III
THE CONQUEST OF THE SAXONS
While Charles’ intervention in Italy may be considered as the logical outcome of the policy inaugurated by his father, his long struggle with the pagan Teutonic tribes, spoken of loosely by contemporary historians as the Saxons, was part of a program of expansion for which he alone was responsible. Dwelling in a territory extending from the Elbe, on the East, nearly to the Rhine, on the West, the Saxons in three tribes formed a primitive confederation occupying the various divisions of Germany known in modern times as Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Westphalia. Beyond the Elbe there was a fourth section of the Saxon stock extending over a territory nearly coextensive with the modern Duchy of Holstein. Though the name suggests a plausible identity, the Saxon territory of the eighth century had no connection with the present kingdom of Saxony, which only to a small extent comprises land that once belonged to these ancient Saxons. Though unlike their kinsfolk to the West, the Saxons held to their old tribal creed, they were in no sense savages, for they had long since abandoned a nomadic life and had become settled tillers of the soil. But probably the primitive institutions of the Germans described by Tacitus still existed among them, and, from the point of view of the Franks, they must have seemed undesirable neighbors, largely because of their obstinate attitude toward all attempts to convert them to Christianity. As the missionaries who undertook the task were either Franks themselves or acted under the patronage and support of Frankish rulers, the feeling toward the Saxons was anything but friendly, especially as since the time of the Merovingians on several occasions the Saxons had recognized the Franks as their overlords, by paying tribute. It is probable, too, that the Saxons were not very scrupulous in respecting the frontier of their Western neighbors. There must have been frequent raids to annoy the Franks, though there is absolutely no proof that the Saxons ever contemplated invading Frankish territory by expeditions organized on a large scale. The situation had, however, been serious enough to call forth active intervention from Charles’s father Pippin, who, in 753, had advanced as far as the Weser, where, by an overwhelming display of military strength, he had forced the Saxons to pay tribute and not to oppose the preaching of Christian missionaries in their territory.
Five years later, in another expedition, Pippin advanced beyond the Weser, occupying the Saxon strongholds between that river and the Lippe, and again securing from the Saxon chiefs promises that the terms on which peace had been made should be carried out.
The religious conditions of the peace were especially obnoxious to the Saxons, who were firmly attached to the faith of their fathers. They had a simple form of nature worship, that displayed itself in a passionate reverence for trees and mountains, regarded as the concrete expression of the powers governing the world. The new expedition of the Franks practically took the form of a crusade; for Charles saw in the gods of the Saxons only demons inimical to the Christian faith. Starting from Worms and accompanied by a large number of ecclesiastics, who were to war against Saxon paganism, the Frankish army, seemingly, met not resistance, and Charles took and destroyed without difficulty the Saxon shrines Irminsul and Eresburg. He withdrew, satisfied now that there was no hindrance in the way of winning the land to Christianity. The character of the expedition is accurately indicated in a brief sentence from the life of Sturm: “He [Charles] gave the servants of the Lord power for teaching and baptizing.”
The Saxons, before the Franks retired beyond the Rhine, renewed the terms of peace previously concluded with Pippin, gave hostages for their good behavior, and seemingly made no protest against the introduction of the Church hierarchical system in their land. But the war with the Lombards gave the Saxons the opportunity of casting aside their pledges; they did not desire Frankish ascendancy, and, still less, Christian missionaries. The real situation on his Eastern frontier was so patent that as soon as the Italian expedition had ended with the annihilation of the Lombard kingdom, Charles (775) set out to war on the Saxons, resolved either to force them to accept Christianity or to destroy them as a people. His attack was skilfully and rapidly managed; one of their strong places, Sigiburg, was taken, and Eresburg, previously captured, was turned into a Frankish citadel. The Saxons hesitated to strike back until the Franks were withdrawing across the Weser. Near Brunisberg, where they contested the passage of the Frankish army, the Saxons were outnumbered and decisively beaten. Marching with picked troops Charles advanced into the territory of the Eastphalians, where their leader, Hessi, hastened to take the oath of fidelity to the Frankish monarch and gave hostages. The same method of forcing a capitulation was tried successfully with the Saxon tribe, the Angarians.
But meanwhile, the Westphalians had assaulted the Frankish camp in their land, and had been able to occupy it partially. They were forced, however, to withdraw, and while they were retreating they were met by the division of the Frankish army under Charles, and were defeated; so they were obliged to accept the same terms as the Eastphalians and the Angarians. Within a short period the overlordship of the Franks had come to be recognized by the three leading tribes of the Saxon people.
It only needed the outbreak of fresh disturbances in Italy to show how imperfect had been the so-called pacification of the Saxons. When Charles was drawn away beyond the Alps by an attempt to revive the Lombard kingdom, his absence was immediately taken advantage of by the Saxons, who rose in revolt against the Franks. Even the fortress at Sigiburg was hard pressed. An imposing army was gathered by Charles at Worms in 776, with which he crossed into Saxon territory and again occupied Eresburg. His authority was soon restored. Bands of Saxons comprising whole families came to the Frankish camp as humble petitioners and willingly allowed themselves to be baptized. There were evidently two parties among the Saxons, one willing to carry out the conditions of peace, the other ready by any subterfuge to reject them. The irreconcilable faction finally lost heart and withdrew.
In 777, Charles held in Paderborn his first general assembly; here appeared Saxons from all parts of the land and solemnly pledged themselves willingly to give up their freedom and their property if they denied the Christian faith and broke their oath of allegiance. But such verbal assurances were not more binding than they had been before.
More expeditions (779 and 780) were necessary, and in 780 specific steps were taken to intensify the ecclesiastical organization already felt as a burden by the unwilling converts. The land was divided into parishes, and provision was made for systematic preaching and for the administration of baptism.
Along with the expansion of the Church, the secular organization of the Franks went hand in hand. The country was placed under the supervision of counts, the leading Saxon chiefs being appointed to the positions. In one of the capitularies assigned to this time, the slightest deviation from Christianity is treated as a most serious crime. The murder of a deacon is punished by death, while an assault on a count only entails confiscation of property. Similar severity is exercised against those who are guilty of sacrilege, who break into churches, or who violate the rule of fasting.