Class Book_'R. Goipglit)^^ G^^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. HISTORY OF EUROPE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL EARLIEST MAN, THE ORIENT, GREECE AND ROME BY JAMES HENRY BREASTED EUROPE FROM THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON . NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO COPYRIGHT, 1914, 1920, BY JAMES HARVEY ROBINSON AND JAMES HENRV BREASTED ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 520.3 MAk 'S'j i920 Vfft gtlitnKnin gce<< GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. ©CU$65379 PREFACE General European history is one of the most perplexing sub- jects to deal with in the high school. It seems absolutely essen- tial that boys and girls should have some knowledge of the whole past of mankind ; without that they can have no real understand- ing of the world in which they live, for the simple reason that the present can only be explained by the past. The older historical manuals were, in the main, short accounts of past events ; but it is really past conditions and past institutions and past ideas that are best worth knowing about. The older books tended, more- over, to give too much attention to the remote past and too little information in regard to recent histor\', so that there was little chance of the pupil's realizing the vital bearing of the past on the present. The aim of these two volumes is to avoid the defects of the older books, first, by frankly subordinating the mere happenings of the past to a clear statement of the conditions under which men lived for long periods, of the ideas which they held, and of the man- ner in which conditions and ideas have undergone great changes in man's slow rise from his original savage estate ; secondly, by devoting about half of the work, namely, V'olume II, to the past hundred and fifty years, which concern us most immediately. The arrangement of the volumes is novel in a number of re- spects. Each chapter is divided into several topical sections, as will be seen by consulting the Contents. The topics are, of course, arranged with strict attention to chronology, but the writers have always before them a particular subject which they aim to make plain under each section heading. In short, each section is a discussible topic and not a fragment of chronology. The authors hope that this plan of presentation will serve to make the books more useful and teachable than the older method of arrangement. iii iv History of Europe These volumes are based on the authors' "Outlines of European History," but Chapters I-XX have been completely rewritten, simplified, and condensed ; and more space has been given to Roman history and less to that of the ancient Orient. Hearty thanks are due to Dr. T. G. Allen and Professor Carl F. Huth for reading the proofs of this portion and for revising the bibli- ographies. As for the rest of the work, much condensation has been effected and the details of presentation have been reconsidered from beginning to end. Not only have the illustrations been carefully chosen with a view of corroborating and vivifying the text but under each picture a sufficiently detailed legend is given to explain its significance, and this often adds materially to the information given in the letterpress. The pictures consequently give a sort of. parallel narrative and furnish a helpful supplement and cor- rective to the text itself. Everj^thing which does not obviously bear upon the chief matters under consideration is sedulously excluded. (See "Outlines of European History," Part I, p. v, for acknowledgments of the authors in this important matter.) These volumes meet the growing demand for a two-yea.r course in European history in the earlier years of the high school and in the preparatory schools. The great achievements of the oriental peoples and of the Greek and Roman periods are brought into immediate relation with later European development, without devoting a whole year's study to them. English history, if some- what briefly treated, is given its proper association with that of the neighboring nations on the Continent. By devoting the whole second year to the history of the tremendous changes which have overtaken the world since the middle of the eighteenth century, the student will be in a position to grasp the more immediate causes of the World War and the perplexing conditions in the midst of which we live. J. II. B. J. H. R. CONTENTS BOOK I. EARLIEST MAN CHAPTER PAGE I. Earliest Max ix Europe I. The Progress of Earliest Man i II. The Early Stone Age 2 III. The Middle Stone Age 4 IV. The Late Stone Age 6 BOOK II. THE ORIENT II. The Story of Egypt I. Egypt and the Rise of the Earliest Civilization 14 II. The Pyramid Age 20 III. The Feudal Age 29 IV. The Empire 31 V. The Higher Life of the Empire and its Fall 33 III. Western Asia: Babylonia, Assyria, .\xd Chaldea I. The Lands and Races of Western Asia 39 II. The Earliest Babylonians and the Rise of Civilization in Asia 43 III. The Age of Hammurapi and After . 46 IV. The Assyrian Empire (about 750 to 606 B.C.) 50 V. The Chaldean Empire : the Last Semitic Empire 56 IV. Western Asia: the Medo-Persian Empire and the Hehrews I. The Indo-European Peoples and their Dispersion 59 II. The Aryan Peoples and the Iranian Prophet Zoroaster ... 62 III. Rise of the Persian Empire: Cyrus 64 IV. The Civilization of the Persian Empire (about 530 to 330 k.c.) 66 V. The Hebrews 69 VI. Estimate of Oriental Civilization 74 BOOK III. THE GREEKS V. The Dawn of European Civilization and the Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World I. The Dawn of Civilization in Europe 78 II. The /Egean World : the Islands 79 III. The .^gean World : the Mainland 82 v vi History of Europe CHAPTER PAGE IV. The Coming of the Greeks 86 V. The Nomad Greeks make the Transition to the Settled Life . 89 VI. Greek Civilization in the Age of the Kings 91 VI. The Age of the Nobles and Greek Expansion in the Mediterranean I. The Disappearance of the Kings and the Leadership of the Nobles * . 99 II. Greek Expansion in the Age of the Nobles 102 in. Greek Civilization in the Age of the Nobles 103 VII. The Industrial Revolution and the Age of the Tyrants I. The Industrial and Commercial Revolution 108 II. Rise of the Democracy and the Age of the Tyrants . . . . in III. Civilization in the Age of the Tyrants 115 VIII. The Repulse of Persia and the Rise of the Athe.man Empire I. The Coming of the Persians 121 II. The Greek Repulse of Persians and Phoenicians 124 III. The Rivalry with Sparta and the Rise of the Athenian Empire 129 IX. Athens in the Age of Pericles I. The Home, Education, and Training of Young Citizens . . 137 II. Higher Education, Science, and the Training gained by State Service 139 III. Art and Literature 144 X. The Fall of the Athenian Empire I. The Second Peloponnesian War 150 II. Third Peloponnesian War and Destruction of the Athenian Empire 1 53 XI. The Final Conflicts among the Greek States and their Higher Life .\fter Pericles I. Spartan Leadership and the Decline of Democracy .... 158 II. The Fall of Sparta and the Leadership of Thebes .... 160 III. Sculpture and Painting 161 IV. Religion, Literature, and Thought 162 XII. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age I. The Rise of Macedonia 169 II. Campaigns of Alexander the Great 171 III. International Policy of Alexander: its Personal Consequences 175 IV. The Heirs of Alexander's Empire 177 V. The Civilization of the Hellenistic Age 179 'Contents vii CHAPTER BOOJC IV. THE ROMANS PAGE XIII. The Western Mediterranean World and the Roman Conquest of Italy I. The Western Mediterranean World i8q II. Earliest Rome ,q^ III. The Character of the Early Republic: its Progress and Government jq^ IV. The Expansion of the Roman Republic and the Conquest of Italy ,QO XIV. The Roman Conquest of the Western Mediterranean World I. Italy under the Early Roman Republic 205 II. The Rising Rivalry between Rome and Carthage .... 207 III. The Struggle with Carthage: the Sicilian War, or First Punic War 2jq IV. The Hannibalian War (Second Punic War) and the Destruc- tion of Carthage 211 XV. World Dominion and Degeneracy I. The Roman Conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean World 218 II. RomanGovernmentandCivilizationinthe Age of Conquest 219 III. Degeneration in City and Country 224 XVI. A Century of Revolution and the End of the Republic I. The Land Situation and the Beginning of the Struggle between Senate and People 230 II. The Rise of One-Man Power : Marius and Sulla .... 231 III. The Overthrow of the Republic : Pompey and Caesar . . 234 IV. The Triumph of Augustus.and the End of the Civil War . 240 XVII. The First Century of Peace: the Age of Augustus and the Successors of his Line I. The Rule of Augustus (30 b.c.-a. D. 14) and the Beginning of Two Centuries of Peace 244 II. The Civilization of the Augustan Age 247 III. The Line of Augustus and the End of the First Century of Peace (a. D. 14-68) 21:1 XVIII. The Second Century of Peace and the Civilization of the Early Roman Empire I. The Emperors of the Second Century of Peace (beginning A-D. 69) 255 II. The Civilization of the Early Roman Empire : the Provinces 259 III. The Civilization of the Early Roman Empire : Rome . . 265 .J viii History of Europe CHAPTER PAGE IV. Popularity of Oriental Religions and the Spread of Early Christianity 270 V. Marcus Aurelius and the End of the Second Century of Peace 272 XIX. A Century of Revolutio.v and the IDivision of the Emim kk I. Internal Decline of the Roman Empire 275 II. A Century of Revolution ". 278 III. The Roman Empire an Oriental Despotism 280 IV. The Division of the Ernpire and the Triumph of Christianity 283 V. Retrospect 286 BOO A' V. THE MIDDLE AGES XX. The German Invasions and the Break-up of the Roman Empire I. Founding of Kingdoms by Barbarian Chiefs 289 II. Kingdom of the Franks 299 III. Results of the Barbarian Invasions 302 XXI. The Rise of the Papacy I. The Christian Church 307 II. Origin of the Power of the Popes 311 XXII. The Monks and their Missionary Work; the Moham- medans I. Monks and Monasteries 316 II. Missionary Work of the Monks 320 III. Mohammed and his Religion 322 XXIII. Charlemagne and his Empire I. Conquests of Charlemagne 330 II. Establishment of a Line of Emperors in the West .... 334 III. How Charlemagne carried on his Government 336 XXIV. The Age of Disorder; Feudalism I. The Disruption of Charlemagne's Empire 339 II. The Medieval Castle . ' 343 III. The Serfs and the Manor 346 IV. Feudal System 350 V. Neighborhood Warfare in the Middle Ages 353 XXV. England in the Middle .^ges I. The Norman Conquest 357 II. Henry II and the Plantagenets 362 III. The Great Charter and the Beginnings of Parliament . . 369 IV. Wales and Scotland 373 V. The Hundred Year^' W^ar 376 Contents ix CHAPTER- PAGE XXVI. Popes and Emperors I. Origin of the Holy Roman Empire 387 II. The Church and its Property -,30 III. The Long Struggle between Popes and Emperors ... 393 XXVII. The Crusades I. Origin of the Crusades .... II. The First Crusade ... • • • 403 III. The Religious Orders of the Hospitalers and Templars . 406 IV. The Second and Later Crusad V. Chief Results of the Crusades IV. The Second and Later Crusades ,08 410 BOOK VI. MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION XXVIII. The Medieval Church at its Height I. Organization and Powers of the Church 41^ II. The Heretics and the Inquisition 418 III. The Franciscans and Dominicans ,,i IV. Church and State . . •. • 425 XXIX. Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings I. The Towns and Guilds II. Business in the Later Middle Ages \\ 6 History of Europe needles, spoons, and ladles, all of ivory or bone, and carve them with pictures of the animals he hunted in the forest (Fig. 4). The fine ivory needles (Fig. 3) show that the hunter's body was now protected from cold by clothing sewed together out of the skins of the animals he had slain. He also fashioned keen barbed ivory spear points which he mounted, each on a long wooden shaft. He had also discovered the bow and arrow, and he carried at his girdle a sharp flint dagger. 8. Middle Stone Age Art. These Middle Stone Age hunters could not only draw (Fig. 4) but they could also paint with the greatest skill. In the cav- erns of southern France and northern Spain their paint- _ , ^, ings have been found in Fig. 3. Ivory Needle of the '^ . . Middle Stone Age surprising numbers in re- ^ , ,, , , .„ . . . cent years. Long lines of Such needles are found still surviving in -^ '^ the rubbish in the French caverns, where bison, deer, or wild horseS the wives of the prehistoric hunters lost cover the walls and ceilings them and failed to find them again twenty ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Sometimes thousand years ago. i hey show that these women were already sewing together the they are only carved on the skins of wild animals as clothing j-QCk wall (Fig. 4, 2) ; but many are painted in colors. They are all startling in their lifelikeness and vigor. These paint- ings, — made at least ten thousand years ago, — together with the carvings on the hunter's ivory and bone weapons (Fig. 4, i, j, 4), form the earliest art in the whole career of man, in so far as we know. IV. The Late Stone Age 9. Last Retreat of the Ice ; the Late Stone Age. At length the climate again grew warmer and became what it is to-day. The traces left by the ice would lead us to think that it withdrew northward for the last time probably some ten thousand years ago. Men of a different race from those of the Early and Middle Stone Ages had meantime invaded western Europe. These men had learned that it was possible to grind the edge of a stone ax Earliest Man in Europe 7 or chisel (Fig. 6, 4) as we now do with tools of metal. They were also able to drill a hole in the stone ax head and insert a handle (Fig. 6, 5). The common use of the ground stone ax, after the retreat of the ice, brings in the Late Stone Age. Traces of the Fig. 4. Drawings carved by Middle Stone Age Man on Ivory /, marching line of reindeer with salmon in the spaces — probably a talis- man to bring the hunter and fisherman good luck ; 2, a bison at bay (not on ivory but incised in the rock of a cavern wall ; over one hun- dred and fifty caverns containing such paintings and carvings are known in France and Spain) ; j, a grazing reindeer ; 4, a running reindeer. See Ancient Times, Figs. 9, 10 villages and settlements of Late Stone Age man have been found throughout all Europe, except in the extreme north. 10. Progress of Late Stone Age Man. The life of Late Stone Age man gradually made progress in a number of very impor- tant matters. First, with their ground stone axes, hatchets, and chisels (Fig. 6) men could now build wooden huts. These wooden 8 History of Europe dwellings of the Late Stone Age (Fig. 5) are the earliest such shel- ters found in Europe. Sunken fragments of these houses are found all along the shores of the Swiss lakes, lying at the bottom, among the piles which supported the houses of the village. Second, such tools also enabled the lake-dwellers to make a great deal of wooden Fig. 5. Restoration of a Swiss Lake-Dweller's Settlement The lake-dwellers felled trees with their stone axes (Fig. 6, j) and cut them into piles some twenty feet long, sharpened at the lower end. These they drove several feet into the bottom of the lake, in water eight or ten feet deep. On a platform supported by these piles they then built their houses. The platform was connected with the shore by a bridge, which may be seen here on the right. A section of it could be removed at night for protection. The fish nets seen drying at the rail, the " dugout " boat of the hunters who bring in the deer, and many other things have been found on the lake bottom in recent times furniture. Pieces of stools, chests, carved dippers, spoons, and the like, all of wood, show that these houses were equipped with all ordinary wooden furniture. Third, the householder had also learned that clay will harden in the fire, and he was making handy jars, bowls, and dishes of burned clay (Fig. 6). Although roughly made without the use of the potter's wheel and unevenly burned without an oven, they added much to the equipment of his dwelling. Earliest Man in Europe Fourth, the lake-dweller had somewhere gained knowledge of flax} Before his door the women sat spinning flaxen yarn, and the rough skin clothing of his ancestors had given way to gar- ments of woven stuff. Fifth, the lake-dwellers had already re- ceived one of the greatest possessions gained by man in his slow Fig. 6. Part of the Equipment of a Late Stone Age Lake-Dweller seen in Fig. 5 This group contains the evidence for three important inventions made or received by the men of the Late Stone Ag&: Jirst, pottery jars, like 2 andj, with rude decorations, the oldest baked clay in Europe, and i, a large kettle in which the lake-dwellers' food was cooked ; second, ground-edged tools like 4, stone chisel with ground edge (§ 9), mounted in a deerhorn handle like a hatchet, or ^, stone ax with a ground edge and pierced with a hole for the ax handle (the houses of Fig. 5 were built with such tools) ; and third, weaving, as shown by 6, a spinning " whorl " of baked clay, the earliest spin- ning wheel. When suspended by a rough thread of flax eighteen to twenty inches long, it was given a whirl which made it spin in the air like a top, thus rapidly twisting the thread by which it was hanging. The thread when suffi- ciently twisted was wound up, and another length of eighteen or twenty inches was drawn out from the unspun flax to be similarly twisted. One of these earliest spinning wheels has been found in the Swiss lakes with a spool of flaxen thread still attached. (From photograph lent by Professor Hoernes) advance toward civilization. This was the food grains which we call cereals, especially wheat and barley. The seeds of the wild grasses, which their ancestors once gathered, these Late Stone 1 Flax, grain, and cattle-breeding were without doubt introduced into Europe from the Orient. 10 History of Europe Age men had learned to cultivate. Thus wild grain was domesti- cated, and agriculture was introduced. Sixth, these Late Stone Age men possessed domestic cattle. On the green uplands above were now pasturing the creatures which Middle Stone Age man had once pursued through the wilds {Ancient Times, Fig. 12). For the mountain sheep and goats and the wild cattle had now learned to dwell near man and submit to his control. Indeed, the wild ox bowed his neck to the yoke and drew the plow across the forest-girt field where he had once wandered in unhampered freedom. Fragments of wooden wheels in the lake-villages show that he was also drawing the wheeled cart, the earliest in Europe. 11. Earliest Communities Organized. Wooden houses, agri- culture, and the possession of domestic animals resulted in a more settled and less roaming life. Communities were formed. Groups of massive tombs still surviving, built of enormous blocks of stone, required the united efforts of large numbers of men. Also, the driving of fifty thousand piles for the lake-village at Wangen in Switzerland shows that men were learning to work together. Friendly intercourse between these communities was also known. The amber from the north and the wide distribution of a certain kind of flint found in only one mine of France tell us of the begin- nings of commerce between the prehistoric communities of Europe. 12. Summary of European Man's Progress down to about 3000 B. c. Let us now look back for a moment and see how much early man had gained in over fifty thousand years of slow prog- ress. Before his first stone weapon he had learned to speak, then to kindle fire, and after that came his earliest efforts to work stone. For ages afterward {Early Stone Age) his progress con- sisted chiefly of improvements in his stone weapons. Then after the ice came down {Middle Stone Age) he learned to use ivory, bone, and reindeer horn, including ivory needles for sewing to- gether skin clothing. He even painted wonderful animal figures on the walls of his cavern home and carved the same animals on his weapons. Later, as the ice retreated {Late Stone Age), and he learned to grind the edge of his stone tools, he could build wooden dwellings and fill them with wooden utensils and furniture. Earliest Man in Europe ii He was also able to make pottery, spin and weave flax for cloth- ing, cultivate grain, and follow agriculture. Then he learned to keep the once wild creatures, like cattle and sheep, as tamed domestic animals. At the same time Stone Age men had learned to lead a settled life in towns and villages. 13. Late Stone Age Barbarism all around the Mediter- ranean. Thus far we have followed man's advance only in Eu- rope. Similar progress had also been made by Stone Age men all around the Mediterranean ; that is, about 4000 b. c, not only in Europe but in Asia, and especially in northern Africa, mankind had reached about the same stage of advancement. 14. Rise of Civilization in Egypt (4000-3000 B.C.). But civilization cannot arise or exist at all without the following three things : the use of metals, the possession of writing, and the con- trol of men by an organized government. Nowhere around the entire Mediterranean did the world of Late Stone Age barbarism as yet possess these things, nor did Europe ever gain them for itself unaided. Europe borrowed them. Hence we must now turn elsewhere to see where these and many other things that help to make up civilization first appeared. In the southeast corner of the Mediterranean (see map, p. 176) the valley of the river Nile formed a home for men so well supplied with everything needful for human life and so favorably situated that the Late Stone Age men of Egypt, as the lower Nile valley is called, began to make more rapid progress than the Late Stone Age men of Europe. The Egyptians, emerging from the Late Stone Age, invented a system of writing, discovered metal, and learned to use it. Thus in the thousand years between 4000 and 3000 B.C. the Egyptians of the Late Stone Age advanced to a great and wonderful civilization, while the Europeans still re- mained in barbarism. In the sailing ships which the Egyptians learned to build, the things like metal and writing, so important in civilization, be- gan to pass from the dwellers along the Nile to the Late Stone Age Europeans about 3000 b.c. Barbarian Europe was thus dis- covered by civilized people crossing the Mediterranean, just as 12 History of Europe barbarian America was later discovered by civilized men who crossed the Atlantic, Hence in order to understand the further history of Europe we must turn to Egypt and the Near Orient/ of which Egypt is a part. There we shall take up the Egyptians just as they had reached the end of the Late Stone Age, and we shall follow them as they gained civilization and became the first great civilized nation. 15. Prehistoric (to 4000 B.C.) and Historic (after 3000 B.C.) Periods. It was not until man invented writing and began to produce written documents and monuments bearing inscrip- tions that the Historic Period began. All that we know about men of the Stone Age we have to learn from their surviving weapons, tools, implements, buildings, and other works of their hands, bear- ing no writing. The age before the appearance of written records we call the Prehistoric Period. The transition from the Prehistoric to the Historic Period did not take place suddenly, but was a slow process. The Historic Period began in the Orient during the thousand years between 4000 and 3000 B.C./ as barbarism slowly gave way to civilization and writing became more common. 16. The Orient and Europe. The transition from the Pre- historic to the Historic Period took place in the Orient because civilization arose there. Civilization there is over five thousand years old. It long flourished in the Orient, where it arose, and there great and powerful nations held the leadership for over three thousand years. The barbarians of Late Stone Age Europe, how- ever, long continued without metals and writing. Then, as they slowly acquired these things, leadership in civilization at length passed from the Orient to Europe in the sixth century B.C. We must now, therefore, turn to the Orient to see how man struggled up out of the age of stone tools and weapons into civilization and to follow three thousand years of oriental leadership in civilized life. 1 The word " Orient " is used to-day to include Japan, China, and India. These lands make up a Far Orient. There is also a Near Orient, consisting of the lands around the eastern end of the Mediterranean, that is, Egypt and Western Asia, including Asia Minor. We shall use the word " Orient" in this book to designate the Near Orient. 2 Notice that dates before Christ (b.c.) are numbered backward; that is, as time advances the numbers decrease. Thus 3000 B.C. is later than 4000 B.C.; iSoo B.C. is later than 1900 B.C. Earliest Man in Europe 13 QUESTIONS 1 I. What progress in invention have you noticed in your own Ufe- time ? Was there a time when man possessed none of these things ? •/What three ages did earhest man pass through ? • II. Describe man's earhest tools.'^How did he Hve, and what was Europe then like ? "AVhat do we call this age ?^ What great- change brought it to an end ? III.^AVhere did man then take refuge ?i/ Describe his progress and list his new inventionsXWhat art did he possess? IV. 'When did the ice withdraw for the last time? What new treat- ment of his edged tools did man then discover? *^Make a hst of his new possessions in this age. What remains of its towns and communi- ties still survive ? Did civilization arise in Europe ? Whence did it come to Europe ? Contrast the Prehistoric and Historic Periods. 1 The numerals at the beginnings of the paragraphs indicate the numbered subdivi- sions of the text of the chapter in which the answers to the questions may be found. Note. The following necklace, of blue glazed beads, made in Egypt was found in a grave of the Late Stone Age in England. BOOK 11. THE ORIENT CHAPTER II THE STORY OF EGYPT I. Egypt and the Rise of the Earliest Civilization 17. Egypt of To-day. We are to begin our study of the early Orient in Egypt. The traveler who visits Egypt at the present day lands in a very modern-looking harbor at Alexandria (see map, p. 176). He is presently seated in a comfortable railway car, in which we may accompany him as he is carried across a low flat plain covered with green fields and dotted with little villages of dark mud-brick huts and scattered palm groves. Wandering through this verdure is a network of irrigation canals (Fig. 7). Brown-skinned men of slender build, with dark hair, are seen at intervals along the banks of these canals, lifting irrigation buckets attached to simple devices (Fig. 7) exactly like the "well sweeps" of our grandfathers in New England. The irrigation trenches are thus kept full of water for about a hundred days until the grain ripens. It is the best of evidence that Egypt enjoys no rain. The black soil we see is unexcelled in fertility, for it is enriched each year by the overflow of the river. The roily waters rise above the river banks every summer, spread far over the flats, and stand there long enough to deposit a very thin layer of rich earthy sedi- ment. This sediment, deposited through ages, has built up the Delta, which we are now crossing. The Delta and the valley above, as far as the First Cataract, together form Egypt (see map, p. 42). It contains over ten thousand square miles of cul- tivable soil, or somewhat more than the state of Vermont. 14 The Story of Egypt IS 18. The Most Favorable Situation for the Rise of Civilization. As our train approaches the southern point of the Delta we begin to see heights on either side of the valley. These heights (Fig. 17) are the plateau of the Sahara Desert, through which the Nile has cut a vast, deep trench as it winds its way northward from inner Africa. This trench, or val- ley, is seldom more than thirty miles wide, while the strip of soil on each side of the river rarely exceeds ten miles in width. With the ex- ception of the Delta, there- fore, Egypt lies at the bottom of a vast trench. Protected by the uninhabited desert on each side, this valley formed a sheltered home, provided with water, a rich soil, a mild climate, and plentiful supplies of raw material of nearly all kinds. Nowhere else on the Mediterranean was there a situation so fa- vorable for the progress of early men ; and nowhere else have the works of their hands, revealing their life in intimate detail, survived in such great numbers. Fig. 7. An Egyptian Shadoof, the Oldest of Well Sweeps, irrigat- ing THE Fields The man below stands in the water, hold- ing his leather bucket {A). The pole {B) of the sweep is above him, with a large ball of dried Nile mud on its lower end (C) as a lifting weight, or counterpoise, seen just behind the supporting post (Z>). This man lifts the water into a mud basin [E). A second man (in the middle) lifts it from this first basin (E) to a second basin (E), into which he is just empty- ing his bucket; while a third man (G) lifts the water from the middle basin {E') to the uppermost basin {//) on the top of the bank, where it runs off to the left into trenches spreading over the fields. The low water makes necessary three succes- sive lifts (to E, to E, to //) without ceas- ing night and day for one hundred days while the crops are growing. Lack of rain is thus atoned for by the Nile 1 6 History oj Europe As we journey into the Nile valley, therefore, we soon realize that it can tell us a story of human progress through successive ages such as we can find nowhere else. The first age was that from about 4000 to 3000 b. c, during which man for the first time passed out of barbarism into civilization. The Nile-dweller's more fortunately situated home enabled him to outstrip in progress all other Late Stone Age peoples around the Mediterranean. The contents of prehistoric graves (see Ancient Times, Fig. 25) when examined in one cemetery after another show us gradually improving workmanship, which is evidence of this progress. 19. Life of the Earliest Nile -Dwellers. These earliest Egyptians, like the earliest Europeans, had once been only hunt- ers living on the wild game in the Nile jungles. Wheat and barley found in their graves show that they were already cultivat- ing grain, — the grain that later passed to Europe. A fragment of linen in a grave tells us also whence Europe derived its flax. The peasant at the bottom of this grave was therefore watering his fields of flax and grain down on the fertile soil of the valley over six thousand years ago, just as the brown men whom the traveler sees from the car windows to-day are still doing. The villages of low mud-brick huts which flash by the car windows furnish us also with an exact picture of those vanished prehistoric villages, the homes of the early Nile-dwellers who are still lying in the graves on the desert margin. In such a village, over six thousand years ago, lived the local chieftain who con- trolled the irrigation-canal trenches of the district. To him the peasant was required to carry every season a share of the grain and flax which he gathered from his field ; otherwise the supply of water for his crops would stop, and he would receive an un- pleasant visit from the chieftain, demanding instant payment. These were the earliest taxes. 20. Pictorial Records and Phonetic Signs. Such transactions led to scratching a rude picture of the basket grain-measure and a number of strokes on the mud wall of the peasant's hut, indicat- ing the number of measures of grain he had paid. In this and The Story of Egypt 1 7 many other ways the peasant's dealings with his neighbors or with the chieftain led him to make picture records, and these are the earliest writing known (see Ancient Times, Fig. 28). Gradually each picture gained a fixed sound, for which it always stood. Let us imagine for convenience that Egyptian contained the English word "leaf." It might be written thus: ^. The Egyptian would in course of time come to look upon the leaf as the sign for the syllable "leaf" wherever it might occur. By the same process \S7 might become the sign for the syllable " bee " wherever found. Having thus a means of writing the syllables "bee" and "leaf," the next step was to put them together thus, W h, and they would together represent the word "belief." Notice, however, that in the word " belief " the sign \0 suggests no longer the idea of a bee but only the syllable "be." That is to say, ]M has become a phonetic sign. In this way early man could write many names of things of which you cannot make pictures. It is impossible to make a picture of "belief," as you can of a jar or a knife. Thus the Egyptians gradually gained many phonetic signs. 21. Advantage of Phonetic Signs. If the writing of the Egyptian had remained merely a series of pictures, such words as "belief," "hate," "love," "beauty," and the like could never have been written. But when a large number of his pictures had be- come phonetic signs, each representing a syllable, it was possible for the Egyptian to write any word he knew, whether the word meant a thing of which he could draw a picture or not. This possession of phonetic signs is what makes real writing for the first time. It arose among these Nile-dwellers earlier than anywhere else in the ancient world. Indeed, the Egyptian went still further, for he finally possessed a series of signs, each representing only one letter ; that is, alphabetic signs, or real letters. There were twenty-four letters in this alphabet, which was known in Egypt long l:)efore 3000 B.C. It was thus the earliest alphabet known and the one from which our own has descended (see Ancient Times, §§ 51-56 and Figs. 29-30, where the reader will find the Egyptian alphabet). 1 8 History of Europe 22. Invention of Writing Materials. The Egyptians early found out that they could make an excellent paint or ink by thickening water with a little vegetable gum and then mixing in a little soot from the blackened pots over the fire. By dipping a pointed reed into this mixture one could write very well. They also learned that they could split a kind of river reed, called papyrus, into thin strips and make large sheets by pasting the strips together with overlapping edges. They thus produced a smooth, tough, pale-yellow paper, the earliest paper known. In this way arose pen, ink, and paper (see Fig. 8) . All three of these inventions have descended to us from the Egyptians, and "paper" still bears its ancient name, "papyrus," but slightly changed. With the invention of phonetic writing and writing materials civilization was about to begin, and with its advance the written records would begin to be made, which meant the end of the Prehistoric Period and the beginning of the Historic Period ( § 15). 23. Egyptian Invention of our Calendar (4241 B.C.). The Egyptians at the same time found it necessary to measure time, for the peasant needed to know when he ought to go into the town for the next religious feast or how many days still remained before he must pay his neighbor the grain he borrowed last year. Like all other early peoples he found the time from new moon to new moon a very Convenient rough measure. But the moon-month varies in length from twenty-nine to thirty days, and it does not evenly divide the year. The Egyptian scribe early discovered this inconvenience, and he decided to use the moon no longer for dividing his year. He would have twelve months and he would make his months all of the same length ; that is, thirty days each. Then he would celebrate five feast days, a kind of holiday week five days long, at the end of the year. This gave him a year of 365 days. He was not yet enough of an astronomer to know that every four years he ought to have a leap year, of 366 days, although he discovered this fact later. This convenient Egyptian calendar was devised in 4241 b.c, and its introduction is the earliest dated event in history. Furthermore, this calendar is the very one which has descended to us, after more than six The Story of Egypt 19 thousand years. Unfortunately, it has meantime suffered awk- ward alterations in the lengths of the months, alterations for which the Egyptians were not responsible (see p. 240). 24. Discovery of Metal (at least 4000 B.C.). Meantime the Egyptians were also making great progress in other matters. It was probably in the peninsula of Sinai (see map, p. 42) that some Egyptian, wandering thither, once happened to bank his camp fire with pieces of copper ore lying on the ground about the camp. The charcoal of his wood fire mingled with the hot fragments of ore piled around to shield the fire, and thus the ore was " reduced," as the miner says ; that is, the copper in metallic form was released from the lumps of ore. Next morning as the Egyptian stirred the embers he discovered a few glittering globules, now hardened into beads of metal. He drew them forth and turned them admir- ingly as they glittered in the morning sunshine. Before long, as the experience was repeated, he discovered whence these strange shining beads had come. He produced more of them, at first only to be worn as ornaments by his women. Then he learned to cast the metal into a blade to replace the flint knife which he carried in his girdle. ^25.; Dawning of the Age of Metal. Without knowing it this marif stood at the dawning of a new era, the Age of Metal. The little disk of shining copper which he drew from the ashes might have reflected to this Egyptian wanderer a vision, could he have seen it, of steel buildings, Brooklyn bridges, huge fac- tories roaring with the noise of thousands of machines of metal, and vast stretches of steel roads along which thunder hosts of rushing locomotives. For these things of our modern world, and all they signify, would never have come to pass but for the little bead of metal which the Egyptian held in his hand for the first time on that eventful day so long ago. Since the discovery of fire over fifty thousand years earlier (§2) man had made no conquest of the things of the earth which could compare in im- portance • /ith this discovery of metal. 26. First Glimpse of the Pyramids. Such are the thoughts which occupy the mind of the well-informed traveler as his 20 History of Europe train carries him southward across the Delta. The train rounds a bend, and through an opening in the palms the traveler is fairly blinded by a burst of blazing sunshine from the western desert, in the midst of which he discovers a group of noble pyramids rising above the glare of the sands. It is his first glimpse of the great pyramids of Gizeh, and it tells him better than any printed page what the Egyptian builders with copper tools in their hands were able to do. A few minutes later his train is moving among the modern buildings of Cairo, and the very next day will surely find him taking the seven-mile drive from Cairo out to Gizeh. II. The Pyramid Age 27. The Pyramids as Royal Tombs. No traveler ever forgets his first drive to the pyramids of Gizeh, as he sees their giant forms rising higher and higher above the crest of the western desert (frontispiece). These pyramids are tombs, in which the kings of Egypt were buried. Other tombs of masonry, much smaller in size, cluster about the pyramids in great numbers (frontispiece). Here were buried the relatives of the king, and the great men of his court who assisted him in the government of the land (Fig. 8). Such mighty buildings reveal many things about the men who built them. In the first place, they show that the Egyptians believed in a life after death and that to obtain such life they thought it necessary to preserve the body from destruction. They built these tombs to protect the body after death. From this belief came also the practice of "embalming," by which the body was preserved as a mummy (Fig. 20). 28. The Gods of Egypt: Re and Osiris. The Egyptians had many gods, but there were two whom they worshiped above all others. The Sun, which shines so gloriously in the cloudless Egyptian sky, was their greatest god, and their most splendid temples were erected for his worship. Indeed, the pyramid was a symbol sacred to the Sun-god. They called him Re (pron. ray). The other great power which they revered as a god was the The Story of Egypt 21 shining Nile. The great river and the fertile soil he refreshes, and the green life which he brings forth — all these the Egyptian thought of together as a single god, Osiris, the imperishable life of the earth which revives and fades every year with the changes of the seasons, 29. Rapid Progress from the Earliest Stone Masonry to the Great Pyramid. But this vast cemetery of Gizeh tells us of many other things besides the religion of the Egyptians. As we look up at the colossal pyramids behind the Sphinx (frontispiece) we can hardly grasp the fact of the enormous forward stride taken by the Egyptians since the days when they used to be buried with their flint knives in a pit scooped out on' the margin of the desert. It was chiefly the use of metal which carried them so far. That Egyptian in Sinai who noticed the first bit of metal (§ 24) lived over -a thousand years before these pyramids were built. He was buried in a pit like that of the earliest Egyptian peasant. By the thirty-fourth century B.C. the Egyptians were building the tombs of their kings of sun-baked brick. Such a royal tomb was merely a chamber in the ground, roofed with wood and covered with a mound of sand and gravel. Similar tombs continued to be built until about 3000 b.c, only a century before the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. Meantime some skillful workmen found out that with their copper tools they could cut blocks of limestone and line the burial chamber with these stone blocks in place of the soft bricks. This was the first piece of stone masonry ever put together in so far as we know. It was built not more than fifty years before 3000 B.C. In the course of the next century and a half or less the first tombs of pyramidal form were erected, and by 2900 b.c. the king's architect was building the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. Most of this amazing progress was made during the thirtieth cen- tury B.C.; that is, between 3000 and 2900 b.c. (see diagram. Ancient Times, Fig. 38). Such rapid progress in control of mechanical power can be found in no other period of the world's history until the great development of machinery in the nineteenth century, which has just passed. 22 History of Europe 30. Vast Size of the Great Pyramid. It helps us to reahze this progress when we know that the Great Pyramid covers thirteen acres. It is a soHd mass of masonry containing 2,300,000 blocks of limestone, each weighing on an average two and a half tons ; that is, each block is as heavy as a large wagonload of coal. The sides of the pyramid at the base are seven hundred and fifty-five feet long (that is, about a block and three quarters, counting twelve city blocks to a mile), and the building was nearly five hundred feet high. An ancient story tells us that a hundred thousand men were working on this royal tomb for twenty years (see frontispiece). 31. Length and Date of the Pyramid Age. From the summit of the Great Pyramid there is a grand view southward, down a long line of pyramids rising dimly as far as one can see on the southern horizon. Each pyramid was a royal tomb, and each such tomb therefore means that a king lived, ruled, and died. The line is over sixty miles long, and its oldest pyramids represent the first great age of Egyptian civilization after the land was united under one king.^ We may call it the Pyramid Age, and it lasted about five hundred years — from about 3000 until after 2500 B.C. "' 32. Government in the Pyramid Age. Such a great piece of work as a pyramid shows the immense progress of the Egyptians in government . We perceive at once that it must have required a very skillful ruler and a great body of officials to manage and to feed a hundred thousand workmen around the Great Pyramid. The king who controlled such vast undertakings was no longer a local chieftain (§ 19), but he now ruled a united Egypt, the earliest great unified nation, having several millions of people. He had his local officials collecting taxes all over Egypt. It was also their business to try all cases at law wherever they arose, and every judge had before him the written law which bade him judge justly. Even those accused of treason received proper trials. 1 Before this, little kingdoms scattered up and down the valley had long existed but were finally united into one kingdom, under a single king. The first king to establish this union permanently was Menes, who united Egypt under his rule about 3400 b.c. The Story of Egypt 23 The king's huge central offices, occupying low sun-baked brick buildings, sheltered an army of clerks with their reed pens and their rolls of papyrus (§ 22), keeping the king's records and accounts. The taxes received from the people here were not paid in money, for coined money did not yet exist. Such payments were made in produce : grain, live stock, wine, honey, linen, and the like. 33. The Royal City. The villas (Fig. 10) of the officials who assisted the king in all this business of government, with their gardens, formed a large part of the royal city. The chief quarter, however, was occupied by the palace of the king and the luxurious parks and gardens which surrounded it. Thus the palace and its grounds, the official villas, and the offices of the government made up the capital of Egypt, the royal city which once extended along the foot of the Gizeh pyramid cemetery and stretched far away southward over the valley plain. It was later called Memphis. But the city was all built of sun-baked brick and wood, and it has therefore vanished. 34. Earliest Seagoing Ships. In the Pyramid Age the Pharaoh, as the ruler was called, was powerful enough to seek wealth be- yond the boundaries of Egypt. A few surviving blocks from a fallen pyramid-temple ( Fig. 1 1 ) south of Gizeh bear carved and painted reliefs showing us the ships which he ventured to send beyond the shelter of the Nile mouths far across the end of the Mediterranean to the coast of Phoenicia (see map, p. 42). This was in the middle of the twenty-eighth century b.c, and this relief contains the oldest known picture of a seagoing ship (see Ancient Times, Fig. 41). Yet at that time the Pharaoh had already been carrying on such over-sea commerce for centuries. 35. Agriculture, Cattle-raising, and Beasts of Burden. A stroll among the tombs clustering so thickly around the pyramids of Gizeh (frontispiece) is almost like a walk among the busy com- munities of this populous valley in the days of the pyramid- builders, for the stone walls are often covered from floor to ceiling with carved scenes, beautifully painted, picturing the daily life on the great estate of which the buried noble had been lord (Figs. 8 24 History oj Europe and 9). The tallest form in all these scenes on the walls is that of the dead noble. He stands looking out over his fields and inspecting the work going on there (Fig. 8). These fields where the oxen draw the plow and the sowers scatter the seed are the oldest scene of agriculture known to us. Here too are the herds, long lines of sleek fat cattle. While they graze in the pasture, the milch cows are led up and tied to be milked. These cattle are also beasts of burden ; we have noticed the oxen drawing the plow, and the donkey too is everywhere, for it would be difficult to har- vest the grain without him. But we find no horses in these tombs of the Pyramid Age, for the horse was then un- known to the Egyptian. 36. The Coppersmith. On the next wall we find again the tall figure of the noble overseeing the booths and yards where the craftsmen of his estate are working. Yonder is the smith. This man could make excellent copper^ tools of all sorts. The tool which demanded the greatest skill was the long, fiat ripsaw, which the smith knew Fig. 8. Relief Scene from the Chapel OF A Prominent Noble's Tomb in the Pyramid Age The tall figure of the noble stands at the right. A piece has fallen out of the wall, imme- diately before his face and figure. He is in- specting three rows of cattle and a row of fowl brought before him. Note the two scribes who head the two middle rows. Each is writing with a pen on a sheet of papyrus, and one car- ries two pens behind his ear. Such reliefs after being carved were colored in bright hues by the painter (see § 43) 1 Before the end of the Pyramid Age the coppersmiths had learned how to harden their tools by melting a small amount of tin with the copper. This produced a mixture of tin (usually not more than lo per cent) and coppes, called bronze, which is much harder than copper. It is not yet certain where the first tin was obtained, or who "made the first bronze, but it may have come from the north side of the Mediterranean (Ancient Times, § 336). The Story of Egypt 25 how to hammer into shape out of a broad strip of copper sometimes five or six feet long. Such a saw may be seen in use in Fig. 9. 37. The Lapidary, Goldsmith, and Jeweler. On the same wall we find the lapidary holding up for the noble's admiration splendid stone bowls cut from diorite. Although this kind of stone is as hard as steel, the bowl is ground to such thinness that the sun- light glows through its dark-gray sides. The booth of the gold- smith is filled with workmen and apprentices weighing gold and costly stones, hammering and casting, soldering and fitting to- gether richly wrought jewelry which can hardly be surpassed by the best goldsmiths and jewelers of to-day (see Ancient Times, frontispiece and Fig. 47). 38. The Potter's Wheel and Furnace : Earliest Glass. In the next space on this wall we find the potter no longer building up his jars and bowls with his fingers alone, as in the Stone Age. He now sits before a small horizontal wheel, upon which he deftly shapes the vessel as it whirls round and round under his fingers. When the soft clay vessels are ready, they are no longer unevenly burned in an open fire, as among the Late Stone Age potters in the Swiss lake-villages (Fig. 6), but in closed furnaces. Here we also find the craftsmen making glass. This art the Egyptians had discovered centuries earlier. They spread the glass on tiles in gorgeous glazes for adorning house and palace walls (see Ancient Times, plate, p. 164). Later they learned to make charming many-colored glass bottles and vases, which were widely exported. 39. Weavers and Paper-makers. Yonder the weaving women draw forth from the loom a gossamer fabric of linen. The picture on this wall could not tell us of its fineness, but for- tunately pieces of such material have survived, wrapped around the mummy of a king of this age. These specimens of royal linen are so fine that it requires a magnifying glass to distinguish them from silk, and the best work of the modern machine loom is coarse in comparison with this fabric of the ancient Egyptian hand loom. 26 History of Europe In the next space on the wall we find huge bundles of papyrus reeds, which barelegged men are gathering along the edge of the Nile marsh. These reeds furnish piles of pale-yellow paper in long sheets ( § 22). The ships which we have followed on the Mediterranean will add bales of this Nile paper to their cargoes and carry it to the European world. 40. Shipbuilders, Carpenters, and Cabinetmakers. We seem almost to hear the hubbub of hammers and mauls as we approach the next section of wall, where we find the shipbuilders and 3 ^£:=xx::ijj md as£E» it Fig. 9. Cabinetmakers in the Pyramid Age At the left a man is cutting with a chisel which he taps with a mallet ; next, a man " rips " a board with a copper saw ; next, two men are finishing off a couch ; and at the right a man is drilling a hole with a bow-drill. Scene from the chapel of a noble's tomb. Compare a finished chair belonging to a wealthy noble of the Empire (Fig. 19) carpenters. Here is a long line of curving hulls, with work- men swarming over them like ants, fitting together the earliest seagoing ships. Beside them are the busy cabinetmakers (Fig. 9), fashioning luxurious furniture for the noble's villa (Fig. 10). The finished chairs and couches for the king or the rich are over- laid with gold and silver, or inlaid with ebony and ivory, and upholstered with soft leathern cushions (Fig. 19). 41. Traffic in Goods ; Circulation of Precious Metals. Here on the wall is a picture of the market place. We can watch the cobbler offering the baker a pair of sandals as payment for a cake, or the carpenter's wife giving the fisherman a little wooden box to pay for a fish. We see therefore that the people have no coined money to use, and that in the market place trade is The Story of Egypt 27 actual exchange of goods, commonly called barter, or traffic. Such was the business of the common people. If we could see the large transactions in the palace, we should find there heavy rings of Fig. 10. Villa of ax Egyptian T>Joble The garden is inclosed with a high wall. There are pools on either side as one enters, and a long arbor extends down the middle. The house at the rear, embowered in trees, is crowned by a roof garden shaded with awnings of tapestry gold of a Standard weight, which circulated like money. Rings of copper also served the same purpose. Such rings were the forerunners of the earliest coins (Fig. 36). 28 History of Europe 42. Three Classes of Society in the Pyramid Age. These people in the market place painted on the chapel wall are the common folk of Egypt in the Pyramid Age. Some of them were Jree men, following their own business or industry. Others were slaves, working the fields on the great estates. Neither of these Fjg. II. Court of a Pyramid-Temple containing the Earliest Known Colonnades (Twenty-eighth Century b.c.) Notice the pyramid rising behind the temple (just as in frontispiece also). The center of the court is open to the sky ; the roof of the porch all around is supported on columns, the earliest known in the history of architecture. From such Egyptian colonnaded courts those of later Europe were copied (see Fig. 60). Each column represents a palm tree, the capital being the crown of foliage. Thirteen hundred feet of copper piping, the earliest known plumbing, was installed in this building humble classes owned any land. Over them were the landowners, the Pharaoh and his great lords and officials, like the owner of this tomb (Fig. 8). 43. Life and Art in the Pyramid Age. Here on this chapel wall again we see its owner seated at ease in his palanquin, borne upon the shoulders of slaves. He is returning from the inspection of his estate, where we have been following him. His bearers carry him into the shady garden before his house (Fig. 10), where The Story of Egypt 29 they set down the palanquin and cease their song. This garden is the noble's paradise. Here he may recline for an hour of leisure with his family and friends, playing at draughts, listen- ing to the music of harp, pipe, and lute, watching his women in the slow and stately dances of the time, while his children are sporting about among the arbors, splashing in the pool as they chase the fish, playing with ball, doll, and jumping jack, or teas- ing the tame monkey, which takes refuge under their father's ivory-legged stool. The portrait sculptor was the greatest artist of this age. His statues were carved in stone or wood and colored in the hues of life ; the eyes were inlaid with rock crystal, and they still shine with the gleam of life (Fig. 13). More lifelike portraits have never been produced by any age, although they are the earliest portraits in the history of art. Such statues of the kings are often superb (Fig. 12). They were set up in the Pharaoh's pyramid temple (frontispiece and Fig. 11). In size the most remarkable statue of the Pyramid Age is the Great Sphinx, which stands here in this cemetery of Gizeh. The head is a portrait of Khafre, the king who built the second pyramid of Gizeh (see frontispiece), and was carved from a promontory of rock which overlooked the royal city. It is the largest portrait ever wrought. (On architec- ture see Fig. 11.) III. The Feudal Age 44. The Barons of the Feudal Age. The Pyramid Age lasted until after 2500 b.c. (see § 31). It was not the end of civilization on the Nile ; other great periods were to follow. Along the palm- fringed shores far away to the south we shall find the buildings, tombs, and monuments which will tell us of two more great ages on the Nile — the Feudal Age and the Empire. We board a Nile boat and steam steadily southward. As we scan the scarred and weatherworn cliffs we discover many a tomb-door cut in the face of the cliff and leading to tomb-chapels excavated in the rock. These cliff-tombs looking down upon the river belonged to the Feudal Age of Egyptian history. The men buried in these 30 History of Europe tombs succeeded in gaining greater power than their ancestors. They were granted lands by the king under arrangements which in later Europe we call feudal (Chap. XXIV). They were thus powerful barons, living like kings on their broad estates, made up of the fertile fields upon which these tomb-doors now look down. This Feudal Age lasted for several centuries and was flourishing by 2000 b.c. 45. The Libraries of the Feudal Barons. We know more about this Feudal Age because some of its books have escaped destruction. Fragments from the libraries of these feudal barons — the oldest libraries in the world — have fortunately been dis- covered in their tombs. These oldest of all surviving books are in the form of rolls of papyrus. Here are the most ancient story- books in the world : tales of wanderings and adventures in Asia ; tales of shipwreck at the gate of the unknown ocean beyond the Red Sea — the earliest "Sindbad the Sailor" (see a page from this story in Ancient Times, Fig. 58) ; and tales of wonders wrought by ancient wise men and magicians. Some of these stories set forth the sufferings of the poor and the humble and seek to stir the rulers to be just and kind in their treatment of the weaker classes. Very few papyrus rolls were needed to deal with the science of this time. The largest and the most valuable of all contained what they had learned about medicine and the organs of the human body. This oldest medical book, when unrolled, is to-day about sixty-six feet long and has recipes for all sorts of ailments. Some of them are still good and call for remedies which, like castor oil, are still in common use ; others represent the ailment as due to demons, which were long believed to be the cause of disease. There are also rolls containing the simpler rules of arithmetic, based on the decimal system which we stil) use ; others treat the beginnings of geometry and elementary algebra. 46. Pharaoh's Commerce by Sea. While conditions at home made great progress, at the same time these rulers of the Feudal Age reached out by sea for the wealth of other lands. Their fleets sailed over among the ^gean islands and probably w -a '3 o « H c ^ pq 4) O V -r-H ~.M o u C/3 -^ w o >- 4) -^ ^ M o 2. » < o > CO Q -1-' M < >< o < p:; PM u &§ ? ^ < W v Pi 1) *J -M o H « P-^ 5?; C 41 -<-> W «1 ^ ■s u K c '^ -S (u -a ■" J^ CO « 0) to li 3 c5 Oh C o h to Pi w t— 1 ;=) pq K 6 u o fe — >, 4) -• 1) o c o o '2. 1) o o 2 £ t— I rt < o ■"^ o I oj CO D -o c G ■ CO C/2 H o PL, c > 1) <1J -4-» G O C OS biD OS 4) •S .2 O ^ I T '*J CI a, Lo O COT M ■ — - .S f> &^-^ SH to >J-i u O OJ >> « u 3 S SO 1) Fig. 1 8. Colossal Portrait Figure of Ramses II at Abu Simbel IN Egyptian Nubia Four such statues, seventy-five feet high, adorn the front of this temple. They are better preserved than those in Fig. 17, and show us that such vast figures were portraits. The face of Ramses II here really resembles that of his mummy. Grand view of the Nubian Nile, on which the statues have looked down for thirty-two hundred years (see § 50). View taken from the top of the crown of one of the statues. (Photograph by The University of Chicago Expedition) The Story of Egypt 3S their campaigns in Asia and in Nubia. Here lay the gifted artists and architects who built the vast monuments we have just visited. Here in these tomb-chapels we may read their names and often long accounts of their lives. Here, for example, is the story of the general who saved Thutmose Ill's life in a great elephant hunt in Asia by rushing in and cutting off the trunk of an enraged ele- phant which was pursu- ing the king. These tombs are won- derful treasuries of Egyp- tian art, for the very furniture which these great men used in their houses was put into their tombs. Many beau- tiful things, like chairs covered with gold and silver and provided with soft cushions of leather (Fig. 19), bedsteads of sumptuous craftsman- ship, jewel boxes and per- fume caskets of the ladies, or even the gold-covered chariot in which the Theban noble took his afternoon airing thirty- three or thirty-four hundred years ago, have been found in these tombs. They may now be seen in the National Museum at Cairo, 53. Religion of the Empire. These tombs show us also how much farther the Egyptian had advanced in religion since the days of the pyramids of Gizeh. Each of these great men buried in the Theban cemetery looked forward to a judgment in the next world, where Osiris (§28) was the great judge and king. Fig. 19. Armchair from the House of AN Egyptian Noble of the Empire This chair with other furniture from his house was placed in his tomb at Thebes in the early part of the fourteenth century B.C. There it remained for nearly thirty-three hundred years, till it was discovered in 1905 and removed to the National Museum at Cairo (§ 52) 36 History of Europe Every good man might rise from the dead as Osiris had done, but in the presence of Osiris he would be obliged to see his soul weighed in the balances over against the symbol of truth and justice. The dead man's friends put into his coffin a roll of papyrus containing prayers and magic charms intended to aid him in the hereafter. This magical guidebook of the hereafter, with its varied contents, we now call the " Book of the Dead." Some of the leading Egyptians of the Empire finally gained the belief in a single god to the exclusion of all others. Such a belief we call monotheism (see § 112). Ikhnaton, the most unique of their kings, en- deavored to make this be- lief in one god the religion of the whole Empire, but the opposition of the priests and the people was too strong, and he perished in the attempt. 54. Decline and Fall of the Egyptian Empire (1150 B.C.). Serious religious conflicts at home had thus greatly weakened Egypt by the middle of the fourteenth century (1350) B.C. After it had recovered itself somewhat, the great Pharaohs Seti I (Fig. 20) and his son Ramses II (Fig. 18) partially re- stored the old splendor. Their two reigns covered almost a century (ending about 1225 b.c). They fought great wars in Asia, but they were unable to restore the Empire to its former extent and power. Their most powerful enemies were at first the Hittites of Asia Minor (§§ 128 and 129). Then more dangerous foes arose. We find them pictured in the temple reliefs, and it is interesting to discover that these new enemies are many of them Europeans from the northern Mediterranean Fig. 20. Body of Seti I as he lies IN HIS Coffin in the National Museum at Cairo The Story of Egypt 37 lands, where we left them (§ 12) in the Late Stone Age. These northerners finally entered Egypt in such numbers after 1200 B.C. that the weakened Egyptian Empire fell (about 11 50 B.C.). Egypt never again recovered her old power and leadership. 55. Summary of the Story of Egypt. Thus ends the story of the Empire at Thebes. Our visit to Egypt has told us the story of how man passed from Stone Age barbarism to a civilization pos- sessed of metal, writing, and government (pp. 14-20). The pyra- mids, tombs, and temples along the Nile have told us the history of civilized Egypt in three epochs : the pyramids of Gizeh and the neighboring cemeteries of Memphis have told us about the Pyra- mid Age (pp. 20-29) ; the cliff-tombs, which we found on the Nile voyage, have revealed the history of the Feudal Age (pp. 29-31) ; and the temples and cliff-tombs of Thebes have given us the story of the Empire (pp. 31-37). Thus the Nile has become for us a book of history, with its introduction giving us the rise of civiliza- tion, continued in three great chapters. We should remember, moreover, that the three great chapters did not end the story ; for Egyptian institutions and civilization continued far down into the Christian Age and greatly influenced later history in Europe (§§379 and 418). 56. Decipherment of Egyptian. Finally, our Nile voyage has also shown us how we gain knowledge of ancient men and their deeds from the monuments and records which they have left behind. We have also noticed how greatly the use of the earliest written documents aids us in putting together the story. If we had made our journey up the Nile a hundred years ago, however, we should have had no one to tell us what these Egyptian records meant. For the last man who could read Egyptian hieroglyphs died over a thousand years ago. A hundred years ago, therefore, no one understood the curious writing which travelers found covering the great monuments along the Nile. It was not until 1822 that the ability to read Egyptian hieroglyphics was recovered. In that year a young French scholar named Champollion an- nounced that he had learned how to read Egyptian writing.^ Thus 1 An account of Champollion's great feat will be found in Ancient Times, pp. 96-98. 38 History of Europe the monuments of the Nile gained a voice and have told us their wonderful story of man's conquest of civilization. 57. Transition to Asia. In a similar way the monuments dis- covered along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Asia have been deciphered and made to tell their story. They show us that, fol- lowing the Egyptians, the peoples of Asia emerged from barbarism, gained industries, learned the use of metals, devised a system of writing, and finally rose to the leading position of power in the ancient world. We must therefore turn, in the next chapter, to the story of the early Orient in Asia. QUESTIONS I. Where is Egypt ? What are the shape and character of the country ? What is the adjoining country like ? How did the Stone Age Egyptians live ? How did they originate writing ? writing mate- rials ? Describe the origin of the calendar. Whence came our calendar ? Describe the probable manner of the discovery of copper. n. What was a pyramid used for ? Explain the chief gods of Egypt. What kinds of tombs preceded the pyramids ? In what century did most of this progress fall ? Describe the Great Pyramid. Give the date and length of the Pyramid Age. Date and describe the earliest known seagoing ships. Write an account of the industries and the social life of the Pyramid Age. Describe its art. III. How does the Nile voyage continue the story of the Egyp- tians ? Give an account of the feudal barons. What kind of progress was being made ? IV. Through what ages has the voyage up the Nile carried us ? Give the date and extent of the Egyptian Empire. Who was its greatest conqueror ? V. Describe the great buildings of the Empire. Describe the paint- ing and sculpture in the Empire temples. Give an account of the cemetery at Thebes. What does it reveal of Egyptian civilization ? Did Egyptian civilization continue after the fall of the Empire ? CHAPTER III WESTERN ASIA : BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA, AND CHALDEA I. The Lands and Races of Western Asia 58. Geography of Western Asia. The westernmost portions of Asia are bounded by the Caspian and Black seas on the north, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea on the west, and the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf on the south and east. It is a region consisting chiefly of mountains on the north and desert on the south. The earliest home of men in Western Asia was the border- land between the desert and mountains and also between desert and sea, — the fertile fringe of the desert, shaped like a crescent, having the mountains on one side and the desert on the other. (See map, p. 42.) This fertile crescent is approximately a semicircle, with the open side toward the south, having the west end at the southeast corner of the Mediterranean, the center directly north of Arabia, and the east end at the north end of the Persian Gulf. At the western end is Palestine, Assyria makes up a large part of the center, while at the eastern end is Babylonia. This great semi- circle, for lack of a name, we shall refer to as the Fertile Crescent.^ After the meager winter rains large portions of the northern desert are covered with scanty grass, and spring thus turns the region for a short time into grasslands. The history of Western Asia may be described as an age-long struggle between the moun- tain peoples of the north and the desert wanderers of these grass- lands for the possession of the Fertile Crescent. We shall first consider the invasions of the Fertile Crescent by the peoples of the desert. 1 There is no general name, either geographical or political, which includes all of this great semicircle (see map, p. 42). Hence we are obliged to coin a term and call it the " Fertile Crescent." 39 40 History of Europe 59. The Arabian Desert and the Semitic Nomads. Arabia is totally lacking in rivers and enjoys but a few weeks of rain in midwinter ; hence it is a desert very little of which is habitable. Its people are and have been from the remotest ages a great white race called Semites, made up of many peoples and tribes. With two of the Semitic peoples we are familiar, — the Arabs and the Hebrews (many of whose descendants dwell among us). They all spoke and still speak slightly differing dialects of the same tongue. Hebrew was one of these dialects. For ages they have moved up and down the habitable portions of the Arabian world, seeking pasturage for their flocks and herds. Such wandering herdsmen are called nomads} From the earliest times, when the spring grass of the northern wilderness has gone, the nomads have been tempted to drift from the sandy waste into the Fertile Crescent. If they could secure a fitting place to live there, they slowly made the change from the wandering life of the desert nomad to the settled life of the agricultural peasant. We can follow this process going on for thousands of years. Among such movements we are familiar with one important example, — the passage of the Hebrews from the desert into Palestine, as described in the Bible ; and we shall later learn of £t much more extensive example (Chapter XXII), the invasions of the Arab hosts of Islam, which even reached Europe. But it took many centuries for the long line of Semitic settlements to creep slowly westward along the north coast of Africa until it reached the Atlantic, and we must begin with the Semites in the desert. 60. Life of the Semitic Nomads. Out on the wide reaches of the desert there were no boundaries. The pasturage was as free as air to the first comer. No man of the tribe owned land. The wandering herdsmen possessed only scanty, movable property, chiefly flocks and herds. They knew no law ; they were unable to write. They were practically without industries, and thus the desert tribesmen led a life of unhampered freedom. Their needs obliged them to traffic now and then in the towns, and these desert 1 On the origin of nomads see Ancient Times, §§ 35-36. Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 41 wanderers often became the common carriers of the settled com- munities, fearlessly leading their caravans across the wastes of the desert-bay, especially between Syria-Palestine and Babylonia. The wilderness was the nomad's home. His imagination peopled the far reaches of the desert with invisible and hostile creatures, who inhabited every rock and tree, hilltop and spring. These creatures became his gods. He believed that each one of these beings controlled only a little corner of the desert ; thus such a being became the nomads' tribal god. The thoughts of the desert wanderers about their god were crude and barbarous, and their religious customs were often savage, leading them to sacrifice not only their animals but even their children to appease the angry god. On the other hand, the nomads had a dawning sense of justice and of right. Such feelings at last became lofty moral vision, which made the Semites the religious teachers of the civilized world. At the same time these Semites had practical gifts, especially in business, which made them the greatest mer- chants of the ancient world, as their Hebrew descendants among us still are at the present day. 61. The Western Semites on the West End of the Fertile Crescent. As early as 3000 b.c. they were drifting in from the desert and settling in Palestine, on the western end of the Fertile Crescent, where we find them in possession of walled towns by 2500 B.C. Here they were the predecessors of the Hebrews, and were called Canaanites ; farther north settled a powerful tribe known as Amorites. Later came the Arameans, who grew to be the greatest merchants throughout Western Asia.^ Along the Mediter- ranean shores of north Syria some of these one-time desert wan- derers took to the sea and became the Phoenicians. By 2000 b.c. all these settled communities of the Semites were in possession of much 'Uown civilization," drawn for the most part from Egypt and Babylonia. 62. The East End of the Fertile Crescent. At the same time we can watch similar movements of the nomads at the eastern 1 On the remarkable achievements of the Arameans, especially how they spread the alphabet, see Ancient Times, §§ 203-208. 42 History of Europe end of the Fertile Crescent, along the lower course of the Tigris and Euphrates, which we shall often speak of as the " Two Rivers." They rise in the northern mountains (see map, p. 42), whence they issue to cross the Fertile Crescent and to cut obliquely south- eastward through the northern bay of the desert (§58). On these two great rivers of Western Asia developed the earliest civilization anywhere known in Asia. Just as on the Nile, so here on the Two Rivers we shall tmd three great chapters in the story. 63. The Plain of Shinar (or Babylonia). As on the Nile, so also in Tigris-Euphrates history the earliest of the three chapters will be found in the lower valley near the rivers' mouths. This earliest chapter is the story of Babylonia.^ As the Two Rivers approach most closely to each other, about one hundred and sixty or seventy miles from the Persian Gulf,-' they emerge from the desert and enter a low plain of fertile soil, formerly brought down by the rivers. This plain, lying at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, is best known as Babylonia. But during the first thousand years of its known history, the city of Babylon, from which it was afterward named, either did not yet e.xist or was only an insignificant village (§69). This plain was originally called Shinar. It was rarely more than forty miles wide and contained probably less than eight thousand square miles of cultivable soil — roughly equal to the area of New Jersey. It lies in the Mediterranean belt of rainy winter and dry summer, but the rainfall is so scanty (less than three inches a year) that irrigation of the fields is required in order to ripen the grain. When properly irrigated the Plain of Shinar is prodigiously fertile, and the chief source of wealth in ancient Shinar was agriculture. This plain was the scene of the most important and long-continued of those frequent struggles between the mountaineer and the nomad, of which we have spoken. 1 The other two chapters of Tigris-Euphrates history were Assyria and the Chaldean Empire. 2 This was the distance in ancient Babyloftian and Assyrian times. But the rivers have since then filled up the Persian Gulf for one hundred and fifty to sixty miles (see note under scale on map, p. .^2, and see map, Ancient Times, p. io6). Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 43 II. The Earliest Babylonians and the Rise of Civilization in Asia 64. Sumerian Mountaineers in Shinar and their Civilization. We can find no relationship in race between the mountaineers and the Semitic nomads of the Arabian desert. We find the mountaineers shown on monuments of stone as having shaven heads and wearing heavy woolen kilts, and we know that they were a white race called Sumerians. Long before 3000 B.C. they had entered the Plain of Shinar and had reclaimed the marshes aroimd the mouths of the Two Rivers.. The southern section of the Plain of Shinar therefore came to be called Sumer, after the Sumerians. Their settlements of low mud-brick huts soon crept northward along the Euphrates. Gradually they learned to dig irrigation trenches and to reap large harvests of barley and wheat. They already possessed cattle, sheep, and goats. The ox drew the plow ; the donkey pulled wheeled carts and chariots, and the wheel as a burden-bearing device appeared here for the first time.^ But the horse was still unknown. The smith had learned to fashion utensils of copper, but he did not at first know how to harden the copper into bronze by an admixture of tin (p. 24,n. i). Trade and government led these people to make records, scratched in rude pictures with the tip of a reed on a flat piece of soft clay. Speed in writing simplified these pictures into groups of wedge-shaped marks, once the lines of the picture (Fig. 21). Hence these signs are called cuneiform, meaning " wedge- form," writing (Latin cuneus, "wedge''). This writing was phonetic, but did not possess alphabetic signs. The Sumerian system of numerals was not based on tens, but had the unit sixty as a basis. A large number was given as so many sixties, just as we employ a score (fourscore, fivescore). From this unit of sixty has descended our division of the circle (six sixties) and of the hour and minute. 1 Probably earlier than the wheel in the Swiss lake-villages of the Late Stone Age (§ 10). 44 History of Europe 65. The Sumerian Temple-Towers, Houses, and Towns. Almost in the center of the Plain of Shinar rose a tall tower. It was of sun-dried brick, for there was no stone in all Babylonia. Fig. 21. Early Sumerian Clay Tablet with Cuneiform, or Wedge- Form, Writing (Twenty-eighth Century b.c.) This tablet was written toward the close of the early period of the city-kings (§ 66), a generation before the accession of Sargon I (§ 67). It contains business accounts. The scribe's writing-reed, or stylus, was usually square- tipped. He pressed a corner of this square tip into the soft clay for each line of the picture sign. Lines so produced tended to be broad at one end and pointed at the other, that is, wedge-shaped. Each picture sign thus became a group of wedges, as shown in Ancient Times, Fig. 80. When the clay dried it was hard enough to make the tablet a fairly permanent record. Such tablets were sometimes baked and thus became as hard as pottery. (By permission of Dr. Hussey) It was the dwelling of Enlil, the great Sumerian god of the air. The tower served as an artificial mountain, probably built in memory of some ancient temple on a hilltop in the former moun- tain home of the Sumerians. Similar towers became common in Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 45 the Plain of Shinar, and it was such a temple-tower in Babylon which later gave rise to the story of the " Tower of Babel " among the Hebrews. The Sumerian temple-tower was the ancestor of our church steeple {Ancient Times, Fig. 272). Around the temple extended the houses of the townspeople. They were bare rectangular dwellings of sun-dried brick (Fig. 22). The towns were small and to-day are mounds of earth and crumbled sun-dried brick, in which lie buried the clay-tablet records of the ancient community which once lived there. When we dig out such a mound we therefore find it a rich storehouse of things which tell us much about ancient Babylonian civilization (see Ancient Times, §§ 158-160, and Figs. 83, 84). 66. Sumerian City- Kingdoms of about 3050-2750 B.C. These clay tablets tell us about a class of free, landholding citizens working their lands with slaves and trading with caravans and small boats up and down the river. Over both these classes, free and slave, there was a numerous body of officials and priests — the aristocrats of the town. They were ruled, along with all the rest, by a priest-king. Such a community owned the fields for a few miles round about the town. The whole, that is, the town and its fields, formed a city-kingdom. Sumer as a whole consisted of a number of such small city-kingdoms, and this earliest Sumerian period may be called the Age of the City-Kingdoms. These little states were more skilled in war than the Egyptians and were con- stantly fighting each with its neighbors. These struggles among themselves so seriously weakened the Sumerians that in spite of their better organization and discipline they found it hard to cope with the incoming Semites of the desert. Fig. 22. Restoration of ax Early Babylonian House. (After Koldewey) 46 History of Europe 67. Sargon of Akkad — Earliest Semitic Supremacy (about 2750 B.C.). The Semitic tribesmen from the desert had early begun to migrate into the Plain of Shinar, north of Sumer. By the middle of the twenty-eighth century b.c. they had established a kingdom there known as Akkad. This region comprised the narrow strip of land where the Two Rivers approach each other most closely (see map, p. 42). The men of Akkad, or Akkadians, under a bold and able leader named Sargon, descended the Euphrates and conquered the Sumerians. Thus arose the first Semitic kingdom of importance in history, and Sargon I, its founder (2750 b.c), is the first great name in the history of the Semitic race. 68. The Semitic Akkadians adopt Sumerian Civilization. Sargon's conquests forced his nomad tribesmen (the Akkadians) to make a complete change in their manner of life. We may best picture the change if we say that they forsook their desert tents and built houses of sun-dried brick (Fig. 22), which could not be picked up every morning and set up somewhere else at night. At first they did not even know how to write, and they had no in- dustries. Some of them now learned to write their Semitic tongue by using the Sumerian wedge-form signs for the purpose. Then it was, therefore, that a Semitic language began to be written for the first time. The Akkadians likewise learned Sumerian art, es- pecially sculpture (Fig. 23), in which they far surpassed their Sumerian teachers. Thus the Akkadians took over and adapted the civilization of the Sumerians whom they had conquered. III. The Age of Hammurapi and After 69. Hammurapi— the Second Semitic Supremacy. Cen- turies of struggle between the Sumerians and Semites ensued. Not long before 2200 b.c. a tribe of Amorites (§61) came in from the west and seized the little town of Babylon. Ham- murapi, one of their later kings, fought for thirty years and conquered all Babylonia (about 2100 b.c). Again the desert won, as this second great Semitic ruler, Hammurapi, raised Fig. 23. A King of Akkad storming a Fortress — the Earliest Great Semitic Work of Art (about 2700 b.c.) King Naram-Sin of Akkad, one of the successors of Sargon I (§ 67), has pursued the enemy into a mountain stronghold. His heroic figure towers above his pygmy enemies, each one of whom has fixed his eyes on the con- queror, awaiting his signal of mercy. The sculptor, with fine insight, has depicted the dramatic instant when the king lowers his weapon as the sign that he grants the conquered their lives 48 History of Europe Babylon, thus far a small and unimportant town, to be the leading city in the Plain of Shinar. Beginning with Hammurapi we may more properly call the plain "Babylonia." Hammurapi brought in order and system where before all had been confusion. He collected all the older laws and customs of busi- ness, legal, and social life and is- sued these in a great code of laws. He had these laws engraved upon a stone shaft, which has survived to our day, the oldest preserved code of ancient law (Fig. 24). On the whole it is a surprisingly just code and shows much consideration for the poor and defenseless classes. 70. Expansion of Babylonian Commerce. Thus regulated, Baby- lonia prospered as never before. Her merchants penetrated far and wide into the surrounding coun- tries. The Babylonian writing of the clay-tablet bills ( Fig. 2 1 ) which accompanied the heavily loaded caravans had to be read by many a * A shaft of stone (diorite), nearly eight feet high, on which the laws are engraved. They extend entirely around the shaft, occupying over thirty-six hundred lines. Above is a fine relief showing King Ham- murapi standing at the left, receiving the laws from the Sun-god seated at the right. The flames rising from the god's shoulders indicate who he is. The flames on the left shoulder are commonly shown in the cur- rent textbooks as part of a staff in the god's left hand. This is an error. This scene is impressive work of Semitic art, six Fig. 24. The Laws of Ham- murapi, THE Oldest Surviv- ing Code of Laws (2100 b. c.)* an hundred years later than Fig. 23. Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 49 merchant in the towns of Syria and behind the northern moun- tains. Thus the wedge-writing of Babylonia gradually spread through Western Asia. There was as yet no coined money, but lumps of silver of a given weight circulated so commonly (p. 67) that values were given in weight of silver. Loans were common, and the rate of interest was twenty per cent. Business was the chief occupation and was carried on even in the temples. 71. Higher Life of Babylonia. A journey through Babylonia to-day could not tell us such a story as we found among the monu- ments on our voyage up the Nile, for the Babylon of Hammurapi has perished utterly. There seems to have been no painting ; the sculpture of the Semites is in one instance (Fig. 23) powerful and dramatic, but the portrait sculptor was scarcely able to make one individual different from another. Of architecture little re- mains. There were no colonnades and no columns. The main lines were all straight verticals and horizontals, but the arch was used over front doorways (Fig. 22). All buildings were of brick, as Babylonia had no stone. The beautiful gem-cutting of the Babylonians, as we find it in their seals, was their greatest art (see Ancient Times, Fig. 106,^). There were schools where boys could learn to write cuneiform, and a schoolhouse of Hammurapi's time still survives, though in ruins {Ancient Times, Fig. 95). 72. Stagnation of Babylonian Civilization. After Ham- murapi's death his kingdom swiftly declined. Barbarians from the mountains poured into the Babylonian plain. The most im- portant thing about them was that they brought with them the horse, which then appeared for the first time in Babylonia (twenty- first century B.C.). They divided and soon destroyed the king- dom of Hammurapi. After him there followed more than a thousand years of complete stagnation in Babylonia. Progress in civilization entirely stopped, and there was no revival until the triumph of the Chaldeans (pp. 56-58). 73. Summary of Early Babylonian History. As we look back over this first chapter of early human progress along the Two Rivers, we see that it lasted about a thousand years, beginning a generation or two before 3000 B.C. The Sumerian mountaineers 50 History of Europe laid the foundations of civilization in Shinar and began a thousand-year struggle with the Semites of the desert. The Sem- ites triumphed twice under two great leaders, Sargon (2750 b.c.) and Hammurapi (2100 B.C.). The Sumerians then disap- peared, and the language of Babylonia became Semitic. The reign of Hammurapi marked the highest point and the end of the thousand-year development — the conclusion of the first great chapter of history along the Two Rivers. IV. The Assyrian Empire (about 750 to 606 b.c.) 74. The Beginnings of Assur. The second chapter of history along the Two Rivers carries us up the river valley from Babylonia to the northeast corner of the desert (see map, p. 42). In this region, as early as 3000 B.C., a tribe of desert Semites had founded a little city-kingdom called Assur. This is the earliest form of our word "Assyria." Assur was an upland country with many fertile valleys and an agricultural population. In climate it was cooler and more invigorating than the hot Babylonian plain. The Assyrians spoke a Semitic dialect (§ 59) differing only very slightly from that of Babylonia. Having given up their wanderings as herdsmen, they learned town life from the Su- merians, and received their earliest civilization from Sumer. Hence they learned to write their language with Babylonian cuneiform signs (Fig, 21). They were constantly obliged to defend their frontiers against both their own kindred of the desert on one side and the mountaineers on the other. Thus the Assyrians were toughened by the strain of frequent wars. 75. Foundation of the Assyrian Empire, Eighth Century B.C. Gradually the Assyrians conquered much additional territory all around their formerly small city-kingdom. By iioo B.C. their peasant militia had beaten the western kings in Syria, where the Egyptian Empire had fallen two generations earlier (§54). There Assyrian soldiers for the first time saw the Mediterranean. Although often repulsed, Assyria had firmly established herself along the Mediterranean by the middle of the eighth century b. c. She had also subdued Babylonia, so that the Assyrian Empire Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 51 finally held the entire Fertile Crescent, and the mountains on the north of it, almost to the Black and the Caspian seas. It conquered even Egypt (in 670 B.C.) and held it for a short time. Fig. 25. Restoration of the Palace of Sargon II of Assyria (722-705 B.C.) The city (GGG) was inclosed by a wall {HH) and was a mile square, with room for eighty thousand people. The palace building, covering twenty-five acres, stood partly inside and partly outside of the city wall [HH) on a vast elevated platform [CCCC) of brick masonry, to which an inclined road- way {B) and stairways (^4) rise from the inside of the city wall. The king could thus drive up in his chariot from the streets of the city below (GGG) to the palace pavement above (CCCC). The rooms and halls are clustered about a number of courts {£F) open to the sky. The main entrance (Z>, with stairs {A ) before it leading down to the city) is adorned with massive towers and arched doorways built of richly colored glazed brick and embel- lished with huge human-headed bulls and reliefs like Fig. 26, all carved of alabaster. The pyramidal tower (/) behind the great court was inherited from Babylonia (§ 65). A better view of such a tower will be found in Ancient Times, p. 170. It was a sacred dwelling-place of the god, and his temple (with two others) stands just at the foot of the tower on the left (A') Thus the once feeble little city of Assur gained the lordship over Western Asia, as head of an empire : a great group of conquered and vassal nations (§48). It was the most extensive empire the world had thus far seen (see map, II, in Ancient Times, p. 188). 5 2 History of Europe 76. Sargon II of Assyria (722-705 B.C.)- In 722 B.C. one of the leading Assyrian generals usurped the throne, and as king he took the name of Sargon, the first great Semite of Babylonia, who had reigned two thousand years earlier (§67). As Sargon II he raised Assyria to the height of her grandeur and power as a military empire. His descendants were the great emperors of Assyria.^ On the northeast of Nineveh (§77) he built a new royal residence (Fig. 25) on a vaster scale and more magnificent than any Asia had ever seen before. Babylonia in her greatest days had never possessed a capital like this. 77. Sennacherib (705-68I B.C.) ; Nineveh, the Capital. The grandeur of Sargon II was even surpassed by his son Sennacherib, one of the great statesmen pf the early Orient. He devoted him- self to the city of Nineveh, north of Assur, and it now became the far-famed capital of Assyria. Along the Tigris the vast palaces (like Fig. 25) and imposing temple-towers of the Assyrian em- perors arose, reign after reign. The lofty and massive walls of Nineveh which Sennacherib built stretched two miles and a half along the banks of the Tigris, marked at the present day by a great group of mounds {Ancient Times, Fig. 203). Here in his gorgeous palace he ruled the Western Asiatic world with an iron hand and collected tribute from all the subject peoples. 78. Organization of the Assyrian Empire. To maintain the army was the chief work of the Assyrian State. The State was therefore a vast military machine, more terrible than any mankind had ever yet seen. We shall understand this situation if we imagine that our war department were the central office in Wash- ington, and that our government should devote itself chiefly to supporting it. 79. The Assyrian Army and Military Equipment. An im- portant new fact aided in bringing about this result. From the Hittites (see map, p. 42) iron had been introduced among the 1 The leading Assyrian emperors of the dynasty of Sargon II are as follows: Sargon II 722-705 b. c. Sennacherib , yo^-tiSi k.c. Esarhaddon 6Si-668b.c. Assurbanipal (called Sardanapalus by the Greeks) 668-626 b. c. Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 53 Assyrians'. The Assyrian forces were therefore the first large armies equipped with weapons of iron. A single arsenal room of Sargon II's palace was found to contain two hundred tons of iron implements. The bulk of the Assyrian army was composed of archers, sup- ported by heavy-armed spearmen and shield bearers. Besides these, the famous horsemen and chariotry of Nineveh became the scourge of the East (Fig. 26) . For the first time, too, the Assyrians employed powerful siege machinery, especially the battering- ram. This machine was the earliest " tank," for it ran on wheels and carried armed men (see Ancient Times, p. 140). The sun- dried-brick walls of the Asiatic cities could thus be battered down, Mii^amwBmmmitamima Fig. 26. An Assyrian King hunting Lions and no fortified place could long repulse the assaults of the fierce Assyrian infantry. The Assyrian soldiers, moreover, displayed a certain inborn ferocity which held all Western Asia in abject terror. Wherever the terrible Assyrian armies swept through the land, they left a trail of ruin and desolation behind, and there were few towns of the Empire which escaped being plundered. 80. Civilization of the Assyrian Empire. While this plun- dered wealth was necessary for the support of the army, it also served higher purposes. As we have seen, the Assyrian palaces . were now imposing buildings, suggesting by their size and splendor UL the far-reaching power of their builders. In the hands of the Assyrian architects the arch, inherited from Babylonia, for the 54 History of Europe first time became an imposing monumental feature of architec- ture. The impressive triple arches of the Assyrian palace en- trance (Fig. 25, D) were the ancestor of the Roman triumphal arches. They were faced with glazed brick in gorgeous colors, and on either side were vast human-headed bulls wrought in alabaster. Thus the architects of the Assyrian emperors produced the first magnificent monumental buildings that appeared in Asia. Within the palace were hundreds of feet of pictures cut in alabaster (see Fig. 26). They display especially the great deeds of the emperor in war and hunting wild beasts. The human figures are monotonously alike — hard, cold, and unfeeling. Nowhere is there a human form which shows any trace of feeling, either joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain. The Assyrian sculptor's wild beasts, however, are sometimes magnificent in the animal ferocity which they display (see Ancient Times, Fig. 106, B). 81. Assurbanipal's Library. Assurbanipal, grandson of Sen- nacherib, and the last great Assyrian emperor, boasted that his father had instructed him not only in riding and shooting with bow and arrow but also in writing on clay tablets and in all the wisdom of his time. A great collection of twenty-two thousand clay tablets was discovered in Assurbanipal's fallen library rooms at Nineveh, where they had been lying on the floor covered with rubbish for twenty-five hundred years. They are now in the British Museum (see Ancient Times, Fig. 109). In this library the religious, scientific, and literary works of past ages had been systematically collected by the emperor's orders. They formed the earliest library known in Asia. 82. Economic and Agricultural Decline. Like many later rulers, however, the Assyrian emperors made a profound mis- take in their method of governing their empire. The industries were destroyed and the farms left idle in order to supply men for a great standing army. Even so, the Empire had grown so large that the army was unable to defend it. As reports of foreign in- vasions and new revolts came in, the harassed ruler at Nineveh forced the subjects of his foreign vassal kingdoms to enter the army. With an army made up to a dangerous extent of such Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 55 foreigners, with the commerce of the country also in the hands of foreigners, with no industries, and with fields lying idle, — under these conditions the Assyrian nation fast lost its inner strength. 83. Fall of Assyria; Destruction of Nineveh (eoeB.c.)- In addition to such weakness within, there were the most threaten- ing dangers from without. These came, as of old, from both sides of the Fertile Crescent. Especially dangerous was a desert tribe whom we know as the Chaldeans. They had been for centuries creeping slowly around the head of the Persian Gulf and settling along its shores at the foot of the eastern mountains. The Chal- deans mastered Babylonia and then assailed the walls of Nineveh. Weakened by a generation of decline within, and struggling vainly against assaults from without, the mighty city of the Assyrian emperors fell (606 B.C.). In the voice of the Hebrew prophet Nahum (ii, 8, 13, and iii entire) we hear an echo of the exulting shout which resounded from the Caspian to the Nile as the nations discovered that the terrible scourge of the East had at last been laid low. Its fall was forever, and when two centuries later Xenophon and his ten thousand Greeks marched past the place (§237) the Assyrian nation was but a vague tradition, and Nineveh, its great city, was a vast heap of rubbish, as it is to- day (see Ancient Times, Fig. 203). The second great chapter of history on the Two Rivers was ended, having lasted but a scant century and a half (about 750 to 606 B.C.). 84. Summary of Progress by the Assyrian Empire. The Em- pire of Assyria had greatly altered the nations of Western Asia. The rule of a single sovereign had been forced upon the whole great group of nations around the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and the methods of organizing such an empire had been much improved, leading over to the much greater Persian Empire which was built up (pp. 64-65) sixty years after the fall of Assyria. In spite of its often ferocious harshness, the Assyrian rule had furthered civilization. We have seen that the building of the magnificent palaces in and near Nineveh formed the first chapter in great architecture in Asia. At the same time Nineveh also possessed the first libraries as yet known there. 56 History of Europe V. The Chaldean Empire : the Last Semitic Empire 85. Rise of the Chaldean Empire (606B.c.)- After the fall of Assyria the brief career of the Chaldean Empire formed the third great chapter of history on the Two Rivers.^ The Chaldeans made their capital at Babylon and gave their name to the land, so that we now know it as Chaldea. They were the last Semitic lords of Babylonia in ancient times. 86. Reign of Nebuchadnezzar (604-56i B.C.). At Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of the Chaldean emperors, began a reign of over forty years, — a reign of such power and magnifi- cence, especially as narrated in the Bible, that he has become one of the great figures of oriental history. It was he who carried away many Hebrews from Palestine to Babylonia as captives and destroyed Jerusalem, their capital (586 b.c). Copying much from Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar was able to sur- pass even his Assyrian predecessors in the splendor of the great buildings which he now erected at Babylon (see plan. Ancient Times, p. 165). High over all towered the temple-mount which rose by the temple of their greatest god, Marduk, — a real "Tower of Babel" (see § 65). Masses of rich tropical verdure, rising in terrace above terrace, crowned the roof of the gorgeous imperial palace, forming lofty roof gardens. Here in the ^cool shade of palms and ferns the great king might enjoy his idle hours, looking down upon the splendors of his city. These roof gardens were the mysterious ''Hanging Gardens" of Babylon, whose fame spread far into the West, until they were numbered by the Greeks among the Seven Wonders of the World. The city was immensely extended by Nebuchadnezzar, and enormous fortified walls were built to protect it. It was this Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar which 1 The three great chapters of history on the Two Rivers are : 1. Early Babylonia (thirty-first century to twenty-first century B.C.; Sargon I about 2750 B.C., Hammurapi about 2100 B.C.). See pp. 43-50. 2. The .\ssyrian Empire (about 750 to 606 B.C.). See pp. 51-55. 3. The Chaldean Empire (about 606 to 539 b.c). See pp. 56-5S. With the exception of parts of the first, these three epochs were periods of Semitic power. To these we might in later times add 3i fourth period of Semitic supremacy, the triumph of Islam in the seventh century of our era, after the death of Mohammed (pp. 323-329). Western Asia : Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea 57 has become familiar to all Christian peoples as the great city of the Hebrew captivity (§§ iio-iii). So little survives of all the glories which made it world-renowned_ in its time (see tailpiece, p. 77) that nearly twenty years of excavation have recovered almost no standing buildings. 87. Civilization of Chaldean Babylon. The Chaldeans seem to have adopted the civilization of Babylonia in much the same way as other earlier Semitic invaders of this ancient plain (§ 68). Science made notable progress in one important branch — astron- omy. This was really at that time only what we call " astrology," namely, a study of the movements of the heavenly bodies with a view of forecasting the future. But it was now very systematically pursued and was slowly becoming astronomy. The equator was divided into 360 degrees, and for the first time the Chaldean astrologers laid out the twelve groups of stars which we call the "Twelve Signs of the Zodiac." Thus the sky and its worlds began to be mapped out. The five planets then known (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were regarded as the powers especially controlling the fortunes of men, and as such the five leading Babylonian divinities were identified with these five heavenly bodies. The names of these Babylonian divinities have therefore descended to us as the names of the planets. But on their way to us through Europe the ancient Babylonian divine names were trans- lated into Roman forms. So the planet of Ishtar, the goddess of love, became Venus, while that of Marduk, the great god of Babylon, became Jupiter, and so on. The celestial observations made by these Chaldean ''astrologers," as we call them, slowly became sufficiently accurate so that the observers could already foretell an eclipse. These observations when inherited by the Greeks formed the basis of the science of astronomy, which the Greeks carried so much further (§ 178). The practice of astrology has survived to our own day ; we still unconsciously recall it in such phrases as " his lucky star " or " an ill-starred undertaking." 88. Decline of the Old Oriental Lands. The reign of Nebu- chadnezzar was the high-water mark of Chaldean civilization. 58 History of Europe After his death (561 B.C.) the old civilized lands of the Orient seem to have lost most of their former power to go forward and to make fresh discoveries and new conquests in civilization, such as they -had been making during three great ages on the Nile and three similar ages on the Two Rivers. Indeed, the leadership of the Semitic peoples in the early world was drawing near its close, and they were about to give way before the advance of new peoples of the Indo-European race (pp. 59-62). The nomads of the southern desert were about to yield to the hardy Indo- European peoples of the northern and eastern mountains, and to these we must now turn. QUESTIONS I. Summarize the history of the Fertile Crescent. Describe the nomads' life ; their religion. Describe the Babylonian plain, giving size, climate, and products. II. Describe Sumerian civilization. Tell about the earliest Semites in Babylonia and their first great leader. How did these Semites gain civilization ; for example, writing ? III. Who was Hammurapi ? Give an account of his laws. Describe Babylonian commerce in his age. How can we summarize Babylonian history ? IV. Locate Assyria on the Fertile Crescent. Whence did its people receive their civilization ? What did the Assyrian Empire at its largest chiefly include ? Give some account of Assyrian civilization. Outline the causes of the fall of Assyria. V. Who were the Chaldeans ? Describe Chaldean Babylon ; rz chief buildings. Discuss Chaldean astronomy. Note. Huge winged bulls, like this one below, with human head were set up to adorn the entrances of Assyrian palaces (Fig. 25, D). They were carved in alabaster. CHAPTER IV WESTERN ASIA: THE MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE AND THE HEBREWS I. The Indo-European Peoples and their Dispersion ^ 89. The Northern Grasslands. We have seen that the Arabian desert has been a great reservoir of unsettled peoples, who were continually leaving the grasslands on the margin of the desert and shifting over into the towns to begin a settled life (§ 59). Corresponding to these grasslands of the South, there are similar grasslands in the North (Fig. 27). These Northern grasslands stretch from the lower Danube eastward along the north side of the Black Sea through southern Russia and far into Asia north and east of the Caspian. In ancient times they always had a wandering shepherd population ; and time after time, for thousands of years, these Northern nomads have poured forth over Europe and West- ern Asia, just as the desert Semites of the South have done over the Fertile Crescent (§ 59). 90. The Two Lines — Indo-European and Semitic. These nomads of the North were from the earliest times a great white race, the ancestors of the present peoples of Europe (and since our forefathers came from Europe, these same nomads were also our own ancestors). These nomads of the Northern grasslands, from whom most Americans have sprung, began to migrate in very ancient times, moving out along diverging routes. They at last extended in an imposing line from the frontiers of India on the 1 Pages 59-62 should be carefully worked over by the teacher with the class before the class is permitted to study this section alone. The diagram (Fig. 27) should be put on the blackboard and explained in detail by the teacher, and the class should then be prepared to put the diagram on the board from memory. This should be done again when the study of the Greeks is begun (§ 131), and a third time when Italy and the Romans are taken up. 59 6o History of Europe east, westward across all Europe to the Atlantic, as they do to-day (Fig. 27). They are called, therefore, the Indo-European race. This great northern Indo-European line was confronted on the south by a similar line of Semitic peoples, extending from Baby- lonia on the east, through Phoenicia and the Hebrews westward along North Africa to Carthage and similar Semitic settlements of Phoenicia in the western Mediterranean (§ 59). The history of the ancient world, as we are now to follow it, was often centered in the struggle between this southern Semitic line which issued from the Southern grasslands and the northern Indo-European line which came forth from the Northern grass- lands. The result of the long conflict was the complete triumph of our ancestors, the Indo-European line, which conquered along the center and both wings and gained the leadership throughout the Mediterranean world under the Greeks and Romans (Chapters V to XVII). 91. The Indo-European Parent People and its Dispersion. It is probable that the original home of the Indo-European people was on the great grassy steppe in the region east and northeast of the Caspian Sea. Here, then, probably lived the parent people of all the later Indo-European race. Before they dispersed, probably about 2500 B.C., the parent people were still in the Stone Age for the most part, though copper was beginning to come in. Divided into numerous tribes, they wandered at will, seeking pasture for their flocks, for they already possessed domestic animals, including cattle and sheep. But chief among their domesticated beasts was the horse, which, as we recall, was still entirely unknown to the civilized oriental nations until after Hammurapi's time (see § 72), They employed him both for riding and for drawing wheeled carts. Some of the tribes had adopted a settled life and cultivated grain, especially barley. Being wi1#)ut writing, they possessed little government and organization. But they were the most gifted and the most highly imaginative people of the ancient world. As their tribes wandered farther and farther apart they lost contact with each other. While they all at first spoke the same language, differences in speech gradually arose and finally became R! N >4_, .— o-a ."^^ ,- c W 1—4 OS jil s a <» c .iS - 'm t^ 4) fL, .<3 « s „-^ -n ^ >3 .^ ^ t* 5; ■>^ "s 1. pa: »-l (1h ^E 'C .2 to 03 (fl C X.2 '-■O.S w .« TT -= S '^ '=' oj 1^ :^ ^ ^ — H-> o S -= (J o w r^ -M O « tn O 6 O V "a, o V 1) H " c c D O 03 O O (U T3 •j2 >- a o O V ? ° ^ ^ 3 ^ -c^ ■ ■" ^ .S be « be^ S o u Ji ^ ;= - - S 'S 'o^ —■■MO (U (U 0) >^ O 4= 3 -5„ -?; be ^ ■" t; ^ < w ^ ^ "o H o c M T3 fc. o C Q y " -3 ►J H < o t; t3 a: C X. H O o (fl ^ Ji S C o « lU Ci 3 *i o fe ii5 % G ^ C ■T3 W c « > ;-< < T3 " H in o H c y= m d) hC rt (u H 2 -^ +-» G Q 13 o c/: c O rt OJ o o C C < 1^ o ^-1 oJ" J^ ■g ^ < V^ J 03 C c^ S; o 1 = H U 1) The Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World 85 The Hittites first received civilization from their contact with the Fertile Crescent at the east end of Asia Minor. Babylonian traders brought in business documents in the form of cuneiform tablets, and in this way the Hittites learned to write their own language with cuneiform signs. At the same time the Hittites, by studying Egyptian hieroglyphics, invented a similar system of r Fig. 33. The Mound of Ancient Trov (Ilium) This mound was first dug into by Heinrich Schliemann (see Ancient Times, §§ 362-364). When he first visited it (see map, p. 42) in 1868, it was about one hundred and twenty-five feet high, and the Turks were cultivating grain on its summit. He excavated a pit Hke a crater in the top of the hill, passing downward through nine successive cities built each on the ruins of its predecessors {see Ancient Times, Fig. i$o). At the bottom of his pit (about fifty feet deep) Schliemann found the original once bare hilltop about seventy-five feet high, on which the men of the Late Stone Age had estab- lished a small settlement of sun-baked-brick houses about 3000 B.C. (First City). Above the scanty ruins of this Late Stone Age settlement Schliemann found, in layer after layer, the ruins of the later cities, with the Roman buildings at the top. The entire depth of about fifty feet of ruins repre- sented a period of about thirty-five hundred years from the lowest or First City (Late Stone Age) to the Ninth City (Roman) at the top. The Second City contained the earliest copper found in the series; the Sixth City was that. of the Trojan War and the Homeric songs (§§ 142-143) phonetic signs. In art and in architecture the Hittites likewise learned much both from the Nile and the Two Rivers.^ They and their country formed a connecting link by which influences from the Fertile Crescent passed westward to the .^gean world. 129. The Hittite Empire (about 1450 to 1200 B.C.). By about 1450 B.C. the Hittites had succeeded in building up a power- ful empire which included a large part of Asia Minor. They 1 A fuller account of the civilization of the Hittites and of the important part they played as a link between the Fertile Crescent and the peoples of the yEgean, carrying many things of importance from Babylonia to the Greek world, will be found in Ancient 7/>«^j, §§351-360. 86 History of Europe played a vigorous part in the great group of nations around the eastern end of the Mediterranean, after Egypt had established the first empire there (§§ 48-49), and they finally aided in the over- throw of the Egyptian Empire (§ 54). The Hittite Empire lasted from about 1450 to 1200 b.c. While Hittite civilization was inferior to that of Egypt and Babylonia, it occupied a very im- portant place in the group of civilizations forming the oriental neighbors of the ^Egeans. 130. Summary of the Northeast Mediterranean World. As we look at the map (p. 42), we see that Greece and the JEgean, together with Troy and Asia Minor, formed a great civilized world on the north of the Mediterranean at its eastern end. We have seen that this civilized world had received civili- zation from the Orient on the south and east. Farther norths how- ever, there were still numerous uncivilized peoples. From behind the Balkan mountains and the Black Sea they were migrating toward the Mediterranean (Fig. 27). Some of these uncivilized Northern- ers were the Greeks. They were soon to overwhelm the eastern Mediterranean, and with these Northern intruders we must begin a new chapter in the history of the eastern Mediterranean world. IV. The Coming of the Greeks 131. Southward Advance of the Indo-European Line in Europe. The people whom we call the Greeks were a large group of tribes belonging to the Indo-European race. We have already followed the migrations of the Indo-European parent people until their wanderings finally ranged them in a line from the Atlantic Ocean to northern India (§91 and Fig. 27). While their eastern kindred were drifting southward on the east side of the Caspian the Greeks on the west side of the Black Sea were likewise moving southward from their pastures in the grasslands along the Danube (see map, p. 100). Driving their herds before them, with their families in rough carts drawn by horses, the rude Greek tribesmen must have looked out upon the fair pastures of Thessaly, the snowy summit The Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World 87 of Olympus, and the blue waters of the ^gean not long after 2000 B.C. The Greek peninsula which they had entered contains about twenty-five thousand square miles.^ It is everywhere cut up by mountains and inlets of the sea into small plains and peninsulas, separated from each other either by the sea or by the mountain ridges (Fig. 41). 132. Barbarian Greek Herdsmen invade the iEgean World. These barbarian Greek herdsmen from the Northern grasslands (§89 and Fig. 27) had formerly led a wandering pastoral life like that which we have seen also in the Southern grasslands. But now they were entering upon a settled life among the Mgtdio. towns, like Tiryns and Mycenae (§126). As the newcomers looked out across the waters, they could dimly discern the islands where flourishing towns were carrying on busy industries in pot- tery and metal, which the ships of Egypt and the ^geans (§ 123) were distributing far and wide. It was to be long, however, before these inland Greek shepherds would themselves venture timidly out upon the great waters which they were viewing for the first time. Under the influences of the Orient the Greeks were now to go forward tov/ard the development of a civilization higher than any the Orient had produced — the highest, indeed, which ancient man ever attained. 133. Greeks take Possession of the -^gean World. Gradually their vanguard (called the Achseans) pushed south- ward into the Peloponnesus, and doubtless some of them mingled with the dwellers in the villages which were grouped under the walls of Tiryns and Mycenae (Figs. 31 and 32). But our knowl- edge of the situation in Greece is very meager because the peoples settled there could not yet write and therefore have left no written documents to tell the story. It is evident, however, that a second wave of Greek nomads (called the Dorians) reached the Pelopon- nesus by 1500 B.C. and gradually subdued and absorbed their lit is about one sixth smaller than South Carolina — so small that Mount Olympus on the northern boundary of Greece can be seen over a large part of the peninsula. From the mountains of Sparta one can see from Crete to the mountains north of the Corinthian Gulf (see Fig. 41), a distance of two hundred and twenty- five miles. gg History of Europe earlier kinsmen (the Achaeans) as well as the .Egean townsmen, the original inhabitants of the region. The Dorians did not stop at the southern limits of Greece, but, learning a little navigation from their *^gean predecessors, soon passed over to Crete, where they must have arrived by 1400 b.c. Cnossus, unfortified as it was, must have fallen an easy prey to the invading Dorians. They conquered the island and likewise seized the other southern islands of the ^gean. Between 1300 and 1000 B.C. the several tribes now established in Greece took the remaining islands and the coast of Asia Minor, — the Dorians in the south, the lonians in the middle, and the ^olians in the north. Here a memorable Greek expedition in the twelfth century B.C., after a long siege, captured and burned the prosperous city of Troy (§127), a feat which the Greeks never after forgot (§ 142). Thus during the thousand years between 2000 and 1000 B.C. the Greeks took possession not only of the whole Greek peninsula but likewise of the entire .^gean world. 134. Flight of the -^geans and Fall of their Civilization (by 1200 B.C.). The northern INIediterranean all along its eastern end was thus being seized by invading peoples of Indo-European blood coming in from the north. The result was that both the .^geans and their Hittite neighbors in Asia Minor were over- whelmed by the advancing Indo-European line (Fig. 27). The Hittite Empire (§ 129) was crushed, and the leading families among the ^geans fled by sea, chiefly to the south and east. In only one place were they able to land in sufficient numbers to settle and form a nation. This was on the coast of southern Palestine (see map, p. 70), where a tribe of Cretans called Philistines founded a nation which proved very dangerous to the Hebrews. Palestine is still called after the Philistines, of which the word "Palestine" is a later form. By 1200 b.c, there- fore, the splendid ^gean towns and their wonderful civilization (§§ 123-125) had been completely crushed by the incoming Greek barbarians. The ^gean civilization, the earliest that Europe had gained, thus almost disappeared. But much of the ^Egean population The Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World 89 had not fled. Remaining in their old homes, they feebly carried on the old ^gean industries, and these formed part of the founda- tion on which the barbarian Greeks were destined to build up the highest civilization of the ancient world. These ^geans mingled with their Greek conquerors. This commingling of ^geans and Greeks produced a mixed race, the people known to us as the Greeks of history. Although the ^geans thus survived, they lost their language ; Greek, the language of the conquerors, became the speech of this mixed race, and so it has remained to this day. V. The Nomad Greeks make the Transition TO THE Settled Life f 135. Earliest Institutions of the Greeks. Long after the Greeks had seized the ^^gean world they remained a barbarous people of flocks and herds. We remember that the nomads along the Fertile Crescent possessed no organized government, for there was no public business which demanded it. Such was exactly the condition of the nomad Greeks when they began a settled life in the ^gean world. From their old wandering life on the grass- lands they carried with them the loose groups of families known as tribes. Within each tribe was an indefinite number of smaller groups of more intimate families called " brotherhoods." A '' coun- cil" of the old men ("elders") occasionally decided matters in dispute or questions of tribal importance. Probably once a year, or at some important feast, an " assembly " of all the weapon-bearing men of the tribe might be held, to express its opinion of a pro- posed war or migration. These are the germs of later European political institutions and even of our own in the United States to-day.^ It was perhaps after the Greeks had found kings over such JEgean cities as Mycenae (§ 126) that Greek kings began to 1 Compare the House of Lords (= the above "council'') and the House of Commons (= the above "assembly") in England, or the Senate (derived from the Latin word meaning " old man ") and the House of Representatives in the United States. 90 History of Europe appear. Thus the old-time nomad leaders whom they had once followed in war, religion, and the settlement of disputes became rude shepherd kings of the tribes. 136. Greeks begin Agriculture. Meantime the Greek shep- herds slowly began the cultivation of land. This forced them to give up a wandering life, to build houses, and live in permanent homes. Nomad instincts and nomad customs were not easily rooted out, however, for flocks and herds continued to make up the chief wealth of the Greeks for centuries after they had taken up agriculture. As each Greek tribe settled down and became a group of villages, the surrounding land was divided among the families by lot. Private ownership of land by families gradually resulted. As a consequence there arose disputes about boundaries, about inheritances in land (§ 158), and much other legal business. The settlement of such business tended to create a government. Dur- ing the four centuries from 1000 to 600 B.C. we see the Greeks struggling with the problem of learning how to transact the business of settled landholding communities. 137. Rise of Greek Civilization in the Age of the Kings (1000-750 B.C.). No one had ever yet written a word of the Greek language in this age when the Greeks were adopting the settled agricultural life. Cretan writing (§ 123) had perished. This lack of writing among the Greeks greatly increased the dif- ficulties as government transactions began and could not be recorded. In course of time the group of villages forming the nucleus of a tribe grew together and merged at last into a city. This was the most important process in Greek political development ; for the organized city became the only nation which the Greeks ever knew. Each city-state was a nation ; each had its own laws, its own army and gods, and each citizen felt a patriotic duty to- ward his own city and no other. Overlooking the city from the heights in its midst was the king's castle (Fig. 31), which we call the "citadel," or ''acropolis." Eventually, the houses and the market below were protected by a wall. The king had now The Rise oj the Eastern Mediterranean World 91 become a revered and powerful ruler of the city and guardian of the worship of the city gods. King and Council sat all day in the market and adjusted the business and the disputes between the people. These continuous sessions for the first time created a State and an uninterrupted government. There were soon hundreds of such Greek city-states. Indeed, the entire ^gean world came to be made up of such tiny nations. It was while the Greeks were thus living in these little city- kingdoms under kings that Greek civilization arose, especially dur- ing the last two and a half centuries of the rule of the kings (1000-750 B.C.). VI. Greek Civilization in the Age OF the Kings 138. The Dawn of Greek Civilization. Long after 1000 b.c. the life of the Greeks continued to be rude and even barbarous. Here and there memories of the old ^gean splendor still lingered, as in the plain of Argos. Above the Greek village at Mycenae still towered the massive stone walls (Fig. 32) of the ancient .^gean princes, who had long before passed away. To these huge walls the Greeks looked up with awe-struck faces and thought that they had been built by vanished giants called Cyclops. With- out any skill in craftsmanship, the Greek shepherds and peasants were slow to take up building, industries, and manufacturing on their own account. They made a beginning at pottery, using the same methods employed by the ^Egean potters in producing their fine ware in Crete a thousand years earlier (Fig. 30). 139. Oriental Influences carried by Phoenician Merchants. When we remember how civilization arose among the .^^geans (§§ 122-123), we perceive that the Greeks were now exposed to the same oriental influences which had first brought civilized life to the ^Egean peoples. The Greek townsmen had to buy all the ordinary conveniences, — which they were still unable to manufacture for themselves. All these things came to them from across the sea. In the harbor they found Phoenician ships 92 History oj Europe loaded with gorgeous clothing ; perfume flasks made of glass and alabaster ; porcelain, bronze, and silver tableware wrought with splendid decorative patterns ; polished ivory combs, and plentiful jewelry {Ancient Times, Figs. 157-158). We see, then, that after the fall of the Egyptian Empire and the destruction of the ^gean towns the ships of both the Egyp- tians and the ^geans, the first traders in the Mediterranean, had disappeared. The Phoenicians (§61) on the west end of the Fertile Crescent, along the Syrian coast, were therefore taking advantage of this opportunity. They became the greatest mer- chants of the Mediterranean for several centuries after 1000 B.C. They pushed westward beyond the ^gean and were the dis- coverers of the western Mediterranean. Their colony of Carthage in north Africa (see map, p. 100) became the most important commercial state in the western Mediterranean, and they even planted settlements as far away as the Atlantic coast of Spain. Thus the Phoenicians were carrying the art and industries of the Orient throughout the Mediterranean. 140. Phoenicians carry the First Alphabet to Europe. But the Phoenicians brought to the Greeks a crowning gift of far more value than manufactured goods. Before 1000 B.C. the Phoenician merchants had given up the inconvenient clay tablet of Baby- lonia (Fig. 21), used all along the Fertile Crescent, and they were writing on imported Egyptian papyrus paper. They like- wise invented their own system of twenty-two signs for writing their own language. These signs were alphabetic letters, the first system containing no word-signs or syllable-signs (§§20-21). The Greeks soon became familiar with the Phoenician tradesman's sheets of pale-yellow paper, bearing his bills and receipts, and at last they began to write Greek words by using the Phoenician letters. Thus an alphabet appeared in Europe for the first time. By 700 B.C. the Greek potters had begun to write their names on the jars which they painted (Fig. 34), and writing was shortly afterward common among Greeks of all classes. From the alpha- bet which the Phoenicians thus brought to the Greeks, all the alpha- bets of the civilized world have been derived, including our own. The Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World 93 Along with the alphabet the equipment for using it — that is, pen, ink, and paper — for the first time came into Europe. The Greeks received all their paper from Egypt through the Phoenicians; hence our word "paper," derived from ''papyrus" (§22). The Greeks also called papyrus "by bios" after the Phoenician city of Byblos, from which they received it. Thus Fig. 34. Vase-Painting containing the Earliest Example of Greek Writing Aristonothos, the artist who made this vase-painting, has inserted his name over the standard at the right, in the lower row, where the letters run to the right and drop down. It reads, " Aristonothos made it." This is not only the earliest signed vase (§ 140) but it is likewise the earliest signed work of art, crude though it may be, in Europe arose the Greek word "biblia" for books, and from this word has come our word '' Bible." This English word " Bible," once the name of a Phoenician city, is a living evidence of the origin of books and the paper of which they are made in the ancient Orient, from which the Greeks received so much.^ 1 A fuller account of the remarkable achievements of the Phoenicians will be found in Ancient Times, §§ 394-405. 94 History of Europe 141. Warfare and Weapons. The Greek nobles of this age loved war and were devoted to fighting and plundering. Their protective armor, was of bronze, but their weapons were at this time commonly of iron (§§ 79, 128). It was only men of some wealth who possessed a fighting outfit like this. They were the leading warriors. The ordinary troops, lacking armor, were of little consequence in battle, which consisted of a series of single combats, each between two heroes. Thus each man's individual skill, experience, and daring won the battle, rather than the dis- cipline of drilled masses. 142. Rise of the Hero Songs. Men delighted to sing of valiant achievements on the field of battle and to tell of the stir- ring deeds of mighty heroes. In the pastures of Thessaly, where the singer looked up at the cloud-veiled summit of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, there early grew up a group of such songs telling many a story of the feats of gods and heroes, the earliest literature of the Greeks. Into these songs were woven also vague memories of remote wars which had actually occurred, especially the war in which the Greeks had captured and destroyed the splendid city of Troy (§ 133). Probably by 1000 B.C. some of these songs had crossed to the coasts and islands of Ionia on the Asiatic side of the ^Egean Sea. Here arose a class of professional bards who graced the feasts of king and noble with songs of battle and adventure recited to the music of the harp. Framed in exalted and ancient forms of speech, and rolling on in stately measures,^ these heroic songs resounded through many a royal hall — the oldest literature born in Europe. After the separate songs had greatly increased in number, they were finally woven together by the bards into a connected whole — a great epic series, especially clustering about the traditions of the Greek expedition against Troy. They were not the work of one man, but a growth of several centuries, the work of generations of singers, some of whom were still living even after 700 B.C. It was then that they were first written down (§ 140). 1 These were in hexameter ; that is, six feet to a line. This Greek verse is the oldest literary form in Europe. The Rise oj the Eastern Mediterranean World 95 143. Homer. Among these ancient singers there seems to have been one of great fame whose name was Homer (see Ancient Times, Fig. 161). His reputation was such that he was supposed to have been the author of two great series of songs : the Iliad,^ the story of the Greek expedition against Troy ; and the Odyssey, or the tale of the wanderings of the hero Odysseus on his return from Troy. These are the only two series of songs that have entirely survived ; even the ancient world had its doubts about Homer's authorship of the Odyssey. These ancient bards not only gave the world its greatest epic in the Iliad, but they were, moreover, the earliest Greeks to put into permanent written form their thoughts regarding the world of gods and men. They gave to the disunited Greeks a common literature and the inspiring belief that they had once all taken part in a common war against Asia. 144. Homeric Songs and Greek Religion. At that time the Greeks had no other sacred books, and the Homeric songs be- came the veritable Bible of Greece. Just as devout Hebrews were taught much about their God by the beautiful tales of Him in the narrative of the great Unknown Historian (§ 106), so the wonderful Homeric songs brought vividly before the Greeks the life of the Gods. Homer became the religious teacher of the Greeks. In the Homeric songs and in the primitive tales about the gods, which we call myths, the Greeks heard how the gods dwelt in veiled splendor among the clouds on the summit of Mount Olympus. There, in his cloud palace, Zeus, the Sky-god, with the lightning in his hand, ruled the gods like an earthly king. Apollo, the Sun-god, whose beams were golden arrows, was the deadly archer of the gods. But he also shielded the flocks of the shepherds and the fields of the plowman, and he was a wondrous musician. Above all he knew the future ordained by Zeus, and when properly consulted at his shrine at Delphi (Fig. 38) he could tell anxious inquirers what the future had in store for them. These qualities gave him a larger place in the hearts of all Greeks 1 So named after Ilium, the Greek name of Troy. 96 History of Europe than Zeus himself, and in actual worship he became the most beloved god of- the Greek world. Athena, the greatest goddess of the Greeks, seems to have been a warrior goddess, and the Greeks loved to think of her with shining weapons, protecting the Greek cities. But she held out her protecting hand over them also in times of peace, as the potters shaped their jars, the smiths wrought their metal, or the women wove their wool. Thus she became the wise and gracious protectress of the peaceful life of industry and art. Of all her divine companions she was the wisest in counsel, and an ancient tale told how she had been born in the very brain of her father Zeus, from whose head she sprang forth full-armed. These three then, Zeus, Apollo, and Athena, became the leading divinities of the Greek world. There was a further group of great gods, each controlling some special realm. In a brazen palace deep under the waters Poseidon ruled the sea. The ancient Earth Mother, whom they called Demeter, brought forth the produce of the soil. At the same time they looked also to another earth god, Dionysus, for the fruit of the grapevine, and they rejoiced in the wine which he gave them. Hermes was the messenger of the gods, with winged feet, doing their bidding, but he was also the patron of the inter- course of men, and hence the god of trade and commerce. The Semitic goddess of love, whom we have met on the Fertile Crescent as Ishtar (§ 87), had now passed over from the Syrian cities to become likewise the Greek goddess of love, whom the Greeks called Aphrodite. 145. The Greek Gods, their Conduct and Worship. All these divinities the Greeks pictured in human form, and they thought of them as possessing human traits, both good and bad. Homer pictures to us the family quarrels between the august Zeus and his wife Hera, just as such things must have occurred in the household life of the Greeks. Such gods were not likely to re- quire anything better in the conduct of men.^ 1 Greek religion was the result of a long development, which began on the grass- lands, and also among the .Egeans, some of whose beliefs the Greeks inherited. This development continued far down in Greek history. See Ancient Times, §§ 412-423. The Rise of the Eastern Mediterranean World 97 One reason why the Greeks did not yet think that the gods required right conduct of men was their notion of life after death. They beheved that all men passed at death into a gloomy kingdom beneath the earth (Hades), where the fate of good men did not differ from that of the wicked. As a special favor of the gods, the heroes, men of mighty and godlike deeds, were granted im- mortality and permitted to enjoy a life of endless bliss in the beautiful Elysian Fields or in the Islands of the Blest, somewhere far to the west, toward the unexplored ocean. The symbols of the great gods were set up in every house, while in the dwelling of the king there was a special room which served as a kind of shrine for them. There was also an altar in the forecourt where sacrifices could be offered under the open sky. In so far as the gods had any dwellings at all, we see that they were in the houses of men, and there probably were no temples as yet. 146. Summary of the Age of the Kings. In this period the Greeks gradually completed the change from a wandering shep- herd life to a settled life in and around small towns. Thus arose the little city-kingdoms, the most important thing in the organized life of the Greeks. At the same time, with the rise of the hero songs and the adoption of an oriental alphabet, the Greeks pro- duced the earliest European literature which has survived. In general, then, the Age of the Kings saw the barbarian Greek shepherds forming civilized states, with government, writing, and literature (1000-750 b.c). QUESTIONS I. How did Europe first receive metal and whence ? How did it cross the Mediterranean ? At what point ? In what part of Europe did civilization first take root ? II. Describe the i^gean world in geography, climate, and products. Tell of its earliest inhabitants. Near what civilized world did the /Egean lie ? As a result, how was it influenced ? Where was this in- fluence first felt ? What civilized things did Crete first receive ? What city was leader of Cretan civilization ? What name have its kings received ? Why ? gS History of Europe Had Europe ever had sailing ships before? When did the Grand Age begin in Crete ? Tell of its architecture and decorative art. After the rise of Crete how many great centers of civihzation were there ? Name them. III. How did Cretan civilization influence the mainland of Eu- rope ? Where did the European mainland first feel the influence of Cretan civilization ? Indicate on the map why this was. What two towns sprang up in Greece ? Point them out on the map. Describe the castle of Tiryns and draw a plan of its main parts. Had there been any such stone buildings in Europe before this ? Where did a similar town arise on the Asiatic side of the ^gean? Give its name. When did it reach a highly flourishing state ? Describe the remains of the city (Fig. 33). Who "excavated" it? When was it destroyed by the Greeks ? What people lived inland from Troy ? Whence did they receive their civilization ? When did their empire flourish ? What did it in- clude ? What important metal did they first begin to mine and dis- tribute in commerce ? What barbarous people threatened the new civilization on the north side of the Mediterranean. IV. To what great race do the Greeks belong ? Whence did their ancestors come ? How did they enter Greece ? Were they nomads or townsmen ? Who were two of the earliest Greek peoples ? What became of the old ^gean people of Greece ? What happened to Crete ? What ^gean lands did the Greeks finally hold ? V. Describe the transition of the Greeks from nomad to settled life. Describe their government and its different institutions. What problems did their new settled life create ? What about writing among them ? What kind of Greek states arose ? VI. Did the Greeks take up civilization quickly ? Did they receive much from the ^geans ? To what other civilized influences were the Greeks exposed after settling in the ^gean ? Who brought such in- fluences to the Greeks ? How ? What was the greatest thing the Phoenicians brought to the Greeks ? How did it finally benefit us ? Describe warfare in this age. What songs arose ? Who was their reputed author? Tell about the leading Greek gods. What can you say of their early places of worship ? CHAPTER VI THE AGE OF THE NOBLES AND GREEK EXPANSION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN I. The Disappearance of the Kings and the Leadership of the Nobles 147. Geographical Influences against a Union of All Greeks in One Nation. We have seen Greek civilization beginning under oriental influences. In matters of government, however, the Greek world showed striking differences from what we have seen in the Orient. There we watched each group of early city-states finally uniting into a large and powerful nation, like Egypt on the Nile or Babylonia on the Two Rivers. In Greece, however, there were influences which tended to prevent such a union of the Greek city-states into one nation. In the first place, the country was cut up by mountain ridges and deep bays, so that the different communities were quite separated. Moreover, the cities of Greece on the one hand were likewise separated from their kindred in the islands and in Asia Minor on the other hand. Furthermore, the Greeks had by this time acquired permanent local habits and local dialects, showing more differences than those between our own Louisiana and New England. Each Greek com- munity displayed such intense devotion to its own town and its own local gods that we find in Greece after looc B.C. scores of little city-states ; including the islands and Asia Minor there must have been several hundred of them (§ 137). 148. The Four Unions. Four regions on the mainland of Greece, each forming a pretty clearly outlined geographical whole, like the peninsula of Laconia or that of Attica (see map, p. 90), permitted the union of city-states into a larger nation. The oldest of these was formed in the plain of Argos (map, p. 90). Here 99 100 History of Europe the towns of Argos gradually absorbed the ancient strongholds of Mycenae and Tiryns (Figs. 31 and 32) and others in the vicinity, forming the nation of Argos and giving its name to the plain (plate, p. 84). In the same way the kings of Sparta conquered the two peninsulas on the south of them and finally also the land of the Messenians on the west. The two kingdoms of Argos and Sparta thus held a large part of the Peloponnesus. In the Attic peninsula, likewise, the little city-kingdoms were slowly absorbed by Athens, which at last gained control of the entire peninsula. On the northern borders of Attica the region of Bceotia fell under the leadership of Thebes, but the other Boeotian cities were too strong to be wholly subdued. Elsewhere no large and permanent unions were formed. Sparta and Athens led the two most important unions among all the Greeks. Let it be borne in mind that such a nation remained a city-state in spite of its increased territory. The nation occupying the Attic peninsula was called Athens, and every peasant in Attica was called an Athenian. The city government of Athens covered the whole Attic peninsula. 149. The Greek State and the Struggle toward Democracy. In the matter of governing such a little city-state the Greeks entered upon 5, new stage of their development about 750 b.c, as the common people began the struggle to better their lot. As we shall see, this long and bitter struggle finally resulted in giving the people in some Greek states so large a share in gov- erning that the form of the government might be called democ- racy. This is a word of Greek origin, meaning "the rule of the people," and the Greeks were the first people of the ancient world to gain it. The cause of this struggle was not only the corrupt rule of the kings but also the oppression of the wealthy nobles. We have watched these men of wealth buying the luxuries of the Phoenician merchants (§ 139). By fraud, unjust seizure of lands, union of families in marriage, and many other influences, the strong men of ability and cleverness were able to enlarge their lands. Thus there had arisen a class of nobles whom we call ! The Age of the Nobles lOi hereditary, because they inherited their wealth and rank. These large landholders and men of wealth were also called eupatrids. Their fields stretched for some miles around the city and its neighboring villages. In order to be near the king or secure membership in the Council (§§135, 137) and thus control the government, these men often left their lands and lived in the city. Such was the power of the eupatrids that the Council finally consisted only of men of this class. Wealthy enough to buy costly weapons, with leisure for continual exercise in the use of arms, these nobles had also become the chief protection of the State in time of war (§ 141). 150. Misery and Weakness of the Peasants. Thus grew up a sharp distinction between the city community and the peasants living in the country. The country peasant was obliged to divide the family lands with his brothers. His fields were therefore small, and he was poor. He went about clad in a goatskin, and his labors never ceased. Hence he had no leisure to learn the use of arms, nor any way to meet the expense of purchasing them. He and his neighbors were therefore of small account in war (§ 141). Indeed, he was fortunate if he could struggle on and maintain himself and family from his scanty fields. Many of his neighbors sank into debt, lost their lands to the noble class, and themselves became day laborers for more fortunate men, or, still worse, they sold themselves to pay their debts and thus became slaves. These day laborers and slaves had no political rights and were not permitted to vote in the Assembly. Intimidated by the powerful nobles, the meager Assembly, which had once included all the weapon-bearing men of the tribe (§ 135) > became a feeble gathering of a few peasants and lesser townsmen with little political power. The peasant therefore was less and less inclined to attend the Assembly at all. 151. Triumph of the Nobles ; Fall of the Kings (750-650 B.C.). By 750 B.C. the office of the king had in some states be- come merely a name. While the king was in some cases violently overthrown, in most states the nobles established from among 102 History of Europe themselves certain elective officers to take charge of matters formerly controlled by the king. Thus in Athens they appointed a noble to be leader in war, while another noble was chosen as archon, or ruler, to assist the king in attending to the increasing business of the State. The Athenian king was thus gradually but peacefully deprived of his powers. In Sparta the power of the king was checked by the appointment of a second king, and on this plan Sparta con- tinued to retain her kings. Elsewhere in the century between 750 and 650 B.C. the kingship quite generally disappeared. The result of the political and social struggle was thus the triumph of the nobles, who were henceforth in control in many states. II. Greek Expansion in the Age of the Nobles 152. Rise of Commerce and Shipbuilding among the Greeks. The Age of the Nobles witnessed another great change in Greek life. The Greek merchants gradually took up sea trade. Among the Asiatic Greeks it was the Ionian cities which led in this com- merce. The .^gean waters gradually grew familiar to the Greek communities, until the sea routes became far easier lines of com- munication than the country roads. 153. Greek Colonies. At this point the poverty of the peasants (§ 150) became an important influence, leading the Greek farmers to seek new homes and new lands beyond the .^gean world. Greek merchants were not only trafficking with the northern i^gean but their vessels had penetrated the great northern sea, which they called the ^'Pontus," known to us as the Black Sea (see map, p. 100) . Before 600 b. c. they girdled the Black Sea with their towns and settlements, reaching the broad grainfields along the lower Danube and the iron mines of the old Hittite country (§ 128 and map, p. 42). In the East, along the southern coasts of Asia Minor, Greek ex- pansion was stopped by the Assyrian Sennacherib (§77). In the South they met a friendly reception in Eg3^t. Here they founded a trading station in the Delta and colonized Cyrene (map, p. 100). The Age of the Nobles 103 It was the unknown West, however, which became the America of the early Greek colonists. Looking westward from the western coast of Greece the seamen could discover the shores of the heel of Italy, only fifty miles distant. When they had once crossed to it, they coasted around Sicily and far into the West. Here was a new world. Although the Phoenicians were already there (§ 139), its discovery was as momentous for the Greeks as that of America for later Europe (see map, p. 100). By 750 B.C. their colonies appeared in this new Western world, and within a century they fringed southern Italy from the heel to a point well above the instep, north of Naples. Hence this region of southern Italy came to be known as " Great Greece " (see map, p. 192). As the Greeks were by this time superior in civilization to all the native dwellers in Italj^, the civilized history of that great peninsula begins with the settlement of the Greeks there. They were the first to bring into Italy such things as writing, literature, architecture, and art (§§ 298-301 and head- piece, p. 189). The Greek colonists also crossed over to fertile Sicily (plate, p. 106), where they drove out the Phoenician trading posts except at the western end of the island. Syracuse, at its southeast, be- came very soon the most cultivated, as well as the most powerful, city of the Greek world. At Massilia (Marseilles), on the coast of later France, the Western Greeks founded a town which con- trolled the trade up the Rhone valley. Thus, under the rule of the nobles, the Greeks expanded till their settlements stretched from the Black Sea along the north shore of the Mediterranean almost to the Atlantic. III. Greek Civilization in the Age of the Nobles 154. Influences leading toward Greek Unity. We have al- ready noticed the tendencies which kept the Greek states apart (§ 147). There were now, on the other hand, influences which tended toward unity. Among such influences were the Greek contests in arms and their athletic games. There finally came 104 History of Europe to be held at stated seasons in honor of the gods. As early as 776 B.C. such contests were celebrated as public festivals at Olympia.^ Repeated every four years, they finally aroused the interest and participation of all Greece. Religion also became a strong influence toward unity, because there were some gods at whose temples all the Greeks worshiped. The different city-states therefore formed several religious coun- cils, made up of representatives from the various Greek cities concerned. They came together at stated periods, and in this way each city had a voice in such joint management of the temples. These councils were perhaps the nearest approach to representative government ever devised in the ancient world. The most notable of them were the council for the control of the Olympic games, another for the famous sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi (Fig. 38), and also the council for the great annual feast of Apollo in the island of Delos. These representatives spoke various Greek dialects at their meetings. They could understand each other, however, and their common language helped to bind together the people of the many different Greek cities. A sentiment of unity also arose under the influence of the Homeric songs (§ 143) with which every Greek was familiar — a common inheritance depicting all the Greeks united against the Asiatic city of Troy. 155. Barbarians and Hellenes. Thus bound together by ties of custom, religion, language, and common traditions, the Greeks gained a feeling of race unity, which set them apart from other races. They called all men not of Greek blood " barbarians," but this was not originally a term of reproach for the non-Greeks. Then the Greek sense of unity found expression in the first all- inclusive term for themselves. They gradually came to call them- selves " Hellenes " and found pleasure in the belief that they had all descended from a common ancestor called Hellen. Connected with this word is also the name " Hellas," often applied to Greece, But it should be clearly understood that this new designation did 1 Every schoolboy knows that these Olympic games have been revived in modem times as an international project. The Age of the Nobles 105 not represent a Greek nation or state, but only the group of Greek-speaking peoples or states, often at war with one another. The most fatal defect in Greek character was the inability of the various states to forget their local differences and jealousies and to unite in a common federation or great nation including all Greeks.^ 156. Architecture and Sculpture. In spite of oriental lux- uries, like gaudy clothing and rich tableware (§ 139), Greek life in the Age of the Nobles was still rude and simple. The Greek cities of which we have been talking were groups of dingy sun- dried-brick houses, with narrow wandering streets which we should call alleys. On the height where the palace or castle of the king had once stood was an oblong building of brick, like the houses of the town below. In front it had a porch with a row of wooden posts, and it was covered by a " peaked " roof with a triangular gable at each end. This rude building was the earliest Greek temple. As for sculpture in this age, the figure of a god consisted merely of a wooden post with a rough-hewn head at the top. When draped with a garment it could be made to serve its purpose. 157. Rise of a New Literature. While there were still very few who could read, there was here and there a man who owned and read a written copy of Homer. The Greeks were beginning to think about human conduct. The old Greek word for virtue no longer meant merely valor in war but also kindly and unselfish conduct toward others. Duty toward a man's own country was now beginning to be felt in the sentiment we call patriotism. Right conduct, as it seemed to some, was even required by the gods. Under these circumstances it was natural that a new literature should arise, as the Greeks began to discuss themselves and their own conduct. The old Homeric singers never referred to them- selves ; they never spoke of their own lives. They were absorbed in describing the valiant deeds of their heroes who had died long before. Meanwhile the problems of their own present began to 1 We may recall here how slow were the thirteen colonies of America to suppress local pride sufficiently to adopt a constitution uniting all thirteen into a nation. It was local differences similar to those among the Greeks which afterward caused our Civil War. io6 History of Europe press hard upon the minds of men ; the peasant farmer's distress- ing struggle for existence (see § 150) made men conscious of very present needs. Their own lives became a great and living theme. 158. Hesiod and the Earliest Cry for Social Justice in Eu- rope (750-700 B.C.). The voices that once chanted the hero songs therefore died away, and now men heard the first voice raised in Europe on behalf of the poor and the humble. Hesiod, an obscure farmer, sang of the dreary and hopeless life of the peasant — of his own life as he struggled on under a burden too heavy for his shoulders. We even hear how his brother Persis seized the lands left by their father and then bribed the judges to confirm him in their possession. This was the earliest European protest against the injustices committed by the rich in wealthy town life. It was raised at the very moment when across the corner of the Mediterranean the once nomad Hebrews were passing through the same experience (see §§ 106-107). The voice of Hesiod raising the cry for social justice in Greece sounds like an echo from Palestine. But we should notice that in Palestine the cry for social justice finally resulted not in altered government but in a religion of brotherly kindness ; whereas in Greece it resulted in altered government, in democratic institutions, — the rule of the people who refused longer to submit to the oppressions of the few and powerful. In the next chapter we shall watch the progress of the struggle by which the rule of the people came about. 159. Summary of the Age of the Nobles. At home the out- standing change in this age was the appearance of a noble class, produced largely by the incoming of landownership, with the result that the kings were overthrown and largely disappeared. In the eighth century B.C. a struggle between the nobles and the common people also began. At the same time the little Greek states showed no ability to suppress their differences and unite into a nation of all the Greeks. Abroad the Greeks of this age took to the sea and established colonies and new states along the entire northern coast of the Mediterranean from Asia Minor to the coast of later France (750-600 B.C.). The Age of the Nobles 107 QUESTIONS I. What geographical influences tended to prevent a union of all the Greeks ? What leading unions did take place ? Describe their situation. What is democracy ? Discuss the power of the Greek nobles. What was the situation of the peasants financially ? politically ? What happened to the Greek kings ? II. Discuss the rise of Greek sea trade. Trace the spread of Greek colonies. What can you say of this movement as a racial matteti? What racial contest arose ? III. Mention the several influences leading toward Greek unity. What names arose for Greeks and non-Greeks ? Discuss the architec- ture and sculpture of this age ; its hterature, especially Hesiod. What resulted from the discontent ot the poor ? Note. The buildings below are two Greek temples still standing at Passtum (Greek, Poseidonia), one of the early Greek colonies in Italy in the vicinity of Naples. The temple of Neptune (Poseidon), the finest of the group, is the best-preserved Greek temple outside of Attica. It was built in the Age of the Tyrants, not long before 500 B.C., and is one of the noblest examples of archaic Greek architecture (§ 175). CHAPTER VII THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE AGE OF THE TYRANTS I. The Industrial and Commercial Revolution 160. Growth of Greek Commerce and Industry. The remark- able spread of the Greek colonies, together with the growth of industries in the home cities, led to profound changes. The new colonies not only had needs of their own but they also had deal- ings with the inland, which finally opened up extensive regions of Europe as a market for Greek wares. The home cities at once began to meet this demand for goods of all sorts. The Ionian cities at first led the way as -formerly. Then the islands also, and finally the Greek mainland, especially Corinth and Athens, began to share in the growing Greek trade. Ere long the com- mercial fleets of Hellas were threading their way along all the coasts of the northern, western, and southeastern Mediterranean, bearing to distant communities Greek metal work, woven goods, and pottery. They brought back either raw materials and foodstuffs, such as grain, fish, and amber, or finished products like the magnificent utensils in bronze from the cities of the Etruscans in northern Italy (§298 and Fig. 53). At the yearly feast and market on the island of Delos the Greek householder found the Etruscan bronzes of the West side by side with the gay carpets of the Orient. To meet the increasing demands of trade the Greek craftsman was obliged to enlarge his small shop, once perhaps only large enough to supply the wants of a single estate. Unable to find the necessary workmen, the proprietor who had the means bought slaves and trained them to the work. He thus enlarged his little stall into a factory with a score of hands. Henceforth industrial slave labor became an important part of Greek life. 108 The Industrial Revolution 109 161. Expansion of Athenian Commerce. When Athens en- tered the field of industry she won victories not less decisive than her later triumphs in art, literature, philosophy, or war. Her factories must have grown to a size before quite unknown in the Greek world, until they filled a large quarter at Athens (see plan, p. 138). Their output is found in distant regions even to- day ; for the ancient peoples bought the beautiful Athenian vases to put in the tombs of their dead. There they are still found. It is very impressive to see the modern excavator opening tombs far toward the in- terior of Asia Minor and taking out vases bearing the signature of the same Athenian vase-painter whose name you may also read on vases dug out of the Nile Delta in north- ern Africa or taken from tombs in cemeteries of the Etruscan cities of Italy (Fig. 35). 162. Improvement and Enlargement of Ships. Soon the Greek ship- builder, responding to the growing commerce, began to build craft far larger than the old "fifty-oar" galleys. The new "merchantmen" were driven by sails, an Egyptian invention of ages before. They were so large that they could no longer easily be drawn up on the strand as before. Hence sheltered harbors were necessary. The protection of these merchant ships demanded more effec- tive warships, and the distinction gradually arose between a " man- o'-war," or battleship, and a " merchantman." Corinth is credited Fig. 35. An Athenian Painted Vase OF THE Early Sixth Century b. c. This magnificent work (over thirty inches high) was found in an Etruscan tomb in Italy (see map, p. 192), whither it had been exported (§ 161) by the Athenian makers in the days of Solon no History oj Europe with producing the first decked warships, a great improvement, which gave the warriors above more room and better footing and protected the oarsmen below. For warships must be independent of the wind, and hence they were still driven by oars. The oarsmen were now arranged in three rows, and the power of an old " fifty- oar" thus multiplied by three without essentially increasing the ship's size. Battleships having the oars in three rows were called " triremes." These innovations were in common use by 500 b. c. Fig. 36. Specimens illustrating the Beginning of Coinage 163. Adoption of Coinage by the Greeks (Early Seventh Century b.c). Meantime Greek business life had entered upon a new epoch, due to the introduction of coined money. Not long after 700 b.c. the kings of Lydia in Asia Minor, following oriental custom (§ 70), began to cut up silver into lumps of a fixed weight. These they stamped with some symbol of the king or State to show that the State guaranteed their value, and such pieces formed the earliest-known coins (Fig. 36). This great convenience was quickly adopted by the Greeks. Thus the Athenians began to use as their commonest coin a lump of silver weighing the hundredth part of a Babylonian mina (our pound). It was worth from eighteen to twenty cents. It still survives in large sections of Europe as the French jranc. The The Industrial Revolution 1 1 1 Athenians called this coin a drachma. The purchasing power of a drachma was in such ancient times very much greater than in our day. For example, a sheep cost one drachma, an ox five drachma, and a landowner with an income of five hundred drachmas ($ioo) a year was considered a wealthy man. 164. Rise of a Capitalistic Class. Greek wealth had formerly consisted of lands and flocks, but now men began to accumulate capital in money. Loans were made, and the use of interest came in from the Orient. The usual rate was i8 per cent yearly. Men who could never have hoped for wealth as farmers were now growing rich. There arose a prosperous industrial and commer- cial middle class which demanded a voice in the government. They soon became a political power of much influence, and the noble class were obliged to listen to them. At the beginning of the sixth century b.c. even a noble like Solon could say, "Money makes the man" (§ i68). II. Rise of the Democracy and the Age OF THE Tyrants 165. Increased Power of the People. While a prosperous '' capitalistic " class was thus arising, the condition of the peasant on his lands grew steadily worse. But other enemies now op- posed the noble class. In the first place, the new men of fortune (§ 164) were bitterly hostile to the nobles; in the second place, the improvement in Greek industries had so cheapened all work in metal that it was possible for the ordinary man to purchase weapons and a suit of armor. This added to the importance of the ordinary citizen in the army and therefore greatly increased the power of the lower classes in the State. 166. Disunion among Nobles and Rise of Tyrants. At the same time the nobles were far from united. Serious feuds be- tween the various noble families often divided them into hostile factions. The leader of a faction among the nobles often placed himself at the head of the dissatisfied people in real or feigned sympathy with their cause. Thus supported, he was able to 112 History oj Europe overcome and expel his rivals among the noble class and to gain undisputed control of the State. In this way he became the ruler of the State. Such a ruler was in reality a king ; but the new king differed from the kings of old in that he had no royal ancestors and had seized the control of the State by violence. The people did not reverence him as of ancient royal lineage. His position always remained insecure. The Greeks called such a man a "tyrant," which was not at that time a term of reproach as it is with us. Nevertheless, the instinctive feeling of the Greeks was that they were no longer free under a prince of this kind, and the slayer of a " tyrant " was regarded as a hero and savior of the people. In spite of public opinion about the tyrants, they were the first champions of democracy. Many of them looked after the rights of the people and gave much attention to public monuments, art, music, and Hterature. By 650 B.C. such rulers had begun to appear, but it was especially the sixth century (from 600 to 500 B.C.) which we may call the Age of the Tyrants. 167. Earliest Written Greek Codes of Law. Hitherto all law, so long ago reduced to writing in the Orient (Fig. 24), had been a matter of oral tradition in Greece. It was very easy for a judge to twist oral law to favor the man who gave him the largest present (§ 158). The people were now demanding that the inherited oral laws be put into writing (see Ancient Times, Fig. 166). After a long struggle the Athenians secured such a written code, arranged by a man named Draco, about 624 B.C. It was an exceedingly severe code — so severe, in fact, that the adjective "Draconic" has passed into our language as a synonym for "harsh." 168. Solon's Reforms. But writing down the law did not meet all needs nor quiet unrest in Athens, and in 594 B.C. a noble named Solon was chosen as archon (§ 151). He was given full power to improve the evil condition of the peasants. He declared void all mortgages on land and all claims of creditors which en- dangered the liberty of a citizen, and he set a limit to the amount of land which a noble might hold. The Industrial Revolution 113 Solon also made a law that anyone who, like Hesiod (§ 158), had lost a lawsuit could appeal the case to a jury of citizens over thirty years of age selected by lot. This change and some others greatly improved a citizen's chance of securing justice. Solon's laws were all written, and they formed the first Greek code of laws by which all free men were given equal rights in the courts. Some of these laws have descended to our own time and are still in force. Furthermore, Solon proclaimed a new constitution which gave to all a voice in the control of the State. It made but few changes. It recognized four classes of citizens, graded according to the amount of their income. The wealthy nobles were the only ones who could hold the highest offices, and the peasants were permitted to hold only the lower offices. The government thus remained in the hands of the nobles, but the humblest free citizen could now be assured of the right to vote in the assembly of the people. Solon was the earliest great Greek statesman about whom we have reliable information. The leading trait of his character was moderation, combined with unfailing decision. When all expected that he would make himself "tyrant" he laid down his expiring archonship without a moment's hesitation and left Athens for several years, to give his constitution a fair chance to work. 169. Pisistratus, Tyrant of Athens (540-528 B.C.), and his Sons. Nevertheless, Pisistratus, a member of one of the powerful noble families, finally gained control of the Athenian State as tyrant. He ruled with great sagacity and success, and many of the Athenians gave him sincere support. Athenian manufactures and commerce flourished as never before, and when Pisistratus died (in the same year as Cyrus the Persian, 528 B.C.) he had laid a foundation to which much of the later greatness of Athens was due. 170. Fall of the Sons of Pisistratus. In spite of their great ability, the sons of Pisistratus, Hipparchus and Hippias, were unable to overcome the prejudice of the Athenians against a ruler on whom the people had not conferred authority. One of the 114 History oj Europe earliest exhibitions of Greek patriotism is the outburst of en- thusiasm at Athens when two youths, Harmodius and Aristogiton (Fig. 37), at the sacrifice of their own lives, struck down one of the tyrants (Hipparchus). Hippias, the other one, was eventually obliged to flee. Thus, shortly before 500 b.c, Athens was freed from her tyrants. 171. The Reforms of Clisthenes. The people were now able to gain new power against the nobles by the efforts of Clisthenes, a noble friendly to the lower classes. He broke up the old tribal divisions on the basis of blood relationship and established purely local lines of division. He thus cut up the old noble clans and assigned the fragments to different local divisions, where the nobles would be in the minority. This prevented them from act- ing together and broke their power. In order to avoid the rise of a new tyrant, Clisthenes estab- lished a law that once a year the people might by vote declare any prominent citizen dangerous to the State and banish him for ten years. To cast his vote against a man, a citizen had only to pick up one of the pieces of broken pottery lying about the market place, write upon it the name of the citizen to be banished, and deposit it in the voting urn. Such a bit of pottery was called an "ostracon" (tailpiece, p. 120), and to "ostracize" a man (literally to "potsherd" him) meant to banish him. By these and other means Athens had (about 500 B.C.) gained a form of government giving the people a high degree of power. 172. Expansion of Sparta. Meantime Sparta also had greatly increased in power. Long before 500 b.c. the Spartans had forced the neighboring states into a combination, called the "Spartan League," which included nearly the whole of the Peloponnese. As the leader of this league Sparta was the most powerful state in Greece. It had no industries, and it therefore did not possess the prosperous commercial class which had elsewhere done so much to overthrow the nobles and bring about the rise of the tyrants. Sparta was also opposed to the rule of the people and looked with a jealous eye on the rising democracy of Athens. The Industrial Revolution 115 III. Civilization in the Age of the Tyrants 173. The Nobles as the Social Leaders. In spite of the grow- ing power of the people the nobles continued to be the leaders, especially in all those matters which we call social. They created the social life of the time, and they were the prominent figures on all public occasions. The multitudes which thronged to the public games looked down upon the best-born youths of Greece contesting for the prizes in the athletic matches (§ 154), and the wealthier nobles put the swiftest horses into the chariot races. Although noble youths might be found spending the larger part of the day practicing in the public inclosure devoted to athletic exercises, yet they usually also learned to write. It was in the Age of the Tyrants that the music of Greece rose to the level of a real art. A system of writing musical notes, meaning for music what the alphabet meant for literature, now arose (Fig. 44, B). The flute and the lyre were the favorite instru- ments, either of which might be played as the accompaniment of song, or both together, with choruses of boys and girls. 174. Literature, Music, and the Drama. Music had a great influence on the literature of the age, for the poets now began to write verses to be sung to the music of the lyre. Therefore such verses are called "lyric" poetry. The poets now put into songs their momentary moods, longings, dreams, hopes, and fiery storms of passion. Each in his way found a wondrous world within him- self, which he thus pictured in short songs. Probably the greatest of these poets was Pindar of Thebes (see Ancient Times, § 482). Another great lyric singer of the age was the poetess Sappho, the earliest woman to gain undying fame in literature. Another favorite form of song was the ''chorus," with which the country folk loved to celebrate their rustic feasts. The singers as they marched in rustic procession wore goatskins, and their faces were concealed by masks. Some of the songs were sung responsively by the chorus and their leader. For the diversion of the listening peasants the leader would illustrate with gestures the story told in the song. He thus became to some extent an ii6 History of Europe actor, the forerunner of the actors on our own stage. When a second leader was introduced, dialogue between the two was pos- sible, though the chorus continued to recite most of the narrative. Thus arose a form of musical play, or drama, the action and narrative of which were carried on by the chorus and two actors. The Greeks called such a play a tragedy, which means " goat's ^^^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^iBL ^^^^^^^^^SfiSoB^' sS I '^H wSBB^SSmmSXTniS '^ ,jS I^^^W^H^^H Fig. 37. Monument of the Tyrant Slayers of Athens, Harmo- Dius and Aristogiton On the slopes of the Areopagus (see plan, p. 138, and Fig. 43), overlooking the market place, the Athenians set up this group, depicting at the moment of attack the two heroic youths who lost their lives in an attempt to slay the two sons of Pisistratus and to free Athens from the two tyrants (514 B.C., § 170). Our illustration is an ancient copy in marble, the lost original having been made of bronze play," perhaps because of the rustic disguise as goats which the chorus had always worn. These out-of-door feasts furnished the beginnings of the Greek theater (see Fig. 46). 175. Architecture. The tyrants were so devoted to building that architecture made very important advances. The older rough Greek temples of sun-dried brick (§ 156) were rebuilt in limestone by the tyrants. At no other time before or since were so many temples erected as in the Greek world in the Age of the Tyrants. In Sicily and southern Italy a number of the noble temples of The Industrial Revolution 117 this age still stand, to display to us the beauty and simplicity of Greek architecture when it was still at an undeveloped stage (tailpiece, p. 107). Instead of the wooden posts of the Age of the Nobles (§ 156), these temples were surrounded by lines of stone columns (colonnades) in a style called Doric (see Fig. 44, A and B). The idea of these columns was derived from Egypt (see Ancient Times, Fig. 167). Like those on the Nile, these Greek temples were also painted in bright colors. 176. Sculpture and Painting. Sculpture also made great progress. Moved by patriotic impulses the Athenian sculptors now wrought a wonderful monument for the market place of Athens. It was a memorial group of two bronze statues (Fig. 37), representing the two heroic youths who endeavored to free Athens from the sons of Pisistratus (§ 170). The work showed re- markable progress in ability to represent the human body in free and vigorous action. Similar progress was made by the painters of the age. Their painted vases are a wonderful treasury of beauti- ful scenes from Greek life (tailpiece, p. 149). 177. Growing Sense of Right and Wrong. Literature and painting show us that the Greeks of this age were intensely in- terested in the life of their own time. In the first place, they were thinking more deeply than ever before about conduct, and they were better able to distinguish between right and wrong. Men now felt that even Zeus and his Olympian divinities must do the right. Mortals too must do the same, for men had now come to believe that in the world of the dead there was punishment for the evildoer. Likewise it was believed that there must be a place of blessed- ness for the good in the next world. Accordingly, in the temple at Eleusis scenes from the mysterious earth life of Demeter and Dionysus, to whom men owed the fruits of the earth, were pre- sented by the priests in dramatic form before the initiated. Anyone who viewed these "mysteries," as they were called, received im- mortal life and might be admitted into the Islands of the Blessed. 178. Thales and the Prediction of a Solar Eclipse (585 b.c). On the other hand, some thoughtful men were rejecting many ii8 History of Europe old beliefs, especially regarding the world and its control by the gods. At Miletus, the leader of the Ionian cities, there was an able statesman named Thales, who had traveled widely and received from Babylonia a list of observations of the heavenly bodies. With these lists in his hands Thales could calculate when the next eclipse would occur. He therefore told the people of Miletus that they might expect an eclipse of the sun before the end of a certain year. When the promised eclipse (585 B.C.) actually occurred as he had predicted, the fame of Thales spread far and wide. The prediction of an eclipse, a feat already accomplished by the Babylonians (§ 87), was not so important as the consequences which followed in the mind of Thales. Hitherto men had believed that eclipses and all the other strange things that happened in the skies were caused by the momentary angry whim of some god. Now, however, Thales boldly proclaimed that the move- ments of the heavenly bodies were in accordance with fixed laws. Other Ionian Greeks like Thales, especially Pythagoras, studied mathematics and the physics of musical tones. They wrote the first geographies, and one of them discovered that the earth is a sphere. They therefore became the forerunners of natural scientists and philosophers. They had entered what was for them a new world, — the world of science and philosophy, a world which the greatest minds of the early Orient had not discovered. This step, taken by Thales and the great men of the Ionian cities, remains and will forever remain the greatest achievement of the human intellect. 179. Summary and End of the Age of the Tyrants. The Age of the Tyrants was therefore one of the great epochs of the world's history, when the Greeks overtook and passed the Orient in civilization.^ It saw the rise of manufactures among the Greeks, the spread of their commerce, the introduction of coinage, and the resulting appearance of wealthy business men. A new middle class, thus created, aided in overturning the nobles, and the world's 1 A fuller account of the remarkable civiluation of this age will be found in Ancient Times, §§ 479-496. w < ■A O H I J o o Hi w W as o H c« W 5 J w Q b O o c fQ W X 00 d aj u i- o 4; *j O V, XI C -o S be "5 C « 2 -« c .S rt en u ex o O g u *" .52 '£ ^1 .:s o 03 T3 21 c lu '35 3 3 •- C rt -^ .3 to _ w - ° -c g O o '^ « Ji 0^ ^ £ o Odd u X > •a _, "o _y T) ■" ^ M X be be H c C4 T5 M tn Ji « U 2 X C o ■" be 3 5 o ,. be >», i^ c S rt be -73 tn w e « ; ^^ bo >- o & ^ o o| g - §^ « O ii be 4J C »5 O w o n! " >^'n g i3 120 History of Europe earliest democracies began. As a group the leaders of this age, many of them tyrants, made lasting impression, and they were called " the Seven Wise Men." They were the earliest statesmen and thinkers of Greece. The people loved to quote their sayings, such as "Know thyself," a proverb which was carved over the door of the Apollo temple at Delphi (Fig. 38) ; or Solon's wise maxim " Overdo nothing." After the fall of the sons of Pisistra- tus, however, the tyrants were disappearing, and although a tyrant here and there survived, especially in Asia Minor and Sicily, Greece thereupon passed out of the Age of the Tyrants (about 500 B.C.). QUESTIONS I. How did the new colonies of the Greeks influence manufacturing at home ? What can you tell of commerce and manufactures ? Discuss the effect upon shipbuilding. How did coinage arise ? How did it affect business and the accumulation of wealth ? What new class arose ? n. How did the Greek farmer now fare as to wealth ? in military and political power ? How did the Greeks regard tyrants ? What law code was made at Athens ? What did Solon accomplish ? What did Pisistratus and his sons do ? How did Clisthenes aid the people ? in. Describe the social position of the nobles. What can you say of education in this age ? Who were the leading lyric poets ? How did festal choruses lead to drama ? In what style of architecture were the temples now erected ? What progress does the monument of the tyrant slayers show ? What progress was made in ideas of conduct ? What did Thales do? What can you say of the Age of the Tyrants as a whole ? Note. This tailpiece shows the name of Themistocles scratched on a fragment of pottery (psiracon, § 171) by some citizen probably in 472 B.C. CHAPTER VIII THE REPULSE OF PERSIA AND THE RISE OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE I. The Coming of the Persians 180. The Persian Advance to the JEgean (456 B.C.). In order to understand the coming chapters in the story of Greece we must now recall that in the middle of the Age of the Tyrants Cyrus the Persian marched westward to the ^gean (§97). The vast Persian Empire which he founded thus became a close neighbor of the Greeks directly on their east in Asia Minor. In the midst of their remarkable progress in civilization (§§ 173- 179), the Ionian Greek cities of Asia Minor suddenly lost their liberty and actually became subjects of Persia. As we have already learned, the Persians represented a high civilization and an enlightened rule ; but Persian supremacy in Greece would nevertheless have seriously checked the advance of the Greeks in civilization. There seemed little prospect that the tiny Greek states, even if they united, could successfully resist the vast oriental empire, controlling as it did all the coun- tries of the ancient East, which we have been studying. Never- theless the Ionian cities revolted against their Persian lords. 181. First Persian Invasion of Europe. During the struggle with Persia which followed this revolt the Athenians sent twenty ships to aid their Ionian kindred. This act brought a Persian army of revenge, under Darius, into Europe. The long march of the Persians across the Hellespont and through Thrace cost them many men, and the fleet which accompanied the Persian advance was wrecked in trying to round the high promontory of Mount Athos (492 b.c). This advance into Greece was there- fore abandoned for a plan of invasion by water across the .^gean. 121 122 History of Europe 182. Second Persian Invasion. In the early summer of 490 B.C. a considerable fleet of transports and warships bearing the Persian host put out from the, island of Samos, sailed straight across the JEgean, and entered the straits between Eubcea and Attica (see map, p. 90). The Persians finally landed on the shores of Attica, in the Bay of Marathon (see map, p. 138), in- tending to march on Athens. All was excitement and confusion among the Greek states. The defeat of the revolting Ionian cities, and especially the Persian sack of Miletus, had made a deep impression throughout Greece. Now this Persian foe who had crushed the Ionian cities was camping behind the hills only a few miles northeast of Athens. After dispatching messengers in desperate haste to seek aid in Sparta the Athenian citizens turned to contemplate the seemingly hopeless situation of their beloved city. 183. The Armies and Greek Leadership. Thinking to find the Athenians unprepared, Darius had not sent a large army. The Persian forces probably numbered no more than twenty thou- sand men, but at the utmost the Athenians could not put more than half this number into the field. Fortunately for them there was among their generals a skilled commander named Miltiades. As the citizen-soldiers of Attica flocked to the city at the call to arms, Miltiades was able to induce the leaders not to await the assault of the Persians at Athens but to march across the peninsula (see map, p. 138) and block the Persian advance among the hills overlooking the eastern coast and commanding the toad to the city. This bold and resolute move roused courage and enthusiasm in the downcast ranks of the Greeks. Nevertheless, when they issued between the hills and looked down upon the Persian host encamped upon the Plain of Mara- thon, flanked by a fleet of hundreds of vessels, misgiving and despair chilled the hearts of the little Attic army. But Miltiades held the leaders firmly in hand, and the arrival of a thousand Greeks from Plataea revived the courage of the Athenians. 184. The Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). Unable to lure the Greeks from their advantageous position, the Persians, after The Repulse of Persia 123 several days' waiting, at length attempted to march along the road to Athens. Miltiades was familiar with the Persian custom of massing troops in the center. He therefore massed his own troops on both wings, leaving his center weak. It was a battle between bow and spear. The Athenians undauntedly faced the storm of Persian arrows (see § 97), and then both wings pushed boldly Fig. 39. Mound raised as a Monument to the Fallen Greeks AT Marathon The mound is nearly fifty feet high. Excavations undertaken in 1890 dis- closed beneath it the bodies of the one hundred and ninety-two Athenian citizens who fell in the battle (§ 184). Some of their weapons and the funeral vases buried with them were also recovered and are now in the National Museum at Athens forward to the line of shields behind which the Persian archers were kneeling. In the meantime the Persian center, finding the Greek center weak, had pushed it back, while the two Greek wings closed in on either side and thrust back the Persian wings in confusion. The Asiatic army crumbled into a broken multitude between the two advancing lines of the Greek wings. The Per- sian bow was useless, and the Greek spear everywhere spread death and terror. As the Persians fled to their ships they left 124 History of Europe over six thousand dead upon the field, while the Athenians lost less than two hundred men (Fig. 39). When the Persian commander sailed around the Attic peninsula and appeared with his fleet before the port of Athens, he found it unwise to attempt a landing, for the victorious Athenian army was already encamped beside the city. II. The Greek Repulse of Persians AND PhCENICIANS 185. Rise of Themistocles. Among the men who stood in the Athenian ranks at Marathon was Themistocles, the ablest statesman in Greece, a man who had already occupied the office of archon, the head of the Athenian state. He was convinced of the necessity of building up a strong navy, and as archon he had therefore striven to show the Athenians that the only way in which Athens could hope to meet the assault of Persia was by making herself undisputed mistress of the sea. He had failed in his effort. But now the Athenians had seen the Persians cross the ^gean with their fleet and land at Marathon. It was evident that a powerful Athenian navy might have stopped them. The Athenians therefore began to listen to the counsels of Themis- tocles to make Athens the great sea power of the Mediterranean. 186. Accession of Xerxes ; Leadership and Plans of Themis- tocles. Darius the Great, whose remarkable reign we have studied (§§ loo-ioi), died without having avenged the defeat of his. army at Marathon. His son and successor, Xerxes, therefore took up the unfinished task. The Greeks made ready to meet the new Persian assault. They soon saw that Xerxes' commanders were cutting a canal behind the promontory of Athos, to secure a short cut and thus to avoid all risk of such a wreck as had overtaken their former fleet in rounding this dangerous point. When the news of this operation reached Athens Themistocles was at last able to induce the Athenian Assembly to build a great fleet of probably a hundred and eighty triremes (§162). The Greeks were then able for the first time to meet the Persian advance by both sea and land. The Repulse of Persia 125 Themistocles' masterly plan of campaign corresponded exactly to the plan of the Persian advance. The Asiatics were coming in combined land and sea array, with army and fleet moving near together down the east coast of the Greek mainland. The design of Themistocles was to meet the Persian fleet first, with full force, and fight a decisive naval battle as soon as possible. If victorious the Greek fleet commanding the ^gean would then be able to sail up the eastern coast of Greece and threaten the communications and supplies of the Persian army. There must be no attempt of the small Greek army to meet the vast land forces of the Persians, beyond delaying them as long as possible at the narrow northern passes, which could be defended with a few men. An effort to unite all the Greek states against the Persian invasion was not successful. Indeed, Themistocles was able to induce the Spartans to unite with Athens and to accept his plan only on condition that Sparta be given command of the allied Greek fleets. 187. Battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium. In the sum- mer of 480 B.C. the Asiatic army was approaching the pass of Thermopylae, just opposite the westernmost point of the island of Euboea (see map, p. 138). Their fleet moved with them. The Asiatic host must have numbered over two hundred thousand men, with probably as many more camp followers, while the enormous fleet contained presumably about a thousand vessels, of which perhaps two thirds were warships. Of the latter the Persians lost a hundred or two in a storm, leaving probably about five hundred warships available for action. The Spartan king Leonidas led some five thousand men to check the Persians at the pass of Thermopylae, while the Greek fleet of less than three hundred triremes was endeavoring to hold together and strike the Persian navy at Artemisium, on the northern coast of Euboea. Thus the land and sea forces of both contestants were face to face. After several days' delay the Persians advanced to attack on both land and sea. The Greek fleet made a skillful and credit- able defense against superior numbers, and all day the daunt- less Leonidas held the pass of Thermopylae against the Persian host. Meantime the Persians were executing two flank movements 126 History oj Europe by land and by sea — one over the mountains to strike Leonidas in the rear, and the other with two hundred ships around the island of Euboea to take the Greek fleet likewise from behind. A storm destroyed the flanking Persian ships, and a second combat between, the two main fleets was indecisive. The flank movement by sea therefore failed ; but the flanking of the pass was successful. Taken in front and rear, the heroic Leonidas died fighting at the head of his small force, which the Persian host completely annihilated. The death of Leonidas stirred all Greece. With the defeat of the Greek land forces and the advance of the Persian army the Greek fleet, seri- ously damaged, was obliged to withdraw to the south. It took up its position in the Bay of Salamis (see map, p. 138, and Fig. 40), while the main army of the Spartans and their allies was drawn up on the Isthmus of Corinth, the only point at which the Greek land forces could hope to make another defensive stand. 188. Persians invade Attica and burn Athens. As the Per- sian army moved southward from Thermopylae the undaunted Themistocles gathered together the Athenian population and car- ried them in transports to the little islands of Salamis and ^gina and the shores of Argolis (see map, p. 138, and plate, p. 84). Meantime the Greek fleet had been repaired and, with reenforce- ments, numbered over three hundred battleships. Nevertheless the courage of many Greeks at Salamis was shaken as they looked northward, where the far-stretching Persian host darkened the coast road, while in the south they could see the Asiatic fleet drawn up off the old port of Athens at Phalerum (see map, p. 138). High over the Attic hills the flames of the burning Acropolis showed red against the somber masses of smoke that obscured the eastern horizon and told them that the homes of the Athenians lay in ashes. With masterly skill Themistocles held together the irresolute Greek leaders, while he induced Xerxes to attack by means of a false message that the Greek fleet was about to slip out of the bay. 189. Battle of Salamis (48o b.c). On the heights overlooking the Bay of Salamis the Persian king, seated on his throne, in The Repulse of Persia 127 the midst of his briUiant oriental court, took up his station to watch the battle. The Greek position between the jutting head- lands of Salamis and the Attic mainland (see map, p. 138, and Fig. 40) was too cramped for the maneuvers of a large fleet. Crowded by the narrow sea room the huge Asiatic fleet soon fell Fig. 40. PiR/Eus, the Port of Athens, and the Strait and Island of Salamis The view shows the very modern houses and buildings of this flourish- ing harbor town of Athens (see map, p. 138). The mountains in the back- ground are the heights of the island of Salamis, which extends also far over to the right (north), opposite Eleusis (see map, p. 138). The four steamers at the right are lying at the place where the hottest fighting in the great naval battle here (§ 189) took place. The Persian fleet advanced from the left (south) and could not spread out in a long front to enfold the Greek fleet because of the little island just beyond the four steamers, which was called Psyttaleia. The Greek fleet lying behind Psyttaleia and a long point of Salamis came into action from the right (north), around Psyttaleia. A body of Persian troops stationed by Xerxes on Psyttaleia were all slain by the Greeks into confusion before the Greek attack. There was no room for retreat. The combat lasted the entire day, and when darkness settled on the Bay of Salamis the Persian fleet had been almost annihilated. The Athenians were masters of the sea, and it was impossible for the army of Xerxes to operate with the same 128 History oj Europe freedom as before. By the creation of its powerful fleet Athens had saved Greece, and Themistocles had shown himself the great- est of Greek statesmen. 190. Retreat of Xerxes in the East ; Defeat of Carthage in the West. Xerxes was now troubled lest he should be cut off from Asia by the victorious Greek fleet. Indeed, Themistocles made every effort to induce Sparta to join with Athens in doing this very thing, but the cautious Spartans could not be prevailed upon to undertake what seemed to them so dangerous an enter- prise. With many losses from disease and insufficient supplies Xerxes retreated to the Hellespont and withdrew into Asia, leav- ing his able general Mardonius with an army of perhaps fifty thousand men to winter in Thessaly. Meantime the news reached Greece that the army of Carthage, which Xerxes had induced to cross from Africa to Sicily, had been completely defeated by the Greeks under the leadership of Syracuse. Thus the assault oj the Asiatics upon the Hellenic wortd was beaten back in both East and West in the same year (480 B.C.). 191. Reaction against Themistocles. The brilliant statesman- ship of Themistocles, so evident to us of to-day, was not so clear to the Athenians as the winter passed and they realized that the victory at Salamis had not relieved Greece of the presence of a Persian army. It was evident that Mardonius would invade Attica with the coming of spring. Themistocles was removed from command by the factions of his ungrateful city. Nevertheless the most tempting offers from Mardonius could not induce the Athenians to forsake the cause of Greek liberty. 192. Final Defeat of Persia at Plataea (479 B.C.) and by Sea. As Mardonius in spring led his army again into Attica, the Athenians were again obliged to flee, this time chiefly to Salamis. Sparta, always reluctant and slow in a crisis, was finally induced to put her army into the field. When Mardonius saw the Spartan king Pausanias advancing through the Corinthian Isthmus he withdrew from Attica, having laid it waste a second time. With the united armies of Sparta, Athens, and other allies — some thirty thousand heavy-armed men — Pausanias followed Mardonius into The Repulse of Persia 129 Boeotia. The armies met at Platsea. When Mardonius led his archers forward, and the Persians kneeling behind their line of shields rained deadly volleys of arrows into the compact Greek lines, the Hellenes never flinched, although their comrades were falling on every hand. With the gaps closed up the massive Greek lines pushed through the rows of Persian shields, and, as at Marathon, the spear proved victorious over the bow. In a heroic effort to rally his broken lines Mardonius himself fell. The Per- sian cavalry covered the rear of the flying Asiatic army and saved it from destruction. Not only European Greece but Ionia too was saved from Asiatic despotism. For the Greek triremes crossed over to Asia Minor and drove out or destroyed the remnants of the Persian fleet. The Athenians now also seized the Hellespont and thus held the crossing from Asia into Europe. Thus the grandsons of the Greeks who had seen Persia advance to the .^gean (§97) blocked her further progress in the West and thrust her back from Europe. Indeed, no Persian army ever set foot in European Greece again. III. The Rivalry with Sparta and the Rise of THE Athenian Empire 193. Rivalry of Athens and Sparta. As the Athenians re- turned to look out over the ashes of what was once Athens, amid which rose the smoke-blackened heights of the naked Acropolis ( Fig. 43 ) , they began to realize the greatness of their deliverance and the magnitude of their victory. With the not too ready help of Sparta they had crushed the ancient power of Asia. They felt themselves masters of the world. The past seemed narrow and limited. A new and greater Athens dawned upon their vision. This was all very different from the feeling of the stolid Spartans, whose whole State formed merely a military machine. Sparta was little more than a large military club or camp.^ Living 1 For a fuller account of the interesting life of the Spartan military class see Ancient Times, §§ 520-521. 130 History of Europe in a group of straggling villages unworthy to be called a city, greatly attached to their own old customs, still using only iron money, and refusing to build a wall around their city, the old- fashioned Spartans looked with misgivings upon the larger world which was opening to Greek life. Although they desired to lead Greece in military power, they shrank from assuming the re- sponsibilities of leadership. They represented the past and the privileges of the few (Fig. 41). Athens, on the other hand, represented the future and the rights of the many. Thus Greece fell into two camps as it were : Sparta, the home of tradition and privileges granted only to the military class ; Athens, the champion of progress and the leadership of the people. And thus the sentiment of union born in the common struggle for liberty, which might have united the Hellenes into one Greek nation, was followed by an unquenchable rivalry be- tween these two leading states, which went on for another century and finally cost the Greeks the leadership of the ancient world. 194. Themistocles, his Fortification of Athens ; the Athe- nian Fleet. Themistocles was now the soul of Athens and her policy of progress and expansion. He determined that Athens should no longer follow Sparta. He cleverly hoodwinked the Spartans and despite their obligations completed the erection of strong walls around a new and larger Athens. At the same time he fortified the Piraeus, the Athenian port (see map, p. 138, and Fig. 40). When the Spartans, after the repulse of Persia, relinquished the command of the combined Greek fleets, the great Athenian navy, his own creation, was master of the ^gean. 195. Aristides and the Establishment of the Delian League (478-477 B.C.). As the Greek cities of Asia still feared the vengeance of the Persian king, it was easy for the Athenians to form a permanent defensive league with the cities of their Greek kindred in Asia and the .^gean islands. The wealthier of these cities contributed ships, while others paid a sum of money each year into the treasury of the league. Athens was to have com- mand of the combined fleet and collect the money. She placed in charge of the important task of adjusting all contributions of the league and collecting the tribute money a patriotic citizen named The Repulse of Persia 131 Aristides, who had distinguished himself at Salamis and Plataea. His friends called him "the Just" because of his honesty. Al- though he had formerly opposed Themistocles' naval plans, he ^''^\ -j^^ „?-'A«»''-" Fig. 41. The Plain where oxce Sparta stood Olive groves now grow where the Spartans had their houses. The town was not walled until long after the days of Spartan and Greek power were over. From the mountains (nearly eight thousand feet high) behind the plain the visitor can see northeastward far beyond Athens and one hundred and twenty- five miles southward to the island of Crete now did important service in vigorously aiding to establish the new naval league. The funds he collected were placed for pro- tection in the temple of Apollo, on the little island of Delos. This new federation was known as the Delian League. It was completed within three years after Salamis. The transformation 132 History of Europe of such a league into an empire (§48), made up of states subject to Athens, could be foreseen as a very easy step. All this was therefore viewed with increasing jealousy and distrust by Sparta. 196. Rise of Cimon. Under the leadership of Cimon, the son of Miltiades (the hero of Marathon), the fleet of the League now drove the Persians out of the region of the Hellespont entirely. Cimon did not understand the importance of Athenian leadership in Greece, but favored a policy of friendship and alliance with Sparta. Hence political conflict arose at Athens over this ques- tion. Noble and wealthy and old-fashioned folk favored Cimon and friendship with Sparta, but progressive and modern Athenians followed Themistocles and his anti-Spartan plans. 197. Fall of Themistocles (472-471 B.C.). Themistocles was unable to win a majority of the Assembly ; he was ostracized (tailpiece, p. 120), and at length, on false charges of treason, he was condemned and obliged to flee for his life. The greatest statesman in Athenian history spent the rest of his life in the service of the Persian king, and he never again saw the city he had saved from the Persians and made mistress of an empire. 198. Fall of Cimon ; Growing Power of the People. In a final battle Cimon crushed the Persian navy on the coast of Asia Minor (468 B.C.) and returned to Athens covered with glory. Nevertheless, the Athenians disapproved of Cimon's friendly policy toward Sparta and ostracized him a few years later. Cimon was a noble, and his overthrow was a victory of the people against the nobles. The people now passed laws cutting off all the political power of the old councils (§ 135). Meanwhile a more popular council of five hundred paid members, which had grown up, gained the power to conduct almost all of the government business of Athens. At the same time the citizen juries introduced by Solon as a court of appeal (§ 168) were greatly enlarged. To enable the poorest citizens to serve on these juries the people passed laws granting pay for jury service. These juries, or citizen courts, were at last so powerful that they formed the final lawmaking body in the State, and, together with the Assembly of all the citizens, they made the laws. The people were indeed in control. The Repulse of Persia 133 This control was aided by a new law that, with one exception, all the higher officers of the State should be chosen by lot. 199. Chief Elective Office and the Leadership of Pericles. There was, however, one kind of officer whom it was impossible to choose by lot, and that was the military commander, the general {strategus). The leader, or president, of the body of ten generals of Athens was the most powerful man in the State, and his office was elective. It thus became more and more possible for a noble with military training to make himself a strong and influential leader. If he was a man of persuasive eloquence he could lay out a definite series of plans for the nation, and by his oratory he could induce the Assembly of the Athenian citizens on the Pnyx (Fig. 42) to accept them. After the fall of Cimon there came forward a handsome and brilliant young Athenian named Pericles, a descendant of one of the old noble families of the line of Clisthenes. He desired to build up the splendid Athenian Empire of which Themistocles had dreamed. He put himself at the head of the party of progress and of increased power of the people. He kept their confidence year after year and thus secured his continued reelection as general. The result was that he became the actual head of the State in power, or, as we might say, he was the undisputed political ''boss" of Athens from about 460 B.C. until his untimely death over thirty years later. 200. Superior Wealth and Power of Athens. The new Athens of which Pericles had become the head was rapidly becoming the leader of the Greek world. In this leadership commerce and money were coming to play a very large part.^ A period of com- mercial prosperity followed the Persian wars. In her harbor town of Piraeus, built by the foresight of Themistocles, the commerce of Athens flourished as never before. The population of Attica rose to probably over two hundred thousand, of whom over half lived at Athens. The State needed money far exceeding all its old needs. It required a hundred thousand dollars a year to pay 1 A fuller statement of the growing importance of business and finance in the life of the Greek states will be found in Ancient Times, §§ 532-5^1. 134 History of Europe the salaries of the jurymen and officials (§ 198). Large sums were needed for the new temples of marble ; but the greatest expense was for war. A war fleet of two hundred triremes required --■-ss=&yBs- Fig. 42. The Pnyx, the Athenian Place of Assembly The speakers' platform, with its three steps, is immediately in the fore- ground. The listening Athenian citizens of the Assembly sat on the ground now sloping away to the left, but at that time probably level. The ground they occupied was inclosed by a semicircular wall, beginning at the further end of the straight wall seen here on the right, extending then to the left, and returning to the straight wall again behind our present point of view (see semicircle on plan, p. 138). This was an open-air House of Commons, where, however, the citizen did not send a representative, but came and voted himself as he was influenced from this platform by great Athenian leaders, like Themistocles, Pericles, or Demosthenes. Note the Acropolis and the Parthenon, to which we look eastward from the Pnyx (see plan, p. 138, and tailpiece, p. 157). The Areopagus is just out of range on the left (see Fig. 43) nearly a hundred and twenty thousand dollars a month for wages of the sailors alone. The task of securing funds for running a government was a serious one. The Repulse of Persia 135 The total income of the Athenian State at this time hardly ■ -jached three quarters of a million dollars. Small as this seems ) us of modern times, no other Greek state could raise anything like so large an annual income. Sparta, clinging to her old- tashioned ways, without manufactures or commerce and issuing f.nly her old-time iron coins, could not compete financially with Athens. This fact had military consequences, for Sparta could not maintain her full army in the field more than a few weeks because of the expense. In so far as war was a matter of money the commercial growth of Athens was giving her a growing superiority over all the other Greek states. 201. First War between Athens and Sparta (459-446 B.C.). P(;ricles had won favor with the people by favoring a policy of ht.stility to Sparta. Foreseeing the coming struggle with Sparta, Pericles greatly strengthened the defenses of Athens by inducing ■ '.'2 people to connect the fortifications of the city with those of i e Piraeus harbor by two Long Walls, thus forming a road com- ph^tely walled in, connecting Athens and her harbor (plan, p. 138). Not long after Pericles gained the leadership of the people the i..;ir with Sparta broke out. It lasted nearly fifteen years, with . ..Tying fortunes on both sides. The Athenian merchants re- sented the keen commercial rivalry of .^gina, planted as the ficurishing island was at the very front door of Attica (see map, p. 138). They finally captured the island after a long siege. Pericles likewise employed the Athenian navy in blockading for years the other great rival of Athens and friend of Sparta, Corinth, and thus ruined its merchants. '202. War with Persia ; the Egyptian Expedition. At the same time Athens dispatched a fleet of two hundred ships to assist Egypt, which had revolted against Persia. The Athenians were thus fighting both Sparta and Persia for years. The entire Athe- nian fleet in Egypt was lost. This loss so weakened the Athenian navy that the treasury of the Delian League was no longer safe in the little island of Delos against a possible raid by the Persians, lience Pericles shifted the treasury from Delos to Athens, thus linking the city still more the capital of an Athenian empire. 136 History of Europe 203. Peace with Sparta and Persia (445 B.C.). When peace was concluded (445 b.c.) all that Athens was able to retain was the island of ^gina, though at the same time she gained con- trol of the large island of Euboea. It was agreed that the peace should continue for thirty years. Thus ended what is often called the First Peloporinesian War, with the complete exhaustion of Athens as well as of her enemies in the Peloponnesus. Pericles had not shown himself a great naval or military commander in this war. The Athenians now also arranged a peace with Persia, over forty years after Marathon. But the rivalry between Athens and Sparta for the leadership of the Greeks was still unsettled. The struggle was to be continued in another long and weary Pelopon- nesian war. Before we proceed with the story of this fatal struggle we must glance briefly at the new and glorious Athens now growing up under the leadership of Pericles. QUESTIONS I. What great oriental power advanced to the east side of the /^gean ? What did the Ionian cities of Asia do ? What part did Athens take in their revolt ? How did the Persians respond ? Did the Athenians wait for the Persians at Athens ? Who led the Athe- nians ? Describe the Battle of Marathon. II. What was Themistocles' policy for the future defense of Athens ? Describe Themistocles' plan of campaign. Describe the first two battles ; the Battle of Salamis. What did Xerxes then do ? What was the result of the Greek failure to accept Themistocles' advice ? What victory did the Greeks win in Sicily ? Describe the final battle in Greece. What final results were obtained by the Greeks at sea ? III. What did Themistocles now do ? What defensive arrangements did Athens now make with the eastern Greek cities ? What differing policies did Cimon and Themistocles favor ? What then happened to Themistocles ? to Cimon ? What new victories did the people gain ? What new council arose ? How could a statesman still hold the leadership ? Who now became the leader of the people's party ? What were the chief expenses of the Athenian State ? its chief sources of income ? Could other states raise as much ? Sketch the First Peloponnesian War. CHAPTER IX ATHENS IN THE AGE OF PERICLES I. The Home, Education, and Training of Young Citizens 204. The New Athens and Athenian Houses. The hasty re- building of Athens after the Persians had burned it did not pro- duce any noticeable changes in the houses, nor were there any of great size or splendor. There were still no beautiful houses any- where in Europe, such as we found on the Nile (Fig. lo). The one-story front of even a wealthy man's house was simply a blank wall, usually of sun-dried brick. The door, commonly the only opening in the windowless front, led into a court open to the sky and surrounded by a porch with columns adopted from Egypt (Fig. ii). Here in the mild climate of Greece the family could spend much of their time as in a sitting room (Fig. 60). Around the court opened a number of doors leading to a living room, sleeping rooms, dining room, storerooms, and also a tiny kitchen. The house lacked all conveniences. There was no chimney, and the smoke from the kitchen fire, though intended to drift up through a hole in the roof, often choked the room or floated out of the door. In winter gusty drafts filled the house, for many doorways were without doors, and glass in the form of panes for the windows (if there were any) was still unknown; The only stove was a pan of burning charcoal, called a brazier. Lacking windows, the ground-floor rooms depended for light entirely on the doors opening on the court. At night the dim light of an olive-oil lamp was all that was available. There was no plumbing or piping of any kind in the house, no drainage, and consequently no sanitary arrangements. The water supply was brought in jars by slaves from the nearest well or spring. 137 138 History of Europe The simplicity and bareness of the house itself were in noticeab contrast with the beautiful furniture and pottery which the Gret craftsmen were now producing (tailpiece, p. 149). The city was about a mile wide and somewhat more in lengt)- The streets were merely lanes or alleys, narrow and crookec'. winding between the bare mud-brick walls of the low house There was neither pavement nor sidewalk, and a stroll througj; the town after a rain meant wading through the mud. All the household rubbish and garbage were thrown directly into the street, and there was no system of sewerage. 205. Costume. The gorgeous oriental raiment of earlier da} = (§ 139) had now largely disappeared in Greece, as bright colois for men did among us in the days of our great-great-grandfather Nevertheless, the man of elegant habits gained a practiced han in draping his white raiment and was proud of the gracefulne^^ and the sweeping lines with which he could arrange its folds. The women were less inclined to give up the old finery, for ui'- happily they had little to think about but clothes and house keeping (tailpiece, p. 149). For Greek citizens still kept the wives in the background, and they were more than ever mei housekeepers. 206. School, Education, and Military Service. There were therefore no schools for the girls, but when the boy was ol.'i enough he was sent to school in charge of an old slave called a pedagogue (a Greek word meaning "leader of a child"). There were no schools maintained by the State and no schoolhouset School was conducted in his own house by some poor citizen, who was much looked down upon. He received his pay from the parents. Besides music and learning to read and write as of old (§ 1 73) J the pupil learned by heart many passages from the old poets, and here and there a boy with a good memory could repeat the entire Iliad and Odyssey. On the other hand, the boys still es- caped all instruction in mathematics, geography, or natural science. When the Athenian lad reached the age of eighteen years and left school, he was received as a citizen, providing that both his parents possessed Athenian citizenship. At nineteen, after a year --1 Athens in the Age oj Pericles 139 spent in garrison duty, the young recruits received spear and shield, given to each by the State. Thereupon they marched to the theater and entered the orchestra circle, where they were presented to the citizens of Athens before the play. Another year of garrison service on the frontier of Attica usually completed the young man's military service. 207, Athletics. If the wealth and station of his family per- mitted, the Athenian youth was then more than ever devoted to the new athletic fields. On the north of Athens, outside the Dipylon Gate, was the field known as the Academy. There was another similar athletic ground called the Lyceum on the east of the city. The later custom of holding courses of instructive lectures in these places (§286) finally resulted in giving the words "academy" and "lyceum" the associations they now possess for us. The earliest contest established at Olympia seems to have been a two- hundred-yard dash, which the Greeks called a stadion (six hundred Greek feet). The chief events were boxing, wrestling, running, jumping, casting the javelin, and throwing the disk. To these, other contests were afterwarci added, especially chariot and horse- back races. Some of the philosophers later severely criticized the Greeks for giving far too much of their time and attention to athletic pursuits. II. Higher Education, Science, and the Training Gained by State Service 208. Higher Education Offered by the Sophists. On the other hand, there were serious-minded young men, who spent their time on worthier things. Many a bright youth who had finished his music, reading, and writing at the old-fashioned private school annoyed his father by insisting that such schooling was not enough and by demanding money to pay for a course of lectures delivered by more modern private teachers called Sophists, a class of new and clever-witted lecturers who wandered from city to city. In the lectures of the Sophists a higher education was for the first time open to young men. In the first place, the Sophists I40 History of Europe taught rhetoric and oratory with great success ; fathers who had no gift of speech had the pleasure of seeing their sons practiced public speakers. It was through the teaching of the Sophists also that the first successful writing of Greek prose began. They also taught mathematics and astronomy, and the young men of Athens for the first time began to learn a little natural science. 209. Intellectual Revolution ; Difference between Young and Old. In these new ideas the fathers were unable to follow their sons. When a father of that day found in the hands of his son a book by one of the great Sophists which began with a state- ment questioning the existence of the gods, the new teachings seemed impious. The old-fashioned citizen could at least vote for the banishment of such impious teachers and the burning of their books. The revolution which had taken place in the mind of Thales (§ 178) was now taking place likewise in the minds of ever-increasing numbers of Greeks. 210. Progress in Science and Medicine. Science was advanc- ing, although without the microscope or the assistance of chem- istry. Among the sciences perhaps medfcine made the most prog- ress. In the first place, the Greek physicians rejected the older belief that disease was caused by evil demons and endeavored to find the natural causes of the ailment. To do this they sought * In this view we stand inside the wall of Themistocles, near the Dipylon Gate in the Potters' Quarter (see plan, p. 138). In the foreground is the temple of Theseus, the legendary unifier of Attica, whom all Athenians honored as a god, and to whom this temple was long supposed (perhaps wrongly) to have been erected. It is built of Pentelic marble and was finished a few years after the death of Pericles ; but now, after twenty-three hundred years or more, it is still the best-preserved of all ancient Greek buildings. Above the houses at the extreme right may be seen one corner of the hill called the Areopagus (see plan, p. 138), often called Mars' Ilill. It was prob- ably here that the apostle Paul (§ 419) preached in Athens (see Acts xvii). The buildings we see on the lofty Acropolis are all ruins of the structures erected after the place had been laid waste by the Persians (§ 188). The Parthenon (§215), in the middle of the hill (see plan, p. 138), shows the gaping hole caused by the explosion of a Turkish powder magazine ignited by a Venetian shell in 1687, when the entire central portion of the building was blown out. The space between the temple of Theseus, the Areopagus, and the Acropohs was largely occupied by the market place of Athens (§§ 213-214). * w X < O o o u < w B H Q < o o u < w W X H o w w H Q W J u I o en w a H 142 History oj Europe to understand the organs of the body. They discovered that the brain was the organ of thought, but the arterial system, the circu- lation of the blood, and the nervous system were still entirely unknown. The greatest physician of the time was Hippocrates, and he became the founder of scientific medicine. 211. Progress in History-Writing. Just at the close of Per- icles' life, in the midst of national calamities, the historian Herodotus, — a great traveler, — who had long been engaged on a history of the world, finally published his famous work. The story was so told that the glorious leadership of Athens would be clear to all Greeks and would show them that to her the Hellenes owed their deliverance from Persia. Throughout Greece it created a deep impression, and so tremendous was its effect on Athens that the Athenians voted Herodotus a reward of ten talents, some twelve thousand dollars. 212. Educational Influence of Public Service and State Feasts. Besides the instruction received from the Sophists by many young men, their constant share in public affairs was giving them an experience which greatly assisted in producing an intelli- gent body of citizens. In the Council of Five Hundred (§ 198), citizens learned to carry on the daily business of the government. Every day also six thousand citizens were serving as jurors (§ 198). This service alone meant that one citizen in five was always engaged in duties which sharpened his wits and gave him some training in legal and business affairs. Public festivals maintained by the State also played an im- portant part in the lives of all Athenians. Every spring at the ancient feast of Dionysus the greatest play- writers each submitted three tragedies and a comedy to be played in the theater for a prize given by the State. The great State feast, called the Panathenaea, occurred every four years. A brilliant procession marched with music and rejoicing across the market place, carry- ing a beautiful new robe embroidered by the women of Athens for the goddess Athena. Following the procession the multitude ascended the Acropolis, where the robe was delivered to the goddess amid splendid sacrifices and impressive ceremonies. Fig. 44. The Two Leading Styles of Greek Architecture, the Doric {A and B) and the Ionic (C and B) The little Doric building (B) is the treasury of the Athenians at Delphi (Fig. 38), containing their offerings of gratitude to Apollo. On the low base at the left side of the building were placed the trophies from the Battle of Marathon. Over them on the walls are carved hymns to Apollo with musical fiotes attached, the oldest musical notation surviving. The beautiful Ionic building (Z>) is a restoration of the temple of Victory on the Athenian Acropolis. Contrast its slender columns with the sturdier shafts of the Doric style, and it will be seen that the Ionic order is a more delicate and graceful style. A and C show details of both styles. (After Luckenbach) 144 History of Europe III. Art and Literature 213. Painting. We can still follow the Athenian citizen and note a few of the noble monuments that met his eye as he went about the new Athens which Pericles was creating. When he wandered into the market place he found at several points colon- naded porches looking out upon the market. One of these, which had been presented to the city by Cimon's family, was called the "Painted Porch," for the wall behind the columns bore paintings by the artist Polygnotus. These paintings, depicting their glo- rious victory at Marathon, had been presented to the Athenians by the artist. The citizen could see the host of the fleeing Per- sians, and in the thick of the fray he could pick out the figures of Themistocles, of Miltiades, of Callimachus, who fell in the battle, and of ^schylus, the great tragic poet. 214. Architecture. Behind the citizen rose a low hill, known as '' Market Hill," around which were grouped plain, bare govern- ment buildings. In spite of the growing sentiment for the glory of the State these plain buildings, like the Athenian houses, were all built of sun-dried-mud brick or, at the most, of rough rubble. The idea of great and beautiful buildings for the offices of the government was still unknown in the Mediterranean world, and no such building yet existed in Europe. Thus far the great public buildings of Greece were temples and not quarters for the offices of the government. 215. Pericles' New Buildings on the Acropolis. As the citizen turns from the Painted Porch the height of the Acropolis towers above him. There, on its summit, has always been the dwelling place of Athena, whose arm is ever stretched out in protection over her beloved Athens. Now at last Pericles has undertaken to replace the ancient shrines burned by the Persians, on a scale of magnificence and beauty before unknown anywhere in the Greek world. The tinkle of many distant hammers from the height above tells where the stonecutters are shaping the marble blocks for the still unfinished Parthenon, a noble temple dedicated to Athena (Figs. 43, 45, and. plate, p. 144). There the people often see A Corner of the Parthenon B. G. Teubner Looking through the Doric colonnades at the southeast corner of the build- ing to the distant hills of Hymettus. On the left is the base of the wall of the interior, blown out by the explosion of a Turkish powder magazine. At the top of this wall was the frieze of Phidias, extending around the inner part of the building. From painting by Bethe-I.owe (Rhine Prints by B. G. Teubner, Leipzig. The Prang Company, New York) Athens in the Age of Pericles 145 I Pericles intently inspecting the buildings, as Phidias the sculptor and Ictinus the architect of the Parthenon follow him up and down the inclosure, explaining to him the progress of the work. 216. Phidias and the Parthenon Sculptures. Phidias was the greatest of the sculptors at Athens. In a long band of carved marble extending entirely around the Parthenon (plate, p. 144) Fig. 45. Restoration of the Parthenon as it was in the Fifth Century b.c. (After Thiersch and Michaelis) The gable ends of the temple each contained a triangular group of sculpture depicting the birth of Athena and her struggle with Poseidon, god of the sea, for possession of Attica. The wonderful frieze of Phidias (Fig. 47 and § 216) extended around the building inside the colonnades at the top of the wall Phidias and his pupils portrayed the people of Athens moving in the stately procession (Fig. 47) of the Panathenaic festival (§212). Inside the new temple gleams the colossal figure of Athena, wrought by the cunning hand of Phidias in gold and ivory. 217. The Drama ; ^schylus. In spite of the Sophists, the Athenian people still reverently believe that it was their gods who raised Athens to the powerful position she now occupies. All the 146 History of Europe . citizens recall the story of the glorious victory of Salamis as iEschylus has told it in his great drama "The Persians." The play told them of the mighty purpose of the gods to save Hellas, just as the poet, who himself had fought the Persians (§213), might feel it. As he skirts the foot of the Acropolis the citizen reaches the theater (see plan, p. 138, and Fig. 46), where he finds the people are already entering, for the spring feast of Dionysus ( § 212) has arrived. It is natural that the people should feel that the theater and all that is done there belong to them, especially as they look down upon the orchestra circle and recognize their friends and neighbors and their own sons in the chorus for the day's performance. The play would seem strange enough to us, for there is little or no scenery ; and the actors, who are always men, wear grotesque masks, a survival of old days (§ 174). The narrative is largely carried on in song by the chorus, but this is varied by the dialogue of the actors, and the whole is not unlike an opera. 218. Sophocles. A play of Sophocles is on, and the citizen's neighbor in the next seat leans over to tell him how as a lad many years ago he stood on the shore of Salamis, whither his family had fled, and as they looked down upon the destruction of the Persian fleet this same Sophocles, then a boy of sixteen, was in the crowd looking on with the rest. How deeply must the events of that tragic day have sunk into the boy's soul ! Because like ^schylus — the first great writer of tragedies — he too sees the will of the gods in all that happens to men. He uplifts his audience to worship Zeus, however dark the destiny which the great god lays upon men. For Sophocles is no friend of the Sophists, who scoff at the gods. 219. Euripides. But our citizen is inclined to distrust the new sensational plays of Euripides, the son of a farmer who lives on the island of Salamis (Fig. 40). He is a friend and companion of the Sophists, and in matters of religion his mind is troubled with doubts. His new plays are all filled with these doubts re- garding the gods, and they have raised a great many questions Athens in the Age of Pericles 147 and some doubts which the citizen has never been able to banish from his own mind since he heard them. Sophocles therefore suits all the old-fashioned folk, and it is very rarely that Euripides, in spite of his great ability, has been able to carry off the prize. The Fig. 46. The Theater of Athens This theater was the center of the growth and development of Greek drama, which began as a part of the celebration of the spring feast of Dionysus, god of the vine and the fruitfulness of the earth (§§ 144, 174, 212, 217). The temple of the god stood here, just at the left. Long before anyone knew of such a thing as a theater the people gathered at this place to watch the celebration of the god's spring feast, where they formed a circle about the chorus, which narrated in song the stories of the gods (§ 174). This circle (called the orchestra) was finally marked out permanently and seats of wood for the spectators were erected in a semicircle on one side, but the singing and action all took place in the circle on the level of the ground. On the side opposite the public was a booth, or tent (Greek skene, "scene") for the actors, and out of this finally developed the stage. From the seats, accommo- dating possibly seventeen thousand people, the citizens had a grand view of the sea with the island of yEgina, their old-time rival (§ 201), for orchestra and seats continued roofless, and a Greek theater was always open to the sky citizen feels some anxiety as he realizes that his own son and most of the other young men of his set are enthusiastic admirers of Euripides. They constantly read his plays and talk them over with the Sophists. 148 History of Europe 220. Comedy. The great tragedies were given in the morning, and in the afternoon the people were ready for less serious enter- tainment, such as comedy offered. Out of the old-time country feasts the comedy had also developed into a stage performance. The comedy-writers did not hesitate to introduce into their plays the greatest dignitaries of the State. Even Pericles was not spared, and great philosophers or serious-minded writers like Euripides were represented on the stage and made irresistibly ridiculous, while the multitudes of Athens vented their delight in roars of laughter mingled with shouts and cheers. 221. Books and Reading. Thousands of citizens were reading the old plays that had already been presented. For now at length books had come to take an important place in the life of Athens. In our Athenian citizen's library were Homer and the works of the old classic poets. They were written on long rolls of papyrus as much as a hundred and fifty or sixty feet in length. Besides literary works, all sorts of books of instruction began to appear. The sculptors wrote of their art, and there was a large group of books on medicine, bearing the name of Hippocrates. Textbooks on mathematics and rhetoric circulated, and the Athenian house- keeper could even find a cookbook at the bookshop. 222. Summary of Periclean Athens. Under such influences there had grown up at Athens a whole community of intelligent men. They were the product of the most active interest in the life and government of the community. They constantly shared in its tasks and problems, and they were also in daily contact with the greatest works of art in literature, drama, painting, architecture, and sculpture. Very different from the old Athens of the days before the repulse of the Persians, the new Athens had thus become such a wonderful community as the ancient world had never seen before. It now remained to be seen whether the people, in complete control of the State, could guide her wisely and maintain her power. As we watch the citizens of Athens try- ing to furnish her with wise and successful guidance, we shall find another and sadly different side of the life of this wonderful community. j ■4-> \ ! w (U ; h-t t^ oj ; (4 tn -^ "3 !3 O +J ■4-J 3 4J ■VTS 1^ o 1— 1 2 (U W ■21- (U a; K ^ ^ H ;?; +-» "^ < O O be O 1— 1 6i o O 4> 2 Qi 4_> CO P-, h4 ^ ^ CO <; +-' « o .S 1— t HH to rt H -C-^ fe C « J O ^ t A S ^1 Fh -j Pi Ph i f^ 13 •-* '^ S:^ 1 oi ri 1 S s s O .. ? >< ^ H u a -4-' o] . < J= C ■♦-) 1) ■^ W -t-* c -D Q a (U 2 o P3 1) s: u^ .- V ■^3 ^"^ 'a, o 4_) a /s^ cfl o o :« X 1) V ^J O aj < <: ^ < X > c o V u 03 u 4-> i-T -a en 0! 4-1 c < V (J T3 c >< bJO C a, h 03 1) < o c -4-* O ■-t-H O C/D 1) 4-J O c o ■4-J c cc 03 6 13 c CJ C ■4-> c o en 03 2 u O H- 1 c3 D "TS rt K C TD "a o _c ■*-» c 03 o < _4J V c .3 C D O tn O m ■^ 3 en ^ Pi 01 '35 be C -)-' lU OS 4= o u tn tUD f-H &, re C <; O o C3 ;z; u )-< be <; o tn S 3 w -x 3 en w O (fl u o tn M 0] e o '-citizen, who had made Greek civilization what it was, played but a small part. The city-citizen had no share in guiding the affairs of the great nation or empire of which his city-state was a part. It was as if a citizen of Chicago might vote at the election of a mayor of his own city but had no right to vote at the election of a president of the United States. There was not even a name for the empire of the Seleucids, and their subjects, wherever they went, bore the names of their home cities or countries. The con- ception of " native land" in our sense was wanting, and patriotism did not exist. A larger world had thus swallowed up the old Greek city-states. For while Greek civilization, with its language, its art, its litera- ture, its theaters and gymnasiums, was hellenizing the Orient, the Orient in the same way was orientalizing the eastern Mediter- ranean world. But this world of the eastern Mediterranean, with its mixed Hellenic-oriental civilization, which had grown up as a result of Alexander's conquests, had by 200 b.c. reached a point when it was to feel the iron hand of a great new military power from the distant world of the western Mediterranean. At this point, therefore (200 b.c), we shall be unable to understand the further storv of the eastern Mediterranean until we have turned back and taken up the career of the western Mediterranean world. There in the West for some three centuries the city of Rome had been developing a power which was to unite both the East and the West into a vast empire including the whole Mediterranean, 1 88 History of Europe QUESTIONS I. Describe the new military arrangements of Philip of Macedon. What two parties arose at Athens ? What was the result of the struggle between Philip and the Greeks ? Who succeeded Philip and how was he educated ? II. How did Alexander deal with the Greeks ? What great war did he then begin ? Describe it until his arrival at the Gulf of Issus. What happened there ? How was the danger from the Phoenician fleet met ? What ancient land was thus conquered ? To what country did Alexander then march ? What became of the Persian king after the Battle of Arbela ? What was the result ? What marches did Alexander then undertake ? How did he establish Greek influences in the lands he traversed ? III. What was Alexander's policy regarding the relations of Asia and Europe ? What further conquests did he plan ? What was to be his own position as ruler ? How did he endeavor to secure divine honors ? How did this affect his friends ? How did all this affect Alex- ander ? What is the date of his death ? Discuss the consequences of Alexander's death. IV. What three empires resulted from the wars after Alexander's death ? Discuss the empire of the Ptolemies ; the empire of the Seleu- cids ; the empire of the Antigonids. How did the fall of the Persian Empire affect Greece ? How did the rise of Alexandria and Antioch affect Greek commerce ? What were the consequences in Greece ? V. What is meant by the term " Hellenistic Age " ? What improve- ments in houses appeared ? What new kind of pubhc buildings arose ? Describe Alexandria ; Pergamum and its sculpture ; painting and mosaic. What can you say of inventive ability in the Hellenistic Age ? Tell about Archimedes. What place do the Alexandrian scientists oc- cupy in the history of science ? Discuss Alexandrian publishing and its influence ; literature and education. What schools of philosophy arose ? What happened to old Greek religion ? Describe the civilization of the eastern Mediter- ranean world. What power was now about to lead ? BOOK IV. THE ROMANS CHAPTER XIII THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN WORLD AND THE ROMAN CONQUEST OF ITALY I. The Western Mediterranean World 290. The Mediterranean the Stage of Ancient History. The Mediterranean Sea is a very large body of water, almost as long as Europe itself. Its length is about twenty-four hundred miles, and laid out across the United States it would reach from New York over into California. A land bridge made up of Italy and Sicily extends almost across this great sea and divides it into two basins, which we may therefore conveniently call the Note. The above headpiece shows an ancient bronze wolf (sixth century b.c), wrought by Greek artists in Italy (§ 153). and illustrates the influence of Greek civili- zation in Rome even before 500 B.C. The two infants nourished by the she-wolf are later additions, put there in accordance with the tradition at Rome that the city was founded by these tw-in brothers, named Romulus and Remus. Their ancestor, so said thp tradi- tion, was /Eneas (§387), one of the Trojan heroes, who had fled from Troy after its destruction (§ 133), and after many adventures had arrived in Italy. His son founded and became king of .Alba Longa (§ 295). In the midst of a family feud among his de- scendants these twin bovs. the sons of the War-god, Mars, were bom, and after they had been set adrift in the Tiber by the ruling king, they gently ran aground at the base of the Palatine Hill, where a she-wolf found and nourished them. When they grew up they founded Rome. Similar legends formed all that the Romans knew of their early history through the period of the kings and far down into the Republic. 189 1 90 History of Europe eastern and western Mediterranean worlds. Since we left pre- historic Europe (Chapter I) we have been following the story of civilized men in the eastern Mediterranean world ; we must now turn back and take up the story of the western Mediterranean world also. 291. Italy : its Geography and Climate. The most important land in the western INIediterranean world in early times was Italy. The Four Rival Peoples of the Western Mediterranean ; Etruscans, Italic Tribes, Greeks, and Carthaginians It slopes westward in the main ; it thus faces and belongs to the western Mediterranean world. The Italian peninsula (see map, p. 192) is nearly six hundred miles long. Italy is not only much larger than Greece but, unlike Greece, it is not cut up by a tangle of mountains into winding valleys and tiny plains. The main chain of the Apennines, though crossing the peninsula ob- liquely in the north, is nearly parallel with the coasts. There are larger plains for the cultivation of grain than we find anywhere in Greece ; and there is also much more room for upland pastur- age of flocks and herds. At the same time the coast is not so cut The Western Mediterranean World 191 up arid indented as in Greece ; there are fewer good harbors. Hence agriculture and live stock developed much earlier than sea trade. 292. Western Indo-European Wing enters Italy. Probably not long after the Greeks had pushed southward into the Greek peninsula ( § 131), the western tribes of Indo- European blood had entered the Italian peninsula. The most important group, which settled in the central and southern parts of the peninsula, was the Italic tribes, the earli- est Italians. We remember that the Greeks, in conquer- ing the i^gean, took possession of a highly civilized region on the borders of the Orient. This was not the case with, the Indo- European invaders of Italy. They found the western Mediterranean world still without civilization. It had no architecture, no fine Fig. 53. Etruscan Chariot of Bronze This magnificent work shows the abihty of the Etruscans in the art of bronze-working (§ 298). The chariot was found in an Etruscan tomb in Italy; it is of full size and now belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of New York City buildings, no fortified cities, only the rudest arts and industries, no writing, no literature, and no organized governments. 293. The Three Western Rivals confronting the Italic Tribes. After the Italic invaders three rival peoples gradually came into the western Mediterranean world. They all came from the eastern INIediterranean world. The first of these was a 192 History oj Europe bold race of sea rovers whom we call the Etruscans. Their origin is still uncertain, but they probably had an earlier home in west- ern Asia Minor. In any case the Etruscans had landed in Italy and were settled there by 1000 b.c. They finally gained full control of the west coast of Italy from the Bay of Naples almost to Genoa, and held the inland country to the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (see map, p. 192). The Carthaginians were the second of the three rivals of the Italic tribes. We remember how the Phoenicians carried their commerce far 'into the western Mediterranean after 1000 b.c. (§ 139). On the African coast opposite Sicily they established a flourishing commercial city called Carthage. It soon became the leading harbor in the western Mediterranean. The Cartha- ginians finally held the northern coast of Africa westward to the Atlantic. Besides gaining southern Spain, they were also conquer- ing the islands of the western INIediterranean, especially Sicily. While the Carthaginians were endeavoring to make the western Mediterranean their own, the Italic peoples saw their third rivals invading the West. They were the Greeks. We have already fol- lowed the Greek colonies as they founded their city-states along the coast of southern Italy and in Sicily in the eighth century B.C. (§153). The strongest of all the western Greek cities was Syracuse, which took the lead more than once. We recall how the Athenians tried to conquer the West by capturing Syracuse (§§228-231). 294. Western Greek Colonies bring Civilization into the Western Mediterranean. Although the western Greeks, like those in the homeland, fought among themselves and failed to unite in a strong and permanent state, they brought the first civilization to Italy (§153). Thus fifteen hundred years after the barbarous Italic tribes had first settled in Italy there grew up on the south of them a wonderful world of Greek civilization, which went on developing, to reach its highest point in that Hellenistic culture which brought forth an Archimedes at Syracuse (§280). Let us now turn back to follow the career of the bar- barous Italic tribes of central Italy under the leadership of Rome, The Western Mediterranean World 193 d watch them slowly gaining organization and power and, ally, civilization, as they were influenced first by the Etruscans their north and then by the Greeks on the south of them. II. Earliest Rome 295. The Tribes of Latium. On the south or east bank of i Tiber, which flows into the sea in the middle of the west ist of Italy (see map, p. 192), there was a group of Italic tribes own as the Latins. In the days when the Etruscan sea raiders ;t landed on the shores north of the Tiber these Latin tribes 1 occupied a plain less than thirty by forty miles ; that is, aller than many an American county. They called it " Latium," ence their own name, "Latins." Like their Italic neighbors y lived scattered in small communities, cultivating grain and ^turing flocks on the upland. Their land was not very fertile, 1 the struggle for existence developed a strong and hardy )ple. Their center was a small town called Alba Longa, whose dership the Latin tribes followed when they were obliged to te and repel the attacks of their hostile neighbors on all sides, ey watched very anxiously the growth of the flourishing Etrus- i towns on the other (north) side of the Tiber, and they did what y could to keep the Etruscans from crossing to the Latin side. J96. The Emergence of Early Rome. When these Latin Lsants needed weapons or tools they were obliged to carry ir grain or oxen to a trading post on the south side of the )er, ten or twelve miles from its mouth (Fig. 54). Several ghboring hills bore straggling villages, and there was a strong- d on a hill called the Palatine. Here, stopped by the shoals, ored now and then an Etruscan ship which had sailed up the )er, the only navigable river in Italy. On the low marshy und, encircled by the hills, was an open-air market, which they led the Forum, where the Latin peasants could meet the Etrus- i traders and exchange grain or oxen for the metal tools or ipons they needed. Such must have been the condition of the up of villages called Rome about 1000 B.C. 194 History of Europe 297. Rome seized by Etruscans (about 750 B.C.). The Etrus- can invasion which the Latin tribes feared finally took place. Perhaps as early as 750 b.c. one of the Etruscan princes crossed the Tiber, drove out the last of the line of Latin chieftains, and took possession of the stronghold on the Palatine. From this place as his castle and palace he gained control of the villages on the hills above the Tiber, which then gradually merged into the U'?? Fig. 54. The Tiber and its Island at Rome The Tiber is not a large river, but when swollen by the spring freshets it still sometimes floods a large portion of Rome, doing serious damage. The houses which we see on the island are some of them old, but not as old as the ancient Rome we are to study. The bridges, however, are very old. The one on the right of the island was built of massive stone masonry in 62 B.C. It has been standing for over two thousand years. Many great Romans, like Julius Caesar, whose names are familiar to us, must often have crossed .this bridsre city of Rome. These Etruscan kings soon extended their power over the Latin tribes of the plain of Latium. The town of Alba Longa, which once led the Latins, disappeared. Thus Rome be- came a city-kingdom under an Etruscan king, like the other Etruscan cities which stretched from Capua far north to the harbor of Genoa (see map, p. 192). Although Rome was then ruled by a line of Etruscan kings for probably two centuries and a half, it must be borne in mind that the population of Latium which the Etruscan kings governed continued to be Latin and to speak the Latin tongue. The Western Mediterranean World I9S 298. Etruscans receive Greek Civilization. The Etruscans had been trafficking in the Greek harbors since Mycenaean days. In time they learned to write their own language with Greek letters. Many tombs containing their inscriptions still survive in Italy. Although we know the letters and can pronounce the Map of Early Rome showing the Successive Stages of ITS Growth Etruscan words, scholars are still unable to understand them. This intercourse with Greece also brought in many other products of Greek civilization, like the beautiful Greek vases (Fig. 35), until the Etruscans adopted much Greek civilization. They early produced such fine work in bronze (Fig. 53) that for a time it even excelled the metal work of the Greeks. 299. Expulsion of the Etruscan Kings of Rome (about 500 B.C.). The Etruscan kings introduced great improvements 196 History of Europe into Rome, but their cruelty and tyranny finally caused a revolt of their Latin subjects, and thus the kings of Rome were driven out. Thus about 500 b. c. the career of Rome under monarchs came to an end ; but the two and a half centuries of Etruscan rule left their mark on Rome, always afterward discernible, especially in architecture. III. The Character of the Early Republic : its Progress and Government 300. Greek Influence in Rome. During this Etruscan period Greek influences were equally important in Latium. At the dock below the Tiber ford, ships from the Greek cities of southern Italy were becoming more and more common. Long before the Etruscan kings were driven out the Roman traders had gradually learned to scribble memoranda of their own with the letters which they found in the bills they received from the Greek merchants. Greek letters thus became likewise the Roman alphabet, slightly changed to suit the Latin language. Thus the oriental alphabet (§ 140) was carried one step further in the long westward journey which finally made it (after some changes) the alphabet with which this book is printed. As Roman traffic grew, it was found very inconvenient to pay bills with grain and oxen while the Greek merchant at the dock paid his bills with copper and silver coins. At length, over a hundred and fifty years after the Etruscan kings had been driven out, the Romans began to issue copper coins (Fig. 55). But the Greeks also influenced other things besides Roman business. For the Roman peasant heard of strange gods of the Greeks, and he was told that they, were the counterparts or the originals of his own gods. He was told that Venus was the Greek Aphrodite, Mercury was Hermes, Ceres was Demeter, and so on. For the Roman there was a god over each realm in nature and each field of human life : Jupiter was the great Sky-god and king of all the gods ; Mars, the patron of all warriors ; Venus, the queen of love ; Juno, an ancient Sky-goddess, was protectress of The Western Mediterranean World 197 women, of birth and marriage, while Vesta too watched over the household life ; Ceres was the goddess who maintained the fruit- fulness of the earth, and especially the grainfields (compare Eng- lish "cereal") ; and Mercury was the messenger of the gods, who protected intercourse and wt'/rhandising, as his name shows. 301. Mechanical Character of the Roman Mind. The rather coldly calculating Roman lacked the warm and vivid imagination of the Greeks which had created the beautiful Greek mythology. .1 j; Fig. 55. Specimens of Eaklv- Roimax Copper Moxev In the time of Alexander the Great (second half of the fourth cgntury B. c.) the Romans found it too inconvenient to continue paying their debts in goods, especially in cattle (§ 296). They therefore cast copper in blocks, each block with the figure of an ox upon it (see .-/, above), to indicate its value. The Roman word for cattle {pecus) was the origin of one of their frequent words for property (pecunia) and has descended to us in our common word " pecuniary." These blocks were unwieldy, and, influenced by the Greeks, the Romans then cast large disks of copper (/>, above), which were also very ponderous, each weighing nearly a pound Troy. This coin was called, an as. When two generations later (26S K. c.) the Romans began to coin silver (see Fig. 56), copper was no longer used for large payments and the as was reduced in size to one sixth its former weight The Romans were better fitted for great achievements in political and legal organization than for new and original developments in religion, art, literature, or discoveries in science. Let us now see how Roman common sense and political wisdom developed the Roman State. 302. Establishment of the Roman Republic. When the Etrus- can kings were driven out of Rome, about 500 B.C., the nobles, called patricians, were in control of the government. The 1 98 History of Europe patricians agreed that two of their number should be elected as heads of the State. These two magistrates, called consuls, were both to have the same powers, were to serve for a year only and then give way to two others. To choose them, annual elections were held in an assembly of the weapon-bearing men, largely under the control of the patricians. Nevertheless, we must call this new state a republic, of which the consuls were the presidents ; for the people had a voice in electing them. But as only pa- tricians could serve as consuls, their government was very oppres- sive. The people (called the plebs ; compare our "plebeian"), especially among the Latin tribes, refused to submit to such oppression. 303. The Tribunes Defenders of the People. The patricians were unable to get on without the help of the people as soldiers in their frequent wars. They therefore agreed to give the people a larger share in the government, by allowing them in their own assembly to elect a group of new officials, called tribunes.^ The tribunes had the right to veto the action of any officer of the government — even that of the consuls themselves. When any citizen was treated unjustly by a consul he had only to appeal to one of the tribunes. 304. Growing Body of Government Officials. It gradually became necessary to create new officers for various kinds of business. To take care of the government funds, treasury officials called qucestors were appointed. Officials called censors were re- quired to keep lists of the people, to look after their daily con- duct and see that nothing improper was permitted. Our own use of the word " censor " is derived from these Roman officials. For the decision of legal cases a judge called a proetor was appointed to assist the consul, and the number of such judges slowly in- creased. In times of great national danger it was customary to appoint some revered and trustworthy leader as the supreme ruler of the State. He was called the Dictator, and he could hold his power for but a brief period. 305. The Senate and the Struggle of Plebs and Patricians. The consuls had great power and influence in all government mat- ters, but they were much influenced by a council of patricians The Western J^editerranean World 199 called the Senate (from Latin senex, meaning "old man"). The patricians enjoyed the exclusive right to serve as consuls, to sit in the Senate, and to hold almost all of the offices created to carry- on the business of government (§304). The tribunes, as we have seen (§303), could protect the people from some injustices, but they could not secure to the plebeian citizen the right to be elected as consul, or to become a senator, or to marry a patrician's daughter. The struggle of the common people to win their rights from the wealthy and powerful therefore continued. It was a struggle like that which we have followed in Athens and the other Greek states ; but at Rome it reached a much wiser and more successful settlement. The citizens of Rome manfully stood forth for their rights, and without fighting, civil war, or bloodshed they secured them to a large extent in the course of the first two centuries after the founding of the Republic. 306. Written Codes and New Laws. They insisted upon a record of the existing laws in writing, in order that they might know by what laws they were being judged. About fifty years after the establishment of the Republic the earliest Roman laws were reduced to writing and engraved upon twelve tablets of bronze (450 B.C.). But at the same time the people demanded the right to share in the making of new laws and to possess an assembly of the people, which might pass new laws. 307. Laws and Lawmaking Power. Having shaken off the legal power of the Senate to control their action, the assemblies of the people became the lawmaking bodies of the Roman State. In this way the people gradually secured a fairer share of the public lands and further social rights. Finally, and most im- portant of all, these new laws increased the rights of the people to hold ofiice. In the end Roman citizens elected their plebeian neighbors as censors and quaestors, as judges and at last even as consuls, and they saw men of the people sitting in the Senate. 308. New Nobility made up of Former Magistrates. Roman citizens had a deep respect for government and for its officials. There soon grew up a group of once plebeian families dis- tinguished by the public service of its members, to whom the Roman citizens looked up with great respect. When the voters 2 00 History of Europe were called upon to select their candidates they preferred mem- bers of these eminent families, especially for the consulship. A new nobility was thus formed, made up of such illustrious fam- ilies and the old patricians. As a result of these changes this new nobility found its way into the Senate, which was thus made up of the three hundred men of Rome who had gained the most experience in government and in public affairs. Their combined influence was finally stronger than that of the consuls themselves, who were therefore obliged to carry on the government according to instructions from the Senate. 309. The Roman Senate Supreme Leader of the State. By far the larger part of the Roman citizens lived too far away to come up to the city and vote. Feeling, too, their own ignorance of public affairs, the Roman citizens were not unwilling that im- portant public questions should be settled by the Senate. Thus the Roman Senate became a large committee of experienced states- men, guiding and controlling the Roman State. They formed the greatest council of rulers which ever grew up in the ancient world, or perhaps in any age. They were a body of aristocrats, and their control of Rome made it an aristocratic state, in spite of its re- publican form. We are now to watch the steady development and progress of Roman power under the wise and stable leadership of the Senate. IV. The Expansion of the Roman Republic and THE Conquest of Italy 310. Early Struggles of the Republic. It was a tiny nation which began its uncertain career after the expulsion of the Etrus- can kings about 500 b. c. The territory of the Roman Republic thus far comprised only the city with the neighboring fields for a very few miles around. On the other side of the Tiber lived the dreaded Etruscans, and on the Roman side of the river, all around the little republic, lay the lands of the Latin tribes, only loosely united with Rome by treaty. The Western Mediterranean World 201 For two generations the new republic struggled for the preser- vation of its mere existence. Fortunately for the Romans, within a generation after the foundation of the Republic the Greek fleet of Syracuse utterly destroyed the Etruscan fleet (474 B.C.) (see tailpiece, p. 204). Later the Etruscans were attacked in the rear by the Gauls, who were at this time pouring over the Alpine passes into the valley of the Po and laying waste the Etruscan cities of the North. This weakening of the Etruscans probably saved Rome from destruction. By 400 b. c, or a little after, the Romans had conquered and taken possession of a fringe of new territory on all sides, which protected them from their enemies. 311. Roman Policy of Agricultural Expansion. In the new territory thus gained the Romans planted colonies of citizens, or they granted citizenship or other valuable privileges to the con- quered population. Roman peasants, under obligation to bear Roman arms and having a voice in the government, thus pushed out into the new and enlarging Roman territory. We may call this plan a policy of agricultural expansion. It gave to Rome an ever-increasing body of brave and hardy citizen-soldiers. The Roman policy was thus in striking contrast with the narrow methods of the Greek republics, which jealously prevented out- siders from gaining citizenship. It was the steady expansion of Rome under this plan which in a little over two centuries after the expulsion of the Etruscan kings made the little republic on the Tiber mistress of all Italy (see map, p. 192). 312. Capture of Rome by the Gauls (382 B.C.). The second century of Roman expansion opened with a fearful catastrophe, which very nearly accomplished the complete destruction of the nation. In the first two decades after 400 B.C. the barbarian Gauls of the North (§310), who had been overrunning the ter- ritory of the Etruscans, finally reached the lower Tiber, defeated the Roman army, and entered the city. Unable, however, to capture the citadel on the Capitol Hill, the Gauls at length agreed to accept a ransom of gold and to return northward, where they settled in the valley of the Po. But they still remained a serious danger to the Romans. 202 History of Europe 313. Subjugation of the Latin Tribes (338 B.C.). As Rome recovered from this disaster it was evident that the city needed fortifications, and for the first time masonry walls (plan, p. 195) were built around it. Alarmed at its growing power, the Latin tribes now endeavored to break away from the control of the powerful walled city. In the two years' war which resulted the city was completely victorious (338 b.c). Rome thus gained the undisputed leadership of the Latin tribes, which was at last to bring her the leadership of Italy. The year 338 b.c, in which this important event took place, is a date to be well remembered, for it also witnessed the defeat of the Greek cities at the hands of Philip of Macedon (§256). In the same year, therefore, both the Greeks and the Latins saw themselves conquered and falling under the leadership of a single state — the Greeks under that of Macedonia, the Latins under that of Rome. In sixty-five years the Romans were now to gain the leadership of all Italy. 314. Samnite Wars (325-290 B.C.) and the Battle of Sentinum (295 B.C.). Meantime another formidable foe, a group of Italic tribes called the Samnites, had been taking possession of the mountains inland from Rome. They had gained some civilization from the Greek cities of the South, and they were able to muster a large army of hardy peasants, very dangerous in battle. By 325 B.C. a fierce war broke out between the Romans and the Samnites. It lasted with interruptions for a generation. The Romans lost several battles, and the Samnites succeeded in shift- ing their army northward and joining forces with Rome's enemies, the Etruscans and the Gauls. In the mountains midway between the upper Tiber and the eastern shores of Italy the Roman army met and crushed the combined forces of the allies in a terrible battle at Sentinum (295 b.c). This victory not only gave the Romans possession of central Italy but it made them the leading power in the whole peninsula. 315. Rome Mistress of Central and Northern Italy. Hence- forth the Etruscans were unable to maintain themselves as a leading power. One by one their cities were taken by the Romans, The Western Mediterranean World 203 or they entered into alliance with Rome, The intruding Gallic barbarians were beaten off, though the settled Gauls continued to hold the Po valley. The northern boundary of the Roman conquests was therefore along the Arnus River, south of the Apennines. The Romans were then supreme from the Arnus to the Greek cities of southern Italy (see map, p. 192). 316. The War with Pyrrhus (280-275 B.C.) and Fall of the Greeks in Italy. The remaining three great rivals in the western Mediterranean world were now the Romans, th6 Greeks, and the Carthaginians. Four centuries of conflict among themselves had left the western Greek colonies (§ 153) still a disunited group of cities fringing southern Italy and Sicily. Alarmed at the threaten- ing expansion of Roman power they endeavored to unite and sent an appeal for help to Pyrrhus, the vigorous and able king of Epirus, just across from the heel of Italy. Leading a powerful army, Pyrrhus was a highly dangerous foe. His purpose was to form a great nation of the western Greeks in Sicily and Italy. He completely defeated the Romans in two battles, and he gained practically the whole island of Sicily. But the Carthaginians, seeing a dangerous rival rising only a few hours' sail from their home harbor, sent a fleet to assist the ■Romans against Pyrrhus. With a Carthaginian fleet at the mouth of the Tibef the Roman Senate resolutely refused to make peace so long as the army of Pyrrhus occupied Italian soil. At the same time the Greeks disagreed among themselves, as they always did at critical times. Pyrrhus, thus poorly supported, found himself unable to inflict a decisive defeat on the Romans, and returned to Epirus. One by one the helpless Greek cities of Italy then sur- rendered to the Roman army, and they had no choice but to accept alliance with the Romans. Thus ended all hope of a great Greek nation in the West. 317. Summary of Roman History down through the Con- quest of Italy. Having freed itself from a long period of Etruscan tyranny the little Roman republic emerged about 500 b.c. to compete with three dangerous rival peoples, the Etruscans, Cartha- ginians, and Greeks, the first two of whom had brought the 204 History of Europe earliest civilization into the western Mediterranean. The Romans gradually developed their own government with remarkable skill, so that the nation was guided by a great council of their most experienced men, called the Senate. By a process of settling farmer colonists, that is, by agricultural expansion, the tiny re- public on the Tiber gained the mastery of the entire Italian peninsula south of the Po valley. This long period of conquest extended over about two centuries and a quarter (500-275 b.c). Thenceforward there were but two rivals in the western Medi- terranean world — Rome and Carthage. QUESTIONS I. Discuss the geography of the western Mediterranean world ; of Italy. Who were the Italic tribes ? Name the four rival peoples of the western Mediterranean world and tell something of each. II. Discuss early Latium. Describe its leading market town. What people furnished the first kings of Rome ? Tell of their rule. What civilization did the Etruscans receive ? Give examples. When were they expelled from Rome ? III. Tell about Greek influences among the Romans. Who took the place of the expelled Etruscan kings ? What did the government of Rome become ? How did the people gain power ? the Senate ? IV. Describe the Roman policy of expansion. Discuss the wars with the Gauls ; with the Latins ; with the Samnites ; witn the Greeks and Pyrrhus. What was the result ? What two rivals remained ? Note. This tailpiece shows an Etruscan helmet taken by the Syracusans in 474 b. c. 3^?^3^v CORA/£L/VS-C/Vf SC/IMOZlfHi^ COSWtl-'V'. IVCtW SCiri0 8Ai;5ATVSCNAr\'OOrATRE, PROCWATVS rOfrT'lSVIR SAPICfv/> OVt- OVO/V^ fO«-v\A VlRTVTfirASISVW f VIT- CON^OL CENSORAlOILlSQVEirV(TAPVDVO<-T.4VRASIACISAVNA >:yi^ •(u '^^r-, ^^ Fui. 69. SCRIBBLINGS OF SICILIAN Schoolboys on a Brick in the Days of the Roman Empire In passing a brickyard these schoolboys of seventeen hundred years ago amused themselves in scribbling school exercises /« Greei on the soft clay bricks before they were baked. At the top a little boy who was still making capitals carefully wrote the capital letter S (Greek S) ten times, and under it the similar letter A^ also ten times. These he followed by the words "turtle" (XEAfiNA), "mill" (MTAA), and "pail" (KAAOS), all in capitals. Then an older boy, who could do more than write capitals, has pushed the little chap aside and proudly demonstrated his superiority by writing in two lines an exercise in tongue gymnastics (like " Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," etc.), which in our let- ters is as follows : Nai neai nea naia neoi temon, hos neoi ha naus This means : " Boys cut new planks for a new ship, that the ship might float." A third boy then added two lines at the bot- tom. The brick illustrates the spread of the Greek language (§ 409) and of education in general in the provinces under the Roman Empire (§ 407) 264 History of Europe for hours before he reached the harbor, he recognized the model of the Roman Hghthouses he had seen. Here our traveler found himself among a group of wealthy Greek and Roman tourists on the Nile. As they left the magnificent buildings of Hellenistic Alexandria (§ 277), their voyage up the river carried them at once into the midst of an earlier world — the earliest world of which Fig. 70. Roman Bridge and Aqueduct at Nimes, France This structure was built by the Romans about a.d. 20 to supply the Roman colony of Nemausus (now called Nimes) in southern France with water from two excellent springs twenty-five miles distant. It is nearly nine hundred feet long and one hundred and sixty feet high, and carried the water over the valley of the river Gard. The channel for the water is at the very top, and one can still walk through it. The miles of aqueduct on either side of this bridge and leading up to it have almost disappeared {§ 409) they knew. All about them at Memphis and Thebes were build- ings which were thousands of years old before Rome was founded. On these monuments we still find their scribblings at the present day (Fig. 17). 409. Ancient Civilization in the East : Later Roman in the West. The eastern Mediterranean was regarded by the Romans as their ancient world. There the Roman traveler found Greek everywhere as far west as Sicily (Fig. 69). But when he entered the western Mediterranean he found that the language of civilized The Second Century of Peace 265 intercourse was Latin, the language of Rome. In the western Mediterranean civiHzation was a recent matter, just as it is in America. In that age western Europe had for the first time been building cities ; but it was under the guidance of Roman archi- tects, and their buildings looked like those at Rome. We can still visit and study massive bridges, spacious theaters, imposing public monuments, sumptuous villas, and luxurious public baths — a line of Roman ruins stretching from Britain through southern France and Germany to the northern Balkans (Fig. 70). Simi- larly in North Africa between the desert and the sea, west of Carthage, the ruins of whole cities with magnificent public build- ings, and also of extensive Roman frontier posts, still survive to show us how Roman civilization developed there. 410. The Whole Mediterranean World Highly Civilized. All these Roman buildings, still encircling the Mediterranean, re- veal to us the fact that as a result of all the ages of human progress which we have studied, the whole Mediterranean world. West as well as East, had now gained a high civilization. The Roman legions and their military stations stretched on the north of the Mediterranean from Britain to Jerusalem and on its south from Jerusalem to Morocco, like a dike restraining the stormy sea of barbarians outside, which would otherwise have poured in and overwhelmed the results of centuries of civilized development. III. The Civilization of the Early Roman Empire : Rome 411. New Public Buildings of Rome. As for Rome itself, a visitor at the close of the reign of Hadrian found it the most magnificent monumental city in the world of that day. It had by that time quite surpassed Alexandria in size and in the number and splendor of its public buildings. It was especially in and alongside the old Forum that the grandest structures of the Em- pire had grown up. There Vespasian erected a vast amphitheater for gladiatorial combats, now known as the Colosseum (Fig. 71). Along the north side of the old Forum the emperors built three 266 History of Europe new forums which surpassed in magnificence anything which the Mediterranean world had" ever seen before (§383).^ In these buildings of Trajan and Hadrian the architecture of Rome reached its highest level of splendor and beauty, and also in workmanship. Sometime in the Hellenistic Age architects had begun to employ increasing quantities of cement concrete. ,111 iJjJJ-LL.lLLLiiJJJ..U,U LLLLl . . illlliftiiliii iiiiliii » 1; ) --i— Inn- 8 -f 1' ■iinttiii f^--^.^ -m-" Fig. 71. The Vast Flavian Amphitheater at Rome, now called THE Colosseum. (After Luckenbach) Such buildings for witnessing gladiatorial combats (§ 347) were at first tem- porary "grand stands" of wood. This enormous building, one of the greatest in the world, was an oval arena surrounded by rising tiers of seats, accommo- dating nearly fifty thousand people. We see here only the outside wall, as restored. It was built by the emperors Vespasian and Titus (§ 411) and was completed a. d. 80. Every Roman town of any size had such an arena. The one at Pola, in Dalmatia, a town of forty thousand people, still stands, and could seat about twenty thousand spectators. A fine one still stands in Verona, Italy. In these places the emperors threw thousands of barbarian prisoners to the wild beasts The domed roof of Hadrian's Pantheon is a single enormous con- crete cast, over a hundred and forty feet across. The Romans, therefore, eighteen hundred years ago were employing concrete on a scale which we have only recently learned to imitate, and after all this lapse of time the roof of the Pantheon seems to be as safe 1 See Ancient Times, Fig. 247. The Second Century of Peace 267 and stanch as it was when Hadrian's architects first knocked away the posts which supported the wooden form for the great cast.^ 412. Roman Sculpture and Painting. In the relief sculpture adorning all these monuments Roman art is at its best. The reliefs still covering Trajan's column are a wonderful picture book of his campaigns (§397). Of statue sculpture, however, the vast majority of the works pro- duced in this period were copies of the masterpieces of the great Greek sculptors. However, por- trait sculptors produced busts of the leading Romans which are among the finest of such works ever wrought (Fig. 72). In painting, the wall decorat- ors were almost the only surviv- ing practicers of the art. They merely copied the works of the great Greek masters of the Hel- lenistic Age. Portrait painting, however, flourished, and the hack portrait artist at the street corner, who painted your picture quickly for you on a tablet of wood, was almost as common as our own portrait photographer.- 413. Decline of Literature ; Plutarch's Lives. There was now a larger educated public at Rome than ever before, and the splendid libraries maintained by the State were open to all. Authors and literary men were also liberally supported by the emperors. Nevertheless, even under these favorable circumstances Fig. 72. Portrait of an Unknown Roman This terra-cotta head is one of the finest portraits ever made (§ 412) It represents one of the masterful Roman lords of the world, and shows clearly in the features those qualities of power and leadership which so long maintained Roman supremacy 1 See Ancient Times, Fig. 264. 2 See examples of Roman sculpture and painting in Ancient Times, Figs. 197, 251, and plate, p. 654, and read footnote, ibid. p. 631. 2 68 History of Europe not a single genius of great creative imagination arose. Just as in sculpture and painting, so now in literature, the leaders were content to imitate or copy the great works of the past. Real progress in literature therefore ceased. But in this age of Latin literature at least one immortal work was written by a Greek — Plutarch's remarkable series of lives of the greatest men of Greece and Rome. The book forms an imperishable gallery of heroes, which has held the interest and the admiration of the world for eighteen centuries. 414. Lack of Scientific Attainments at Rome. In science the Romans were always merely collectors of the knowledge gained by the Greeks. During a long and successful official career Pliny devoted himself with great industry to scientific studies. He made a vast collection of the facts then known in science and found in books, chiefly Greek. He put them all together in a huge work which he called Natural History — really an en- cyclopedia. He was so deeply interested in science that he lost his life in the great eruption of Vesuvius, as he was trying both to study the tremendous event at short range and (as admiral of the fleet) to save the fleeing people of Pompeii (§ 404). But Pliny's Natural History did not contain any new facts of importance discovered by the author himself, and it was marred by many errors in matters which Pliny misunderstood. Nevertheless, for hundreds of years, until the revival of science in modern times, Pliny's work was, next to Aristotle, the standard authority referred to by all educated Europeans. Thus men fell into an indolent attitude of mind and were satisfied merely to learn what earlier discoverers had found out. This attitude never would have led to the discovery of the size of the earth as determined by Eratosthenes (§ 281) or in modern times to X-ray photographs or wireless telegraphy. 415. End of Investigative Science at Alexandria. A great astronomer and geographer of Alexandria, named Ptolemy, who flourished under Hadrian and the Antonines, was the last of the famous scientists of the ancient world. He wrote among other works a handbook on astronomy, mostly taken from the works The Second Century of Peace 269 of earlier astronomers. In it he unfortunately adopted the con- clusion that the sun revolved around the earth as a center. His book became a standard work, and hence this mistaken view of the solar system, called the Ptolemaic system, was everywhere accepted by the later world. It was not until four hundred years ago that the real truth, already long before discovered by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (§ 281), was rediscovered by the Polish astronomer Copernicus.^ 416. Cosmopolitan Life of Rome. Educated Greeks at Rome were now holding important positions in the government or as teachers and professors paid by the government. The city was no longer Roman or Italian ; it had become Mediter- ranean. Men of all the world elbowed each other and talked business in the banks and countinghouses of the magnificent new forums ; they filled the public offices and administrative depart- ments of the government, and discussed the hand-copied daily paper published by the State ; they sat in the libraries and lecture halls of the Roman university, and they crowded the lounging places of the public baths and the vast amphitheater. We call such all-inclusive, widely representative life "cosmopolitan" — a word of Greek origin meaning " world-cityish." This inflow of all the world at Rome was evident in the luxuries now enjoyed by the rich. Roman ladies were decked with dia- monds, pearls, and rubies from India, and they robed themselves in shining silks from China. The tables of the rich were bright with peaches, which they called '' Persian apples," and with apricots, both now appearing for the first time in the Roman world. Roman cooks learned to prepare rice, formerly an orien- tal delicacy prescribed for the sick. Instead of sweetening their dishes with honey as formerly, Roman households began to find a new product in the market place known as "sakari"; for so the report of a venturesome oriental sailor of the first century of our era calls the sirup of sugar cane, which he brought by sea 1 Knowledge of the spherical form of the earth as shown by Ptolemy and earlier Greek astronomers was never lost. It was passed down to the travelers and navigators of later Europe and finally led Columbus to undertake the voyage to India and the East wcsi- uuird — the voyage which resulted in the discovery of America. 2 70 History of Europe from India into the Mediterranean for the first time. This is the earliest mention of sugar in history. These new things from the Orient were beginning to appear in Roman life just as the potatoes, tobacco, and Indian corn of America found their way into Europe after the voyages of Columbus had disclosed a new Western world. IV. Popularity of Oriental Religions and the Spread of Early Christianity 417. Decline of Intellectual Life and Roman Religion. The life of the Orient was at the same time continuing to bring into the Mediterranean other things less easily traced than rice or sugar, but much more important in their influence on the Roman world. These were the oriental religions. The intellectual life of the Empire was steadily declining, as we have seen in- dicated by literature and science. Thoughtful Romans read the Greek philosophy of the Stoics and Epicureans (§286) in the charming treatises of Cicero (§386). Such readers had given up the old Roman gods and accepted as their religion the precepts of daily conduct which they found in the Stoic or Epicurean phi- losophy. But such teaching was only for the highly educated and the intellectual class. 418. Oriental Religions in Europe. Multitudes, including even the educated, yielded to the fascination of the mysterious religions coming in from the East. IMany took refuge in the faith of the Egyptian Isis, and temples of Isis were to be found in all the larger cities. To-day tiny statuettes and other symbols of the Egyptian goddess are found even along the Seine, the Rhine, and the Danube. In the army the Persian Mithras, a god of light (§ 94), was a great favorite, and many a Roman legion had its underground chapel where its members celebrated his triumph over darkness and evil. These and other oriental faiths all had their "myster- ies," consisting chiefly of dramatic presentations of the career of the god, especially his submission to death, his triumph over it, The Second Century of Peace 271 and his ascent to everlasting life (§53). It was believed that to witness these things and to undergo certain holy ceremonies of initiation would enable one to share in the pure and endless life of the god and to dwell with him forever. The old Roman faith had little to do with conduct and held out to the worshiper no such hopes of future blessedness. Little wonder that the multitudes were irresistibly attracted by the com- forting promises of these oriental faiths and the blessed future to be gained in their "mysteries." The Jews, too, since their temple in Jerusalem had been de- stroyed by the Romans, were to be found in increasing numbers in all the larger cities. Strabo, the geographer, said of them, "This people has already made its way into every city, and it would be hard to find a place in the habitable world which has not admitted this race and been dominated by it." The Roman world was becoming accustomed to their synagogues ; but the Jews refused to acknowledge any god besides their own, and this brought them disfavor and trouble with the government. 419. Rise of Christianity. Among all these faiths of the Orient the common people were more and more inclining toward one whose teachers told how their Master, Jesus, a Hebrew, was born in Palestine, the land of the Jews, in the days of Augustus. Everywhere they told the people of his vision of human brother- hood and of divine fatherhood. This faith he had preached for a few years, till he incurred the hatred of his countrymen, and in the reign of Tiberius they had put him to death. A Jewish tentmaker of Tarsus named Paul, a man of passionate eloquence and unquenchable love for his Master, passed far and wide through the cities of Asia Minor and Greece, and even to Rome, proclaiming his Master's teaching. He left behind him a line of devoted communities stretching from Palestine to Rome. Certain letters which he wrote in Greek to his followers were circulating widely among them and were read with eagerness. At the same time a narrative of the Master's life had also appeared and was now widely read by the common people. There were finally four leading biographies of Jesus in Greek, which came to 272 History of Europe be regarded as authoritative, and these we call the Four Gospels. Along with the letters of Paul and some other writings they were later put together in a Greek book now known in the English translation as the New Testament. 420. Superiority of Christianity. The other oriental faiths, in spite of their attractiveness, could not offer to their followers the consolation and fellowship of a life so exalted and beautiful, so full of brotherly appeal and human sympathy as that of the new Hebrew Teacher. The slave and the freedman, the artisan and the craftsman, the humble and the despised in the huge barracks which sheltered the poor in Rome, eagerly listened to this new "mystery" from the East, as they thought it to be. As time passed, multitudes learned of the new gospel and found joy in the hopes which it awakened. In the second century of peace Christianity was rapidly outstripping the other religions of the Roman Empire. 421. Roman Persecution of the Early Christians. The gov- ernment officials often found these early converts, like the Jews, not only refusing to sacrifice to the emperor as a god, as all good Roman citizens were expected to do, but also openly prophesying the downfall of the Roman State. While the Roman government was usually very tolerant in matters of religion, the early Chris- tians were therefore frequently called upon to endure cruel perse- cution. Their religion seemed to interfere with good citizenship, since it forbade them to show the usual respect for the emperor and the government. Nevertheless their numbers steadily grew. V. Marcus Aurelius and the End of the Second Century of Peace 422. End of the Second Century of Peace (about a.d. 167). In spite of outward prosperity, Mediterranean civilization was declining in the second century of peace. This became noticeable in the reign of Hadrian. Then the noble Emperor IVIarcus Aurelius (a.d. 1 61-180) was called upon to face a very serious situation. His ability and enlightened statesmanship are undoubted. Indeed, The Second Century of Peace 273 they were only equaled by the purity and beauty of his personal life. Amid the growing anxieties of his position, even as he sat in his tent and guided the operations of the legions in the forests of what is now Bohemia, he found time to record his thoughts and leave to the world a little volume of meditations written in Greek, which many people still read with great pleasure and profit. After his army had been seriously reduced in numbers by a four years' war with the Parthians and by a terrible plague, the barbarian hordes in the German North broke through the frontier defenses (Fig. 67), and for the first time in two centuries they poured down into Italy (a.d. 167). The two centuries of peace were ended. With little intermission, until his death (a.d. 180), Marcus Aurelius maintained the struggle against the Germans in the region of modern Bohemia. In spite of victory over the barbarians, he was unable to sweep them entirely out of the northern regions of the Empire. He finally took the very dan- gerous step of alloAving some of them, in return for military service, to remain permanently as farmer colonists on lands assigned to them inside of the frontier. This policy, as we shall see, resulted in very serious consequences to the Empire. 423. Summary of the Two Centuries of Peace. The re- markable forty-four years of the peaceful reign of Augustus had ushered in a century of peace which was completed by the four succeeding reigns of the Julian line, ending (a.d. 68) with the death of the infamous Nero. The second century of peace which began soon afterward was made up for the most part by the reigns of a group of very able emperors, especially Trajan and Hadrian. These men expanded the once local government and laws of the former city-state of Rome until they fitted the needs of a vast state including the whole Mediterranean world. At this time Christianity was spreading very rapidly. Internal decay was going on, however, and under Marcus Aurelius, about a.d. 167, the two centuries of peace ended. We now pass on, therefore, to a fearful century of revolution, civil war, and anarchy, from which a very different Roman world emerged. 2 74 History of Europe QUESTIONS I. What two great tasks were to be accomplished by the emperors of the second century of peace ? Discuss the wars of Trajan. What did Hadrian do for the defenses ? Describe the army. Tell about im- portant developments in the internal organization of the Empire ; in its laws ; in the emperor's attention to the provinces. IL Indicate the extent and mention the chief peoples of the Roman Empire. Tell the story of Pompeii. Describe the communications and commerce of the eastern Mediterranean ; the life of the provincial towns, especially education. What was the language of the West ? Describe its surviving monuments. What do the Roman buildings still show regarding the position and the extent of the Roman Empire ? III. Tell about the buildings of the emperors at Rome ; sculpture and painting ; literature and science ; the cosmopolitan life of Rome ; its oriental luxuries. IV. What was the state of religion in the Empire ? What was the situation of the oriental rehgions among the Romans ? Mention the leading ones and give an account of them, especially Christianity. How did its sacred book arise ? What danger threatened the early Christians ? V. What was the state of civilization in the second century of ■peace? What brought this period to an end? Under whom? What dangerous step did he take ? Describe his character and writings. What followed the two centuries of peace ? Note. This tailpiece shows the model of a part of the ruins of a former fashionable Roman watering place at Bath, England. CHAPTER XIX A CENTURY OF REVOLUTION AND THE DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE I. Internal Decline of the Roman Empire 424. Signs of Inner Decay. We have seen good government, fine buildings, education, and other evidences of civiHzation more widespread in the second century gf peace than ever before. Nevertheless, the great Empire which we have been studying was suffering from an inner decay. In the first place, the decline of farming, so noticeable before the fall of the Republic (§§351 ff.), had gone steadily on. This was partly due to the exhaustion of the soil and bad cultivation. 425. Decline of Farming and Agriculture. Land continued to pass over into the hands of the rich and powerful. A rich man's estate was called a villa, and the system of villa estates, having destroyed the small farmers of Italy (§§ 349-352), was now destroying them in the provinces likewise. Villas now covered not only Italy but also Africa, Gaul, Britain, Spain, and other leading provinces. Unable to compete with the great villas, and finding the burden of taxes unbearable, most of the small farmers gave up the struggle. Such a farmer would often become the colonus of some wealthy villa owner. By this arrangement the farmer and his descendants were forever bound by law to the land which they worked, and they passed with it from owner to owner .when it changed hands. While not actually slaves, they were not free to leave or go where they pleased. The great villas once worked by slaves were now cultivated chiefly by these coloni (plural of colonus), the forerunners of the medieval serfs (§ 525), while slaves had steadily diminished in numbers. 275 276 History of Europe Multitudes of the country people, unwilling to become coloni, forsook their fields and turned to the city for relief. Great stretches of unworked and weed-grown fields were no uncommon sight. As the amount of land under cultivation decreased, the ancient world was no longer raising enough food to feed itself properly. The scarcity was felt most severely in the great centers of population like Rome, where prices had rapidly gone up. Our own generation is not the first to complain of the "high cost of living." The destruction of the small farmers formed the leading cause among a whole group of causes which brought about the decline and fall of this great Empire. 426. Decline of Population and Citizenship. The large fam- ilies which country life favors were no longer reared, the number of marriages decreased, and the population of the Empire shrank. Debased by the life of the city, the once sturdy farmer lost his independence in an eager scramble for a place in the waiting line of city poor, to whom the government distributed free grain, wine, and meat. The city became a great hive of shiftless population supported by the State with money gained from taxes resting chiefly on the lessening number of struggling agriculturists. The same situation was in the main to be found in all the leading cities. In spite of outward splendor, therefore, the cities too were declining. They had now learned to depend upon the emperors to care for them even in their own local affairs (§ 402). Respon- sible and actively interested citizenship, which does so much to develop the best among the people of any community and which had earlier so sadly declined in Greece, was passing away, never to reappear in the ancient world. 427. Decline of Business. At the same time the business life of the cities was also deteriorating. The country communities no longer possessed a numerous purchasing population. Hence the city manufacturers could no longer dispose of their products in the country. They rapidly declined, and discharged their work- men, who began to increase the multitudes of the city poor. For a number of reasons the government was unable to secure enough precious metals to coin the money necessary for the A A Century of Revolution 277 transaction of business. The emperors were obliged to begin mixing with their silver an increasing amount of less valuable metals and coining this cheaper alloy. A denarius, the common small coin worth when pure nearly twenty cents (Fig. 56), a century after the death of Marcus Aurelius was worth only half a cent. 428. Decline of the Army. It was impossible to maintain a paid army without money. As it became quite impossible to collect taxes in money, the government was obliged to accept grain and produce as payment of taxes. Here and there the army was then paid in grain. On the frontiers, for lack of other pay, the troops were assigned lands, which of course did them no good unless they could cultivate them. So they were allowed to marry and to live with their families in little huts on their lands near ^ the frontier. As was to be expected they soon lost all discipline and became merely a feeble militia. ■ 429. Demoralization caused by Lack of a Law of Succession. This degeneration of the army was much hastened by a serious imperfection in the organization of the Roman State, left there by Augustus. This was the lack of a legal and long-respected method of choosing a new emperor and thus maintaining from reign to reign without a break the supreme authority in the Roman State. The troops found that they could make a new emperor whenever the old emperor's death gave them an oppor- tunity. For an emperor so made they had very little respect, and if he attempted to enforce discipline or did not heed their wishes, they put him out of the way and selected another. Rude and barbarous mercenary soldiers, few of whom were citizens, thus became the highest authority in the State. Finally, the spread of civilization to the provinces had resulted in the feeling that they were the equals of Rome and Italy itself. When (a.d. 212) citizenship was granted to all free men within the Empire, the provincials gained more and more oppor- tunity to compete for the leadership of the Empire. 278 History of Europe II. A Century of Revolution 430. Beginning of a Century of Revolution (a.d. 180). These forces of decline were swiftly bringing on a century of revolution which was to shipwreck the civilization of the early world. This fatal period began with the death of Marcus Aurelius (a.d. 180), The assassination of his unworthy son Commodus, who reminds us of Nero, was the opportunity for a struggle among a group of military usurpers. From this struggle a rough but successful sol- dier named Septimius Severus emerged triumphant. He system- atically filled the highest posts in the government with military leaders of low origin. Thus, both in the army and in the govern- ment, the ignorant and often foreign masses were gaining control. When the line of Severus ended (a.d. 235), the storm broke. The barbaric troops in one province after another set up their puppet emperors to fight among themselves for the throne of the Mediterranean world. The proclamation of a new emperor would be followed again and again by news of his assassination. From the leaders of the barbaric soldier class, after the death of Commodus, the Roman Empire received eighty rulers in ninety years. Most of these so-called emperors were not unlike the revo- lutionary bandits who proclaim themselves presidents of Mexico. 431. Fifty Years of Anarchy ; Collapse of Higher Civili- zation. For fifty years there was no public order, as the plunder- ing troops tossed the scepter of Rome from one soldier emperor to another. Life and property were nowhere safe ; robbery and murder were everywhere. The disorder and fighting between rival emperors hastened the ruin of all business, till national bankruptcy ensued. In this tempest of anarchy during the third century of our era the civilization of the ancient world fell into final ruin. The leadership of mind and of scientific knowledge won by the Greeks in the third century b.c. (§281) yielded to the reign of ignorance and superstition in these disasters of the third century of the Christian Era. Such turmoil sadly weakened the Roman army. The Northern barbarians were quick to perceive the helplessness of the Empire. A Century of Revolution 279 They crossed the frontiers almost at will and penetrated far into Greece and Italy ; in the West they overran Gaul and Spain, and some of them even crossed to Africa. 432. Rise of New Persia (a.d. 226) under Sassanian Kings. At the same time a new danger had arisen in the East. A renewal of patriotism among the old Persian population, coupled with a religious revival, had resulted in a vigorous restoration of their national life. Their leaders, a family called Sassanians (or Sassanids), overthrew the Parthians (a.d. 226) and furnished a new line of enlightened Persian kings. As they took possession of the Fertile Crescent and established their capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris, close by Babylon, a new Orient arose on the ruins of seemingly dead and forgotten ages. The Sassanian kings organized a much more powerful State than that of the Parthians which they overthrew, and they regarded themselves as the rivals of the Romans for the Empire of the world. The old rivalry between the Orient and the West, as in the days of Greece and Persia, was now continued, with Rome as the champion of the West, and this New Persia as the leader of the East. 433. Aurelian (a.d. 270-275) and Diocletian (a.d. 284-305) re- store Order. It now looked as if the Roman Empire were about to fall to pieces, when one of the soldier emperors, named Aurelian, defeated all his rivals and restored some measure of order and safety. But, in order to protect Rome from the future raids of the barbarians, he built entirely around the great city the massive wall (see plan, p. 248) which still stands, — a confession of the dangerous situation and terrible decline of Rome in the third century of our era. It was a little over a century after the death of Marcus Aurelius when the emperor Diocletian restored what looked like a lasting peace (a.d. 284). 434. Summary of Four Centuries of Roman Imperialism. If at this point we look back some four hundred years over the .^-^istorjTorRoine^ince she had become mistress of the world, we discern three great periods. With the foundation of the Empire by Augustus there began two centuries of peace, and this period of peace was both preceded and followed by a century of revolution. 28o History of Europe We have thus seen a century of revolution, which destroyed the RepubHc and introduced the Empire ; two centuries of peace under the Empire ; and then a second century of revolution which almost destroyed and completely altered the Empire. The first century of revolution led from the Gracchus brothers to the triumph of one-man power and the foundation of the Empire by Augustus (that is, from about 133 to 30 B.C.). The two cen- turies of peace beginning with the foundation of the Empire by Augustus continued down to the barbarian invasion in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (that is, from about 30 B.C. to nearly a.d. 170). The second century of revolution led from the enlightened reign of Marcus Aurelius to oriental despotism under Diocletian (that is, from about a.d. 180 to about 284). Thus four centuries of Roman imperialism, after bringing forth such masterful men as Sulla and Julius Caesar, had passed through various stages of one-man power, to end in despotism. We are now first to examine that despotism and then to see how it was overwhelmed by two cen- turies of barbarian invasions from the North, while at the same time it was also crushed by the reviving power of the Orient, whose assaults were to last many centuries more (see map, p. 260). III. The Roman Empire an Oriental Despotism 435. Diocletian ; the Roman Empire an Oriental Despotism (a.d. 284-305). The Roman world under Diocletian was a totally different one from that which Augustus and the Roman Senate had ruled three centuries before. Diocletian deprived the shadowy Senate of all power except that of governing the city of Rome. Reduced to a mere City Council, or Board of Aldermen, it then disappeared from the stage of history. The emperor thus became an absolute monarch with none to limit his authority. With the unlimited power of the oriental despot the emperor now assumed also its outward symbols, — the diadem, the gorgeous robe em- broidered with pearls and precious stones, the throne and foot- stool, before which all who came into his presence must bow down to the dust. A Century of Revolution 281 Long regarded as a divinity, the emperor had now become an oriental Sun-god, and he was officially called the " Invincible Sun." His birthday was on the twenty-fifth of December. All were obliged as good citizens to join in the official sacrifices to the head of the State as a god. With the incoming of this oriental attitude toward the emperor, the long struggle for democracy, which we have followed through so many centuries of the history of early man, ended for a time in the triumph of oriental despotism. 436. Division of the Empire by Diocletian ; his Admin- istration. War with New Persia, the new oriental enemy, carried the emperor much to the East. The result was that Diocletian resided most of the time at Nicomedia in Asia Minor (see map, II, p. 260). As a natural consequence he was unable to give close attention to the West. Following some earlier examples, Diocletian therefore appointed another emperor to rule jointly with himself, to give his attention to the West. It was not Diocletian's inten- tion to divide the Roman Empire, any more than it had been the purpose to divide the Republic in electing two consuls. The final result was, nevertheless, the drifting apart of the Roman Empire into East and West. The provinces of the Empire were by this time over a hun- dred in number. Diocletian and his successors organized the business of each province in the hands of a great number of local officials graded into many successive ranks and classes from high to low. The financial burden of this vast organization, together with the luxurious oriental court of the emperor, was enormous ; for this multitude of government and court officials and the clamorous army had all to be paid and supported by ever- increasing taxation. 437. Loss of Business Men ; Obligatory Practice of Occupa- tions. When the scarcity of coin (§ 427) forced the government to accept grain and produce from the taxpayers, taxes had become a mere share in the yield of the lands. The Roman Empire thus sank to a primitive system of taxation already thousands of years old in the Orient. It was now customary to oblige a group of wealthy men in each city, mainly the members of the local city 2 82 History of Europe councils and their families, to become responsible for the payment of the entire taxes of the district each year, and if there was a deficit these men were forced to make up the lacking balance out of their own wealth. The penalty of wealth seemed to be ruin, and there was no motive for success in business when such prosperity meant ruinous overtaxation. As the Roman Empire had already lost its prosperous farming class, it now lost likewise its enter- prising and successful business men. Diocletian therefore, chiefly in the interest of taxation, endeavored to force these classes to continue their occupations. He forbade any man to leave his lands or occupation and even tried to make craftsmanship hereditary by demanding that the sons follow the occupation of their father. 438. Disappearance of Liberty and Free Citizenship. Thus under this oriental despotism the liberty for which men had striven so long disappeared in Europe, and the once free Roman citizen had no independent life of his own. Even the citizen's wages and the prices of the goods he bought or sold were as far as possible fixed for him by the State. The emperor's innumerable officials, among them a regular organization of government agents who were little better than spies, kept an eye upon even the humblest citizen. They watched the grain dealers, butchers, and bakers, and saw to it that they properly supplied the public and never deserted their occupation. Even entrance into the clergy (§441) was closely supervised by the State, because every man becoming a priest or monk meant the loss of so much in taxes (§442). In a word, the Roman government now attempted to regulate almost every interest in life, and wherever the citizen turned he felt the irksome interference and oppression of the State. Staggering under his burden of taxes, in a State which was prac- tically bankrupt, the citizen now seemed like a mere cog in the vast machinery of the government. His whole life consisted of toil for the State, which always collected so much in taxes that he was fortunate if he could survive on what was left. As a mere toiler for the State he was finally just where the peasant on the Nile had been for thousands of years. The emperor had become a Pharaoh, and the Roman Empire a colossal Egypt of ancient days. A Century of Revolution 283 IV. The Division of the Empire and the Triumph OF Christianity 439. Constantine (a.d. 324-337) and the Shift of Power from Italy to the Balkan Peninsula. Under Diocletian, Italy had been reduced to the position of a taxed province and had thus lost the last vestige of superiority over the other provinces of the Empire. During the century of revolution just past, the soldiers of the Balkan Peninsula had filled the army with the best troops and furnished more than one emperor, among them Diocletian. An emperor who had risen from the ranks of provincial troops in the Balkans felt little attachment -to Rome. Rome had not only ceased to be the residence of an emperor, but the center of power had clearly shifted from Italy to the Balkan Peninsula. Out of the struggles following Diocletian's death the Emperor Constantine the Great emerged victorious (a.d. 324). He did not hesitate to turn to the eastern edge of the Balkan Peninsula and establish there a New Rome as his residence. He chose the ancient Greek town of Byzantium, on the European side of the Bosporus, a magnificent situation overlooking both Europe and Asia and fitted to be a center of power in both. In placing his new capital here, Constantine established a city, the importance of which was equaled only by the foundation of Alexandria in Egypt. The emperor stripped many an ancient city of its great monuments in order to secure materials for the beautification of his splendid residence (Fig. 73). By a.d. 330 the new capital on the Bosporus was a magnificent monumental city, worthy to be the successor of Rome as the seat of the Mediterranean Empire. It was named Constantinople ("Constan tine's city") after its founder. 440. The Separation of East and West. The transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire to the east side of the Balkan Peninsula meant the separation of East and West — the cutting of the Roman Empire in two. Although the separation did not take place abruptly, yet within a generation after Constantinople was founded, the Roman Empire had in fact if not in name 284 History of Europe become two states. The theory and ideal of unity persisted but was never more than temporarily realized hereafter. 441. The Churches a New Arena for the Rise of Able Men. Meantime the Christian churches had steadily increased in num- bers. The management of the great Christian communities and Fig. 73. Ancient Monuments in Constantinople The obelisk in the foreground (nearly one hundred feet high) was first set up in Thebes, Egypt, by the conqueror Thutmose III (§49); it was erected here by the Roman Emperor Theodosius. The small spiral column at the right is the base of a bronze tripod set up by the Greeks at Delphi (Fig. 38) in commemoration of their victory over the Persians at Plataea (§ 192). The names of thirty-one Gi^ek cities which took part in the battle are still to be read, engraved on this base. These monuments of ancient oriental and Greek supremacy stand in what was the Roman horse-race course when the earlier Greek city of Byzantium became the eastern capital of Rome (§ 439)- Finally, the great mosque behind the obelisk, with its slender minarets, represents the triumph of Islam under the Turks, who took the city A.I). 1453 their churches called for increasing ability and experience. Public discussion and disputes in the Church meetings enabled gifted men to stand forth, and their ability brought them position and influence. The Christian Church thus became a new arena for A Century of Revolution 285 the development of statesmanship, and Church statesmen were soon to be the leading influential men of the age, when the city democracies had long since ceased to produce such men. These officers of the Church came to be distinguished from the other members and were called the clergy, while the people who made up the membership of the churches were called the laymen, or the laity. The old men who cared for the smaller country congregations were finally called merely presbyters, a Greek word meaning "old men," and our word "priest" is derived from this Greek term. Over the group of churches in each city a leading priest gained authority as bishop. In the larger cities these bishops had such influence that they became archbishops, or head bishops, having authority over the bishops in the surrounding cities of the province. Thus Christianity, once the faith of the weak and the despised, became a powerful organization, strong enough to cope with the government. 442. Christianity placed on a Legal Basis with Other Reli- gions (a.d. 311). The Roman government therefore began to see the uselessness of persecuting the Christians. In the time of Dio- cletian his associate Galerius, feeling the dangers threatening Rome from without and the uselessness of the struggle against the Christians within, issued a decree (a.d. 311) by which Chris- tianity was legally recognized in his territories. Its followers re- ceived the same legal position as the worshipers of the old gods. This decree was later maintained by Constantine for the whole Empire. Constantine and succeeding emperors went even further in their favor toward the Christians. They gradually abolished all other religions, they helped maintain the Christian Church, they granted its officials many striking privileges, such as freedom from taxation and the right of having their own law and courts. 443. Summary of the Age of Diocletian ; the Eclipse of the City of Rome. The century of revolution which ended in the despotic government set up by Diocletian completely de- stroyed the creative ability of ancient men in art and literature, as it likewise stopped all progress in business and affairs. In so far as the ancient world was one of progress in civilization, its history 2 86 ■ History of Europe was ended with the accession of Diocletian. Besides the increas- ing invasions of the barbarians, the other outstanding events of the age were the foundation of an eastern capital, the resulting eclipse and increasing weakness of the city of Rome, and the triumph of Christianity. As the barbarians came in and the power of the Roman Empire waned, it had still a great mission before it in the preservation of at least something of the heritage of civili- zation, which it was to hand down through centuries of strife and trouble to us of to-day. V. Retrospect 444. Summary of Ancient History. Besides the internal de- cay of Rome and the triumph of the Christian Church, the other great outstanding feature of the last centuries of the Roman Empire was the incoming of the barbarians, with the result that while Mediterranean civilization steadily declined, it nevertheless slowly spread northward, especially under the influence of the Church, till it transformed the ruder life of the North. At this point then we have returned to the region of western arid northern Europe, where we first took up the career of man, and there, among the crumbling monuments of the Stone Age, Christian churches were soon to rise. What a vast sweep of the human career rises before our imagination as we picture the first church towers among the massive tombs of Stone Age man ! 445. The Long Struggle of Civilization and Barbarism. We have watched the men of Europe struggling upward through thousands of years of Stone Age barbarism, while toward the end of that struggle civilization was arising in the Orient. Then on the borders of the Orient we saw the Stone Age Europeans of the i^gean receiving civilization from the Nile and thus developing a wonderful civilized world of their own. This remarkable ^gean civilization, the earliest in Europe, was overwhelmed and de- stroyed by the incoming of those Indo-European barbarians whom we call the Greeks. Writing, art, architecture, and shipbuilding, which had arisen on the borders of southeastern Europe, passed away, and civilization in Europe perished at the hands of the A Century of Revolution 287 Greek nomads from the Danube. Civilization would have been lost entirely had not the Orient, where it was born, now preserved it. Southeastern Europe, controlled by the Greeks, was therefore able to make another start, and from the Orient it again received writing, art, architecture, shipbuilding, and many other things which make up civilization. After having thus halted civilization in Europe for over a thousand years, the Greeks left behind their early barbarism, and, developing a noble and beautiful culture of their own, they carried civilization to the highest level it ever attained. Then, as the Indo-European barbarians (this time the Germans) again descended to the Mediterranean, Roman organi- zation, as we shall see, prevented civilization from being destroyed for the second time. Thus enough of the civilization which the Orient and the Greeks had built up was preserved so that after long delay it rose again in Europe to become what we find it to-day. Such has been the long struggle of civilization and bar- barism which we have been following. In the remaining chapters of this book we are to learn how Christian civilization triumphed and barbarism disappeared from Europe. 446. The Trail which we have Followed. To-day, marking the various stages of the long career of ancient man, which we have been following, the stone fist-hatchets lie deep in the river gravels of France ; the furniture of the pile-villages sleeps at the bottom of the Swiss lakes ; the majestic pyramids and temples announcing the dawn of civilization rise along the Nile ; the silent and deserted city-mounds by the Tigris and Euphrates shelter their myriads of clay tablets ; the palaces of Crete look out toward the sea they once ruled ; the noble temples and sculp- tures of Greece still proclaim the new world of beauty and free- dom first revealed by the Greeks ; the splendid Roman roads and aqueducts assert the supremacy and organized control of Rome ; and the Christian churches proclaim the new ideal of human brotherhood. These things still reveal the trail along which our ancestors came, and in following that fascinating trail we have recovered the earliest chapters in the wonderful human story which we call Ancient History. 288 History of Europe • QUESTIONS I. What had become of the small farmers in the Roman Empire ? What system had resulted ? What was happening to the cultivated lands ? What was the effect on the food supply ? on the great cities ? on citizenship ? on business ? What happened to coined money ? What was the effect on the army ? What resulted ? II. What was the policy of Severus ? How may we contrast the third century of our era with the third century b. c. ? What did the Northern barbarians do ? What happened in the Orient ? What two men saved the Empire ? When ? Divide up into three great periods the first four centuries of Roman leadership of the Mediter- ranean world. To what had four centuries of Roman imperialism led ? III. What kind of State was organized by Diocletian ? Where did Diocletian chiefly reside ? What did he do with the West ? Tell of his administrative organization and taxation. What happened to successful business men ? How did Diocletian treat the various occupations ? What thus became of the citizen ? IV. How did the emperors now regard Rome ? What did Con- stantine do ? How did this affect the Empire ? Describe the develop- ment and organization of the Church. How did the Empire now treat the Church ? V. Where did mankind first gain civilization ? Where did civilization first arise in Europe ? What happened when the Greeks came in ? Where was civilization then preserved ? Who carried it to its highest level ? By whom was it almost destroyed for the second time ? What organization saved it for the second time ? BOOK V. THE MIDDLE AGES CHAPTER XX THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE I. Founding of Kingdoms by Barbarian Chiefs 447. The Menace of the Barbarians. We must now describe the way in which the western portions of the Roman Empire were invaded by barbarous peoples from the North, who broke up the old Roman government and established in its stead kingdoms under their own rulers. These Germans, or " Barbarians " as the Romans called them, belonged to the same great group of peoples to which the Persians, Greeks, and Romans belonged — the Indo- European race (§§ 89-91). They were destined, as their relatives had earlier done, to take possession of the lands of others and help build up a different civilization from what they found. The peoples of northern Europe had not advanced much in civilization since the Late Stone Age ( §§ 9-1 1 ) . They were a con- stant menace to the highly civilized countries on the Mediterra- nean to the south of them. It will be recalled that the Germans created great terror in Rome when they first advanced to the south and were with difficulty defeated by the skill of Marius (§359)- During the century of revolution after the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the old organization of the Roman army had so weak- ened that the barbarians raided the lands of the Empire with little opposition. After these earlier raids the barbarians com- monly withdrew. By the time of Diocletian, however, the bar- barians were beginning to form permanent settlements within the limits of the Empire, and there followed two centuries of 289 290 History of Europe barbarian migration, in the course of which they finally^ took possession of the entire western Mediterranean world. 448. The German Peoples at Home. The Germans were a fair-haired, blue-eyed race of men of towering stature and ter- rible strength, as it seemed to the Romans. In their native forests of the North each German tribe or nation occupied a very limited area, probably not over forty miles across. They lived in villages, each of about a hundred families, and there was a head man over e^ch village. Their homes were but slight huts, easily moved or replaced. They had little interest in farming the fields around the village, much -preferring their herds, and they shifted their homes often. They possessed no writing and very little in the way of industries, manufactures, or commerce. 449. The German Peoples in Migration and War. Hard- ened to wind and weather in their raw Northern climate, their native fearlessness and love of war and plunder often led them to wander about, followed by their wives and families in heavy wagons. An entire people might comprise some fifty villages, but each village group remained together, protected by its body of about a hundred warriors, the heads of the village families. When combined, these hundreds made up an army of five to six thou- sand men. Each hundred held together in battle, as a fighting unit. They all knew each other ; the village head man, the leader of the group, had always lived with them ; the warrior in the tumult of battle saw all about him his friends and relatives, the sons of his brothers, the husbands of his daughters. In spite of lack of discipline, these fighting groups of a hundred men, united by ties of blood and daily association, formed battle units as terrible as any ever seen in the ancient world. Their eager joy in battle and the untamed fierceness of their onset made them irresistible. 450. Whole German Peoples settle in the Empire and serve in the Army. The highly organized and carefully disci- plined Roman legions, which had gained for Rome the leadership of the world, were now no more. Indeed, the lack of men for the The German Invasions 291 army had long since led the emperors to hire the Germans as soldiers. A more serious step was the admission of entire German peoples to live in the Empire with all their old customs. The men were then received into the Roman army, but they remained under their own German leaders and they fought in their old village units. For it was only as the Roman army was made up of the German fighting units that it had any effectiveness. Bar- barian life, customs, and manners were thus introduced into the Empire, and the Roman army as a*whole was barbarian. 451. German Peoples gain Some Civilization. This constant commingling of the German peoples with the civilized com- rr.unities of the Empire was gradually softening their Northern wildness and giving them not only familiarity with civilization but also a respect for it. Their leaders, who held office under the Roman government, came to have friends among highborn Romans. German generals sometimes married educated Roman women of rank, even relatives of the emperors. Some of them too were converted to Christianity. An educated German named Ullilas translated the New Testament into Gothic, a dialect akin to German. As the Germanic peoples possessed no writing, he was obliged to devise an alphabet from Greek and Latin for writing Gothic. He thus produced the earliest surviving example of a written Germanic tongue and aided in converting the North- ern peoples to Christianity. 452. Most Medieval Notions to be found in the Late Roman Empire. It would be a great mistake to suppose, however, that Roman civilization suddenly disappeared at this time as a result of the incoming barbarians. Long before the German conquest, art and literature had begun to decline toward the level that they reached in the Middle Ages. Many of the ideas and con- ditions which prevailed after the coming of the barbarians were common enough before. Even the ignorance and strange ideas which we associate particularly with the Middle Ages are to be found in the later Roman Empire. The term "Middle Ages" will be used in this volume to mean, roughly speaking, the period of over a thousand years that elapsed 292 History of Europe between the fifth century, when the disorder of the barbarian invasions was becoming general, and the opening of the sixteenth century, when Europe was well on its way to recover all in the way of knowledge and skill that had been lost since the break-up of the Roman Empire. 453. The Huns force the Goths into the Empire. Previous to the year 375 the attempts of the Germans to penetrate into the Roman Empire appear to have been due to their love of adven- ture, their hope of plundering their civilized neighbors, or the need of new lands for their increasing numbers. But suddenly a new force appeared in the rear of the Germans which thrust some of them across the northern boundary of the Empire. The Huns, a Mongolian folk from central Asia, swept down upon the Goths, who were a German tribe settled upon the Danube, and forced a part of them to seek shelter across the river, within the limits of the Empire. Here they soon fell out with the Roman officials, and a great battle was fought at Adrianople in 378 in which the Goths de- feated and slew the Roman emperor, Valens. The Germans had now not only broken through the boundaries of the Empire but they had also learned that they could defeat the troops on which the Empire relied for protection. The battle of Adrianople may therefore be said to mark the beginning of the conquest of the western part of the Empire by the Germans. For some years, however, after the battle of Adrianople the various bands of West Goths — or Visigoths, as they are often called — were induced to accept the terms of peace offered by the emperor's officials, and some of the Goths agreed to serve as soldiers in the Roman armies. 454. Alaric takes Rome (410). Among the Germans who suc- ceeded in getting an important position in the Roman army was Alaric, but he appears to have become dissatisfied with the treat- ment he received from the emperor. He therefore collected an army, of which his countrymen, the West Goths, formed a con- siderable part, and set out for Italy, and finally decided to march on Rome itself. The Eternal City fell into his hands in 410 and was plundered by his followers. The German Invasions 293 . m Although Alaric did not destroy the city, or even seriously "damage it, the fact that Rome had fallen into the hands of an invading army was a notable disaster. The pagans explained it on the ground that the old gods were angry because so many people had deserted them and become Christians. St. Augustine, in his famous book. The City of God, took much pains to prove that the Roman gods had never been able on previous occasions to prevent disaster to their worshipers and that Christianity could not be held responsible for the troubles of the time. 455. West Goths settle in Southern Gaul and Spain ; the Vandals. Alaric died before he could find a satisfactory spot for his people to settle upon permanently. After his death the West Goths wandered into Gaul and then into Spain. Here they came upon the Vandals, another German tribe, who had crossed the Rhine four years before Alaric had captured Rome. For three years they had devastated Gaul and then had moved down into Spain. For a time after the arrival in Spain of the West Goths there was war between them and the Vandals. The West Goths seem to have got the best of their rivals, for the Vandals determined to move on across the Strait of Gibraltar into northern Africa, where they established a kingdom and conquered the neighboring islands in the Mediterranean (see map, p. 296). Having rid themselves of the Vandals, the West Goths took pos- session of a great part of the Spanish peninsula, and this they added to their conquests across the Pyrenees in Gaul, so that their kingdom extended from the river Loire to the Strait of Gibraltar. It is unnecessary to follow the confused history of the move- ments of the innumerable bands of restless barbarians who wan-_ dered about Europe during the fifth century. Scarcely any part of western Europe was left unmolested ; even Britain was con- quered by German tribes, the Angles and Saxons. 456. Attila and the Huns. To add to the universal confusion caused by the influx of the German tribes, the Huns (the Mon- golian people who had first pushed the West Goths into the Em- pire) now began to fill all western Europe with terror. Under their chief, Attila, this savage people invaded Gaul. But the 294 History of Europe Romans and the German inhabitants joined together against the invaders and defeated them in the battle of Chalons, in 451. After this rebuff in Gaul, Attila turned to Italy, But the danger there was averted by a Roman embassy headed by Pope Leo the Great, who induced Attila to give up his plan of marching upon Rome. Within a year he died, and with him perished the power of the Huns, who never troubled Europe again. 457. The "Fall" of the Empire in the West (476). The year 476 has commonly been taken as the date of the "fall" of the Western Empire and of the beginning of the Middle Ages. What happened in that year was this. Most of the Roman emperors in the West had proved weak and indolent rulers. So the bar- barians wandered hither and thither pretty much at their pleasure, and the German troops in the service of the Empire became ac- customed to set up and depose emperors to suit their own special interest, very much in the same way that a boss in an American city often succeeds in securing the election of a mayor who will carry out his wishes. Finally, in 476, Odoacer, the most powerful among the rival German generals in Italy, declared himself king and banished the last of the emperors of the West.^ 458. Theodoric establishes the Kingdom of the East Goths in Italy. It was not, however, given to Odoacer to establish an enduring German kingdom on Italian soil, for he was conquered by the great Theodorci, the king of the East Goths (or Ostro- goths). Theodoric had spent ten years of his early youth in Con- stantinople and had thus become familiar with Roman life and was on friendly terms with the emperor of the East. The struggle between Theodoric and Odoacer lasted for sev- eral years, but Odoacer was finally shut up in Ravenna and sur- rendered, only to be treacherously slain a few days later by Theodoric's own hand (493). Theodoric put the name of the emperor at Constantinople on the coins which he issued and did everything in his power to gain the emperor's approval of the new German kingdom. Nevertheless, 1 The common misapprehensions in regard to the events of 476 are discussed by the author in TAe New History, pp. 154 ff. The German Invasions 295 although he desired that the- emperor should sanction his usurpa- tion, Theodoric had no idea of being really subordinate to Constantinople. Theodoric greatly admired the Roman laws and institutions and did his best to preserve them. The old offices and titles were re- tained, and Goth and Roman lived under the same Roman law. Order was maintained and learning encouraged. In Ravenna, which Theodoric chose for his capital, beautiful buildings still exist that date from his reign (see tailpiece, p. 306). 459. Franks and Burgundians. While Theodoric had been establishing his kingdom in Italy in this enlightened way, Gaul, which we now call France, was coming under the control of the most powerful of all the barbarian peoples, the Franks, who were to play a more important role in the formation of modern Europe than any of the other German races (§§ 466-468). Besides the kingdom of the East Goths in Italy and of the Franks in Gaul, the West Goths had their kingdom in Spain, the Burgundians had established themselves on the Rhone River, and the Vandals in Africa. Royal alliances were concluded be- tween the various reigning houses, and for the first time in the history of Europe we see something like a family of nations, liv- ing each within its own boundaries and dealing with one another as independent powers (see map, p. 296). It seemed for a few years as if the new German kings who had divided the western portion of the Empire among themselves would succeed in keeping order and in preventing the loss of such civilization as remained. But no such good fortune was in store for Europe, which was now only at the beginning of the turmoil which was to leave it almost completely barbarized, for there was little to encourage the reading or writing of books, the study of science, or attention to art, in a time of constant warfare and danger. 460. Cassiodorus and his Manuals. Theodoric had a dis- tinguished Roman counselor named Cassiodorus (d. 575), to whose letters we owe a great part of our knowledge of this period, and who busied himself in his old age in preparing textbooks of the "liberal" arts, — grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, 296 History of Europe 100 200 300 400 Lou|;it.ude Map of Europe in the Time of Theodoric It will be noticed that Theodoric's kingdom of the East Goths included a con- siderable part of what we call Austria to-day, and that the West Gothic king- dom extended into southern France. The Vandals held northern Africa and the adjacent islands. The Burgundians lay in between the East Goths and the Franks. The Lombards, who were later to move down into Italy, were in Theodoric's time east of the Bavarians, after whom modern Bavaria is named. Some of the Saxons invaded England, but many remained in Germany, as in- dicated on the map. The Eastern Empire, which was all that remained of the Roman Empire, included the Balkan Peninsula, xAsia Minor, and the eastern portion of the Mediterranean. The Britons in Wales, the Picts in .Scotland, and the Scots in Ireland were Celts, consequently modern Welsh, Gaelic, and Irish are closely related and belong to the Celtic group of languages music, and astronomy. His treatment of these seven important sub- jects, to which he devotes a few pages each, seems to us very silly and absurd and enables us to estimate the low plane to which learning had fallen in Italy in the sixth century. Yet these and The German Invasions 297 similar works were regarded as standard treatises and used as textbooks all through the Middle Ages, while the really great Greek and Roman writers of the earlier period were forgotten. 461. Disappearance of Books. Between the time of Theodoric and that of Charlemagne (§ 505) three hundred years elapsed, during which scarcely a person was to be found who could write out, even in the worst of Latin, an account of the events of his day. Everything conspired to discourage education. The great centers of learning — Carthage, Rome, Alexandria, Milan — had all been partially destroyed by the invaders. The libraries which had been kept in the temples of the pagan gods were often burned, along with the temples themselves, by Christian enthusiasts, who were not sorry to see the heathen books disappear with the heathen religion. 462. Code of Justinian. The year after Theodoric's death one of the greatest of the emperors of the East, Justinian (527-565), came to the throne at Constantinople. He employed a very able lawyer named Tribonian to gather together all the numerous laws which had grown up since the age of the Twelve Tablets (§ 306) a thousand years before. Justinian was the Hammurapi of the Roman Empire (§69), and the vast body of laws which he col- lected provided for almost every situation and every difficulty arising in social life, in business transactions, or in legal proceed- ings. The collection of decisions of famous Roman judges brought together in Justinian's Digest became the foundation of law for later ages and still greatly influences the laws of civilized peoples of to-day. 463. End of the Old Temples. Justinian did much to beautify his capital, Constantinople, but it was no longer for building the old temples of the gods or basilicas and amphitheaters that the ruler gave his wealth. The worship of the old gods had long before been prohibited by Christian emperors. After a.d. 400 the splendid temples which fringed the Mediterranean and extended far up the Nile were gradually forsaken by their worshipers, till finally they stood deserted and desolate as they are to-day or were converted into Christian churches. The last blow to what the 298 History of Europe Church regarded as Greek paganism was now struck by Justinian, who closed the schools of philosophy at Athens, established cen- turies earlier by the followers of Plato and Aristotle and by the Stoics and Epicureans. These, as we have seen (§286), formed Fig. 74. Church of St. Sophia This picture shows us the interior of the famous church of St. Sophia, built at Constantinople by Justinian from a.d. 532 to 537. Justinian's architects roofed the great church with a gigantic dome one hundred and eighty-three feet high at the center, sweeping clear across the audience room and producing the most imposing vaulted interior now surviving from the ancient world. Jus- tinian is said to have expended eighteen tons of gold and the labor of ten thou- sand men in the erection of the building. Since the capture of Constantinople by the Turks (a. d. 1453) the vast church has served as a Mohammedan mosque. The Turks have whitewashed the gorgeous mosaics with which the magnifi- cent interior is adorned, and large circular shields bearing the monogram of the Sultan have been hung against the walls a sort of great university frequented by scholars from all parts of the Empire. The buildings to which the emperor now devoted his wealth were churches. Saint Sophia, which he built at Con- stantinople, still stands to-day, the most magnificent of the early churches of the East, The German Invasions 299 464. Justinian destroys Kingdoms of the Vandals and East Goths. Justinian undertook to regain for his empire the provinces in Africa and Italy that had been occupied by the Vandals and East Goths. His general, Belisarius, overthrew the Vandal king- dom in northern Africa in 534, but it was a more difficult task to destroy the Gothic rule in Italy. However, in spite of a brave resistance, the Goths were so completely defeated in 553 that they agreed to leave Italy with all their movable possessions. What became of the remnants of the race we do not know. 465. The Lombards occupy Italy. The destruction of the Gothic kingdom was a disaster for Italy, for the Goths would have helped defend it against later and far more barbarous invaders. Immediately after the death of Justinian the country was over- run by the Lombards, the last of the great German peoples to establish themselves within the bounds of the former Empire. They were a savage race, a considerable part of which was still pagan. The newcomers first occupied the region north of the Po, which has ever since been called "Lombardy" after them, and then extended their conquests southward. Instead of settling themselves with the moderation and wise statesmanship of the East Goths, the Lombards moved about the peninsula pillaging and massacring. They were unable, however, to conquer all of Italy. Rome, Ravenna, and southern Italy continued to be held by the emperors who succeeded Justinian at Constantinople. As time went on, the Lombards lost their wildness and adopted the habits and religion of the people among whom thej^lived. Their kingdom lasted over two hundred years, until it was con- quered by Charlemagne (see below, § 508). II. Kingdom of the Franks 466. The Franks and their Method of Conquest. The various kingdoms established by the German chieftains were not very permanent, as we have seen. The Franks, however, suc- ceeded in conquering more territory than any other people and in founding an empire far more important than the kingdoms of 300 History of Europe the West and East Goths, the Vandals, or the Lombards. We must now see how this was accomplished. When the Franks are first heard of in history they were settled along the lower Rhine, from Cologne to the North Sea. Their method of getting a foothold in the Empire was essentially dif- ferent from that which the Goths, Lombards, and Vandals had adopted. Instead of severing their connection with Germany and be- coming an island in the sea of the Empire, they conquered by degrees the territory about them. How- ever far they might extend their control, they remained in constant touch with their fellow barbarians behind them. In this way they retained the warlike vigor that ^as lost by the races who were com- pletely surrounded by the luxuries of Roman civilization. In the early part of the fifth century they had occupied the district which forms to-day the kingdom of Belgium, as well as the regions east of it. In 486, seven years before Theodoric founded his Italian kingdom, they went forth under their great king, Clovis (a name that later grew into Louis), and defeated the Roman general who opposed them. They extended their control over Gaul as far south as the Loire, which at that time formed the northern boundary of the kingdom of the West Goths. Clovis next enlarged his empire on the east by the conquest Fig. 75. Prankish Warrior It is very hard to find illustrations for a chapter on the barbarian in- vasions, for this period of disorder was no^ne in which pictures were being painted or buildings erected. From the slight descriptions we have of the costume worn by the Prankish soldiers, we infer that it was something like that repre- sented here. We know that they wore their hair in long braids and carried weapons similar to those in the picture The German Invasions 301 Km. of the The Dominions of the Franks under the Merovingians- This map shows how the Prankish kingdom grew up. Clovis while still a young man defeated the Roman general Syagrius in 486, near Soissons, and so added the region around Paris to his possessions. . He added Alemannia on the east in 496. In 507 he made Paris his capital and conquered Aquitania, previously held by the West Goths. He also made a beginning in adding the kingdom of the Burgundians to his realms. He died in 511. His successors in the next half century completed the conquest of Burgundy and added Provincia, Bavaria, and Gascony. There were many divisions of the Prankish realms after the time of Clovis, and the eastern and western portions, called Austrasia and Neustria, were often ruled by different branches of the Merovin- gians, as Clovis's family was called of the Alemanni, a German people living in the region of the Black Forest and north of the Lake of Constance. 467. Conversion of Clovis (496). The battle in which the Alemanni were defeated (496) is in one respect important above all the other battles of Clovis. Although still a pagan himself, his wife had been converted to Christianity. In the midst of the battle, seeing his troops giving way, he called upon Jesus Christ 302 History of Europe and pledged himself to be baptized in his name if he would help the Franks to victory over their enemies. When he won the battle he kept his word and was baptized, together with three thousand of his warriors. 468. Conquests of Clevis and his Successors. To the south of Clovis's new possessions in Gaul lay the kingdom of the West Goths ; to the southeast that of another German people, the Burgundians. Clovis speedily extended his power to the Pyrenees and forced the West Goths to confine themselves to the Spanish portion of their realm, while the Burgundians soon fell completely under the rule of the Franks. Then Clovis, by a series of murders, brought portions of the Frankish nation itself, which had pre- viously been independent of him, under his scepter. When Clovis died in 511 at Paris, which he had made his residence, his four sons divided his possessions among them. Wars between rival brothers, interspersed with the most horrible mur- ders, fill the annals of the Frankish kingdom for over a hundred years after the death of Clovis. Yet the nation continued to develop in spite of the unscrupulous deeds of its rulers. The Frankish kings who followed Clovis succeeded in extend- ing their power over pretty nearly all the territory that is in- cluded to-day in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as over a goodly portion of western Germany. Half a century after the death of Clovis their dominions extended from the Bay of Biscay on the west to a point east of Salzburg. III. Results of the Barbarian Invasions 469. Fusion of the Barbarians and the Roman Population. As one looks back over the German invasions it is natural to ask upon what terms the newcomers lived among the old inhabi- tants of the Empire, how far they adopted the customs of those among whom they settled, and how far they clung to their old habits ? These questions cannot be answered very satisfactorily. So little is known of the confused period of which we have been speaking that it is impossible to follow closely the mixing of the two races. The German Invasions 303 In the first place, we must be on our guard against exaggerat- ing the numbers in the various bodies of invaders. The readiness with which the Germans appear to have adopted the language and customs of the Romans would tend to prove that the invaders formed but a small minority of the population. Since hundreds of thousands of barbarians had been absorbed during the previous five centuries, the invasions of the fifth century can hardly have made an abrupt change in the character of the population. 470. Contrast between Spoken and Written Latin. The barbarians within the old Empire were soon speaking the same conversational Latin which was everywhere used by the Romans about them. This was much simpler than the elaborate and com- plicated language used in books, which we find so much difficulty in learning nowadays. In the various countries of southern Eu- rope the speech of the common people was gradually diverging more and more from the written Latin and finally grew into French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. But the barbarians did not produce this change, for it had begun before they came and would have gone on without them. They did no more than con- tribute a few convenient words to the new languages. The northern Franks, who did not penetrate far into the Em- pire, and the Germans who remained in what is now Germany and in Scandinavia, had of course no reason for giving up their native tongues ; the Angles and Saxons in Britain also kept theirs. These Germanic languages in time became Dutch, English, Ger- man, Danish, Swedish, etc. Of this matter something will be said later (pp. 679-684). 471. The Roman and the German Law. The Germans and the older inhabitants of the Roman Empire appear to have had no dislike for one another except when there was a difference in religion.^ Where there was no religious barrier the two races in- termarried freely from the first. The Prankish kings did not hesitate to appoint Romans to important positions in the govern- ment and in the army, just as the Romans had long been in the 1 The West and East Goths and the Burgundians were heretics in the eyes of the Catholic Church, for they had been taught their Christianity by missionaries who disa- greed with the Catholic Church on certain points. 304 History oj Europe habit of employing the barbarians as generals and officials. In only one respect were the two races distinguished for a time — each had its particular law. The West Goths were probably the first to write down their ancient laws, using the Latin language for the purpose. Their example was followed by the Franks, the Burgundians, and later by the Lombards and other peoples. These codes make up the "Laws of the Barbarians," which form our most important source of knowledge of the habits and ideas of the Germans at the time of the invasions. For several centuries following the barbarian conquests the members of the various German tribes appear to have been judged by the laws of the particular people to which they belonged. The older inhabitants of the Empire, on the contrary, continued to have their lawsuits decided ac- cording to the Roman law. 472. Medieval Trials. The German laws did not provide for trials, either in the Roman or the modern sense of the word. There was no attempt to gather and weigh evidence and base the decision upon it. Such a mode of procedure was far too elaborate for the simple-minded Germans. Instead of a regular trial, one of the parties to the case was designated to prove that his side of the case was right by one of the following methods : 1. He might solemnly swear that he was telling the truth, and get as many other persons of his own class as the cgurt required, to swear that they believed that he was telling the truth. This was called compurgation. It was believed that God would punish those who swore falsely. 2. On the other hand, the parties to the case, or persons representing them, might meet in combat, on the supposition that Heaven would grant victory to the right. This was the so- called wager oj battle. 3. Lastly, one or other of the parties might be required to sub- mit to the ordeal in one of its various forms : He might plunge his arm into hot water or carry a bit of hot iron for some distance, and if at the end of three days he showed no ill effects, the case was decided in his favor. Or he might be ordered to walk over The German Invasions 305 hot plowshares, and if he was not burned, it was assumed that God had intervened by a miracle to establish the right. This method of trial is but one example of the rude civilization which displaced the refined and elaborate organization of the Romans. 473. The Ignorance and Disorder of the Early Middle Ages. The account which has been given of the conditions in the Roman Empire, and of the manner in which the barbarians occupied its western part, serves to explain why the following centuries — known as the early Middle Ages — were a time of ignorance and disorder. The Germans, no doubt, varied a good deal in their habits and character. The Goths differed from the Lombards, and the Franks from the Vandals ; but they all agreed in know- ing nothing of the art, literature, and science which had been developed by the Greeks and adopted by the Romans. The in- vaders were ignorant, simple, vigorous people, with no taste for anything except fighting, eating, and drinking. Such was the disorder that their coming produced that the declining civiliza- tion of the Empire was pretty nearly submerged. The libraries, buildings, and works of art were destroyed or neglected, and there was no one to see that they were restored. So the Western world fell back into a condition similar to that in which it had been before the Romans conquered and civilized it. The loss was, however, temporary. The great heritage of skill and invention which had been slowly accumulated in Egypt and Greece, and which formed a part of the civilization which the Romans had adopted and spread abroad throughout their great Empire, did not wholly perish. It is true that the break-up of the Roman Empire and the centuries of turmoil which followed set everything back, but we shall see how the barbarian nations gradually developed into our modern European states, how universities were established in which the books of the Greeks and Romans were studied. Archi- tects arose in time to imitate the old buildings and build a new kind of their own quite as imposing as those of the Romans ; and men of science carried discoveries far beyond anything known to the wisest of the Greeks and Romans. 3o6 History of Europe QUESTIONS I. How did the Germans first come into the Roman Empire, and for what reasons ? What is meant by the barbarian invasions ? Give some examples. Trace the history of the West Goths. Where did they finally estabHsh their kingdom? Why has the year 476 been regarded as the date of the fall of the Roman Empire ? Tell what you can of Theodoric and his kingdom. Contrast the Lombard invaders of Italy with the East Goths. II. Who were the Franks, and how did their invasion differ from that of the other German peoples ? What did Clovis accomplish, and what was the extent of the kingdom of the Franks under his successors ? III. On what terms do the Germans seem to have lived with the people of the Roman Empire ? Why are the "Laws of the Barbarians" useful to the historian? Compare the ways in which the Germans tried law cases with those we use to-day in the United States. Tell as clearly as possible why the Middle Ages were centuries of disorder and ignorance as compared with the earlier period. Note. The illustration below represents the tomb of Theodoric. Emperors and rich men were accustomed in Roman times to build handsome tombs for themselves. Theod- oric followed their example and erected this two-storied building at Ravenna to serve as his mausoleum. The dome consists of a single great piece of rock thirty-six feet in diameter, weighing five hundred tons, brought from across the Adriatic. Theodoric was a heretic in the eyes of the Catholic Church, and not long after his death his remains were taken out of his tomb and scattered to the winds, and the building converted into a church. The picture represents the tomb as it probably looked originally ; it has been somewhat altered in modern times, but is well preserved. '"tz-i^ CHAPTER XXI THE RISE OF THE PAPACY I. The Christian Church 474. The Popes. Besides the emperors at Constantinople and the various German kings there grew up in Europe a line of rulers far more powerful than any of these, namely, the popes at Rome. We have already seen how marvelously the Christian com- munities founded by the apostles and their fellow missionaries multiplied until, by the middle of the third century, people came to conceive of a " Catholic," or all-embracing. Church. We have seen how Emperor Constantine favored Christianity and how his successors worked in 'the interest of the new religion. The Jus- tinian Code (§462) safeguarded the Church and the Christian clergy and harshly treated those who ventured to hold another view of Christianity from that approved by the government. 475. Contrast between Pagan and Christian Ideas. One great source of the Church's strength lay in the general fear of death and judgment to come, which Christianity had brought with it. The educated Greeks and Romans of the classical period usu- ally thought of the next life, when they thought of it at all, as a very uninteresting existence compared with that on this earth. One who committed some great crime might suffer for it after death with pains similar to those of the hell in which the Chris- tians believed. But the great part of humanity were supposed to lead in the next world a shadowy existence, neither sad nor glad. Religion, even to the devout pagan, was, as we have seen, mainly an affair of this life ; the gods were worshiped with a view to securing happiness and success in this world. Christianity opposed this view of life with an entirely different one. It constantly emphasized man's existence after death, which 307 3o8 History of Europe it declared to be infinitely more important than his brief sojourn on earth. Under the influence of the Church this conception of life gradually supplanted the pagan one in the Roman world, and it was taught to the barbarians, 476. The Monks. The " other- worldliness " became so intense that thousands gave up their ordinary occupations altogether and devoted their entire attention to preparation for the next life. They shut themselves in lonely cells, and, not satisfied with giving up most of their natural pleasures, they inflicted bodily suffering upon themselves by hunger, cold, and other dis- comforts. They trusted that in this way they might avoid some of the sins into which they were apt to fall, and that, by self- inflicted punishment in this world, they might perchance escape some of that reserved for them in the next, (See next chapter.) 477. The Church claims to be One Means of Salvation. The barbarians were taught that their fate in the next world depended largely upon the Church, Its ministers never wearied of presenting the alternative which faced every man so soon as this short earthly existence should be over — the alternative be- tween eternal bliss in heaven and perpetual, unspeakable torment in hell. Only those who had been duly baptized could hope to reach heaven ; but baptism washed away only past sins and did not prevent new ones. These, unless their guilt was removed through the Church, would surely drag the soul down to hell. 478. Miracles. The divine power of the Church was, further- more, established in the eyes of the people by the wonderful works which Christian saints were constantly performing. They healed the sick, made the blind to see and the lame to walk. They called down God's wrath upon those who opposed the Church and invoked terrible punishments upon those who treated her holy rites with contempt. To the reader of to-day the fre- quency of the miracles narrated by medieval writers seems as- tonishing. The lives of the medieval saints, of which hundreds and hundreds have been preserved, contain little else than ac- counts of them, and no one appears to have doubted their everyday occurrence. The Rise of the Papacy 309 iJT ■ 479. The Early Churches. A word should be said of the early Christian church buildings. The Romans were accustomed to build near their market places a species of public hall, in which townspeople could meet one another to -transact business and in which judges could hear cases and public officials attend to their duties. These buildings, as we have seen, were called basili- cas. There were several magnificent ones in Rome itself, and there Fig. 76. Santa Maria Maggiore This beautiful church at Rome was built shortly after Constantine's time, and the interior, here shown, with its stately columns, above which are fine mosaics, is still nearly as it was in the time of St. Augustine, fifteen hundred years ago. The ceiling is of the sixteenth century was doubtless at least one to be found in every town of consider- able size. The roofs of these spacious halls were usually sup- ported by long rows of columns ; sometimes there were two rows on each side, forming aisles. When, after Constantine had given his approval to Christianity, large, fine churches began to be built they were constructed like these familiar public halls and, like them, were called basilicas. During the sixteen hundred years that have passed since Con- stantine's time naturally almost all the churches of his day have 310 History of Europe disappeared or been greatly altered. But the beautiful church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome (Fig. 76) was built only a hundred years later and gives us an excellent notion of a Christian basilica with its fine rows of columns and its handsome mosaic decorations. In general, the churches were plain and unattractive on the outside. A later chapter will explain how the basilica grew into the Gothic cathedral, which was as beautiful outside as inside. 480. The Church and the Roman Government. The chief importance of the Church for the student of medieval history does not lie, however, in its religious functions, vital as they were, but rather in its remarkable relations to the government. From the days of Constantine on, the Catholic Church had usually enjoyed the hearty support and protection of the government. But so long as the Roman Empire remained strong and active there was no chance for the clergy to free themselves from the control of the emperor, even if they had been disposed to do so. He made such laws for the Church as he saw fit, and the clergy did not complain. The government was, indeed, indispensable to them. It undertook to root out paganism by destroying the heathen shrines and preventing lieathen sacrifices, and it punished severely those who refused to accept the teachings sanctioned by the Church. But as the great Empire began to fall apart there was a grow- ing tendency among the churchmen in the West to resent the interference of the new rulers whom they did not respect. Con- sequently they managed gradually to free themselves in large part from the control of the government, 481. The Church begins to perform the Functions of Gov- ernment. The authority of the various barbarian kings was sel- dom sufficient to keep their realms in order. There were always many powerful landholders scattered throughout the kingdom who did pretty much what they pleased and settled their grudges against their fellows by neighborhood wars. Fighting was the main business as well as the chief amusement of this class. The king was unable to maintain peace and protect the oppressed, however anxious he may have been to do so. The Rise of the Papacy 311 Under these circumstances it naturally fell to the Church to keep order, when it could, by either threats or persuasion ; to see that contracts were kept, the wills of the dead carried out, and marriage obligations observed. It took the defenseless widow and orphan under its protection and dispensed charity ; it pro- moted education at a time when few laymen, however rich and noble, were able even to read. These conditions serve to explain why the Church was finally able so greatly to extend the powers which it had enjoyed under the Roman Empire, and why it under- took duties which seem to us to belong to the State rather than to a religious organization. II. Origin of the Power of the Popes 482. Origin of Papal Power. We must now turn to a con- sideration of the origin and growth of the supremacy of the popes, who, by raising themselves to the head of the Western Church, became in many respects more powerful than any of the kings and princes with whom they frequently found themselves in bitter conflict. There is little doubt that the bishop of Rome and his flock had almost from the very first enjoyed a leading place among the Christian communities. The Roman church was the only one in the West which could claim the distinction of having been founded by the immediate followers of Christ — the "two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul." 483. Belief that Peter was the First Bishop of Rome, The New Testament speaks repeatedly of Paul's presence in Rome. As for Peter, there had always been an unquestioned tradition, accepted throughout the Christian Church, that he was the first bishop of Rome. This belief appears to have been generally ac- cepted at least as early as the middle of the second century. There is, certainly, no conflicting tradition, no rival claimant. The belief itself, whether or not it corresponds with actual events, is a fact of the greatest historical importance. Peter enjoyed a preeminence among the other apostles and was singled out by Christ upon 312 History oj Europe several occasions. In a passage of the New Testament (Matt, xvi, 18-19), which has affected history more profoundly than the edicts of the most powerful monarch, Christ says: "And I say also unto thee. That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This the popes have always claimed as the divine sanction of the powers which they believed to be theirs. 484. The Roman Church the Mother Church. Thus it was natural that the Roman church should early have been looked upon as the "mother church" in the West. Its doctrines were considered the purest, since they had been handed down from its exalted founders. When there was a difference of opinion in regard to the truth of a particular teaching, it was natural that all should turn to the bishop of Rome for his view. Moreover, the majesty of Rome, the capital of the world, helped to exalt its bishop above his fellows. It was long, however, before all the other bishops, especially those in the large cities, were ready to accept unconditionally the authority of the bishop of Rome, although they acknowledged his leading position and that of the Roman community. We know comparatively little of the bishops of Rome during the first three or four centuries of the Church's existence. It is only with the accession of Leo the Great (440-461) that our knowledge of the history of the papacy may, in one sense, be said to begin (§456). 485. Title of Pope. The name " pope " (Latin papa, " father ") was originally and quite naturally given to all bishops, and even to priests. It began to be especially applied to the bishops of Rome, perhaps as early as the sixth century, but was not ap- parently confined to them until two or three hundred years later. Gregory VII (d. 1085 ; §§ 592-593, below) was the first to declare explicitly that the title should be used only for the bishop of Rome. l^he Rise oj the Papacy 313 Not long after the death of Leo the Great, Odoacer put an end to the Western line of emperors. Then, as we know, Theod- oric and his East Goths settled in Italy, only to be followed by still less desirable intruders, the Lombards. During this tumul- tuous period the people of Rome, and even of all Italy, came to Fig. 77. The Ancient Basilica of St. Peter Of the churches built by Constantine in Rome that in honor of St. Peter was, next to the Lateran, the most important. It was constructed on the site of Nero's circus, where St. Peter was believed to have been crucified. It retained its original appearance, as here represented, for twelve hundred years, and then the popes (who had given up the Lateran as their residence and come to live in the Vatican palace close to St. Peter's) determined to build the new and grander church one sees to-day (see pp. 456-457, below). Constantine and the popes made constant use in their buildings of columns and stones taken from the older Roman buildings, which were in this way demolished regard the Pope as their natural leader. The Eastern emperor was far away, and his officers, who managed to hold a portion of central Italy around Rome and Ravenna, were glad to accept the aid and counsel of the Pope. 486. Gregory the Great (590-604). The pontificate of Gregory the Great, one of the half dozen most distinguished heads that the Church has ever had, shows how great a part the papacy 314 History of Europe could play. When he was chosen Pope (in 590) and most re- luctantly left his monastery, ancient Rome, the capital of the Empire, was already transforming itself into medieval Rome, the capital of Christendom. The temples of the gods had furnished materials for the many Christian churches. The tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul were soon to become the center of religious attraction and the goal of pilgrimages from every part of western Europe. Gregory's letters show clearly what the papacy was coming to mean for Europe when in the hands of a really great man. While he assumed the humble title of " Servant of the servants of God," which the popes still use, Gregory was a statesman whose influence extended far and wide. It devolved upon him to govern the city of Rome, — as it did upon his successors down to the year 1870, — for the Eastern emperor's control had become merely nominal. He had also to keep the Lombards out of cen- tral Italy, which they failed to conquer largely on account of the valiant defense of the popes. These duties were functions of the State, and in assuming them Gregory may be said to have founded the "temporal" power of the popes. 487. Gregory's Missionary Undertakings. Beyond the bor- ders of Italy, Gregory was in constant communication with the emperor and the Prankish and Burgundian rulers. Everywhere he used his influence to have good clergymen chosen as bishops, and everywhere he watched over the interests of the monasteries. But his chief importance in the history of the papacy is due to the missionary enterprises he undertook, through which the great countries that were one day to be called England, France, and Germany were brought under the sway of the Roman church and its head, the Pope. As Gregory had himself been a devoted monk it was natural that he should rely chiefly upon the monks in his great work of converting the heathen. Consequently, before considering his missionary achievements, we must glance at the origin and character of the monks, who are so conspicuous throughout the Middle Ages. The Rise of the Papacy 31S QUESTIONS I. Why is it essential to know about the history of the Church in order to understand the Middle Ages ? Compare the Christian idea of the importance of life in this world and the next with the pagan views. Describe a basilica. Mention some governmental duties that were assumed by the Church. Give the reasons why the Church be- came such a great power in the Middle Ages. II. Why was the Roman church the most important of all the Chris- tian churches ? On what grounds did the bishop of Rome claim to be the head of the whole Church ? Did the Christians in the eastern portion of the Roman Empire accept the bishop of Rome as their head ? Why did the popes become influential in the governing not only of Rome but of Italy ? Tell what you can of Gregory the Great. Note. The Roman Emperor Hadrian (§ 398) built a great circular tomb at Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, for himself and his successors. It was two hundred and forty feet across, perhaps one hundred and sixty-five feet high, covered with marble and adorned with statues. When Rome was besieged by the Germans in 537 the inhabi- tants used the tomb for a fortress and threw down the statues on the heads of the bar- barians. When Gregory the Great prayed that Rome be delivered from a terrible pestilence he saw the archangel Michael sheathing his sword over Hadrian's tomb; and since then it has been called the Castle of the Holy Angel. - -^^^^^W^^^^gt^^iJ!^^ CHAPTER XXII THE MONKS AND THEIR MISSIONARY WORK; THE MOHAMMEDANS I. Monks and Monasteries 488. Importance of the Monks. It would be difficult to over- estimate the influence that the monks exercised for centuries in Europe. The proud annals of the Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits contain many a distinguished name. The most eminent philosophers, scientists, historians, artists, poets, and statesmen may be found in their ranks. Among those whose achievements we shall mention later are " The Venerable Bede," Boniface, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Fra Angelico, Luther, Erasmus, Loyola — all these, and many others who have been leaders in various branches of human activity, were monks. 489. Monasticism appealed to Many Classes. The life in a monastery appealed to many different kinds of people. The mo- nastic life was safe and peaceful, as well as holy. The monastery was the natural refuge not only of the religiously minded but of those of a studious or thoughtful disposition who disliked the career of a soldier and were disinclined to face the dangers and uncertainties of the times. Even the rude and unscrupulous war- riors hesitated to destroy the property or disturb the life of those who were believed to enjoy God's special favor. The monastery furnished, too, a refuge for the friendless, an asylum for the disgraced, and food and shelter for the indolent, who would other- wise have had to earn their living. There were, therefore, many different motives which led people to enter monasteries. Kings and nobles, for the good of their souls, readily gave land upon which to found colonies of monks, and there were plenty of remote spots in the mountains and forests to invite those who wished to escape from the world and its temptations, its dangers or its cares. 316 The Monks and their Missionary Work 317 490. Rule of St. Benedict. Monastic communities first de- veloped on a large scale in Egypt in the fourth century. The idea, however, was quickly taken up in Europe. In the sixth century monasteries multiplied so rapidly in western Europe that it became necessary to establish definite rules for these com- munities which proposed to desert the ordinary ways of the world and lead a holy life apart. Accordingly St. Benedict drew up, about the year 526, a sort of constitution for the monastery of Monte Cassino, in southern Italy, of which he was the head. This was so sagacious, and so well met the needs of the monastic life, that it was rapidly accepted by the other monasteries and gradu- ally became the "rule" according to which all the Western monks lived .^ The Rule of St. Benedict is as important as any constitution that was ever drawn up for a state. It is for the most part very wise and sensible. It provided that, since everyone is not fitted for the monk's life, the candidate for admission to the monastery should pass through a period of probation, called the novitiate, before he was permitted to take the solemn, final vows. The brethren were to elect the head of the monastery — the abbot, as he was called. Along with frequent prayer and meditation the monks were to do the necessary cooking and washing for the monastery and raise the necessary vegetables and grain. They were also to read and teach. Those who were incapacitated for outdoor work were assigned lighter tasks, such as copying books. 491. The Monastic Vows. The monk had to take the three vows of obedience, poverty, and purity. He was to obey the abbot without question in all matters that did not involve his committing a sin. He pledged himself to perpetual and absolute poverty, and everything he used was the property of the convent. He was not permitted to own anything whatsoever — not even a book or a pen. Along with the vows of obedience and poverty, he was also required to pledge himself never to marry ; for not 1 Benedict did not introduce monasticism in the West, as is sometimes supposed, nor did he even found an order in the proper sense of the word, under a single head, like the later Franciscans and Dominicans. Nevertheless, the monks who lived under his rule are ordinarily spoken lof as belonging to the Benedictine Qrd^r. 3i8 History of Europe only was the single life considered more holy than the married, but the monastic organization would have been impossible unless the monks remained single. The influence of the Benedictine monks upon Europe is in- calculable. From their numbers no less than twenty-four popes and forty-six hundred bishops and archbishops have been chosen. They boast almost sixteen thousand writers, some of great dis- tinction. Their monasteries furnished retreats during the Middle Ages, where the scholar might study and write in spite of the prevailing disorder of the times. 492. How the Monks contributed to Civilization. The copy- ing of books, as has been said, was a natural occupation of the monks. Doubtless their work was often done carelessly, with little heart and less understanding. But with the great loss of manu- scripts due to the destruction of libraries and the general lack of interest in books, it was most essential that new copies should be made. Even poor and incorrect ones were better than none. Al- most all the books written by the Romans disappeared altogether during the Middle Ages, but from time to time a monk would copy out the poems of Virgil, Horace, or Ovid, or the speeches of Cicero. In this way some of the chief works of the Latin writers have continued to exist down to the present day. The monks regarded good hard work as a great aid to salva- tion. They set the example of careful cultivation of the lands about their monasteries and in this way introduced better farm- ing methods into the regions where they settled. They enter- tained travelers at a time when there were few or no inns and so increased the intercourse between the various parts of Europe. 493. Arrangement of a Monastery. The home which the monks constructed for themselves was called a monastery or abbey. This was afranged to meet their particular needs and was usually at a considerable distance from any town, in order to insure solitude and quiet.^ It was modeled upon the general plan of the Roman country house. The buildings were arranged around a court, called the cloister. On all four sides of this was a covered 1 Later monasteries were sometimes built in towns or ^st outside the walls. The Monks atid their Missionary Work 319 walk, which made it possible to reach all the buildings without exposing one's self to either the rain or the hot sun. Not only the Benedictines but all the orders which sprang up in later centuries arranged their homes in much the same way. On the north side of the cloister was the church, which always faced west. As time went on and certain groups of monks were 5^^^-^^'^"^:^- l-i iliiiiihil: ^s^ Fig. 78. Monastery of Val di Cristo This monastery in southern Spain has two cloisters, the main one lying to the left. One can see how the buildings were surrounded by vegetable gardens and an orchard which supplied the monks with food. We know that we are viewing the monastery from the west, for the church faces us given a great deal of property, they constructed very beautiful churches for their monasteries. Westminster Abbey was origi- nally the church of a monastery lying outside the city of London, and there are in Great Britain many picturesque remains of ruined abbey churches which attract the attention of every traveler. On the west side of the cloister were storerooms for pro- visions ; on the south side, opposite the church, was the " re- fectory," or dining room, and a sitting room that could be warmed in cold weather. In the cloister, near the dining room, was a wash 32 History oj Europe room where the monk could wash his hands before meals. To the east of the cloister was the "dormitory," where the monks slept. This always adjoined the church, for the Rule required that the monks should hold services seven times a day. One of these services, called vigils, came well before daybreak, and it was convenient when you were summoned in the darkness out of your warm bed to be able to go down a short passage that led from the dormitory into the choir of the church, where the service was held. The Benedictine Rule provided that the monks should so far as possible have everything for their support on their own land. So outside the group of buildings around the cloister would be found the garden, the orchard, the mill, a fishpond, and fields for raising grain. There were also a hospital for the sick and a guest house for pilgrims or poor people who happened to come along. In the greater monasteries there were also quarters where a king or nobleman might spend a few nights in such comfort as was possible in those days. II. Missionary Work of the Monks 494. The Monks as Missionaries. The first great undertaking of the monks was the conversion of those German peoples who had not yet been won over to Christianity. These the monks made not merely Christians but also dutiful subjects of the Pope. In this way the strength of the Roman Catholic Church was greatly increased. The first people to engage the attention of the monks were the heathen German tribes who had conquered the once Christian Britain. 495. Saxons and Angles conquer Britain. The islands which are now known as the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, were, at the opening of the Christian Era, occupied by several Celtic peoples of whose customs and religion we know almost nothing. Julius Caesar commenced the conquest of the islands (55 b.c.) (§ 367), and later the Emperor Claudius carried on the work (§ 391). But the Romans never succeeded in establishing their power beyond the wall which they built from the Clyde to the The Monks and their Missionary Work 321 Firth of Forth to keep out the wild tribes of the North. Even south of the wall the country was not completely Romanized, and the Celtic tongue has actually survived down to the present day in Wales. At the opening of the fifth century th^ barbarian invasions forced Rome to withdraw its legions from Britain in order to protect its frontiers on the Continent, The island was thus left to be conquered gradually by the Germanic peoples, mainly Saxons and Angles, who came across the North Sea from the region south of Denmark. Almost all record of what went on during the two centuries following the departure of the Romans has disap- peared. No one knows the fate of the original Celtic inhabitants of England. It was formerly supposed that they were all killed or driven to the mountain districts of Wales, but this seems un- likely. More probably they were gradually lost among the dom- inating Germans, with whom they merged into one people. The Saxon and Angle chieftains established small kingdoms, of which there were seven or eight at the time when Gregory the Great became Pope (§§486-487). 496. Conversion of Britain. Gregory, while still a simple monk, had been struck with the beauty of some Angles whom he saw one day in the slave market at Rome. When he learned who they were he was grieved that such handsome beings should still belong to the kingdom of the Prince of Darkness, and he wished to go as a missionary to their people, but permission was refused him. So when he became Pope he sent forty monks to England under the leadership of a prior named Augustine (who must not be confused with the church father of that name). The heathen king of Kent, in whose territory Augu3tine and his monks landed with fear and trembling (597), had a Christian wife, the daughter of a Prankish king. Through her influence the monks were kindly received and were given an ancient church at Canterbury, dating from the Roman occupation before the German invasions. Here they established a monastery, and from this center the con- version, first of Kent and then of the whole island, was gradually accomplished. Canterbury has always maintained its early preemi- nence and may still be considered the religious capital of England. 32 2 History oj Europe England thus became a part of the ever-growing territory embraced in the Roman Catholic Church and remained for nearly a thousand years as faithful to the Pope as any other Catholic country. The most distinguished writer of the seventh and early eighth centuries in Europe was the English monk Bseda (often called "The Venerable Bede," 673-735), fro"^ whose ad- mirable history of the Church in England most of our information about the period is derived. 497. St. Boniface, the Apostle to the Germans. In 718 St. Boniface, an English monk, was sent by the Pope as a mis- sionary to the Germans. He succeeded in converting many of the more remote German tribes who still clung to their old pagan be- liefs. His energetic methods are illustrated by the story of how he cut down the sacred oak of the old German god Odin, at Fritzlar, in Hesse, and used the wood to build a chapel, around which a monastery soon grew up. III. Mohammed and his Religion 498. Mohammed. Just at the time that Gregory the Great was doing so much to strengthen the power and influence of the popes in Rome, a young Arab camel driver in far-away Mecca was devising a religion which was destined to spread with astound- ing rapidity into Asia, Africa, and Europe and to become a great rival of Christianity. And to-day the millions who believe in Mohammed as God's greatest prophet are probably equal in num- ber to those who are faithful to the Pope. Before the time of Mohammed the Arabs (a branch of the great Semitic people) had played no great part in the world's history. The scattered tribes were constantly at war with one another, and each tribe worshiped its own gods, when it wor- shiped at all. Mecca was considered a sacred spot, however, and the fighting was stopped four months each year so that all could peacefully visit the Kaaba, a sort of temple, full of idols and containing in particular a black stone, about as long as a man's hand, which was regarded as specially worthy of reverence. The Monks and their Missionary Work 323 As Mohammed traveled back and forth across the desert with his trains of camels heavily laden with merchandise he had plenty of time to think, and he became convinced that God was sending him messages which it was his duty to reveal to mankind. He met many Jews and Christians, of whom there were great num- bers in Arabia, and from them he got some ideas of the Old and New Testaments. But when he tried to convince people that he was God's prophet, and that the Angel Gabriel had appeared to him in his dreams and told him of a new religion, he was treated with scorn. Finally, he discovered that his enemies in Mecca were plan- ning to kill him, and he fled to the neighboring town of Medina, where he had friends. His flight, which took place in the year 622, is called the Hejira by the Arabs, It was taken by his fol- lowers as the beginning of a new era — the year One, as the Mohammedans reckon time. 499. Islam and the Koran. A war followed between the people of Mecca and those who had joined Mohammed in and about Medina, It was eight years before his followers became numerous enough to enable him to march upon Mecca and take it with a victorious army. Before his death in 632 he had gained the sup- port of all the Arab chiefs, and his new religion, which he called Islam (meaning "reconciliation"; by which he meant reconcilia- tion to Allah, the sole God), was accepted throughout the whole Arabian peninsula. The new believers he called Muslims, or, as we spell it, Moslems, meaning " the reconciled," By us they are often called Mohammedans, after their prophet. Mohammed could probably neither write nor read well, but when he fell into trances from time to time he would repeat to his eager listeners the words which he heard from heaven, and they in turn wrote them down. These sayings, which were collected into a volume shortly after his death, form the Koran, the Moham- medan Bible. This contains the chief beliefs of the new religion as well as the laws under which all good Mohammedans were to live. The Koran announces a day of judgment when the heavens shall be opened and the mountains be powdered and become 324 History of Europe like flying dust. Then all men shall receive their reward. Those who have refused to accept Islam shall be banished to hell to be burned and tormented forever. ''They shall not taste therein coolness or drink, save scalding water and running sores," and the scalding water they shall drink like thirsty camels. Those, on the other hand, who have obeyed the Koran, es- pecially those who die fighting for Islam, shall find themselves in Fig. 8i. A Bird's-eye View of Mecca and its Mosque Mecca is one of the few towns in the barren Arabian peninsula, for by far the great majority of the Arabs hve as roving shepherds (§ 60) and not in towns^ Mecca had been a sacred place long before the time of Mohammed, and the people had been accustomed to come there as pilgrims to do homage to a sacred black stone called the Kaaba. Mohammed did not interfere with these customs. After his death the Moslems built a large court around the Kaaba. Over the Kaaba they erected a square shelter, which we see in the middle of the court. To this place the Moslem believers still come in great numbers as pilgrims every year a garden of delight. They shall recline in rich brocades upon soft cushions and rugs and be served by surpassingly beautiful maidens, with eyes like hidden pearls. Wine may be drunk there, but "their heads shall not ache with it, neither shall they be confused." They shall be content with their past life and shall hear no foolish words ; and there shall be no sin but only the greeting, "Peace, peace." The Monks and their Missionary Work 325 The religion of Moham- med was much simpler than that of the medieval Chris- tian Church ; it did not pro- vide for a priesthood or for any great number of cere- monies. The Mohammedan mosque, or temple, is a house of prayer and a place for reading the Koran ; no altars or images or pictures of any kind are permitted in it. The mosques are often very beautiful buildings, especially in great Moham- medan cities such as Jeru- salem, Damascus, Cairo, and Constantinople. They have great courts surrounded by covered colonnades and are adorned with beautiful marbles and mosaics and de- lightful windows with bright stained glass. The walls are adorned with passages from the Koran, and the floors covered with rich rugs. They have one or more minarets, from which the call to prayer is heard five times a day. 500. Rise of the Oriental Empire of the Moslems. The Moslem leaders who succeeded to Mohammed's power were called caliphs. As rulers, they proved to Fig. 82. A Page of a Manuscript Copy of the Koran, the Bible of THE Moslems This writing has descended from the ancient alphabet of the Phoenicians (§ 140), and, like the Phoenician writing, it is still written and read from right to left. The Arab writers love to give their letters decorative flourishes, producing a handsome page. The rich, decorative border is a good example of Moslem art. The whole page was done by hand. In such hand-written books as these the educated Moslems wrote out translations of the books of the great Greek phi- losophers and scientists, like Aristotle. At the same time the Moslems wrote their own treatises on algebra, astron- omy, grammar, and other sciences in similar books. These books later came to the knowledge of Western Christian scholars, who learned much from them 326 History of Europe Fig. 83. Moorish Mosque Tower, OR Minaret, IN Spain This tower in Seville was built, not long before a.d. 1200, out of the ruins of Roman and West Gothic buildings found here by the Moors, and blocks bearing Latin inscriptions are to be seen in a number of places in its walls. After extensive alterations at the top by Christian architects, it was converted into the bell tower of a Christian church at Bagdad beside the New They built of course under be men of the greatest ability. They organized the untamed desert nomads, who now added a burning religious zeal to the wild courage of barbarian Arabs. This combination made the Arab armies of the caliphs irresist- ible. Within a few years after Mohammed's death they took Egypt and Syria from the feeble successors of Justinian at Constantinople. They thus reduced the Eastern Empire to little more than the Balkan Penin- sula and Asia Minor. At the same time the Arabs crushed the empire of the New Persians (§ 432) and brought the Sassanian line of kings to an end (a.d. 640), after it had lasted a little over four hundred years. Thus the Moslems built up a great oriental empire, with its center at the east end of the Fertile Crescent, 501. The Nomad Arabs learn City Civilization along the Fertile Crescent. Just as the people of Sargon and Hammurapi took over the city civilization which they found along the lower Euphrates (§ 68), so now in the same region the Mos- lem Arabs of the desert took over the city civilization of the New Per- sians. With the ruins of Babylon looking down upon them, the Mos- lems built their splendid capital Persian royal residence of Ctesiphon. the influence of the ancient structures Street Scene in Cairo ■-^((^^J'^^^^ o si < a > H D O S3 < a w H (/: o u z a < X o 328 History of Europe of Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Assyria. Here, as Sargon's people and as the Persians had so long before done, the once wandering Arabs learned to read and write and could thus put the Koran into writing. Here too they learned the business of government and became experienced rulers. Thus beside the shapeless mounds of the older capitals, Akkad, Babylon, and Ctesiphon, the power and civilization of the Orient rose into new life for the last time. Bagdad became the finest city of the East and one of the most splendid in the world. The caliphs extended their power eastward to the frontiers of India. 502. The Moslem Advance to the West ; the Battle of Tours. Westward the Moslems pushed along the African coast of the Mediterranean, as their Phoenician kindred had done before them (§ 139). It was the Moslem overthrow of Carthage and its bishop which now relieved the bishop of Rome (the Pope) of his only dangerous rival in the West. Only two generations after the death of Mohammed the Arabs crossed over from Africa into Spain (a.d. 711). Here they overthrew the feeble kingdom of the West Goths (§455) ; then they moved on into France and threatened to girdle the entire Mediterranean. At the battle of Tours (a.d. 732), however, just a hundred years after the death of Mohammed, the Moslems were unable to crush the Prankish army under their leader, Charles the Hammer (§ 504). They withdrew permanently from France into Spain, where they estab- lished a western Moslem kingdom, which we call Moorish. 503. Leadership of Moslem Civilization. The Moorish king- dom developed a civilization far higher than that of the Franks, and, indeed, the highest in Europe of that age. Thus while Eu- rope was sinking into the ignorance of the Middle Ages, the Moslems were the leading students of science, astronomy, mathe- matics, and grammar. There was soon much greater knowledge of these matters among the Moslems than in Christian Europe. Such Arabic words as algebra and our numerals, which we received from the Arabs, suggest to us how much we owe to them. Some of the buildings which they erected soon after their arrival still stand. Among these is the mosque at Cordova with The Monks and their Missionary Work 329 its forest of columns and arches/ They also erected a great tower at Seville (Fig. 83). This has been copied by the architects of Madison Square Garden in New York. The Mohammedans built beautiful palaces and laid out charming gardens. One of these palaces, the Alhambra, built at Granada some centuries after their arrival in Spain, is a marvel of lovely detail (Fig. 80). They also founded a great university at Cordova, to which Christians from the North sometimes went in search of knowledge. Historians commonly regard it as a matter of great good luck that Charles the Hammer and his barbarous soldiers succeeded in defeating and driving back the Mohammedans at Tours. But had they been permitted to settle in southern France they might have developed science and art far more rapidly than did the Franks. It is difficult to say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that the Moors, as the Mohammedans in Spain were called, did not get control of a portion of Gaul. QUESTIONS I. What various reasons led men to enter monasteries ? When and where did Christian monasteries originate ? Give some of the chief provisions of St. Benedict's Rule. Why did the monks sometimes devote part of their time to copying books ? Describe the general plan of a monastery. II. Tell about the conversion of the king of Kent. Did England become a part of the medieval Catholic Church ? III. Give a short account of Mohammed's life. Define Kaaba, Islam, Koran. What countries did the Mohammedans conquer during the century following Mohammed's death ? Where is Mecca, Bagdad, Damascus, Cordova ? Tell what you can of the Moorish buildings in Spain. . 1 The great mosque, which the Mohammedan rulers built at Cordova (Fig. 79) on the site of a Christian church of the West Goths, was second in size only to the Kaaba at Mecca (Fig. 81). It was begun about 785 and gradually enlarged and beautified dur- ing the following two centuries, with the hope that it would rival Mecca as a place of pilgrimage. The part represented in the illustration was built by Caliph Al-Hakim, who came to the throne in 961. The beautiful holy of holies (the entrance of which may be seen in the background) is richly adorned with magnificent mosaics. The whole mosque is five hundred and seventy by four hundred snd twenty-five feet ; that is, about the size of St. Peter's in Rome, CHAPTER XXIII CHARLEMAGNE AND fflS EMPIRE I. Conquests of Charlemagne 504. How Pippin became King of the Franks (752). We have seen how the kings of the Franks, Clovis and his successors, con- quered a large territory, including western Germany and what is called France to-day. As time went on, the king's chief min- ister, who was called the Mayor of the Palace, got almost all the power into his hands and really ruled in the place of the king. Charles the Hammer, who defeated the Mohammedans at Tours in 732 (§502), was the Mayor of the Palace of the western Prankish king. His son, Pippin the Short, finally determined to do away altogether with the old line of kings and put himself in their place. Before taking the decisive step, however, he consulted the Pope, who gave his approval. With this sanction from Rome (752) the Prankish counts and dukes, in accordance with the old German ceremony, raised Pippin on their shields, in some- what the way college boys nowadays carry off a successful football player on their shoulders. He was then anointed king by St. Boni- face, the apostle to the Germans, of whom we have spoken, and received the blessing of the Pope.^ It would hardly be necessary to mention this change of dynasty in so short a history as this were it not that the calling in of the Pope brought about a revolution in the ideas of kingship. The kings of the German tribes had hitherto usually been successful warriors who held their office with the consent of the people, or at least of the nobles. Their election was not a matter that concerned the Church at all. But when, after asking the Pope's 1 The old line of kings which was displaced by Pippin is known as the Merovingian line. Pippin and his successors are called the Carolingian line. Charlemagne and his Empire 331 opinion, Pippin had the holy oil poured on his head, — in ac- cordance with an ancient religious custom of the Jews, — first by Bishop Boniface (§ 497) and later by the Pope, he seemed to ask the Church to approve his usurpation. As the historian Gibbon puts it, "A German chieftain was transformed into the Lord's anointed." The Pope threatened with God's anger anyone who . should attempt to supplant the consecrated family of Pippin. It thus became a religious duty to obey the king and his suc- cessors. He came to be regarded by the Church, when he had received its approval, as God's representative on earth. Here we have the beginning of the later theory of kings " by the grace of God," against whom it was a sin to revolt, however bad they might be. We shall see presently how Pippin's famous son Charlemagne received his crown from the hands of the Pope. 505. Charlemagne (ca. 742-814). Charlemagne, who became king of all the Prankish realms in 771, is the first historical per- sonage among the German peoples of whom we have any satis- factory knowledge.^ Compared with him, Theodoric, Clovis, Charles the Hammer, Pippin, and the rest are but shadowy figures. Charlemagne's looks, as described by his secretary, so exactly correspond with the character of the king as exhibited in his reign that they are worthy of attention. He was tall and stoutly built ; his face was round, his eyes were large and keen, his expression bright and cheerful. His voice was clear, but rather weak for his big body. He delighted in riding and hunting and was an expert swimmer. His excellent health and his physical endurance can alone explain the astonishing swiftness with which he moved about his vast realm and conducted innumerable cam- paigns against his enemies in widely distant regions in rapid succession. Charlemagne was an educated man for his time, and one who knew how to appreciate and encourage scholarship. While at 1 " Charlemagne " is the French form for the Latin Carolus Magnus (Charles the Great). We must never forget, however, that Charlemagne was not French; he talked a German language, namely Frankish, and his favorite palaces at Aix-la-Chapelle, Ingelheim, and Nimwegen were in German regions. 332 History of Europe dinner he had someone read to him ; he delighted especially in history. He tried to learn writing, which was an unusual accom- plishment at that time for any except churchmen, but began too late in life and got no farther than signing his name. He called learned men to his court and did much toward reestablishing a regular system of schools. The impression which his reign made upon men's minds con- tinued to grow even after his death. He became the hero of a whole series of romantic adventures which were as firmly believed for centuries as his real deeds. A study of Charlemagne's reign will make clear that he was truly a remarkable person, one of the greatest figures in the world's records and deservedly the hero of the Middle Ages. 506. Charlemagne's Idea of a Great Christian Empire. It was Charlemagne's ideal to bring all the German peoples together into one great Christian empire, and he was wonderfully success- ful in attaining his end. Only a small portion of what is now called Germany was included in the kingdom ruled over by Charle- magne's father, Pippin the Short. Frisia and Bavaria had been Christianized, and their rulers had been induced by the efforts of Charlemagne's predecessors and of the missionaries, especially Boniface, to recognize the overlordship of the Franks. Between these two half-independent countries lay the unconquered Saxons. They were as yet pagans and appear still to have clung to much the same institutions as those under which they had lived when the Roman historian Tacitus described them seven centuries earlier. 507. The Conquest of the Saxons. The Saxons occupied the region beginning somewhat east of Cologne and extending to the Elbe, and north to where the great cities of Bremen and Ham- burg are now situated. They had no towns or roads and were consequently very difficult to conquer, as they could retreat, with their few possessions, into the forests or swamps as soon as they found themselves unable to meet an invader in the open field. Yet so long as they remained unconquered they constantly threat- ened the Frankish kingdom, and their country was necessary to the rounding out of its boundaries. Charlemagne never undertook, Charlemagne and his Empire 333 during his long military career, any other task half so serious as the subjugation of the Saxons, which occupied many years, Charlemagne believed the Christianizing of the Saxons so important a part of his duty that he decreed that anyone should suffer death who broke into a church and carried off anything by force. No one, under penalty of heavy fines, was to make vows, in the pagan fashion, at trees or springs, or partake of any heathen feasts in honor of the demons (as the Christians termed the heathen gods), or fail to present infants for baptism before they were a year old. These provisions are characteristic of the theory of the Middle Ages, according to which the government and the Church went hand in hand in ordering and governing the life of the people. Disloyalty to the Church was regarded by the State as quite as serious a crime as treason against itself. Before the Prankish conquest the Saxons had no towns. Now, around the seat of the bishop, or about a monastery, men be- gan to collect, and towns and cities grew up. Of these the chief was Bremen, which is still one of the most important ports of Germany. 508. Charlemagne King of the Lombards. Summoned by the Pope to protect him from his old enemies the Lombards (§465), Charlemagne invaded Lombardy in 773 with a great army and took Pavia, the capital, after a long siege. The Lom- bard king was forced to become a monk, and his treasure was divided among the Prankish soldiers. Charlemagne then took the extremely important step, in 774, of having himself recognized by all the Lombard dukes and counts as king of the Lombards. 509. Foreign Policy of Charlemagne. So far we have spoken only of the relations of Charlemagne with the Germans, for even the Lombard kingdom was established by the Germans. He had, however, other peoples to deal with, especially the Slavs on the east (who were one day to build up the kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia and the vast Russian empire, which is so important in world politics to-day). On the opposite boundary of his do- minion there were the Mohammedan Moors in Spain (§ 503), 334 History of Europe Against these it was necessary to protect his realms, and the second part of Charlemagne's reign was devoted to what may be called his foreign policy. A single campaign in 789 seems to have sufficed to subdue the Slavs, who lay to the north and east of the Saxons, and to force the Bohemians to acknowledge the supremacy of the Prankish king and pay tribute to him. At an assembly that Charlemagne held in 777, ambassadors appeared before him from certain dissatisfied Mohammedans in Spain. They had fallen out with the emir of Cordova^ and now offered to become the faithful subjects of Charlemagne if he would come to their aid. In consequence of this embassy he undertook his first expedition to Spain in the following year. After some years of war the district north of the Ebro was conquered by the Franks. In this way Charlemagne began that gradual expulsion of the Mohammedans from the peninsula, which was to be carried on by slowly extending conquests until 1492, when Granada, the last Mohammedan stronghold, fell (§718). II. Establishment of a Line of Emperors in the West 510. Charlemagne crowned Emperor by the Pope. But the most famous of all the achievements of Charlemagne was his reestablishment of the Western Empire in the year 800. It came about in this wise. Charlemagne went to Rome in that year to settle a dispute between Pope Leo III and his enemies. To celebrate the satisfactory settlement of the dispute the Pope held a solemn service on Christmas Day in St. Peter's. As Charle- magne was kneeling before the altar during this service the Pope approached him and set a crown upon his head, saluting him, amid the acclamations of those present, as ''Emperor of the Romans." The reasons for this extraordinary act, which Charlemagne in- sisted took him completely by surprise, are given in one of the 1 The Mohammedan caliphate broke up in the eighth century, and the ruler of Spain first assumed the title of emir (about 756) and later (929) that of caliph. The latter title had originally been enjoyed only by the head of the whole Arab empire, who had his capital at Damascus and later at Bagdad. Charlemagne and his Empire 335 Prankish histories, the Chronicles of Lorsch, as follows : " The name of Emperor had ceased among the Greeks, for they were under the reign of a woman [the Empress Irene], wherefore it seemed good both to Leo, the apostolic pope, and to the bishops who were in council with him, and to all Christian men, that they should name Charles, King of the Franks, as Emperor. For he held Rome itself, where the ancient Caesars had always dwelt, in addition to all his other possessions in Italy, Gaul, and Germany. Wherefore, as God had granted him all these dominions, it seemed just to all that he should take the title of Emperor, too, when it was offered to him at the wish of all Christendom." Charlemagne appears to have accepted gracefully the honor thus thrust upon him. Even if he had no right to the imperial title, it was obviously proper and wise to grant it to him under the circumstances. Before his coronation by the Pope he was only king of the Franks and of the Lombards ; but his con- quests seemed to give him a right to a higher title which should include all his outlying realms. 511. Continuity of the Roman Empire. The empire thus reestablished in the West was considered to be a continuation of the Roman Empire founded by Augustus. Charlemagne was reckoned the immediate successor of the emperor at Constanti- nople, Constantine VI, whom Irene had deposed and blinded. Yet it is hardly necessary to say that the position of the new emperor had little in common with that of Augustus or Con- stantine. In the first place, the Eastern emperors continued to reign in Constantinople for centuries, quite regardless of Charle- magne and his successors. In the second place, the German kings who wore the imperial crown after Charlemagne were generally too weak really to rule over Germany and northern Italy, to say nothing of the rest of western Europe. Nevertheless, the Western Empire, which in the twelfth century came to be called the Holy Roman Empire, endured for over a thousand years. It came to an end only in 1806, when the last of the emperors, wearied of his empty if venerable title, laid down the crown. 336 History of Europe The assumption of the title of emperor was destined to make the German rulers a great deal of trouble. It constantly led them into unsuccessful efforts to keep control over Italy, which really lay outside their natural boundaries. Then the circum- stances under which Charlemagne was crowned made it possible for the popes to claim, later, that it was they who had transferred the imperial power from the old eastern line of emperors to Charle- magne and his family, and that this was a proof of their right to dispose of the crown as they pleased. The difficulties which arose necessitated many a weary journey to Rome for the emperors, and many unfortunate conflicts between them and the popes. The long struggles between the German kings and the popes will be described in a later chapter (XXVI). III. How Charlemagne carried on his Government 512. Difficulty of governing so Large an Empire. The task of governing his vast dominions taxed even the highly gifted and untiring Charlemagne ; it was quite beyond the power of his successors. The same difficulties continued to exist that had confronted Charles the Hammer and Pippin — above all, a scanty royal revenue and overpowerful officials, who were apt to neglect the interests and commands of their sovereign. Charlemagne's income, like that of all medieval rulers, came chiefly from his royal estates, as there was no system of general taxation such as had existed under the Roman Empire. He consequently took the greatest care that his numerous planta- tions should be well cultivated, and that not even a turnip or an egg which was due him should be withheld. An elaborate set of regulations for his farms is preserved, which sheds much light upon the times. 513. Origin of Titles of Nobility. The officials upon whom the Prankish kings were forced to rely chiefly were the counts, the "hand and voice of the king" wherever he could not be in person. They were expected to maintain order, see that justice was done in their district, and raise troops when the king needed Charlemagne and his Empire 337 them. On the frontier were the counts of the " march," ^ or mar- graves (marquises) . These titles, together with that of duke, still exist as titles of nobility in Europe, although they are no longer as- sociated with any governmental duties except in cases where their holders have the right to sit in the upper House of Parliament. 514. The Dark Century before Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the first important king since Theodoric to pay any atten- tion to book learning. About 650 the supply of papyrus — the kind of paper that the Greeks and Romans used — had been cut off, owing to the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, and as our kind of paper had not yet been invented, there was only the very expensive parchment to write upon. While this had the advantage of being more durable than papyrus, its high cost discouraged the copying of books. The eighth century ^ — that im- mediately preceding Charlemagne's coronation — is commonly re- garded as the most ignorant, the darkest, and the most barbarous period of the Middle Ages. Yet, in spite of this dark picture, there was promise for the future. It was evident, even before Charlemagne's time, that Europe was not to continue indefinitely in the path of ignorance. Latin could not be forgotten, for that was the language of the Church, and all its official communications were in that tongue. Consequently it was absolutely necessary that the Church should maintain some sort of education in order that there might be persons who knew enough to write a Latin letter and conduct the church services. Some of those who learned Latin must have used it to read the old books written by the Romans. Then the textbooks of the later Roman Empire (§ 460) continued to be used, and these, poor as they were, contained something about grammar, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and other subjects. 515. Establishment of Schools. It seemed to Charlemagne that it was the duty of the Church not only to look after the education of its own officers but to provide the opportunity of at least an elementary education for the people at large. In ^ This word meant territories on the boundaries of the Empire which were open to invasion. 338 History of Europe accordance with this conviction he issued (789) an order to the clergy to gather together the children of both freemen and serfs in their neighborhood and establish schools "in which the boys may learn to read." It would be impossible to say how many of the abbots and bishops established schools in accordance with Charlemagne's recommendations. It is certain that famous centers of learning existed at Tours, Fulda, Corbie, Orleans, and other places during his reign. Charlemagne further promoted the cause of education by the establishment of the famous "School of the Palace" for the instruction of his own children and the sons of his nobles. He placed the Englishman Alcuin at the head of the school and called distinguished men from Italy and elsewhere as teachers. 516. Decline in Education after Charlemagne's Time. The hopeful beginning that was made under Charlemagne in the revival of education was destined to prove disappointing in its immediate results. It is true that the ninth century produced a few noteworthy men who have left works which indicate ability and mental training. But the break-up of Charlemagne's empire, the struggles between his descendants, the coming of new bar- barians, and the disorder caused by the unruly feudal lords, who were not inclined to recognize any master, all combined to keep Europe back for at least two centuries more. Indeed, the tenth century and the first half of the eleventh seem, at first sight, little better than the seventh and the eighth. Yet ignorance and dis- order never were quite so prevalent after Charlemagne as they were before, QUESTIONS I. Explain the importance of the coronation of Pippin. Describe Charlemagne's appearance and character. How did Charlemagne for- ward the interests of the Church in his efforts to incorporate the Saxons in his empire ? II. What led to Charlemagne's becoming emperor ? What modem countries did his empire include ? III. What were the chief sources of Charlemagne's revenue ? How did titles of nobiUty originate in medieval Europe ? What did Charle- magne do for education? CHAPTER XXiy THE AGE OF DISORDER; FEUDALISM I. The Disruption of Charlemagne's Empire 517. Division of Charlemagne's Empire. It was a matter of great importance to Europe whether Charlemagne's extensive empire held together or fell apart after his death in 814. He does not seem to have had any expectation that it would hold together, because some years before his death he arranged that it should be divided among his three sons. But as two of these died before he did, it fell into the hands of the only surviving son, Louis, who succeeded his august father as king of all the various parts of the Prankish domains and was later crowned emperor. Louis, called "the pious," proved a feeble ruler. He tried all sorts of ways of dividing the Empire peaceably among his rebel- lious and unruly sons, but he did not succeed, and after his death they, and their sons as well, continued to fight over the question of how much each should have. It is not necessary to speak of the various temporary arrangements that were made. Finally it was agreed in 870, by the Treaty of Mersen, that there should be three states, a West Frankish kingdom, an East Frank- ish kingdom, and a kingdom of Italy. The West Frankish realm 339 340 History of Europe corresponded roughly with the present boundaries of France and Belgium. Its people talked dialects derived from the spoken Latin, which the Romans had introduced after their army, under the command of Julius Caesar, conquered Gaul (§367). The East Prankish kingdom included the rest of Charlemagne's em- pire outside of Italy and was German in language and customs. Map of Treaty of Mersen This map shows the division of Charlemagne's empire made in 870 by his descendants in the Treaty of Mersen 518. Obstacles to maintaining Order. Each of the three realms established by the Treaty of Mersen was destined finally to grow into one of the powerful modern states which we see on the map of Europe to-day, but hundreds of years elapsed before ^ the kings grew strong enough to control their subjects, and the Treaty of Mersen was followed by several centuries of constant disorder and local warfare. Let us consider the difficulties which stood in the way of peace. In the first place, a king found it very hard to get rapidly from one part of his realms to another in order to put down The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 341 rebellions, for the remarkable roads which the Romans had so carefully constructed to enable their armies to move about had fallen into disrepair, and floods had carried away the bridges. In the East Frankish kingdom matters must have been worse than in the West Frankish realm, for the Romans had never con- quered Germany and consequently no good roads had ever been constructed there. Besides the difficulty of getting about quickly and easily, the king had very little money. This was one of the chief troubles of the Middle Ages. There are not many gold or silver mines in western Europe, and there was no supply of precious metals from outside, for commerce had largely died out. So the king had no treasury from which to pay the many officials which an efficient government finds it necessary to employ to do its busi- ness and to keep order. He had to give his officers — ^the counts, dukes, and margraves (§ 513) — land instead of money, and their land was so extensive that they tended to become rulers them- selves within their own possessions. 519. New Invasions. In addition to the weakness and pov- erty of the kings there was another trouble, — and that the worst of all, — namely, the constant new invasions from all directions which kept all three parts of Charlemagne's empire, and England besides, in a constant state of terror and disaster. These in- vasions were almost as bad as- those which had occurred before Charlemagne's time ; they prevented western Europe from be- coming peaceful and prosperous, and serve to explain the dark period of two hundred years which followed the break-up of Charlemagne's empire. We know how the Mohammedans had got possession of northern Africa and then conquered Spain, and how Charles the Hammer had frustrated their attempt to add Gaul to their possessions (§502). But this rebuff did not end their attacks on southern Europe. They got control of the island of Sicily shortly after Charlemagne's death and then began to terrorize Italy and southern France. Even Rome itself suffered from them. The picture on page 342 shows how the people of Aries, in 342 History of Europe southern France, built their houses inside the old Roman amphi- theater in order to protect themselves from these Mohammedan invaders. On the east the German rulers had constantly to contend with the Slavs. Charlemagne had defeated them in his time, as men- tioned above, but they continued to make much trouble for two centuries at least. Then there were also the Hungarians, a Fig. 84. Amphitheater at Arles in the Middle Ages The great Roman amphitheater at Aries (built probably in the first or second century) is about fifteen hundred feet in circumference. During the eighth century, when the Mohammedans were invading southern France, it was con- verted into a fortress. Many of the inhabitants settled inside its walls, and towers were constructed, which still stand. The picture shows it before the dwellings were removed, about 1830 savage race from Asia, who ravaged Germany and northern Italy and whose wild horsemen penetrated even into the West Prankish kingdom. Finally they were driven back eastward and settled in the country now named after them — Hungary. 520. The Northmen. Lastly there came the Northmen, bold and adventurous pirates from the shores of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. These skillful and daring seamen not only attacked the towns on the coast of the West Frankish king- dom but made their way up the rivers, plundering and burning the villages and towns as far inland as Paris. In England we The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 343 shall find them, under the name of Danes, invading the country and forcing Alfred the Great to recognize them as the masters of northern England.^ So there was danger always and everywhere. If rival nobles were not fighting one another, there were foreign invaders of some kind devastating the country, bent on robbing, maltreat- ing, and enslaving the people whom they found in towns and villages and monasteries. No wonder that strong castles had to be built and the towns surrounded by walls ; even the mon- asteries, which were not of course respected by pagan invaders, were in some cases protected by fortifications. 521. Power and Independence of the Great Landowners. In the absence of a powerful king with a well-organized army at his back, each district was left to look out for itself. Doubtless many counts, margraves, bishops, and other great landed pro- prietors, who were gradually becoming independent princes, earned the loyalty of the people about them by taking the lead in defending the country against its invaders and by establishing fortresses as places of refuge when the community was hard pressed. These conditions serve to explain why such government as continued to exist during the centuries following the death of Charlemagne was necessarily carried on mainly not by the king and his officers but by the great landholders. II. The Medieval Castle 522. The Medieval Castle. As one travels through England, France, or Germany to-day he often comes upon the picturesque ruins of a medieval castle perched upon some rocky cliff and overlooking the surrounding country for miles. As he looks at the thick m»11s, often surrounded by a deep, wide trench once filled with water, and observes the great towers with their tiny windows, he cannot but wonder why so many of these forts were built and why people lived in them. 1 These Scandinavian pirates are often called vikings, from their habit of leaving theit long boats in the vik, which meant, in their language, "bay" or "inlet." 344 History of Europe Obviously, whoever lived there was in constant expectation of being attacked by an army, for otherwise he would never have gone to the trouble and expense of shutting himself up in those dreary, cold, stone rooms, behind walls from ten to twenty feet thick. We can picture the great hall of the castle crowded with the armed followers of the master of the house, ready to fight for him when he wished to make war on a neighbor ; or if he Fig. 85. Machine for hurling Stones This machine was a medieval device for throwing stones and bolts of iron, which were often heated red hot before they were fired. It consisted of a great bow {A) and the beam (B), which was drawn back by the windlass (C) turned by a crank applied at the point (D). Then a stone was put in the pocket {F) and the trigger pulled by means of the string {£). This let the beam fly up with a bang against the bumper, and the missile went sailing against the wall or over it among the defenders of the castle himself were attacked they would rush to the little windows and shoot arrows at those who tried to approach, or pour lighted pitch or melted lead down on their enemies. The Romans had been accustomed to build walls around their camps, and a walled camp was called castra ; and in such names as Rochester, Winchester, Gloucester, Worcester, we have re- minders of the fact that these towns were once fortresses. These camps, however, were all government fortifications and did not belong to private individuals. The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 345 But as the Roman Empire grew weaker and the disorder caused by the incoming barbarians became greater, the various counts and dukes and even other large landowners began to build forts for themselves, usually nothing more than a great round mound of earth surrounded by a deep ditch and a wall made of stakes interwoven with twigs. On the top of the mound was a wooden fortress, sur- rounded by a fence or pali- sade similar to the one at the foot of the mound. This was the type of "castle" that prevailed for several centuries after the death of Charlemagne. There are no remains of these wooden castles in existence, for they were not the kind of thing to last very long, and those that escaped being burned or otherwise destroyed rotted away in time. About the year iioo these wooden buildings began to be replaced by great square stone towers. This was due to the fact that the methods of attacking castles had so changed that wood was no longer a sufficient protection. The Romans when they besieged a walled town were accustomed to hurl great stones and heavy, pointed stakes at the walls and over them. They had Fig. 86. Tower of Beaugency This square donjon, not far from Orleans, France, is one of the very eariiest square towers that survive. It is a reproduction in stone of the earUer wooden donjons. It was built about iioo, just after the First Crusade began. It is about seventy-six by sixty-six feet in area and one hundred and fifteen feet high 346 History of Europe ingenious machines for this purpose. But the German barbarians who overran the Roman Empire were unaccustomed to these machines, which therefore had fallen into disuse. They were, however, introduced again from the Eastern Empire about the year 1 100, and this is the reason why stone castles began to be built about that time. A square tower (Fig. 86) can, however, be more easily attacked than a round tower, which has no corners, so a century later round towers became the rule and continued to be used until about the year 1500, when gunpowder and cannon had become so common that even the strongest castle could no longer be defended, for it could not withstand the force of cannon balls. The accompanying pictures (Figs. 87 and 88) give an idea of the stone castles built from about iioo to 1450 or 1500. In Fig. 85 we can see how a stone-throwing machine, such as was used before the invention of cannon, was constructed and operated. 523, General Arrangement of a Castle. When the castle was not on a steep rocky hill, which made it very hard to ap- proach, a deep ditch was constructed outside the walls, called the moat. This was filled with water and crossed by a bridge, which could be drawn up when the castle was attacked, leaving no way of getting across. The doorway was further protected by a grat- ing of heavy planks, called the portcullis, which could be quickly dropped down to close the entrance (Fig. 87). Inside the castle walls was the great donjon, or chief tower, which had several stories, although one would not suspect it from its plain exterior. There was sometimes also a fine hall, as at Coucy (Fig. 88), and handsome rooms for the use of the lord and his family, but some- times they lived in the donjon. There were buildings for storing supplies and arms, and usually a chapel. III. The Serfs and the Manor 524. The Vil, or Manor. Obviously the owner of the castle had to obtain supplies to support his family and servants and armed men. He could not have done this had he not possessed The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 347 "ftftrfi^^m extensive tracts of land. A great part of western Europe in the time of Charlemagne appears to have been divided into great estates or plantations. These medieval estates were called vils, or manors, and closely resembled the Roman villas which had existed in former centuries. The peasants who tilled the soil were called villains, a word derived from vil. A portion of the estate was reserved by the lord for his own use ; the rest of the plowed land was divided among the peasants, usually in long strips, of which each peasant had several scat- tered about the manor. 525. Condition of the Serfs. The peasants were generally serfs, who did not own their fields, but could not, on the other hand, be deprived of them so long as they worked for the lord and paid him cer- tain dues. They were at- tached to the land and went with it when it changed hands. The serfs were re- quired to till those fields which the lord reserved for himself and to gather in his crops. They might not marry without their lord's permission. Their wives and daughters helped with the indoor work of the manor house. In the women's buildings the women serfs engaged in spinning, weaving, sewing, baking, and brewing, thus producing clothes, food, and drink for the whole community. We get our clearest ideas of the position of the serfs from the ancient descriptions of manors, which give an exact account of what each member of a particular community owed to the lord. Fig. 87. Fortified Gate of a Medieval Castle Here one can see the way in which the entrance to a castle was carefully pro- tected : the mbat [A) ; the drawbridge (B); the portcullis (C) 348 History of Europe For example, we find that the abbot of Peterborough held a manor upon which Hugh Miller and seventeen other serfs, mentioned by name, were required to work for him three days in each week during the whole year, except one week at Christmas, one at Easter, and one at Whitsuntide. Each serf was to give the lord abbot one bushel of wheat and eighteen sheaves of oats, three hens, and one cock yearly, and five eggs at Easter. If he sold his horse for more than ten shillings, he was to give the said abbot fourpence. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the manor was its independence of the rest of the world. It produced nearly everything that its members needed and might almost have con- tinued to exist indefinitely without communication with those who lived beyond its bounds. Little or no money was necessary, for the peasants paid what was due to the lord in the form of labor and farm products. They also rendered the needful help to one another and found little occasion for buying and selling. There was almost no opportunity to better one's condition, and life must have gone on for generation after generation in a weary routine. The life was not merely monotonous, it was wretched. The food was coarse and there was little variety, as the peasants did not even take pains to raise fresh vegetables. The houses usually had but one room, which was ill-lighted by a single little window and had no chimney. 526. Barter replaced by Money Transactions. The increased use of money in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which came with the awakening trade and industry, tended to break up the manor. The old habit of trading one thing for another without the intervention of money began to disappear. As time went on, neither the lord nor the serf was satisfied with the old system, which had answered well enough in the time of Charlemagne. The serfs, on the one hand, began to obtain money by the sale of their products in the markets of neighboring towns. They soon found it more profitable to pay the lord a certain sum instead of working for him, for they could then turn their whole attention to their own farms. Fig. 88. Coucy-le-Chateau This castle of Coucy-le-Chateau was built by a vassal of the king of France in the thirteenth century. It was at the end of a hill and protected on all sides but one by steep cliffs. One can see the moat {A) and the double drawbridge and towers which protected the portal. The round donjon (B) was probably the largest in the world, one hundred feet in diameter and two hundred and ten feet high. At the base its walls were thirty-four feet thick. At the end of the inner court (C) was the residence of the lord (D). To the left of the court was a great hall and to the right were the quarters of the garrison. This ancient building was destroyed by the Germans during the recent World War 350 History of Europe The landlords, on the other hand, found it to their advantage to accept money in place of the services of their tenants. With this money the landlord could hire laborers to cultivate his fields and could buy the luxuries which were brought to his notice as commerce increased. So it came about that the lords gradually gave up their control over the peasants, and there was no longer very much difference between the serf and the freeman who paid a regular rent for his land. A serf might also gain his liberty by running away from his manor to a town. If he remained un- discovered, or was unclaimed by his lord for a year and a day, he became a freeman.^ These manors served to support their lords and left them free to busy themselves fighting with other landowners in the same position as themselves. IV. Feudal System 527. Gradual Development of Feudalism. Landholders who had large estates and could spare a portion of them were accus- tomed to grant some of their manors to another person on con- dition that the one receiving the land should swear to be true to the giver, should fight for him on certain occasions, and should lend him aid when particular difficulties arose. It was in this way that the relation of lord and vassal originated. The vassal who received the land pledged himself to be true to his lord, and the lord, on the other hand, not only let his vassal have the land but agreed to protect him when it was necessary. These arrange- ments between vassals and lords constituted what is called the feudal system. The feudal system, or feudalism, was not established by any decree of a king or in virtue of any general agreement between 1 The slow extinction of serfdom in western Europe appears to have begun as early as the twelfth century. A very general emancipation had taken place in France by the end of the thirteenth century, though there were still some serfs in France when the Revolution came in 1789. Germany was far more backward in this respect. We find the peasants revolting against their hard lot in Luther's time (1524-1525), and it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that all vestiges of serfdom disappeared in Prussia. The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 351 all the landowners. It grew up gradually and irregularly without any conscious plan on anyone's part, simply because it seemed convenient and natural under the circumstance's. The owner of vast estates found it to his advantage to parcel them out among vassals, that is to say, men who agreed to accompany him to war, guard his castle upon occasion, and assist him when he was put to any unusually great expense. Land granted upon the terms mentioned was called a fief. One who held a fief might himself become a lord by granting a portion of his fief to a vassal upon terms similar to those upon which he held his lands of his lord, or suzerain. The vassal of a vassal was called a subvassal. 528. 'Homage and Fidelity. The one proposing to become a vassal knelt before the lord and rendered him homage ^ by placing his hands between those of the lord and declaring himself the lord's " man " for such and such a fief. Thereupon the lord gave his vassal the kiss of peace and raised him from his kneeling pos- ture. Then the vassal swore an oath of fidelity upon the Bible, or some holy relic, solemnly binding himself to fulfill all his duties toward his lord. This act of rendering homage by placing the hands in those of the lord and taking the oath of fidelity was the first and most essential duty of the vassal (Fig. 89) . For a vassal to refuse to do homage for his fief when it changed hands amounted to a declaration of revolt and independence. 529. Feudal Obligations. The obligations of the vassal varied greatly. He was expected to join his lord when there was a military expedition on foot, although it was generally the case that the vassal need not serve at his own expense for more than forty days. Besides the military service due from the vassal to his lord, he was expected to attend the lord's court when summoned. There he sat with other vassals to hear and pronounce upon those cases in which his fellow vassals were involved. Under certain circumstances vassals had to make money pay- ments to their lord ; as, for instance, when the lord was put to extra expense by the necessity of knighting his eldest son or 1 " Homage" is derived from the Latin word /lamo, meaning "man." 352 History of Europe providing a dowry for his daughter, or when he was captured by an enemy and was held for ransom. Lastly, the vassal might have to entertafn his lord should he be passing his castle. There are amusingly detailed accounts in some of the feudal contracts of exactly how often the lord might come, how many followers he might bring, and what he should have to eat. 530. Various Kinds of Fiefs. There were fiefs of all kinds and of all grades of importance, from that of a duke or count, who held directly of the king and ex- ercised the powers of a prac- tically independent prince, down to the holding of the simple knight, whose bit of land, cultivated by peasants or serfs, was barely sufficient to enable him to support himself and provide the horse upon which he rode to perform his military service for his lord. It is essential to observe that the fief was not granted for a certain number of j^ears, or simply for the life of the grantee, to go back at his death to the owner. , On the con- trary, it became hereditary in the family of the vassal and passed down to the eldest son from one generation to another. So long as the vassal remained faithful to his lord and performed the stipulated services, and his successors did homage and continued to meet the conditions upon which the fief had originally been granted, neither the lord nor his heirs could rightfully regain possession of the land. The result was that little was left to the original owner of the fief except the services and dues to which the practical owner, Fig. 89. Ceremony of Homage This is a modern picture of the way in which the ceremony of homage took place. The new vassal is putting his hands be- tween those of his lord. To the left are retainers in their chain armor, and back of the lord and his lady is the jester, or court fool, whose business it is to amuse his master when he needs entertainment The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 353 the vassal, had agreed in receiving it. In short, the fief came really to belong to the vassal, and only the shadow of owner- ship remained in the hands of the lord. Nowadays the owner of land either makes some use of it himself or leases it for a definite period at a fixed money rent. But in the Middle Ages most of the land was held by those who neither really owned it nor paid a regular rent for it, and yet who could not be deprived of it by the nominal owner or his successors. 531. Subvassals of the King not under his Control. Ob- viously the great vassals who held directly of the king became almost independent of him as soon as their fiefs were granted to them and their descendants. Their vassals, since they had not done homage to the king himself, often paid little attention to his commands. From the ninth to the thirteenth century the king of France or the king of Germany did not rule over a great realm occupied by subjects who owed him obedience as their lawful sovereign, paid him taxes, and were bound to fight under his banner as the head of the State. As a feudal landlord himself, the king had a right to demand fidelity and certain services from those who were his vassals. But the great mass of the people over whom he nominally ruled, whether they belonged to the nobility or not, owed little to the king directly, because they lived upon the lands of other feudal lords more or less independent of him. V. Neighborhood Warfare in the Middle Ages 532. War the Law of the Feudal World. One has only to read a chronicle of the time to discover that brute force governed almost everything outside of the Church. The feudal obligations were not fulfilled except when the lord was sufficiently powerful to enforce them. The oath of fidelity was constantly broken, and faith was violated by both vassal and lord. • We may say that war, in all its forms, was the law of the feudal world. War formed the chief occupation of the restless nobles who held the land and were supposed to govern it. An enterprising vassal was likely to make war, first, upon each of 354 History of Europe the lords to whom he had done homage ; secondly, upon the bishops and abbots with whom he was brought into contact, and whose control he particularly disliked ; thirdly, upon his fellow vassals ; and lastly, upon his own vassals. The feudal bonds, in- stead of offering a guarantee of peace and concord, appear to have been a constant cause of violent ill-feeling and conflict. Everyone was bent upon profiting to the full by the permanent or temporary weakness of his neighbor. In theory, the lord could force his vassals to settle their dis- putes in an orderly manner before his court ; but often he was neither able nor inclined to bring about a peaceful adjustment, and he would frequently have found it hard to enforce the decisions of his own court. So the vassals were left to fight out their quarrels among themselves, and they found their chief interest in life in so doing, 533. Justs and Tourneys. Justs and tourneys were military exercises — play wars — to fill out the tiresome periods which occasionally intervened between real wars. They were, in fact, diminutive battles in which whole troops of hostile nobles some- times took part. These rough plays called down the condemna- tion of the popes and even of the kings. The latter, however, were much too fond of the sport themselves not to forget promptly their own prohibitions. 534. The " Truce of God." The horrors of this constant fight- ing led the Church to try to check it. About the year looo several Church councils in southern France decreed that the fighters were not to attack churches or monasteries, churchmen, pilgrims, mer- chants, and women, and that they must leave the peasant and his cattle and plow alone. Then Church councils began to issue what was known as the " Truce of God," which provided that all war- fare was to stop during Lent and various other holy days as well as on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of every week. During the truce no one was to attack anyone else. Those be- sieging castles were to refrain from any assaults during the period of peace, and people were to be allowed to go quietly to and fro on their business without being disturbed by soldiers. The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 355. If anyone failed to observe the truce, he was to be excommuni- cated by the Church — if he fell sick no Christian should dare to" visit him, and on his deathbed he was not to receive the comfort of a priest, and his soul was consigned to hell if he had refused to repent and mend his ways. It is hard to say how much good the Truce of God accomplished. Some of the bishops and even the heads of great monasteries liked fighting pretty well them- selves. It is certain that many disorderly lords paid little atten- tion to the truce and found three days a week altogether too short a time for plaguing their neighbors. 535. The Kings finally get the Better of the Feudal Lords. Yet we must not infer that the State ceased to exist altogether during the centuries of confusion that followed the break-up of Charlemagne's empire, or that it fell entirely apart into little local governments independent of each other. In the first place, a king always retained some of his ancient majesty. He might be weak and without the means to enforce his rights and to compel his more powerful subjects to meet their obligations to- ward him. Yet he was, after all, the king, solemnly anointed by the Church as God's representative on earth. He Was always something more than a feudal lord. The kings were destined to get the upper hand before many centuries in England, France, and Spain, and finally in Italy and Germany, and to destroy the castles behind whose walls their haughty nobles had long defied the royal power. QUESTIONS I. What led to the breaking up of Charlemagne's empire ? What is the importance of the Treaty of Mersen ? What were the chief obstacles that prevented a king in the early Middle Ages from really controlling an extensive realm ? What invasions occurred in western Europe after Charlemagne's time ? Tell what you can of the Northmen. II. Describe the changes that took place during the Middle Ages in the method of constructing castles. Describe the arrangement of a castle. III. What was a manor, and what Roman institution did it re- semble ? What was a serf ? What were the chief services that a serf 356 History of Europe owed to his master ? What effect did the increased use of money have upon serfdom ? IV. Define "lord," "vassal," "fief," "homage," "feudalism." What services did a vassal owe to his lord ? What effects did feudalism have upon the power of the kings ? V. What is meant by neighborhood warfare ? Why was it very common in the Middle Ages ? What was the Truce of God ? Note. This castle of Pierrefonds, not very far from Paris, was built by the brother of the king of France, about 1400. It has been very carefully restored in modem times and gives one a good idea of the way in which the feudal lords of that period lived. Within the walls are a handsome central courtyard and magnificent apartments. CHAPTER XXV ENGLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES I. The Norman Conquest 536. Importance of England in the History of Western Eu- rope. The country of western Europe whose history is of greatest interest to English-speaking peoples is, of course, England. From England the United States and the vast English colonies have inherited their language and habits of thought, much of their literature, and many of their laws and institutions. In this volume it will not, however, be possible to study England except in so far as it has played a part in the general development of Europe. This it has greatly influenced by its commerce and industry and colonies, as well as by the example it was the first to set in modern times of permitting the people to share with the king in the government. The conquest of the island of Britain by the Angles and Saxons has already been spoken of, as well as the conversion of these pagans to Christianity by Augustine and his monks (§§ 494-496). The several kingdoms founded by the invaders were brought under the overlordship of the southern kingdom of Wessex by Egbert, a contemporary of Charlemagne. 537. The Danes and Alfred the Great (87i-9oi). But no sooner had the long-continued invasions of the Angles and Saxons come to an end and the country been partially unified than the Northmen (or Danes, as the English called them), who were ravaging France (§ 520), began to make incursions into England. Before long they had conquered a large district north of the Thames and were making permanent settlements. They were de- feated, however, in a great battle by Alfred the Great, the first English king of whom we have any satisfactory knowledge. He forced the Danes to accept Christianity and established, as the 357 358 History of Europe boundary between their settlements and his own kingdom of Wessex, a Hne running from London across the island to Chester. 538. England from Alfred to the Norman Conquest (901-1066). But more Danes kept coming, and the Danish in- vasions continued for more than a century after Alfred's death (901). Sometimes they were bought off by a money payment called the Danegeld, which was levied on the people of England like any other tax. But finally a Danish king (Cnut) succeeded in making himself king of England in 1017. This Danish dynasty maintained itself, however, for only a few years. Then a last weak Saxon king, Edward the Confessor, reigned for twenty years. Upon his death one of the greatest events in all English history occurred. The most powerful of the vassals of the king of France crossed the English Channel, conquered England, and made him- self king. This was William, Duke of Normandy. 539. France in the Middle Ages. We have seen how Charle- magne's empire broke up, and how the feudal lords became so powerful that it was difficult for the king to control them. The West Prankish kingdom, which we shall hereafter call France, was divided among a great many dukes and counts, who built strong castles, gathered armies and fought against one another, and were the terror alike of priest, merchant, and laborer. (See above, §§ 517-521 and 532-534.) In the tenth century certain great fiefs, like Normandy, Brit- tany, Flanders, and Burgundy, developed into little nations, each under its line of able rulers. Each had its own particular customs and culture, some traces of which may still be noted by the traveler in France. These little feudal states were created by certain families of nobles who possessed exceptional energy or statesmanship. By conquest, purchase, or marriage they increased the number of their fiefs, and they insured their control over their vassals by promptly destroying the castles of those who refused to meet their obligations. 540. Normandy. Of these subnations none w§s more impor- tant or interesting than Normandy. The Northmen had been the scourge of those who lived near the North Sea for many years England in the Middle Ages 359 before one of their leaders, Rollo (or Hrolf), agreed in 911 to accept from the West Prankish king a district on the coast, north of Brittany, where he and his followers might peacefully settle. Rollo assumed the title of Duke of the Normans and introduced the Christian religion among his people. For a considerable time the newcomers kept up their Scandinavian habits and language. Gradually, however, they appropriated such culture as their neighbors possessed, and by the twelfth century their capital, Rouen, was one of the most enlightened cities of Europe. Nor- mandy became a source of infinite perplexity to the French kings when, in 1066, Duke William added England to his possessions and the title of " the Conqueror " to his name ; for he thereby became so powerful that his overlord, the king of France, could hardly hope to control the Norman dukes any longer. 541. William lays Claim to England. William of Normandy claimed that he was entitled to the English crown, but we are somewhat in the dark as to the basis of his claim. There is a story that he had visited the court of Edward the Confessor and had become his vassal on condition that, should Edward die childless, he was to declare William his successor. However this may be, Harold of Wessex assumed the crown upon Edward's death and paid no attention to William's demand that he should surrender it. William thereupon appealed to the Pope, promising that if he came into possession of England he would see that the English clergy submitted to the authority of the Roman bishop. Conse- quently the Pope, Alexander II, condemned Harold and blessed in advance any expedition that William might undertake to secure his rights. The conquest of England therefore took on the character of a sort of holy war, and as the expedition had been well advertised, many adventurers flocked to William's standard. During the spring and summer of 1066 ships were building in the various Norman harbors for the purpose of carrying William's army across he Channel. 542. Battle of Hastings (October, 1066). The English oc- cupied the hill of Senlac, west of Hastings, and awaited the 36o History of Europe Fig. 90. Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen William the Conqueror married a lady, Matilda, who was remotely related to him. This was against the rules of the Church, and he took pains to get the Pope's sanction to his marriage. But he and his queen were afraid that they might have committed a sin in marrying, so William built a monastery for men and Matilda a nunnery for women as a penance. The churches of these monasteries still stand in the Norman city of Caen. William was buried in his church. The picture represents the interior of Matilda's church and is a good example of what the English called the Norman style of architecture to induce a number of influential nobles agree to accept him as king, and London On Christmas Day, 1066, he was chosen Westminster Abbey and duly crowned. coming of the enemy. They had few horses and fought on foot with their battle-axes. The Normans had horses, which they had brought across in their ships, and were supplied with bows and arrows. The Eng- lish fought bravely and repulsed the Nor- mans as they tried to press up the hillside. But at last the Eng- lish were thrown into confusion, and King Harold was killed by a Norman arrow which pierced his eye. William thus de- stroyed the English army in this famous battle of Hastings, and the rightful Eng- lish king was dead. But the Norman duke was not satisfied to take possession of England as a con- queror merely. In a few weeks he managed and several bishops to opened its gates to him. king by an assembly in England in the Middle Ages 361 543. William's Policy in England. William introduced the Norman feudalism to which he was accustomed, but took good care that it should not weaken his power. The English who had refused to join him before the battle of Hastings were declared to have forfeited their lands, but were permitted to keep them upon condition of receiving them back from the new king as his vassals. The lands of those who actually fought against him at Hastings, or in later rebellions, including the great estates of Harold's family., were seized and distributed among his faithful followers, both Norman and English, though naturally the Nor- mans among them far outnumbered the English. William declared that he did not propose to change the Eng- lish customs but to govern as Edward the Confessor, the last Saxon king, had done. He maintained the Witenagemot, a coun- cil made up of bishops and nobles, whose advice the Saxon kings had sought in all important matters. But he was. a man of too much force to submit to the control of his people. He avoided giving to any one person a great many estates in a single region, so that no one should become inconveniently powerful. Finally, in order to secure the support of the smaller landholders and to prevent combinations against him among the greater ones, he re- quired every landowner in England to take an oath of fidelity directly to him, instead of having only a few great landowners as vassals who had their own subvassals under their own control, as in France (§ 531). 544. General Results of the Norman Conquest. It is clear that the Norman Conquest was not a simple change of kings, but that a new element was added to the English people. We cannot tell how many Normans actually emigrated across the Channel, but they evidently came in considerable numbers, and their in- fluence upon the English habits and government was very great. A century after William's conquest the whole body of the nobil- ity, the bishops, abbots, and government officials, had become practically all Norman. Besides these, the architects who built the castles and fortresses, the cathedrals and abbeys, came from Normandy. Merchants from the Norman cities of Rouen and 362 History of Europe Caen settled in London and other English cities, and weavers from Flanders in various towns and even in the country. For a short time these newcomers remained a separate people, but by the year 1200 they had become for the most part indistinguishable from the great mass of English people amongst whom they had come. They had nevertheless made the people of England more energetic, active-minded, and varied in their occupations and in- terests than they had been before the conquest, « II. Henry II and the Plantagenets 545. Civil War ending in the Accession of Henry II (1154-1189). William the Conqueror was followed by his sons. Upon the death of these the country went through a terrible period of civil war, for some of the nobility supported the Conqueror's grandson Stephen, and some his granddaughter Matilda. After the death of Stephen, when Henry II, Matilda's son,^ was finally recognized in 11 54 by all as king, he found the kingdom in a melancholy state. The nobles had taken advantage of the preva- lent disorder to erect castles without royal permission and to establish themselves as independent rulers, and many disorderly hired soldiers had been brought over from the Continent to sup- port the rivals for the throne. 546. Henry II. Henry II at once adopted vigorous measures. He destroyed the illegally erected fortresses, sent off the foreign soldiers, and deprived many earls who had been created by Stephen and Matilda of their titles. Henry's task was a difficult one. He had need of all his tireless energy and quickness of mind to restore order in England and at the same time rule the wide realms on the Continent which he had either inherited or gained through his marriage with a French heiress. In order to avoid all excuse for the private warfare which was such a persistent evil on the Continent, he undertook to improve and reform the law courts. He arranged that his judges should make regular circuits throughout the country, so that they might 1 See genealogical table below, p. 365. England in the Middle Ages 363 try cases on the spot at least once a year. We find, too, the be- ginning of our grand jury in a body of men in each neighborhood who were to be duly sworn in, from time to time, and should then bring accusations against such malefactors as had come to their knowledge. 547. Trial by Jury. As for the "petty," or smaller, jury of twelve, which actually tried the accused, its origin and history are obscure. The juries of .^ _ Henry II left the verdict '- ' 1^' > f^i^^^^^e^JJ. for Heaven to pronounce in the ordeal ; but a cen- tury later we find the jury of twelve itself rendering verdicts. The plan of delegating to twelve men the duty of deciding on the guilt or innocence of a suspected person was very different from the earlier systems. It resem- bled neither the Roman trial, where the judges made the decision, nor the medieval compurga- tion and ordeals (§472). The decisions of Henry's judges were mainly drawn from old English custom, instead of from Roman law as in France, and they became the basis of the common law which is still used in all English-speaking countries. 548. Thomas Becket and Henry II. Henry's reign was em- bittered by the famous struggle with Thomas Becket, which illus- trates admirably the peculiar dependence of the monarchs of his day upon the churchmen. Becket was born in London and be- came a churchman, but he grew up in the service of the king and Fig. 91. Norman Gateway at Bristol, England This beautiful gateway was originally the entrance to a monastery, begun in 1142. It is one of the finest examples of the Norman style of building to be seen in England 364 History of Europe Fig. 92. Choir of Canterbury Cathedral The choir of Canterbury Cathedral was destroyed by fire four years after Thomas Becket was murdered there. The picture shows how it was rebuilt under Henry 11 during the years 1 175-1184. The picture shows a very important change that was taking place in architecture. The two lower rows of arches are the round kind that had been used up to that time, while the upper row shows how the pointed arch was coming in (see below, §§ 656-658) was able to aid Henry in gaining the throne. It ap- peared to Henry that there could be no better head for the English clergy than this loyal Becket ; he therefore determined to make him Archbishop of Canterbury. In securing the election of Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry intended to insure his own complete control of the Church. He proposed to punish church- men who committed crimes, like other offenders, to make the bishops meet all the feudal obligations, and to prevent appeals to the Pope. Becket, however, immedi- ately gave up the gay life he had previously led, and opposed every effort of the king to reduce the independ- ence of the Church. After a haughty assertion of the supremacy of the Church over the king's government (see below, §§ 592-593), Thomas fled from the wrath- ful and disappointed mon- arch to France and the protection of the Pope. In spite of a patched- up reconciliation with the king, Becket proceeded to England in the Middle Ages 365 excommunicate some of the great English prelates and, as Henry believed, was conspiring to rob his son of the crown. In a fit of anger Henry exclaimed among his followers, ''Is there no one to avenge me of this miserable churchman ? " Un- fortunately certain knights took the rash expression literally, and Becket was murdered in his own cathedral of Canterbury, whither he had returned. The king really had no wish to resort to violence, and his sorrow and remorse when he heard of the dreadful deed, and his terror at the consequences, were most genuine. The Pope proposed to excommunicate him. Henry, however, made peace with the papal legates by the solemn as- sertion that he had never wished the death of Thomas and by promising to return to Canterbury all the property which he had confiscated, to send money to aid in the capture of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem, and to undertake a crusade himself. 549. The French Possessions of the Plantagenets. Although Henry II was one of the most important kings in English history, he spent a great part of his time across the Channel in his French possessions. A glance at the accompanying map will show that rather more than half of his realms lay to the south of the Eng- lish Channel. He controlled more territory in France than the French king himself. As great-grandson of William the Con- queror^ he inherited the duchy of Normandy and the suzerainty 1 William the Conqueror, king of England (1066-1087) William II (Ruf us) Henry I (1100-1135), Adela, m. Stephen, (1087-1100) m. Matilda, daughter count of Blois of Malcolm, king 1 of Scotland Stephen (1135-1 154) I Matilda (d. 1167), m. Geoffrey Plantagenet, count of Anjou Henry II (1154-1189), the first Plantagenet king, m. Eleanor of Aquitaine I 1 1 Richard Geoffrey (d. 1186) John (1189-1199) I (1199-1216) Arthur | Henry III (1216-1272) 366 History of Europe over Brittany, His mother, Matilda, had married the count of Anjou and Maine, so that Henry II inherited these fiefs along with those which had belonged to William the Conqueror. Lastly, he had himself married Eleanor, heiress of the dukes of Guienne, and in this way doubled the extent of his French lands. Henry II and his successors are known as the '' Plantagenets," owing to the habit that his father, the count of Anjou, had of wearing a bit of broom (Latin planta genista) in his helmet. So it came about that the French kings beheld a new State, under an able and energetic ruler, developing within their borders and including more than half the territory over which they were supposed to rule. A few years before Henry II died, an am- bitious monarch, Philip Augustus, ascended the French throne and made it the chief business of his life to get control of his feudal vassals, above all, the Plantagenets. Henry divided his French possessions among his three sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John ; but father and sons were engaged in constant disputes with one another, as none of them were easy people to get along with. Philip Augustus took advantage of these constant quarrels of the brothers among themselves and with their father. These quarrels were most fortunate for the French king, for had the Plantagenets held together they might have annihilated the royal house of France, whose narrow dominions their possessions closed in on the west and south. 550. Richard the Lion-Hearted. So long as Henry II lived there was little chance of expelling the Plantagenets from France ; but with the accession of his reckless son, Richard the Lion- Hearted, the prospects of the French king brightened wonder- fully. Richard is one of the most famous of medieval knights, but he was a very poor ruler. He left his kingdom to take care of itself while he went upon a crusade to the Holy Land (see below, § 6ii). He persuaded Philip Augustus to join him; but Richard was too overbearing and masterful, and Philip too am- bitious, to make it possible for them to agree for long. The king of France, who was physically delicate, was taken ill on the way and was glad of the excuse to return home and brew trouble for The Plantagenet Possessions in England and France •568 History of Europe his powerful vassal. When Richard himself returned, after sev- eral years of romantic but fruitless adventure, he found himself involved in a war with Philip Augustus, in the midst of which he died. 551. John loses the French Possessions of his House. Richard's younger brother John, who enjoys the reputation of being the most despicable of English kings, speedily gaVe Philip a good excuse for seizing a great part of the Plantagenet lands. John was suspected of conniving at the brutal murder of his nephew Arthur (the son of Geoffrey^). He was also guilty of the less serious offense of carrying off and marrying a lady betrothed to one of his own vassals. Philip Augustus, as John's suzerain, summoned him to appear at the French court to answer the latter charge. Upon John's refusal to appear or to do homage for his continental possessions, Philip caused his court to issue a decree confiscating almost all of the Plantagenet lands, leaving to the English king only the southwest corner of France. Philip found little difficulty in possessing himself of Normandy itself, which showed no reluctance to accept him in place of the Plantagenets. Six years after Richard's death the English kings had lost all their continental fiefs except Guienne. It should be observed that Philip, unlike his ancestors, was no longer merely suzerain of the new conquests, but was himself duke of Normandy and count of Anjou, of Maine, etc. The boundaries of his domain — that is, the lands which he himself controlled directly as feudal lord — now extended to the sea. St. Louis, Philip's successor, arranged with John's successor in 1258 that the English king should do him homage for Guienne, Gascony, and Poitou, and should surrender every claim on all the rest of the former possessions of the Plantagenets. So it came about that the English kings continued to hold a portion of France for several hundred years. 552. John of England becomes a Vassal of the Pope. John not only lost Normandy and other territories which had belonged 1 Geoffrey, John's next older brother, who would naturally have succeeded Richard, died in 1186. England in the Middle Ages 369 to the earlier Norman kings but he actually consented to become the Pope's vassal, receive England as a fief from the papacy, and pay tribute to Rome. This strange proceeding came about in this wise : The monks of Canterbury had (1205) ventured to choose an archbishop — who was at the same time their abbot (§ 496) — without consulting King John. Their appointee hastened off to Rome to gain the Pope's confirmation, while the irritated John forced the monks to hold another election and make his treasurer archbishop. The Pope at that time was no less a person than Innocent III, one of the greatest of medieval rulers. Innocent rejected both the men who had been elected, sent for a new depu- tation of monks from Canterbury, and bade them choose Stephen Langton, a man of great ability. John then angrily drove the monks of Canterbury out of the kingdom. Innocent replied by placing England under the interdict ; that is to say, he ordered the clergy to close all the churches and suspend all public services — a very terrible thing to the people of the time. John was excommunicated, and the Pope threatened that unless the king submitted to his wishes he would depose him and give his crown to Philip Augustus of France. As Philip made haste to collect an army for the conquest of England, John humbly submitted to the Pope in 12 13. Jle went so far as to hand England over to Innocent III and receive it back as a fief, thus becoming the vassal of the Pope. He agreed also to send a yearly tribute to Rome. III. The Great Charter and the Beginnings of Parliament 553. The Granting of the Great Charter (1215). We must now turn to another very important event in John's reign — the drawing up of the Great Charter of English liberties. When, in 12 13, John proposed to lead his English vassals across the water in order to attempt to reconquer his lost possessions in France, they refused to accompany him on the ground that their feudal obligations did not bind them to fight outside of their 370 History of Europe country. Moreover, they showed a lively discontent with John's tyranny and his neglect of those limits of the kingly power which several of the earlier Norman kings had solemnly recognized. In 12 14 a number of the barons met and took a solemn oath that they would compel the king, by arms if necessary, to sign a charter containing the things which, according to English traditions, a king might not do. As John would not agree to do this, it proved necessary to get together an army and march against him. The insurgent nobles met him at Runnymede, not far from London. Here on the 15th of June, 12 15, they forced him to swear to ob- serve what they believed to be the rights of his subjects, which they had carefully written out. 554. Provisions of the Charter. The Great Charter is per- haps the most famous document in the history of government. The nobles who concluded this great treaty with a tyramious ruler saw that it was to their interest to have the rights of the church- men and of the small class of other freemen safeguarded as well as their own. The king promises to observe the rights of his vassals, and the vassals in turn agree to observe the rights of their vassals. The towns are not to be oppressed. The merchant is not to be deprived of his goods for small offenses, nor the farmer of his wagon and implements. The king is to impose no tax, be- sides the three feudal aids,^ except with the consent of the Great Council of the nation. This was to include the prelates and greater barons and all the king's vassals. There is no more notable clause in the Charter than that which provides that no freeman is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, unless he be immediately sent before a court of his peers for trial. To realize the importance of this we must recollect that in France, down to 1789, — nearly six hundred years later, — the king exercised such unlimited powers that he could order the arrest of anyone he pleased and could imprison him for any length of time without bringing him to 1 These three regular feudal dues were payments made when the lord knighted his eldest son, gave his eldest daughter in marriage, or had been captured and was waiting to be ransomed. England in the Middle Ages 371 trial or even informing him of the nature of his offense. The Great Charter provided further that the king should permit mer- chants to move about freely and should observe the privileges of the various towns ; nor were his officers longer to be allowed to exercise despotic powers over those under them. It must be remembered, however, that the barons, who forced the Charter on the king, had their own interests especially in mind. The nobles, churchmen, merchants, and other freemen made up only about a sixth of the population, and the Charter had little or nothing to say of serfs or villains who formed the great mass of the English people at that time. They could still be victimized as before by their masters, the lords of the manor. But in later centuries, when the serfs had become free, the Charter could be appealed to in support of the commons in general against attempts of the ruler to oppress them. 555. Permanent Value of the Charter. In spite of his solemn confirmation of the Charter, John, with his accustomed treachery, made an unsuccessful effort to break his promises in the Charter ; but neither he nor his successors ever succeeded in getting rid of the document. Later there were times when the English kings evaded its provisions and tried to rule as absolute monarchs. But the people always sooner or later bethought them of the Charter, which thus continued to form a barrier against permanent despotism in England. 556. Origin of the English Parliament. During the long reign of John's son, Henry III, Parliament began to grow up, an insti- tution which has not only played a most important role in English history but has also served as the model for similar bodies in almost every civilized state in the world. The Great Council of the Norman kings, like the older Wite- nagemot of Saxon times, was a meeting of nobles, bishops, and abbots, which the king summoned from time to time to give him advice and aid and to sanction important undertakings. During Henry Ill's reign its meetings became more frequent and its dis- cussions more vigorous than before, and the name Parliament began to be applied to it. 372 History of Europe In 1265 a famous Parliament was held, where a most impor- tant new class of members — the commons — were present, who were destined to give it its future greatness. In addition to the nobles and prelates, two simple knights were summoned from each county and two citizens from each of the more flourishing towns to attend and take part in the discussions. Edward I (son of Henry III) definitely adopted this innovation. He doubtless called in the representatives of the towns because the townspeople were becoming rich and he wished to have an opportunity to ask them to make grants of money to meet the ex- penses of the government. He also wished to obtain the approval of all the upper classes when he determined upon important meas- ures affecting the whole realm. Ever since the so-called " Model Parliament " of 1295 the commons, or representatives of the " free- men," have always been included along with the clergy and no- bility when the national assembly of England has been summoned. 557. Growth of the Powers of Parliament. The Parliament early took the stand that the king must agree to " redress of grievances" before it would grant him any money. This meant that the king had to promise to remedy any acts of himself or his officials of which Parliament complained before it would agree to let him raise the taxes. Instead of following the king about and meeting wherever he might happen to be, the Parliament from the time of Edward I began to hold its sessions in the city of West- minster, now a part of London, where it still continues to meet. Under Edward's successor, Edward II, Parliament solemnly declared in 1322 that important matters relating to the king and his heirs, the state of the realm and of the people, should be con- sidered and determined upon by the king " with the assent of the prelates, earls and barons, and the commonalty [that is, com- mons] of the realm." Five years later Parliament showed its power by deposing the inefficient king, Edward II, and declaring his son, Edward III, the rightful ruler of England. The new king, who was carrying on an expensive war with France, needed much money and consequently summoned Par- liament every year, and, in order to encourage its members to I England in the Middle Ages 373 grant him money, he gratified Parliament by asking its advice and listening to its petitions. He passed no new law without adding '' by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and of the commons." 558. House of Lords and House of Commons. At this time the separation of the two houses of Parliament took place, and ever since the " lords spiritual and temporal " — that is, the bishops and higher nobles — have sat by themselves in the House of Lords ; and the members of the House of Commons, including the country gentlemen (knights) and the representatives elected by the more important towns, have met by themselves. Parliament thus made up is really a modern, not a medieval, institution, and we shall hear much of it later. IV. Wales and Scotland 559. Extent of the King of England's Realms before Ed- ward I (1272-1307). The English kings who preceded Edward I had ruled over only a portion of the island of Great Britain. To the west of their kingdom lay the mountainous district of Wales, inhabited by that remnant of the original Britons which the Angles and Saxons had been unable to conquer (§495). To the north of England was the kingdom of Scotland, which was quite inde- pendent, except for an occasional recognition by the Scotch kings of the English kings as their feudal superiors. Edward I, how- ever, succeeded in conquering Wales permanently and Scotland temporarily. 560. Edward I conquers Wales. For centuries a border warfare had been carried on between the English and the Welsh. When Edward I came to the throne he demanded that Llewellyn, Prince of Wales (as the head of the Welsh clans was called), should do him homage. Llewellyn, who was a man of ability and energy, refused the king's summons, and Edward marched into Wales. Two campaigns were neces- sary before the Welsh finally succumbed. Llewellyn was killed (1282), and with him expired the independence of the Welsh 374 History of Europe people. Edward divided the country into shires and introduced English laws and customs, but his policy of conciliation was so successful that there was but a single rising in the country for a whole century. He later presented his son to the Welsh as their prince, and from that time down to the present the title of " Prince of Wales" has usually been conferred upon the heir to the English throne. 561. Edward intervenes in Scotch Affairs. The conquest of Scotland proved a far more difficult matter than that of Wales. When the Angles and Saxons conquered Britain some of them wandered north as far as the Firth of Forth and occupied the so-called Lowlands of Scotland. The mountainous region to the north, known as the Highlands, continued to be held by wild tribes related to the Welsh and Irish and talking a language similar to theirs, napiely, Gaelic. There was constant warfare between the older inhabitants themselves and between them and the newcomers from Germany, but both Highlands and Lowlands were finally united under a line of Scotch kings, who moved their residence down to Edinburgh, which, with its fortress, became their chief town. It was natural that the language of the Scotch Lowlands should be English, but in the mountains the Highlanders to this day continue to talk the ancient Gaelic of their forefathers. It was not until the time of Edward I that the long series of troubles between England and Scotland began. The dying out of the old line of Scotch kings in 1290 was followed by the appearance of a number of claimants to the crown. In order to avoid civil war Edward was asked to decide who should be king. He agreed to make the decision on condition that the one whom he selected should hold Scotland as a jiej from the English king. This ar- rangement was adopted, and the crown was given to John Baliol. But Edward unwisely made demands upon the Scots which aroused their anger, and their king renounced his homage to the king of England. The Scotch, moreover, formed an alliance with Edward's enemy, Philip the Fair of France ; thenceforth, in all the difficul- ties between England and France, the English kings had always England in the Middle Ages 375 to reckon with the disaffected Scotch, who were glad to aid England's enemies on the other side of the English Channel. 562. Edward attempts to incorporate Scotland with Eng- land. Edward marched in person against the Scotch (1296) and speedily put down what he regarded as a rebellion. He declared that Baliol had forfeited his fief through treason, and that con- sequently the English king had become the real ruler of Scot- land. He emphasized his claim by carrying off the famous Stone Fig. 93. Conway Castle Edward built this fine castle in 1284 on the north coast of Wales to keep the Welsh in check. Its walls are twelve to fifteen feet in thickness. There were buildings inside, including a great banqueting hall one hundred and thirty feet long of Scone (now in Westminster Abbey), upon which the kings of Scotland had been crowned for ages. Continued resistance led Edward to attempt to incorporate Scotland with England in the same way that he had treated Wales. This was the beginning of three hundred years of intermittent war between England and Scotland, which ended only when a Scotch king, James VI, succeeded to the English throne in 1603 as James I. That Scotland was able to maintain her independence was mainly due to Robert Bruce, a national hero who succeeded in bringing both the nobility and the people under his leadership. Edward I died, old and worn out, in 1307, when on his way 376 History of Europe north to put down a rising under Bruce, and left the task of deaHng with the Scotch to his incompetent son, Edward II. The Scotch acknowledged Bruce as their king and decisively defeated Edward II in the great battle of Bannockburn (13 14), the most famous conflict in Scottish history. Nevertheless, the English refused to acknowledge the independence of Scotland until forced to do so in 1328. 563. The Scotch Nation differs from the English. In the course of their struggles with England the Scotch people of the Lowlands had become more closely welded together, and the in- dependence of Scotland, although it caused much bloodshed, first and last, served to develop certain permanent differences between the little Scotch nation and the rest of the English race. No Scotchman to the present day likes to be mistaken for an English- man. The peculiarities of the language and habits of the people north of the Tweed have been made familiar to all readers of good literature by the novels of Sir Walter Scott and Robert L. Stevenson and by the poems of Robert Burns. V. The Hundred Years' War 564. Edward III claims the French Crown. England and France were both becoming strong states in the early fourteenth century. The king in both of these countries had got the better of the feudal lords, and a parliament had been established in France as well as in England, in which the townspeople as well as the clergy and nobility were represented. But both countries were set back by a long series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years' War, which was especially disastrous to France. The trouble arose as follows : It will be remembered that King John of England had lost all the French possessions of the Plantagenets except the duchy of Guienne (§ 551). For this he had to do homage to the king of France and become his vassal. This arrangement lasted for many years, but in the time of Edward III the old French line of kings died out, and Edward declared that he himself was the rightful England in the Middle Ages 377 ruler of all France because his mother, Isabella, was a sister of the last king of the old line.^ 565. Edward III invades France. The French lawyers, how- ever, decided that Edward had no claim to the French throne and that a very distant relative of the last king was the rightful heir to the crown (Philip VI). Edward, nevertheless, maintained that he was rightfully king of France. He added the French emblem of the lilies (fleur-de-lis) to the lions on the English coat of arms (Fig. 94). In 1346 he landed in Normandy with an English army, devastated the country, and marched up the Seine toward Paris. He met the troops of Philip at Crecy, where a celebrated battle was fought, in which the English with their long bows and well- directed arrows put to rout the French knights. Ten years later the English made another incursion into France and again de- feated the French cavalry. The French king (John II) was himself captured and carried off to London. 1 The French kings during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries : Louis IX (St. Louis) (1226-1270) Philip III (1270-1285) I Philip IV, the Fair (1285-1314) Charles of Valois, ancestor of the house of Valois Louis X (1314-1316) daughter John (1316), an infant who died when but a few days old I I 1 Isabella, m. Phihp V Charles IV Edward II (1316-1322) (1322-1328) Edward daughters daughter III of Philip VI England (1328-1350) John II (1350-1364) Charles V Philip, (1364-1380) founder of • I the power- Charles VI ful house (1380-1422) of Bur- I gundy- Charles VII (1422-1461) Louis XI (1461-1483) Charles VIII (1483-1498) 378 History of Europe 566. The French Parliament (Estates General). The French Parliament, commonly called the Estates General, came together to consider the unhappy state of affairs. The members from the towns were more numerous than the representatives of the clergy and nobility. A great list of reforms was drawn up. These pro- vided among other things that the Estates General should meet regularly even when the king failed to summon them, and that the collection and expenditure of the public revenue should be no longer entirely under the control of the king but should be super- vised by the representatives of the people. The city of Paris rose in support of the revolutionary Es- tates, but the violence of its allies discredited rather than helped the movement, and France was soon glad to accept the unrestricted rule of its king once more. 567. Contrast between the Estates General and the English Parliament. The history of the Estates General forms a curious contrast to that of the English Parliament, which was laying the foundation of its later power during this very period. While the French king occasionally summoned the Estates when he needed money, he did so only in order that their approbation of new taxes might make it easier to collect them. He never admitted that he had not the right to levy taxes if he wished without consulting his subjects. In England, on the other hand, the kings ever since the time of Edward I had repeatedly agreed that no new taxes should be imposed without the consent of Parliament. Edward II, as we have seen, had gone farther and accepted the representatives of the people as his advisers in all important matters touching Fig. 94. Royal Arms of Edward III On the upper left-hand quarter and the lower right-hand are the lilies as represented in heraldry England in the Middle Ages 379 the welfare of the realm. While the French Estates gradually sank into insignificance, the English Parliament soon learned to grant no money until the king had redressed the grievances which it pointed out, and thus it insured its influence over the king's policy. 568. Edward III finds it Impossible to conquer France. Edward III found it impossible, however, to conquer France, and Charles V, the successor of the French king John II, managed before Edward died in 1377 to get back almost all the lands that the English had occupied. For a generation after the death of Edward III the war with France was almost discontinued. France had suffered a great deal more than England. In the first place, all the fighting had been done on her side of the Channel, and in the second place, the soldiers, who found themselves without occupation, wandered about in bands maltreating and plundering the people. 569. The Bubonic Plague of 1348-1349 (the "Black Death"). The horrors of war had been increased by the deadly bubonic plague which appeared in Europe early in 1348. In April it had reached Florence ; by August it was devastating France and Germany ; it then spread over England from the southwest northward, attacking every part of the country during the year 1349. This disease, like other terrible epidemics, such as small- pox and cholera, came from Asia. Those who were stricken with it usually died in two or three days. It is impossible to tell what proportion of the population perished. Reports of the time say that in one part of France but one tenth of the people survived, in another but one sixteenth ; and that for a long time five hun- dred bodies were carried from the great hospital of Paris every day. A careful estimate shows that in England toward one half of the population died. At the Abbey of Newenham only the abbot and two monks were left alive out of twenty-six. There were constant complaints that certain lands were no longer of any value to their lords because the tenants were all dead. 570. Conditions of English Labor. In England the growing discontent among the farming classes may be ascribed partly to the results of the great pestilence and partly to the new 380 History of Europe taxes which were levied in order to prolong the disastrous war with France. Up to this time the majority of those who cul- tivated the land were villains, or serfs, who belonged to some particular manor, paid stated dues to their lord, and performed definite services for him. Hitherto there had been relatively few farm hands who might be hired and who sought employment anywhere that they could get it. The Black Death, by greatly decreasing the number of laborers, raised wages and served to increase the importance of the unattached laborer. Conse- quently he not only demanded higher wages than ever before but readily deserted one employer when another offered him more money^ This appeared very shocking to those who were accustomed to the traditional rates of payment, and the government undertook to keep down wages by prohibiting laborers from asking more than had been customary during the years that preceded the pestilence. Every laborer, when offered work at the established wages, was ordered to accept it on pain of imprisonment. The first "Statute of Laborers" was issued in 1351 ; but apparently it was not obeyed, and similar laws were enacted from time to time for a century. 571. Breaking up of the Manors. The old manor system (§§524-526) was breaking up. Many of the laboring class in the country no longer held lands as serfs but moved from place to place and made a living by working for wages. The villain, as the serf was called in England, began to regard the dues which he had been accustomed to pay to his lord as unjust. A petition to Parliament in 1377 asserts that the villains are refusing to pay their customary services to their lords or to acknowledge the obligations which they owe as serfs. 572. The Peasant Revolt of 1381. In 1381 the peasants rose in revolt against the taxes levied on them to carry on the hopeless war with France. They burned some of the houses of the nobles and of the rich bishops and abbots and took particular pains to see that the registers were destroyed which were kept by the various lords enumerating the obligations of their serfs. England in the Middle Ages 381 573. Final Disappearance of Serfdom in England. Although the peasants met with little success, serfdom decayed rapidly. It became more and more common for the serf to pay his dues to the lord in money instead of working for him, and in this way he lost one of the chief characteristics of a serf. The landlord then either hired men to cultivate the fields which he reserved for his own use, or rented the land to tenants. These tenants were not in a position to force their fellow tenants on the. manor to pay the full dues which had formerly been exacted by the lord. Sixty or seventy years after the Peasants' War the English rural population had in one way or another become free men, and serfs had practically disappeared. 574. Renewal of the Hundred Years* War (1415). The war between England and France almost ceased for nearly forty years after the death of Edward III. It was renewed in 141 5, and the English king Henry V won another great victory at Agincourt, similar to that won at Crecy. Once more the English bowmen slaughtered great numbers of French knights. Fifteen years later the English had succeeded in conquering all of France north of the Loire River, but a considerable region to the south still continued to be held by King Charles VII of France. He was weak and in- dolent and was doing nothing to check the English victories. The English were engaged in besieging the great town of Orleans when help and encouragement came to the French from a most unexpected quarter. A peasant girl put on a soldier's armor, mounted a horse, and led the faint-hearted French .troops to victory. 575. Joan of Arc. To her family and her companions Joan of Arc seemed only " a good girl, simple and pleasant in her ways," but she brooded much over the disasters that had overtaken her country, and a "great pity on the fair realm of France" filled her heart. She saw visions and heard voices that bade her go forth to the help of the king and lead him to Rheims to be crowned. It was with the greatest difficulty that she got anybody to believe in her mission or to help her to get an audience with her sovereign. But her own firm faith in her divine guidance triumphed 382 History of Europe over all doubts and obstacles. She was at last accepted as a God- sent champion and placed at the head of some troops dispatched to the relief of Orleans. This city, which was the key to southern France, had been besieged by the English for some months and was on the point of surrender. Joan, who rode at the head of her troops, clothed in armor like a man, had now become the idol of the soldiers and of the people. Under the guidance and in- spiration of her courage, sound sense, and burning enthusiasm, Orleans was relieved and the English completely routed. The Maid of Orleans, as she was henceforth called, was now free to conduct the king to Rheims, where he was crowned in the cathe- dral (July 17, 1429). The Maid now felt that her mission was accomplished and begged permission to return to her home and her brothers and sisters. To this the king would not consent, and she continued to fight his battles with success. But the other leaders were jealous of her, and even her friends, the soldiers, were sensitive to the taunt of being led by a woman. During the defense of Compiegne in May, 1430, she was allowed to fall into the hands of the Duke of Burgundy, who sold her to the English. They were not satisfied with simply holding as a prisoner that strange maiden who had so discomfited them ; they wished to discredit everything that she had done, and so declared, and undoubtedly believed, that she was a witch who had been helped by the devil. She was tried by a court of clergymen, found guilty, and burned at Rouen ip 143 1. Her bravery and noble constancy affected even her executioners, and an English soldier who had come to triumph over her death was heard to exclaim, "We are lost — we have burned a saint." The English cause in France was indeed lost, for her spirit and example had given new courage and vigor to the French armies. 576. England loses her French Possessions. The English Parliament became more and more reluctant to grant funds when there were no more victories gained. From this time on the Eng- lish lost ground steadily. They were expelled from Normandy in 1450. Three years later the last vestige of their possessions in England in the Middle Ages 383 southern France passed into the hands of the French king. The Hundred Years' War was over, and, although England still retained Calais, the great question whether she should extend her sway upon the Continent was finally settled. 577. The Wars of the Roses (i455-i485); Retainers. The close of the Hundred Years' War was followed in England by the Wars of the Roses, between the rival families, Lancaster and York,^ which were struggling for the crown. The badge of the house of Lancaster was a red rose, and that of York was a white one. Each party was supported by a group of the wealthy and powerful nobles whose conspiracies, treasons, murders, and executions fill the annals of England during the period which we have been discussing. The nobles no longer owed their power as they had in previous centuries to vassals who were bound to follow them to war (§§ 527-532). Like the king, they relied upon hired soldiers. It was easy to find plenty of restless fellows who were willing to become the retainers of a nobleman if he would agree to clothe them and keep open house, where they might eat and drink their fill. Their master was to help them when they got into trouble, and they on their part were expected to intimidate, misuse, and even murder at need those who opposed the interests of their chief. 1 Descent of the rival houses of Lancaster and York : Edward III (1327-1377) I Edward, the Black Prince (d. 1376) I John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster 1 Richard II Henry IV (1399-1413) John Beaufort (1377-1399) I I Henry V (1413-1422) John Beaufort Henry VI (1422-1461) Edmund, duke of York Richard I Richard Edward IV Richard III (1461-1483) (1483-1485) Edmund Tudor, m. Margaret Henry VII, m. Elizabeth of York Edward V, (1485-1509) murdered in first of the the Tower, Tudor kings 1483 3^4 History of Europe 578. The Despotism of the Tudors. It is needless to speak of the several battles and the many skirmishes of the miserable Wars of the Roses. These lasted from 1455, when the Duke of York set seriously to work to displace the weak-minded Lancas- trian king (Henry VI), until the accession of Henry VII, of the house of Tudor, thirty years later ( 1485) . (See table on page 383.) The Wars of the Roses had important results. Nearly all the powerful families of England had been drawn into the war, and a great part of the nobility, whom the kings had formerly feared, had perished on the battlefield or lost their heads in the ruthless executions carried out by each party after it gained a victory. This left the king far more powerful than ever before. He could now control Parlia- ment, even if he could not do away with it. For a century and more after the accession of Henry VII the Tudor kings exercised almost despotic power. England ceased for a time to enjoy the free government for which the foundations had been laid under the Edwards, whose embarrassments at home and abroad had made them constantly dependent upon the aid of the nation. 579. France establishes a Standing Army (1439). In France the closing years of the Hundred Years' War had witnessed a great increase of the king's power through the establishment of a well-organized standing army. The feudal army had long since disappeared. Even before the opening of the war the nobles had begun to be paid for their military services and no longer fur- nished troops as a condition of holding fiefs. But the companies of soldiers found their pay very uncertain and plundered their countrymen as well as the enemy. Fig. 95. Portrait of Henry VII England in the Middle Ages 38s The Estates- agreed in 1439 that the king should use a certain tax, called the taille, to support the troops necessary for the pro- tection of the frontier. This was a fatal concession, for the king now had an army and the right to collect what he chose to con- sider a permanent tax, the amount of which he later greatly in- creased ; he was not dependent, as was the English king, upon the grants made for brief periods by the representatives of the nation assembled in Parliament. 580. The New Feudalism. Before the king of France could hope to establish a compact, well-organized state it was necessary for him to reduce the power of his vassals, some of whom were almost his equals in strength. The process of reducing the power of the nobles had, it is true, been begun. They had been forbidden to coin money, to maintain armies, and to tax their subjects ; and the powers of the king's judges had been ex- tended over all the realm. But the task of consolidating France was reserved for the son of Charles VII, the shrewd and treacherous Louis XI (i 461-1483). 581. Work of Louis XI. The most powerful and dangerous of Louis XI's vassals were the dukes of Burgundy, and they gave him a great deal of trouble. Of Burgundy something will be said in later chapters. Louis XI had himself made heir to a number of provinces in central and southern France, — Anjou, Maine, Provence, etc., — which by the death of their possessors came under the king's immediate control (1481). He humiliated in various ways the vassals who in his early days had combined against him. Louis's aims were worthy, but his means were generally despicable. It sometimes seemed as if he gloried in being the most rascally among rascals, the most treacherous among the traitors. Fig. 96. Louis XI of France 386 History of Europe 582. England and France establish Strong National Govern- ments. Both England and France emerged from the troubles and desolations of the Hundred Years' War stronger than ever before. In both countries the kings had overcome the menace of feudalism by destroying the power of the great families. The royal govern- ment was becoming constantly more powerful. Commerce and industry increased the people's wealth and supplied the monarchs with the revenue necessary to maintain government officials and a sufficient army to keep order throughout their realms. They were no longer forced to rely upon the uncertain fidelity of their vassals. In short, England and France were both becoming modern states. QUESTIONS I. Tell what you can about England before the Norman Conquest. How did Normandy come into existence ? How did William of Nor- mandy get possession of England ? What was William's policy after he conquered England ? II. Mention some of the reforms of Henry II. Describe Henry's troubles with Thomas Becket. What was the extent of the possessions of the Plantagenets in France ? In what way did the French king succeed in getting a considerable part of the Plantagenet possessions into his own hands ? Describe the chief events in the reign of King John of England. III. How was the Great Charter granted, and what were some of its main provisions ? What is the EngUsh Parliament ? When was it formed ? What were its powers ? IV. When was Wales conquered by the English kings ? What are the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland ? Tell of the attempts of Edward I to get possession of Scotland. V. Give the origin and general course of the Hundred Years' War under Edward III. Why did not the Estates General become as powerful as the English Parliament ? Tell about the Black Death. What led to the disappearance of serfdom in England ? Give an account of Joan of Arc. What were the great causes of disorder in England during the generation before the accession of Henry VII ? What was accomplished by Louis XI ? CHAPTER XXVI POPES AND EMPERORS I. Origin of the Holy Roman Empire 583. Otto the Great (936-973). Charlemagne's successors in the German part of his empire found it quite as hard as did the kings of the western, or French, kingdom to keep control of their vassals. Germany, like France, was divided into big and little fiefs, and the dukes and counts were continually waging war upon each other and upon their king. The general causes of this chronic disorder in the Middle Ages have been described in a previous chapter. The first German ruler whom we need to notice here was Otto the Great, who came to the throne in the year 936. He got as many of the great fiefs as possible into the hands of his relatives in the hope that they would be faithful to him. He put an end forever to the invasions of the Hungarians who had been ravaging Germany. He defeated them in a great battle near Augsburg and drove them out of his realms. As has already been said (see above, § 519), they finally settled in eastern Europe and laid the foundations of what was to become the important state of Hungary. 584. Otto the Great becomes King of Italy and Emperor (962). It would seem as if Otto had quite enough trouble at home, but he thought that it would make him and his reign more glorious if he added northern Italy to his realms. So in 951 he crossed the Alps and, without being formally crowned, was gener- ally acknowledged as king of Italy. He had to hasten back to Germany to put down a revolt organized by his own son, but ten years later he was called to Rome by the Pope, who was seeking protection from the attacks of his enemies. Otto accepted the 387 388 History oj Europe invitation, and the grateful Pope in return crowned him emperor, as Charlemagne's successor (962). The coronation of Otto was a very important event in Ger- man history ; for, from this time on, the German kings, instead of confining their attention to keeping their own kingdom in order, were constantly distracted by the necessity of keeping hold on their Italian kingdom, which lay on the other side of a great range of mountains. The succeeding German emperors had usually to make sev- eral costly and troublesome journeys to Rome, — a first one to be crowned, and then others either to depose a hostile Pope or to protect a friendly one from the oppression of neighboring lords. These expeditions were very distracting, especially to a ruler who left behind him in Germany a rebellious nobility that always took advantage of his absence to revolt. 585. The Holy Roman Empire. Otto's successors dropped their old title of king of the East Franks as soon as they had been duly crowned by the Pope at Rome, and assumed the magnificent and all-embracing designation, ''Emperor Ever August of the Romans."^ Their "Holy Roman Empire," as it came to be called later, which was to endure, in name at least, for more than eight centuries, was obviously even less like that of the ancient Romans than was Charlemagne's. As kings of Germany and Italy they had practically all the powers that they enjoyed as emperors. The title of emperor was of course a proud one, but it gave the German kings no additional power except the fatal right that they claimed of taking part in the election of the Pope. We shall find that, instead of making themselves feared at home and building up a great state, the German emptors wasted their strength in a long struggle with the popes, who proved themselves in the end far stronger, and eventually reduced the Empire to a mere shadow. 1 Henry II (1002-1024) and his successors, not venturing to assume the title of emperor till crowned at Rome, but anxious to claim Rome as attached to the German crown, began to call themselves, before their coronation, " King of the Romans." Popes and Emperors 389 II. The Church and its Property 586. Lands of the Church draw it into the Feudal System. In order to understand the long struggle between the emperors and the popes, we must stop a moment to consider the condition of the Church in the early Middle Ages. It seemed to be losing all its strength and dignity and to be falling apart, just as Charle- magne's empire had dissolved into feudal bits. This was chiefly due to the fact that the churchmen held such vast tracts of land. A king, or other landed proprietor, might grant fiefs to church- men as well as to laymen. The bishops became the vassals of the king or of other feudal lords by doing homage for a fief and swearing fidelity, just as any other vassal would do. An abbot would sometimes secure for his monastery the protection of a neighboring lord by giving up his land and receiving it back again as a fief. 587. Fiefs held by Churchmen not Hereditary. One great difference, however, existed between the Church lands and the ordinary fiefs. According to the law of the Church the bishops and abbots could not marry and so could have no heirs to whom they might transmit their property. Consequently, when a land- holding churchman died, someone had to be chosen in his place who should enjoy his property and perform his duties. The rule of the Church had been, from time immemorial, that the clergy of the bishopric should choose the bishop, their choice being ratified by the people. As for the abbots, they were, according to the Rule of St. Benedict, to be chosen by the members of the monastery. 588. Investiture. In spite of these rules, the bishops and abbots had come, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, to be se- lected, to all intents and purposes, by the various kings and feudal lords. It is true that the outward forms of a regular election were usually permitted ; but the feudal lord made it clear whom he wished chosen, and if the wrong person was elected he simply refused to hand over to him the lands attached to the bishopric or abbey. 3 go History of Europe When a bishop or abbot had been duly chosen, the feudal lord proceeded to the investiture. The new bishop or abbot first be- came the "man" of the lord by doing him homage (§ 528), and then the lord transferred to him the lands and rights attached to the office. No careful distinction appears to have been made between the property and the religious powers. The lord often conferred both by bestowing upon a bishop the ring and the crosier (the bishop's pastoral staff), the emblems of religious au- thority. It seemed shocking enough that the king or feudal lord, who was often a rough soldier, should dictate the selection of the bishops ; but it was still more shocking that he should assume to confer religious powers with religious emblems. In Germany the king had found it convenient, from about the beginning of the eleventh century, to confer upon the bishops in many cases the authority of a count in the districts about them. In this way they might have the right to collect tolls, coin money, and perform other important governmental duties. To forbid the king to take part in the investiture was, consequently, to rob him of his authority over many of his government officials, since bishops, and sometimes even abbots, were often counts in all but name. He therefore found it necessary to take care who got possession of the important church offices. 589. The Marriage of the Clergy. Still another danger threatened the wealth and resources of the Church. During the tenth and eleventh centuries the rule of the Church prohibiting the clergy from marrying appears to have been widely neglected in Italy, Germany, France, and England. To the stricter people of the time this appeared a terrible degradation of the clergy, who, they felt, should be unencumbered by family cares and should devote themselves wholly to the service of God. The question, too, had another side. It was obvious that the property of the Church would soon be dispersed if the clergy were allowed to marry, since they would wish to provide for their children. Just as the feudal lands had become hereditary (§ 530), so the church lands would become hereditary unless the clergy were forced to remain unmarried. /■ Popes and Emperors 391 590. Buying and Selling of Church Offices : Simony. Be- sides the feudalizing of its property and the marriage of the clergy, there was a third great and constant source of weakness and corruption in the Church at this period, namely, the temp- tation to buy and sell church offices. The revenue from a great church estate and the high rank that went with the office were enough to induce the members of the noblest families to vie with each other in securing church positions. The king or prince who possessed the right of investiture was sure of finding someone willing to pay something for important benefices. The sin of buying or selling church offices was recognized as a most serious one. It was called "simony,"^ a name derived from Simon the Magician, who, according to the account in the Acts of the Apostles, offered money to the Apostle Peter if he would give him the power of imparting the Holy Spirit to those upon whom he should lay hands. It must be remembered, however, that when a king or lord accepted a gift from one for whom he procured a benefice, he did not regard himself as selling the office ; he merely shared its ad- vantages. No transaction took place in the Middle Ages without accompanying gifts and fees of various kinds. The evil of simony (or "graft," as we should call it) spread downward and infected the whole body of the clergy. A bishop who had made a large outlay in obtaining his office naturally expected something from the priests, whom it was his duty to appoint. Then the priest, in turn, was tempted to exact too much for baptizing and marrying his parishioners and for bury- ing the dead. 591. Nicholas II reforms Election of Popes (1059). So it seemed, at the opening of the eleventh century, as if the Church was to be dragged down by its property into the anarchy of feudalism described in a preceding chapter. The popes had, therefore, many difficulties to overcome in the gigantic task which they undertook of making the Church a great international monarchy, like the Roman Empire, with 1 Pronounced sim'o-ny. See Acts viii, 20. 392 History of Europe its capital at Rome, The control exercised by kings and feudal lords in the selection of Church officials had to be done away with. The marriage of the clergy had to be checked, for fear that the property and wealth of the Church would go to their families and so be lost to the Church. Simony with its degrading effects had to be abolished. The first great step toward the freeing of the Church from the control of the kings and feudal lords was taken by Pope Nicholas II. In 1059 he issued a remarkable decree which took the election of the head of the Church once for all out of the hands of both the emperor and the people of Rome and placed it definitely and forever in the hands of the cardinals, who repre- sented the Roman clergy.^ The reform party which directed the policy of the popes now proposed to emancipate the Church as a whole from the base en- tanglements of earth : first, by strictly forbidding the clergy to marry ; and secondly, by depriving the kings and feudal lords of their influence over the choice of the bishops and abbots. The magnitude of the task which the popes had undertaken first be- came fully apparent when the celebrated Gregory VII (often called Hildebrand) ascended the papal throne, in 1073. 592. The Dictatus of Gregory VII. Among the writings of Gregory VII there is a very brief statement, called the Dic- tatus, of the powers which he believed the popes to possess. Its chief claims are the following : The Pope enjoys a unique title ; he is the only universal bishop and may depose and reinstate other bishops or transfer them from place to place. No council of the Church may be regarded as speaking for Christendom without his consent. The Roman Church has never erred, nor 1 The word " cardinal " (Latin cardinalis, " principal ") was applied to the priests of the various parishes in Rome, to the several deacons connected with the Lateran, — which was the cathedral church of the Roman bishopric, — and, lastly, to six or seven suburban bishops who officiated in turn in the Lateran. The title became a very dis- tinguished one and was sought by ambitious foreign prelates and ecclesiastical states- men, like Wolsey, Richelieu, and Mazarin. If their official titles were examined, it would be found that each was nominally a cardinal bishop, priest, or deacon of some Roman church. The number of cardinals varied until fixed, in 1586, at six bishops, fifty priests, and fourteen deacons. Popes and Emperors 393 will it err to all eternity. No one may be considered a Catholic Christian who does not agree with the Roman Church. No book is authoritative unless it has received the papal sanction. Gregory does not stop with asserting the Pope's complete supremacy over the Church. He says that " the Pope is the only person whose feet are kissed by all princes" ; that he may depose emperors and "absolve subjects from allegiance to an unjust ruler." No one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the Pope. No one may annul a decree of the Pope, though the Pope may declare null and void the decrees of all other earthly powers ; and no one may pass judgment upon his acts. 593. Gregory VII puts his Theories into Practice. Im- mediately upon his election as Pope, Gregory began to put into practice his high conception of the role that the religious head of Christendom should play. He explained, kindly but firmly, to William the Conqueror (§ 541) that the papal and kingly powers are both established by God as the greatest among the authorities of the world, just as the sun and moon are the greatest of the heavenly bodies. But the papal power is obviously superior to the kingly, for it is responsible for it. At the Last Day, Gregory would have, he urged, to render an account of the king as one of the flock intrusted to his care. The king of France was warned to give up his practice of simony, lest he be excommunicated and his subjects freed from their oath of allegiance. All these acts of Gregory appear to have been dictated not by worldly ambition but by a fervent conviction of their righteousness and of his heavy responsibility to God and toward all men. III. The Long Struggle between Popes and Emperors 594. Struggle over Investiture between Henry IV and Gregory VII. The popes who immediately preceded Gregory had more than once forbidden the churchmen to receive investi- ture from laymen. Gregory reissued this prohibition in 1075. Investiture was, as we have seen (§ 588), the legal transfer by the king or other lord, to a newly chosen church official, of the lands 394 History of Europe and rights attached to the office. In forbidding investiture by lay- men Gregory attempted nothing less than a revolution. The bishops and abbots were often officers of government, exercising in Germany and Italy powers similar in all respects to those of the counts. The German king not only relied upon them for advice and assistance in carrying on his government, but they were among his chief allies in his constant struggles with his vassals. This act of Gregory's led to a long and bitter struggle between the popes and German rulers, lasting for two hundred years. Gregory's legates so irritated the young German king, Henry IV, that he had the Pope deposed as a wicked man (1076). Gregory's reply to Henry and the German bishops who had deposed him was speedy and decisive. ''Incline thine ear to us, O Peter, chief of the Apostles. As thy representative and by thy favor has the power been granted especially to me by God of binding and loosing in heaven and earth (compare § 483). . . . I withdraw, through thy power and authority, from Henry the King, who has risen against thy Church with unheard-of insolence, the rule over the whole kingdom of the Germans and over Italy. I absolve all Christians from the bonds of the oath which they have sworn, or may swear, to him ; and I forbid anyone to serve him as king."^ For a time after the Pope had deposed him everything went against Henry. Instead of resenting the Pope's interference, the discontented Saxons, and many other of Henry's vassals, believed that there was now an excellent opportunity to get rid of Henry and choose a more agreeable ruler. 595. Henry submits to the Pope at Canossa (1077). Henry was so discouraged that he hastened across the Alps in midwinter and appeared as a humble suppliant before the castle of Canossa,^ whither the Pope had come on his way to Germany. For three days the German king presented himself before the closed door, barefoot and in the coarse garments of a pilgrim and a penitent, before the Pope consented to receive him. The spectacle of this 1 See tailpiece at the end of this chapter. 2 The castle of Canossa belonged to Gregory VII's ally and admirer, the Countess of Tuscany. Popes and Emperors 395 mighty prince of distinguished appearance, in tears before the little man who humbly styled himself the '' servant of the servants of God," has always been regarded as most completely typifying the power of the Church and the potency of her curses against even the most exalted of the earth. The famous scene at Canossa settled nothing, however, and the struggle went on. The Pope took sides with Henry's enemies in" Germany, but the German king was able to march down into Italy later and drive Gregory from Rome. They both died in the midst of the conflict. 596. Concordat of Worms (1122). After a long succession of troubles between their successors a compromise was reached in the Concordat of Worms (1122) which put an end to the con- troversy over investitures in Germany. The emperor promised to permit the Church freely to elect the bishops and abbots and renounced his old claim to invest with the religious emblems of the ring and the crosier. But the elections were to be held in the presence of the king, and he was permitted, in a separate ceremony, to invest the new bishop or abbot with his fiefs and his governmental powers by a touch of the scepter. In this way the religious powers of the bishops were obviously conferred by the churchmen who elected them ; and although the king might still practically invalidate an election by refusing to hand over the lands, nevertheless the actual appointment of the bishops and abbots was taken out of his hands. 597. Frederick I (Barbarossa) of Hohenstaufen (1152-1190). A generation after the matter of investitures had been arranged by the Concordat of Worms the most famous of German em- perors, next to Charlemagne, came to the throne. This was Fred- erick I, commonly called Barbarossa (from his red beard). He belonged to the family of Hohenstaufen, so called from their castle in southern Germany. Frederick's ambition was to restore the Roman Empire to its old glory and influence. He regarded him- self as the successor of the Caesars, as well as of Charlemagne and Otto the Great. He believed his office to be quite as truly estab- lished by God himself as the papacy. 396 History of Europe In his lifelong attempt to maintain what he thought to be his rights as emperor he met, quite naturally, with the three old difficulties. He had constantly to be fighting his rivals and rebellious vassals in Germany ; he had to face the opposition of the popes, who never forgot the claims that Gregory VII had Italian Towns in the Twelfth Century made to control the emperor as well as other rulers. Lastly, in trying to keep hold of northern Italy, which he believed to belong to his empire, he spent a great deal of time with but slight results. 598. The Attempt to conquer the Lombard Towns. One of the greatest differences between the early Middle Ages and Fred- erick's time was the development of town life. The towns had never decayed altogether in Italy, and by the time of Frederick Popes and Emperors 397 Barbarossa they had begun to flourish once more, especially in Lombardy. Such towns as Milan, Verona, and Cremona were practically independent states, often fighting one another. But in spite of all the warfare and disorder the Italian cities became wealthy and, as we shall see later, were centers of learning and art similar to the ancient cities of Greece, such as Athens and Corinth. They were able to combine in a union known as the Lombard League to oppose Frederick, for they hated the idea of paying taxes to a German king from across the Alps. Frederick made several expeditions to Italy, but he only succeeded, after a vast amount of trouble, in getting them to recognize him as a sort of overlord. He was forced to leave them to manage their own affairs and go their own way. 599. Frederick II and Southern Italy. After some forty years of fighting in Germany and Italy, Frederick Barbarossa de- cided to undertake a crusade to the Holy Land and lost his life on the way thither. The grandson of Frederick Barbarossa, the famous Frederick II, continued the wearisome struggle between the emperors and popes. He was unable to bring any order into German affairs and devoted most of his attention to southern Italy. His mother, Constance, was heiress to the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and here Frederick built up the first well- regulated modern state. He was an unusually thoughtful man for a medieval king and appears to have rejected many of the opinions of his time. His enemies asserted that he was not even a Christian and that he declared that Moses, Christ, and Mohammed were all alike impostors. He nevertheless issued very harsh edicts against heretics and did all he could to discover and punish them. We cannot stop to relate the romantic and absorbing story of his long struggle with the popes. They speedily discovered that he was bent upon establishing a powerful state to the south of them and upon extending his control over the Lombard cities in such a manner that the papal possessions would be held as in a vise. This, they felt, must never be permitted. Frederick was denounced in solemn councils, and at last deposed by one of the popes. After his death (1250) his sons maintained 398 History of Europe themselves for a few years in the Sicilian kingdom ; but they finally gave way before a French army, led by the brother of St. Louis, Charles of Anjou, upon whom the Pope bestowed the southern realms of the Hohenstaufens. 600. End of the Medieval Empire. With Frederick's death the medieval Empire may be said to have come to an end. It is true that after a period of "fist law," as the Germans call it, a new king, Rudolf of Hapsburg, was elected in Germany in 1273. The German kings continued to call themselves emperors. Few of them, however, took the trouble to go to Rome to be crowned by the Pope. No serious effort was ever made to reconquer the Italian territory for which Otto the Great, Frederick Barbarossa, and his grandson had made such serious sacrifices. Germany was hopelessly divided and its king was no real king. He had no capital city and no well-organized government. Such power as existed was mainly in the hands of the king's powerful vassals, — dukes, counts, bishops, and abbots. By the middle of the thirteenth century it becomes apparent that neither Germany nor Italy was to be converted into a strong single kingdom like England and France. The map of Germany shows a confused group of duchies, counties, archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, and free towns, each one of which asserted its practical independence of the weak king and emperor. In northern Italy each town, including a certain district about its walls, had become an independent state, dealing with its neighbors as with independent powers. The Italian towns were destined to become the birthplace of our modern culture during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Venice and Florence, in spite of their small size, came to be reckoned among the most important states of Europe (see §§661-668, below). In the central part of the peninsula the Pope maintained more or less control over his possessions, but he often failed to subdue the towns within his realms. To the south the kingdom of Naples, which the Hohenstaufens had lost, remained for some time under the French dynasty, which the Pope had called in, while the island of Sicily drifted into Spanish hands. Popes and Emperors 399 QUESTIONS I. Describe the way in which the German kings gained the title of emperor. What do you understand by the Holy Roman Empire ? II. What was the effect of the vast landholdings of the Church ? What was investiture, and why did it raise difficulties between the popes and emperors ? Why did the Pope oppose the marriage of the clergy ? How is the Pope elected ? What is a cardinal ? What was the Dictatus, and what claims did it make ? III. Describe the conflict between Henry IV and Gregory VII. What were the provisions of the Concordat of Worms ? What new enemies did Frederick Barbarossa find in northern Italy? Narrate the struggle between Frederick II and the popes and its outcome. In what condition was Germany left after the extinction of the Hohenstaufens ? Note. The pictures below are taken from an illustrated manuscript written some decades after Gregory VII's death. In the one on the left Gregory is represented blowing out a candle and saying to his cardinals, " As I blow out this light, so will Henry IV be extinguished." In the one on the right is shown the death of Gregory (1085). He probably did not wear his crown in bed, but the artist wanted us to be sure to recognize that he was Pope. ":igpis^^: CHAPTER XXVII THE CRUSADES I, Origin of the Crusades 601. Fascination of the Crusades. Of all the events of the Middle Ages the most romantic and fascinating are the Crusades, the adventurous expeditions to Syria and Palestine, undertaken by devout and warlike kings and knights with the hope of perma- nently reclaiming the Holy Land from the infidel Turks. All through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries each generation be- held at least one great army of crusaders gathering from every part of the West and starting toward the Orient. Each year witnessed the departure of small bands of pilgrims or of solitary soldiers of the cross. For two hundred years there was a continuous stream of Euro- peans of every rank and station — kings and princes, powerful nobles, simple knights, common soldiers, monks, townspeople, and even peasants — from England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, making their way into Western Asia. If they escaped the count- less dangers which beset them on the journey, they either settled in this distant land and devoted themselves to war or commerce, or returned home, bringing with them tales of great cities and new peoples, of skill, knowledge, and luxury unknown in the West. 602. The Holy Land conquered first by the Arabs and then by the Turks. Syria had been overrun by the Arabs in the 400 The Crusades 401 seventh century, shortly after the death of Mohammed, and the Holy City of Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the infidels (§ 500). The Arab, however, shared the veneration of the Chris- tian for the places associated with the life of Christ and, in gen- eral, permitted the Christian pilgrims who found their way thither to worship unmolested. But with the coming of a new and ruder people, the Seljuk Turks, in the eleventh century, the pilgrims began to bring home news of great hardships. Moreover, the East- ern emperor was defeated by the Turks in 107 1 and lost Asia Minor. The presence of the Turks, who had taken possession of the fortress of Nicaea, just across from Constantinople, was of course a standing menace to the Eastern Empire. When the energetic Emperor Alexius (1081-1118) ascended the throne he endeavored to expel the infidel. Finding himself unequal to the task, he appealed for assistance to the head of Christendom, Pope Urban II. 603. Urban II issues Call to First Crusade (1095). The first great impetus to the Crusades was the call issued by Urban at the celebrated church council which met in 1095 at Clermont in France. In an address which produced more remarkable immedi- ate results than any other which history records, the Pope exhorted knights and soldiers of all ranks to give up their usual wicked business of destroying their Christian brethren in private warfare (see above, §§ 532-534) and turn, instead, to the succor of their fellow Christians in the East. He warned them that the insolent Turks would, if unchecked, extend their sway still more widely over the faithful servants of the Lord. Urban urged, besides, that France was too poor to support all its people, while the Holy Land flowed with milk and honey. " Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher ; wrest the land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves." When the Pope had finished, all who were present exclaimed, with one accord, " It is the will of God." This, the Pope declared, should be the rallying cry of the crusaders, who were to wear a cross upon their bosoms as they went forth, and upon their backs as they returned, as a holy sign of their sacred mission. 402 History oj Europe 604. The Motives of the Crusaders. The Crusades are ordi- narily represented as the most striking examples of the simple faith and religious enthusiasm of the Middle Ages. They ap- pealed, however, to many different kinds of men. The devout, the romantic, and the adventurous were by no means the only classes that were attracted. Syria held out inducements to the discontented noble who might hope to gain a principality in the East, to the merchant who was looking for new enterprises, to the merely restless who wished to avoid his responsibilities at home, and even to the criminal who enlisted with a view of es- caping the results of his past offenses. It is noteworthy that Urban appeals especially to those who had been "contending against their brethren and relatives," and urges those "who have hitherto been robbers now to become soldiers of Christ." And the conduct of many of the crusaders indicates that the Pope found a ready hearing among these classes. Yet higher motives than a love of adventure and the hope of conquest impelled many who took their way eastward. Great numbers, doubtless, went to Jerusalem "through devotion alone, and not for the sake of honor or gain," with the sole object of freeing the Holy Sepulcher from the hands of the infidel. To such as these the Pope promised that the journey itself should take the place of all penance for sin. The faithful cru- sader, like the faithful Mohammedan, was assured of immediate entrance into heaven if he died repentant. Later, the Church exhibited its extraordinary authority by what would seem to us an unjust interference with business contracts. It freed those who "with a pure heart" entered upon the journey from the payment of interest upon their debts and permitted them to mortgage property against the wishes of their feudal lords. 605. Peter the Hermit and his Army. The Council of Cler- mont met in November. Before spring (1096) those who set forth to preach the Crusade — above all, the famous Peter the Hermit, who was formerly given credit for having begun the whole crusad- ing movement — had collected, in France and along the Rhine, an extraordinary army of the common folk. Peasants, workmen, The Crusades 403 vagabonds, and even women and children, answered the summons, all blindly intent upon rescuing the Holy Sepulcher, two thousand miles away. They were confident that the Lord would sustain them during the weary leagues of the journey, and that, when they reached the Holy Land, he would grant them a prompt victory over the infidel. This great host was got under way in several divisions under the leadership of Peter the Hermit, and of Walter the Penniless and other humble knights. Many of the crusaders were slaugh- tered by the Hungarians, who rose to protect themselves from the depredations of this motley horde in its passage through their country. Part of them got as far as Nicaea, only to be slaughtered by the Turks. This is but an example, on a large scale, of what was going on continually for a century or so after this first great catastrophe. Individual pilgrims and adventurers, and sometimes considerable bodies of crusaders, were constantly falling a prey to every form of disaster — starvation, slavery, disease, and death — in their persistent endeavors to reach the far-away Holy Land. II. The First Crusade 606. The First Crusade (io96). The most conspicuous figures of the long period of the Crusades are not, however, to be found among the lowly followers of Peter the Hermit, but are the knights, in their long coats of flexible armor. A year after the summons issued at Clermont great armies of fighting men had been collected in the West under distinguished leaders — the Pope speaks of three hundred thousand soldiers. Of the various divisions which were to meet in Constantinople the following were the most important : the volunteers from Provence under the papal legate and Coynt Raymond of Toulouse ; inhabitants of Germany, particularly of Lorraine, under Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin, both destined to be rulers of Jerusalem ; and lastly, an army of French and of the Normans of southern Italy under Bohemond and Tancred.^ 1 For the routes taken by the different crusading armies see the accompanying map. 404 History of Europe Upon the arrival of the crusaders at Constantinople it quickly became clear that they had not much more in common with the ''Greeks"^ than with the Turks. Emperor Alexius ordered his soldiers to attack Godfrey's army, encamped in the suburbs of his capital, because their chief at first refused to take the oath of feudal homage to him. The emperor's daughter Anna, in her history of the times, gives a sad picture of the outrageous con- duct of the crusaders. They, on the other hand, denounced the Greeks as traitors, cowards, and liars. The Eastern emperor had hoped to use his Western allies to reconquer Asia Minor and force back the Turks. The leading knights, on the contrary, dreamed of carving out principalities for themselves in the former dominions of the emperor and proposed to con- trol them by right of conquest. Later we find both Greeks and Western Christians shamelessly allying them- selves with the Mohammedans against each other. 607. Conquest of Jerusalem. The first real allies that the crusaders met with were the Christian Armenians, who gave them aid after their terrible march through Asia Minor. With their help Baldwin got pos- session of Edessa, of which he made himself prince. The chiefs induced the great body of the crusaders to postpone the march on Jerusalem, and a year was spent in taking the rich and im- portant city of Antioch. Then Raymond of Toulouse set to work and conquered a principality for himself on the coast about Tripoli. Fig. 97. Knight of the First Crusade In the time of the Crusades knights wore a coat of inter- woven iron rings, called a hauberk, to protect them- selves. Thehabitof using the rigid iron plates, of which later armor was constructed, did not come in until the Crusades were over 1 The people of the Eastern Empire were called Greeks because the Greek language continued to be used in Constantinople. j^eleucia \ ,i^^aiioch. ''^^--... ^ -E A \ y3P Tripoli \i/sWon=7> Alexandria, ROUTES OF THE CRUSADERS First Crusade Second Crusade . (iFdk. Sariarossa « » ■ ■ Taffap' Tfeinisalein .j,^^^ Ciusade -^ Sichani and Ascalou/ ' ' I. ^ » Damietta 50 100 200 Scale of Miles. The Crusades 40s KiNC;iH)j[. 01 In the spring of 1099 about twenty thousand warriors were at last able to move upon Jerusalem. They found the city well walled, in the midst of a desolate region where neither food nor water nor the materials to construct the siege apparatus necessary for the cap- ture of the Holy City were to be found. However, the oppor- tune arrival at Jaffa of galleys sent from Genoa furnished the besiegers with sup- plies, and, in spite of all the difficulties, the place was taken in a couple of months. The crusaders showed no mercy to the people of the city, but with shocking barbarity cruelly massacred the inhabitants. Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen ruler of Jerusalem and took the modest title of "Defender of the Holy Sepulcher." He soon died and was succeeded by his brother Baldwin, who left Edessa in iioo to take up the task of extending the bounds of the kingdom of Jerusalem. 608. Founding of Latin Kingdoms in Syria. It will be ob- served that the "Franks," as the Mohammedans called all the Western folk, had established the centers of four principalities. These were Edessa, Antioch, the region about Tripoli conquered by Raymond, and the kingdom of Jerusalem. The last was FA'n.Mii 1; \ ill / Is / CALII'IIA I V. \'^ / yy KinffdoTn of Jerusalem %-^-$ Counti^ of Tripoli ^3 PrinHpatity of Antiocti County of Edema -.- Othtr land areas — Map of the Crusaders' States in Syria 4o6 History of Europe further increased by Baldwin, who, with the help of the mariners from Venice and Genoa, succeeded in getting possession of Acre, Sidon, and a number of other smaller coast towns. The news of these Christian victories quickly reached the West, and in iioi tens of thousands of new crusaders started eastward. Most of them were lost in passing through Asia Minor, and few reached their destination. The original conquerors were conse- quently left to hold the land against the Saracens and to organize their conquests as best they could. This was a very difficult task — too difficult to accomplish under the circumstances. The permanent hold of the Franks upon the eastern borders of the Mediterranean depended upon the strength of the colonies which their various princes were able to establish. It is impos- sible to learn how many pilgrims from the West made their permanent homes in the new Latin principalities. Certainly the greater part of those who visited Palestine returned home after fulfilling the vow they had made — to kneel at the Holy Sepulcher. Still the princes could rely upon a certain number of soldiers who would be willing to stay and fight the Mohammedans. The Turks, moreover, were so busy fighting one another that they showed less energy than might have been expected in attempting to drive the Franks from the narrow strip of territory — some five hundred miles long and fifty wide — which they had conquered. The map on page 405 shows the extent and situation of the crusaders' states. III. The Religious Orders of the Hospitalers and Templars 609. Military Religious Orders. A noteworthy outcome of the crusading movement was the foundation of several curious orders, of which the Hospitalers and the Templars were the most important. These orders combined the two great interests of the time, those of the monk and of the soldier. They permitted a man to be both at once ; the knight might wear a monkish cowl over his coat of armor. The Crusades 407 The Hospitalers grew out of a monastic association that was formed before the First Crusade for the succor of the poor and sick among the pilgrims. Later the society admitted noble knights to its membership and became a military order, at the same time continuing its care for the sick. This charitable association, like the earlier monas- teries, received generous gifts of land in western Europe and built and con- trolled many fortified monasteries in the Holy Land itself. After the evacuation of Syria in the thirteenth century the Hospitalers moved their headquarters to the island of Rhodes, and later to Malta. The order still exists, and it is considered a dis- tinction to this day to have the privi- lege of wearing its emblem, the cross of Malta. 610. The Templars. Before the Hospitalers were transformed into a military order a little group of French knights banded together in 1 1 19 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem from the attacks of the infidel. They were assigned quarters in the king's palace at Jerusalem, on the site of the former Temple of Solomon ; hence the name '' Tem- plars," which they were destined to render famous. The "poor soldiers of the Temple" were en- thusiastically approved by the Church. They wore a white cloak adorned with a red cross, and were under a very strict monastic rule which bound them by the vows of obedience, poverty, and celibacy. The fame of the order spread throughout Europe, and the most exalted, even dukes and princes, were ready to renounce the world and serve Christ under its black and white banner. Fig. 98. Costume of the Hospitalers The Hospitaler here repre- sented bears the peculiar Maltese cross on his bosom. His crucifix indicates his reli- gious character, but his sword and the armor which he wears beneath his long gown enabled him to fight as well as pray, and to succor the wounded 4o8 History of Europe The order was aristocratic from the first, and it soon became incredibly rich and independent. It had its collectors in all parts of Europe, who dispatched the ''alms" they received to the Grand Master at Jerusalem. Towns, churches, and estates were given to the order, as well as vast sums of money. The Pope showered privileges upon the Templars. They were exempted from tithes and taxes and were brought under his immediate jurisdiction; they were released from feudal obligations, and bishops were for- bidden to excommunicate them for any cause. No wonder they grew insolent and aroused the jealousy and hate of princes and prelates alike. Early in the fourteenth cen- tury, through the combined efforts of the Pope and Philip the Fair of France, the order was brought to a terrible end. Its members were accused of the most abominable practices, — such as the worship of idols and the systematic insulting of Christ and his religion. Many distinguished Templars were burned for heresy ; others perished miserably in dungeons. The once powerful order was abolished and its property confiscated. IV. The Second and Later Crusades 611. The Second and Third Crusades. Fifty years after the preaching of the First Crusade, the fall of Edessa (1144), an im- portant outpost of the Christians in the East, led to a second great expedition. This was forwarded by the great theologian, St, Bernard, who went about using his unrivaled eloquence to in- duce volunteers to take the cross. In a fierce hymn of battle he cried to the Knights Templars : '' The Christian who slays the unbeliever in the Holy War is sure of his reward, the more sure if he himself be slain. The Christian glories in the death of the infidel, because Christ is glorified." The king of France readily consented to take the cross, but the emperor, Conrad III, appears to have yielded only after St. Bernard had preached before him and given a vivid picture of the terrors of the Judgment Day. In regard to the less distinguished recruits, a historian of the time tells us that so many thieves and robbers hastened to take The Crusades 409 the cross that everyone felt that such enthusiasm could only be the work of God himself. St. Bernard himself, the chief promoter of the expedition, gives a most unflattering description of the ''soldiers of Christ." "In that countless multitude you will find few except the utterly wicked and impious, the sacrilegious, homi- cides, and perjurers, whose departure is a double gain. Europe rejoices to lose them and Palestine to gain them ; they are useful Fig. 99. Krak-des-Chevaliers, restored This is an example of the strong castles that the crusaders built in Syria. It was completed in the form here represented about the year 1200 and lies half- way between Antioch and Damascus. It will be noticed that there was a for- tress within a fortress. The castle is now in ruins (see headpiece of this chapter) in both ways, in their absence from here and their presence there." It is unnecessary to describe the movements and fate of these crusaders ; suffice it to say that, from a military standpoint, the so-called Second Crusade was a miserable failure. In the year 1187, forty years later, Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin, the most heroic and distinguished of all the Moham- medan rulers of that period. The loss of the Holy City led to the most famous of all the military expeditions to the Holy Land, in which Frederick Barbarossa ( § 599 ) , Richard the Lion-Hearted of England (§550), and his political rival, Philip Augustus of 4IO History of Europe France, all took part. The accounts of this Third Crusade show that while the several Cl^ristian leaders hated one another heartily enough, the Christians and Mohammedans were coming to respect one another. We find examples of the most polite relations be- tween the representatives of the opposing religions. In 1192 Richard concluded a truce with Saladin, by the terms of which the Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the holy places in safety and comfort. 612. The Fourth and Subsequent Crusades. In the thirteenth century the crusaders began to direct their expeditions toward Egypt as the center of the Mohammedan power. The first of these was diverted in an extraor- dinary manner by the Venetians, who induced the crusaders to conquer Constantinople for their benefit. The further ex- peditions of Emperor Frederick II (§ 599) and St. Louis, king of France, need not be de- scribed. Jerusalem was irrevocably lost in 1244, and although the possibility of recovering the city was long con- sidered, the Crusades may be said to have come to a close before the end of the thirteenth century. Fig. 100. Tomb of a Crusader The churches of England, France, and Ger- many contain numerous figures in stone and brass of crusading knights, reposing in full armor with shield and sword on their tombs V. Chief Results of the Crusades 613. Settlements of the Italian Merchants. For one class, at least, the Holy Land had great and permanent charms, namely, the Italian merchants, especially those from Genoa, Venice, and Pisa. It was through their early interest and by means of sup- plies from their ships that the conquest of the Holy Land had The Crusades 411 been rendered possible. The merchants always made sure that they were well paid for their services. When they aided in the successful siege of a town they arranged that a definite quarter should be assigned to them in the captured place, where they might have their market, docks, church, and all that was neces- sary for a permanent center for their commerce. This district belonged to the town from which the merchants came. Venice even sent governors to live in the quarters assigned to its citizens in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Marseilles also had independent quarters in Jerusalem, and Genoa had its share in the county of Tripoli. 614. Oriental Luxury introduced into Europe. This new commerce had a most important influence in bringing the West into permanent relations with the Orient. Eastern products from India and elsewhere — silks, spices, camphor, musk, pearls, and ivory — were brought by the Mohammedans from the East to the commercial towns of Palestine and Syria ; then, through the Italian merchants, they found their way into France and Ger- many, suggesting ideas of luxury hitherto scarcely dreamed of by the still half -barbarous Franks. 615. Effects of the Crusades on Warfare. Moreover, the Crusades had a great effect upon the methods of warfare, for the soldiers from the West learned from the Greeks about the old Roman methods of constructing machines for attacking castles and walled towns. This led, as has been pointed out in a previous chapter (§§ 522-523), to the construction in western Europe of stone castles, first with square towers and later with round ones, the remains of which are so common in Germany, France, and England. The Crusades also produced heraldry, or the science of coats of arms. These were the badges that single knights or groups of knights adopted in order to distinguish themselves from other people. 616. Other Results of the Crusades. Some of the results of the Crusades upon western Europe must already be obvious, even from this very brief account. Thousands and thousands of French- men, Germans, and Englishmen had traveled to the Orient by 412 History of Europe land and by sea. Most of them came from hamlets or castles where they could never have learned much of the great world beyond the confines of their native village or province. They sud- denly found themselves in great cities and in the midst of un- familiar peoples and customs. This could not fail to make them think and give them new ideas to carry home. The Crusade took the place of a liberal education. The crusaders came into contact with those who knew more than they did, above all the Arabs, and brought back with them new notions of comfort and luxury. Yet in attempting to estimate the debt of the West to the Crusades it should be remembered that many of the new things may well have come from Constantinople, or through the Moham- medans of Sicily and Spain, ^ quite independently of the armed incursions into Syria. Moreover, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries towns were rapidly growing up in Europe, trade and manufactures were extending, and the universities were being founded. It would be absurd to suppose that without the Crusades this progress would not have taken place. So we may conclude that the distant expeditions and the contact with strange and more highly civilized peoples did no more than hasten the improve- ment which was already perceptible before Urban made his ever- memorable address at Clermont. QUESTIONS I. What led to the Crusades ? Describe Urban's speech. What was the character of Peter the Hermit's expedition ? II. Who were the leaders of the First Crusade ? Describe the cap- ture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders. III. Who were the Hospitalers ? What was the order of the Temple and what became of the Templars ? IV. What was the Second Crusade ? Give some particulars in regard to the Third Crusade and its leaders. V. Give as complete an account as you can of the chief results of the Crusades. 1 The western Europeans derived many important ideas from the Mohammedans in Spain, as Arabic numerals, alchemy, algebra, and the use of paper. BOOK VI. MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION CHAPTER XXVIII THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH AT ITS HEIGHT I. Organization and Powers of the Church 617. General Character of the Medieval Church. In the preceding pages it has been necessary to refer constantly to the Church and the clergy. Indeed, without them medieval history would become almost a blank, for the Church was incomparably the most important institution of the time, and the popes, bishops, and abbots were the soul of nearly every great enterprise. We have already learned something of the rise of the Church and of its head, the Pope, as well as the mode of life and the work of the monks as they spread over Europe. We have also watched the long struggle between the emperors and the popes, in which the emperors were finally worsted. We must now consider the Medieval Church as a completed institution at the height of its power in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. We have already had abundant proofs that the Medieval Church was very different from our modern churches, whether Catholic or Protestant. I. In the first place, everyone was required to belong to it, just as we all must belong to some country to-day. One was not born into the Church, it is true, but he was ordinarily bap- tized into it when he was a mere infant. All western Europe formed a single religious association, from which it was a crime to revolt. To refuse allegiance to the Church, or to question its authority or teachings, was regarded as treason against God and was punishable with death. 413 414 History of Europe 2. The Medieval Church did not rely for its support, as churches usually must to-day, upon the voluntary contributions of its members. It enjoyed, in addition to the revenue from its vast tracts of lands and a great variety of fees, the income from a regular tax, the tithe. Those upon whom this fell were forced to pay it, just as we all must now pay taxes imposed by the government. 3. It is clear, moreover, that the Medieval Church was not merely a religious body, as churches are to-day. Of course it maintained places of worship, conducted devotional exercises, and cultivated the religious life ; but it did far more. It was, in a way, a State, for it had an elaborate system of law and its own courts, in which it tried many cases which are now settled in our ordinary courts.^ One may get some idea of the business of the church courts from the fact that the Church claimed the right to try all cases in which a clergyman was involved or anyone connected with the Church or under its special protection, such as monks, students, crusaders, widows, orphans, and the helpless. Then all cases where the rites of the Church, or its prohibitions, were involved came ordinarily before the church courts, as, for example, those concerning marriage, wills, sworn contracts, usury, blasphemy, sorcery, heresy, and so forth. The Church even had its prisons, to which it might sentence offenders for life. 4. The Church not only performed the functions of a State, it had the organization of a State. Unlike the Protestant min- isters of to-day, all churchmen and religious associations of medie- val Europe were under one supreme head, the Pope (§§ 482-485, 592-593), who made, laws for all and controlled every church officer, wherever he might be, whether in Italy or Germany, Spain or Ireland. The whole Church had one official language, Latin, in which all communications were written and in which its services were everywhere conducted. 1 The law of the Church was known as the cation law. It was taught in most of the universities and practiced by a great number of lawyers. It was based upon the acts of the various church councils, from that of Nicaea (a.d. 325) down, and, above all, upon the decrees and decisions of the popes. The Medieval Church at its Height 415 618. The Medieval Church a Monarchy. The Medieval Church may therefore properly be called a monarchy in its gov- ernment. The Pope was its all-powerful and absolute head. He was the supreme lawgiver. He might set aside or repeal any law of the Church, no matter how ancient, so long as he did not be- lieve it to be ordained by the Scriptures or by Nature. He might, for good reasons, make exceptions to all merely human laws ; as, for instance, permit cousins to marry, or free a monk from his vows. Such exceptions were known as dispensations. The Pope was not merely the supreme lawgiver,- he was the supreme judge. Anyone, whether clergyman or layman, in any part of Europe could appeal to him at any stage in the trial of a large class of cases. Obviously this system had serious draw- backs. Grave injustice might be done by carrying to Rome a case which ought to have been settled in Edinburgh or Cologne, where the facts were best known. The rich, moreover, always had the advantage, as they alone could afford to bring suits be- fore so distant a court. The control of the Pope over all parts of the Christian Church was exercised by his legates. These papal ambassadors were in- trusted with great powers. Their haughty mien sometimes of- fended the prelates and rulers to whom they brought home the authority of the Pope, — as, for instance, when the legate Pandulf grandly absolved all the subjects of King John of England, be- fore his very face, from their oath of fealty to him (§ 552). The task assumed by the Pope of governing the whole Western world naturally made it necessary to create a large body of officials at Rome in order to transact all the multiform business and prepare and transmit the innumerable legal documents.^ The cardinals and the Pope's officials constituted what was called the papal curia, or court. 619. Sources of the Pope's Income. To carry on his govern- ment, and to meet the expenses of palace and retinue, the Pope had need of a vast income. This he secured from various sources. 1 Many of the edicts, decisions, and orders of the popes were called bulls, from the seal (Latin, bulla) attached to them. 41 6 History of Europe Heavy fees were exacted from those who brought cases to his court for decision. The archbishops, bishops, and abbots were expected to make generous contributions when the Pope con- firmed their election. In the thirteenth century the Pope himself began to fill many benefices throughout Europe, and he custom- arily received half the first year's revenues from those whom he appointed. For several centuries before the Protestants finally threw off their allegiance to the popes there was widespread com- plaint on the part of both clergy and laymen that the fees and taxes levied -by the Roman curia were excessive. 620. The Archbishops and Bishops. Next in order below the head of the Church were the archbishops and bishops. An archbishop was a bishop whose power extended beyond the boundaries of his own diocese and who exercised a certain control over all the bishops within his province. There is perhaps no class of persons in medieval times whose position it is so necessary to understand as that of the bishops. They were regarded as the successors of the apostles, whose pow- ers were held to be divinely transmitted to them. They repre- sented the Church Universal in their respective dioceses, under the supreme headship of their "elder brother," the Pope, the bishop of Rome, the successor of the chief of the apostles. Their insignia of office, the miter and crosier, are familiar to everyone (see tailpiece at end of this chapter). Each bishop had his es- pecial church, which was called a cathedral and usually surpassed the other churches of the diocese in size and beauty. In addition to the oversight of his diocese, it was the bishop's business to look after the lands and other possessions which be- longed to the bishopric. Lastly, the bishop was usually a feudal lord, with the obligations which that implied. He might have vassals and subvassals, and often was himself a vassal, not only of the king but also of some neighboring lord. 621. The Parish Priest and his Duties. The lowest division of the Church was the parish. At the head of the parish was the parish priest, who conducted services in the parish church and ab- solved, baptized, married, and buried his parishioners. The priests The Medieval Church at its Height 417 were supposed to be supported by the lands belonging to the parish church and by the tithes. But both of these sources of income were often in the hands of laymen or of a neighboring monastery, while the poor priest received the merest pittance, scarcely sufficient to keep soul and body together. 622. Reasons for the Great Power of Clergymen in the Middle Ages. The influence of the clergy was greatly increased Fig. 1 01. Canterbury Cathedral The bishop's church was called a cathedral, because in it stood the bishop's chair, or throne (LaXin, cathedra). It was therefore much more imposing ordinarily than the parish churches, although sometimes the abbey churches belonging to rich monasteries vied with the bishop's church in beauty by the fact that they alone were educated. For six or seven centuries after the break-up of the Roman Empire very few outside of the clergy ever dreamed of studying, or even of learning to read and write. Even in the thirteenth century an offender who wished to prove that he belonged to the clergy, in order that he might be tried by a church court, had only to show that he could read a single line ; for it was assumed by the judges that no one unconnected with the Church could read at all. It was therefore inevitable that all the teachers were clergy- men, that almost all the books were written by priests and monks, 41 8 History of Europe and that the clergy was the ruling power in all intellectual, artistic, and literary matters — the chief guardians and promoters of civili- zation. Moreover, the civil government was forced to rely upon churchmen to write out the public documents and proclamations. The priests and monks held the pen for the king. Representatives of the clergy sat in the king's councils and acted as his ministers ; in fact, the conduct of the government largely devolved upon them. The offices in the Church were open to all ranks of men, and many of the popes themselves sprang from the humblest classes. The Church thus constantly recruited its ranks with fresh blood. No one held an office simply because his father had held it before him, as was the case in the civil government. 623. Excommunication and Interdict. No wonder that the churchmen were by far the most powerful class in the Middle Ages. They controlled great wealth ; they alone were educated ; it was believed they held the keys of the kingdom of heaven and without their aid no one could hope to enter in. By excommuni- cation they could cast out the enemies of the Church and could forbid all men to associate with them, since they were accursed. By means of the interdict they could suspend all religious cere- monies in a whole city or country by closing the church doors and prohibiting all public services. II. The Heretics and the Inquisition 624. Rebels against the Church : Heresy. Nevertheless, in spite of the power and wonderful organization of the Church, a few people began to revolt against it as early as the time of Greg- ory VII, and the number of these rebels continued to increase as time went on. Popular leaders arose who declared that no one ought any longer to rely upon the Church for his salvation ; that all its elaborate ceremonies were worse than useless ; that its Masses, holy water, and relics were mere money-getting devices of a sinful priesthood and helped no one to heaven. Those who questioned the teachings of the Church and pro- posed to cast off its authority were, according to the accepted The Medieval Church at its Height 419 view of the time, guilty of the supreme crime of heresy. Heretics were of two sorts. One class merely rejected the practices and some of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church while they remained Christians and endeavored to imitate as nearly as pos- sible the simple life of Christ and the apostles. 625. The Waldensians. Amon'g those who continued to accept the Christian faith but refused to obey the clergy the most im- portant sect was that of the Waldensians, which took its rise about 1 1 75. These were followers of Peter Waldo of Lyons, who gave up all their property and lived a life of apostolic poverty. They went about preaching the Gospel and explaining the Scrip- tures, which they translated from Latin into the language of the people. They made many converts, and before the end of the twelfth century there were great numbers of them scattered throughout western Europe. 626. The Albigensians. On the other hand, there were popular leaders who taught that the Christian religion itself was false. They held that there were two principles in the universe, the good and the evil, which were forever fighting for the victory. They asserted that the Jehovah of the Old Testament was really the evil power, and that it was, therefore, the evil power whom the Catholic Church worshiped. These heretics were often called Albigensians, a name derived from the town of Albi in southern France, where they were very numerous. Their teachings were, however, old, common before the break-up of the Roman Empire. It is very difficult for us who live in a time of religious tolera- tion to understand the universal and deep-rooted horror of heresy which long prevailed in Europe. But we must recollect that to the orthodox believer in the Church nothing could exceed the guilt of one who committed treason against God by rejecting the religion which had been handed down in the Roman Church from the im- mediate followers of his Son. Moreover, doubt and unbelief were not merely sin ; they were revolt against the most powerful social institution of the time, which, in spite of the sins of some of its officials, continued to be venerated by people at large through- out western Europe. 420 History of Europe In southern France there were many adherents of both the Albigensians and the Waldensians, especially in the county of Toulouse, At the beginning of the thirteenth century there was in this region an open contempt for the Church, and bold heretical teachings were heard even among the higher classes. Against the people of this flourishing land Pope Innocent III preached a crusade in 1208. An army marched from northern France into the doomed region and, after one of the most atrocious and bloody wars upon record, suppressed the heresy by wholesale slaughter. At the same time, the war checked the civilization and destroyed the prosperity of the most enlightened portion of France. 627. The Inquisition. The most permanent defense of the Church against heresy was the establishment, under the headship of the Pope, of a system of courts designed to ferret out secret cases of unbelief and bring the offenders to punishment. These courts, which devoted their whole attention to the discovery and conviction of heretics, were called the Holy Inquisition, which gradually took form after the Albigensian crusade. The unfair- ness of the trials and the cruel treatment of those suspected of heresy, through long imprisonment or torture, — inflicted with the hope of forcing them to confess their crime or to implicate others, — have rendered the name of the Inquisition infamous. Without by any means attempting to defend the methods em- ployed, it may be remarked that the inquisitors were often earnest and upright men, and the methods of procedure of the Inquisition were not more cruel than those used in the secular courts of the period. The assertion of the suspected person that he was not a heretic did not receive any attention, for it was assumed that he would naturally deny his guilt, as would any other criminal. A person's belief had, therefore, to be judged by outward acts. Consequently one might fall into the hands of the Inquisition by mere accidental conversation with a heretic, by some unintentional neglect to show due respect toward the Church rites, or by the malicious testimony of one's neighbors. This is really the most terrible aspect of the Inquisition and its procedure. The Medieval Church at its Height 42 1 If the suspected person confessed his guilt and abjured his heresy, he was forgiven and received back into the Church ; but a penance of life imprisonment was imposed upon him as a fitting means of wiping away the unspeakable sin of which he had been guilty. If he persisted in his heresy he was "relaxed to the secular arm" ; that is to say, the Church, whose law forbade it to shed blood, handed over the convicted person to the civil power, which burned him alive without further trial. III. The Franciscans and Dominicans 628. Founding of the Mendicant Orders. We may now turn to that far more cheerful and effective method of meeting the opponents of the Church, which may be said to have been dis- covered by St. Francis of Assisi. His teachings and the example of his beautiful life probably did far more to secure continued al- legiance to the Church than all the harsh devices of the Inquisition. We have seen how the Waldensians tried to better the world by living simple lives and preaching the Gospel. Owing to the disfavor of the Church authorities, who declared their teachings erroneous and dangerous, they were prevented from publicly carrying on their missionary work. Yet all conscientious men agreed with the Waldensians that the world was in a sad plight, owing to the negligence and the misdeeds of the clergy. St. Francis and St. Dominic strove to meet the needs of their time by in- venting a new kind of clergyman, the begging brother, or " mendi- cant friar" (from the Latin jrater, "brother"). He was to do just what the bishops and parish priests often failed to do — namely, lead a holy life of self-sacrifice, defend the Church's beliefs against the attacks of the heretics, and awaken the people to a new religious life. The founding of the mendicant orders is one of the most interesting events of the Middle Ages. 629. St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) and his Order. There is no more lovely and fascinating figure in all history than St. Francis. He was born (probably in 1182) at Assisi, a little town in central Italy. He was the son of a well-to-do merchant, 422 History of Europe and during his early youth he lived a very gay life, spending his father's money freely. He read the French romances of the time and dreamed of imitating the brave knights whose adven- tures they described. Although his companions were wild and reckless, there was a delicacy and chivalry in Francis's own make- up which made him hate all things coarse and heartless. When later he voluntarily became a beggar, his ragged cloak still cov- ered a true poet and knight. The contrast between his own life of luxury and the sad state of the poor early afflicted him. When he was about twenty, after a long and serious illness which made a break in his gay life and gave him time to think, he suddenly lost his love for the old pleasures and began to consort with the destitute, above all with lepers. His father does not appear to have had any fond- ness whatever for beggars, and the relations between him and his son grew more and more strained. When finally he threatened to disinherit the young man, Francis cheerfully agreed to surrender all right to his inheritance. Stripping off his clothes and giving them back to his father, he accepted the worn-out garment of a gardener and became a homeless hermit, busying himself in re- pairing the dilapidated chapels near Assisi. He soon began to preach in a simple way, and before long a rich fellow townsman resolved to follow Francis's example — sell his all and give to the poor. Others soon joined them, and these joyous converts, free of worldly burdens, went barefoot and penniless about central Italy preaching the Gospel instead of shutting themselves up in a monastery. When, with a dozen followers, Francis appealed to the Pope in 1 2 10 for his approval, Pope Innocent III hesitated. He did not believe that anyone could lead a life of absolute poverty. Moreover, might not these ragged, ill-kempt vagabonds seem to condemn the Church by adopting a life so different from that of the rich and comfortable clergy ? Yet if he disapproved the friars he would seem to disapprove at the same time Christ's direc- tions to his apostles. He finally decided to authorize the brethren to continue their missions. The Medieval Church at its Height 423 630. Missionary Work undertaken. Seven years later, when Francis's followers had greatly increased in numbers, missionary work was begun on a large scale, and brethren were dispatched to Germany, Hungary, France, Spain, and even to Syria. It was not long before an English chronicler was telling with wonder of the arrival in his country of these barefoot men, in their patched gowns and with ropes about their waists, who, with Christian faith, took no thought for the morrow, believing that their Heavenly Father knew what things they had need of, 631. Francis did not desire to found a Powerful Order. As time went on, Ihe success of their missionary work led the Pope to bestow many privileges upon them. It grieved Francis, however, to think of his little band of companions being con- verted into a great and powerful order. He foresaw that they would soon cease to lead their simple, holy life and would become ambitious and perhaps rich. ''I, little Brother Francis," he writes, " desire to follow the life and the poverty of Jesus Christ, persevering therein until the end ; and I beg you all and exhort you to persevere always in this most holy life of poverty, and take good care never to depart from it upon the advice and teachings of anyone whomsoever." After the death of St. Francis (1226) many of the order, which now numbered several thousand members, wished to main- tain the simple rule of absolute poverty ; others, including the new head of the order, believed that much good might be done with the wealth which people were anxious to give them. They argued that the individual friars might still remain absolutely possessionless even if the order had beautiful churches and com- fortable monasteries. So a stately church was immediately con- structed at Assisi to receive the remains of their humble founder, who in his lifetime had chosen a deserted hovel for his home ; and a great chest was set up in the church to receive the offerings of those who desired to give. 632. The Founding of the Dominican Order. St. Dominic (b. 1 1 70), the Spanish founder of the other great mendicant order, was not a simple layman like Francis. He was a churchman 424 History oj Europe and took a regular course of instruction in theology for ten years in a Spanish university. He then (1208) accompanied his bishop to southern France on the eve of the Albigensian crusade and was deeply shocked to see the prevalence of heresy. His host at Toulouse happened to be an Albigensian, and Dominic spent the night in converting him. He then and there determined to devote his life to fighting heresy. By 12 14 a few sympathetic spirits from various parts of Eu- rope had joined Dominic, and they asked Pope Innocent III to sanction their new order. The Pope again hesitated, but is said to have dreamed a dream in which he save the great Roman Church of the Lateran tottering and ready to fall had not Dominic supported it on his shoulders. He interpreted this as meaning that the new organization might sometime become a great aid to the papacy, and gave it his approval. As soon as possible Dominic sent forth his followers, of whom there were but sixteen, to evangelize the world, just as the Franciscans were undertaking their first missionary journeys. By 122 1 the Dominican order was thoroughly organized and had sixty monasteries scattered over western Europe." "Wandering on foot over the face of Europe, under burning suns or chilling blasts, rejecting alms in money but receiving thankfully whatever coarse food might be set before the way- farer, enduring hunger in silent resignation, taking no thought for the morrow, but busied eternally in the work of snatching souls from Satan and lifting men up from the sordid cares of daily life " — in this way did the early Franciscans and Dominicans win the love and veneration of the people. The Dominicans were called the "Preaching Friars" and were carefully trained in theology in order the better to refute the arguments of the heretics. The Pope delegated to them especially the task of conducting the Inquisition. They early began to extend their influence over the universities, and the two most dis- tinguished theologians and teachers of the thirteenth century, Al- bertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, were Dominicans. Among the Franciscans, on the other band, there was always a considerable The Medieval Church at its Height 425 party who were suspicious of learning and who showed a greater desire to remain absolutely poor than did the Dominicans. Yet as a whole the Franciscans, like the Dominicans, accepted the wealth that came to them, and they too contributed dis- tinguished scholars to the universities. IV. Church and State 633. Chief Sources of Difficulty between Church and State. We have seen that the Medieval Church was a single great insti- tution with its head, the Pope, at Rome and its officers in all the countries of western Europe. It had its laws, law courts, taxes, and even prisons, just like the various kings and other rulers. In general, the kings were ready to punish everyone who revolted against the Church. Indeed, the State depended upon the church- men in many ways. It was the churchmen who wrote out the documents which the king required ; they took care of the schools, aided the poor, and protected the weak. They tried, by issuing the Truce of God (§ 534), to discourage neighborhood warfare, which the kings were unable to stop. But as the period of disorder drew to an end and the kings and other rulers got the better of the feudal lords and established peace in their realms, they began to think that the Church had become too powerful and too rich. Certain difficulties arose of which the following were the most important : 1. Should the king or the Pope have the advantage of selecting the bishops and the abbots of rich monasteries ? Naturally both were anxious to place their friends and supporters in these in- fluential positions. Moreover, the Pope, like the king, could claim a considerable contribution from those whom he appointed, and the king naturally grudged him the money (compare §§ 586-590). 2. How far might the king venture to tax the lands and other property of the Church ? Was this vast amount of wealth to go on increasing and yet make no contribution to the support of the government ? The churchmen usually maintained that they needed all their money to carry on the church, services, keep 426 History of Europe up the churches and monasteries, take care of the schools, and aid the poor, for the State left them to bear all these necessary bur- dens. The law of the Church permitted the churchmen to make voluntary gifts to the king when there was urgent necessity. 3, Then there was trouble over the cases to be tried in the church courts and the claim of churchmen to be tried only by clergymen. Worst of all was the habit of appealing cases to Rome, for the Pope would often decide the matter in exactly the opposite way from which the king's court had decided it. 4. Lastly there was the question of how far the Pope as head of the Christian Church had a right to interfere with the govern- ment of a particular state, when he did not approve of the way in which a king was acting. The powers of the Pope were very great, everyone admitted, but even the most devout Catholics differed somewhat as to just how great they were. We have seen some illustrations of these troubles in the chapter on the Popes and Emperors. 634. Edward I and Philip the Fair propose to tax the Clergy. It was natural after a monarch had squeezed all that he could out of the Jews and the towns, and had exacted every possible feudal due, that he should turn to the rich estates of the clergy, in spite of their claim that their property was dedicated to God and owed the king nothing. The extensive enterprises of Edward I (§§ 559 ff-) led him in 1296 to demand one fifth of the personal property of the clergy. Philip the Fair of France exacted one hundredth and then one fiftieth of the possessions of clergy and laity alike. This led to a bitter conflict between the French king and Pope Boniface VIII about the year 1300. The Pope at first forbade all such payments but was in the end forced to permit the clergy to pay their feudal dues and make loans to the king. In spite of this setback the Pope never seemed more completely the recognized head of the Western world than during the first great jubilee, in the year 1300, when Boniface called together all Christendom to celebrate the opening of the new century by a great religious festival at Rome. It is reported that two millions The Medieval Church at its Height 427 of people, coming from all parts of Europe, visited the churches of Rome, and that in spite of widening the streets many were crushed in the crowd. So great was the influx of money into the papal treasury that two assistants were kept busy with rakes col- lecting the offerings which were deposited at the tomb of St. Peter. 635. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. After the death of Boniface (1303) King Philip proposed to have no more trouble with popes. He arranged in 1305 to have the French Archbishop of Bordeaux chosen head of the Church, with the understanding that he should transfer the papacy from Rome to France. The new Pope accordingly summoned the cardinals to meet him at Lyons, where he was crowned under the title of "Clement V." He remained in France during his whole pontif- icate, moving from one rich abbey to another. His successors took up their residence in the town of Avignon, just outside the French frontier of those days. There they built a sumptuous palace in which successive popes lived in great splendor for sixty years. The prolonged exile of the popes from Rome, lasting from 1305 to 1377, is commonly called the Babylonian Captivity^ of the Church, on account of the woes attributed to it. The popes of this period were for the most part good and earnest men ; but they were all Frenchmen, and the proximity of their court to France led to the natural suspicion that they were controlled by the French kings. This, together with their luxurious court, brought them into discredit with the other nations, above all with the English and the Germans. At Avignon the popes were naturally deprived of some of the revenue which they had enjoyed from their Italian possessions when they lived at Rome. This deficiency had to be made up by increased taxation, especially as the expenses of the splendid papal court were very heavy. The papacy was, consequently, rendered unpopular by the various new methods employed to raise money. 1 The name recalled, of course, the long exile of the Jews from their land (see above, §§ iio-iii). 42 8 History of Europe 636. Statute of Pro visors (1352). The papal exactions met with the greatest opposition in England because the popes were thought to favor France, with which country the English were at war. A law was passed by Parliament in 1352, ordering that n ti. 't:^.i ^ -..b^^ffp "lip"' aaagtlbtftjc ciesrD f&isL mm p\ tK# os^ b'tfojf !'« o^ Bo/W of iiiitotpnfit ratEftwt.tmSKetef ferctbafmfuigt i-'iHcdhuige£ctep ■ t^HoiOf pcttaaDtcmtttrmiaSmin ;«f C^m»-'C w aUcMun of tcrofe i«! UKitttn out to l}i>m -* aUt pr omtwof^ jaff- 1 tserni i»aj»t«f a of fi^m in w aoDi'i aPjfiimniaiotBc rtJyja is'^K" of ffflnciis « Mpr^ Utf of 0rta4l)0titt(fis tcmflrt-itiB •tertetoiBftst (/mjjtof ;>f ojootr.' ir|ct)i«fnitejt'.»t«?f ncnx tfa p*" iDOftualtmgt; uca«t^cra I ^tmjiimf potBcr.tS&tttW- a» cc^ ; jr-iiD Tu t» P Cjmflffo (tr f OtttttU IfttCTftH ni emvndem Cpyvpt-- Fig. 102. Page from Wycliffe's Translation of the Bible This is the upper half of the first page of the Gospel according to Mark and contains verses 1-7 and 15-23. The scribe of the time made /, y, and t/i in something the same way. The page begins : " The bigynninge of the gospel of ihusu crist, the sone of god. As it is writen in isaie, the prophete, Loo, I send myn aungel bifore thi face, that schal make thi weie redi bifore thee. The voice of one crying in deseert, make thee redi the weie of the lord, make thee his pathis ryghtful. Joon was in deseert baptizinge and prechinge the baptism of penaunce in to remissioun of sinnes." While the spelling is some- what different from ours it is clear that the language used by Wycliffe closely resembled that used in the familiar authorized version of the New Testament, made two centuries and a half later all who procured a church office from the Pope should be outlawed, since they were enemies of the king and his realm. This and similar laws failed, however, to prevent the Pope from filling English benefices. The English king was unable to keep the The Medieval Church at its Height 429 money of his realm from flowing to Avignon, and at the meeting of the English Parliament held in 1376 a report was made to the effect that the taxes levied by the Pope in England were five times those raised by the king. 637. John Wycliffe. The most famous and conspicuous critic of the Pope at this time was John Wycliffe, a teacher at Oxford, He was born about 1320, but we know little of him before 1366, when Pope Urban V demanded that England should pay the tribute promised by King John when he became the Pope's vassal (§ 552). Parliament declared that John had no right to bind the people without their consent, and Wycliffe began his career of opposition to the papacy by trying to prove that John's agreement was void. About ten years later we find the Pope issuing bulls against the teachings of Wycliffe, who had begun to assert that the State might appropriate the property of the Church, if it was misused, and that the Pope had no authority except as he acted according to the Gospel. Soon Wycliffe went further and boldly attacked the papacy itself, as well as many of the Church institutions. Wycliffe's anxiety to teach the people led him to have the Bible translated into English. An example of his language is given on the previous page. He also prepared a great number of sermons and tracts in English. He is the father of English prose, for we have little in English before his time, except poetry. Wycliffe and his "simple priests" were charged with encour- aging the discontent and disorder which culminated in the Peas- ants' Revolt, which occurred not long before his death (§ 572). Whether this charge was true or not, it caused many of his fol- lowers to fall away from him. But in spite of this and the de- nunciations of the Church, Wycliffe was not seriously interfered with and died peaceably in 1384. Wycliffe is remarkable as being the first distinguished scholar and reformer to repudiate the head- ship of the Pope and those practices of the Church of Rome which more than a century after his death were attacked by Luther in his successful revolt against the Medieval Church. This will be discussed in a later chapter. 430 History of Europe QUESTIONS I. In what ways did the Medieval Church differ from the modem churches with which we are famiUar ? In what ways did the Medieval Church resemble a State ? What were the powers of the Pope ? What were the duties of a bishop in the Middle Ages ? Why was the clergy the most powerful class in the Middle Ages ? II. What were the views of the Waldensians ? of the Albigensians ? What was the Inquisition ? III. Narrate briefly the life of St. Francis. Did the Franciscan order continue to follow the wishes of its founder ? Contrast the Domini- cans with the Franciscans. IV. What were the chief subjects of disagreement between the Church and the State ? Describe the conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip the Fair. How did the Babylonian Captivity come about ? What were some of the results of the sojourn of the popes at Avignon ? What were the views of John Wycliffe ? Note. The tailpiece of this chapter represents an English bishop ordaining a priest and is taken from a manuscript of Henry Il's time. The bishop is wearing his miter and holds his pastoral staff, the crosier, in his left hand while he raises his right, in blessing, over the priest's head. CHAPTER XXIX MEDIEVAL TOWNS -THEIR BUSINESS AND BUILDINGS I. The Towns and Guilds 638. Reappearance of Towns and their Importance. In discussing the Middle Ages we have hitherto dealt mainly with kings and emperors, and with the popes and the Church of which they were the chief rulers ; we have also described the monks and monasteries, the warlike feudal lords and their castles, and the hard-working serfs who farmed the manors ; but nothing has been said about the people who lived in the towns. Towns have always been the chief centers of progress and en- lightenment, for the simple reason that people must live close to- gether in large numbers before they can develop business on a large scale, carry on trade with foreign countries, establish good schools and universities, erect noble public buildings, support libraries and museums and art galleries. One does not find these in the country, for the people outside the towns are too scattered and usually too poor to have the things that are common enough in large cities. One of the chief peculiarities of the early Middle Ages, from the break-up of the Roman Empire to the time of William the Conqueror, was the absence of large and flourishing towns in western Europe^ and this fact alone would serve to explain why there was so little progress. 431 432 History of Europe The Roman towns were decreasing in population before the German inroads. The confusion which followed the invasions hastened their decline, and a great number of them disappeared altogether. Those which survived and such new towns as sprang up were of little importance during the early Middle Ages. Dur- ing the long period from Theodoric to Frederick Barbarossa, over six centuries, by far the greater part of the population of England, Germany, and northern and central France were living in the country, on the great estates belonging to the feudal lords, abbots, and bishops.^ A great part of the medieval towns, of which we begin to have some scanty records about the year looo, appear to have origi- nated on the manors of feudal lords or about a monastery or castle (Fig. 103). The French name for town, ville, is derived from "vill," the name of the manor, and we use this old Roman word when we call a town Jacksonville or lia.Tnsville. The need of protection was probably the usual reason for establishing a town with walls about it, so that the townspeople and the neigh- boring country people might find safety within it when attacked by neighboring feudal lords, 639. Compactness of a Medieval Town. The way in which a medieval town was built seems to justify this conclusion (see headpiece of this chapter — the German town of Siegen as it formerly looked) . It was generally crowded and compact compared with its more luxurious Roman predecessors. Aside from the market place there were few or no open spaces. There were no amphitheaters or public baths as in the Roman cities. The streets were often mere alleys over which the jutting stories of the high houses almost met. The high, thick wall that surrounded it pre- vented its extending easily and rapidly as our cities do nowadays. 640. Townsmen originally Serfs. All towns outside of Italy (§ 598) were small in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and, like the manors on which they had grown up, they had little com- merce as yet with the outside world. They produced almost all 1 In Italy and southern France town life was doubtless more general than in northern Europe. r Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 433 that their inhabitants needed except the farm products which came from the neighboring country. There was likely to be little expansion as long as the town remained under the absolute control of the lord or monastery upon whose land it was situated. The townspeople were scarcely more than serfs, in spite of the fact s.?» Ciy x\.- . ''~--'i '■^ Fig. 103. A Castle with a Village below it A village was pretty sure to grow up near the castle of a powerful lord and might gradually become a large town that they lived within a wall and were traders and artisans in- stead of farmers. They had to pay irritating dues to their lord, just as if they still formed a farming community. With the increase of trade (see below, §§,643-648) came the longing for greater freedom. For when new and attractive com- modities began to be brought ,from the East and the South, the people of the towns were encouraged to make things which they could exchange at some neighboring fair for the products of 434 History of Europe distant lands. But no sooner did the townsmen begin to engage in manufacturing and to enter into relations with the outside world than they became aware that they were subject to exactions and restrictions which rendered progress impossible. Consequently, during the twelfth century there were many in- surrections of the towns against their lords, and there was a gen- eral demand that the lords should grant the townsmen charters in which the rights of both parties should be definitely stated. 641. Town Charters. These charters were written contracts between the lord and the town government, which served at once as the certificate of birth of the town and as its constitution. The old dues and services which the townspeople owed as serfs (see above, § 525) were either abolished or changed into money payments. As a visible sign of their freedom many of the towns had a belfry, a high building with a watchtower, where a guard was kept day and night in order that the bell might be rung in case of approaching danger (see headpiece of this chapter). It con- tained an assembly hall, where those who governed the town held their meetings, and a prison. In the fourteenth century the won- derful town halls began to be erected, which, with the exception of the cathedrals and other churches, are usually the most re- markable buildings which the traveler sees to-day in the old commercial cities of Europe. 642. The Guilds. The tradesmen in the medieval towns were at once manufacturers and merchants ; that is, they made, as well as offered for sale, the articles which they kept in their shops. Those who belonged to a particular trade — the bakers, the butch- ers, the sword-makers, the armorers, etc. — formed unions or guilds to protect their special interests. The oldest statutes of a guild in Paris are those of the candle-makers, which go back to 1 06 1. The number. of trades differed greatly in different towns, but the guilds all had the same object — to prevent anyone from practicing a trade who had not been duly admitted to the union. A young man had to spend several years in learning his trade. During this time he lived in the house of a '' master workman " as J"iG. 104. Street in Quimper, France None of the streets in even the oldest European towns look just as they did in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but here and there, as in this town of Brittany, one can still get some idea of the narrow, cramped streets and over- hanging houses and the beautiful cathedral crowded in among them 436 History of Europe an '' apprentice," but received no remuneration. He then became a "journeyman" and could earn wages, although he was still allowed to work only fo.r master workmen and not directly for the public. A simple trade might be learned in three years, but to become a goldsmith one must be an apprentice for ten years. The number of apprentices that a master workman might employ was strictly limited, in order that the journeymen might not be- come too numerous. The way in which each trade was to be practiced was carefully regulated, as well as the time that should be spent in work each day. The system of guilds discouraged enterprise but maintained uniform standards everywhere. Had it not been for these unions the defenseless, isolated workmen, serfs as they had formerly been, would have found it impossible to secure freedom and municipal independence from the feudal lords who had formerly been their masters. II. Business in the Later Middle Ages 643. Revival of Business. The chief reason for the growth of the towns and their increasing prosperity was a great develop- ment of trade throughout western Europe. Commerce had pretty much disappeared with the decline of the Roman roads and the general disorganization produced by the barbarian invasions. In the early Middle Ages there was no one to mend the ancient Roman thoroughfares. The great network of highways from Persia to Britain fell apart when independent nobles or poor local com- munities took the place of a world empire. All trade languished, for there was little demand for those articles of luxury which the Roman communities in the North had been accustomed to obtain from the South, and there was but little money to buy what we should consider the comforts of life ; even the nobility lived un- comfortably enough in their dreary and rudely furnished castles. 644. Italian Cities trade with the Orient. In Italy, however, trade does not seem to have altogether ceased. Venice, Genoa, Amalfi, and other towns appear to have developed a considerable Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 437 Mediterranean commerce even before the Crusades (see map above, p. 396). Their merchants, as we have seen, suppHed the destitute crusaders with the material necessary for the conquest of Jerusalem (§ 607). The passion for pilgrimages offered induce- ments to the Italian merchants for expeditions to the Orient, whither they transported the pilgrims and returned with the prod- ucts of the East. The Italian cities established trading stations in the East and carried on a direct traffic with the caravans which brought to the shores of the Mediterranean the products of Arabia, Persia, India, and the Spice Islands. The southern French towns and Barcelona entered also into commercial relations with the Mohammedans in northern Africa. 645. Commerce stimulates Industry. This progress in the South could not but stir the lethargy of the rest of Europe. When commerce began to revive, it encouraged a revolution in manufac- ture. So long as the manor system prevailed and each man was occupied in producing only what he and the other people on the estate needed, there was nothing to send abroad and nothing to exchange for luxuries. But when merchants began to come with tempting articles, the members of a community were encouraged to produce a surplus of goods above what they themselves needed, and to sell or exchange this surplus for commodities coming from a distance. Merchants and artisans gradually directed their energies toward the production of what others wished as well as what was needed by the little group to which they belonged. 646. The Luxuries of the East introduced into Europe. The romances of the twelfth century indicate that the West was astonished and delighted by the luxuries of the East — the rich fabrics, oriental carpets, precious stones, perfumes, drugs, silks, and porcelains from China, spices from India, and cotton from Egypt. Venice introduced the silk industry from the East and the manufacture of those glass articles which the traveler may still buy in the Venetian shops. The West learned how to make silk and velvet as well as light and gauzy cotton and linen fabrics. The Eastern dyes were introduced, and Paris was soon imitating the tapestries of the Saracens. In exchange for those luxuries 438 History of Europe which they were unable to produce, the Flemish towns sent their woolen cloths to the East, and Italy its wines. 647. Important Commercial Centers. The Northern mer- chants dealt mainly with Venice and brought their wares across the Brenner Pass and down the Rhine, or sent them by sea to be exchanged in Flanders (see map). By the thirteenth century important centers of trade had come into being, some of which are still among the great commercial towns of the world. Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen carried on active trade with the countries on the Baltic and with England. Augsburg and Nuremberg, in the south of Germany, became important on account of their situa- tion on the line of trade between Italy and the North. Bruges and Ghent sent their manufactures everywhere. English com- merce was relatively unimportant as yet compared with that of the great ports of the Mediterranean. 648. Obstacles to Business. For various reasons it was very difficult indeed to carry on business on a large scale in the Middle Ages. In the first place, as has been said, there was little money, and money is essential to buying and selling, unless people confine themselves merely to exchanging one article for another. There were few gold and silver mines in western Europe, and consequently the kings and feudal lords could not supply enough coin. Moreover, the coins were crude, with such rough, irregular edges (Fig. 105) that many people yielded to the tempta- tion to pare off a little of the precious metal before they passed the money on. " Clipping," as this was called, was harshly punished, but that did not stop the practice, which continued for hundreds of years. Nowadays our coins are perfectly round and often have "milled" edges, so that no one would think of trying to appro- priate bits of them as they pass through his hands. It was universally believed that everything had a " just " price, which was merely enough to cover the cost of the materials used in its manufacture and to remunerate the maker for the work he had put into it. It was considered outrageous to ask more than the just price, no matter how anxious the purchaser might be to obtain the article. Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 439 Every manufacturer was required to keep a shop in which he offered at retail all that he made. Those who lived near a town were permitted to sell their products in the market place within the walls on condition that they sold directly to the consumers. They might not dispose of their whole stock to one dealer, for fear that if he had all there was of a commodity he might raise the price above the just one. These ideas made all wholesale trade very difficult. 649. Payment of Interest on Money forbidden. Akin to these prejudices against wholesale business was that against taking in- terest. Money was believed to be a dead and sterile thing, and no one had a right to de- mand any return for lending it. In- terest was consid- ered wicked, since it was exacted by those who took advantage of the embarrassments of others. '' Usury," as the taking of even the most moderate and reasonable rate of interest was then called, was strenuously forbidden by the laws of the Church. We find Church councils ordering that im- penitent usurers should be refused Christian burial and have their wills annulled. So money lending, which is necessary to all great commercial and industrial undertakings, was left to the Jews, who were not required to obey the rules established by the Chris- tian Church for its own members. Fig. 105. Medieval Coins The two upper coins reproduce the face and back of a silver penny of William the Conqueror's reign, and below is a silver groat of Edward III. The same ir- regularities in outline will be noted in the ancient coins represented in Fig. 36 440 History of Europe 650. The Jews as Money Lenders. This ill-starred people played a most important part in the economic development of Europe, but they were terribly maltreated by the Christians, who held them guilty of the supreme crime of putting Christ to d'eath. The active persecution of the Jews did not, however, become com- mon before the* thirteenth century, when they first began to be required to wear a peculiar cap, or badge, which made them easily recognized and exposed them to constant insult. Later they were sometimes shut up in a particular quarter of the city, called the Jewry. As they were excluded from the guilds, they not un- naturally turned to the business of money lending, which no Christian might practice. Undoubtedly this occupation had much to do in causing their unpopularity. The kings permitted them to make loans, often at a most exorbitant rate ; Philip Augustus allowed them to exact 46 per cent, but reserved the right to extort their gains from them when the royal treasury was empty. In England the usual rate was a penny a pound for each week. 651. The Lombards as Bankers. In the thirteenth century the Italians — Lombards, as the English called them^ — began to go into a sort of banking business and greatly extended the em- ployment of bills of exchange. They lent for nothing, but exacted damages for all delay in repayment. This appeared reasonable and right even to those who condemned ordinary interest. 652. Tolls and Other Annoyances. Another serious disadvan- tage which the medieval merchant had to face was the payment of an infinite number of tolls and duties which were demanded by the lords through whose domains his road passed. Not only were duties exacted on the highways, bridges, and at the fords, but those barons who were so fortunate as to have castles on a navigable river blocked the stream in such a way that the mer- chant could not bring his vessel through without a payment for the privilege. The charges were usually small, but the way in which they were collected and the repeated delays must have been a serious source of irritation and loss to the merchants. For example, a 1 There is a Lombard Street in the center of old London where one still finds banks. Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 441 certain monastery lying between Paris and the sea required that those hastening to town with fresh fish should stop and let the monks pick out what they thought worth three pence, with little regard to the condition in which they left the goods. When a boat laden with wine passed up the Seine to Paris, the agent of the lord of Poissy could have three casks broached, and, after trying them all, he could take a measure from the 'one he liked best. At the markets all sorts of dues had to be paid, such, for example, as fees for using the lord's scales or his measuring rod. Besides this, the great variety of coinage which existed in feudal Europe caused infinite perplexity and delay. 653. Pirates. Commerce by sea had its own particular trials, by no means confined to the hazards of wind and wave, rock and shoal. Pirates were numerous in the North Sea. They were often organized and sometimes led by men of high rank, who appear to have regarded the business as no disgrace. The coasts were dangerous and lighthouses and beacons were few. Moreover, natural dangers were increased by false signals which wreckers used to lure ships to shore in order to plunder them. 654. The Hanseatic League. With a view of reducing these manifold perils, the towns early began to form unions for mutual defense. The most famous of these was that of the German cities, called the Hanseatic League. Liibeck was always the leader, but among the seventy towns which at one time and another were included in the confederation we find Cologne, Brunswick, Dan- zig, and other centers of great importance. The union purchased and controlled settlements in London, — the so-called Steelyard near London Bridge, — at Wisby, Bergen, and the far-off Novgorod in Russia. They managed to monopolize nearly the whole trade on the Baltic and North Seas, either through treaties or the influence that they were able to bring to bear.^ The League made war on the pirates and did much to reduce the dangers of traffic. Instead of dispatching separate and de- fenseless merchantmen, their ships sailed out in fleets under the protection of a man-of-war. On one occasion the League 1 The ships of the Hanseatic League were very small (see below, Fig. 152). 442 History of Europe undertook a successful war against the king of Denmark, who had interfered with their interests. At another time it declared war on England and brought her to terms. For two hundred years before the discovery of America the League played a great part in the commercial affairs of western Europe ; but it had begun to decline even before the discovery of new routes to the East and West Indies revolutionized trade. 655. Trade carried on by Towns not by Nations. It should be observed that, during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, trade was not carried on between nations, but by the various towns, like Venice, Liibeck, Ghent, Bruges, Cologne. A merchant did not act or trade as an independent individual but as a member of a particular merchant guild, and he enjoyed the protection of his town and of the treaties it arranged. If a mer- chant from a certain town failed to pay a debt, a fellow-townsman might be seized if found in the town where the debt was due. At the period of which we have been speaking, an inhabitant of London was considered as much of a foreigner in Bristol as was the merchant from Cologne or Antwerp. Only gradually did the towns merge into the nations to which their people belonged. The increasing wealth of the merchants could not fail to raise them to a position of importance which earlier tradesmen had not enjoyed. They began to build fine houses and to buy the various comforts and luxuries which were finding their way into western Europe. They wanted their sons to be educated, and so it came about that other people besides clergymen began to learn how to read and write. As early as the fourteenth century many of the books appear to have been written with a view of meeting the tastes and needs of the business class. Representatives of the towns were summoned to the councils of the kings — into the English Parliament and the French Estates General, about the year 1300, for the monarch was obliged to ask their advice when he demanded their money to carry on his government and his wars (§ 557). The rise of the business class alongside of the older orders of the clergy and nobility is one of the most momentous changes of the thirteenth century. Fig. io6. Facade of the Cathedral at Rheims (Thirteenth Century) as it appeared before the World War Fig. 107. Rose Window of Rheims Cathedral, nearly Forty Feet IN Diameter, from the Inside This wonderful work of art was shattered by the German gunners during the World War Fig. io8. Interior of Exeter Cathedral (Early Fourteenth Century) Fig. 109. North Porch of Chartres Cathedral (Fourteenth Century) Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 443 III. Gothic Architecture 656. Medieval Buildings. Almost all the medieval buildings have disappeared in the ancient towns of Europe. The stone town walls, no longer adequate in our times, have been removed, and their place taken by broad and handsome avenues. The old Fig. no. Romanesque Church of Chatel-Montagne in the Department of Allier, France This is a pure Romanesque building with no alterations in a later style, such as are common. Heavy as the walls are, they are reenforced by buttresses along the side. All the arches are round, none of them pointed houses have been torn down in order to widen and straighten the streets and permit the construction of modern dwellings. Here and there one can still iind a walled town, but they are few in number and are merely curiosities (see Fig. 131). Of the buildings erected in towns during the Middle Ages only the churches remain, but these fill the beholder with wonder and admiration. It seems impossible that the cities of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which were neither very large nor very rich, 444 History of Europe could possibly find money enough to pay for them. It has been estimated that the bishop's church at Paris (Notre Dame) would cost at least five millions of dollars — at pre-war prices — to repro- duce, and there are a number of other cathedrals in France, Eng- land, Italy, Spain, and Germany which must have been almost as costly. No modern buildings equal them in beauty and grandeur, and they are the most strik- ing memorial of the religious spirit and the town pride of the Middle Ages. The construction of a cathe- dral sometimes extended over two or three centuries, and much of the money for it must have been gathered penny by penny. It should be remembered that everybody belonged in those days to the one great Catholic Church, so that the building of a new church was a matter of in- terest to the whole commun- ity — to men of every rank, from the bishop himself to the workman and the peasant. 657. The Romanesque Style. Up to the twelfth cen- tury churches were built in what is called the Romanesque, or Roman-like, style because they resembled the solid old basilicas re- ferred to in earlier chapters (see §§383 and 479 above). These Romanesque churches had stone ceilings (see Figs. 90, 92, no), and it was necessary to make the walls very thick and solid to support them. There was a main aisle in the center, called the nave, and a narrower aisle on either side, separated from the nave by massive stone pillars, which helped to hold up the heavy ceiling. These pillars were connected by round arches of stone above Fig. III. Figures on Notre Dame, Paris Such grotesque figures as these are very common adornments of Gothic build- ings. They are often used for spouts to carry off the rain and are called gar- goyles; that is, " throats " (compare our words "gargle" and "gurgle"). The two here represented are perched on a parapet of one of the church's towers Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 445 them. The tops of the small- ish windows were round, and the ceiling was constructed of round vaults, somewhat like a stone bridge, so the round arches form one of the striking features of the Romanesque style which dis- tinguishes it from the Gothic style, that followed it. The windows had to be small in order that the walls should not be weakened, so the Romanesque churches are rather dark inside. 658. The Gothic Style. The architects of France were not satisfied, however, with this method of build- ing, and in the twelfth cen- tury they invented a new and wonderful way of con- structing churches and other buildings which enabled them to do away with the heavy walls and put high, wide, graceful windows in their place. This new style of architecture is known as the Gothic,^ and its underlying 1 The inappropriate name " Gothic" was given to the beautiful churches of the North by Italian architects of the sixteenth century, who did not like them and preferred to build in the style of the ancient Romans. The Italians with their "classical" tastes they carelessly and ignorantly called Fig. 1 1 2. Cross Section of Amiens Cathedral It will be noticed that there is a row of rather low windows opening under the roof of the aisle. These constitute the so- called triforium {,E). Above them is the clerestory (F), the windows of which open between the flying buttresses. So it came about that the walls of a Gothic church were in fact mainly windows. The Egyp- tians were the first to invent the clerestory (see § 50 and Fig. i6) assumed that only German barbarians — whom Goths — could admire a Gothic cathedral. 446 History of Europe principles can readily be understood from a little study of the accompanying diagram (Fig. 112), which shows how a Gothic cathedral is supported, not by heavy walls but by buttresses. The architects discovered in the first place that the concave stone ceiling, which is known as the vaulting (A), could be sup- ported by ribs (B). These could in turn be brought together and supported on top of pil- lars which rested on the floor of the church. So far so good ! But the builders knew well enough that the pillars and ribs would be pushed over by the weight and outward "thrust" of the stone vaulting if they were not firmly supported from the outside. In- stead of erecting heavy walls to insure this sup- port they had recourse to buttresses (D), which they built quite outside the walls of the church and connected by means of " flying " buttresses (CC) with the points where the pillars and ribs had the most tendency to push outward. In this way a vaulted stone ceiling could be supported without the use of a massive wall. This ingenious use of buttresses instead of walls is the fundamental principle of Gothic architecture. It was discovered for the first time by the architects in the medieval towns and was apparently quite unknown to earlier builders. Fig. 113. Flying Buttresses of Notre Dame, Paris The size of the buttresses and the height of the clerestory windows of a great cathedral are well shown here Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 447 The wall, no longer essential for supporting the ceiling, was used only to inclose the building, and windows could be built as high and wide as pleased the architect. By the use of pointed instead of round arches it was possible to give great variety to the windows and vaulting. So pointed arches came into general use, and the Gothic is often called the "pointed" style on this account, although the use of the ribs and buttresses, not the pointed arch, is the chief peculiarity of that form of architecture. Fig. 114. Grotesque Heads, Rheims Cathedral Here and there about a Gothic cathedral the stone carvers were accustomed to place grotesque and comical figures and faces. During the process of re- storing the cathedral at Rheims a number of these heads were brought together, and the photograph was taken upon which the illustration is based 659. Church Windows. The light from the huge windows (those at Beauvais are fifty to fifty-five feet high) would have been too intense had it not been softened by the stained glass, set in exquisite stone tracery, with which they were filled (Fig. 107). The stained glass of the medieval cathedral, especially in France, where the glass workers brought their art to the greatest perfec- tion, was one of its chief glories. By far the greater part of this old glass has of course been destroyed, but it is still so highly prized that every bit of it is now carefully preserved, for it has . never since been equaled. A window set with odd bits of it pieced 448 History of Europe together like crazy patchwork is more beautiful, in its rich and jewel-like coloring, than the finest modern work. 660. Gothic Sculpture. As the skill of the architects increased they became bolder and bolder and erected churches that were marvels of lightness and delicacy of ornament, without sacrificing dignity or beauty of proportion. The facade of Rheims cathedral (Fig. 106) was — before its mutilation by German shells during the World War — one of the most famous examples of the best work of the thirteenth century, with its multitudes of sculptured figures and its gigantic rose window (Fig. 107), filled with ex- quisite stained glass of great brilliancy. The interior of Exeter cathedral (Fig. 108), although by no means so spacious as a number of the French churches, affords an excellent example of the beauty and impressiveness of a Gothic interior. The porch before the north entrance of Chartres cathedral (Fig. 109) is a magnificent example of fourteenth-century work. One of the charms of a Gothic building is the profusion of carving — statues of saints and rulers and scenes from the Bible, cut in stone. The same kind of stone was used for both construct- ing the building and making the statues, so they harmonize per- fectly. Here and there the Gothic stone carvers would introduce amusing faces or comical animals (Figs, iii, 114). In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Gothic buildings other than churches were built. The most striking and important of these were the guild halls, erected by the rich corporations of merchants, and the town halls of important cities. But the Gothic style has always seemed specially appropriate for churches. Its lofty aisles and open floor spaces, its soaring arches leading the eye toward heaven, and its glowing windows suggesting the glories of paradise, fostered the faith of the medieval Christian. IV. The Italian Cities of the Renaissance 661. The Renaissance. We have been speaking so far of the town life in northern Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth cen- turies. We must now see how the Italian towns in the following Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 449 two centuries reached a degree of prosperity and refinement un- dreamed of north of the Alps. Within their walls learning and art made such extraordinary progress that a special name is often given to the period when they flourished — the Renais- sance,^ or new birth. The Italian towns, like those of ancient Greece, were each a little state with its own peculiar life and institutions. Some of them, like Rome, Milan, and Pisa, had been important in Roman times ; others, like Venice, Florence, and Genoa, did not become conspicuous until about the time of the Crusades. The map of Italy at the beginning of the fourteenth century was still divided into three zones, as it had been in the time of the Hohenstaufens.^ To the south lay the kingdom of Naples. Then came the states of the Church, extending diagonally across the peninsula. To the north and west lay the group of city-states to which we now turn our attention. 662. Venice and its Relations with the East. Of these city- states none was more celebrated than Venice, which in the history of Europe ranks in importance with Paris and London. This singular town was built upon a group of sandy islets lying in the Adriatic Sea, about two miles from the mainland. It was pro- tected from the waves by a long, narrow sand bar similar to those which fringe the Atlantic coast from New Jersey southward. Such a situation would not ordinarily have been chosen as the site of a great city^; but it was a good place for fishermen, and its very desolation and inaccessibility recommended it to those settlers who fled from their homes on the mainland during the barbarian invasions. As time went on, the location proved to have its ad- vantages commercially, and even before the Crusades Venice had begun to engage in foreign trade. Its enterprises carried it east- ward, and it early acquired possessions across the Adriatic and in the Orient. The influence of this intercourse with the East is 1 This word, although originally French, has come into such common use that it is quite permissible to pronounce it as if it were English, — re-tia' setis. 2 See map above, p. 396. 3 It is the sole surviving successor to the pile villages of the lake-dwellers who wandered down the valley of the Po (§ 10). 450 History of Europe plainly shown in the celebrated church of St. Mark, whose domes and decorations suggest Constantinople rather than Italy (Fig. ii6). 663. Venice extends its Sway on the Mainland. It was not until early in the fifteenth century that Venice found it to her interest to extend her sway upon the Italian mainland. She y J mm Fig. 115. A Scene in Venice Boats, called gondolas, take the place of carriages in Venice ; one can reach any point in the city by some one of the numerous canals, which take the place of streets. There are also narrow lanes along the canals, crossing them here and there by bridges, so one can wander about the town on foot doubtless believed it dangerous to permit her rival, Milan, to get possession of the Alpine passes through which her goods found their way north. It may be, too, that she preferred to draw her food supplies from the neighborhood instead of transporting them across the Adriatic from her eastern possessions. Moreover, all the Italian cities except Venice already controlled a larger or smaller area of country about them. Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 451 About the year 1400 Venice reached the height of its pros- perity. It had a population of two hundred thousand, which was very large for those days. It had three hundred seagoing vessels which went to and fro in the Mediterranean, carrying wares from the East to the West. It had a war fleet of forty-five galleys, Fig. 116. St. Mark's and the Doge's Palace in Venice One sees the fagade of St. Mark's to the left and that of the doge's palace beyond. The church, modeled after one in Constantinople, was planned before the First Crusade and is adorned with numerous colored marble columns and slabs brought from the East. The interior is covered with mosaics, some of which go back to the twelfth and the thirteenth century. The fa9ade is also adorned with brilliant mosaics. St. Mark's " is unique among the buildings of the world in respect to its unparalleled richness of material and decoration." The doge's palace contained the government offices and the magnificent halls in which the senate and Council of Ten met. The palace was begun about 1300, and the fa9ade we see in the picture was commenced about a hundred years later. It shows the influence of the Gothic style, which penetrated into northern Italy manned by eleven thousand marines ready to fight the battles of the republic. But when Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks (1453), and when, later, the route to India by sea was discovered (see below, §§673-674), Venice could not maintain 452 History of Europe control of the trade with the East, and while it remained an impor- tant city, it no longer enjoyed its former influence and power. 664. Government of Venice. Although Venice was called a republic, it was really governed by a very small group of persons. In 131 1, after a rebellion, the famous Council of Ten was created as a sort of committee of public safety. The whole government, Fig. 117. Senate Chamber in the Doge's Palace This is an example of the magnificent decoration of the rooms used by the Venetian government. It was adorned by celebrated painters in the sixteenth century, when Venice became famous for its artists domestic and foreign, was placed in its hands, in conjunction with the senate and the doge (that is, duke), the nominal head of the republic. The government, thus concentrated in the hands of a very few, was carried on with great secrecy, so that public dis- cussion, such as prevailed in Florence and led to innumerable revolutions there, was unheard of in Venice. The Venetian mer- chant was such a busy person that he was quite willing that the State should exercise its functions without his interference. Venice often came to blows with other rival cities, especially Genoa, but its citizens lived quietly at home under the government Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 453 of its senate, the Council of Ten, and the doge. The other Italian towns were not only fighting one another much of the time but their govern- ment was often in the possession of despots, somewhat like the old Greek tyrants, who got control of, towns and managed them in their own interest. 665. Position of the Italian Despots. There are numerous stories of the incred- ible ferocity exhibited by the Italian despots. It must be remem- bered that they were very rarely legitimate rulers, but usurpers, who could hope to re- tain their power only so long as they could keep their subjects under control and could defend them- selves against equally illegitimate usurpers in the neighboring cities. This situation developed a high degree of sagacity, and many of the despots found it to their interest to govern well and even to give dignity to their rule by patronizing artists and men of letters. But the despot usually made many bitter enemies Fig. 118. Tomb of an Italian Despot The family of the Visconti maintained them- selves many years as despots of Milan. Gian Galeazzo Visconti began in 1396 a magnificent Carthusian monastery not far from Milan, one of the most beautiful structures in Italy. Here, long after his death, a monument was erected to him as founder of the monastery. The monu- ment was begun about 1500 but not completed for several decades 454 History of Europe and was almost necessarily suspicious of treason on the part of those about him. He was ever conscious that at any moment he might fall a victim to the dagger or the poison cup. 666. The Condottieri. The Italian towns carried on their wars among themselves largely by means of hired troops. When a military expedition was proposed, a bargain was made with one of the professional leaders {condottieri) , who provided the neces- sary force. As the soldiers had no more interest in the conflict than did those whom they opposed, who were likewise hired for the occasion, the fight was not usually very bloody ; for the object of each side was to capture the other without unnecessarily rough treatment. 667. Florence. The history of Florence, perhaps the most important of the Italian cities, differs in many ways from that of Venice and of the despotisms of which Milan was an example. Florence was a republic, and all classes claimed the right to in- terest themselves in the government. This led to constant changes in the constitution and frequent struggles between the different political parties. When one party got the upper hand it generally expelled its chief opponents from the city. Exile was a terrible punishment to a Florentine, for Florence was not merely his native city — it was his country, and loved and honored as such. 668. The Medici ; Lorenzo the Magnificent. By the middle of the fifteenth century Florence had come under the control of the great family of the Medici, whose members played the role of very enlightened political bosses. By quietly watching the elections and secretly controlling the selection of city officials, they governed without letting it be suspected that the people had lost their power. The most distinguished member of the house of Medici was Lorenzo the Magnificent (d. 1492) ; under his rule Florence reached the height of its glory in art and literature. As one wanders about Florence to-day he is impressed with the contradictions of the Renaissance period. The streets are lined with the palaces of the noble families to whose rivalries much of the continual disturbance was due. The lower stories of these buildings are constructed of great stones, like fortresses, and Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 455 their windows are barred like those of a prison (Fig. 119) ; yet within they were often furnished with the greatest taste and luxury. For in spite of the disorder, against which the rich protected themselves by mak- ing their houses half strongholds, the beau- tiful churches, noble public buildings, and works of art which now fill the museums indicate that mankind has never, perhaps, reached a higher de- gree of perfection in the arts of peace than amidst the turmoil of this restless town (see below,Figs. 126, 127). 669. Rome, the Capital of the Pa- pacy. During the same period in which Venice and Florence became leaders in wealth and refinement Rome, the capital of the popes, likewise underwent a great change. After the popes returned from their seventy years' residence in France and Avignon (§635) they found the town in a dilapidated state. For years they were able to do little to restore it, as there was a long period during which the papacy was weakened by the existence of a rival line of popes who continued to live at Avignon. When the "great Fig. 119. The Palace of IN Florence THE Medici This palace was erected about 1435 by Cosimo dei Medici, and in it Lorenzo the Magnificent con- ducted the government of Florence and enter- tained the men of letters and artists with whom he liked best to associate. It shows how fortresslike the lower portions of a Florentine palace were, in order to protect the owner from attack 456 History of Europe schism" was over, and all the European nations once more acknowledged the Pope at Rome (1417), it became possible to improve the city and revive some of its ancient glory. Architects, painters, and men of letters were called in and handsomely paid by the popes to erect and adorn magnificent build- ings and to collect a great library in the Vatican palace. 670. St. Peter's and the Vatican. The ancient basilica of St. Peter's (Fig. 77) no longer satisfied the aspira- tions of the popes. It was gradually torn down, and after many changes of plan the present celebrated church with its vast dome and im- posing approach (Fig. 121) took its place. The old palace of the Lateran, where the government of the popes had been carried on for a thousand years, had been deserted after the return from Avignon, and the new palace of the Vatican was gradually constructed to the right of St. Peter's. It has thousands of rooms, great and small, some of them adorned by the most distinguished of the Italian painters, and others filled with ancient statuary. P'iG. 120. Cathedral and Bell Tower at Florenxe The church was begun in 1296 and com- pleted in 1436. The great dome built by the architect Brunelleschi has made his name famous. It is three hundred feet high. The fa9ade is modern but after an old design. The bell tower, or cam- panile, was begun by the celebrated painter Giotto about 1335 and com- pleted about fifty years later. It is richly adorned with sculpture and colored marbles and is considered the finest structure of the kind in the world Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 457 Fig. 121. St. Peter's and the Vatican Palace St. Peter's is the largest church in the world. It is about seven hundred feet long, including the portico, and four hundred and thirty-five feet high, from the pavement to the cross on the dome. The reconstruction was begun as early as 1450, but it proceeded very slowly. Several great architects, Bramante, Raphael, Michael Angelo, and others, were intrusted with the work. After many changes of plan the new church was finally in condition to consecrate in 1626. It is estimated that it cost over $50,000,000. The construction of the vast palace of the popes, which one sees to the right of the church, was car- ried on during the same period. It is said to have no less than eleven thou- sand rooms. Some of them are used for museums and others are celebrated for the frescoes which adorn their walls, by Raphael, Michael Angelo, and other of Italy's greatest artists As one visits Venice, Florence, and Rome to-day he may still see, almost perfectly preserved, many of the finest of the build- ings, paintings, and monuments which belong to the period we have been discussing. V. Early Geographical Discoveries 671. Medieval Commerce on a Small Scale. The business and commerce of the medieval towns was on what would seem to us a rather small scale. There were no great factories, such as have grown up in recent times with the use of steam and machinery, 458 History of Europe and the ships which sailed the Mediterranean and the North Sea were small and held only a very light cargo compared with modern merchant vessels. The gradual growth of a world com- merce began with the sea voyages of the fifteenth century, which led to the exploration by Europeans of the whole globe, most of which was entirely unknown to the Venetian merchants and those who carried on the trade of the Hanseatic League. The Greeks and Romans knew little about the world beyond southern Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, and much that they knew was forgotten during the Middle Ages. The Crusades took many Eu- ropeans as far East as Egypt and Syria. 672. Marco Polo. About 1260 two Venetian merchants, the Polo brothers, visited China and were kindly received at Pekin by the emperor of the Mongols. On a second journey they were accompanied by Marco Polo, the son of one of them. When they got back to Venice in 1295, after a journey of twenty years, Marco gave an account of his experiences which filled his readers with wonder. Nothing stimulated the interest of the West more than his fabulous description of the abundance of gold in Zipangu (Japan) and of the spice markets of the Moluccas and Ceylon. 673. The Discoveries of the Portuguese. About the year 13 1 8 Venice and Genoa opened up direct communication by sea with the towns of the Netherlands. Their fleets, which touched at the port of Lisbon, aroused the commercial enterprise of the Portuguese, who soon began to undertake extended maritime ex- peditions. By the middle of the fourteenth century they had dis- covered the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. Before this time no one had ventured along the coast of Africa beyond the arid region of Sahara. The country was forbidding, there were no ports, and mariners were, moreover, discouraged by the general belief that the torrid region was uninhabitable. In 1445, however, some adventurous sailors came within sight of a head- land beyond the desert, and, struck by its luxuriant growth of tropical trees, they called it Cape Verde (the green cape). Its discovery put an end once for all to the idea that there were only parched deserts to the south. A Map of the Globe in the Time of Columbus In 1492 a German mariner, Behaim, made a globe which is still preserved in Nuremberg. He did not know of the existence of the American continents or of the vast Pacific Ocean. It will be noticed that he places Japan (Cipango) where Mexico lies. In the reproduction many names are omitted and the outlines of North and South America are sketched in so as to make clear the misconceptions of Columbus's time 46o Hisitory of Europe For a generation the Portuguese ventured farther and farther along the coast, in the hope of finding it coming to an end, so that they might make their way by sea to India. At last, in i486, Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Twelve years later (1498) Vasco da Gama, spurred on by Columbus's great discovery, after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and northward beyond Zanzibar, aided by an Arab pilot, steered straight across the Indian Ocean and reached Calicut, in Hindustan, by sea. 674. The Spice Trade. Vasco da Gama and his fellow ad- venturers were looked upon with natural suspicion by the Moham- medan spice merchants, who knew very well that their object was to establish direct trade between the Spice Islands (Moluccas) and western Europe. Hitherto the Mohammedans had had the monopoly of the spice trade between the Moluccas and the eastern ports of the Mediterranean, where the products were handed over to Italian merchants. The Mohammedans were unable, however, to prevent the Portuguese from concluding treaties . with the Indian princes and establishing trading stations at Goa and else- where. In 1 51 2 a successor of Vasco da Gama reached Java and the Moluccas, where the Portuguese speedily built a fortress. By 1 51 5 Portugal had become the greatest among sea powers; and spices reached Lisbon regularly without the intervention of the Mohammedan merchants or the Italian towns, which, especially Venice, were mortally afflicted by the change (see above, § 663), There is no doubt that the desire to obtain spices was at this time the main reason for the exploration of the globe. This motive led European navigators to try in succession every pos- sible way to reach the East — by going around Africa, by sailing west in the hope of reaching the Indies (before they knew of the existence of America), then, after America was discovered, by sailing around it to the north or south, and even sailing around Europe to the north. It is hard for us to understand this enthusiasm for spices, for which we care much less nowadays. One former use of spices was to preserve food, which could not then as now be carried rapidly, while still fresh, from place to place ; nor did our conveniences Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 461 then exist for keeping it by the use of ice. Moreover, spice served to make even spoiled food more palatable than it would otherwise have been. 675. Idea of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing Westward. It inevitably occurred to thoughtful men that the East Indies could be reached by sailing westward. All intelligent people knew, .. ..S.ilrHU'iPi'ijiE _ The Malay Archipelago The outline of the United States has been drawn in to make clear the vast extent of the region explored by the Portuguese at the opening of the six- teenth century. It is not far from two thousand miles from Ceylon to Malacca Strait, and as far from there on to the Spice Islands as from Denver to Richmond, Virginia all through the Middle Ages, that the earth was a globe. The chief authority upon the form and size of the earth con- tinued to be the ancient astronomer Ptolemy, who had lived about A.D. 150. He had reckoned the earth to be about one sixth smaller than it is ; and as Marco Polo had given an exaggerated idea of the distance which he and his companions had traveled eastward, and as no one suspected the existence of the American continents, it was supposed that it could not be a very long journey from Europe across the Atlantic to Japan. ^ 1 See accompanying reproduction of Behaim's globe. 462 History of Europe 676. Columbus discovers America (1492). In 1492, as we all know, a Genoese navigator, Columbus (b, 1451), who had had much experience on the sea, got together three little ships and undertook the journey westward to Zipangu, — the land of gold, — which he hoped to reach in five weeks. After thirty-two days from the time he left the Canary Islands he came upon land, the island of San Salvador, and believed himself to be in the East Indies. Going on from there he discovered the island of Cuba, which he believed to be the mainland of Asia, and then Haiti, which he mistook for the longed-for Zipangu (§ 672). Although he made three later expeditions and sailed down the coast of South America as far as the Orinoco, he died without realizing that he had not been exploring the coast of Asia. 677. Magellan's Expedition around the World. After the bold enterprises of Vasco da Gama and Columbus, an expedition headed by the Portuguese Magellan succeeded in circumnavigat- ing the globe. There was now no reason why the new lands should not become more and more familiar to the European nations. The coast of North America was explored principally by English navigators, who for over a century pressed northward, still in the vain hope of finding a northwest passage to the Spice Islands. 678. The Spanish Conquests in America. Cortes began the Spanish conquests in the western world by undertaking the sub- jugation of the Aztec empire in Mexico in 1519. A few years later Pizarro established the Spanish power in Peru. Spain now superseded Portugal as a maritime power, and her importance in the sixteenth century is to be attributed largely to the wealth which came to her from her possessions in the New World. By the end of the century the Spanish main — that is, the northern coast of South America — was much frequented by ad- venturous seamen, who combined in about equal parts the occu- pations of merchant, slaver, and pirate. Many of these hailed from English ports, and it is to them that England owes the beginning of her commercial greatness. It is hardly necessary to say that Europeans exhibited an utter disregard for the rights of the people with whom they came in Medieval Towns — their Business and Buildings 463 contact and often treated them with contemptuous cruelty. The exploration of the globe and the conquest by European nations of peoples beyond the sea led finally to the vast colonization of mod- ern times, which has caused many wars but has served to spread European ideas throughout the world. This creation of a greater Europe will be one of the most important subjects to be discussed in the next volume of this work. QUESTIONS I. Why are towns necessary to progress ? How did the towns of the eleventh and twelfth centuries originate ? What was the nature of a town charter ? Describe the guild organization. II. Describe the revival and extending of commerce in the Middle Ages. What were some of the obstacles to business ? Describe the Hanseatic League. III. What are the chief characteristics of Romanesque churches ? What were the principles of construction which made it possible to build a Gothic church ? Tell something about the decoration of a Gothic church. IV. Describe the map of Italy in the fourteenth century. What are the peculiarities of Venice ? Who were the Italian despots ? Con- trast Florence with Venice. Tell something of the buildings constructed in Rome. V. What geographical discoveries were made before 1500? How far is it by sea from Lisbon to Calicut around the Cape of Good Hope ? What was the importance of the spice trade ? What led Columbus to try to reach the Indies by sailing westward? CHAPTER XXX BOOKS AND SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES I. How THE Modern Languages Originated 679. General Use of Latin in the Middle Ages. We should leave the Middle Ages with a very imperfect notion of them if we did not now stop to consider what people were thinking about during that period, what they had to read, and what they believed about the world in which they lived. To begin with, the Middle Ages differed from our own time in the very general use then made of Latin, both in writing and speaking. The language of the Roman Empire continued to be used in the thirteenth century, and long after ; all books that made any claim to learning were written in Latin ;^ the professors in the universities lectured in Latin, friends wrote to one another in Latin, and state papers, treaties, and legal documents were drawn up in the same language. The ability of every educated person to make use of Latin, as well as of his native tongue, was a great advantage at a time when there were many obstacles to intercourse among the various nations. It helps to explain, for example, the remarkable way in which the Pope kept in touch with all the clergymen of Western Christendom, and the ease with which students, friars, and merchants could wander from one country to another. There is no more interesting or important revolution than that by which the languages of the people in the various European countries gradually pushed aside the ancient tongue and took its place, so that even scholars scarcely ever think now of writing books in Latin. In order to understand how it came about that two languages, the Latin and the native speech, were both commonly used in all 1 In Germany the books published annually in the German language did not exceed those in Latin until after 1690. 464 Books and Science in the Middle Ages 465 the countries of western Europe all through the Middle Ages, we must glance at the origin of the modern languages. These all fall into two quite distinct groups, the Germanic and the Romance. 680. The Germanic Languages. Those German peoples who had continued to live outside of the Roman Empire naturally adhered to the language they had always used ; namely, the particular Germanic dialect which their forefathers had spoken for untold generations. Yxom the various languages used by the German barbarians, modern German, English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic are largely derived. 681. The Romance Languages. The second group of languages developed within the territory which had formed a part of the Roman Empire, and includes modern French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It has now been clearly proved that these Romance languages were one and all derived from the spoken Latin, employed by the soldiers, merchants, and people at large. This differed considerably from the elaborate and elegant ivritten Latin which was used,- for example, by Cicero and Caesar. It was undoubtedly much simpler in its grammar and varied a good deal in different regions ; a Gaul, for instance, could not pronounce the words like a Roman. Moreover, in conversation people did not always use the same words as those employed in books. For example, a horse was commonly spoken of as caballus, whereas a writer would use the word cquus ; it is from caballus that the word for "horse" in Spanish, Italian, and French is derived {caballo, cavallo, cheval). As time went on, the spoken language diverged farther and farther from the written. Latin is a troublesome speech on account of its complicated inflections and grammatical rules, which can be mastered only after a great deal of study. The people of the more remote Roman provinces and the incoming barbarians naturally paid very little attention to the niceties of syntax and found easy ways of saying what they wished.^ 1 Even the monks and others who wrote Latin in the Middle Ages often did not know enough to follow strictly the rules of the language. Moreover, they introduced many new words to meet the new conditions and the needs of the time, such as tm- prisonarcy "to imprison"; utlagare, "to outlaw"; baptizare, "to baptize"; foresia, " forest " ; feiidnm, " fief " ; etc. 466 History of Europe Yet several centuries elapsed after the German invasions be- fore there was anything written in this conversational language. So long as the uneducated could understand the correct Latin of the books when they heard it read or spoken, there was no neces- sity of writing anything in their familiar daily speech. But by the time Charlemagne came to the throne the gulf between the spoken and the written language had become so great that he advised that sermons should be given thereafter in the language of the people, who, apparently, could no longer follow the Latin. Although little was written in any German language before Charlemagne's time, there is no doubt that the Germans pos- sessed an unwritten literature, which was passed down by word of mouth for several centuries before any of it was written out. 682. Ancient English, or Anglo-Saxon. The oldest form of English is commonly called Anglo-Saxon and is so different from the language which we use that, in order to be read, it must be learned like a foreign language. We hear of an English poet, as early as Bede's time, a century before Charlemagne. A manu- script of an Anglo-Saxon epic, called Beowulf, has been preserved which belongs perhaps to the close of the eighth century. King Alfred displayed great interest in the English language. He ac- tually translated several old Latin works and encouraged the writ- ing of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This old form of our language prevailed until after the Norman Conquest ; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which does not close until 1154, is written in pure Anglo-Saxon. Here is an example : ''Here on thissum geare Willelm cyng geaf Rodberde eorle thone eorldom on Northymbraland. Da komon tha landes menu togeanes him & hine ofslogen, & ix hund manna mid him."^ In modern English this reads : "In this year King William gave the Earl Robert the earldom of Northumberland. Then came the men of the country against him and slew him, and nine hundred men with him." 1 In writing Anglo-Saxon two old letters are used for ik, one ()>) for the sound in " thin " and the other ('S) for that in " father." The use of these old letters serves to make the language look more different from that of to-day than it is. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 467 By the middle of the thirteenth century, two hundred years after the Norman Conquest, EngHsh begins to look somewhat familiar, as may be seen in the examples which follow : And Aaron held up his hond To the water and the more lond ; Tho cam thor up schwilc froschkes here The dede al folc Egipte dere ; Summe woren wilde, and summe tame, And tho hem deden the moste schame ; In huse, in drinc, in metes, in bed, It cropen and maden hem for-dred. , . . And Aaron held up his hand To the water and the greater land ; Then came there up such host of frogs That did all Egypt's folk harm ; Some were wild, and some were tame, And those caused them the most shame ; . In house, in drink, in meats, in bed. They crept and made them in great dread. . . . Chaucer (about 1340-1400) was the first great English writer whose works are now read with pleasure, although one is some- times puzzled by his spelling and by certain words which are no longer used. This is the way one of his tales opens : A poure wydow somdel stope in age, Was whilom dwellyng in a narwe cotage, Bisyde a grove, stondyng in a dale. This wydwe of wichh I telle yow my tale, Syn thilke day that sche was last a wif, In pacience ladde a ful symple lyf. 683. French and Provengal. In the Middle Ages, however, French, not English, was the most important of the national languages of western Europe. In France a vast literature was produced in the language of the people during the twelfth and 468 History of Europe thirteenth centuries which profoundly affected the books written in Italy, Spain, Germany, and England. Two quite different languages had gradually developed in France from the spoken Latin of the Roman Empire. To the north, French was spoken ; to the south, Provengal.^ Very little in the ancient French language written before the year iioo has been preserved. The West Franks undoubtedly began much earlier to sing of their heroes, of the great deeds of Clovis and Charles the Hammer. These famous rulers were, how- ever, completely overshadowed later by Charlemagne, who be- came the unrivaled hero of medieval poetry and romance (§ 505). It was believed that he had reigned for a hundred and twenty-five years, and the most marvelous exploits were attributed to him and his knights. He was supposed, for instance, to have led a crusade to Jerusalem. Such themes as these — more legend than history — were woven into long epics, which were the first written literature of the Frankish people. These poems, combined with the stories of adventure, developed a spirit of patriotic enthusiasm among the French which made them regard " fair France " as the especial care of Providence. 684. Romances of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The famous Sojtg oj Roland, the chief character of which was one of Charlemagne's captains, was written before the First Crusade. In the latter part of the twelfth century the romances of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table begin to appear. These enjoyed great popularity in all western Europe for centuries, and they are by no means forgotten yet. Arthur, of whose historical existence no one can be quite sure, was supposed to have been king of Britain shortly after the Saxons gained a foothold in the island.^ 1 Of course there was no sharp line of demarcation between the people who used the one language or the other, nor was Provengal confined to southern France. The lan- guage of Catalonia, beyond the Pyrenees, was essentially the same as that of Provence. French was called laugiie d''oil, and the southern language langue d''oc, each after the word used for " yes." 2 Malory's Mort cf Arthur, a collection of the stories of the Round Table made in the fifteenth century for English readers, is the best place to turn for these famous stories. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 469 Besides the long and elaborate epics, like Roland, and the romances in verse and prose, there were numberless short stories in verse (the fabliaux), which usually dealt with the incidents of everyday life, especially with the comical ones. II. The Troubadours and Chivalry 685. The Troubadours. Turning now to southern France, the beautiful songs of the troubadours, which were the glory of the Provengal tongue, reveal a gay and polished society at the courts of the numerous feudal princes. The rulers not merely protected and encouraged the poets — they aspired to be poets themselves and to enter the ranks of the troubadours, as the composers of these elegant verses were called. These songs were always sung to an accompaniment on some instrument, usually the lute. The troubadours traveled from court to court, not only in .France but north into Germany and south into Italy, carrying with them the southern French poetry and customs. We have few examples of Provengal before the year iioo, but from that time on, for two centuries, countless songs were written, and many of the trouba- dours enjoyed an international reputation. The terrible Albigen- sian crusade (§ 626) brought misery and death into the sprightly circles which had gathered about the count of Toulouse and other rulers who had treated the heretics too leniently. 686. Chivalry. For the student of history the chief interest of the long poems of northern France and the songs of the South lies in the insight that they give into the life and aspirations of this feudal period. These are usually summed up in the term chivalry, or knighthood, of which a word may properly be said here, since we should know little of it were it not for the literature of which we have been speaking. The knights play the chief role in all the medieval romances ; and, since many of the troubadours belonged to the knightly class, they naturally have much to say of it in their songs. Chivalry was not a formal institution established at any particular moment. Like feudalism, with which it was closely 470 History of Europe connected, it had no founder, but appeared spontaneously through- out western Europe to meet the needs and desires of the period. When the youth of good family had been carefully trained to ride his horse, use his sword, and manage his hawk in the hunt, he was made a knight by a ceremony in which the Church took part, although the knighthood was actually conferred by an older knight. 687. Ideals of Knighthood. The knight was a Christian sol- dier, and he and his fellows were supposed to form, in a way, a separate order, with high ideals of the conduct befitting their class. Knighthood was not, however, membership in an associa- tion with officers and a definite constitution. It was an ideal, half-imaginary society — a society to which even those who en- joyed the title of king or duke were proud to belong. One was not born a knight as he might be born a duke or count, and could become one only through the ceremony mentioned above. Al- though most knights belonged to the nobility, one might be a noble and still not belong to the knightly order, and, on the other hand, one who was baseborn might be raised to knighthood on account of some valorous deed. The knight must, in the first place, be a Christian and must obey and defend the Church on all occasions. He must respect all forms of -weakness and defend the helpless wherever he might find them. He must fight the infidel Mohammedans ceaselessly, pitilessly, and never give way before the enemy. He must per- form all his feudal duties, be faithful in all things to his lord, never lie or violate his plighted word. He must be generous and give freely and ungrudgingly to the needy. He must be faithful to his lady and be ready to defend her and her honor at all costs. Everywhere he must be the champion of the right against injustice and oppression. In short, chivalry was the Christianized pro- fession of arms. 688. The German Minnesingers. The Germans also made their contribution to the literature of chivalry. The German poets of the thirteenth century are called minnesingers. Like the troubadours, whom they greatly admired, they usually sang of Books and Science in the Middle Ages 471 love, hence their name (German, Minne). The most famous of the Minnesingers was Walther von der Vogelweide (d. about 1228), whose songs are full of charm and of enthusiasm for his German fatherland. III. Medieval Science 689. Medieval Ignorance of the Past. So long as all books had to be copied by hand, there were, of course, but few of them compared with those of modern times. The literature of which we have been speaking was not in general read, but was only listened to, as it was sung or recited by those who made it their profession. Wherever the wandering troubadour or minnesinger appeared he was sure of a delighted audience for his songs and stories, both serious and light. People unfamiliar with Latin could, however, learn little of the past, for there were no transla- tions of the great classics of Greece and Rome, of Homer, Plato, Cicero, or Livy. All that they could know of ancient history was derived from the fantastic romances referred to above, which had for their theme the quite preposterous deeds ascribed to Alexander the Great, ^neas, and Caesar. As for their own history, the epics relating to the earlier course of events in France and the rest of Europe were hopelessly confused. For example, the writ- ers attributed to Charlemagne a great part of the acts of the Frankish kings from Clovis to Pippin. 690. Medieval Popular Science. Of what we should call scientific books there were practically none. It is true that there was a kind of encyclopedia in verse which gave a great deal of misinformation about things in general. Everyone continued to believe, as the Greeks and Romans had done, in strange animals like the unicorn, the dragon, and the phoenix, and in still stranger habits of real animals. A single example will suffice to show what passed for zoology in the thirteenth century. " There is a little beast made like a lizard and such is its nature that it will extinguish fire should it fall into it. The beast is so cold and of such a quality that fire is not able to burn it, nor will trouble happen in the place where it shall be." This 472 History of Europe beast signifies the holy man who lives by faith, who "will never have hurt from fire nor will hell burn him. . . . This beast we name also by another name, salamander. It is accustomed to mount into apple-trees, poisons the apples, and in a well where it falls it poisons the water." It will be noticed that the habits of the animals were sup- posed to have some moral or religious meaning and carry with them a lesson for mankind. It may be added that this and similar stories were centuries old and are found in the encyclopedias of the Romans. The most improbable things were repeated from generation to generation without its occurring to anyone to inquire if there was any truth in them. From the Roman and early Christian writers the Middle Ages got the idea of strange races of men and manlike creatures of various kinds. We find the following in an encyclopedia of the thirteenth century : " Satyrs be somewhat like men, and have crooked noses, and horns in the forehead, and are like to goats in their feet. . . . Those be wonderful creatures that have heads as hounds, and seem beasts rather than men ; and some be called Cyclops, and have that name because each of them hath but one eye, and that in the middle of the forehead ; and some be all head- less and noseless and their eyes be in the shoulders ; and some have plain faces without nostrils, and the lower lips of them stretch so that they veil therewith their faces when they be in the heat of the sun. Also in Scythia be some with so great and large ears, that they spread their ears and cover all their bodies with them, and these be called Panchios. . . ." Two old subjects of study were revived and received great attention in Europe from the thirteenth century onwards until recent times. These were astrology and alchemy. 691. Astrology. Astrology (§ 87) was based on the belief that the planets influence the make-up of men and consequently their fate. Following an idea of the Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, it was believed that all things were compounded of "the four elements" — earth, air, fire, and water. Each person was a particular mixture of these four elements, and the position Books and Science in the Middle Ages 473 of the planets at the time of his birth was supposed to influence his mixture or "temperament" — that is to say, his character. By knowing a person's temperament one could judge what he ought to do in order to be successful in life, and what he should avoid. For example, if one were born under the influence of Venus he should be on his guard against violent love and should choose for a trade something connected with dress or adornment ; if he were born under Mars he might make armor or horseshoes or become a soldier. Many common words are really astrological terms, such as "ill-starred," "disastrous," "jovial," "saturnine," "mercurial" (derived from the names of the planets). Astrology was taught in the universities because it was supposed to be necessary for physicians to choose times when the stars were favorable for particular kinds of medical treatment. 692. Alchemy. Alchemy was chemistry directed toward the discovery of a method of turning the baser metals, like lead and copper, into gold and silver. The alchemists, even if they did not succeed in their chief aim, learned a great deal incidentally in their laboratories, and finally our modern chemistry emerged from alchemy. Like astrology, alchemy goes back to ancient times, and the people of the thirteenth century got most of their ideas through the Mohammedans, who had in turn got theirs from the Greek books on the subjects. IV. Medieval Universities and Studies 693. Origin of the Universities. All European countries now have excellent schools, colleges, and universities. These had their beginning in the later Middle Ages. With the incoming of the barbarian Germans and the break-up of the Roman Empire edu- cation largely disappeared and for hundreds of years there was nothing in western Europe, outside of Italy and Spain, correspond- ing to our universities and colleges. But by the end of the twelfth century the teachers had be- come so numerous in Paris that they formed a union, or guild, for the advancement of their interests. This union of professors 474 History of Europe was called by the usual name for corporations in the Middle Ages, universitas ; hence our word " university." The king and the Pope both favored the university and granted the teachers and students many of the privileges of the clergy, a class to which they were regarded as belonging, because learning had for so many centuries been confined to the clergy. About the time that we find the beginnings of a university or guild of professors at Paris, another great institution of learning was growing up at Bologna. Here the chief attention was given not to theology, as at Paris, but to the study of the law, both Roman and church (canon) law. Students streamed to Bologna in greater and greater numbers. In order to protect themselves in a town where they were regarded as strangers, they also or- ganized themselves into such powerful unions that they were able to force the professors to obey the rules they laid down. The University of Oxford was founded in the time of Henry H, probably by English students and masters who had become dis- contented at Paris. The University of Cambridge, as well as numerous universities in France, Italy, and Spain, were founded in the thirteenth century. The German universities were estab- lished much later, most of them in the latter half of the fourteenth century and in the fifteenth. The northern institutions generally took the great mother university on the Seine as their model, while those in southern Europe usually adopted the methods of Bologna. 694. The Academic Degree. When, after some years of study, a student was examined by the professors, he was, if successful, admitted to the corporation of teachers and became a master him- self. What we call a degree to-day was originally, in the medieval universities, nothing more than the right to teach ; but in the thir- teenth century many who did not care to become professors in our sense of the word began to desire the honorable title of master or doctor (which is only the Latin word for "teacher").^ 1 The origin of the bachelor's degree, which comes at the end of our college course nowadays, may be explained as follows : The bachelor in the thirteenth century was a student who had passed part of his examinations in the course in " arts," as the college course was then called, and was permitted to teach certain elementary subjects before he became a full-fledged master. So the A.B. was inferior to the A.M. then as now. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 475 695. Simple Methods of Instruction. The students in the medieval universities were of all ages, from thirteen to forty, and even older. There were no university buildings, and in Paris the lectures were given in the Latin Quarter, in Straw Street (so called from the straw strewn on the floors of the hired rooms where the lecturer explained the textbook, with the students squatting on the floor before him). There were no laboratories, for there was no experimentation. All that was required was a copy of the text- book. This the lecturer explained sentence by sentence, and the students listened and sometimes took notes. 696. Veneration for Aristotle. The most striking peculiarity of the instruction in the medieval university was the supreme deference paid to Aristotle (§ 286). Most of the courses of lec- tures were devoted to the explanation of some one of his numerous treatises. The Latin translations were bad and obscure, and the lecturer had enough to do to give some meaning to them and to reconcile them to the teachings of Christianity. The teachers of the thirteenth century were so fascinated by his logic and astonished at his learning that the great theologians of the time, Albertus Magnus (d. 1280) and Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), did not hesitate to prepare elaborate commentaries upon all his works. He was called "The Philosopher"; and so fully were scholars convinced that it had pleased God to permit Aristotle to say the last word upon each and every branch of knowledge that they humbly accepted him, along with the Bible, the church fathers, and the canon and Roman law, as one of the unquestioned authorities which together formed a complete guide for humanity in conduct and in every branch of science. 697. Scholasticism. The name "scholasticism" is commonly given to the beliefs and method of discussion of the medieval professors. To those who later outgrew the fondness for logic and the supreme respect for Aristotle, scholasticism, with its neg- lect of Greek and Roman literature, came to seem an arid and profitless plan of education. Yet, if we turn over the pages of the wonderful works of Thomas Aquinas, we see that the scholastic philosopher might be a person of extraordinary insight and k 476 History of Europe learning, ready to recognize all the objections to his position, and able to express himself with great clearness and cogency. The training in logic, if it did not increase the sum of human knowl- edge, accustomed the student to make careful distinctions and present his arguments in an orderly way. 698. Course of Study. No attention was given in the medieval universities to the great subject of history, nor was Greek taught. Latin had to be learned in order to carry on the work at all, but little time was given to the Roman classics. The new modern languages were considered entirely unworthy of the learned. It must of course be remembered that none of the books which we consider the great classics in English, French, Italian, or Spanish had as yet been written. 699. Petrarch tries to learn Greek. Although the medieval professors paid the greatest respect to the Greek philosopher Aristotle and made Latin translations of his works the basis of the college course, very few of them could read any Greek and none of them knew much about Homer or Plato or the Greek tragedians and historians. In the fourteenth century Petrarch (1304-1374) set the example in Italy of carefully collecting all the writings of the Romans, which he greatly admired. He made an unsuccessful effort to learn Greek, for he found that Cicero and other Roman writers were constantly referring with enthusiasm to the Greek books to which they owed so much. 700. Chrysolaras begins to teach Greek in Florence (1396). Petrarch had not the patience or opportunity to master Greek, but twenty years after his death a learned Greek prelate from Constantinople, named Chrysoloras, came to Florence and found pupils eager to learn his language so that they could read the Greek books. Soon Italian scholars were going to Constantinople to carry on their studies, just as the Romans in Cicero's time had gone to Athens. They brought back copies of all the ancient writers that they could find, and by 1430 Greek books were once more known in the West, after a thousand years of neglect. 701. The Humanists. In this way western Europe caught up with ancient times ; scholars could once more know all that the Books and Science in the Middle Ages 477 Greeks and Romans had known and could read in the original the works of Homer, Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, De- mosthenes, and other philosophers, historians, orators, and tragedians. Those who devoted their lives to a study of the literature of Greece and Rome were called Humanists. The name is derived from the Latin word humanitas, which means " culture." In time the colleges gave up the exclusive study of Aristotle and substituted a study of the Greek and Latin literature, and in this way what is known as our " classical " course of study originated. V. Beginnings of Modern Inventions 702. Roger Bacon's Attack on Scholasticism. So long, how- ever, as intellectual men confined themselves to studying the old books of Greece and Rome they were not likely to advance be- yond what the Greeks and Romans had known. In order to explain modern discoveries and inventions we have to take account of those who began to suspect that Aristotle was ignorant and mistaken upon many important matters, and who set to work to examine things about them with the hope of finding out more than anyone had ever known before. Even in the thirteenth century there were a few scholars who criticized the habit of relying upon Aristotle for all knowledge. The most distinguished faultfinder was Roger Bacon, an English Franciscan monk (d. about 1290), who declared that even if Aristotle were very wise he had only planted the tree of knowl- edge and that this had "■ not as yet put forth all its branches nor produced all its fruits." " If we could continue to live for endless centuries we mortals could never hope to reach full and complete knowledge of all the things which are to be known. No one knows enough of nature completely to describe the peculiarities of a single fly and give the reason for its color and why it has just so many feet, no more and no less." 703. Bacon foresees Great Inventions. Bacon declared that if men would only study common things instead of reading the books of the ancients, science would outdo the wonders which 478 History of Europe people of his day thought could be produced by magic. He said that in time men would be able to fly, would have carriages which needed no horses to draw them and ships which would move swiftly without oars, and that bridges could be built without piers to support them. All this and much more has come true, but inventors and modern scientists owe but little to the books of the Greeks and Romans, which the scholastic philosophers and the Humanists relied upon. Although the Greek philosophers devoted consider- able attention to natural science, they were not much inclined to make long and careful experiments or to invent anything like the microscope or telescope to help them. Aristotle thought that the sun and all the stars revolved about the earth and that the heavenly bodies were perfect and unchangeable. He believed that heavy bodies fell faster than light ones and that all earthly things were made of the four elements — earth, air, water, and fire. The Greeks and Romans knew nothing of the compass, or gunpowder, or the printing press, or the uses to which steam can be put. Indeed, they had scarcely anything that we should call a machine. 704. Discoveries of the Thirteenth Century. The thirteenth century witnessed certain absolutely new achievements in the history of mankind. The compass began to be utilized in a way to encourage bolder and bolder ventures out upon the ocean. The lens was discovered, and before the end of the century spectacles are mentioned. The lens made the later telescope, microscope, spectroscope, and camera possible, upon which so much of our modern science depends. The Arabic numerals began to take the place of the awkward Roman system of using letters. One can- not well divide XL VIII by VIII, but he can easily divide 48 by 8. Roger Bacon knew of the explosive nature of a compound of sul- phur, saltpeter, and charcoal, and a generation after his death gun- powder began to be used a little for guns and artillery. A docu- ment is still preserved referring to the making of brass cannon and balls in Florence in the year 1326. By 1350 powder works were in existence in at least three German towns, and French and English books refer now and then to its use. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 479 At least a hundred and fifty years elapsed, however, before gunpowder really began to supplant the old ways of fighting with bows and arrows and axes and lances. By the year 1500 it was becoming clear that the old stone castles were insufficient protection against cannon, and a new type of unprotected castle began to be erected as residences of the kings and the nobility (see below. Fig. 130). Gunpowder has done away with armor, bows and arrows, spears and javelins, castles and walled towns. It may be that sometime some such fearfully destruc- tive compound may be discovered that the nations may decide to give up war altogether as too dangerous and terrible a thing to re- sort to under any cir- cumstances. 705. Advantages of printing with Mov- able Type. The inven- tion of the compass, of the lens, and of gunpowder have helped to revolutionize the world. To these may be added the printing press, which has so facilitated and encouraged reading that it is nowadays rare to find anybody who cannot read. The Italian classical scholars of the fifteenth century suc- ceeded, as we have seen (§§ 699-701, above), in arousing a new interest in the books of the Greeks as well as of the Romans. They carefully collected every ancient work that they could lay hands on, made copies of it, edited it, and if it was in Greek translated it into Latin. While they were in the midst of this Fig. 122. Effects of Cannon on a Medieval Castle k 480 History of Europe work certain patient experimenters in Germany and Holland were turning their attention to a new way of multiplying books rapidly and cheaply by the use of lead type and a press. 706. Excellent Work of Medieval Copyists. The Greeks and Romans and the people of the Middle Ages knew no other method of obtaining a new copy of a book except by writing it out laboriously by hand. The professional copyists were incredibly dexterous with their quills, as may be seen in Fig. 123 — a page from a Bible of the thirteenth century which is reproduced in its original size.^ The letters are as clear, small, and almost as regular as if they had been printed. The whole volume, contain- ing the Old and New Testaments, is about the size of this history. After the scribe had finished his work the volume was often turned over to the illuminator, who would put in gay illuminated initials and sometimes page borders, which were delightful in design and color.- Books designed to be used in the Church services were adorned with pictures as well as with ornamented initials and decorative borders. Plate, p. 480, is a reproduction of a page from a Book of Hours in the library of Columbia University. It is the same size as the original. The written books were, in short, often both compact and beautiful, but they were never cheap or easily produced in great numbers. When Cosimo, the father of Lorenzo the Magnificent, wished to form a library just before the invention of printing, he applied to a contractor who engaged forty-five copyists. By work- ing hard for nearly two years they were able to produce only two hundred volumes for the new library. 1 Fig. 123 is a reproduction, exactly the size of the original, of a page in a manu- script Bible of the thirteenth century (in Latin) belonging to the library of Columbia University. The page represented is taken from i Maccabees i, 56-ii, 65 (a portion of the Scriptures not usually included in the Protestant Bibles). It begins, "...ditis fugitivorum locis. Die quintadecima mensis Chalen, quinto quadragesimo et centesimo anno edificavit rex Antiochus abhominandum ydolum desolationis super altare Dei ; per universas civitates Jude in circuitum edificaverunt aras et ante januas domorum, et in plateis incendebantur thura, et sacrificabant et libros Dei legis com-busserunt." The scribes used a good many abbreviations, as was the custom of the time, and what is transcribed here fills five lines of the manuscript. 2 The word " miniature," which is often applied to them, is derived from minium, that is, vermilion, which was one of the favorite colors. Later the word came to be applied to anything small. Page from a Book of Hours, Fifteenth Century (Original Size) p«B! fa:iol4n«nrf*f}i«ilai»in^iuiu6u tt»tlMn wtTibrt U ! ua ;Hmii»wfll)frWiJl»»»|«'H tt-fitt fioAntrltie wl2 iGaicl ((ui tnuettduntnftnnnm ' ntfn^Hnmtnatiii; S-nucCutuait-m(nfi«Cfwtt|pCmtuAii ■«»f nnt«imimndoui»t-w»tt«igA8wKtimr4f ^e^r^nm^l1>n att^tr» nun^JTtfomgi»tnanwtm<>t»^«nto«li>i» ■mthm tCTtf-ltigm Seiftnn muabxtt i<>>inf»nif Otafefl ftrgUi<'>>«mi4t> i iifriimtanfaitrm'ntnrrmeliyn itiAbAtteiibt* ijmm _mmjlutur THtS/T'}uftaa <)*" mg«l>»urminj>»lwrft<}ut)m'£3ut{u*iliu«5bttf.Tn>utA!mnrmaUetutfid>«tt-m-ppid» wteUTtntt4ttfi&dtft»i>ud\tlltuCSemltwn« ppuli nut Toratuunnui tcmf lNft« frgifpnf oymu Ab>tmtfaii 4 » 6 o««iir4M aw ftf[ueaiB'b]«i£iSi&m»lb» _^awup imHit>tin« 't»m|^B«Ctfrto>»t'mjdwrfn«rrfllg"^ 2ti fr nctutisnr tutu qtu mtiQcmtskg;ir|mriunflui;>T«»nOn'' ;tl4nrmltn^ntfmt<^ga'TfiI»m«t«'ft^ncrmcto'lc(it W^^UfU|iiu1^«tumdmtr' Jtg;ifnafitv-t>un«.aci.tit-omiur4}ttt»«ti4.$*t>t'«(E» - .!»«■ ■«?«» u«rfii1» 4«tfll^qtu^J»tl TUitaCmMmvuxm eaOxCiMttdaxiytoitriu^a^m inaaxatevieAimp' ■pttCUnt ngO. Sv-utdtv maituihvtfitolutr.t m uWuu ? imuir ttncf cutf !4«at&f f'fumettfiiBmilitm uiA( ' ^ J tuun'lqtpCrmfUiasfiifwiddwt-ramfU^jts^m.S.'itu Cturftnr flittff T anil m «Iia CUanmf^aKllitUmr ttttti 4 ii)t4fmmiufnfeaBniifutrimmt%ifiarpinii4»tn»f»Mm '&^q>. ^ommaatttmtuftiureM mini«(|mteiiitrtlbfnce«{nlAuMutrUtuetuii)t> tttMumxietiifir'mttatjdmtim. fe-imnlnimra mdl^^ntttijtf^MttmS'^ tagutaarnuttut^u* T^ntutm^ »1it(timt^nitn9fi^eM>uUBftiiaMrtu^pyun«fit«^i{ (b^tetrturutM^ l&lif »i f1Htffnf T t>flllHmuU- 4i KniAne^rgftnttifiairfibM fliplncip^oaMn&pufinint |nn(o^> fratmtinfrtinrUg8mtrnianil^jrntMtin.-iaHti3»fa ^^unc^iiltt cflatr(imil4taun9fzan*4nuruf nafpttfti ^ wi^ 94tttpi(ttr{[uftt ttuipum TtiMn tttiiustii* tmrnwnpcNimrmaajturreMiiEittttmtMLt ^eu3iuat*|lb (butt ttfltAsmtf fiiT ' '\x MtapitYpMaaxcut.'&Attib m^ttntu mi&tiwtf' |»fdHnid«n.'3w«niiTr,i;imiWftmttd otimttCbteM ,tpMmufcpa ffttanr tn aim n tnfimune (Eriubif nui tie \aautr-nmxunuttwr-qttu.glAmttAtilmCrmnitt^i)mt Ettaw tturpre''ria>yfflu«tifenamimTnit<^im'4fe- icgp (tma m 4^ jjbMMl ctfiw. (Et-«ttrflniun M^uA^ j^tiirtomantfflui»i}>m4suiarQn9T^«i^ti<%«£ Fig. 123. Page from a Copy of the Bible made in the Thirteenth Century, showing Perfection of the Best Work (see note, p. 480) 482 History of Europe 707. Errors of Copyists. Moreover, it was impossible before the invention of printing to have two copies of the same work exactly alike. Even with the greatest care a scribe could not avoid making some mistakes, and a careless copyist was sure to make a great many. With the invention of printing it became possible to produce in a short time a great many copies of a given book which were exactly alike. Consequently, C/«>n lMm9iiralmQ^rQie)r.*1xiinSarrraptraUutErO' fratua •nibdrauonibur^ &tffinmter Diftinitue' laDinurnronr amfirlofa ImprimmDi arraraitm^anDi: 'abr^Dllaralamirraratonertrrffigiatiie'naiilauiitni itriar^notefaniti9aiobit&o(umat9,perj|o§tmfufl' riufmagutmu-frpftm^ilpifl)?rtrgtmf^)iiidmm' '^nno Dnipilernno mr liMrtF^Oie^mnifid^ugiilli^ Fig. 124. Closing Lines of the Psalter of 1459 (MUCH reduced) The closing lines (that is, the so-called colophon) of the second edition of the Psalter, which are here reproduced, are substantially the same as those of the first edition. They may be translated as follows : " The present volume of the Psalms, which is adorned with handsome capitals and is clearly divided by means of rubrics, was produced not by writing with a pen but by an ingenious invention of printed characters ; and was completed to the glory of God and the honor of St. James by John Fust, a citizen of Mayence, and Peter Schoifher of Gernsheim, in the year of our Lord 1459, on the 29th of August" if sufficient care was taken to see that the types were properly set, the whole edition, not simply a single copy, might be relied upon as correct. 708. Paper introduced into Western Europe. After the supply of papyrus — the paper of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans — was cut off from Europe by the conquest of Egypt by the Moham- medans the people of the Middle Ages used parchment, made from the skin of lambs and goats. This was so expensive that printing would have been of but little use, even if it had been thought of, Books and Science in the Middle Ages 483 before paper was introduced into Europe by the Mohammedans/ Paper began to become common in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was already replacing parchment before the inven- tion of printing. 709. The Earliest Printed Books. The earliest book of any considerable size to be printed was the Bible, which appears to have been completed at May- ence in the year 1456. A year later the famous Mayence Psalter was finished, the first dated book (Fig. 124). There are, however, earlier examples of little books printed with engraved blocks and even with movable types. In the Ger- man towns, where the art spread rapidly, the printers adhered to the style of letters which the scribe had found it convenient to make with his quill — the so-called Gothic, or black letter. In Italy, how- ever, where the first printing press was set up in 1466, a type was soon adopted which resembled the letters used in ancient Roman inscriptions. This was quite similar to the style of letter commonly used to-day. The Italians also invented the compressed italic type, which enabled them to get a great many words on a page. The early printers generally did their work conscientiously, and the very first book printed is in most respects as well done as any later book. Fig. 125. An Old-fashioned Printing Office Until the nineteenth century printing was carried on with very little machin- ery. The type was inked by hand, then the paper laid on and the form slipped under a wooden press operated by hand by means of a lever 1 The Arabs seem to have derived their knowledge of paper-making from the Chinese. 484 History of Europe By the year 1 500, after printing had been used less than half a century, there appear to have been at least forty printing presses to be found in various towns of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and England. These presses had, it is estimated, already printed eight millions of volumes. So there was no longer any danger of the old books being again lost, and the encourage- ment to write and publish new books was greatly increased. From that date our sources for history become far more voluminous than those which exist for the previous history of the world ; we are much better informed in regard to events and conditions since 1500 than we ever can be respecting those of the earlier periods. VI. The Art of the Renaissance 710. Development of Art in Italy. We have already de- scribed briefly the work of the medieval architects and referred to the beautiful carvings that adorned the Gothic cathedrals and to the pictures of saints and angels in stained glass which filled the great church windows. But in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries art developed in a most astonishing manner in Italy and set new standards for all of western Europe. Florence was the great center of artistic activity during the fifteenth century. The greatest sculptors and almost all of the most famous painters and architects of the time either were natives of Florence or did their best work there. During the first half of the century sculpture again took the lead. The bronze doors of the baptistery at Florence by Ghiberti, which were completed in 1452, are among the finest products of Renaissance sculpture (Fig. 126).^ Florence reached the height of its preeminence as an art center during the reign of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was a devoted patron of all the arts. With his death (1492) this preeminence passed to Rome, which was fast becoming one of the great capitals 1 Opposite the cathedral at Florence (Fig. 120) stands the ancient baptisteiy. Its northern bronze doors, with ten scenes from the Bible, surrounded by a very lovely border of foliage, birds, and animals, were completed by Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1452, after many years of labor. Michael Angelo declared them worthy to be the gates of heaven. Courtesy oS Braun et C'^ Fig. 126. Ghiberti's Doors at Florence Courtesy oS Braun et C'® Fig. 127. Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto Books and Science in the Middle Ages 485 of Europe. The art-loving popes, Julius II and Leo X, took pains to secure the services of the most distinguished artists and archi- tects of the time in the building and adornment of St. Peter's and the Vatican ; that is, the papal church and palace (see above, §670). 711. Height of Renaissance Art — Da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Raphael. During the sixteenth century the art of the Renais- sance reached its highest development. Among all the great artists of this period three stand out prominently — Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael. The first two not only practiced but achieved distinction in the three arts of archi- tecture, sculpture, and painting.^ It is impossible to give in a few lines any idea of the beauty and significance of the work of these great geniuses. Both Raphael and Michael Angelo left be- hind them so many and such magnificent frescoes and paintings, and in the case of Michael Angelo statues as well, that it is easy to appreciate their importance. Leonardo, on the other hand, left but little completed work. His influence on the art of his time, which was probably greater than that of either of the others, came from his many-sidedness, his originality, and his unflagging interest in the discovery and application of new methods. He was almost more experimenter than artist. While Florence could no longer boast of being the art center of Italy, it still produced great artists, among whom Andrea del Sarto may be especially mentioned (Fig. 127). But the most important center of artistic activity outside of Rome in the six- teenth century was Venice. The distinguishing characteristic of the Venetian pictures is their glowing color. This is strikingly exemplified in the paintings of Titian, the most famous of all the Venetian painters.- 712. Painting in Northern Europe. It was natural that artists from the northern countries should be attracted by the renown of the Italian masters and, after learning all that Italy could teach them, should return home to practice their art in 1 Leonardo was engineer and inventor as well. 2 See Fig. 128. 486 History of Europe their own particular fashion. About a century after painting be- gan to develop in Italy two Flemish brothers, Van Eyck by name, showed that they were not only able to paint quite as excellent pictures as the Italians of their day, but they also discovered a new way of mixing their colors superior to that employed in Italy. - Later, when painting had reached its height in Italy, Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein the Younger ^ in Germany vied with even Raphael and Michael Angelo in the mastery of their art. Diirer is especially celebrated for his wonderful woodcuts and copper- plate engravings, in which field he has perhaps never been excelled. When, in the seventeenth century, painting had declined south of the Alps, Dutch and Flemish masters — above all, Rubens and Rembrandt — developed a new and admirable school of painting. To Van Dyck, another Flemish master, we owe many notable portraits of historically important persons.- Spain gave to the world in the seventeenth century a painter whom some would rank higher than even the greatest artists of Italy, namely, Velasquez (1599-1660). His genius, like that of Van Dyck, is especially conspicuous in his marvelous portraits. QUESTIONS I. Why was Latin used by learned men, churchmen, scholars, and lawyers in the Middle Ages ? What is the origin of the Germanic languages ? of the Romance tongues ? When does English become sufficiently modern for us to read it easily without special study ? What is the character of the French romances of the Middle Ages ? II. Who were the troubadours ? Describe chivalry and the ideal knight. III. Why did people know little of history in the Middle Ages ? Give some examples of the beliefs in regard to the habits of animals and the existence of strange races of men. What value was supposed to come from studying the habits of animals ? Define astrology. What words do we use that recall the beliefs of the Middle Ages in regard to the influence of the stars on man ? What was alchemy ? 1 See below, Fig. 132. 2 See below, Figs. 146 and 148. Books and Science in the Middle Ages 487 IV. What was a " university " originally ? Mention some early uni- versities. What was the origin of our degrees ? What subjects were studied in a medieval university ? Why was Aristotle so venerated by the medieval scholars ? What was scholasticism ? How and when were Greek books again brought into western Europe ? Who were the Humanists ? Why did not the Humanists make any discoveries ? V. Why did Roger Bacon criticize the enthusiasm for Aristotle ? What great inventions did he foresee ? What great new discoveries were made in the thirteenth century ? What effects did the introduc- tion of gunpowder have ? How were books made before the invention of printing ? What are the disadvantages of a book copied by hand ? What is the earhest large printed book ? How rapidly did printing spread ? What do you consider the chief effects of the introduction of printing ? VI. Say something of the chief artists of the Renaissance in Italy and their work. Name some of the artists of the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries who lived outside of Italy. BOOK VII. THE PROTESTANT REVOLT AND THE WARS OF RELIGION CHAPTER XXXI EMPEROR CHARLES V AND HIS VAST REALMS I. Emperor Maximilian and the Hapsburg Marriages 713. Charles V's Empire. In the year 1500 a baby was born in the town of Ghent who was destined before he reached the age of twenty to rule, as Emperor Charles V, over more of Europe than anyone since Charlemagne. He owed his vast empire not to any conquests of his own but to an extraordinary series of royal marriages which made him heir to a great part of western Europe. These marriages had been arranged by his grandfather, Maximilian I, one of the most successful matchmakers that ever lived. Maximilian belonged to the House of Hapsburg, and in order to understand European history since 1500 we must learn something of Maximilian and the Hapsburg line. 714. Reasons why the German Kings failed to establish a Strong State. The German kings had failed to create a strong kingdom such as those over which Louis XI of France and Henry VII of England ruled. Their fine title of emperor had made them a great deal of trouble and done them no good, as we have seen (§§ 584, 585, 597, 599). Their attempts to keep Italy as well as Germany under their rule, and the alliance of the mighty bishop of Rome with their enemies, had well-nigh ruined them. Their position was further weakened by the fact that their office • was not strictly hereditary. Although the emperors were often succeeded by their sons, each new emperor had to be elected, and those great vassals who controlled the election naturally took 488 Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 489 care to bind the candidate by solemn promises not to interfere with their privileges and independence. The result was that, after the downfall of the Hohenstaufens, Germany fell apart into a great number of practically independent states, of which none were very large and some were extremely small. 715. The Imperial Title Hereditary in the House of Austria. After art interregnum, Rudolf of Hapsburg had been chosen emperor in 1273 (§600). The original seat of the Hapsburgs, who were destined to play such a great part in European affairs, was in northern Switzerland, where the vestiges of their original castle may still be seen. Rudolf was the first prominent member of the family ; he established its position and influence by seizing the duchies of Austria and Styria, which became, under his suc- cessors, the nucleus of the extensive Austrian possessions. About a century and a half after the death of Rudolf the Gernian princes began regularly to choose as their emperor the ruler of the Austrian possessions, so that the imperial title became, to all intents and purposes, hereditary in the Hapsburg line. The Hapsburgs were, however, far more interested in adding to their family domains than in advancing the interests of the Ger- man Empire as a whole. Indeed, the Holy Roman Empire was nearly defunct, and, in the memorable words of Voltaire, it had ceased to be either holy, or Roman, or an empire. 716. Maximilian and the Hapsburg Marriages. Maximilian, while still a very young man, married Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Burgundian realms, which included what we now call Holland and Belgium and portions of eastern France. In this way the House of Austria got a hold on the shores of the North Sea. Mary died in 1482, and her lands were inherited by her infant son, Philip. Maximilian's next matrimonial move was to arrange a marriage between his son, Philip, and Joanna, the heiress to the Spanish kingdoms, and this makes it necessary for us to turn a moment to Spain, of which little or nothing has been said since we saw how the kingdom of the West Goths was overthrown by the Mohammedan invaders, over seven hundred years before Maximilian's time ( § 502 ) . 490 History oj Europe 717. Arab Civilization in Spain. The Mohammedan conquest served to make the history of Spain very different from that of the other states of Europe. One of its first and most important results was the conversion of a great part of the inhabitants to Mohammedanism. During the tenth century, which was so dark a period in the rest of Europe, the Arab civilization in Spain reached its highest development. Cordova, with its half million of inhabitants, its stately palaces, its university, its three thousand mosques, and its three hundred public baths, was perhaps un- rivaled at that period in the whole world. 718. The Rise of New Christian Kingdoms in Spain. But the Christians were destined to reconquer the peninsula. As early as the year looo^ several small Christian kingdoms — Castile, Aragon, and Navarre — had come into existence in the northern part of Spain. Castile, in particular, began to push back the Mohammedans and, in 1085, reconquered Toledo from them.' By 1250 the long war of the Christians against the Moham- medans, which fills the medieval annals of Spain, had been so successfully prosecuted that Castile extended to the south coast and included the great towns of Cordova and Seville. The Chris- tian kingdom of Portugal was already as large as it is to-day. The Moors, as the Spanish Mohammedans were called, held out for two centuries more in the mountainous kingdom of Granada, in the southern part of the peninsula. Not until 1492, after a long siege, was the city of Granada captured by the Christians and the last vestige of Mohammedan rule disappeared. 719. Spain becomes a European Power. The first Spanish monarch whose name need be mentioned here was Queen Isabella of Castile, who, in 1469, concluded an all-important marriage with Ferdinand, the heir of the crown of Aragon. It is with this union of Castile and Aragon that the great importance of Spain in European history begins. For the next hundred years Spain was to enjoy more military power than any other European state. In the same year that the conquest of the peninsula was com- pleted, the discoveries of Columbus, made under the auspices of Queen Isabella, opened up sources of undreamed-of wealth beyond 1 See map above, p. 388. Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 491 the seas. The greatness of Spain in the sixteenth century was largely due to the riches derived from her American posses- sions. The shameless and cruel looting of the Mexican and Peruvian cities by Cortes and Pizarro (§ 678), and the silver mines of the New World, enabled Spain to assume, for a time, a position in Europe which her ordinary resources would never have permitted. 720. Revival of the Inquisition. Unfortunately, the most in- dustrious, skillful, and thrifty among the inhabitants of Spain, that is, the Moors and the Jews, who well-nigh supported the whole kingdom by their toil, were bitterly persecuted by the Christians. So anxious was Isabella to rid her kingdom of the infidels that she revived the court of the Inquisition (§627). For several decades its tribunals arrested and condemned innumerable persons who were suspected of heresy, and thousands were burned at the stake during this period. These wholesale executions have served to associate Spain especially with the horrors of the Inquisition. 721. Charles and his Possessions. It was no wonder that the daughter and heiress of Ferdinand and Isabella seemed to Maximilian an admirable match for his son, Philip. Philip died, however, in 1506, — six years after his eldest son Charles was born, — and his poor wife, Joanna, became insane with grief and was thus incapacitated for ruling. So Charles could look forward to an un- precedented accumulation of glorious titles as soon as his grand- fathers, Maximilian of Austria and Ferdinand of Aragon, should pass away.^ He was soon to be duke of Brabant, margrave of Ant- werp, count of Holland, archduke of Austria, count of Tyrol, king of Castile, Aragon, and Naples,- and of the vast Spanish posses- sions in America — to mention a few of his more important titles. 1 Austria Burgundy • Castile Aragon Naples, etc. (America) Maximilian I = Mary (d. 14S2), Isabella — Ferdinand (d. 15 16) (d. 15 19) Philip (d. 1506) • Joanna the Irisane (d. 1555) dau. of Charles (d. 1504) the Bold (d. 1477) Charles V (d. 1558) Ferdinand (d. 1564) = Anna, heiress to kingdoms Emperor, 1519-1556 Emperor, 1556-1564 of Bohemia and Hungary 2 Naples and Sicily were in the hands of the king of Aragon at this time (see note, p. 493, below). 492 History of Europe Ferdinand died in 1516, and Charles, now a lad of sixteen, who had been born and reared in the Netherlands, was much be- wildered when he first landed in his Spanish dominions. The Burgundian advisers whom be brought with him were distasteful Fig. 1 28. Charles V at the Age of 48. (By Titian) to the haughty Spaniards, to whom, of course, they were for- eigners ; suspicion and opposition awaited him in each of his several Spanish kingdoms, for he found by no means a united Spain. Each kingdom demanded special recognition of its rights and proposed important reforms before it would acknowledge Charles as its king. 722. Charles elected Emperor (1519). It seemed as if the boy would have his hands full in asserting his authority as the Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 493 first " king of Spain " ; nevertheless, a still more imposing title and still more perplexing responsibilities were to fall upon his shoulders before he was twenty years old. It had long been Maximilian's ambition that his grandson should succeed him upon the imperial throne. After his death in 15 19 the electors finally chose Charles as emperor — the fifth of that name — instead of the rival candidate, Francis I of France. By this election the king of Spain, who had not yet been in Germany and who never learned its language, became its ruler at a critical juncture, when the teachings of Luther (see next chapter) were adding a new kind of trouble to the old disorders. II. How Italy became the Battleground of the European Powers 723. Charles VIII of France invades Italy. In order to understand the Europe of Charles V and the constant wars which occupied him all his life, we must turn back and review the ques- tions which had been engaging the attention of his fellow kings before he came to the throne. It is particularly necessary to see clearly how Italy had suddenly become the center of commotion — the battlefield for Spain, France, and Germany. Charles VIII of France (1483-1498) possessed little of the practical sagacity of his father, Louis XI (§580). He dreamed of a mighty expedition against the Turks and of the conquest of Constantinople. As the first step he determined to lead an army into Italy and assert his claim, inherited from his father, to the kingdom of Naples, which was in the hands of the House of Aragon.i While Italy had everything to lose by permitting a powerful foreign monarch to get a foothold in the South, there was no probability that the various little states into which the 1 It will be remembered that the popes, in their long struggle with Frederick II and the Hohenstaufens, finally called in Charles of Anjou, the brother of St. Louis, and gave to him both Naples and Sicily (§ 599). Sicily revolted in 1282 and was united with the kingdom of Aragon, which still" held it when Charles V came to the Spanish throne. Naples also was conquered by the king of Aragon, and was in his family when Charles VIII undertook his Italian expedition. Louis XI, although he claimed the right of the French to rule in Naples, had prudently refused to attempt to oust the Aragonese usurpers, as he had quite enough to do at home. 494 History of Europe peninsula was divided would lay aside their animosities and com- bine against the invader. On the contrary, Charles VIII was urged by some of the Italians themselves to come. The success of the French king seemed marvelous ; he marched down the Italian peninsula without opposition. As he approached Florence the people, roused by the preaching of a famous Domini- can friar, Savonarola, revolted against the rule of the Medici and established a republic. But the insignificant and ugly figure of the French king sadly disappointed them. So he soon deemed it wise to continue his way southward. Naples speedily fell into his hands. But he and his troops were demoralized by the wines and other pleasures of the South, and meanwhile his enemies at last began to form a combination against him. Ferdinand of Aragon was fearful lest he might lose Sicily, and Emperor Maximilian objected to having the French control Italy. Charles's situation became so dangerous that he may well have thought himself fortunate, at the close of 1495, to escape, with the loss of only a single battle, from the country he had hoped to conquer. 724. Results of Charles's Expedition. The results of Charles VIII 's expedition appear at first sight trivial ; in reality they were momentous. In the first place, it was now clear to Europe that the Italians had no real national feeling, however much they might despise the "barbarians" who lived north of the Alps. From this time down to the latter half of the nineteenth century, Italy was dominated by foreign nations, especially Spain and Austria. In the second place, the French learned to admire the art and culture of Italy (§§664-670, 699-701, 710-711). The nobles began to change their feudal castles, which since the inven- tion of gunpowder were no longer impregnable, into luxurious palaces and country houses. The new scholarship of Italy also took root and flourished not only in France but in England and Germany as well, and Greek began to be studied outside of Italy. Consequently, just as Italy was becoming, politically, the victim of foreign aggressions, it was also losing, never to regain, that intellectual leadership which it had enjoyed since the revival of interest in Latin and Greek literature. Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 495 725. Francis I and his Attempt to conquer Northern Italy. It would be wearisome and unprofitable to follow the attempts of the French to get a foothold in northern Italy. Suffice it to say that Charles VIII soon died and that his successor Louis XII laid claim to the duchy of Milan in the north as well as to Naples in the south. But he concluded to sell his claim to Naples Fig. 129. Francis I to Ferdinand of Aragon and centered his attention on holding Milan, but did not succeed in his purpose, largely owing to the opposition of the Pope. Francis I, who came to the French throne in 151 5 at the age of twenty, is one of the most famous of the French kings. He was gracious and chivalrous in his ideas of conduct, and his proudest title was "the gentleman king," Like his contempo- raries. Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Henry VIII of England, he helped artists and men of letters and was interested in fine buildings, of which a striking example is shown on the following page (Fig. 130). 496 History of Europe Francis opened his reign by a very astonishing victory. He led his troops into Italy, over a pass which had hitherto been regarded as impracticable for cavalry, and defeated the Swiss — who were in the Pope's pay — at Marignano. He then occupied Milan and opened negotiations with Leo X, who was glad to Fig. 130. Court of the Palace at Blois The expedition of Charles VIII to Italy called the attention of French archi- tects to the beautiful Renaissance style used there. As cannon had by this timp begun to render the old kind of castles with thick walls and towers use- less as a means of defense, the French kings began to construct magnificent palaces of which several still exist. Charles VIII's successor, Louis XII, began a handsome structure at Blois, on the Loire River, and Francis I added a wing, the inner side of which is here reproduced. Its magnificent open staircase and wide, high windows have little in common with the old donjons of feudal times make terms with the victorious young king. The Pope agreed that Francis should retain Milan, and Francis on his part acceded to Leo's plan for turning over Florence once more to the Medici, the family to which the Pope himself belonged. This was done, and some years later this wonderful republic became the grand duchy of Tuscany, governed by a line of petty princes under whom its former glories were never renewed. Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 49^ 726. Sources of Discord between France and the Hapsburgs. Friendly relations existed at first between the two young sovereigns, Francis I and Charles V, but there were several circumstances which , led to an almost inces- ^• sant series of wars be- tween them. France was clamped in be- tween the northern and southern possessions of Charles and had at that time no natural boundaries. Moreover, there was a standing dispute over portions of the Burgundian realms. Charles also believed that, through his grandfather, Maximilian, he was entitled to Milan, which the French kings had set their hearts upon retaining. For a generation the rivals fought over these and other matters, and the wars be- tween Charles and Francis were but the prelude to a conflict last- ing over two centuries between France and the overgrown power of the House of Hapsburg. 727. Charles V goes to Ger- many. In 1520 Charles V started for Germany to receive the im- perial crown at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his way he landed in England with the purpose of keeping Henry VHI from forming an alliance with Francis. He then set sail for the Netherlands, where he was duly crowned king of the Romans. From there he proceeded, for the first time, to Germany, where he summoned his first diet at Worms. Fig. 131. The Walls of rothenburg One town in Germany, Rothen- burg on the little river Tauber, once a free imperial city, retains its old walls and towers intact and many of its old houses. It gives the visitor an excellent idea of how the smaller imperial towns looked two or three hundred years ago 49^ History of Europe III. Condition of Germany when Charles V became Emperor 728. The "Germanies" of the Sixteenth Century. In the time of Charles V there was no such Germany as that which precipitated the World War in 19 14, but only what the French called the "Germanies"; that is, two or three hundred states, which differed greatly from one another in size and character. This one had a duke, that a count, at its head, while others were ruled over by archbishops, bishops, or abbots. There were many cities, like Nuremberg, Frankfort, and Cologne, just as independ- ent as the great duchies of Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and Saxony. Lastly there were the knights, whose possessions might consist of a single strong castle with a wretched village lying at its foot. As for the emperor, he no longer had any power to control his vassals. He had neither money nor soldiers. At the time of Luther's birth the poverty-stricken Frederick III (Maximilian's father) might have been seen picking up a free meal at a monas- tery or riding behind a slow but economical ox team. The real power in Germany lay in the hands of the more important vas- sals, seven of whom were called the electors, because, since the thirteenth century, they had enjoyed the right to elect the emperor. The towns, which had grown up since the great economic revolution that had brought in commerce and the use of money in the thirteenth century, were centers of culture in the north of Europe, just as those of Italy were in the south. Some of the towns were direct vassals of the emperor and were consequently independent of the particular prince within whose territory they were situated. These were called free, or imperial, cities and must be reckoned among the states of Germany. The knights, who ruled over the smallest of the German ter- ritories, had earlier formed a very important class, but the intro- duction of gunpowder and new methods of fighting put them at a disadvantage, for they clung to their medieval traditions. • Their tiny realms were often too small to support them, and they fre- quently turned to robbery for a living and proved a great nuisance Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 499 to the merchants and townspeople whom they were accustomed to plunder now and then. 729. Neighborhood War. It is clear that these states, little and big, all tangled up with one another, would be sure to have frequent disputes among themselves. The emperor was not power- ful enough to keep order, and each ruler had to defend him- self if attacked. Neighborhood war was permitted by law if only some courteous preliminaries were observed. For instance, a prince or town was required to give warning three days in ad- vance before attacking another member of the Empire. Germany had a national assembly, called the diet, which met at irregular intervals, now in one town and now in another, for Germany had no capital city. The towns were not permitted to send delegates until 1487, long after the townspeople were repre- sented in France and England. The restless knights and other minor nobles were not represented at all and consequently did not always consider the decisions of the diet binding upon them. It was this diet that Charles V summoned to meet him on the Rhine, in the ancient town of Worms, when he made his first visit to Germany in 1520. The most important business of the assembly proved to be the consideration of the case of a uni- versity professor, Martin Luther, who was accused of writing heretical books, and who had begun what proved to be the first successful revolt against the powerful Medieval Church. QUESTIONS I. When and how did the House of Hapsburg become important ? What marriages were arranged by Maximilian I which affected the history of Europe ? How did Spain become a powerful kingdom ? Over what countries did Ferdinand and Isabella rule ? What was the extent of Charles V's dominions ? II. What were the results of the Italian expedition of Charles VIII ? What were the causes of trouble between the French kings and the Hapsburgs ? What are your impressions of Francis I ? III. Contrast Germany in Charles V's time with the German Empire before the World War. Who were the knights ? the electors ? What was the German diet ? Why was the emperor unable to maintain order ? CHAPTER XXXII MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REVOLT OF GERMANY AGAINST THE PAPACY I. The Question of Reforming the Church : Erasmus 730. Break-up of the Medieval Church into Catholics and Protestants. By far the most important event during the reign of Charles V was the revolt of a considerable portion of western Europe against the popes. The Medieval Church, which was described in a previous chapter, was in this way broken up, and Protestant churches appeared in various European countries which declared themselves entirely independent of the Pope and rejected a number of the religious beliefs which the Church had held previously. With the exception of England all those countries that lay within the ancient bounds of the Roman Empire — Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, as well as southern Germany and Austria — continued to be faithful to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, the rulers of the northern German states, of England, Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, sooner or later became Protestants. In this way Europe was divided into two great religious parties, and this led to terrible wars and cruel persecutions which fill the annals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 731. Sources of Discontent with the Church. The revolt be- gan in Germany. The Germans, while good Catholics, were sus- picious of the popes, whom they regarded as Italians, bent upon getting as much money as possible out of the simple people north of the Alps. The revenue flowing to the popes from Germany was very large. The great German prelates, like the archbishops of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne, were each expected to contribute 500 The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 501 no less than ten thousand gold guldens to the papal treasury upon having their election confirmed by the Church authorities at Rome. The Pope enjoyed the right to fill many important church offices in Germany and frequently appointed Italians, who drew the revenue without going to Germany or performing the duties attached to the office. One person often held several church offices. Fig. 132. Portrait of Erasmus. (By Holbein) This wonderful picture by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1 543) hangs in the Louvre gallery at Paris. We have every reason to suppose that it is an excel- lent portrait, for Holbein lived in Basel a considerable part of his life and knew Erasmus well. The artist was, moreover, celebrated for his skill in catching the likeness when depicting the human face. He later painted several well-known Englishmen, including Henry VIII and his little son, Edward VI (see Fig. 135) At first, however, no one thought of withdrawing from the Church or of attempting to destroy the power of the Pope. All that the Germans wanted was that the money which flowed to- ward Rome should be kept at home, and that the clergy should be upright, earnest men who should conscientiously perform their religious duties. 502 History of Europe 732. Erasmus (i465-i536). Among the critic^f the Church <>J^* in the early days of Charles V's reign the most famous and in- fluential was Erasmus. He was a Dutchman by birth, but spent his life in various other countries — France, England, Italy, and Germany. He was a citizen of the world and in correspondence with literary men everywhere, so that his letters give us an excel- lent idea of the feeling of the times. He was greatly interested in the Greek and Latin authors, but his main purpose in life was to better the Church. He was well aware of the bad reputa- tion of many of the clergymen of the time and he especially disliked the monks, for when he was a boy he had been forced into a monastery, much against his will. One of his best-known books was his Praise of Folly, in which he held up to ridicule many of the practices and popular beliefs which Luther later attacked. He believed that superstition would certainly disappear as people became better educated. It seemed to Erasmus that if everybody could read the Bible, especially the New Testament, for himself, it would bring about a great change for the better. He wanted to have the Gospels and the letters of Paul translated into the language of the people so that men and women who did not know Latin could read them and be helped by them. Erasmus believed, moreover, that the time was favorable for reform. As he looked about him he beheld intelligent rulers on the thrones of Europe, men interested in books and art and ready to help scholars and writers. There were Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France. Then the Pope himself, Leo X, the son of Lorenzo the Magniiicent, was a friend and admirer of Erasmus and doubtless sympathized with many of his views. The youthful Charles V had advisers who believed Erasmus to be quite right and were ready to work toward a reform of the Church. Charles was a devout Catholic, but he too agreed that there were many evils to be remedied. So it seemed to Erasmus that the prospects were excellent for a peaceful reform ; but, in- stead of its coming, his latter years were embittered by Luther's revolt and all the ill-feelings and dissensions that it created. AeTHERNA IP^E $VAE mentis SIAYVIACHRA. IVTHEFyS ExPMMJTxr wurvs cepa lvcae ocaovos Fig. 133. Luther as a Monk. (By Cranach, 1520) None of the portraits of Luther are very satisfactory. His friend Cranach was not, like Holbein the Younger, a great portrait painter. This cut shows the reformer when his revolt against the Church was just beginning. He was thirty-seven years old and still in the dress of an Augustinian friar, which he soon abandoned 504 History of Europe II. How Martin Luther revolted against the Papacy 733. Early Years of Luther. Martin Luther was born in 1483. He was the son of a poor miner, and he often spoke in later life of the poverty and superstition in which his boyhood was spent. His father, however, was determined that his son should be a lawyer, and so Martin was sent to the University of Erfurt. After he finished his college course and was about to take up the study of the law he had a deep religious experience and suddenly decided to become a monk. He was much worried about his soul and feared that nothing he could do would save him from hell. He finally found comfort in the thought that in order to be saved he had only to believe sincerely that God would save him, and that he could not pos- sibly save himself by trying to be good. He gained the respect of the head of the monastery, and when Frederick the Wise of Saxony was looking about for teachers for his new university at Wittenberg, Luther was recommended as a good person to teach Aristotle ; so he became a professor. As time went on, Luther began to be suspicious of some of the things that were taught in the university. He finally decided that Aristotle was after all only an ancient heathen who knew nothing about Christianity, and that the students had no business to study his works. He urged them to rely instead upon the Bible. 734. Luther's Idea of Salvation. Luther's main point was that man, through Adam's sin, had become so corrupt that he could, of himself, do nothing pleasing to God. He could only hope to be saved through faith in God's promise to save those who should repent. Consequently "good works," such as attend- ing church, going on pilgrimages, repeating prayers, and visiting relics of the saints, could do nothing for a sinner if he was not already "justified by faith"; that is, made acceptable to God by his faith in God's promises. If he was "justified," then he might properly go about his daily duties, for they would be pleas- ing to God without what the Church was accustomed to regard as "good works." The Revolt oj Germany against the Papacy 505 Luther's teachings did not attract much attention until the year 151 7, when he was thirty- four years old. Then something occurred to give him considerable prominence. 7^^ Indulgences. The fact has already been mentioned that the popes had undertaken the rebuilding of St. Peter's, the great central church of Christendom (§670). The cost of the enter- prise was very great, and in order to collect contributions for the purpose Pope Leo X arranged for an extensive distribution of indulgences in Germany. In order to understand the nature of indulgences and Luther's opposition to them, we must consider the teaching of the Catholic Church in regard to the forgiveness of sin. The Church taught that if one died after committing a serious ("mortal") sin which he had not repented and confessed, his soul would cer- tainly be lost. If he sincerely repented and confessed his sin to a priest, God would forgive him and his soul would be saved, but he would not thereby escape punishment. This punishment might consist in fasting, saying certain prayers, going on a pil- grimage, or doing some other good work. It was assumed, however, that most men committed so many sins that even if they died repentant they had to pass through a long period in purgatory, where they would be purified by suffering before they could enter heaven. Now an indulgence was a pardon, issued usually by the Pope himself, which freed the person to whom it was granted jrom a part or all of his suffering in purgatory. It did not forgive his sins or in any way take the place of true repentance and confession ; it only reduced the punishment which a truly contrite sinner would otherwise have had to endure, either in this world or in purgatory, before he could be admitted to heaven.^ The contribution to the Church which was made in return for indulgences varied greatly ; the rich were required to give a 1 It is a common mistake of Protestants to suppose that the indulgence was forgive- ness granted beforehand for sins to be committed in the future. There is absolutely no foundation for this idea. A person proposing to sin could not possibly be contrite in the eyes of the Church, and even if he had secured an indulgence it would, according to the theologians, have been quite worthless. 5o6 History of Europe considerable sum, while the very poor were to receive these pardons gratis. The representatives of the Pope were naturally anxious to collect all the money possible and did their best to induce everyone to secure an indulgence, either for himself or for his deceased friends in purgatory. In their zeal they made many claims for the indulgences, to which no thoughtful churchman or even layman could listen without misgivings. 736. Luther's Theses on Indulgences. In October, 151 7, Tet- zel, a Dominican monk, began announcing indulgences in the neighborhood of Wittenberg and making claims for them which appeared to Luther wholly irreconcilable with Christianity as he understood it. He therefore, in accordance with the custom of the time, wrote out a series of ninety-five statements in regard to indulgences. These theses, as they were called, he posted on the church door and invited anyone interested in the matter to enter into a discussion with him on the subject, which he believed was very ill understood. In posting these theses, Luther did not intend to attack the Church and had no expectation of creating a sensation. The theses were in Latin and addressed, therefore, only to learned men. It turned out, however, that everyone, high and low, learned and unlearned, was ready to discuss the nature of indulgences. The theses were promptly translated into German, printed, and scattered abroad throughout the land. In these Ninety-five Theses Luther declared that the indulgence was very unimportant and that the poor man would better spend his money for the needs of his household. The truly repentant, he argued, do not flee punishment, but bear it willingly in sign of their sorrow. Faith in God, not the procuring of pardons, brings forgiveness, and every Christian who feels true sorrow for his sins will receive full remission of the punishment as well as of the guilt. Could the Pope know how his agents misled the people, he would rather have St. Peter's burn to ashes than build it up with money gained under false pretenses. Then, Luther adds, there is danger that the common man will ask awkward questions. For example, " If the Pope releases souls from purgatory for money, why not for The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 507 charity's sake ? " or, " Since the Pope is rich as Croesus, why does he not build St. Peter's with his own money, instead of taking that of the poor man ? " 737. Luther becomes Suspicious of the Papacy. Luther now began to read church history and reached the conclusion that the influence of the popes had not been very great until the times of Gregory VII (§§ 591-593), and therefore that they had not enjoyed their supremacy over the Church for more than four hundred years before his own birth. He was mistaken in this conclusion, but he had hit upon an argument that has been con- stantly urged by Protestants ever since. They assert that the power of the Medieval Church and of the papacy developed gradually and that the apostles knew nothing of Masses, indul- gences, pilgrimages, purgatory, or the headship of the bishop of Rome. The publication of Luther's theses brought him many sympa- thizers in Germany. Some were attracted by his protests against the ways in which the popes raised money, and others liked him for attacking Aristotle and the scholastic theologians. Erasmus' publisher at Basel agreed to publish Luther's books, of which he sent copies to Italy, France, England, and Spain, and in this way the Wittenberg monk began before long to be widely known outside of Germany as well as within it. 738. Contrast between Luther and Erasmus. But Erasmus himself, the mighty sovereign of the men of letters, refused to take sides in the controversy. Luther, he urged, would better be discreet and trust that as mankind became more intelligent they 'would outgrow their false ideas. To Erasmus, man was capable of progress ; cultivate him and extend his knowledge, and he would grow better and better. To Luther, on the other hand, man was utterly corrupt and inca- pable of a single righteous wish or deed. His will was enslaved to evil, and his only hope lay in the recognition of his absolute inability to better himself and in a humble reliance upon God's mercy. Only by jaith and not by doing good works could he be saved. 5o8 History oj Europe Erasmus and many other thoughtful people of the time were willing to wait until everyone agreed that the Church should be reformed. Luther had no patience with an institution which seemed to him to be leading souls to destruction by inducing men to rely upon their good works. Erasmus declared that Luther, by scorning good works, had made his followers indif- ferent to their conduct, and that those who accepted Luther's teachings straightway became pert, rude fellows, who would not any longer take off their hats to him on the street. 739. Luther's Address to the German Nobility. By 1520 Luther, who gave way at times to his naturally violent disposition, had become threatening and abusive and suggested that the Ger- man rulers should punish the churchmen and force them to reform their conduct. "We punish thieves with the gallows, bandits with the sword, heretics with iire ; why should we not, with far greater propriety, attack with every kind of weapon these very masters of perdition, the cardinals and popes ? " Of Luther's popular pamphlets, the first really famous one was his Address to the German Nobility, in which he calls upon the rulers of Germany, especially the knights, to reform the abuses themselves, since he believed that it was vain to wait for the Church to do so. He explains that there are three walls behind which the papacy had been wont to take refuge when anyone proposed to remedy its abuses. There was, first, the claim that the clergy formed a separate class, superior even to the civil rulers, who were not permitted to punish a churchman, no matter how bad he was. Secondly, the Pope claimed to be superior even to the great general assemblies of the Church, called councils, so that even the representatives of the Church itself might not correct him. And, lastly, the Pope assumed the sole right, when questions of belief arose, to interpret with authority the meaning of the Scriptures ; consequently he could not be re- futed by arguments from the Bible (§ 592). Luther undertook to cast down these defenses by denying, to begin with, that there was anything especially sacred about a clergyman except the duties which he had been designated to The Revolt oj Germany against the Papacy 509 perform. If he did not attend to his work, it should be possible to deprive him of his office at any moment, just as one would turn off an incompetent tailor or farmer, and in that case he should become a simple layman again. Luther claimed, more- over, that it was the right and duty of the rulers to punish a churchman who did wrong just as if he were the humblest layman. The Address to the German Nobility closed with a long list of evils which must be done away with before Germany could become prosperous. Luther saw that his view of religion really implied a social revolution. He advocated reducing the monas- teries to a tenth of their number and permitting those monks who were disappointed in the good they got from living in them freely to leave. He pointed out the evils of pilgrimages and of the numerous church holidays, which interfered with daily work. The clergy, he urged, should be permitted to marry and have fam- ilies like other citizens. The universities should be reformed, and " the accursed heathen, Aristotle," should be cast out from them. 740. Luther Excommunicated. Luther had long expected to be excommunicated. But it was not until late in 1520 that John Eck, a personal enemy of his, arrived in Germany with a papal bull condemning many of Luther's assertions as heretical and giving him sixty days in which to recant. Should he fail to return to his senses within that time, he and all who adhered to or favored him were to be excommunicated, and any place which harbored him should fall under the interdict (§623). Now, since the highest power in Christendom had pronounced Luther a heretic, he should unhesitatingly have been delivered up by the German authorities. But no one thought of arresting him. The bull irritated the German princes ; whether they liked Luther or not, they decidedly disliked to have the Pope issuing commands to them. Then it appeared to them very unfair that Luther's personal enemy should have been intrusted with the publication of the bull. Even the princes and universities that were most friendly to the Pope published the bull with great reluctance. In many cases the bull was ignored altogether. Luther's own sovereign, the elector of Saxony, while no convert 510 History of Europe to the new views, was anxious that Luther's case should be fairly considered, and he continued to protect him. One mighty prince, however, the young Emperor Charles V, promptly and willingly published the bull ; not, however, as emperor, but as ruler of the Austrian dominions and of the Netherlands. 741. Luther burns the Pope's Bull (1520). The Wittenberg professor felt himself compelled to oppose himself to both Pope and emperor. " Hard it is," he exclaimed, " to be forced to con- tradict all the prelates and princes, but there is no other way to escape hell and God's anger." Late in 1520 he summoned his students to witness what he called ''a pious religious spectacle." He had a fire built outside the walls of Wittenberg and cast into it Leo X's bull condemning him, and a copy of the Laws of the Church, together with a volume of scholastic theology which he specially disliked. Yet Luther dreaded disorder. He was certainly sometimes reckless and violent in his writings and often said that bloodshed could not be avoided. Yet he always opposed hasty reform. He was reluctant to make changes, except in belief. He held that so long as an institution did not actually mislead, it did no harm. He was, in short, no fanatic at heart. IIL The Diet at Worms (1520-1521) 742. Charles V's "Want of Sympathy with the German Re- formers. The Pope's chief representative in Germany, named Aleander, wrote as follows to Leo X about this time : " I am pretty familiar with the history of this German nation. I know their past heresies, councils, and schisms, but never were affairs so serious before. Compared with present conditions, the struggle between Henry IV and Gregory VII was as violets and roses. . . . Nine tenths of the Germans are shouting 'Luther,' and the other tenth goes so far at least as 'Death to the Roman curia.'" Among the enemies of Luther and his supporters none was more important than the young emperor. It was toward the end of the year 1520 that Charles came to Germany for the first The Revolt oj Germany against the Papacy 511 time (§ 729). After being crowned King of the Romans at Aix-la-Chapelle he assumed, with the Pope's consent, the title of emperor elect as his grandfather Maximilian had done. He then moved on to the town of Worms, where he was to hold his first diet and face the German situation. Although scarcely more than a boy in years, Charles had already begun to take life very seriously. He had decided that Spain, not Germany, was to be the bulwark and citadel of all his realms. Like the more enlightened of his Spanish subjects he realized the need of reforming the Church, but he had no sym- pathy whatever with any change of religious belief. He proposed to live and die a devout Catholic of the old type, such as his orthodox ancestors had been. 743. Luther summoned to the Diet at Worms. Upon ar- riving at Worms the case of Luther was at once forced upon Charles's attention by Aleander, the papal representative, who exhorted him to outlaw the heretic without further delay. While Charles seemed convinced of Luther's guilt, he could not proceed against him without serious danger. The monk had become a sort of national hero and had the support of the powerful elector of Saxony. Other princes, who had ordinarily no wish to protect a heretic, felt that Luther's denunciation of the evils in the Church and of the actions of the Pope was very gratifying. After much discussion it was finally arranged, to the great disgust of the zealous Aleander, that Luther should be summoned to Worms and be given an opportunity to face the German nation and the emperor, and to declare plainly whether he was the author of the heretical books ascribed to him, and whether he still adhered to the doctrines which the Pope had condemned. The emperor accordingly wrote the " honorable and respected " Luther a very polite letter, desiring him to appear at Worms and granting him a safe-conduct thither. It was not, however, proposed to give Luther an opportunity to defend his beliefs before the diet. When he appeared he was simply asked if a pile of his Latin and German' works were really his, and, if so, whether he revoked what he had said in them. 512 History of Europe To the first question the monk replied in a low voice that he had written these and more. As to the second question, he asked that he might have a little while to consider. The following day, in a Latin address which he repeated in German, he admitted that he had been overviolent in his attacks upon his opponents. But he said that he believed no one could deny that the Pope's decrees had often gone against the conscience of good Christians and that the German people had been robbed by the abuses of Church power. If, however, adequate arguments against his position could be found in the Scriptures, he said he would gladly and willingly recant. 744. The Edict of Worms (1521). There was now nothing for the emperor to do but to outlaw Luther, who had denied the binding character of the commands of the head of the Church. Aleander was accordingly assigned the agreeable duty of drafting the famous Edict of Worms. This document declared Luther an outlaw on the following grounds : that he scorned and villified the Pope, despised the priesthood and stirred up the laity to dip their hands in the blood of the clergy, denied free will, taught licentiousness, despised au- thority, advocated a brutish existence, and was a menace to Church and State alike. Everyone was forbidden to give the heretic food, drink, or shelter, and was required to seize him and deliver him to the emperor. Moreover, the decree provides that " no one shall dare to buy, sell, read, preserve, copy, print, or cause to be copied or printed, any books of the aforesaid Martin Luther, condemned by our holy father the Pope, as aforesaid, or any other writings in Ger- man or Latin hitherto composed by him, since they are foul, noxious, suspected, and published by a notorious and stiff-necked heretic." So general was the disapproval of the edict that few were willing to pay any attention to it. Charles V immediately left Germany and for nearly ten years was occupied outside it with the government of Spain and a succession of wars. The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 513 IV. The Revolt against the Papacy begins in Germany 745. Luther begins a New Translation of the Bible. As Luther neared Eisenach upon his way home from Worms he was kidnaped by his friends and conducted to the Wartburg, a castle belonging to the elector of Saxony. Here he was concealed until any danger from the action of the emperor or diet should pass by. His chief occupation during several months of hiding was to begin a new translation of the Bible into German. He had finished the New Testament before he left the Wartburg in March, 1522. Up to this time German editions of the Scriptures, while not uncommon, had been poor and obscure. Luther's task was a difficult one. He was anxious above all that the Bible should be put into language that would seem perfectly clear and natural to the common folk. So he went about asking the mothers and children and the laborers questions which might draw out the expression that he was looking for. 746. Pamphlets and Satires. Previous to 15 18 there had been very few books or pamphlets printed in German. The translation of the Bible into language so simple that even the unlearned might read it was only one of the signs of a general effort to awaken the minds of the common people. Hundreds of pamphlets, satires, and cartoons have come down to us which indicate that the religious and other questions of the day were often treated in somewhat the same spirit in which our comic papers deal with political problems and discussions now. 747. The Revolt Begins. Hitherto there had been a great deal of talk of reform, but as yet nothing had actually been done. There was no sharp line drawn between the different classes of reformers. All agreed that something should be done to better the Church ; few realized how divergent were the real ends in view. The rulers listened to Luther because they were glad of an excuse to get control of the church property and keep money from flowing to Rome. The peasants listened because he put the Bible into their hands and they found nothing there that proved that they ought to go on paying the old dues to their lords. 514 History of Europe While Luther was quietly living in the Wartburg, translating the Bible, people began to put his teachings into practice. The monks and nuns left their monasteries in his own town of Witten- berg. Some of them married, which seemed a very wicked thing to all those that held to the old beliefs. The students and citizens tore down the images of the saints in the churches and even went so far as to oppose the celebration of the Mass, the chief Catholic ceremony. Luther was greatly troubled by news of this disorderly reform. He did not approve of sudden and violent changes and left his hiding place to protest. He preached a series of sermons in Wittenberg in which he urged that all alterations in religious services and practices should be introduced by the government and not by the people. But his advice was not heeded. 748. The Peasant War. The conservative party, who were, frankly afraid of Luther, received a terrible proof, as it seemed to them, of the noxious influence of his teachings. In 1525 the serfs rose, in the name of " God's justice," to avenge their wrongs. Luther was not responsible for the civil war which followed, though he had certainly helped to stir up discontent. He had asserted, for example, that the German feudal lords were hang- men, who 10ffew only how to swindle the poor man. " Such fellows were formerly called rascals, but now must we call them ' Christian and revered princes.' " Yet in spite of his harsh talk about the princes, Luther really relied upon them to forward his movement, and he justly claimed that he had greatly increased their power by attacking the authority of the Pope and subjecting the clergy in all things to the government. Y49. The "Twelve Articles." Some of the demands of the peasants were perfectly reasonable. The most popular expression of their needs was the dignified " Twelve Articles." In these they claimed that the Bible did not sanction any of the dues which the lords demanded of them, and that, since they were Christians like their lords, they should no longer be held as serfs. They were willing to pay all the old and well-established dues, but they asked to be properly remunerated for extra services demanded by The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 515 the lord. They thought too that each community should have the right freely to choose its own pastor and to dismiss him if he proved negligent or inefficient. There were, however, leaders who were more violent and who proposed to kill the "godless" priests and nobles. Hundreds of castles and monasteries were destroyed by the frantic peasantry, and some of the nobility were murdered with shocking cruelty. Luther tried to induce the peasants, with whom, as the son of a peasant, he was at first inclined to sympathize, to remain quiet ; but when his warnings proved vain he turned against them. He declared that they were guilty of the most fearful crimes and urged the government to put down the insurrection without pity. 750. The Peasant Revolt put down with Great Cruelty. Luther's advice was followed with terrible literalness by the German rulers, and the nobility took fearful revenge on the peasants. In the summer of 1525 their chief leader was defeated and killed, and it is estimated that ten thousand peasants were put to death, many with the utmost cruelty. Few of the rulers or landlords introduced any reforms, and the misfortunes due to the destruction of property and to the despair of the peasants cannot be imagined. The people concluded that the new gospel was not for them, and talked of Luther as "Dr. Lugner"; that is, liar. The old exactions of the lords of the manors were in no way lightened, and the situation of the serfs for centuries following the great revolt was worse rather than better. V. Division of Germany into Catholic and Protestant Countries 75L Religious Division of North and South Germany. Charles V was occupied at this time by his quarrels with Francis I (§ 726) and was in no position to return to Germany and under- take to enforce the Edict of Worms against Luther and his fol- lowers. Germany, as we have seen, was divided into hundreds of practically independent countries, and the various electors, princes, towns, and knights naturally could not agree as to what 5i6 History of Europe would best be done in the matter of reforming the Church. It became apparent not long after the Peasant War that some of the rulers were going to accept Luther's idea that they need no longer obey the Pope but that they were free to proceed to regulate the property and affairs of the churchmen in their domains with- out regard to the Pope's wishes. Other princes and towns agreed that they would remain faithful to the Pope if certain reforms were introduced, especially if the papal taxation were reduced. Southern Germany decided for the Pope and remains Catholic down to the present day. Many of the northern rulers, on the other hand, adopted the new teachings, and finally all of them fell away from the papacy and became Protestant. Since there was no one powerful enough to decide the great question for the whole of Germany, the diet which met at Speyer in 1526 determined that pending the summoning of a church council each ruler should "so live, reign, and conduct himself as he would be willing to answer before God and His Imperial Majesty." For the moment, then, the various German govern- ments were left to determine the religion of their subjects. 752. Origin of the Term " Protestants." The emperor, find- ing himself again free for a time to attend to German affairs, com- manded the diet, which again met at Speyer in 1529, to order the enforcement of the Edict of Worms against the heretics. The princes and towns that had accepted Luther's ideas drew up 2i' protest, in which they claimed that the majority had no right to abrogate the edict of the former diet of Speyer, which had been passed unanimously, and which all had solemnly pledged themselves to observe. Those who signed this appeal were called from their action Protestants. Thus originated the name which came to be generally applied to those who do not accept the rule and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. 753. Diet at Augsburg and the Augsburg Confession. Ever since the diet at Worms the emperor had resided in Spain, busied with a succession of wars carried on with the king of France. But in 1530 the emperor found himself at peace for the moment and came to Germany to hold a brilliant diet of his The Revolt of Germany against the Papacy 517 German subjects at Augsburg in the hope of settling the religious problem, which, however, he understood very imperfectly. He ordered the Protestants to draw up a statement of exactly what they believed, which should serve as a basis for discussion. Melanchthon, Luther's most famous friend and colleague, who was noted for his great learning and moderation, was intrusted with this delicate task. The Augsburg Confession, as his declaration was called, is a historical document of great importance for the student of the Protestant revolt.^ Melanchthon's gentle disposition led him to make the differences between his belief and that of the old Church seem as few and slight as possible. He showed that both parties held the same fundamental views of Christianity. But he defended the Protestants' rejection of a number of the prac- tices of the Roman Catholics, such as the celibacy of the clergy and the observance of fast days. There was little or nothing in the Augsburg Confession concerning the organization of the Church. 754. Charles V's Attempt at Pacification. Certain theologians who had been loud in their denunciations of Luther were ordered by the emperor to prepare a refutation of the Protestant views. The statement of the Catholics admitted that a number of Melanchthon's positions were perfectly orthodox ; but the portion of the Augsburg Confession which dealt with the practical reforms introduced by the Protestants was rejected altogether. Charles V declared the Catholic statement to be '' Christian *and judicious" and commanded the Protestants to accept it. They were to cease troubling the Catholics and were to give back all the monasteries and church property which they had seized. The emperor agreed, however, to urge the Pope to call a council to meet within a year. This, he hoped, would be able to settle all differences and reform the Church according to the views of the Catholics. 755. The Peace of Augsburg. For ten years after the em- peror left Augsburg he was kept busy in southern Europe by 1 It is still accepted as the creed of the Lutheran Church. Inexpensive copies of it in English may be procured from the Lutheran Publication Society, Philadelphia. 5i8 History of Europe new wars ; and in order to secure the assistance of the Protes- tants he was forced to let them go their own way. Meanwhile the number of rulers who accepted Luther's teachings gradually increased. Finally there was a brief war between Charles and the Protestant princes, but there was little lighting done. Charles V brought his Spanish soldiers into Germany and captured both John Frederick of Saxony and his ally, Philip of Hesse, the chief leaders of the Lutheran cause, whom he kept prisoners for several years. Luther himself died in 1546. These events did not, however, check the progress of the Protes- tants. The king of France, although he was persecuting heretics at home, promised them help against his enemy, the emperor, and Charles was forced to agree to a peace with the Protestants. In 1555 the religious Peace of Augsburg was ratified. Its provisions are memorable. Each German prince and each town and knight directly under the emperor was to be at liberty to make a choice between the beliefs of the venerable Catholic Church and those embodied in the Augsburg Confession. If, however, an ecclesiastical prince — an archbishop, bishop, or abbot — declared himself a Protestant, he must surrender his possessions to the Church. Every German was either to conform to the re- ligious practices of his particular state or emigrate from it. Every- one was supposed to be either a Catholic or a Lutheran, and no provision was made for any other belief. This religious peace in no way established freedom of con- science, except for the rulers. Their power, it must be noted, was greatly increased, inasmuch as they were given the control of religious as well as of secular matters. This arrangement which permitted the ruler to determine the religion of his realm was more natural in those days than it would be in ours. The Church and the civil government had been closely associated with one another for centuries. No one as yet dreamed that every in- dividual might safely be left quite free to believe what he would and to practice any religious rites which afforded him help and comfort. The Revolt of Germar^y against the Papacy 519 QUESTIONS I. What were the sources of discontent with the Church in Ger- many ? What were the views of Erasmus in regard to church reform ? II. Tell something of Luther's life before he posted up his theses. What was an indulgence ? Give some of Luther's views expressed in his Ninety-five Theses. Contrast the opinions of Erasmus and Luther. Discuss Luther's Address to the German Nobility. Why was Luther excommunicated ? What was the fate of the papal bull directed against him ? III. Why did Charles V summon Luther at Worms ? What did Luther say to the diet ? What were the chief provisions of the Edict of Worms ? IV. Describe Luther's translation of the Bible. What was the state of public opinion in Germany after the diet at Worms ? What was Luther's attitude toward reform ? Why did the German peasants revolt ? What did the Twelve Articles contain ? What effect did the Peasant Revolt have on Luther ? V. What was the origin of the term " Protestant " ? What was the Augsburg Confession ? What were the results of the diet of Augsburg ? What was the policy of Charles V in regard to the Protestants ? What were the chief provisions of the Peace of Augsburg ? CHAPTER XXXIII THE PROTESTANT REVOLT IN SWITZERLAND AND ENGLAND I. ZwiNGLi AND Calvin 756. Origin of the Swiss Confederation. For at least a cen- tury after Luther's death the great issue between Catholics and Protestants dominates the history of all the countries with which we have to do, except Italy and Spain, where Protestantism never took permanent root. In Switzerland, England, France, and Hol- land the revolt against the Medieval Church produced discord, wars, and profound changes, which must be understood in order to follow the later development of these countries. We turn first to Switzerland, lying in the midst of the great chain of the Alps which extends from the Mediterranean to Vienna. During the Middle Ages the region destined to be included in the Swiss Confederation formed a part of the Holy Roman Empire and was scarcely distinguishable from the rest of southern Germany. As early as the thirteenth century the three " forest " cantons on the shores of the winding Lake of Lucern formed a union to protect their liberties against the encroachments of their neighbors, the Hapsburgs (§715). It was about this tiny nucleus that Switzerland gradually consoli- dated. Lucern and the free towns of Zurich and Bern soon joined the Swiss league. By brave fighting the Swiss were able to frustrate the renewed efforts of the Hapsburgs to subjugate them. Various districts in the neighborhood joined the Swiss union in succession, and even the region lying on the Italian slopes of the Alps was brought under its control. Gradually the bonds between the members of the Swiss union and the Empire were broken. In 1499 they were finally freed from the jurisdiction of Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 521 the emperor, and Switzerland became a practically independent country. Although the original union had been made up of German-speaking people, considerable districts had been annexed in which Italian or French was spoken.^ The Swiss did not, The Swiss Confederation in the Sixteenth Century ■ therefore, form a compact, well-defined nation, and consequently for some centuries their confederation was weak and ill-organized. 757. Zwingli leads Revolt against the Old Church. In Switzerland the first leader of the revolt against the Church was a young priest named Zwingli, who was a year younger than Luther. He lived in the famous monastery of Einsiedeln, near 1 This condition has not changed ; all Swiss laws are still proclaimed in three languages. 522 History of Europe the Lake of Zurich, which was the center of pilgrimages on ac- count of a wonder-working image. " Here," he says, " I began to preach the Gospel of Christ in the year 1516, before anyone in my locality had so much as heard the name of Luther." Three years later he was called to an influential position as preacher in the cathedral of Zurich, and there his great work really commenced. He then began to denounce the abuses in the Church as well as the shameless traffic in soldiers, which he had long regarded as a blot upon his country's honor.^ But the original cantons about the Lake of Lucern, which feared that they might lose the great influence that, in spite of their small size, they had hitherto enjoyed, were ready to fight for the old faith. The first armed collision between the Swiss Protestants and Catholics took place at Kappel in 1531, and Zwingli fell in the battle. The various cantons and towns never came to an agreement in religious matters, and Switzerland is still part Catholic and part Protestant. • 758. Calvin (i509-i564) and the Presbyterian Church. Far more important than Zwingli 's teachings, especially for England and America, was the work of Calvin, which was carried oii in the ancient city of Geneva, on the very outskirts of the Swiss Confederation. It was Calvin who organized the Presbyterian Church and formulated its beliefs. He was born in northern France in 1 509 ; he belonged, therefore, to the second generation of Protestants. He was early influenced by the Lutheran teach- ings, which had already found their way into France. A perse- cution of the Protestants under Francis I drove him out of the country, and he settled for a time in Basel. Here he issued the first edition of his great work. The Insti- tute of Christianity, which has been more widely discussed than any other Protestant theological treatise. It was the first orderly exposition of the principles of Christianity from a Protestant 1 Switzerland had made a business, ever since the time when Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, of supplying troops of mercenaries to fight for other countries, especially for France and the Pope. It was the Swiss who gained the battle of Marignano for Francis I (§ 725), and Swiss guards may still be seen in the Pope's palace, the Vatican." Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 523 standpoint and formed a convenient manual for study and dis- cussion. The Institute is based upon the infallibility of the Bible and rejects the infallibility of the Church and the Pope. Calvin possessed a remarkably logical mind and a clear and admirable style. The French version of his great work is the first example of the successful use of that language in an argumentative treatise. Calvin was called to Geneva about 1540 and intrusted with the task of reforming the town, which had secured its independ- ence of the duke of Savoy. Calvin intrusted the management of church affairs to the ministers and the elders, or presbyters ; hence the name " Presbyterian." The Protestantism which found its way into France was that of Calvin, not that of Luther, and the same may be said of Scotland (see below, §§ 798-799). II. How England fell away from the Papacy 759. Erasmus in England ; More's Utopia. When Erasmus (§ 732) came to England about the year 1500 he was delighted with the people he met there. Henry VII was still alive. It will be remembered that it was he that brought order into England after the Wars of the Roses (§578). His son, who was to become the famous Henry VIII, impressed Erasmus as a very promising boy. We may assume that the intelligent men whom Erasmus met in England agreed with him in regard to the situation in the Church and the necessity of reform. He was a good friend of Sir Thomas More, who is best known for his little book called Utopia, which means "Nowhere." In it More pictures the happy conditions in an undiscovered land where the government was perfect and all .the evils that he saw about him were done away. 760. Wolsey's Idea of the Balance of Power. Henry VIII came to the English throne when he was eighteen years old. His chief adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, deserves great credit for having constantly striven to discourage his sovereign's ambition to take part in the wars on the Continent. The cardinal's argument that England could become great by peace better than by war was a momentous discovery. Peace he felt would be best secured by 524 History of Europe maintaining the balance of power on the Continent, so that no ruler should become dangerous by unduly extending his sway. For example, he thought it good policy to side with Charles V when Francis I was successful, and then with Francis after his terrible defeat at Pavia (1525) when he fell into the hands of Charles. This idea of the balance of power came to be recognized later by the European countries as a very important consideration Fig. 134. Henry VIII in determining their policy. But Wolsey was not long to be per- mitted to put his enlightened ideas into practice. His fall and the progress of Protestantism in England are both closely associated with the notorious divorce case of Henry VIH. 761. Henry VIII's Divorce Case. Henry had married Cath- erine of Aragon, the aunt of Charles V. Only one of their children, Mary, survived to grow up. As time went on, Henry was very anxious to have a son and heir, for he was fearful lest a woman might not be permitted to succeed to the throne. Moreover, he had tired of Catherine, who was considerably older than he. Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 525 Catherine had first married Henry's older brother, who had died almost immediately after the marriage. Since it was a vio- lation of the rule of the Church to marry a deceased brother's wife, Henry professed to fear that he was committing a sin by retaining Catherine as his wife and demanded to be divorced from her on the ground that his marriage had never been legal. His anxiety to rid himself of Catherine was greatly increased by the appearance at court of a black-eyed girl of sixteen, named Anne Boleyn, with whom the king fell in love. Unfortunately for his case, his marriage with Catherine had been authorized by a dispensation from the Pope, so that Clement VII, to whom the king appealed to annul the marriage, could not, even if he had been willing to run the risk of angering the queen's nephew, Charles V, have granted Henry's request. Wolsey's failure to induce the Pope to permit the divorce ex- cited the king's anger, and with rank ingratitude for his minister's great services Henry drove him from office (1529) and seized his property. From a life of wealth which was fairly royal, Wolsey was precipitated into extreme poverty and soon died. Henry induced Parliament to cut off some of the Pope's revenue from England ; but, as this did not bring Clement VII to terms, Henry lost patience and secretly married Anne Boleyn, relying on getting a divorce from Catherine later. He then summoned an English church court which declared his marriage with Catherine null and void. He had persuaded Parliament to make a law providing that all lawsuits should be definitely decided within the realm and in this way cut off the possibility of the queen's appealing to the Pope (§618). Parliament, which did whatever Henry VIII asked, also de- clared Henry's marriage with Catherine unlawful and that with Anne Boleyn legal. Consequently it was decreed that Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1533, was to succeed her father on the English throne instead of Mary, the daughter of Catherine. 762. How Henry VIII threw off the Papal Authority. In 1534 the English Parliament completed the revolt of the English Church from the Pope by assigning to the king the right to appoint 526 History of Europe all the English prelates and to enjoy all the income which had formerly found its way to Rome. In the Act of Supremacy, Par- liament declared the king to be " the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England," and that he should enjoy all the powers which the title naturally carried with it. Two years later every officer in the kingdom was required to swear to renounce the authority of the bishop of Rome. Refusal to take this oath was to be adjudged high treason. Many were unwilling to deny the Pope's headship merely because king and Parliament renounced it, and this legislation led to a persecution in the name of treason against the king which was even more horrible than that which had been carried on in the name of religion. 763. Henry VIII no Protestant. It must be carefully ob- served that Henry VIII was not a Protestant in the Lutheran sense of the word. He was led, it is true, by Clement VII's refusal to declare his first marriage illegal, to break the bond between the English and the Roman Church and to induce the English clergy and Parliament to acknowledge the king as su- preme head in the religious as well as in the worldly interests of the country. Important as this was, it did not lead Henry to accept the teachings of Protestant leaders, like Luther, Zwingli, or Calvin. Henry was anxious to prove that he was orthodox, especially after he had seized the property of the monasteries and the gold and jewels which adorned the receptacles in which the relics of the saints were kept. He presided in person over the trial of one who accepted the opinions of Zwingli, and he quoted Scripture to prove the contrary. The prisoner was condemned and burned as a heretic. Henry also authorized a new translation of the Bible into English. A fine edition of this was printed (1539), and every parish was ordered to obtain a copy and place it in the parish church, where all the people could readily make use of it. 764. Henry*s Tyranny. Henry VIII was heartless and des- potic. With a barbarity not uncommon in those days he allowed his old friend and adviser. Sir Thomas More, to be beheaded for Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 527 refusing to pronounce the marriage with Catherine void. He caused numbers of monks to be executed for refusing to swear that his first marriage was illegal and for denying his title to supremacy in the Church. Others he permitted to die of starva- tion and disease in the filthy prisons of the time. 765. Dissolution of the English Monasteries. Henry wanted money ; some of the English abbeys were rich, and the monks were quite unable to defend themselves against the charges which were brought against them. The king sent commissioners about to inquire into the state of the monasteries. A large number of scandalous tales were easily collected, some of which were un- doubtedly true. The monks were doubtless often indolent and sometimes wicked. Nevertheless they were kind landlords, hos- pitable to the stranger, and good to the poor. The royal commissioners took possession of the monasteries and sold every article upon which they could lay hands, including the bells and even the lead on the roofs. The picturesque remains of some of the great abbey churches are still among the chief objects of interest to the sight-seer in England, The monastery lands were, of course, appropriated by the king. They were sold for the benefit of the government or given to nobles whose favor the king wished to secure. 766. Destruction of Shrines and Images. Along with the destruction of the monasteries went an attack upon the shrines and images in the churches, which were adorned with gold and jewels. The shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury (§ 548) was destroyed, and the bones of the saint were burned. These acts resembled the Protestant attacks on images which occurred in Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The main object of the king and his party was probably to get money, although the reason urged for the destruction was the superstitious veneration in which the relics and images were popularly held, 767. Henry's Third Marriage and the Birth of Edward VI. Henry's family troubles by no means came to an end with his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Of her, too, he soon tired, and three years after their marriage he had her executed on a series of 528 History of Europe monstrous charges. The very next day he married his third wife, Jane Seymour, who was the mother of his son and successor, Edward VI. Jane died a few days after her son's birth, and later Henry married in succession three other women who are his- torically unimportant since they left no children as claimants for the crown. Henry took care that his three children, all of whom were destined to reign, should be given their due place in the line of inheritance by act of Parliament.^ His death in 1547 left the great problem of Protestantism and Catholicism to be settled by his son and daughters. III. England becomes Protestant 768. Edward VI's Ministers introduce Protestant Practices. While the revolt of England against the papacy was carried through by the government at a time when the greater part of the nation was still Catholic, there was undoubtedly, under Henry VIII, an ever-increasing number of aggressive and ardent Protestants who approved the change. During the six years of the boy Edward's reign — he died in 1553 at the age of sixteen — those in charge of the government favored the Protestant party and did what they could to change the faith of all the people by bringing Protestant teachers from the Continent. A general demolition of all the sacred images was ordered ; even the beautiful stained glass, the glory of the cathedrals, was de- stroyed, because it often represented saints and angels. The king was to appoint bishops without troubling to observe the old forms of election (§§ 587-588), and Protestants began to be put into the high offices of the Church. Parliament turned over to the king the funds which had been established for the purpose of having Masses chanted for the dead, and decreed that thereafter the clergy should be free to marry. 1 Henry VIII, m. (i) Catherine m. (2) Anne Boleyn m. (3) Jane Seymour Mary (1553-1558) Elizabeth (1558-1603) Edward VT (1547-1553) It was arranged that the son was to succeed to the throne. In case he died without heirs, Mary and then Elizabeth were to follow. Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 529 769. The Prayer Book and the "Thirty-nine Articles." A prayer book in English was prepared under the auspices of Par- liament, not very unlike that used in the Church of England to-day (see below, § 797). Moreover, forty-two articles of faith were drawn up by the government, which were to be the standard of belief for the country. These, in the time of. Queen Elizabeth, were revised and reduced to the famous " Thirty-nine Articles," which still consti- tute the creed of the Church of England. The changes in the church services must have sadly shocked a great part of the English people, who had been accustomed to watch with awe and expectancy the various acts associated with the many church ceremonies and festi- vals. Earnest men who de- plored the misrule of those who conducted Edward's gov- ernment in the name of Protestantism must have con- cluded that the reformers were chiefly intent upon ad- vancing their own interests by plundering the Church. We get some idea of the desecrations of the time from the fact that Ed- ward was forced to forbid '' quarreling and shooting in churches " and " the bringing of horses and mules through the same, making God's house like a stable or common inn." Although many were heartily in favor of the recent changes, it is no wonder that after Edward's death there was a revulsion in favor of the old religion. 770. Queen Mary (i553-i558) and the Catholic Restoration. Edward VI was succeeded in 1553 by his half sister Mary, the daughter of Catherine, who had been brought up in the Catholic Fig. 135. Edward VI. (By Holbein) This interesting sketch was made before Edward became king ; he could have been scarcely six years old, as Holbein died in 1 543 530 History of Europe faith and held firmly to it. Her ardent hope of bringing her king- dom back once more to her religion did not seem altogether ill- founded, for the majority of the people were still Catholics at heart, and many who were not Catholics disapproved of the policy of Edward's ministers, who had removed abuses "in the devil's own way, by breaking in pieces." The Catholic cause appeared, moreover, to be strengthened by Mary's marriage with the Spanish prince, Philip II, the son of the orthodox Charles V. But although Philip later distinguished him- self, as we shall see, by the merciless way in which he strove to put down heresy within his realms, he never gained any great influence in England. By his mar- riage with Mary he ac- quired the title of king, but the English took care that he should have no hand in the government nor by any means be permitted to succeed his wife on the English throne. Mary succeeded in bringing about a nominal reconciliation be- tween England and the Roman Church. In 1554 the papal legate restored to the communion of the Catholic Church the " Kneeling" Parliament, which theoretically, of course, represented the nation. Fig. 1 36. Queen Mary. (By Antonio Moro) This lifelike portrait, in the Madrid collection, is by a favorite painter of Philip II, Mary's hus- band (see Fig. 138). It was painted about 1554, and one gets the same impressions of Mary's character from the portrait that one does from reading about her. Moro had Holbein's skill in painting faces Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 531 Durlug^^Xast four years of Mary's reign the most serious religious p^^Htion in English history occurred. No less than two hundi^H^id seventy-seven persons were put to death for denying th^Olpchings of the Roman Church. The majority of the victims Vefre humble artisans and husbandmen. The three most notable sufferers were the bishops Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, who were burned in Oxford. It was Mary's hope and belief that the heretics sent to the stake would furnish a terrible warning to the Protestants and check the spread of the new teachings, but Catholicism was not promoted ; on the contrary, doubters were only convinced of the earnestness of the Protestants who could die with such constancy/ QUESTIONS I. How did the Swiss Confederation originate ? Describe the re- forms begun by Zwingli. Who was Calvin and what are his claims to ■ listinction ? II. Mention the chief contemporaries of Erasmus. What was the policy of Wolsey ? Describe the divorce case of Henry VIII. In what way did Henry VIII break away from the papacy ? What reforms did he introduce ? What was the dissolution of the monasteries ? III. What happened during the reign of Edward VI ? What was he policy of Queen Mary ? 1 The Catholics, it should be noted, later suffered serious persecution under Eliza- beth and James I, the Protestant successors of Mary. Death was the penalty fixed in ■lany cases for those who obstinately refused to recognize the monarch as the rightful .ead of the English Church, and heavy fines were imposed for the failure to attend , 'rotestant worship. Two hundred Catholic priests are said to have been executed under Klizabeth, Mary's sister, who succeeded her on the throne ; others were tortured or erished miserably in prison. CHAPTER XXXIV THE WARS OF RELIGION I. The Council of Trent ; the Jesuits 771. Council of Trent (i545-i563). In the preceding chapters we have seen how northern Germany, England, and portions of Switzerland revolted from the papacy and established independent Protestant churches. A great part of western Europe, however, remained faithful to the Pope and to the old beliefs which had been accepted for so many centuries. In order to consider the great question of reforming the Catholic Church and to settle disputed questions of religious belief a great church council was summoned by the Pope to meet in Trent, on the confines of Germany and Italy, in the year 1545. Charles V hoped that the Protestants would come to the council and that their ideas might even yet be reconciled with those of the Catholics. But the Protestants did not come, for they were too suspicious of an as- sembly called by the Pope to have any confidence in its decisions. The Council of Trent was interrupted after a few sessions and did not complete its work for nearly twenty years after it first met. It naturally condemned the Protestant beliefs so far as they differed from the views held by the Catholics, and it sanc- tioned those doctrines which the Catholic Church still holds. It accepted the Pope as the head of the Church ; it declared accursed anyone who, like Luther, believed that man would be saved by faith in God's promises alone, for the Church held that man, with God's help, could increase his hope of salvation by good works. It ratified all the seven sacraments, several of which the Protestants had rejected. The ancient Latin translation of the Bible — the Vulgate, as it is called — was proclaimed the standard of belief, and no one was to publish any views about the Bible differing from those approved by the Church. 532 The Wars of Religion 533 772. The "Index." The Council suggested that the Pope's officials should compile a list of dangerous books which faithful Catholics might not read for fear that their faith in the old Church would be disturbed. Accordingly, after the Council broke up, the Pope issued the first " Index," or list of books which were not to be further printed or circulated on account of the false religious teachings they contained. Similar lists have since been printed from time to time. The establishment of this " Index of Prohibited Books" was one of the most famous of the Council's acts. It was hoped that in this way the spread through the print- ing press of heretical doctrines contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and of immoral ideas could be checked. 773. Results of the Reform of the Catholic Church. Al- though the Council of Trent would make no compromises with the Protestants, it took measures to do away with certain abuses of which both Protestants and devout Catholics complained. All clergymen were to attend strictly to their duties, and no one was to be appointed who merely wanted the income from his office. The bishops were ordered to preach regularly and to see that only good men were ordained priests. A great improvement actually took place — better men were placed in office and many practices which had formerly irritated the people were perma- nently abolished. 774. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), Founder of the Jesuits. Among those who, during the final sessions of the Council, sturdily opposed every attempt to reduce in any way the exalted power of the Pope, was the head of a new religious society which was becoming the most powerful Catholic organization in Europe. The Jesuit order, or Society of Jesus, was founded by a Spaniard, Ignatius Loyola. He had been a soldier in his younger days, and while bravely fighting for his king, Charles V, had been wounded by a cannon ball (1521). Obliged to lie inactive for weeks, he occupied his time in reading the lives of the saints and became filled with a burning ambition to emulate their deeds. Upon re- covering, he dedicated himself to the service of the Church, donned a beggar's gown, and started on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 534 History of Europe Later he went to Paris and sought to influence his fellow students at the university ; and finally, in 1 534, seven of his companions agreed to follow him to Italy and devote themselves to the service of the Pope. When asked to what order they belonged, they replied, ''To the Society of Jesus." 775. Rigid Discipline and Objects of the Jesuits. In 1538 Loyola summoned his followers to Rome, and there they worked out the principles of their order. When this had been done the Pope gave his sanction to the new society. Loyola had been a soldier, and he laid great and constant stress upon absolute and unquestioning obedience. This he declared to be the mother of all virtue and happiness. Not only were all the members of the new association to obey the Pope as Christ's representative on earth and to undertake without hesitation any journey, no matter how distant or perilous, which he might command, but each was to obey his superiors in the order as if he were receiving directions from Christ in person. He must have no will or pref- erence of his own^ but must be as the staff which supports and aids its bearer in any way in which he sees fit to use it. This admirable organization and incomparable discipline were the great secret of the later influence of the Jesuits. The object of the society was to cultivate piety and the love of God, especially through example. The members were to pledge themselves to lead a pure life of poverty and devotion. A great number of the members were priests, who went about preaching, hearing confession, and encouraging devotional exercises. But the Jesuits were teachers as well as preachers and confessors. They clearly perceived the advantage of bringing young people under their influence ; they opened schools and seminaries and soon became the schoolmasters of Catholic Europe. So successful were their methods of instruction that even Protestants sometimes sent their children to them. 776. Activities of the Jesuits. Before the death of Loyola over a thousand persons had joined the society. Under his suc- cessor the number was trebled, and it went on increasing for two centuries. The founder of the order had been, as we have seen, The Wars of Religion 535 attracted to missionary work from the first, and the Jesuits rapidly spread not only over Europe but throughout the whole world. Francis Xavier, one of Loyola's original little band, went to Hindustan, the Moluccas, and Japan. Brazil, Florida, Mexico, and Peru were soon fields of active missionary work at a time when Protestants as yet scarcely dreamed of carrying Christianity Fig. 137. Principal Jesuit Church in Venice The Jesuits believed in erecting magnificent churches. This is a good example. The walls are inlaid with green marble in an elaborate pattern, and all the furnishings are very rich and gorgeous to the heathen. We owe to the Jesuits' reports much of our knowl- edge of the condition of America when white men first began to explore Canada and the Mississippi valley, for the followers of Loyola boldly penetrated into regions unknown to Europeans and settled among the natives with the purpose of bringing the Gospel to them. Dedicated as they were to the service of the Pope, the Jesuits early directed their energies against Protestantism. They sent their members into Germany and the Netherlands and even made 536 History of Europe strenuous efforts to reclaim England. Their success was most apparent in southern Germany and Austria, where they became the confessors and confidential advisers of the rulers. They not only succeeded in checking the progress of Protestantism but were able to reconquer for the Catholic Church some districts in which the old faith had been abandoned. 777. Accusations brought against the Jesuits. Protestants soon realized that the new order was their most powerful and dangerous enemy. Their apprehensions produced a bitter hatred which blinded them to the high purposes of the founders of the order and led them to attribute an evil purpose to every act of the Jesuits. The Jesuits' air of humility the Protestants declared to be mere hypocrisy under which they carried on their intrigues. They were popularly supposed to justify the most deceitful and immoral measures on the ground that the result would be " for the greater glory of God." The very obedience on which the Jesuits laid such stress was viewed by the hostile Protestant as one of their worst offenses, for he believed that the members of the order were the blind tools of their superiors and that they would not hesitate even to commit a crime if so ordered.^ II. Philip II and the Revolt of the Netherlands 778. Philip II, the Enemy of Protestantism. The chief ally of the Pope and the Jesuits in their efforts to check Protestantism in the latter half of the sixteenth century was. the son of Charles V, Philip II. Like the Jesuits he enjoys a most unenviable reputation among Protestants. Certain it is that they had no more terrible enemy among the rulers of the day than he. He eagerly forwarded every plan to attack England's Protestant queen, Elizabeth, and finally manned a mighty fleet with the purpose of overthrowing 1 As time went on, the Jesuit order degenerated just as the earlier ones had done. In the eighteenth century it undertook great commercial enterprises, and for this and other reasons lost the confidence and respect of even the Catholics. The king of Portugal was the first to banish the Jesuits from his kingdom ; and then France, where they had long been very unpopular with an influential party of the Catholics, expelled them in 1764. Convinced that the order had outgrown its usefulness, the Pope abolished it in 1773. It was, however, restored in 1814, and now again has thousands of members. The Wars of Religion 537 her (§805). He resorted, moreover, to great cruelty in his at- tempts to bring back his possessions in the Netherlands to what he believed to be the true faith. 779. Division of the Hapsburg Possessions. Charles V, crippled with the gout and old before his time, laid down the cares of government in 1 555-1 556. To his brother, Ferdinand, who had acquired by marriage the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, Charles had earlier transferred the German possessions of the Hapsburgs. To his son, Philip H (i 556-1 598), he gave Spain with its great American colonies, Milan, the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the Netherlands.^ 780. The Netherlands. The Netherlands, which were to cause Philip his first and greatest trouble, included seventeen provinces which Charles V had inherited from his grandmother, Mary of Burgundy (§ 716). They occupied the position on the map where we now find the kingdoms of Holland and Belgium. Each of the provinces had its own government, but Charles V had grouped them together and arranged that the German Empire should pro- tect them. In the north the hardy Germanic population had been able, by means of dikes which kept out the sea, to reclaim arge tracts of lowlands. Here considerable cities had grown up — Harlem, Leyden, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. To the south were the flourishing towns of Ghent, Bruges, Brussels, and Antwerp, which had for hundreds of years been centers of manufacture and trade. 1 Division of the Hapsburg possessions between the Spanish and the German branches : MaximiHan I (d. 15 19), m. Mary of Burgundy (d. 14S2) PhiHp (d. 1506), m. Joanna the Insane (d. 1555) • I I Charles V (d. 1558) Ferdinand (d. 1564), m. Anna, heiress to kingdoms Emperor, 1519-1556 Emperor, 1556-1564 I of Bohemia and Hungary Philip II (d. 1598) Maximilian II (d. 1576) inherits Spain, the Netherlands, Emperor, and inherits Bohemia, and the Italian possessions of Hungary, and the Austrian pos- the Hapsburgs sessions of the Hapsburgs The map of Europe in the sixteenth century (see above, p. 496) indicates the vast extent of the combined possessions of the Spanish and German Hapsburgs. 538 History of Europe 781. Philip II's Harsh Attitude toward the Netherlands. Philip's haughty manner made a disagreeable impression upon the people at Brussels when his father first introduced him to them as their future ruler. He was to them a Spaniard and a foreigner, and he ruled them as such after he returned to Spain. ■ Instead of attempting to win them by meeting their legitimate demands, he did everything to alienate all classes in his Bur- ^undian realm and to increase their natural hatred and lively suspicion of the Spaniards. The people were forced to house Spanish soldiers whose in- solence drove them nearly to despera- tion. What was still worse, Philip pro- posed that the In- quisition (§ 627) should carry on its work far more ac- tively than hitherto and put an end to the heresy which appeared to him to defile his fair realms. The Inquisition was no new thing to the provinces. Charles V had issued the most cruel edicts against the followers of Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. According to a law of 1550, heretics who persistently refused to recant were to be burned alive. Even those who confessed their errors and abjured their heresy were, if men, to lose their heads ; if women, to be buried alive. In either case their property was to be confiscated. The lowest estimate of those who were executed in the Netherlands during Charles's reign is fifty thousand. Although these terrible Fig. 138. Philip II. (By Antonio Moro) The Wars of Religion 539 laws had not checked the growth of Protestantism, all of Charles's decrees were solemnly reenacted by Philip in the first month of his reign. For ten years the people suffered Philip's rule ; nevertheless their king, instead of listening to the protests of their leaders, who were quite as earnest Catholics as himself, appeared to be bent on the destruction of the land. So in 1566 some five hundred of the nobles ventured to protest against Philip's policy. 782. Alva's Cruel Administration (i567-i573). Thereupon Philip took a step which led finally to the revolt of the Nether- lands. He decided to dispatch to the low countries the remorseless duke of Alva, whose conduct has made his name synonymous with blind and unmeasured cruelty. The report that Alva was coming caused the flight of many of those who especially feared his approach. William of Orange, who was to be the leader in the approaching war against Spain, went to Germany. Thousands of Flemish weavers fled across the North Sea, and the products of their looms became before long an important article of export from England. Alva brought with him a fine army of Spanish soldiers, ten thousand in number and superbly equipped. He appeared to think that the wisest and quickest way of pacifying the discon- tented provinces was to kill all those who ventured to criticize " the best of kings," of whom he had the honor to be the faithful servant. He accordingly established a special court for the speedy trial and condemnation of all those whose fidelity to Philip was suspected. This was popularly known as the Council of Blood, for its aim was not justice but butchery. Alva's administration from 1567 to 1573 was a veritable reign of terror. 783. William of Orange, called the Silent (i533-i584). The Netherlands found a leader in William, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau. He is a national hero whose career bears a striking resemblance to that of Washington. Like the American patriot, he undertook the seemingly hopeless task of freeing his people from the oppressive rule of a distant king. To the Spaniards he appeared to be only an impoverished nobleman at the head of 540 History of Europe a handful of armed peasants and fishermen, contending against the sovereign of the richest realm in the world. William had been a faithful subject of Charles V and would gladly have continued to serve his son after him had the oppres- sion and injustice of the Spanish dominion not become intolerable. But Alva's policy convinced him that it was useless to send any more complaints to Philip. He accordingly collected a little army in 1568 and opened the long struggle with Spain. William found his main support in the northern provinces, of which Holland was the chief. The Dutch, who had very generally accepted Protestant teachings, were purely German in blood, while the people of the southern provinces, who adhered (as they still do) to the Roman Catholic faith, were more akin to the population of northern France. The Spanish soldiers found little trouble in defeating the troops which William collected. Like Washington, again, he seemed to lose almost every battle and yet was never conquered. The first successes of the Dutch were gained by the mariners, who captured Spanish ships and sold them in Protestant England. Encouraged by this, many of the towns in the northern provinces of Holland and Zealand ventured to choose William as their governor, al- though they did not throw off their allegiance to Philip. In this way these two provinces became the nucleus of the United Netherlands. 784. Both the Northern and Southern Provinces combine against Spain (i576). Alva recaptured a number of the revolted towns and treated their inhabitants with his customary cruelty ; even women and children were slaughtered in cold blood. But instead of quenching the rebellion he aroused the Catholic south- ern provinces to revolt. After six years of this tyrannical and mistaken policy, Alva was recalled. His successor soon died and left matters worse than ever. The leaderless soldiers, trained in Alva's school, indulged in wild orgies of robbery and murder ; they plundered and par- tially reduced to ashes the rich city of Antwerp. The " Spanish fury," as this outbreak was called, together with the hated taxes, £r/?e Wars of Religion} S4i created such general indignation that representatives from all of Philip's Burgundian provinces met at Ghent in 1576 with the purpose of combining to put an end to the Spanish tyranny. This union was, however, only temporary. Wiser and more moderate governors were sent by Philip to the Netherlands, and they soon succeeded in again winning the confidence of the south- ern Catholic provinces. So the northern provinces went their own way. Guided by William the Silent, they refused to consider the idea of again recognizing Philip as their king. In 1579 seven provinces, all lying north of the mouths of the Rhine and the Scheldt, formed the new and firmer Union of Utrecht. The articles of this union served as a constitution for the United Provinces which, two years later, at last formally declared themselves in- dependent of Spain. 785. Assassination of William the Silent. Philip realized that William was the soul of the revolt and that without him it might, not improbably, have been put down. The king therefore offered to confer a title of nobility and a large sum of money on anyone who should make way with the Dutch patriot. After several unsuccessful attempts William, who had been chosen hereditary governor of the United Provinces, was shot in his house at Delft, 1584. He died praying the Lord to have pity upon his soul and "on this poor people." 786. Independence of the United Provinces. The Dutch had long hoped for aid from Queen Elizabeth or from the French, but had heretofore been disappointed. At last the English queen de- cided to send troops to their assistance. While the English ren- dered but little actual help, Elizabeth's policy so enraged Philip that he at last decided to attempt the conquest of England. The destruction of the "Armada," the great fleet which he equipped for that purpose (§ 805), interfered with further attempts to sub- jugate the United Provinces, which might otherwise have failed to maintain their liberty. Moreover, Spain's resources were being rapidly exhausted, and the State was on the verge of bankruptcy in spite of the wealth which it had been drawing from across the sea. But even though Spain had to surrender the hope of winning 542 History of Europe back the lost provinces, which now became a small but importan- European power, she refused formally to acknowledge their in- dependence until 1648 (Peace of Westphalia, §817). III. The Huguenot Wars in France 787. Beginnings of Protestantism in France. The history- of France during the latter part of the sixteenth century is little more than a chronicle of a long and bloody series of civil wars between the Catholics and Protestants. Protestantism began in France in much the same way as in England. Those who had learned from the Italians to love the Greek language turned to the New Testament in the original and commenced to study it with new insight. Lefevre, the most conspicuous of these Erasmus-like reformers, translated the Bible into French and began to preach justification by faith before he had ever heard of Luther. The Sorbonne, the famous theological school at Paris, soon began to arouse the suspicions of Francis I against the new ideas,. He had no special interest in religious matters, but he was shocked by an act of desecration ascribed to the Protestants, and in conse- quence forbade the circulation of Protestant books. About 1535 several adherents of the new faith were burned, and Calvin wa^ forced to flee to Basel, where he prepared a defense of his beliefs which he published as a sort of preface to his famous Instituti of Christianity (§ 758). Francis, before his death, became so intolerant that he ordered the massacre of three thousand defense- less peasants who dwelt on the slopes of the Alps, and whose only offense was adherence to the simple teachings of the Waldensians (see above, § 625). Francis' son, Henry II (1547-1559), swore to extirpate th« Protestants, and hundreds of them were burned. He was acci- dentally killed in a tourney and left his kingdom to three weal- sons, the last scions of the house of Valois, who succeeded in turn to the throne during a period of unprecedented civil war and public calamity. The Wars of Religion 543 When his second son, Charles IX (i 560-1 574), came to the throne he was but ten years old, so that his mother, Catherine of Medici, of the famous Florentine family, claimed the right to conduct the government for her son until he reached manhood. 788. The Huguenots and their Political Aims. By this time the Protestants in France had become a powerful party. They were known as Huguenots^ and accepted the religious teachings of their fellow countryman, Calvin. Many of them, including their great leader Coligny, belonged to the nobility. They had a strong support in the king of the little realm of Navarre, on the southern boundary of France. He belonged to a side line of the French royal house, known as the Bourbons, who were later to occupy the French throne (see genealogical table, p. 544). It was inevitable that the Huguenots should try to get control of the government, and they consequently formed a political as well as a religious party and were often fighting, in the main, for worldly ends. Catherine tried at first to conciliate both Catholics and Hu- guenots, and granted a Decree of Toleration (1562) suspending the former edicts against the Protestants and permitting them to assemble for worship during the daytime and outside of the towns. Even this restricted toleration of the Protestants appeared an abomination to the more fanatical Catholics, and a savage act of the duke of Guise — a member of a very powerful family — pre- cipitated civil war. 789. The Massacre of Vassy. As the duke was passing through the town of Vassy on a Sunday he found a thousand Huguenots assembled in a barn for worship. The duke's followers rudely interrupted the service, and a tumult arose in which the troops killed a considerable number of the defenseless multitude. The news of this massacre aroused the Huguenots and was the be- ginning of a war which continued, broken only by short truces, for over thirty years, until the last weak descendant of the house of Valois ceased to reign. As in the other religious wars of the time, both sides exhibited inhuman cruelty. France was filled 1 The origin of this name is uncertain. 544 History of Europe CO IS o o N K H CO s < > H K H H Pi < >< Pi < C/3 w CO o H K H (K O CO O H < >-l P< aj •'" ^ o (u 0) « \n H C U o (d. I Nava enda H ^ >.W)'^ ON !C"C 'A to lO <=:3 o ■ <4 ~ .2 S3 ■^"^^ 3 C £ . O , O J3 H-I ,2 o lO Tfnj t^ O l-v t^ 1-4 w d .-. . OK* -n ■o J2 !~! >- Xfeg in 2 -y J 3 ,"-)0 2 3i&' ^ to 3 " ■^.'^■- 2" rt 3 DO . o « X •-' o ^ " w ° i: _ c " J= 53 ■n o 3 C/3 it V "1 13 B rt T) o S o -3 ^ (/) rt 1) S C VlH W 0) tS s ^ 0) 2 ° i Ot3 3^ 'V ^^ _ . (U 00 00 "1 The Wars of Religion 545 for a generation with burnings, pillage, and barbarity. The leaders of both the Catholic and Protestant parties, as well as two of the French kings themselves, fell by the hands of assassins, and France renewed in civil war all the horrors of the English invasion in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 790. Coligny's Influence. In 1570 a brief peace was concluded. The Huguenots were to be tolerated, and certain towns were as- signed to them, where they might defend themselves in case of lenewed attacks from the Catholics. For a time both Charles IX and his mother, Catherine of Medici, were on the friendliest terms with the Huguenot leader Coligny, who became a sort of prime minister. He was anxious that Catholics and Protestants should join in a great national war against France's old enemy, Spain. 791. Massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572). The strict Catholic party of the Guises frustrated this plan by a most fearful expedient. '1 hey easily induced Catherine of Medici to believe that she was being deceived by Coligny, and an assassin was engaged to put him out of the way ; but the scoundrel missed his aim and only wounded his victim. Fearful lest the young king, who was faithful to Coligny, should discover her part in the attempted murder, (Catherine invented a story of a great Huguenot conspiracy. The credulous king was deceived, and the Catholic leaders at Paris a-ranged that not only Coligny but all the Huguenots, gathered in great numbers in the city to witness the marriage of the king's ;i>ter to the Protestant Henry of Navarre, should be massacred Oil the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day (August 23, 1572). When the signal arranged was given, no less than two thousand persons were ruthlessly murdered in Paris before the end of the next day. The news of this attack spread into the provinces, and it is probable that, at the very least, ten thousand more Protestants were put to death outside of the capital. 792. Henry IV (i589-i6io) accepts the Catholic Faith. Civil war again broke out^ and was accompanied by a complicated struggle between claimants of the throne of France, as a result ej which the Huguenot Henry of Navarre ascended the throne as Henry IV in 1589. 546 History of Europe The new king had many enemies, and his kingdom was devas- tated and demoralized by years of war. He soon saw that he must accept the rehgion of the majority of his people if he wished to reign over them. He accordingly asked to be readmitted to the Catholic Church (1593), excusing himself on the ground that "Paris was worth a Mass." He did not forget his old friends, however, and in 1598 1^ issued the Edict of Nantes. 793. The Edict 0' Nantes (1598). By thio edict of toleration the Cal- vinists were permitted to hold services in all th;; towns and villages where they had previously held them, but in Paris and a number of other towns all Protestant services wer- prohibited. The Protes tants were to enjoy the same political rights a Catholics and to be eligibL to government offices. A number of fortified towns were to remain in th(' hands of the Huguenots particularly La Rochelle. Montauban, and Nimes. Henry's only mistake lay in grantins; the Huguenots the right to control fortified towns. In the next generation this privilege aroused the suspicion of the king's mir- ister, Richelieu, who attacked the Huguenots, not so much on religious grounds as on account of their independent position in the state, which suggested that of the older feudal nobles. 794. Ministry of Sully. Henry IV chose Sully, an upright and able Calvinist, for his chief minister. Sully set to work 1 ■ reestablish the kingly power, which had suffered greatly undei Fig. 139. Henry IV of France This spirited portrait of Henry of Navarre gives an excellent impression of his geni- ality and good sense The Wars of Religion 547 the last three brothers of the house of Valois. He undertook to lighten the tremendous burden of debt which weighed upon the country. He laid out new roads and canals and encouraged agri- culture and commerce ; he dismissed the useless noblemen and officers whom the government was supporting without any advan- tage to itself. Had his administration not been prematurely inter- rupted it might have brought France unprecedented power and, prosperity ; but religious fanaticism put an end to his reforms, f In 1 6 10 Henry IV, like William the Silent, was assassinated just in the midst of his greatest usefulness to his country. Sully could not agree with the regent, Henry's widow, and so gave up his position and retired to private life. 795. Richelieu. Before many years Richelieu, perhaps the; greatest minister France has ever had, rose to power, and from 1624 to his death in 1642 he governed France for Henry IV's son, Louis XIII ( 1 610-1643). Something will be said of his policy in connection with the Thirty Years' War (§§814-817). IV. England under Queen Elizabeth i ^96. England under Elizabeth (isss-ieos). The long and disastrous civil war between Catholics and Protestants, which ■esolated France in the sixteenth century, had happily no counter- part in England. During her long reign Queen Elizabeth suc- eeded not only in maintaining peace at home but in frustrating rhe conspiracies and attacks of Philip II, which threatened her realm from without. Moreover, by her interference in the Nether- lands she did much to secure their independence of Spain. 797. Elizabeth establishes the Church of England. Upon the death of Catholic Mary (§ 770) and the accession of her half sister Elizabeth in 1558, the English government became once more Protestant. The new queen had a new revised edition issued of the Book of Common Prayer which had been prepared in the time of her half brother, Edward VI. This contained the services V hich the government ordered to be performed in all the churches • England. All her subjects were required to accept the queen's 548 History of Europe views and to go to church, and ministers were to use nothing but the official prayer book. Elizabeth did not adopt the Presbyterian system advocated by Calvin but retained many features of the Catholic Church, including the bishops and archbishops. So the Anglican Church fol- lowed a middle path halfway between the Lutherans and Cal- vinists on the one hand and the Catho- lics on the other. The Roman Catholic churchmen who had held positions under Queen Mary were naturally dismissed and replaced by those who would obey Elizabeth and use her Book of Prayer. Her first Parliament gave the sovereign the powers of supreme head of the Church of England, although the title, which 'her father, Henry VIII, had assumed, was not revived. The Church of Eng- land still exists in much the same form in which it was established in the first years of Elizabeth's reign, and the prayer book is still used ; although Englishmen are no longer required to attend church and may hold any religious views they please without being interfered with by the government. .,'>■ ^B^ ■■■■'■/ «*'* ^■^'^ ■ d Ji:f^^'^ J f— 1^ ^^^Hf -^«i^H J & '"'*■ -^^/T l^m 1 1 hi rv .A; W0W - - Fig. 140. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth Elizabeth, the first woman to rule England, deemed herself a very handsome and imposing person. She was fond of fine clothes and doubtless had on her best when she sat for her portrait The Wars of Religion 549 798. Presbyterian Church established in Scotland. While England adopted a middle course in religious matters Scotland became Presbyterian, and this led to much trouble for Elizabeth, There, shortly after her accession, the ancient Catholic Church was abolished, for the nobles were anxious to get the lands of the bishops into their own hands and enjoy the revenue from them, John Knox, a veritable second Calvin in his stern energy, secured the introduction of the Presbyterian form of faith and church government which still prevails in Scotland. 799. Mary Stuart, the Scotch Queen, the Hope of the Catholics. In 1561 the Scotch queen, Mary Stuart, whose French husband, Francis 11,^ had just died, landed at Leith. She was but nineteen years old, of great beauty and charm, and, by reason of her Catholic faith and French training, almost a foreigner to her subjects. Her grandmother was a sister of Henry VHI, and Mary claimed to be the rightful heiress to the English throne should Elizabeth die childless. Consequently the beautiful Queen of Scots became the hope of all those who wished to bring back England and Scotland to the Roman Catholic faith. Chief among these were Philip II of Spain and Mary's relatives the Guises (§§ 789 and 791) in France. Mary quickly discredited herself with both Protestants and Catholics by her conduct. After marrying her second cousin. Lord Darnley, she discovered that he was a dissolute scapegrace and came to despise him. She then formed an attachment for a reckless nobleman named Bothwell. The house near Edinburgh in which Darnley was lying ill was blown up one night with gun- powder, and he was killed. The public suspected that both Bothwell and the queen were implicated. How far Mary was re- sponsible for her husband's death no one can be sure. It is cer- tain that she later married Bothwell and that her indignant subjects thereupon deposed her as a murderess. After fruitless at- tempts to regain her power she abdicated in favor of her infant son, James VI, and then fled to England to appeal to Elizabeth, While the prudent Elizabeth denied the right of the Scotch to 1 Son of Henry II. See table, p. 544. 550 History of Europe depose their queen, she was afraid of her claims and took good care to keep her rival practically a prisoner. 800. The Rising in the North (i55 ) and Catholic Plans for deposing Elizabeth. As time went on, it became increasingly difficult for Elizabeth to adhere to her policy of moderation in the treatment of the Catholics. A rising in the north of England (1569) showed that there were many who would gladly reestab- lish the Catholic faith by freeing Mary and placing her on the English throne. This was followed by the excommunication of Elizabeth by the Pope, who at the same time absolved her sub- jects from their allegiance to their heretical ruler. Happily for Elizabeth the rebels could look for no help either from Philip II or the French king. The Spaniards had their hands full, for the war in the Netherlands had just begun ; and Charles IX, who had accepted Coligny as his adviser, was at that moment in hearty accord with the Huguenots. The rising in the North was suppressed, but the English Catholics continued to look to Philip for help. They opened correspondence with Alva and invited him to come with six thousand Spanish troops to dethrone Eliza- beth and make Mary Stuart queen of England in her stead. Alva hesitated, for he thought that it would be better to kill Elizabeth, or at least capture her. Meanwhile the plot was dis- covered and came to naught. 801. English Mariners capture Spanish Ships. Although Philip found himself unable to harm England, the English mar- iners caused great loss to Spain. In spite of the fact that Spain and England were not openly at war, Elizabeth's seamen ex- tended their operations as far as the West Indies and seized Spanish treasure ships, with the firm conviction that in robbing Philip they were serving God. The daring Sir Francis Drake even ventured into the Pacific, where only the Spaniards had gone heretofore, and carried off much booty on his little vessel, the Pelican. 802. Relations between England and Catholic Ireland. One hope of the Catholics has not yet been mentioned, namely, Ireland, whose relations with England from very early times down The Wars of Religion 551 to the present day form one of the most cheerless pages in the history of Europe. The population was divided into numerous clans, and their chieftains fought constantly with one another as well as with the English, who were vainly endeavoring to subjur gate the island. Several attempts were made by Catholic leaders to land troops in Ireland with the purpose of making the island the base for an attack on England. Elizabeth's officers were able to frustrate these enterprises, but the resulting disturbances greiatly increased the misery of the Irish. In 1582 no less than thirty thousand people are said to have perished, chiefly from starvation. 803. Persecution of the English Catholics. As Philip's troops began to get the better of the opposition in the southern Netherlands, the prospect of sending a Spanish army to England grew brighter. Two Jesuits were sent to England in 1580 to strengthen the adherents of their faith and urge them to assist the foreign force against their queen, when it should come. Parlia- ment now grew more intolerant and ordered fines and imprison- ment to be inflicted on those who said or heard Mass or who refused to attend the English services. One of the Jesuit emissaries was cruelly tortured and executed for treason, the other escaped to the Continent. In the spring of 1582 the first attempt by the Catholics to assas- sinate the heretical queen was made at Philip's instigation. It was proposed that when Elizabeth was out of the way an army should be sent to England to support the Catholics. 804, Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (i587). Mary Queen of Scots did not live to witness the attempt. She became impli- cated in another plot for the assassination of Elizabeth. Parlia- ment now realized that as long as Mary lived Elizabeth's life was in constant danger ; whereas, if Mary were out of the way, Philip II would have no interest in the death of Elizabeth, since Mary's son, James VI of Scotland, who would succeed Elizabeth on the English throne, was a Protestant. Elizabeth was therefore reluctantly persuaded by her advisers to sign a warrant for Mary's execution in 1587. 552 History oj Europe 805. Destruction of the Spanish Armada (isss). Philip II, however, by no means gave up his project of reclaiming Protes- tant England. In 1588 he brought together a great fleet, includ- ing his best and largest warships, which was proudly called by the Spaniards the ''Invincible Armada" (that is, fleet). This was to sail through the English Channel to the Netherlands and bring over the Spanish commander there and his veterans, who, it was expected, would soon make an end of Elizabeth's raw militia. The English ships were inferior to those of Spain in size although not in number, but they had trained commanders, such as Francis Drake and Hawkins. These famous captains had long sailed the Spanish Main and knew how to use their cannon without getting near enough to the Spaniards to suffer from their short-range weapons. When the Armada approached it was permitted by the English fleet to pass up the Channel before a strong wind, which later became a storm. The English ships then followed, and both fleets were driven past the coast of Flanders. Of the hundred and twenty Spanish ships, only fifty-four returned home ; the rest had been destroyed by English valor or by the gale, to which Elizabeth herself ascribed the victory. The defeat of the Armada put an end to the danger from Spain. 806. Failure of Philip II's Policy. As we look back over the period covered by the reign of Philip II, it is clear that it was a most notable one in the history of the Catholic Church. When he ascended the throne in 1556 Germany, as well as Switzer- land and the Netherlands, had become largely Protestant. Eng- land, however, under his Catholic wife, Mary, seemed to be turning back to the old religion, while the French monarchs showed no inclination to tolerate the heretical Calvinists. More- over, the new and enthusiastic order of the Jesuits promised to be a powerful agency in inducing the Protestants to accept once more the supremacy of the Pope and the doctrines of the Catholic Church as formulated by the Council of Trent. The tremendous power and apparently boundless resources of Spain itself, which were viewed by the rest of Europe with terror, Philip was prepared The Wars oj Religion 553 to dedicate to the destruction of Protestantism throughout western Europe. This he undoubtedly believed to be his chief duty. But when Philip II died, in 1598, all was changed. England was permanently Protestant ; the " Invincible Armada " had been ;niserably wrecked, and Philip's plan for bringing England once more within the fold of the Roman Catholic Church was forever frustrated. In France the terrible wars of religion were over, and a powerful king, lately a Protestant himself, was on the throne, who not only tolerated the Protestants but chose one of them for his chief minister and would brook no more meddling of Spain in French affairs. A new Protestant state, the United Netherlands (Holland), had actually appeared within the bounds of the realm bequeathed to Philip by his father. In spite of its small size Holland was destined to play, from that time on, quite as important a part in European affairs as the harsh Spanish stepmother from whose control it had escaped. Spain itself had suffered most of all from Philip's reign. His domestic policy and his expensive wars had sadly weakened the country. The income from across the sea was bound to decrease as the mines were exhausted. After Philip II's death Spain sank to the rank of a secondary European power. V. The Thirty Years' War 807. The Thirty Years' War really a Series of Wars. The last great conflict caused by the differences between the Catholics and Protestants was fought out in Germany during the first half of the seventeenth century. It is generally known as the Thirty Years' War (161 8- 1648), but there was in reality a series of wars ; and although the fighting was done upon German ter- ritory, Sweden, France, and Spain played quite as important a part in the struggle as the various German states. Just before the abdication of Charles V, the Lutheran princes had forced the emperor to acknowledge their right to their own religion and to the church property which they had seized. The religious Peace of Augsburg (§755) had, however, as we 554 History of Europe have seen, two great weaknesses. In the first place, only those Protestants who held the Lutheran faith were to be tolerated. The Calvinists, who were increasing in numbers, were not in- cluded in the peace. In the second place, the peace did not put a stop to the seizure of church property by the Protestant princes. Protestantism, however, made rapid progress and invaded the Austrian possessions and, above all, Bohemia. So it looked for a time as if even the Catholic Hapsburgs were to see large por- tions of their territory falling away from the old Church. But the Catholics had in the Jesuits a band of active and efficient missionaries. They not only preached and founded schools but also succeeded in gaining the confidence of some of the German princes, whose chief advisers they became. Conditions were very favorable, at the opening of the seventeenth century, for a re- newal of the religious struggle. 808. Opening of the Thirty Years' War (leis). The long war began in Bohemia in 1618. This portion of the Austrian possessions was strongly Protestant and decided that the best policy was to declare its independence of the Hapsburgs and set up a king of its own. It chose Frederick, the Elector of the Palatinate, a Calvinist who would, it was hoped, enjoy the sup- port of his father-in-law. King James I of England.^ So Fred- erick and his English wife moved from Heidelberg to Prague. But their stay there was brief, for the Hapsburg emperor ( Ferdi- nand II) with the aid of the ruler of Bavaria put to flight the poor "winter king," as Frederick was called on account of his reign of a single season. This was regarded by the Protestants as a serious defeat, and the Protestant king of Denmark decided to intervene. He re- mained in Germany for four years, but was so badly beaten by the emperor's able general, Wallenstein, that he retired from the conflict in 1629. 809. The Edict of Restitution (1629). The emperor was encouraged by the successes of the Catholic armies in defeating the Bohemian and Danish Protestant armies to issue that same 1 James VI of Scotland, who succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603. The Wars of Religion 555 year an Edict of Restitution. In this he ordered the Protestants throughout Germany to give back all the church possessions which they had seized since the religious Peace of Augsburg (1.555). Moreovei'y^ he decreed that only the Lutherans might hold re- ligious meetings ; the other " sects," including the Calvinists, were to be broken up. As Wallenstein was preparing to execute this decree in his usual merciless fashion, the war took a new turn. 810. Dismissal of Wallenstein ; Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632). The Catholic League, which had' been formed some time before, had become jealous of Wallenstein, who threatened to become too powerful, and it accordingly joined in the complaints, which came from every side, of the terrible ex- tortions and incredible cruelty practiced by Wallenstein's troops. The emperor consented, therefore, to dismiss this most com- petent commander. Just as the Catholics were thus weakened, a new enemy arrived upon the scene who proved far more dangerous than any they had yet had to face ; namely, Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. 811. The Kingdom of Sweden. We have had no occasion hitherto to speak of the Scandinavian kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which the northern German peoples had established about Charlemagne's time ; but from now on they begin to take part in the affairs of central Europe. The Union of Calmar (1397) had brought these three kingdoms, previously separate, under a single ruler. About the time that the Protes- tant revolt began in Germany the union was broken by the withdrawal of Sweden, which became an independent kingdom. Gustavus Vasa, a Swedish noble, led the movement and was later chosen king of Sweden (1523). In the same year Protes- tantism was introduced. Vasa confiscated the church lands, got the better of the aristocracy, — who had formerly made the kings a great deal of trouble, — and started Sweden on its way toward national greatness. 812. Motives of Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Adolphus was induced to invade Germany for two reasons. In the first place, he was a sincere and enthusiastic Protestant and by far 556 History of Europe ' the most generous and attractive figure of his time. He was genuinely afflicted by the misfortunes of his Protestant brethren and anxious to devote himself to their welfare. Secondly, he undoubtedly hoped by his invasion not only to free his fellow Protestants from the oppression of the emperor and of the Catho- lic League but to gain a strip of German territory for Sweden. 813. Fate of Gustavus and Wallenstein. Gustavus was not received with much cordiality at first by the Protestant princes of the North, but they were brought to their senses by the awful destruction of Magdeburg by the troops of the Catholic League under General Tilly. Magdeburg was the most important town of northern Germany. When it finally succumbed after an ob- stinate and difficult siege, twenty thousand of its inhabitants were killed and the town burned to the ground. Although Tilly's reputation for cruelty is quite equal to that of Wallenstein, he was probably not responsible for the fire. After Gustavus Adolphus had met Tilly near Leipsic and victoriously routed the army of the League, the Protestant princes began to look with more favor on the foreigner. The next spring Gustavus entered Bavaria and once more de- feated Tilly (who was mortally wounded in the battle) and forced Munich to surrender. There seemed now to be no reason why he should not continue his progress to Vienna. At this juncture the emperor recalled Wallenstein, who collected a new army over which he was given absolute command. After some delay Gus- tavus met Wallenstein on the field of Liitzen, in November, 1632, where, after a fierce struggle, the Swedes gained the victory. But they lost their leader and Protestantism its hero, for the Swedish king ventured too far into the lines of the enemy and was sur- rounded and killed. The Swedes did not, however, retire from Germany, but con- tinued to participate in the war, which now degenerated into a series of raids by leaders whose soldiers depopulated the land by their unspeakable atrocities. Wallenstein, who had long been detested even by the Catholics, was deserted by his soldiers and murdered (in 1634), to the great relief of all parties. The Wars of Religion 557 814. Richelieu renews the Struggle of France against the Hapsburgs. Just at this moment Richelieu (§ 795) decided that it would be to the interest of France to renew the old struggle with the Hapsburgs by sending troops against the emperor. France was still shut in, as she had been since the time of Charles V, by the Hapsburg lands. Except on the side toward the ocean her bound- aries were in the main artificial ones and not those estab- lished by great rivers and mountains. She therefore longed to weaken her enemy and strengthen herself by winning Roussillon on the south and so make the crest of the Pyrenees the line of demarcation between France and Spain. She dreamed, too, of ex- tending her sway to- ward the Rhine by adding the county of Burgundy (that is, Franche-Comte, as it was often called) and a number of fortified towns which would afford protection against the Spanish Netherlands. Richeheu declared war against Spain in May, 1635. He had already concluded an alliance with the chief enemies of the house of Austria. So the war was renewed, and French, Swedish, Spanish, and German soldiers ravaged an already exhausted coun- try for a decade longer. The dearth of provisions was so great that the armies had to move quickly from place to place in order to avoid starvation. After a serious defeat by the Swedes the Fig. 141. Portrait of Cardinal Riche- lieu. (From A Contemporaneous Painting) History of Europe emperor (Ferdinand III, 1637-1657) sent a Dominican monk to expostulate with Cardinal Richelieu for his crime in aiding the German and Swedish heretics against Catholic Austria. 815. France succeeds Spain in Military Supremacy. The cardinal had, however, just died (December, 1642), well content with the results of his diplomacy. The French were in possession of Roussillon and of Lorraine and Alsace. The military exploits of the French generals, especially Turenne and Conde, during- the opening years of the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), showec that a new period had begun in which the military and political supremacy of Spain was to give way to that of France (see below. Chapter XXXVI). 816. Close of the Thirty Years' War (i648). The participants in the war were now so numerous and their objects so various and conflicting that it is not strange that it required some years to arrange the conditions of peace, even after everyone was ready for it. It was agreed (1644) that France and the Empire should negotiate at Miinster, and the emperor and the Swedes at Osnabriick — both of which towns lie in Westphalia. For four years the representatives of the several powers worked upon the difficult problem of satisfying everyone, but at last the treaties of Westphalia were signed late in 1648. 817. Provisions of the Treaties of Westphalia. The religious troubles in Germany were settled by extending the toleration of the Peace of Augsburg so as to include the Calvinists as well as the Lutherans. The Protestant "princes were to retain the lands which they had in their possession in the year 1624, regardless of the Edict of Restitution, and each ruler was still to have the right to determine the religion of his state. The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was practically acknowledged by per- mitting the individual states to make treaties among themselves and with foreign powers ; this was equivalent to recognizing the practical independence which they had, as a matter of fact, already long enjoyed. While portions of northern Germany were ceded to Sweden, this territory did not cease to form a part of the Empire, for Sweden was thereafter to have three votes in the German diet. The Wars of Religion 559 The emperor also ceded to France three important towns — Metz, Verdun, and Toul — and all his rights in Alsace, although the city of Strassburg was to remain with the Empire. Lastly, the independence both of the United Netherlands and of Switzerland was acknowledged. 818. Disastrous Results of the War in Germany. The ac- counts of the misery and depopulation of Germany caused by the Thirty Years' War are well-nigh incredible. Thousands of vil- lages were wiped out altogether ; in some regions the population was reduced by one half, in others to a third, or even less, of what it had been at the opening of the conflict. The flourishing city of Augsburg was left with but sixteen thousand souls instead of eighty thousand. The people were fearfully barbarized by privation and suffering and by the atrocities of the soldiers of all the various nations. Until the end of the eighteenth century Ger- many remained too exhausted and impoverished to make any considerable contribution to the culture of Europe. VI. The Beginnings of our Scientific Age 819. The New Science. The battles of the Thirty Years' War are now well-nigh forgotten, and few people are interested in Tilly and Wallenstein and Gustavus Adolphus. It seems as if the war did little but destroy men's lives and property, and that no great ends were accomplished by all the suffering it involved. But during the years that it raged certain men were quietly devoting themselves to scientific research which was to change the world more than all the battles that have ever been fought. These men adopted a new method. They perceived that the books of ancient writers, especially Aristotle, which were used as textbooks in the universities, were full of statements that could not be proved. They maintained that the only way to advance science was to set to work and try experiments, and by careful thought and investigation to determine the laws of nature without regard to what previous generations had thought. 820. The Discovery of Copernicus. The Polish astronomer Copernicus published a work in 1543 in which he refuted the old 560 History of Europe idea that the sun and all the stars revolved around the earth a- a center, as was then taught in all the universities. He showed that, on the contrary, the sun was the center about which tht earth and the rest of the planets revolved, and that the reason tha' the stars seem to go around the earth each day is because our globe revolves on its axis. Although Copernicus had been en- couraged to write his book by a cardinal and had dedicated it to the Pope, the Catholic as well as the Protestant theologians de- clared that the new theory contradicted the teachings of the Bible, and they therefore rejected it. But we know now that Copernicus was right and the theologians and universities wrong. 821. Galileo. The Italian scientist Galileo (i 564-1 642), bj the use of a little telescope he contrived, was able in 1610 to see the spots on the sun ; these indicated that the sun was not, as Aristotle had taught, a perfect, unchanging body, and showed also that it revolved on its axis, as Copernicus had guessed thai the earth did. Galileo made careful experiments by dropping; objects from the leaning tower of Pisa, which proved that Aristotle was wrong in assuming that a body weighing a hundred pounds fell a hundred times as fast as a body weighing but one. He' wrote in Italian as well as in Latin. His opponents might have forgiven him had he confined his discussions to the learned wh(- could read Latin, but they thought it highly dangerous to have the new ideas set forth in such a way that the people at large might come to doubt what the theologians and universities were teaching. Galileo was finally summoned before the Inquisition ; some of his theories were condemned, and he was imprisoned by the Church authorities. 822. Descartes. Just as the Thirty Years' War was beginning, a young Frenchman by the name of Descartes had finished his education at a Jesuit college and decided to get some knowledge of the world by going into the war for a short time. He did much more thinking than fighting, however. Sitting by the stove during the winter lull in hostilities, deep in meditation, it occurred to him one day that he had no reason for believing anything. He saw that everything that he accepted had come to him on the The Wars of Religion 561 authority of someone else, and he failed to see any reason why the old authorities should be right. So he boldly set to work to think out a wholly new philosophy that should be entirely the result of his own reasoning. He decided, in the first place, that one Fig. 142, Galileo thing at least was true. He was thinking, and therefore he must exist. This he expressed in Latin in the famous phrase Cogito, ergo sum, "I think, therefore I am." He also decided that God must exist and that He had given men such good minds that, if they only used them carefully, they would not be deceived in the conclusions they reached. In short, Descartes held that clear thoughts must be true thoughts. 562 History of Europe Descartes not only founded modern philosophy, he was also greatly interested in science and mathematics. His most famous book, called An Essay on Method, was written in French anil addressed to intelligent men who did not know Latin. He says that those who use their own heads an^ much more likely to reach the truth than those who read ok; Latin books. Des cartes wrote clea textbooks on algebrn and that branch Oi mathematics known as analytical geom- etry, of which he was the discoverer. 823. Francis Bacon's NewAtlan tis. Francis Bacon, an English lawyer and government offi- cial, spent his spare hours in explaining how men could in- crease their knowl- edge. He too wrote in his native tongue as well as in Latin. He was the most eloquent representative of the new science which renounced authority and relied upon experiment. ''We are the ancients," he declared, not those who lived long ago when the world was young and men ignorant. Late in life he began to write a little book, which he never finished, called the New Atlantis. It describes an imaginary state which some Europeans were supposed to have come upon in the Pacific Ocean. The chief Fig. 143. Rene Descartes The Wars of Religion 563 i)istitution was a "House of Solomon," a great laboratory for carrying on scientific investigation in the hope of discovering new