RHEIMS
POLITICAL HISTORY
Rheims is one of the oldest towns in France, so old that legendary accounts, in an endeavour to outdo one another, carry back its foundation sometimes to 1440 B.C. after the Flood, sometimes to the siege of Troy. Lying at the intersection of the natural routes between Belgium and Burgundy, and between the Parisian basin and Lorraine, i.e. between political districts that long remained different in character, and regions having different commercial resources, it was at one and the same time the "oppidum" and market-town. Its military and commercial position destined it early to be a great city.
It probably takes its name from the tribe of the Remi, who occupied almost the whole territory now forming the "départements" of the Marne and the Ardennes, and who were clients of the Suessiones (Soissons) before the Roman conquest. It was already a prosperous town, under the name of "Durocortorum," when Cæsar conquered Gaul. It freed itself from the yoke of the Suessiones by accepting the Roman domination. When the Belgians revolted in 57 B.C., the Remi remained faithful to Cæsar and received the title of "friends of the Roman people." Neither did they take any part in the general revolt of Gaul in 52 B.C. Under the Empire, Rheims was, with Trèves, one of the great centres of Latin culture in "Gallia Belgica." On becoming a federated city, it retained its institutions and senate. A favourite residence of the Roman Governors, Rheims was embellished with sumptuous villas and magnificent monuments, and soon became one of the most prosperous towns in Gaul. At the beginning of the Germanic invasions Rheims drew in its borders and became a military town. Under Diocletian it was the capital of Belgica Secunda.
According to tradition, Christianity was first preached in Rheims by St. Sixtus and St. Sinirus, the first bishops of the city. However that may be, Christianity was firmly established there as early as the 3rd century. A bishop of Rheims was present at the Council of Arles in 314. The conversion of several great Roman personages (amongst others, the Consul Jovinus—see p. [118]) favoured the progress of the Christian religion.
In the 5th century, when Rome, otherwise occupied, was unable to hold back the barbarians, invasions interfered with the development of the city. The Frankish conquest marked the beginning of a new period of prosperity. In 486, after the victory of Soissons, Clovis entered into negotiations with St. Remi, who, at the age of 22, had been elected Bishop of Rheims in 459, and whose long episcopate of seventy-four years is probably unique in history. On Christmas Day, A.D. 496, St. Remi, who had arranged the marriage of Clovis with the Christian princess Clotilde, baptized the Frankish king with his own hands in the Cathedral. This important event took place undoubtedly at Rheims and not at Tours, as a learned German, Krusch, has attempted to prove.
Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the history of Rheims became merged in that of the French monarchy. The possession of the city was disputed as fiercely as that of the throne. The city was mixed up in quarrels from which it suffered, without, however, losing its religious prestige. Pépin-le-Bref and Pope Stephen III., Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. had famous interviews there. When the Carolingians restored the religious hierarchy Rheims became one of the twenty-two chief cities of the Empire. From the time of Charlemagne, the Archbishop of Rheims ruled over twelve bishoprics, comprising the cities of the ancient Roman province of Belgica Secunda.
From the 9th to the 11th century the history of Rheims is that of its church. The Counts of Vermandois, the Lords of Coucy and the archbishops first disputed, then divided its temporal possession, the latter falling eventually to the archbishops in the 11th century. After becoming Counts, with the right to coin money, and, from 940, powerful temporal princes, the archbishops played a great political part in the struggles between the Carolingian princes. Under Charles-le-Chauve, Archbishop Hincmar became the protector of the enfeebled monarchy. In 858 he prevented Louis-le-Germanique from deposing his nephew and becoming King of France. In 987, Archbishop Adalbéron, at the Meeting of Senlis, drove the legitimate heir, Charles de Lorraine, from the throne, and favoured the election of Hughes Capet. Although, under the Capetians, Paris became the political capital of France, Rheims became the religious metropolis of the kingdom. From the time when Louis-le-Pieux had himself consecrated emperor in the Cathedral, by Pope Stephen IV., it was understood that every new king must be consecrated by the successor of St. Remi.
The Consecration of the Kings of France
In the 12th century, Popes and Kings formally acknowledged the right of the Archbishop of Rheims to consecrate and crown the kings of France. As a matter of fact, until the Revolution, all the kings, except Louis IV. and Henri IV., were consecrated at Rheims.