Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/586

CHARLES THE GREAT. 506 CHARLES THE GREAT. scarcely been equaled in history. In 772 Charles advanced as far as the Weser, and destroyed the famous "Jrniinsur — according»lo heathen belief, the column supporting; the earth. There were in- cessant revolts, but in 7'i5 Charles carried his arms as far as the Elbe. In 777 he could even hold the Krankish Xational Assembly on Saxon soil, at Padcrborn. Hut in 778, on news of Charles's absence in 8])ain, the 8axons afiain arose, and advanced almost to Colojine; but Charles again drove them back to the Elbe. They destroyed a Frankish army in the Siintel High- lands in 782 ; and Charles, after a new victory, avenf;ed this disaster by the massacre, at Verden, of 4500 prisoners in one day. This caused a gen- eral rising of the Saxons; but, in 78.'!-8,5, the Frankisli monarch at last succeeded in reducing them to subjection. Their great leader, Widu- kind, submitted to baptism, and their ])rincipal chiefs liecame Charles's vassals. The Saxons north of the Elbe submitted in 804, and 10,000 of thera were led into the interior of Germany as hostages, Charles proceeded to extend his anns beyond the boundaries of Saxony. The neighboring Slavs were either his allies or else were made tributary, and even the Bohemians were in part subdued. The Danes were confined to the north of the Eider, which became the northern boundary of Charles's kingdom, Charles was equally successful in the south- east. His marriage, in 771. with Hildegarde, daughter of Dike (iodfrey of Suabia, secured his influence in that duchy. In Bavaria his cousin, Tassilo, ruled practically as an independent sovereign. He had been allied with the Lom- bards, but in 781 he took the oath of allegiance to Charles. In 787 he rebelled, but was forced to surrender, and was deposed in 788. Tassilo had also been allied with the Avars, a fierce nomadic tribe which occtipied the great plain of tfie middle Danube. The wars which Charles undertook against theni in 701-!)6 resulted in the entire destruction of the nation, the Raah be- coming the southeastern boundary of the Frank- ish kingdom. In 778, at the invitation of the Emir of Saragossa, who was in revolt against his suzerain, the Caliph of Cordova, Charles invaded northeastern Spain. This campaign against the infidel figures very prominently in media>val legends, but in reality it was without direct re- sult. Charles was summoned home by the news of a Saxon revolt, and in his return over the Pyrenees, the rear-guard of his army was as- sailed and annihilated, probably in the Pass of Eoncesvalles, by the Basques. In this battle Poland (q.v.), afterwards the hero of a vast legendary literature, fell. In 770 Charles sent his son Louis to Spain, and after the fall of Barcelona he established the Spanish 'mark.' ex- tending from the Pyrenees to the Ebro. It was the ])olicy of Charles to establish such 'marks' on the borders of his dominions as bulwarks against the uncivilized nations by which they were surrounded. Against the Danes he estab- lished the Danish 'mark' south of the Eider: against the Sorabians the Tburingian 'mark;' against the Bohemians the Frankish 'mark;' and against the Southern Slavs the 'marks' of Ca- rinthia and Friuli. The land in these districts was parceled out among Frankish vassals, and ihe margraves who ruled over them had far greater power than the ordinary counts. Charles also made use of the Church to secure his con- quests. In the Saxon wars the Saxons were baptized by the thousands, and the bishoprics of Halberstadt, Paderboru, ilinden, Verden, Bre- men, Aliinster, and Osnabriick were erected. He also founded great monasteries, like Corvey and Herford, which were in fact fortresses in the enemy's country. By the conquest, organization, and rule of such extensive dominions and of peoples so dilTerent in race and political tradition. Charles had vir- tually established an empire. His assumption of the imperial title and the revival of the West- ern Roman Em])ire were but the logical consum- mation of his great work. This event took place on the occasion of an expedition to Italy, the ob- ject of which was to support Pope Leo 111. against the rebellious Romans. Wliile Charles was worshiping in Saint Peter's on Christmas Day, 800, the Poi)e, unexpecti'dly, as it appeared, set a crown upon his head, and amid the acclama- tions of the people, saluted him as 'CJarolus Augustus, Emperor of the Romans.' Whether or not the Emperor was aware of the intention of the Po[)e is a matter of conjecture only. In his familiar conversations he was wont to pro- test his ignorance of the projected coronation. In itself it added nothing directly to Charles's power, yet it greatly cuiilirmed and increased the res|)ect entertained for him. such was the lustre of a title with which were associated rcc(dlectioiis of all the greatness of the Roman Empire. There is said to have been a scheme for the union of the newly revived Western Empire with the Empire of the East, by Charles's marriage with Irene (q.v.), the Byzantine Empress. If so, it failed by reason of Irene's overthrow. Besides the moral weight of Roman tradition, the imperial title added to Charles's ollice of King the ])owerful temporal guardianship of the Church. 'I'his was stronirly emphasized in the new oath of allegiance to him. as Emperor, which Charles caused all his subjects to swear soon after his coronation. He proceeded to organize the empire with a view to strengthening the im[>erial power. The old national dukedoms having been abol- ished, Charles governed his dominions through counts, whom he himself api)ointcd. Each count piesided over an ancient cant<m (f!au), a sub- division of the dukedom. Three times a year the count held a regular court, which all freemen were bound to attend, and in times of war he assembled the military e.vy of the Oau. To watch over the counts Charles sent his 'Jlissi Dominici,' usually a count and a bishop, to the extreme ends of the empire. Their functions were to look after the administration of the Church, to collect the Emperor's revenues, and hold the superior court, Charles did not attempt to interfere with local Germanic institutions, but caused the ancient hiwn to be codified and reduced to writing. Although his rule was in fact abso- lute, he retained the ancient national assemblies, which every freeman might attend. They met twice a year, in spring (Mdifrld: see Champ de Mai) and in autumn, and deri<lid u|)on matters of State, particularly on peace and war. Here the 'ilissi Dominici' made their reports, and the Church councils were held. Besides the 'Jlissi' and his counselors, there were the two chief court officials — the Apocrisiarius, who stood at the head of Church affairs, and the Count Pala- tine (C'omes Palatinus), who presided over the secular administration. The income from the