FRANCE. 
fioG 
the eaft ; and the artful princefs, Odious to her own fub¬ 
jefts by the murder of her fon, endeavoured to fecure 
the prote6tion of Charlemagne, who was then a widower, 
by a propofal of marriage. The king of the Franks rea¬ 
dily entertained the idea ; two ambaffadors were difpatch- 
ed to the Byzantine court ; and if Charlemagne was fin- 
cere in this treaty, he raufi have been difappointed by the 
nuptials of Irene with Nicephorus. This new emperor of 
the eaft confented to acknowledge in his unfuccefsful 
rival the dignity of Auguftus, and to fettle the mutual 
boundaries of the two empires. 
The Normans, whofe adventurous fpirit was deftined 
to (hake the empire of Charlemagne, under their leader 
Godfrey, menaced with their fleets and armies the tran¬ 
quillity of tlie weft. A tranftenf peace was eftablifhed, 
from motives of mutual convenience ; the fubjefts of 
Charlemagne were to refpeft the Norman territory ; and 
Godfrey promifed, in Iris piratical defeents, to refrain 
from the dominions of the Franks. A life of fuch con¬ 
tinual aftion mu ft have impaired the moft vigorous con¬ 
futation ; and his exceflive attachment to female charms, 
contributed to haften the decay of that of Charlemagne. 
While a momentary calm allowed him a fufpenfion from 
the labours of the field, at an affembly held at Thion- 
ville, in 806, he fettled tire final diftribution of his do¬ 
minions. Aquitain and Gafcony, with theSpanifh March, 
lie afligned to his fon Louis; his pofl'eflions in Italy he 
confirmed to Pepin, and added to them the greater part 
of Bavaria, with the country at prefent inhabited by the 
Grifons. To Charles, his eldeft, he referved the king¬ 
doms of Neuftria, Auftrafia, and Thuringia; and after 
publicly fubferibing the royal will, he rendered it, in a 
l'uperftitious age, more authentic by the fanftion of the 
Roman pontiff. 
The different princes were, in the fame year, fummoned 
to defend their new dominions by the force of arms ; in 
Aquitain and Italy, Louis and Pepin triumphed over the 
infidels, whom the former expelled from the ifland of 
Corfica, and the latter defeated in Catalonia. The re¬ 
volted Sclavonians, who had ravaged Bohemia, were 
cruflied by the power of Charles ; and the declining age 
of Charlemagne liftened with paternal fondnefs to the 
martial achievements of his fons. But the cares of the 
imperial mafter of the weft were numerous and frequent; 
Jiis happinefs was ftill rare and fleeting. The Normans 
prefTed upon his empire with accumulated force ; and 
the terror of the Scandinavian name had extended from 
the Baltic to the Britiffi Channel. The infirmities of 
waining life were filenced by the imperious voice of am¬ 
bition; and Charlemagne’s vain menace, that he would 
fettle his clifputes with Godfrey on the Norman frontier, 
was retorted by the daring rover, that he would fave him 
that trouble, by advancing with an army to the gates of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. The policy of Charlemagne delayed 
the threatened danger, by fomenting the difeontents of 
the northern powers ; but thofe difturbances were no 
fooner quelled, than the fquadrons of the Scandinavians, 
commanded by Godfrey in perfon, caft anchor on the 
coaft of Friezeland. The undifeiplined courage of the 
inhabitants were in vain oppofed to thefe hardy invaders. 
The French and Frifons were incapable of withftanding 
their rapacious fury ; and Charlemagne, with what forces 
he could hnftily col left, advanced to reftore the confidence 
of the difmayed provinces. But while he anxioufly 
awaited the fignal of battle, he was agreeably furpriled 
by the unexpected retreat of the eqemy ; the dagger 
of a private allaflin extinguifhed the life of Godfrey, and 
thus delivered him from his moft formidable antagonift. 
The fatisfaftion which Charlemagne indulged on this 
■fortunate occurrence, was embittered by the death of his 
moft favourite daughter Rotrude, and of Pepin king of 
Italy. A11 infant and illegitimate fon of that prince was 
by the difconfolate emperor appointed to fucceed to the 
Italian feeptre ; and the lapfe of a few months again be¬ 
held the unhappy monarch weeping over the tomb of his 
eldeft fon, Charles. The increafing weight of public 
cares fuggefted to him the neceffiry of aflociating his fur, 
viving fon Louis to the imperial purple. The ceremony 
was performed at Aix-la-Chapelle, and the aged emperor 
inculcated to his youthful colleague the maxims which 
had advanced, during his own reign, the profperity of his 
fubjefts. His augmented infirmities admoniftied Charle¬ 
magne to prepare for his approaching end. About the 
middle of January, which fucceeded the affbeiation of 
Louis, he was attacked by an ardent fever; and confcious 
of his danger, he beheld with firmnefs the approach of 
death. On the twenty.feventh, a fainting fit announced 
his fpeedy diflolution ; and on the twenty-eighth, A. D. 
814, after uttering, in a low and faultering voice, thefe 
words, Into thy hands. Lord, I commend my fpirit, he imme¬ 
diately expired, in the feventy-firft year of his age, and 
the forty-leventh of his reign. 
At the clofe of the life of Charlemagne, we paufe ta 
delineate his charafter, the maxims of his government, 
and the extent of his conquefts. In height, he exceeded 
the common race of men, being in ftature upwards of fix 
feet ; his robuft form was endowed with a mind equally 
ftrong ; and his patronage of literature is attefted by the 
foundation of fchools, the introduftion of arts, and his 
familiar converfation with the learned whom he invited 
to his court. But though the encouragement of learning 
encircles with the pureft luftre the memory of Charle¬ 
magne, yet it cannot be diftimulated that his own acquifi- 
tions were imperfeft ; and that, in the more mature period 
of his life, he ftrove with difficulty to acquire the prac¬ 
tice of writing. Simple in his drefs, temperate in his 
diet, he bore with patient firmnefs the viciffitudes of the 
feafons; and the fatigues of war were fucceeded in peace 
by the manly exercifes of the chace. Yet his moral vir¬ 
tues are ftained with the charge of incontinence ; and nine 
wives or concubines, with a train of licentious amours, 
proclaim the vigorous conftitutionof Charlemagne; whofe 
numerous illegitimate offspring fought refuge and fupport 
in the eftablifhment of the church ; and whofe daughters 
too openly indulged thofe appetites which hud fullied the 
fame of their father. 
As a ftatefman, his prudence is arraigned by the dan. 
gerous meafure of dividing his kingdom among his fons; 
but his couiifels to his colleague Louis, which exhort him 
to confider his fubjefts as his children; to be gentle in 
his adminiftration, but firm in the execution of juftice ; 
to reward merit ; to promote his nobles gradually ; to 
choofe his minifters deliberately, but never to remove 
them capricioufly ; are maxims which cannot be too 
ftrongly recommended, or too readily adopted. Yet his 
own humanity is impeached by the filent extinftion of 
the fons of Carloman ; and even could he elude the 
doubtful fate of his nephews, the wanton maffacre of 
4500 Saxons, who were beheaded on the fame fpot, fpeak 
the unfeeling hero of a barbarous age. But although a 
mind inflated by profperity might fometimes be infenlible 
to the voice of pity,'it was his affiduous aim to improve 
the laws and manners of the Franks ; the inveterate evils 
of the times were mollified by his government; and his 
attempts, however imperfeft, announce the fpirit of the 
legiflator. 
The viftoriesof Charlemagne reftored to the monarchy 
of France the province of Aquitain ; confined the Bretons 
to the ffiores of the ocean, and compelled them to 
acquiefce in the fecurity of hoftages and the difgrace of 
tribute. His authority embraced that part of Spain 
which extends from the Pyrennees to the river Ebro, and 
comprehends Roufillon and Catalonia, Navarre and Ar- 
ragon. From the Alps to the borders of Calabria, Italy 
revered, in the perfon of Charlemagne, the patrician of 
Rome, and the king of the Lombards ; but the duchy of 
Beneventum, which fpread over the modern kingdom of 
Naples, eluded his power, and after a tranfient fubmif- 
fion, efcaped from the French yoke. To the feeptre of 
France, the emperor of the weft united that of Germany ; 
1 onrl 
