【英文读物】Charlemagne

【英文读物】CharlemagneTranslators Preface Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, might well have been entitled Charles the Greatest. He was great in war and great in peacea great conqueror, great law-maker, great scholar, great organizer, great civilizer. He subdued savage nations, introduced learning, extended religion, encouraged the arts and sciences, and established one of the mightiest empires of the olden times. All the races of Germany, of Italy, and of France were welded by him into one great monarchy. He maintained and extended the influence of Christian culture. A large part of his life was spent in the field, and yet he found time for the political establishment and development of a great empire, for the reorganization of the Church, for the promotion of education, for the conservation of classic culture, and for an astonishing display of many-sided activity. Gibbon, the historian, says of him: “The dignity of his person, the length of his reign, the prosperity of his arms, the vigor of his government, and the reverence of distant nations, distinguish him from the royal crowd: and Europe dates a new era from his restoration of the Western Empire.” viHe was a monarch whose life was characterized by extraordinary activity and energy, by nobility of purpose and wisdom in administration, and by a constructive genius and innate capacity for wise and generous ruling, which have rarely been found in “the royal crowd.” As one of the most conspicuous figures in history, the events of his life as narrated in this volume deserve careful study at the hands of youth. G. P. U. Chicago, July 1910.Chapter I Ingelheim It was at Ingelheim1 on the Rhine that Charlemagne usually established his court during the middle period of his reign. An obelisk upon one of the adjacent heights, erected in 1807, bears the inscription, “Charlemagnes highway.” The erection of his palace at this spot shows his keen appreciation of its natural beauty. The view from these heights toward the Rhine, Johannisberg,2 and the Rheingau,3 taking in a blooming, fruitful valley, is incomparably fine. In one of the descriptions of the vicinity, it is related that Charlemagne was the first Frankish ruler who built in the grand style. It says: 12“A great admirer of the monuments of Greek and Roman architecture, Charlemagne was not satisfied with the simplicity of his ancestors, and sought to combine the useful and the beautiful, the comfortable and the artistic. He built not merely as the owner, but like a king. He selected one of the most beautiful spots on the heights of Rheingau for the palace of Ingelheim. The broad river, enclosing numerous islands in its strong arms, is visible throughout its entire course from the bend where it enters Rheingau, below Mainz, to the point where it plunges into the dark abyss of Bingerloch. The smiling meadows along its banks at the foot of vine-clad hillsides spread out like a charming panorama.” The palace itself is described by contemporaries as a wonder of art, transplanted as if by magic from the Italian Ravenna to the banks of the Rhine. Charlemagne secured the hundred marble and granite columns upon which the structure rests, as well as the mural decorations of the interior, through the favor of the Pope. Barbarian opulence in buildings was usually displayed in the lavish use of gold and silver, and artistic effect was sought for in brilliant metallic shimmer. But Charlemagne employed gold and silver only for the decoration of that beautiful work of artthe reproduction of the old palace at Ravenna upon the Ingelheim heightsa conspicuous evidence of that great change in times and customs by which not only the abode, but eventually the title and sceptre, of the C?sars came into the possession of a German sovereign. 13Contemporaneous descriptions of the personality of Charlemagne have also been preserved. According to the chronicles of Eginhard, he was large and symmetrical of body and stood about seven feet high. He had full, bright eyes, a strong nose, beautiful hair, and a frank, open countenance. Whether sitting or standing, he inspired reverence by his dignity. He was often upon horseback in war or the chase. He loved bathing as passionately as the chase, and often buffeted the green waves of the Rhine with his strong arms, but he was fonder of the warm mineral baths of Aachen4 (Aix-la-Chapelle) than of the river water. 14According to the Eginhard chronicles also, Charlemagne usually wore the Frankish costume, which is thus described in a chronicle at Saint Gall5: “The Frankish costume consisted of shoes, set off with gold adornments fastened by scarlet bands about the legs, and flaxen hose of the same color, figured in a most skilful manner. Then came the inner coat of bright canvas material, shoulder belt, and sword. The remaining detail of the costume was a gray or blue four-cornered mantle, doubled and so disposed that when worn ove