Plate IX
Silk stuff of the seventh or eighth century. To face p. 292.
In 841, after the dreadful battle of Fontenai near Vézelay in Burgundy, where Charles-le-Chauve and Louis-le-Germanique combined against their brother Lothar and their nephew Pepin and defeated them, they held a Congress at Strassburg to confirm their alliance.
Louis and Charles each made announcement in Latin of the purpose of their agreement, and of their intention to take in public an oath each to other. That done, Louis, as the elder, first took the oath. Being the ruler of the German portion of the empire, he took the oath in the language of the Franks, the Romance tongue, Rustica Romana, in order that the adherents of Charles might hear and understand his undertaking. These were the words of his oath, probably read by a chancellor, for the Latin account[273] says haec se servaturum testatus est:—
“Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, dist di[274] in avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat[275], si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in aiudha et in cadhuna[276] cosa, si cum om[277] per dreit[278] son fradra salvar dist, in o quid il mi altresi fazet[279]; et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai, qui meon vol[280] cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit.”
Then Charles said the same in the language of the Germans, the Teudisc or Deutsch tongue. The Latin account uses a different phrase here, haec eadem verba testatus est.
“In Godes minna ind in thes christianes folches ind unser bedhero gehaltnissi, fon thesemo dage frammordes, so fram so mir Got geuuizci indi mahd furgibit, so haldi thesan minan bruodher, soso man mit rehtu sinan bruodher scal, in thiu, thaz er mig so sama duo; indi mit Ludheren in nohheiniu thing ne gegango, the minan uuillon imo ce scadhen uuerdhen.”
The peoples then swore an oath, each in their own, not the other’s, tongue. The Frank people swore in the Romance language:—
“Si Lodhuvigs sagrament, que son fradre Karlo iurat, conservat, et Karlus meos sendra de suo part non los tanit, si io returnar non l’int pois: ne io ne neuls, cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla aiudha contra Lodhuuuig nun li iv er.”