Pine Needles

by Susan Warner; Louis Harms

"I didn't know but you were too busy counting your stitches. I want you to hear this speech of Landolf's. It is very fine.

"'"In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the only true God. Amen. Men and brethren, hear my words. One hundred years ago" (A.D. 960, according to the chronicle), "came two pious Christian priests to you, to make known to your fathers the Gospel of Christ, the true God; they were the dark and the fair Ewald. They were your own relations, they came from England; they were your friends, they had left England and come over the sea for the love of you; they were your guests, they had been sheltered in your houses. They wanted to let you know that God has become your Brother, that He might deliver you from your sins. You would not let them preach in your land—you were free not to do that; but you murdered them; here on these stones you slew them in honour of Woden; your brothers, your friends, your guests, you murdered, who had done you no evil. Since that time the true God, the God of the Christians, has been angry with you. You number as many as the Franks do; you are just as brave as they. Yet Charlemagne, the Frank, has conquered and subdued you. How is that? God fought with Charlemagne; He loved him—he is a Christian. God fought against you, for you have killed his priests; you are murderers. You can kill me too. Do it; I am not afraid of death; I am the servant of God; if you kill me, God will take me up to heaven. God's anger will not depart from you, unless you become Christians. Why will you not become Christians? Your gods are good for nothing; they cannot help you; they have not been able to stand before the Christian's God. Where is your Irmensul? Charlemagne has broken it to pieces." (Irmensul was an idol image that stood at Hildesheim). "Where is your Wodensaak? Charlemagne has cut it down." (This Woden's oak stood at Verden on the Aller.) "Where is your Helawohrt? Charlemagne has destroyed it." (The sacred place of the goddess Hela was on the Aller, in what is now the suburb Heelen at Celle.) "Where are your brave leaders, Wittekind and Albion? They have become Charlemagne's friends and vassals; they are Christians. Do you think it was Charlemagne that subdued them? No, a greater One, the God of the Christians has subdued them. Charlemagne indeed often overthrew them; but the Christian's God has conquered them. Do you know how that came about? I have heard in Münster, and I will tell you.

"'"After the last battle they lost—you know about that, your young men bled there too—before peace was concluded, the brave Wittekind said to his brother in arms, Albion, 'Come, let us go! we will pay a visit to Charlemagne in his fortress, and take a look at his power; for he is the greatest in the land.' So the bold heroes set forth; hiding their strong frames under the dress of beggars; for they wished to remain unknown, and to see and prove for themselves. Fear was not in their brave hearts. They travelled and travelled for days and days; and wherever they came, Christians gave them food. Then they questioned with one another—'Is this what Christians are?' They were many nights on their journeyings, and wherever they came the Christians took them in, although they were beggars. Then they asked one another, 'Is this what Christians are?' Many a time they lost their way, in cities, villages, and fields; the Christians set them right, and they said to each other in astonishment, 'Is this what the Christians are?' At last they came to Ingelheim." (The chronicle names Ingelheim, and not Aix-la-Chapelle.) "They went through the city, admiring the handsome houses and magnificent streets, till they came to a large house, the largest of all they had hitherto seen. 'This must be Charlemagne's dwelling,' said they; 'for certainly he is the greatest man among his people!' They went in—they heard singing, that sounded as if it came down from heaven. They went further in; there stood up in the chancel a man in a white dress (it was a priest in white church robes) who was speaking: 'Hear, you who believe the glad message; the great God in heaven loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His dear Son Jesus Christ to you. Jesus Christ came down from heaven; God's Son became your brother, so little and poor that He lay in a manger in the stall for cattle. When He was grown up, He preached everywhere and said, Sinners, turn, and I will save you. He made the lame to go and the blind to see, and healed the sick, and raised up the dead that lay in their graves. He shed His blood for sinners; sinners put Him to death. He was still kind to them in His death, and prayed for His murderers, Father, forgive them! for they know not what they do. They buried Him. But can God stay in the grave? Lo! after three days the earth quaked and the rocks rent; Jesus rose up out of the grave, Jesus went up to heaven, and sits now again upon the throne of His Father, God. He reigns; He commands: Repent, and I will save you, you shall come into my heaven and reign with me.

"'"So preached the priest. There stood the two heroes in astonishment, but they were to be yet more astonished. Lo! a tall man steps forward through the church up to the altar, where the priest was standing; and a crown was upon his head. It was the King Charlemagne. The two heroes knew him, and yet they did not know him. Was this the mighty hero, whose flashing sword in battle struck and slew? Was this the man whose eyes blazed with the fire of battle? He wears no sword here; his eyes sparkle peacefully; as he stands before the altar, he humbly takes his crown off and sets it on the ground; then he bows his knee upon the steps of the altar and prays to Jesus Christ, the God of the Christians, and all the people fall upon their knees, and the heavenly music of them who are singing praises swells out again—'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will to men.' Then Charlemagne rises and sits down in a chair, and the man in white clothing preaches of Jesus, who came to save sinners, and Charlemagne bows his high head so often as the name of Jesus is named. Then the priest blesses the congregation—the service is over.

"'"It was not Charlemagne's house in which they were; it was God's house, in which Charlemagne had been praying. God is greater than Charlemagne, and so must God's house be the biggest in the city. The brothers in arms went forth of the church. Before the church door there was a great crowd of beggars, in garments like their own. Gentle and kind, Charlemagne goes to the poor people, giving each one a piece of money and saying, 'God bless it to you, my children; pray for me too.' 'Is that King Charlemagne?' the heroes asked each other by their astonished looks. Then the king steps up to them, looks at them graciously, and says—'You have never been here before, my friends; come into my house, and I will give you your portion.' He goes on and they follow him. They come into his house, which was smaller than God's house. They go into his apartment; there he dismisses the attendants, goes up to Wittekind and Albion, offers them his hand like a brother and says: 'Welcome to my citadel, you brave Saxon heroes! God has heard my prayer; my foes are becoming my friends. Put off your rags. I will dress you as princes should be dressed!' And he had princely robes put upon them, and said further—'Now you are my guests; and soon, I hope, the guests of the Lord my God also.' The two heroes had not expected this, that Charlemagne should know them in their disguise; much less that he would treat them so nobly and brotherly. Fourteen days later, the priest in white garments baptized them in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and they swore allegiance to the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

"'"You men, this is the way that your heroes have led the way for you. Saxons, will you forsake your dukes? The curse of sin has been cleared away from them. Now I have come to you; I too am a priest of Jesus Christ; I would gladly teach you and clear the curse of sin away from you, that you may be saved and come to heaven. Say, shall I preach among you? or will you kill me too, as you killed the two Ewalds? Here I am; but in the midst of you I am also in God's hand."

"'Landolf ceased. The whole assembly had heard him in silence; even the heathen priests had listened. Then the Billing lifted up his voice and spoke: "Landolf, my guest and friend, thou hast spoken well, and thou hast been a good man in my house; I will hear thee further. Brothers, let us decide that Landolf shall be free to go about in our country and preach. It is no dishonour to bow the knee before that God who is Charlemagne's God and the God of the Christians; it is no shame to pray to that God who has conquered our brave heroes. Decide!"

"'Then stepped forth an old man with white hair, who was the oldest man in the assembly, and spoke: "Cast the lot!"

"'The young men made ready seven little sticks, square-cornered, of oak wood, marked on the upper side with sacred signs. One of the heathen priests, the chronicle calls him Walo, shook them in his hands and then threw them up in the air. During this time, Landolf was upon his knees, crying, "Lord, Lord, give the victory, that this noble people may come to know Thee!" Then the sticks fall to earth, and behold! six of them lie with the signs up, and only one with the signs down. This is announced, and then the whole assembly cries out—"The Christian's God has won!" and the Billing shakes Landolf by the hand and says, "Now go in and out through the whole land; nobody will hinder you from preaching the name of your God. But do not pass my house by; come back with me; I will become a Christian." And now the assembly broke up; everybody went home to his house, Landolf accompanying the Billing. When they were again passing the stone of sacrifice at the Deep Moor, Landolf said—"Billing, that is your altar-stone; is it not?" "It belongs to me and my house." "There my first church shall stand," said Landolf, glad and strong in faith. "May I build it?" "Build it my brother," answered the Billing; "and when it is ready I will be the first to be baptized in it. But the stone of sacrifice we will throw into the moor, that the remembrance of it may be lost."

"'Now did Landolf go to work joyfully; by day he wrought, and at night he preached, and taught in the Billing's house, and in all the country round. No longer than three months after, the little wooden church was done—the first in this whole region; and the same day that Landolf consecrated it, Harm the Billing with five sons and three daughters, and the greater part of the friends of his family and of his farm servants, received holy baptism, the water for which was fetched out of the neighbouring Oerze. Now, of course, that church is no longer standing; it was burnt down afterwards by the heathen Wends, and in its place the large stone church in Hermannsburg was built. But to this day the field where that first church stood belongs to the Hermannsburg parsonage, and is still called the cold church.