The Cambridge Medieval History - Book X

The Carolingian Empire and the Rise of France

IT was at his winter home at Doué, early in February 814, that Louis of Aquitaine received the news of his father's death, which had been immediately sent to him by his sisters and the magnates who had espoused his cause. It is a difficult matter to discern through the self-interested encomiums of biographers and the calumnies set afloat by political opponents, the real character of the man who had now taken over the burdensome heritage left by the Emperor Charles. Louis, who was at this time thirty-six years old, was, in form and manners, a tall, handsome man, broad-shouldered, with a strong voice, skilled in bodily exercises, fond, as his ancestors were, of the chase, but less easily led away by the seductions of passion and good cheer. With regard to his mental qualities, he was a learned man, well acquainted with Latin, and able even to compose verses in that language, having some knowledge of Greek, and in particular, well versed in moral theology. He was modest and unassuming, of a usually gentle temper, and he constantly showed himself capable of generosity and compassion even towards his enemies. His piety, to which he owes the surname by which history has known him from his own century to ours, appears to have been deep and genuine. It was shown not only by his zealous observance of fast and festival and his prayerful habits, but by his sustained interest in the affairs of the Church. During the time he spent in Aquitaine the reform of the Septimanian monasteries by Benedict ofAniane had engaged a large share of his attention. Throughout his reign his capitularies are filled with measures dealing with the churches and monasteries. It must not be forgotten, however, that in that age Church and State were so closely connected that provisions of this description were absolutely necessary to good administration, and that it would thus be a mistake to look upon Louis as a mere "crowned monk". A king in Aquitaine from 781, and associated in the Empire in 813, he had become accustomed to the prospect of his eventual succession. Though the news of Charles's death took him by surprise, the new sovereign seems promptly to have made such arrangements as the circumstances required, for after having shown all the signs of the deepest grief and ordered fitting prayer to be made for the repose of the soul of the dead, he set out on his journey for Aix-la-Chapelle in company with his wife and children and the chief lords of his party. He was doubtless uneasy as to what measures were being taken there by his father's former ministers, among them Wala, the grandson of Charles Martel, who had wielded so great an influence at the late Emperor's court. Such fears, however, were groundless, for hardly had Louis reached the banks of the Loire than the lords of France, hastening to meet him and take the oath of fealty to him, gave him an enthusiastic welcome. The famous Theodulf, Bishop of Orleans, having received timely notice, had even found leisure to compose certain poems for the occasion, hailing the dawn of the new reign. Wala himself came to meet his cousin at Herstall, before the Emperor, who was going by Paris in order to visit the celebrated sanctuaries of Saint-Denis and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, had entered France. Most of the magnates hastened to follow his example...