for up to this time the Franks had distinguished them partly by Latin and partly by barbarian names. He likewise gave the proper names to the twelve winds, for previously names were known for hardly four. . . .

Toward the close of his life, when bowed down by disease and old age, he summoned to him his son Louis, the king of Aquitania, who alone survived of the sons of Hildegard. In a solemn assembly of the chief men of the whole realm of the Franks, and with their unanimous consent, he appointed Louis his partner in the whole kingdom and heir of the imperial title. He then placed the royal crown' on his head and bade him be saluted as Emperor and Augustus..

Charlemagne then sent his son into Aquitania and, although weakened by age, went on his usual hunting expedition in the neighborhood of the palace at Aachen. In this pursuit he passed the remainder of the autumn and returned to Aachen early in November. During the winter, in the month of January, he was confined to his bed by a sharp attack of fever. He at once prescribed for himself abstinence from food, which was his usual treatment of fever, thinking that by this means he could throw off the disease, or at least control it; but pleurisy supervened. He still continued to starve himself, only keeping himself up by occasionally taking liquids; and on the seventh day after he had been confined to his bed he received the Holy Communion and died soon after, at nine o'clock, on the 28th of January, in the seventy-third year of his age and fortyseventh year of his reign.

His body was reverently washed and tended, and then carried into the church and buried, to the great grief of all his people. There was some doubt at first where was the most proper place for his burial, for during his life he had given no orders on this matter. At last it was agreed by all that he could be buried in no more fitting place than in the church which he had built at his own cost at Aachen, out of love to God and our Lord Christ, and to the honor of the ever blessed Virgin. So he was buried there on the same day that he died.

Above his tomb was erected a gilded monument, with his effigy and title upon it.1 . . .

Warnings of the approaching death of Charlemagne were very numerous, and were noticed by the emperor himself, as well as by others. For three years before his death there were frequent eclipses of the sun and moon, and black spots were noticed on the sun during seven successive days. The portico, which had been built with great labor between the church and palace, suddenly fell down to the very foundation, on the day of the Ascension of our Lord. The wooden bridge over the Rhine at Mainz, on which an immense amount of toil and trouble had been expended during ten years, so that it seemed a thoroughly durable and permanent structure, was accidentally burnt down in three hours. The destruction was so complete that there did not remain above water mark sufficient wood for the making of a lance shaft. Again, while Charlemagne was in Saxony, one day when the march had already begun, Charlemagne saw fall suddenly from heaven a blazing torch, which passed through the clear sky from right to left. While all were wondering what this might portend, the horse on which the emperor was riding fell down suddenly on its head, and he was thrown to the ground with such violence that the clasp of his cloak was broken and his sword belt burst. He was ungirt by his attendants, who hastened to his assistance, and with some difficulty was lifted up again. A javelin, which he happened to be holding at the time, was thrown from his grasp a distance of more than twenty feet.

There occurred, too, frequent shakings of the palace at Aachen, and constant crackings of the ceilings of the houses in which he dwelt. The church in which he was afterwards buried was struck by lightning, and the golden apple which adorned the summit of the roof was displaced and thrown

1 In the year 1000 Charlemagne's tomb was opened by the emperor Otto III. Legend declares that Otto found the body upright upon a throne, with a golden crown on the head and a golden scepter still clasped in the lifeless hands. About two hundred years later Charlemagne's remains were transferred to a splendid shrine, where they may still be seen.

upon the adjoining house of the priest. There was in the same church, on the ring of the cornice, which ran around the interior of the building between the upper and lower arches, an inscription in red letters, which related who was the founder of the church; the last line ended with the words "Carolus Princeps." It was noticed by some people that in the year in which he died, and a few months before his death, the letters which formed the word "Princeps" were so faded as scarcely to appear at all. The emperor either pretended not to notice all these warnings from on high, or he despised them as if they in no way related to himself.

CHAPTER III

THE BENEDICTINE RULE1

WITH the exception of the Bible, there is probably no book which has more directly influenced the course of European history than the Rule of St. Benedict. According to the provisions of that Rule were trained those monks, who, like Augustine in England and Boniface in Germany, brought the Christian religion and the blessings of civilization to the heathen peoples of western Europe. No one can read the Rule through without being impressed with the practical wisdom of its author. He sought by his regulations to preserve the spiritual benefits of the monastic life, without allowing it to run to extremes of asceticism. Hence his monks were to subject themselves to strict discipline under the supervision of an abbot; they were to have proper clothing, sufficient food, and ample sleep; and they were to engage, not only in religious exercises, but also in useful manual labor. All this presented a marked contrast to the kind of monastic observance which prevailed in the East and, before St. Benedict, in Italy and Gaul. The Benedictine Rule, because it met so well the requirements of the monastic life, came gradually to be followed by all the monasteries of western Christendom.

1 The Rule of St. Benedict, translated by F. A. Gasquet. London, 1909. Chatto and Windus.

13. The Abbot and His Duties 1

An abbot to be fit to rule a monastery should ever remember what he is called, and in his acts illustrate his high position. For in a monastery he is considered to take the place of Christ, since he is called by His name. As the apostle says, "Ye have received the spirit of the adoption of sons, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" 2 Therefore the abbot should neither teach, ordain, nor require anything against the command of our Lord (God forbid!), but in the minds of his disciples let his orders and teaching be mingled with the leaven of divine justice. . . .

When anyone shall receive the name of abbot, he ought to rule his disciples with a twofold teaching: that is, he should first show them in acts rather than words all that is good and holy. To such as are of understanding, indeed, he may expound the Lord's behests by words; but to the hard-hearted and to the simple-minded he must manifest the divine precepts in his life. . . .

Let the abbot make no distinction of persons in the monastery. Let not one be loved more than another, except those who are found to excel in obedience or good works. Let not the free-born be put before the serf-born in religion, unless there is some other reasonable cause for it. . . . For one thing only are we preferred by Him, if we are found better than others in good works and more humble. Let the abbot, therefore, have equal love for all, and let all, according to their deserts, be under the same discipline.

The abbot in his teaching should always observe that apostolic rule which says, "Reprove, entreat, rebuke." That is to say, as occasions require, he ought to mingle encouragement with reproofs. Let him manifest the sternness of a master and the loving affection of a father. He must reprove the undisciplined and restless severely, but he should exhort such as are obedient, quiet, and patient, for their better profit.

1 S. Benedicti regula, 2-3. 32 Timothy, iv, 2.

2 Romans, viii, 15.