ask the ruler of the Franks to save the religious capital of Western
Christianity from capture at the hands of the Lombard kings. Nor was
his political sagacity yet exhausted, for he persuaded the Mayor of
the Palace to regularize his own position by taking the title of king
under the sanction of the Holy See. This was an ambitious design,
unprecedented in the earlier pages of Papal history. Even Gregory the
Great had no thought of bestowing the royal crown on any Teutonic
tribal chieftain. The action was evidently suggested by the plan
prepared some years before, when, with the coöperation of the Pope, it
was proposed to revive in Italy a native Italian emperor to lead the
people of the Peninsula against the church policy of Constantinople.
This scheme was from the beginning a forlorn hope, and it had turned
out to be a failure. There was not sufficient military strength in
Italy, apart from the Lombards, to back up a revived Emperor of the
West, and it is clear that the Lombards would have made short work of
any such ruler, even if there had not been among the Italians a party
who looked up to the Exarch of Ravenna as the natural head of their
civil government.
The negotiations with Pippin ended successfully. The Pope’s prestige
was enormously increased. Instead of looking forward to becoming the
captive of a Lombard king, he became himself the bestower of royal
dignity on a man who had at his disposal such vast military power that
the passage of his army across the Alps into Lombard territory brought
about the reduction of the Lombard kingdom to a status of dependency on
a Frankish ruler.
Pippin, as a loyal churchman, followed the Pope’s counsel, but he
seems to have done so with distinct reservations. The traditional
Frankish policy had been the complete subordination of the Church
to the State. It is no wonder then that many of the Frankish nobles
disapproved of Pippin’s act, which reduced their monarchy to a gift
from the hands of the Pope. Pippin did all he could during the rest
of his lifetime to keep clear of further Italian complications. He
never crossed the Alps again, and he was very careful not to depress
the Lombard power in Northern Italy and so give Stephen an excuse
for demanding additional territory. As a temporal ruler the Pope’s
authority had been substantially increased by the cession of lands
which he had claimed from him on the basis of the so-called Donation
of Constantine--a fictitious instrument which Stephen appealed to
when there arose the question of the disposition of the territory
once belonging to the Exarchate of Ravenna. According to the legend,
Pope Sylvester, the contemporary of Constantine, when the capital of
the Empire had been removed to Constantinople, had received from the
Emperor extensive donations of Italian territory, both on the Peninsula
and on the adjacent islands, over which he was to rule with the power
of a temporal sovereign. To Pippin, this legendary Donation, because of
its presumed sanction at the hands of a revered Emperor and Pope, was
sacred. He was willing to be an instrument in carrying out the terms of
the sacrosanct compact, but he refused to go farther than this, and for
the rest of his life he maintained an attitude of reserve in according
additional favors to the Holy See.
Pippin’s reign came to an end as calmly as though the line of descent
had been unbroken. Even the evil traditions of the Frankish monarchy
with respect to the inheritance of the crown were not cast aside. Just
as Cromwell and Napoleon felt the weight of custom in their relations
with the members of their families, when they were arranging to
perpetuate the power of their own creation, so Pippin, the diplomat,
the cautious statesman, could do, or at least did nothing to alter
the bad and impracticable tribal custom of division of patrimony.
This practice caused the downfall of the Merovingian line, and had
started the revolution by which the fortunes of the House of Heristal
had been assured. This is only one of many anomalies which followed
the breaking up of the administration of the Roman Empire, and which
testified to the absence of initiative on the part of the Germanic
peoples when they were called upon to solve problems of government, for
which they had had no preparation. Rulers who did not hesitate to show
their individuality in other ways proved fearful of violating tribal
customs on questions of divisions of property and family precedence.
The new line of Frankish rulers had apparently learned nothing from
the vicissitudes of the elder house. At the death of Charles Martel,
the division of the kingdom between his two sons would have certainly
endangered the sovereignty of his family had not the difficulty been
averted by the abdication of Carloman the elder. Yet Pippin, on his
deathbed, had not scrupled to make the same blunder of dividing the
realm between his two sons, Charles and Carloman. Almost immediately
after their father’s death the heirs, apparently mutually suspicious,
separated from each other, and had themselves separately proclaimed
kings by the Frankish nobles, and received anointment at the hands of
the bishops, Charles at Noyon, Carloman at Soissons.
The diplomacy of the dead ruler was revealed in the kind of disposal
he made of his realm. It was an equal division only on paper; for the
arrangement of the shares was such that the elder son was left with
such manifest superior advantages as to territory that the younger
brother could not venture to compete with him. As his share Charles
had the part of his father’s kingdom from which the Frankish hosts
derived their chief military strength, viz.: the lands from the Main to
the English Channel. Besides this, he received the western portion of
Aquitaine, the province whose conquest had cost Pippin a hard struggle
of seven years, and which, therefore, might become a dangerous center
of warlike enterprise if it were placed entirely in the hands of the
younger brother. Carloman had as his share the Suabian lands on both
sides of the upper Rhine, and the entire Mediterranean coast from the
Maritime Alps to the frontier of Spain. In addition to this there came
to him the eastern half of the territory adjacent to such towns as
Clermont, Rodez, Albi, and Toulouse.
In geographical extent there was but little advantage on the part of
the elder brother, but the territory of the younger from a military
point of view was far inferior. Carloman in case of war would have
against him, under the command of Charles, the whole military power
of the Franks. There was no pretense of friendship between the two
new rulers; it seems they had never been friendly. The reason of the
alienation may have been because the birth of Charles preceded the
formal transfer of the Frankish crown to his father. He was, therefore,
the son of a Mayor of the Palace, while Carloman, though younger, was
son of the King of the Franks.
The question of the duration of external harmony between the brothers
was of especial importance in its effect on the situation in the
Italian peninsula. Some of the Frankish nobles had by no means approved
of Pippin’s policy of opposition to the Lombard kings, and had
criticised his willingness to protect the integrity of the dominions of
the Pope, whenever he was appealed to from Rome for aid. The efforts
of the Queen Mother Bertrada were evidently intended to promote a
better feeling between the Franks and the Lombards, for she personally
arranged a marriage between Charles and the daughter of Desiderius, the
Lombard king. The protests of the Pope were unavailing when he urged,
from a decidedly interested point of view, that Charles should marry a
wife from his own people; although he recalled the oaths taken, when
the two Frankish rulers were children, that they would have the same
friends and the same enemies as the Church.
The whole situation, political as well as personal, was suddenly
changed by the death of Carloman in 771, and by domestic difficulties
in Charles’ own household which led to an alienation from his mother
and caused the repudiation of his Lombard wife. Immediately after his
brother’s death Charles was acknowledged as sole king throughout the
Frankish territories, and the alliance with the Lombard party in Italy
was brought to an end. Gerberga, Carloman’s widow, and her sons betook
themselves to the court of Desiderius, which now became a natural
refuge for all who were discontented with the new ruler of the Franks.
II CONSOLIDATION OF RULE
In the meantime, Pope Stephen, the man who had made the Frankish
alliance the cornerstone of papal diplomacy, had died. (772.) He was
succeeded by Hadrian, who proclaimed his purpose to follow the rule of
peacemaker in the complexities of Italian politics, and so to induce
Romans, Franks, and Lombards to live in mutual harmony. Despite his
pacific intentions, he was unable to tolerate the military aggression
of the Lombards on the cities in the Patrimony which had been turned
over to the Pope by Pippin, including Ravenna itself.
Papal protests against this invasion proved useless. Desiderius
threatened to appear with his army before the walls of Rome itself,
and he actually approached as close to the city as Viterbo, having in
his army the young heirs of Carloman, whose claims to their father’s
inheritance he wished to have legitimatized by having them anointed
by the Pope. He was deterred from carrying out his plan, and the Pope
met the daring of the Lombard leader with a formal warning, that the
king and all his host would be placed under the ban of anathema if they
entered the territory of Rome. Desiderius therefore withdrew.
To the Frankish delegates who appeared in Rome to investigate the
condition of affairs between the Pope and Desiderius, Hadrian probably
explained that his difficulties had been occasioned by his refusal to
anoint the pretenders, Carloman’s sons, at Desiderius’ request. There
would not be wanting, also, appeals to Charles to fulfil his solemn
engagements to stand by the Roman See. Desiderius, in his interview
with the envoys, treated them curtly; he was evidently looking forward
to settling the issue with Charles by arms. There was not only the
difference with the Pope, due to Lombard aggression on the papal
cities, but he must have felt aggrieved because Charles had refused to
live with his daughter. There was also the fact that at the court of
the Lombard king, Carloman’s children had been received and were being
used in the rôle of pretenders, as tools in an intrigue against the
ruler of the Franks.
Desiderius had prepared for invasion from the North by fortifying the
pass at Susa, the “débouchement” in northwestern Italy of the road
regularly taken by the Frankish army when they invaded Italy. But
while methods of military defense were being looked to, Desiderius
saw the need of preparing for the coming struggle by consolidating
his rule over his adherents and dependents. The important Duchy of
Benevento was allied with him by the bonds of family relationship. The
Duchy of Spoleto was less important, as it had lost in territory and
in independence during the reign of Desiderius, but means were taken
to conciliate the Church by gifts to important abbeys. Indeed, so
numerous were these alienations of the royal lands to ecclesiastical
foundations, that the king’s policy in annexing cities and territories
in the Patrimony of the Pope had become as much an economic as a
political necessity, for the owners of the alienated land could only in
this way be compensated for their losses. The abbeys were of strategic
importance; many of them, and these the largest, were situated on
the inner lines of communication. The cities and castles were still
surrounded with their Roman walls, and under the Lombard monarchy the
many roads and bridges had been kept in order.
On the other side of the Alps, there was less unanimity as to the
necessity of the Frankish army passing the frontier. Charles’ plan
of intervention was agreed to by the Frankish nobles, though the
opposition against an Italian expedition had always before in Pippin’s
day had a strong backing. But, in order to show a temper amenable
to compromise, Charles offered to continue peaceful relations with
Desiderius, on condition that the sum of 14,000 solidi be given as an
indemnity to the Franks. This offer was refused. A general assembly of
the Frankish host was held at Geneva by Charles, and after dividing it
into two parts, the army passed over into Italy by Mont Cenis and by
the Great St. Bernard. Again Charles stopped to treat with Desiderius,
but to no purpose.
The Lombards withdrew from their strongly fortified position where
the Alpine passes widen out into valleys, and it was rumored that the
Frankish army, aided by Lombard treachery, had found by-paths to avoid
the strongly held Lombard camps and had marched down into the plain
after Charles had stayed some time at Novalese, an abbey richly endowed
by his family, where he took provisions for his march.
In the meantime, Desiderius had fled to Pavia, his capital, preparing
for a long siege. Most of his army was now scattered; a portion of it
retreated, accompanying his son Adalghis, with the widow of Carloman
and her children, to Verona, the strongest of the Lombard citadels.
But the Lombard resistance was most ineffective; the Beneventines
apparently took no part in the wars, while the people of the Spoletan
duchy, deserting their duke, took the oath of allegiance to Hadrian,
and many places in central Italy surrendered to the Pope.
Charles began the siege of Pavia at the end of September, purposing
by the capture of their chief city to end completely the dominion of
the Lombards, and so to finish the work left half done by his father.
Leaving the bulk of his army in front of the walls of Pavia, he took
a division of Frankish troops and entered Verona without opposition.
Adalghis fled to Constantinople. Carloman’s wife and heirs were now in
the hands of the conquerors.
There was no longer fear of opposition from other Lombard towns. The
siege had already lasted six months, but the town was well provided
with food, and was too strong to be taken by assault. Charles now
left the siege with a large escort in order to celebrate the Easter
festival at Rome. He was the first Frankish sovereign who had visited
the city. Pippin, his father, notwithstanding his close alliance with
the Church, had always scrupulously avoided making the pilgrimage
to Rome, probably because he did not desire to pass through Lombard
territories.
Charles was received with the honors ordinarily given to the Exarch of
Ravenna. As he entered St. Peter’s, the choir sang the anthem, “Blessed
is He that Cometh in the Name of the Lord,” and there were many public
demonstrations of friendship between the Pope and the King. But it
is worth noting that Charles asked the Pope’s permission to enter
the city, and great care had to be taken to prevent acts of violence
between the residents of the city and the visitors from the North.
The most important step taken before Charles left the city to return
to Pavia, was the formal transfer to the Pope of a document signed by
Charles and his nobles, authorizing the retention by the Pope of the
existing patrimony of the Holy See, and also engaging that all private
property belonging to it should be restored.
Pavia held out stoutly, though sorely tried by famine and pestilence;
but there was no hope of relief. Finally, Desiderius surrendered
his capital and his person at the beginning of June, 774, and with
this surrender the independent Lombard monarchy ends. Charles, from
this time forth, took the title of King of the Lombards. The Lombard
chieftains crowded into the city to do him homage, and when he crossed
the Alps, he took with him Desiderius and his family, not forgetting
the royal treasury of the Lombards.
Charles had been mindful of his obligations to the Pope, and regarded
himself as bound to carry out the policy of his father. But he plainly
had no thought of turning over any large share of the territory of the
Italian peninsula into the hands of the Roman See. In Rome it seemed
to be expected that the friendly and generous ruler from across the
Alps would make Hadrian master of the whole of middle Italy. But now
that Charles was ruler of the Lombards he showed that in dealing with
the Italian situation he did not intend to be guided by idealistic
politics. Charles also put an interpretation on his title of Patrician
that made it clear he meant to be the predominant factor in the states
under the Pope’s control. He behaved as master in cases affecting the
Pope’s territory when Hadrian’s rights over Ravenna were resisted
by the Archbishop of that city; and he also exercised his sovereign
authority over Spoleto when the Duke rose in revolt against the Franks.
III THE CONQUEST OF THE SAXONS
While Charles’ intervention in Italy may be considered as the logical
outcome of the policy inaugurated by his father, his long struggle with
the pagan Teutonic tribes, spoken of loosely by contemporary historians
as the Saxons, was part of a program of expansion for which he alone
was responsible. Dwelling in a territory extending from the Elbe, on
the East, nearly to the Rhine, on the West, the Saxons in three tribes
formed a primitive confederation occupying the various divisions of
Germany known in modern times as Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, and
Westphalia. Beyond the Elbe there was a fourth section of the Saxon
stock extending over a territory nearly coextensive with the modern
Duchy of Holstein. Though the name suggests a plausible identity,
the Saxon territory of the eighth century had no connection with the
present kingdom of Saxony, which only to a small extent comprises
land that once belonged to these ancient Saxons. Though unlike their
kinsfolk to the West, the Saxons held to their old tribal creed,
they were in no sense savages, for they had long since abandoned a
nomadic life and had become settled tillers of the soil. But probably
the primitive institutions of the Germans described by Tacitus still
existed among them, and, from the point of view of the Franks, they
must have seemed undesirable neighbors, largely because of their
obstinate attitude toward all attempts to convert them to Christianity.
As the missionaries who undertook the task were either Franks
themselves or acted under the patronage and support of Frankish rulers,
the feeling toward the Saxons was anything but friendly, especially
as since the time of the Merovingians on several occasions the Saxons
had recognized the Franks as their overlords, by paying tribute. It is
probable, too, that the Saxons were not very scrupulous in respecting
the frontier of their Western neighbors. There must have been frequent
raids to annoy the Franks, though there is absolutely no proof that the
Saxons ever contemplated invading Frankish territory by expeditions
organized on a large scale. The situation had, however, been serious
enough to call forth active intervention from Charles’s father
Pippin, who, in 753, had advanced as far as the Weser, where, by an
overwhelming display of military strength, he had forced the Saxons to
pay tribute and not to oppose the preaching of Christian missionaries
in their territory.
Five years later, in another expedition, Pippin advanced beyond the
Weser, occupying the Saxon strongholds between that river and the
Lippe, and again securing from the Saxon chiefs promises that the terms
on which peace had been made should be carried out.
The religious conditions of the peace were especially obnoxious to
the Saxons, who were firmly attached to the faith of their fathers.
They had a simple form of nature worship, that displayed itself in a
passionate reverence for trees and mountains, regarded as the concrete
expression of the powers governing the world. The new expedition of
the Franks practically took the form of a crusade; for Charles saw in
the gods of the Saxons only demons inimical to the Christian faith.
Starting from Worms and accompanied by a large number of ecclesiastics,
who were to war against Saxon paganism, the Frankish army, seemingly,
met not resistance, and Charles took and destroyed without difficulty
the Saxon shrines Irminsul and Eresburg. He withdrew, satisfied
now that there was no hindrance in the way of winning the land to
Christianity. The character of the expedition is accurately indicated
in a brief sentence from the life of Sturm: “He [Charles] gave the
servants of the Lord power for teaching and baptizing.”
The Saxons, before the Franks retired beyond the Rhine, renewed
the terms of peace previously concluded with Pippin, gave hostages
for their good behavior, and seemingly made no protest against the
introduction of the Church hierarchical system in their land. But
the war with the Lombards gave the Saxons the opportunity of casting
aside their pledges; they did not desire Frankish ascendancy, and,
still less, Christian missionaries. The real situation on his Eastern
frontier was so patent that as soon as the Italian expedition had
ended with the annihilation of the Lombard kingdom, Charles (775) set
out to war on the Saxons, resolved either to force them to accept
Christianity or to destroy them as a people. His attack was skilfully
and rapidly managed; one of their strong places, Sigiburg, was taken,
and Eresburg, previously captured, was turned into a Frankish citadel.
The Saxons hesitated to strike back until the Franks were withdrawing
across the Weser. Near Brunisberg, where they contested the passage of
the Frankish army, the Saxons were outnumbered and decisively beaten.
Marching with picked troops Charles advanced into the territory of the
Eastphalians, where their leader, Hessi, hastened to take the oath of
fidelity to the Frankish monarch and gave hostages. The same method of
forcing a capitulation was tried successfully with the Saxon tribe, the
Angarians.
But meanwhile, the Westphalians had assaulted the Frankish camp in
their land, and had been able to occupy it partially. They were forced,
however, to withdraw, and while they were retreating they were met by
the division of the Frankish army under Charles, and were defeated; so
they were obliged to accept the same terms as the Eastphalians and the
Angarians. Within a short period the overlordship of the Franks had
come to be recognized by the three leading tribes of the Saxon people.
It only needed the outbreak of fresh disturbances in Italy to show
how imperfect had been the so-called pacification of the Saxons. When
Charles was drawn away beyond the Alps by an attempt to revive the
Lombard kingdom, his absence was immediately taken advantage of by the
Saxons, who rose in revolt against the Franks. Even the fortress at
Sigiburg was hard pressed. An imposing army was gathered by Charles
at Worms in 776, with which he crossed into Saxon territory and
again occupied Eresburg. His authority was soon restored. Bands of
Saxons comprising whole families came to the Frankish camp as humble
petitioners and willingly allowed themselves to be baptized. There were
evidently two parties among the Saxons, one willing to carry out the
conditions of peace, the other ready by any subterfuge to reject them.
The irreconcilable faction finally lost heart and withdrew.
In 777, Charles held in Paderborn his first general assembly; here
appeared Saxons from all parts of the land and solemnly pledged
themselves willingly to give up their freedom and their property if
they denied the Christian faith and broke their oath of allegiance. But
such verbal assurances were not more binding than they had been before.
More expeditions (779 and 780) were necessary, and in 780 specific
steps were taken to intensify the ecclesiastical organization already
felt as a burden by the unwilling converts. The land was divided into
parishes, and provision was made for systematic preaching and for the
administration of baptism.