Introduction to The Story of the Middle Ages. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Kara Schellenberg. The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding. Introduction. Boys and girls, and grown folks also, often turn first to the last chapter of a book before reading it to see how it ends. At times this is a good idea, for when we know the end of a story, we can often better understand it as it is told. This, then, is what we will do in this book. We will first see what the end of the story of the Middle Ages is. Then, as we read, we shall better understand how that end was brought about. When Columbus, in the year 1492, returned from his voyage of discovery, a keen rivalry began among the Old World nations for the possession of the New World. Expedition followed expedition, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, English, and later the Dutch and Swedes all began to strive with one another for the wealth and dominion of the new found lands, and American history, our own history, begins. But who were these Spaniards and Portuguese, these Englishmen and Frenchmen, these Dutchmen and Swedes? In the old days, when the might and power of Rome ruled over the world, we hear nothing of them. Whence had they come? Were they entirely new peoples, who had had no part in the Old World of the Greeks and Romans? Were they the descendants of the old peoples over whom the emperors had ruled from the city of the Seven Hills? Or did they arise by a mingling of the old and the new? Then, if they were the result of a mingling, where had the new races dwelt during the long years that Rome was spreading her empire over the known world? When and how had the mingling taken place? What, too, had become of the glory that was Greece, the grandeur that was Rome? Why was America not discovered and settled before? What were the customs, the ideas, the institutions which these peoples brought with them when they settled here? In short, what had been the history and what was the condition of the nations which, after 1492, began the struggle for the mastery of the new world? To such questions it is the aim of this book to give an answer. It will try to show how the power of Rome fell before the attacks of German barbarians, and how, in the long course of the Middle Ages, new peoples, new states, a new civilization arose on the ruins of the old. At the beginning of the period Rome was old and worn out with misgovernment and evil living. But planted in this dying Rome there was the new and vigorous Christian church which was to draw up into itself all that was best and strongest of the old world. The Germans were rude and uncivilized, but they were strong in mind and body and possessed some ideas about government, women, and the family which were better than the ideas of the Romans on these subjects. When the Germans conquered the Romans and settled within the bounds of the empire, it might well have seemed that the end of the world was come. Cities were plundered and destroyed, priceless works of art were dashed to pieces, and the inhabitants of many lands were slain or enslaved. For nearly a thousand years Europe did not entirely recover from the shock, and the period which immediately follows the invasions of the barbarians is so dreary and sad that historians have called it the Dark Ages. But what was best in the old Greek and Roman civilization did not wholly perish. The Christian church, too, grew steadily stronger and sought to soften and civilize the rude Germans. The Germans, in turn, did not lose their vigor or their good ideas. At last, from the combination of all these elements a new civilization arose, stronger, better, and capable of higher development than the old, and the Middle Ages were passed. Then and only then could and did the new nations, which, meanwhile, had slowly been forming, set out on their careers of discovery and exploration which have made our new world possible. So we may say the Middle Ages were the period when Europe became Europe, and made ready to found new Europe in America, in Australia, and in Africa. It was the growing time for all the great harvest which has come since that time. End of the Introduction Read by Kara Schallenberg, www.kray.org, on January 9, 2007, in Oceanside, California. The Story of the Middle Ages, Chapter 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Kara Schallenberg. The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding Chapter 1 The Ancient Germans We must begin our story with those new races which were to mix their blood with that of the peoples of the Roman Empire and form the nations of Europe today. These were the ancient Germans, the ancestors of the peoples who now speak German, English, Dutch, and Scandinavian. They lived then, as part of their descendants still do, in the lands extending from the North Sea and the Baltic on the North, to the Danube River on the South, and from the Rhine on the West, to the rivers Elbe and Oder on the East. This region is now one of the most flourishing countries in all the world, with many great cities and millions of inhabitants. At that time it had no cities at all, and but few inhabitants. The people had just begun to settle down and cultivate the soil, where before they had moved from place to place to find fresh pastureage for their flocks and better hunting. The surface of the country was still almost as nature had made it. Gloomy forests stretched for miles and miles, where now there are sunny fields, and wide and treacherous marshes lay where the land now stands firm and solid. In this wild country, for many years, the Germans had room to live their own life. To the East were the Slavs, a people still rudder and more uncivilized than themselves. To the West were the Gauls in what is now France. To the South were provinces of the Roman Empire, separated from them by the broad stream of the River Danube. The Germans, the Gauls, the Slavs and the Romans, though they did not know it, might all call themselves cousins, for most of the peoples of Europe are descended from one great race called the Arians. Long before Athens or Rome was built, before the Germans had come into this land, before any nation had begun to keep a written account of its deeds, the forefathers of these peoples dwelt together somewhere in Western Asia or Eastern Europe. At last, for reasons which we cannot know after so great a stretch of time, these Arian peoples separated and moved away in different directions. One branch of them entered Italy and became the ancestors of the Greeks and Romans. Another entered what is now France and became the Gauls whom Caesar conquered. One settled in Germany, and still others settled in other lands, both near and far. In spite of the kinship between them, however, the Germans and Romans were very different in many ways. The Romans were short and dark, while the Germans were tall, very tall they seemed to the Romans, with fair skin, light hair and clear blue eyes. The clothing of the Germans, unlike that of the Romans, was made chiefly from the skins of animals. Usually it did not cover the whole body, the arms and shoulders at least being left free. When the German was in a lazy mood he would sit for days by the fire, clad only in a long cloak of skins. Then when he prepared to hunt or to fight he would put on close fitting garments and leave his cloak behind. The houses in which the Germans lived were mere cabins or huts. Nothing was used but wood, and that was not plain smooth, but was roughly hewn into boards and timbers. Sometimes a cave would be used for a dwelling, and often a house of timber would have an underground room attached to it. This was for warmth in winter, and also for protection against their enemies. Sometimes in summer the people made huts of twigs woven together in much the same way that a basket is woven. Such houses were very flimsy, but they had the advantage of being easily moved from place to place. Often too the house sheltered not only the family, but the horses and cattle as well all living under one roof. One can imagine that this was not a very healthful plan. The Germans gained their living partly from hunting and partly from tilling the soil. They also depended a great deal upon their herds and flocks, for meat, as well as for milk and the foods which they made from milk. The Germans paid great respect to their women, and the latter could often by their reproaches stop the men when defeated and in flight, and encourage them to do battle again. Nevertheless the care of the cattle and the tilling of the soil, as well as the housework, fell chiefly to the women. The men preferred to hunt or to fight, and when not doing either would probably be found by the fire sleeping or idling away their time in games of chance. Most of the occupations of which we now see so much were not known to them. There was hardly any trading either among themselves or with other nations. Each family made its own things, and made very little more than it needed for its own use. The women's spun and wove linen and other cloth, tanned leather, made soap, which the Greeks and Romans did not know, and a few other things. But all this was only for use in their own families. There were no trading places and almost no commerce except in a few things such as skins and the amber of the Baltic Sea. One occupation, however, was considered good enough for any man to follow. This was the trade of the blacksmith. The skillful Smith was highly honoured, for he not only made tools to work with, but also weapons with which to hunt and to fight. But usually the free man considered it beneath his dignity to work in any way. He was a warrior more than anything else. The Romans had reason to know that the Germans were very stubborn fighters. Indeed the Romans never did conquer Germany. The Germans were not made weak as the Romans were by indulging in all kinds of luxuries. They lived in the open air, they ate plain food, and they did not make their bodies tender by too much clothing. In every way their habits were more wholesome than those of the Romans, and besides this each man had a spirit of independence that caused him to fight hard to avoid capture and slavery. At one time, while Augustus was emperor, three legions of the Roman army under an officer named Varus were entrapped and slain in the German forests. The shock of this defeat was felt so keenly at Rome that long after that the emperor would wake at night from restless sleep and cry out, Varus, Varus, give me back my legions! After this the Romans learned to be more careful in fighting the Germans. The Romans had the advantage of better weapons with which to fight, better knowledge of how to fight, and greater wealth with which to carry on a war. So in spite of some decided victories over the soldiers of the empire, the Germans were obliged for many years to acknowledge Rome as the stronger, and Roman soldiers were even stationed in some parts of the German territory. When the German army was preparing for battle the men arranged themselves so that each line had a greater number in it and was longer than the one in front. Thus the army formed a sort of wedge which they called the boar's head from its shape. Arranged in this manner the army moved forward with one grand rush, guarding their sides with large wooden shields and hewing with their swords and thrusting with their spears. If the first rush failed to dismay the enemy and turn them in flight, there was no longer any order or plan of battle. Each man then fought for himself until victory or defeat ended the struggle. Among the Germans no man dared to flee from the field of battle for cowardice was punished with death. To leave one's shield behind was the greatest of crimes and made a man disgraced in the sight of all. Bravery was the chief of virtues and it was this alone which could give a man the leadership of an army. The general was chosen for his valor and he kept his position only so long as he continued to show himself brave. He must be an example to all his followers and must fight in the front ranks. A general was made by his fellow warriors who raised him upon their shields as a sign of their choice. If he proved less worthy than they had thought they could as easily make another general in his place. The leader and his men were constantly reminded that upon their strength and courage depended the safety and happiness of their wives and children, for their families often followed the army to battle and witnessed the combats from rude carts or wagons mingling their shrill cries with the din of battle. Times of peace among these early Germans would seem to us much like war. Every man carried his weapons about with him and used them freely. Human life was held cheap and a quarrel was often settled by the sword. There was no strong government to punish wrong and protect the weak so men had to protect and help themselves. A man was bound to take up the quarrels or feuds of his family and avenge by blood a wrong done to any of his relatives. As a result there was constant fighting. Violent deeds were frequent and their punishment was light. If a man injured another or even committed murder the law might be satisfied and the offender excused by the payment of a fine to the injured man or to his family. Some tribes of Germans had kings but others had not and were ruled by persons chosen in the meetings of the people or folk. Even among those tribes that had kings the power of the ruler in time of peace was not very great. The kings were not born kings but were chosen by the consent of the people. Some few families because they had greater wealth or for some other reason were looked upon with such respect that they were considered noble and kings were chosen from among their number. Yet each man stood upon his own merits too and neither wealth nor birth could keep a king in power if he proved evil in rule or weak in battle. The rulers decided only the matters that were of small importance. When it came to serious matters such as making war or changing the customs of the tribe the folk assembled together decided for itself. In their assemblies they showed disapproval by loud murmurs while to signify approval they clashed their shields and spears together. Every free man had the right to attend the folk meeting of his district and also the general assembly of the whole tribe. The power of the king was less than that of the assembly and he was subject to it for the assembly could depose the king as well as elect him. In times of war however the power of the kings was much increased for then it was necessary that one man should do the planning and time could not be taken up with assemblies. At the period of which we are speaking the Germans did not believe in one god as we do but many. The names of some of their gods are preserved in the names which we have for the days of the week. From the god Tius comes Tuesday, from Woden comes Wednesday, and from Thor comes Thursday. Tius was the god of the heavens and was at first the chief of the gods. Songs were sung in his honour, palaces named for him and even human beings were sacrificed to him. Woden was afterward worshipped as the god of the sky and also of the winds. Because he controlled the winds it was natural that he should be the special god to whom those people looked who depended upon the sea. Therefore he became the protector of sailors. He was also the god of war and the spear was his emblem. After the worship of Tius died out Woden became the chief god of the Germans. To him also there were sacrifices of human beings. Next in importance to Woden was Thor the god of thunder and also of the household. His emblem was a hammer. When it thundered the people said that Thor with his hammer was fighting the ice giants. So he was regarded as the enemy of winter and the giver of good crops. Besides these chief gods there were many less important ones. Among these were spirits of the forests and rivers and the gnomes or dwarves who dwelt in the earth, guarding the stores of precious metals and jewels which it contains. Long after the old religion had come to an end the descendants of the ancient Germans remembered these spirits and stories of their tricks and good deeds were handed down from father to son. In this way the Germans kept something of the old religion in the beautiful fairy tales which we still love and in our Christmas and Easter customs we find other traces of their old beliefs and customs. When missionaries went among them however they became Christians. This shows one of the greatest qualities which they possessed. They were willing and able to learn from other peoples and to change their customs to suit new circumstances. Other races like the American Indians who did not learn so readily have declined and died away when they have been brought in contact with a higher civilization. But the Germans could learn from the Greeks and the Romans so they grew from a rude half-barbarous people into great and civilized nations. End of Chapter 1 Read by Kara Schellenberg www.kray.org On January 11th 2007 in Oceanside, California The Story of the Middle Ages Chapter 2 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding Chapter 2 Breaking the Frontier If you look at a map of Europe you will see two great rivers, the Rhine and the Danube flowing in opposite directions across the continent, one emptying into the North Sea and the other into the Black Sea. Their mouths are thousands of miles apart, yet when you follow up the course of each you find that they come nearer and nearer until at their sources the distance between them is no greater than a good walker might cover in a day. Thus these two rivers almost form a single line across the whole of Europe each in its lower course is broad and deep and makes a good boundary for the countries on its banks. The Roman armies in the old days often crossed these rivers and indeed gained victories beyond them but they found it so hard to keep possession of what they conquered there that in the end they decided not to try. So for many years the Rhine and the Danube rivers formed the northern boundary of the Roman Empire. In the last chapter you have read something of the Germans who lived north and east of this boundary. Among these peoples there was one which was to take the lead in breaking through the frontier and bringing about the downfall of the great Empire of Rome. This was the nation of the Goths. In the latter part of the fourth century after Christ the Goths dwelt along the shores of the Black Sea and just north of the lower course of the Danube River. There they had been dwelling for more than a hundred years. According to the stories which the old men had told their sons and the sons had told their children after them the Goths at one time had dwelt far to the north on the shores of the Baltic. Why they left their northern home we do not know. Perhaps it was because of a famine or a pestilence which had come upon the land. Perhaps it was because of a victory or a defeat in war with their neighbours. Perhaps it was because of the urging of some great leader or because of an oracle of their gods. At any rate the Goths did leave their homes by the Baltic Sea to wander southward through the forests of what is now western Russia. After many years they had arrived in the sunnier lands about the Danube. There they had come in contact with the Romans for the first time. For a while there had been much fighting between the two peoples but at last the Goths had been allowed to settle down quietly in these lands on condition that they should not cross the river Danube and enter the Roman territory. And there they had dwelt ever since, living peaceably for the most part alongside their Roman neighbours and learning from them many civilised ways. The greatest thing that the Goths learned from the Romans was Christianity. Little by little they ceased worshipping Thor and Woden and became Christians. This was chiefly due to one of their own men, named Olfilas, who spent a number of years at Constantinople, the Roman capital of the world. There he became a Christian priest and when he returned to his people he began to work as a missionary among them. Olfilas had many difficulties to overcome in this work but the chief one was that there was no Bible or indeed any books in the Gothic language. So Olfilas set to work to translate the Bible from the Greek language into the Gothic. This was a hard task in itself but it was made all the harder by the fact that before he could begin he had to invent an alphabet in which to write down the Gothic words. After the translation was made too he had to teach his people how to read it. In all this Olfilas was successful and under his wise and patient teaching the Goths rapidly became Christians. At the same time they were becoming more civilised and their rulers were beginning to build up a great kingdom about the Danube and the Black Sea. Suddenly however an event happened which was to change all their later history and indeed the history of the world as well. This was the coming of the Huns into Europe. The Huns were not members of the great Aryan family of nations and indeed the Germans and the Romans thought that they were scarcely human at all. They were related to the Chinese and their strange features and customs and their shrill voices were new to Europe. An old Gothic writer gives us a picture of them. Nations whom they could never have defeated in fair fight he says fled in horror from those frightful faces if indeed I may call them faces for they are nothing but shapeless black pieces of flesh with little points instead of eyes. They have no hair on their cheeks or chins. Instead the sides of their faces show deep furrowed scars for hot irons are applied with characteristic ferocity to the face of every boy that is born among them so that blood is drawn from his cheeks before he is allowed to taste his mother's milk. The men are little in size but quick and active in their motions and they are especially skillful in writing. They are broad-shouldered, are good at the use of the bow and arrows, have strong necks and are always holding their heads high in their pride. To sum up these beings under the forms of men hide the fierce natures of beasts. The Goths were brave but they could not stand against such men as these. The East Goths who dwelt about the Black Sea were soon conquered and for nearly a century they continued to be subject to the Huns. The West Goths who dwelt about the Danube fled in terror before the countless hordes of the newcomers and sought a refuge within the boundaries of the Roman Empire. As many as two hundred thousand fighting men, besides thousands of old men, women and children, gathered on the north bank of the Danube and, stretching out their hands from afar with loud lamentations, begged the Roman officers to permit them to cross the river and settle in the Roman lands. The Roman Emperor, after much discussion, granted their request but only on hard conditions for he feared to have so many of the Goths in the land. The Gothic boys, he said, must be given up to the Romans as hostages and the men must surrender their arms. The situation of the Goths was so serious that they were forced to agree to these terms but many of them found means to bribe the Roman soldiers to let them keep their arms with them. At last the crossing began and for many days an army of boats was kept busy with the people across the stream, which at this point was more than a mile wide. In this way the West Goths were saved from the Huns but they soon found that it was only to suffer many injuries at the hands of the Roman officers. The Emperor had given orders that the Goths were to be fed and cared for until they could be settled on new lands but the Roman officers stole the food intended for them and oppressed them in other ways. Some of the Goths indeed fell into such distress that they sold their own children as slaves in order to get food. This state of affairs could not last long with so warlike a people as the Goths. One day in the midst of a banquet which the Roman governor was giving to their leader an outcry was heard in the palace yard and the news came that the Goths were being attacked. At once the Gothic leader drew his sword saying he would stop the tumult and went out to his men. From that time war began between the Romans and the West Goths. About a year after this, in the year 378 AD a great battle was fought near Adrianople, a city which lies about 140 miles northwest of Constantinople. The Emperor Valens was himself at the head of the Roman army. His flatterers led him to believe that there could be no doubt of his success so Valens rashly began the battle without waiting for the troops that were coming to assist him. The Romans were at a disadvantage besides. They were hot and tired and their horses had had no food. The men, moreover, became crowded together into a narrow space where they could neither form their lines nor use their swords and spears with effect. The victory of the Goths was complete. The Roman cavalry fled at the first attack. Then the infantry were surrounded and cut down by thousands. More than two-thirds of the Roman army perished and with them perished the Emperor Valens. No one knows just how. The effects of this defeat were very disastrous for the Romans. Before this time the Goths had been doubtful of their power to defeat the Romans in the open field. Now they felt confidence in themselves and were ready to try for new victories. And this was not the worst. After the battle of Adrianople the river Danube can no longer be considered the boundary of the Empire. The Goths had gained a footing within the frontier and could wonder about at will. Other barbarian nations soon followed their example and then still others came. As time went on the Empire fell more and more into the hands of the barbarians. These effects were not felt so much at first because the new Emperor Theodosius was an able man and wise enough to see that the best way to treat the Goths was to make friends of them. This he did, giving them lands to till and taking their young men into the pay of his army. So during his reign the Goths were quiet and even helped him to fight his battles against his Roman enemies. One old chief who had remained an enemy of the Romans was received with kindness by Theodosius. After seeing the strength and beauty of the city of Constantinople he said one day, this Emperor is doubtless a God upon earth and whoever lifts a hand against him is guilty of his own blood. But the wise and vigorous rule of Theodosius was a short one and came to an end in the year 395. After that the Roman Empire was divided into an Eastern Empire with its capital at Constantinople and a Western Empire with its capital at Rome. After that too the friendly treatment of the Goths came to an end and a jealous and suspicious policy took its place. Moreover a new ruler named Alaric had just been chosen by the Goths. He was a fiery young prince and was the ablest ruler that the West Goths ever had. He had served in the Roman armies and had there learned the Roman manner of making war. He was ambitious too and when he saw that the Empire was weakened by division and by the folly of its rulers he decided that the time had come for action. So as an old Gothic writer tells us the new king took counsel with his people and they determined to carve out new kingdoms for themselves rather than through idleness to continue the subjects of others. End of chapter 2 Read by Kara Schellenberg on January 12th, 2007 in Oceanside, California. The Story of the Middle Ages. Chapter 3 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Kara Schellenberg. The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding. Chapter 3 The Wanderings of the West Goths Up to this time the Goths had entered only a little way into the lands of the Empire. Now they were to begin a series of wanderings that took them into Greece, into Italy, into Gaul and finally into the Spanish Peninsula where they settled down and established a power that lasted for nearly 300 years. Their leader, Alaric, was wise enough to see that the Goths could not take a city so strongly walled as Constantinople. He turned his people aside from the attack of that place and marched them to the plunder of the rich provinces that lay to the south. There they came into lands that had long been famous in the history of the world. Their way first led them through Macedonia once the great Alexander had set out to conquer the east. At the pass of Thermopylae, more than 800 years before a handful of heroic Greeks had held a vast army at bay for three whole days but now their feebler descendants dared not attempt to stay the march of Alaric. The city of Athens, beautiful with marble buildings and statuary, fell into the hands of the Goths without a blow. It was forced to pay a heavy ransom and then was left like the bleeding and empty skin of a slaughtered victim. From Athens Alaric led his forces by the Isthmus of Corinth into the southern peninsula of Greece. City after city yielded to the conqueror without resistance. Everywhere villages were burned, cattle were driven off, precious vases, statues, gold and silver ornaments were divided among the barbarians and multitudes of the inhabitants were slain or reduced to slavery. In all the armies of the Roman Empire at this time there was but one general who was a match for Alaric in daring and skill. He too was descended from the sturdy barbarians of the north. His name was Stilicho and he was now sent by the Emperor of the West to assist the Eastern Emperor. He succeeded in hemming in the Goths, at first, in the rocky valleys of southern Greece. But the skill and perseverance of Alaric enabled him to get his men out of the trap while his enemies feasted and danced in enjoyment of their triumph. Then the Eastern Emperor made Alaric the ruler of one of the provinces of the Empire and settled his people on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea. In this way he hoped that the Goths might again be quieted and the danger turned aside. But Alaric only used the position he had won to gather stores of food and to manufacture shields, helmets, swords and spears for his men in preparation for new adventures. When all was ready Alaric again set out taking with him the entire nation of the West Goths, men, women and children, together with all their property and the booty which they had won in Greece. Now their march was to the rich and beautiful lands of Italy where Alaric hoped to capture Rome itself and secure the treasures which the Romans had gathered from the ends of the earth. But the time had not yet come for this. Stilicho was again in arms before him on the broad plains of the River Poe. From Gaul, from the provinces of the Rhine, from far off Britain, troops were hurried to the protection of Italy. On every side the Goths were threatened. Their long-haired chiefs, scarred with honourable wounds, began to hesitate. But their fiery young king cried out that he was resolved to find in Italy either a kingdom or a grave. At last, while the Goths were piously celebrating the festival of Easter, the army of Stilicho suddenly attacked them. The Goths fought stubbornly, but after a long and bloody battle Alaric was obliged to lead his men from the field, leaving behind them the slaves and the booty which they had won. Even then Alaric did not at once give up his plan of forcing his way to Rome. But his men were discouraged. Hunger and disease attacked them. Their allies deserted them, and at last the young king was obliged to lead his men back to the province on the Adriatic. For six years Alaric now awaited his time, while Stilicho, meanwhile, beat back other invaders who sought to come into Italy. But the Western Emperor was foolish and thought the danger was past. He listened to the enemies of Stilicho and quarreled with him, and at last he had him put to death. At once Alaric planned a new invasion. Barbarian warriors from all lands, attracted by his fame, flocked to his standard. The friends of Stilicho also came to his aid. The new generals in Italy proved to be worthless, and the foolish emperor shut himself up in fear in his palace in the northern part of the peninsula. Alaric, meanwhile, did not tarry. On and on he pressed over the Alps, past the plains of the Po, past the palace of the Emperor, on to the eternal city of Rome itself. In the old days the Romans had been able to conquer Italy and the civilized world because they were a brave, sturdy people with a genius for war and for government. But long centuries of unchecked rule had greatly weakened them. Now they led evil and unhealthy lives. They neither worked for themselves nor fought in their country's cause. Instead they spent their days in marble baths, at the gladiatorial fights and wild beast shows of the theatres, and in lounging about the forum. In the old days Hannibal had thundered at the gates of Rome in vain, but it was not to be so now with Alaric. Three times in three successive years he advanced to the siege of the city. The first time he blockaded it was until the people cried out in their hunger and were forced to eat loathsome food. Still no help came from the Emperor, and when they tried to overaw Alaric with the boast of the numbers of their city he only replied, The thicker the hay, the easier it is mode. When asked what terms he would give them, Alaric demanded as ransom all their gold, silver and precious goods, together with their slaves who were of barbarian blood. At last May they asked, And what then will you leave to us? Your lives, he grimly replied. Alaric, however, was not so hard as his word. On payment of a less ransom than he had at first demanded he consented to retire. But when the foolish Emperor, secure in his palace in northern Italy, refused to make peace, Alaric advanced once more upon the doomed city and again it submitted. This time Alaric set up a mock Emperor of his own to rule, but in a few months he grew tired of him and overturned him with as little thought as he had shown in setting him up. As a great historian tells us of this Emperor he was in turn promoted, degraded, insulted, restored, again degraded, and again insulted, and finally abandoned to his fate. Near 410 A.D. Alaric advanced a third time upon the city. This time the gates of Rome were opened by slaves who hoped to gain freedom through the city's fall. For the first time since the burning of Rome by the Gauls, eight hundred years before, the Romans now saw a foreign foe within their gates, slaying, destroying, plundering, committing endless outrages upon the people and their property. To the Romans it seemed that the end of the world was surely at hand. At the end of the sixth day Alaric and his Goths came forth from the city, carrying their booty and their captives with them. They now marched into the south of Italy, destroying all who resisted and plundering what took their fancy. In this way they came into the southernmost part. There they began busily preparing to cross over into Sicily to plunder that fertile province. But this was not to be. In the midst of the preparations their leader Alaric, Alaric the bold, as they loved to call him, suddenly sickened. Soon he grew worse, and after an illness of only a few days he died, leaving the Goths weakened by the loss of the greatest king they were ever to know. Alaric's life had been one of the strangest in history, and his burial was equally strange. His followers wished to lay him where no enemy might disturb his grave. To this end they compelled their captives to dig a new channel for a little river nearby and turn aside its waters. Then in the old bed of the stream they buried their beloved leader, clad in his richest armor, and mounted upon his favorite war-horse. When all was finished the stream was turned back into its old channel and the captives were slain in order that they might not reveal the place of the burial. And there, to this day, rest the bones of Alaric, the West Gothic king. Of the West Goths after the death of Alaric we need say very little. The foolish emperor of the West remained foolish to the end, but his advisors now saw that something must be done to get rid of the barbarians. The new leader of the Goths, too, was a wise and moderate man. He saw that his people, though they could fight well, and overturn a state were not yet ready to form a government of their own. I wish, he said, not to destroy but to restore and maintain the prosperity of the Roman Empire. Other barbarians had meanwhile pressed into the Empire, so it was agreed that the Goths should march into Gaul and Spain, drive out the barbarians who had pushed in there, and rule the land in the name of the Emperor of the West. This they did, and there they established a power which became strong and prosperous, and lasted until new barbarians from the North and the Moors from Africa pressed in upon them and brought, at the same time, their kingdom and their history to an end. End of Chapter 3 On January 20, 2007, in Oceanside, California The Story of the Middle Ages, Chapter 4 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Kara Schellenberg. The Story of the Middle Ages By Samuel B. Harding Chapter 4 End of the Western Empire While the West Goths were winning lands and booty within the Empire, the other Germans could not long remain idle. They saw that the legions had been recalled from the frontiers in order to guard Italy. They saw their own people suffering from hunger and want. Behind them, too, they felt the pressure of other nations, driving them from their pastures and hunting grounds. So the news of Rome's weakness and Alaric's victories filled other peoples with eagerness to try their fortunes in the southern lands. Before the West Goths had settled down in Spain, other tribes had begun to stream across the borders of the Empire. Soon the stream became a flood and the flood a deluge. All Germany seemed stirred up and hurled against the Empire. Wave after wave swept southward, horde after horde appeared within the limits of the Empire, seeking lands and goods. For two hundred years this went on. Armies and nations went wandering up and down, burning, robbing, slaying, and making captives. It was a time of confusion, suffering, and change when the uncouth Goth, the horrid Hun, and wild-eyed peoples of many names, struggled for the lands of Rome. They saw only their own gain and advantage, and it seemed that everything was being overturned and nothing built up to take the place of what was destroyed. But this was only in seeming. Unknowingly these nations were laying the foundations of a new civilization and a new world. For out of this mixing of peoples and institutions this blending of civilizations arose the nations, the states, the institutions of the world of today. In following the history of the West Goths we have seen that some of these peoples had preceded the Goths into Spain. These were a race called the Vandals. They, too, were of German blood. At one time they had dwelt on the shores of the Baltic Sea near the mouth of the River Elbe. From there they had wandered southward and westward, struggling with other barbarian tribes and with the remaining troops of Rome's imperial army. After many hard fought contests they had crossed the River Rhine. They had then struggled through Gaul and at last had reached Spain. Now they were to be driven from that land, too, by the arrival of the West Goths. Just at this time the governor of the Roman province of Africa rebelled against the emperor's government. To get assistance against the Romans he invited the Vandals to come to Africa, promising them lands and booty. The Vandals needed no second invitation. The Strait of Gibraltar, which separates the shores of Spain from Africa, is only fifteen miles wide, but when once the Vandals were across that Strait they were never to be driven back again. A thousand warriors, together with their women, children, and the old men, came at the call of the rebellious governor. There they set up a kingdom of their own on Roman soil. A cruel, greedy people they were, but able. From their capital, the old city of Carthage, their pirate ships rode up and down the Mediterranean, stopping now at this place and now at that, wherever they saw a chance for plunder. Their king was the most crafty, the most treacherous, the most merciless of the barbarian kings. Where there shall we sail? asked his pilot one day, as the king and his men set out. Guide us, said the king, wherever there is a people with whom God is angry. The most famous of the Vandal raids was the one which they made on the city of Rome, forty-five years after it had been plundered by Alaric. The rulers of the Romans were as worthless now as they had been at the earlier day. Again, too, it was at the invitation of a Roman that the Vandals invaded Roman territory. No defence of the city was attempted, but Leo, the holy bishop of Rome, went out with his priests and tried to soften the fierceness of the barbarian king. For fourteen days the city remained in the hands of the Vandals, plundered to their hearts' content. Besides much rich booty which they carried off, many works of art were broken and destroyed. Because of such destruction as this, the name Vandal is still given to anyone who destroys beautiful or useful things recklessly, or solely for the sake of destroying them. Another of the restless German peoples were the Burgundians. They, too, had once dwelt in the north of Germany and had crossed the river Rhine in company with the Vandals. Gradually they had then spread southward into Gaul and the result was the founding of a kingdom of the Burgundians in the valley of the Rhine River. From that day to this the name Burgundy, as kingdom, dukedom, county, province, has remained a famous one in the geography of Europe. But this people was never able to grow into a powerful and independent nation. The Angles and Saxons who conquered Britain were others of these peoples. They first settled in the island, so the story runs, on the invitation of the people of Britain. The Britons had lived so long under Roman rule that they had learned the ways of their masters and had forgotten how to fight. So when wild tribes of Ireland and Scotland came down from the west and north to attack them, the Britons were in an evil situation. To the Roman commander in Gaul they wrote, The barbarians drive us to the sea. The sea drives us back to the barbarians. Between them we are exposed to two sorts of death. We are either slain or drowned. When they found that the Romans were no longer able to aid them, the Britons asked help from a roving company of Saxons, who had come in their long ships to the British shores. When the Angles and Saxons had once got a foothold, they proceeded to conquer the island for themselves. Thus the fairest portion of it came to be called England, or England. It was only after two centuries of hard fighting, however, that the conquest was completed. In the west the Britons long continued to keep their independence, and there the Welsh or foreigners, as they were styled by the Saxons, continued to use their own language to follow their own customs, and to obey their own princes for hundreds of years. While the Germans were finding new homes in Roman territory, the restless Huns were ever pressing in from the rear, driving them on and taking their lands as they left. At the time when the Vandals were establishing their kingdom in Africa, and the Saxons were just beginning to come into Britain, a great king arose among the Huns. His name was Attila. Though he was a great warrior and ruler, he was far from being a handsome man. He had a large head, a flat nose, a few hairs in the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short square body. The chief god of the Huns was a god of war. As they did not know how to make statues or images of him, they represented him by a sword or dagger. One day a shepherd found an old sword sticking out of the ground and brought it to Attila. This, the king said, was a sign that the whole earth should be ruled over by him. Whether he believed in this sign himself or not, Attila used his own sword so successfully that he formed the scattered tribes of the Huns into a great nation. By wars and treaties he succeeded in establishing a vast empire, including all the peoples from the river Volga to the river Rhine. The lands of the Eastern Empire, too, were wasted by him, even up to the walls of Constantinople. The empire was forced to pay him tribute, and an emperor's sister sent him her ring and begged him to rescue her from the convent in which her brother had confined her. In the year 451 AD, Attila gathered up his wild horsemen and set out from his wooden capital in the valley of the Danube. Southward and westward they swept to conquer and destroy. It is said that Attila called himself the Scourge of God. At any rate his victims knew that ruin and destruction followed in his track, and where he had passed they said not a blade of grass was left growing. On and on the Huns passed through Germany as far as Western Gaul, and men expected that all Europe would fall under the rule of this fierce people. This, however, did not come to pass. Near the city of Chalon, in eastern France, a great battle was fought in which Romans and Goths fought side by side against the common foe, and all the peoples of Europe seemed engaged in one battle. Rivers of blood, it was said, flowed through the field and whoever drank of their waters perished. At the close of the first day the city was still uncertain. On the next day Attila refused to renew the battle, and when the Romans and Goths drew near his camp they found it silent and empty. The Huns had slipped away in the night and returned to their homes on the Danube. This was one of the decisive battles in the world's history for it saved Europe from the Huns. Many legends came to cluster about it, and ages later men told how, each year on the night of the battle, the spirits of Goths and Huns rose from their graves and fought the battle over again in the clouds of the upper air. The next year Attila came again with a mighty army into the Roman lands. This time he turned his attention to Italy. A city lying at the head of the Adriatic was destroyed and its people then founded Venice on the isles of the sea, that they might thenceforth be free from such attacks. Perhaps Attila might have pressed on to Rome and taken it too, as Alaric had done, and as the vandals were to do three years later. But strange misgivings fell upon him. Leo, the holy bishop of Rome, appeared in his court and warned him off. Attila therefore retreated and left Rome untouched. Within two years afterward he died, and then his great empire dropped to pieces, and his people fell to fighting once more among themselves. In this way Christian Europe was delivered from one of the greatest dangers that ever threatened it. Gaul, Spain, Africa, and Britain had now been lost by the Romans, but amid all these troubles the imperial government, both in the east and in the west, still went on. In the west the power had fallen more and more into the hands of chiefs of the Roman army. These men were often barbarians by blood, and did not care to be emperors themselves. Instead, however, they set up and pulled down emperors at will, as Alaric had once done. In the year 476 AD, just thirteen hundred years before the signing of our Declaration of Independence, the emperor, who was then ruling in the west, was a boy of tender years, named Romulus Augustulus. He bore the names of the first of the kings of Rome and of the first of the emperors. But he was to be the last of either. A new leader had now arisen in the army, a gigantic German, named Odoacer. When Odoacer was about to come into Italy to enter the Roman army, a holy hermit had said to him, follow out your plan and go, there you will soon be able to throw away the coarse garment of skins which you now wear and will become wealthy and powerful. He had followed this advice and had risen to be the commander of the Roman army. The old leader, who had put Romulus Augustulus on the throne, was now slain by him and the boy was then quietly put aside. Odoacer thus made himself ruler of Italy, but he neither took the name of emperor himself nor gave it to anyone else. He sent messengers instead to the emperor of the east at Constantinople and laid at his feet the crown and purple robe. He said, in actions if not in words, one emperor is enough for both east and west, I will rule Italy in your name and as your agent. This is sometimes called the fall of the western empire and so it was. Yet there was not so very much change at first. Odoacer ruled in Italy in much the same way as the emperors had done, except that his rule was better and stronger. After sixteen years Odoacer was overthrown and a new ruler arose in his place. This was Theodoric, the king of the east Goths. From the days of the battle of Adrianople to the death of Attila this people had been subject to the Huns. At the battle of Chalon they had fought on the side of the Huns and against their kinsmen, the West Goths. Now however they were free and a great leader had arisen among them in the person of Theodoric, the descendant of a long line of Gothic kings. When Theodoric was a young boy he had been sent as a hostage to Constantinople where he had lived for ten years. There he had learned to like the cultured manners of the Romans but he had not forgotten how to fight. When he had returned home a handsome lad of seventeen he had gathered together an army and without guidance from his father had captured an important city. This act showed his ability and when his father died he was acknowledged as the king of his people. He was a man of great strength and courage. He was also wise and anxious for his people to improve. For some years his people had been wandering up and down in the Eastern Empire but they were unable to master that land because of Constantinople's massive walls. So with the consent of the emperor Theodoric now decided to lead his east Goths into Italy drive Odoacer from the land and settle his people there. The Goths set out over the Eastern Alps two hundred thousand strong. With them went their wives and children, their slaves and cattle and behind came twenty thousand lumbering ox carts laden with their goods. But Odoacer proved a stubborn fighter. Several hard battles had to be fought and a siege three years long had to be laid to his capital before he was beaten. Then Theodoric, for almost the first and last time in his life did a mean and treacherous act. His conquered enemy was invited to a friendly banquet and there he was put to death with his own sword. In this way Theodoric completed the conquest that made him master of the whole of Italy and a large territory to the north and east of the Adriatic Sea. For thirty-three years after that Theodoric ruled over the kingdom of the east Goths as a wise and able king. Equal justice was granted to all whether they were Goths or Italians and Theodoric sought in every way to lead his people into a settled and civilized life. The old roads, aqueducts and public buildings were repaired and new works in many places were erected. Theodoric was not only a great warrior and statesman, he was also a man of deep and wide thought. If any man and any people were suited to build up a new kingdom out of the ruins of the empire and end the long period of disorder and confusion which we call the Dark Ages it would seem that it was Theodoric and his east Goths. But no sooner was Theodoric dead again to fall to pieces. The eastern empire had now passed into the hands of an able emperor who was renowned as a conqueror, a builder and a law giver. His name was Justinian and he was served by men as a greatest himself. Under their skillful attacks much of the lands which had been lost were now won back. The vandal kingdom in Africa was overturned. The islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia were recovered and at last after years of hard fighting the east Goths, too, were conquered. The last remnant of that race then wandered north of the Alps and disappeared from history. It was only for a little while, however, that the eastern emperor was able once more to rule all Italy. Within thirteen years a new Germanic people appeared on the scene, the last to find a settlement in the empire. These were the Lombards or Longobards as they were called from their long beards. Ten generations before, according to their legends, a wise queen had led their race across the Baltic Sea from what is now Sweden to Germany. Since then they had gradually worked their way south until now they were on the borders of Italy. The northern parts of the peninsula at this time were almost uninhabited as a result of years of war and pestilence. The resistance to the Lombards therefore was very weak and the whole valley of the river Poe thenceforth to this day called Lombard passed into their hands almost at a blow. These Lombards were a rude people and but little civilized when they first entered Italy. It was not until some time after that they even became Christians. A wild story is told of the king who led them into Italy. He had slain with his own hand the king of another German folk and from his enemy's skull he had made a drinking cup mounted in gold. His wife was the daughter of the king he had slain. Some time after as he sat long at the table in his capital he grew boisterous and sending for the cup he forced his queen to drink from it bidding her drink joyfully with her father. At this the queen's heart was filled with grief and anger and she plotted how she might revenge her father upon her husband. So while the king slept one night she caused an armed man to creep into the room and slay him. In this way she secured her revenge but she and all who had helped her came to evil ends for as an old writer says the end of heaven was upon them for doing so foul a deed. The Lombards were not so strongly united as most of the Germans nor was their form of government so highly developed. Many independent bands of Lombards settled districts in Central and Southern Italy under the rule of their own leaders or dukes. In this way the peninsula was cut up into many governments. The northern part was under the Lombard king. A number of petty dukes ruled over his own district and the remainder including the city of Rome was ruled by the officers of the eastern emperor. The kingdom of the Lombards lasted for about two hundred years then it too was overturned and the land was conquered by a new German people the greatest of them all and the only one with the exception of the English that was to establish a lasting kingdom. These were the Franks who settled in Gaul and founded France. But before we trace their history we must first turn aside and see how the Christian church was gaining in strength and power in this dark period of warfare and confusion. In another book you may have read of the trials which the early Christians had to endure under the Roman rule. After this Christianity had spread rapidly in the Roman Empire so that by the time the German tribes began to pour across the borders almost all of the people who were ruled by the emperor had adopted the Christian religion and the old Roman worship of Jupiter, Mars, and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire the old Roman worship of Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva was fast becoming a thing of the past. When Christianity had become the religion of many people it was necessary for the church to have some form of organization and such an organization speedily began to grow. First we find some of the Christians set aside to act as priests and have charge of the services in the church. We find next among the priests in each city one who comes to be styled the overseeing priest or bishop whose duty it was to look after the affairs of the churches in his district. Gradually too the bishops in the more important cities came to have certain powers over the bishops of the smaller cities about them. These were then called arch-bishops. And finally there came to be one out of the many hundred bishops of the church who was looked up to more than any other person and whose advice was sought in all important church questions. This was because he had charge of the church in Rome the most important city of the empire and because he was believed to be the successor of Saint Peter the chief of the apostles. The name Pope which means father was given to him and it was his duty to watch over all the affairs of the church on earth as a father watches over the affairs of his family.  Sometimes disputes arose as to the amount of power the priests should have over the laymen as those who were not priests were called and sometimes there were disputes among the clergy or churchmen themselves. Sometimes these disputes were about power and lands and things of that sort for now the church had become wealthy and powerful through gifts made to it by rulers and pious laymen. More often the questions to be settled had to do with the belief of the church that is with the exact meaning of the teachings of Christ and the apostles as they are recorded in the Bible and in the writings of the early Christian teachers. Many of the questions which were discussed seem strange to us but men were very much in earnest about them then and at times when a hard question arose concerning the belief of the church men would travel hundreds of miles to the great church councils or meetings where the matter was to be decided and undergo hardships and sufferings without number to see that the question was decided as they thought was right. One of the questions which caused most trouble was brought forward by an Egyptian priest named Arius. He claimed that Christ the Son was not equal in power and glory to God the Father. Another Egyptian priest named Athanasius thought this was a wrong belief or heresy so he combated the belief of Arius in every way he could. Soon the whole Christian world rang with the controversy. To settle the dispute the first great council of the church was called by the Emperor Constantine in the year 325 AD. It met at Nicaea, a city in Asia Minor. There Arianism was condemned and the teaching of Athanasius was declared to be the true belief of the church but this did not end the struggle. The followers of Arius would not give up and for a while they were stronger than their opponents. Five times Athanasius was driven from his position of archbishop in Egypt and for twenty years he was forced to live an exile from his native land but he never faltered and never ceased to write, preach and argue for the belief which the council had declared to be the true one. Even after Arius and Athanasius were both dead the quarrel still went on. Indeed it was nearly two hundred years before the last of the Arians gave up their view of the matter but in the end the teachings of Athanasius became the belief of the whole church. One consequence of this dispute about Arianism was that the churches in the east and west began to drift apart. The western churches followed the lead of the bishop of Rome and supported Athanasius in the struggle while the eastern churches for a time supported Arius. Even after Arianism had been given up a quarrel still existed concerning the relation of the Holy Ghost to the Father and Son. As time went on still other disputes arose between the east and west. The Roman clergy shaved their faces and were not permitted to marry while the Greek clergy let their beards grow and married and had children. Moreover Rome and Constantinople could not agree as to whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Lord's supper. Still less could the great bishop of Constantinople where the emperor held his court admit that the power of the bishop of Rome was above his own. Each side looked with contempt and distrust upon the other for the one were Greeks and the other Latins and the differences of race and language made it difficult for them to understand one another. Gradually the breach grew wider and wider.  After that there was always a Greek Catholic church which exists to this day as well as a Roman one and the power of the pope was acknowledged only by the churches in the western or Latin half of the world. The church of course was as much changed by the conquests of the Germans as was the rest of the Roman world. The barbarians who settled in the lands of the empire had already become Christians for the most part before the conquest but they were still ignorant barbarians. Worst of all the views which they had been taught at first were those held by the Aryans and this made them more feared and hated by the Roman Christians. Among the citizens of the empire as well as among the barbarians there was also much wickedness, oppression and unfair dealing. The world is full of confusion, wrote one holy man. No one trusts anyone. Each man is afraid of his neighbor. Many are the fleeces beneath which are concealed innumerable wolves so that one might live more safely enemies than among those who appear to be friends. The result of this was that man began to turn from the world to God. Many went out into the deserts of Egypt and other waste and solitary places and became hermits. There they lived, clothed in rags or the skins of wild beasts and eating the coarsest food in order that they might escape from the temptations of the world. The more they punished their bodies the more they thought it helped their souls so all sorts of strange deeds were performed by them. Perhaps the strangest case of all was that of a man named Simeon who was called Stylites from the way in which he lived. For thirty years, day and night, summer and winter, he dwelt on the top of a high pillar so narrow that there was barely room for him to lie down. There for hours at a time he would stand praying, with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross or else he would pass hours bowing his wasted body rapidly from his forehead to his feet until at times the people who stood by counted a thousand bows without a single stop. Such things as these happened more frequently in the eastern than they did in the western church. In the west men were more practical and when they wished to flee from the world to the monasteries where the monks, as they were called, dwelt together under the rule of an abbot. In the west, too, the power of the Bishop of Rome became much greater than that possessed in the east by the Bishop of Constantinople. It was because the pope was already the leading man in Rome that Leo went out to meet the Huns and the Vandals and tried to save Rome from them. About one hundred and forty years later Pope Gregory the Great occupied even a higher position. He not only had charge of the churches near Rome and was looked up to by the churches of Gaul, Spain, and Africa more than Leo had been, but he also ruled the land about Rome much as an emperor or king ruled his kingdom. Gregory was born of a noble and wealthy Roman family. When he inherited his fortune he gave it all to found seven monasteries and he himself became a monk in one of these. There he lived a severe and studious life. At length, against his own wishes he was chosen by the clergy and people to be pope. This was in the very midst of the Dark Ages. The Lombards had just come into Italy and everything was in confusion. Everywhere cities were ruined churches burned and monasteries destroyed. Farms were laid waste and left uncultivated and wild beasts roamed over the deserted fields. For twenty-seven years Gregory wrote, Rome had been in terror of the sword of the Lombards. What is happening in other countries he said, we know not but in this the end of the world seems not only to be approaching but to have actually begun. The rulers that the eastern emperors set up in Italy after it had been recovered from the east Goths either could not or would not help and to make matters worse famine and sickness came and the people died by hundreds. So Gregory was obliged to act not only as the Bishop of Rome but as its ruler also. He caused processions to march about the city and prayers to be said to stop the sickness. He caused grain to be brought and given to the people so that they might no longer die of famine. He also defended the city against the Lombards until a peace could be made. In this way a beginning was made of the rule of the Pope over Rome which did not come to an end until the year 1871. Gregory was not only Bishop of Rome and ruler of the city he was also the head of the whole western church and was constantly busy with its affairs. Before he was chosen Pope Gregory was passing through the marketplace at Rome one day white slaves were sold there he saw some beautiful fair-haired boys. From what country do these boys come? he asked. From the island of Britain was the answer. Are they Christians? No, he was told. They are still pagans. Alas exclaimed Gregory that the Prince of Darkness should have power over forms of such loveliness. Then he asked of what nation they were. They are Angles replied their owner. Truly said Gregory they seem like angels, not Angles from what province of Britain are they? From Daira said the man naming a kingdom in the northern part of the island. Then said Gregory making a pun in the Latin they must be rescued de Eira from the wrath of God and what is the name of their king? Eila was the answer. Ye said Gregory as he turned to go. Alleluia must be sung in the land of Eila. At first Gregory planned to go himself as missionary to convert the Angles and Saxons. In this he was disappointed but when he became Pope he sent a monk named Augustine as leader of a band of missionaries. By their preaching Christianity was introduced into the English kingdoms and the English were gradually won from the old German worship of Woden and Thor. Gregory also had an important part in winning the West Goths and Lombards from Arianism to the true faith. In all that he did Gregory's action seemed so wise and good that men said he was counseled by the Holy Spirit and in the pictures of him the Holy Spirit is always represented in the form of a dove hovering about his head. Gregory has been called the real father of the papacy of the Middle Ages. This is no small praise for the papacy in those dark ages was of great service to Christendom. In later ages popes sometimes became corrupt and at last the Reformation came in which many nations of the West threw off their obedience. But in the dark days of the Middle Ages all the western nations looked up to the pope as the head of the church on earth and the influence of the popes was for good. There was very little order, union and love for right and justice in the Middle Ages as it was but no one can imagine how much greater would have been the confusion the lawlessness and the disorder without the restraining influence of the papacy. End of Chapter 5 Read by Karish Hallenberg on February 24th, 2007 in Oceanside, California The Story of the Middle Ages Chapter 6 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Karish Hallenberg The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding Chapter 6 Rise of the Franks The West Goths The Burgundians The Vandals All helped in their own way to make Europe what it is today yet none of them succeeded in founding a power that was to last as a separate state. Their work was largely to break down the rule of the Western Empire. The building up of a new state to take its place was to be the work of another people. The Franks The Franks were the earliest of all the Germanic invaders to fix themselves in the Roman province of Gaul to establish a power of their own in that land. Gaul, in the five hundred years that had passed since its conquest by Julius Caesar, had become more Roman even than Italy itself. In its long rule by foreigners, however, it had decayed in strength. The spirit of patriotism had died out. The people in the latter days of the empire had been ground down by oppressive taxation so it no more than the other provinces were able to offer resistance to the barbarians. A hundred years before the West Goths crossed the Danube, bands of the Franks had been allowed to cross the Rhine from their homes on the right bank of that river and to establish themselves as the allies or subjects of Rome on the Western bank. There they had dwelt, gaining in numbers and in power until news came of the deeds of Alaric. The Alaric tribes sought to cross the Rhine, the Franks on the left bank resisted them, but their resistance had been overcome. After that the Franks too set out to build up a power of their own within the Roman territory and gradually occupied what is now northern France together with Belgium and Holland. When the Huns swept into Gaul the Franks had fought against them side by side with the Romans and West Goths. When Attila was defeated and had retired the Franks had been allowed to take possession of certain cities in the valley of the Rhine which the Huns had won from the Romans. So by the time that Odoacer overthrew the last of the Roman emperors of the West the Franks had succeeded in getting a good footing in the empire but they were yet far from strong as a people. They were still heathen and they had not yet learned from horseback. They still went to war half-naked armed only with a barbed javelin a sword and an axe or tomahawk. They were not united but were divided into a large number of small tribes each ruled over by its own petty king. Besides all this they had many rivals even in Gaul itself. In the southern part of that land reaching across the Pyrenees and taking in nearly the whole of Spain was the kingdom of the West Goths. In the southeastern part was the kingdom of the Burgundians. In the central part, the region that included the river Seine, a Roman officer named Siagria still ruled though the last of the emperors of the West had fallen. And to the east of Gaul were tribes who still remained on German soil, the Turingians some tribes of the Saxons and all the Alemanians. It was mainly due to one man that the Frankish power was not overcome but instead was able to overcome all its enemies. This man was Clovis the king of one of the little bands of the Franks. Five years after the fall of Rome he had succeeded his father as king of his tribe. Though he was only sixteen years of age at that time he soon proved himself to be one of the ableist but alas one of the craftiest and cruelest leaders of this crafty and cruel people. In the thirty years that he ruled he united all the Franks under his own rule. He greatly improved the arms and organization of the army. He extended their territory to the south, east and west and he caused his people to be baptized as Christians. One of the first deeds of Clovis was to make war on Siagria's the Roman ruler. In this war the Franks were completely successful. Siagrius was defeated and put to death and the district over which he ruled became subject to Clovis. A story is told of this war which shows the rude and independent spirit of the Franks. When the booty was being divided by lot after the battle Clovis wished to obtain a beautiful vase that had been taken from one of the churches that he might return to the east. But one of his Franks cried out thou shalt have only what the lot gives thee and saying this he broke the vase with his battle-axe. Clovis could do nothing then to resent this insult but the next year he detected this soldier in a fault and slew him in the presence of the army saying it shall be done to thee as thou didst to the vase. After the overthrow of Siagrius Clovis turned to the conquest of other neighbors. One by one he set to work to get rid of the other kings of the Franks. Some he conquered by force others he overcame by treachery. He persuaded the son of one king to kill his father then he had the son put to death for the crime and persuaded the people to take him as their king. Another king and his son were slain because they had failed to help Clovis and he took their kingdom also. A third king was slain by Clovis' own hand after he had been betrayed into his power. Still others of his rivals and relatives were got rid of in the same way. Then when all were gone he assembled the people and said alas I have now no relatives to lend me aid in time of need. But he did this as an old writer says not because he was made sad by their death but craftily that he might discover whether there remained anyone else to kill. In this way Clovis made himself sole king of the Franks. Already he had begun to extend his rule over other branches of the German people. The Alamanians who dwelt to the east word of the Franks were beaten in a war which lasted several years and were forced to take the king of the Franks as their overlord. After this the Franks began to settle in the valley of the river Main where the Alamanians had dwelt and in course of time this district came to be called Franconia from their name. Several wars too were waged between Clovis and the Burgundians and here also the power of the Franks was increased. Most important of all were the conquests made from the west Goths who held southern Gaul and Spain. Again and again Clovis led his Franks against this people. At one time Theodoric, the king of the east Goths came to their aid and defeated Clovis with terrible slaughter but in the end the Franks were victorious and most of southern Gaul was added to the Frankish territory. Thus Clovis won for the Franks a kingdom which reached from the river Rhine on the north and east almost to the Pyrenees mountains on the south. On the land which before had born the name Gaul the name Franconia was gradually applied from the race that conquered it and under the name of France it is still one of the most powerful states of Europe. When Clovis first became king the Franks worshiped the old gods Woden and Thor. Before he died however he and most of his people had been baptized and become Christians. His conversion came about in this way while he was fighting against the Alamanians he saw his Franks one day driven from the field by the enemy he prayed to the old gods to turn the defeat into victory but still his troops gave way. Then he bethought him that his wife Clotilda had long been urging him to give up his old gods and become a Christian he determined now to try the god of his wife so he cried out Oh Christ Jesus I beseech thee for aid if thou wilt grant me victory over these enemies I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name. With this he renewed the battle and at last won a great victory. As a result Clovis became a Christian and more than half of his warriors decided to follow his example. When the news was brought to the priests they were filled with joy and at once preparations were made Painted awnings were hung over the streets the churches were draped in white and clouds of sweet smelling smoke arose from the sensors in which incense was burning. The king was baptized first and as he approached the basin the bishop cried out Bow thy head oh king and adore that which thou hast burned and burn that which thou hast adored. After this Clovis was in name a Christian but his conversion was only half a conversion. He changed his beliefs but not his conduct. When the story was told him of the way Jesus suffered death on the cross he grasped his battle acts fiercely and exclaimed if I had been there with my Franks I would have revenge his wrongs. So in spite of his conversion Clovis remained a rude warrior a cruel and unscrupulous ruler. Nevertheless his conversion was of very great importance the Goths Vandals and Burgundians had all been Christians at the time they invaded the Empire but their Christianity was not of the kind the Romans of the West accepted they were Aryan Christians and as we have seen there was great hatred between the Aryans and the Roman or Athanasian Christians In Africa Spain and Italy therefore the people hated their Aryan masters but it was different with the Franks because they believed as the Roman Christians did their Roman subjects in Gaul accepted and supported their rule and the Pope showed himself friendly to them this is one of the two chief reasons why the Frankish power was permanent the other reason was that the Franks did not wholly leave their old home as the other Germans did when they set out on their conquest the Franks kept what they already had while adding to it the neighboring lands which they had conquered so their increase in power was a growth as well as a conquest and this made it more lasting when the barbarians conquered portions of the Roman Empire they did not kill or drive out the people who already lived there usually they contented themselves with taking some of the lands for themselves and making the people pay to them the taxes which they had before paid to the Roman emperors so it was with the Franks the people of Gaul were allowed to remain and to keep most of their lands but the Franks although they were not nearly so numerous as the Romans ruled over the state the old inhabitants were highly civilized while the Franks were just taking the first steps in civilization we make fun of them wrote one of these Romans we despise them but we fear them also as the years went by the differences between the conquerors and the conquered became less the Romans found that times were changed and they had to adopt the habits of the Franks in some respects the Franks had already adopted the religion of their subjects they began also to adopt their language and some of their customs in this way the two peoples at last became as one but it was not until long after the time of Clovis that this end was fully reached when Clovis died he left four sons the Germans followed the practice of dividing the property of the father equally among his male children the Franks now applied this rule to the kingdom which Clovis left and divided it just as though it were ordinary property each son received a portion of the kingdom and each was independent of the others this plan turned out very badly and caused a great deal of misery none of the kings was ever satisfied with his own portion but each wished to secure for himself the whole kingdom which Clovis had ruled so murders and civil wars became very common among these Merovingian princes as they were called almost all of the descendants of Clovis died of violent death or else their long hair which was their pride and the mark of their kingship was cut and they were forced into monasteries when one of the sons of Clovis died his two brothers sent a message to their mother Clotilda saying send us our brothers children that we may place them on the throne when the children were sent a messenger came back to their grandmother bearing a sword and a pair of shears and telling her to choose whether the boys should be shorn or slain in despair the old queen cried out I would rather know that they were dead than shorn probably she did not mean this but the pitiless uncles took her at her word two of the boys were cruelly slain the third escaped from their hands and to save his life he cut off his own hair and became a priest after a time the land of the Franks was divided into two divisions and the people were called respectively East Franks and West Franks each land had a separate government about a hundred years after the time of Clovis two terrible women were queens in these lands their names were Fredigonda and Brunhilda and their jealousy and hatred of each other caused them to commit many murders and stir up many wars it is hard to say which of the two was the worse but we feel some pity for Brunhilda because of her terrible end she had murdered her grandchildren in order that she might keep the power in her own hands and she was charged with causing the death of ten kings of Frankish race but at last she fell into the hands of her enemies and although she was an old woman of eighty years she was put to death by being dragged at the heels of a wild horse her terrible rival had died some years before in many respects the laws of the Franks and indeed of all the Germans had reached to us one of their strangest customs was that of the feud as it was called and the weregeld both of these had to do with such struggles as the one between Brunhilda and Fredigonda in our day and also among the Romans if anyone injured a man or killed him the man or his family could go to law about it and have the person who did the injury punished but among the old Germans the courts of law had very little power and many preferred to right their own wrongs when a man was killed his relatives would try to kill the slayer then the relatives of the slayer would try to protect him and in this way a little war would arise between the two families this was called a feud and the struggle would go on until the number killed on each side equaled the number killed on the other by and by men began to see that this was a poor way of settling their grievances then it became the practice for the man who did the injury to pay a sum of money to the one who was injured and the families helped in this just as they had in the feud when the payment was given for the slaying of a person it was styled weregelt or man money after this the feud was only used when the offender could not or would not pay the weregelt every man of the body from a joint of the little finger up to the whole man came to have its price and the weregelt of a Frank or of a Goth was about twice that of a Roman another interesting thing about the old Germanic law was the way the trials were carried on let us suppose that a man is accused of stealing we should at once try to find out whether anyone had seen him commit the theft that is we should examine witnesses and try to find out all the facts that was also the Roman way of doing things but it was not the German way the Germans had several ways of trying cases the most curious of which was the ordeal if they used this they might force the man who was accused to plunge his hand into a pot of boiling water and pick up some small object from the bottom then the man's hand was wrapped up and sealed and if in three days there was no mark of scalding the man was declared innocent in this way they left the decision of the case to God for they thought that he would not permit an innocent man to suffer besides this form of the ordeal there were also others in one of these the person accused had to carry a piece of red hot iron in his hand for a certain distance in another he was thrown with hands and feet tied into a running stream if he floated he was considered guilty but if he sank he was innocent and must at once be pulled out all of these forms of trial seemed very absurd to us but to men of the early middle ages they seemed perfectly natural and they continued to be used until the 13th century in spite of the wickedness of the descendants of Clovis and in spite of the divisions of the kingdom the power of the Franks continued to increase for about 170 years the Merovingian kings were powerful rulers then for about 100 years they gradually lost power until they became so unimportant that they are called do-nothing kings the rich estates which Clovis had left to his descendants were wasted through the reckless grants which the kings had made to their nobles so poor were the kings that they could boast of but small estates and a scanty income and when they wished to go from place to place they were forced to travel in an ox cart after the manner of the peasants now they had few followers where before their war bands had numbered hundreds all this made the kings so weak that the nobles no longer obeyed them the government was left more and more to the charge of the kings' ministers while the kings themselves were content to wear their long flowing hair and sit upon the throne as figure heads the time had come when indeed the kings did nothing they reigned but they did not rule End of Chapter 6 read by Kara Schellenberg on February 24th 2007 in Oceanside, California the story of the Middle Ages Chapter 7 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org this reading by Kara Schellenberg while the descendants of Clovis were struggling with one another for his kingdom and while the church was gaining in wealth and power a danger was arising in the east that was to threaten both with ruin this danger was caused by the rise of a new religion among the Arabs Arabia is a desert land for the most part and the people gained their living by wandering with their camels and herds from Oasis to Oasis or else by carrying on trade between India and the west by means of caravans across the deserts the people themselves were like grown up children in many ways they had poetic minds impulsive and generous hearts but they were ignorant and superstitious and often very cruel up to this time they had never been united under one government nor had they all believed in the same religion some tribes worshipped the stars of heaven others worshipped fetishes of sticks and stones and others believed in gods or demons called genie if you have read the story of Aladdin and his wonderful lamp in the Arabian nights you will know what the genie were like Arabia is so near Palestine that it will not surprise you to hear that the Arabs had also learned something of the religion of the Jews and of the Christians but until the 7th century after Christ the Arabs remained in spite of this a rude and idolatrous people without any faith or government which all acknowledged in the 7th century came a change the Arabs then became a united people under one government and with one religion and under the influence of this religion they came out from their deserts and conquered vast empires to the east and to the west until it seemed as though the whole of the known world was to pass into their hands the man who brought about this change was named Muhammad he belonged to a powerful tribe among the Arabs but his father and mother had died before he was six years of age he was then taken care of by his uncle who was so poor that Muhammad was obliged to hire out as a shepherd boy and do work that was usually done by slaves when he was thirteen years old his uncle took him with a caravan to Damascus and other towns of Syria and there the boy caught his first glimpses of the outside world when he grew up he became manager for a wealthy widow who had many camels and sent out many caravans and at last he won her love and respect and she became his wife when Muhammad established his new religion she became his first convert and to the day of her death she was his most faithful friend and follower Muhammad had a dreamy and imaginative nature and when he had become a man he thought much about religion every year he would go alone into the mountains near his home and spend a month infasting and prayer at times he fell into a trance and when he was restored he would tell of wonderful visions that his soul had seen while his body lay motionless on the earth when Muhammad was forty years old a vision came to him of a mighty figure that called him by name and held an open book before him saying read Muhammad believed that this was the angel Gabriel who came to him that he might establish a new religion whose watchword should be there is but one god and Muhammad is his prophet when he began to preach the new faith Muhammad found few converts at first at the end of three years he had only forty followers his teachings angered those who had charge of the idols of the old religions and Muhammad was obliged at last to flee from the holy city of Mecca this was in the year 622 AD and to this day the followers of Muhammad count time from this date as we do from the birth of Christ after this Muhammad gained followers more rapidly and he began to preach that the new religion must be spread by the sword warriors now came flocking into his camp from all directions within ten years after the flight from Mecca all the tribes of Arabia had become his followers and the idols had everywhere been broken to pieces then the Muhammadans turned to other nations and everywhere they demanded that they should believe in Muhammad or pay tribute if these demands were refused they were put to death Muhammad could neither read nor write but his sayings were written down by his companions in this way a whole chest full of the sayings of the prophet was preserved written on scraps of paper or parchment on dried palm leaves and even on the broad flat shoulder bones of sheep were transformed into a book in this way arose the Quran which is the bible of the Muhammadans Adam Noah Abraham and Jesus were all recognized as prophets in the Quran but Muhammad is regarded as the latest and greatest of all the Quran teaches that those who believe in Muhammad and live just lives shall enter paradise when they die they will there dwell in beautiful water be burned by the rays of the sun nor chilled by wintry winds and there under flowering trees they shall recline forever clad in silks and brocades and fed by delicious fruits which beautiful black-eyed maidens bring to them to win paradise the Muhammadan must follow certain rules five times a day he must pray with his face turned in the direction of the holy city Mecca he must not gamble or drink wine and during the holy month when Muhammad fasted he too must fast and pray but the surest way to gain paradise and all its joys was to die in battle fighting for the Muhammadan faith this teaching helps to explain why the Christians found the Muhammadans such fierce and reckless fighters within a hundred years after the death of Muhammad his followers had won an empire which stretched from the Himalayan mountains to the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean all of Southwestern Asia and all of Northern Africa were under their rule and they were preparing to add Spain also and perhaps all Europe to the lands where the call to prayer was chanted in the year 711 A.D. a Muhammadan general named Tariq led the first army of Moors and Arabs across from Africa to Spain near where he landed was a huge mountain of rock on which he built a fortress or castle and from this name it is still called Gibraltaric or Gibraltar the mountain of Tariq Spain at this time was ruled by the West Goths but they were weakened by quarrels and idleness and were not able to resist the fierce Moors near a little river in Southern Spain the great battle was fought for seven days the Christian Goths under their king Rodrigo fought against the Muhammadan army but still the battle was undecided on the eighth day the Christians fled from the field and Spain was left in the hands of the Muhammadans long after that day an old Spanish poet sang of that battle in words like these the hosts of Don Rodrigo were scattered in dismay when lost was the eighth battle nor heart nor hope had they he when he saw that field was lost and all his hope was flown he turned him from his flying host and took his way alone all stained and strewed with dust and blood like to some smoldering brand plucked from the flame Rodrigo showed his sword was in his hand but it was hacked into a saw of dark and purple tint his jeweled mail had many a flaw his helmet many a dint he climbed into a hilltop the highest he could see thence all about of that wide route his last long look took he he saw his royal banners where they lay drenched and torn he heard the cry of victory the Arabs shout of scorn he looked for the brave captains that led the hosts of Spain but all were fled except the dead and who could count the slain where his eye could wonder all bloody was the plane and while thus he said the tears he shed ran down last night I was the king of Spain today no king am I last night fair castles held my train to night where shall I lie last night a hundred pages did serve me on the knee to night not one I call my own not one pertains to me this battle destroyed the power of the west Goths it also marks the beginning of the rule of the Moors in Spain which was to last until the time of Queen Isabella and Columbus the ease with which the Moors conquered Spain made them think it would be an easy thing to conquer Gaul also so within a few years we find their armies crossing the Pyrenees to carry war into that land but here they met the Franks and that people was not so easy to overcome as the Goths had been you have already seen how Clovis built up a strong kingdom in Gaul and then how the power slipped away from the hands of his descendants until they became mere do-nothing kings the real power was now in the hands of the great nobles who acted as the king's ministers the chief of these was called the mayor of the palace and at the time when the Moors came into Spain this office was handed down from father to son in a powerful family which possessed rich estates in the Rhine Valley with a multitude of warlike followers three years after the Moors had crossed over into Spain the old mayor of the palace died and the office passed to his son Charles this was a serious time for the kingdom of the Franks civil wars now broke out anew among the nobles the Saxons from Germany broke into the kingdom from the north and the Moors were pressing up from Spain into the very heart of France the mayor of the palace however proved equal to the occasion the civil wars were brought to an end and all the Frankish lands were brought under his rule the heathen Saxons were driven back to their own country then gathering an army from the whole kingdom Charles marched in the year 732 into southern France to meet the Moors he found their army near the city of Tours laden with the booty which they had taken the Moors expected another victory as great as the one which had given them in Spain but they found their match in Charles and his Franks all day long the battle raged twenty times the light-armed Moors on their fleet horses dashed into the ranks of the heavy-armed Franks but each time Charles and his men stood firm like a wall and the enemy had to retreat at last the Moors gave up the attempt and when day dawned the next morning the Franks found that they had slipped off in the night leaving behind them their tents and all their rich booty this battle forever put an end to the conquests of the Moors in France it was this battle also perhaps that gave Charles his second name Martel or the Hammer for as an old writer tells us like a hammer breaks and dashes to pieces iron and steel so Charles broke and dashed to pieces his enemies at all events the fame which Charles Martel won by his actions and the ability which he showed as a ruler enabled him to leave his power to his two sons when he died again there was a war between the mayors of the palace and the nobles who ruled over portions of the kingdom but again the mayors of the palace won then when quiet was restored once more the elder of the two sons of Charles gave over his power to his brother Pippin and entered a monastery in order that he might spend the rest of his years in the holy life of a monk this left Pippin as the sole mayor of the palace there was still a Merovingian prince who sat on the throne but he was a do-nothing king as so many had been before him and he only said the words that he was told and did the things that were given him to do of course this could not go on forever everyone was getting tired of it and at last Pippin felt that the time had come when he might safely take the title of king first messengers were sent to the pope to ask his opinion the pope was now eager to get the aid of the Franks against the Lombards in Italy so he answered in the way that he knew would please Pippin it is better he said to give the title king to the person who actually has the power then the weak Merovingian king was put off the throne and shut out of sight in a monastery and Pippin was anointed with the sacred oil and crowned king in his place as long as he lived he ruled as a strong and just king when he died the crown went to his children and after them to his children's children in this way the crown of the Franks continued in the family of Pippin for more than two hundred years End of chapter 7 read by Kara Schellenberg on March 21st, 2007 in Oceanside, California