Royal Frankish Annals Clean Text File Translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 1972 741 Charles, mayor of the palace, died. He left three sons as heirs, Carloman, Pepin, and Grifo. Grifo, the youngest of them, had a mother named Swanahilde, a niece of Odilo, duke of the Bavarians. By her malicious counsel she aroused in him such high hopes of possessing the whole kingdom that he at once occupied the city of Laon and declared war on his brothers. Carloman and Pepin quickly gathered an army, besieged Laon, and captured Grifo. And from then on they applied themselves to restoring order in the kingdom and to re­covering the provinces which had fallen away from the Franks after their father's death. To make sure everything was safe at home while they were abroad, Carloman took Grifo and held him at Neufchateau in the Ardennes Mountains, where Grifo is said to have remained in custody until Carloman left for Rome. 742 Carloman and Pepin, mayors of the palace, then led an army against Hunald, duke of the Aquitanians, and took the castle of Loches. On this campaign they divided the kingdom of the Franks among themselves at Vieux Poitiers. Carloman laid waste Alamannia that year, too. 743 Carloman and Pepin then started a war against Odilo, duke of the Bavarians. That year Carloman advanced alone into Saxony. By treaty, he got possession of the castle called Hohenseeburg and made Theodoric the Saxon submit. 744 Again Carloman and Pepin invaded Saxony, and Theodoric the Saxon was captured a second time. 745 Carloman then confessed to his brother Pepin that he wished to retire from the world. They undertook no campaign that year, but both made preparations, Carloman for his journey and Pepin for his brother's departure with gifts and honors. 746 Carloman proceeded to Rome, took the tonsure, and built a monastery in honor of St. Sylvester on Mount Soratte. There he re­ mained for a while and then moved to St. Benedict's at Monte Cassino, where he became a monk. Carloman departed for Rome. He gave up the glory of this world, changed his garb, and on Mount Soratte built a monastery in honor of St. Sylvester. Here, as they say, St. Sylvester once lived in secret at the time of the persecution under Emperor Constan­ tine. Carloman stayed for a while but then wisely decided to leave this place. To serve his God he passed on to the monastery of St. Benedict near the castle of Cassino in the province of Samnium. And there he received the monastic habit. 747 Grifo fled to Saxony, and Pepin entered Saxony through Thuringia, going as far as the River Meissau near Schoningen. Grifo joined the Saxons on the River Oker near Ohrum. Grifo, Carloman's and Pepin's brother, did not want to be under the thumb of his brother Pepin, although he held an honorable place. He gathered a handful of men and fled to Saxony. In Saxony he raised an army of natives and positioned himself on the River Oker near Ohrum. But Pepin marched through Thuringia with the Frankish host, entered Saxony in spite of his brother's machinations, and positioned himself on the River Meissau near Schoningen. Nevertheless, there was no battle be­ tween them; instead, they separated after making a treaty. 748 Fleeing from Saxony Grifo came to Bavaria, subdued the duchy, and captured Hiltrude and Tassilo. Suidger came to Grifo's aid. When Pepin heard this, he hurried with his army to Bavaria, overcame all those mentioned above, took Grifo and Lamfrid away with him, and by his grace installed Tassilo as duke of the Bavarians. He sent Grifo to Neustria and gave him twelve counties. From Neustria Grifo fled again into Gascony and went to Waifar, duke of the Aquitanians. 749 Bishop Burchard of Wiirzburg and the chaplain Fulrad were sent to Pope Zacharias to inquire whether it was good or not that the kings of the Franks should wield no royal power, as was the case at that time. Pope Zacharias instructed Pepin that it was better to call him king who had the royal power than the one who did not. To avoid turning the country upside down, he commanded by virtue of his apostolic authority that Pepin should be made king. 750 Pepin was elected king according to the custom of the Franks, anointed by the hand of Archbishop Boniface of saintly memory, and raised to the kingship by the Franks in the city of Soissons. But Childerich, who was falsely called king, was tonsured and sent into a monastery. 753 Pepin marched into Saxony, and Bishop Hildegar was killed by the Saxons in the castle called Iburg? In spite of this Pepin had the victory and came as far as Rehme. On his return from his campaign he was informed that his brother Grifo, who had fled into Gascony, had been killed. That year Pope Stephen came to Francia, seeking aid and sup­port for the rights of St. Peter. Carloman, monk and brother of King Pepin, came to Francia also, under orders from his abbot, hoping to interfere with the granting of the pope's request. That year Pope Stephen came to King Pepin at the villa called Quierzy advising the king that he defend the pope and the Ro­man Church against the aggression of the Lombards. Carloman, brother of the king and already a monk, also came on the order of his abbot to oppose the requests the Roman pontiff was mak­ ing of his brother. But it is believed that he did this unwillingly and only because he dared not slight the orders of his abbot; nor did the abbot dare to defy the command of the Lombard king who had ordered him to do this. 754 Pope Stephen confirmed Pepin as king by holy anomtmg and with him he anointed as kings his two sons, the Lords Charles and Carloman.1 The Lord Archbishop Boniface, who was spreading the word of God in Frisia, became a martyr of Christ while preaching. 755 King Pepin, on papal invitation, embarked on a campaign into Italy to seek justice for the blessed apostle Peter. Aismlf, the king of the Lombards, who refused this justice, moved into the Lombard Cluses1 and marched against King Pepin and the Franks. They began the war. By God's help and the intercession of the blessed apostle Peter, Pepin with his Franks had the victory. In the same year Pope Stephen was taken back to the Holy See by the emissaries of the Lord King Pepin, Fulrad and his companions.3 When King Aistulf was surrounded in the city of Pavia, he promised to respect the rights of St. Peter. Then King Pepin, after obtaining forty hostages and confirming the treaty by oaths, returned to Francia. The monk Carloman, however, remained sick at Vienne with Queen Bertrada; he languished for many days and died in peace. On the order of the king his body was taken to the monastery of St. Benedict, where Carloman had received the monastic habit. 756 When King Pepin saw that Aistulf, king of the Lombards, was not true to his word, which he had previously given regarding the rights of St. Peter, he made another expedition into Italy, besieged Pavia, surrounded Aistulf, and made even more sure that the rights of St. Peter would be preserved, as Aistulf had promised before. In addition, he conquered Ravenna with the Pentapolis and the whole exarchate and handed it over to St. Peter. When King Pepin returned, the villainous king Aistulf wanted to go back on what he had promised before, desert his hostages, and break his oaths. But one day, when he went hunting, he was smitten by the judgment of God and ended his days. He fell from his horse while hunting. And the ailment which he contracted from this accident brought an end to his life within a few days. Why and how King Desiderius was raised to the kingship we shall report later. 757 Emperor Constantine sent King Pepin among other presents an organ which was taken to Francia. King Pepin held his assembly with the Franks at Compiegne. Tassilo, duke of the Bavarians, came there, commended himself into vassalage with his hands, and swore innumer­ able oaths. Touching the relics of the saints, he promised fealty to King Pepin and his sons Charles and Carloman, behaving honestly and faithfully, in accordance with the law and as a vassal should to his lords. Tassilo thus swore on the bodies of St. Dionysius, Rusticus, Eleutherius, St. Germanus, and St. Martin that he would remain faithful all his life, as he had promised by oaths. His magnates swore this with him also, as was said above and elsewhere. 758 King Pepin went into Saxony and took the strongholds of the Saxons at Sythen by storm. And he inflicted bloody defeats on the Saxon people. They then promised Pepin to obey all his orders and to present as gifts at his assembly up to three hundred horses every year. And the date changed to 759 A son was born to King Pepin, to whom the king gave his own name, so that he was called Pepin like his father. He lived for two years and died in his third. In this year he celebrated Christmas at Longlier and Easter at Jupille, and the date changed to 760 When King Pepin saw that Waifar, duke of Aquitanians, in his lands did not grant even the least of their rights to the churches of Francia, he decided with the Franks to conduct a campaign in order to obtain these rights in Aquitaine. Waifar, duke of Aquitaine, wanted to retain power over the properties of churches that were in the hand of King Pepin and was unwilling to return it to the pastors of these venerable places. He disdained to hear the king himself in these matters when the king warned him through his envoys. By he defiance Waifar goaded the king into making war on him. He advanced as far as the place called Teodad. When Waifar saw that, he sent his emissaries Otbert and Dadin and handed over to King Pepin the hostages Adalgar and Either as assurance that he would return everything the king demanded in ecclesiastical disputes. By these acts he appeased the king, who had been furious with him, so that Pepin stopped the war at once. When he had received hostages, as assurance that the promises would be kept, the king broke off his campaign and went home. Pepin celebrated Christmas at Quierzy and Easter. And the date changed to 761 Waifar, duke of the Aquitanians, showed little regard for his hostages and his oaths, and in order to revenge himself sent an army against King Pepin, which marched as far as the city of Chalon. While the king held his assembly at the villa called Düren, he was informed that Waifar had lied in everything. Again King Pepin, together with his first-born son Charles, set out on campaign into that region and captured many castles, the names of which are Bourbon, Chantelle, and Clermont. These he took in battle, and in Auvergne he obtained by treaty may other castles, which submitted to his authority. He went as far as Limoges, devastating this province because of Duke Waifar's slights. On this campaign the king was accompanied by his first-born son Charles, who was given supreme rule over the whole empire after his father's death. He celebrated Christmas at the villa of Quierzy and also Easter. And the date changed to 762 For a third time King Pepin launched a campaign into Aquitaine and he took the city of Bourges and the castle of Thouars. He celebrated Christmas at the villa of Gentilly and Easter, too. And the date changed to 763 King Pepin held his assembly at Nevers and conducted a fourth campaign against Aquitaine. There Tassilo brushed aside his oaths and all his promises and sneaked away on a wicked pretext, disregarding all the good things which King Pepin, his uncle, had done for him. Taking himself off, with lying excuses, he went to Bavaria and never again wanted to see the king face to face.1 On his further campaign through Aquitaine King Pepin went as far as Cahors. After laying waste Aquitaine he returned by Limoges to Francia. The winter was hard, and King Pepin celebrated Christmas at the villa of Longlier and Easter, too. And the date changed to 764 King Pepin then held his assembly at Worms and launched no further campaign but remained in Francia and occupied himself with the matter of Waifar and Tassilo. He celebrated Christmas at his villa of Quierzy and also Easter. And the date changed to 765 King Pepin then held his assembly at Attigny and launched no further campaign. He celebrated Christmas at the villa of Aachen and also Easter. And the date changed to 766 King Pepin made a campaign into Aquitaine and held his as­sembly at Orleans. He restored the castle of Argenton, which Waifar had previously destroyed. When he had rebuilt this castle, King Pepin installed Franks there to hold Aquitaine and also garrisoned a Frank­ ish detachment at Bourges. He celebrated Christmas at Samoussy and Easter at Gentilly. And the date changed to 767 The Lord King Pepin then held a great council at Gentilly with Romans and Greeks about the Holy Trinity and the images of the saints. Afterward, he continued his march through Aquitaine into Narbonne and conquered Toulouse as well as Albi and Gevaudan. Returning home safely, he celebrated Easter at the city of Vienne. In August of the same year he marched for the second time into Aquitaine and came as far as Bourges. There he held an assembly in camp with all the Franks as was the custom. Continuing his march from here, he proceeded as far as the Garonne, captured many rocks and caves, and the castles of Ally, Turenne, and Peyrusse, and returned to Bourges. There the death of Pope Paul was announced to him, and there he celebrated Christmas. And the date changed to 768 The Lord King Pepin launched a campaign and captured Remistagnus. He came as far as the city of Saintes, and taking Waifar's mother, sister, and nieces prisoner, he pushed on to the Garonne. From there he continued to Mons, where Herwig came with the duke's other sister. Having returned safely from Mons, he cele­brated Easter in the castle of Sels. Setting off again on his campaign, he arrived with the Lady Queen Bercrada at the city of Saintes. Here he left the queen with her retinue and entered Perigord. When Waifar had been killed,2 Pepin returned in triumph to Saintes. While delaying there for a few days he fell sick. He passed through Tours on his way home, prayed at St. Martin's, and reached St:-Denis. Then he died on September 24. The Lords Charles and Carloman were raised to the kingship; the Lord Charles on October 9 at Noyon and Carloman at Soissons. The glorious lord King Charles4 celebrated Christmas at the villa of Aachen and Easter at Rauen. And the dace changed to 769 The glorious lord King Charles went campaigning in Aquitaine because Hunald wished to make the whole of Gascony and Aqui­ taine renew the war.1 By the help of God Hunald's hostile designs were thwarted with the support of only a few Franks. On this same campaign the great king joined his brother at Duasdives-2 From there Carloman suddenly set out to return to Francia. The most gracious lord King Charles went to the city of Angouleme, where he com­mandeered a number of Franks with tools and equipment. He took them with him to the River Dordogne and there built the cascle of Fronsac.a From there he sent his messengers co Lupo the Gascon in search of Hunald and his wife. These two brothers had succeeded their father and divided the kingdom between themselves. The province of Aquitaine, which had been allotted to the older brother, King Charles, had been up in arms ever since the hostilities of the past war.4 A certain Hunald who wanted to be king incited the people of the province to new ventures. Against this man King Charles, to whom the province had been allotted,5 marched with his army. But since he received no assistance from his brother, who was kept from giving it by the crooked counsel of his magnates, Charles only had a talk with him at Duasdives. While his brother returned to his kingdom, Charles marched to the city of Angouleme in Aquitaine and from there, with troops gathered from all sides, pursued Hunald on his flight and almost caught him. But Hunald went free because he knew the places where he could hide from the king's army. He slipped out of Aquitaine and made his way into Gascony, where he thought he would be safe.11 At that time lupus was duke of the Gascons, and Hunald did not hesitate to put himself under his wing. To Lupus the king sent envoys, commanding him to hand over the fugitive and letting him know, if he did not listen to orders, that he would make war on Gascony and not leave before he had made an end to his defiance. Lupus was frightened by the king's threats and promptly surrendered Hunald and his wife, promising to do everything that he was told to do. While he was staying at Fronsac with his Franks, Hunald was delivered with his wife. When Hunald had been handed over and the castle constructed, Charles returned to Francia. He celebrated Christmas at the villa of Diiren and Easter in the royal town of Liege. And the date changed to 770 The Lord King Charles held an assembly at the city of Worms, and Carloman and Queen Bertrada met at Seltz. In the same year the Lady Queen Bertrada traveled through Bavaria to Italy. Bue Bertrada, the mother of the kings, after a talk with her younger son Carloman at Seltz, traveled to Italy in the interest of peace. She settled the business for which she went there, and after prayers at the threshold of the holy apostles in Rome, returned to her sons in Gaul. The Lord King Charles celebrated Christmas at the city of Mainz and Easter at Herstal.2 And the date changed to 771 The Lord King Charles held an assembly at Valenciennes. In the same year King Carloman died at the villa of Samoussy on Decem? ber 4. The Lord King Charles came to the villa of Corbeny, as did Archbishop Wilchar and Fulrad, the chaplain, with the other bishops and priests, Counts Warin and Adalhard and the other magnates who had been Carloman's men. But Carloman's wife with a few Franks departed for Italy. The king, however, bore patiently with their departure for Italy, although it was needless. The noble and glorious King Charles celebrated Christmas at the villa of Attigny and Easter at the villa of Herstal. And the date changed to 772 The most gracious Lord King Charles then held an assembly at Worms. From Worms he marched first into Saxony. Capturing the castle of Eresburg, he proceeded as far as the Irminsul, destroyed this idol and carried away the gold and silver which he found. A great drought occurred so that there was no water in the place where the Irminsul stood. The glorious king wished to remain there two or three days in order to destroy the temple completely, but they had no water. Suddenly at noon, through the grace of God, while the army rested and nobody knew what was happening, so much water poured forth in a stream that the whole army had enough. Then the great king came to the River Weser. Here he held a parley with the Saxons, obtained twelve hostages, and returned to Francia. He celebrated Christmas at Herstal and Easter, too. And the date changed to 773-783 784 The Saxons rebelled again as usual and some Frisians along with them. Then the Lord King Charles set out on a campaign and crossed the Rhine at Lippeham. He entered Saxony and went here and there devastating the countryside until he reached Hockeleve. Because of severe floods he decided to enter the land of the Eastphalians from the ease by way of Thuringia and to send his son, the Lord Charles, with a detachment against the Westphalians. This maneuver was carried out. The Lord King Charles marched through Thuringia as far as the Elbe and from there to Steinfurt and on to Schöningen. After Charles and his son met there, the glorious king returned to Francia. But the Westphalians wanted to gather at the River Lippe. When the Lord King Charles's son heard this, he marched against them with the host that had been sent with him, and they began the war in the Dreingau. With the help of God, the Lord Charles, son of the great King Charles, and the Franks had the victory, and many Saxons were killed. Since God willed it, he returned unharmed to his father at Worms. There it was decided with the Franks that the Lord King should march once more during wintertime into Saxony, which he did. He celebrated Christmas near Schieder in the Weissgau on the River Emmer at the villa of Liigde. And the date changed to 785 The Lord King Charles continued the march into Saxony as far as Rehme on the Weser at the mouth of the River Werre. And because of the severe flood he returned from Rehme to the castle of Eresburg and had his wife, the Lady Queen Fastrada, and his sons and his daughters come to join him. There he remained for the whole winter and there the most excellent king celebrated Easter. While he was staying at Eresburg, he sent out many detachments and also went campaigning himself. He routed the Saxons who had rebelled, captured their castles, broke through their fortifications, and held the roads open until the right hour struck. Then he held a general assembly at Paderborn and from there he marched through all of Saxony wherever he wished, on open roads and with nobody putting up any resistance. He came into the Bardengau and there he sent for Widukind and Abbi and had both brought before him. He warned them that they could not escape unless they came to him in Francia. They asked for assurances that they would remain unharmed and these were given. Then the Lord King Charles returned to Francia and sent hostages to Widukind and Abbi by his emissary Amalwin. After receiving the hostages, the emissaries took Widukind and Abbi along and joined the Lord King Charles at the villa of Attigny. There Widukind and Abbi were baptized with their companions. The whole of Saxony was then subjugated. In the same villa the often-mentioned glorious king celebrated Christmas and also Easter. The stubborn treachery of the Saxons quieted down for a few years, mainly because they could not find convenient opportunities for revolt. In the same year an ambitious conspiracy against the king arose across the Rhine among the East Franks, whose ringleader, as is certain, was Count Hardrad. But its discovery was quickly reportedá to the king, and by his effort this great conspiracy folded up quickly before it became a serious threat. Its authors were punished in part by being deprived of their eyes and in part by being sent into exile. And the date changed to 786 The Lord King Charles sent his army into Brittany under his emissary Audulf, the seneschal. After the island of Britain had been invaded by Angles and Saxons, a large part of its inhabitants crossed the sea and occupied the areas of Vannes and Corseult at the extreme end of Gaul. This people had been subjugated by the kings of the Franks and made tributary and it used to pay the imposed tax, although unwillingly. But since it refused to obey at this time, the king's seneschal Audulf was sent there. He broke down the arrogance of this treacherous tribe with marvelous speed. There they conquered many Bretons with their castles and fortifications in swamps and in forests. As was said before, the Franks proved they could overcome many fortifications of the Bretons. By God's will they returned home victorious and presented the leaders of the Bretons to the Lord King at the assembly in Worms. Then the Lord King Charles, seeing that by the gift of God he enjoyed peace everywhere, decided to go to Italy in order to pray at the threshold of the blessed apostles, to settle the affairs of Italy, and to confer with the emperor's emissaries about a settlement, all of which he did. He considered it proper that he should take over the rest of the kingdom since he already had control of its ruler, the captive King Desiderius, and all of Lombardy. He did not delay long but promptly ,gathered the troops of the Franks and entered Italy in the cold of the winter season. Then the Lord King celebrated Christmas at the city of Florence. And the date changed to 787 On his expedition into Italy the lord King Charles arrived in Rome and was received with great honors by the Lord Pope Hadrian. He spent some days with the Lord Pope. Arighis, duke of Benevento, because of the king's coming, sent his son Romuald with rich presents to demand of the lord King that he should stay out of Benevento, and to let him know that he wished to do whatever the king said.1 But neither the pope nor the Frankish magnates believed a word of this and decided with the lord King Charles to enter Benevento to settle matters one way or the other, which they did. When they came to Capua, Duke Arighis forsook the city of Benevento and blockaded himself in Salerno. He was afraid and did not dare to see the lord King Charles face to face. Instead, he sent emissaries and offered his two sons as hostages, that is, Romuald, whom the lord King Charles had with him, and Grimoald, who was still with Arighis. He offered many presents as well, and more hostages to further his petition. Then the glorious Lord King Charles decided with the priests and the other magnates not to destroy this land and ruin its bishoprics and monasteries. He selected twelve hostages and as the thirteenth hostage he chose the son of the duke called Grimoald. After receiving presents all the Beneventans took oaths, including the duke and Romuald. Upon this the king conversed with the ambassadors of Emperor Constantine, who had been sent to him to ask for the hand of his daughter. The oft-named most pious king returned and celebrated Easter with the Lord Pope in Rome. Emissaries of Duke Tassilo, that is, Bishop Arno and Abbot Hunric, came to Rome and asked the pope to make peace. between the Lord King Charles and Duke Tassilo. The lord Pope, therefore, stepped in firmly and pleaded with the lord King. The lord King answered the pope that he had wished for peace and sought it for a long time but had not been able to obtain it by any means. He proposed to make peace at once. The lord King wanted to settle with these emissaries in the presence of the Lord Pope, but the emissaries refused since they were afraid to make any commitments on their own. Recognizing their inconstancy and deceit the pope at once threatened to excommunicate the duke and his supporters unless they fulfilled the oaths which they had sworn to the Lord King Pepin and also to the Lord King Charles. The pope besought these emissaries to make sure Tassilo realized that he would carry out his threat unless the duke obeyed in everything the Lord King Charles, his sons, and the Frank? ish people, so that no bloodshed or violation of his territory should occur. If the duke in his stubbornness intended to disobey the words of the pope entirely, then the Lord King Charles and his army would be absolved from any peril of sin, and the guilt of whatever burning, murder, and other atrocities might occur in his country should then fall upon Tassilo and his supporters, and the Lord King Charles and the Franks would remain innocent. When all this had been said, Tassilo's emissaries were dismissed. Then the Lord Pope and the glorious Lord King Charles took leave of one another. After receiving the papal blessings and completing his prayer the oft-mentioned excellent king returned to Francia. The same most gracious king reached his wife, the Lady Fastrada, in the city of Worms. There they rejoiced over each other and were happy together and praised God's mercy. The Lord King convoked an assembly in the same city and reported to the clergy and the rest of his magnates on the upshot of his journey. After he had explained the affair with Tassilo, the king decided to send emissaries and ordered Tassilo to do everything according to the pope's instruction and the demands of justice, since he had promised under oath to be obedient and loyal in everything to the Lord King Charles, his sons, and the Franks, and to appear before him. But Tassilo rejected this and refused to come. Then the Lord King Charles with the Franks took steps to protect his rights, set out on a campaign into Bavaria with his army, and came in person to the Lechfeld above the city of Augsburg. He ordered another army to be raised consisting of East Franks, Thuringians, and Saxons, which was to assemble on the Danube at Pforring. He ordered a third army to be raised in Italy. He also com? manded King Pepin to advance with this army as far as Trent, to remain there himself, and to send his army ahead in full strength as far as Balzano. Then Tassilo realized that he was surrounded on three sides and that all Bavarians, acknowledging the right of the Lord King and preferring to concede it to him rather than oppose him, were more loyal to the Lord King Charles than to him. Hedged in on every side, the duke came in person and putting his hands into the hands of the Lord King Charles he commended himself into vassalage. He returned the duchy which had been committed to him by the Lord King Pepin and admitted that he had sinned and acted unlawfully in every way. Then he renewed again his oaths and gave twelve selected hostages, adding as a thirteenth his son Theodo. After receiving hostages and oaths the glorious king returned to Francia. He celebrated Christmas at the villa of lngelheim and also Easter. And the date changed to 788 The Lord King Charles convoked an assembly at the villa of Ingelheim. Tassilo came there as well as his other vassals on the order of the Lord King. Loyal Bavarians began to say that Tassilo, egged on by his wife, was breaking his fealty and showing himself as down-right treacherous, after he had surrendered his son with the other hostages and taken oaths. Tassilo could not deny it, but confessed later that he had made overtures to the Avars, had ordered the vassals of the Lord King to come to him, and had made an attempt on their lives. When his people took oaths, he told them to make mental reservations and swear falsely. What is worse, he confessed to having said that even if he had ten sons, he would rather have them all perish than keep the agreements and stand by what he had sworn. He also said that he would rather be dead than live like this. After all this had been proved against him, Franks, Bavarians, Lombards, and Saxons, and whoever else had come from every province to this assembly, condemned him to death, since they remembered his previous evil deeds and his desertion of the Lord King Pepin on a campaign, which is called harisliz in German. While all called out with one voice that he should impose the death sentence, the most pious Lord King Charles was moved by mercy. For the love of God and since the duke was his kinsman he prevailed upon these men, who were faithful to God and to him, that Tassilo should not die. Tassilo was asked by the most gracious Lord King what he wished to do. The duke requested permission to take the tonsure, enter a monastery, and do penance for so many sins in order to save his soul. His son Theodo was judged similarly, was tonsured, and sent to a monastery; a few Bavarians who chose to persist in their hostility against the Lord King Charles were sent into exile. In the same year a war was fought between Greeks and Lombards, that is, by Duke Hildebrand of Spoleto and Duke Grimoald, whom the Lord King Charles had made duke of the Beneventans. Winigis was sent there with a few Franks to oversee what they were doing. With the help of God a victory was won by the Franks and the Lombards. A battle also took place at ... between the Avars and the Franks who were stationed in Italy. With the help of the Lord the Franks won; the Avars fled and returned home disgraced and defeated. A third battle was fought between Bavarians and Avars on the Ybbsfeld, and the emissaries of the Lord King Charles, Grahamannus and Otgar, were present with a number of Franks. With God's help victory went to Franks and Bavarians. All this Duke Tassilo and his rancorous wife, Liutberga, a woman hateful to God, had treacherously counseled. A fourth battle was started by the Avars, who wished to take revenge on the Bavarians. In this battle the emissaries of the Lord King Charles also took part, and since they were protected by the Lord the Christians won the victory. The Avars took to flight and in a great carnage many were struck down; others lost their lives by drowning in the Danube. The Huns, as they had promised Tassilo, prepared two armies and attacked the March of Friuli with one and Bavaria with the other; but it was in vain. In both places they were defeated and put to flight and withdrew to their homes with great injury after losing many of their men. Planning to avenge this defeat, they again came to Bavaria with larger forces but were repulsed by the Bavarians in the first engagement, and an uncountable number of them were slain. In addition, many who attempted to flee and wanted to swim across the Danube were sucked down by the whirlpools of the river. In the meantime Emperor Constantine, enraged because he had been denied the king's daughter, instructed the patrician Theodore, governor of Sicily, with his other commanders to lay waste the territory of the Beneventans. When they carried out their orders, Grimoald and Hildebrand met them in Calabria with the troops they had been able to assemble. The king had installed Grimoald that year, after his father's death, as duke over the Beneventans; Hildebrand was duke of the people of Spoleto. With Grimoald and Hildebrand was the king's envoy Winigis, who afterwards succeeded Hildebrand in the duchy of Spoleto. In the ensuing battle they killed an immense number of the enemy; they won a victory without cost in equipment and men and brought back to their camp numerous prisoners and plenty of booty. After all this the Lord King Charles came himself to Regensburg and arranged the borders and marches of the Bavarians so that with the protection of the Lord they could be held against the Avars. Then he returned and celebrated Christmas and Easter, too, at the palace of Aachen. And the date changed to 789 From Aachen a campaign was launched with the help of God into the land of the Slavs who are called Wilzi. The Wilzi have always been hostile to the Franks and used to hate and harass their neighbors who were either subject to the Franks or allied with them and provoke them into war. Thinking he should not bear their arrogance any longer, the king decided to make war on them. On the advice of Franks and Saxons he crossed the Rhine at Cologne, advanced through Saxony, reached the River Elbe, and had two bridges constructed, on one of which he built fortifications of wood and earth at both ends. From there he advanced further and by the gift of God subjected the Slavs to his authority. Both Franks and Saxons were with him in this army. In addition, the Frisians joined him by ship, on the River Havel, along with some Franks. He also had with him the Slavs called Sorbs and the Obodrites, whose chieftain was Witzan. Entering the country of the Wilzi he ordered everything to be laid waste with fire and sword. But that tribe, although warlike and confident in its numbers, was not able to withstand the attack of the royal army for very long. Therefore, as soon as he came to the city of Dragawit, who stands above the other king lets of the Wilzi in age and lineage, Dragawit at once with all his people came forth from the city, gave the hostages he was ordered to provide, and promised by oath to keep faith with the king and the Franks. The other magnates and chieftains of the Slavs followed suit and submitted to the authority of the king. After receiving hostages and numerous oaths he returned, guided by the Lord, to Francia. He celebrated Christmas and Easter, too, at Worms. And the date changed to 790 In the following year he did not undertake a campaign but again celebrated Christmas and also Easter in the city of Worms. He rested at Worms, received the envoys of the Huns, and on his part sent envoys to their princes. The point at issue between them was where the borders of their kingdoms should be. This festering dispute was the seedbed which nursed the subsequent war against the Huns. So it would not seem that he had grown idle and soft with leisure, the king sailed up the River Main to his palace of Salz, which he had constructed on the River Saale in Germany. From Salz he returned again downstream on the same river to Worms. While he was spending the winter there, the palace in which he lived was accidentally burned at night. And the date changed to 791 From Worms he set out for Bavaria and came to Regensburg where he assembled his army. After deliberating with Franks, Saxons, and Frisians they decided on a campaign because of the excessive and intolerable outrage committed by the Avars against the Holy Church and the Christian people, for which satisfaction could not be obtained through emissaries. With the help of the Lord they entered the land of the Avars. Heading for the River Enns they decided there to hold processions and celebrate masses for three days. They implored God's help for the welfare of the army, for the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for victory over the Avars and revenge on them. The king marched on the south bank of the Danube, the Saxons with some Franks and most of the Frisians on the north bank, until they came to an area where the Avars had prepared fortifications: on the south bank of the Danube by Cumeoberg, on the north bank at a place called Kamp after the river which flows into the Danube here. When the Avars saw the army approach on both sides and the ships in the middle of the river, the Lord struck them with fear. They deserted their fortified positions, abandoning the elaborate defenses they had built, and took to flight. Christ guided his people and led both armies without harm into the Avar strongholds. Continuing its march the army advanced as far as the River Raab, and from there both armies returned along the two banks of the river to their own land, praising God for such a victory. This campaign was accomplished without any misfortune, except that in the army under the king's command such a pestilence broke out among the horses that of so many thousands of them hardly the tenth part is said to have survived. The Lord King Charles celebrated Christmas at Regensburg and also Easter. And the date changed to 792 Christmas and Easter at Regensburg again. The heresy of Felix was condemned there for the first time. Angilbert took him before Pope Hadrian, and having made a confession, Felix for the second time recanted his heresy. No military campaign was undertaken this year. Urgel is a city located on the heights of the Pyrenees. Its bishop, a Spaniard named Felix, was asked in a letter from Elipand, bishop of Toledo, what one should believe about the human nature of the Savior God, our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, whether in regard to His manhood He should be believed and proclaimed the real or the adopted Son of God. Reckless and rash and contrary to the ancient doctrine of the Catholic Church he had not only pronounced Christ the adopted son but made stubborn efforts in books addressed to the above bishop to defend his perverse belief. He was taken to the king's palace in this matter— for the king rested at that time in the Bavarian city of Regensburg where he had spent the winter—was heard by the bishops assembled in council, and convicted of error. Sent to Rome before Hadrian, the Roman pontiff, he denounced and foreswore his heresy in the basilica of the blessed apostle Peter. When this had been done, he returned to his city. While the king was spending the summer at Regensburg, a conspiracy was made against him by his oldest son Pepin and some Franks, who claimed that they were unable to bear the cruelty of Queen Fastrada and therefore conspired against the king's life. When the conspiracy was revealed by the Lombard Fardulf, he was presented with the monastery of St.-Denis as a reward, because he had kept faith. Of the authors of the conspiracy some were executed by the sword for high treason and the others hanged on gallows, being punished with such deaths because of the crime they had planned. A bridge of pontoons was built, connected by anchors and ropes so that it could be put together and taken apart. At Regensburg the king celebrated Christmas and Easter. And the date changed to 793 In the fall the king came by ship from Regensburg to the great trench between Altmiihl and Rednitz, and there emissaries of the pope appeared with large presents. At that point a messenger brought the news that the Saxons had again broken faith. While the king wished to finish the war which he had begun and decided to march again into Pannonia, he was informed that the troops which Count Theodoric was leading through Frisia had been intercepted and destroyed by the Saxons in the county of Riistringen on the Weser. When he received this information, he discontinued the march into Pannonia but concealed the magnitude of the loss. The king was persuaded by self-styled experts that one could travel most conveniently from the Danube into the Rhine if a navigable canal was built between the Rivers Rednitz and Altmiihl, since one of these rivers flows into the Danube and the other into the Main. So he went at once with his entire following to the place, gathered a large number of people, and spent the whole fall on this project. A ditch was dug between these two rivers, two thousand paces long and three hundred feet wide. But it was in vain; for due to continuous rain and because the swampy ground as such contained too much water, the work that was done did not hold. Whatever the diggers dug out during the day would sink back into its former place during the night.1 While he was occupied with this project, two very unpleasant reports were brought to him from different parts of the country. One was about the general revolt of the Saxons; the other was that the Saracens had entered Septimania, fought a battle against the guards and counts of this border, and had returned home victorious after slaying many Franks. From there the king went by ship on the River Rednitz into the River Main and celebrated Christmas at St. Kilian's in Wiirzburg. And the date changed to 794 Easter was celebrated at Frankfurt, and there a great council of Gallic, German, and Italian bishops met before the king and the emissaries of the Lord Pope Hadrian, two bishops named Theophylact and Stephen. There the heresy of Felix was condemned for the third time. This condemnation by the authority of the holy fathers was written into a book, and all priests signed this book with their own hands. Queen Fastrada died there and was buried with honors at St. Alban's. The Greeks held a spurious council, which they falsely called the Seventh, concerning the worship of images. It was rejected by the popes. The synod which had been held a few years earlier in Constantinople under Irene and her son Constantine and which they called not only the Seventh but a general council was found and declared to be neither the Seventh nor universal and rejected as entirely invalid by all. From Frankfurt the army set out in two detachments for Saxony. The most glorious Lord King Charles was with one; he sent his most noble son, the Lord Charles, to the other, by way of Cologne. The Saxons gathered in the plain called Sindfeld and prepared for battle. But when they heard that they were surrounded on both sides, God frustrated their intentions, and they promised, with no such thing in mind, to become Christians and be loyal to the Lord King. The king returned to his palace of Aachen and there celebrated Christmas and Easter.6 And the date changed to 795 The Saxons gave hostages in the preceding summer and swore oaths, as they were ordered to, but the king did not forget their treachery. In this year the king came to Kostheim, a suburb of the city of Mainz, and there he held his assembly. When he heard that the Saxons had, as usual, broken their promise to accept Christianity and keep faith with the king, he entered Saxony with an army and reached the Elbe at Lüne. At that time, Witzin, the king of the Obodrites, was slain there by the Saxons. This event further persuaded the king to beat down the Saxons promptly and made him hate the treacherous people even more. To Saxony also came emissaries of the tudun, who possessed much power among the people and in the kingdom of the Avars. They declared that this tudun wished, with his land and people, to submit to the king and on his instruction accept the Christian faith. Once the Saxons had been soundly beaten, their country laid waste, and their hostages received, the king returned to Gaul and celebrated Christmas and Easter at the palace of Aachen. And the date changed to 795-808 809 A fleet dispatched from Constantinople put ashore first in Dalmatia and then in Venice. While staying there for the winter, part of it anchored off the island of Cornacchio and skirmished with the garrison stationed there. The fleet was defeated, put to flight, and returned to Venice. Paul, commander of the fleet, was apparently under orders in his desire to negotiate with the Lord Pepin, king of Italy, about the terms of a peace between Franks and Greeks. But he was prevented in all his attempts by Willeri and Beams, dukes of Venice, who even prepared an ambush against him, and departed when he recognized their treachery. In the west the Lord King Louis entered Spain with his army and besieged the city of Tortosa on the River Ebro. When he had devoted some time to the siege and had seen that he could not take the city quickly, he gave up and returned to Aquitaine with his army unimpaired. When Eardwulf, king of the Northumbrians, had been taken back to his kingdom and the envoys of emperor and pontiff were returning, all crossed without mishap except one of them, the deacon Aldulf, who was captured by pirates and taken to Britain. But he was ransomed by one of King Cenwulf's men and returned to Rome. In Tuscany the Greeks named Orobiotae ravaged the port city of Piombino. Also the Moors came to Corsica from Spain and plundered a city on the very Sunday of Holy Easter, leaving behind nothing but the bishop and a few of the old and infirm. In the meantime Godofrid, king of the Danes, sent word by some merchants that he had heard of the emperor's wrath against him because he had led an army against the Obodrites the year before and revenged himself for injuries done to him. Godofrid added that he would like to purge himself of the charges made against him and that the Obodrites had broken the peace first. He also requested that a meeting between his counts and the emperor's should take place beyond the Elbe near the borders of his kingdom. There they could establish what both parties had done and determine what redresses were to be made. This the emperor did not refuse. A conference was held with Danish nobles beyond the Elbe at Badenfliot. Both sides brought up and elaborated on a number of matters and then departed, leaving the entire question unsettled. But Thrasco, duke of the Obodrites, first surrendered his son as a hostage to Godofrid as Godofrid demanded, and then gathered an army of his people. Supported by the Saxons, he attacked the neighboring Wilzi and laid waste their fields with fire and sword. Returning home with immense booty and with even more help from the Saxons, he conquered the largest city of the Smeldingi. By these successes he forced all who had defected from him to join him again. When these things had come to pass, the emperor returned from the Ardennes to Aachen and in November held a council about the procession of the Holy Spirit, a question which John, a monk of Jerusalem, had first raised. To reach a decision on this matter Bernhar, bishop of Worms, and Adalhard, abbot of the monastery of Corbie, were sent to Rome to Pope Leo. At this same council they also examined the condition of the churches and the lives of those who were to serve God in them. But they decided nothing, apparently because of the magnitude of the problems. Since he had heard much about the arrogance and pride of the Danish king, the emperor decided to build a castle on the other side of the Elbe and to garrison it with a Frankish force. For this purpose he gathered men in Gaul and Germany equipped with arms and all other necessities, and ordered them to be taken by way of Frisia to their destination. In the meantime Thrasco, duke of the Obodrites, was treacherously killed by Godofrid's men at the trading place of Reric. When the location for the founding of a castle had been explored, the emperor appointed Count Egbert to be responsible for this matter, ordering him to cross the Elbe and to occupy the site. This place is located on the River Stor and is called Esesfelth. Egbert and the Saxon counts occupied it and began to fortify it about March 15. Count Aureolus died. He had been stationed on the border of Spain and Gaul, on the other side of the Pyrenees over against Huesca and Saragossa. Amorez, the governor of Saragossa and Huesca, assumed the count's position, placed garrisons in his castles, and sent an embassy to the emperor, promising that he was willing to submit to him with everything he had. An eclipse of the moon occurred on December 26. 810 When the imperial envoys came to Amorez, governor of Saragossa, he requested a conference with the guards of the Spanish border, promising that at this conference he would submit with all his people to the emperor. Although the emperor gave his consent, complications arose which prevented this formal submission from caking place. The Moors with a fleet of immense size, which had been gathered by the whole of Spain, landed first in Sardinia, then in Corsica. Since they found no garrison there, they conquered almost the entire island. In the meantime King Pepin, aroused by the treachery of the Venetian dukes, ordered Venice to be attacked by land and by sea. After the capture of Venice and the submission of the dukes he sent the same fleet to ravage the shores of Dalmatia. But when Paul, governor of Cephalonia, came to the aid of the Dalmatians with the eastern fleet, the royal fleet returned home. Hruodtrude, the emperor's eldest daughter, died on June 6. While the emperor was still at Aachen, considering an expedition against King Godofrid, he received the news that a fleet of two hundred ships from Denmark had landed in Frisia, that all the islands off the coast of Frisia had been ravaged, that the army had already landed and fought three battles against the Frisians, that the victorious Danes had imposed a tribute on the vanquished, that already one hundred pounds of silver had been paid as tribute by the Frisians, and that King Godofrid was at home. That, in fact, is how things stood. This information aroused the emperor so much that he sent out messengers everywhere to gather an army. Leaving the palace without delay, he decided first to go and meet the fleet, then to cross the Rhine at Lippeham and wait for the troops which had not yet arrived. While he stayed there for a few days, the elephant which Hamn, the king of the Saracens, had sent him, suddenly died. When the troops had finally assembled, the emperor hastened to the Aller at the greatest possible speed, set up camp where it flows into the Weser, and then waited for what would come of King Godofrid's threats. Inflated by the vain hope of victory, this king boasted that he wished to fight the emperor in open battle. But while the emperor had his quarters in the place mentioned: news of various matters was brought to him. It was reported that the fleet which ravaged Frisia had returned home and King Godofrid had been murdered by one of his retainers; that the castle of Hohbuoki on the Elbe, with Odo, the emperor's envoy, and a garrison of East Saxons, had been captured by the Wilzi; that his son Pepin, the king of Italy, had died on July 8; and that two embassies to make peace had arrived from different countries, one from Constantinople, the other from Cordova. When the emperor had received all these reports, he settled the affairs of Saxony as far as circumstances at that time permitted and returned home. On this campaign an epidemic broke out among the cattle which was so severe that almost no animals remained to feed such a large army. All perished to the last head. Not only there but in all provinces subject to the emperor the mortality of this kind of animal ran very high. Arriving at Aachen in the month of October, the emperor received the embassies mentioned and made peace with Emperor Nicephorus and with Abul Aas, king of Spain. He gave back Venice to Nicephorus and received Count Haimric, who at one time had been taken prisoner by the Saracens and whom Abul Aas now sent back. In this year both sun and moon were eclipsed twice; the sun on June 7 and November 30, the moon on June 21 and December 15. The island of Corsica was again ravaged by the Moors. Amorez was expelled from Saragossa by Abd ar-Rahman, the son of Abul Aas, and forced to enter Huesca. After the death of Godofrid, king of the Danes, Hemming, the son of his brother, succeeded to his throne and made peace with the emperor. 811 The emperor settled with the spatarius Arsafius, who was envoy of Emperor Nicephorus, dismissed him, and to ratify this peace sent his own envoys, Bishop Haido of Basle, Count Hugo of Tours, and the Lombard Aio of Friuli, to Constantinople. With them were the spatarius Leo, a Sicilian by birth, and Willeri, duke of Venice. The former of these two had fled ten years earlier from Sicily to the emperor in Rome and now was sent back, since he wanted to return to his homeland; Willeri had been deprived of his office because of treachery and was ordered to be returned to his lord in Constantinople. The peace announced between the emperor and Hemming, the king of the Danes, was only sworn on arms because of the severity of the winter, which closed the road for traveling between the parties. Only with the return of spring and the opening of the roads, which had been closed because of harsh frost, did twelve magnates of each party and people, that is, of Franks and Danes, meet on the River Eider at Heiligen and confirm the peace by an exchange of oaths according to their customs. The nobles on the Frankish side were Count Walach, son of Bernard, Count Burchard, Count Unroch, Count Odo, Count Meginhard, Count Bernard, Count Egbert, Count Theothari, Count Abo, Count Osdag, and Count Wigman. On the Danish side there were Hankwin and Angandeo, Hemming's brothers, and, in addition, other men distinguished among this people: Osfrid nicknamed Turdimulo, Warstein, Suomi, Urm, another Osfrid, son of Heiligen, and Osfrid of Schonen, and Hebbi and Aowin. After peace had been made with Hemming and the general assembly held at Aachen according to custom, the emperor sent into three parts of his kingdom an equal number of armies. One went beyond the Elbe against the Linones, which ravaged their territory and restored the castle of Hohbuoki on the Elbe destroyed by the Wilzi in the preceding year. The second went into Pannonia to end the disputes among Huns and Slavs. The third was dispatched against the Bretons to punish their treachery. They all returned home unharmed after carrying out their orders successfully. In the meantime, the emperor himself went to the port city of Boulogne in order to inspect the fleet whose construction he had ordered the year before. There the ships in question had assembled. At Boulogne he restored the lighthouse constructed a long time ago to guide the course of sailors and had a fire lit on its top at night. From Boulogne he came to the River Scheidt at Ghent and inspected the ships built for the same fleet. About the middle of November he came to Aachen. The envoys of King Hemming, Aowin and Hebbi, came to meet him and brought presents and assurances of peace. Envoys had also arrived at Aachen from Pannonia and waited for him, namely the canizauci, prince of the Avars, and the tudun and other nobles and leaders of the Slavs who live along the Danube. They had been ordered to come before the prince by the commanders of the troops dispatched into Pannonia. Meanwhile, Charles, the eldest son of the Lord Emperor, died on December 4. The emperor spent the winter at Aachen. 812 Not much later the news arrived that Hemming, king of the Danes, had died. Sigifrid, the nephew of King Godofrid, and Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king, both wished to succeed him. Being unable to agree on who should be king, they raised troops, fought a battle, and were both killed. The party of Anulo won, however, and made his brothers Heriold and Reginfrid their kings. The defeated party out of necessity had to go along with Anulo's party and did not reject the brothers as their kings. They say that ten thousand nine hundred and forty men died in that battle. Emperor Nicephorus after many remarkable victories died in the province of Moesia in a battle against the Bulgars. His son-in-law Michael became emperor and received and dismissed in Constantinople the envoys of the Lord Emperor Charles, who had been sent to Nicephorus. With these men he sent his own envoys, Bishop Michael and the protospatarii Arsafius and Theognostus, through whom he ratified the peace proposed by Nicephorus. At Aachen, where they came before the emperor, they received from him in church the docu? ment of the treaty, acclaimed him according to their custom, that is, in Greek, and called him "Emperor" and "Basileus." When they came to Rome on their journey home, they received the same charter of an agreement or an alliance a second time from Pope Leo in the basilica of the holy apostle Peter. When the envoys had been dismissed and the general assembly held in the usual manner at Aachen, the emperor sent his grandson Bernard, son of Pepin, to Italy. A fleet was said to be coming from Africa as well as Spain to lay waste Italy. Because of this rumor the emperor ordered Wala, son of his father's brother Bernard, to stay with him until the outcome of the matter would assure the safety of our people. Part of this fleet went to Corsica and part to Sardinia. The part which came to Sardinia was almost totally destroyed. Also a fleet of the Norsemen landed in Ireland, the island of the Scots, and in a battle with the Scots many of the Norsemen were killed, and the fleet returned home after shameful flight. Peace was made with Abu Aas, king of the Saracens; also with Grimoald, duke of the Beneventans, and twenty-five thousand gold solidi were paid as tribute by the Beneventans. A campaign was carried out against the Wilzi, and hostages were received from them. Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, sent an embassy to the emperor, asking for peace and requesting that their brother Hemming be released. In this year there was an eclipse of the sun on May 15 after midday. 813 The emperor spent the winter at Aachen, and when the mild season of spring set in, he sent Bishop Amalhar of Trier and Abbot Peter of the monastery of Nonantola to Constantinople in order to ratify the peace with Emperor Michael. He invited his son Louis, king of Aquitaine, to a general assembly at Aachen, placed the crown on his head, and shared the title of emperor with him. His grandson Bernard, son of his son Pepin, he placed in charge of Italy and ordered to be called king. Also on his order councils were held by the bishops in all of Gaul to improve the condition of the churches, one at Mainz, another at Reims, a third at Tours, a fourth at Chalan, a fifth at Aries. Of the canons issued in the individual councils a collection was made before the emperor at that assembly. Anyone who wants to know them can find them in the above-named five cities, although copies are also available in the archives of the palace. From this assembly several Frankish and Saxon nobles were sent beyond the Elbe to the borders of the Norsemen. They came to make peace, at the request of the Danish kings, whose brother they intended to return. When an equal number —they were sixteen— of Danish magnates met them at the stipulated place, peace was sworn by mutual oaths and the brother of the kings was returned. The kings themselves at this time were not at home but had marched with an army toward Wescarfolda, an area in the extreme northwest of their kingdom across the northern tip of Britain, whose princes and people refused to submit to them. When they returned after conquering the Britons and received their brother, who had been sent from the emperor, the sons of King Godofrid gathered troops from everywhere and made war upon the kings. The sons of King Godofrid were assisted by not a few of the Danish nobles who for some time after leaving their homeland had been in exile with the Swedes. Since hosts of their countrymen joined the sons of Godofrid from all over the land of the Danes, they easily drove the kings from the kingdom after a battle. Count Irmingar of Ampurias prepared an ambush near Majorca against the Moors who were returning with much booty from Corsica to Spain. Irmingar captured eight Moorish ships, on which he found more than five hundred Corsican prisoners. The Moors wanted revenge and ravaged Civitavecchia in Tuscany and Nice in the province of Narbonne. They also attacked Sardinia, but were repelled and defeated in battle by the Sardinians and turned back after losing many of their men. Emperor Michael achieved little success when he made war on the Bulgars. On his return home he laid down the imperial headband and became a monk. In his place Leo, son of the patrician Bardas, was made emperor. Krum, king of the Bulgars, who two years before had killed Emperor Nicephorus and driven Michael out of Moesia, was elated by his luck and advanced with his army to the very confines of Constantinople, pitching his camp before the gate of the city. But as he rode his horse around the walls Emperor Leo ordered a sally and intercepted the reckless king. Krum was gravely wounded and forced to save himself by flight and to return to his homeland in disgrace. 814 While spending the winter at Aachen, the Lord Emperor Charles departed this life on January 28, in about his seventy-first year, in the forty-seventh year of his reign, in the forty-third since the conquest of Italy, and in the fourteenth since he had been named Emperor and Augustus. A large number of messengers informed Louis of this event at the royal villa of Doue in Aquitaine, where he was then spending the winter. Thirty days later he arrived at Aachen and succeeded his father with the full consent and support of all Franks. Turning his mind to the administration of the kingdom which he had assumed, he first heard and dismissed the foreign envoys who had come to his father. He then received the other envoys who had been sent to his father but had come to him instead. The most important among the latter was the mission sent from Constantinople. When Emperor Leo, Michael's successor, dismissed Bishop Amalhar and Abbot Peter, who had been sent co Michael but had come to him, he dispatched his own envoys along with chem co the Lord Charles. These were the spatarius Christopher and the deacon Gregory. Through them Emperor Leo delivered the ratified text of a treaty of alliance. When they had been received and dismissed, the Lord Louis directed his envoys, Bishop Nordbert of Reggio and Count Richoin of Padua, to Emperor Leo to renew friendship with him and to ratify the aforementioned pact. After holding a general assembly of his people at Aachen he sent envoys into all parts of his kingdom to render justice and relieve the oppression of the people. He sent for Bernard, king of Italy, his nephew, presented him with gifts, and dismissed him again. With Duke Grimoald of the Beneventans he made a solemn treaty similar to that of his father, namely that the Beneventans should pay an annual tribute of seven thousand solidi. Then he sent Lothair, one of his two sons, to Bavaria and the other son, Pepin, to Aquitaine. Heriold and Reginfrid, kings of the Danes, had been defeated and expelled from their kingdom the year before by the sons of Godofrid, against whom they regrouped their forces and again made war. In this conflict Reginfrid and the oldest son of Godofrid were killed. When this had come to pass, Heriold despaired of his cause, came to the emperor, and put himself under his protection. The emperor received him and told him to go to Saxony and to wait for the proper time when he would be able to give him the help which Heriold had requested. 815 The emperor commanded that Saxons and Obodrites should prepare for this campaign, and twice in that winter the attempt was made to cross the Elbe. But since the weather suddenly turned warm and made the ice on the river melt, the campaign was held up. Finally, when the winter was over, about the middle of May, the proper time to begin the march arrived. Then all Saxon counts and all troops of the Obodrites, under orders to bring help to Heriold, marched with the imperial emissary Baldrich across the River Eider into the land of the Norsemen called Silendi. From Silendi they went on and, finally, on the seventh day, pitched camp on the coast at .... There they halted for three days. But the sons of Godofrid, who had raised against them a large army and a fleet of two hundred ships, remained on an island three miles off the shore and did not dare engage them. Therefore, after everywhere laying waste the neighboring districts and receiving hostages from the people, they returned to the emperor in Saxony, who at that time was holding the general assembly of his people at Paderborn. There all nobles and envoys of the East Slavs came to him. But before he arrived, while he was still at home, the emperor was informed that some Roman nobles had conspired to murder Pope Leo in the very city of Rome. Since the pontiff had been informed in advance, all the ringleaders were butchered on his order. The emperor was annoyed with these events. He settled the affairs of the Slavs and of Heriold, and, leaving Heriold behind in Saxony, returned to his palace in Frankfurt. Then he dispatched his nephew Bernard, king of Italy, who had been with him in Saxony, to Rome in order to get to the bottom of the report he had heard. When Bernard came to Rome, he fell ill, but whatever he could find out he passed on to the emperor through Count Gerold, who had been assigned to him as an envoy for this purpose. The pope's envoys, Bishop John of Silvacandida, the nomenclator Theodore, and Duke Sergius, followed Gerold and satisfied the emperor with regard to all charges leveled against their lord. Envoys of the Sardinians from the city of Cagliari arrived with presents. The peace made with Abul Aas, king of the Saracens, and kept for three years, was broken because it gained no advantage for the Franks, and war was resumed against him. Bishop Nordbert and Count Richoin returned from Constantinople bringing back the charter of the treaty which Emperor Leo had given them. They reported among other things that an extremely severe earthquake had occurred there for five continuous days in the month of August. Owing to this earthquake, they declared, many buildings of this city collapsed, and in other cities people were buried in ruins. In Gaul, too, the city of Saintes in Aquitaine reportedly suffered an earthquake in September. The Rhine, swollen by rain in the Alps, caused an unusual flood. When the Romans saw that Pope Leo was lying on his sickbed, they raised a body of troops and first plundered the manors which the pope had lately built on the land of each city, and then set them on fire. Subsequently, they decided to go to Rome and to carry away by force what, as they complained, had been stolen from them. When King Bernard heard of this, he dispatched a body of troops under Duke Winigis of Spoleto, put down the revolt, and made these people stop what they had started. He informed the emperor through his envoys of what had happened. 816 When the winter was over Saxons and East Franks were ordered to campaign against the Slavonic Sorbs who refused obedience. They carried out their orders energetically and without much effort suppressed the insolence of the rebels. As soon as a city had been captured, rebellious elements of the population promised submission and calmed down. The Basques, who live beyond the Garonne and in the Pyrenees, moved by their usual recklessness, conspired and started a general revolt. This was set off by the emperor's removal of Sigiwin their duke, because of his boundless arrogance and wicked ways. But in two campaigns they were beaten so thoroughly that surrender and petition for peace could not be carried out fast enough for them. In the meantime Pope Leo died on May 25 in the twenty-first year of his pontificate, and in his place the deacon Stephen was elected and took office. Not two months had passed since his consecration when he set out in great haste to see the emperor, sending ahead two envoys to report his consecration to the emperor. When the emperor heard of this, he decided to meet the pope at Reims. He sent emissaries ahead to guide him there, but was first to arrive and received the pope with great honors. The pope at once let the emperor know the purpose of his coming and after the customary solemn Masses had been celebrated, he crowned the emperor by placing a diadem on his head. They then exchanged many gifts, celebrated splendid banquets, and established a firm friendship between them. After making other arrangements advantageous to the Holy Church of God, as much as time permitted, the pontiff set out for Rome, the emperor for his palace at Compiegne. While staying there he received the envoys of the Obodrites and the envoys from Spain of Abd ar-Rahman, son of King Abul Aas, who had been sent to him. After remaining at Compiegne for more than twenty days he proceeded to Aachen to spend the winter there. 817 Envoys of Abd ar-Rahman, son of Abul Aas, king of the Saracens, were dispatched from Saragossa and came to ask for peace. They were received by the emperor at Compiegne and then told to travel ahead of him to Aachen. When the emperor arrived in Aachen, he received an envoy of Emperor Leo by the name of Nicephorus who had been sent from Constantinople because of the Dalmatian question. Since Cadolah, who was in charge of that frontier, was not present but was believed to be arriving shortly, Nicephorus was ordered to wait for him. After Cadolah's arrival, negotiations took place between him and the emperor's envoy about the complaints which Nicephorus submitted. Since this matter concerned a great number of Romans as well as Slavs and apparently could not be settled if all parties were not present, a decision was postponed until then. For this purpose Albgar, nephew of Unroch, was sent to Dalmatia with Cadolah and the imperial envoy. The envoys of Abd ar-Rahman were also sent back. They had been kept waiting for three months and were beginning to think they would never get home. Because of Heriold's persistent aggression, the sons of Godofrid, king of the Danes, also sent an embassy to the emperor, asked for peace, and promised to preserve it. This sounded more like hypocrisy than truth, so it was dismissed as empty talk and aid was given to Heriold against them. On February 5 in the second hour of the night there was an eclipse of the moon and a comet appeared in the constellation Sagittarius. Meanwhile, Pope Stephen died on January 25, not three months after his return to Rome. Paschal was elected as his successor. As soon as he had been solemnly consecrated, he sent gifts and an apologetic letter to the emperor. In the letter he claimed that the papal dignity had been forced on him not only against his will but even against his most violent resistance. But he sent another embassy, asking that the covenant made with his predecessors should also be solemnly concluded with him. The nomenclator Theodore brought this message and was granted his request. When the emperor left church on Maundy Thursday after the holy office was over, the wooden arcade through which he was walking collapsed on top of him and knocked him to the ground, with more than twenty of his companions. This happened because the arcade was made of shoddy material. The worn-out and rotten cross-beams could no longer hold up the weight of the framework and wainscoting above them. While this accident gravely injured most of those who fell down with him, the emperor's injuries were minor: the handle of the sword he was wearing bruised the lower part of his chest on the left side, the back of his right ear was injured, and his right thigh near the groin was hit by a heavy piece of wood. Through the diligence of the physicians who took care of him he evidently made a rapid recovery, since twenty days after it happened he went hunting at Nijmegen. On his return from Nijmegen he held the general assembly of the people as usual at Aachen. On this occasion he crowned his first born son Lothair and shared with him the name of emperor. His other sons he appointed kings, placing one over Aquitaine and one over Bavaria. When the assembly was over and he was heading for the Vosges to go hunting, he was met by the envoys of Emperor Leo. He received them in the palace of Ingelheim near the city of Mainz. Finding that their message was no different from the one which Nicephorus, envoy of the same emperor, had recently brought, he speedily dismissed them and continued toward his destination. When the news of the revolt of the Obodrites and of Sclaomir arrived, he ordered through his envoy that counts be stationed for the defense on the River Elbe to protect the borders assigned to them. The cause of the revolt was that Sclaomir was to share with Ceadrag, son of Thrasco, the royal power over the Obodrites which Sclaomir had held alone after the death of Thrasco. This matter exasperated Sclaomir so much that he solemnly declared he would never again cross the Elbe and come to the palace. He at once sent an embassy across the sea, made friends with the sons of Godofrid, and coaxed them to send an army into Saxony beyond the Elbe. Their fleet came up the Elbe as far as the castle of Esesfeld and ravaged the entire bank of the River Stör. Gluomi, commander of the Norse border, led his foot soldiers overland with the Obodrites to the same castle. But since our people offered them violent resistance, they gave up the siege of the castle and departed. In the meantime, the emperor returned to Aachen from his hunting trip in the Vosges. He was informed that his nephew Bernard, king of Italy, on the counsel of some depraved men, was planning to set up an unlawful regime and that he had already occupied all entrances to Italy, that is the Cluses, and received homage from all the cities of Italy. This report was partly true and partly false. The emperor hastily prepared to enter Italy with a host gathered from all over Gaul and Germany in order to nip these movements in the bud. At hearing this, Bernard despaired of his cause, mainly because every day he saw that he was being deserted by his people. He laid down his arms and surrendered to the emperor at Chalon. The others followed suit. They not only laid down their arms and surrendered but voluntarily, the minute they were asked, revealed everything as it had happened. The leaders of this conspiracy were Eggideo, the first among the king's friends, his chamberlain Reginhard, and Reginhar, son of Count Meginhar, whose maternal grandfather Hardrad once conspired in Germany with many noblemen of the province against Emperor Charles. Apart from these men many other distinguished nobles were caught at the same crime, among them also some bishops: Anshelm of Milan, Wolfold of Cremona, and Theodulf of Orleans. 818 After the treachery had come to light, the conspiracy had been uncovered, and all conspirators were at his mercy, the emperor returned to Aachen. When the forty-day fast was over, a few days after Holy Easter, the ringleaders of the plot who have been named above, and the king with them, were condemned to death by the sentence of the Franks. But the emperor ordered them only to be blinded and the bishops to be deposed by the decree of a council and to be put into monasteries. The rest, according to the degree of their guilt or innocence, were to be exiled or tonsured and to live in monasteries. When the conspiracy had been settled in this manner, the emperor went with an immense army to Brittany and held a general assembly at Vannes. From Vannes he marched into the province mentioned, captured the rebels' fortifications, and without much effort, quickly brought the whole province into line. Morman, who had usurped royal authority in this province against the established custom of the Bretons, was killed by the emperor's army, and after that no Breton was found to offer resistance or dare refuse either obedience or the hostages demanded by the emperor. After the completion of this campaign and the dismissal of the army the emperor returned to Angers. Queen Irmengardis, his wife, whom he had left behind sick, died of her ailments two days after his return on October 3. On July 8 there was an eclipse of the sun. The emperor returned to Aachen by way of Rauen, Amiens, and Cambrai to spend the winter there. When he came to Herstal, he met envoys of Duke Sigo of the Beneventans, who brought gifts and justified the duke with regard to the murder of Duke Grimoald, his predecessor. The envoys of other peoples were also there, that is, of the Obodrites, of Berna, duke of the Guduscani, and of the Timociani, who had recently revolted against the Bulgars and come over to our side; also of Ljudovit, duke of Lower Pannonia, a schemer and agitator, who tried to accuse Count Cadolah, commander of the March of Friuli, of brutality and arrogance. When these had been heard and dismissed, the emperor went to Aachen to spend the winter there. 819 Sclaomir, king of the Obodrites, was taken to Aachen by the commanders of the Saxon border and the emperor's envoys in command of the army of Saxons and East Franks. This army had been sent beyond the Elbe in the same year to take revenge for Sclaomir's treachery. The nobles of his people, who had been told to appear at the same time, charged him with many crimes. When Sclaomir was unable to refute the charges by a reasonable defense, he was con? demned to exile and his kingdom given to Ceadrag, son of Thrasco. Similarly also, Lupus Centulli the Basque was sent into exile for life. He had clashed in battle that year with Counts Berengar of Toulouse and Warin of Auvergne. In this battle he lost his brother Garsand, a man of exceptional folly, and came close to being killed himself, but saved his life by flight. He came before the emperor and was unable to purge himself of the treachery of which the two counts vehemently accused him. An assembly was held at Aachen after Christmas at which many matters regarding the condition of the churches and monasteries were brought up and settled. Some greatly needed chapters, as yet still lacking, were drawn up and added to the laws. When this was done, the emperor married Judith, daughter of Count Welf, after looking over many daughters of the nobilicy. Another assembly was held at the palace of Ingelheim in July, and because of Ljudovit's revolt, an army was sent from Italy into Pannonia. This army got nowhere and returned with nothing to show for its efforts. Carried away by his own insolence, Ljudovit sent envoys to the emperor, acting as if he wanted peace. He proposed several conditions to be met before he would do as he was told. When the emperor did not accept these conditions and proposed ochers through his envoys, Ljudovit decided to continue in his treacherous course and sent envoys around to the neighboring tribes, trying to incite them to war. The Timociani had broken with the Bulgars and wished to come over to the emperor's side, submitting to his authority. But Ljudovit blocked this move and with specious reasoning led them on co drop their plan and join his perfidious revolt. When the army returned from Pannonia, Cadolah, duke of Friuli, died of fever in this march. Baldrich succeeded him. When he entered Carinthia, which was under his command, he came upon Ljudovit's host. With a handful of men, he attacked it on the march along the River Drave, destroyed a good many of the enemy, routed his host, and drove it out of that province. With a large body of men, Borna, the duke of Dalmatia, came upon Ljudovit, who had been advancing against him, on the River Kulpa. At the first encounter the Guduscani deserted Barna, but he escaped under the cover of his bodyguard. In this battle Ljudovit's father-in-law, Dragomosus, perished. He had deserted his son-in-law and joined Borna when his rebellion began. After the Guduscani returned home, they were again conquered by Barna. But Ljudovit seized the opportunity and with a strong force invaded Dalmatia in December, ravaging the whole land with fire and sword. When Barna saw that he was no match for Ljudovit, he stored all he could in his castles, and attacked Ljudovit's army with crack troops. Hampering him now in the rear and now on the flank, he wore him down day and night and would not let him stay unpunished in his province. In the end he forced Ljudovit to retreat from his territory after suffering heavy losses. Three thousand men of Ljudovit's army were killed, more than three hundred horses captured, and baggage and all sorts of spoils seized. Barna took care to inform the emperor through his envoys how this was done. In the west Pepin, son of the emperor, on his father's order entered Gascony with an army, carried away the agitators, and so pacified the whole province that no rebellious or disobedient man could be found. On the emperor's order Heriold was taken to his ships by the Obodrites and sailed back to his homeland to take over the kingdom. Two of the sons of Godofrid are said to have made an alliance with him to share the throne; two others were driven out of the country. But this is believed to have been done by trickery. After dismissing the assembly the emperor first went to Kreuznach, then came to Bingen and traveled down the Rhine to Koblenz; from there he passed on to the Ardennes for the chase. Having gone hunting as usual, he returned to Aachen to spend the winter there. 820 In January an assembly was held in Aachen. The matter of Ljudovit's rebellion came up and the decision was made to dispatch three armies from three directions at once in order to lay waste to Ljudovit's territory and curb his pretensions. Through envoys and then in person, Barna offered his opinion on what should be done. At this assembly Count Bera of Barcelona, who for a long time had been accused by his neighbors of bad faith and treason, tried to contend with his accuser in combat on horseback but was defeated. He was first condemned to death for lèse majesté but then pardoned by the mercy of the emperor and taken away into exile to Rouen. When the winter was over and the grass could provide fodder for the horses, the three armies were sent against Ljudovit. One of them came from Italy by way of the Noric Alps; the second through the province of Carinthia; the third by Bavaria and Upper Pannonia. The two which moved on the right and left went slowly, since one was hindered in the Alps by enemy forces, while the other was slowed down by the length of the route and by the River Drave, which had to be crossed. But the one in the center, which entered by way of Carinthia, although meeting resistance in three places, luckily overcame it each time, crossed the Drave, and arrived at its destination more rapidly. Ljudovit undertook nothing against this force but lay low with his men behind the bulwark of a castle that he had built on a steep mountain. He reportedly said nothing about war or peace, either in person or through his envoys. But when the armies had united, they ravaged almost the whole land with fire and sword and then returned home without suffering any serious losses. But the army which marched through Upper Pannonia suffered a misfortune when crossing the Drave. From the unhealthy land and water, it was severely stricken with dysentery, to which a considerable part of it succumbed. These three armies had been recruited in Saxony, East Francia, and Alamannia, as well as Bavaria and Italy. After their return home the people of Carniola, who live along the River Save and border almost on Friuli, surrendered to Baldrich, and so did those of the Carinthians who had defected from us to Ljudovit. The treaty made between us and Abul Aas, king of Spain, which did not satisfy either party, was purposely broken, and war against him was resumed. In the Italian sea pirates captured and sank eight merchant ships on their return from Sardinia to Italy. From the land of the Norsemen, on the other hand, thirteen pirate vessels set out and tried to plunder on the shore of Flanders, but were repelled by guards. But because of the carelessness of the defenders, some wretched huts were burned down and a small number of cattle taken away. When the Norsemen made similar attempts on the mouth of the River Seine, the coast guards fought back, and the pirates retreated empty-handed after losing five men. Finally, on the coast of Aquitaine they met with success, thoroughly plundered a village by the name of Bouin and then returned home with immense booty. In this year great disasters occurred on account of continued rain and the excessive humidity. A pestilence affecting both men and cattle raged far and wide so that hardly any part of all the Frankish kingdom could be found immune from this plague or untouched by it. Grain and vegetables were rotting away in the persistent rains or could not be gathered or, when gathered, were spoilt. Little wine was produced this year, and what little there was turned out tart and sour since there was not enough warm weather. In some places water from the flooded rivers did not run off from low-lying areas,6 and this flooding prevented seeding in the fall, so that almost no grain was sown before the warm spring season. There was an eclipse of the moon on January 28 in the second hour of the night. After the assembly at Quierzy was over and the emperor had finished his usual autumn hunt, he returned to Aachen. 821 In February an assembly was held at Aachen and war against Ljudovit was planned. Provisions were made for three armies to take turns during the next summer and ravage the fields of the traitors. A similar decision was made about the Spanish March and the commanders of this border were ordered to carry it out. They agreed to hold another assembly at Nijmegen in May and the counts who were to appear there were given their orders. On account of this the Lord Emperor, after celebrating Easter, went by ship down the Meuse. There he reviewed the division of the kingdom among his sons which had been worked out and put into writing during the preceding years. He had the division ratified by the oaths of those magnates who could be present at that time. At the same place he received the envoys of Paschal, the Roman pontiff, Bishop Peter of Civitavecchia and the nomenclator Leo, and dismissed them quickly. He also appointed the counts who were present for the Pannonian campaign, and after a short stay returned to Aachen. A few days later he traveled across the Ardennes to Trier and Metz. From there he headed for the castle of Remiremont, where he spent the rest of the summer and half the fall hunting in the remote stretches of the Vosges Mountains.In the meantime, Barna, duke of Dalmatia and Liburnia, died, and his nephew Ladislas was appointed his successor on the bidding of the people and with the emperor's approval. News also arrived of the death of Leo, emperor of Constantinople, who had been assassinated in his palace by several noble conspirators, notably Michael, the commander of the guards. Michael reportedly received the imperial headband by the vote of the people and the effort of the praetorian guards. Fonunatus, patriarch of Grado, was accused before the emperor by the priest Tiberius of encouraging Ljudovit to persist in his treacherous revolt and of helping him construct castles by supplying craftsmen and builders. On this account Fortunatus was ordered to appear at the palace. At first he set out for Istria, as if he intended to comply with the order. From there he secretly returned to the city of Grado and then, while no one but his fellow conspirators suspected anything, seized the opportunity to sail secretly away. Arriving at the city of Zara in Dalmatia, he told the commander of this province why he had fled. The latter immediately placed him on board a ship and sent him to Constantinople. In the middle of October a general assembly was held at the villa of Thionville with many Franks present. At this assembly in solemn ceremony the Lord Lothair, first-born son of Lord Emperor Louis, married Irmengarda, daughter of Count Hugo. Envoys of the Holy Roman Church also came there, the chief of the notaries Theo? dore and the sacristan Floros, and delivered rich gifts. The counts who had already returned from Pannonia were also present at this assembly. They had laid waste the entire territory of the renegades clinging to Ljudovit and then returned home since nobody met them with troops in battle. At this assembly the most pious emperor revealed his most singular mercy to those who had conspired with his nephew Bernard in Italy against his life and throne. He made them appear before him and granted them not only life and limb but in his great generosity also gave back to them the possessions which according to law they had forfeited to the treasury. He also called back Adalhard from Aquitaine, where he lived in exile, and again set him up as abbot and head of the monastery of Corbie, where he had been before. He returned Adalhard's brother Bernhar to the same monastery after he had been pardoned. The emperor returned to Aachen after finishing whatever he had begun for the good of the kingdom and once the oath which part of the nobility had sworn at Nijmegen had been taken by all. After the solemn celebration of the wedding of his son Lothair, he sent him to Worms to spend the winter there. Everything was quiet on the Danish front in this year, and Heriold was received as partner in the rule by the sons of Godofrid. This is believed to have caused the peaceful relations among them at this time. But since Ceadrag, prince of the Obodrites, was charged with treachery and with having entered into an alliance with the sons of Godofrid, his rival Sclaomir was sent back to his homeland. When Sclaomir came to Saxony, he fell ill and died after receiving the sacrament of baptism. Sowing was prevented in the fall in several areas because of continuous rain. This fall was followed by a winter so long and cold that not only brooks and rivers of medium size were covered with thick ice but even the biggest and most important streams, such as the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, the Seine, as well as the other rivers of Gaul and Germany that flow into the ocean. For more than thirty days heavy wagons crossed over the rivers as if they were bridges. When this ice melted, it did grave damage to the villages along the Rhine. 822 In the land of the Thuringians, in the neighborhood of a river, a block of earth fifty feet long, fourteen feet wide, and a foot and a half thick, was cut out, mysteriously lifted, and shifted twenty-five feet from its original location. Likewise, in eastern Saxony toward the Sorbian border in the wilderness near Arendsee, the ground was raised into a dam. Within a single night, without any human effort, it formed a rampart-like embankment one Gallic mile in length. Duke Winigis of Spoleto in his declining years put off secular garb and entered the monastic life. But not much later he was stricken by disease and died. Suppo, count of Brescia, replaced him. After talking it over with his bishops and magnates, the Lord Emperor was reconciled to his brothers whom he had ordered to be tonsured against their will. He made a public confession and did penance for this as well as for what he had done to Bernard, son of his brother Pepin, and to Abbot Adalhard, and Adalhard's brother Wala. He did this at the assembly which he held in the presence of the whole people at Attigny in August of the same year. At this assembly he also tried with great humility to make up for any similar acts committed by him or his father. An army was sent from Italy into Pannonia to finish the war against Ljudovit. On its arrival Ljudovit withdrew from the city of Sisak and fled to the Serbs, a people that is said to hold a large part of Dalmatia. After treacherously murdering the only one of their dukes who had received him, he took over his city. Yet he still sent his envoys to the emperor, promising that he was willing to appear before him. In the meantime the Saxons, on the emperor's order, built a castle at Delbende4 on the other side of the Elbe, drove out the Slavs who had previously held the place, and put a garrison of Saxons in the castle for the defense against the invasions of the Slavs. The counts of the Spanish March crossed the River Segre into Spain, laid waste the fields, burned down a number of villages, and returned with considerable booty. After the fall equinox, the counts of the Breton March invaded the land of a rebellious Breton named Wihomarc. The whole territory was ravaged by fire and sword. When the assembly at Attigny was over, the emperor went hunting in the Ardennes. He sent his son Lothair into. Italy with the monk Wala, his relative and the brother of Abbot Adalhard, and Gering,11 master of the doorkeepers, on whose counsel he was to rely in matters public and private.6 He ordered Pepin to go to Aquitaine, but first had him take as his wife the daughter of Count Theotbert of Madrie and then made him depart to the west after the celebration of his wedding. When the chase in the fall was over, the emperor crossed the Rhine and went to Frankfurt to spend the winter there. At Frankfurt he convoked a general assembly, and with the magnates whom he had ordered to appear there he took care, as usual, of all that pertained to the welfare of the eastern parts of his kingdom. At this assembly he received embassies and presents from all the East Slavs, that is, Obodrites, Sorbs, Wilzi, Bohemians, Moravians, and Praedenecenti, and from the Avars living in Pannonia. Embassies from Nordmannia were also at this assembly, from Heriold as well as from the sons of Godofrid. After he had heard and dismissed all of these, he spent the winter at the same place. For this purpose new buildings had been constructed according to his orders. 823 An assembly was held at the same place in May, at which not only all the nobles of Francia were ordered to appear but those from East Francia, Saxony, Bavaria, Alamannia and neighboring Burgundy, and from the Rhineland. Two brothers, kings of the Wilzi, named Milegast and Cealadrag, who quarreled with each other over their kingdom, appeared before the emperor at this assembly, among the ocher embassies of barbarians which had either been ordered to come or had come of their own accord. The two were sons of Liub, king of the Wilzi, who had shared the kingdom with his brothers, but as the eldest had held supremacy over the whole kingdom. When he died in battle against the eastern Obodrites, the people of the Wilzi made his son Milegast their king, since he was the eldest. Milegast was an unworthy ruler of the kingdom which had been committed to him according to popular custom. He was deposed and the kingship was conferred on his younger brother. Because of this matter both ap? peared before the emperor. When the emperor had heard them and realized that the will of the people was more in favor of the younger brother's holding the office, he decided that Cealadrag should keep the office conferred on him by the people. He nevertheless gave gifts to both of them and sent them back to their homeland after they had taken oaths to keep the agreement. During the assembly at Frankfurt, Ceadrag, prince of the Obodrites, was accused in the emperor's presence of infidelity to the Franks and of having failed to appear before the emperor for a long time. Envoys were sent to him on that account. With these envoys Ceadrag sent back some nobles of his people to the emperor. Through them he promised to appear before the emperor next winter. Lothair followed the instructions of his father and dispensed justice in Italy. When he was about to return, he went to Rome at Pope Paschal's request, was honorably received, and on the holy day of Easter received the crown of the kingdom and the title of Emperor and Augustus. From Rome he returned to Pavia in June and met his father. Lothair reported the laws he had made or initiated in Italy to the emperor. Adalhard, count of the palace, was then sent to Italy and instructed to take along Mauring, count of Brescia, and to complete the laws which Lothair had begun. He made his brother Drogo, who was leading the life of a monk, head of the church of Metz upon the consentá and election of the clergy of that city and believed that he should be made bishop. At the same assembly it was agreed that the next assembly should be held in November at the palace of Compiègne. After the meeting, when the nobles had been dismissed and the emperor was on the point of leaving, he was informed that Ljudovit had perished. When Ljudovit, after leaving the Serbs, went to Liudemuhsl, uncle of Duke Borna, and stayed with him for a while, he was murdered by Liudemuhsl's treachery. It was also reported that Theodore, chief of the notaries of the Holy Roman Church, and his son-in-law, the nomenclator Leo, had been first blinded and then decapitated in the Lateran, and that this fate had befallen them because they had always acted loyally toward the young emperor Lothair. There were also some who said that this had been done on either the order or the advice of Pope Paschal. Adalung, abbot of the monastery of St. Vaast, and Hunfrid, count of Chur, were dispatched with orders to get to the bottom of this matter. But before they departed, envoys of Pope Paschal arrived, Bishop John of Silvacandida and Benedict, archdeacon of the Holy Apostolic See, pleading with the emperor to exonerate the pope from the infamous rumor that he had consented to the murder of the men in question. When the emperor had given a reasonable answer and dismissed them, he ordered his envoys to go to Rome, as previously decided, and to find out the truth. The emperor himself spent the rest of the sum? mer in the county of Worms and then in the Ardennes. When the fall hunting season was over, he came, as he had planned, to Compiègne on November. The envoys who went to Rome could not determine exactly what had happened. Pope Paschal, with a large number of bishops, purged himself by oath from any complicity in this deed. On the other hand, he defended with great vigor the murderers of the above-mentioned men because they belonged to the family of St. Peter, condemned the dead as guilty of lesè majesté, and proclaimed that they had been justly slain. He, therefore, sent to the emperor Bishop John of Silvacandida and the librarian Sergius, as well as the sub-deacon Quirinus and the master of horse Leo along with the afore-mentioned envoys who had been dispatched to him. When the emperor heard from these men as well as from his own envoys of the pontiff's oath and the vindication of the defendants, he believed that there was nothing else for him to do in this matter and sent Bishop John and his companions back to the pope with a suitable answer. Ceadrag, prince of the Obodrites, lived up to his promises and came to Compiegne with several nobles of his people. He gave an acceptable explanation for his failure over so many years to present himself to the emperor. Although he appeared culpable in several respects, he not only remained scot-free because of the merits of his ancestors but was permitted to return to his kingdom after being presented with gifts. Also Heriold came from Nordmannia, asking for help against the sons of Godofrid, who threatened to drive him out of his country. To explore this matter more thoroughly Counts Theothari and Hruodmund were sent to the sons of Godofrid. Traveling ahead of Heriold they carefully studied the dispute with the sons of Godofrid as well as the condition of the whole kingdom of the Norsemen and informed the emperor of all they could find out in these lands. They returned with Archbishop Ebbo of Reims, who had gone to preach in the land of the Danes on the counsel of the emperor and with the ap? proval of the Roman pontiff and had baptized many converts to the faith during the previous summer.In this same year several prodigies are said to have occurred. The most significant among these were an earthquake in the palace of Aachen and a girl of about twelve years who abstained from all food for ten months in the village of Commercy in the area of Toul. In the Saxon county of Firihsazi twenty-three villages were burned by fire from heaven, and lightning struck out of a clear sky at daytime. Near the Italian city of Como, in the village of Gravedona, there was a picture painted in the apse of the church of St. John the Baptist of Holy Mary holding the infant Jesus in her lap and of the Magi offering presents that was dimmed and almost wiped out with age. This picture shone for two days with such clarity it seemed to viewers that its ancient beauty almost surpassed the splendor of a new picture. But the same clarity did not brighten the images of the Magi except for the presents which they offered. In many areas the produce of the fields was destroyed by a raging hailstorm, and in a few places real stones of tremendous weight were seen to fall with the hail. Houses are also said to have been struck by lightning, and everywhere men and animals were killed with unusual frequency by strokes of lightning. There followed a great pestilence and mortality which raged furiously throughout Francia, carrying away by violence countless people of both sexes and of all ages. 824 N., king of the Bulgars, sent envoys with peace overtures to the emperor. When the emperor had received them and had read the letters they brought, he was moved by the novelty of this matter to explore more thoroughly the cause of this unprecedented legation which never before had come to Francia. He sent Machelm, a Bavarian, with these envoys to the king of the Bulgars. The winter was cold and very long. The extreme cold killed not only animals but some people, too. There was an eclipse of the moon on March 5 in the second hour of the night. Suppo, duke of Spoleto, was reported to have died. In the meantime the envoys of the Roman pontiff returned to Rome and found the pope in bad health and already near death. In fact he died within a few days after their arrival. Two men were elected to take his place due to a conflict of the people. The party of the nobility prevailed, and Eugenius, titular archpriest of St. Sabina, was ordained as successor. The subdeacon Quirinus, one of those who had served on the former embassy, brought the news of this event to the emperor. At the assembly announced for June 24 and held at Compiègne the emperor resolved to make an expedition into Brittany. He also planned to send his son and co-emperor Lothair to Rome, so that Lothair would in his stead make binding decisions with the new pontiff and the Roman people on whatever the occasion seemed to demand. Lothair embarked for Italy after the middle of August to carry out his father's order. But because the famine was still very severe, the emperor postponed the campaign he had planned against Brittany until the beginning of autumn. Only then did he gather his troops from every corner and advance to the city of Rennes on the Breton border. There he divided his host into three parts, of which he put two under the command of his sons Pepin and Louis. Retaining command of the third, he entered Brittany and laid waste the whole land with fire and sword. When he had spent more than forty days on this campaign and had received the hostages he had demanded from the faithless Bretons, he returned to the city of Rouen on November 17, where his wife was expecting him. He also ordered the envoys being sent by the Emperor Michael to meet him at Rouen. Fortunacus, patriarch of Venice, had returned and appeared before him with these envoys. They brought letters and presents from the emperor and declared that they had been sent to ratify peace. They said nothing good about Fortunatus. Among other things they raised the question of image worship, on account of which they said they were to go to Rome and consult the head of the Apostolic See.3 When the emperor had heard their message, given an answer, and dismissed them, he ordered them to be taken to Rome, where they said they wanted to go. He also questioned Fortunatus about the reason for his flight and sent him for an investigation to the Roman pontiff. The emperor himself went to Aachen, where he had decided to spend the winter. After arriving at Aachen and celebrating Christmas there, he was informed that the envoys of the king of the Bulgars were in Bavaria. He contacted them and made them wait there until the right moment. The emperor also received the envoys of the Obodrites who are commonly called Praedenecenti and live in Dacia on the Danube as neighbors of the Bulgars, of whose arrival he had been informed. When they complained about vicious aggression by the Bulgars and asked for help against them, he told them to go home and to return when the envoys of the Bulgars were to be received. Since Suppo had died at Spoleto, as was mentioned, Adalhard the Younger, count of the palace, received the duchy. He died of fever after holding the office for barely five months. Mauring, count of Brescia, was elected his successor. At the time he received the news of his appointment he was sick and he died within a few days. Counts Aeblus and Asinarius had been sent to Pamplona with Basque forces. When they had completed their assignment and were on their march back, they were lured into an ambush by the treachery of the mountain people, surrounded, and taken prisoner. The troops which they had with them were destroyed almost to a man. Aeblus was sent to Cordova, but Asinarius, being a relative of his captors, was mercifully permitted to return home. Lothair went to Rome, according to the instruction of his father, and was honorably received by Pope Eugenius. After informing the pope of his mandate and gaining his consent, Lothair ordered the affairs of the Roman people, which for a long time had been confused due to the wickedness of several popes. As a result of Lothair's intervention all who had been injured by the loss of their fortune were marvelously consoled by the return of their possessions. This was brought about, with the help of God, by Lochair's appearance on the scene. A few days before the summer equinox of this year, when a sudden change in the air whipped up a storm, an enormous chunk of ice is said to have fallen with the hail in the country around Autun. It is said to have been fifteen feet long, seven feet wide, and two feet thick. 825 The emperor celebrated the holy feast of Easter as usual at Aachen, and when the gentle season of spring smiled he went to Nijmegen for the chase. He ordered the envoys of the Bulgars to come to Aachen about the middle of May, since he decided to return to Aachen in order to hold an assembly. This gathering had been announced to his magnates when he came back from Brittany. On his return to Aachen after the hunting season was over, he received the Bulgar embassy. The question at issue was the determination of the borders between Franks and Bulgars. Almost all the nobles of Brittany were present at this assembly. Among them was Wihomarc, who by his treachery had thrown the whole of Brittany into confusion and by his senseless obstinacy had provoked the emperor to the above-mentioned campaign. He was finally following saner, counsel, and, as he said himself, did not hesitate co place himself under the protection of the emperor. The emperor forgave him and after presenting him with gifts permitted him to return home with the other nobles of his people. But with the treachery peculiar to his nation, as he had before, he broke the faith which he had promised. He did not cease to molest his neighbors with all his energy, burning and plundering until he was cornered and slain in his own house by the men of Count Lambert. After receiving the embassy of the Bulgars, the emperor sent suitable letters to their king by the same envoys. When he had dismissed the assembly, the emperor set out for Remiremont in the Vosges Mountains to go hunting, and there he received his son Lothair, who was on the way back from Italy. After the chase he returned to Aachen, where he held the customary general assembly of his people in August. Among various embassies at this assembly the emperor listened to the envoys of the sons of Godofrid from Nordmannia. He ordered the peace for which they asked to be made with them in the Danish March in October. When all business to be considered at this assembly had been completed, he departed from Nijmegen with his elder son, sending his younger son Louis to Bavaria. After the fall hunting season the emperor returned to Aachen at the beginning of winter. In the vicinity of Toul by the village of Commercy a twelve-year old girl named N., after receiving Holy Communion from the hand of the priest at Easter, reportedly abstained first from bread and then from all other food and drink. She fasted to such an extreme that she took absolutely no bodily nourishment and lived for full three years without any desire for eating. She began to fast in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 823, as noted above in the report on that year, and in the present year, 825, at the beginning of November, she ceased to fast and began to take food and to live by eating like the rest of mortals. 826 When the envoys of the Bulgars reported to their king what they had accomplished, he sent his first ambassador again with letters to the emperor and requested that the borders be determined without further delay, or, if this was not acceptable to the emperor, that each should guard his frontiers without a peace treaty. The emperor delayed his answer because of the rumor that the king of the Bulgars had either been driven out or murdered by one of his nobles. He ordered the ambassador to wait and dispatched Bertrich, count of the palace, to Counts Baldrich and Gerold, the guards of the Avar border, in the province of Carinthia, in order to sift out the truth of the rumor. When Bertrich came back and reported nothing certain one way or the other the emperor received the envoy but made him return without a letter. In the meantime about February I King Pepin, the emperor's son, came with his magnates and the guards of the Spanish border to Aachen as ordered, for the emperor had spent the winter there. After consulting with them the emperor made his decision on the protection of the western frontier against the Saracens. Then Pepin returned to Aquitaine and spent the summer in the place assigned to him. But the emperor left Aachen in the middle of May and arrived at Ingelheim about June 1. He held an assembly there that was heavily attended, receiving and dismissing many embassies from various countries. The most important and distinguished among these was the embassy of the Holy Apostolic See, which consisted of Bishop Leo of Civitavecchia, the nomenclator Theophylact, and Dominic, abbot of Mount Olivet, from the land beyond the sea. The envoys of the sons of Godofrid, king of the Danes, had also been sent there to make peace and clinch an alliance, and from the lands of the Slavs were some nobles of the Obodrites who spoke against their duke, Ceadrag. Besides all these, Tunglo, one of the magnates of the Sorbs, was accused of having refused obedience. These two were informed that the emperor would punish them in accordance with their treachery if they failed to come to his assembly in the middle of October. Some nobles of the Bretons also appeared whom the guards of that border wished to present. At the same time Heriold came with his wife and a great number i of Danes and was baptized with his companions at St. Alban's in Mainz. The emperor presented him with many gifts before he returned home through Frisia, the route by which he had come. In this province one county was given to him, the county of Rüstringen, so that he would be able to find refuge there with his possessions if he were ever in danger. Counts Baldrich and Gerold, commanders of the Pannonian border, were at this assembly and testified that up to this moment they had not been able to detect a movement of the Bulgars against us. With Baldrich came a priest from Venice by the name of George, who claimed that he could build an organ. The emperor sent him to Aachen with the treasurer Thancolf and ordered him to be provided with everything needed for the building of the instrument. A general assembly was planned for the middle of October and all other business settled as usual. The emperor then traveled with his retinue across the Rhine to the royal villa of Salz. There envoys of the people of Naples came to him, and when they had received an answer they returned home again. At Salz Aizo's flight and treachery were brought to his attention: how he artfully entered Vich, was received by the people of Roda whom he cunningly deceived and whose city he destroyed, fortified the stronger castles of this country, sent his brother to Abd ar-Rahman, king of the Saracens, and requested and accepted this king's aid against us. Although the news of this matter infuriated the emperor, he believed that nothing should be done on the spur of the moment and decided to wait for the arrival of his counselors. When the fall hunting was over, about October 1, he traveled down the Main to Frankfurt. From there he came to Ingelheim in the middle of October and held the general assembly of his people as had been planned. At this assembly he also received Ceadrag, duke of the Obodrites, and Tunglo, who had both been charged with treachery. He permitted Tunglo to return home after securing Tunglo's son as a hostage. But Ceadrag he kept with him, although he sent the rest of the Obodrites away. He dispatched envoys to the Obodrites and told them to inquire whether the people wanted Ceadrag to be their ruler. The emperor himself went to Aachen, where he had decided to spend the winter. The envoys sent to the Obodrites returned and informed him that the opinion of this people about their king blew *** and cold but that the better and nobler people agreed he should come back. The emperor, therefore, had him restored to his kingdom, after receiving the hostages he had demanded. While this was going on, Hilduin, abbot of the monastery of the holy martyr Dionysius,6 petitioned Rome for the relics of the holy martyr Sebastian. Eugenius, who was then head of the Holy Apostolic See, granted his request. Hilduin interred the relics in the basilica of St.-Médard in the city of Soissons. As long as they were lying unburied next to the tomb of St.-Médard an incredible and inexpressible number of marvels occurred, manifesting miraculous power in all kinds of healings, through divine grace in the name of this most blessed martyr. Some of these miracles are said to have been so amazing as to exceed the faith of man's limited mind. Of course it cannot be doubted that our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom this most blessed martyr is known to have suffered, can do everything He wishes by His divine omnipotence, in which every creature in heaven and on earth is subject to Him. 827 The emperor sent the priest and abbot Helisachar and with him Counts Hildebrand and Donatus to stamp out the revolt in the Spanish March. Before their arrival Aizo, trusting in the assistance of the Saracens, had inflicted much damage on the guards of this border. By constant invasions he had worn them out so thoroughly that some of them deserted the castles which they were to defend and retreated. Willemund, son of Bera, defected to him as did some others equally anxious for change, which is just what might be expected of this fickle people. They joined the Saracens and Moors and molested Cerdaña and Vallés with daily robbing and burning. Abbot Helisachar, dispatched with others by the emperor to calm down the Goths and Spaniards living in this territory, made many prudent arrangements due to his personal concern over the problem and to the counsel of his companions. Bernard, count of Barcelona, stubbornly resisted the ambushes of Aizo and the cunning and treacherous machinations of those who had defected to him and frustrated their daring attempts. An army sent to Aizo's aid by Abd ar-Rahman, king of the Saracens, was reported to have arrived at Saragossa. Abumarvan, a relative of the king, had been made its commander, and he promised, on the assurance of Aizo, that victory was not in doubt. Against Abumarvan the emperor sent his son Pepin, king of Aquitaine, with innumerable Frankish troops and ordered him to defend the borders of his kingdom. This would have been done if the army had not arrived in the march too late, due to the negligence of the leaders he had put in command. This delay was so disastrous that Abumarvan laid waste the fields and burned the villages around Barcelona and Gerona, pillaged everything he found outside the cities, and retreated to Saragossa with his army intact before our men ever caught sight of him. People were sure they saw battle lines and shifting lights in the sky at night and that these marvels foreboded the Frankish defeat. The emperor held two assemblies. One was at Nijmegen because Hohrich, son of Godofrid, the king of the Danes, had falsely promised to appear before the emperor. The other was at Compiègne, where he accepted the annual gifts and gave instructions to those who had to be sent to the Spanish March on how they were to proceed. He himself stayed at Compiègne, Quierzy, or other neighboring palaces until the beginning of winter. In the meantime the kings of the Danes, that is, the sons of Godofrid, deprived Heriold of his share in the kingship and forced him to leave Nordmannia. The Bulgars sent an army on ships up the Drave and harassed the Slavs living in Pannonia with fire and sword. They expelled the Slavic chieftains and appointed Bulgar governors instead. Pope Eugenius died in August. The deacon Valentine was elected by the Romans in his place and ordained, but held the pontificate for barely one month. On his death Gregory, titular priest of St. Mark's, was elected, but was not ordained until the emperor's envoy had come to Rome and investigated the popular election. Envoys of Emperor Michael were sent from Constantinople to the emperor to ratify their treaty. They arrived at Compiègne in September. The emperor received them graciously and heard and dismissed them. In October the bodies of the most blessed martyrs of Christ, Marcellinus and Peter, were removed from Rome and translated to Francia. There they became famous through many signs and miracles. 828 In February an assembly was held at Aachen at which the events in the Spanish March were given special consideration over other matters. The envoys who had commanded the army were found guilty and punished as they deserved by losing their offices. Baldrich, duke of Friuli, was also deprived of the offices he held and the march which he had ruled alone was divided among four counts. Because of his cowardice the army of the Bulgars had ravaged with impunity the borderland of Upper Pannonia. Bishop Halitgar of Cambrai and Abbot Ansfrid of the monastery of Nonantola were sent to Constantinople and, as they reported on their return, were received by Emperor Michael with great honor. In June the emperor came to his villa at Ingelheim and for several days held an assembly there. At this assembly he resolved to send his sons Lothair and Pepin with the army into the Spanish March and told them exactly what to do. He heard the message of the pope's emissaries, chief of the notaries Quirinus and the nomenclator Theophylact, who had come to him there, and dismissed them. Then he went to the villa of Frankfurt. He stayed there for a while, then turned to Worms and continued to Thionville. From Thionville he sent his son Lothair with a large body of Frankish troops into the Spanish March. When Lothair arrived at Lyons, he stopped to wait for news of the coming of the Saracens. While he waited, he had a conference with his brother Pepin. When they heard that the Saracens were either afraid to come to the march or unwilling to do so, Pepin returned to Aquitaine and Lothair to his father at Aachen. Near the border of Nordmannia in the meantime negotiations were planned to ratify the peace between Norsemen and Franks and to discuss the affair of Heriold. For this business counts and margraves came from almost all of Saxony. But Heriold was too thirsty for action. He broke the peace that had been agreed upon and confirmed by hostages, and burned and pillaged some small villages of the Norsemen. Upon hearing this the sons of Godofrid immediately gathered troops. Our people were stationed on the bank of the River Eider, not expecting any trouble. The sons of Godofrid advanced toward the march, crossed the river, and attacked the Franks, driving them out of their castle and putting them to flight. They took everything from them and retreated with all their forces to their camp. Then they deliberated how to ward off revenge for this action. They dispatched an embassy to the emperor and explained that need had compelled them against their will to do this, that they were ready to give satisfaction, and that it was entirely up to the emperor how amends should be made in order to preserve peace between the two parties. Count Boniface, who at that time was entrusted with the defense of the island of Corsica, sailed around Corsica and Sardinia with a small fleet. His brother and some of the other counts of Tuscany sailed with him. When he did not find a single pirate on the sea, he crossed over to Africa and landed between Utica and Carthage. He attacked a large number of the inhabitants who had suddenly gathered, fought a battle with them, and put them to flight after routing them at least five times. After slaying a great number of Africans and losing some of his own companions because of their daring, he retreated to his ships. This feat gave the Africans a healthy respect for them. The setting moon was eclipsed on July 1 at dawn, and again on December 25, that is, on Christmas, at midnight. The emperor came to Aachen about Martinmas to spend the winter. When he had settled in, he devoted the entire winter to various assemblies convoked for current matters of state. 829 When the winter was over an earthquake occurred at Aachen during the holy forty-day fast, a few days before Holy Easter. A violent storm broke loose. During its course, not only humbler houses were unroofed but even the basilica of the Holy Mother of God, called the Chapel, lost much of its roof of lead tiles. The emperor, delayed by various affairs, remained at Aachen until July 1. He finally decided to depart with his retinue for the general assembly to be held at Worms in August. But before he left he received the news that the Norsemen planned to invade Saxony on the far side of the Elbe and that their army was approaching our borders. On hearing this he sent into all parts of Francia, ordering the general levy of his people to follow him as fast as they could to Saxony. He announced at the same time that he planned to cross the Rhine at Neuss about the middle of July. But when he found out that the rumor about the Norsemen was false, he came to Worms in the middle of August, as had been planned before. He held a general assembly there and as usual accepted the annual presents brought to him. He also received a great number of embassies which had come to him from Rome and Benevento as well as from other distant countries and dismissed them again. After the assembly he also sent his son Lothair to Italy. He appointed as chamberlain in his palace Bernard, count of Barcelona, who up to that time had been the commander of the Spanish March. After properly settling the other affairs which seemed to be the business of this assembly and sending the people home, he went to the villa of Frankfurt for the fall hunting. When this was over he wintered at Aachen and there celebrated Martinmas, the feast of the blessed apostle Andrew, and Holy Christmas with much joy and exultation.