As the conquests of Emperor Charlemagne progressed rapidly and universally, even the legends amplify the poetry of their tales; they have already hinted at the points of the world, on which he made the clamor of his arms, but since he has dressed the imperial purple, the chroniclers, with their chatter, take possession of this name more than ever for exalt it and bring it more and more to heaven. These fictional tales no longer have any measure, and such is the power of the opinion in honor of that hero, that the most authentic chronicles collect the fabulous rumors, as if they were truth, and six centuries later there is no doubt that Charlemagne is not has really accomplished the feats that legend attributes to him.
The two episodes that the Chronicle of San Dionigi mainly expects to play, following the report by Turpino, are the conquest of the Holy Sepulcher and the liberation of Saint Jacopo of Compostella. [205]These two undertakings are accomplished in dependence on the two pilgrimages, one to the tomb of Jesus Christ, the other to the ark of the patron saint of Christians in Spain. The thought of the pilgrimage was connected in those days with that of the conquest; first the pilgrim came all alone to adore the Holy Sepulcher, then a band, then finally an army that invaded the country; such was the process of the pilgrimage vows, that for that restless generation, it was necessary to move and do; she could not stay so quiet, within the enclosure of her walls, and she needed to breathe the open air of the distant country, on the top of the mountains or in the valleys, hunting, through the dark forests or traveling to foreign regions. These fabulous expeditions to the tombs of Jerusalem and St.Jacopo,
The false Turpino, the chronicler poet, the archbishop of Reims, was the one who first narrated the wonders of this double conquest; nor do we want to believe otherwise that this epic is a creation of the last times of the Middle Ages, since it is instead connected with an almost contemporary era, and we find it as a holy tradition in the manuscripts of the thirteenth century [231], and everyone can follow its traces even to the eleventh century. Likewise, in the fourth generation of the Carolingic period, it was certain that Charlemagne had freed the holy sepulcher of Christ, and achieved marvelous victories against the Saracens and the Moors. And why will history fail to account for these two traditions that were maintained in the most remote age? And did they not form the delight of our fathers, and the pride of the ancient generations? For what reason will we not recount the exploits and deeds that the noble knights attribute to the mighty arm and the wisdom of the great emperor? You strip them away even the severe criticism, when he calls the chronicle of death ages to be syndicated; as for us who are looking for the vestiges of already extinguished beliefs and of past greatness, let us remember, glorifying,
[206]
Here, then, a great persecution against Christianity occurs in the overseas land, the Saracens penetrate into the districts of Syria, become insignificant in Jerusalem, and contaminate the Holy Sepulcher, so that the old patriarch, forced to flee, comes to find Constantine, emperor of Byzantium. , and his son Leo. “With tears and tears he told them the great torment and the great persecution that were in the overseas land, how the infidels Saracens had taken the city, contaminated the Sepulcher and the other holy places of the deserted city, also took the castles and the cities of realm, the countryside spoiled, and the people, part killed and part enslaved, and made so much contempt to Our Lord, and so much persecution to his people, that there is no heart of a Christian man who should not go sad and angry. [232]”
The emperor Constantine himself could not help but be saddened by this news of the contaminated Sepulcher; but he could not just wage war in Palestine, and he did not have sufficient strength to oppose the Infidels. Now everyone knew in those days that a great empire was rising in the West, and that the Austrasian lineage increased through its power and its leuds; hence Constantine sent his ambassadors to Charlemagne, with a letter, sealed for him, from the patriarch John, sargente of God’s sargenti [233]in Jerusalem; and with it another letter from Constantine and Leo, all in silk embroidered with gold, from which hung a beautiful seal; which letter said: “Constantine and Leo, his son, emperors and kings of the eastern parts, lowest of all, and barely worthy of being emperors, to the most famous king of the western parts, most high Charles, always happy power and lordship . Dearest friend Charles the Great, when you have seen and read these letters, know that I am not writing to you out of distrust of heart, nor of people born of chivalry, but that sometimes I had victory of the pagans with not even knights and people who I have not, and I drove them from Jerusalem, taken and recovered two or three winds, and six times I have defeated them and driven them out of the field with the help of the Lord, and pot holders and killed many thousands. But what do I have to tell you? You must be admonished by God through me, not for my merits, but yes for yours, to accomplish this great undertaking. But that one of the past nights, while I was thinking about how to drive out the Saracens, I had this vision: In that, I said, that I was in this thought, and prayed to Our Lord, that he would send me some help, ‘suddenly in front of the bed a bridesmaid who called me a lot [207]fairy by name, and shaken me so a little, he said to me [234]: – Constantine, you asked Our Lord for help in your enterprise, and behold he commands you, through me, to call to your aid the Great Charles of France, defender of the Faith and of the peace of the Holy Church. And then he showed me a knight all armed with hauberk and leg loops and greaves, with a shield around his neck, a sword at his side with a vermilion hilt, and a white spear in his hand, which seemed to send flame from the tip. In his other hand he wore a golden helmet, and he looked old with a long beard. His face was very beautiful, his person large, his head white and gray, and his eyes shining like stars. It is therefore not to be doubted that these things were not made and ordered by the will of Our Lord, and having certainly known what man you are, and what your facts and cost me are, we rejoice in the Lord, and give him thanks in your marvelous deeds, in your humility and in your patience. I firmly trust that the enterprise will have a happy fulfillment for your merits and for your work, but that you are the defender of peace, and you seek it with great fervor, and when you have found it, yes you keep it and keep with great love and charity.
«Now, the said ambassadors found Charles the emperor in his palace, and he too was very sad at this news of the disasters of Palestine, and he wept widely, hearing the painful message. The messengers, this is also to be known, were welcomed in the abbey of San Dionigi in France. The emperor, having broken the seals, made more of a sudden to read the letters, asking the barons: “Sire, what can those papers sing?” Then, having called the prudent Archbishop Turpino, who was very wise, he asked him to interpret those writings, since the court of the barons around him was very numerous, but it was almost a parliament: “Come on, my faithful, said to them [208]Charlemagne, what advice do you give me? ” and they replied with a voice: “King, if you think that we are so tired and troubled that we cannot bear the fatigue of such a great journey, we are here, and we protest that, if you, our lord on earth, deny to come with them, nor do you want to lead us, we will move tomorrow, at daybreak, together with these messengers, as it seems to us that nothing should be serious for us, if God becomes our guide. ” Imagine how the emperor was pleased with such an answer; he therefore caused shouts to be sent across all the lands that: “whoever, young and old, would march against the Saracens, all should take up arms”. And the multitude was so great that it was no longer known how to house it.
«Here then is Charlemagne and his barons, who set out with all their host. No one could tell of the adventures that happened on a journey; crossing woods and mountains, they came, on their way, to a forest, which they found all full of griffins, tigers, bears, lions and other ways of beasts; and more than once they lost the right way, nor did they know where they were going, or if they had to go back, and then the great Charles began to read in his psalter: “Lord God, guide us with the voice of your commandments”. And a great miracle was heard the voice of a little augellino shouting all jubilant: “Franco, Franco, what about you, what about you?” And the Greeks, too, were amazed, because certain birds were well among them, singing Dear Basilon Anichos(health, unconquered king), but no one who had ever spoken like the said augellino, who guided the emperor along the way to follow.
Who could resist this great host of people on horseback? Jerusalem was freed, the Saracens lay in the field, and Charlemagne returned to Constantinople, where he remained for three days filled with presents and all kinds of riches: “Steeds, palafreni, birds of prey, pallii and silk drapes, of various colors, and all the glory of precious stones. Charlemagne did not want to accept anything, and the same his barons, however that they had come as pilgrims, and to free the Holy Sepulcher; when Constantine, the emperor of the East called Charles, the emperor of France, and spoke to him in this way: “Sire, dear friend, king of France and August emperor, I humbly beg you, out of love and charity, that you and your host want to take and choose these riches at your own pace, that are gathered here for you and your people, and we would much more like you to take them all. ” To which the Emperor Charles replied that he would not do it in any way, because he and his people had come there for the purchase of celestial things, and not earthly riches, and had suffered those labors and that journey with good heart. [209]deserve the grace of Our Lord, and not the glory of this world. ”
This noble refusal of all wages on the part of the emperor and his barons, however, did not include the relics. The relics were the glory and the treasure of all that generation; the churches collected them as of stupendous trophies; Constantinople was full of them; there the reliquaries were worked with exquisite craftsmanship and unspeakable perfection; purple was mixed there with silk, topazes and emeralds set in gold; Roman art had been preserved in its perfection; and nevertheless, according to the chroniclers, these were not the riches that the barons most coveted; but the sacred relics were in their eyes more precious than all these vain ornaments. Charlemagne cared more than anything to have the crown of thorns, which had already touched Christ’s forehead; holy crown that spread around a sweet smell, as of earthly paradise; he knelt before that reliquary, and he who founded the immense empire of the West, began to pray to God as the last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you from a humble heart and devoted, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I can bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystanders the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt more that you have not suffered and troubled bodily on the holy cross under the spoil of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. he knelt before that reliquary, and he who founded the immense empire of the West, began to pray to God as the last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you from a humble heart and devoted, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I can bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystanders the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt more that you have not suffered and troubled bodily on the holy cross under the spoil of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. he knelt before that reliquary, and he who founded the immense empire of the West, began to pray to God as the last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you from a humble heart and devoted, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I can bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystanders the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt more that you have not suffered and troubled bodily on the holy cross under the spoil of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. and the one who founded had the immense empire of the West, began to pray to God as the last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you with a humble and devoted heart, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I can bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystanders the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no disbeliever may you doubt more that you have not suffered and bodily troubled on the holy cross under the spoil of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew fell from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. and the one who founded had the immense empire of the West, began to pray to God as the last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you with a humble and devoted heart, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I can bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystanders the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no disbeliever may you doubt more that you have not suffered and bodily troubled on the holy cross under the spoil of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you from a humble and devoted heart, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I may bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystander people the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt anymore that you have not suffered and suffered bodily on the holy cross under the bare our humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. last of the pilgrims, saying: “I beg you then, Lord God, I beg you from a humble and devoted heart, in the sight of your majesty, to grant that I may bear a part of your holy pains, and to visibly want to show this bystander people the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt anymore that you have not suffered and suffered bodily on the holy cross under the bare our humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. and of wanting visibly to show this bystander people the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt anymore that you have not suffered and suffered bodily on the holy cross under the bare of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed. and of wanting visibly to show this bystander people the miracles of your glorious passion, so that I can show the people of the West the true sign of your pains so that no unbeliever can doubt anymore that you have not suffered and suffered bodily on the holy cross under the bare of our fragile humanity! ” And having said that he had this prayer, a sweet dew came down from heaven, and the thorns of the crown blossomed.
“All marveling at the miracle, and all throwing themselves on those flowers, Charlemagne hastened to wrap them in a hem of his purple pallium, then put all this in the glove of his right hand (what a glove and what a hand! giant!). How magnificent, O God, are your works! and the whole host of barons, knelt, gave thanks to Jesus Christ. They were still praying, when the bishop Daniel brought the true nail that had served the passion of Our Lord. Charlemagne left, carrying the relics in a buffalo bag hanging from her neck, which relics were the Holy Cross, the shroud of Our Lord, the shirt of Our Woman which she wore in the hour that she gave birth without pain Our Lord, the bandage with which he wrapped him in the cradle, Simeon’s right arm, with which he took our Lord on the day he was offered to the temple in Jerusalem. And the founder of the great empire was all glorious to carry around his neck these remains of death, these powders, this bone of the sepulcher.
[210]
«The emperor of the West therefore took leave of that of the East, and always carrying around his neck, without ever leaving it himself, the sacrosanct deposit, he therefore had, as he did so, the gift of working miracles; she touched the sick and they healed, in the cities where she died, at the approach of the emperor she soon ceased. The way of this great ride was long and through a thousand dangers, until Charlemagne came to his city of Aachen, where from all sides they flocked to see and worship the relics, nor did only the bishops come, but Pope Leo still co his cardinals, all astonished to see such miraculous things! When they were thus gathered there, the emperor asked them a question, saying to them in this form: “All gentlemen, who are gathered here, and you first of all, ser pope of Rome,[236] you, lords prelates, archbishops, bishops, abbots, I beg you to make me a gift ». To which, replied Turpino, the archbishop of Reims, on behalf of all. «Sweet emperor and sire, ask for what you like, which we will gladly grant you. – I want, the emperor resumed, that you excommunicate from the communion of God and the Holy Church all those who prevent or disturb, wherever I pass of life, that my body is transported to Aachen, and buried there; but that I wish to be deposed here, that deposited in any other place, honorably, as befits the burial of a king and emperor “. And they all answered the great emperor, who in the midst of his victories was already thinking of his tomb: “Sire, so be it”.
The tomb is a thought that worries all those who have to fulfill a great destiny! They prepare their abode, the cold bed for their mortal spoil; they enjoy pointing it from above with a perishing grandeur, and Charlemagne chooses Aachen as the metropolis of his empire, and at the same time as the capital city of his funerals. In fact, in Aachen he instituted the first landitto or fair, at the fasting of the Four Tempora, with forgiveness and indulgence for all who would come, because in times of agitation and disturbances it was necessary to shelter the trade under the protection of a pious thought, and the goods thus stood in the shadow of the relics.
«Now how was it, adds the ancient chronicler who writes impressed by the solitudes of San Dionigi and the traditions of the abbey, how was it that the relics and the landitto were later transported under the jurisdiction of our monastery? It was, the legend says, that, having [211]an emperor, or king he was, in need of money, and possessing us a reliquary and some altars all covered with gold, he asked us for them, and gave us in exchange the relics and the land of Aachen. ” In this way the competition between Aachen, the city of Charlemagne, and Paris, the city of the Capets, San Dionigi di Neustria and the great basilica of Austrasia are already competing for the primacy; as long as Charlemagne lives in Aachen, the pre-eminence is for his marble basilica; it is his treasure, he loves to stay there, to bathe in those lukewarm saps; but then, when he died, his successors love to live more often in the woods around Paris, and then Saint Dionysius wins the primacy, and his relics, his beasts obtain privileges. Aachen still remained a nacelle even after the last remnants of this lineage disappeared from the world; Paris is the city of the Capets, and owes its luster to a new lineage of kings. But here is another story that the good archbishop Turpino tells us, and forms the fourth of the books of the facts and deeds of the strong King Charlemagne, inserted in theChronicles of San Dionigi. «The emperor, having accomplished that he had all his conquests, had sworn before God that by the way he would have dedicated his life to the Church of Jesus Christ; and behold that one night, while he was in the forest of Compiegne, looking at the sky, he saw a path of stars, which, as it seemed to him, started from the Frisian Sea, and headed between Lamagna and Lombardy, Gascony, and between Spain and Navarre, directly in Gallizia, where the body of Messer Sant’Jacopo rested, without name and memory. And seeing this dream for several nights, he began to think strongly in his heart, what it could mean, and while he was thinking to himself, a man of marvelous beauty appeared to him, and said to him: “Beautiful son, what are you doing?” And the emperor replied: “And you, evenings, who are you?” Then the beautiful
«God made Charlemagne so powerful precisely so that he could accomplish the liberation of Spain: that trail of stars meant the new path that pilgrims had to follow. [237] Charlemagne kneels and prays; then, having summoned his barons, as he did in the Palestine expedition, he leaves and takes possession of Pamplona. The Saracen princes bowed and humiliated before him; the cities surrendered, and the distant ones sent him messengers of peace, so that he made all the people of Spain tributary to themselves. Then he visited with great devotion the burial of Saint Jacopo, my lord, then he passed [212]beyond, without hindrance, up to the mountain; he planted his spear in the sea, and seeing that he could not go further, he gave thanks to God and to Saint Jacopo, my lord, for the help and assentment of which he had come [238] ».
Here the chronicler lists all the cities of which Charlemagne became famous, from Pamplona to Lamego. “Nothing resisted the fury of his conquests, not even Gibraltar. And in this way Charlemagne conquered the whole land of Portugal, Navarre and Catalonia. In Cadiz he found that famous idol in human figure on a large square column, with a key in his hand facing south, which would fall on the day Spain was free of infidels. [239]But that day was not so close yet, but not so soon that Charlemagne had touched the land of France, a pagan, named Agolante, came out, leading a very powerful army, from the lands of Africa, and hurled himself on Spain. At which Charlemagne announces he passes the Pyrenees again, and flies to Andalusia; the Saracen is not frightened, he wants to fight body against body, and sends to ask him for battle in the way he likes best: twenty against twenty, forty against forty, one hundred against one hundred, one thousand against one thousand, two thousand against two thousand, or one against one. Charles sent a hundred Christians against a hundred Saracens, and these were soon dead, then Agolante sent another hundred, who were soon killed, then two hundred against two hundred, and those killed too. Finally Agolante sent two thousand against as many of ours, and some were immediately dead, some fled; (thus done were the uses of the cavalry, man against man, body against body), then Agolante ordered the day, and she was very bloody, that as many as forty thousand Christians perished there, and oh miracle! their spears blossomed like the palms of martyrs. Charlemagne himself placed himself in great danger by being killed under his horse; but, his face red with indignation, he drew Gioiosa, and rushed with great heart to the Saracens, began to affect pagans, and made a marvelous murder around himself. ” Charlemagne himself placed himself in great danger by being killed under his horse; but, his face red with indignation, he drew Gioiosa, and rushed with great heart to the Saracens, began to affect pagans, and made a marvelous murder around himself. ” Charlemagne himself placed himself in great danger by being killed under his horse; but, his face red with indignation, he drew Gioiosa, and rushed with great heart to the Saracens, began to affect pagans, and made a marvelous murder around himself. ”
Nor is it all over yet; Charlemagne goes back to France to summon his barons and knights, while Agolante also gathers all his vassals, Moors, Moabites, Ethiopians, Saracens, Turks, Affricans and Persians, and as many Saracen kings and princes as he could have from all over the world. These Infidels descend on Christian cities, nothing resists them, and they come as far as the city of Agen. Charlemagne is not defeated for this, and by using deception he comes to explore transvestite [213]the Agolante field; no one recognizes him like this with a shield on his shoulder, without a spear or mace; but in vain he tries to deceive Agolante.
The Saracen king also comes to Charlemagne’s camp to negotiate the truce, and here a long and warm quarrel between them [240] , in which Charlemagne takes up the task of converting; he does not fight alone, but preaches and with this double quality continually represent the Chronicles of San Dionigi; he disputes with the Mohammedans, and explains to them the law and truth of Jesus Christ. The chroniclers delight in these tales, and those poor little nuns triumph in recounting the power of Christian ceremonies and the victory they give to those who invoke the name of God; and therefore they tell us: «How the Saracins were all defeated and killed together with Agolante, except a few who were saved by fleeing, and how the French were killed for their greed, returning to the battlefield at night; as the king of the disbelievers he fought with Charlemagne, and died together with his people. And then of those who died out of battle ».
Do you think you have cut all your enemies to pieces, brave emperor? Oh no, you should win again. Agolante is oppressed, but here is Ferraù who arrives with the infidels of Syria; Ferraù is not a dozen man, he is a giant who takes a knight in his right hand and throws him, like an arist, several leagues away from the battlefield. So great was he, that he was twelve cubits in height, one cubit his face, one palm his nose, four cubits his arms and thighs, and three subdued lengths the back of his hand. Who will we send to fight such a strong man? Here the proud Count Orlando returns to the field, whom we saw at Roncesvalles; or what a battle, what a sword! Ferraù steps forward, lifts the paladin with one hand on his horse’s neck, and takes him away; but Orlando then takes him by the chin, and twists his head so that they both fall to the ground; then with a reverse of his Durindana, the paladin part in two the horse to Ferraù, then they grab and clasp body to body, so that the exhausted giant asks for respite until the following day. The paladin then attacks the giant with blows of a club, and the fight lasts several days. Now what does it mean that Orlando’s sword only bounces all over Ferraù’s body? It means that the pagan is a fairy, nor can he be hurt if not in the war The paladin then attacks the giant with blows of a club, and the fight lasts several days. Now what does it mean that Orlando’s sword only bounces all over Ferraù’s body? It means that the pagan is a fairy, nor can he be hurt if not in the war The paladin then attacks the giant with blows of a club, and the fight lasts several days. Now what does it mean that Orlando’s sword only bounces all over Ferraù’s body? It means that the pagan is a fairy, nor can he be injured except in the war[241] .
In the intervals of this all-transit combat, there are [214]always theological discussions; Charlemagne wanted Agolante to convert; Orlando, a good theologian, wants to convince Ferraù; like the heroes of Homer, the fighters suspend the reversals and blows to talk about it and remember their past family and cavalry things; but then soon the fight begins again, Orlando’s mace is cut in two by the sword of Ferraù, who rushes on it, but the paladin, getting between his legs, grabs the sword and thrusts it in the war, and here in which way did the fighting and the war of Spain end.
The fabulous traditions narrate so much that the emperor Charlemagne dispensed a great reputation, nor should history otherwise disdain them, making them know the customs of a heroic time. What is the conqueror, what is the man of great fortune, who has not left behind him some fabulous chronicle, some legend repeated by his contemporaries and often welcomed by posterity? We ourselves have not long ago seen other marvels; how many glorious beliefs have we not accepted, which pass as historical truths? Tales of battles, words of the emperor to the soldiers, epic battles, sayings of grandeur and majesty thrown to the dying. Alongside the historical facts of empires, epopias are growing, nor do we want to reproach the nations, for this is an act of their gratitude towards those who raise and enlarge them. All these poems, all these chronicles about Charlemagne, which in their parts seem childish to us, are nevertheless connected with two great episodes of the Middle Ages, the liberation of Jerusalem and Spain subtracted from the yoke of the Moors. He has in the peoples of noble thoughts and generous instincts, and when a name has come, almost an unknown meteor, to shine in the world, the common people attribute to it all the past, the present and often the future as well.
