Nothing tended more to hinder Charles in assuring his success in Saxony and quickly strengthening his authority there than the wars which, as ally of the pope, he had to carry on simultaneously against the Lombards. Through the divorce of his daughter, King Desiderius had become Charles’ most bitter enemy; he had joyfully received the sons of Carloman who had been excluded from the throne, had recognised them as kings of the Franks, and had demanded their anointment from Pope Adrian. But in spite of all Desiderius’ efforts to separate the pope from Charles, Adrian remained “hard as adamant”; he did not even waver when Desiderius marched against Rome with an army and took the greater part of the cities that Pepin had bestowed upon the apostolic see. The pope’s appeal for help reached Charles in 773 and he did not delay an instant to obey it. The passes of the Alps were poorly defended; Charles made his way through into the plains of Lombardy without material opposition. Here Desiderius refused to give battle in the open field and restricted himself to the defence of his cities, which had to be besieged one by one.
[774-780 A.D.]
While the Frankish army was engaged in these operations Charles betook himself at Easter, 774, to Rome in order to show himself to the city as its patricius and to renew in person his alliance with the pope. He was received with all the honours that were customary at the entrance of an exarch or a patricius of the Greek emperor. At St. Peter’s church the pope came forward to meet him, and to the singing of “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord!” both walked to the grave of the apostle and prayed together there. Then the Easter festival was celebrated with the greatest pomp, after which Charles not only confirmed his father’s gift to the pope but made additions to it. Charles declared, as his father had done, that he had not made war upon the Lombards to gain gold or silver, land or people, but simply to protect the rights of the holy see and to elevate the Roman church. But if the pope conceived the hope from this that Charles would turn over to St. Peter’s all those parts of the Lombard kingdom to which Rome laid claim, according to a promise made by Pepin but never kept, he was doomed to bitter disappointment. For when, after a long siege, Pavia was taken and Desiderius fell into the hands of his enemies, Charles received the homage of the Lombards and called himself thenceforth “king of the Franks and Lombards.” Desiderius was sent as a monk to a Frankish monastery.
After he acquired this extensive territory in Italy, Charles’ relations with the see of Rome were not entirely free from unpleasantness. He had become the powerful neighbour of the pope, who himself aspired to temporal power here. There was considerable friction; various claims were raised and rejected on both sides. But in the condition of the times it was impossible that this alliance should be dissolved or even weakened. As early as the year 776 it again became apparent how inseparably the interests of the pope were united with the power of the Frankish king. Desiderius’ son Adelchis, who had fled to Constantinople, was threatening Italy. He was supported by his brother-in-law Arichis, the proud and still unconquered duke of Benevento; other Lombard dukes were in secret alliance with both. The pope was in no less danger than the Frankish government. Again Charles hastened across the Alps; the threatening danger was quickly crushed by his powerful attitude, and new uprisings were prevented by a reorganisation of all the affairs of the Lombard kingdom. Everywhere except in Spoleto, where the pope laid claim to feudal rights, the ducal power was abolished, the land was divided into counties, the Frankish military and judicial system was introduced, political power was removed from bishops and abbots; in short, the entire constitution of the Frankish monarchy was copied as closely as possible. Four years later, nevertheless, Charles gave the Lombard kingdom a viceroy of its own in his five-year-old son Pepin. Being upon its own peculiar basis, serving a special purpose and continually exposed to the attacks of dangerous enemies, the land seemed to need a separate government.
[780-785 A.D.]
[The unsuccessful expedition against the Moors in Spain took place at this time, and the absence of Frankish armies on the northern frontier induced the Saxons to rebel again.] They destroyed the newly built churches, the priests were slain, the Franks were driven out and the Frankish territory itself was attacked. Charles at once sent a force of Franks and Alamanni against the Saxons, and in the years 779 and 780 the king himself marched with a mighty army into the seditious land. All the districts submitted anew and promised allegiance and the acceptance of Christianity. But, taught by sad experience, Charles did not trust their promises again and planned means to enforce obedience. Numerous fortresses were built about the country, especially on the Frankish boundary and along the Elbe; strong garrisons in these strongholds confined the Saxons from east and west and really maintained peace for some time. Charles made use of this period to carry out measures designed to break up forever the old heathen cult and the hereditary national freedom. The Frankish military and judicial system was now introduced here, as it had previously been in the Lombard kingdom; the land was divided into counties, the government of which was placed in the hands of Frankish lords or of Saxon nobles who had submitted to Charles. The division of the land into bishoprics was also begun. Christian priests were settled in the country, and the people, when they did not voluntarily accept the teachings of Christ, were forced to baptism, to ecclesiastical life, and the ordering of tithes. In the year 782 the king held a great and brilliant diet at the sources of the Lippe; his rule in Saxony appeared to be as unhampered as in his own house. He was already laying plans to extend his own kingdom beyond Saxony to the east among the Slavic races. It was on an expedition against the Sorbs, who dwelt between the Saale and the Elbe, that the Saxons had for the first time to render the king military service. Apparently the king desired to give the warlike spirit of this people an occupation in a different direction.
The new regulations of Charles cut deep into the very life of the people. The ancient Germanic freedom bled from mortal wounds. Too exhausted to maintain itself longer upright, it nevertheless still possessed sufficient energy to fight convulsively against destruction. Witikind now reappeared among the Saxons and summoned his people to the defence of their ancient faith and hereditary right. All Saxony flew to arms; even the Frisians joined Witikind. A great common determination inspired these last champions of ancient Germanic liberty. Hardly had Charles gone forth when the whole country was in revolt. The priests were slain, the nobles who had submitted to the Franks were exiled, and preparations were made for a life and death struggle. The army sent against the Sorbs had to turn about and march immediately against Witikind and his hordes, but in the Süntel hills near the Weser it suffered a complete defeat, and reinforcements sent forward from the Rhine had difficulty in saving the scanty remnants.
Charles himself, however, was already on the march with a new army, and again resistance seemed to be paralysed upon his appearance in person. Witikind gave up Saxon liberty for lost and fled again to the Danes. As a stern avenger and judge, Charles now called the faithless people to account. He demanded the surrender of the guilty; 4,500 Saxons were delivered into his hands, and he had them all beheaded in one day at Verden, thinking that, in this desperate struggle, liberty, if cut down by one mighty blow, would bleed to death at once.
The Final Subjugation of the Saxons
With fearful earnestness Charles pursued his aim of completely subjugating the Saxons. He thought he had attained it with the bath of blood at Verden. But humbled as the Saxons were by the terrible deed it filled them still more with wrath and thirst for revenge against the Franks. At once the whole land was again under arms, and once more Witikind returned from the Danes. In 783 Charles again had to march with the entire force of his kingdom against the Saxons, who now for the first time opposed him in great open battles. They did so to their ruin; first at Detmold, and then on the Haase near Osnabrück Charles inflicted the most bloody defeats on them. The Saxon youths were slain, the resources of the land began to fail. Without meeting any further special opposition the king marched on, plundering and ravaging, as far as the Elbe. Nevertheless Witikind still maintained the field against him, until in the years 784 and 785 plundering expeditions of Charles exhausted the land’s last power of resistance. Then Witikind at the command of the king appeared in the palace at Attigny, made submission, and received baptism. Saxony was now conquered and Christianity and royalty were forced on the people together. Under penalty of death baptism was required and heathen customs were prohibited. Any injury to a Christian priest, any sedition against the king or disobedience of his commands was declared a capital crime.