The coronation ceremonies at last were over, and the various popular entertainments gradually came to an end. The tumult of the crowds about the hall was hushed, and only two knights remained, who walked up and down the spacious apartment engaged in earnest conversation. The one, although only of medium stature, was strong and well made. His piercing glance, so terrible to an enemy on the battlefield, rested quietly upon his friend and helper. It was easy to recognize the new Emperor by his fair complexion, which the burning sun of Asia had but little browned, his blond hair, and his red beard.[8] The other was Conrad of Feuchtwangen, his friend and comrade in arms at a time when deeds almost passing belief were performed.
“I know as well as thou, my dear Conrad, the magnitude of my task,” said the Emperor. “Whichever way I turn I find difficult problems, any one of which will require almost superhuman ability to solve. Germany and Italy, so widely separated from each other, are involved in desperate complications, but I feel that I have sufficient strength and courage to face the situation and fill my high position.”
“The princes were certain of that when they elected thee.”
“With divine help I will prove myself worthy of their confidence. The history of our people shows that the man who is called to high duties, and places his reliance upon God, is a safe guide and protector of the people, and such an one often accomplishes important results in a short time. The incomparable Charles the Great united all classes of his people into a powerful whole, forced the most rebellious to recognize his authority, eradicated heathenism in a single generation, reformed the habits of the people by the glorious teachings of Christianity, and established a well-ordered Empire. At a later period, when princes failed to profit by what he had accomplished, when fraternal strife swept away the best and devastated the country, they suffered many years from the disgrace of it and bowed their necks under the yoke of the barbarous Magyars, until the matchless Henry[9] came with all the old authority and the old virtues, and made the barbarians tremble at the very name of Germany.”
“How faithfully thou hast treasured in thy memory the actions of the great!”
“Yes, I have vowed that these men, but above all that Charles, the noble-hearted founder of German power, called ‘the Great’ by the world and ennobled by the Church, shall be my constant exemplar. The German authority shall again prevail, and the German Empire shall flourish again as in the days of old.”
“And yet, how many obstacles stand in the way of this achievement!”
“Charles also encountered obstacles, and certainly as great ones as these, but he finally overcame them. He found the most potent remedies for the evils of his time, and we must do the same for ours.”
“But the evils now are entirely different.”
“I think they are very similar. He was forced to break the power of the grand dukes and protect the common people, and that is what we must do.”