Charlemagne, as he is usually called (768-814). For nearly half a
century this talented, powerful, and lofty-minded sovereign swayed the
destinies of Europe with unflagging zeal, ever bearing in mind the
responsibilities of his exalted position. He ruled over a vast domain,
stretching from the Ebro in Spain to the Theiss in Hungary, and from
Denmark to the Tiber. Saxons, Sclavonians, Avars, Lombards, and Arabs,
were subject to his rule. His Court was a great intellectual centre,
whence enlightenment spread to every part of his dominions. Charlemagne
was great as a general, as a statesman, as a politician; he was a
painstaking economist, and his humanity, and his other virtues secured
for him the noble title of "Father of Europe." A brilliant figure in a
benighted age, which shed its light on after times. No wonder mediaeval
fancy lingered fondly on his memory; and around his name gathered song
and saga and legend. Charlemagne is a special favourite with the Swiss;
indeed, of all the German rulers who have held sway over them, he is the
one whose memory is most dear; and Switzerland has done at least her
share in helping to swell the mass of legend and fiction respecting him.
The impulse he gave to education in this country was alone sufficient to
endear his memory to the Swiss. Basel, Geneva, Chur, and Sion, benefited
by his wise administration, and Zurich quite particularly exalts him,
calling him the "Fountain of her intellectual life," during the Middle
Ages. It is impossible as it is unnecessary to give at length in this
volume, the history of this long and brilliant reign. A few points may
suffice to indicate the character of Charlemagne, and to throw some
light on the times, and the condition of the country.
The ambition of the Franks to found an empire after the fashion of Rome
was practically realized when Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the
West by Hadrian in A.D. 800. Yet Charles aimed less at mere outward
grandeur than at the establishment of a spiritual kingdom on earth, and
a kingdom that should embrace all his people in one Christian Church,
upheld by a strong and well-organized state-commonwealth. The union of
Church and State, yet giving the preponderance to the latter, was
Charlemagne's leading idea, and well-nigh summed up his religious and
political creed. The strong religious bent of this "priestly king" was
revealed at the very beginning of his reign, when he took upon himself
the mission of "Defender of the Holy Church, and _Coadjutor of the
Apostolic See_"[15] thus claiming, with the concurrence of the Primate,
the spiritual guidance of his realm. Hadrian's congenial nature and
tendencies helped to bring about this union. Yet in this matter Charles
but conformed to the policy of his ancestors, and to the spirit of the
age, an age remarkable for acts of piety and devotion. And the history
of Switzerland is for that period rather a history of the religious
movements of the time than a political chronicle. For in those early
stages the Church was proportionally far more important than in our own
times. _Then_ she was the sole, or almost the sole, centre of intellect,
of art, of letters, and represented the ideal side of life in an
illiterate age. Despite her defects the Church was a blessing to
mankind.
Helvetian lands had entirely lost their political independence. During
this reign, the vigorous government of the monarch frustrated every
attempt at insurrection, and in the end both Alamanni and Burgundians
began to feel the benefits arising from the existence of a wise and firm
administration. To curb their power the sovereign abolished the
dignities of the mighty dukes, and parcelled out the land into smaller
shires (than the old county divisions), and placed over these counts as
royal governors with judicial power. The people no longer appeared _in
corpore_ at the shire-motes, but were represented at the lesser court by
_Schoeffen_, or reeves. These reeves had to bring in the verdict; if
they could not agree, trial-by-ordeal was resorted to. Twice a year
Charles assembled his nobles and bishops to receive their reports, and
to frame laws, which were, however, submitted to the people, that is,
the "freeholders" at the "real thing," when they met in May. For the
control of the shire administration, and to give the people a means of
appealing more directly to the king's justice, he appointed a special
commission of spiritual and temporal officers (_missi dominici_).
Charlemagne's legislation, it hardly needs to be said, was highly
favourable to the Church, and tended to increase her wealth largely. He
allotted to her tithes of the produce of the soil, and the people of
their own free will overwhelmed the ecclesiastical and monastic
institutions with offerings of lands and money. In the eighth century
the monastery of St. Gall already possessed 160,000 acres of land, which
had been bestowed by pious donors, whilst the twelve hundred
deeds-of-gift found amongst the old abbey documents testify to the zeal
of the givers. Religious establishments became the largest landowners in
the country, and vassalage and the feudal system sprang up.
Under the territorial subdivision Switzerland fell into the shires of
Thurgau, Aargau, Genevagau, Waldgau (Vaud), &c., far larger than at
present, whence are derived the names of various cantons as we have them
now. Some of the Swiss would seem to have shared in Charlemagne's
military glory. The "Monk of St. Gall,"[16] recently identified with
Notker Balbulus (the Stammerer), the popular biographer of Charlemagne,
tells in bombastic style the feats of an Alamannic hero from Thurgau.
This mediaeval Hercules--Eishere the Giant by name--had accompanied the
emperor against the Avars, and after his return, reported that they had
"mowed down the enemy like grass," and that he himself had "strung on
his lance some six or eight pigmy toads of Bohemians as if they were
larks, then carried them hither and thither, not knowing what they were
grumbling out"! Notker, the chronicler, had in his youth heard the story
of the military exploits of Charlemagne, from an old Thurgau soldier who
had followed the emperor in his wars. And when Charles III. was on a
visit to St. Gall in 883, he was so delighted with the monk's lively
chat about the matchless emperor, that he requested him to write down
his recollections of his illustrious ancestor. To this monkish
chronicler we owe so many of the pleasant stories of Charlemagne current
among us.[17]
Interesting and touching are the traits we constantly meet with in the
glimpses we get of the Court and private life of the emperor. His
daughters were not allowed to marry because he could not bear separation
from them. Hatto of Basel, the most illustrious of his elder bishops,
often inveighed against the monarch's weaknesses, yet Charlemagne not
only bore the bishop's censures, but sent him on a highly honourable
mission to the Court of Constantinople, and chose him as one of the
witnesses to his last will. The emperor's friendship with Pope Hadrian
was quite remarkable, and, in spite of many differences, was deep and
lasting. On hearing the news of Hadrian's death, Charlemagne burst into
tears, and eulogized him in the most flattering terms. The emperor's
management of his royal estates was in the highest degree prudent,
skilful, energetic, and in every way admirable. To his property he gave
the closest and most constant inspection, down to the very eggs
produced on his farms.
He gathered round him scholars, artists, and teachers, from Italy and
Greece, and a Court school was opened by Alcuin, the Anglo-Saxon
scholar--the English were then the most cultured of the German
peoples--and a body of English pupils followed him to France. Alcuin
became the friend, and in matters educational the counsellor, of
Charlemagne, by whom he was entrusted with the revision of the Bible.
Warnfried Paulus Diaconus, the famous Lombard writer, was ordered to
compile a collection of homilies from the Fathers. Copies of both these
remarkable manuscripts--Bible and Homilies--were presented to the church
of Zurich, and one, the beautiful Alcuin Bible, is still extant and
among its literary treasures. Thronging the learned circle whose poetic
centre was Charles himself, with his wife and daughters, and two
sisters, were Einhard the German, the confidant and biographer of the
emperor; Augilhard, the knightly poet; the Goth Theobald, Bishop of
Orleans, a scholar and man of the world; as well as many another
illustrious man. Charlemagne's two sisters were nuns, and one of them,
Gisela, was the great friend of Alcuin.[18]
Charlemagne was fond of visiting and occasionally teaching in his Court
school. He took great interest in the progress of his scholars, praising
the diligent and admonishing the indolent. The "Monk" informs us that on
one occasion finding the compositions of the poorer boys praiseworthy,
whilst those of the young nobles were unsatisfactory, the emperor rose
up in anger and warned these latter youths that their high birth and
fine manners should not screen them from punishment if they did not get
rid of their laziness. Then, turning to the poor but meritorious youths,
he highly commended them, and exhorted them to be always thus diligent,
promising them rewards and preferment if they continued in their good
course. Charlemagne indeed gained imperishable glory by his educational
efforts, through which a foundation was laid for after ages. Full of the
conviction that religion and learning were essential to happiness, he
yearned to spread education amongst his people, and made it the chief
object of his later years. All parents ought, he says, "to send their
boys to school, and let them abide there till they are well informed," a
principle only imperfectly understood and acted upon even in our own
day. This ideal side of his complex activity lifts him far above the
other rulers of the Middle Ages. To our mind there is but one who bears
comparison with him for greatness of character and lofty aims--Alfred
the Great, of Wessex. Clerical colleges, and secular schools attached to
them, sprang up all over the country, and the knowledge of the
Scriptures, hitherto confined to the clergy, was freely placed before
the people.
The bishops were charged by the emperor to take care that the priests
were "well qualified as religious teachers." Theobald enjoins his clergy
to open schools and "teach the children with love, and to accept no fees
but what the parents choose to give." Such was the emperor's
educational zeal, that he ordains whipping and deprivation of food even
for men and women if they do not know by heart the Confession of Faith
and the Lord's Prayer, and are not able to repeat them in Latin to the
priests. Yet he makes allowances for the dunces who are permitted to
learn and repeat these exercises in their own illiterate language. He
admonishes the monks to learn better grammar, and get rid of their
uncouth modes of speech. He strongly reprimands a choirboy whose wrong
notes grate on his delicate ear.
Amongst the bishops of Switzerland, Hatto of Basel, and Remedius of
Chur-Rhaetia, were Charlemagne's chief supporters and lawgivers in their
own dioceses. The latter prelate was a great friend of Alcuin, and held
a brilliant Court with many vassals. The power of these theocratic
governors was very great. It may be mentioned, as an example of this,
that Remedius decreed that persons guilty of sacrilege should be covered
with hot tar and made to ride thus on a donkey through the villages. The
emperor's protection to church and school foundations was exercised in
many cases in Switzerland. According to tradition, Sion was enriched
with landed property; and to St. Maurice was presented a fine onyx cup
adorned with beautiful Greek _relievi_, still amongst the treasures of
that church. Zurich attributes her oldest churches and schools to the
emperor's bounty. To him she is said to owe her minster, bearing his
name and statue; the Chorherrenstift, or College of Canons, and the
Carolinum, a clerical school for prebends or canons, which developed in
1832 into the University and Gymnasium respectively, and finally the
Wasserkirche, a chapel by the riverside, on the spot where the martyrs
Felix and Regula once suffered.
[Illustration: GREAT MINSTER AND WASSERKIRCHE, ZURICH.
(_Appenzeller, Zurich._)]
Zurich was indeed, according to tradition, a favourite residence of the
great monarch, and his mansion is said to have been the Haus zum Loch
(hole or cavern), standing on a steep incline near the minster.
Connected with this is a charming legend which reflects the character
for justice he had gained amongst the people. This story may also serve
as an example, the only one our space will permit us to give, of the
abundant store of legend collected around the memory of Charlemagne.
There was a chapel on the riverside where he had placed a bell for
people to ring if they wished to appeal to justice. One day as he was at
dinner with his queen this bell began to ring. None of the servants
could inform him what was the matter. The bell rang a second time, and
then a third. On this the emperor rose from the table, saying, "I am
sure there is some poor man you don't wish me to see." So saying, he
walked down the hill to the chapel, where, hanging to the bell rope, he
found a large snake. The reptile crept down, moved towards him, and
wagged her tail to pay her respects. Then going on in front she led
Charlemagne to a tuft of nettles, and his servants examining the spot
found a large toad sitting on the eggs in the serpent's nest. At once,
grasping the meaning of this appeal, he sat him down in his chair of
justice and passed sentence that the toad should be killed and
quartered. The next day at dinner time the snake appeared in the
passage, frightening the attendants grievously. However, Charles quieted
them, and said, "God is wonderful, and we cannot know the meaning of
this." The snake entered the hall, climbed on the table, and, beckoning
the emperor to remove the lid of his golden goblet, dropped into it a
beautiful jewel. Then, descending from the table, she bowed to the royal
couple, and disappeared. Charles held this to be a good omen, and
resolved never to part with the jewel. The moral is obvious. Charlemagne
was so just, and his reputation for equity so widespread, that even the
lower animals appealed to him, and not in vain.
According to another version, the stone exerted attraction like a
loadstone, for where it was dropped the emperor could not leave the
place. But Archbishop Turpin had dropped it into the springs of Aachen,
and hence Charlemagne no more quitted that royal residence.
It would be impossible in our space, even if it were interesting to the
general reader, to enter into the discussions respecting Charlemagne's
foundations in and visits to Zurich. Two things, however, come out
clearly; first (thanks to the labours of the learned historian,
Professor Georg von Wyss), that tradition is not entirely unworthy of
trust, as there is documentary evidence still extant to prove that
Charlemagne reformed the College (Chorherrenstift); second, that he kept
up a close connection with the city, whether he actually resided there
or not.
No doubt this exaltation of Charlemagne's merits is an expression of the
attachment felt for his person, and of the admiration for his
marvellous educational efforts. His grandson, Louis the German, founded
the Abbey of our Lady, in 853, on the site of an old convent erected to
the memory of the patron saints of Zurich. Louis erected this new abbey
in order to give a more brilliant church preferment to his daughter,
Hildgard, Lady Principal of a small convent at Wurzburg. This Princess
Abbess received the sole right of jurisdiction, and the convent rose
rapidly, and with it extended the city commonwealth. (We shall show in a
later chapter how this female government checked the growth of political
power in that city, and yet was the making of her.)
FOOTNOTES:
[15] See Buedinger, "Von den Anfangen des Schulzwanges," Zurich, 1865, p.
10.
[16] Professor Baechtold, "History of German Literature in Switzerland,"
Frauenfeld, 1887.
[17] Professor Baechtold, "History of German Literature in Switzerland,"
Frauenfeld, 1887.
[18] See Gustav Freytag's charming "Pictures of the Middle Ages."
VI.
THE KINGDOM OF BURGUNDY; THE DUCHY OF SWABIA; AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE.
(843-1100.)
The death of the great emperor brought this realm into utter confusion,
the whole fabric of his wise and firm administration falling to pieces.
All the heterogeneous and often refractory elements which his stern rule
had kept in check burst their bounds and gained full play during the
reigns of his descendants, who grew weaker and weaker, though with here
and there an exception. The pretensions of the Church, which
Charlemagne's own protection and fostering care had, so to speak,
ushered in and strengthened; the struggles of eminent families and
dynastic houses for sovereignty in the absence of one central and
undisputed power; the increase of the immunities and the growth of
feudalism--all these were serious difficulties for the coming rulers to
cope with.
Louis the Pious, the only surviving son of Charlemagne, and heir to his
crown, was clearly quite unfit to cope with these difficulties
satisfactorily. The untimely distribution of the crown lands insisted on
by the imperious Judith, his second wife, in favour of her own son, and
the protracted struggles between the imperial princes, steeped the realm
in intestine wars, and in the end led to its dissolution. It is
impossible in this short sketch to follow to his tragical end this
unworthy son of a great father. The treaty of Verdun (843) settled the
bloody conflicts, but split the empire into three new dominions; the
East Frankish realm devolving on Louis the German: the West Frankish
kingdom falling to Charles the Bald; and the middle district, including
Italy and the strip of land between the two first divisions just
mentioned, and comprising Provence, Burgundy, Lorraine, and the
Netherlands. This last realm fell to Lothair.
The treaty of Verdun, to which the French and German States trace their
origin, also effected the most sweeping changes in Helvetia, and altered
greatly its political aspect. The country was rent into two halves, East
Switzerland, forming the Aare, with Chur-Rhaetia, being incorporated with
the East Frankish kingdom; and West Helvetia and the Valais with
Lorraine or the middle kingdom. This naturally tended to revive the
national antagonism between the two Helvetias.
Freed from the iron hand which had crushed all attempts at insurrection,
the peoples began again their struggles for the recovery of national
independence and separate rule, and thence came the restoration of the
kingdom of Burgundy and the Duchy of Alamannia, or Swabia.[19] Burgundy
was the first to make sure of her national freedom. On the death of
Lothair in 855 his kingdom fell to pieces. Count Boso, of Vienna, his
relative, founded the kingdom of Burgundy _without_ Helvetia, 879
(Provence or Arles--_Arelatisches Reich_). After fruitless attempts by
various Burgundian nobles to establish their sovereignty _within_
Helvetia, a renowned nobleman, Rudolf, of the illustrious house of the
Guelfs, set up as a pretender to Swiss Burgundy, after the precedent of
Count Boso. Rudolf possessed vast estates in Swabia, on Lake Constance.
He had sworn allegiance to Charles III. (the "Stout"), who, weak as he
was, had, strange to say, once more united the Empire under his sceptre.
On his death, in 888, Rudolf the Guelf was crowned king at St. Maurice,
the venerable abbey-town in the Low-Valais, by a large assembly of
Burgundian bishops and nobles. Thus was established the Helvetian
kingdom of Upper or New Burgundy (_Burgundia transjurans_), which seems
to have extended into Lorraine and Savoy. In 933 both Burgundies were
united.
Rudolf not only maintained his independence against the aggressive
spirit of intruding neighbours, but carried his victories into East
Helvetia, as far as Lake Zurich, and on his death in 912 his crown
passed without opposition to his son Rudolf II. This king had inherited
his father's great abilities and restless habits, which engaged him in
numerous wars. His greatest martial achievement was the defeat of the
Hungarians, who were making their fearful inroads into Europe. In East
Helvetia, however, his advance was checked by Burkhard I., Duke of
Alamannia, who routed him at Winterthur, near Zurich, in 919. Led no
doubt by their mutual admiration for each other's prowess, and by common
political interests, they made peace and contracted a lasting
friendship. To seal the union between the two Helvetias, Burkhard gave
his lovely daughter, Bertha, in marriage to the Burgundian king, and
gave her as dowry the land between the Aare and the Reuss, the district
for which he had been contending. He even followed Rudolf on his
expedition to Italy, and fell in a skirmish whilst succouring his
son-in-law. But Rudolf was unable to maintain the authority of his
Italian crown, and exchanged his claim to Lombardy for the kingdom of
Lower Burgundy (Provence) in 933; this arrangement was, however, much
contested.
When not engaged in wars he assisted his queen in her good works. The
Burgundian kings as yet had no fixed residence, and moved from place to
place on their royal estates--to Lausanne, Payerne, Yverdon, Solothurn,
or Lake Thun. When making these rounds Rudolf loved to do as the judges
of Israel of old--to seat himself under the shade of a fine oak and deal
out justice to whoever might come near and appeal to him. Yet the memory
of this good king is almost eclipsed by the glory of his wife, the
famous "Spinning Queen," and her wisdom and ministry amongst the poor.
Things went less pleasantly with the Alamanni. Their efforts to restore
separate or self-government--the passionate yearning for national
independence innate in the German tribes has done much to bring about
the division of the German Empire into its many kingdoms,
principalities, and duchies--met with far steadier and more violent
opposition than was the case with the Burgundians.
Under the pacific rule of Louis the German (843-876) the Alamanni
enjoyed the benefits of his peaceful tendencies, and we hear of no
attempts at insurrection. This sensible and practical monarch left to
East Helvetia the "remembrance of him in good works." Two things brought
him into close relations with this country--his founding of the Abbey of
our Lady at Zurich, where he installed his daughters Hildegard and
Bertha, as has been stated before; and his benefactions to St. Gall,
which he freed from the overlordship of Constance. Indeed, the
chronicler of this latter institution, Notker, _Monachus S. Gallensis_,
would seem to have been fascinated by his personal charms and affable
manners. Promoted to the position of an independent abbey, owing
allegiance to none but the king himself, and enriched by continual
grants of land on the part of pious donors, St. Gall developed into a
flourishing monastic commonwealth. The peaceful colony of thrifty and
studious monks--Benedictines they were--who, like their Irish founder,
combined manual labour with learned contemplation, earnest study, and
literary skill--form a society quite unique in its way. The holy men
"conjure into their cells the departed spirits of classical
antiquity,"[20] and hold free intercourse with them; given to
ecclesiastical learning, whilst not neglectful of profane studies, these
learned and high-bred scholars constitute a truly mediaeval university.
Their life and character is vividly set before us by their chroniclers.