ftructed in the knowledge of the fcriptures, in arithmetic, grammar, and church mufic. This was doing a great deal,. at a time when even the dignified clergy could not subscribe their own name; and when it was deemed a fufficient qualification for a prieft to be able to read the Gospels, and underAand the Lord's Prayer.

The companion and particular favourite of Charlemagne, was our learned countryman, Alcuin, who inftructed him in the fciences, and was at the head of his Royal Academy. Several lucrative places were the reward of his learning and talents. Indeed, the emperor's generofity to men of letters knew no bounds. Perfuaded that genius thrives beft when encouraged, he did all he could to cherish it. As ignorance every where prevailed, fo this great man faw the neceffity of protecting and encouraging a clafs of men, who could employ their talents for the public good.

A. D. 814.

The countries which he added by conqueft to the empire of France, much exceeded his original dominions, and he retained them to his death, which happened at Aix-la-Chapelle, his usual refidence, in the feventy-first year of his age, and the forty-feventh of his reign. The glory of the French empire feemed to expire with him. He poffeffed all France, all Germany, part of Hungary, part of Spain, the Low Countries, and the Continent of Italy as far as Benevento. But to govern fuch an extent of territory, a monarch must be endowed with the genius of a Charlemagne. About a year before his death, he affociated his fon Louis with him in the empire. The ceremony was very folemn. As if this great man had forefeen the ufurpations of the church, he placed the imperial crown upon the altar, and ordered the prince to lift it, and fet it on his own head; intimating thereby, that he held it only of God *.

Louis, furnamed Debonnaire, on account of the gentleness of his manners, was the only lawful fon of Charlemagne that furvived him; on whofe death a partition of this extenfive empire took place, among his three fons. Charles, furnamed the Bold, obtained the kingdom of France; Germany, finally feparated from the empire of the Franks, was the hare of another fon, Louis of Bavaria; and Italy fell to Lothaire, with the title of emperor. Before this divifion a battle was fought at Fontenoy, in which fell an hundred thousand Franks. Lo thaire and his nephew Pepin were in this battle totally defeated; but the victorious brothers having retired to their own dominions, Lothaire rallied his fcattered forces, and con

* Vita Caroli Magni.

tinued

tinued the war for three years; after which mutual weakneís brought on a peace,

The concluding period of the hiftory of the degenerate pofterity of Charlemagne, is uninterefting and obfcure. The most memorable event that has been recorded, is the irrup tions of the Normans *, a fierce warlike people from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and other parts of Scandinavia. These barbarians, migrating from their native feats, ventured in light barks, hollowed out of the large trunks of trees, to brave the ocean. They penetrated into England, Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Weftern Ifles, and even to Ireland, all which places they made the fubjects of their de predations, marking their route by defolation and flaughter. The booty and wealth which thofe ravagers carried home, ex. cited others among them to advance along the coaft of Britain to France, where they first landed. Under

one of their moft illuftrious leaders, Rollo, they A. D. 820. failed up the Seine; and taking the city of Rouen,

foon became fo formidable, that Charles the Simple offered his daughter in marriage to Rollo, and ceded to him Normandy, Bretagne, and Neuftria.

The fupreme divinity of thefe northern nations was Oden, whom they painted and worshipped as the God of terror. They believed that thofe heroes would ftand highest in his favour, who had killed moft enemies in the field; that after death, the brave would be admitted into his palace, and there have the happiness of drinking beer, their favourite liquor, out of the skulls of their flaughtered foes.

In confequence of this belief, fatigues, wounds, combats, and perils, were the exercise of infancy and the sport of youth. They were forbidden to pronounce the word fear, even on the moft trying occafions. Education, prejudice, manners, example, habit, all contributed to fubdue in them the fenfation of timidity; to make them covet danger, and feem greedy of death. Military difcipline was only wanting to have enabled them to enflave the whole Chriftian world, then finking under the weight of a debafing fuperftition, and cringing beneath the rod of priestly tyranny.

The nuptials of Rollo with the French king's daughter, were celebrated in a very magnificent manner; when he likewife embraced the Chriftian Religion. This laid the foundation of the Norman power in France; which afterwards gave a king to England, in the perfon of William duke of Normandy, who fubdued Harold, the laft Saxon king, in the year 1066. This event proved unfortunate and ruinous

So called from their northern fituation,

to France, as it engaged that nation in almoft perpetual wars with England, for whom they were not an equal match, not withstanding their numbers, and the affiftance they received from Scotland.

After the death of Charles, his fon Louis, furnamed the Stranger, was recalled from England; whither he had been carried by his mother Egina, daughter of Edward the Elder, and grand-daughter of the great Alfred. He attempted to rescue himself from the tyranny of his tutor, Hugh the Great, fon of Robert, late duke of France, who had afpired to the throne. In this, however he failed, and left only a fhadow of royalty to his fon Lothaire; or rather Hugh the Great was pleafed to grant him the title of king, that he himself might enjoy the power. This ambitious nobleman, no lefs formidable than the ancient mayors, died in 955. He was fucceeded in confequence and abilities by his fon Hugh Capet, whom we fhall foon fee on the throne of France.

Lothaire died in 986, and was quietly fucceeded by his fon Louis V. who governed under the direction of Hugh Capet, during a fhort reign of one year and two months, which, was one continued fcene of troubles. In him ended the Carlovingians, or the defcendants of Charle magne, the fecond race of French kings.

A. D. 987.

CHAP. LVIII.

Hugh Capet, the Founder of a new Family. His Character, -Robert is excommunicated by the Pope.His Character, -Henry I-William, Duke of Normandy.-Henry marries a Ruffian Princess.

H UGH Capet, the moft powerful nobleman in France,

and founder of the third race of French kings, now afcended the throne, and annexed to the crown the dioceses of Paris and Orleans. The voice of the nation preferred him for his merit and power to his rival Charles, duke of Lorrain, the uncle of the deceafed king. He was proclaimed at Nojou a few days after the death of Louis, and was crowned at Rheims. Yet feveral of the nobles betrayed, by their abfence from the coronation, their difaffection to his caufe; and it is probable that had Charles roufed himself from his natural indolence, and appeared immediately in arms, he might have established his claims. But he wafted the hours in deliberation which ought

to

to have been devoted to action; and while Charles hefitated, Hugh had received the erown, and led on a confiderable force, to humble the nobles that had refufed him homage. The most confiderable of thefe was William, duke of Guienne, or, as he is fometimes called, of Aquitaine; but while the king, who had entered his territories, invefted the city of Poitiers, he was compelled to raise the fiege by Charles, who had now collected a formidable army in Champagne. In his retreat the king was encountered by the duke of Guienne, who, in a fhort and bloody engagement, was defeated, and immediately made fubmiffion to his fovereign.

Hugh feized the opportunity of this victory to fecure the crown to his family, and propofed in affembly of the nobles the affociation of his fon Robert. The Barons, humbled by his late conqueft, acquiefced; and Robert was crowned at Orleans, by the archbishop of Sens.

During this interval, Charles had taken the city of Laon, and with it the queen-dowager Emma, his implacable enemy. On the appearance of Hugh he retired within the walls; but afterwards by a fuccessful fally, in which a confiderable detachment of the king's troops were deftroyed, he compelled his enemy to abandon the fiege.

The city of Rheims, whofe archbifhopric had been given by Hugh to Arnold, the nephew of Charles, and the illegi timate fon of Lothaire, as the price of his desertion, was af terwards betrayed by him to the duke of Lorrain; and he led on the troops of his uncle.

Hugh, to call the attention of Charles to the defence of Rheims, marched towards that city; and then fuddenly changing his route, advanced to Laon, which he furprised by the intelligence of its bifhop. The duke and duchefs of Lorrain, who with the archbishop of Rheims were taken prisoners, were sent to Orleans, where they were held in an easy captivity for life. The duchy of Lorrain, however, was suffered to descend to their fon, on whose death the male line of Charlemagne became extinct. But Arnold, whofe perfidy had been betrayed by the priest to whom he had given orders to open the gates of Rheims, was degraded from his archbifhopric, and the vacant fee was beftowed on Gerbert, a monk of Rheims. The Pope, John the Fifteenth, indignant at not being confulted in this affair, revifed the fentence, and Arnold was again feated in the archiepifcopal chair. He was ftill, however, detained in confinement by Hugh, who dreaded his intrigues more than the difpleafure of the Pope.

Hugh Capet, though not diftinguished by thofe fplendid traits which mark the character of a hero, was wife, humane, and temperate. He conducted all his affairs with great pru

X 4

dence

dence and moderation. After having had the honour of eftablishing a new family, and in fome measure a new form gogovernment, with few circumftances of violence, he died in

he eighth year of his reign, and was quietly fucA.D. 999. ceeded by his fon Robert, a prince of a lefs vigorous genius, though not of a lefs amiable dispo

tion.

The moft remarkable circumftance in the reign of Robert, is his excummunication by the Pope. This prince had efpoufed Bertha, his coufin in the fourth degree; a marriage not only lawful according to our prefent ideas of things, and justified by the practice of all nations, ancient and modern, but neceffary to the welfare of the state, the being the fifter of Rodolph, king of Burgundy. But the clergy, among their other ufurpations, had about this time made a facrament of marriage, and laid the most eflential of civil engagements under fpiritual prohibitions, which extended even to the fe venth degree of confanguinity. The Pope's politically arrogated to themselves a fpecial jurifdiction over the first object of fociety, and that on which all the rest hang. Gregory V. therefore undertook to diffolve the marriage between Robert and Bertha, though it had been authorised by feveral bishops; and in a council held at Rome, without examining the cause, and without hearing the parties, he published, with the most defpotic authority, an imperious decree, which ordered the king and queen to be feparated, under peril of excommunication. And all the bishops who had countenanced the pretended crime, were fufpended from their functions, until fuch time as they thould make fatisfaction to the Holy See.

Robert, however, perfifted in keeping his wife, and thereby incursed the fentence of excommunication, which had fuch an effect on the minds of men, that the king was abandoned by all his courtiers, and even by his own domeftics, two fervants excepted. And thefe threw to the dogs all the victuals which their master left at meals, and purified, by fire, the veffels in which he had been ferved; fo fearful were they of what had been touched by an excommunicated perfon! The king, giving way to fuperftitious terrors, or afraid of civil commotions, at laft repudiated his wife Bertha, and married Conftance, daughter to the count of Arles, in whom he found an imperious termanant, inftead of an amiable confort. Gregory alfo obliged him to restore the traitor Arnold to the fee of Rheims.

There is not any monarch in the French hifA. D. 1031. tory more highly commended than Robert, or on whofe death the lamentations of all ranks of peo

ple