(A.D. 814.)
[Inserted in many French, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. He was
canonized by the Anti-pope Paschal III. The life of this emperor,
written by his secretary Eginhart, together with the numerous
historical accounts of his transactions, supply abundant material
for his life.]
The public life of the Emperor Charlemagne belongs to the domain of
secular history, rather than to hagiology. We shall confine ourselves,
in this notice, to those acts which have obtained for him a place in the
Kalendar of the Church.
Charlemagne, son of King Pepin, was born in 742, and was crowned king of
France in 768. In the early years of his reign he was guilty of grave
moral faults, which he deeply deplored in his after life. He comes
before us as a man penetrated with a strong sense of religious
responsibility, and of faith in the divine mission of the Church. In the
midst of his wars, the spread of the true faith, and the advancement of
learning, were never absent from his mind. He was zealous in reforming
the monasteries, and for the sake of uniformity, he introduced into them
the rule of S. Benedict. For the discipline of the clergy, he procured
the convention of many synods, in which were drawn up his famous
Capitulars. He meditated assiduously on the Scriptures, assisted at the
divine office, even that of midnight, if possible; had good books read
to him at table, and took but one meal a day. He died at the age of
seventy-two, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 814, and was there buried. His tomb
was opened in 1165. The body was found, not reclining in his coffin, as
is the usual fashion of the dead, but seated on his throne as one alive,
clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand, and on
his knees a copy of the Gospels. On his fleshless brow was the crown,
the imperial mantle covered his shoulders, the sword Joyeuse was by his
side, and the pilgrim's pouch, which he had borne always while living,
was still fastened to his girdle. His skull and throne and hunting
horn are preserved in the sacristy at Aix.
[Illustration: Baptism of Vanquished Saxons by command of Charlemagne.
From a Miniature of the 15th Century in the Burgundy
Library at Brussels.]