(814—911.)
- Character of Ludwig the Pious.
- —His Subjection to the Priests.
- —Injury to German Literature.
- —Division of the Empire.
- —Treatment of his Nephew, Bernard.
- —Ludwig's Remorse.
- —The Empress Judith and her Son.
- —Revolt of Ludwig's Sons.
- —His Abdication and Death.
- —Compact of Karl the Bald and Ludwig the German.
- —The French and German Languages.
- —The Low-German.
- —Lothar's Resistance.
- —The Partition of Verdun.
- —Germany and France separated.
- —The Norsemen.
- —Internal Troubles.
- —Ludwig the German's Sons.
- —His Death.
- —Division of Germany.
- —Karl the Fat.
- —His Cowardice.
- —The Empire restored.
- —Karl's Death.
- —Duke Arnulf made King.
- —He defeats the Norsemen and Bohemians.
- —His Favors to the Church.
- —The "Isidorian Decretals."
- —Arnulf Crowned Emperor.
- —His Death.
- —Ludwig the Child.
- —Invasions of the Magyars.
- —End of the Carolingian line in Germany.
814. LUDWIG THE PIOUS.
The last act of Charlemagne's life in ordering the manner of his son's coronation,—which was imitated, a thousand years afterwards, by Napoleon, who, in the presence of the Pope, Pius VII., himself set the crown upon his own head—showed that he designed keeping the Imperial power independent of that of the Church. But his son, Ludwig, was already a submissive and willing dependent of Rome. During his reign as king of Aquitaine he had covered the land with monasteries: he was the pupil of monks, and his own inclination was for a monastic life. But at Charlemagne's death he was the only legitimate heir to the throne. Being therefore obliged to wear the Imperial purple, he exercised his sovereignty chiefly in the interest of the Church. His first act was to send to the Pope the treasures amassed by his father; his next, to surround himself with prelates and priests, who soon learned to control his policy. He was called "Ludwig the Pious," but in those days, when so many worldly qualities were necessary to the ruler of the Empire, the title was hardly one of praise. He appears to have been of a kindly nature, and many of his acts show that he meant to be just; the weakness of his character, however, too often made his good intentions of no avail.
816.
It was a great misfortune for Germany that Ludwig's piety took the form of hostility to all learning except of a theological nature. So far as he was able, he undid the great work of education commenced by Charlemagne. The schools were given entirely into the hands of the priests, and the character of the instruction was changed. He inflicted an irreparable loss on all after ages by destroying the collection of songs, ballads and legends of the German people, which Charlemagne had taken such pains to gather and preserve. It is not believed that a single copy escaped destruction, although some scholars suppose that a fragment of the "Song of Hildebrand," written in the eighth century, may have formed part of the collection. In the year 816, Ludwig was visited in Rheims by the Pope, Stephen IV., who again crowned him Emperor in the Cathedral, and thus restored the spiritual authority which Charlemagne had tried to set aside. Ludwig's attempts to release the estates belonging to the Bishops, monasteries and priesthood from the payment of taxes, and the obligation to furnish soldiers in case of war, created so much dissatisfaction among the nobles and people, that, at a diet held the following year, he was summoned to divide the government of the Empire among his three sons. He resisted at first, but was finally forced to consent: his eldest son, Lothar, was crowned as Co-Emperor of the Franks, Ludwig as king of Bavaria, and Pippin, his third son, as king of Aquitaine.
In this division no notice was taken of Bernard, king of Lombardy, also a grandson of Charlemagne. The latter at once entered into a conspiracy with certain Frank nobles, to have his rights recognized; but, while preparing for war, he was induced, under promises of his personal safety, to visit the Emperor's court. There, after having revealed the names of his fellow-conspirators, he was treacherously arrested, and his eyes put out; in consequence of which treatment he died. The Empress, Irmingarde, died soon afterwards, and Ludwig was so overcome both by grief for her loss and remorse for having caused the death of his nephew, that he was with great difficulty restrained from abdicating and retiring into a monastery. It was not in the interest of the priesthood to lose so powerful a friend, and they finally persuaded him to marry again.
822. LUDWIG'S PENITENCE.
His second wife was Judith, daughter of Welf, a Bavarian count, to whom he was united in 819. Although this gave him another son, Karl, afterwards known as Karl (Charles) the Bald, he appears to have found very little peace of mind. At a diet held in 822, at Attigny, in France, he appeared publicly in the sackcloth and ashes of a repentant sinner, and made open confession of his misdeeds. This act showed his sincerity as a man, but in those days it must have greatly diminished the reverence which the people felt for him as their Emperor. The next year his son Lothar, who, after Bernard's death, became also King of Lombardy, visited Rome and was recrowned by the Pope. For a while, Lothar made himself very popular by seeking out and correcting abuses in the administration of the laws.
During the first fifteen years of Ludwig's reign, the boundaries of the Empire were constantly disturbed by invasions of the Danes, the Slavonic tribes in Prussia, and the Saracens in Spain, while the Basques and Bretons became turbulent within the realm. All these revolts or invasions were suppressed; the eastern frontier was not only held but extended, and the military power of the Frank Empire was everywhere recognized and feared. The Saxons and Frisians, who had been treated with great mildness by Ludwig, gave no further trouble; in fact, the whole population of the Empire became peaceable and orderly in proportion as the higher civilization encouraged by Charlemagne was developed among them.