy his rival, had commanded his -Flemish subjects to trade no longer with the English. Now English sheep -were the best in Europe (so valuable that their export was forbidden -lest another nation should obtain the breed), and English wool was the -raw material of all others on which Flanders depended for the wealth -and prosperity gained by her looms and factories. Before this time -English kings had encouraged Flemish trade, establishing ‘Staple’ -markets in certain towns under their protection, where merchants of -both countries could meet and bargain over their wares. Wishing to -retaliate on Philip VI, however, Edward III stopped the export of -wool, though at the same time he offered good terms and advantages to -any of the manufacturers of Bruges and Ghent who might care to settle -in Norfolk or on the East Coast and set up factories there as English -subjects. - -Such a suggestion could not satisfy the Flemish national spirit, and -in the large towns discontent with the French king grew daily. At last -one of the popular leaders, Jacob van Artevelde, ‘the Brewer of Ghent’, -began to rouse his countrymen by inflammatory speeches. ‘He showed -them’, says the chronicler, ‘that they could not live without the King -of England’; and his many commercial arguments he strengthened with -others intended to win those who might hesitate to break their oath -of allegiance, assuring them that Edward III was in truth by right of -birth King of France. - -Rebellion sprang up on all sides in response; and when, in 1338, Edward -III actually embarked on the war, he had behind him not only the -English wool-farmers, but also the majority of Flemish merchants and -artisans, alike convinced that his victory would open Flemish markets -to trade across the Channel. - -The Hundred Years’ War falls into two distinct periods: the first, the -contest waged by the Angevin Edward III against the House of Valois, -a struggle that lasted until 1375; the second, a similar effort begun -by the Lancastrian Kings of England in 1415 after a time of almost -suspended hostilities under Richard II. In each period there is the -same switchback course to the campaigns, as they rise towards a -high-water mark of English successes only to sink away to final French -achievement. - -The first of the great English victories was fittingly a naval battle, -destined to avenge long years during which French raiders had harried -the south coast, penetrated up the Solent, and even set fire to large -towns like Southampton. In June 1340, near the entrance to the port of -Sluys, some two hundred English vessels of all makes and sizes came -upon the French fleet, drawn up in four lines closely chained together -so as to form a kind of bulwark to the harbour. On the decks of the -tall ships, the turrets of which were piled with stones and other -missiles, were hundreds of Genoese archers; but the English bowmen -at this time had no match in Europe for long-distance accuracy and -steadiness, and the whistling fire of their arrows soon drove their -hired rivals into hiding and enabled the English men-at-arms to board -the vessels opposite them almost unopposed. - -From this moment panic set in along the French lines, and the greater -number of ships, unable to escape because of the chains that bound them -together, were sunk at anchor, with, according to the chroniclers, -twenty-five thousand of their crews and fighting-material. - -The English were now masters of the Channel, and Edward III was -enabled to transplant an army to Flanders, but no triumph in any way -corresponding to the victory of Sluys rewarded his efforts in this -field of warfare. The campaign became a tedious affair of sieges; and -the Flemings, cooling from their first sympathies, came to dislike -the English and to accuse Jacob van Artevelde of supplying Edward III -with money, merely in order to forward his personal ambitions. This -charge the Flemish leader stoutly denied, but when, hearing the people -of Ghent hooting him in the street outside his house, he stepped out -on to the balcony and tried to clear himself, the mob surged forward, -and, refusing to listen to a word, broke in through the barred doors -and murdered him. This was ill news for Edward III, but angry though he -was at the fate of his ally, he had neither sufficient men nor money to -exact vengeance. Instead he himself determined to try a new theatre of -war, for, as well as his army in Flanders, he had other forces fighting -the French in Normandy and Guienne. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Creci] - -Edward landed in Normandy; and at Creci, to the north of the Somme, -as he marched towards Calais, he was overtaken by Philip of Valois in -command of a very large but undisciplined force. - - ‘You must know’, says Froissart, the famous chronicler of this - first period of the Hundred Years’ War, ‘that the French troops - did not advance in any particular order, and that as soon as their - King came in sight of the English his blood began to boil, and he - cried out to his Marshals, “Order the Genoese forward and begin the - battle in the name of God and St. Denys!”’ - -These Genoese were archers, who had already marched on foot so far and -at such a pace that they were exhausted; and when, against their will, -they sullenly advanced, their bows that were wet from a thunderstorm -proved slack and untrue. The sun also, that had just emerged from -behind a cloud, shone in their eyes and dazzled them. Silently the -English bowmen waited as they drew near, shouting hoarsely, and then of -a sudden poured into the weary ranks such a multitude of arrows that -‘it seemed as though it snowed’. - -The Genoese, utterly disheartened, broke and fled; at which the French -king, choking with rage, cried, ‘Kill me this rabble that cumbers our -road without any reason’; but the English fire never ceased; and the -French knights and men-at-arms that came to take the place of the -Genoese and rode them underfoot fell in their turn with the shafts -piercing through the joints of their heavy armour. - -Again, at Creci it was made evident to Europe that the old feudal order -of battle was passing away. Victory fell not to the knight armoured -with his horse like a slowly-moving turret, but to the clear-eyed, -leather-clad bowman, or the foot-soldier quick with his knife or -spear. The French fought gallantly at Creci, and none more fiercely -than Philip of Valois, whose horse was killed beneath him; but courage -cannot wipe out bad generalship, and when at last he consented to -retreat he left eleven princes of the blood-royal and over a thousand -of his knights stretched on the battle-field. - -The defeat of Creci took from Calais any hope of French succour, and -in the following year after a prolonged siege it surrendered to the -English and became the most cherished of all their possessions across -the seas. ‘The Commons of England’, wrote Froissart, ‘love Calais more -than any town in the world, for they say that as long as they are -masters of Calais they hold the keys of France at their girdle.’ - -[Sidenote: The Black Death] - -Death at the battle of Creci, decked in all the panoply of mediaeval -warfare, had taken its toll of the chivalry of France and England. -Now, in an open and ghastly form, indifferent alike to race or creed, -it stalked across Europe, visiting palace and castle but sweeping with -a still more ruthless scythe the slum and the hovel. Somewhere in the -far East the ‘Black Death’, as it was later called, had its origin, -and wherever it passed, moving westward, villages, nay, even towns, -disappeared. - -More than thirteen million people are said to have perished in China, -India was almost depopulated, and at last in 1347 Europe also was -smitten. Very swift was the blow, for many victims of the plague -died in a few hours, the majority within five days; and contemporary -writers tell us of ships, that left an eastern harbour with their full -complement of crew, found drifting in the Mediterranean a few weeks -later without a living soul on board to take the helm; of towns where -the dead were so many that there was none to bury them; of villages -where the peasants fell like cattle in the fields and by the wayside -unnoticed. - -In Italy, in France, in England, there is the same record of misery -and terror. Boccaccio, the Italian writer, describes in his book, -the _Decameron_, how the wealthy nobles and maidens of Florence fled -from the plague-stricken town to a villa without the walls, there to -pass their days in telling one another tales. These tales have made -Boccaccio famous as the first great European novelist; but in reality -not many even of the wealthy could keep beyond the range of infection, -and Boccaccio himself says elsewhere ‘these who first set the example -of forsaking others languished where there was no one to take pity on -them’. - -Neither courage, nor devotion, nor selfishness could avail against -the dread scourge; though like all diseases its ravages were most -virulent where small dwellings were crowded together or where dirt and -insanitary conditions prevailed. ‘They fell sick by thousands,’ says -Boccaccio of the poorer classes, ‘and having no one whatever to attend -them, most of them died.’ According to a doctor in the south of France, -‘the number of those swept away was greater than those left alive.’ In -the once thriving port of Marseilles ‘so many died that it remained -like an uninhabited place’. Another French writer, speaking of Paris, -says, ‘there was so great a mortality of people of both sexes ... -that they could hardly be buried.’ ‘There was no city, nor town, nor -hamlet,’ writes an Englishman of his own country, ‘nor even, save in -rare instances, any house, in which this plague did not carry off the -whole or the greater portion of the inhabitants.’ - -One immediate result of the Black Death was to put a temporary stop -to the war between England and France; for armies were reduced to a -fraction of their former strength and rival kings forgot words like -‘glory’ or ‘conquest’ in terrified contemplation of an enemy against -whom all their weapons were powerless. - -Other and more lasting effects were experienced everywhere, for town -and village life was completely disorganized: magistrates, city -officials, priests, and doctors had perished in such numbers that it -was difficult to replace them: criminals plundered deserted houses -unchecked: the usually law-abiding, deprived of the guidance to which -they had been accustomed, gave themselves up to a dissolute life, -trying to drown all thoughts of the past and future in any enjoyment -they could find in the present. Work almost ceased: the looms stood -idle, the ships remained without cargoes, the fields were neither -reaped of the one harvest nor sown for the next. The peasants, when -reproached, declared that the plague had been a sign of the end of the -world and that therefore to labour was a waste of time. ‘All things -were dearer,’ says a Frenchman: ‘furniture, food, and merchandise of -all sorts doubled in price: servants would only work for higher wages.’ - -In the years following the Black Death the labouring classes of Europe -discovered for the first time their value. They were the necessary -foundation to the scheme of mediaeval life, the base of the feudal -pyramid; and, since they were now few in number, masters began to -compete for their services. Thus they were able to demand a better -wage for their work and improved conditions; but here the governments -of the day, that ruled in the interests of the nobles and middle -classes, stepped in, forbade wages to be raised, or villeins and serfs -to leave their homes and seek better terms in another neighbourhood. -The discontent of those held down with an iron hand, yet half awake to -the possibilities of greater freedom, seethed towards revolution; but -few mediaeval kings chose to look below the surface of national life, -and in the case of England Edward III was certainly not enough of a -statesman to do so. - -In 1355 he renewed the war with France, hoping that by victories he -would be able to fill his own purse from French ransoms and pillage -as well as to drug the disordered popular mind at home with showy -triumphs. His eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince, who had gained his -spurs at Creci, landed at Bordeaux and marched through Guienne, the -English armies like the French being mainly composed of ‘companies’, -that is, of hired troops under military captains, the terror of friends -and foes alike; for with impartial ruthlessness they trampled down -corn and vineyards as they passed, pillaged towns, and burned farms and -villages. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Poitiers] - -Philip of Valois was dead, but his son, John ‘the Good’, had succeeded -him, and earned his title, it must be supposed, by his punctilious -regard for the laws of mediaeval chivalry. His reckless daring, -extravagance, and rash generalship made him at any rate a very bad -ruler according to modern standards. Froissart says that on the field -of Poitiers, where the two armies met, ‘King John on his part proved -himself a good knight; indeed, if the fourth of his people had behaved -as well, the day would have been his own.’ - -This is extremely doubtful, for the French, though far the larger -force, were outmanœuvred from the first. The Black Prince had the -gift of generalship and disposed his army so that it was hidden amid -the slopes of a thick vineyard, laying an ambush of skilled archers -behind the shelter of a hedge. As King John’s cavalry charged towards -the only gap, in order to clear a road for their main army, they were -mown down by a merciless fire at short range from the ambush; while -in the ensuing confusion English knights swept round on the French -flank and put the foot-soldiers to flight. The Black Prince’s victory -was complete, for King John and his principal nobles were surrounded -and taken prisoners after a fierce conflict in which for a long time -they refused to surrender. ‘They behaved themselves so loyally’, says -Froissart, ‘that their heirs to this day are honoured for their sake’: -and Prince Edward, waiting on his royal captive that night at dinner, -awarded him the ‘prize and garland’ of gallantry above all other -combatants. - -Evil days followed in France, where her king’s chivalry could not pay -his enormous ransom nor those of his distinguished fellow prisoners. -For this money merchants must sweat and save, and the peasants toil -longer hours on starvation rations; while the ‘companies’, absolved -by a truce from regular warfare, exacted their daily bread at the -sword-point when and where they chose. - -Famous captains, who were really infamous brigands, took their toll of -sheep and corn and grapes; and those farmers and labourers who refused, -or could not give what they required, they flung alive on to bonfires, -while they tortured and mutilated their wives and families. Against -such wickedness there was no protection either from the government or -overlords; indeed, the latter were as cruel as the brigand chiefs, -extorting the very means of livelihood from their tenants and serfs -to pay for the distractions of a court never more extravagant and -pleasure-seeking than in this hour of national disaster. - -‘Jacques Bonhomme,’ the French noble would say mockingly of the -peasant, ‘has a broad back ... he will pull out his purse fast enough -if he is beaten.’ The day came, however, when Jacques Bonhomme, grown -reckless in his misery, pulled out his knife instead, and, in the -words of Froissart, became like a ‘mad dog’. He had neither leaders -nor any hope of reform, nothing but a seething desire for revenge; and -in the ‘Jacquerie’, as the peasant rebellion of this date was called, -he inflicted on the nobles and their families all the horrors that -he himself, standing by helpless, had seen perpetrated on his own -belongings. Castles were burned, their furniture and treasures looted -and destroyed, their owners were roasted at slow fires, their wives and -daughters violated, their children tortured and massacred. - -This is one of the most hideous scenes in French history, the darker -because France in her blindness learned no lesson from it. The nobles, -who soon gained the upper hand against these wild undisciplined hordes, -exacted a vengeance in proportion to the crimes committed, and fixed -the yoke of serfdom more surely than ever on the shoulders of Jacques -Bonhomme. This was the only way, in their conception, to deal with such -a mad dog; but Jacques Bonhomme was in reality an outraged human being -of flesh and blood like those who loathed and despised him; and during -centuries of tyranny his anger grew in force and bitterness until in -the Revolution of 1789 it burst forth with a violence against both -guilty and innocent that no power in France was strong enough to stem. - -[Sidenote: Étienne Marcel] - -The outrages of the Jacquerie unfortunately discredited real efforts at -reform that had been initiated in Paris by the leader of the middle -classes, the Provost of Merchants, Étienne Marcel. This Marcel had -demanded that the States-General should be called regularly twice a -year, that the Dauphin Charles,[28] eldest son of King John, who was -acting as regent during his father’s imprisonment, should send away his -favourites, and that instead of these fraudulent ministers a standing -council of elected representatives should be set up to advise the crown. - -To these and many other reforms the Dauphin pretended to yield under -the pressure of public opinion; but he soon broke all his promises -and began to rule again as he chose. Marcel, roused to indignation, -summoned his citizen levies, and, breaking into the Prince’s palace, -ordered his men-at-arms to seize two of the most hated ministers and -drag them to the royal presence. ‘Do that quickly for which you were -brought,’ he said to the soldiers; whereupon they slew the favourites -as they crouched at Charles’s feet, their fingers clinging to his robe. - -This act of violence won for Étienne Marcel the undying hatred of the -Dauphin and his court, and from this time the decline of his influence -may be traced. In order to maintain his power the popular leader was -driven to condone the excesses of the peasants, in their rebellion, -that had shocked the whole of France, and to ally himself with Charles -the Bad, King of Navarre, to whom he promised to deliver the keys of -Paris in return for his support against the Dauphin. - -This was a fatal move, for Charles the Bad did not care at all for the -interests of the middle classes: he only wished to gain some secret -or advantage worth selling, and at once betrayed Étienne to his foes -as soon as the Dauphin paid him a sufficient price. Then a trap was -arranged, and Marcel killed in the gateway of Paris as he was about -to open its strong bars to his treacherous ally. With his death all -attempts at securing a more liberal and responsible government failed. - -The country, indeed, had sunk into the apathy of exhaustion; and two -years later the Treaty of Bretigni, that represents the high-water mark -of English power in France, was thankfully signed. In return for Edward -III’s surrender of his claim to the French throne, his right to the -Duchy of Guienne as well as to Calais and the country immediately round -its walls was recognized, without any of the feudal obligations that -had been such a fruitful source of trouble in old days. - -[Illustration: The Treaty of BRETIGNI] - -Peace now seemed possible for an indefinite period; but, in truth, -so long as two hostile nations divided France there was always the -likelihood of fresh discord; and the Dauphin, who had succeeded his -father, King John, gently fanned the flames whenever he thought that -the political wind blew to his advantage. From a timid, peevish youth, -one of the first to fly in terror from the field of Poitiers, he had -developed into an astute politician, whose successful efforts to regain -the lost territories of France earned him the title of ‘Wise’. - -King Edward III and his son professed to despise this prince, who knew -not how to wield a lance to any purpose; but Charles, though feeble in -body and a student rather than a soldier at heart, knew how to choose -good captains to serve him in the field; and one of these--the famous -Bertrand du Guesclin, said to have been the ugliest knight and best -fighter of his time--became the hero of many a battle against the -English, first of all in France, and later in Spain. - -It was owing to the war in Spain that the English hold over the south -of France was first shaken; for the Black Prince, who had been created -Duke of Guienne, unwisely listened to the exiled King of Castile, -Pedro the Cruel, who came to Bordeaux begging his assistance against -the usurper of his throne. This was his illegitimate brother, Henry of -Trastamara. The English Prince at once declared that chivalry demanded -that he should help the rightful king. Perhaps he remembered the strong -bond that there had been between England and Castile ever since his -great-grandfather, Edward I, had married the Spanish Eleanor: perhaps -it was the promise of large sums of money that Pedro declared would -reward the victorious troops: it is more likely, however, that the -fiery soldier was moved by the news that Henry of Trastamara had gained -his throne through French assistance and by the deeds of arms of the -renowned Du Guesclin. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Navarette] - -In 1367 the English Prince crossed the Pyrenees, and at Navarette, near -the river Ebro, his English archers and good generalship proved a match -once more for his foes. Although the Spaniards were in vastly superior -numbers they were mown down as they rashly charged to the attack; and -Henry of Trastamara was driven from the field, leaving Du Guesclin a -prisoner and his brother Pedro once more able to assert his kingship. - -The real victors of Navarette now had cause to repent their alliance. -Sickness, due to the heat of the climate and strange food, had thinned -their ranks even more than the actual warfare: the money promised by -Pedro the Cruel was not forthcoming; indeed, that wily scoundrel, -after atrocities committed against his helpless prisoners that fully -bore out his nickname, had slipped away to secure his throne, while -the Black Prince was in no position to pursue him, and could gain -little satisfaction by correspondence. Sullen and weary, with the -fever already lowering his vitality that was finally to cut short his -life, Edward of Wales arrived in Bordeaux with his almost starving -‘companies’. Because he had no money to pay them, he set them free to -ravage southern France, while in order to fill his exchequer he imposed -a tax on every hearth in Guienne. - -These measures proved him no statesman, whatever his generalship. In -the early days of the Hundred Years’ War Guienne had looked coldly -on Paris, and appreciated a distant ruler who secured her liberty of -action; now, victim of a policy of mingled pillage and exactions, she -soon came to regard her English rulers as foreign tyrants. Thus an -appeal was made by the men of Guienne to Charles V, and he, in defiance -of the terms of the Treaty of Bretigni, summoned Prince Edward to -Paris--as though he were his vassal--to answer the charges made against -him. ‘Gladly we will answer our summons,’ replied the Prince, when he -heard. ‘We will go as the King of France has ordered us, but with helm -on head and sixty thousand men.’ - -They were bold words; but the haughty spirit that dictated them spoke -from the mouth of a dying man, and the Black Prince never lived to -fulfil his boast. His place in France was taken by his younger brother, -John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who proved himself an indifferent -general. In 1373 Duke John marched from Calais into the heart of -France, his army burning villages as it went; but though he pressed -deeper and ever deeper into the enemy’s country, he met no open foes -nor towns that he could take without a siege. ‘Let them be,’ said -Charles ‘the Wise’, when his indignant nobles pleaded for leave to -fight a pitched battle; ‘by burnings they shall not seize our heritage. -Though a storm and tempest rage together over a land they disperse -themselves: so will it be with these English.’ - -Ever since the Treaty of Bretigni Charles had been planning profitable -alliances with foreign rulers that would leave the English friendless; -while, like Henry the Fowler of Germany, he had fortified his cities -against invasion. With the advent of winter Lancaster and his men -could find no food nor succour from any local barons; and when at last -the remnant of his once proud army reached Bordeaux, it was without a -single horse, and leaving a track of sick and dying to be cut off by -guerrilla bands. He had not lost a single battle, but he was none the -less defeated, and had imperilled the English cause in France. - -The truce of 1375 that practically closed the first period of the -Hundred Years’ War left to Edward III and his successors no more than -the coast towns of Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Bayonne, and Bordeaux. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: Henry V in France] - -When in 1415 Henry V of England formally claimed the throne of France, -and by so doing renewed the war that had languished since 1375, he had -no satisfactory argument save his sword to uphold his demands. Grandson -of John of Gaunt, and son of the royal usurper Henry IV, who had -deposed and killed his cousin Richard II, Henry V hoped by a successful -campaign to establish the popularity of the Lancastrian dynasty. He -wished also, like most mediaeval rulers, to find a battle-ground for -his barons in any territory except his own. It is only fair to add that -of the modern belief that the one possible excuse for shedding human -blood is a righteous cause he had not the faintest conception. - -‘War for war’s sake’ might have been the motto of this most mediaeval -of all English sovereigns; but if his purpose is indefensible to-day -in its selfish callousness, he at any rate chose an admirable time in -which to put it into execution; for France, that had begun to recover -a semblance of nationality under the rule of Charles ‘the Wise’, had -degenerated into anarchy under his son Charles ‘the Mad’. - -First as a minor, for he was only eleven at the time of his accession, -and later when he developed frequent attacks of insanity, Charles VI -was destined to be some one else’s tool, while round his person raged -those factions for which Louis VIII had shortsightedly prepared when -he set the example of creating appanages.[29] First one ‘Prince of the -Lilies’ and then another strove to control the court and government in -their own interests; but the most formidable rivals at the beginning of -the fifteenth century were the Houses of Burgundy and Armagnac. - -The latter centred in the person of the young Charles, Duke of Orleans, -the King’s nephew and a son-in-law of Count Bernard of Armagnac, -who gave his name to the party: the other was his cousin, John ‘the -Fearless’, Duke of Burgundy, who was also by inheritance from his -mother Count of Flanders, and therefore ruler of that great middle -province lying between France and the Empire. - -The King himself in his moments of sanity inclined to the side of -Charles of Orleans and the Armagnacs; and it happened that just at -the time when Henry V of England landed in Normandy and laid siege to -Harfleur the Armagnacs controlled Paris. It was their faction therefore -that raised an army and sent it northwards to oppose the invaders, -while John of Burgundy stood aloof, for besides being unwilling to -help the Armagnacs he was reluctant to embroil himself in a war with -England, on whose wool trade the commercial fortunes of his Flemish -towns depended. - -At Agincourt Henry V, who had taken Harfleur and was marching towards -Calais, came upon his foes drawn up across the road that he must -follow in such vastly superior numbers that they seemed overwhelming. -The battle that followed, however, showed that the French had learned -no military lesson from previous disasters. The heavily-armed, -undisciplined noble on horseback was still their main hope, and on this -dark October day he floundered helplessly in the mud, unable to charge, -scarcely able to extricate himself, an easy victim for his enemy’s -shafts. The slaughter was tremendous; for Henry, receiving a false -report that a new French army was appearing on the horizon, commanded -his prisoners to be killed, and numbers had perished before the mistake -was discovered and the order could be reversed. - -When the news of the defeat and massacre at Agincourt reached Paris, -that had always hated the Armagnacs, the indignant populace broke -into rebellion, crying, ‘Burgundy and Peace!’ but the movement was -suppressed, and it was not till 1418 that John ‘the Fearless’ succeeded -in entering the capital. By this time Henry V, who had returned to -England after his victory, was once more back in France conquering -Normandy; and French indignation was roused to white heat when it was -known that Rouen, the old capital of the Duchy, had been forced to -surrender to his victorious arms. - -Even the Duke of Burgundy, who still disliked war with England, felt -that he must take some steps to prevent further encroachments; and, -after negotiations with the enemy had failed owing to their arrogant -demands, he suggested an agreement with the Armagnacs, in order that -France, if she must fight, should at least present a united front to -her foes. - -Here was the moment for France’s regeneration; for the head of the -Armagnac faction at this date was the Dauphin Charles, son of Charles -‘the Mad’, and in response to his rival’s olive branch he consented to -meet him on the bridge of Montereau in order that the old rift might -be cemented. In token of submission and goodwill John of Burgundy -knelt to kiss the Prince’s hand; but, as he did so, an Armagnac still -burning with party hate sprang forward and plunged his dagger into his -side. A shout of horror and rage arose from the Burgundians, and as -they carried away the body of John ‘the Fearless’ they swore that this -murder had been arranged from the beginning and that they would never -pay allegiance again to the false Dauphin. - -[Sidenote: The Treaty of Troyes] - -In the Treaty of Troyes that was forthwith negotiated with the English -they ratified this vow, for Henry V of England received the hand of the -mad king’s daughter Catherine in marriage and was recognized as his -heir to the throne of France. - -Two years later died both Henry V and Charles VI, leaving France -divided into two camps, one lying mainly in the north and east, -that acknowledged as ruler the infant Henry VI, son of Henry V and -Catherine; the other in the south and south-west, that obeyed the -Valois Charles VII. - -The Treaty of Troyes marks the high-water mark of English power in -France during the second period of the Hundred Years’ War; for, though -the banners that Henry V had carried so triumphantly at Agincourt were -pushed steadily southward into Armagnac territory after this date, yet -the influence of the invaders was already on the wane. The agreement -that gave France to a foreigner and a national enemy had been made only -with a section of the French nation; and some of those who in the heat -of their anger against the Armagnacs had consented to its terms were -soon secretly ashamed of their strange allegiance. - -When Charles the Dauphin became Charles VII he ceased to appear -merely the leader of a party discredited by its murder of the Duke of -Burgundy. He became a national figure; and though his enemies might -call him in derision ‘King of Bourges’ because he dared not come to -Paris but ruled only from a town in central France, yet he remained in -spite of all their ridicule a king and a Frenchman. Had he been less -timid and selfish, more ready to run risks and exert himself rather -than to idle away his time with unworthy favourites, there is no doubt -that he could have hastened the English collapse. Instead he allowed -those who fostered his indolence and hatred of public affairs in -order to increase their own power to hinder a reconciliation with the -Burgundians that might have been the salvation of France. - -Philip ‘the Good’, son of John ‘the Fearless’, disliked the Dauphin as -his father’s murderer, but he had little love for his English allies. -By marriage and skilful diplomacy he had absorbed a great part of -modern Holland into his already vast inheritance and could assume the -state and importance of an independent sovereign. With England he felt -that he could treat as an equal, and now regarded with dismay the idea -that she might permanently control both sides of the Channel. So long -as John, Duke of Bedford, brother of Henry V, acted as regent for his -young nephew with statesmanlike moderation, an outward semblance of -friendship was maintained; but Bedford could with difficulty keep in -order his quarrelsome, irresponsible younger brother, Humphrey, Duke -of Gloucester, who ruled in England, and with still greater difficulty -quell the sullen discontent of the people of Paris who, suffering from -starvation as the result of a prolonged war, professed to regard a -foreign king as the source of all their troubles. - -Only the prestige of English arms retained the loyalty of northern -France. ‘Two hundred English would drive five hundred French before -them,’ says a chronicler of the day; but salvation was to come to -France from an unexpected quarter, and enable the same writer to add -proudly, ‘Now two hundred French would chase and beat four hundred -English.’ - -[Sidenote: Jeanne d’Arc] - -In the village of Domremy on the Upper Meuse there lived at the -beginning of the fifteenth century a peasant maid, Jeanne d’Arc, who -was, according to the description of a fellow villager, ‘modest, -simple, devout, went gladly to Church and sacred places, worked, sewed, -hoed in the fields, and did what was needful about the house.’ Up till -the age of thirteen Jeanne had been like other light-hearted girls, but -it was then that a change came into her life: voices seemed to draw her -away from her companions and to speak to her from behind a brilliant -cloud, and later she had visions of St. Catherine and of St. Michael, -whose painted effigies she knew in church. - -‘I saw them with my bodily eyes as clearly as I see you,’ she said when -questioned as to these appearances, and admitted that at first she -was afraid but that afterwards they brought her comfort. Always they -came with the same message, in her own words, ‘that she must change -her course of life and do marvellous deeds, for the King of Heaven had -chosen her to aid the King of France.’ - -Jeanne d’Arc was no hysterical visionary: she had always a fund of -common sense, and knew how ridiculous the idea that she, an uneducated -peasant girl, was called to save France would seem to the world. For -some time she tried to forget the message her Voices told her; but at -last it was borne in upon her that God had given her a mission, and -from this time neither her indignant father nor timid friends could -turn her from her purpose. - -[Illustration: FRANCE in 1429] - -Of all the difficulties and checks that she encountered before at last, -at the age of seventeen, she was allowed to have audience with Charles -VII, there is no space to tell here. News of her persistence had -spread abroad, and the torch-lit hall of the castle into which Jeanne -was shown was packed with gaily-clad courtiers, and standing amongst -them the King, in no way distinguished from the others by his dress or -any outward pomp. Every one believed that the peasant-maid would be -dazzled; but she, who had seen no portrait of the King and lived all -her life in the quiet little village of Domremy, showed no confusion -at the hundreds of eyes fixed on her. Recognizing at once the man with -whom her mission was concerned she went straight to him and said, ‘My -noble lord, I come from God to help you and your realm.’ - -There must have been something arresting in Jeanne’s simplicity and -frankness contrasted with that corrupt atmosphere. Even the feeble -king was moved; and, when she had been questioned and approved by his -bishops, he allowed her to ride forth, as she wished, with the armies -of France to save for him the important town of Orleans that was -closely besieged by the English. She went in armour with a sword in -hand and a banner, and those who rode with her felt her absolute belief -in victory, and into their hearts stole the magic influence of her own -gay courage and hope. - -We have often spoken of ‘chivalry’, the ideal of good conduct in the -Middle Ages. The kings, princes, and knights, whose prowess has made -the chronicles of Froissart famous, were to their journalist veritable -heroes of chivalry, exponents of courage, courtesy, and breeding. -Yet to modern eyes these qualities seem often tarnished, since the -heroes who flaunted them were in no way ashamed of vices like cruelty, -selfishness, or snobbery. A King John of France would die in a foreign -prison rather than break his parole, but he would disdainfully ride -down a ‘rabble’ of archers whom his negligence had left too tired to -fight his battles. The Black Prince would wait like a servant on his -royal prisoner, but accept as a brother-in-arms to be succoured a human -devil like Pedro the Cruel; or put a town to the sword, as he did at -Limoges, old men, women, and children, because it had dared to set him -at defiance. - -There is nothing of this tarnish in the chivalry of the peasant-maid -who saved France. Pure gold were her knightly deeds, yet achieved -without a trace of the prig or the boaster. Jeanne d’Arc was always -human and therefore lovable, quick in her anger at fraud, yet easily -appeased; friendly to king and soldier alike, yet never losing the -simple dignity that was her safeguard in court and camp. Of all -mediaeval warriors of whom we read she was the bravest; for she knew -what fear was and would often pray not to fall into the hands of her -enemies alive, yet she never shirked a battle or went into danger with -a downcast face. A slim figure, with her close-cropped dark hair and -shining eyes, she rode wherever the fight was thickest, always, in the -words of a modern biographer, ‘gay and gaily glad,’ quick to see her -opportunities and follow them up, joyful in victory, generous to her -foes, pitiful to the wounded and prisoners. - -The sight of her awoke new courage in her countrymen, dismay as at the -supernatural in her enemies, who dubbed her a witch and vowed to burn -her. - - ‘Suddenly she turned at bay,’ says a contemporary account of one - of her battles, ‘and few as were the men with her she faced the - English and advanced on them swiftly with standard displayed. Then - fled the English shamefully and the French came back and chased - them into their works.’ - -Orleans was relieved and entered, the reluctant, still half-doubting -Charles led to Reims, and there in the ancient capital of France -crowned, that all Frenchmen might know who was their true king. ‘The -Maid’ urged that the ceremony should be followed by a rapid march -on Paris; but favourites who dreaded her influence whispered other -counsels into the royal ear, and Charles dallied and hesitated. When -at last he advanced it was to find that the bridges over the Seine had -been cut, not by the retreating English but by French treachery. - -Paris was ripe for rebellion, and at the sight of ‘the Maid’ would have -murdered her foreign garrison and opened her gates. Bedford was in the -north suppressing a revolt, yet Charles, clutching at the excuse of the -broken bridges, retreated southwards, disbanding his army and leaving -his defender to her fate. - -Her Voices now warned Jeanne of impending capture and death, but her -mission was to save France, and hearing that the Duke of Burgundy -planned to take the important town of Compiègne she rode to its defence -with a small force. Under the walls, in the course of a sortie, she was -captured, refusing to surrender. ‘I have sworn and given my faith to -another than you, and I will keep my oath,’ she declared; and through -the months that followed, caged and fettered in a dark cell of the -castle of Rouen, exposed to the insults of the rough English archers, -she maintained her allegiance, saying to her foes of the prince who had -failed her so pitiably, ‘My King is the most noble of all Christians.’ - -Frenchmen (some of them bishops, canons, and lawyers of the University -of Paris), as well as Englishmen, were amongst those who, after the -mockery of a trial, sent Jeanne to be burned as a heretic in the -market-place of Rouen. Bravely as she had lived she died, calling on -her saints, begging the forgiveness of her enemies, pardoning the evil -they had done her. ‘That the world’, says a modern writer, ‘might have -no relic of her of whom the world was not worthy, the English threw her -ashes into the Seine.’ - -France, that had betrayed Jeanne d’Arc, needed no relic to keep her -memory alive. To-day men and women call her Saint, and one miracle she -certainly wrought, for she restored to her country, that through years -of anarchy had almost lost belief in itself, the undying sense of its -own nationality. ‘As to peace with the English,’ she had said, ‘the -only peace possible is for them to return to their own land.’ Within -little more than twenty years from her death the mission on which she -had ridden forth from Domremy had been accomplished, and Calais, of all -their French possessions, alone remained to the enemies of France. - -In summary of the Hundred Years’ War it may be said that from the -beginning the English fought in a lost cause. Fortune, military genius, -and dogged courage gave to their conquests a fictitious endurance; but -nationality is a foe invincible because it has discovered the elixir of -life; and when the tide of fortune turned with the coming of ‘the Maid’ -the ebb of English discomfiture was very swift. - -In 1435 died the Duke of Bedford, and in the same year Charles VII, -moved from his sluggishness, concluded at Arras a treaty with Philip -of Burgundy that secured his entry into Paris. By good fortune his -young rival in the ensuing campaigns, the English King, Henry VI, had -inherited, not the energy and valour of his father, but an anaemic -version of his French grandfather’s insanity. Even before his first -lapse into melancholia, he was the weak puppet of first one set of -influences, then another; and the factions that strove to govern for -their own interests in his name lost him first Normandy and then -Guienne. Finally they carried their feuds back across the Channel to -work out what seemed an almost divine vengeance for the anarchy they -had caused in France, in the troubled ‘Wars of the Roses’. - -Under Charles VII, well named _le bien servi_, France, as she gradually -freed herself from a foreign yoke, developed from a mediaeval into -the semblance of a modern state. Wise ministers, whom in his later -years the King had the sense to substitute for his earlier workless -favourites, built up the power of the monarchy, restored its financial -credit, and established in the place of the disorderly ‘companies’ a -standing army recruited and controlled by the crown. - -These things were not done without opposition, and the rebellion of -‘the Praguerie’, in which were implicated nearly all the leading -nobles of France, including the King’s own son, the Dauphin Louis, was -a desperate attempt on the part of the aristocracy to shake off the -growing pressure of royal control. It failed because the nation, as -a whole, saw in submission to an absolute monarch a means, imperfect -perhaps but yet the only means available at the moment, of securing the -regeneration of France. - -It is significant that when Louis XI succeeded to Charles VII he -inevitably followed in his father’s footsteps, forsaking the interests -of the class with which he had first allied himself, in order to rule -as an autocrat and fulfil the ideal of kingship in his day. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Philip VI of France 1328-50 - John II of France 1350-64 - Charles V of France 1364-80 - Charles VI of France 1380-1422 - Charles VII of France 1422-61 - Henry V of England 1413-22 - Henry VI of England 1422-61 - Boccaccio 1313-75 - Jeanne d’Arc 1412-30 - - - - -XIX - -SPAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES - - -Spain has been rightly described as ‘one of the most cut up portions -of the earth’s surface’. A glance at her map will show the numerous -mountain ranges that pierce into the heart of the country, dividing her -into districts utterly unlike both in climate and soil. Even rivers -that elsewhere in Europe, as in the case of the Rhine and the Danube, -act as roads of friendship and commerce, are in Spain for the most part -unnavigable, running in wild torrents between precipitous banks so as -to form an additional hindrance to intercourse. - -Geography thus came to play a very great part in the history of -mediaeval Spain, deciding that though overrun by Romans, Vandals, -Visigoths, and Saracens, no conquest should be ever quite complete, -since the invaded could always find inaccessible refuges amongst the -mountains. A spirit of provincial independence was also fostered, as in -Italy[30]--men learning to say first not ‘I am a Spaniard,’ but ‘I am -of Burgos,’ or ‘of Andalusia,’ or of ‘Barcelona,’ according to their -neighbourhood. - -When the Saracens defeated King Rodrigo and his Christian army at the -battle of Guadalete,[31] we have seen that they found the subjugation -of southern and central Spain an easy matter. Rich towns and districts -passed into their hands almost without a blow: the Gothic nobles and -their families who should have defended them, weakened by tribal -dissensions, fled away northwards to the mountains of Leon and -Asturias, while the downtrodden masses that they left behind soon -welcomed their new masters. - -It was the policy of the Moors to grant a slave his freedom on his -open acknowledgement of Allah as the one God and Mahomet as his -Prophet, while they allowed those Christians and Jews who refused to -surrender their faith to live in peace on the payment of a poll-tax not -required from Moslems. - -[Illustration: The SPANISH KINGDOMS - -1263-1492] - -[Sidenote: The Caliphate of Cordova] - -The capital of the Saracen kingdom, or ‘Caliphate’, that was destined -to survive practically unmolested for some three hundred years, was the -town of Cordova, whose capture the Moors believed had been divinely -inspired by Allah, since as their army under cover of the darkness -swept up to the walls, a terrific hail-storm descended that deadened -the clatter of approaching hoofs. From a treacherous shepherd one of -the captains learned of a part of the fortifications easy to scale; -and, climbing up undetected by means of a fig-tree, he let down his -long turban to assist his fellows until a sufficient number had mounted -to overpower the guards and open the gates to the main army. - -To the Spaniards, thus defeated almost in their sleep, Cordova was -a fallen city, disgraced by the presence of infidels; yet these -same infidels were to make her luxury and brilliance rival the -almost fabulous glories of Bagdad and to win for her culture the -grudging admiration of Christian Europe. As we read of her ‘Palace of -Pleasures’, ornamented with gold and precious stones, of her woods of -pomegranate and sweet almond, of her gardens and perfumed fountains, of -her luxurious rest-houses for travellers without the walls, we are back -in the atmosphere of some Eastern fairy tale that clings also around -the history of her Caliphs, tinging with romance their loves, their -hatreds, and their rivalries. - -There are other aspects of Moorish Spain hardly less wonderful when -contrasted with the haphazard national development of the rest of -Europe. Here were agriculture and industry deliberately stimulated by -a close and practical study of such branches of knowledge as science -and botany, algebra and arithmetic. Arid soil, that under ordinary -mediaeval neglect would have been left a desert, became through canals -and irrigation a fertile plain, the garden of rice, sugar, cotton, or -oranges. Mathematics applied to everyday needs produced the mariner’s -compass; scientific brains and intelligent workmen the steel blades of -Toledo and Seville, the woven silk fabrics of Granada, and the pottery -and velvets of Valencia. - -Yet, though knowledge was consciously applied for commercial purposes, -the Moors did not set up ‘Utility’ as an idol for their scholars -and tell them that only information that brought material wealth in -its train was worth having. Philosophy and literature, as well as -science, had their lecture-halls: Greece and the East were searched -by Caliphs’ orders for manuscripts to fill their libraries; and so -world-famous became Cordovan professors that in the twelfth century -Christian students hastened to sit at their feet; and the translations -of Aristotle by the Arabic professor Averroës became one of the chief -sources of authority for the most orthodox ‘schoolmen’. - -In their search after knowledge for its own sake, the Moors accorded -toleration to the best brains of all races. Elsewhere in Europe the -Jews were held accursed, protected by Christian rulers so long as their -money-bags could be squeezed like a sponge, but exposed to insult, -torture, and death whenever popular fury, aroused by a crusade or an -epidemic, demanded an easy outlet for zeal in burning and pillaging -houses. - -Christian fanaticism had closed nearly every avenue of life to the Jew -save that of money-lender, in which he found few competitors, since the -law of the Church forbade usury. It then proceeded to condemn him as a -blood-sucker because of the high rate of interest that his precarious -position induced him to charge for his loans. Thus, despised, hated, -and feared, persecution helped to breed in the average Jew the very -vices for which he was blamed, namely, the determination to sweat his -Christian neighbours, and an arrogant absorption in his own race to the -exclusion of all others. - -In the cities of the Moors alone the Jew could rise to public eminence, -as in Cordova, where teachers of the race were especially noted for -their researches in medicine and surgery. Many Spanish Israelites -indeed became doctors, and proved themselves so unmistakably superior -in knowledge and skill to the ordinary quacks that rulers of Christian -states were thankful to employ them when their health was in danger. - -It would seem at first sight as if this happy kingdom of the Moors, -where culture, comfort, and toleration reigned, must in time succeed in -spreading its civilizing influence over Europe; but there was another -and darker side to Moslem Spain. The Caliphate of Cordova, like other -Moslem states, was the victim of a form of government whose sole -bond was the religion of Islam. Its ruler was a tyrant independent -of any popular control, and could send even his Grand Vizier, or -chief minister, to death by a word. Such an exalted position had its -penalties, and the Caliph must keep continual watch lest he should -find enemies ready to slay him, not merely amongst his servants, but -even more amongst his sons or brothers. Since polygamy prevailed, in -nearly every family there were children of rival mothers, who learned -from their cradles to hate and fear each other. It depended only, as -it seemed, on a little luck or cunning who would succeed to the royal -title, and few scrupled to use dagger or poison to ensure themselves -the coveted honour. - -Out of the feuds and plots of the Moorish court and the rise and fall -of Emirs and Sultans in the provinces, Moorish Spain prepared its own -downfall during the three centuries that it dominated southern and -central Spain. - -Away in the north, in Asturias, the ‘cradle of the Spanish race’, where -every peasant considers himself an ‘hidalgo’ or noble, in the kingdoms -of Leon and Navarre, in the counties of Castile and Barcelona, the -descendants of the once enfeebled Goths were meanwhile developing into -a race of warriors. - -Though ardent in his devotion to Christianity, weaving supernatural aid -around every victory, the Spaniard did not, in what might be called the -first period of ‘the Reconquest’, show any acute dislike of the Moor. -His early struggles were not for religion but for independence, and -often a Prince or Count would join with some friendly Emir to overthrow -a Christian rival. ‘All Kings are alike to me so long as they pay my -price!’ These words of Rodrigo (Ruy) Diaz, the greatest of Spanish -heroes, were typical of his race in the age in which he lived. - -[Sidenote: The Cid] - -This Ruy Diaz, ‘El Campeador’, or ‘the Challenger’, as the Christians -named him, but more popularly called by his Arabic title ‘Al Said’ -or ‘the Cid’, meaning ‘the Chief’, was brave, generous, boastful, -and treacherous. A Castilian by race, he held his allegiance to the -King of Leon, whose wars he sometimes condescended to wage, as in no -way sacred; but when banished by that monarch, who had well-founded -suspicions of his loyalty, proceeded unabashed to fight on behalf of -his late master’s enemy, the Moorish Sultan of Saragossa. - -It is evident from the old chronicles and ballads that the Cid himself -could rouse and keep the affection of those who served him. When he -sent for his relations and friends to tell them that he had been -banished by the King of Leon and to ask who would go with him into -exile, we are told that ‘Alvar Fañez, who was his cousin, answered, -“Cid, we will all go with you through desert and through peopled -country, and never fail you. In your service will we spend our mules -and horses, our wealth and our garments, and ever while we live be unto -you loyal friends and vassals”: and they all confirmed what Alvar Fañez -had said.’ - -Mediaeval Spain was always ready to admire a warrior; and a great part -of the Cid’s charm lay, no doubt, in his prowess on the battle-field, -when, charging with his good sword ‘Tizona’ in hand, none could -withstand the onslaught. To this admiration was added the deeper -feeling of fellowship. Their hero might spill the blood of hundreds -to attain his ambitions, but he was yet no noble after the mediaeval -French type, despising those of inferior rank; rather a full-blooded -Spaniard, keen in his sympathy with all other Spaniards. - -As he rode from the town of Burgos on his way to exile the Cid called -Alvar Fañez to his side and said, ‘Cousin, the poor have no part in the -wrong which the King hath done us.... See now that no wrong be done -unto them along our road.’ ‘And an old woman who was standing at her -door said, “Go in a lucky minute and make spoil of whatever you wish.”’ - -The Cid’s ‘luck’, or perhaps it would be truer to say his admirable -discretion, carried him triumphantly through many campaigns--at times -reconciled with the Christian king and fighting under his banner, at -others laying waste his lands as a Moorish ally. At length he reached -the summit of his fortunes and carved himself a principality out of the -Moorish province of Valencia; and as ruler of this state made little -pretence of being any one’s vassal, but boasted that he, a Rodrigo, -would free Andalusia as another Rodrigo had let her fall into bondage. - -This kingly achievement was denied him, for even heroes fail; so that a -time came when he fell ill, and the Moors invaded his land, and because -he could no longer fight against them he turned his face to the wall -and died. Yet his last victory was still to come; for his followers, -who had served him so faithfully, embalmed his body, and they set him -on his war-horse and bound ‘Tizona’ in his hand, and so they led him -out of the city against his foes. Instead of weeping and lamentations -the Cid’s widow had ordered the church bells to be rung and war -trumpets to be blown so that the Moors did not know their great enemy -was dead; but imagining that he charged amongst them, terrible in his -wrath as of old, they broke and fled. - -In spite of this victory Valencia fell back under the rule of the -Moors, but she never forgot ‘Ruy Diaz’, and is proud to this day to be -called ‘Valencia of the Cid’. - -The second period of the reconquest of Spain by the Christians may be -called the crusading period, and continued until the fall of Granada in -1492. It began not at any fixed date, but in the gradual realization by -the Christian states during the twelfth century that their war with the -Moors was something quite distinct and ever so much more important than -their almost fraternal feuds with one another. This dawning conviction -was intensified into a faith, when the Moorish kingdom, that, owing to -the feebleness and corruption of its government, had almost ceased to -be a kingdom and split up into a number of warring states, was towards -the end of the twelfth century overrun and temporarily welded together -by a fierce Berber tribe from North Africa, the Almohades. - -The Almohades, like earlier followers of Mahomet, were definitely -hostile to both Christians and Jews, and so the feeling of religious -bitterness grew; and the war that at first was a series of victories -for the infidel developed its character of a crusade. - -Other crusades, we have seen, gained public support; and at the -beginning of the thirteenth century Pope Innocent III, no less alive -to his responsibility towards Spain than towards the Holy Land, sent -a recruiting appeal to all the countries of Europe. This was answered -by the arrival of bands of Templars, Hospitallers, and other young -warriors anxious to win their spurs against the heathen. Spain herself -founded several Military Orders, of which the most famous was the Order -of Santiago, that is, of St. James, called after the national saint, -whose tomb at Compostella in the north was one of the favourite shrines -visited by pilgrims. - -[Sidenote: Las Navas de Tolosa] - -At the head of the Christian host, when it rode across the mountains to -the plain of Las Navas de Tolosa, where it was destined to fight one -of the most decisive of Spanish battles, was Alfonso VIII, ‘the Good’, -of Castile, who had warred against the Moors ever since his coronation -as a lad of fifteen. With him went his allies, the King of Navarre, -commanding the right wing, and Pedro II, King of Aragon, commanding -the left. - -All day long the battle raged; and the Christian kings and their -knights fought like heroes; but in spite of their efforts they were -pressed back and defeat seemed almost certain. ‘Here must we die,’ -exclaimed Alfonso bitterly, determined to sell his life at a high -price; but Rodrigo Ximenez, the fiery Archbishop of Toledo, replied, -‘Not so, Señor, here shall we conquer!’ and with his cross-bearer he -charged so resolutely against the foe that the Christians, rallying to -save their sacred standard, drove the Moors headlong from the field. -So overwhelming was the victory that the advance of the Almohades was -completely checked, and the Christian states became the dominating -power in the peninsula. - -At first in their battles amongst themselves it had been Navarre that -took the lead amongst the Christian states; but later this little -mountain kingdom, that lay across the Pyrenees like a saddle and was -half French in her sympathies and outlook, lost her supremacy. Spanish -interest ceased to be centred in France, and focused itself instead in -the lands that were slowly being recovered from the Moors. Portugal -declared itself an independent kingdom, Castile broke off the yoke of -Navarre and united with Leon, Aragon absorbed the important province of -Catalonia, with its thriving seaport Barcelona. - -[Sidenote: James ‘the Conqueror’] - -One of the most famous of Aragonese heroes in the thirteenth century -was James ‘the Conqueror’, son of Pedro II of Aragon, who during the -Albigensian Crusade had died fighting on behalf of his brother and -vassal, the Count of Provence, against Simon de Montfort.[32] James, -who was only six at the time, was taken prisoner by the cruel Count, -but Innocent III insisted that he should be handed back to his own -people, and these gave him to the Templars to educate. It was natural -that in such a military environment the boy should grow up a soldier; -but he was to prove himself a statesman as well, and a lover of -literature, writing in the Catalan dialect a straightforward, manly -chronicle of his reign, and encouraging his Catalan subjects in the -devotion to poetry they had shared from early days with their Provençal -neighbours. - -According to contemporary accounts the young king was handsome -beyond all ordinary standards, nearly seven feet tall, and well -built in proportion. Unfortunately he was so attractive that he -became thoroughly spoilt, and was dissolute in his way of life and -uncontrolled in his temper. When in one of his rages he was capable of -any crime, though ordinarily so generous and tender-hearted that he -hated to sign a death-warrant. In his chronicle he tells us how on one -of his campaigns he found a swallow had built her nest by the roundel -of his tent: ‘So I ordered the men not to take it down,’ he says, -‘until the swallow had flown away with her young, since she had come -trusting to my protection.’ - -The combination of good looks, brains, and chivalry found in James I -appealed to the imagination of the Aragonese, but still more did his -fighting qualities that were typically Spanish. ‘It has ever been the -fate of my race’, he wrote, ‘to conquer or die in battle’; and when -quite a small boy he made up his mind that he would become a crusader. - -For many years after he was declared old enough to reign for himself -King James was forced to spend his time and energy in subduing the -nobles who during his long minority had been allowed to become a law -unto themselves. This vindication of his authority accomplished, he led -his armies against the Moors, and under his conquering banner ‘Valencia -of the Cid’ passed finally into Christian hands. - -The Moorish kingdom was now reduced to Granada in the south and the -dependent province of Murcia to the north-east that was claimed by the -Castilians, though Alfonso ‘the Learned’ of Castile was quite unable to -make himself master of it. - -Hearing of the Aragonese victories in Valencia, Alfonso, who was -‘the Conqueror’s’ son-in-law, asked King James if he would help him -by invading Murcia, a project that first aroused the anger of the -Aragonese because it seemed to them that they were expected to do the -hard work in order that some one else might reap the spoils. - -King James was more far-seeing than his subjects and held a different -view. The Moors were weak at the moment; but, owing to the influx of -fresh warriors from North Africa, they had always been able to rally -their power in the past and might do so again. ‘If the King of Castile -happen to lose his land I shall hardly be safe in mine,’ was his shrewd -summary of the case; and with this he invaded and overran Murcia, which -he gave to his son-in-law in 1262. - -This date, 1262, though it marked no fresh acquisition of territory -for Aragon, was nevertheless an epoch in her history. Hitherto her -main interest had been identical with Castile’s--namely, the freedom -of Spain from the infidel--but now, owing to the conquest of Murcia, -she was surrounded by Christian neighbours, and what remained of the -crusade had become the business of Castile alone. Early in his reign -also, King James had closed another chapter in Aragonese history, when, -as a result of his father’s defeat and death, he had been forced to -cede all Catalonian claims to Provence, and thus to put away for ever -the prospect of absorbing France that had dazzled his ancestors. - -Where, then, should Aragon turn her victorious arms? King James, a true -Aragonese, had already answered this question, when in 1229 he began -the conquest of the Balearic Islands, thus clearly recognizing that his -country’s natural outlook for expansion was neither north nor south, -but eastwards. Already Catalan fishermen and the merchants of Barcelona -were disputing the commercial overlordship of the Mediterranean -with their fellows of Marseilles and the Italian Republics, and -thenceforward Aragonese kings were to take a hand in the game, -supporting commerce with diplomacy and the sword. - -[Sidenote: Peter III of Aragon] - -James ‘the Conqueror’ did not die in battle-harness, as he had -predicted, but in the robe of a Cistercian monk, expiating in the -seclusion of a monastery the sins of his tempestuous, pleasure-loving -youth. His tradition as a warrior descended to his son Pedro III, under -whose rule Aragon entered on her campaign of Italian conquests. - -Both the excuse for this undertaking and the occasion have been -noticed elsewhere in another connexion. The excuse was the execution -of Conradin,[33] last legitimate descendant of the Neapolitan -Hohenstaufen. As he stood on the scaffold calmly awaiting his death, -the boy, for he was little more, had flung his gauntlet amongst the -crowd. The action spoke for itself, the one bitter word ‘revenge’; and -a partisan who witnessed it, kneeling swiftly, picked up the glove and -bore it away to Spain. Here he presented it to Pedro III, to whose wife -Constance, the daughter of an illegitimate son of Frederick II, the -claims of the Italian Hohenstaufen had descended. - -Pedro did not forget the glove or its message; and when the Sicilians, -rising in wrath at the Easter Vespers,[34] massacred their Angevin -tyrants, it was Aragonese ships that brought them succour, and Pedro -who defied the anathemas of the Pope and the power of France to drive -him from his new throne. - -All the failures and victories of the years that followed, when -Aragonese and Angevin claimants deluged ‘the Kingdom’ and adjoining -island with blood, are more a matter of Italian than Spanish history, -and it is with Castile that the interests of the peninsula become -mainly concerned. - -Castile in later mediaeval times consisted of some two-thirds of the -whole area of Spain, stretching from the Bay of Biscay in the north to -the confines of the Moorish kingdom of Granada in the south. As her -name suggests, she was a land of castles, built originally, not like -the strongholds of Stephen’s lawless barons in England--to maintain a -tyranny over the countryside--but as military outposts in each fresh -stage of the reconquest from Islam. Naturally those who lived in such -outposts, and might be wakened any night to take part in a border -foray or to withstand a surprise attack, expected to receive special -privileges in compensation. This was as it should be, and grateful -Kings of Castile, in order to encourage traders as well as knights -and princes to settle on their dangerous southern border, offered -concessions in the form of charters and revenues with a reckless -prodigality at which other European monarchs would have shuddered. - -Trouble began when, with the steady advance of the crusading armies, -outposts ceased to be outposts; and yet their inhabitants, naturally -enough again, saw no reason why they should be deprived of the -privileges and riches that they had won in the past. Had they known -how to use their independence, when danger from the Moors diminished, -in securing a government conscious of national needs and aspirations, -Spain might have become the political leader of Europe. Unfortunately -the average Castilian felt only a selfish sense of the advantages -that liberty might afford, without realizing in the least that their -possession entailed heavy responsibilities. Thus he allowed his country -to degenerate into anarchy. - -War seemed the natural atmosphere of life to the Castilian of pure -blood, whose ancestors had all been crusaders. Unable to compete in -agriculture or industry with the thrifty Moslems or Jews who remained -behind on the lands that he reconquered, he decided that labour, except -with the sword, was the hall-mark of slaves; and this unfortunate -fallacy, widely adopted, became the ultimate ruin of Spain. It turned -her from the true road of national prosperity, which can be gained -only by solid work, while it prevented nobles and town representatives -from understanding one another, and so rendered them incapable of -common action in the ‘Cortes’, or national parliament. The fallacy -went farther, for it made war between noble and noble seem a natural -outlet for martial zeal when no Moslem force was handy on which to whet -Christian swords. - -The part played by the King in this land of independent crusaders and -aristocratic cut-throats was difficult and precarious. Though not so -legally bound by the concessions he had been forced to make as in -Aragon--where no king might pass a law without the consent of his -Cortes and where the ‘Justiciar’, a popular minister, disputed his -supreme right of justice--mediaeval Castilian monarchs were in practice -very much at the mercy of their subjects. - -Henry II of England had been able to burn down his barons’ castles and -hang some of their owners, thus paving the way of royal supremacy; -but kings of Castile could scarcely adopt such drastic measures -against subjects usually more wealthy than themselves, whose castles -were required as national fortresses, and whose retainers formed the -main part of Christian armies against the Moors. Instead, custom and -circumstances seemed ever forcing the rulers of Castile to grant new -liberties, and to alienate their lands and revenues in constant rewards -and bribes. - -[Sidenote: The ‘Siete Partidas’] - -This was one of the failings of Alfonso ‘the Learned’, who in spite of -his boast, ‘Had I been present at the Creation I would have arranged -the world better,’ was certainly not ‘the Wise’, as he is sometimes -called. Alfonso was a great reader and a scientist in advance of -his day; but the best work that he ever did for his kingdom was the -publication of the _Siete Partidas_ (Seven Divisions), a compilation -of all the previous laws of Spain, both Roman and Gothic, drawn up -and arranged in a single code. For the rest, apart from his somewhat -academic cleverness, he was vain, irresolute, and superficial. On one -occasion he divorced his wife; and then, when the new wife he had -chosen, a Norwegian princess, had already arrived at a Spanish port, he -decided to send her away and retain the old. This capriciousness was of -a piece with the rest of his actions. - -During the ‘Great Interregnum’[35] Alfonso was one of the claimants for -the imperial crown, but had neither money nor sufficient popularity to -carry through this foolish project, for which he heavily overtaxed his -people. He also planned an invasion of Africa in grand crusading style, -but had to turn his attention instead to struggling against unruly -sons. He died with little accomplished save his reputation for wisdom. - -The reign of Alfonso X was a prelude to a century and a half of anarchy -in Castile, a period when few of her kings could claim to be either -‘wise’ or ‘learned’, and when four of them by ill fortune ascended -the throne in childhood, and so presented their nobles with extra -opportunities for seeking their own ambitions at the royal expense. - -On one struggle during this century and a half we have already -touched--the bitter feud between Pedro ‘the Cruel’, the Nero of Spain, -and his half-brother, Henry of Trastamara.[36] There is no end to the -list of crimes of which this monster has been accused, from strangling -his rival’s mother, and calmly watching while his half-brother, a twin -of Henry of Trastamara, was pursued and cut down unarmed by the royal -guard, to ordering that the young bride with whom he had refused to -live should be given poisonous herbs that she might die. - -Stained, indeed, must the Black Prince have felt his honour when he -discovered what a brother-in-arms he had crossed the Pyrenees to -aid--one who would massacre prisoners for sheer love of butchery, -burn a priest for prophesying his death, and murder an archbishop in -a fit of savagery. It is probably true to describe this worst of the -Spanish kings as mad: many of his atrocities were so meaningless, such -obvious steps to his own downfall, because they alienated those who -tried to remain loyal to his cause. His end, when it came, rejoiced -the popular heart and imagination, for Pedro, according to tradition, -was at last entrapped by the crafty Du Guesclin, lately released from -imprisonment by the Black Prince, and once more in the service of Henry -of Trastamara. - -King Pedro believed that every man had a price, and, on Du Guesclin’s -pretence that he might be bought over, stole secretly one night to -the Frenchman’s tent. Here he found his hated brother with some of -his courtiers who cried aloud ‘Look, Señor, it is your enemy.’ ‘I am! -I am!’ screamed Pedro furiously, seeing he was betrayed, and flung -himself on his brother, while the latter struck at him with his dagger. -Over and over they rolled in the half-light of a tallow candle, until -Pedro, who had gained the upper hand, fumbled for his poignard with -which to strike a fatal blow. Then, according to the old ballad, Du -Guesclin interfered. ‘I neither make king nor mar king, but I serve my -master,’ he said, and turned Pedro over on his back, enabling those -who were standing by to dispatch him with their knives. The tale, if -creditable to Du Guesclin’s loyalty, is hardly so to his love of fair -play, but the murdered king had lived like a wild animal, and it is -difficult to feel any regret that he died like one instead of in battle -as a knight. - -The House of Trastamara was now established on the Castilian throne by -the triumphant Henry II. Some years later it gave also a king to its -eastern neighbour, when the royal House of Aragon had become extinct -in the male line. This was the Infante Ferdinand, a man of mature -judgement, who had already won golden opinions for his honesty and -statesmanship when acting as guardian for his young nephew, John II of -Castile. - -Both kingdoms, but more especially Castile, were to remain victims of -civil wars and of frequent periods of anarchy for another half-century. -John II, deprived of his uncle’s wise guidance, devoted his time -to composing love-songs and surrendered his weak will to a royal -favourite, Alvaro de Luna, without whose consent, tradition says, he -dared not even go to bed. The result was incessant turbulence, for -the nobles hated the arrogant and all-powerful upstart, who managed -the court as he pleased, and steadily added to his own estates and -revenues. Yet, having brought about his downfall and death, they had no -better government with which to replace his tyranny. - -[Sidenote: Henry IV of Castile] - -Under John’s son and successor Castile fared even worse; for Henry IV -was not merely weak but vicious, so that he rolled the crown in the -mire of scandal and degradation. Government of any sort was now at -an end. ‘Our swords’, wrote a contemporary Castilian, recalling this -time of nightmare, ‘were employed, not to defend the boundaries of -Christendom, but to rip up the entrails of our country.... He was most -esteemed among us who was strongest in violence: justice and peace were -far removed.’ - -In their efforts to save something of their lives and fortunes -from this wreck, towns and villages formed _Hermandades_ or -‘brotherhoods’--that is, troops of armed men who pursued and punished -criminals; but these leagues without support from the crown were not -strong enough to deal with the worst offenders, the wealthy nobles, who -could cover their misdeeds with lavish bribery or threats. - -[Sidenote: Ferdinand and Isabel] - -At this moment in Castile’s history, when she had sunk to a depth from -which she could not save herself, Henry IV died, and was succeeded -on the throne by his sister, Isabel, a girl in years but already a -statesman in outlook and discretion. Henry IV had attempted to secure -personal advantages in his lifetime by arranging various marriages for -Isabel, first with a French prince, then with the King of Portugal, -and finally with one of his own worthless favourites, and his sister -had won his dislike by her steady refusal to agree to any of these -alliances. Secretly, indeed, she had married her cousin Ferdinand, heir -to the throne of Aragon, a youth already distinguished for his military -abilities and shrewd common sense. - -As joint rulers of Castile and Aragon Isabel and Ferdinand dominated -Spain, and were able to impose their will even on the most powerful -of their rebellious subjects, taking back the crown lands that had -been recklessly given away, organizing a _Santa Hermandad_, or ‘Holy -Brotherhood’, on the model of previous local efforts to ensure order, -and themselves holding supreme tribunals to judge important cases of -robbery and murder. In this display of authority the land not merely -acquiesced but rejoiced, utterly weary of an independence the misuse of -which had produced licence instead of freedom. - -Thus it was that a strong monarchy, such as Louis XI was able to -establish in France at the end of the Hundred Years’ War, and the -Tudors in England after the Wars of the Roses, was also organized and -maintained in Spain. Under its despotic sway many popular liberties -were lost, but peace was gained at home, and glory and honour abroad -above all expectations. The perpetual crusade against the Moors had -always touched the imagination of Europe--now its crowning achievement, -the Conquest of Granada, dazzled their eyes with all the pageantry and -pomp of victory so dear to mediaeval minds. - -Hardly was this wonder told when news came that a Genoese adventurer -had discovered, in the name of Isabel and Ferdinand, a Spanish empire -of almost fabulous wealth beyond the Atlantic.[37] To these triumphs -were added conquests in Italy, fruits of Ferdinand’s Aragonese -ambitions. - -The glory of Spain belongs to modern not to mediaeval history; but -just as a man or woman is a development of the child, so this, the -first nation in Europe as she became in the sixteenth century, proved -the outcome of the qualities and vices of an earlier age. Above all -things she became, as we should expect, a nation of warriors, inspired -with ardour for the Catholic Faith, arrogant and ambitious. To her -strength was added a fatal weakness bred of conceit and a narrow -outlook, that is the intolerance that admired Ferdinand and Isabel’s -ruthless Inquisition and rejoiced in the expulsion of thousands of -thrifty Jews and Moors. - -Spain was a born conqueror among nations, but what she conquered she -had learned neither the sympathy nor adaptability to govern. Thus the -empire won by her courage and endurance was destined to slip from her -grasp. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Saracen rule in Spain 711-1031 - The Cid (died) 1099 - James I of Aragon 1213-76 - Pedro III of Aragon 1276-85 - Alfonso X of Castile 1252-84 - Pedro I of Castile 1350-69 - John II of Castile 1407-54 - Henry IV of Castile 1454-74 - Isabel I of Castile 1474-1504 - Ferdinand II of Aragon 1479-1516 - - - - -XX - -CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPE IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES - - -[Sidenote: Rudolf I] - -The accession of Rudolf of Habsburg[38] as King of the Romans in 1273 -is a turning-point in the history of mediaeval Germany. Hitherto -private or imperial ambitions had prevented even well-intentioned -emperors from exerting their full strength against anarchy at home; -while a few like Frederick II had deliberately ignored German -interests. The result had been a steady process of disintegration, -perpetuating racial and class feuds; but now at last the tradition was -broken and an Emperor chosen who was willing to forgo the glory of -dominating Rome and Lombardy in order to build up a nation north of the -Alps. - -The election itself was somewhat of a surprise; for Rudolf belonged to -an obscure and far from wealthy family, owning territory in Alsace and -amongst the Swiss mountains. What is interesting to the modern world is -that the man who did most to influence the Electors in their choice, -and thus helped to plant a Habsburg with his feet on the ladder of -greatness, was a Hohenzollern. - -Count Rudolf at the time of his election was a middle-aged man of -considerable military experience, kindly, simple, and resolute. He had -won the affection of his own vassals by helping them in their struggles -against the unjust demands of local tyrants, such as feudal bishops -or the barons who built castles amongst the crags and sent out armed -retainers to waylay merchants and travellers. One tale records how, -with an apparently small force, he advanced boldly against a robber -fastness, thus encouraging the garrison to issue out and attack him. -When the robbers approached, however, they found to their horror that -each of their mounted opponents had another armed man seated behind -him, and so, hopelessly outnumbered as well as outwitted, they were -forced to surrender or fly. - -Rudolf needed all his military ability when he was chosen Emperor; for -the most powerful ruler in central Europe at that time, King Ottocar -of Bohemia, refused to recognize him, being furious that he himself -had not received a single vote, while an obscure count from the Swiss -mountains had been elected his master. The truth was that Ottocar was -well known to be arrogant and bad-tempered, so that all the Electors -were afraid of him; and there was general rejoicing when, in a battle -against King Rudolf near Vienna, he was killed and the throne of -Bohemia passed to his son, a boy of twelve. - -This victory was the real beginning of the Habsburg fortunes; for -Rudolf by the confiscation of the Austrian provinces of Carinthia, -Styria, and Carniola, that had belonged to his rival, established -his family as one of the great territorial powers of the Empire. -Unfortunately his character seemed to deteriorate with success, and his -greed for lands and power to increase with acquisition. - -Instead of finding Rudolf the protector of their liberties, his sturdy -Swiss vassals now had to defend themselves against his encroachments; -and in the year 1291 some of them in self-defence formed what they -called a ‘Perpetual League’, whose covenant, drawn up a few years later -in a simplified form, is just as sacred a charter of liberty to the -Swiss as Magna Charta to the English. - - ‘Know, all men,’ it began, ‘that we, the people of the Valley of - Uri, the Community of the Valley of Schwyz, and the mountaineers - of the Lower Valley, seeing the malice of the times, have solemnly - agreed and bound ourselves by oath to aid and defend each other - with all our might and main, with our lives and property, both - within and without our boundaries, each at his own expense, against - every enemy whatever who shall attempt to molest us, whether singly - or collectively.’ - -This was the first ‘Confederation of the Swiss’, the union of the three -provinces of Uri, Schwyz, and the ‘Lower Valley’, or ‘Unterwalden’; -but Rudolf died in the same year 1291, so that the Swiss struggle for -liberty really began against his son, Albert of Austria. - -Rudolf, in spite of the Concordat he had made with the Pope renouncing -his claims over papal territory, had never been to Italy to be crowned -Emperor, so that he died merely ‘King of the Romans’; and the Electors -of Germany made this one of their excuses for not immediately choosing -his son to succeed him. - -Like Ottocar, Albert was overbearing and ambitious; and had at once on -his father’s death obtained possession of the entire family estates, -without allowing any of them to pass to Count John of Habsburg, a son -of his elder brother who had died some years before. Albert was a -persistent man when he wished for anything very ardently, and, having -failed to be elected Emperor a first time, he set himself to win -friends and allies amongst the powerful families all over Germany. So -successful was he that when a fresh imperial vacancy occurred in 1298 -the choice of the Electors fell on him. - -This realization of his ambitions spurred Albert’s energies to -fresh efforts. He was now overlord of the Empire, but on his own -estates amongst the Swiss mountains his will was often disputed by -citizens and peasants, who claimed to have imperial permission for -their independence. As Emperor, Rudolf could withdraw privileges -light-heartedly granted by predecessors who were not Habsburgs; and -with this in view he sent bailiffs and stewards to govern in his name, -with orders to enforce complete submission to his demands. - -Concerning the events that followed, fiction has built round fact a -wonderful tale, that, whether true or false in its main incidents, is -characteristic of mediaeval Swiss daring, and a fit introduction to a -great national struggle for liberty. - -Gessler, legend tells us, was the most hated of all Albert’s Austrian -governors. So narrow-minded was he that he hated to see the peasants -building themselves stone houses instead of living in mud hovels, and -would take every opportunity of humbling and oppressing them. - -[Sidenote: Story of William Tell] - -Once he set up a hat on a pole in the market-place of one of the -principal towns, and ordered every one who passed to salute it. A -certain William Tell, either through obstinacy or carelessness, failed -to do so, on which Gessler, who had found out that he was an archer, -ordered him as a punishment to shoot at long range an apple placed -on his son’s head. In vain the father begged for any other sentence: -Gessler only laughed. Seeing that entreaty was useless, Tell took two -shafts, and with one he pierced straight through the apple. Gessler was -annoyed at his success and, looking at him suspiciously, asked, ‘What, -then, is the meaning of thy second arrow?’ The archer hesitated; and -not until he had been promised his life if he would answer the truth -would he speak. Then he said bluntly, ‘Had I injured my child my second -shaft should not have missed thy heart.’ There was a murmur of applause -from the townsmen, but the governor was enraged at such a bold answer. -‘Truly,’ he shouted, ‘I have promised thee life; but I will throw thee -into a dungeon, where never more shall sun nor moon let fall their rays -on thee.’ The legend goes on to relate how, though bound and closely -guarded, the gallant archer made his escape, and hiding in the bushes -not far from the road where Gessler must pass to his castle, he shot -him and fled. ‘It is Tell’s shaft,’ said the dying man, as he fell -from his horse. By his daring struggle against the tyrant William Tell -became one of Switzerland’s national heroes. - -Fortunately for the Swiss, Albert was so busy as ruler of all Germany -that he could not give the full attention to subduing his rebellious -vassals that he would have liked; and when at last he found time to -visit his own estates, just as he was almost within sight of the family -castle of the Habsburgs, he was murdered, not by a peasant, but by his -nephew Count John, who considered that he had been unjustly robbed of -his inheritance. - -The task of attempting to reduce the Swiss to submission fell on a -younger son of King Albert, Duke Leopold, a youth who despised the -peasants of his native valleys quite as heartily as the French their -‘Jacques Bonhomme’. His army, as it wandered carelessly up the Swiss -mountains, without order or pickets, resembled a hunting-party seeking -a day’s amusement; and on their saddles his horsemen carried bundles of -rope to hang the rebels and bind together the cattle they expected to -capture as spoils. - -Meeting with no opposition, Duke Leopold began to ascend the frozen -side of the Morgarten; and here, as he advanced between high ridges, -discovered himself in a death-trap. From the heights above, the Swiss -of the Forest Cantons rained a deadly fire of stones and missiles that -threw the horses below into confusion, slipping and falling on the -smooth surface of the track. Then there descended from all sides small -bodies of peasants armed with halberds, so sure-footed amid the snow -and ice that they cut down the greater part of the Duke’s forces before -they could extricate themselves and find safe ground. - -Leopold escaped, but he rode from the carnage, according to his -chronicler, ‘distracted and with a face like death’. Swiss independence -had been vindicated by his defeat; and round the nucleus of the forest -republics there soon gathered others, bound together in a federal -union that, while securing the safety of all, guaranteed to each their -liberties. - -[Sidenote: Charles ‘the Bold’] - -Other campaigns still remained to be fought on behalf of complete Swiss -independence; and one of the most important of these occurred towards -the end of the fifteenth century, and was waged against a military -leader of Europe, Charles, Duke of Burgundy, son and successor of that -Philip ‘the Good’ who had played so great a part in the latter half of -the Hundred Years’ War.[39] - -This Charles ‘the Bold’, sometimes called also ‘the Rash’ or ‘the -Terrible’, was in many ways a typical mediaeval soldier. From his -boyhood he had loved jousting--not the magnificent tourneys, in which -as heir to the dukedom he could count on making a safe as well as a -spectacular display of knightly courage, but real contests in which, -disguised in plain armour, his strength and skill could alone win him -laurels and avoid death. Strong and healthy, brave and impetuous, he -loved the atmosphere of war with all its hazards and hardships. ‘I -never heard him complain of weariness,’ wrote Philip de Commines, a -French historian who was at one time in his service, ‘and I never saw -in him a sign of fear.’ - -To qualities like courage and endurance Charles added failings that -were often his undoing--a hot temper, impatience, and a tendency to -under-estimate the wits of his opponents. His clever, ambitious brain -was always weaving plans, but he did not realize that he had neither -the skill nor the political vision to keep many irons in the fire -without letting one get too hot or another over-cold. - -Like all mediaeval rulers of Burgundy, he was faced by the problem of -his middle kingdom, with its large commercial population, whose trade -interests must be considered alongside his own territorial ambitions. -To the rulers of both France and the Empire he was tenant-in-chief for -different provinces, and either of these potentates could cause him -discomfort by stirring up trouble amongst his subjects, or else unite -with him to his great advantage in order to defy the authority of the -other. - -At first Charles tried to increase his territory in the west at the -expense of Louis XI of France, and even gained some showy triumphs, but -gradually he found that he was no match in diplomacy for that astute -king, ‘the universal spider’, as a contemporary christened him; and so -he turned his attention to his eastern border. - -Here he discovered that a Habsburg, Sigismund of the Tyrol, had become -involved in a quarrel with the Swiss Cantons, and had been forced to -promise them a large sum of money that he was quite unable to pay. -When Charles offered to lend him the sum required if he would hand -over as security his provinces of Alsace and Breisgau, Sigismund, -seeing no other alternative, reluctantly agreed. So remote was the -prospect of repayment that the Duke of Burgundy at once began to rule -the territories that he held in pawn as though they were his own, and -might indeed have absorbed them quietly amongst his possessions had not -the French ‘Spider’ chosen to take a hand in the game. Louis XI had -never forgiven Charles for his clumsy attempts to rob him of French -territory, and now, weaving a web that was to entangle the Burgundian -to his ultimate ruin, he secretly pointed out to the Swiss how much -more dangerous a neighbour was Charles ‘the Bold’ than Sigismund ‘the -Penniless’. Let Sigismund, he suggested, agree to withdraw all Habsburg -claims to towns and lands belonging to the Cantons, and let the -Cantons in return pledge themselves to pay for the restoration of the -lost provinces. - -This compromise was finally arranged, and the exasperated Charles -called upon to hand back the lands he already considered his own. -Instead of complying he made overtures to both Louis and the Emperor, -with such success that when the Swiss troops invaded Alsace in order to -gain possession of that province for Sigismund, they found themselves -without the powerful allies on whose support they had counted. - -[Sidenote: Battles of Granson and Morat] - -Charles, ever too prone to over-estimate his importance, now believed -that he was in a position to crush these presumptuous burghers once -and for all. With a splendidly equipped army of some fifty thousand -men, and some of the new heavy artillery that had already begun to -turn battle-fields into an inferno, he crossed the Jura mountains and -marched towards the town of Granson, that had been occupied by the -Swiss. This he speedily reduced, hanging the entire garrison on the -trees without the gates as an indication of how he intended to deal -with rebels, and then continued on his way, since he heard that the -army of the Cantons, some eighteen thousand men in all, had gathered in -the neighbourhood. - -On the slopes of a vineyard he could soon see their vanguard, kneeling -with arms outstretched. ‘These cowards are ours,’ he exclaimed -contemptuously, and at once ordered his artillery to fire; for he -thought that the peasants begged for mercy, whereas, believing God was -on their side, they really knelt in prayer. Mown down in scores, the -Swiss maintained their ground; and Charles, to tempt them from their -strong position, ordered a part of his army to fall back as if in rout. -This ruse his own Burgundians misunderstood, the more that at the -moment they received the command they could see the main Swiss forces -advancing rapidly across the opposite heights and blowing their famous -war-horns. Confusion ensued, and soon, in the words of an old Swiss -chronicler, ‘the Burgundians took to their heels and disappeared from -sight as though a whirlwind had swept them from the earth.’ - -Such was the unexpected victory of Granson, that delivered into -Swiss hands the silken tents and baggage-wagons of the richest and -most luxurious ruler in Europe. Carpets and Flemish lace, fine linen -and jewellery, embroidered banners, beautifully chased and engraved -weapons: these were some of the treasures, of which specimens are still -to be found in the museums of the Cantons. - -Charles was defeated, ‘overcome by rustics whom there would have -been no honour in conquering,’ as the King of Hungary expressed -the situation in the knightly language of the day. Such a disgrace -intensified Burgundian determination to continue the war; while the -Swiss on their part found their resolution hardened by the sight of the -garrison of Granson hanging from the trees. - -‘There are three times as many of the foe as at Granson, but let no one -be dismayed. With God’s help we will kill them all.’ Thus spoke a Swiss -leader on the eve of the battle of Morat, where savage hand-to-hand -fighting reduced the Burgundian infantry to a fragment and drove the -Duke with a few horsemen in headlong flight from the field. - -Twice defeated, a wise prince might have done well to consider terms -of peace with those who, though rustics, had proved more than his -equals; but Charles, a brave soldier, would not recognize that his own -bad generalship had largely contributed to his disasters. He chose -to believe instead in that convenient but somewhat thin excuse for -failure, ‘bad luck’, and prophesied that his fortune would turn if he -persevered. - -More dubious of their ruler’s ability than his fortune, the Flemings, -as they grudgingly voted money for a fresh campaign, besought their -Duke to make peace. His former allies, once dazzled by his name and -riches, were planning to desert him: but Charles was deaf alike to -hints of prudence or tales of treachery. - -Near the town of Nanci he met the Swiss for a third time, and once -more the famous horns, ‘the bull’ of Uri and ‘the cow’ of Unterwalden, -bellowed forth their calls to victory, and the Burgundians, inspired -by treachery or forebodings of defeat, turned and fled. None knew what -had happened to the Duke, until a captured page reported that he had -seen him cut down as he fought stubbornly against great numbers. Later -his body was discovered, stripped for the sake of its rich armour, and -half-embedded in a frozen lake. - -Thus fittingly died Charles ‘the Rash’, leaving the reputation as a -warrior that he would gladly have earned to his enemies the Swiss, now -regarded as amongst the invincible veterans of Europe. - - * * * * * - -The voice of freedom had spoken so loudly through the Forest Cantons -that mediaeval Europe had been forced to acknowledge her claim, -and elsewhere also democratic forces were openly at work. We have -spoken in previous chapters of the ‘Communes’ of northern France and -Italy, precocious in their civilization, modern in their demands for -self-government. In Italy, at least, they had been strong enough -to form Leagues and defeat Emperors; but commercial jealousy and -class feuds had always prevented these Unions from developing into a -federation. - -This is true also of southern Germany, where towns like Augsburg and -Nuremburg become, as the central mart for trade between Eastern and -Western Europe and also between Venice, Genoa, and the lands north of -the Alps, rivals in wealth and luxury of Mediterranean ports. During -periods like the ‘Great Interregnum’, when German kingship was of no -avail to preserve peace or order, it was associations of these towns -that sent out young burghers to fight the robber knights that were the -pest of the countryside, and to protect the merchandise on which their -joint fortunes depended. - -Union for obvious purposes of defence was thus a political weapon -forged early in town annals; but, on the other hand, it was only slowly -that burghers and citizens came to realize the advantages of permanent -combination for other ends, such as commercial expansion, or in order -to secure stable government. - -This limited outlook arose partly from the very different stages of -development at which mediaeval towns were to be found at the same -moment. Some would be just struggling out of dependence on a local -bishop or count by the payment of huge tolls, at the same time that -others, though enjoying a good deal of commercial freedom, were -still forced to accept magistrates appointed by their neighbouring -overlord. Yet again, a privileged few would be ‘free’ towns, entirely -self-governed, and owning allegiance only to the Emperor. Perhaps a -master mind could have dovetailed all these conflicting systems of -government into a federation that would have helped and safeguarded -the interests of all, but unfortunately the mediaeval mind was a slave -to the fallacy that commercial gain can only be made at the expense of -some one else. - -The men of one town hated and feared the prosperity of another and -were convinced that the utmost limit of duty to a neighbour was their -own city walls. Nothing, for instance, is more opposed to modern codes -of brotherhood than the early mediaeval opinion on the subjects of -wrecks. Men and women of those days saw no incongruity in piously -petitioning God in public prayer for a good wreckage, or in regarding -the shipwrecked sailor or merchant cast on their rocks as prey to be -knocked on the head and plucked. - -The towns of North Germany shared to the full this primitive savagery, -but they learned the secret of co-operation that their wealthy southern -neighbours utterly missed, and in so doing became for a time a -political force of world-wide fame. - -[Sidenote: The ‘Hansa’] - -Such was the commercial league of ‘the Hansa’, formed first of all by a -few principal ports, Lübeck, Danzig, Bremen, and Hamburg, lying on the -Baltic or North Sea, but afterwards increased to a union of eighty or -more towns as the value of mutual support and obligations was realized. - -Law in the Middle Ages was personal rather than territorial--that is to -say, a man when he travelled abroad would not be judged or protected by -the law of the country to which he went, but would carry his own law -with him. If this law was practically non-existent, as for a German -during years of anarchy when the Holy Roman Empire was thoroughly -discredited in the eyes of Europe, the merchant stood a small chance of -safeguarding himself and his wares. - -It was here, when emperors and kings of the Romans failed, that the -Hanseatic League stepped in, maintaining centres in foreign towns where -the merchants of those cities included in the League could lodge and -store their goods, and where permanent representatives of the League -could make suit to the government of the country on behalf of fellow -merchants who had suffered from robbery or violence. - -As early as the tenth century German traders had won privileges in -English markets, for we find in the code of Ethelred ‘the Rede-less’ -the following statement: ‘The people of the Emperor have been judged -worthy of good laws like ourselves.’ - -Later, ‘steelyards,’ or depots somewhat similar to the Flemish -‘staple-towns’, were established for the convenience of imperial -merchants; and owing to the energy of the Hanseatic League these -became thriving centres of commerce, respected by kings of England if -jealously disliked by their subjects. - -Protection of the merchants belonging to ‘the Hansa’ while in foreign -countries soon represented, however, but a small part of the League’s -duty towards those who claimed her privileges. The merchant must travel -safely to his market by land and sea; but in North Germany he had not -merely to fear robber knights but national foes: the hostile Slav -tribes that attacked him as he rode eastwards to the famous Russian -market of Nijni-Novgorod to negotiate for furs, tallow, and fats: or -even more dangerous Scandinavian pirates who sought to sink his vessel -as he crossed the Baltic or threaded the Danish isles. - -One of the chief sources of Hanse riches was the fishing industry, -since the law that every Christian must abstain from meat during -the forty days of Lent, and on the weekly Friday fast, made fish a -necessity of life even more in the Middle Ages than in modern times. -Now the cheapest of all fish for anxious housekeepers was the salted -herring, and as the herring migrated from one ocean-field to another it -made and unmade the fortune of cities. From the middle of the twelfth -to the middle of the fifteenth century it chose the Baltic as a home of -refuge from the North Sea whales, and in doing so built the prosperity -of Lübeck, just as it broke that prosperity when it swam away to the -coasts of Holland. - -For two months every year the North German fishermen cast nets for -their prey as it swept in millions through the narrow straits past the -coast of Skaania; but here lay trouble for ‘the Hansa’, since Skaania, -one of the southernmost districts of modern Sweden, was then a Danish -province, and the Danes, who were warriors rather than traders, hated -the Germans heartily. - -[Illustration: N.E. EUROPE - -in the MIDDLE AGES] - -In early mediaeval times we have noticed Scandinavia as the home -of Norse pirates; as the mother of a race of world-conquerors, the -Normans; under Cnut, who reigned in England, Norway, and Denmark, as an -empire-builder. The last ideal was never quite forgotten, for as late -as the Hundred Years’ War King Valdemar III of Denmark planned to aid -his French ally by invading England; but the necessary money was not -forthcoming, and other and more pressing political problems intervened -and stopped him. - -Valdemar inherited from his Norse ancestors a taste for piracy that he -pursued with a restless, unscrupulous energy very tiring to his people. -Sometimes it brought him victory, but more often disaster, at least to -his land. ‘In the whole kingdom’, says a discontented Dane, ‘no time -remained to eat, to repose, to sleep--no time in which people were not -driven to work by the bailiffs and servants of the King at the risk of -losing his royal favour, their lives, and their goods.’ Because of his -persistence Valdemar was nicknamed ‘Atterdag’, or ‘There is another -day’: his boast being that there was always time to return to any task -on completing which he had set his heart. - -Valdemar’s chief ambition was to make Denmark the supreme power in -northern Europe, and in endeavouring to achieve this object he was -always forming alliances with Norway and Sweden that broke down and -plunged him into wars instead. The Hanse towns he hated and despised, -and in 1361, moved by this enmity, he promised his army that ‘he -would lead them whither there was gold and silver enough, and where -pigs ate out of silver troughs’. His allusion was to Wisby, the -capital of Gothland, that under the fostering care and control of -North German merchants had become the prosperous centre of the Baltic -herring-fishery. Under Valdemar’s unexpected onslaught the city, with -its forty-eight towers rising from the sea, was set on fire and sacked. - -Since Gothland was a Swedish island, vengeance for this insult did not -legally rest with the Hansa, but, recognizing that the blow had been -aimed primarily at her trade, she sent a fleet northwards to co-operate -with the Swedes and Norwegians. This led to one of the greatest -disasters that ever befell the Hanseatic League, for her allies did not -appear, and her fleet, being outnumbered, was beaten and destroyed. - -Valdemar, delighted with his success, determined to reduce the North -Germans to ruin, and continued his policy of aggression with added -zest; but in this he made a political mistake. Many of the towns, -especially those not on the Baltic, were apathetic when the struggle -with the Danish king began: they did not wish to pay taxes even for a -victory, and angrily repudiated financial responsibility for defeat. -It was only as they became aware, through constant Danish attacks, -that the very existence of the League was at stake, that a new public -opinion was born, and that it was decided at Cologne in 1367 to reopen -a campaign against King Valdemar, towards which every town must -contribute its due. - - ‘If any city refuse to help’, ran the announcement of the meeting’s - decisions, ‘its burghers and merchants shall have no intercourse - with the towns of the German “Hansa”, no goods shall be bought from - them or sold to them, they shall have no right of entry or exit, of - lading or unlading, in any harbour.’ - -The result of the League’s vigorous policy was entirely successful, and -compelled the unscrupulous Valdemar, who found himself shortly in an -awkward corner, to collect all the money that he could and depart on a -round of visits to the various courts of Europe. He left his people to -the fate he had prepared for them, and during his absence Copenhagen -was sacked, and the Danes driven to conclude the Treaty of Stralsund -that placed the League in control of all the fortresses along the coast -of Skaania for fifteen years. - -The Hansa had now acquired the supremacy of the Baltic, and because -the duty of garrisoning fortresses and patrolling the seas required -a standing army and navy, the League of northern towns did not, -like those in South Germany, Italy, or France, melt away as soon as -temporary safety was achieved. Each city continued to manage its own -affairs, but federal assemblies were held, where questions of common -taxation and foreign policy were discussed, and where those towns that -refused to abide by decisions previously arrived at were ‘unhansed’, -that is, deprived of their privileges. - -Even Emperors, who condemned leagues on principle from old Hohenstaufen -experience, respected if they disliked ‘the Hansa’ that carried through -national police-work in the north of which they themselves were quite -incapable. - -The Emperor Charles IV, when he visited Lübeck, addressed the principal -civic officials as ‘My lords!’ and when, suspicious of this flattery, -they demurred, he replied, ‘You are lords indeed, for the oldest -imperial registers know that Lübeck is one of the five towns that have -accorded to them ducal rank in the imperial council.’ The chronicler -adds proudly that thus Lübeck was acknowledged the equal of Rome, -Venice, Florence, and Pisa. - -In the latter half of the fourteenth century the Hanseatic League stood -at the height of its power; for though the political genius of Queen -Margaret, daughter of Valdemar III, succeeded in uniting Denmark, -Norway, and Sweden by the agreement called ‘the Union of Kalmar’, and -also forced the Hansa to surrender the fortresses on the Skaania coast; -yet even the foundation of this vast Scandinavian Empire could not -shake German supremacy over the Baltic. Under Margaret’s successors the -Union of Kalmar degenerated into a Danish tyranny; and because it was -the result of a dynastic settlement and not of any national movement it -soon came to shipwreck amid general discontent and civil wars. - -The Hanseatic League itself, though it lingered on as a political force -through the fifteenth century, gradually declined and lost touch with -the commercial outlook of the age. The decline may be traced partly to -the fact that there was no vigorous national life in Germany to feed -the League’s vitality, but also to a steady tendency for towns to drift -apart and become absorbed in the local interests of their provinces. - -The real blow to the prestige of the League was, however, the departure -of the herring-shoals from the Baltic to the coasts of Amsterdam. ‘The -Hansa’ had concentrated its commercial interests in the Baltic, and -when the Baltic failed her she found herself unable to compete with the -Dutch and English traders, who were already masters of the North Sea. - -Other and more adventurous rivals were opening up trade routes along -the African coast and across the Atlantic; but the Hanseatic League, -with her rigid and limited conception of commercial interests, was like -a nurse still holding by the hand children that should have been able -to fend for themselves. Once the protection of her merchants, she had -degenerated into a check on individual enterprise, and so, belonging to -the spirit of the Middle Ages, with the Middle Ages passed away. - -[Sidenote: The Teutonic Knights] - -Another mediaeval institution, destined also to decline and finally -vanish, was a close ally of the Hanseatic League, namely, the Order -of Teutonic Knights. Transferred, as we have noticed,[40] on the fall -of the Latin Empire in Asia Minor to the shores of the Baltic, the -Order had there justified its existence by carrying on a perpetual war -against the heathen Lithuanians and Prussians, building fortresses and -planting colonies of German settlers, as Charlemagne and his Franks had -set the example. - -While there still remained heathen to conquer the Knights were warmly -encouraged by the Pope, and their battle-fields were a popular resort -for the chivalry of nearly every country in Europe, competing in their -claim with the camps of Valencia, Murcia, and Granada. - -Nearer home the Order found less favour. In Poland, for instance, -that had at first welcomed the Knights as a bulwark against northern -barbarism, the unpleasant knowledge gradually dawned that the -crusaders, by securing the territory of Livonia, Curland, and Prussia, -had cut her off from a lucrative sea-trade. - -Poland was the most easterly of those states that in mediaeval times -owned a nominal allegiance to Holy Roman Emperors. She had received her -Christianity from Rome, and was thus drawn into the network of western -life--unlike Russia, or the kingdom of Rus as it was called, that was -converted by missionaries from Constantinople, and whose princes and -dukes were subject to Mongol overlords in Siberia from the middle of -the thirteenth to the middle of the fifteenth century. - -The Poles were brave, intensely devoted to their race, persistent in -their enmities, and in none more than in their dislike of the German -Knights, whose military genius and discipline had so often thwarted -their ambitions. Quarrels and wars were continuous, but the most mortal -wound dealt by the Poles was the result not of a victory but of a -marriage alliance. - -In 1387, soon after the death of Louis ‘the Great’, who had been King -of both Hungary and Poland, the Poles offered their crown to Duke -Jagello of Lithuania; on the condition that he would marry one of -Louis’s daughters and become a Christian. The temptation of a kingdom -soon overcame Jagello’s religious scruples, so that he cast away his -old gods and was baptized as Ladislas V, becoming the founder of the -Jagellan dynasty, that continued on the thrones of Poland and Lithuania -right through the Middle Ages. - -The conversion of the Lithuanians, who, whatever their beliefs, were -driven at the spear-point to accept Jagello’s new faith, completely -undermined the position of the Teutonic Order that, surrounded by -Christian neighbours, had no longer a crusade to justify its claims. -Popes ceased to send their blessing to the Grand Master, and talked -instead of the possibilities of suppression; while tales of immorality -and avarice such as had pursued the Templars were everywhere whispered -into willing ears. - -Within their own territory also the influence of the Knights was -waning; for the very nature of their vows made their rule merely a -military domination; and, once the fear of heathen invasion had been -removed, German colonists began to resent this. Condemned to celibacy, -the Knights could train up no hereditary successors in sympathy from -childhood with the needs of the Baltic province; but, as they grew -old and died, they must yield place instead to recruits from distant -parts of Germany, who could only learn anew by their own experience the -manners and traditions of those whom they governed. - -In the stress of these new conditions the good work that the Teutonic -Order had done in saving North Germany from barbarism was forgotten. -Weakened by disaffection within her own state, she fell an inevitable -victim to Polish enmity, and at the battle of Tannenberg her Grand -Master and many of her leading Knights were slain. The daring and -determination of those who remained prevented the full fruits of this -victory from being reaped until 1466, when, by the Treaty of Thorn, -Poland received the whole of western Prussia, including the important -town of Danzig, that gave her the long-coveted control of the Vistula -and a Baltic seaport, beside hemming her enemies into the narrow strip -of eastern Prussia. - -[Sidenote: Louis ‘the Great’] - -Poland’s southern neighbour was the kingdom of Hungary, with which -she had been for a short time united under Louis ‘the Great’, ‘the -Banner-bearer of the Church’ as he was styled by a grateful Pope for -his victories over the Mahometans. Besides fighting against the Turks, -Louis had other military irons in the fire. One of his ambitions was -to dominate Eastern Europe, and with this object he was continually -attacking and weakening the Serbian Empire, that appeared likely to -be his chief rival. He also fought with the Venetians for the mastery -of the Dalmatian coast, while we shall see in a later chapter that he -aimed at becoming King of Naples on the murder of his brother Prince -Andrew, husband of Joanna I. - -So successful was Louis in his war against the Venetians that he was -able to take from them Dalmatia and exact the promise of a large yearly -tribute. This in itself was achievement enough to win him a reputation -in Europe, for the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’ was a difficult foe to -humble; but Louis also gained public admiration by his enlightened -rule. Recognizing how deeply his land was scarred by racial feuds, such -as those of the Czechs and Magyars, that have carried their bitterness -far into modern times, he set himself to think out equitable laws, -which he endeavoured to administer with impartial justice, instead of -favouring one race at the expense of another. He also made his court a -centre of culture and learning, where his nobles might develop their -wits and manners as well as their sword-arms. - -One of the chief supporters of Louis in this work of civilization was -the Emperor Charles IV, whom we have noticed paying compliments to the -citizens of Lübeck. The friendship lasted for several years, until some -of the princes of the Empire, weary of Charles’s rule, began to compare -the two monarchs, one so sluggish, the other a military hero, and to -suggest that the overlord should be deposed in favour of the famous -King of Hungary. Louis indignantly repudiated this plot; but Charles, -who would hardly have done the same in a like case, could not bring -himself to believe him, and in his anger began petulantly to abuse the -Queen Mother of Hungary, to whom he knew her son was devoted. This -led to recriminations, and finally to a war, in which Charles was so -thoroughly beaten that he sued for peace; and outward friendship was -restored by the marriage of the Emperor’s son, Sigismund of Luxemburg, -with Louis’s daughter Mary. - -When Louis died, Poland, that had never wholeheartedly submitted to -his rule, gave itself, as we have seen, to King Jagello of Lithuania; -while the Hungarians, after some years of anarchy, chose Sigismund of -Luxemburg as their king. - - * * * * * - -The House of Luxemburg was in the later Middle Ages the chief rival -of the Habsburgs, and provided the Empire with some of her most -interesting rulers. One of these, the Emperor Henry VII, belongs to an -earlier date than that with which we have just been dealing, for he was -grandfather of Charles IV. He was a gallant and chivalrous knight, who, -but for his unfortunate foreign policy, might have proved himself a -good and wise king. - -Dante, the greatest of Italian poets, who lived in the days of Henry -VII, made him his hero, and hoped that he would save the world by -establishing a Ghibelline supremacy that would reform both Church and -State. It was Henry VII’s undoing that he believed with Dante that he -had been called to this impossible mission; and so he crossed the Alps -to try his hand at settling Italian feuds. Germany saw him no more; for -soon after his coronation at Rome he fell ill and died, poisoned, it is -said, in the cup of wine given him by a priest at Mass. - -Discord now broke out in Germany, and it was not till 1348 that another -of the House of Luxemburg was chosen King of the Romans. This was -Charles IV, a man of a very different type of mind to his grandfather. -For Charles Italy had no lure: he only crossed the Alps because he -realized that it increased the prestige of the ruler of Germany to be -crowned as Emperor by the Pope, and he did not mind at all that he was -received without any pomp or respect, only with suspicion and begging -demands. As soon as the ceremony was over he hastened back to his own -kingdom, turning a deaf ear to all Italian complaints and suggestions. - -This hurried journey was certainly undignified for a world-Emperor; -but Charles, who had run away in his youth from the battle-field of -Creci, was never a heroic figure. Neither the thought of glory nor of -duty could stir his sluggish blood; but as far as obvious things were -concerned he had a good deal of common sense. At any rate, in sharing -Rudolf I’s conviction that Germany should come first in his thoughts he -was wiser than his heroic grandfather. - -[Sidenote: The Golden Bull] - -To the reign of Charles IV belongs the ‘Golden Bull’, a document so -called from its _bulla_ or seal. The ‘Golden Bull’ set forth clearly -the exact method of holding an imperial election. Hitherto much of the -trouble in disputed elections had arisen because no one had been sure -of the correct procedure, and so disappointed candidates, by arguing -that something illegal had occurred, were able to refuse allegiance to -the successful nominee. Now it was decided that there should be seven -Electors--three archbishops and four laymen--and that the ceremony -should always take place at Frankfort, the minority agreeing to be -bound by the will of the majority. - -Besides these main clauses the ‘Golden Bull’ secured to the seven -Electors enormous privileges and rights of jurisdiction, thus raising -them to a much higher social and political level than the other -princes of Germany, who were merely represented in the Imperial Diet -or Parliament. The Electors became, in fact, more influential than the -Emperor himself, and Charles has often been blamed for handing over -Germany to a feudal oligarchy. - -It is possible that he did not foresee the full results or permanence -of the ‘Golden Bull’, but was determined only to construct for the time -being a workable scheme that would prevent anarchy. There is also the -supposition that he was more interested in the position of the kingdom -of Bohemia, his own hereditary possession, which he raised to the first -place among the electing territories, than in the rôle of Emperor to -which he had been chosen. Whatever Charles’s real motive, it is at any -rate clear that he had the sense to see that the Empire as it stood -was an outworn institution, and thus to try and mould it into a less -fantastic form of government. Like Edward I of England and Philip IV -of France, though without the genius of the one or the opportunities -of the other, he stands for posterity as one of those rulers of Europe -during whose reign their country was enabled to shake off some of its -mediaeval characteristics. Charles wore the imperial crown longer -than any of his predecessors without arousing serious opposition--a -sign that, if not an original politician, he yet moved with his times -towards a more Modern Age. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - The Perpetual League 1291 - Charles ‘the Bold’ 1433-77 - Valdemar III 1340-75 - Ladislas V of Poland 1386-1433 - Treaty of Thorn 1466 - Emperor Henry VII 1308-13 - - - - -XXI - -ITALY IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES - - -When the ‘Company of Death’ repulsed the German army of Frederick -Barbarossa on the field of Legnano[41] it raised aloft before the eyes -of Europe not only the banner of democracy but also of nationality. -Others, as we have seen, followed these banners once displayed: the -Swiss Cantons shook off the Habsburg yoke: the Flemish towns defied -their counts and French overlords: the Hanse cities formed political as -well as commercial leagues against Scandinavia: France, England, and -Spain emerged, through war and anarchy, modern states conscious of a -national destiny. - -This slow evolution of nations and classes is the history of the later -Middle Ages; but in Italy there is no steady progress to record; -rather, a retrogression that proves her early efforts to secure freedom -were little understood even by those who made them. - -Frederick II had ruled Lombardy in the thirteenth century through -tyrants; but, long after the Hohenstaufen had disappeared, and the -quarrels of Welfs and Waiblingen had dwindled into a memory in Germany, -the feuds of Guelfs and Ghibellines were still a monstrous reality in -towns south of the Alps, where petty despots enslaved the Communes and -reduced the country to perpetual warfare. - -At length from this welter of lost hopes and evil deeds there emerged, -not Italy a nation, but five Italian states of pre-eminence in the -peninsula, namely, Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples, and Rome. Each -was more jealous of the other than of foreign intervention, so that -on the slightest pretext one would appeal to France to support her -ambitions, another to Spain or the Empire, and yet a third to Hungary -or the Greeks. If Italy, as a result, became at a later date ‘the -cockpit of Europe’, where strangers fought their battles and settled -their fortunes, it was largely her lack of any national foresight in -mediaeval times that brought on her this misery. - -[Illustration: ITALY - -in the LATER MIDDLE AGES] - -The history of Milan, first as a Commune fighting for her own liberty -and destroying her neighbour’s, then as the battle-ground of a struggle -between two of her chief families, and finally as the slave of the -victor, is the tale of many a north Italian town, only that position -and wealth gave to the fate of this famous city a more than local -interest. - -[Sidenote: The Visconti] - -The lords of Milan in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries were -the Visconti, typical tyrants of the Italy of their day, quick with -their swords, but still more ready with poison or a dagger, profligate -and luxurious, patrons of literature and art, bad enemies and still -worse friends, false and cruel, subtle as the serpent they so fittingly -bore as an emblem. No bond but fear compelled their subject’s loyalty, -and deliberate cruelty to inspire fear they had made a part of their -system. - -Bernabò Visconti permitted no one but himself to enjoy the pleasures -of the chase; but for this purpose he kept some five thousand savage -hounds fed on flesh, and into their kennels his soldiers cast such -hapless peasants as had accidentally killed their lord’s game or dared -to poach on his preserves. - -No sense of the sanctity of an envoy’s person disturbed this grim -Visconti’s sense of humour, when he demanded of messengers sent by the -Pope with unpleasant tidings whether they would rather drink or eat. As -he put the question he pointed towards the river, rushing in a torrent -beneath the bridge on which he stood, and the envoys, casting horrified -eyes in that direction, replied, ‘Sir, we will eat.’ ‘Eat this, then,’ -said Bernabò sternly, handing them the papal letter with its leaden -seals and thick parchment, and before they left his presence the whole -had been consumed. - -Galeazzo Visconti, an elder brother of Bernabò, bore an even worse -reputation for cruelty. Those he condemned to death had their suffering -prolonged on a deliberate programme during forty-one days, losing -now an eye, and now a foot or a hand, were beaten, forced to swallow -nauseous drinks, and then, when the agony could be prolonged no -further, broken on the wheel. The scene of this torture was a scaffold -set in the public gaze that Milan might read what was the anger of the -Visconti and tremble. - -The most famous of this infamous family was Gian Galeazzo, son of -Galeazzo, a youth so timid by nature that he would shake and turn white -at the sudden closing of a door, or at a noise in the street below. -His uncle, Bernabò, believed him half-witted, and foolishly accepted -an invitation to visit him after his father’s death, intending to -manage the young man’s affairs for him and to keep him in terrified -submission. The wily old man was to find himself outmatched, however, -for Gian Galeazzo came to their meeting-place with an armed guard, -arrested his uncle, and imprisoned him in a castle, where he died by -slow poison. - -After this Gian Galeazzo reigned alone in Milan, with no law save his -ruthless ambition; and by this and his skill in creating political -opportunities, and making use of them at his neighbour’s expense, he -succeeded in stretching his tyranny over the plains of Lombardy and -southwards amongst the hill cities of Tuscany. Near at home he beat -down resistance by force of arms, while farther away he secured by -bribery or fraud the allegiance of cities too weak to stand alone, yet -less afraid of distant Milan than of Venice or Florence that lay nearer -to their walls. - -It was Gian Galeazzo’s aim to found a kingdom in North Italy, and he -went far towards realizing his project, stretching his dominion at -one time to Verona and Vicenza at the very gates of Venice, while -in the south he absorbed as subject-towns Pisa and Siena, the two -arch-enemies of Florence. This territory, acquired by war, bribery, -murder, and fraud, he persuaded the Emperor to recognize as a duchy -hereditary in his family, and at once proceeded to form alliances with -the royal houses of Europe. The marriage of his daughter Valentina -with the young and weak-minded Duke of Orleans, brother of the French -king, though hardly an attractive union for the bride, proved fraught -with importance for the whole of Italy, since at the very end of the -fifteenth century, Louis, Duke of Orleans, a grandson of Valentina -Visconti, succeeded to the French crown as Louis XII, and also laid -claim to the duchy of Milan, as a descendant of the Visconti.[42] - -At first sight it seems strange that any race so cruel and unprincipled -as the Visconti should continue to maintain their tyranny over men -and women naturally independent like the inhabitants of North Italy. -Certainly, if their rulers had been forced to rely on municipal -levies they would not have kept their power even for a generation; -but unfortunately the old plan of expecting every citizen of military -age to appear at the sound of a bell in order to defend his town had -practically disappeared. Instead the professional soldier had taken the -citizen’s place--the type of man who, as long as he received high wages -and frequent booty, did not care who was his master, nor to what ugly -job of carnage or intimidation he was bidden to bring his sword. - -This system of hiring soldiers, _condottieri_, as they were called in -Italy, had arisen partly from the laziness of the townsmen themselves, -who did not wish to leave their business in order to drill and fight, -and were therefore quite willing to pay volunteers to serve instead of -them. Partly it was due to the reluctance of tyrants to arm and employ -as soldiers the people over whom they ruled. From the point of view of -the Visconti, for instance, it was much safer to enrol strangers who -would not have any patriotic scruples in carrying out a massacre, or -any other orders equally harsh. - -For such ruffians Italy herself supplied a wide recruiting-ground, -namely, the numberless small towns, once independent but now swallowed -up by bigger states, who treated the conquered as perpetual enemies to -be bullied and suppressed; allowing them no share in the government -nor voice in their future destiny. Wide experience has taught the -world that such tyranny breeds merely hatred and disloyalty, and the -continual local warfare from which mediaeval Italy suffered could be -largely traced to the failure to recognize this political truth. With -no legitimate outlet for their energies, the young men of the conquered -towns found in the formation of a company of adventurers, or in the -service of some prince, the only path to renown, possibly a way of -revenge. - -[Sidenote: The ‘Condottieri’ System] - -To Italian _condottieri_ were added German soldiers whom Emperors -visiting Italy had brought in their train, and who afterwards remained -behind, looking on the cities of Italy as a happy hunting-ground for -loot and adventure. Yet a third source of supply were freebooters from -France, released by one of the truces of the Hundred Years’ War, and -hastily sent by those who had employed them to seek their fortunes -elsewhere. - -Amongst those who came to Italy in the fourteenth century, and built -for himself a name of terror and renown, was an English captain, Sir -John Hawkwood, the son of an Essex tailor, knighted by Edward III for -his prowess on the battle-fields of France. Here is what a Florentine -chronicler says of him: - - ‘He endured under arms longer than any one, for he endured sixty - years: and he well knew how to manage that there should be little - peace in Italy in his time.... For men and Communes and all cities - live by peace, but these men live and increase by war, which is the - undoing of cities, for they fight and become of naught. In such men - there is neither love nor faith.’ - -One tale of the day records how some Franciscans, meeting Sir John -Hawkwood, exclaimed as was their custom, ‘Peace be with you.’ To their -astonishment he answered, ‘God take away your alms.’ When they asked -him the reason for wishing them so ill, he replied, ‘You also wished -that God might make me die of hunger. Know you not that I live on war, -and that peace would ruin me? I therefore returned your greeting in -like sort.’ - -Sir John Hawkwood spent most of his time in the service of Florence; -and, whatever his cruelty and greed, he does not seem to have been -as false as other captains of his time. Indeed, when he died, the -Florentines buried him in their cathedral, and raised an effigy in -grateful memory of his deeds on behalf of the city. - -Returning to the history of Milan and her _condottieri_, Gian Galeazzo, -though timid and unwarlike himself, was a shrewd judge of character, -and his captains, while they struck terror into his enemies, remained -faithful to himself. When he died in 1402, however, many of them tried -to establish independent states; and it was some years before his son, -Filippo Maria, could master them and regain control over the greater -part of the Duchy. - -Even more cowardly than his father, Filippo Maria lived, like Louis XI -of France, shut off from the sight of men. Sismondi, the historian, -describes him as ‘a strange, dingy, creature, with protruding eyeballs -and furtive glance.’ He hated to hear the word ‘death’ mentioned, and -for fear of assassination would change his bedroom every night. When -news was brought him of defeat he would tremble in the expectation that -his _condottieri_ might desert him: when messengers arrived flushed -with victory he was scarcely less aghast, believing that the successful -general might become his rival. - -Such was the penalty paid by despots, save by those of iron nerve, in -return for their luxury and power: the dread that the most servile of -_condottieri_ might be bribed into a relentless enemy, poison lurk in -the seasoned dish or wine-cup, a dagger pierce the strongest mesh of a -steel tunic. So night and day was the great Visconti haunted by fear, -while his hired armies forced Genoa to acknowledge his suzerainty, and -plunged his Duchy into rivalry with Venice along the line of the River -Adige. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: Venice] - -The history of Venice differs in many ways from that of other Italian -states. Built on a network of islands that destined her geographically -for a great sea-power, she had looked from earliest times not to -territorial aggrandisement, but to commercial expansion for the -satisfaction of her ambitions. In this way she had avoided the strife -of feudal landowners, and even the Guelf and Ghibelline factions that -had reduced her neighbours to slavery. - -Elsewhere in Italy the names of cities and states are bound up with -the histories of mediaeval families; Naples with the quarrels of -Hohenstaufen, Angevins, and Aragonese: Rome with the Barons of the -Campagna, the Orsini and Colonna: Milan with the Visconti, and later -with the Sforza: Florence with the Medici: but in Venice the state -was everything, demanding of her sons and daughters not the startling -qualities and vices of the successful soldier of fortune, but -obedience, self-effacement, and hard work. - -The Doge, or Duke, the chief magistrate of Venice, has been compared -to a king; but he was in reality merely a president elected for life, -and that by a system rendered as complicated as possible in order to -prevent wire-pulling. Once chosen and presented to the people with the -old formula, ‘This is your Doge an’ it please you!’ the new ruler of -the city found himself hedged about by a hundred constitutional checks, -that compelled him to act only on the well-considered advice of his six -Ducal Councillors, forbade him to raise any of his family to a public -office or to divest himself of a rank that he might with years find -more burdensome than pleasant. He was also made aware that the respect -with which his commands were received was paid not to himself but to -his office, and through his office to Venice, a royal mistress before -whom even a haughty aristocracy willingly bent the knee. - -In early days all important matters in Venice were decided by a General -Assembly of the people; but as the population grew, this unwieldy body -was replaced by a ‘Grand Council’ of leading citizens. In the early -fourteenth century another and still more important change was made, -for the ranks of the Grand Council were closed, and only members of -those families who had been in the habit of attending its meetings -were allowed to do so in future. Thus a privileged aristocracy was -created, and the majority of Venetians excluded from any share in their -government; but because this government aimed not at the advantage -of any particular family but of the whole state, people forgave its -despotic character. Even the famous Council of Ten that, like the -Court of Star Chamber under the Tudors, had power to seize and examine -citizens secretly, in the interests of the state, was admired by the -Venetians over whom it exerted its sway, because of its reputation -for even-handed justice, that drew no distinctions between the son -of a Doge, a merchant, or a beggar. ‘The Venetian Republic’, says a -modern writer on mediaeval times, ‘was the one stable element in all -North Italy,’ and this condition of political calm was the wonder and -admiration of contemporaries. - -Sometimes to-day it seems difficult to admire mediaeval Venice because -of her selfishness and frank commercialism. She had no sense of -patriotism either towards Italy or Christendom; witness the Fourth -Crusade,[43] where nothing but her insistent desire to protect her -trading position in the East had influenced her diplomacy. - -This accusation of selfishness is true; but we must remember that the -word ‘patriotism’ has a much wider scope in modern times than was -possible to the limited outlook of the Middle Ages. Venice might be -unmoved by the words ‘Italy’ or ‘Christendom’, but the whole of her -life and ideals was centred in the word ‘Venice’. Her sailors and -merchants, who laid the foundations of her greatness, were no hired -mercenaries, but citizens willing to lay down their lives for the -Republic who was their mother and their queen. Thus narrowing the -term ‘patriotism’, we see that of all the Italian Powers Venice alone -understood what the word meant, in that her sons and daughters were -willing to sacrifice as a matter of course not merely life but family -ambitions, class, and even individuality to the interests of their -state. - -The ambitions of Venice were bound up with the shipping and commerce -that had gained for her the carrying-trade of the world. To take, for -example, the wool manufacture, of such vital interest to English and -Flemings, we find that at one time this depended largely on Venetian -merchants, who would carry sugar and spices to England from the East, -replace their cargo with wool, unload this in its turn in the harbours -of Flanders, and then laden with bales of manufactured cloth return to -dispose of them in Italian markets. - -Besides the carrying-trade, which depended on her neighbour’s industry, -Venice had her own manufactures such as silk and glass; but in either -case both her sailors and workmen found one thing absolutely vital -to their interests, namely, the command of the Adriatic. Like the -British Isles to-day, Venice could not feed her thriving population -from home-produce, and yet, with enemies or pirates hiding along the -Dalmatian coast, safety for her richly-laden vessels passing to and -fro could not be guaranteed. These are some of the reasons why from -earliest times the Republic had embarked on an aggressive maritime -policy that brought her into clash with other Mediterranean ports, and -especially with Genoa, her rival in Eastern waters. - -When, at the end of the Fourth Crusade, Venice forced Constantinople -to accept a Latin dynasty, she secured for herself for the time being -especial privileges in that world-market; Genoa, who adopted the cause -of the exiled Greeks, achieved a signal triumph in her turn when in -1261 with her assistance Michael Paleologus, a Greek general, restored -the Byzantine Empire amid public rejoicings. - -Open warfare was now almost continuous between the republics; there -was street-fighting in Constantinople and in the ports of Palestine, -sea-battles off the Italian and Greek coasts, encounters in which -varying fortunes gave at first the mastery of the Mediterranean to -neither Venice nor Genoa, but which disastrously weakened the whole -resistance of Christendom to the Mahometans. - -At length in 1380 a decisive battle was fought off Chioggia, one of the -cities of the Venetian Lagoons, whither the Genoese fleet, triumphant -on the open seas, had taken up its quarters determined to blockade the -enemy into surrender. ‘Let us man every vessel in Venice and go and -fight the foe’, was the general cry; and a popular leader, Pisani, -imprisoned on account of his share in a recent naval disaster, was -released on the public demand and made captain of the enterprise. ‘Long -live Pisani!’ the citizens shouted in their joy, but their hero, true -to the spirit of Venice, answered them, ‘Venetians cry only, “Long live -St. Mark!”’ - -With the few ships and men at his disposal, Pisani recognized that -it was out of the question to lead a successful attack; but he knew -that if he could defer the issue there was a Venetian fleet in the -eastern Mediterranean which, learning his straits, would return with -all possible speed to his aid. He therefore determined to force the -enemy to remain where they were without offering open battle, and this -manœuvre he carried out with great boldness and skill, sinking heavy -vessels loaded with stones in the channels that led to Chioggia, while -placing his own fleet across the main entrance to prevent Genoese -reinforcements. The blockaders were now blockaded; and through long -winter days and nights the rivals, worn out by their bitter vigil, -starving and short of ammunition, watched one another and searched -the horizon anxiously. At length a shout arose, for distant sails had -been sighted; then as the Venetian flag floated proudly into view the -shout of Pisani and his men became a song of triumph: the Republic -was saved. Venice was not only saved from ruin, her future as Queen -of the Adriatic was assured, for the Genoese admiral was compelled to -surrender, and his Republic to acknowledge her rival’s supremacy of the -seas. - -The sea-policy of Venice was the inevitable result of her geographical -position; but as the centuries passed she developed a much more -debatable land-policy. Many mediaeval Venetians declared that since -land was the source of all political trouble, therefore Venice should -only maintain enough command over the immediate mainland to secure -the city from a surprise attack. Others replied that such an argument -was dictated by narrow-minded prejudice, a point of view suitable to -the days when Lombardy had been divided amongst a number of weak city -states, but impracticable with powerful tyrants, such as the Visconti, -masters of North Italy. Unless Venice could secure the territories -lying at the foot of the Alps, and also a wide stretch of eastern -Lombardy, she would find that she had no command over the passes in the -mountains by means of which she carried on her commerce with Germany -and Austria. - -The advocates of a land-empire policy received confirmation of their -warnings when in the early part of the fourteenth century Mastino della -Scala, lord of Vicenza, Padua, and Treviso, attempted to levy taxes on -Venetian goods passing through his territories. The Republic, roused -by what she considered an insult to her commercial supremacy, promptly -formed a league with Milan and Florence against Mastino, and obtained -Treviso and other towns as the result of a victorious war. - -This campaign might, of course, be called merely a part of Venice’s -commercial policy, defence not aggression; but later, in 1423, the -Florentines persuaded the Republic to join with them in a war against -the Visconti, declaring that they were weary of struggling alone -against such tyrants, and that if Venice did not help them they would -be compelled to make Filippo Maria ‘King of North Italy.’ The result -of the war that followed was a treaty securing Venice a temporary -increase of power on the mainland, and may be taken as the first -decisive step in her deliberate scheme of building up a land-empire in -Italy. - -Machiavelli, a student of politics in the sixteenth century, who wrote -a handbook of advice for rulers called _The Prince_, as well as the -history of Florence, his native city, declares that the decline of the -Venetians ‘dated from the time when they became ambitious of conquests -by land and of adopting the manners and customs of the other states of -Italy’. This may be true; but it is doubtful whether the great Republic -could have remained in glorious isolation with the Visconti knocking at -her gates. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: Florence] - -From Venice we must turn to Florence, which, by the fifteenth century, -emerged from petty rivalries as the first city in Tuscany. Like -Milan, Florence fell a prey to Guelfs and Ghibellines; but these -feuds, instead of becoming a family rivalry between would-be despots, -developed into a bitter class-war. - -On the fall of Frederick II the Guelfs, who in Florence at this date -may be taken as representing the _populo grasso_, or rich merchants, as -opposed to the _grandi_, or nobles, succeeded in driving the majority -of their enemies out of the city. They then remodelled the constitution -in their own favour. - -The chief power in the city was now the ‘Signory’, composed of the -‘Gonfalonier of Justice’ and a number of ‘Priors’, representatives of -the _arti_, or guilds of lawyers, physicians, clothiers, &c.: to name -but a few. No aristocrat might stand for any public office unless he -became a member of one of the guilds, and in order to ensure that he -did not merely write down his name on their registers it was later -enacted that every candidate for office must show proof that he really -worked at the trade of the guild to which he claimed to belong. - -Other and sterner measures of proscription followed with successive -generations. The noble who injured a citizen of lesser rank, whether -on purpose or by accident, was liable to have his house levelled -with the dust: the towers, from which in old days his ancestors had -poured boiling oil or stones upon their rivals, were reduced by law -to a height that could be easily scaled; in the case of a riot no -aristocrat, however innocent his intentions, might have access to the -streets. The _grande_ was, in fact, both in regard to politics and -justice, placed at such an obvious disadvantage that to ennoble an -ambitious enemy was a favourite Florentine method of rendering him -harmless. - -The Guelf triumph of the thirteenth century did not, in spite of its -completeness, bring peace to Florence. New parties sprang up; and the -government in its efforts to keep clear of class or family influence -introduced so many complicated checks that great injury was done to -individual action, and all hope of a steady policy removed. Members of -the ‘Signory’, for instance, served only for two months at a time: the -twelve ‘Buonomini’, or ‘Good men’, elected to give them advice only -for six. What was most in contrast to the ideal of ‘the right man for -the right job’ was the practice of first making a list of all citizens -considered suitable to hold office, then putting the names in a bag, -and afterwards picking them out haphazard as vacancies occurred. Even -this precaution against favouritism--and, one is inclined to add, also -against efficiency--was checked by another law, the summoning of a -_parlamento_ in cases of emergency. This _parlamento_ was an informal -gathering of the people collected by the ringing of a bell in the big -square, where it was then asked to decide whether a special committee -should be appointed with free power to alter the existing constitution. -Politicians argued that here in the last resort was a direct appeal to -the people, but in reality by placing armed men at the entrances to the -square a docile crowd could be manœuvred at the mercy of any mob-orator -set up by those behind the scenes. - -Power remained in Florence in the hands of the prosperous burghers and -merchants, and these in time developed their own feuds under the names -of ‘Whites’ and ‘Blacks’, adopted by the partisans in a family quarrel. - -[Sidenote: Dante Alighieri] - -The greatest of Italian poets, Dante Alighieri, was a ‘White’, and was -exiled from his city in 1302 owing to the triumph of his rivals. When -pardon was suggested on the payment of a large sum of money, Dante, -who had tried to serve his city faithfully, refused to comply, feeling -that this would be an open acknowledgement of his guilt. ‘If another -way can be found ... which shall not taint Dante’s fame and honour’, he -wrote proudly, ‘that way I will accept and with no reluctant steps ... -but if Florence is not to be entered by any such way never will I enter -Florence.’ - -Dante’s mental outlook was typical of mediaeval times in its stern -prejudices and hatreds, but it was also clearer and nobler in its -scope. An enthusiastic Ghibelline in politics, he believed that it -was the first duty of Holy Roman Emperors to exert their authority -over Italy, but this vision was not narrowed, as with many Italians, -into the mere hope of restoration to home and power, with a sequel of -revenge on private enemies. Dearer to Dante than any personal ambitions -was the desire for the salvation of both Church and state from tyranny -and corruption; and this he believed could only be achieved by -bestowing supreme power on a world-emperor. - -One attempt at reform had been made in 1294, when the conclave of -Cardinals, suddenly stung with the contrast between the character -of the Catholic Church and its professions, chose as their Vicar a -hermit noted for his privations and holy life. Celestine V, as he was -afterwards called, was a small man, pale and feeble, with tousled hair -and garments of sackcloth. When a deputation of splendidly dressed -cardinals came to find him, he fled in terror, and it was almost by -force that he was at last persuaded to go with them and put on the -pontifical robes. The men and women who longed for reform now waited -eagerly for this new Pope’s mandates; but their expectations were -doomed to failure. Celestine V had neither the originality nor the -strength of will to withstand his change of fortunes. Terrified by his -surroundings, he became an easy prey to those who were unscrupulous and -ambitious, giving away benefices sometimes twice over because he dared -not refuse them to importunate courtiers, and creating new cardinals -almost as fast as he was asked to do so. At last he was allowed to -abdicate, and hurried back to his cell, but only to be seized by his -successor, the fierce Boniface VIII,[44] and shut up in a castle, where -he died. - -Dante hated Boniface as a ruler who debased his spiritual opportunities -in order to obtain material rewards, but he had hardly less scorn for -Celestine V, who was given power to reform the Church of Christ and -‘made the great refusal’. Reform, in the Florentine’s eyes, could -not be looked for from Rome, but, when the Emperor Henry VII crossed -the Alps,[45] his hopes rose high that here at last was the saviour -of Italy, and it is probable that at this time the poet wrote his -political treatise called the _De Monarchia_, embodying his views. He -himself went out to meet his champion, but Henry was not destined to -be a second Charlemagne or Otto the Great, and his death closed all -expectations built on his chivalrous character and ideals. - -Dante’s greatest work is his long poem the _Divina Commedia_, divided -into three parts, the _Inferno_, the _Purgatorio_, and the _Paradiso_. -It tells how on Good Friday of the year of Jubilee 1300 the Florentine, -meeting with the spirit of Virgil whom he had chosen as his master, was -led by him through the realms of everlasting punishment and of penance, -and from there was borne by another guide, Beatrice, the idealized -vision of a woman he had loved on earth, up through the ‘Nine Heavens’ -to the very throne of God. As a summary of mediaeval theories as to the -life eternal, and also as the reflection of a fourteenth-century mind -on politics of the day, the _Divine Comedy_ is indeed an historical -treasury as well as a masterpiece of Italian literature. It is, -however, a great deal more--the revelation of the development of a -human soul. Dante’s journey is told with a mastery of atmosphere and -detail that holds our imaginations to-day with the sense of reality. -It was obviously still more real to himself and expresses the agonized -endeavour of a soul, alive to the corruption and nerve-weariness of the -world around him, to find the way of salvation, a pilgrimage crowned at -last by the realization of a _Civitas Dei_ so supreme in its beauty and -peace as to surpass the prophecies of St. Augustine. - - Now ‘Glory to the Father, to the Son, - And to the Holy Spirit’ rang aloud - Throughout all Paradise; that with the song - My spirit reel’d, so passing sweet the strain. - And what I saw was equal ecstasy: - One universal smile it seemed of all things; - Joy past compare; gladness unutterable; - Imperishable life of peace and love; - Exhaustless riches and unmeasured bliss. - -Dante himself did not live to fulfil his earthly dream of returning to -Florence, but died at Ravenna in 1321. On his tomb is an inscription in -Latin containing the words, ‘Whom Florence bore, the mother that did -little love him’; while his portrait has the proud motto so typical -of his whole life, ‘I yield not to misfortune’. In later centuries -Florence recalled with shame her repudiation of this the greatest of -her sons; but while he lived, and for some years after his death, -political prejudices blinded her eyes. In the Emperor Henry VII, to -whom Dante referred as ‘King of the earth and servant of God’, Florence -saw an enemy so hateful that she was willing to forgo her boasted -democracy, and to accept as master any prince powerful enough to oppose -him. Thus she granted the _Signoria_, or ‘overlordship’ of the city, -for five years to King Robert of Naples, the head of the Guelf party in -Italy during the early years of the fourteenth century. - - * * * * * - -[Sidenote: Naples] - -King Robert of Naples was a grandson of Charles, Count of Anjou, -brother of St. Louis, and, true to the tradition of his house, stood -as the champion of the Popes against imperial claims over Italy. -Outwardly he was by far the most powerful of the Italian princes of -his day; but in reality he sat uneasily on his throne. The Neapolitans -had not learned with time to love their Angevin rulers, but even after -the death of Conradin remembered the Hohenstaufen, and envied Sicily -that dared to throw off the French yoke and give herself to a Spanish -dynasty. - -It is difficult to provide a short and at the same time connected -account of the history of Naples from the death of King Robert in 1343 -until 1435, when it was conquered by the House of Aragon. For nearly a -century there is a dismal record of murders and plots, with scarcely an -illuminating glimpse of patriotism or of any heroic figure. It is like -a ‘dance of death’, with ever-changing partners, and nothing achieved -save crimes and revolutions. - -King Robert’s successor was a granddaughter, Joanna I, a political -personage from her cradle, and married at the age of five to a boy -cousin two years her senior, Andrew of Hungary, brother of Louis the -Great. We cannot tell if, left to themselves, this young couple, each -partner so passionate and self-willed, could have learned to work -together in double harness. What is certain is that no one in that -corrupt court gave them the chance, one party of intriguers continually -whispering in Joanna’s ear that as queen it was beneath her dignity to -accept any interference from her husband, while their rivals reminded -the young Prince Andrew that he was descended from King Robert’s -elder brother, and therefore had as great a right to the throne as -his wife. Frequent quarrels as to whose will should prevail shook the -council-chamber, and then at last came tragedy. - -In 1345 Joanna and Andrew, then respectively eighteen and twenty, -set out together into the country on an apparently amicable -hunting-expedition. As they slept one night in the guest-room of a -convent the Prince heard himself called by voices in the next room. -Suspecting no harm he rose and went to see which of his friends had -summoned him, only to find himself attacked by a group of armed men. -He turned to re-enter the bedroom, but the door was locked behind him. -With the odds now wholly against him, Andrew fought bravely for his -life, but at length two of his assassins succeeded in throwing a rope -round his neck, and with this they strangled him and hung his body from -the balcony outside. - -Attendants came at last, and, forcing the door, told Joanna of the -murder; on which she declared that she had been so soundly asleep -that she had heard nothing, though she was never able to explain -satisfactorily how in that case the door of her bedroom had become -locked behind the young king. Naturally the greater part of Europe -believed that she was guilty of connivance in the crime, and King Louis -of Hungary brought an army to Italy to avenge his brother’s death. -He succeeded in driving Joanna from Naples, which he claimed as his -rightful inheritance, but he was not sufficiently supported to make -a permanent conquest, and in the end he was forced to hurry away to -Hungary, where his throne was threatened, leaving the question of his -sister-in-law’s guilt to be decided by the Pope. - -The Pope at this time looked to the Angevin rulers of Naples as his -chief supporters, and at once proclaimed Joanna innocent. It is worthy -of note that three princes were found brave enough to become her -husband in turn; but, though four times married, Joanna had but one -son, who died as a boy. - -At first she was quite willing to accept as her heir a cousin, Charles -of Durazzo, who was married to her niece, but soon she had quarrelled -violently with him and offered the throne instead to a member of the -French royal house, Louis, Duke of Anjou. This is a very bewildering -moment for students of history, because it introduces into Italian -politics a second Angevin dynasty only distantly connected with the -first, yet both laying claim to Naples and waging war against one -another as if each belonged to a different race. - -Joanna in the end was punished for her capriciousness, for in the -course of the civil wars she had introduced she fell into the hands of -Charles of Durazzo, who, indignant at his repudiation, shut her up in a -castle, where she died. One report says that she was smothered with a -feather-bed; another that she was strangled with a silken cord--perhaps -in memory of Prince Andrew’s murder. - -After this act of retribution, Charles of Durazzo maintained his power -in Naples for four years, though he was forced to surrender the County -of Provence to his Angevin rival. Not content with his Italian kingdom, -he set off with an army to Hungary as soon as he heard of the death -of Louis the Great, hoping to enforce his claims on that warrior’s -lands. Instead he was assassinated, and succeeded in Naples by his son -Ladislas, a youth of fifteen. - -Ladislas proved a born soldier of unflagging energy and purpose, so -that he not only conquered his unruly baronage but made himself master -of southern Italy, including Rome, from which with unusual Angevin -hostility he drove the Pope. Here was a chance for bringing about the -union of Italy under one ruler, and Ladislas certainly aimed at such -an achievement, but apart from his military genius he was a typical -despot of his day--cruel, unscrupulous, and pleasure-seeking as the -Visconti--and when he died, still a young man, in 1414 few mourned his -passing. - -His sister, Joanna II, who succeeded him, lacked his strength while -exhibiting many of his vices. Like Joanna I she was false and fickle; -like Joanna I she had no direct heirs, so that the original House of -Anjou in Naples came to an end when she died. Many negotiations as -to her successor took place during the latter years of her reign, -and for some time it seemed as if the old queen would be content to -accept Louis III of Anjou, at this time the representative of the -Second Angevin House, but in a moment of caprice and anger she suddenly -bestowed her favour instead on Alfonso V of Aragon and Sicily, and -adopted him as her heir. Of course, being Joanna, she again changed -her mind; but, though Alfonso pretended to accept his repudiation, the -hard-headed Spaniard was not to be turned so easily from an acquisition -that would forward Aragonese ambitions in the Mediterranean. - -Directly Joanna II died, Alfonso appeared off Naples with a fleet, -and though he was taken prisoner in battle and sent as a prisoner to -Filippo Maria Visconti at Milan, he acted with such diplomacy that -he persuaded that despot, hitherto an ally of the Angevins, that it -was much safer for Milan to have a Spanish rather than a French House -reigning in Naples. This was the beginning of a firm alliance between -Milan and Naples, for Alfonso, released from his captivity, succeeded -in establishing himself in ‘the Kingdom’, where withdrawing his court -from Aragon he founded a new capital that became a centre for learned -and cultured Italians as of old in the days of Frederick II. - -We have dealt now with four of the five principal Italian states during -the later Middle Ages. In Rome, to pick up the political threads, -we must go back to the effects of the removal of the papal court to -Avignon in 1308.[46] - -From the point of view of the Popes themselves, many of them Frenchmen -by birth, there were considerable advantages to be gained by this -change--not only safety from the invasions of Holy Roman Emperors -aspiring to rule Italy, but also from the turbulence of Roman citizens -and barons of the Campagna. - -Avignon was near enough to France to claim her king’s protection, but -far enough outside her boundaries to evade obedience to her laws. It -stood in the County of Provence, part of the French estates of the -Angevin House of Naples, but during her exile Joanna I, penniless and -in need of papal support, was induced to sell the city, and it remained -an independent possession of the Holy See until the eighteenth century. - -From the immediate advantages caused by the ‘Babylonish Captivity’, as -these years of papal residence in Avignon were called, we turn to the -ultimate disadvantages, and these were serious. Inevitably there was a -lowering of papal prestige in the eyes of Europe. In Rome, that since -classic times had been the recognized capital of the Western world, the -Pope had seemed indeed a world-wide potentate, on whom the mantle both -of St. Peter and of the Caesars might well have fallen. Transferred to -a city of Provence he shrank almost to the measure of a petty sovereign. - -During the Hundred Years’ War, for instance, there was widespread -grumbling in England at the obedience owed to Avignon. The Popes, ran -popular complaint, were more than half French in political outlook and -sympathy, so that an Englishman who wished for a successful decision -to his suit in a papal law-court must pay double the sums proffered by -men of any other race in order to obtain justice. What was more, he -knew that any money he sent to the papal treasury helped to provide the -sinews of war for his most hated enemies. - -The Papacy had been disliked across the Channel in the days of -Innocent IV, when England was taxed to pay for wars against the -Hohenstaufen: now, more than a century later, grumbling had begun to -crystallize in the dangerous shape of a resistance not merely to papal -supremacy, but to papal doctrine on which that supremacy was based. -Thus Wycliffe, the first great English heretic, who began to proclaim -his views during the later years of Edward III’s reign, was popularly -regarded as a patriot, and his sermons denouncing Catholic doctrine -widely read and discussed. - -In the thirteenth century it had been possible to suppress heresy in -Languedoc; but in the fourteenth century there were no longer Popes -like Innocent III who could persuade men to fight the battles of -Avignon, and so the practice of criticism and independent thought grew, -and by the fifteenth century many of the doctrines taught by Wycliffe -had spread across Europe and found a home in Bohemia. - -[Sidenote: Rome] - -With the history of Bohemian heresy we shall deal later, but, having -treated its development as partly arising from the change in papal -fortunes, we must notice the effect of the Babylonish Captivity on Rome -herself, and this, indeed, was disastrous. - - ‘The absence of the Pope’, says Gregorovius, a modern German - historian, ‘left the nobility more unbridled than ever; these - hereditary Houses now regarded themselves as masters of Rome left - without her master. Their mercenaries encamped on every road; - travellers and pilgrims were robbed; places of worship remained - empty. The entire circumstances of the city were reduced to a - meaner level. No prince, nobleman, or envoy of a foreign power, - any longer made his appearance.... Vicars replaced the cardinals - absent from their titular churches, while the Pope himself was - represented in the Vatican, as by a shadow, by some bishop of the - neighbourhood, Nepi, Viterbo, or Orvieto.’ - -The wealth and pomp that had made the papal court a source of revenue -to the Romans were transferred to Provence: the Orsini and Colonna -battled in the streets with no High Pontiff to hold them in check. Only -his agents remained, who were there mainly to collect his rents and -revenues, so that the city seemed once again threatened with political -extinction as when Constantine had removed his capital to the Bosporus. - -[Sidenote: Cola di Rienzi] - -One short period of glory there was in seventy years of gloom--the -realized vision of a Roman, Cola di Rienzi, a youth of the people, who, -steeped in the writings of classical times, hoped to bring back to the -city the freedom and greatness of republican days. From contemporary -accounts Rienzi had a wonderful personality, striking looks, and an -eloquence that rarely failed to move those who heard him. At Avignon, -as a Roman envoy, he gained papal consent to some measures earnestly -desired at Rome, and this success won him a large and enthusiastic -following amongst the citizens, who applauded all that he said, and -offered to uphold his ambitions with their swords. - -The first step to the greatness of Rome was obviously to restore order -to her streets, and Rienzi therefore determined to overthrow the -nobles, who with their retainers were always brawling, and above all -the proud family of Colonna, one of whom without any provocation had -killed his younger brother in a fit of rage. - -The revolution took place in May 1347, when, with the Papal Vicar -standing at his side, and banners representing liberty, justice, and -peace floating above his head, Rienzi proclaimed a new constitution to -the populace, and invested himself as chief magistrate with the title -of ‘Tribune, Illustrious Redeemer of the Holy Roman Republic’. - -At first there was laughter amongst the Roman nobles when they heard of -this proclamation. ‘If the fool provokes me further,’ exclaimed Stephen -Colonna, the head of that powerful clan, ‘I will throw him from the -Capitol’; but his contempt was turned to dismay when he heard that a -citizen army was guarding the bridges, and confining the aristocratic -families to their houses. In the end Stephen fled to his country -estates, while the younger members of his household came to terms with -the Tribune, and swore allegiance to the new Republic. - -Rienzi was now triumphant, and his letters to all the rulers of Europe -announced that Rome had found peace and law, while he exhorted the -other cities of Italy to throw off the yoke of tyrants and join a -‘national brotherhood’. - -It would seem that Rienzi alone of his contemporaries saw a vision of -a united Italy; but unfortunately the common sense and balance that are -necessary to secure the practical realization of a visionary’s dreams -were lacking. The Tribune was undoubtedly great, but not great enough -to stand success. The child of peasants, he began to boast that he was -really a son of the Emperor Henry VII, and the pageantry that he had -first employed to dazzle the Romans grew more and more elaborate as he -himself became ensnared by a false sense of his own dignity. Clad in a -toga of white silk edged with a golden fringe, he would ride through -the streets on a white horse, amid a cavalcade of horsemen splendidly -equipped. In order to celebrate his accession to power he instituted -a festival, where, amid scenes of lavish pomp, he was knighted in the -Lateran with a golden girdle and spurs, after bathing in the porphyry -font in which tradition declared that Constantine had been cleansed -from leprosy. - -The people, as is the way with crowds, clapped their hands and shouted -while the trumpets blew, and they scrambled for the gold Rienzi’s -servants threw broadcast; but long afterwards, when they had forgotten -the even-handed justice their Tribune had secured them, they remembered -his foolish extravagance and display, and resented the taxes that he -found it necessary to impose in order to maintain his government and -state. - -The history of Rienzi’s later years is a tale of brilliant -opportunities, created in the first place by his genius, and then lost -by his timidity or lack of balance. On one occasion, when he learned -that the very nobles who had sworn on oath to uphold his constitution -were plotting its overthrow, he invited the leaders of the conspiracy -to a banquet, arrested them, and sent them under guard to prison. The -next morning the prison-bell tolled, and the nobles within were led out -apparently to the death their treachery had richly deserved. At the -last moment, however, when each had given up hope, the Tribune came -before the scaffold, and, after a sermon on the forgiveness of sins, -ordered those who were condemned to be set free. - -If he had wished to win their allegiance by this act of clemency Rienzi -had ill-judged his enemies. They had disliked him before as a peasant -upstart; now they hated him far more bitterly as a man who had been -able to humble them in the public gaze, believing, whether rightly or -wrongly, that it was not forgiveness but fear of the powerful families -to which they belonged that had finally moved him to mercy. From this -moment the Orsini, the Colonna, and their friends had but one object in -life--to pull the Tribune from his throne. By bribery and the spreading -of false rumours they set themselves to undermine his influence, -telling tales everywhere of his extravagance and luxury as contrasted -with the heavy taxes, until at last in 1354 a tumult broke out in the -city, and a mob collected that stormed the palace where Rienzi lodged, -shouting ‘Death to the Traitor!’ As the Tribune attempted to escape he -was seen against the flames of his burning walls and cut down. - -[Sidenote: St. Catherine of Siena] - -With the fall of Rienzi died the idea of a restored and reformed Italy -through the medium of a Holy Roman Republic, just as Dante’s hope of a -new and more perfect Roman Empire had been shattered by the death of -Henry VII. Was there then no hope for Italy in mediaeval minds? The -next answer that there was hope, indeed, came from Siena, one of the -hill towns not far south of Florence, and its author was a peasant -girl, Catherine Benincasa, who, like Jeanne d’Arc, looking round upon -the misery of her country, believed that she was called by God to show -her fellow countrymen the way of salvation. - -St. Catherine, for she was afterwards canonized, was one of the -twenty-five children of a Sienese dyer, who was at first very angry -that his daughter refused to marry and instead joined the Order of -Dominican Tertiaries--that is, of women who, still remaining in their -own homes, bound themselves by vows to obey a religious rule. - -In time, not only the dyer but all Siena came to realize that Catherine -possessed a mind and spirit far above ordinary standards, so that, -while in her simplicity she would accept the meanest household tasks, -she had yet so great an understanding of the larger issues of life that -she could read the cause of each man or woman’s trouble who came to -her, and suggest the remedy they needed to give them fresh courage or -hope. - -During an outbreak of plague in Siena it was Catherine who, undismayed -and tireless, went everywhere amongst the sick and dying, infusing -new heart into the weary doctors and energy into patients succumbing -helplessly to the disease. - -When one of the wild young nobles of the town was condemned to death -according to the harsh law of the day for having dared to criticize his -government, Catherine visited him in prison. She found him raging up -and down his cell like some trapped wild animal, refusing all comfort; -but her presence and sympathy brought him so great a sense of peace and -even of thanksgiving that he went to the scaffold at last joyfully, we -are told, calling it ‘the holy place of justice’. Here, not shrinking -from the scene of death itself, Catherine awaited him, kneeling before -the block, and received his head in her lap when it was severed from -his body. ‘When he was at rest,’ she wrote afterwards, showing what the -strain had been, ‘my soul also rested in peace and quiet.’ - -St. Catherine was not alarmed when ambassadors from other cities, and -even messengers from the Pope at Avignon, came to ask her advice on -thorny problems. She believed that she was a messenger of God, ‘servant -and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ’, as she styled herself in -her letters, and that God intended the regeneration of Italy to be -brought about neither by Emperor, nor by a Holy Roman Republic, but -by the Pope himself. No longer must he live at Avignon, but return to -Rome, and, once established there, begin the work of reform so sorely -needed both by Church and State. Then would follow a call to the world -that, recognizing by his just and generous acts that he was indeed the -‘Father of Christendom’, would joyfully come to offer its allegiance. - -This high ideal touched the hearts and imaginations of even the least -spiritual of Catherine’s contemporaries. One of her letters was -addressed to that firebrand Sir John Hawkwood, whom she besought to -turn his sword away from Italy against the Turks; and it is said that -on reading it he took an oath that if other captains would go on a -crusade he would do so also. - -St. Catherine herself went to Avignon and saw Pope Gregory XI--a timid -man, who loved luxury and peace of mind, fearing greatly the turbulence -of Rome. At this time all the barons of the Campagna and most of the -cities on the papal estates were up in arms, and Gregory had been -warned that unless he went in person to pacify the combatants he was -likely to lose all his temporal possessions. Catherine, when consulted, -told him sternly that he should certainly return to Italy, but not for -this reason. - -‘Open the eyes of your intelligence,’ she said, ‘and look steadily -at this matter. You will then see, Holy Father, that ... it is more -needful for you to win back souls than to reconquer your earthly -possessions.’ - -In January 1377 St. Catherine gained her most signal triumph, for -Gregory XI, at her persuasion, appeared in Rome and took up his -quarters there, so bringing to an end the ‘Babylonish Captivity’. Not -long afterwards he died; and the Romans who had rejoiced at his coming -were overwhelmed with fear that his successor might be a Frenchman and -return to Avignon. ‘Give us a Roman!’ they howled, surging round the -palace where the College of Cardinals, or Consistory, as it was called, -was holding the election; and the cardinals, believing that they would -be torn in pieces unless they at least chose an Italian, hastily -elected a Neapolitan, the Archbishop of Bari, who took the name of -Urban VI. - -It was an unfortunate choice. Urban honestly wished to reform the -Church, but of Christian charity, without which good deeds are of no -avail, he possessed nothing. Arrogant, passionate, and fierce in his -frequent hatreds, blind to either tact or moderation, he tried to -force the cardinals by threats and insults into surrendering their -riches and pomp. ‘I tell you in truth,’ exclaimed one of them, when he -had listened to the Pope’s first fiery denunciations, ‘you have not -treated the Cardinals to-day with the respect they received from your -predecessors. If you diminish our honour we shall diminish yours.’ - -Rome was soon aflame with the plots of the rebellious college, whose -members finally withdrew from the city, declared that they had been -intimidated in their choice by the mob, that the election of Urban was -therefore invalid, and that they intended to appoint some one else. As -a result of this new conclave there appeared a rival Pope, Clement -VII, who after a short civil war fled from Italy and took up his -residence at Avignon. - -[Sidenote: The Great Schism] - -The period that followed is called the Great Schism, one of the times -of deepest humiliation into which the papal power ever descended. From -Rome and Avignon two sets of bulls, claiming divine sanction and the -necessity of human obedience, went forth to Christendom, their authors -each declaring himself the one lawful successor of St. Peter, and -Father of the Holy Catholic Church. - -With Clement VII sided France, her ally Scotland, Spain, and Naples; -with Urban VI, Germany, England, and most of the northern kingdoms; and -when these Popes died the cardinals they had elected perpetuated the -schism by choosing fresh rivals to rend the unity of the Church. Thus -in the struggle for temporal supremacy reform was forgotten, and the -growing spirit of doubt and scepticism given a fair field in which to -sow her seed. - -St. Catherine had realized her desire, the return of the Pope to Rome, -only, we see, to find it fail in achieving the purpose for which she -had prayed and planned. The Popes of the fourteenth century were men of -the age in which they lived, not great souls like the saint of Siena -herself, who called them to a task of which they were spiritually -incapable. With her death her ideal faded, and another gradually took -shape in the minds of men, namely, ‘an appeal from the Vicar of Christ -on earth to Christ Himself, residing in the whole body of the Church’. - -Christendom remembered that in the early days of her history it had -been Councils of the Fathers, sitting at Nicea and elsewhere, that had -defined the Faith and made laws for the Catholic Church. Now it was -suggested that once more a large world-council should be called from -every Catholic nation, composed of Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, the -Heads of the Friars and of the Monastic and Military Orders, together -with Doctors of Theology and Law. This council was to be given power by -the whole of Christendom to end the schism, condemn heresy, and reform -the Church. - -The person who was chiefly responsible for the summoning of this -council, that met at Constance in 1414, was Sigismund, King of the -Romans, a son of the Emperor Charles IV, and brother and heir to the -Emperor Wenzel, a drunken sot, who was also King of Bohemia, but quite -incapable of playing an intelligent part in public affairs. Sigismund -was King of Hungary by election and through his marriage with a -daughter of Louis the Great[47]; but his subjects had little respect -for his ability, and were usually in a state of chronic rebellion. In -spite of the fact that he had no money and had been decisively and -ingloriously defeated in battle by the Turks, he continued to hold -high ambitions, desiring above all things to appear as the arbiter of -European destinies who would reform both Church and State. - -The Council of Constance gave him his opportunity, and certainly no -other man worked as hard to make it a success. Sometimes he presided in -person at the meetings, which dragged out their weary discussions for -about four years: at other times he would visit the courts of Europe, -trying to persuade rival Popes to resign, or, if they were obstinate, -civil sovereigns to refuse them patronage and protection. He even -tried, though in vain, to act as mediator in the Hundred Years’ War, in -order that the political quarrels of French and English might not bring -friction to the council board. - -[Sidenote: John Huss] - -It is unfortunate for Sigismund’s memory that his share in the Council -of Constance was marred by treachery. As heir to the throne of Bohemia -and the incapable Wenzel he was often led to interfere in the affairs -of that kingdom, and felt it his duty to take some steps with regard -to the spread of Wycliffe’s doctrines amongst his future subjects, -especially in the national University of Prague. Here heretical views -were daily expounded by a clever priest and teacher, John Huss. Now the -orthodox Catholics in the university were mainly Germans, and hated by -the ordinary Bohemians, who were Slavs, and these therefore admired and -followed Huss for national as well as from religious convictions. - -Sigismund agreed with Huss in desiring a drastic reform of the -Church, suitable means for ensuring which he hoped to see devised at -Constance. At the same time he trusted that the representatives of -Christendom would come to some kind of a compromise with the Bohemian -teacher on his religious views, and persuade him by their arguments to -withdraw some of his most unorthodox opinions. With this end in view -he therefore invited Huss to appear at the Council, offering him a -safe-conduct. - -Many of the Bohemians suspected treachery and shook their heads when -their national hero insisted that he was bound in honour to make -profession of his faith when summoned. ‘God be with you!’ exclaimed -one, ‘for I fear greatly that you will never return to us.’ This -prophecy was fulfilled; for Huss, when he arrived at Constance, found -that Sigismund was absent, and the attitude of the Council definitely -hostile to anything he might say. After a prolonged examination he was -called upon to recant his errors, and, refusing to yield, was condemned -to death as a heretic; Sigismund, on his return to Constance shortly -after this sentence had been passed, was persuaded that unless he -consented to withdraw his safe-conduct the whole gathering would break -up in wrath. - -Herod, he was told, had made a bad oath in agreeing to fulfil the wish -of Herodias’s daughter and should have refused her demand for the head -of John the Baptist. To pledge faith to a heretic was equally wrong, -for as an example and warning to Christendom all heretics should be -burned. It was imperative therefore for the good of the Church that -such a safe-conduct should be withdrawn. Sigismund at last sullenly -yielded, conscious of the stain on his honour, yet still more fearful -lest the council he had called together with so great an effort should -melt away, its tasks unfulfilled, as his many enemies hoped. - -In July 1415 Huss was burned alive, crying aloud with steadfast courage -as those about him urged him to recant, ‘Lo! I am prepared to die in -that truth of the Gospel which I taught and wrote.’ Lest he should -be revered as a martyr, the ashes of Huss were flung into the river, -his very clothes destroyed; but measures that had prevailed when an -Arnold of Brescia preached to a few, some two centuries before, were -unavailing when a John Huss died for the faith of a nation. Sigismund -kept his council together, but he paid for his broken word in the -flame of hatred that his accession in 1419 aroused in Bohemia, and -which lasted during the seventeen years of what are usually called the -Hussite Wars. - -The Council of Constance had condemned heresy: it succeeded in deposing -three rival popes, and by its united choice of a new pope, Martin V, it -put an end to the long schism that had divided the Church. The question -of reform, the most vital of all the problems discussed, resulted -in such controversy that men grew weary, and it was postponed for -settlement to another council that the new pope pledged himself to call -in five years. - -Such were the practical results of the first real attempt of the Church -to solve the problems of mediaeval times, not by the decision of one -man, whether pope or emperor, but by the voice of Christendom at large. -If the attempt failed the difficulties in the way were so great that -failure was inevitable. - -The Conciliar Movement was modern in the sense that it was an appeal -to the judgement of the many rather than of a single autocrat; but it -proved too mediaeval in actual construction and working for the growing -spirit of nationality that brought its prejudices and misunderstandings -to the council hall. English and French, Germans and Bohemians, -Italians and men from beyond the Alps, were too mutually suspicious, -too assured of the righteousness of their own outlook, to be able to -sacrifice their individual, or still more their national, convictions -to traditional authority. The day for world-rule, as mediaeval -statesmen understood the term, had passed; and the Council of Constance -was a witness to its passing. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Dante Alighieri 1265-1321 - King Robert of Naples 1309-43 - Joanna I of Naples 1343-82 - Ladislas of Naples 1386-1414 - Joanna II of Naples 1414-35 - St. Catherine of Siena 1347-80 - Pope Gregory XI 1371-8 - Pope Urban VI 1378-89 - Pope Clement VII 1378-94 - Pope Martin V 1417-31 - - - - -XXII - -PART I. THE FALL OF THE GREEK EMPIRE - - -The final failure of Christendom to preserve Eastern Europe from the -infidel may be traced back to the disastrous Fourth Crusade[48] in the -thirteenth century, when Venice, for purely selfish reasons, drove out -the Greek rulers of Constantinople, and helped to establish a Latin or -Frankish Empire. This Empire lasted for fifty-seven years, weak in its -foundation, and growing ever weaker like a badly built house, ready to -tumble to the ground at the first tempest. It pretended to embrace all -the territory that had belonged to its predecessors, but many of the -feudal landowners whom it appointed were never able to take possession -of their estates that remained under independent Greek or Bulgarian -princes, while in Asia Minor the exiled Greek emperors ruled at Nicea, -awaiting an opportunity to cross the Bosporus and effect a triumphant -return. - -Michael Paleologus, to whom the opportunity came, was an unscrupulous -adventurer who, on account of his military reputation, had been -appointed guardian of the young Emperor of Nicea, John Ducas, a boy of -eight. Taking advantage of this position, Michael drove from the court -all whom he knew to be disinterested partisans of his charge, and then -declared himself joint emperor with the child. This ambitious claim was -but a step to worse deeds, for before he was ten years old the unhappy -little Emperor had been blinded and thrust into a dungeon by his -co-emperor’s orders, and the Paleologi had become the reigning house of -the Eastern Empire. - -[Sidenote: The Eastern Empire] - -This was an evil day for Christendom, for though Michael Paleologus -beat down the resistance of all the Greek princes who dared to resent -the way in which he had usurped the throne, and afterwards succeeded in -entering Constantinople, yet neither he nor his descendants were the -type of men to preserve what he had gained. Nearly all the Paleologi -were weak and false: Michael himself so shifty in his dealings that -his friends trusted him less than his enemies. Because he had won his -throne by fraud and cruelty he was always suspicious, like Italian -despots, lest one of his generals should turn against him and outwit -him. Instead, therefore, of keeping his attention fixed on the steadily -increasing power of the Mahometans, an inspection that would have -warned a wise man to maintain a strong army along the borders of the -Empire in Asia Minor, he was so afraid of his own Greek troops that, -once established in Constantinople, he disbanded whole regiments, and -exiled their best officers. Everything he did, in fact, was calculated -merely to secure his immediate safety or advantage, with no thought for -the future, so that he died leaving his kingdom an easy prey to foreign -enemies strong enough to seize the advantage. - -[Illustration: The NEAR EAST - -in the MIDDLE AGES] - -Besides the misrule of Michael Paleologus, other factors were at work, -busily undermining the restored Greek Empire. For one thing, the Greek -and Bulgarian princes, who had obtained independence when the Latins -ruled in Constantinople, had no intention of returning to their old -allegiance; while here and there were feudal states, like the Duchy -of Athens, established by the Latins and still held by them, although -the Frankish Emperor who had been their suzerain had disappeared. The -islands in the Aegean Sea were most of them in Venetian hands, and -Venice took care that the Greek Empire, whose fleet she had swept from -the Mediterranean in the thirteenth century, should not construct -another sufficiently strong to win back these commercial and naval -bases. In the same way the trade that had passed from Constantinople -never returned: for the cities of the Mediterranean preferred to deal -on their own account with Syrian and Egyptian merchants rather than to -pay toll to a ‘middleman’ in the markets of the Paleologi. - -For all these reasons it can be easily seen that the new Byzantine -Empire was in a far worse state of weakness and instability than -the old. Like Philip IV of France, who found the financial methods -of Charlemagne quite inadequate for dealing with his more modern -needs and expenses, the Paleologi were confronted by a system of -administering laws and exacting taxes that, having completely broken -down under the strain of foreign invasion, was even more incapable -of meeting fourteenth-century problems with any feasible solution. -More practical rulers might have invented new methods, but the only -hope of the upstart line that had usurped power without realizing -the responsibility such power entailed was to seek the military and -financial aid of the West as in the days of Alexius Commenus. - -Little such aid was there to gain. Venice and Genoa, once eager -crusaders, were now too busy contesting the supremacy of the -Mediterranean to act together as allies in Eastern waters. The Popes, -annoyed that the overthrow of the Latin Empire had brought about the -restoration of the Greek Church, were willing enough to consider the -reconversion of Byzantium held out to them as a bait; but even if they -granted their sympathy they had obviously too many political troubles -of their own to make lavish promises likely of fulfilment. Western -Europe, in fact, was too interested in its own national struggles -to answer calls to a crusade, too blind in its narrow self-interest -and prejudice against the Greeks to realize what danger the ruin of -Constantinople must bring on those who had for centuries used her as a -bulwark. - -[Sidenote: Turkish Invasion of Europe] - -Andronicus II, the son and successor of Michael, was equally cruel -and false, and still more of a personal coward. He saw the danger of -Mahometan invasion that his father had ignored, and, in terror both -of the Turks and of his own subjects, arranged to hire a band of -Catalan mercenaries who had been fighting for the Aragonese against the -Angevins in Sicily, in the war introduced by the Sicilian Vespers.[49] -This war over, the captain of the Catalans, Roger de Flor, a Templar -who had been expelled from his Order for his wild deeds, was quite -willing to unsheathe his sword on a new field of glory and pillage; so -that on receiving dazzling promises of reward and friendship he and his -‘merry men’ sailed for the East. - -Once established in Greece, however, the Catalans proved so arrogant -and lawless that the Greeks complained that they were a far worse -infliction than the Mahometans. Quarrels ensued, and finally, in the -course of a bitter dispute between Roger de Flor and Andronicus, -the Spanish general was murdered as he stood talking to his master. -This act of treachery, added to growing indignation at the limited -supplies of money the Emperor had grudgingly disbursed for his foreign -army, turned the Catalans from pretence allies into a horde of raging -enemies. From the walls of Constantinople itself they were driven back, -but elsewhere they burned and slew and laid waste the country, until at -last, reaching Athens, they stormed the walls of that city, killed its -Latin Duke, and established themselves as an independent republic. - -By the time they had ceased to rove the Catalans had also ceased -to be dangerous, but in their savage wanderings they had inflicted -incalculable harm upon the Byzantine Empire. The Andronicus who -could barely hold them at bay before the gates of his capital was an -Andronicus who could not hope to withstand invasion in Asia Minor; and -over his Eastern boundaries, left weakly garrisoned since the days of -Michael Paleologus, poured the Turks in irresistible numbers. Soon -there remained to the Greek Empire, of all their provinces across the -Bosporus, merely a strip of coast-line to the north of the Dardanelles, -and finally this also was whittled away, and the Turks crossed the -Straits and captured Gallipoli as a base for future operations in -Europe. - -The chief Mahometan Emir during this period of conquest was a certain -Orkhan, the son of Othman, whose name in the form ‘Ottoman’ is still -borne by his branch of the Turkish race. This Orkhan was quite as -cruel and unscrupulous as the Paleologi, but far more statesmanlike; -for as he conquered the territory of Greek Emperors and rival Emirs in -Asia Minor he consolidated his rule over them by a just and careful -government that gradually welded them into a compact state. - -When a civil war broke out between John V, the grandson of Andronicus -II, and his guardian and co-ruler, a wily schemer of the Michael -Paleologus type called John Cantacuzenus, the latter, with utter lack -of patriotism, appealed to Orkhan for aid. He even offered him his -daughter in marriage, an alliance to which the Turk eagerly agreed, -dispatching a large force of auxiliaries to Thrace as token of his -friendly intentions towards his future father-in-law. These troops he -determined should remain, and difficult indeed the Christians found -it to dislodge them in later years, for the Turkish legions had been -stiffened by a device of Orkhan which has done more to keep his name in -men’s minds perhaps than any of his victories. - -It was the Emir’s custom on a march of conquest not to oppress the -conquered, but to exact from them a tribute both in money and in -child life. From every village that passed under the rule of Orkhan -his soldiers carried away from their homes a fixed number of young -boys, chosen because of their health and sturdy, well-developed limbs. -These children were placed in barracks, where they were educated -without any knowledge of their former life to become soldiers of the -Prophet--fanatical, highly disciplined, skilled with the bow and sabre, -inculcated with but one ideal and ambition--to excel in statecraft or -on the battle-field. - -Because of their excessive loyalty emirs would choose from among -the ranks of these ‘tribute children’ their viziers and other chief -officials, while the majority would enter the infantry corps of -‘Janissaries’, or ‘new soldiers’, whose ferocity and endurance in -attacking or holding apparently impossible positions became the terror -of Europe. In the words of a modern historian, ‘With diabolical -ingenuity the Turks secured the victory of the Crescent by the Children -of the Cross, and trained up Christian boys to destroy the independence -and authority of their country and their Church.’ - -In 1361, some years after Orkhan’s death, the Turks captured -Adrianople, and thus came into contact with other Christian nations -besides the Greeks, namely, the Serbians and Hungarians. - -The Serbians were the principal Slav race in the Balkans, and under -their great ruler Stephen Dushan it had seemed likely that they might -become the predominant power in Eastern Europe. The Kings of Bulgaria -and Bosnia were their vassals; they had made conquests both in Albania -and Greece, thus opening up a way to the Adriatic and Aegean Seas. It -would have been well for Christendom if this energetic race of fighters -could have subdued the feeble Greeks, and so presented to the Turks, -when they crossed the Bosporus, a foe worthy to match the Janissaries -in stubborn courage. Unfortunately Stephen Dushan died before the -years of Turkish invasion, leaving his throne to a young son, ‘a youth -of great parts,’ as a Serbian chronicler describes him, ‘quiet and -gracious, but without experience.’ - -Only experience or an iron will could have held together in those -rough times a kingdom relying for its protection on the swords of -a quarrelsome nobility; and Serbia broke up into a number of small -principalities, her disintegration assisted by the ambitious jealousy -of Louis the Great of Hungary, who lost no opportunity of dismembering -and weakening this sister kingdom that might otherwise prove a -hindrance to his own imperial projects. - -With the career of Louis we have dealt in other chapters, and have -seen him humbling the Venetians, driving Joanna I out of Naples, -acquiring the throne of Poland, fighting against the Turks and the -Emperor Charles IV. Because he spent his energy recklessly on all -these projects, Louis remains for posterity, apart from the civilizing -influence of his court life, one of the arch-destroyers of the Middle -Ages, the sovereign who more than any other exposed Eastern Europe to -Mahometan conquest. Had he either refrained from his constant policy -of aggression towards Serbia, thus allowing her to unite her subject -princes in the face of the invading Turks, or had he even been powerful -enough to found an Empire of Hungary that would absorb both Serbia and -Constantinople and act as a bulwark in the East, mediaeval history -would have closed on a different scene. Instead, the famous victories -of Louis over the Turks, that made his name honoured by Christendom, -were rendered of no avail by other partial victories over Christian -nations who should have been his allies. - -[Sidenote: Battle of Kossovo] - -On the field of Kossovo, in 1389, the Serbians, shorn of half their -provinces and weakened and betrayed by the Hungarians, met the Turks in -battle. Both sides have left record of the ferocity of the struggle. -‘The angels in Heaven’, said the Turks, ‘amazed by the hideous noise, -forgot the heavenly hymns with which they always glorify God.’ ‘The -battle-field became like a tulip-bed with its ruddy severed heads and -rolling turbans.’ ‘Few’, wrote the Serbian chronicler, ‘returned to -their own country.’ - -When the day closed, both the Serbian king, Lazar, and the Turkish -sultan lay dead amid their warriors, and the victory, as far as the -actual fighting was concerned, seemed to rest neither with Christian -nor Moslem. Yet, in truth, the Turk could supply other armies, as -numerous and as well-equipped, to take the place of those who had -fallen, while the Serbians had exhausted their uttermost effort: thus -the fruits of the battle fell entirely into the hands of the infidel. - -‘Things are hard for us, hard since Kossovo,’ is a modern Serbian -saying, for the Serbs have never forgotten the day when they fought -their last despairing battle as champions of the Cross, and lost for a -time their ambition of dominating Eastern Europe. - - There resteth to Serbia a glory, (runs the old ballad) - - * * * * * - - Yea! As long as a babe shall be born, - Or there resteth a man in the land-- - So long as a blade of corn - Shall be reaped by a human hand, - So long as the grass shall grow - On the mighty plain of Kossovo-- - So long, so long, even so - Shall the glory of those remain - Who this day in battle were slain. - -From the day of Kossovo the ultimate conquest of Eastern Europe by the -Turks became a certainty. Lack of ambition on the part of some of the -sultans and a life and death struggle in which others found themselves -involved in Asia Minor against Tartar tribes merely deferred the time -of reckoning, but it came at last in the middle of the fifteenth -century, when Mohammed II, ‘the Conqueror’, determined to reign in -Constantinople. - -This Mohammed, famous in mediaeval history, was the son of a Serbian -princess, and he is said to have grown up indifferent alike to -Christianity or Islam. He is described as having ‘a pair of red and -white cheeks full and round, a hooked nose, and a resolute mouth’, -while flatterers went still farther and declared that his moustache -was ‘like leaves over two rosebuds, and every hair of his beard a -thread of gold’. In character, from a fierce, undisciplined boy he grew -into a self-willed man, intent upon the satisfaction of his ambitions -and desires. He could speak, or at least understand, Arabic, Greek, -Persian, Hebrew, and Latin; and chroniclers record that it was in -reading the triumphs of Alexander and Julius Caesar that he was first -inspired with the thought of becoming a great general. - -His rival, Constantine XI, the last and best of the Paleologi, was -a man of very different type from the Turk, or indeed from his own -ancestors. He was devoted to the Christian religion and Greece--brave, -simple, and generous. When he first became aware of Mohammed’s -aggressive hostility he attempted to disarm it by liberating Turkish -prisoners. ‘If it shall please God to soften your heart’, he sent word, -‘I shall rejoice; but however that may be, I shall live and die in the -defence of my people and of my Faith.’ His words were put to the test -when, in the autumn of 1452, the siege of Constantinople began. - -[Sidenote: Fall of Constantinople] - -The Emperor looked despairingly for Western aid, in order to secure -which the Emperor John V had himself in years gone by visited Rome -and made formal renunciation to the Pope of all the views of the -Greek Church that disagreed with Catholic doctrine. One of the chief -points of controversy had been the Catholic use of unleavened bread -in the Sacrament of the Mass; another, the words of the Nicene Creed, -declaring that the Holy Ghost ‘proceeded’ from the Son as well as from -the Father. - -In all matters of faith as well as of ecclesiastical jurisdiction -John V, and later Constantine himself, had made open acknowledgement -of the supremacy of Rome, but their compliance did not avail to save -their kingdom in the hour of danger: indeed, while it evoked little -military support from Catholic nations it aroused keen hostility and -treachery at home. There were many Greeks who refused to endorse their -sovereign’s signature to what they considered an act of national -betrayal, some declaring openly that the Mahometan victories were -God’s punishment on kings who had forsaken the faith of their fathers, -and that it would be better to see the turbans of the infidels in St. -Sophia than a cardinal’s red hat. - -When, then, Mohammed began to thunder with his fourteen batteries -against the once impregnable walls of Constantinople, making enormous -breaches, the reduction of the city had become only a question of -days. It is said that the Sultan in his eagerness to take possession -offered the Emperor and his army freedom and religious toleration if -they would capitulate. ‘I desire either my throne or a grave,’ replied -Constantine, knowing well which of the two must be his fate. - -Beside some four thousand of his own subjects he could command only a -few hundred mercenaries sent by the Pope, and three hundred Genoese. -Of the Venetians and other Western Europeans there were even less; and -it was with this miniature army that he manned the wide circuit of the -walls, led out sorties, and rebuilt as well as he could the gaps made -by the heavy guns. - -The contest was absurdly unequal, for Mohammed had some two hundred and -fifty-eight thousand men; and in May 1453 the inevitable end came to a -heroic struggle. Up through the breaches in the wall, that no labour -was left to repair, climbed wave after wave of fanatical Janissaries, -shouting their hopes of victory and Paradise. Beneath their continuous -onslaughts the defenders weakened and broke, fighting to the last amid -the narrow streets, until Constantine himself was slain, his body only -recognized later by the golden eagles embroidered on his shoes. - -The women, and many of the Greeks who had refused to help in this time -of crisis because of the Emperor’s submission to the Catholic Church, -were torn from their sanctuary in St. Sophia and sold as slaves in the -markets of Syria. - -Thus was lost the second city of Christendom to the infidels, and the -old Roman Empire, whose restoration had been a mediaeval idea for -centuries, perished for ever. - - * * * * * - -Retribution, at least according to human ideas of justice, often seems -to lag in history; but in the case of the fall of Constantinople -some of the culprits most responsible, on account of their selfish -indifference, were speedily called on to pay the penalty. Mohammed II, -his ambition inflated by what he had already achieved, planned the -reduction of Christendom, declaring that he would feed his horse from -the altar of St. Peter’s in Rome. With an enormous army he advanced -through Serbia and besieged Belgrade; but here he was thrust back by -a Christian champion, John Hunyadi, ‘the wicked one’, as the title -reads in Turkish, with such loss of men and material ‘that Hungary and -eastern Germany were saved from serious danger for eighty years’. - -With the Balkan states it was otherwise, whose governments, divided -in their counsels, jealous in their rivalries, had been incapable of -the union that could alone have saved them, and one by one they were -crushed beneath ‘the Conqueror’s’ heel. Greece also came under Moslem -domination, and finally the islands of the Aegean Sea that Venice had -torn from Constantinople in the interests of her trade were wrested -away from her, leaving her faced with the prospect of commercial ruin. - - -PART II. VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY - -[Sidenote: Marco Polo] - -All through the Middle Ages it had been to the cities of the -Mediterranean, first of all to Amalfi and Pisa, then to Marseilles, -Barcelona, Genoa, and Venice, that Europe had turned as her obvious -medium of communication with the East and all its fabulous wonders. -In the thirteenth century a Venetian merchant, Marco Polo, setting -forth with his father and uncle, had visited the kingdom of Cathay, or -China, and brought back twenty years later not only marvellous tales of -the court of Khubla Khan in Pekin, but also precious stones, rubies, -sapphires, diamonds, and emeralds in such abundance that he was soon -nicknamed by his fellow citizens ‘Marco of the Millions’. - -Into the delighted ears of the guests he invited to a banquet on -his return he poured descriptions of a land where ‘merchants are -so numerous and so rich that their wealth can neither be told nor -believed. They and their ladies do nothing with their own hands, but -live as delicately as if they were kings.’ What seems to have struck -his mediaeval mind with most astonishment were the enormous public -baths in the ‘City of Heaven’ in southern China, of which there were -four thousand, ‘the largest and most beautiful baths in the world.’ - -The banquets also given by the great Khan excelled any European feasts. -They were attended by many thousands of guests, and their host, raised -on a dais, had as his servants the chief nobles, who would wind rich -towels round their mouths that they might not breathe upon the royal -plates. For presents the Khan was accustomed to receive at a time -some five thousand camels, or an equal number of elephants, draped in -silken cloths worked with silver and gold. His government surpassed -in its organization anything Europe had imagined since the fall of -the Roman Empire, such, for instance, as the postal system, by means -of messengers on foot and horse, that linked up Pekin with lands a -hundred days distant, or the beneficent regard of a ruler who in times -of bad harvests not only remitted taxation but dispatched grain to the -principal districts that had suffered. - -Coal was used in China freely, ‘a kind of black stone cut from the -mountains in veins,’ as Marco Polo describes it. ‘It maintains the -fire’, he added, ‘better than wood, and throughout the whole of Cathay -this fuel is used.’ - -Besides dilating on the wealth and prosperity of China, the Venetian -had also much to say of Zipangu, or Japan, of Tibet and Bengal, of -Ceylon, ‘the finest island in the world,’ and of Java, supposed then to -be ‘above three thousand miles wide’. - -Other travellers were to confirm many of his statements, but none told -their tale so simply and realistically as Polo, while not a few, like -the English Sir John Mandeville in the fourteenth century, supplied -fiction in large doses where it seemed to them that truth might bore -their readers. The eagerness with which either fact or fiction was -swallowed bears witness, at any rate, first to the extraordinary -fascination excited in mediaeval minds by such names as ‘Cathay’ or -‘Zipangu’; and next to the general Western belief in the inexhaustible -riches of the East and their determination to secure at least a portion. - -When the Seljuk Turks, with their fierce animosity towards Christendom, -had settled like a curtain between East and West, the dangers and -expense of trading and commerce with Arabia and Asia Minor of course -increased. Venice and Genoa still brought back shiploads of silks, -spices, and perfumes for Western markets, but the price of these goods -was increased by the tolls paid to Turkish sultans and emirs for leave -to transfer merchandise from camels to trading-sloops. Then came the -fall of Constantinople, when Venice, by a treaty with ‘the Conqueror’ -in the following year, appeared to secure wonderful trading privileges. -Mohammed, however, made such promises only to break them when -convenient, and, so soon as he could afford to do so, because he was -securely established in Europe, the tolls he demanded became heavier, -not lighter, the restrictions he placed upon trade more and more -galling to Christian merchants, until the usual purchasers of Venetian -goods grew exasperated at prices that doubled and trebled continually. - -[Sidenote: Voyage and Discovery] - -There were but two methods of avoiding this ever-increasing policy of -exploitation apart from doing without such luxuries: either a complete -conquest of the Turks, that would compel them to open up afresh the -old caravan routes to the East; or else the discovery of a new route -that would avoid their dominions altogether. Largely through the blind -selfishness of Mediterranean cities, and especially of Venice, we have -seen that the golden opportunity of aiding the Byzantine Empire had -been lost for ever. Thus the first method failed. It remains to deal -with the second, the voyages of discovery with which the Middle Ages -fittingly close. - -[Sidenote: Henry ‘the Navigator’] - -Towards the end of the fourteenth century there was born in Portugal -a prince, Henry, third son of King John I, and grandson by an English -mother of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. While he was still a boy -this prince earned fame for his share in the capture of Ceuta, a -Moorish town exactly opposite Gibraltar on the North African coast. -To the ordinary Portuguese mind this conquest raised hopes of a -gradual absorption of the southern Mediterranean seaboard, possibly of -competition in the Levant with Genoa and Venice; but Prince Henry saw -farther than ordinary minds. The problem that he set himself and any -one, Arab or European, who seemed likely to supply a solution was--What -would happen if, instead of entering the Mediterranean, Portuguese -ships were to sail due south? How big was this unknown stretch of land -called Africa, in the maps of which geographers hid their ignorance -by placing labels, such as ‘Here are hippografs! Here are two-headed -monsters!’? Would it not be possible to reach the far-famed wonders of -Cathay by sailing first south and then east round Africa, thus avoiding -trade routes through Syria and southern Russia? - -It was fortunate that Prince Henry was a mathematician and geographer -himself, for many people told him in answer to his inquiries that -Africa ended at Cape Nam, not so many miles south of Tangier, and -others that the white man who dared to sail beyond a certain point -would be turned black by the heat of the sun, while the waters boiled -about his vessel and the winds blew sheets of flame across the horizon. - -Prince Henry refused to believe such tales. He could not sail himself, -because he was so often occupied with wars in Africa against the Moors; -but year after year he fitted out ships at his own expense, and chose -the most daring mariners whom he could find, bribing them with promises -of reward and fame to navigate the unknown African coast. He himself -built a naval arsenal at Sagres on a southern promontory of Portugal, -and here, when not busy with affairs of state, he would study the -heavens, make charts, and watch anxiously for the returning sails of -his brave adventurers. - -During Prince Henry’s lifetime Portuguese or Italians in his pay -discovered not only Madeira, or ‘the island of wood’, as they -christened it from its many forests, but the Canaries, Cape Verde -Islands, and the African coast as far south as Gambia and Sierra Leone. -Soon there was no longer any need to bribe mariners into taking risks, -for those who first led the way on these adventurous voyages brought -back with them negroes and gold dust as evidence that they had been -to lands where men could live, and where there were possibilities of -untold wealth. Thus the work of exploration continued joyfully. - -It was in 1471, some years after the death of Prince Henry, that -Portuguese navigators crossed the Equator without being broiled black -by the sun or raising sheets of flame, as the superstitious had -predicted. The next important step on this new road to Asia was the -voyage of Bartholomew Diaz, who, sailing ever southwards, swept in an -icy wind without knowing it round the Cape, past Table Mountain, and -then, turning eastwards, landed at last on the little island of Santa -Cruz in Algoa Bay, where he planted a cross. He would have explored the -mainland also, but Kaffirs armed with heavy stones collected and drove -back the landing-party. - -Diaz, emboldened by his success, wished to sail farther, but his crew -were weary of adventure, and with tears of regret in his eyes he was -forced to yield to their threats of mutiny and turn homewards. At -Lisbon, describing his voyage, he said that on account of its dangers -he had called the southernmost point of Africa the ‘Cape of Storms’, -but the King of Portugal, hearing that this was indeed the limit of -the continent, and that in all probability the way to Asia lay beyond, -would not consent to such an ill-omened name. ‘It shall be the Cape of -Good Hope,’ he declared, and so it has remained. - -[Sidenote: Vasco da Gama] - -In 1498 the work of exploration begun by Diaz was completed by another -famous navigator, Vasco da Gama. National hopes of wealth and glory -were centred in his task, and when he and his company marched forth -to their ships a large crowd went with them to the shore, carrying -candles, and singing a solemn litany. Then the sails of his four -vessels dipped below the horizon and were not seen for two years and -eight months, but when at last men and women had begun to despair at -the great silence, their hero reappeared amongst them, bringing news -more wonderful and glorious than anything that Portugal had dared to -hope. - -There is little space to tell in this chapter the adventures that Vasco -da Gama related to the King and his court. He and his crews, it seemed, -had sailed for weeks amid ‘a lonely dreary waste of seas and boundless -sky’: they had skirmished with Hottentots and ‘doubled the Cape’, -caught in such a whirl of breakers and stormy winds that the walls of -the wooden ships had oozed water, and despair and sickness had seized -upon all. Vasco da Gama, even when ill and depressed, was not to be -turned from his purpose. Eastwards and northwards he set his sails, in -the teeth of laments and threats from his sailors, and so on Christmas -Day landed on a part of the coast to which in memory of the most famous -_Dies Natalis_ he gave the name of Natal. - -From Natal, battling the dread disease of scurvy brought on by a -prolonged diet of salt meat, the Portuguese commander pursued his way, -attacked, as often as he landed for water and fresh food, by fierce -Mahometan tribes, until at last, guided by an Arabian pilot whom he -had picked up, he came to the harbours of Calicut in India, where was -a Christian king. The new route to Asia had been discovered. ‘A lucky -venture--plenty of emeralds.... You owe great thanks to God for having -brought you to a country holding such riches,’ declared the natives, -and loud was the rejoicing of the Portuguese at this glorious national -prospect. - -The likely effects of Vasco da Gama’s voyage did not pass unnoticed -elsewhere in Europe. ‘Soon,’ exclaimed a Venetian merchant in deep -gloom, ‘it will be cheaper to buy goods in Lisbon than in Venice.’ The -death-knell of the great Republic’s commercial prosperity sounded in -these words. - -[Sidenote: Christopher Columbus] - -In the meanwhile, some years before Vasco da Gama’s triumphant -achievement, a still greater discovery was made that was destined in -the course of time to change the whole commercial aspect of the world. -Its author was a Genoese sailor, Christopher Columbus, who, tradition -says, once sailed as far north as Iceland, and in the south to the -island of Porto Santo. Always in his spare time he could be found -bent over maps and charts, calculating, weaving around his reasoned -mathematical arguments the tales of shipwrecked mariners, until at last -he brought to the ears of his astonished fellow men and women a scheme -for finding Cathay, neither by sailing south nor east, but due west -across the Atlantic. - -Here is a fourteenth-century description of the Atlantic, a dismal -picture still popularly accepted in the fifteenth: ‘A vast and -boundless ocean on which ships dared not venture out of sight of -land. For even if sailors knew the directions of the winds they would -not know whither those winds would carry them; and, as there is no -inhabited country beyond, they would run great risks of being lost in -the mist and vapour. The limit of the west is the Atlantic Ocean.’ - -Many people still believed that the world was flat, and that to sail -across the Atlantic was to incur the risk of being driven by the winds -over the edge into space. Thus Columbus met with either reproof for -contemplating such risks, or ridicule for his folly, but so convinced -was he of his own wisdom that he only grew the more enthusiastic as a -result of opposition. - -Without money or royal patronage he could not hope to make the voyage -a success, and so he laid his scheme before the King of Portugal, -usually a willing patron of adventure. Unfortunately for Columbus, -the discoveries along the African coast promised such wealth and trade -to Portugal that her ruler did not feel inclined to take risks in -other directions that, while they must involve expense, as yet held no -guarantee of repayment. - -‘I went to take refuge in Portugal,’ wrote Columbus at a later date, -‘since the King of that country was more versed in discovery than any -other, but ... in fourteen years I could not make him understand what I -said.’ Driven at last from Portugal by a decided refusal, Christopher -went to Spain, sending his brother Bartholomew with a letter explaining -his project to King Henry VII of England. It is interesting to note -that the keen-witted Tudor, as soon as the scheme was laid before him, -is said to have expressed his readiness to learn more and to lend his -support; but Bartholomew had been shipwrecked on his voyage northwards, -and owing to this delay Columbus had already received the patronage of -Spain and set out on his voyage before his brother returned with the -news. - -It was Queen Isabel of Castile, wife of King Ferdinand of Aragon,[50] -who after considerable hesitation, and against the advice of a council -of leading bishops and statesmen, determined finally to pledge her -sympathy, and tradition says her jewels if necessary, in the mariner’s -cause. Part of the attraction of his project lay in its appeal to -her Castilian imagination, for Castile had been ever haunted by the -possibilities of the bleak grey ocean that rolled at the gates of -Galicia; but still more potent than the thought of discovery was -the desire of spreading the Catholic Faith. This hope also inspired -Columbus, who regarded his enterprise as in the nature of a crusade, -believing that he had been called to preach the Gospel to the millions -of heathen inhabiting Cathay. - -When Columbus set forth on his first voyage to ‘the Indies’, as he -roughly called the unknown territory he sought, those who sailed in -his three ships were many of them ‘pressed’ men, that is, sailors -ordered on board by their town, that having incurred royal displeasure -was given this way of appeasing it. Thus they were without enthusiasm -or any belief in what they thought their admiral’s mad and dangerous -adventure, and from the time that they lost sight of land they never -ceased to grumble and utter threats of mutiny. At one time it was the -extraordinary variations in the compass that brought them trembling -to complain; at another the steadiness of the wind blowing from the -East that they believed would never change and allow them to return -home; finally it was the sluggish waters of the Sargassa Sea, amid -whose weeds they saw themselves destined to drift until they died -of starvation and thirst. To every suggestion of setting the sails -eastward Columbus turned a deaf ear: but for the rest he threatened, -cajoled, or argued, as the occasion seemed to demand, his own heart -sinking each time the cry of ‘Land!’ was raised and the ardently -desired vision proved only to be some bank of clouds lying low upon the -horizon. - -At length came the news that a moving light had been seen in the -darkness. ‘It appeared like a candle that went up and down,’ says -Columbus in his diary, and all waited eagerly for dawn that revealed at -last a wooded island, later called the Bahamas, but then believed to be -part of the mainland of Asia. Clad in armour, and carrying the royal -banner of Spain, the great discoverer of the West stepped ashore, and -there, humbly kneeling, he and his crews raised to Heaven a _Te Deum_ -of thankfulness and joy. - -Columbus made five voyages to the West in all, for the way once -shown proved easy enough, nor did he need to ‘press’ crews for the -enterprise, but rather to guard against unwelcome stowaways. The -brown-skinned Indians, gaily coloured parrots, gold nuggets, and -strange roots that he brought back as witness of his first success were -enough to inflame the minds and ambitions of Spaniards with such high -hopes of wealth and glory that they almost fought to be allowed to join -the expeditions. - -Vasco da Gama was rewarded for his voyage to India with a large pension -and the Portuguese title of ‘Dom’: he died in honoured old age. It is -sad to find that after the first triumphant return, when no glory and -praise seemed too great to bestow on their hero, the Spaniards turned -against Columbus. They blamed him because gold was not more abundant; -because his settlers quarrelled and started feuds with the natives; -because, although a very great mariner, he did not prove a ‘governor’ -able to control and manage other men easily. Not a few were jealous of -his genius, and determined to bring about his ruin out of spite. - -From his third voyage to the West Columbus was sent back by his enemies -in chains, ill with wounded pride at his shameful treatment. Queen -Isabel, hearing of it, instantly ordered his release, and tried to -soothe his indignation; but not long afterwards she herself died, and -Ferdinand, left to himself, was wholly intent on Aragonese ambitions in -the Mediterranean. To him the conquest of Naples was far more important -than any discovery of Cathay, and so Columbus’s complaints went -unheeded and he died in poverty forgotten by all save a few. ‘After -twenty years of toil and peril,’ he exclaimed bitterly, as he was borne -ashore from his last voyage, ‘I do not own even a roof in Spain.’ - -The New World to which he had won an entrance was given the name of -another, namely, of a Florentine, Amerigo Vespucci, who, sailing beyond -the West Indies, reached the mainland. - -The effect of Columbus’s discovery upon the life of Europe was -momentous. No longer the Atlantic lay like a grey wall between man and -the Unknown. It had become a highway, not to Cathay but to a greater -West, where were riches beyond all human dreaming, ready as a harvest -for the enterprising and hardworking. - -The central road of mediaeval commerce had been the Mediterranean, the -highway of the modern world was to be the Atlantic, and the commercial -future of Europe lay not with the city republics of the South but -with the nations of the North and West, with Portugal and Spain, with -Flanders and England, that had lain upon the fringe of the Old World -but stood at the very heart of the New. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73._ - - Emperor Andronicus II 1282-1328 - Emperor John V 1341-91 - Sultan Orkhan 1325-59 - Sultan Mohammed II 1451-81 - Stephen Dushan 1331-55 - Marco Polo 1254-1324 - Henry ‘the Navigator’ 1394-1460 - Cape of Good Hope rounded 1486 - - - - -XXIII - -THE RENAISSANCE - - -All history is the record of change, either in the direction of social -progress or decay; but so gradual is this movement that, like the -transition from night to dawn or noon to evening, it is beyond our -vision to state the moment when tendencies began or ceased. It is only -possible to note the definite changes in their achievement, and then to -disentangle the threads by turning back along the twisted chain into -which they have been woven. - -Sometimes in history there have been so many changes within a short -time that the effect has been cumulative and an epoch has been created, -as at the break-up of the Roman Empire, when civilization was merged -in the ‘Dark Ages’. Again, it is true of Europe at the end of the -fifteenth century and during the greater part of the sixteenth, a -period usually called ‘the Renaissance’, or time of ‘New Birth’, -because then it became apparent that the old mediaeval outlook and -ways of life had vanished, while others much more familiar and easy to -understand had taken their place: the Modern World had been called into -being. - -The most obvious change to be found at the Renaissance was the collapse -of the mediaeval ideal of a world-empire ruled in the name of God by -Pope and Emperor. The Western Empire still remained pretentious in its -claims; but its wiser rulers, such as Rudolph I and Charles IV, had -already realized that success lay rather in German kingship than in -imperial influence. The Popes had been restored to Rome, but the threat -of councils that could depose and reform hung like a cloud over their -insistence on the absolute obedience of Christendom; and, recognizing -the inevitable, the Vatican had sunk the ambitions of an Innocent III -in those of a temporal Italian Prince. Searching along the chain of -causes, it becomes clear enough that the trend of history during the -later Middle Ages had been this development of the smaller unity of -the nation out of the bigger unity of the world-state. By the end of -the fifteenth century England, France, and Spain were already nations; -while even Germany and Italy, feeling the call in a lesser degree, had -substituted for a wider sense of nationality devotion to a province or -city state. - -The second of the great changes that characterize the Renaissance -was the development of the idea of man as an individual. All through -the Middle Ages, except perhaps in the case of rulers, men and women -counted in the life of the world around them, not so much as separate -influences as a part of the system into which they were born or -absorbed. In early days the tribe accepted its members’ acts, whether -good or bad, as something that was the concern of all to be atoned for, -supported, or avenged, as a public duty. Still more strongly was this -attitude expressed in family affairs, as in the numerous ‘vendettas’, -or feuds like those of the Welfs and Waiblingen, or of ‘the Blacks’ and -‘Whites’ in Florence. - -Turning from racial ties to social, we find mediaeval associations -of all kinds holding a man bound, not by his own personal choice or -discretion, but by the decision of the group to which he happened to -be attached. The feudal system was never complete enough in practice -to make a good example of this bondage, but in theory from the -tenant-in-chief to the landowner lowest in the social scale there was -a settled rule of life, dictating the duties and responsibilities of -lord and vassal. Still more was this binding rule true of that greatest -of all mediaeval corporations--monasticism, that demanded from its -sons and daughters absolute obedience in the annihilation of self. -St. Bernard, whose personality was so strong that he could not remain -hidden amongst the mass of his fellows, was yet, we remember, angry -with Abelard for this above all other failings--that he had set up his -individual judgement as a test of life. In Abelard, as in Arnold of -Brescia, lay the first stirrings of the independent modern spirit that -at the Renaissance was to shake the foundations of the mediaeval world. - -Besides monasticism there were other associations--the universities -and the class corporations, merchant guilds such as the North German -Hansa, and smaller city guilds, such as the ‘Greater’ and ‘Lesser Arts’ -in Florence, comprising groups of lawyers, fishmongers, &c. All these -last maintained a standard of uniformity, regulating not only hours -of work, rate of pay, nature of employment, scale of contributions, -like a modern trade union, but went much farther, interfering in the -life of each individual member to insist on what he should wear in -public and how he might spend the money he had earned. It was a spirit -of benevolent slavery that held sway so long as the strivings of the -individual mind were overborne by a sense of helplessness in the face -of ignorance or by the weight of tradition. - -This weight of tradition leads naturally to the third great change -heralded by the Renaissance--the breaking-up of a sky curtained in -mental darkness into separate groups of clouds, still heavily charged -with superstition and ignorance, but their density relieved by the -light of a genuine inquiry after truth for its own sake. During the -Middle Ages we have seen that men and women looked back for inspiration -to the Roman Empire, and this made them distrust progress, just as -a timid rider will dread a spirited horse because he fears to lose -control and to be carried into unknown ways. - -The earliest guardian of mediaeval knowledge had been the Church, -and in the light that she understood her task she faithfully taught -the world about her. Her motto was ‘Reverence for the Past’; but, -bent in worship before the altar of tradition, she lost sight of that -other great world-motto, ‘Trust the Future’, which has been one of -the guiding stars of modern times. Her interpretation of the Faith, -of the legitimate bounds of knowledge, of the limits of Art, had been -almost a necessary school of discipline for the early Middle Ages -with their tendency to barbaric licence; but as she civilized men’s -minds and their aptitude for reasoning and understanding deepened, the -restrictions of the school became the bars of a prison. The mediaeval -Church, once a pioneer, lost her grip on realities, her spiritual -outlook became obscured by material ambitions, her faith weakened; -until at last so little sure was she in her heart of the complete truth -of her teaching that she opposed and denounced criticism or discovery, -much like a merchant who is secretly afraid that his methods of -business may be obsolete refuses to entertain ‘newfangled notions’ that -would open his eyes. - -When Columbus laid his scheme for crossing the Atlantic before a -council of bishops and leading members of the Spanish universities, -mediaeval knowledge derided his presumption by quoting texts from the -Old Testament and various statements of St. Augustine and other Fathers -of the Church. There could be no Antipodes, they argued, because it was -distinctly said that the world was peopled by the descendants of Noah, -and how could such men have crossed these miles of ocean? Many similar -objections were raised and the mariner’s project condemned, just as -Roger Bacon had been judged a heretic for his scientific inquiries two -hundred years before.[51] It is significant of the change of mental -outlook that while Roger Bacon wasted his last years in prison and -Abelard was driven from the lecture-hall to a monastery, Columbus found -public support, vindicated his calculations, and so opened up a new -world. - -The great secret of the Renaissance is indeed this release of the -restless spirit of inquiry after truth, that is as old as humanity -itself, and that, swooping like a bird through the door of a cage out -into the air and sunshine, reckless of danger, carried along by the -sheer joy of unfettered life, sometimes foolish and extravagant in -its zest for experience, was at first too absorbed in the glory and -interest of freedom to feel any regret for the prison that had been at -least a shelter from the many stormy problems that were to rend the -modern world. - -Charlemagne had believed that ‘without knowledge good works were -impossible’. The men of the early Renaissance were not so intent -upon the importance of good works or the hope of salvation as their -forefathers, but they would have assented eagerly to the statement -that ‘without knowledge any true understanding of human life was -impossible’. - -Had the conditions under which knowledge could be obtained remained as -restricted as in mediaeval times, the Renaissance on its intellectual -side would in all probability have become a cult, a movement shared -by a few learned men and women to which the mass of the people in -every nation had no clue; and in this way it would have died out like -a plant unable to spread its roots. Human invention intervened with -the discovery of printing, which brought the great thoughts of the -world out of the monastic libraries, where they had been laboriously -collected and copied by hand, to distribute them, slowly at first but -ever faster and faster, throughout the busy centres of Europe, where -brains as well as stomachs are always eager for food. - -It was a German, John Gutenburg, who invented printing by means of -movable types, but because he had not enough money to carry out his -design he was forced to borrow from a rich citizen of Mainz called John -Fust. This Fust treated John Gutenburg very badly, for he demanded -back the money he had lent so soon as he understood the value of the -other’s secret, and by this means forced Gutenburg, when he could not -pay, to hand over his plant in compensation. Fust then began to print -on his own account, and when the people of Mainz saw the copies of the -Bible that he produced, each number an exact replica of the first, -they declared that he had sold himself to the devil and was practising -magic. Thus, it is said, started the legend of Doctor Faustus that has -inspired poets, musicians, and dramatists. - -The first English printer was William Caxton, a Kentishman, to view -whose press came King and court in great amazement, interested, but -utterly unaware of what a mental revolution this small piece of -machinery was to bring about. - -The greatest of Italian printers were the Venetians, whose famous -Aldine press produced volumes that are still the admiration of the -world as well as treasure trove for book-collectors. In modern times -the desire for knowledge, or rather for information, has become a -scramble, and printing has degenerated into a trade. In the fifteenth -and sixteenth centuries it was regarded as an art, and Aldus Manutius, -the Roman who established his press at Venice, intending to reproduce -an edition of all the Greek authors then known, was a great -scholar, who modelled his letters on the handwriting of the Italian -poet Petrarch, and gathered around him the most intellectual and -enterprising minds of his day to advise and help him. It was at the -Aldine press that one of the leaders of the Dutch Renaissance, Erasmus, -had several of his books printed, and Venice at this time became a -centre for scholars, and for all whose minds were alive with a thirst -for new impressions. - -Fifteenth-century Italy was not, on the surface, so very different -from Italy in the fourteenth. The complete domination of the five -Powers, foreshadowed in the earlier century, had become fixed, and -three of them--Milan, Florence, and Naples--had succeeded in forming -an alliance to preserve the balance of power in the peninsula, and to -keep at bay the ambitions of Venice, whose empire was still spreading -over the mainland. In Naples ruled Ferrante I, an illegitimate son of -Alfonso V of Aragon, a typical despot like the Angevins his father had -replaced. In Milan the Visconti had merged themselves in the House of -Sforza, through a clever ruse of one of the most famous of mediaeval -_condottieri_, Francesco Sforza, who, besieging his master, Filippo -Maria Visconti, in Milan in 1441, had forced him to give him his only -daughter and heiress Bianca in marriage, and then to acknowledge him as -his successor. - -[Sidenote: ‘Il Moro’] - -The grim traditions established by the Visconti continued under this -new family, christened with their very names. Francesco’s son, Galeazzo -Maria, whose life was spent in debauch, is said to have poisoned his -mother and buried his subjects alive. When he was assassinated, his -brother, Ludovico, called from his swarthy complexion _Il Moro_, or -‘the Moor’, seized the reins of government, and proceeded to act -on behalf of his young nephew, Gian Galeazzo, whom he kept in the -background at Pavia, declaring him a helpless invalid. - -Philip de Commines describes Ludovico as ‘clever, but very nervous and -cringing when he was afraid: a man without faith when he thought it to -his advantage to break his word’. Outwardly he displayed the genial -manners customary in a Renaissance prince, and presided at Milan over -a court so famed for its hospitality, wit, and intellect that it drew -within its circle painters, sculptors, writers, and scholars, as well -as military heroes and men of fashion. - -It will be seen that Italy opened her arms wide to the new spirit of -intellectual and artistic enjoyment. Venice, Naples, Milan, each vied -with the other in attracting and rewarding genius: even the Popes at -Rome, whose natural instinct as the guardian of mediaeval tradition -was to distrust freedom of thought, were influenced by the atmosphere -around them, and to Pope Nicholas V the world owes the foundation of -the wonderful Vatican Library. - -To the Queen of the Renaissance states we turn last--to Florence, the -‘City of Flowers’, that we left distracted by the internal discords -of her ‘Blacks’ and ‘Whites’, and by her wars against Filippo Maria -Visconti. The turning of the century had seen great changes in -Florence, the whittling away of the old ideal of liberty that would -brook no master, so that she became willing to accept the domination of -a family superficially disguised as a freely elected government. - -The Medici were no royal stock, nor were they flaunting _condottieri_ -like the Sforza, but a house of bankers, who by brains and solid -hard work had built up for itself a position of respect, not only in -Florence, but also throughout Europe, where their loans had secured the -fortunes of many a monarchy that would otherwise have tumbled in ruins -owing to lack of funds. It was the advantage of such monarchies to -preserve the credit of the House of Medici, and so the bankers gained -outside influence to aid their ambitions at home. - -Within Florence the Medici posed as common-sense men of business, -unassuming citizens, easy of access, ready friends, ever the -supporters, while they were climbing the ladder of civic fame, of the -popular party that loved to shout ‘Liberty!’ in the streets, while it -voted her destroyers into public offices. - -[Sidenote: Cosimo de Medici] - -Cosimo de Medici, the first of the family to establish a position of -supremacy, was related to many of the nobles debarred by their rank -from any share in the government: but, though he won the allegiance -of this faction, he took care to claim no honour himself that -might frighten the public mind with terrors of a despot. Instead, -simply clad and almost unattended, he walked through the streets, -chatting in friendly equality with the merchants he met, many of -whose interests were identical or wrapped up with his own financial -projects; discussing agriculture with the Tuscan farmers like a country -gentleman, freely spending his money on the schemes of the working -classes, or scattering it amongst beggars. - -When he died his mourning fellow citizens inscribed on his tomb the -words _Pater Patriae_, ‘Father of his Country’. They had felt the -benefits received through Cosimo’s government: they had not realized, -or were indifferent to, the chains with which he had bound them. Some -bitter enemies he had, of course, aroused, but these with quiet but -remorseless energy he had swept from his path. It was his custom to -sap the fortunes of possible rivals by immense exactions--to make them -pay in fact for the liberal government, for which he would afterwards -receive the praise, while drawing away their friends and supporters by -bribery and threats. At last, ruined and deserted, they would be driven -from the city; and here even Cosimo did not rest, since his influence -at foreign courts enabled him to hunt his prey from one refuge to -another until they died, impotently cursing the name of Medici, a -warning to malcontents of the length and breadth of a private citizen’s -revenge. - -The Medici, it has been said, ‘used taxes as other men use their -swords’, and the charge of deliberate corruption that has been brought -against them is undeniable. ‘It is better to injure the city than to -ruin it,’ once declared Cosimo himself, adding cynically, ‘It takes -more to direct a government than to sit and tell one’s beads.’ - -Neither he nor his descendants were the type of ruler represented by -Charlemagne or Alfred the Great. Their ideals were frankly low, with -self-interest in the foreground, however skilfully disguised. When this -has been admitted, however, it should be also remembered that Cosimo -employed no army of hired ruffians to terrorize fellow citizens as -the Visconti had done. Florence was willing to be corrupted, and if -she lost the freedom she had loved in theory, yet she rose under the -benevolent despotism of the Medici to a greater height of material and -political prosperity than ever before or since in her history. ‘The -authority that they possessed in Florence and throughout Christendom’, -says Machiavelli, ‘was not obtained without being merited.’ - -[Sidenote: The New Learning] - -It was under the fostering care of the Medici that Florence, more than -any of the other Italian states, became the home of the intellectual -Renaissance, from which the ‘New Learning’ was to radiate out across -the world. This intellectual movement was twofold. Still under -mediaeval influence, it began at first by finding its inspiration -in the past, and so introduced a great classical revival, in which -manuscripts of Greek and Latin authors and statues of gods and nymphs -were almost as much revered as relics of the saints in an earlier -age. Rich men hastened on journeys to the East in order to purchase -half-burned fragments of literature from astonished Greeks, while in -the lecture-halls of Italy eager pupils clamoured for fresh light on -ancient philosophy and history. So great was the enthusiasm that it is -said one famous scholar’s hair turned white with grief when he learned -of the shipwreck of a cargo of classical books. - -Cosimo de Medici had been a ‘friend and patron of learned men’; but -it was in the time of his grandson, Lorenzo ‘the Magnificent’, that -the Renaissance reached its height in Florence. It was Lorenzo who -founded the ‘Platonic Academy’ in imitation of the old academies of -Greek philosophers, an assembly that became the battle-ground of -the sharpest and most brilliant intellects of the day. Here were -fought word-tournaments, often venomous in the intensity of their -partisanship, between defenders of the views of Plato and of Aristotle: -here were welcomed like princes cultured Greeks, driven into exile -by Mahometan invasion, certain of crowded and enthusiastic audiences -if only they were prepared to lecture on the literary treasures of -their race. The enthusiasm recalled the days when Abelard held Paris -spellbound by his reasoning on theology, but showed how far away had -slipped the age of dialectics. - -The last great name amongst the schoolmen is that of Duns Scotus, -a Franciscan of the thirteenth century, who raised the process of -logical reasoning to such a fine art that it has been said of him, -‘he reasoned scholasticism out of human reach’. Ordinary theologians -could not dispute with him, since it made their brains reel even to -try and follow his arguments, so at last they snapped their fingers -at him, crying, ‘Oh, Duns! Duns!’ Thus by his excessive skill in -intellectual juggling he reduced himself and his subject to absurdity, -and ‘Dunce’ has passed down to posterity as a fitting name for some one -unreasonably stupid. - -Scholasticism, the glory of mediaeval lecture-halls, held no thrill -or charm for men of the Renaissance, and though Aristotle was still -revered and a great deal of labour expended on trying to make his views -and those of Plato match with current religious beliefs, yet the spirit -that underlay this attempt was wholly different to the efforts of -mediaeval minds. - -‘Salvation’, ‘The City of God’--such words and phrases had been keys to -the thought of the Middle Ages from St. Augustine to St. Dominic and -St. Thomas Aquinas. To Renaissance minds there was but one master-word, -‘Humanity’. - -What message had these classical philosophers, that tradition held had -lived in a golden age, for struggling humanity more than a thousand -years later? The men and women of the Renaissance, as they put this -question, hoped that the answers they discovered would agree with the -Faith that the Church had taught them; but there was no longer the same -insistence that they must or be disregarded as heresy. The interest in -an immortal soul had become mingled with interest in what was human and -transitory, with the beauty and charm of this life as well as with the -glory of the next. - -Searching after beauty, no longer under the stern school-mistress -‘tradition’, but led by that will-o’-the-wisp ‘literary instinct’, the -poets and authors under the influence of the Renaissance gradually -turned from the use of Latin and Greek to that more natural medium of -expression, their own language. - -This was the second aspect of the ‘New Learning’, the disappearance of -the belief that Latin and Greek alone were literary, and the gradual -linking up of mediaeval with modern scholarship by the discovery that -the growth of national ideals and aspirations could best be expressed -in a living national tongue. The forerunners of this movement lived -long before the period that we usually call the Renaissance. Thus -Dante, greatest of mediaeval minds, was inspired to employ his native -Italian in his masterpiece, the _Divina Commedia_, that, had his genius -been less original, might have been merely a classical imitation. -Petrarch, the friend of Rienzi and lover of liberty, who lived at the -papal court at Avignon, was half-ashamed of his Italian sonnets, yet it -is by their charm still more than by his Latin letters that he lives -to-day, as Boccaccio by the witty easy-flowing style of his tales. - -These are the names of literary ‘immortals’, and perhaps it may -seem strange to find, when we pass from them to the ‘New Learning’ -itself, that the greater part of the works published by members of the -‘Platonic Academy’ and other intellectual circles are now as dead as -the dialectics of the schoolmen. Yet it is still harder, if we turn -their pages, to believe that such florid sentences and long-drawn -arguments could ever have stirred men’s blood to a frenzy of enthusiasm -or passion. The explanation lies in the fact that for all the charm of -its newly-won freedom, the Renaissance, on its literary side, was not -a time of creation but of criticism and inquiry. Its leaders were too -busy clearing away outworn traditions, collecting material for fresh -thought, and laying literary foundations, to build themselves with any -breadth of vision. Where they paused exhausted, or failed, the ‘giants’ -of the modern world were able to erect their masterpieces. - -Lorenzo ‘the Magnificent’ himself we can remember for the genuine -love of nature and poetry apparent in his sonnets, but his claim to -remain immortal in the world’s history must rest, not on his literary -achievements, but on his generous patronage and appreciation of -scholars and artists, as well as on the political wisdom that made him -the first statesman of his day. - -[Sidenote: Giotto] - -If the literature of the Renaissance was mainly experimental in -character, painting was pre-eminently its finished glory--the -representation of that sense of beauty in nature and in human life -from which the Middle Ages had turned away, as from a snare set by the -Devil to distract souls from Paradise. Here again, in painting, there -is a twofold aspect: the artist mind seeking in the past as well as -aspiring to the future for inspiration to guide his brush. It was in -the life of St. Francis, ‘the little Brother of Assisi’, that Giotto, -the great forerunner of the ‘new’ art, found that sense of humanity -idealized that spurred him to break away from the old conventional -Byzantine models, stiff, decorative, and inhuman, in order to attempt -the realization of life as he saw it around him in the street and field. - -Cimabue, a famous Florentine painter, had found Giotto as a shepherd -lad, cutting pictures of the sheep grouped round him with a stone -upon the rockside. He carried the boy away to be his apprentice, but -the pupil soon excelled the master and not merely Florence but all -Italy heard of his wondrous colours and designs. ‘He took nature for -his guide,’ says Leonardo da Vinci; and many are the tales of this -kindly peasant genius, small and ugly in appearance but full of the -joy and humour of the world that he studied so shrewdly. The Angevin -King Robert of Naples once asked him to suggest a symbol of his -own turbulent Southern kingdom, whereupon the artist drew a donkey -saddled, sniffing at another saddle lying on the ground. ‘Such are your -subjects,’ he remarked, ‘that every day would seek a new master.’ No -politician could have made a more fitting summary of mediaeval Naples. - -Giotto’s chief fame to-day lies in his frescoes of the life of St. -Francis on the walls of the double chapel at Assisi and in the -Franciscan Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Most of them, damaged -by the action of time and weather on the rough plaster, have been -repaired to their disadvantage, though a few remain unharmed to show -the painter’s clear, delicate colouring and boldness of outline. To the -average sightseer to-day they seem perhaps just legendary pictures, -more or less crude in design, but when Giotto painted we must remember -that the crowds who watched his brush in breathless admiration read as -they gazed the story of the most human of saints--a man who had but -lately walked amongst the Umbrian hills, and whose words and deeds were -to them more vivid than many a living utterance. - -To understand what the genius of Giotto meant to his own day we must -consider the stiff unreality of former art, just as we cannot realize -the greatness of Columbus by thinking of a modern voyage from the -Continent to America, but only by recalling the primitive navigation of -his time. Giotto, like Columbus, had many imitators and followers, some -of them famous names, but the pioneer work that he had done for art -was commemorated at the Renaissance when, by the orders of Lorenzo de -Medici, a Latin epitaph was placed on his tomb containing these words: -‘Lo! I am he by whom dead Art was restored to life ... by whom Art -became one with Nature.’ - -It would be impossible to condense satisfactorily in a few short -paragraphs the triumphant history of Renaissance painting, the rapid -development of which Giotto and his ‘school’ had made practicable, -or even to give a slight sketch of the artists on whom that history -depends. Never before has so much genius been crowded into so few -years; but before we leave this pre-eminent age in modern Art, there -is one arresting figure who must be described, a man who more than any -other embodies the spirit of the Renaissance at its best, Leonardo da -Vinci, ‘foremost amongst the supreme masters of the world’. - -[Sidenote: Leonardo da Vinci] - -Leonardo ‘the Florentine’, as he liked to call himself, was born in -the fortified village of Vinci midway between Florence and Pisa. -The illegitimate son of a notary, born as it would seem to no great -heritage, he was yet early distinguished amongst his fellows. - -‘The richest gifts of Heaven,’ says Vasari, ‘are sometimes showered -upon the same person, and beauty, grace, and genius, are combined in -so rare a manner in one man that, to whatever he may apply himself, -every action is so divine that all others are left behind him.’ This -reads like exaggeration until we turn to the facts that are known -about Da Vinci’s life, and find he is all indeed Vasari described--a -giant amongst his fellows in physique and intellect, and still more -in practical imagination. So strong was he that with his fingers he -could bend a horseshoe straight, so full of potent charm for all things -living that his presence in a room would draw men and women out of -sadness, while in the streets the wildest horses would willingly yield -to his taming power. Of the cruelty that rests like a stain on the -Middle Ages there was in him no trace--rather that hot compassion for -suffering and weakness so often allied with strength. It is told of him -as of St. Francis that he would buy the singing-birds sold in cages in -the street that he might set them free. - -His copy-books are full of the drawings of horses, and probably his -greatest work of art, judged by the opinion of his day and the rough -sketches still extant of his design, was the statue he modelled for -Ludovico ‘Il Moro’ of Francesco Sforza, the famous _condottiere_ poised -on horseback. Unfortunately it perished almost at once, hacked in -pieces by the French soldiery when they drove Ludovico from his capital -some years later. - -Leonardo has been called the ‘true founder of the Italian School of -oil-painting’. His most celebrated picture, ‘The Last Supper’, painted -in oils as an experiment, on the walls of a convent near Milan, began -to flake away, owing to the damp, even before the artist’s death. It -has been so constantly retouched since, that very little, save the -consummate art in the arrangement of the figures, and the general -dramatic simplicity of the scene depicted, is left to show the -master-hand. Even this is enough to convey his genius. Amongst the most -famous of his works that still remain are his ‘Mona Lisa’, sometimes -called ‘La Gioconda’, the portrait of a Neapolitan lady, and the -‘Madonna of the Rocks’, both in the gallery of the Louvre. - -Leonardo excelled his age in engineering, in his knowledge of anatomy -and physics, in his inventive genius that led him to guess at the -power of steam, and struggle over models of aeroplanes, at which his -generation laughed and shrugged their shoulders. He himself took -keen pleasure in such versatility, but his art, that held other men -spellbound with admiration, would plunge him in depression. ‘When he -sat down to paint he seemed overcome with fear’, says one account of -him, and describes how he would alter and finally destroy, in despair -of attaining his ideal, canvases that those about him considered -already perfect. It is little wonder then that few finished works came -from the brush of this indefatigable worker; but his influence on his -age and after-centuries was none the less prodigious. - -Leonardo stands for all that was best in the Renaissance--its zest for -truth, its eager vitality and love of experiment, but most of all for -its sympathy. He is the embodiment of that motto that seems more than -any other to express the Renaissance outlook: _Homo sum; humani nil a -me alienum puto_--‘I am a man, and nothing pertaining to mankind is -foreign to my nature.’ - - * * * * * - -Italy, we have seen, was pre-eminently the home of the Renaissance--the -teacher destined to give the world the ‘New Learning’ as she had -preserved the old during the Dark Ages. In those sunny days, when -Lorenzo ‘the Wise’, as well as ‘the Magnificent’, ruled in Florence, -and by his statesmanship preserved so neat a balance of politics that -the peninsula, divided by five ambitious Powers, yet remained at peace, -a glorious future seemed assured; but in 1492, the year that Columbus -discovered America, Lorenzo died. ‘The peace of Italy is dead also,’ -exclaimed a statesman with prophetic insight, when he heard the news: -and indeed the stability and moderation that Lorenzo and his house had -symbolized was soon threatened. - -In Florence, Wisdom was succeeded by Folly in the person of Piero, -Lorenzo’s son, an Orsini on his mother’s side, and an inheritor to the -full of the haughty, intractable temperament of the Roman baronage. -Playing his football in the streets amongst the shopkeepers’ open -booths, insolent to the merchants his father had courted, reckless of -advice, Piero was soon to learn that a despotism, such as that of the -Medici, founded not on armies but on public goodwill, falls at the -first adverse wind. This wind, a whirlwind for Italy, blew from France; -but it was Ludovico ‘Il Moro’, not the young Medici, who actually sowed -the seed. - -‘Nervous and cringing,’ as Philip de Commines had described him, -Ludovico had found himself involved by his treatment of his nephew in -a fog of suspicions and fears. Left to himself, uneducated and ailing -in health, Gian Galeazzo Sforza would never have dared to thwart his -ambitious uncle; but he had married a Neapolitan princess of stronger -fibre, a granddaughter of Ferrante I, and when she complained to her -relations, and they in turn remonstrated with ‘Il Moro’, trouble began. - -It seemed to Ludovico, assailed by secret visions of Naples allying -herself with Milan’s most dreaded enemy Venice, or even with Florence -and Rome to secure revenge and his own downfall, that he must hastily -give up the idea that Lorenzo had advocated of a balance of power -within the peninsula itself, and look instead beyond the mountains for -help and support. Mediaeval annals could give many instances of Popes -and former rulers of Milan who had taken this same unpatriotic step, -while a ready excuse could be found for invoking the aid of France, on -account of the French King’s descent from the Second House of Anjou, -that Alfonso V, Ferrante’s father, had driven from Naples.[52] - -Acting, then, from motives of personal ambition, not from any wide -conception of statecraft, Ludovico persuaded Charles VIII of France, -son of Louis XI, that honour and glory lay in his renewal of the -old Angevin claims to Naples, and in 1494, with a great flourish of -trumpets, the French expedition started across the Alps. ‘I will assist -in making you greater than Charlemagne,’ Ludovico had boasted, when -dangling his bait before the young French King’s eyes; but the results -of what he had intended were so far beyond his real expectations as to -give him new cause for ‘cringing and fear’. ‘The French,’ said Pope -Alexander VI sarcastically, ‘needed only a child’s wooden spurs and -chalk to mark up their lodgings for the night.’ - -[Sidenote: French Invasion of Italy] - -Almost without opposition, and where they encountered it achieving -easy victories, the French marched through Italy from north to south, -entering Florence, that had driven Piero and his brothers into exile, -compelling the hasty submission of Rome, sweeping the Aragonese from -Naples, whose fickle population came out with cheers to greet their new -conquerors. - -Certainly the causes of this victory were not due to the young -conqueror himself, with his ungainly body and over-developed head, -with his swollen ambitions and feeble brain, with his pious talk of a -crusade against the East, and the idle debauch for which he and his -subjects earned unenviable notoriety. Commines, a Frenchman with a -shrewd idea of his master’s incompetence, believed that God must have -directed the conquering armies, since the wisdom of man had nothing to -say to it; but Italian historians found the cause of their country’s -humiliation in her political and military decadence. - -We have seen how ‘Companies’ of hired soldiers held Italy in thrall -during the fourteenth century; but with the passing of years what was -once a serious business had become a complicated kind of chess with -mercenary levies for pawns. Fifteenth-century _condottieri_ were as -great believers in war as ever Sir John Hawkwood; but, susceptible to -the veneer of civilization that glosses the Renaissance, they had lost -the mediaeval taste for bloodshed. What they retained was the desire -to prolong indeterminate campaigns in order to draw their pay, while -reducing the dangers and hardships involved to the least adequate -pretence of real warfare. Here is Machiavelli’s sarcastic commentary: - - ‘They spared no effort,’ he says, ‘to relieve themselves and their - men from fatigue and danger, not killing one another in battle but - making prisoners ... they would attack no town by night nor would - those within make sorties against their besieging foes. Their camps - were without rampart or trench. They fought no winter campaigns.’ - -Before the national levies of France, rough campaigners with no taste -for military chess but only determined on as speedy a victory as -possible, the make-believe armies of Italy were mown down like ninepins -or ran away. Thus clashed two opposing systems--one real, the other by -this time almost wholly artificial--and because of its noise and stir, -1494, the year of Charles VIII’s invasion of Italy, is often taken as -the boundary-line between mediaeval and modern times, just as the year -476, when Romulus Augustulus gave up his crown, is accepted as the -beginning of the Middle Ages. In both cases it is not the events of -the actual year that can be said to have created the change. They are -merely the culminating evidence of the end of an old order of things -and the beginning of a new. - -[Sidenote: End of the Middle Ages] - -By 1494 Constantinople was in the hands of the Turks: Columbus had -discovered America: John Gutenburg had invented his printing-press: -Vasco da Gama was meditating his voyage to India. All these things were -witness of ‘a new birth’, the infancy of a modern world; but the year -1494 stands also as evidence of the death of an old, the mediaeval. - -Stung by the oppression and insolence of their conquerors, Italian -armies and intrigue were to drive the French in the years to come -temporarily out of Naples; but in spite of this success the effect of -Charles VIII’s military ‘walk-over’ was never to be effaced. Italy, -in Roman times the centre of Europe from which all law and order had -radiated, had clung to a fiction of this power and glory through -mediaeval days. Now at last the sham was exposed, and before the forces -of nationality her boasted supremacy collapsed. The centre of political -gravity had changed, and with it the traditions and ideals for which -the supremacy of Italy had stood. - - -_Supplementary Dates. For Chronological Summary, see pp. 368-73_. - - Invention of Printing 1435 - Caxton’s Press 1474 - The Aldine Press 1494 - Duns Scotus (died) 1308 - Petrarch 1304-74 - Giotto 1276-1337 - Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519 - Ferrante I of Naples (died) 1494 - French Invasion of Italy 1494 - - - - -SOME AUTHORITIES ON MEDIAEVAL HISTORY - - - PERIODS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. - _The Dark Ages._ C. W. Oman. - _The Empire and Papacy._ T. F. Tout. - _The Close of the Middle Ages._ R. Lodge. - - TEXT-BOOKS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. - _Mediaeval Europe._ K. Bell. - _The Renaissance and the Reformation._ E. M. Tanner. - - EPOCHS OF MODERN HISTORY. - _The Beginning of the Middle Ages._ R. Church. - _The Normans in Europe._ A. H. Johnson. - _The Crusades._ G. W. Cox. - _Edward III._ W. Warburton. - - HOME UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. - _Mohammedanism._ D. S. Margoliouth. - _Mediaeval Europe._ H. W. Davis. - _The Renaissance._ E. Sichel. - - FOREIGN STATESMEN SERIES. - _Charles the Great._ T. Hodgkin. - _Philip Augustus._ W. H. Hutton. - _Cosimo de Medici._ D. K. Ewart. - - MEDIAEVAL TOWN SERIES. _Venice_, _Assisi_, &c. - - HEROES OF THE NATIONS. - _Alfred ‘The Great’._ B. A. Lees. - _Theodoric the Goth._ T. Hodgkin. - _Charlemagne._ H. W. Davis. - _Columbus._ Washington Irving. - _Isabel of Castile._ I. Plunket. - _The Cid Campeador._ H. Butler-Clarke. - _Prince Henry of Portugal._ R. Beazley. - _Lorenzo de Medici._ A. Armstrong. - _Mahomet._ D. S. Margoliouth. - _Saladin._ S. Lane Poole. - _Charles the Bold._ R. Putnam, and others. - - STORY OF THE NATIONS. - _Germany._ S. Baring-Gould. - _Spain._ Watts. - _Moors in Spain._ Lane Poole. - _Turkey._ Lane Poole. - _Byzantine Empire._ Oman. - _Hansa Towns._ H. Zimmern. - _Denmark and Sweden._ Stefanson. - _Norway._ Boyesen, and others. - - GENERAL WORKS. - _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire._ Gibbon. - _The Cambridge Mediaeval History._ - _The Cambridge Modern History_ (vol. i). - _The Mediaeval Mind._ Osborne Taylor. - _Illustrations of the History of Mediaeval Thought._ Lane Poole. - _History of Latin Christianity._ H. Milman. - _A Handbook of European History. 476-1871._ A. Hassall. - _A Notebook of Mediaeval History. 328-1453._ R. Beazley. - _A Source Book for Mediaeval History._ Thatcher and McNeal. - _The Monks of the West_ (vol. v). Gasquet. - _The Black Death._ Gasquet. - _Histoire Générale._ Lavisse et Rambaud. - _History of the Papacy during the Reformation_ (vol. i). Creighton. - _History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages._ H. C. Lea. - _A Book of Discovery._ M. B. Synge. - _The Crusades._ Archer and Kingsford. - _The Normans in Europe._ Haskins. - _Introduction to the History of Western Europe._ T. H. Robinson. - - ITALY. - _Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire._ S. Dill. - _Social Life in Rome, &c._ Warde-Fowler. - _Italy and her Invaders._ T. Hodgkin. - _Life and Times of Hildebrand._ A. E. Mathew. - _Innocent the Great._ G. H. Pirie-Gordon. - _History of Rome in the Middle Ages._ Gregorovius. - _From Francis to Dante._ Coulton. - _Dante and his Time._ C. Federn. - _François d’Assise._ P. Sabatier. - _Francis of Assisi._ Little. - _History of the Italian Republics._ Sismondi. - _The Age of the Condottieri._ O. Browning. - _Guelfs and Ghibellines._ O. Browning. - _Studies in Venetian History_ (vol. i). H. Brown. - _The Painters of Florence._ J. Cartwright. - _The Prince._ Machiavelli. - _History of Florence._ Machiavelli. - - FRANCE AND SPAIN. - _Histoire de France_ (vol. i). Duruy. - _The Court of a Saint._ W. Knox. - _Chronicle._ Joinville. - _Histoire de la Jacquerie._ S. Luce. - _The Maid of France._ A. Lang. - _Mémoires._ Philippe de Commines. - _Chronicles._ Froissart. - _La France sous Philippe le Bel._ Boutaric. - _History of Charles the Bold._ Kirk. - _Histoire de France._ Michelet. - _The Spanish People._ Martin Hume. - _The Rise of the Spanish Empire._ R. Bigelow Merriman. - _Ferdinand and Isabella._ Prescott. - _Christians and Moors in Spain._ C. Yonge. - - GERMANY. - _The Mediaeval Empire._ H. A. L. Fisher. - _Holy Roman Empire._ Bryce. - _Germany in the Early and Later Middle Ages_ (two vols.). Stubbs. - _The Life of Frederick II, &c._ Kington. - - - - -Chronological Summary, 476-1494 - - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Eastern Europe and Asia Minor._ | _France and Spain._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - 475-491 Emperor Zeno. | - | - |481-511 Clovis, King of the Franks. - | 486 Battle of Soissons. - | - 491-518 Emperor Anastasius. | - 518-527 Emperor Justin I. | - 527-565 Emperor Justinian. | - 565-578 Emperor Justin II. | - | - | 585 Visigothic Conquest of - | Spain complete. - | - 610-641 Emperor Heraclius. | - 622 The ‘Hijrah’. | - 626 Siege of Constantinople | - by Chosroes. | - 627 Battle of Nineveh. | - 634 Battle of Yermuk. | - |628-638 Dagobert I. - 637 Jerusalem taken by the | - Moslems. | - 642-668 Emperor Constans II. | - 668-685 Emperor Constantine IV | - (Pogonatus). | - 685-695}Justinian II. | - 705-711} | - | 712 Battle of Guadalete. - 715-717 Theodosius III. |714-741 Charles Martel, ‘Mayor of - 717-740 Leo ‘the Isaurian’. | the Palace’. - | 732 Battle of Poitiers. - | - | 751 Dethronement of the - | Merovingians. - 786-809 Haroun al-Raschid, |768-814 Charlemagne, King of the - Caliph of Bagdad. | Franks. - 780-797 Emperor Constantine VI. | - 797-802 Empress Irene. | - |814-840 Louis I ‘the Pious’. - | 842 Oath of Strasbourg. - | 843 Treaty of Verdun. - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Italy._ | _Central and Northern Europe._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - 476 Romulus Augustulus | - deposed, Odoacer | - becomes ‘Patrician’. | - 489 Invasion of Italy by the | 480 Landing of the Angles in - Ostrogoths. | Britain. - 493-526 Theoderic, King of | - Italy. | - 556 Conquest of Italy by | - Justinian. | - 568 Conquest of North Italy | 563 St. Columba’s Mission to - by the Lombards. | Scotland. - | 577 Victory of West Saxons at - | Dyrham. - | - 590-604 Pope Gregory ‘the | 597 Mission of St. Augustine to - Great’. | England. - | - | - | - | - 741-752 Pope Zacharias. | 743 Boniface becomes Archbishop - | of Mainz. - 753 End of Exarchate of | - Ravenna. | - 752-757 Pope Stephen II. | - 772-795 Pope Adrian I. | - 795-816 Pope Leo III. | - 800 Charlemagne crowned in | - Rome. | - | - |837-878 Struggle between West - | Saxons and Danes. - |843-876 Louis ‘the German’. - 858-867 Pope Nicholas I. | - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Eastern Europe and Asia Minor._ | _France and Spain._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - 873-867 Rupture between |880-888 Charles ‘the Fat’, - Churches of East and | Emperor of the West. - West. | - 867-886 Emperor Basil I. | 885 Siege of Paris by the - | Northmen. - | 909 Foundation of Cluni. - |898-929 Charles ‘the Simple’. - |987-996 Hugh Capet, King of - | France. - | - | - | 1031 Break up of Caliphate of - | Cordova. - 1039 ‘Seljuk’ Turks conquer | - Caliphate of Bagdad. | - | - | - 1081-1118 Emperor Alexius | - Commenus I. | - 1096-1099 The First Crusade. | - 1099 Capture of Jerusalem | - by Crusaders. | - 1118 Order of Templars | - founded. | - | 1138 St. Bernard attacks - | Abelard. - 1146-1149 Second Crusade. | 1153 Death of St. Bernard. - 1187 Saladin takes |1180-1223 Philip II ‘Augustus’ of - Jerusalem. | France. - 1189-1192 Third Crusade. | - | - 1202 Fourth Crusade. | - 1204-1261 Latin Empire of | 1204 Philip II conquers - Constantinople. | Normandy. - 1204-1260 Empire of Nicea. | 1209 Albigensian Crusade. - | 1212 The Children’s Crusade. - | 1312 Battle of Las Navas de - | Tolosa. - | 1214 Battle of Bouvines. - | - | - 1228-1229 Crusade of |1226-1270 Louis IX of France (St. - Frederick II. | Louis). - | - 1248-1256 Seventh Crusade. St. | 1230 Union of Leon and Castile. - Louis invades Egypt | - and Palestine. | - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Italy._ | _Central and Northern Europe._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - | 871-901 Alfred ‘the Great’, King - | of Wessex. - | 878 Peace of Wedmore. - | 911-918 Emperor Conrad I. - | 919-936 Emperor Henry I ‘the - | Fowler’. - | 936-973 Emperor Otto I. - 962 Otto I crowned Emperor | 955 Battle of Augsburg. - of Rome. | 973-983 Emperor Otto II. - | 979-1016 Ethelred II ‘the - | Rede-less’. - | 983-1002 Emperor Otto III. - |1003-1024 Emperor Henry II. - 1046 Synod of Sutri. |1017-1035 Cnut—King of England. - 1060-1091 Norman Conquest of |1024-1039 Emperor Conrad II. - Sicily. | - 1073-1085 Pope Gregory VII |1039-1056 Emperor Henry III. - (Hildebrand). |1056-1106 Emperor Henry IV. - 1077 Humiliation of Henry | 1066 Norman Conquest of - IV at Canossa. | England. - 1088-1099 Pope Urban II. | - |1106-1125 Emperor Henry V. - | - | - | 1122 Concordat of Worms. - |1137-1152 Emperor Conrad III. - | - 1176 Battle of Legnano. |1153-1190 Emperor Frederick I— - 1183 Peace of Constance. | ‘Barbarossa’. - | 1170 Murder of Thomas Becket. - | - 1198-1216 Pope Innocent III. |1190-1197 Emperor Henry VI. - | - | - 1210 Innocent III; | - excommunication | - of Otto IV. | - 1216-1227 Pope Honorius III. |1215-1250 Emperor Frederick II. - | 1215 Magna Charta. - 1223 Foundation of the | - Franciscan Order. | - 1225 Treaty of San Germano. | - 1227-1241 Pope Gregory IX. | 1226 Teutonic Order moves to - | Prussia. - | - 1243-1254 Pope Innocent IV. |1256-1273 The ‘Great Interregnum’. - 1282 The Sicilian Vespers. | - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Eastern Europe and Asia Minor._ | _France and Spain._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - 1260-1282 Emperor Michael | - Paleologus. | - 1270 Eighth Crusade. |1285-1314 Philip IV ‘le Bel’ of - St. Louis invades | France. - North Africa. | - 1291 Fall of Acre. |1309-1376 The Babylonish Captivity. - | 1312 Suppression of the - | Templars. - | - | 1337 Outbreak of the Hundred - | Years’ War. - | 1346 Battle of Creci. - | 1347 English capture Calais. - |1347-1348 The Black Death. - | - | 1356 Battle of Poitiers. - | 1358 The Jacquerie. - | 1360 Treaty of Bretigni. - | 1367 Battle of Navarette. - 1370-1382 King Louis ‘the Great’ | - of Hungary and | - Poland. | - | - 1386 Union of Poland and | - Lithuania. | - 1389 Battle of Kossovo. | - | - | - | 1415 Battle of Agincourt. - | - | 1419 Murder of John ‘the - | Fearless’. - | 1420 Treaty of Troyes. - | - | 1430 Death of Jeanne d’Arc. - | 1440 The Praguerie. - | - 1448-1453 Emperor Constantine XI.| - 1453 Fall of Constantinople.| 1453 End of the Hundred Years’ - | War. - |1461-1483 Louis XI of France. - |1483-1498 Charles VIII. - | - | 1492 Columbus discovers - | America. - | 1498 Vasco da Gama discovers - | Cape route to India. - - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - _Italy._ | _Central and Northern Europe._ - ---------------------------------+------------------------------------ - | - 1294 Celestine V. | - 1294-1303 Boniface VIII. |1273-1291 Emperor Rudolf I. - |1298-1308 Emperor Albert I. - | 1309 Independence of Swiss - | Forest Cantons - | recognized. - | 1314 Battle of Bannockburn. - | 1315 Battle of Morgarten. - | 1340 Battle of Sluys. - | - 1347-1354 Rienzi founds the |1347-1378 Emperor Charles IV. - Holy Roman | - Republic. | - | 1356 The Golden Bull. - | - 1377 Pope Gregory XI | 1370 Treaty of Stralsund. - returns to Rome | - from Avignon. | - 1378-1417 The Great Schism. | - 1380 Battle of Chioggia. | 1380 Wycliffe translates the - 1395 Gian Galeazzo | Bible. - Visconti becomes | 1397 The Union of Kalmar. - Duke of Milan. | - |1410-1437 Emperor Sigismund. - | 1410 Battle of Tannenburg. - |1414-1418 Council of Constance. - | 1415 Death of John Huss. - 1417 Election of Pope | - Martin V. End of | - the Schism. | - | - | - | 1431 Council of Basel. - | 1436 John Gutenburg invents the - | Printing Press. - |1438-1439 Emperor Albert II. - |1440-1493 Emperor Frederick III. - | - |1455-1485 The Wars of the Roses. - | - 1469-1492 Lorenzo de Medici | 1476 Battles of Granson and - rules Florence. | Morat. - | 1477 Battle of Nanci. - 1494 Charles VIII invades | - Italy. | - - - - -MEDIAEVAL GENEALOGIES - - -[Illustration: - - 1 The King of England from the Conquest until Henry VII - 2 The House of Charlemagne - 3 The House of Capet - 4 The House of Valois - 5 The Norman Rulers of Sicily - 6 The First & Second House of Anjou in Naples - 7 The House of Aragon in Spain & Naples - 8 The House of Castile & Leon - 9 The Guelfs & Ghibellines - 10 The Dukes of Burgundy & House of Habsburg - 11 The House of Luxemburg - 12 The Paleologi -] - - -[Illustration: 1. THE ENGLISH KINGS FROM THE CONQUEST UNTIL HENRY VII - - WILLIAM I - 1066-1087 - | - +----------------+----+-------+-------------------+ - | | | | - ROBERT WILLIAM II HENRY I ADELA = STEPHEN - Duke of Normandy 1087-1100 1110-1133 | Earl of - | | Blois - +---------------+ | - | | | - WILLIAM MATILDA = GEOFFREY STEPHEN - d.1120 | Count of Anjou 1135-1154 - | - HENRY II - 1154-1189 - | - +-----------+-------------------+---------+--+---------+ - | | | | | - HENRY MATILDA = HENRY RICHARD I JOHN ELEANOR = ALFONSO IX - d.1182 the Lion 1189-1199 1199-1216 of Castile - of Saxony | - HENRY III - 1216-1272 - | - +------------------------------------------+------------------+ - | | - EDWARD I = ELEANOR EDMUND - 1272-1307 | of Castile Earl of Lancaster - | | - EDWARD II = ISABEL HENRY - 1307-1327 | of France Earl of Lancaster - | | - EDWARD III = PHILIPPA HENRY - 1327-1377 | of Hainault Duke of Lancaster - | | - +----------+------------+ +-----------+ - | | | | - EDWARD EDMUND JOHN = BLANCHE - the “Black Duke of of | Heiress of Lancaster - Prince” York Gaunt| - d.1376 (4th.son) (3rd.son)| - | | +-------+ - | | | | - RICHARD II RICHARD HENRY IV PHILIPPA = JOHN I - 1377-1399 Earl of 1399-1413 |of - Cambridge | |Portugal - | | | - | | PRINCE HENRY - | | the Navigator - | | - +---------+ +--------------+----+---------+ - | | | | - RICHARD HENRY V = CATHERINE JOHN HUMPHREY - Duke of York 1413-1422| of Duke of Duke of - | | France Bedford Gloucester - +---------+--+ | d.1433 d.1447 - | | | - EDWARD IV RICHARD III HENRY VI - 1431-1483 1483-1485 1422-1461 - (d. 1471) - | - +------+---+-------------+ - | | | - EDWARD V RICHARD ELIZABETH = HENRY VII - Murdered Duke of York 1485-1509 - 1483 Murdered 1483 -] - - -[Illustration: 2. THE HOUSE OF CHARLEMAGNE - - CHARLES MARTEL - Duke of Austrasia. Mayor of the Palace - | - PEPIN “the Short” - King of the Franks 751-768 - | - +-------------------+--------------+ - | | - CHARLEMAGNE CARLOMAN - King of the Franks 771 King of Austrasia - Emperor of the West 800-814 768-771 - | - +---------+-----------------------------+ - | | | - CHARLES PEPIN LOUIS the Pious - d.811 Kg. of Italy d.810 Emperor of the West 814-840 - | | - | | - BERNARD | - King of Italy 810-818 | - | - +-----------+-----------+---------+-----+ - | | | | - LOTHAR PEPIN LOUIS CHARLES “the Bald” - Emperor of Kg. of Kg. of Kg. of France - the West Aquitaine Germany 843-877 - 840-855 d.838 843-876 | - | | - CHARLES LOUIS II - “the Fat” Kg. of - Emperor of France - the West 877-879 - 881-887 | - | - +------------------+-----------+ - | | | - LOUIS III CARLOMAN CHARLES III - Kg. of France Kg. of France “the Simple” - 879-882 879-884 Kg. of France - 892-929 - | - LOUIS IV - Kg. of France - “d’Outremer” - 936-954 - | - +--------+-----+ - | | - LOTHAIR CHARLES - Kg. of France Duke of - 954-986 Lorraine - | - LOUIS V - Kg. of France - “The Good-for-Nothing” - 986-987 -] - - -[Illustration: 3. THE HOUSE OF CAPET - - ROBERT - the Strong - Duke of the French - | - +-------+----------+ - | | - ODO ROBERT - Count of Paris King of the - King of the West Franks - West Franks | - HUGH the Great - Count of Paris - | - HUGH CAPET - King of France 987-996 - | - ROBERT II - 996-1031 - | - HENRY I - 1031-1060 - | - PHILIP I - 1060-1108 - | - LOUIS VI - 1108-1137 - | - LOUIS VII -- m (1) ELEANOR of Aquitaine = Henry II - 1137-1180 (3) ADELA of Champagne of England - | Count of - PHILIP II “Augustus” Anjou - 1180-1223 - | - LOUIS VIII = BLANCHE of Castile - 1223-1226 | - | - +---+--------------------+ - | | - LOUIS IX CHARLES - (St. Louis) Count of Anjou & Provence - 1226-1270 & King of Sicily - | (See Table VI--First - | House of Anjou in Naples) - PHILIP III “The Rash” - 1270-1285 - | - +-----------------------+ - | | - PHILIP IV “le Bel” CHARLES = MARGARET - 1285-1314 Count of Valois|of Sicily - | | - +----------+-----------+--+---------+ | - | | | | | - LOUIS X PHILIP V CHARLES IV ISABEL = EDWARD II | - 1314-1316 1316-1322 1322-1328 | of England | - | | - EDWARD III | - of England PHILIP VI - of Valois - (See Table IV--The - House of Valois) -] - - -[Illustration: 4. THE HOUSE OF VALOIS - - CHARLES - Count of Valois - | - PHILIP VI - 1328-1350 - | - JOHN “the Good” - 1350-1364 - | - +-----+---------------+------------+----------+ - | | | | | - | | | | ISABEL = GIAN GALEAZZO - | LOUIS PHILIP “the Bold” | | Visconti - | Duke of Duke of Burgundy | | - | Anjou (See Table JEANNE = CHARLES | - | (See Table X—Dukes “the Bad” | - | VI—Second of Burgundy) of Navarre | - | House of | - | Anjou in Naples) | - | | - CHARLES V | - 1364-1380 | - | | - +------------+--------------------------+ | - | | | - CHARLES VI LOUIS = VALENTINA - “The Mad” Duke of Orleans| Visconti - 1380-1422 murdered 1407| - | | - +-------------+-----+ | - | | | - CHARLES VII CATHERINE = HENRY V CHARLES - 1422-1461 | of England Duke of Orleans - | | | - LOUIS XI HENRY VI | - 1461-1483 of England | - | | - CHARLES VIII LOUIS XII - 1483-1498 1498-1515 -] - - -[Illustration: 5. THE NORMAN RULERS OF SICILY - - TANCRED DE HAUTEVILLE - | - +-------------+---+--------+ - | | | - WILLIAM DE ROBERT GUISCARD ROBERT I - HAUTEVILLE Duke of Apulia Count of Sicily - 1060-1085 | - | - ROGER II - King of Sicily & Naples - d.1154 - | - +--------------+---------+--+ - | | | - ROGER WILLIAM CONSTANCE = EMPEROR HENRY VI - Duke of Apulia “the Bad” | - | | | - TANCRED WILLIAM | - “the Good” | - d.1189 EMPEROR FREDERICK II -] - - -[Illustration: 6. THE FIRST HOUSE OF ANJOU IN NAPLES - - LOUIS VIII of France - 1223-1226 - | - CHARLES - Count of Anjou & Provence - & King of Sicily and Naples (d.1285) - | - CHARLES II - d. 1309 - | - +---------------+--+------------+-----------+ - | | | | - CHARLES MARTEL ROBERT JOHN MARGARET = CHARLES - | King of of Durazzo of Valois - | Naples | [See Table IV for - | | | House of - | | | Valois & also - CAROBERT CHARLES | The Second House of - of Hungary of Calabria | Anjou in Naples] - | | | - +-----+---+ +----+---------+ +----------+ - | | | | | | - LOUIS ANDREW = JOANNA I MARIA = CHARLES LOUIS - the d.1382 | d.1348 | - Great King | | - of Hungary | | - | | | - +------------+ | | - | | | | - SIGISMUND = MARIA HEDWIG = JAGELLO MARGARET = CHARLES III - of Luxembourg of | of Durazzo - Lithuania | - (King Ladislas +---+--------+ - V of Poland) | | - LADISLAS JOANNA II - d.1414 d.1433 - - -THE SECOND HOUSE OF ANJOU IN NAPLES - - CHARLES = MARGARET - Count of | of Sicily - Valois | - | - PHILIP VI - 1328-1350 - | - JOHN “the Good” - 1350-1364 - | - +-------------------+ - | | - CHARLES V LOUIS Duke of Anjou - 1364-1380 d. 1385 - | - LOUIS II - d. 1417 - | - +---------------+-------------------++--------+ - | | | | - LOUIS III RÉNÉ LE BON* CHARLES MARY = CHARLES VII - d. 1434 d.1480 Duke of | of France - | Maine | - | | | - YOLANDE = FREDERICK CHARLES LOUIS XI - | of d.1481 | - | Vaudemont | - | | - Réné I Duke of Lorraine CHARLES VIII - - * Réné le Bon disinherited his grandson Réné Duke of Lorraine - and left his claims to Naples to his nephew Charles—with - remainder to the French Crown. In this way Charles VIII was - enabled to claim the Neapolitan throne. -] - - -[Illustration: 7. THE HOUSE OF ARAGON IN SPAIN & NAPLES - - ALFONSO II - of Aragon - 1162-1196 - | - PEDRO II EMPEROR FREDERICK II - 1196-1213 King of Naples - | | - JAMES I MANFRED - “the Conqueror” (illegitimate) - 1213-1276 | - | | - PEDRO III = CONSTANCE - King of Aragon 1276-1285 - King of Sicily 1282-1285 - | - +---------------------+ - | | - ALFONSO III JAMES II - 1283-1291 1291-1327 - | - ALFONSO IV - 1327-1336 - | - PEDRO IV - 1336-1387 - | - +---------------+-----------------+ - | | | - JOHN I = ELEANOR JOHN I MARTIN I - of Castile 1387-1395 1395-1410 - | - +---------------------------+ - | | - HENRY III FERDINAND I - of Castile (chosen King of Aragon) - 1412-1416 - | - +-------------------------+-----+ - | | - ALFONSO V JOHN II - of Aragon 1416-1458 of Aragon - of Naples 1435-1458 1458-1479 - | | - FERRANTE I FERDINAND = ISABEL - King of Naples the Catholic of Castile - (illegitimate) - d. 1494 - | - +----+-----------+ - | | - ALFONSO II FADRIQUE - d. 1495 (deposed 1501) - | - FERDINAND II - d. 1296 -] - - -[Illustration: 8. THE HOUSE OF CASTILE & LEON - - SANCHO III - of Castile - | - +---------------+--------------+ - | | - ALFONSO VIII “the Good” FERDINAND II - 1158-1214 of Leon - | 1157-1188 - +------------------+ | - | | | - LOUIS VIII = BLANCHE BERENGARIA = ALFONSO IX - of France | | 1188-1290 - | | - St LOUIS FERDINAND III - King of Castile 1217-1252 - King of Castile & Leon 1230-1252 - | - +------------------------------+-----+ - | | - ALFONSO X “the Learned” ELEANOR = EDWARD I - 1252-1284 of England - | - SANCHO IV - 1284-1295 - | - FERDINAND IV - 1295-1312 - | - ALFONSO XI - 1312-1350 - | - +----+----------------------------+ - | | - HENRY II PEDRO - (of Trastamara) “the Cruel” - 1369-1379 1350-1369 - | | - JOHN I = ELEANOR CONSTANCE = JOHN of Gaunt - 1379-1390 | of Aragon - | - +-----+---------------------------+ - HENRY III FERDINAND I - 1390-1406 (elected King of Aragon) - | 1412-1416 - | | - | +------------+ - | | | - JOHN II JOHN II ALFONSO V - 1406-1454 of Aragon of Aragon & Naples - | | - +-----------------------+ | - | | | - HENRY IV ISABEL = FERDINAND - 1454-1474 of Castile of Aragon - 1474-1504 1479-1516 -] - - -[Illustration: 9. THE GUELFS & GHIBELLINES - - EMPEROR HENRY III - (Salian Line) - | - WELF IV HENRY IV - | Emperor 1056-1106 - | | - +-----------+-----+ +----+--------+ - | | | | - WELF V HENRY HENRY V AGNES = FREDERICK - “the Black” Emperor 1106-1125 | of Hohenstaufen - | | - +--------------+--+ +-------------------+-----+ - | | | | - HENRY JUDITH = FREDERICK CONRAD III - “the Proud” | of Suabia Emperor 1138-1152 - | | - HENRY = MATILDA FREDERICK I - “the Lion” | of England “Barbarossa” - of Saxony | Emperor 1152-1190 - | | - | +--------------------------------+ - | | | - OTTO IV HENRY VI = CONSTANCE PHILIP - Emperor 1198-1218 Emperor | Heiress of Sicily of Suabia - 1190-1197 | & Naples Emperor 1198-1208 - | - FREDERICK II - Emperor 1215-1250 - | - +---------------------+--+--------------+ - | | | - HENRY CONRAD IV MANFRED - King of the Romans 1250-1254 | - | | - CONRADIN d. 1268 CONSTANCE = PETER III - of Aragon -] - - -[Illustration: 10. THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY & HOUSE OF HABSBURG - - __HOUSE OF HABSBURG__ - - JOHN “the Good” RUDOLF I Emperor 1273-1291 - King of France 1350-1364 | - | | - PHILIP “the Bold” = MARGARET ALBERT I - Duke of Burgundy Heiress of 1298-1308 - d. 1404 Duchy of Brabant | - | - | +----------------+-----+-----+ - | | | | - JOHN “the Fearless” RUDOLF LEOPOLD ALBERT - murdered 1419 King of Bohemia d. 1326 d. 1358 - | d. 1307 | - +--------------+ | - | | | - JOHN = ANNE PHILIP “the Good” LEOPOLD d. 1386 - Duke of d. 1467 | - Bedford | ERNEST d. 1424 - | | - | +---------------+ - | | - CHARLES “the Rash” FREDERICK III - d. 1477 King of the Romans - | 1440-1493 - | | - MARY = The Emperor MAXIMILIAN I - Heiress of Burgundy 1493-1519 -] - - -[Illustration: 11. THE HOUSE OF LUXEMBURG - - The Emperor HENRY VI CAROBERT - 1308-1313 King of Hungary - | | - JOHN | - King of Bohemia +-------+----+ - | | | - The Emperor CHARLES IV LOUIS ANDREW = Joanna I - 1347-1378 “the Great” of Naples - | | - +--------+--------------+ +-------+ - | | | | - WENZEL SIGISMUND = MARY HEDWIG = JAGELLO - King of Bohemia 1378-1419 King of Hungary of Lithuania - Emperor 1378-1400 Emperor 1410-1437 (LADISLAS V - of Poland - 1386-1433) -] - - -[Illustration: 12. THE PALEOLOGI - - MICHAEL VIII - 1260-1282 - | - ANDRONICUS II - 1282- - dethroned 1326, died 1332 - | - MICHAEL IX - (Joint Emperor with his father) - died 1320 - | - JOHN CANTACUZENOS ANDRONICUS III - 1347-1354 1328-1341 - | | - HELENA = JOHN V - 1341-1391 - | - MANÚEL II - 1391-1425 - | - +------------------+------------------+ - | | - JOHN VI CONSTANTINE XI - 1423-1448 1448-1453 -] - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] See p. 41. - -[2] See p. 43. - -[3] See p. 62. - -[4] See p. 48. - -[5] See Genealogy, p. 377. - -[6] See p. 85. - -[7] See p. 16. - -[8] See p. 95. - -[9] See p. 103. - -[10] See p. 120. - -[11] See p. 115. - -[12] See p. 77. - -[13] See p. 45. - -[14] See p. 143. - -[15] See p. 131. - -[16] See p. 122. - -[17] See p. 152. - -[18] See p. 154. - -[19] See p. 169. - -[20] See p. 115. - -[21] See p. 49. - -[22] See p. 164. - -[23] See p. 199. - -[24] See p. 194. - -[25] See p. 195. - -[26] See Genealogical Table, p. 378. - -[27] See p. 55. - -[28] The province of Dauphiné, formerly an imperial fief, was acquired -by the French crown in 1349, and became a regular ‘appanage’ of the -King’s eldest son, conferring on him the title of ‘Dauphin’, equivalent -to the English title ‘Prince of Wales’. - -[29] See p. 223. - -[30] See p. 53. - -[31] See p. 62. - -[32] See p. 215. - -[33] See p. 195. - -[34] See p. 229. - -[35] See p. 229. - -[36] See p. 247. - -[37] See p. 342. - -[38] See p. 229. - -[39] See p. 252. - -[40] See p. 151. - -[41] See p. 179. - -[42] See Genealogical Table, p. 379. - -[43] See p. 184. - -[44] See p. 230. - -[45] See p. 294. - -[46] See p. 232. - -[47] See p. 294, and genealogy, p. 380. - -[48] See p. 184. - -[49] See p. 229. - -[50] See p. 274. - -[51] See p. 207. - -[52] See Genealogical Table, p. 382. - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Aachen, 93, 99, 102, 188. - - Abelard, Peter, 208, 209, 211, 347, 349, 354. - - Abu Bakr, 68, 74. - - Abu Talib, 67, 69, 70. - - Adrianople, 38, 332. - - Agincourt, 250. - - Alaric, 40, 41, 45. - - Albert I, 278, 279. - - Albigenses, the, 213, 214, 216, 217, 266. - - Alboin, 51. - - Alcuin, 82, 97, 99. - - Aldine Press, 350. - - Alessandria, 179. - - Alexander II, Pope, 137. - - Alexander III, Pope, 179. - - Alexander VI, Pope, 361. - - Alexius Commenus, 143 et seq. - - Alfonso V of Aragon, 315, 361. - - Alfonso VIII of Castile, 265, 266. - - Alfonso X of Castile, 267, 271. - - Alfred the Great, 105, 106, 107, 131. - - Almohades, the, 265, 266. - - Alsace, 276, 281, 282. - - Ambrose, St., 33, 42. - - Amerigo Vespucci, 345. - - Anagni, 231. - - Andrew of Hungary, 293, 313. - - Andronicus II, 330. - - _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, 105, 113. - - Anjou, Charles of, 229, 230, 312. - - --, second House of, 314, 361. - - Anno, Archbishop, 138. - - Anselm, Archbishop, 142. - - Antioch, 149. - - Aquinas, Thomas, 209, 355. - - Arcadius, the Emperor, 39. - - Aristotle, 208, 210, 261, 355. - - Arius, 30, 31. - - Armagnac, 250, 251. - - Arnold of Brescia, 211, 212, 326, 347. - - Artevelde, Jacob van, 237, 239. - - Assize of Clarendon, 163. - - Athanaric, 39, 143. - - Athaulf, 54. - - Athelney, 106. - - Athens, Duchy of, 329, 330. - - Attila, 44, 45, 145. - - Augustine, St., of Canterbury, 52. - - Augustine, St., of Hippo, 42, 43, 97, 197, 208, 210, 349, 355. - - Augustulus, the Emperor, 46, 363. - - Augustus, the Emperor, 2, 4, 6, 9, 20, 98. - - Averroës, 261. - - Avignon, 232, 316, 317, 318, 321, 322, 323, 356. - - - B - - Babylonish Captivity, 232, 316, 322. - - Bacon, Roger, 207, 349. - - Badr, battle of, 71. - - Bagdad, 87, 146, 151. - - Balearic Islands, 268. - - Barcelona, 266, 268, 337. - - Basil, St., 32. - - Bavaria, Duchy of, 89, 91, 133. - - Becket, Thomas, 160, 163-5, 202, 215. - - Bedford, John, Duke of, 253, 257. - - Belisarius, 50. - - Benedict, St., 125. - - Benedict IX, Pope, 135. - - Benedictines, the, 126, 222. - - Berengaria of Navarre, 156. - - Bernard, King of Italy, 101. - - Bernard, St., 126, 128, 129, 152, 153, 154, 209, 212, 214, 219, 347. - - Black Death, the, 240, 241, 242. - - Blanche of Castile, 217, 223. - - Boccaccio, 241, 356. - - Boethius, 48, 107. - - Bohemia, 277, 317. - - Bohemund, 145, 149. - - Bologna, University of, 178, 201, 208. - - Boniface, St., 88, 89, 98. - - Boniface VIII, Pope, 230, 231, 311. - - Bouvines, battle of, 169, 187. - - Brandenburg, 131, 151. - - Breisgau, 281. - - Bretigni, Treaty of, 246. - - Burgos, 264. - - Burgundians, the, 55, 59. - - Burgundy, Charles, Duke of, 280 et seq. - - Burgundy, John, Duke of, 250, 252. - - --, Philip, Duke of, 252, 256, 257. - - - C - - Calais, 240, 248, 249, 257. - - Canon Law, 202. - - Canossa, 140, 141, 176, 183. - - Cantacuzenos, John, 331. - - Cape of Good Hope, 341. - - Capet, Hugh, 109. - - Capet, Odo, 109. - - _Capitularies_, the, 96. - - Carinthia, 277. - - Carniola, 277. - - Carthage, 45, 77, 228. - - Carthusians, the, 127, 128. - - Castile, 269, 270. - - Catalan Company, the, 330. - - Catherine, St., of Siena, 320 et seq. - - Catherine of Valois, 251. - - Caxton, William, 350. - - Celestine V, Pope, 310. - - Chalons, battle of, 44, 54. - - _Chambre des Comptes_, 233. - - _Chanson de Roland_, 80, 81, 82. - - Charlemagne, 78 et seq., 101, 104, 107, 109, 142, 170, 200, 291, 349, - 353. - - Charles ‘Martel’, 62, 78, 88, 98. - - Charles ‘the Bald’, 102, 103, 109. - - Charles ‘the Fat’, 103. - - Charles ‘the Simple’, 110. - - Charles V of France, 245, 247, 248, 249. - - Charles VI of France, 250. - - Charles VII of France, 251, 252, 254, 256, 257, 258. - - Charles VIII of France, 361, 362, 363. - - Charles of Durazzo, 314. - - Charles IV, the Emperor, 289, 293, 294 et seq., 324, 333, 346. - - Chioggia, battle of, 306. - - Chloderic, 58. - - Chosroes, King, 73, 74. - - Cid, the, 263 et seq. - - Cimabue, 357. - - Cistercians, the, 128, 215. - - _Civitas Dei_, the, 43, 97, 222, 311. - - Civitate, battle of, 115. - - Clement V, Pope, 232. - - Clement VII, Pope, 323. - - _Clericis Laicos_, the Bull, 230. - - Clermont, Council of, 147, 148. - - Clovis, 57 et seq. - - Cluni, 127, 133, 135. - - Cnut, King, 108, 287. - - Colonna, Stephen, 318. - - Columbus, Christopher, 342 et seq., 349, 358, 360. - - _Comitatus_, the, 16, 119. - - Commines, Philip de, 280, 351, 362. - - Commune, the French, 173, 284. - - --, the Italian, 176, 177, 178, 180, 284. - - Compostella, 265. - - _Condottieri_, the, 301. - - Conrad I, 131. - - Conrad III, 152. - - Conrad (son of Frederick II), 192. - - Conradin, 194, 229, 269, 312. - - _Conseil du Roi_, 233. - - _Consolations of Philosophy_, the, 48, 107. - - Constance of Naples, 181, 182, 183. - - Constance, Perpetual Peace of, 180. - - --, Council of, 324, 325, 326. - - Constans II, Emperor, 75. - - Constantine ‘the Great’, 27 et seq., 34 et seq. - - Constantine ‘Pogonatus’, 75. - - Constantine XI, 334 et seq. - - Constantinople, 34 et seq., 40, 49, 74, 86, 87, 143, 306, 327, 328, - 329, 335, 336, 338, 363. - - --, Latin Empire of, 184, 329. - - Constitutions of Clarendon, 164. - - Cordova, Caliphate of, 260 et seq. - - _Corpus Juris Civilis_, the, 49. - - Cortenuova, battle of, 193. - - Council of Ten, 304. - - Courtrai, battle of, 234. - - Creci, battle of, 239, 240. - - Crema, 178, 179. - - Crusade, the First, 147-50. - - --, the Second, 129, 152, 158. - - --, the Third, 154-8. - - --, the Fourth, 184, 306. - - --, the Seventh, 226-7. - - --, the Children’s, 226. - - _Curia_, the, 13, 14. - - _Curia Regis_, the, 162. - - _Curiales_, the, 13, 14, 19, 117. - - Cyprus, 156, 226. - - - D - - Dagobert, King, 60. - - Danegeld, 108. - - Danelaw, the, 106. - - Dante, 294, 309 et seq., 356. - - Danzig, 285, 292. - - _Decameron_, the, 241. - - _Decretum_, the, 202, 209. - - Denmark, 108, 287. - - Diaz, Bartholomew, 340. - - Didier, King, 82-4. - - _Divina Commedia_, 199, 311, 356. - - Domesday Book, 113. - - Dominic, St., 215, 216, 219. - - Donation of Constantine, 85. - - Du Guesclin, 247, 272. - - Duns Scotus, 355. - - - E - - Eccelin de Romano, 192. - - Edessa, 150, 152. - - Edward ‘the Confessor’, 111. - - Edward ‘the Elder’, 106. - - Edward I, 228, 230, 234, 235, 247. - - Edward II, 236. - - Edward III, 236, 237, 242, 246, 247, 317. - - Edward ‘the Black Prince’, 242, 247, 248. - - Eginhard, 90, 98. - - Eleanor of Aquitaine, 152, 159, 166. - - Epicurus, 22. - - Erasmus, 351. - - Ethelred, ‘the Rede-less’, 107, 108, 109, 111, 286. - - - F - - Faust, Legend of, 350. - - Ferdinand I of Aragon, 273. - - Ferdinand II of Aragon, 274, 343, 345. - - Ferrante of Naples, 361. - - Feudalism, 117 et seq. - - Flanders, 234, 237, 238, 250, 305, 345. - - Florence, 290, 297, 302, 303, 307, 308 et seq., 348, 352, 360, 361. - - Francis, St., of Assisi, 217 et seq., 357. - - Franks, the, 55 et seq., 83. - - Frederick I, ‘Barbarossa’, 154, 178 et seq., 191, 202, 296. - - Frederick II, 183, 185, 186 et seq., 203, 210, 224, 226, 276, 296, - 308, 315. - - Friars, the, 216, 220, 221. - - Froissart, 239, 243, 244. - - - G - - Genoa, 145, 187, 284, 305, 306, 307, 329, 337, 338. - - Genseric, 43, 45. - - _Germania_, the, 15-17. - - Gessler, 278, 279. - - Ghibellines, the, 176, 178, 179, 193, 194, 206, 229, 294, 296. - - Giotto, 357, 358. - - Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, 253. - - Godfrey de Bouillon, 149, 150. - - Godwin, House of, 111. - - Golden Bull, the, 295. - - Goths, the, 31, 104. - - Granada, 274. - - Grand Council, Venetian, 304. - - Granson, battle of, 282. - - Gratian, 202. - - Greenland, 105. - - Gregory, St., 32. - - Gregory, St., of Tours, 59. - - Gregory I, ‘the Great’, Pope, 52, 53, 107. - - Gregory VII, Pope (Hildebrand), 111, 115, 136 et seq., 147, 177, 183, - 202, 229. - - Gregory IX, Pope, 190, 191, 193, 216. - - Gregory XI, Pope, 321, 322. - - Grosstete, Bishop, 205. - - Guadalete, battle of, 62, 259. - - Guelfs, the, 176, 178, 179, 185, 193, 194, 206, 229, 296, 308. - - Guienne, Duchy of, 225, 235, 236, 242, 246, 248, 258. - - Guiscard, Robert, 116, 141, 145. - - Guthrum, King, 106. - - Gutenburg, John, 363, 350. - - Guy de Lusignan, 153. - - - H - - Hako, King, 206. - - Hansa, the, 285 et seq., 348. - - Harold ‘the Saxon’, 111, 144. - - Haroun al-Raschid, 87, 146. - - Hattin, battle of, 153. - - Hauteville, House of, 115, 116. - - Hawkwood, Sir John, 302, 321, 362. - - Henry II of Castile, 247, 271, 272. - - Henry IV of Castile, 273. - - Henry I of England, 142, 160. - - Henry II of England, 159 et seq., 181, 202, 215, 270. - - Henry III of England, 204, 205, 221, 225. - - Henry IV of England, 249. - - Henry V of England, 249, 250, 251, 252. - - Henry VI of England, 258. - - Henry VII of England, 343. - - Henry ‘the Fowler’, 120, 131, 132. - - Henry III, the Emperor, 135, 137. - - Henry IV, the Emperor, 138 et seq., 176, 177. - - Henry VI, the Emperor, 156, 168, 181, 182, 183, 185, 191. - - Henry VII, the Emperor, 294, 311, 312, 319. - - Henry ‘the Lion’, 178, 179, 181. - - Henry ‘the Navigator’, 339, 340. - - Heraclius, the Emperor, 73, 75. - - Hijrah, the, 69. - - Hildebrand. _See_ Gregory VII. - - Hohenstaufen, the, 176, 177, 183, 185, 188, 191, 192, 194, 269, 312, - 317. - - Holy Roman Empire, the, 134, 185, 194, 285. - - Holy Roman Republic, the, 318, 320. - - Honorius, the Emperor, 39, 40, 41, 54. - - Honorius III, Pope, 189, 190. - - Hospitallers. _See_ John, Knights of St. - - Hundred Years’ War, 236 et seq., 287, 316, 324. - - Hungarians, the, 132. - - Huns, the, 37, 44, 104. - - Huss, John, 324, 325, 326. - - Hussite Wars, the, 326. - - - I - - Iceland, 105. - - Ingeborg, Queen, 170, 171, 184. - - Innocent III, Pope, 168, 170, 171, 183 et seq., 187, 188, 214, 216, - 221, 226, 265, 266, 317, 346. - - Innocent IV, Pope, 193, 204, 205, 224, 317. - - Interregnum, the Great, 229, 271, 284. - - Investiture Question, the, 138 et seq. - - Irene, the Empress, 86. - - _Irminsul_, the, 88, 90. - - Isabel I of Castile, 274, 343, 345. - - Isabel, Queen of England, 236. - - - J - - Jacquerie, the, 244. - - Jagello of Lithuania. _See_ Ladislas V. - - James ‘the Conqueror’, 266-8. - - Janissaries, the, 332, 336. - - Jeanne d’Arc, 253 et seq., 320. - - Jerome, St., 33, 41, 208. - - Jerusalem, 75, 114, 147, 150, 153, 157, 190. - - --, Latin Kingdom of, 151, 153. - - Joanna I of Naples, 293, 313, 314, 333. - - Joanna II of Naples, 315. - - John II of Castile, 273. - - John V, the Emperor, 331, 335. - - John II of France, 243. - - John, King of England, 167, 168, 169, 170. - - John I of Portugal, 339. - - John Ducas, 327. - - John Hunyadi, 336. - - John, Knights of St., 150, 153, 232, 265. - - John of Gaunt, 248, 249, 339. - - Joinville, 226. - - Julian, Count, 77. - - Justinian I, 49 et seq., 178. - - Justinian II, 76. - - - K - - Ka’bah, the, 66, 67, 72. - - Kalmar, Union of, 290. - - Khubla Khan, 337. - - Koran, the, 68. - - Kossovo, battle of, 333, 334. - - - L - - Ladislas of Naples, 315. - - Ladislas V of Poland, 292. - - Lateran Council, Fourth, 188. - - Lazar of Serbia, 333. - - Legnano, battle of, 179, 235, 296. - - Leo ‘the Isaurian’, 77, 144. - - Leo I, Pope, 45, 52. - - Leo III, Pope, 85, 86, 97. - - Leo IX, Pope, 115, 135, 136. - - Leonardo da Vinci, 357 et seq. - - Leopold, the Archduke, 156, 167. - - Leopold, Duke, 279, 280. - - _Lex Visigothorum_, the, 78. - - Limoges, 255. - - Lombard League, the, 179, 192, 193, 202. - - Lombards, the, 50 et seq., 75, 82, 85. - - Lothair, Count, 133. - - Lothar, Emperor, 102, 103. - - Lotharingia, 103, 133. - - Louis ‘the German’, 103. - - Louis ‘the Good for Nothing’, 109. - - Louis ‘the Pious’, 101. - - Louis III of Anjou, 315. - - Louis VII of France, 152, 159, 165, 166. - - Louis VIII of France, 217, 223, 250. - - Louis IX of France, 172, 217, 223 et seq., 233, 312. - - Louis XI of France, 258, 274, 281, 302, 361. - - Louis XII of France, 300. - - Louis ‘the Great’ (of Hungary,) 291, 293 et seq., 313, 314, 324, 332, - 333. - - Lübeck, 285, 286, 293. - - Ludovico ‘Il Moro’, 351, 359, 360 et seq. - - Luna, Alvaro de, 273. - - - M - - Machiavelli, 308, 354, 362. - - Madeira, 340. - - Magna Charta, 158, 168. - - _Magnum Concilium_, 162. - - Mahomet, 66 et seq. - - Mainz, 89. - - Mandeville, Sir John, 338. - - Maniaces, 115. - - Marcel, Étienne, 245. - - Margaret of Denmark, 290. - - Martin V, Pope, 326. - - Matthew Paris, 205. - - Maxentius, Emperor, 27. - - Mayfield, the, 83. - - Mayor of the Palace, the, 56, 61. - - Mecca, 67. - - Medici, Cosimo de, 352, 353, 354. - - Medici, Lorenzo de, 354, 356, 358, 360. - - Medici, Piero de, 360, 361. - - Medinah, 70. - - Mercia, 106. - - Merovingians, the, 55, 60, 62, 64, 95, 103, 109. - - Milan, 297, 298 et seq., 303, 308, 315, 351, 352. - - --, Edict of, 29. - - _Minnesingers_, the, 200. - - _Missi_, the, 95, 96, 97, 107, 121. - - Mohammed II, 334, 336, 338. - - Monasticism, 31, 123 et seq., 348. - - Montereau, bridge of, 251. - - Morat, battle of, 283. - - Morgarten, battle of, 280. - - Morkere, House of, 111. - - Murcia, 267, 268. - - - N - - Narses, 50, 51. - - Nanci, battle of, 283. - - Naples, 297, 303, 312 et seq., 352, 357, 361. - - Navarette, battle of, 247. - - Navarre, 266. - - Navarre, ‘Charles the Bad’ of, 245. - - Navas de Tolosa, battle of, 265. - - Nero, Emperor, 9, 25. - - Nicholas I, Pope, 144. - - Nicholas II, Pope, 115, 136. - - Nicholas V, Pope, 352. - - Nineveh, battle of, 74. - - Nogaret, 231. - - Normandy, Duchy of, 108, 110, 169. - - Northmen, the, 104 et seq., 109, 114. - - Norway, 108. - - - O - - Odo of Bayeux, 113, 149. - - Odoacer, 46, 47. - - Orkhan, Sultan, 331, 332. - - Orleans, 256. - - Ostrogoths, the, 46, 47. - - Othman, Caliph, 75. - - Otto I, the Great, 132 et seq., 142. - - Otto IV, 169, 185, 186, 187, 188, 193. - - Ottocar of Bohemia, 277, 278. - - - P - - Paleologus, Michael, 306, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331. - - Paris, 174, 201, 208. - - --, University of, 257. - - _Parlamento_, the, 309. - - _Parlement de Paris_, 233. - - Pavia, 82, 84, 85. - - Pedro ‘the Cruel’, 247, 248, 271, 272. - - Pedro II of Aragon, 266. - - Pedro III of Aragon, 268, 269. - - Pepin ‘the Short’, 63 et seq., 79, 86. - - Perpetual League, the, 277. - - Peter III of Aragon, 230. - - Peter ‘the Hermit’, 147, 154. - - Peter Lombard, 209, 211. - - Petrarch, 356. - - Philip II ‘Augustus’, 154, 156, 165, 168 et seq., 181, 184, 185, 197, - 201, 217, 223, 224. - - Philip III of France, 228. - - Philip IV of France, 228, 230, 232 et seq., 236. - - Philip V of France, 236. - - Philip VI of France, 237, 239. - - Philip II, the Emperor, 185, 186. - - Pisa, 145, 290, 300, 337. - - Pisani, 306. - - Platonic Academy, the, 354, 356. - - Poitiers, 62, 243. - - Poland, 291. - - Polo, Marco, 337, 338. - - Portugal, 266, 339, 343. - - Praetorian Guard, the, 18. - - Praguerie, the, 258. - - Provence, 268, 314, 316, 317. - - - R - - Ravenna, 93, 95, 312. - - Ravenna, Exarchate of, 51, 53, 64, 75, 115, 144. - - Raymond VI, 213, 215. - - Raymond VII, 217. - - Remi, St., 57. - - Renaissance, the, 346 et seq. - - Rhodes, 232. - - Richard I, 154-8, 167. - - Richard II, 238, 249. - - Rienzi, Cola di, 318, 320, 356. - - Robert of Naples, 312, 357. - - Robert of Normandy, 114, 149. - - Roderic, King, 62, 259. - - Roger II, 116. - - Roger de Flor, 330. - - Rollo of Normandy, 110. - - Rome, 41, 46, 290, 303, 316 et seq., 352. - - Roncesvalles, 81. - - Rudolf I, 229, 276, 277, 295. - - - S - - Sacred Months, the, 66, 123. - - Saladin, 153 et seq. - - Salic Law, the, 56, 96, 236. - - Salisbury, Gemot of, 121. - - San Germano, Treaty of, 191. - - _Santa Hermandad_, 274. - - Santiago, Order of, 265. - - Saxons, the, 88 et seq., 130. - - Scala, Mastino della, 307. - - Schism, the Great, 323. - - Scholasticism, 209, 355. - - Scutage, 162. - - Senlac, battle of, 112. - - _Sententiae_, the, 209. - - Serbia, 293, 332, 333, 334. - - Sforza, Francesco, 351. - - Sforza, Galeazzo Maria, 351. - - Sforza, Gian Galeazzo, 361. - - Sicilian Vespers, the, 229, 269, 330. - - Siena, 320. - - _Siete Partidas_, the, 271. - - Sigismund, the Emperor, 294, 324 et seq. - - Sigismund of the Tyrol, 281. - - Simon de Montfort, 215, 266. - - ‘Sluggard Kings’, the, 60. - - Sluys, battle of, 238. - - Spoletum, Duchy of, 83. - - Stamford Bridge, battle of, 111. - - ‘Staple’ Towns, 237. - - States-General, 233. - - Stephen II, Pope, 64. - - Stephen Dushan, 332. - - Stephen of England, 122, 160. - - Stilicho, 39, 40. - - Stralsund, Treaty of, 289. - - Strasbourg, the Oath of, 103, 130. - - Styria, 277. - - _Summa Theologiae_, the, 210. - - Sutri, Synod of, 135. - - Swiss Cantons, the, 277, 279, 282 et seq., 296. - - - T - - Tacitus, 4, 15, 17, 25, 54, 119. - - Tancred of Sicily, 156, 182. - - Tannenberg, battle of, 292. - - Tell, William, 279. - - Templars, the, 151, 153, 190, 232, 265. - - Teutonic Knights, 151, 291 et seq. - - Theodora, the Empress, 49. - - Theodoric, King, 47, 48. - - Theodosius, the Emperor, 33, 39. - - Thorn, Treaty of, 292. - - Titus, the Emperor, 11, 46. - - Toulouse, Counts of, 199, 212. - - Trajan, the Emperor, 25. - - Troubadours, the, 200. - - Troyes, Treaty of, 252. - - Truce of God, 123. - - Tunis, 227. - - Turks, the, 146 et seq., 331 et seq., 338. - - - U - - Urban II, Pope, 145, 147. - - Urban VI, Pope, 322. - - - V - - Valdemar III, 287, 288, 289. - - Valencia, 261, 264. - - Valens, the Emperor, 37, 38. - - Valentian, the Emperor, 37. - - Vandals, the, 43, 50, 77, 104. - - Vasco da Gama, 341, 342, 344, 363. - - Venice, 45, 95, 145, 158, 284, 290, 293, 297, 300, 303 et seq., 329, - 337, 338, 350, 352. - - Verdun, the Partition of, 103. - - Vespasian, the Emperor, 9. - - Visconti, Bernabò, 299. - - Visconti, Filippo Maria, 302, 308, 315, 351. - - Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 299, 300, 302. - - Visconti, Valentina, 300. - - Visigoths, the, 37, 40, 41, 54, 59, 77. - - - W - - Waldensians, the, 213, 214, 219. - - Wedmore, Treaty of, 106. - - Wenzel, Emperor, 324. - - Wessex, 105, 106. - - William I of England, 111, 112 et seq., 121, 137. - - William II of England, 114. - - Wisby, 288. - - Witikind, 90. - - Worms, Concordat of, 142. - - Wycliffe, 317, 324. - - - X - - Ximenez, Rodrigo, 266. - - - Y - - Yermuk, battle of, 75. - - - Z - - Zeno, Emperor, 47. - - Zeno, philosopher, 22. - - - PRINTED IN ENGLAND - AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not -changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained. - -Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. - 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