At Aix-la-Chapelle, situated nearly in the centre of his vast
dominions, and in a salubrious climate, Charlemagne had fixed upon a
spot for building a palace, in the neighbourhood of some natural warm
baths,--a Roman luxury, in which the Frankish monarch particularly
delighted. All that the great conception of Charlemagne could devise,
and the art of the age could execute, was done, to render this
structure, and the church attached to it, worthy of their magnificent
founder. But no account can be given;[9] for nothing has come down to
the present age which can justify any thing like detailed description.
Nevertheless, a number of circumstances in regard to this building are
occasionally mentioned in the historians of the time, that convey an
idea of vastness and splendour, which probably might have been lost
had minute examination been possible. Immense halls[10]--magnificent
galleries--a college--a library--baths, where a hundred persons could
swim at large--a theatre and a cathedral--a profuse display of the
finest marble--gates and doors of wrought brass--columns from Rome,
and pavements from Ravenna,--such, we know, to have been some of the
many things which that great palace displayed.
[9] In all probability, the crypt of the church of
Aix-la-Chapelle, as it stands at present, is all that remains of
the original edifice.
[10] The baths of Aix-la-Chapelle, constructed by the emperor for
the enjoyment of this recreation, were of immense extent; and
while their splendour and their size showed the progress of
luxury, the manner in which they were used, evinces the curious
simplicity and condescension of the monarch. "Not only his sons,"
says Eginhard, "but also the great men of his court, his friends,
and the soldiers of his guard, were invited to partake of the
enjoyment which the monarch had provided for himself; so that
sometimes as many as a hundred persons were known to bathe there
together."
Workmen were gathered together from every part of Europe; and, though
but small reliance can be placed upon the anecdotes related by the
Monk of St. Gall, it is evident, from every account, that the building
must have been the most magnificent architectural effort which Europe
had beheld since the days of the splendour of ancient Rome.
Besides the palace itself, we find, that an immense number of
buildings were constructed around it, for the accommodation of
every one in any way connected with the court, and adjoining, were
particular halls, open at all times, and in which all classes and
conditions might find a refuge from the cold of night, or from the
wintry storm.[11]
[11] Stoves were furnished also to warm those who might take
refuge in these general chambers; and the Monk of St. Gaul
asserts, that the apartments of Charlemagne were so constructed,
that he could see everything which took place in the building
round about,--an impossible folly, imagined by the small cunning
of a monk.
Within the walls, was that famous domestic college, on the
maintenance, extension, and direction of which Charlemagne, amidst all
the multiplicity of his occupations, found means to bestow so much of
his time and attention. But every trace of his actions tends to prove,
that his first and greatest, object--to which even conquest was
secondary, if not subservient--was to civilize his dominions, and to
raise mankind in general from that state of dark ignorance into which
barbarian invasion had cast the world.
During the first ten or fifteen years after its establishment, the
college of the palace had probably followed the court during its
frequent migrations, notwithstanding the number of members, and
the difficulty of transporting the library, which soon became
considerable. Many circumstances, however, seem to show, that after
the construction of the great palace at Aix-la-Chapelle, it became
fixed in that place. The library, we know, was there concentrated; and
several of the books thus collected, such as the Codex Carolinus, &c.
have come down through a long line of emperors to the present day.
Indeed, a great part of the most valuable literature of former ages,
was preserved alone by the efforts of the French monarch for the
revival of science; and the link of connexion between ancient and
modern civilization, owes its existence, as much to the endeavours of
Charlemagne, as even to the papal preservation of antique Rome.
* * * * *