Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 6 (1897).djvu/194

174 THE DECLINE AND FALL the Eastern empire. The broken provinces of the Greeks, Lombards, and Saracens were exposed to every invader, and every sea and land were invaded by the adventurous spirit of the Scandinavian pirates. After a long indulgence of rapine and slaughter, a fair and ample territory was accepted, occupied, and named, by the Normans of France ; they renounced their gods for the God of the Christians ; ^^ and the dukes of Nor- mandy acknowledged themselves the vassals of the successors of Charlemagne and Capet. The savage fierceness which they had brought from the snowy mountains of Norway Avas refined, with- out being corrupted, in a warmer climate ; the companions of Rollo insensibly mingled with the natives ; they imbibed the manners, language,^^ and gallantry of the French nation ; and, in a martial age, the Normans might claim the palm of valour and glorious achievements. Of the fashionable superstitions, they embraced with ardour the pilgrimages of Rome, Italy, and the Holy Land. In this active devotion, their minds and bodies were invigorated by exercise : danger was the incentive, novelty the recompense ; and the prospect of the world was decorated by wonder, credulity, and ambitious hope. They confederated for their mutual defence ; and the robbers of the Alps, who had been allured by the garb of a pilgrim, were often chastised by the arm of a warrior. In one of these pious visits ^'^ to the cavern of mount Garganus in Apulia, which had been sanctified by the apparition of the archangel Michael,-" they were accosted by a 1 Some of the first converts were baptized ten or twelve times, for the sake of the white garment usually given at this ceremony. At the funeral of Rollo, the gifts to monasteries, for the repose of his soul, were accompanied by a sacrifice of one hundred captives. But in a generation or two the national change was pure and general. 1^ The Danish language was still spoken by the Normans of Bayeux on the sea- coast, at a time (a.d. 940) when it was already forgotten at Rouen, m the court and capital. Quem (Richard I.) confestim pater Baiocas mittens Botoni militia: suce principi nutriendum tradidit, ut, ubi lingua eruditus Daiiicn, suis exteriscjue hominibus sciret aperte dare responsa (Wilhelm. Gemeticensis de Ducibus Nor- mannis, 1. iii. c. 8, p. 623, edit. Camden). Of the vernacular and favourite idiom of William the Conqueror (A.D. 1035) Selden (Opera, tom. ii. p. 1640-1656) has given a specimen, obsolete and obscure even to antiquarians and lawyers. i[In A.D. 1016 as a Saracen lleet besieged Salerno, 40 Roman knights returning from the Holy Land disembarked in the neighbourhood, and hearing that the place was hard pressed offered their services to Prince Waimar. Their bravery delivered the town, and laden with rich presents they returned to Normandy, promising to induce their countrymen to visit the south and help in the defence of the land against the unbelievers. See Aime, Ystorie de li Normant, i. c. 17 (and cp. H. Bresslau, Heinrich, ii. 3, Excurs. 4). Before the year was over, a certain Rudolf with his four brothers started to seek their fortune in the south ; when they reached Italy, they came to terms with Melus, the rebel of Bari, through the mediation of the Pope.] 2" See Leandro Albert) (Descrizioned'Italia, ]). 250) and Baronius (a.d. 493, No.