This colossal figure stands the one supreme historical landmark midway
between Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte. In looking back, he saw
not his equal in history until he beheld Caesar. Nor in looking forward
would he have seen another until just one thousand years later, when
the world seemed to have found another master in Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the amplitude of his intelligence, in the splendor of his
attributes, and in his seven feet of stature, Charlemagne was every
inch a king. He was twenty-nine years old when, by the death of his
father, Pepin, he became monarch, and set about his task, which was, to
develop a great empire--overturning, conquering, despotic, often cruel,
but always with the high purpose of giving to his race a higher
civilization. In twenty-nine years more this task was accomplished,
and a map of the German Empire was a map of Europe. On Christmas day,
in the year 800, in the Cathedral of St. Peter's, at Rome, he received
the imperial crown from Pope Leo III., and was greeted with cries of
"Life and victory to Carolus Magnus, crowned by God Emperor of the
Romans;" and at that moment he stood at the head of an empire which
included all Christendom.
Charlemagne acknowledged the pope who crowned him as his spiritual
sovereign, while, on the other hand, the pope bowed before the emperor
who appointed him, as his temporal sovereign. It was a magnificent,
all-embracing scheme of empire, of which the spiritual head was at
Rome, and the temporal at Aix-la-Chapelle.
It seemed as if by this dual supremacy Charlemagne had provided for all
possible exigencies of human government. He rested content, no doubt
thinking he had embodied a perfect ideal in creating a system which
should thus coordinate and embrace both the spiritual and temporal
needs of an empire. Unfortunately, in order to be realized, it needed
always the wisest of emperors and best of popes. As soon as his
controlling hand was removed unexpected dangers assailed his work.
In less than fifty years from his coronation, his three grandsons had
quarrelled and torn the empire into as many parts, the elder retaining
the imperial title. This event, 841 of our era, marks the beginning of
France and Germany as distinct nationalities; hence it is that both
nations claim Charlemagne, whereas he belongs to the French just as
Queen Elizabeth does to Americans.
In forecasting his plans of empire, it is not probable that danger of
conflict between the spiritual and temporal heads ever occurred to
Charlemagne. But that is precisely what happened. Even this astute,
far-seeing man did not suspect the nature of the power with which he
formed this close alliance. His plan of government made the pope
distinctly the creation of the emperor. His creature, and hence
subordinate. But there was a tremendous principle of growth in that
spiritual centre!
The first five hundred years after Christ the pope had been simply
Bishop of Rome. In the next five hundred years he was nominal head of
the whole Church. As the Church was entering upon its third
five-hundred-year lease, in the year 1073, the fiery monk Hildebrand,
who had now become Pope Gregory VII., determined it should be supreme
in authority over all other powers--a religious empire, existing by
Divine right, independent of the fate of nations or will of kings and
emperors. Henry IV., who was then emperor, indignant at these insolent
pretensions, deposed the pope--this creature of his own appointing, who
would override the authority of the power which had created him!
The pope excommunicated the emperor. Each had done his worst, pope and
emperor; and had Henry stood his ground as he might, for he would have
had ample support from his people, it would have been a gain of
centuries for Europe. But--the ban of excommunication, with its
attendant horrors here, and still worse hereafter--it was more than he
could bear. Affrighted, trembling, penitent, he crossed the Alps in
dead of winter, crept to the castle of Canossa, near Parma, where
Hildebrand had taken refuge; and there this successor to Charlemagne,
this ruler of all Christendom, standing barefoot and clad in sackcloth
shirt, humbly begged admittance. The pope's triumph was complete. So
he let him shiver for three days in cold and rain before he opened the
gates and gave him forgiveness and the kiss of peace.
The Church had never scored so tremendous a victory. She was supreme
over every earthly authority, and the hands on the face of time were
set back for centuries. Let Guelph and Ghibelline (the two political
parties representing the adherents of the pope and the emperor) storm
and struggle as they might, she need never more be afraid of
overstepping any humanly constituted bounds.
And it was to be no empty panoply of power. The strong hand of
priestly authority must have its hold on every human conscience and
will.
She sat and watched complacently as her children drove back the infidel
Saracens, conscious of her own growing strength, and that she was
becoming still stronger as those three tidal waves of religious frenzy
swept over Europe into the Holy Land.
There was no question of supremacy now between temporal and spiritual
heads. All the lines of power--all the threads of human destiny--led
to Rome, and were found at last in the papal hand.
But these were halcyon days. There was a cloud already on the horizon,
the size of a man's hand, and that hand was--Wickliffe's--the hand
which had torn the veil of mystery from the Bible by translating it
into the speech of the common people, the hand which had written words
inciting rebellion against church authority.
The clouds grew larger and darker when printing came, disseminating the
new heresies. The Bible was broadcast in the hands of the people, who
began to manifest a dangerous tendency to think!
The whole enginery of thumbscrew, rack, and stake was set to work.
Tender human flesh shrinks from burning, lacerating, and torture, so
the griefs, longings, and aspirations of thousands of hearts flowed in
streams deep down below the surface, coming to light here and there for
brief moments among the followers of Huss, the Albigenses, the
Waldenses, only to be driven back again into silence and despair.